A programmable, electronic, angular position indicator, based upon engineering units, estimates the angular displacement of a rotating rotor. The angular position indicator is programmed with the particular arrangement of teeth (or other markings) on the rotor. Intermediate angular displacements are interpolated between a limited number of positive angular displacement indications. Offsets, due to acceleration or deceleration of the rotor, are corrected at each positive angular displacement indication without skipping the output of each interpolated angular displacement. Angular displacement is determined in standard engineering units.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of angular position indicators.
2. Background Art
Many applications require precise information regarding the angular position of a rotating shaft. For example, in automotive applications, engine operations are synchronized with the angular position of the cam shaft or crank shaft. In an internal combustion engine, certain engine operations, such as the firing of spark plugs, the opening and closing of engine valves, injection of fuel, etc., are controlled to maximize fuel efficiency, minimize exhaust emissions, and increase engine perfomance. This control is provided by synchronizing these operations with the angular position of a rotating crankshaft and/or camshaft.
Many methods are utilized to translate the rotation of a shaft into electrical signals. In one application a marked rotor, formed as a portion of a shaft or mechanically coupled to a shaft, rotates as the shaft rotates. A sensor, positioned near the spinning rotor, produces an electronic pulse signal each time a mark on the rotor passes through its sensing field. By counting pulses in the sensor's output waveform, the angular displacement of the rotor is determined at a resolution inversely proportional to the interval between marks.
Because of practical limitations on the construction of a rotor and the sensitivity of sensors, only a finite number of marks may be positioned on the rotor. This limitation limits the resolution of angular displacement measurements. For example, in some prior art applications, angular displacement can only be determined in 10.degree. increments.
Many applications require angular displacement information at resolutions finer than those attainable by simply detecting the passage of marks on a spinning rotor. Some prior art angular position indicators interpolate between pulses in the sensor output waveform. These prior art schemes estimate future pulse intervals based upon past measured pulse intervals. By dividing the interval between sensor pulses into finer partitions, the resolution of angular displacement information is increased.
One prior art method of interpolating between sensor pulses is to trigger a counter each time a sensor pulse occurs. The counter outputs pulses at a frequency locked at a fixed multiple of the sensor pulse frequency. The resulting waveform, comprised of sensor pulses and interpolated pulses, corresponds to angular positions between marks on a rotor with uniform mark spacing. The interpolated pulses provided by the counter are utilized to trigger events.
FIG. 1 illustrates an angular position indicating system utilizing a rotor with uniform mark spacing. A rotating shaft 101 is coupled to a rotor 102. The rotor 102 has eight uniformly-spaced marks (teeth) 103 on its perimeter. The sensor 104 is coupled to angular position indicator logic 105 and synchronization circuitry 106. Angular position indicator logic 105 is also coupled to synchronization circuitry 106.
As each of the teeth 103 passes through a specified region, it is detected by a sensor 104. The sensor 104 outputs a pulse signal each time it detects a tooth. The angular position indicator logic 105 receives the pulse signal from the sensor 104 and interpolates pulses between the sensor pulses to produce angular displacement information with increased resolution. The synchronization circuitry 106 monitors the output of the sensor 104 to verify that particular angular positions on the rotor correspond to particular pulses in the sensor output waveform. The angular position indicator logic 105 uses the output of the synchronization circuitry 106 to maintain synchronization with the rotating rotor.
FIG. 2 illustrates an angular position indicating system utilizing a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing. In FIG. 2, a rotating shaft 101 is coupled to a rotor 202 such that the rotor spins as the shaft rotates. The rotor 202 has a number of groups of marks (teeth) irregularly spaced about the circumference of the rotor. The sensor 104 is coupled to the angular position indicator logic 105 and the synchronization circuitry 106. The angular position indicator logic 105 is coupled to the synchronization circuitry 106.
When the rotor with uniform mark spacing 102 rotates at a constant velocity, the sensor 104 produces a constant frequency pulse waveform. FIG. 3A illustrates a constant frequency pulse waveform. Prior art interpolating circuits output a constant frequency interpolated pulse waveform when provided with a constant frequency sensor pulse waveform as input. FIG. 3B illustrates an interpolation of the pulse waveform of FIG. 3A. Four interpolated pulses (0-3) are produced per sensor pulse. The interpolated pulses correspond to the angular displacement of the rotor 102 when it rotates at a constant velocity.
Prior art angular position indication systems fail to accurately interpolate the angular displacement of a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing rotating at a constant velocity. When the rotor with non-uniform mark spacing 202 rotates at a constant velocity, the sensor 104 produces a variable-frequency pulse waveform. FIG. 4A illustrates a variable-frequency pulse waveform. The pulse waveform of FIG. 4A is comprised of seven pulses 401-407. The intervals after pulses 403 and 404 are half the duration of the intervals after pulses 401, 402, 405, 406, and 407.
Prior art interpolating circuits output a variable-frequency interpolated pulse waveform when provided with a variable-frequency sensor pulse. waveform as input. FIG. 4B illustrates an interpolation of the pulse waveform of FIG. 4A. Four interpolated pulses are produced after each of sensor pulses 401 and 402. Only two interpolated pulses 408 and 409 are produced after sensor pulse 403. Four interpolated pulses 410-413 are produced after sensor pulse 404. Eight interpolated pulses 414-421 are produced after sensor pulse 405. Four interpolated pulses are produced after each of sensor pulses 406 and 407. The interpolated pulse waveform of FIG. 4B fails to correspond to the angular displacement of a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing rotating at a constant velocity. FIG. 4B illustrates the inability of the prior art to properly interpolate the angular displacement of a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing.
In most applications, the rotating shaft accelerates and decelerates during normal operation. Because interpolation methods predict future pulse intervals based upon past intervals, changes in angular velocity are not reliably predicted. When sensor pulses are "early" due to acceleration of the shaft, interpolators resynchronize interpolated pulse production immediately. Interpolated pulse production for the preceding pulse interval is ceased and pulse production for the next pulse interval is commenced. Thus, the number of interpolated pulses produced per sensor pulse interval varies during periods of acceleration.
FIG. 5A, similar to FIG. 3A, illustrates a constant frequency pulse waveform. FIG. 5B illustrates an interpolation of the pulse waveform of FIG. 5A. Eight interpolated pulses (0-7) are produced per sensor pulse. The interpolated pulses correspond to the angular displacement of a rotor with uniform mark spacing 102 rotating at a constant velocity.
FIG. 5C illustrates an accelerated pulse waveform corresponding to the acceleration of a rotor with uniform mark spacing 102. Initially, the rotor 102 rotates at the same velocity as in FIG. 5A. The interval between pulses 501 and 502 has the same duration as intervals in waveform 5A. After pulse 502, the rotor suddenly accelerates to twice its original velocity. The two successive intervals between pulses 502 and 503 and between pulses 503 and 504 are half the duration of the interval between pulses 501 and 502.
FIG. 5D illustrates a typical interpolation of the sensor pulse waveform of FIG. 5C. Between pulses 501 and 502, eight interpolated pulses (0-7) are properly produced. Between pulses 502 and 503, only four interpolated pulses (0-3) are produced. The rotor 102 has traveled the same angular distance during both sensor pulse intervals. After pulse 503, the interpolator adjusts the frequency of its output. Between pulses 503 and 504, eight interpolated pulses (0-7) are properly produced. The interpolator failed to output eight interpolated pulses between sensor pulses 502 and 503. Four pulses were thus "dropped" from the interpolated pulse waveform.
One solution to the problems associated with dropped interpolated pulses is to "stuff" extra pulses into the interpolated pulse waveform when too few interpolated pulses are produced. Correction means are utilized to rapidly insert (stuff) pulses into the output waveform corresponding to the number of interpolated pulses that were dropped due to the acceleration of the rotor.
Often during periods of acceleration, several pulses are inserted by the correction means into the output waveform. The next set of interpolated pulses often arrive before the correction means has stuffed all of the dropped interpolated pulses from the previous sensor pulse interval. More pulses, corresponding to the interpolated pulses that arrived during the stuffing process, need to be stuffed into the output waveform. Greater acceleration rates increase the number of interpolated pulses that arrive during the correction periods.
The prior art pulse stuffing process is illustrated in FIG. 5E. The prior art detects the shortened pulse interval between pulses 502 and 503 of FIG. 5C. Since the interpolator only produced four interpolated pulses during this interval (0-3), four pulses need to be stuffed into the output waveform. The prior art correction means stuffs four pulses 507-510 into the output waveform. Since the negative edge of sensor pulse 503 marks the end of the sensor pulse interval, the prior art stuffs one additional pulse 509 corresponding to interpolated pulse 505. The prior art continues counting interpolated pulses, starting with pulse 511.
As depicted in FIGS. 5D and 5E, the prior art fails to stuff an additional pulse corresponding to interpolated pulse 506 which occurred during the stuffing process. During the interval between sensor pulses 503 and 504, the prior art is out of synchronization with the interpolator and thus out of synchronization with the rotor. The prior art does not detect the error until the negative edge of the next sensor pulse 504. The prior art remedies the error by stuffing additional pulses 512 and 513.
In accord with engineering custom, designers usually specify the angular displacement of a shaft in engineering units. (i.e. degrees) In prior art schemes, angular displacements, originally specified in engineering units, are converted to non-engineering units unique to the angular position indicator. Often, complex calculations are required to translate between engineering units and non-engineering units.
Different applications often employ different rotor and sensor configurations. Conventional angular position indicators require significant redesign for each particular application. Many applications utilize rotors with non-uniform mark spacing that are incompatible with prior art angular position indicators.
One prior art scheme described in Long, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,509, utilizes an analog phase locked loop to estimate shaft angular velocity and interpolate shaft angular displacement. This scheme only produces angular position information in non-engineering units. The phase locked loop of Long et al. is incompatible with a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing. Long, et al. neither utilizes nor teaches the utilization of rotors with non-uniform mark spacing.
Zerrien, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,704, describes an angular position counter which poorly estimates the angular displacement of a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing. This invention attempts to interpolate a constant number of uniformly-spaced angular positions between each pair of rotor marks. On a rotor with uniform mark spacing, the interpolated angular positions correspond to the angular displacement of the shaft. On a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing, the interpolated angular positions do not correspond to the angular displacement of the shaft. Further, this invention confusingly provides angular displacement information in non-engineering units. Zerrien, Jr. et al. teaches away from an accurate determination of the angular displacement of a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing.
Hirka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,979, describes an angular position counter which poorly estimates the angular displacement of a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing. This invention attempts to interpolate a constant number of uniformly-spaced angular positions between each pair of rotor marks. On a rotor with uniform mark spacing, the interpolated angular positions correspond to the angular displacement of the shaft. On a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing, the interpolated angular positions do not correspond to the angular displacement of the shaft. Further, this invention confusingly provides angular displacement information in non-engineering units. Hirka et al. teaches away from an accurate determination of the angular displacement of a rotor with non-uniform mark spacing.

