A simulation method for flow field of multi-stage fracturing on horizontal well in tight oil reservoir is provided. The tight oil reservoir comprises multiple horizontal wells with multi-stage fracturing, and for any horizontal well of the multiple horizontal wells, the method comprises: establishing a seepage mathematical model involving threshold pressure gradient according to reservoir physical property data and production data of the horizontal well, and determining formation pressure distribution of the horizontal well after multi-stage fracturing production according to the seepage mathematical model; determining formation pressure field distribution of the horizontal well after multi-stage fracturing production according to the formation pressure distribution and basing on principle of complex potential superposition; and establishing a criterion for identifying effective producing range of the horizontal well according to the formation pressure field distribution, and determining flow field range of the horizontal well according to the criterion.

With the decrease of conventional, easy to recover and high-quality oil and gas resources, in order to continue to promote the development of unconventional oil and gas resources, and strive to build a sustainable energy supply system, tight oil reservoirs with huge geological resources are becoming an inevitable choice to replace traditional energy sources.
Tight oil reservoirs have poor physical properties, well-developed nano-micron pore throats, and have strong nonlinear seepage characteristics. And compared with the flow characteristics of conventional reservoirs, the threshold pressure gradient of the tight oil reservoirs needs to be additionally considered. Currently, multi-stage fracturing on horizontal well is the main development method for tight oil reservoir. It forms complex fracture network in tight oil reservoir by increasing the amount of fracturing fluid entering into the formation, so as to improve the connectivity of tight oil reservoir.

Simulation method for flow field of multi-stage fracturing on horizontal well in tight oil reservoir

UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BEIJING


An electrical machine of a vehicle electrical propulsion system includes a stator, a rotor, and a stator winding all disposed within a housing thereof. The stator defines a central bore elongated along a longitudinal axis, and multiple slots circumferentially disposed around the central bore. The rotor is held within the central bore and rotates relative to the stator. The stator winding includes a core conductor, an insulation layer surrounding the core conductor, and a conductive shield layer surrounding the insulation layer. The stator winding extends through the slots of the stator. The stator winding includes an in-slot portion within the slots of the stator and an end-winding portion outside of the slots. The conductive shield layer surrounds the insulation layer along both the in-slot portion and the end-winding portion of the stator winding.

A corona discharge is an electrical discharge caused by the ionization of a gas, such as air, surrounding a conductor. Corona discharge occurs when the local electric field exceeds a threshold value. The threshold value is dependent on various conditions, such as distances between conductive elements separated by the gas and the electric field strength (e.g., the size of the potential gradient), the electrical breakdown strength of the gas, and the frequency and ramp rate of the electric field. For example, if an insulation layer surrounding a conductor is exposed to air and is subjected to an electrical potential drop that exceeds the electrical breakdown strength of air at the ambient conditions, then a corona discharge may occur across the insulation layer between the conductor and a grounded conductive element spaced apart from the insulation layer. The corona discharge can degrade the insulation layer, reducing the usable lifetime of the insulation layer, and can also generate ozone that is detrimental to other components in the system.
In aviation applications, lower air pressure at altitude (relative to air pressure at ground level) reduces the electrical breakdown strength of the air. The reduced electrical breakdown strength of the air increases the risk for corona discharge. Conventional electrical machines (generators and/or motors) in aircraft attempt to prevent corona discharge by increasing the clearance distances between adjacent conductive elements and also by limiting the voltages to below an upper limit. Some known aircraft use 400 Vac or 540 Vdc as the upper voltage limit, such that the electrical systems of the aircraft are limited to receiving current at less than or equal to 400 Vac or 540 Vdc.
However, the conventional aircraft electrical systems have several drawbacks. For example, setting the upper voltage limit at 400 Vac or 540 Vdc may significantly restrict the performance capabilities and/or efficiencies of an electrical distribution system on the aircraft designed to operate at voltages up to or exceeding 1 kV. Even without the upper voltage limit in place, in order to avoid corona discharge at high working voltages up to or exceeding 1 kV, the clearance distances between the conductors and grounded electrical elements would need to be sufficiently large that the electrical equipment, such as electrical machines, would be impracticably large and heavy. Larger and heavier electrical machines in an aircraft are undesirable and impractical due to the resulting increase in fuel consumption to support the flight of the aircraft relative to smaller and/or lighter aircrafts (flown in similar environmental conditions and at similar flight settings).

Electrical propulsion system with corona suppression on a vehicle


Methods and systems for generating influence scores are disclosed. A plurality of opinions of a selected topic are retrieved from a database. Influencers each associated with at least one opinion from the plurality of opinions are determined using the processor. A score is automatically generated for each influencer using the processor, the score related to the selected topic.

With the explosion on the internet of news outlets, social network sites including Facebook and Twitter, and personal platforms such as blogs, it has become increasingly difficult to track all the narratives, conversations, and interactions proffered by these data sources. The overwhelming amount of sources of information and chatter provided by the aforementioned sources such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs necessitates the identification of influencers and the determination of exactly how much influence their actions may have on the public at large for a variety of topics. An influencer may be any individual who interacts with other individuals in the context of a conversation—including publishers, authors, broadcasters, persons, organizations, bloggers, commenters, and social media users generating or participating in such conversations. President Obama's influence may arise by virtue of quotations in news media, mentions in blogs, and content generated by his @BarackObama twitter account. However, it is too time consuming to manually wade through all of the conversations to attempt to determine which participants and sources are most highly influential. A more efficient solution is therefore needed to determine influence levels of influencers.

System and method for generating influencer scores


A method for web browsing of a handheld device includes determining, when a marker is set on at least one object embedded in a webpage, a download status of the at least one object on which the marker is set, and notifying, when a download of the at least one objects is completed, a user of the completion of the download of the at least one object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mobile applications, and more particularly, to a web browser for a handheld device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Web browsers for a handheld device such as a mobile phone, a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) and tablets, are becoming comparable to desktop browsers in terms of performance, due to the increase in processor speeds and storage spaces in handheld devices. Conventionally, a user would fetch a webpage with large embedded object(s), such as video or an image. When a webpage rich in objects such as images and videos is fetched from a web server, a considerable amount of time may be needed to download and display the objects on the handheld device. For example, it may take several minutes/hours to buffer a lengthy video embedded in the webpage, which is an inconvenience.
While waiting, the user may explore the remaining section of the webpage or other webpage(s) of his/her interest. However, the user has to repeatedly check the download status of the objects of interest by scrolling/returning to the location of the objects, which also is inconvenient. When the user fetches a webpage to view/read a section of the webpage, in the process of browsing other content on the web, the user may forget to revisit the section of interest and may exit the web browser without viewing/reading the section.

Method and apparatus for web browsing of handheld device


Embodiments of RF power amplifiers are disclosed that include switched-mode power amplifiers supplied by synchronous buck DC-DC converters. The switched-mode power amplifiers can be used to amplify a limited form of an RF input signal and the supply to the switched-mode power amplifier is varied in response to the envelope of the RF input signal. One embodiment includes a switched-mode power amplifier connected to a synchronous buck DC-DC converter.

The present invention relates generally to RF power amplifiers and more specifically to the use of a RF power amplifier including a synchronous buck DC-DC converter supplying power to a switched-mode power amplifier.
Electronic devices requiring use of a battery, such as mobile communications terminals, can achieve increased battery life by using efficient RF power amplifiers. RF power amplifiers typically have high current consumption. Attempts have been made using external circuitry to improve the efficiency of RF power amplifiers located on integrated circuits. However, internal switching frequencies can be orders of magnitude faster than off-chip signals. Therefore, external power supplies and control circuits are often unable to respond rapidly enough to varying load conditions. In addition, the parasitic resistance and inductance of the interconnects between an integrated circuit and external circuitry can reduce the voltage swing of the power amplifier, increase power loss and cause resonance and instability.

Monolithic supply-modulated RF power amplifier and DC-DC power converter IC

Arizona Board of Regents, acting for and on behalf of Arizona State University


A microelectronic package includes a light sensitive microelectronic element having a front face including one or more contacts and a rear surface, and conductive leads having first ends connected to the one or more contacts and second ends connected to one or more conductive pads adjacent the light sensitive microelectronic element. The package also includes an at least partially transparent encapsulant covering the light sensitive microelectronic element, the conductive leads and the one or more conductive pads, whereby the one or more conductive pads are exposed on a surface of the encapsulant.

