A connection system for use with a panel having an aperture includes a connection device having a front portion and a back portion. The front portion is insertable in an axial direction into the aperture, and the back portion is configured to prevent passage through the aperture. A retainer releasably secured to the panel is positioned adjacent the back portion of the connection device and configured to provide predetermined limited floating movement of the connection device in at least the axial direction.

The present disclosure relates generally to electrical connectors and, particularly, to an apparatus and system for mounting a connection device through an aperture in a panel and providing floating movement between the connection device and the panel.
Connectors designed for mounting through an aperture in a panel are known. For instance, a connector housing may be disposed at a first side of the panel, with a mating portion of the connector projecting through the aperture to a position projecting from a second side of the panel. Often, it is desirable that the connector "float" relative to the panel. That is, the connector can move within the aperture relative to the panel.
Panel mounted connectors, particularly when provided with floating movement, typically are complicated to manufacture and/or use. Complicated or intricate components used to provide floating movement lead to higher manufacturing costs. Often, such connectors take up large areas on the panel. For example, many panel mounted connectors have flanges which are necessarily long to envelope mounting screw holes and longer still to include larger diameter holes around the screws to provide X and Y axis float. The long flanges increase the overall area of the panel covered by a connector, and reduce the density of connector placement when end-to-end mounting is desired. The present invention provides a simple apparatus for supporting a variety of connection devices in an aperture in a panel, with floating movement between the connection device and the panel, while providing improved end-to-end connector/carrier/contactor mounting density.


A semiconductor device support carrier used for a liquid phase process of a semiconductor device with a process liquid is disclosed. The semiconductor device support carrier comprises a support frame supporting the semiconductor device, and a dust protection plate mounted on the support frame and positioned above the semiconductor device. When the semiconductor device support carrier is drawn up from the process liquid, dust in the process liquid is pushed aside and out of the semiconductor device by the dust protection plate.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device support carrier used for a liquid phase process of semiconductor devices such as semiconductor wafers, and more particularly to a semiconductor device support carrier which prevents dust from adhering to the surfaces of semiconductor wafers.
In semiconductor device manufacturing processes, semiconductor devices such as the semiconductor wafers undergo a variety of liquid phase processes. For example, semiconductor wafers undergo a washing process which removes impurities from the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers, and they undergo an LPD process which forms an SiO.sub.2 film on the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers by a precipitation reaction in a supersaturated solution.
In these liquid phase processes, the semiconductor wafers are supported by the semiconductor device support carrier, and the semiconductor device support carrier supporting the semiconductor wafers is put into and taken out of a process liquid.
However, when the semiconductor device support carrier is drawn up from the process liquid, it often happens that the dust and the like of the process liquid adheres to the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers. In this case, minute pattern forming processes and the like thereafter are affected by this adhering dust.
FIG. 12 shows a conventional semiconductor device support carrier.
In FIG. 12, a liquid phase process apparatus 1 contains process liquid 2. A conventional semiconductor device support carrier 4 supports semiconductor devices such as semiconductor wafers 3. The semiconductor wafers 3 are dipped within the process liquid 2, and much dust 5 floats on the surface of the process liquid 2. When the semiconductor wafers 3 are drawn up from the process liquid 2 by the semiconductor device support carrier 4 after the liquid phase process, the dust 5 on the surface of the process liquid 2 adheres to the surface of the semiconductor wafers 3.
In the semiconductor wafer washing process in which it is easy to secure the cleanliness of the process liquid 2, the amount of dust adhering to the surfaces of the semiconductor wafer and having diameters of over 0.3 .mu.m, is in the order of several tens to several hundreds per semiconductor wafer having a diameter of 5 inches.
On the other hand, in a resist exfoliation process or LPD process in which it is easy for dust to form, the amount of dust per semiconductor wafer is about 100.about. about 1000 particles.
The dust adhering to the surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3 causes much trouble in the minute pattern forming process of the semiconductor wafers thereafter.
These phenomena are shown in FIGS. 14.about.16.
FIG. 14 shows the sectional side view of the semiconductor wafer. In FIG. 14, a numeral reference 6 is a substrate of the semiconductor wafer. A dust 5 adheres to the surface of the substrate 6 during the liquid phase process of the semiconductor wafer. After that, a wiring material 7 is formed on the surface of the substrate 6.
Next, wiring portions 8 are formed by etching the wiring material 7 of FIG. 14 (see FIGS. 15 and 16). FIGS. 15 and 16 show the top views of the semiconductor wafer.
However, it happens that the wiring portions 8 are separated by the dust 5 as shown in FIG. 15, when the wiring material 7 of FIG. 14 is etched. In this case, the wiring portions 8a and 8b which should be properly connected, are separated by the dust 5, so that the wiring formation of the semiconductor wafer becomes worse.
It also happens that the etching rest portion 8c remains as shown in FIG. 16, when the wiring material 7 of FIG. 14 is etched. In this case, the wiring portions 8d and 8e which should not normally be connected, are connected to each other through the etching rest portion 8c, so that the wiring formation of the semiconductor wafer deteriorates further.
The method where the dusts are discharged with the process liquid overflowing has been employed in order to prevent the dust from adhering. The amount of dust of the process liquid is decreased to some degree by the method as mentioned above, but the result of the method is not so apparent. This is because the dust 5 around the bottom of the process liquid is discharged but almost all the dust around the surface of the process liquid remains as shown in FIG. 17.
Thus, in the conventional liquid process, when the semiconductor device support carrier is drawn up from the process liquid, the dust 5 of the process liquid 2 adheres to the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers 3 so that the minute pattern forming process thereafter is affected by the dust which has adhered.

Semiconductor wafer carrier having a dust cover


An adaptor for securing a data communication port to a panel having a base plate with a fixed latching member and a pair of movable latching members, each engagable with an unexposed surface of a panel having a cutout when the base plate is in engagement with the . exposed surface.

Modular furniture is frequently found in offices and comprises various movable units such as computer surfaces, desks, bookshelves, racks, etc. They are assembled into office cubicles and can be broken down and reassembled when it is desired to change the configuration of the office. More furniture can be added or taken away. Such furniture generally includes panels that are assembled with office units. At the bottom of the assemblage, as well as elsewhere, are "kick plates" which are the equivalent of old-fashioned "mopboards" and communication and power wiring runs through them.
Generally speaking, kickplates are made of sheet metal, although they can also be plastic and are usually about a sixteenth of an inch thick. In order to accommodate electrical communications ports, such as power outlets, computer outlets, telephone jacks, and the like, the kickplates have openings preformed in them, which are also called panel "cutouts" and are usually rectangular.
A problem is that there has been no standardization of the size of the panel openings or cutouts. This is unlike the standard household or office 110 volt receptacle box which is secured, as for example, against a wooden stud in a wall that is made of plasterboard and is subsequently papered or painted. These standard receptacle boxes will naturally, accept standard sized modules, such as switches, electrical outlets, telephone and/or computer jacks.
An object of this invention is to produce an adaptor or adjustable receptacle to mount modules or data communication ports in any of a range of sizes of panel openings or cutouts in modular furniture. One type of module which the present invention is intended to accommodate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,866 to Bodenwiser et al. and which is assigned to the Assignee of the present invention.


