Disclosed herein is a method of encoding and/or decoding data for optical data transmission along a transmission link, as well as corresponding transmitters and receivers. The data is encoded based on an adaptive constellation diagram in a 2-D plane, said constellation diagram including a first and a second pair of symbols, wherein the symbols of the first pair of symbols are located at opposite sides of the origin of the 2-D plane at a first distance di from each other, and wherein the symbols of the second pair of symbols are located at opposite sides of the origin of the 2-D plane at a second distance d2 from each other. The method comprises a step of adapting the constellation diagram by varying the ratio of the first and second distances d1, d2 such as to minimize or nearly minimize a bit error rate in the transmitted data.

Distributed Raman amplification is a favorite technology to improve the performance of optical fiber links. Raman amplification is based on the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) phenomenon, according to which a lower frequency "signal" photon induces the inelastic scattering of a higher-frequency "pump" photon in an optical medium in the nonlinear regime. As a result of this inelastic scattering, another "signal" photon is produced, while the surplus energy is resonantly passed to the vibrational states of the medium. This process hence allows for an all-optical amplification.
Codirectional Raman amplification is an attractive technology to increase the performance of optical fiber links. In codirectional Raman amplification, the signal to be amplified and the pump light propagate in the same direction. The achievable performance improvement originates from a modified power profile in the transmission fiber that allows to achieve higher output powers at the output of the transmission fiber with comparable impact of nonlinear fiber effects. This finally leads to an improved optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR). With the trend to advanced modulation formats at higher data rates employing phase-shift keying, this technology is gaining significantly in importance.
In many cases, using this kind of amplification scheme is the only remaining option for upgrading existing unrepeatered submarine links in an attempt to employ transponders with higher data rates. Note that in the past, preferably counterdirectional Raman amplifiers, i.e. Raman amplifiers where the signal to be amplified and the pump light travel in opposite direction, or even remotely optically pumped amplifiers (ROPAs) have been installed in order to enable communication over long distances without intermediate active components requiring electrical power supply. However, with the introduction of advanced modulation formats, the OSNR at the receivers needs to be increased due to the larger electrical bandwidth or decreased Euclidian distance between the symbols, since sophisticated forward error correction (FEC) codes and the benefits of coherent detection can only partly mitigate the requirement for better signal quality.
Higher-order pumping schemes can in principle provide a noticeable improvement of the system performance when using counterdirectional Raman amplification by moving the location where the optical signals experience gain further away from the end of the fiber span and thus deeper into the fiber. When using second or higher order pumping, power provided by a pump signal is transferred via one or more intermediate lightwaves to data signals transmitted by the optical fiber system. Commercial systems are available that employ pumping of second or third order in counterdirectional Raman amplification, but results for schemes making use of as much as sixth order pumping have been discussed in the literature. Unfortunately, however, there is almost no benefit by applying this counterdirectional pumping scheme to already installed links using ROPAs since this would require a relocation of the ROPA cassettes containing an erbium-doped fiber coil which would usually lead to prohibitive costs. A remarkable advantage of codirectional Raman amplification in this regard is its compatibility with all the above mentioned techniques. In other words, codirectional Raman amplification can be retrofitted to already existing links to further improve performance in a cost-effective manner. Furthermore, higher orders of pumping are also applicable to codirectional pumping.
Of course, pumping schemes combining different orders can be realized. As an example, second order pumping is considered in its pure form. The power of intermediate lightwaves whose wavelength separation to the data signals in principle allows a direct power transfer to the data signals is set to a low value so that no significant direct amplification occurs. In contrast, the wavelength of the pump lightwave is chosen such that no direct amplification of the data signals is possible. Thus, noticeable amplification is only achieved by transferring the power of the pump signal to the intermediate lightwaves and later on to the data signals. However, increasing the launch power of at least one intermediate lightwave allows direct amplification at the beginning of the fiber and second order-like amplification deeper in the transmission fiber. Thus, a mixture of first and second order pumping is achieved by simply modifying the launch powers into the transmission fiber. Configurations of mixed order are also referred to as higher order pumping schemes in the following.
Techniques described so far have been used widely in commercial installations. In contrast, remote amplification in an EDF coil supplied with energy from a pump signal travelling in the same direction as the data signal has mainly been used in some laboratory experiments focused on how far high-speed signals can travel. A reason for this is the increased complexity of the design of transmission systems and the reduced efficiency of such ROPAs as compared with their counterdirectionally pumped counterparts. Nevertheless, this amplification configuration is expected to be the key enabler for deploying the upcoming modulation formats (200 Gbit/s, 400 Gbit/s and beyond) in existing unrepeatered links in the future. This technique is also compatible with higher order pumping schemes.
A common feature of codirectional Raman amplification and remote amplification as described in the paragraph above is that at least one pump signal providing energy for amplifying data signals either in the transmission fiber (Raman amplification) or in an EDF coil (ROPA) is propagating together with data signals in the same direction.
Unfortunately, however, the simultaneous propagation of data signals and a pump signal in an optical fiber, for example for codirectional Raman amplification, also gives rise to additional effects deteriorating system performance. In fact, experimental measurements typically reveal a smaller performance improvement as compared with theoretical results considering the modified power profile only. The transfer of relative intensity noise (RIN) from the pump to the signals via stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) has been investigated intensively and detailed mathematical models have been elaborated for first order and second order pumping schemes. These investigations have a strong focus on the frequency characteristics and deal with intensity modulated signals. Even techniques for suppressing this effect have been proposed.
Performance measurements in unrepeatered links revealed that signals using coherent polarization multiplexing quadrature phase-shift keying (CP-QPSK) are more severely affected by higher-order codirectional Raman amplification as compared with intensity modulated signals, whereas there is only a small difference when using first order pumping. These observations hint to additional effects affecting performance. The occurrence of intensity variations induced by cross-phase modulation (XPM) and phase-to-amplitude conversion due to chromatic dispersion has been proven for fibers with high dispersion.

Adaptive constellation diagram reducing the impact of phase distortions


An attachable lighting apparatus is presented for readily repositioning said lighting apparatus as attached to a viewing surface without detachment. The apparatus comprises a light housing section that adjusts to face a top surface of a viewing object, a side section attached to the light housing section that faces a side surface of the viewing object, a bottom section attached to the side section that faces a bottom surface of the viewing object, and a first roller device positioned about a mounting element, a portion of said first roller device protruding through an aperture within the light housing section, wherein a switch is triggered to activate one or more lighting elements of the light housing section when the light housing section faces the top surface of the viewing object.

It is difficult for readers to view printed elements (text, diagrams, pictures, etc., of varying color schemes) under limited lighting conditions. For example, a printed document affixed to a clipboard, notepad, tablet, or other item featuring a flat surface cannot be properly read and/or interpreted when lighting is poor. As another example, a reader cannot interpret the print within the pages of a book when the reading environment is dimly lit. In the absence of a suitable lighting source, users must employ a portable device such as a handheld flashlight or attachable lighting device (e.g., clip light) to illuminate the document.
Unfortunately, handheld flashlights limit the mobility and viewing flexibility of the reader given that one of the user's hands must hold the light in place. Similarly, in the case of an attachable lighting source, the reader must reposition the lighting device to accommodate different reading views and/or illuminate different portions of the viewing surface. For example, a lighting device attached to the lower portion of a clipboard must be manually detached, then reattached by the reader to actively illuminate the upper portion of the clipboard. There is currently no convenient means of enabling readers to reposition an attachable lighting device without detachment.

Traversable lighting apparatus for illuminating a viewing surface


An expression method for enhanced recombinant production of a desired protein due to the presence of lactation-signals is provided which comprises cells transformed with a DNA sequence having the desired protein coding sequence under the control of a bovine prolactin promoter and a bovine prolactin distal enhancer sequence. A preferred embodiment uses growth hormone sequences as the desired protein coding sequences. In this embodiment, feed-efficiency of milk-producing animals is improved.

