A pixel driver circuit includes a driving transistor T1 connected in series to a light-emitting element, a capacitor C, a first end of which is connected to a gate electrode of T1 and a second end of which is connected to a source electrode of T1, and a charging circuit at least including a current source and configured to charge C at a charging stage. Within at least a part of time period of the charging stage, an intensity of a charging current for charging C is greater than an intensity of a target current, and after the charging stage, a voltage difference across C is equal to a target voltage difference. When the light-emitting element emits light at a preset brightness value at a light-emitting stage, the target voltage difference is a gate-to-source voltage difference of T1 and the target current is a current flowing through T1.

In the related art, for a pixel driver circuit which controls a working current through a current source, a turning-on degree of a driving transistor is usually controlled by a capacitor structure at a display stage. After a grayscale value of a subpixel has been determined, a target current Itarget flowing through the driving transistor is determined too. However, at a charging stage, a current generated by the current source is equal to Itarget. In this way, it is impossible for the driver circuit to be applied to a display panel having a high resolution. In addition, in the case that this driver circuit is applied to a display panel having a low resolution, an effective display time period is reduced as well as a display effect may be deteriorated.

Pixel driver circuit, display device and pixel driving method

HEFEI XINSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A motor control device has an overcurrent test unit to send a first test voltage Vt1 lower than a reference voltage Vref for overcurrent determination and a second test voltage Vt2 not lower than the reference voltage Vref to an overcurrent determination unit when a synchronous motor is not rotated. The motor control device determines that an abnormality occurs in the overcurrent detection unit when the overcurrent determination unit determines that the first test voltage Vt1 causes an overcurrent on the basis of a comparison result, or the second test voltage Vt2 causes no overcurrent on the basis of the comparison result.

FIG. 1 shows the constitution of this kind of conventional motor control device. In the drawing, reference numeral 11 denotes a motor, reference numeral 12 denotes an inverter, reference numeral 13 denotes a direct current power source, and reference numeral 14 denotes a controller incorporated with a microcomputer. The controller 14 is equipped with a rotation control unit 15, an inverter driving unit 16, a phase current detection unit 17, and an overcurrent detection unit 18.
The motor 11 is composed of a three-phase DC brushless motor, and has a stator (not shown) including coils for three phases (a U-phase coil Uc, a V-phase coil Vc, and a W-phase coil Wc), and a rotor (not shown) including a permanent magnet. As shown in the drawing, the U-phase coil Uc, the V-phase coil Vc, and the W-phase coil Wc are connected in a star connection about a neutral point N or a delta connection.
The inverter 12 is composed of a three-phase bipolar drive inverter, and has three-phase switching elements corresponding to the coils for three phases in the motor 11, specifically, six switching elements composed of IGBT or the like (upper-phase switching elements Us, Vs, and Ws; and lower-phase switching elements Xs, Ys, and Zs); and shunt resistors Ru, Rv, and Rw. Each of shunt resistors Ru, Rv, and Rw is for detecting the voltage serving as the current flowing in each phase of the inverter 12.
The upper-phase switching element Us, the lower-phase switching element Xs, and the shunt resistor Ru are arranged in series and the both ends thereof are connected to the direct current power source 13; the upper-phase switching element Vs, the lower-phase switching element Ys, and the shunt resistor Rv are arranged in series and the both ends thereof are connected to the direct current power source 13; and the upper-phase switching element Ws, the lower-phase switching element Zs, and the shunt resistor Rw are arranged in series and the both ends thereof are connected to the direct current power source 13.
The emitter side of the upper-phase switching element Us is connected to the U-phase coil Uc of the motor 11; the emitter side of the upper-phase switching element Vs is connected to the V-phase coil Vc of the motor 11; and the emitter side of the upper-phase switching element Ws is connected to the W-phase coil Wc of the motor 11. Furthermore, the gates of the upper-phase switching elements Us, Vs, and Ws; and the gates of the lower-phase switching elements Xs, Ys, and Zs are connected to the inverter driving unit 16.
Furthermore, the lower-phase switching element Xs side of the shunt resistor Ru is connected to the phase current detection unit and the overcurrent detection unit 18; the lower-phase switching element Ys side of the shunt resistor Rv is connected to the phase current detection unit 17 and the overcurrent detection unit 18; and the lower-phase switching element Zs side of the shunt resistor Rw is connected to the phase current detection unit 17 and an overcurrent detection unit 18.
The rotation control unit 15 sends control signals for rotating the motor 11 at a prescribed rotation speed or stopping the rotation to the inverter driving unit 16 on the basis of the operation command from the operation unit (not shown).
The inverter driving unit 16 sends driving signals for turning each switching element ON or OFF to the gates of the upper-phase switching element Us, Vs, and Ws; and the gates of the lower-phase switching element Xs, Ys, and Zs of the inverter 12 on the basis of the control signals from the rotation control unit 15. The upper-phase switching element Us, Vs, and Ws; and the lower-phase switching element Xs, Ys, and Zs of the inverter 12 are turned ON or OFF in prescribed patterns by the driving signals from the inverter driving unit 16; and perform a conduction on the basis of the ON-OFF pattern, specifically, a sin wave conduction (180 degrees conduction) or a square wave conduction (120 degrees conduction) to the U-phase coil Uc, the V-phase coil Vc, and the W-phase coil Wc of the motor 11.
The phase current detection unit 17 detects currents (U-phase current Iu, V-phase current Iv, and W-phase current Iw) flowing in the U-phase coil Uc, the V-phase coil Vc, and the W-phase coil Wc of the motor 11 on the basis of the Voltages Vru, Vrv, and Vrw detected in each of the shunt resistors Ru, Rv, and Rw of the inverter 12; and sends these currents to the rotation control unit 15 as detected signals. The rotation control unit 15 detects the rotor location of the motor 11 by the detection signals (U-phase current Iu, V-phase current Iv, and W-phase current Iw) from the phase current detection unit 17.
The overcurrent detection unit 18 compares the Voltages Vru, Vrv, and Vrw detected in each of the shunt resistors Ru, Rv, and Rw (including amplified cases) of the inverter 12 with the reference voltage Vref for overcurrent determination by the comparator, and sends comparison results to the rotation control unit 15 as detected signals. The rotation control unit 15 determines presence or absence of overcurrent by the detected signals (comparison results) from the overcurrent detection unit 18, and when the presence of overcurrent is determined, the rotation control unit 15 sends the control signals for stopping the conduction by the inverter 12 to the inverter driving unit 16 for protecting the inverter 12.
Incidentally, the overcurrent protecting function performed by the rotation control unit 15 of the motor control device is assumed that the overcurrent detection unit 18 is normally operated. Therefore, even if the overcurrent occurs when an abnormality such as failure occur in the overcurrent detection unit 18, the overcurrent protecting function is not performed. Thereby, various problems such as failure of the switching element of the inverter 12, the blow-out of a power fuse, or the actuation of a circuit breaker occur by the overcurrent.
Furthermore, when the various problems occur due to the abnormality in the overcurrent detection unit 18, a long time is required for figuring out the cause. Even if the cause is figured out, a considerable amount of time and cost will be consumed for recovery treatments of the various problems.


Disclosed herein is a polyvinyl chloride resin, including: a first particle group having a particle diameter of 0.01 μm or more and less than 1 μm; and a second particle group having a particle diameter of 1 to 10 μm, wherein the volume ratio of the first particle group to the second particle group is 1:0.4 to 1:1.

A polyvinyl chloride resin is a kind of general-purpose resin which is used widely in building materials, daily commodities, such as wallpapers, artificial leathers, woven fabrics, sheets, films and the like, and industrial goods.
A polyvinyl chloride resin may be obtained in the form of a microparticle by mixing vinyl chloride monomers, alone or in combination with copolymerizable co-monomers, with an emulsifying agent, a buffering agent, and a polymerization initiator, and subjecting the mixture to microsuspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization, seed polymerization, etc., to prepare a polyvinyl chloride resin latex, and drying the latex.
The polyvinyl chloride resin obtained in this way is transformed into plastisol by the addition of a plasticizer, a stabilizer, a filler and the like, and then can be used for various purposes. Particularly, a vinyl chloride copolymer resin including vinyl chloride acetate as copolymerizable monomers can be used in sealers for automobiles (under body coat, body sealer), tile carpets and adhesive layers for tarpaulin. One of the main quality aspects required for vinyl chloride copolymer resins is viscosity stability at high temperature (30˜40° C.). The less the change in viscosity over time, the better the viscosity stability.
Generally, in order to reduce the initial viscosity and change in viscosity with time of a microsuspension-polymerized polyvinyl chloride resin, a process of adding a nonionic emulsifying agent to a polyvinyl chloride resin latex has been used. However, though the nonionic emulsifying agent is somewhat effective at lowering an initial viscosity, the addition of the nonionic emulsifying agent has a limitation in lowering a change in viscosity over time.
Further, seeds are used in emulsion polymerization or microsuspension polymerization to adjust the viscosity of a polyvinyl chloride resin under the control of the particle size thereof. For example, Korean Patent Publication No. 2011-0139326 discloses a method of preparing a polyvinyl chloride resin, in which emulsion polymerization is performed with seeds of two sizes, followed by drying in the presence of a nonionic emulsifying agent. However, this method suffers from the disadvantage of the polymerization process being complicated due to the continuously feeding of monomers, an emulsifying agent and a polymerization initiator during polymerization, requiring a lot of time for the growth of the seeds into large particles, and being high in initial viscosity and change in viscosity with time, compared to a microsuspension polymerization process free of seeds.

