The invention relates to methods of detecting staphylococcus.

Staphylococcus aureus ("S. aureus") is a pathogen causing a wide spectrum of infections including superficial lesions such as small skin abscesses and wound infections; systemic and life threatening conditions such as endocarditis, pneumonia and septicemia; as well as toxinoses such as food poisoning.
According to pp. 288-289 of the Manual of Clinical Microbiology (ASM Press, Washington D.C., 1995) the ability to clot plasma continues to be the most widely used and generally accepted criterion for the identification of pathogenic staphylococci associated with acute infection, i.e. S. aureus in humans and animals and S. intermedius and S. hyicus in animals. At least two different coagulase tests have been described: a tube test for free coagulase and slide test for bound coagulase or clumping factor. While the tube test is definitive, the slide test may be used as a rapid screening test technique to identify S. aureus. A variety of plasma types may be used for either test, however dehydrated rabbit plasma containing ethylenediaminetetraacetate is commercially available.
The tube coagulase test is described as being performed by mixing 0.1 ml of an overnight culture in brain heart infusion broth with 0.5 ml of reconstituted plasma, incubating the mixture at 37° C. in a water bath or heat block for 4 hours and observing the tube for clot formation by slowly tilting the tube for clot formation. Alternatively a large, well-isolated colony on nonhibitory agar can be transferred into 0.5 ml of reconstituted plasma and incubated as described above. Any degree of clotting constitutes a positive test. However, a flocculent or fibrous precipitate is not a true clot and should be recorded as a negative result. Incubation of the test overnight has been recommended for S. aureus since a small number of strains may require longer than 4 hours for clot formation. For those uncommon S. aureus strains requiring a longer clotting period, other characteristics should be tested to confirm identity.
The slide coagulase test is described as being performed by making a heavy uniform suspension of growth in distilled water, stirring the mixture to a homogeneous compositions so as not to confuse clumping with auto agglutination, adding a drop of plasma and observing for clumping within 10 seconds. The slide test is rapid and more economical of plasma than the tube test. However, 10 to 15% of S. aureus strains may yield a negative result, which requires that the isolate by reexamined by the test tube test. Slide tests must be read quickly because false-positive results may appear with reaction times longer than 10 seconds. Alternative methods for the slide test include commercial hemagglutination-slide tests for clumping factor and commercial latex agglutination tests that detect both clumping factor and protein A. Further, a latex agglutination test that detects clumping factor, protein A, and serotype 5 and 8 capsular polysaccharides of S. aureus is also available. When the organism being tested is suspected of being S. aureus, it is recommended that negative slide tests be confirmed by the tube coagulase test.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry (Vol. 273, No. 21, Issue of May 22, pp. 13177-13181, 1998 describes five different fibrinogen-binding proteins from S. aureus. Three of these fibrinogen-binding proteins were purified. One of such proteins is coagulase, a protein also able to bind to prothrombin. The third, designated as an extracellular fibrinogen-binding (Efb) protein was found to be incident in 100% of S. aureus isolates tested, although the level varied. It is further reported that the presence of Ca2+ or Zn2+ enhances the precipitation of the proteins from equimolar mixtures of Efb and fibrinogen.
Analytica Chimica Acta 369 (1998) 139-145 describes "a series piezoelectric quartz crystal (SPQC) biosensor was utilized to determine the number of bacteria based on the coagulation of milk in which S. aureus had grown. Compared with the method based on PQC with a thin film, earlier it had the advantage that no dilution of the medium was needed and cease of the oscillation can be avoided throughout the experiment. Moreover, it was rapid, the turning point time (TT) for quantitative detection which was the time at which the frequency begins to return after a drop is response curve was easy to determine and there was a good relation between TT and the logarithm of the initial concentration of S. aureus in the range of 2.4×102−2.4×105 cell ml−1."
Although methods of detecting S. aureus have been described in the art, there would be advantage in improved methods of detection.


A method of and apparatus for separating C.sub.4 hydrocarbons from a feed comprising a gaseous mixture. The feed is cooled and partially condensed in a plurality of successive stages of condensation and phase separation. A gaseous overhead from each separation stage is further cooled and supplied to the next separation stage and the liquid separated from each stage is used to cool the gas. Further refrigeration is supplied to the gas to effect the condensations by indirect heat exchange with a closed cycle refrigerant subjected to a compression/expansion cycle. The feed undergoes no compression and no abrupt expansion during the separation, so that the feed undergoes a pressure decrease due only to friction of the passage of the feed through the apparatus. The pressure loss is no more than about 20 psi. The temperature of the feed is maintained below 150.degree. F. at all times, to prevent polymerization of 1,3-butadiene. A mixed refrigerant passes through the closed refrigeration cycle and contains, in decreasing order of plentitude, propane, ethylene, isopentane and nitrogen. The mixed refrigerant is subjected to a single compression followed by cooling and phase separation. The phases of the mixed refrigerant thus separated are separately cooled and expanded and the material thus produced by expansion is used to cool the feed.

It is known to separate C.sub.4 hydrocarbons from a gaseous mixture containing the same, by cooling a feed gas partially to condense the same, and to separate organic and aqueous streams from the condensate. The organic fraction is removed from the cycle as product and the aqueous fraction is sewered.
The gaseous fraction is then dried and further cooled thereby partially to condense the same, the liquid phase being removed from the cycle as product and the gaseous phase being compressed to a pressure of about 300 psig.
The compressed gas is cooled in a main heat exchanger, in which it undergoes three stages of partial condensation. The liquid phase from each of the three separations is subjected to Joule-Thomson expansion and returned to the main exchanger to provide refrigeration. The liquid streams thus warmed in the main exchanger are removed from the cycle as product.
In the main exchanger, refrigeration is provided using successively and separately propane and then ethylene as the refrigerant liquids. Further refrigeration is provided by expanding isentropically the vapor remaining from the third operation of phase separation.
However, certain difficulties attend the known process. These are as follows:
1. Among the C.sub.4 hydrocarbons is 1,3-butadiene, which polymerizes at temperatures above 150.degree. F. The compression of the feed tends to raise the temperature of the feed above this temperature and bring about this polymerization.
2. The use of separate refrigerants at different temperature levels in the main heat exchanger results in discrete levels of refrigeration and leads to high power consumption.
3. The equipment for compressing the feed gas and for expanding it isentropically complicates the design and operation of the unit and increases its cost.

Method and apparatus for separating C.sub.4 hydrocarbons from a gaseous mixture


Semiconductor devices may include a gate pattern and a contact pattern disposed on an active region. The contact pattern may include a recessed portion near the gate pattern, and a rising portion away from the gate pattern. The gate pattern may include a gate insulating layer and a gate electrode disposed on the gate insulating layer. An upper surface of the recessed portion may be lower than an upper surface of the rising portion.

Field
Embodiments of the inventive concept relate to semiconductor devices including a contact pattern having a rising portion and a recessed portion, and methods of fabricating the semiconductor devices.
Description of Related Art
As a degree of integration of semiconductor devices increases, parasitic capacitance between gate patterns and contact patterns and/or between the respective contact patterns increases in non-negligible. Accordingly, many studies and ideas to reduce the parasitic capacitance therebetween have been made and suggested. However, it is not easy to reduce a thickness of a gate pattern due to an increase of resistance of the gate pattern, and to reduce a width of a contact pattern due to an increase of resistance of the contact pattern.

