An air cooled core mounted ignition system for gas turbine engine applications is provided. The ignition system includes an ignition exciter component directly mechanically and electrically connected to an igniter component. The housing member of the exciter component includes an air plenum configured to receive bleed air from the engine fan or compressor sections of the turbine engine, or other source. The bleed air provides a relatively low temperature air source for the purpose of cooling the exciter. As such, the exciter component can be directly secured to the igniter, thereby eliminating the need for an ignition lead.

In its simplest form, a gas turbine engine, of the type typically used in aviation applications, includes, in serial flow communication, a fan section, through which ambient air is drawn into the engine, a compressor for pressurizing the incoming air, a combustor, in which the high pressure air is mixed with atomized fuel and ignited, and a turbine section that extracts the energy from hot gas effluent to drive the compressor and fan, producing desired engine thrust. An augmentor is used primarily to provide extra thrust for relatively short periods of time, which may be required during e.g., takeoff and high speed maneuvers, and can also be included to increase the thrust generated by the engine.
To initiate combustion of the fuel and air mixture within the combustor, a conventional gas turbine engine includes an ignition system comprising an ignition exciter component, at least one igniter plug and an ignition lead assembly coupled between the exciter component and the igniter plugs. The ignition exciter converts ac or dc input power into high voltage high current electrical impulses that are periodically delivered to the igniter plugs to facilitate engine starting. The ignition lead assemblies are electrical conduits that transfer electrical energy between the ignition exciter and the igniter plugs(s). The igniter plugs convert electrical energy into thermal energy, such as an ignition spark, which initiates the combustion process.
In aviation large gas turbine applications, the ignition leads constitute a significant portion of the ignition system weight and cost. Specifically, each lead assembly includes an igniter cable comprising a stranded center conductor encased within electrical insulation and housed within a flexible conduit. The lead assembly conduits must be cooled to minimize degradation thereof resulting from exposure to the high operating temperatures within the engine. In some applications, the ignition leads are air cooled, utilizing fan or compressor bleed air to continuously cool the lead assemblies. The addition of active cooling greatly increases the ignition lead conduit diameter and necessitates the introduction of an integral "Y" shaped fitting on the ignition lead conduit to facilitate interconnection to the cooling air supply.
Ignition leads likewise represent a maintenance burden since they are often damaged during routine engine inspection and maintenance activities. Additionally, environmentally induced thermal and vibratory stresses degrade ignition lead component parts over time necessitating periodic repair and/or overhaul. Indeed, during operation, the center conductor of the ignition lead tends to chafe on the internal conduit and supporting splines. Likewise, the external conduit/braid features of the ignition lead chafe and are damaged by nearby components or structures. Further, the elastomeric seals and center conductor insulation of each of the leads can be thermally degraded by the extremely high temperatures and pressure variations within the operating environment.
Unlike aeroderivative turbine applications, or heavy frame industrial turbine applications, aviation turbine ignition system components are frequently mounted directly on the engine and must operate in extremely harsh environments. As such, ignition systems directed for use in aviation turbine applications require designs that are compact size and minimize the overall weight of the engine. Accordingly, elimination of the ignition leads from an ignition system for a gas turbine engine would be very desirable.
In addition to eliminating the associated cost, weight and maintenance issues, a leadless ignition system would offer improved efficiency over prior art large gas turbine ignition systems. In particular, a typical ignition lead contributes about 35% to the overall ignition system electrical losses.
As such, the invention provides an ignition system that can be directly mounted to the housing of a large gas turbine engine, the system includes an exciter component directly connected to an igniter, eliminating the requirement for an ignition lead connection therebetween. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.


A system for determining properties of settling suspensions includes a settling container, a mixer, and devices for ultrasonic interrogation transverse to the settling direction. A computer system controls operation of the mixer and the interrogation devices and records the response to the interrogating as a function of settling time, which is then used to determine suspension properties. Attenuation versus settling time for dilute suspensions, such as dilute wood pulp suspension, exhibits a peak at different settling times for suspensions having different properties, and the location of this peak is used as one mechanism for characterizing suspensions. Alternatively or in addition, a plurality of ultrasound receivers are arranged at different angles to a common transmitter to receive scattering responses at a variety of angles during particle settling. Angular differences in scattering as a function of settling time are also used to characterize the suspension.

Measurement of heterogeneous media in a continuous fluid phase, particularly solids in a fluid, is of commercial interest. Drilling fluids, slip casting, waste disposal, catalytic processes, paper manufacture, and many other commercial processes rely upon particles or solids in fluids. The development of practical and reliable methods for inspecting such fluid systems is of great interest because the properties of the fluid systems impact the quality of the resulting products and/or the energy efficiency of the process.
While there are several kinds of commercial equipment for particle size measurements based on the ultrasonic attenuation methods, these methods are limited by the mathematical inversion step for general cases in which the nature of the particle size distribution and physical properties of the particles are not known a priori. Furthermore, these methodologies do not completely account for the complexities of settling slurries.
The present invention is based, in part, on the fact that during settling a series of interfaces may develop and the fluid stratifies as a function of both particle size and shape. For instance, non-spherical particles orient preferentially during settling. The settling rate can depend upon the local solids loading, particle size distribution and solution (fluid medium) chemistry. In moving from the top to the bottom of a settling column, the particle sizes, shapes, composition, and concentrations can all be continually varying. The dynamics of suspension settling, controlled in part by the fluid medium properties, becomes a means to discriminate the particulate constituents in a suspension or slurry. By positioning ultrasonic interrogations at fixed locations along the settling column and monitoring the ultrasonic responses as a function of time provides a uniquely powerful means to characterize slurries and suspensions.
Moreover, while suspension characterization is important in a variety of situations, the accurate and reliable determination of slurry and suspension properties becomes increasingly important for systems where the properties are changing over time. For example, in paper manufacture, wood pulp is typically refined in a continuous operation where a slurry of wood pulp is processed to change the fiber characteristics, typically by passing the wood pulp through a pair of closely spaced rollers or rotating plates. The purpose of the refining is to change the characteristics of the fiber, which changes can involve splitting the outer and inner layers of the fibers, the splintering of smaller pieces of fiber or other debris and/or shortening of the length of some of the fibers. It is generally desirable to refine the pulp under conditions such that the fibers split without excessively shortening them or making significant amounts of debris. Accurate and reliable determination of pulp properties, such as the degree of refining and consistency of the pulp, can provide useful information for controlling this refining process or adjusting other aspects of the process to make a quality product from the wood pulp.
One common technique for determining the degree of refining of a wood pulp suspension is the freeness test, which is based on measuring the rate at which water drains from a pulp suspension through a wire mesh on which the fibers are retained in the form of a loose mat. Generally, the higher the degree of refining, the slower the water drains. One standard measure of freeness is termed the Canadian Standard Freeness (CSF).
Unfortunately, as well as being time consuming and labor intensive, the freeness test is an imperfect test that is not an accurate measure of the more important pulp qualities. For example, the freeness test is more strongly influenced by the presence and concentration of fines in the pulp than by the physical condition of the fibers. In addition, the refining process causes both fibrillation of the fibers and the rupture of the fibers' internal bonds such that the fibers become soft and swollen. The second effect, swollen fibers, results in improvement in the tensile strength properties of the paper. However, the freeness test is more a measure of fibrillation than of fiber swelling. Accordingly, it is desirable to characterize the degree of refining of wood pulp with a measure other than the freeness. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,639 to Simms et al. which is hereby incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure.
Unfortunately, the ability to rapidly, reliably, and efficiently monitor suspension properties is limited. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved systems and techniques for determining properties of suspensions. While the present invention is broadly applicable to determining suspension properties for a variety of industrial suspensions in a variety of applications, in one form it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method to determine the properties of pulp fibers in a pulp suspension, as modified by the refining process, to facilitate prediction of the properties of the to-be-manufactured paper. In another form it is the object of the present invention to determine the particle properties of a settling solid-liquid suspension