Programmable electronic angular position indicator based upon engineering units


The rotating davit apparatus is for fit next to a boat arch. The apparatus is also provided with a modified arch, as desired by the customer. The apparatus is designed to blend into the shape of boat arches, and is thus provided in a plurality of sizes and lift arm angle variations. The apparatus can be used singularly or in pairs, triplet, or as a quad installation wherein 4 apparatuses are mated to the arch. The apparatus provides utility as well as aesthetic appeal. The basic design provides for relatively inexpensive production and sale.

A davit is a crane which projects over the side of a ship and is used especially for lifting boats, anchors, and other such objects. A davit can be a convenience or often a necessity in lifting a dinghy or personal watercraft in and out of a boat. Davits must be designed with sufficient structural integrity to withstand the loads for which they are intended. Typically, then, a davit is at best awkward in appearance. Davits also usually occupy space that could otherwise be used in alternate ways. Most modern boats are extremely concerned with appearance and space utilization. Consequently, typical davits are complex, multi-jointed, hinged devices which attempt to conserve space. What is needed is a basic davit that is not readily apparent to the eye, but can be pivoted and used effectively, then stowed in a manner which does not detract from a boat's appearance or available space. The present apparatus provides these advantages.


Techniques are presented for embedding testing and debugging features within a service. A user service is modified to include record and playback features. When a record feature is activated, actions and state transitions, which occur within the user service, are monitored and recorded. These actions and transitions are represented within a script. During playback, the actions and state transitions are automatically replayed within the user service by accessing operations of the user service that are represented or mapped within the script.

Traditionally, testing and debugging features are associated with an operating system (OS) or administrative tools associated with a system. That is, testing and debugging features usually include low-level operations, which are reserved and geared toward skilled engineers who are adept in such processing.
However, it is not usually the skilled engineers that encounter problems with software services; it is usually a more-conventional end-user of the software services that encounters problems. Consequently, there is a certain amount of interfacing and manual communication that is often required between an end-user and an engineer when problems arise with a software service. In some cases, the exact state of a problem cannot be recreated or even remembered by an end-user, such that problem resolution becomes extremely difficult for the engineer who is trying to resolve the problem. Furthermore, a time lag is experienced before an end-user can experience resolution to his/her problems; this time lag can be expensive in time critical situations.
In another situation, a software service may include a number of sub services, such that when a particular sub service is upgraded an entire suite of test operations are performed on the upgraded sub service for purposes of validating the upgrade before it is placed in production for the software service. Often, these test operations are manually performed within the software service and are not recorded for subsequent reuse. Thus, when a sub service is upgraded a second time, the entire process is repeated from scratch. This is a waste of valuable resources and time within an enterprise and is fraught with the potential for manually introduced errors.
In still other related scenarios, an end user may want to interact with a software service for purposes of performing a number of repetitive tasks. Each task may entail several hundred independent actions within the software service. The software service may not be designed to support batch processing, such that scripts could automate these repetitive tasks. Consequently, the end user manually records each independent action for a first task, and then manually interacts with the software service to process all the independent actions for each different task by using what was previously transcribed as a guide. This is also time consuming and is also prone to manually introduced errors when the end user inadvertently performs a wrong action within the software service.
Accordingly, it can be seen that conventional software services lack sufficient testing and debugging features.

Techniques for embedding testing or debugging features within a service


A separable robotic interface includes a carrier portion, configured to attach to a free end of a robotic arm, and a probe portion, configured to be attached to a toolhead. The carrier portion includes a spring-loaded plug, coaxial with and arranged to slide lengthwise within the carrier portion, one or more ball bearings, arranged within holes of the carrier portion, and an axial lock feature. The probe portion may include a probe, which includes one or more recesses on lateral exterior surfaces of the probe and configured to receive ball bearings in order to axially lock the carrier portion to the probe portion in response to the probe portion inserted a predetermined distance into the carrier portion and the axial lock feature is activated. The probe portion is further configured to radially align with the carrier portion in response to an alignment feature engages the carrier portion.

Robotic arms have been in existence for several decades. Many industries utilize robotic arms to speed production, improve product assembly quality, and manipulate hazardous objects and materials. Most robotic arms in the world are designed for heavy or repetitive manufacturing work, and handle tasks that are difficult, dangerous, or boring to human beings. A typical robotic arm is controlled by a computer by activating individual stepper motors or actuators connected at each joint. At a minimum, a robotic arm has a single segment and a joint at each end. Robotic arms often use motion sensors to regulate movement in precise increments.
Current technology robotic arms utilize capture heads incorporating mechanical grippers, where mechanical force between two or more surfaces are used to positively capture and move objects. Mechanical grippers are suitable to capture known objects of predictable size, shape, and orientation, and having robust attachment surfaces.


The production of a potassium fluoroaluminate having a low melting point, which can be used as a flux when soldering aluminum. The potassium fluoroaluminate is prepared in an aqueous medium from aluminum hydroxide, hydrogen fluoride and potassium hydroxide in a molar ratio of aluminum:fluorine:potassium of approximately 1:5:2. After drying at 80.degree. C. under vacuum, the resulting potassium fluoroaluminate has a differential scanning calorimetry melting point of about 548.degree. C.

The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of a low-melting potassium fluoroaluminate, to the product obtainable according to the method of the invention, and to the use of the product as a flux for soldering light metal materials.
In hard soldering or oven soldering, metal materials, in particular aluminum, are joined at a temperature above 500.degree. C. with the aid of a molten added metal (solder). A flux is added in order to remove oxides and other disruptive covering films on the metal surface. For this purpose, in particular, fluxes composed of potassium fluoroaluminates are used. The production of potassium fluoroaluminates has been investigated from both a technical and a scientific point of view. According to the publication by I. V. Tananaev and M. A. Nekhamkina in Izvest. Sektora Fiz.-Khim-Anal., Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 20, pages 227 to 237 (1950), potassium fluoroaluminates may, for example, be prepared from (highly diluted) solutions of potassium fluoride and aluminum fluoride. At a molar ratio of KF to AlF.sub.3 of 2:1 to 10:1, substantially the hydrate of dipotassium pentafluoroaluminate (K.sub.2 AlF.sub.5.H.sub.2 O) is apparently produced. The melting point of this product according to the Russian publication is 855.degree. C. Although monopotassium tetrafluoroaluminate and tripotassium hexafluoroaluminate exist, they are not produced according to Tananaev et al., at least in the quoted range for the molar ratio of KF to AlF.sub.3 of 1:1 to 10:1. A potassium fluoroaluminate having such a high melting point would be unsuitable, for example, as a soldering flux for soldering aluminum.
Willenberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,920, discloses a method for the preparation of potassium tetrafluoroaluminate having a melting point below 575.degree. C. In this method, fluoroaluminium acid is reacted with potassium hydroxide. It is noted that no satisfactory product is obtained when using equimolar quantities of the reactants, and it is therefore proposed to introduce a less than stoichiometric amount of potassium into the reaction mixture. The lowest melting point of the products prepared is 570.degree. C.
According to Shimizu et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,377, a melting point of 560.degree. C., as observed in potassium fluoroaluminates, is still regarded as being too high. The lowering of the melting point, as is achieved by admixing aluminum ammonium fluoride or by using mixtures of caesium fluoroaluminate and aluminum fluoride, is regarded as having drawbacks.
Kawase, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,605, discloses a flux for soldering aluminum which comprises a mixture of monopotassium tetrafluoroaluminate and dipotassium pentafluoroaluminate or the hydrate thereof. Such mixtures are said to melt at a temperature of 555.degree. C. to 574.degree. C. They are produced, if reaction mixtures are produced in which, as an indispensable prerequisite, the ratio of Al:F:K lies in the range from 1:4 to 4.5:1 to 1.5.


