A drawer type computer housing mounting system including a computer housing formed of a bottom shell, a top cover shell and a face panel, and two sliding rails fastened to two opposite vertical side panels of the bottom shell of the computer housing for permitting it to be moved between two sliding tracks in a desk, wherein the sliding rails each have a first wall and a second wall connected at right angles, and a plurality of mounting holes at the first wall and the second wall for connection to the two opposite vertical side panels of the bottom shell of the computer housing by fastening devices, the first wall and the second wall having different widths so that the sliding rails can be alternatively fastened to the computer housing between two positions to fit the pitch between the sliding tracks in the desk; the vertical side panels of the bottom shell each have a plurality of vertical sliding slots to which the sliding rails are adjustably fastened by fastening devices at the desired elevation.

The present invention relates to a computer housing mounting system made to slide in and out of a computer desk, and more particularly to such a computer housing mounting system which can be adjusted to fit any of a variety of computer desks.
FIG. 1 shows a drawer type computer housing mounting system made to slide in and out of a computer desk. This structure of drawer type computer housing mounting system is designed to fit a particular computer desk only, therefore it cannot be used in a different size of computer desk.
FIG. 1--1 shows another structure of drawer type computer housing mounting system according to the prior art. According to this design, the top cover shell 11' of the computer housing has oblique sliding holes 111' for mounting the sliding rails 3', and locating holes 112' in which sliding clamps 13' are installed and clamped on the sliding rails 3'. This drawer type computer housing mounting system still has drawbacks. One drawback of this structure of drawer type computer housing mounting system is its complicated installation procedure. If the position of the sliding rails 3' does not fit the tracks in the desk, the whole assembly of the computer housing mounting system must be taken out of the computer desk, and then the position of the sliding rails 3' must be adjust ed against. Several trials may be required before the position of the sliding rails 3' is well set. Another drawback of this structure of drawer type computer housing mounting system is that the elevation of the sliding rails 3' is adjusted relative to the top cover shell 11' step by step (from one section to another in the each oblique sliding hole 111'). Still another drawback of this structure of drawer type computer housing mounting system is the complicated mounting arrangement between the vertical side panels of the top cover shell 11' and the rails 3'. Because of the use of the sliding clamps 13' and the design of the oblique sliding holes 111' and the locating holes 112', the installation of the rails 3' is complicated.


An inspection system includes a cooling apparatus for conducting visual inspections within operating temperature environments, such as, for example, the interior of a combustion turbine shortly after shut down. The cooling apparatus provides cooling for an inspection probe such as a video borescope. The cooling apparatus includes an articulating guide tube having a control portion, an elongate flexible portion and an articulating section. The video borescope is inserted down through the articulating guide tube. A thermal protective sleeve surrounds and thermally insulates a portion of the articulating guide tube. Vortex coolers circulate cooled, compressed air within the cooling apparatus, thereby maintaining a cool video borescope operating temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to visual inspection equipment and, more particularly, to a high-temperature inspection device employing a cooling apparatus, which enables continuous inspecting operations within high-temperature environments for extended periods of time. The invention also relates to cooling apparatus for high-temperature inspection devices.
2. Background Information
Inaccessible or confined areas such as, for example, the internal parts of power industry components (e.g., without limitation, combustors; compressors; turbines; power generation tubes), often require routine inspection to maintain safe operating conditions, to detect a potential problem before it develops into a dangerous condition and to search for and pinpoint the source of an existing problem, such as, for example, lodged debris or a malfunctioning or broken component such as a turbine blade or vane, in order that necessary repairs can be promptly made.
Visual inspection devices such as, for example, electronic or video borescopes are typically used to visually inspect such otherwise inaccessible areas. For example, in order to avoid partial or complete disassembly of the structure of a combustion or steam turbine to conduct a routine or maintenance inspection, a video borescope may be inserted through an inspection port in the turbine, in order to enable the visual observation of the condition of internal parts.
An example of a typical industrial borescope apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,292. As shown in FIG. 1, such apparatus typically include an electronic borescope 2 and an image processing system 12. The electronic borescope 2 includes an operating section 4 and an elongated insertion section 6 having a flexible tube portion 8 extending therefrom. An optical system, such as, for example, an articulating video system 10 is attached to the distal end of the flexible tube portion 8 and connected to the image processing system 12 by electronic cable 14. The operating section 4 includes a controlling mechanism 16 for adjusting the articulating video system 10, in order to conduct a visual inspection. A compressor 18 and an air hose 20 may optionally be used to supply compressed air to a jet port 22, in order to move or stabilize the elongated insertion section 6.
Such prior art electronic borescope systems and the video inspection equipment associated therewith cannot withstand high temperatures. Accordingly, until now, when internal combustion turbine components needed to be visually inspected or monitored, it was necessary to first cool the turbine to a temperature below approximately 150° F. (66° C.) before inserting the borescope to begin the inspection. This is an expensive and time-consuming process. For example, approximately 12 to 24 hours of cooling time are required to shut down and cool the combustion turbine from its operating temperature of approximately 800° F. (427° C.), to a temperature below approximately 150° F. (66° C.), at which video inspection equipment can withstand continuous inspection operations for extended periods of time. Upwards of approximately 120 hours may be necessary to shut down and cool a steam turbine.
There is a need therefore, for a high-temperature visual inspection system capable of operating continuously within high-temperature environments for extended periods of time.
Accordingly, there is room for improvement in cooling apparatus for visual inspection equipment and in visual inspection equipment employing cooling apparatus.

High-temperature inspection device and cooling apparatus therefor


A cluster system includes a plurality of computing nodes connected to a network. Each node is configured to access its own storage device, and to send and receive input/output (I/O) operations associated with its own storage device. Further, each node of the plurality of nodes may be configured to have a function of acting as a first node, which sends a first message to other nodes of the plurality of nodes. The first message may include configuration information indicative of a data placement of data on the plurality of nodes in the cluster system according to an event. Following receipt of the first message from the first node, each of the other nodes may be configured to determine, based at least in part on the configuration information, whether data stored on its own storage device is affected by the event.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shared-nothing distributed storage system that consists of a cluster of independent computer systems (nodes) connected by a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The data stored in a storage system must be reliably maintained and input/output (I/O) processing must not be interrupted during migration of the data in the storage system. For a write operation, for example, during migration, the storage system must reliably track the data object state.
One known method employs write marking where a region of data that is to be modified is marked, for example with a "dirty" flag, on a common/shared "scoreboard" before writing the data. In this approach, several steps are required which include logging a request to write data, sending a message to each target storing the data, waiting for a write and a response, then sending the actual write operation. The foregoing method leads to increases in network latency for write operations.
Another known storage method marks an entire high level data storage area as dirty. However, such an approach is not viable with respect to large amounts of data because it requires recovery of the entire large aggregations of data. Known storage systems may also mark a file as dirty at the file system level to indicate a modification. However, marking at the file system level results in the marked data having a granularity that is too coarse to be effective for very large data files, which results in recoveries which require too long a period of time to complete. Still further, marking a chunk of data as dirty in a centralized database is also known in the art, such as in Parascale Inc.'s scale-out storage platform software.
Similar functions in known storage systems further include the Fast Mirror Resync (FMR) feature of VERITAS Volume Manager (VxVM), which is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,907,507, 6,910,111, 7,089,385 and 6,978,354, for example, which are incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,907,507, 6,910,111, 7,089,385 and 6,978,354 use multi-column bitmaps, accumulator maps and per-mirror maps. With respect to recovery from I/O errors, storage systems of the prior art (volume managers and multi-copy file systems) require a central manager to either perform recovery by directly reading or writing data, or require a coordinator to manage the recovery process. A drawback of such a configuration is that centrally-managed recoveries stall when the coordinator undergoes a failure, which leads to further complications in the recovery process. Additionally, to account for the possibility of coordinator failure, large amounts of metadata are required to be reliably maintained in a shared storage.
In cases of partially written data recovery, the prior art consists of mirror reconnection and mirror "resilvering" approaches taken by many volume manager implementations, which use a central database or volume-level bitmap of some sort. Other implementations use a central recovery manager that does direct reads and writes from one central location (all volume managers) or have a central coordinator to drive the recovery (as in Parascale Inc.'s scale-out storage platform software, for example).
In cases involving the migration of data, where a node or a disk thereof is added or removed in a storage system, the prior art includes the CEPH file system relayout feature, which is based on reliable hashes and map generations. Both PICASSO and CEPH systems use a placement algorithm commonly known as the "CRUSH" algorithm to deterministically calculate the proper placement of data chunks based on version information of the storage configuration across an entire storage cluster. See Sage A. Weil; Scott A. Brandt; Ethan L. Miller; Carlos Maltzahn; "CRUSH: Controlled, Scalable, Decentralized Placement of Replicated Data," Proceedings of the 2006 ACM/IEEE Conference on Supercomputing, p. 31, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference. In the CEPH system, relayout is performed by a central metadata engine. Further, in the Parascale system, data relayout is driven by a central database and placement is done in an ad-hoc, per-chunk manner. When relayout in the Parascale system is interrupted, the data layout is left in a transitional but consistent state and upon resuming of the relayout process, data placement is recalculated.
In cases where a policy change is made to data redundancy, data movement is centrally administered and is performed from a central management node. The Parascale Inc.'s system had a central administration of migration, where locations determined as new data locations are required to "pull" data from existing storage locations to satisfy the change in redundancy.