System and technique for ultrasonic characterization of settling suspensions


A method and apparatus for coating a group of objects may be provided. A three-dimensional model of the group of objects may be generated. Segments that represent each object in the group of objects in the three-dimensional model may be formed. Instructions for coating the group of objects may be generated based on the segments. The instructions may be configured to cause a robotic coating system to coat the group of objects.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to manufacturing objects, and in particular, to applying a coating to objects. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for coating objects with a robotic object coating system.
2. Background
The process for manufacturing components for aircraft and other vehicles may be very complex and time-consuming. Components may be manufactured in various stages in which different types of components are fabricated, molded, coated, and tested.
These stages may be performed by robotic systems, human operators, or both robotic systems and human operators. For example, a component for a fuel tank may be fabricated, painted, installed, and/or inspected by a human operator, a robotic system, or some combination thereof.
In some cases, an aircraft may have thousands of components that need to be painted. Consequently, paint may be applied to many different components at one time. For instance, five, ten, fifteen or more objects may be painted during the same interval.
When applying paint or other types of coatings, the components may be arranged on a component carrier, cart, or rack. In some cases, more than one type of component may be present on the component carrier at the same time. Different types of components may have the same or different sizes, shapes, weights, or other characteristics from each other.
Currently, component painting may typically be completed by human painters. However, the painting of aircraft components may be more physically demanding on painters than desired. For example, painters may typically wear head-to-toe protective clothing to limit exposure to toxic chemicals found in the paint. Additionally, painters may carry large reservoirs of paint that may be difficult to maneuver in order to paint the components in a preferred manner. Because these reservoirs may be difficult to maneuver, the painters may become exhausted more quickly than desired.
In some cases, a pre-programmed robotic system may be used to limit exposure by human painters to chemicals in the paint. With robotic painting systems, a controller provides instructions to the robot to paint the objects arranged on the component carrier. However, this type of painting system may not be as accurate as desired. For example, pre-programmed robotic painting systems may have a large margin of error. As a result, a human painter may be needed to inspect and repaint some of the components. This type of process may take more time and effort than desired. Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus which take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.


A wall article hanging device includes a metal plate having one or more prongs angled from a surface thereof for angled penetration into a wall surface such as gypsum board or sheet rock. The metal plate is flushly and rigidly attached to a rear surface of a wall article such as a picture frame using one or more prongs in opposed relationship to the wall attaching prongs. The wall plate may be elongate in shape with a plurality of opposed prongs in spaced relationship to facilitate level and flush attachment. The wall plate may include one or more through openings and fastening means to permit rigid and flush attachment of the metal plate to a article to be hung on a wall surface.

In the prior art, numerous devices have been proposed as fastening or joining means wherein elements are joined together. One type of fastener includes a plate like structure and opposed prongs . These fasteners typically join members or elements together as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,995,173 to Ehle et al or 826,125 to Steinmetz.
The prior art also teaches numerous devices for hanging pictures. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,999,575 to Reuter et al, a retainer is disclosed having a spike to detachably mount the retainer in the manner of a pushpin. The retainer also includes V-shaped prongs adapted to be pushed into a support in which the spike is engaged. The retainer of Reuter et al supports a picture frame by the projection 10 arranged for engagement of the picture frame hanging or suspending cord or wire. The retainer of Reuter et al does not rigidly attach to the picture frame or provide any penetration into the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,448,137 to Cody discloses another picture hanger comprising a plate and a pair of spaced prongs and an opposing prong stamped from the body of the plate. The opposing prong is forced into the wall and the picture frame may then be hung from the upper pointed ends of the spaced prongs by pressing the lower inside edge of the upper rail of the picture frame onto the two spaced prongs. The plate is first driven into the wall followed by suspension of a picture frame.
However, disadvantages of prior art devices, including the patents to Cody and Reuter et al, include failure to provide a flush mount that conceals the picture hanging device and a rigid mount to maintain a picture frame in a level orientation. Accordingly, a need has developed to provide an improved wall article hanging device such as a picture hanger which provides a level and flush mount for a wall hanging article such as a picture frame.
In response to this need, the present invention overcomes the deficiencies in the prior art as noted above by providing a wall article hanging device which first attaches to the wall article and is subsequently placed on a wall surface. The inventive wall article hanging device provides a level, stationary and flush mounted wall hanging article.


An apparatus includes a first tubular member and a second tubular member coupled to the first tubular member. The first tubular member defines a longitudinal axis and a lumen substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis. The lumen of the first tubular member is configured to receive at least a portion of an elongate implant. A distal end portion of the first tubular member is tapered along the longitudinal axis. The second tubular member defines a longitudinal axis and a lumen substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the second tubular member. The second tubular member is coupled to the first tubular member such that the longitudinal axis of the first tubular member is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the second tubular member. A distal end portion of the second tubular member is tapered along the longitudinal axis of the second tubular member.

The invention relates generally to medical devices and procedures, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for inserting elongate implants into the body.
Elongate implants, such as, for example, electrical stimulation leads and/or electrical sensing leads, are used in various medical procedures. For example, some known elongate implants can be implanted within a patient's body to stimulate a response from a bodily organ or tissue, such as, for example, the heart, a muscle group or the like. Some known elongate implants can be implanted within a patient's body to sense a response from a bodily organ or tissue. Accordingly, known elongate implants can be inserted into the patient's body in a known location and/or orientation (e.g., such that a portion of the elongate implant is in electrical contact with a nerve).
Known methods for inserting elongate implants within a patient's body can include first locating a desired target tissue using an electric stimulating probe and then inserting the elongate implant using a cannula. Such methods, however, often fail to detect movement of the cannula that can result in inaccuracies in the location and/or orientation of the elongate member.
Thus, a need exists for improved apparatus and methods for inserting elongate implants within a patient's body.

Apparatus and method for inserting implants into the body


The disclosure provides human-tracking methods, systems, and storage media. The method includes: acquiring a plurality of human point clouds of a current frame from a plurality of cameras; generating a total point cloud of the current frame by integrating the plurality of human point clouds of the current frame; acquiring a plurality of human point clouds of a next frame from the plurality of cameras; acquiring a total point cloud of the next frame by integrating the plurality of human point clouds of the next frame; and performing human tracking based on the total point cloud of the current frame and the total point cloud of the next frame.

Human tracking is focused on relationships among persons, products and places in a smart retail scene through visual recognition technologies and multi-sensor fusion. In the related art, in order to understand persons in the scene, the most direct way is by realizing the recognition function through 2-dimensional (2D) detection and person re-identification (ReID), realizing the positioning function by multi-camera calibration and triangulation, and realizing the continuous tracking function in space and time through 2D tracking. The overall technology relies on a plurality of monocular cameras with 3-dimensional (3D) calibration.

Human-tracking methods, systems, and storage media

BAIDU ONLINE NETWORK TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.


Mobile terminal equipment communicable with a public switched network has a receiving section for receiving information over a radio channel from a radio station which is accommodated in the public switched network, a storage for storing the information received by the receiving section, an indicating section for indiating the information stored in the storage, and a controller connected to the receiving section, storage and indicating section. The controller controls the storage in response to the reception of the information by the receiving section such that the storage stores the information while the indicating section indicates the information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication system which allows remote mobile terminal equipment to call and interchange information with each other via a public switched telephone network, paging station, radio link controller, etc. The present invention is also concerned with terminal equipment applicable to such a comunication system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In one of conventional mobile communication systems, a personal computer or similar information transmitting center calls radio terminal equipment having a receiving capability only via a public switched telephone network and a radio paging station and then sends desired information to the terminal equipment. The personal computer, for example, is installed in an office or similar facility while the terminal equipment is carried by a staffer belonging to the office. The staffer, therefore, can receive information from the office at any place outside the office. However, the problem with this system is that it is only the fixed center that can send information, i.e., such terminal equipment located outside the office cannot send information to another terminal equipment also located outside the office. More specifically, it is only the fixed center that can transmit call indication information.
Another conventional mobile communication system allows two remote radio terminal equipment, or mobile stations, to communicate with each other via a radio base station. In this kind of system, a radio base station is connected to a public switched telephone network via a central office. A mobile station intending to send information to a remote mobile station transmits an originating call signal. In response, the radio base station designates a particular communication channel and then checks the mobile station. When the communication channel is set up, the calling mobile station sends a dial number designating the mobile station to be called. The central office sends a calling signal to the called mobile station on the basis of the dial number. Then, the called station returns an answer signal, and the base station selects a communication channel. In this condition, the remote two mobile stations can start communication with each other over the designated communication channel. However, when the poerson expected to handle the called mobile station is absent or has suppressed the output of ringing, information cannot be delivered from the calling mobile station to the called mobile station despite the ringing from the calling station. Specifically, this conventional communication system does not take account of the fact that when the calling person sends information to a called mobile station, the called person may have left the called mobile station or intentionally switched off the mobile station or may not answer the call for one reason or another.

