There are included a plurality of mapping units to which a plurality of data signal sequences related to the same data signal sequence are input via spectra cyclic shift units and which arrange the input data signal sequences on the frequency axis and output the arranged data signal sequences as transmission frequency spectra; an assignment information acquisition unit that controls the plurality of mapping units based on assignment information to cause the data signal sequences arranged on the frequency axis to partially overlap; the spectra cyclic shift units shifting, under control of an amount-of-shift decision unit, the input data signal sequences by an amount of cyclic shift to cause partially overlapping data signals to be identical and outputting the data signal sequences; and a plurality of transmit antennas that send out the transmission frequency spectra output by the plurality of mapping units.

Communication systems, particularly, mobile-phone-related wireless communication systems, are continuously developing as high-speed and high-capacity communication systems. LTE (Long Term Evolution, the 3.9G wireless access technology), which is a wireless communication standard by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), and LTE-A (LTE-Advanced, the evolved version of LTE), which is the advanced form of LTE, adopt OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) as a transmission scheme for the downlink (the wireless communication link from a base station to a terminal). OFDMA is highly robust against frequency selective fading and has a high affinity with MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) transmission. As for a transmission scheme for the uplink (the wireless communication link from a terminal to a base station), on the other hand, the cost and scale of the terminal are important.
However, multi-carrier transmission, such as OFDMA or MC-CDMA (Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access), requires a terminal to include a power amplifier having a wide linear region because of a high PAPR (Peak to Average Power Ratio) of the transmit signal, which thus makes multi-carrier transmission unsuitable for the uplink transmission. That is, to maintain a wide coverage (which is a communication coverage range, for example, the distance to a base station) in the uplink, single-carrier transmission is desirable in which the PAPR is low. For the uplink, LTE adopts SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access, also referred to as DFT-S-OFDM), which is single-carrier transmission.
Also, methods for achieving a wide coverage include transmit antenna diversity (also referred to as "transmit diversity"). In transmit diversity, in the case of the uplink for example, signals that have undergone different kinds of signal processing are transmitted from multiple antennas of a transmission apparatus (which indicates a transmission unit of a terminal in this case) and are received by a receive antenna of a reception apparatus (which indicates a reception unit of a base station in this case). In this manner, transmit antenna diversity gain can be obtained. Transmit diversity is roughly categorized into open-loop transmit diversity, in which transmission is performed without using channel state information regarding channels between the transmission apparatus and the reception apparatus; and closed-loop transmit diversity, in which transmission processing is performed based on channel state information regarding channels between the transmission apparatus and the reception apparatus.
Open-loop transmit diversity includes STBC (Space Time Block Coding), SFBC (Space Frequency Block Coding), and CDD (Cyclic Delay Diversity). Closed-loop transmit diversity includes antenna selection transmit diversity and maximum ratio transmit receive antenna diversity. It has been decided that the uplink of LTE-A that uses this closed-loop transmit diversity adopts precoding based on codebooks (code tables) described in NPL 1. In precoding, phases of transmit signals of individual transmit antennas are rotated before transmission so that the signals transmitted from the multiple transmit antennas of a transmission apparatus are received to be combined in phase by a reception apparatus. In this manner, the reception power can be increased at the reception apparatus.
Furthermore, multiple antennas of a transmission apparatus in a wireless communication system are used not only to improve the communication quality through transmit diversity but also to achieve spatial multiplexing transmission, which can improve the transmission rate by transmitting independent signals from the individual antennas at the same time on the same frequency. In spatial multiplexing transmission, the number of simultaneously transmit signals is called the number of streams, the number of ranks, or the number of layers. The signals transmitted from individual antennas are demultiplexed through signal demultiplexing processing, such as spatial filtering or MLD (Maximum Likelihood Detection). Also, PTL 1 and PTL 2 disclose methods for performing transmission by making different frequency allocation (also referred to as "assignment" or "mapping") for each transmit antenna because the frequency with a good channel characteristic differs for each transmit antenna. By allowing the use of different frequency allocation for each transmit antenna, frequencies with high gain can be selected for each transmit antenna to perform communication. Thus, spatial multiplexing transmission with a high reception quality can be performed.

Permitting a plurality of transmit antennas to transmit the same data to improve the reception quality through transmit diversity


A method and apparatus for allocating resources to carrier response information feedback are disclosed. Wherein, when Transmit Power Control (TPC) command in Downlink Control Information (DCI) for each secondary component carrier in carrier aggregation is different, Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources allocated to the response information feedback of the secondary component carriers are high-layer configuration PUCCH resources designated by TPC command in the DCI which triggers data services in the secondary component carriers. The present solution can not only effectively feedback response information, but also can effectively suppress occurrence of unnecessary downlink retransmission.

With the rapid development of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) gradually develops research works on Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-Advanced; LTE-A) related technologies. Compared with the LTE system, the LTE-Advanced system has a very large enhancement in terms of key technologies, and has successively introduced the Carrier Aggregation (CA), Relay, Coordinated Multiple Points (COMP), enhanced multi-antenna, uplink multi-antenna, etc.
In terms of system bandwidth, the LTE-A needs to support higher uplink and downlink transmission rates, the downlink needs to support a data transmission rate of 1 Gbps, and requirements are meet only when the bandwidth reaches to 100 MHz. In addition, the LTE-Advanced needs to be compatible with the LTE. Therefore, carrier aggregation is proposed in the LTE-Advanced. The carrier aggregation may be aggregation in continuous carriers, or may also be aggregation in non-continuous carriers.
Under the carrier aggregation, the number of component carriers designed by the LTE-A is 5 at most. Thus, for one UE, there may be a large number of bits of the response information fed back in the uplink control channel (including Acknowledgement (ACK), Negative Acknowledgement (NACK), and Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) of the base station). Then in a condition that the power of a User Equipment (UE) is limited, the UE may not transmit enough ACK/NACK information. The current LTE-Advanced system provides an ACK feedback mode of ACK/NACK for a single carrier and dual carriers, but as to an ACK/NACK feedback mode for more than two carriers, there is no solution in the related art.

Method and device for allocating resources to carrier response information


A method for adjusting the radiation direction of an antenna, which uses a plurality of uniformly spaced diffraction gratings formed in the waveguide of the antenna while adjusting the maximum radiation direction of radiation waves emerging from the diffraction gratings and varying the length of crystal lattices in the diffraction gratings, thereby achieving an improvement in the directivity of the radiation waves and an adjustment in the radiation direction of radiation waves. In accordance with this method, it is possible to vary the radiation direction of an electronic wave passing through the antenna by varying the interval of crystal lattices in a region where the diffraction gratings exist. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain a narrow beam width characteristic. The diffraction gratings are made of a piezo-electric material. Using the characteristic of such a piezo-electric material, it is possible to vary the interval of crystal lattices in the diffraction grating region in an electrical manner, thereby adjusting the radiation direction of beams.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for adjusting the maximum radiation direction of a radiation wave by use of diffraction gratings formed on the surface of a dielectric waveguide, and more particularly to a method for adjusting the radiation direction of radiation waves in an antenna, which uses a plurality of uniformly spaced diffraction gratings formed in the waveguide of the antenna while applying voltage to the diffraction gratings to vary the length of crystal lattices in the diffraction gratings, thereby achieving an improvement in the directivity of the radiation waves and an adjustment in the radiation direction of radiation waves.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, antennas are conductors installed in the air to radiate or absorb electric waves. Such antennas are classified into those for the purpose of transmission and those for the purpose of reception in terms of their use purposes. In terms of the wavelength of an electric wave used, such antennas are also classified into those for medium frequency wave, those for short wave, and those for very high frequency wave. These antennas of different types have different operating principles and configurations, respectively. Such antennas are also classified into directional antennas and non-directional antennas in accordance with the radiation characteristic of an electric wave used. Also, such antennas have a variety of shapes, for example, I, T, and inverted-L shapes, etc.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating an antenna system which uses a dielectric waveguide having a conventional travelling-wave antenna configuration. The antenna system includes a tuning stub 1 arranged at the intermediate portion of the waveguide. The tuning stub 1 serves as a short circuit plate for matching a coaxial feed line 2 with a load. The coaxial feed line 2 consists of a coaxial cable and extends through the waveguide. The coaxial feed line 2 connects the antenna to a transmitter or receiver to feed electric power therebetween. The waveguide, which is denoted by the reference numeral 3, is a circular metal tubing waveguide having a hollow circular metal tube construction and serving as a high-pass filter. That is, the circular metal tubing waveguide 3 has a certain cut-off wavelength in a guide mode so that it prevents waves having a wavelength longer than the cut-off wavelength from passing therethrough. The waveguide 3 carries out a propagation at a guide wavelength different from an excitation wavelength therein. A polystyrene material, which is a typical material for antennas, fills the interior of the circular metal tubing waveguide 3. The polystyrene member 4 protrudes outwardly from the circular metal tubing wave guide 3.
In this antenna configuration, transmission/reception microwaves are axially input/output through the circuit metal tubing waveguide 3. The tuning stub 1 matches the circular metal tubing waveguide 3 with the coaxial feed line 2 serving as an electric power passage between the transmitter/receiver and the antenna. The circular metal tubing waveguide 3, the coaxial feed line 2, the end portion of the waveguide and the protruded portion of the polystyrene member 4 are set by different wavelengths, respectively, to obtain a travel of waves of appropriate wavelengths for a transmission of microwaves.
In such a conventional antenna, however, the travel direction of radiation waves coincides with the extension direction of the antenna. Furthermore, this antenna exhibits a degradation in directivity because the width of waves passing through the antenna is widened. Also, the dielectric system should use a phase modulator for adjusting the direction of radiation waves. As a result, the entire system is bulky. It is also impossible for the system to be used for millimeter waves having a high frequency and in the optical wave frequency band.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,334 (William M. Waters) discloses a focal plane antenna array for millimeter waves. The millimeter-wave focal plane antenna array comprises a means defining a planar array of a plurality of open ended waveguides which, in use, are disposed at the focal plane, and a microstrip detector means coupled to the waveguides for detecting the millimeter wave radiation received thereby. The microstrip detector means comprises a dielectric substrate affixed to the array defining means, and a plurality of separate, unconnected microstrip conductors embedded in the substrate. Each microstrip conductor is coupled to a respective one of the waveguides to receive the millimeter radiation therefrom. The microstrip detector means also comprises a diode detector being connected to each microstrip conductor for producing an output in accordance with the millimeter wave radiation coupled from a corresponding waveguide to the associated microstrip conductor. The millimeter-wave focal plane antenna array uses a plate made of a conductive material to adjust the direction of radiation waves. However, since the plate has a perforated structure, it is difficult for the plate to have a reduced thickness for its low-frequency use.