The present invention generally relates to microelectronic assemblies, and more specifically it relates to semiconductor chip packages having light sensitive or light emitting chips.
The semiconductor chip packaging industry is a highly competitive business in which the packaging companies are waging an on-going battle to improve the reliability and cost of packaged chips. Moreover, the electronics industry continues to demand that chip packages take up less space within electronic components. As such, it is desirable that the overall size of the packaged chips be reduced so that the same circuitry fits into smaller areas thereby allowing for more portability (size, weight, etc.) for the resulting finished electronic product and/or allowing for an increase in a product's processing power without also increasing its size.
One type of semiconductor chip package includes packages which incorporate light sensitive semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits. When packaging such light sensitive devices (referred to herein as "IC's" or "chips"), it is necessary to allow for the passage of visible or near visible light, i.e. ultraviolet ("UV") or infrared ("IR") light, to the surface of the packaged chip. For example, ultraviolet-erasable programmable read-only memories ("UV EPROMS") have traditionally been manufactured using a standard lead frame type package, as shown in FIG. 1. Typically in this type of package, a cavity is molded (as by an injection molding operation) around a lead frame and the back surface of the chip is attached to a paddle on the lead frame. The chip contacts on the face surface of the chip are then wire bonded to respective leads on the lead frame. This allows the chip assembly to be enclosed on three sides. The fourth side of the assembly is then fitted with a transparent lid made of glass or quartz so that the chip is physically protected but still capable of receiving light through the lid.
In a similar fashion, when packaging certain light emitting chips such as light emitting diodes (LED's), it is desirable to allow for the passage of visible or near visible light from a surface of the packaged chip. When manufacturing light emitting diodes, the LED's are commonly created on leadframe like structures. As shown in FIG. 2, an electrically conductive back surface of the chip is typically attached to an electrically conductive base on a first lead and chip contacts on a face surface of the chip are wire bonded to corresponding second leads. The base of the first lead typically has a notch within which the chip sits. The assembly is then encapsulated by using an injection molding technique. The encapsulant may form a lens on the top of the LED package to aid in the focusing of the light being emitted from the chip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,383 to Lumbard et al. discloses another technique for packaging LED's which use a supporting frame or substrate as part of the package structure. As set forth in the '383 patent, the substrate comprises an electrically insulating material such as synthetic plastic. The top surface of the substrate includes a conductive pattern which defines a land area and a connection pad. A light emitting diode is mounted on the land area so that its terminal underneath is electrically and mechanically connected to the land area. The upper side of the light emitting diode is provided with a terminal which is electrically conductive and connected with the connection pad via a bonding wire.
A second conductive pattern of highly conductive material such as copper is deposited onto the rear surface of the substrate. This second conductive pattern defines a first terminal pad and a second terminal pad. The land area on the top side of the substrate is provided with an extension which is electrically connected to the terminal pad on the under side via a plated through groove having a semicircular cross-section. Similarly, the connection pad on the upper side of the substrate is provided with an extension which is electrically connected to the terminal pad on the under side via a plated through groove, which is preferably identical to the plated through groove. In this manner the two terminal pads serve as external terminals for the light emitting diode which mechanically secures modular component during surface mounting of the component. The assembly is provided with a transparent covering for protective purposes. Thus the light emitting diode and its electrical contacts including the bonding wire are sealed and encapsulated in the covering. The covering is made from clear or diffused epoxy, which provides optical characteristics.
Despite these and other efforts in the art, still further improvements in interconnection technology would be desirable. The chip packages manufactured in accordance with the prior art methods described above typically consume greater areas on a printed circuit board or within an electronic component than might otherwise be required. In addition, these particular prior art embodiments are also relatively complex and expensive.

Semiconductor package having light sensitive chips


A method and apparatus wherein a user interacts with an intelligent virtual object, or avatar, wherein the user is able to program a personality into the intelligent virtual object. The programmed personality allows the intelligent virtual object to react to stimuli without the need to communicate each stimuli to the user. This optimizes the flow of traffic over the transmission medium.

In recent history, computers have become much more pervasive in society. In addition, they have become more powerful, faster and have significantly more storage than they did just a few short years ago. These exponential increases in speed, storage and processor power have provided the necessary infrastructure for computers to network together effectively.
The most publicized computer network in existence is referred to as the Internet. The Internet is a connection of computers using the TCP/IP protocol. This has evolved into what is now referred to as the world wide web which provides a somewhat cognitive interface into the Internet. The world wide web allows users to access information by indicating the location of the information which they desire to retrieve or by traversing hyper-text links which cross-reference information in many different locations. This is made possible by the implementation of a universal resource locator (url) as a way of locating information on the world wide web.
Many products have been developed which assist the user in searching the web for information. Access to the world wide web can be accomplished very inexpensively using a phone line, an inexpensive computer and a software program called a web browser such as Netscape's Navigator or IBM's Web Explorer. This ability to inexpensively connect into the world wide web has encouraged its use for much more than business purposes. The world wide web is used for educational research, shopping, games, making reservations, trading stock and numerous other purposes. Children, as well as adults, are frequent users of the world wide web.
While it was the advent of two dimensional graphically intense web sites that spurred the popularity of the Internet, the next level of technology may bring Internets, internal networks such as intranets, and networks in general to a new level. The intent of this phase of Internet development has been to render web sites sensually. That is, a user interacts with or exists within a site and experiences and perceives the site from within. This is referred to as Virtual Reality and is intended to perceptualize the network or to have the network rendered to humans with more of their senses. It puts the user in the center of the Internet.
While Virtual Reality is still in its infancy, it traditionally uses computer simulations containing three-dimensional (3D)graphics and devices to allow the user to interact with the simulation. Much of what the user has been able to browse as "data" on the web may be able to be `experienced` as a 3D web site in the future. 3D web sites are constructed with a Virtual Reality Modeling Language, herein referred to as VRML, which allows for the design and implementation of platform-independent scene descriptions. VRML is a file format for describing interactive 3D objects and worlds to be experienced on the world wide web utilizing http (A HyperText Transfer Protocol used on the Internet) in its implementation.
VRML allows an individual to construct three dimensional, viewable, representations of objects. These objects can then be placed on a web site, and viewed on the world wide web, by any user that has a VRML enabled browser installed on the user's computer. These objects can be any object the VRML author can imagine, such as: telephones, houses, cityscapes, or three dimensional representations of data, or even animals or human characters. Initially these objects were inanimate, but enhancements to VRML have been made to allow for animation of objects existing in a world, in addition to allowing for sensors to be used to trigger preprogrammed responses from the objects with which they interact. Still objects have not been able to independently act with the user.
In an effort to `place the user into the center of the Internet`, the concept of an intelligent virtual object, called an avatar, has come into being. An avatar is a representation of the user which is embodied as a character so that the user can traverse the web as a representative being. The avatar can be considered a proxy of the user, conducting business on the web for the user. Avatars can also contain computer programs to implement additional functions that the avatar perform. The avatar will appear to go from location to location, allowing the user to perceive, with the senses of sight and sound, the surroundings in the world in which the avatar is traversing. While this has been an extremely significant step in the development of traversing the world wide web, it is still only based on the concept of one person searching for and locating information using an avatar as the representation of the user.

User interaction with intelligent virtual objects, avatars, which interact with other avatars controlled by different users

International Business Machines Corporation


An easy to manufacture toy figure (10) for throwing balls or other aerial projectiles by emulating a jump shot in simulated games such as basketball. Resilient means (12) may be bent or compressed and then released to rebound substantially to their original form and position with speed sufficient to throw an aerial projectile (15) placed upon a body of animate shape (13) linked or attached directly or via said resilient means to supporting base (11). Said resilient means may be provided by a coil, leaf or other type of spring, or by a resilient or elastic material forming a part of the body or the base. Said animate body (13) may be designed to resemble popular ballplayers or imaginary animate shapes for marketing purposes, including player numbers on club color uniforms, with fixed or rotatable arms.

