The present specification relates to a digital device and a method of controlling therefor. According to one embodiment, the digital device includes a touch sensitive display unit configured to detect a touch input, a transparent cover unit, which is positioned in an open position or a closed position and overlapped with the touch sensitive display unit in the closed position and a processor configured to control the touch sensitive display unit, the processor is further configured to detect the touch input on a first position of the touch sensitive display unit, when the transparent cover unit is in the open position, alter location information of the touch input detected on the first position to a second position, when the transparent cover unit is in the closed position, alter the location information of the touch input detected on the first position to a third position.

Field of the Invention
The present specification relates to a digital device providing touch compensation and a method of controlling therefor, and more particularly, to a method for the digital device to compensate sensitivity and a position of a touch input according to whether a transparent cover unit is overlapped with a touch sensitive display unit.
Discussion of the Related Art
A digital device can provide a user with visual information using a display unit. Recently, such various digital devices possessing functions as good as a desktop computer as a smartphone, a smart pad, and the like are on sale. In relation to this, the digital device has enabled a control input of a user to be detected by a touch input. A legacy digital device used to detect the control input of the user using such an input device as a keyboard, a mouse, a keypad. Yet, since a size and weight of the digital device is reduced, the digital device becomes available while the user is moving with the digital device in hand. In consideration of these trends, the digital device provides visual information to the user using a touch sensitive display unit and detects the control input of the user with the display unit at the same time. By doing so, the digital device does not need a separate input device for detecting a control input any more. And, since the digital device is manufactured in foldable fashion, the user can easily carry the digital device.
The user can touch the touch sensitive display unit according to a gaze of the user gazing the touch sensitive display unit. The user can control the digital device in various distances and angles. In this case, the user may touch a point different from a point at which the gaze of the user arrives according to a distance between the digital device and the user or an angle between the digital device and the user. Hence, it is necessary for the digital device to adjust a touch point recognized by the gaze of the user and a touch point actually touched by the user. And, if a foldable digital device is manufactured and a touch input is detected in a state that the foldable digital device is folded, an error between the touch point recognized by the gaze of the user and the touch point actually touched by the user may be getting bigger. Hence, it is required to have a method of compensating the error.

Digital device providing a touch compensation and method of controlling therefor


One method disclosed herein includes forming a patterned mask layer above a surface of a semiconductor substrate, performing at least one etching process through the patterned mask layer to define a plurality of intersecting ridges that define a ridged surface in the substrate, and forming a Group III-V material on the ridged surface of the substrate. An illustrative device disclosed herein includes a Group IV substrate having a ridged surface comprised of a plurality of intersecting ridges and a Group III-V material layer positioned on the ridged surface of the Group IV substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present disclosure relates to the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and, more specifically, to various methods of forming Group III-V semiconductor materials on Group IV substrates, and the resulting substrate structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most commonly used semiconductor materials are crystalline inorganic solids. Semiconductor materials are typically classified according to the periodic table group of their constituent atoms. Different semiconductor materials have different electrical and mechanical properties. Silicon is the most perfect crystalline material among known semiconductor materials. The abundance of silicon and the capability to fabricate single crystalline silicon wafers as large as 12″ have led to the economical production and domestication of ultra-large scale integrated (ULSI) circuits and integrated circuit products that are used in almost every aspect of daily life.
However, silicon cannot meet the demands of some optical devices or high speed, high power electronics. For example, silicon is an indirect band gap material which makes silicon an extremely inefficient light emitter. Thus, as compared to silicon, compound semiconductors have both advantages and disadvantages. For example, gallium arsenide (GaAs) has about six times higher electron mobility than does silicon, which allows for faster operation, a wider band gap, which allows operation of power devices at higher temperatures, and it is a direct band gap material that has more favorable optoelectronic properties than the indirect band gap of silicon. Moreover, gallium arsenide can be alloyed to ternary and quaternary compositions, with adjustable band gap width, allowing light emission at chosen wavelengths. Gallium arsenide can also be grown in a semi-insulating form, which is suitable as a lattice-matching insulating substrate for gallium arsenide devices. Conversely, silicon is robust, cheap and is readily available in the form of large wafers, whereas gallium arsenide is brittle and expensive. Therefore, it would be desirable to integrate III-V materials on silicon substrates so as to reduce processing costs while still maintaining the functionality of the devices made on the integrated III-V materials.
When depositing a Group III-V material, for example GaAs, epitaxially on a Group IV substrate, for example, a substrate comprised of silicon, germanium or silicon-germanium (SixGe1-x), the formation of the atomic layer sequence of the Group III atoms and the Group V layer atoms is not readily established. Typically, there are boundary regions between these different growth areas that can give rise to considerable structural defects, i.e., so-called anti-phase boundaries, which may adversely affect the performance of the resulting electronic device formed thereon. The reason such anti-phase boundaries are created is because, at an atomic level, there are always "steps" in the surface of the Group IV substrate. Such atomic level steps, especially single-steps, cause undesirable Group III-III bonding and Group V-V bonding.
FIGS. 1A-1B simplistically depict an illustrative example of such an anti-phase boundary. As shown in FIG. 1A, a Group III-V material 14 was epitaxially deposited above the surface 12S of an illustrative Group IV substrate 12, e.g., a crystalline silicon substrate. FIG. 1B is a simplistic, atomic-level depiction of the interface between the Group III-V material 14 and the Group IV substrate 12. As depicted, the Group III atoms (cross-hatched circles) and the Group V atoms (dark circles) are formed above the Group IV atoms (open circles) of the substrate 12. The surface 12S of the Group IV substrate 12 is depicted in FIG. 1B with a dashed line. As can be seen in FIG. 1B, in regions 16, there is anti-phase bonding between adjacent Group V atoms, while in regions 18 there is anti-phase bonding between adjacent Group III atoms. Such anti-phase bonds are problematic in that they tend to be weaker in strength and they also interrupt the period structure of the material. They also lead to the creation of the schematically depicted anti-phase boundary 20—a defect—which can adversely affect the electrical and/or mechanical properties of a device formed above or near the anti-phase boundary 20. For example, a transistor device formed above or near such an anti-phase boundary 20 may exhibit increased leakage currents and/or slower operating speed due to decreased charge carrier mobility at or near the anti-phase boundary 20. The ultimate cause of such anti-phase bonding is believed to be the creation of single (or odd) atomic layer "steps" on the (001) surface of the Group IV substrate 12, as depicted within the dashed line 22 in FIG. 1B.
In an attempt to avoid the undesirable anti-phase bonding, Group III-V materials are sometimes formed above Group IV vicinal substrates (a substrate whose surface normal deviates slightly from a major crystallographic axis) with an off-cut angle ranging from 0-15 degrees, or any other suitable angle. Such vicinal substrates have a higher density of such atomic level steps. However, vicinal substrates can be subjected to an anneal process so as to cause the single atomic level steps on the surface of the Group IV substrate to form double steps to eliminate the undesirable anti-phase bonding. However, if such vicinal substrates are used, the III-V materials grown on top will adopt the surface orientation of the vicinal substrate which will cause fabrication difficulties. In general, the off cut surface of a vicinal substrate is more reactive and surface passivation is more challenging.
The present disclosure is directed to various methods of forming Group III-V semiconductor materials on Group IV substrates, and the resulting substrate structures that may solve or reduce one or more of the problems identified above.

Methods of forming group III-V semiconductor materials on group IV substrates and the resulting substrate structures


An image display device which reduces speckles in an image display device using a laser source includes: a laser source which emits excitation light; a collecting lens which collects the excitation light; a deflecting element which scans the excitation light collected by the collecting lens; and a light conversion panel which converts a wavelength of the excitation light scanned by the deflecting element and emits fluorescence, wherein the light conversion panel includes a plurality of phosphor layers which are planarly disposed, absorb the excitation light, and emit the fluorescence.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to image display devices used in devices such as portable projectors, stationary projectors, and head-up displays for vehicles, and relates also to light conversion panels used in the image display devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 26 and FIG. 27 illustrate conventional image display device 500 of this type. Image display device 500 includes: first laser source 501 which emits red light; second laser source 502 which emits green light; third laser source 503 which emits blue light; collecting lenses 504 which collect red light, green light, and blue light; and scanning assembly 506 which includes deflecting element 505 for scanning the red light, green light, and blue light collected by collecting lenses 504 and projects the light scanned by deflecting element 505.
Patent Literature 1 (PTL 1) is an example disclosing such an image display device.

Image display device which reduces mutual interference of light reflected by a screen

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A method and apparatus for shifting a photoreceptor in a cross-process direction to reduce the formation of a paper edge ghost on the photoreceptor. The shifting can occur continuously or in steps.