Polyvinyl chloride resin and method of preparing the same


Provided is an apparatus and method for low-complexity scheduling in a multi-user Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) system. In a method for scheduling in a MIMO system, a vector is set on the basis of channel information for all user terminals. A scalar for the vector is initialized. A user terminal that has the greatest scalar among unselected user terminals is selected. A user set is updated by adding the selected user terminal therein. The vector and the scalar for a user terminal not included in the user set are updated. Accordingly, a high transmission capacity can be provided while minimizing the influence of an interference signal. Also, the computation amount can be reduced greatly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) system, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for low-complexity scheduling in a multi-user MIMO system.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that a MIMO channel can provide very high transmission efficiency, especially in multi-user environments.
In the multi-user environments, a sum capacity (i.e., a maximum sum of transmission rates) can be achieved by allocating the same resource to a plurality of users simultaneously. The terms 'user' and 'user terminal' will be interchangeably used herein. In a case of a system using N transmission (hereinafter, "TX") antennas, the sum capacity (i.e., the theoretical maximum transmission capacity) can be approached by allocating the same resource to up to N users simultaneously in consideration of the complexity of a transmitter. However, the selection of N users for maximization of the transmission capacity is not practically viable because the selection requires a very high complexity.
Several techniques have been proposed to suppress a multi-user interference for the maximization of the transmission capacity. For minimization of the multi-user interference, the above conventional techniques select users, one-by-one, on the basis of channel information fed back from all of the users, which necessitates performing a large amount of computation at a corresponding transmitter. The amount of computation for multi-user selection is determined according to the number of TX antennas and the number of users that will receive data simultaneously. The conventional techniques can reduce the computation amount in linear proportion to the number of users. However, the conventional techniques are not practically viable in real time at a cellular base station because they still require the computation amount corresponding to the fifth-order term of the number of TX antennas.
Hereinafter, a description will be given of a conventional scheduling technique based on a successive projection scheme, assuming that there are K users within the coverage of a serving base station with N TX antennas. The conventional scheduling technique selects a user of a channel that is least correlated with a channel of previously-selected users, i.e., the kth user is selected as Equation (1):
                              u          k                =                                                                              arg                                                                                max                                                                                l                    ≤                    i                    ≤                    K                                    ,                                      i                    ∉                                          S                                              k                        -                        1                                                                                [                                                                                min                                                                                (                                                                              α                            1                                                    ,                          …                                                                                ,                                                      α                                                          k                              -                              1                                                                                )                                            ∈                                              R                                                  k                          -                          1                                                                                                                                                                ∑                                                  j                          ∈                                                      S                                                          k                              -                              1                                                                                α                          j                                                                                h                          j                                                                                -                                          h                      i                                                                                        2                                      ]                                              (        1        )            where uk is an index of the kth user, hi is a (1×N) vector of complex numbers that indicates a channel between the ith user and a transmitter, Sk−1={u1, . . . , uk−1} is a set of previously-selected user indexes, α=(α1, . . . , αk−1)ε Rk−1 is a vector that indicates a coefficient for indicating all possible linear combinations from channel information of users selected until the (k−1)th stage, and R is a set of real numbers.
At the kth stage, a user having a channel most orthogonal to a channel of the previously-selected users is selected as Equation (1). Therefore, the user selected at the kth stage has the least interference influence on the previously-selected users.
Assuming that HSk−1 is a matrix corresponding to the accumulation of user channels selected until the (k−1)th stage, Equation (1) can be transformed into a matrix format expressed as Equation (2):
                              u          k                =                                                                              arg                                                                                max                                                                                l                    ≤                    i                    ≤                    K                                    ,                                      i                    ∉                                          S                                              k                        -                        1                                                                                                                                h                  i                                                                  [                                                                                H                                                          S                                                              k                                -                                1                                                                                *                                                                                (                                                                                H                                                                  s                                                                      k                                    -                                    1                                                                                H                                                                  S                                                                      k                                    -                                    1                                                                                *                                                                                )                                                                                -                          1                                                                                H                                                  S                                                      k                            -                            1                                                                                -                                          I                      N                                                        ]                                                                    2                                              (        2        )            where IN is an (N×N) identity matrix.
The above process is repeated until N users, which will receive data simultaneously, are selected among the K users.
However, a matrix product and an inverse matrix must be computed in order to determine one kth user in the above process, where the size of the inverse matrix increases with an increase in k. Moreover, the computation amount increases because a comparison operation must be performed on all of users that have not yet been selected.

Apparatus and method for low-complexity scheduling in multi-user MIMO system


A combination equalizer and calibrator circuit assembly includes a calibrator formed of a frequency control circuit, a signal generator, an amplifier circuit connected with a microphone, a compare circuit and a display circuit and connected to the front end of an equalizer set. Calibration is made through the calibrator prior to audio system reproduction, wherein the frequency control circuit provides a reference frequency and different test frequencies for causing the signal generator to generate respective sound signals for output through a speaker; the microphone picks up these sound signals for comparison with respective reference values by the compare circuit; and the display circuit displays the respective comparison results. By means of adjustment through respective adjust circuits, signals of test frequencies are standardized so that the music played through the audio system is well calibrated without sound spectrum distortion due to space or audio system discrepancy.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to audio systems and more particularly to an analog circuit design of combination equalizer and calibrator circuit assembly for audio system that allows pre-calibration of an audio system.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
An equalizer or tone control is commonly used in an audio system to correct, or equalize, the frequency response of a signal. As shown in FIG. 1, when an audio player, such as a CD player, a DVD player, or an AM/FM radio tuner or any other sound source outputs an audio signal to the input end of an equalizer, the frequency and amplitude of the audio signal are adjusted by the equalizer, then the signal outputted is sent to a volume control circuit, then the signal is amplified by an audio amplifier to drive a speaker for audio output. At this time, a user may manually adjust the amplitude of each predetermined frequency without regard to acoustic balance. Regular audio systems may have adjusting means for high frequency control, middle frequency control, low frequency control, tone control, or graphic equalizer tone control, however they do not allow calibration. A user may calibrate an audio system manually according to one's personal preferences. This calibration method cannot achieve balanced frequency and amplitude responses. On regular audio reproduction devices, more particularly, speakers, it is difficult to obtain a balanced frequency response. Especially at low frequency band, a standing wave may remain in a constant position in a space corresponding to a specific frequency, causing variations in sound strength, i.e., formation of wave peak and wave valley in the space. This variation results in an amplitude distortion. It causes an uncomfortable hearing event. This problem exists in regular audio systems, and is difficult to eliminate.
A method is known to have independent devices such as signal generator, spectrum analyzer, test microphone, graphic equalizer, audio amplifier, speaker system, etc., be used together for testing and calibrating an audio system. However, these test systems are expensive systems. The operation of these test systems requires a special technique. Only professional technicians can use these systems. Therefore, these test systems are commonly used for testing space responses such as in concert hall, opera theater, or on stage for considerations in correction of the curvature of the wall, modification of upholstery materials, or installation of acoustic diffusers or acoustic absorbing materials to reduce standing waves and improve the effect for listening. However, these professional test devices are expensive and require much installation space, not affordable by an ordinary user.
It is well known that an audio system must be well calibrated to provide an accurate sound effect. However, the equalizer and tone control of a regular audio system are simply provided for adjustment subject to the user's preference. Therefore, it is desirable to provide an audio system that eliminates the aforesaid problems and achieves perfect reproduction of the original sound.