Various types of simulated games using an aerial projectile, popular with children and adults alike, are known in the art. The projectile is usually propelled by a simple catapult or a spring launcher, which sometimes replace a simulated ballplayer figure at the time of shooting the projectile toward a goal. Neither the launchers nor their substitution for a player figure at a critical point in the game simulate the reality very convincingly. While figures used in simulated games using a surface projectile often mimic the live action fairly well, figures devised for games using an aerial projectile, such as basketball, were so far much less successful.
Many simulated game inventions propose a catapult or a launcher: U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,242 (Rudell et al., 1998) shows a TWO SIDED BASKETBALL GAME with two simple launchers. U.S. Pat. No. 2,878,801 to Patchin et al. (1959) discloses a vertical TOY CATAPULT DEVICE with a horizontal support for rectangular projectiles. U.S. Pat. No. 2,203,990 to R. J. Haynur (1940) proposes a multiplayer GAME APPARATUS using a molded spring launcher and a projectile with parallel faces indicating a play board position for the next player. U.S. Pat. No. 1,612,699 to C. de V. Cole (1926) for a BASKET-BALL GAME has multiple player pieces, moving to random positions on the play board determined by a roll of dice, replaced for attempts at scoring by a catapult resembling an artillery piece. U.S. Pat. No. 731,850 to R. S. Bradbury (1903) discloses a GAME whereby a blade-spring launcher shoots a ball toward multiple baskets.
LEGO Sports sells HUMAN-LIKE TOY FIGURES based on U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,769 to Skov et al. (2005) with a coil spring connecting torso to its legs part, allowing the figure to 'chest-slam' a ball. U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,169 to Saunders (2001) discloses an ARTICULATED TOY FIGURE SIMULATING BASKET-BALL PLAY using a spring-loaded mechanism with a trigger and latch to swing an arm forward and downward, flinging a ball toward a basket. U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,758 to F. D. Carson uses a human figure shaped BALL CATAPULTING DEVICE with arms propelled by an elastic strip pulled crank to throw balls either upward from around its knees, or overhead backwards. U.S. Pat. No. 1,433,335 to K. Bensch (1922) discloses a BASKET-BALL TOY using figures with spring-loaded arms holding a cup, pulled by strings to shoot a ball. Probably the most realistically acting prior art figure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,330 to Ozawa (1997.) It shows a TOY BASKETBALL GAME WITH SELF-JUMPING PLAYER ejected from a stationary base and releasing the ball on contact with the basket rim, simulating a so-called 'slam dunk.' None of the known figures simulates a player executing a jump shot or a hook shot, perhaps the most common shooting actions in basketball, handball and other games using an aerial projectile.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a wheel immobilizer apparatus and method for immobilizing a wheel of a vehicle. For example, a wheel immobilizer apparatus may include a plurality of chocks and an adjustment member secured to each of the chocks and configured to adjust a relative distance between a pair of the plurality of chocks. The apparatus may also include a flexible member comprising a pair of free ends each secured to a respective one of the pair of chocks and configured to secure the chocks to a wheel.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to wheel immobilizers and, more particularly, to a wheel immobilizer apparatus for immobilizing and securing a vehicle in a stationary position.
2. Description of Related Art
Wheel chocks may be employed for immobilizing a vehicle to ensure that the vehicle will remain in a stationary position. For example, wheel chocks may be used to immobilize aircraft, trucks, or other large vehicles. Traditionally, wheel chocks include a pair of wedge-shaped members that are positioned on opposite sides of a vehicle's wheel. However, such wedge-shaped members do not provide adequate safeguards to prevent unwanted movement of the vehicle due to sudden wind gusts or other sudden forces applied to or on the vehicle.
Furthermore, wheel chocks or immobilizers may be employed for security purposes. Thus, the wheel chock may include a locking mechanism to prevent theft of the vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,210 to Willaford discloses a wheel chock that includes a pair of U-shaped channel members that each has locking holes defined in a side panel. The locking holes are configured to receive a lock, while a chain is secured at one end to the lock, extends over the wheel, and attaches at its opposite end to one of the U-shaped channel members.
Despite these improvements, there is a need for a wheel immobilizer that is capable of adequately immobilizing a vehicle in a stationary position. Moreover, there is a need for a wheel immobilizer that is capable of being adjusted to varying wheel sizes and being secured in position. In addition, there is a need for a wheel immobilizer that is user friendly and that is capable of being readily secured to a vehicle's wheel.

Wheel immobilizer apparatus and associated method


The present invention relates to an insulating wire and, more particularly, to an insulating wire having partial discharge resistance that exhibits excellent partial discharge resistance and high partial discharge inception voltage and also excellences in the adhesion between the conductor and the insulation layer and the flexibility of the insulation layer, which insulating wire can be prepared by a simple process at a low production cost.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insulating wire and, more particularly, to an insulating wire having partial discharge resistance that exhibits excellent partial discharge resistance and high partial discharge inception voltage and also excellences in the adhesion between the conductor and the insulation layer and the flexibility of the insulation layer, which insulating wire can be prepared by a simple process at a low production cost.
Background Art
The insulating wire refers to a coated insulating wire such as enameled wires used in the form of a coil for electronic devices, including motors, transformers, etc. When the insulating wire applied to a high-voltage motor has low partial discharge inception voltage and poor partial discharge resistance, the localized electric field is concentrated at the tiny gaps between the insulation layers or inside the insulation layer. This can result in partial discharge of electrical energy called corona, ending up a breakdown of the insulation layer.
The charged particles generated as a result of the partial discharge conflict with one another to generate heat and damage the insulation layer to break down, causing insulation breakdown. With a recent trend of using the systems with inverter-driven motors for the purpose of energy conservation, there are a growing number of cases a breakdown of insulation takes place due to the inverter serge in the systems using inverter-driven motors. It has proved that such a breakdown of insulation associated with the inverter serge comes down to the partial discharge which is caused by the overvoltage with the inverter serge.
Korean Patent Open-Laid Publication Nos. 2010-0121513, 2008-0072691 and 2006-0018347 and Japanese Patent Open-Laid Publication Nos. 2004-010714 and 2003-160728 disclose insulating wires using inorganic nanoparticles excellent in partial discharge resistance, such as silica, alumina, titanium oxide, etc., in an insulation coating resin constituting an insulation layer in order to provide the insulating wires with partial discharge resistance. The inorganic nanoparticles not only provide the insulating wires with partial discharge resistance but also contribute to promotion of heat conductivity and strengths and reduction of thermal expansion.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional insulating wire having an insulation layer containing inorganic nanoparticles. The conventional insulating wire includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a conductor 1 made of a conductive material, such as aluminum, copper, etc., and an insulation layer 2 made of an insulation coating resin disposed to cover around the conductor 1 and containing inorganic nanoparticles 3 having partial discharge resistance.
With an increase in the content of the inorganic nanoparticles 3 in the insulation layer 2, the insulating wire enhances in the partial discharge resistance but undesirably deteriorates in regards to the adhesion between the conductor 1 and the insulation layer 2 and the flexibility of the insulation layer 2. Accordingly, when a wire having a high content of the inorganic nanoparticles 3 in the insulation layer 2 is applied to the coil for electrical devices, a number of cracks occur in the insulation layer 2, resulting in failure to acquire the partial discharge resistance which is the genuine object of the wire.
The insulating wire having the insulation layer 2 containing the inorganic nanoparticles 3 has an effect to suppress a breakdown of insulation caused by the existing partial discharge but cannot prevent the occurrence of the partial discharge fundamentally.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2009-212034 and 2012-119117 and United State patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2009-0226720 and 2009-0030134 describe insulating wires that include an insulation layer containing hollow or porous inorganic nanoparticles to secure a low dielectric constant of the insulation layer and thus increase the partial discharge inception voltage, thereby preventing occurrence of the partial discharge.
However, the hollow inorganic nanoparticles which are hollow nano-sized silica are prepared by a complicated preparation process of hollow nanoparticles with a rise of the production cost and also have the difficulty of acquiring a sufficiently low dielectric constant and a high partial discharge inception voltage.
Accordingly, there is a demand for an insulating wire having partial discharge resistance and high partial discharge inception voltage that exhibits excellences in the adhesion between the conductor and the insulation layer and the flexibility of the insulation layer, involves a simple preparation process and a low production cost, and has partial discharge resistance and high partial discharge inception voltage.