Semiconductor devices including contact patterns having a rising portion and a recessed portion


In a method and apparatus for packaging a horticultural product, especially cut flowers, for transportation, one or more stems are inserted through a flexible foam block formed from a low density, low compression force material disposed in an opening of container such that the foam is compressed. The compression of the foam forms a water-tight seal around each stem to prevent water or other liquid inside the container from leaking during shipment of the horticultural product and insulates each stem from each other stem.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to horticultural products, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for packaging horticultural products such as cut flowers.
2. Discussion of the Background
The market for horticultural products, particularly cut flowers, is large and continues to grow. In this industry, it is important that the horticultural product be fresh when it is presented to a consumer. The freshness of the horticultural product will determine both (1) how the product initially appears to the consumer, and (2) how long the product will last for the consumer. The product's initial appearance is particularly important in a retail setting such as a cut flower display in a store because consumers will often base their purchasing decision on the initial appearance. However, initial appearance is also important when pre-paid flowers are delivered to a consumer. How long the flowers last is also an important part of customer satisfaction—most customers will not be happy with flowers that wilt the day after they are received no matter how nice they looked the previous day.
The manner in which horticultural products are shipped plays an important role in both the initial appearance of the horticultural product and how long the horticultural product will last. Today, cut flowers are typically shipped from a grower by airfreight without water. Then they are either repackaged into an upstanding, open box with 1″–2″ of water on the bottom such that the ends of the stems can take up water to keep the flowers fresh, or they continue through distribution without water. With either method, the flowers are typically refrigerated to preserve their freshness. Both of these methods have obvious drawbacks. Shipping the flowers dry reduces their life no matter how well they are refrigerated. Shipping the flowers in an open container partially filled with water requires that the containers not be overturned during shipping, which increases shipping costs and distribution time.
Some attempts to provide a device that will allow flowers to be shipped such that their stems are in water have been disclosed in the patent literature. However, each of these alternative devices has drawbacks and, to the knowledge of the inventor, none of the alternative devices has met with any commercial success.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,453,906 to Hamlet discloses a device including tubular container with a "stopper" made in whole or in part from a "resilient material" inserted into each end. The stopper in the top end of the tubular container includes a bore sized to give an air-tight fit around a stem. The stopper is of a size to make it fit hermetically in the top end of the tube. The bottom end of the tube also has a stopper with a bore formed therein. The bottom end also includes a flexible diaphragm that stretches to fill the void created when water is taken up by a stem.
This device has several drawbacks. First, the requirement for the flexible diaphragm increases the packaging cost. Second, the "resilient material" illustrated in the '906 patent does not appear to be very resilient. The drawings show very little deformation of the material in areas where it is fitted into the tube. Given the issue date of the '906 patent in 1945, it is very likely that the "resilient material" is rubber. The problem with a material of such a resiliency is that it requires a relatively close match between the size of the bore in the stopper and the diameter of a plant stem inserted therein. Plant stem diameters can vary from as little as ⅛ inch to as much as ⅝ inch or greater. Thus, it is necessary to either make the bore to a specific size to match a particular stem, or provide a plurality of stoppers with different sized bores to accommodate cut flowers of different sizes.
This is not a practical alternative for two reasons. First, flower stems are not regularly shaped and often have protrusions (e.g., rose stems have protrusions where thorns are removed). It would be necessary to size the bore to accept any protrusion or other irregularity. However, considering the relatively inflexible material of '906 patent, the walls of bore may not contact the stem in areas other than the location of the protrusion or irregularity, resulting in a poor seal. Second, a requirement for matching stem sizes to bore sizes would be time-consuming, and therefore expensive, in a mass-production environment. This would be especially true in an automated mass-production environment in which thousands of flowers are packaged because stems would need to be measured, sorted and staged for insertion into pre-arranged stoppers of the correct size.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,782 describes a device including a flexible walled pouch filled with a "moisturized gel" of a "fluid paste consistency" (col. 2, lines 46–66). The top end of the pouch includes a "puncturable insert" made from a closed cell foam plastics material such as a "medium density polyethylene foam sold under the trade name JIFFYCELL." Applicants believe this is a rigid foam of the type that is commonly green in color and used in floral arrangements. The edges of the bag are adhered to this foam, and no compression of the foam is disclosed. The '782 patent teaches forming a hole for a plant stem in the foam insert by pushing a sharpened pencil through the foam.
The most significant drawback associated with the '782 patent is that it does not form a good seal around the stem. The '782 patent recognizes this when it states that "the tendency to leak is reduced by that fact that it is a gel material" in the pouch (col. 3, lines 49–50). If the seal around the stem were good, then it would not be necessary to use a "gel" rather than water. The poor seal is caused by the lack of compression and the use of a rigid foam. Another drawback associated with the '782 device is that, because the foam is relatively rigid, it is again necessary to size the hole to the stem that is to be inserted therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,586 discloses a device including a rigid cup-shaped container, a first layer comprised of rigid foam, a second layer of a "penetrable elastomeric sealing elastomer . . . chosen to be sufficiently elastic to flow at about room temperature," and an optional third layer also comprised of a rigid foam. The sealing elastomer is preferably an RTV silicone rubber made from a two part liquid silicone that cures into the desired flowable sealing elastomer. The chief drawbacks associated with this device are the cost associated with using multiple layers and the time required for the elastomer to cure.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,941,572 and 5,115,915 to Harris disclose a device comprising a rigid container with a non-absorbent foam block that is either preformed of a rigid foam material adhered to the container or formed from a foamed-in-place foam dispensed from an aerosol container. Col. 6, lns 43–58. The preformed block embodiment of this device suffers from the drawbacks of having to use an adhesive to secure the block to the container and, because the foam is rigid, the need for sizing holes in the block to match the stems. The foam-in-place embodiment suffers from the high cost associated with aerosol foams, and requires something to hold the stems in place while the foam is introduced.

Method and apparatus for packaging horticultural products


A forward link power control mechanism measures the reverse link power control bits which are transmitted on the forward traffic channel. At the remote station, the reverse link power control bits from multiples base stations or multiple signal paths are measured, combined, and filtered to yield an improved measurement of the forward link signal quality. The reverse link power control bits which are deemed unreliable are omitted from use in the power control loop. The remote station generates a set of forward link power control bit in accordance with the measurements and transmits these bits to all base stations in communication with the remote station. Each base station adjusts its gain of the forward traffic channel in accordance to its measurement of the forward link power control bit.