Method for adjusting radiation direction of antenna


A distributed control system for a heavy construction machine, comprising a plurality of modules into which components in the heavy construction machine are classified according to functions and positions. The modules are individually controlled and each of them exchanges information with a different one of the modules through a single line. According to the present invention, the number of wires is significantly reduced, thereby making the wiring in assembling and repairing very easy. Also, when the heavy construction machine fails, the corresponding portion can readily be grasped and repaired. Further, the model and function of the heavy construction machine can readily be modified.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to distributed control systems for heavy construction machines, and more particularly to a distributed control system for a heavy construction machine which is capable of controlling electric and electronic components in the heavy construction machine in a decentralized manner such that in a decentralized manner such that the control system transmit and receive data through respective communication lines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a heavy construction machine is equipped with a plurality of sensors for transmitting signals to a controller or an indication unit through lines or connectors. As the sensors are increased in number, the mechanical reliability of the heavy construction machine is reduced.
Further, the number of sensors is necessarily increased still more as the heavy construction machine is sort to be enhanced in performance. The increased number of sensors results in an increase in the number of wires, which in turn results in an increase in the cost.
A distributed control system is used in a heavy construction machine to perform a fault diagnostic operation for the heavy construction machine at once on the spot. As a result of the fault diagnostic operation, the heavy construction machine may be repaired by simply replacing a faulty module with a new one. In this manner, the planned operation of the heavy construction machine is hardly frustrated.
The distributed control system has a self-diagnostic function for each of the modules and allows the modules to exchange desired information among them. In this light, it can be seen that the distributed control system is an essential, required element required for individual control operations in construction machines, vehicles, ships, airplanes and etc. in which operation/maintenance must readily be performed.
In a conventional distributed control system for a heavy construction machine, signals corresponding to the chosen operation of an operator are transferred to component controllers through respective lines. Also, signals from various sensors are transferred to a main controller through respective lines.
For these reasons, as the functions of the heavy construction machine become more various, the number of wires is increased, resulting in a difficulty in wiring and increases in load and volume.
The increased number of wires also results in an increase in the number of connectors, thereby making it difficult to recognize the wired state in a terminal. These consideration pose a difficulty in designing the control system for the heavy construction machine.
Further, when a fault is caused due to poor line contact or wire disconnection, the corresponding portion of the control system cannot be readily identified. As a result, the repair, resulting in an increase in consumer's dissatisfaction.

Distributed control system for heavy construction machine


A modular illumination lamp comprises a base, wherein the lamp further comprises: a first frame integrally formed with the base; a second frame connected to the first frame or the base; at least one illumination module mounted on the first and second frames. By the specific design of the modular illumination lamp, the amount of the illumination modules can be increased or decreased as desired.

Currently, there has been a trend of using LED light sources to replace other kinds of light sources for energy saving. LED lamps are generally similar to traditional lamps in some aspects, and usually, the size of the LED lamp is fixed, and the power of the lamp can be adjusted by varying the amount of the LEDs. It is uneconomical to use a large lamp housing where small power is required.
Currently available modular LED lamps usually each have a detachable frame mounted on the base of the lamp. Frames with different lengths may be selected in accordance with the amount of LED illumination modules needed. However, such a lamp with a detachable frame is generally less aesthetic in appearance than those with a frame integral with the lamp base, since the detachable frame is normally made by extrusion, and is of poor flexibility.


An analog storage device employs an electrically erasable programmable transistor as its memory cell. The memory cell transistor has a source and a drain which are disposed spaced apart from each other on a semiconductive substrate to define a channel region therebetween, an insulated floating gate electrode which at least overlaps the channel region, and an insulated control gate electrode disposed above the insulated floating gate electrode. Minority carriers are allowed to tunnel between the channel region and the insulated floating gate. The amount of carriers to be stored on the floating gate electrode is controlled such that it is in proportion to analog data to be stored therein. A variation in the internal field of the transistor which may occur when its floating gate electrode is being charged with minority carriers is monitored. When a field variation is detected, a voltage for compensating for the detected field variation is applied to the control gate electrode, whereby the linearity of analog storage is ensured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data storage devices and, more particularly, to analog storage devices using transistors of a floating gate electrode structure based on tunnel effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
Neural network systems have wide applicability in various technical fields including automatic recognition systems, such as character recognition systems, voice recognition systems, etc., activation control systems for robots and neuro computer systems incorporating artificial intelligence, and studies thereof have become more and more active recently. In the neural network systems, a storage device, which is capable of temporarily or permanently storing analog information handled in the systems as it is, plays a very important role. This type of storage device is referred to as the "analog memory."
A presently available electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) has been employed as such an analog memory. The EEPROM includes an array of memory cells arranged in a matrix of rows and columns. Each cell of the EEPROM has a floating gate tunneling metal oxide semiconductor (FATMOS) field effect transistor. An arbitrary memory cell is individually addressable by applying electric signals to a given row and a given column of the memory array.
Typically, analog information or data to be stored is converted to a voltage signal in pulse form which is modulated in the number of pulses (or pulse width) in accordance with a pulse density modulation system. The storage of such a pulse signal in the EEPROM is performed as follows. Between the control gate electrode of a selected memory cell transistor and one of its current-carrying electrodes is externally applied a suitable electric field for a period of time proportional to the number of modulated pulses (or pulse width) of the signal. The tunnel effect allows a corresponding amount of minority carriers (electrons or holes) to flow into the floating gate electrode, thereby charging the floating gate electrode. Thus, the analog data is stored in (written into) the selected memory cell transistor. This is referred to as the "tunnel injection writing" technique.
A significant problem with the analog storage system using the tunnel injection writing technique is that it is very difficult to accurately charge the floating gate electrode of a memory cell transistor with an amount of electric carriers proportional to analog information to be stored. This difficulty depends mainly on the fact that the amount of minority carriers injected into the floating gate electrode is not a linear function of the field application time. In other words, even if the strength of an externally applied field is held constant, the amount of tunneled carriers to the floating gate will vary exponentially with respect to the field application time.
The nonlinearity of the amount of tunneled carriers is considered to result from the following reasons. An unintended electric field is produced internally around the floating gate electrode when the storage of tunneled carriers in a selected memory cell transistor is in progress in the EEPROM. This unintended electric field is inevitably created by the carriers stored on the floating gate electrode. The field behaves in such a way as to cancel out the internal field produced between the floating gate electrode and the substrate by the external electric field. The internal field of the cell transistor can no longer maintain a desired strength corresponding to stored data. The strength of the internal field will decrease gradually. As a result, even if the external field is constant, the amount of stored carriers per unit time will gradually decrease with time. The presence of the nonlinearity will delay practical application of the tunnel injection writing technique to analog storage devices. For this reason, an early solution to this problem is desired ardently among those skilled in the art.