An embodiment of an image processor for immersive video includes technology to re-order patches from a plurality of views based on one or more of relative position and orientation related information for a desired synthesized view, select a set of views to be used in each view synthesis pass, perform two or more view synthesis passes for the synthesized view to provide two or more intermediate view synthesis results, and mask and merge the two or more intermediate view synthesis results to provide a final view synthesis result. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Arrays of cameras such as two or more linearly or grid aligned cameras are becoming increasingly common in a variety of device implementations such as tablet devices, smartphone devices, laptop devices, display devices, telepresence systems, and filmmaking and video production systems. For synthetic computer graphics content, discrete virtual camera arrays can be used to sample it. In the context of a viewing experience generated by such camera arrays, intermediate virtual views between camera locations are generated and provided to a user for display.
In some contexts, majority view synthesis techniques rely on texture and depth content of other views in order to synthesize a novel view therebetween. In the case of natural content (i.e., content captured by cameras), the associated depth maps are estimated from the captured texture content itself. Most depth estimation techniques use neighboring views (i.e., 2 or more views) to find disparities (i.e., relative shifts of correspondent pixels in different views). However, since the estimation is done locally, the resultant depth maps tend to lack coherency across all views, which becomes problematic when the capturing system is of many cameras with large baselines (i.e., spacing between the cameras).
This lack of coherency in depth maps results in artifacts (especially in the occluded regions) when utilizing all available views for the synthesis. In other words, when projecting all views to create 3D content using incoherent depth maps, the corresponding voxels are not aligned in the same depth planes resulting in many artifacts during back-projection to the desired synthesized view. Furthermore in multi-view coding schemes that deploy intermediate view synthesis to stream key views only, the artifacts coming from an incoherent depth content cause low compression efficiency as the encoder has difficulty finding the right motion vectors and matched blocks. This in turn results in more bandwidth utilization since the multi-views redundancy cannot be exploited.
In the case of synthetic content (i.e., content sampled by virtual cameras), the depth maps generated are ideal however they may reflect sharp transition in depth values for edge regions resulting in halo artifacts when rendering using all available views.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present improvements have been needed. Such improvements may become critical as the desire to collect and display such images or videos in camera array implementations and other contexts becomes more widespread.

Multi-pass add-on tool for coherent and complete view synthesis


A multiprocessor arrangement is disclosed, in which a plurality of processors are able to communicate with each other by means of a plurality of time-sliced memory blocks. At least one, and up to all, of the processors may be able to access more than one time-sliced memories. A mesh arrangement of such processors and memories is disclosed, which may be a partial or complete mesh. The mesh may to two-dimensional, or higher dimensional.

Multiprocessor arrangements typically require to have some means of communication between the individual processors. One known method to provide such communication is by means of shared memory. In order to transfer information from a first processor to a second processor, the first processor can write data to the shared memory, and the data be read by the second processor.
So-called "time-sliced" memory is a convenient method to provide such a shared memory. As will be familiar to those skilled in the art, and described in more detail hereinbelow, memory can in some cases operate with a faster clock cycle than can processors. Taking as an example a situation in which a memory clock can run three times the speed of each of three processors. Then, multiple accesses to the memory can be made during a single (processor) clock cycle. If the processor clock cycles—three in this instance—are staggered in time, access to the memory may be distributed in time between the three processors. Such a modified von Neuman architecture, which is commonly referred to as time-slicing, is known and used for instance in the DSP32C device supplied by Lucent Technologies.
Communication between processors in multiprocessor arrangements by time-slicing suffers from a disadvantage, in that the number of processors which can share information is limited—in the example above, for instance, at most 3 processors can be involved in the time slicing.

Multiprocessor arrangement having shared memory, and a method of communication between processors in a multiprocessor arrangement

Abstract: A method of communication between processors in a multiprocessor arrangement is also disclosed, in which one or more processors are able to each access a plurality of memories, in each case by time-slicing.


A method of manufacturing a microstructure wherein an aluminum member having an aluminum substrate and a micropore-bearing anodized film present on a surface of the aluminum substrate is subjected at least to, in order, a pore-ordering treatment which involves performing one or more cycles of a step that includes a first film dissolution treatment for dissolving the anodized film until a barrier layer has a thickness of 3 to 50 nm, and an anodizing treatment which follows the first film dissolution treatment; and a second film dissolution treatment for dissolving the anodized film so that a ratio of a diameter of a micropore opening “a” to a micropore diameter at a height “a/2” from a micropore bottom “b” (a/b) is in a range of 0.9 to 1.1, whereby the microstructure having micropores formed on a surface thereof is obtained. The manufacturing method enables microstructures having an ordered array of pits to be obtained in a short period of time.

The present invention relates to a microstructure and its manufacturing method.
In the technical field of metal and semiconductor thin films, wires and dots, it is known that the movement of free electrons becomes confined at sizes smaller than some characteristic length, as a result of which singular electrical, optical and chemical phenomena become observable. Such phenomena are called "quantum mechanical size effects" or simply "quantum size effects." Functional materials which employ such singular phenomena are under active research and development. Specifically, materials having structures smaller than several hundred nanometers in size, typically called microstructures or nanostructures, are the subject of current efforts in material development.
Methods for manufacturing such microstructures include processes in which a nanostructure is directly manufactured by semiconductor fabrication technology, including micropatterning technology such as photolithography, electron beam lithography, or x-ray lithography.
Of particular note is the considerable amount of research being conducted today on processes for manufacturing nanostructures having an ordered microstructure.
One method of forming an ordered structure in a self-regulating manner is illustrated by an anodized alumina film (anodized film) obtained by subjecting aluminum to anodizing treatment in an electrolytic solution. It is known that a plurality of micropores having diameters of about several nanometers to about several hundreds of nanometers are formed in a regular arrangement within the anodized film. It is also known that when a completely ordered arrangement is obtained by the self-pore-ordering treatment of this anodized film, hexagonal columnar cells will be theoretically formed, each cell having a base in the shape of a regular hexagon centered on a micropore, and that the lines connecting neighboring micropores will form equilateral triangles.
Known examples of applications for such anodized films having micropores include optical functional nanodevices, magnetic devices, luminescent supports and catalyst supports. For example, JP 2005-307341 A describes that an anodized film is applied to a Raman spectrometer by sealing pores with a metal and generating localized plasmon resonance.
JP 2005-156695 A describes that surface pores are subjected to a combination of anodizing treatment and pore widening treatment to produce an anodized porous alumina film in which pores have continuously changing diameters and are thus given tapered shapes.
A method is known in which pits serving as starting points for micropore formation in anodizing treatment are formed prior to anodizing treatment for forming such micropores. Formation of such pits facilitates controlling the micropore arrangement and variations in pore diameter within desired ranges.
A self-ordering method that makes use of the self-ordering nature in the anodized film is known as a general method for forming pits. This is a method which enhances the orderliness by using the regularly arranging nature of micropores in the anodized film and eliminating factors that may disturb an orderly arrangement.
As described in JP 2005-307341 A, the self-ordering method generally involves performing anodizing treatment, then immersion in a mixed aqueous solution of phosphoric acid and chromic (VI) acid, and thereafter performing anodizing treatment again.

Microstructure and method of manufacturing the same


A process for preparing a metal plastic composite comprising prime coating at least a portion of a metal substrate with one or more layers of an adhesion primer powder consisting of a solid thermosetting resin using a conventional powder application technique, heating the thus coated substrate to a temperature sufficient to melt a surface coating powder to be subsequently applied, immersing the thus coated substrate into a fluidized bed of a surface coating powder for a time sufficient to give the thickness of surface coating desired.

The present invention relates to a process for coating a metal substrate with a surface coating applied by a fluidized-bed process after the said substrate has been coated with a primer powder.
The fluidized-bed immersion process requires a preliminary preheating of the metal article to be coated before it is immersed in the porous-bottomed vessel in which the coating powder in suspension is kept in suspension by circulating air. The powder then melts in contact with the hot metal surfaces and forms a deposit whose thickness is a function of the temperature of the substrate and of its period of immersion in the powder.
The preheating of the metal article usually takes place in an oven at a temperature which is determined primarily according to the nature and the thickness of the article to be coated.
However, for a given article, there is a minimum temperature below which it is not possible to obtain a coating of good quality from the viewpoint of its appearance and of its adhesion to the substrate.
However, on the other hand, an excessively high preheating temperature can be detrimental, more particularly in the case where the metal article has been coated beforehand with an adhesion primer which can be adversely affected by the temperature when the article passes through the oven and can no longer ensure the adhesion to the surface coating and to the metal substrate.
At the present time, the adhesion primers for surface coatings which are applied by immersion in a fluidized bed of surface coating powders exist exclusively in liquid form. That is to say, the primer resins are either in suspension or in solution in one or more solvents. The coating of metal substrates with these liquid primers is done, for example, with the aid of a pneumatic gun.
These solvents, frequently toxic to the environment, make it necessary to provide recovery and/or recycling systems thus entailing an additional plant cost.