The polypeptide hormone prolactin is synthesized by specialized cells, lactotrophs, in the anterior pituitary and is a major regulator of lactogenesis. The genes encoding several animal prolactins have been sequenced [human (Cooke et al., J. Biol. Chem., (1981) 256 (8):4007), bovine (Nilson et al., Nucleic Acids Research (1980) 8(7):1561), rat (Cooke et al., J. Biol. Chem., (1980) 255(13):6502)].
Studies using a rat pituitary tumor cell line that constitutively expresses prolactin and growth hormone have suggested that the synthesis of prolactin is regulated transcriptionally by a number of factors including cAMP, epidermal growth factor (EGF), phorbol esters, thyrotropic releasing hormone (TRH), Ca+2, dopamine, glucocorticoids and estradiol (Camper et al., J. Biol. Chem. (1985) 260:12246-12251). Elsholtz et al. (Science (1986) 234:1552-1557) and others have used deletion analysis of the rat prolactin promoter region to define two major regulatory regions, both of which respond to a number of these inducing/repressing molecules. Both of these regions have enhancer activity in that they function in either orientation and can activate genes driven by heterologous promoters in rats. The most proximal regulatory region is located within the first 300 bases of the 5' flanking region; the distal enhancer is approximately 1.5 kb from the transcriptional start site (Nelson et al., Nature (1986) 322:557-562).
Previously, 1 kb of 5' flanking sequence has been identified for the bovine prolactin gene. The sequence of the first 250 base pairs of the bovine prolactin 5' flanking region is highly similar to the sequence of the proximal enhancer region of the rat prolactin gene (Camper et al., DNA (1984) 3:237-249). No additional regulatory sequences analogous to the rat distal enhancer region have been reported. In fact, it has been reported that the proximal 250 base pairs contain all the sequence information necessary for regulation by inducing hormones including epidermal growth factor, thyrotropic releasing hormone, and dexamethasone (Camper et al., (supra)).
A number of groups have attempted to use prolactin regulatory sequences to effect expression of heterologous proteins. Nelson et al. (Nature (1986) 322:557) reports the coupling of the rat prolactin promoter to a heterologous gene, and the expression of the hybrid gene in tissue culture.
Palmiter and Brinster, Ann. Rev. Genetics, 20:465-499 (1986) review experiments with gene transfer into the germ-line cells of mice and with gene expression in transgenic mice. Table 4 in this reference refers to expression of a "prolactin/SV40 early region" transgene in pituitary (lactotroph) cells of transgenic mice.
Rottman et al. (PCT88/02463) discloses a method of expressing a non-prolactin gene in a transgenic animal which involves operably linking the gene to a bovine prolactin promoter and introduction into the animal. Since the prolactin promoter is relatively weak, the Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) enhancer element was necessary to enhance the transcription rate to an acceptable level. When the RSV enhancer was added, tissue specificity remained intact, but regulation by EGF and dexamethasone was blunted. The use of a viral enhancer is not nearly as desirable as the use of a native enhancer. However, the native bovine prolactin enhancer element was not known prior to this invention.

Enhanced gene expression in response to lactation signals


A microwave oven using a dual clock allows a microcomputer to have two operation modes, preserves a memory data of a microwave oven in case of a power failure, and minimizes a power-consumption of a battery. The microwave oven having a power-supply part, a load driver and a display part includes an oscillation part for generating many clocks having a different frequency, a control unit for setting at least one among many clocks from the oscillation part as an operation clock according to a power-supply of the power-supply part; and an auxiliary power-supply part for providing a power-supply to the control unit if the power-supply part does not generate a power-supply. If a power-supply is normally applied to a microwave oven, a dual mode is set, and a general mode of using the main clock and the sub clock as an operation clock is set. If a power-supply is not provided to a microwave oven, the main clock is turned off, a power-saving mode of using the sub clock as an operation clock is set.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave oven using a dual clock. More particularly, it relates to a microwave oven using a dual clock which allows a microcomputer to have two operation modes, preserves a memory data of a microwave oven in case of a power failure, and minimizes a power-consumption of a battery.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a conventional microwave oven applies a power-supply to a printed circuit board(PCB) from an external power-supply unit. The PCB applies a power-supply to the microcomputer so that a microcomputer is driven. However, if a power-failure occurs, all operations of the microcomputer are stopped, a clock data and a user-selected data are lost.
In the meantime, in case of a microwave oven designed by a power-failure consideration, a microcomputer is driven only by one main clock, a battery power-consumption becomes higher, a power-failure standby time becomes shorter so that the microcomputer stops operating if a power-failure time becomes longer, thereby a data memorized before the power-failure is lost.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a microwave oven using a dual clock that substantially obviate one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a microwave oven using a dual clock which allows a microcomputer to have two operation modes, preserves a memory data of a microwave oven in case of a power failure, and minimizes a power-consumption of a battery.
To achieve the above objective, in a microwave oven having a load driver for driving a load after receiving a power-supply from a power-supply part, and a display part for displaying each information to the outside, a microwave oven using a dual clock includes: an oscillation part for generating many clocks having a different frequency; a control unit for setting at least one among many clocks from the oscillation part as an operation clock according to a power-supply of the power-supply part; and an auxiliary power-supply part for providing a power-supply to the control unit if the power-supply part does not generate a power-supply.
A method for controlling a microwave oven which is operated as a dual mode by using a main clock and a sub clock includes the steps of: if a power-supply is normally applied to a microwave oven, setting a dual mode, and setting a general mode using the main clock and the sub clock as an operation clock; and if a power-supply is not provided to a microwave oven, turning off the main clock, and then setting a power-saving mode of using the sub clock as an operation clock.


In a fuel injector for a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine including an injector housing with an injection nozzle controlled by a valve needle extending through a cylindrical fuel pressure space from which fuel under pressure is supplied to the fuel injection nozzle, the fuel pressure space includes a flow limiting piston with a seating surface at its end adjacent the needle tip and the injector housing has a valve seat disposed opposite the piston seating surface for blocking fuel flow to the injector nozzle when the flow limiting piston is seated on the valve seat and the flow limiting piston is spring-biased away from the valve seat with a force which is sufficient to normally hold the flow limiting piston away from the valve seat, but which permits closing of the valve when the fuel flow to the injector nozzle becomes excessive.

The invention relates to a fuel injector for a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine with a high pressure pump for supplying fuel under pressure, by way of a fuel supply line, to at least one injector including an injection nozzle with a valve needle. The injector is electrically controllable and includes a pressure relieve passage leading to a low pressure fuel return line and a flow limiter for limiting the maximum fuel flow volume.
A fuel injection system with a high pressure fuel pump is disclosed for example in EP 0 678 602 A2. In this system, the high pressure pump supplies the fuel, by way of a fuel supply line, to a commom rail distribution pipe, which serves as a high pressure fuel storage structure for supplying fuel to all the magnetic valve-controlled injectors of the internal combustion engine.
The fuel injection system includes flow volume limiting valves arranged in injection lines extending between the injectors and the common rail pipe. The flow volume limiting valves are adapted to limit the fuel flow to the injectors so as to prevent excessive flow rates as they may occur for example when a valve needle gets stuck or a valve needle breaks or a high pressure line becomes defective.
With such measures, the properly operating valves and the non-defective fuel lines can still be operated so that at least an emergency operation of the engine can be maintained.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a fuel injection system of the type referred to above with a fuel flow limiting valve, wherein the fuel volume contained in the system between the valve needle seat and the flow volume limiting valve is minimized.


A reaction chamber for chemical vapor deposition of a material layer onto a substrate using a process gas comprises a chamber body having an inner wall which defines a process space for containing a substrate, a lid to effectively close the process space, and a planar showerhead positioned inside the chamber body for dispersing a process gas into the process space. A lower insulator plate is positioned on one side of the showerhead between the showerhead and the chamber body for electrically insulating the showerhead from the chamber body, and an upper insulator plate is positioned on the other side of the showerhead between the showerhead and the chamber body and lid for electrically insulating the showerhead from the chamber body and lid. A shelf is formed in the inner wall of the chamber body, and the planar showerhead and upper and lower insulator plates are arranged in a stacked formation and are positioned on the shelf proximate the process space for introducing a process gas to a substrate in the process space.