Analog storage device for artificial neural network system


The invention relates to a combination of heat-treated nutritional composition having a carbohydrate fraction comprising a) 5-30 wt % of one or more monosaccharides selected from galactose, ribose and mannose; b) carbohydrates capable of providing b1) sustained release glucose and b2) rapidly available glucose; c) optionally fructose; d) glucose-containing disaccharides other than maltose and sucrose; and e) optionally sugar polyols. The invention also pertains to the use of such a heat-treated nutritional composition for controlling glucose levels in blood and/or tissue, especially for preventing and/or treating diabetics, insulin-resistance, obesity, postprandial glucose response, metabolic syndrome, syndrome X, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, dysfibrinolysis and/or disorders associated with major surgery or trauma.

Glucose is an important source of energy to the cells in the human body and abundantly present in food ingredients. After consumption of starch or other dietetic available sources of glucose and their subsequent digestion, glucose is released in the gastrointestinal tract, where it is rapidly and effectively absorbed from the intestinal lumen. This will usually increase glucose concentrations in blood. The change in glucose after consumption of a food is called the postprandial glucose response (PPGR), which can be measured as the area under the curve (AUC) which plots the plasma glucose concentration with time. The human body strives to maintain homeostasis of glucose levels in tissue and blood with time, in order to allow proper functioning of all cells. One important instrument to achieve glucose homeostasis is the release of insulin by the pancreas when the concentration of specific food components like glucose starts to increase. Under normal circumstances this will increase glucose transport into the cell and the formation of glycogen using glucose, and trigger other metabolic changes, therewith rapidly causing the blood glucose levels to decrease to normal levels.
A person that does not react properly on released insulin is said to be insulin-resistant. Large groups of persons suffer from insulin resistance like many obese persons, persons suffering from the so called metabolic syndrome (or syndrome X), diabetics and many patients in hospitals or nursing homes who developed a temporarily or longer lasting insulin resistance as a cause of their disease. Part of the diabetics also experience an insufficient capacity to increase insulin concentrations in blood after consumption of food (called post-prandially). Persons that suffer from insulin-resistance demonstrate abnormal high postprandial glucose response, even after consumption of moderate amounts of food ingredients that comprise glucose. When high postprandial glucose concentrations occur relatively frequently and over longer periods of time, they can cause several severe health problems. Known secondary side effects, as can be found in diabetics, are problems in the cardiovascular system, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, bad blood supply to peripheral tissues, stroke, heart attacks etc., as well as problems in the kidney, in particular an abnormal glomerular filtration rate, and a wide range of neuropathies and retinopathies like cataract. It was also found that mortality of severe disease in hospital patients is associated with the severity of insulin resistance.
The decrease of postprandial glucose response (PPGR) has been the subject of numerous research efforts. Many types of carbohydrates have been proposed to induce a low PPGR. Also inclusion of dietetic fibre in a nutritional product has been proposed for this purpose, for example viscous fibres, like gums or pectin. The disadvantage of using such fibres is the increase in viscosity when used in liquid products in amounts that are effective. According to the European FLAIR Concerted Action on Resistant Starch (EURESTA) resistant starch is defined as "the sum of starch and products of starch hydrolysis not absorbed in the small intestine of healthy individuals".
Commercially available ingredients that can be used as a source of resistant starch are mainly considered to be a source of fibre, so being non-digestible, thereby neglecting the value of the remaining digestible part of the ingredient as a principle source of digestible carbohydrates. It is generally avoided to include fibres in Western nutritional food products in amounts larger than 20-40 grams per daily dose, as they are believed to cause gastrointestinal discomfort in these doses, like bloating, flatulence and loss of appetite. Patients in hospitals or nursing homes may also develop constipation or a high faecal mass when too high amounts or the wrong type of fibres are consumed, especially in combination with drinking too little. In liquid enteral nutrition for the latter group of patients typically about 1 g fibres is included in a nutritional product per 20 g digestible carbohydrates.
Englyst H. N. et al., Eur. J. Clin. Nutr., 46, Suppl. 2, S33-S50 (1992), classify resistant starch (RS) into three categories for reasons of different digestion resistance: Type 1 RS are starches which are physically inaccessible to the digestive enzymes, type 2 RS are starches that exist as granules and can comprise predominantly amylose, and type 3 RS are retrograded starches. Cross-linked and/or chemically modified starches are sometimes considered to be type 4 RS, but their non-food grade status makes them at present undesirable for commercial application in the food industry.
Each of these ingredients can be manufactured differently and their behaviour in vivo depends on the way the ingredient was processed, prior to consumption. Typically manufacturers of resistant starch ingredients develop an ingredient having a RS level that is as high as possible and this amount must be constant and independent of the way of processing of the ingredient when it is included in new food products.
It is known that the digestibility of native starch can change during food processing, especially when heat is applied to the food carbohydrates. Heat treatment plays an important role in manufacturing of clinical liquid formulae, in order to kill micro-organisms or spores thereof and thereby make the formulae safe for consumption by persons that suffer from disease or health disorders or persons who are immune-compromised and/or to prevent spoilage of the formulae during shelf life. A heat treatment may have different effects on the starch properties, as does moisture content, pressure, pH, ionic strength, during processing and in the nutritional product. Annison G. and Topping D. L., Ann. Rev. Nutr. 1994, 14, 297-320, show a significant increase of the viscosity of a starch-containing nutrition when subjected to a specific heat treatment, and even gelatinization may occur, which is undesirable in liquid clinical nutritional products that are intended to be used for tube—or sip-feeding. In addition, the starches may crystallize and precipitate in production lines or in the product, therewith causing problems with homogeneity and blockage of tubing lines. Starch crystals may cause a sandy feeling in the mouth, when consumed.
In the art little attention is paid to the fraction of resistant starch ingredients that is actually available in vivo to man. Most commercially available RS ingredients are to a varying degree partially digestible within 20 minutes after consumption. The remainder is undigested by the enzymes that are released within the human gastrointestinal tract and used as fermentable substrate by colonic micro-organisms. Therefore such resistant starch ingredients do not behave as sustained release carbohydrates.
For example, EP-A-1.088.832 discloses a granular starch that is prepared by selected heat-moisture treatment and which heat-treated starch is made resistant for more than 80%, preferably has a molecular weight of 5-20 kDa (degree of polymerization (DP) of 30-123) and a low amylopectin content. The material is appreciated as source of dietary fibre. Food products are described which comprise more than 20 wt % of total dietary fibre. EP-A-0846704 describes a retrograded starch having more than 55% resistant starch with more than 50% of linear chains of α-glucans having a DP between 10-35 and a DSC melting peak temperature below 115° C. It is suitable for use as a prebiotic component, in particular as a butyrate-producing fibre.
A starch having sustained digestion properties is taught in US 2003/0219520. The enzymatically debranched starch comprises at least 90% linear α-glucans, preferably a highly crystalline amylose having 6-65 anhydro-glucose units linked by α-1,4-D-glucoside bonds and a DE>6.0. No change in the material properties is observed during typical food processing conditions, when included in an amount of 1-50 wt % in a wide range of food products. Upon consumption, between 22 and 50 wt % is digested in the first twenty minutes, and 48-74 wt % is digested within two hours, after start of the test. Table 2 demonstrates the digestibility profile after a specific heat treatment at high or low moisture results: about 31-40% is digested during the first 20 minutes and 65-70% during the first 120 minutes after start of their test. The document is silent about the behaviour of the ingredient, when it is subjected to heating at higher temperatures and in particular ultra high heat treatments, as can be beneficially used during manufacture of enteral clinical nutrition. It is also silent about the effect of heating in a matrix that comprises proteins and/or lipids and/or other carbohydrate fractions. These components are known to be able to interact with amylose crystallization and therewith digestibility.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a nutritional product that is heat-treated and safe with regard to the presence of micro organisms, spores and other potentially harmful components, that is attractive to the consumer from an organoleptic point of view, especially in terms of mouth feel of the product when it is stored for prolonged times, and that is extremely effective in providing rapidly glucose to the consumer and maintaining a clinically significant supply of glucose during a prolonged time without resulting in undesirably high concentrations of glucose in the blood, even in persons that have become insulin resistant.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such products to persons that suffer from insulin resistance in order to prevent development of disorders which result from prolonged and frequent high levels of glucose in blood, such as those diseases that result from advanced glycation products (AGE), neuropathies, retina problems, and kidney problems.

Carbohydrate fraction and use thereof for a flat postprandial glucose response


A process for operating a water recovery plant comprising charging a storage tank with water contaminated with solids water recovered from a manufacturing or construction process, determining a parameter associated with the concentration of one or more selected contaminants in the storage tank, diluting the water contaminated with solids whereby the concentration of the one or more selected contaminants in the storage tank is at or below a desired level, and utilizing water from the storage tank in the manufacturing process.

