An apparatus and method for cutting sheet material in which the apparatus comprises a turntable, a cutter guide and a cutter mounted on and moveable along the cutter guide. A piece of sheet material to be cut is mounted on the turntable and a straight line is cut in the material by keeping the turntable stationary and pressing the cutter into the card and moving it along the guide. An arch is cut in the card by rotating the turntable underneath the stationary cutter. The movement of the turntable is limited by a pair of stoppers. Stoppers are provided for limiting the travel of the cutter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus, and in particular, but not exclusively, to cutting apparatus for cutting sheet material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When framing pictures and photographs it is usual for a piece of sheet material or cut card, known as a mountboard, to be inserted between the picture or photograph and a glass cover plate. The mountboard is provided with an aperture through which the picture or photograph can be viewed. The aperture may be e.g., square, rectangular, circular, oval or arch-shaped, and is usually provided with a bevelled edge to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the mountboard.
If a bevelled edge is desired this is achieved simply by mounting the blade of a cutter at the desired angle of bevelling relative to the planar surface of a mountboard to be cut. The angle of bevelling is normally about 45.degree. if the mountboard is cut from the front, but it can be about 135.degree. if it is cut from the rear of the card.
Square and rectangular holes in mountboards can be achieved fairly simply and quickly by a skilled operator simply by sliding a cutter along a straight edge and repeating the process until the desired shape has been achieved. This process can be used for all polygonal shapes.
Circular and elliptical shapes can be cut by using appropriate templates. However, cut mountboards produced by such methods tend to take a long time to produce, and to be of poor quality so that sanding down of the mountboard is generally necessary in order to achieve an acceptable finish.
In order to overcome these problems machines have been devised wherein an integrally mounted blade is rotated relative to a piece of board to be cut to produce a desired shape of mountboard. Circles can be cut by machines in which the blade is rotatably mounted about a central pivot. Ellipses can be cut by more complex machines in which a combination of rotational and translational movement is used to produce a desired ellipse.
There has, however, been a long-standing problem in cutting acceptable arch mountboards, more particularly, in producing mountboards which define holes known as cathedral arches. The term "cathedral arch" is used herein to refer to an arch which has an arcuate, for example, a substantially semicircular, top, substantially parallel sides which extend from the top and a base which is substantially perpendicular to each of the substantially parallel sides. The term "the arch of a cathedral arch" is used herein to refer to the top and the sides of the cathedral arch, as defined above, but not the base.
Cathedral arches are extremely difficult to cut accurately using a template and therefore recourse has been made to machine cutting techniques. More particularly, it is known to cut cathedral arches by a process in which a circle is first cut out of a piece of card and then, starting from two diametrically opposed points on the circle, two parallel longitudinal cuts are made in the card. The cuts are each of substantially the same length and so the cathedral arch can be completed by using a straight-edge guide to join the ends of the two longitudinal cuts.
This method is however time consuming to perform since it requires several independent operations to be performed. Furthermore, it requires a skilled operator in order to ensure that the finished product is acceptable, since small deviations from an ideal cutting line can result in a large reduction in the quantity of finish and therefore in the commercial value of the product. It is also difficult to keep the cutter at a constant depth of contact with the mountboard. Even if the method is performed by a skilled operator it is often the case that unsightly protrusions or indentations are visible in the region where the longitudinal cuts join the circumference of the pre-cut circle. Sanding down of these regions with a fine emery paper is thus usually required to produce a smooth finish, further adding to the cost and the time required to produce an acceptable product.
The above-mentioned disadvantages are further apparent when, as is normally the case, it is desired to cut a cathedral arch with a bevelled edge in order to produce an attractive finish to a mountboard. The bevelled edge is often a white or a light colour for contrast with a dark surface of the mounting board. This edge is thus highlighted so that any imperfections, even if small, can usually be easily seen. Since mountboards are used for displaying photographs and pictures in an attractive setting it is important that the finished mountboard should have as few imperfections as possible.
In view of the above-mentioned difficulties in cutting good quality cathedral arches, mountboards having such arches attract a price premium over those with circular or elliptical holes.
It is an object o the present invention to provide a cutting apparatus which overcomes or alleviates the abovementioned problems.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cutting apparatus which enable the arch of a cathedral arch in a mountboard to be cut without having to remove a cutting member from cutting engagement with the mountboard.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a card-cutting apparatus for cutting sheet material, comprising a pivotally mounted turntable upon which, in use, the sheet material to be cut is mounted, a cutter guide mounted above the turntable, a cutter movable along the cutter guide, and at least one rest which is engageable with the turntable to limit the rotation of the turntable.
The term "above the turntable" when used herein means "above the level of the turntable" and is not limited to positions directly above the turntable.
By using the above apparatus, the arch of a cathedral arch may be formed in a card by cutting a first straight edge in the card using a cutter guided by the cutter guide, rotating the turntable through 180.degree. while keeping the cutter in cutting contact with the card and cutting a second straight edge without removing the cutter from the card.
Preferably, the cutter guide comprises a substantially straight edge and preferably the turntable is rotatable through at least 180.degree., to enable conventional cathedral arches to be formed.
In use the substantially straight edge should be positioned so that a normal to the substantially straight edge passes through a pivot about which the turntable is pivotally mounted.
The apparatus may comprise one or more stoppers which are engageable with the turntable to limit the pivoting of the turntable to one or more (e.g. two or three) stoppers may also be provided, mounted along or adjacent the substantially straight edge so that when a cutter is slid along the substantially straight edge the stoppers can be used to prevent it travelling further in a particular direction. The stoppers may be slidably mounted along a member having the straight edge. Desirably the stoppers can be clamped or otherwise fixed in position relative to the substantially straight edge. There may be first, second and third stoppers along or adjacent the substantially straight edge so that when a cutter is placed contacting the first stopper, slid along the substantially straight edge until it contacts the second stopper and, after removing the second stopper from the path of the cutter, slid along the straight edge until it contacts the third stopper, the distance travelled by the cutter between the first and second and second and third stopper is substantially the same. For convenience the second stopper may be pivotally mounted e.g. by hinging so that in a stopping position it prevents the cutter from travelling along the substantially straight edge but, by pivoting the stopper about the hinge, the stopper can be removed from the path of the cutter to allow the cutter to be slid along the substantially straight edge. Desirably the second stopper is positioned to stop the cutter cutting into the mountboard at a point which has along the normal from the substantially straight edge to the pivot about which the turntable is pivotally mounted.
Desirably there are provided spaced markings at or adjacent the substantially straight edge which indicate distance along the straight edge. These markings may be closely spaced for accuracy, e.g. at millimetre intervals, and may be used for positioning the stoppers. It is not essential for stoppers to be provided for interrupting the paths of the cutter along the substantially straight edge since, for example, the markings can provide appropriate indicators for stopping the path of a cutter along the substantially straight edge.
The substantially straight edge may be an edge of an elongate member, e.g. a rule, which member may be slidably mounted on a frame so that the substantially straight edge can be moved closer to or further away from the pivot of the pivotally mounted turntable, as desired.
Means e.g. clamps or screws may be provided for releasably fixing the elongate member in position relative to the pivot when the elongate member has been positioned as desired.
The apparatus may be provided with its own cutter which may be slidably mounted to the elongate member. The blade of the cutter is desirably offset to cut a bevelled edge when in use. The angle of offsetting may be adjustable so that a desired angle of bevel can be achieved.
The turntable is preferably provided with means for supporting a mountboard during cutting of the mountboard e.g. it may be provided with a plurality of spaced pins or tacks, which are desirably removably mounted to the mountboard.
Preferably the blade of the cutter is offset to produce bevelled edge. Desirably the angle at which the blade of the cutter is offset relative to card to be cut is 30.degree. to 60.degree. or 120.degree. to 150.degree., more preferably substantially 45.degree. or substantially 135.degree.. These two alternatives are desired since a piece of card can be cut from either the front or from the back (a blade angled at 45.degree. when cutting card from the front will produce the same angle of bevel as a blade angled at 135.degree. when cutting card from the rear).
Standard cutters can be used with the apparatus of the present invention, if desired. A specially adapted cutter alternatively can be used which allows cathedral arches of narrow width to be produced.
Preferably there is provided a cutter comprising a cutter body having a substantially planar, horizontal undersurface for sliding across a mountboard to be cut, a first substantially, straight edge slidable along a cutter guide, a cutting blade pivotally mounted on a mounting plate of the cutter body and being pivotable from a non-cutting position to a cutting position in which it projects beneath the planar undersurface of the cutter body, wherein the mounting plate projects beyond said planar horizontal undersurface.
Desirably the cutter comprises a second edge opposite the first edge and a blade pivotally mounted for pivoting about a plane. Preferably this plane is at an angle of between 100.degree. and 170.degree. relative to said planar surface. Desirably when the blade is in cutting engagement with a mountboard the maximum distance between the blade and the second edge when measured along a normal to the first edge is less than 10 mm.
Preferably the plane of pivoting of the blade is at an angle of substantially 135.degree. relative to the planar surface. The distance between the blade and the second edge can be e.g. from 10 mm to 0.5 mm, more preferably from 5 mm to 1 mm.
The cutter may be generally "V" shaped in cross-section and may have a counterweight above said planar base surface to prevent the cutter toppling over due to the weight of the blade and its mounting. The counterweight may be shaped to form a handle of the cutter.
The cutter of the present invention is advantageous in that it allows the blade to cut into mountboard close to the second edge. This allows the 180.degree. pivoting of the card relative to the cutter to occur with only a small radius of pivot (as required when cutting a narrow arch) without the second edge interferring with mounting pins or other means used to hold the mountboard in position during the cutting process.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a cutting apparatus comprising a pivotally mounted turntable upon which, in use, the sheet material to be cut is mounted, at least one adjustable clamp which at least partially extends over the sheet material to hold it in place during the cutting operation, a cutter guide mounted above the turntable, a cutter movable along the cutter guide and at least one rest which is engageable with the turntable to limit the rotation of the turntable.
This has the advantage that the sheet material is firmly held in place during the cutting operation and is therefore prevented from slipping during the cutting process. The provision of the clamping means has the advantage over using spikes to impale the sheet material on the turntable because it does not destroy a section of the sheet material by impaling it on spikes, thereby rendering any portions of the sheet material cut from the main section reusable. Furthermore, if a backing card is used the, sheet material and the backing card can be firmly clamped together avoiding the possibility of the sheet material moving during the cutting process.
Preferably, the at least one clamping means is a handle which is used to rotate the turntable. This has the advantage that the number of components of the cutting apparatus is reduced.
Preferably, the at least one clamping means forms an alignment means for the sheet material. This has the advantage that the clamping means doubles as an alignment means to ensure that the sheet material is correctly aligned on the turntable.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, the cutter guide is pivotally mounted over the turntable. This has the advantage that the cutter guide can be lifted away from the turntable for the purpose of clamping the sheet material to the turntable, and can be rotated back to position above the turntable before commencing the cutting operation.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, the cutter is attached to the cutter guide. This has the advantage that the cutter can be smoothly slid along the cutter without wobble and that a constant depth of cut is obtained.
Preferably the cutter has a spring loaded blade which cuts into the sheet material when pressure is applied to the cutter and a smoothing means which contacts the surface of the sheet material. This has the advantage that the smoothing means effectively irons out irregularities in the sheet material before it is cut by the blade. Furthermore, the smoothing means forms a steadier which helps keep the depth to which the blade contacts the sheet material constant when pressure is applied to the cutter.
In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, a detent means is provided on the cutter guide to form a removable stopper for the cutter. This has the advantage that the cutter is automatically stopped by the detent means on the cutter guide so that the cutter can be kept still whilst the turntable is rotated beneath it. Furthermore, the detent means is disengaged by simply pushing on the cutter, this removes the need to remove a hand from the cutter in order to release the cutter from its stopped position, thereby allowing a more steady pressure to be maintained on the cutter.
In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, the turntable has at least one detent means which holds the turntable in place when the turntable engages the at least one rest which limits the rotation of the turntable. This has the advantage that the turntable is held in place without the need to hold the handle and push the turntable into engagement with the rest.


