A structure and method for reducing the effects of chip-package resonance in an integrated circuit assembly is described. A series RLC circuit is employed to reduce the output impedance of the power delivery system at the resonance frequency.

The electronic components of an integrated circuit chip, in order to operate properly, need to be supplied with a constant power voltage as defined by a specified tolerance range (e.g., 5%). Available regulated power supplies for integrated circuits may readily meet such a tolerance at DC frequencies. The components of a typical integrated circuit, however, include high-speed switches that transiently draw current at very high frequencies. As the operating frequency increases, the output impedance of the power delivery system increases due to inductance in the system, contributed primarily by conductors that connect the chip to a package structure in a completed integrated circuit assembly. Such increased output impedance can cause the voltage supplied to the chip to drop below tolerance. Decoupling capacitors, or decaps, may be added to the system in parallel with the inductance in order to reduce the output impedance. The decoupling capacitance added to the chip lowers the output impedance of the power delivery system at high frequencies because capacitor impedance is inversely proportional to frequency. Decaps, usually located on the chip near the current drawing components, store charge and give energy back to the chip components as needed which tends to hold the power supply voltage constant during high frequency operation. With decoupling capacitors, it is possible to make a low impedance power delivery system that meets a specified target impedance up to very high frequencies (e.g., several hundred Mhz).
As noted above, the power delivery system possesses both inductance, mainly due to the package connections, and capacitance, due to decaps as well as the inherent capacitance on the chip due to various components and structures. The inductance of the package, however, forms a parallel RLC circuit with the capacitance of the chip that resonates at the frequency f= 1/2 π(LC)1/2, where L is the equivalent series inductance of the system and C is the total capacitance on the chip between the voltage and ground nodes. The impedance of an inductance in parallel with a capacitance is maximized at the resonance frequency. At that frequency, the chip components therefore see a high output impedance from the power delivery system, usually much higher than the target impedance. The capacitance on the chip is not low enough in impedance and does not store enough charge to deliver the current needed by the chip components at the resonance frequency. The electronic components of the chip may then be starved for current, and the power supply voltage supplied to the chip can drop out of the specified tolerance range.

On-die anti-resonance structure for integrated circuit


A method for installing a compressed natural gas tank assembly in an automobile. The method includes connecting the tank assembly to an arm, rotating the tank assembly about an axis a predetermined angular amount, inserting the tank assembly into the automobile, and rotating the tank assembly about the axis in a second, opposite direction the predetermined amount. The tank assembly is disposed over a desired location in the automobile and placed in engagement with the desired location.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally pertains to automobiles having a compressed natural gas fuel supply and, more particularly, to a method for installing a compressed natural gas tank in an automobile.
2. Description of Related Art
One of the challenges encountered during assembly of a compressed natural gas automobile is the required installation of a CNG tank. In the past, installation of the tank was commonly a manual operation wherein one or more assemblers would physically lift and place the tank in the automobile. As can be appreciated, manual installation of the CNG tank is a time-consuming and labor intensive process which is not conducive to automated assembly lines. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost of such CNG automobiles was quite high, and not feasible for full scale production.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method to install a CNG tank into an automobile which may be incorporated into an automated assembly line and automated assembly processes. There also exists a need in the art for a support assembly for a CNG tank assembly which facilitates installation of the CNG tank assembly into an automobile.


A spinal orthosis includes a rear panel, and first and second belt members securing to the rear panel. The first and second belt members each define a first end secured to a first side of the rear panel and a second end having a foldable portion adapted to fold over a first surface of the first and second belt members and secure to the first surface to reduce a length of the first and second belt members. First and second front closures are secured to the second ends of the first and second belt members, respectively, and arranged for removably securing to one another to form a continuously circumferential loop with the rear panel and the first and second belt members. A kit or method may be provided for sizing the belt members with a sizing device for forming a predetermined distance between the first and second belt members.

A spinal orthosis or lumbar support is an orthopedic device designed for pain relief, protecting injured ligaments or muscles and post-surgical immobilization. A spinal orthosis is arranged to relieve pressure over the spinous processes while applying an even pressure to the paraspinal musculature to ensure comfortable and effective healing. Typical indications for spinal orthoses include spinal stenosis, herniated discs, post-surgical stabilization, stable and non-displaced spinal fractures, spondylolithesis, spondylolysis, and degenerative spinal pathologies.
In a known spinal orthosis in FIGS. 1-3, such as the exemplary spinal orthosis described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,172,779, granted on May 8, 2012 and incorporated by reference, the spinal orthosis has outer and inner side configurations 10A, 10B, with the inner side arranged to be adjacent the user's back. The orthosis has first and second belt members 12, 14, and a compression or closure system 16 adapted to exert pressure onto the lumbar region of a user's back. The compression or closure system 16 includes tightening elements or drawstrings 18 that permit the user to adjust pressure over the back and a cover 20 extending over the compression system 16.
A flexible or semi-rigid back plate 22 extends over at least part of the compression system 16, and is arranged to be adjacent the back of the user. The back plate 22 includes a posterior attachment system 24 for a rigid posterior panel 26, including a single hook and loop system connected at a single attachment point or flap 25 centered on the back plate 22. An anterior panel may be attached to the spinal orthosis at an anterior attachment system on one of the belts.
A requirement in a spinal orthosis is that they immobilize, at least in part, the torso, and stabilize the back. A factor in achieving this requirement is that the spinal orthosis is properly sized according to the anatomy of the user, and allows the user to effectively position and fasten the spinal orthosis.
It is desired to provide only a few spinal orthosis sizes. There is a need for a spinal orthosis that permits resizing of belt lengths to offer a "one-size-fits-all" spinal orthosis, including means, if necessary, to facilitate resizing of the spinal orthosis as a user undergoes size changes during rehabilitation.

Spinal orthosis, kit and method for using the same


A device may receive training spectral data associated with a manufacturing process that transitions from an unsteady state to a steady state. The device may generate, based on the training spectral data, a plurality of iterations of a support vector machine (SVM) classification model. The device may determine, based on the plurality of iterations of the SVM classification model, a plurality of predicted transition times associated with the manufacturing process. A predicted transition time, of the plurality of predicted transition times, may identify a time, during the manufacturing process, that a corresponding iteration of the SVM classification model predicts that the manufacturing process transitioned from the unsteady state to the steady state. The device may generate, based on the plurality of predicted transition times, a final SVM classification model associated with determining whether the manufacturing process has reached the steady state.

As part of implementing a manufacturing process (e.g., a continuous manufacturing process, a batch manufacturing process), a process analytical technology (PAT) system may be utilized to produce real-time or near real-time data (e.g., spectral data) that allows for monitoring and control of the manufacturing process. A continuous manufacturing process allows raw materials to be input into a system and a finished product (e.g., a pharmaceutical product) to be discharged from the system in a continuous fashion. In other words, in a continuous manufacturing process, individual steps of the manufacturing process are transformed to a single, integrated manufacturing process (e.g., rather than a series of discrete steps as with a batch manufacturing process)

Endpoint detection in manufacturing process by near infrared spectroscopy and machine learning techniques