Process for coating metal substrates with primer and coating powders


An image reading apparatus (A) includes a plurality of light sources (6) arranged in a row, and a hollow portion (14) for guiding light emitted from the light sources toward an image read line (S). The hollow portion (14) is divided by a plurality of partitions (15) into a plurality of individual sections (14a). As a result, it is possible to illuminate the longitudinally opposite ends and longitudinally central portion of the image read line (S) uniformly.

A typical prior art image reading apparatus has such a structure as shown in FIG. 11. The illustrated image reading apparatus comprises a substrate 92 provided with a plurality of light sources 91, a lens array 93, a plurality of light receiving elements 94 and a case 90 for housing these components. The case 90 has an upper surface on which a transparent plate 97 is mounted. The transparent plate 97 has an obverse surface a portion of which serves as an image read line Sa. As shown in FIG. 12, the light sources 91 are arranged in a row. The case 90 includes a hollow portion 96 for guiding light emitted from the light sources 91 toward the image read line Sa.
In this image reading apparatus, when light emitted from the light sources 91 impinges on the image read line Sa, the light is reflected by the document D. The reflected light is collected by the lenses of the lens array 93 to be received by the light receiving elements 94. Each of the light receiving elements 94 outputs signals corresponding to the received amount of light. Thus, an image of the document D is read by line by line.
In an image reading apparatus, an image read line Sa needs to be illuminated as uniformly as possible along its entire length for enhancing the image reading quality. However, the above-described prior art structure has a problem that the image read line Sa cannot be illuminated uniformly, as will be described below.
In the prior art, the hollow portion 96 simply extends along the row of light sources 91. Therefore, light emitted from the light sources 91 overlaps at a longitudinally central portion of the image read line Sa. On the other hand, light does not overlap at longitudinally opposite ends of the image read line Sa, because only a small number of light sources are arranged in facing relationship to these ends of the image read line. As a result, the longitudinally opposite ends of the image read line Sa are less illuminated than the longitudinally central portion.
Further, in the prior art structure, the case 90 is made of black resin so that all the surfaces defining the hollow portion 96 are black for absorbing light. This is because black surfaces prevent light from scattering upon reflecting near the light receiving elements 94, so that scattering reflection light will not enter the light receiving elements 94. In the prior art structure, therefore, light impinging on two surfaces 96a defining the longitudinally opposite ends of the hollow portion 96 is not reflected toward the image read line Sa. This also causes the longitudinally opposite ends of the image read line Sa to be less illuminated than the central portion.
Moreover, auxiliary elements (not shown) such as jumpers, capacitors, resistors and/or the like may be mounted on the obverse surface of the substrate 92. In such a case, the auxiliary elements may have light reflectivity which is different from that of the obverse surface of the substrate 92. On the other hand, all of light emitted from the light sources 91 does not directly reach the image read line Sa. Some of light is reflected at the obverse surface of the substrate 92 before reaching the image read line Sa. In the prior art structure, the auxiliary elements reflect light differently from the obverse surface of the substrate 92. As a result, portions of the image read line Sa corresponding to the auxiliary elements may be illuminated with different luminosity from the other portions of the image read line Sa.


A dual-chambered container includes a chamber which contains, for example, a dry drug and a chamber which contains, for example, a medical liquid. The chambers are defined in first and second bags, with each bag having a weak seal formed in a side thereof. The bags are formed separately and then joined to one another so that the weak seals therein are positioned so that a passageway is formed between the bags when the weak seals are forcibly broken. The chambers can be sterilized independently of each other and, consequently, the container can be manufactured in a manner which minimizes the amount of labor required.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dual-chambered container and a method of making the container. The dual-chambered container is designed to hold a medical liquid and a dry medical material in separate chambers so that the liquid and the dry material can be intermixed on demand.
2. Prior Art
Conventional dual-chambered containers for medical uses are flexible and have a partition dividing the interior of the container into chambers. The chambers of the container are brought into fluid communication with each other by breaking the partitions. One disadvantage of these containers is that small amounts of water and/or gases can permeate through the partitions, which are made of a synthetic resin. In the case where a hygroscopic and unstable drug such as an antibiotic is held in one chamber and a solvent or diluent is held in the other chamber, even very small "interchamber" permeations of water or gases are problematic. Further, an amino acid solution such as a tryptophan solution is so susceptible to oxidation that interchamber permeation can cause problems when such solution and a sucrose or protein solution are accommodated in the same container. Thus, an effective countermeasure for preventing water or oxygen gas from penetrating the partition and affecting the drug has been needed (as proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-20550). In one proposal, an external bag accommodating the drug and the liquid together with a desiccant or deoxidant is made of an impermeable material that intercepts water and oxygen gas. The desiccant, however, absorbs water from the liquid so that the hygroscopic drug cannot be dehydrated, with the liquid being condensed to an undesirable extent. In another proposal intended to resolve this drawback, the chamber for receiving the hygroscopic or readily oxidizing drug is covered with an external wall through which water and oxygen cannot permeate. The desiccant and/or deoxidant are sandwiched between the external wall and the chamber wall (as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 4-364850, 4-364851, and 6-14975).
In each prior art container the chambers for receiving the drug and the liquid, respectively, are formed integral with each other. The liquid is poured in one chamber, which is then sealed with a plug and sterilized. Subsequently, the drug is placed in the other chamber, which is then sealed and wrapped with a cover. Disadvantages inherent in these prior art containers are: (i) the chamber for the drug and the chamber for the liquid cannot be sterilized separately; (ii) both chambers, one of which is already filled with the liquid, must be sterilized and dried as a whole at first, before the sealed portion of one chamber is opened again to receive the drug in an aseptic manner, thus requiring additional labor; and (iii) during steam sterilization, the interior of the drug-receiving chamber is not exposed to vapor and, consequently, is unlikely to be sterilized sufficiently.

Dual-chambered container and method of making same


A hair dryer includes a casing inside which a heat generation device for generation of heat by burning fossil fuel supplied from a removable internal fuel container and a fan for generation of an air flow passing through the heat generation device to be heated thereby for the provision of heated air stream are arranged. The heat generation device includes a cordierite based ceramic body on which a platinum based oxidation catalyst is coated. An initial ignition device is provided to cause an initial burning of the fuel supplied to thereto for heating the catalyst to the working temperature thereof. Once reaching the working temperature, the catalyst itself maintains the oxidation or burning of the fuel in a flameless manner and the heated air flow is continuously supplied until the fuel supply is cut off and the fan turned off.

Hair dryers have been widely used to blow dry wet hair or other wet article. Conventionally, the hair dryer is powered by electrical energy which is converted into heat and which is also used to drive a fan for blowing hot air flow. Since generating hot air flow by converting electrical energy into heat would consume a great quantity of electricity, usually at least 500 W, the conventional hair dryer is designed to be powered by main electricity from, for example, a wall outlet. Such a design has several disadvantages, such as:
(1) Electrical voltage may be different from country to country which prohibits the general consumers to use their own hair dryers in traveling in different countries, unless an adapter or transformer is used.
(2) The conventional hair dryer may not be used at areas where no main electricity is supplied, such as camping in the wilds.
(3) Using the conventional hair dryer in a humid environment (such as in a bathroom) may have the risk of electrical shock.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a hair dryer that is not powered by electrical main so as to overcome such problems encountered in the prior art.

10F-3, No. 96, Sec. 2, Chung-Shan N. Rd.