Data configuration and migration in a cluster system

HITACHI DATA SYSTEMS ENGINEERING UK LIMITED


A disclosed vehicle navigation apparatus enables the issuance of an accurate and quick guidance. Voice uttered by an occupant of a vehicle is collected by a voice collecting unit and transmitted to an external facility by a voice transmitting unit. The external facility generates destination information based on the received voice, and transmits the destination information back to a destination information receiving unit of the apparatus. Based on the received destination information, the apparatus issues a guidance. The apparatus further includes a destination extracting unit by which the voice collected by the voice collecting unit is subjected to voice recognition in order to extract a destination from the collected voice. A tentative guidance is then issued based on the extracted destination until the destination information is received by the destination information receiving unit from the external facility.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation apparatus that receives destination information generated outside a vehicle via wireless communications and provides guidance instructions based on the received information.
2. Description of the Related Art
A navigation system for automobiles is known whereby an occupant of a vehicle communicates with an operator at a remote communication center, notifying the operator with a destination so that the operator can search a database for information about the destination and transmit the destination information back to the vehicle. In the vehicle, guidance instructions are provided based on the received destination information (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 10-253377, for example).
This system is advantageous compared with another system that provides guidance based solely on map information stored in a vehicle-mounted recording medium because the map information stored outside the vehicle enables the installation of a large-scale database, which in turn makes it possible to provide more precise guidance instructions. In other words, while the vehicle-mounted recording medium is subject to a number of size and cost limitations, a recording medium installed in an external facility suffers from less such limitations. Furthermore, by connecting the external facility to a content provider, for example, it also becomes possible to update the maps, names of locations and buildings, or other information such as coordinates in the external database quickly. As a result, guidance that is based on the most up-to-date information can be provided.
However, because the communication between the vehicle and the external facility requires some time (including the time for the occupant, such as a driver, to convey a destination and the time for the vehicle to receive destination information in the form of an electric signal), a problem arises that the start of guidance is delayed compared with the guidance based solely on the map information stored in a vehicle-mounted recording medium. This problem may actually lead to a situation where the vehicle has moved in a direction opposite to the destination by the time the guidance is provided.


A wheel support assembly comprising a leg coupled to a wheel and rotatably coupled within a journal, wherein the end of the leg opposite the wheel is provided with a lateral planar surface, and a base plate is provided over the journal with a collar secured to the base plate and having a substantially flat surface is secured around the inner leg with the substantially flat surface provided over the planar surface. The wheel support assembly is also provided with a spring secured to a spring plate and means for rotating the base plate relative to the spring plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wheel support system for an agricultural sprayer and, more particularly, to a wheel support system provided with an improved wheel support leg and journal coupling which allows for ease of assembly and repair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wheel support systems for agricultural sprayers are known in the art. These systems typically involve an outer journal provided with an inner leg which rotates relative to the outer journal. The outer journal is typically secured to a frame of an agricultural vehicle, while the inner leg is secured to one of the vehicle""s wheels. The upper end of the inner leg is often secured to a wheel support assembly and may be provided with a shock absorption or ride height adjustment mechanism, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,148.
One shock absorption system used in the prior art involves a pneumatic bag secured on one end to the inner leg, and secured on the other end to a bracket which is secured to, and rotates relative to, the outer journal. One drawback associated with such prior art wheel support systems is the difficulties in assembling and repairing the steering systems in the field. Because prior art wheel support systems often break down in the field, far from repair facilities, it is desirable to repair the wheel support systems on site, rather than transport the bulky field sprayer for repair. Although it would be desirable to provide releasable securement means for securing the wheel support assembly to the inner steerable leg of the agricultural sprayer, prior art systems involve non-releaseable weldments between the wheel support system and the inner leg. Weldments and similar securement mechanisms are used to assure tight tolerances and operability of the wheel support system in relation to the inner leg, and to transfer torque therebetween. Although it would be desirable to provide a releasable connection system, the prior art provides no suitable means for releasably connecting the parts while maintaining adequate tolerances to torque transfer. The difficulties encountered hereinabove are sought to be eliminated by the present invention.
In an advantage provided by this invention, a wheel support system is provided which allows for positive connection and torque transfer between a steering assembly and a leg journal.
Advantageously, this invention provides an engagement between a wheel leg and a steering system which may be easily removed and repaired in the field.
Advantageously, this invention provides means for removing a wheel leg from a supporting journal without requiring the breaking weldments or the like.
The present invention comprises a wheel support assembly for a ride height adjustable vehicle, comprising a journal, a leg rotatably coupled within the journal, the leg having a first end and a second end, a wheel coupled to the first end of the leg, wherein the second end of the leg is provided with a lateral planar surface, a base plate secured to the second end of the leg, a collar coupled to the base plate, wherein the collar is provided with a substantially flat surface provided over the planar surface, a spring having a first end and a second end, a spring plate secured to the first end of the spring, and means for rotating the base plate relative to the spring plate.

Wheel support system for agricultural sprayer


The invention relates to a method and a circuit arrangement for determining the carrier frequency difference during the demodulating of received symbols (P1, P2) in the complex phase space (I, Q; R, α) of a quadrature modulation method (QAM), wherein to determine the frequency the received symbols are compared with symbols (S1, S2) at nominal positions in the complex signal space. In order to make the determination independent of a rotation of the coordinate system of the received signals with respect to the coordinate system of the symbols, it is proposed to determine the angle (∠(P1, P2)) between two received signal values (P1, P2) and compare it to possible nominal angles of the quadrature modulation method. An angle deviation between the determined angle of the received signal values and the nominal angle can be used as a direct measure of a frequency deviation (Δf).

The invention relates to a method for determining the frequency for demodulation of received symbols or signal components in the complex phase space of a quadrature modulation method.
Correct determination of the frequency, i.e., the carrier frequency, is an important factor for a synchronization of a receiver or a receiving circuit arrangement for the reception of digital signals, coupled with a quadrature signal pair. The symbols represent, in encoded form, a one-place or multiple-place digital value. The encoding is done for transmission via the quadrature signal pair, which corresponds to a pointer, which assumes discrete positions in the Cartesian amplitude and phase space of the quadrature signal pair at certain moments in time. Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) and Phase Shift Keying (PSK) are transmission methods of this kind.
In a traditional receiver for reception of digital signals, a complex multiplier or mixer, which is triggered by a local oscillator, mixes the received QAM signal, modulated onto a carrier, in correct phase and frequency, into the base band of the circuit arrangement. The circuit arrangement usually has a phase-locked loop for the control process. In digital processing, this can come before or after an analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. The signal is either sampled and digitized with the symbol clock cycle or a multiple thereof, or the digitization clock cycle is free-running relative to the required symbol clock cycle. In this case, the signal is converted via a purely digital sampling rate conversion to the symbol clock cycle or a multiple thereof. Gain controls make sure that the particular modulation range is utilized and that the received signals are correctly mapped onto the symbol decision-making stage. An adaptive equalizer reduces the intersymbol interference which is the result of linear distortions of the transmitter, the transmission pathway, or the receiver.
In high-order demodulators for QAM or PSK signals, the automatic control circuits for the frequency and phase control of the local oscillator, for gain control, for recovery of the symbol clock cycle, and for the adaptive equalizer require both the received symbols and the elements of the predetermined symbol alphabet that are considered by a decision-making stage as being the most probable. This type of control via the signal decided upon is known as "decision-feedback" control.
Since the decision-feedback controls are coupled together in the digital demodulators in the prior art, the locking process is difficult whenever the control for the local oscillator, which mixes the reception signal into the base band, is not yet stable in frequency and phase. Often, locking is only successful when the particular frequencies and phases are situated relatively close to their nominal values.
Demodulators for QAM or PSK signals ordinarily use a phase control which compares the received and sampled complex signal values to coordinates in the signal space that are assigned to symbols. Most often, one uses equidistant decision-making thresholds in both the I and Q direction of the complex signal space. A received phase point is coordinated with the nominal point of a symbol that represents the midpoint of an I/Q decision square lying in the complex I/Q plane.
A method which uses fields with radii and sectors, instead of the quadratic decision-making fields, is known from DE 36 19 744. In EP 0 281 652, groups of closely adjacent radii are first determined, and then in a following step the most suitable phase angle is determined on one of the radii in question. Decision-making devices with a limited symbol selection (reduced constellation) are used in U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,508 to avoid wrong rotations in the higher-order types of modulation.
In the known methods, the phase capture region is very small, especially for higher-order modulations. But until such time as the carrier phase control of the circuit arrangement is locked in, the symbols decided upon are often not correct, and as a result a wrong direction of rotation will be calculated for certain symbols. If the sum signal of all the correction signals is plotted against the phase deviation, unwanted zero points are obtained in the higher-order modulation methods, which result in a faulty lock-in.
Various methods are known for enlarging the capture range and avoiding false zero points for the sum correction signal. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,508; EP 0571788; DE 36 19 744; DE 41 00 099; DE 44 10 607 and DE 199 28 206, one always starts with fixed nominal coordinates of the symbols in the signal space. The phase capture range cannot be expanded without special logic measures, for example according to EP 0571788.
All procedures for increasing the phase control range, however, result only in slight improvements in the frequent need to correct a frequency difference between the reception signal and the local oscillator and do not fundamentally solve the problem of a need for a frequency control method. Such a frequency difference signifies a rotation of the coordinate system of the input signal relative to the coordinate system of the circuit arrangement with constantly changing phase offset.
If a frequency difference has to be corrected, the loop gain of the carrier controls needs to be set so high that the phase, after correctly passing through the zero point, where no phase difference exists between the input signal and the local oscillator, is captured and held inside the small range in which the decision maker furnishes only correct or mostly correct decisions, (i.e., the local oscillator must be placed at the correct frequency and phase). However, the necessary stability of the automatic control loop restricts the possible loop gain.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for determining the frequency of a received signal for the demodulation of received symbols or signal components in the complex signal space of a modulation method with a better mode of operation.