A dry etching method enabling layers of a variety of silicon based materials, such as polysilicon layer, single crystal silicon layer, metal silicide layer or a polycide film, and an aluminum based material, to be etched anisotropically without the necessity of employing depositive CFC-based gases. The etching gas is selected from a variety of gases composed mainly of sulfur halogenides, such as S.sub.2 F.sub.2, S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 or S.sub.2 Br.sub.2. These sulfur halogenides yield halogen radicals as the etchant in the plasma, and a variety of ions assisting the radical reaction, while yielding free sulfur S, as a result of dissociation by electrical discharge. Free sulfur then is deposited on the sample wafer etched to display the effect of sidewall protection, while the wafer is controlled to a temperature lower than room temperature. According to the present invention, since sulfur yielded in the gaseous phase is used for sidewall protection, anisotropic processing becomes possible even with a system in which, by reason of the construction of the etching mask, the carbon based polymer derived from the resist material may not be expected to by yielded. The deposited sulfur may be easily removed by sublimation by proper heating the wafer after completion of etching.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dry etching method employed in the field of production of semiconductor devices. More particularly, it relates to a method for anisotropic etching of a layer of a material being etched without employing a CFC based gas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the design rule for the semiconductor devices becomes finer through the submicron level to the quarter micron level, various attempts have been made towards higher resolution and higher anisotropy in a variety of etching processes, such as etching a polysilicon layer, a refractor metal silicide layer or a polycide film for forming an electrode/interconnection layer or silicon trench etching for forming capacitors or isolation.
Heretofore, a gas system mainly consisting of a chlorofluorocarbon (mentioned as CFC hereinafter) based gas, such as CFC 113 (C.sub.2 Cl.sub.3 F.sub.3), has been used for etching layers of these materials. The reason is that, since the CFC-based gas contains both fluorine and chlorine atoms in the molecule, the etching reaction may proceed effectively under both the radical mode and the ion mode, and that, since the carbonaceous compound produced from the CFC-based gas into the gaseous phase is deposited on the etching surface in the form of a carbonaceous polymer, high anisotropy may be achieved simultaneously with sidewall protection.
With a system in which the ion sputtering action can be expected, the layer of the resist material may become a carbon source for forming the carbonaceous polymer.
In contrast to the above attempts towards realizing high anisotropy by acting on the etching gas composition or etching conditions, a so-called low-temperature etching method, according to which etching is carried out while the sample wafer is cooled to a temperature not higher than 0.degree. C., is recently attracting attention. The low temperature etching method is a technique in which, as reported for example in Proceedings of Dry Process symposium, 1988, pages 42 to 49, the sample wafer is maintained at a lower temperature for suppressing the radical reaction in the sidewall section, while the etch rate along the depth is maintained by the ion assist effect, thereby preventing shape defects, such as side etching.
However, the process employing the CFC based gases suffer from various inconveniences.
First, the CFC based gases are responsible for destruction of the ozone layer of the earth and the tendency towards the unusually high atmospheric temperature. Since manufacture and use of the CFC-based gases will be prohibited in the near future, it has become incumbent in the field of dry etching to develop a substitute etching gas and a technology of using the gas.
Second, as the design rule for the semiconductor device is expected to be finer in future, it is feared that more serious consequences may be produced as a result of contamination by a carbonaceous polymer particle derived from the CFC-based gas.
It has also been reported that the carbon contained in the CFC base gas is capable of reducing selectivity of silicon oxide to silicon. If this should occur actually, serious consequences may be produced due to the lowering of the selectivity when etching the polysilicon layer on a thin gate oxide film.
In light of the above, it has been strongly desired not to make use of the CFC based gas.
As long as low temperature etching is concerned, it is usually a process in need of cooling to about -100.degree. C. Since a cooling system capable of developing a high cooling capacity is required, the etching system is increased in size and production costs. On the other hand, the throughput of the etching process is lowered due to the prolonged wafer cooling, and prolonged wafer heating before exposure to the air for preventing dewing. Thus a demand has been raised for a process which may be carried out at a temperature closer to the room temperature.
In addition, when an etching mask is formed by the multi-layer resist process, there is also raised a problem that the sidewall protection film derived from the resist material can hardly be produced. For example, in a three-layer resist process in which a thicker lower resist layer, an intermediate silicon oxide film and a thin upper resist layer are formed step by step, the upper resist layer is patterned by photolithography, the intermediate film is patterned, with the upper resist layer as the mask, and the lower resist layer is etched, with at least the intermediate film as the mask. If the upper resist layer is removed by sputtering during etching of the lower resist layer to expose the intermediate film, there exists no resist material as the source of the carbonaceous polymer on the surface on which ions fall vertically, so that the sidewall protection film cannot be formed. Since the sidewall protection is necessary for suppressing the spontaneous reaction of chlorine and aluminum in the case of, above all, the etching process for etching the layer of the aluminum based material by the chlorine based gas, it becomes impossible with the conventional gas system to realize anisotropic etching of the layer of the aluminum material by the multi-layer resist process.


An inkjet recording apparatus includes a feeding-side motor, an inkjet recording unit, a winding-side motor, a feeding-side roll-diameter measuring unit, a winding-side roll-diameter measuring unit, and a motor drive controller. Based on a relationship between motor rotating speeds and roll diameters under conveyance of the recording medium at a specified conveyance speed, the motor drive controller determines a first rotating speed corresponding to a feeding-side roll diameter measured by the feeding-side roll-diameter measuring unit and moreover determines a second rotating speed corresponding to a winding-side roll diameter measured by the winding-side roll-diameter measuring unit to drive the feeding-side motor at the first rotating speed and moreover drive the winding-side motor at the second rotating speed.

The present disclosure relates to an inkjet recording apparatus and an inkjet recording method.
Conventionally, there has been proposed an inkjet recording apparatus which, with use of roll media having a recording medium wound in roll shape, ejects ink onto the recording medium to record images. In this type of inkjet recording apparatus, the roll media is rotated by rotation of a motor to feed out the recording medium from the roll media, then ejecting ink onto the recording medium to record an image thereon. The recording medium with the image recorded thereon is wound up again into roll shape. Hereinafter, an already-recorded recording medium wound up into roll shape will be referred to also as 'recorded media.'
Now, with a constant rotating speed of the motor assumed, the larger the roll diameter of the roll media is, the more the feed quantity (conveyance quantity) per unit time of the recording medium fed out from the roll media increases; and, conversely, the smaller the roll diameter is, the more the feed quantity per unit time of the recording medium decreases. Variations of the feed quantity of the recording medium leads to disorder of the image to be recorded on the recording medium by ink ejection. Therefore, it becomes necessary to reduce (correct) variations of the feed quantity.
Among techniques for correcting the feed quantity of the recording medium, for example, the following technique is known. That is, with regard to a sheet of paper fed out from roll media, a feed quantity of the sheet is acquired by detecting, with an encoder, a rotation quantity of a roller that conveys the sheet. Then, sheet remaining-quantity information is generated based on the acquired feed quantity of the sheet, and an objective conveyance quantity of the sheet is corrected by a correction quantity corresponding to the sheet remaining-quantity.
Upon an end of image recording by the ink ejection onto the recording medium, the used roll media is decoupled from the recorded media, and replaced with other roll media of a different type (e.g., in thickness or width of recording medium). Then, image recording by ink ejection is performed again onto the recording medium fed out from the after-replacement roll media.
In this aspect, in the case of brand-new roll media as an example, its roll diameter (remaining quantity of recording medium) is knowable beforehand by indication from the manufacturer. Therefore, when brand-new l media is used as above-mentioned other roll media, a remaining quantity of the recording medium after use can be estimated from a roll diameter or remaining quantity of the roll media at the beginning (before use) and a feed quantity of the recording medium during the use. Accordingly, in this case, it is implementable, as in the above-described technique, to correct an objective conveyance quantity of the recording medium with a correction quantity responsive to the remaining quantity.
In another case, with regard to roll media (used media) that has formerly been used halfway as an example, a former-use quantity of the recording medium is unknown and so its roll diameter is unknown. Therefore, in cases where image recording by ink ejection is performed by replacing roll media with used media, an after-use remaining quantity of the recording medium cannot be estimated. Thus, it is impracticable to correct an objective conveyance quantity of the recording medium by a correction quantity responsive to the remaining quantity.

Inkjet recording apparatus and inkjet recording method


Systems and methods are described for providing connectivity to portable electronic devices, such as a cordless telephone, for the purpose of upgrading software features. In a preferred embodiment, portable electronic devices can be connected to a conventional household audio player via an audio input/out interface in the device to receive encoded data signals modulated in an audio band. The audio player can playback an audio signal stored in any of several different formats, including compact disc, audio cassette tape, MP3 file, or streaming audio, and can be physically connected an audio jack in the portable electronic device via a conventional audio cable. The device demodulates and decodes the signal and routes the transmitted data to memory registers for upgrading software stored in device memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to programmable electronic devices, and more particularly to methods for transferring data to update or program features in an electronic device.
2. Background of the Invention
A well-known strategy for maintaining demand for new consumer items, known as "planned obsolescence," is to continually design new consumer products with incremental technological improvements, such that consumers will wish to replace a consumer product with a new model every year or few years. With each year, new models for portable electronic devices become available with more memory, faster speed, and new or different features as compared to existing models. The rush of new product offerings has been particularly dramatic in the telephone industry, and especially for mobile cellular and cordless telephones. In addition to the standard functionality for placing telephone calls, modern telephones now include calling logs and telephone directories, and allow users to adjust ring volume and tone, among many other features. As one might expect, new telephone models are released each year with improved software for better features and functionality as compared with last year's telephones.
Although the strategy of planned obsolescence is effective for some consumer goods, in many circumstances it is more advantageous for companies to produce electronic devices that are programmable/upgradeable. This is popular with many consumers, who will opt to purchase a slightly higher cost item if it does not need to be replaced as frequently. Additionally, companies can earn revenue by selling software upgrades/updates, and can correct software bugs and perform other warranted repairs more easily and cost-effectively. Therefore, by producing electronic devices that are upgradeable, companies often can foster consumer goodwill and loyalty while still maintaining or improving profit margins.
By designing electronic devices to be upgradeable, manufacturers can also offer "after-market" software that enables users to customize the product. For instance, cordless telephones are now becoming available that enable users to adjust ring tone and graphics displays, and otherwise personalize the user interface. Users can make selections from lists of options stored in telephone memory to customize the telephone to the respective user's preferences. Since many consumers may be willing to purchase selections different from the standard offerings (there are an infinite number of possible ring tones) if they were made available, a market is created for software upgrades for cordless phones.
Unfortunately, the designs and operability of many types of portable electronic consumer devices renders it difficult to include functionality for upgrades. For example, once a digital device such as a cordless telephone is released into the consumer market, it becomes very difficult to upgrade or update the telephone with new software or firmware. One obvious method for upgrading a telephone is to manually disassemble the telephone and replace the processor or memory, or temporarily remove the memory from the telephone to add new software. Of course, this method is not practical for the vast majority of consumers, who are unlikely to have the skills necessary to perform such tasks.
Even if a portable electronic device can be especially designed to enable software updates, this might not be cost effective if the benefits from including this functionality are outweighed by the associated additional costs of design and manufacture. Adding functionality to an electronic device may involve additional computer architecture design, software programming, parts and components, which can be expensive. Further, regardless of the development costs, consumers will not utilize such a feature unless the steps that are necessary to update the device are relatively uncomplicated and easy to be performed. Since many portable electronic devices, such as cellular or cordless telephones, have somewhat small GUI displays with limited interfaces, this can be particularly challenging. Finally, the additional components that are necessary to enable the device to be upgraded must not overwhelm the existing physical size of the device or the spacing of other components within the device. Since, for example, cellular and cordless telephones are designed to be lightweight and comfortably hand-held, the weight and size associated with every component is always an important design consideration.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system for transferring data to a portable electronic device to facilitate updating and upgrading the functionality of the device, and which is relatively easy to use and does not significantly contribute to the cost, size and weight of the device.