The present disclosure relates to reducing the formation of paper edge ghost in image forming apparatus that include photoreceptors.
A common issue with image forming apparatus using photoreceptors to produce images is the phenomenon called paper edge ghost. When an image forming apparatus, such as a photocopier, is used to produce a large number of images on one size paper over an extended period of time, and then, the same photocopier is used to produce images on a larger sized paper, a latent image can be seen in the image formed on larger sized paper. This artifact represents the edge of the previously-formed smaller sized paper. The paper edge ghost is visible in an image printed on the photoreceptor that traverses the areas previously covered by the smaller paper and the bare photoreceptor.
The effect of the paper edge ghost can be reduced by shifting the location of each image formed on the photoreceptor during the image forming process. However, when the image location is shifted, the position of the recording medium (for example, paper sheet) that receives the image from the photoreceptor also must be shifted so as to properly receive the image from the photoreceptor. Although it is possible to shift the image and the recording medium in the process direction (the direction in which the photoreceptor moves during image formation) relatively easily by controlling the timing of image formation and sheet feeding, it is more difficult to shift the image and recording medium in the cross-process direction (the direction crossing the process direction).

Method and apparatus for shifting image forming apparatus photoreceptor to reduce ghost formation


A bailer has a tapered leading end to reduce agitation and turbidity as the bailer is introduced into a body of liquid fluid. A check valve is unseated and admits liquid fluid into the bailer as the bailer enters the liquid fluid. The check valve is seated and seals the liquid fluid within the bailer against leakage when the bailer is retrieved from the liquid fluid. A first embodiment includes a bottom-emptying device that guides liquid fluid in the bailer into a wide-mouth container. A second embodiment includes a bottom-emptying device that guides the liquid fluid into a narrow mouth container such as a vial. In both embodiments, the bottom-emptying device is tapered and engages the outside walls of the tapered leading end of the bailer. This prevents liquid fluid from wetting a user's hands when the bottom-emptying device is used to unseat the check valve.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to bailers. More particularly, it relates to a bottom-emptying device that engages the outside of a bailer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Common bailers agitate the liquid fluid into which they are dropped, thereby increasing the turbidity of the sample that is collected. Turbid samples are unacceptable for environmental analysis because the particulate matter contained therein is introduced into the sample by the agitation created by the sample collection process. The collected sample thus does not represent the liquid fluid in the body of water.
A co-pending patent application by the present inventor, entitled "Bailer With Tapered And Ogive Nose Cones," application Ser. No. 10/248,378, filed Jan. 15, 2003, substantially solves the agitation and turbidity problem by providing a bailer having a tapered leading end. The taper allows the bailer to slice into the liquid fluid with a minimum of agitation and thus a minimum of turbidity.
A free-floating ball is positioned within the tapered leading end. The tapered leading end is therefore sometimes referred to as a valve housing. When the free-floating ball is fully seated within a valve seat formed on an interior surface of the valve housing, liquid fluid within the hollow interior of the bailer is sealed within said hollow interior. When the free-floating ball is unseated from the valve seat, liquid fluid within the hollow interior of the bailer flows past the unseated ball and into the lumen of a downspout. Thus the ball is understood to serve as a check valve.
The downspout has a wide diameter if the liquid fluid is drained into a wide-mouth container and the downspout has a narrow diameter if the liquid fluid is drained into a vial or a test tube.
Bailers are best emptied from the bottom because unacceptable amounts of oxygen are introduced into the sample if the bailer is decanted from the top.
Various devices have been developed to facilitate bottom-emptying, but the known devices do not perform the emptying process in an optimal manner. For example, a user must insert such devices into the hollow interior of the bailer from the lowermost end of the bailer. The liquid fluid starts to flow from the bailer as soon as the ball that serves as a check valve is unseated. The hands of the person handling the bottom-emptying device are therefore wetted. If the liquid fluid is highly acidic or otherwise dangerous, use of such a bottom-emptying device is unacceptable, Even if the fluid is not dangerous, the user may not care to get his or her hands wet, especially during cold weather.
An improved bottom-emptying device is therefore needed. The improved device would be easy to install but would not result in wetting of a user's hand.
However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the art could be advanced to provide a bottom-emptying device that prevents a user's hands from coming into contact with the liquid fluid being drained from a bailer.

Bottom-emptying device for tapered bailer


A method for reducing areas of high field density in an integrated circuit is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes forming a first curvilinear wiring structure in a first interconnect layer of an integrated circuit. A second curvilinear wiring structure may be formed in a second interconnect layer of the integrated circuit, such that the first and second curvilinear wiring structures are substantially vertically aligned. The first curvilinear wiring structure may then be electrically connected to the second curvilinear wiring structure. A corresponding apparatus and design structure are also described.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to wiring structures and design structures in integrated circuits, and more particularly to wiring structures and design structures configured to reduce areas of high field density in integrated circuits.
2. Background of the Invention
Vertical natural capacitors are on-chip capacitors that are incorporated into the interconnect levels of integrated circuits, typically during Back-End-Of-The-Line ("BEOL") processes. Such capacitors may be placed in close proximity to various components on the integrated circuit in order to minimize inductive or resistive losses that may occur when using off-chip capacitors. Vertical natural capacitors may be formed using the same processes that are used to form wiring on integrated circuits, using the native insulator material as the dielectric. Thus, these capacitors may be fabricated without additional mask layers or new films, making these capacitors relatively simple and inexpensive to produce.
Conventional vertical natural capacitors are typically formed as interleaved, comb-like structures in the interconnect levels of the integrated circuit. FIG. 1 shows one example of a conventional vertical natural capacitor 100. In this example, a first comb-like structure 102a, forming a first electrode, interleaves with a second comb-like structure 102b, forming a second electrode. Circles 104 represent potential locations for vias connecting the comb-like structures 102a, 102b to similar or identical structures immediately above or below, thereby forming a stack. FIG. 2 shows a side profile of the vertical natural capacitor 100 showing the stack of comb-like structures 102b and vias 200 interconnecting the structures 102b.
One problem with the rectangular comb-like structures 102a, 102b of FIG. 1, as well as any other rectangular or x-y dimensioned wiring structure, is the corners, edges, or protrusions inherent in such structures. For example, FIG. 1 shows several corners 106 inherent in the comb-like structures 102a, 102b. These corners 106 may create areas of high electric field density which may cause capacitor breakdown, shorting, or current leakage through the dielectric. As will be explained in more detail in association with FIG. 6A, the rectangular configuration may also create areas of high field density when vias protrude from the sides of wires in such structures.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is a curvilinear wiring structure that is able to reduce areas of high field density, thereby reducing capacitor and other wiring structure breakdown, shorting, and leakage through the dielectric. Ideally, such a wiring structure would be easily incorporated into the interconnect levels of an integrated circuit. Further needed is a conductive via having a cross-sectional shape substantially conforming to a curvilinear shape of a wiring structure, and thereby reduce areas of high field density caused by vias protruding from the sides of wires.

Curvilinear wiring structure to reduce areas of high field density in an integrated circuit


System and method for generating personalized nutrition prescriptions and modifying the personalized nutrition prescriptions based on feedback. Exemplary implementations may: receive user input defining biometric information, physique goals associated with individual users, and/or other information; provide the nutrition prescriptions to the individual users based on the biometric information and the physique goals; provide the nutrition prescriptions to the individual users; obtain feedback from the individual users; modify the nutrition prescriptions based on comparison between the obtained feedback and projected progress towards the physique goals associated with the individual users; provide the modified nutrition prescriptions to the individual users; and/or other exemplary implementations.

Methods for providing diets or nutrition recommendations are known. Diets and/or nutrition recommendations may include personalized elements based on user input related to the user's body composition and/or other information. Diets and/or nutrition recommendations may provide users with calorie limits, serving sizes, types of foods to be consumed, and/or other nutritional information.

Systems and methods for generating personalized nutrition prescriptions and modifying the personalized nutrition prescriptions based on feedback


The invention provides a method of storing varying or intermittent electrical energy and one or more of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) with an energy apparatus, the method comprising: providing the first cell aqueous liquid, the second cell aqueous liquid, and electrical power from an external power source to the functional unit thereby providing an electrically charged functional battery unit and one or more of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) stored in said storage system, wherein during at least part of a charging time the functional unit is charged at a potential difference between the first cell electrode and the second cell electrode of more than 1.37 V.

Electrolysers are known in the art. US2015069836, for instance, describes a method for controlling a feed arrangement having a wind energy installation for feeding electrical power into an electrical supply system, comprising the following steps: generating electrical power using the wind energy installation from wind, feeding a first proportion of the generated electrical power into the electrical supply system, supplying a second proportion of the generated electrical power to an electrical consumer for consuming the supplied second proportion of the generated electrical power, and wherein depending on at least one monitored system state and/or depending on the prevailing wind, the second proportion of the generated electrical power which is supplied to the consumer is reduced wholly or partially and the first proportion of the electrical power fed into the electrical supply system is increased correspondingly, and to a corresponding feed arrangement.


Arrangement in a tube for an engine powered tool for support of a drive shaft extending inside the tube. A tube shaped section (15) acts as a shaft support (14) for the drive shaft and the tube shaped section (15) is constituted by a number of sections (19) provided with ribs (16) for support of the tube shaped section (15) inside the tube. The sections (19) are connected by flexible parts (17) placed between the sections (19) to absorb movements between the sections (19).

