A process for iron phosphating ferrous metal substrates having undesirable ferrous oxides thereon, such as that formed by laser cutting, that eliminates at least the pickling step in the phosphating process and provides good paint adhesion, and compositions of matter useful in the process.

This invention relates to the well known general field of phosphate conversion coating of metals, particularly to the type of phosphate conversion coating known as iron side or non-crystalline conversion coating that is formed on predominantly ferriferous surfaces from a working phosphating composition that does not contain any substantial amount of any divalent cations that form insoluble phosphates, for example, zinc, nickel, cobalt, manganese, calcium, magnesium, or the like. For brevity hereinafter, this type of coating or type of composition for forming such a coating is called simply iron phosphate or a grammatical variation thereof.
In the automotive and industrial vehicle industry, metal parts are often cut and shaped prior to painting. In prior art processes for cutting metal, the cutting tool was typically a CNC machine or the like which cuts the metal by mechanical means, that is physical contact between the cutting tool and the workpiece to be cut. This method of cutting resulted in minimal scale or oxide being generated on the cut edge of the workpiece. The small amounts of scale and oxide enabled the manufacturer to phosphate and paint the workpiece after cutting with few paint adhesion problems, without additional steps to remove the scale and oxide. Thus, certain industries have developed processes and production lines that have no provision for removal of scale between the cutting stage and the phosphating stage.
With the introduction of laser forming and cutting of workpieces, a new problem of laser generated scale and oxide on the cut edge of workpieces arose. Manufacturers found that cutting ferrous metal with lasers resulted in sufficient scale and oxide formation at the cut edge of the workpiece to interfere with adhesion of subsequently applied paint layers and the corrosion resistance of the painted substrate. The poor paint adhesion caused appearance problems such as a "ribboning effect", as well as susceptibility to corrosion that was unacceptable to the manufacturers. Conventional phosphating, typically zinc phosphating, previously used as a treatment when mechanical cutting means were used, did not improve the paint adhesion on the laser cut edges enough to meet manufacturing requirements.
One attempted solution to poor paint adhesion on laser cut edges was to pickle and oil the workpieces after cutting and prior to phosphating. However, this method required the addition of a new step and its attendant costs to the processing of the metal pieces. The additional step requires equipment, skilled workers as well as floor space or transport that had not been part of the economics of manufacturing the metal parts when mechanical cutting was used. Also, pickling solutions are typically strongly acidic solutions and can be hazardous for workers and the environment. Due to the nature of the chemicals involved in pickling, typically sulfuric acid or nitric acid, there are also environmental and waste disposal issues that must be addressed if a manufacturer chooses to use this method. Thus, particularly for manufacturers who had no need to pickle prior to the introduction of laser cutting, it is desirable to provide a treatment that enhances the adhesion of paint to the laser cut workpieces without the addition of new steps or significant extra costs.
Iron phosphating processes for treatment of metal are known in the art. Another attempted solution to the paint adhesion problems caused by scale and oxide generated by laser cutting was to replace the zinc phosphating treatment used prior to painting in the prior art process with an iron phosphating treatment. However, conventional iron phosphating treatments alone, typically having pHs of 3.0 or more and total acid points of 6 to 14 did not provide sufficient improvement to paint adhesion.

Iron phosphating process that reduces laser scale resulting in improved paint adhesion


A shell tube and heat exchanger (10) includes a plurality of tubes surrounded by a shell (16). Each tube (12) includes a plurality of indentations. A mold is placed in a desired positions and orientation in a die. A tube is placed in a first position within a die, and the mold crimps the tube to form the desired indentation in the tube. The mold is then released, and the tube is moved relative to the mold to a second position. The mold again crimps the tube to form an additional indentation. Alternately, the mold includes a roller that forms a groove on the tube. The tube is translated or both translated and rotated relative to the mold to form the groove.

The present invention relates to a method for forming a tube used in a heat exchanger including a plurality of indentations that increase heat transfer between a fluid flowing through the tube and a fluid flowing around the tube.
A shell and tube heat exchanger is used to cool fluids in various automotive applications, including exhaust gas recirculation coolers and power steering devices. In an engine gas recirculation system, an exhaust fluid flows inside the tube and exchanges heat with a coolant flowing around the tube. The exhaust fluid closer to the tube wall cools faster than the exhaust fluid flowing in the center of the tube.
In the prior art, the tubes in the heat exchanger can be bent or twisted to create turbulence in the exhaust fluid and to provide a non-linear flow path to increase heat transfer.
There are several drawbacks to the bent or twisted tubes of the prior art. For one, it is difficult to manufacture the tubes. Additionally, it is both costly and laborious to twist and bend the tubes to the desired shape.
Hence, there is a need in the art for a method for shaping a tube used in a heat exchanger that overcomes the drawbacks and shortcomings of the prior art.

Halla Visteon Climate Control Corporation


A method for visualizing and analyzing contributions of various input features for traffic safety status prediction is provided. The method includes initializing a deep belief network (DBN) with input features; performing unsupervised learning/training by observing changes of weights of the input features during the unsupervised learning/training; when the unsupervised learning/training process is complete, performing supervised learning/training process by generating a reconstructed input layer based on results of each hidden layer; and continually running the supervised learning/training and generating a weight diagram based on both visualization and numerical analysis that calculates contributions of the input features. The input features may include one or more of annual average daily commercial traffic (AADCT), median width, left shoulder width, right shoulder width, curve deflection, and exposure for traffic safety status prediction.

The evaluation of safety effects of countermeasures for road safety relies greatly on collision prediction methods including safety performance functions (SPF). Generally, the safety performance functions are separately developed for different types of highways or entities and using data locally collected from the study area representing the specific highway types to be modelled. Although these traditional methods are easy to understand and apply, they suffer from the problem of low accuracy in the predicted results thanks to the random nature of collision occurrences and the strong distribution assumption.
Among the SPF analysis using data-driven and nonparametric methods, those based on deep learning (also known as deep neural networks) are often considered the most promising techniques. However, one of the greatest challenges in applications of the deep-learning based analysis is the unanalyzable learning/training process, because the learning mechanisms are hidden in a "black box" of the deep learning. As a result, traffic features extraction and intelligent importance analysis are difficult to generate.

Decipherable deep belief network method of feature importance analysis for road safety status prediction


A door plate has a main body with a front side, a rear side, a top side, a bottom side, a first adjacent side, and a second adjacent side. The main body includes a handle aperture and fastener apertures. The handle aperture is configured to receive a door handle of the door. The handle aperture is formed through the main body from the front side to the rear side of the main body. Each of the plurality of fasteners is formed through the main body from the front side to the rear side. The main body has a depth defined by a maximum distance between the front side and the rear side of the main body at the second adjacent side of the main body. The depth of the main body militates against a prying of the door with a crowbar where the main body is installed on the door.

Security has always been a concern for residential and business premises. Exterior doors, especially, must be sufficiently secured to prevent being accessed by skilled burglars. Numerous security systems have been devised in accordance with the prior art. However, even with these improvements, burglars have still been found to circumvent security and access exterior doors.
Some have tried to circumvent security shortcomings by providing pick-resistant locks that make picking the lock even by a skilled burglar difficult. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,259 to Almoznino discloses a lock with an anti-picking cylinder. However, undesirably, these locks may still be circumvented. For instance, the door may still be accessed by using a crowbar to pry open the door. Using this method, entry may be gained without disturbing or overcoming the lock itself.
Another example of circumventing security shortcomings is by providing additional entrance barriers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,487,975 to Daniels et al. discloses a system including a barrier, a first lock assembly, a second lock assembly, and an override mechanism. Undesirably, these systems may be overly complex and costly.
There is a continuing need for a system, kit, and method that militates against a forceful entry. Desirably, the system, kit, and method militates against prying open the door by using a crowbar.


A method of operating a wearable heads-up display that in use is worn on a head of a subject user includes projecting light to an eye of the subject user and detecting an ambient light condition in an environment of the wearable heads-up display by an ambient light sensor. The method includes measuring a pupil size of the eye of the subject user and determining a target luminous flux based on an output of the ambient light sensor and the pupil size. A current luminous flux of the light projected to the eye of the subject user is adjusted based on the target luminous flux.

