The present invention provides a measurement reagent that is capable of suppressing nonspecific aggregation even when the amount of antibody to be carried is increased, and is capable of measuring in a wide measurement concentration range with high measurement sensitivity; an immunoturbidimetric assay using the same; and a method of producing thereof. A method of producing an insoluble carrier particle of the present invention is a method of producing an insoluble carrier particle carrying an antibody or an antigen on a particle surface thereof. The method includes a sensitization reaction processes in which the antibody or the antigen is brought into contact with the insoluble carrier particle in the presence of an amino acid with a charged polar side chain in a sensitization reaction solution. The insoluble carrier particles obtained by the producing method of the present invention show favorable dispersibility because nonspecific aggregation is suppressed. As can be seen from Examples 1-1 to 1-4 in FIG. 3, when the insoluble carrier particles are applied to measurement by an immunoturbidimetric assay, a wide measurement concentration range and high measurement sensitivity can be achieved.

Heretofore, as immunological assays, enzyme immunoassays (EIA), immunoturbidimetric assays, and the like have been used. Among them, in recent years, immunoturbidimetric assays using insoluble carrier particles have been used widely in laboratory tests and the like because they are applicable to autoanalyzers.
The immunoturbidimetric assays usually use insoluble carrier particles carrying antigens or antibodies, which are measurement objects. When samples contain measurement objects, the measurement objects are bound to the antigens or antibodies carried by the insoluble carrier particles, and the insoluble carrier particles thereby are aggregated. Therefore, measurement objects can be detected by measuring the level of the aggregation.
In laboratory tests, disorders are diagnosed by measuring, for example, concentrations of antigens or antibodies contained in biological samples as diagnostic indices by the immunoturbidimetric assay. Since concentrations of antigens or antibodies contained in biological samples differ greatly depending on the presence or absence of disorders, for example, the inspection methods are required to be measurable over a wider range concentration.
Immunoturbidimetric assays using insoluble carrier particles can, from their measurement principles, widen the measurement concentration ranges of measurement objects by raising the upper limit of the amount of antibody or antigen that is reactable. To achieve this, insoluble carrier particles are required to have larger amount of antibody or antigen. However, with respect to insoluble carrier particles used in immunoturbidimetric assays, usually, when the insoluble carrier particles carry antibodies or antigens at functional groups on the surfaces of the particles, the electric charges of the surfaces thereof are decreased. This causes problems in which aggregation reactions of particles themselves and aggregation reactions (nonspecific aggregation) by substances other than antibodies or antigens occur easily, dispersibility is decreased, and measurement sensitivity is decreased.
Hence, with respect to the immunoturbidimetric assays, with the aim of suppressing nonspecific aggregation, a method of using proteins non-specific to antigens (Patent document 1), a method of using surfactants (Patent document 2), and a method of using salts (Patent document 3) have been developed. However, in the method of using proteins non-specific to antigens, when the amount of antibody or antigen to be sensitized with insoluble carrier particles is increased, the efficiency of suppressing nonspecific aggregation is decreased. Further, in the method of using surfactants, there is the possibility of losing reactivity because antibodies or antigens physically adsorbed are removed or denatured. Moreover, in the method of using salts, there is the possibility of decreasing reactivity and sensitivity of antibodies or antigens. According to these methods, the quality of insoluble carrier particles tends to vary depending on the type, lot, and the like of antibodies or antigens to be carried.    Patent document 1: JP 2004-117068A    Patent document 2: JP 11(1999)-258239A    Patent document 3: JP 2004-117022A

Method of producing insoluble carrier particles, insoluble carrier particles, measurement reagent, specimen analyzing tool, and immunoturbidimetric assay


The present invention teaches a process of measuring and grinding tools in can/cylindrical body production, allowing reduced production downtime, reduced cost and a predictive tool wear capability, which process allows more accurate stocking of tool inventory by means of tracking individual tools in use and providing advanced diagnostics to the tool room. This includes not just out-of-spec alarms from QA but also predictive alarms regarding cans produced by each tool, in-spec can weights and wall thicknesses, information on tool sizes being used in production, tools in inventory, pulled from inventory and other stock balancing information. The invention further teaches a system of equations for prioritizing grinding to maintain optimum tool inventory levels.

The modern method of making an aluminum can or other cylindrical body utilizes a "bodymaker", a device which through repeated punching of a cup turns the cup into a can, finished except for flanging, coating, etc, and the lid which is a separate entity/unit and which is seamed on later.
Can design starts with the can specifications & requirements, dome & column strength, wall thickness which includes both thin and thick walls. These will dictate metal thickness on incoming material, cup design and then the bodymaker can requirements for punch & domer tooling design along with the die reductions in the bodymaker.
FIG. 9, PRIOR ART, is an older design of bodymaking machine. The reference numerals on FIG. 9 may be ignored as irrelevant to this patent application. The bodymaker must form the aluminum can body in a series of steps, called drawing and ironing. These steps (redrawing, and repetitive ironing) require a series of punches and dies for the various steps, carried out at high speed and yet required to produce a can having a very precise weight/can wall thickness of material. To little material and the can will not meet specifications/requirements, too much material results is a waste of material and thus money left in the can. The weight of the can, for a given size of can, depends greatly on the wall thickness, more so than on minor deviations in diameter of the can. Deviations less than 0.0001″ can cause problems, so the tools uses are measured to a high level of accuracy.
The steps may be generalized as follows.
1) The initial punch generally reshapes the cup, however, the can after the redraw is not yet the proper size and shape.
2) The can is then punched through several (for example, three) ironing dies, each of which gradually reduces the wall thickness.
3) The can goes through a QA step of checking wall thickness, can weight, regularity and so on. This step is surprisingly important, very small variations in can wall thickness can cause the cost of 100,000 cans (a fairly small number) to increase by $10 or $20, simply due to using up too much aluminum during the ironing processing.
The process sounds straightforward, but in fact there is an additional element which causes a cascade of potential problems. In particular, the dies and punches wear. As they wear, they change size, and the cans produced on the varying dies and punches then depart from the acceptable weights. During QA, this departure is noted and at that point, production is normally shut down while a new die or punch or both is/are substituted for the worn one. In general, the dies' inner diameter (ID) becomes larger while the punches' outer diameter (OD) becomes smaller during the course of usage, wear, and regrinding.
Worse, in full scale production a die approximately 2 days (or less than 1 million cans). Given that a full set is one punch and three or four dies, if they wear out at random and unrelated intervals there will be five times as many periods when the bodymaker has to be shut down for replacement.
However, a "tool set" of properly matching dies and punches is actually necessary, as the dies are in fact related in size. As shown in FIG. 3, a set of punches and dies must match one another very closely, and furthermore with the change from each die to the next die being a small reduction. Remembering that a variation of 0.0001″ can be problematic, this in turn means that the tool set must be an orderly sequence of sizes. As shown in a hypothetical example in FIG. 3 for a 12 oz container, there might be a punch of outer diameter 2.6030 inches, followed by a redraw die of inner diameter 2.6258 inches, and then ironing dies of 2.6196, 2.6149, and 2.6090 inches. The problem is that if the redraw die begins to wear upward in ID and has to be replaced, it must be replaced with one exactly the same size. If the replacement is not the same exact size, then the entire sequence of punches and dies is unusable for production and must be replaced entirely.
Downtime costs money, increases metal used and the cost of the cans or bodies produced. Unnecessary tooling changes costs money and lost productivity. In addition, cans becoming too thin to pass inspection costs money as do cans becoming too thick. One estimate is $0.10 to $0.20 per one thousand cans is wasted due to improper thickness. Since a production line produces several million cans every day, and most facilities have multiple lines going, this money adds up quickly.
Since a typical die is around $100, it is desirable to send the die/punch to the production facility tool shop for regrinding. Even this only allows a given die to be used around half a dozen times, and it introduces another layer of sizing complexity. In particular, the die can only be ground upward in size, so the other dies in the same tool set must also be ground upward to match when they come off the production line. To revert to the previous example, if the redraw die is ground to a new larger diameter by 0.0002″ then the rest of the die set must be ground larger as well. This would result in cans/cylindrical bodies of a very slightly larger diameter but still with the requisite wall thickness at the end of production.
An analog to the Prior Art process of production die regrinding is shown in FIG. 8. This process 802 is generally similar to what is used in the can production industry, however, since the various facilities tend to keep their exact operations private, this is labeled an "analog" of prior art. This is not a flow chart, but rather is a diagram showing the flow of tools through the tool room, inventory, grind stock and production line. In particular, grind stock 806 comprises the quantity of used (or new) dies and punches sitting on the shelf of the tool room 804, available for regrinding. Obviously, it is desirable to grind a given die only the minimum amount necessary to fit it back into an orderly sequence in a given tool set, so the tool room may allow a certain amount of grind stock 806 to accumulate, in order to allow more flexibility in keeping matched sets. The machinist will take a selected tool from grind stock 806 to grinder 810, where it is actually reground to the desired size, which the machinist largely estimates based on experience in the industry and in the particular production facility. The tool room staffer then gives the die/punch a size inspection 812 and labels the die with the exact size (down to one ten thousandths of an inch or even less) so that the precise size is instantly known when the punch/die sits in inventory 814. When a replacement tool is needed, the selection 816 is made from the inventory 814, and the tool flows into production 818. Eventually the cans produced (which flow to 820, Quality Assurance), are measured at some point the wear of the tools on a given bodymaker machine causes the cans to deviate, triggering the alert 832 from QA to Production. The line is (presumably) shut down and a new tool, or a new tool set, is installed in the bodymaker.
The used tool/set (which is likely in this case of a set of four dies and a single punch, or a single die, or other odd amounts, for example a single die and four punches might hypothetically be dismounted at the same time), then flows back to the grind inventory 806 at step 826.
Handling of this procedure has in the past required hour to hour ad hoc judgements by experienced machinists in the tool shop. In general, the tool room staff would need to recall, if they knew, what sizes of tool sets are being used on the production line (or more likely, on multiple production lines all operating simultaneously), and then the tool room staff literally looks at the dies sitting on the inventory shelf and guesses what sizes are likely to wear next and need to be replaced promptly. Since the tool room will require a period of time (hours) to regrind dies, there is no economic possibility of doing it "on the fly". It would be better to have the right tool ready, so instead of doing it in response to needs, the machinist simply carries an inventory and tries to stay ahead of the need, based on his/her experience.
There is one very specific item of feedback known: the QA measurement of can weights and wall thicknesses. (See line 832 near the bottom of the chart, from QA back to Production). This information is collected often, and when weights or thicknesses (the two are obviously related) exceed limits, the production line staff are informed that they need to make a change on a given line. However, the tool room finds out about this when the change in dies/punch is made and the replacements disappear from inventory.
On the contrary, it would be preferable to implement a process so that the tool room staff can be proactively aware of the amount of production already carried out through any given die, and the exact tool sizes in production at that moment, as well as immediately receiving QA alarms for out-of-spec cans, and even information about the weight and wall thickness of the cans being produced that are still within spec.
It would also be preferable to implement procedures to allow the tool room to know what grindable stock is available, what sizes are most likely to be required for present production, and to allow the tool room staff to balance this against known inventory levels, thus allowing stock balancing.

