Composite optical waveguide structures or mode transformers and their methods of fabrication and integration are disclosed, wherein the structures or mode transformers are capable of bi-directional light beam transformation between a small mode size waveguide and a large mode size waveguide. One aspect of the present invention is directed to an optical mode transformer comprising a waveguide core having a high refractive index contrast between the waveguide core and the cladding, the optical mode transformer being configured such that the waveguide core has a taper wherein a thickness of the waveguide core tapers down to a critical thickness value, the critical thickness value being defined as a thickness value below which a significant portion of the energy of a light beam penetrates into the cladding layers surrounding the taper structure thereby enlarging the small mode size. This primary tapered core structure may be present in either a vertical or horizontal direction and may be combined with further up taper or down taper structures in the directions transverse to the primary taper direction. Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a non-cylindrical graduated refractive index (GRID) lens structure. The non-cylindrical GRIN structure has a graded refractive index having a maximum value at its core and a minimum value at its outer edges. The grading of the refractive index is provided in a either the vertical or horizontal directions and may have either a fixed refractive index or a graded refractive index in the transverse directions. Yet another aspect of the present invention is directed to composite optical mode transformers that are combinations of the taper waveguide structures and the non-cylindrical graduated refractive index structures. Yet another aspect of the present invention is the further integration of the mode transformers with V-grooves for multiple input/output fibers and alignment platform for multiple input/output photonic chips or devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to optical structures that enable optical beam transformation between a large-mode-size waveguide and a small-mode-size waveguide, and methods of making the same. In particular, the present invention relates to methods for transforming the optical mode between a photonic device and one or more optical fibers. The present invention also relates, in particular, to the integrated fabrication of such structures on a module platform or the photonic device, their connections with one or more input/output optical fibers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The current strong demand for bandwidth over the Internet has resulted in great demand for photonic device components in optical communications and data or information processing. These device components include fiber optics, non-linear crystal optics, and integrated optics in such material systems as dielectrics, polymers, optical crystals, and semiconductors (also called electro-optic or optoelectronic systems).
Optical-crystal and dielectric-material-based discrete optical components such as LiNbO3-based-modulators, glass ion-exchange-based optical power splitters and flame-hydrolysis-deposited silica-on-silicon multiplexers/demultiplexers, can play certain roles, but their sizes are generally large and their functions are limited. Hence, in the long run, it is very unlikely that they can compete with waveguide based photonic devices such as Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), which can be made very small and also multifunctional with high packing density similar to today's large scale integration of microelectronic circuits.
Waveguides are used for inputting and out putting light energy for such photonic devices to optical fibers. The input/output waveguides in a photonic device are typically made up of dielectric or semiconductor materials. A photonic device may contain one or more such input/output waveguides. Unless otherwise specified, such input/output optical waveguides will be referred to as device waveguides below.
In spite of the promise of waveguide based photonic devices, in general, and photonic integrated circuits, in particular, however, several challenges remain. One challenge is at the optical interface. Light must be efficiently coupled, with high precision and stability, between drastically dissimilar components and materials, in a cost effective, manufacturable way. There are several issues that need to be addressed with respect to this challenge, including the following:                (1) The drastically different spot or mode profile in terms of size and symmetry between a fiber and a photonic device waveguide.        (2) The difficulty in the alignment of a fiber and a photonic device waveguide, as well as of any other intermediate component such as a ball lens.        (3) The difficulty of coupling multiple fibers to a photonic device with multiple device waveguides efficiently in a cost effective way.
Prior-art efforts addressing each of these challenges are summarized below.
(1) Prior Art in Dealing with the Mode-Size Conversion Issue
With regard to mode-size conversion, in order to ensure single-mode operation (as required for high-speed, large-capacity optical signal manipulation), the dimension of a device waveguide is typically one order of magnitude less than that of a silica fiber waveguide. The result is a substantial mode-field mismatch between these two waveguides. As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and (b), for optimal performance, the mode profile of a single-mode optical fiber 110 is circular, and its size is generally about 5 to 10 μm in diameter, whereas the mode profile of a photonic device waveguide 120 is elliptical and its dimension is typically less than 1 to 3 μm—as small as 0.2 μm for high-density photonic integrated circuits.
Various methods are currently used for transforming the optical modes between an optical fiber and a device waveguide. These methods are broadly summarized below.
Method 1—Butt-Coupling Method
The simplest coupling arrangement is a direct butt-joining between a fiber and a semiconductor laser (or other semiconductor waveguide) as shown in FIG. 2. Since light is only required to couple in one direction—i.e., from the laser 210 to the fiber 220—one can adjust the gap distance 230 to allow the divergent cone of light 240 to expand and roughly match the size of a fiber core 250. One problem with this approach is the relatively low coupling efficiency caused by the large divergence angle and the fact that a fiber can only capture and guide a narrower cone of light within a small capturing angle. As a result, the typical coupling efficiency for a direct butt-joining is less than 5–30% depending on the size of the device waveguide. In spite of the low coupling efficiency, this technique is being explored by NEC of Japan (among others) for low-cost mass packaging of transceivers because this technique requires the fewest of components, which minimizes component cost. (Kenji Yamauchi et al., "Automated mass production line for optical module using passive alignment technique," 50th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, May 21–24, 2000, Las Vegas, Nev., USA).
Method 2—Lensed Fiber or Microlens Method
A method improved over the direct butt-joining technique is to make the fiber end into a lens 310 (lensed fiber) as shown in FIG. 3 so that more light can be captured by the fiber. (Kazuhiko Kurata, "Mass production techniques for optical modules," 48th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, May 27–28, 1998, Seattle, Wash., USA). Another improved method uses a separate lens 410 placed in the gap 420 as shown in FIG. 4. Various lenses have been used, including glass ball lenses and GRIN (graded refractive index) rod lenses, as well as aspheric injection molded plastic lenses. (Keith Anderson, "Design and manufacturability issues of a co-packaged DFB/MZ module," 49th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, Jun. 2–4, 1999, San Diego, Calif., USA). With these lenses, the coupling efficiency is increased to 50% to 70% for device waveguide mode about 2 μm in size.
Method 3—Cylindrical Lenses Method
Besides geometric discontinuities between a device waveguide and an optical fiber, the imperfect coupling efficiency results also in part from the elliptical shape of the light cone emerging from a typical device waveguide such as that from a Fabry-Perot cavity semiconductor laser, which causes a non-perfect match with the circular mode pattern of the fiber. A method to correct for such elliptical or astigmatic beam shape is shown in FIG. 5, which illustrates the use of a combination of two perpendicular cylindrical lenses 510 and 520 of different focusing powers along the vertical lens (510) and lateral lens (520) directions, which can circularize the elliptical beam and theoretically increase the coupling efficiency to about 85% for a typical semiconductor laser with a mode size of about 1 μm (vertical) by 3 μm (horizontal). (Sun-Yuan Huang et al., "High coupling optical design for laser diodes with large aspect ratio," 49th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, Jun. 2–4, 1999, San Diego, Calif., USA).
Method 4—Cylindrical Lensed Fiber Method
A cylindrical lensed fiber (CLF) has also been used. (Soon Jang "Automation manufacturing systems technology for opto-electronic device packaging" 50th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, May 21–24, 2000, Las Vegas, Nev., USA). Although the coupling efficiency with the use of a CLF can be high (.about. 90%), the cost is also high because a CLF is not easy to make, and achieving high coupling efficiency also requires difficult labour-intensive alignment, as a practical matter.
Method 5—Laterally Tapered Rectangular Waveguide on Top of a Large Rectangular Waveguide Method
Another approach to mode-size conversion is to place a laterally tapered rectangular waveguide on a large mode size rectangular waveguide, where light coupling between the top and the bottom waveguide occurs as a result of the top lateral taper. This method can serve the function of mode-size conversion in both the vertical and horizontal directions, but it is not well accepted in practice due to the difficulty in integrating such a structure with a device waveguide and also the cost of manufacturing such a structure. FIG. 6 shows such a polymer based waveguide structure 610 inserted between a semiconductor laser 620 and a fiber 630. (D. J. Goodwill et al., "Polymer tapered waveguides and flip-chip solder bonding as compatible technologies for efficient OEIC coupling," 47th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), May 18–21, 1997, San Jose, Calif., USA). One difficulty in this approach is the integration of such a tapered waveguide 610 made of polymer with a laser 620 made of semiconductor material due to the large difference in their coefficients of thermal expansion and mechanical stabilities. In the case where such a structure is made of the same semiconductor material as that of the semiconductor laser, it would require the epitaxial growth of a large bottom waveguide layer and the cost will be high.
Method 6—Vertically Tapered Down Rectangular Waveguide Method
To enable easy integration, vertically tapered down semiconductor waveguide spot-size converters that squeeze the guided optical mode into the cladding have been integrated with semiconductor lasers. (Aaron E. Bond et al., "High speed packaged electroabsorption modulators for optical communications" 50th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, May 21–24, 2000, Las Vegas, Nev., USA; Y. Inaba et al., "Multiquantum-well lasers with tapered active stripe for direct coupling to single mode fiber" IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 6, pp. 722, 1997; M. Kitamura, "Method of making a tapered thickness waveguide integrated semiconductor laser," U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,674, issued Aug. 11, 1998; Jeon et al., "Laser diode device having a substantially circular light output beam and a method of forming a tapered section in a semiconductor device to provide for a reproducible mode profile of the output beam," U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,397, issued Apr. 18, 2000). Although this method can enlarge the optical mode in the vertical direction, Problems associated with such structures include the required length of the tapered down structure that will lead to additional light propagation loss and the additional expense of III–V semiconductor materials.
2) Costs of Photonic Device Module Connection with Optical Fibers [Problem #2]
While the above-mentioned methods may be employed to transfer optical energy somewhat efficiently between an optical fiber and a device waveguide of about 2 μm in size, the approaches of these methods are costly. Typically, an enclosure is used to house the device, the discrete mode-transferring element (e.g. a ball lens), and the optical fiber, thereby forming a packaged module. To align the device waveguide to the fiber and the mode transferring module, most photonic device manufacturers are still performing manual alignment under a microscope because of the very disparate nature of the components, their high price and low product volumes. Such a process is not well suited to high-volume, low-cost production.
Existing techniques for fixing a fiber (and lens) in position with respect to a rectangular semiconductor waveguide include epoxy curing, soldering, mechanical fixture, and laser welding. In order to reduce the need for manual placement/alignment and fixing in the packaging process, efforts have been focused on automating the fixing process. For example, Newport, JDS-Uniphase and NEC are developing automatic parts-handling and assembling procedures using machine vision combined with micro-stages or micro-robots to achieve sub-micron precision (Soon Jang, "Automation manufacturing systems technology for opto-electronic device packaging," 50th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, May 21–24, 2000, Las Vegas, Nev., USA; Peter Mueller and Bernd Valk, "Automated fiber attachment for 980 nm pump module," 50th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, May 21–24, 2000, Las Vegas, Nev., USA; Kazuhiko Kurata, "Mass production techniques for optical modules," 48th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, May 27–28, 1998, Seattle, Wash., USA).
At the same time, the concept of a silicon optical bench (SiOB) on which V-grooves are wet-etched to guide the mounting or placement of photonic components including fibers, lenses, and even semiconductor chips has been well accepted; SiOBs are disclosed in several U.S. patents (e.g., Murphy, "Fiber-waveguide self alignment coupler," U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,074, issued Jan. 27, 1987; Albares et al,. "Optical fiber-to-channel waveguide coupler," U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,854, issued Jun. 5, 1990; Benzoni et al., "Single in-line optical package," U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,398, issued Aug. 9, 1994; Francis et al., "Waveguide coupler," U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,092, issued Sep. 3, 1996; Harpin et al., "Assembly of an optical component and an optical waveguide," U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,190, issued Mar. 9, 1999; Roff, "Package for an optoelectronic device," U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,124, issued Aug. 10, 1999). It is very likely that high precision automation will be combined with silicon V-groove technology to produce fiber-pigtailed or fiber-connectable photonic devices. The V-groove technology, however, still needs some alignment procedure.
In spite of the above-mentioned approaches, the current packaging cost is still very high. For example, about 70 to 80% of the total cost of any fiber-pigtailed III–V optoelectronic module such as an optical transceiver is due to its packaging. Moreover, most of the prior art has been aimed at solving the semiconductor-laser-to-fiber coupling problem, which is one-directional. For future dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical communication systems, bidirectional multi-port devices like M×N switches will be in large demand, and the prior art is not able to provide an adequate solution.
(3) Difficulty of Current Methods for Multiple Fiber Connections [Problem #3]
The current methods are somewhat adequate for large photonic device with one input/output waveguide, they generally become difficult when more than one input/output and fibers are involved. This is because the yield for the alignment procedures referred to above rapidly decreases as the number of input and output fibers increases. This yield reduction can seriously limit the application of such coupling and packaging techniques to high-density photonic integrated circuits, for which tens to hundreds of input and output fibers are expected to be connected to a single photonic chip.
The main criteria needed for optical mode transferring methods and devices to achieve a cost-effective and efficient optical energy transfer between a device waveguide and one or more optical fibers can be more specifically described as follows:                (i) The methods and devices should be able to achieve mode size transformation from about 10 μm down to about 2 μm (for λ=1.55 μm) or in the reverse direction for typical waveguide devices.        (ii) The methods and devices should be able to achieve mode size transfer from about 10 μm to below 1 μm (for λ=1.55 μm) or in the reverse direction for more challenging waveguide devices such as high-density semiconductor photonic integrated circuit.        (iii) The methods and devices should be capable of achieving self-alignment between the photonic device and the optical fibers or other intermediate beam transferring elements. Self-alignment lends itself to low-cost manufacturing. It also allows cost-effective coupling between a photonic device and more than one optical fibers.        (iv) The methods and devices should have low optical reflection and absorption losses between the photonic device and the optical fibers.        (v) The methods and devices should have the flexibility of transferring the vertical and lateral mode size separately. This allows it to correct for beam astigmatism in the device waveguide mode.        (vi) The methods and devices should have high yield and low fabrication costs.
The current mode transformation methods can not adequately achieve the majority of criteria (i)–(vi). For example, the ball lens method can achieve (i) and (iv) but not (ii), (iii), (v) and (vi)
What is still needed in the field, therefore, are devices and methods for transferring the mode size between photonic device and one or more optical fibers that satisfy some or a majority of criteria (i) to (vi) above.
The present invention described herein overcomes the various difficulties encountered by the previous methods by the use of new optical structures referred to as integrated composite coupling structures (ICCS). The mode transformation device or mode transformer is referred to as an Integrated Composite Mode Transformer (ICMT). With the use of the new optical structures according to the present invention, disadvantages associated with prior methods are addressed.

