A food product which in one embodiment comprises a ring or cylinder of bagel dough or pizza dough wrapped around an exposed cream cheese center, and a process for producing the product wherein cream cheese wrapped in dough is sliced into bite-size pieces to form a raw composite product, followed by proofing and/or retarding, steaming, optionally freezing, and baking. The bite-sized product provides enjoyment of the distinctive golden-brown crust and chewey bagel dough crumb and also the fresh cream cheese taste, with no inconvenience of having to cut a bagel or separately store and spread cream cheese. The product is simple and economical to produce and convenient to consume.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing a baked product featuring exposed cream cheese, and to the product produced by the process. When served bite-sized, the product fills a special niche in the fast food or convenient food industry--the product is nutritious, natural, convenient, and can compete with theater snacks such as popcorn or nachos.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A bagel, as it has been known for hundreds of years, is a toroidally shaped dough product. The dough is worked on a flour board and set in a warm place to rise, then kneaded again before being formed into rings. The rings are formed from balls of raised dough, either by poking a hole through the center of each ball or by rolling each ball into a long strip, shaping the strip into a ring, and then pressing the ends together.
An important step in the traditional bagel making process is boiling the yeast dough in water in order to close the pores of the dough to form a skin. Boiling is followed by baking in a hot oven to turn the crust golden brown. A hard outer crust and soft chewy inner crumb portion combine to provide a distinctive "bagel" taste and feel.
A favorite way of enjoying bagels is to slice them in half, and spread a topping, such as cream cheese, on the cut surfaces. Bagels are characteristically cut open by slicing them across their width on a plane perpendicular to the axis of the toroid, and a topping such as cream cheese is then spread on the slices. Because of the hard crust, the cutting process requires a sharp knife, which can be hazardous. Further, due to the soft crumb interior, a slightly dull knife will crush the hard crust into the soft crumb interior, compacting the interior, which detracts from appearance and taste. Moreover, such planar cut is typically awkward and does not result in two planar halves.
Spreading the cream cheese on the bagel may also be tedious as the cream cheese is stored in a refrigerator and is very viscous until it warms. Because of the complex final food preparation steps, traditional bagels cannot be considered convenience or snack foods for consumption, e.g., in automobiles, while hiking, or in movie theaters.
It is known to include certain flavorings or fillers on or in bagel dough, such as unions, poppy seeds, salt, or raisins. These are materials which have substantially the same handling characteristics as bagel dough: they can withstand the heat of cooking, and are relatively stable in atmosphere at room temperature for extended periods of time. These materials are either mixed into bagel dough or coated onto bagels prior to baking. Cream cheese, in contrast, ages rapidly when exposed to air at room temperature, and is thus not a component of a conventional bagel.
Although bagels and cream cheese go together during consumption, bagels and cream cheese are very different chemically, and have different storage and handling requirements. Cream cheese is perishable, thermally sensitive, and easily contaminated, and is thus conventionally maintained in a chilled state until immediately prior to use. Pure cream cheese cannot be frozen and thawed without separation out of liquids and solids, nor can it be left exposed to air at room temperature for extended periods, nor can it be boiled in water or be subject to the high temperatures at which bagel dough is cooked. Thus, for reasons of product preparation as well as for reasons of food storage and handling, it would be counterintuitive to incorporate cream cheese into bagel dough prior to cooking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,724 entitled "Filled Bagel Dough Product and Method" which issued to the present inventor was first to describe a technique by which cream cheese could actually be incorporated into a bagel dough shell. The invention was made under the assumption that cream cheese had to be protected from the high temperatures of baking, and thus had to be completely enclosed (hermetically sealed) within a bagel dough shell. The product was made by a relatively simple process wherein cream cheese was first completely encapsulated in a raw dough shell, the dough was allowed to rise, and the dough shell was boiled or steamed for a period of time sufficient to set the dough, though it was sometimes difficult to prevent the cream cheese filler from denaturing, boiling or becoming altered in texture or taste. The product was then baked to brown the crust. However, due to (1) the difficulty in shaping the product and (2) the difficulty in completely setting the dough without spoilage of the cream cheese, the product was limited to a bagel ball shape. While these bagel balls were new and unique, they were small in size and could not carry toppings.
The inventor continued his explorations and later discovered that by chilling or freezing the product prior to steaming or boiling, the cream cheese filler would be protected for a longer period of time as the product heated up from the outside in. The product could thus be formed into more diverse shapes which could be steamed or boiled for a time sufficient to set the dough, including forming a skin not only on the outer surface of the dough but also on the internal skin of the dough contacting the cream cheese. The underlying assumptions in all these processes were that (1) the dough shell must be of even thickness so that the dough is evenly exposed to heat and evenly sets, so that there are no regions of either raw or overcooked dough, and (2) the cream cheese must be protected from the steam or boiling water used in setting the dough, and is protected by the combination of chilling the cream cheese core and by the thermal insulative properties of the dough shell.
However, a problem remains with respect to displaying the merchandise. A product which contains a cream cheese filling has the same outward appearance as a conventional bagel article. The vendor must either cut open an example bagel for display purposes, which leads to waste, particularly if one of each type of bagel is to be displayed, or provide some form of visual advertisement attempting to draw attention to the product.
It would thus be advantageous to have a bagel product wherein the cream cheese filling is exposed in the final product. The conventional handling instructions on cream cheese packages, however, instruct that cream cheese is to be kept refrigerated and not frozen. Considering the sensitivity of cream cheese to the heat and steam which are essential to the cooking of the dough, it is difficult to envision a process by which an exposed cream cheese product could be produced. In fact, until the present invention, great care had been taken in the production of cream cheese filled dough products to ensure that the cream cheese was completely enclosed in dough, in order to avoid problems of leakage or denaturing of the cream cheese. Further, considering the inability to freeze most or all types of cream cheese, it is an object of the invention to produce a combination cream cheese and dough product which can be frozen for shipment or storage, and in which the cream cheese, once thawed, has the feel and taste of fresh cream cheese.
There is a need for a product which is attractive in appearance, easily and economically produced, and conveniently consumed as a snack item.
There is also a need for a bite-sized product which can be economically shaped, steamed, optionally partially browned, and frozen on a large scale, and shipped to retailers for final browning and serving.

Process for producing combination cream cheese and bagel dough product


A modular panelized form wall include a first wall panel and a second wall panel; and a support panel having vertical steel rails which frame the vertical sides of the support panel. The support panel is arranged between the first and second wall panels. The first wall panel, the second wall panel and the support panel are connected together to form a portion of the modular panelized form wall. Wide head brackets can be connected to a top of the support panel for an overhead self-lifting grid system to be attached to the modular panelized form wall. Wide landing brackets can be connected to a bottom of the support panel to transmit the loads from the support panel to the underlying support. Shear pins can be inserted through the vertical steel rails at various locations in the support panel and through corresponding holes in the first and second wall panels, the holes to receive the shear pins to distribute the vertical loads away from the support panel to the first and second wall panels.

Self-lifting concrete forming systems utilize hydraulic cylinders to lift an overhead steel grid from which concrete forms are hung vertically. The hydraulic cylinders lift the grid and forms after each course of concrete is poured and cured. The forms are landed on spaced apart landing brackets that are secured to the previously cured concrete course, to form the next course on top of the previous course. These self-lifting systems are used for example in pouring elevator cores in high rise building construction. The forms used in self-lifting concrete systems are typically built out of wooden beams arranged vertically and steel walers arranged horizontally and plywood sheets. Fabricating these forms requires plywood sheets and walers and beams and the labor to assemble the form panels. The vertical loads from the steel grid and forms are transmitted down through spaced apart vertical steel components that form columns, to the spaced apart landing brackets.
Modular panelized systems have been used in crane lifted applications. However, known panelized systems have heretofore not been suitable for certain self-lifting form systems. For a self-lifting form system using hydraulic jacks, during a landing operation, the weight of the steel grid and the forms need to be transmitted through the forms as concentrated loads to the spaced apart landing brackets below. Also, the concentrated vertical loads encountered when the form is lifted by the steel grid also need to be distributed through the form system. Because of the loads involved in this self-lifting concrete form system, the normal system of assembly of the modular panelized system may not be sufficient to hold the system together during lifting and landing operations. The vertical steel components or columns sufficient for the vertical loads are typically not present on any modular panelized system.
The present inventor has recognized that there is a need for a system that can transmit the vertical loads of a self-lifting concrete forming system directly through a panelized form system. By being able to utilize the panelized form system the material and fabrication costs to the contractor would be reduced. This would also make the use of a self-lifting concrete forming system cost effective for use in forming smaller structures.