Insulating wire having partial discharge resistance and high partial discharge inception voltage


An improved process and configuration for multi-function in-case filling and capping.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to automated high-volume in-case filling and capping of containers and, more particularly, to an improved process and configuration for single or multiple lane, multi-function in-case filling and capping.
2. Description of the Background
The filling and capping process generally entails supplying bottles, containers, or cases containing bottles/containers along a conveyor, automatically filling them at a filling station, and automatically capping them at capping stations. Various testing and control functions may be performed along the way, for instance, testing and control of fill volume, cap torque, conveyor velocity, etc. The apparatus which performs the process must be capable of accommodating a wide variety of containers since they can vary in size, shape, neck angle, etc.
Existing filling and capping systems incorporate both rotary and linear machines. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,488. In linear intermittent-motion machines, the containers are typically halted at each station for processing and/or testing. Thus, the throughput of such machines is limited by the capabilities of each station, and bottlenecks at any station can limit the total throughput.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,270,487 to Tchimenoglov is another early in-case filling and capping apparatus. Tchimenoglov et al. ""487 shows a carrier 16 that transports cases from station to station (column 2, lines 56 et seq.), and a jig 36 mounted on the carrier 16 that clamps and lifts the bottles out of their cases at each station (column 2, lines 62-64). At each station the caseload of containers is held in a fixed position for the respective operations (filling, capping, etc.). There is no continuous-motion throughout the circuit nor tandem processes performed on multiple containers during the continuous-motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,099 to Mueller et al. shows a computerized system for filling containers I with food products. The system is designed to index individual containers by the use of a servo motor-driven conveyor assembly. Again the filling process is single-file and intermittent in nature. As with Tchimenoglov et al. ""487, there is no teaching or suggestion of continuous-motion throughout the circuit, and the system is not capable of it. Moreover, there is no teaching or suggestion of tandem processes performed on multiple containers during the continuous-motion.
As an alternative to the foregoing linear devices, rotary machines work in a continuous motion, thereby providing increased filling and capping throughput. There have been efforts to increase the efficiency of the individual stations for both linear and rotary machines. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,488 to Ruhl et al. discloses a turret system for servo motor-operated intermittent indexing, filling, plugging, and capping functions. As stated at column 4, lines 48-53, a high-speed indexing turret positions the containers. The containers stop at two successive positions, first while a high-speed filling pump fills two-thirds of the container, and then while a second slower pump tops it off. (column 4, lines 59-64). Once again, the filling and capping process is single-file and intermittent in nature. There is no teaching or suggestion of continuous-motion throughout the circuit, and the system is not capable of it. Indeed, the extreme logistics of routing and then recombining containers in a rotary system prevents tandem processes performed on multiple containers during continuous-motion.
Clearly, there remains the potential for higher efficiencies and increased productivity, and it would be greatly advantageous to provide an apparatus capable of continuous motion and tandem operation using servo-mechanics plus software coordination between the filling and capping stations.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide improved processes and configuration for industrial filling and capping applications with greatly improved production rates over those that have been previously available.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process and configuration for multiple-lane in-case filling and capping.
It is still another object to improve the station-to-station transfer efficiency in each lane of a multi-function in-case filling and capping system.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved process and configurations for multi-function in-case filling and capping which incorporates a quality control mechanism whereby fill volumes in each container may be monitored and reported, and whereby cap application and removal torque may also be monitored and reported.
In accordance with the above objects, one embodiment of an improved process and apparatus for multi-lane, multi-function in-case filling and capping of containers is provided in which cases of empty containers are received from an upstream conveyor loading process. Each case""s major and minor flaps are opened, and each case is directed to flap control rails for maintaining the flaps in an open position throughout the filling and capping process. Each open case is inspected to confirm that the containers are present and are properly oriented within each case, while any improperly loaded cases are rejected from the system. The properly loaded or configured cases are then diverted into the least backlogged of a series of processing lanes, where the individual containers are filled. Screw thread caps or other closures are then applied to the containers, and the cases of filled and capped containers converge back together in a single discharge lane.
In another embodiment, the transfer efficiency of containers is improved by filling and capping the containers continuously, thereby making container/case indexing concurrent with the filling and capping processes, and increasing overall throughput.

Multi-function in-case filling and capping system

Abstract: A multi-lane embodiment is provided in which cases of empty containers are received from one or more upstream conveyor loading processes. Each case""s major and minor flaps are opened, and each case is directed to flap control rails for maintaining the flaps in an open position throughout the filling and capping process. Each open case is inspected to confirm that the containers are present and are properly oriented within each case, while any improperly loaded cases are rejected from the system. The cases are then diverted into the least backlogged of a series of processing lanes, where the individual containers are filled. Screw thread caps or other closures are then applied to the containers, and the cases of filled containers converge back together in a single discharge lane.

Abstract: In another embodiment, an improved transfer efficiency of containers is achieved by filling the containers on the fly, and concurrent capping of multiple containers, thereby reducing the conveyor time between stations.


A nestable container designed for efficient storage when the containers is not in use and for safe handling when in use. The container has four outwardly bowed sidewalls flared upwardly from its bottom with each sidewall connected to adjacent sidewalls by an inwardly fluted web to form a essentially square cross section. The webs define finger gripping corners at the edges of the sidewalls that allow the container to gripped better by a user. The containers can be nested with other containers of different sizes without wasting space. The essentially square configuration of the containers also make them easy to pack with or within other containers, that are typically also square or rectangular.

Nestable containers for storing contents are known in the prior art. Generally, such prior art containers are identical to one another to allow them to be nested together. Nesting the containers in such a manner reduces the amount of storage space required to hold the containers when they are not in use. However, the features in the prior art designs that allow the containers to be nested also create problems with the containers. For instance, they often reduce the structural integrity of the container and/or make them more difficult to handle. Additionally, the identical designs of such containers limit them to containers of the same holding capacity. Moreover, many stacking designs must be specifically pre-oriented to permit stacking and are frequently designed to receive covers or lids that are not easy to remove. A common problem as well is the often existing variety of (food) containers stored in kitchen cupboards that are difficult to match up with the fitting lids of any particular container within such an assortment.


A processor module includes a processor and a voltage regulator both mounted on a carrier. The voltage regulator is mounted with its contacts under compression to ensure good electrical contact with pads on the carrier. Heat sinks mounted respectively on the processor and the voltage regulator are rigidly coupled to each other to provide rigidity to the module and thus maintain the desired compression of the voltage regulator contacts.

The present invention relates to computers and, more particularly, to a processor module that includes a voltage regulator. In this specification, related art labeled "prior art" is admitted prior art; related art not labeled "prior art" is not admitted prior art.
Computer processors are using lower voltages to achieve faster switching times (and thus higher performance) while minimizing power consumption and associated problems with heat dissipation. As the voltage differential between logic high and logic low is reduced, voltage levels must be more precisely controlled to avoid errors and maintain functionality.

Processor module with rigidly coupled processor and voltage-regulator heat sinks

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Using a newly developed composite ceramics material suited for balls of ball-point pens, a method of manufacturing composite ceramics balls for ball-point pens that have affinity for both oil-based ink and water-based ink is provided. In this method, the composite ceramics, whose main components are mullite (3Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 .multidot.2SiO.sub.2) and zirconia (ZrO.sub.2) at the ratio of 50-95% to 5-50% by weight, is polished into mirror-finished balls and then chemical processing or physical processing is performed on the ball surfaces to form indentations in the ball surfaces. The chemical processing is preferably an etching using hydrofluoric acid, and the degree of indentations can be controlled by changing the concentration of hydrofluoric acid and the duration of etching.

Oil-based inks have long been used widely with ball-point pens. The oil-based inks, however, have a drawback of corroding metallic balls, and to overcome this corrosion problem, cemented carbide balls using tungsten carbide have been developed.
As water-based inks have begun to be used for the ball-point pens in recent years, even the cemented carbide balls sometimes fail to offer sufficient corrosion resistance. To deal with this situation, chemically inert ceramics balls having high corrosion resistance against water-based inks have been developed. These ceramics balls use various kinds of ceramics material, such as alumina ceramics, silicon carbide ceramics and zirconia ceramics.
Although the ceramics materials mentioned above pose no problem in terms of corrosion resistance, they have the following drawbacks and thus are not satisfactory.
The alumina ceramics balls are currently not used very much because they easily chip or crack due to flaws in their crystal structure when they are polished into balls and it is difficult to produce satisfactory ball surfaces.
The silicon carbide ceramics balls, though there is no problem with mechanical strength, have a drawback that the dense, hard sintered body with a surface Vickers hardness (Hv) of 2000 or higher makes polishing difficult. For satisfactory polishing, however, the preferred hardness should be not more than Hv 2000. Because the perfectly sintered ideal silicon carbide has Hv 2400-2600, the sintering process must be stopped halfway to make the hardness less than Hv 2000. This may cause variations in the hardness of the sintered silicon carbide or make void control on the ball surface difficult.
To improve affinity between balls and ink, it is common practice with cemented carbide balls that their mirror-finished surfaces are formed with fine indentations. Since the silicon carbide ceramics balls are very hard, appropriate indentations cannot be formed in their surfaces and there is no alternative but to use the mirror-finished balls. Therefore, the affinity between the ball surface and ink is insufficient, and this easily causes line break and line splitting while writing.
The zirconia ceramics balls are lower in hardness than silicon carbide and thus polishing is easier, but their drawback is that scratches are easily formed in the ball surfaces. If a ball with scratches is used, a ball seat supporting the ball in the tip of a ball-point pen will wear significantly, with the result that the ball position is retracted from the normal one (a ball sink phenomenon), and the writing feel is badly degraded.
The mirror surface of the zirconia ceramics ball has very few voids with its state similar to glass, so its wettability with water-based ink or adhesion and holding capability with oil-based ink is not enough, causing line break and line splitting during writing in some cases. Hence, it is necessary to check that the kind of ink used is an appropriate one.