Integrated planar composite coupling structures for bi-directional light beam transformation between a small mode size waveguide and a large mode size waveguide


Embodiments of the invention provide analyte sensors having elements designed to modulate their chemical reactions as well as methods for making and using such sensors. In certain embodiments of the invention, the sensor includes a hydrophilic comb-copolymer having a central chain and a plurality of side chains coupled to the central chain, wherein at least one side chain comprises a silicone moiety.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to analyte sensors such as glucose sensors used in the management of diabetes and materials for making such sensors, for example comb-copolymeric membrane materials.
2. Description of Related Art
Analyte sensors such as biosensors include devices that use biological elements to convert a chemical analyte in a matrix into a detectable signal. There are many types of biosensors used for a wide variety of analytes. The most studied type of biosensor is the amperometric glucose sensor, which is crucial to the successful glucose level control for diabetes.
A typical glucose sensor works according to the following chemical reactions:
The glucose oxidase is used to catalyze the reaction between glucose and oxygen to yield gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (equation 1). The H2O2 reacts electrochemically as shown in equation 2, and the current is measured by a potentiostat.
A key problem in the use of this type of glucose sensor in the body is that the oxygen concentration in human body is too low compared with glucose concentration. Several approaches to solve this problem have been attempted in the past. The simplest way is to make a porous membrane from a fully oxygen permeable material. However, the small amount of enzyme disposed for glucose tends to become inactivated (see, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,987, the contents of which are incorporated by reference). Another approach is to make homogenous polymer membrane with hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions leading to limited control of oxygen and glucose permeability (see, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,428,123; 5,322,063, 5,476,094, the contents of which are incorporated by reference).
A key to stable and high sensitivity enzyme biosensors is that the sensor output must be limited only by the analyte of interest, not by any co-substrates or kinetically controlled parameters such as diffusion. In order to maximize the output current of biosensor, oxygen diffusion should be as high as possible while maintaining oxygen excess at the reaction surface. Silicone has the highest permeability to oxygen of any polymeric materials, but it is useless to directly use it as a membrane for glucose sensor because it is completely impermeable to glucose. Van Antwerp et al. have successfully developed linear random polyurea membranes with silicone hydrophobic component offering high oxygen permeability and with hydrophilic component offering limited glucose permeability (see e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,777,060, 5,882,494 and 6,642,015 B2). However, only polyethylene glycol (PEG) containing hydrophilic materials were considered optimal constituents for such membranes.