There is a new generation of wearable heads-up displays that can be worn on the head like conventional eyeglasses. These wearable heads-up displays are electronic devices that, when worn on the head of users, enable the users to see display content without preventing the users from seeing their environment. Given that these wearable heads-up displays are worn near the face and can be used as eyeglasses, comfort and aesthetics become important factors in the design of the displays. Since these devices are meant to be worn as normal eyeglasses and used throughout the day, conservation of battery power also becomes important.
A wearable heads-up display may have a range of display luminance for which content can be projected into a display space without sacrificing content quality. For maximum power conservation, the lowest luminance value in the range may be used. However, there are instances when this may not be ideal. For example, a display that is too dim may be difficult to discern in relatively bright ambient conditions, such as outdoors in sunlight. On the other hand, a display that is too bright can be uncomfortable for a user in relatively dark ambient conditions. In addition, as a "see-through display", the display cannot be so bright as to overpower the ambient surroundings, which would make it difficult for the user to discern the user's surroundings. Thus, a balance needs to be struck between conserving power, display performance, contrast between the display and ambient surroundings, and user comfort.

Method of dynamically adjusting display luminance flux in wearable heads-up displays


A re-breather that includes an inhalant counterlung (18) and an exhalant counterlung (20), with a mouthpiece (30) disposed therebetween. Gas flows from the counterlung (18) to the mouthpiece (30) for use by the diver, with exhalant from the diver directed to the counterlung (20). Gas forced out of the counterlung (20) is input to a canister/scrubber (10) for processing through a scrubbing material in an interior canister (14). The CO.sub.2 -depleted gas is passed back to the counterlung (18). The counterlung (18) has disposed therein a PPO.sub.2 sensor (68) which is directed toward a control system (66) for controlling a valve (46) to adjust the rate of flow of oxygen from a bottle (40) into the CO.sub.2 -depleted gas exiting the canister/scrubber 10 prior to input to the counterlung (18). The rate is varied to maintain the PPO.sub.2 level at a substantially constant level.

Breathing apparatus for use in an underwater diving situation in atmospheres unsuitable for sustaining life have been utilized in numerous applications. These systems provide the gas supply system for a user when operating in an unsuitable environment. They are typically portable and accommodate for various adverse conditions in the unsuitable atmosphere.
In underwater diving environments, it is necessary to not only provide a source of breathing gas, but also account for the high pressures in the environment, as these breathing apparatus are utilized at various depths. As the depth increases, the environment becomes more hazardous and more care should be taken.
In conventional diving apparatus, the diver determines his "dive profile" and will mix the gases in his breathing apparatus to provide the proper gas mixtures at the desired depth, this being a well-documented procedure. Additionally, dive computers are provided for allowing the diver to monitor his dive profile, such that ascent and descent times can be monitored to insure that the diver does not develop a case of the "bends" or other well-known side effects of deep dives. However, conventional apparatus with gas mixtures provide only a minimal amount of time on the bottom, due to the fact that only a finite amount of gas can be carried with the diver. These types of systems vent the gas that is breathed into the lungs and then exhaled. Unfortunately, these types of systems allow a large amount of unmetabolized oxygen to be vented into the water.
Another type of apparatus, a re-breathing apparatus, has been developed to recycle the exhaled gas to remove carbon dioxide therefrom with a "scrubber" and then recycle the unmetabolized oxygen. Oxygen or Oxygen-enriched gas is then injected into the "scrubbed" gas to maintain the partial pressure of oxygen in the gas at a desired level, and then the mixture is passed back to the user for re-breathing. One such system is described in Great Britain Patent Application Ser. No. 9409683.1, filed May 24, 1984, upon which PCT Application No. IB 95/00396, filed May 15, 1995, was based. This is entitled "Breathing Apparatus" and was published on Nov. 23, 1995, as International Publication No. W095/31367, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
Developers of re-breather systems design the systems to maintain high efficiency, and minimize weight with concurrent minimum effort expended by the user in breathing during use of the system. Early re-breather systems were relegated to use by professionals in unsafe environmental conditions, such as diving or firefighting due to the complexity and costs of the systems, in addition to the extensive training required for the use of these systems. Although the systems are relatively simple in construction since pure oxygen is utilized, the early systems were undesirable due to the problem of oxygen toxicity, i.e., if the partial pressure of oxygen (PPO.sub.2) rises, or falls, this can be detrimental to the diver.
There are two types of re-breather systems, a closed circuit system and a semi-closed circuit system. The semi-closed circuit system is one wherein the diver is allowed to adjust the flow of oxygen-enriched gas into the breathing loop with the aid of either a calculated PPO.sub.2 or measured liters per minute. This is effected through some type of manual valve. Alternatively, the diver can have this preset at the surface, this typically being the case, wherein the diver will know the depth that the system is to be operated and it is permanently set at the surface. This, in the past, has been viewed as an advisable way to operate a re-breather, wherein the user cannot inadvertently manipulate the controls to increase or decrease the PPO.sub.2. This is quite acceptable when working at constant depths; however, when depths are varying, the oxygen must be varied and the user in a semi-closed circuit system must have some ability to change the amount of oxygen that flows into the breathing side of the system.
In closed circuit systems, a feedback mechanism is provided wherein the PPO.sub.2 is monitored and a valve is opened and closed to adjust the amount of oxygen that is introduced to the breathing side of the apparatus. These systems have typically utilized pulse-type valves, which are fully open or fully closed. These systems have a disadvantage in that, when the valve is open, the full pressure of oxygen is introduced into the breathing side of the apparatus, resulting in an uneven regulation of oxygen. Alternatively, if the system fails, it either fails open or it fails closed. If it fails open, this can be disastrous whereas, if it fails closed, this merely requires some type of backup.

Rebreather having counterlung and a stepper-motor controlled variable flow rate valve


An apparatus of an exponential current digital-to-analog converter (IDAC) using a binary-weighted MSB to efficiently drive current controlled light emitting diode (LED) devices. The apparatus comprises of an exponential current digital-to-analog converter (IDAC) current source, a voltage buffer to create an active cascode at the output stage, and an error amplifier that by means of a DC-DC converter voltage loop imposes an appropriate voltage at the output of the IDAC, depending on the current load set to drive the LEDs. The definition of the apparatus involves defining an exponential LSB and exponential MSB current mirrors according to a defined methodology.

