Embodiments of a user station (STA) and methods for device-to-device discovery and advertisement through broadcast beacon signals are generally described herein. In some embodiments, group information, including a list of STAs in an advertising group, is transmitted in a beacon. A STA may transmit a request to join the advertising group. The request may be transmitted to an upchain STA, the upchain STA being determined based on inspection of the list of STAs of the advertising group. After receiving a response to the request, the STA may periodically broadcast the beacon and the STA may transmit acknowledgements to the upchain STA upon receiving beacons from the upchain STA.

Recently, there has arisen a demand for systems that perform device-to-device (D2D) discovery among devices within a Wi-Fi service area, and D2D advertisement of commercial or social information among these devices. In order to support discovery and advertisement, devices in some systems broadcast their own information periodically, which may require large amounts of device power and consume substantial bandwidth in the Wi-Fi service area.
Some other systems provide D2D advertisement with reduced power and bandwidth consumption by allowing one device at a time, sequentially and periodically, to broadcast the information for devices in a Wi-Fi service area. Nevertheless, the devices in the group may not be aware if a device leaves the Wi-Fi service area or otherwise is unable to receive or broadcast the group information. This may lead to a breakdown of the group.
Accordingly, there is a general need for improved reliability in D2D group discovery and advertisement.

Methods, wireless communication stations, and system for device-to-device discovery and advertisement


A waterproof connector having excellent waterproofing properties is provided. This waterproof connector consists of a connector main body 1 for receiving a plurality of terminals connected to wires 10 in parallel, and an elastomer packing 4 to be inserted into a concave portion 2 formed in the connector main body 1 at the wire connecting end. The elastomer packing 4 is made up of a pair of split modules 4A and 4B. Wire receiving grooves 5A and 5B for receiving the wires are formed on the contact surface of each split module 4A and 4B. With the wires 10 being placed into the wire receiving grooves 5A and 5B, the elastomer packing 4 is inserted into the concave portion 2. Elastomer packing pressing grooves 6A and 6B are formed on the outer periphery of the elastomer packing 4, and one elastomer packing pressing groove 6A and 6B is situated between every two neighboring wire receiving grooves 5A and 5B. Pressing ribs 3 to be engaged with the elastomer packing pressing grooves 6A and 6B are formed on the inner surface of the concave portion 2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof connector and, more particularly, to a waterproof connector which exhibits excellent waterproofing properties.
2. Related Art
Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 50-54591 discloses a waterproof connector shown in FIG. 4.
Reference numeral 21 indicates a connector main body having a concave portion 21a formed at the wire extending end.
Reference numeral 23 indicates an elastomer packing which is made up of a pair of split modules 23a and 23a'. Grooves 23b for receiving the wires 22 are formed on the contact surfaces of the split modules 23a and 23a'. The wires 22 are placed in the grooves 23b, and the split modules 23a and 23a' are then pushed into the concave portion 21a of the connector main body 21.
With the conventional waterproof connector, however, there has been a problem as follows. When the elastomer packing 23 is engaged with the concave portion 21a of the connector main body 21, the contact surfaces of the split modules 23a and 23a' are pressed in a direction perpendicular to each of them, as shown in FIG. 5, thus providing excellent waterproofing properties. On the other hand, the contact surfaces of the wires 22 and the elastomer packing 23, indicated by arrow A in FIG. 5, are subjected to no pressing force. As a result, water enters through the portions A, and the waterproofing properties deteriorate.


A fish descaling apparatus comprises a scaling member having a proximal end, a distal end and an aperture proximate the proximal end on a top surface thereon. The proximal end is removably coupled to a conduit connected with a conventional source of pressurized water and the distal end having a flat portion with a flange edge on at least one side thereof. A valve member is inserted within the aperture and adjusted to regulate the flow rate of water through the scaling member. In use, the flat portion with the flange edge facilitates descaling of the fish and the water runs through the scaling member simultaneously washes away the scales from the fish thereby facilitating efficient cleaning of the fish. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a plurality of stops that is adapted to collect and prevent the scales by moving towards the proximal end of the scaling member.

1. Technical Field of the Disclosure
The present embodiment relates in general to fish descalers. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an improved fish descaling apparatus that is connected to a pressurized water source for cleaning a fish with water while simultaneously removing the scales from the fish.
2. Description of the Related Art
Descaling fish is a cleaning process in which the scales, dirt and grime on the fish are removed by continuously scraping using any of various scraping elements. During the process the scales and grimes are accumulated on the scraping element and hinder the process of cleaning. This requires a user to wash the scraping element with water to remove scales and grime from the fish and scraping element. Thus, the cleaning process is often an unpleasant, time consuming and messy operation. Various fish cleaning tools have been devised to scrape the scales from the fish.
Conventional standard scrubbers are an effective and quick way of literally scrubbing the scales off of the outside of a fish. These scrubbers are a balled up bundle of round stainless steel ribbons. However, the user needs to thoroughly rinse the scrubber to remove all of the scales and slime that will get embedded deeply into the scrubber and cause it to stink after few uses. Moreover, these scrubbers can harm the skin or flesh of the fish and fail to remove small scales.
Knives or knife-like implements can be used to scrape heavy scaled fishes from the tail to the head until the scales are removed. The fish are then rinsed with water to remove any remaining slime or scale pieces that are not embedded in the flesh of the fish. This can frequently cause injury to the hands of the user. Further, these implements are not able to effectively clean fish during the descaling process, nor reduce bacteria typically associated with the improper handling of the fish.
A conventional means for solving this problem is the use of fish scraping devices that include a handle and a scraping element connected to the handle, with the scraping element having a plurality of serrated teeth. The serrated teeth of the scraping element are used to remove the scales from the fish. However, the scales and grime tend to collect on the serrated teeth of the scraping element and the user needs to frequently at wash the scraping element. Moreover, the serrated teeth are difficult to guide properly along the surface of the fish for efficiently removing the scales without hannrming the flesh of the fish.
Many attempts have been made to incorporate a water spraying unit with the fish scraping devices. In use, the water flows through the passage in the handle and to the scraping element during a scraping process. However, the loosened scales become clogged between the laterally spaced serrated teeth which tends to block the flow of water when the teeth are pressed against the fish. Moreover, the scraping element is not ideally designed for easily accessing beneath the fish scales during descaling process.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved, lightweight and portable fish descaling apparatus that would provide efficient descaling of fish. Such an improved fish descaling apparatus requires less physical effort and creates less of a mess while cleaning the fish. Such a fish descaling apparatus would include a scaling member that is ideally designed for easily accessing beneath the fish scales. Such a needed device would be able to effectively clean fish while descaling thereby reducing the bacteria typically associated with the improper handling of the fish. Such a fish descaling apparatus would be connected to a pressurized water source for cleaning the fish with water while simultaneously removing the scales from the fish. Further, such a fish descaling apparatus would further includes a plurality of stops that is adapted to collect the scales and prevent the scales by moving towards the proximal end of the scaling member. Such a fish descaling apparatus would be adapted to remove the scales collected using the stops from the fish when the water is delivered through the scaling member in a rapid motion and stacked on the flat portion. Finally, this fish descaling apparatus would efficiently clear the loosened scales clogged onto the scaling member using the water that runs through it during the descaling process.


The invention related a dishwasher provided in a substantially horizontal section of a wash fluid conduit with a section of continuously increasing flow cross section to form a measuring zone of quieted wash fluid flow to separate foam and air bubbles from the fluid whose suspended contaminant particles are to be measured by a turbidimeter.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention, in general relates to a dishwasher and, more particularly, to a dishwasher provided with a device for substantially preventing the formation of foam and air bubbles in a dampened flow measuring zone of a turbidity sensor disposed in the water circulation path.
2. The Prior Art
In program controlled dishwashers which utilize turbidity sensors for optimizing the washing cycle the problem may arise that dirt particles suspended in the wash fluid as well as foam and air bubbles caused by food residue may move through the measuring path of the sensor and, as a function of the contaminants and admixed air, generate noisy analog measurement signals of uncontrollable voltage levels at the output of a photo receiver. While the noisy signals characterize the degree of contamination of the wash fluid at any given time, they are distorted by the accompanying portion of bubbles and/or foam. As a result, digital signal processing corresponding to the actual degree of wash fluid contamination for controlling the washing operation is complicated. To prevent this problem, it has been proposed to move the wash fluid within the measuring zone at a dampened flow.


A carrier member is configured to convey one or more webs and to receive a discrete absorbent article from a transfer assembly. The transfer assembly comprises a transfer member having a transfer surface. The transfer surface is configured to engage the discrete article. The carrier member comprises a body and a resilient member positioned on the body. The resilient member has a Shore A hardness of between about 20 and about 50.

