The water-based resist stripping liquid management apparatus according to the present invention manages in an adjusting bath a water-based resist stripping liquid that is used in resist stripping equipment. In this apparatus, an absorptiometer that measures the water concentration in the water-based resist stripping liquid and an electrical conductivity meter that measures the degraded component concentration in the water-based resist stripping liquid are connected to a resist stripping treatment bath (adjusting bath) via pipelines, and at least one of a resist stripping stock liquid, a resist stripping reclaimed liquid, pure water, and a premixed resist stripping new liquid are fed into the resist stripping treatment bath in accordance with the measurement values obtained. As a result, the resist stripping performance of the water-based resist stripping liquid can be stably maintained, the amount of liquid used can be reduced, and the time for which operation is shut down can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a management apparatus and management method for a water-based resist stripping liquid used in the stripping of resists in a semiconductor manufacturing process or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A resist material used in a photolithography step in a semiconductor manufacturing process or a flat panel display substrate manufacturing process maybe a positive type that becomes soluble upon exposure to light or a negative type that becomes insoluble upon exposure to light, although it is the positive type that is used predominantly. A typical example of a positive type resist has as principle components thereof a naphthoquinone diazido type photosensitizer and an alkali-soluble resin (novolac resin).
In the final stage of the photolithography step, it is necessary to completely strip the resist from the substrate. This resist stripping process for a semiconductor or a flat panel display substrate includes both a dry ashing step using an oxygen plasma and a wet stripping step using a resist stripping liquid. During the dry ashing step using the oxygen plasma, silicon oxide and/or aluminum oxide is produced on the substrate, and hence in the subsequent wet stripping step it is necessary not only to strip the resist but also to completely remove such metal oxides.
Regarding the above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-235487 discloses a resist stripping liquid management apparatus that comprises resist stripping liquid discharge means that detects the concentration of resist dissolved in a resist stripping liquid using an absorption photometer and discharges the resist stripping liquid, first replenishing means that detects the liquid surface level of the resist stripping liquid using a liquid surface level gauge and replenishes with organic solvent and ailcanolainine, or replenishes with resist stripping new liquid in which the organic solvent and the alkanolamine have been premixed, and second replenishing means that detects the concentration of the alkanolamine in the resist stripping liquid and replenishes with at least one of the organic solvent and the alkanolamine.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-22261 discloses a resist stripping liquid management apparatus that comprises resist stripping liquid discharge means that detects the concentration of resist dissolved in a resist stripping liquid using an absorption photometer and discharges the resist stripping liquid, first replenishing means that detects the liquid surface level of the resist stripping liquid using a liquid surface level gauge and replenishes with resist stripping stock liquid and pure water or replenishes with resist stripping new liquid in which the resist stripping stock liquid and pure water have been premixed, and second replenishing means that detects the water concentration in the resist stripping liquid using an absorption photometer and replenishes with at least one of the resist stripping stock liquid and pure water.
In the resist stripping process for a semiconductor or a flat panel display substrate, it is common to use a solution containing an organic alkali or an organic solvent as the resist stripping liquid, and it has become clear that such a solution to which a suitable amount of water has been added exhibits excellent effects. Specifically, with a resist stripping liquid containing a suitable amount of water (water-based resist stripping liquid), it is possible to reduce the substrate treatment temperature from about 80° C. to about 40° C., and thus alleviate undesirable effects on the metal that forms the foundation of the substrate or semiconductor circuit. Moreover, a water-based resist stripping liquid has advantages such as being handleable as a noncombustible material, having high stability, loss due to evaporation being predominantly that of water, which is inexpensive, and the resist stripping rate being high.
Examples of such a water-based resist stripping liquid include a mixed solution of a dimethylsulfoxide and pure water, a mixed solution of an N-methylpyrrolidone derivative and pure water, and a mixed solution of an alkanolamine, glycol ether and pure water. These water-based resist stripping liquids are used with a spraying method, a dipping method or the like.

Water-based resist stripping liquid management apparatus and water-based resist stripping liquid management method


The invention provides methods, systems and apparatus for the metered transport of fine powders into receptacles. According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided which comprises a hopper having an opening. The hopper is adapted to receive a bed of fine powder. At least one chamber, which is moveable to allow the chamber to be placed in close proximity to the opening, is also provided. An element having a proximal end and a distal end is positioned within the hopper such that the distal end is near the opening. A vibrator motor is provided to vibrate the element when within the fine powder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of fine powder processing, and particularly to the metered transport of fine powders. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems, apparatus and methods for filling receptacles with unit dosages of non-flowable but dispersible fine powdered medicaments, particularly for subsequent inhalation by a patient.
Effective delivery to a patient is a critical aspect of any successful drug therapy. Various routes of delivery exist, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Oral drug delivery of tablets, capsules, elixirs, and the like, is perhaps the most convenient method, but many drugs have disagreeable flavors, and the size of the tablets makes them difficult to swallow. Moreover, such medicaments are often degraded in the digestive tract before they can be absorbed. Such degradation is a particular problem with modern protein drugs which are rapidly degraded by proteolytic enzymes in the digestive tract. Subcutaneous injection is frequently an effective route for systemic drug delivery, including the delivery of proteins, but has a low patient acceptance and produces sharp waste items, e.g. needles, which are difficult to dispose. Since the need to inject drugs on a frequent schedule such as insulin one or more times a day, can be a source of poor patient compliance, a variety of alternative routes of administration have been developed, including transdermal, intranasal, intrarectal, intravaginal, and pulmonary delivery.
Of particular interest to the present invention are pulmonary drug delivery procedures which rely on inhalation of a drug dispersion or aerosol by the patient so that the active drug within the dispersion can reach the distal (alveolar) regions of the lung. It has been found that certain drugs are readily absorbed through the alveolar region directly into blood circulation. Pulmonary delivery is particularly promising for the delivery of proteins and polypeptides which are difficult to deliver by other routes of administration. Such pulmonary delivery can be effective both for systemic delivery and for localized delivery to treat diseases of the lungs.
Pulmonary drug delivery (including both systemic and local) can itself be achieved by different approaches, including liquid nebulizers, metered dose inhalers (MDI's) and dry powder dispersion devices. Dry powder dispersion devices are particularly promising for delivering protein and polypeptide drugs which may be readily formulated as dry powders. Many otherwise labile proteins and polypeptides may be stably stored as lyophilized or spray-dried powders by themselves or in combination with suitable powder carriers. A further advantage is that dry powders have a much higher concentration than medicaments in liquid form.
The ability to deliver proteins and polypeptides as dry powders, however, is problematic in certain respects. The dosage of many protein and polypeptide drugs is often critical so it is necessary that any dry powder delivery system be able to accurately, precisely and repeatably deliver the intended amount of drug. Moreover, many proteins and polypeptides are quite expensive, typically being many times more costly than conventional drugs on a per-dose basis. Thus, the ability to efficiently deliver the dry powders to the target region of the lung with a minimal loss of drug is critical.
For some applications, fine powder medicaments are supplied to dry powder dispersion devices in small unit dose receptacles, often having a puncturable lid or other access surface (commonly referred to as blister packs). For example, the dispersion devices described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,785,049 and 5,740,794, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference, are constructed to receive such a receptacle. Upon placement of the receptacle in the device, a multi-flow ejector assembly having a feed tube is penetrated through the lid of the receptacle to provide access to the powdered medicament therein. The multi-flow ejector assembly also creates vent holes in the lid to allow the flow of air through the receptacle to entrain and evacuate the medicament. Driving this process is a high velocity air stream which is flowed past a portion of the tube, such as an outlet end, to draw powder from the receptacle, through the tube, and into the flowing air stream to form an aerosol for inhalation by the patient. The high velocity air stream transports the powder from the receptacle in a partially de-agglomerated form, and the final complete de-agglomeration takes place in the mixing volume just downstream of the high velocity air inlets.
Of particular interest to the present invention are the physical characteristics of poorly flowing powders. Poorly flowing powders are those powders having physical characteristics, such as flowability, which are dominated by cohesive forces between the individual units or particles (hereinafter "individual particles") which constitute the powder. In such cases, the powder does not flow well because the individual particles cannot easily move independently with respect to each other, but instead move as clumps of many particles. When such powders are subjected to low forces, the powders will tend not to flow at all. However, as the forces acting upon the powder are increased to exceed the forces of cohesion, the powder will move in large agglomerated "chunks" of the individual particles. When the powder comes to rest, the large agglomerations remain, resulting in a non-uniform powder density due to voids and low density areas between the large agglomerations and areas of local compression.
This type of behavior tends to increase as the size of the individual particles becomes smaller. This is most likely because, as the particles become smaller, the cohesive forces, such as Van Der Waals, electrostatic, friction, and other forces, become large with respect to the gravitational and inertial forces which may be applied to the individual particles due to their small mass. This is relevant to the present invention since gravity and inertial forces produced by acceleration, as well as other effected motivators, are commonly used to process, move and meter powders.
For example, when metering the fine powders prior to placement in the unit dose receptacle, the powders often agglomerates inconsistently, creating voids and excessive density variation, thereby reducing the accuracy of the volumetric metering processes which are commonly used to meter in high throughput production. Such inconsistent agglomeration is further undesirable in that the powder agglomerates need to be broken down to the individual particles, i.e. made to be dispersible, for pulmonary delivery. Such de-agglomeration often occurs in dispersion devices by shear forces created by the air stream used to extract the medicament from the unit dose receptacle or other containment, or by other mechanical energy transfer mechanisms (e.g., ultrasonic, fan/impeller, and the like). However, if the small powder agglomerates are too compacted, the shear forces provided by the air stream or other dispersing mechanisms will be insufficient to effectively disperse the medicament to the individual particles.
Some attempts to prevent agglomeration of the individual particles are to create blends of multi-phase powders (typically a carrier or diluent) where larger particles (sometimes of multiple size ranges), e.g. approximately 50 μm, are combined with smaller drug particles, e.g. 1 μm to 5 μm. In this case, the smaller particles attach to the larger particles so that under processing and filling the powder will have the characteristics of a 50 μm powder. Such a powder is able to more easily flow and meter. One disadvantage of such a powder, however, is that removal of the smaller particles from the larger particles is difficult, and the resulting powder formulation is made up largely of the bulky flowing agent component which can end up in the device, or the patient's throat.
Current methods for filling unit dose receptacles with powdered medicaments include a direct pouring method where a granular powder is directly poured via gravity (sometimes in combination with stirring or "bulk" agitation) into a metering chamber. When the chamber is filled to the desired level, the medicament is then expelled from the chamber and into the receptacle. In such a direct pouring process, variations in density can occur in the metering chamber, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the metering chamber in accurately measuring a unit dose amount of the medicament. Moreover, the powder is in a granular state which can be undesirable for many applications.
Some attempts have been made to minimize density variations by compacting the powder within, or prior to depositing it in the metering chamber. However, such compaction is undesirable, especially for powders made up of only fine particles, in that it decreases the dispersibility of the powder, i.e. reduces the chance for the compacted powder to be broken down to the individual particles during pulmonary delivery with a dispersion device.
It would therefore be desirable to provide systems and methods for the processing of fine powders which would overcome or greatly reduce these and other problems. Such systems and methods should allow for accurate and precise metering of the fine powder when divided into unit doses for placement in unit dose receptacles, particularly for low mass fills. The systems and methods should further ensure that the fine powder remains sufficiently dispersible during processing so that the fine powder may be used with existing inhalation devices which require the powder to be broken down to the individual particles before pulmonary delivery. Further, the systems and methods should provide for the rapid processing of the fine powders so that large numbers of unit dose receptacles can rapidly be filled with unit dosages of fine powder medicaments in order to reduce cost.
2. Description of the Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,607 describes a machine to meter products into containers and includes a metering unit to supply the product into containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,322 describes a machine which applies sub-atmospheric pressure through a filter to pull material directly from a hopper and laterally into a non-rotatable chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,560 describes a granular material processing apparatus employing a rotating paddle to stir the granular material.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,059 describes a powder filling apparatus having a rotating wire loop stirrer for stirring powder in a hopper before directly pouring the powder into a metering chamber by gravity.
German patent DE 3607187 describes a mechanism for the metered transport of fine particles.
Product brochure, "E-1300 Powder Filler" describes a powder filler available from Perry Industries, Corona, Calif.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,431 describes a machine for filling capsules with powder. The machine employs coring tubes that are held on a rotatable turret.
British Patent No. 1,420,364 describes a membrane assembly for use in a metering cavity employed to measure quantities of dry powders.
British Patent No. 1,309,424 describes a powder filling apparatus having a measuring chamber with a piston head used to create a negative pressure in the chamber.
Canadian Patent No. 949,786 describes a powder filling machine having measuring chambers that are lipped into the powder. A vacuum is then employed to fill the chamber with powder.