Combination equalizer and calibrator circuit assembly for audio system


Container includes a base, a cover, and a pull tab. The base has a bottom, a side wall extending upwardly from the bottom, and a rim at an upper edge portion of the side wall. The cover has a closed condition and an open condition and an outer edge portion interengageable with the rim of the base when the cover is in the closed condition. The pull tab extends outwardly from at least one of the base or the cover. The pull tab having a deformable formation to be deformed when the cover is moved from the closed condition to the open condition, the pull tab remaining attached to the at least one of the base or the cover when moved from the closed condition to the open condition. Additional embodiments relate to a tamper evident feature for a container, and a method for containing product in a container.

Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a container with a pull tab having a deformable formation, a tamper evident feature for a container, and a method for forming a container. Embodiments of the invention relate to containers with a pull tab that can be used in the food industry for storing, transporting, and showing foodstuffs.
Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there are many different types of containers used in the food industry for storing, transporting and showing foodstuffs on the shelves in shops and markets. One problem prevalent in supermarkets is that customers will occasionally attempt to obtain access to the contents of food containers to taste or examine the foods. This is clearly undesirable since this action could cause contamination of the foodstuffs and furthermore, other customers do not wish to buy the affected products. Several tamper-evident containers have been devised to address this problem.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,145,088 and 5,507,406 disclose known solutions, but it has been found that these and other conventional tamper-evident containers have various drawbacks in terms of cost and manufacture, and also that significant proportions of important parts of the container and/or cover are destroyed when the cover is opened for the first time.


The mechanical amplifier has a wedge-shaped primary member. The primary member is displaceable between two pairs of rollers which are arranged in mirrorimage with respect to a plane of symmetry. All rollers are arranged with their axes parallel, are freely movable, and lie against the wedge-shaped primary member. Two rollers which lie against each other are provided on each side of the wedge member, of which rollers one bears against a stationary abutment surface and the other bears against a co-operating bearing surface of a secondary member. At least one of said bearing surfaces includes with the plane of symmetry an angle of inclination which is less than 90.degree.. A spring assembly which acts on the secondary member causes the rollers and their bearing surfaces to be held in continuous engagement against each other. The angle of inclination and the taper angle are so selected that, in all operating positions of the amplifier, the axes of two rollers which are in contact with each other always lie on the side, which is towards the plane of symmetry, of the connecting line connecting the contact lines between said rollers and their bearing surfaces.

A known amplifier of this kind has two angle levers which are arranged in mirror-image relation with respect to the plane of symmetry. The angle levers are each mounted pivotally in a housing about a respective axis and at the end of each of their lever arms they each carry a respective roller which is rotatable about an axis on the lever (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,443,775). The wedge configuration of the primary member acts on the rollers which are arranged on the longer lever arms of the angle levers, and thus pivots each lever about its mounting axis. The second roller which is provided on the shorter lever arm presses against a pin which is mounted displaceably in the housing and which forms the secondary member. The two secondary members act on the movable clamping jaw of a screw vice. This known mechanical amplifier is expensive to produce, as it consists of a large number of individual components. The axis members about which the rollers are mounted rotatably and also the mounting axis members for the angle levers are subjected to considerable forces and therefore also suffer from severe wear. As they can be subjected to only a limited loading, this known mechanical amplifier is either of large size or it can be used only to produce relatively low clamping forces. The assembly costs are also comparatively high because of the large number of individual components.
The invention is based on the problem of providing a mechanical amplifier of the above-indicated kind, which is simpler in construction, which has a smaller number of individual components, which is cheaper to produce, which is of small size and which operates with a low rate of wear.


A method and system for determining the three-dimensional location of a mobile wireless device. In one implementation, the device is a cellular telephone making a 911 call from one floor of a multi-story building. An embodiment of the method of the invention includes establishing a database that associates transmission metrics with altitudes of x-y coordinate locations having more than one altitude at which the mobile wireless device could be located, receiving a communication from the mobile wireless device, determining an x-y coordinate location of the mobile wireless device, measuring a transmission metric of the mobile wireless device, and consulting the database to determine the altitude from the x-y coordinate location and the measured transmission metric. The transmission metric could be, for example, the transmission time or angle of arrival of a wireless signal received from the mobile wireless device.

When a 911 emergency center receives a call, the ability to accurately locate the caller can dramatically affect the degree of success emergency personnel have in responding to the need for help. Dispatching the emergency personnel to the correct location is crucial to administering help as quickly as possible. When a person dials 911 from a traditional wireline telephone, the emergency center identifies the number of the wireline telephone and cross-references that number with an address database to determine the location of the wireline telephone, and thus the location of the caller.
Wireless telephones, however, are not fixed in a single location and therefore are not associated with any particular address. Thus, without a means for determining the location of the mobile wireless telephone, the emergency center must rely on the caller's knowledge and communication of her location, which often leads to errors. The inability to determine the location of a wireless caller is compounded by the fact that an increasing number of 911 calls are coming from wireless telephones. Indeed, studies indicate that approximately 45 million Americans made 911 calls from wireless telephones in the year 2000. In some areas, wireless 911 telephone calls account for fifty to seventy percent of the call volume coming into public centers.
Recognizing the need to automatically determine the location of wireless telephone callers, in 1996, the Federal Communications Commission required wireless network operators to have the ability to determine the location of wireless 911 callers by October 2001. As a result, wireless operators have developed what are generally referred to as enhanced 911, or E911, services. These services typically identify the latitude and longitude (i.e., x and y coordinates) of a wireless device that is making a 911 call.
E911 services help ensure that wireless telephones provide 911 call centers, or Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), with the vital information necessary to locate and identify a caller in an emergency. The E911 standards promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) require wireless network providers to track the location and identity information of all wireless callers, with the purpose of providing such information to emergency personnel when a caller dials 911 from a wireless telephone.
Under the FCC rules, wireless networks and the corresponding wireless handheld devices, such as cellular telephones, will provide both the identity and location of the caller to a 911 dispatcher. To provide a caller's identity, the wireless handheld device will furnish a device identification, e.g., a mobile identification number (MIN), indicating in most instances the telephone number of the device. The wireless network and wireless handheld devices will provide the location of callers using a network-based location system (e.g., triangulation), global positioning systems (GPSs) within the handheld devices, or a combination of the two systems.
When conventional E911 systems provide only a longitude and latitude for a wireless device, the systems assume that a device could be found at only one possible altitude of that location. Thus, for example, given x-y coordinates corresponding to a soccer field, emergency responders can assume that the wireless device is on the soccer field at the reported x-y coordinates. As another example, given x-y coordinates corresponding to a single-level highway, emergency responders can assume that the wireless device is on the highway at the reported x-y coordinates.
In many situations, however, buildings and irregular topography provide several different altitudes or elevations at which the wireless device could be located on the same x-y coordinates. For example, in a skyscraper, the same x-y coordinates could correspond to a device located on the first floor or the eightieth floor. An emergency responder arriving at the skyscraper, knowing only the x-y coordinates, would therefore be unable to quickly determine on which floor the emergency is occurring.
FIG. 1 illustrates this skyscraper problem, in which a coordinate X,Y within the footprint of building 100 is reported by the E911 location service. That particular coordinate X,Y could correspond to a device anywhere along the axis Z for the entire height H of building 100. Thus, the taller building 100 is, the more difficult it is to determine the exact location (i.e., altitude) of the calling wireless device.
As another example, on an interchange between major highways, several roads and ramps may pass under and over each other. The same x-y coordinates could correspond to a device located, for example, on the lowest road or a bridge passing high above. Knowing only the x-y coordinates, an emergency responder would have to guess on which road the emergency is occurring.
FIG. 2 illustrates this situation, in which a first road 200 passes underneath a second road 202. A particular coordinate X1,Y1 is reported by the E911 location service. However, as shown, that particular coordinate X1,Y1 could correspond to a point on road 200 at a first altitude A1 or to a point on road 202 above at a second altitude A2. Thus, knowing only the coordinate X1,Y1, an emergency dispatcher does not know whether to send responders to road 200 or road 202.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for determining the altitude of a mobile wireless device


Catalysts for dehydrogenating ethylbenzene to styrene which comprise iron oxide, oxides of alkaline and alkaline-earth metals, oxides of the lanthanide series, oxides of metals of the sixth group, prepared from a paste of iron oxide impregnated with an aqueous solution of a cerium salt, treated with aqueous KOH and calcined, after drying, to preform potassium ferrate, to which the other components or precursors of the catalyst are then added.

The known type of catalysts for dehydrogenating ethylbenzene to styrene are based on iron oxide (Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3) and comprise, as promoters and stabilizers, oxides of alkaline and alkaline-earth metals, oxides of elements of the lanthanide series, and oxides of metals of the sixth group of the periodic table.
The composition of the catalysts, expressed as a percentage of oxides by weight, comprises 50-92% iron oxide, 5-20% alkaline metal oxide, 0.5-14% alkaline-earth metal oxide, 2-10% oxide of elements of the lanthanide series and 0.5-6% oxide of metals of the sixth group.
Preferred compositions, expressed as oxides, comprise iron oxide, potassium oxide, calcium and/or magnesium oxides, cerium oxide and molybdenum and/or tungsten oxides.
In the catalysts, the iron oxide is partly present in the form of potassium ferrate.
Potassium ferrate is considered to be the active catalytic component.