In the formation of integrated circuits (IC's), it is often necessary to deposit thin material films or layers, such as films containing metal and metalloid elements, upon the surface of a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer. One purpose of such thin films is to provide conductive and ohmic contacts in the circuits and to yield conductive or barrier layers between the various devices of an IC. For example, a desired film might be applied to the exposed surface of a contact or via hole on an insulating layer of a substrate, with the film passing through the insulating layer to provide plugs of conductive material for the purpose of making electrical connections across the insulating layer.
One well known process for depositing such films is chemical vapor deposition (CVD), in which a film is deposited on a substrate using chemical reactions between various constituent or reactant gases, referred to generally as process gases. In CVD, process gases are pumped into the process space of a reaction chamber containing a substrate. The gases react in the process space proximate the substrate, resulting in one or more reaction by-products. The reaction by-products then deposit onto the substrate to form the desired film on the exposed substrate surfaces.
Another variation of the CVD process, which is also widely utilized, is a plasma-enhanced CVD process or PECVD process in which one or more of the process gases is ionized into a gas plasma to provide energy to the reaction process. PECVD is desirable for lowering the process temperatures and thermal energy that are usually necessary for a proper reaction with standard CVD. In PECVD, electrical energy is delivered to the process gas or gases to form and sustain the plasma, and therefore, less thermal energy is needed for the reaction.
For one such PECVD process, a planar susceptor or planar support structure which supports the substrate in the process space and another planar element in the processing space, such as a process gas supply element, are electrically biased with RF energy to operate as opposing RF electrodes for energizing one or more of the reactant gases into an ionized plasma. Such a method is commonly referred to as a parallel plate PECVD method because the planar susceptor and the other biased planar elements are maintained generally parallel to one another to simulate biased electrical plates with the substrate positioned therebetween. The substrate is also maintained generally parallel to the electrically biased plates or elements.
In CVD and PECVD processes, proper delivery of the process gases to the process space and proximate the substrate is critical. The process gases are delivered to the process space and substrate through a gas delivery system which provides the proper flow and distribution of the gases desirable for the deposition process. Generally, such gas delivery systems contain gas-dispersing elements in the reaction chamber, such as gas injector rings or flat showerheads, which spread the entering process gases around the processing space to insure a uniform distribution and flow of the gases proximate the substrate. Uniform gas distribution and gas flow is desirable for a uniform and efficient deposition process, a dense plasma (for PECVD), and a uniformly deposited film on the substrate. Rings and showerheads are both very viable formats for introducing process gases. For PECVD, showerheads have proven particularly desirable due to their dual function as a biased electrode as well as a gas-dispersing element.
Conventional RF PECVD processes generally utilize a biased, planar gas showerhead opposite a parallel, biased susceptor. One such PECVD process and showerhead structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,243, which is commonly owned with the present application. Another suitable showerhead structure is disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 08/940,779, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Preventing the Premature Mixture of Reactant Gases in CVD and PECVD Reactions." Both the issued patent and pending application are completely incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
While such showerhead structures produce suitable PECVD films, they require a complex support and biasing assembly. The assembly is coupled to the inside of the reaction chamber proximate the substrate, and therefore, the reaction chamber must be properly configured. The existing showerhead support and biasing assemblies are complicated and expensive to design and fabricate. For example, referring to FIGS. 2, 2A, and 2B of U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,243, complicated showerhead assemblies are illustrated which require numerous precisely machined parts, numerous complex fastening and sealing steps during manufacturing, and complicated electrical couplings to an RF or other electrical source for the PECVD process. Such assemblies are not only difficult and expensive to fabricate, but they are also difficult and expensive to maintain. Still further, the complicated assemblies are difficult to clean.
An additional drawback to existing CVD gas delivery systems, and particularly those utilizing showerheads, is the lack of suitable temperature control of the showerhead during the CVD and PECVD processes. During a chemical vapor deposition process it is desirable to control the surface temperature of the various components in the process space to keep them within a desired temperature range. More specifically, it is desirable to maintain temperature control for the elements which come into contact with the process gases, such as the showerhead, to prevent undesired deposition on those elements. For example, when depositing titanium nitride (TiN), it is desirable to maintain all the surfaces which contact the precursor process gases, TiCI.sub.4 and NH.sub.3, at a temperature in the range of 125.degree. C. and 225.degree. C. Such temperature control may be possible for the inner walls and lid surfaces of the reaction chamber, because the reaction chamber includes internal and integrated heating and cooling systems. However, those chamber systems generally do not provide temperature control of the showerhead. Therefore, the temperature of the showerhead will be determined by the temperature vagaries of the process space during CVD or PECVD.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to deliver process gas in a CVD process with an assembly which is simple to fabricate, assemble and maintain.
It is another objective of the present invention to deliver process gas in the CVD process with an assembly which is inexpensive to fabricate, assemble and maintain.
It is still another objective of the invention to deliver CVD process gas while maintaining adequate temperature control of all the surfaces within the process space.
It is specifically an objective of the invention to provide temperature control of a showerhead which contacts the process gases in order to prevent deposition on the showerhead.
It is still another objective of the invention to provide temperature control of a gas-dispersing showerhead during deposition of titanium nitride (TiN), and to reduce chlorine content in the deposited TiN film on a silicon substrate.
It is still another objective to provide a CVD showerhead which is simpler to clean and maintain.

Stacked showerhead assembly for delivering gases and RF power to a reaction chamber


A formation-tester tool may be positioned downhole in an openhole wellbore. The formation-tester tool may suspend proppant in fracturing fluid located in a chamber of the formation-tester tool. The formation-tester tool may generate a test fracture in an uncased wall of an area of interest of a subterranean formation adjacent to the openhole wellbore and inject the fracturing fluid and the proppant toward the uncased wall and into the test fracture. The formation-tester tool may retrieve a fluid sample from a reservoir within the area of interest of the subterranean formation by creating a drawdown pressure in the test fracture.

Micro-fracturing, or "microfrac," operations may be used to test a subterranean formation prior to initializing a full-scale hydraulic fracture treatment of the subterranean formation. In some aspects, a microfrac test may include performing very small-scale fracturing operations in an openhole wellbore using a small quantity of fracturing fluid. After a sufficiently long fracture is created in the subterranean formation, the fracturing operations are stopped and properties of the newly created fracture and the surrounding formation are analyzed as the fracture closes.

Acquiring formation fluid samples using micro-fracturing


An apparatus for locating an item at a node includes an item-specific location device disposed in association with the item and that includes a circuit that uniquely identifies the item. A fixed mesh network communication device, in communication with a computer, is in an item storage portion of the node. The computer is programmed to execute the following steps: if an item identification request is received from a requester via a global computer network including a requested item identification, then send an item identification message to the fixed mesh network communication device. If an item identified message is received from the fixed mesh network communication device indicating that the item-specific location device corresponds to the requested item identification, then transmit to the requester, via the global computer network, an item identified notification and a location identification that identifies the node.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to locating systems and, more specifically, to a system of locating an item with a mesh network communications device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With increases in global travel and trade, misdirection of transported items causes substantial hardship to those who are transporting such items and substantial cost to those responsible for the transport of such items. When an item cannot be found, insurance providers also bear a cost. For example, airlines misdirect many pieces of luggage each year. Finding lost luggage causes considerable inconvenience to the passengers whose luggage is lost and considerable expense to the airline that misdirected the luggage.
One method of preventing misdirection of luggage includes attaching a bar-coded tag to each piece of luggage as the owner checks in for a flight. The tag is scanned at the point of departure and at the point of arrival (and any intermediate points) and the location of the luggage is stored in a computer database. While such a tracking system has been quite effective in reducing the incidence of lost luggage, luggage still gets misdirected. This can occur for one of several reasons, including airline ticketing counter attendant error resulting in an incorrect tag being applied to a piece of luggage. Also, a tag can be inadvertently removed from a piece of luggage during the handling process.
This problem is also significant in other areas. For example, international freight transport typically involves sending containers on container ships. The containers often include exterior bar-coded labels used for tracking purposes. However, containers can be misdirected through operator error. When a container is misdirected, the cost of failing to locate it quickly can be substantial.
Certain existing and proposed location systems include devices that apply a radio transponder, such as an RFID tag, to the item being transported. When an item is lost, a message is sent to each transportation node where the item could be sent and an operator with a corresponding radio frequency device searches through the node seeking a return signal indicating the presence of the lost item. Such systems have the disadvantage of requiring a considerable amount of time to be spent by personnel at each node, including all of the nodes to which the item was not spent.
Therefore, there is a need for a system that determines, with minimal operator involvement, which node an item has been sent to.

System and apparatus for locating lost items


A method includes the following steps: a step of automatically measuring centering characteristics of the lens; a step of blocking the lens on a cutting-out element; a step of cutting out the lens; and a plurality of steps of acquiring axial coordinates of acquired points of a face of the lens, including a first acquisition of axial coordinates of the lens prior to blocking the lens on the cutting-out element, and a second step of acquisition by feeling that is subsequent to the blocking step.