An electrical appliance includes a conductive casing, a connector and a grounding device. The connector includes an insulator body mounted on the conductive casing, and a ground terminal disposed on the insulator body. The ground terminal has a connecting end that extends inwardly of the conductive casing. The grounding device includes a metal plate which has a first end mounted on the conductive casing, and a second end defining an engaging hole that engages the connecting end of the ground terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical appliance, ore particularly to an electrical appliance with an improved grounding device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional electrical appliance 1, such as a power supply for a computer, includes a conductive casing 12, two connectors 13, 14 and a grounding device consisting of first and second grounding wires 15, 16. Each of the connectors 13, 14 includes an insulator body 130, 140 mounted on a side wall 11 of the conductive casing 12 and a ground terminal 131, 141 disposed on the insulator body 130, 140. Each ground terminal 131, 141 has a connecting end that extends inwardly of the conductive casing 12. Each of the first and second grounding wires 15, 16 has a first end 151, 161 soldered on a respective one of the connecting ends of the ground terminals 131, 141, and a second end 152, 162 mounted on a bottom of the conductive casing 12. The connectors 13, 14 further have four wires for connecting electrically a printed circuit board 17 of the electrical appliance thereto.
Note that, prior to the soldering process, the first ends 151, 161 of the grounding wires 15, 16 must be positioned by the use of other tools, such as a pair of pliers, in order to place the same on the connecting ends of the ground terminals 131, 141. This inconveniences the operator.

Electrical appliance with a metal plate for a grounding device


A compressible storage pillow designed to allow an individual to store items within a pouch that can also be utilized as a pillow. The compressible storage pillow includes a cylindrical fabric member having a circular first end opposite a circular second end, with a central cavity extending between the two. A fastener is at the first end and is designed to secure to a mated fastener on a top cover. Another fastener is at the second end and is designed to secure to a mated fastener on a bottom cover. The top cover and the bottom cover each have straps extending therefrom. Each strap has a strap fastener at a distal end, such that the top cover is designed to removably secure to the bottom cover. In this way, a user is able to securely store items in a pouch that can then be utilized as a pillow.

The present invention relates to compressible pillows. More specifically, the invention provides a compressible storage pillow having a cylindrical fabric member with a central cavity as well as a fastener on opposing sides which removably affix to a top cover and a bottom cover, respectively.
Many individuals become stranded at some point while traveling. However, these individuals are often forced to choose between carrying a backpack or a pillow on their journey. Although a user could choose to bring both, it is often cumbersome for the person to carry around multiple items. Additionally, if traveling on an airplane, the total number of items an individual can carry with them is restricted. Thus, an improved compressible storage pillow that can allow a user to store multiple items therein while also functioning as a comfortable pillow is desired.


A lift arrangement for an aircraft includes an aircraft fuselage section with an outside, an aerodynamic lift body attached to the aircraft fuselage section and extending from the aircraft fuselage section outwardly, and a pair of movably held add-on bodies arranged upstream of a leading edge of the aerodynamic lift body. The add-on bodies include an aerodynamically effective surface and are equipped with incoming airflow to generate vortices that impinge on the aerodynamic lift body, thus leading to an increase in lift on the aerodynamic lift body. Thus the lift generation on a lift body is effectively influenced, in particular to compensate for loss of lift as a result of icing. The add-on bodies are moveable, and, can be moved to a neutral position in which they do not project into the flow around the aircraft, and are thus not effective from the point of view of fluid dynamics.

In the state of the art a number of devices are used on aircraft, which devices are used to increase the aerodynamic lift or to locally influence the flow past an aircraft. For example add-on bodies are known that extend from an aircraft fuselage into the flow past the aircraft, which add-on bodies in the state of the art are referred to as "strake", "vortex generator", "fence", "LEX" and the like. Such add-on bodies are often used in combat aircraft where they act to generate vortices for influencing the airflow around the wing or around other parts of the combat aircraft in order to expand the flight envelope in the quest to achieve improved maneuverability. Examples of this can be found in the aircraft of the type F16, F18 and Aermacchi M436.

Device and method for increasing the aerodynamic lift of an aircraft


A method for measuring a distance of diffusion of a curing catalyst for a thermosetting silicon-containing material includes the steps of: forming a silicon-containing film from a composition containing a thermosetting silicon-containing material, a curing catalyst and a solvent; coating the silicon-containing film with a photosensitive resin composition containing a resin whose solubility in alkaline developer is increased by the action of an acid, an acid generator and a solvent, and subsequently heating to prepare a substrate on which the silicon-containing film and a resin film are formed; irradiating the substrate with a high energy beam or an electron beam to generate an acid and heat-treating the substrate to increase the solubility of the resin in an alkaline developer by the action of the acid in the resin film; dissolving the resin film in an alkaline developer; and measuring a film thickness of the remaining resin.

As LSIs advance toward higher integration and higher processing speed, miniaturization of pattern rule is progressing rapidly. Particularly, logic devices used in smartphones and so forth lead this miniaturization, and 10 nm-node logic devices are mass-produced by employing a multiple-exposure process with ArF lithography (multiple patterning lithography).
The lithography for the next 7 nm-node or 5 nm-node appears to have problems that the multiple exposures increase the cost and affect the superposition precision. Hence, the advent of EUV lithography which requires fewer exposures has been sought.
The wavelength of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV), which is 13.5 nm, is 1/10 or shorter than that of an ArF excimer laser, which is 193 nm. Thus, high contrast light and high resolution are expected from EUV lithography. On the other hand, since EUV has short wavelength and high energy density, an acid generator is sensitized with a small amount of the photons. The number of the photons in EUV exposure is said to be 1/14 of that of ArF exposure. Thus, phenomena in which variations of the photons degrade line edge roughness (LWR) and hole critical dimension uniformity (CDU) are considered as a problem (Non Patent Document 1). Further, it is also pointed out that these properties are possibly influenced by the localization and agglomeration of a base polymer and an acid generator as well as the diffusion of acids generated from an acid generator. Regarding such a diffusion situation of acids in a resist generated in exposure, for example, a method of using a fluorescent material with a pH dependence in the resist for observation is suggested (Patent Document 1).
On the other hand, to prevent pattern collapse during development, a pattern formed by ArF lithography has a thinned resist film thickness. Therefore, with a resist pattern having such a film thickness, a problem occurs that dry etching selectivity for transferring the pattern to the substrate by dry etching cannot be ensured. Accordingly, a pattern-transferring process using a multilayer resist method in which a silicon-containing film is used as a resist underlayer film is generally applied. It is known that the silicon-containing film used in this case is to be formed from a composition for forming a silicon-containing resist underlayer film containing a curing catalyst (Patent Document 2).
ArF lithography and the multilayer resist method are also applied in EUV lithography, in which finer patterns can be formed, and the application of a curing catalyst in the composition for forming a silicon-containing resist underlayer film used in this case has also been suggested (Patent Document 3). This curing catalyst has a suitable structure for the formation of a siloxane bond through condensation of silanol, and has a structure similar to that of a sensitivity modifier in a resist upper layer film. Therefore, when the curing catalyst is diffused to the resist upper layer film at the time of exposure or after the exposure, pattern formability in the interface between the resist upper layer film and the silicon-containing underlayer film may be affected. In EUV lithography, in which a formed pattern line width is thinner than in ArF lithography, in particular, the properties of LWR and CDU are likely to be affected. Accordingly, to evaluate the actual effect, it is necessary to observe the movement of such a low molecular component. As such a method, a method of using a compound that generates fluorescence to observe the diffusion of a low molecular component in a cured film is suggested (Patent Document 4).