A helmet including a hard shell defining an exterior surface and an interior volume of space and including a bill. A visor including an engagement structure that is releasably attached to the bill wherein the visor does not pivot relative to the bill when engaged with the bill.

Baseball is a game commonly played outdoors. On those occasions when the sun is out, batters can experience the glare of the sun when trying to hit a pitched baseball. Some baseball players have tried to counteract the glare of the sun while batting by wearing sunglasses. However, the frame of the glasses can partially obscure the baseball as it is travelling toward the batter.
It would be helpful to provide a way to counteract glare from the sun while batting at a pitched baseball and at the same time provide an unobstructed view of the pitched baseball.


A new cultivar of Ophiopogon, ‘YAPARD’, characterized by its long and wide dark grey-green to dark grey-purple colored foliage, its abundance of flowers, and its vigorous growth habit with a high rate of adventitious root development.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Ophiopogon planiscapus (Nigrescens type) and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'YAPARD'. 'YAPARD' is a new cultivar of mondo grass and is a grass-like perennial grown for use in border, and containers, and as groundcovers.
The new variety of Ophiopogon is the result of an ongoing breeding program by the Inventors in Penzance, Cornwall, United Kingdom that commenced in 1980. The goal of the breeding program is to produce new cultivars of Ophiopogon with increased vigor, larger leaves, longer flower spikes, and suitability as a groundcover.
The new variety of Ophiopogon, 'YAPARD', arose from a cross made in 2002 between unnamed proprietary seedlings developed of the Inventors as both the male and female parents. 'YAPARD' was selected as a single unique plant in summer of 2005.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by in vitro propagation under the direction of the Inventors in Stoneyford, Co. Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland in summer of 2005. The characteristics of this cultivar have been determined both by division and in vitro propagation to be stable and to reproduce true to type in successive generations.


A roller assembly for a production machine having an inner wheel base capable of attachment to the driving axle of a production machine and an expandable outer ring which is cooperatively connectable to the inner wheel base is disclosed. The circumference of the expandable outer ring is adjustable. An outer roller cover mounts circumferentially around the adjustable expandable outer ring.

Covered rollers are used industrially in demanding environments where they are subjected to high loads, prolonged used, stresses and temperatures. They have a diversity of applications, for example, for processing web sheets in paper mills, processing aluminium or steel cans in canning industries, dosage and application of coatings (e.g. paint, varnish), counter pressure for a cutting wheel, to name a few. Due to their application in severe environments, rollers are usually engineered to be large and heavy. They are normally made out of steel or any other suitable metal alloy and in general covered with hard wearing material, such as an elastomer, for example, rubber or a polyurethane material. The covering has a specific function and goal, for example, to protect the roller core. Due to corrosion, temperature differences and other wear-related factor, the outer surface of a roller has a shorter life-span than the average life-span of the complete roller itself. This brings about the necessity of recovering the roller with a new cover, or repair of the covering, for example, by re-grinding the surface. In general, the procedure to re-cover a roller consists of several time consuming steps. The roller is dismantled at the site of use and transported to the premises of a re-coverer. After re-covering, the roller is again transported to the customer and re-installed on a production line. The customer will generally grind the rollers himself in between the different re-covering steps, in view of attuning the covered surface correctly. The procedure for repair also requires the roller to be dismantled from the site of use and transported to a grinding installation usually at the site of use.
The large size and weight of rollers necessitates removal and installation under good Health and Safety practices. This may require the use of lifting machinery, the several employees and hours of lost machine time while a spare roller is installed. The risk assessment associated with such a procedure may also have implications for insurance.
Furthermore, due to the weight and size of the rollers, the cost of transportation is high. The time taken between removing the roller and the return of the re-covered roller (lead time) is high—often several weeks (easily 4 to 6 weeks). Therefore, in order to keep the process running, the operator has to invest in a stock of spare rollers.
The rollers and procedures of the prior art are clearly associated with problems. Roller systems of the art are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,753, U.S. Pat. No. 10,697,805, U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,920.
The present invention aims to overcome the problems of the prior art.

Roller assembly with an eccentric expandable cover retaining ring and a method of manufacturing the roller assembly


An integrated heat dissipating enclosure to provide heat dissipation for computer, power supply or other electronic products such as an integrated circuit on a motherboard, a central processing unit, or a chip on a video adapter. The enclosure has a frame and a cooling cover. The frame is used to carry various internal components or peripherals of a computer. The cooling cover has a plurality of fins spaced from each other by a space. The fins are connected together by a thermal conductive pipe to form an integrated heat dissipating enclosure.

The present invention relates generally to an integrated heat dissipation enclosure for electronic products and, more particularly, to a cooler providing heat dissipation path for computer, power supply, or other heat generating devices such as an integrated circuit (IC) on a motherboard, a central processing unit (CPU), or a chip on a video adapter.
The highly developed science and technology has continuously increased the execution speed of a chip. The higher execution speed of the chip consequently generates more heat, and increases the temperature of the chip. To effectively dissipate heat generated by the chip devices in an enclosure, so as to maintain the operation temperature of the heat generating devices therein, various kinds of heat dissipation structures have been developed.
The conventional heat dissipation structure uses large area heat sink and heat dissipating fins attached to surfaces of heat generating devices, such as the integrated circuit on a motherboard, central processing unit and chip of a video adapter. Currently, as most of the computer enclosures provide a close space for accommodation devices and peripherals, the heat generated by the heat generating devices cannot be easily dissipated to the external, and a greenhouse effect tends to occur. Therefore, while using a personal computer, some user will remove the enclosure to avoid heat being accumulated in the computer enclosure. However, in such manner, though heat circulation is improved, the internal devices are vulnerable for being exposed to any external structure of force.
It is known that the faster the execution speed of the computer is, the more heat is generated thereby. The computer enclosures available in the market provide nearly close spaces for the computers, so that the heat dissipation effect has to be improved.

Integrated heat dissipating enclosure for electronic product


A canister for containing a bed of particles, for example sorbent particles, which includes a loading device for applying a predetermined compressive load to the bed of particles and an adjusting device for automatically adjusting the loading device to maintain substantially the predetermined compressive load. The adjusting device functions in conjunction with the pressure of an operating fluid in the canister.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to canisters for containing a bed of particles and more particularly but not exclusively to a canister for containing a bed of inorganic sorbent particles being a molecular sieve bed providing oxygen enriched air in an aircraft on-board oxygen generating system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An aircraft on-board oxygen generating system (OBOGS) is described and illustrated in EP-A-0129304. The system illustrated in FIG. 1 of this reference has three canisters filled with suitable molecular sieve sorbent particulate material in provision of three so-called molecular sieve beds. Each canister has a weir plate extending internally of the canister from one end thereof and terminating short of the opposite end. In operation supply fluid, in this case air, enters one end of the canister at one side of the weir plate, flows through the molecular sieve material parallel to the weir plate, is turned around at the opposite end of the weir plate to return upon itself through tire sieve material on the opposite side of the weir plate before exiting the canister as product fluid, in this case oxygen-enriched air.
A problem encountered with the use of sorbent particles in such an installation is that of generation of sorbent dust which can contaminate the product fluid leaving the molecular sieve beds. Such sorbent dust can be generated if the sorbent bed becomes fluidized, i.e. if the particles of sorbent are moved by the pressurised fluid passing through the bed, causing collision with and/or abrasion against one another, generating the dust.
It has been proposed to avoid fluidization by compressing the sorbent particles using a Belleville spring device bearing against one end of the bed, however, a problem with such an arrangement is that with sieve bed settlement, the spring eventually runs out of travel so that further fluidization reduces the compressive load thereby resulting in dust generation.
A proposed solution disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,050 immobilizes the inorganic sorbent particles by binding them to each other with a polymeric binding material; however, it has been found that in use beds of such immobilised particles are less efficient than a bed of "free" particles. In particular, the volume flow of product fluid is reduced so that to obtain a given volume flow a larger bed must be provided if the sorbent particles are immobilised and this may be unacceptable in an aircraft OBOGS where space required for housing the system must be kept to a minimum.
An object of the present invention is the provision of a new or improved canister for containing a bed of particles which overcomes or reduces the aforementioned problems.

