In a respiratory apparatus for treatment of sleep apnea and other disorders associated with an obstruction of a patient's airway and which uses an airflow signal, an obstruction index is generated which detects the flattening of the inspiratory portion of the airflow. The flattening index serves as an obstruction index used to differentiate normal and obstructed breathing. The obstruction index is based upon comparison of values of airflow in different sectors of the inspiratory peak of the wave function and is particularly suitable for distinguishing M shaped or square shaped respiratory patterns indicative of partially obstructed airways.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a syndrome that includes apnea, hypopnea and heavy snoring, causes sleep disruption that brings about serious health problems possibly including types of heart disease. OSA is caused by the collapse of portions of a person's airway passage. The treatment of choice for OSA is the administration of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) to keep the patient's airway open. The air, usually in the pressure range 4-20 cm H2O, is supplied by a motor driven blower whose output passes via an air delivery device to sealingly engage a patient's airway. A mask, tracheotomy tube, endotracheal tube, nasal pillows or other appropriate device may be used. An exhaust port is provided in a delivery tube proximate to the air delivery device. Some CPAP devices, termed bi-level CPAP, sense the breathing cycle of inspiration and expiration and provide different positive pressure levels during inhaling and exhaling. Some self-titrating CPAP devices are designed to determine appropriate pressure levels for the individual patient by selecting the least pressure that resolves the OSA. In such devices patterns of respiratory parameters are monitored to determine when OSA is present, and CPAP pressure is raised on the detection of appropriate patterns to provide increased airway pressure to, ideally, subvert the occurrence of obstructive episodes and the other forms of breathing disorder. Such devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,148,802 and 5,245,995.
Typically a person suffering from OSA is diagnosed and treated in a sleep laboratory where the presence of the ailment is confirmed during a first night sleeping session and the appropriate treatment pressure is determined during a second night sleeping session. One problem that arises is that the appropriate pressure varies during the night as the person goes through different stages of sleep. Therefore there has been a long felt need for simplified apparatus for use in a patient's own home that could determine the presence of OSA and modify the pressure level to an optimum pressure. There have been several attempts, with varying success, to determine the presence of OSA from the analysis of the shape of airflow curves as a function of time.
The monitoring of upper airway pressure-flow relationships in obstructive sleep apnea has been described in Smith et al., 1988, J. Appl Physiol. 64: 789-795. FIG. 1 of that article shows polygraphic sleep recordings at varying levels of increasing nasal pressure. It was noted that inspiratory volumetric flow plateaued in certain breaths suggesting the presence of airflow limitation. Pressure-flow curves were constructed by plotting mid-inspiratory airflow against either mask pressure or endoesophageal pressure. The pressure-flow plots of nasal pressure against mean midinspiratory flow were then fit by least-squares linear regression to calculate resistance upstream to the collapsible-site.
The effect of positive nasal pressure on upper airway pressure-flow relationships has been described in Schwartz et al., 1989, J. Appl Physiol. 66: 1626-1634. FIG. 4 of the article shows that pressure-flow tracings plateau at a low pressure level. It was further shown when the pressure was increased, flow did not plateau.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,654 (Rapoport) shows the effect of CPAP on the airflow versus time curve for a patient suffering from OSA. FIGS. 1-5 in Rapoport show that as the pressure is reduced from 10 cm H2O to 2 cm H2O in steps of 2 cm H2O the curve of airflow versus time changes from an almost smooth sinusoidal pattern to one with a flattening of the inspiration portion of the curve with initial and terminal flow spikes. At 2 cm H2O the curve has developed a so-called M shape (i.e. with a ripple in the middle) and has also developed overshoots (i.e. peaks) at each end of the flattened central region. In an attempt to characterize the flow shapes that indicate obstruction, Rapoport lists several indices said to be indications of flow limitation and/or partial obstruction patterns including: (1) The derivative of the flow signal equals zero; (2) The second derivative between peaks of the flow signal is zero for a prolonged interval; (3) The ratio of early inspirational flow to mid-inspirational flow is less than or equal to 1. The patent further lists events said to be indications of obstructions: (1) Reduced slope of the line connecting the peak inspiratory flow to the peak expiratory flow; (2) Steep upward or downward stroke (dV/dt) of the flow signal; and (3) Ratio of inspiratory flow to expiratory flow over 0.5.
With regard to the control of CPAP treatment, various techniques are known for sensing and detecting abnormal breathing patterns indicative of obstruction. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,995 (Sullivan et al.) describes how snoring and abnormal breathing patterns can be detected by inspiration and expiration pressure measurements while sleeping, thereby leading to early indication of pre-obstructive episodes or other forms of breathing disorder. Particularly, patterns of respiratory parameters are monitored, and CPAP pressure is raised on the detection of pre-defined patterns to provide increased airway pressure to ideally prevent the occurrence of the obstructive episodes and the other forms of breathing disorder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,053 (Remmers) describes calculating a flatness index, wherein flatness is defined to be the relative deviation of the observed airflow from the mean airflow. In Remmers, individual values of airflow are obtained between 40% and 80% of the inspiratory period. The mean value is calculated and subtracted from individual values of inspiratory flow. The individual differences are squared and divided by the total number of observations minus one. The square root of this result is used to determine a relative variation. The relative variation is divided by the mean inspiratory airflow to give a relative deviation or a coefficient of variation for that breath.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,345 (Berthon-Jones) disclosed a method for detecting partial obstruction of a patient's airway by calculating two obstruction index values that parameterize a flattening of an inspiratory portion of a patient's monitored respiratory airflow. Either obstruction index is then compared to a threshold value. The first shape factor involves a ratio of the mean of a mid-portion of the inspiratory airflow of the breathing cycle and the mean of the inspiratory airflow.
      shape        1    =                    1        33                                    ∑                      t            =            16                    48                                  fs                                (            t            )                                M  where fs(t) is a sample of the patient inspiratory airflow and M is the mean of inspiratory airflow given by
  M  =            1      65                          ∑                  t          =          1                65                                    fs                                (            t            )                          .
The second shape factor involves a ratio of the Root Mean Square deviation of a mid-portion of inspiratory airflow and the mean inspiratory airflow according to the formula
      shape                          2    =                                          1            33                                                        ∑                              t                =                16                            48                                                                  (                                                      fs                                                              (                      t                      )                                                        -                  M                                )                            2                                          M        .
U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,073 (Wickham) discloses a method and apparatus for detecting some forms of obstruction based upon the inspiratory airflow. In this method, inspiratory airflow samples corresponding to mid-inspiration are identified. In one embodiment, weighting factors are applied based on whether the inspiratory airflow samples are less than or greater than a threshold level, such as the mean airflow. In another embodiment, different weighting factors are applied to samples based on their time positions in a breath. Samples taken prior to a certain event during inspiration, for example samples preceding the half way point of inspiration, are assigned lower weighting factors than samples succeeding the event. An obstruction index is then calculated using these samples with their corresponding weighting factors.
All these disclosed techniques fail to detect flow limitation in certain types of flow patterns, particularly the M-wave pattern. More generally, flow limitation in the inspiratory patterns that present with leading or lagging overshoot, is not appropriately detected. The detectability depends on two factors. 1) the extent to which the overshoot-traverses the mid-portion of the inspiratory airflow, and 2). the size of the overshoot. The solution presented by Wickham, works satisfactorily if the size of the overshoot is relatively small, does not span a large portion of mid-inspiration, and is not present in the latter half of the inspiratory airflow.
However, flattening indices from the Wickham method are sometimes not as accurate as the indices from the method disclosed by Berthon-Jones. One aspect of the present invention is to simplify the algorithm mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,345 (Berthon-Jones), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. Thus, an objective of the current invention is to present a method by which flow-limitation can be detected in the presence of the mentioned limitations, particularly the M wave pattern with overshoots.
The flow limitation detection/estimation technique described by the prior art is also expensive in terms of digital processing power, and the accuracy of flow detection required. Therefore its utility in low cost electronic/software platforms is limited. Therefore another objective of the present invention is to simplify the algorithm to render it more amenable to low-end electronic and software platforms.

Method and apparatus for improved flow limitation detection of obstructive sleep apnea


An atomic force microscope includes a cantilever operating in amplitude modulation mode. A controller determines the amplitude of the cantilever oscillation by processing a signal representative of the cantilever motion by square-rooting a signal having a value substantially equal to a sum of a square of the received signal and a squared and phase-shifted version of the received signal. The aforementioned processing, in some implementations is implemented using analog circuit components.

