This invention comprises a unique method for the sale of natural stone, special packaging for the stone and a method of doing business to make the stone available in high volume stores to the average consumer. The method comprises pre-fabricating the stone into slabs at or near the location where it is quarried, into sizes and shapes which are common, and often standard, in household bathrooms and kitchens. The stone slabs may, or may not, include cut-outs for sinks and faucets of various standard size. The pre-fabricated stone is then packaged in a box or carton which is designed to specially protect the stone, especially at the corners where most damage occurs, and shipping the packages to high volume, do-it-yourself consumer outlets.

Countertops for bathrooms, kitchens and the like are an important part of any home. These countertops can be made from many different materials such as stone, including marble and granite, tile, or formica, as well as wood and metal. Natural stone, marble or granite is the most desired and the most expensive of these materials. As a result there have been produced man-made materials made to look like stone which are derived of mixtures of resins or cement with the addition of stone chips. These include terrazzo, agglomerates and conglomerates, and cultured or faux marble.
Stone is a natural solid formation of many minerals. There are hundreds of types of stone that have been quarried through the centuries. Quarries are located all over the world. A majority of natural stone comes from Italy, Spain, Turkey, United States, Mexico, China, Taiwan, India, Greece, Canada, France and Brazil. The more familiar natural stone types that are used in construction today are identified in four categories: sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous and man-made.
Sedimentary stone came from organic elements such as glaciers, rivers, wind, oceans and plants. Tiny sedimentary pieces broke off from these elements and accumulated to form rock beds. They were bonded through millions of years of heat and pressure.
Metamorphic stone originates from a natural change from one type of stone to another type through the mixture of heat, pressure, and minerals. The change may be a development of crystalline formation, a texture change, or a color change.
Marble is a recrystallized limestone that formed when the limestone softened from heat and pressure and recrystallized into marble where mineral changes occurred. The main consistency is calcium and dolomite. Marble ranges in many colors and is usually heavily veined and shows lots of grains. Its hardness rates from 2.5 to 5 on the Measure of Hardness (MOH) Scale.
Marble is classified into three categories, as classified by Stone World, an industry magazine:
1. Dolomite: If it has more than 40% magnesium carbonate.
2. Magnesian: If it has between 5% and 40% magnesium carbonate.
3. Calcite: If it has less than 5% magnesium carbonate.
Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic stone that formed from clay, sedimentary rock shale, and sometimes quartz. Slate is very thin and can break easily. It usually has a black, grey or green color.
Serpentine is identified by its marks, which look like the skin of a serpent. Most popular colors are green and brown. Hardness rates from 2.5 to 4 on the MOH scale. Serpentine does not always react well to recrystalization or diamond polishing.
Igneous stones are mainly formed through volcanic material such a magma. Underneath the Earth""s surface, liquid magma cooled and solidified. Mineral gases and liquids penetrated into the stone and created new crystalline formations with various colors.
Granite is primarily made of Quartz (35%), Feldspar (45%), and Potassium. It usually has darker colors and contains very little calcite, if any. Granite has a heavy crystalline and granular appearance with mineral grains. It is very hard material and easier to maintain than marble, yet it is still porous and will stain. There are different types of granite depending on the percentage mix of quartz, mica and feldspar. Black granite is known as an Anorthosite. It contains very little quartz and feldspar and has a different composition than true granite.
Man-made stone is derived of mixtures of resins or cement with the addition of stone chips. These include terrazzo, agglomerates and conglomerates, and cultured or faux marble.
Natural stone is far more expensive than man-made and is in great demand by those who can afford it. Until now, no method has been developed to sell natural stone at prices that are reasonable to the average consumer.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method to package and sell natural stone through high volume stores, such as Home Depot, so that it is available to the average consumer, particularly the do-it-yourself homeowner.
It is a further object of this invention to provide unique packaging for natural stone which protects the stone, so that it can be sold in high volume stores, yet have it well protected from damage.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of selling natural stone to the consumer at prices lower than ever before possible, making it available to the average consumer.
This invention comprises a unique method for the sale of natural stone which includes special packaging and a method of doing business to make the stone available in high volume stores to the average consumer. The method comprises the special packaging of pre-fabricated pieces of stone, such as granite or marble, in boxes which protect the stone from damage in the shipping, handling and sale of the stone, while providing the consumer with a way to see and touch the stone, which is highly desirable, so that the consumer may choose the color and texture of the stone which he or she desires.
The method comprises pre-fabricating the stone at or near the location where it is quarried, into sizes and shapes which are common, and often standard, in household bathrooms and kitchens. This may, or may not, include cut-outs for sinks of various standard size. The pre-fabricated stone is then packaged in a box or carton which is designed to specially protect the stone, especially at the corners where most damage occurs, and shipping the packages to high volume stores, such as Home Depot and the like, for high volume sales. This method brings down the price of the stone to the consumer to very attractive levels, because the cutting of stone today is done by specially trained persons on a custom basis which is very expensive.
Genuine stone slabs, used for countertops or table tops, made of natural stone such as granite, are considered a very high cost luxury item that are only affordable by the affluent, and always custom made to order. Never before has natural stone (granite, marble, etc.) been prefabricated and packaged to allow it to be sold in retail outlets. Applicants"" invention allows the consumer to buy these stone countertops off the shelf.
Applicants have created an assembly line approach to a product that until now has solely been considered xe2x80x9ca custom-made-to-order product,xe2x80x9d that customers would have to wait 6-8 weeks, on average, to have made. Applicants"" slabs are designed for the xe2x80x9cdo-it-yourselfxe2x80x9d home improvement market. The slabs can be installed easily by the lay person in less than one hour. The product comes with instructions in three languages on how to assemble and install.
Applicants have developed the technology for attaching an undermount sink using an industrial strength epoxy, which is included in the package. This has made it a truly xe2x80x9cdo-it-yourselfxe2x80x9d product. In the past, metal clips were needed to hold the sink in place and it was very difficult to install and could be temporary in nature because clips can loosen up and pull out. Sinks normally would need a professional to install, using existing methods.
The unique packaging system developed by Applicants allows for shipping to stores and placement into inventory, easily displayed on shelves, and transported home by customers without breaking, chipping or scratching. Installation has been made easily accomplished by the xe2x80x9cdo-it-yourselfxe2x80x9d customer.
Counters for bathrooms and kitchens made of man-made materials are now sold in prefabricated slabs, but no one has ever sold natural stone in this manner, due to the problems with packaging and the difficulty with cutting it properly. The method will be further explained in more detail by reference to the following drawings.

Method of packaging and selling natural stone


A high solids content paste for fabrication of secondary battery electrodes may comprise: a negative active material or a positive active material; a binder; a solvent; and a hyperdispersant; wherein the high solids content paste has a specific viscosity chosen for a particular coating tool and a composition such that the high solids content paste will maintain a deposited shape after coating at least until the high solids content paste has dried and wherein the dry coating thickness is in the range of 5 microns to 300 microns. The high solids content paste with negative active material has a viscosity in the range of 30,000 cP to 45,000 cP and a corresponding density of 1.40 g/cc to 1.43 g/cc. The high solids content paste with positive active material has a viscosity in the range of 25,479 cP to 47,184 cP and a corresponding density of 2.72 g/cc to 2.73 g/cc.

Conventional battery electrodes are fabricated, for example, using a slurry consisting of active materials with a suitable binder and carbon additive, which is coated on thin metal foil current collectors, using a slot-die tool. The electrodes are dried, calendered and cut to size to make wound or stacked cells. To avoid cracking of the coating, especially thicker coatings, the coatings need to be dried very slowly. Also, slot die pattern coating processes deposit extra material at the lead and end edges of the coating causing coating uniformity issues.
Clearly, there is a need for faster drying of coatings and also improved coating uniformity, from the cost and yield perspective.

High solids content paste formulations for secondary battery electrode


An apparatus includes a spray module with at least one column of spray nozzles. Each spray nozzle is configured to deliver a processing substance on a semiconductor substrate during a process for semiconductor manufacturing as the semiconductor substrate moves past the spray module. The at least one column of spray nozzles is arranged with respect to a direction of travel of the semiconductor substrate so the semiconductor substrate passes the spray nozzles. A location module identifies a location of the semiconductor substrate with respect to the spray module. A spray pattern module determines a spray pattern of where a processing substance is to be delivered to the semiconductor substrate and a nozzle control module actuates each spray nozzle independently based on the spray pattern and a location of the semiconductor identified by the location module.

Field
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to semiconductor processing and more particularly relates to digital processing equipment for customizable delivery of processing substances to a semiconductor substrate.
Description of the Related Art
Equipment that is used for processing cores or external layers for semiconductor substrates, such as printed circuit boards or flex cables, typically process the entire surface area of a core or external layer uniformly. However, there are situations where it is preferential to process a portion of the core or external layer under a different condition, or not process a portion at all.

LENOVO ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.