Canister for containing a bed of particles


Roofing systems are herein disclosed which lend themselves to simplified installation techniques and provide enhanced energy conservation over conventional roofing systems of comparable appearance. The system of this invention is based, in substantial part, upon the use of a large (typically 4'.times.8') panel of cellular structural foam as a replacement for ceramic and/or cast concrete roofing tiles ("Barrel" and "Bermuda" style tiles). In the preferred embodiments of this invention, a closed cell structural formed panel is molded or cut to simulate an array of roofing tiles. The simulated foam tile panel is further provided with a refractory (fireproofing) finish, such as stucco, or its equivalent. A finish coating is, thereafter, applied to the refractory coating to enhance water repellency and, thus, serve to further weatherproof the roofing panel. The finishing coating can be applied prior to or subsequent to installation of the foam tile panels. In one of the preferred embodiments of this invention the foam tile panel is laminated to a 4'.times.8' sheet of plywood or an "OSB" board; or, alternatively, internally structurally enforced. A reinforcing mesh is also preferably provided on the exposed surface of the panel and bonded thereto upon application of the refractory coating or finish. Structural inserts integral with the foam tile not only enhance its physical integrity and strength but also provide a means for attachment of the foam tile panel to the roof trusses.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to an article of manufacture and to a method. More specifically, this invention relates to a foam tile roof panel and system; and, to a method for fabrication thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of the synthetic (polymeric) materials as a replacement for more traditional construction materials has and continues to evolve, as the sources of the more traditional materials (wood) increase in costs and will become increasingly scarce.
Accordingly, plastic or synthetic based building products (once reserved primarily for decorative or cosmetic applications) are, and continue to find uses as structural materials as building codes become more relaxed, or in recognition of the functional equivalency or superiority of the engineering component prepared from the synthetic material.
Structural foam panels from closed cell expanded foam polystyrene and other common polymers have and continue to be used in lieu of plywood in the construction industry as underlayment for house siding and other construction applications where enhanced energy conservation is desired.
The following patents are represented of a use of foam materials (both polymer and concrete) in the fabrication of and in situ manufacture of construction materials: U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,841 (to Carol); U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,614 (to Self); U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,984 (to Larrow); U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,554 (to Riley); U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,794 (to Grieb); U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,349 (to Riley); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,982 (to Vicino).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,841 (to Carol) describes an insulating decking structure utilizing a sheet metal structural shape (envelope) containing a perforated foam synthetic board (16) having vertical holes to allow penetration of concrete through the foam board. In brief, the structure of the Carol system comprises a wire reinforced sub-purlin, or purlin, structure that includes a sheet metal envelope (12) or form, containing gypsum foam board (12), a perforated formed synthetic polymer board (13) and poured concrete (15) which penetrates through the polymer board (13) to the gypsum board (12). The exterior surface of the foregoing composite is finished with alternating layers of roofing felt and tar (16) and a waterproof wearing surface of tar and gravel (17).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,614 (to Self) describes a method for preparation of spray-up laminates by foaming-in-place an unsaturated polyester resin (hereinafter "synthetic resin"). The synthetic resin can be applied on both sides of expanded metal lathe (Example 3) and applied directly to corrugated metal building panels having a spray applied polyurethane base (example 4). The fabrication of laminated panels (in accordance with the teachings of Example 4) further contemplate a sequential application of these materials to the structure of metal panel (column 5, lines 36-58).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,984 (to Larrow) describes a structure, such as a house, assembled from pre-fabricated panels. The wall panels of the structure comprise a laminate, or composite, structure having an interior section of foamed material, such as polystyrene or urethane foam, with another surface comprising wood, aluminum or plastic. The apparent invention resides in the configuration of the panels to allow for their interlocking or integration with one another in the construction of a shelter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,554 (to Riley) describes an insulated roofing system in which a waterproof plastic film or membrane is bonded to the under surface of a panel to positively exclude water. The panels to which this membrane is applied are preferably foam can be provided on a its upper surface with integral ribs, such as grooves, and of sufficient structural integrity to support concrete panels which can be placed upon and supported by the integral ribs. The integral ribs which are positioned between the foam panel and the concrete surface member provide (what is referred to in the Riley patent) "channels" for ventilation and moisture removal on hot, dry days. The concrete panels are not, according to Riley, are "simply abutted against one another, and preferably are laid so that the butted junctions do not coincide with the butted junctions of the underlying foam panels" (column 3, lines 31-34). Thus, it is apparent from Riley that the waterproof membrane on the interior of the composite is necessary to exclude water which penetrates between the concrete block and is not otherwise carried away by the ribs (16) which are intermediate between the concrete and the styrofoam panels. To the extent that any moisture does intrude beyond the interior ribs, the waterproof membrane (12), positioned between the ribs and the foam will presumably prevent any further intrusion thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,794 (to Grieb) describes a foam cement building having walls, roof and/or floor formed from a plurality of self-supporting foam building blocks of varying densities. The exterior surface from the foam building blocks are coated with an architectural finish-such finish being formed from cement, reinforced with fiberglass mesh or fiberglass rovings or strands. The blocks are connected to one another by a "tongue and groove" arrangement which provides, once assembled, a monolithic structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,349 (to Riley) is essentially the same, (at least in relation to the instant invention), as U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,544 (discussed above).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,982 (to Vicino) describes a method and system for the manufacture of a modular, monolithic molded building structure from a dismantleable mold. The Vicino patent describes the sequential application of an expandable foam to various mold components along with reinforcing materials. The purpose and effect of the process described by Vicino is to provide a seamless building structure, (with the exception of windows and doors).
As is evident from the foregoing discussion, the techniques utilized in the past for the fabrication of foam based building products, including those prepared from synthetic polymers and concrete, has involved a variety of different expedients to accomplish the specific objective of their respective inventors. As is further apparent, none of the art discussed above provides a building product having both structural and finished features incorporated into a single panel, or panel array, suitable for use as a roofing material. In virtually all of the structures described above in the prior art, the use of an expandable foam has been simply to provide an insulating element without appreciation of its versatility; specifically the combination of its aesthetic and structural properties in a single element, while at the same time eliminating other unnecessary components which can reduce costs, construction complexities and weight, (which can be a material factor in engineering the trusses and other load bearing components).


A lateral flow device for testing a bodily fluid, such as urine, blood, mucous, saliva, etc., is provided. The lateral flow device is configured to be attached to an absorbent article via an attachment mechanism located on the lateral flow device or the absorbent article. The lateral flow device includes a chromatographic medium (e.g., porous membrane) that defines a detection zone that provides a signal indicative of the presence or absence of the analyte. The device may also include a control zone that provides a signal indicative of whether a sufficient amount of bodily fluid has been provided and tested. Regardless of its specific configuration, the lateral flow device is configured to be attached onto the absorbent article to provide a user or caregiver with rapid information about a health condition. For example, the device may be attached onto a diaper to provide information about the presence of enzymes or other compounds often encountered with a patient having a urinary tract infection. This information may provide an early warning system to allow the user or caregiver to seek additional testing and/or treatment. Alternatively, semi-quantitative or quantitative results may be derived from the test.

Multiple tests have been developed for detecting components in urine. Such tests can provide information about overall health as well as provide an indication of a health problem. When timely administered, such tests may also be able to provide an early indication of a health problem, which may be very advantageous for effective treatment. By way of examples, urine testing can be used to detect urinary tract infections, diabetes (including diabetic ketoacidosis), parasites, dehydration, dietary defects, cancer, high blood pressure, kidney disease, asthma, severe emphysema, alcoholism, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), glomerulonephritis, and leukemia.
Such tests may be performed by having a patient voluntarily collect and provide a sample. However, patient collected urine samples may not be readily available with certain test subjects such as children, elderly adults, and injured or non-ambulatory patients. Additionally, it may be preferable to collect and test urine samples from these subjects at certain times or conditions where the patient is not necessarily in the presence of medical or otherwise specially trained personnel. Frequently, such subjects may be provided with a diaper or other absorbent article to collect urine. Then, the soiled article is provided to the medical or otherwise specially trained personnel for testing.
As such, a need exists for a device capable of testing bodily fluid that can be attached to an absorbent article such that the testing occurs at the time of the insult of the absorbent article.