Modular panel concrete form for self-lifting concrete form system


A display apparatus includes a plurality of pixels, a signal transmission line, a pad and a buffer. The pixels display an image. The signal transmission line is electrically connected to at least one of the pixels to transmit a signal. The pad is electrically connected to the signal transmission line. The pad has greater width than the signal transmission line. The buffer is disposed between the signal transmission line and the pad. A first end of the buffer adjacent to the pad is wider than a second end of the buffer adjacent to the signal transmission line.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate generally to a display apparatus and a method of manufacturing the display apparatus. More particularly, embodiments relate to a display apparatus capable of decreasing line defects and a method of manufacturing the display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display apparatus may include an organic light emitting element, a thin film transistor for driving the organic light emitting element and a plurality of lines electrically connected to the thin film transistor and the organic light emitting element. The display apparatus actively generates light to display an image using the light having passed through the display apparatus. When a contaminant is present inside of the display apparatus, a dark spot as well as an electrical defect may be generated. The electrical defect and the dark spot deteriorate an image display quality of the display apparatus.
In order to prevent contaminants, the lines of the display apparatus are formed through wet etching. In the wet etching, the lines are patterned using liquid etchant so that contaminants are removed during the wet etching. Also, manufacturing cost may be decreased.
However, when the lines have various shapes are to be formed, exposure amounts of the lines to the liquid etchant may be different from each other. When the exposure amounts of the lines to the liquid etchant are different from each other, etching amounts of the lines are different from each other. When the etching amounts of the lines are different from each other, a portion of the lines may be insufficiently etched and another portion of the lines may be overetched. When the portion of the lines is overetched, thickness or width of the lines may be decreased or the lines may be disconnected.
When the lines are disconnected, the defect of disconnection may be easily recognized so that the display panel having the defect of disconnection may be discarded. However, as the thickness of the width of the lines is decreased, the defect may not be recognized by unaided eyes. Thus, the panel having the defect may continue to be processed through subsequent processes, increasing cost for inspection and manufacturing.

Display apparatus and method manufacturing the same


A system and method of detecting a leak in an evaporative emissions system for a vehicle includes measuring a physical disturbance of the vehicle with a sensory system and providing a sensory signal (311, 313, 315). Then, comparing the sensory signal (311, 313, 315) to a threshold (405) and generating a diagnosis signal (407, 413) having a "valid test" state, when the sensory signal does not exceed the threshold, and generating the diagnosis signal having an "invalid test" state, when the sensory signal exceeds the threshold. And, executing an evaporative emissions system leak test while the provided diagnosis signal indicates the "valid test" state, and aborting the evaporative emissions system leak test (505) when the diagnosis signal indicates the "invalid test" state.

Contemporary vehicles including passenger cars, light duty trucks, and medium duty vehicles use evaporative emissions systems to prevent unnecessary emission of hydrocarbon (HC) vapors into the atmosphere. These emissions are primarily composed of gasoline vapors leaking from a vehicle's fuel tank to the air. In a typical system, the fuel tank is periodically vented into a canister filled with charcoal that filters the HC vapors and releases the filtered air to the atmosphere. The charcoal traps the hydrocarbon molecules from the polluting vapors, preventing them from leaking to the atmosphere.
Near term emissions regulation requires the monitoring of the vehicle's evaporative emission system to ensure integrity of operation. This requirement specifies, among other things, checking of the absence of leaks in the system. More specifically, the California Air Resources Board, CARB, specifies in their proposed On Board Diagnostic II, (OBD II) requirement to check the evaporative emissions system for leaks. This requires detecting system leaks equivalent to an orifice larger than 0.020 inches in diameter for vehicles produced in model year 2000.
Most prior art schemes for leak detection in an evaporative emissions system utilize a measurement of pressure internal to the fuel tank in order to detect a leak. These measurements are typically made over a period of time on the order of two minutes (one-hundred and twenty seconds) or more.
The prior art leak detection schemes, however, are particularly susceptible to large fluctuations in the fuel tank pressure caused by road load disturbances or violent driver inputs to the vehicle itself. For example, pot holes and railroad tracks can apply powerful impulses to a vehicle's suspension system. Furthermore, cobblestone streets or even rough pavement can excite the vehicle suspension for an extended period of time. These types of road load disturbances can cause a pressure measurement based leak detection system to make a faulty diagnosis by artificially raising or lowering the fuel tank pressure. For example, rocking a warm car on a warm day with high RVP fuel will cause tank pressure to rise faster than without the added suspension excitement. For a car with a cold fuel tank, sloshing fuel can actually be chilled by the cold tank walls, lowering vapor generation and keeping tank pressure artificially low. Misdiagnosis is a serious problem, as failing to properly diagnose a fault can result in a CARB mandated recall, while diagnosing a compliant system as having a leak will drive up OEM warranty costs.
What is needed is an improved method of detecting a leak in an evaporative emissions system for a vehicle that is more accurate than prior art schemes due to the system's ability to prevent road load disturbances or violent vehicle maneuvering from causing erroneous detection or non-detection of leaks.

Evaporative emissions leak detection system and method utilizing on-vehicle dynamic measurements


A cultivator function is coupled with a scraper function in a single implement such that the cultivator portion and the scraper portion of the combination farming implement, when attached to a vehicle, can be mechanically and remotely changed out at any time. The cultivator portion and the scraper portion of the combination farming implement are positioned on opposite sides of a rotating framework, such that the combination farming implement can be mechanically and remotely rotated during use in the field, thus enabling the performance of both the cultivator function and the scraper function without a vehicle operator ever leaving the vehicle.

In the farming industry, many different types of implements exist to assist agricultural professionals with the various machine and labor-intensive tasks required to prepare, maintain, and harvest fields. Examples of such implements include plows, harrows, seeders, combines, tillers, cultivators, and scrapers. These farming implements and others are routinely used by those in the industry to accomplish a variety of agricultural tasks. These types of farming implements are typically large, bulky, and costly pieces of equipment, which require significant resources to efficiently utilize, store, and maintain. Many types of farming implements, such as cultivators and scrapers, are designed to be hitched to the back of a tractor or other agricultural vehicle. Once hitched, these farming implements are typically pulled behind the vehicle to perform each implement's specific task. While the currently available implements are capable of performing their intended functions, their use often comes at a significant cost in terms of time, labor, money, and other resources such as storage space and maintenance.
As one illustrative example, after planting crops in a field, the soil bordering the crops should be routinely maintained to prevent weeds and other undesirable elements from interfering with proper growth of the crops. This is typically done using an implement such as a cultivator, which breaks up the bordering soil surface to remove any weeds, trash, or other types of debris from the soil, thus ensuring proper growth of the nearby crops. Additionally, it is often desirable to level and smooth out the soil, for example, to fill in ruts that may have been created by vehicles or other equipment during field maintenance operations. Each of these processes requires a number of time consuming, costly, and potentially dangerous steps, as each farm implement, once used for its specific task, is changed out for the next implement and task. To make matters worse, this changing out process must then typically be repeated for each new row, field, or other section of farmland.
In order to perform the cultivation task, a first implement, such as a cultivator, must be retrieved from a storage facility and manually attached to an agricultural vehicle for use. Traditional industrial cultivators are made out of metal, are very heavy, and typically have sharp metal teeth used for loosening the soil. Thus the process of retrieving and transporting, this implement is very time-consuming and has the potential to result in injuries to the individual responsible for the task. Further, once the cultivator has been retrieved from storage, several time-consuming steps must be taken to manually attach the implement to the vehicle. This usually involves taking into consideration the category and size of the vehicle the implement is being mounted to, as well as the hitch type, pin hole size, and pin hole configuration of the implement, which often varies depending on the specific make and model of the implement. Once the cultivator has been mounted to the vehicle, the vehicle equipped with the cultivator must then be driven along multiple portions of the field one or more times to accomplish the cultivation task. After the cultivation task, the cultivator implement must then be transported back to the storage facility and manually detached from the vehicle to store the first cultivator implement and prepare the vehicle for use of a second implement.
As noted above, after cultivation, it is often desirable to level and smooth out the soil and/or areas used to access various rows, individual fields, and other crop sub-sections. This is typically done using a scraping implement, such as a box or blade scraper. As with the cultivator, the scraping implement is also typically made out of metal, is very heavy, and has sharp edges used for leveling the soil. Further, as discussed above, special considerations often need to be taken into account to properly mount the scraping implement to the vehicle. Thus the process of retrieving, transporting, and mounting this implement is also time-consuming, and rife with opportunities for injury. Once the scraper has been retrieved and mounted to a farming vehicle, the vehicle equipped with the scraper must then be driven along at least a portion of the fields one or more times in order to accomplish the scraping task. After the scraping task, the scraping implement is typically transported back to the storage facility and manually detached from the vehicle in order store the scraper implement and to prepare the vehicle for any additional tasks.
As seen above, to perform the cultivating and scraping of fields using currently available farm implements, a separate cultivator implement and scraper implement must be purchased, stored, and maintained. This in and of itself is problematic due to the cost of the two separate implements, the need to store two relatively large pieces of equipment in expensive barn or shed space built on valuable land that could be put to better use for growing crops, and the need to perform maintenance on two separate implements with different maintenance requirements, tools and parts, often from two separate manufacturers.
In addition, as described above, using currently available separate cultivator and scraper implements requires a farmer/worker to transport both implements to the fields for use, attach/hitch the first implement, such as the cultivator, to a vehicle for use (this is often done manually), use the first implement, detach the first implement (again often done manually), attach the second implement, such as the scraper (again often done manually), use the second implement, and then repeat the process each time the first implement is needed and then again when the second implement is needed. Not only is this clearly an inefficient use of time, energy, and other resources, but the process is also potentially hazardous because each change of equipment, e.g., the attachment and detachment of each implement, represents an opportunity for human error, accidents, and injuries. In addition, each time one implement is exchanged for the other, the farmer/worker must typically stop the tractor or other vehicle, dismount the vehicle (also risking injury, particularly when multiple vehicles are being used in the fields at the same time), manually detach one implement, then attach the second implement, and then get back in/on the tractor or other vehicle. Consequently, using currently available cultivator and scraper implements results in a significant amount of time being used to change out implements in an a time-critical industry where there is a need to maximize the time spent actually cultivating and scraping and not wasting time changing out implements.
Thus, the traditional options for performing cultivation and scraping tasks result in significant waste of time, money, energy, and storage space. Further, the traditional options for performing these agricultural tasks cause unneeded wear and tear on the fields, as well as on farming vehicles as they transport multiple implements to and from the fields. Additionally, the traditional options also carry a significant safety risk to the individuals responsible for performing these tasks.
In addition to farms and fields, both cultivators and scrapers can also be used on other surfaces, such as, but not limited to, arenas, parking lots, event grounds, such as fair grounds, and virtually any surface where a uniform and groomed surface is desired. Like fields, the grooming of these surfaces also currently requires two separate implements and therefore suffers from the same inefficiencies discussed above.
What is needed therefore is a combination farming implement with the capability of efficiently and effectively performing multiple agricultural and/or maintenance tasks without the need for manually transporting, attaching, detaching, storing, and maintaining multiple implements between tasks.