Analyte sensors and methods for making and using them


A stirring blade includes an upper blade assembly and a lower blade assembly. The upper blade assembly includes a first four-edged blade and an upper blade carrier to which the first four-edged blade is fixed, and the lower blade assembly includes a second four-edged blade and a lower blade carrier to which the second four-edged blade is fixed. The upper blade carrier is connected to the lower blade carrier by a detachable connecting structure.

Existing stirring blades for food processors comprise single-layer stirring blades and double-layer stirring blades. As shown in FIG. 1, the single-layer stirring blade consists of a two-edged blade 2 and a blade carrier 1 to which the two-edged blade 2 is fixed. The single-layer stirring blade has poor effect and inefficiency in stirring, and is incapable of cutting some large pieces of food. There are two types of double-layer stirring blades. As shown in FIG. 2, one type consists of two single-layer stirring blades superimposed on each other, which are formed by two-edged blades 2 respectively fixed to an upper blade carrier 1 and a lower blade carrier 4, and cannot be disconnected. As shown in FIG. 3, another type consists of a single-layer stirring blade and a four-edged stirring blade movably combined with each other, the four-edged stirring blade consisting of a four-edged blade 1 and an upper blade carrier 2 to which the four-edged blade 1 is fixed, and the single-layer stirring blade consisting of a two-edged blade 4 and a lower blade carrier 3 to which the two-edged blade 4 is fixed. The four-edged stirring blade is able to be disassembled from the single-layer stirring blade. The double-layer stirring blade has better stirring effect compared to the single-layer stirring blade. However, some large pieces of food between the two layers of stirring blades can't be reached, thus the efficiency is relatively low and the cutting is uneven.

GUANGDONG XINBAO ELECTRIC JOINT-STOCK LTD.


A method, system and/or apparatus for remotely monitoring the operation of a radiation sensor may include a radiation sensor configured to detect a presence of radiation in the area, the radiation sensor including a Geiger-Muller tube, a test signal generator configured to generate a high frequency test signal used to test the radiation sensor, the high frequency test signal transmitted to the radiation sensor, and a test signal detector configured to detect a response of the radiation sensor to the test signal, and determine whether the radiation sensor is operating correctly.

Field
The present disclosure relates to methods, systems and/or apparatuses for providing an electronic signal for the surveillance and/or testing of Geiger-Muller tube based radiation sensors.
Description of Related Art
Government regulations of commercial nuclear power plants require the periodic surveillance of safety equipment installed at, or located within, the nuclear power plant to ensure that the safety equipment is functioning properly. The safety equipment that may need to be surveilled may include sensors for detecting radiation, such as Geiger-Muller (GM) tube-based sensors.
Existing radiation sensors that use GM tubes do not allow for indirect and/or remote operational and/or performance testing of the GM tubes. Instead, GM tube-based sensors must be inspected manually by human personnel by placing a radiation source within the vicinity of the GM tube and analyzing the response of the GM tube-based sensor to the radiation source. This testing method may be undesirable because it exposes human personnel to unnecessary radiation. Further, GM tube-based radiation sensors may be located, permanently or otherwise, in physically inaccessible, inconvenient, and/or physically dangerous to access locations, such as radioactive seam lines in nuclear power plants. In these types of situations, it may be difficult and/or inconvenient to access the radiation sensor in order to test the radiation sensor. Also, conventional testing methods may require additional personnel to complete the testing as the radiation sensor's radiation monitor (e.g., display panel) may be located at a control facility and may not be located at the location of the radiation sensor. Thus, two or more employees may be needed in order to test a single radiation sensor, thereby increasing the testing cost and reducing employee productivity. Additionally, because the surveillance of the radiation sensors is conducted manually, testing of the radiation sensors may only occur on a periodic, instead of continuous, basis. With only periodic testing of radiation sensors, there may be a lengthy delay in the time it takes to repair and/or replace a malfunctioning radiation sensor because the malfunction of the radiation sensor may not be detected immediately.

Method, system and apparatus for providing an electronic signal for the surveillance and testing of Geiger-Muller radiation sensors


A light effect system includes a light source and one or more aperture elements interposed between the light source and an exit lens of the system. The aperture element comprises at least one aperture and at least one light effect element positioned therein. This invention concerns a system where the aperture element comprises at least two “fingers” partly surrounding each light effect element in at least 180° of the circumference. These snapping “fingers” engage with the contour of the outer surface of the said light effect element in order to hold the light effect element in position in the aperture, and the said fingers are formed of a flexible material. Hereby, it is achieved that the locking and releasing of the light effect component can be done by push and pull in an ideal perpendicular direction to the light path. In other words, no angling, bending or twisting is necessary, so a minimum of space is required.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a light effect system comprising at least one light source, which light source generates a beam of light, which beam of light is passing through a lens system which light effect system comprises at least one aperture element which aperture element comprises at least one aperture, which aperture comprises at least one light effect component.
The present invention further relates to a method for interchanging light effect elements in a lighting fixture, in which lighting fixture a beam of light is generated by a light source, which beam of light is passing through a lens system where the light beam is further passing through a light effect element which light effect element is placed in an aperture.
The present invention relates to automated lighting systems for use in entertainment, promotional, and architectural applications. Particularly, the invention relates to a system in e.g. a luminaire or projector where different optical components can easily be interchanged without using tools and without taking up space in the longitudinal direction.
2. Background
As general background, a description of an exemplary projector of the art is provided below. However, as may be appreciated, projectors in accordance with the invention include various other components and configurations. A projector of the prior art usually includes a light beam that emanates from a light source and a reflector at a first end of the projector. The beam passes through color filters before reaching gobo wheel of the projector. The gobo wheel is generally a single, drivingly rotatable wheel having multiple patterns etched therein and distributed about its outer periphery. In some projectors, a motor operated iris increases or decreases beam size before the beam encounters a motor operated effects wheel, which includes appropriate inserts mounted in peripherally distributed window apertures for creating desired modifying effects on the beam, such as altering beam pattern, color or diffusion, creating a prismatic effect, and the like. Finally, the projector may pass the light beam through one or more lenses for providing a zoom effect and for adjusting beam focus and/or divergence prior to exiting the projector housing. Components like gobos, color filters and prismatic lenses are in the following described as "optical components"
Conventional projectors for stage, theater, architectural, and display illumination include means for removably inserting various types of optical beam modifiers into the path of a light beam to vary the color, intensity, size, shape, and pattern of the beam. Thus, in a typical system, a light source produces white light which is passed, for example, through at least one color filter wheel for producing a colored light beam, a gobo wheel for imposing a selected pattern on the light beam, a light intensity wheel for varying the intensity of the light transmitted there through, a mechanical iris for determining beam size, and a lens system for controlling light beam focus and divergence. U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,187 to Bornhorst discloses several such systems. For imposing a desired pattern on the light beam, it is well known to pass the beam through a gobo, which is a template or a light stencil having a predetermined pattern. Typically, gobos are formed by chemically etching the desired pattern onto stainless steel discs. The gobos discs are usually supported in the projected light beam to impose upon the light passing there through the pattern which has been etched into the discs.
It is well known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,943 to Callahan, to provide a mounting plate having a plurality of equally spaced apertures arranged around a common axis for mounting gobos within one or more of the apertures. The plate is drivingly rotatable, such as via a motor, about its axis to insert a selected gobo into the path of the beam of light.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,738 to Richardson discloses a similar arrangement including an apertured gobo mounting plate which is rotatably driven by motor driven rollers frictionally engaging the peripheral edge of the plate. The gobos are mounted on or within holders which, in turn, are fixedly positioned within the plate apertures. The mounting plate is rotatably driven to position a selected gobo within the beam of light. After reaching this position, a motor-operated holder drive mechanism acts, through frictional contact with the rim of the holder, to rotatably drive the gobo holder in either direction at various speeds. In this manner, the plate is rotatable to position a selected gobo within the beam of light, and the gobo holder is rotatable to spin the gobo holder within the beam of light.
Generally, the projectors are constructed in a compact fashion because the rotational inertia of the projector increases the speed at which the beam of light can be moved into position. Furthermore, in an optical system, there will always be a limited room for focusing. This means that the optical components like gobos, which are supposed to be projected, only have very limited room, and it is crucial to have as many optical components in this area as possible in order to have the most interesting product. This compact design leads to various disadvantages in the maintenance and upkeep of the projectors. Furthermore, the compact design of the projectors hinders the replacement of gobos in the projector.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,326 to Belliveau discloses a gobo carousel that contains a number of gobo holders. The carousel is rotatable to position a desired gobo within the light path and further includes means for rotating the holders in relation to the carousel itself. The holders are permanently attached to the carousel and include a mechanism for securely retaining and for replacing gobos from within the holders. However, due to the compact design of the light projector, such gobo carousels, as well as the gobo holders, are often mounted in close proximity to adjacent mechanical parts. Accordingly, replacing the gobos in the gobo holders can be very awkward.
This is in many aspects solved in U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,973 to Rasmussen which discloses an interchangeable gobo wheel assembly including a plurality of apertures and gobo holders containing gobos. The gobo wheel is adapted to rotate so as to place a gobo, which is retained in one of the holders, within the light path from the light source. The gobo holders of the gobo wheel are removably secured to the gobo wheel by a spring retainer that engages flange portions of a gobo holder. This system has the disadvantage that the optical element (here a gobo in a gobo holder) has to be slightly angled to be released from its position, and this open space may not be an option in compact lighting fixture designs.
Therefore, there is need for a system that enables easy exchange of optical components (e.g. gobos) in such compactly constructed projector without the need of reserving space in the longitudinal direction in the fixture.