Can production tool, process for controlling can weight, cost, and dimensions


Polysiloxane copolymers containing both photochromic and lightstabilizing groups with enhanced UV-fatigue resistance can be used as coatings for devices with variable optical density, including lenses, glazing, textiles and the like, to provide light-sensitive darkening effects. The photochromic groups are spironaphtooxazine groups and the lightstabilizing groups are hindered amine light stabilizing (HALS) groups.

Photochromic polymers, that is, polymers which contain photochromic groups in a macromolecule, are materials of significant technological potential in many industrial fields. For example, such polymers can be used in the manufacture of the plastic material of eye lenses and the manufacture of windows for the automobile industry.
Spirooxazines and their use in photochromic lenses have been recently reviewed by Crano et al., 1992. There has also been a significant amount of research reported on a number of side-chain photochromic polymers in which photochromic spiropyran or spirooxazine side groups are attached to a main chain through a flexible spacer (Krongauz, 1990, 1992). The structure of these compounds allows incorporation of a very high content of a photochrome in a polymer which can reach 100%. That is, each structural unit of the polymer contains the photochromic group. Properties of such polymers can be substantially different from the properties of the polymers containing photochromic molecules as solute, as photochromic compounds have been usually employed in photochromic lenses. Such solutions in polymers have inherent restrictions in solubility of the photochromic compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,945 (Krongauz et al.), assigned to the present applicants, describes spirooxazine photochromic polysiloxanes having an advantage over other spirooxazine photochromic compounds by giving high quality coatings for plastic lenses. However, these photochromic polysiloxane coatings exhibit rather low fatigue resistance against illumination with light.
European Patent EP 162524 describes organic polymer stabilizing compounds, which are derivatives of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 2,2,6,6-tetramethylmorpholine or of 2,2,3,5,5-pentamethylpyrrolidine carrying a silyl group, which is capable of being hydrolyzed to silanol and is bonded to the ring structure by an Si--C bond. These compounds contain a sterically-hindered amino group together with a hydrolyzable silyl group, and are said to be able to stabilize organic polymers in general, and in particular homopolymers and copolymers of olefins and diolefins, such as polypropylene, polybutadiene and polyethylene of high and low density, especially towards ultraviolet radiation.
The reactive stabilizing compounds can give rise to resinification reactions, or can be anchored to a support or to the polymer to be stabilized, these characteristics enhancing the permanence of the stabilizer in the polymer.
The present inventors have tried to add the stabilizing compounds described in EP 162524 to photochromic polysiloxanes, particularly those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,945. However, the maximum amount of such stabilizing compounds that could be added to the photochromic polysiloxanes without phase separation was less than 1% in relation to the polysiloxanes, such mixtures not giving any detectable protection against fatigue.
It would be highly desirable to provide new photochromic polysiloxane polymers that give high quality coatings for plastic lenses and give a significant protection against fatigue produced by light.


A handle support and adjustment assembly for a saw allows the handle to be adjusted in length and/or angle relative to the saw.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to equipment that can be maneuvered manually, for example concrete saws having a portion that may be lifted or raised, relative to a surface, using handles or other manual elements at another portion of saw. Such saws may include industrial concrete saws for cutting and grooving concrete slabs.
2. Related Art
In the concrete industry, large slabs of concrete are used to form road beds, building floors and other structures used for its strength and durability. Seams, grooves or other cuts in the concrete may be made in the slabs to form expansion joints, control stress cracks as the slabs cure or to form channels or openings in the slabs to accept other structures. Concrete saws are used to cut the seams, grooves or other openings, and such concrete saws are often very heavy and difficult to move along the concrete slab.
For large or heavy construction applications, heavy self-propelled saws or other large concrete saws are used. Examples of concrete saws and their construction and operation can be found in a number of patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,985, entitled "Self-Propelled Saw," U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,247, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Safe Operation of Self-Propelled Concrete Saw," U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,854, entitled "Self-Propelled Saw," U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,844, entitled "Slurry Recovery System for a Wet Cutting Saw," and U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,645 entitled "Blade Drive Shaft Assembly," all of which are incorporated herein by reference. During setup and operation of the saw, an operator walks behind the saw to control the direction, cutting speed, cutting depth and other operating conditions under which the saw operates. The saw includes one or more wheels allowing the saw to move along the concrete and a frame supported by the wheels on which is mounted a motor or other power supply for operating a saw blade and often for driving one or more wheels to move the saw along the concrete surface. One or more handles extend behind the saw about the level of an operator's hands to allow the operator to manually position the saw. Typically, the saw blade is in the front of the saw and handles extend behind the saw.
For a typical straight cut, the operator aligns the saw blade and often a cutting guide with the intended cutting path. The saw is maneuvered with the saw blade raised above the concrete until the blade and cutting guide are aligned with the cutting path. With the saw blade raised, the orientation of the entire saw is pivoted typically about an axis common to rear drive wheels, and the handles are thereby lowered a corresponding amount. See for example FIG. 1 in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,844 patent. The entire saw may tilt as much as 30 degrees, pivoting on the rear wheels near the operator. The operator guides the saw travel by lifting and pushing or pulling on handle bars. With the handles lowered, the operator may be stooped over in an uncomfortable position while at the same time trying to maneuver the heavy saw. Maneuvering the saw may often include turning or moving the saw to one side or the other while pushing down or pulling up on the handles or to make easier the positioning of the saw blade. Consequently, the operator's hands change position with the handles often resulting in the operator being stooped over while moving the heavy saw.
Saw handle bars can be repositioned by removing the handle bar from the saw and re-inserting it in a different position that better accommodates the operator's preferences. A handle bar lock mechanism is released to remove the handle bars and tightened after they are repositioned. However, the alternate handle bar position may not be suitable for other operators, depending on the preferences of the operators.


A system and method for providing wireless services. One or more wireless identifiers are stored in an authentication space of a server associated with a wireless service provider. The authentication space is associated with an enterprise. A remote client is granted access to the authentication space to allow the enterprise to manage services associated with the one or more wireless identifiers. Managed service options associated with the one or more identifiers are selected. The managed service options are selected in response to receiving data from the remote client.