Mobile terminal equipment capable of storing called state


A hydraulic steering device (1) is described comprising a supply port arrangement having a supply port (P) and a tank port (T), a working port arrangement having two working ports (L, R), a main flow path (14) between the supply port (P) and the working port arrangement, a return flow path (16) between the working port arrangement and the tank port (T), flow meter means (15) being arranged in said main flow path (14), said flow meter means (15) comprising at least two flow meters (27, 28) and a flow meter valve means (30), said flow meter valve means (30) in a first operation mode connecting at least two flow meters (27, 28) in parallel and in a second operation mode making inactive at least one flow meter (27). Such a steering device should be operated comfortable for a driver. To this end an amplification flow path (17) is arranged in parallel to said main flow path (14), said amplification flow path (17) being connected to said main flow path (14) downstream said flow meter means (15) in a direction from said supply port (P) to said working port arrangement.

Such a hydraulic steering device is known from DE 195 11 501 A1. When a vehicle equipped with such a hydraulic steering device is driven in a so called "normal mode" the two fluid meters are arranged in parallel. In this case steering of the vehicle can be effected by rotating the steering wheel over a small angle. In a so called "emergency steering mode" there is no supply of hydraulic fluid under pressure. In this case one of the fluid meters is operated as auxiliary pump. Steering of the wheels of the vehicle requires a larger rotation of the steering wheel, however, with a reduced torque. Automatic switching between the two modes can be realized by means of the pressure at the supply port and by means of a spring acting in the opposite direction.
Another steering device of the kind mentioned above is known from US 2009/0199915 A1. In this steering device the flow meter valve means is arranged between the two fluid meters.
A further steering device is known from EP 1 212 231 B1 in which the fluid meter valve means is arranged in a housing surrounding a cardan shaft connecting the two fluid meters.
However, when such a steering device is used in a vehicle requiring a large volume flow for operating a steering motor the driving is rather uncomfortable for the driver. The driver has to perform many rotations with the steering wheel (or any other steering actuator) in order to turn the steered wheels as desired.


A bend sensor for a flexible display panel is provided. The bend sensor includes plural detecting electrodes and a controlling circuit. The plural detecting electrodes are disposed on a touch panel. The touch panel is attached on the flexible display panel. The plural detecting electrodes generate plural detecting signals according to a change of an electric field or a magnetic field. The controlling circuit receives the plural detecting signals and judges a bending status of the flexible display panel according to the plural detecting signals.

With increasing advance of information technologies, the general trends in designing electronic devices are toward small size, light weightiness and easy portability. For example, after smart phones and tablet computers are introduced into the market, the smart phones and the tablet computers are gradually used to connect to the internet or browse data in order to replace the heavy and bulky notebook computers. Nowadays, the smart phones or the tablet computers are widely used to browse data, watch image data, execute application software or make a call. However, due to the size limitation of the smart phone or the tablet computer, the size of the display panel of the smart phone or the tablet computer is gradually reduced. Consequently, only small amount of messages can be simultaneously shown on the display panel.
Recently, a smart phone or a tablet computer with a flexible display panel is introduced into the market. The applications of the flexible display panel are no longer restricted by the rigidity of the conventional display panel. After the flexible display panel of the smart phone or the tablet computer is unfolded, more messages can be simultaneously shown on the flexible display panel. Consequently, the electronic device with the flexible display panel has small volume and large display area.
As known, the bent region of the flexible display panel is frequently used. Consequently, the image on the bent region of the flexible display panel is readily suffered from distortion. Under this circumstance, the image quality is unsatisfied.
Generally, the bending curvature, the bending frequency and other parameters are widely used for evaluating the conditions of the bent region of the flexible display panel. The bending curvature and the bending frequency may be acquired by a variety of bend sensors.
Conventionally, the bend sensors are disposed on a backside of the flexible display panel. The bend sensors include for example fiber-optic bend sensors, infrared bend sensors, force-feedback bend sensors or piezoelectric bend sensors. In views of cost-effectiveness and applications, the piezoelectric bend sensors are the most popular.
Generally, the resistance value of the piezoelectric bend sensor is changed according to the magnitude of the stress applied to the piezoelectric bend sensor, and the bending degree of the flexible display panel is correspondingly determined. Since the contact stress of the piezoelectric bend sensor is non-uniform and non-directional and the piezoelectric bend sensor is opaque, it is difficult to integrate the piezoelectric bend sensor into the flexible display panel and the applications of the flexible display panel are restricted.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved bend sensor and an improved bend sensing method in order to overcome the above drawbacks.

Bend sensor, bend sensing method and bend sensing system for flexible display panel

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A display substrate, a display panel, and a display device are provided. The display substrate of the present invention can realize an integration of an optical film and optical path system of an original backlight module onto the display substrate by adding a first functional layer, a second functional layer, and a first polarizing layer. The display device uses the display substrate described in the present invention and adds an optical layer on the display substrate, so that the display device or a display apparatus can be thinned and lightened, and a reliability of a light source module can be improved.

With development of digital technologies, LCD products have been widely used in all aspects of daily life, and requirements for thinner and lighter liquid crystal display devices are also gradually increasing.
However, current liquid crystal display devices usually use structures with "liquid crystal display panels+backlight modules." FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a current liquid crystal display device. As shown in FIG. 1, the current display device comprises a display panel 20 and a backlight module 10 that provides external light to the display panel 20. The display panel 20 comprises a liquid crystal cell composed of an array substrate 21, an opposite substrate 22, and a liquid crystal layer 23, and a first polarizer 24 and a second polarizer 25 are disposed on opposite sides of the liquid crystal cell. The backlight module 10 comprises a backlight source 11, a light guide plate 12, a scattering layer 13, a reflection layer 14, a diffusion sheet 15, a first prism sheet 16, and a second prism sheet 17.

Display substrate, display panel, and display device

WUHAN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A system for washing contaminated sand comprises a plurality of reactors arranged in a sequence from a first to a last reactor. The first reactor is configured to receive contaminated sand. Each reactor comprises a funnel portion in a lower section thereof for accumulating a sand layer and a sand conveying device for removing sand through an aperture defined near a bottom of the funnel portion. Each reactor except the first reactor receives sand removed from a previous reactor. The system also comprises a steam supply system for providing each reactor with steam for washing the sand, a water supply system for providing the last reactor with clean water for rinsing the sand, and a fluid outlet associated with each reactor for removing fluid and providing the fluid to a separator for separating the fluid into first and second portions respectively containing relatively low and high proportions of hydrocarbons.

Sand which has been contaminated with hydrocarbons such as oil or other contaminants must generally be processed to remove the contaminants before the sand may be used in most industrial or agricultural applications. The processing of contaminated sand can be an expensive and time consuming operation.
Canadian Patent No. 2,319,566 to Bacon et al. discloses a process for separating oily films from sand particles carried as a slurry in a solvent-free water stream. The process disclosed by Bacon et al. utilizes scrubbers for detaching oil from sand and specially designed reactors for subsequent removal of oil from the slurry.
In practice, scrubbers have a highly detrimental emulsifying effect. Scrubbers break down oil particles that are bonded to sand granules into minute particles that form emulsions. Means for removing minute oil particles from water are generally ineffective. Emulsified oil contained by slurry migrates downstream and contaminates the sand product. Furthermore, a portion of the emulsified oil accumulates in water tanks and gradually contaminates the elutriation water utilized for sand rinsing.
Due to excessive agitation caused by scrubbers, solids-water separation in the reactors of Bacon et al. is critically hindered. As a result, sand may be carried over from the reactors and block surge tanks with deposits. Fines originating from the reactors may remain in suspension and tend to prematurely erode the jet pumps of Bacon et al.
Jet pumps employed for transferring sand between adjacent reactors in the process of Bacon et al. also emulsify oil and contribute to water and sand contamination. For optimal operation jet pumps pump a slurry that typically contains eight parts of water for two parts of sand. The relatively large quantity of water in the slurry requires relatively large reactors, dewatering devices and auxiliary equipment. As a result, capital and operating costs are increased significantly.
Furthermore, dewatering devices used for extracting the sand product from the slurry in the process of Bacon et al. experience various problems in handling large volumes of water. Such problems may include, premature shaker screen erosion, excessive sand carry over from screw hoppers, frequent failure of the decanter centrifuge coupling and erratic hydrocyclone operation.
More importantly, the inventor has determined that the operation of the jet pumps in the process of Bacon et al. cannot be effectively controlled to maintain a layer of sand at the lower region of the reactor. The sand layer normally acts as a barrier for contaminants. The loss of the sand layer occurs rather regularly and may result in unrestricted passage of contaminants through the reactors and contamination of the sand product.
There exists a need for methods and systems for washing sand which may be used to produce substantially contaminant-free sand without consuming large volumes of water.