Atomic force microscopy was first designed with an AFM tip (or simply called 'tip') that measured the AFM-tip deflection while the tip was scanned over solid surfaces. The nanometer scaled tip of the AFM resolved atoms on samples such as solid graphite in air. A considerable advance for the application of AFM in biology was the development of the optical lever detection system that allowed operation of the AFM tip in a fluid cell. This permitted the first breakthrough image acquisitions of proteins under close-to-native conditions. The early images were acquired in a so-called 'contact mode' where the tip was in permanent contact with the sample during scanning. In this operational mode the feed-back loop was driven by the permanent measurement of the cantilever deflection Δz which is proportional to the average applied force F following Hooke's law:F=k×Δz  Eq. (1)The major advantage of contact mode imaging was that the permanent contact between tip and sample results in a tremendous signal-to-noise ratio giving access to highly contrasted images of individual proteins. The downside of 'contact mode' imaging is that it is restricted to fairly sturdy and laterally stable samples as the scanning motion with permanent tip-sample interaction implicates lateral shear forces that disrupt soft biological samples. To overcome this limitation, amplitude modulation mode (also referred to as 'tapping mode' or 'oscillating mode') was developed. In this operational mode, the cantilever oscillates at its first resonance frequency while scanning over a sample. As a consequence, the tip-sample interaction is reduced to the only parts of the cantilever oscillation cycle when the tip swings around the bottom peak of the oscillation (about 10% of the entire cycle). In amplitude modulation mode the feed-back loop is driven by the measurement of the amplitude of oscillation, the average applied force is reduced to:F=kcAfree/(2Q(1−(Aset/Afree)2)1/2)  Eq. (2)where F is the average applied force, kc is the cantilever spring constant, Q is the cantilever quality factor, and Aset and Afree are the setpoint and the free oscillation amplitude, respectively. As demonstrated above, amplitude modulation mode AFM operates generally at significantly lower force and reduced tip-sample interaction compared to contact mode AFM. The effect is further improved in high-speed AFM (HS-AFM) due to the high resonance frequency (short contact time) of the short high-speed AFM cantilevers. In high-speed AFM, due to the low applied force (e.g., 20 pN; for kc=0.15 nN/nm, Q=1.5, Afree=1.0 nm and Aset=0.9 nm) the shortness of tip-sample contact (e.g., contact duration: 166 ns, scan distance per contact: 0.01 nm; for a typical cantilever resonance frequency of 600 kHz and a scan velocity of 60 μm/s) lateral shear forces are quasi-eliminated. Based on these considerations, fast and precise oscillation amplitude detection/determination is of high importance for operating an AFM and even more so for a high-speed AFM.
To make high-speed AFM faster and more sensitive, drive feedback can be employed based on every cantilever oscillation cycle or faster. The current most precise amplitude detection method is Fourier-analysis-based. This method fits every oscillation cycle wave and scores the power—i.e. amplitude—of its first Fourier component. This method is currently used in state-of-the art high-speed AFMs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Phase-shift-based amplitude detector for a high-speed atomic force microscope


The complex lock has a housing, a number core, a key cylinder and a number detector. The number core, the key cylinder and the number detector are located inside of the housing. The complex lock can be unlock by a key and unlock number. When the unlock numbers are missed or forgotten, the number detector is able to find the unlock number again so that the complex lock can be unlock by the unlock number again.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lock assembly, and more particularly to a complex lock assembly that can find again unlock codes when the unlock codes are missed or forgotten.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional combination lock assembly in accordance with the prior art comprises a housing, a number core and a shackle. The number core is mounted inside of the housing. The shackle is controlled by the number core and has a distal end. The distal end of the shackle is curved, extends out of the housing and selectively engages with the housing.
The distal end of shackle is able to hook around an object that is desired to be locked. When the distal end of the shackle engages with the housing and the number core is turned, the object is locked. After the number core is turned to unlock codes, the shackle is able to be pulled to separate from the housing to unlock the combination lock assembly and the object.
If a user has not used the combination lock for a certain time or the user is in a hurry situation, the user may be unable to recall the correct unlock codes and the user cannot unlock the combination lock. The combination lock without correct unlock codes is useless so that the conventional combination lock is not convenient in use.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a complex lock assembly to obviate or mitigate the aforementioned problems.


A brushless direct current (DC) electric motor includes a rotor and a stator. The rotor has at least one disc mounted to a central shaft. The disc has an outer portion consisting of permanent magnets. The magnets are mounted with their direction of magnetization transversing through the disc. The stator includes C-shaped electromagnets which straddle the disc and are mounted with their magnetic poles aligned in coupling proximity to the poles of the permanent magnets in the disc. Position circuitry senses a position of the permanent magnets with respect to the electromagnets and then provides a signal based on the position to the electromagnets to cause the rotor to rotate.