Many manufacturing and construction processes result in the production of waste water. Environmental considerations require that waste water containing high levels of solids produced as a by-product from manufacturing or construction processes be treated to reduce the level of solids and other contaminants to an acceptable level prior to the disposal or reuse of the waste water. Statutory authorities regulate the level of contaminants that may be present in waste water disposed of through storm water, grey water or sewerage systems. Prior to such disposal of waste water it is often necessary to remove one or more contaminants whereby the waste water is of a quality suitable for disposal. In any process where contaminants are removed from waste water the contaminants need also to be disposed of. The disposal of such contaminants may be costly or technically difficult.
In many manufacturing processes waste water is produced as a by-product and has relatively high levels of suspended solids. The suspended solids may be removed by filtration or other processes to an acceptable level. However, the filter cake or waste that is produced by these processes requires disposal. Waste water containing other contaminants may require treatment by other processes to remove contaminants. However, the contaminants removed from the waste water require separate disposal. The disposal of contaminants removed from waste water is often regulated and there disposal imposes a cost or technical burden on the operator.
In the manufacture of ready mix concrete large volumes of water are consumed in production as well as in the cleaning of the production facility and wet concrete transport vehicles. The cleaning of the facility and vehicles is critical to the production process so that wet concrete is removed before it sets and becomes far more difficult to remove.
Concrete transport vehicles typically return about 3 to 5% of the wet concrete to the production facility, the majority of which is dumped in landfill and the remainder rinsed from vehicles which produces contaminated water as well as a small amount of aggregate that cannot be economically reused. It is not feasible to recover all, or more, of the aggregate as this will generate far greater volumes of contaminated water that needs to be filtered prior to disposal.
It has not generally been possible to economically recycle this contaminated water back into the manufacturing process as it is heavily contaminated with fines that when incorporated into a concrete blend increases the quantity of cement required to obtain the desired strength in the concrete. Furthermore, the presence of high quantities of fines leads to slumping of the concrete as the fines retain excessive water and also results in cracking of the concrete. Accordingly, in the manufacture of ready mix concrete only a very small quantity of water has been, or in fact can be, returned to the manufacture of concrete.
Other construction processes face similar challenges when dealing with waste water contaminated with excessive quantities of solids. For example in the production of foundations the water used to carry illminite is generally town water as the waste water produced is often too high in contaminants. In tunnelling processes water is often used as a cutting fluid and contaminated water is not generally recycled unless it has been passed through a filter press or other process for the removal of substantially all of the contaminants. It will be appreciated that by removing substantially all of the contaminants a large quantity of waste is produced.
We have now found a process for operating a water recovery plant associated with a manufacturing or construction process whereby the quantity of waste produced for disposal may be reduced.

Process for operating a water recovery plant


A configuration for a laser fuse bank is disclosed wherein the available space is more efficiently used. Fuses of graduated width and variable configuration are placed so as to minimize the average distance between fuses and maximize fuse density. Alternatively, a common source is added to a standard laser fuse structure such that it intersects the fuses and the number of available fuses is doubled.

An integrated circuit is a complete electronic circuit, containing transistors, diodes, resistors, and capacitors, along with their interconnecting electrical conductors, contained entirely within a single chip of silicon. Integrated circuits continue to decrease in size, and the circuits they contain continue to increase in complexity. This increases the opportunity for defective chips resulting from a failed element or a defective conductor. The complexity of these devices and the need to interconnect the circuits create very narrow performance tolerances. One way these needs have been met is to manufacture fuses into the device. Fuses can be opened to isolate defective areas and allow the rest of the circuit to be used. Fuses can also be used to trim a circuit, enable a particular mode, or enable or disable different segments of the circuit. By using fuses integrated circuit manufacturers are able to reduce the amount of semiconductor scrap. The continuous drive to reduce the overall size of integrated circuits creates a need to design fuses and other elements of integrated circuits in such a way as to minimize the space they require.
Another way to reduce semiconductor scrap is to provide redundant elements on integrated circuits. If a primary element is defective a redundant element can be substituted for that defective element. One example of an integrated circuit device which uses redundant elements is electronic memory. Typical memory circuits comprise millions of equivalent memory cells arranged in addressable rows and columns. By providing redundant elements, defective memory cells can be replaced. Because the individual primary memory cells of a memory are separately addressable, replacing a defective cell typically comprises opening fuse-type circuits to `program` a redundant cell to respond to the address of the defective primary cell. This process is very effective for permanently replacing defective primary memory cells.
Circuit designers continuously strive to achieve higher population capacities without a corresponding increase in physical size. Reducing the size of individual elements in integrated circuits is one way in which available die real estate is maximized. For example, as memory density increases the number of fuses needed for redundancy in a given memory device also increases. A 256M DRAM is expected to have more than 10,000 laser fuses. Most components of the memory devices can be scaled to meet the space restrictions resulting from the higher densities. However, laser fuses used to implement redundancy can not be scaled due to mechanical restrictions related to current laser technology. Fuse width must be kept large enough to cover the laser spot so that the fuse can absorb a large quantity of heat. In addition, the fuse-to-fuse space must be kept large enough to allow for mechanical laser alignment tolerances and to prevent unintentional programming of a fuse adjacent to an exploding fuse. These laser alignment tolerances, as well as the requirements for a large passivation opening, limit the length of the fuse. Currently the constraints dictated by the laser repair requirements limit the fuse pitch to about 3 microns. The demand for increasing numbers of fuses combined with the fixed pitch limitation create a need for improvements in the laser fuses.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a design which provides an increased density of laser fuses.

Reduced pitch laser redundancy fuse bank structure


The present invention relates to a centrifugal grinder that comprises a body (1) with loading (2) and unloading (3) devices. The grinder comprises upper (4) and lower (5) working organs (parts) which are mounted on the body, said organs (parts) being capable of rotation in opposite directions around the vertical axis. These organs form a working chamber (6) that comprises an annular unloading aperture (7). This invention is characterized in that the upper working organ (4) is made in the shape of a hollow cone (4) while the lower working organ (5) is made in the shape of a conical disc. The conical disc (5) is mounted on the base of the hollow cone (4) and has its summit located within said hollow cone.

The present invention relates to machines for crushing of solid materials, in particular, to centrifugal grinders and can be used in mining, construction, metallurgical, chemical and other branches of industry.
Meeting the industrial demands in solid materials crushing nowadays requires large amounts of energy and capital expenses. Solid materials crushing devices known from the prior art are of low efficiency.
A centrifugal grinder known in the prior art contains a body, a working part comprising a lower link with the partitions and fixed on the vertical shaft as well as an upper link, loading and unloading brunch pipes, and a mechanism of the upper link travel (SU, 946650).
A disadvantage of the known grinder is a low efficiency of crushing and high wear of the working organ elements.
A centrifugal grinder is known in the prior art containing a body with loading and unloading devices wherein upper and lower working organs are mounted, these organs being capable to rotate in opposite directions around the vertical axis forming a working chamber with an annular unloading aperture (SU, 1260015).
A disadvantage of the known grinder is a low efficiency of crushing owing to a low frequency of mutual collision of grinding material.

ul. Academician Zelinskogo, d.38, korp.8, kv.42


A mine ventilation structure used to block a passageway or to prevent mixture of ventilation air at the intersection of two passageways. The passageway has sidewalls and a ceiling. The ventilation structure is formed of panels, each of the panels having spaced apart wire grids with an insulation core. The grids are interconnected with strut wires passing through the insulation core and forming a truss system. A layer of concrete is applied as gunite or shotcrete to the panels embedding the strut wires and covering the wire grids. The layer of concrete extends beyond the margins of the ventilation structure onto the sidewalls and ceiling of the passageway forming a monolithic structure sealed in the passageway that is virtually impervious to air.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mine ventilation structure used to block a passageway or to prevent mixture of ventilation air at the intersection of two passageways. The ventilation structure blocking a passageway can be a shaft partition, stopping or regulator. The ventilation structure preventing the mixture of ventilation air at the intersection of two passageways can be an overcast or an undercast.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In an underground mine having a grid of intersecting passageways separated by columns of remaining material, there is a need for a ventilation system as the mining activity becomes more distant from a source of ventilation. In a typical ventilation system, intake air and return air are ducted through air shafts formed by selected passageways. Along the air shafts, intersecting passageways are blocked with a partition or ducted through an overcast or an undercast.
The return air in a coal mine contains coal dust and methane so it is important that there be no intermingling of the return air with the intake air. Permanent barriers, such as those constructed of concrete block, steel plates or the like, have been used to define the passageways forming the air shafts. Even though the prior art structures are treated with sealants, a significant amount of air leaks through these structures, heard in the mine as a sucking sound. At overcasts and undercasts, the leaks result in intermingling of the return and intake air and at the barriers result in a significant loss of pressure when repeated at multiple barriers along shafts that may extend for thousands of feet.
In addition to leaking air, prior art partitions, overcasts and undercasts made of concrete blocks, steel plates and the like require large amounts of materials that are heavy and difficult to handle in the confined space within a mine. For example, an overcast made with sidewalls of concrete block takes about eight pallets of block, loaded two pallets to a trailer, plus five pallets of mortar. If the deck is suspended on iron beams, the beams weigh about 600 pounds and are lifted into place by hand because of space limitations. Concrete planks are laid over the beams, requiring several more pallets of materials. Bucket-type mine sealant is applied to the deck to seal the gaps between the planks and to seal the ends of the sidewalls to the coal columns between which they are installed. It takes a crew of six men about three shifts to construct an overcast, the work is dangerous and injuries are common. The space between the planks and the gap between the ends of the walls and the coal columns open up in time. Similar construction and leakage problems are encountered with overcasts made of steel plates that are bolted together.