Method and system for transferring data for upgrading features in portable electronic devices


A flameless combustion oven arranges gas and air jets to directly impinge on the product being heated to substantially promote transfer of heat to the product by impingement transfer rather than by conventional radiation and thermally induced convection. In one embodiment, a set of spaced air and gas nozzles are uniformly distributed on a wall of the oven opposite the product to provide substantially uniform impingement over a surface of the product.

The present invention relates generally to industrial ovens or furnaces for use in heating materials and in particular to an improved flameless combustion oven.
Industrial ovens are used for a wide range of heating applications including but not limited to heat treating and melting materials. Such ovens may provide an insulated compartment providing a volume heated by one or more burners mixing air and a fuel (for example, natural gas) to provide for a flame directly or indirectly heating the air of the volume. The flame produced by such burners provides a highly variable combustion environment defined in part by a flame front producing high temperatures believed to promote the formation of nitrous oxide pollutants.
It is known that combustion can occur without a flame. Such combustion is termed "flameless" combustion and is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,599 hereby incorporated by reference. In flameless combustion, combustion is distributed throughout the oven compartment largely eliminating temperature spikes and substantially decreasing formation of nitrous oxide pollutants. Flameless combustion can provide more uniform temperature distribution and permit operation with a wider variety of fuels because flame stability is not required among other benefits.
In such flameless combustion ovens, one or more conventional burners may be positioned to direct mixed fuel and air into the oven cavity which may be ignited in the manner of a conventional burner. Heat from the combustion is used to preheat the air and gas which may be further adjusted to achieve the condition of flameless combustion.


A multipath light test device for a time of flight (TOF) module includes: a light-splitting plate configured to split light emitted from the TOF module; a first reflector plate connected to the light-splitting plate and forming a first angle with the light-splitting plate; and a second reflector plate disposed on one side opposite to the first reflector plate and forming a second angle with the first reflector plate; one part of the emitted light from the TOF module is returned to the TOF module along a first optical path after being reflected by the light-splitting plate with a first reflectivity; and the other part of the emitted light from the TOF module is transmitted through the light-splitting plate and incident to the first reflector plate and then returned to the TOF module along a second optical path.

3D imaging technologies are getting more and more attention. Compared with 2D imaging, 3D imaging needs to further obtain depth values of an object. The depth value of the object can be obtained through a time of flight (TOF) module. Working principle of the TOF module can be as follows: light pulse is continuously sent to a target, and then the TOF module is utilized to receive light returned from the target such that the distance between the target and the TOF module is obtained by detecting the time of flight of the light pulses, and then the depth value of the target is obtained.

Multipath light test device for TOF module, depth error measuring method and system

BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO., LTD.


A knockdown bed is formed of a first bed frame and a second bed frame. The first bed frame includes a top side, a bottom side, and an insertion member. The insertion member has an insertion end, a fixed end connected with the bottom side, two lateral sides, and two abutment surfaces connected with the two lateral sides. The two abutment surfaces gradually approach each other from the fixed end to the insertion end. The second bed frame includes a top side, a bottom side, and a slot member adjacent to the first bed frame. The slot member is formed of two sidewalls, two abutment walls connected with the two sidewalls, and a slot, into which the insertion member can be inserted to interconnect the first and second bed frames. In this way, the knockdown bed can be easily assembled and structurally firm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a knockdown bed and more particularly, to a highly convenient and highly stable knockdown bed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most of the conventional beds are one-piece and large and heavy, especially the power-assisted beds containing built-in electric motors, so it is difficult to move such beds. Besides, the doors of the contemporary apartments are relatively narrower and smaller, so it may even need to entrust the mover with moving the beds into the house through French windows by means of the crane. If a user does not need to use the bed for the time being, it will be a problem for him or her to keep it for storage. For this reason, a knockdown bed was invented. The parts of the general knockdown bed are connected by means of screw holes and bolts. However, after the knockdown bed is used for a long time, the screw holes and the bolts are subject to disengagement from each other. In addition, while it is intended to dismantle the bed, a tool is needed, so it is not only time-consuming but inconvenient for the user to do it.


A transport and storage container for liquids has a support frame of electrically conducting metal or plastic material. An inner plastic container is positioned on the support frame and has an electrically conducting exterior layer for electrically grounding the outer surface of the inner container. The inner container has an outlet socket with an electrically conducting outer layer arranged near the bottom. The outlet socket is formed as a unitary part of the inner container and has an outer cylindrical end drawn inwardly to form an inner ring with an annular electrically conducting inner layer that is in contact with liquid in the inner container for electrically grounding the interior of the inner container. The electrically conducting inner and outer layers of the outlet socket and the external container layer form a homogenous electrically conducting layer providing inner and outer electric grounding.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a transport and storage container for liquids, comprising: a pallet-shaped support frame of electrically conducting metal or of an electrically conducting plastic material; an exchangeable single-layer or multi-layer inner container of plastic material positioned on the support frame and having an electrically conducting outer layer for electrically grounding the outer surface of the container, wherein the inner container is configured as a parallelepipedal or cubic container having four sidewalls, a bottom and a top wall, a closable filling socket at the top wall, and an outlet socket that is arranged in one of the sidewalls in the area of the bottom and is designed to receive a tap fixture; and an outer jacket that surrounds the inner container and is made of metallic bars forming a wire mesh or of sheet metal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A transport and storage container for liquids of this kind is disclosed in German patent application DE 101 24 681 A1. It is provided with electric grounding of the inner plastic container, wherein the electric grounding comprises an electrically conducting area that extends as a unitary part from the inner side to the outer side of the inner container. The inner plastic container has an electrically conducting external layer that serves, together with the outer jacket comprised of metallic bars forming a mesh or sheet metal and the metallic support frame, as an outer electric grounding in order to prevent electrostatic charging of the surface of the inner plastic container caused by friction during transport and handling of the container.
For electrically grounding the interior (filling space) of the inner plastic container, the tap fixture of the container is used that is embodied as a slide valve and is fastened by means of a spigot nut on the outlet socket of the inner container; its inlet projects into the interior. The slide valve housing has an inner paint coat and an outer paint coat comprising electrically conducting polymers. Electric charges that occur by liquid friction on the inner surface of the container and within the liquid itself during filling and emptying of the inner container and during stirring of liquid within the inner container, for example, for mixing purposes, are dissipated via the slide valve housing, the spigot nut that is manufactured of electrically conducting material, the external layer of the inner container, the outer jacket of the transport and storage container, and the pallet-shaped support frame.
The permanent antistatic configuration of the tap fixture of the inner container that is required for the inner electric grounding of the inner container of the transport and storage container causes the manufacturing costs of the container to become more expensive.
German patent application DE 197 31 518 A1 discloses a transport and storage container for liquids that is electrically grounded by a mesh cover that is placed onto the inner plastic container or an electrically conducting net or mesh applied to the inner container. As a result of this external grounding, only those electrical charges present on the container surface are dissipated. Moreover, the electrical grounding of the liquid container by means of a mesh cover, a net or a mesh is technically complex and results in a corresponding increase of the manufacturing costs.
In a transport and storage container for liquids disclosed in German patent application DE 198 15 082 A1, the tap fixture connected to the outlet socket of the inner container is provided with a grounding element that is formed as a curved sheet metal or plate made of metal that extends across a partial area of the inner bore of the tap fixture and is connected by means of a fastening screw and a ground wire to the support frame of the container. By means of the internal grounding only the electrical charges that are produced by liquid friction within the liquid are dissipated. Moreover, in this liquid container there is the risk that during transport and storage of aggressive liquids the grounding element will become damaged by liquid to such an extent that the electrical grounding action is no longer functional.