Absorbent articles, such as taped diapers or pant diapers, for example, may be manufactured by a process where discrete articles, such as a chassis of a taped diaper or a pant diaper including a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core, for example, are applied to one or more moving webs of components, such as webs of front and rear belt portions, for example, using transfer members of transfer assemblies. Often, a speed at which the discrete articles are fed into the process on a first moving carrier member is not the same as a speed of a second moving carrier member on which the moving webs of components are situated. Thus, the speed of the discrete articles should generally be changed by the transfer assemblies to match, or closely match, the speed of the one or webs of components being conveyed over the second moving carrier member to properly apply or join the discrete articles to the one or more webs of components without adversely affecting the process or a finished product produced by the process. In some instances, the discrete articles may also need to be turned (e.g., about 90 degrees) and repitched by the transfer assemblies after pickup from the first moving carrier member and before placement onto the webs conveyed over the second moving carrier member. A transfer assembly may have a frame defining an axis and a plurality of transfer members rotating about the axis. During such rotation, the transfer members of the transfer assembly may move past the first moving carrier member to pick up the discrete articles and move past the second moving carrier member to drop off the discrete articles onto the one or more webs being conveyed thereover.
When the discrete articles are dropped off, they may be joined to the one or more webs. The pressure intermediate the transfer members or transfer surfaces thereof and the webs moving over the second carrier member may not be sufficient to fully and reliably bond, join, or attach the discrete articles to the webs. What is needed are apparatuses and methods that ensure full and reliable bonding, joining or attaching of the discrete articles to the webs being conveyed over the second carrier member.

Carrier members or transfer surfaces having a resilient member


A quick-acting pipe connector assembly used to join two pipes. The assembly includes a flange connected to the first pipe. The flange has an end face and a plurality of openings around the periphery of the end face. An end fitting is connected to the second pipe. The end fitting has an end face sized to fit against the flange end face. A force ring is attached to the end fitting and has a plurality of openings around its periphery. A plurality of connector bolts are attached to and extend through force ring openings. Each of the connector bolts extend through one of the flange openings. A lock ring is rotatably attached to the flange. The flange is positioned between the lock ring and the force ring. The lock ring rotates relative to the connector bolts to lock the connector bolts to the flange. A force actuator is disposed in the force ring. The force actuator expands under fluid pressure to react against the force ring and places the locked connector bolts in a prestressed condition and seals the end fitting against the flange. A ramp ring assembly is rotatably supported by the force ring. The ramp ring is rotated to lock the end fitting against the flange.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the flange closure of large vessels which may operate under pressure and at high temperature and to the flanged connection of pipes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The most common method for mounting doors, covers, or other closure devices on large vessels which operate under pressure and at high temperature has been by bolting them to flanges on the vessel opening. Similarly, the most common method for joining two pipes is to mount flanges to the ends of the pipes and then bolt the flanges together. Sealing, where required, is usually by use of various gaskets or O-rings. High temperature or pressure vessel closures and flanged connections are typically held in place by numerous bolts or studs and nuts. Removal and replacement of the bolted cover or flange is a time-consuming operation. Removal of the bolts or nuts must generally be done by operators on site and thus it is sometimes necessary to wait for the vessel to cool before the closure can be removed.
Another method sometimes used to remove such a vessel cover involves the placement of some type of strong back or frame over the back of the closure and attaching the frame to the vessel, thereby pressing the closure itself onto the opening. Such frames can be hinged or otherwise attached to reduce the number of bolts or other attachment devices necessary to hold the closure on the vessel opening. This method requires the sacrifice of some of the rigidity and sealing ability found in the aforementioned bolted flange system. Numerous cycles of operation can cause the cover itself to become warped or cause the sealing devices used to deteriorate so that a successful design must allow for these increased tolerances. Where the temperatures and pressures encountered will allow their use, inflatable seals are sometimes incorporated into either of these types of vessel closure designs in order to accommodate the warping and deterioration that will take place.
A device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,479 exhibits inflatable seals which can aid in sealing between the vessel flange and the closure plug and the flange of the plug. Some of these seals can also be inflated in order to lift the plug itself and allow its movement. This design incorporates a variation of the bolted flange with the plug assembly being bolted in place by use of a collar.
The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 871,421 exhibits an inflatable tube which exerts a force against a door and a door frame to seal the door against the vessel. The door is held in place by a separate locking device. The inflatable tube here is used to position the door for sealing by other devices rather than performing the sealing function itself.
The invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,303 exhibits a pressure hose which can be pressurized to exert force via a lever bar to force the closure against the seal. The attachment of the closure to the vessel is achieved by a variation of the normal bolting method. Local operation by hand is essential in attaching the closure to the vessel.
The invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,584 exhibits an inflatable seal which positions the closure against another seal with attachment of the closure being by means of a bolted apparatus.
These and similar devices all suffer from the disadvantage of requiring local hand operation to attach or remove the closure and sometimes they sacrifice the strength of a bolted flange in order to reduce removal time, resulting in warpage or seal failure.
U.S Pat. No. 4,820,384 disclosed a remotely operable apparatus for installing and removing a vessel cover from a large vessel. Specially shaped connector pins align the cover with the opening and attach the cover to a mounting rim around the opening of the vessel. An incrementally rotating ring secures the cover to the connector pins, then an actuator which expands under fluid pressure is used to force the cover into its final position firmly against the vessel opening. A second rotating ring wedges the cover in its final position for the duration of the operating cycle of the vessel. The installing and removing operations can be performed remotely, resulting in a high-strength closure which can be quickly removed and replaced.


An optical unit may include a movable body holding an optical element; a fixed body surrounding the movable body; a plate-shaped spring member with a fixed body side connection part, a movable body side connection part, and an arm part which connects the fixed body side connection part with the movable body side connection part; and a drive mechanism to displace the movable body. The cover may be provided with a side plate part. The fixed body side connection part may include a frame part; and a plurality of protruded parts protruded from the frame part. The protruded parts may be separately provided from each other for every welding portion and an entire tip end side of the protruded part is formed as a melted part by welding.

In recent years, a cell phone is structured as an optical device on which an optical unit for photographing is mounted. In the optical unit, in order to restrain disturbance of a photographed image due to a shake of hand of a user, a technique has been proposed in which a movable body provided with an optical element such as a lens is set in a supported state by a fixed body through a plate-shaped spring member and, when a shake is detected, the movable body is swung around a swing support point by a magnetic drive mechanism in a direction for correcting the shake (see Patent Literature 1).

Optical unit and method for producing same


An archery bow has a handle pivotally attached to the riser. An indicator alerts the archer when the bow and handle are in proper alignment with reduced torque. Reduced bow torque results in improved accuracy.

Archery bows typically include a single riser (frame), two limbs, and a pair of pulleys, with at least one pulley having a cam surface to provide a mechanical advantage while "drawing back" and holding the poundage of the compound bow. This is typically what archers call "let off" which aides the archer if there is a situation when there needs to be an extended period of time of holding back the bow. Generally, 85% "let off" is the legal maximum allowed. "Torquing the bow" refers to twisting the bow about the axis of the riser. It is natural for an archer to torque the bow while aiming at a target. Generally located on the bowstring is a "kisser button". The purpose of the "kisser button" is to add another triangulation point of reference. Triangulation points include: the bow handle, kisser button, string touching tip of nose, looking through the peep sight and placing cable string in the middle of riser, or just having a perfect grip. Adding these methods together can make an archer more accurate. Generally, more triangulation points, equates to better accuracy. Even with all the reference points, the archer can still be inaccurate due to torquing the hand on the bow handle. By torquing the handle, less accuracy will be achieved, and will become exponential the further the target. From a beginner, to a pro, this problem seems to exist.


A supportive back rest for attachment to an original equipment back rest of a wheelchair to enhance the supportive characteristics of the wheelchair back rest. The supportive back rest includes a cushion, a suspension element and a cover. The cushion and one side of the suspension element are positioned in the cover. An opposed side of the suspension element is exposed and defines a space between it and the cushion. The suspension element slips over the upper edge of the original equipment back rest of the wheelchair to suspend the supportive back rest in position behind a seated user. The suspension element can be attached to the cover or can be attached to the cushion by molding or through attachment anchors.

The invention relates generally to seating and more specifically an attachment to the original equipment back of a chair, for example a wheelchair, to enhance support characteristics of the back, and more specifically to a supportive back overlay that can be attached to the original sling or soft back of a wheel chair or other chair to provide added support.
Wheelchairs generally are constructed from a metal frame having the overall configuration of a chair. The frame includes wheels on the bottom so that the wheelchair can be moved about to increase mobility of the seated user. The wheelchair frame supports a seat extending between two sides of the frame and usually includes arm rests on each side of the seat for comfort and stability. The frame includes vertically extending back support posts with a back support structure extending between the posts to support the seated user's back. In many styles of wheelchairs, the seat and the back support or both are constructed from a flexible material, such as canvas cloth, vinyl or the like. Since these materials are flexible, they generally bow or assume a concave configuration when the user is seated and resting against the back support. These types of back supports are sometimes referred to as sling backs.
Many users find these flexible back supports to be uncomfortable and desire firmer support and less bowing behind their backs. Replacement back supports constructed from substantially rigid materials are known, but usually require removal of the original back support, modification of the frame and mounting of the replacement back support to the frame with hardware using tools. Hence, the replacement back is not simple to attach and once the replacement back is attached, it is cumbersome and time consuming to remove. This can be particularly problematic for an injured or disabled individual who requires the use of a wheelchair and may have no help in modifying his or her wheelchair. It would be advantageous, therefore, to have a substantially firm back support that can be easily and conveniently attached or removed from the back of a wheelchair, or any other chair, without the use of hardware or tools.