A method of thermal processing a supporting structure comprised of various compound semiconductor layers having a Gd free Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 surface layer including coating the surface layer with a dielectric or a metallic cap layer or combinations thereof, such that the low D.sub.it Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 -compound semiconductor structure is conserved during thermal processing, e.g. during activation of ion implants of a self aligned metal-oxide-compound semiconductor gate structure. In a preferred embodiment, the semiconductor structure has a surface of GaAs, the Gd free Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 layer has a thickness in a range of approximately 1 nm to 20 nm, and the insulating or metallic cap layer has a thickness in a range of approximately 1 nm to 500 nm.

Insulator-semiconductor interfaces are the major workhorse of the Si semiconductor industry. Integration levels of several million metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices using a minimum feature size <0.3 .mu.m are commonplace. For compound semiconductors, Schottky gates have been used as gate electrodes. Source and drain regions of submicron devices are realized self aligned to the gate by ion implantation in both Si and GaAs very large scale integration (VLSI). The gate structure and, more specifically, the insulator-semiconductor interface must withstand elevated temperatures (700.degree. C.) during thermal processing, in particular during activation of ion implants. The corresponding fabrication techniques and material systems for Si MOSFETs and GaAs Schottky gate FETs are well known to those skilled in the art.
For MOS structures based on compound semiconductors, prior art, for instance M. Passlack et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 68, 1099 (1996), Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 68, 3605 (1996), and Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 69, 302 (1996), U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,548, entitled "Electron Beam Deposition of Gallium Oxide Thin Films using a Single Purity Crystal Source", issued Sep. 19, 1995, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,089, entitled "Gallium Oxide Coatings for Optoelectronic Devices Using Electron Beam Evaporation of a High Purity Single Crystal Gd.sub.3 Ga.sub.5 O.sub.12 Source", issued Aug. 27, 1996, reported that functional oxide III-V semiconductor interfaces are fabricated by in-situ deposition of a specific insulating layer (e.g. gallium oxide such as Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3) on gallium arsenide (GaAs) based semiconductor epitaxial layers while maintaining an ultra-high vacuum. The technique provided gallium oxide films with substantial Gd.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Gd incorporation which increased towards the oxide surface. Full accessibility of the GaAs band gap and interface state densities D.sub.it in the low 10.sup.10 cm.sup.-2 eV.sup.-1 range were demonstrated. The use of an SiO.sub.2 cap layer maintained the integrity of the oxide-GaAs interface during rapid thermal annealing of up to 800.degree. C. However, the use of a SiO.sub.2 cap layer is incompatible with manufacturable processes as described in the following. The use of a SiO.sub.2 cap results in rapid degradation of the oxide-GaAs interface above a temperature of 600.degree. C. when Gd free Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 films comprise the gate oxide. Note that a Gd free Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 is required for stable and reliable device operation and a process to fabricate Gd free Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 films is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,768 entitled "Method of Forming a Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 Dielectric Layer", issued Jan. 28, 1997. Further, metal cap layers which conserve the oxide-semiconductor interface are required for a manufacturable self-aligned gate process. Processes using dummy gates are not considered to be manufacturable since the fabrication process is substantially complicated and the integration density is limited.
Prior art also describes a method of making a GaAs MOSFET device using ion implantation (Proc. IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, pp. 943-945 (1996)). The device, however, does not use a self aligned gate technique and thus, is not manufacturable.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a method of thermal processing for a self aligned metal-oxide-compound semiconductor gate structure which conserves a low D.sub.it oxide-compound semiconductor structure in particular during activation of ion implants, and a method which is compatible with the requirements in large volume production of highly integrated compound semiconductor MOSFET circuits.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of thermal processing for a self-aligned metal-oxide-compound semiconductor gate structure.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved method to conserve a low D.sub.it Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 -compound semiconductor structure during thermal processing, e.g. during activation of implants, for a self-aligned metal-oxide-compound semiconductor gate structure.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved method to conserve a low D.sub.it metal-Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 -compound semiconductor structure during thermal processing, e.g. during activation of implants, for a self-aligned metal-oxide-compound semiconductor gate structure which is fully compatible with the requirements and established processes in large volume production of highly integrated compound semiconductor circuits.
It is a further purpose of the invention to provide a new and improved method to conserve a low D.sub.it metal-Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 GaAs structure during thermal processing, e.g. during activation of implants, for a self-aligned metal-oxide-compound semiconductor gate structure which is easy to use and manufacture.

Thermal processing of oxide-compound semiconductor structures


A work feeding and conveying device for a planing machine includes a conveying unit assembled on an intermediate base of a planing machine. The conveying unit has a power source, a front shaft, a rear shaft and a conveying belt. The front shaft is secured at the front end of the intermediate base and connected with a power source for being rotated. The rear shaft is pivotally connected with the rear end of the intermediate base, able to be moved back and forth horizontally for a present distance. The conveying belt formed with a rough surface with high friction coefficient is fitted around the intermediate base and passes on the front and the rear shaft. The conveying belt can smoothly convey a work piece, and evenly apply force on its surface, able to carry out wood processing precisely.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a work feeding and conveying device for a planing machine, particularly to one provided on an intermediate base with a conveying unit able to convey a work with even force to enable the work piece to be processed smoothly and precisely.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional planing machine 10, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a flattop planing table 11 assembled thereon with an intermediate base 12 and an upper base 13. The intermediate base 12 is a flat stand pivotally disposed with two rollers 121 at its upper end, and the upper base 13 is provided thereon with a rotary arm 131 able to be turned for adjusting the distance between the intermediate base 12 and the upper base 13. Further, the upper base 13 is pivotally installed inside with a planing knife 132 driven by a motor (not shown) to carry out planing work. The planing knife 132 has its front and rear side respectively and pivotally provided with a press-convey roller 133 driven to rotate by the motor. When the press-convey rollers 133 are rotated and shifted, a work will be pressed and drawn forward by the press-convey rollers 133 to be processed from the front end of the intermediate base 12 and after planed into a predetermined thickness, the work will be sent out from the rear end of the intermediate base 12.
However, the two press-convey rollers 133 of the conventional planing machine are respectively positioned at the front and the rear side of the planing knife 132; therefore, when a work piece is pressed and conveyed by the press-convey rollers 133, it will contact linearly with the press-convey rollers 133. In this condition, when pressed by a single press-convey roller 133, the whole work piece can not be pressed evenly because of insufficient support force of that single press-convey roller 133. Thus, in the course of planing, the front and the rear end of the work cannot be kept flat and straight, and in consequence the work fails to be planed smoothly and precisely. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, in order to enable the motor to simultaneously drive both the planing knife 132 and the press-convey rollers 133, which are quite different in functions and rotating speeds, a speed-reducing unit 132 composed of plural gears has to be additionally provided between the planing knife 132 and the rollers 133 for mutual operation, but the speed-reducing unit 134 is complicated in structure and not easy in maintenance, thus increasing the size and cost of a planing machine.

Work feeding and conveying device for a planing machine


A method and a device are disclosed for stacking unpacked processed cheese slices. Single stacks consisting of a plurality of superimposed processed cheese slices are continuously supplied by a transportation device to a first turning station. At the first turning station, the single stacks are individually rotated through 90xc2x0 in the direction of transportation. These rotated single stacks subsequently are supplied to a second turning station. At the second turning station, two or more single stacks are arranged behind one another in a row and then are rotated together through 90xc2x0 in the direction of transportation. Thus, the two or more single stacks come to rest on top of one another and form a multiple stack of processed cheese slices.