Transport and storage container for liquids


An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for measuring magnetoresistive head assembly resistance. A measurement module measures a reference voltage across a reference resistance while applying a reference current to the reference resistance. In addition, the measurement module measures a test voltage across a first biasing resistor, a MR head assembly, and a second biasing resistor connected in series while applying the reference current to the first biasing resistor, the MR head assembly, and the second biasing resistor. A computation module calculates the MR head assembly resistance from the reference voltage, the test voltage, the reference resistance, and the resistances of the first and second biasing resistors.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to measuring magnetoresistive ("MR") head resistance and more particularly relates to measuring the MR head resistance using a constant reference current.
2. Description of the Related Art
A magnetic data storage device such as a magnetic tape drive, hard disk drive, and the like often employs a MR head to record data to or read data from a magnetic media such a magnetic tape, a hard disk, and the like. The magnetic data storage device typically employs at least one MR head to read data and at least one head to write data.
A write head writes data to the magnetic media by creating a magnetic field in response to an electronic signal. The magnetic field varies in response to changes in the strength and polarity of the electronic signal. In addition, the varying magnetic field modifies the magnetic polarization of the magnetic media in a region of the magnetic media adjacent to the write head. Thus by encoding data as changes of strength and polarity in the electronic signal, the write head encodes the data as magnetic polarities on the magnetic media as the write head moves relative to the magnetic media.
A read MR head reads data from the magnetic media by creating an electronic signal as induced by the change of magnetic polarities between the various regions of the magnetic media as the read MR head moves relative to magnetic media. Because the data was written to the magnetic media as changes in magnetic polarity, the electronic signal from the read MR head may be decoded to retrieve the data from the magnetic media.
The performance of the MR head is highly sensitive to the electrical characteristics of the MR head. In particularly, a manufacturer must know the electrical resistance of an MR read head. In the past, the resistance of the MR head has been measured by applying known reference current to the MR head, measuring a voltage across the MR head, and calculating the resistance from the reference current and the voltage. Unfortunately, the reference current used to measure the resistance is often not known with sufficient precision or accuracy, reducing the precision and accuracy of the calculated resistance.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method that measure MR head resistance independent of any measurement of the reference current. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system, and method would more precisely and accurately measure the resistance of the MR head.

Apparatus, system, and method for measuring magnetoresistive head resistance

International Business Machines Corporation


A coil component includes a body having both end surfaces opposing each other in a length direction; a support substrate disposed in the body; a coil portion disposed on the support substrate in a width direction of the body, and including first and second lead-out portions each exposed to a first surface and a second surface of the body opposing each other in a thickness direction of the body, respectively, and disposed on the support substrate; and first and second external electrodes disposed on the first surface of the body, spaced apart from each other, and connected to one ends of the first and second lead-out portions exposed to the first surface of the body, respectively.

An inductor, a coil component, is a representative passive electronic component used in electronic devices together with a resistor and a capacitor.
As an electronic device has been designed to have high performance and a reduced size, the number of coil components used in an electronic device has been increased, and the sizes of coil components have been reduced.
Even when a coil component has a reduced size, to secure properties of a coil component, such as inductance and a quality factor, it may be necessary to secure volumes of a magnetic material and a coil portion.
Further, it may be necessary to improve heat dissipation properties in terms of properties of a coil component.


A fan nose cone is disclosed for impeding icing and recovering momentum in a gas turbine engine. The fan nose cone comprises: an axially symmetric shell having a convex external surface and an internal surface, the shell having an opening in a forward end of the shell for communication with a source of heated pressurized air; and an axially symmetric deflector disposed forward of the opening, the deflector being configured to direct heated pressurized air exiting from the opening radially outwardly to flow in a downstream direction over the convex external surface of the shell during operation. The shell of the fan nose cone may have a rearward circumferential vent in communication with the source of heated pressurized air for directing heated pressurized from the vent in a radially outward and downstream direction toward the fan blade platforms.

An ice build-up on the outer surface of a fan nose cone of a gas turbine engine can occur when an air flow containing moisture or precipitation encounters the fan nose cone under appropriate conditions. For example, ice can form when the air pressure, humidity, air flow temperature and temperature of the fan nose cone are within a specific range. Ice can accumulate in layers on the fan nose cone and then can be dislodged by air flow and motion. Hard ice particles flowing into the engine can cause foreign object impact damage to blades and ducts.
Some prior art systems to prevent ice build-up include the use of heated liquids and gases passing through channels in the fan nose cone. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,015,789 to Brand et al and in U.S. Pat. No. 8,210,825 to Jensen et al.