Field
The disclosure relates generally to a current digital-to-analog converter circuit, and, more particularly, an apparatus of an exponential current digital-to-analog converter (IDAC) using a binary-weighted MSB to efficiently drive current controlled light emitting diode (LED) devices. The definition of the apparatus involves defining an exponential LSB and exponential MSB current mirrors according to a defined methodology for an exponential current digital-to-analog converter (IDAC) having improved accuracy using a binary-weighted most significant bit (MSB) and a method thereof.
Description of the Related Art
Light emitting diode (LED) device brightness control is achieved by controlling the current that passes through the LED device. In order to dim LED device with less power dissipation than current control, a method of power control is used known as pulse width modulation (PWM). By varying the average current across the LED device, the device can be made to appear dimmer, or brighter. The brightness of current controlled light emitting sources is substantially proportional to the current flowing in them. Because of this characteristic, a digital-to-analog current converter (IDAC) is commonly used to control the brightness of visual displays.
Using a sole linear current digital-to-analog solution has the disadvantage of being perceived by human visual perception as a non-linear dimming process. Therefore a current source that is exponentially related to digital inputs, such as an exponential IDAC, is needed to maintain uniformity in changes to the level of the display brightness.
It is a common practice, the IDAC exponential characteristic is separated into a least significant bit (LSB) and most significant bit (MSB) parts as necessary to contain the circuit complexity and reduce the silicon area. The LSB generates an exponential current with a DNLLSB and so does the MSB with a DNLMSB
As discussed in published U.S. Pat. No. 7,132,966 to Adler et al., a circuit to convert a floating point number into an analog current is discussed. The conversion is performed directly by using an exponential current digital-to-analog converter (e.g. exponential IDAC) and a cascaded linear current digital-to-analog converter (e.g. linear DAC).
As discussed in published U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,402 to Adler et al., a circuit to achieve linear and exponential control over current to drive color LEDs is shown. A method for convert floating point number into an analog current is discussed. The conversion is performed directly by using an exponential current digital-to-analog converter (e.g. exponential IDAC) and a cascaded linear current digital-to-analog converter (e.g. linear DAC) to drive color LEDS, and preferably red, green, blue (RGB) LEDs.
As discussed in published U.S. Pat. No. 8,421,659 to von Staudt et al., discloses circuits using a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) controlled by a state machine to produce an analog output that is within a least significant bit (LSB) of a digital input bits. Trim solutions are proposed for major transitions of the digital bits.
As discussed in published U.S. Patent Application US 2011/0057825 to Marraccini et al., discloses systems to achieve logarithmic digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The logarithmic DAC is a linear DAC whose output voltage is converted into a logarithmic current value directly from an I-V characteristics of a diode element. The patent application utilizes a diode in the network to establish the voltage-current transformation.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, an IDAC architecture is shown. In the implementation of FIG. 1, there is a LSB network that separates the LSB base current Io and the exponential part ILSB_exp. In the implementation of FIG. 1, there is a MSB network that separates the MSB base current To and the exponential part IMSB_exp. FIG. 1 shows a power pad VDD 1, a ground rail VSS 2, a VIDAC_FB pad 3, a first PFET current mirror (20 and 21), a second PFET current mirror (30 and 31), a LSB network 40, and a MSB network 50, a buffer element 60, a transistor 70, and output transistor 80. The LSB network 40 contains a LSB diode 41, a transistor 42 for the base current Io, a variable transistor 43 for the exponent term ILSB_exp, and a LSB responsive switch 44. The MSB network 50 contains a MSB diode 51, a variable transistor 52 for the exponent term ILSB_exp, and a MSB responsive switch 54. Implementing equation for low differential non-linearity (DNL) values using one LSBdiode is feasible task to undertake, considering that at the first part of the characteristic is at relatively low currents and the exponential characteristic is easily approximated with a linear function plus correction terms. But, the difficulty is in the defining of the MSB. Implementing an equation becomes quite tricky if DNLMSB is an irrational number, because that means synthesizing and implementing an MSB current mirror at high currents with an irrational gain. The only way to approximate an irrational gain is to implement several diodes with different gains within the MSB. Systematic error will occur in the overall IDAC DNL. Furthermore, matching between the different branches to contribute to the DNLMSB will be not achievable due to the different plurality of elements of different sizes (e.g. diode elements). These design challenges can easily turn a low DNL exponential IDAC into a high complexity, unmanageable design. In the attempt to simplify matters and to contain the expense of silicon area, a technique called "dithering" is being commonly used. This consists in targeting the design for higher differential non-linearity (DNL) for then getting lower DNL by switching the digital input between two consecutive codes, using an appropriate frequency and duty cycle. The dithering usually creates more issues than it was meant to solve, as it requires good dynamic performance by a structure that is inherently slow, being made of several big current mirrors. Furthermore, it doesn't resolve the problem of having an irrational MSB gain, and so a low DNL accuracy, if a proper architecture wasn't chosen in the first place.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, a high level diagram of a system to drive light emitting diode (LED) devices is shown. The block diagram shows a system 100, to drive a string of LED elements. The system contains a power output pad 101, a ground connection 102, an output bondpad 103, a error amplifier 110, a pulse width modulation (PWM) comparator 120, a DC-DC converter 130, a series configured LED elements 140 to 141, a current source 150. The PWM used in the PWM comparator is not to be confused with the PWM used for dimming LEDs as noted in the prior discussion and description of FIG. 1. The IDAC that provides current control for the LEDs used in portable displays needs to be low voltage compliance to reduce the system power loss, so vital for the battery life. The lower the system is able to regulate the node VIDAC_FB the better the efficiency of the system. In the architecture shown in FIG. 1, the operating point of the MSB stage is set by the MSB diode branch, so if VIDAC_FB goes below the drain voltage saturation, VDsat, of the MSB diode device (referred to as IDAC voltage compliance) the current accuracy will be heavily affected. The IDAC voltage compliance (VDsat) is inversely proportional to the size of the MSB output devices. This means that to get good efficiency performance in driving the LEDs, area must be spent in designing the MSB. If the MSB is already large and complex to meet the DNL specification, it will be very difficult to meet the low voltage compliance requirement as well, which is inversely proportional to the MSB devices size. Also considering that different branches with different diodes, so different VDsat, are involved in generating the final output current. So it might not be possible to simply increase the MSB size to push the output voltage VOUT further down without squeezing some current branches. The voltage drop from the transistor NOUT also impacts the system efficiency. The system efficiency can be written as
  η  =            P      OUT              P      IN      where POUT is the output power, and PIN is the input power. The output power can be defined as a function of IDAC, as follows:POUT=(Vout−VIDAC_FB)*IDACTo maximize the efficiency is mandatory to reduce the loss in the system. The first visible loss affecting the efficiency of the system is the voltage VIDAC_FB required to obtain the desired current. It's evident that current accuracy and efficiency are in contrast, as to get better efficiency we need to push VIDAC_FB down as much as possible but if we go further down than VDsat we will lose current accuracy.
In these prior art embodiments, the solution to design a low differential non-linearity (DNL) and low voltage compliant exponential digital-to-analog converter (IDAC) that minimizes architectural complexity and mismatch variations is not achieved.

Improving the accuracy of an exponential current digital-to-analog converter (IDAC) using a binary-weighted MSB


An optical element that can reduce the etendue of emitted light emitted from the optical element without having depend on the etendue of light-emitting elements is provided with a plasmon-excitation layer that is interposed between two layers having dielectric properties wherein, taking the plasmon-excitation layer as a border, the effective dielectric constant of the emission-side portion that is the emission layer side is higher than the effective dielectric constant of the incident-side portion that is the side of a carrier-generating layer, and the dielectric constant between the plasmon-excitation layer and the carrier-generating layer is higher than the dielectric constant between the carrier-generating layer and the light-incident surface.

LED projectors have been proposed in which light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are used as the light-emitting devices included in the light source apparatuses. This type of LED projector is configured equipped with a light source apparatus having LEDs, an illumination optical system into which light emitted from the light source apparatus is irradiated, a light valve having a liquid crystal display panel into which light from the illumination optical system is irradiated, and a projection optical system for projecting light from the light valve onto a projection surface.
In order to increase the luminance of an image that is projected by an LED projector, all possible measures need to be taken to eliminate light loss in the optical path from the light source apparatus to the light valve.
In addition, as disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 discloses limitations caused by etendue, which is determined by the product of the surface area of the light source apparatus and the angle of radiation. In other words, light from the light source apparatus is not utilized as projection light if the value of the product of the angle of radiation and the surface area of light emission of the light source apparatus is not made equal to or lower than the value of the product of the surface area of the incident surface of the light valve and the acceptance angle (solid angle) that is determined by the f-number of the projection lens.
As a result, in a light source apparatus that has LEDs and an optical element into which light from the LEDs is irradiated, realizing a reduction of the above-described light loss by decreasing the etendue of light emitted from the optical element remains an unresolved problem.
In a light source apparatus that is equipped in an LED projector, it is absolutely imperative that a plurality of LEDs be employed to compensate for the insufficient amount of light generated by a single LED of a single LED and thus realize projected luminous flux on the order of several thousand lumens.
As one example of a light source apparatus that uses a plurality of LEDs in this way, Patent Document 1 discloses a light source unit, as shown in FIG. 1, that is equipped with: a plurality of monochromatic light source apparatuses 83a-83f having LEDs 84a-84f, optical axis alignment parts 82a-82d that cause the optical axes of light emitted from these monochromatic light source apparatuses 83a-83f to coincide, light source sets 81a and 81b into which light from these optical axis alignment parts 82a-82d is irradiated, and light guide apparatus 80 into which light from these light source sets 81a and 81b is irradiated. In this light source unit, light from the plurality of monochromatic light source apparatuses 83a-83f is synthesized, and light for which the angle of radiation has been constricted by light source sets 81a and 81b is irradiated into light guide apparatus 80. In this configuration, a reduction of light loss is achieved by light source sets 81a and 81b that constrict the angle of radiation of light that is irradiated into light guide apparatus 80.
Alternatively, as another example of a light source apparatus that uses a plurality of LEDs, Patent Document 2 discloses a light source apparatus as shown in FIG. 2 that is equipped with light source substrate 86 on which a plurality of LEDs 85 are arranged on a plane. This light source apparatus is provided with an optical element composed of two prism sheets 88 and 89 that each have prism rows formed on one surface and that are each arranged such that the prism rows of one sheet are orthogonal to the prism rows of the other, and frame 87 that supports these prism sheets 88 and 89. In this light source apparatus, light from the plurality of LEDs 85 is synthesized by the two prism sheets 88 and 89.

Optical element, light source apparatus, and projection-type display apparatus


A wheelchair with adjustable swivel castors is described. The wheelchair includes a mechanism to limit the swivel range of the castors. The swivel range may be limited manually or automatically as a function of the terrain or the speed of the chair.