A phantom color light mirror including a mirror, a plurality of colored light sources, and a central control device. The mirror is composed of a transparent sheet having a reflective layer affixed to a rear surface thereof. A plurality of lines of a sufficient width are used to engrave the reflective layer with a graphic design visible from the front side of the transparent sheet. The operation of the colored light sources are controlled by the central control device. The mirror, the light sources and the central control device may be accommodated in a cabinet. A refracting device may further be disposed behind the mirror to provide enhanced visual effects.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates generally to a phantom color light mirror, and more particularly to a mirror with a colored graphic design through which phantom color lights may be displayed.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
With the ordinary mirror, whether it is hung on the wall or placed on a dresser, there may only be alternations or modifications in its shape, or graphic designs may be provided on the mirror frame. It therefore lacks value-enhancing features. Another problem is that, if the mirror is hung in a dark place, it is often necessary to install a light thereon.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,967, Brown teaches a hidden display mirror in which a transparent front sheet has a reflective sheet of silver affixed to a rear surface thereof, with a narrow groove passing through the reflective layer. The groove describes a graphic design. The groove is so narrow as to be sufficiently inconspicuous that the graphic design is hidden from view upon casual inspection, unless the light source has a high level of brilliance and sufficient light therefrom passes through the groove. The device described by Brown may act both as an ordinary mirror and as a light emitting display of the graphic design.
In the device taught by Brown, the graphic design is almost invisible upon casual inspection. Although Brown teaches that colored non-opaque stain can be provided within the etchings (grooves), since only the level of brilliance of the light source is controllable, the color of the graphic design is fixed and unchanged, and the color of the graphic design remains the same when viewed from any angle.
For those familiar with the art of chromatics, it is well known that Wundt and Helmholtz assert that orange red, green and violet blue are the three primary colors and that they provide a color-additive mixing system. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,240, Glukes employs the above-mentioned color mixing principle to provide a novel light source for an animated sign producing enhanced lighting effects, and which functions as a highly efficient color corrective light source.
One having ordinary skill in the art may apply the same color mixing principle to the device disclosed by Brown. Although the color of the graphic design may change as a result, the color thus changed will not have any variations.


Shot for use in a peening installation, the shot having:                hardness greater than or equal to 800 HV;        density greater than or equal to 8 g/cm3; and        pieces having a maximum dimension less than or equal to 1.5 mm.

Methods and installations for ultrasonic peening are described in particular in French patents FR 2 815 280 and FR 2 815 281, using at least one sonotrode comprising a titanium body for putting shot into motion for inducing compression stresses in the treated part.
The following publications also relate to ultrasonic peening: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,490,899 B2, 6,343,495 B1, 6,467,321 B2, 6,336,844 B1, 6,289,705 B1, 6,508,093 B2, US 2003/0115922 A1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,505,489 B2, and 6,536,109 B2.
The shot used and described in the past in those patents mainly comprises steel balls having a diameter of about 2 millimeters (mm) for example. The use of such shot does not enable treatment to be sufficiently intense on concave surfaces that present a radius of curvature smaller than that of the balls, or in the bottoms of certain setbacks.

Shot, devices, and installations for ultrasonic peening, and parts treated thereby


An optical film which has Re(λ) and Rth(λ) fulfilling the following two formulae:0≦Re(590)≦10|Rth(590)|≦25wherein Re(λ) is a retardation value in plane (nm) at a wavelength of λ nm; and Rth(λ) is a retardation value in film thickness direction (nm) at a wavelength of λ nm.

Because of being excellent in toughness and flame retardancy, cellulose acylate films have been employed in photographic supports and various optical materials. In recent years, in particular, cellulose acylate films are frequently employed as optical transparent films for liquid crystal display units. Owing to the high optical transparency and high optical isotropy, cellulose acylate films are favorable as optical materials for units with the use of polarization such as liquid crystal display units. Therefore, cellulose acylate films have been employed as optical compensation film supports whereby display in looking from an angle can compensated (viewing angle compensation).
A polarizing sheet, which is one of members constituting a liquid crystal display unit, is constructed by bonding a polarizer-protecting film to at least one side of a polarizer. In general, a polarizer is obtained by dyeing a stretched polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-base film with iodine or a dichromatic dye. As the polarizer-protecting film, cellulose acylate films, in particular, triacetyl cellulose films which can be bonded directly to PVA are employed in may cases. Such a polarizer-protecting film should be excellent in optical isotropy and the characteristics of a polarizing plate largely depend on the optical characteristics of the polarizer-protecting film.
In liquid crystal display unit in these days, it is more strongly required to improve viewing angle characteristics. Thus, optical transparent films to be used as a polarizer-protecting film, an optical compensation film support, etc. should be optically isotropic. To be optically isotropic, it is important to have a small retardation value represented by the product of the birefringence and thickness of an optical film. To improve the display in looking from an angle, it is particularly needed to lower not only the retardation value (Re) but also the retardation value in the film thickness direction (Rth). More specifically speaking, it is needed that, in the case of evaluating the optical properties of an optical transparent film, Re measured in plane is a small value and Re shows no change even though the measurement angle is varied.
For solving this problem, it has been urgently required to further improve a cellulose acylate film, which has favorable properties in boding to PVA, by lowering its optical anisotropy. More specifically speaking, a preferable optical transparent film being optically isotropic is a cellulose acylate film that has a retardation value Re of almost zero and shows little change in retardation angle (i.e., Rth being almost zero too).
In producing a cellulose acylate film, it has been a practice to add a compound called a plasticizer to thereby improve the film-forming performance. Examples of the plasticizer include phosphoric acid triesters such as triphenyl phosphate and biphenyldiphenyl phosphate and phthalic acid esters (see, for example, Purasuchikku Zairyo Koza, vol. 17, Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun, Ltd., Senisokei Jushi, p. 121 (1970)). It is known that some of these plasticizers have an effect of lowering the optical anisotropy of a cellulose acylate film. For example, specific fatty acid esters are disclosed (see, for example, JP-A-2001-247717). However, these known compounds can only insufficiently lower the optical anisotropy of a cellulose acylate film.
As a method of producing a biaxial optical compensation film to be used in liquid crystal display units in recent years, there has been proposed a method which comprises spreading a liquefied solid polymer dissolved in a solvent (vehicle) on a supporting material, drying the same, subjecting a transparent film (nx=ny or nx≅ny) made of the thus solidified matter to either a stretching treatment or a shrinkage treatment or both thereof, and thereby orientating molecules in the plane to impart the characteristics nx>ny>nz. In this method, it is insufficient to merely lower the optical anisotropy as discussed above. That is to say, there has been required a film showing no optical anisotropy even after the stretching treatment or the shrinkage treatment (see JP-A-2003-315541, JP-A-2003-344856, JP-A-2004-46097 and JP-A-2004-78203).

Optical film, optical compensation film, polarizing plate, liquid crystal display unit and self luminous display unit


A system for detecting failure of a fuel pressure sensor in an internal combustion engine, including an injector (32) provided at an intake system of the engine downstream of a throttle valve (38), a fuel supply passage (16) connected to a fuel supply source (fuel tank 12) for supplying fuel to the injector (32), pressure regulator (28) provided in the fuel supply passage (16) and operating to maintain a difference between the fuel pressure (PF2A) and the manifold absolute pressure at a constant value, a fuel pressure sensor (PF2 sensor 54) for detecting the fuel pressure (PF2A) in the fuel supply passage (16) downstream of the pressure regulator, and a manifold absolute pressure sensor (62) for detecting the manifold absolute pressure (PBA) downstream of the throttle valve (38). In the system, an index indicative of a ratio (.DELTA.PF2A) of the fuel pressure (PF2A) fluctuation relative to the manifold absolute pressure (PBA) fluctuation is compared to reference values (#PF2L, #PF2H) which define a range. Sensor failure is discriminated when the index (.DELTA.PF2A) is found to have remained outside of the range for a predetermined maximum time (tmP2STK). The system enables rapid and accurate detection of fuel pressure sensor abnormality (failure).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for detecting failure of a fuel pressure sensor, particularly to a system for, in an internal combustion engine employing natural gas as fuel, discriminating failure of fuel supply line pressure detecting means or fuel pressure sensor from fluctuation in air intake pipe pressure.
2. Description of the Related Art
An internal combustion engine powered by compressed natural gas was recently proposed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 7(1995)-217,485. In this type of engine, methane or other natural gas stored in a fuel tank (gas cylinder) under high pressure (250 kg/cm.sup.2) is supplied to fuel injection valves through a fuel supply passage (line).
A pressure regulator inserted in the fuel supply line regulates the pressure of the high-pressure natural gas to around 2 kg/cm.sup.2, more exactly so as to maintain the pressure differential between the supplied fuel pressure and the air intake pipe pressure at a constant value. A pressure sensor is provided to detect the fuel supply line pressure downstream of the pressure regulator.
Since desired fuel injection control cannot be conducted when this pressure sensor experiences a broken electrical connector, a shift in output characteristic or other such abnormality (failure), rapid and accurate detection of pressure sensor abnormality (failure) is desirable.