Anti-icing apparatus for a nose cone of a gas turbine engine


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device using a ferroelectric memory includes memory cells having two ferroelectric capacitors and two MOS transistors. The memory device includes a switching circuit that reverses the polarity, or sign, of data when previously-read data is written back into the memory cell. A toggle bit memory stores a toggle bit representing the sign of the data that was switched by the switching circuit. The semiconductor memory device has a resetting circuit that returns the reversed-sign data to its normal state using the switching circuit, based on the data read from the memory cell and the toggle bit read from the toggle bit memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device that uses a thin ferroelectric film and more particularly to a 2T/2C type ferroelectric memory wherein one memory cell comprises two ferroelectric capacitors and two MOS transistors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAM) which use ferroelectric materials carry out nonvolatile storage in the direction of the remnant polarization of ferroelectric capacitors. For a 2T/2C type ferroelectric memory, one memory cell comprises two ferroelectric capacitors and two MOS transistors. This memory stores information of 1 bit by means of polarizing the two ferroelectric capacitors in directions opposite to each other.
For example, FIG. 7 shows the composition of a 2T/2C type ferroelectric memory disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,664 and Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication A-63-201998.
This conventional ferroelectric memory has bit line pairs comprising positive bit lines 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2, . . . and negative bit lines 3.sub.1, 3.sub.2, . . . , memory cells (MC) 10 arranged in an array shape at the intersection between word lines 1.sub.1 to 1.sub.n, pre-charge circuits 9 one being disposed at each bit line pair, sense amps 8 one being disposed at each bit line pair, a Y-switch circuit 7 that selectively connects the bit line pairs and data line pairs 16.sub.1, 16.sub.2, . . . , data amps (DA) 13.sub.1, 13.sub.2, . . . equal in number to the data line pairs 16.sub.1, 16.sub.2, . . . , and write buffers (WB) 14.sub.1, 14.sub.2, . . . equal in number to the data line pairs 16.sub.1, 16.sub.2, . . .
The memory cells 10 are arranged on the same word lines 11 to 1.sub.n. The memory cells 10 which are arranged on the same word lines 1.sub.1 to 1.sub.n comprise one word that forms a read and write access unit of storage data.
The latch type sense amp 8 amplifies a minute potential difference between two lines of respective pairs and the line exhibiting a lower potential is set to 0V and the line exhibiting a higher potential, to VCC. Therefore, the sense amp activation signal 12 changes to the power supply voltage (VCC) from 0V.
Bit line pairs that comprise one word are selectively connected to the data line pairs such as 16.sub.1, 16.sub.2, . . . through the Y-switch circuit 7. This data line pair 16.sub.1, 16.sub.2 includes two data lines, positive and negative, which correspond to the bits which comprise the word on a one-to-one basis.
The Y-switch circuit 7 connects the designated bit line pair and data line pair only during the period when a Y-switch activation signal 19 is at the VCC level. On each of data line pairs are connected a complementary input of data amps 13.sub.1, 13.sub.2, . . . and a complementary output of write buffers 14.sub.1, 14.sub.2, . . .
The data amps 13.sub.1, 13.sub.2, . . . amplify each data appearing on the data line pairs and then externally output the data as output data 28.sub.1, 28.sub.2, . . .
The write buffers 14.sub.1, 14.sub.2, . . . output input data 29.sub.1, 29.sub.2, . . . supplied from an external source to the data line pairs 16.sub.1, 16.sub.2, . . . during the period when a write activation signal 17 is VCC. In particular, when the Y-switch circuit 7 is active and the sense amps 8 are active, the data that was output to the data line pairs 16.sub.1, 16.sub.2, . . . is output to the sense amps 8 which are connected through the Y-switch circuit 7.
Referring to FIG. 8, the memory cell 10 is comprised by two ferroelectric capacitors 22, 23 and two N-channel MOS transistors 20, 21.
Hereafter, the memory cell 10 disposed at the intersection of the word line 11 and the bit line pair that comprises and the positive bit line 2.sub.1 the negative bit line 3.sub.1 will be described.
One electrode of the ferroelectric capacitors 22, 23 is connected to the positive bit line 21 or the negative bit line 3.sub.1 through N-channel MOS transistor 20, 21. The other electrode is connected to a plate line 4. Further, the gates of the two transistors 20, 21 are connected to the word line 1.sub.1.
Referring to FIG. 9, a pre-charge circuit 9 comprises N-channel MOS transistors 24, 25. Because this circuit 9 pre-charges the bit line pair to 0V, while the read and write of the data is not carried out in standby, a bit line pre-charge signal 11 is VCC.
Next, the read operation of this conventional ferroelectric memory will be described. At first, the bit line pre-charge signal 11 falls from VCC to 0V then the bit line pair floats at 0V. Next, the word line 11 is at VCC. Then, when the plate line 4 rises from 0V to VCC, a voltage is applied to the ferroelectric capacitors 22, 23 of all the memory cells 10 selected on the word line. This voltage reverses the polarization of one of the ferroelectric capacitors and then by means of supplying a large amount of charge from the ferroelectric capacitors, the voltage of the connected bit lines becomes higher. Thus, because the other ferroelectric capacitor does not reverse its polarization, the voltage of the connected bit lines becomes lower in comparison to the bit line of the opposite side.
Hereafter, in order to simplify the description, the positive bit line (negative bit line) exhibits a higher voltage compared to the negative bit line (positive bit line). In this way, the difference in the voltage that appears on the positive and negative bit lines is amplified by the sense amps 8. By means of this action, the positive bit line (negative bit line) that exhibits a high voltage is VCC and the negative bit line (positive bit line) that exhibits a low voltage is 0V.
Thereafter, the bit line pair (2.sub.1, 3.sub.1) connects to a data line pair 16.sub.1 through the Y-switch circuit 7 at a timing wherein the Y-switch circuit activation signal 19 is active. Finally, the signal that appears on the data line pair 16.sub.1 is amplified by data amp 13.sub.1 and outputs as output data 28.sub.1. Hereupon, because the positive bit line (negative bit line) is at a high voltage, the output data is "1" ("0").
After the data is read, both of the two ferroelectric capacitors 22, 23 are at a high voltage on the plate line 4 side. Because of this, if the voltage on both side is left as is at 0V, the direction of the remnant polarization lines up. In order to read the same data at the next access, it is necessary to write back the data twice. In this conventional ferroelectric memory, the write back is carried out as follows.
At first, with the sense amps 8 in an active state, the plate line 4 falls from VCC to 0V. Next, the sense amps 8 enter an inactive state, the bit line pre-charge signal 11 rises from 0V to VCC and both bit lines are 0V. Lastly, with the word line at 0V, the ferroelectric capacitors 22, 23 separate from the bit line. Before the ferroelectric capacitor that did not reverse its polarization during the read lowers the voltage of the plate line 4, 0V is applied to the bit line side and VCC is applied to the plate line 4 side. When this ferroelectric capacitor lowers the plate line to 0V, both sides become 0V and as shown in FIG. 10, the remnant polarization is maintained at point B in the Q-V plane.
In contrast, when the ferroelectric capacitor that reversed its polarization during the read lowers the voltage of the plate line 4, VCC is applied to the bit line side and 0V is applied to the plate line 4 side. When this ferroelectric capacitor lowers the bit line to 0V, both sides become 0V and as shown in FIG. 10, the remnant polarization is maintained at point A in the Q-V plane. In this ferroelectric memory, the polarization reversal occurs one time due to the write back. By means of this write back operation, reading of the same data is ensured even during a subsequent read.
Regretfully, in this conventional example, an imbalance exists in which the polarization reversal occurs two times in one of the ferroelectric capacitors per each access through the above-mentioned read/write back and in the other ferroelectric capacitor the polarization reversal does not occur. FIG. 11 (a) shows the plot the ferroelectric capacitor follows in the Q-V plane when the polarization reversal occurs two times and FIG. 11(b) shows the plot the ferroelectric capacitor follows in the Q-V plane when the polarization reversal does not occur. In this way, when repeatedly reading data in a conventional 2T/2C type ferroelectric memory, one of the ferroelectric capacitors will repeatedly reverse its polarization. Moreover, a voltage pulse of one direction will be repeatedly applied to the other ferroelectric capacitor.
Next, the write operation of this conventional ferroelectric memory will be described.
Hereafter, a case when writing input data 29.sub.1 to the memory 10 disposed at the intersection between the word line 1.sub.1 and the bit line pair that comprises the positive bit line 2.sub.1 and the negative bit line 3.sub.1 will be described.
During the write operation in the ferroelectric memory, input data 29.sub.1 supplied from an external source is written to a random word. Because ferroelectric memory is a destructive read type memory, the storage data of the memory cell 10 that shares the memory cell 10 to be written to and the word line 1.sub.1 must be protected. Therefore, at first, the storage data of the memory cell 10 on the word line 11 is amplified and latched by the sense amps 8 using a procedure identical to the previously described read operation.
Next, the Y-switch circuit 7 is made active in a state wherein the input data 29.sub.1 is output to the data line pair 16.sub.1 by means of the write buffer 14.sub.1. At this time, the bit line pair (2.sub.1, 3.sub.1) selectively connect to the data line pair 16.sub.1 by means of the Y-switch circuit 7. This connection latches the input data 29.sub.1 to the sense amp 8 connected to the bit line pair (2.sub.1, 3.sub.1) without disturbing the data of the other sense amps 8. Thereafter, the plate line 4 falls, a pre-charge of the bit line to 0V occurs, and the word line 11 falls using a procedure identical to the previously described write back.
Generally, it is known that a ferroelectric capacitor reduces the remnant polarization following the number of times the polarization reversal repeats. This phenomenon is called fatigue. In a ferroelectric memory, if the remnant polarization reduces, the signal voltage output to the bit line during a read will also be reduced. Further, if the bit line signal voltage output to the bit line is made to fall below the input offset voltage of the sense amps then the function as a ferroelectric memory will normally be lost.
When repeatedly reading the same data in the above-mentioned conventional ferroelectric memory, there was a problem in which fatigue would appear concentrated in one of the ferroelectric capacitors with this concentration of fatigue determining the lifespan of the entire ferroelectric memory.

Ferroelectric memory device having fatigue averaging


There is disclosed an image searching apparatus capable of searching an image stored in a memory medium, corresponding to a search image, selected from the plural search images registered in advance. The apparatus can generate a synthesized image, including the registered search images, together with marking areas, to be marked by the operator for selecting the search image, and prints the synthesized as a marking sheet which is to be marked by the operator and then read by the apparatus again, whereby the apparatus effects the image search, based on the marking provided on the marking sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image searching apparatus for searching an image stored in a memory medium.
2. Related Background Art
Recently, there are often utilized the image filing apparatus which is designed to read the image of an original document and to store the image, for example, in the magneto-optical disk. In such image filing apparatus, an index word is given in advance to the image to be stored, and the search of the stored images is achieved by the entry of the index word by the operator through the keyboard.
In other image filing apparatus, an index image is used, instead of the index word, for image search. In such apparatus, at the reading and storage of the image of the original document, the operator sets an index image, serving as the index for the image, for example, by means of the keyboard.
However, the work of attaching such index word or index image is cumbersome for the operator, and the image storing operation has been extremely time consuming for this reason.