Method of manufacturing composite ceramics balls for ball-point pens


A lighting apparatus (600) for illuminating display items, and particularly articles of jewelry including gemstones such as diamonds, located within a display area. The apparatus (600) includes a plurality of substantially white light sources (604) arranged such that each light source (604) is spaced apart from adjacent light sources of the apparatus (600). Light absorbing material (608) is disposed so as to substantially occupy the spaces between adjacent sources (604) when viewed from within the display area. Accordingly, light is emitted into the display area as a plurality of bright regions interspersed with one or more regions of darkness. The lighting apparatus is particularly effective in producing desirable and visually perceptible effects, such as fire and scintillation, within a gemstone. Furthermore, the invention enables the desirable visually perceptible effects to be produced in a more pleasing fashion and/or with lower power consumption and heat generation than is the case with comparable prior art lighting arrangements. Methods of using the lighting apparatus for viewing items of jewelry are also provided.

When displaying and showing items of jewelry that include gemstones, such as diamonds, it is desirable to provide a lighting environment that enables the visually perceptible features of the gemstones to be readily observed. For example, cut diamonds exhibit visually perceptible qualities generally referred to as "fire" and "scintillation", that strongly influence an observer's subjective evaluation of the aesthetics of a diamond. The term "fire" usually refers to the rainbow colours that may be observed in a diamond as a result of the refraction of light entering and leaving the facets of the diamond, and the dispersion of the light within the diamond. The term "scintillation" usually relates to the "sparkle" of a diamond, and refers to flashes of light that may be visible within a diamond when either the diamond or the observer's viewing position moves relative to a source of light.
In order to best highlight features of a gemstone such as fire and scintillation, it is undesirable to substantially flood the environment with light. Rather, it is generally considered that point sources of lighting are the most effective, since each point source produces distinct reflections and other optical effects within a gemstone producing visible results that are clearly discernable by an observer. Accordingly, in modern jewelry stores and showrooms the most popular light sources are halogen lamps, mounted in fittings having rear reflectors. Since halogen lamps are relatively small, they provide a good approximation to a point light source having a concentrated and reasonably intense light output. However, since the total light output from a single halogen lamp is relatively small, as compared with conventional incandescent globes or fluorescent lighting, it is necessary in a jewelry showroom or store to use a relatively large number of halogen lamps.
A typical halogen lamp used in a showroom or store environment dissipates 50 watts of power, and operates from a 12 volt source normally provided from a transformer connected to the mains power supply. A typical jewelry store using 50 halogen spot lamps therefore dissipates 2,500 watts in lighting alone, plus the additional power consumption resulting from transformer inefficiency and losses in the relatively higher current 12 volt leads supplying the lamps. Since a significant proportion of this power is dissipated as heat, the overall heating effect of the lighting within the showroom may approximate that of a domestic bar radiator. This may in turn increase the demands on air conditioning within the store.
The relatively recent development of bright white-light LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) has provided a possible alternative to halogen spot lamps. For example, white-light LEDs have been used to make small desktop displays that may be used to view articles of jewelry. In using such a display, a customer may hold an item of jewelry, or in the case of a ring, may wear the jewelry on their hand. The customer then places their hand within the desktop display box, the interior of which is illuminated with white-light LEDs. Since the LED light sources are very small, they can result in the production of significant fire and scintillation effects.
However, white-light LEDs may not provide a sufficiently natural source of light. Most bright white-light LEDs consist of a blue LED with a phosphor coating applied to the glass or plastic lens and cover that protect the LED and direct the light output. The blue light from the LED is absorbed by the phosphor coating, which then emits light across the visible spectrum to produce a substantially white light output. However, the light output generally retains a strong blue component that is not balanced by the other colours of the spectrum emitted by the phosphor coating. The result is a cold and blue dominated light output that tends to produce an unnatural and subjectively unpleasant rendering of many colours, and in particular of skin tones. The customer viewing their hand along with the article of jewelry under such lighting is likely to be aware that an unnatural light source is being used, and may therefore suspect that the lighting has been designed to artificially enhance the appearance of the jewelry within the store or showroom in ways that will not be reproduced in more normal or natural lighting environments.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an alternative apparatus and method for display lighting which is especially suited for illuminating items of jewelry, for example within a store or showroom environment, and which mitigates the aforementioned problems of known showroom lighting systems.
Any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention. It should not be taken as an admission that any of the material formed part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art on or before the priority date of the following statements of invention, or of any claims appended hereto.

Apparatus and method for illuminating articles of jewelry


The invention relates to a method and to an apparatus for measuring the distance between a measuring device and an object in which a light signal transmitted over the measurement path undergoes a phase shift which is converted into a frequency change in an oscillating circuit.

In known methods and apparatus for distance measurement, the said phase change between the transmitted and received signal is exploited to calculate the distance to be detected. For this purpose, the absolute value of the phase shift which has occurred must be determined and this is generally only possible with a comparatively high degree of complexity and cost, and is thus deleterious to the economy of the known methods and apparatus.

Method and apparatus for distance measurement


In a television equipped with an image control apparatus, when a signal reception condition is deteriorated, a poor image is not displayed on the television screen by reproducing saved image data. The image control apparatus is arranged by a receiver for receiving a signal including image data, a detecting device for detecting disturbance of the; signal received by the receiver, a memory for saving the image data included in the signal received by the receiver, and a display controller for controlling display of the image data on a display unit. That image data saved in the memory is read out on the detecting device detecting the disturbance of the signal and is displayed, while the disturbance of the signal is continued.

In such a case that an image of a television broadcasting signal received by a tuner is displayed on a display unit separately provided from this tuner, and also this tuner cannot be connected to the display unit, image signals are transmitted from the tuner to the display unit by utilizing electromagnetic waves and infrared rays. In such a case, when an interference object passes through a space between a transmitting position (tuner) and a receiving position (display unit), or interference electromagnetic waves are produced near the tuner and display unit, the following phenomenon will occur. That is, the infrared-ray or electromagnetic wave reception conditions would be deteriorated. In particular, when a signal is received by a moving object while the moving object is traveling through towns and mountainous areas, since signal reception conditions are varied in accordance with the peripheral environments, such a poor reception condition would occur.
Conventionally, even when the signal reception conditions are deteriorated, the demodulating process operation is carried out in a similar manner executed under better signal reception conditions. Thus, the demodulated voice (audio) and pictures are directly outputted.
However, when the signal reception conditions are deteriorated, if the demodulated signal is directly outputted, then the voice and pictures are disturbed. If the voice is disturbed within a certain allowable range, then this disturbed voice does not give such a strong unpleasant feeling. To the contrary, since the picture disturbance is easily sensible, there is such a problem that if the deteriorated signal reception conditions cause even a small amount of a poor picture to be displayed, then this poor picture may give unpleasant feelings to users.

Image control method and image control apparatus capable of compensating for disturbed TV image


Methods of scanning an object using a pendulum gravimeter are disclosed. The pendulum gravimeter may include an interferometer, such as a Sagnac interferometer, to determine a displacement on the pendulum by way of a mirror attached to the pendulum. Scanning of the object may be performed in 1D, 2D, or 3D, and may result in an image of the object. In another aspect, a mass may be tracked while in motion using a pendulum gravimeter to detect the gravitational attraction of the object.

There is great interest in measuring gravitational fields nearly perpendicular to the Earth's gravitational field. A sensitive gravimetric camera could "see" a person walking around through hundreds of meters of concrete or monitor shipping crates for hazardous materials. Currently, precision gravimetry tends to have relatively low resolution and is used primarily for large scale structures. Gravimetry is used extensively in mapping the earth's local gravity, oil and gas exploration, mining, mapping temporal geological shifts, the determination of Newton's gravitational constant and gravitationally imaging opaque systems. Precision of the order of 1 mGal (1 Gal=1 cm/s2) to 1 μGal are often used for mapping geological variations. Both relative and absolute measurements are employed. A standard in the industry for absolute gravimetry is measuring interference fringes due to the free-fall of a corner cube in one arm of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a sensitivity of 100 μGal/Hz1/2. Another competing gravimetric technology employs atomic interferometry achieving a resolution of 100 nGal after two days of integration. At the forefront, superconducting spheres suspended in the field of a superconducting coil have achieved 3 nGal resolution after one month integration or 1 nGal after one year. The current standard has been set by Kasevich's group (Stanford), which has achieved 1 nGal per shot (2 seconds) in their recently built 10 m atomic fountain and is working on a squeezed atom implementation with the potential for 20 dB improvement per shot.