Lateral flow device for attachment to an absorbent article


A liquid dispensing device which includes a housing and a spring actuated lever arm hingedly connected to the housing and having a latch operatively connected to a toothed bar wherein upon depression of the lever arm the toothed bar is axially displaced toward the front end of the housing and during return of the lever arm to its original position, the toothed bar is released, wherein the lever arm, the spring and the latch are integral, and the spring and latch are the same element.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,581,022 and 4,444,560 disclose liquid dispensers comprising a number of separate components. Consequently, the production as well as the assembly costs are so high that there is no economical basis for using them as disposable dispensers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,770 discloses a liquid dispenser of plastics and of the above-mentioned type wherein the rear portion of the housing, the lever arm, the spring and the latch are cast integrally.
In this known liquid dispenser, the hinge connection between the lever arm and the rear portion of the housing is constituted of a wall portion having reduced wall, thickness. Consequently, the rotational point of the hinge is not precisely fixed, meaning that the latch extending from the underside of the lever arm does not necessarily engage immediately the toothed bar upon each depression of said lever arm. If the latch slides across one or more tooth (teeth) on the toothed bar the desired dosage is not obtained.
It is the object of the invention to provide a liquid dispenser composed of only a few separate components from which uniform liquid dosages can be obtained.


An electric arc furnace (EAF) including a raw material container, a set of electrodes, a set of electrical potential transformers, and a reference signal verification device. The set of electrodes are configured to be controllably extended toward the raw material container. The set of electrical potential transformers are correspondingly coupled to the set of electrodes. The reference signal verification device is configured to carry out the steps of reading a reference signal value coming from the raw material container; comparing the reference signal value to an approximated value; and determining that there is a loss of the reference signal if the reference signal value is not within a predetermined amount of the approximated value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to control systems for electric arc furnaces for the detection of the integrity of the reference signal line.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electric arc furnace (EAF) is a furnace that heats material by way of an electric arc. Arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one ton capacity up to about 400 ton units used for secondary steelmaking. On a much smaller scale arc furnaces for use in research laboratories and by dentists have a capacity of tens of grams. Industrial electric arc furnace temperatures can typically be up to 1,800° C., and laboratory units can exceed 3,000° C. Arc furnaces directly expose material to an electric arc, and the current in the furnace electrodes pass through the material.
An EAF generally includes a refractory-lined vessel covered with a retractable roof, through which one or more graphite electrodes enter the furnace. The EAF is primarily split into three sections: the shell, which consists of the sidewalls and lower steel "bowl"; the hearth, which is the refractory layer that lines the lower bowl; and the roof, which may be refractory-lined and/or water-cooled, and can be shaped as a section of a sphere, or as a conical section. The roof also supports the refractory through which the graphite electrodes enter.
A typical alternating current EAF is powered by a three-phase electrical supply having three electrodes that enter through the roof. Electrodes are typically round in cross-section, and are arranged in segments with threaded couplings, so that as the electrodes wear, new segments can be added. The arc forms between the material in the EAF and the electrode, the material is heated both by current passing through the material and by the radiant energy from the arc. The electrodes are raised and lowered by a positioning system, which may use either electric winches or hydraulic cylinders. The regulating system maintains approximately constant current and power input during the melting of the material, even though scrap may move under the electrodes as it melts. The mast arms holding the electrodes can be coupled with busbars to carry the electrical current or the mast arms may be "hot arms", where the whole arm carries the current. Hot arms may consist of copper-clad steel or aluminum. The electrodes move up and down for regulation of the arc, and are raised to allow removal of the furnace roof.
The EAF is often coupled to a tilting platform so that the liquid steel can be poured therefrom. A typical EAF could have a transformer rated about 60,000,000 volt-amperes (60 MVA), with a secondary voltage between 400 and 900 volts and a secondary current in excess of 44,000 amperes. Such a furnace would be expected to produce a quantity of 80 tons of liquid steel in approximately 50 minutes from charging the EAF with cold scrap to tapping the furnace. In comparison, basic oxygen furnaces can have a capacity of 150-300 tons per batch, or "heat", and can produce a heat in 30-40 minutes.
The process to melt the steel includes the lowering of the electrodes onto the scrap, causing an arc to be struck and the electrodes are then set to "bore" into the layer of scrap at the top of the furnace. Typically lower voltages are selected for this first part of the operation to protect the roof and walls from excessive heat and damage from the arcs. Once the electrodes have reached the heavy melt at the base of the furnace and the arcs are shielded by the scrap, the voltage is increased and the electrodes are raised slightly, lengthening the arcs and increasing power to the melt. This enables a molten pool to form more rapidly, reducing tap-to-tap times.
A reference signal is used to control the EAF operation in the control of the movement of the electrodes during the heating process. The loss of the reference signal line can cause the EAF to operate at less efficiency and result in unneeded wear on the electrodes.
What is needed in the art is an apparatus to detect the loss of the reference signal line so that the EAF performance can be maintained, to efficiently produce molten steel.

Method for detection of the loss of an electric arc furnace measurement reference


The invention provides a method for fabricating ultra-shallow, low resistance junctions. In the preferred embodiment, a nitrogen containing screen oxide layer is formed on an undoped area of a substrate by poly re-oxidation using rapid thermal processing in a nitrogen containing atmosphere. Impurity ions are implanted into the substrate, in the undoped area, through the nitrogen containing screen oxide layer to form lightly doped source and drain regions. A post-implant anneal is performed on the lightly doped source and drain regions using a rapid thermal anneal in a nitrogen containing atmosphere. The nitrogen containing screen oxide layer: prevents surface dopant loss during post implant anneal; prevents gate oxide degradation during ion implantation and screen oxide stripping; and acts as a diffusion barrier, reducing oxygen enhanced diffusion. Alternatively, the poly re-oxidation can be performed in an O.sub.2 atmosphere followed by a rapid thermal anneal in a nitrogen containing atmosphere.

1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fabrication of semiconductor devices and more particularly to the fabrication of ultra-shallow, low resistance junctions.
2) Description of the Prior Art
As microelectronic device dimensions decrease, the need to produce ultra-shallow (<60 nm) junctions with low resistance becomes essential. However, conventional ion implantation and annealing processes present several obstacles to formation of ultra-shallow lightly doped source and drain regions necessary for acheiving ultra-shallow junctions with low resistance.
One method of forming ultra-shallow lightly doped source and drain regions is to form a screen oxide layer, implant impurity ions through the screen oxide layer, then perform an anneal to drive in the impurity ions. The disadvantage of this process is that it is susceptible to oxygen enhanced diffusion (OED). OED causes "B" ions to diffuse deeper into the silicon substrate when a screen oxide is used even though the implant depth is shallower than without a screen oxide.
Another process used to form lightly doped source and drain regions is to perform an ion implant and pure N.sub.2 drive in without using a screen oxide. This process does not suffer from OED. However, surface dopant loss occurs during the post implant anneal to drive in the impurity ions. Also, due to reduced gate oxide thicknesses associated with reduced scale devices, the lack of a screen oxide can cause gate oxide integrity degradation due to implantation damage.
An alternate approach is to form a screen oxide, perform impurity ion implantation, strip the screen oxide, then anneal to drive in the impurity ions. Since the screen oxide is removed prior to anneal, this process also suffers from surface dopant loss. Although the screen oxide prevents gate oxide degradation due to implantation damage, oxide stipping can also degrade the gate oxide integrity.
The importance of overcoming the various deficiencies noted above is evidenced by the extensive technological development directed to the subject, as documented by the relevant patent and technical literature. The closest and apparently more relevant technical developments in the patent literature can be gleaned by considering the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,529 (Guldi) discloses a screen oxide or screen oxynitride blocking layer and an NH.sub.3 anneal after ion implantation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,884 (Byun) discloses a NH.sub.3 silicide anneal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,024 (Tsai et al.) discloses a conventional S/D anneal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,968 (Hinkel et al.) shows an ion implantation in O.sub.2.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,411 (Gardner et al.) shows a nitridation process to produce reliable oxides.
The following technical literature also provide information on relevant technical developments.
Shishiguchi et al., 33 nm Ultra-Shallow Junction Technology by Oxygen-Free and Point Defect Reduction Process, 1998 Symposium on VLSI Technology Digest of Technology, pp. 134-135 teaches fabrication of ultra-shallow junctions using low-energy ion implantation without a cover-oxide.
Stinson et al., Effects of I/I on Deep Submicron Drain Engineered MOSFET Technologies, IEEE Transactions on Electronic Devices, Vol. 38, No. 3, March 1991, pp. 487-497 examines the effects of ion implantation on gate oxide integrity. While gate oxide degradation is considered insignificant for oxide thicknesses of 7 nm and LDD doses (10E14 cm.sup.2 and lower), the article predicts that gate oxide degradation will increase as scaling down occurs.