Supportive back overlay for wheelchair back


A method for implementing a power saving function of the portable electronic apparatus is provided. The method includes the step of: receiving an operation command transmitted from an input device; obtaining a new work mode which corresponds to the operation command from a work mode table that defines a plurality of work modes of the portable electronic apparatus and a plurality of operation commands corresponding to the work modes, if a current work mode of the portable electronic apparatus does not correspond to the operation command; determining component work state changes of components of the portable electronic apparatus from the current work mode to the new work mode; signaling a power control unit to change component work states of the components according to the determined component work state changes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a portable electronic apparatus with a power saving function and a method for implementing the power saving function.
2. Description of Related Art
With the development of electronic technology, various battery-powered portable electronic apparatuses such as handsets, PDAs (Personal digital assistants), MP3 players, and e-books, has brought convenience to people. A limited battery is employed by the portable electronic apparatus, and the limited battery runs out of energy quickly and needs to be recharged or replaced frequently to replenish power. Otherwise, the portable electronic apparatuses may not function.
Many solutions have been introduced to reduce the power consumption of the portable electronic apparatuses, thus to prolong service times per charge of the batteries of the portable electronic apparatuses. Those solutions generally set a "standby state" or a "sleep state" for a portable electronic apparatus. In the "standby state" or the "sleep state" the power supply to the portable electronic apparatus is reduced, thus reducing power consumption of the portable electronic apparatus.
However, in actual applications, during implementing some operation command, only a part of components of the apparatus are needed, but other components that are not needed are still in an enabled state and consume power.
Therefore, What is still needed is a portable electronic apparatus and method which can further save power.

Portable electronic apparatus with a power saving function and method for implementing the power saving function

Longhua Town, Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


Two-piece socket contact assemblies and methods for manufacturing these assemblies are provided. The manufacturing process includes providing a blank strip of indefinite length, piercing the strip to provide a plurality of apertures, profiling a contact body shape along at least an edge portion of the blank to form precursors of a contact body, forming the precursors into a predetermined configuration, plating these precursors, and thereafter assembling them with a coaxially disposed sleeve.

Electrical connectors for use in automotive, industrial, and military applications often include connector housings having a plurality of signal contact wires and contacts disposed therein. In order to promote flexibility and ease in rendering these connections, the contacts often include receptacles and pins which can be mated in a matter of seconds to provide electrical continuity.
There are at least two current challenges to electrical connector manufacturers that have gathered the most attention of late: cost reduction and reliability. The art is focusing upon new and more efficient manufacturing processes for producing large quantities of these receptacles and pin contacts at the lowest possible cost. Additionally, new and better contact designs are being targeted to achieve better conductivity, greater forgiveness to alignment problems, and higher strength. Connector elements are often mishandled and subjected to sever environmental and mechanical stresses. Mis-sizing of pins within smaller receptacles has often resulted in damage to the contacts and unreliable connections. Misalignment of any of the constituent portions of these connectors can also result in bending of the contacts and failure of the wiring. Finally, care must be taken in order to reduce corrosion from moisture, as well as the development of interfering oxidation layers on conductive surfaces. Accordingly, there remains a need for a more continuous and reliable process for manufacturing these components in the shortest amount of time. There also remains a need for components which resist deformation and are highly reliable in service.


A method for forming a reduced size contact hole over a structure. The method comprises the steps of: forming a dielectric layer on said structure; forming a polysilicon layer on said dielectric layer; forming a silicon nitride layer on said polysilicon layer; forming a photoresist block on said silicon nitride layer to cover a portion of said silicon nitride layer defining a contact hole region; removing portions of said silicon nitride layer left uncovered by said photoresist block; removing said photoresist block; forming field oxide isolation regions using said silicon nitride layer as a mask, said field oxide isolation regions having bird's beaks penetrating under said silicon nitride layer; removing said silicon nitride layer, thereby exposing a portion of said polysilicon layer left exposed by said field oxide isolation regions; etching said polysilicon layer using said field oxide isolation regions as a first mask; and etching said dielectric layer using said polysilicon layer as a second etching mask.

Microelectronic devices arc typically formed from a semiconductor material, for example silicon, germanium, etc . . . . It has been a trend to increase the packaging density of wafers. The large integration of semiconductor ICs has been accomplished by a reduction in individual device size. With this reduction of device size, many challenges arise in the manufacture of the ICs. As semiconductor devices become more dense, it is also necessary to decrease the size of circuit components.
Modern integrated circuits interconnect literally millions of devices to perform a certain function. The performance of the integrated circuits is related to the performance and reliability of its constituent individual devices. In order to drive or control these devices to perform their function, periphery circuits are needed for the integrated circuits. Each device requires interconnections for exchanging electrical signals from one device to another device. Specifically, multi-level interconnection techniques are widely used for high density integrated circuits.
One prior art method for fabricating the interconnection is shown in FIG. 1, which shows a semiconductor substrate 2. Interconnections 4 are patterned over the substrate 2. A dielectric layer 6 such as an oxide is deposited over the semiconductor substrate 2 for isolation purposes. Then, a contact hole 8 is formed in the dielectric layer 6. The contact hole 8 is typically formed by using photolithography technologies. For high density integrated circuits, the dimension of the contact hole 8 must be made smaller. Indeed, the smaller the contact hole 8 the better. However, the width of the contact hole 8 is limited by the resolution of the photolithography techniques. Assume that the lowest width dimension of the contact hole 8 formed by current lithography technologies is represented by "W1" in FIG. 1. The space between the edge of the contact hole 8 and the underlying interconnections 4 is denoted by "S1".
The aforementioned structure is well known and widely used in the fabrication of ULSI (ultra large scale integrated) circuits. However, the general processes become more challenging as the spacing between the metal interconnections 4 further shrink. Further, reducing the size of conventional contact hole 8 is limited, due to the limits of photolithography. The spacer "S1" becomes smaller and smaller as the space between interconnections 4 becomes smaller. Therefore, the spacer dimension "S1" becomes so small that it is no longer reliable for insulation purposes. Thus, what is required is a method for making the contact hole 8 with reduced width dimension that is beyond the limitation of current photolithography techniques.
Isolation techniques, such as the local oxide of silicon (LOCOS), have been developed to isolate devices in integrated circuits. In the LOCOS approach, a silicon oxide/silicon nitride composition layer covers active regions of the wafer. The silicon oxide/silicon nitride composition structure serves as a mask for subsequent processing. Then, field oxide (FOX) isolations are formed on the unmasked regions by thermal oxidation in oxygen. However, at the edges of the silicon nitride, some oxidant laterally diffuses. Oxide forms under the nitride edges and lifts the nitride edges. This lateral extension of the field oxide into the active region of the wafer is known as the "bird's beak effect."
Many techniques have been developed in an attempt to reduce the undesirable encroachment of bird's beak. However, in the present invention, the extended bird's beak penetration effect can be used to reduce the size of the contact hole.

Method of forming a reduced size contact in a dielectric layer by using bird's beak of oxidized polysilicon to create an etching mask

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation


A user-programmable telephone call annunciator for use with a telephone includes a recording circuit configured to receive an audio signal from a user and to store the audio signal as an electronic signal. A playback circuit is connected to the recording circuit and configured to selectively play back the electronic signal as the audio signal. An incoming signal detector circuit is connected to the playback circuit and configured to receive an incoming signal on a line to the telephone and to activate the playback circuit in response to said incoming signal. Additional embodiments include a plurality of recording and playback circuits and a plurality of incoming signals. Advantages to the invention include the ability for a user to program the telephone call annunciator to produce a sound provided by the user.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to telephone "ringing" sound devices and is particularly directed to a novel phone which calls out the name of the person who's phone it is or whatever the phone user programed, using his/her voice or any kind of sound, the phone to reproduce. There are several unique modes of operation.
2. Background Art
In the past, telephones have had primarly the same alerting system as the original telephone--a ringing bell. This is disadvantageous particularly when there are multiple telephones in a room or office. One can't tell who's telephone is ringing because they all sound the same or similar.
In the past, telephones that have rings of different frequencies have been employed to distinguish between phones. Although improved, it is still disadvantageous because some telphones may be set close enough in frequency to confuse people. Also, some people have a difficult time recognizing the frequency of their telephone's ring.
In the past, some novel telephones have had certain sounds other than rings. These phones have a fixed pre-programmed sound. They are not customized for the individual persons telephone.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel recordable voice/sound ringer for telephone of simple construction which is free from the defects inherent in the prior art devices. It combines for the first time the telephone with a user programmable "ring" in the form of the users own voice or any sound of the users choice.