Method and apparatus for washing particulate matter


A host controller interface configured to provide interfacing between a host device and a storage device includes processing circuitry; a doorbell register configured to store a head pointer and a tail pointer of one or more first queues; and an entry buffer configured to store a first command from one of the one or more first queues in the entry buffer, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to, determine an order in which the commands of the one or more first queues are to be processed, route the first command to be stored in the entry buffer according to the determined order, and route a first response to be stored in one of one or more second queues.

At least some example embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to a host controller interface configured to transfer a command to a storage device, and more particularly, to a host controller interface that has a bitmap-based doorbell structure and may use a multiple circular queue.
Serial ATA (SATA), Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), embedded MMC (eMMC), Universal Flash Storage (UFS), and the like are used as interfaces in a storage system based on a storage device (for example, a solid state drive (SSD)). Storage devices are being gradually developed, and an amount of simultaneously processed data also gradually increases. However, an interface such as SATA is not an interface specialized for a storage device such as an SSD, and therefore has fundamental limitations.
Recently, as a part of efforts to make a standardized interface applicable to a data storage device, a non-volatile memory express (NVMe) interface and a UFS interface have been made. An NVMe interface may provide a direct memory access function to storage devices (or nonvolatile memories) connected through a PCIe bus, and a UFS is a structure adopting M-PHY and a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) and UniPro.
When a bitmap doorbell is shared by a plurality of cores, the performance of the entire system may be degraded due to resource occupation overhead. For example, in a UFS protocol, when any one of the plurality of cores approaches a bitmap doorbell, other cores may not access the bitmap doorbell.

Host controller interface using multiple circular queue, and operating method thereof


An optical fiber comprises a hollow fiber core, wherein the front faces of both fiber ends of the hollow fiber core are open and each fiber end is surrounded by a protection element in a dustproof fashion. The protection element includes a window at its front face in front of the fiber end to couple and decouple light to and from the hollow fiber core.

A hollow core fiber has a hollow fiber core through which light is guided. For this reason, there are no Fresnel reflections at the fiber ends, and the non-linear effects in the glass core that occur in conventional fibers are greatly reduced. The hollow fiber core is generally surrounded by further hollow areas, most of which have a smaller diameter than the fiber core, in order to maintain light guidance in the fiber core.
A very thin hollow fiber core can have a diameter of several μm to several 100 μm. In order to protect the hollow areas of such a thin hollow fiber core, a section without hollow spaces is normally spliced to fibers with hollow cores, or the end piece of the hollow core fiber is collapsed.


A computer security system comprises a basic input/output system (BIOS) adapted to store a user key generated by a trusted platform module (TPM) for a user. The BIOS is also adapted to receive TPM authentication data from the user for initiating a boot process and interface with the TPM to request validation of the TPM authentication data by the TPM for initiating the boot process using the user key.

Computer systems generally function under the control or execution of an operating system (OS). Operating systems require a loading (i.e., "boot") process to load the OS into a computer memory. The boot process generally includes locating a basic input/output system (BIOS), loading the BIOS for execution, and passing control of the computer system to the BIOS. Thereafter, the BIOS loads the OS.
Various methods exist for securing or controlling the boot process of a computer system. For example, one such method includes the BIOS verifying a password provided by a user of the computer system with data stored in the BIOS. However, the BIOS remains susceptible to attack, thereby enabling unauthorized access to the boot password.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A cartridge for a machine tool is provided. The cartridge has a main body, two punch-retention arms, and two die-retention arms. Preferably, the two punch-retention arms are spaced apart and at least generally parallel to each other. Likewise, the two die-retention arms preferably are spaced apart and at least generally parallel to each other. In some cases, the main body is formed of a first metal, and the punch-retention arms and die-retention arms are formed of metal(s) different than the first metal. In one group of embodiments, the invention provides a cartridge having a weight of less than 3 pounds.

Machine tools are usually adapted for being used with many different tool sets. A typical tool set includes a punch and a corresponding die. A stripper plate is also commonly included as part of the tool set. In processing a workpiece (e.g., a piece of sheet metal), it is common to use several different tool sets. In some cases, once a first tool set has been used, it is exchanged for a second tool set, and then a third, and so on. Once a first workpiece has been fully processed using the desired sequence of tool sets, a second workpiece may be processed, in some cases beginning again with the first tool set.
The tool sets used on a machine tool commonly are stored in cartridges. Some cartridges may be stored in the machine tool, while others may be kept nearby. When several different tool sets (e.g., of different size and/or shape) will be used for a job, the machine tool is commonly provided with cartridges respectively holding the different tool sets. Not only do the cartridges store the tools, they also facilitate loading and unloading the tools on the machine tool. For example, when it is desired to use a particular tool set, a cartridge holding that tool set is moved to a mounting position on the machine tool. At the mounting position, the tools are removed from the cartridge and loaded onto the machine tool. Once use of that tool set is finished, its tools are unloaded from the machine tool and loaded back onto the cartridge. The cartridge is then moved away from the mounting position. Then, a different cartridge (holding another tool set) can be moved to the mounting position so that a new set of tools can be used by the machine tool. This process is repeated for as many different tool sets as are needed for a given job. In some cases, the machine tool includes an elongated rail for storing the cartridges. The cartridges, for example, can be slidably engaged with the rail such that they can be slid back and forth to and from the mounting position. In other cases, the cartridges are stored in a rotary storage system, a round carousel, or a stacked storage system. The mounting and dismounting of tool sets using cartridges is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,375. This '375 patent is incorporated herein by reference to the extent it shows and describes the structure of an exemplary machine tool with a cartridge guidance system.
Since cartridges are moved by the machine tool, there is often wear and tear on the cartridges. This can result in cartridge breakage. Cartridges have been made of cast iron, so as to minimize breakage. However, these cast iron cartridges are very heavy. As a result, they are less than ideal in terms of their great inertia, which adversely impacts the dynamic performance of a machine tool in loading, unloading, and otherwise moving the cartridges. Heavy cartridges also cause unnecessary wear and tear on the machine tool. Due to these problems, plastic/composite cartridges have been used as an alternative. These cartridges are lighter and cheaper to manufacture. They also impose less wear and tear on the machine tool. However, these cartridges are still quite prone to breakage. While steel has been used for the cartridge arms that hold the punches and dies, these cartridges are nowhere near as strong and durable as the cast iron cartridges.
There is a need for a cartridge that is durable and resistant to breakage, while also being light enough to facilitate swift cartridge movements and/or to reduce wear and tear on the machine tool. It would also be desirable to provide cartridges that have one or more removable high-wear-location inserts. Further, it would be desirable to provide a cartridge with one or more coatings to improve the cartridge's performance and/or durability. Still further, it would be desirable to provide a cartridge having selected portions formed of particular metals, non-metals, and/or composites that improve the cartridge's performance and/or durability. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a metal cartridge having a weight approximating that of a conventional plastic cartridge.


An optical communication system includes a plurality of wavelength selective switches arranged on an optical network; and an optical network management apparatus configured to manage and control the optical network. In response to a path establishing request, the optical network management apparatus determines power consumption of each path that satisfies the path establishing request in the optical network based upon a wavelength being used at a connection port of each of the wavelength selective switches, selects a route based upon the determined power consumption of each of the path, and sets the selected route in the optical network.