Method and circuit arrangement for determining the frequency of a received signal for demodulation of received signals


A process for obtaining a mechanical component by joining a first metallic material and a second metallic material. The process comprises: (A) putting the first material and the second material in contact with each other, (B) fixating a sheet metal element onto the first material to at least partly enclosing the second material and so that the sheet metal element is at least partly in contact with the second material. The sheet metal element comprises carbon, joining the first material and the second material by diffusion welding. The carbon activity of the second material Ca2 and the carbon activity of the sheet metal element Cam at the temperature of joining fulfills a relation Ca2≦Cam.

To join two materials by means of diffusion welding is known in the art. One purpose of joining two materials may be to use materials with different characteristics for any type of mechanical component, such as for instance a rolling bearing. As regards rings of rolling bearings, it may be advantageous to use one material for the raceway surface onto which the rolling elements roll and another material for the core of the ring. One such composite bearing ring is presented in EP1882109B1 comprising a rolling bearing composite ring for an aircraft power plant which ring has been subjected to diffusion welding.

Process for obtaining a mechanical component


A wafer oriented includes a mechanism for rotating a wafer and a wafer orientation sensor. The wafer orientation sensor includes a light source for emitting light, a light sensor for sensing the light emitted by the light source as an edge of the wafer is rotated between the light source and the sensor and for producing a sensor signal representative of the sensed light, and an optical filter positioned between the light source and the light sensor. The optical filter has a light-transmission characteristic wherein light in the pass band of the wafer is blocked. When the wafer orientation sensor is used for sensing gallium arsenide wafers, the optical filter is selected to block light at wavelengths greater than about 860 nanometers.

This invention relates to orientation sensors for disk-shaped workpieces, such as semiconductor wafers, and, more particularly, to wafer orientation sensors for sensing the orientation of gallium arsenide wafers.
Ion implantation has become a standard technique for introducing conductivity-altering impurities into semiconductor wafers. A desired impurity material is ionized in an ion source, the ions are accelerated to form an ion beam of prescribed energy, and the ion beam is directed at the surface of the wafer. The energetic ions in the beam penetrate into the bulk of the semiconductor material and are embedded in the crystalline lattice of the semiconductor material to form a region of desired conductivity.
Ion implantation systems usually include an ion source for converting a gas or a solid material into a well-defined ion beam. The ion beam is mass analyzed to eliminate undesired ion species, is accelerated to a desired energy and is directed onto a target plane. The beam is distributed over the target area by beam scanning, by target movement or by a combination of beam scanning and target movement. In one conventional approach, an ion beam is directed as a semiconductor wafer and is scanned in one direction. The wafer is translated perpendicular to the scanning direction to distribute the ion beam over the wafer. In another approach, multiple semiconductor wafers are mounted near the periphery of a disk. The disk is rotated about its central axis and is translated with respect to the ion beam to distribute the ion beam over the semiconductor wafers. A variety of different ion implanter architectures are known to those skilled in the art. The ion implanter typically includes an end station having automated wafer handling equipment for introducing wafers into the ion implanter and for removing wafers after implantation.
The wafer handling system typically transfers wafers from a cassette or other wafer holder to a process station, such as a wafer mounting site. One requirement of the wafer handling system is to accurately position the wafer at the process station with its flat or notch having a predetermined angular orientation. The slots in the wafer holder are somewhat larger than the wafer and thus does not ensure accurate wafer positioning. Furthermore, the wafer flat or notch orientation is not controlled in the wafer holder. However, accurate positioning at the process station is necessary to ensure reliable wafer retention and to avoid wafer damage. In addition, ion implantation systems typically require a particular angular orientation of the wafer flat or notch, which is indicative of the crystal orientation of the wafer, to control channeling by implanted ions.
A wafer transfer system incorporating a wafer orienter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,733, issued Jun. 6, 1989 to Hertel et al. A wafer is placed on an orienter chuck and is rotated. An orientation sensor includes a light source positioned below the edge of the wafer and a solar cell positioned above the edge of the wafer in alignment with the light source. The light beam from the source is directed perpendicular to the wafer surface. The wafer blocks a portion of the light beam from reaching the solar cell. As the wafer is rotated, the proportion of the light beam reaching the solar cell varies when the wafer is displaced from the center of rotation and when a fiducial, such as a flat or a notch, passes the solar cell. The signal output from the solar cell is therefore indicative of wafer offset and of the fiducial. Based on the signal from the orientation sensor, offset and angular orientation may be corrected. Wafer aligners are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,452,521, issued Sep. 26, 1996 to Niewmierzycki; 5,238,354, issued Aug. 24, 1993 to Volovich; and 4,345,836, issued Aug. 24, 1982 to Phillips.
Prior art wafer orientation sensors provide generally satisfactory results with conventional silicon wafers. However, in some instances, the ion implanter is required to operate with wafers of different materials, such as gallium arsenide wafers. It has been determined that the conventional optical orientation sensor is unable to reliably sense the orientation of a gallium arsenide wafer.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved wafer orientation sensors which can sense the orientation of wafers having different properties, including gallium arsenide wafers.
Accordingly to a first aspect of the invention, a wafer orienter for a wafer having a light-transmission characteristic including a pass band and a stop band is provided. The wafer orienter comprises a mechanism for rotating the wafer and a wafer orientation sensor. The wafer orientation sensor includes a light source for emitting light, a light sensor for sensing the light emitted by the light source as an edge of the wafer is rotated between the light source and the sensor and for producing a sensor signal representative of the sensed light, and an optical filter positioned between the light source and the light sensor. The optical filter has a light-transmission characteristic wherein light in the pass band of the wafer is blocked.
In a preferred embodiment, the wafer is a gallium arsenide wafer and the optical filter blocks light in the pass band of the gallium arsenide wafer. Preferably, the optical filter blocks light at wavelengths greater than about 860 nanometers. The light source may comprise an incandescent lamp which emits light that includes wavelengths in the pass band of the gallium arsenide wafer.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for sensing orientation of a wafer having a light-transmission characteristic including a pass band and a stop band. The method comprises the steps of rotating the wafer, directing light emitted by a light source toward an edge of the wafer as the wafer is rotated, sensing the light emitted by the light source with a light sensor as the edge of the wafer is rotated between the light source and the light sensor, and blocking light in the pass band of the wafer from reaching the light sensor.

Wafer orientation sensor for GaAs wafers

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.


A method for producing an aromatic compound polymer comprising oxidatively polymerizing one or more of aromatic compound(s) having two or more hydrogen atoms directly connected to aromatic ring(s), in the presence of an oxidizing agent, wherein the method employs a catalyst composed of a transition metal complex or a catalyst prepared from a transition metal complex and an activating agent, and said catalyst has a parameter P defined by the following formula (A) of 0.50 or more, and a parameter Eo defined by the following formula (B) of 0.50 [V] or more:P=Af/Ai  (A)andEo=(Epa+Epc)/2 [V]  (B).