A color changer includes a valve module with a first interaction area and a plurality of valves. The valves are connected on their respective inlet side to a respective supply duct and are connected on their respective outlet side to a common collecting duct. The valves are openable and closeable via respective switches by a first actuation end discharging into the first interaction area. The color changer includes a switching module with a second interaction area and one actuator, which discharges by a second actuation end into the second interaction area. The valve and switching modules are arranged with their respective interaction areas adjacent and are displaceable relative to one another. Due to a respective displacement movement, the second actuation end is simultaneously movable with respect to at most one of the first actuation ends into a respective actuation position so that the actuator opens or closes the corresponding valve.

It is known that a large number of different shades are used in industrial painting installations, for example, in painting installations for car bodies or attachments. Painting installations of this type are generally robot-based and, with typical cycle times from 60 s to 90 s, are designed to paint a different shade in each basic cycle, wherein 20 to 60 different shades is a customary number in the automotive industry. Color changers are generally provided in order to supply a paint material of the desired shade to a respective atomizer attached to a robot arm, for example. These color changers have a multiplicity of inputs for paint material, which are connected to corresponding supply lines for the different paint materials. The paint materials are generally provided by means of what are known as ring lines at various delivery points along the painting installation, and from there are guided to the respective color changer by means of the supply lines. A color changer may additionally have a common collecting duct, into which the supply lines discharge at least indirectly, wherein the output of the supply lines is connected via a line to the atomizer to be supplied with paint material.
Valve means are provided between the respective inputs of the color changer and the common collecting duct. Depending on which of the valve means is open, the corresponding paint material is introduced into the collecting duct during painting operation and from there is forwarded to the atomizer. At least one input of a color changer is normally connected via a valve means to a solvent line in order to clean the collecting duct, in the event of a color change, for the next paint material having a different shade. A feed of an air/solvent mixture is often used during a cleaning process and is produced by an alternating, pulsed feed of air and solvent. The cleaning effect of such a mixture is considerably increased with reduced solvent consumption.
The strict separation of different shades is of utmost importance, because even minimal color residues can lead to a distortion of the shade, for example, in the case of a marginal residue of a red shade in a white shade. Valve means are subject to wear and leaks can therefore also occur over time. If a valve means no longer closes reliably, marginal amounts of a paint material of a first shade can infiltrate the collecting duct and mix with a differently colored paint material located therein in spite of an actually closed state of a valve means.
A number of shades can, however, also be mixed due to the accidental simultaneous actuation of a number of valve means, and therefore the painted result is unusable. Even if measures are taken to prevent this by means of a control system, there is still always a residual risk of simultaneous actuation.
The damage caused by erroneously painted vehicle bodies is considerable, because the vehicle body has to be completely reworked and newly painted. Since, in a painting production line, a multiplicity of painting robots is generally involved sequentially in the painting of a single object, an assignment of erroneous painting to a specific painting robot or to the color changer associated therewith has generally proven to be very difficult and sometimes impossible. A painting installation containing a faulty paint changer is therefore generally to be decommissioned for the duration of a fault localization process, whereby the production capacity of the painting installation is reduced disadvantageously.


The convective inertia force of media moving through a laterally vibrating conduit with two extremities restrained from lateral displacement is measured as a measure of the mass flow rate of media moving through the conduit by a method; wherein the flexural vibration of the conduit is measured at the midsection and another section intermediate the midsection and one of the two extremities of the conduit, and the convective inertia force is determined as a function of ratio between two values of the flexural vibration of the conduit at said another section of the conduit respectively measured at two instants when absolute value of the flexural vibration at the midsection of the conduit reaches respectively the maximum and minimum values during at least one cycle of the flexural vibration of the conduit, or as a function of phase angle difference in the flexural vibration of the conduit between the midsection and said another section of the conduit.

Without any exception, all of the existing mass flowmeters known as the Coriolis force flowmeters employ a pair of vibrating conduits, which are vibrated relative to one another in a flexural mode by an electromagnetic vibrator disposed at the midsection of the combination of the pair of conduits intermediate the two fixed extremities thereof (see the embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 through 13), wherein the electromagnetic vibrator produces a primary flexural vibration of the conduits in a symmetric mode about the midsections of the conduits. The inertia force of the fluid moving through the conduits produces a secondary flexural vibration of an antisymmetric mode about the midsection of the conduits as a result of dynamic reaction to the primary flexural vibration. The level of the antisymmetric secondary flexural vibration measured relative to the level of the symmetric primary flexural vibration is proportional to the amount of mass flow rate of fluid moving through the conduit. One of the most popular methods of measuring the relative level of the antisymmetric secondary flexural vibration as a measure of the mass flow rate of the fluid is to measure the phase angle difference between two vibratory motions respectively detected by a pair of motion detectors measuring the total flexural vibratory motions (sum of the symmetric primary and antisymmetric secondary vibrations) at two sections of the combinations of the conduits disposed symmetrically about the midsections of the combination of the pair of conduits.
Hyok S. Lew has invented a number of new mass flowmeters known as the convective inertia force flowmeters (see the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 through 6), which employs a single conduit wherein the two opposite halves of the conduit are vibrated relative to one another in a flexural mode, which are in contrast to the pair of conduits employed in the existing Coriolis force flowmeter wherein both halves of each of the pair of conduits is vibrated in unison. The primary flexural vibration of the single conduit employed in the inventions by Lew is antisymmetric about the midsection thereof, and the secondary flexural vibration thereof is symmetric about the midsection of the single conduit, which contrast the symmetric primary and antisymmetric secondary flexural vibration of the pair of conduits employed in the existing Coriolis force flowmeter (compare FIGS. 7 and 8). Because of the above-mentioned difference in the mode of flexural vibration of the conduit, a new method of measuring the relative level of the symmetric secondary flexural vibration as a measure of the mass flow rate is in order, which method is specifically designed for the convective inertia force flowmeters invented by Lew and has a certain advantage over the conventional method involving the measurement of the phase angle difference.

Method for measuring convective inertia force


The image forming apparatus, for printing print data, and a printing control apparatus, for controlling a printing operation of the image forming apparatus, are connected through a network. In the printing control apparatus, there are provided an authentication means that authenticates a user of the image forming apparatus, a discriminating means that discriminates whether print data for which the printing is instructed by the authenticated user is for public business or for private business, a recording means that records information relating to printing of print data as private business information corresponding to the user when the print data are discriminated by the discriminating means to be for private business and a charging means that charges for private business printing of the user based on the private business information recorded on the recording means.