Due to increased volume of Internet traffic in recent years, power consumption of network equipment is increasing rapidly and intensified efforts have been made to enhance power-saving in networks. Under these circumstances, it has been found that cost-per-bit or power consumption per bit for switching traffic can be reduced by carrying out as much traffic processing in lower layers as possible. To realize this, many studies and activities have been conducted to establish an all-photonic network.
In an optical network constituting a metro core network, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is employed to deal with and carry a huge volume of traffic.
At these nodes handling WDM signals, wavelength selective switches (WSSs) are employed more and more as optical modules for carrying out Add/Drop or switching on a wavelength-by-wavelength basis.
A technique for reducing an amount of path computation for an optical path is proposed (see Patent Document 1). A path search technique capable of reducing processing time is also proposed (Patent Document 2). A WSS that can control degradation of pass-band characteristics is also known (Patent Document 3).

Optical communication system, optical network management apparatus and optical network management method


The present invention relates to a thermosetting resin composition for a high speed transmission circuit board, more particularly to a thermosetting resin composition having superior dielectric characteristics with low dielectric constant and dissipation factor and having superior glass transition temperature, heat resistance after moisture absorption, dielectric reliability, adhesion to copper film, workability, dispersibility of inorganic filler, electric characteristics, etc., and thus being useful for a copper clad laminate for high speed signal transfer.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermosetting resin composition for a high speed transmission circuit board, more particularly to a thermosetting resin composition having superior dielectric characteristics with low dielectric constant and dissipation factor and having superior glass transition temperature, heat resistance after moisture absorption, dielectric reliability, adhesion to copper film, workability, dispersibility of inorganic filler, electric characteristics, etc., and thus being useful for a copper clad laminate for high speed signal transfer.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, electronic devices such as computers and communication devices, etc. are being more highly integrated and multilayered. And, mobile phones, notebook computers, etc. are becoming more small-sized, light and capable. As printed circuit boards mounted on these devices are becoming more integrated and compact, superior heat resistance and dielectric reliability are required. With the development of high speed communication services, signal delay and transmission loss of high speed transmission circuit boards mounted on communication devices are emerging as problem. Because the signal delay is proportional to the square root of the dielectric constant of an insulator and the transmission loss is proportional to the dielectric constant of the insulator and the dissipation factor, a material having low dielectric constant and dissipation factor is required for a high speed transmission circuit board.
In the conventional FR-4 printed circuit board, an epoxy resin composition comprising a brominated difunctional epoxy resin, a multifunctional epoxy resin, an amine based curing agent, an imidazole curing accelerator, etc. is used. The polar groups resultant from the reaction of the epoxy resin and the amine based curing agent increase the dielectric constant and the dissipation factor, so that it is impossible to obtain transmission characteristics sufficient for high speed transmission.
In order to solve this problem, Korea Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-0044342 discloses a method of using an acid anhydride based epoxy curing agent and Korea Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-0085475 discloses a method of using a dicyclopentadiene based epoxy resin, which has low dielectric constant. However, epoxy resin is limited in offering sufficiently low dielectric constant and dissipation factor required for high speed and high frequency transmission.
Thus, use of a thermoplastic resin such as a fluorine based resin, polyphenylene ether, etc. or a composite resin of polyphenylene ether and epoxy resin, which have low dielectric constant and dissipation factor, has been proposed. However, these resins require high temperature and pressure for processing because of high melting point or softening point and have inferior processing characteristics and adhesion to copper film.
Use of a cyanate ester resin, which has the lowest dielectric constant among thermosetting resins, offers low dielectric constant and dissipation factor. But, the dielectric reliability worsens because triazine, which is included in the resin, has poor heat resistance after moisture absorption.
In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-239496 discloses a method of mixing a cyanate ester resin with a dicyclopentadiene based epoxy resin, which has low dielectric constant and dissipation factor, to reduce dielectric constant and dissipation factor and improve heat resistance after moisture absorption. However, this method does not offer electric characteristics sufficient for a high speed transmission circuit board.
In order to improve dielectric characteristics and heat resistance after moisture absorption of cyanate ester, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,162,876, 6,245,841, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 1999-21507 and Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 1999-21453 disclose a method of decreasing dielectric constant and dissipation factor by mixing a phenol-modified cyanate ester oligomer with polyphenylene ether. However, this method is also limited in that the heat resistance after moisture absorption worsens. Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 1999-263940 discloses a method of mixing a phenol-modified cyanate ester oligomer with a cyclic olefin copolymer and Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-214053 discloses a method of mixing a phenol-modified cyanate ester oligomer with polystyrene. However, these methods are limited in that the heat resistance after moisture absorption and the adhesion to copper film is very low because of insufficient compatibility with cyanate ester.
Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 63-33505 discloses a method of adding an inorganic filler to improve the performance of a clad laminate. However, as the inorganic filler is mixed with varnish, the filler is slowly deposited in an impregnation tank during prepreg preparation, and thereby worsens workability. Also, the appearance of the prepreg becomes poor, the dispersibility of the inorganic filler becomes non-uniform, so that the interfacial adhesion of the clad laminate, drilling characteristics and insulating characteristics worsen.
Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-339130 discloses a method of improving dispersibility of the inorganic filler, offering the clad laminate formability and processing characteristics comparable to those of an epoxy resin and improving heat resistance and dielectric reliability by adding an inorganic filler treated with a silicon polymer having an hydroxyl group to a cyanate ester resin and polyphenylene ether. However, this method requires an additional process of treating the inorganic filler with the silicon polymer. And, the content of the inorganic filler should be increased to increase heat resistance after moisture absorption of the clad laminate, which increases the viscosity of varnish and thus makes the processing difficult.
Accordingly, a thermosetting resin having superior dielectric characteristics with low dielectric constant and dissipation factor and being capable of improving heat resistance after moisture absorption and dispersibility of inorganic filler is necessary.

Thermosetting resin composition for high speed transmission circuit board


An input system for a TV remote control or other system has a single touch surface with a deformable haptic assembly below the touch surface such that a user placing a finger on the touch surface can feel deformation of the haptic assembly. A pressure sensing assembly is below the haptic assembly and sensing motion of a finger on the touch surface, with a processor receiving input from the pressure sensing assembly and providing output to the haptic assembly in response. Also, a display receives input sent by the processor in response to input from the pressure sensing assembly to cause the display to present a changing image of a keypad as a user moves a finger on the touch surface.

Data input devices such as TV remote controls typically include depressible buttons that users can manipulate to input commands, such as channel up/down, etc. Touch pad-like input devices have been provided in which the buttons do not physically move, but are simply touched by hand to input commands. While these devices provide advantages over mechanical buttons, users may prefer the tactile feedback that mechanical buttons provide. Furthermore, current touch-pad like input devices typically model conventional remote controls with mechanical buttons by providing the same multiplicity of touch keys as are provided on conventional remote controls, which defeats one potential advantage of touch-pad like devices, namely, the ability through software to reduce the number of components that must be incorporated into the device.

One button remote control with haptic feedback


A method of forming a microelectronic device comprises treating a base structure with a first precursor to adsorb the first precursor to a surface of the base structure and form a first material. The first precursor comprises a hydrazine-based compound including Si—N—Si bonds. The first material is treated with a second precursor to covert the first material into a second material. The second precursor comprises a Si-centered radical. The second material is treaded with a third precursor to covert the second material into a third material comprising Si and N. The third precursor comprises an N-centered radical. An ALD system and a method of forming a seal material through ALD are also described.

Microelectronic device designers often desire to increase the level of integration or density of features within a microelectronic device by reducing the dimensions of the individual features and by reducing the separation distance between neighboring features. In addition, microelectronic device designers often desire to design architectures that are not only compact, but offer performance advantages, as well as simplified designs.
Reducing the dimensions and spacing of features has placed increasing demands on the methods used to form the microelectronic devices. One solution has been to form three-dimensional (3D) microelectronic devices, such as 3D memory devices, in which the features are arranged vertically rather than horizontally. To form the features, multiple materials are positioned over one another and are etched to form stacks of the materials. For some memory devices (e.g., 3D cross-point memory devices), the materials include chalcogenide materials and electrode materials. Some of the materials of the stacks are sensitive to subsequently conducted process acts, such as to processing temperatures and/or etching conditions of the subsequent process acts. The materials of the stacks may, for example, be thermally sensitive and/or sensitive to etch chemistries.
To protect the materials of the stacks, a seal material including silicon nitride (SiN) has been formed on or over the stacks. Such a seal material is conventionally formed using one or more of a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process and a plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process. However, conventional PECVD processes for high aspect ratio structures and conventional PEALD processes can result in one or more of relatively slow rate of seal material formation (e.g., for PEALD, less than or equal to 0.5 Angstrom of seal material per deposition cycle); undesirable damage to sensitive materials due to exposure to plasma having relatively high ion energy density (IEDF) and/or due to exposure to relatively high processing temperatures; undesirable material modifications (e.g., contaminations) resulting from undesired, thermodynamically favored reactions with halide-containing reactant chemistries; and incomplete or non-uniform seal material coverage.