Wireless communications has grown nearly exponentially in recent years. The growth is fueled by larger networks with more reliable protocols and better communications hardware available to service providers and consumers. Many companies, organizations, and individuals are becoming increasingly reliant on wireless and mobile communications. For example, many companies issue employees wireless devices, such as cellular phones, a Blackberry®, personal digital assistants (PDA), laptops, evolution data optimized (EDO) cards, multi-mode devices, and other wireless communications elements. Frequently, individuals and organizations depend on communications to carry on conversations with other individuals, perform business activities, and send files, email, information and other data, for sharing voice and data.
When an individual begins working with a new organization or job, it may be days or weeks before a new wireless device is obtained from a wireless carrier for use by the individual. In many cases, this waiting period is extremely frustrating to the individual that needs the device. Many times wireless communications are so important or necessary for an individual and organization that a user may use a personal wireless device despite the personal cost and inconvenience. If the individual is unable to use a personal wireless device, other less convenient, means of communication must be used.
Additionally, organizations experience changing needs that are difficult to meet. For example, the organization may lose or gain numerous employees at any given time requiring that new numbers, identifications, or services be added or deleted for existing or inactive devices. In other cases, an individual may need new features, such as increased wireless minutes, caller identification, and conference calling in order to properly carry out assigned responsibilities. Waiting for the wireless service provider to make the requested changes to add, delete, or modify services may be frustrating, time consuming, and expensive for many users deterring the organization from more effectively using wireless devices. The organization may also forego making changes that would better suit the organization's needs because of the overall cost.

System and method for remotely managing wireless devices


A computer cluster can be divided into a plurality of failure scopes and a voting constraint can be enforced. The voting constraint can allow a portion of the cluster to provide the service if a majority of health votes from cluster members is obtained by that portion. A loss of connectivity between a first failure scope, which has a majority of cluster members in the cluster, and one or more other failure scopes in the cluster can be detected. The loss of connectivity can be such that the first failure scope does not have connectivity to a member in any other failure scope in the cluster. In response to detecting the loss of connectivity, a split brain situation in the cluster can be automatically protected against by preventing the first failure scope from providing the service.

In computer system clusters, multiple computing system members work together in a cluster to provide a service. Each member may be a computing machine or some other computing unit, such as a group of computing machines. Clustered environments often use a voting scheme to determine when a portion of the cluster can bring online managed services (data base services, etc.). The voting scheme can use a numerical majority of cluster member health votes to determine the portions of the cluster that can form a quorum and provide services. A health vote can indicate that the corresponding member is healthy and able to participate in the quorum to provide services. For example, such health votes may be provided using heartbeat messages. In a disaster scenario, an administrator may override the regular split brain protection provided by the voting scheme and force a minority subset of the machines to take control of the quorum (with a minority quorum) and bring services and resources online

Split brain protection in computer clusters


First circuit board 10 including first resin base material 12 which is softened by heating and has a fusing property, and a plurality of first conductor patterns 14 formed on a surface of first resin base material 12, and second circuit board 20 on which a plurality of second conductor patterns 24 are formed with the same pitch as that of first conductor patterns 14 are provided. In the configuration, first conductor patterns 14 and second conductor patterns 24 are brought into mechanical contact with each other to provide electrical conduction; first resin base material 12 covers first conductor patterns 14 and second conductor patterns 24 and is bonded to second resin base material 22 of second circuit board 20, thereby connecting first circuit board 10 and second circuit board 20 to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connecting structure for connecting between circuit boards. More specifically, the present invention relates to a connecting structure for connecting conductor patterns to each other by bringing them into contact with each other and a method for manufacturing the connecting structure.
2. Background Art
FIGS. 8A to 8C are sectional views showing a connection portion for illustrating main steps of a method for connecting conductor patterns to each other in a conventional circuit board. In FIG. 8A, first circuit board 500 includes first resin base material 502 and convex first conductor patterns 504 formed on the surface of first resin base material 502. Furthermore, second circuit board 506 includes second resin base material 508 and convex second conductor patterns 510 formed on the surface of second resin base material 508. First conductor patterns 504 of first circuit board 500 and second conductor patterns 510 of second circuit board 506 are provided at the same pattern pitch. Note here that on first circuit board 500 and second circuit board 506, in addition to conductor patterns 504 and second conductor patterns 510, further circuit patterns of various shapes are formed, and a functional component such as a semiconductor element and a passive component such as a resistor are mounted although they are not shown.
First conductor pattern 504 and second conductor pattern 510 are electrically and mechanically connected to each other as follows. That is to say, adhesive resin 512 is applied on the surface of second circuit board 506 on which second conductor patterns 510 are formed. As adhesive resin 512, thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin or epoxy-based resin is often used. After adhesive resin 512 is applied, second conductor patterns 510 of second circuit board 506 and first conductor patterns 504 of first circuit board 500 are allowed to face each other and the positions thereof are adjusted.
As shown in FIG. 8B, upper heating pressing plate 514 and lower heating pressing plate 516 press first circuit board 500 and second circuit board 506 in the direction shown by arrow 521, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 8C, in accordance with this pressing, adhesive resin 512 on second conductor pattern 510 is pushed to the side as space between first conductor pattern 504 and second conductor pattern 510 is reduced. When the space is further reduced, almost all the adhesive resin is removed from the space, so that first conductor pattern 504 and second conductor pattern 510 are brought into direct contact with each other. Thus, electrical conduction therebetween is secured. In this state, heating is continued while pressing. When epoxy resin, epoxy-based resin, or the like, is used as adhesive resin 512, adhesive resin 512 is heated at a temperature between 150° C. to 200° C. for 30 seconds to 60 seconds so as to be hardened by heating, and is then cooled down. Thus, electrical and mechanical connection is completed.
In the above-mentioned connecting method, first conductor patterns 504 and second conductor patterns 510 are conducting to each other in a state in which they are just in contact with each other, and they are bonded to each other with adhesive resin 512. In this connecting method, however, when first circuit board 500 and second circuit board 506 are pressed, slipping occurs between first conductor patterns 504 and second conductor patterns 510, so that conductor patterns are often displaced. Furthermore, since it is difficult to securely remove adhesive resin 512 from an interface between first conductor pattern 504 and second conductor pattern 510, a contact area is substantially reduced. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce connection resistance of a contact portion.
In particular, when pattern pitches of first conductor patterns 504 and second conductor patterns 510 are small and the contact area is small, such a displacement or remaining adhesive resin 512 may easily cause defects including short circuit between neighboring conductor patterns and an increase in the connection resistance of the contact portion.
To address such problems, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 7-74446 discloses the following method. That is to say, it discloses a connecting structure in which an electrical connection portion of a flexible printed wiring board using a thermosetting film as a substrate is formed by soft metal electrode, and this electrode is electrically connected to an electrode portion of the other printed wiring board with adhesive directly and subjected to thermocompression with the use of liquid-type electrically insulating adhesive. In such a method, the soft metal electrode, when it is pressed, is collapsed and extended on the surface of the other electrode by compression bonding to enter fine recessed portions of the other electrode so as to increase the contact area, and therefore, connection resistance can be reduced.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned effect, soft electrode is required to be used as a conductive material. However, as a conductive material generally used as an electrode of flexible printed wiring board, materials such as conductive paste mainly including silver (Ag) or copper (Cu), copper foil or copper plating are often used. In the case of such a material, a large pressing power is required for collapsing and expanding the material. Furthermore, even when such a large pressure power is applied, when fine convex and concave portions exist in the electrode portion, it is difficult to completely remove all the liquid electrically insulating adhesive existing in the concave portion. Therefore, this electrically insulating adhesive may remain in a part of the electrode surface, making it difficult to satisfactorily reduce the connection resistance of the contact portion. As the connecting pitch becomes smaller and the contact area is accordingly reduced, the effect caused by the fact that this connection resistance cannot be reduced is remarkable.
The object of the present invention is to provide a connecting structure of a circuit board in which no adhesive resin is provided between conductor patterns of a connection portion and even when conductor patterns are arranged with a fine pitch, connection resistance is small and short circuiting between neighboring conductor patterns does not occur.

Connecting structure of circuit board and method for manufacturing the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present disclosure relates to the inclusion of amplitude compression inside a hearing aid remote microphone or audio streaming device. Compressor design is improved by using one local and one remote compressor operating in parallel. The subject matter will reference remote microphones as the primary use case. In one embodiment, hearing aid microphone audio and remote microphone audio are treated as two separate streams within the hearing aid, assigning each to a compressor and mixing the audio streams afterward. In another embodiment, a compressor is developed for the remote microphone to offload that portion of the signal processing.