Multi-line programmable telephone call annunciator


Each immersed jet creates turbulences as a result of the resistance of the medium in which it is immersed and at the end of its effective range the complete introduced energy is broken down into turbulent flows. These turbulent flows observed as a whole are local, thus are small-scale. However, these small-scale turbulences which have a strong eroding effect. The present invention produces as high a number as possible of small-scale turbulences and distributes them over a large volume. Large volume is to be understood as, for example, 3000–4000 m3 on a surface of 2000 m2 and a height of 2 m as is the case with a storage tank of 50 m diameter and a liquid column of 3 m. The problem thus lies in the optimal distribution of the introduced or applied energy.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention lies in the field of the cleaning of crude oil tanks and is concerned with a method and a device for the recovery of thickened, sedimented crude oil by way of liquefaction of the sediment with non-sedimented crude oil. The method is furthermore suitable for mixing processes in fluids, for example in large to very large chemical reactors.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of the cleaning of crude oil tanks there are known various methods with which, by way of introducing crude oil which is located above the sediment and/or is freshly supplied, the sediment is successively suspended and is partly dissolved in the crude oil. Two groups of methods are at the forefront: method 1 which with rotating nozzles whirls up and suspends the sediment, for example disclosed in EP 160 050, and method 2 which with stationary nozzles cooperating as a group erode the sediment, whirl it up and suspend it, for example disclosed in EP 912 262.

Method and device for producing turbulences and the distribution thereof


A two-piece washer that can be inserted in a fully or partially assembled shaft structure without the necessity of removing component parts is disclosed. The two identical substantially inflexible pieces each have, on the circumferential ends thereof, a tab and recess that interlock with the corresponding tab and recess on the respective ends of the mating piece. To insert the washer, the mating surfaces of the component parts at the insertion location on the shaft must be separated a distance at least twice the thickness of the washer so that the two pieces of the washer can be placed around the shaft and moved axially along the shaft and relative to each other into the interlocking position.

The present invention relates generally to washers used in the assembly of mechanical structures, and particularly to two-piece washers that can be inserted in a mechanical structure after assembly.
During and after the process of putting together a mechanical structure it is often discovered that a washer has either been inadvertently left out of the assembly or that a washer should be assembled in order to more precisely adjust the final assembly. This need may arise because of excess play along the shaft or to improve relative rotational movement between component parts. Usually, and under the best of circumstances, the only solution is to disassemble at least part of the structure to allow the washer to be slipped onto the shaft in the proper order of assembly, and then reassemble the remainder of the component parts. Under other circumstances, perhaps where the structure has been welded together, the only solution is to destroy some parts and start the assembly process from the beginning. These are time-consuming processes that cost money and efficiency in a commercial setting, and frustration for the mechanic in all situations.
Solutions to this problem have been proposed, but none have met reasonable commercial acceptance. For instance, U-shaped spacers have been utilized in this application, but these must have some means of being securely locked into place or they can work themselves free of, or out of, the area in which they are meant to remain. Such hardware is relatively expensive to manufacture and less reliable in use than is required in a commercial assembly operation.
Another solution is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,777,614. Generally, the washers described are designed to eliminate axial shifting relative to the shaft while, as will be discussed further below, the washer of the instant invention requires such shifting to move into and out of the interlocking position. In FIG. 5 a two-piece washer, including male and female parts is depicted. The male member has outer ends formed into ratchet teeth and the female member has ends terminating in spring jaws and ratchet teeth that engage with those on the male member. The two pieces are not identical and must be flexed or sprung apart in order to engage each other. Non-identical parts result in a more costly manufacturing requirement, call for greater logistics and packaging, and more difficulty in assembly because of the need to handle two parts. Additionally, the need to flex one or both pieces in order to interlock them is not always possible because of other close-fitting parts or components.
Yet another proposed solution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,558,364. There is shown a two-piece structure using identical parts, each with a male end and a female end. However, the female end is bent open for assembly and must be physically bent into a locking position around the male end. The need to bend components makes this possible solution more impractical because, as pointed out above, often there is inadequate space available to insert pliers or other tools to accomplish this end.
It would be desirable and beneficial to provide a washer that would overcome the above-noted disadvantages of known washers.
It is an object of the instant invention to provide an improved washer that can be easily inserted onto an assembled shaft without the need to disassemble other component parts already fitted to the shaft.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide an improved washer that is more cost-effective, durable, cheap to produce, easier to use, and reliable than those known in the prior art.
It is yet another object of the instant invention to provide an improved washer that can be inserted at substantially any location along the length of a shaft with other component parts thereon without the need to disassemble the structure.
It is a still further object of the instant invention to provide an improved two-piece washer that includes a tab, or tabs, extending outwardly there from adjacent the interlocking elements to aide in the placement or removal of the washer, thus eliminating the need for special tools and the likelihood that parts will be dropped or mishandled during use.
These and other objects are obtained by providing a two-piece washer that can be inserted in a fully or partially assembled shaft structure without the necessity of removing component parts. The two identical substantially inflexible pieces each have, on the circumferential ends thereof, a tab and recess that interlock with the corresponding tab and recess on the respective ends of the mating piece. To insert the washer, the mating surfaces of the component parts at the insertion location on the shaft must be separated a distance at least twice the thickness of the washer so that the two pieces of the washer can be placed around the shaft and moved axially along the shaft and relative to each other into the interlocking position.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the detailed description which follows, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein one primary embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as defining the limits of the invention.


An energy-saving heating and hot water supply system includes a main heat exchanger, a circulation pump, a hot water supply heat exchanger and a hot water distributor. The main heat exchanger produces heating water through a heat exchange. The circulation pump circulates the heating water produced in the main heat exchanger so that the heating water is supplied to and collected from each household or floor. The hot water supply heat exchanger produces hot water through a heat exchange between water for hot water supply and the heating water supplied from the main heat exchanger and circulates the produced hot water in a floor coil through the hot water distributor or directly circulates the produced hot water in the floor coil. The hot water distributor receives the heating water and circulates the received heating water in the floor coil provided for each household or floor.