A thermoelectric composition comprising tin (Sn), tellurium (Te) and at least one dopant that comprises a peak dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) of 1.1 and a Seebeck coefficient of at least 50 μV/K and a method of manufacturing the thermoelectric composition. A plurality of components are disposed in a ball-milling vessel, wherein the plurality of components comprise tin (Sn), tellurium (Te), and at least one dopant such as indium (In). The components are subsequently mechanically and thermally processed, for example, by hot-pressing. In response to the mechanical-thermally processing, a thermoelectric composition is formed, wherein the thermoelectric composition comprises a dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) of the thermoelectric composition is at least 0.8, and wherein a Seebeck coefficient of the thermoelectric composition is at least 50 μV/K at any temperature.

Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to thermoelectric materials and the manufacture of thermoelectric materials. More particularly, the disclosure relates to thermoelectric materials that maintain thermoelectric properties at high temperatures.
Background of the Technology
Thermoelectric materials are those where either a temperature difference creates an electric potential or where an electric potential creates a temperature difference. Conventionally, most materials may have a thermoelectric effect but it may occur within a small temperature range that may not be appropriate for a wide range of applications, and/or may not be a strong enough thermoelectric effect to be used in industrial applications.

Systems and methods for the synthesis of high thermoelectric performance doped-SnTe materials


A delivery system, which is capable of quickly and correctly delivering an item to a destination. In the delivery system of the present invention, a moving section is capable of holding an item to be delivered. A driving mechanism is capable of moving the moving section in a plane. A frame section encloses the plane in which the moving section is moved. A plurality of input sections are capable of independently inputting data, and are provided to the frame section. A control section is capable of controlling the driving mechanism on the basis of the data inputted by the input sections so as to move the moving section in the plane.

The present invention relates to a delivery system. More precisely, the present invention relates to a delivery system, which is preferably used for restaurant waiting services, etc..
Recently, for example, in the field of meal services, automatic delivery systems have been proposed so as to solve a problem of a lack of man power, and some of them have been used. In some sushi bars, for example, an automatic delivery system is used. The system has a rectangle or long circular counter, and an endless conveyor provided along the counter. Sushi plates are mounted on the endless conveyor to convey by turns. Customers sitting around the counter take the sushi plates, on which the sushi is placed, from the conveyor.
However, the conventional delivery system has the following disadvantage.
Since sushi plates or members to be delivered are conveyed by the conveyor, it takes a long time to convey the sushi plates from a serving position at which they are mounted on the conveyor to customers sitting in positions which are far away from the serving position. Especially, in the case of a huge counter, it takes a longer time.

c/o Kabushiki Kaisha Mechanic Sekkei Jimusho, 5175-1, Ooaza Toyoshina


Liquid gauging apparatus using a time delay neural network for determining a quantity of liquid in a container that is not directly measurable by sensors is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a plurality of sensors and a processor. Each of the sensors are capable of measuring a respective parameter of the liquid and for producing a time varying sensor output signal representative of the respective parameter measured thereby. The processor is programmed to process the sensor output signals by a time delay neural network algorithm to determine a current quantity of the liquid in the container based on current and past parameter measurements of the sensor output signals. Also disclosed is a method of training a time delay neural network algorithm for computing a quantity of liquid in a container from current and past liquid parameter sensor measurements. The method comprises the steps of: establishing a dynamic model of liquid behavior in the container and parameter measurements of the liquid behavior sensed by a plurality of sensors; deriving from the dynamic model training data sets for a plurality of liquid quantity values, each data set comprising current and past liquid parameter sensor measurement values corresponding to a liquid quantity value of the plurality, and the corresponding liquid quantity value; and training the time delay neural network algorithm with the derived training data sets.

A liquid gauging system using a static neural network has been disclosed in the above referenced co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/996,858 (hereinafter the xe2x80x9c858 Applicationxe2x80x9d). In the 858 Application, a system was disclosed for estimating a quantity of liquid in a container, which could not be measured directly, using a neural network with inputs based on the parameter measurements of a plurality of sensors at a single instant in time, i.e. a single snapshot of sensor output values. The performance of such static neural network liquid gauging systems have been considered adequate, but inherently limited due to the lack of accounting for transient conditions. For those liquid container systems affected by motion, the snapshot of sensor measurement data does not uniquely determine the state of the system during transients, like attitude changes due to acceleration, for example, which may lead to a degradation in the estimation of liquid quantity by the neural network during such conditions.
Aircraft fuel tanks, for example, undergo attitude changes frequently during flight which render the fuel surface in motion causing such conditions as fuel slosh, liquid surface vibration and wave motion just to name a few. Under these conditions, the sensor fuel measurements may lag the attitude or acceleration measurement rendering an input pattern different from that for which the neural network was trained. Such surface effects are not taken into account during training thereof. Consequently, the static neural network may estimate a different quantity of liquid than what actually exists in the tank.
In addition, the sensors of a liquid gauging system generally include built in damping that may cause the liquid parameter measurements thereof to lag behind any rapid changes in liquid state. Accordingly, even such transient conditions as a rapid change in liquid quantity due to a transfer of liquid between containers, for example, may lead to inaccurate liquid quantity estimates from the static neural network. Not only are the errors associated with such dynamic effects not accounted for during training, but any additional information available from such effects which may make the quantity determination of the static neural network more reliable from a training perspective are effectively filtered out as a result of such built in sensor damping.
Accordingly, what is most desirable is a liquid gauging system that can take into account not only the current sensor parameter measurements, but past sensor parameter measurements as well. Including past histories of the parameter measurements will result in an improved liquid quantity estimate even if the most recent sensor measurements alone do not provide for an actual current state of the liquid due to transient conditions such as those exemplified above. The present invention provides for such an improvement in performance.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, liquid gauging apparatus using a time delay neural network for determining a quantity of liquid in a container that is not directly measurable by sensors comprises: a plurality of sensors; each of said sensors for measuring a respective parameter of said liquid and for producing a time varying sensor output signal representative of the respective parameter measured thereby; and processing means for processing said sensor output signals by a time delay neural network algorithm to determine a current quantity of the liquid in the container based on current and past parameter measurements of said sensor output signals.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method of training a time delay neural network algorithm for computing a quantity of liquid in a container from current and past liquid parameter sensor measurements comprises the steps of: establishing a dynamic model of liquid behavior in the container and parameter measurements of said liquid behavior sensed by a plurality of sensors; deriving from said dynamic model training data sets for a plurality of liquid quantity values, each said data set comprising current and past liquid parameter sensor measurement values corresponding to a liquid quantity value of the plurality, and said corresponding liquid quantity value; and training said time delay neural network algorithm with said derived training data sets.


A laser oscillator which is capable of providing a circularly polarized laser beam by an external optical system having a brief configuration. A folding section of a folded-type resonator (10) comprises reflecting mirrors (4a), (4b) and (4c). The reflecting mirror (4a) is inclined at an angle of 45.degree. to an optical axis of an excitation section (3a), and the reflecting mirror (4c) is inclined at an angle of 45.degree. to an optical axis of an excitation section (3b). The reflecting mirror (4b) is horizontally arranged so that the center of the mirror is positioned at the vertex of an isosceles right triangle with respect to the reflecting mirrors (4a) and (4c). Thus, an S polarized-light component of a laser beam from the excitation section (3b) is reflected by the reflecting mirror (4c) toward the reflecting mirror (4b). Further, a P polarized-light component of the laser beam is reflected by the reflecting mirror (4b) to the reflecting mirror (4a), and the S polarized-light component is reflected by the reflecting mirror (4a), thus a laser beam having a linearly polarized-light component as shown by an arrow (11) is outputted from the folded-type resonator (10). Accordingly, only a 1/4 wave-length mirror is used on the outside of the folded-type resonator (10); nevertheless a circularly polarized laser beam can be provided simply.