The technical portion of the work carried out by an optician consists in mounting a pair of ophthalmic lenses in or on the frame selected by the user, in such a manner that each lens is suitably positioned facing the corresponding eye of the user so as to perform as well as possible the optical function for which it is designed. In order to do this, it is necessary to perform a certain number of operations.
After the frame has been selected, the optician must begin by situating the position of the pupil of each eye in the frame of reference of the frame. The optician thus determines mainly two parameters that are associated with the morphology of the user, namely the pupillary distance and the height of the pupil relative to the frame.
For the frame itself, it is necessary to identify its shape, and this is generally done by means of a pattern or an apparatus specially designed to read the inner contour of the rim (i.e. the part of the frame that goes round the lens), or else from an electronic file that is prerecorded or supplied by the manufacturer.
From the above geometrical input data, it is necessary to cut each lens to shape. A lens is cut to shape for mounting in or on the frame selected by the future user by modifying the outline of the lens so as to match it to that of the frame and/or to the shape desired for the lens. Cutting to shape comprises an edging operation for shaping the periphery of the lens, and depending on whether the frame is of the rimmed type or of the rimless type with local clamping through fastener holes formed in the lens, appropriately beveling and/or drilling the lens. Edging (or cutting out proper) consists in eliminating the superfluous peripheral portion of the ophthalmic lens in question so as to reduce its outline, which is usually initially circular, to the arbitrary outline of the rim or surround of the eyeglasses frame in question, or merely to the pleasing shape desired when the frame is of the rimless type. This edging operation is usually followed by a chamfering operation which consists in dulling or chamfering the two sharp edges around the edged lens. When the frame is of the rimmed type, the chamfering is accompanied by beveling which consists in forming a rib usually referred to as a bevel, generally of triangular cross-section with a top that is rounded or interrupted by a counter-bevel on the edge face of the ophthalmic lens. The bevel is for engaging in a corresponding groove, also known as a bezel, formed in the rim or the surround of the eyeglasses frame in which the lens is to be mounted. When the frame is of the rimless type, the cutting out of the lens and optionally the dulling of its sharp edges (chamfering) are followed by appropriately drilling the lenses to enable it to be secured to the temples and to the bridge of the rimless frame. Finally, when the mounting is of the type having a rim of Nylon string, the chamfering is accompanied by grooving consisting in forming a groove in the edge face of the lens, the groove being for receiving the mounting Nylon string for pressing the lens against the rigid portion of the frame.
Usually, these edging, chamfering, and beveling operations are performed in succession on a single machine tool, known as an "edger" and provided with a set of suitable cutter/grinder bits. Drilling can be performed on the edger which is then fitted with corresponding drill bits, or else on a separate drilling machine.
The optician must also perform a certain number of measurement and/or identification operations on the lens itself prior to cutting out in order to identify certain characteristics such as, for example: the optical center if the lens is a single-vision lens or the mounting cross if the lens is a progressive lens, or the direction of the axis of progression and the position of the centering point if the lens is a progressive lens. In practice, the optician marks certain characteristic points using a marker tip on the ophthalmic lens itself. These marks are used for securing a chuck receiver or centering-and-drive pad on the lens enabling the ophthalmic lens to be positioned correctly in the edger that is to give it the desired outline, corresponding to the shape of the selected frame. The pad is usually stuck temporarily on the lens by means of a double-sided adhesive. This operation is commonly referred to as "centering" the lens, or by extension, "blocking" the lens, insofar as the pad can be used subsequently for blocking purposes, i.e. for preventing the lens from moving relative to the means for cutting it to shape in a geometrical configuration that is known because of the pad.
After the centering pad has been put into place, the lens fitted in this way is then placed in the cutting-out machine where it is given the shape that corresponds to the shape of the selected frame. The centering pad serves to define and physically to embody on the lens both a geometrical frame of reference in which characteristic points and directions of the lens are identified, with this being necessary for the lens to be positioned properly relative to the pupil, and also cutting out values for ensuring that these characteristic points and directions are properly positioned in the frame.
In certain circumstances, it can happen that the first attempt at cutting out the lens does not lead to the lens being properly mounted in the frame. The operator must then machine the lens again. To do this, the lens is replaced in the machine and is held stationary on its clamping shaft using the same pad, thus making it possible to reuse the frame of reference that was used for the initial cutting-out operation.
Depending on the organization and the equipment available to the optician, the above-mentioned operations can be spread over two or three distinct workstations. Each lens being processed must therefore be transferred from one workstation to another. Inaccuracies, errors, or accidents can then arise because of the large amount of handling. In addition, if the operations are performed in the context of an industrial organization, that gives to a considerable loss of time and to high production costs. In addition, the risk of damaging the ophthalmic lens increases with the amount of handling, thereby considerably lengthening time to delivery and further increasing costs.
Document FR 2 825 308 and its equivalent EP 1 392 472 propose optimizing the above-specified process by automating some of the measurement and positioning stages applied to the ophthalmic lens, thus making it possible to determine the optical characteristics of the lens and to control the stage of transporting said lens to the cutting-out station and the cutting-out stage proper.
The device proposed therein comprises means for measuring identification characteristics of said lens and means for cutting said lens to shape, enabling the outline of the lens to be brought to the desired shape. Conventionally, the cutting-out means are constituted by an edger which has a set of grindwheels and means for blocking and driving the lens in rotation constituted by two rotary shafts on the same axis mounted to move axially to pinch the lens on its axis like a clamp. To enable the lens to be moved towards or away from the grindwheels while machining is taking place, the clamping and drive shafts are carried by a transversely-movable rocker (movable in pivoting or in translation). Partial automation of the process of preparing the lens is obtained by a sliding reception and transfer carriage arranged to transfer the ophthalmic lens through two transfers between three positions, with transfer from a measurement position in which the ophthalmic lens is presented to the measurement means to an intermediate position distinct from the measurement position, and then transfer from said intermediate position to a cutting-out position distinct from the intermediate and measurement positions.
However, in that device, the lens is transferred from its intermediate position to the cutting-out means directly by the clamping and rotary drive spindles of the cutting-out means, by taking advantage of the ability of the rocker carrying the spindles of the edger to move transversely. That way of transferring the lens to the cutting-out means provides the combined advantages of saving on means and of conserving the frame of reference of the lens as detected by the measurement means. However to achieve that it imposes limitations that are penalizing.
Above all, existing devices are found to be functionally insufficient. While preparing a lens for mounting purposes it is necessary to perform one or more feeling operations on the lens. All of those feeling operations are conventionally performed on the edger, such that the lenses can be processed in sequential manner only, with it being possible to begin cutting out only after feeling has been completed, and with it being impossible to feel any other lens. It will be understood that the feeling operation occupies the cutting-out means and makes them unavailable for their main function of cutting out. However, it is known that the cutting-out step is the longer step and can be performed automatically without requiring particular supervision, thereby releasing the operator. In other words, the cutting-out means, which are expensive and often present as a single unit on the premises of an optician, are occupied for a secondary task that does not in itself justify the complexity and the expense of said means. Above all, this leads to a loss of precious time for the operator or the optician who cannot then pay attention to tasks of greater added value that require that person's competence.
Without complicating the mechanism of the edger members (with the inaccuracy and increasing cost that that would entrain), the lens can be felt on the edger only after the lens has been blocked and with the feeler having restricted degrees of freedom. However, performing a feeling operation prior to blocking could provide geometrical information useful in achieving accurate blocking of the lens, and studies performed by the Applicant show that lack of such prior feeling operations can be penalizing on the accuracy and the reliability of feeling, and thus of blocking, and hence of the cutting-out operation as a whole. This lack of accuracy in blocking is particularly penalizing when reworking a lens that has already been cut out poorly.

Method and a device for automatically preparing an ophthalmic lens for mounting

Essilor International (Compagnie Generale d'Optique)


Provided is an electric motorcycle including a traveling motor, and a power supply circuit of an inverter and the like, in which a non-conducting cooling oil is supplied to be brought into direct contact with at least one of an electromagnetic coil of the traveling motor and a circuit board of the inverter. A radiator is disposed outside cases of a power plant and a power control controller so as to allow a traveling wind to pass by. Cooling oil is circulated between the radiator and a case of at least one of the power plant and power control controller. A cooling structure for an electric motor and the like that can obtain a higher cooling efficiency than a conventional art while having a simple structure which hardly causes increases in size, weight, cost, and the like can be provided.

In recent years, from the prospect of depletion of oil resources in the future with a growing interest in the environment, it is more highly demanded than before to reduce fuel consumption in an automobile and a motorcycle, etc. On the other hand, there has been fast progress in the research and development of secondary cells represented by a lithium ion cell, and attempts to use electricity as a power source for driving the electric car or hybrid become popular.
Generally an electric motor has quite high energy efficiency compared with an internal-combustion engine, but it generates heat during its operation. A leading cause of the heat is generation of heat from a coil attributable to resistance of electrical currents flowing in windings (so-called copper loss). This causes a rise in the temperature of the coil, increasing the electrical resistance of the windings and lowering efficiency. The increased electrical resistance leads to generation of the heat again, falling in a vicious cycle of the generation of heat, the rise in temperature, and the increase in electrical resistance. This becomes an obstacle to improving output of a motor.
In addition, the generation of heat from an inverter (power supply circuit) for supplying electric power to an electric motor has also been a problem. Since a high voltage is applied to switching elements of the inverter and converter as well as to the coil of an electric motor, a large current flows also there. For this reason, it is required to efficiently deprive of the generated heat to cool these components.
For this reason, from the past, various cooling structures have been proposed to effectively cool the electric motor and inverter in an electric vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the technology which water-cools a case of a motor and directly cools an exothermic portion of the motor using cooling oil, such as ATF, stored in the case. According to this technology, a coil wound around a core portion of a stator is resin-molded and an oil path for the cooling oil is provided near a coil end which is especially easy to rise to a high temperature.
A portion of windings of the coil end is exposed to this oil path, so that it is effectively cooled by the cooling oil. By supplying the cooling oil pumped up by a pump or the like to the oil path from above and squeezing out the cooling oil discharged from an outlet of a lower end of the oil path by shaping the outlet like an orifice, the whole oil path becomes filled with the cooling oil and the windings of the coil are immersed.
In addition, according to the cooling structure disclosed in Patent Document 2, a housing of a motor unit is cooled by a coolant (LLC), a storage part for an inverter and a smoothing capacitor as well as a storage part for an electric motor are provided in the housing, and a module of the inverter and capacitor accommodated in the accommodating portion is brought into contact with a metal-based cooler in which a coolant flows.
In addition, for example, Patent Document 3 discloses the motor configured such that a cooling oil, such as ATF and gear oil, is sprayed at an coil end of a stator so that the coil end can be cooled. According to this configuration, the cooling oil is sprayed onto the coil end of the stator in a manner that the cooling oil is first introduced into a hollow portion formed near an end plate of a rotor via an oil path in a shaft, and then the cooling oil is ejected from an ejection hole communicating with the hollow portion by a centrifugal force generated by revolution of the rotor.