1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to a central heating and hot water supply system for receiving a heat source such as steam or high-temperature water obtained from a medium- or large-sized boiler, a heat source obtained from nature such as sunlight, or a heat source obtained from waste heat of an electric generator or boiler, producing hot water through a heat exchange, and supplying the hot water from small- and medium-scale buildings to large-scale buildings using a central supply method. More particularly, an aspect of the present invention relates to an energy-saving central heating and hot water supply system which can simplify pipeline equipment for supplying hot water to each household by removing a hot water supply pipe connected to each household from a machine room, and which can save energy used for heating and hot water supply by circulating heating water used for production of hot water through a bottom coil installed in each household or floor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent large-scale apartment complexes or medium- and large-scale buildings, heating and hot water supply systems have not been established as individual heating and hot water supply systems but been established as central heating and hot water supply systems. In the central heating and hot water supply system, heating and hot water is supplied to each household or floor through a common piping network by establishing a common heating system for the entire complex, and the hot water supply is generated by heating water supplied to the system to an appropriate temperature through a heat exchange between hot water and the supplied water and then supplying the heated water to each household or floor through the piping network.
In the central heating and hot water supply system, heat source equipment having relatively high efficiency is commonly used for many users, and a professional manager maintains and repairs the heat source equipment. Thus, the central heating and hot water supply system can actively prevent the decrease of efficiency, caused by the long continuous use of the heat source equipment, and reduce the entire capacity of the heat source equipment, as compared with the individual heating and hot water supply system. Further, since heating source equipment is concentrated on one place, it is easy to deal with an emergency situation such as a fire.
However, in the central heating and hot water supply system, the installation area of equipment for heating and hot water supply increases, and the cost of equipment increases more than that in the individual heating and hot water supply system. Further, civil complaints may occur due to an increase in cost of piping equipment and occurrence of maintenance and operating expenses.
FIG. 1 is a structural view of a conventional central heating and hot water supply system.
In the central heating and hot water supply system, a heat source such as hot water, medium temperature water or steam produced in a heat producing facility 10 is supplied to a machine room 20 located at a structure such as an apartment or building, and the heat source supplied to the machine room 20 is supplied to a heat exchanger 30 for heating and a heat exchanger 40 for hot water supply so as to produce heating water and hot water. Then, the produced heating water and hot water are supplied to each household.
In addition to the heat exchanger 30 for heating and the heat exchanger 40 for hot water supply, a water supply pump 50, equipment such as a heating circulation pump 31 and a hot water supply circulation pump 41 are provided in the machine room 20. The heating water and hot water produced in the machine room 20 are supplied to each household via machine-room pipes, common pipes and horizontal and vertical pipes installed in each structure.
However, in the conventional system configured as described above, the hot water produced in the machine room flows for a long distance through the machine-room pipes, the common pipes and the horizontal and vertical pipes, and is then supplied to each household. Therefore, heat loss through the pipes is large (it is typically identified that up to 10 to 30% of the heat of the entire hot water supply energy is lost), and power consumption for fluid transfer is large. Since more pipe installation cost is required to connect between the machine room and each household, the cost of construction work increases. Further, the effective space of the structure is reduced due to installation of a medium- or large-sized heat exchanger and pipe equipment and machine room space, a basement, and a pipe duct.
An integrated piping system of an apartment house and building has been disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-0118473.
FIG. 2 is a structural view of the public housing and building integrated piping system.
The public housing and building integrated piping system includes an integrated heat exchanger 110, an integrated supply pipe 120, an integrated return pipe 130, a supply pipe 140, a return pipe 150, a hot water supply pipe 160, a hot water return pipe 170, a hot water heat exchanger 180, and a cooling/heating controller 200. The integrated heat exchanger 110 supplies high-temperature water produced by a heat producing facility and heated water heat-exchanged in the integrated heat exchanger 110 to each household or floor in an apartment house. The integrated supply pipe 120 supplies the heated water heat-exchanged in the integrated heat exchanger 110. The integrated return pipe 130 is connected to the integrated supply pipe 120 so as to collect the heated water. The supply pipe 140 is installed for each household or floor in the apartment house and is branched from the integrated supply pipe 120 so as to supply the heated water. The return pipe 150 is installed for each household or floor in the apartment house and is branched from the integrated return pipe 130 so as to collect the heated water. The hot water supply pipe 160 is branched from the supply pipe 140 so as to supply the heat water. The hot water return pipe 170 is branched from the return pipe 150 so as to collect the heated water after heat is exchanged. The hot water supply heat exchanger 180 is connected to the hot water supply pipe 160, the hot water return pipe 170 and a water supply pipe 101 so as to supply hot water by performing a heat exchange between heated water transferred through the hot water supply pipe 160 and cool water supplied through the water supply pipe 101, and discharges the heated water heat-exchanged with the cool water to the hot water return pipe 170. The cooling/heating controller 200 controls the flow rate of the heated water supplied to the supply pipe 140 and the hot water supply pipe 160.
The integrated piping system of an apartment house and building configured as described above uses an integrated pipe for heating and hot water supply, so that it is possible to decrease building construction cost, equipment construction cost, and equipment management and maintenance cost.
However, since the integrated pipe system described above supplies both heating water and hot water through the integrated supply pipe, a large-capacity pump is required in order that the flow rate required in the heating and hot water supply can be sufficiently supplied, and the diameter of the pipe is necessarily increased. Further, low-temperature water is locally heated by many heat sources for hot water heating. For this reason, if the thermal capacity of the heated water is not efficiently radiated, the effect of improvement may be insignificant. Furthermore, unreasonable energy loss may be caused due to excessive equipment capacity, or the like.
That is, since heated water is collected at a relatively high temperature in the process of collecting the heated water to the integrated heat exchanger after heating or producing hot water through the heat exchanger, the integrated pipe system in the apartment house and building has a problem of limited energy savings, such as a large amount of heat loss due to a great difference in temperature between the inside and outside of the pipe. Since heating water and hot water are separately heated through the integrated pipe, more heat capacity is required in each household or floor. Therefore, various problems may occur due to surplus heat capacity or flow rate supplied when the hot water supply and heater are not simultaneously used to the maximum load, particularly when demand on hot water supply is decreased or does not occur. Accordingly, a system is required to solve such problems, but a control method is not specified. As a result, floor noise may occur due to an increase of flow velocity in a heating pipe installed in the floor, caused by an excess amount of circulation water, and the total heat effectiveness of radiant heating in the floor may be decreased.

Energy-saving central heating and hot water supply system

GU-SUNG ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.


A method of using a diffusion-based, continuous-monitoring system to analyze for a disease or condition includes creating a diffusion channel in an area of skin. The diffusion channel is maintained for a desired duration. The level of the disease marker(s) is continuously monitored for the desired duration via a diffusion-based, continuous-monitoring device. The levels of the at least one disease marker at the area of skin are analyzed to determine if the disease or condition associated with the at least one disease marker is present.

There are many diseases or conditions that can be harmful or even fatal to individuals. Some of these diseases can be monitored by the use of markers. For example, heart attacks can be monitored by enzymes such as troponin (TnI, TnT), creatine phosphokinase (CPK, CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LD), and aspartate transaminase (AST) in the blood. Low levels of these enzymes are normally found in your blood, but if your heart muscle is injured, such as from a heart attack, enzymes leak out of damaged heart muscle cells and their levels in the bloodstream rise. It would be desirable to have a method of monitoring for markers such as selected enzymes for heart attacks and other diseases or conditions.

Method of analyzing for at least one disease or condition marker


A system and method are provided for removing a reticle from visualization in a displayed view in a binocular wherein the reticle is visible during direct scene view. The system includes a filter positioned between a display element and an eyepiece wherein a visual characteristic of the filter matches a corresponding characteristic of the reticle. These matching characteristics thereby render the reticle substantially “invisible” to the user. Exemplary filters can include a monochromatic filter and a polarizer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods for enhancing distance vision, and, more particularly, to such devices and methods for providing an adaptive reticle display in binoculars having both direct and image-processed viewing options.
2. Description of Related Art
Binoculars have long been known in the art for providing increased distance vision with depth perception (FIG. 1). A typical binocular has two sides, each of which 10 has an objective lens 11 that creates an image that passes through a prism 12 for correctly orienting the image. Some binoculars include a reticle 13 that is superimposed on the image to achieve distance estimation. The image downstream of the prism 12 is focused at the reticle 13, and an eyepiece 14 permits the user 15 to focus on the reticle 13.
More complex binoculars are also known that have one side 20 through which a displayed image can be transmitted through the eyepiece 21 (FIG. 2). The direct-image optics are substantially the same, but a visual display 22 and projection optics 23 are positioned upstream of the eyepiece 21 and reticle 24. Here the prism 25 has one surface that is not completely reflective and serves as a beamsplitter 26, permitting the user 27 to see through the prism 25. The characteristics of the beamsplitter 26 determine the mix of the display 22 and scene viewed by the user 27. Exemplary characteristics can include intensity splitting (e.g., 80/20), spectral (e.g., red/visible without red), and polarized (p and s).
Typically a user will not wish the reticle to be superimposed on a displayed image, for example, if the size, orientation, or location of the displayed image is different from that of the scene viewed through the objective and prism.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a binocular system that can eliminate visualization of the reticle when viewing a displayed image.

Binoculars with adaptive reticle display and associated methods


In the improved method for projection a stereoscopic image, an additional lenticular sheet that has an appropriate level difference and a different pitch of lenticular lenses than a lenticular recording material such as a lenticular light-sensitive material is either placed directly on top of said lenticular recording material or inserted above and in the vicinity of said lenticular recording material, with said additional lenticular sheet being preferably moved either in one direction or reciprocally in a direction generally perpendicular to its own generatrix. This method can be implemented with the improved apparatus for printing a stereoscopic photograph. Using the improved method and apparatus, the development of moire can be suppressed and, at the same time, the line width of linear image elements to be recorded can be easily expanded.

This invention relates to a method of projecting a stereoscopic image onto a recording material such as a lenticular light-sensitive material to enable stereoscopic vision, as well as an apparatus for printing a stereoscopic image on recording materials to attain the same object. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and an apparatus that are capable of easy projection or printing of a stereoscopic photograph that is characterized by the enlargement of the area over which stereoscopic vision can be established.

Method of projecting stereoscopic image and apparatus for printing stereoscopic photograph


Maternal blood unconjugated estriol is used to determine whether steroid treatment has or has not effectively accelerated fetal lung maturation and reduced the risk of RDS. A blood sample is obtained from the mother prior to treating her with steroids and again 24 hours later. The blood cells are separated from the serum and the serum is analyzed for unconjugated estriol concentration in the two blood samples obtained. If the percent change in the estriol concentration of the mother's blood decreases by a significant percentage over the 24 hour period from the start of the steroid treatment, the infant will not develop RDS. If the percent change in the estriol concentration of the mother's blood does not decrease by a significant percentage over the 24 hour period from the start of the steroid treatment, the infant will be at the same risk of RDS as it would have been without the steroid treatment. The information obtained from this test is used to make decisions regarding further treatment.