When a zeolite additive composition of a medium-pore zeolite with a Constraint Index from about 1 to about 12 and a silica to alumina mole ratio greater than about 12 is added to a conventional cracking catalyst dispersed in an inorganic matrix, the octane will be improved, but there will be a yield loss in the amount of gasoline produced. An improvement in that catalyst system is obtained by partially exchanging the medium-pore zeolite additive with cations from one or more elements of Group IA, Group IIA or Group IIIA of the Periodic Table. The octane number of the gasoline-range product of an FCC process is still improved while the amount of the gasoline yield loss typically observed for such octane-enhancing additives is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved zeolite-containing catalyst used for cracking hydrocarbon feedstocks in the absence of external hydrogen pressure.
2. Description of the Previously Published Art
For many years, cracking catalysts employing some form of faujasite type Y zeolite have been used to produce gasoline in the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process. Catalysts employing said zeolite in a matrix are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,140,249, 3,352,796, 3,647,718, 4,581,341 and 4,493,902. Recently, several disclosures have appeared which use mixtures of zeolite Y with other components to improve the octane of the resulting gasoline-range product. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,758,403, 3,894,931, 3,894,933, 4,289,606, 4,309,279, 4,309,280 and 4,368,114 disclose the use of zeolite Y admixed with zeolite ZSM-5 in the FCC catalyst particle or the use of a mixture of two FCC catalysts, one a conventional cracking catalyst using Y and the other using ZSM-5, or the use of a conventional FCC catalyst with finely powdered ZSM-5 added to the charge stock to make higher octane gasoline. U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,152 discloses the use of catalysts composed of a mixture of Y and Mordenite. U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,292 discloses the use of catalysts composed of a mixture of zeolite Beta with a conventional zeolite Y cracking catalyst and European Patent No. 350,331 discloses the use of mixtures of zeolite L with zeolite Y catalysts, both for improved gasoline octane.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,340,465 and 4,614,578 disclose the use of FCC catalysts employing a ZSM-5 type zeolite with a high silica-to-alumina molar ratio (SiO.sub.2 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 >approximately 500; also called "silicalite" in U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,724) in conjunction with a zeolite Y type cracking component to improve the octane of gasoline produced by the FCC process while reducing the gasoline yield penalty typically associated with the use of ZSM-5 type additives.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,007 discloses the alkylation of aromatics over metal impregnated zeolitic catalysts. The zeolite is ZSM-5 and the impregnated metals include Mg, Fe, Sr, Ca, Ba, Na, and Co.
3. Objects of the Invention
It is an object of this invention to produce a zeolite containing catalyst which improves the octane of the gasoline produced in an FCC process.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an additive to be used in conjunction with a typical FCC catalyst to improve the octane number of the gasoline product.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a partially cation-exchanged medium-pore crystalline aluminosilicate component additive to be used in conjunction with a typical FCC catalyst to improve the octane number of the gasoline while reducing the gasoline yield loss typically associated with such additives.
It is a further object of this invention to produce a modified ZSM-5 based additive to be used in conjunction with a typical FCC catalyst to improve the octane number of the gasoline while reducing the gasoline yield loss typically associated with such additives.
These and further objects will become apparent as the description of the invention proceeds.


A method for manufacturing electrical components of the energy-accumulating electrostatic or electrochemical type, consisting in winding at least two layers of a film on a support made of an electrically nonconducting material that has a substantially polygonal cross-section, by providing a preset number of film turns until a predefined thickness is reached, and forming a first layer; arranging respective spacers at the corners of the polygon in which the contour of the wound film is inscribed; and winding more turns of film around the first layer and around the spacers inserted at the corners, to form a second layer. A machine by means of which the method is performed comprises a rotatingly mounted frame on which the support is fixed for winding of the layer of film.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing electrical components of the energy-accumulating electrostatic or electrochemical type (such as for example plastic film capacitors, double-layer capacitors, supercapacitors and primary and secondary batteries), to the machine that performs the method, and to the components provided according to the method (for example with said machine).
The current method of providing film-type capacitors made of a metallized material such as plastics (hereinafter termed simply "metallized plastic film", that is assumed to include all of the films made of polymeric materials or with natural rubbers having at least one surface coated with an electrically conducting material) entails a first winding step, during which two or more superimposed plastic films are wound onto a support (having variable shapes and dimensions depending on the geometric and electrical characteristics of the capacitor to be provided). Mechanical compaction is then performed by applying pressure (associated with heating or not) in order to give the component a structural consistency and stability that are substantially constant over time.
A layer of conducting material is then applied (usually by spraying) on the plastic films to provide an interface between the metalized layer that is already present on one surface of the wound plastic films (with a thickness in the region of 400 angstroms) and the electrical terminations for the flow of current. The metallic terminals (designed to feed the current) that will allow to connect the capacitor to an electric circuit are in fact soldered to these deposited metallic interfaces. As a final step, the capacitor is inserted in the corresponding casing and sealed therein by pouring particular thermosetting resins.
The advantage of this type of production arises from various factors: first of all, the high stability of the electrical characteristics over time, the capability to work with high transient or continuous voltages thanks to the self-regeneration of the material used as dielectric, the possibility to work at high frequencies thanks to the low dielectric losses, the possibility to bear high current peaks, and a failure behavior similar to that of an open circuit (open-type failure mode).
By following this constructive principle, substantially two different types of capacitor are currently manufactured: wound capacitors and stacked layer capacitors.
In wound capacitors, two or more plastic films having at least one metallized surface are wound onto a support (that can be made of substantially any material), which can be removed or not at the end of the winding process. If said support is left inside the capacitor, the shape of the capacitor will be substantially cylindrical; if the support is removed, as a consequence of compaction the capacitor will generally assume a substantially oval shape. Thermomechanical stabilization, deposition of the metallic layer to which the terminals for feeding current will be connected, and impregnation in a resin lead to the finished product.
The resulting component has limited flexibility in occupying the various geometric requirements of the end user (particularly in the case of production of cylindrical components) and in saturating the volume available for installation of the component (the available spaces are generally polygonal and almost never circular).
In stacked capacitors, two or more layers of metallized film are wound on a support that is shaped like a parallelepiped. The final shape of the component is substantially always ovoid but more elongated, depending on the dimensional ratio of the supporting parallelepiped (in practice, the shape duplicates the shape of the initial bar, with ends that are radiused along circular arcs). These wound films are stabilized by compression and then the metallic layer is deposited onto the two surfaces. The radiused ends of the wound films are then removed and the films are divided (by means of a transverse cut) in a plurality of segments having the chosen length (a particular value of capacitance being associated with the length of the component). The critical points of this technology are first of all the high process waste due to the need to eliminate the entire radiused end region (the percentage of waste material can reach as much as 30%); secondly, it must be noted that with this technology it is possible to obtain only elements that have a thickness of no more than 20 mm, since if the thickness is increased it is not possible to maintain the mechanical tolerances related to the coupling between the various layers, which are required in order to ensure stable electrical characteristics. Finally, it should be noted that the region at which cutting occurs is a highly critical point for voltage transients, and due to the difficulty in providing very thick elements, the inductance of capacitors with a high capacitive value is always very high (inductance is directly proportional to the width of the capacitor).

Method and machine for manufacturing energy accumulating components, and components made thereby


An apparatus for managing a data backup is disclosed. In accordance with the apparatus of the present invention, an integrity verification data randomly extracted according to a predetermined condition is used to facilitate a checking of an error that may exist in a backup data, and extracting and locating the integrity verification data are facilitated by using an index data, thereby minimizing a work time for verifying an integrity of the backup data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for managing a data backup, and more particularly to an apparatus for managing a data backup wherein a verification of an integrity of the backup data is facilitated a work time required for the verification of the integrity is minimized.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional data backup system backs up the original data and restores the original data using the backup data when the original data is destroyed.
The data backup system uses a storage device supporting a magnetic tape or a disk as a storage medium to store the backup data.
While the storage medium such as the magnetic tape and the disk provides a certain level of reliability, the storage medium does not guarantee a perfect integrity of the backup data.
Particularly, when an error occurs in the storage medium, the data backup system cannot read the backup data resulting in being unable to restore the original data despite the existence of the backup data.
Therefore, the data backup system should check whether the original data can be restored, i.e. the integrity of the backup data before the actual backup data is necessary.
In order to verify the integrity of the backup data, the data backup system reads the backup data stored in the storage medium and transmits the same to a client computer. Thereafter, the data backup system receives a restoration result from the client computer to check whether the backup data is successfully restored by the client computer.
The Verification of the integrity of the backup data has following drawbacks.
The backup data has a size ranging from tens of gigabytes to hundreds of terabytes according to a backup environment. In addition, the backup data includes tens of files to tens of millions of files.
Considering the size and the number of files, it is practically impossible for the data backup system to read and transmit an entirety of the backup data to the client computer in order to verify the integrity.
Moreover, it is difficult to back up the data to the storage medium and to read the backup data at the same time. Therefore, it is preferable that the verification of the integrity of the backup data is carried out when the data is not being backed up by the data backup system.
Generally, because the data backup system carries out the backup during non-working hours, the data backup system should carry out the verification of the integrity of the backup data during working hours. However, when the data backup system reads and transmits the backup data to the client computer during the working hours, a processing of the client computer is affected.
Further, an administrator of the data backup system should carry out a management of the verification of the integrity such as checking that a restoration in the client computer is carried out properly in addition to the backup.
While the verification of the integrity is necessary, the conventional data backup system does not carry out the verification of the integrity due to the above-described drawbacks.


A partial document defined in advance as an operating unit composed of at least one element, which is coincident with or is contained in a structural document, includes at least information representing that the partial document is an operating unit. Based on this information, at least the partial document and parts data by parts data containing position information on the partial document are created. Structured documents are stored in storage means as a set of parts data. The stored structured document is edited by updating parts data corresponding to the partial document targeted for operation, according to the contents of operation for the partial document selected as an operating target.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for editing a structured document such as an XML document or an HTML document.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a WWW (World Wide Web), a shopping site has a page for listing product catalogues, and a news site has a page for listing news articles. In addition, many of portal sites describes information on different categories such as stock price information, weather forecast information or headline news in combination in a partial page area called a portlet in a top page. Here, this information on category by category basis is called sub-contents. Recently, on a Web page capable of being browsed via Internet, unlike a conventional document-like Web page, the sub-contents contained inside are highly independent of each other, and Web pages configured in an aggregate manner increase.
With respect to such a Web page, there is a user's demand to selectively browse only sub-contents of interest instead of reading all the pages in order. Apart from only browsing, for example, there are other demands listed below.    1) Comparison or sorting in units of sub-contents;    2) Classification or arranging in units of sub-contents; and    3) Acquisition or storing in units of sub-contents.
However, the current browser does not have functions which can correspond to the above demands.