Methods of forming a microelectronic device, and related systems and additional methods


A micro-electromechanical device is formed on a substrate. The device has sliding, abrading or impacting surfaces. At least one of these surfaces is covered with an anti-stiction material. The anti-stiction material is provided from a slicon compound precursor (e.g. silane, silanol) or multiple silicon compound precursors. Preferably the precursor(s) is fluorinated—more preferably perfluorinated, and is deposited with a solvent as a low molecular weight oligomer or in monomeric form. Examples include silanes (fluorinated or not) with aromatic or polycyclic ring sturctures, and/or silanes (fluorinated or not) having alkenyl, alkynyl, epoxy or acrylate groups. Mixtures either or both of these groups with alkyl chain silanes (preferably fluorinated) are also contemplated.

The present invention generally relates to methods and materials for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and in particular for surface coating MEMS devices to decrease stiction. Stiction is the phenomenon of the sticking or adhering of two contacting surfaces (sliding, impacting etc) in MEMS devices. It is a serious problem that causes early failure of such devices. Some known anti-stiction materials for MEMS devices include perfluorpolyethers, perfluorodecanoic acid, diamond like carbon and Teflon-type materials.

Materials and methods for forming hybrid organic-inorganic anti-stiction materials for micro-electromechanical systems


Provided are a packet processing apparatus and method for detecting a duplicate acknowledgement (ACK) packet. The packet processing apparatus initiates a session and then detects a retransmission packet and a duplicate ACK packet from input/output packets using statistic information related to packet retransmission. Accordingly, unnecessary traffic generated regardless of a user's intension can be blocked.

1. Field
The following description relates to network management and service technology, and more particularly, to packet processing technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Depending on network conditions, packet loss may occur regardless of a user's intention. The packet loss requires packet retransmission, leading to the generation of a duplicate acknowledgement (ACK) packet. Such unnecessary traffic can overload the network.

Packet processing apparatus and method for detecting duplicate acknowledgement packet

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An apparatus including a processor configured to: detect a position of a vehicle and a plurality of positions of fixed objects located around the vehicle based on map coordinates; detect objects based on information measured using a distance measurement sensor disposed in the vehicle; detect a moving object among the detected objects; estimate a plurality of positions of the vehicle and the moving object after a fixed period of time based on a position, a speed, and a movement direction of the moving object; and calculate a degree of proximity risk for the moving object with respect to the vehicle based on a distance and a speed between the vehicle and the moving object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for detecting a moving object around a vehicle, in particular, detecting a moving object around a vehicle using a distance measurement sensor disposed in the vehicle and displaying moving objects other than surrounding fixed objects detected through a global positioning system (GPS) module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, collision preventing systems have been installed in vehicles to better predict a potential collision with another vehicle during driving and to better prevent accidents in advance. Examples of collision preventing systems include a Smart Cruise Control (SMC) system and a Blind Spot Detection (BCS) system.
An example of a collision preventing system includes a system which detects a distance to a preceding vehicle, adjusts an engaging degree of a throttle valve by a cruise controller, and automatically decreases engine speed of the vehicle, thereby preventing collision accidents.
However, the above collision-preventing systems do not allow for user operation to be able to prevent a potential collision when the systems malfunctions.

Apparatus and method for detecting moving-object around vehicle


A fuel pump body has a chamber with one wall formed by an external diaphragm having a stem connected thereto. The fuel pump body is attached to the outside of a valve cover for a gasoline engine and the valve cover has a depression that forms an enclosure for the diaphragm. The stem passes through an aperture in the valve cover and connects to a lever pivotally attached to the underside of the valve cover. The lever engages the valve rocker arm of the engine and produces reciprocal movement of the stem and diaphragm as the rocker arm moves. The reciprocal movement of the diaphragm alternately draws fuel into the chamber through the inlet and that expels fuel through the outlet.

The field of the present invention is gasoline engines, and in particular fuel pumps for such engines.
In many small gasoline engines, such as those used to power lawn and garden equipment and electrical generators, the fuel tank is mounted above the carburetor. This allows the fuel to flow by gravity from the tank to the carburetor without the need for a pump. The fuel tank can even be mounted a small distance below the carburetor with the fuel being drawn into the carburetor by a vacuum created in the carburetor by the Bernoulli effect.
However, in some applications, the fuel tank must be located a significant distance below the carburetor where the vacuum created in the fuel line at the carburetor is inadequate to overcome the force of gravity. Since this type of gasoline engine was designed to operate without a fuel pump, provision was not made to attach a mechanical fuel pump to the engine for these applications. Such a mechanical fuel pump requires access through the engine block for a pump lever to engage the cam shaft or the crank shaft. Furthermore, since these relatively small engines do not have an electric generator, it is impractical to provide an electric fuel pump for such applications.
As a consequence, engines that were designed to function without a fuel pump heretofore could not be utilized readily with a gas tank mounted a significant distance below the carburetor.

Integral engine valve cover and fuel pump


A rotary roof mine bit for drilling holes in the roof of a mine, comprises a bit body and an insert mounted in the bit body. The insert is formed of a hard material such as carbide or diamond. A top surface of the insert comprises two top sections which intersect a respective main surface of the insert to define first and second non-linear cutting edge. In one embodiment each cutting edge comprises a plurality of mutually angled segments. In another embodiment each cutting edge is continuously curved. Preferably an axial notch is disposed at a center of the top surface.

The present invention relates to the supporting of mine roofs and, in particular, to a cutting insert for use in a drill bit for cutting holes in a mine roof.
During mining operations, the roof of the mine must be supported. This has traditionally been accomplished by bolting support plates to the roof, the bolts being installed in pre-drilled holes in the mine roof.
It has been conventional to drill the bolt-receiving holes by means of a roof bit on which is mounted a cutting insert. The cutting insert, formed of a hard material such as cemented carbide for example, is mounted, e.g., by brazing, in a slot formed in a bit body, as depicted for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,278. A conventional roof bit insert 10, depicted herein in FIGS. 1-4, includes a pair of linear cutting edges 12, 14 situated on opposite sides of a top face 15 of the insert. Those cutting edges are joined at the center of the insert by a linear central portion or chisel edge 16 which divides the top face into first and second sections 18,20. Each section of the top face, and thus each of the cutting edges 12, 14, extends laterally outwardly and longitudinally rearwardly with reference to the central axis of rotation A of the bit body B. Each linear cutting edge 12, 14 forms an angle e of about 105-115 degrees relative to an associated end surface 21 of the insert.
The bit body B is insertable into a hollow drill bar (not shown) which is connected to a conventional drive mechanism (not shown) that rotates the drill bar. Flushing fluid, such as air or water, is conducted through the drill bar. That fluid reaches the front face of the bit body to cool and flush the cutting edges of the insert 10.
When the bit body B is rotated, the cutting edges 12, 14 perform a boring action. The main faces 22, 24 of the insert serve as chip faces for the cutting edges 12, 14, respectively, and the top sections 18, 20 serve as chip faces for the chisel edge 16.
It has been conventional to provide a roof bit insert 10' with a center notch N, as shown in FIG. 2A. By replacing the chisel edge 16 with such a notch, the penetration rate of the conventional roof bit is increased. In that regard, a chisel edge does not perform a cutting action as such, but rather serves to grind or pulverize the center region of the hole being drilled. That, however, is not an efficient or rapid way to remove rock material. By providing a center notch in lieu of a chisel, a center core of rock material will be formed which can be more easily broken into fragments, thereby improving the penetration rate.
Although the above-described cutting inserts have generally performed acceptably in the drilling of holes in mine roofs, it would be desirable to increase the penetration rate of the bit as well as the useful life of the cutting edges of the bit.