A phase-change optical recording medium has a recording film that brings about reversible phase-change between a crystalline phase and an amorphous phase upon irradiation with light and an interface film formed in contact with at least one surface of the recording film and comprising hafnium (Hf), silicon (Si), oxygen (O) and carbon (C).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase-change optical recording medium in which a reversible phase-change between the crystalline and amorphous phases is brought about by light beam irradiation so as to record information.
2. Description of the Related Art
(Principle of Phase-Change Optical Recording Medium)
The phase-change optical recording medium, which uses a phase-change optical recording film that permits bringing about a reversible phase-change between the crystalline and amorphous phases upon irradiation with a light beam, operates according to the following principle. That is, recording is performed by heating the region irradiated with a light beam to temperatures higher than the melting point of the film so as to melt the irradiated region, followed by rapidly cooling the molten region so as to change atomic arrangement in the cooled region in a manner to form an amorphous phase. Erasure is performed by maintaining for at least a prescribed time the temperature of the region irradiated with the light beam such that the temperature falls within a range between a level not higher than the melting point and a level not lower than the crystallizing temperature. In this stage, in the case where the initial state is crystalline, the crystalline phase is maintained, and in the case where the initial state is amorphous, the amorphous phase is changed into the crystalline phase. Reading is performed by converting the intensity of the reflected light into the intensity of an electrical signal by utilizing the phenomenon that the intensity of the reflected light from the amorphous region differs from that of the reflected light from the crystalline region, followed by subjecting the electrical signal to analog-to-digital conversion.
It should noted that the recording-reading can be performed by utilizing phase-change between a metastable crystalline phase and a stable crystalline phase as in martensite or phase-change among metastable crystalline phases as well as the phase-change between the crystalline phase and the amorphous phase noted above.
(Methods for Increasing Recording Density)
The amount of information that can be recorded on a single recording medium, i.e., the recording capacity, is considered to be increased by the two methods described below.
A first method is to shorten the pitch of the recording marks in the track direction. In this method, however, when the pitch between recording marks is significantly reduced, the pitch will be smaller than the size of a read beam. In such a case, two recording marks may be included temporarily in a read beam spot. Where the recording marks are sufficiently separated from each other, the read signal is greatly modulated so as to make it possible to obtain a signal having high amplitude. However, where the recording marks are close to each other, the obtained signal has low amplitude, with the result that errors tend to occur in the stage of converting the obtained signal into digital data.
Another method for improving the recording density is to shorten the track pitch. This method makes it possible to increase the recording density without being affected significantly by decrease in the signal intensity that is caused by the mark pitch reduction noted above. In this method, however, a so-called cross-erase problem is generated. Specifically, if the track pitch is made substantially equal to or smaller than a light beam size, the information in a certain track deteriorates when writing or erasure is performed on the adjacent track.
The cross-erase problem is generated partly because the mark on the target track is irradiated directly with the edge of the laser beam on the adjacent track, and partly because heat generated in the recording stage flows into the adjacent track so as to raise the temperature of the mark on the adjacent track and, thus, to deform the mark. In order to increase the recording density of the phase-change optical recording medium, it is necessary to overcome the problems pointed out above. Also, in order to suppress the probability of read errors for small recording marks to a low level, it is desirable that the recording marks be formed in a manner to have an even contour so as to suppress noise components as much as possible.
(Increase in Recording Capacity by Using Dual-Layer Disc)
Another method for increasing the recording capacity is to stack a plurality of information layers each including a phase-change optical recording film (see Japanese Patent Disclosure (Kokai) No. 2000-322770). The recording medium that is designed such that two information layers are stacked one upon the other and the information is written to and read from one side is called a single-sided, dual-layer disc or is simply called a dual-layer disc. It is possible to stack two single-sided, dual-layer discs so as to form a double-sided, quadruple-layer disc for further increasing the recording capacity. In the single-sided, dual-layer disc, it is necessary for the information layer close to the light incident side, which is hereinafter called L0, to have at least about 50% of transmittance. This is because it is important to prevent the light from being attenuated excessively in the information layer L0 close to the light incident side in accessing to the information layer remote from the light incident side, which is hereinafter referred to as L1. Such being the case, it is necessary for the phase-change optical recording film included in the L0 information layer to be very thin, i.e., not thicker than 10 nm. In the case of such a thin recording film, the retention time required for the crystallization is prolonged, with the result that the recording mark fails to be erased completely at the normal recording speed (reduction of erasure rate).
As a measure against the difficulty, it is known that it is effective to substitute Sn for a part of the GeSbTe recording film (Proceedings of The 12th Symposium on Phase-Change Optical Information Storage PCOS 2000, pp. 36–41). Also, it is known that it is effective to substitute Bi, In, Sn and Pb for a part of the GeSbTe recording film (see Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 2001-232941). However, in order to compensate for the crystallizing speed that is reduced in accordance with the decrease in the thickness of the recording film, it is insufficient to simply take a measure such as a change in the composition of the recording film material. Such being the case, it has been proposed to arrange an interface film effective for promoting the crystallization at the interface with the recording film. For example, it has been proposed to arrange a germanium nitride (GeN) film, a silicon carbide (SiC) film or a silicon nitride (SiNx) film as the interface film (see "Proceeding" referred to above). However, as a result of extensive research conducted by the present inventors, it has been found that cross-erase is generated in the combination of the thin recording film having a thickness of 5 to 7 nm and the conventional interface film such as GeN and, thus, it is difficult to sufficiently shorten the track pitch. It has also been found that any of the interface films referred to above has a high extinction coefficient in the wavelength of the laser light (405 nm) used in the next-generation high-density optical disc, incurring a very high optical loss.
In contrast, the recording medium in which the interface film is not arranged permits suppressing the recrystallization of the molten portion so as to suppress the cross-erase to a low level, but has an insufficient erasure rate. Also, in the L1 information layer, it is necessary to perform recording and erasure by laser light the intensity of which has been halved as a result of the passage through the L0 information layer. It follows that an increase in sensitivity of the recording medium is required.
(Methods for High-Speed Recording)
High-speed recording is also required for the phase-change optical recording medium. For example, if the recording can be performed in a time shorter than the actual viewing time, it is possible to easily realize the so-called "time-shift function" that the previous images can be viewed in the copying stage of the distributed recording medium or during the real-time recording of the broadcasting images. However, one of the factors for inhibiting the high-speed recording in the phase-change optical recording medium is a problem that the information fails to be erased completely when crystallization is performed in the overwriting stage by a laser beam at a relatively low erasure level, i.e., the problem of the insufficient erasure rate. To be more specific, since the recording mark passes through the laser spot at a high speed, it is difficult to maintain the recording mark for a sufficiently long time in temperature range within which the crystallization can be performed, with the result that the information fails to be erased completely.
Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 11-213446 discloses that an interface film formed of a material such as GeN is arranged in contact with the recording film so as to promote the crystallization and, thus, to increase the erasure rate. However, as a result of experiments conducted by the present inventors in which the material disclosed in the above Disclosure was used as the interface film, it has been found that the portion molten in the recording stage is partially recrystallized, and that it is necessary to melt a region larger than the recording mark in order to form a recording mark of a required size. It should be noted that the use of the interface film noted above requires makes it necessary to melt the region larger than required, resulting in promotion of the cross-erase, which brings about an adverse effect in terms of high-density recording. In other words, if the recording is performed using a laser power within an acceptable range in terms of the cross-erase, the width of the formed recording mark is made small, which brings a lowered carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR). On the other hand, the recording medium having no interface film permits suppressing the recrystallization in the molten portion so as to suppress the cross-erase to a low level, but the medium has an insufficient erasure rate. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a novel interface film material that permits suppressing the recrystallization in the molten portion in the recording stage while promoting the crystallization rate in the erasure stage.
(Interface Film Material)
A material containing a mixture of Ta2O5 and SiC as main components, which is a material for a sulfur-free protective film, is known as a material that can be used for an interface film capable of promoting crystallization (see Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 2003-67974). This prior art of Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 2003-67974 is mainly intended to improve the DVD using the wavelength λ of 650 nm of the laser diode (LD) that is widely used nowadays. However, the material disclosed in the Disclosure is opaque to the wavelength λ of 405 nm of the next-generation blue LD, leading to a higher optical loss. Therefore, problems remain unsolved when the particular interface film is used in the next-generation recording medium having a high recording density. Thus, an interface material which is optically transparent to the wavelength λ of 405 nm and capable of promoting the crystallization, has not yet been developed.
(Film Design of Phase-Change Optical Recording Medium)
In the phase-change optical recording medium, an amorphous mark or data is written in a desired portion of the recording film by irradiating the desired portion of the recording film with a pulsed laser beam. In contrast, the recording film is irradiated with a laser beam so as to crystallize the amorphous mark, thereby erasing the data. In the former stage, an amorphous mark is formed by rapidly cooling the laser beam-irradiated portion, and in the latter stage, the amorphous portion is crystallized by gradually cooling the laser beam-irradiated portion. Also, the recording and erasure can be performed with a lower laser power when the absorbance in the recording film is high. In contrast, a higher laser power is required for the recording and erasure when the absorbance in the recording film is low. It should be noted that the absorbance in the recording film is determined by the optical characteristics of the recording medium formed of a multi-layered film. What is also important is the thermal design relating to the film structure as to, for example, whether a rapid cooling structure is employed, even if the absorbance is the same. Thus, in the film design of the phase-change optical recording medium, the optical design and the thermal design are mainly taken into consideration. For the optical design, the optical characteristics of each thin film are required. Also, for the thermal design, the thermal properties including the melting point of each thin film, the latent heat of melting, and the crystallization temperature are required. It should be noted in this connection that it has been clarified by some researches that the thermal properties of a thin film in a nanometer order differ from those of the bulk. However, the thermal properties of the thin film could not be measured while eliminating the effects of the other factors. Therefore, empirical parameters for correcting the above thermal properties are required.


