A system and method are used to manufacture a device using at least one exposure step. Each exposure step projects a patterned beam of radiation onto a substrate. The patterned beam includes a plurality of pixels. Each pixel delivers a radiation dose no greater than a predetermined normal maximum dose to the target portion in the exposure step and/or at least one selected pixel delivers an increased radiation dose, greater than the normal maximum dose. The increased dose may be delivered to compensate for the effect of a defective element at a known position in the array on a pixel adjacent a selected pixel or compensate for underexposure of the target portion at the location of a selected pixel resulting from exposure of that location to a pixel affected by a known defective element in another exposure step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithographic apparatus and a device manufacturing method.
2. Related Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a target portion of a substrate. The lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs), flat panel displays, and other devices involving fine structures. In a conventional lithographic apparatus, a patterning means, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC (or other device), and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g., comprising part of one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer or glass plate) that has a layer of radiation-sensitive material (e.g., resist). Instead of a mask, the patterning means may comprise an array of individually controllable elements that generate the circuit pattern.
In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively exposed. Known lithographic apparatus include steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion in one go, and scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through the projection beam in a given direction (the "scanning" direction), while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction.
Maskless lithography refers to lithography that uses an array of individually controllable elements instead of a mask to form a desired radiation exposure pattern on a target. The array of elements is used to pattern a radiation beam, and the patterned beam is projected onto a target surface of a substrate. The projected pattern comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel typically corresponding to a respective one of the array of controllable elements. Generally, in such techniques, each pixel has a peak intensity that is primarily dependent upon the corresponding respective element, but which is also dependent to some degree on the elements adjacent to the corresponding element.
In a basic form of programmable array, each element may be controllable to adopt one of two states: a "black" state, in which its corresponding pixel on the projective pattern has a minimum intensity; and a "white" state, in which the corresponding pixel has maximum intensity. Thus, the array can be controlled to expose the target portion of the substrate to a desired pattern of corresponding "black" and "white" pixels, each pixel delivering a corresponding dose of radiation during the exposure step.
It is also known to use more sophisticated programmable arrays, in which each element is controllable to adopt a plurality of grey states, in addition to the black and white states. This allows pixels to deliver doses between the "white" maximum and "black" minimum. This finer dose control delivered by each pixel enables finer features to be achieved in the eventual exposure pattern.
In the art, the process of exposing the substrate target surface to a plurality of pixels is sometimes referred to as a printing step, and when an array of elements with black, white, and grey states is used, the process may be described as grey-scale printing.
In certain applications, the radiation dose pattern to which the substrate is to be exposed may be described as comprising "white" regions, defined as regions to which a dose greater than a certain value is to be delivered, and "black" regions, defined as regions to which doses smaller than a certain value are to be delivered. For example, the substrate may have a resist layer, the resist material having a certain threshold activation dose. In such cases, the white regions are those to which the delivered dose is to exceed the activation threshold, and the black regions are to receive less than the activation threshold dose, such that on subsequent development, the black regions are removed, leaving only the pattern of white regions.
When controllable element arrays are used in maskless lithography, there is a possibility that one or more of the elements may be, or may become, defective, and will be unresponsive to control signals, or will not respond in the normal, desired way. For example, a defective element may be an unresponsive element, stuck in a black or grey state. Alternatively, it maybe an element controllable to adopt only a reduced number of its normal states, so that its white state or whitest states, are inaccessible.
When no compensation is made for the defective elements, radiation doses delivered to the target substrate may be smaller than desired. "White" dead pixels may also arise, for example corresponding to elements stuck in a fully white state. "White" dead pixels cannot be corrected when intended to print "black." Therefore, all "white" dead pixels need to be made "black" before the array is used for lithography, for example, in the case of programmable mirror arrays, by mechanically deforming them to a tilted position by micromanipulation, by removing them, by creating a grating on them, or by coating the mirror black by local deposition of an absorbing material.
To produce a desired exposure pattern on a target substrate, it is known to use a two-pass maskless lithography method. In such a method, each part of the target surface is exposed to a pixel twice, i.e., two exposure steps are used to deliver, in combination, the total required radiation dose to each part of the substrate. Typically, the substrate is moved between the first and second exposure steps, relative to the beam projection system, such that a particular part of the target surface is not exposed to the same pixel twice (i.e., a pixel corresponding to the same controllable element). This has been done to limit the maximum effect that a defective pixel can have. Also, even if no defective elements are present on the array, a two-pass system enables an improved total dose accuracy to be achieved compared with a single exposure method.
To produce a desired exposure pattern of "white" and "black" regions on a target surface of a resist layer of a substrate, a two-pass system is typically arranged such that in each exposure step a fully white pixel delivers a radiation dose just greater than half the resist activation threshold dose. This is achieved by appropriate selection of exposure time (i.e., the time for which the substrate is exposed to a particular pixel in each exposure step) and the intensity of the radiation source.
Previous systems tried to use as short exposure times as possible, which increases pixel printing rate, and hence improves throughput, but this is limited by the switching speeds of the controllable elements (i.e., how fast they can be controlled to switch from one state to another). Previous systems also tried to use a radiation source whose output power is no higher than necessary. This is because, generally, the higher the source power the higher its cost, and the higher the cost of the beam conditioning, transport, and projection systems required to accommodate the beam. In addition, higher beam intensity can lead to an increased rate of degradation of certain components. Thus, in previous systems, the general requirement has been that the projected beam should interact with a fully "white" element to produce a corresponding "white" pixel, which delivers the required dose in the in particular exposure period, i.e., a dose just greater than half the resist threshold dose.
To make best use of available source power, prior art methods have been arranged to print the "white" regions of the target with elements set to their fully "white" states.
Thus, in general, in a typical two-pass method, "white" regions of the target have been printed using "white" pixels of maximum, 100% intensity (i.e., the maximum achievable intensity with the particular radiation source and range of element states), and "grey" and "black" pixels, with intensities down to 0% have also been used to build up the desired dosage pattern.
In such methods, problems occur if an element is completely unresponsive and set in a "black" state, or is otherwise unable to interact with the source beam to make a contribution to its corresponding pixel. In other words, if the element is a "black dead element" and its corresponding pixel is a "black dead pixel." If, for example, the "black" dead pixel falls on a "white" region of the target surface, then instead of delivering the required dose (e.g., approximately half the threshold dose) in a first pass it will deliver a much reduced dose, even a zero dose. Even though the part of the "white" region upon which the "black" dead pixel falls may be exposed to a full, 100% intensity "white" pixel in the second pass (e.g., corresponding to a non-defective element in the same element array, or a non-defective element in another array), the combined dose it receives may thus fall significantly short of the threshold dose required.
Clearly, such under exposure resulting from defective elements has a detrimental effect on the dosage pattern achieved by the process. It will be appreciated that similar problems also occur if, rather than being completely "black," a defective element is set in a "grey" state and is unable to deliver, via its corresponding pixel, a sufficiently high dosage in one of the passes.
One previous attempt to compensate for a dead black pixel is illustrated in FIG. 2. Here, a simplified projected pattern 1 of nine pixels is shown, falling on a corner of a white region of a target surface. The boundary of the white region is indicated by broken line 13. Pixels 10, 11 falling on the white region are intended to be fully white (i.e., to print at full intensity), and pixels 12 falling on the black region are intended to be fully black (i.e., zero intensity). However, pixel 11 is a dead black pixel.
To compensate for this, rather than being fully black, non-white pixels 12 neighboring dead black pixel 11 are made grey, such that their contributions to the radiation dosage delivered by pixel 11 combine to compensate at least partially for the dosage lost as a result of the defective element. Thus, the neighboring black pixels in the same exposure step (e.g., write pass) have been used to compensate for a dead black pixel 11 falling on the edge of a white region, and it is also known to use neighboring (i.e., surrounding) black pixels to provide such compensation in a preceding or subsequent pass.
A problem with this compensation method, however, is that by increasing the intensities of pixels 12 from black to grey values, the positions of the feature edges between the black and non-defective white pixels may be undesirably shifted, and once a black region has been given a grey dosage, it is not possible to reverse this. Correcting with neighboring pixels in this way leads not only (and necessarily) to a shift of the edge position, it also makes the edge less steep. The (N)ILS (which is the (normalized) imaging log slope) gets worse. Also, if the dead black pixel falls on a line edge, rather than at a corner, the number of immediately adjacent black pixels for compensation purposes is reduced. Furthermore, if a dead black pixel falls within a white region such that it is surrounded by non-defective white pixels, the above technique can provide no compensation.
Another attempt to solve the problem of underexposure resulting from defective elements/pixels has been to use an additional write pass, which may be referred to as a "clean-up pulse" or exposure. Here, the substrate is moved with respect to the projection system such that no part of the substrate can be exposed to the same defective pixel twice. The clean-up pass is made specifically to deliver targeted radiation doses to selected parts of the substrate which received lower than their desired doses in the preceding exposure step or steps. Although good compensation may be achieved, the problem with this technique is that the need for an additional write pass reduces throughput, or increases costs and complexity if it is achieved by adding further arrays of controllable elements to those normally required for printing.
Although two-pass systems have been described, it will be appreciated that problems of defective elements occur also in single pass methods, and multiple-pass methods using three or more passes to achieve required radiation dosage patterns.
Thus, there remain problems associated with the compensation for effects of defective elements in maskless lithography.
Therefore, what is needed is lithographic methods and apparatus that allow for more efficient and effective compensation for effects of defective elements in maskless lithography.

Lithographic apparatus and method utilizing dose control


A networking device includes a packet header protect generator, a transmitter, a receiver, a decoder and router. The transmitter transmits a data packet to the receiver. The data packet includes a data packet header. The packet header protection generator is arranged to toggle selected bits of a protected portion of the data packet header and generate a data integrity signature. The receiver receives the data packet and generates a received data integrity signature. The decoder computes a locally computed data integrity signature in response to the protected portion of the received data packet header. The locally computed data integrity signature is compared with the received data integrity signature. The router selects a portion of a routing path in response to whether a data packet forwarding destination includes a decoder arranged to compute a locally computed data integrity signature.

Utilities are increasingly using networked meters to reduce meter-reading costs and to monitor user consumption in real-time. Because of the relatively long life of meters (e.g., 20 years or longer), the cost of "retrofitting" or replacing various system components used to meter utility usage at each consumer location often leads to various generations of meters being used across the utility metering system. The various generations of metering systems often leads to upgrade problems and/or inefficiencies in the interoperation of the meters.

Packet header protection for utility networks


An apparatus and method for control channel transmission in a wireless network are disclosed. A disclosure is provided with at least one resource block (RB) including a first control channel element associated with a first antenna port (AP) and a second control channel element associated with a second AP. The first and second control channel elements might be used for transmission of a single control channel, and a first reference signal sequence associated with one of the first AP and the second AP is selected for transmission of the single control channel based on a control channel element index value, such that a resource element of the at least one RB can be detected to decode the first control channel element and the second control channel element.

Wireless communications networks often use a control channel to communicate control information (e.g., resource allocation, modulation, and coding information, etc.) pertaining to a data channel. For instance, third generation partnership project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) release 10 (rel-10) specifies communicating control information of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) using a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The PDCCH is located in the control region of the sub-frame (which spans the first few leading symbols of the subframe), while the PDSCH is located in the data region of the subframe (which spans the remaining/trailing symbols of the subframe). Other control channels may also occupy the control region of the subframe. For instance, the control channel may include a Physical Hybrid Indicator Channel (PHICH) for carrying acknowledgment (ACK) and negative-acknowledgment (NACK) messages in response to uplink data transmissions and a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) for indicating the number of symbols of control region in a subframe.
One proposed modification for future releases of LTE (e.g., 3GPP LTE-A release 11 (rel-11), etc.) is the introduction of an enhanced PDCCH (E-PDCCH) in the downlink subframe. The E-PDCCH may be used to carry uplink (UL) and/or downlink (DL) control signaling regarding the PDSCH and/or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to user equipments (UEs). Unlike previous control channels, the E-PDCCH will be located (at least partially) in the data region of the subframe, and may be frequency division multiplexed (FDM) with the PDSCH.
There may be multiple E-PDCCHs to communicate multiple control messages in a single PRB pair using time-division-multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, spatial division multiplexing (SDM) techniques, or combinations thereof. This ability to communicate multiple resource allocations in a single RB is particularly beneficial when high order modulation techniques are used, e.g., 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc. When an RB (or RB-pair) carries multiple control messages using TDM or FDM techniques, it is necessary to partition the RB (or RB-pair) by mapping available REs to multiple control channel elements (CCE). In this disclosure, CCEs of the E-PDDCH may be referred to as enhanced CCEs (eCCEs). For instance, an RB or RB-pair may be partitioned between a first eCCE (eCCE0) and a second eCCE (eCCE1).
It is desirable to evenly partition an RB (or RB pair) amongst the multiple eCCEs such that each eCCE is assigned/allocated the same number of REs. However, evenly partitioning an RB amongst multiple eCCEs is complicated by the existence of overhead information (e.g., reference signals, etc.) within the RB or RB pair carrying the E-PDCCH, which may be used for, inter alia, channel estimation (e.g., fading, etc.). Notably, the number and position of the overhead REs in the RB or RB pair varies depending on the configuration of the downlink channel, which means that an even partitioning of the RB or RB-pair cannot generally be achieved through a simple bifurcation of the RB or RB pair (e.g., splitting the RB in half along the time domain or frequency domain). That is to say, the sporadic and uneven interspersion of overhead REs within the RB or RB pair carrying the E-PDCCH would, more often than not, cause one of the halves to carry more overhead (and therefore fewer available REs) than the other. As such, a mechanism or technique for evenly partitioning the E-PDCCH between two or more resource allocations is desired.

Wireless communication control channel apparatus and method


The present invention relates to a method and system for providing and/or offering mandatorily convertible securities with associated senior debt instruments. The mandatorily convertible securities can be preferred stock or a purchase contract with the mandatorily convertible securities converting into a predetermined number of units of an underlying security on a mandatory conversion date. The predetermined number of units of an underlying security is based on a market value of the underlying security on the conversion date.

As known in the art, structured financial products are financial instruments that are issued and sold by business entities (e.g., corporations) to investors for capital-raising activities. Typically, structured financial products are particularly designed and created by investment institutions for the business entities to meet the specific capital-raising needs of such entities. In turn, investors purchase structured financial products, focusing on payoff patterns (i.e., capital appreciation and/or current income) of the products, to address their specific investment objectives. As referred herein, an investor can be an individual, a group of individuals, an organization, or a business entity.
One of the many structured financial products in existence today is mandatorily convertible securities. As understood in the art, a conventional mandatorily convertible security (also referred to as Equity DECSSM, PRIDES, PEPS, MEDS, SAILS, PIES, or other names) is typically a preferred security issued by a business entity paying a cash distribution and a special feature, namely, an automatic or mandatory conversion into a certain predetermined number of units of an underlying security at a specified future time. The Equity DECS or DECS conversion feature typically works as follows: on the mandatory conversion date the DECS will convert into one share of common stock if the share price on such date is at or below the share price on the date the DECS was issued, however, if the share price on the mandatory conversion date is above the value of the share price on the date the DECS was issued, each DECS will convert into less than one share of common stock.
An investor sees the DECS as an attractive investment because he or she earns a higher income return on the DECS than he or she would receive as a common stockholder. However, in exchange for that enhanced income return, the investor gives up some participation in potential appreciation of the common stock (through the reduction of the number of shares into which the DECS is convertible). On the other hand, the business entity sees DECS as an attractive means of raising equity capital (from the credit rating agencies' perspective) while retaining a certain amount of potential appreciation in its common stock (through the delivery to the investor of fewer shares upon conversion if the stock has performed well). Moreover, the issuance of a DECS enables the business entity to raise capital by tapping a different pool of investors than those that would otherwise be purchasers of the business entity's common stock.
Because the conventional DECS is typically a preferred security, payments of cash distributions in respect of that security are deeply subordinated in the capital structure of the issuer in terms of its obligation to make such payments. As a result, investors typically demand a higher distribution (coupon) rate in return of the DECS (especially those from non-investment grade issuers) to compensate for greater risk stemming from the subordination of the DECS' distribution payment obligations to senior claims against the issuer. In certain circumstances, this subordination could discourage investors from purchasing DECS from a particular issuer altogether. As a result, the issuer may not attract the right pool of investors and/or command the requisite prices for their issued DECS. Also, for some issuers, another drawback is the accounting presentation of the DECS. Even though the instrument mandatorily converts into common stock at maturity, the payment obligations associated with the instrument would require classification of the DECS as a liability, rather than as equity. For issuers who desire to increase the amount of equity on their balance sheets for accounting purposes (as well as raise capital that is viewed as equity from the perspective of the credit rating agencies), this presents a problem.
Hence, there exists a need for a system and method for offering a structured financial product that provides all the benefits of a DECS, attracts investors to such product in spite of a less favorable credit rating of the product's issuer, enhances the issuer's pricing efficiency of the issued product, and, in some cases, enables the issuer to present the instrument as equity for accounting purposes.

Method and system for providing mandatorily convertible securities with associated senior debt instruments


Impact force feedback systems (IFFS) and methods for their use are described. The IFFS can measure and display raw or calculated data relating to impact force imparted to an object by a user. In a preferred embodiment the IFFS can be implemented in a boxing or martial arts configuration, where impact force(s) resulting from punches, kicks, and the like are displayed to a user.

Athletes often train in ways that mimic the play of their particular sport during competition. For example, runners can improve their racing performance by engaging in endurance and sprint training; baseball pitchers practice repetitive pitching motions to build muscle memory and perfect their pitching style; rowers may practice on a machine constructed to mimic the confines of a rowboat so that a participant can train in an indoor facility. Exercise training is a popular activity that not only increases performance in a particular sport, but also provides improved health, teamwork, and camaraderie.
Sparring is one of the oldest known physical sport activities that pit strength, endurance, tactical knowledge, and other elements between two or more opponents. Sparring is frequently practiced in martial arts and boxing training regimens. However, some practitioners also enjoy sparring alone by practicing kicks, punches, and other strikes against various types of sporting equipment, such as punching bags.

Systems and methods for visualizing and analyzing impact forces


An EMI shield for an electronic system enclosure is disclosed. The EMI shield may include an electrically conductive panel with a plurality of air ventilation channels, which has an upstream airflow side and a downstream airflow side. The EMI shield may also include a first air ventilation channel with a first cross-sectional shape having a first cross-sectional area and a first depth. The EMI shield may further include a second air ventilation channel with a second cross-sectional shape, having a cross-sectional area greater than the first cross-sectional area, and a second depth larger than the first depth.

In the present competitive electronics marketplace, there are continuing consumer demands for higher frequency electronic components enclosed in smaller packaging. These requirements have lead to increased temperatures within electronic packages, requiring more cooling. Higher frequency electronic components also generate more disruptive electromagnetic interference (EMI) which, if not properly shielded, can interfere with other electronic equipment that make use of transmitted radio frequency (RF) signals.
EMI emissions typically escapes electronic packages through ventilation holes commonly used for cooling purposes. Consequently, electronic manufacturers often face a design trade-off between cooling the package and shielding for EMI. Printed circuit boards used in various types of electronic equipment are typically mounted within a housing structure. During operation of the electronic device, EMI emissions are generated within electronic components, including circuit boards, chips, and other components mounted on the circuit boards. The EMI emissions emanate from these, and must be substantially prevented from escaping outwardly through the housing structure.
It should be noted that EMI emissions generated by electronic components can include electromagnetic energy of wavelengths along various points of the spectrum such as RF interference. As used herein, the term electromagnetic interference (EMI) refers to interfering electromagnetic energy of any wavelength.

Variable thickness EMI shield with variable cooling channel size

LENOVO ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.


An epitaxial Ni3FeN film with unique magnetic properties such as single magnetic domain (even in a large scale 0.5″×0.5″), which rotates coherently in response to the desired switching field with a very sharp transition is described. The magnetic hysteresis loop of this new magnetic nitride is close to the perfect ideal square with the same value of saturation magnetization, remnant magnetization, and magnetization right before switching (domain reversal). The switching field is tunable which make this material more attractive for magneto-resistive devices such as MRAM's, read heads and magnetic sensors.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ferromagnetic Ni3FeN which is epitaxial. In particular the present invention relates to a process for preparing the epitaxial Ni3FeN.
(2) Background of the Invention
The need for improvements in sensitivity, performance, and reduction in size of magnetoresistive devices, such as non-volatile magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) and magnetic sensors, is the driving force in searching for new magnetic materials. The magnetic switching characteristics of patterned ferromagnetic films used in nanostructure magnetoresistive devices such as MRAM and magnetic sensors are critical to the sensitivity and performance of these generations of magnetic devices (Zheng, Y., et al., Appl. Phys. 85 4776 (1999)). The homogeneity of magnetic domains, magnetic anisotropy and magnetic domain reversal speed (switching speed) are some of the critical factors in the sensitivity and performance of the mentioned devices.
In recent years, non-epitaxial Permalloy is one of the favored ferromagnetic materials that has been used in fabrication of read/write head, MRAM (magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) structure), and other magnetic storage element and magnetic sensors. Non-epitaxial Permalloy (Py) is one of the particular types of the Fe—Ni alloy family, with a nickel concentration of 81%, (Ni81Fe19), and is an fcc derivative L12 structure "soft" ferromagnetic metal which is easily magnetized and demagnetized. The magnetic and transport properties of non-epitaxial Py thin films has been studied and used in different devices in great depth. One advantage of using non-epitaxial Py (with respect to other ferromagnets such as Co and Fe) in magnetic devices is its softness. Unfortunately, non-epitaxial Py thin films can have single-magnetic-domain state only for sub-micrometer in-plane dimensions of a certain shape.
It has been shown that by introducing nitrogen as an interstitial impurity into a ferromagnetic metal, which results in expansion of the host lattice, the magnetic, transport and structural properties of the host materials will change. In the past few decades, several investigators have studied numerous of magnetic materials such as 3d metallic and 3d-3f intermetallic compounds. Most of the reported works were focused on iron nitrides (Loloee, R., et al., Appl. Phys. Lett, 82 3281 (2003)), nitrodes of 3d-4f intermetallic compounds, and a few on Fe—Ni nitride systems (Panda, R. N., et al., J. Appl. Phys., 86 3295 (1999); Li, F., et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 66 2343(1995); and Wang, H. Y., et al., J. Appl. Phys. 91 1453 (2002)). See also Loloee, R., et al, Philosophical Magazine 81 261-273(2001) and Mohn et al, Physical Review B 45, No. 8 (1992), all of which are incorporated by reference.
In general, insertion of interstitial nitrogen into the NiFe unit cell allows the structure of non-epitaxial Ni3FeN to remain cubic (fcc-like) with Ni atoms at fcc sites, Fe atoms at the corner of the unit cell and the interstitial nitrogen atom at body center. The structure and/or magnetic properties of (Fe1-xNix)4N compounds with various X between 0 and 0.6 and the nanocrystalline γ-Fe—Ni—N system (X 0.75) have been studied by several investigators (Panda, R. N., et al., J. Appl. Phys., 86 3295 (1999); Li, F., et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 66 2343(1995); and Wang, H. Y., et al., J. Appl. Phys. 91 1453 (2002)), all of which are incorporated by reference.
The state of the patent art in ferromagnetic devices is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,264,981 to Campbell et al., 6,473,960 to Schwartz et al., 6,495,311 and 6,667,850 to Khan et al., which are all incorporated by reference herein. Other references are JOM-e 52(6) 2000 and Caruso et al., Sensors Mag.

Board of Trustees of Michigan State University


A system and method for remote servicing of an in-field product at a customer site. The remote servicing system includes a portable service interface, typically a laptop computer, which is utilized to connect a remote servicing on-line center with the in-field produce, such as a medical image scanner. The portable service interface includes software not resident with the in-field product to permit such servicing functions as diagnostic evaluations of the in-field product, as well as downloading configuration files, original source files, protocols and other software from the on-line center through the portable service interface at the customer site. The field engineer or other operator is able to provide service functions to in-field products that are not networked or are not readily networked with the on-line center and that do not have the on-line center connecting software resident on the portable service interface.

The present invention relates generally to remote servicing of in-field products or equipment, and more particularly, to a system and method for remote servicing of in-field product connecting a centralized on-line service center to the in-field product, such as medical diagnostic equipment, through a portable service interface.
Medical diagnostic equipment and supporting systems, such as medical imaging systems, have become increasing complex in recent years. Examples of such systems include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, computed tomography (CT) systems, ultrasound and x-ray systems, and positron emission tomography (PET) systems. To add to the complexity of each particular imaging system, many facilities today incorporate a variety of such equipment. In larger facilities, the systems may be networked to permit common management and control. Further, such systems may be networked with a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for storing digitized image data for subsequent retrieval and reconstruction. Additionally, teleradiology, systems involve transmitting digitized image data to remote locations for review and diagnosis by specialized physicians and/or radiologists.
Because medical diagnostic systems are critical elements in the diagnosis and treatment of patients, their use must not be inhibited by a slow response for service or maintenance. Due to the increasing complexity of these systems, trained service personnel are oftentimes not on location with the equipment. Therefore, remote servicing of medical diagnostic equipment has become an important tool in maintaining these systems.
Remote servicing of medical diagnostic equipment has traditionally been performed via voice communication between operations personnel and a centralized servicing facility. Operations personnel would call a remote service facility to report malfunctions and ask questions regarding the proper operation and settings for the equipment. When such queries could not be sufficiently handled by telephone, a service or field engineer was dispatched to troubleshoot the system and provide the needed assistance.
Improvements in computer networks have greatly facilitated the task of offering assistance to medical imaging equipment. In particular, rather than having to call a service center and talking to a technician or engineer, or having to await a return call from the service center, network technologies have facilitated proactive techniques wherein the service center may contact the medical diagnostic equipment to check the status of subscribing equipment. Further advancements have been proposed to provide remote service to medical diagnostic systems in an effort to provide the level of service on a continual and interactive basis as needed by many facilities. In one such system, a service center can interactively receive messages via a network and can respond automatically to the messages if configured correctly. Data required to analyze the state of operation of the medical diagnostic equipment can be transferred during an electronic connection. This technique greatly facilitates identification of system problems, allows questions to be posed to the subscribing service provider, facilitates transfer of updates and imaging protocols, and permits standard and customized reports to be transmitted to subscribing systems or stations. The interactive aspect of this technique allows the medical diagnostic facility to remain current on services provided by the centralized service facility and to readily communicate with the centralized service facility.
While such advancements in the provisions of remote services to medical diagnostic equipment has greatly enhanced the level of service and information exchange, such advancements can only be taken advantage of by systems that are networked to the service center. Non-externally networked medical diagnostic equipment, or systems without interactive service software resident on the in-field product at the customer site may not be able to receive service or use resources of the service center due to the inability to connect or communicate with the centralized service facility. Typically, a field engineer at the customer site can get additional phone support by calling the on-line service center and talking to the one of the support engineers. However, without a mechanism to access or interface with the remote servicing center, the level of service available to a medical diagnostic system decreases significantly, with the field engineer or technician having to rely upon more traditional remote servicing techniques.
In present systems that are networked to an on-line service center, the on-line service center will dial up the particular system by way of a phone line and connect to the in-field product via a modern that is resident at the customer system in order to access the system. However, for non-networked systems, there is a need to directly connect the in-field product to the on-line service center to allow the field engineers to utilize current service tools in order to bridge a customer system with the on-line service center. Such a system would be particularly useful for systems that do not have the requisite communication software to connect to the on-line service center directly.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system and technique for the remote servicing of the in-field product that can communicate with diagnostic medical systems that do not have the application software that allows for communication with the remote resources such as the on-line service center. It would also be advantageous to have a system that utilizes service tools that are already widely used by field support personnel. It would also be advantageous to have a system that could receive diagnostic evaluations and data from the on-line center, even with a non-networked system.

System and method for remote servicing of in-field product


A sensor system for detecting and estimating concentrations of various gas or liquid analytes. In an embodiment, the resistances of a set of sensors are measured to provide a set of responses over time where the resistances are indicative of gas or liquid sorption, depending upon the sensors. A concentration vector for the analytes is estimated by satisfying a criterion of goodness using the set of responses. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Gas detecting sensors have many applications. One such application is to detect the presence of a dangerous gas, or to detect a gas whose presence indicates a dangerous situation. For example, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Association) has sponsored research in detecting low concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in closed environments, such as for example aboard the international space station or the space shuttle. SO2 could be a probable breakdown product from leaking lithium-thionyl chloride batteries. SO2 is a colorless gas or liquid under pressure with a pungent odor. Inhalation or exposure could have adverse effects on human health.
In addition to detecting various gases, or liquids, of interest, it may also be of utility to provide estimates of the concentrations of various gases or liquids of interest. For example, various industrial processes may require that various gases or liquids be present within some range of concentration levels. In other applications, some dangerous gases may be tolerated if their concentrations fall below some threshold level.

System for detecting and estimating concentrations of gas or liquid analytes


A system includes a first group of transmit electrodes configured to be driven from a first side of a capacitive touch panel and a second group of transmit electrodes configured to be driven from a second side of the panel. The system also includes receive electrodes and a controller operatively coupled with the transmit electrodes and the receive electrodes. The controller is operable to dynamically configure the transmit electrodes and the receive electrodes to compensate for phase delays introduced by driving the transmit electrodes from different sides of the panel. A method includes driving a first group of transmit electrodes from a first side of a capacitive touch panel, driving a second group of transmit electrodes from a second side of the panel, and dynamically configuring the transmit electrodes and receive electrodes to compensate for phase delays introduced by driving the transmit electrodes from different sides of the panel.

A touch panel is a human machine interface (HMI) that allows an operator of an electronic device to provide input to the device using an instrument such as a finger, a stylus, and so forth. For example, the operator may use his or her fingers to manipulate images on an electronic display, such as a display attached to a mobile computing device, a personal computer (PC), a terminal connected to a network, and so forth. In some cases, the operator may use two or more fingers simultaneously to provide unique commands, such as a zoom command, executed by moving two fingers away from one another; a shrink command, executed by moving two fingers toward one another; and so forth. In other cases, the operator may use a stylus to provide commands via a touch panel.
A touch screen is an electronic visual display that incorporates a touch panel overlying a display to detect the presence and/or location of a touch within the display area of a screen. The operator can control the display using simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with a stylus and/or one or more fingers. Touch screens are common in devices such as all-in-one computers, tablet computers, satellite navigation devices, gaming devices, and smartphones. A touch screen enables an operator to interact directly with information that is displayed by the display underlying the touch panel, rather than indirectly with a pointer controlled by a mouse or touchpad. The operator can use the touch screen to react to what is displayed and to control how it is displayed. Capacitive touch panels are often used with touch screen devices. A capacitive touch panel generally includes an insulator, such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor, such as indium tin oxide (ITO). As the human body is also an electrical conductor, touching the surface of the panel results in a distortion of the panel's electric field, measurable as change in capacitance.

Capacitive touch panel with increased scan frequency using dynamic phase compensation


Systems and methods are provided for analyzing isotopes of a gas from a wellbore to determine geological information associated with the wellbore. A drill device can be used to drill rocks or particles in a wellbore, which can cause a gas to be released within the wellbore. Fluid can be pumped into the wellbore as the drill bit drills the rocks or particles and the fluid, along with the gas released, can flow through the wellbore and to a surface of the wellbore. A gas detector can be positioned near the wellbore for detecting an amount of gas and a type of gas in the fluid and gas mixture and transmitting data about the amount and type of the gas to a computing device. The computing device can output data based on the amount and type of gas in the mixture for determining geological information about the wellbore.

A well (e.g., oil or gas wells for extracting fluids from a subterranean formation) can include a drilling rig for drilling in a wellbore, along with other components or equipment. During drilling operations, a gas within the wellbore can flow into fluid from the drilling operation, such as drilling fluid or drilling mud. Geological information about the wellbore can be determined based on the gas in the fluid.


A thickness of a form document loaded in a pin feed tractor is measured to appropriately adjust a gap between a platen and a print head. A projection formed on a pressing block is linearly moved toward and away from the form document supported on a tractor cover. The pressing block is moved by a stepping motor, and an amount of rotations of the stepping motor is detected to measure the movement of the projection. A first amount of rotations is detected under a condition where the form document is not loaded and subsequently a second amount of rotations is detected under a condition where the form document is loaded. The thickness of the form document is computed based on a difference between the first amount of rotations and the second amount of rotations to eliminate influence of resilient deformation of the tractor cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for measuring the thickness of a form document set in an impact printer, such as a dot line printer, and more particularly to a form thickness measuring device for measuring thickness of a continuous form consisting of a single or plural stacked sheets of paper.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional impact serial printers include a print head and a platen for supporting a print paper or a form document thereon. The gap between the print head and the platen is determined depending upon the thickness of the form document so that hammers mounted on the print head can make impressions of dots on the form supported on the platen.
It should be noted that not only a form with a single sheet of paper but also a form with plural stacked sheets of paper can be used in the impact printers.
Unlike impact serial printers, dot line printers print on form documents by striking hammers, which are mounted on a 13.6 inch width print head, against the forms with a relatively strong force. Therefore, the gap between the print head and the platen needs to be precisely determined depending upon the thickness of the form. Nevertheless, there has been no form thickness measuring device for use in the dot line printer, that is low in manufacturing cost, simple in construction, and easy to operate.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thickness measuring device capable of measuring a thickness of a form having a variable thickness, which is low in cost and high in accuracy.
To achieve the above and other objects, there is provided a thickness measuring device including a substrate; a stepping motor supported on the substrate and having a rotor shaft forwardly and reversely rotatable about its own axis; a translating mechanism for translating rotations of the rotor shaft into a linear movement; a pressing block formed with a projection, the pressing block being coupled to the rotor shaft through the translating mechanism for moving the projection toward and away from an object to be measured supported on a supporting plate in accordance with forward and reverse rotations of the stepping motor; and a control unit for controlling the stepping motor to move the projection from a predetermined fixed position to the object and then to backwardly move the projection from the object to the predetermined fixed position, and for computing a thickness of the object based on an actual amount of rotations of the stepping motor detected when the projection is moved a one-way distance between the predetermined fixed position and the object.
The control unit includes a non-volatile memory storing therein a reference amount of rotations of the stepping motor corresponding to a distance between the predetermined fixed position and the supporting plate, and computing means for computing the thickness of the object based on a subtracted amount of rotations obtained by subtracting the actual amount of rotations from the reference amount of rotations.
The control unit controls the stepping motor to move the projection from the predetermined fixed position to the supporting plate and then to backwardly move the projection from the object to the predetermined fixed position, and the control unit further includes detection means for detecting the reference amount of rotations of the stepping motor by moving the projection a one-way distance between the predetermined fixed position and the supporting plate. The detection means stores the reference amount of rotations in the non-volatile memory.
A first set of data including the actual amount of rotations and the reference amount of rotations is detected while rotating the stepping motor at a first pulse rate. The computing means further computes a first subtracted amount of rotations based on the first set of data. The control unit further includes comparison means for comparing the first subtracted amount of rotations with a first reference value, and determining means for determining that the object falls into a first range of thickness when the comparison means indicates that the first subtracted amount of rotations is less than the first reference value and that the object is out of the first range of thickness when the comparison means indicates that the first subtracted amount of rotations is equal to or greater than the first reference value.
A second set of data including the actual amount of rotations and the reference amount of rotations is detected while rotating said stepping motor at a second pulse rate lower than the first pulse rate. The computing means further computes a second subtracted amount of rotations based on the second set of data. The comparison means further compares the second subtracted amount of rotations with a second reference value greater than the first reference value, and the determining means further determines that the object falls into a second range of thickness when the comparison means indicates that the second subtracted amount of rotations is greater than the first reference value but less than the second reference value and that the object falls into a third range of thickness when said comparison means indicates that the second subtracted value is greater than the second reference value. The values in the first range of thickness is smaller than values in the second range of thickness, and the values in the second range of thickness is smaller than values in the third range of thickness.
When the determining means determines that the object falls into the third range of thickness, the control unit controls the stepping motor to rotate at a third pulse rate lower than the second pulse rate to compute the thickness of the object.
The control unit computes the thickness of the object based on the first subtracted amount of rotations when the determining means determines that the object falls into the first range of thickness. The control unit computes the thickness of the object based on the second subtracted amount of rotations when the determining means determines that the object falls into the second range of thickness.
A third set of data including the actual amount of rotations and the reference amount of rotations is detected while rotating the stepping motor at the third pulse rate lower than the second pulse rate. The computing means further computes a third subtracted amount of rotations based on the third set of data, and the control means computes the thickness of the object based on the third set of data.
In accordance with the thickness measurement of the invention, the thickness of the object can be obtained with high accuracy because the measured thickness is free from influence of resilient deformation of the supporting plate supporting the object to be measured.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer including a print head, a pin feed tractor, and a form thickness measuring device. The pin feed tractor feeds a form document past the print head, and has a tractor plate and a tractor cover arranged in parallel with each other to form a gap therebetween into which the form document is inserted.
The form thickness measuring device includes a substrate; a stepping motor supported on the substrate and having a rotor shaft forwardly and reversely rotatable about its own axis; a translating mechanism for translating rotations of the rotor shaft into a linear movement; a pressing block formed with a projection, the pressing block being coupled to the rotor shaft through the translating mechanism for moving the projection toward and away from the form document supported on the tractor cover through an opening formed on the tractor plate in accordance with forward and reverse rotations of the stepping motor; and a control unit. The control unit controls the stepping motor to move the projection from a predetermined fixed position to the form document and then to backwardly move the projection from the form document to the predetermined fixed position. The control unit further compute a thickness of the form document based on an actual amount of rotations of the stepping motor detected when the projection is moved a one-way distance between the predetermined fixed position and the form document.
The control unit further controls the stepping motor to move the projection from the predetermined fixed position to the tractor cover and then to backwardly move the projection from the tractor cover to the predetermined fixed position. The the control unit includes detection means for detecting a reference amount of rotations of the stepping motor by moving the projection a one-way distance between the predetermined fixed position and the tractor cover, a non-volatile memory, the detection means storing the reference amount of rotations in the non-volatile memory, and computing means for computing a difference between the actual amount of rotations and the reference amount of rotations, and computing the thickness of the form document based on the difference.
The control unit further comprises pulse rate changing means for changing a pulse rate of the rotations of the stepping motor, the pulse rate changing means changes the pulse rate based on the difference.
The pulse rate changing means decreases the pulse rate used for moving the projection from the predetermined fixed position to the form document and to the tractor cover when the difference is greater than a reference value.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of measuring the form thickness.

Device for measuring thickness of a form document in an impact printer


A carpet stretching device using a power stretching adapter attached to a standard carpet kicker is provided. The stretching adapter is formed from a frame having an anchor plate attached to the front of the frame for anchoring the device between the wall and tack strip adjacent to the carpet edge to be stretched. A handle is provided which is pivotally attached along its lower portion to the back of the frame. A clamp is located at the bottom of the handle for attaching the handle to a standard carpet kicker adjacent to the head of the kicker, so that the head will be positioned between the anchor plate and the clamp. The device functions by placing the handle upright, placing the anchor between the wall and tack strip, engaging the carpet pile with the carpet kicker head, and pivoting the top of the handle down towards the knee pad of the carpet kicker, forcing the kicker head towards the anchor, thus stretching the carpet. A tucker assembly is also provided for forcing the stretched carpet into engagement with the tack strip.

The installation of wall-to-wall carpeting often involves stretching the carpet to obtain a smooth, flat installation. This generally entails installing tack strips around the perimeter of the area to be covered with carpet adjacent to the walls of the area. The carpet is then rolled out in the room, usually over some padding, rough cut and seamed. One side of the carpet is attached to the tack strip along one side of a room and then stretched to the other side where the carpet is attached to an opposing tack strip. This process removes any wrinkles or creases in the carpeting, resulting in a flat, safe and visually appealing carpet installation.
During the above-described method of installing carpets, the carpet installer uses various tools for stretching the carpet. The most common tool is the carpet kicker which is typically constructed from an elongated rod having a head with a plurality of downwardly extending carpet gripping members at one end, and at the other end a knee pad. The elongated rod typically includes an offset bend adjacent to the head to provide clearance for the knee pad so that the head will be flat on the floor for maximum engagement with the carpet surface and the elongated rod will be parallel with the floor to transmit to the head the maximum force of a blow to the knee pad.
Carpet installers using this device must get down on their hands and knees, use the carpet gripping head of the kicker to engage the carpet close to the edge to be stretched, and then kick the knee pad using a knee, thus stretching the carpet. The edge of the carpet is then pressed down onto the tack strip, which secures the stretched carpet in place. Any final trimming of the edge is accomplished and the edge is neatly tucked between the tack strip and the wall to give a finished appearance.
Carpet kickers are extremely popular because they are inexpensive devices and because they are particularly useful for stretching carpet in small areas, such as hallways and stairways. However, a carpet kicker has limited power for stretching carpet in larger areas. Additionally, carpet kickers can be difficult to use for extended periods of time, due to the awkward posture which the installer must assume to use the device and because the repeated blows, to the knee pad, required for a complete installation can injure the knee.
Other tools for stretching carpet which avoid the disadvantages of knee kickers are known in the art. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,787 to Kowlaczyk discloses a motorized power stretcher having an anchoring blade for anchoring the device between the tack strip and the wall, and a carpet engaging head which is driven by motor toward the anchoring blade to stretch the carpet. U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,651 to Chamberlain discloses a carpet stretcher having a spring powered carpet engaging head which is placed adjacent to the edge of the carpet to be stretched, a knee pad for use in anchoring the device (by having the operator place his knee against the pad to prevent backward movement of the device), a handle for compressing the spring which drives the carpet engaging head, and a trigger for releasing the compressed spring to drive the carpet engaging head forward, thus stretching the carpet.
Such dedicated power stretchers are well-known, yet they are expensive and beyond the means of some carpet installers. Further, they are generally too large for effective use in small rooms, closets, hallways and stairways. Thus, the possession and use of two dedicated tools, a power stretcher and a knee kicker, is not avoided.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,479 to Palachuck discloses an adapter which can be used with a standard carpet kicker for providing additional power, to enable the carpet kicker to be used for stretching carpet in larger areas. The adapter includes a socket into which the knee pad of the carpet kicker is placed, and an anchor which is placed against the wall that the carpeting is being stretched away from. When the carpet kicker head is engaged, and the anchor properly located, the housing containing the knee pad is elevated. The carpet is stretched when the operator steps on the housing, forcing the kicker head away from the anchor. However, this device, while it will provide additional power to the carpet kicker, will also be limited to small areas since it anchors against the wall that the carpet is being stretched away from. Extremely long anchor arms would be required to permit its use in larger areas, and that would significantly increase the cost and the difficulty in transporting the tool.
Accordingly, the need exists for an inexpensive and compact power adapter which can be attached to a standard carpet kicker.

Adapter and method for power stretching carpets


A radio communication system includes a central station such as a repeater for transmitting FM signals to a plurality of radios. The repeater 11 is capable of receiving both analog speech FM signals and compressed voice signals. This permits the use of energy efficient transmission schemes by some of the radios operating in the system while permitting use of both types of transmission by the various remote radios.

This invention relates to two-way radio communication systems in general and particularly to a system wherein the power efficiency of portable radio transceivers utilized in this system can be enhanced. In conventional two-way radio communication systems, such as an FM system utilized at VHF/UHF frequencies, a central system, which can be a trunked radio communication system, a repeater, or a base station which could serve as a telephone interconnect, uses a single modulation format for transmissions both to and from the portable or remote radios and the central system. In such systems, reasonable power efficiencies of the receivers of the portable transceivers can be achieved. Where a wide area of coverage is required, high transmit power levels are required in the portable radios. Such power levels can require a substantial percentage of the battery energy of the portable radios. It is to be desirable to provide a system in which the energy consumed in transmitting signals from the portable radios to the central system can be reduced. It is also desirable that the system be operable to the greatest extent with existing equipment.


A filter arrangement includes: a chamber including a chamber inlet for unfiltered liquid, a chamber outlet for filtered liquid and a wall arranged to keep the unfiltered liquid and the filtered liquid separated, a filter element having a longitudinal extension arranged inside of the chamber, wherein the filter element includes a semi-permeable filtration wall including a folded filter arranged in a zig-zag configuration between an inner perforated cylinder and an outer perforated cylinder and an internally located back-washing arrangement. The back-washing arrangement includes: an elongated and hollow body having a longitudinal extension, which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal extension of the filter element, a mechanism configured to drive the body in a rotational and/or an axial movement, a plurality of nozzles arranged in fluid communication with a cavity inside of the body, the plurality of nozzles projecting laterally from the body such that a distal end of each of the plurality of nozzles is arranged in close proximity to the inner perforated cylinder and an outlet arranged in fluid communication with the cavity of the elongated and hollow body and wherein the plurality of nozzles are arranged parallel to each other along a straight line on the body such that they all project in the same direction.

Ships, e.g. bulk cargo carriers and large tankers, use a large amount of ballast water for balancing the ship during cruising. If the ship is empty, i.e. no load or freight is taken on, more ballast water is need as compared with if the ship is fully loaded. The ballast tanks are often filled in one coastal region and discharged in another. Hence, it is of great importance that the ballast water is treated properly. The water which is filled in the ballast tanks comprises a variety of biological material such as plants, animals, viruses and bacteria which is included in the ecosystem of the coastal region where the water is loaded. Since the ecosystem of the coastal region where the water later shall be discharged is different, discharging of untreated water may result in extensive ecological damage.
As a first step of the treatment of ballast water, the water being loaded is filtered. The filtration removes debris and biological species larger than the perforations of the filter. Subsequently, the smaller species may be removed by other techniques, e.g. chemical treatment, UV treatment, cavitation and/or heating-cooling-cycles. The filtration is important both because it serves an energy saving purpose and because debris and larger particles or species may form "hiding places" which complicates the later treatment steps.
A problem often associated with this kind of filtration is the limited space onboard on the ships on which the filter for treatment of ballast water is or shall be placed. Therefore, the demand for smaller and more compact filter, still having the same capacity as a larger one, is large. A solution to the problem may be to arrange the filter in a zig-zack configuration which allows for keeping the same filter area. Such a solution may however induce difficulties regarding back-washing of the filter, i.e. cleaning the filter from e.g. debris clogging the filter. Without proper back-washing the efficiency of the filter will decrease. A compact filter may increase the demand on the back-washing arrangements and there is a need to improve the current state of the art.


A mattress (22) having a core structure (8) wherein side walls (15) are compressed inward and held in place using a preferably non-woven strip of fabric (21) or similar non-elastic or non-stretchable material that is wrapped around the side walls.

Mattresses are designed for pressure management and comfort. When an individual lies on a mattress, the internal support structure should distribute the individual's body weight evenly across the entire sleeping surface to reduce uncomfortable pressure points. Conventional mattresses are typically constructed using layers of foam and/or springs. Mattresses traditionally require a foam encasement comprising foam panels that create a frame around the core structure of the mattress. There are three common reasons conventional mattresses are made with a foam encasement. The first is to shape the corners of the mattress. The second is to provide lateral support to the mattress core structure to prevent the mattress core structure from spreading under the weight of an individual and failing to provide proper support. The third is to provide a sitting edge on the mattress that is sturdy enough to hold an individual sitting on the edge of the mattress.
Such conventional foam encasements are typically two to four inches wide and are constructed out of a polyurethane foam having a density greater than that of the typically latex core structure, thereby creating a dense uncomfortable ridge around the perimeter edge of the mattress. In addition, polyurethane foam commonly breaks down over time, thereby becoming softer and failing to provide a sturdy sitting edge. An even further problem with foam encasements is that the foam is flexible, thereby allowing the core structure and internal support structure to spread under a user's weight, thereby pushing the foam encasement outward and flattening the mattress.
Therefore, a need exists for a mattress constructed using a method that strengthens conventional mattresses, thereby providing long lasting comfort.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Perimeter-wrapped mattress and method of manufacture


A rotary tubular headrail blind comprising a tubular headrail with plurality of suspending ladder sets to support a plurality of horizontal slats in parallel, a tubular foot rail, a tilter to rotate the tubular headrail directly, a lifter to raise the tubular foot rail to any desired level, and a holder with two ends to tie each ladder set's inner and outer ladder tapes to maintain the inner and outer ladder tapes close and parallel with each other when the tubular headrail is rotated so that all slats are kept in a same tilting degree.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Venetian blind, particularly a Venetian blind with a rotary tubular headrail.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Each Venetian blind is composed of a plurality of vertical or horizontal slats running in parallel, tilting of which can adjust indoor darkness and preserve confidence in personal living. It is being extensively used in offices and homes. The conventional horizontal Venetian blind being used can have its slats tilted and lifted, and comprises mainly a rectangular sectioned and non-rotary headrail, a foot rail, two or more ladders each including an outer ladder tape and an inner ladder tape suspending from the headrail to the foot rail to support a plurality of slats with a plurality of connecting tapes located between the outer and inner ladders, a tilter within the headrail and a transmission device therefor to tilt the slats, and a lifter located within the headrail to raise and lower the slats. The tilter and the transmission device are incorporated with a handle to tilt the slats manually, and are substantially in a form of a drum driven by a worm drive through the handle for rotation, include at least to tilt drums each wound by a ladder to support the ladder, and a transmission shaft located between the tilt drums to rotate the tilt drums simultaneously. When the handle is operated, the ladders are moved linearly by the tilter, transmission shaft and the tilt drums, the outer and inner ladders are moved in two opposite directions to tilt the slats between them. The lifter is incorporated with a lift cord, at least two wires extending from the headrail to the foot rail and connected to the lift cord, and a pulley set. When the lift cord is pulled upwards, the pulley set causes the wires tied to the foot rail to displace upward simultaneously to raise the foot rail as well as all or part of the slats, and consequently cause the lower slats to close to the upper slats.
The conventional tilter and lifter for Venetian blind are quite complicated in structure. Their production cost is high, and it is difficult to implement automatic assemble for mass production. In addition, they have the following defects:
(1) The ladders are wound around or connected to the respective ladder drums, hence the distance between the outer ladder tape and the inner ladder tape near the headrail or foot rail will remain fixed and is equal to the diameter of the ladder drum in spite of the degree of tilting, and such a fixed distance will impose an improper limitation to the ability of the upper and lower few slats to tilt. Generally, the maximum degree of the uppermost slat can tilt is about 65 degree. As for tilting of the slats at the intermediate section, their tilting degree is greater than that of the upper and lower few slats for the ladders themselves are soft wires and they are forced to keep close to each other, i.e., the outer ladder tape and the inner ladder tape are closer to each other than the outer ladder tape and the inner ladder tape near the headrail and foot rail. In other words, when the tilter is adjusted to the maximum tilting degree, the few slats at the top and bottom of the conventional Venetian blind can't be fully seal, and such defect would bring inconvenience to person who desires complete confidence or room darkness. Moreover, the difference in tilting degree of the slats would result in an unharmonious sense, and damage the nice appearance of the Venetian blind. PA1 (3) When the slats are tilting, the inner ladder tape and the outer ladder tape are displaced linearly in two opposite directions, and they are subjected to different gravities. One of the ladders are pulled downward by gravity of the slats and the foot rail, while the other is subject to less tension in comparison with that exists when the slats are located horizontally. Such a difference can bring an adverse to each slat's tilting degree. The top end of the ladder subjected to the gravity has the maximum stretch, and them the effect t the tilting degree is the greatest. On the other hand, the tilting degree of the lowest slat is not effected for the ladder there is not stretched. Together with the inconsistent tilting degree described in paragraph (1) above, such inconsistent stretch prevent a seal or near seal from occurring in the last few slats. PA1 (3) Even the slats are maintained horizontal so that both the inner and other ladders are subjected to the same gravity, the stretch at the top section of each ladder is greater than at the bottom section, hence the interval between two consecutive slats are decreasing gradually from the top to the bottom. Such inconsistent intervals would damage the nice appearance of Venetian blind. PA1 (4) The lifter of the conventional Venetian blind uses a pulley and a cord connecting to two wires to pull up the slats and the foot rail. However, in the cause of raising or lowering, the slats and the foot rail may become higher at one end and lower at the other end due to unbalanced force applied to the wires and the ladders, and in the most serious case the slats and the foot rail may be seized and can't be raised or lowered.


The present invention relates to a ligand compound, a catalyst system for ethylene oligomerization, and a method for ethylene oligomerization using the same. The catalyst system for ethylene oligomerization according to the present invention not only has excellent catalytic activity but also shows more improved liquid olefin selectivity, and enables more effective preparation of an alpha-olefin through the oligomerization of ethylene because it is particularly possible to control the selectivity to 1-hexene or 1-octene.

Linear alpha-olefins such as 1-hexene, 1-octene, and the like are used in a cleaner, a lubricant, a plasticizer, and so on, and particularly, are widely used as a comonomer for adjusting the density of a polymer during the preparation of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE).
Such linear alpha-olefins have been mostly prepared through a shell higher olefin process. However, since the method synthesizes alpha-olefins of various lengths together according to Schultz-Flory distribution, there is an inconvenience of needing an additional separation process in order to obtain a specific alpha-olefin.
In order to resolve this problem, a method of selectively synthesizing 1-hexene through a trimerization reaction of ethylene or a method of selectively synthesizing 1-octene through tetramerization of ethylene were suggested. Further, various studies on catalysts enabling such selective oligomerization of ethylene are being progressed.

Ligand compound, organic chromium compound, catalyst system for ethylene oligomerization, and method for ethylene oligomerization using the same


A voice coil motor using the damper of the present invention is provided in a hard disk drive. The hard disk drive may be constructed using a cover, a base that may be coupled with the cover, and a voice coil motor. The voice coil motor may be constructed using an upper yoke and a lower yoke that are connected to the base of the hard disk drive. A damper is engaged with at least one bore that is formed in the upper yoke of said voice coil motor. The damper is an elastic body that tightly abuts both the upper surface of the upper yoke and the inner surface of the cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hard disk drives and, more specifically, to a damper for a voice coil motor that is positioned between the upper yoke of a voice coil motor and the cover of a hard disk drive.
2. Background Art
Hard disk drives are widely used as auxiliary memory devices in computer systems to magnetically record data received as a recording apparatus for magnetically recording data received from an external device, such as a host computer, onto a magnetic recording medium, such as a rotating disk, or reading data that has already been recorded on the disk. The hard disk drive includes a housing that has a base and an attached cover, a mechanism unit having a spindle motor for rotatably mounting the magnetic disk, a head for reading and writing data onto the magnetic disk, an actuator and a voice coil motor for controlling the position of the head, and a circuit unit for performing the electrical process and controlling the overall operation of the mechanism unit.
A hard disk drive has a magnetic head attached at the end of an actuator arm that moves over the hard disk drive to read and write information from the disk. The actuator pivots radially around a shaft on a pivot bearing controlled by a voice coil motor. The voice coil motor may have a damper on it that is secured using adhesive to the upper surface of the upper yoke of the voice coil motor. The disk is rotated at high speed by a spindle motor that is attached to the base oft hard disk drive. While the magnetic head writes or reads data from a predetermined track of the disk, the rotation of the disk causes the magnetic head to be hydrodynamically lifted over the surface of the disk by an air bearing. This hydrodynamic lifting results from the flow of air produced by the rotating disk. This air flow causes the magnetic head to float (fly) above the disk surface and allows the head to move over the disk while maintaining a minute gap. During operation, when the hard disk drive is non-operational or during a power down period, the head of the actuator arm is held in position over a parking zone located on the innermost track on the disk. The purpose of adjusting the actuator arm during periods when the disk is not rotating is to prevent data recorded on the disk from being damaged by the magnetic head slapping against the data surface of the disk.
The hard disk drive also uses a flexible printed circuit board that is connected via a signal cable to the magnetic head and a current terminal of the voice coil motor. The cover of the hard disk drive, any gaskets, and any dampers for a voice coil motor are used to control vibrations that may effect the operation of the hard disk drive.
However, because the hard disk drive is very sensitive to shock and noise, the use of adhesive for sealing the hard disk drive tends to be minimized to prevent adhesive-induced out gassing. Furthermore, the damper for a voice coil motor mentioned above is arbitrarily positioned by an operator that determines the correct position for the damper on the upper yoke, using a jig. The jig cannot be reused due to adhesive-induced contamination, thus resulting in unnecessary resource consumption.
As such, I believe that it may be possible to improve on the art of voice coil motor damping by providing a voice coil motor, that does not require the use of an adhesive, that reduces the vibration of the voice coil motor, that reduces the amount of waste generated during the hard disk drive manufacturing process, that is reusable, and that improves the performance of a hard disk drive.

Damper for the voice coil motor of a hard disk drive


A portable file system capable of sharing data among various computer environments, such that a user can freely utilize his own data under various computer environments. The system includes at least one portable data processing device having a memory unit for storing file data and file management data of portable side files; at least one stationary data processing device having a processing unit for executing desired processing by making accesses to the portable side files; and a conversion unit for converting at least one of the file data and the file management data of each requested file among the portable side files for which a file access request is issued by the processing unit into a form suitable for the stationary data processing device, such that the processing unit makes an access to each requested file among the portable side files according to converted file data/file management data obtained by the conversion unit. The conversion unit may be provided in the portable data processing device side, or in the stationary data processing device side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable file system in which files stored in a portable personal data device are accessible from a data processing device for executing a desired processing on data of the files.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a currently popular distributed computing environment, a plurality of work stations or personal computers are connected by the LAN (Local Area Network), and a file sharing technique such as the NFS (Network File System) developed by SUN Microsystems, Inc. is utilized to offer a network transparent distributed file system environment (i.e., an environment in which a file can be utilized without being conscious of a computer in which this file is actually stored) to the user.
The NFS also conceals a difference between different types of file systems coexisting in the distributed computing environment by a mechanism called Virtual File System Interface, so as to support a device type transparency. In this Virtual File System Interface, requests and data are exchanged between a file server side which discloses a content of its file system to another host and a client side which makes an access to a content of a file system possessed by another host, by defining a common file system interface. Each file server or client has an interface in correspondence to a file system possessed by its own host, so that in order to make a file access through a network, there is a need for a conversion with respect to a common interface at the server side as well as at the client side.
For this reason, the file system realizing the NFS has a configuration as shown in FIG. 1. In this configuration of FIG. 1, a file access request from a computer-1 1010 is given to a Virtual File System Interface 1011 on the computer-1 side first, and then, for a file in its own database 1013, the access is made through a Unix File System 1012 on the computer-1 side. On the other hand, for a file in a database 1024 of a computer-2 1020, the request is transmitted from a NFS Client 1014 on the computer-1 side through a network 1000 to a NFS Server 1021 on the computer-2 side. Then, the NFS Server 1021 issues the request to a Virtual File System Interface 1022 on the computer-2 side, from which the access is made through a Unix File System 1023 on the computer-2 side.
Now, a scale in which the above described network transparent distributed file system environment can be provided is limited by a total number of computers involved as well as by geographic or organizational constraints. For instance, the network transparent distributed file system environment is usually provided in units of a section or a research center in the case of a company, or in units of a research group or a department in the case of a university.
On the other hand, in conjunction with the wide spread use of computers, use of a computer is becoming an integral part of our work or daily life, and a situation calling for a use of a computer is more and more increasing both time-wise and location-wise. For instance, apart from daily work using a computer at a regular working spot in a company, there may be occasions to utilize computers at visiting spots for the purpose of cooperative works with other sections or other organizations, and there may be occasions to utilize a personal computer for work or amusement at home.
Despite such an expansion of situations to utilize a computer, the distributed file system can provide a network transparent file sharing only within a limited environment as described above. For instance, in the NFS including the Virtual File System Interface, it is impossible to share a file among different environments in which the user management data are different (e.g., environments in which different users are assigned to the same user ID).
For this reason, conventionally, a separate file management has been required at each computer environment, e.g., at a working spot, at a visiting spot, and at home. As a consequence, when a certain file is to be shared among these environments, a user can realize such a sharing only by copying this file by utilizing a floppy disk or a communication line. However, in this mode of realizing the file sharing, the user is required to endure the tediousness of carrying out cumbersome copying operations to make copies as well as a careful file management in order to maintain the consistency among the copies, and in addition, the user is held responsible for a considerable risk of data loss resulting from a file management error.

Portable file system operable under various computer environments


A foldable multi-shelf stand includes two frame structures, a plurality of foldable storage shelves located in a pivotal manner between the two frame structures, a plurality of fixation mechanisms for controlling the folding of the corresponding storage shelves and at least one supportive member. Each the frame structure has a plurality of vertical columns and a plurality of horizontal beams connected with the respective vertical columns. The storage shelf is separated to two foldable halves and consisted of a plurality of foldable first-directional horizontal members. The fixation mechanism mates the corresponding plug hole structure at the respective half of the storage shelf so as to perform the folding control of the corresponding storage shelf. The supportive member located to a respective connection place of the first-directional horizontal member and the frame structure is to support the unfolded first-directional horizontal member at the respective vertical columns.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a storage stand, and more particularly to a foldable multi-shelf stand and the same foldable multi-shelf stand with wheels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The storage stand or the multi-shelf stand is a simple storage tool in daily life. The multi-shelf stand is usually frame-structured to have a plurality of storage shelves for miscellaneous collection of goods. Currently in the marketplace, the storage shelves of the storage stand are separately and movably arranged in a symmetric manner with respect to a common centerline. While the storage stand is in a off-service state, it usually can be disassembled or folded so that the occupied space can be reduced to a minimum. Nevertheless, for most of the current storage stands, a reassembled or unfolded stand generally has less structural strength so that the load capacity thereof is reduced due to its reduced structural stability by compared to a new stand. To improve the structural stability, several supportive frames or back ribs are generally applied so as able to amend the reduced load capacity to some extent. However, the introduction of the supportive frames or back ribs would somehow affect the storage convenience of the stand, and thus causes discomfort to the users.


An LED element includes an LED and a lens located over the LED. The LED has a rectangular light outputting face. The lens has a light outputting face. The light outputting face of the lens includes a first light outputting portion and two second light outputting portions. The first light outputting portion performs a convergent function to light output along a long side of the rectangular light outputting face of the LED. The second light outputting portion performs a divergent function to the light output along a short side of the rectangular light outputting face of the LED. The light emitted from the lens has an energy intensity distribution the same along each of two perpendicular directions of the long side and short side of the rectangular light outputting face.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to light emitting apparatuses, and particularly to a light emitting diode (LED) element with a symmetric luminous distribution and a direct-type backlight module using the same, wherein the LED element has an elongated (rectangular) LED and a lens for converting light from the LED which is originally asymmetric in X-axis and Y-axis distribution into the symmetric luminous distribution in both the X-axis and Y-axis.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional direct-type backlight module served as a backlight source for an LCD (liquid crystal display) television or an LCD monitor includes a number of LEDs, and a diffusing plate located above the LEDs. A larger distance should be kept between each of the LEDs and the diffusing plate, so that light generated from the LEDs is not concentrated in some points of the diffusing plate of the direct-type backlight module. If the distance between each of the LEDs and the diffusing plate is increased, a thickness of the direct-type backlight module would be increased accordingly, which is unfavorable for the compact tendency of electronic device. Therefore, a number of lenses are provided to cover the LEDs, so that the number of the LEDs needed and the thickness of the direct type backlight module are reduced, and the light inputting angle of light entering the diffusing plate is converted (diffused) by the lenses before the light emitted from the LEDs enters the diffusing plate. The LEDs used in the direct type backlight module are square LEDs with symmetric luminous distribution. LEDs used in the edge-type backlight module are elongated LEDs with asymmetric luminous distribution. However, the elongated LEDs can only be used in the edge-type backlight module and can not be used in the direct-type backlight module, which results in increased costs for inventory management of the LEDs.
What is needed, therefore, is an LED element having an elongated LED and a direct-type backlight module using the same which can overcome the limitations described above.

LED element having elongated LED and direct-type backlight module using the same


In a control method relating to the field of electronic device control technologies, and in particular, to a technology for controlling terminal state switching, when receiving a state switching instruction in a lock screen state, a terminal obtains motion data within a predetermined lime period of the terminal and an intelligent wearable device bound to the terminal. When a deviation between two groups of motion data is less than a deviation threshold, the terminal performs state switching. The terminal state switching is implemented through cooperation of the intelligent wearable device, and therefore a possibility of leakage of information in the terminal can be reduced.

With rapid development of science and technology, intelligent wearable devices such as wrist wearable intelligent devices are widely applied. The wrist wearable intelligent device refers to an intelligent device that can be fastened to a wrist of a user, for example, a smart band or a smartwatch.
Currently, diversified functions can be implemented through coordination and cooperation between an intelligent wearable device and a terminal (such as a mobile phone or a tablet computer). For example, currently a technical solution that a smart band is used to implement mobile phone unlocking appears. The technical solution is: a user binds a smart band to a mobile phone in advance; and after the user enters an unlocking instruction into the mobile phone, if the mobile phone can identify the bound smart band by using a Bluetooth module, the mobile phone performs an unlocking operation. Based on the foregoing technical solution, if the smart band and the mobile phone of the user are within a communications range of the Bluetooth module, the mobile phone performs the unlocking operation after the user enters the unlocking instruction into the mobile phone.
However, based on the foregoing technical solution, if the smart band and the mobile phone of the user are relatively close to each other, the mobile phone also performs an unlocking operation when another user enters an unlocking instruction into the mobile phone, consequently causing leakage of information in the mobile phone.

Control method for terminal, terminal, intelligent wearable device, and system