Aromatic compound polymers such as polyarylene and the like are useful as functional materials such as fluorescent polymer materials, conductive polymer materials and the like, and as the methods for producing thereof, methods of oxidatively polymerizing an aromatic compound in the presence of a vanadium complex catalytic system and an oxidizing agent are known (Literatures 1 and 2).
[Literature 1] Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 1997, 438, 167
[Literature 2] Macromolecules 1996, 29, 7645
For example, Literature 1 discloses a method of polymerizing pyrrole by using a catalyst prepared from (N,N′-ethylenebis(salycylideneaminato))oxovanadium(IV) (VO(salen)) and an acid, as the catalyst, in the presence of oxygen.
The catalytic system used in the method of Literature 1, however, hardly promotes a polymerization reaction when being applied to polymerization of p-dialkoxybenzene.
Literature 2 discloses a method for producing a polymer wherein p-dialkoxybenzene is polymerized in the presence of oxygen, by using a catalyst prepared from vanadyl acetylacetonato (VO(acac)2) and an acid under co-presence of anhydrous trifluoroacetic acid as a dehydrating agent of which amount is 2 equivalent per p-dialkoxybenzene as the raw material.
This method has a problem that polymerization seldom proceeds without co-presence of a large amount of a dehydrating agent.
As mentioned above, the conventional methods occasionally result in very low yield of polymer depending on the kind of an aromatic compound as the raw material, and a large amount of a dehydrating agent is required to polymerize such raw material, accordingly, this case is not always preferable for industrial production because of purification of the intended polymer becomes difficult.

Method for producing aromatic compound polymer


A rear transition module (220) includes a connector (230) in an RP0 mechanical envelope (242), and an RTM alignment and keying mechanism (232) in the RP0 mechanical envelope of the rear transition module that uniquely corresponds to a first signal path configuration (363) in a corresponding connector (234) on a backplane (202) of a VXS multi-service platform system chassis (103), where the rear transition module is coupled to operate within the VXS multi-service platform system chassis having a VMEbus network (108) and a switched fabric (110) coincident on the backplane.

In current embedded computer platforms, such as VERSAmodule Eurocard (VMEbus) systems, the shared multi-drop bus can only be used to support one simultaneous communication between modules in the network. However, some applications have requirements for simultaneous high bandwidth transfers between modules in the VMEbus system that cannot be handled by the shared multi-drop architecture of VMEbus. It is desirable to configure current VMEbus systems to accommodate high-speed data transfers while maintaining the existing VMEbus network architecture. Since numerous high-speed data standards are available, it is also desirable to ensure that rear transition boards designed for interfacing with one type of payload board are not improperly interfaced with a backplane and an incompatible payload board.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for an apparatus and method that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art outlined above.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the drawing have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to each other. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the Figures to indicate corresponding elements.

Emerson Network Power-Embedded Computing, Inc.


An implantable microstimulator system employs a miniature ferrite-cored coil contained with an hermetically sealed housing to receive control signals and operating power from an RF telemetry system. The tiny coil receives the electromagnetic energy which is transmitted from a non-implantable transmitter which generates a code-modulated carrier. Demodulator circuitry in the implantable microcircuit is employed to extract the control information, while applying the electromagnetic energy to power the electronic circuitry therein and charge a capacitor which will provide the electrical stimulation to the living being. The electrical stimulation is delivered by a stimulating electrode which has a waffle-like configuration whereby a plurality of iridium oxide electrode pads, coupled in parallel, so as to be characterized by a long effective edge distance, transfer the stimulating charge. The electrical components of the implantable microstimulator are contained within an hermetically sealed housing formed of a glass capsule which is electrostatically bonded to a silicon substrate.

This invention relates generally to prosthetic devices and systems, and more particularly to an implantable microstimulator which receives power and coded information via a radio frequency telemetry system.
The application of electrical stimulation to a living being is one of the primary techniques used in restoring function to the functionally-impaired. Additionally, such electrical stimulation has found application in the control of pain and may be useful in certain cases for the restoration of sight. There is presently in the art a great need for new and improved tools and techniques useful in the restoration of controllable function to patients having a wide variety of functional disorders. For example, neuromuscular electrical stimulation has been used to provide controllable hand movements in the upper extremity of spinal cord injury patients. Other important uses include the providing of respiration control to tetraplegic patients with respiratory paralysis; by stimulating the phrenic nerve, to void the bladder of paralyzed patients; and to treat urinary and anal incontinence.
It is, of course, of utmost importance that implantable tissue stimulation systems be designed to withstand long-term exposure to body fluids. Additionally, such electrical stimulators must be able to provide sufficient charge to effect the tissue stimulation, and to deliver the charge into the tissue reliably. It is further required that the stimulators be small, low in cost, reliable, and provide results which are reproducible.
Presently, most stimulators utilize discrete wiring to form stimulation electrodes, and therefore require relatively large (on the order of a few centimeters) packages to house the electronic circuitry and the power sources, which may include batteries and/or an antenna. There clearly is a need for improvements to electrical stimulator systems, in terms of both package dimensions and operating characteristics.
One of the most challenging areas in the field of implantable transducers has been the transfer of data and power into and out of the body of the living being. Although hard-wired systems have been generally used, they impose many problems on the overall structure in terms of:
(1) hermetic encapsulation at the entrance and exit points of the output leads;
(2) tethering effects due to the output leads;
(3) infection at the sight of the wires breaking the skin barrier; and
(4) low yield and labor intensive assembly and packaging.
In certain applications, the transmission of power and data using radio frequency telemetry has been employed with success. The known systems, however, employ implantable antennae that typically are required to be quite large in order to generate the requisite amount of power. Not only is there a need to reduce the size of the antenna, which may be on the order of several centimeters, but there is additionally the need to eliminate all external leads to the implant.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an implantable stimulator arrangement which is economical to manufacture and does not require external leads to obtain operating power and information.
It is another object of this invention to provide a microstimulator arrangement which can receive power and information from a radio frequency signal.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an electrical stimulator arrangement which can easily be implanted into a living being.
It is further object of this invention to provide an implantable stimulator system having an electrode which reliably can deliver high stimulation currents to a living being.
It is additionally an object of this invention to provide an implantable electrical stimulator system which avoids the problem of tethering due to the presence of output electrical leads.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a microstimulator arrangement which is hermetically encapsulated, and wherein the encapsulation is not compromised at the entrance and exit points of the output (electrode) leads.
It is also another object of this invention to provide an electrical stimulator assembly which avoids the problem of infection at the site where wires break through the skin barrier.
It is yet an additional object of this invention to provide an implantable microstimulator for neuromuscular stimulation which is easily and economically manufactured, achieving high yield and without labor-intensive assembly and/or packaging.


A tensioning device for adjusting the contacting/cleaning force of a scraper blade on the surface of an endless conveyor belt is provided for use on a shaft supporting the scraper blade. The tensioning device allows the shaft to be rotated and locked in a position which is very close to its optimum cleaning position, thereby increasing the efficiency of the scraper assembly. The disclosed tensioning device has three collars with a spring located in between the rotatable collar and adjusting collar. Sequences of axially-directed apertures on the adjusting collar and the stationary collar move into and out of registry with each other as the adjusting collar is rotated. A locking pin is inserted through the aligned holes in the adjusting collar and the stationary collar when the desired amount of torsion is applied to the shaft.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,402, assigned to ASGCO Manufacturing, Inc., assignee of the present application, describes a tensioning device for adjusting the contacting force of a scraper blade on an endless conveyor belt. The tensioning device described therein is a rotary tensioner which adjusts the contacting force of the scraper blade on the conveyor belt surface by controlling the torque exerted on a rotatable shaft that supports the scraper blade. To that end a tensioning collar and an adjustment collar are disposed adjacent to one another on the support shaft. The adjustment collar is fixed to and rotates with the support shaft. The tensioning collar is attached to one end of a torsional bias mechanism such as a coil spring. The other end of the bias mechanism is fixed to the conveyor belt frame. Each collar has a series of holes formed therethrough, the holes being arrayed at a selected radial distance from the axis of the support shaft. As the collars are rotated relative to each other, the torsional bias on the support shaft is increased or decreased, and the holes on one collar move into and out-of axial alignment with the holes on the other collar. Each series of holes has different spacing between respective holes so that the torsional bias can be adjusted in very small increments. The collars are locked into relative position by the insertion of a lock-pin through two aligned holes.
Although the known device works well, in practice it was found that adjustment of the torsional bias of the tensioning device requires the efforts of two persons. In the arrangement described in the aforesaid patent, one hand is necessary to rotate the tensioning collar and a second hand is necessary to hold the scraper blade in engagement with the conveyor belt surface by rotating the support shaft. The latter operation is usually performed by rotating the adjustment collar in a direction counter to that of the tensioning collar. A third hand is then necessary to insert the locking pin through the aligned holes in the collars because the first two hands must be used to maintain the two collars in proper alignment.