Method for measuring distance of diffusion of curing catalyst


The present invention is a polyaxial locking screw plate assembly for immobilization of vertebral bones, via fixation to surfaces thereof. The assembly includes a plate, having an upper portion and a lower portion, each of which has a pair of tapered holes, into which holes coupling elements and bone screws may be inserted. The upper part of the holes further includes an annularly recessed channel in which a snap-ring is disposed. The coupling elements each have an axial taper which matches the taper of the holes, and an interior semi-spherical concave surface in which the semi-spherical head of a bone screw may be polyaxially mounted. The bone screws are inserted through the holes until the coupling element engages and expands the snap-ring. Once the coupling element is fully seated in the hole, thereby locking the screw in place and the coupling element in the hole, the snap-ring contracts to its undeflected position and prevents the coupling element and screw from backing out of the hole in the event of loosening.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a spinal implant assembly for holding adjacent vertebral bones fixed. More particularly, this invention relates to a novel assembly of bone screws and plates for use in surgical procedures for stabilizing the relative motion of, or permanently immobilizing, vertebral bodies, wherein the screws form a polyaxial coupling of the plate to the bone, and which maintains a flush exterior plate surface through a wide range of entrance angulation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The bones and connective tissue of an adult human spinal column consists of more than 20 discrete bones coupled sequentially to one another by a tri-joint complex which consist of an anterior disc and the two posterior facet joints, the anterior discs of adjacent bones being cushioned by cartilage spacers referred to as intervertebral discs. These more than 20 bones are anatomically categorized as being members of one of four classifications: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or sacral. The cervical portion of the spine, which comprises the top of the spine, up to the base of the skull, includes the first 7 vertebrae. The intermediate 12 bones are the thoracic vertebrae, and connect to the lower spine comprising the 5 lumbar vertebrae. The base of the spine is the sacral bones (including the coccyx). The component bones of the cervical spine are generally smaller than those of the thoracic spine, which are in turn smaller than those of the lumbar region. The sacral region connects laterally to the pelvis. While the sacral region is an integral part of the spine, for the purposes of fusion surgeries and for this disclosure, the word spine shall refer only to the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a typical vertebral body is shown in a top view and a side view. The spinal cord is housed in the central canal 10, protected from the posterior side by a shell of bone called the lamina 12. The lamina 12 has three large protrusions, two of these extend laterally from the shell and are referred to as the transverse process 14. The third extends back and down from the lamina and is called the spinous process 16. The anterior portion of the spine comprises a set of generally cylindrically shaped bones which are stacked one on top of the other. These portions of the vertebrae are referred to as the vertebral bodies 20, and are each separated from the other by the intervertebral discs 22. Pedicles 24 are bone bridges which couple the anterior vertebral body 20 to the corresponding lamina 12 and posterior elements 14,16.
The spinal column of bones is highly complex in that it includes over twenty bones coupled to one another, housing and protecting critical elements of the nervous system having innumerable peripheral nerves and circulatory bodies in close proximity. In spite of these complications, the spine is a highly flexible structure, capable of a high degree of curvature and twist in nearly every direction.
Genetic or developmental irregularities, trauma, chronic stress, tumors, and disease are a few of the causes which can result in spinal pathologies for which permanent immobilization of multiple vertebrae may be necessary. A variety of systems have been disclosed in the art which achieve this immobilization by implanting artificial assemblies in or on the spinal column. These assemblies may be classified as anterior, posterior, or lateral implants. As the classification suggests, posterior implants are attached to the back of the spinal column, generally hooking under the lamina and entering into the central canal, attaching to the transverse process, or coupling through the pedicle bone. Lateral and anterior assemblies are coupled to the vertebral bodies.
The region of the back which needs to be immobilized, as well as the individual variations in anatomy, determine the appropriate surgical protocol and implantation assembly. The use of screw plate assemblies for stabilization and immobilization via lateral or anterior entrance is, however, common.
Because the spine is routinely subject to high loads which cycle during movement, one of the primary concerns of physicians performing spinal implantation surgeries, as well as of the patients in whom the implants are placed, is the risk of screw pull-out. Screw pull-out occurs when the cylindrical portion of the bone which surrounds the inserted screw fails. A bone screw which is implanted perpendicular to the plate is particularly weak because the region of the bone which must fail for pull-out to occur is only as large as the outer diameter of the screw threads. It has been found that for pull-out to occur for a pair of screws which are angled inward, "toe nailed", or ones which diverge within the bone, the amount of bone which must fail increases substantially as compared to pairs of screws which are implanted in parallel along the axis that the loading force is applied. It has, therefore, been an object of those in the art to provide a screw plate assembly which permits the screws to be entered into the vertebral body at angles other than 90 degrees.
A great concern, however, with screws being implanted in the anterior portion spine, most particularly in the cervical spine, is that their are important internal tissue structures which, because of their proximity to the implant, may be damaged by a dislocated screw. In the cervical spine, the esophagus is located directly in front of the anterior surface of the vertebral body, and therefore, in potential contact with an implanted cervical plate. Breaches of the esophageal wall permit bacterial contamination of the surrounding tissues, including the critical nerves in and around the spinal cord. Such contamination can be fatal. Because screw pull-out represents one of the largest risks of esophageal perforation, it has been an object of those in the art to produce a cervical screw plate design having a locking means which couples, not only the plate to the bone, but locks the screw to the plate. In such a design, it is intended that, even if the bone holding the screw fails, the screw will not separate from the plate.
In addition to pull-out, however, it has been observed that if the screw plate design includes screw heads which protrude beyond the exterior surface of the plate, long term wearing of surrounding tissues may occur, leading to the development of abscesses and holes, which, once again, can have grave consequences. With respect to cervical plates, which are necessarily thin, on the order of a few millimeters, unless the system is designed to specifically accommodate non-perpendicular screw-in directions, the heads of the screws which are desirably toe-nailed in are a considerable risk.
Similar concerns exist in the thoracic and lumbar regions with respect to anterior and lateral fixation implants as their are proximally located organs as well as a plurality of major blood vessels which may be compromised by either catastrophic screw pull-out and/or long term wearing of non-flush surface protrusions.
One screw plate design which has been offered to provide physicians and patients with a reduced risk of pull-out or damage to proximal tissues is the Orion (Reg. Trademark) Anterior Cervical Plate System of Sofamor Danek USA, 1800 Pyramid Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38132. The Orion.TM. system teaches a plate having two pair of guide holes through which the screws are inserted to fix the plate to the vertebral body. The plate further includes external annular recessions about each of the guide holes which are radially non-symmetric in depth. More particularly, the annular recessions serve as specific angle guides for the screws so that they may be inserted non-perpendicularly with respect to the overall curvature of the plate. In addition, the Orion.TM. plate includes an additional threaded hole disposed between each of the pairs of guide holes so that a corresponding set screw may be inserted to lock the bone screws to the plate.
Although the Orion.TM. system achieved certain advantages over prior cervical screw plate assemblies, it is not without failures. Specifically, a given plate can accommodate only one screw-in angulation per hole, preferably in accordance with the angle of the annular recession. This is undesirable, in that physicians often must inspect the vertebral bodies during the implantation procedure before making the decision as to which screw-in angle is the ideal. By forcing the physician to chose from a limited set of angles, it is unavoidable that physicians will be forced to implant plates having screws which were positioned non-ideally. While providing a variety of plates having different angle guide holes and annular recession orientations is possible, the complexity and expense of providing a full spectrum of plates available in the operating room for the surgeon to choose from is undesirable. It is a failure of the system that one plate cannot accommodate a variety of different screw-in angles.
It is further a failure of the Orion.TM. system that an extra set screw is required to lock the screw to the plate. Plates for use in the cervical spine are very thin, and if the screw head already rests in an annular recess, and there is to be enough room for the head of the set screw to rest on top of the head of the bone screw, the thickness of the remaining plate must be reduced even further. The thinner the plate is at the load bearing points--the guide holes--the weaker the plate is overall.
While the preceding discussion has focused on a specific cervical screw plate system and its failures, the same failures apply to the art of vertebral immobilizing screw plate systems which are presently available as well. There are no presently available screw plate assemblies which present a flush surface and provide for means of preventing both screw pull-out from the bone and screw backout from the plate, while simultaneously providing for a wide range of angulation for the bone screws.
It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel cervical, thoracic, and/or lumbar screw plate design having a polyaxial coupling of the screw to the plate, whereby a single plate is compatible with a wide range of screw-in angles.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic screw plate assembly which has a simple and effective locking mechanism for locking the bone screw to the plate.
It is still further an object of the present invention to provide a screw plate assembly having a retaining means for preventing screw pull-out in the event of a failure of the locking mechanism.
Other objects of the present invention not explicitly stated will be set forth and will be more clearly understood in conjunction with the descriptions of the preferred embodiments disclosed hereafter.

Anterior spinal polyaxial locking screw plate assembly having recessed retaining rings


A mold for maintaining alignment between mold halves despite a thermal differential between the mold halves. The lock comprises (1) a T-shaped member, consisting of an enlarged, rectangular head and a tongue extending therefrom, and (2) a receptacle with an outwardly opening U-shaped pocket to receive the tongue of the T-shaped member, when the mold halves are pressed together. A vertical conduit is formed in the head and tongue of the T-shaped member, and a horizontal channel, extending through the tongue, intersects the lower end of the conduit. At lest one groove is defined in each side wall of the conduit. A grease fitting is located in a blind hole in the head of the T-shaped member, so that lubricant flows through the vertical conduit, into the horizontal channel, and into the grooves in the opposite side walls of the tongue. The grooves are usually formed in pairs, and are configured in an intersecting X configuration. The midpoint of the X configuration corresponds to one end of the horizontal channel in the receptacle. The grease fitting, vertical conduit, horizontal channel, and grooves in the opposite side walls of the tongue deliver a film of lubricant into the limited clearances between the side walls of the tongue and the interior walls of the pocket to prevent metal-to-metal, line-to-line contact therebetween. In an alternative embodiment, the grooves are located in the parallel side walls of the U-shaped pocket, and are configured in an intersecting X configuration, to deliver the film of lubricant.