Modern hearing assistance devices typically include digital electronics to enhance the wearer's experience. Whether due to a conduction deficit or sensorineural damage, hearing loss in most patients occurs non-uniformly over the audio frequency range, most commonly at high frequencies. Hearing aids may be designed to compensate for such hearing deficits by amplifying received sound in a frequency-specific manner, thus acting as a kind of acoustic equalizer that compensates for the abnormal frequency response of the impaired ear. Adjusting a hearing aid's frequency-specific amplification characteristics to achieve a desired level of compensation for an individual patient is referred to as fitting the hearing aid. One common way of fitting a hearing aid is to measure hearing loss, apply a fitting algorithm, and fine-tune the hearing aid parameters.
Hearing assistance devices also use a dynamic range adjustment, called dynamic range compression, which controls the level of sound sent to the ear of the patient to normalize the loudness of sound in specific frequency regions. The gain that is provided at a given frequency is controlled by the level of sound in that frequency region (the amount of frequency specificity is determined by the filters in the multiband compression design). When properly used, compression adjusts the level of a sound at a given frequency such that its loudness is similar to that for a normal hearing person without a hearing aid. There are other fitting philosophies, but they all prescribe a certain gain for a certain input level at each frequency. It is well known that the application of the prescribed gain for a given input level is affected by time constants of the compressor. What is less well understood is that the prescription can break down when there are two or more simultaneous sounds in the same frequency region. The two sounds may be at two different levels, and therefore each should receive different gain for each to be perceived at their own necessary loudness. Because only one gain value can be prescribed by the hearing aid, however, at most one sound can receive the appropriate gain, providing the second sound with the less than desired sound level and resulting loudness.
Current hearing aid designs employ digital signal processors rich in features. The operation and maintenance of wireless hearing aids may be improved or simplified by improving the wireless communication components within the hearing aid. Some wireless hearing aids have sought to improve wireless performance by using various wireless protocols, error concealment, or data encoding within a radio frequency (RF) band to improve link quality. However, these solutions have been limited by RF congestion within an RF band, causing lower data rates and unreliable communication. The use of multiple RF bands (e.g., multi-band operation) may be complicated by the various frequencies available in different countries. Additionally, the amount of absorption of radio signals in typical user environments changes significantly with frequency of the signals. Furthermore, communications at different frequencies can require substantially different electronics in various cases.
What is needed in the art is an improved method of wireless communications between hearing assistance devices.

Compressor architecture for avoidance of cross-modulation in remote microphones


A harness for a quadruped animal including a chest strap which in use of the harness lies across the chest of the animal in front of the forelegs, the harness including an attachment for a leading strap, the attachment being slidably mounted on the chest strap for movement therealong. Each end of the chest strap is attached to a trunk loop which in use of the harness passes around the trunk of the animal behind the forelegs. The trunk loop includes a back strap which in use of the harness lies across the back of the animal affixed to a lower strap which in use of the harness passes under the animal behind the forelegs.

Conventionally a dog is led by a leading strap, or lead, attached to a collar around the neck of the dog. A lead and collar is to an extent effective to restrain a dog, although it can be uncomfortable for a dog which pulls against the lead, but this arrangement cannot be used to guide the dog to turn to the left or right; it can only be used to pull the dog to the left or right. Harnesses which pass around the body of the dog and to which a lead is attached to the middle of the harness strap across the back of the dog are also known. Such a harness is effective to restrain a dog but again can only be used to pull a dog to the left or right; not to guide it.
A dog halter mounted around the nose and neck of the dog is also known. A neck loop is attached to a nose loop by cheek straps running between the neck and nose loops and a chin strap running between the neck loop and a cinch around the nose loop under the jaw of the dog. A lead is attached to the loop which passes through the cinch. Such a halter is sold under the registered trade mark HALTI®. This halter allows a dog to be restrained without discomfort to the dog and to be guided to the left or right, as the dog's head can be turned to the left or right by pulling on the lead.
It has been desired to provide a harness which can restrain a dog without discomfort and which can be used to guide the dog to the left or right, rather than simply pulling it. Harnesses may be preferable to halters for some dogs and other animals since the force exerted on the dog by the halter is spread over a wider and stronger part of the body of the dog. A dog harness provided by Soft Touch Concepts of Fremont, Calif., USA has an attachment point for a lead which is fixed on a strap which lies across the chest of the dog. However, when the lead is pulled to the left or right to turn the dog, the harness has a tendency to rotate around the dog which reduces its effectiveness and may be uncomfortable for the dog.


A microwave-assisted magnetic head provides a high-reliability microwave-assisted magnetic head that reduces effective coercivity by giving microwave energy to a magnetic recording medium in an auxiliary manner and writes a data signal, a head gimbal assembly, and a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus. A microwave magnetic field generating element is arranged on a trailing shield side or a reproducing head element side with respect to a main magnetic pole that generates a recording magnetic field for writing a data signal into a magnetic recording medium, the microwave magnetic field generating element having a coil configuration in which a plurality of microwave magnetic field generating lines and a return line are formed by a continuous single line.

The present invention relates to a magnetic head for magnetic recording, a head gimbal assembly, and a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, and more specifically to a microwave-assisted magnetic head and a line configuration of a microwave magnetic field generating element.
It is desired to increase a recording density of a magnetic recording medium device, which is a magnetic recording device. In order to achieve a signal quality (an S/N ratio) necessary for high-density recording, as a areal recording density increases, it is necessary to make magnetic particles be smaller that constitute a magnetic recording medium. However, magnetic particles that have been made smaller tend to lose magnetization because of thermal fluctuations. In order to prevent this and keep a stable recording state, it is necessary to increase magnetic anisotropy energy Ku of magnetic particles. For magnetic particles having uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, the strength of a magnetic field necessary to make magnetization reversal is called an anisotropic magnetic field (Hk), which is expressed using saturation magnetization (Ms) and magnetic anisotropy energy (Ku) as Hk=2Ku/Ms. Thus, in the case where a material having a high Ku is used, Hk is increased and a higher recording magnetic field is necessary to perform recording on a magnetic recording medium. In contrast, as a areal recording density is increased, the size of a recording head element is reduced. Thus, the strength of a magnetic field that may be generated decreases proportionately with the size of a recording head. As a result, recording to be performed on the magnetic recording medium becomes difficult.
To perform magnetization reversal of a recording film in accordance with desired data series, a write head element of a thin film magnetic head needs to apply an abrupt recording magnetic field having, at maximum, an strength of the order of the anisotropic magnetic field (Hk) of the recording film. In a magnetic disk drive (HDD) that has become commercially practical using a perpendicular magnetic recording method, a write head element using a so-called monopole is used and a recording magnetic field is applied to a recording film in a perpendicular direction from a surface of an air bearing surface (ABS) of the recording head element. The strength of this perpendicular recording magnetic field is proportional to a saturation magnetic flux density (Bs) of a soft magnetic material that constitutes the monopole, and thus a material having a saturation magnetic flux density (Bs) that is made as high as possible has been developed and has become commercially practical. However, as a saturation magnetic flux density (Bs), Bs=2.4 T (tesla) is practically the upper limit from a so-called Slater-Pauling curve, and a value obtained under present circumstances is approaching the practical limit. In addition, the thickness and width of a monopole currently used is on the order of about 100 nm to 200 nm; however, in the case where a recording density is increased, it is necessary to further reduce the thickness and width. As a result, a perpendicular magnetic field to be generated is further reduced.
In this manner, under present circumstances, it is becoming more difficult to achieve higher density recording because of the limit of the recording capability of a write head element. In order to solve this technical problem, energy assisted recording has been proposed in which, when recording is performed, energy is applied to a magnetic recording medium in an auxiliary manner and a recording magnetic field strength is reduced.

Microwave-assisted magnetic head, head gimbal assembly, and magnetic recording and reproducing device


The installation of an abrasion resistent polymer liner in the production tubing string of a well which is being produced by rod pumping for the principal purpose of reducing rod wear on the tubing string, and wear on the rods and/or the rod couplings. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the polymer liner is characterized by an extruded polymer material having a high density, which is abrasive resistant, and which has a coefficient of friction that is much lower than the coefficient of friction of metal tubing, such as high density polyethylene.

This invention relates to production tubing strings used in oil wells that are being produced by rod pumping, which is the conventional technique for pumping oil from underground reservoirs. At the surface, a motor drives a walking beam which is connected to a polished rod that is in turn connected to a string of sucker rods which extend down the borehole to support the downhole pump. As the motor runs, the walking beam raises and lowers the polished rod and string of sucker rods which causes the pump to lift the fluid from the reservoir up to the surface.
Historically, wells which are produced with conventional rod pumping units have evidenced problems with tubing and/or rod or rod coupling failures due to the abrasion of the rods and rod couplings on the tubing walls as the rod string reciprocates. These failures may be accelerated by the presence of corrosive elements and/or by the deviation of the well bore in drilling or through subsidence. The present invention greatly reduces these failures.
In accordance with the present invention the production tubing joints in a rod-pumped well are lined with polymer liners which reduce the abrasion and failure of the tubing joints caused by the reciprocating rods. The polymer liners, such as high density polyethylene liners, have a coefficient of friction which is far superior to the coefficient of friction of steel tubing. Further, when the polyethylene liner is wetted by the produced fluid, susceptibility to abrasion is further reduced.
Although the lining of pipe and tubing with polymer liners for corrosion control has been practiced heretofore, the lining of tubing strings in rod-pumped wells to reduce the abrasion and failure of the tubing joints caused by the reciprocating rods is novel. For example, liners have been installed in pipelines for the transportation of oil, water, gas and sewage for some time. In the application of polymer lined tubing for oil field tubing strings, the application has been for the protection of tubing utilized for injection strings, water disposal strings, or production strings which flow or which are produced with electric submersible pumps.
The present invention achieves the substantial benefits of protecting the tubing string on a rod pumped well from the detrimental effects to and failures of the production tubing caused by the reciprocating rods as well as protecting the tubing against corrosive elements such as salt water, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and other corrosive elements produced in oil wells.
It is thus an objective of this invention to utilize polymer liners in the tubing production strings of rod pumping wells for the purpose of eliminating metal to metal contact between the rods, rod couplings and the production tubing string, thereby reducing the frequency of failures due to rod wear, rod coupling wear, and/or production tubing string wear.
Still another object of this invention is to provide protection of the production tubing string of an oil well produced by rod pumping from the corrosive elements of the components of the produced fluid and thereby provide an opportunity to reduce the production costs by reducing the chemical treatment of the well's producing string.