Method for fabricating an ultra-shallow junction with low resistance using a screen oxide formed by poly re-oxidation in a nitrogen containing atmosphere

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company


A fuel injection apparatus includes: a first obtaining unit that obtains a first index relating to an opening behavior of an injector; a second obtaining unit that obtains at least one of a second index relating to a maximum injection rate of the injector and a third index relating to an injection period; and a calculation unit that determines that injection hole corrosion has occurred in the injector when a first condition relating to the first index is established and at least one of a second condition relating to the second index and a third condition relating to the third index is established.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fuel injection apparatus and a control method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, various measures to address aging variation in an opening/closing operation of a fuel injection valve (an injector) have been proposed. For example, in a fuel injection valve proposed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-280189 (JP 2001-280189 A), in order to address variation in an injection amount characteristic caused by aging variation in a fuel injection valve that uses gas fuel or corrosive fuel, variation in an opening/closing delay of the fuel injection valve is detected and a fuel injection pulse width is corrected accordingly. In this fuel injection valve, an initially set injection amount is maintained by correcting the fuel injection pulse width.
Incidentally, one cause of aging variation in the fuel injection valve is condensation of an acidic component of gas remaining in a cylinder. When the acidic component condenses and adheres to a tip end portion of the injector, an injection hole portion provided in the tip end portion of the injector may corrode. When the injection hole portion corrodes, atomization of the fuel injected from the ignition hole portion may be affected, and as a result, smoke may be generated.
In the fuel injection valve disclosed in JP 2001-280189 A, however, the effect of injection hole corrosion caused by condensed water is not taken into consideration. More specifically, the injection hole starts to corrode by the condensed water from an injection hole outlet in the vicinity of a combustion chamber, and therefore substantially no variation is seen in the fuel injection amount. Hence, it is difficult to diagnose injection hole corrosion accurately simply by detecting the opening/closing delay.

Fuel injection apparatus and control method thereof


A timing system, in particular for high performance internal combustion engines, having five or more valves per cylinder, is described. Three identical valves serving a given cylinder of an engine are controlled by a single camshaft by means of a pair of corresponding cams which act together with a pair of tappets which are mounted slidably in corresponding guides in the cylinder head. The tappets act together at the edges with corresponding valve stems of the three valves which are slidably mounted within second guides within the cylinder head, against the force of corresponding elastic means in a radially eccentric position with respect to the axis of the tappets in such a way that the valve stem of the intermediate valve acts simultaneously with both tappets, while the valve stems of the two lateral valves each act together with a corresponding different tappet in positions of mirror-image symmetry with respect to the center plane of the cylinder passing through the axis of the intermediate valve.

This invention relates to a timing system to control the inflow or outflow of a fluid from one or more cylinders of an engine and/or an operating machine by means of corresponding valves controlled by means of a camshaft. In particular this invention relates to an overhead camshaft timing system for an internal combustion engine of the type having several valves per cylinder, for example of the five valve type.
It is known that in order to improve the volumetric efficiency of internal combustion engines, in particular the high performance engines used to equip sports cars or GT cars, there is a common design tendency to provide timing systems which instead of the conventional two valves per cylinder (one inlet and one exhaust) provide systems with several valves per cylinder, for example four (two inlet and two exhaust) or five (three inlet and two exhaust) or six (three inlet and three exhaust). In particular the latter two types of arrangement give rise to considerable structural complications in controlling the valves and/or give rise to serious problems with the arrangement of the valves in order to avoid interference, especially between the tappets of the three inlet valves. In order to overcome these problems it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,309 to use a divaricated arrangement of the inlet valves, placing the intermediate valve of the three obliquely with respect to the two lateral valves in such a way that the three valves can be controlled by a single camshaft, and using tappets having cups of less than normal diameter and, in the case in point, less than the diameter of the cups of the exhaust valves.
Such an arrangement is not however without disadvantages: in particular the use of cups of smaller diameter, especially with valves which are inclined with respect to the camshaft, and therefore subject to possible lateral thrust on the tappets, involves the risk of increasing the contact pressure between the cups and the guides when the latter are mounted in the cylinder head with a consequent risk of breakage of the lubricating oil film and/or in any event greater wear under load of the moving parts.

Timing system for an internal combustion engine


A pulse producing mode-locked laser system with only passive lens and filtering elements and low cost Nd:glass laser material, or an equivalent, is stabilized and made to produce reliably output laser pulses of known characteristics and intensity without critical alignment and operating conditions.. This is performed by eliminating response to spurious satellite laser pulses incited when triggering the coherent radiation in the laser materials. Several system components aid in the attainment of the better signal to noise ratio effective in making the laser system produce uniform output pulses from shot to shot, including provision of at least one mirror with a radius of curvature R meeting the criterion 3L>R>L where L is the path length through the laser material between two reflecting mirrors, and a dye mode-locking cell increased in path length by two orders of magnitude to the order of 1 cm. Also the mirrors have a wedge-shaped reflection surface at an angle of .gtoreq.20' up to 2.degree. in order to reflect and eliminate spurious satellite pulse energy out of the reinforcement path axis between the mirrors and through the laser material.. This results in 90% reproducibility of output laser pulse characteristics including profile and intensity.

Pulse laser systems at the present stage of the art are well known, but are erratic and unreliable in nature. Systems tend to be critical in alignment and dimensioning and even when well aligned are erratic in producing a reliable and expected level of performance day after day. Thus, in the prior art there have not been available reliable commercial pulse laser systems that reproduce output pulses of similar output intensity profiles from shot to shot in the absence of critical short range calibration and alignment under ideal operating conditions.
It is known in the art that spurious oscillations may be induced in laser systems thereby decreasing reliability and usefulness. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,178, E. B. Treacy, Dec. 14, 1971; No. 3,808,554, M. Lax et al., Apr. 30, 1974; and No. 3,715,685, Ed Gordon et al., Feb. 6, 1973 provide modified reflective paths operable with reflecting means to suppress unwanted oscillation modes that interfere with reliability and performance.
Also it is known that spurious secondary and satellite pulses interfere with reliability and performance. Thus, W. D. Fountain et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,156, Apr. 19, 1977 provides for a combination of active and passive loss modulators within the optical cavity wherein the mode locking function is controlled by an active electro-optical modulator. However this system does not adequately eliminate the generation of unwanted secondary pulses and introduces the complexities of active filters.
It is therefore an object of the present system to improve the reliability of the pulse reproduction of a mode-locked laser system by elimination of satellite pulsing, thereby assuring that the output pulses are of a predetermined intensity profile.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a reliable pulse producing laser system without reliance upon expensive and critical electro-optical active filters, or other expensive lens systems requiring special lenses critical in construction and limited to operation at particular wavelengths.
A general object of the invention is to provide a simplified low cost system that is not critical in operation and that will be reliable in reproducing consistently output pulses of a predetermined intensity profile.
A more specific object of the invention is to make a mode-locked Nd:glass laser system reliable from shot to shot in emitting consistent output pulses of predetermined characteristics.
Another object of the invention is to produce in a similar manner an improved Ruby laser system.

Stabilized pulse producing mode locked laser system

The Research Foundation of the City University of New York


A multi-motion lifting and transferring apparatus for assisting persons when entering and exiting a vehicle is disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, an apparatus in accordance with the present invention is realized as having an electrically actuated rotator for rotating a support member about a substantially vertical axis, an electrically actuated extension arm for moving the electrically actuated rotator and the support member along a plane having a vertical component, and an electrically actuated slide tray for moving the electrically actuated extension arm, the electrically actuated rotator, and the support member along a substantially horizontal plane.

Difficulties are often encountered when transferring disabled persons from one location to another. Particularly in the case of wheelchair-bound persons, it is often quite difficult to lift and transfer such persons to and from their wheelchair from and to, for example, a motor vehicle. One or more persons are usually required to assist the disabled person.
There have been some inventive efforts directed at alleviating the problems associated with transferring disabled persons from one location to another. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,924, Brigman et al. disclose a disabled person transfer device for transferring a disabled person from a wheelchair to a vehicle. Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,891, Reeve et al. disclose a hydraulically powered lift and transport apparatus for lifting and transporting wheelchair bound persons.
The aforementioned patents disclose devices which allow a disabled person to be lifted from a wheelchair or a bed and transferred to another location. However, the devices disclosed in both of these patents, as well as other known devices, have drawbacks in the areas of cost and complexity which could limit the potential mobility of a disabled individual. For instance, the disabled person transfer device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,924 requires extensive modifications to a vehicle as well as a modified wheelchair for use with the device. Also, the lift and transport apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,891 requires a remotely located hydraulic pump and 120 VAC current to power the various components of the apparatus. Similar drawbacks exist for other known lifting and transferring devices.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a lifting and transferring apparatus for assisting persons when entering and exiting a vehicle which overcomes the above-described inadequacies and shortcomings.