The present invention relates to prenatal testing and treatment, and in particular to prenatal testing and treatment relating to respiratory distress syndrome encountered in newborn premature human infants.
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a condition often suffered in infants delivered prematurely, i.e., before the normal 37 weeks gestation period. Women at risk for premature delivery have been treated with steroids such as betamethasone, dexamethasone or other known glucocorticoids, in order to accelerate fetal lung maturation. However, this therapy has only been partially effective in the prevention of RDS. It is known that fetal adrenal androgens block steroid-stimulated fetal lung maturation. Accordingly, a need exists for detecting the interference by fetal adrenal androgens in the prenatal treatment of babies at risk of premature birth in order to prevent occurrences of RDS.
One of the difficulties with prior art steroid treatment is that there is no method of determining whether the fetus has responded to steroid treatment before birth. There have been reports of antenatal steroid treatment for acceleration of fetal lung maturation and its inhibition of maternal blood estriol. There are also reports that decreasing maternal urinary or blood estriol is indicative of fetal illness. It would be desirable to be able to determine whether the fetus has responded to steroid treatment before birth so that appropriate steps can be taken in the treatment of the mother in the final stages of pregnancy.

Estriol monitoring of maternal blood for antenatal steroid acceleration of fetal lung maturation


A multiservice private network and interface modules (M1-M5). Each of said modules is dedicated to interfacing a specific terminal equipment (T1-T4, GTW; 310-380) in the multiservice private network. The interface modules (M1-M5) are connected to the terminal equipment on a one-to-one basis. Each interface module (M1-M5) is configured to send and/or receive data in a format adapted to the terminal equipment to which it is connected, at a specific wavelength, in order to interconnect, via said private network, at least two mutually compatible terminal equipments among all the terminal equipments. This arrangement is typically applicable in particular to interconnecting, via a common network, heterogeneous different terminal equipments, so that the mutually compatible terminals communicate directly with one another without interfering with communication between other terminals of a different type.

There is renewed interest in private networks because of the evolving offer in terms of telecommunications services, because of voice/data/picture convergence, and because of the penetration of computers into the home. A private network generally includes a gateway that interfaces the private network with an access network that is external to the private network and that is managed by a telecommunications operator. The gateway generally also has the functions of organizing exchanges between the private network equipments and of isolating local traffic from external traffic.
At present there are several solutions for implementing private networks. Non-cable solutions use radio or free space optical techniques. However, radio solutions lack confidentiality, which compromises the security of the data. They are also vulnerable because they are readily affected by interference caused by environmental conditions and furthermore offer a limited bit rate. Solutions based on unguided infrared optics also have their limitations. In fact, their bit rate is limited if the sender and the receiver are not in direct line of sight of each other. To obtain a higher bit rate, it is necessary for the sender and the receiver to be in line of sight of each other, which represents a severe constraint for the user.
Other solutions, using cables, rely on a cabling architecture. Numerous media exist for providing such cabling, essentially copper in the form of twisted pairs, coaxial cables, or power cables, and monomode or multimode silica, polymer, or other material optical fibers.
Different standards have appeared for using these media, promoted by telecommunications, computers, and electronics, audio, and video interests. The standards that have been developed are protocols such as ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), IP (Internet Protocol), Ethernet, etc., which are independent of the physical medium and define particular specifications for the format of the data according to the medium used.
Cable solutions using copper cables in the form of twisted pairs, promoted by telecommunications interests, make it possible to use the access network and to extend it to the home. In this case, the data is conveyed in a standard telecommunications format, such as the IP or ATM format. However, these solutions continue to suffer from limitations because they cannot convey signals necessitating high bandwidth. For example, twisted pair cables cannot carry UHF signals from a UHF television antenna. These solutions therefore do not make it possible to integrate new developments.
Where coaxial cables are concerned, experience shows that, in the residential context, existing networks are linked solely to the distribution of UHF television signals. These networks are often of mediocre quality and the cabling topology does not correspond to that of a private network. Complete recabling is therefore necessary in practice, yielding a solution of too limited performance to face up to new developments.
With the recent expansion of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance AV standard, it is now possible to produce a residential network via the electrical mains wiring. The benefit of this technique is that it is not necessary to install any additional cables, and it should be possible to transmit useful bit rates of around 100 mega bits per second (Mbps) for real bit rates of 200 Mbps, although current solutions offer a bit rate of the order of only a few Mbps. The technique uses dedicated modems to convey the high bit rate signals over the electrical mains wiring. This technology is very attractive, but the bit rate is still limited and all the data must be formatted in the same manner, and so combining heterogeneous services cannot be seriously envisaged. In the context of increasing the bit rate of residential networks, this technology is therefore equally inadequate to meet the constraints of the residential core network.
Finally, another, more promising solution using optical fiber cables has been envisaged. Given the service life that indoor cables must offer and the uncertainty as to the bandwidth requirements during the service life of the network, optical fiber cables constitute the most open-ended solution. One such solution uses an architecture based on the architectures of PON (passive optical network) type access networks. This solution is shown in the diagram of FIG. 1. This kind of architecture includes a gateway GTW connected by optical fiber cables C1-C4 and via a 1 to N optical coupler 100 to a plurality of equipments, for example a personal computer 10, a television decoder and receiver 20, a printer 30, etc. In this case, the gateway is situated at the head end of the network and it is the gateway that manages the traffic, since all of the data exchanged passes in transit through it. That traffic may go from an operator's access network to a terminal in the private environment or vice-versa. Thus the computer 10 may communicate with the printer 30 or the external network via the optical coupler 100 and the gateway GTW.
This solution still has its limitations, however. In fact, it does not enable two remote equipments to dialogue directly without passing through the gateway, which has to manage everything necessary for establishing communication between the two equipments. The fact that all the traffic, even local traffic between two private equipments, must pass in transit through the gateway again requires the corresponding signals to be transposed to a precise format, comprehensible to the gateway. Consequently, this solution is limited in terms of the domestic services it is able to deliver. For example, it cannot relay signals from a UHF television antenna or relay signals from an audio source to remote sound reproduction devices in another room. With this type of architecture, the domestic services provided are therefore very limited and users will not be able to access all the services that they require.
Consequently, regardless of the medium adopted, all current solutions impose constraints on the format of the information transported. Private networks implemented until now make all services offered by the external access network that the user wishes to transport compatible with the gateways, i.e. convey data in the same single format.

Multiservice private network and interface modules for transporting, on such a network, data in different formats


Systems and methods for providing ball tracker snippets are provided. Data may be received over a wireless communication regarding movement of a ball within an event venue during an event. Such received data may be based on signals from an antenna coupled to the ball. A video of the event may be synchronized to the received data. A portion of the received data may be identified as meeting a threshold. A portion of the video may be determined to be associated with the identified portion of received data that meets the threshold. A video snippet may then be extracted for the determined portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to video snippets. More specifically, the present invention relates to ball tracker snippets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many events may be filmed for live (e.g., real-time) or recorded broadcast. Such events may include a variety of athletic and sporting events involving such equipment as balls, bats, pucks, etc. As the outcome of such athletic and sporting events depends on actions involving such equipment (e.g., a football), a camera (or multiple cameras) may often follow the ball as it is moving during the course of the event. Each such camera is generally controlled by a cameraperson who adjusts the focus and position of the camera as necessary to follow a moving ball.
There may be instances where a cameraperson may lose track of the ball (or other type of equipment). For example, the game may be moving very quickly, or the athletes may be executing a play that involves misdirection. In such instances, the camera may be unable to capture the current state of the ball, resulting in gaps in the action of the event. Audiences—both those viewing remotely and those present in-person, but may be relying on the camera for close-ups—may then become unhappy or dissatisfied as a result of being unable to view the entirety of the event.
Other parties (e.g., coaching and training staff, referees) may also have an interest in following the play of the ball accurately. Coaches and trainers, for example, may wish to use video to evaluate plays to determine how well a player or team is playing and to improve play, as needed. Referees may also wish to use video so as to be able to make accurate decisions regarding officiating, as well as to improve their own skills, as needed. Such parties therefore have an interest in obtaining video snippets of relevant plays (from among a plurality of plays that may occur during any particular event) for analytical purposes.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for improved systems and methods for improved system and methods of providing ball tracker snippets.