Injection molds are used to form a variety of objects from plastic materials. The molds usually consist of two halves, which are aligned by leader pins and bushings. A die fits within a cavity defined between the two halves of the mold. A representative mold is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,946, to Steven D. Pratt et al; the first or fixed mold half 102 and the movable mold half 109 are shown in FIG. 1 of the Pratt et al patent. Leader pins 114, that fit into corresponding bushings 116, are also depicted, and side-locks 128, 129 assist in the alignment, and registration, of the two mold halves during molding.
As the mold in Pratt et al closes, the initial alignment of the mold halves occurs as leader pins 114 enter bushings 115. However, as the mold is operated, at high speeds, during extended production runs, the alignment of the two halves of the mold degrades and becomes less accurate. Side locks 128, 129 start to wear and are unable to fully compensate for the reduced accuracy, and the mold loses its ability to produce products within acceptable tolerances.
In order to maintain more precise alignment between the mold halves of injection molds than can be provided by leader pins and cooperating bushings, improved mold locks were developed. Many of the mold locks relied upon the coaction of a T-shaped member with a U-shaped receptacle. The T-shaped member is secured to one mold half, while the U-shaped member is secured to the cooperating mold half.
The T-shaped member comprises a horizontally extending head with an extending tongue. The U-shaped member includes an upwardly opening pocket that receives the tongue. The sides of the tongue are parallel to one another, and the side walls of the upwardly opening pocket are parallel to one another. Minimal clearance, in the order of 0.0002 to 0.0004 inches, is provided between the sides of the tongue and the side walls of the receptacle. The mold locks are installed in the mold so that the adjacent, alignment surfaces of the tongue and receptacle are parallel to the direction of thermal expansion of the mold halves.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,977, granted Jun. 9, 1998 to Borislav Boskovic, discloses a mold lock employing a T-shaped member that cooperates with a receptacle with a U-shaped pocket to receive the tongue of the T-shaped member. Boskovic discloses lock 16 for guiding, and aligning, two mating parts 12, 14 of mold 10; the mold would usually include a core and a cavity to form a specific article. The lock comprises guide member 18 having a socket, or U-shaped pocket 22, and a locking member 20, which is shaped to be engaged in the pocket, as shown in FIG. 3.
Boskovic improved upon previous mold locks by providing a self purging feature for the purging of foreign material, from the socket or receptacle, when the locking member and socket are engaged. The self-purging feature assumed the form of sloped wall 30 in cavity 28, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and described in column 2, lines 51–60, of the Boskovic patent. Typically, four of the locks are utilized for each mold, with one lock secured to each side of the mold, as shown in FIG. 2.
Several embodiments of a mold lock are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,858, granted Jan. 3, 2006, to Klaus A. Wider. In the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1–5, the mold interlocking device includes first portion 22 attached to mold half 24. The first portion includes head 50 with channel 66 that receives a cylindrical pin or roller 68, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3; the head is received in pocket 30 of receptacle 26 that is secured to cooperating mold half 28, as shown in FIG. 4. Inserts may include rollers, plates, plates with lubricating plugs, and plates comprised of layers.
However, all mold locks are subject to wear, which reduces their accuracy over time. In order to minimize wear, mold locks are frequently made from high grade hardened alloy steel, and are coated with wear resistant surfaces, such as titanium nitride. Nonetheless, known mold locks suffer from the same problem, namely dry unlubricated metal surfaces rubbing against each other, resulting in wear and galling.
The rubbing interaction of dry, contacting surfaces may be compounded by inaccuracies in machining the U-shaped pocket in the receptacle of the mold lock, coupled with the nominal clearance, between wear surfaces, of 0.0002 to 0.0004 inches. Consequently, the fit between the T-shaped member and the U-shaped pocket in the receptacle may result in line-to-line contact of the metal surfaces.


A downhole tool assembly including a sealing device and a sensing device for sensing parameters associated with the operation of the sealing device.

This invention relates to a device and method for use in a downhole oil and gas recovery operation to measure and record the setting motion of packers.
Downhole sealing devices, such as packers, bridge plugs, and the like, are commonly used in many oilfield applications for the purpose of sealing against the flow of fluid to isolate one or more portions of a wellbore for the purposes of testing, treating or producing the well. For example, a packer is usually suspended from a tubing string, or the like, in the wellbore, or in a casing in the wellbore, and includes one or more elastomer elements which are activated, or set, so that the packer elements are forced against the inner surface of the wellbore, or casing, and compressed to seal against the flow of fluid and therefore to permit isolation of certain zones in the well.
When setting sealing devices of this type downhole, a sequence of events occur that generally include the shearing of pins, the movement of components, the compressing of elastomers, the expansion of a slip and the deformation of back-up shoes. It is important to maintain this sequence in a fairly precise manner to obtain a proper set despite the fact that the sequence can be adversely affected by several parameters including bottomhole pressure, bottomhole temperature, stroke time and distance, and external forces.
Also, after a packer has been set, it may move or leak. The cause of the moving or leaking is usually difficult to determine due to a lack of knowledge of the above parameters and other parameters such as the time required to complete the set, the setting force imparted to the packer, etc.
However, it is difficult to measure and quantify these parameters and adjust them as necessary to ensure that the correct sequence is maintained and/or the moving or leaking of the device is eliminated.
Therefore, what is needed is a system that measures, quantifies and records the above parameters to enable the correct sequence to be maintained and/or the cause of any moving or leaking of the sealing device to be determined.

Downhole device to measure and record setting motion of packers and method of sealing a wellbore


A client device is coupled with a server. The client device prompts a user to enter a number associated with a mobile device, which can be the client device, and generates data including a code. The code is typically hidden from the user when the code is generated and is saved on the client device. The client device transmits the number entered by the user and the code generated by the client device to the server, which sends a message, including the code, to the mobile device associated with the number. The client device prompts the user to enter the code included in the message. Validity of the number is based on one or more factors, including the accuracy of the code entered by the user. In addition, validity of the number can also be based on whether the second user input was entered within a predetermined time limit.

Web services typically require their users to verify their accounts by using their mobile numbers before the users are allowed to access certain features of the web services. Prior art mobile number verification process is performed on the server side. For example, a social networking site allows its users to use its services via text message. However, a user must first verify their account by adding a mobile number to their account. Generally, a mobile number is that of a mobile device capable of receiving SMS text messages and needing verification. The prior art verification application then generates and sends a confirmation code as part of an SMS text message to a device associated with the mobile number, which is generally the user's mobile phone. The confirmation code and some form of identity, such as the mobile number entered by the user, are stored in a database prior to the mobile number being validated. If the user enters the correct mobile number and if the user's mobile phone is capable of receiving SMS, the user will receive the SMS text message containing the confirmation code. The user, after receiving the SMS text message on their mobile phone, returns to the prior art verification application to enter the confirmation code found in the SMS text message. Upon receiving the entered confirmation code, the prior art verification application verifies the user-entered confirmation code with the stored confirmation code that is in the database and accepts the mobile number as valid if they match. After the mobile number is determined to be valid, the user is able to take advantage of certain features of social networking site.
There are drawbacks with this prior art method of verifying mobile numbers. For example, since a web service operator must maintain a database(s) of all mobile numbers and associated codes served out to prospective users, there may be potentially millions, or even billions, of expired codes in the database(s) due to users initiating but never completing the verification process or due to repeat attempts simply because a user failed to receive a text message containing a confirmation code. The costs associated with developing and maintaining such database(s), the underlying storage and networking infrastructure are extremely high.
The present invention addresses at least these limitations in the prior art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method of verifying a number of a mobile terminal


Methods and apparatus for dedicated endpoint instances for network-accessible services are disclosed. The number of dedicated endpoint instances to be established to direct work requests of a given client to back-end nodes of a service may be determined. Configuration policies for the instances, including one or more policies related to caching, authentication, redundancy, durability, availability, and/or load balancing, may also be determined. Configuration of the instances may be initiated, and an indication that the endpoint or endpoints have been configured may be provided to the client.