The present invention relates to a printing control apparatus that controls printing of print data in accordance with printing instructions, and to a charging method therefor.
In general, printers installed in companies and schools are connected to a network such as LAN, and are shared by a plurality of terminals to be used. In this case, a server connected to the network controls printing conducted by a plurality of terminals.
However, since contents of data printed by plural terminals have not been administered by the server, it has been impossible for the server to detect that each user in plural terminals uses a printer on private business, thus, there has been a possibility that the fees for printing in the aforementioned occasion are included in expenses for the companies and schools.

Printing control apparatus and a method of charging for printing


A hat including a receptacle for securely hold an article regardless of the orientation of the hat. The receptacle is a cylindrical sleeve composed in part of a stretch fabric that forms itself snuggly about the article. In one embodiment, the receptacle is constructed nearly entirely of stretch fabric in a cylindrical shape. In another embodiment, the receptacle is composed of stretch fabric arches on a platform. The receptacle is sewn to the hat.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a headwear, more specifically, to a hat that has a receptacle for securely holding an article regardless of orientation of the hat.
2. The Prior Art
Various forms of headwear for use while playing various sports have been patented. Many of these hats include pockets for storing and displaying articles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,664,255 discloses a hat with a strip of cloth sewn into the side and divided into a number of small pockets. Unfortunately, if the articles do not fit snuggly in the pockets, they can fall out when the hat is removed. One solution is suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,744,256, 4,312,076, 4,451,935, and 5,539,929, which all disclose hats with sealable pockets. The shortcomings with these designs are that the stored articles are no longer visible and an extra step of having to open the pocket is needed to remove the articles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,813 discloses a hat with transparent pockets so that the articles are visible. However, like the hat of U.S. Pat. No. 1,664,255, the articles can fall out when the hat is removed.
Despite the number of different disclosures related to pockets for hats, there remains a need for a hat that the hold articles securely and visibly.


A service registry and repository method, system, computer program product and web service for managing an object database for objects where each node for locating objects for selection utilizes predicates for the object; inferring subclasses of an identified class if a predicate is a class classification function; consolidating object predicates including subclasses if a predicate is a class classification function; and appending specific clauses to the object query, then querying the object database using the object query.

A service registry and repository registers and stores service descriptions as part of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) promising business agility and resilience through reuse, loose coupling, flexibility, interoperability, integration and governance. These promises are addressed by separating service descriptions from their implementations, and using the service descriptions across the life cycle of the service. Standards-based service metadata artefacts, such as Web Service Definition Language (WSDL), XML schema, policy or Service Component Architecture (SCA) documents, capture the technical details of what a service can do, how it can be invoked, or what it expects other services to do. Semantic annotations and other metadata can be associated with these artefacts to offer insight to potential users of the service on how and when it can be used, and what purposes it serves.
Service descriptions are used by analysts, architects, and developers during a Development Phase of the SOA life cycle to locate services to reuse and to evaluate the impact of changes to service configurations. Service descriptions are used by deployers in a Change and Release Phase and by administrators in a Runtime Integration Phase. It is used in the Operation Phase of the life cycle to support policy enforcement required by Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and to present a more comprehensive view of the managed service environment. Service descriptions are used by various technologies for different purposes and needs to be persisted in a reliable and accessible format. Service descriptions are variously described as metadata, objects, documents, entities and artefacts.
A service registry and repository is an application that persists service descriptions as a data objects in a relational database system. Typically a user uses a graphical tool to design classes that represent the service descriptions that need to be persisted. Java objects, that represent the classes, are compiled into binary files. Database schema is generated that can represent the objects and is installed into a relational database (IBM® DB2®, Oracle etc). The objects are registered with service register and stored within the repository. The objects are persisted and retrieved directly from the object database. IBM and DB2 are registered trademarks or trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation.
One type of service registry and repository stores the descriptions as objects within the repository and queries the repository using an object query language. An example of this type of service registry is IBM WebSphere® Registry and Repository (WSRR) uses an IBM object query language called XMeta Query Language (XMQL) for internal communication with the repository. WebSphere is a registered trademark or trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
XMeta Query Language (XMQL) is a declarative object query language designed for the efficient retrieval of objects stored in a repository such as WSRR. XMQL allows the use of the dot operator for accessing predefined properties on a given modelled object type. XMQL also allows a dereferencing operator for traversing relationships between any two given object types. The XMQL query expression is defined in the context of a given package registered with WSRR. XMQL has a "SELECT-FROM-WHERE" type of structure and returns a set of objects.
The SELECT-FROM-WHERE clause is the basic structure of an XMQL query. It allows the user to specify which class(es) should be searched to retrieve information, and which parts of the information to be included in the results set. It also allows the user to specify conditions to filter out of the results set the instances that do not meet the conditions.
The SELECT clause defines the structure of the query result, which can be either a collection of objects, or a collection of rows with the selected attribute values. The entries in the select part of a query constitute the so-called projection list of the query, in that they define what is projected out of the repository and into the result set entries (result objects or result rows of atomic values, depending on the number and type of the entries in the projection list). When retrieved, the type of the query result is a List of instances of objects, or a List of arrays (result rows) of instances of objects (result row columns).
The FROM clause introduces the primary class extent against which the query runs. A class extent is the set of all instances of a given class (including instances of its sub-classes). A variable needs to be declared to iterate over the instances of the class being queried, the so-called primary iteration variable. That variable can be used in the other parts of the query and denotes an instance of the class extent being iterated upon. The FROM clause also allows the introduction of other variables to iterate over instances that can be reached through navigation via multiplicity-many references from previously introduced iteration variables. These extra variables are called secondary iteration variables. As explained above, unqualified class names in a query expression are resolved relative to that package, the so called query context package.
The WHERE clause introduces a predicate that filters the instances of the class being queried. This is an optional sub-clause.
The basic SELECT-FROM-WHERE structure can be extended with other optional clauses.

Accessing objects in a service registry and repository using subclass inference


An electric circuit is provided for an inductive load including a first relay and a second relay for connecting the inductive load with a power supply. Both relays are connected to the inductive load so as to be activated when the voltage drop across the inductive load is to be interrupted and/or inverted.