The mounting is formed by grinding an integrally molded material with accuracy of the μm order. An upper portion of the mounting is an L-shaped holding portion on which a slot die is positioned. An upper face of the holding portion contacts a lower face of the slot die, and a side face of the holding portion contacts a rear face of the slot die. The lower and rear faces of the slot die and the upper and side faces of the holding portion are formed to have such a straightness for the total length that the unevenness thereof may be in 5 μm. Thus the slot die can be held with high accuracy, and the clearance accuracy between the lips and a web can be increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for and a coating method of coating a web with a coating solution which is discharged through lips of a die supported by a mounting, and more especially to a coating apparatus for and a coating method of coating a flexible web, such as a plastic film, a paper, a metal foil and the like, with a coating solution, such as a photosensitive emulsion agent, a magnetic liquid, a liquid for providing antireflective properties and antiglare properties, liquid for providing a view angle enlarging effect, a liquid pigment for a color filter, a surface protection liquid, and the like, so as to obtain a high functional multi-layer film.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
In order to produce a multi-layer film having high functions, a coating apparatus including a die makes a coating of a web with coating solutions so as to form stacked layers from the coating solutions on the web. In recent years, in order to realize required functions, a technique for constructing the stacked layers at high accuracy with small wet film thickness at most 20 μm. In this case, the accuracy of each part in the coating apparatus is made higher such that the accuracy of a clearance between lips of the die and a web may be higher. Therefore, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-111672, a mounting and the die are formed from the same materials, and thus the difference of thermal expansion coefficient between the mounting and the die is smaller. Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-176343, elements of the die are assembled on the mounting with keeping the temperature of the elements and the mounting at the same value as that for the coating. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-112100 describes demerits of assembling elements onto a die whose accuracy is not high. Further in this publication, in order to solve the problems of these demerits, an improvement of a method of fixing the die to the mounting is described.
However, in the above three publications, the consideration for increasing the accuracy of the mounting is not enough. Usually, the mounting is made by welding for easiness of the production. In the welding, however, it is difficult to produce the mounting with the accuracy in μm order. Therefore the increase of the accuracy of the clearance between the lips and the web is prevented. Further, in the above publications, it is not considered to keep the accuracy during the coating, but to increase the accuracy before the coating. Therefore, the accuracy of the clearance between the lips and the web decreases during the coating.