The present invention relates to a wheelchair, which is provided with wheels for driving and steering the wheelchair and with at least one swivel castor, which bears part of the weight of the wheelchair and has a swivel axle, the swivel castor having a swivel range which lies in a first swivel area which includes the straight-on direction of travel of the wheelchair, and the swivel castor being freely pivotable about the swivel axle in the first swivel area.
A wheelchair of this kind is generally known. The front wheels for driving and steering can be driven by means of manual force or by means of, for example, one or more electric motors. The axes of the axles of the wheels for driving and steering generally coincide. In order to prevent the wheelchair from tipping backwards about the common axis of the front wheels, the wheelchair at the rear side has substantially freely pivotable swivel castors. The wheels for driving and steering and the swivel castors are positioned such that the mass centre comes to lie between the common axis of the wheels for driving and steering and the swivel castors. The swivel castors have the ability to pivot about the swivel axle such that they are in a position which corresponds to the direction of travel, which is determined by the front wheels, of the wheelchair.
The drawback of a wheelchair of this kind is that when taking bends the wheelchair tends to break out of the bend. This oversteer effect is caused by the centripetal force acting on the mass centre of the wheelchair. The oversteer effect occurs in particular when taking a bend at high speed.

Wheelchair which is provided with a swivel castor


A method and apparatus for rapidly and accurately determining the fat and oil content of a sample using microwave drying and NMR analysis is disclosed. The method and apparatus incorporate a low mass, porous, hydrophilic and lipophilic sample pad that ensures that the entire sample is subjected to NMR analysis. The method and apparatus according to the invention are suitable for rapidly determining the fat and oil content of samples collected during a production process and for process or quality control.

The present invention relates to chemical analysis using microwave assisted nuclear magnetic resonance ("NMR"). In particular the invention relates to determining the moisture and fat and oil content of samples using NMR and microwave radiation.
The present invention relates to chemical analysis of foodstuffs or other materials for which it is advantageous to know the moisture and fat (and oil) content of the material. For example, commercial production of processed foods such as hot dogs and cheese requires close control of fat and oil content. Variation in fat and oil content during the production process is detrimental to product quality and can adversely affect production economics. From a more positive standpoint, the fat content of a sample also provides useful information about food products such as texture, heat resistance, mouth feel, and flavor release. Additionally, many foods are subject to various statutory and regulatory labeling and content requirements with respect to the fats and oils they contain. Information about fat and oil content is often valuable or necessary in controlling various food processing techniques.
Those skilled in the art know that there is little chemical difference between fats and oils, the primary distinction being that fats are solid at room temperature and oils are liquid. Accordingly, the terms "fat" and "oil" may be used interchangeably herein.
Traditional methods for determining the moisture and fat content of foodstuffs include extensive drying and solvent based chemical extractions. These traditional methods are time consuming. The time lag inherent in the most widely used testing methods prevents production processes from operating at optimal efficiency. Furthermore, many methods require solvents that are expensive, often hazardous, and pose disposal problems. Accordingly, scientists have sought alternative means for determining fat and oil content in samples.
Since the late 1960's scientists have proposed using NMR as an alternative means of determining the fat and moisture content of foodstuffs. NMR analysis is essentially a spectroscopic method that measures a phenomenon that occurs when the nuclei of certain atoms are placed in a static magnetic field and then exposed to a second oscillating electromagnetic field. In very simplistic terms, during NMR analysis a substance is placed in a magnetic field that affects the "spin" of the atomic nuclei of certain isotopes of elements. The nuclei orient themselves in a specific way in response to the magnetic field. If a second radio frequency (RF) magnetic field (e.g., radio wave) is passed over the nuclei, the protons in the nuclei will be made to reorient or "flip" when the RF field reaches a specific frequency. When the RF field is turned off, the nuclei "flip" back releasing energy that provides data on the molecular structure of the substance. This back-and-forth orienting of nuclei is known as resonance.
NMR resonance occurs at different frequencies for different materials. For liquids, the frequency band for NMR resonance is relatively narrow. For solids, the frequency band is broader. This distinction in NMR resonance makes it possible to distinguish the protons of liquid from those of solid constituents of the sample. In this manner the percentage of liquid and solid in a sample may be determined.
In another type of NMR, referred to as "pulsed" NMR, a sample is exposed to a pulse of radio frequency ("RF") energy that magnetizes ("flips") the proton nuclear magnetic moments in the sample. Following the pulse, the protons return to their initial states ("relaxation"), but do so over a characteristic period of time (relaxation time) that reflects the chemical surroundings of the proton, and thus the composition of the sample. A representative (although not limiting) discussion of pulsed NMR is set forth in published U.K. Patent Application GB2261072A.
Furthermore, under proper circumstances, NMR can distinguish not only between liquids and solids, but also between chemical compounds. Theoretically, in abstract circumstances, all protons should resonate at the same frequency or relax over the same time period. Surrounding electrons, however, interfere with the magnetic field acting upon a given proton, and thus each proton will resonate at a slightly different frequency, or relax over a different time period, depending upon the electron density around it. As a result, different compounds (and different functional groups within compounds) have different resonance frequencies and different relaxation times. These differences are typically represented as graphical peaks along a spectrum that plots resonance frequency or relaxation time, depending upon the type of NMR being used.
As mentioned previously, NMR has long held promise as an alternative to solvent extraction for quantitatively determining the components of a sample. Efficiently utilizing NMR in this regard, however, has proven difficult. This difficulty is especially prevalent in determining the fat and oil content of foodstuff samples.
For example, NMR resonance occurs over a narrow band for liquids and this narrow window of NMR resonance is used to easily distinguish liquids from solids. Traditional fat and oil analysis takes advantage of this by melting all the fat and oil in a sample prior to NMR analysis. Because many foods have a relatively high moisture content, and because high moisture content usually makes NMR analysis unfeasible, food samples typically must be thoroughly dried prior to NMR analysis.
After the sample is dried, the sample is usually heated until all the fat and oil present in the sample is assumed to have melted, with the further assumption that the only liquid remaining in the sample is fat. Melting the fat and oil also means that a portion of the fat and oil may drain from the sample. As a result, when the sample is removed from the oven and prepared for NMR analysis, the sample no longer contains the same amount of fat and oil as did the original sample. As a further disadvantage, if aggressive heating techniques, such as very hot convection ovens or conventional microwave ovens, are used to speed drying of the sample, the chemical structure of the sample may be altered (e.g., meat is cooked) which may alter the NMR results and provide a less accurate— or even highly inaccurate—analysis.
One proposed method for avoiding the problems associated with conventional drying techniques is to chemically remove the water from the sample prior to conducting a NMR analysis. UK Patent Application GB 2,261,072 proposes to chemically remove the water from the sample through the addition of a drying agent such as calcium carbide or calcium oxide. The addition of these drying agents, however, must be based upon expected moisture content. Accordingly, errors in the addition of the drying agent are unavoidable. Such errors affect the weight of the sample and possibly the NMR analysis (if moisture remains in the sample) thereby providing inaccurate results for fat and oil content.
In short, current methods for determining fat and oil content possess a high degree of statistical uncertainty or are unsuitable for continuous production processes. Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for determining the fat and oil content of samples that does not possess the inherent inaccuracy of known methods. Preferably this new method and apparatus will rapidly and accurately determine the fat and oil content of a sample thereby providing a more efficient overall production process.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for rapid fat content determination