Mine roof drill bit and cutting insert therefor


A bag support device comprising an inner ring, having a locking flap, with a locking button extending therefrom; and one or more leg sockets. The device also includes an outer ring defining a space that is adapted to receive the inner ring, and having a locking hole, corresponding to the locking button; a tapered edge; and one or more convexities, corresponding to the one or more leg sockets. One or more legs are coupled to the inner ring at the leg sockets; and a bag support member is coupled to the outer ring through a support member socket. A handle is coupled to the outer ring.

As can verified by anyone that has ever attempted to place raked leaves, lawn clippings, piles of garbage, etc. into a trash bag, it is virtually impossible for a single person to successfully do so without 1) employing another person to hold open the bag; or 2) utilizing some type of large receptacle in which the bag is placed. Often, and especially for those that live alone, employing another person to hold open the bag is not a possibility. Use of a garbage can or other similar receptacle is also often not the best fit. For example, many garbage receptacles are large and heavy, and add significant weight that must be lugged around by the user. This also makes storage of the devices difficult and inefficient in terms of space—which can be especially important when one is using the receptacle while traveling, picnicking or camping.
Additionally, in order to place items into a typical garbage can, one must use a dustpan (or something that functions as a dustpan), or his hands in bringing the items from the pile into the receptacle. The garbage receptacle could potentially be laid on its side to prevent such handling of the trash. However, typically garbage cans are rounded and thus not well suited for lying on their sides. Additionally, such cans do not have an edge that allows for easy sweeping of the material into the can.
All of the foregoing shortcomings in the current state of the art, as well as many others, are addressed by the present invention in its various embodiments.


An artificial manually positionable elbow joint for use in an upper extremity, above-elbow, prosthetic which provides a locking feature that is easily controlled by the wearer. The instant elbow joint is very strong and durable to withstand the repeated heavy loadings encountered by a wearer who works in an industrial, construction, farming or similar environment. The elbow joint of the present invention comprises a turntable, a frame, a forearm and a locking assembly. The frame generally includes a housing for the locking assembly and two protruding ears. The forearm includes an elongated beam having a cup-shaped cylindrical member at one end and a locking wheel having a plurality of holes along a circular arc on its other end with a central bore for pivotal attachment to the protruding ears of the frame. The locking assembly includes a collar having a central opening with a plurality of internal grooves, a plurality of internal cam members each having a chamfered surface at one end and a V-shaped slot at its other end; an elongated locking pin having a crown wheel with cam surfaces and locking lugs secured thereto; two coiled compression springs; and a flexible filament attached to one end of the elongated locking pin and extending from the locking assembly for extending and retracting the locking pin into the holes in the locking wheel to permit selective adjustment of the forearm relative to the frame. In use, the turntable is affixed to the upper arm part of the prosthetic (not shown) in the conventional manner and the cup-shaped cylindrical member on one end of the forearm is affixed to the forearm piece of the prosthetic (not shown) in the conventional manner. The elbow joint is easily adjusted and locked between maximum flex and extended positions.

The prior art includes numerous prosthetic elbow joints to be worn by persons who were either born with no elbow, forearm and hand or whose arm had been amputated in the upper arm above the elbow. Most of the prior art prosthetic elbow joints generally include a turntable for affixing to the upper arm part of the prosthesis, a pivotal elbow joint, and a forearm. The most prominently used prosthetic elbow joint appears to be Models Numbered E-400 and E-400HD made and sold by Hosmer Dorrance Corporation, Campbell, Calif., as described in its catalogs, 10th edition (copyright 1983) and 11th edition (copyright 1986). These prior art prosthetic elbow joints have three major drawbacks or disadvantages. The first drawback or disadvantage of these prior art elbow joints reside in the fact that their extremely complex and fragile structure are not only costly to manufacture and sell, but the joints often fail when subjected to heavy use by many of its wearers. The second drawback or disadvantage relates to the extreme complexity of these devices and their numerous parts which make the elbow joints very difficult to disassemble, requiring the use of several different tools, a particularly difficult task for a person with only one hand. A third drawback or disadvantage of these prior art prosthetic elbow joints resides in their appearance in that the forearm part of the prosthesis is affixed to the elbow by an external steel fork which is exposed on the outside of the prosthesis. While a flesh colored plastic cap covers the mechanisms, the cap is hidden in part by the large steel fork which straddles the cap to give an overall, unnatural, appearance.
The present invention overcomes the several disadvantages, drawbacks or deficiencies of the prior art devices in that it provides a very strong joint which can withstand the repeated heavy loading encountered by a wearer who works in an industrial, construction, farming or similar environments. The strength of the present invention is due to the locking method utilized, a pin through a locking wheel loaded in double shear. The present invention is also very simple, having fewer parts, being less expensive to manufacture, and designed to be easily and quickly disassembled by a person with only one hand by use of only a screwdriver, penknife or other simple tool. The present invention also has the advantage of being fully covered by a single, flesh colored, rubber sleeve to give a more natural appearance.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a prosthetic elbow joint which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and which incorporates locking features that can withstand repeated heavy loadings.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a prosthetic elbow joint which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, pleasing in appearance, and adapted to be easily locked and unlocked in several different positions.
Other aspects, objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains from a study of the preferred embodiment as set forth in the specification, drawings and appended claims.

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration


A wireless communication device is disclosed that is capable of utilizing multiple radio access technologies (RATs) in various coordinated ways so as to optimize, and enhance the versatility, of the device's communication capabilities. One or more RATs may be selected for use, either alone or in cooperation with each other, based on various conditions, such as channel conditions, traffic, data type, and priority. When conditions change, the originally-selected communication scheme may no longer be preferred. Consequently, the device can initiate a handover to another communication scheme. Transmitters corresponding to RATs that are not currently selected are controlled to enter a low-power state in order to conserve power. However, in some circumstances, the device may utilize both RATs simultaneously. For example, redundant communications can be made over both RATs for error-reduction or other purposes, and partial communications can be made over multiple RATs for increased speed and bandwidth, among other reasons.

Related Art
Wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones to provide an example, are becoming commonplace in both personal and commercial settings. The wireless communication devices provide users with access to all kinds of information, as well as the ability to communicate with other such devices across large distances. For example, a user can access the internet through an internet browser on the device, download miniature applications (e.g., "apps") from a digital marketplace, send and receive emails, or make telephone calls using a voice over internet protocol (VoIP). Consequently, wireless communication devices provide users with significant mobility, while allowing them to remain "connected" to communication channels and information.
Wireless communication devices communicate with one or more other wireless communication devices or wireless access points to send and receive data. Typically, a first wireless communication device generates and transmits a radio frequency signal modulated with encoded information. This radio frequency signal is transmitted into a wireless environment and is received by a second wireless communication device. The second wireless communication device demodulates and decodes the received signal to obtain the information. The second wireless communication device may then respond in a similar manner. The wireless communication devices can communicate with each other or with access points using any well-known modulation scheme, including simple amplitude modulation (AM), simple frequency modulation (FM), quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), phase shift keying (PSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), and/or orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), as well as any other communication scheme that is now, or will be, known.
Different wireless communication devices may communicate using any one of different radio access technologies (RATs), including WiMAX, LTE, 4G, 3G, and WiFi, among others. However, because each wireless communication device is typically capable of communicating using only one of the RATs, the device is significantly restricted in its versatility, and may be confined to a communication path of lower quality or having lower bandwidth.
Alternatively, some devices may be capable of communicating using multiple RATs. However, each RAT is typically only used when communicating with a specific device using the same RAT. For example, a laptop computer may include both WiFi and 3G capabilities, but only uses its WiFi to communicate with a home network and uses its 3G to communicate with a base station within a cellular network. Similarly, a mobile phone may include both LTE and 3G capabilities, but always communicates over LTE when available, and only communicates over 3G when LTE is unavailable.
Current communication standards (e.g., LTE) provide little if any support for cooperation between RATs. For example, such communication standards may allow for full duplex RAT to RAT handovers. In such current standards, more complex RAT to RAT interaction is not defined or supported, because, among other reasons, conventional communication flows via different RATs are generally considered to be unrelated. Such standards also define various communication techniques such as channelization, channel bonding, cross channel encoding, etc. for use entirely within a single RAT.
Regardless of whether the device includes only a single RAT or is capable of communicating using multiple RATs, traditional wireless communication devices are severely restricted in their abilities to communicate with other wireless communication devices.
Embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Wireless communication device capable of utilizing multiple radio access technologies


Managing the delivery of a presentation in real-time includes receiving a presentation including a plurality of slides, wherein each slide of the plurality of slides is allocated an amount of time for display during delivery of the presentation and is associated with a slide subject, determining subjects of interest for an audience of the presentation from a social media website, and correlating, using a processor, the subjects of interest with the plurality of slides of the presentation. A recommendation is generated using the processor. The recommendation specifies a modification to the presentation according to the correlation of subjects of interest with the plurality of slides of the presentation. Further, the recommendation is indicated using a display.