A semiconductor structure including a substrate, a first well, a second well, a third well, a first doped region, and a second doped region. The substrate includes a first conductive type. The first well includes a second conductive type and is formed in the substrate. The second well includes the second conductive type and is formed in the first well. The third well includes the first conductive type, is formed in the substrate, and neighbors the first well. The first doped region includes the first conductive type and is formed in the first well. The second doped region includes the first conductive type and is formed in the first well. The first well surrounds all surfaces of the first and the second doped regions.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor structure, and more particularly to a semiconductor structure tolerating higher voltages.
2. Description of the Related Art
Field Effect Transistors (FETs) comprise Metal Oxide Semiconductor FETs (MOSFETs). MOSFETs are widely applied in analog circuits or digital circuits. MOSFETs comprise N type MOSFETs and P type MOSFETs according to channel types. The N type MOSFETs are called NMOSFETs. The P type MOSFETs are called PMOSFETs. Structures of MOSFETs comprise vertical structures and lateral structures. Because lateral structures are easily integrated with the present semiconductor technology, lateral structures are more frequently utilized. The MOSFETs comprising lateral structures are called Lateral Diffused MOSFETs (LD_MOSFETs).
Generally, each LD_MOSFET comprises a drift region. The length of the drift region is increased according to conventional method such that the LD_MOSFET has the capability for tolerating higher voltages. Thus, usable space is reduced and the equivalent impedance of the LD_MOSFET is increased when the LD_MOSFET is turned on.

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation


A data packet transits through a series of network nodes (a series of intermediate hops) while being transmitted from a source node to a destination node. A network node (router, gateway, server, or any network device) that handles the data packet, adds new information to the file header of the data packet. The new header information identifies the previous and next network nodes in the transmission path. The network node further validates information provided by a previous node, and generates further new header information that attests as to the validity of the information provided by the previous node. The network node secures and signs the new information cryptographically, and adds the new information to the file header. If a malicious actor attempts to tamper with the data packet, or routing thereof, the secured header information renders such tampering discoverable, enabling performance of a responsive action.

The present invention relates generally to the field of computer networking security, and more particularly to verifying network transmission paths.
In large scale networks, a request or data packet issued by a source node commonly travels through at least one, and sometimes many, intermediate hops on its path to a destination node. The path taken is determined, at least in part, by routing decisions made independently by network routers along the way, based on such things as load balancing, skirting around outages and bottlenecks, cost considerations, etc.
In an internet-based economy, credentials are exchanged over a network to authorize use of protected resources. Some network protocols use headers to track attributes about a transmission, such as source and destination IP addresses as well as addresses of intermediate nodes (also sometimes herein referred to as intermediate hops) encountered along the transmission path.

International Business Machines Corporation


A frequency-voltage conversion circuit includes a constant current source, a first switch connected to an output of the constant current source, a first capacitor connected between the first switch and ground, a second switch connected between a first node that is between the first switch and the first capacitor, and an output node, a third switch connected between the first node and the ground, a fourth switch connected to the output of the constant current source, a second capacitor connected between the fourth switch and the ground, a fifth switch connected between a second node that is between the fourth switch and the second capacitor, and the output node, and a sixth switch connected between the second node and the ground.

A frequency-voltage conversion circuit that outputs a DC voltage (output voltage) according to a frequency (cycle) is known. The output voltage output from the frequency-voltage conversion circuit is generally required to be constant with respect to changes in the operation of the circuit, power supply voltage, temperature, and the like, but fluctuates due to the influence of sinusoidal noise and the like that are applied to the leakage current or constant current source generated in the circuit.