A method is designed for measuring a magnetic offset of a geomagnetic sensor equipped in a portable information terminal apparatus having a storage. The geomagnetic sensor has a magnetic sensitivity to a geomagnetic field and is affected by magnetization to cause the magnetic offset. In the method, an output of the geomagnetic sensor is measured to successively provide measurement data of the geomagnetic field from the output of the geomagnetic sensor. The measurement data is stored in the storage. The measurement data is read out from the storage when a number of the measurement data stored in the storage reaches a predetermined number, and an offset value of the magnetic offset is estimated based on the predetermined number of the measurement data read out from the storage.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring a magnetic offset of a geomagnetic sensor equipped in a portable information terminal apparatus.
2. Background Art
In the case of a conventional geomagnetic sensor, when mounted inside a portable telephone (portable information terminal), because of the presence of magnetic fields leaking from a speaker, a metal package of magnetized electronic components, and so on that are mounted together, the geomagnetic sensor detects even those noise magnetic fields generated by them. As a result, there have been instances where, in a portable telephone that detects the geomagnetism by a geomagnetic sensor mounted therein, an azimuth calculated on the basis of a magnetic field existing inside the portable telephone does not indicate a correct azimuth.
For example, in a portable telephone mounted with a geomagnetic sensor having sensitivity directions along two axes (X- and Y-axis directions) perpendicular to each other and having sensitivities equal to each other in the respective directions, given that an angle formed between a vector of the geomagnetism and the X-axis is θ, a detection value Vx of the geomagnetic sensor in the X-axis direction and a detection value Vy of the geomagnetic sensor in the Y-axis direction are obtained as outputs in the state where offset m and n corresponding to magnetization amounts in the X- and Y-axis directions, respectively, are added as expressed by (formula 1) and (formula 2), respectively, due to a noise magnetic field existing inside the portable telephone.Vx=R×cos θ+m  (formula 1)Vy=R×sin θ+n  (formula 2)
(where R is a proportional constant)
That is, when a non-magnetized geomagnetic sensor disposed at a certain fixed place rotates in the state where there is no change in geomagnetism, i.e. a constant external magnetic field is applied, detection values of the geomagnetic sensor draw a real circle having center coordinates (0, 0). Hereinafter, a circle drawn by detection values of a geomagnetic sensor will be referred to as an compass circle. On the other hand, when a magnetized geomagnetic sensor is rotated, detection values of the geomagnetic sensor a real circle having center coordinates (m, n) as shown in FIG. 21. Use is made of a method wherein the center coordinates of the compass circle are derived to thereby equivalently derive magnetization amounts magnetized on the geomagnetic sensor and, by calculation of subtracting the center coordinate values (correction values) from detection values of the geomagnetic sensor, the detection values are corrected to thereby derive a correct azimuth.
Specifically, offsets of the center coordinate values are first derived. For example, when the geomagnetic sensor is caused to make a turn in the plane including the sensitivity directions, while being kept horizontal, to thereby derive detection values of the geomagnetic sensor in the X-axis and Y-axis directions with respect to all the directions, and maximum values and minimum values of these detection values are given as Xmax, Ymax and Xmin and Ymin, respectively, the offset center coordinates (m, n) are derived by the following formulas.m=(Xmax+Xmin)/2  (formula 3)n=(Ymax+Ymin)/2  (formula 4)
Otherwise, with respect to detection values (X1, Y1) obtained when the geomagnetic sensor is moved to a predetermined position A and output values (X2, Y2) obtained when the geomagnetic sensor is moved therefrom to a position D located in a 180° opposite direction while being kept horizontal, the center coordinates (m, n) are derived by the following formulas as the mean values thereof.m=(X1+X2)/2  (formula 5)n=(Y1+Y2)/2  (formula 6)
Then, the offset center coordinate values are subtracted by calculation to make correction. On the basis of the thus derived center coordinates (m, n), and a detection value Vx of the geomagnetic sensor in the X-axis direction and a detection value Vy of the geomagnetic sensor in the Y-axis direction, an azimuth angle θ is derived by the following formula.When |Vy−n|<|Vx−m| and Vx−m>0, θ=tan−1((Vy−n)/(Vx−m))  (formula 7).When |Vy−n|>|Vx−m| and Vy−n>0, θ=90[deg]−tan−1((Vx−m)/(Vy−n))  (formula 8).When |Vy−n|<|Vx−m| and Vx−m<0, θ=180[deg]−tan−1((Vy−n)/(Vx−m))  (formula 9).When |Vy−n|>|Vx−m| and Vy−n<0, θ=270[deg]−tan−1((Vx−m)/(Vy−n))  (formula 10).
However, in the foregoing conventional geomagnetic sensor correction method, since the magnetization state of the geomagnetic sensor always changes, it is necessary for a user to cause the portable telephone to make one or more turns in order to derive maximum values and minimum values of detection values of the geomagnetic sensor every time the geomagnetic sensor is considered to have been magnetized. There has been a problem that it is difficult, in particular, to cause the portable telephone to make one or more turns while keeping it horizontal so that there is a possibility of the portable telephone being dropped once in a while and, even with no occurrence of the portable telephone being dropped, variation occurs in obtained data so that an offset cannot be derived accurately. Therefore, there has also been a problem that the foregoing conventional geomagnetic sensor correction method is unsuitable for portable devices.
In view of this, Patent Document 1, for example, describes an electronic azimuth finder wherein magnetic field judging means judges whether or not the strength of a magnetic field detected by a magnetic sensor is outside a predetermined range and, when it is outside the range, judges that the magnetic sensor is magnetized, and the magnetized magnetic sensor is demagnetized by applying thereto an alternating damping magnetic field by the use of a coil that applies a bias magnetic field to the magnetic sensor in measurement. However, although the technique according to this publication can demagnetize, inside the electronic azimuth finder, a magnetic field generated by one, for example, a permanent magnet, that generates a magnetic field in a constant direction with respect to a direction of the electronic azimuth finder regardless of a direction of the geomagnetism, it cannot demagnetize an induction magnetic field that is generated by a soft magnetic body being a ferromagnetic body which can be magnetized or demagnetized relatively easily, for example, a lead of an electronic component, when the electronic azimuth finder moves in the geomagnetism. Therefore, the foregoing problem cannot be solved.
On the other hand, Patent Document 2 describes an azimuth detection device that judges whether or not a signal input into arithmetic means from a geomagnetic sensor deviates from a predetermined judgment zone, to thereby recognize, without rotation, that the magnetization amount of the geomagnetic sensor is large, and gives warning about it. However, the technique according to this publication detects that the magnetization amount of the magnetic sensor is large and gives warning, but does not disclose a specific technique about correction of output and therefore cannot solve the foregoing problem.
On the other hand, Patent Document 3 describes a magnetism detection method wherein, in advance, detection values of a magnetic sensor with respect to a predetermined uniform magnetic field are adjusted to certain values in the state where the foregoing soft magnetic body is not present in the neighborhood and then a correction coefficient is derived from detection values obtained when there is a magnetic field from a direction of magnetism-sensitive axis in the state where the soft magnetic body is present in the neighborhood and, by canceling an induction magnetic field generated around the soft magnetic body by the use of a predetermined calculation formula on the basis of the correction coefficient, an output caused by the foregoing induction magnetic field is corrected. However, the technique according to this publication does not disclose a specific technique about what situation requires the correction or what timing the correction is performed, and therefore cannot solve the foregoing problem.
On the other hand, Patent Document 4 describes an adjusting method for an electronic azimuth finder, wherein a magnetic field for adjustment is generated while changing the strength thereof according to a predetermined sequence by the use of a magnetic field generator that can generate a magnetic field stronger than the geomagnetism and adjusting data is obtained using a sequence that obtains data or a magnetic sensor according to the predetermined sequence, thereby performing an adjustment. However, there has been a problem that the technique according to this publication requires, apart from the electronic azimuth finder, the magnetic field generator that applies the external magnetic field.
Aside, Patent Document 5 describes a calibration method of the magnetic sensor mounted in the portable terminal. In this technique, a portable terminal is rotated per predetermined angle and, based on data measured by a magnetic sensor at respective angles, an offset is estimated to thereby carry out calibration without depending on the rotation speed. However, even in the method described in Patent Document 5, it is necessary for a user to consciously rotate the portable device mounted with the magnetic sensor to thereby perform calibration thereof. Therefore, although improved as compared with conventional, since the user is forced to carry out the operation for calibration, it still remains troublesome to the user. Further, if the user neglects or forgets the calibration, the geomagnetic sensor cannot be operated in an optimal state.
[Patent Document 1]
Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6-174472
[Patent Document 2]
Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6-249663
[Patent Document 3]
Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 7-151842
[Patent Document 4]
Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-48551
[Patent Document 5]
Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-12416

Method and apparatus for measuring magnetic offset of geomagnetic sensor and portable electronic apparatus


A flexure/actuator is configured to reliably provide motion reduction, e.g. for positioning or adjusting telescope or other technical or scientific instrument components, preferably at cryogenic as well as higher temperatures. The flexure can be constructed to provide support and strength, preferably in all axes, such as may be needed to withstand launch forces. Preferably flexure axes are defined at upper and lower edges of sidewalls and at intermediate positions of sidewalls. Actuator activation adjusts distance between sidewall intermediate flexures and, by operation of sidewall flexures, adjusts the distance between upper and lower surfaces with a desired reduction ratio.