Powder filling apparatus and methods for their use


A method and apparatus maps a Gaussian beam into a beam with a uniform irradiance profile by exploiting the Fourier transform properties of lenses. A phase element imparts a design phase onto an input beam and the output optical field from a lens is then the Fourier transform of the input beam and the phase function from the phase element. The phase element is selected in accordance with a dimensionless parameter which is dependent upon the radius of the incoming beam, the desired spot shape, the focal length of the lens and the wavelength of the input beam. This dimensionless parameter can also be used to evaluate the quality of a system. In order to control the radius of the incoming beam, optics such as a telescope can be employed. The size of the target spot and the focal length can be altered by exchanging the transform lens, but the dimensionless parameter will remain the same. The quality of the system, and hence the value of the dimensionless parameter, can be altered by exchanging the phase element. The dimensionless parameter provides design guidance, system evaluation, and indication as to how to improve a given system.

The irradiance profile of a laser is typically Gaussian, i.e., the beam intensity in a plane normal to the beam is highest at the center or beam waist point and decreases as the distance from the center point increases. Such a distribution is not desirable for applications where the beam is to be uniformly applied to an area. Such applications include: material processing, e.g., welding, soldering; biomedical applications, e.g., laser surgery; illumination applications, e.g., semiconductor mask fabrication, optical data processing, optical computing; and research requiring uniform beams.
The simplest technique for modifying the irradiance profile is attenuation, where the beam is truncated spatially using a filter or an aperture. This technique suffers the obvious disadvantage of removing energy from the beam.
The multifaceted integrator approach to laser beam shaping is especially suitable to laser beams with highly irregular (multimode) irradiance distributions. The number and size of the facets are selected to accomplish the required integration or, equivalently, averaging. However, actual production of the required multifaceted mirror is difficult and expensive.
For single mode beams with a Gaussian profile, previous solutions have attempted to map the beam into a uniform intensity profile with steep skirts. This mapping consists of various techniques for associating the phase element with the phase of desired irradiance profile. One set of techniques is a geometrical and iterative in nature. As such, this set does not effective model the system, resulting in suboptimum design. Remaining approaches require assumption of target distribution without any criteria for which distributions are physically allowable. Again, these solutions are not optimal. None of the techniques offers any suggestions for improving, or even assessing, system performance.

Gaussian beam profile shaping apparatus, method therefor and evaluation thereof


A coupling device for the coupling of reinforcing bars, the coupling device comprising an elongate tubular body configured for receiving reinforcing bars, in particular their end portions, at least one recessed gripping surface being formed on an inner surface of the elongate tubular body, the recessed gripping surface comprising a plurality of teeth being configured to engage the reinforcing bars in response to the engagement of the reinforcing bars by a plurality of engaging bolts being adjustably positioned through the elongate tubular body.

There exists within the art apparatus and method for coupling reinforcing bars used in structural concrete, such coupling commonly involves the use of a tubular steel coupling body or sleeve configured to receive end portions of the reinforcing bars. Typically, the bars are held in place using a number of engaging bolts which engage into the surfaces of the bars wedging them against an inner surface of the tubular body thereby providing a couple.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,878, GB 2220241 and EP 0554972 all disclose a reinforcing bar coupling system as detailed with reference to FIG. 1 herein. FIG. 1 herein illustrates a cross-sectional side elevation view of a bar coupling system found in the art comprising an elongate tubular body 102, a plurality of engagers 103, at least one gripping surface 104 and an inner surface 105. According to the prior art coupling device 100, elongate tubular body 102 receives reinforcing bar end portions 101 such that engagers 103 are adjustably positioned through the tubular body 102 and serve to wedge bars 101 against gripping surface 104, gripping surface 104 being wedged, in turn, against inner surface 105, thereby forming a couple.
According to EP 0554972 and with reference to FIG. 3 therein, the gripping surfaces may be formed as adjustably placed ribs extending the length of the tubular body, these ribs being provided with profiles so as to key into both the inner surface of the tubular body and the reinforcing bars. According to an alternative embodiment and with reference to EP 0554972 and FIG. 6 therein, the ribs may be formed integrally with the tubular body and project outwardly from the tubular body inner surface towards the center of the coupling device. According to both embodiments the reinforcing bars are configured to sit on top of the ribs so as to be positioned away from the inner surface of the tubular body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,902, U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,980 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,282 disclose an elongate tubular body configured for receiving end portions of reinforcing bars in a similar manner to that described above with reference to FIG. 1 herein and associated prior art. In particular, these latter prior art documents are not concerned with the provision of a gripping surface configured to engage into the reinforcing bars using a plurality of teeth, instead the tubular body is provided with a non-cylindrical inner surface such that the reinforcing bars, following engagement by the engaging bolts are wedged against a portion of the inner surface as detailed with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,282 and FIGS. 3, 4 and 12 therein. Through the provision of a non-cylindrical inner surface, the reinforcing bars are seated and wedged against discreet regions of the inner surface of the tubular body.
As such, all prior art documents identified above teach of a coupling device being configured to wedge the reinforcing bars against at least one inner surface of the tubular body, the surface(s) being flat or convex with respect to an outer radial surface of the reinforcing bars. Accordingly, the inventors have identified numerous disadvantages associated with such coupling devices found in the art and identified above, these include:                A common problem encountered with prior art coupling devices utilizing non-integrally formed ribs extending the length of the tubular body as illustrated above, is substantial bar slip in response to an applied tensile load. Bar slippage within the coupler body is a result of poor or minimal reinforcing bar—coupler contact. In particular, where the ribs are used as a gripping surface, the bars are susceptible to slip as a result of firstly, points of contact between the adjustably placed ribs and the coupler body and secondly, points of contact between the adjustably placed ribs and the reinforcing bars.        The utilization of gripping ribs, in the form of insertable ribs, within the tubular body necessitates a substantial amount of care be taken when assembling the coupling joint so as to ensure the ribs are not displaced from their mountings (light weld) on the inner surface of the tubular body. The displacement of a rib, within the tubular body, may result from contact between an end portion of a reinforcing bar and the rib at a region where the bar is introduced into the coupler body. If rib displacement does occur then either, the joint needs reassembling or if undetected, the joint is weakened yet further due to the incorrect alignment of the rib(s).        A profiled gripping surface, typically comprising teeth, which is located away from the tubular body inner surface and towards the center of the coupling device requires elaborate manufacture, or assembly in that either sophisticated tooling is required to form the tubular body having integrally formed ribs which project away from the inner surface or non-integrally formed ribs which are added after the formation of the tubular body. In the case where non-integrally formed ribs are provided it is common to observe incorrect positioning of the ribs within the tubular body resulting ultimately in poor rib—reinforcing bar contact, and a corresponding weak joint.        Through the utilization of a flat or convex gripping surface with respect to the radial outer surface of the reinforcing bars, minimal contact is achieved between the coupling device and the reinforcing bars resulting in reduced loading force transfer from the reinforcing bars to the coupling device. Additionally, the absence of teeth on the gripping surface(s), being in reduced contact with the reinforcing bars, does not provide for a strong couple.        As a consequence of this poor reinforcing bar—coupler interaction, at the gripping surface(s), penetration of the bars by the engagers is required so as to increase this interaction. This in turn creates additional disadvantages in that due to the penetration of the engagers into the reinforcing bars, breaking of the bars is experienced within the coupler body in response to a sufficiently high loading force applied laterally to the reinforcing bars.
The present invention endeavors to address and overcome the above identified disadvantages by providing a coupling device as detailed herein below.


This invention discloses a wireless communications station including a base unit including a communications interface for communicating with plural wireless communications networks, a received communications combiner for combining received communications signals received from the plural wireless communications networks into a single radio frequency output, a transmit communications splitter for splitting previously combined transmit communications signals to be transmitted to the plural wireless communications networks into plural radio frequency outputs, at least one fiberoptic transmitter receiving the single radio frequency output and providing a corresponding optical output, and at least one fiberoptic receiver receiving an optical input and providing an RF output containing previously combined transmit communications signals, a plurality of remote units, each including plural antennas for communicating with communicators along plural wireless communications networks, a received communications splitter for splitting previously combined received communications signals from the base unit and supplying them to the plural antennas, a transmit communications combiner for combining transmit communications signals from the plural antennas into a combined radio frequency output, a fiberoptic transmitter receiving the combined radio frequency output and providing a corresponding optical output, and a fiberoptic receiver receiving an optical input and providing an RF output to the received communications splitter containing previously received transmit communications signals, a first optical fiber connecting each fiberoptic transmitter of the base unit with a corresponding fiberoptic receiver in a corresponding remote unit, and a second optical fiber connecting each fiberoptic transmitter of a remote unit with a corresponding fiberoptic receiver in the base unit.

Cellular radio was conceived to provide high capacity mobile communications without requiring large amounts of spectrum. The original concept as proposed by AT&T, involves the use of a frequency band within a region known as a cell and reusing the same frequency band in other adjacent cells with manageable interference between cells.
The capacity of a cellular radio network increases as the number of cells increases with decreasing cell size. The small cells are known as microcells. Optical fibers have been used to feed the RF signal to microcells. Optical fiber can be run inside buildings, train stations, malls, etc. to improve coverage in a wireless communications system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,357 describes a number of details of a fiber optic microcellular radio system.
Present day wireless communications systems may be divided into a number of groups. These include cellular telephone networks, cordless telephones, wide area data networks, wireless local area networks, paging/messaging and satellite mobile systems. Each wireless communications system has its own frequency band and modulation scheme as well as its own geographic location in which the system is deployed. Some of these systems may become obsolete while others may evolve into future personal communication systems. Nevertheless, it appears that two or more wireless systems will commonly be found in any location.
Conventionally, each wireless communications system has its own network for improved coverage in buildings and other shadowed areas. A building which requires improved coverage for more than one wireless service must be "wired" separately for each service.


A winch for controlling the tautness of a length of wire includes a generally U-shaped frame and a spindle rotatably mounted on the frame, the spindle serving as a spool on which the length of wire can be wound. The winch additionally includes a ratchet rotatably mounted on the frame in co-axial alignment with the spindle, the ratchet being fixedly connected to one end of the spindle using the combination of a threaded bolt and a washer. Furthermore, the winch includes a pawl pivotally mounted on the frame, the pawl capable of being pivoted between a first position in which the pawl sequentially engages outwardly extending teeth in the ratchet so as to limit rotation of the ratchet in only one direction and a second position in which the pawl disengages from the ratchet to allow for rotation of the ratchet in either of two opposing directions. First, second and third rare earth magnets are mounted in the frame and, in combination with a pair of outwardly projecting ferritic arms provided in the pawl, serve to magnetically bias the pawl into either of its first and second positions.

The present invention relates generally to winches and more particularly to winches which comprise a rotatable ratchet wheel that can be locked in place using a pivotable pawl.
In the retail industry, it is well known for a length of light to medium gauge wire to be secured at each of its ends to a fixed object, such as a pole, post or wall. With the length of wire held taut between the pair of fixed objects, articles for sale are often hung upon the wire at a considerable height above floor level in order to maximize their visibility. Examples of retail environments in which a length of wire is used to display products for sale include art galleries, trade shows, conventions, and warehouse or wholesale style stores.
It has been found that there is a need for a mechanical device which can be used to perform both of the following functions: (1) to support one end of the length of wire and (2) to provide mechanical means for both tightening the length of wire (in order to more adequately support heavy objects) and loosening the length of wire (in order to lower supported objects to a height which can then be accessed by an employee at floor level).
Accordingly, a winch is a mechanical device which is commonly used in the art to both support one end of a length or wire and mechanically adjust the tautness of said length of wire.
A winch typically includes a rotatable cylindrical drum (also commonly referred to as a spool or spindle) to which one end of the wire is secured, the drum being rotatably mounted on a rigid support frame. A manually operable crank is fixedly coupled to one end of the drum such that, through rotation of the crank, the wire can be wound, or coiled, around the drum, thereby tightening the length of wire. In order to prevent the wire from unwinding from the drum, the winch is typically provided with a ratchet and pawl locking mechanism.
Specifically, a ratchet (also commonly referred to herein as a ratchet wheel) is fixedly mounted on the drum, the ratchet comprising a plurality of outwardly-extending ratchet teeth. In addition, a pawl is pivotally mounted on the support frame for the winch and is typically spring-biased to sequentially engage the teeth of the ratchet to prevent the drum from rotating such that the wire unwinds therefrom, as will be described further in detail below.
In use, a winch of the type described above can be used in the following manner to support one end of a length or wire and to mechanically adjust the tautness of said length of wire. First, the first end of the length of wire is fixedly mounted on a secure object, such as a pole or beam. Then, the second end of the length of wire is connected to the drum of the winch (e.g., by tying the end of the wire to the drum). In turn, the winch is preferably mounted on a support structure, such as a beam, pole or wall.
Supported at both ends onto fixed objects, the length of wire can be tightened in the following manner using the winch. Specifically, using the manually operable crank, the drum is rotated in a first direction which, in turn, causes the second end of the wire to wind around the drum, thereby tightening the length of wire. It should be noted that due to the ratchet-shaped configuration of the teeth on the ratchet wheel, the spring-biased pawl rides along the outer periphery of the ratchet wheel and sequentially deflects away from the tips of the ratchet teeth without impeding rotation of the drum.
Upon withdrawal of the rotational force applied to the drum, the tension within the wire will naturally cause the second end of the wire to unwind from the drum (i.e., cause the drum to rotate in the opposite direction). However, it is to be understood that, upon the initial rotation of the drum in the second direction, the pawl is biased by a spring to engage a tooth on the ratchet wheel so as to impede further rotation. In this manner, the spring-biased pawl serves as a locking device for maintaining the wire taut.
In the situation where the user wishes to loosen the wire (i.e., rotate the drum in the second direction such that the wire can unwind therefrom), the user can apply a rotational force to the pawl (i.e., greater than the internal force of the spring) that causes the pawl to disengage from the ratchet wheel. With the pawl manually disengaged from the ratchet wheel, the tension within the wire will cause the wire to unwind from the drum (i.e., loosen).
Although well known in the art, winches of the type as described above which include a pawl biased by a spring suffer from a couple notable drawbacks.
As a first drawback, winches of the type as described above which utilize a spring for disposing a pawl into selective engagement with a ratchet wheel have been found to be highly unreliable in nature. In particular, over time, the strength of the spring may weaken to the point that the overall functionality of the winch is significantly compromised, which is highly undesirable.
As a second drawback, winches of the type as described above which utilize a spring for disposing a pawl into selective engagement with a ratchet wheel are highly complex mechanical devices (i.e., they include a number of moving mechanical components), thereby rendering said winches relatively costly to manufacture, which is highly undesirable.

Ratcheting winch with a magnetically biased pawl


A rolling can conveyor includes an endless belt path and a flexible belt defining a plurality of openings therein for fluid communication therethrough. The flexible belt is operatively associated with the endless belt path such that the flexible belt is vertically oriented for at least a portion of the belt path. The bottom of the can body is held in contact with the flexible belt during transport by negative pressure. A guide rail extends along the vertically disposed flexible belt so as to support the can body. A plenum is operatively associated with the endless path proximate the guide rail. A vacuum is coupled to the plenum for applying a negative pressure sufficient to rotatably retain the can body in contact with the flexible belt and the guide rail, which imparts rotational motion to the can body about its longitudinal axis during transport.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the art of transporting articles, generally and more particularly, to the transporting of can bodies during the can body manufacturing process. This invention provides an apparatus for translating articles, such as can bodies, in such a fashion as to impart a rotational motion to the can body along its longitudinal axis.
2. Description of Prior Art
It is the conventional practice in rolling can conveyors used in transporting can bodies from an internal spray machine to roll the can bodies between two pieces of polished sheet metal. When water-based materials are sprayed on the can bodies, the spray is deposited on the conveyors top guide due to contact with the can body. This buildup of material results in both a maintenance problem for the can conveyor system and ultimately a quality problem in the cans being conveyed thereon. While it is known to use a vacuum system in conveying cans, such a conveyance system transports the can bodies in an upright position. Thus, the enclosed, bottom domed can end rests on a horizontal member which, in turn, transports the upright can to a second location. As mentioned above, the existing machinery is designed to roll the can end bodies between sheets of metal. In addition to this problem, critical design tolerances are required in order to insure that the can body is not damaged during transport. U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,198 to J. W. Cornelius et al discloses the use of magnets or vacuum clamping of cans on a conveyor during a coating process. U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,810 to Q. Zauner teaches the use of a linked chain conveyor positioned on top of a vacuum chamber. A series of push rods are connected to a chain and move the articles held by vacuum on a pair of belts which are moved in a direction opposite the chain to cause the bottles being conveyed thereon to rotate.


The present invention generally relates to a device which can form a lid for a cup. This apparatus is for thermoforming a plastic sheet of material into a plurality of production sheets. Each sheet has a partible port section, which has integrity against passage of fluid, yet which is partible under mechanical pressure so as to open and allow the passage of fluids. The lid structure with a breakaway port is formed by an apparatus including an oven for heating the production piece, mold assembly that has a mold formed as a female cavity with a plurality of grooves formed around the cavity surface and a pressure box assembly that has an open position and a closed position. The breakaway port in the lid structure is formed as a female cavity with accordion-like grooves therearound which expand to engage the outside of the straw. This eliminates escape of the fluid through the breakaway port when the straw is inserted.

The formation of production pieces out of moldable materials has historically been one of humankinds basic fabricating technologies. Traditionally, these molding techniques included shaping, casting and forging processes. In a shaping process, a moldable material is shaped or sculpted, usually by hand, into a desired configuration, and the material is then cured in some manner, such as heating or drying. In a casting process, a material to be molded is forced into a die so that it takes a selected shape, and the material is allowed to cure until the material becomes sufficiently set to retain the shape of the mold element. On the other hand, in the forging process, a malleable material is mechanically forced over the shape of a mold element so that it takes on and retains the profile thereof. It is essential in the forging process that the material be malleable or capable of being placed in a malleable or "plastic state." Certain materials used in this process are placed in a malleable or plastic state by heating so that the forging process is accomplished as a thermoforming operation. Strictly speaking, in the forging process, a material is heated and is hammered or beat into shape.
Since the advent of the "plastics age" during which various organic polymerized compounds have been utilized as a production medium, the distinctions between casting and forging have become blurred due to the versatility of the organic polymer medium. With the medium of plastic materials, three types of thermoforming processes are prevalent. One process, injection molding, may be likened to casting; injection molding is accomplished by forcing heated plastic material into a three dimensional mold element, and the production piece is released from the mold element when it has taken and can retain the shape of the mold. In another process, more akin to forging, a sheet of material that is heated to a plastic state is placed between male and female dies which close on the sheet to force a portion to take on the complementary profile of the male and female dies after which the dies open so that the formed production piece may be removed. Intermediate of these two techniques are the various pressure controlled thermoforming processes such as vacuum/pressure thermoforming and blow molding. In the vacuum/pressure process, a sheet of material to be fabricated is forced to take on the profile of either a male mold element or a female mold element by applying a vacuum (or suction) to one side of the sheet and/or pressure to the opposite side of the sheet so that the pressure differential on the plastisized sheet causes the sheet to conform to the shape of the mold element without the need for a complimentary die. In blow molding, a three dimensional object is formed or "cast" out of a three dimensional production blank in the form of a closed tube or other production piece having an interior. The production piece is heated to a plastic state, inserted into a mold and pressure is applied to the interior of the piece thereby causing it to expand against the sides of a mold. Vacuum or suction may also be applied exteriorily of the production piece to enhance the molding operation.
The present invention has applications generally to the thermoforming technology. In its most general form, the present invention may be employed to form a partible port section in a production piece that has a suitable panel portion available to receive a partible port. Most dominantly, the present invention is utilized concurrently during the initial fabrication of the production price rather than subsequently. The present invention has special application in the plastic lid industry wherein a container lid is fabricated out of a plastic material These lids are adapted to snap-fit onto the rim of a container, such as a paper or plastic cup or glass, in order to help prevent spillage of fluids placed in the container. To this end, the lid has a perimeter having a lip structure configured to engage the rim of the container.
Often, when lids are provided for a beverage container, it is desirable to provide a port section so that a drinking straw may be inserted through the port section thus allowing access to the liquid contents therein. In some instances, a tear-away port structure is provided on the lid adjacent the perimeter thereof to provide a drink access opening for the mouth of the user. Where straw ports are provided, and as discussed more thoroughly in the detailed description of the present disclosure, a port is provided by transverse cuts which extend completely through the lid panel so that a plurality of triangular shaped flaps are cut with these flaps having a common vertex location. When a straw is inserted through the port, then, the flaps bend interiorily of the container so that the effective port size increases. A disadvantage of this structure is present, however, since the cuts are made completely through the lid; this severing of the lid violates the integrity of the lid in its ability to prohibit passage of fluid. Therefore, even before a straw is inserted through the port, liquid may be spilled out of the port section. Likewise, once the straw is inserted through the port, liquid may escape out of the parted section around the straw's outer perimeter. Where tear-away port sections are provided, it has been found difficult to use these tear-away ports because, as a result of the fabrication techniques, it is difficult to control the thickness of the lid thereby resulting in inefficient tear-away lines. Furthermore, tear-away sections once torn, permit liquid in the cup to spill if the cup is tipped.
Due to the disadvantages of the prior art techniques, a significant need has existed for a substantial period of time to develop apparatus and methodology to create a partible port section that remains completely sealed until mechanical force is applied to part the port section from the container lid and to create a partible port section which forms a seal around the straw once the port is opened. There has been a need for such process having a high degree of control so that such port sections may be formed in high speed production operations with reliability. There has been a further need for apparatus capable of consistently creating such partible port sections in the panel of a thermoformed article. These needs were addressed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,233. The present thermoform vacuum/pressure process and apparatus is also directed to meeting these needs as well as to the need for creating a better relative seal between the lid and straw after insertion of the straw through the port.

Apparatus for forming a partible port in a production piece


A system with an apparatus that moves on wheels along a track defined by rails, and comprises two opposite sides carried by two or more wheels. The apparatus comprises detectors, at least one detector in either side of the apparatus in a known spatial connection with a wheel for generating to the control unit a signal that represents a measured lateral distance of a specific part of the wheel from a rail. Signals received from detectors are associated with position data that represents a specific position along the track where the lateral distance of the specific part of the wheel from the rail was measured. Signals received from detectors in spatial connection with wheels in opposite sides of the apparatus are used to generate an indication that represents temporal dimensional compatibility of the apparatus and the track. An effective tool for advanced monitoring interoperability of the apparatus and the track.

A track refers here to a structure that provides a base and direction for an object to move along. More specifically the track refers here to a structure defined by at least two rails that extend and run parallel to each other in a defined direction. An object moving on the track typically comprises some kind of engagement mechanism, for example flanged wheels that allow progress of the object on the rails and retain the moving object on the rails.
In order to achieve smooth progress of the object along the track, the dimensions of the track and the dimensions of the object need to match. When systems applying track delivery are implemented, optimal compliance between the track and the object moving on the track is carefully established. However, during installation or operation of such systems mismatch between these track delivery elements may appear. Such situations are very undesirable and rectifying them easily leads to significant costs.
Dimensioning of track delivery elements is relatively easy when the elements are small and no big forces act upon them. However, also large scale systems that bear and move significant loads apply tracks defined by rails, and with them already initial dimensioning of the track delivery elements is challenging. For example in crane bridges, lateral dimension of the bridge is of the order or meters or tens of meters in comparison with the order of centimeter lateral dimensions of the rail. In addition, the loads carried by the bridge are very heavy so dimensions of the bridge may vary according to whether loaded or unloaded states are in question. It also needs to be considered that the bridge may swing considerably during operation. Variations in the dimensions of the bridge itself may be relatively accurately estimated and anticipated but variations in dimensions of the track are very difficult to control and manage. Furthermore, crane bridges are elevated structures so that the rails typically run in heights. Any installation and service operations in such heights are already inherently challenging. In most cases the rails are also assembled by a different party than the crane bridge manufacturer such that true compliance of the track delivery elements may only be tested when both of these track delivery elements are completely installed.
On the other hand, even if excellent compliance is reached at installation, the situation may change in use. The rails are typically fixed on a foundation, for example a concrete or steel structure or the like. If this foundation for some reason (earth moves, earthquake, material problems) moves, the rails move and dimensions of the track change. Also the track itself may deteriorate or fail during operation. For example, a bolt from rail joints may become loose, and cause a deformation to the rail and thereby to the whole track.
All these reasons may lead to loss of compliance between the track and the bridge, and the severe effects they cause. Primarily, when incompliant track delivery elements are in use, the engaging elements rub against each other and cause wear and tear to the parts. Changing parts of heavy duty elements, for example, crane bridges is very costly and cause disturbances to the production process in which track delivery is applied. In addition, in some advanced track delivery implementations progress of the object is controlled by measurements and drive logics that are based on expected lateral compliance between dimensions of the track delivery elements. When this compliance begins to deteriorate, the drive logic may begin to fail or at least not operate optimally.
In order to avoid these disadvantages, a lot of effort is vested to monitoring dimensional compliance between the track and the apparatus moving along the track. Especially with heavy duty crane systems, the savings both in terms of production down time and maintenance costs is significant if temporal compliance of the track delivery elements can be carefully followed. In practise, monitoring of these type of systems is, however, very difficult. Traditionally, compliance monitoring has basically equalled to track monitoring, i.e. monitoring of the condition and dimensions of the track. Track monitoring is often performed visually, either by a maintenance person practically walking in the elevated track and observing the state of the track, and possibly recording it with a camera. Such visual observations are not accurate and the track and/or facility using apparatus needs to be shut down for the time of the observation. The method is also laborious and risky, so intervals between such monitoring events tend to be too long for practical situations.
In some enhanced solutions, a separate unit is moved along the track to measure its dimensions. In some solutions a separate unit may be fixed to the bridge and moved in front of the bridge to collect measurement information along its way. In other systems, the separate unit is a mobile unit that may be remotely controlled to move along the track and record measured information during its movement. These track measurement systems provide more accurate information than visual observations, but require separately moved measurement entities and require a break to normal operations of the crane bridge. In addition, they only provide information on compliance between track delivery elements when there is no load. The compliance may, in some cases, change quite significantly when load and movements of the bridge resulting from the variably driven load step in. Mere track measurements are no longer sufficient; a more holistic view to the interoperability of the track delivery elements is needed.


An underdrain for a media filter used to filter liquids. The media particles rest on a pair of perforated plates having offset perforations. The plates are spaced apart a distance less than the size of the media particles. This allows the filtered liquid to flow through the plates but blocks passage of the media particles through the plates.

In the treatment of water, wastewater and other liquids, filters of various types are commonly used to filter out solid particles. Media filters often make use of filter media formed by a mixture of fine sand and anthracite. The liquid passes through the filter media in order to remove some of the impurities.
The drain system for this type of filter must be constructed to allow the filtered liquid to drain away while avoiding carrying away the media particles with the liquid. The particles typically have a size of about 0.020 inch or even less, so preventing them from being washed away with the liquid can be difficult. The media must be backwashed periodically in order to dislodge materials that plug the media and unduly impede the liquid flow.
In the past, it has been the prevalent practice to provide underdrain systems that include a concrete slab equipped with nozzles having small slits, clay tiles with small holes, or plastic blocks with a permeable cap. Although these types of underdrains can function in a satisfactory manner in many applications, they are not wholly without problems. The need to provide a concrete slab with nozzles results in considerable construction expense, clay tiles often break and plug, while plastic blocks are also expensive.


A system, method, signal, and computer program product for providing secure wireless access to private databases and applications without requiring a separate wireless client-server internetworking security protocol infrastructure. The wireless device (201) communicates with the wireless access service provider (205) via hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) messages, and the wireless access service provider (205) and the secure network (204) perform a RADIUS authentification for the wireless device (201).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, method, signal, and computer program product for providing secure wireless access to private databases and applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing secure access to private networks for wireless devices without requiring a separate wireless security/authentication infrastructure for the private network.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
Whenever an external computing device is connected to a corporate network, that network is subject to becoming more vulnerable to security breaches. Network Administrators are left with few tools to guard against break-ins. State of the art security systems generally require special hardware or are only compatible with a small number of products. This problem is exacerbated in large networks that have many points of access.
To address this problem, Lucent Technologies InterNetworking Systems has developed a distributed security solution called Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service, or RADIUS. RADIUS is an example of a client-server internetworking security protocol configured to control authentication, accounting, and access-control in a networked, multi-user environment. RADIUS provides a software protocol based approach to security that does not require special hardware. Distributed security separates user authentication and authorization from the communications process and creates a single, central location for user authentication data. The RADIUS protocols are defined in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFC) 2138 dated April 1997 and 2139 dated April 1997, the entire contents of both being incorporated herein by reference. RADIUS is a TCP/IP application layer protocol as defined in TCP/IP Illustrated: The Protocols by W. Richard Stevens (1994) and TCP/IP Clearly Explained, Third Edition, by Pete Loshin (1999), the contents of both being incorporated herein by reference.
Based on a model of distributed security previously defined by the IETF, RADIUS provides an open and scaleable client/server security system. The RADIUS server can be easily adapted to work with third-party security products or proprietary security systems. To date, many types of communications servers or network hardware support the RADIUS client protocols and can communicate with a RADIUS server. RADIUS has become a widely accepted remote authentication protocol.
RADIUS supports a system of distributed security that secures systems against unauthorized access. A system based on RADIUS authentication includes a RADIUS authentication server and a RADIUS client. In conventional RADIUS systems, user authentication and network service access information is located on the RADIUS authentication server. RADIUS supports this information being in a variety of formats based on the customer's requirements. RADIUS, in its generic form, will authenticate users against, for example, a UNIX password file, Network Information Service (NIS), as well as a separately maintained RADIUS database. RADIUS-compliant communications servers operate to connect RADIUS clients with RADIUS servers. The RADIUS client sends RADIUS authentication requests to the RADIUS server and acts on responses sent back by the RADIUS server.
RADIUS is used to authenticate users through a protocol including a series of specially formatted messages between the client and the server. Once a RADIUS user is authenticated, the RADIUS client provides that RADIUS user with access to the appropriate network services.
FIG. 1 is an interaction diagram of an exemplary conventional RADIUS system for providing authentication over the Internet. The order of events in the diagram flows from top to bottom as indicated by the time progression identified by figure element 107. As shown in FIG. 1, an end user 101 initiates a session by dialing 108 into an Internet Service Provider's (ISP) 102 Point of Presence (POP) 103 on the Internet. The ISP POP 103 then requests 109 that the end user 101 identify himself. In response, the end user 101 provides, for example, a user ID, password, and access server identification 110. The ISP POP 103 then sends a RADIUS Access Request Message 111 containing the user identification information to its own ISP authentication server 104, which is a RADIUS server and awaits a response 117. Based on the user identification information provided in the RADIUS Access Request Message 111, the ISP Authentication Server 104 recognizes that the end user 101 is an access service provider 105 user. The access service provider 105 is, in this example, a third party that manages the access of remote end users 101 to a company's internal secure network (e.g., Company XYZ 106). FIBERLINK COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION is an example of a company that provides this type of service. The ISP Authentication Server 104 therefore sends a RADIUS Access Request Message 113 containing the user identification information to the Access Service Provider 105 and awaits a response 116. Based on the user identification information provided in the RADIUS Access Request Message 113, the Access Service Provider 105 recognizes that the end user 101 is a COMPANY XYZ 106 user. The Access Service Provider 105 therefore sends a RADIUS Access Request Message 114 containing the user identification information to COMPANY XYZ 106 and awaits a response 115. Company XYZ 106 will then perform a RADIUS authentication for this particular end-user 101 and send either a RADIUS Access Granted or RADIUS Access Denied message 115 back to the Access Service Provider 105, which will then forward the RADIUS Access Granted or RADIUS Access Denied message 116 to the ISP authentication server 104, which in turn, forwards the RADIUS Access Granted or RADIUS Access Denied message 117 to the ISP POP 103, which finally generates and transmits a corresponding access granted/access denied status message 118 to the end user 101.
A limitation associated with the above-described capability is that it does not readily accommodate wireless users and their applications. Wireless devices (e.g., Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and wireless laptops) have become popular productivity tools, and given their portability, have become a desired tool for accessing applications and databases on secure networks from remote locations. Typically, access is via the Internet as accessed through a wireless network provider. Because wireless network providers do not provide the services that an ISP provides, the ability to have RADIUS-authenticated connections from remote wireless devices is limited. Therefore, a tension has been created between providing the convenience of wireless remote access and maintaining a secure network.
One proposed solution to this problem is to provide a parallel authentication capability tailored to the needs of wireless users, wireless data services and communication technologies used in wireless networks. However, maintaining more than one authentication database in an organization is an administrative burden for information security personnel who must update multiple databases when employees or other authorized users arrive, depart, or otherwise change their access posture. Furthermore, maintaining more than one authentication database is an operational annoyance to users who may be required to maintain different passwords and be trained in different information security techniques for wireless and non-wireless access. Even further, as more access paths are provided for a network, more opportunities for a security breach or failure are created.

Wireless access system, method, signal, and computer program product


An inkjet recording apparatus includes an image recording head for jetting image recording ink onto a recording medium conveyed in a sub scanning direction, while the recording head reciprocally moving in the main scanning direction, the image recording head having an image recording nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles; an auxiliary recording head for jetting auxiliary recording ink for enhancing image recording, the auxiliary recording head having an auxiliary recording nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles, the auxiliary recording nozzle array being disposed along the sub scanning direction in parallel to the image recording nozzle array; and a control section for controlling the image recording nozzle array and the auxiliary recording nozzle array so as to change respective ink jetting areas by selecting nozzles, for respectively jetting ink, from the image recording nozzle array and the auxiliary recording nozzle array, according to a recording mode.

In recent years, inkjet recording devices have come to be used more than gravure printing type or flexo printing type devices, which require prepress process, because inkjet recording devices allows easy and inexpensive image forming.
In the field of image recording on commodities or packing materials for commodities by the use of such an inkjet recording device, materials such as resins or metals, which do not absorb ink, are often used for commodities or packing of commodities. Photocurable ink is used to fix ink on a recording medium which does not absorb ink. After jetting photocurable ink onto a recording medium, light such as UV light is projected onto the ink to fix the ink by curing.
In this field, images including characters, symbols, and pictures are recorded with a background color such as white on a transparent packing material, for example. In case of printing a background on a transparent packing material in such a manner, front recording or back recording is performed. In front recording, background ink is first jetted onto the front surface of a recording medium in a solid state, and then an image is recorded on the background ink. In back recording, an image is recorded first on the back surface of a recording medium, and then background ink is jetted in a solid state on the image. Further, in recording an image on a color recording medium, sometimes, color ink is jetted onto white ink having been jetted in the shape of the image so that the image is recorded to improve the coloring of the image, or, transparent ink is jetted onto the surface of a recorded image to improve smoothness and gloss tone.
As an inkjet recording apparatus for image recording by the use of inks in various colors mostly for image recording and an auxiliary recording ink such as a background ink or a transparent ink that enhances image recording, there are known inkjet recording apparatuses (see Patent Document-1, for example) as follows. That is, there is known an inkjet recording apparatus which includes recording heads with nozzles for jetting ink, reciprocally moves the recording heads in the main scanning direction while jetting ink from the recording heads onto a recording medium, and conveys the recording medium in the sub scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, wherein an auxiliary recording head for jetting auxiliary recording ink is disposed on both sides, in the main scanning direction, of the image recording heads for jetting image recording inks in respective colors.
For example, in performing front recording by such an inkjet recording apparatus, the apparatus records a background by jetting ink in a solid state from an auxiliary recording head positioned on the upstream side of image recording heads while the recording heads are moving in both the outward direction and the return direction, and by jetting ink from the image recording heads based on image data to record an image. In performing back recording, the apparatus does not jet ink from an auxiliary recording head positioned on the upstream side of the image recording heads while the recording heads are moving in the outward direction nor the return direction, but jets ink from the image recording heads to record an image based on image data and jets ink in a solid state from the auxiliary recording head positioned on the downstream side of the image recording heads to record a background.
Further, there is also known an inkjet recording apparatus (see Patent Document 1, for example) which includes auxiliary recording heads disposed on both the upstream side and the downstream side, in the sub scanning direction, of image recording heads for respective colors.
For example, in performing front recording by such an inkjet recording apparatus, the apparatus jets ink in a solid state from an auxiliary recording head positioned on the upstream side of image recording heads in the sub scanning direction to record a background, and after the recording medium on which the background has been recorded is conveyed in the sub scanning direction, the apparatus jets ink from the image recording heads onto the part where the background has been recorded, so as to record an image. In performing back recording, the apparatus does not jet ink from an auxiliary recording head positioned on the upstream side of the image recording heads in the sub scanning direction, but jets ink from the recording heads to record an image, and after the recording medium on which the image has been recorded is conveyed in the sub scanning direction, the apparatus jets ink in a solid state, from an auxiliary recording head positioned on the downstream side of the image recording heads, on the part where the image has been recorded, so as to record a background.
[Patent Document 1] TOKKAI No. 2003-285422
However, in a known inkjet recording apparatus, an auxiliary recording head is arranged on each side of image recording heads in the main scanning direction, or at least on one of the upstream and the downstream sides in the sub scanning direction, which causes a problem of a larger size of a carriage having the recording heads and also a larger size of the entire apparatus, and a high manufacturing cost of the apparatus. Further, if an auxiliary recording head is provided at least on one of the upstream side and downstream side of image recording heads in the sub scanning direction, the area of a platen supporting a recording medium becomes larger to cause a problem of degrading image quality due to drop in conveyance accuracy caused by friction and absorption force between the platen and the recording medium.
Further, particularly with an inkjet recording apparatus for recording an image using photocurable ink, in order to prevent mixture of inks jetted spuerimposedly and blurring of ink, it is necessary to project light onto ink having been jetted so that the ink is fixed on a recording medium and thereafter jet ink newly.
Therefore, in the case where auxiliary recording heads are provided respectively on both sides of image recording heads in the main scanning direction, light emitters for projecting light onto ink having landed on a recording medium are needed to be provided not only on both the side portions, in the main scanning direction, of a head unit having the image recording heads and the auxiliary recording heads, but also between an image recording head and an auxiliary recording head, causing problems of a larger size of the carriage, degradation of image quality due to heat created by the light emitters, and a larger power consumption.
Further, in the case where an auxiliary recording head is provided at least on one of the upstream side and the down stream side of image recording heads in the sub scanning direction, in order to simplify the structure of a light emitter and to project light onto ink jetted from both the image recording heads and the auxiliary recording head, the light emitter is arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side of the image recording heads and the auxiliary recording head in the sub scanning direction, which causes the problems of a large size of the light emitter, degradation of image quality due to heat generation, and large power consumption.


The invention relates to a method for building a 3D model of an area of interest on the surface of a planet. The method comprises providing a plurality of 2D images from satellites, where each 2D image out of the plurality of 2D images at least partly covers the area of interest. Also, each subarea of the area of interest is covered by at least two images, taken from different angles, out of the plurality of 2D images. Bundle adjustments are performed for the plurality of 2D images and the area of interest is divided into parts. For each part of the area of interest at least one combination and preferably all possible combinations out of two images covering that part of the area of interest are taken. Said two images are taken from the at least two images, taken from at least two different angles, out of the plurality of 2D images. Further, for each part of the area, point matching correspondence is established for a set of points for each such combination of two images. The sets of points are combined if more than one set of points exists. Even further, for each part of the area, a 3D model of said part of the area of interest is built based on the combined set of points. The 3D models from each part of the area of interest are combined to a 3D model of the whole area of interest. The invention also relates to a system, a computer program and a computer program product.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system and a method for building a 3D model of an area of interest on the surface of a planet.
Description of Related Art
When building a three-dimensional (3D) model of a part of the Earth's surface one can use a camera system suitable for providing pictures from which stereo pairs can be generated. Then that camera system can be mounted on an airplane (sometimes together with a LIDAR-system for providing some height information, however, other height-measurement systems are possible as well). One can fly with the airplane over the area of interest, take pictures of the area of interest together with some height information and then process the pictures together with the height information to achieve a 3D model. This is well known in the state of the art.
Sometimes, however, it is not possible to use airplanes for providing pictures. This might be the case when there is no allowance for doing so, for example, due to flight-restricted areas. Another example is that the area of interest is too remote to be economically covered by airplanes or that the area of interest is too big to economically fly over it with airplanes. This might especially be the case when a 3D model of the whole Earth's surface or at least of the parts of the Earth surface which are covered by land should be provided.
3D models have been built via images taken by satellites as well. However, satellites are expensive to construct, to put into orbit and to control. Existing satellites aimed at providing images of the Earth's surface are mainly used for providing 2D images. Only few image data from satellites are nowadays provided as stereo photos and are thus used for building 3D models. One reason is that a satellite would have to take (at least) two photos of an area from different angles. It is often of higher priority that the satellite can take a picture of another area instead of the second photo from the same area, thus achieving a higher coverage of the Earth's surface.

Method and a system for building a three-dimensional model from satellite images


A method, system, or device for hydration monitoring using trend analysis. The method may include measuring a physiological measurement of an individual with a sensor to obtain trend data correlating to a hydration level of the individual. The method may include removing an abnormal shift or an abnormal change from the trend data. The method may include removing abnormal shifts and changes from the raw trend data. The method may include identifying a trend parameter for the trend data, the trend parameter indicating a change in the hydration level of the body. The method may include determining a reference value for the trend parameter. The method may include identifying a change in the trend data for the trend parameter, the change in the trend data indicating a change in the hydration level of the individual.

Dehydration is a condition in which fluid in a living body decreases below a living body's normal functioning level. Dehydration can occur when an individual is exercising for extended periods of time, intakes little or no fluids, or an ambient temperature rises to a point where an individual cannot excrete enough sweat to cool their body and maintain a normal body temperature. Individuals that regularly exert themselves in high humidity environments, high-temperature environments, or for extended periods of time are prone to experience dehydration or symptoms of dehydration. Elderly individuals and children are also prone to experiencing dehydration or symptoms of dehydration.
In less severe cases of dehydration, an individual's ability to perform tasks will begin to deteriorate. For example, in the case of long distance endurance athletes, an athlete that becomes dehydrated by a loss of as little as 2% body weight may begin to have their performance impaired. Losses in excess of 5% of body weight can decrease the capacity of an individual to perform a task by as much as 30%.
Another group of people in danger of dehydration are individuals with dysentery. Dysentery is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by inflammation of the intestines, particularly the colon. Diarrhea and vomiting are typical side effects of patients with dysentery, especially in the case of small children. As dysentery patients suffer from diarrhea and vomiting, they are unable to maintain a proper hydration level, causing them to become dehydrated. Such a dehydrated state exasperates the patient's condition, causing their health to further deteriorate and prolong recovery time.


Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and methods for positioning a substrate in a processing chamber using capacitive sensors. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate. The apparatus includes first and second capacitive sensors disposed in an inner volume. The first capacitive sensor is positioned to detect a location of an edge of the substrate at a first angular location. The second capacitive sensor is positioned to detect a vertical position of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to apparatus and methods for processing a substrate. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and methods for positioning a substrate in a processing chamber using capacitive sensors.
2. Description of the Related Art
During semiconductor processing, non-contact measurement methods are usually used to detect and control the position of the substrate being processed because the stringent requirements for cleanness and sensitivity to particle contamination. Optical sensors are typically used in non-contact substrate position detection and control.
However, optical sensors cannot be placed inside the process chamber due to the materials used to construct the optical sensors. Therefore, optical sensors typically detect the position of a substrate in a processing chamber through optical windows formed through chamber walls. The optical windows cloud up due to deposition of processing gases inside the processing chamber causing measurement of the optical sensors to drift and lose accuracy absent frequent cleaning of the optical windows.
Optical sensors for detecting a substrate location are generally positioned above and/or below the substrate. One or more processing related chamber components, for example a pedestal, a showerhead, heating lamps, or a substrate susceptor, are generally positioned above or below a substrate being processed. Thus, it is also challenging to find a location to place an optical window in a processing chamber.
Therefore, there is a need for improved non-contact measurement apparatus and methods for detect and control substrate position in a processing chamber.