Mechanisms for efficient transmission management are provided for multiparty, multimedia communications by constructing a logical ring structure from logical point-to-point connections between multiple nodes participating in a communication. Data and control information are unbundled in the communication by providing several different higher level protocols or applications, called "user entities," at each node and enabling uninhibited data transfer between corresponding user entities of the different nodes via virtual rings built on top of the logical ring. A mechanism preferably is provided for a user entity to selectively accept or reject a packet on the basis of the importance of the information contained in the packet.

Communication networks have been designed for campus, corporate, and metropolitan environments. These networks are realized in various topologies, for example, ring, star, and bus. Generally, the network regardless of topology consists of a plurality of nodes physically interconnected by wire, coaxial cable, or optical fiber to form the network. Since interconnections of nodes to the network are physical or "hard-wired," such networks lack the robustness of design sufficient to allow communication with nodes not physically interconnected on the network. That is, only those nodes physically connected in the network are allowed to communicate among themselves.
Each node in the network represents a network user which has the capability for running a variety of applications and a variety of terminal or communications devices. The applications and devices within a particular node are commonly referred to as user entities. In a multimedia communication environment, user entities may include graphics display devices, text input and text display devices, video devices, facsimile devices, communications handling and administration devices, and the like. When the communication protocols of the network require nodes to communicate via packets, communication for graphics for video types of user entities involve significantly more data and, therefore, more packets than text or communications handling types of user entities. As a result, it is possible and highly probable that the packet traffic destined for one type of user entity at a particular node may congest and overflow the provisioned buffering facilities at that node. In turn, this causes other packet traffic destined for the remaining user entities at the particular node to be ignored or discarded thereby adding overhead retransmission packet traffic to the network.
Existing nodes for such networks offer the capability of setting a single priority threshold on all packet transmissions destined for the node regardless of the particular user entity which will receive the packet. The priority threshold allows the node to ignore all packets whose priority fails to meet or exceed the specified priority threshold for that node. While such an approach permits "screening" of packets and thereby offers a mechanism for congestion reduction at the node, it unfairly locks all user entities into receiving only those packets having a sufficiently high priority to meet or exceed the threshold. There is no ability to permit selected user entities to receive packets whose priority is less than the threshold set in the node.


A method for visualizing a processing status of an order is disclosed, wherein the order is issued by a management information system, and executed on an execution system, and wherein status reports associated with the order are transmitted from the execution system to the management information system in Job Definition Format, and incoming status reports are stored in the management information system. In order to achieve simple handling and administration with a high degree of reliability, and simultaneously, with a high degree of flexibility with respect to changing requirements profiles, it is suggested that the processing status for each visualization is determined from the stored status reports on the fly through a parser.

The invention relates to a method for visualizing a processing status of an order, wherein the order is issued by a management information system, and executed by an executing system, and wherein order related status reports in Job Definition Format are transmitted to the management information system by the executing system, and incoming status reports are being stored in the management information system.
The Job Definition Format "JDF" (and the Job Messaging Format "JMF" as a subset of JDF) comprises generally known data formats that were developed and are being maintained by the consortium "International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress" ("CIP4-Consortium"). The development of JDF is based on the objective to standardize the communication between print shop, designer, advertising agency, customer for printed matters, and sub vendors of contractors in the framework of a networked graphic production for all production options and eventualities in a flexible manner and without restrictions.
JDF is based on the extensible markup language "XML", a meta language, which is also generally known and developed by the World Wide Web Consortium for defining document types and, according to the intentions of the CIP4-Consortium, is to serve as a standard data format for describing processes and products, not only in all production areas of a networked print shop, in particular in sales, job costing, and order processing, production planning and control in the regular production, in preproduction, print, print post processing, and shipping, in the cross sectional areas, materials and warehouse management, financial and payroll accounting, controlling, cost accounting, and quality assurance.
Through vertical integration of data, on the one hand of the production process, and on the other hand, of the accounting sectors, JDF shall facilitate a standardized documentation of the relevant target and actual data, and seamless production control. In particular, a JDF order shall only be described once in one form, which all process participants understand, also in external communications with customers and subcontractors and their executing systems in the man-machine and machine-machine communication over all language and platform boundaries.
Contrary to the philosophy of the CIP4-Consortium and the JDF concept based thereon, there are various restrictions and specific differences with reference to the information in real life operations of networked print shops, which the particular process participants need, use, or simply understand. In particular, the visualization of the processing status of an order in a management information system puts substantial requirements on the selection and structuring of the information to be displayed.
For example, the management information system should provide a specific perspective of the processing status in the sense of an ergonomic software design for each workstation, depending on its tasks (e.g. machine control, process control, quality assurance, sales and job accounting), which on the one hand, provides only the required information for these task areas, and on the other hand, all information required for these task areas. Furthermore, this perspective shall display the information in a structured manner, so that they allow an intuitive understanding of the job status and thus, short processing times, and, in particular, fast reactions, in problem situations for the respective employee, also in consideration of his level of training and knowledge.
It is the object of the invention to provide a method as described above, which combines simple handling and administration with high reliability and flexibility, with reference to changing requirements profiles.

Method for visualizing a processing status of an order


A hand-held portable data collection system having an optical control link is described. A reflective sensor detects the actuation of a trigger by sensing when a cantilevered extension member of the trigger interposes the operational range of the sensor upon actuation of the trigger. The optical control link of the present invention may be utilized to provide a data communications link between a hand-held portable data terminal and a docking apparatus. The optical control link of the present invention may be further utilized as an optical character reader to read optically readable data files such as bar codes.

The present invention relates generally to the field of hand-held portable data file readers, and more particularly to non-mechanical control mechanisms.
Hand-held portable data collection systems may typically utilize an optical data file reader having a bar code scanner or CCD reader to collect optically encoded information. A portable data collection terminal, for example, may include a laser scanner system which sweeps a laser beam lengthwise across a bar code in which information is encoded. The laser scanner system detects the varying intensity of the reflected light as the laser beam reflects off of the regions of varying light intensity of the bar code. The pattern of light intensity describes a numerical code from which the encoded information may be electronically extracted.
Typically, such scanner systems utilize a mechanical switch, such as a magnetic reed switch and magnet system, for controlling the scanner when the switch is actuated. However, such mechanical switches eventually wear out after repeated use and must be replaced. The failure of the scanning switch renders the apparatus inoperative until replaced, resulting in undesired downtime and repair costs. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a non-mechanical scanning control switch which would not wear out with increased repeated use.