Controls for linear actuators driven by electric motors frequently use electromechanical relays for the control of the coupling of the electric motors to a power supply. A typical control may e.g. take place between three main states, viz.: power supply interrupted with the motor short-circuited, rotation in one direction of rotation, and rotation in an opposite direction of rotation. Changes of these stationary states may e.g. be start and stop of the motor as well as reversing of the direction of rotation. It is well-known that the contact point in a relay is subjected to wear because of sparking when the current is turned on, and in particular when great currents are turned off. This stress on the contact has been found to be particularly pronounced in certain types of state changes in certain types of systems. For example, it has been found that a motor coupling, because of the inertia of the motor for a short or long period of time after a change in state, such as stopping or voltage inversion, provides a strong reactive voltage which apparently affects the performance of the relay and reduces the durability of the relay over time. Thus, it must be expected that relays for motor controls have an unreasonably short service life. Understandably, this service life is particularly difficult to handle in connection with encapsulated electronic circuits, since replacement of relays in such systems will involve relatively great costs.
In DE 3 811 799 and DE 3 516 985 a FET transistor is used in order to minimize the stress problem as described above. Before changing the state of the motor by changing the position of the relays, a FET transistor is used to deactivate the circuit. The circuit is deactivated until the motor has stopped whereupon the position of the relays and thereby the state of the motor can be changed.
This process can be quite time consuming since it is necessary to delay the change of motor state until the motor has slowed down in order to avoid unnecessary stress on the relays.
The object of the invention is to provide an electric circuit which obtains a considerably improved relay service life in operation.
In accordance with the present invention, an electric circuit is provided for an inductive load including a first relay and a second relay for connecting the inductive load with a power supply. Both relays are connected to the inductive load so as to be activated when the voltage drop across the inductive load is to be interrupted and or inverted.
A second electrically activatable relay which connects a first connecting point electrically to a second connecting point in a non-activated state and connects the first connecting point to a third connecting point in an activated state, an inductive load being coupled directly or via additional coupled electric components between the two first connecting points of the two relays so that the inductive load is connected to a power supply in given positions of the relays, said circuit being adapted to activate both relays when the voltage drop across the inductive load is to be interrupted and/or inverted, a remarkable improvement in the service life of the relays incorporated in the circuit and a high reliability in operation are achieved according to the invention.
It should be noted that an interruption of the voltage across a coupled motor is taken to mean an operation which is performed with the purpose of stopping the revolutions of the motor, while inversion of voltage supply is taken to mean an operation which is performed with the purpose of reversing the direction of rotation of coupled motors.
Irrespective of the final purpose of the operation, it will thus be appreciated that this is to be initiated by activating the relay system.
Surely, the explanation to the reason of this improvement is that the contact arms of the relays are retained better in their electrically activatable state to the connecting point in the relay, thereby avoiding strong spark discharges and strong mechanical impacts. Thus, according to the electric circuit of the invention, considerable mechanical destructive impacts on the relay arms are reduced, since these, instead of being subjected to bounce in a non-activated state, i.e. in an insufficiently purely mechanical xe2x80x9cretentionxe2x80x9d, are retained in a more controllable position in the electrically activated state.
After a given period of time, the major part of the energy generated by the electric motor, which serves as a generator for a short time after the change of state, will be dissipated in the electric circuit, i.e. in this case in the internal resistance of the motor, rather than in the mechanical contact assembly of the relays, following which the relays may be coupled, e.g. by deactivation, to the desired position, i.e. connected to the positive or negative terminal of the power supply.
Apart from the purely static considerations of the relays incorporated in the electric circuit, a greatly improved dynamic performance is achieved according to the invention, since the necessary switchings performed during the change of state take place under electrical activation of the relays rather than resilient mechanical deactivation. This means that the relay arms in the individual relays are forced against the contact point by a force from the control coil, ensuring that the bounce of the relay is minimized or avoided completely. Thus, the invention provides a well-defined switching to the contact point of the relay, as the bounce upon the impact on the contact point of the relay is minimized or avoided completely, as mentioned above. Correspondingly, deactivation of the relay coil results in contact bounce in the unenergized state of the contact assembly, caused by the oscillatory energy of the dynamic mass spring. As strong electric discharges across the contact point of the relay because of the bounce of the relay arm and a relatively high electric power given off by the motor during the braking of it are avoided, the service life of the relays used is prolonged noticeably. Pilot tests have thus shown that service life improvements of much more than a factor of 100 can be obtained.
It should moreover be noted that, in its generic embodiment, the invention may be used without supplementary current and voltage reducing measures, as the invention is precisely intended to ensure that the incorporated relays are capable of withstanding the voltages actually generated.
Thus, according to the invention, a substantially electric decoupling of inductive and electric energy is achieved altogether, so that the mechanical absorption of this electric energy in the relays may be reduced to a minimum.
The invention thus prevents the serious bounce which occurs particularly in connection with large motors which are used in linear actuators, as the repeated great sparking generated by the motor in the known systems is reduced, thereby considerably increasing the service life and reliability of the contacts. It has thus been found that, in addition to the longer service life achieved, the relays have a significantly improved service life up to break-down, if such occurs.
It should be noted in this context that the invention, in its basic form, does not take substantial measures toward reducing the combination of high voltage and current intensity generated by the motor, but more tends towards arranging the control of the relays in such a manner that these high voltages and current intensities do not cause damage to the contact points of the relay when the state is changed.
A further advantage of the invention is that the lapse of time during the change may be minimized, as the circuit of the invention does not require that the state of energy in the motor and the coupled mechanical system is reduced below a given value. This is an advantage particularly in connection with the braking of mechanical systems having a very low friction or inertia, since the system does not necessarily brake automatically upon the interruption of the power supply, but works mechanically toward a given end point. The invention thus enables such systems to be handled without problems, while ensuring that braking may take place under complete electric control.
The circuit is adapted to establish the interruption, the inversion or the correction after a certain delay by suitable control of the relays incorporated in the circuit, it is possible to perform switching to the unenergized contact point of the relays without this switching being superimposed by great powers generated by the motor during its braking.
In the given positions of the relays, the inductive load is connected to a power supply via at least one electrically controllable contact, preferably a FET transistor, which is interrupted by the deactivation of one or both relays after the activation of the relays, a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is achieved, since the supplementary interruption of the system from the power supply ensures that relay switching uncertainty does not result in unintentional connection to the power supply during the deactivation of the relays.
A typical combined control of relays and FET transistor or FET transistors will be implemented such that the FET electronics interrupts the connection to the power supply before relays, if any, are activated according to the invention.
Conversely, the connection of the FET electronics and thereby connection of the power supply will be established only when the relays have been set to the desired direction of rotation of a motor coupled to the circuit.
Several relay H-bridges may be connected in parallel for each FET transistor, just as the control may be performed with various control technologies, such as individual analogue control of each channel in a CB consisting of several channels, common analogue control of all channels in parallel or by means of a microprocessor control.
The relays of the circuit connect the motor to the negative terminal of the power supply in their non-activated state, a particularly advantageous use is achieved according to the invention, as the unenergized state thus does not require a power supply. The embodiment is thus particularly advantageous in connection with battery applications.
The system is coupled with an electric load instead of a decided inductive load, an increased service life of the relay-controlled systems is achieved according to the invention, if the loads generate voltage and current across the contacts of the relay even after the system has been cut off from the power supply.

Relay circuit for controlling an inductive load


A metal drum and the method of making the same having a detachable lining removable therefrom after a first use to allow for the reuse or recycling of the drum.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a drum used for transporting goods, and more particularly to a steel drum for containing material including liquid or semi-liquid materials which is reusable and/or recyclicable.
2. Description of Prior Art
Cylindrical containers such as steel drums have been used for a long time as a means of storing or transporting a variety of materials including powdery or granular solids, or liquids and semi-liquids. These containers are built to withstand the exigencies of transit. The materials stored in them are removed by first removing the top of the containers and then pouring or pumping the materials out.
Drums are sometimes used to store so-called semi-liquid materials such as adhesives, lubricants, hazardous material or other material that would contaminate or leave contaminants on the interior surface thereof. This may involve materials which are basically meltable plastics which may be poured therein. These materials solidify upon cooling. To remove the material one uses a machine with a plunger, which is heated and equipped with an "O" ring type of seal. After removing the top cover, and disc seal, the drum is ready for emptying the contents. As the plunger is pushed downwardly into the drum, the heater melts and liquifies the materials and as the plunger moves downwardly, the material is pumped out through the plunger and put into the manufacturing process.
When the plunger gets toward the bottom of the drum, there remains a small amount of material which cannot be pumped out but is left in the bottom of the container after the plunger heating system has been removed. Such drums are normally used once and then discarded since the interior has become contaminated with the material it contained. Disposal and even recycling of such drums because of this is difficult. It has become desirable to provide drums however that may be reused or subject to recycling.
Moreover, steel drums are typically made of a heavy gauge metal and are relatively expensive. In view of the shipped material contaminating the interior surface of the drum, reuse is not possible, recycling is difficult and disposal may require special handling.


For retaining an output data signal of a data retention cell in a power-saving mode, a slave latch unit of the data retention cell is powered with a real power for preserving the output data signal. The output data signal is furnished backward to an input control circuit of the data retention cell. The data signal furnished to a master latch unit of the data retention cell is controlled to switch between an input data signal and the output data signal by the input control circuit in response to a retention signal. The switching of the data signal for refreshing the master latch unit is delayed by a delay unit of the input control circuit, which functions to make sure that the data-preserving process is properly operated on any transition from the power-saving mode to a power-active mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data retention cell and a data retention method, and more particularly, to a data retention cell and a data retention method based on clock-gating and feedback mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Lower power consumption has become a big demand for devising integrated circuits mainly due to wide spread use of portable and handheld applications. For instance, battery life is a very important consideration for the performance of handheld devices, and power consumption of handheld devices significantly affects the battery life. In order to reduce power consumption, integrated circuits can be operated in a power-saving mode by switching-off the power during standby operating, which can be done by decoupling either the supply voltage or the ground voltage provided to the integrated circuits.
The transistor used for controlling the coupling situation concerning the supply voltage is usually a PMOS transistor, which is normally termed the header sleep transistor. The transistor used for controlling the coupling situation concerning the ground voltage is usually an NMOS transistor, which is normally termed the footer sleep transistor. Consequently, the supply voltage can be classified into a real supply voltage and a virtual supply voltage, and the ground voltage can be classified into a real ground voltage and a virtual ground voltage. The real supply voltage and the virtual supply voltage are coupled via the header sleep transistor. The real ground voltage and the virtual ground voltage are coupled via the footer sleep transistor.
However, states or data signals of a circuit being stored in flip-flops may be lost in the power-saving mode. Accordingly, various schemes of data-retention circuits have been provided to preserve states or data signals of flip-flops while operating in the power-saving mode for standby operating. Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a conventional data retention cell 100 based on a balloon latch. The data retention cell 100 comprises a master latch unit 102 for receiving an input data signal D, a slave latch unit 106 for outputting an output data signal Q, a switch unit 104, and a balloon latch unit 108. The master latch unit 102 and the slave latch unit 106 function to operate as a master-slave flip-flop. The master latch unit 102 comprises two inverters 141, 142 for latching and three transmission gates 121-123 for controlling data transfer. The slave latch unit 106 comprises two inverters 143, 144 for latching and one transmission gate 124 for controlling data transfer. The switch unit 104 comprises two transmission gates 125, 126 for controlling data transfer. The balloon latch unit 108 comprises two inverters 145, 146 for latching and one transmission gate 127 for controlling data transfer.
The balloon latch unit 108 is powered between the real supply voltage PGVDD and the real ground voltage PGVSS, which means that the balloon latch unit 108 is always powered for preserving data. The virtual supply voltage VDD is coupled to the real supply voltage PGVDD via a header sleep transistor 181 controlled by a sleep signal SLB, and the virtual ground voltage VSS is coupled to the real ground voltage via a footer sleep transistor 182 controlled by a sleep signal SL. The circuit elements excluding the balloon latch unit 108 are powered between the virtual supply voltage VDD and the virtual ground voltage VSS, between the virtual supply voltage VDD and the real ground voltage PGVSS, or between the real supply voltage PGVDD and the virtual ground voltage VSS. The plurality of transmission gates 121-127 are controlled respectively by control clocks CK, CKB and control signals B1, B1B, B2 and B2B. The data retention cell 100 requires an extra balloon latch unit 108 for data-preserving, and furthermore, complicated controlling and timing are required to transfer data signals back and forth between the balloon latch unit 108 and the master-slave flip-flop on any transition from the power-saving mode to the power-active mode or vice verse.