An electrostatic chuck is provided which includes a circular ceramic plate having an electrostatic attractive electrode, a mounting surface for supporting a waferhich is formed on one of the main surfaces of the circular ceramic plate, an annular gas groove formed on the periphery of the mounting surface in the form of concentric circles with a gas inlet communicating with the annular gas groove, and a circular gas recess formed inside the ceramic plate and surrounded by the annular gas groove with a gas inlet communicating with the circular gas recess, wherein the annular gas groove and the circular gas recess are independently separated from each other by an annular rib protrusion, with a plurality of dotted protrusions being formed within both the annular gas groove and the circular gas recess. This arrangement makes it possible to achieve a smaller in-plane temperature difference on the wafer placed on the mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck and a shorter saturating time into a predetermined constant temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrostatic chuck which is used in an apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices or liquid crystal devices and mounts thereon a wafer such as a semiconductor wafer and a liquid crystal glass substrate.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, in manufacturing processes for semiconductor devices, in order to carry out processes such as film-forming processes and etching processes on wafers such as a silicon wafer with high precision, the wafer is required to be held while properly remaining in high degree of flatness. For such a holding means, electrostatic chucks have been proposed.
The electrostatic chucks can easily fix a wafer thereon with a high degree of water flatness which is required for various processes such as film forming or etching processes. The chucks are also applicable even in a vacuum so that they have been widely incorporated in a wide variety of film-forming devices and etching devices.
Here, a further improvement in integration degree of semiconductor elements in semiconductor devices, there have been strong demands for stable performance characteristics, an improvement in production yield, and an increase in the number of wafers which can be processed per unit time. For this reason, it is required that in etching or forming a film, the wafer is heated to a target temperature as quickly as possible to improve the uniform heat distribution on an overall wafer.
Therefore, the mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck for supporting a wafer thereon is provided with grooves or recesses thereon and a gas inlet communicating with the grooves or recesses for supplying an inert gas such as He or Ar to the grooves or recesses. As a wafer is chucked onto the mounting surface, a narrow space formed between the lower surface of the wafer and the groove or recesses of the chuck is filled with an inert gas through the gas inlet so that thermal transfer characteristics between the wafer and the mounting surface on the electrostatic chuck are improved, obtaining a uniform heat distribution on a heated wafer.
Moreover, with respect to configuration of grooves or recesses formed in the mounting surface, Japanese Patent No. 2626618 discloses an chuck structure, as shown in FIG. 2, including: a gas inlet 34; a plurality of radial grooves 35 communicating with the gas inlet 34; and multiple annular grooves 36 formed concentrically with virtually equal intervals, centered on the gas inlet 34, which are allowed to communicate with the respective radial grooves 35, with the upper face of the electrostatic chuck 31 other than the radial grooves 35, annular grooves 36 and gas inlet 34 serving as the mounting surface 33 of the wafer W.
Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, JP-A-10-56054 discloses a disc-shaped electrostatic chuck 41 having: a gas inlet 44; a plurality of radial grooves 45 communicating with the gas inlet 44; and an annular groove 46 communicates with the ends of the respective radial grooves 45, in which the other upper portions of the electrostatic chuck 41 are prepared as a mounting surface 43 for supporting a wafer W than the radial grooves 45, the annular groove 46 and the gas inlet 44 and the mounting surface 43 is subjected to a blasting process to be formed into a surface with protrusions and recessions, as shown in FIG. 3B.
As shown in FIG. 4, JP-A-7-153825 discloses a chuck structure having: a plurality of fine protrusions 52 dotted on the upper surface of an electrostatic chuck 51 in a disc shape with an annular protrusion 57 formed on the peripheral edge of the upper surface, in which the top faces of the fine protrusions 52 and the annular protrusion 57 serve as a mounting surface 53 for supporting a wafer W with a plurality of gas inlets 54 being formed on the upper surface.
Moreover, JP-A-9-213777 discloses an electrostatic chuck constituted by a combination of annular gas grooves with radial gas grooves, and, as shown in FIG. 5, another electrostatic chuck 61 constituted by a combination of annular gas grooves 66 with circular gas recesses 67.
JP-A-7-18438 discloses an electrostatic chuck is formed with a plurality of annular gas grooves on its surface, and protrusions formed inside a circular gas recess.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,023 discloses an electrostatic chuck 71 having double annular gas grooves 76; a circular gas recess 77; fine dotted protrusions 78 distributed inside the area of the circular gas recess 77; and an annular rib protrusion 79 located between the double annular gas grooves 76 to be separated into two grooves.
However, in the case of the electrostatic chuck 31 having a mounting face configuration as shown in FIG. 2, with respect to the area of the mounting surface 33 surrounded by the adjacent two radial groups 35 and annular groove 36, the area in the peripheral portion is larger than that in the center portion and therefore the amount of heat transfer from the mounting surface 33 to the wafer W in the peripheral portion is greater than that in the center portion, resulting in wafer temperature at the peripheral portion of the wafer W higher than that at the center portion, with degradation in a uniform heat distribution over the surface of a wafer W.
Moreover, the electrostatic chuck 41 having amounting surface 43 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the mounting surface 43 is a surface including protrusions and recesses among them, which has a small contact area with the wafer; therefore, the low heat quantity to be transmitted from the top face of the fine protrusions to the wafer extends a time required to heat the wafer thereon to a predetermined temperature and the subsequent degreases the number of processed wafers per unit time.
Furthermore, in the electrostatic chuck 51 having the mounting surface 53 shown in FIG. 4, the contact area to the wafer W is as small as 1 to 10% so that the quantity of heat, transmitted from the top faces of the fine protrusions 52 and the annular protrusions 57 to the wafer, is small; therefore, the time required for heating the wafer to a predetermined temperature is taken longer, which does not increase the number of processed wafers per unit time, i.e. wafer process speed.
As shown in FIG. 5, the electrostatic chuck 61, which is constituted by the annular gas groove 66 and the circular gas recess 67, is sucked by the annular protrusion 69 located between the annular gas groove 66 and the circular gas recess 67, with the result that the gas pressure in the gas groove section becomes greater to cause a deformation in the wafer due to the gas pressure, resulting in a failure in sucking the wafer in an even manner and the subsequent temperature difference on the wafer surface.
Further, an electrostatic chuck 71 has been proposed in which gas pressures in two zones, prepared by an annular gas groove 76 and a circular gas recess 77 shown in FIG. 6, are supplied with the gas pressure from the annular gas groove 76 being set greater so that the heat conductivity is made greater to prevent a temperature decrease on the periphery of the wafer W and also to make the wafer temperature distribution uniform. However, since the annular gas groove 76 on the peripheral portion is divided by the annular protrusion 79; therefore, although the temperature difference is made smaller in a direction orthogonal to the annular gas groove 76, the temperature difference is merely made smaller within the span of the width of the annular gas groove 76, with the result that microscopic low temperature portions tend to occur in response to the annular protrusion 79 along the length direction of the gas groove on the periphery of the wafer. Upon manufacturing a recently-developed high density semiconductor element, for example, a semiconductor element having a width of a circuit line of 65 nm, the above-mentioned low temperature portions tend to generate a defective semiconductor element, resulting in a reduction in the yield of the semiconductor elements in the wafer.


A container, such as a roll-out cart, includes a body portion and a lid. The body portion includes an outer wall extending upward from a base wall to a mouth of the body portion. The lid is secured to the body portion and pivotable between a closed position over the mouth and an open position. The lid includes an upper lid portion and a lower lid portion. The upper lid portion extends downward to an outer lip. The lower lid portion extends downward to an inner lip. The inner lip is inward of the outer wall of the body portion when the lid is in the closed position. The outer lip is outward of the outer wall of the body when the lid is in the closed position.

Containers for trash, recycling, or organic waste (compost), etc. often attract the interest of animals, such as rodents, dogs, raccoons, etc. Many containers include lids that latch, but some animals can pry under the lid and force the container open. In some areas, bears may try to force the container open.


In an example embodiment, a method of performing a health check on a process integration (PI) component is provided. A PI health check scenario is loaded into the PI component, the PI health check scenario including a reference to a list of checks. The PI health check scenario is then executed using the PI component, causing one or more checks in the list of checks to be performed at a predetermined frequency. The system can then automatically determine if one or more of the one or more checks fail.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems allow for the integration of internal and external management information across an entire organization, including financial/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, and the like. The purpose of ERP is to facilitate the flow of information between business functions inside the organization and management connections to outside entities. One commonly used component in an ERP system is a process integration (PI) component. The PI component coordinates how various process components exchange data with one another.

System and method of performing a health check on a process integration component


A method of using a burner-based exhaust replication system to generate exhaust that contains nitrogen dioxide (NO2). An example of such as system is a system used to test automotive exhaust aftertreatment devices. A fluid that decomposes to generate NO2 as one of its decomposition products is selected. The fluid is heated thereby generating NO2, with the amount and duration of heating is controlled to result in a desired decomposition extent of NO2 from the fluid. The fluid is then delivered to an exhaust stream of the system.

In today's automotive vehicles, exhaust aftertreatment devices remove potentially harmful gases and particulates from the engines' exhaust. Examples of these are the catalytic converters common on gasoline vehicles as well as diesel oxidation catalysts, diesel particulate filters, and selective catalytic reduction catalysts.
The desire for reduced automotive emissions has led to the need for test systems that rapidly and cost-effectively evaluate and age exhaust aftertreatment devices. This allows both performance and durability to be tested.
Conventionally, tests of exhaust aftertreatment devices have been conducted on engine test stands. However, burner-based systems are also used. An example of a burner-based system is the Exhaust Component Transient Operation Laboratory (ECTO-Lab™) developed by Southwest Research Institute.
To test the various exhaust aftertreatment devices in use for today's engine-driven vehicles, a burner-based test system must be capable of replicating the exhaust produced by the engines. Two pollutants of interest are NO (nitric oxide) and NO2 (nitrogen dioxide). Methods exist for generating NO in-situ by combustion of nitromethane/nitroethane, but a method is needed for generation of NO2.