Method for scanning an object using a gravimeter


A method and apparatus for wireless communications are provided. A first cell on which a user equipment (UE) is camped may be identified as a visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN) of the UE. Information of a second cell among neighboring cells of the first cell may be received via a broadcast message from the first cell. The second cell may be part of a home PLMN (HPLMN) and the HPLMN may not be an equivalent PLMN (EPLMN) to the VPLMN associated with the first cell. Alternatively, the second cell may belong to an Equivalent HPLMN (EPLMN). When the second cell is determined to be a best cell according to absolute priority reselection rules or a highest ranked cell among the neighboring cells of the first cell, the second cell may not be barred for a period of time from being considered or identified as a candidate for reselection.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to handling cell reselection to intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-radio access technology (inter-RAT) cells of home public land mobile network (PLMN).
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. One example of such a network is the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is the radio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the UMTS, a third generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The UMTS, which is the successor to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies, currently supports various air interface standards, such as Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA). The UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communications protocols, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which provides higher data transfer speeds and capacity to associated UMTS networks.
As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, research and development continue to advance the UMTS technologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications.

Handling cell reselection to intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-rat cells of home PLMN


A branch target buffer comprises a partitioned cache memory having for each partition a CAM array holding the least significant bits of a fetch address, a RAM holding the least significant bits of a target address, and comparators for comparing the most significant bits of the fetch and target addresses to control entry of a branch instruction into the buffer.

To run a computer program, a computer repetitively carries out a sequence of functions, typically fetching an instruction held at a given address, decoding the instruction, accessing an operand for use by the instruction, executing the instruction, storing the result of the execution and determining the next instruction address. A problem will occur where an instruction contains a test whose result determines the address of the next instruction to be executed. An instruction of this type is known as a conditional jump.
The consequence of the presence of a conditional jump instruction is that the instruction typically has to pass through several pipeline stages before the test is resolved, and before the next instruction to be fetched can be determined with certainty. This can delay the pipeline process.
A program sequence may also include non-conditional jump instructions. Such instructions, if executed, result in the program sequence jumping to a new instruction.
For the purposes of the present description and claims, the term "branch instruction" will be used to include both conditional and non-conditional jump instructions.
In this specification the term instruction includes primitive operations which may be included in a VLIW system using Very Long Instruction Words. An instruction word or sequence may therefore comprise a VLIW instruction.

Apparatus and method for accessing a branch target buffer


The invention relates to a method for pinpointing an interruption in a link for transmitting digital signals between a first station and a second station on the basis of the times of occurrence of signal changes on the link. In accordance with the invention, the method is characterised by generating signal changes after the link has been restored. Preferably, the time of restoration is determined on the basis of data signals received, and a detection signal is fed to the link after the determination of the time of restoration. On the basis of the difference in time of observing restoration and of receiving a detection signal, the location of the interruption is determined. For this purpose, the length of the link need not be known.

The invention relates to a method for pinpointing temporary interruptions in links, such as communication links, for transmitting digital signals, a device for implementing the method, and a system and communications network in which the method is used.
More in particular, the invention relates to a method for pinpointing a temporary interruption in a link between a first station and a second station on either side of the link, based on the points in time at which signal changes on the link reach the stations. In particular, the distance of said stations to the point where the interruption has occurred is determined in this manner. Below, the term "interruption", as used in this disclosur, designates the cause of the signal changes, even if no complete interruption is involved here--i.e., no complete loss of a signal transmitted over the link--or if the interruption is only momentary.
Many of the (temporary) interruptions in communication links arise during maintenance or management activities. There may be thought of, e.g., a temporary rerouting of a link, or of a (momentary) withdrawal of a printed-circuit board in an amplifier station. For attributing the responsibility for the failure caused in the information traffic by the interruption, it is of importance to determine where the interruption took place.
Admittedly, in the Japanese patent application JP-A-4-37321 [ref. 1] there is disclosed a method to determine the location of an interruption on the basis of the propagation delay of signal changes. In the event of said known method, however, a signal change specifically consists of the (substantial) loss of a carrier wave or information signal on the link, and said loss will generally be the direct result of an interruption, or at any rate a failure, in the link. The method is based on determining the difference in the time of occurrence of a change in the analogue signal value, determined on either side of the link. Use is made of the fact that on the analogue transmission path in question there is a signal which in the event of an interruption occurring in said transmission path is completely or substantially lost. The point in time of such loss of a signal cannot be determined exactly with simple means, although such should in fact be done on either side of the link in order to be capable of determining the difference with sufficient exactness. When digital signals are transmitted by way of the transmission path, special provisions should be installed to derive a signal from the digital signals which, in the event of an interruption in the link, undergoes such a characteristic change as in the known method. In addition, in the event of the known irethod, measured values, namely, times of occurrence of changes in the signal value between stations on either side of the link, must be exchanged and compared to one another. This is possible only by way of another link between the stations existing at that moment, or after restoration of the link on the basis of relatively inaccurate measured values determined earlier. Moreover, for determining the location of the interruption, the overall length of the link, designated by L in JP-A-4-37321, must be known.


Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for charging toll fees. One of the computer-implemented methods includes obtaining information of a vehicle traveling on a road, where the vehicle is associated with a user account on a payment platform. In response to determining that a distance the vehicle is driven on the road reaches a predetermined distance, initiating a toll fee charging request for the vehicle to the payment platform to charge a toll fee corresponding to the predetermined distance.

Vehicle tolls of road users are charged for reclaiming costs of road construction and maintenance, so as to implement sustainable road maintenance. Specifically, a user can pay a corresponding amount of assets to a road owner based on a driving distance of a vehicle on a road. Therefore, the driving distance of the vehicle needs to be calculated in a certain method, so that the user is charged a corresponding toll.

Non-stop charging methods, apparatuses, and electronic devices


A part made of composite material includes fiber reinforcement including silicon carbide fibers presenting an oxygen content less than or equal to 1 % in atomic percentage; and a matrix present in the pores of the fiber reinforcement and including at least one sintered silicate phase including at least one rare earth silicate, mullite, or a mixture of mullite and of at least one rare earth silicate, the matrix including at least a first phase including mullite and a second phase, different from the first phase, including at least one rare earth silicate.

The invention relates to a part made of composite material that is usable at a temperature that is high, higher than or equal to 1300° C., e.g. in the range 1300° C. to 1450° C. The invention also relates to a method of fabricating such a part, and to a method of using it.
Various materials have been proposed in the state of the art for making turbine engine parts.
In particular, it is known to make use of ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials that comprise fiber reinforcement made of silicon carbide fibers together with a matrix based on silicon carbide that is formed by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). Such materials present very good characteristics concerning lifetime at temperatures of the order of 1300° C. or 1400° C., but they present a production cost that is relatively high because of using the CVI method. Other solutions have been developed in order to reduce the costs of producing parts made of CMC.
In this context, proposals have been made to form a composite material part comprising fiber reinforcement based on silicon carbide coated in an interphase coating and also a matrix formed by non-reactive or reactive melt infiltration (MI or RMI). Nevertheless, such a material may be limited to being used at temperatures lower than 1300° C. because of the presence of residual silicon in the matrix. Materials have also been proposed having oxide fiber reinforcement with an oxide matrix. Such materials present a production cost that is relatively low, but they are also limited in terms of utilization temperature.
It would therefore be desirable to provide materials that are compatible with utilization at a temperature higher than or equal to 1300° C., or even 1450° C., and that can be fabricated by a method of relatively low cost.
The present invention seeks to satisfy that need.


An improved method for manufacturing a solenoid. The method includes the step of providing a single piece ferromagnetic housing. The method also includes the step of forming a groove around the perimeter of the housing. The method further includes the step of filling the groove with a non-ferromagnetic material such that the non-ferromagnetic material forms an annular ferromagnetic piece that spans the entire groove in the housing. Finally, the method includes the step of removing an inside portion of the housing such that two separate ferromagnetic pieces are formed joined by the non-ferromagnetic piece.