Document editing method, document editing system, server apparatus, and document editing program


In a hidden Markov model-based speech recognition system, multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) are used in context-dependent estimation of a plurality of state-dependent observation probability distributions of phonetic classes. Estimation is obtained by the Bayesian factorization of the observation likelihood in terms of posterior probabilities of phone classes assuming the context and the input speech vector. The context-dependent estimation is employed as the state-dependent observation probabilities needed as parameter input to a hidden Markov model speech processor to identify the word sequence representing the unknown speech input of input speech vectors. Within the speech processor, models are provided which employ the observation probabilities in the recognition process. The number of context-dependent nets is reduced to a single net by sharing the units of the input layer and the hidden layer and the weights connecting them in the multilayer perceptron while providing one output layer for each relevant context. Each output layer is trained as an independent network on the specific examples of the corresponding context it represents. Training may be optimized at an intermediate set of weights between the context-independent-associated weights and the context-dependent associated weights to which training would normally converge.

This invention relates to speech recognition and more particularly to the types of such systems based on a hybrid combining hidden Markov models and multilayer perceptrons (HMMs and MLPs).
By way of background, an instructive tutorial on hidden Markov modeling processes is found in a 1986 paper by Rabiner et al., "An Introduction to Hidden Markov Models," IEEE ASSP Magazine, January, 1986, pp. 4-16. A tutorial treatment on neural networks, including multilayer perceptron-type neural networks, is found in a paper by Richard P. Lippmann, entitled "An Introduction to Computing with Neural Nets," IEEE ASSP Magazine, April, 1987, pp. 4-23.
Various hidden-Markov-model-based speech recognition systems are known and need not be detailed herein. Such systems typically use realizations of phonemes which are statistical models of phonetic segments (including allophones or, more generically, phones) having parameters that are estimated from a set of training examples.
Models of words are made by concatenating appropriate phone models, a phone being an acoustic realization of a phoneme, a phoneme being the minimum unit of speech capable of use in distinguishing words. Recognition consists of finding the most-likely path through the set of word models for the input speech signal.
Known hidden Markov model speech recognition systems are based on a model of speech production as a Markov source. The speech units being modeled are represented by finite state machines. Probability distributions are associated with the transitions leaving each node, specifying the probability of taking each transition when visiting the node. A probability distribution over output symbols is associated with each node. The transition probability distributions implicitly model duration. The output symbol distributions are typically used to model speech characteristics such as spectra.
The probability distributions for transitions and output symbols are estimated using labeled examples of speech. Recognition consists of determining the path through the Markov chain that has the highest probability of generating the observed sequence. For continuous speech, this path will correspond to a sequence of word models.
The specific hidden Markov model recognition system employed in conjunction with the present invention is the Decipher speech recognizer, which is available from SRI International of Menlo Park, Calif. The Decipher system incorporates probabilistic phonological information, a trainer capable of training phonetic models with different levels of context dependence, multiple pronunciations for words, and a recognizer. The recognizer can process speaker-independent continuous speech input by dealing with specific models developed through training.
Speech recognition using multilayer perceptrons as a source of the state-dependent observation likelihoods in a hidden Markov model has recently been proposed. A multilayer perceptron is a specific type of a neural network composed of simple processing elements which in this context is limited to those which compute a dot product of incoming activations and weights, plus a bias term, the result of which is mapped through a differentiable sigmoid nonlinearity. The hybridization of HMMs with MLPs was first suggested by groups led by Herve' Bourlard in papers entitled "Links between Markov Models and Multi-layer Perceptrons," Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, Vol. 2, pp. 502-510, 1989 (Morgan Kaufman, San Mateo, Calif.), (later reported in IEEE Trans. on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 12, pp. 1167-1178, December, 1990). Using the suggestions of Bourlard et al., the present inventors have built and verified that multi-layer perceptrons can be used in hybrid hidden Markov model/neural network speech recognition systems, and the inventors have identified areas of needed improvement in the state of the art of fully computerized speech recognition systems.
The hybrid HMM/MLP-based context-independent approaches have heretofore not been successfully extended to estimate context-dependent probabilities of phonetic classes of speech information. One context-dependent HMM/MLP approach has also been suggested, but it remains unproven. (Bourlard et al., "CDNN: A Context Dependent Neural Network For Continuous Speech Recognition," Proc. of International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing 92, published March, 1992.)
Context-dependent modeling has been difficult with previous MLPs due to a great increase in the number of parameters resulting from a straight-forward extension of the simpler context-independent approach. Moreover, the inherent discriminative nature of conventional MLP training algorithms appears to make it difficult to model phonetic classes with multiple distributions as in a conventional HMM speech recognition processor.
What is needed is a practical context-dependent hybrid HMM/MLP approach to the speech recognition problem.

Method and apparatus for context-dependent estimation of multiple probability distributions of phonetic classes with multilayer perceptrons in a speech recognition system


A permit mail metering system that preprints the non-variable portion of an indicia. The pre-printed portions may be printed with a fluorescent and phosphorescent ink, while other pre-printed portions may be printed using standard colored or black inks. Some variable printed portions may be printed with a fluorescent and phosphorescent ink, while other variable portions may be printed using standard colored or black non-luminescent inks.

Governments have created postal services for collecting, sorting and distributing the mail. The postal service typically charges mailers for delivering the mail. Mailers may pay the post office for its service by purchasing a stamp, i.e., a printed adhesive label, issued by the post office at specified prices, that is affixed to all letters, parcels or other mail matter to show prepayment of postage. The placing of one or more stamps on a mail piece is a labor intensive endeavor. Thus, stamps typically are used by individuals, small or home offices and small businesses.
Another means of payment accepted by the post office is mail that is metered by a postage meter. A postage meter is a mechanical or electromechanical device that: maintains, through mechanical or "electronic registers" or "postal security devices," an account of all postage printed, and the remaining balance of prepaid postage; and prints postage postmarks (indicia) or provides postage postmarks (indicia) information to a printer, that are accepted by the postal service as evidence of the prepayment of postage. A postage meter is able to affix two to eight postal indicia to two to eight mail pieces in one second. Thus, postage meters may be used by individuals small or home offices, small businesses and large business.
Other means of payment accepted by the post office is payment for manifest mail and payment for permit mail. In a typical manifest mailing system, a mailer produces mail in accordance with a mail manifest list and determines the quantity of mail and weight thereof. Then the mailer prepares the appropriate postal forms and delivers the mail and forms to the post office. Thereupon, the post office checks the manifest list, the appropriate forms and checks the quantity and weight of the mail. The post office also requires permit imprints to be printed on the mail piece. The mailer prepares postal forms and brings the mail and postal forms to the post office. The post office checks the forms, checks the mail pieces and confirms that the completed forms coincide with the checked mail pieces. Then the postal clerk debits the value of the postage placed on the mail pieces from the mailer's postal account. Groups of individuals and businesses that produce very large quantities of mail use manifest and permit mail.
A disadvantage of the current manifest and permit mailing systems is that the systems are very labor intensive. The intensive labor component is the completion of the forms and submission of the mail and forms by the mailer to the post office and the review and acceptance of the forms and associated payment process and mail by the post office. Thus, many people are assisted by machines used to produce permit mail. However, the mailer and the post office use manual acceptance procedures to check the mail and forms and receive appropriate payment.
Another disadvantage of the prior art is that permit mail is only able to enter the post office during certain postal working hours.

System and method for accounting for postage for mail


In a document image enhancement method, text character strokes are enhanced in a way such that areas closer to the center (skeleton) of each stroke are enhanced (e.g. made darker) by greater amounts than areas farther away from the center. Each text or line region of the input image is first binarized to generate a binary image containing connected components corresponding to character strokes and lines. Multiple levels of pseudo-skeletons are computed for each connected component, for example by using successive thinning. Multiple pseudo-skeleton difference areas, i.e. differences between successive levels of pseudo-skeletons, are generated. Pixels located in different pseudo-skeleton difference areas are enhanced by different amounts, by applying different inverse-degradation functions. Graphical regions of the input image may be treated with edge enhancement.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to document image processing, and in particular, it relates to image enhancement for document image reproduction.
2. Description of Related Art
During document image reproduction, typically via printing and imaging (PAI), image quality is inevitably degraded. For example, dark texts in the document become lighter after each PAI process. In many cases, it is desirable to maintain visually conspicuous quality characteristics of a document image during its reproduction. One method to improve image quality is to enhance edges in the image; an example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,937. Another approach is to sharpen the image by contrast mapping; an example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,731,821. However, one significant disadvantage of these enhancement methods, when used in PAI for a document image, is that it makes the enhanced content fatter (e.g., text strokes become thicker) as the enhanced edges have greater impact on the neighboring background pixels during printing and imaging.
In many document images, text constitutes a majority of their content. When strokes of a character become thicker, many image features of the text characters, such as side profiles, zoning profile and topology etc., can be impacted. This may have a negative impact on the performance of document image processing systems, such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and document authentication systems.