A gas laser oscillator such as a carbon dioxide gas laser oscillator can provide high efficiency and high output power, so that it has widely been employed in a laser beam machining field.
In the case of the aforesaid carbon dioxide gas laser oscillator, a CO.sub.2 molecule which is used as a laser medium is excited by a discharge generated in the resonator. However, an electric power supplied for the discharge is subject to limitation due to a durability of members constituting an excitation section and a rise of gas temperature caused by an excitation. Further, the aforesaid laser needs to enlarge an output beam diameter due to limitation of light-proof strength of an output mirror. For this reason, it is necessary to make an optical path of the resonator long in order to obtain high output power; as a consequence, the laser system becomes too large as a whole. Thus, in order to avoid enlarging the configuration of the system, most of the laser oscillators are constituted such that the optical path of the resonator is multitudinously folded back so that an entire length of the laser oscillator becomes short.
FIG. 5 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a conventional folded-type resonator. In the figure, a resonator 20 comprises an output mirror 1, a rear mirror 2, excitation sections 3a and 3b, and reflecting mirrors 14a and 14b. All optical axes in the resonator 20 are adjusted so as to be in the identical horizontal plane. In the resonator 20 having such optical axes, the laser beam emitted from the output mirror 1 is polarized, in the vertical direction at an angle of 90.degree. to the horizontal plane, as shown by an arrow 21.
When a laser beam is used for cutting metals or the like, it is desirable that a circularly polarized laser beam be irradiated to a workpiece in order to obtain high machining performance rather than a linearly polarized laser beam. For this reason, a linearly polarized laser beam in the vertical or horizontal direction is generally transformed to a circularly polarized laser beam by means of a mechanism as shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 6 is a view showing a conventional optical system for transforming a linearly polarized laser beam to a circularly polarized laser beam. A laser beam emitted from the resonator 20 is polarized linearly in the vertical direction as shown by an arrow 21. In order to transform the aforesaid laser beam into a circularly polarized laser beam, a polarization mirror 5 for polarizing the laser beam linearly at an angle of 45.degree. and a 1/4 wave-length mirror 6 are required. The laser beam, which is transformed into a circularly polarized laser beam by the polarization mirror 5 and 1/4 wave-length mirror 6, is further directed in the vertical direction by a mirror 7, and is converged by a condenser lens 8, thus being irradiated to a workpiece 9. The above explanation refers to a case of transforming a linearly polarized laser beam in the vertical direction into a circularly polarized laser beam. Likewise, a linearly polarized laser beam in the horizontal direction is transformed into a circularly polarized laser beam by the same optical system as described above.
As seen from FIG. 6, the conventional laser oscillator requires at least the polarization mirror 5 and 1/4 wave-length mirror 6 in order to transform a linearly polarized laser beam in the vertical or horizontal direction into a circularly polarized laser beam. In addition, the conventional laser oscillator requires the mirror 7 for changing the direction of a laser beam into the vertically downward direction because a workpiece is usually placed on the horizontal plane. In other words, three external mirrors are required. For these additional mirrors, the cost of the laser oscillator, as a whole, becomes high.
These external mirrors are frequently contaminated with dust and the like, in contrast to mirrors included in the resonator. For this reason, the maintenance operations such as disassembling and cleansing are required. In addition, when assembling them after cleaning, it is necessary to make a complicated adjustment of the external optical system.


A high-quality crystal sheet is provided. An apparatus for use in producing a crystal sheet includes a substrate having a main surface on which a crystal sheet is formed, a crucible holding a melt therein, a movable member holding the substrate to move it to bring its main surface into contact with the melt and then move the substrate away from the melt, and cooling means for cooling the movable member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods of and apparatus for use in producing a crystal sheet from a melt of semiconductor or metal, and in particular to methods of and apparatus for use in producing a sheet of silicon to be used as the substrate of a solar cell.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, a substrate of crystallized silicon is produced by producing an ingot in the Czochralski method or casting a source material to produce an ingot and then slicing the ingot for example with a wire saw. However, the slicing step is costly and cutting a portion results in a loss of the source material of silicon. As such, in the area of solar cell, to address an important issue, i.e., cost reduction, silicon ribbon methods are being increasingly developed. In this method, a sheet of silicon is extracted directly from a melt of silicon to eliminate the necessity of providing a slicing step.
Of such silicon ribbon methods, a method of growing a crystal having a large solidification interface is disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 61-275119. FIG. 49 schematically shows a method of producing silicon in the silicon ribbon method disclosed in the document. With reference to FIG. 49, a rotative cooling element 902 in the form of a cylinder has a side surface partially immersed into melted silicon 903, and rotative cooling element 902 is rotated and a silicon ribbon 901 solidified on a cylindrical surface of cooling element 902 is successively extracted. Note that melted silicon 903 is held in a container 904.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-29895 also discloses a silicon-ribbon production apparatus. FIG. 50 is a schematic view of the silicon-ribbon production apparatus disclosed in the above publication. As shown in the figure, this apparatus is configured of a rotative cooling element 931 in the form of a cylinder, a container 934 holding melted silicon 932 therein, and a roller 935 guiding a silicon ribbon 933.
Rotative cooling element 931 has an cylindrical side surface partially immersed into melted silicon 932. As rotative cooling element 931 is rotated silicon ribbon 933 solidified and grown on the cylindrical surface of the cooling element is extracted successively.
Furthermore, a crystal sheet can be produced directly from a melt in an EFG (Edge-defined Film-fed Growth) method, in which a die having an opening in the form of a slit is used to raise a melt through capillarity and at an upper end of the melt a seed crystal is used to extract a silicon ribbon. A crystal sheet can also be produced in the Dendrite Web method, in which a melt has a surface supercooled to produce a crystal sheet.
In methods using a rotative cooling element in the form of a cylinder, however, silicon solidifies and grows to cover an exterior of the cylinder and silicon that is grown thus has a curvature along the cylinder and thus curves. Such silicon is inconvenient if it is used as a substrate of a solar cell as the substrate is required to be flat in a process step such as screen-printing an electrode, laminating, vacuum-chucking and the like. Furthermore, a conventional substrate tray provided to be suitable for a flat substrate, cannot be used. Furthermore, when grown silicon removed from a rotative cooling element is extracted successively in a predetermined direction it needs to be pulled in the direction with tensile strength precisely controlled. Furthermore, the sheet of grown, crystallized silicon warping in geometry is hardly pulled successively in one direction.
Furthermore, in the EFG method and the Dendrite Web method, a crystal sheet is grown at a rate significantly affected by heat of solidification generated and heat transfer determined by a temperature profile in a vicinity of a solid-liquid interface between the crystal sheet and the melt. As such, successively and reliably producing a crystal sheet entails precisely controlling the temperature of the solid-liquid interface and the temperature profile in the vicinity thereof. Current temperature controlling systems, however, would not satisfactorily respond in proportion to crystal-growth rate in general. Furthermore, in the above methods a crystal sheet that is being grown is cooled by annealing or through natural heat liberation. As a result, the crystal sheet is disadvantageously required to grow at a reduced rate.
Furthermore, when a silicon ribbon is removed from the rotative cooling element the exact silicon ribbon pulls and thus removes the subsequent silicon ribbon from the rotative cooling element. As such, an enormous load is imposed on the silicon ribbon and thus tends to damage the silicon ribbon. Furthermore, if a silicon ribbon is damaged extracting it can not immediately be resumed and it can thus hardly be reliably successively extracted.
Furthermore, in the conventional methods, it is difficult to control an in-plane temperature profile of a crystal sheet and it is thus necessary to consider thermal conductivity and the like in selecting a material for a substrate and a member therearound and also to optimize a heating portion such as a heater or a cooling portion in arrangement and geometry. In selecting a member, however, not only its thermal conductivity but its wettability and removability with respect to a crystal sheet, coefficient of thermal expansion matched, refractoriness and durability as well as cost need to be considered. As such, the temperature profile can hardly be optimized. Furthermore, it is often difficult technically as well as mechanically to optimize the heating portion and the cooling portion for both of the quality of the crystal of the crystal sheet and the removability thereof. In particular, removability is a parameter significantly depending on the material(s) of the substrate and precise control can thus hardly be achieved. As such, it is difficult to produce a crystal sheet of high quality successively and reliably.
The present invention has been made to overcome such disadvantages as described above. The present invention contemplates a method of manufacturing a crystal sheet capable of reliably, successively extracting a crystal sheet, an apparatus for use in manufacturing the same, and a solar cell employing the crystal sheet.
The present invention also contemplates a method capable of producing a crystal sheet of high quality, an apparatus for use in manufacturing the same, and a solar cell employing the crystal sheet.
The present invention provides an apparatus for use in producing a crystal sheet including: a plate having a main surface on which a crystal sheet is to be formed; a container holding a melt therein; a movable member holding the plate to bring the main surface of the plate into contact with the melt and then move the plate away from the melt; and cooling means for cooling the movable member.
In the apparatus thus configured a crystal sheet is formed on a main surface of a plate held by a movable member cooled by a cooling means. As such, the crystal sheet formed on the main surface of the plate can be cooled via the movable member with an optimal rate to provide a crystal sheet of high quality. Furthermore, the crystal sheet formed on the main surface of the plate can be free of warpage and it can thus be produced with high quality.
Furthermore, preferably, the apparatus for use in producing a crystal sheet further includes a removal means removing a crystal sheet from the main surface of the plate transported from the movable member. The plate is provided with a throughhole and the removal means has a first protrusion fit into the throughhole.
As such, the first protrusion of the removal means can be fit into the throughhole of the plate to remove the crystal sheet from the plate.
Furthermore, preferably, the movable member has a second protrusion fit into the throughhole of the plate. As such, if a crystal sheet is grown on the main surface with the throughhole receiving the second protrusion, any crystal is not formed in the throughhole. As such, the throughhole can be used to facilitate removing the crystal sheet from the main surface of the substrate.
Furthermore, preferably, the second protrusion has a top surface substantially level with the height of the main surface when the second protrusion is fit into the throughhole. As such, there can be produced a crystal sheet having a flat surface.
Still preferably, the first protrusion is larger in length than the second protrusion. This can ensure that a crystal sheet grown on the plate can be removed by the first protrusion
Furthermore, preferably, the plate and the second protrusion are formed of different materials. For example, the plate can be formed of a material allowing a crystal sheet to be readily removed therefrom and the second protrusion can be formed of a material allowing the crystal sheet to be readily grown thereon so as to readily remove the crystal sheet from the plate.
Furthermore, preferably, the removal means is provided with the first protrusion in a direction in which the plate moves and the movable member is provided with the second protrusion in a direction in which the plate moves. As such, rotating the movable member and the removal means to fit the first and second protrusions into throughholes allows a crystal sheet to be produced efficiently
Furthermore, preferably, the apparatus for use in producing a crystal sheet further includes a guiding member in the form of a belt guiding the plate from the movable member to the removal means. The guiding member connects a plurality of plates in the form of a caterpillar. As such, the guiding member can successively guide the plates to efficiently produce a crystal sheet. Furthermore, the guiding member connected to form a caterpillar allows repetitive growth and removal of crystal sheets
Furthermore, preferably, the plate has opposite ends each provided with a raised portion provided with a connection for connecting adjacent plates to the guiding member.
Furthermore, preferably, the apparatus for use in producing a crystal sheet further includes a guiding member in the form of a rail guiding the plate from the movable member to the removal means. The guiding member in the form of a rail allows the plate to be transported from the movable member to the removal means to efficiently produce a crystal sheet. Since the guiding member is provided in the form of a rail, the plate moving thereon can be moved smoothly.
Furthermore, preferably, the movable member is provided in the form of a polygonal prism. As such, the polygonal prism can have each plane brought into contact with each substrate to efficiently produce a crystal sheet.
Furthermore, preferably, the movable member and the plate are unleveled to allow them to be fit into each other. As such, the movable member and the plate can contact with each other over an increased area and the movable member can thus efficiently cool the plate.
Furthermore, preferably, the main surface of the plate is flat. As such, there can be produced a crystal sheet having a flat surface.
Furthermore, preferably, the main surface of the plate is unleveled. As such, there can be produced a crystal sheet having an unleveled surface.
Furthermore, preferably, the cooling means is provided internal to the movable member. As such, the apparatus can be miniaturized and the cooling means can also efficiently cool the movable member.
The present invention provides the method of producing a crystal sheet including the steps of: bringing a main surface of a cooled plate into a melt; moving away from the melt the main surface of the plate brought into contact with the melt, to solidify the melt on the main surface to grow a crystal sheet on the main surface; and removing the crystal sheet from the plate.
In the method thus configured a crystal sheet is solidified and grown on a main surface of a plate. This can facilitate controlling the temperature at the main surface of the plate to produce a crystal sheet of high quality. Since a crystal sheet is grown on the plate it does not have curvature and a crystal sheet in the form of a plate can thus be readily produced
Furthermore, preferably, the step of removing includes guiding a crystal sheet grown on the plate to output the sheet from a heating chamber and thus remove and collect the sheet.
Furthermore, preferably, the step of moving includes using a movable member to bring the main surface of the plate into contact with the melt and then move the plate away from the melt.
Furthermore, preferably, the step of bring includes bringing into contact with the melt the plate provided with a throughhole and the step of removing includes using a removal means provided with a first protrusion to be inserted into the throughhole of the plate from a side of the plate opposite to the main surface of the plate with a crystal sheet thereon to remove the crystal sheet from the plate. As such, the throughhole can receive the first protrusion to facilitate removing the crystal sheet from the plate.
Furthermore, preferably, the removal means is rotatable, the removal means is provided with more than one first protrusion in a direction in which the removal means rotates, and the step of removing includes rotating the removal means to fit more than one first protrusion into at least one throughhole of each of more than one plate to remove the crystal sheet from the plate. As such, the removal means that rotates can successively fit the first protrusion into the throughhole to efficiently remove the crystal sheet from the plate.
Furthermore, preferably, the step of bringing includes using the movable member provided with a second protrusion to bring the plate into contact with the melt with the movable member having the second protrusion fit into the throughhole. Since the plate is brought into contact with the melt with the second protrusion fit into the throughhole, the melt does not enter the throughhole and any crystal sheet is thus not formed in the throughhole. As such, a crystal sheet can be readily removed.
Furthermore, preferably, the movable member is rotatable, the movable member is provided with more than one second protrusion in a direction in which the movable member rotates, and the step of bringing includes rotating the movable member to fit each of more than one second protrusion into each throughhole of more than one plate to bring the plate into contact with the melt As such the movable member can be rotated to fit each of the second protrusions into a throughhole to efficiently bring the plate into contact with the melt
Furthermore, preferably, the step of moving includes solidifying a melt of silicon and thus growing a sheet of crystallized silicon.
Still preferably, a solar cell in accordance with the present invention is fabricated with a crystal sheet manufactured in any of the methods as described above.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method of producing a crystal sheet, apparatus for use in producing the same, and solar cell