An aluminum-based material melting apparatus includes: a furnace; a melt-discharging conduit having an inner portion disposed in the furnace; a driving mechanism mounted on the furnace; a transmission mechanism connected to the driving mechanism; and a scoop member suspended in the furnace and driven by the driving mechanism through the transmission mechanism so as to be movable in the furnace between upper and lower positions and so as to be rotatable relative to the furnace about an axis between scooping and pouring positions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an aluminum-based material melting apparatus, more particularly to an aluminum-based material melting apparatus including a scoop member that is movable upwardly and downwardly and that is rotatable in a furnace for scooping and pouring an aluminum-based melt.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,070,437 discloses a rotary furnace for melting aluminum in a molten salt on a continuous operation basis. The rotary furnace includes a furnace body and a plurality of scoops formed on an inner wall of the furnace body and rotatable together with the furnace body for scooping an aluminum melt in the furnace body. A collecting member extends into the furnace body for collecting the aluminum melt spilled from the scoops. A feed hopper is connected to the rotary furnace through a feed conduit that extends into the furnace body for delivering aluminum solids into the furnace body.

Aluminum-based material melting apparatus


Disclosed herein are apparatuses and methods for generating pseudorandom numbers by making the existing ANSI and FIPS PRNGs forward secure and eliminating the need for re-keying them. A forward secure ANSI PRNG is created which includes an enhanced block cipher that is non-invertible even if the key becomes known and a function of the block cipher used in the existing ANSI PRNG. Additionally, the forward secure ANSI PRNG includes an enhanced next state that allows previous states to remain secret even when the key and the current state become known. A forward secure FIPS PRNG is created which includes a computation of an enhanced next state that is noninvertible.

Random numbers or bits are essential for virtually every cryptographic application. For example, seeds for key generation in both secret-key and public-key functions, session keys used for encryption and authentication, salts to be hashed with passwords, and challenges used in identification protocols are all assumed to be random by system designers. However, it is quite expensive to generate truly random numbers. Therefore, most applications rely on a cryptographic mechanism, known as a Pseudorandom Number Generator ("PRNG"), to generate numbers that approximate true random numbers-pseudorandom numbers.
A PRNG, defined in accordance with the relationship: =() includes an iterative process which consists of two functions  and . Each iteration is indicated by the subscript "i". The seed generation function  takes as input a security parameter k and returns a key K and an initial state s0. For i=1, the generation function or transformation  takes as input the key K, the current state si−1, and an auxiliary input ti, and returns a PRNG output yi and the next state si. The output yi is a number, wherein collectively the numbers produced for each iteration "i" is a series of pseudorandom numbers. We refer to the length of the PRNG output in each iteration (the length of each number produced) as the block length of the PRNG which equals |yi|.
PRNGs may be based on a variety of cryptographic primitives. The two most commonly used cryptographic primitives are block ciphers and hash functions. A cipher is a function used for encrypting data. Generally, ciphers use a key (a variable that is combined in some way with the unencrypted data) and a transformation (a formula for combining the key with a string of data) to create a string of pseudorandom numbers. A block cipher is a cipher that breaks up a string of data into shorter strings of data or "blocks" and combines the key with each block to create blocks of pseudorandom numbers.
In contrast, hash functions are functions that take strings of data of any length and return a string of data of some fixed length. Hash functions, when used for pseudorandom number generation, must fulfill certain requirements. The hash function must be hard to invert or "one-way." This means that given the output of the hash function it is computationally infeasible to determine the input data. Additionally, the hash function must be collision intractable. This means that the hash function is a function for which it is computationally infeasible to find any two strings of data that transform to the same output string of data. Additionally, the hash function should be deterministic. This means that no matter how many times the exact same string of data is given, the hash function should produce the exact same output string of data.
One example of a PRNG that uses a block cipher as the underlying primitive is the ANSI X9.17 PRNG (the "ANSI PRNG") as described in ANSI X9.17 (Revised), "American National Standard for Financial Institution Key Management (Wholesale)," America Bankers Association 1985 (hereby incorporated by reference herein). The ANSI PRNG is part of a popular baking standard and was suggested as a mechanism to generate DES (Data Encryption Standard) keys and nonces. The ANSI PRNG, as defined according to the relationship FANSI=(ANSI, ANSI), is based on a block cipher F. FIG. 1 depicts the transformation ANSI 10. ANSI (not shown), generates key K and the current state Asi−1. The key K is used to key the block cipher F, thereby specifying a keyed block cipher FK 12. ANSI 10 uses the block cipher FK 12, the current state Asi−1 and an auxiliary input ti to produce the ANSI PRNG output Ayi and the next state Asi wherein Ayi=FK(Asi−1⊕FK(ti)) and Asi=FK(Ayi⊕FK(ti)), and wherein "⊕" is an exclusive-or operator.
One example of a PRNG that uses a hash function as the underlying primitive is the FIPS 186 PRNG (the "FIPS PRNG"), as described in FIPS PUB 186-2, (Change Notice 1), "Digital Signature Standard," National Institute of Standards and Technologies, 2001 (hereby incorporated by reference herein). The FIPS PRNG was standardized for generating randomness in DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm). The FIPS PRNG, as defined according to the relationship HFIPS=(FIPS, FIPS), is based on a hash function H. FIG. 2 depicts the transformation FIPS 30. FIPS (not shown), generates key K and the current state Fsi−1. The key K is used to key the hash function H, thereby specifying a keyed hash function HK 32 FIPS 30 uses the hash function HK 32 current state Fsi−1, and auxiliary input ti to produce the FIPS PRNG output Fyi and the next state Fsi, wherein Fyi=HK((Fsi−1+ti) mod 2n) and si=(si−1+yi+1) mod 2n, and wherein '' 34 is the operator (a+b)mod2n (where a and b are inputs to the operator).
A particularly desirable property of PRNGs is forward security. Forward security has been applied to a range of cryptographic problems. A PRNG is said to be forward secure if the compromise of the current state si and key K does not enable an attacker to efficiently distinguishing any previously generated output from a truly random sequence of numbers. The ANSI PRNG is clearly not forward secure, because revealing the key K makes the underlying function (the seeded block cipher) FK, and hence the PRNG, completely reversible. In addition, the FIPS PRNG is also not forward secure because if the current state Fsi−and the output yi are known, every previous state, going back to the initial state can be determined.
It is common practice to model a PRNG as an iterative process. In each iteration "i", a state (si−1) is input and a random number is output (the PRNG output yi) along with the next state (si). All states are assumed to be hidden at all times. Although such a model may seem sufficient for theoretical PRNGs, it does not capture all the nuances of a PRNG as it is used in practice. For example, some of the existing models do not model auxiliary inputs such as time stamps or counters that an attacker may be able to control. Furthermore, some state information may be leaked out over time or modified by a user or attacker.
One known method of making a forward secure PRNG out of any generic PRNG based on pseudorandom functions, was suggested by M. Bellare and B. Yee in "Forward Security in Private-Key Cryptography," Cryptology ePrint Archive, Report 2001/035. In general, the disclosed method involves keeping part of the PRNG output secret and using this output to generate a new state and a key for each iteration. Because this known method was targeted for generic PRNGs, it does not necessarily yield the most efficient solution for any specific PRNG (such as the ANSI and FIPS PRNGs). In particular, this known method of creating forward secure PRNGs requires "re-keying" the block cipher for each PRNG iteration, which is an expensive and possibly unnecessary operation. Additionally, the model of PRNGs for which this method is suggested, does not consider auxiliary inputs, which are present in the ANSI and FIPS PRNGs. Auxiliary inputs (such as: keystrokes made by a user, the output of a clock or timer, a timestamp, samples from a low entropy source or other such inputs) are a common feature in practical PRNGs since they are a method of injecting something random into the PRNG at regular intervals and to prevent repeated seeds (keys and initial states) from causing repeated outputs.

Enhanced ANSI X9.17 pseudorandom number generators with forward security


Apparatus and methods for radio frequency (RF) amplifiers are disclosed herein. In certain implementations, a packaged RF amplifier includes a first bipolar transistor including a base electrically connected to an RF input pin and a collector electrically connected to an RF output pin, and a second bipolar transistor including a base electrically connected to an emitter of the first bipolar transistor and a collector electrically connected to the RF output pin. The packaged RF amplifier further includes a first bias circuit electrically connected between the base of the first bipolar transistor and the RF output pin, a second bias circuit electrically connected between the base of the first bipolar transistor and a power low pin, an inductor implemented at least partly by a bond wire, and a third bias circuit electrically connected in series with the inductor between the base of the second bipolar transistor and the power low pin.

Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to electronic systems, and in particular, to radio frequency (RF) electronics.
Description of the Related Technology
RF amplifiers can be used to boost the amplitude of a relatively weak RF signal. Thereafter, the boosted RF signal can be used for a variety of purposes, including, for example, driving an antenna, a switch, a mixer and/or a filter in an RF system.
RF amplifiers can be included in base stations to amplify signals of a wide range of frequencies. RF amplifiers can also be included in other RF electronic systems as well, such as wireless or mobile devices. The third order distortion of a RF amplifier can be an important consideration. For example, reducing the third order distortion of a RF amplifier can improve the amplifier's linearity by reducing the magnitude of spurs and/or other unwanted harmonics at the output of the RF amplifier.
There is a need for improved RF amplifier systems. Furthermore, there is a need for RF amplifiers having improved third order distortion.

Apparatus and methods for radio frequency amplifiers


In an energy dispersive spectrometer wherein event (particle/photon) detection is performed by counting events spaced by greater than a shaping time, events which are spaced by less than the shaping time are also collected and counted. These “combined events” are treated similarly to “single events” which are spaced by greater than the shaping time, and can be used to generate combined-event spectra for comparison and/or use with the conventional single-event spectra. The combined-event spectra can be compared to the single-event spectra to provide an indication of data quality; can be subtracted from the single-event spectra to remove artifacts, and/or can be deconvolved into a single-event spectrum to increase the resolution of the single-event spectrum.

Numerous analytical instruments operate by directing particles and/or radiation (photons) at a specimen, and then measuring the number and energy of particles/photons emitted by the specimen in response. For example, in an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, X-rays and/or gamma rays are directed at a specimen, and as the atoms of the specimen ionize in response to the incident radiation, photons are emitted with energies characteristic of the specimen's component atoms. The energies of the photons are then measured by a detector along with their time of detection. By compiling a spectrum containing the numbers and energies of the emitted photons and comparing it to reference spectra (spectra generated from known substances), one may obtain information regarding the substances present in the specimen.
However, difficulties often arise with the accurate measurement of photon energies. This is best understood with reference to FIGS. 1a-1d, which illustrate the output of a detector (e.g., a Silicon Drift Detector (SDD), Lithium-drifted Silicon (Si(Li)) detector, photodiode, silicon multi-cathode detector (SMCD), PiN diode, or other particle/photon sensor). The detector usually has a step-like output as exemplified in FIG. 1a, wherein each point along the signal trace represents a sampled measurement from the detector. Each step (rise) along the signal trace occurs at the time of particle/photon detection, with the height of the step being correlated to the energy of the particle/photon. Such detector output may be translated into different forms for analysis; for example, in FIG. 1b, the signal of FIG. 1a is differentiated by passing it through a high-pass filter, and in FIG. 1c, the signal of FIG. 1b is converted to a spike-like form by subtracting from each point the value of the prior point, and applying a decaying exponential to account for the slope arising from the filter's differentiation. The time and energy of each spike in FIG. 1c then represents the time and energy of each detected particle/photon. Regardless of the form of the detector output signal used for analysis, the objective is to obtain an accurate determination of the energy at each rise or spike—generally referred to as an "event" (with "event" referring to the receipt of a particle/photon)—so that a spectrum can be generated, i.e., a distribution of the energies of the events (the detected particles/photons). The spectrum is often displayed to the user in the form of a histogram showing intervals of event energies and the number (count) of events falling within each interval, with an exemplary spectrum being shown in FIG. 2.
A spectrum has greater value if the energies of its events are measured with higher resolution, since this eases comparison of the measured spectrum with reference spectra. One could measure event energies by simply subtracting the energy of the point before each event (rise) in FIGS. 1a and 1b from the energy of the point after each event, or by measuring the maximum energy of each event (spike peak) in FIG. 1c. However, owing to the background noise of the detector—best seen by the variations about zero energy in FIG. 1c at the times where no spikes exist—this does not result in highest resolution. It is therefore conventional to determine event energies from signals such as those in FIG. 1a by applying the concept of a "shaping time": the average of the energies of several points prior to the event—all points fitting within some defined time interval prior to the event—are subtracted from the average of the energies of several points after the event (here all points fitting within the same time interval applied after the event). For example, in FIG. 1a, looking to the first event (occurring around 5850 microseconds) and applying a 30 microsecond shaping time, the average of the energies over a 30 microsecond shaping time prior to the rise (as indicated by the first point having significantly higher value) may be subtracted from the average of the energies in the 30 microseconds thereafter to obtain a measure of the event energy. The result is a measurement of the event energy with significantly higher resolution. (Note that points are often sampled during the rise itself, and to avoid their skewing of the averaged pre-event and/or post-event energies, these are often excluded from the averaging. This is often done by determining the start of an event by use of some discrimination algorithm which locates points which have a significant value change with respect to the energy of a prior point, with the prior point then being the last pre-event point, and then locating the points thereafter which do not exhibit significant value changes, with the first of these representing the first pre-event point.)
The shaping time concept can also be applied to signals such as those in FIG. 1c by taking, at each point, the sum of some number of prior points falling within a defined time interval before the point in question. This results in a signal such as that shown in FIG. 1d, wherein each event in FIG. 1c is now represented by a pulse (and with summing at each point here occurring over the last 30 microseconds). In this case, the shaping time is usually referred to as a "moving window," since points are summed over a moving window of time analogous to the shaping time. Here, again looking to the first event (at about 5850 microseconds), one can then average the energies over the pulse to obtain a higher resolution measurement of the energy of the event.
However, the foregoing methods of determining event energies become problematic when events are closely spaced in time, more specifically when they are spaced by less than the shaping time. This can be understood with reference to the third and fourth events shown in FIGS. 1a-1d, i.e., the events occurring at around 6065 and 6085 microseconds. If one considers use of the aforementioned exemplary 30 microsecond shaping time to the third (6065 microsecond) event of FIG. 1a, it is clear that an accurate measure of the pre-event energy can be obtained: the pre-event energies are relatively constant over the 30 microseconds prior to the event, and thus averaging these values will provide a good representative value of the pre-event energy. However, since another event occurs within the 30 microseconds thereafter, an average of the post-event points over these 30 microseconds will be inaccurate—it will not accurately reflect the value of the post-event energy occurring after 6065 microseconds and prior to the 6085 microsecond event. The determination of the energy of the fourth event at 6085 microseconds will also be inaccurate with a 30 microsecond shaping time because the pre-event energy will not be accurately reflected by an average of the points over the 30 microseconds prior to the event. As a result, the third and fourth events would not be counted when collecting the event energies and generating the spectrum. The period spanning the shaping time prior to and after an event is often referred to as "dead time": no other events can be detected during the dead time, or else all events therein must be discarded because their energies cannot be determined with the desired resolution. In essence, dead time reflects time which cannot be used to collect events, and it is therefore desirable to reduce dead time to increase throughput (event collection rates).
The problem of discarded dead time events is not avoided when analyzing the detector signal in other forms, such as the forms of FIGS. 1b-1d. For example, when the signal of FIG. 1d is analyzed, averaging the energies at the top of the first and second pulses over a 30 microsecond moving window will provide a useful measurement of the event energies of the first and second events, but averaging the energies over the 30 microseconds following the third (6065 microsecond) and fourth (6085 microsecond) events will not yield an accurate measure of these events.
The foregoing problem—the condition where two or more events occur during the shaping time, requiring that they be excluded from the spectrum is often referred to as "pile-up," and it is significant because it occurs very often. It is not uncommon for as many as 50% of the events captured during spectral measurements to be discarded owing to pile-up. This is disadvantageous because the ability to accurately compare a spectrum to reference spectra increases with the spectrum's event count. There are ways to reduce or avoid discarded dead time events, such as by reducing the shaping time; for example, averaging pre- and post-event energies before and after the third and fourth events of FIG. 1a over a 5 microsecond shaping time would seem to avoid the problem of including an extra event within an average. However, since pre- and post-event energies are determined with better resolution with longer shaping times, a shorter shaping time results in a lower-resolution measure of event energies. It is also possible to use a variable shaping time—for example, by determining the pre-event energy for the third event over a 30 microsecond shaping time, and then applying a post-event shaping time of 5 microseconds to avoid inclusion of the forth event. This methodology also has disadvantages because it results in a spectrum wherein the event energies have varying resolutions. Another solution is to increase event counts by increasing the time over which the specimen is analyzed, but increasing analysis time increases inconvenience, since analysis results are usually desired as soon as feasibly possible.