Several leading technology organizations are investing in building technologies that sell "software-as-a-service". Such services provide access to shared storage (e.g., database systems) and/or computing resources to clients or subscribers. Within multi-tier e-commerce systems, combinations of different types of physical and logical resources may be allocated to subscribers and/or their applications, such as whole physical or virtual machines, CPUs, memory, network bandwidth, I/O capacity, or bundled resources such as database servers, scientific computation clusters, and the like.
In many cases of bundled services, the core functions of the service are performed at secure servers or hosts, which may be termed back-end service nodes, that typically cannot be accessed directly from client devices. For example, in the case of network-accessible database services, a number of storage nodes may be established to store client database contents and to perform various types of reads, writes and other data extraction or manipulation operations on behalf of the clients. The clients may typically submit their work requests (e.g., read requests or write requests) to shared front-end intermediary nodes, which may be responsible for performing various types of validation operations on the request, and (for validated requests) transmitting internal representations of the work requests to the appropriate service nodes.
A number of factors may influence the implementation of such network-accessible services. For example, clients' throughput and response time requirements may have to be taken into account when deciding the set of resources to be allocated for the back-end service nodes. For some types of services, such as provisioned-throughput database services, each client-owned object (such as a database table) managed by the service may have an associated maximum throughput limit, and the operator of the service may distribute the object contents among various service nodes and their storage devices in such a way that, as far as the service nodes are concerned, the maximum throughput limits can be achieved under most operating conditions. However, under some circumstances, the overall client experience of the service may be affected not just by the back-end service nodes, but by the capabilities and configuration of the intermediary front-end nodes as well.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean including, but not limited to.

Dedicated endpoints for network-accessible services


A method of transmitting signals applied for a loading control system, which includes a phase angle control module and a driving module, wherein the phase angle control module is electrically connected to an input interface. The method includes the following steps: A. switch the input interface from a first status to a second status; B. modify a voltage waveform of an AC power to make the voltage waveform have a delayed conduction angle in half of its wave period; C. check the delayed conduction angle of the voltage waveform; D. transmitting an electric signal to a loading according to the delayed conduction angle.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to signal transmission, and more particularly to a method of transmitting signals by means of voltage waveforms.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, indoor electricity wiring is installed by providing two wires between an electricity box on the ceiling and another electricity box in the wall, wherein the two wires are connected to a switch. To install an electric apparatus (such as a lamp, an electric fan, or other loadings), the electric apparatus is fixed on the ceiling and connected to an end of mains electricity, while the other end of mains electricity is connected to a switch through the wires, and connected back to the electric apparatus to form a power loop. In this way, the electric apparatus can be turned on and off simply by switching the switch.
Because of the advancement of technology, electric apparatuses nowadays provide various functions. For example, the luminance and light color of a commonly seen LED (light-emitting diode) illumination system are usually adjustable now. In order to transmit control signals which are related in performing such functions, the LED illumination system may need additional control wiring other than the power loop to transmit the control signals from, say, a control panel on the wall to a LED module.
In other words, additional control wiring seems necessary for LED illumination systems which have functions of adjusting luminance and light color, because control signals may have to be transmitted through control wiring to a LED module. However, additional control wiring inevitably increases the cost for home maintenance or home decoration.
There are two conventional ways to transmit control signals without installing additional control wiring, which are by means of wireless transmission and carrier transmission. The wireless way requires wireless transceivers respectively installed at the LED module and the control panel on the wall, and the control signals for controlling the LED module can be transmitted wirelessly. As to the carrier way, there has to be a modulator to convert control signals into frequency-modulated signals or amplitude-modulated signals, and the converted signals are carried through power line. The LED module can be controlled after the converted signals being recovered with a demodulator.
Either way requires expensive equipment, and wireless transceivers and modulators still need additional power wiring too, which is kind of bothersome. Furthermore, signals transmitted by means of wireless transmission or carrier transmission tend to be interfered by other wireless signals, and it even creates more trouble to comply with EMI and EMS regulations of different countries.


An encapsulating material for solar cell of the invention contains an ethylene/α-olefin copolymer, an organic peroxide, at least one crosslinking aid selected from a group consisting of divinyl aromatic compounds, cyanurates, diallyl compounds, triallyl compounds, oximes and maleimides, and a (meth)acrylate-based monomer. The content of the (meth)acrylate-based monomer in the encapsulating material for solar cell is in a range of 0.1 parts by weight to 5.0 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ethylene/α-olefin copolymer, and the content of the crosslinking aid in the encapsulating material for solar cell is in a range of 0.1 parts by weight to 3 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ethylene/α-olefin copolymer.

In response to the increasing seriousness of global environmental issues, energy issues and the like, a solar cell is attracting attention as clean energy-generating means with no concern over depletion. In a case in which a solar cell is used outdoors such as on the roof of a building, it is usual to use the solar cell in a solar cell module form.
Generally, the solar cell module is manufactured in the following order. First, a crystalline solar cell element (hereinafter also referred to as a power generation element or a cell in some cases which indicates the same thing) formed of polycrystalline silicon or monocrystalline silicon, or a thin film-type solar cell element obtained by forming an extremely thin (several micrometers) film of amorphous silicon or crystal silicon on a glass substrate or the like is manufactured. Next, to obtain a crystalline solar cell module, a protective sheet (a transparent surface protective member) for the solar cell module, an encapsulating material for solar cell, the crystalline solar cell element, an encapsulating material for solar cell, and a protective sheet (a back surface protective member) for the solar cell module are sequentially laminated. Meanwhile, to obtain a thin film-based solar cell module, a thin film-type solar cell element, an encapsulating material for solar cell, and a protective sheet (a back surface protective member) for the solar cell module are sequentially laminated. After that, the solar cell module is manufactured using a lamination method or the like in which the above-described laminate is suctioned in a vacuum, heated and pressed. The solar cell module manufactured in the above-described manner is weather resistant and is also suitable for outdoor use such as on the roof of a building.
An ethylene/vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer film is widely used as an encapsulating material for solar cell due to its excellent transparency, flexibility, adhesiveness and the like.
Patent Document 1 (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-35575) describes a composition for encapsulation which encapsulates an electronic material obtained by mixing an organic peroxide or a photosensitizer and a silane coupling agent with EVA as a composition for encapsulation. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 discloses that (meth)acrylic acid ester and/or an allyl group-containing compound may be mixed.
In addition, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-123488) discloses an adhesive sheet for solar cell containing an organic peroxide and a polyfunctional monomer having a total of four or more of any one or both of an acryloyl group and a methacryloyl group in EVA.
In contrast to what has been described above, recently, there have been active studies regarding polyolefin-based materials, and there is another proposal of a resin composition for an encapsulating material for solar cell for which an ethylene/α-olefin copolymer having an excellent balance between stiffness and crosslinking characteristics and extrusion moldability is used (for example, refer to Patent Document 3).

Encapsulating material for solar cell and solar cell module


A life safety vest for white water rafting, canoeing and kayaking, with scuba air breathing apparatus. A life safety vest of the conventional kind worn about the torso, having front and rear panels that incorporate sections of flotation material, is modified by creating recesses in the flotation sections of the rear panel to receive and store miniature scuba compressed air tanks. Left and right breast pockets are provided on the front panels for storing a scuba mouthpiece and demand regulator. A flexible air hose has one end attached to the mouthpiece and demand regulator and an opposite end attached to a T-coupling. The T-coupling is also attached by hollow tubing to each of the scuba air tanks. A rigid safety cover is provided to cover the upper portion of each tank, including an air regulator mounted atop each tank, which secures the breathing apparatus from damage due to mechanical stresses and shocks in the event of a white water boating accident.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to water safety gear, particularly life vests equipped with breathing apparatus.
2. Background Art
Participants in white water rafting, canoeing or kayaking face the risk of capsizing or being thrown overboard into rapid, turbulent water, sometimes followed by severe buffeting against rocks and logs, thereby incurring bodily injuries and even drowning. Prior to my invention, the principal safeguard against such dangers has been a buoyant, safety life vest worn about the torso of each participant. The life vest ordinarily provided sufficient flotation to maintain the nose and mouth of an overboard participant above water until he could be rescued. It was wholly inadequate, however, whenever he become trapped underwater--underneath a log jam or in an overturned kayak, for example--in which event he could be drowned before rescuers could find him and bring him up for air. What is required to safeguard against such a mishap in addition to a life vest is a rapidly deployable air supply for breathing underwater long enough for a rescue operation to be completed. Such an air supply apparatus, which according to the present invention comprises one or more compressed air tanks with associated regulator valves and air tubing, should be capable of withstanding the significant stresses and impulse forces to which it may be subjected in a white water environment.
Drager et al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,878,474, disclosed an annular, hollow breathing bag made of a water-proof elastic or flexible material and constructed to fit snugly against the shoulders, back and chest of the wearer. A breathing hose having one end connected to a sodium peroxide cartridge inside the bag, and an opposite end connected to a mouthpeice, conducted exhaled breath to the bag and inhaled, oxygen-laden air to the wearer's mouth. This arrangement, intended for occupants of sunken submarine boats or diving bells, was unsuitable for whitewater conditions as it provided inadequate buoyancy and left the cartridge subject to damage by impact with rocks and other objects.
Courtney, U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,233, disclosed a vest style bouyancy compensator adapted to carry a rescue raft and to be worn by a diver carrying a standard scuba tank. No provision was made for protecting the tank and associated regulator valve from damage in white water conditions.
Fast, U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,348, disclosed a back pack assembly for a diver for use with a compressed air scuba tank and equipped with flexible bladders that automatically inflated at greater depths and disinflated at lesser depths. The back pack included a two-peice housing fitted together to encompass the scuba tank. Although the back pack could provide some protection from damage to the tank and attached regulator valve, the assembly was unnecessarily complex and bulky for white water conditions.
Courtney, U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,554, disclosed a back pack, for use with an inflatable air vest, having a rigid housing that enclosed a compressed air tank, and equipped with an inflatable buoyancy compensator for use in deep sea diving. This too was unnecessarily complex and bulky for white water conditions.
Hart, U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,521, disclosed an air system for scuba diving that included an inflatable buoyancy jacket and scuba breathing gear, including a compressed air tank. In an emergency, the compressed air tank could be jettisoned, and the diver could breathe the air in the inflated jacket through a mouthpeice. No provision was made for protecting the scuba breathing gear from damage in white water conditions.
There remains a need, therefore, for an air supply vest that will provide both adequate buoyancy and a rapidly deployable supply of air to a boating accident victim, wherein the air supply is secure from mechanical damage under white water conditions.