1. Field
The present invention relates to data communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved method and apparatus for the forward link power control in a communication system.
2. Background
The use of code division multiple access (CDMA) modulation techniques is one of several techniques for facilitating communications in which a large number of system users are present. Other multiple access communication system techniques, such as time division multiple access (TDMA) and frequency division multiple access (FDMA) are known in the art. However, the spread spectrum modulation techniques of CDMA have significant advantages over other modulation techniques for multiple access communication systems. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307, entitled "SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERS," assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is incorporated by reference herein. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,459, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING SIGNAL WAVEFORMS IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM," also assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is incorporated by reference herein. Furthermore, the CDMA system can be designed to conform to the "TIA/EIA/IS-95-A Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System," hereinafter referred to as the IS-95-A standard or TIA/EIA/IS-95-A.
CDMA, by its inherent nature of being a wideband signal, offers a form of frequency diversity by spreading the signal energy over a wide bandwidth. Therefore, frequency selective fading affects only a small part of the CDMA signal bandwidth. Space or path diversity is obtained by providing multiple signal paths through simultaneous links to a mobile user or remote station through two or more base stations. Furthermore, path diversity may be obtained by exploiting the multipath environment through spread spectrum processing by allowing signals arriving with different propagation delays to be received and processed separately. Examples of path diversity are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,501 entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A SOFT HANDOFF IN COMMUNICATIONS IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM," and U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,390 entitled "DIVERSITY RECEIVER IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM," both assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein.
The reverse link refers to a transmission from a remote station to a base station. On the reverse link, each transmitting remote station acts as an interference to other remote stations in the network. Therefore, the reverse link capacity is limited by the total interference due to transmissions from other remote stations. The CDMA system increases the reverse link capacity by transmitting fewer bits, thereby using less power and reducing interference, when the user is not speaking.
To minimize interference and maximize the reverse link capacity, the transmit power of each remote station is controlled by three reverse link power control loops. The first power control loop adjusts the transmit power of the remote station by setting the transmit power inversely proportional to the received power on the forward link. In an IS-95-A system, the transmit power is given by pout=−73−pin where pin is the power received by the remote station given in dBm, pout is the transmit power of the remote station given in dBm, and −73 is a constant. This power control loop is often called the open loop.
The second power control loop adjusts the transmission power of the remote station such that the signal quality, as measured by the energy-per-bit-to-noise-plus-interference ratio Eb/Io, of the reverse link signal received at the base station is maintained at a predetermined level. This level is referred to as the Eb/Io set point. The base station measures the Eb/Io of the reverse link signal received at the base station and transmits a reverse link power control bit to the remote station on the forward traffic channel in response to the measured Eb/Io. The reverse power control bits are set 16 times per 20 msec frame, or at an 800 bps rate. The forward traffic channel carries the reverse link power control bits along with the data from the base station to the remote station. This second loop is often called the inner closed loop.
The CDMA communication system typically transmits packets of data as discrete data frames. Thus, the desired level of performance is typically measured by the frame-error-rate (FER). The third power control loop adjusts the Eb/Io set point such that the desired level of performance, as measured by the FER, is maintained. The required Eb/Io to obtain a given FER depends upon the propagation conditions. This third loop is often called the outer closed loop. The power control mechanism for the reverse link is disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,109, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING TRANSMISSION POWER IN A CDMA CELLULAR MOBILE TELEPHONE SYSTEM," assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein.
The forward link refers to a transmission from a base station to a remote station. On the forward link, the transmission power of the base station is controlled for several reasons. A high transmission power from the base station can cause excessive interference with the signals received at other remote stations. Alternatively, if the transmission power of the base station is too low, the remote station can receive erroneous data transmissions. Terrestrial channel fading and other known factors can affect the quality of the forward link signal as received by the remote station. As a result, each base station attempts to adjust its transmission power to maintain the desired level of performance at the remote station.
Power control on the forward link is especially important for data transmissions.
Data transmission is typically asymmetric with the amount of data transmitted on the forward link being greater than on the reverse link. With an effective power control mechanism on the forward link, wherein the transmission power is controlled to maintain the desired level of performance, the overall forward link capacity can be improved.
A method and apparatus for controlling the forward link transmission power is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,209, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING FAST FORWARD POWER CONTROL IN A MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM," hereinafter the '209 patent, filed Mar. 31, 1995, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein. In the method disclosed in the '209 patent, the remote station transmits an error-indicator-bit (EIB) message to the base station when a transmitted frame of data is received in error. The EIB can be either a bit contained in the reverse traffic channel frame or a separate message sent on the reverse traffic channel. In response to the EIB message, the base station increases its transmission power to the remote station.
One of the disadvantages of this method is the long response time. The processing delay encompasses the time interval from the time the base station transmits the frame with inadequate power to the time the base station adjusts its transmission power in response to the error message from the remote station. This processing delay includes the time it takes for (1) the base station to transmit the data frame with inadequate power, (2) the remote station to receive the data frame, (3) the remote station to detect the frame error (e.g. a frame erasure), (4) the remote station to transmit the error message to the base station, and (5) the base station to receive the error message and appropriately adjust its transmission power. The forward traffic channel frame must be received, demodulated, and decoded before the EIB message is generated. Then the reverse traffic channel frame carrying the EIB message must be generated, encoded, transmitted, decoded, and processed before the bit can be used to adjust the transmit power of the forward traffic channel.
Typically, the desired level of performance is one percent FER. Therefore, on the average, the remote station transmits one error message indicative of a frame error every 100 frames. In accordance with the IS-95-A standard, each frame is 20 msec long. This type of EIB based power control works well to adjust the forward link transmit power to handle shadowing conditions, but due to its slow speed is ineffective in fading except in the slowest fading conditions.
A second method for controlling the forward link transmission power utilizes the Eb/Io of the received signal at the remote station. Since the FER is dependent on the Eb/Io of the received signal, a power control mechanism can be designed to maintain the Eb/Io at the desired level. This design encounters difficulty if data is transmitted on the forward link at variable rates. On the forward link, the transmission power is adjusted depending on the data rate of the data frame. At lower data rates, each data bit is transmitted over a longer time period by repeating the modulation symbol as described in TIA/EIA/IS-95-A. The energy-per-bit Eb is the accumulation of the received power over one bit time period and is obtained by accumulating the energy in each modulation symbol. For an equivalent amount of Eb, each data bit can be transmitted at proportionally less transmission power at the lower data rates. Typically, the remote station does not know the transmission rate a priori and cannot compute the received energy-per-bit Eb until the entire data frame has been demodulated, decoded, and the data rate of the data frame determined. Thus, the delay of this method is as described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,209, and the rate is one power control message per frame. This is in contrast with the reverse link approach in which there can be one power control message (bit) sixteen times per frame as in TIA/EIA/IS-95-A.
Other methods and apparatus for performing fast forward link power control are described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,035,209, 6,137,840, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING FAST FORWARD POWER CONTROL IN A MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM," filed Nov. 15, 1995, issued Oct. 24, 2000, to Edward G. Tiedemann Jr., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,554, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING LINK QUALITY IN A SPREAD SPECTRUM COMMUNICATION SYSTEM," filed Sep. 27, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,035, entitled "CENTRALIZED FORWARD LINK POWER CONTROL," filed Sep. 16, 1996, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,974, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING THRESHOLDS AND MEASUREMENTS OF RECEIVED SIGNALS BY ANTICIPATING POWER CONTROL COMMANDS YET TO BE EXECUTED," filed Nov. 20, 1996, all are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein.
The fundamental difference between the forward link and the reverse link is that the transmission rate does not need to be known on the reverse link. As described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,109, at lower rates, the remote station does not transmit continuously. When the remote station is transmitting, the remote station transmits at the same power level and the same waveform structure regardless of the transmission rate. The base station determines the value of a power control bit and sends this bit to the remote station 16 times per frame. Since the remote station knows the transmission rate, the remote station can ignore power control bits corresponding to times when it was not transmitting. This permits fast reverse link power control. However, the effective power control rate varies with the transmission rate. For TIA/EIA/IS-95-A, the rate is 800 bps for full rate frames and 100 bps for ⅛ rate frames.
An alternative reverse link architecture is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,230, entitled "HIGH DATA RATE CDMA WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM," hereinafter the '230 patent, filed May, 28, 1996, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein. In accordance with the '230 patent, an auxiliary pilot is introduced into the reverse link. The pilot level is independent of the transmission rate on the reverse link. This permits the base station to measure the pilot level and to send the reverse link power control bit to the remote station at a constant rate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for forward link power control


A semiconductor package and a method of forming the semiconductor package are provided. The method includes providing a first substrate, forming a wiring structure containing at least two first wiring layers, disposing a first insulating layer between adjacent two first wiring layers, and patterning the first insulating layer to form a plurality of first through-holes. The adjacent two first wiring layers are electrically connected to each other through the plurality of first through-holes. The method also includes providing at least one semiconductor element each including a plurality of pins. In addition, the method includes disposing the plurality of pins of the each semiconductor element on a side of the wiring structure away from the first substrate. Further, the method includes encapsulating the at least one semiconductor element, and placing a ball on a side of the wiring structure away from the at least one semiconductor element.

With the development of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G technology and smart phone, the requirement to semiconductor process keeps increasing, which drives and promotes the development of the semiconductor industry.
In the semiconductor technology, the semiconductor packaging technology has played an important role in the development of the semiconductor industry. Semiconductor packaging has been developed toward achieving a substantially small size, substantially light, substantially thin, a substantially large number of pins, substantially high reliability and substantially low cost. To meet the demand of advanced technologies, fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) technology has been employed in existing technology, but the cost of the wafer-level packaging technology is substantially high. The disclosed semiconductor package and method are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.

Semiconductor package having semiconductor element with pins and formation method thereof

SHANGHAI TIANMA MICRO-ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

SHANGHAI AVIC OPTO ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A new hook and loop decoration game for combining a game with decorations for holidays. The inventive device includes a game board comprising a base panel. The base panel has apertures therethrough. Each of the apertures has a grommet disposed therein. The base panel has a layer of felt secured to a front surface thereof. The layer of felt has a layer of hook and loop material secured to a front surface thereof. The layer of hook and loop material has indicia painted thereon. A plurality of throwing objects are provided with each having a cloth outer layer and a padded interior. The cloth outer layer has hook and loop patches disposed on front and rear surfaces thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to target games and more particularly pertains to a new hook and loop decoration game for combining a game with decorations for holidays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of target games is known in the prior art. More specifically, target games heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art target games include U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,251 to Imes, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,336 to Mershon; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 323,195 to Gehlbach; U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,448 to Raphael et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,928 to Koenig; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,098 to Aldridge.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new hook and loop decoration game. The inventive device includes a game board comprising a base panel. The base panel has apertures therethrough. Each of the apertures has a grommet disposed therein. The base panel has a layer of felt secured to a front surface thereof. The layer of felt has a layer of hook and loop material secured to a front surface thereof. The layer of hook and loop material has indicia painted thereon. A plurality of throwing objects are provided with each having a cloth outer layer and a padded interior. The cloth outer layer has hook and loop patches disposed on front and rear surfaces thereof.
In these respects, the hook and loop decoration game according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of combining a game with decorations for holidays.