System for detecting failure of fuel pressure sensor


The present invention provides an as-fired, high alumina, low silica, corrosion resistant, refractory product and a method for making said product where the product includes from about 50 wt. % to about 80 wt. % of a bubble alumina, from about 10 wt. % to about 30 wt. % of a fine calcined alumina and from about 5 wt. % to about 20 wt. % of a fine hydrated alumina. The product is characterized by having an alumina content of at least 98 wt. % alumina, a silica content of less than 1 wt. %, a density of from about 80 to about 95 pounds per cubic feet, a porosity of from about 55% to about 65%, a room temperature modulus of rupture of at least 200 psig and a cold crushing strength of from at least 200 psi.

Refractories, such as bricks, used to line chemical incinerators usually are required to be resistant to high temperatures and to corrosive gases such as fluorine and hydrofluoric acid. Most refractories for these applications contain some type of silica or silica-containing material. Unfortunately, silica is subject to attack by the corrosive gases which cause silica to be leached through the formation of a gaseous silicon tetrafluoride, SiF.sub.4. This problem is especially severe in insulating backup refractories which traditionally contain high levels of either free or reducible silica usually occurring in the form of a bonding clay.
One disadvantage of high alumina, low silica, insulating refractories is inadequate handling strength after dry pressing. Most conventional refractory mixtures with little or no silica, or silica-containing clay, are so weak that the mixtures cannot be dry pressed and fired into commercially usable shapes. The lack of adequate handling strength is particularly severe in relatively porous alumina refractories which have a low silica content.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,301 to Sutor discloses one attempt to produce a lightweight insulating alumina refractory having a low silica content. The composition includes the addition of "hollow spherical particles" of alumina. Although this patent describes a lightweight alumina refractory with a low silica content, the composition requires the addition of a calcium aluminate cement to achieve adequate handling strength. In fact, in Table II - continued (col. 3 and 5, lines 1-15) on the Sutor patent, when the calcium aluminate cement wt. % was reduced to 15 wt. %, the resulting refractory (J in the Sutor patent) had only a 60 psi room temperature modulus of rupture. A room temperature modulus of rupture of less than about 100 psig is indicative of a refractory which possesses inadequate handling strength.
One important use of insulating alumina refractories which have low silica contents is as backup refractory liners for incinerators. Typically, incinerators are equipped with both a primary and a secondary liner brick. The primary liner brick is exposed to the internal temperatures of the incinerator. The secondary, or backup liner brick is interposed between the primary brick and the outer walls of the incinerator and acts to insulate the outer walls from the internal temperatures of the incinerator. The primary brick is commonly composed of a relatively non-porous brick which has a relatively high thermal conductivity. On the other hand, relatively porous refractories are especially well suited as backup liners, because, in general, more porous materials are poorer thermal conductors, and, thus, make better insulators.
The need, therefore, exists to find an alumina insulating refractory essentially free of silica, yet that can be dry pressed and fired into usable shapes.

High alumina insulating refractory product and method for making same


This invention relates to a tire having a component of a rubber composition which contains a carbonaceous filler as a composite comprised of a disturbed crystalline structure which contains synthetic cubic (diamond) crystalline phase(s) combined with a significant amorphous phase content and which may also contain graphitic (hexagonal) crystalline phases. The crystalline phases are of a disturbed crystalline structure. The carbonaceous filler composite may therefore sometimes be referred to as a “disturbed crystalline/amorphous carbon material”. Such carbonaceous filler composite may be a product of, for example, an explosive detonation of a carbon-containing, oxygen-deficient explosive. Reinforcement of rubber compositions for components of tires is provided as a combination of such carbonaceous disturbed crystalline/amorphous carbon material together with rubber reinforcing carbon black aggregates and/or synthetic amorphous silica, and optionally with starch/plasticizer composite and/or short fibers. Such tire component may be, for example, a tire tread which contains a running surface for the tire.