A system for inspecting a pipe weld from within a pipe through use of magnetic particle imaging “MPI” includes an apparatus having a head unit that carries a wire wheel brush for cleaning an inspection area along an inner diameter of a pipe weld, and an MPI medium dispenser for spraying an MPI medium upon the inspection area, both controlled by an operator. The head unit also includes a video inspection device controlled by the operator and used for viewing at least portions of the inspection area after being sprayed with the MPI medium and when under the influence of a magnetic field to determine if the weld has any defects. The head unit is connected to a drive unit. The drive unit includes a frame having a longitudinal axis and mounted on a set of drive wheels, and a set of support wheels spaced axially from the drive wheels. A linear drive motor mounted to the frame and coupled to the drive wheels moves the head unit linearly along an interior of the pipe between weld inspection areas to allow the operator to locate and inspect the welds from within the pipe.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to non-destructive testing of pipe, and in particular, to a test unit that is conveyed internally through pipe for magnetically inspecting the pipe for cracks or stresses and methods for inspecting associated therewith.
2. Description of the Related Art
Non-destructive testing of pipe has been done for many years utilizing magnetic particles, ultrasonic transducers, eddy current measurements, x-ray and other techniques. Operators using magnetic particle inspection techniques, typically with aid of an imaging device, can determine the existence of cracks or stresses and metal structures such as in riser pipe. Magnetic particle inspection techniques can include applying a magnetic particle medium to the surface of an area of a pipe to be inspected. The magnetic particle medium includes magnetic particles and can include other material such as florescent-type material, typically used for the inspection when conducted in a low ambient light environment. After applying the magnetic particle medium, electric power is supplied to a cable positioned to surround the area under test in order to form a magnetic field adjacent thereof. Stresses and cracks in the pipe or pipe weld produce gaps in the magnetic field into which the magnetic particles within the magnetic particle medium tend to gravitate. Visual inspection by a user either directly or through use of an imaging apparatus such as a video camera can detect the concentrations of magnetic particle medium in the vicinity of the cracks or stresses. In a low light environment, the magnetic particle medium can include means to help the user detect the magnetic particles such as a florescent means.
One type of pipe that requires such periodic inspection is a drilling riser. Drilling risers, which are utilized for offshore drilling, extend from the drilling rig to a blowout preventer and lower marine riser package, which connect to a subsea wellhead. Drilling risers are made up of sections bolted together with flanges, each section being typically from 60–90 feet in length. Each drilling riser section has a central riser pipe that is normally about 18–24 inches in diameter. Several auxiliary lines are mounted to the exterior of the central riser pipe, the auxiliary lines being used for a choke, kill and hydraulic boost purposes. The auxiliary lines are smaller in diameter and mounted parallel and offset to the axis of the central riser pipe. Normally there will be at least one weld within each riser section, this being a center weld that connects two tubular pipes together to form the riser section. Also, normally the flange connectors are mounted to the ends of the riser sections by welding. Many risers also have buoyant jackets mounted to the exterior.
A drilling vessel may have several thousand feet of riser pipe, depending on the depth to which it is rated. During use, drill pipe with drill bits on the end, casing, and other well tools are lowered through the riser. Drilling mud returns up the riser. The auxiliary lines are pressurized for various purposes from time to time. The drilling riser is re-used after each well. Consequently it is necessary to periodically inspect the riser to make sure that the welds have no weaknesses, that could result in riser pipe failure.
Inspection in the past has been accomplished by inspecting the riser pipe both deployed in a subsea environment and inspected at a land facility after retrieval. When inspected while in a subsea environment, either divers or a remote operations vehicle are deployed to perform a visual inspection along the entire length of the riser. For example, the divers can take a length of wire connected to an electrical power supply and wind it around the inspection area. The divers then spray the magnetic particle medium on the area to be inspected and provide power to the length of wire to provide the magnetic field. The divers can then directly visually inspect the area or can use a video camera, either of which may or may not be accomplished with or without additional illumination. This process can be very tedious and can be affected by obstructions such as the buoyant jackets, if installed, and can subject the divers to extreme environmental conditions.
Inspection at a land facility, on the other hand, is typically accomplished by transporting the riser sections to a facility on land that performs the inspection services. The facility removes the buoyancy jackets and auxiliary lines from each section. The riser sections are cleaned and inspected from the exterior using similar magnetic particle imaging techniques as that described. If the riser is coated with an epoxy, it must be removed at each inspection site. After inspection, the riser sections are reassembled and shipped back to the drilling vessel.
The transport of the riser sections to a testing facility on land is expensive. Also, it is time consuming to transport, clean, disassemble, inspect and reassemble the riser sections. During this time, unless a spare drilling riser can be obtained, the drilling rig would not be able to operate. Drilling rigs are very costly on a daily basis.
It has been proposed to inspect the drilling risers at the drilling vessel. Many drilling vessels have the ability to stack the riser sections horizontally on the vessel while not in use. However, there are a number of problems in doing so. The interior of the drilling riser is often not very clean, and may be coated with dried drilling mud. The central riser pipe is often out of round portions. The welded areas of the central pipe may be misaligned slightly. Also, there is normally not much access room on the drilling rig at the ends of each riser section for staging the equipment necessary to do the inspection.

Internal riser inspection system, apparatus and methods of using same


An electrical receptacle includes a housing that is defined by identical nonconductive housing halves which are held in side-by-side assembled relationship by a metal mounting bracket. The mounting bracket carries a ground wire connection screw that extends through a rear wall of the housing and threads into a threaded rear end region of a metal post which extends centrally through the housing to provide a threaded front end region configured to receive a cover plate mounting screw. Two nonconductive rotors are journaled by the housing for independent rotation between "off" positions and various "on" orientations for selectively supplying electrical energy to sets of female contacts that are carried by the rotors. A leaf spring is carried within the hollow interior of the housing for engaging detent formations of the rotors for releasably retaining the rotors in "off" and "on" orientations. The rotor carried contacts have front end regions that are configured to receive and conductively engage the metal prongs of conventional male plugs, and rear end regions that are configured to selectively engage forwardly facing conductive surfaces provided on at least one circuit board which is carried within the hollow interior of the housing near the rear wall of the housing. Wire connection terminals carried on opposite sides of the housing deliver electrical energy to the electrically conductive surfaces of the circuit board. Crimpable formations provided on the metal mounting bracket and/or the metal post may be utilized to maintain the assembled relationships of components of the receptacle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a switching type electrical receptacle having a housing that journals a pair of contact carriers or "rotors" that are rotatable between "off" positions and various "on" orientations--improvements that permit a switching receptacle of the basic type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,299 issued Jan. 16, 1996 to Marc A. Schlessinger to be assembled with ease from a minimal number of relatively inexpensively formed components including at least one circuit board that is carried within the hollow interior of the housing, and including two identically configured, nonconductive housing halves that are connected to and held in assembled relationship by an elongate metal mounting bracket for journaling two identically configured nonconductive rotors that carry contacts which extend rearwardly to engage conductive surfaces of the circuit board, with a housing carried leaf spring interacting with detent formations of the rotors to releasably detain the rotors in "off" and selected "on" orientations, and with other features being provided by utilizing components of novel configuration and arrangement to provide a variable orientation switching receptacle that is well suited for use as a replacement for conventional electrical receptacles.
2. Prior Art
The vast majority of electrical receptacles that are installed in the walls of homes, apartments, offices and the like are of the type that include one or more sets of fixed-position female electrical contacts that are configured to receive prongs (male electrical contacts) of appropriately oriented cord-connected plugs. To utilize such receptacles, the power cord of an electrical appliance is extended from the location of the appliance to the location of a wall-mounted receptacle; the cord-connected plug of the appliance is properly oriented such that its prongs are suitably aligned with a set of female contacts of the receptacle; and the properly aligned prongs of the plug are inserted into the receptacle to permit the female contacts to engage, grip and establish electrical contact with the inserted prongs.
A drawback of receptacles of the type just described is that, due to the fixed-orientation character of their female contacts, it often is found that plugs (and electrical cords connected thereto) that are connected to such receptacles interfere with proper placement of furniture and the like. To resolve such conflicts, it is not unknown for plugs to be bent or otherwise detrimentally deformed (and/or for cords connected thereto to be bent sharply or otherwise detrimentally deformed--which can lead to cords becoming frayed, shorted or broken) to conform to limited available space, with the result that fire and electrical hazards may be created.
Another drawback of receptacles having fixed-position contacts is that, if a non-standard plug (e.g., a plug of oversize or cumbersome design, or a right-angle plug or the like) is "plugged into" one of the stations of a two-station receptacle, the configuration of the nonstandard plug (and/or the orientation of an electrical cord connected to the non-standard plug) may block the other station of the receptacle, thereby preventing use of the second station. Stated in another way, while it may normally be possible to connect two "standard" plugs to a two-station receptacle, the connection of a "non-standard" plug to one of the receptacle's stations may prevent the other station of the receptacle from concurrently receiving and serving a second plug.
Still another drawback of receptacles having fixed-position contacts is that no provision is made for "deactivating" individual sets of female contacts as a safeguard to ensure that toddlers (who have been known to stick metal objects into the slots of such receptacles) will not be painfully shocked or electrocuted. While it is known to deactivate a receptacle by operating a circuit breaker or an electrical switch, this approach often proves to be inconvenient and/or unacceptable. For example, it often is desired to make use of one set of contacts of a receptacle to operate a lamp or other form of appliance while a remaining set of contacts of the receptacle remains idle. "Idle" contacts that are not deactivated are "alive" (i.e., are connected to a source of electrical energy) and therefore present a hazard to a toddler who decides to probe the "idle" contacts by inserting metal objects into receptacle openings.
The switching type electrical receptacle disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,299 issued Jan. 16, 1996 to Marc A. Schlessinger (referred to hereinafter as the "Basic Patent," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) addresses the foregoing and other needs and drawbacks of the prior art by providing a novel and improved electrical receptacle that utilizes at least one generally cylindrical, nonconductive contact carrier or "rotor" that is rotatably mounted by a surrounding nonconductive housing for selectively connecting rotor carried contacts with housing-carried contacts (and thence to a source of electrical energy) when the rotor is rotated to an "on" orientation that resides within a predetermined angular range of "on" orientations, and that interrupts such connection when the rotor is rotated relative to the housing to an "off" orientation.
A feature of the invention of the Basic resides in its providing a very simple, easy-to-use method for "deactivating" a set of female contacts of a receptacle. A particular set of female contacts can be deactivated simply by rotating its carrier relative to the housing to an "off" orientation. In preferred practice, this "deactivating" movement of a rotatable contact carrier can be effected either by grasping and rotating a plug that is "plugged into" the carrier that is to be rotated, or by rotating the carrier itself (if no plug currently is "plugged into" the carrier).
Another feature of the invention of the Basic Patent is the easy-to-use method it provides for selectively orienting electrical plugs (and their attached electrical cords) that are "plugged into" sets of female contacts of electrical receptacles. Because receptacles that embody the preferred practice of the invention utilize sets of female electrical contacts that are housed within individually rotatable carriers, and because these carriers are rotatable within relatively wide angular ranges of "on" orientations, electrical plugs (and their attached electrical cords) can be individually oriented as is needed to minimize interference in properly positioning furniture and the like at locations adjacent installed receptacles.
In preferred practice, an electrical receptacle that embodies the invention of the Basic Patent includes a nonconductive housing, a nonconductive carrier or "rotor" that is connected to the housing for relative rotation thereto, a set of housing-carried electrical contacts, and a set of carrier-carried electrical contacts, with these components being arranged and configured in a manner that will permit the housing-carried and carrier-carried contacts to remain electrically connected while the orientations of the contact carriers are suitably adjusted to accommodate special needs of particular receptacle installations.
In accordance with the preferred practice of the invention of the Basic Patent, a mechanical "detent" also is incorporated in receptacles of the above-described type for "detenting" each rotatable carrier at its "off" orientation--so that, once the carrier has been rotated to its "off" orientation, slightly more than "normal" force (i.e., more force than normally is required to effect carrier rotation) must be applied to rotate the carrier out of its "off" orientation. By this arrangement, if a toddler has come to comprehend that the carrier of a receptacle is "rotatable," the requirement that "slightly more force than normal" be used to effect carrier rotation out of an "off" orientation will assist in providing a safeguard.

Variable orientation switching type electrical receptacle


A network system includes a directory server configured to provide service definition information through a network, and a terminal device configured to receive the service definition information. The directory server may include a server communication unit, a service definition information storing unit configured to store main information and auxiliary information as part of service definition information, and a service definition information transmission control unit that retrieves the service definition information from the service definition information storing unit and transmit the same to the terminal device. The terminal device may include a terminal communication unit, an outputting unit, an input receiving unit and an output control unit. When received the service definition information from the directory server, the output control unit controls the outputting unit to output the main information, and when the input receiving unit receives a predetermined input instruction, the auxiliary information is output.

Conventional terminal devices (e.g., a personal computer, a printer, a scanner, a facsimile device or a multi function peripheral having a network function) can enhance their functionality by communicating with servers providing various services (e.g., data processing) through a network. In such a terminal device, further information (e.g., information of a service menu) necessary for using the services may be downloaded from the server. An example of such a system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. HEI 9-238215.
In such a system, it is further preferable that information explaining respective functions, which have been newly provided or improved, can be provided to the terminal device.
However, some terminal devices may have a relatively small display device on which only a limited number of letters/numerals can be displayed, and the explanation transmitted from the server may not be fully displayed. For example, on a display of the personal computer, forty or more lines of characters can be displayed. However, a printer, a scanner or a multi function peripheral may have a display which can display only a few lines of characters.
One of the methods for solving the above problem, if a WWW scheme is utilized, a type of the terminal device is identified on a server side using a user agent. In such a case, it is possible to transmit an HTML file containing the explanation of the service and corresponding to the displaying capability of the terminal device. Then, the difference of the displaying capability of the terminal devices may be dealt with. However, to transmit the HTML files corresponding to the displaying capability of the terminal devices implies that the number of the HTML files should be the same as the number of the types of the terminal devices. In such a case, when the HTML files are to be revised or HTML files for new types of terminal devices are to be added, burden to the server administrator would be relatively large. Further, for some terminals, the quantity of the information decreases, and the service may not be explained sufficiently.
It may be possible to prepare HTML files for service titles and for service descriptions, which constitute a service menu. Such a configuration may reduce the amount of each file. If the menu has such a structure, the user can obtain the explanation of a desired service by following links to an HTML file containing the explanation.
However, such a configuration requires the terminal device to obtain appropriate HTML files form the server. Therefore, at the terminal device, a display response at transition among pages becomes lowered. This problem is significant when the terminal device is OA (Office Automation) equipment, such as a printer, a scanner, a facsimile machine, an MFP and the like. Conventionally, the OA equipment is configured to display a menu, which are displayed using the menu information stored in the equipment and sufficiently quick response is achieved. Therefore, if the menu is displayed using the data obtained through the network, the response is too slow, which is a critical problem for the OA equipment.
In the foregoing, a problem in displaying information is described. It should be noted that the similar problem exists in outputting sound and voice messages.

Network system, directory server and terminal device


A constant current driver circuit based on a half-bridge resonant topology has a variable capacitance circuit. The driver circuit operates the half-bridge inverter at a fixed frequency. The variable capacitance circuit is configured to vary the effective capacitance of the resonant tank of the driver circuit. The driver circuit can be configured to maintain soft-switching over a wide output current range (e.g., dimming range) by selecting a resonant capacitor value effective to maintain soft switching given the fixed frequency of the half-bridge inverter.

The light emitting diode (LED) lighting market is expanding as the cost of LED lighting decreases. As compared to incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, and other light sources, LEDs have a longer service life and can be dimmed without impairing the service life of the LED. Dimmable LED drivers with wide range dimming capability are desirable.
There are two basic methods to accomplish the dimming function in LED driver circuits. In buck converter and buck-boost converter LED driver circuits, pulse width modulation duty cycle variation is used to reduce the output current to the LED (i.e., dim the LED light source). In half-bridge resonant type driver circuits (which are often isolated), frequency control of the half-bridge resonant inverter is used to reduce output current to the LED light source. Both driver circuit topologies and methods have hard-switching problems and frequency limiting problems when dimming. This makes switch (e.g., MOSFET) selection difficult (e.g., balancing the competing interests of cost, size, and robustness) and the switches selected may reduce circuit efficiency and/or reliability.
Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art frequency controlled half-bridge resonant type driver circuit 100 works well for certain range dimming control. By changing the switching frequency of the half-bridge inverter 102, the resonant tank circuit 104 output can be predictably altered and controlled. As the dimming range is increased, the switching frequency range of the half-bridge must also be increased. However, if the switching frequency of the half-bridge inverter 102 is too high, there is not enough current going through the resonant inductor Lres to maintain soft-switching. To maintain soft-switching in the half-bridge inverter 102, the switching frequency must be limited. Thus, there is a practical maximum frequency limit and corresponding minimum dimming level for driver circuits based on the half-bridge resonant topology.

Dimming LED driver circuit with dynamically controlled resonant tank gain