A method for producing a liquid crystal panel by forming a plurality of liquid crystal sealing-in areas between a transparent pair of large-area substrates and dividing the liquid crystal sealing-in areas into separate liquid crystal sealing-in areas. The method includes (A) forming transparent electrodes which form a plurality of liquid crystal panels on a surface of each of the large-area substrates, (B) forming seals, each of which surround the transparent electrode required to form one liquid crystal panel, on one of the large-area substrates in order to form liquid crystal injection openings, and forming liquid crystal injection openings in the seals, (C) bonding together the large-area substrates such that their transparent electrodes face each other, with the seals interposed therebetween, (D) removing a portion of one of the pair of large-area substrates such that the liquid crystal injection opening is exposed to the outside, (E) injecting liquid crystal into the liquid crystal sealing-in area through the liquid crystal injection opening exposed to the outside, and then sealing the liquid crystal injection opening with a sealing agent, and (F) dividing the pair of large-area substrates into separate panels after the liquid crystal injection. According to this method, liquid crystal injection can be performed without completely cutting the large-area liquid crystal panel so that the production steps are simplified.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention broadly relates to a method for producing a liquid crystal panel. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for producing a liquid crystal panel in which a plurality of liquid crystal panels are produced by cutting a large-area liquid crystal panel having a plurality of liquid crystal sealing-in areas formed between a pair of large-area substrates.
2. Description of Related Art
In a known conventional method for producing a liquid crystal panel, a large-area liquid crystal panel is formed by forming a plurality of liquid crystal sealing-in areas in a plane between a pair of large-area substrates, and the large-area liquid crystal panel is cut into a plurality of liquid crystal panels. FIGS. 28 to 31 schematically illustrate the conventional method for producing a liquid crystal panel.
Referring to FIG. 28, for example, predetermined wirings, transparent electrodes, and active elements are formed on the inside faces of two transparent substrates 101 and 104, each of which is made of glass, followed by coating of orientation films. Then, seals 106 are printed on either one of the transparent substrates 101 and 104 to form liquid crystal sealing-in areas 117, followed by bonding of the transparent substrates 101 and 104 using the seals 106, as shown in FIG. 28, thereby forming a large-area empty panel 110 with the plurality of liquid crystal sealing-in areas 117 arranged in a plane. A liquid crystal injection opening 106a is formed in each liquid crystal sealing-in area 117 bordered by its associated seal 106.
Thereafter, cuts or grooves 108 are scribed in the surfaces of the transparent substrates 101 and 104. Two parallel scribed grooves 108 each are formed along the direction of arrangement of the liquid crystal injection openings 106a, of which one of each pair crosses the liquid crystal injection openings 106a. When pressure is applied to the vicinity of these scribed grooves 108 to cut the transparent substrates 101 and 104, the large-area empty panel 110 is cut into rectangular intermediate-area empty panels 10a, with the liquid crystal injection openings 106a and the connecting terminals 120a exposed to the outside, as shown in FIG. 29.
From the liquid crystal injection openings 106a, liquid crystal is injected into the intermediate-area empty panels 110a, after which the liquid crystal injection openings 106a are sealed. This forms intermediate-area liquid crystal panels with the liquid crystal layer sealed in the liquid crystal sealing-in areas 117. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 30, grooves 118 are scribed on each of the intermediate-area liquid crystal panels 110a. The scribed grooves 118 divide the intermediate-area liquid crystal panels 110a according to the individual liquid crystal sealing-in areas 11, and allow connecting terminals 120b formed on the inside surface of the transparent substrate 101 to be exposed to the outside so as to extend from the sides of the liquid crystal sealing-in areas 117. Applying pressure to the vicinity of these scribed grooves 118 to cut the intermediate-area liquid crystal panels 110a results in the production of individual liquid crystal panels 119, as shown in FIG. 31.
In the above-described conventional method for producing a liquid crystal panel, however, it is necessary to cut the large-area empty panel 110 (FIG. 28) into intermediate-area empty panels 110a (FIG. 29), and to further cut the intermediate-area liquid crystal panels 110a formed by filling the intermediate-area empty panels 110a with liquid crystal into the individual liquid crystal panels 119, so that it is necessary to prepare producing devices and panel jigs in correspondence with the large-area empty panel 110, the intermediate-area empty panels or the intermediate-area liquid crystal panels 110a, and producing devices, inspection devices, and panel jigs for the individual liquid crystal panels. This results in higher facility costs and more complicated steps.
Liquid crystal panels of different standards that are constructed with different dimensions may be formed in the large-area empty panel. In such a case, the intermediate-area empty panels and individual liquid crystal panels formed by dividing the large-area panel have different structures and dimensions, which results in more sophisticated step control and thus increased production costs.
In addition, since the large-area panel is completely cut during the production process, pieces of glass flies from the cut portions of the cut panel, so that, for example, the pieces of glass stick onto the surfaces of the connecting terminals 120a and 120b in the liquid crystal panels 119. This gives rise to the problem of poor connection when, for example, connecting integrated circuits and flexible substrates to the connecting terminals 120a and 120b.
In view of the above-described problems, an object of the invention is to provide a method for producing a liquid crystal panel, which allows a large-area empty panel to be successively processed, without cutting it completely during the liquid crystal panel producing process, thereby reducing production costs such as facility costs and control costs, and preventing the production of defective products due to flying pieces of glass.