A system and method manages resources within a process by identifying a first resource threshold associated with available resources. The method receives a resource request from a resource requesting participant requiring the available resources. The method determines that an estimated resource usage, associated with the resource request, approaches the first resource threshold. The method negotiates with at least one resource consuming participant to voluntarily release resources until the estimated resource usage approaches a second resource threshold associated with the available resources within the process.

A process running on a computer may have multiple threads running concurrently. Different threads may have different purposes, different priorities, may request resources at different frequencies, and may access different amounts of resources. Managing the available resources to provide the requested resources may be performed a number of different ways, such as allowing each thread to obtain as much of the resources it needs on a first-requested basis. The end result may be that the threads first requesting resources exhaust the resources before subsequent requesting threads get a share. Another strategy is to partition available resources into separate pools, and allow each thread to take resources only from its respective pool. This strategy ensures that each thread receives some resources, but some threads may not receive enough of their required resources, while other threads aren't utilizing all of the resources allocated in their respective pools.

Resource management via iterative negotiation

International Business Machines Corporation


A sound-suppressing hunter's backrest is formed from a supple layer of cloth or other sound-suppressing material in sheet form that is supported against a tree or other backing during use by straps or cords, but can also be rolled or folded into a compact bundle for storage and carried on the waist as a fanny pack. The backrest includes a pocket located proximate one end of the backrest that has a lip or edge which defines a pocket opening that extends between two opposed edges of the backrest and the pocket opening is positioned to face an opposite end of the sheet material so that continued rolling up of the sheet material will cause it to enter the pocket through the opening for storage. The straps or cords serve to attach the sheet material to a tree or other backing and one strap or cord also serves as a waist strap. A carabineer ring is connected to one of the straps with a portion extending through an opening in the backrest for being fastened to a harness that is worn by the hunter to prevent the hunter from falling, e.g., from an elevated tree stand.

While several backrest devices have been previously proposed for hunters, game can easily be "spooked," i.e., alerted to the presence of the hunter if a sound is produced when the hunter contacts the tree bark or other backrest or the backrest itself moves slightly against the tree or other support to which it is connected. U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,027, for example, describes a padded backrest that has a rigid backing which because of its hard rear surface can rub against the tree and cause a sound if the backrest is moved slightly by the hunter as he aims. Moreover, because of its rigid structure, the patented backrest cannot be folded into a compact bundle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,531 describes a compact backrest, but there is no provision for enclosing the backrest when the backrest is not in use. Although the patented backrest includes a quiver, the quiver has a narrow opening that faces an adjacent side edge of the backrest that renders it only useful for carrying arrows. There is no way to enclose the backrest for storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,956 describes another backrest and seat which comprises three padded cushions that can be folded relative to one another along two horizontal lines and has an outer skin made of waterproof nylon and interior chambers filled with fiber material such as nylon fiber or styrofoam. While there are sleeves for a hand warmer, there is no way to enclose the backrest for storage when not in use and the relatively thick cushions that are filled with nylon fiber or styrofoam prevent the backrest from being rolled up. Each of the padded sections itself is resistant to folding so that the entire backrest is not able to be compacted into a small bundle. Moreover, none of the patented devices have a provision for supporting the hunter so as to prevent him from falling, e.g.; from a tree stand that may be suspended 10 or 15 feet in the air.
In view of these and other deficiencies of the prior art, it is one object of the present invention to provide an improved noise-suppressing backrest that can be rolled or folded into a compact bundle and is constructed so that continued rolling up of the material from which the backrest is formed will facilitate storage thereof.
Another object is to provide a noise-suppressing backrest of supple material having sound-suppressing qualities with a built-in feature having a closure as a part of the backrest to contain the backrest as a compact bundle.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a noise-suppressing backrest having a means to support the backrest as well as the hunter to prevent the hunter from falling, for example, when the backrest is used in a tree stand.
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a sound-suppressing backrest with a self-contained feature for holding the backrest when rolled or folded into a bundle and including a dual-purpose element for attaching the backrest to a tree during use as well as to the hunter when the backrest is being carried.
These and other more detailed and specific objects of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following figures and detailed description which illustrate by way of example but a few of the various forms of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.


The present invention relates broadly to methods for heating or cooling a media in a indirect heat exchanger. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the indirect heat exchanger is a shell and tube heat exchanger where the tube is coiled within the shell and the coiled tube includes baffles at least every third coil. The media is passed through the coiled tube and a coolant or heat source flows through the surrounding shell such that the coolant or heat source floods the entire shell. The baffles redirect the coolant or the heat source in such a way as to cause turbulent flow. This turbulent flow allows the heat transfer process to be conducted in a uniform and highly efficient manner.

The present invention involves a methods and an apparatus for the uniform continuous heating and cooling of materials through the use of indirect heat exchangers. The present invention has particular application in the field of heating and cooling of liquid or semi liquid food products that include solid particles. Examples of such food products include yogurt fruit, spaghetti sauce, and various fruit products such as jams. There is often a need to heat or cool these products for both safety and processing reasons. In many of these circumstances the solid particles are of a fragile nature. In the past the heating or cooling of these materials has been a problem because the solid particles have been bruised or damaged thereby reducing the quality and value of the final product.
Because of these concerns many food processors have had to rely upon batch processing in order to produce a high quality product. Batch processing has the inherent problem of being slow and representing a bottle neck in the processing chain. Moreover, in both the batch processing and continuous processing there was a problem of uniformly heating both the liquid portion of the material and the solid particles. Conventional agitation to equalize temperature face the risk of damaging the solid particles. Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that can continuously and uniformly heat or cool liquid materials containing solid particles.

Method and apparatus for heating and cooling food products during processing


Apparatus and methods enable an efficient, low-latency handoff of a communication session, which may be especially effective in a high data rate network. The apparatus and methods provide for a source transceiver module to complete a transmission in-progress while at the same time informing a target transmission module of an end point of the transmission such that data in a shadow buffer of an anchor network function module can be sent to the target transceiver function prior to implementation of the handoff. As such, the apparatus and methods allow for an extremely quick handoff that minimizes use of a backhaul network.

1. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatus and method of performing a session handoff between network entities.
2. Background
Over the last several years, wireless communications technologies have evolved from analog-driven systems to digital systems. Typically in conventional analog systems, the analog signals are relayed on a forward link and a reverse link and require a significant amount of bandwidth to enable signals to be transmitted and received while being associated with suitable quality. As the analog signals are continuous in time and space, no status messages (e.g., messages indicating receipt or non-receipt of data) are generated. In contrast, packet-switched systems allow analog signals to be converted to data packets and transmitted by way of a physical channel between an access terminal and a base station, router, and the like. In addition, digital data can be relayed in its natural form (e.g., text, Internet data, and the like) via employing a packet switched network. As such, digital wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and the like.
Due to the increasing usage of wireless communication devices to perform services with increasing data requirements, wireless network bandwidth and data rates are also increasing. As such, wireless access points may accumulate queues of data destined for a wireless device served by the access point. In prior art systems, when a handover of a wireless device communication session was required from one access point to another access point, these data queues were small enough that they could easily be handled without affecting the quality of the connection. In current high data rate networks, however, the queues of data can become quite large if a handoff is not performed quickly. Such large data queues negatively affect latency experienced in an on-going service, and in services such as Voice over IP (VoIP), latency is an important quality of service (QoS) consideration. Additionally, such large queues may require increased usage of the backhaul network to successfully transfer the data, which negatively impacts network costs, as backhaul network usage is expensive.
Thus, in such high data rate systems, an efficient handoff between various entities becomes important when performing a session handoff.