Generation of nitrogen dioxide for use with burner-based exhaust replication system


A pressure sensitive valve device is provided for use in a cooling system for the engine of a marine propulsion unit. The pressure sensitive valve device of the invention communicates with the coolant line pressure of an engine cooling jacket at both a coolant input port region of the cooling jacket and a coolant output port region of the cooling jacket. When the difference in pressure between these two regions exceeds a predetermined limit the pressure sensitive valve device opens, thereby permitting coolant to pass therethrough. The cooling system also employs a temperature sensitive valve device positioned in parallel with the pressure sensitive valve device. The temperature sensitive valve device is operative to control coolant flow within the engine in the low RPM operation range, while the pressure sensitive valve device becomes operative to control coolant flow in the high RPM operation range, where the thermal load of the engine is great. Thus, sufficient coolant flow may be achieved throughout the entire engine operating range.

This invention relates to a water cooling system for an engine, employable in connection with a marine propulsion unit; and more specifically, to a valve arrangement for controlling coolant flow through the cooling system.
It has been known to employ an engine as a powering means in connection with marine propulsion units. Cooling systems in such engines have included means for introducing a coolant, such as water from the body of water within which the marine craft is operated, into the engine. Valving arrangements have commonly been employed to control the flow of coolant through the engine, in order to maintain desired engine temperatures during operation.
Concerning such valve control arrangements, it has specifically been known to include both a thermostatically controlled valve and a pressure actuated valve for controlling coolant flow. Such a system employing both a thermo-sensitive control valve and a pressure-sensitive control valve has been disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Sho61-48687. The thermo-sensitive valve primarily controls the coolant flow under low RPM operating conditions. The maximum amount of coolant which will flow through the engine as a result of the opening of the thermo-sensitive control valve, however, may not be sufficient to allow proper cooling of the engine under higher loads. To increase the flow of coolant in the high RPM range, where the thermal load of the engine is higher, a pressure-sensitive control valve is provided.
However, certain problems have been encountered when utilizing known pressure-sensitive valves for the above-discussed purpose. For example, sufficient water flow cannot be achieved in the high RPM operation range when a pressure-sensitive control valve 1 of the type shown in FIG. 1 is used. Although the valve body 2 will become unseated, thereby opening the valve device 1, when the pressure rises on the water jacket side (indicated by the arrow accompanying the notation "in"), the valve body 2 will immediately return to its seated, closed position, under the force of the spring member 3, due to a resulting subsequent drop in pressure on the water jacket side. Accordingly, repeated opening and closing of the valve device will occur, thereby rendering adequate water flow impossible to achieve.
The valve device 4 of FIG. 2 overcomes some of the problems of the device of FIG. 1 by retarding such closing of the valve body 5 immediately after opening via a diaphragm 6 exposed to atmospheric pressure. However, the valve device 4 requires the use of a throttling area 7 along the discharge passage 8 in order to achieve such results. The throttling area 7 impairs the achievement of a sufficient water flow.
It is, therefore, a primary purpose of this invention to provide an improved water flow control arrangement for use in a water cooling system for the engine of a marine propulsion unit.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide an improved pressure-sensitive valve device for such a water cooling system which allows the achievement of a sufficient coolant flow rate in the high RPM operation range of an engine.

Water cooling system for a marine propulsion unit


A system for generating and maintaining lock files to inhibit conflicting requests for data files. A first process that accesses a data file generates a lock file to prohibit other processes from reading and/or writing that data file. Periodically the first process refreshes the lock file so that it shows a new modification time. A second process requesting access to the data file detect the lock file, stores the time of the attempted access, then waits a predetermined wait period and reads the lock file again. This is repeated, each time waiting for the wait period and again reading the lock file, until either (1) a predetermined time-out period passes without the first process refreshing the lock file, whereupon it is presumed that the process is defunct so the second process may access the data file; or (2) more than a maximum allowed access period of time has passed without the second process gaining access, i.e. the first process continues to refresh the lock file for greater than some predefined period. The refresh period is set to a relatively small period, so that if the first process dies the second process gains access to the data files quickly.

This invention relates to the field of file access in computer systems, and in particular to mechanisms for controlling the ownership of a file that is accessed by multiple users.
Multi-user or multiprocessing computer systems generally provide mechanisms for controlling and coordinating access from multiple hosts or users to any given file. If a first user or process is accessing a file and has write permission to that file, it is important to ensure that no other users or processes have write permission at the same time, or they may write changes alternately, destroying one another's previously written alterations, resulting in file corruption or incorrect data. In widely distributed systems, this problem can become quite difficult to control.
Many operating systems, such as UNIX, do not include file locking primitives, so a mechanism for creating and controlling file locks is necessary. This need is answered by a number of locking mechanisms currently in use, such as server processes through which clients communicate in order to coordinate locking of files.
Another approach used by current systems is to create a special lock file when a file is accessed; the existence of the lock file indicates to other users or processes that the file is in use, and that it may not be modified until the lock file is deleted, which occurs only when the user or process is finished with modifications and has closed the file. (In this application, references to user actions may be taken to refer likewise to process actions, and vice versa.) Thus, in such systems the lock file is automatically created by a predetermined process when a process first accesses a file, and is likewise automatically removed when the process access is complete.
In this type of system, other processes waiting for access to the file must wait first for the lock (i.e. the lock file) to be removed by the locking process, and until then will refrain from accessing the file (or data). This scheme has the advantage of being simple to implement, since it relies upon the inherent capabilities of the underlying distributed file system, i.e. does not require the creation and maintenance of dedicated servers, which can be difficult to keep running. (Such a scheme is detailed in most UNIX programming books, e.g. Advanced UNIX Programing by Marc J. Rochkind (Prentice Hall 1985), which is incorporated herein by reference.)
However, a problem with such a scheme is that a process may "die" unexpectedly while holding a lock file, in which case other processes attempting to access the locked file will wait indefinitely, because the triggering event for allowing them access to the file--the removal of the lock file--will not occur.
A conventional solution for this problem is to provide a time-out period, i.e. a predefined period of time constituting the longest amount of time that any process might be expected to require access to a given file,. e.g a required data file. If another process attempts to access the file and determines that there is a lock file, it determines the length of time that the lock has been in existence, and if this is longer than the time-out period then the lock is "orphaned" and the newly accessing process removes it, and proceeds to access the data file.
In a widely distributed environment having data files that are shared by a large number of processes, orphaned locks can be quite common, resulting from network problems, system crashes, etc. A problem with the use of a time-out scheme in such a setting is that it is difficult to decide upon a useful time-out period. The period must be set high enough so that the maximum reasonably expected access period for the data files will not be truncated by the time-out mechanism. This means that processes attempting to access a data file will need to wait this maximum period every time a currently accessing process dies, which leads to numerous long wait periods in a system with a high number of processes that may die, resulting in poor system performance.
However, if the maximum reasonable wait period is defined as being very short, then accesses by currently running processes may have their perfectly valid locks removed, resulting in corrupted data.
Hence, a system is needed that solves this difficult compromise of time-out periods for currently accessing processes, both providing lock protection for processes accessing data files and minimizing delays to processes attempting to access the data files when a currently accessing process dies.

Method and apparatus for refreshing file locks to minimize conflicting accesses to data files


A photochromic contact lens having a period of time for discoloring the contact lens from a colored state to the uncolored state shortened, wherein the photochromic contact lens is made of an oxygen-permeable polymer material having a second-order transition point of not higher than 110° C., and formed to have an oxygen permeation coefficient of not less than 50, and wherein the contact lens contains a dye capable of exhibiting photochromism.