Drive systems configured to combine arm power with leg power are disclosed. A drive system may comprise an arm power headset comprising: a joint assembly configured to provide forward and aft movement; and a mounting bracket coupled to the joint assembly and configured to align the joint assembly. The drive system may further comprise: a push/pull rod configured to convert forward and aft arm movement into rotary movement, the push/pull rod coupling the arm power headset to a first drive assembly; the first drive assembly comprising a first drive sprocket coupled to a first crank shaft; a second drive assembly adjacent the first drive assembly; and a linking device linking the second drive assembly with the first drive assembly.

1. Technical Field
Aspects of this document relate generally to a drive system for a human powered device.
2. Background
User-powered vehicles of many types have been developed. Such vehicles have the potential to be useful for general recreation, sports, physical exercise, and utility. A benefit sought to be achieved by conventional user-powered vehicles is exercise for the operator. To that end, some user-powered vehicles have been proposed for both leg- and arm-assisted drive. However, these vehicles are too clumsy, awkward, complicated, ineffective, dangerous, big, heavy, and the like for widespread public acceptance. Of the many previous attempts, none have provided a coordinated combination of significant additional power with familiar drivability, rideability, operability, and the like.


An agricultural tractor having a central structure which includes a rotatable cab and a platform on which an engine is slideably mounted and the location of which is hydraulically controlled.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an agricultural tractor having high vertical clearance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Agriculture has a tremendous need for tractors having various characteristics. This need has been met primarily by building a wide variety of tractors, including wheeled and tracked, of various heights and configurations. For example, wheel tractors are typically cheaper to run and faster, but cause increased soil compaction. Tracked tractors have better traction and soil compactiion characteristics, but the width of the tractor base cannot be modified.
Tractors typically need to run through fields discing, harrowing, spraying, weeding, cultivating and maintaining the contours of the rows and furrows. To allow field access many crops are planted in rows between furrows. The wheels or tracks pass down the furrows. The passage down the furrow causes compaction of the soil which interferes with irrigation and root propagation. The height of the plants and vertical clearance of the tractor determines the point at which the tractor can no longer enter the field until harvest. Frequently, furrow spacing becomes a function of the tractors rather than what is best for crop yield.
Tractor weight and distribution has an effect on soil compaction and an effect on what equipment and tools a particular tractor can carry or pull through a field. Weight is both a blessing and a curse. Weight improves traction which is of added importance in dealing with a wet or soggy field by providing earlier access. On the other hand, weight increases soil compaction. Distribution of weight is important to avoid lifting the front of a tractor off the ground and avoiding unnecessary compaction. This especially is a problem with wheel tractors where if the front wheels leave the ground, the tractor cannot be steered.
Distribution of weight will also change during a day's spraying as a spray tank empties. Efforts to deal with weight distribution such as placing spray reservoirs forward of the back wheels is a trade off. Such placement reduces visibility and can also interfere with repair and maintenance of the engine. Use of additional wheels known as duals to reduce compaction and increase traction is also a trade off, as maintenance is made more difficult and an uneven field can lead to broken axles.
Visibility is important. If a tractor veers from a furrow damage to the crop occurs. Similarly, the better a driver may observe a field as he moves through, the more likely problems can be detected early and better handled.
The wheel base of wheel tractors can usually be varied to some degree, but to make the change is cumbersome and time consuming. Many wheel tractors have an axle extending outward from the body of the tractor along which the wheel may be attached at various points. A drawback is that the vertical clearance is limited to 1/2 the size of the wheel minus 1/2 the diameter of the axle because the axle passes through the center of the wheel. Larger wheels increase clearance but in turn are heavier, more cumbersome and expensive.
Not all fields are level and the center of gravity and weight distribution of a tractor can limit the direction a tractor moves safely.


There is provided apparatus for connecting between a data source or a data receiver and a data line. The apparatus comprises an impedance and an impedance controller arranged to continually adjust the value of the active impedance so as to control the relative impedances of the total source, the total source comprising the data source and the impedance, and the data line or of the total receiver, the total receiver comprising the data receiver and the impedance, and the data line. There is also provided a semiconductor chip, connectable to a data line, the semiconductor chip comprising the apparatus together with a data source or data receiver, as appropriate. There is also provided a method for controlling impedance matching between a data source or data receiver and a data line. The method comprises the steps of providing an impedance connected between the data source or data receiver and the data line; and continually adjusting the value of the impedance so as to control the relative impedances of the total source or total receiver and the data line.

In any sort of data transmission, especially high speed data transmission, from a source, through a line to a receiver (or load), there is often an impedance mismatch. This occurs when the impedance of the source ZS, the impedance of the line ZO and the impedance of the receiver ZL are not equal. This means that, at each boundary between one impedance and another, there will not be perfect transmission of the signal but there will be partial reflection.
This impedance mismatch can cause degradation of the transmitted signal, for example by overshoot, undershoot, ringing and stair step wave forms. Those waveform distortions are shown in FIG. 1.
In an attempt to deal with this problem, in printed circuit board (PCB) design, care is taken to match the trace impedance of the PCB (i.e. the characteristic impedance of the traces, or wires, on a PCB) with the source impedance ZS, since the PCB trace impedance acts as the line impedance ZO. However, due to variations in PCB geometry and operating conditions, the impedance will not, in fact, be consistent over several PCB boards or over different operating temperatures. Errors in signalling, caused, for example, by the types of signal degradation mentioned above, result.
An attempt has been made to solve this problem by adding an additional series resistor at the source, in order to match the source impedance and the line impedance (PCB trace) more accurately. The value of the series resistor can be chosen appropriately. Although this may work in some conditions, the series resistor typically has a tolerance of around 1% and this, coupled with a typical PCB tolerance of around 10%, can result in an 11% difference between the best matched case and the worst matched case This means inconsistent product design and yield loss.
An improvement on that arrangement has been suggested and comprises making the source series resistor programmable by a user. In that known arrangement, the series resistor may take one of several values and can be set to the most appropriate value by the user, according to operating conditions and the PCB trace impedance. This does improve the source to line impedance matching, but it does not remove signal degradation completely.


A voice-generating information making apparatus comprises: a talking way data storing section for storing therein talking way data comprising character string information grouped according to the character string information, a character string input unit for inputting a character string (consisting of a control section, an application storing section, a key entry section, and a display section), a retrieving unit for retrieving a group having the same character string information as the inputted character string, a voice tone data storing section for storing therein a plurality of voice tone data, a voice synthesizing section for synthesizing a voice, a voice selecting unit for selecting a desired voice from the synthesized voice, and a voice-generating document storing section for storing therein talking way data corresponding to the selected voice as a voice-generating document in correlation to the inputted character string.

Character information is used as a basis for one of the conventional methods for delivering and storing information. In recent years, a person who wishes to generate a desired document will use a document making apparatus such as a Japanese language word processor, or an English language word processor, or a personal computer having a function as word processor. The prepared document can be transferred through a network, or stored in a storage medium such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk. This practice has become very popular because highly sophisticated document making apparatus has been realized with low cost. A further basis for such popularity is the change in the working environment, such as the tendency for a paperless environment in offices, the consolidation of communication networks, and the popularization of electronic mail.
Also, as other methods of delivering and storing information, there has been known a method of using voice information, or a method of using voice information together with image information. For instance, in the method of using voice information, information delivery is executed by directly transferring the voice information through a telephone line or the like, while information storage is executed by using a recorder and recording the voice information in a tape or the like. Also, in the method of using voice information together with image information, information delivery is executed by transferring the voice information and image information with a communication device having a monitor and a speaker, while information storage is executed by using a recording device such as a video device and storing the information in a video tape, optical disk, or the like.
Of the methods for delivering and storing information described above, the method of using character information needs a smaller quantity of data and is easier in editing information as compared to other methods. Further, the character information can be used as digital information on a computer system, so that the range of its availability for various applications is quite broad.
However, in the method of using the character information based on the conventional technology, information in a prepared document is limited to visual language information (namely, character language information), so that emotions or the like, which is non-language information, cannot be added as information thereto. It should be noted that, in a case of language information using a voice (namely, voice language information), emotional expressions which are non-language information can be added as information by changing a "talking way" such as the accent, velocity or pitch of a voice or the like.
Also, the conventional technology did not provide an apparatus for or a method of making information in which two types of information, each having a different expression form respectively, namely character information and voice information, are combined with consistency.
Also, voice information is generally edited by using the auditory sense (namely by hearing a reproduced voice with the ears). Thus, it is necessary to check a position of desired voice information by reproducing each information. As a result, such effort is disadvantageously complicated and troublesome.
It should be noted that, although a voice can be synthesized from a text document (namely, character information) by using the text voice synthesizing technology, which is one of the conventional types of voice synthesizing technologies, there are some problems such as misreading a proper name not listed in the dictionary or pronouncing the proper name with the wrong accent. Further, there are problems such that emotion or the like, which comprises non-language information, cannot be expressed, or that a voice cannot accurately be synthesized with a talking way intended by a person who makes a document.