Apparatus and method of performing a handoff in a communication network


The present invention provides an enclosed humidified environment for an infant positioned on the mattress of an infant warmer open care bed. It includes an xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d frame structure which supports a flexible and transparent cover similar to a tent, which may be folded substantially flat when not in use or prior to use. The tent is designed to be compatible with an infra-red radiant heater, such as might be used in a infant warmer open care bed to heat the infant. The tent includes provisions for inflow of humidified gases and accessibility to the infant by health care workers. In addition, the present invention may be provided as a disposable item thereby reducing the possibility of transferring medical problems between infants.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for providing an infant care enclosure and more particularly, though not solely to apparatus for providing a enclosed humidified environment to an infant positioned on the mattress of an infant warmer open care bed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The advantages of an open care bed, such as an infant warmer, over an incubator are well known The ability of health care specialists to obtain easy, unhindered access to the infant while providing the infant with a stable temperature environment. The problem of Insensible Water Loss (ISW) whereby a very young infant""s skin easily loses water to the ambient surroundings is also well known and it would be beneficial if the infant could be treated from a bed which combined the convenience of an infant warmer with the ability to maintain a substantially constant level of humidity.
One prior attempt to overcome the above disadvantages is disclosed in United States patent numbers U.S. Pat. No. 649,896 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,229 issued to Air-Shields Inc. This patent discloses an infant warmer which also includes a roll of disposable PVC film which is rolled out to cover the open side of the infant warmer""s bassinet In order to treat the infant it is necessary to remove the film and to reapply a further length over the infant when treatment is completed. A further example is disclosed in United States patent numbers U. S. Pat. No. 4,121,571 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,172 issued to Airborne Life Support Systems Inc. wherein an infant is positioned within a flexible plastics tubular membrane inside a clear, rigid box-like outer enclosure. A humidified gases flow may be passed through the inner flexible tubular membrane and the outer enclosure may be positioned beneath a radiant heat source. This device does not allow adequate or effective access to the infant, especially in emergencies.
An infant xe2x80x9cheatshieldxe2x80x9d construction has been sold under the trade mark IGLOO by Nascor (Pty) Limited of Australia. This device comprises a tough polycarbonate half-cylinder having two detachable soft silicon end caps for access to an infant within However, it is believed that this device is not suitable for use with an overhead heat source such as that of an infant warmer as polycarbonate does not transmit infra-red energy efficiently and is not disposable. Furthermore, this device is not able to be packaged in a collapsible form and therefore takes up excessive space during transportation.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a humidified environment which will go at least some way towards overcoming the above disadvantages or which will at least provide the industry with a useful choice.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention consists in an infant care enclosure comprising:
a frame which in use is positioned on a surface,
a flexible cover substantially covering said frame except for the portion of said frame in contact with said surface and adapted to be supported by said frame thereby, and in conjunction with said surface, providing an enclosed space suitable for enclosing an infant, said flexible cover being substantially transparent to infra-red light, said frame having at least one user access port formed therein which is substantially covered by a section of said flexible cover which is larger than the area of said at least one user access port


A limited flash-over electric power switch uses a dielectric gas regulator and a flash-over arrestor to greatly diminish the occurrences of high voltage flash-over during operation of a circuit interrupter. The dielectric gas regulator prevents the flow of the dielectric gas into the arc gap during an initial portion of the opening stroke of the interrupter contacts. Once the arc gap is sufficiently wide to greatly diminish the likelihood of a high voltage flash-over, the dielectric gas regulator allows the dielectric gas to flow into the arc gap to extinguish the arc. The flash-over arrestor snubs out incipient flash-over that may occur as the arc attempts to reform across the arc gap. The flash-over arrestor may be a conductive ring located on the interior surface of the nozzle in the region of the orifice.

It is common to switch reactors into and out of transmission circuits on electric power systems. Reactors are principally used as voltage regulators for long transmission lines, such as high voltage and extra high voltage transmission lines, during low load periods. Additional uses are for load flow control, fault current limiting, and filtering. When used as a voltage regulator, a reactor is typically switched into and out of an electric power transmission circuit on a daily basis, typically every night when the loads are low, which is a significantly higher switching frequency than experienced by fault clearing switches, such as circuit breakers and sectionalizing switches. A device known as a circuit interrupter (also called a switcher) is used to switch reactors, capacitors and various types of loads into and out of their associated electric power circuits. Many types of circuit interrupters have been developed with unique design characteristics for specific electrical applications, voltage and current levels. Example circuit interrupters are described in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,115,828; 7,078,643; 6,583,978; 6,483,679; 6,316,742 and 6,236,010 and U.S. application Ser. No. 11/944,111, which are incorporated by reference.
A challenging voltage regulation application, and an important application for the present invention, is reactor switching at high voltage and extra high voltage transmission levels. In these applications, current reignitions across the arc gap in the circuit interrupter cause very steep voltage increases in the reactor between turns. This electrical stress caused by reignition during reactor switching is similar to that caused by lightning only that it occurs much more frequently. That is, reactor switching typically occurs on a daily basis, whereas lightning typically occurs much less frequently, such as a yearly basis in general. The daily operation and frequent reignitions during reactor switching cause cumulative damage to reactors that reduce the life of these expensive devices. Frequent reignitions can also cause damage to the interrupter by puncturing the nozzle materials, usually Teflon®, which in turn increases the likelihood of further reignitions. Also, the strong pressure developed in interrupters can force the current to zero prematurely, which further increases the voltage on the reactor thus requiring the interrupter to withstand even higher voltages. It is therefore important to switch the reactors in a manner that minimizes damages caused to the reactors, the interrupters, and other electric system components, from reignitions occurring during the switching process.
Switching of capacitor banks is also a common occurrence in electric power systems. The inductive reactance of motors in home and industrial use cause less than unity power factors, which if uncorrected can increase system losses and cause voltage levels delivered to end-use customers to drop to unacceptable levels. Capacitor banks are usually switched into the electric power circuits during high levels of inductive loading, typically during the daylight and early evening hours when most people are awake and using electric power, to correct the power factor, reduce delivery losses, and boost the voltage to the end-use customers. Once the high level inductive loading subside, typically at night, the capacitor banks are switched out of the electric power circuit. Daily cyclical use of capacitors is therefore a common practice to balance the capacitive reactance with inductive loads, and thus minimizing the stated problem, as electric loads increase and decrease on a daily basis.
Because inductive residential loads typically increase and decrease on a daily cycle, capacitor switching in response to residential loads typically occurs on a daily basis. Capacitor switching can also occur multiple times daily, for example when residential loads are combined with industrial or municipal loads that occur at night or multiple times per day. Coal mining equipment, aluminum smelters, manufacturing assembly lines, municipal water pumps, and electric transportation loads, to name but a few examples, can place large, cyclical or intermittent inductive loads on an electric power system. As a result, capacitor switches often experience several hundred to several thousand operations per year. Circuit breakers that are designed to operate in response to overload and other emergency conditions, by comparison, typically operate much less frequently, on the order of only a few isolated operations up to a couple of dozen times per year.
Switching a capacitor bank out of an electric power circuit can cause a restrike to occur across the arc gap inside the circuit interrupter, which can cause system disturbances and damage to the capacitor bank, the circuit interrupter, and other electric system components. Restrikes during capacitor switching are similar to reignitions during reactor switching in that they both involve high voltage causing a flash-over across the arc gap between the contacts of the interrupter after the arc has been initially extinguished at a current zero-crossing. Flash-over can also occur when switching loads, lines and other types of electrical components that have significant inductive or capacitive components. Because the voltage in an electric power system is alternating, the current extinguished periodically at each current zero-crossing and the voltage periodically builds to its peak magnitude each half cycle, the voltage tends to cause a flash-over as the voltage approaches its maximum magnitude each half cycle. Each time the current flashes over as the arc gap widens on the opening stroke, the flash-over occurs as a higher voltage. A flash-over occurring across a relatively high voltage across a relatively wide contactor gap during an opening stroke of the interrupter can damage the interrupter, damage the switched device, and cause an undesirable disturbance on the electric power circuit.
A need therefore exists for circuit interrupters for reactor, capacitor, load and line switching at distribution and transmission voltages up to high voltage and extra high voltage levels that that minimizes damages caused to electric system components from flash-over across the interrupter arc gap during the switching process. In particular, because reactors used for voltage regulation are operated relatively frequently and at high transmission voltages, it is important to switch the reactors in a manner that minimizes damages caused to the reactors and the circuit interrupters from flash-over during the switching process. There is, therefore, a continuing need for a circuit interrupter suitable for switching reactors on high voltage and extra high voltage transmission lines to extend the life of the reactors and the reactor switching circuit interrupters by minimizing the frequency of high voltage flash-over that can causes damage and life reduction.