There are numerous electric motors available for propelling electric automobiles. These include both direct current (DC) motors designed to drive directly off of the batteries and alternating current (AC) motors which require electrical circuitry for converting the DC power in the batteries to AC power. The most efficient of these AC motors requires three or more phase power.
Such motors have a high power-to-weight ratio, can be made to run efficiently, and are inherently reliable because of their brushless design. A disadvantage of such motors is the fact that the battery power must be first converted to AC before it can be used by the motor. This disadvantage shows up in the need for complex circuitry. This is especially true for three-AC motors having three or more phases. Along with the need for complex circuitry is the fact that the failure of a single electrical component in the system can result in total failure of the drive circuitry for producing AC power. This results in DC electric power in the batteries, and a motor that requires AC power. This renders the entire drive system useless.
Therefore, such AC drive systems suffer from the potential of leaving the driver stranded. Despite these obstacles, companies such as AC Propulsion Inc. have made considerable advances in the use of AC motors in electric cars. In particular, high power-to-weight ratios have been achieved.
In the powering of industrial machinery, in many applications it is desirable to have an electric motor that is capable of producing considerable amounts of torque and power at relatively low RPM values. This is normally achieved by gearing the motor down, however this practice results in added moving parts, increased mechanical losses, and adds cost and complexity to the overall system. In general DC electric motors have good torque characteristics which make them ideal for use in many industrial applications. In general with DC electric motors, the more mechanical drag on the motor, the more torque is produced. In this respect such motors are ideal for propelling electric cars as well. The reasons for this are outlined below.
DC electric motors require little circuitry to drive them from batteries. In some cases they can be wired directly with only a switch to turn the system on and off. Another advantage offered by DC electric motors is the fact such motors do not require starting circuitry in the way that many AC motors do.
The first electric cars were produced at the turn of the century and were powered by DC electric motors. Such motors utilized two sets of electromagnets to produce their torque. One set was mounted to the inside of the motor casing. These electromagnets had one set of poles facing inward, and their other set of poles against the steel casing to magnetically connect them in series. The motor casing with its electromagnets made up the stator portion of the motor. When power was on, these electromagnets maintained the same field. At each end of the motor casing were end caps having holes which were centrally located which supported a bushing or bearing through which the rotational portion (or rotor) was supported. The rotor consisted of a round shaft having a larger diameter set of electromagnet windings wound onto an iron core. The ends of the rotor electromagnet windings were fixed to conductive copper strips that were insulated from each other and the motor casing using resin or other suitable insulating material. A set of brushes which were usually made of graphite pushed up against the copper strips in the rotor to make electrical contact while also allowing the rotor to rotate. The position of the brushes relative to the stator electromagnet windings was always set so that the proper rotor electromagnets were turned on at the appropriate times by the brushes to always magnetically drive the rotor in the same direction (i.e., by interaction of the stator magnetic field with the magnetic field of the electromagnets in the rotor).
While these motors were suitable for powering both electric cars, as well as industrial equipment, their efficiency was somewhat limited by the fact that power losses occurred in both sets of electromagnets due to the resistance of their windings.
In the early 1930s, the General Electric Company developed the first permanent magnets that were strong enough to replace one set of electromagnet windings in DC motors. This permanent magnet material was called Alnico, and soon several grades were made commercially available. Shortly thereafter, the first permanent magnet motors began to appear. These motors basically used permanent magnets to replace the stator electromagnets. While these motors had an increased efficiency when compared to their predecessors, they suffered from the possibility of demagnetization of the permanent magnets if the electromagnetic field in the rotor exceeded the "cohesive force" (a measure of the resistance to demagnetization of permanent magnets) of the permanent magnets in the stator. To partially alleviate this problem, stronger ceramic permanent magnets were developed, and still stronger magnets called "Rare Earth Magnets" are among the most recent developments.
When using these strong Rare Earth Magnets, it is common practice to use with them heavy steel motor casings for the purposes of magnetically connecting them to concentrate their flux to within the motor. This practice somewhat counteracts the light-weight benefits offered by rare earth permanent magnets. In addition, extra long electromagnet core lengths are needed to efficiently supply enough magnetic flux to properly utilize such magnets. Thus, it is highly desirable to utilize an electromagnet to permanent magnet geometry which provides for both long electromagnet core lengths as well as eliminating the need for heavy steel motor casings.
Further improvements involve the elimination of brushes by first inverting the construction of the motor so that the electromagnets are in the stator, and the permanent magnets are in the rotor. Secondly, using sensors and transistor circuitry to properly time and provide pulses of electricity to the stator electromagnets to cause the rotor to rotate. Thus, these brushless DC motors have improved reliability compared to brush timed motors.
Despite these improvements, all electric motors have resistive losses in their electromagnet windings which generate considerable amounts of heat. Because of this generation of heat, many motors, both AC and DC, are equipped with a small fan blade mounted onto the motor shaft on the inside of the motor to move air through the motor for the purposes of cooling. In the case of DC motors, the greatest amount of heat is generated under high load conditions. Because of this fact, coupled with the fact that under such conditions motor RPM values are low, insufficient volumes of air are available to adequately cool the motor. This leads to the undesirable risk of overheating the motor under heavy load conditions. Because of this, it is often practice to mount an external fan powered by a separate power source to continuously blow high volumes of air through the motor. Although efficient for motor cooling under low RPM heavy load conditions, the extra fan motor adds to the complication of the system.
In addition to the overheating issue, the overall power of DC permanent magnet motors is proportional to the amount of permanent magnet material that can be magnetically cycled through the field produced by the electromagnets. To achieve a high rate of magnetic cycling at relatively low RPM values, employing a large diameter rotor is beneficial.
Increasing the rotor diameter has the added benefit of increasing the surface speed at the edge resulting in an increase in air motion within the motor. This increased airflow helps the motor to remain cool. Such large diameter motors can be made considerably compact in overall thickness by making the rotary portion into the shape of a thin planar disc. Airflow can be increased by modification of the disc. For example the surfaces may be given a rough texture to enhance the natural air motion associated with the rotation of such disc-shaped rotors, or alternatively blades, rotary vanes, or even an internal turbofan can be added.
In such disc-shaped large diameter rotors, high surface speeds around the periphery are easily achieved along with considerable forces in a radial direction during running. As an example, a 24" diameter rotor rotating at 3,000 RPM will have a surface speed at the edge of about 200 miles per hour. With 5 pounds of permanent magnets around the periphery, in addition to a couple of pounds of other materials, about 27,000 pounds of centrifugal force would be present in a radial direction. Because of these radial forces, strong materials need to be used. One solution is to use composite materials such as carbon fiber. These materials are strong and lightweight. They also do not easily conduct electricity like metals and therefore would not contribute to inductive losses. Another option is to use steel spokes that are flat and sandwiched on both sides by permanent magnets. Although steel is normally not a good choice of material due to its electrical and magnetic properties, when sandwiched between two permanent magnets it will somewhat resist the losses normally present when solid steel is subjected to rapidly changing magnetic fields. In this respect the steel present at the center of such a sandwich construction behaves in a similar manner to the steel casing in ordinary DC electric motors. It becomes part of the magnetic circuit, however being somewhat shielded from changing magnetic fields, does not appreciably add to either inductive or hysteresis loss.
As mentioned earlier it may be desirable to incorporate a turbofan into the rotary portion of the disc-shaped rotor of this invention. Such a turbofan must be capable of moving large volumes of air under low RPM values.
An example of such a turbofan is outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,606 by Leonard H. Lipman in which the author uses this turbofan design to move large volumes of air at low RPM values by maximizing the available cross section. The impeller portions of such a turbofan are ideal for cooling the large-diameter DC permanent magnet motors of this invention.
Other blade configurations for moving air are also possible. For example, flexible strips of thin film plastic material can be fastened to the periphery of the disc. These plastic strips are initially made to protrude from the edge in a radial direction. These flexible plastic strips move modest quantities of air past the electromagnets under low RPM conditions. As the rotor velocity increases, aerodynamic drag bends these strips back. This alters their shape, reducing their drag effect on the rotor; however, it still maintains enough airflow to prevent overheating of the electromagnets.
A rotating flat disc naturally moves some air with it. This airflow will help to cool the motor. If the surfaces of such a disc are made somewhat rough in texture, this airflow can be enhanced. This is especially true for disc rotors of considerable diameter. This is because the surface speed at the periphery of such discs can be quite high. As earlier mentioned, a 24" diameter disc rotating at 3,000 RPM has a speed of 200 miles per hour at the periphery.
All DC permanent magnet motors run the risk of demagnetization of their permanent magnets if the electromagnetic field of the windings exceed the cohesive force of the permanent magnets. To alleviate this problem, a maximum safe voltage for any DC permanent magnet motor is specified which under maximum power conditions (i.e., at stall) the resistance of the electromagnet windings will be high enough to prevent a flow of current through the electromagnet sufficient to cause irreversible damage to the permanent magnets. This current is considerably greater than the normal operating current, and for this reason, normal operating conditions for traditional permanent magnet DC electric motors only utilize a fraction of their true power capabilities based on their permanent magnets. In fact, most of these motors only utilize between 10% and 25% of their true potential.
The wire diameter used in winding an electromagnet core basically determines the magnetization force in ampere-turns for a given cross-sectional core diameter at a given voltage. Increasing the number of turns reduces the number of amperes that will flow through the coil but increases the number of turns, thus maintaining the same number of ampere turns. In order to more effectively use the permanent magnets of a permanent magnet motor under normal running conditions (i.e., at 10% to 25% of stall current) electromagnet windings must be activated that are more than capable of demagnetizing the permanent magnets in the motor under the conditions of stall. This is effectively accomplished by winding the electromagnet in layers having very thick electromagnet wire on the first windings against the core of the electromagnet and using thinner wire successively in the outer layers. On start up, all the layers of wire in the electromagnet are used. The resistance of the thinner wire prevents excessive currents in the motor, thus preventing demagnetization of the motor permanent magnets. Once the motor RPM value reaches a safe level, the outer layers are shunted, thus increasing the ampere turns in the motor and increasing the utilization of the motor permanent magnets. An interlock is also provided that prevents accidental activation of the shunt mechanism under stall or low RPM conditions. Thus, it is entirely possible to increase the utilization of permanent magnet material in DC permanent magnet motors under normal running conditions.
This increased utilization of permanent magnets during running conditions combined with the relatively large disc diameter results in an electric motor having exceptionally high torque values. This reduces the amount of gearing needed for electric vehicles and industrial machinery. This results in lowered drive train mechanical losses accompanied by increased overall mechanical efficiency.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide a brushless DC permanent magnet motor capable of adequately utilizing high-strength rare earth permanent magnets by providing long electromagnet core lengths.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an electromagnet to permanent magnet geometry which eliminates the need for using heavy steel motor casings in motors using rare earth magnets.
It is a further object of this invention to adequately utilize high-strength rare earth permanent magnets under normal running conditions by incorporating several sets of electromagnet windings having thicker wire which are selectively activated as the motor RPM increases.
It is a further object of this invention to adequately utilize ceramic permanent magnets under normal running conditions by incorporating several sets of electromagnet windings having thicker wire which are selectively activated as the motor RPM increases.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a means of adequately cooling the high power motor of this invention by employing a built in turbofan, adding vanes, or roughening the surface of the rotor disc of this invention to move large quantities of air over the electromagnet windings at relatively low RPM values.
It is yet another object of this invention to achieve high torque values in an electric motor by providing a rotor consisting of a large diameter disc, and driving this rotary disc from the edge.


The present invention provides a process for making an olefin product from an oxygenate-containing feedstock comprising:

Light olefins, defined herein as ethylene, propylene, butylene and mixtures thereof, serve as feeds for the production of numerous important chemicals and polymers. Typically, light olefins are produced by cracking petroleum feeds. Because of the limited supply of competitive petroleum feeds, the opportunities to produce low cost light olefins from petroleum feeds are limited. Efforts to develop light olefin production technologies based on alternative feeds have increased.
An important type of alternate feed for the production of light olefins is oxygenate, such as, for example, alcohols, particularly methanol and ethanol, dimethyl ether, methyl ethyl ether, diethyl ether, dimethyl carbonate, and methyl formate. Many of these oxygenates may be produced by fermentation, or from synthesis gas derived from natural gas, petroleum liquids, carbonaceous materials, including coal, recycled plastics, municipal wastes, or any organic material. Because of the wide variety of sources, alcohol, alcohol derivatives, and other oxygenates have promise as an economical, non-petroleum source for light olefin production.
The catalysts used to promote the conversion of oxygenates to olefins are molecular sieve catalysts. Because ethylene and propylene are the most sought after products of such a reaction, research has focused on what catalysts are most selective to ethylene and/or propylene, and on methods for increasing the life and selectivity of the catalysts to ethylene and/or propylene.
The conversion of oxygenates to olefins generates and deposits carbonaceous material (coke) on the molecular sieve catalysts used to catalyze the conversion process. Over accumulation of these carbonaceous deposits will interfere with the catalyst's ability to promote the reaction. In order to avoid unwanted build-up of coke on the molecular sieve catalyst, the oxygenate to olefin process incorporates a second step comprising catalyst regeneration. During regeneration, the coke is removed from the catalyst by combustion with oxygen, which restores the catalytic activity of the catalyst. The regenerated catalyst then may be reused to catalyze the conversion of oxygenates to olefins.
Typically, oxygenate to olefin conversion and regeneration are conducted in two separate vessels. The coked catalyst is continuously withdrawn from the reaction vessel used for conversion to a regeneration vessel and regenerated catalyst is continuously withdrawn from the regeneration vessel and returned to the reaction vessel for conversion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,616 to Avidan et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for converting oxygenates to lower olefins by operating a fluidized bed of zeolite catalyst, e.g. ZSM-5, whose activity is controlled to produce a product having propane:propene molar ratio ranging from 0.04:1 to 0.1:1.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,390 to Lewis et al., incorporated herein by reference, teaches conversion of a feedstock, e.g., alcohols, to a product containing light olefins over a silicoaluminophosphate having pores with diameters of less than 5 Angstroms, wherein carbonaceous deposit material is formed on the catalyst. The catalyst is treated to form a partially regenerated catalyst having from 2 to 30 wt. % of the carbonaceous deposit material, with a preferred range between 4 and 20 wt. %.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,137,022 to Kuechler et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method of increasing selectivity of a reaction to convert oxygenates to olefins by converting the feedstock in a reaction zone containing 15 volume percent or less of a catalyst comprising a silicoaluminophosphate molecular sieve material, and maintaining conversion of the feedstock between 80% and 99% under conditions effective to convert 100% of the feedstock when the reaction zone contains at least 33 volume percent of the molecular sieve material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,005 to Lattner et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method of producing ethylene and propylene by catalytic conversion of oxygenate in a fluidized bed reaction process which utilizes catalyst regeneration. The process maintains a portion of desired carbonaceous deposits on the catalyst (wt. %) by removing only a portion of the total reaction volume of coked molecular sieve catalyst and totally regenerating only that portion of catalyst, which is then mixed back with the unregenerated remainder of catalyst. The resulting catalyst mixture contains 2–30 wt % carbonaceous deposits.
S. Soundararajan et al., "Modeling of methanol to olefins (MTO) process in a circulating fluidized bed reactor", Fuel 80 (2001), 1187–1197 at 1192–93, discuss the effect of coke content (wt. %) on product selectivities from pure methanol using SAPO-34 catalyst. Although a relationship between wt. % carbon on catalyst and selectivity for primary olefins has been observed, it can vary considerably from one catalyst to another, even for molecular sieve materials having the same structure.
Stephen Wilson et al., "The characteristics of SAPO-34 which influence the conversion of methanol to light olefins", Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 29(1999) 117–126, describe the relationship between acid-site strength and density on methanol conversion to light olefins over chabazite structure types (SAPO-34 and SSZ-13) in terms of determining which catalyst was the most resistant to coking at one acid-site per chabazite cage.
Ivar M. Dahl et al., "Structural and chemical influences on the MTO reaction: a comparison of chabazite and SAPO-34 as MTO catalysts", Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 29(1999) 185–190, describe the effect of relationship between acid-site strength and susceptibility of chabazite and SAPO-34 to deactivation for oxygenate conversion at high space velocities to avoid excess catalyst activity causing undesired secondary reactions.
It would be desirable to provide a process for making olefins from oxygenate which maximizes primary olefin yield, especially light olefin yield (ethylene and propylene), for a wide variety of catalysts.

Converting oxygenates to olefins over a catalyst comprising acidic molecular sieve of controlled carbon atom to acid site ratio

Abstract: a) contacting the feedstock in a reaction zone with catalyst particles comprising a molecular sieve containing acid sites and having an average coke loading of 1 to 10 carbon atoms per acid site of said molecular sieve, under conditions effective to convert the feedstock into an olefin product stream and to provide unregenerated catalyst particles,

Abstract: b) removing a portion of said catalyst particles from said reaction zone and contacting said portion with a regeneration medium in a regeneration zone under conditions effective to obtain regenerated catalyst particles which have an average coke loading of no greater than 10 carbon atoms per acid site of said molecular sieve, and

Abstract: c) introducing said regenerated catalyst particles into said reaction zone to provide a catalyst mixture of unregenerated catalyst particles and regenerated catalyst particles, in an amount sufficient to provide an average coke loading on said catalyst mixture in an amount ranging from 1 to 10 carbon atoms per acid site of said molecular sieve.


The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire 1 in which turbulent-flow generating projections 10 each extending from an inner circumference side to an outer circumference side are provided on a outer circumferential face 3a which is tire surface of tire side portion 3 at intervals in a tire circumferential direction. Each of the turbulent-flow generating projections 10 includes an edge portion 10g when being viewed in a cross-sectional shape taken along a direction perpendicular to an extending direction thereof, and a front wall angle θ formed between a front wall face 10a of each turbulent-flow generating projection 10 and the tire surface (outer circumferential face 3a) is set in the range of 70° to 110°, the front wall face being hit by an airflow.

In general, increase of a tire temperature in a pneumatic tire is considered unfavorable in terms of durability since the increase accelerates time-dependent changes such as a change in material property, and leads to breakage of a tread portion and the like when the tire travels at high speed. Decreasing a tire temperature has been a challenge for enhancing durability particularly in the cases of an off-the-road radial tire (ORR) and a truck/bus radial tire (TBR) which are used under heavy loads, and in the case of a run-flat tire when travelling in a punctured state (when travelling with an inflation pressure thereof at 0 kPa).
For example, in a run-flat tire having a sidewall reinforcing layer whose cross-sectional shape in a tread-width direction is crescent, when the tire travels in a punctured state, deformation in a tire radius direction concentrates on the sidewall reinforcing layer, and causes the sidewall reinforcing layer to reach a very high temperature, whereby durability is severely affected.
As other means for decreasing a tire temperature in such a pneumatic tire, particularly, a temperature in a tire side portion, there is disclosed a technology of providing a reinforcing member which reduces distortion of each of constituent members (particularly, a carcass layer located in a sidewall portion, and a bead portion) of the pneumatic tire (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-76431).
There is also known a pneumatic tire including a rim guard having a large number of ridges arranged thereon as another means for decreasing a tire temperature in a pneumatic tire, the rim guard being disposed outward, in a tread-width direction, of a bead portion which comes in contact with a rim.
However, in the case of a conventional pneumatic tire in which the above described reinforcing member is provided, provision of the reinforcing member increases a tire weight, and leads to occurrence of an unintended additional failure such as separation (detachment) of the reinforcing member. There has been a problem that normal traveling performances such as driving stability and riding comfort are deteriorated thereby. Particularly in the case of a run-flat tire, it has been feared that vertical spring (elasticity in a vertical direction of the tire) when the tire travels with a normal inflation pressure becomes high, and thereby deteriorates normal traveling performances. Therefore, a method for not damaging these normal traveling performances has been demanded.
On the other hand, in the case of the pneumatic tire in which the rim guard is provided, heat release is accelerated by increase of a surface area of the tire. However, efficient heat release of a tire side portion has not been achieved only by the simple increase of the tire surface area since a rubber member with low heat conductivity is arranged in the outer circumferential side of the pneumatic tire.
Therefore, the present invention was made in consideration of the above described situation, and aims to provide a pneumatic tire capable of enhancing durability by decreasing of a tire temperature, specifically a temperature inside a tire side portion, through efficient heat release.


There is provided a lens module including: a first lens having refractive power and having a shape in which an image-side surface is concave; a second lens having refractive power; a third lens having positive refractive power; a fourth lens having positive refractive power; a fifth lens having negative refractive power; and a sixth lens having refractive power and having a point of inflection formed on an image-side surface thereof.

The present disclosure relates to a lens module, and more specifically, to a lens module including an optical imaging system including six lenses.
Portable terminals commonly include cameras, so that a video calls and photography are possible. In addition, as the functionality of in portable terminals has gradually increased, demand for high resolution and high performance cameras for use therein has correspondingly increased.
However, since portable terminals have tended to be gradually miniaturized and lightened, there is a limitation in implementing high resolution and high performance cameras therein.
In order to solve this problem, camera lenses have recently been manufactured using plastic, which is lighter than glass, and a lens module has been configured using five or more lenses in order to implement a high level of resolution therein.
However, with the use of such lenses formed of plastic, there are greater difficulties in improving chromatic aberrations as well as in implementing a relatively bright optical system, as compared to the use of a lens formed of glass.
As the related art associated with the present disclosure, there are provided Patent Documents 1 and 2. Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose lens modules including six lenses.


In an order processing system, mechanisms and techniques receive a change to an existing order in the order processing system and generate a change order based on the existing order. The change order includes the change to the existing order. The system can then compare the change order to the existing order to generate change order result that indicates differences between a change order in the existing order. The system then provides the change order result to at least one recipient such that the recipient may distinguish the differences between a change order in the existing order. Since a change to an existing order can result in changes other than those specifically specified in the received change, the system of the invention allows a person making the change to be presented with the change order results that convey all of the changes that result to the existing order.