Method for producing a liquid crystal panel


Water-borne reaction products of (a) carboxylfunctional polymers; (b) modified polyepoxides; and (c) tertiary amines are useful as film-forming components of coating compositions which can be spray-, flow-, dip-, roller-, or electro-coated. The coating compositions are useful as such or can be crosslinked with crosslinking agents such as a nitrogen resin and, when coated on metal and paper substrates, they provide coatings of improved properties, including a high degree of flexibility during machining and stamping of the coated articles, corrosion resistance, gloss, hydrolytic stability, and nonadulterating of foods and beverages in contact therewith.

This invention relates to coating compositions based on a water-borne reaction product of a carboxyl-functional polymer, a modified epoxide, and a tertiary amine, having general utility in coating metallic and paper substrates. It is more particularly directed to coating compositions useful as automotive and can coatings.
Coatings of the prior art are often dissolved or dispersed in organic solvents. Among commonly utilized thermosetting compositions are those based on epoxy resins crosslinked with nitrogen resins, usually in an acid catalyzed process.
Increased awareness of the environmental hazards of allowing organic solvent vapors to enter the atmosphere, the desirability of a single system that can be applied not only by the more conventional techniques of spray, roller or flow coating but also by electrodeposition, and the economy resulting from the substitution of water for some or all of the solvents in a coating composition, are all factors mitigating in favor of water-borne coating compositions.
Aqueous epoxy-acrylic-amine coating compositions of other investigators, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,969,300--Nagata (1976) and 4,021,396--Wu (1977) are less stable than desired or lack advantages of the present invention.
The composition of this invention is an aqueous solution or dispersion of the reaction product of a carboxyl-functional polymer, a modified terminally functional epoxy resin with at least some of its epoxide groups converted to esters, ethers or phenolic hydroxy groups, and a tertiary amine. Such a water-borne system can optionally contain a crosslinking agent, is stable, and can be applied to metallic substrates by spray, roller, dip or flow coating or by electrodeposition at the anode and to paper.

Water-borne coating composition made from modified epoxy resin, polymeric acid and tertiary amine


A heterogeneous processor system includes a first processor implementing an instruction set architecture (ISA) including a set of ISA features and configured to support a first subset of the set of ISA features. The heterogeneous processor system also includes a second processor implementing the ISA including the set of ISA features and configured to support a second subset of the set of ISA features, wherein the first subset and the second subset of the set of ISA features are different from each other. When the first subset includes an entirety of the set of ISA features, the lower-feature second processor is configured to execute an instruction thread by consuming less power and with lower performance than the first processor.

Battery-powered computing devices, such as mobile devices, have become commonplace. A typical mobile device operates over a wide performance range according to workload requirements. Different performance ranges are conventionally mapped to different operating modes, with power consumption proportionally related to performance. For example, in a low-power mode, the mobile device may provide a small amount of computational capacity, such as to maintain radio contact with a cellular tower and consume a relatively low amount of power. In a high-performance mode, the mobile device may be subject to high processing intensity tasks such as gaming or web browsing, and therefore consume a relatively high amount of power.
Processor cores within System on Chip (SoC) designs generally utilize more power as performance increases due to an increase in clock frequency and/or usage of additional logic elements. Increasing battery life is important to users of mobile devices that operate on battery power, sometimes for extended periods of time. Accordingly, there is a need for efficient, low power systems that deliver scalable computational capacity with diminishing energy cost.

Instruction subset implementation for low power operation


A method includes selecting community groups having a first community from a plurality of communities and a second community from the plurality of communities. The method includes collecting a plurality of community factors that each describe the first community and the second community. The method also includes determining a plurality of correlation values, for each community factor from the plurality of community factors, between the first community and the second community. The method also includes calculating a community merge score from the plurality of correlation values. The method also includes merging the community group in response to a community merge score threshold being met by the community merge score.

The present disclosure relates to online communities, and more specifically, to managing the merging of online communities.
Online communities can be an effective mode for community members to collaborate. There are millions of public communities within the web-based infrastructure with millions of community owners. A particular user may not think of leveraging the existing online community and start a fresh community. However, when interest or topics align, it can be beneficial to merge a group of online communities to increase the members of the communities and the influences of the community discussions.

Management of online community merge events

International Business Machines Corporation


A hierarchical pitchmatching compactor is provided that maintains hierarchical structure, design rule correctness, and circuit integrity of a symbolic layout while globally compacting the layout without excessive computational or data handling requirements, even for layouts of substantial size. The compactor achieves this result by taking advantage of the regularity of the layout, to reduce the number of constraints in the linear programming problem to a minimum level. This minimal problem, called the minimum design, can be drastically smaller than the original minimization problem for layouts of practical interest. This technique is implemented by means of a computer program that operates on the original symbolic layout of an integrated circuit to produce an automatically compacted layout as the data output.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the field of automated design techniques for electronic circuits, and more particularly to compaction and pitchmatching methods for hierarchically defined layouts of integrated circuits, and systems for implementing these methods.
2. Description of the Background Art
The complete design of an integrated circuit can be a very laborious and time-consuming process, and for many chips of practical interest the physical design of the electronic circuit is far too complex to be carried out without the aid of computers and sophisticated design tools. Since the advent of VLSI circuit technology this field of design automation has grown rapidly, and is becoming a mature technology in itself. There are now a variety of techniques available to aid the designer, and a substantial number of computer programs have been written to implement these techniques.
The physical design of an integrated circuit can be carried out in terms of the symbolic layout of the circuit, rather than the actual geometry of the masks and lavers that comprise the chip. The designer can thus work with transistors, wires, and other primitive components, and groups of these components termed "cells", represented by various symbols. The symbolic layout provides a higher level of abstraction than the mask layout, and is therefore easier for the designer to manipulate. The layout of these symbols can then be translated into a mask layout suitable for the actual fabrication of the chip. This translation requires additional technical information regarding the fabrication technology, which is stored in a "technology database" and used when the translation is carried out.
A symbolic layout that contains only primitive symbols--i.e. transistors, wires, capacitors and other physical components--is termed a "leaf cell". Many layouts contain a large number of groups of components that are substantially identical. Such a group may be used to define a cell, and the description of the layout may then be simplified by treating each such group as an instance of this cell. The cell has its own symbol; for example it may be represented as a rectangle with various ports for connecting wires or for abutment with ports of adjacent cells that are represented similarly. The components of the overall layout then may consist of cells, and the layout represents their relative placement and interconnection. By describing the layout in terms of cells rather than primitive symbols, again the designer's task is made much simpler.
Similarly, a given layout of cells may contain a large number of groups of cells, or cells and other components, in which the groups are identical. Such a group of cells may be used to define a "supercell", and the layout may again be simplified by treating each such group of cells as an instance of the supercell. Again, this supercell has its own symbol and ports, and the overall layout is a representation of the arrangement and interconnection of these supercells.
Obviously this process may be repeated, so that a symbolic layout can-be treated as a hierarchical structure with multiple levels. Each level is a symbolic layout of various cells and primitive components. Each such cell is in turn a symbolic layout of subcells and primitive components, and this layout defines the next lower level of the hierarchy. Since there may be more than one type of cell at any given level, the next lower level may contain several different branches. The cells at the lowest level are leaf cells since they contain no subcells, but only primitive components. Therefore the hierarchy can be visualized as an inverted "tree" with branches extending downward, and the lowest level depends on the branch in which it is located. In short, the leaf cells are located at the ends of the branches, and the trunk of the tree represents the symbolic layout of the whole chip, which is often termed the "root cell". This hierarchical description is a natural and concise representation for large designs.
The task of integrated circuit design generally includes optimization of one or more parameters of the circuit. The designer usually attempts to minimize the geometrical size of the overall structure. This minimization is subject to several constraints that ensure that the technical design rules are followed and the integrity of the circuit is maintained. For example certain components of the circuit must be separated by a minimum distance, and the connections between different components must be maintained. The automated process of size minimization is known as compaction. The compactor is a computer program that operates on a symbolic layout that constitutes the input data and produces a new symbolic layout. This new layout corresponds to the design of the minimum size circuit that preserves the integrity of the original circuit and complies with the design rule requirements.
Compaction of leaf cells is a process that has been studied extensively. Compaction techniques for leaf cells have been summarized in the article by David G. Boyer entitled "Symbolic Layout Compaction Review", given at the ACM IEEE 25th Design Automation Conference, 1988, paper 26.1. Some researchers have attempted to use leaf cell compactors on hierarchical symbolic layouts. For example, obviously one can "flatten" a given hierarchical layout into a leaf cell and then use a leaf cell compactor. This method would give a layout of absolute minimum size. However, such a brute force method has the drawback that the size of the database for the compacted output layout becomes enormous and the compaction process becomes prohibitively expensive even for layouts of moderate size. Furthermore the characterization and modification of the output layout is more difficult because the input hierarchy is lost in the compaction process.
Another approach to hierarchical compaction is the "bottom-up" technique, in which leaf cell compaction is applied level by level starting from the leaf cells and working upward. During compaction of each level of the hierarchy the cells and subcells are assumed to be rigid objects. Once a given level is compacted, the connectivity or port abutment between cells at the next higher level is generally destroyed and must be re-established before the next level can be compacted. This degradation of cell connectivity is a serious drawback in designs with cells that are largely connected by abutment.
A further approach is to de-couple the cell abutment and compaction problems. One simply fixes the port positions of leaf cells without taking into account the design constraints within these cells. One then applies a leaf cell compactor to these leaf cells with fixed port positions. A similar process is carried out at higher levels. This technique can lead to infeasible designs since the fixing of port positions may produce an over constrained compaction problem. Such a methodology is often a time-consuming trial and error process, and the resulting solution is usually sub-optimal.
A recent attack on the hierarchical compaction problem has been described in the paper by David Marpie entitled "A Hierarchy Preserving Hierarchical Compactor", published in ACM IEEE 27th Design Automation Conference, 1990, pp. 134-140. This technique simultaneously carries out leaf cell compaction and maintains the port connectivity between abutting cells, (termed "pitchmatching"), while preserving the hierarchical structure. In this method, the global compaction problem is formulated as a linear programming problem, which is solved by the "Revised Simplex Method". The number of variables and constraints that must be handled grows with the size of the hierarchy, and the computation time increases rapidly with the hierarchy size. Hence, the complexity of the overall method is significant and the size of the layout that can be dealt with is limited.
In short, the definition of hierarchical compaction in the truest sense is the minimizing of the area of the hierarchically defined symbolic layout while preserving the hierarchical structure, design rule compliance, and electrical connectivity between components and cells. For cells connected by abutment in the input layout, the connection must be maintained in the compacted layout; i.e. the compactor must include pitchmatching. The entire process must be handled globally; all constraints throughout the layout must be treated simultaneously. Prior to the present invention, no satisfactory techniques have been available for carrying out this compaction for large-sized layouts.

Hier archical pitchmaking compaction method and system for integrated circuit design


A true single-phase clocked multiplexer for outputting one of a plurality of input signals in synchronization with a clock signal and as selected by at least one select signal is provided. The multiplexer includes first transistors, second transistors, a first node between the first transistors, a second node between the second transistors, a third node coupled to the first node by one of the first transistors and to the second node by one of the second transistors, and a pre-charge transistor to couple the third node to a first voltage level. The first transistors are coupled to the first voltage level and configured to turn on in response to a gate voltage of a second voltage level different from the first voltage level. The second transistors are coupled to the second voltage level and configured to turn on in response to a gate voltage of the first voltage level.

The topology of a high-speed multiplexer (MUX) implemented with true single-phase clock/clocked/clocking (TSPC) logic can be prone to glitches or errors at lower clock rates. While TSPC logic is a dynamic logic family intended for high-speed operation, it is often advantageous to run TSPC circuits at lower frequencies. For the TSPC MUX, charges can be transferred between two floating nodes on the circuit. This charge transfer can, for example, reduce the voltage of a node that should remain in a logic high state. With a slightly lower voltage on this node, a subsequent transistor can turn on weakly and pull the voltage high of a subsequent node that should remain low. This can cause a glitch at the output of the circuit.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those in light of the present disclosure.

Bandwidth extension for true single-phase clocked multiplexer

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


A method for denying a first group access to a system resource wherein a second group is selected such that the first group is a subgroup of the second group. Access is granted only to those members of the second group who do not derive their membership in the second group through their membership in the first group.

1.1. Time Sharing Systems
In most large computing systems a timesharing computing environment is implemented. As illustrated in FIG. 1c, such a system may include "resources" such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) 2 configured to share components such as main memory 3, disk or tape storage 4, and a printer 6. The system may also include user terminals such as workstations WA and WB, which in many implementations may have their own local resources such as one or more CPU's and associated main memory (not shown) as well as perhaps a printer 7 and disk storage 8. The CPU(s) 2 execute program sequences that cause the CPUs to process commands and requests transmitted by users from the workstations WA and WB in accordance with known timesharing methods.
In such an environment, the system resources are centrally managed by a trusted authority. Because the central authority controls all access to the system resources, it is often fully trusted. In other words, the central authority is designed and maintained to ensure that the security plan for the timesharing system is properly implemented. In such timesharing environments, when a "principal" on the system (e.g., a user) requests access to a system "resource" (e.g., a printer or file server) the central trusted authority determines whether the principal possesses the necessary security attributes to access the resource. If so, the trusted authority allows the access.
In these timesharing computer systems and the like, almost all access control is handled by the central trusted authority. As such, the trustworthiness of the central authority must be maintained. Because of the importance in having a trusted central authority, many prior art devices have emphasized the importance of having a single, trusted controlling authority.
1.2 Distributed Systems
In contrast to timesharing environments, there also exist "distributed systems." In distributed systems several separate computer systems are linked together in a network to share various system resources. In such systems, there is generally no single trusted central manager that can implement the security policy for the system. As such, each system resource on the network is often required to implement its own security policy.
In such distributed systems a user typically requests access to a particular system resource. That system resource is then itself responsible for determining the access rights of the requester and allowing or rejecting the requested access.
The need for each resource to enforce its own security policy often results in complexities not encountered in timesharing environments. For example, each principal (e.g., user) on a distributed system is often assigned a user name. Access to the system resources is often on the basis of the particular access rights associated with a particular user and his name.
In theory, each system resource could include a listing of all of the principals and their access rights and user names. However, such a situation is often impractical as it would require additional memory and maintenance for each resource. Further, if numerous system resources exist, the addition (or deletion) or one principal's would require the modification of numerous lists.
One alternative utilized in the prior art is to have a central list accessible to all resources on the network. Because of the need for all system resources to have access to all of the principals and their names, a list of the principals and their names is often stored in a "global naming service" (GNS). A global naming service is a system resource which contains a list of all of the principals authorized to use the system and their names. Unlike a timesharing environment where the naming service is centrally controlled, in a distributed environment, the naming service is merely one of many system resources.
In most security systems, access to a system resource is determined on the basis of group memberships. Thus, the security policy of a particular resource may dictate that members of only a certain number of selected groups have access to that resource. Because the principal requests access to the resource, the resource must determine whether the requester is a member of one of the selected groups. If so, access is allowed. If not, access is denied.
Because it may be desirable for groups to contain other groups (or subgroups) the verification of a particular principal as a member of a large structured group can often be extremely slow.
1.3. Security Needs for a Distributed System
As discussed above, security systems for distributed networks often encounter complexities not found in centralized networks. For example, any system attempting to provide security for a distributed network must have the ability for a user to authorize a computer to operate on user's behalf and only to do so while authorized. Further such a system should have the ability for an authorized computer to present authorization to other computers in a secure and verifiable manner; and the ability for the user to rescind the authorization.
Because distributed systems generally have several workstations, it is desirable to allow a user to access the system resources regardless of which workstation he is logged into. However, because all systems on the network cannot be equally trusted, it may be desirable to prevent a user from accessing certain information on certain untrusted workstations.
Second, because distributed networks often have a large number of network entities, it is generally desirable to organize the entities into manageable groups. To implement a security policy properly, it is desirable to be able to manage these groups through an effective security policy.

Method for performing group exclusion in hierarchical group structures


Apparatus for coupling a compressed gas supply hose to a gas pressure regulator includes first and second elbow fittings, each of which has opposed male and female ends. The male end of the first elbow fitting matingly engages a female fitting on the pressure regulator and the female end thereof is in mating engagement with a complementary male end of the second elbow fitting. The female end of the second elbow fitting is attached to a male fitting on one end of the hose. The male end of the first elbow fitting is constrained against rotation about a lateral axis, along which the male end of the first elbow fitting is connected to the pressure regulator, so that the first elbow fitting is substantially inhibited from rotation with respect to the pressure regulator. The first and second elbow fittings are rotatable with respect to one another about a vertical axis extending between the aforementioned lateral axis and another lateral axis, along which the hose is connected to the second elbow fitting. The coupling apparatus allows the diver to turn his head freely in the direction of the air hose without substantial resistance therefrom because the second elbow fitting and a portion of the hose adjacent thereto can be swivelled with respect to the first elbow fitting and the pressure regulator.

Scuba diving equipment includes relatively sophisticated equipment for regulating the flow of a compressed gas, such as compressed air, from a storage tank when the diver inhales and for exhausting carbon dioxide and other waste gases when the diver exhales. The scuba equipment typically includes a mouthpiece through which the diver breathes and a pressure regulator coupled between the mouthpiece and the storage tank by means of a plurality of air hoses for regulating the amount of compressed gas breathed by the diver when the diver inhales and for exhausting carbon dioxide and other waste gases when the diver exhales.
The air supply hose enters the pressure regulator on one side thereof (e.g., on the right side thereof from the diver's perspective), such that when the diver turns his head to the right he will encounter substantial resistance from the pressurized air hose, which may cause the mouthpiece to be dislodged, or at the very least, will make it difficult for the diver to turn his head to that side.


A filter for the separating of solids particles from hot, gaseous or liquid media, especially separating dust particles from hot flue gases in the temperature range of within 250.degree. C. to 800.degree. C., which consists of a permeable, inherently stable carrier material or substrate which is provided with larger pores; in essence, a support member in which the carrier material is constructed so as to be heat-resistant, and which especially contains constituents of non-corroding materials, such as glass, ceramic, metals or compounds thereof; and in which filter the carrier material can be produced through the intimate, partial bonding of the heat-resistant particles thereof, and wherein the carrier material also possesses a strucutre or, essentially, a spatial or three-dimensional configuration, which is correlated with the type of utilization and the specified capacity. The carrier material is covered at least on the outer surface along its mantle surface with a filler material allowing for finer pores, which is fine-grained and also heat-resistant, wherein the filler material is, in particular, applied as a thinner film-like coating on the carrier material, and in which this film material is constituted from particles of a dispersed mixture, of which one part is volatilized out of the mixture during a baking process, and in contrast therewith another part is introducible into the larger pores of the carrier material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a filter for the separating of solids particles from hot, gaseous or liquid media, especially separating dust particles from hot flue gases in the temperature range of within 120.degree. to 800.degree. C., which consists of a permeable, inherently stable carrier material or substrate which is provided with larger pores; in essence, a support member in which the carrier material is constructed so as to be heat-resistant, and which especially contains constituents of non-corroding materials, such as glass, ceramic, metals or compounds thereof; and in which filter the carrier material can be produced through the intimate, partial bonding of the heat-resistant particles thereof, and wherein the carrier material also possesses a structure or, essentially, a spatial or three-dimensional configuration, which is correlated with the type of utilization and the specified capacity.
It is in general known that for the separation of particles from gaseous or liquid media there are employed filters, and these, in accordance with their field of application, are to be constructed as textile fibers, carbon fiber filters, felt filters, paper filters, plastic filters, and metal or ceramic filters. While the textile, felt, paper and plastic filters are employed within a lower temperature range of up to about 150.degree. C., the metal and ceramic filters can encompass the higher temperature range; for example, such as up to about 800.degree. C., whereby the last-mentioned filters are also adapted to be employed in flue gas areas of heating installations. This is particularly desired inasmuch as, with an increasing reduction in environmentally-contaminating emissions, the filtering of hot gases at temperatures of more than 250.degree. C. constantly increases in the significance thereof, inasmuch as, on the one hand, the high thermal content of the cleaned or purified gases can be readily employed to without having to take any further measures and, on the other hand, these flue gases produce a lower contamination of the environment.
The utilization of the available materials for the filters has shown in regard thereto that glass, ceramic and carbon fibers are susceptible to fracturing as a consequence of being brittle in nature, whereas for metal wires, such as metal webbing or meshes, the interspace between the wires is too large in order to be able to achieve an adequate filtering effect for fine dusts. In addition thereto, in that the utilization of such heat-resistant materials, such as sintered materials, porous, small-pore-sized ceramic materials amongst others, provides relatively little advantage, since the initially good separating action continuously deteriorates, inasmuch as fine dust penetrates into the pores of these materials and which can no longer be loosened therefrom even through special cleaning measures, and thereby finally leads to the blockage of the filter.
With regard to filters intended for use in the so-called high-temperature range, those have been established whose filter elements are primarily constituted from clay or ceramic and which, for purposes of simplicity, are constructed as cylindrical tubes in the shape of filter cartridges. These filter cartridges, which are constructed so as to be open at their ends, are installed between mounting supports in the housing for the filter and fastened therein in such a manner that the medium which is to be filtered will penetrate through the mantle or casing surface of the filter cartridge into the interior thereof and then again exit this interior through an opening at one end of the filter cartridge. This opening of the filter cartridge communicates with a chamber for the filtered medium, and then this medium exits through a discharge connector of the filter. The filter cartridges which are fastened to the mountings are rigidly joined to the latter, and cannot follow or compensate for the loads or stresses caused by the flow of the medium and especially the stresses produced during the cleaning of these cartridges through countercurrent flow, as a result of which it is not possible to be able to prevent fractures, especially at the neck portions of the filter cartridges; referring to German Patent No. 30 17 851.
In order to especially be able to prevent such damages being encountered by the filter cartridges, filter cartridges of this type are swingingly fastened on their mountings. This pendulating fastening of the applicable filter cartridge is facilitated in a manner in that, on the one hand, the mountings which separate the cleaning chamber or space from the filter chamber or space is constructed as an apertured plate, whereby the apertures are so configured that they possess a larger opening cross-section facing towards the cleaning chamber than towards the filter chamber. The filter cartridge, in turn, is equipped with a flange-shaped web at its end towards the cleaning chamber, through which this filter cartridge supports itself on the inwardly drawn bead of the aperture in the mounting. For purposes of a better support of the filter cartridge on this bead, this bead can also be configured as a cup-shaped annular shoulder, and the further cross-section of this aperture beginning from this annular shoulder, increasing towards the filter chamber, is wideningly constructed so as to impart the filter element the necessary space for the swinging moment. The end of the filter element; in essence, the filter cartridge, which is distant from this neck is provided with a bore into which there engages a bolt which is fastened to the mounting. This bolt can be inserted into the bore either with play or without play, whereby with the construction of the bolt in the absence of any play, the latter is supported by means of an elastic sleeve against the filter cartridge. The cup-shaped annular shoulder at the neck of the filter element and the elastic support of the bolt at the opposite end, on the one hand, facilitate the support for the bolt at the opposite end, and on the other hand, the swinging suspension of the filter cartridge on the mountings, so that this cartridge is better protected against damage in comparison with fixedly mounted filter cartridges. However, with regard to this filter it is viewed as being disadvantageous that the applicable filter cartridge is too unsteadily clamped between the mounting which, on the one hand, can lead to sealing problems and thereby to contaminations of the filtered medium, and on the other hand, due to the suspension of the filter cartridges from the cup-shaped annular shoulders, the disassembling of the filter cartridges is rendered more difficult; referring to German Patent No. 35 15 365.

Filter for the separating of solids particles from hot, gaseous or liquid media


This document describes techniques using, and devices embodying, integral program content distribution. These techniques and devices enable a request for program content to be received from an end-user device. In response to the request, an integral version of the requested program content is determined using an indication of a program content transition that corresponds to an apparent broadcast time of the requested program content. The program content can be transmitted to the end-user device as part of a cloud-based digital video recorder (DVR) system.

Mainstream television broadcasting began in the 1940s and blossomed in the 1950s. From this era into the 1970s, watching television required being in front of the television at the appointed time when a given television show was being broadcast. There was no mechanism for consumers to record a television show for subsequent viewing. In the 1970s, however, video cassette recorders (VCRs) became affordable. Consumers were empowered to record shows onto video cassette tapes with VCRs. The viewing of television shows could therefore be shifted to a more convenient time.
However, using VCR-based technology to time shift the watching of television shows presented a number of issues. First, programming a VCR to correctly record a desired television show by setting a starting time and an ending time was difficult because the user interface for VCRs was clunky and confusing. Many desired shows were not recorded. Second, VCRs recorded television shows on separate, removable video cassette tapes. Video cassette tapes employed an analog recording tape that was subject to deterioration after just a few uses and eventually wore out completely. The consumer also had to manage a library of recording tapes by ensuring that a fresh tape with no meaningful content was inserted and rewound before leaving the VCR to hopefully record a desired television show. Further, video cassette tapes offered only a relatively few fixed recording lengths. Recording length had to be two, four, or six hours. However, with each increase in recording length, the quality of the resulting recording decreased significantly. Consumers therefore had to choose between shorter recordings with acceptable visual quality or longer recordings with poor or almost unwatchable visual quality.
Many of these problems were addressed with the introduction of local digital video recorders (DVRs). DVRs can record a high quality digital version of a television show to a digital recording medium, such as a magnetic disk, which can be reused numerous times with no decrease in recording quality. Further, the digital recording medium for local DVRs is internal to the DVR device. Although this internal recording medium sets an ultimate upper limit on the available recording time for each local DVR device, DVRs have rendered obsolete the storage and manipulation of a library of recordable video cassettes. With regard to programming ease, the user interface for DVRs is also a substantial improvement over that of VCRs.
Unfortunately, recording television shows with DVRs still presents a number of problems. First, recording is permitted by the DVR user interface in blocks of time that are dictated by the expected length of a television show, such as the length of time between a scheduled broadcast start time and a scheduled broadcast end time. Second, a television show that extends beyond the expected length may not be recorded past the scheduled broadcast end time. Some DVRs do permit a consumer to set an extended recording time at the time the recording is requested. However, the extended recording time is offered in fixed increments, such as 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and so forth. If the consumer sets a relatively shorter extended recording time, the consumer risks missing the end of the desired television show, especially when the television show is a sporting event that experiences a weather delay or multiple overtimes. If, on the other hand, the consumer sets a relatively longer extended recording time, the consumer is likely wasting a portion of the limited number of recording hours available on the internal recording medium of a local DVR.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Disclosed subject matter relates to virtual assistance that includes a method and system for automatically generating response to a user query without language constraints. A response generating system receives the user query from a computing device associated with an end user and determines whether the user query belongs to at least one domain to determine goal data and a problem category of the user query. Further, a problem node associated with the user query is detected from problem nodes by parsing a predefined knowledge graph based on the goal data and the problem category. Furthermore, questions are provided based on problem sub-nodes of the problem node to the computing device to receive a feedback. The response to the user query extracted from the one of the problem sub-nodes is displayed to the end user based on the feedback. The present disclosure is highly scalable, reusable and requires minimal human supervision.