Hand-held portable data collection system having optical control link


Novel styryl compounds represented by the following general formulae (1) and (2):

Organic electroluminescence (referred to as EL, hereinafter) devices are used for a planar light emitting member such as a flat panel display of wall televisions and a back light of displays and the development of EL devices has been widely conducted. As an area of such development, the development of a material used for a light emitting device which emits blue light at a high efficiency and has a long life has been conducted.
For example, a stilbene compound and a device using the stilbene compound are disclosed in EP0610514. However, the disclosed device shows a poor purity of color and has a short life although blue light is emitted at a high efficiency and cannot be practically used.
For practical application of a device as a blue color pixel of a color display, specifically, it is necessary that the y-coordinate of the chromaticity be smaller than 0.18 and the half-life be 10,000 hours or longer.

Styryl compound and organic electroluminescence device

Abstract: wherein R1 to R10 each independently represent hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxyl group, an aryl group, an aryloxyl group, a condensed polycyclic group, a heterocyclic group, amino group, an alkylamino group, an arylamino group, cyano group, nitro group, hydroxyl group or a halogen atom, adjacent groups among groups represented by R1 to R10 may be bonded to each other and form a saturated or unsaturated carbon ring, and A, B, C, D, A′, B′, C′ and D′ each independently represent a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or aryl group having a specific structure; and an organic electroluminescence device comprising a film of organic compounds comprising at least a light emitting layer, wherein at least one of the layers of the film of organic compounds comprises the novel styryl compound. The organic electroluminescence device has excellent heat resistance, a high efficiently of light emission and a long life and emits blue light of a high purity. The novel styryl compounds provide the advantageous properties to the organic electroluminescence device.


A media device, a network element and a method of enhancing use of a media device are provided. The media device is configured to receive a broadcast media stream transmitted by a broadcast system at a given frequency and a service transmission over a radio interface of a cellular telecommunication system, the transmission being associated with the media stream and comprising information about frequencies used to transmit the media stream in different locations. The media device measures signal strength of the media transmission at the frequency the transmission is received and at least at one other frequency used for transmission of the transmission, compares the measured signal strengths and switches the reception of the media transmission to another frequency if the signal strength at said frequency is greater than the signal strength at the current frequency.

Broadcasters, such as television and radio broadcasters, have taken steps forward to provide an audience with digital supplementary services, such as program information, news, weather information, competitions and other related contents, in addition to a traditional media stream. The digital supplementary services are usually delivered to the audience over the Internet using the audience's personal computers or other media devices capable of connecting to the Internet.
The audience is provided with more mobility by media devices of cellular telecommunication systems, which media devices are equipped with a receiver, such as an FM radio, for receiving media streams broadcast by broadcasters. Broadcasters typically provide Internet services, which can be accessed by media devices, such as one equipped with a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), capable of connecting to such a service.
Typically, the frequency used to transmit a broadcast media stream varies, depending on a geographical location. Each broadcast transmitter has a given coverage area, and transmitters serving adjacent areas use different frequencies. Thus, the same broadcast media stream is transmitted on a predetermined number of frequencies, and these frequencies may be called parallel frequencies.
When a user of a media device tuned to a given broadcast stream travels from one geographical area to another, the quality of reception of the broadcast media stream deteriorates gradually as the distance between the broadcast transmitter and the media device increases.
A media device cannot automatically swap to a parallel frequency transmitting the media stream on a new location without information about the frequency. Thus, in the worst case, the broadcast media stream fades away while a supplementary service is still being delivered to the media device.
In prior art, some solutions have been presented to overcome this problem. One solution is to utilize RDS (The Radio Data System). In RDS, supplementary information is attached to the broadcast media stream. The supplementary RDS information comprises identification of the station or the media stream. Thus, the receiver is able to distinguish media streams from each other automatically. However, this requires that the receiver should be RDS compliant, i.e. equipped with suitable features to receive RDS transmission. Furthermore, the receiver must scan the available frequency range in order to detect a parallel frequency of the media stream currently being received.
Publication US 2004/0198217 discloses a follow-me broadcast reception system (FBRS). The document discloses a solution where a FBRS server maintains a history of a mobile user's location and the frequency to which the user's broadcast receiver was tuned. The solution utilizes this history information to resolve a parallel frequency. A drawback of this solution is the need to determine and store the location of the mobile user, and the need for a continuous connection between a server and a mobile user.

Media device and method of enhancing use of media device


A system is disclosed for pre-positioning a canister assembly at an undersea location. A transporter deploys to and releases the assembly proximate to the desired location. Once the assembly has fallen a safe distance after release, spring bands of the assembly are released by the action of lanyards of the transporter. The release allows anchor plates on each end of the assembly to separate from the assembly thereby dragging the assembly to a seafloor with the assembly buoyant at the undersea location. A vehicle deployment from the assembly is actuated by an acoustic receiver that causes a release device to release a normally compressed spring thereby allowing the spring to expand. During expansion, water is drawn into the assembly through flow ports to force a plunger plate with the water to act on a vehicle to deploy the vehicle out of a deployment tube of the assembly.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to deployment systems with the ability to pre-position weapons, small vehicles, or sensors within undersea littoral environments.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Launching from underwater sites is particularly important for torpedoes, sensors and other types of undersea vehicles. Such vehicles have a short range, and if they are to be successful, it is important that they be launched to begin their run on a target immediately following detection of a target in the area. Therefore a need exists to provide a device to populate ports with various sensors, vehicles, or weapons such that any submarine traffic leaving the port could be covertly monitored or disrupted over extended periods of time. A further need exists to provide a device from which track and trail vehicles could be released to follow submarines or other vessels leaving a port.
A number of prior art systems are known which relate to the launching or release of vehicles from undersea positions. In Vass et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,291), an underwater multiple missile launcher is disclosed which comprises a main case having a pair of launcher platforms. Each platform has a transducer column and a plurality of missiles pivotally mounted on the platform in a circular array around the transducer columns.
In Dragonuk (U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,835), the reference discloses a pneumatic restraint and ejection system for a multiple sonobuoy launcher having a single plenum communicating through separate check valves to the inboard ends of a plurality of launcher tubes and through separate girdle valves to inflatable girdles about the launch tubes. A sonobuoy is ejected by actuating the girdle valve to shut off the plenum air to the girdle and to exhaust the air in the girdle.
In Mabry et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,005), the reference discloses an underwater launch system for launching a rocket which includes a capsule for containing the rocket, the capsule being buoyant. Upon command, the capsule rises to the ocean surface where the rocket is automatically launched.
In Hagelberg et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,333), the reference discloses an upright or horizontal capsule in which the vehicle is placed.
In Dubois (U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,618), the reference discloses a marine countermeasure launch assembly in which multiple countermeasures are released into the water by separation of the launch assembly.
In Borgwarth et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,952), the reference discloses a remote fire support system that remains beneath the water's surface until it is to be launched. At the desired activation time, weights attached to the container of the system are released and the container rises to the surface for launching.
While the above references disclose types of launch systems, none of the existing references utilize a coil spring for launch energy as a linear launch force. Further, none of the existing references utilize a plunger assembly and pressurized seawater for vehicle deployment. Still further, none of the existing references disclose the use of an arrangement of anchor plates, anchor lines and canister buoyancy to safely launch, deploy and control an entire canister. Still further, none of the existing patents allow for vehicle deployment at both ends of the deployment canister.
Also, none of the cited references make use of a check valve to reduce frictional losses as the vehicle is being deployed. Further, none of the cited references uses a watertight bag to contain the vehicle in which the watertight bag is filled with an inert fluid to prevent the vehicle from corroding.
Still further, none of the cited references allow for pressure equalization around the vehicle. Instead many of them utilize a pressure-proof container thereby requiring a more robust container.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A display panel and a display device are provided. The display panel includes a first substrate and a second substrate, that are oppositely disposed. The display panel also includes a display material layer and support pillars, that are disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. Further, the display panel includes a first region, a second region disposed surrounding the first region, and a third region disposed surrounding the second region. The first region does not contain any support pillar. The support pillars are disposed in the second and third regions, and have an area density in the second region larger than an area density in the third region.

Nowadays, a display panel with a narrow frame width is highly demanded. For a fixed overall size, display panels with a narrow-frame or even a frameless display will enable the display region to provide a broad view to the greatest extent. To increase a screen ratio of the display panel, a conventional display panel includes a following structure. A region not used for display is designed in the display region, and functional units, e.g., a camera, etc., are provided at a location corresponding to the region not used for display. The reduction of frame is achieved by disposing the functional units supposedly located in the frame region in the region not used for display.
Although the frame width of the display panel having the above-described structure is reduced, a structural change of the display region often causes new issues and reduces the display effect of the display panel. Therefore, how to improve the display effect of the display panel has become an urgent technical problem to be solved. The disclosed display panel and display device are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.

XIAMEN TIANMA MICRO-ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A cord retainer is utilized in association with a portable electrical device, such as a cellular phone or a portable disc player. The cord retainer includes a base which is connected with the electrical device or with a case for the electrical device. A flange is connected with and extends from the base. The flange and base may cooperate with a surface of a housing of the electrical device or with a surface of the case to at least partially define a groove into which a cord may be manually wound. The cord retainer may be integrally formed as one piece with the housing of the electrical device or with the case. The base of the cord retainer may cooperate with the housing of the electrical device or the case to form an opening through which a belt can be moved.

The present invention relates to a new and improved cord retainer which may be utilized in association with a portable electrical device having a cord.
A portable electrical device, that is, a hand held electrical device which is capable of being easily carried and transported, may have a cord which tends to become tangled and/or interfere with movement of the electrical device. It has previously been suggested that cords on portable electrical devices can be held by reel assemblies in the manner disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0137554 A1 and in United Kingdom Published Patent Application No. 2 351 485 A.
When a cord reel, similar to the cord reels in the aforementioned published patent applications, is used in association with a portable electrical device, the cord reel projects from the device. The projecting cord reel is bulky and tends to interfere with the portability of the electrical device. In addition, the projecting cord reel is detrimental to having a compact electrical device which can be readily used.
It has been suggested that a portable electrical device may be enclosed by a case or housing that is provided with a loop. The loop provides a convenient means of securing a headset and cord when they are not in use. A portable electrical device having such a case is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,155.


A thin cap of metal alloy or metal-silicon compound is formed over a ternary oxide or ternary nitride ReRAM embedded resistor. At least one metal in the cap is the same as a metal in the embedded resistor. If the cap oxidizes slightly (e.g., incidental to a vacuum break, anneal, or subsequent treatment or deposition), the overall resistance of the memory cell is much less affected than it would be by the same amount of oxidation directly on a surface of the uncapped oxide or nitride embedded resistor.

Related fields include semiconductor devices and their fabrication; in particular, thin-film components of resistive-switching non-volatile memory (ReRAM).
Nonvolatile memory elements are used in computers and other devices requiring persistent data storage (e.g., cameras, music players). Some traditional nonvolatile memory technologies (e.g., EEPROM, NAND flash) have proven difficult to scale down to smaller or higher-density configurations. Therefore, a need has developed for alternative nonvolatile memory technologies that can be scaled down successfully in terms of performance, reliability, and cost.
In resistive-switching-based nonvolatile memory, each individual cell includes a bistable variable resistor. It can be put into one of at least two states (low-resistance or high-resistance), and will stay in that state until receiving the type of input that changes it to the other state (a "write signal"). The resistive state of the variable resistor corresponds to a bit value; e.g., the low-resistance state may represent logic "1" and the high-resistance state may represent logic "0". The cell is written by applying a write signal that causes the variable resistor to change resistance. The cell is read by measuring its resistance in a way that does not change it.
Preferably, write and read operations should require as little power as possible, both to conserve energy and to avoid generating waste heat. Lowering the cells' entire range of resistance states, while keeping the different states distinguishable, can lower the required operating power.
Many ReRAM devices change resistance by creating and destroying, or lengthening and shortening, one or more conductive paths through a variable-resistance layer or stack while the bulk material remains static (e.g., it does not change phase). The bulk material is often a highly insulating dielectric. The conductive paths (also known as "percolation paths") are formed when an electric field organizes conductive or charged defects or impurities into a filament stretching from one interface to the other, with sufficient defect density that charge carriers can easily traverse the layer by tunneling from defect to defect. To return the variable resistor to the high-resistive state, it is often not necessary to destroy the entire filament, but only to introduce a gap too wide for tunneling somewhere along the filament's length. Some of the types of defects that have been used include metal clusters and oxygen (or nitrogen) vacancies.
The "forming operation" that creates the very first filament in a newly fabricated ReRAM cell is risky. The risk is of "over-forming;" creating a filament so wide or dense that the operating write signals are too weak to break it. An over-formed cell cannot be rewritten. At this point the entire device has been built, so the investment has been significant and the cost of failure is high. To prevent over-forming, resistive layers are added to the cell, functioning as resistors connected in series to limit current in the variable-resistance stack during the forming operation. The higher the added resistance during forming, the more the variable-resistance stack is protected. However, as discussed above, the higher the added resistance during normal writing, the more power is required to write the cell.
Therefore, a need exists for a practical, cost-effective way to protect the variable-resistance stack from over-forming during the forming operation, yet enable the cell to operate at low power for subsequent reading and writing.

Capping thin-film resistors to control interface oxidation


An improved mechanism is provided for adjusting the clearance between the outer edges of impeller vanes of a centrifugal pump and the interior surface of an adjacent intake plate. The impeller having the vanes is mounted as an assembly to a back plate that can be secured to a casing or housing to which the intake plate is mounted. Threaded adjusters allow adjustment of the clearance between the impeller vanes and the intake plate. Additional modifications include a modified seal design to prevent material from clogging relatively rotatable seal components, a modified intake plate with a shallow recess to increase chopping effectiveness and pump efficiency, impeller vanes with a unique shape to achieve a high head, and a self-priming pump.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,482 discloses a centrifugal chopper pump designed for pumping liquids and slurries containing solid matter, including various types of refuse, and for chopping the solid matter which may thereafter be processed for disposal. The pump has external and internal cutters rotated with the internal pump impeller. The impeller has blades or vanes that sweep across arcuate intake apertures for a slicing action of solid matter in the liquid or slurry being pumped. This patent also describes other U.S. and foreign patents that disclose pumps having blades or vanes cooperating with edges of inlet apertures for a chopping or slicing action, or external booster propellers or external cutters, including external blades that sweep across small intake apertures to dislodge or cut solid material clogging an aperture.
Depending on the material being pumped, there still may be problems with solid material working its way between cooperating parts of a pump seal, or becoming wrapped around rotating components of the pump, including the pump drive shaft. Some materials are not completely cut effectively in the known designs, and pumps designed for slicing or chopping solid materials may have a loss of efficiency or lower head as compared to units designed for pumping only liquid. There also is a need for an effective self-priming pump, particularly in the field of chopper pumps. Further, chopper pumps are subject to more wear in the area of the exposed edges of the impeller vanes and, therefore, require adjustment of the distance from the vane edges to an adjacent intake plate. In known designs, this adjustment can require removal of the intake plate and changing the clearance by the use of shims.