Proportional solenoids are well known in the art and provide a force versus stroke curve that allows the output force of the solenoid to be proportional to the electrical current applied to the coil and that is independent of armature position over the working range of the stroke. This proportionality of the output force permits such a solenoid to either fully or partially operate a load by selectively applying either full or partial electrical current to the solenoid coil, thereby delivering a selective output force.
A typical solenoid includes a removable coil unit, an armature assembly, and an armature housing. The armature assembly includes an armature and a push pin that are reciprocally mounted within the armature housing. The armature housing includes a stator and a tube section in which the armature reciprocates. When electrical current is applied to the coil unit, the armature assembly moves longitudinally within the armature housing in response to a magnetic flux path established by the solenoid coil. The output force generated by the solenoid is dependent upon the amount of electrical current applied to the solenoid coil. A variety of concerns relate to the manufacture of solenoids. One concern relates to manufacturing a durable solenoid at a competitive price. Another concern relates to manufacturing a solenoid having a minimum number of parts. A further concern relates to minimizing run-out within a given solenoid. Still a further concern relates to manufacturing a solenoid that is easy to assemble and repair. An additional concern relates to providing a reliable solenoid at a reduced cost. A further concern relates to overcoming dilution and diffusion problems associated with heating an armature housing during the manufacturing process. Moreover, a further concern relates to providing a simplified solenoid manufacturing process that yields a solenoid capable of withstanding the extreme conditions presented by construction vehicles.


A rotary actuator for a shift-by-wire system of a vehicle includes a motor with a motor shaft, an output shaft disposed in parallel with the motor shaft, a speed-reducing mechanism configured to reduce a rotational speed of the motor and transmit the rotation of the motor to the output shaft, and a case housing the motor and the speed-reducing mechanism. The speed-reducing mechanism includes a first speed-reducing portion including a ring gear and a sun gear, and a second speed reducing portion including a drive gear and a driven gear. The drive gear and the driven gear are coaxially disposed with the motor shaft and the output shaft, respectively, to serve as parallel shafts type gears. The drive gear is disposed between the motor and the first speed-reducing portion in an axial direction of the motor.

A rotary actuator is utilized as a driving unit of a shift-by-wire system for a vehicle. An actuator has two shafts that is a motor shaft of a motor and an output shaft located in parallel with the motor shaft. A speed-reducing mechanism is disposed in a driving force transmitting path extending between the motor and the output shaft. The speed-reducing mechanism includes a first speed-reducing portion formed of a sun gear and a ring gear, and a second-speed reducing portion formed of a drive gear and a driven gear that is connected to the output shaft. The drive gear and the driven gear serve as parallel shafts type gears. A rotational speed of the motor is reduced by the first speed-reducing portion and further reduced by the second reducing portion, and the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the output shaft through the driven gear.


The present invention provides an amplifying apparatus including, two amplifiers for receiving input signals in common and for outputting their respective amplified signals, a combiner for combining the output signals of the two amplifiers and for outputting a combined signal, the amplifying apparatus which inhibit the distortion component in the output of amplifiers in the transition state. This amplifying apparatus comprises, a predistortion unit for determining a distortion compensation component based on the output of the combiner and for predistorting the input based on the determined distortion compensation component, and a gain control unit for attenuating the inputs to set lower than in the steady state by reducing the gain in the transition from two amplifier operation to one amplifier operation, or in the transition from one amplifier operation to two amplifier operation, or at the time of removal or attachment the amplifiers.

Against a backdrop of the proliferation of mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones and increased demand for high-speed data services, it presents a significant challenge to boost the transmission output of base stations and improve the reliability thereof.
To boost the transmission output while at the same time improving the reliability of the base stations, a configuration including two transmission amplifiers is contemplated. One of the reasons is that combining signals amplified by the two amplifiers offers a substantially twice amount of transmission output as compared with a single amplifier. The other reason is that, even in the event of a fault of one amplifier, the other amplifier enables to continue signal transmission although the transmission output is halved, thus ensuring improved reliability.
With such amplifiers, on the other hand, amplification is conducted also in the nonlinear region of the amplification characteristic to obtain the output with high efficiency. Amplification in the nonlinear region of the amplification characteristic, however, results in a nonlinear distortion (distortion component) in the output signal of the amplifier. For this reason, a distortion compensating device is generally provided in the amplifiers to compensate for the nonlinear distortion.
Among such distortion compensating devices is a digital predistorter. The digital predistorter is designed to prepare a characteristic component (distortion compensation component, predictive distortion value) opposite to the distortion characteristic of the amplifier at the input side of the amplifier through digital processing and add this component to the input signal of the amplifier through digital processing. This cancels out the distortion component occurring in the amplifier, thus providing a distortion-free output signal from the amplifier.
Since the amplification characteristic varies from one amplifier to another, the distortion compensation component of the digital predistorter also varies from one amplifier to another. To obtain an appropriate distortion compensation component responsive to the amplification characteristic of the amplifier used, therefore, the amplifier must be operated for more than a given time, thus allowing the predistorter to find the distortion compensation component responsive to the amplification characteristic of the amplifier. For this reason, it takes a given time before the appropriate distortion compensation component is found and the distortion component in the amplifier's output signal is canceled out by the distortion compensation component.
In the configuration described at the beginning in which two amplifiers are provided, a condition occurs equivalent to that in which the amplification characteristic of the amplifiers changes because of a transition from the state where both of the amplifiers operate to the state where, as a result of a fault of one of the amplifiers, only one of the amplifiers operates. In this case, it requires a given time again before the distortion compensation component of the predistorter is changed into a value appropriate for the amplification characteristic of a single amplifier.
During the period of such a transient state, a signal containing a distortion component will continue to be output from the amplifier. This distortion component likely leads to failures including noise in the adjacent channels.


An ExpressCard adapter able to accept a PCI-E-type or a USB-type ExpressCard in a single ExpressCard slot includes the ExpressCard slot, a PCI-E port, a data conversion unit, a switch unit, and a detection unit. The data conversion unit is connected to the PCI-E port, and converts between USB data and PCI-E data. The switch unit connects the ExpressCard slot to the PCI-E port or to the data conversion unit. The detection unit detects the type of ExpressCard which is inserted and controls the switch unit to connect the ExpressCard slot either to the PCI-E port or to the data conversion unit as required.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to adapters, particularly, to an ExpressCard and an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Many electronic devices, such as computers, have a number of different peripheral component interconnect (PCI) slots, such as a PCI slot and a PCI-E (PCI Express) slot. ExpressCards based on the PCI are used because of they have quicker speed and smaller size. Usually, ExpressCards include two types, one type of the ExpressCard includes PCI-E port, and another type of ExpressCard includes (universal serial bus) USB port. When an electronic device includes different types of ExpressCards, ExpressCards including the PCI-E port need to be connected to the PCI slot of an electronic device, and the ExpressCards including the USB port need to be connected to the USB port of the electronic device. Thus different data lines for the electronic device need to be installed. Using different types of data lines is not convenient for the user.
An ExpressCard and an electronic device to overcome the described limitations are thus needed.

Expresscard adapter and electronic device

ShenZhen Goldsun Network Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.


A surgical fastening device, such as a suture, staple, clip, pin or the like, is rendered therapeutically radioactive in order to inhibit cellular proliferation at a wound or surgical repair site, by implantation of a radioisotope into the material of the device. The device can be made of any material, including metals, nonmetals, plastics and ceramics.