Conventional computer based order processing systems allow a person to interact with a computer system to place orders for items such as goods or services. Merchants of the items often provide access to such order processing systems over a computer network such as the Internet using a standard set of protocols such as those commonly referred to as the World Wide Web and the hypertext transport protocol (HTTP). For example, a customer of the merchant can, for example, operate web browser software to navigate to a web site that the merchant operates the computer network such as the Internet. The web site can provide an online order processing system to allow the customer to order items offered for sale by the merchant over the Internet.
During the process of placing or entering an order for an item, the customer can typically select or enter values for various properties or attributes associated with the item such as color, quantity, size, a specific configuration, or other order attributes. The customer can also enter payment information such as credit card or bank account information and can enter shipping information including a billing and/or a shipping address. Once this process is complete, the order processing system typically presents a summary of the order to the customer and allows the customer to confirm or decline acceptance of the order. Once the customer accepts the order, the order processing system places the order in a queue of orders waiting to be fulfilled by the merchant.
Fulfillment of the order by the merchant can happen in a number of ways. As a simple example, the order processing system can receive a request from a person working in a merchant facility (e.g., a warehouse or manufacturing facility) for the next order in the queue of orders waiting to be fulfilled. In response to this request, the order processing system can simply print out a copy of the purchase order at the end of the queue and can remove this order from the queue of orders to be fulfilled. The purchase order print out typically contains all of the information provided by the customer to the order processing system concerning the items be purchased, as well as payment and shipping information for the items. The person in receipt of the purchase order can then proceed to fill the order by either retrieving the ordered item(s) from existing merchant stock supplies or by the creating, building, manufacturing or otherwise obtaining the item(s) as specified in the purchase order. Once the person fulfilling the order has retrieved or completed creation of the items specified in the purchase order, the person then packages the items and ships the items to the customer according to the shipping information as specified on the purchase order. The person in the merchant facility can then indicate to the order processing system that the order has been fulfilled and the order processing system can cause payment to be transferred from the customer (e.g., from the credit card of the customer) to a merchant account.
In a conventional order processing system, once an order is accepted by a customer, the order including any associated customer information, item information, shipping information, billing information and so forth is treated as a single entity and is often assigned an order or confirmation number. After submitting an order, if a customer desires to make changes to the existing order, the order processing system typically does not allow such changes to be made to the existing order if the existing order has entered the process of fulfillment. In other words, once the merchant begins the fulfillment process for an order, customers are generally not allowed to make changes to the order.
Certain conventional online order processing systems provide a cut-off time after which time a customer can no longer make changes to an order prior to its fulfillment process. For example, consider a conventional order processing system that allows customers to order groceries over the Internet from a supermarket. An online shopper can navigate to the supermarket web site and can select various items to be delivered to the customer's home at a customer specified date and time. Once the online grocery ordering systems accepts the order of groceries by the shopper, the online order processing system provides a date and time after which no changes may be made by the customer to the grocery order. For example, if the shopper places the grocery order on Monday and requests delivery of the order on the following Friday, the order processing system may indicate to the shopper that changes to the order may be made up until 4 PM Thursday. After 4 PM Thursday however, no changes may be made to the order and a customer will receive a delivery of groceries on Friday as specified in the order as of 4 PM Thursday.

Methods and system for processing changes to existing purchase orders in an object-oriented order processing system


Systems and methods for increasing sensor resolution using interpolation are described. One described method includes receiving an analog sensor signal associated with a coding surface; deriving a quadrature signal based at least in part on an analog threshold voltage associated with the analog sensor signal; determining a velocity and a derived quadrature position of the coding surface based at least in part on the quadrature signal; outputting the derived quadrature position of the coding surface if the velocity exceeds a velocity threshold; and determining and outputting an interpolated position of the coding surface using analog interpolation if the velocity is less than or equal to the velocity threshold.

A conventional input device, such as a mouse, knob, or other manipulandum, may use one or more optical or other sensors to sense movement of the device. Many conventional input devices are relatively inexpensive; the components of the device, including the sensors, are correspondingly inexpensive. However, inexpensive sensors typically provide relatively low resolution of the movement of the device. While the low resolution provided by these sensors may be acceptable for accepting input from a mouse or knob and affecting, for example, cursor movement, some implementations require higher resolution. For example, providing compelling haptic effects may require higher resolution.
High-resolution sensors provide the resolution desired for providing compelling haptic effects and other uses, but are generally more expensive. The increase in cost may be due, for example, to an increased number of, or more exacting standards for, the components in the sensor. Higher resolution may also be achieved by utilizing additional low-cost sensors. But again, a higher cost accompanies the higher resolution. Also, there may be physical limitations to adding additional sensors.

System and method for increasing sensor resolution using interpolation


A refrigeration cycle combines a concentrated absorbent liquid and a refrigerant in its vapor phase at low pressure in an absorber which provides, as an output, a liquid-rich refrigerant in solution with the absorbent liquid. The pressure of the absorbent/refrigerant solution is increased and the pressurized solution is supplied to a pervaporation membrane separator which provides as one output stream a vapor-rich refrigerant and as another output stream a concentrated liquid absorbent. The liquid-rich refrigerant output stream is condensed and subsequently expanded to a low pressure into an evaporator where it evaporates extracting heat from the spaced to be cooled. The concentrated liquid absorbent output stream from the separator is reduced in pressure and recombined in the absorber with the low pressure refrigerant vapor exiting the evaporator.

Absorption-type refrigeration systems have been used for many years in the residential and commercial air conditioning and refrigeration markets. Compressor-type refrigeration systems have been used even more extensively in these markets for the same purposes.
In prior art absorption-type systems low-pressure refrigerant in its vapor state is absorbed by an absorbent liquid in an absorber, the absorber being cooled by water or air. The resulting refrigerant/absorbent solution is pumped to a higher pressure and supplied to a separator unit which utilizes heat (high temperature boils off the refrigerant) or very high pressure (osmotic membrane passes only the refrigerant) to separate the refrigerant from the absorbent. The separated refrigerant is then condensed, expanded to a low pressure (resulting in a low temperature) and delivered to an evaporator which extracts heat from the space being refrigerated.
Conventional ammonia absorption refrigeration systems utilizing ammonia, for example, as a refrigerant, and water as the absorbent liquid, and heat for the separation process, are capable of achieving low temperatures less than 32.degree. F. and even down to -25.degree. F. or lower. However, the ratio of refrigeration provided to the energy required by such a cycle, called the coefficient of performance ("COP"), is typically significantly less than 0.50.
Osmotic-membrane-absorption refrigeration cycles are also capable of reaching low temperatures and may have a COP higher than conventional ammonia/water heat-separation systems, but require very high pressures, of the order of 2,000 psia or more to force the refrigerant through the pores of the osmotic membrane. Such high pressure must be handled with considerable care and even then may create a potentially hazardous environment.
Conventional compressor-type systems rely on electricity as the power source. Although this type system is more efficient than heat-separation-absorption-type systems, i.e., providing a COP of around 4, the electricity to run such systems is approximately ten times more costly than the gas for heat-separation absorption type system. The cost savings of gas vs. electricity is not present in an osmotic-membrane-separation system when the high pressure pump is driven by an electric motor. In addition, compressor-type pumps, the refrigerants, for compression-type systems, may be very destructive of the ozone layer.
There is a need in the refrigeration field for an energy efficient system that does not require high working pressures or utilize a working fluid that is destructive of the ozone layer.


A motorcycle with a seat frame and seat attached to a seat post. The seat frame is covered with the seat as viewed from above and is structured so as to hold an article in an exposed state thereon to form an article accommodating space below the seat. The rear wheel of the motorcycle is driven by a motor to which power is supplied from a battery. The voltage of the battery is converted by a charging and voltage conversion section to supply power to electrical equipment. The charging and voltage conversion section is attached in an exposed state to a vehicle body frame. A battery for supplying power to a motor is provided with a charging and voltage conversion apparatus for charging the battery. A charging cable for energizing the charging and voltage conversion apparatus is disposed in a hollow portion of a vehicle body frame.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an under-seat structure for a motorcycle, and more particularly to a seat post and a structure around the seat post. In addition, the invention relates to a motor-driven vehicle including a voltage conversion section. Further, the invention relates to a motor-driven vehicle including a charger and a charging cable.
2. Description of Background Art
An under-seat structure for a motorcycle is known wherein a supporting member in the form of a frame for attaching a seat is attached to a rear frame of the motorcycle. See, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-284064, Pages 3 to 4 and FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-284064 is described with reference to FIG. 19 in the drawings. It is to be noted that reference numerals are re-applied.
FIG. 19 is a side elevational view of a conventional under-seat structure for a motorcycle wherein a scaffold-like supporting member 303 is attached to a rear frame 302 of the motorcycle 301 and a seat 304 is attached to an upper portion of the supporting member 303 while an article accommodating space 306 for accommodating an elongated accommodation object is formed below the seat 304. An accommodation section 308 is provided on the bottom plate, which forms the bottom of the article accommodating space 306.
When an article is placed on the article accommodating section bottom plate 308 in order to accommodate the article in the article accommodating space 306, if it rains, then the article becomes wet with the rain. Therefore, it is possible to attach side walls to the supporting member 303 to cover all sides of the article accommodating space 306 so that the article may not become wet. This, however, requires an increased number of parts and therefore makes the structure complicated and increases the weight as well. Further, it becomes less easy to take out the article from within the article accommodating space 306 and the convenience in use deteriorates. In addition, if the structure for providing a novel impression of the article accommodating space 306, which does not include partition walls from the outside, is eliminated, then this is not preferable also from the point of view as an improvement in the marketability of the structure as a commodity.
In addition, an under-seat structure for a motorcycle is known wherein a supporting member in the form of a frame for attaching a seat is attached to a rear frame See, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 6-278667, Page 4 and FIG. 10)
FIG. 10 of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 6-278667 is described with reference to FIG. 20 in the drawings. It is to be noted that reference numerals are re-applied.
FIG. 20 is a side elevational view of a conventional motor-driven vehicle wherein a large size accommodation section 302 is attached to a rear frame 301 and a seat 303 is attached to an upper portion of the large size accommodation section 302. Further, the outer periphery of the large size accommodation section 302 is covered with a rear cover assembly 304, and a DC-DC converter 306 is disposed rearwardly of the large size accommodation section 302 within the rear cover assembly 304.
Further, a charging port for a motor-driven vehicle is known wherein the charging port is provided in an accommodation box. See, Japanese Patent No. 3343361, Pages 2 to 4 and FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent No. 3343361 is described below with reference to FIG. 21. It is to be noted that reference numerals are re-applied.
FIG. 21 is a side elevational view of a conventional motor-driven vehicle wherein a motor-driven two-wheeled vehicle 306 includes an accommodation box 302 and another accommodation box 303 provided integrally with the accommodation box 302. The boxes are attached to a rear frame 301 and a charging port 304 is disposed in the accommodation box 303. A partition wall 307 is provided for partitioning the accommodation box 302 and the accommodation box 303 from each other.


A power supply independent voltage reference circuit is disclosed. According to the invention a reference voltage is generated at a common node between a pull-up transistor that is biased by a power supply dependent bias voltage, and a pull-down transistor that is biased by a feedback signal based on the output voltage level.

The present invention relates in general to integrated circuits, and in particular to voltage reference circuitry with power supply (VCC) compensation to provide a single voltage level output across commercial, industrial and military VCC specification ranges.
In many circuit applications it is desirable to provide a stable reference signal that is insensitive to variations in power supply voltage level as well as temperature and process variations. An exemplary circuit application for a stable reference voltage can be found in memory circuits that use sense amplifiers for detecting the logic value stored in a selected memory cell. One type of sense amplifier used in this context has a region of operation where the circuit is considered stable with on-chip noise. Stability is a concern both when reading a logic high level and when reading (i.e., sensing) a logic low level. When reading a high logic level, the reference voltage should be high enough to have the nodal voltages within the sense amplifier read a logic high strongly. On the other hand, when reading a logic low level, the reference voltage should not be too high because that would prevent the nodal voltages within the sense amplifier from reading a logic low strongly.
With these conflicting reference voltage requirements, having a circuit that can produce a voltage which satisfies both conditions requires that the reference voltage be at a level between the two extremes of sense amplifier reference voltage needs. The variations in the power supply voltage VCC make this task difficult. Typical prior art circuits generate a reference voltage with a strong dependency on VCC levels, wherein the reference voltage is lower for low VCC and higher for high VCC. This makes the sense amplifier less stable when reading a high logic level (e.g., an off memory cell) at lower VCC and reading a low logic level (e.g., an on memory cell) at higher VCC. Adding processing variation to this equation makes the effects more severe.
It is therefore desirable to provide a voltage reference circuit that is insensitive to variations in power supply voltage level.


Aspects described herein may allow for prompting a user to access an on-line tool to create an identification element to be added to an exterior surface of a personal card. A server device may prompt the user to select a location for the identification element from a plurality of pre-selected locations on the personal card, each of the plurality of pre-selected locations being proximate edges of the personal card and outward of any of magnetic strips, chips, text, photos, and images on the personal card. The server device may modify an exterior surface of the personal card to include the identification element at the selected location, and deliver the personal card to the user.

Individuals often have multiple personal cards in their wallet or purse, such as credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, medical insurance cards, membership cards, and other types of identification cards. Retrieving the cards from a wallet or purse can be difficult at times, as the cards have smooth surfaces without anything for the user to grasp other than the card itself. Further, identification of different cards can be difficult at times, since only a portion of the peripheral edges of the cards are visible when the card is in a slot of a wallet or purse. Differentiating between a number of cards with similar background colors can be challenging.

System for adding identification element to card


A fluid dispense tip includes a bevel at an opening to reduce the amount of surface tension, or “land”, at the opening. The bevel is formed by grinding in a longitudinal direction such that any tooling scars resulting from the grinding operation are likewise longitudinally oriented, further reducing the amount of surface tension in the tip, thereby leading to heightened dispensing accuracy. The tip may be machined from stock as a unitary piece, to increase its lifetime, and may be formed with a bore of a relatively large diameter that is tapered down to a smaller diameter near the tip opening, to allow for delivery of fluid through the tip body at a decreased pressure. The tip may optionally be formed with a Luer™-style fitting on the body, such that the tip is compatible with pumps that utilize such a fitting.

Contemporary fluid dispense systems are well suited for dispensing precise amounts of fluid material at precise positions on a substrate. A pump transports the fluid to a dispense tip, also referred to as a "pin" or "needle", which is positioned over the substrate by a micropositioner, thereby providing patterns of fluid on the substrate as needed. As an example application, dispense tips can be utilized for depositing precise volumes of adhesives, for example, glue, resin, or paste, during a circuit board assembly process, in the form of dots for high-speed applications, or in the form of lines for providing underfill or encapsulation.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional dispense tip 24. The dispense tip 24 includes a body 26 and a hollow neck 28. The body 26 attaches to a pump 22, for example by means of a thread, which controls the amount of fluid to be dispensed. The neck 28 is typically a hollow cylinder having a first end 31 which is positioned to overlap with an aperture formed in the body 26, and a second end 30 at which the fluid is dispensed.
As shown in the close-up perspective view of FIG. 2, the neck 28 is formed by rolling a flat portion of machined metal into a cylindrical form. A seam 40 is welded along the longitudinal axis, to seal the edges of the flat portion, using conventional seam welding techniques. In precision tips, the inner diameter of the opening at the second end 30 may be on the order of 0.030 inches in diameter. The thickness of the walls 32 may be on the order of 0.010 inches. A hole 29 is bored into the tip body 26, and the neck 28 is aligned with, and pressed into, the hole. As a consequence of rolling and welding, the inner diameter of the neck is often unpredictable due to inner collapse.
Such rolled needles are commonly used in dispense tips that have a Luer™-style plastic body. Luer™-style dispense tips are popular in conventional fluid pump applications, and are named after the type of coupling that is used to mate the dispense tip to the pump body. Typically, the pump body will have a female Luer™ fitting at the outlet, and the dispense tip will have a male Luer™ fitting at its inlet.
When fluid is released at the opening 30, a high degree of surface tension on the substrate is desired, such that the substrate receives and pulls the fluid from the tip 24. It is further desirable to minimize the surface tension of the neck 28 interface such that when the pin retracts from the substrate, dispensed fluid properly remains on the board. However, a certain degree of surface tension in the neck exists due to the thickness of the walls 32 of the neck 28 at the opening 30.
It has been observed that the surface tension, or "land", at the opening 30 of the neck 28 can be reduced by tapering the outer diameter of the neck 28 to a sharp point. As shown in FIG. 3, the distal end 30 of the neck 28 is sharpened using a surface grinder 42. The neck 28 is positioned perpendicular to the motion of the grinder 42 as shown, to thereby generate a taper 36, or bevel, on the distal end of the neck 28. The tapered portion 36 varies in thickness from the outer diameter of the neck 28 at position 37A to a sharpened point 37B at the opening 30. For the example given above, by providing a taper 36, the amount of land at the opening may be reduced from 0.010″ of contact about the perimeter of the opening, to 0.001″ of contact. In this manner, the surface tension at the junction of the pin and fluid is highly reduced, leading to a higher degree of dispensing precision.
As shown in the close-up perspective view of FIG. 4, as a consequence of formation of the taper 36 in the manner described above, with the neck 28 positioned substantially perpendicular to the grinding wheel 42, tooling scars, in the form of radial rings 38, can form on the taper 36 due to surface variations in the grinding wheel 42. These rings 38 provide ledges or shelves that can lead to additional surface tension on the taper 36, which, in turn, capture fluid material when the tip is released from the substrate following a fluid deposit. This, in turn, can cause fluid to be dispensed inconsistently on the substrate during subsequent deposits, leading to inaccurate results.


A developing treatment apparatus for performing a developing treatment for a substrate, includes a substrate holding member for holding the substrate; an outer peripheral plate surrounding an outer peripheral portion of the substrate to form a gap between the plate and the outer peripheral portion of the substrate; and gas blowout ports for forming a gas flow which flows on a rear face of the substrate from a central portion side of the substrate to the outer peripheral portion side of the substrate, and passes by a lower end portion side of the gap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developing treatment apparatus for performing a developing treatment for a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a photolithography process in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, for example, a developing treatment is performed in which, for example, a wafer exposed to light under a predetermined pattern is developed. This developing treatment is usually performed in a developing treatment apparatus in which a developing solution is supplied, for example, to a wafer held on a spin chuck from a developing solution supply nozzle, so that a solution film of the developing solution is formed on the front face of a substrate, for example, a wafer and the wafer is developed. In the developing treatment apparatus, a cleaning solution is then supplied onto the wafer from a cleaning solution supply nozzle while the wafer is being rotated at a high speed to clean the wafer.
However, since the wafer has been rotated at a high speed during the cleaning in the above-described developing treatment apparatus, that apparatus has required a large motor with high torque. Therefore, the developing treatment apparatus has required a large space for the motor and has thus been large in size. In addition, the apparatus has consumed a large quantity of power for rotating the motor, resulting in an increased running cost. To solve the above problem, a proposal can be made, for example, that the wafer be cleaned without rotation.
For example, it has been proposed that the cleaning solution nozzle is brought close to the front face of the wafer to discharge the cleaning solution, and the cleaning solution nozzle is made to scan a plurality of times from one end side to the other end side of the wafer to clean the wafer (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-14869).
However, when the cleaning of the wafer is performed without rotation as described above, the cleaning solution and the developing solution on the wafer front face may run around to the rear face of the wafer because no centrifugal force acts on the wafer, resulting in adherence of the cleaning solution or the developing solution to the rear face of the wafer. If the cleaning solution or the developing solution adheres to the rear face of the wafer, the adhered matter dries to become a cause of particles.


Provided is a fast-dissolving effervescent pharmaceutical formulation of pyridoxal-5-phosphate, and to the use thereof in the treatment of neonatal epilepsy and also of metabolic disorders with a need for pyridoxal-5-phosphate.

Pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P) should be administered to all neonates who have epileptic seizures and have not responded to first-line treatment.
The incidence of seizures is higher in the neonatal period than at any other time of life (0.7 to 2.7 per 1000 live births) [1, 2]. The first-line treatment is phenobarbital. Response to the treatment is 50% [3]. In nonresponders, the possibility of vitamin-sensitive epilepsy should be considered. There are two main entities: pyridoxonidependent epilepsy (OMIM 266100) and pyridoxamine 5-phosphate oxidase deficiency (OMIM 610090). In these two diseases, early administration of pyridoxal phosphate may control the epileptic seizures. The recommendations are therefore to treat all neonates and young babies who have epileptic seizures not responding to the first-line treatments. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the treatment is administered for life.
Pyridoxal-5-phosphate or pyridoxal phosphate, also designated P5P or P5P-H hereinafter, is a vitamin that is indispensable in the management of neonatal epileptic seizures and will be maintained for life in patients for whom the diagnosis of vitamin-sensitive epilepsy is confirmed. To date, there is no pharmaceutical specialty intended for humans in a form that is suitable for pediatrics. P5P is currently supplied to some neonatal medicine departments in the form of preparations produced according to customary local conditions, generally containing microcrystalline cellulose. Administration of these to neonates is difficult, as P5P has low water-solubility, a phenomenon that is characterized by the yellowish solid residue observed on the dissolution device. The clinical consequence is incomplete administration of the dose, as well as a loss of the nurse's time.

Effervescent formulation based on pyridoxal-5-phosphate


Acoustic echoes in communications systems are distracting and undesirable. Acoustic echoes occur in communications systems where sound produced by a speaker is picked up by a microphone in a communications system. In a stereo playback environment, echo cancellation techniques become more complicated. Echo cancellation can be performed by performing echo cancellation on a center signal, which is the sum of a left channel signal and the right channel signal, or left signal and a difference signal, which is the difference of the right channel signal and the left channel signal. The adaptation rates of the two echo cancellers meet certain constraints to prevent degeneracies in the echo cancellation system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to two-way communications systems and, specifically, to the suppression and cancellation of echoes in two-way communications system with stereo output.
2. Related Art
Acoustic echoes in communications systems are distracting and undesirable.
Acoustic echoes occur in communications systems where sound produced by a speaker is picked up by a microphone in the communications system. With the growing use of personal computers (PCs) for communications, such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), including Skype, echo cancellation when stereo speakers are in use has become a growing problem.
Solutions to the stereo echo and in general multi speaker echo problems have focused on conditioning the signals to be orthogonal, making each speaker signal easier to isolate and cancel from a sound wave received by a microphone. However, increasing the conditioning that is applied to speaker signals also increases the distortion that can potentially be introduced, and at a minimum, such solutions are very complicated and introduce a significant increase in computational complexity.

Systems and methods for stereo echo cancellation


In a ball forming method used in manufacturing semiconductor devices, a ball is formed at the end of a bonding wire, this ball is pressed against an electrode of a semiconductor device and bonded to the electrode, a capillary is raised by a predetermined amount, and an ultrasonic vibration is applied to the capillary so that a portion of the wire located between the bonded ball and the lower end of the capillary is caused to undergo resonant vibration. This resonant vibration separates the wire from the bonding ball, thus leaving the ball on the electrode as a bump.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for forming bumps on the electrodes of semiconductor devices.
2. Prior Art
Conventional methods which use a wire bonding apparatus to form bumps on the electrodes of semiconductor devices are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 54-2662 and Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokoku) No. 4-41519.
In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 54-2662:
a ball is formed by an electrical discharge, etc., on a wire that passes through the capillary of a wire bonding apparatus, PA1 the capillary is lowered so that the ball is pressed against one of the electrodes of a semiconductor device and bonded thereto, PA1 the capillary is raised slightly, PA1 a clamper is closed so as to clamp the wire, and PA1 the capillary and clamper are both raised so that the ball is separated from the wire and the ball remains on the surface of the electrode as a bump. PA1 the capillary is raised and moved a slight distance in the horizontal direction and is then again lowered, thus forming a weak portion in the wire, PA1 the capillary is raised again, PA1 the clamper is closed so as to clamp the wire, and the capillary and clamper are raised so that the ball is separated from the wire and remains on the surface of the electrode as a bump. PA1 a ball is formed on a wire that passes through a capillary, PA1 the ball is pressed against an electrode on a semiconductor device and bonded thereto, PA1 the capillary is raised by a predetermined amount, and PA1 an ultrasonic vibration is applied to the capillary so as to resonate the wire extending from the lower end of the capillary to the bonded ball, thus causing the wire to be cut at the bonded ball, thereby forming a bump on the electrode. PA1 a ball is formed on a wire which passes through the capillary with the first clamper closed; PA1 the first clamper is opened and the ball is pressed against an electrode on a semiconductor device and bonded thereto, PA1 the capillary is then raised by a predetermined amount, PA1 the second clamper is closed so that the wire is clamped, the timing of the second clamper to be closed being immediately prior to the raising of the capillary, at an intermediate point during the raising motion of the capillary, after the raising of the capillary, or simultaneously with the raising of the capillary, PA1 an ultrasonic vibration is applied to the capillary so that the wire is cut at the bonded ball, thus forming a bump on the electrode, and PA1 the first clamper and capillary are lowered so that the length of wire extending from the lower end of the capillary is adjusted so as to have a tail length which is required for ball formation.
In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokoku) No. 4-41519, the same operation is employed as in the above-identified prior art including the formation of the ball and the pressing and bonding of the ball to the electrode. However, after the ball has been pressed against the electrode and bonded to the electrode,
In the first method described above, a bump is formed merely by raising the capillary and cutting the wire (for separating the ball) after the ball has been pressed against the electrode and bonded. Thus, the length of a minute projection remaining on the upper surface of the bump tends to be long. Furthermore, since the cutting (or separating) position of the ball is not consistent, the length of the minute projection tends to vary greatly.
In the second method described above, an operation in which the capillary is raised, moved horizontally and then again lowered needs to be performed after the ball has been pressed against the electrode and bonded. Thus, this method is inferior in terms of productivity despite the fact that productivity is a very important element in semiconductor manufacturing.


An information delivery system includes plural plug-ins, a receiving unit, a destination-identifying information acquiring unit, a data-format information acquiring unit, a selecting unit, and a delivery unit. The plural plug-ins respectively correspond to plural types of devices. Each plug-in controls storage of data format information indicative of a format usable in a corresponding type of device and destination identifying information indicative of a destination device and transmitting data to the device. The receiving unit receives a data transmission request. The destination-identifying information acquiring unit acquires the destination identifying information from the plug-in. The data-format information acquiring unit acquires the data format information from the plug-ins. The selecting unit receives a selection of destination identifying information acquired. The delivery unit delivers, by using the plug-ins, data converted into the data format identified by the data format information acquired to the destination device identified by the destination identifying information selected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information delivery system, an information processing apparatus, and an information delivery method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printer driver normally has a role to convert print data received from an application into data having a format with which a printer can print out data, and to transmit the converted data to the printer. Recently, there has also been a printer driver (digitizing driver) that converts print data received from an application into data having a format of image data (an image file). Examples of the format of image data to convert include a PDF format, an XPS format, a TIFF format, and a JPEG format.
Furthermore, a technology referred to as a virtualization driver is known. The virtualization driver converts print data received from an application into intermediate data (in an EMF format, for example), and transmits the converted intermediate data to a printer driver (real driver) that actually performs printing. The printer driver (real driver) that actually performs printing is a printer driver that converts the intermediate data into data having a format with which a printer can print out data. This enables a user, by only performing printing to a single printer driver (virtualization driver), to change printers (real drivers) for each print job to output. Moreover, because a printer driver to which a virtualization driver transmits intermediate data is not always such a printer driver that converts the intermediate data into printing data, it is also possible to digitize the print data by transmitting the intermediate data to a digitizing driver.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2013-186824 discloses a printing system in which an information processing apparatus notifies a smart device of a print job generated by a printer driver of the information processing apparatus and acquires the setting for the print job and information about a printer of an output destination from the smart device.
However, it has not been possible for users to transmit image data to various devices including a printer by the same unified operation as a printing operation, without being conscious of a usable format of image data. That is, in the conventional technology, the user has needed to take the trouble of converting image data into the image data in a format usable in a destination device by a data conversion application or the like in advance and then starting up a transmission application or the like corresponding to the device to transmit the converted data.
Therefore, there is a need for an information delivery system, an information processing apparatus, and an information delivery method that allow the user to transmit data to various devices including a printer by the same unified operation as a printing operation without being conscious of a usable format of data.

Information delivery system, information processing apparatus, and information delivery method


The apparatus comprises a housing and a plurality of complementary linking features. The housing has a first end, a second end, an opening in the first end, and a channel in communication with the opening. The channel extends into the housing towards the second end. The plurality of complementary linking features is located on a wall of the channel. The channel and the plurality of complementary linking features are capable of receiving and engaging a plurality of linking features for a gear.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to tools and, in particular, to tools containing gears. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for removing a gear from a tool.
2. Background
Tools may take the form of powered mechanical devices. A tool may be, for example, without limitation, a lathe, a milling machine, a drill, a grinder, and/or some other suitable type of tool. Tools may be used in fabricating structures as well as used during maintenance of objects. These structures may include, for example, an aircraft, an engine, a wing, a wheel, and/or some other suitable structure.
Many mechanical tools include gears. Depending on the construction and arrangement, gears may be used to transmit forces at different torques, speeds, and/or directions from the device turning the first gear.
A gear is a component that may transmit rotational force to another gear and/or device. A gear may be a round wheel that has linking features that may mesh with linking features in other gears and/or devices. These linking features may be referred to as teeth and/or cogs.
With drills, an air motor may be present that may transfer rotations from one speed to another speed. For example, an air motor for a drill may rotate at around 20,000 revolutions per minute. This speed may be reduced to perform drilling operations. For example, the speed may be a speed of around 1,500 revolutions per minute through a gear system. The gear system may be located in a case or other suitable object.
The output of this gear system may take the form of a bevel gear. This bevel gear may engage a gear in another portion of the drill to change the direction of rotation.
A bevel gear may be a conically-shaped device in which the linking features may take the form of teeth. The teeth may be straight cut, have a spiral bevel, have a zero bevel, or have some other shape.
Occasionally, maintenance may be performed on the gear system for the drill. For example, without limitation, debris may be present within the gear system, lubrication may be needed, and/or some other maintenance operation may need to be performed on components in the gear system.
Currently, when disassembling the gear system, the bevel gear is removed to provide access to the other components within the gear system. Removing this bevel gear is currently performed using a pipe wrench that may engage the linkage features in the bevel gear. This pipe wrench, however, may bend, crush, cause plastic deformation, and/or otherwise damage the bevel gear. As a result, when removing the bevel gear to access other components within the gear system, the bevel gear often may require replacement.
This type of operation increases the cost of maintenance for a drill. As a result, the expense in manufacturing products also may increase. Further, in some cases, a replacement bevel gear may be unavailable. As a result, the drill is unusable until a replacement bevel gear is obtained. As a result, delays and/or reduced throughput in manufacturing objects may occur.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.


A blower fan includes a shroud, a hub for guiding airflow being discharged, and a plurality of blades disposed between the shroud and the hub. A first outer diameter of a first portion, which is close to the hub, of the blade is different from a second outer diameter of a second portion, which is close to the shroud, of the blade.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blower fan, and more particularly, to a blower fan that is designed to improve the blowing efficiency by reducing airflow loss and reduce the noise generated when blades rotate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a blower fan is a device for forcedly producing air current. Particularly, a turbo fan that is one of the blower fans is designed to induce air in an axial direction, allow the induced air to make a turn by 90° and forcedly blow the same in a radial direction thereof.
The blower fan includes a shroud formed on an air inducing side, a hub formed on an air discharge side, and a plurality of blades fixed between the shroud and the hub. To improve the productivity of the blower fan in a molding process and increase an airflow rate, the blower fan is designed having an inner diameter less than an outer diameter of the hub. In addition, the blade is designed having an outer diameter greater than that of the hub. The hub formed on the air discharge side functions to guide airflow such that air can effectively discharged, changing its flow direction by the blades. For the production convenience, an outer end of the blade is formed perpendicular to the hub and shroud.
When the hub is designed having the outer diameter less than that of the blade, airflow of the air passing the blower fan cannot be sufficiently guided. That is, although the air current is forcedly formed by the blades, there may be a non-guide area where the airflow cannot be guided by the hub. Particularly, eddy current is increased in the non-guide area. This causes the noise to be increased. Furthermore, since the air guided and discharged by the hub conflicts with the air guided and discharged by the blades, intensive turbulence is created to further increase the noise.
In addition, the eddy current deteriorates the operating efficiency of the fan, thereby increasing the power consumption. The eddy current also causes the airflow loss. Therefore, when the fan is employed to an air conditioner, the eddy current causes the reduction in an amount of cool air. Therefore, to increase the amount of cool air, an RPM of the blower fan should be increased. This causes the increase of the power consumption.


One object is to reduce an effect of fastening of a restriction member, thereby to increase durability of a bearing retaining mechanism. The present invention relates to a bearing retaining mechanism. A bearing retaining mechanism according to an embodiment includes: a first member having an inner peripheral surface including an internal screw portion; a second member disposed on the inner peripheral surface; a rolling member configured to roll on a rolling surface formed on the second member; a crankshaft rotatably supported on the second member via the rolling member; and a restriction member supported on the first member and the second member, the restriction member including an external screw portion screwed on the internal screw portion of the first member.

There is known a gear device that rotatably supports a crankshaft in a through-hole formed in a carrier.
A conventional gear device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-130536 ("the '536 Publication"). In the gear device disclosed in the '536 Publication, an external screw portion of a restriction member is screwed on an internal screw portion of a carrier to fix the restriction member to the carrier, and the restriction member fixed to the carrier restricts the movement of a crankshaft in the axial direction.
In conventional gear devices as disclosed in the '536 Publication, an external screw portion of a restriction member is screwed on an internal screw portion of a carrier to fix the restriction member to the carrier, and the restriction member restricts the movement of a crankshaft in the axial direction.
However, when the restriction member is fastened to the carrier, the fastening torque causes reduction in circularity or cylindricity of a rolling surface (also referred to as a crank hole) for rolling members. When the rolling members roll on the rolling surface with reduced circularity or cylindricity, the rolling surface may be broken.


There is provided a collective printed circuit board including a plurality of printed circuit boards each having a mounting unit on which a semiconductor element is mounted at an upper-surface central portion, and a frame having a plurality of through holes having sizes to surround the mounting portion. Upper-surface peripheral edge portions of the printed circuit boards and a through-hole peripheral portion of the frame are bonded to each other such that the mounting units are exposed from the through holes.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collective printed circuit board obtained by bonding a plurality of small printed circuit boards each having a mounting unit on which a semiconductor element is mounted to a frame having through holes surrounding the mounting units.
(2) Description of Related Art
Conventionally, in order to simultaneously manufacture a large number of small printed circuit boards to mount semiconductor elements thereon as disclosed in Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1998-189829, Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-210954, and Published Japanese Translation No. 2001-511946 of the PCT International Publication (U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,606), a collective printed circuit board is used. In the collective printed circuit board, a plurality of small printed circuit boards are integrally arranged in vertical and horizontal directions such that cutting areas are formed between the small printed circuit boards. On each of the printed circuit boards, after semiconductor elements are mounted through, for example, solder bumps, sealing is performed with a sealing resin. Thereafter, cutting is performed along the cutting areas to simultaneously manufacture electronic devices having semiconductor elements mounted on the printed circuit boards.
In the collective printed circuit board, an electric testing or an appearance check for the printed circuit boards is performed before the semiconductor elements are mounted, and a printed circuit board determined as a defective product is marked, or position information of the defective printed circuit board is recorded. In this manner, a semiconductor element can be avoided from being mounted on the printed circuit board determined as a defective product.
However, in recent years, with advances in miniaturization and multi-layering of circuits of collective printed circuit boards, processes become complicated and difficult, a yield of printed circuit boards in a collective printed circuit board tends to decrease. For this reason, the number of electronic devices that can be simultaneously manufactured from one collective printed circuit board decreases, a problem such as deterioration of operating efficiency and an increase in cost is posed.
In a conventional collective printed circuit board, when sealing is performed with a sealing resin, after the sealing resin is heated to be hardened, the temperature of the sealing resin is returned to a room temperature. At this time, the sealing resin thermally contracts largely more than the printed circuit board. As a result, the printed circuit board is warped such that an upper surface side of the printed circuit board is concaved. This is because a thermal expansion coefficient of the sealing resin is larger than a thermal expansion coefficient of the printed circuit board. When the warpage is large, electronic devices formed by cutting the collective printed circuit board are difficult to be mounted on another circuit board.