A vapor recovery apparatus consumes a source of liquified gas to condense vapors in a source of vapors. The apparatus includes an economizing heat exchanger and a finishing heat exchanger. The economizing heat exchanger has a vapor path adapted to be connected to the source of vapors, and a recovery path for exchanging heat with, and cooling vapors in, the vapor path. The finishing heat exchanger has a finishing path connected downstream of the vapor path of the economizing heat exchanger, and a coolant path adapted to be connected to the source of liquified gas for cooling and condensing vapors in the finishing path. The coolant path is isolated from the finishing path to avoid interpath mixing. The finishing path is connected to feed the recovery path of the economizing heat exchanger.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vapor recovery apparatus and, in particular, apparatus consuming liquified gas to condense vapors.
2. Description of Related Art
Since the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Congress of the United States has required all persons or organizations handling hydrocarbons or chemicals whose vapors may pollute the air to install means to recover and prevent the contamination of the air by such vapors. Such contaminant can include vapors of gasoline, methylene chloride and other organic compounds.
Such vapors are generated and displaced into the atmosphere when all types of tanks are filled with liquid hydrocarbons or liquid chemicals. Such tanks may be large storage tanks, railroad car tanks, truck tanks, underground storage tanks for gasoline stations and fuel tanks on trucks, buses and automobiles. When these various types of tanks are filled with liquid hydrocarbons or liquid chemicals, vapors escape into the atmosphere and, as is well known, such vapors become a source of smog, which under certain ambient conditions produce dangerous fog conditions and so pollute the atmosphere that they produce dangerous environmental health hazards for human beings.
Known vapor recovery systems have used closed refrigeration cycles to cool a medium that is then used to condense vapors. Condensate can be drained to a decanter to separate heavy and light constituents, such as gasoline and water. The condensing coils for such units are periodically warmed or defrosted to prevent a build up of ice and frost that may block the passage of vapors through the condensing unit. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,027,495; 4,068,710; and 4,077,789.
Such recovery units are typically designed to handle the peak flow of vapors that may be experienced during a course of a work day. To accommodate the peak load, the recovery units must be engineered with a relatively high capacity, which is underutilized most of the time.
Furthermore, these recovery units do not easily produce temperatures low enough to condense highly volatile vapors. Certain highly volatile pollutants cannot be recovered at all unless extremely low or cryogenic temperatures are reached. Even if extremely low temperatures are not physically necessary, keeping the concentration of exhausted pollutants below a mandated maximum may dictate using extremely low temperatures to reach a high recovery rates. As an example, many states and local jurisdictions have lowered the permissible concentration of gasoline vapors in stacks from 35 mg/L to 10 mg/L.
Known vapor recovery systems have employed a condenser into which liquid nitrogen is sprayed. In this system, the liquid nitrogen is mixed with the vapors, which condense because of the low temperatures of the evaporating liquid nitrogen. The gases treated in the condenser including the gaseous nitrogen are then routed through a recuperator to be warmed by the gases flowing to the inlet line to the condenser. A disadvantage with this system is the fact that the liquid nitrogen is contaminated with the target vapors and cannot be used in subsequent chemical processes that may require pure nitrogen gas.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,512 shows a system for recovering solvent vapors in a multiple stage recovery system. One of the stages evaporates liquid nitrogen in a heat exchanger. The nitrogen vaporized in the heat exchanger is used as an inert atmosphere in an oven. The treated gas flow that has been cleaned of vapors is relatively cold but that temperature extreme is not recovered to enhance system efficiency.
U.S. Pat. 4,551,981 shows a three stage vapor condensing system with a final stage using a condensation column in which liquid nitrogen is evaporated. The evaporated nitrogen is then forwarded to an upstream stage for precooling. A disadvantage with this system is that the nitrogen is mixed with the solvent vapors and are therefore so contaminated as to be unusable in other processes that may require pure nitrogen.
U S. Pat. Nos. 3,857,251; 4,320,627; and 4,604,115 show systems employing liquid nitrogen to condense vapors. U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,212 shows the metering of nitrogen gas through cooling coils to refrigerate a truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,283 shows the use of nitrogen in a closed cycle for condensing vapors. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,055 hydrogen is liquified by including a nitrogen refrigeration cycle. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,185 natural gas is liquified by a system including a closed nitrogen refrige cycle. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,380,907; 4,575,386; 4,620,962.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,396 the inlet and outlet of a cryogenic reservoir is passed through opposite sides of a heat exchanger to effectively precool the incoming flow and moderate the temperature of the outgoing flow. This reference however is unrelated to vapor condensation and recovery.
In all these systems, the liquified gas and the cleaned gas flow is not is not handled in a way that optimizes efficiency and economizes consumption of liquified gas.


A method and or a device for comprehensive temperature calibration of a full width array (FWA) image sensor may minimize loss of productivity and/or image quality. Multiple temperature sensors disposed along a width of the FWA image sensor may provide temperature points used to correct for temperature shifts in output of individual pixel sensors of the FWA image sensor. Under control of a microprocessor, a real-time correction may be calculated for each pixel of the FWA image sensor. The correction may be based upon a real-time temperature profile of the FWA image sensor and temperature dependent factors of at least one calibration equation. The factors may be predetermined, or be determined at factory test, at warm-up or at a specified time.

This invention relates to scanners for the acquisition of image information, and more particularly to a device and method, which may calibrate the temperature dependent video output of full width array (FWA) image sensors.
Calibration is required in document scanner applications that use image sensors to achieve a uniform document image. Individual pixel gain and offset errors must be compensated to provide a uniform sensor output. These errors are due to the effects of normal IC processing differences across the sensor, sensor drift, lamp drift and contamination. Calibration is also done to correct for image sensor dark DC level drift with temperature variation, and also to account for lamp and other component aging. During calibration, a black reference point may be collected with the illumination system turned off or by sensing a black calibration target. A white reference point may be collected in a similar manner, e.g., by sensing a white target underneath the platen outside the image area.
Calibration is most often done at start-up during a warm-up period prior to image production. This calibration period normally may take several minutes due to the necessity for components to achieve a relative stable temperature in order to maintain an acceptable level of image quality. Most calibration schemes use a simple calibration strategy having a calibration equation of:yi=mixi+bi  (1)where for every i pixel there is a gain factor, mi, and an offset factor, bi, applied to the sensor output, xi, to derive the desired sensor output yi. The values of bi may be set so that yi is same minimal value for all pixels, with no light signal, and mi values may be set so that yi has the same maximum value for all pixels with the maximum possible light signal. The values of mi and bi may be stored in a memory and used during real-time correction of sensor video output.
Mechanical devices have been developed to position an optical scanning assembly from a reference position to a calibration position so as to scan calibration target. An exemplary apparatus for physically positioning an FWA image sensor relative to a fixed calibration target for normalizing the sensor response across the array is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,233.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,368 discloses an apparatus for calibrating a fixed scan head in which an arrangement for providing a calibration target is provided. Unlike the '233 patent in which the scan head moves relative to the calibration target, the '368 apparatus fixes the position of the scan head and adjusts the position of the calibration target relative to the scan head.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,038 further discloses a method of compensating for the offset present in image signals produced by an image processing apparatus in an image sensing device or scanner. The method utilizes intermediate reflectance targets to measure the response of each sensor element and then, using the measured responses, fits a characteristic curve to the responses to calculate the response of the sensor element.
Each of the foregoing references is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Device and method for comprehensive temperature sensing and calibration of a full width array image sensor


The present invention is to provide a process of making a corrugated net material including the following steps. First prepare a net material with an adequate length, and then heat and soften the net material by means of a heating element. March the soften net material through a gap formed by two press rollers which rotate in relative direction such that the softened net material is pressed by the two press rollers flatly. March the pressed flat net material continuously into a vessel such that the flat net material is cumulated in the vessel and squeezed by itself to form a plurality of non-directional bends. Lastly, release the squeezed net material from the vessel such that the corrugated net material is thus obtained.

It is well known that those bath gears such as bath balls, bath gloves, band brushes, etc for washing the body in bath or shower are made of plastic net tube by technique of turning inside up, folding and the bundling in the desirable form. The net material can easily absorb the cleaning lotion to produce soap bubbles for the operator to rub or brush all over the body. The net material, made from the plastic tube, presents adequate coarse surface, conducive for rubbing the dirt of the body in bath.
Even though the surface of the bath gears made of plastic net tube offers appropriate roughness, but it is too feeble, and the corrugation is not high enough to produce the comfort in rubbing the dirtier places such as elbow or foot sole. Forceful rubbing and repeated washing are not a preferable practice the washer desires.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,408 discloses a method for making a mittenlike bath scrubber. According to the '408 patent, a tubular net is transformed into a wavy net by pressing and heating the tubular net through a heat rolling device. The heat rolling device includes two rolling wheels on which ribs are provided for pressing the tubular net into the wavy net when the tubular net is passed therethrough. However, the corrugation of the wavy net thus obtained is usually uniform, i.e. the variation of roughness is not enough.

Process of making a corrugated net material


A semiconductor integrated circuit device including: an off-substrate having a semiconductor surface with a plurality of steps each having a height of one monolayer and extending in one direction; a wiring layer formed on the semiconductor surface of the off-substrate and made of semiconductor material, the wiring layer including a plurality of conductive stripe regions and high resistance strip regions disposed in a stripe pattern, each stripe region extending in a direction parallel with the steps, and the conductive stripe regions and the high resistance stripe regions both having lattice structures identical to those of underlying surfaces; and semiconductor elements formed on the wiring layer and electrically connected to the conductive stripe regions, the semiconductor elements including semiconductor regions with lattice structures identical to those of the conductive stripe regions. Technologies of manufacturing a semiconductor element on a semiconductor substrate capable of reducing the number of fine pattern fabrication processes by photolithography or capable of dispensing with these processes.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
b) Description of the Related Art
A conventional semiconductor integrated circuit has been manufactured by depositing a semiconductor layer or insulating layer generally uniformly over the whole region of a semiconductor substrate and patterning it by photolithography.
It is difficult for photolithography techniques to pattern a semiconductor layer or insulating layer in a size of 100 nm or smaller. Damages, contamination, or the like may be generated during a patterning process.