Apparatus and methods for positioning a substrate using capacitive sensors


A line-rate, real-time-traffic detector classifies a network traffic flow as real-time when it determines the smoothness of the packet arrival rate of the network traffic flow is bounded by an empirically derived bound. In some embodiments, to improve performance, a tighter smoothness bound is applied to the smoothness calculations performed on a first set of packet arrival times, while a looser smoothness bound is applied to a second set of packet arrival times, the second set inclusive of and larger than the first.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication and computer networks, and, in particular, to line-rate detection of real-time traffic.
2. Description of the Related Art
This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the invention(s). Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is or is not in the prior art.
Network traffic classification is an important part of network quality-of-service (QoS) management. For example, in many cases, it is useful to identify which flows in a network belong to time-sensitive, real-time multimedia applications (e.g., streaming video, audio, or voice traffic) and which flows belong to non-time-sensitive, non-real-time applications (e.g., email). This information may then be used, for example, to selectively throttle non-time-sensitive flows to maintain QoS for time-sensitive flows.
With the recent increasing volume of time-sensitive traffic on the Internet, including voice-over-IP (VoIP) and Internet-protocol television (IPTV), network service providers and operators are demanding tools to effectively detect and manage such traffic in their networks. However, many applications that are responsible for such traffic are not easy to detect using conventional approaches that depend on well-known port association, packet header and payload inspections, and related methods. This is because these applications may use random port assignments and data encryption to defeat such detection methods. For example, it is well known that the VoIP application, Skype, a product of Skype Technologies S.A, Luxembourg, employs many carefully designed schemes to avoid detection and get around firewalls. In addition, packet inspection methods require line-rate processing and considerable memory, both of which are very costly.
As a result, extensive research has recently been directed to alternative methods for traffic classification and traffic-type identification based on statistics of traffic flow. Moore and Zuev, for example, have proposed a machine-learning approach based on Bayesian analysis to perform off-line classification of Internet traffic into categories such as peer-to-peer, multimedia, and webpage accesses. More information can be found in Andrew W. Moore, Denis Zuev, "Internet traffic classification using Bayesian analysis techniques," ACM SIGMETRICS 2005, which has been incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Other approaches have been proposed as well. A survey of traffic-classification techniques based on machine learning is given in Thuy T. T. Nguyen, Grenville Armitage, "A survey of techniques for Internet traffic classification using machine learning," IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, 2008, also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In general, these machine-learning techniques are based on analysis of a subset of flow parameters that are assumed to vary between traffic types and can thus be used to differentiate the types. These machine-learning techniques are good for rough estimates of traffic type but usually have relatively poor accuracy overall. Skype, for example, has received much attention in recent years because it employs sophisticated mechanisms to conceal its traffic and avoid detection by machine-learning methods. Many studies have been done to analyze the running behavior and traffic patterns of Skype based on measurements and reverse engineering. More information can be found in S. A., Baset, H. Schulzrinne, "An analysis of the Skype peer-to-peer Internet telephony protocol," IEEE Infocom '06, Barcelona, Spain, April 2006; P. Biondi, F. Desclaux, "Silver Needle in the Skype," Black Hat Europe '06, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, March 2006; S. Guha, N. Daswani and R. Jain, "An experimental study of the Skype peer-to-peer VoIP system," 5th Intl. Workshop on Peer-to-Peer Systems, Santa Barbara, Calif., February 2006; and Dario Bonfiglio, Marco Mellia, Michela Meo, Nicolo Riticca, Dario Rossi, "Tracking down Skype traffic," IEEE/ACM INFOCOM 2008, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Work has also been performed on detecting Skype traffic based on monitoring packets on network links. More information on this work can be found in K. Suh, D. R. Figuieredo, J. Kurose, D. Towsley, "Characterizing and detecting relayed traffic: A case study using Skype," IEEE Infocom '06, Barcelona, Spain, April 2006 ("Suh et al."), and Dario Bonfiglio, Marco Mellia, Michela Meo, Dario Rossi, Paolo Tofanelli, "Revealing skype traffic: when randomness plays with you," ACM SIGCOMM 2007 ("Bonfiglio et al."), each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
For example, Suh et al. focuses on detection of relayed Skype traffic, while, in Dario et al., detection is based on characteristics of inter-packet gap, packet size, and randomness in payload. This latter method has been shown to work well for picking out Skype VoIP flows from the traces that were studied. However, inter-packet gap is not a good metric to differentiate real-time vs. non-real-time traffic in general. This is mainly because there is strong correlation between consecutive inter-packet gaps. As a result, flows with similar mean and variance of inter-packet gaps may be inherently very different, and yet mistakenly be judged to be the same. In addition, inter-packet gap analysis requires the maintenance of a fairly large state memory for each flow. This is primarily because statistical testing is done for all possible packet sizes. Skype may also use more than six different CODECs, each of which may have many different combinations of frame sizes and bit rates, and each packet may use any one of four "redundant factors." As a result, the inter-gap algorithm may end up tracking hundreds of different packet sizes, using considerable resources, and taking long periods of time to classify flows. Finally, a pitfall of tracking packet size is that certain Skype calls may go through one or more super-node relay nodes, which may change packet sizes, making the packet sizes even harder to track.
Thus, it would be beneficial to have techniques for identifying real-time traffic flows, which techniques (a) are less computationally and memory intensive than existing techniques, (b) may be used to detect real-time flows in seconds, and (c) are not dependent on packet size.


An arrangement actuates the shift mechanism of a change-speed gearbox and engages and disengages a main clutch via a common servomotor. The shift mechanism, with the interposition of an auxiliary clutch which can be engaged and disengaged by a servomotor, can be actuated independently of the main clutch.

This application claims the priority of German application 196 35 867.1, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to an arrangement for actuating the shift mechanism of a change-speed gearbox and for engaging and disengaging a main clutch arranged upstream of the change-speed gearbox in the flow of force. In particular, an auxiliary mechanism transforms a rotary motion of a mechanism input member into a reciprocating motion of a mechanism output member allocated to the main clutch, and an auxiliary mechanism transforms a rotary motion of a mechanism input member into a reciprocating motion of a mechanism output member allocated to the shift mechanism. A device drives the mechanism input members of the two auxiliary mechanisms by a common servomotor, and a device couples and uncouples the mechanism output member allocated to the shift mechanism with regard to its drive connection relative to the device for driving the mechanism input members.
In an earlier arrangement of the foregoing type known to the applicants, an electric motor is in drive connection. with the worm of a worm gear unit. The worm wheel is arranged in a Notionally fixed manner relative to the two mechanism input members used in the form of one eccentric each. The one eccentric interacts with a clutch disengaging lever of the main clutch and the other eccentric interacts with a fork-shaped link on the one lever arm of a differential lever. The other lever arm has a toothed segment which engages in a rack profile of a shift rod of the shift mechanism.
Consequently, the clutch disengaging lever and the shift rod are in such a fixed kinematic allocation to one another that, during a gear shift, the main clutch is first always completely disengaged, then the instantaneous gear is disengaged, subsequently the shift lane of the new gear is selected (with a separate selecting device), then in further sequence the new gear is engaged, and finally the main clutch is re-engaged. This sequential progression of the actuations of the main clutch and shift mechanism leads in each case to a long shift time during the gear shifts.
DE 43 36 446 A1 discloses an arrangement for actuating a main clutch to be provided in the flow of force between a drive motor and a change-speed gearbox. An electric motor is connected by a worm gear unit to an eccentric disc of an auxiliary mechanism for transforming a rotary motion into a reciprocating motion and the output member of the latter acts on the main clutch. The eccentric disc is also coupled to a spring-energy accumulator for assisting the clutch actuation.
EP 0 527 389 A1 discloses a further arrangement for shifting a two-stage axle drive of a utility vehicle. A spring-energy accumulator, as a function of the position of a device (e.g., a clutch) controls the flow of force of the drive torque to the drive axle and can be connected in the shift-force transmission between the shift mechanism at the axle drive and an electric shift motor. Thereby, the shift is carried out only when the flow of force to the drive axle is interrupted. The electric motor acts on a worm gear unit, the worm wheel of which has an eccentric which engages in a slotted-link guide of the input member of the spring-energy accumulator for transforming a rotary motion into a reciprocating motion.
An object of the present invention is to shorten the shift time in such an arrangement. This object is advantageously achieved according to the invention by providing that the two mechanism input members are connected to one another by an auxiliary clutch used as the device for coupling and uncoupling the mechanism output member allocated to the shift mechanism, and in that the auxiliary clutch, irrespective of the position of the mechanism output member allocated to the main clutch, can be engaged and disengaged by a clutch final control element derivable by a servomotor.
In one embodiment of the arrangement according to the present invention, the basic configuration of the mechanical change-speed gearbox is not altered, but all shift and control elements can be adaptively arranged at the periphery of the surrounding zone of the gearbox. The shift times can be markedly reduced by activating the control functions at the same time or at overlapping times (declutching and shifting as parallel function steps). By the use of only one actuator and a few control elements, the overall complexity and thus the costs can be kept down without functional disadvantages having to be tolerated.
In automated change-speed gearboxes, the problem may arise that, due to shifts always being associated with an interruption in tractive force on account of the gearbox design, a lack of comfort as a result of the occurrence of vehicle longitudinal vibrations may be felt in certain operating states (e.g. accelerating actions) due to the interruption of the drive moment. In the arrangement according to the present invention, therefore, it is of particular advantage that critical shift manoeuvres take place in a short time sequence. Declutching and shifting into neutral can be carried out at the same time in order to achieve the desired shift-time gain, in which case electronic engine management may be incorporated in the control.
However operating states, e.g. driving downhill, also occur in which a sequential progression of the actuations of main clutch and shift mechanism is necessary from the functional point of view. In this respect, too, the arrangement according to the present invention provides the precondition for variable use of the individual functions in the control of the gear shift.
In the arrangement according to the invention, a worm gear unit can be driven via an actuator (servomotor in electromechanical or hydraulic basic configuration). The worm gear unit activates, via an eccentric, the engagement and disengagement of the main clutch and, in sequence therewith or parallel thereto, the shifting and selecting action. Unlike a prior arrangement known to applicants, the shifting and selecting function in the arrangement according to the present invention can be initiated via a frictional or positive auxiliary clutch, which can be engaged and disengaged by a clutch final control element driven by a servomotor, such that an optimum operating sequence results. All basic functions performed here may be realized in a modular type of construction, including an electronic control unit for the shift sequence.
In the arrangement according to the present invention, the shifting and selecting operations may be carried out in a manner previously described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/818,358, filed Mar. 17, 1997 or according to German Application Serial No. 196 35 866.3-14. The relevant function units may likewise be accommodated in the drive module.

Arrangement for actuating a change-speed gearbox shift mechanism and for engaging and disengaging a main clutch