Multi-motion lifting and transferring apparatus and method


The DNA sequences encoding human and bovine acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors (FGF) can be recombinantly expressed to obtain practical amounts of proteins useful in effecting wound healing and related tissue repair.

The process of healing when tissue is subjected to trauma, such as wounding or burns, is an extremely complex one, but it is known to be mediated by a number of protein factors. These factors are essential to the growth and differentiation of the cells which serve to replace the tissue destroyed. A number of candidate factors have been identified on the basis of the ability of extracts from various tissues, such as brain, pituitary, and hypothalamus, to stimulate the mitosis of cultured cell lines. Numerous shorthand names have been applied to the active factors in these extracts, including platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), macrophage-derived growth factor (MDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), tumor anglogenesis factor (TAF), endothelial cell growth factor (ECGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), hypothalamus-derived growth factor (HDGF), retina-derived growth factor (RDGF), and heparin-binding growth factor (HGF). (See, for example, Hunt, T. K., J Trauma (1984) 24:S39-S49: Lobb, R. R., et al, Biochemistry (1984) 23:6295-6299).
Folkman, J., et al, Science (1983) 221:719-725, reported that one of the processes involved in wound, healing, the formation of blood vessels, is profoundly affected in tumors by heparin. From this and other studies, it is clear that heparin specifically binds to protein(s) associated with a number of these growth factor activities, and therefore heparin has been used as a purification tool. It has been shown that the affinity of growth factors for heparin is independent of overall ionic charge, since both positively and negatively charged factors are bound (Maciag, T., et al, Science (1984) 225:932-935: Shing, Y., et al, Science (1984) 223:1296-1299; Klagsbrun. M., et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) (1985) 82:805-809). The capacity to bind or not to bind to heparin is one measure of differentiation between the activities in the various extracts. For example, EGF and PDGF do not bind strongly to heparin; in fact, EGF does not bind to heparin at all. The other factors above do show strong heparin binding. However, it is believed that acidic brain FGF, ECGF, RDGF, and HGF-.alpha. are in fact the same factor. Similarly, it is also believed that pituitary FGF, cationic brain FGF, TAF, and HGF-.beta. are the same protein. (Lobb, R. R., et al (supra)). A summary and comparison of thirteen endothelial growth factors which have been purified using heparin affinity is found in Lobb; R., et al, J Biol Chem (1986) 261:1924-1928.
Using heparin affinity chromatography, basic fibroblast growth factors exhibiting a potent mitogenic activity for capillary endothelium have been isolated from rat chondrosarcoma (Shing, Y., et al, supra) and from bovine cartilage (Sullivan, R., et al, J Biol Chem (1985) 260:2399-2403). Thomas, K. A, et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) (1984) 81:357-361, U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,760, purified two heterogeneous forms of an acidic bovine brain fibroblast growth factor having molecular weights of 16,600 and 16,800 daltons. Gospodarowicz and collaborators showed the presence in both bovine brains and pituitaries of basic fibroblast growth factor activities and purified these proteins using heparin-affinity chromatography in combination with other purification techniques (Bohlen, P., et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) (1984) 81:5364-5368; Gospodarowicz, D., et al (ibid) 6963-6967). These factors also have molecular weights of approximately 16 kd, as does a similar factor isolated from human placenta (Gospodarowicz, D., et al, Biochem Biophys Res Comm (1985) 128:554-562).
The complete sequence for basic FGF derived from bovine pituitary has been determined (Esch, F., et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) (1985) 82: 6507-6511). Homogeneous preparations were obtained and showed potent mitogenic activity in in vitro assays with endothelial cells (basic FGF has an ED.sub.50 of 60 pg/ml).
Acidic FGF has an ED.sub.50 of about 6,000 pg/ml. An N-terminal sequence for acidic FGF derived from bovine brain tissue was determined by Bohlen, P., et al, EMBO J (1985) 4:1951-1956. Gimenez-Gallego, G, et al, determined the N-terminal sequences for both acidic and basic FGF prepared from human brain, and compared them to the bovine sequences (Biochem Biophys Res Comm (1986) 135:541-548). Their results are consistent with those disclosed herein. Also, the complete amino acid sequence of bovine brain-derived acidic FGF was determined from the isolated protein (Gimenez-Gallego, G, et al, Science (1985) 230:1385-1388; Esch, F, et al, Biochem Biophys Res Comm (1985) 133:554-562). These two determinations are in agreement with the exception of a single amino acid. Subsequent to much of the work herein, the complete amino acid sequence of human acidic FGF was deduced from the gene (Jaye, M., et al, in press).
The FGF proteins described above and other growth factors are clearly effective in promoting the healing of tissue subjected to trauma (see, e.g., Sporn, M. B., et al, Science (1983) 219:1329-1331; Davidson, J. M., et al, J.C.B. (1985) 100:1219-1227; Thomas, K. A., et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) (1985) 82:6409-6413). Davidson, et al, (supra) specifically discloses the efficacy of FGF in wound healing. The basic FGF native proteins have been alleged to be useful in treatment of myocardial infarction (Svet-Moldavsky, G. J., et al, Lancet (Apr. 23, 1977) 913; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,296,100 and 4,378,347). In addition, human basic FGF has been found to increase neuronal survival and neurite extension in fetal rat hippocampal neurons (Walicke, P., et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) (1986) 83:3012-3016), suggesting that this factor may also be useful in the treatment of degenerative neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
It would, therefore, be desirable to insure the availability of these FGF proteins in large quantities and in a form free from any toxic or infectious impurities. The human form of the protein is preferred, and perhaps required, for therapeutic use. Clearly practical availability cannot be achieved from natural human sources, as obtaining a pure preparation involves an approximately 35,000-fold purification. Even if human cadavers were otherwise a practical source, complete purification would be crucial due to the possibility of transmitting AIDS, hepatitis, or other disease. The recent experience with Creutzfeld-Jacob Syndrome (Powell-Jackson et al, Lancet (1985) ii:244-246) precludes the use of human pituitaries as a source. Therefore, recombinant techniques are particularly suitable to apply to the production of these proteins. The invention herein provides the means whereby acidic and basic FGF can be obtained in practical quantities and in pure, uncontaminated form.

Recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor


A microgyrometer for detecting a rotation about a first direction comprises a plate that is orthogonal to the first direction, suspended to a fixed frame and excited at its resonance frequency along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. A rotation about the first direction causes the plate to vibrate about a third direction orthogonal to the first two directions. The plate comprises teeth extending respectively along the second and third directions and engaging, without contact, in grooves integral with the frame. Each tooth carries lateral metallizations which constitute capacitors with facing metallizations of the grooves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to microgyrometers achieved from a structure vibrating along a first direction.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The principle on which microgyrometers are based is that, when the structure vibrating along a first direction is rotated about an axis orthogonal to the vibration direction, the vibrating structure tends to generate, due to the effect of the Coriolis acceleration, a vibration along a second direction, orthogonal to the first vibration direction and to the direction of the rotation axis. This induced vibration has an amplitude proportional to the rotation speed about the rotation axis.
It is clear that, to be adequately detected, the induced vibration should have a sufficient amplitude, i.e., the mass moving in vibration must be suspended so as to sufficiently vibrate in its plane along the first direction and along the orthogonal direction where the induced vibration is liable to occur. In addition, to prevent induced vibrations from occurring even in the absence of rotation, the natural resonance frequency along the first direction, at which the first vibration is excited, should be distinct from the natural vibration frequency along the orthogonal direction although these two frequencies should be close so as to obtain a vibration induced at the first frequency along the second direction when rotation occurs.
For the operation of the gyrometer, various actuators and sensors are associated with the vibrating mass preferably in the form of capacitors having one electrode formed on the vibrating mass and another electrode on a facing fixed surface. If x designates the first direction along which a vibration is generated and y designates the second direction along which an induced vibration should be detected, the following elements can be provided:
a first set of capacitors whose electrode plates are directed orthogonally to direction x, for drawing the vibrating mass in vibration at its natural frequency, (a piezoelectric excitation can also be used), PA1 a second set of capacitors whose electrode plates are directed orthogonally to direction x, for detecting and servo-controlling the vibration along axis x, PA1 a third set of capacitors whose electrode plates are directed orthogonally to direction y, for detecting the induced vibration, PA1 a fourth set of capacitors whose electrode plates are directed orthogonally to direction y, for servo-controlling and canceling an axis shift effect, and PA1 a fifth set of capacitors whose electrode plates are directed orthogonally to direction y, for ensuring a feedback enlarging the band width and stabilizing the gain.
It should be noted that at least some of these sets of capacitors should have a sufficient surface either to ensure a sufficiently efficient electrostatic excitation or a sufficiently sensitive detection.