Data retention cell and data retention method based on clock-gating and feedback mechanism


A method of repairing over-erased flash EPROM cells (10) includes erasing the cells (12) and repairing the cells by a self-converging repair with a control gate bias (14), on a column by column basis. The self-converging repair includes grounding the sources (104) of the cells in a column, applying a pulsed bias voltage to the control gates of the cells (110), and a pulsed positive voltage to the drains of the cells (106). By varying the bias voltage at the control gate, the resulting threshold voltage of the cells after repair can be modulated to be greater than or less than an inherent steady state convergence value. Once one column of cells is repaired, the process is repeated on a subsequent column.

"Flash" erasable programmable read only memories (EPROMs) derive their name from the manner in which they are erased. Flash EPROMs are typically designed with a number of cells having a common source, allowing the cells to be erased simultaneously by Fowler-Norheim tunneling, via their sources. Erase is typically accomplished by applying a positive voltage to the source relative to the control gate.
During operation of flash EPROMs, selected cells are read by applying a "select" voltage to the control gate of the cells. In most flash memory organizations, each row of cells includes a common control gate. At the same time a row to be read is selected, rows that are not read have a "de-select" voltage applied to the control gate of their respective cells. Proper operation of the flash cells requires that programmed cells remain off when selected, and erased (non-programmed) cells be turned on when selected. The current provided by a selected, erased cell is often referred to as the "read current." In addition, all cells, whether programmed or not, must remain turned off when de-selected. A vexing problem associated with flash EPROMs is that of "over-erase." Over-erase occurs when a cell's threshold voltage is lowered during an erase operation to the point where it cannot be sufficiently turned off when de-selected.
The causes of, and some solutions to, the over-erase problem are set forth in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,738 issued on May 16, 1995 to Ritu Shrivastava. Included within Shrivastava is a flash EPROM method utilizing a negative read de-select voltage. The negative read de-select voltage "captures" a range of over-erased cells, by allowing some over-erased cells to be turned off when de-selected.
Attention is further directed to the review of flash EPROMs and "conventional" EEPROMs also set forth in Shrivastava.
A converging erase scheme is described in "A Self-Convergence Erasing Scheme for a Simple Stacked Gate Flash EEPROM," in IEDM, pp. 307-310, (1991) by Yamada et al. Yamada et al. discusses the property of erase convergence. Erase convergence occurs when a positive voltage is applied to the source of a flash EPROM cell, and the control gate and drain of the cell are grounded. Yamada et al. shows that the threshold voltage will converge on a "steady-state" threshold voltage (referred to as Vtss herein). The convergence phenomena occurs in those cases where the threshold voltage (Vt) of the cell is less than the cell's ultra-violet erased threshold voltage (Vt-uv), and includes cells having a Vt greater than or less than Vtss. As Vtss is dependent upon Vt-uv, Yamada et al. suggests using channel doping to control Vtss.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,562 issued to Ong et al. on Aug. 3, 1991, describes a flash EPROM cell repair scheme using the convergence property to repair over-erased cells. In a drain disturb repair, the control gate and source of a cell are grounded, while a positive voltage is applied to the drain. Similarly, in a source disturb repair, the control gate and drain are grounded, while a positive voltage is applied to the source. In a gate disturb repair, the drain and source are grounded, and a positive voltage is applied to the gate.
Referring now to FIGS. 1a-1c, the drawbacks inherent in the above referenced prior art over-erase repair schemes are illustrated. FIG. 1a illustrates the ideal case where the desired erased cell threshold voltage (Vtd) is equal to the steady-state convergence threshold voltage, Vtss. In this case, prior art methods are effective in eliminating the over-erase problem. As shown in FIG. 1a, the over-erased cell threshold voltage (Vtc) begins in an over-erased condition (Vtc<Vtd). When the source and control gate are grounded, and a positive voltage applied to the drain, the Vtc converges to Vtss. Because in this ideal case Vtss=Vtd, the cell's final erased threshold voltage is Vtd, and the cell operates within desired parameters.
FIG. 1b illustrates a non-ideal case where prior art converging over-erase repair methods are not effective. As set forth in the figure, for this case, Vtss is less than Vtd. Variations between Vtss and Vtd can result from fabrication process variation. As a result, after over-erase repair, the cell's Vtc remains below Vtd, and the "repaired" cell essentially remains over-erased. Shrivastava, referred to above, teaches a read biasing condition wherein the de-select voltage is negative, thus maintaining over-erased cells in a non-conducting state. Further, commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,147, entitled ROW DRIVING CIRCUIT FOR FLASH MEMORIES, issued to Bruce L. Prickett. Jr. on Apr. 30, 1996 and incorporated by reference herein, teaches a wordline driving circuit for providing a negative read de-select voltage.
FIG. 1c illustrates a second non-ideal case where Vtss is greater than Vtd. In this case, after repair, the over-erased cell has a Vtc that is above Vtd. It is "soft-programmed." To counter-act such a result, an iterative and/or slower repair approach is required. This adds to the amount of time required to properly erase the cells.
FIG. 1d illustrates the distribution of erased threshold voltages (Vte) in a flash device. Also set forth in the diagram are representations of the control gate read select voltage (Vcg select) and de-select voltage (Vcg de-select). Those cells falling well between Vcg select and Vcg de-select will provide proper device operation. Those cells falling below Vcg de-select (commonly called "tail" cells) will not be sufficiently turned off when de-selected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,991 issued to Genda Hu on Jun. 13, 1995 discloses a floating gate memory with a uniformly erased threshold voltage. According to the '991 patent, the cells of an array are first programmed and then erased to a threshold voltage below a desired threshold voltage. The threshold voltages of the cells are then "equalized" to the desired threshold voltage by the application of an equalization voltage to the control gates of the cells. A drawback to the Hu invention is that unless the cells are initially erased to a voltage that is close to the desired threshold voltage, large amounts of current are drawn during the equalization steps. Further, simultaneous equalization of multiple bit lines can result in non-uniform threshold voltages due to variations in the source resistance of bit lines, this is particularly true if large amounts of current are drawn during equalization.
Clearly it would be desirable to provide an over-erase method that addresses the problems set forth above.

Self-converging over-erase repair method for flash EPROM


A hydraulic power transmission device includes a toroid portion, a turbine hub, and a lock-up device. The toroid portion includes a pump impeller and a turbine runner. The turbine hub is engaged with an input shaft of a transmission and holds the turbine runner. The lock-up device is installed so that it engages and disengages freely and it mechanically transmits to the turbine hub rotation that is transmitted from a drive power source. The toroid portion and the lock-up device overlap in the axial direction. Because the toroid portion and the lock-up device overlap in the axial direction, the size of the hydraulic power transmission device in the axial direction can be reduced, and the hydraulic power transmission device can be made more compact.

The invention relates to a hydraulic power transmission device.
In a conventional automatic transmission, torque generated by an engine is transmitted to the transmission via a torque converter as a hydraulic power transmission device. Gear shifting is performed in the transmission, and the torque is transmitted to a drive shaft. The torque converter has a case, which consists of a front cover, rear cover, etc., plus a pump impeller, a turbine runner, a stator, a one-way clutch, a lock-up device, a damper device, etc. The torque converter transmits torque via oil circulating in its interior and acts as a torque conversion device or a fluid coupling.
More specifically, rotation that is transmitted from the engine via the crankshaft is transmitted to the pump impeller via the front cover and the rear cover. When the pump impeller rotates, the oil inside the torque converter circulates by centrifugal force among the pump impeller, the turbine runner, and the stator, causing the turbine runner to rotate. The turbine runner is coupled to the transmission input shaft such that the output from the torque converter is transmitted to the transmission. The stator is positioned between the pump impeller and the turbine runner, and when there is a large difference in the rotation speeds of the pump impeller and the turbine runner, the stator converts the oil flow to a direction that assists the rotation of the pump impeller, thereby increasing the torque.
In the torque converter, the lock-up device is provided to prevent energy loss due to oil slippage. When the vehicle speed reaches a prescribed value, the lock-up device mechanically couples the front cover and the turbine runner. The rotation that is transmitted from the engine is therefore transmitted to the input shaft via the front cover and the lock-up device, preventing energy loss due to oil slippage. (See, for example, the published Japanese translation of PCT international application No. 2001-514366.)
However, in a conventional torque converter, the positioning of the lock-up device adjacent to the turbine runner increases the length of the torque converter in the axial direction, making the torque converter larger.


A method and system for processing a digital image of an object comprises forming a single pixel image outline of the object in a digital image and producing a measure of the outline shape as a single number. In this way risk of spina bifida can be determined from an ultrasonic image of a fetal skull.

The present invention relates to image processing, and in particular, to the processing of medical images for subsequent evaluation.
A number of techniques are currently available for the imaging of internal parts of the body, e.g., X-ray imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasonic imaging, computer aided tomography (CAT), positron emission tomography (PET), etc. In most cases, a "hard" copy of the image is produced and is directly evaluated by a clinician who, in some cases, may be required to evaluate the size or shape of an object in the image to determine an abnormality.
It has been found that it would be desirable to be able to evaluate the images automatically, particularly when the evaluation is one of size or shape.
However, in order to perform an automated evaluation, it is necessary to first obtain a faithful representation of the object to be evaluated from the image of the object. Many problems are encountered in this regard. For example, it is difficult to obtain a complete outline or representation of the desired object when part of the object consists of very low intensity portions of the image. Moreover, these images are by their nature filled with clutter or noise that interferes with the evaluation.
These problems associated with clutter elimination and outline processing are more complex than in the case of pattern recognition. In pattern recognition, one is required to detect an object that is selected from a finite set of predetermined and known shapes. In the case of medical imaging although the general shape or size of the target object, i.e., a fetal skull or an ovary, in the medical image is known, the precise characteristics are virtually infinite in possibilities and are, therefore, unknown. In fact, since it often is the variation in size or shape that is being evaluated, the act of generalizing the shape would result in the loss of information. Therefore, it is necessary to process and enhance the image to determine the accurate size or shape of the actual object.


The described method and system selectively provide an instructional ring tone, configurable for both message content and frequency of playback, to aid a user in answering an incoming call via a hands free telecommunications device. The instructional ring in one aspect contains a message instructing a user as to a method of answering an incoming call. This message may be set to play the first time that an incoming call is encountered, and it may be set, e.g., by a service provider advisor, to play for a certain interval, i.e., a defined number of received calls. In this manner, the initially untrained user may become trained as to proper system operation. According to another aspect, the described system and method also improve the ease of use and operation of redundant controls for HFC or hand-held cell phone operation.

As vehicle systems have become increasingly sophisticated, they have also come to offer a rich variety of assistance, entertainment, and communications features. However, while such systems are now ubiquitous, there remain many users who are either new to such systems, or who have used their existing system for a selection of functions and have remained unfamiliar with certain other aspects of the system. An example of this problem is presented by the onboard communications facilities provided by many telematics units.
In particular, some telematics systems offer a hands free calling service (HFC), either to enhance user convenience or to facilitate user compliance with local hands free calling requirements. A user or subscriber that is an infrequent user of a hands free calling service may encounter problems when first attempting to use such a feature. Specifically, users may forget, or never have known, important command and control features or voice commands associated with the operation of the service. Moreover, while many subscribers originate outgoing HFC calls from their vehicles, fewer subscribers routinely receive calls into their vehicles via HFC.
Such infrequent users account for an inordinate share of customer care calls inquiring on the operation of the HFC service, e.g., how to answer inbound calls. For example, the vehicle occupants may hear a ring tone played within the vehicle but may be frustrated by their lack of knowledge as to how to go "off hook" to answer the incoming call. This problem is further compounded by the proliferation of redundant steering wheel controls and may also be exacerbated by the complexity associated with Bluetooth pairing of personal handsets and headsets when such apparatus are in use.


This invention discloses a dispersing-type catalyst for catalytic hydrocring of heavy oil and residuum, the preparation method thereof and a suspension bed hydrocracking process for hydrocracking of heavy oil and residuum using said catalyst. Said catalyst comprises 2 to 15 wt % Mo, 0.1 to 2 wt % Ni and 0.1-3 wt % P. The preparation method comprises dissolving oxides or salts of metals such as Mo, Ni in water. The process comprises mixing the heavy oil and residuum feedstock with the catalyst, heating the mixture and introducing the mixture into a suspension bed reactor, performing the hydrocracking reaction at 380-460.degree. C. under 10-15 MPa of hydrogen pressure, in which the catalyst is added in an amount to provide 150-150O ppm active metals. The yield of light oil according to the process is more than 70 wt %, substantially without coking.

Hydroconversion process of heavy oil and residuum is one of the main processes for converting a heavy hydrocarbonaceous feedstock to lower boiling products. Generally heterogeneous catalyst, such as alumina or silica-alumina supported sulfide of cobalt, molybdenum or nickel, is used in the process. The constituents having higher molecular weight in heavy oil and residuum deposit on the surface of the catalyst, block the pores of the catalyst, and then result in rapid decline of the hydrogenation activity. Eventually coke and metal impurities removed from heavy oil and residuum deposit on the surface of the catalyst and result in deactivation of the catalyst. Moreover, the rapid increase in pressure drop of the bed layer makes it difficult to maintain normal operation, which becomes more serious when the feedstock contains higher metal and carbon residue, thereby, the catalyst displays short service life and bad operation stability, therefore shut-down is more frequent.
In order to solve these problems, many dispersing-type catalyst have been proposed. Chinese Patent Application CN 1035836A discloses a dispersing-type catalyst and its preparation method, wherein iron compound (especially ferrous sulfate) is ground with coal powder in oil to form an iron-coal slurried catalyst. Subsequently, the catalyst is mixed with heavy oil to form feedstock for hydrogenation reaction.
The catalyst can be substantially dispersed into heavy oil. However, metal iron has only a little hydrogenation activity and coking is serious in the reaction process. Otherwise, the coal added as catalyst becomes coking support in the process, resulting in a lot of oil-insoluble solids in the product, thus, it brings much difficulty in separation and after-treatment, besides, the solid particles also wear the pipes and device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,870 discloses a hydroconversion process, wherein phosphoric acid is added to an aqueous solution of phosphomolybdic acid. The phosphoric acid-phosphomolybdic acid aqueous solution is mixed with a hydrocarbonaceous material to form a catalyst precursor concentrate. The precursor concentrate is dehydrated, vulcanized, then mixed with heavy oil and residuum feedstock and introduced into a reactor to perform hydrogenation reaction. In the patent, it is mentioned that commercially available phosphomolybdic acid typically contains an atomic ratio of P/Mo ranging from about 0.08:1 to 0.01:1. If the phosphoric acid is added to the phosphomolybdic acid in an amount to provide an atomic ratio of P/Mo in the solution ranging from 0.12:1 to 0.45:1, coking can be obviously decreased (as shown in the examples, from 5.06% to 1.78%). In practice, however, this level of coking is still too high. Moreover, it is very inconvenient to premix the catalyst with hydrocarbonaceous material and predehydrate the catalyst before introducing it into a reactor in practical operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,871 discloses a hydrocoversion process utilizing an aqueous solution of phosphomolybdic acid as catalyst In this process, the aqueous solution of phosphomolybdic acid must comprise less than 5 wt % molybdenum. If the content is higher than 5 wt %, coking will remarkably increase. The speed and degree of hydrogenation reaction depend on the concentration of active metals in the reaction system. If an aqueous solution of phosphomolybdic acid having low concentration is used, a lot of water will be introduced into the catalyst-oil system in order to reach a proper concentration of active metals in the reaction system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,392 discloses another modified process on the basis of the two patent process mentioned above, in which element sulfur is used as a vulcanizing agent to vulcanize the catalyst precursor concentrate, in order to simplify the preparation of the precursor concentrate. But, the following steps are still necessary: dispersing the aqueous solution of the catalyst into hydrocarbonaceous material, dehydrating, vulcanzing, adding it into feedstock and introducing into a reactor to perform the reaction. It is mentioned in the description that the amount of catalyst used is in the range of 50 to 300 ppm, however, an amount of 208 ppm is used in every example. In all examples, coke yields (solid product yield) are about 2.0 wt %, at least 1.8 wt %. Obviously, it is too high to be acceptable in practical operation.
High coke yield is a common problem in other similar techniques. therefore, it is necessary to propose a new technique to further lower the coke yield in catalytic hydrogenation of heavy oil and residuum.
In order to overcome these problems, the inventors have concentrated their research on the development of a catalyst which can further decrease the coke yield in catalytic hydrocracking of heavy oil and residuum, and has no disadvantagous effect on producing lower boiling products in the hydrocracking reaction.