Pseudo-skeleton based image enhancement for document image reproduction


An automotive fuel filler pipe ball valve assembly mountable in an opening of an automotive body panel. The assembly includes a housing member having a ball valve receptacle communicating with a housing inlet opening and a housing outlet opening, and a ball valve member having a passage with an inlet opening and an outlet opening. The ball valve member includes a stem member extending through an opening in the housing member, wherein the stem member is engageable by an actuation member to pivot the ball valve member in the housing member, thereby opening and closing the ball valve assembly. One or more sealing members form leak-proof seals between the housing member and the ball valve member. The assembly is mountable onto the body panel by resilient engagement members breakable to separate the housing member from the automotive body panel during impact.

Removable caps and lids disposed on containers such as automotive fuel filler pipes are generally known. It is also known that removable caps are subject to loss and are sometimes a source of contamination, which is undesirable, particularly in automobile fuel system applications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,099 entitled "Cover Assembly for Permitting Access Into a Container Without Removal Therefrom" issued Aug. 20, 1996, for example, discloses a spring biased valve device disposed between a base body and a shield, wherein the valve device is pivotal by manipulating an exterior protrusion thereof to open and close an axial bore through the base body without the necessity of a cap or other member removal therefrom.

Automotive fuel filler pipe ball valve assembly


Apparatuses and methods are disclosed, such as those including an oscillator circuit that generates an alternate clock. A multiplexing circuit can be coupled to the alternate clock and an input clock. The alternate clock has a more accurate duty cycle than the input clock. A clock path can be coupled to an output of the multiplexing circuit. The more accurate alternate clock can be coupled to the clock path during a test mode.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), non-volatile (e.g., flash) memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM).
As system speeds have increased, the speed of the clock signals (which are sometimes hereinafter referred to herein as "clocks") provided to operate memory devices in such systems have increased. Conventionally, such systems operate memory devices with clock signals that have a targeted duty cycle of 50%. As is well known in the art, a clock signal's duty cycle is the percentage of time that the clock signal spends in an active (e.g., high) state relative to the total clock period.
Prior to putting a memory device in operation or in the stream of commerce, it is conventionally tested (e.g., by or for the manufacturer of the memory device or a system including such a memory device, wherein such a system is referred to hereinafter as "the target system") using a tester that provides the memory device with a clock signal that simulates the clock signal it would be provided in the target system. Ideally, it would be desirable for such testers to provide a clock signal having a duty cycle as close to the target duty cycle (e.g., a 50% duty cycle) as the duty cycle of a clock signal that will be provided in the target system. Unfortunately, conventional volume production testers are incapable of reliably providing such a clock signal, particularly as the speed of such clock signals have increased.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a typical prior art memory clock circuit. This circuit can provide a clock for clocking data out of the memory device as well as providing (e.g., coupling, generating, inputting, introducing, etc.) a testing clock for use internal to the memory array.
The clock provided to the memory device (XCLK) is input to an input clock buffer 101 before being input to a delay-locked loop (DLL) 103. The output of the DLL 103 goes through another buffer prior to being input to an output high trim block (tOH) 105. The output high trim block 105 can provide a fixed trim function to remove duty cycle error that has been introduced by memory device components.
The trimmed clock can then be output through a buffer 106 to both a data latch 109 and a clock output buffer 107. The clock can clock data from the memory array 111 into the data latch 109 in order to output the data through a data output buffer 113. The clock can also be output through the clock output buffer 107 as a DQS output strobe, such as to inform external circuits that data is going to be output by the memory device.
A problem can exist when an inaccurate external clock is input to the output high trim block 105 for trimming purposes (e.g., such as a clock provided by a volume production tester). Not only is the external clock inaccurate but the memory device components can introduce additional duty cycle error. The output high trim block 105 would then be set to correct the total duty cycle error as necessary to provide a 50% duty cycle in response to the inaccurate external test clock. Thus, when a more ideal (e.g., 50% duty cycle) clock is again used (e.g., such as a clock provided by the target system for normal operation of the memory device), the output high trim block 105 can introduce an error on the output trimmed clock.

Methods and apparatuses for alternate clock selection


A mass measurement device measures the mass of an article, even when the article is being moved. A mass measurement device includes a robot hand, a robot arm, a force sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a control unit. The robot hand holds an article (Q). The robot arm moves the robot hand. The force sensor is provided between the robot hand and the robot arm and measures force acting on the article (Q) during movement. The acceleration sensor measures acceleration acting on the article (Q) during the movement. The control unit runs and controls the robot hand and the robot arm, and calculates the mass of the article (Q) on the basis of the force and acceleration acting on the article (Q) during the movement.

It is generally assumed that a spring balance and/or an electronic balance is used in a stationary state in order to exclude the effect of acceleration other than the gravitational acceleration. However, there has recently been an increase in the use of mass measurement devices that are mounted on a shaking object and measure mass in which measurement errors caused by shaking have been removed. For example, the mass measurement device disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Laid-open Publication No. 8-110261) is configured so as to detect the up-and-down movement component of a floor using a dummy load cell carrying a counterweight apart from an ordinary measurement load cell, and the up-and-down movement component thus detected is subtracted from the output signal of the measurement load cell to thereby output a measurement signal that does not include the up-and-down movement component of the floor.


An animal deterrent and training device and method thereof. Particularly, the present application provides a portable animal deterrent and training device, which is characterized by enabling horizontal as well as vertical operational position for maximizing range of operation, deterrent and training effect. More particularly, the present application provides an animal deterrent and training device comprising a housing enclosure; a battery power supply; a passive infrared sensor surrounded by vertical walls; an integral user self-refillable fluid reservoir; a fluid pump; an electronic record-play voice module; and a vertical hanger loop pull-out.

Recent time has witnessed a greater degree of affection towards household animals/pet by common man. A variety of animals can be considered to become household animals, being dogs and cats very common among others. While household animals bring lot of advantages with them, at the same time they create a state of difficulty for their owners as well for others. Among other problems, keeping the pet, from jumping on countertops and counter-surfing, indoor pets from escaping when entry doors opened, climbing up curtains, re-visiting and soiling or spraying areas, entering off-limits areas, and loitering in unwanted areas or on unwanted surfaces are considered seriously. It has become a challenge for owners to train and deter their household animals from exhibiting unwanted behavior or intrusions.
Prior art literature illustrates a variety of devices that can help pet owners up to a certain limit. Prior art also illustrate a variety of method, system, apparatuses or devices for deterring and training their indoor animal. Some of the existing method, system, apparatuses or devices related to deterring and training an animal and method thereof known to us are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,925, issued to Garon in 2001, assigned to Multi-Vet Ltd. discloses about an automatic aerosol dispenser, particularly utilizing sensor to trigger deterrent output consisting of a pulse of compressed canned air, which utilizes a proprietary consumable deterrent refill.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,179, issued to Cory in 1996 teaches about an indoor household animal deterrent device, particularly it utilizes sensor to trigger deterrent output consisting of fluid, and sprinkler or spray mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,770, issued to Patterson, assigned to Sharper Image Corporation in 2003 discloses a method and apparatus to control animal behavior, particularly it utilizes sensor to trigger deterrent output consisting of audio sound, beep or recorded message.
Prior art literatures have certain limitations while addressing the technical problem. Prior art solutions are costly, by having non-self-refillable consumable deterrent supply reservoir. Prior art solution does not illustrate integrated liquid/fluid supplier reservoir within immediate proximity or the deterrent nozzle, thereby making it portable and compact. Prior art does not provide any solution for customize voice commands apart from ordinary daily household noises and sounds. Prior art does not address an uncontrolled or unmitigated sensor vector detection range of operation, allowing sensing and false triggering device deterrent inadvertently by human passer-by problem.
Thus, in the light of the above mentioned background discussion, it is evident that, there is a need for a solution which could provide a portable, compact, integrated, cost effective, device for animal deterrent and training which is self-refillable. There is a need for a device which could combine fluid, water deterrent and voice commands for deterring and training animals. There is also a need for a solution which could provide a portable animal deterrent and training device which can work in horizontal as well as vertical operational position for maximizing range of operation, deterrent and training effect. An animal deterrent and training device and method thereof is desired.

Animal deterrent and training device and method thereof