A system and method for automatically scaling consumer servers in a data processing system. To build an automatic scaling system, the present disclosure allows consumers to obtain additional information, e.g., the number of events that await to be read from an aggregator when receiving an event from the aggregator. This additionally obtained number provides a direct gauge for the data processing system to determine when the consumers are over-provisioned, i.e., when the number of events left to be read is close to zero, as well as when the consumers are under-provisioned, e.g., when the number of events left to be read continues to increase. As a result, the consumers can be automatically scaled to handle the dynamic data processing demand while providing optimal resource allocation.

A near-real-time (NRT) system can process and analyze data sent from clients, as the data arrives. NRT systems are built to process massive amounts of data with high throughput. For example, the NRT system can be used for telemetry gathering and monitoring the health and operation of a piece of software/hardware, by collecting, processing, and analyzing the telemetry data. Instead of waiting until all the data is collected to start data processing, the NRT system can respond to the data in near real time, i.e., making the received data available instantly apart from the event processing time.
One common data processing framework for exchanging and processing data in an NRT system is an aggregator and consumer pattern. In the aggregator and consumer pattern, clients or event producers that generate data or events transmit the produced data to an intermediate middleware, i.e., an aggregator, rather than transmitting the data directly to a consumer that consumes or processes the data. To effectively process large volumes of data received from clients, the aggregator side may be scaled, e.g., by adding or removing one or more aggregators, based on metrics that are monitored and measured in the aggregator such as the number of connections and data throughput. However, the consumer cannot track and leverage these metrics and thus may not be able to accommodate the data processing demands of the aggregator, thus leading to unnecessarily heavy processing load for the aggregator and inducing latency in the data processing flow. When the aggregator is overloaded due to the slow data processing by the consumer, the aggregator may drop the received event or data without forwarding it to the consumer for processing. When latency is introduced, the NRT system may become unreliable for processing data in near real time. As a result, in a high-throughput environment, the consumer may become a bottleneck that limits the throughput and detrimentally affects the performance of the NRT system.
Moreover, even if the consumer can obtain the number of connections and data throughput, constant monitoring of these metrics and rebalancing of the NRT system are required to reflect the dynamic data processing status. However, such an approach is error-prone and may result in under-provisioning or over-provisioning on the consumer side.
Hence, there is a need for an efficient approach of automatically scaling consumer(s) to balance data transmission and to achieve fast data processing.

Automatic scaling for consumer servers in a data processing system


An aircraft engine system includes a main engine having a main engine speed; a starter coupled to the main engine and configured to drive the main engine with compressed air; and an auxiliary power unit (APU) system coupled to the starter and configured to provide the compressed air to the starter. The APU system includes an APU with a compressor to generate the compressed air, and an APU electronic control unit (ECU) coupled to the APU, the APU ECU configured to receive the engine speed of the main engine and to control operation of the APU to modify an amount of the compressed air to the starter based on the main engine speed.

Many relatively large turbine engines, including aircraft main engines, may use an air turbine starter to initiate turbine engine rotation. The air turbine starter may be coupled to a high pressure fluid source, such as compressed air, which impinges upon a turbine in the air turbine starter causing it to rotate at a relatively high rate of speed. The air turbine starter includes an output shaft that is coupled to the turbine and, perhaps via one or more gears, to the main engine gearbox such that the main engine is rotated with the air turbine starter. When the main engine reaches a predetermined speed, the main engine is ignited such that a self-sustaining speed is achieved and operation is enabled without further assistance. More recently developed main engines have tighter starting tolerances, thereby requiring a more precise control of the start operation. As an example, the main engine may require a cold motoring operation in which the main engine is rotated for a predetermined amount of time prior to ignition.
Typically, the pneumatic power provided to start the main engine via the air turbine starter is provided by an auxiliary power unit (APU). Generally, such APUs may include one or more compressors, combustors, and turbines to generate mechanical and electrical power, particularly when the aircraft is on the ground. Additionally, air from one of the APU compressors may be used to drive the main engine via the air turbine starter. Although conventional APUs have been used to provide satisfactory assistance during start operations of aircraft main engines, more efficient uses of the APUs are desired, particularly with respect to controlling the speed of the main engine during start operations.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved systems and methods for controlling aircraft main engines and the APU while the APU is providing the pneumatic energy for starting the aircraft main engines. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

Systems and methods for controlling aircraft main engine speeds by adjusting compressed air flow from an APU


A channel-cell system is provided for detecting the presence and/or measuring the presence of analyte particles in a sample stream comprising: a) a laminar flow channel; b) two inlets in fluid connection with the laminar flow channel for respectively conducting into the laminar flow channel (1) an indicator stream which may comprise an indicator substance which indicates the presence of the analyte particles by a detectable change in property when contacted with the analyte particles, and (2) the sample stream; c) wherein the laminar flow channel has a depth sufficiently small to allow laminar flow of the streams and a length sufficient to allow particles of the analyte to diffuse into the indicator stream to the substantial exclusion of the larger particles in the sample stream to form a detection area; and d) an outlet for conducting the streams out of the laminar flow channel to form a single mixed stream.

In Maxwell's famous gedanken (thought) experiment, a demon operates a door between two boxes of gas at the same temperature. The demon sorts the molecules keeping the faster molecules in one box and the slower in the other, violating the basic laws of thermodynamics. This paradox has since been resolved in many different ways. Leff, H. S. and Rex, A. F. (1990), "Resource letter md-1: Maxwell's demon," Am. J. Physics 58:201-209.
A similar arrangement can be used to separate particles. Consider a mixture of particles of two different sizes suspended in water in one box and pure water in the other. If the demon opens and closes the door between the boxes quickly enough so that none of the larger particles have time to diffuse through the doorway, but long enough so that some of the smaller particles have enough time to diffuse into the other box, some separation will be achieved.
Recently two experiments have been done where a spatially asymmetric potential is periodically applied in the presence of a number of brownian particles. Faucheux, L. S., et al. (1995), "Optical thermal ratchet," Physical Rev. Letters 74:1504-1507; Rousselet, J., et al. (1994), "Directional motion of brownian particles induced by a periodic asymmetric potential," Nature 370:446-448.
This has been shown to lead to a directed motion of the particles at a rate depending on the diffusion coefficient. One experiment (Rousselet, J., et al. (1994), "Directional motion of brownian particles induced by a periodic asymmetric potential," Nature 370:446-448) used microfabricated electrodes on a microscope slide to apply an electric field for the potential. This idea is also the subject of European Patent Publication 645169 of Mar. 29, 1995, for "Separation of particles in a fluid using a saw-tooth electrode and an intermittent excitation field," Adjari, A., et al. The other experiment (Faucheux, L. S., et al. (1995), "Optical thermal ratchet," Physical Rev. Letters 74:1504-1507) used a modulated optical tweezer arrangement.
Diffusion is a process which can easily be neglected at large scales, but rapidly becomes important at the microscale. The average time t for a molecule to diffuse across a distance d is t=d.sup.2 /D where D is the diffusion coefficient of the molecule. For a protein or other large molecule, diffusion is relatively slow at the macro-scale (e.g. hemoglobin with D equal to 7.times.10.sup.-7 cm.sup.2 /s in water at room temperature takes about 106 seconds (ten days) to diffuse across a one centimeter pipe, but about one second to diffuse across a ten micron channel).
Using tools developed by the semiconductor industry to miniaturize electronics, it is possible to fabricate intricate fluid systems with channel sizes as small as a micron. These devices can be mass-produced inexpensively and are expected to soon be in widespread use for simple analytical tests.
A process called "field-flow fractionation" (FFF) has been used to separate and analyze components of a single input stream in a system not made on the microscale, but having channels small enough to produce laminar flow. Various fields, including concentration gradients, are used to produce a force perpendicular to the direction of flow to cause separation of particles in the input stream. See, e.g. Giddings, J. C., U.S. Pat. No. 3,449,938, Jun. 17, 1969, "Method for Separating and Detecting Fluid Materials;" Giddings, J. C., U.S. Pat. No. 4,147,621, Apr. 3, 1979, "Method and Apparatus for Flow Field-Flow Fractionation;" Giddings, J. C., U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,981, Jul. 29, 1980), "Steric Field-Flow Fractionation;" Giddings, J. C., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,026, Feb. 10, 1981, "Continuous Steric FFF Device for The Size Separation of Particles;" Giddings, J. C., et al., (1983), "Outlet Stream Splitting for Sample Concentration in Field-Flow Fractionation," Separation Science and Technology 18:293-306; Giddings, J. C. (1985), "Optimized Field-Flow Fractionation System Based on Dual Stream Splitters," Anal. Chem. 57:945-947; Giddings, J. C., U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,756, May 16, 1989, "High Speed Separation of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polymers by Hyperlayer Field-Flow Fractionation;" Giddings, J. C., U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,651, Aug. 25, 1992, "Pinched Channel Inlet System for Reduced Relaxation Effects and Stopless Flow Injection in Field-Flow Fractionation;" Giddings, J. C., U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,039 Oct. 20, 1992, "Procedure for Determining the Size and Size Distribution of Particles Using Sedimentation Field-Flow Fractionation;" Giddings, J. C., U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,688, Mar. 16, 1993, "Method and Apparatus for Hydrodynamic Relaxation and Sample Concentration in Field-Flow Fraction Using Permeable Wall Elements;" Caldwell, K. D. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,618, Aug. 31, 1993, "Electrical Field-Flow Fractionation Using Redox Couple Added to Carrier Fluid;" Giddings, J. C. (1993), "Field-Flow Fractionation: Analysis of Macromolecular, Colloidal and Particulate Materials," Science 260:1456-1465; Wada, Y., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,849, Nov. 14, 1995, "Column and Method for Separating Particles in Accordance with their Magnetic Susceptibility." None of these references disclose the use of a separate input stream to receive particles diffused from a particle-containing input stream.
A related method for particle fractionation is the "Split Flow Thin Cell" (SPLITT) process. See, e.g., Williams, P. S., et al. (1992), "Continuous SPLITT Fractionation Based on a Diffusion Mechanism," Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 31:2172-2181; and J. C. Giddings U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,426. These publications disclose channel cells with channels small enough to produce laminar flow, but again only provide for one inlet stream. A further U.S. patent to J. C. Giddings, U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,268, discloses a SPLITT flow cell having two inlet streams (FIG. 3); however the second inlet stream is not an indicator stream, but rather a particle-free stream. Giddings U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,146 also discloses a SPLITT flow cell having two input streams, but no indicator stream. All these SPLITT flow methods require the presence of more than one output stream for separating various particle fractions.
None of the foregoing publications describe a channel system capable of analyzing small particles in very small quantities of sample containing larger particles, particularly larger particles capable of affecting the indicator used for the analysis. No devices or methods using indicator streams within the cell system are described.