Frequency-voltage conversion circuit, semiconductor device, and memory system


With a solar ball 10 serving as a light-receiving semiconductor apparatus, the outer surface of a spherical solar cell 1 is covered with a light-transmitting outer shell member 11, and electrode members 14, 15 are connected to electrodes 6, 7 of the solar cell 1. The outer shell member 11 comprises a capsule 12 produced by bonding together two halves, and a filler 13 that is packed inside this capsule and cured. A solar panel can be configured such that a plurality of the solar balls 10 are arrayed in a matrix and connected in parallel and in series, or a solar panel can be configured such that a multiplicity of spherical solar cells 1 are arrayed in a matrix and covered with a transparent outer shell member. A solar string in the form of a rod or cord can be configured such that a plurality of the solar cells 1 are arrayed in columns and connected in parallel, and then covered with a transparent outer shell member. Since the outer shell member 11 condenses light, the light-receiving area of the solar cell 1 can be expanded. Also discussed is a light-emitting semiconductor apparatus in which a spherical semiconductor device with a light-emitting function, rather than the solar cell 1, is covered with an outer shell member.

Conventionally, research has been directed toward a technology forming a pn junction via a diffusion layer on the surface of a small-diameter spherical semiconductor element composed of a p or n type semiconductor, connecting many of these spherical semiconductor elements in parallel to a common electrode, and putting to practical use for a solar cell or semiconductor photocatalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,659 discloses a solar cell configured such that a p type diffusion layer is formed on the surface of an n type spherical semiconductor, the diffusion layers of many spherical semiconductors are connected to a common membrane electrode (positive electrode), and the n type cores of many spherical semiconductors are connected to a common membrane electrode (negative electrode).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,323 discloses a solar energy converter (semiconductor module) in which p type spherical semiconductor elements and n type spherical semiconductor elements are disposed in series, these semiconductors are connected to a common film-like electrode, and the diffusion layers of these semiconductor elements are brought into contact with a common electrode in the electrolyte, so that the electrolyte will undergo electrolysis when irradiated with sunlight.
With the modules featuring spherical cells disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,582,588 and 5,469,020, each spherical cell is attached by being connected to a common sheet-like electrode, so this configuration is suitable for the parallel connection of a plurality of cells, but not for the serial connection.
Meanwhile, as discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,204,545 and 6,294,822, the inventor of the present invention has proposed a granular light-receiving or light-emitting semiconductor device in which a diffusion layer, a pn junction, and a pair of electrodes are formed on spherical semiconductor elements composed of p type or n type semiconductor, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,545 the inventor has proposed a semiconductor module that is applicable to solar cells, photocatalyst apparatuses used in the electrolysis of water, a variety of light emitting devices, and color displays, and so forth. With this semiconductor module, if any of the semiconductor device in any of the serial connection becomes open through malfunction, current stops flowing to the serial circuit including that semiconductor element, the remaining properly-functioning semiconductor devices in the serial connection also cease functioning, and the output of the semiconductor module decreases.
In view of this, the inventors have come up with a serial/parallel connection structure in which a plurality of semiconductor cells are disposed in a matrix, the semiconductor cells in each column are connected in series, and the semiconductor cells in each row are connected in parallel, and have filed several international patent applications.
However, the semiconductor module in U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,545 employs a structure in which the electrodes of the semiconductor cells are connected so that a plurality of semiconductor cells are connected in series, and these serial connections are arrayed in a plurality of planar rows, and the pair of electrodes of each semiconductor cell is extremely small, so when the above-mentioned serial/parallel connection structure is employed, manufacture becomes complicated, it is difficult to produce a large semiconductor module, and the cost of manufacturing a semiconductor module rises.
As discussed above, the spherical semiconductor device proposed by the inventor has a small diameter of only about 1 to 3 mm, so when it is applied in a solar panel or light emitting panel, for instance, a large number of these spherical semiconductor devices end up being disposed just a few millimeters apart in a matrix. Because so many of the spherical semiconductor devices are required in this case, manufacturing expense become higher. With a solar panel, it is possible to reduce the number of spherical semiconductor devices needed by additionally providing the spherical semiconductor devices in each column with a cylindrical condensing lens, so that the spacing between columns is increased. However, the position and orientation of the condensing lens must be varied according to the incident direction of the sunlight, and also a complex and expensive mechanism is needed to movably support and control the orientation of the condensing lens, so this situation is impractical.
Meanwhile, in the case of a light emitting panel used for lighting or display, the light emitted from the small-diameter spherical semiconductor device tends to be excessively bright, and it is difficult to construct a light emitting panel that emits soft light of the proper brightness.
The object of the present invention is to provide a light-receiving semiconductor apparatus with improved condensing function that condenses light in a light-receiving spherical semiconductor device; a light-receiving semiconductor apparatus with improved condensing function and which is less apt to be affected by the malfunction of some of the spherical semiconductor devices when a plurality of spherical semiconductor device are disposed in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns; a light-receiving semiconductor apparatus with improved condensing function and in which a plurality of spherical semiconductor devices disposed in one or more columns are connected in parallel in each column unit; and a light-emitting semiconductor apparatus with improved light diffusion function that diffuses the light emitted from a light-emitting spherical semiconductor device.

Light receiving or emitting semiconductor apparatus


An apparatus for feeding and providing water to animals, such as cows or goats, comprises a framework having a central axis. A plurality of reservoirs are connected to a framework in its upper aspects and feeding troughs are disposed below the reservoirs. At least one metering device for metering feed or drink or both to the feeding troughs is provided between the reservoirs and feeding troughs. Each feeding trough has a sensor for identifying an animal feeding at the feeding trough. The metering device which delivers feed or water or both to the feeding trough is controlled by a computer memory to deliver selected fodder from the reservoirs to each feeding trough in accordance for the nutritional needs of the animal which is at said trough. The control of the fodder relates both to the speed that the animal is eating and to data stored in the memory as to the nutrition needs of that animal. Vertical partitions are disposed between feeding troughs and separate same sufficiently so that the animals do not disturb each other. A magnetic separation member, which may be an electromagnet, is provided to remove any metal which may be mixed with the fodder delivered to the feeding troughs. The components of the apparatus can be connected to the framework without tools.