Hydrocracking of heavy oil and residuum with a dispersing-type catalyst

Fushun Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemicals, SINOPEC


A plurality of magnetic field induction coils and a radio frequency (RF) detection coil are supported by a frame which is inserted into the bore of an MRI system to detect magnetic fields produced by gradient pulses and RF pulses produced during a scan. The detected magnetic fields are processed to produce gradient waveforms and RF pulse waveforms that are displayed to the user.

The present invention relates to a device and method for evaluating magnetic resonance (MR) imaging machines. More particularly, the invention relates to a device and method for determining the gradient magnetic field and radio frequency (RF) pulses of an MR pulse sequence in an MR imaging machine.
The gradient magnetic field and RF pulse sequence of an MR imaging machine are unique for a given machine manufacturer, and even for given machine models made by a specific machine manufacturer. Therefore, proper evaluation of an MR imaging machine requires accurate determination of these pulse sequences.
Presently, the MR pulse sequences can be determined only by utilizing software-based predictions of pulse sequence parameters, or by measuring the signals directly using test equipment. Because the software only provides pulse sequence predictions, this method is not sufficiently accurate. Moreover, it requires special software and hardware interaction with the MR imaging machine under evaluation. Measuring the signals directly provides a fairly accurate method of determining the pulse sequence; however, this method also requires physically connecting external test equipment to the MR imaging machine under test. Since many MR imaging machines do not provide test ports designed for test equipment connection, these machines must be opened up to allow the equipment to be connected. Thus, this method presents potential hazards for both the MR imaging machine and testing personnel.
The present invention is a coil assembly having a plurality of magnetic field induction coils mounted to a frame along with a radio frequency (RF) detection coil and a processor which connects to these coils and samples their signals. The frame is positioned in the bore of an MRI system to detect the gradient magnetic fields and RF field produced during a scan, and the processor displays the gradient and RF field waveforms of the pulse sequence being performed by the MRI system. All three gradient waveforms can be displayed.

Method and apparatus for evaluating signals produced in a magnetic resonance imaging system

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC


In one implementation, a method for generating a blended animation. The method includes: obtaining a motion input vector for a current time period; generating a motion output vector and pose information for the current time period based on the motion input vector; selecting an animated motion from a bank of animated motions for the current time period that matches the pose information within a threshold tolerance value; obtaining a blending coefficients vector for the current time period; generating a blended animation for the current time period by blending the motion output vector with the animated motion based on the blending coefficients vector; and generating a reward signal for the blended animation for the current time period.

A machine learning (ML) system may be able to output coarse joint positions/movements for animating a virtual agent. However, the ML system may not be capable of fine-grained movements, such as facial expressions and the like, which may instead be pre-authored or manually crafted.
In accordance with common practice the various features illustrated in the drawings may not be drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. In addition, some of the drawings may not depict all of the components of a given system, method, or device. Finally, like reference numerals may be used to denote like features throughout the specification and figures.

Method and device for generating a blended animation


A leaching-stabilized heavy metal-contaminated matrix can be stored in a subsurface saturated zone by contacting the matrix with an amount of an agent for increasing acid-neutralization capacity sufficient to provide the stored matrix a preselected permanence level.

Processes for stabilizing heavy metals (the metals in Groups IIA through VIA, including but not limited to lead, cadmium, arsenic, zinc and chromium) in a matrix to reduce leaching potential under induced or natural leaching conditions with treatment chemistries involving ferric iron are known. In typical land disposal environments, and particularly when the matrices treated according to the above processes are disposed beneath the surface, the acidity of the associated pore water can increase and can slowly neutralize the matrix alkalinity due, for example, to the presence of decaying vegetation in the vicinity of the disposed material or potential influx of groundwater. The increased acidity can initiate conditions for chemical and/or biological reduction of ferric iron (Fe3+) present in the waste to ferrous iron (Fe2+). If such a reduction occurs, heavy metals can be released in the groundwater because ferrous iron is not an effective immobilizing agent. As an example, arsenic has the potential to remobilize over time from material treated with ferric sulfate and magnesium oxide.
The materials treated according to prior processes disclose various chemistries for stabilizing heavy metal-contaminated materials in various matrices and leaching scenarios. Treated materials are then disposed in the non-saturated zone, generally in secure landfills equipped with engineered leachate control systems.
No prior process addresses long-term stability of the treated material, particularly when the treated waste is disposed in a saturated zone with potential for remobilization of the stabilized metals, particularly remobilization due to significant changes in the pore water chemistry over time initiated, for example, by ongoing contact of the disposed material with groundwater. Accordingly, existing stabilizing methods are inadequate for disposal of treated material in the saturated zone because of the potential for remobilization of the heavy metals. Processes that provide long-term stability of treated heavy metal-contaminated matrices disposed under saturated subsurface conditions are needed.
Stanforth (U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,479) discloses a method for treating solid hazardous waste containing unacceptable levels of leachable metals such as lead, cadmium, and zinc, which includes the steps of mixing the solid waste with at least two additives, a pH buffering agent, and an additional agent which is a salt or acid containing an anion that forms insoluble or non-leachable forms of the leachable metal, each agent being selected from a group of agents.
Stanforth et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,033) discloses a method for treating solid hazardous waste containing unacceptable levels of a leachable metal, such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, zinc, copper, and chromium, where the method includes the steps of mixing the solid waste in situ with a phosphate source or a carbonate source or ferrous sulfate. An additional pH controlling agent is optionally added under conditions that support reaction between the additive and pH controlling agent and the metals, to convert the metals to a relatively stable non-leachable form.
Hooykaas et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,235) discloses a process for solidifying an arsenic-contaminated matrix as a rock-hard product using high dosages of a clay material, an iron salt, a manganese salt, an oxidizer, and a hydraulic binder such as Portland cement. The process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,235 has several disadvantages. Because of the requirement for a hydraulic binder, the process includes a curing period of 7 days or longer. The process also results in significant bulking (volume increase) of the treated waste materials. If dosage levels are lower than those identified as preferred, it is difficult to achieve solidification.
Hooykaas et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,077) discloses a process for solidifying contaminated soil, sediment, or sludge that may contain arsenic by adding iron, manganese, aluminum salts, and Portland cement at dosages of 20 percent by weight and higher. Again, the process requires a curing period and has the additional disadvantage of high bulking after treatment. Hooykaas et al. use an oxidizing agent to oxidize organic matter, since it is difficult to solidify the waste matrix in the presence of organic matter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,003 (McGahan) discloses a process for controlling arsenic leaching from waste materials by adding iron (III) ions and magnesium (II) ions, preferably in the form of iron (III) sulfate and magnesium oxide.
Hager (U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,992) discloses a process for fixing pentavalent arsenic in soil by adding metal salts or iron, aluminum, or chromium and a weak organic acid.
Falk (U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,051) discloses a process for encapsulating waste that contains toxic metals, including arsenic, by adding a mixture of alkaline silicate and magnesium oxide; and, optionally, borax, a concentrated acid, a reducing agent, and fly ash at high dosage rates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,306 (Stanforth) discloses a process for arsenate stabilization using aluminum compounds and alkaline buffer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,312 (Chowdhury et al.) discloses a process for stabilization of heavy metal-contaminated materials using pH control, ORP control, and adsorption-coprecipitation agents.
Treatment chemistries for stabilizing heavy metal-contaminated waste materials using CaCO3 added as limestone (U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,640) or formed in situ (U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,739) are also known, but these do not address the issue of long term storage or stability in a saturated zone.
Acidic iron sulfate pollution termed "acid mine drainage" (AMD), characterized by a pH below about 2.0 which has devastating effects on the environment, kills virtually all microbial and vegetative life it contacts and mobilizes various heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, copper, arsenic, chromium, selenium, antimony, zinc from the mine tailings of various mining operations such as coal processing, sulfide ore processing and the like, or from the surrounding soil matrix. Such mine tailings contain iron pyrite (FeS2) which, over time, reacts with air and water, is converted microbiologically into ferrous sulfate and sulfuric acid. The ferrous iron thus formed further converts to the ferric form and accelerates the pyrite oxidation, thereby creating more ferrous sulfate and sulfuric acid. The rate limiting step in production of AMD is the ferrous to ferric oxidation. Microbial oxidation by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans increases the ferrous oxidation rate by a few orders of magnitude.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,394 describes a process for controlling AMD using a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) containing organic carbon downstream of the waste impoundment to intercept the plume that contains ferrous sulfate and sulfuric acid. However, a downstream PRB treats only the symptoms of AMD but does not prevent the problem in the first instance. Moreover, known AMD control processes do not address long term permanency of the solution and can be cost prohibitive to implement.

Methods for stabilizing heavy metal containing material for disposal in saturated zone