Limited flash-over electric power switch


A measurement transducer includes: At least one interconnected system formed by means of at least two components, especially components of metal. At least the first component of the interconnected system is, in such case, embodied as a composite, formed part composed of at least two materials, which differ from one another with respect to at least one physical and/or chemical property, especially a material density, melting temperature, coefficient of thermal expansion and/or modulus of elasticity, etc. As a result of using at least one composite component, the at least two components of the interconnected system can be bonded together lastingly and reliably, especially by means of welding, such being true especially also for the case in which the interconnected system is a bi-, or poly-, metal, interconnected system.

In industrial measurement and automation technology, inline measuring devices utilizing a vibration-type measurement-transducer are often used for the highly accurate registering of measured, process variables of media flowing in lines, especially pipelines, and especially for the registering of flow-dynamic and/or rheological, measured variables. Such measurement transducers include at least one measuring tube, which is in communication with the medium-conveying pipeline and which vibrates during operation. Construction, operation, and ways of applying such vibration-type measurement-transducers are described comprehensively and in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,127,028, 4,524,610, 4,768,384, 4,793,191, 4,823,614, 5,253,533, 5,610,342, 5,796,011, 5,705,754, 6,006,609, 6,047,457, 6,168,069 6,314,820, 6,352,196, 6,374,478, 6,397,685, 6,450,042, 6,487,917, 6,516,674, 6,519,828, 6,523,421, 6,598,281, 6,666,098, 6,698,644, 6,711,958, 6,769,163, 6,851,323, WO-A 03/048693, WO-A 05/050144 or in the not pre-published, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/242,803 of the present assignee.
As is known, vibration-type measurement-transducers serve in conjunction with a measuring device electronics connected thereto for producing, in the medium instantaneously conveyed in the at least one measuring tube, reaction forces appropriately corresponding with the process variable to be measured, such as e.g. Coriolis forces corresponding to a mass flow, e.g. a mass flow rate, inertial forces corresponding to a density, or frictional forces corresponding to a viscosity, etc., and to produce, derived therefrom, a measurement signal appropriately corresponding with the process measured variable, for example the particular mass flow, the particular viscosity and/or the particular density, of the medium. The at least one measuring tube of the measurement transducer is, for such purpose, usually medium-tight, especially pressure-tight, and, most often, also installed durably into the course of the pipeline conveying the medium. For instance, the measuring tube can be installed into the pipeline by means of appropriate flange connectors. For the oscillatable holding of the at least one measuring tube, a tubular or frame-like support element, for example of steel, is provided. The support element is, most often, embodied much more stiffly than the measuring tube and is mechanically coupled to the measuring tube at its inlet and outlet ends. For example, the support element is affixed directly to the measuring tube. The support element can, as is usual for measurement transducers of such type and as is also perceivable, without more, from the above-cited state of the art, be completed to form a measurement transducer housing, which encases the transducer, by means of appropriately externally applied covers, such as e.g. tube-covering caps or laterally mounted sheets, or the support element can itself be embodied as the measurement transducer housing.
For driving the at least one measuring tube, measurement transducers of the described kind additionally include an exciter mechanism eclectically connected with the relevant measuring device electronics and having an oscillation exciter, especially an electrodynamic or electromagnetic one, mechanically interacting with the measuring tube. During operation, the exciter mechanism is so actuated by the measuring device in suitable manner by means of corresponding exciter signals, that the measuring tube executes, at least at times, vibrations, especially bending oscillations and/or torsional oscillations. Additionally present is a sensor arrangement delivering oscillation measurement signals. At least in the case of use of the measurement transducer as a Coriolis mass flow measurement transducer, the sensor arrangement includes at least two sensor elements separated from one another and reacting to measuring tube vibrations of the measuring tube, respectively, at its inlet end and at its outlet end.
Besides the opportunity of simultaneously measuring a plurality of such process variables, especially mass flow, density and/or viscosity, by means of one and the same measuring device, a further essential advantage of inline measuring devices with vibration-type measurement-transducers is, among other things, that they exhibit, within predetermined operating limits, a very high measurement accuracy at comparatively low sensitivity to disturbances. Moreover, such a measuring device can be used for practically any flowable or streamable media and can be applied in a multitude of the most different of areas of application of measuring and automation technology.
In the case of inline measuring devices of the described kind, which are applied as Coriolis mass flow meters, the associated measuring device electronics determines, during operation, among other things, a phase difference between the two oscillation measurement signals delivered by the sensor elements and the measuring device electronics issues at its output a measured value signal derived therefrom. The measured value signal represents a measured value corresponding to the time behavior of the mass flow. If, as is usual in the case of such inline measuring devices, the density of the medium is also to be measured, then the measuring device electronics determines therefor, additionally, on the basis of the oscillation measurement signals, an instantaneous oscillation frequency of the measuring tubes. Moreover, also, for example, the viscosity of the medium can be measured by means of the power, especially a corresponding exciter current for the exciter arrangement, needed for maintaining the measuring tube oscillations.
For the operation of the measurement transducer, especially also for the further processing or for the evaluation of the at least one measurement signal, such is, as already indicated, electrically connected with an appropriate measuring device electronics. In industrial measurement and automation technology, this measuring device electronics is, additionally, often connected, via a data transmission system, e.g. a digital data bus, with other measuring devices and/or with a remote, central computer, to which it sends the measured value signals. Example of suitable data transmission systems often include bus systems, especially serial bus systems, such as PROFIBUS-PA, FOUNDATION FIELDBUS or suchlike, along with the corresponding transmission protocols. By means of the central computer, the transmitted, measured-value signals can be processed further and visualized as corresponding measurement results e.g. on monitors and/or they can be converted into control signals for corresponding actuators, such as e.g. solenoid-operated valves, electric motors of pumps, etc. For accommodating the measuring device electronics, such inline measuring devices further include an electronics housing, which can be situated remotely from the measurement transducer and connected therewith only via a flexible line, as proposed e.g. in WO-A 00/36379, or which is, as shown e.g. also in EP-A 1 296 128 or WO-A 02/099363, arranged directly on the measurement transducer, especially on the already the mentioned measurement transducer housing.
In the case of measurement transducers of the described kind, essentially two kinds of tube forms have become established in the market, namely, on the one hand, essentially straight measuring tubes and, on the other hand, measuring tubes curving essentially in a tube plane. Of this latter class, essentially S-, U- or V-shaped tubes are the ones used most often. Especially in the case of Coriolis mass flow measurement transducers serving for measuring mass flows, in the case of both types of tube shapes, for reasons of symmetry, two measuring tubes are used, extending, most often, essentially parallel to one another in the resting state and flowed-through, most often, also in parallel by the medium. Examples in this regard include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,127,028, 4,768,384, 4,793,191, 5,610,342, 5,796,011, or U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,042.
Besides measurement transducers with such double measuring tube arrangements, however, also measurement transducers having a single straight, or curved, measuring tube have long been obtainable in the market. Such vibration-type measurement-transducers with a single measuring tube are described e.g. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,524,610, 4,823,614, 5,253,533, 6,006,609, 6,047,457, 6,168,069, 6,314,820, 6,397,685, 6,487,917, 6,516,674, 6,666,098, 6,698,644, 6,711,958, WO-A 03/048693, or the mentioned application DE10354373.2 of the assignee. Each of the measurement transducers shown therein include, among other things: A measuring tube vibrating, at least at times, having an inlet end and an outlet end, and made, for example, of steel, titanium, tantalum or zirconium or corresponding alloys, for conveying the medium to be measured, wherein the measuring tube communicates with a connected pipeline via a first tube segment opening into the inlet end and via a second tube segment opening into the outlet end, in order to enable the medium to flow through the measuring tube, and wherein the measuring tube, during operation, executes mechanical oscillations about an oscillation axis imaginarily connecting the two tube segments; and a, most often, very bending-stiff, tubular or frame-like, support element, for example of steel, for the oscillatable holding of the measuring tube, which is affixed to the first tube segment by means of a first transition piece and to the second tube segment by means of a second transition piece.
For the case described above, wherein the measurement transducer used is one with a single measuring tube, additionally provided in the measurement transducer is a counteroscillator affixed to the measuring tube and suspended oscillatably in the measurement transducer housing. This counteroscillator serves, apart from its function involving the mounting of the oscillation exciter and the sensor elements, for uncoupling, as far as oscillations are concerned, the vibrating measuring tube from the connected pipeline. The counteroscillator, which is most often made of steel, because of the favorable cost thereof, can, in such case, be embodied as a tubular, compensation cylinder, or box-shaped support frame, arranged coaxially to the measuring tube. To the referenced ensemble of features of the individual measurement transducers described above is still to be added, that a straight measuring tube, or straight measuring tubes, as the case may be, is/are, most often, made of pure titanium, a titanium alloy of high titanium content, pure zirconium or a zirconium alloy of high zirconium content, since, compared with measuring tubes of stainless steel, which is likewise possible for straight measuring tubes, usually shorter construction lengths result, and that a curved measuring tube, or curved measuring tubes, as the case may be, is/are especially of stainless steel, although titanium or zirconium, or their alloys, as the case may be, are also, in this instance, possible for the material of the measuring tubes. Beyond this, however, the use of tantalum or corresponding tantalum alloys is, for example, usual as material for the measuring tube, or tubes.