A disadvantage of known constructions is the size of the feeding or drinking column as a result of which the latter occupies much space in the shed. Furthermore, its construction is costly because components are used that are quite variable, depending on the number of animals to be fed and the specific wishes of the user.

Feeding and/or drinking column on behalf of animals


The invention relates to a sensor unit, integrated in a pedal-box, for the determination of the angular position of a pedal lever (1), in the form of an inductive non-contact separation sensor, comprising a stationary sensor head (3) and a sensor element (4), moving with the pedal lever (1). The sensor head (3), oriented transverse to the pedal axis (6), is directed at the sensor element (4), which moves with the pivoting pedal lever (1) in the direction of the main sensor, such as to alter the separation. The separation of the sensor head (3) and the sensor element (4) influences the electrical signal generated by the sensor head (3), from the values of which, inferences can be drawn about the position of the pedal. Two adjacent pedal levers (1) are arranged on a common housing (5), each with one of the integrated sensor heads (3).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pedal device for automobiles with pedal levers that are neighboring each other, and with assembly locations for the sensor units that detect the pedal positions, which each include at least one stationary sensor head and at least one movable sensor element that is kinematically linked to the pedal lever, which is arranged in the effective range of the respective sensor head.
2. Description of Related Art
Such a device is described, for instance, in the German patent application 19958241.6, according to which the sensor unit is embodied as an inductive distance sensor, the stationary sensor head of which is embodied as a coil component, and the sensor element is embodied as a metal component. The coil component and an electronic conversion unit for its output signal are fastened on a mutual carrier component.
Furthermore it is common that, for instance, a clutch pedal and a neighboring braking pedal are combined in a mutual body, on which the pedal levers are supported.
Further, a rotary angle sensor has been known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,635, in which a pedal lever is rotatably linked with the sensor, which is usually a rotary potentiometer, with the circumferential displacement of a rotary sensor element being detected by means of a slide contact.

Pedal arrangement for a motor vehicle with a displacement sensor unit


A system includes memory, a processor in communication with the memory. The processor is programmed to define a fingerprint that includes a baseline measurement of a physical attribute of at least a separate processor during an enrollment period of the system, wherein the enrollment period includes measuring the physical attribute of the processor prior to runtime operation, receiving a runtime measurement from a sensor regarding the physical attribute of at least the separate processor during runtime, comparing the runtime measurement of the physical attribute to the fingerprint, and outputting a multi-dimensional domain image in response to the runtime measurement.

Modern automotive in-vehicle networks present a large attack surface from a security point of view, due to both the amount of Electrical Control Units (ECUs) and their connectivity to external networks. Detecting a malicious intrusion into such networks is an integral part of automotive security to prevent or at least lower the impact of attacks.

System and method for improving measurements of an intrusion detection system by transforming one dimensional measurements into multi-dimensional images


An aircraft-based runway overrun awareness alerting system (ROAAS) for an aircraft primary flight display (PFD) is disclosed. In embodiments, the ROAAS is embodied aboard an aircraft and tracks trends in the aircraft position and heading. Further, the ROAAS tracks the trending energy state of the aircraft on approach to a runway. Based on the current energy state, as well as the runway parameters, the ROAAS predicts a landing point for the aircraft along the runway as a trend based on the evolving energy state and position of the aircraft. Based on the landing point trend, as well as the energy state, the ROAAS determines the current likelihood of runway excursion as an evolving trend (e.g., that the aircraft will not have sufficient runway remaining to decelerate or stop) and displays this likelihood as a dynamic graphic element not integrated into any other instruments or components displayed by the PFD.

Runway overruns are a threat to aircraft landing on, or taking off from, an airport runway. For example, an aircraft on approach to a runway at a given airspeed and angle of attack (which in turn may be affected by winds over the runway and other external factors) will touch down at a particular point along the runway. If there is not enough runway remaining between this landing point and the end of the runway for the aircraft to decelerate after touchdown, overrun may result: the aircraft may exit the runway at its far end, resulting in damage to the aircraft, injury to passengers and crew, or worse. Conventional runway overrun prevention systems provide visual and/or aural warnings of a potential excursion, but these systems may integrate visual warnings into an already complex primary flight display (PFD) or navigational display.

Runway overrun awareness alerting system with trending indicator


An exemplary embodiment provides a device of moving a low ignition propensity cigarette paper which includes an air moving body portion having a curved surface, an inlet injecting air, and a plurality of outlets disposed at the curved surface to discharge the air, in which the low ignition propensity cigarette paper having a coating portion is floated and turned by the air discharged from the plurality of outlets.

In general, various kinds of leaf tobaccos are mixed and processed to obtain desired smell and taste in order to manufacture cigarettes. Next, cut tobacco leaves or shredded tobaccos are produced by cutting the processed leaf tobaccos and a cigarette without a filter is produced by wrapping the cut tobacco leaves with a cigarette paper. Next, a filter may be attached to the non-filter cigarette.
A cigarette filter may contain active carbon and a flavor material. A cigarette filter may be formed in a mono-filter or a multi-filter and is wrapped with a cigarette filter-wrapping paper. The cut tobacco leaves and the tobacco filter are connected by a tipping paper and the tipping paper may have fine holes.
The cigarette paper may be manufactured not only to achieve target tar and target nicotine in smoking by appropriate porosity and combustibility, but to be provided with the peculiar smoke flavor of the cigarette. The cigarette paper may be made of flax or wood pulp.
A low ignition propensity cigarette paper is coated with a substance such as starch in a band shape and the porosity of the coating portion is low, so that when the combustion of the tobacco reaches the band portion, the amount of oxygen flowing into the cut tobacco leaves reduces and the cigarette may be put out.
When the coated low ignition propensity cigarette paper is moved, the coated surface may be damaged and poor moving may be generated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Device of moving low ignition propensity cigarette paper and device of manufacturing low ignition propensity cigarette paper including the same


Image processing includes computing image ft from image fs, where images ft and fs are representations of a self-similar image at scales t and s in a scale-space, where t<s. Such processing may adapted for image deblurring, denoising and upscaling.