Semiconductor integrated circuit using monolayer epitaxial growth


A heat exchanger 10 includes a conduit 12 for conveying cooling fluid relative to a body to be cooled. A heat transfer arrangement 62 is arranged in communication with an interior of the conduit 12, the heat transfer arrangement 62 and the conduit 12 together defining an assembly that is mountable adjacent the body to be cooled, convective heat exchange occurring, in use, due to movement of the cooling fluid relative to the body and to the heat transfer arrangement 62 of the assembly and radiant heat exchange occurring between the body and at least part of the heat transfer arrangement 62 of the assembly.

1. Field
This invention relates to a heat exchanger. The invention relates particularly, but not necessarily exclusively, to a heat exchanger for use in the cooling of furnaces of metalliferous smelters. It will readily be appreciated that the heat exchanger could be used in a wide range of other applications as well.
2. General Background
In metalliferous smelters and, in particular, aluminium smelters, the smelter comprises a plurality of pots or furnaces, each having a shell within which an electrolyte and molten metal are contained. Aluminium is produced by an electrolysis process and the temperature of the electrolyte can reach temperatures of approximately 1000° C. This results in substantially elevated temperatures on the shell of each pot. It is therefore necessary to reduce the temperature of these shells to protect the shell from corrosion and catastrophic failure.
In the past, this has been achieved by directing a cooling fluid, such as air, on to the shell at locations which have become excessively hot. This requires very large amounts of compressed air, is extremely inefficient and generates noise and dust hazards for the operators. Moreover, the air can only be applied in this way to the overheated localised parts of a furnace shell. The shell temperature for the great majority of furnaces is not cooled by this means and no overall smelter benefit is derived.
In another development (U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,237 to Bos et al), the installation of permanent ducting as an integral part of each shell has been proposed. Not only does this necessitate a complex conduit system but some form of forced driving of the fluid is required as well.
In addition, to modify smelters to cool them, it may, in certain circumstances, be necessary that each furnace first be shut down. This is economically disadvantageous as any down time of the smelter has adverse economic consequences. More importantly, when a furnace is shut down for any significant length of time, the electrolyte solidifies resulting in major start up procedures having to be effected in order to restart the furnace.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for manufacturing a thin film transistor include following steps. A substrate is provided. A gate electrode and an electrically insulating layer are formed on the substrate. An electric conducting layer is formed on the electrically insulating layer. A first photoresist pattern layer is formed on the electric conducting layer. A portion of the electric conducting layer which is not covered by the first photoresist pattern layer is etched to form an electric conduction layer. A semiconductor layer is formed on the electric conduction layer. A second photoresist pattern layer is formed. A portion of the semiconductor layer which is not covered by the second photoresist pattern layer is etched to form the channel layer covering the electric conduction layer. A source electrode and a drain electrode are formed at the two lateral portions of the channel layer respectively. The thin film transistor is also provided.

Thin film transistors can be used as a switch member in display or touch sensitive areas. The thin film transistor generally includes a gate electrode on a substrate, an electrically insulating layer covering the gate electrode, a channel layer located on the electrically insulating layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode located on two sides of the channel layer respectively. The thin film transistor can further include an electric conduction layer between the channel layer and the electrically insulating layer. In manufacturing the thin film transistor, a plurality of masking steps of photolithographic processes are applied to form the channel layer and the electric conduction layer.

Thin film transistor and method of manufacturing same


A method of manufacturing a headliner assembly for use in the interior compartment of an automotive vehicle comprising the steps of: placing a mold release film onto a concave mold surface of a lower mold assembly for providing a barrier against the mold surface; placing a fiber mat on the mold release film; applying a foamable material directly onto the fiber mat; expanding the foamable material around the fiber mat to embed the fiber mat therein; placing an adhesive film onto a convex mold surface of an upper mold assembly; positioning the lower mold assembly directly beneath the upper mold assembly; moving the upper mold assembly in mating engagement with the lower mold assembly to define a mold cavity between the convex mold surface and concave mold surface; curing the foamable material within the mold cavity; and bonding the mold release film and adhesive film to the foamable material with the fiber mat embedded therebetween. A layer of scrim is then adhered to the mold release film and a layer of fabric is adhered to the adhesive film for providing a decorative cover to the headliner assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention generally relates to a headliner assembly and a method and apparatus for manufacturing a headliner assembly of an automotive vehicle. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a headliner assembly having integrated energy absorbing foam.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automotive vehicle headliner assemblies are used to line the ceiling or underside of the roof within the interior compartment of the vehicle. The headliner assembly typically includes a fabric layer that provides a decorative cover to the ceiling, a soft flexible foam intermediate layer of a relatively thin configuration, a layer of imperforate urethane film laminate disposed on the surface of the soft foam intermediate layer opposite the fabric layer, and a thick, rigid polyurethane foam layer formed on the imperforate film as the innermost layer of the headliner assembly.
It is also known to manufacture headliner assemblies having varying thicknesses of urethane foam for providing enhance strength characteristics and acoustical effects. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,796 discloses a method of making a headliner assembly having an exterior surface of a fabric layer providing a decorative cover and a body of foamed material adhered to the opposite interior surface of the fabric layer having central portions with a greater thickness than peripheral portions thereof. The body of foamed material has a constant density throughout its extent including the central and peripheral portion to provide desired strength, weight and acoustic characteristics to the overall headliner assembly. However, the headliner assembly of this type does not adequately address desired energy absorption characteristics or rigidity for use in mating engagement with the roof of the vehicle.
Therefore, it is desirable to manufacture a headliner assembly having contoured portions of varying foam thickness and density by embedding a fiber mat within a layer of urethane foam forming a rigid and integrated energy absorbing headliner assembly.
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a headliner assembly for use in the interior compartment of an automotive vehicle comprising the steps of: placing a mold release film onto a concave mold surface of a lower mold assembly for providing a barrier against the mold surface; placing a fiber mat on the mold release film; applying a foamable material directly onto the fiber mat; expanding the foamable material around the fiber mat to embed the fiber mat therein; placing an adhesive film onto a convex mold surface of an upper mold assembly; positioning the lower mold assembly directly beneath the upper mold assembly; moving the upper mold assembly in mating engagement with the lower mold assembly to define a mold cavity between the convex mold surface and concave mold surface; curing the foamable material within the mold cavity; and bonding the mold release film and adhesive film to the foamable material with the fiber mat embedded therebetween. The layer of scrim is then adhered to the mold release film and a layer of fabric is adhered to the adhesive film for providing a decorative cover to the headliner assembly.
The present invention also relates to a molding apparatus for manufacturing a headliner assembly for. use in the interior compartment of an automotive vehicle comprising a support frame. An upper mold assembly is supported by the support frame for vertical movement and includes a convex mold surface. A lower mold assembly is supported by the support frame beneath the upper mold assembly and includes a concave mold surface. The upper mold assembly is movable into mating engagement with the lower mold assembly to define a mold cavity formed between the convex mold surface and the concave mold surface for manufacturing the headliner assembly therein.
The headliner assembly comprises a fiberglass mat embedded within a layer of urethane foam forming a contoured substrate having opposing first and second sides. A mold release film is affixed to the first side and an adhesive film is affixed to the second opposing side. A layer of scrim is adhered to the mold release film for providing resiliency and sound absorption to the headliner assembly. A layer of fabric is adhered to the adhesive film for providing a decorative cover to the headliner assembly wherein the headliner assembly is formed of a predetermined contour having areas of various thickness of the urethane foam for providing integrated energy absorption in the headliner assembly.

Method of making a headliner having integrated energy absorbing foam


This invention relates to apparatus and method to fast determine focus parameters in one pre-scan during an e-beam inspection practice. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus and method that provide accurate focus tuning after primary focusing has been done.

Fabrication of semiconductor device such as logic and memory device may include processing wafer through various semiconductor processing tools. As feature sizes continuously shrink, for example, from 45 nm to 32 nm, processing parameters such as focus accuracy become critical for lithography and metrology tools. The image focusing in an e-beam inspection practice is mainly through the objective lens. Many auxiliary lens have been adopted to determine the position of the specimen surface to fine tune the image focus. The most popular method adopted in e-beam inspection tool to assist system focusing is laser related auxiliary focus. However, the detecting accuracy of laser is limited within the range of 0.5 μm to 0.01 μm due to wafer surface pattern diffraction. Other conventional accuracy methods take a series of e-beam images that not only take a long time but also may contaminate the processing wafer.
Therefore, an improved system and method for fast respond lens and high speed focusing check is desired. The present invention addresses such a need.

System and method to determine focus parameters during an electron beam inspection