As can be derived, without difficulty, from the above review, practically every measurement transducer of the above-cited state of the art involves at least one, especially bi-, or poly-, metal, interconnected system, which includes a first component—for example, the first or the second end piece—and a second component—for example, the measuring tube—extending at least partially through the first component along an imaginary longitudinal axis of the interconnected system, wherein, usually, the second component contacts with an outer surface in the form of a cylindrical outer surface, flushly, an inner surface of the first component, formed by an inner wall of a bore extending within the first component. Equally, however, also measurement transducers are constructed with double measuring tube arrangements, as especially also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,342, usually of a plurality of such, especially bi-metal, interconnected systems. Besides the interconnected system formed by measuring tube and end piece, other examples of such, especially bi-metal, interconnected systems are cited, especially also the connection of measuring tube and flange, or the connection flange and measurement transducer housing; compare, in this connection, also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,168,069 B, 6,352,196 B , and 6,698,644 B. Additionally, such a composite system can also be formed, as also described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,457, by the affixing of at least one circular, washer-, or disk-, shaped, metal member to the measuring tube between the two end pieces, to serve as a part of the exciter mechanism, or to interact therewith, as the case may be. Beyond this, such metal members can also serve as part of the sensor arrangement or as couplers between the measuring tube and the possibly provided, counteroscillator.
Imposed on the vibration-type measurement-transducers used in industrial measurements and automation technology are very high requirements as regards accuracy of measurement, with such lying, usually, in the range of about 0.1% of the measured value and/or 0.01% of the measured value at the upper end of the range. Required to achieve this is, especially, a very high stability of the zero point, as well as a very high robustness of the delivered measurement signals, especially also in the case of environmental, attachment and/or operating conditions which change significantly during operation. As already discussed in detail in the mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,610,342, 6,047,457, 6,168,069, 6,519,828, 6,598,281, 6,698,644, 6,769,163, WO-A 03/048693, or the mentioned applications DE102004048765.0 or DE10354373.2 of the assignee, also the mechanical strength, especially the fatigue strength, with which, in such case, the individual components of the aforementioned interconnected systems formed in the measurement transducer are affixed to one another, is assigned a considerable importance. Already the slightest deviation of the strength of the aforementioned interconnected systems from the situation present at calibration can result in significant, no longer manageable fluctuations of the zero point and/or sensitivity and, thus, in practically unusable measurement signals. Usually, such zero point errors attributable to strength-loss phenomena in the interconnected systems can only be eliminated by installation of a new inline measuring device. Particularly the way in which the measuring tube is secured within the outer support element and the possibly present counteroscillator has, in such case, a special influence on the stability of the zero point and/or the availability of the measurement transducer; this subject is also already discussed in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,610,342, 6,047,457, 6,168,069, 6,598,281, 6,634,241, or WO-A 03/048693.
Traditionally, the components of such interconnected systems are, at least in part, bonded together by soldering, brazing or welding. Thus, for example, it is already discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,614, that the respective ends of the one measuring tube are inserted in bores of their assigned inlet and outlet, end pieces and secured therein by front and rear welding, soldering or brazing; compare the material beads to be seen in some of the figures. The end pieces are, in turn, secured in the outer support element. Further examples of such interconnected systems with bonded connections are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,168,069 B, 6,352,196 B, 6,519,828 B, 6,523,421 B, 6,598,281 B, 6,698,644 B, or U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,163 B, among others.
Especially for the above-described case, in which the first component serves as a coupler between the measuring tube, as second component, and a third component in the form of a counteroscillator, there exists in the manufacture of the measurement transducer, however, to such extent, often a considerable problem in that, depending on the manner of construction and/or on the requirements placed on the measurement transducer on the basis of its application, at least two components are to be connected together oscillation-resistantly, which are made of different metals, for example steel and titanium. In bi-metal, interconnected systems, thus those in which at least the first component and the second component are made of different metals, it is, unfortunately, not always possible, without more, to prevent, with certainty, strength-loss in the interconnections. As can be perceived, for example, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,047,457, 6,168,069, 6,352,196, 6,598,281, 6,634,241, 6,523,421 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,644 B, namely, problems can arise in the case of such bi-metal, interconnected systems with regard to the long-term strength of the solder, or braze, connections which had to be used because of the lacking weldability. Such problems can be attributed to, among other things, insufficient wetting and/or radially alternating, mechanical loading of the joints. This last is especially attributable to the, in part, significantly differing thermal expansions of the components, be it during manufacture or during operation. A further problem of such bonded, solder or braze connections is also the material-degrading, oscillatory wear in the area of the joints, pointed out in U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,828 B, or U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,281.
A possibility for reducing this risk of strength-loss in interconnected systems formed, for example, by a measuring tube of a Coriolis mass flow measurement transducer and a metal member pushed thereon and affixed thereto can be provided, according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,644 B, by having the components introduce additional compressive stresses into the solder, or braze, connection, whereby the preferably large-area, solder or braze connection between the components can be stabilized. A further possibility for improving the longterm strength of such interconnected systems lies in affixing the components together using press joints. Thus, in the already mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,342, as well as in WO-A 03/048693, in each case, a securement method is proposed for measuring tubes in end pieces, wherein each end of the measuring tube is inserted into a corresponding bore of an inlet end piece, or an outlet end piece, as the case may be, and pressure is applied to the inner wall of the bore, especially in the absence of heating, by means of a roller tool placed in the end, whereby a high-strength, frictionally interlocking connection is formed between the first and second components. A roller tool appropriately suited for this method is, for example, also described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,382, in the context of a method of manufacturing boilers or heat exchangers. A further possibility for manufacturing such interconnected systems formed by means of high-strength, frictionally interlocking connections is, as e.g. also proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,457, to compress the first component, after it has been pushed, or slipped, onto the second component, by means of a pressing tool, so that the first component undergoes mixed plastic-elastic deformation below a recrystallization temperature of the material of the component, especially at room temperature. The deformation forces applied for this purpose are, in such case, always so developed, that the second component experiences essentially no cross sectional reduction and/or narrowing, so that an initial inner diameter of the second component remains practically unchanged throughout, after manufacture of the interconnected system. A suitable apparatus for the pressing is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,633. Alternatively to the plastic-elastic pressing, such an interconnected system formed by means of frictional interlocking can also be produced, for example, by, as also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,281 B or U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,828 B, thermally shrinking the first component onto the second component or by clamping the first component with the second component using elastically deformable clamping elements.
Going further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,281, or U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,828 disclose that, however, even in the case of purely frictionally interlocking, press connections, it is not always certain, due to oscillatory wear, that possible loss of strength of the interconnected system can be avoided. Moreover, such oscillatory wear of the materials of the interconnected system can lead to corrosion in the area of the mutually contacting surfaces. Furthermore, as can be perceived from WO-A 03/048693, the usually different expansion behaviors of the components of the above interconnected systems, thus for example the above-mentioned end pieces and the tube segments of the measuring tube, in each case, clamped therein, can lead, in the case of temperature fluctuations, especially in the case of possible temperature shocks, such as can arise e.g. in the case of execution of regularly scheduled cleaning measures with extremely hot rinsing liquids, to a sinking of the clamping forces exerted by the first component on the second component below a critical level. This, in turn, can mean that, due to thermally related expansions, the first component and the second component can locationally lose the mechanical contact brought about by the rolling, pressing or shrinking, so that the interconnected system loses strength to an unacceptable degree. As a result off this, in turn, the pull-out strength of the interconnected system can sink, and, to such extent, also, with press joints of such type, the required high zero-point stability of the measurement transducer can not be assured, in the absence of extra measures. For overcoming the deficiency in interconnected systems of the described kind caused by oscillatory wear between the components, it is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,281 B or U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,828 B, as the case may be, additionally to bond the pertinent components together, especially with use of a fill material serving as an intermediate layer, following manufacture of the press-joint, but this raises anew the possibility of the above-mentioned problems associated with soldered or brazed connections. Accordingly, in WO-A 03/048693, an interconnected system is proposed, which is given an increased twist strength, by the measure of forming in the inner wall of the first component a groove running in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the interconnected system. This groove can effectively prevent rotation of the first component relative to the second component by the formation of a mechanical interlocking acting in a circumferential direction. However, also this interconnected system, as proposed, can experience a decrease in its nominal pull-out strength, be it because of oscillatory wear and/or thermally related expansion.