The invention relates to a method and a device for stacking unpacked processed cheese slices.
Devices for producing processed cheese slices are known, which supply individually packed and stacked processed cheese slices.
However, gastronomy and large consumers desire simple handling of the individual processed cheese slices, i.e. easily separable, but not individually packed processed cheese slices. Devices of this type for manufacturing unpacked, stacked processed cheese slices are known. A plurality of superimposed cheese webs are produced, which are continuously intermittently cut, resulting in individual stacks comprising a plurality of superimposed and unpacked processed cheese slices. Depending on the number of cheese webs which are simultaneously processed, this single stack can comprise, for example, 5, 10 or 20 individual processed cheese slices.
However, in many cases stacks comprising, for example, 30, 40 or more superimposed cheese slices may be required, so that to date this need has been met by manually stacking the single stacks coming from the machine to form larger multiple stacks. This manual activity is very monotonous, labour-intensive and costly.
It is therefore the object of the invention to propose a method and a device for stacking unpacked processed cheese slices, by means of which the stacking, which was formerly effected manually, is completely automated.
This object is attained by the characterising features of the independent claims.
The invention is based upon transporting the unpacked processed cheese slices, which have already been stacked into individual stacks during production, to a first turning station, where the individual stacks are tilted through 90xc2x0 about their horizontal axis, so that they come to stand on their end face. The upright single stacks are transported to a second, pulsed turning station where they are grouped in a row. Once two or more single stacks have been arranged in a row in this manner, the second turning station is actuated and again tilts the grouped single stacks through 90xc2x0 about their common horizontal axis. Consequently, the two or more stacks of processed cheese slices come to rest on top of one another and form a single multiple stack, which can be supplied to the further processing and packing of a subsequent processing station. As a transportation device, one or more conveyor belts are preferably used, which consist of a plurality of rotating belts.
The processed cheese slices thus leave the production machine already stacked into individual stacks and are stacked to form larger multiple stacks by the device according to the invention.
The processed cheese slices arriving from the production machine are preferably stacked on top of one another offset to the left and right in the direction of transportation in order to facilitate the removal of individual cheese slices from the stack. However, the end face of the individual stack which is to be stacked forms a plane, so that a flat standing surface is available.
According to a first embodiment of the invention, the first turning station is formed by a turnstile, which is arranged in the region of the conveyor belt and engages through said conveyor belt. The single stacks of cheese slices transported on the first conveyor belt are stopped by a vertically positioned arm of the turnstile, are individually grasped by the horizontal arm of the turnstile lying beneath the stack and rotated through 90xc2x0 and deposited again on the conveyor belt. The respective turned single stack of cheese slices comes to rest upon its end face and is transported to the second turning station.
The turned individual stacks of cheese slices enter the region of the second turning station. The second turning station is preferably formed by a turnstile. The single stacks of cheese slices are transported by the conveyor belt to the vertical arm of the turnstile, where they abut and are arranged in rows of two or more. Once, depending on the desired number, two or more single stacks are arranged in a row, the turnstile is set in motion in the direction of transportation. The cheese slice stacks which have run up against the vertical arm of the turnstile are grasped by the underlying horizontal arm and rotated forwards through 90xc2x0, so that the two or more single stacks come to rest on top of one another on the conveyor belt and form a single multiple stack.
The multiple stacks of processed cheese slices are then advanced by the conveyor belt and supplied to a further processing or packing stage.
In connection with a second embodiment of the invention, the first turning station is formed by two transportation devices arranged in series and separated by an intermediate space. The transportation devices are preferably constructed as conveyor belts and are arranged vertically offset relative to one another, the first conveyor belt in the direction of transportation being arranged higher than the following conveyor belt. The single stacks of cheese slices fall from the first, higher conveyor belt onto the second, lower conveyor belt and during the fall rotate about the horizontal axis, so that they come to rest on the second conveyor belt tilted through 90xc2x0 with their end face at the bottom. As a result of the fact that the individual, unpacked processed cheese slices adhere relatively well to one another, the individual processed cheese slices remain together even after tilting and do not fall apart. The following method steps in connection with the second turning station correspond to the steps described above in connection with the first embodiment.
In a further development of the present invention, it is provided that not only one row of successive single stacks can be processed, but the stacking device can simultaneously process a plurality of successive rows of single stacks.
The number of single stacks which are stacked on top of one another to form a multiple stack can be arbitrarily selected and is only limited by the steadiness of the multiple stack produced in this manner.
A station for batching the multiple stacks to form a plurality of successive units can be arranged downstream of the second turning station. In this respect, the batching station preferably comprises a plurality of lifters, which are arranged in series and lift the individually arriving multiple stacks from the conveyor belt for a given period of time and deposit said stacks again on the conveyor belt together as a batch.
A method for stacking unpacked processed cheese slices is contemplated, and includes the steps of continuously supplying stacks of superimposed processed cheese slices with a transportation device to a first turning station, tilting the stacks through a 90xc2x0 angle in a direction of transportation, supplying the tilted stacks to a second turning station, and arranging at least two of the tilted stacks behind one another in a row, and tilting the at least two stacks together through a 90xc2x0 angle in the direction of transportation such that the at least two stacks come to rest on top of one another to form a single stack of processed cheese slices.

Method and device for stacking unpacked processed cheese slices


A refrigerated food preparation table having an evaporator cooling coil and heat transfer fins which are baffled to create two air flows which are cooled to different temperatures. One air flow passes through a laminar air screen and across an open top of a food container, and the other f low passes along the outer surfaces of the food container, thereby cooling the food container and a volume defined therein. This configuration preferably cools the entire volume within the food container to a temperature below 40' F., yet remaining above 32' F. The laminar air screen may be disassembled and separated for the purpose of cleaning.

This invention relates generally to refrigerated containers, and more particularly to a unique forced air convection refrigerated container.
Refrigerated food preparation tables generally include a food container which has an open top exposed to ambient air for ease of access. Various refrigeration systems for the containers exist, including surrounding the container with refrigeration tubes, passing cooled air along the outer surface of the container, and passing cooled air across the open top of the container. It is desirable to maintain the entire volume of the container at temperatures equal to or below 40.degree. F., and also at temperatures above 32.degree. F. to prevent the food from freezing. However, with a number of the above methods, maintaining the top temperature below 40.degree. F. causes the bottom region of the container to reach temperatures below 32.degree. F., which in turn causes the food in the bottom region to freeze.
The present invention surmounts this problem by providing a novel apparatus and method for cooling the upper and lower regions of the food container at different heat transfer rates. The upper region of the container is cooled by laminar flow forced air convection across the open top of the container with a first air flow which is cooled to a first temperature. The lower region of the container is cooled by forced air convection along the outer surface of the container with a second air flow which is cooled to a second temperature. The apparatus is designed so that the ambient temperature is greater than the second temperature, and the second temperature is greater than the first temperature. The dual temperature air flows are generated in a unique way utilizing a single heat exchanger by forcing the first air flow to follow a more tortuous path through the heat exchanger than the second air flow.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a unique food refrigeration system utilizing forced air convection with a plurality of air flows which are cooled to different temperatures, whereby the aforementioned problems encountered with known systems are overcome.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel refrigeration coil and fin arrangement, whereby one refrigeration heat transfer device cools a plurality of air flows to different temperatures.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel laminar flow air screen which may be easily disassembled for the purpose of cleaning.
These and other advantages and features will become apparent from the following description and claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Refrigerated food preparation table and method


In a technique for reducing the transconductance of an input stage of an operational amplifier, the phase delay which the active load current mirror introduces into the single path is utilized in a way such that the phase delay of the overall stage is less than the delay of the primary differential pair. It is a mathematical fact that when two sinusoidal signals of the same frequency are added together, the result is also sinusoidal. Considering two such signals, the second of which has a phase lag with respect to the first, if the two signals are combined by the addition of ordinates, the resulting sinusoid also has a phase lag. However, if the second signal is instead subtracted from the first, then the resulting sinusoid has a phase lead with resect to the first signal. The present invention makes use of this phenomenon by causing the delayed mirror signal to be subtracted from, rather than added to, the primary signal. This produces a differential transconductance stage with less negative phase shift than that of the prior art, in fact less than that of the primary differential pair alone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to operational amplifiers and, in particular, to a simple, effective technique for reducing the transconductance of the differential stage of an operational amplifier to increase bandwidth and/or phase margin.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
R. J. Widlar and Mineo Yamatake, "A Monolithic Power Op Amp", IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 527-535, April 1988, disclose a power amplifier integrated circuit (IC) wherein the lateral pnp transistors in the differential stage have their collectors split into two equal segments. The current mirror is fed from one collector on each transistor, making its operating current independent of the input voltage. This takes the phase shift of the current mirror out of the signal path.
By way of explanation, the current mirror's current is in fact a DC current; the signal incurs no delay in the current mirror for the precise reason that no signal is applied to the mirror. As a result, the total transconductance of the stage is decreased. As a further result, the total phase shift of the transconductance stage consists only of the delay introduced by the primary differential pnp pair, thereby improving the phase margin.