Conventionally, in order to protect eyes from a strong light (UV-light), there have been proposed various contact lenses, or so-called photochromic contact lenses, having a function of light control (photochromism), in which the contact lenses are colored by a light and discolored by insulation of a light.
For example, JP-A-4-208919 discloses a method of manufacturing a photochromic hard contact lens by using a polymer obtained by polymerizing 30 to 80 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate, 2 to 30 parts by weight of bifunctional acrylate or methacrylate, and 1 to 50 parts by weight of additional acrylate-containing or methacrylate-containing monomer, under an existence of spiro naphthoxazine as a photochromic compound (coloring matter). In addition, JP-B2-4-28725 discloses a method of forming a contact lens from a resin block capable of exhibiting photochromism, in which the resin block is manufactured by polymerizing a mixture of methyl methacrylate or methyl methacrylate containing monomers and spiropyran compound capable of exhibiting photochromism. Further, Japanese Patent No. 2723225 discloses a technique for forming a photochromic contact lens from a polymer, wherein the polymer is obtained by using a photochromic compound of an ionic dissociation type, whose structure and color are changed by a light, which exhibits an ionic dissociation at its colored state, and has a copolymerizable functional group.
These conventionally known photochromic contact lenses are enabled to protect the lens wearer's eyes and exhibit a characteristic of antidazzling effect, by adding a compound (photochromic dye), which has a function of light control (photochromism), to the contact lens, or by introducing an unsaturated photochromic dye to a main chain of a polymer to form the contact lens. However, these background arts simply explain that the contact lenses are colored by an irradiation of the light, and if the light is insulated, the color is discolored immediately or without delay. There hasn't been proposed a method for improving the characteristic of discoloration and reducing the period of time for the discoloration.
If it takes too much time for discoloring the contact lens from a colored state to an uncolored state, this may cause problems. For instance, if the lens wearer is driving a car, visual acuity of objects is poor in a tunnel, which may cause undesirable effects for the driving. However, the discoloration of the conventionally used photochromic contact lens from the colored state to the uncolored state is not completed in a sufficiently short period of time. Therefore, there is desired a photochromic contact lens, which has an excellent discoloring characteristic and takes a short period of time for the discoloration.

Photochromic contact lens having excellent discoloring characteristic


A circuit arrangement for detecting a received signal includes a rectifier with an input connected to a receiving antenna for rectifying an encoded received signal, a signal capacitor connected to an output of the rectifier, a discharge current sink connected to the signal capacitor, and a signal evaluating circuit connected to the signal capacitor. The discharge current sink includes a current mirror circuit of cascode-connected transistors. Thereby, the discharge current is substantially independent of the signal voltage over a larger range of voltages. This signal detection circuit is useful in transponders or remote sensors that receive and detect a signal transmitted by a base station.

Signal receiver circuits of the above mentioned general type are used, for example, in transponders for contactless identification systems such as radio frequency identification (RFID) systems, and for remote sensors, in order to receive and decode a coded signal that is transmitted from a base station or a reader device, and then to transform the decoded signal into a digital signal. For this purpose, such circuits typically include a rectifier that rectifies the signal received by an antenna of the transponder. A so-called signal capacitor is connected at the output of the rectifier. The signal voltage that represents the presently transmitted code prevails on the signal capacitor and is evaluated by an evaluating circuit connected thereto. In order that the signal voltage will follow a change or variation of the input voltage of the rectifier as quickly as possible, the signal capacitor has a defined discharge current applied thereto from a discharge current source or a discharge current sink. The discharge current has a magnitude adapted to the capacitance of the signal capacitor, while the capacitance is selected so that short time constants can be achieved and simultaneously a UHF decoupling is ensured.
Such a circuit arrangement with a discharge current sink, which comprises a current mirror circuit, is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,489 (Friedman et al.), for example. The entire disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,489 is incorporated herein by reference. In the known arrangement, the current mirror circuit is embodied as a so-called simple current mirror consisting of two n-FET transistors, in which a rated or desired current value in the form of a reference current, through one of the transistors, determines the current strength of the other transistor, that is to say the discharge current. Due to the characteristics of the MOS transistors used in such conventional current mirrors, the current strength is reduced sharply for signal voltages that are smaller than the transistor saturation voltage. Moreover, even for signal voltages above the transistor saturation voltage, there still exists a dependence between the discharge current and the signal voltage.
Current sources in the form of current mirror circuits, which have a small dependence between the current and the voltage, are utilized in operational amplifiers, for example. A so-called cascode current mirror circuit with a large output range, or so-called "wide-swing cascode current mirror" for an operational amplifier, which considerably reduces the dependence between the current and the voltage, is described in the article by D. A. Johns and K. Martin "Analog Integrated Circuit Design", pages 256 to 259, ISBN:0-471-14448-7.

Circuit arrangement for signal detection having current mirror with cascode coupled transistors


A waveguide sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a substrate; a first underclad arranged on one side of the substrate; a first sensing core arranged on outer side of the first underclad and having a stripe pattern which extends in one direction; a first overclad arranged on outer side of the first sensing core; a second underclad arranged on another side of the substrate; a second sensing core arranged on outer side of the second underclad and having a stripe pattern which extends in a direction not parallel to the direction in which the first sensing core extends; and a second overclad arranged on outer side of the second sensing core. A first grooved part which extends in a direction not parallel to the direction in which the first sensing core extends is formed on the first overclad, so that the first grooved part and the first sensing core together form a first grating in a plane view. Furthermore, a second grooved part which extends in a direction not parallel to the direction in which the second sensing core extends is formed on the second overclad, so that the second grooved part and the second sensing core together form a second grating in a plane view.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waveguide sensor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a waveguide sensor capable of performing mechanical sensing with a remarkably improved sensitivity and performing two-dimensional motion sensing and three-dimensional motion sensing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A waveguide sensor is expected to be used for sensing physical, mechanical, chemical and/or biological characteristics. Conventionally, a fiber-shaped waveguide sensor having a corrugated grating, which is used for sensing strain, torsion and bending, is well known (for example, Victor G. and Jack F., Optical Letters, Vol. 25, No. 4, Feb. 15 (2000), pp. 203-205). Such a sensor typically performs mechanical sensing by detecting strain, torsion, bending or the like. However, such a sensor can't readily provide micro-sensor array with effective cost and fine resolution.
In view of the above, a sensor capable of performing mechanical sensing with an improved sensitivity has been largely demanded.


The electronic unit having identification information thereon includes a casing, an electronic circuit contained in the casing, a connector fitted to the casing, the connector including signal terminals connected to the electronic circuit, and an RFID tag having an antenna device and attached to the connector. The RFID tag stores the identification information and is configured to transmit a reply signal containing the identification information through the antenna device in response to a transmission request signal transmitted from outside and received by the antenna device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic unit having identification information thereof, such as a vehicle mounted electronic control unit.
2. Description of Related Art
As proposed, for example, in published Japanese translation 9-503340 of PCT/US95/09032, there is known an electronic unit which has an ID tag attached to a connector thereof, and is automatically connected to a network to which an administration apparatus is connected when the connector is plugged into a receptacle. The administration apparatus monitors, through the network, the number and types of such electronic units whose connectors are plugged into receptacles. Accordingly, the administration apparatus can detect unauthorized removal or replacement of any of such electronic units.
It is also known to attach a tag containing ID information of a vehicle-mounted electronic unit to a connector of this vehicle-mounted electronic unit. This makes it possible to administrate various vehicle-mounted electronic units interconnected via an in-vehicle network.
However, the conventional vehicle component management system using such an in-vehicle network has a problem in that the ID information of a vehicle-mounted electronic unit cannot be read if its connector is not plugged into a corresponding receptacle. It is because, an ID reading device connected to the in-vehicle network cannot recognize a vehicle-mounted electronic unit until it is connected to this network by plugging its connector to a corresponding receptacle. This lowers the usability of the vehicle component management system.
Incidentally, it has been proposed to administrate vehicle components after they are shipped from factories at an administration center in order to prevent them from being stolen from a vehicle and sold away for use in other vehicles. This system makes it possible to confirm at a repair shop, for example, whether a vehicle component supposed to be mounted on a vehicle as a replacement or an additional component is an authentic one by reading the ID information from a tag attached to this component and sending it to the administration center.
However, also in such a system, to read the ID information from the tag, the connector of this vehicle component has to be plugged into a corresponding receptacle so that this vehicle component is connected to the network or to a test dedicated device. This lowers working efficiency in replacing or additionally installing the vehicle component at the repair shop.