In a number of situations, it is useful to convert the motion of an actuator to a reduced or smaller motion, e.g., to achieve very fine changes or adjustments in position. One area in which such motion reduction may be useful is for adjustment, calibration, pointing, focusing and the like, of various technical or scientific instruments including interferometers and telescopes, particularly space-based telescopes. In the case of telescopes, the fineness or precision with which mirrors, mirror segments or other optical components must be positioned may be substantially finer than the step size with which an actuator, in a particular application, may be moved. Although actuators are of various types and are available with a variety of step sizes or precisions, there are often other constraints limiting the types of actuators available, including constraints on the size, weight, cost, suitable environment, or other performance characteristics of an actuator. According, in many situations, it is desired to use an actuator which has movement components or steps of a given minimum size but to achieve positioning of a telescope mirror segment or other optic with a precision which is finer than that of the actuator. These problems can be particularly acute in the case of a space-based telescope because of the tight constraints which weight and reliability place on actuator components. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a device for reducing motion of an actuator suitable for technical or scientific instruments, preferably suitable for a space-based telescope or other instruments. Preferably with relatively low weight and size.
Many scientific instruments require operation at low temperatures, such as cryogenic temperatures, e.g., less than about 70 Kelvin. Although motion reduction devices are known, such as reduction gear trains, many such devices are unsuitable for use at low, e.g. cryogenic, temperatures. Among other difficulties, many previous motion reduction devices, such as gear trains, had unsuitable effective thermal conductivities such that temperature differentials between gears or other parts could reduce reliabilty, linearity of performance, or could limit the precision or fineness of adjustment. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a reduction device which reduces the occurrence of or effect of temperature differentials and preferably which is suitable for operation at low, e.g. cryogenic, temperatures.
Many previous reduction devices included a relatively large number of relatively-moving separate parts (such as parts which are meshed or hinged with one another). Because of the potential for failure of such separate parts, as well as the interference with thermal conduction between separate parts, both of which can be particularly disadvantageous in space-based telescopes or other instruments, it would be advantageous to provide a motion reduction device which reduced or eliminated the need for meshing or hinging of separate parts in at least portions of the motion reduction device.
In some motion reduction devices, the degree of fineness of adjustment is achieved at the price of an unacceptable reduction in the range of motion of the device. In some reduction devices it was difficult or impossible to provide for coarse adjustment in addition to the fine adjustment made possible by the reduction device. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a reduction device which provides a relatively fine adjustment throughout a relatively large range of motion, preferably with a substantially constant or linear reduction ratio, and/or which allows for coarse adjustment as well as fine adjustment of position.


A polishing pad having a polishing surface, a back surface and a sidewall is provided. The sidewall is connected to the polishing surface and the back surface. The polishing pad includes a polishing region and a region neighboring to the polishing region. Wherein, at least one stress buffer pattern is designed in the neighboring region. The stress buffer pattern is formed to buffer the stress created during a polishing process to prevent the region from being protruded and thus prevent the surface of the region, once protruded, from rubbing against the wafer carrier to generate particles, so that contamination of the surface of the wafers can be avoided. On the other hand, at least one cambered surface can be designed on the sidewall of the polishing pad to prevent the sidewall from rubbing against the wafer carrier to generate particles, so that contamination can be avoided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polishing pad and fabricating method thereof, and more particularly to a polishing pad and fabricating method of the same suitable to prevent particles from being generated during a polishing process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes are commonly used to achieve global planarization. In a conventional CMP process, polishing slurry containing abrasive particles is applied on the surface of a wafer and set in relative motion with respect to a polishing pad with appropriate elasticity and hardness for the purpose of planarization of the wafer.
FIG. 1 shows a top view and a side view of a wafer carrier holding a wafer on a polishing pad in a conventional polishing process. As shown in FIG. 1, a wafer 100 is held by a wafer carrier 102, for example, in a way that a retaining ring 104 is used to attach the wafer 100 on the bottom surface of the wafer carrier 102. The wafer carrier 102 holds the wafer 100 to spin on the polishing pad 110, and the polishing pad 110 itself also rotates driven by a polishing table, while a polishing slurry is provided between the surface of the wafer 100 and the polishing pad 110 for the polishing process. Abrasive particles in the slurry contact with and rub against the surface of the wafer 100, which causes abrasion on the surface of the wafer 100 and thus make the surface becoming planar. The relative motion between the polishing pad 110 and the surface of the wafer 100 includes not only rotational motion of the wafer 100 and the polishing pad 110 but also horizontal swing motion of the wafer 100.
Referring further to FIG. 1, when the wafer carrier 102 brings the wafer 100 slightly in a horizontal swing motion within the polishing region 112 of the polishing pad 110, the motion will induce a compressive stress on the polishing pad 110 towards the center of the polishing pad 110 so as to compress the central region 114 to become protruded. When the wafer 100 continues to be polished on the protruded polishing pad 110, the retaining ring 104 on the wafer carrier 102 may rub against the protruded surface of the central region 114 of the polishing pad 110 and thus generate particles. Since a trench 106 is ordinarily designed in the retaining ring 104 on the wafer carrier, the particles generated due to the rubbing may pass through the trench 106 in the retaining ring 104, reach the wafer 100, and further contaminate the wafer 100.
In addition, since the polishing surface of the polishing pad 110 is perpendicular with the sidewall 116 of the polishing pad 110, when the wafer carrier 102 brings the wafer 100 slightly in a horizontal swing motion within the polishing region 112, the retaining ring 104 on the wafer-holding device 102 may rub against the sidewall 116 of the polishing pad 110 to generate small particles, and the particles may pass through the trench 106 in the retaining ring 104, reach the wafer 100, and further contaminate the wafer 100.
During a conventional polishing process, as described above, the surface of the central region or the edge portions of the polishing pad may rub against the retaining ring of the wafer carrier, which will generates small particles to contaminate the wafer.

Polishing pad and fabricating method thereof


An electrical circuit board connector includes a housing made of an electrical insulating material; a groove formed in the housing for receiving a flat conductive member from a rear side of the housing; a signal terminal arranged at a front side of the housing; a ground terminal disposed at a position closer to the rear side relative to the signal terminal; and a pressing member supported to be movable. The signal terminal includes a contact arm, a first contact section for contacting with a circuit section of the flat conductive member, and a connecting section protruding outside the housing. The ground terminal includes a second contact section for contacting with a ground plate of the flat conductive member. When the pressing member moves, the pressing member presses the flat conductive member to the first contact section and the second contact section.

The present invention relates to a circuit board electrical connector. Especially, the present invention relates to a circuit board electrical connector having a ground terminal to be connected to a ground plate of a flat conductive member.
Patent Reference has disclosed a conventional circuit board electrical connector. In the conventional circuit board electrical connector disclosed in Patent Reference, a housing mounted on a circuit board includes a guide groove for inserting a flat conductive member in a direction substantially horizontal to the circuit board; and a plurality of flat signal terminals arranged in a width direction of the flat conductive member for contacting with and connecting to the flat conductive member. Patent Reference: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-134708A
When the flat conductive member includes a ground plate, the conventional circuit board connector has a ground terminal corresponding to the ground plate. In the conventional circuit board connector disclosed in Patent Reference, the ground terminal is provided adjacent to the signal terminals outside a region where the signal terminals are arranged. The ground terminal is formed of a curved sheet metal.
In the conventional circuit board electrical connector disclosed in Patent Reference, the ground terminal is provided adjacent to the signal terminals at both ends in the arrangement direction. Therefore, the number and the position of the ground terminal in the arrangement direction are limited, and it is difficult to optionally select according to a design. As a result, it is difficult to improve grounding and control electrical characteristics according to a signal speed.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the invention is to provide an electrical circuit board connector, in which it is possible to optionally change the number and a position of a ground terminal in a terminal arrangement direction.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.


A process is provided for preparing a conjugate of Formula (I-A) or (I) comprising a polypeptide containing n number of tyrosine units, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 1, dispersed within the amino acid chain

Conjugation has been widely used to optimize the properties of biologically active proteins, such as protein/peptide therapies, antibody-drug conjugates, vaccines, tissue selective targeting vehicles, molecular diagnostics, and protein nucleic acid conjugates.
Traditional conjugation method utilizes lysine based covalent ligation, which is difficult to achieve homogenicity due to the abundance of lysines on the surface. The other typical method is based on cystein conjugation. However, cystein is a rare amino acid and usually present in disulfide form, and free cystein can potentially lead to disulfide scrambling.
Tyrosines represent better alternative conjugation sites. They are rarer than lysines, and not all of them are surface exposed. A few methods have been reported recently for tyrosine ligation, such as allylic alkylation, diazo-coupling and Mannich-type coupling. See, for example, J Am Chem Soc, 128, 1080-1081 (2006); J Am Chem Soc, 127, 3718-3723 (2005); and Bioconjugate Chem, 19, 153-157 (2008)).
A tyrosine ligation method was recently described by Ban, H., et al. in J Am Chem Soc, 132, 1523-1525 (2010). However, the predominant product observed using the published protocol (a Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) solution) is most likely urea formation at lysines. The LC-MS in the publication is inconsistent with the proposed tyrosine ligation product.

Abstract: having and amino terminus end (A1) and an acid terminus end (A2) of the protein or polypeptide and having a weight average molecular weight equal to or greater than 10,000 Daltons (10 kDa), wherein the conjugate comprises a number m of tyrosine conjugates (modified tyrosine residues) as depicted in Formula (I-A) or (I), where m is at least one and is less than or equal to n:

Abstract: where X, Lg, L and R are as defined herein.