Nowadays, there are a wide variety of products available in market. End users, technicians and the like, who purchase the products, may not know every feature of the products and working of every feature of the products. The users may experience difficulties in operating the products in their day to day lives. To overcome this problem, every product is associated with documents such as a user manual, frequently asked questions and the like. These documents include information related to usability of the product, troubleshooting issues related to the product, services provided for the product and the like. However, the end user may have to search through these bulky documents to find a solution to any issue that he might be facing with respect to the product. Further, there may exist same string related to an issue in multiple places of the document that makes the search process cumbersome for the end user. Due to such difficult procedure involved, the end user may call the helpdesk or walk-in to a customer care proximal to his location for resolving simple issues. However, there are instances where the customer care is shutdown or technical experts in the customer care may not he available. In few other instances, the technical experts may not be able to understand the issue to resolve. Therefore, even the technical experts may have to search through the bulky documents with a keyword constraint, thereby leading to additional difficulties in identifying the issue. In few other instances, the issue may be understood but due to complexity of the issue, assistance of the technical experts from far off locations may be required, thereby leading to delay in resolving the issue. The end user may lose interest in the product due to the hectic process of resolving the issue.
Existing techniques provide virtual helpdesks that extract keywords and synonyms of the keywords from a user query and search for a question that matches the user query exactly in a database. However, if the user query does not match any question, virtual assistance cannot be provided to the end user. In few other existing techniques, massive ontologies are utilized for understanding the user query, but these ontologies may be static that do not scale over time. Also, the existing techniques require maximum human supervision for resolving the issue.

Method and system for automatically generating a response to a user query


An electric-signal amplifying device is provided which includes a light source and an opto-electronic element for amplifying an input signal by use of light emitted from the light source. The opto-electronic element includes a semiconductor substrate and a multi-layered structure disposed thereon. The multi-layered structure has a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, a second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type, and a third semi-conductor layer of the first conductivity type in this order. The second and third semiconductor layers form a first p-n junction for modulating the amount of light to be absorbed thereinto with a change of bias voltage applied thereto in accordance with the input signal, while the first and second semiconductor layers form a second p-n junction for generating a current as an amplified output signal by absorption of the light transmitted through the first p-n junction. According to the electric-signal amplifying device of this invention, it is possible to amplify an electric signal at a very high speed because minority carriers are not used and the device has a simple structure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electric-signal amplifying device, and more particularly, it relates to a semiconductor device capable of amplifying an electric-signal at a very high speed by use of optical transmission.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 4 shows a conventional electric-signal amplifying device using optical transmission. This device has a multi-layered structure in which an n.sup.+ -GaAs sub-collector layer 22, an n-GaAs collector layer 23, a p-AlGaAs base layer 24, a p-GaAs base layer 25, an n-AlGaAs emitter layer 26, and an n.sup.+ -GaAs sub-emitter layer 27 are formed on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate 21 in this order.
In the production of this device, the above-mentioned layers are successively grown on the semi-insulating GaAs substrate 21, after which mesa etching is performed to remove the layers on part of the p-GaAs base layer 25 and also remove the layers on part of the n.sup.+ -GaAs sub-collector layer 22. On the exposed surfaces of the p-GaAs base layer 25 and n.sup.+ -GaAs sub-collector layer 22, a base electrode 29 and a collector electrode 210 are formed in an annular shape, respectively. An emitter electrode 28 is formed on the n.sup.+ -GaAs sub-emitter layer 27.
FIG. 5 shows energy levels in the layers of the electric-signal amplifying device of FIG. 4 in operation. A power source is connected between the emitter electrode 28 and the collector electrode 210 to apply a voltage V.sub.ce to the base-collector junction in the reverse direction. Another power source is connected between the emitter electrode 28 and the base electrode 29 to apply a voltage V.sub.be to the emitter-base junction in the forward direction. This results in an emitter current, by which electrons are injected from the n-AlGaAs emitter layer 26 into the p-GaAs base layer 25. The injected electrons recombine with holes in the p-GaAs base layer 25, thereby causing recombination radiation. The light emitted from the p-GaAs base layer 25 is absorbed by charges in the emitter electrode 28 and n.sup.+ -GaAs sub-collector layer 22, thereby causing excitation which generates electron-hole pairs. The thus generated electrons form an output collector current Ic.
Therefore, a current gain .beta. of the conventional electric-signal amplifying device is given by the following expression. EQU .beta.=.eta..sub.1 .eta..sub.2 /(1-.eta..sub.1 .eta..sub.2)
where .eta..sub.1 is the quantum efficiency for the radiative recombination at the emitter-base junction and .eta..sub.2 is the quantum efficiency for the light absorption at the base-collector junction.
In the conventional electric-signal amplifying device, an input electric signal is amplified through optical transmission to produce an output electric signal. The light emission in the vicinity of the emitter-base junction is caused by spontaneous recombination through the injection of minority carriers (i.e., electrons) into the p-GaAs base layer 25. However, radiative recombination associated with minority carriers requires a certain period of time. This prohibits a quick response of the device, thereby lowering the operation speed thereof.

Electric-signal amplifying device using light transmission


A process is disclosed to produce an .alpha.-hydroxyiminophenylacetonitrile of the general formula [II]: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3 and Z are each as defined in the specification, characterized in that a crude nitrile containing a phenylacetonitrile of the general formula [I]: ##STR2## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3 and Z are each as defined in the specification, is reacted with an alkyl nitrite in the presence of a base, after which the reaction mixture is extracted with water and then the separated aqueous layer is neutralized with an acid. According to this production process, the desired .alpha.-hydroxyiminophenylacetonitrile can be produced with high purity, in high yield and with ease by extracting the reaction mass with water and then neutralizing the separated aqueous layer with an acid.

.alpha.-Hydroxyiminophenylacetonitriles are known as intermediates of plant growth promoting agents, agricultural fungicides, or the like (e.g., Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-54096).
As the process of their production, for example, it is also known that .alpha.-hydroxyiminophenylacetonitriles are produced by reacting phenylacetonitriles with alkyl nitrites in an alcohol solvent in the presence of an aqueous base solution, then neutralizing with an acid, removing low-boiling contents by distillation, and collecting the precipitated solids by filtration (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 54-163548).
In the case where crude starting materials containing impurities are used as the starting material phenylacetonitriles, however, there is a difficult point that .alpha.-hydroxyiminophenylacetonitriles as the desired products have a decreased purity, if produced by the above process.
In the case where crude materials are used after being purified by distillation or other techniques, there is also a difficult point that complicated steps for separation and purification are required and the yield is decreased by their operations or the like.

Process for producing .alpha.-hydroxyiminophenylacetonitriles


A device having a conveyance device for conveying containers, to which at least one labeling unit for containers may be connected, wherein at least identification data of the labeling unit can be transmitted to the conveyance device. In addition, a device having a labeling unit for labeling containers, which can be connected to a conveyance device for conveying the containers, wherein at least identification data of the labeling device can be transmitted to the conveyance device. In addition, a corresponding device having a conveyance device and a labeling unit. Also, a method for connecting a labeling unit for labeling containers, to a conveyance device for conveying the containers, wherein at least identification data is transmitted from the labeling unit to the conveyance device.

WO 03/024861 A1 and DE 197 41 476 A1 describe labeling machines. With these labeling machines, bottles are conveyed on a circular segment path on a carousel. A conveyance device is provided for this purpose. Labeling units may be connected to the outside of the conveyance device.
Several different labeling units are provided here for the various labeling methods, such as labeling with self-stick labels, labeling with hot glue, labeling with cold glue, etc.
In this way it is possible to apply different labels to different types of bottles using one and the same central conveyance device. It is also possible to apply different types of labels to one and the same bottle, e.g., a front label and a neck label or the like.
Due to the modular design of the labeling machines, it is also possible to provide different labeling methods for different products, because by simply replacing a labeling unit, a different type of label may be applied in a different labeling method.
The labeling unit as well as the conveyance device each have their own control equipment for controlling the respective conveyance sequences.

Devices for conveying and labelling containers and method for connecting a labelling unit to a conveyor unit