The claimed invention relates to a shaft support in a tube for an engine-powered tool, for example a clearing saw or a trimmer, and a method for assembling the shaft support in the tube.
A number of different types of engine powered tools are used in order to facilitate work in forests and gardens. One type of tool that is used to increase the range of action and improve the working conditions for the operator is clearing saws, trimmers and similar tools where the working tool is placed in the end of a tube.
The tools have different working tools but all of them have the same configuration with the engine placed in one end of the tube and the working tool in the other. The length of the tube is adapted depending on the work that the tool is used for. For example is the length of the tube on a grass trimmer selected so that the operator will be able to walk upright with the working tool in suitable height over the ground while a tool for pruning of trees have a longer tube so that the operator will be able to reach the top of the tree standing on the ground. Some tools have a straight tube while some have a curved tube in order to adapt the angle of the working tool to the surface that will be worked and to improve the range of action for the tool.
Since the engine is placed in one end of the tube and the working tool in the other must the power from the engine be transferred to the working tool. This is done by a stiff or flexible drive shaft that is running inside the tube from the engine to the working tool. If a straight tube is used is it possible to use a stiff or a flexible drive shaft while a curved tube requires a flexible drive shaft, normally made of a flexible wire or a line.
In order to reduce the amount of vibrations and sound generated by the drive shaft in the tube and also to reduce the wear and risk for failure is the drive shaft supported in the tube. The vibrations and sound is generated if the drive shaft is allowed to move in radial direction inside the tube.
There are a number of different shaft supports used today. All of them are pressed into the tube whit the drive shaft placed in its right position in the support. In the patent documents DE383954SC2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,961A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,307A and U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,932A are some of the different types of shaft support where the drive shaft is placed in a circular section in the center of the shaft support. Different types of curved of angled support arms extends outwards from the circular section in order to support the circular section and the drive shaft in the tube. The support arms curved shape is a result of a compromise that will facilitate the assembling of the shaft support and the drive shaft in the tube since the curved arms are allowed to bend towards the circular section which makes it possible to press the shaft support and the drive shaft into the tube. When the shaft support and the drive shaft in its right position will the curved arms return to their normal position resting against the inside of the tube so that the circular section and the drive shaft are supported.
The existing shaft supports all have the drawback that the supporting arms that are shaped to facilitate the assembling also makes it possible for the circular section and the drive shaft to move in radial direction during use. These movements means that the support of the drive shaft not is satisfying since the movements will generate vibrations and sound.
There is therefor a need for improved shaft supports for drive shafts running inside a tube so that the amount of vibrations and sound generated from the drive shaft during use are reduced.

Shaft support and method for assembling the shaft support in a tube


An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for controlling a processing system. The apparatus to control a processing system is provided with a plurality of modules configured to functionally execute the necessary steps of controlling a processing system. These modules in the described embodiments include a data acquisition module that acquires performance data for a processing system, a data analysis module that calculates the slope between adjacent data points, a data normalization module that normalizes the data and computes a second order difference between the calculated slopes, a performance analysis module that determines the performance value that corresponds to the maximum calculated slope, a performance comparison module that sets a preferred performance threshold, and a performance control module that controls the processing system to achieve the preferred performance threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to processing systems and more particularly relates to optimizing the performance of processing systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Processing systems respond to increased load with some degree of decreasing performance, or in other words, increases in throughput result in an increase in response time. The relationship between the two variables may appear to be linear at low throughput levels, since unpredictable (Poisson) arrivals can result in queue delays within a processor, router, or other resource. However, once average throughput approaches a limit, occasional bursts will result in more messages being queued, resulting in an increase in the average response time of messages. Consequently, relatively small increases in throughput may result in relatively greater increases in response time.
An unsystematic approach to the performance problem has been to determine a maximum acceptable response time for the system and use that as a limit for maximum throughput. This approach results in system utilization at a point that may be less than optimal. As systems become increasingly complex, the interactions between system components that are not operating at optimum performance can be bottlenecks for the overall system, greatly increasing overall inefficiency, possibly at an exponential rate. Locating and eliminating performance bottlenecks becomes proportionately difficult.
Methods for determining the point of optimum performance have focused on measuring the absolute change in response time for an increase in throughput, using a small number of data points. While this approach can approximate the optimum utilization, a method that utilizes a relative change in response time, using a large number of data points more accurately identifies a point of optimum system performance.

Apparatus, system, and method for controlling a processing system

Internationla Business Machines Corporation


A power module structure has a heat plate for contacting a heat sink, an insulating plate soldered to the heat plate, a terminal soldered to the insulating plate and a semiconductor chip having a contact point corresponding to the terminal so as to contact the terminal through this contact point. The terminal is provided with a shock absorbing part that serves to weaken the force generated due to the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between the terminal and the insulating plate. The terminal has a force restricting part that serves to restrict this force and is locally formed as a soldering area through which the terminal is soldered to the insulating plate. Such a structure is contained inside a base and makes a surface-contact with a heat sink to form a solid state relay.

This invention relates to a power module structure for an electronic component requiring a high level of reliability and heat-radiating capability, as well as to a solid state relay that uses such a power module structure.
As circuits are coming to be integrated in recent years, it is becoming a common practice to use a heat sink to remove heat from a heat-generating electronic component. For this reason, it is becoming an important technological problem to intimately contact an electronic component or a substrate to a heat sink for effectively removing heat. Since solder materials with a high melting point are coming to be used for reducing harmful substances to be used, however, the problem of warping (or bending deformation) is coming to be seriously considered because a warp makes the aforementioned intimate contact difficult to achieve.
It has also been known that a warp may result if a plurality of planar members having different coefficients of thermal expansion are soldered together. Solders of different kinds having different melting points generate different kinds of warps, and this effect becomes more pronounced as the melting point becomes higher. Solders with high melting points usually contain Pb as the main component. Since Pb is a soft material, it has been known to serve as a counter-measure against the problem of warping. FIG. 24 shows a power module structure of a conventional kind for a heat-generating electronic component. As can be see more clearly in FIG. 25, it is structured by soldering a heat plate 1 for contacting a heat sink (not shown) to an insulating plate 2, soldering a terminal (first terminal) 4 to this insulating plate 2, soldering a semiconductor chip 3 to the first terminal 4 so as to connect this first terminal 4 to a corresponding contact point of the semiconductor chip 3, and soldering other terminals (second and third terminals) 5 and 6 to the semiconductor chip 3 so as to connect the second and third terminals 5 and 6 each to a corresponding one of the contact points of the semiconductor chip 3. The first terminal 4 comprises an elongated main body 4A having a terminal part 4B at its tip. The heat plate 1 is adapted to be attached to the surface of the heat sink by screwing its attachment parts 7 to the heat sink surface.
In FIG. 26, symbol 1A indicates a main body part of the heat plate 1, provided with a rectangular soldering area 10-1 indicated by dotted lines over which the insulating plate 2 is attached. In FIG. 27, dotted lines 10-2 indicate another rectangular solder area on the insulating plate 2 over which the first terminal 4 is attached by soldering. In FIG. 28, dotted lines 10-3 indicate still another rectangular area defined at a center part of the main body 4A of the first terminal 4 over which the semiconductor chip 3 is attached by soldering. In FIG. 29, dotted lines 10-4 and 10-5 respectively indicate a triangular soldering area and a rectangular solder area defined on the semiconductor chip 3, respectively for attaching the second and third terminals 5 and 6 by soldering.
In the above, the soldering may be carried out by heating the heat plate, 1, the insulating plate 2, the semiconductor chip 3 and the first, second and third terminals 4, 5 and 6 as they are in the layered conditions so as to melt and harden the solder on each of the soldering areas 10-1-10-5. Alternatively, the soldering between the heat plate 1 and the insulating plate 2, that between the insulating plate 2 and the first terminal 4, that between the first terminal 4 and the semiconductor chip 3, and that between the semiconductor chip 3 and the second and third terminals 5 and 6 may be separately carried out. After a module structure 11 is thud formed by soldering, it is molded by means of a resin material 12 to obtain the power module structure shown in FIG. 24.
A mechanism for generating a warp in the insulating plate 2 and the first terminal 4 in the case of the power module structure thus formed as described above will be explained next with reference to FIGS. 30-33.
FIG. 30 shows schematically an example wherein the insulating plate 2 comprises Al2O3 and the first terminal 4 comprises Cu and is attached to the insulating plate 2 by using solder 10. The standard length of the insulating plate 2 is indicated by L1 and that of the first terminal 4 by L2. As temperature is raised from room temperature (25° C.) to Tp, the thermal expansion of the insulating plate 2 is nominal because of its material but the first terminal 4 expands outward as indicated by arrows F1, becoming longer than its standard length.
As temperature drops from Tp to Tm (>25° C.), the first terminal 4 shrinks as indicated by arrows F2 in FIG. 31. As temperature drops further from Tm, the first terminal 4 shrinks as shown by arrows F3 in FIG. 32. As temperature returns to 25° C., since the solder 10 hardens while the first terminal 4 is in an elongated condition, the first terminal 4 and the insulating plate 2 warp so as to become convex to the downward direction.
Explained more in detail, since the solder 10 has a very high melting point of about 300° C. (as compared to prior art solder with melting point of about 180° C.), the solder 10 becomes hardened at about 300° C. to connect the first terminal 4 with the insulating plate 2 when the first terminal 4 is in a thermally expanded condition while the insulating plate 2 is nearly of the original length. Thus, as temperature drops and both the first terminal 4 and the insulating plate 2 return to their original lengths, only the first terminal 4 shrinks and a warp results such that the first terminal 4 and the insulating plate 2 become convex to the downward direction.
Japanese Patent Publication Tokkai 10-167804 discloses a method of producing a circuit board for mounting to a heat-generating component such as a power module structure, characterized as using a sintered ceramic substrate bending in one direction by 1/4000- 1/100 of the length in that direction and in the perpendicular direction by ½ or less (inclusive of zero) of the bending in that direction, placing a circuit-forming metallic plate on the convex side of the ceramic substrate and a metallic plate for forming a heat-dissipating part on the concave side of the ceramic substrate and heating them to join them together such that the residual force generated at the time of producing the circuit substrate, such as when it is attached to the copper plate of the heat sink, can be increased.
With a prior art power module structure as described above, warping takes place due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion, causing a gap to appear between the heat plate 1 and the heat sink, thereby adversely affecting the efficiency of heat radiation. If the power module structure is structured such that the first terminal is curved, as described above, heat is transmitted to the side where it is bent less and the solder 10 is subjected to an excessive stress. This gives rise to the problem of material fatigue.
Since the soldering area for applying solder covers the entire surface as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 27, furthermore, the deformation takes place mainly on the outer side. This means that the force corresponding to the entire length of the soldering area will be on the first terminal 4, causing it to warp.

Power module structure and solid state relay using same


A superconducting conductor, having an excellent repeated temperature property with no reduction of critical current density against a temperature cycle, comprises an oxide superconductor and an fiber reinforced plastic ("FRP"), serving as a support member, which is composed with the oxide superconductor for integrally moving with the oxide superconductor in thermal expansion and thermal shrinkage. The oxide superconductor is bonded to the FRP with an adhesive agent, or wound on and fixed to the same with a Teflon tape or the like.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a superconducting conductor employing an oxide superconducting material.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, superconductors of ceramics, i.e., oxide superconductors, have been watched with interest as superconducting materials which exhibit higher critical temperatures. In particular, superconductors of yttrium, bismuth and thallium, which show high critical temperatures of about 90 K, 110 K and 120 K respectively, are expected as practicable materials. A wire of such an oxide superconductor, which is covered with a metal sheath, is particularly suitable for long wire fabrication. Thus, study has been made as to application of such an oxide superconductor to a cable, a bus bar, a current lead, a magnet and the like.
However, it is difficult to independently apply such a high-temperature superconducting material to a cable, a current lead or the like, since there is some problem regarding strength.
Further the superconducting material must withstand a temperature cycles between the working temperature and the room temperature. Superconducting properties, particularly the critical current density, of a conventional superconducting conductor have problem reduced due to such a temperature change.


A boat hull includes a dispersion tunnel extending fore and aft forming a channel within a hull bottom surface for receiving a flow of water. A gate is inserted into and out of the channel for affecting pressure on the hull bottom with movement between open and closed positions, wherein the gate is out of the channel and fully extended into the channel. By altering the depth of the gate into the channel, hull performance and wake shape are modified as desired.

A towboat used in water sports such as wake boarding and water skiing must provide a wake having a shape desirable for various events for the wake boarder or the skier. By way of example, the slalom skier may prefer a soft wake having narrow crests, a shallow trough and a low wake height. Further, the slalom skier may prefer a particular location of a rooster tail as well as a rooster tail that may be considered small and soft. In contrast, a wake boarder may desire a wider crest and no trough, if at all possible. Depending on the wake boarder's personal preference, a specific ramp angle of the wake may be desired as well as a particular lip shape. A high wake height is generally desirable at the typical towrope length ranges being used.
To avoid the expense associated with purchasing and owning more then one boat, there is a need to provide a performance boat hull that can provide a desirable wake for the slalom skier to the wake boarder both at a professional and amateur level. By providing a single boat hull that can vary the shape of its wake, a skier, a slalom skier, and a wake boarder, whether amateur or professional may find a desired wake shape from a single boat hull.

Boat hull dispersion tunnel engagement device and method


A method of controlling a data storage device comprising a storage medium using a storage device controller. The method may comprise receiving and providing data to be written to and read from the storage medium over a first interface of the data storage device; receiving and providing data to be written to and read from the storage medium over a second interface of the data storage device; and selectively processing at least data received and provided over the second interface through at least one of an audio codec and a video codec provided within the data storage device controller. The first interface may comprise, for example, a SAS/SATA interface and the second interface may comprise, for example, an HDMI or other high data rate interface.

Large capacity storage devices are currently deployed for use with both computing devices and audio/visual (AV) applications and devices. Devices such as Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) are examples of such AV applications. Conventionally, however, data storage devices store data in the same manner, irrespective of the type of data.

Methods and controllers for controlling a data storage device and data storage device comprising the same


A first pressure sensor capable of detecting pressure in a narrow pressure range with a high accuracy to detect internal pressure in the fuel tank is arranged in the fuel tank, and a second pressure sensor that is capable of detecting pressure in a wide pressure range with a low accuracy with respect to the first pressure sensor, and is capable of detecting internal pressure of the fuel tank, is arranged in vapor piping between the fuel tank and a tank blocking valve. When a filler lid switch is operated to release internal pressure of the fuel tank, the first pressure sensor detects internal pressure of the fuel tank so that an operation of the tank blocking valve is controlled on the basis of the detection result, and then a filler lid is opened when the internal pressure of the fuel tank becomes the atmospheric pressure.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel tank system, and more particularly to pressure detection structure in a closed type fuel tank.
Description of the Related Art
In a conventional fuel tank system, there is a technique for preventing release of a fuel evaporative emission formed by evaporation in a fuel tank into the atmosphere, in which a sealing valve (hereinafter referred to as a tank blocking valve), which is controlled so as to close the fuel tank, is provided in a path allowing the fuel tank to communicate with a canister. The tank blocking valve is opened at the time of filling so that the fuel evaporative emission is allowed to flow to the canister, thereby allowing the canister to absorb the fuel evaporative emission.
In such a fuel tank system, if the fuel tank is closed by the tank blocking valve, fuel in the fuel tank evaporates with a rise in outside air temperature, so that pressure in the fuel tank, or fuel tank internal pressure, may become high due to a fuel evaporative emission.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-92135, for example, describes a fuel evaporative emission preventing device, in which a pressure sensor is provided in a fuel tank to monitor fuel tank internal pressure, and if a fuel tank internal pressure becomes high while an engine is operating, a tank blocking valve is opened to allow a fuel evaporative emission in the fuel tank to flow into an air intake passage of the engine so that the fuel tank internal pressure is reduced.
In the fuel evaporative emission preventing device, a pressure sensor for detecting the fuel tank internal pressure is provided in a fuel tank to control an operation of a tank blocking valve on the basis of a detection value obtained by the pressure sensor.
Unfortunately, if abnormality occurs in the pressure sensor, there is a possibility that pressure in a fuel tank cannot be accurately detected so that a lid of a filling opening cannot be properly opened.

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


An imaging device includes a plurality of plane mirrors disposed into a polygonal pyramid shape, and a plurality of cameras disposed so as to individually face to the plurality of plane mirrors, wherein each of the plurality of cameras includes a lens, and an incident angle of a light beam traveling along an optical axis of the lens of each of the plurality of cameras on the corresponding one of the plurality of plane mirrors is less than 45°. With this configuration, the sizes of the mirrors and the whole size of the imaging device are reduced, to thereby miniaturize the imaging device.