A computer-implemented method and system are provided for modifying a data list by a user within a graphical user interface. A first control is provided that operates within the graphical user interface. The first control is manipulated in order to access a second control. The second control includes the data list and allows modification of the data list after the second control is accessed.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to the field of computer-implemented graphical user interfaces. More specifically, the present invention relates to user controls on graphical user interfaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, computer display functionality was limited because the display hardware and software were not capable of more than basic input and output. Such basic interfaces serially prompted the user for data, and then would display calculation results derived from the prompted data. The user typically could not branch off in mid-stream of entering data to see other views of the data and then return to the original point.
In contrast to past computer display functionality, the currently popular windowing graphical user interfaces (GUIs) present users with a large amount of information at one time. Today's GUIs are crowded with information that not infrequently overwhelms the user. Consequently, today's developer must balance the presentability of the information with the amount of information desired to be seen.
To further compound the problem for today's interface developers, interface developers typically must address limited display space requirements because of the size of computer screens (e.g. PDAs and laptops). Among existing graphical user interface controls, the developers could use multiple screens to display an entire list, thus causing the user to navigate through those additional screens in order to make selections from the list, or lists. This can sometimes result in a confusing situation for a user who wishes to input and view data.

Graphical user interface check-list button control and method


An ice-making machine having an ice-forming surface upon which ice is formed, a refrigeration system including a microchannel evaporator that cools the ice-forming surface, and a water-supply system. The microchannel evaporator includes a microchannel tube that facilitates a distributed cooling effect in a contact area between the microchannel tube and the ice-forming surface. In some embodiments, the microchannel tube includes a series of recessed portions that define insulated regions and divide the tube into non-insulated regions. The insulated and non-insulated regions can be dimensioned to form individual ice cubes on the ice-forming surface. In other embodiments, spaces between microchannel tubes and/or spaces between the ice-forming surface and microchannel tubes can form insulated regions at least partially defining the size and shape of ice produced by the ice-making machine. The ice-forming surface can be attached to the microchannel tubes by adhesive and/or cohesive bonding material (such as glue, epoxy, or other adhesive).

Ice making machines are in widespread use for supplying cube ice in commercial operations. Typically, ice making machines produce a large quantity of clear ice by flowing water a chilled surface. The chilled surface is thermally coupled to evaporator coils that are, in turn, coupled to a refrigeration system. The chilled surface commonly contains a large number of indentations on its surface where water flowing over the surface can collect. As water flows over the indentations, it freezes into cube ice.
To harvest the ice, the evaporator coils are heated by hot, compressed refrigerant flowing through the evaporator coils, by heating elements located proximate the ice, and/or in other manners. Heat can be transferred to the chilled surface until it is warmed to a temperature sufficient to harvest the ice from the surface. Once freed from the surface, the ice cubes fall into an ice storage bin. The ice cubes produced by a typical ice making machine are pre-formed or regular in shape, and in some embodiments have a generally thin profile. In some ice making machines, the cubes are released from the chilled surface as individual cubes, while in other ice machines, the cubes are connected by a thin bridge of ice that is commonly fractured upon the ice falling into the storage bin.
Evaporators are commonly made using copper tubing in thermal contact with the chilled surface. Low-pressure, expanded refrigerant is passed through the copper tubing to chill the evaporator. The copper tubing can be secured (e.g. typically soldered or brazed) to a copper plate that distributes the chilling effect from the copper tubing. Because the copper tubing is cylindrical in shape, and because the copper plate is typically substantially flat, there is line contact between the two parts, which can reduce the efficiency and speed of heat transfer between the two parts.

Ice making machine, evaporator assembly for an ice making machine, and method of manufacturing same


A firearm and optical instrument support includes a cylinder member which provides support without hindering the range of fire of a rifle or a pistol. The cylinder member is disposed on telescopic elongated elements which are frictionally clamped by a clamp. The firearm support further includes a perpetually open strap. Additionally, the firearm support is noiselessly foldable and opens with one hand.

Various gun rests have been proposed for supporting a variety of weapons.
One such gun rest has been proposed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,021, which discloses two upwardly and outwardly extending arms which form a Y-shaped means for receiving or holding a firearm. One disadvantage of firearms employing upwardly and outwardly extending arms which form a Y-shaped means resides in the fact that the arms themselves hinder the firearm from being moved either horizontally or vertically over a wide range without moving the entire support. As the target moves, the firearm must be able to move rapidly to follow the target in any direction.
Another firearm support has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,964, which discloses a pair of oppositely directed U-shaped saddle members at opposite ends, respectively, of an elongated telescopic support assembly. One saddle member is dimensioned to receive the forearm of a rifle, shotgun or the like. One disadvantage of such a firearm support which employs the U-shaped saddle member resides in the fact that the U-shaped saddle member which receives the rifle would hinder the horizontal and vertical movement of the firearm.
Another firearm support has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,614, which discloses a monopod clamp which is removably attached to the firearm barrel forward of the forestock. One disadvantage of firearm support employing the monopod clamp resides in the fact that the firearm support moves with the firearm, and the firearm support itself hinders the horizontal and vertical movement of the firearm.
Another firearm support has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,821, which includes a pointed shaft having a firearm support member slidably mounted thereon. One disadvantage of the firearm employing the pointed shaft resides in the fact that the shaft hinders the movement of the firearm particularly in the horizontal direction.
Another firearm support has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,084, which discloses a semi-circular support arm. The semi-circular support arm projects out of a V-way which is adapted to engage a post. One disadvantage of a firearm support employing the semi-circular support arm and the V-way resides in the fact that the semi-circular support hinders the movement of the firearm, particularly in the horizontal direction.
Another firearm support has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,656, which discloses a rifle cradle which is elevated by a collar and a wing screw which permits the cradle to turn in the horizontal plane. One disadvantage of the firearm support employing the cradle, collar and the wing screw resides in the fact that the rapid movement of the rifle is inhibited by the adjustment of the collar and the wing screw.
Another firearm support has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,298,920, which discloses a combination gun and knife. One disadvantage of the firearm support employing the knife resides in the fact that the knife hinders the free movement of the gun since the gun cannot be moved horizontally without moving the knife.
Another firearm support has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,277,435, which discloses a U-shaped receiving fork or a bracket transversely secured to a end of a shaft. One disadvantage of the firearm support employing the U-shaped receiving fork or bracket resides in the fact that the U-shaped receiving bracket or fork hinders the free movement of the barrel as the firearm cannot be moved without moving the receiving bracket.
Another firearm support has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 879,052, which discloses a stirrup having resilient arms for securing the free end of a gun in position. One disadvantage of the firearm support employing the resilient arms resides in the fact that the movement of the end of the gun is restricted by the resilient arms, particularly in the vertical direction.