Electronic unit having identification information thereof


In a memory device and its heat sink, the memory device includes a memory, a heat sink mounted onto the memory and a clamping element, and the heat sink includes an isothermal vapor chamber plate and a heat dissipating body, and the isothermal vapor chamber plate is attached onto an external side of the memory and includes an insert portion, and the heat dissipating body includes a base plate, a plurality of heat dissipating fins extended from the base plate, and a pawl arm extended from the base plate and in an opposite direction of the fins, and the heat dissipating body is coupled to the insert portion in a replaceable manner by the pawl arm, and the clamping element is provided for clamping the base plate and the isothermal vapor chamber plate, such that the heat dissipating body can be replaced on the isothermal vapor chamber plate easily.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat dissipating structure, in particular to a heat sink used in a memory device.
2. Description of Prior Art
To cope with the high-speed operation of processors, present memory modules tend to be developed with increasingly higher speed and frequency regardless of their operating clock or transmission bandwidth, such that the operating temperature of the memory modules becomes increasingly higher, and the heat produced becomes tremendously high. The continuous rising temperature may affect the operation performance of the memory or may even damage the memory modules.
In general, a conventional memory heat dissipating structure comprises a cooling plate, an isothermal vapor chamber plate and a heat dissipating body, wherein a surface of the isothermal vapor chamber plate is attached and coupled to the cooling plate, and another surface of the isothermal vapor chamber plate is attached and coupled to the memory module, and the heat dissipating body is installed onto the memory module and clamped between the cooling plate and the isothermal vapor chamber plate, and the heat dissipating body includes a base plate and a plurality of heat dissipating fins extended from the base plate, and the base plate is attached and coupled to the isothermal vapor chamber plate and clamped and fixed between the cooling plates by a fastener for dissipating the heat generated by the memory module, and the heat dissipating fins are in different forms provided for making a change by users according to different heat dissipation requirements.
In the aforementioned memory heat dissipating structure, although the heat dissipating fins can be changed to various forms according to different heat dissipation requirements, yet no clamping or positioning structure is installed between the heat dissipating body and the isothermal vapor chamber plate, so that it is necessary to hold the heat dissipating body by hand or use a tool for positioning them before the fastener is secured. This procedure makes the assembling and replacement processes more difficult.
In view of the foregoing drawbacks, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in the related industry to conduct extensive researches and experiments, and finally provided a feasible and effective design in accordance with the present invention.

Heat sink for memory and memory device having heat sink


A liquid crystal display includes an insulating substrate, an alignment layer covering a main surface of the insulating substrate, and electrodes interposed therebetween. The alignment layer defines an alignment direction parallel to the main surface, an upstream side as one end's side of the alignment direction, and a downstream side as another end's side of the alignment direction, and tilts liquid crystal molecules toward the downstream side. Each electrode includes an upstream section that includes a first edge facing the upstream side and a downstream section that includes a second edge facing the downstream side and is provided with a recess recessed relative to the second edge. The first recess forms on the downstream section a third edge extending in the alignment direction and a fourth edge connecting the third edge to the second edge and facing the upstream side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a liquid crystal display using an optically compensated bend (OCB) mode, a liquid crystal material is caused to form a bend configuration, and the tilt angles of liquid crystal molecules are changed near each alignment layer, thereby changing the optical retardation of an optical filter layer. Because of utilizing the bend configuration, the OCB-mode is one of the display modes capable of realizing a high response speed and a wide viewing angle, and has attracted attention in recent years.
As described above, the bend configuration is essential in the OCB-mode. However, the bend configuration is difficult to stably obtain as will be explained below.
That is, a liquid crystal material of an OCB-mode liquid crystal display forms a splay configuration in an initial state in which the power supply is off. This is because the splay configuration is more stable than the bend configuration by nature. Therefore, a process for changing the splay configuration to the bend configuration is necessary when turning on the display.
In order to induce the transition, it is necessary to supply the liquid crystal material with energy higher than the difference in energies between the bend configuration and the splay configuration. Normally, the energy is supplied to the liquid crystal material by applying voltage to the liquid crystal cell. When the energy is almost equal to the difference of energies, the transition from the splay configuration to the bend configuration will proceed slowly. For this reason, the transition requires that a significantly high voltage be applied. Further, the transition process is prone to be affected by the shape of the substrate surface or the electric field distribution. Consequently, unchanged regions sometimes remain in the optical filter layer.
In order to solve this problem, JP-A 2001-83552 (KOKAI) describes that the pixel electrodes and/or the wirings are patterned into complex shapes so as to produce a non-uniform electric field. JP-A 2006-154797 (KOKAI) describes that the end faces of the pixel electrodes are inclined so as to produce a non-uniform electric field.
When such a technique is employed, under ordinary temperature conditions, the splay configuration can be rapidly changed to the bend configuration with an application of a relatively low voltage. However, the present inventors have found that the transition may not proceed in some regions of the optical filter layer at low temperatures near the lower limit of the temperature range within which the performance is guaranteed.


Microfabricated microvalves may be used with liquid-filled control channels and actuated using compact and battery-powered components, without the need for heavier or fixed infrastructure. The disclosed embodiments include microvalves with on-off fluid control with relatively fast response times, coordinated switching of multiple valves, and operation of a biological (enzyme-substrate) assay in a handheld configuration.

Many integrated portable sensors and diagnostic systems require multiple fluid processing steps. One component of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices is valves, which enable control of fluid flow, isolation of different regions, and movement of sample, reagents, or reaction products without cross-contamination or unintended mixing. In recent years, the use of multilayer soft lithography for making microfabricated pneumatic valves has provided a reliable and versatile platform for advanced fluid handling in LOC devices, offering advantages of rapid prototyping and biocompatibility compared to silicon-based MEMS. Such pneumatic valves have been used for a wide range of research applications taking place in centralized facilities.
Pneumatic valves may use laboratory infrastructure such as gas tank, computers, and ground electricity for their operation. Other valves that have been developed for use in LOC applications included screw-based valves, stimuli-responsive hydrogels, passive valves, and burst valves. These valves may lack automated operation, fast response times, resistance to leakage, independence of external infrastructure, and ability to be used multiple times for an ideal portable LOC system.
Fluid handling is useful for a variety of LOC procedures. Elastomeric valves made by multilayer soft lithography, for example, have desirable features. When used with external devices such as gas tanks, computers, and ground electricity, their portability may be reduced.

Microfluidic flow devices, methods and systems

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a method and system comprising a remote control device, an output device, and a media control station that receives an initiating command from the remote control device to initiate a forward function or a backward function, provides a display at the output device in response to the initiating command, receives a user selection command based on the display, and adjusts the function based on the user selection commands.

Multimedia devices, such as VCRs (Video Cassette Recorders), DVD (Digital Video Disc) players, CD players, and MP3 players, are extremely popular with consumers. More recently, Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), also called Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), have become another option for people to record and watch video. Consumer VCRs typically provided a few basic playback controls, such as Play, Stop, Pause, Rewind, and Fast Forward. DVD players added a few more capabilities, such as several levels of rewind and fast forward speeds. Because DVRs use a hard drive-based storage medium for recording video, additional playback control features may be added. These may include features such as Skip Back (a single jump back in video) and Skip Forward (a single jump forward in video), Slow Motion (moving backward at a lower speed), Frame Advance (moving forward one frame at a time), and Frame Back (moving backward one frame at a time). As a result, video playback controls have become increasingly complex in order to accommodate additional functionalities and features.

Method and system for customizable video playback controls


Disclosed is an actuator device which includes a vibration plate and a piezoelectric element. The vibration plate includes an elastic film which is made of silicon oxide (SiO2) and which is formed on a substrate while the piezoelectric element is formed on the vibration plate and including a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer and an upper electrode. The vibration plate has such a stress as to give a tensile stress between 300 MPa and 500 MPa, inclusive, to the piezoelectric element that is in a state of being displaced.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an actuator device equipped with a vibration plate provided on a substrate and with a piezoelectric element formed on the vibration plate. The invention also relates to a liquid-jet head and a liquid-jet apparatus both of which employ the actuator device mentioned above.
2. Related Art
A type of actuator device in which displacement of a vibration plate is caused by drive of a piezoelectric element is mounted on, for example, a head that jets a liquid (liquid-jet head, for short). A well-known example of the liquid-jet head is an ink-jet recording head in which actuator devices are provided on a passage-forming substrate where pressure-generating chambers communicating respectively with nozzle orifices are formed. When the actuator devices are driven, the ink-jet head ejects ink droplets. Put another way, the vibration plate forms a part of each pressure-generating chamber in the ink-jet recording head and is deformed by driving the corresponding piezoelectric element. When the vibration plate deforms, the ink in the pressure-generating chamber is pressurized, and ink droplets are ejected through the corresponding nozzle orifice. A type of actuator device that can be mounted on the ink-jet recording head of the above-mentioned kind is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2000-094681. In the actuator device, a piezoelectric layer made of, for example, a thin film of PZT is evenly formed on the entire surface of the vibration plate by a film-forming method, and then the piezoelectric layer is cut into shapes, each of which corresponds to each one of pressure-generating chambers by a lithography method. The piezoelectric elements thus formed are independent of one another and correspond to pressure-generating chambers, respectively.

Actuator device, liquid-jet head and liquid-jet apparatus