Through long evolution, the human body has developed very sophisticated, complex and effective defense mechanisms against injury and disease. Nevertheless, sometimes these mechanisms can result in undesirable consequences, as, for example, when histamines are liberated in response to an allergen, or when transplanted organs are rejected by the immune system.
Perhaps the most common defense mechanism is the replacement of tissue when cells are destroyed by injury or disease. This mechanism can also engender phenomena which are, in effect, counter-productive. Whereas the normal acute inflammatory reaction in response to cellular injury is essential to survival in traumatic situations, that same mechanism can lead to an excessive response which exceeds its intent. Examples of these excessive responses include keloids of the skin, adhesions of organs to surrounding tissues following injury or surgery, stricture formation in hollow conduits such as ureters, fallopian tubes, and bile ducts, and contractures surrounding implantable medical devices.
The trauma induced by the well-known procedures of angioplasty or stenting for treatment of flow restrictions in the cardiovascular system can result in failure of the procedure by restenosis, or blockage, of the vessel soon afterwards. Vascular grafts used to relieve blood flow restrictions, to treat aneurysms, or to provide access for conduits needed for dialysis also can become blocked by intimal hyperplasia, or cellular proliferation, after insertion of the graft into the body. Even surgery on the skin can result in the undesirable phenomenon of scar tissue formation which, while seldom life-threatening, can result in disfigurement. All of these phenomena are manifested by a proliferation of cells, typically smooth muscle cells and/or fibroblasts, to an extent which exceeds the requirement for successful healing of the injury.
It has been discovered that ionizing radiation can address and temper the crucial final mechanism of restenosis. Radiation inhibits cell proliferation by preventing replication and migration of cells and by inducing programmed cell death (apoptosis).
Cells are variably susceptible to radiation, dependent on the types of cells and their proliferative status. Rapidly proliferating cells are generally more radiation-sensitive, whereas quiescent cells are more radiation-tolerant. High doses of radiation can kill all functions of even quiescent cells, whereas lower levels can merely lead to division delays. However, the desirable effect of reproductive death still obtains. In this case, the cell remains structurally intact but has lost its ability to proliferate, or divide indefinitely. It appears that low level radiation produces this desirable effect without causing tissue destruction or wasting (atrophy). In addition, the choice of isotopes allows for the local application of predictable doses of radiation with known depths of penetration and times of application, which are the factors that govern the biological effects of radiation.
Radiation treatment (usually known as "brachytherapy" when used for cancer treatment) is well-established for the treatment of cancer, a malignant form of cellular proliferation. Radiation treatment is also generally considered by the medical community to be effective in controlling the healing response. In particular, there appears to be general agreement among the interventional cardiology community that focused interluminal radiation can significantly reduce the restenosis problem.
Abbass et al., in their pioneering work, showed the effect of external radiation in retarding cell proliferation following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). To avoid the complexities involved in the use of external radiation sources, several groups have investigated the brachytherapy approach by using an internal source of radiation. In particular, Fischell et al. have shown that the use of low-intensity (on the order of 10 microcuries, which is less radiation than the amount of radiation involved with angiography), low-energy beta emitters (average energy of 0.69 MeV) and short-lived (14.3 day half life).sup.32 p in animal studies have significantly reduced neointimal regrowth. Similarly, the effectiveness of brachytherapy in connection with the interoperative use of a radioactive coronary guidewire to retard intimal hyperplasia is known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,227 to Mawad discloses the use of a radioactive wire intended for use in the delivery of a dose of radiation to a lesion or other body tissue. The wire includes an inner radioactive core surrounded by an outer buffer layer of platinum or other high atomic number metal to attenuate the radiation. The wire is made radioactive by incubation in a nuclear accelerator for a specified period of time prior to its implantation into the body.
Attention is currently being directed to the practical aspects of the use of brachytherapy. These aspects are, of course, particularly significant when radioactivity is involved. A portion of the patient may be exposed to radiation either before or during an operative procedure. Alternatively, the radioactivity may be incorporated into an implanted device. In the first case, higher intensities of radiation are needed, which pose safety and handling problems. In the second case, the implanted devices are typically quite expensive. If radioactivity is added to the device, it is only effective during a relatively short period during which the radioactivity is provided at a useful (therapeutic) level. The device is not useful if the radioactivity has decayed to a level which is below the therapeutic minimum dosage level. Depending on the radioisotope used, the decay time may be in hours, days or weeks.
Currently, despite the rapidly increasing interest in the use of low-level radioactivity for the inhibition of cellular proliferation, there is no commercial source of radionuclide ion implantation for medical devices anywhere in the world. The rapidity with which this need is developing is evidenced from numerous publications, well-attended conferences and clinical studies now under way. Despite the obvious potential improvement in medical economics and patient outcomes represented by these applications, their approaching commercialization will impose a manufacturing requirement that is as yet unfulfilled in any practical manner.
Although there still remain proponents of the use of external radiation beams for this purpose, most prospective users and suppliers involved with intervascular radiotherapy would prefer to use only the minimum level of radioactivity necessary for effectiveness. This requires that the radioisotope be as localized as possible, preferably incorporated into a surgical fastening device (such as a suture, staple, clip, pin, plate, graft, or patch, etc.) which closely approximates the site to be treated.
It is known to use a surgical suture in combination with a radiation source in order to apply a therapeutic dose of radiation to a specific treatment site for cancer treatment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,889 to Hames discloses a nonabsorbable tubular woven suture material which acts as a carrier vehicle for discrete radioactive seeds, which are spaced apart from one another along a length of the suture. The radioactive seeds are maintained in place at the treatment site with the suture until the desired radiation dose is delivered, after which the suture is withdrawn. U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,506 to Windorski et al. discloses an absorbable suture material which contains and acts as a carrier vehicle for radioactive seeds for cancer treatment.
A disadvantage of these prior art sutures is that, because they are merely carrier vehicles for radioactive seeds, the seeds must be specifically placed and distributed in a desired spacing along the sutures. This requires substantial labor in the manufacture of the suture. In addition, the radiation dose is nonuniformly distributed to the treatment region as a result of the spacing between radioactive seeds in the suture. Other problems include the relatively large diameter required for a suture which must contain the radioactive seeds within an inner lumen. The possibility exists that the radioactive seeds within the inner lumen will become dislodged, resulting in the migration and leaching of radioactivity into tissues remote from the treatment site.
The provision of other types of surgical fastening devices, including staples, clips, pins, plates and patches, in combination with a source of radiation would be an advancement in the art.
The incorporation of a source of radiation into a polymeric carrier is also known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,939 to Dake et al. discloses an elongated catheter or carrier which houses a radiation source, which can be placed onto or into the carrier or manufactured into the material of the carrier. Integration of a radioisotope into the material of a metallic stent is also known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,059,166 and 5,176,617 to Fischell et al., which disclose the integration of a radioisotope into the stent material by alloying or coating processes. It is further known to employ ion implantation methods to integrate metal atoms into nonmetallic substrates. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,664 to Bricault, Jr. et al., which discloses the use of ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) techniques to incorporate an antimicrobial metal, such as silver, into the surface of a polymeric catheter.
However, the use of ion implantation methods to incorporate a radioisotope into various metallic and nonmetallic surgical fastening devices has been heretofore unknown.

Radioactive surgical fastening devices and methods of making same


The present invention provides a resin composition having an oxygen scavenging function. The resin composition comprises 70 to 99.9 wt % of a polyvinyl alcohol resin (A) and 0.1 to 30 wt % of a thermoplastic resin (B) other than the polyvinyl alcohol resin (A), wherein the thermoplastic resin (B) has a carbon-carbon double bond and a functional group including a hetero atom, and an oxygen absorption rate of the resin composition is 0.001 ml/m2·day or more.

Ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (hereinafter also abbreviated as EVOH) can be melt-molded, and has excellent gas barrier properties against oxygen or carbon dioxide gas. For this reason, a multilayered structure including a layer made of EVOH and a layer made of a thermoplastic resin having excellent moisture-resistance, mechanical properties or the like (e.g., thermoplastic polyester; hereinafter thermoplastic polyester may be abbreviated as PES) is utilized for various molded products (e.g., films, sheets, bottles, containers, etc.) that require gas barrier properties. For example, such multilayered structures are used in various fields as a multilayered container, in particular, in the form of bags, bottles, cups, pouches, etc. For example, they are widely used in such fields as foods, cosmetics, medicines, toiletries and the like.
Such a multilayered container has good barrier properties against oxygen, carbon dioxide gas, and the like. However, its permeability of gases such as oxygen is not exactly zero, unlike metals used for cans, etc. and glass used for bottles, etc. but still permits transmission of gas in an amount that cannot be neglected. In particular, for containers of foods, the degradation of food contents due to oxidation when the food is preserved for a long time is of great concern. Therefore, improvement of the oxygen barrier properties is strongly desired.
Furthermore, when filling the contents into a container, oxygen may be mixed in the container together with the contents. When the contents are susceptible to oxidization, even a trace amount of oxygen may degrade the quality of the contents. In order to prevent this, providing a material of the container with an oxygen scavenging function has been proposed. In this case, oxygen that might enter the container from the outside can be scavenged, so that the gas barrier properties of a packaging material also can be improved.
For example, as the method of providing the oxygen scavenging function to the EVOH that constitutes a packaging material, the following methods are known: (1) An oxidation catalyst such as a transition metal is added to the EVOH to make the EVOH susceptible to oxidation, thereby providing the EVOH with the oxygen scavenging function (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Tokkai) No.4-211444); (2) A resin composition mainly comprising polyolefin and an oxidation catalyst, that is, polyolefin in a state susceptible to oxidation, is dispersed in the EVOH, thereby providing the EVOH with the oxygen scavenging function (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Tokkai) No.5-156095); and (3) EVOH, polyolefin, and an oxidation catalyst are blended to make the EVOH and polyolefin susceptible to oxidation, thereby providing the oxygen scavenging function (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Tokkai) No.5-170980). However, method (1) fails to provide sufficiently improved oxygen barrier properties. Methods (2) and (3) have the disadvantage that the transparency is impaired significantly.
Furthermore, in multilayered containers, especially when no adhesive resin layer is provided between the layers and the container filled with a drink or food is subjected to an impact caused by, for example, being dropped, delamination between the thermoplastic resin layer (e.g., PES layer) and the EVOH layer is likely to occur, which causes a large problem in the appearance.

Polyvinyl alcohol resin composition and multilayer packages