Microfabricated diffusion-based chemical sensor


A front releasable modular telecommunications jack adapter having a front part defined by at least one standard modular telephone jack and a rear part formed by a standard modular telephone plug. The plug is connected to the jack by a coupling member which comprises a rearward extension of the jack. A latch member supported on the plug for pivotal movement between latching and releasing positions is resiliently biased toward its latching position. A latch operator which includes an operating handle slidably supported within a slot in the telephone jack has an exposed portion forward of the jack and is connected to the latch member by an elongate flexible cord which extends through the adapter assembly.

This invention relates in general to electrical connectors and deals more particularly with an improved modular telecommunication jack adapter for plug-in connection with a standard modular telephone jack to alter the electrical output characteristics of the telephone jack.
The jack adapter of the present invention is intended for use with a standard modular telephone jack, such as an RJ-45 jack which terminates a plurality of electrical conductors. A modular telephone plug which mates with a modular telephone jack of the aforedescribed type has a standardized resilient cantilever latch member which is biased toward latching position to cooperate with the front wall of the telephone jack into which it is inserted to releasably secure the plug to the jack.
The latch member on the telephone plug must remain accessible for direct manual manipulation or manipulation by a special purpose tool to release the plug from the telephone jack. The spacial requirements imposed by this standardized latching system present a problem where it is desired to provide an array of jack adapters for use with a dense array of modular telephone jacks arranged in immediately adjacent rows and/or columns. The latch member on each of the inboard adapters in such an array is virtually inaccessible. To gain access to the latch member on a particular inboard adapter to separate it from the array it may be necessary to first release and remove several other adapters which comprise the array, thereby resulting in interruptions in service to the equipment served by the other adapters which must be removed.
Accordingly, it is the general aim of the present invention to provide an improved jack adapter for use with a standard telephone jack and having a more readily accessible latch releasing mechanism.

Front releasable modular telecommunication jack adapter


An uninflammable insulating liquid is obtained by adding an emulsifying agent having a volume ratio of 1 to 3% to an insulating liquid containing a fluorocarbon liquid of at least 25% in a volume ratio to cause emulsification. In this liquid mixture, when polyol ester or polydimethylsiloxane is used as the insulating liquid, an uninflammable insulating liquid that does not cause pollution or an environmental problem can be obtained. When tricresyl phosphate is used as the insulating liquid, an uninflammable insulating liquid having a dielectric constant close to that of insulating paper can be obtained. A liquid pipe for circulating a fluorocarbon emulsion in a tank is provided outside the tank, and a pump and a stirrer are connected midway along the liquid pipe to constantly stir the fluorocarbon emulsion, thereby preventing it from being separated into two layers. When a radiator is provided to the liquid pipe, the stirring system for the fluorocarbon emulsion can also serve as the cooling system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an uninflammable insulating liquid and a stationary induction apparatus, e.g., a voltage transformer or a transformer using an uninflammable insulating liquid as a coolant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A mineral oil-based insulating oil conventionally used widely as an insulating and cooling medium of an oil-sealed stationary induction apparatus is flammable. A strong demand has arisen for such an oil-sealed stationary induction apparatus to use an uninflammable insulating liquid in view of prevention against disasters. Polyclorinated biphenyl (PCB), which was put into practice for the first time as an uninflammable insulating liquid to replace the mineral oil-based insulating oil, was totally banned because of its accumulated toxicity. Hence, studies and developments have been made so far at various laboratories to develop a pollution-free uninflammable insulating liquid.
Uninflammable insulating liquids that can be currently actually used as the pollution-free insulating liquid and coolant are roughly classified into the fluorocarbon-, chloride-, ester-, and silicone oil-based uninflammable insulating liquids. An example of the fluorocarbon-based uninflammable insulating liquid includes, e.g., perfluorooctane (CSF.sub.8 F.sub.18), perfluorocyclicether(C.sub.8 F.sub.16 O), and perfluoropolyether. The fluorocarbon-based uninflammable insulating liquid is a completely uninflammable liquid which is chemically very stable and does not have a flash point or fire point. The chemical formula of perfluoropolyether is: ##STR1## wherein m and n take various values to provide a multiple of types of perfluoropolyether having different boiling points and viscosities.
An example of the chloride-based uninflammable insulating liquid includes, e.g., a mixture (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-216206) obtained by mixing phosphate-based. tricresyl phosphate {(CH.sub.3 C.sub.6 H.sub.4 O)3.PO} and perchloroethylene (Cl.sub.2 C : CCl.sub.2) and a mixture (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-20909) obtained by mixing perchloroethylene and Freon. Although these chloride-based uninflammable insulating liquids were developed as products having no toxicity, as the great deal of attention has begun to be paid on environcmental issues, it became difficult to put them into practical use. More specifically, limitation has begun to be put on products that can lead to destruction of the ozone layer, as is seen with Freon. Therefore, all the chloride-based products tend to be avoided.
As an ester-based uninflammable insulating liquid, e.g., polyol ester {C(CH.sub.2).sub.4 --(COOR).sub.4 where R is an alkyl group) is commercially available as Midel-7131 (tradename) manufactured by Beck Blektroisolier-System Co. and sold by DAINICHISEIKA COLOUR & CHEMICALS MFG. CO., LTD. As a silicone oil-based uninflammable insulating liquid, e.g., polydimethylsiloxane is commercially available. The ester- and silicone oil-based uninflammable insulating liquids are partly put into practical use as, e.g., a vehicle transformer since they do not pose pollution or an environmental problem. However, these liquids are said to be fire retardant and not completely uninflammable. More specifically, when compared to the mineral oil-based insulating oil, they merely have a very high flash point of several hundreds of .degree.C. and do not catch fire easily. To have a flash point is a drawback, and development of a completely uninflammable liquid practically having no flash point is demanded. The fluorocarbon liquid described above is higly evaluated in terms of complete uninflammability.
The fluorocarbon liquid described above, however, has a large specific gravity and is very expensive.
The fluorocarbon-based liquid is partly put into practical use as it is completely uninflammable, as described above, and is chemically inert. However, its specific gravity is twice that of the mineral oil-based insulating oil, and an electric instrument filled with the fluorocarbon liquid becomes very heavy. In addition, the cost of the fluorocarbon liquid per unit volume is higher than that of the mineral oil-based insulating oil by 100 times, resulting in an increase in weight of the overall electric instrument and cost. The fluorocarbon liquid is chemically inert. Accordingly, it can dissolve only a Freon-based material and a fluorocarbon-based material which is identical to itself. Hence, it is difficult to reduce the weight and cost by dissolving and mixing those materials in the fluorocarbon liquid.


A hollow plastic burial vault having a base and a cover moulded as an integral unit and having a peripheral flange extending about the vault. The flange includes a first sealing surface portion, a first joint portion, a second sealing surface portion, and a second joint portion. The first sealing portion is formed to seat and seal against the second sealing surface, and the first joint portion is formed to join releasably with the second joint portion when the flange is severed along its length to separate the cover and the first sealing surface and joint portions from the base and the second sealing surface and joint portions. A method of manufacturing such a vault is also provided.