A presentation refers to a file specifying a collection of digitized slides that are to be displayed or otherwise presented to an audience in a particular order or sequence. Each slide includes content in the form of text, images, audio material, audiovisual material, and/or the like. The presentation may be delivered by way of an on-line meeting such as a Webinar or in-person to an audience within the same physical space or room as the presenter.
When delivering a presentation, a presenter must manage a variety of different tasks concurrently. For example, the presenter must stay on schedule by ensuring that the planned amount of time is actually used for each topic of the presentation. The presenter further must balance the presentation schedule with the perceived level of audience interest or enthusiasm as determined by the presenter based upon audience reactions and feedback. These tasks can be difficult to manage.

Real-time management of presentation delivery

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


When a multi-layer structure is formed by forming the interconnect trenches or via holes having different patterns in a plurality of insulating films, an anti-reflective film and an upper resist film are stacked in this order over an insulating interlayer, and the anti-reflective film is etched through the upper resist film used as a mask, wherein the anti-reflective film is etched while varying a value of at least one etching condition correlative to Δ(L2−L1), expressing dimensional shift of width L2 of opening of the recess formed in the insulating film, with respect to width L1 of opening of the upper resist film, so as to reduce the dimensional shift Δ(L2−L1) as the aperture ratio of the opening to be formed in the upper resist film increases, depending on the aperture ratio.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a control system.
2. Related Art
In recent semiconductor elements, delay in signal transmission in interconnects determines operation speed of elements. Delay constant of signal transmission in interconnects is expressed by a product of resistivity of interconnects and capacitance between the adjacent interconnects. Therefore, in view of increasing the operation speed of elements, there are growing trends of using low-dielectric-constant materials having dielectric constants smaller than that of conventional silicon oxide (SiO2) film as an insulating interlayer, and of using copper (Cu) having small resistivity as the interconnects.
Multi-layer interconnects using copper as an interconnect material are formed by the damascene process. In the damascene process, recesses such as interconnect trenches and via holes are formed in an insulating interlayer by etching through a resist film having a predetermined pattern formed therein, a barrier metal film is deposited in the recesses, the recesses are filled with a copper film, and portions of the copper film and the barrier metal film extended outside the recesses are removed by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), to thereby form copper interconnects or copper vias.
In the damascene process, any interconnects designed under the same dimension should have the same resistivity on a semiconductor substrate, in view of controlling operation timing and operation voltage of transistors exactly as they are designed. It is therefore necessary to form the interconnects and the vias exactly as they are designed. Because the interconnects and the vias in the damascene process are formed by filling the recesses with the copper film as described in the above, it is necessary to form the recesses with uniform sectional area for desirable dimensional control. In other words, precise control of width and depth of the recesses is required.
However in multi-layer structure, the individual layers have different aperture ratios of pattern (ratio of areas of interconnects and vias to the total area of a layer, also referred to as data ratio). For example, the upper layer having a large ratio of source interconnects which handle large current tends to have a larger aperture ratio than the lower layer has. Taking difference by product into consideration, the aperture ratio of pattern on the substrate may vary approximately from 20 to 80%.
There has been a problem in that difference in the aperture ratio of pattern resulted in varied width of obtainable recesses, even if mask patterns having the same pattern width was used. In order to form the interconnect patterns exactly as they are designed in the multi-layer structure, it is therefore necessary to establish a manufacturing process not susceptible to dimensional fluctuation even under different aperture ratios of pattern.
There have been known conventional techniques of correcting dimensional changes corresponding to the aperture ratio of the individual layers to be etched.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H9-82691 describes a technique of shortening retention time of an etching gas when the aperture ratio of a layer to be etched is large or when an etching mask has a reversely-tapered profile, and elongating the retention time of the etching gas in the reverse situation. The technique is reportedly successful in reducing critical dimension loss dependent to the aperture ratio of the layer to be etched and taper angle of the etching mask.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H9-326382 describes a technique of carrying out etching after determining etching parameters depending on the area of opening in which the etching proceeds. The document describes a technique of etching a bulk portion of aluminum alloy, while reducing flow rate of chlorine as the area to be etched increases.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-311972 describes etching capable of suppressing the dimensional shift and of obtaining a desired etching profile, irrespective of pattern to be formed, by allowing etching to proceed while using a focus ring having a surface area corresponded to the aperture ratio of pattern of an object to be etched, so as to control amount of fluorine radical to be scavenged.
By the way, with advancement of shrinkage of semiconductor devices, fine processing has been becoming more necessary also for etching technique using photoresist. Three-layer resist process has been known as a method of fine processing. In the three-layer resist process, first, a thick lower resist is coated over a layer on the substrate as a target of fine processing. Next, an intermediate film is formed over the lower resist layer. Further thereon, an upper resist layer, typically a resist film adapted to ArF lithography, is formed by coating, the upper resist layer is subjected to lithographic exposure and development, to thereby form a mask used for processing. If any misalignment should occur, only the upper resist layer is removed by O2 ashing or by stripping using an organic solvent, the upper resist layer is formed again, and subjected to lithographic exposure and development. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H7-183194 describes a technique of forming an intermediate film of three-layered resists by high density plasma CVD, aiming at improving critical dimension loss and pattern profile in the process of etching the lower resist layer. As the intermediate film herein, a SiO2 film formed by low-temperature CVD is adopted.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-32908 describes a technique of etching an organic anti-reflective film through a mask layer composed of ArF resist, in which dimension of an opening formed in an anti-reflective film is controlled by varying radio-frequency power applied for raising plasma. The technique is reportedly successful in making dimension of opening of the organic anti-reflective film smaller than dimension of opening pattern of the mask layer before the etching. It is also described that, in such etching of the organic anti-reflective film, changes in the applied radio-frequency power applied for raising plasma may result in CD shift, which is defined as an amount of shift of diameter of opening measured at the bottom of the anti-reflective film (bottom CD) to diameter of opening measured at the top of the mask layer (top CD) in the center portion of a wafer.
However, the technique described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-311972 needs recovery of atmospheric pressure of a process chamber of a vacuum apparatus for detachment and attachment of the focus ring, every time layers of different aperture ratios are processed. It takes a long time to achieve a steady vacuum state of the chamber again from the atmospheric pressure, and this means increase in so-called down time and serious degradation of operational efficiency of the apparatus.
The techniques described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. H9-82691 and H9-326382 correct dimensional shift corresponded to the aperture ratios of layers to be etched, by varying etching conditions under which the layers to be processed contained in the final products (for example, a refractory metal-containing polycide layer in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H9-82691, and a SiO2 film in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H9-326382) are etched. However, the present inventors found out from their investigations that, in the process of forming the interconnect trench by the damascene process, it was difficult to correct the dimensional shift under a good controllability, even with every effort of correcting the dimensional shift corresponded to the aperture ratio of pattern, by controlling etching conditions under which the insulating interlayer, as a target for forming the interconnect trench, is etched.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-32908 describes control of the dimension of opening of the anti-reflective film, which resides only in the process of manufacturing but not remains in the final product, but what is important is a dimension of a material contained in the final product, in view of ensuring good electrical characteristics of the final product. The dimension of the material contained in the final product cannot always be controlled to a desired value, even if the dimension of opening of the anti-reflective film might be controlled to a predetermined value. As described later referring to FIG. 19, the dimensional control of the insulating interlayer to be processed, contained in the final product, resulted in failure, even if radio-frequency power (top power) to be applied was varied.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device and control system