Processing of spectrometer pile-up events

Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC


A measuring system for sensing vane positions that comprises a turbine, a target, and a bellows. The turbine includes a plurality of articulating vanes, with each vane being coupled to a sync ring that is configured to position the plurality of articulating vanes in accordance with a degree of rotation by the sync ring. The target is coupled to a first position of the turbine within a first region that is associated with a first vane of the plurality of articulating vanes. The bellows coupled to the turbine and configured to maintain a sensor reference point at a second position. The sensor reference point at the second position is maintained by the bellows in relation to the target at the first position across a gap.

The disclosure relates generally to sensing a vane position within a turbine case, and more specifically, to utilizing at least one of multiple sensing technologies installed on the vane platform via bracketing to sense over a gap a vane position.
In general, a jet engine turbine employs a variable cycle technology to synchronously rotate turbine blades to an optimal position, where each optimal position corresponds a maximum engine efficiency with an engine thrust. However, the exact position of the turbine blades is extremely difficult to detect. To date, there are no technical solutions to solve how to precisely monitor the positions of the turbine blades.

Vane position sensor installation within a turbine case


An inverter controlling method is provided for a power system that includes a DC power source and a plurality of inverters connected in parallel to the power source. The method includes the steps of: measuring output power of the power source at a plurality of periodic points; calculating a moving average at each periodic point based on the measured output power; calculating a regression curve by utilizing moving averages at a current periodic point and past periodic points; estimating output power at a next periodic point based on the regression curve; and determining, based on the estimated output power, how many inverters to be actuated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a power system for converting DC output from a DC power source (such as a solar cell) into AC output by utilizing an inverter for power supply to an AC system. In particular, the present invention relates to a DC-AC conversion technique with the use of a plurality of inverters, for attaining efficient conversion of DC output into AC output.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 6, the block diagram illustrates a conventional power system. As shown in the figure, the power system comprises a direct current power source DC (a solar cell), a first through a third inverters PS1–PS3 connected in parallel to the power source DC, a power detector DS for detecting the output power from the power source DC, an output controller SC for controlling the inverters in accordance with the output power, and switches SW1–SW3 for connecting or disconnecting the inverters with respect to the power source DC.
As shown in FIG. 6, the first inverter PS1 comprises a first inverter control circuit CO1 and a first inverter circuit PC1. The second inverter PS2 comprises a second inverter control circuit CO2 and a second inverter circuit PC2. The third inverter PS3 comprises a third inverter control circuit CO3 and a third inverter circuit PC3.
Upon receiving a start signal from the output controller SA, the first inverter control circuit CO1 starts to operate and close the first switch SW1, so that the power outputted from the power source DC is supplied to the first inverter circuit PC1. At the same time, the control circuit CO1 actuates the inverter circuit PC1, which converts the DC voltage into AC voltage to be supplied to the system power source AC. The second inverter control circuit CO2 and the third inverter control circuit CO3 operate in the same manner as described above.
The power detector DS detects the output power from the power source DC and inputs the result into the output controller SA. The output controller SA comprises an output power calculating unit CA and an inverter selector CH. The output power calculating unit CA periodically measures the output power at regular time intervals, and determines, based on the measurements, how many inverters to be actuated. Then, in accordance with the determined number of the inverters, the inverter selector CH sends a start signal to the relevant inverters.
FIG. 7 is a timing chart for describing the operation of the conventional system. In this system, when the output power from the DC source exceeds a predetermined reference value (not shown) at time t=t3, the output power calculating unit CA outputs a start signal for actuating one or more of the currently idle inverters. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the additional inverter(s) needs operation delay time T1 (several tens of seconds, for example) after the start signal is inputted, until its output supply becomes stable. Due to this operational delay, the output power indicated by hatching in FIG. 7 cannot be properly converted, whereby the system power source AC fails to receive an appropriate power supply.
As one way to address the above problem,
JP-A-H11(1999)-341816 teaches the following technique. While the current source DC (see FIG. 6) supplies power, this output power is measured at predetermined time intervals (each interval may be several tens of milliseconds, for example). Then, the differential quotient of the output power is calculated for the past few minutes, and it is determined whether or not the quotient tends to increase.
If the differential quotient is on an increasing trend, the output power at the next periodic point t=t3 is estimated based on the above quotient, and then it is determined whether or not the estimated power output is beyond the capacity of the currently operating inverter(s). When the estimated power output is beyond the current capacity, a start signal for actuating another inverter is outputted at the time t=t2. As a result, at t=t3, the operation of the additionally actuated inverter will be stable. In this manner, since the output power does not exceed the capacity of the inverters, the output power from the power source DC can be efficiently converted.
According to the above-described method, the estimation of the output power at the next periodic point can be performed accurately when the increase of the output power is moderate, as in the case shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 9, however, the output power may decrease sharply for the measurement time, and then may increase. In such a case, since the output power at the time t=t3 is estimated based on the decreasing differential quotient, the number of inverters to be actuated at t3 will be decreased, even though the actual output power will increase after the time t=t2. As a result, the output power at t3 exceeds the capacity of the inverters, whereby it cannot be properly supplied to the system power source AC.


An auxiliary power unit (APU) control system for an aircraft is disclosed. The APU control system includes an APU, one or more processors, and a memory coupled to the one or more processors. The memory stores data comprising a database and program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the APU control system to receive a one or more ambient signals indicative of an air density value and one or more power signals indicative of a specific amount of power generated by the APU. The APU control system is further caused to determine a variable rotational speed of the APU based on the air density value and instruct the APU to operate at the variable rotational speed. The APU continues to generate the specific amount of power when operating at the variable rotational speed.

An aircraft may be equipped with an auxiliary power unit (APU) in the form of a gas turbine. In some types of larger commercial aircraft, the APU provides electrical power as well as bleed air. The bleed air is extracted from the load compressor of the APU. However, the APU is limited to providing bleed air only on the ground and at very low altitudes. In the alternative, an electrically propelled aircraft includes an APU that only provides electrical power. The APU of an electrically propelled aircraft does not include a load compressor, and therefore does not provide bleed air. Although an electrically propelled aircraft is discussed, this approach is also used on an aircraft that utilizes electrical power for all non-propulsive systems as well.
A gas turbine is usually operated at a steady-state output speed to provide power and, in at least some aircraft, bleed air. The performance of a gas turbine is affected by ambient conditions. Specifically, the power output and efficiency of a gas turbine depend upon ambient conditions such as altitude, air temperature, humidity, and air density. The reduction in the power output of a gas turbine is proportional to an increase in altitude. As an example, the air density at sea level is about four times denser when compared to 40,000 feet (about 12,192 meters) altitude. A reduction in air density also decreases the air mass flow rate into the gas turbine. Consequently, the gas turbine is only able to produce about one-fourth the power at 40,000 feet altitude compared to sea level.
Existing APUs found in an aircraft are typically oversized to accommodate potential shock loads, which occur when the load demand increases by a significant amount within a very short period of time. More specifically, the turbine is sized to have sufficient rotor inertia so that a shock load does not cause the rotational speed to droop below a predetermined frequency. However, an oversized APU results in increased mass to the aircraft.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Aircraft auxiliary power unit (APU) control system having speed compensation


A particle-optical apparatus, such as an ESEM®, for simultaneous observing a sample with particles and photons. A pressure limiting aperture (PLA) is placed in a diaphragm between the objective lens of the ESEM® and the sample position. The distance between the sample position and the aperture is sufficiently small to allow a large collection angle of the photons through this aperture. A mirror is placed between the diaphragm and the objective lens. Due to the large collection angle for photons a large NA is achieved. The small distance between sample position and aperture also result in less scattering of electrons than occurs in ESEM's where a mirror is placed between aperture and sample position, as the electrons have to travel through only a limited length in a high pressure area. Embodiments describe combinations where e.g. an immersion lens is used.