Voice-generating/document making apparatus voice-generating/document making method and computer-readable medium for storing therein a program having a computer execute voice-generating/document making sequence


This patent discloses a method for resolution of 4-[4-(dimethylamino)-1-(4′-fluorophenyl)-1-hydroxybutyl]-3-(hydroxymethyl)-benzonitrile as a racemic or non-racemic enantiomer mixture into its isolated enantiomers, said method comprising the step of fractionally crystallizing 4-[4-(dimethylamino)-1-(4′-fluorophenyl)-1-hydroxybutyl]-3-(hydroxymethyl)-benzonitrile as a salt with the (+)-(S,S)- or (−)-(R,R)-enantiomer of O,O′-di-p-toluoyl-tartaric acid in a solvent system comprising 1-propanol, ethanol or acetonitrile.

Escitalopram is a well-known antidepressant drug that has the following structure:

It is a selective, centrally active serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) reuptake inhibitor, accordingly having antidepressant activities.
Escitalopram and the pharmaceutical activity thereof are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,590. Two methods for preparation of escitalopram are disclosed. In one of them 4-[4-(dimethylamino)-1-(4′-fluorophenyl)-1-hydroxybutyl]-3-(hydroxymethyl)-benzonitrile is fractionally crystallized as a salt with (+)-O,O′-di-p-toluoyl-(S,S)-tartaric acid in 2-propanol. The crystalline product produced in this way consists of small crystals that drain very slowly and tend to retain the mother liquors. Insufficient removal of the mother liquors gives a product with a low enantiomeric purity and therefore additional purifications are required. Purifications are time and solvent consuming. These problems are more evident on an industrial scale.


A system enabling a computer user to securely share a single set of keyboard and mouse (KM) among multiple isolated computers. The system enables one set of peripheral devices to independently interact with multiple coupled isolated computers through mouse position analysis on a virtual display area corresponding to multiple physical user displays of the particular installation. The system may be used to enable computer user having multiple isolated computers each with one or more coupled display to automatically switch a single set of keyboard mouse and other peripheral devices between the different computers. As isolated computers may have different security levels, the method and apparatus of the present invention prevents and potential data leakages between computers and coupled networks.

There are many cases where a single user may need to access multiple isolated computing systems. Due to security reasons it may be critical that isolated computing systems will not be connected together to prevent potential data leakages and to block certain security attacks. Any peripheral device shared between two or more isolated networks may be a target for external or internal attackers. Common attack strategy is to cause a permanent or temporary data leakage path between the two coupled networks to enable data theft, unauthorized data modification or unauthorized data import. To allow a single user to operate multiple computers coupled to multiple isolated networks KVM (Keyboard Video Mouse) switch may be used. KVM switch connected to one set of user keyboard, mouse and display on one side and to multiple computers on the other side provides the user with the ability to interact with one specific computer at a time.
One specific scenario area of concern is leakage between a classified computer system or network and a non-classified network such as a network attached to the internet. Such leakage may serve as an agent inside the classified network to send classified data to unknown hostile organizations in any location in the world.
Over the past years there were several common solutions for single user operating multiple isolated computers:    1. Using multiple displays and multiple sets of user peripheral devices.            Some organizations are enforcing isolation by placing two or more isolated sets of user peripheral devices on the user's desktop. Isolation is assured as there is no electrical contact between the multiple computers. Major disadvantage of this solution is its inherent reduced usability. Users find it hard to divert their attention between multiple systems. This solution also takes additional valuable user desktop space. If more than two isolated computers needed for a user, these usability and desktop space disadvantages tend to get worsen.            2. Using KVM switch or Secure KVM to enable user interaction with multiple isolated computers through one set of peripherals. This solution reduces the desktop space needed and provides better usability. As conventional KVMs may leak data between coupled isolated computers, in many cases a Secure KVM is used. This type of KVM provides higher assurance that coupled computers would not leak data to one another. While this solution provides better usability, it is not suitable for users that need to see multiple displays simultaneously. Users such as traders need to see various data from multiple sources presented at all time on multiple displays. Although some secure KVMs supporting multiple displays available today, this solution tends to be less flexible and relatively expensive.    3. Using KM (Keyboard Mouse) switch to enable user interaction with multiple isolated computers through multiple isolated displays and one set of keyboard and mouse. Shared keyboard and mouse through software or hardware KM provides access to multiple computers by means of manual switching or even continues virtual display. Unlike KVM the KM switches only the keyboard and mouse, while the display outputs are not passed or switched through the KM.What is needed is a secure KM switch that enables secure isolation between the coupled computers. Such needed device will enable seamless user interaction with the isolated computers while viewing multiple displays. The needed secure KM switch will require minimal software and hardware installation in the coupled computers.
Information on some commercially available systems may be found in:                1. Adder TS4 Four-port keyboard and mouse switch User's Manual (http://www.adder.com/uk/products/Manuals/TS4/ADDER_TS4_v1_1c.pdf)        2. Adder CCS4USB Four-port keyboard and mouse switch User's Manual (http://www.adder.com/UK/products/Manuals/CCS4-USB/AdderCCS4-USBv2-0d.pdf)        3. Actionstar USB KM switch specifications (http://www.actionstar.com.tw/products_details.php?l=0&pro_id=81)        4. Waterfall Remote Screen View, from Waterfall™ Security Solutions Ltd. (http://www.waterfallsecurity.com/remote-screen-view/)        5. Multiplicity from Stardock Corporation, (http://www.stardock.com/products/multiplicity/)


A spacer for use in a disposable absorbent article is disclosed. The spacer has an outer cover and a plurality of discrete elements enclosed by the outer cover. The discrete elements can move relative to one another within the outer cover. Relative movement of the discrete elements permits the spacer to plastically deform in response to flexural loading, while maintaining a fecal void space in the absorbent article under compressive loading.

Disposable absorbent articles are well known in the art. Disposable absorbent articles are used to absorb and retain urine and fecal material. A particularly desired feature of disposable absorbent articles is the capability to minimize the task of cleaning of fecal material which is present on the wearer's skin after the soiled disposable absorbent article is removed from the wearer. In order to achieve this end, and to minimize epidermal contact and the associated irritation caused by the fecal material, attempts have been made to confine the fecal material to limited portions of the disposable absorbent article.
References in the prior art disclose a cavity or cutout in the absorbent core to receive the fecal material. The fecal material passes through the topsheet and is received by the material removed from or otherwise displaced from the absorbent core (such as through compression). However, these references suffer from the drawback that a cavity in the absorbent core or a removal of material from the absorbent core decreases its absorbent capacity. The cavity is limited in volume by the size of the absorbent core. Examples of such teachings include U.S. Pat. No. 2,043,325 issued Jun. 9, 1936 to Jackson, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,065 issued Mar. 15, 1988 to Yamada; U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,737 issued May 30, 1989 to Khan; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,840 issued Nov. 5, 1991 to Holt et al.
One attempt to minimize the task of cleaning of fecal material from the skin of the wearer is to provide a void space in the disposable absorbent article to receive the fecal material and to isolate it from the skin of the wearer. Typically, the void space is intermediate the topsheet which contacts the skin of the wearer and the absorbent core which absorbs fluid excretions, such as urine. In this arrangement, the topsheet may have an aperture or other passageway which communicates the fecal material into the void space.
Many of these references also disclose various arrangements for providing elastic extensibility to the topsheet relative to the aperture therethrough and the absorbent core. Examples of such teachings include U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,877 issued May 5, 1987 to Williams; commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,536 issued Jan. 9, 1990 to DesMarais et al.; and commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,147 issued Feb. 5, 1991 to Freeland. However, these references suffer from the drawback that the void space for receiving fecal material typically does not remain open when the wearer is in a sitting position or after the first loading has occurred.
To overcome this problem, other references teach adding a spacer to the disposable absorbent article. The spacer may be transversely oriented, generally horse-shoe shaped, or may comprise longitudinally oriented parallel or divergent members. Examples of such references include European Patent Application 0,355,740 A2 published Feb. 28, 1990 in the name of Enloe; UK Patent Application GB 2,074,875 A published Nov. 11, 1981 in the name of Edwards; French Patent Application 2,561,078 published Sep. 20, 1985 in the name of Lefebvre; U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,443 issued May 10, 1983 to Shafer et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,380 issued Dec. 24, 1985 to Tharel.
Spacers generally have a planar undeformed configuration. The spacer thickness controls the maximum void space height that can be maintained in the absorbent article. A minimum thickness is necessary to maintain a void space sufficient to receive the fecal material. Spacers are flexurally loaded, or bent, about one or more axes as the spacers are forced to conform to the wearer's anatomy or to deform in response to the wearer's movements.
Known spacers suffer from the drawback that they exhibit flexural rigidity, or resistance to bending or torsion when flexurally loaded. Flexural rigidity reduces a spacer's ability to conform to curvature caused by the wearer's anatomy or to deform in response to the wearer's movements. Spacers which exhibit too much flexural rigidity are undesirable in that they can appear bulky in the absorbent article, and can cause discomfort to the wearer. However, flexural rigidity generally increases with thickness, so that increased spacer thickness results in a more bulky appearance and cause more discomfort to the wearer. Thus, conventional spacers undesirably provide increased void space height at the expense of increased spacer flexural rigidity.
Additionally, known spacers exhibit an elastic flexural resilience. When flexurally deformed, such as by bending, a known spacer will develop internal restoring forces that tend to restore the spacer to its original, or undeformed, shape. These restoring forces can be transmitted to the wearer through the structure of the disposable article, and cause the wearer discomfort or cause improper fit.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a spacer which is capable of maintaining a minimum spacer thickness and minimum void space height under compressive loading. It is also an object of this invention to provide a spacer that exhibits relatively little flexural rigidity. It is a further object of this invention to provide a spacer that deforms plastically, rather than elastically, in response to flexural loading about any axis, so that the spacer does not develop restoring forces in response to flexural loading. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a spacer having a number of discrete elements enclosed in an outer cover, wherein each discrete element is capable of motion relative to the other discrete elements enclosed in the outer cover in response to flexural loading of the spacer.

Flexible spacers for use in disposable absorbent articles


A recording device including: an optical head section for irradiating a recording medium with laser to record and reproduce information; a laser driving section for driving the optical head section to output laser; and a control section for, in a process of adjusting recording laser power output from the optical head section, obtaining an evaluation value of a recorded area after a predetermined period of time elapsed since data was recorded as an evaluation value about a reproduction signal during reproduction of the recorded data, and adjusting recording laser power on the basis of the evaluation value after the predetermined period of time elapsed since data was recorded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording device and a method of adjusting laser power.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is necessary for recordable media, such as write-once optical discs and rewritable optical discs, to optimize recording laser power. The optimization process is called optimum power control (OPC) and various methods have been proposed therefor.
Usually, an optical disc is subject to OPC before data is recorded thereon. For example, test data is recorded in a predetermined test area on a disc with varying laser power. The recorded area is reproduced and an evaluation value of a reproduction signal is detected. The evaluation value may include a beta value, a modulation factor, jitter, asymmetry and a symbol error rate.
It is determined on the basis of the evaluation value which laser power might provide the optimum quality of the reproduction signal. Thus, the optimum laser power is determined.
OPC may also be executed during recording.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005-259312 and 2005-293689 disclose techniques relating to running OPC.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2008-77714 and 2006-120281 disclose techniques relating to walking OPC.

Recording device and method of adjusting laser power


Methods and apparatuses for conveying particulate material are described. A particulate material conveying apparatus may comprise a slide duct having a slide duct axis. The slide duct may comprise an interior region, and the interior region may have a top third interior region, a middle third interior region, and a bottom third interior region. The top third interior region is disposed above the middle third interior region and the middle third interior region is disposed above the bottom third interior region. The duct further defines an opening. An air movement mechanism may be connected to the duct an configured to move air through the opening into the slide duct in a direction of the slide duct axis such that a greater amount of air exits through the bottom third interior region than either of the top third interior region or the middle third interior region.

Absorbent articles, such as disposable infant diapers, feminine care products, incontinence garments and the like, include super absorbent particulate materials ("SAM") such as superabsorbent polymers which allow for increased absorbent capacity of the article and a reduction in the bulkiness of the article as compared to traditional absorbent material such as wood fluff. Various devices and processes have been employed to manufacture absorbent article designs including SAM. In some examples, a suction drum apparatus is used for making an absorbent core or pad wherein absorbent material, such as pulp fluff and SAM, is mixed together in a forming chamber and deposited onto the suction drum by gravity and/or suction of air through the suction drum.
In some examples, the SAM is fed into the forming chamber to be mixed with the pulp fluff through pneumatic conveyance means. For instance, the SAM is fed through a tube by high-speed air movement and pushed into the forming chamber by the movement of the air. In other examples, the SAM may be fed into the forming chamber by gravity conveyance. In such examples, a SAM hopper may be positioned above the forming chamber to allow the SAM to be fed along one or more SAM chutes leading into the forming chamber. Both SAM feeding processes, pneumatic conveyance and gravity conveyance, can result in un-even mixture of the SAM with the pulp fluff in the forming chamber and/or un-even deposition of the SAM onto the suction drum. This result can make it difficult to control the ultimate distribution of the SAM within the formed absorbent cores. Accordingly, methods and apparatuses are desired which can help to increase control of the SAM distribution within formed absorbent cores.

Air assisted particulate delivery system


A antenna patterns each for a motor vehicle comprising a plurality of antenna patterns consisting of antenna conductors arranged on the corresponding window glasses of the motor vehicle. A connecting means (15) is provided for connecting the antenna patterns in parallel with each other for mixing reception outputs of the antenna patterns. The connecting means is a high-frequency cut coil for cutting off the high frequency component to be received from one of the antenna patterns to couple the plural outputs of the antenna patterns only within the low frequency band.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a antenna patterns for a motor vehicle and, more particularly, a antenna patterns for a motor vehicle, wherein reception sensitivity of an AM broadcast wave is improved.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is conventionally known a window glass antenna for a motor vehicle using, as radio reception antenna wires, a plurality of defogging heater wires additionally formed on the inner surface of a rear window of the motor vehicle.
The reception sensitivity of the AM (medium frequency band) antenna patterns is determined by the area of glass. That is, the conductor pattern area of the window glass antenna is determined by the glass area. The glass area is almost determined by an outline of the motor vehicle. Therefore, a motor vehicle having a small glass area has low reception sensitivity .
According to prior art techniques, a preamplifier is arranged between a car radio and the window glass antenna to amplify a reception output, or an impedance converter is arranged to establish matching, thereby reducing a transmission loss.
FIG. 7 shows such a conventional arrangement including a preamplifier. Electrodes 72 to 74 are formed on a rear window glass 71. Heater wires 75 are connected between the electrodes 72 and 73 and between the electrodes 72 and 74. The electrode 73 is grounded to the vehicle body and is connected to the ground input of a preamplifier 79. A heating current is supplied to the electrode 74 which is connected to the input terminal of the preamplifier 79.
The preamplifier 79 increases a reception output from the electrode 74 to a predetermined level, the output of which is supplied to a car radio 77 through a coaxial cable 76 whose outer braided conductor is grounded. Reference numeral 78 denotes a loudspeaker connected to the car radio 77.
FIG. 8 shows a system arrangement of another conventional example having an impedance converter. The same reference numerals as in FIG. 7 denote the same parts in FIG. 8. Referring to FIG. 8, a reception output from an electrode 74 is supplied to a car radio 77 through an impedance converter 80 and a coaxial cable 76.
Heater wires 75 exhibit a high impedance state in the AM broadcast wave band. The impedance converter 80 converts an impedance of the heater wires 75 serving as an antenna to match with that of the coaxial cable 76. By this impedance matching, reception outputs from the electrodes 73 and 74 are supplied to the car radio 77 with a low transmission loss.
In the above prior art, preamplifier or impedance converter necessarily increases the components of a window antenna system of a motor vehicle. When the window glass antenna for the motor vehicle is placed in a strong electric field, the reception signal is distorted due to saturation of the preamplifier. In addition, even if the impedance converter is arranged, a motor vehicle having a small glass area cannot have a sufficient reception sensitivity.

Window glass antenna for a motor vehicle


A composite liquid crystal panel that interacts with an inspection station to simulate operating liquid displays, and methods of fabricating and testing such liquid crystal panels. The composite crystal panel enables the application of operating voltages to a plurality of unit liquid crystal panel areas. The inspection station provides operating power, illuminating light, and first and second polarizers. When power is applied to the composite liquid crystal panel an image is produced. That image will show defects in the unit liquid crystal panel areas. Beneficially, the inspection station tilts to enable easier problem identification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to liquid crystal display panels. In particular, the present invention relates methods of fabricating and inspecting such panels.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Following the expansion of the information society, a need has arisen for displays that produce high quality images in thin, lightweight packages that consume little power. To meet such needs, research has produced a variety of flat panel display devices, including liquid crystal displays (LCD), plasma displays (PDP), electro luminescent displays (ELD), and vacuum fluorescent displays (VFD). Some of these display technologies have already been applied in information displays.
Of the various types of flat panel display devices, the LCD is probably the most widely used. In fact, in portable devices, such as notebook PC computers, LCD technology has already replaced cathode ray tubes (CRT) as the display of choice. Moreover, even in desktop PCs and in TV monitors, LCDs devices are becoming more common.
The basic LCD is comprised of opposing substrates and a liquid crystal material that is disposed between the substrates.
Liquid crystal is a material phase that has properties between liquid and solid. Liquid crystal has the fluidity of a liquid, but has the long-range crystal ordering of a solid. Liquid crystal has optical anisotropy due to its long-range crystal ordering and fluidity.
An LCD is manufactured using a number of processes, including array formation, color filter (CF) formation, liquid crystal filling (disposing), and module forming (described subsequently).
Array formation involves depositions, photolithography, and etching to form a thin film transistor (TFT) array on a first substrate (the TFT substrate). Color filter (CF) formation includes forming red, green, and blue color filters in a black matrix, and forming an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film that acts as a common electrode on a CF substrate.
The liquid crystal filling (disposing) process involves assembling the TFT substrate and the CF substrate together. Generally, the TFT and color filter substrates are mated to produce a thin gap between substrates. Then, liquid crystal is filled through a gap opening to form a liquid crystal panel.
In module forming a driving circuit for processing input and output signals is connected to the liquid crystal panel. Additionally, frames are added to complete the liquid crystal module.
LCDs are typically assembled on a production line. In the prior art, cassettes, each having a plurality of TFT substrates or a plurality of color filter substrates, are input to a loader. Each TFT substrate includes a plurality of gate lines that extend in one direction, and a plurality of perpendicularly crossing data lines. Thin film transistors and pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix at areas between the gate and data lines. The CF substrates each have a black matrix layer, a color filter, and a common electrode. Hence, the black matrix layer shields light leakage except for that desired from the pixel region.
Each TFT substrate or color filter substrate is individually removed from the cassette by the loader and transferred to the input of an alignment layer production line. That line, which includes a hand-programmed robot, forms an alignment layer on the individual substrates, reference alignment process step 1S of FIG. 1.
Step 1S includes cleaning individual substrates to enable formation of a uniform alignment layer coating. Then, an alignment material is coated on the substrate. Then, the alignment material is cured by drying off a solvent in the alignment material, and/or by inducing thermal polymerization of the alignment material. After curing, the alignment material is mechanically rubbed to induce a surface that anchors the liquid crystal in a uniformly align fashion. Finally, a cleaning process is carried out again, resulting in an alignment layer.
After the alignment layer 1S is completed, several processes are performed to produce a gap. Those processes can be carried out in serial or in parallel. The gap forming processes include a cleaning process (step 2S) in which a substrate (TFT or color filter substrate) is cleaned and a spacer scattering process (step 3S) in which spacers are scattered onto that substrate. The spacers are used to maintain the gap thickness constant and uniform.
Instead of forming a gap, a sealant coating process (step 4S) can be performed on the substrate (one type of substrate [TFT or CF] undergoes gap forming, the other undergoes sealant coating). After a cleaning step 2S, a sealing material is disposed on a peripheral part of the substrate. The sealing material is subsequently used to attach the TFT substrate to the CF substrate to form an assembled panel. It should be understood that the sealant coating process (4S) is performed on one type of substrate (TFT or CF), while spacer scattering is performed on the other type. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the production line has two sub-portions. One sub-portion cleans (step 2S) and scatters spacers (step 3S). The other cleans (step 2S) and produces a seal (step 4S).
After the spacer scattering process 3S and the sealant coating process 4S, an assembling process (5S) that aligns, heats, and presses the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate together to produce an LCD panel is performed. In the assembly process, the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate are arranged in an opposing fashion and then joined to form an LCD panel.
After the assembly process (step 5S), a cutting process (step 6S) cuts the assembled empty LCD panel into a plurality of unit panels by scribing and breaking the assembled empty panel.
After the cutting process (step 6S) is complete, liquid crystal is filled into the unit panels through a liquid crystal filling hole in the sealing material and the filling hole is then sealed (step 7S).
Finally, after step 7S, the individual liquid crystal unit panels are ground (to removed cutting burrs), and inspected, reference step 8S. The liquid crystal cell is then complete.
A typical prior art liquid crystal injection process per step 7S is schematically illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown, liquid crystal 25 is put into a vessel 30. The vessel 30 is inserted in a vacuum chamber 20. The vacuum chamber 20 is evacuated for a period of time to remove water adhering to an inner wall of the vessel 30, water in the liquid crystal 25, and micro bubbles in the liquid crystal 25.
Still referring to FIG. 2, the seal opening of several unit panels 40 are then dipped into the liquid crystal. Inflowing N2 gas produces atmospheric pressure in the chamber 20. The pressure difference between the vacuum in the unit panels 40 and the chamber 20 forces liquid crystal into the unit panels.
After the respective unit panels 40 have been charged with liquid crystal 20, the liquid crystal inlet is sealed. The unit liquid crystal panels are then cleaned. This completes step 7S.
While beneficial, liquid crystal injection using the foregoing procedures has problems. For example, liquid crystal injection method requires a long time, such as over 10 hours to fill a ten-inch panel. The injection time is so long because the gap thickness between the substrates is very small and the area to be filled is relatively large. This problem is particularly acute when fabricating a large area LCD. Additionally, the foregoing process wastes liquid crystal due to the fact that excess liquid crystal material cannot be reused because the liquid crystal may be contaminated and/or degraded by impurities and chemical reactions. To overcome such problems a method of applying liquid crystal using a dropping method has been proposed.
The liquid crystal dropping method is briefly explained with reference to FIG. 3. It should be understood that the TFT and color filter substrates are beneficially large glass substrates that include a plurality of substrate panel areas (TFT arrays and color filter arrays) that will eventually form individual LCD displays. In the liquid crystal dropping method, liquid crystal is dropped onto substrate panel areas of a substrate. The dropped liquid crystal will be subsequently spread over the substrate panel areas when the first and second substrates are assembled together.
Referring now to FIG. 3, an alignment process 100s is carried out as described above to give the liquid crystals uniform directivity. Then, referring to step 102S, the TFT and CF substrates are cleaned.
Subsequently, in step 103S, the cleaned CF substrate is loaded on a seal dispenser and a seal is dispensed around the circumference of the respective substrate panel areas. The sealant is beneficially a photo/thermo-hardened resin. Notably, a liquid crystal injection inlet/opening is unnecessary.
Meanwhile, in step 105S, the cleaned TFT substrate is loaded on an Ag dispensing equipment to form Ag dots on a common electrode supply line of the TFT substrate. Then, in step 106S, the TFT substrate is loaded on an LC dispenser. Then, liquid crystal is dropped on the substrate panel areas.
Subsequently, in a vacuum assembly and hardening step 107S, the TFT and CF substrates are loaded in a vacuum chamber. Then, the TFT and CF substrates are assembled to each other such that the dropped liquid crystals uniformly fill the gap between the substrate panel areas. The sealant is then hardened to form a composite LC panel. The composite LC panel is a large panel having a plurality of unit liquid crystal panel areas.
In an S/B (scribe/break) step 108S the composite LC panel is divided into individual LC panels. The S/B step 108S includes a scribing process in which cutting lines are formed on the glass surface using a diamond-based pen, and a breaking process that separates the individual LC panels by applying a force.
A grinding step S109 grinds faces of the individual LC panels to remove shorting bars. Then, an appearance and A/P (auto/probe) inspection step 110S is performed on each of the individual LC panels, completing the LC display formation process.
The A/P inspection is an electrical inspection of the individual LC panels that uses a device that applies a predetermined voltage to input terminals that are connected to the gate and data lines of the TFT substrate of the unit LC panel. The A/P inspection is useful in checking cell gap failures or LC leakage failures.
After step 110S, a module is formed by integrating a driver IC, a backlight, and module frames to the individual LC panel.
Unfortunately, the liquid crystal dropping method has problems of its own. For example, after the composite LC panel has been cut into individual LC panels, the appearance and electrical integrity are checked by a worker. That testing was relatively difficult and time consuming to perform since the drive lines of the all of the individual LC panels had to be driven with a predetermined pattern to test the individual LC panel. This increases inspection time and leads to worker fatigue.
Therefore, a method of automatically checking the electrical integrity and visual performance of a composite LC display would be beneficial. Even more beneficial would be a method of automatically checking the electrical integrity and visual performance of a composite LC display that did not overly tax workers or significantly impact on productivity.

Liquid crystal panel, apparatus for inspecting the same, and method of fabricating liquid crystal display thereof