Input stage for operational amplifier utilizing phase delay of active load current mirror to achieve improved bandwidth and phase margin


Improvements in product water throughput from a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filter achieved by thinner feed spacers in the RO element, enhanced recovery (ratio of permeate to feed), pressure recovery of the retentate fluid pressure opposing the feed water pressure, and fluid pulsing of the RO element feed stream. The system of the invention preferably comprises a dual head reciprocating pump, an RO element, and a differential pressure activated (“DPA”) valve. The DPA valve, in combination with connecting the two pump heads to reduce required pump pressures, generates energy recovery. The frequency and amplitude of the reciprocating pump create a pulse wave in the RO element that improves permeate quality and throughput. A control system preferably monitors system parameters to optimize the reciprocating pump speed and amplitude in order to obtain maximum throughput and permeate quality from any given RO element configuration. Also a highly compact, portable RO system comprising a piston and a DPA valve. The piston separates the feed chamber from the retentate chamber. The pressure difference between the two chambers determines the pressure recovery of the system. The DPA valve opens and closes hydraulically to automatically control the retentate discharge as the system is pumped.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to removing particulate and dissolved solids from water by spiral wrapped membrane elements utilizing a dual diaphragm pump system that preferably incorporates pressure recovery, pulsing, fixed recovery (ratio of permeate to feed), and thin feed spacer spiral wrapped membrane elements. The maximum benefit of the system is achieved when reverse osmosis ("RO") is utilized as the membrane technology due to the high pressures inherent in RO membrane processes. However, the system of the present invention is also effective on microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and other membrane systems. More particularly the present invention relates to alternative means to increase the production of potable water per unit size of membrane element and to reduce the energy cost per unit volume of water treated.
The present invention further relates to a reverse osmosis hand held pump with pressure recovery and in-line components for easy fabrication.
2. Background Art
Removing impurities from drinking water supplies is a major factor in reducing the health risks to the human population. High levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) in water, such as dissolved salts in seawater, make the water unfit for drinking because of the ion imbalance in the human system. Most drinking water in the world today comes from ground or surface water sources and potable water from these sources is produced at small and large municipal drinking water treatment plants. A very small percentage of drinking water is produced from de-salination facilities. There are many settings in which these large systems are not practical. For example, campers, military personnel, and disaster relief situations require small man-portable systems that can treat water from just about any water source to produce potable water. To be effective in such remote settings, a system must be capable of repeated operation with little operator skill, no external power sources, and very little maintenance.
To be fully comprehensive, water filtration must include the capability for both conventional filtration as well as desalination. Conventional filtration can remove particulates that cause turbidity such as dirt, silt, sand, and larger organisms such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Reverse osmosis ("RO") technology must also be included to remove ions from such sources as sea water. At sea water concentrations of 35,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L), the system must be effective enough to remove ions to levels less than 1000 mg/L. While sodium and chloride are the two ions of concern in sea water, the system must be able to remove other ions as well. All of these ions are collectively known as TDS.
Existing technology removes TDS utilizing RO technology. Manual pumps utilize a pressure recovery feature to reduce the applied force required to generate the pressure needed to drive the RO process. U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,524, to Jordan, entitled "Manually Operated Pump Utilizing Backpressure for Easement of Pump Stroke," discloses a pressure recovery feature for a pneumatic application. This feature does not apply to fluids such as water and lacks an efficient valve system for retentate discharge and for isolating the RO element in the event that TDS removal is not required. U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,488 to Wilson, entitled "Water Purification by Reverse Osmosis," and U.S. Pat. No. RE 33,135, to Wanner, Sr. et al, entitled "Pump Apparatus," disclose a reverse osmosis pump mechanism with a pressure recovery feature. The present invention addresses the current problems by incorporating a simple valve mechanism for retentate discharge.
U.S. Pat. No. RE 32,144, to Keefer, entitled "Reverse Osmosis Method and Apparatus," discloses a pump mechanism with pressure recovery and accumulator for reverse osmosis. The mechanism does not incorporate an efficient pressure relief and retentate discharge mechanism integral to the piston and rod assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,466, to Gray, discloses a portable water purification system with a double piston pump comprising a feed water piston in a feed water cylinder, a concentrate pumping section for removing concentrate from concentrate output, and a concentrate pumping section including a concentrate cylinder and piston wherein the pistons move in opposite axially directions. Gray does not teach differential pressure control or use of a spring or other mechanism for storing energy to average out the forces of the respective strokes. Further, Gray teaches use of a two-piston system only.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,736, to Schoenmeyr, discloses a booster pump for a reverse osmosis water purification system wherein the pump has a spring return piston stroked by the pressure of feedwater and a pair of solenoid control valves (controlled by a piston position detector switch) that control the flow of feedwater into and out of the pump to move the piston between stroke and return positions. The Schoenmeyr patent, while disclosing a single piston, employs a two-headed piston with solenoid control valves and a control circuit system, unlike the differential pressure activated valve of the present invention.
Additional tangentially related prior art includes: U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,066, to Gray; U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,980 to Patapoff et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,364, to Bachle et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,887, to Miers; U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,301, to Lopez; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,372, to Manjikian.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An ad-hoc network approach for addressing ad-hoc network address assignment, name resolution, and service discovery in ad-hoc networks. The size of the ad-hoc network may be limited to a selected number of ad-hoc network stations. A first portion of the ad-hoc network address assigned to stations joining the ad-hoc network may be fixed and a second portion of the ad-hoc network address may be selected dynamically, as each new station joins the ad-hoc network. A station may generate an information element that may be included in ad-hoc network messages. An exemplary information element may include a last byte of the ad-hoc network address associated with the transmitting station, a 4-byte timestamp field which indicates a number of milliseconds since the station claimed the network address, a user-friendly name to identify the station, a universally unique identifier (UUID) for each service offered by the transmitting station, and a network-address-in-use bitmap.

Over the past few years, consumers have embraced digital technology. Consumer acceptance has been driven by the availability of services such as high-speed links to the Internet, wired and wireless home networks, and the growth of digital café s offering a variety of opportunities for social interaction and services. Consumer acceptance has also been driven by the availability of a wide range of digital technology products such as laptop computers, hand-held computers, digital cell phones, video and audio recording and/or playback devices. The widespread acceptance and use of digital technologies has led to a high demand for seamless, transparent connectivity, communication and interoperability between the respective digital devices, and between the respective digital devices and available services that enhance the usefulness of the respective digital devices and/or facilitate their use.
The ability to organize wireless electronic devices into ad-hoc wireless networks holds promise for meeting user demands for seamless, transparent connectivity and interoperability between digital devices and between digital devices and available services. However, existing ad-hoc network implementations are overly complex and burdensome and fall short of meeting user needs. Existing ad-hoc networks, e.g., such as ad-hoc networks based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, require a level of complexity that increases device processing and memory requirements, increases device production costs, and decreases operational efficiency. Thus, a need exists for approaches for implementing ad-hoc networks between wireless digital devices that provide seamless, transparent connectivity and interoperability between digital devices and available services, yet reduce device hardware requirements, reduce device complexity and production costs, and improve operational efficiency.

Method and apparatus for permitting a device to automatically select a network address for use in a wireless network


The object of the present invention is to form a film of a high quality on a constituent part in a compressor.

The present invention relates to a constituent part in a compressor and a method for forming a film on the constituent part in a compressor.
Methods for coating a lubricating coating material on constituent parts such as a swash plate and a piston in a compressor are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No.10-26081 and No.11-173263.
In a roller coating method according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.10-26081, a coating material is applied on a peripheral surface of a metal roller, and the coating material on the metal roller is transferred on a peripheral surface of a printing roller, which is made of a synthetic rubber, and then the coating material transferred on the peripheral surface of the printing roller is applied to a piston. The metal roller contacts the printing roller, and the printing roller contacts the piston to be coated. The coating material on the metal roller is adjusted to be predetermined thickness by a comma roller before transferred to the printing roller.
In a pad method according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.11-173263, a coating material prepared on a concave printing plate at a predetermined thickness and in a predetermined shape is transferred to a pad, and the coating material on the pad is printed on the constituent part to be coated.
In a coating method according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.10-26081, a line is formed on a coating film passing between a comma roller and a metal roller when a foreign substance is got into a clearance therebetween. This line is transferred to the film applied on the piston, so the quality of the film is deteriorated. As long as the foreign substance is not removed, the line is formed on every film of a subsequent piston to be filmed.
In a coating method according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.11-173263, a film is creased if the pad is deformed ununiformly. When a contacting surface of the pad with the constituent part is plane, a film is not satisfactorily formed since air is involved therebetween. When the contacting surface of the pad is in a convex curved shape so that it prevents air from being involved in, the thickness of the film is not uniform. For the closer to the center of the contacting surface it is, the stronger the contacting force of the pad against the constituent part becomes. Therefore, the film needs to be dried, calcinated, and then polished so that the thickness of it is adjusted.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to form a film of a high quality on a constituent part in a compressor.
To achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a method for forming a film on a region of the constituent part, and the film is formed by adhering a sheet to form a film to the region so as to fit the shape of the region.
Furthermore, the present invention has following features. The sheet, which is fitted to the shape of the region, is formed. Afterward the sheet is adhered to the region, whereby the film is formed. The film of a uniform thickness is easily formed.
Furthermore, the present invention has following features. The sheet is a resin sheet containing a solid lubricant. The resin sheet containing the solid lubricant is effective to form a film so as to improve slidability.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to the constituent part in the compressor, and the film is formed in the region of the constituent part. According to the present invention, the film of a uniform thickness is easily formed, and adhered to the constituent part in the compressor.
Furthermore, the present invention has following features. The compressor is a swash plate type compressor, and the constituent part is the swash plate. The swash plate is integrally rotated with a drive shaft. The rotation of the swash plate through the shoes is converted into the reciprocating movement of pistons. The region to be filmed is the sliding region of the swash plate to the shoes. The sliding region of the swash plate to the shoes is suitable for the region to be filmed.
Furthermore, the present invention has following features. An adhesive layer is arranged on the region to be filmed, and the sheet is adhered over the region through the adhesive layer. When the adhesive layer is arranged on the region in advance, it is easy to adhere the sheet to the region.