The invention relates to a particle-optical apparatus comprising: a vacuum chamber, an particle-optical column mounted on the vacuum chamber for producing a particle beam round a particle-optical axis, said particle-optical column comprising a particle source, a sample carrier located in the vacuum chamber for carrying a sample at a sample position, said sample position located on the particle-optical axis, a mirror collecting light emitted from the sample position or focussing light on the sample position, said mirror showing a through-hole round the particle-optical axis, and evacuation means for evacuating the apparatus.
The invention also relates to a kit for upgrading an existing apparatus, and to a method for using such an apparatus.
Such an apparatus is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,885,445 B2.
Such apparatus are used in industry and research, e.g. for the analysis and modification of samples, such as samples taken from semiconductor wafers or e.g. biological samples.
Such an apparatus can be used to irradiate a sample with a beam of particles, such as a beam of electrons or ions. Particle-optical columns producing such beams are known per se from use in Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM), Focused Ion Beam apparatus (FIB), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopes (STEM), Electron Microprobes, etc.
As known to the person skilled in the art, images may be obtained by irradiating the sample with a finely focused beam of particles such as electrons, which beam is scanned over the sample. This irradiation causes secondary particles and radiation to emanate from the sample, which particles and radiation can be detected by suitable detectors. As the beam is finely focused and scanned over the sample, the signal detected by the detectors is place dependent. The signal can be converted to an image, e.g. by placing it in a computer memory, after which the data of this memory can be displayed on a display. It is also possible to perform certain analysis on the data in the computer memory and display the outcome of these analysis.
For certain applications it is necessary to irradiate the sample placed in such an apparatus in situ with a beam of light, e.g. to cause heating or to cause chemical changes in the sample. In other cases there is a need to detect light emitted by the sample, e.g. in response to the irradiation with the beam of particles (cathodoluminescence), or in response to irradiation with light (e.g. Raman spectroscopy. FRET (Fluorescent Resonant Energy Transfer), or FLIM (Fluorescent Lifetime IMaging)).
In both cases the sample is irradiated with a particle beam, while a path of light must be present between the sample and e.g. a detector or a generator of light. Also techniques where the sample is simultaneously illuminated by light and photons emanating from the sample are analysed/detected can be envisaged, where e.g. a beam splitter is used to split the path of incoming and outgoing photons.
The known apparatus comprises a particle-optical column showing a particle-optical axis. A sample can be positioned on a sample position at the particle-optical axis. A mirror is placed between the particle-optical column and the sample position. The mirror has a through-hole for passing the particle-beam. Between the mirror the light-optical axis and the particle-optical axis coincide. The mirror, e.g. a parabolic mirror, deflects the light-optical axis over an angle of e.g. 90°, while leaving the particle-optical axis unchanged. As a result e.g. a light-optical detector and/or a generator of light such as a laser, LED or conventional lamp do not interfere with the volume taken up by the particle-optical column and associated detectors, such as a secondary particle detector or an X-ray detector. When using this apparatus for e.g. Raman spectroscopy the numerical aperture of the optical path as defined by the mirror must be large, as the signal is rather weak.
As known to a person skilled in the art, charged particles are easily scattered when travelling through a (rarefied) gas. For that reason the volume through which the charged particles travel in a particle-optical column is normally evacuated to a pressure lower than e.g. 10−4 mbar to avoid scattering.
A problem occurring at such low pressures is that the sample dehydrates, leading to artefacts. Obviously this effect will not take place, at least not to such an extent, when the sample is placed in a vacuum in which water vapour is present. This implies a vacuum with a pressure equal to or exceeding the equilibrium pressure of water vapour.
Instruments are known in which the sample is observed in a vacuum of e.g. 8 mbar, being the equilibrium pressure of water at a temperature of 4° C. Such instruments are commonly known as Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM®) or Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope (VP-SEM).
A known limitation of such instruments is that many particles are scattered out of the primary beam of particles into the so-named skirt region. This is described in "Electron Scattering by gas in the scanning electron microscope", D. A. Moncrieff et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys, Vol. 12 (1979), p 481-488, further referred to as Moncrieff. Moncrieff describes in section 4 (discussion and conclusion) that under the conditions of an electron beam energy of 25 keV and a working distance of 15 mm of nitrogen gas at a pressure of 1 mbar, 60% of the electrons are scattered out of the beam. This implies that only 40% of the particles arrive at the intended position.
FIG. 5 of Moncrieff shows that at a pressure of 10 mbar and a working distance of approximately 4 mm already more than 90% of the particles are scattered. Later work described in "The beam-gas and signal-gas interactions in the variable pressure scanning electron microscope", C. Mathieu, Scanning Microscopy, Vol. 13, No. 1 (1999), pages 23-44 show that the scattering effect is even more severe at lower beam energies.
"X-ray microanalysis in the variable pressure (environmental) scanning electron microscope", D. E. Newbury, J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Techn., Vol 107 (2002), pages 567-603, further referred to as Newbury, describes that the signal detected (in this case by an X-ray detector) is the combination of the signal caused by the non-scattered particles and the signal caused by the scattered particles. As the scattered particles can impinge on the sample in the skirt region, removed from the intended position (the focus of the beam of unscattered particles), a signal is generated both by the unscattered particles carrying information about the intended position and by the scattered particles carrying information about the skirt regions. The signal caused by the scattered particles thus 'pollutes' the signal caused by the unscattered particles, which may give rise to artefacts, i.e. show the presence of materials at the intended position while these materials are in reality not present at that position, but somewhere in the skirt region. As the fraction of scattered particles rises, the effect becomes stronger.
Although Newbury describes this effect for X-ray microanalysis, it is clear that this effect also occurs when detecting photons coming from the sample, e.g. detecting cathodoluminescense from the sample.
As described in Newbury (page 572, left column), a related problem is the lowering of the signal-to-noise ratio S/N of the signal obtained with e.g. the secondary particle detector. This can be explained as follows: the current density in the unscattered part of the beam is high when compared to the current density in the scattered part. The unscattered particles give a signal with a high spatial resolution, while the scattered particles give a signal with a much lower spatial resolution, as the skirt region is much larger. Therefore, even when most of the particles are scattered, the place dependency of the combined signal is sufficient to obtain resolution. However, as less and less particles are available in the unscattered part of the beam, the signal caused by this part of the beam will drop accordingly. A lowering of the S/N is thus the effect.
The effect of scattering is not discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,885,445 B2.
Practical marketed systems for performing e.g. Raman spectroscopy, Fluorescent Microscopy (FM), Fluorescent Resonant Energy Transfer (FRET) or Fluorescent Lifetime IMaging (FLIM) in conjunction with an ESEM® typically use a distance of approximately 10 mm between the mirror and the sample position due to the minimum practical size of the mirror while obtaining a large collection angle (a high numerical aperture N.A. of e.g. N.A.>0.24) for light. At a pressure of 8 mbar more than 90% of the particle of a 25 kV particle beam would thus be scattered out of the beam into the skirt region (see Moncrieff, FIG. 5). Most of the signal detected is thus coming from the skirt region, and not from the intended focus. This would lead to a large deterioration of the S/N ratio of the signal obtained by the particle-optical column, and would also lead to most of the signal coming from the skirt region on the sample instead of from the intended region: the focus of the unscattered beam
A disadvantage of such a system is thus the problems associated with the scattering of particles from the particle beam at elevated pressures of e.g. 8 mbar.
There is thus a need for a particle-optical apparatus of the kind disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,885,445 B2, showing a lower scattering of the particles of the particle beam at elevated pressures.
It is an object of the invention to provide such an apparatus.

Particle-optical apparatus for simultaneous observing a sample with particles and photons


The present invention generally relates to the formation of organic gels by dissolving organic gelling agents in organic solvents. The aryl cyclohexanol gelling agents employed in this invention are not structurally related to previously known gellation agents and they exhibit potent gellation activity, for example, from 0.2-5%, by weight, of gelling agent is able to immobilize a variety of organic solvents. The gels formed range from optically transparent to slightly translucent, and complete fluidity can be restored by either increasing the temperature (reversible) or by chemical treatment (irreversible).

Gels are generally formed when attractions between molecules facilitate the formation of an extensive three-dimensional network that traps the solvent between "strands" of the network. For example, organic gel-forming materials may have multiple polar functionalities that allow for network formation by hydrogen bonding.
Agents able to immobilize organic solvents as gels have many potential applications. For example, these materials could be used to gel marine oil and chemical spills and assist in their containment and recovery, particularly with a water insoluble gelling agent. Additionally, there may be applications in chemical synthesis because reactions occurring in a gelled solvent may proceed at different rates or with different regio- or stereo-selectivity as compared to similar reactions in traditional solvents. These materials might also be employed in the development of new chromatographic stationary phases or semi-permeable membranes, in the transfer of organic liquids, or in the application of solvents, like methylene chloride, in a gelled state (U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,936; U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,825). For example, it would be advantageous to gel organic liquids, such as fuels, industrial solvents and organic additives, prior to transportation, either for further use or disposal, in a gelled state. This gelled state would be more stable, less volatile, and easier and safer to contain in the event of an accident en route. One may even speculate as to the stabilization of organic liquids under near-zero gravity conditions of vehicles in earth orbit.
Alternatively, it would be beneficial to develop components for use in thixotropic materials. For example, compounds that gel organic liquids, such as acetone, toluene, benzene, ethyl acetate, alcohols, and methylene chloride, would be useful in varnish and paint remover to facilitate its storage, transportation and application. Wood stains are often benefitted by a gel formulation and could be prepared using the methods, compositions and compounds of the present invention. The formulation and/or stabilization of organic emulsions should also be aided by the new gel compositions of the present invention.
Unfortunately, compounds which cause gellation of organic solvents are unused and often complex and expensive to prepare. For example, Kobayashi describes the use of various compounds, including sorbitol derivatives, as gelling agents. (JP 05,320,617, JP 04,368,389, JP 04,352,787, and JP 03,281,684). JP 53,124,595 describes the gellation of an organic liquid by the incorporation of a gel of an alicyclic alcohol, which contains the alicyclic alcohol and the condensation product of an aromatic aldehyde and a polyhydric alcohol.
The present invention alleviates many of the problems inherent in the prior art by providing water insoluble organic gelling agents that are relatively simple and inexpensive to prepare.