Tires are conventionally composed of various components, such as for example treads, which are rubber compositions which contain various fillers such as, for example, carbon black reinforcement which is the most widely used reinforcing particulate material for various rubber products. Such rubber reinforcing carbon black is in a form of aggregates of primary carbon particles formed by, for example, of controlled deposition from a gaseous phase to form a soot. Such rubber reinforcing carbon black is well known to those having skill in the art and is reported, for example, The Vanderbilt Rubber Handbook, (1978) Pages 408 through 428, which includes various ASTM designations for various rubber reinforcing carbon blacks.
Rubber reinforcing carbon blacks, in a form of aggregates of very small primary carbon particles of a highly disturbed graphitic structure, differ significantly from other crystalline forms of carbonaceous materials such as, for example those of a cubic (diamond, both natural and synthetic) crystalline structure. Such crystalline carbonaceous materials are conventionally of an ordered crystalline structure. The crystalline structure is conventionally evidenced by X-ray reflection analysis or detection. Imperfections in X-ray reflections are indicative of a disturbed crystalline structure which, in the case of large disturbances, a crystalline structure cannot normally be detected, and may be conventionally referred to as being roentgen-amorphous, so that therefore the absence of appropriate X-ray reflections is indicative of the significant presence of the amorphous form of carbon. Accordingly, such crystalline carbonaceous materials having significantly less than a perfectly ordered crystalline structure are referred to herein as being composed of a combination of disturbed crystalline phases and amorphous carbon phases.
Carbonaceous materials in a form containing diamond material may be reportedly prepared by, for example, heating carbon to a very high temperature and pressure or by a detonation process. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,353,708, 5,861,349 and 5,916,955 as well as U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,561 showing an alternate process.
Other carbonaceous materials are reported as being formed by various detonation/combustion processes which contain synthetic diamonds as well as other carbon microstructures. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,443,861, 5,985,451 and 5,482,695.
For example, according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,349, a carbonaceous diamond-containing material may be prepared by a controlled detonation process which may be comprised of about 50 to about 90 weight percent diamond cubic crystal structure phase and about 10 to about 30 weight percent amorphous carbon phase. Reportedly, from 10 to 20 percent of the surface of the material may contain methyl, nitrile and hydroxyl groups as well as functional oxycarbonic groups of the general formula: O═R where R represents ═COH, ═COOH, ═CO, and ═C6H4O or any of their combination and from 1 to 2 percent of the surface consists of carbon atoms with non-compensated links. (Reference: A. L. Vereschagin et al. "Properties of Ultrafine Diamond Clusters from Detonation Synthesis" in Diamond and Related Materials, Volume 3 (1933), Pages 160 through 162.)
As hereinbefore mentioned, carbonaceous materials of a disturbed crystalline cubic, diamond-like, structure may reportedly be prepared, for example, by detonating a carbon containing, oxygen-deficient explosive in closed volume in a gaseous medium inert toward carbon to form a material of a diamond-like cubic crystalline phase and an amorphous carbon phase. The disturbed structured carbon material reportedly may have functional groups on its surface, as hereinbefore discussed, which may include, for example, one or more of methyl, carboxyl, quinone, lactone ether and aldehyde functional groups.
Thus, such disturbed cubic crystalline/graphitic structured carbon composite materials, usually referred to herein as a composite of a "disturbed crystalline/amorphous carbon material" because of its included amorphous carbon content, are of an entirely different structure than more conventional aggregates of primary carbon black particles used as rubber reinforcing carbon blacks and reportedly may contain more extensive functional groups on their surfaces to further differentiate them from such rubber reinforcing carbon blacks.
Further examples of carbon materials comprised of disturbed cubic/graphitic structure are reported by M. D. Sokolova, O. A. Andrianova and S. N. Popov at the Sixth Russian Scientific and Practical Konference of Rubber Tires, Moscow, 1998, having a particle size of about 4 to 6 nanometers and aggregates thereof of a particle size of about 20 to 30 nanometers and a BET surface area via Argon absorption of about 250 to 350 m2/g.
The BET method of measuring surface area is described in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Volume 60, (1930), Page 304.
Use of synthetic, explosive-formed, diamond material for use with rubbers has been discussed by A. P. Voznayokovskii, et al, in "Prospects of Using Technical-grade Diamond Carbon Synthesized by Explosion for the Reinforcement of Polyisoprene Rubbers" in Kauchuk i Rezina, No. 6 (1996), Page 27, with an English translation reportedly appearing in International Polymer Science and Technology, Volume 24, No.6, (1997), Page T/6, and as "Study of Reaction of Rubbers with Industrial Diamond Carbon Produced by Explosion Synthesis" in International Polymer Science and Technology, Volume 5, No.6, (1998), PageT/7, or by O. A. Adrianova, et al., in "Potential for Improving the Quality of Rubber Sealing Materials Used in the Conditions of the Far North" as reported in International Polymer Science and Technology, Volume 25, No. 6, (1998), Pages 24 through 27.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,608,318 and 5,935,715, mention the use of diamond powder in rubber for a radiation protection composition or as part of a quartz in a layer on rubber, respectively, although the nature of the diamond powder is not entirely specified.
However, this invention is directed to avoiding the sole use of a composite of a disturbed crystalline/amorphous phased carbonaceous material as a reinforcing filler additive for a rubber composition for a tire component and particularly a tire tread having a running surface intended to be ground-contacting.
Indeed, this invention is directed to a tire having a component, particularly a tread, of a rubber composition which contains a reinforcing filler as a combination of a composite of disturbed crystalline/amorphous phased carbonaceous particulate material together with rubber reinforcing carbon black aggregates (aggregates of primary graphitic carbon particles) or together with a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black aggregates and synthetic amorphous silica aggregates (aggregates of primary silica particles), particularly in a form of synthetic amorphous precipitated silica aggregates, and wherein said filler also optionally contains a starch/plasticizer composite and/or short fibers.
As hereinbefore discussed, evidence of crystalline structure (e.g. cubic diamond and hexagonal grapitic crystalline structured phases) and amorphous carbon phases contained in the disturbed crystalline/amorphous phased carbonaceous filler for use in this invention can be discerned by X-ray diffraction. By X-ray diffraction analysis, crystalline faces of the crystalline structured regions, or phases, of the carbonaceous material can be detected and distinguished from graphitic or disturbed graphitic phases. Amorphous non-crystalline regions, or phases, of the carbonaceous material are not responsive to and are therefore not readily detectable by the X-ray diffraction method. However, the width of the X-ray scattered signal reportedly can show that the crystalline disorder or microstress (referred to in the aforesaid "Properties of Ultrafine Diamond Clusters for Detonation Synthesis" by A. L. Vereschagin, et al.) is excessive for a regular, undisturbed crystalline structure thereby indicating the significant presence of the respective phases within the disturbed, or irregular, crystalline structure of the carbonaceous material.
For the purposes of this invention, although it is envisioned herein that the disturbed crystalline/amorphous phased carbonaceous filler contains a cubic (diamond) crystalline structure, it may also typically contain a significant amount, or content, of an hexagonal (graphitic) crystalline structure as well as an amorphous carbon. Thus, it is envisioned herein that the disturbed crystalline/amorphous phased carbonaceous filler is a composite, rather than a simple blend, which may be composed of a combination of such disturbed cubic (diamond) crystalline structure and such disturbed hexagonal (graphitic) crystalline structure or composed of such disturbed cubic (diamond) crystalline structure and may also have a significant amorphous carbon content.
The term "phr" as used herein, and according to conventional practice, refers to "parts of a respective material per 100 parts by weight of rubber elastomer". In the description of this invention, the terms "rubber" and "elastomer" can be used interchangeably, unless otherwise indicated The terms "rubber composition", "compounded rubber" and "rubber compound" can be used interchangeably to refer to "rubber which has been blended or mixed with various ingredients and materials" and such terms are well known to those having skill in the rubber mixing or rubber compounding art.

Tire having component of rubber composition containing a carbonaceous filler composite of disturbed crystalline phrases and amorphous carbon phases


Compositions for removing contaminants from plastics processing equipment are described herein. The compositions may include a polymeric carrier component, an oxidizing agent, an abrasive and/or a gas agent. Methods of preparing the compositions described herein and methods of removing contaminants from plastics processing equipment are also described.

Polymer processing, particularly polymers that are polar and/or have an affinity to metal surfaces when melted, can lead to polymer build-up in the polymer processing equipment. For example, polymer build-up is common on a screw or in a barrel of an extruder. Over time, polymer build-up may cause polymers being processed to be overexposed to heat inside of the processing equipment, leading to changes in color or flow characteristics of the polymer. The result of this can be uneven colour and physical characteristics of downstream plastics produced using the polymer processed through the defective equipment.
Various methods are known for purging polymer processing equipment after running a processing resin (i.e. a polymeric composition having one or more polymers. For instance, purging compounds are commercially available and are routinely employed to remove certain processing resins. Purging compounds also find utility when transitioning between processing of a first processing resin to a second processing resin.
Notwithstanding recent advances in purging compounds, current purging compounds tend to have limited effectiveness over a broad range of polymers, resulting in a number of different purge compounds being needed for an individual piece of polymer processing equipment.
Additionally, current purging compounds are inefficient at removing contaminants from polymer processing equipment and require a great deal of unproductive down time of the processing equipment during purging.
Accordingly, there is a need for new or improved compositions and methods for removing of contaminants from plastics processing equipment.

Compositions and methods for removing contaminants from plastics processing equipment


A reporting system is described herein that allows a report author to declare data reporting structures that specify to a reporting application how to dynamically categorize data with changing or potentially unknown characteristics. The reporting system may extend RDL and the data grouping provided by Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services by adding new elements to the XML-based RDL schema. The reporting system allows the report author to specify for the system to fill gaps in the data, so that the report has a similar layout even as data changes from period to period. The reporting system also allows the report author to specify whether data that does not fit any predefined group bucket is displayed in a report. Thus, the reporting system allows unsophisticated database users to define reports that group data consistently regardless of missing values or other changes in the underlying data.

A report is a combination of three kinds of information: 1) information about how to obtain data (queries) as well as the structure of the data, 2) layout or formatting information that describes how to present the data, and 3) additional informational properties, such as author, parameters, images within the report, and so on. In today's database reporting market, most applications use a proprietary format for representing the definition of a report. In addition, vendors that provide a report execution environment usually only support their own design tools. For customers, this means that customers cannot easily move reports between different reporting implementations and that there are few options for choosing new tools that work with existing execution environments.
Report Definition Language (RDL) is a standard proposed by Microsoft for defining reports. RDL is an XML schema used with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services. Report authors usually write RDL using Microsoft Visual Studio, although there are also third-party tools; authors may also create or edit RDL in a text editor such as Microsoft Notepad. Microsoft Reporting Services and 3rd party reporting frameworks use RDL to define charts, graphs, calculations, text, images, and other report objects and to render report objects in a variety of formats.
One goal of RDL is to promote the interoperability of commercial reporting products by defining a common schema that allows interchange of report definitions. RDL is a schema definition, not a programmatic interface or protocol like HTTP or ODBC. RDL does not specify how applications pass report definitions between applications or how applications process reports. In addition, RDL is fully encapsulated, meaning that successfully interpreting an RDL document does not involve any understanding of the source application. RDL is also designed to be output format neutral, meaning that reports defined using RDL can be output to a variety of formats including Web and print-ready formats or data-focused formats like XML. In the process of generating different output formats, products may represent RDL constructs slightly differently or ignore certain constructs completely. For example, a product generating a textual format may choose to ignore images in a report.
When reporting data, there are commonly cases where a report user wants to group and aggregate the data, such as to help the report user identify trends in the data. Often, reports include a predefined set of categories, or groups, into which a reporting application places data. For example, predefined layouts may include data for every month of a year. Sometimes however, straightforward grouping and aggregation is insufficient, particularly when dealing with changing or unknown data characteristics. Report users often have a different skill set than database designers, and cannot simply modify queries in a data source (e.g., a database) to define a different report. Having database designers modify queries is expensive. In addition, a report user may want to generate a report from a third party database for which the report user does not interact with the database owner and for which modifying the data source is not an option.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Reporting including filling data gaps and handling uncategorized data


A device may process configuration data to identify category data that identifies possible categories of data included in the configuration data. The device may process the category data, after identifying the category data, using a natural language processing technique to generate a set of terms to be processed using an artificial intelligence module. The device may utilize the artificial intelligence module to process the set of terms to predict a set of configuration actions to be performed with respect to the configuration data and to determine an order in which to perform the set of configuration actions. The artificial intelligence module may be associated with translating the configuration data into a computer-readable form. The device may generate an execution script based on the set of configuration actions or the order in which to perform the set of configuration actions. The device may perform the set of configuration actions.