A burial vault is a container to hold a casket during burial and to protect and seal the casket from the environment. Historically, burial vaults were constructed of thick concrete walls with a concrete slab top. Westenhaver disclosed a plastic casket and burial vault in U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,319. Since that date various constructions of plastic burial vaults have been disclosed in prior art patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,806,278; 2,916,797; 3,208,186; 3,295,179; 3,581,452; 3,983,206; 4,154,031; 4,253,220; 4,288,952; 4,727,632; and 5,121,529. Typically, the problems that have been addressed in these patents concern the strength and the sealing of the vault. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,031, entitled "VAULT", teaches a construction having integral ribs or imbedded rods to enhance the rigidity of the vault and its load supporting strength during usage, while U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,206, entitled "SEALANT SYSTEM FOR BURIAL VAULT AND METHOD OF APPLICATION", discusses the importance of a good seal about the periphery of a burial vault.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,220, entitled "BURIAL VAULTS", is most similar in shape to the present invention. It discloses a burial vault including a base and a cover moulded from plastic resinous material. The base and the cover have reinforcing ribs formed integrally on the inner surfaces of the side and end walls. Further reinforcing ribs are formed on the bottom of the base and on the top inner surface of the cover. The outer surfaces of the cover and the base have geometrically shaped recesses to receive decorative panels. The cover and the base are sealed with tongue and groove sealing joints about their respective rims where they join.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of a burial vault which enables the vault to be moulded in one operation, which simplifies the manufacture of the sealing joint and which provides a novel structure to provide strength and rigidity to the vault.


Systems, methods, and computer-readable mediums for distributing machine learning model training to network edge devices, while centrally monitoring training of the models and controlling deployment of the models. A machine learning model architecture can be generated at a machine learning structure controller. The machine learning model architecture can be deployed to network edge devices in a network environment to instantiate and train a machine learning model at the network edge devices. Performance reports indicating performance of the machine learning model at the network edge devices can be received by the machine learning structure controller from the network edge devices. The machine learning structure controller can determine whether to deploy another machine learning model architecture to the network edge devices based on the performance reports and subsequently deploy the another architecture to the network edge devices if it is determined to deploy the architecture based on the performance reports.

Computing nodes in a network environment, e.g. network edge devices, are increasingly using machine learning models to control operation of the nodes and monitor performing of the nodes in the network environment. In particular, machine learning models are trained on telemetry data from computing nodes, e.g. Internet of Things ("IoT") devices, and are configured to act on such telemetry data, e.g. for use in operation of the computing nodes. However, training such models requires a large amount of computational resources. In particular, cloud data centers do not allow for effective centralized training of machine learning models deployed in fog networks due to scaling limits or connectivity restrictions. There therefore exit needs for systems and methods of distributing machine learning model training to network edge devices.
Additionally, telemetry data from computing nodes, e.g. IoT devices, is typically used to train machine learning models, e.g. for monitoring networks. This is problematic when the machine learning models are trained at a centralized location away from a network edge. In particular, the telemetry data is sent from the computing nodes away from the edge of the network, potentially exposing the telemetry data. This presents security concerns that often preclude device owners from sharing telemetry data with outside parties. There therefore exist needs for systems and methods of training machine learning models without exposing telemetry data of computing nodes used to train the machine learning models.
While it is beneficial to distribute machine learning model training to network edge devices, it is difficult to monitor performance of the machine learning models in a distributed manner. Specifically, it is difficult for the network edge devices themselves to effectively evaluate candidate machine learning model deployment and training across the different network edge devices. Additionally, network edge devices in a distributed machine learning model training environment have difficulties determining what machine learning models to actually deploy across the environment based on actual model training in the environment. Specifically, network edge devices have difficulties in performing data pipeline architecture searches, e.g. AutoML, for determining new candidate models to deploy into the distributed learning environment based on actual training of models in the environment. There therefore exist needs for systems and methods of centrally monitoring and controlling model training across network edge devices.

IoT fog as distributed machine learning structure search platform


Certain examples provide systems and methods to monitor and control hospital operational systems based on occupancy data and medical orders. An example healthcare workflow management and reasoning system includes a workflow engine including a first particularly programmed processor to monitor one or more medical orders from one or more hospital information systems to identify a condition indicating that a first patient in a first room is ready for a clinical activity such as discharge. The example healthcare workflow management and reasoning system includes a sensing component including a second processor to gather occupancy data regarding the first patient in the first room and transmit the occupancy data to the workflow engine. The example workflow engine controls one or more hospital operational systems to trigger cleaning of the first room, lighting settings for the first room, and transportation of a second patient to the first room based on occupancy data from the sensing component.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Many operational environments face constant pressures on available capacity, and, if decision support tools are not available to help automatically control and/or otherwise manage throughput, the result can be long waiting times and inefficient performance such as inefficient resource utilization. In a hospital, inpatient beds often pose a capacity constraint which limits throughput of an emergency department, surgical suites and other potential sources of patient admissions.
Most hospitals employ bed management processes or systems which may report on patients waiting for admission as well as current inpatients who are scheduled for discharge. However, there is typically a large amount of manual intervention required by hospital staff in order to ensure that these systems reflect the current occupancy or availability status of specific hospital beds. Conditionally critical path workflows, such as the assignment of beds and activation of cleaning and transfer resources to serve hospital stakeholders are typically intensively manual processes and are informed by local, not hospital wide, dynamical flows through time. Therefore, a lack of information and poor awareness to actual patient status (such as whether a particular inpatient has actually discharged from the hospital and finally departed their room) lengthens the timespan required for such operational activities and ties up scarce bed capacity in dynamically constrained operations.
Discharge and departure of a patient typically requires that a discharge order be written (or noted electronically), that the patient has completed any other outstanding orders (such as for additional in-house tests, scans or therapies). After these prerequisites are completed, the patient must physically vacate their bed and room, which may take an indeterminate amount of time during which the bed is not available for use by a new patient. Following the final vacating of the bed and room, cleaning staff must be activated to clean the room and transfer staff must then be summoned to transfer a new admission to this bed. These follow-on activities cannot proceed until the bed's current occupant has been confirmed as discharged and departed, and are typically activated manually by hospital staff.
Nurses and unit administrators may report discharge information to the bed management system in batches at the end of their shifts and not coincident to actual discharge events, leading to unintentional delays and uncertainty for incoming patients in areas such as Emergency and post-anesthesia care units as well as delays and bottlenecking pressure on staff involved in bed cleaning and patient transport. Alternately, nurses may delay the reporting of discharge information in order to defer additional admissions to the unit and thereby reduce workflow pressures, leading to cascading delays across the hospital.
Therefore, hospitals could benefit from a system to provide automated, unbiased control of discharge-related activities.

Methods and systems to sense situational awareness with a dual doppler and control for optimized operations


An electrical connector (10; 20; 50; 60; 70; 80; 90; 91) includes a conductive body (11, 12; 21; 32; 502; 61; 71; 822; 920), and a plurality of contact modules mounted on the body, each of the contact modules comprising a plurality of contacts (121; 220; 321; 420; 551; 620; 921), a shielding member (123; 222; 323; 422; 53; 68; 720; 900) and an insulator (122; 221; 322; 421; 550; 621) for fixing the contacts. The conductive body electrically connects with the shielding member and is insulated with the contacts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high speed high density connector assembly, and more particularly, to a high speed high density connector assembly having stacked contact wafers that are completely shielded.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many prior art references disclose high speed high density connector assemblies with shielding structures. U.S. Pat. No. 6,709,294 B1, issued to Cohen et al. on Mar. 23, 2004, discloses an electrical connector having electrical conductors in a plurality of rows. Each of the plurality of rows includes a housing and a plurality of electrical conductors. Each electrical conductor has a first contact end connectable to a printed circuit board, a second contact end, and an intermediate portion therebetween that is disposed within the housing. The housing includes a first region surrounding each of the plurality of electrical conductors, the first region made of insulative material and extending substantially along the length of the intermediate portion of the electrical conductors. The housing also includes a second region adjacent the first region and extending substantially along the length of the intermediate portion of the electrical conductors. The second region is made of a material with a binder containing conductive fillers providing shielding between signal conductors. Furthermore, in discussing background art in U.S. Pat. No. 6,709,294, it is mentioned that a solution is introduced to provide shields through plastics coated with metals, but there are no combination of readily available and inexpensive metals and plastics that can be used, such as the plastic lacks desired thermal or mechanical properties, available plating techniques are not selective, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,549 B1, issued to Lappohn on Oct. 29, 2002, discloses a shielded plug-in connector. The plug-in connector has a jack-in-blade strip having at least one first contact element and an edge connector having at least one second contact element corresponding to the first contact element. The edge connector, on or in its outer body areas, has at least partially shielding sheets. Shielding of the plug-in connector is achieved by, in addition to the shielding sheets provided on the edge connector, a shielding group with at least one first element arranged in the jack-in-blade strip. The first element of the shielding group is a base part in the form of a U-shaped rail. The shielding sheets on the edge connector have a planar body and angled stays. Two of the angled stays and a portion of the planar body between the two angled stays form a counterpart to the base part, wherein the counterpart and the base part together substantially encapsulate the first and second contact elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,990 B2, issued to Kirk et al. on Sep. 1, 2009, discloses a waferized electrical connector incorporating electrically lossy material selectively positioned to reduce crosstalk without undesirably attenuating signals. Wafer may be formed in whole or in part by injection molding of material to form its housing around a wafer strip assembly. A two shot molding operation may be adopted, allowing the housing to be formed of two types of material having different material properties, namely an insulative portion being formed in a first shot and lossy portion being formed in a second shot. The housing may include slots that position air, or create regions of air, adjacent signal conductors in order to provide a mechanism to de-skew a differential pair of signal conductors.

High speed high density connector assembly