Method for forming a film on a constituent part in a compressor

Abstract: The compressor has a swash plate as a constituent part to be filmed. The swash plate on which the film is to be formed is arranged on a seat of a film forming device. An adhesive layer is formed to the end surfaces of the swash plate in advance. A sheet to form a film is absorbed to a hollow body of a suction device of the film forming device, and press-contacted to the swash plate. The sheet is thus adhered to the end surface of the swash plate.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho


In the fabrication of a display, such as an OLED display, the OLED layer stack is deposited on an electrode on the substrate. The electrode may be the anode and may comprise indium tin oxide (ITO). Desirably, the deposited films are of uniform thickness over the entire active area of the electrode. If the films are not uniform, then areas that are thicker will not emit light, and areas that are too thin may emit light in a less than optimum efficient way (power loss) and/or result in leakage current leaks through the device in a way that does not generate photons. An active-matrix organic light emitting diode comprises a substrate with a larger well size or wider channel width compared to the emission area. This improves the effective aperture ratio, which improves pixel intensity homogeneity.

Organic electronic devices convert electrical energy into radiation, detect signals through electronic processes, convert radiation into electrical energy, or include one or more organic semiconductor layers. In the fabrication of a display, such as an OLED display, the OLED layer stack is deposited as films on an electrode on the substrate. If the films are not uniform, then areas that are thicker will not emit light, and areas that are too thin may emit light in a less than optimum efficient way and/or result in leakage current leaks through the device in a way that does not generate photons.
Conventional active-matrix organic light emitting diodes (AMOLEDs) suffer from pixel intensity inhomogeneity. It would be desirable to improve the pixel intensity homogeneity in AMOLEDs.

Pixel intensity homogeneity in organic electronic devices


An X-ray tube, including: an envelope (11) that holds inside thereof at a predetermined pressure; a filament (12) for emitting electrons and a focus electrode (13) provided in the envelope: and a target (15) for generating X-ray provided in the envelope facing to the filament (12) and the focus electrode (13), wherein the envelope (11) has an envelope body (11a) and an X-ray window portion (16) having a higher X-rays transmissivity and a higher electric conductivity than the envelope body (11a), when the X-ray window portion (16) or the anode (14) is set to a lower electric potential than both of an electric potential of the anode (14) or the X-ray window portion (16) and an electric potential of the filament (12) and the focus electrode (13), detection of at least one of an ion current (Ii) or an electron current (Ie) through the X-ray window portion (16) or the anode (14) is possible.

In an article inspection or the like for irradiating an inspection article with X-rays, generally, an X-ray tube as an X-ray generation source and an X-ray generation device provided with the X-ray tube are used.
The X-ray tube is usually a high-vacuum vacuum ceiling device of, for example, about 10−4 Pa. When deterioration of the vacuum occurs, generation of an abnormal discharge due to deterioration of the vacuum causes fluctuation of X-ray intensity, thereby making it liable to cause an abnormality in the inspection using the X-ray.
Then, technologies for measuring the pressure in the envelope of an X-ray tube using the electrode of an X-ray tube are conventionally known (for example, refer Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).
Such an X-ray tube or an X-ray generation device provided with the same has an advantage that it is not necessary to additionally install a vacuum gauge to measure the pressure of the X-ray tube, so that the X-ray tube has the pressure measurement function at a comparatively low cost.


In a data storage apparatus for storing data by making the data to be a file, a file is deleted, in a normal deletion processing, after contents of the file are destructed by overwriting the file to be deleted with data for elimination such as “all-zeros”. On the other hand, with respect to storage processing, when storing new data, files waiting for deletion are investigated whether they are existent or not, excluding files being deleted currently in the normal deletion processing, and when files waiting for deletion are existent, either one of the files waiting for deletion is overwritten with new data to be stored.

The present invention relates to a data storage apparatus for storing data in a form of a file, and in particular, to a technology for deleting a file efficiently while avoiding leaks of confidential information.
When storing data in a storage device such as a hard disc device, control information showing identification names (file names) of data, positions of storage and sizes are usually stored simultaneously in addition to substantive data. Since reading of the data is conducted by referring to the control information, deletion of the stored data is carried out by deleting the control information of the data, and the substantive data are not deleted.
However, in the method of deletion of this kind, if an special software is used, the data which ought to have been deleted can be read after being revived, because the substantive data still remain without being deleted. This is not preferable in view of the point of avoiding leaks of confidential information, when an occasion where data are stolen together with a hard disc device is assumed.
On the other hand, for deleting substantive data, a method to overwrite the total area to be delete with specific eliminating data such as "all-zeros", "all-ones" or a random value is used in many cases, and a load of processing for deletion of the substantive data is large. For example, a digital copying machine includes a machine model that stores image data inputted from a scanner or an outer interface in a hard disc device temporarily, and then, reads them out to conduct operations for printout, and deletes the substantive data of image data after outputting for preventing leaks of secrets. When an amount of data is increased by requirements of colorizing, higher resolution and speeding up, the processing of deleting the substantive data starts to fail to deal with, resulting in a fear that productivity of operation such as copying operation is lowered.
Therefore, there is proposed an image processing apparatus wherein, when conducting storage of new data in the course of practicing data deletion processing, storage of new data and deletion of the substantive data of former data are carried out simultaneously by interrupting currently-running processing for deletion, and by storing new data in the area that follows the position of the interruption (for example, see Patent Document 1).
However, in the method to interrupt currently-running processing for deletion, and to store new data on a portion following the position of the interruption, the deleting processing and storing processing need to operate in cooperation with each other, resulting in complicated processing. Meanwhile, in the image processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, image data are stored in a continuous storage area. However, when storing data as a file by using a file system, actual data are sometimes stored in fragmented areas, and file control becomes complicated, if new data are stored from halfway of a file being deleted.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No. 2005-159550

Data storage apparatus, data storage method and image processing apparatus for secure data deletion

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


Systems and methods are disclosed for allowing a primary user to share a digital service, in a bundle of services implemented by a plurality of different service providers, with a secondary user. In accordance with one implementation, a method includes receiving a request from the primary user to share a first service in the bundle of services with the secondary user. The method also includes generating, using at least one processor, a first token that associates the secondary user with the first service. The method further includes sending the first token to one of the plurality of different service providers for the first service. Additionally, the method includes modifying a status of the primary user to restrict access to the first service by the primary user while the first service is being shared with the secondary user.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to digital services and computerized systems and methods for aggregating and sharing digital services in bundles. More particularly, and without limitation, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for presenting, storing, bundling, sharing, and managing purchases of digital services and/or other items (e.g., coupons, subscriptions, redeemable credits, and exclusive discounts, etc.).
Background
Various solutions exist for presenting advertisements, sales information, and products and services to customers. However, customers are frequently presented with broad presentations and usually do not have the freedom to receive or create offers that are tailored to them. Another drawback of existing solutions is that they require customers or online users to manage and purchase services and/or other items individually or according to predetermined packages. Moreover, users are required to purchase services from each individual service provider (i.e., Netflix™, Pandora One™, Norton™, etc.), using individual user accounts for each service, and according to predetermined pricing structures.
There are also other drawbacks. For example, existing service providers, including those that provide online services and other digital services, do not allow end-users to customize packages of services or to buy items in bundles. Furthermore, existing service providers do not provide users the ability to customize and share services for creating a unique and tailored experience for users and their friends.
In addition, some premier marketers use behavior and search patterns to present targeted advertising and sales information to users. However, as Do Not Track ("DNT") and other privacy measures become more prominent, the ability of entities to purchase the information used to identify these patterns will significantly diminish.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems and methods for providing digital services to customers. There also exists a need for improved systems and methods for presenting, storing, bundling, sharing, and managing purchases of digital services and/or other items. A need also exists for solutions that enable customers and other users the ease, convenience, and access of purchasing and/or sharing multiple services from different service providers, with the simplified billing and the cost-savings of bundled purchasing.

Systems and methods for facilitating the sharing of digital bundles of services between users