An entity may plan resource usage and/or allocation using a software system. For example, the software system may be referred to as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The ERP system may provide various software interfaces and components to perform key functions of the entity. One ERP system is the Software, Applications, and Products (SAP) ERP system.

Generating an execution script for configuration of a system


The present invention relates to a method for diluting an acid or alkaline stock solution with pure water to prepare a mixed solution of an aimed concentration, which method comprises:. an initial preparation step A, in which the prescribed amounts of a stock solution and pure water are mixed to prepare a mixed solution with a concentration different from the preset target concentration; PA1 a concentration measuring step B, in which the concentration of the mixed solution is measured by the potentiometric titration method; and PA1 a preparation step C, in which the deficiency of the stock solution or pure water is calculated on the basis of the difference between the value of concentration measured in the step B and the value of target concentration, and 70 to 99% of the calculated deficiency of the stock solution or pure water is supplied to the mixed solution, PA1 the said steps B and C being repeated until the measured value of concentration falls within the range of the threshold of the preset target concentration.

The present invention relates to a method for diluting acid or alkaline stock solution an apparatus therefor. More particularly, it relates to a method for diluting an acid or alkaline stock solution, which is capable of accomplishing desired dilution with higher accuracy and efficiency when, for instance, diluting a stock solution of an alkaline developer for positive resists with pure water, and an apparatus used for performing such a diluting method.
In manufacture of precision parts such as semiconductor elements, an acid or alkaline solution with a strictly controlled concentration is used. For instance, an alkaline developer such as a solution of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is used as a developer for positive resists, and such a developer needs to be adjusted in its concentration with tolerances of .+-.0.005 wt % against the aimed concentration (e.g. 2.38 wt %).
Conventionally, it has been common practice to transport the developer already adjusted to an aimed concentration by the developer maker to the site of use. Such a practice, however, requires a high cost for transport in the above practice, so that recently it is studied to transport the stock solution of the developer and to dilute the stock solution with pure water to an aimed concentration at the site of use. Then, researches have been done on the method and apparatus for diluting the stock solution to prepare a developer of an aimed concentration on the spot (site of use).
For instance, in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 6-7910, there is described a developer stock solution-diluting apparatus in which the stock solution of an alkaline developer and pure water are supplied to a stirring tank having a mixing means, and a part of the mixed solution is extracted from the stirring tank to measure conductivity of the solution while the flow rates of the stock solution and pure water supplied to the mixing means are controlled. This diluting apparatus has the advantage which is capable of quick and real-time assay of concentration of the mixed solutions by the conductivity method (electrode method).
However, the diluting techniques which use the conductivity method, have the problems in relation to accuracy of measurement and stability, such as liability to error of the measurement due to temperature change in the electrode or enlargement of such error of measurement due to contamination of the electrode surface or deterioration of electrode performance, so that there is a limitation on precision attainable in preparation of the developer according to the said conventional diluting techniques. Thus, development of a method and apparatus capable of diluting a developer stock solution with pure water and preparing a developer of an aimed concentration at higher precision and efficiency, has been desired.
As a result of the present inventors' studies on the subject matter, it has been found that in the preparation of the alkaline developers by diluting their stock solutions, although it is possible to assay the solution concentration with higher precision by using the potentiometric titration method, the titration method takes a relatively long time for the assay, and can not immediately apply itself to the continuous control of flow rate of the stock solution and pure water supplied. Further, the present inventors' earnest studies for making the best use of the advantage of the titration method based on the knowledge derived from the above-mentioned finding that when an acid or alkaline stock solution and pure water are mixed and treated by combining the said potentiometric titration method and a specific batch mixing process, it is possible to bring the mixed solution to an aimed concentration (target concentration) in a short time and with higher precision. The present invention has been attained on the basis of the above finding.

Method for diluting acid or alkaline stock solution and apparatus therefor


Structural components are added to an interferometric objective to offset the effects of temperature variations. The components are mounted between the sleeve housing the optics of the objective and the collar housing the optics of the interferometer. Each component is coupled sequentially, such that the thermal response of the assembly is substantially the linear combination of the response of each component and is designed to cause a shift in the opposite direction to the shift produced by a temperature change in the unmodified device. The thermal characteristics and dimensions of the components are chosen empirically to provide a minimum shift between the reference mirror and focal point in the interferometric objective as a function of temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related in general to the field of interferometry and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for minimizing shifts between the focal point and the reference mirror caused by thermal effects in the optical microscope objective of an interferometer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many interferometric devices utilize microscope objectives for focusing beams of light on a sample surface and a reference surface to produce interference fringes representative of the optical path difference (OPD) between the two. As illustrated in simple schematic form in FIG. 1, typical interferometric apparatus 10 consists of a light source 12 directing a beam L of light through an illuminator 14 toward a beam splitter 16, which reflects the light in the direction of a test surface S. The light reflected by the beam splitter 16 passes through a microscope objective 22 focused on the test surface S and incorporating an interferometer (not seen in the figure). The interferometer, such as a Mirau device, for example, comprises a beam splitter and a reference mirror, such that the light beam directed to the sample surface S is split and also directed to the reference mirror. As is well understood by those skilled in the art, the light beams reflected from the reference mirror and the test surface S (the reference and test beams, respectively) are combined to produce interference fringes as a result of the optical path difference between the reference mirror and the test surface S. The light is typically passed back through the interferometric microscope objective 22 and through the beam splitter 16 toward an imaging array 24 positioned in a camera 26 in coaxial alignment with the objective 22. The imaging array 24 typically consists of individual charge-coupled-device (CCD) cells or other sensing apparatus adapted to record a two-dimensional array of signals corresponding to interference effects produced by the interferometer as a result of light reflected at individual x-y coordinates or pixels in the surface S and received at corresponding individual cells in the array. Appropriate electronic hardware (not shown) is also provided to process the signals generated by each cell and transmit them to a computer for further processing. Thus, an interference-fringe map is generated by detecting the intensity of the light signal received in each cell of the array 24. Additional information about the test surface S can be gained by varying the OPD between the reference and test surfaces with a scanning device (not shown) translating either the reference surface or the test surface.
The present invention is directed at an unsolved problem caused by thermal effects in the typical interferometric objective 22 of the interferometer. As illustrated schematically in FIG. 2, a conventional interferometric objective 22 consists of microscope-objective optics 30 adapted to focus the light beam L at a test focal point P on the test surface S of the object being measured. For the purpose of this disclosure, the light beam L is assumed to come from an object location an infinite distance behind the microscope objective, thereby locating the test focal point P defined here at the focal point of the objective. As one skilled in the art would readily understand, though, the disclosure applies equally to the case where the source of beam L is located a finite distance behind the objective and the test focal point P does not coincide with the focal point of the objective. Thus, while the "infinite conjugates" imaging condition, as understood in the art, is used here to simplify the description of the invention, the description can be generalized with no loss of accuracy to the "finite conjugates" imaging condition.
The optics in the objective 30 are rigidly housed in a coaxial support sleeve 32 substantially along the entire length of the objective. A focusing sleeve 34 is mounted on the support sleeve 32 so that it can move along the optical axis X of the assembly for focusing the light beam L at the test focal point P. To produce the fine adjustments required for interferometric applications, the focusing sleeve 34 is typically coupled to the support sleeve 32 by means of a threaded engagement (seen in FIG. 12) along the interior of the sleeve 34, such as on the inside surface of the end collar 36.
As also shown in the enlarged partial view contained in FIG. 2, the focussing sleeve 34 includes a beam splitter 38 and a reference flat 40 with a reference mirror 42 attached to the reference surface 44. By rotating the focusing sleeve 34 with respect to the support sleeve 32, their relative axial position is shifted as needed to focus the light beam L on the reference surface 44. Obviously, the threaded engagement between the two structures is provided with the pitch necessary to produce the focusing adjustments required by the application. By design, once the beam L is focused on the object to be measured, the light reflected from the reference mirror 42 and from the test surface S is combined at the surface 46 of the beam splitter 38 and reflected back through the objective 30 for the necessary interferometric measurements. Therefore, it is critical for good interferometric measurements that the distance between the surface 46 on the beam splitter and the reference mirror 42 remain the same as the distance between the surface 46 and the test focal point P (that is, the reference focal point P' must remain on the mirror 42). For the purposes of this disclosure, the distance between the splitter's surface 46 and the reference mirror 42 is defined as the "reference length" and the distance between the surface 46 and the test focal point P is defined as the "test length." Thus, the reference length is selected by design such that the position of the reference mirror 42 is conjugate to the location of the test focal point P after the focusing of the objective on the test sample.
In practice, thermal effects cause component shifts that result in material changes in the focal length of the objective. When that happens, the test length changes and a mismatch occurs between the focal position of the test surface and the position of the reference mirror. As shown in FIG. 3, the nominal design configuration when the interferometric objective 22 is focused on the test surface S is illustrated by condition B, which is optimal, while mismatched configurations caused by thermal effects are shown as conditions A and C. Specifically, condition A is caused by a temperature change that results in an increase of the focal length of the objective, while condition C is produced by a temperature change that results in a decrease of the focal length. Under condition A, assuming, for purposes of illustration, that the distance between the splitter's surface 46 and the reference surface 44 (the reference length) remains unaffected by the change in ambient temperature, when the test beam is focused on the test surface S, the reference focal point P' is shifted beyond the reference mirror 42 and the image reflected by the mirror is out of focus. Similarly, under condition C the reference focal point P'is shifted ahead of the mirror 42 with the same result. Obviously, the interplay between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the various components in the objective 22 determines exactly what happens as a result of any departure from the design temperature for the device. Moreover, the reference length does not in fact remain constant through temperature variations, but also contributes to the mismatch illustrated above. As discussed above with respect to the test focal point P, the "infinite conjugates" imaging condition is used for simplicity of disclosure, but the description can be generalized with no loss of accuracy to the "finite conjugates" imaging condition with respect to the reference focal point P' as well.
Thus, the temperature dependence of the characteristics of conventional interferometric objectives affects the performance of the instruments under varied temperature conditions. Therefore, it would be very desirable to provide a solution to this problem.