Image processing is performed in imaging products such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, and projectors. The image processing, which typically includes deblurring, denoising and upscaling, is intended to improve image quality.
Deblurring may be performed by a technique such as unsharp masking, soft toggling, or operator inversion. However, these techniques are not stable in sharp or noisy regions, and can produce jaggedness on some edges.
Denoising may be performed by a technique such as bilateral filtering, which reduces noise while preserving edges. However, bilateral filtering can leave noise and create artifacts close to edges.
Upscaling may be performed by a technique such as bilinear or cubic interpolation. These techniques tend to produce images with blurry edges and images that aren't as sharp as they could be.
Image processing that produces sharper edges, less noise and fewer artifacts is desirable.

Scale-space self-similarity image processing

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Methods (400, 500, and 600) are disclosed for testing a memory device by tailoring an algorithm (460) used in the testing based on the preferred or intrinsic data state 425 that is obtained upon power-up of an advanced technology SRAM memory device (100). The methods (400, 500, and 600) take advantage of the observation that such SRAM devices repeatedly power-up in a preferred state 310. Accordingly, one method 500 comprises powering-up 510 the memory device and reading 520 a preferred power-up data state of each cell of the memory device without memory initialization or writes. The method 500 then captures and stores 530 a data state associated with the preferred power-up data state of each cell 100 and utilizes the stored power-up data state 310 or an inverse of the power-up data state 320 to tailor 540 a test pattern used by the test algorithm 460.

Memory test algorithms are written to uncover faults with storage cells and the access to these storage cells arising from improper design, lack of design margins or processing deficiencies. Generally, these algorithms are written to be extensive and exhaustive to ensure that no bit defects, either hard defects or intermittent failures find their way into the field. As such, in addition to straight forward writing and reading from storage cells, various methods of disturbing the bits have been devised and employed. Some algorithms write and read at one voltage and read and write at another voltage to check for slew margins.
Data retention tests are also being performed with more frequency lately as memory cells are required to retain data in a sleep mode or what is commonly referred to as "data retention" mode. In this mode, storage cells have reduced voltages applied across them to minimize leakage currents during the standby condition. As more and more tests are applied and as memory sizes grow in embedded memory applications, memory test times have been a substantial part of the overall test time on products despite the use of design for test (DFT) and built-in self test (BIST). Accordingly, there is a growing need for the reduction of the overall testing time in the manufacturing and testing of semiconductor memory devices.
Several other trends presently exist in the semiconductor and electronics industry. Devices are continually being made smaller, faster and requiring less power. Accordingly, in the semiconductor industry there is a continuing trend toward manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs) with higher densities. To achieve high densities, there has been and continues to be efforts toward scaling down dimensions (e.g., at submicron levels) on semiconductor wafers, that are generally produced from bulk silicon. In order to accomplish such high densities, smaller feature sizes, smaller separations between features, and more precise feature shapes are required in integrated circuits fabricated on small rectangular portions of the wafer, commonly known as dies. This may include the width and spacing of interconnecting lines, spacing and diameter of contact holes, as well as the surface geometry of various other features (e.g., corners and edges).
It can be appreciated that the effects of scaling may be even more noticeable in certain types of semiconductor devices, such as static random access memory (SRAM), for example, which incorporate multiple densely packed transistors that require matched electrical properties. As semiconductor features are aggressively reduced, for example, local mismatches between SRAM transistors have increased; presenting greater problems that may limit the usable feature size. Additionally, small misalignments between any two layers (e.g., moat and gate) have resulted in larger mismatches for more advanced technology nodes. For example, in situations where there is misalignment, a right transistor Vt may be altered more or less than a left transistor Vt, thereby disadvantageously creating transistor mismatch.
Semiconductor memories can, for example, be characterized as volatile memories (e.g., RAMs) or nonvolatile memories, where RAMs can either be static (SRAM) or dynamic (DRAM) differing mainly in the manner by which they store a state of a bit. In SRAM, for example, each memory cell includes transistor-based circuitry that implements a bistable latch, which relies on transistor gain and positive (e.g., reinforcing) feedback so that it can only assume one of two possible states, namely on (state 1) or off (state 2). The latch can be programmed or induced to change from one state to the other through the application of a voltage or other external stimuli. This arrangement is desirable for a memory cell since a state written to the cell will be retained until the cell is reprogrammed.
DRAMs on the other hand implement a capacitor that is either charged or discharged to store the on (state 1) or off (state 2) state of a cell. Capacitors discharge over time, however, and DRAMs must therefore be periodically 'refreshed'. Also, a bistable latch can generally be switched between states much faster than the amount of time it takes to charge or discharge a capacitor. Accordingly, SRAMs are a desirable type of memory for certain types of applications.
SRAM is typically arranged as a matrix of memory cells fabricated in an integrated circuit chip, and address decoding in the chip allows access to each cell for read/write functions. SRAM memory cells use active feedback from cross-coupled inverters in the form of a latch to store or "latch" a bit of information. These SRAM memory cells are often arranged in rows so that blocks of data such as words or bytes can be written or read simultaneously. Standard SRAM memory cells have many variations. The basic CMOS SRAM cell generally includes two n-type (nMOS) pull-down or drive transistors and two p-type (pMOS) load transistors in a cross-coupled inverter configuration, with two additional nMOS select transistors added to make up a six-transistor cell (a 6T cell). Additionally, application specific SRAM cells can include an even greater number of transistors. Since a plurality of transistors are utilized in SRAM requiring matched electrical characteristics, and since the negative effects of matching may become more prevalent as transistor widths are reduced, transistor mismatching issues may present themselves to a great degree in SRAM, particularly as that type of memory is continually scaled down.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to obtain a testing technique that reduces memory testing time while allowing transistors to be scaled down, particularly in SRAM devices.

Method for reducing SRAM test time by applying power-up state knowledge


In one aspect, a cutter system for a waste disposal may generally include a cutter ring having an upper surface and a lower surface. In addition, the cutter ring may define a plurality of cutter slots. Each cutter slot may extend between a top end and a bottom end and may be defined by a first curved sidewall and a second curved sidewall. The first and second curved sidewalls may extend between the top and bottom ends such that each cutter slot defines a curved profile extending axially and circumferentially between the upper and lower surfaces of the cutter ring.

Waste disposal units are typically used to process solid waste, such as food waste, garbage and/or other waste, into particulates small enough to pass through associated drain plumbing. A conventional waste disposal is configured to be mounted onto a sink drain extending downward from a corresponding sink such that water/waste discharged from the sink may be directed into the disposal. The water/waste is typically directed into a grind chamber defined above a cutting or grinding mechanism of the disposal. The grinding mechanism is coupled to a shaft of a corresponding motor to allow the grinding mechanism to be rotated at high speeds. The waste contained within the grind chamber is typically ground, shredded, cut and/or otherwise processed into small particulates as a result of the rotation of the grinding mechanism relative to a stationary cutter ring extending around the outer perimeter of the grinding mechanism. The water and processed waste may then be discharged from the disposal and transmitted through the associated plumbing.
Conventional cutter rings typically include a plurality of openings or slots defined therein to facilitate processing of the waste contained within the grind chamber, with each slot extending axially or perpendicularly from a bottom surface or edge of the cutter ring. Unfortunately, it has been found that such axially extending slots typically require a significantly large cutting force in order to process the waste and prevent jamming of the disposal. Moreover, in order to reduce the required cutting force, the circumferential width of such slots must be rather large. As a result, the number of slots that may be defined around the circumference of the cutter ring is reduced, thereby reducing the overall efficiency and performance of the disposal.
Accordingly, an improved cutter ring configuration for a waste disposal that provides for reduced loading on the rotatable cutting or grinding mechanism and/or that provides for increased cutting or grinding performance and/or efficiency would be welcomed in the technology.

Stationary cutter ring for waste disposals


A water vapor collector bottle consists of a transparent cover, a top box, a water supplier, an optional insulator, an optional bottom cover, and a bottom box. The transparent cover allows sun rays to evaporate some water to the top box which confines and collect the vapor condensate. The condensates will drop into a container in the bottom box. A wind operated knocker and an insert to increase the water condensation surfaces are also introduced.

This invention relates to means to collect water vapors evaporated from a water surface.
Prior patent to Hsia (U.S. Pat. No. 7,654,103 B2) presented a freshwater collection system which comprises of a vapor collector field formed by vapor collectors which have floatable platforms with central holes and curved transparent roofs to collect water vapors which are evaporated by sun rays through the central holes and then condescend on the interior surfaces of the transparent roofs by sprinkled water which are supplied by pumps and sprinkler heads.


According to some embodiments, a control signal is generated to reduce resonance of a circuit at an operation point, a characteristic of the control signal based on a proximity of an existing operation point to the operation point. Generation of the control signal may include sensing of a current associated with an input voltage signal, generation of a current-based signal based on the sensed current, and generation of the control signal based on a phase difference between the current-based signal and the input voltage signal.

An integrated circuit often requires a constant supply voltage for proper operation. The supply voltage may be delivered by a power delivery circuit. Power transients in the delivery of the supply voltage may, at certain frequencies, cause the integrated circuit and the power delivery circuit to resonate. This resonance may quickly increase the amount of current drawn by the integrated circuit and may thereby cause the supply voltage to dip. As a result, proper operation of the integrated circuit may be compromised.

System to control integrated circuit resonance


An electronic device and method for controlling a cursor is provided. The electronic device includes a display, a timer, and a processing unit. The display includes a screen and a frame thereof. The frame further has a touch sensitive region for generating sensing signals in response to an input operation. Each sensing signal is assigned a coordinate for identification. The timer records a time duration of continuously receiving the sensing signals. The processing unit determines a direction of the input operation according to the coordinates assigned to the sensing signals and a speed of the input operation according to the duration of the timer, and thus moves a cursor displayed on the screen corresponding to the direction and speed. A related method is also provided.

With the advent and introduction of the graphical user interface (GUI), today's computers are driven much more by a cursor control device than ever before. Accordingly, a wide variety of techniques for positioning a cursor on a computer display are available and well known in the computer industry.
A conventional cursor control device is a keyboard. A user can press a variety of keys on the keyboard to control movement of the cursor. However, this cursor movement manner becomes inconvenient when sizes of the keyboards get smaller.
Another conventional cursor control device is a mouse. The user can move the mouse in a direction of the desired cursor movement. Nevertheless, the mouse generally suffers from one or more deficiencies. For example, the mouse requires the user to move his or her hand across large areas to operate efficiently and to permit the movement of the cursor throughout the display area. However, the user's workspace is often limited, as a result, the user must repeatedly lift the mouse. Furthermore, these repetitive operations may also lead to physical fatigue and repetitive stress injuries to the user.
What is needed, therefore, is an electronic device and method for controlling a cursor that can provide a friendly and convenient user interface allowing the user to easily and effectively control movement of the cursor.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electronic device and method providing a cursor control

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


A filter element has a first follower element with a first traction surface and a second follower element with a second traction surface provided for interacting with first and second mating surfaces of the filter housing, respectively. The first and second traction surfaces interact with the first and second mating surfaces to pull out the filter element from the filter housing. The first and second traction surfaces are spaced apart from each other along a longitudinal axis of the filter element and project radially into the interior of the filter element. At least one of the first and second follower elements has a stop surface adjoining circumferentially the respective traction surface. In a position of use, the stop surface interacts with a counter stop surface of the filter housing to form an at least unidirectional rotational degree of freedom blocking about the longitudinal axis relative to the filter housing.

The present invention concerns a filter element and a filter assembly with such a filter element.
An oil filter assembly includes an oil filter that is accommodated inside a filter housing. The filter housing, in turn, comprises a filter housing pot, which, for example, is fixedly connected to a support structure of a vehicle, and a filter housing cover screwed onto the filter housing pot. In particular when using such oil filter assemblies in trucks, very large dimensions of the oil filter result. It is therefore difficult for a user to exchange the oil filter. Therefore, the oil filter can be coupled by means of entrainment contours to the filter housing cover so that the oil filter, upon removal of the filter housing cover from the filter housing pot, can be pulled out of the latter.
DE 10 2015 208 426 A1 discloses a filter assembly with a filter element that comprises a plurality of bayonet wings projecting into an interior thereof. These bayonet wings interact with corresponding bayonet wings provided at a filter housing cover. In this context, all bayonet wings at the filter element as well as all bayonet wings at the filter housing cover are arranged at the same level, respectively, relative to a longitudinal direction of the filter elements.
DE 10 2017 005 619 A1 discloses a filter assembly with a filter element that is accommodated in a filter housing. The filter element is coupled by means of a bypass valve housing with a filter housing cover. The bypass valve housing comprises for this purpose follower contours that engage corresponding follower contours of the filter element. In this context, the follower contours at the bypass valve housing as well as the follower contours at the filter element are arranged at the same level, respectively, relative to a longitudinal direction of the filter element.


NMDA receptor antagonists can be used in methods of treatment, for reducing the frequency of stereotypic behaviors in animals and for reducing the frequency of analogous compulsive behaviors in humans, for example, those that have been said to be a manifestation of, or related to, obsessive-compulsive disorder. Of particular interest are the (+) enantiomers of opioid receptor binding compounds, which can reduce the frequency of the behaviors, while having no effects from binding at the opioid receptor.

Stereotypic behavior in animals (also called xe2x80x9crepetitivexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccompulsivexe2x80x9d behavior) has been defined by some researchers as acts that are repetitive and constant, which may appear to serve no obvious purpose, and may even be injurious. One of the most common of these behaviors is, for example, crib-biting by horsesxe2x80x94grabbing and biting of the feed bin or of parts of the structure in which the horse is housed (also called xe2x80x9ccribbingxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94see U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,451 for a description of this behavior, associated behaviors, and resulting problems). Another common behavior in dogs is compulsive licking of itselfxe2x80x94even to the point of aggravating a sore (xe2x80x9click granulomaxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cacral lickxe2x80x9d). Stereotypies may show some degree of variation, and may be unlike the more typical behaviors such as cribbing and licking, in that they have no features of repetitive motion, but are characterized rather by motionless staring or a frozen body position.
The repetitive behaviors of animals and the compulsive behaviors of humans have both responded to treatment with some of the same drugs. See, e.g., regarding treatment of acral lick with drugs that have shown benefit in human obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Rapoport, J. L., Clin. Neurophar. 15: Suppl. 1 Pt A: 261A-262A, 1992; Rapoport, J. L. et al., Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 49:517-521, 1992. See also Smith, K. C. and Pittlekow, M. R., J. Am. Dermatol. 20:860-861, 1989, wherein it was reported that onychophagia and skin picking responded to treatment with (xe2x88x92) enantiomers of opioid antagonists, which have been effective also in compulsive hair pulling in cats, feather picking in birds, acral lick in dogs and cribbing in horses (Dodman, N. H., Vet. International 6:13-20, 1994; Dodman, N. H. et al., J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 193:815-819, 1988; Turner, R., Proceedings of Annual Conference of the Association of Avian Veterinarians: Aug. 31-Sep. 4, 1993, Nashville, Tenn., pp. 116-118). See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,451, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Studies of this type provide justification for the conclusion that the same underlying physiological processes are involved in causation of the animal and human behaviors. Therefore, they should all respond positively to new methods of therapy.
The invention relates to a method for treating a disorder in animals, variously termed repetitive, stereotypic, or compulsive behavior, and which can also be self-injurious by administering to the animal, by one or more appropriate routes and by appropriate doses, an effective amount of one or more NMDA receptor antagonists. In some cases, the composition comprises one or more NMDA receptor antagonists that are not haloperidol. In some cases the composition comprises one or more NMDA receptor antagonists, and does not comprise an opioid receptor agonist or antagonist which is primarily (xe2x88x92) enantiomer. In some cases the composition comprises one or more NMDA receptor antagonists, but does not comprise an opioid receptor agonist or antagonist of either (+) or (xe2x88x92) enantiomer.
The invention, more particularly, is a method for treating compulsive behaviors in horses, such as crib biting, wind sucking, stall walking, weaving, head bobbing, pawing, tonguing, self-biting, flank sucking, and head shaking, by administering to the horse a composition comprising one or more NMDA receptor antagonists.
In another particular embodiment, the invention is a method for treating compulsive behaviors in dogs, such as compulsive licking (acral lick), tail chasing and whirling, pacing, fly chasing, shadow or light chasing, excessive barking, stone eating, excessive drinking, and excessive eating, comprising administering to the dog an effective amount of an NMDA receptor antagonist.
Also an embodiment of the invention is a method for treating compulsive behaviors in cats, such as wool sucking, compulsive licking, tail chasing, hoarding, pacing, excessive marking, compulsive masturbation, and compulsive aggression.
A further embodiment of the invention is a method for treating compulsive behaviors in birds, such as feather and skin picking.
The invention relates to a method for treating a disorder (or more than one disorder, as it is possible that two or more can occur together) in humans, variously termed repetitive, stereotypic, or compulsive behavior, and which can also be self-injurious, by administering to the human, by one or more appropriate routes and by appropriate doses, one or more NMDA receptor antagonists, thereby relieving the frequency and/or intensity of the compulsion and reducing the frequency and/or intensity of the behavior.
Examples of the human behaviors which can be treated by these methods include, but are not limited to: obsessive-compulsive disorder (with its various manifestations of checking, counting, washing to remove contamination, etc.), trichotillomania, psychogenic excoriation, nail biting, compulsive exercising, smoking compulsion, drug (opioid) addiction, and alcohol addiction. These compulsive behaviors may be related also to compulsive gambling, compulsive shopping, and eating disorders.

Treatment of stereotypic, self-injurious and compulsive behaviors in man and animals using antagonists of NMDA receptors