The present invention relates to an imaging device capable of acquiring an image over a wide-angle field, specifically, an image over an omnidirectional or entire circumferential field.
As is well known, there have been developed various camera systems of a type of simultaneously acquiring images over an omnidirectional or entire circumferential field by a number of video cameras contained in one housing.
One of these camera systems has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,176, wherein a plurality of mirrors are disposed into a polygonal pyramid shape in such a manner that centers of view of the mirrors virtually correspond to each other, to thereby eliminate parallax caused among the plurality of cameras.
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of one example of a related art imaging device using a plurality of mirrors disposed into a polygonal pyramid shape as described above.
Referring to FIG. 1, the imaging device includes a plurality (eight, in this example) of plane mirrors 44 disposed into a polygonal (octagonal, in this example) pyramid shape, and cameras 41 of the same number as that of the plane mirrors 44 are disposed in such a manner as to individually face to the plane mirrors 44. In the figure, however, only the two plane mirrors 44 and the two cameras 41 disposed on a vertical plane passing through a center line of the imaging device are shown.
Each of the cameras 41 is provided with a lens 42 and an imaging element 43 in such a manner that the lens 42 is mounted to a camera body (not shown) in which the imaging element 43 and other components are contained.
In this imaging device, a light beam 46A passing through an uppermost end of the field of view expressed by an angle of view, a light beam 46B passing through a lowermost end of the field of view, and a light beam traveling along a lens optical axis 47 reflect from each of the mirrors 44 and enter the lens 42 of the corresponding camera 41, to form an image on the imaging element 43 of the camera 41.
In this case, by making virtual centers 45 of view of the plane mirrors 44 substantially correspond to each other, it is possible to suppress parallax caused among the plurality of cameras 41, and hence to acquire an image over a wide-angle field, specifically, an image over an omnidirectional or entire circumferential field by combining the images acquired by the plurality of cameras 41 with each other.
In this imaging device, as shown in FIG. 1, an incident angle of a light beam traveling along the lens optical axis 47 on each of the plane mirror 44 is set to 45°. Accordingly, the light beam traveling along the lens optical axis 47 enters the plane mirror 44 in the horizontal direction, reflects from the plane mirror 44, and enters the lens 42 in the vertical direction.
By the way, in the figure, character CL denotes a distance between the light beam 46B passing through the lowermost end of the field of view and a corner of a leading end portion of each lens 42.
To prevent the corner of the leading end of the lens 42 from being taken in an image, that is, to acquire an image without any "vignetting" by the corner of the leading end of the lens 42, the distance CL is required to satisfy a relationship of CL>0.
As shown in FIG. 1, the whole size of the imaging device is mainly determined by a height HL from an upper end of each plane mirror 44 and a lower end of the corresponding camera 41 (more specifically, a lower end of the imaging element 43) and a size LL of an upper surface of the inverted octagonal pyramid formed by the mirrors 44 (more specifically, a distance LL between the upper ends of two, facing to each other, of the mirrors 44 forming the octagonal pyramid).
To miniaturize the imaging device, both the height HL and the distance LL are required to be made small.
For example, to make both the height HL and the distance LL, it may be considered to make the camera 41 (lens 42 and the imaging device 43) close to the plane mirror 44. Such a configuration is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIGS. A and 2, a plane mirror 44S in this configuration can be made smaller than the plane mirror 44 in the configuration shown in FIG. 1. As a result, a height HS from an upper end of the mirror 44S to a lower end of the corresponding camera 41 in the configuration shown in FIG. 2 becomes smaller than the above-described height HL in the configuration shown in FIG. 1 (HS<HL), and a size LS of an upper surface of the inverted octagonal pyramid formed by the plane mirrors 44S in the configuration shown in FIG. 2 becomes smaller than the above-described size LL in the configuration shown in FIG. 1 (LS<LL), to thereby miniaturize the imaging device.
The configuration shown in FIG. 2, however, has a disadvantage that a distance between a light beam passing through a lowermost end of the field of view expressed by an angle of view and a corner of a leading end of each lens 42 becomes negative, and therefore, the "vignetting" by the corner of the leading end of the lens 42 occurs in an image.
Accordingly, to miniaturize the imaging device, it is required to make both the height HL and the distance LL as small as possible while keeping the distance CL between the light beam passing through the lowermost end of the field of view and the corner of the leading end of the lens 42 at a positive value.
In this case, a diameter of a leading end portion of the lens 42 of each camera 41 has a limitation to miniaturization of the imaging device.
As a result, the camera 41 cannot be made close to the corresponding plane mirror from a position at which the distance CL becomes zero.
Also, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 1, in the case where a size (particularly, a lateral width) of a camera body 41A in which the imaging device 43 and the like are contained is large relative to the lens 42, if the camera 41 is made close to the plane mirror, the camera body 41A thereof interferes with that of the adjacent camera 41. For example, in the case of a camera using three CCD imaging elements, a camera body of the camera becomes large.
This limitation further brings a difficulty in miniaturization of the imaging device.
Also, in the configuration of the imaging device shown in FIG. 1, the incident angle of a light beam traveling along the optical axis 47 of the lens 42 on the corresponding plane mirror 44 is set to 45°, and such a positional relationship determines the dimension of the plane mirror 44, with a result that the sizes of the plane mirrors 44 forming the octagonal pyramid and the whole size of the imaging device become large.
In addition, as described above, the whole size of the imaging device is mainly determined by the height HL from the upper end of the plane mirror 44 to the lower end of the camera 41 and the size LL of the upper surface of the inverted octagonal pyramid formed by the plane mirrors 44.
Since the values of the height HL and the size LL differ depending on the distance CL between the light beam passing through the lowermost end of the field of view and a corner of a leading end of the lens 42, the distance CL is required to be suitably set.
However, since the virtual centers 45 of view of the plurality of plane mirrors 44 can be made to substantially correspond to each other irrespective of the value of the distance CL, the distance CL can be set to an arbitrary value. For this reason, according to the related art imaging device, the distance CL has been not set at a suitable value, with a result that the whole size of the imaging device has become large.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A human-computer interface system and methods for providing intelligent, adaptive, multimodal interaction with users while accomplishing tasks on their behalf in some particular domain or combination of domains. Specifically, this system accepts user input via natural language text, mouse actions, human speech, whistles, gestures, pedal movements, facial or postural changes, and conveys results via natural language text, automatically-generated speech, and displays of graphs, tables, animation, video, and mechanical and chemical effectors that convey heat, tactile sensation, taste and smell.

Users of computer-mediated resources always have particular goals when accessing those resources. The goals may be sharp (learn address of company) or fuzzy (be entertained) may be temporary (find a restaurant) or persistent (achieve and maintain financial independence), and may consist of multiple related or independent sub-goals. Constructing accurate models of a user's goals is a critical prerequisite to providing intelligent interaction with that user. Unfortunately, there is no monolithic, domain-independent body of knowledge that can accurately supply enough information concerning likely user mental states, to make a universal interface practical. In fact, every new capability that becomes available modifies the set of potential goals, plans, and tasks that is relevant to discourse. Consequently, a static set of models can never be satisfactory for long. User goals with respect to a given domain are tightly related to tasks that may be accomplished in that domain and to the referents or objects of those tasks. Thus, an ideal system would utilize domain-specific (or sub-domain-specific) information to infer the user's mental state from his interaction, and would support easy addition of such information to an existing interface. Additionally, to be helpful, a user interface must consider the history of interaction, including previous user signals, goals and their outcomes, and must consider the information that was recently disclosed to the user, and the various ways of referring to that information. While the invention is applicable to all forms of human/computer communication, the main theoretical underpinnings are to be found in verbal discourse phenomena. Most of the following description refers to verbal discourse, but the invention contemplates applicability to virtually all non-verbal discourse as well, including mouse-actions, gestures, winks, etc. Similarly, system outputs are shown as text, tables, and graphs, but call also include generated speech, audible tones, blinking lights, and arbitrary transducers that stimulate sensory organs of the user.
Few previous computer interface systems have attempted to deduce user goals and intent, as this is a very difficult task requiring a sophisticated representations of the domain of discourse, the user, and the way that language is used for the given domain. Additionally, most systems are forced to ignore the context of interactions, as they do not provide a full representation of the user's previous communications, and of the information that resulted from prior interaction. Another area that other systems have neglected is that of providing users with a visual depiction of the reasoning which takes place as their communications are analyzed and interpreted. Such a visual depiction provides useful feedback for users, while simultaneously giving them an opportunity to fine-tune the system's understanding by directly reinforcing or disputing a particular assumption. No other invention disclosed to date has applied the full capability of multilevel discourse modeling to multimodal inputs, or created multimedia responses consistent and appropriate to the full spectrum of user interests and system capabilities.
Several patents have addressed the meaning of text in human-computer discourse. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,386 to Prager presents a method and apparatus for intelligent help that matches the semantic similarity of the inferred intent, one of the few systems that attempts to consider user intent. The system is directed to a single and limited arena of providing help for users of computer systems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,386 omits a facility for domain modeling, discloses no way for composing domain knowledge, and provides no means capturing and generalizing previous or expert interactions. Prager's disclosure describes only a single, limited weighting scheme to infer best matches of potential meanings, while the invention we describe can exploit any appropriate combination of belief calculus methods to calculate the user's likely intent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,459, to Belfiore, et al. describes an intelligent automatic searching for resources in a distributed environment and mentions "determining the meaning of text" in several different areas. However, the specification discloses no mechanism to represent the potential goals and intentions of a user, and describes only a surface-level syntactic analysis of the user's text, rendering the system incapable of exhibiting intelligent behavior.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,398 to Peterson, et al. discloses a method, device and system for noise-tolerant language understanding. This reference also mentions determination of "meanings" from input text, but is directed at correction of ill-formed input via a match function induced by machine learning techniques. However, Peterson uses no explicit domain or user model.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,221 to Liddy, et al. provides a multilingual document retrieval system and method using semantic vector matching, but the representation of domain knowledge in this case is merely a correlation matrix which stores the relative frequency with which given pairs of terms or concepts are used together. Also, no attempt is made to understand the unique context of the user, beyond knowing which language (e.g. English v. French) he or she is using.
Another aspect of the present invention is the language used in human-computer discourse behavior which several patents have addressed. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,191 to Amirghodsi, et al. disclose an adaptive natural language computer interface system that uses cryptographic techniques, as well as heuristics, to map users input into the language used to control a computer program or robotic system. The system fails to achieve the requisite robustness because it is attempting to match the surface aspects of input language to output language, with no attempt to represent the meaning of the communication or the intentions of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,539 to Conrad, et al. provides an anticipated meaning natural language interface, which is used to add a natural language interface to a computer application. The system provides no mechanism for modeling the user or the domain (beyond that of the particular application) so it cannot be used for the broad range of tasks that users wish to accomplish.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,701 to Wachtel describes a control signal processing method and apparatus having natural language interfacing capabilities. However, Wachtel only describes the facility to represent the surface parse of natural language input; it does not represent or consider the meaning or intention of the user who communicated that input.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,404 to Della Pietra, et al. recounts a statistical natural language understanding using hidden clumpings. U.S. Pat. No. '404 uses any of a variety of statistical models to learn the likely meaning of language from examples. However, the Della Pietra system has no way of relating those mappings to a model of the user, his thoughts and intentions, and to the communications peculiar to a given domain, or to the recent history of discourse.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,774 to de Hita, et al. discloses a natural language information retrieval system and method that consists mainly of a database to permit parsing of terms that are not easily recognized by simple morphological analysis and dictionary lookup. However, it includes no mechanism for representing domain knowledge, discourse plans and goals, or (conversational) problem-solving approaches, nor any way to compose multiple domain knowledge sources into a single repository. Thus, it does not enable or use prerequisite information to accurately assess the goals, intentions and meanings of users.
Recently, U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,100 to Dutton, et al., discloses a voice-activated connection which parses very limited verbal commands, but does not include a model of user's possible goals in a domain, or mention any mechanism to create such an explicit representation. Without such representation, and the capability of drawing inferences about user intentions, the system will never be capable of behaving as if it understands natural language queries and statements
U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,338 to Haszto, et al. described natural language knowledge servers as network resources, an invention which acts as an intermediary between the user and various web resources. This system supports some distribution of the knowledge used in interpreting the user's requests, but lacks a model of the user, his goals, or intentions. The system also lacks a model of the domain which is independent of the particular web servers with which it communicates. Because of this deficiency, the system is unable to understand requests that span multiple web servers, or to accomplish the tasks that will satisfy such requests.
An additional feature of the present invention is its multimodal capabilities. In the present context, multimodal refers to any means of conveying user input to the computer, and any means of informing the user of facts and results that ensue form his interaction. Several inventions have explored limited multimodal interactions with limited success compared with the present invention. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,841 to Morin, et al. describes a supervised contextual language acquisition system, which is aimed at teaching a user the application-specific language of a particular computer application, rather than generalized understanding and fulfillment of user requests in a broad domain. The system uses some historical model of the user and accepts a limited subset of natural language input, but lacks a model of the goals that a user might possess, the mapping of those goals to language, or to the concepts that can be referred to in a domain, beyond the strict limits of a single software application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,179 to Nakajima, et al. presents a multimodal information inputting method and apparatus for embodying the same, and describes a scheme for correlating the actions of a user-directed cursor to language that is spoken concurrently. Nakajima does not, however, include any method for understanding the meaning and intentions of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,974 to Johnson describes a multimodal natural language interface for cross-application tasks. However, this reference focuses primarily on spoken, typed or handwritten communications from users, and lacks any deep model of discourse and similarly lacks a domain model beyond the Application Programmer Interfaces (APIs) of various programs the user might want to control.
In addition to the cited references, there has been research conducted in this area and several published works. For example, An architecture for a generic dialogue shell, by Allen, et al. proposed "generic dialogue shell" which has design goals similar to those of the current invention. One weakness of Allen's shell is that the knowledge about a particular domain and the language, concepts, potential tasks, and constraints of that domain are separated from the modules that weigh particular interpretations of user utterances. This approach renders it impossible to maintain the requisite modularity among different facets of functionality and language. Additionally, Allen's shell offers no support for modalities other than speech, and lacks a model of the traits of the user with respect to particular domains or sub-domains. Another shortcoming of Allen's shell is that there is no provision to use a variety of belief-calculus techniques to determine the most appropriate interpretations or the style of reasoning about a given domain. Thus, potential interpretations within that domain is not an independent quality that can be delegated to some generic parser or discourse manager. Another useful innovation that Allen's architecture lacks is the ability to determine the appropriateness of an interpretation by actually performing it. In many cases, this "trial by execution" approach can resolve ambiguity quickly and accurately.
Cyc: A Large-Scale Investment in Knowledge Infrastructure, a work by Lenat, takes a widely differing approach, and may, at some point become a complementary technology. The Lenat work consists of the CYC knowledgebase, which is an effort to construct enough of the concepts and relations about commonly encountered domains, to perform what is termed "commonsense reasoning" or reasoning which is NOT confined to a particular domain or sub-domain. The CYC effort has been accumulating and encoding knowledge for about sixteen years, and may, eventually, offer a practical framework for accessing multi-domain functionality. It is clear that the availability and success of the CYC knowledgebase would ultimately broaden the area of applicability of the current invention, as portions of CYC could be accessed through the World Model Agency of the current invention, and that knowledge could help the discourse planner to reason about plausible user goals and intentions.
Therefore, while several attempts have been made at creating computer interface systems, few have attempted to deduce user goals and intent. Therefore, there remains a need for a system that deduces user goals and intent while providing a full representation of the user's previous communications, the information that resulted from prior interaction, as well as a visual depiction of the reasoning which takes place as their communications are analyzed and interpreted. None of the prior art has disclosed an invention that fully exploits discourse modeling and flexible inference of user's beliefs, intentions and goals to achieve appropriate interpretations of multimodal inputs or to organize output signals in a way appropriate to a user's history and preferences.


A method and system for tuning channel spacing for a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transport system includes determining a spectrum width for a channel. A bandwidth of a group of base channels covering the spectrum width for the channel is allocated to the channel. A passband of a channel filter at a center frequency of the group is adjusted to correspond to the spectrum width of the channel.

Telecommunications systems, cable television systems and data communication networks use optical networks to rapidly convey large amounts of information between remote points. In an optical network, information is conveyed in the form of optical signals through optical fibers. Optical fibers are thin strands of glass capable of transmitting the signals over long distances with very low loss.
Optical networks often employ wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to increase transmission capacity. In a WDM network, a number of optical channels are carried in each fiber at disparate wavelengths. Network capacity is based on the number of wavelengths, or channels, in each fiber and the bandwidth, or size of the channels.
The optical channels may be one or more of OC-48 channels having a frequency bandwidth of 50 gigahertz (GHz), OC-192 channels having a frequency bandwidth of 100 GHz, OC-768 channels having a frequency bandwidth of 200 GHz, and the like. The channels are each data modulated, frequency adjusted and/or filtered based on a fixed bandwidth and a specified frequency. The utilization of transmission resources in each channel varies over time depending on channel data rates. Unused channel capacity is wasted and limits traffic that can be carried by the network.

Tunable channel spacing for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transport system


The microreflectometer system, forming a 0.01 mm.sup.2 area spot, scans a mirror coating for defects of a mirror having a diameter of about 30 centimeters. Tens of thousands of reflectivity measurements are automatically taken as a computer controlled three dimension stage having the test mirror therein is selectively controlled. The reflectivity of each measurement either relative or absolute is used to determine the condition of the coating.

This invention relates generally to means for testing high-power laser mirrors, and, in particular relates to an apparatus for measuring mirror reflectivity of areas on the order of 0.01 mm.sup.2.
Mirrors used in high-power laser applications must have high reflectivity in order to avoid excessive absorption of incident radiation. Heat transfer analysis indicates that, under some critical conditions, the area of small mirror imperfections may grow during laser operation, leading to excessive heating and destruction of the mirror. The critical conditions for the initiation of this phenomenon (known as thermal runaway) depend on the geometric scale of the surface imperfection, its absorptivity, the incident radiation intensity, and the surface temperature level at which the mirror coating deteriorates. Since the latter two parameters are fixed, it is important to characterize coating imperfections with regard to geometric scale and reflectivity, prior to the use of the mirror in an actual laser. High reflectivities are generally achieved by the use of thin multilayer optical coatings of dielectric over a metal coating. The achievement of the desired reflectivity is usually confirmed, prior to a high-power laser test, by the use of a reflectometer. Conventional reflectometers provide average values of reflectivity over relatively large areas on the order of 1 cm.sup.2, yet visual inspection of coated mirrors sometimes indicates small-scale surface imperfections from, 0.01 to 0.1 mm.sup.2 in area. If a laser mirror has a diameter of about a foot, the number of measurements using a conventional reflectometer that inspects an area of about 1 cm.sup.2, is on the order of 500 to 1000. For a microreflectometer that inspects 0.01 mm.sup.2, it takes 10,000 measurements to scan a 1 cm.sup.2 mirror area. Using a manual system of scanning a mirror surface would clearly be a very time consuming process.
These drawbacks have motivated a search for an improved reflectometer system.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


A baby monitor system includes a transmitter unit that has a first receiver to receive baby sounds, a transmitter to transmit a signal corresponding to the baby sounds, and a transmitter housing to house the first receiver and the transmitter. The transmitter housing includes a faceplate connector. The baby monitor system also includes a receiver unit having a second receiver to receive the signal transmitted by the transmitter unit. The baby monitor system further includes a plurality of transmitter faceplates that can be interchangeably connected to the faceplate connector of the transmitter housing.

Baby monitor systems exist for monitoring the status of a baby when a parent cannot see the baby. Baby monitor systems typically include a child unit that remains near the baby and a portable parent unit that a parent can carry. The child unit generally includes a radio transmitter, and the parent unit generally includes a radio receiver operating on the same frequency as the radio transmitter. The child unit has a microphone that picks up sounds from the baby, and the child unit converts the sounds to an electrical signal and transmits the electrical signal to the parent unit. The parent unit receives the electrical signal and sends it to a speaker, where it is converted into sound. Thus, if a parent has to leave a room in which the baby is resting, the baby monitor system allows the parent to listen to the baby while the parent takes care of business in other parts of the house.
Parents often take particular care to decorate the baby's nursery. Conventional baby monitors, however, can clash with the décor of the baby's nursery. For example, a blue-colored baby monitor unit may clash with a baby nursery painted pink. Conversely, a pink-colored baby monitor unit may clash with a baby nursery painted blue.
Thus, there is a need for a baby monitor system that would blend in with the other surroundings in a baby's nursery.


A nozzle device has a hollow main body, a rotor, and a hollow nozzle cover. The hollow main body has an opening, a hollow chamber communicating with the opening, and a through hole communicating with the hollow chamber. The rotor has a taper first end and a plurality of guide recesses formed on a second end of the rotor. The hollow nozzle cover has a center aperture, a guide groove communicating with the center aperture, and an enlarged groove communicating with the guide groove. The rotor is inserted in the hollow chamber. The hollow nozzle cover is inserted in the opening.

The present invention relates to a nozzle device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a nozzle device which can increase a rotation speed of a rotor.
A conventional nozzle device may produce instantaneous current in a certain direction. Therefore, a large amount of water will spray a certain area. Furthermore, the spray angle of the conventional nozzle device is very small. The sprayed water cannot cover a large area. In addition, the atomization effect of the sprayed water is poor.


A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel is disclosed. The LCD panel includes a first alignment layer formed on a first substrate and a second alignment layer formed on a second substrate. A liquid crystal layer having a plurality of liquid crystal molecules between the first alignment layer and the second alignment layer is exposed using a photomask from a side of the second substrate away from the first substrate. Thus, a portion of the liquid crystal molecules are arranged at a first pre-tilt angle and the other portion of the liquid crystal molecules are arranged at a second pre-tilt angle less than the first pre-tilt angle.

In-plane switching mode liquid crystal display (IPS-LCD) panels are becoming more and more popular because they can present a wider viewing angle to a viewer than twisted nematic (TN) mode LCD panels. Generally, an IPS-LCD panel includes two opposite substrates and a liquid crystal layer coupled between the two opposite substrates. Liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer are arranged along a predetermined orientation by an alignment layer in an initial state. When a voltage is applied to form an electric field within the liquid crystal layer, the liquid crystal molecules are twisted to realize a display function of the IPS-LCD.

Liquid crystal display panel and method for manufacturing the same

Century Technology (Shenzhen) Corporation Limited


A side curtain air bag unit includes a cover; an air bag housed in the cover; at least one mounting flap extending from the air bag and fastened to a vehicle body; a ramp holding the air bag and cover therein, mounted adjacent to an upper end of a B-pillar trim to guide deployment of the air bag such that the B-pillar trim does not interfere with the deployment; and a fastening member having a first end secured to the cover, and a second end which passes through the ramp and is secured to the body of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a side curtain air bag unit that prevents a deploying air bag from being obstructed by the upper end of a B-pillar trim.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known in the art, a side curtain air bag is installed on a roof side rail and is deployed in an impact to protect an occupant's head.
The side curtain air bag extends from the A-pillar, through the B-pillar, to the C-pillar. Upon deployment, the side curtain air bag is likely to be interfered with by the upper end of the B-pillar trim, thus causing delayed or poor deployment. A ramp or deflector is sometimes installed adjacent to the upper end of the B-pillar trim to prevent this.
The ramp is likely to generate rattling noise at normal times, or to flap or fluctuate during the inflation of the air bag, thus causing poor deployment. Also, when assembling the headlining, the position of the ramp can change, thus causing poor deployment of the air bag.
The information disclosed in this Background of the invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art that is already known to a person skilled in the art.


The support for offset socket keys, each key comprising a first arm and a second arm which extend in a plane Q, comprises a body which is provided with a series of openings which extend in a plane P and a retention unit for retaining the series of keys relative to the body (4), the keys being offset vertically relative to each other. The retention unit is laterally offset relative to the plane P and is arranged sloping relative to the body in order to retain the vertically offset keys in the storage and transport position, in parallel planes Q which deviate angularly from the plane P.

Current cases which serve to store a series of offset socket keys having different sizes, generally from eight to ten in number, often present the keys in a flat state, all in the same plane or in parallel planes.
DE-U1-29682802 discloses a flat support which is provided with two faces, on each of which the offset keys are snap-fitted in the flat state in a vertically offset position relative to each other. Each arm of an offset key is retained by a constriction fastener. Though the retention of the large keys does not present any major difficulty, that of the small keys is not ensured, thereby increasing the risk of those keys becoming detached and lost.
FR-A1-2 680 724 discloses a case comprising at least two shells which are formed by separate pieces which are hinged together. The offset socket keys of one of the shells are arranged in openings and their heads are snap-fitted substantially perpendicularly relative to the plane of the shell, respectively. Access to any specific key is convenient but the arrangement of the series of keys makes the case provided with keys relatively bulky.

Support for a series of offset socket keys, and case for offset keys comprising at least two corresponding hinged supports


A method for detecting and enumerating viable microorganisms in a sample suspected of containing said microorganisms (1) contacting said microorganisms of said sample with at least one repair compound and a growth medium, and (2) incubating the product of steps (1), and (3) detecting and quantifying said viable microorganisms, in which the microorganisms are of the species Legionella pneumophila, and in which the repair compound directly or indirectly causes an effect on the metabolism to reduce the oxidative stress of the microorganism. The invention also includes a kit for more accurately detecting and enumerating viable microorganisms of the species Legionella pneumophila in a sample suspected of containing said microorganisms.

Legionella bacteria are ubiquitous in wet or moist environments such as soil and non-marine aquatic habitats. They can also be found in warm and cold water installations, cooling towers of air conditioning systems and water humidifiers.
Legionella, especially Legionella pneumophila, are pathogens that can cause an acute bacterial pneumonia, generally known as "legionnaires disease", which is often lethal for infected individuals.
Traditionally detection and enumeration of Legionella pneumophila are achieved by cell culturing. This method may be achieved by measuring culturable bacteria using plate count or measuring micro-colonies employing a filter membrane method. These techniques evaluate viable bacteria by their ability to form a colony or micro-colony. Unfortunately, such methods usually require between 3 and 10 days in order to allow the colonies or micro-colonies to form. Where water installations are still in operation there is an unacceptable risk of human infection during this time.
Other methods for detecting total Legionella microorganisms include PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) techniques. PCR employs DNA polymerase to amplify a piece of DNA by in vitro enzymatic replication. During the progression of the technique the DNA generated is used as a template for replication which brings about a chain reaction in which the DNA template is exponentially amplified. PCR enables a single or few copies of a piece of DNA to be amplified by generating millions or more copies of the DNA piece. Typically such a method is described by Diederen et al., J Med. Microbiol. 2007 January; 56 (Pt 1):94-101.
However a drawback of PCR is that the samples tend to contain polymerisation reaction inhibitors and therefore do not consistently provide quantitative results. Furthermore, the technique relies upon a prior DNA purification step which can result in loss of DNA with the consequential underestimation of the Legionella present. To some extent these disadvantages are overcome by real-time PCR which is quantitative. However, the technique cannot distinguish between viable cells and non-viable cells.
Another technique is fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) in which an oligonucleotidic probe labelled by a fluorescent substance penetrates into the bacteria cells. Where the ribosomal nucleic acids (rRNA) have the correct sequence to the probe known as the target, the probe will attach itself to its target and will not be removed by any subsequent washing step. The bacteria in which the probe is fixed will then emit a fluorescent signal. This fluorescent signal may then be quantified by techniques such as flow cytometry, solid phase cytometry, or epifluorescent microscopy. A typical FISH technique is described by Dutil S et al J Appl Microbiol. 2006 May; 100(5):955-63. However, using the FISH technique alone the total number of viable Legionella pneumophila could be detected but unfortunately the method could not exclusively identify only those Legionella pneumophila bacteria able to divide and by consequence make a colony.
A further method for enumerating viable Legionella pneumophila involves ChemChrome V6 and is described by Delgado-Viscogliosi et al Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 July; 71(7):4086-96. This method allows the quantification of Legionella pneumophila as well as discrimination between viable and non-viable bacteria. It combines specific detection of Legionella cells using antibodies and a bacterial viability marker (ChemChrome V6) and employing epifluorescent microscopy for the enumeration. However, although this technique distinguishes between viable and non-viable cells it is not able to separately identify those colony-forming bacteria.
US 20070218522 describes methods and compositions for detecting and quantifying viable Legionella and other heterotrophic aerobic bacteria the method includes the use of dipslides that include an absorbent medium, growth promoting and growth selective substances for rapid detection and quantification of micro-colonies of Legionella. This technique would not enumerates injured bacteria.
EP 1329515 relates to a method of testing for the presence of microorganisms in a gaseous environment comprising hydrogen peroxide by bringing the gaseous environment into contact with an agar growth medium comprising a salt of pyruvic acid and allowing the development of colonies of the microorganisms.
Techniques which involve the growth of colonies on a growth medium, such as a nutrient agar plate, are generally considered to be more accurate. Consequently the plate count method remains the preferred choice of method for obtaining the total viable count. This generally means applying a sample suspected of containing the microorganism onto a plate containing a solid nutrient source or growth medium. Such a technique is generally referred to as plating. By total viable count we mean the total number of bacteria capable of yielding a population discernible by the observer. Typically this will mean a visible colony on the surface of a growth medium such as nutrient agar plate.
However, microorganisms such as Legionella pneumophila in the environment may be subject to one or more stresses which prevent the microorganism from growing and multiplying in its environmental situation. Such stressed microorganisms would not divide at all or form a visible colony under normal culturing conditions. In the environment a proportion of microorganisms cells will generally be stressed due to environmental conditions, such as starvation, presence of biocide, heat shock and desiccation. Furthermore, these cells may be in a vulnerable physiological state in which the technique of plating the microorganisms may exacerbate stressing of those already stressed microorganisms cells due to the presence of atmospheric oxygen. Furthermore this could lead to artifactual death of the stressed bacteria leading to an underestimation of the total viable count.
In addition, underestimation of viable Legionella pneumophila with plating method might become hazardous in regard to its pathogenicity.
Since the 1970s it has been reported that scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS) should be used to limit the effect of oxidative stress during the plating process. This was reported by Speck et al, repair and enumeration of injured coliforms by a plating procedure, Appl Microbiol 29, 549-50 (1975); Martin et al Catalase: its effect on microbial enumeration. Appl Environ Microbiol 32, 731-4 (1976); Brewer et al Beneficial effects of catalase or pyruvate in a most-probable-number technique for the detection of Staphylococcus aureus. Appl Environ Microbiol 34, 797-800 (1977); McDonald et al, Enhanced recovery of injured Escherichia coli by compounds that degrade hydrogen peroxide or block its formation. Appl Environ Microbiol 45, 360-5 (1983); Marthi et al) Resuscitation effects of catalase on airborne bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 57, 2775-6 (1991); Busch and Donnelly Development of a repair-enrichment broth for resuscitation of heat-injured Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua. Appl Environ Microbiol 58, 14-20 (1992); and Dukan et al, Oxidative stress defense and deterioration of growth-arrested Escherichia coli cells. J Biol Chem 274, 26027-32 (1999).
However, in all the aforementioned cases the inventors of the present invention believe that the ROS would be reduced by a direct route in which the compound reacts chemically with ROS.
Bérubé et al, "Rapid detection and identification of Legionella pneumophila by membrane immunoassay", Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 1989, 55, 1640-1641 describes the detection and identification of Legionella pneumophila by an immunoblot assay using a monoclonal antibody. No means is provided for dealing with the problem of injured bacteria.
An article by Pine et al (Role of keto acids and reduced-oxygen-scavenging enzymes in the growth of Legionella species. J Clin Microbiol 23, 33-42 (1986)) describes the necessity for the addition of keto acids and reduced oxygen scavenging enzyme is to optimise the growth of Legionella pneumophila and suggested using these materials in the medium used for standard enumeration of this microorganism.
However the use of keto acids and reduced oxygen scavenging enzyme alone is insufficient to repair the stressed Legionella pneumophila cells to be repaired and allow accurate enumeration. This is especially so when using a specific growth medium for Legionella pneumophila, such as buffered charcoal yeast extract (BCYE) agar medium. In fact, there is no data available concerning the optimisation of a standard medium useful for the accurate enumeration of Legionella pneumophila.
Thus an objective of the present invention is to find a method for accurately enumerating Legionella pneumophila. This is especially so in regard to its standard method using the plating technique.

Detection and enumeration of microorganisms

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE (CNRS)


Fire control valve through which flows flammable material, such as gas or liquid, includes exteriorly located, replaceable locking pin assembly having a locking pin for locking the valve member of the fire control valve in the open position to enable flow through the fire control valve, the locking pin assembly being also located out of the path of such flow and including a heat-meltable material that holds locking pin in locked position with the valve member and, upon being melted, enables release of locking pin from locked position; the fire control valve including a sealing arrangement to prevent escape of flammable material to atmosphere past valve member and locking pin assembly.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a fire control valve and more particularly to a valve installed in a flow line for a flammable fluid or gas and which is in a normally open position to allow flow of the fluid or gas but will be automatically closed to interrupt such flow in the event of a hazardous condition, such as a fire or undue increased heat.
2. Background Information
Fire control valves, which allow flow of fluid or gas, but will be automatically closed to interrupt such flow in the event of fire or undue increased heat, are known in the prior art. Such prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,890,635 (1990) and 5,004,003 (1991), both of which have issued in my name; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 422,583 (1890), 2,638,106 (1953), 3,473,544 (1959), 3,720,220 (1973), and 3,835,875 (1974).
Each of the patents indicated above discloses the use of a low melting metal alloy or fusible material, which when subjected to undue heat, melts and enables the triggering of mechanism connected to the fusible or low melting material to interrupt the flow of flammable fluid or gas. In some instances, the low melting material is in the form of a mechanical link, such as shown at 64 in FIG. 3 of my U S. Pat. No. 4,890,635, and at 74 in FIG. 3 of my U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,003. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,638,106, a fusible link is shown at 35 in FIG. 1 (the rupture of such link and the consequent closing of a valve being shown in FIG. 2).
My invention provides a fire control valve, which has a readily replaceable locking pin assembly for locking a movable valve member in the fire control valve in an open position to enable flow of flammable material through the fire control valve. The locking pin assembly includes as part of the assembly a heat-meltable material. When the heat-meltable material is caused by fire or undue increased heat to melt, the locking pin of the locking pin assembly is caused to retract from the valve member and allow the valve member to close, thereby interrupting the flow of flammable material through the fire control valve.
When the conditions causing the fire or undue increased heat have been corrected, it then becomes necessary to reset the fire control valve so that the flow of flammable material through the fire control valve can be resumed. The locking pin assembly is removed from the fire control valve,,and another one, which has already been prepared to include heat-meltable material, is readily installed in place of the other without undue delay, and then the valve member is locked in the open position again.
The Nielsen, Jr. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,544 (1969), discloses a plug 19, which contains a metallic alloy that will melt at a low temperature, and appears to be replaceable, but does not contain a locking pin that makes direct locking engagement with a valve member as I disclose. This is also true in the Morse patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,875 (1974), which discloses a plug 20 that also contains a heat-meltable metallic alloy.
The Shiels patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,638,106 (1953), discloses a locking pin for making direct locking engagement with a valve member, but the fuse element 35 is not part of the locking pin. Also, the valve housing must be partially dismantled before the fuse element can be replaced and the valve member reset in the open position. Shiels further discloses a diaphragm 27, which is used to seal off one end of the opening in which the locking pin is located, as well as levers 25 and 32, all of which must intervene between the fuse element 35 and the locking pin or plunger 10.
The McMath patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,220 (1973), discloses a fusible plug assembly 40. When the fusible plug members 44, 46 are caused to melt, the retraction of the pin 48 in the fusible plug assembly is controlled by the movement of the valve or ball 32 against the pin 48 and the flow pressure of the liquid against the ball 32. The retraction of the locking pin in my invention is controlled solely by the locking pin assembly, once the fusible material in the locking pin assembly is caused to melt. It would also appear that the retraction movement of the pin 48 in McMath would not be as readily responsive as is the retraction movement in my invention because the patentee discloses the use of a seal 50 that necessarily must fit tightly around the pin 48 so as to prevent leakage into the fusible plug assembly of the liquid paint flowing through the valve. This tight fit would appear to cause undue friction on the pin and thereby serve to retard its retraction movement. Still a further difference in my invention over the McMath structure is that I locate the locking pin assembly on the fire control valve out of the path of flow of the flammable material and then seal off the locking pin assembly from any escape therepast of the flammable material to atmosphere.
It should be noted that in the Shiels patent mentioned above, the locking pin is also located within the flow path of the flammable material. This is also true in the Nielsen, Jr. and Morse patented structures discussed above.
The Finch et al patent, U.S. Pat. No. 422,583 (1890), discloses a locking pin G and a fusible nut I, but the fusible nut I is not interconnected with the locking pin G. Therefore, the locking pin G must be retracted from its locking with the valve-stem D after the fusible nut has been installed or else the valve-stem will not close when the fusible nut is caused to melt.

Fire control valve with replaceable locking pin assembly