Method and apparatus for correcting shifts between a reference focal point and a reference surface as a result of thermal effects in an interferometric optical objective


A system and method for modulating optogenetic vagus neurons in a noninvasive and transcutaneous manner is disclosed. The system and method comprises a two-dimensional array of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), a voltage-generating unit, a control unit, and a feedback loop. The array is placed on a subject's outer ear. Because the array is flexible, it can be closely placed on the skin of the outer ear. The array can deliver optical therapy and monitor heart rate variability (HRV) of the subject simultaneously, and the pixels of the array can be individually addressed. The voltage-generating unit generates pulsed voltage to the OLEDs. The control unit is connected to the array and controls the array and therapeutic patterns. The feedback loop uses the HRV to identify the therapeutic patterns.

A surprisingly large number of common chronic inflammatory diseases and mental health disorders—including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and epilepsy—are related to abnormal activity in the peripheral nervous system. As an alternative to conventional treatment using drugs or invasive surgery, targeted regulation of peripheral nerves is promising in helping patients restore and maintain their health. However, existing peripheral neuromodulation devices are typically used as a last resort to medical professionals because those devices are relatively large and often produce undesirable side effects from lack of precision and required invasive surgery.
Therefore, a noninvasive precise neuromodulation device is needed.

System and method for modulating optogenetic vagus nerve in a noninvasive, transcutaneous manner

ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS OF BEHALF OF ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY


The cooling duct assembly for a control element drive mechanism (CEDM) includes a skirt that is combined on a circumference of a reactor head and has first air channels in an inner side thereof; a lower duct that is combined with an upper side of the skirt, has second air channels that are connected to the first air channels, and is disposed to surround a circumference of the CEDM; and an upper duct, an edge of which is combined with the cooling air handling device, and other edge of which is detachably combined with the lower duct, wherein air that cools the CEDM is discharged to the outside after sequentially passing the first air channels, the second air channels, the upper duct, and the cooling air handling device, and the upper duct separated from the lower duct is lifted together with the cooling air handling device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling duct assembly for a control element drive mechanism, and more particularly, to a cooling duct assembly for a control element drive mechanism (CEDM), in which an upper assembly of a nuclear reactor is conveniently disassembled, moved, and stored by improving structures of a duct which is provided for cooling the CEDM that constitutes the upper assembly of the nuclear reactor.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a schematic lateral view of an upper assembly of a related nuclear reactor. Referring to FIG. 1, the upper assembly includes a head lift rig 11, a duct, a head area cable tray system (HACTS) 3, and a control element drive mechanism air handling unit (CEDM AHU) 1.
The CEDM AHU 1 circulates cooling air during an operation of a power generator to cool a CEDM 2, and is supported by a shielding wall 4 together with the HACTS 3. The head lift rig 11 is a device for lifting a reactor head 5 for fuel change after stopping the power generator and is installed above the reactor head 5.
The CEDM AHU 1 includes a plurality of cooling fans 6. When the cooling fans 6 operate, surrounding air flows into the CEDM 2. The cooling air flows downwardly between coil assemblies to cool down them, and reaches manifolds 7 after flowing through a nozzle unit of the reactor head 5 and a plurality of holes of a skirt 12.
Afterwards, the cooling air sequentially passes through the manifolds 7 and ducts 8, 9, and 10, and is re-discharged into surrounding flow spaces from the CEDM AHU 1 through the cooling fans 6. There are four manifolds 7, and each manifold 7 includes two branch ducts 8, and thus, eight branch ducts 8 are disposed on the four manifolds 7. The eight branch ducts 8 are combined to four connection ducts 9, and the four connection ducts 9 are combined to two upper ducts 10, and finally, the two upper ducts 10 are connected to the CEDM AHU 1. FIG. 1 shows only a side of the related nuclear reactor, and the nuclear reactor of FIG. 1 has the other symmetrically formed side.
In the upper assembly of the related nuclear reactor, the reactor head 5 needs to be lifted on every fuel change, and at this time, the branch ducts 8, the connection ducts 9, the upper ducts 10, the CEDM AHU 1, and the HACTS 3 must be disassembled and moved to a temporary storage.
More specifically, the CEDM AHU 1 and the HACTS 3 are lifted and moved to a temporary storage. Next, the branch ducts 8, the connection ducts 9, the upper ducts 10, and the manifolds 7 are disassembled, lifted, and moved to a temporary storage separately. The disassembling of the branch ducts 8, the connection ducts 9, the upper ducts 10, and the manifolds 7 requires a lot of time since a plurality of bolts and nuts must be released. Also, the upper region of the related nuclear reactor is a radiation region, and is an elevated place where the branch ducts 8, the connection ducts 9, and the upper ducts 10 are connected, and thus, appropriate measures are needed for workers' safety. Also, when assembling work is performed after refueling is finished, the workload is the same as in the disassembling case and the same safety measures are needed.

Cooling duct assembly for control element drive mechanism

KEPCO ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC.