A heater unit is provided, the heater unit equipped with an induction heating coil and an electric heater selectively operated based on kind and state of a load of a cooking vessel placed on the heater unit. The kind is determined by an input current inputted when a load-type determination unit causes the induction heating coil to be operated and a resonance current flowing into the induction heating coil. The state is determined by a temperature change of the heater unit when a load-state determination unit allows the electric heater to generate heat, and the induction heating coil and the electric heater are selectively operated based on the determined kind and state of the load. Accordingly, a user needs not to scrupulously determine the kind of the cooking vessel and the electric cooker is not operated under a no-load state to prevent occurrence of safety accidents.

This description relates to an apparatus and method for sensing load of an electric cooker.
In general, a cooker generates heat by using an electric heater or by burning fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Further, a cooking vessel is heated by the generated heat to thereby cook a predetermined type of food.
Although there are many kinds of cookers, an electric cooker capable of generating heat using electricity and cooking food thereby is very convenient and thus tends to be widely used.
In particular, studies on high output and high efficiency induction heating used as a major heat source of an electric cooker such as a hob or a cook top have been actively conducted.
An induction heating electric cooker supplies a high frequency electric current to an induction heating coil to generate high frequency magnetic flux. The high frequency magnetic flux is induced into a cooking vessel placed on the top of a heater unit by an induction effect to generate an eddy current in the cooking vessel. Joule heat is generated in a resistance portion of the cooking vessel by the generated eddy current. The cooking vessel is heated by the generated Joule heat.
Such an induction heating electric cooker has an advantage of excellent heating efficiency in a cooking vessel over an electric cooker using an electric heater.
However only a cooking vessel made of a magnetic substance containing iron ingredients can be used for Joule heat to be generated in the resistance portion of the cocking vessel by the eddy current. In other words, a cooking vessel made of a non-magnetic substance such as ceramics, glass or porcelain cannot be employed because the Joule heat is not generated therein.
Studies for overcoming such limitations in an induction heating electric cooker have been actively conducted. As a result, an induction heating electric cooker capable of heating not only a cooking vessel made of a magnetic substance containing iron ingredients but that of a non-magnetic substance such as copper or aluminum has been developed.
The cooking vessel made of a non-magnetic substance has a lower permeability than that of the cocking vessel made of a magnetic substance. Therefore, a heated cooking vessel made of a non-magnetic substance would increase an operation frequency, or the number of windings of an induction heating coil and a current.
However, an induction heating coil of an electric cooker capable of heating the cooking vessels made of magnetic and non-magnetic substances alike has a complicated structure as compared with that of the electric cooker capable of heating only the cooking vessel made of a magnetic substance. Further, in the electric cooker capable of heating the cooking vessels made of magnetic and non-magnetic substances, an inverter for supplying high frequency current to the induction heating coil has a complicated structure to increase subsequent economic costs.
Furthermore, the heating efficiency, when a cocking vessel made of a non-magnetic substance is heated, is remarkably lower than that of a heated cooking vessel made of a magnetic container. That is, the heating efficiency of an electric cooker for heating a cooking vessel made of a non-magnetic substance is lower than that of an electric cooker for heating a cooking vessel using radiant energy generated by an electric heater.
The induction heating electric cooker can be used to heat a cooking vessel made of a metallic material, regardless of magnetic or non-magnetic, but cannot be used to heat a cooking vessel made of a non-metallic material such as ceramic, glass or porcelain.
The use of radiant energy for heating a cooking vessel is known in the prior art. For example, EP No. 1,049,358 discloses a cooking vessel heated by radiant heat generated by an electric heater. According to the technique, an electric heater for heating a cooking vessel is installed at a central portion of a heater unit, and a conductive sensor loop is installed at an outer periphery of the electric heater. Further, a signal with a certain frequency generated by an oscillation circuit produces frequency displacement in accordance with existence or non-existence of the cooking vessel and also generates a phase difference between voltage and current.
The conductive sensor loop detects a phase difference between the voltage and current of the signal with a certain frequency from which displacement is generated according to presence or absence of the cooking vessel, and compares the detected phase difference between the voltage and current with a predetermined reference value to determine the presence or absence of the cooking vessel. Accordingly, the conductive sensor loop can determine whether heat is generated by the electric heater based on a result of the determination.
Likewise, the aforementioned conventional technique can be employed to detect only the presence or absence of a cooking vessel made of metal, but cannot detect the presence or absence of a cooking vessel made of glass, ceramic, porcelain or the like. Further drawback is that since a cooking vessel is heated by an electric heater, the aforementioned technique has lower heating efficiency as compared with that of case where a cooking vessel made of a magnetic substance is heated by an induction heating electric cooker.
Meanwhile, inventors of the present invention have developed an electric cooker in which a single heater unit equipped with both an induction heater and an electric heater is provided so that the induction heater and the electric heater can be selectively operated to heat the cooking vessel according to the kind of a cooking vessel placed on the heater unit.
The electric cooker mounted with both the induction and electric heaters provided in a single heater unit can selectively operate the induction heater or electric heater by a user's manipulation of a function key according to the kind of a cooking vessel.
Where a user selectively operates the induction heater or the electric heater, the user should personally determine whether a cooking vessel is made of a magnetic or non-magnetic substance. Further, the user should manipulate a function key for operating the induction heater when the cooking vessel is made of a magnetic substance, whereas the user should manipulate a function key for operating the electric heater when the cooking vessel is made of a non-magnetic substance, which have caused troubles and inconveniences.
Accordingly, it is preferable to first determine presence or absence of a cooking vessel and the kind of the cocking vessel placed on a heater unit and to selectively operate an induction heater or an electric heater based on a result of the determination.

Apparatus and method for sensing load of electric cooker


A holiday light set storage device and method for storing a holiday tree light set having a plurality of lights coupled together via wires. The holiday light storage device includes a base mounting a pair of upstanding, spaced apart light trays adjustably coupled to the base for movement relative to each other. At least one of the trays includes a plurality of laterally spaced apart, open-ended, upwardly opening slots for slidably receiving successive portions of the string in a zig-zag fashion. Adjacent lights on the string are disposed on the outer sides of the slots and the wires between adjacent bulbs are slidably received in the slots and extend between the inner sides of the upstanding trays. A cover is provided for enclosing the trays and the base.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to holiday light storage apparatus and method for storing a holiday light string and more particularly to a storage device which includes adjustable, slide storage trays for receiving storage strings which have light bulbs that are spaced at different intervals.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objects
Holiday lights typically include a plurality of spaced apart light bulbs or lamps which are mounted in a lamp socket and are electrically coupled in circuit relation with a plurality of electrically conductive wires. Such light strings are typically distributed and sold, packaged in packaging systems or holders of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,200 issued to Chen-Hsien Huang on Oct. 20, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,534 issued to Wen T. Chwang on Jun. 23, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,999 issued to Kuo-Hsing K. Lee on Dec. 8, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,491 issued to Kuo-Hsing Lee on May 31, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,824 issued to Peter A. Brown on Oct. 17, 1995; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,070 issued to Gordon K. H. Wu on Jan. 28, 1997.
The above mentioned prior art patented storage devices, although apparently acceptable for packaging newly manufactured bulbs, are inadequate for storing used light strings. The prior art storage devices such as that illustrated in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,070 typically include a slit which must be spread apart in order to pass the base of the bulb which is brought to rest in an aperture communicating with the slot. The time consuming nature of this construction tends to detract from its use in storing light strings once removed from the receptacle.
More particularly, the prior art storage devices typically include a plurality of rows of light bulb holder bars including a plurality of adjacent slits communicating with apertures into which the bases of the light bulb sockets are disposed. These slits are typically very closely spaced and are not readily spreadable or accessible. Also, there are no provisions for adjusting the distances between the adjacent light to allow adequate storage for the spacing therebetween. Moreover, the prior art devices are not adjustable to accommodate light strings having lights spaced at different intervals. If the user merely deposits the strings into a box, they become entangled and are difficult to separate. The users will sometimes store the individual light sets in individual bags and dispose a plurality of bags in a storage box, or the like. When holiday light strings are stored in this fashion, the individual portions of the wires and lights of each string become intertwined thereby making it difficult to unwind them the following holiday season.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,339 issued to Alicia A. Dobson on Aug. 5, 1997 discloses a receptacle receiving a plurality of individual light support racks around which holiday lights are wrapped before being deposited into a storage container. This prior art device includes a plurality of individual parts which can easily separate and become lost. Also, this device does not have any features for adjusting to light strings having bulbs spaced at different intervals. Finally, this prior art device is rather bulky and does not compactly store the light strings in a stack. Accordingly, it is yet another object of the present invention to provide a universal light mounting apparatus which can be easily adjuster to accommodate light strings having bulbs spaced at different intervals.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel holiday light string storage device which will compactly store the string.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,075 issued to Robert M. Mechlin on Jun. 24, 1997 discloses a tubular storage rack having a plurality of slots therein which internally receive the light bulbs and the electrical conductor portions of the lights therebetween are disposed on the outside of the tubular rack. A user will sometimes test the bulbs inside a warm building while still on a rack rather than outside in the cold by plugging the power cord into an electrical receptacle. The user's ability to easily scan the string is inhibited with the Mechlin device because the bulbs are somewhat hidden. Moreover, if a bulb has to be replaced, it is not readily accessible without removal of the string from the rack. This latter mentioned prior art structure likewisely does not include apparatus which is adjustable to properly store light strings having lights which are spaced at various intervals and for storing the lights on the insides of the rack rather than the outsides of slotted storage rack. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide new and novel holiday light set storage apparatus and method for storing a holiday light string.
It is another object of the present invention to provide holiday light set storage apparatus including a pair of spaced apart storage racks on which successive portions of the light strings can be alternately wrapped.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide holiday light storage apparatus of the type described including storage trays which are adjustably mounted for movement relative to each other to accommodate light sets which have different distances between the adjacent light bulbs.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide holiday light storage apparatus of the type described which will mount the bulbs outwardly in stacked relation for easy inspection and replacement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide holiday light storage apparatus of the type described including a slotted storage tray which slidably receives the holiday light bulbs on the outside of the tray with the electrical conductors portions coupling adjacent light bulbs being received in the slots.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a light storage apparatus of the type described wherein the electrical conductors coupling adjacent light bulbs are disposed between the insides of elongate slotted racks and the light bulbs are disposed on the outer sides of the elongate racks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a light string storage apparatus of the type described which includes a storage member having a plurality of easily accessible upwardly opening slots into which the lights can be easily deposited and removed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and novel method for storing light strings having light bulbs which are spaced apart at differing distances.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel method for storing a holiday light string wherein the lights are stored on the outer sides of spaced apart elongate racks and the electrical conductor portions between adjacent lights bulbs are received in the slots and extend between the inner sides of the racks.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a new and novel method and apparatus for storing holiday light strings wherein a light string is mounted on adjacent, spaced apart elongated storage racks in a zig-zag fashion with successive adjacent portions of the light string being disposed on the outer sides of the elongate racks and the portions between the adjacent successive portions being disposed between the confronting inner sides of the racks.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide method and apparatus for storing and stacking a string of lights having a plurality of light bulbs coupled in circuit relation with electrical connections including sequentially mounting successive adjacent light bulbs in a zig-zag path alternately on the outer sides of the stacking members with the portion of the electrical connections between the successive adjacent light bulbs passing through the slots and thence extending between the confronting inner sides of the stacking members.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art as the description thereof proceeds.

Holiday light storage and stacking apparatus and method


An audio/video system (100) is capable of introducing variable amounts of delay into a signal path so as to properly synchronize two signals, such a video signal and a corresponding audio signal. According to an exemplary embodiment, the audio/video system (100) includes first circuitry (50) for applying a first delay to a first digital signal. Second circuitry (80) applies a variable second delay to a second digital signal to time align the second digital signal relative to the first digital signal. The second circuitry (80) includes an addressable memory (84) for selectively storing the second digital signal and for outputting the second digital signal on a first-in, first-out basis to apply the variable second delay to the second digital signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to audio/video systems, and more particularly, to an audio/video system capable of introducing variable amounts of delay into a signal path so as to properly synchronize audio and video signals.
2. Background Information
Audio/video systems, such as digital television signal receivers, often employ various types of video processing, such as MPEG decoding, that introduce processing delay in a video signal path. In order to synchronize the accompanying audio signal path to the video signal path, the audio signal path must undergo a similar delay. If no such delay is added to the audio signal path, an undesirable synchronization problem occurs in that the audio and video outputs are not synchronized during program viewing. That is, a noticeable "lip sync" problem may occur during program viewing if a proper amount of delay is not added to the audio signal path.
One approach for introducing delay in a signal path involves using a number of serially arranged flip-flops or other delay devices corresponding to the desired delay. This approach, however, is limited in that the delay is typically fixed for a given application. Accordingly, this approach fails to provide a range of different delays. Moreover, such an approach is not necessarily suitable for implementing large delays, especially in consumer electronics applications where additional hardware and the associated costs are strongly avoided.
Different signal processing schemes may introduce different amounts of delay in the video signal path, thus requiring corresponding different amounts of delay in the audio signal path. For example, the delay introduced when decoding a video format on one channel or source may be different from the delay introduced when decoding another video format on another channel or source. Moreover, the difference between the two delays may be large, thus requiring a large range of delays to be added to the audio signal path.
Accordingly, there is a need for a delay implementation technique which avoids the foregoing problems and thereby provides a large delay range without significantly increasing hardware requirements. The present invention addresses these and other problems.

Audio/video system providing variable delay


An elevator car and counterweight system is provided with a variable drag element. The variable drag element is controlled such that the lower of the counterweight and the car has a higher drag against further movement. In an embodiment which is particularly useful in a 2:1 roping system, the sheaves (54, 58) associated with the counterweight (56) and the car (60) receive a braking/drive motor (62, 64) to provide the variable drag. While the present invention provides the variable drag to compensate for vertical differences between the counterweight and car, the invention can also be utilized to hold the car at a particular floor. Further, this invention can be utilized to address a counterweight or car jump situation. Another disclosed drag element may be a magnetizable member (40, 33) guided along a guide rail (34, 36) for each of the car (32) and the counterweight (38). A control controls the magnetic force associated with the guide elements to hold the car or prevent counterweight jump.

This application relates to an improvement to vary the drag associated with an elevator car and counterweight, particularly as each approach extreme ends of their travel range.
Elevators are typically provided with an elevator car that moves upwardly and downwardly within an elevator shaft. As is known, and as shown somewhat schematically in FIG. 1, the car 12 is balanced by a counterweight 14. The two are connected by a rope 16. Sheaves 18 and 20 guide the rope.
In the prior art, and particularly as the elevator car or counterweight reach extreme ends of travel, one of the two becomes lighter than the other. The hoist rope is more on one side and thus the hoist rope adds more weight to the lower of the hoist car and counterweight. This raises some complications and challenges in providing smooth travel for the car 12. In particular, in very high rise applications, the provision of adequate counterweight balance forces at extreme positions of the counterweight or car becomes very challenging. Thus, compensating ropes 22 have sometimes been utilized. It would be desirable to eliminate the compensating ropes, such as rope 22.
Other issues with regard to the control of movement of an elevator car and counterweight include a problem known as "releveling" in which the car may move slightly once stopped at a floor. Further, a condition known as "counterweight jump" or "car jump" can occur at the end of travel if the car or counterweight strikes a buffer in the pit. The other of the car or counterweight may continue in an upward direction due to stored inertia. The rope tension on the lower element may become low such that its rope can become slack resulting in slip at the traction sheave. As the counterweight subsequently drops, the rope will become taut again.
Thus, the present invention eliminates the need for compensating ropes, and provides smoother travel for the elevator particularly at extreme ranges of travel.

Elevator with variable drag for car and counterweight


A microfluidic mixing assembly includes at least first and second liquid sources, a microfluidic manifold, a first capillary valve between the first liquid source and the manifold, and a second capillary valve between the second liquid source and the manifold, wherein the first capillary valve is configured to open and provide a first liquid flow to the microfluidic manifold in response to an external force and the second capillary valves is configured to be opened by the first liquid flow.

Recent trends in biomedical diagnostics and drug discovery suggest a rapid growth in the use of high-speed and high throughput chemical detection, screening, and compound synthesis. Several systems utilize expensive instruments that make use of large sample volumes and are difficult to transport. Efforts are being directed to accelerate drug delivery and therapeutics, contain high health care costs, and provide decentralized biomedical diagnostics, such as diagnostics for point of care and future technologies. Such efforts frequently focus on increased miniaturization, integration, and automation.
Micro-instrumentation that is based on integrating large parallel arrays of miniaturized fluid systems and sensors have been developed that reduce reagent volume and sample contamination. Such instrumentation may also provide faster and more efficient compounding and separations in biomedical and analytical applications. Tasks that are frequently performed in a series of bench-top instruments and chemical tests may be combined into a single portable unit.
In micro-fluidic systems, liquids are frequently passed through small channels and have relatively little inertia. In such an environment, viscous and capillary forces frequently dominate the flow patterns. Active valves or pumping equipment are frequently included in such micro-fluidic systems in order to ensure proper flow. Such active valves or pumping equipment on a micro scale may be relatively complicated and expensive to form.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Embodiments described herein disclose a cylindrical housing with a compartment defining a section of the housing. The cylindrical housing being configured to rotate around an axle disposed at the center of the cylindrical housing. Embodiments may also include a frame disposed along a curved surface of the cylindrical housing configured to allow access to the compartment within an access portion, wherein the access portion projects the frame from a center of the curved surface towards an edge of the cylindrical housing.

Conventional cases such as bags, crates, boxes, etc. are used to store and transport various items. Typically, cases include a centrally located main compartment, sometimes with secondary compartments disposed on the sides or in front of the main compartment. To access items disposed within the different compartments, a user is required to reposition himself or reposition the case to access the different compartments.
When a user visits a shooting range, he may use a range bag to carry his guns and related items. Conventional range bags, especially those that have the capacity to carry multiple handguns and associated supplies, typically are wide and include a plurality of compartments that are difficult to access in a small space such as a shooting stall. Conventionally, range bags are either soft-sided bags with items vertically stacked within the range bag or they are a hard-sided case whereby, to gain access to various items housed within the range bag, the user may be required to lay the range bag on its side and open a compartment.
Upon entering the shooting range, the user may place his range bag within a shooting stall. While a user is within the shooting stall, objects such as the range bag may be placed on the floor around the user, which may create safety hazards. The user may be constantly stepping around or positioning his feet around the range bag while operating a loaded weapon within the stall.
Further, certain shooting stalls may not have walls and the user may be required to bend over to access different compartments of the range bag disposed on the floor to switch weapons. When the user bends over, their head or other parts of their body may be positioned in close proximity to another user in an adjacent stall shooting his weapon.
Accordingly, conventional cases occupy excessive floor space and require movement of the case and items for the user to access items within various compartments of the case.
To this end, needs exist for improved cases, such as range bags, that efficiently house a plurality of items, conserve space and improve safety.


An optical transmission device includes a light source that is driven according to a multicarrier modulation signal in which data is allocated to a plurality of subcarriers to transmit an optical multicarrier modulation signal to another optical transmission device, and a control unit that controls a driving condition of the light source, based on the number of bits allocatable to each of the subcarriers of the multicarrier modulation signal, the number of bits being determined according to transmission characteristics of the optical multicarrier modulation signal in the other optical transmission device.

As a transmission scheme capable of transmitting large capacity data, for example, application of a multicarrier modulation scheme such as a discrete multi-tone (DMT) modulation scheme to an optical transmission system has been studied. The DMT modulation scheme is a scheme in which data is allocated to a plurality of subcarriers (SCs) having different frequencies and the data allocated to each SC is subjected to multilevel modulation. In the DMT modulation scheme, the number of bits that can be allocated to each SC can be changed according to transmission characteristics such as a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). That is, in a reception-side optical transmission device, the number of bits that can be allocated to each SC is determined according to the transmission characteristics such as an SNR, is multiplexed into an optical signal, and is fed back to a transmission-side optical transmission device. Then, in the transmission-side optical transmission device, data is allocated to each SC on the basis of the number of bits (a multilevel degree) that has been extracted from an electrical signal obtained by electrically converting the optical signal and can be allocated to each SC. In this way, in the DMT modulation scheme, it is possible to improve frequency utilization efficiency of a transmission band and increase a transmission capacity.
Meanwhile, when the DMT modulation scheme is employed, since device characteristics may vary due to a change or the like in environmental temperature to be used, transmission characteristics may deteriorate. For example, when the environmental temperature increases, light output power of a light source in the transmission-side optical transmission device decreases. When the optical output power of the light source decreases, transmission characteristics deteriorate.
On the other hand, in order to suppress a decrease in the optical output power of the light source, optimization of the driving condition (for example, the amount or amplitude of a bias current supplied to the light source) of the light source has been studied. For example, there is a technology in which the transmission-side optical transmission device controls the driving conditions of the light source on the basis of the SNR of each SC measured by the reception-side optical transmission device. International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2015/087448 is an example of related art.
However, when the transmission-side optical transmission device controls the driving conditions of the light source on the basis of the SNR of each SC, a signal path for feeding back the SNR of each SC is provided between the transmission-side optical transmission device and the reception-side optical transmission device separately from an optical transmission path for transmitting an optical signal. When the signal path for feeding back the SNR of each SC is provided between the transmission-side optical transmission device and the reception-side optical transmission device, a device configuration in an entire optical transmission system becomes complicated. In this regard, it is expected to optimize the driving condition of the light source with a simple configuration.

Optical transmission device, optical transmission system, and optical transmission method


A system and method for antenna radiation pattern sweeping in wireless networks, e.g., cellular networks, are disclosed. For example, the system comprises a first base station associated with a first antenna assembly for providing a first antenna radiation pattern over a first footprint of a first cell, a second base station associated with a second antenna assembly for providing a second antenna radiation pattern over a second footprint of a second cell, wherein there is an overlap between the first footprint and the second footprint, and a controller for controlling the first base station and the second base station to continuously provide a variation of the first antenna radiation pattern and the second antenna radiation pattern in a co-ordinated manner for maintaining the overlap between the first footprint and the second footprint.

Many communications systems (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) 3G radio, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems and the like) are designed to use multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antenna techniques which compute optimal power and phase weightings into two or more transmission antennas and one or more receiving antennas to maximize the carrier-to-interference ratio (C/I) on a per-user basis and hence maximize data throughput rates. MIMO implementations rely upon using two or more de-correlated or partially orthogonal different multi-path radio channels in which data can be transmitted. Different located sites will offer complete de-correlated or much more orthogonal radio channels. MIMO techniques include the known techniques of Spatial Multiplexing and Transmit Diversity. In contrast, Opportunistic Beamforming, Phase Sweeping and Antenna Hopping are simple implementations of the MIMO family, or alternatives without complex processing overheads to the more recent MIMO processing algorithms used with communications systems such as LTE and WiMAX. In many ways, Opportunistic Beamforming, Phase Sweeping and Antenna Hopping techniques could be termed opportunistic (simple) MIMO techniques as a means to achieve gains rather than optimal (complex weighted) MIMO systems. However, Opportunistic Beamforming, Antenna Hopping, Phase Sweeping and even MIMO techniques are employed at a single cell or sector level, and not operated in a co-ordinated network level manner.

Method and apparatus for antenna radiation pattern sweeping


A replacement method for scan cell of an integrated circuit (IC) is provided. A gate-level netlist of the IC is obtained. A place-and-route process is performed on the gate-level netlist to obtain a first netlist. A clock tree synthesis process is performed on the first netlist to obtain a second netlist. Static timing analysis is performed to analyze a plurality of first scan cells of the second netlist in normal mode and scan mode. The first scan cell is replaced with a second scan cell according to the static timing analysis that indicates the replaced first scan cell has a specific time margin in the scan mode. A first skew of the normal mode and a second skew of the scan mode are adjusted symmetrically in the first scan cell. The first skew and the second skew are adjusted asymmetrically in the second scan cell.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a scan cell of an integrated circuit, and more particularly to a scan cell having an asymmetric skew in normal/scan mode.
Description of the Related Art
After integrated circuit (IC) chips are manufactured, tests are performed on the chips to verify whether the chips are normal. At present, Design-For-Testability (DFT) mechanisms for an IC chip include utilizing a plurality of scan cells to perform manufacturing tests on the IC chip.
In the design process for an IC chip, various clock trees are inserted into the circuit design of the IC chip, and the physical placement is adjusted accordingly. Clock adjustment is then performed on the circuit. In the process of designing and inserting the clock tree, clock skew is important to consider. All sequential logic units (e.g. registers and latches) of the circuit need a clock signal. However, the time of the clock signal arriving at different sequential logic units is different because the path from the clock source to each sequential logic unit is different. This time difference is also called a clock skew. There are various factors leading to a clock skew, including the path length difference among different units, the load number and size difference, the difference caused by OCV (on-chip variation), etc. OCV includes manufacturing technical variation, operational voltage variation, ambient temperature variation, etc.

Replacement method for scan cell of integrated circuit, skewable scan cell and integrated circuit


Techniques for encoding, decoding, and extracting one or more bitstreams to form one or more sub-bitstreams are described. In one example aspect, a method for video or picture processing includes partitioning a picture into one or more tiles and generating one or more bitstreams using one or more configurations based on the one or more tiles. Generating each of the one or more bitstreams includes partitioning each of the one or more tiles into one or more slices, and performing, for each slice among the one or more slices a first encoding step to encode a tile identifier in a header of the slice, and a second encoding step to encode, in the header of the slice, a second address of the slice that indicates a location of the slice in the tile.

As video processing techniques advance, partitioning a video or a picture into regions is often desirable to facilitate resynchronization, parallel processing, region-of-interest coding and streaming, packetized transmission, and/or viewport dependent streaming. There exists a need to improve the existing partitioning methods to allow more efficient access to the regions of interest within the picture.

Video encoding and decoding methods and apparatus


A test apparatus for measuring concentration of test solution, in which a thin sheet having a plurality of through holes and diffusion-limiting membranes to cover corresponding through hole, is movably installed, and one or two openings for deposition and a concentration measuring section are disposed in a thin sheet moving direction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a concentration measuring apparatus for measuring of test substance in liquid based on diffused substance which is diffused through a diffusion-limiting membrane.
2. Description of Related Arts
It is known that a physiologically active substance has a characteristic capable of selectively detecting a very complicated organic compound, protein or the like with high sensibility. With attention directed to this characteristic, research and development has been made on measurement of such organic compound, protein or the like with the use of an enzyme electrode unit having base electrodes on which a physiologically active substance (hereinafter referred to as an enzyme) is immobilized.
When measuring a test substance in a liquid with the use of the enzyme electrode unit above-mentioned, the test substance is oxidized or reduced in the presence of such enzyme. The concentration of the test substance is determined by measuring the amount of a substance produced or consumed in such oxidation or reduction. For instance when the concentration of glucose is measured with using an enzyme electrode consisting of a glucose oxidase as an enzyme and a platinum electrode and a silver electrode as base electrodes, the following reaction is occurring. ##STR1## As is apparent from the reaction equation, oxygen is consumed and hydrogen peroxide is produced. So the concentration of glucose is determined by measuring the amount of produced hydrogen peroxide or consumed oxygen. The upper limit of concentration which can be measured, is accordingly determined dependent on the amount of a substance provoking such oxidation or reduction, for example the amount of oxygen.
In view of the foregoing, it has been proposed to increase the concentration measuring limit by limiting the penetration rate of a test substance by a diffusion-limiting membrane mounted on the surface of enzyme-immobilized membrane.
More specifically, there has been adopted an arrangement in which the diffusion-limiting membrane is mounted on a cap to be threadably secured to the base portion of a rod-like enzyme electrode unit, and screwing the cap into position causes the diffusion-limiting membrane to be automatically contacted with the enzyme-immobilized membrane.
With the use of such arrangement, the penetration rate of a test substance to be measured is limited by the diffusion-limiting membrane, thereby to achieve measurement of a considerably high concentration. That is, an output signal from the enzyme electrode is lowered by limiting the penetration rate of a test substance, but the output signal is hard to saturate notwithstanding the increase of concentration of a test substance in a liquid. And the concentration measuring limit is decided by the saturation point. As a result, the concentration measuring limit is increased up to the concentration corresponding to the saturation point. To eliminate the influence of interfering substances contained in a test solution to be measured (for example, increase in diffusion limiting effect resulting from the adhering of such interfering substances), the diffusion-limiting membrane needs to be replaceable. This is the reason for adopting the cap membrane screwing mechanism. (Japanese Patent Laid Open No. Sho 63-243863)
When the diffusion-limiting membrane holding means having the arrangement above-mentioned is used, replacement of the diffusion-limiting membrane may be relatively facilitated. There are instances, however, where it becomes very difficult to mount or remove the holding means on or from the base portion of an enzyme electrode unit due to the arrangement of its mounting mechanism, or where it is not possible to achieve a uniform contact of the diffusion-limiting membrane to the enzyme-immobilized membrane due to the degree of the screwing force.
Further, when the enzyme electrode unit base portion has a small diameter, resulting in decrease in the cap size, this causes the manual mounting/removal operation to be very difficult. This makes the problems above-mentioned more serious.
Moreover, the diffusion-limiting membrane is mounted on a cap, requiring a large space for preserving and/or transporting the same.
Considering the above points, it is proposed to employ a diffusion-limiting membrane holder which is constructed with a thin plate having a through hole and a diffusion-limiting membrane adhered to one side of the thin plate to cover the through hole, and measuring the concentration of test solution under the condition of pressure contacting the diffusion-limiting membrane to the surface of the enzyme electrode unit (refer to U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 176,288). This causes the problems that dropping operation of solution including test substance (hereinafter referred to as test solution) to the through hole through the diffusion-limiting membrane is difficult and pressure contacting operation of the diffusion-limiting membrane to the surface of the enzyme electrode unit, and that quite a number of exchanging operations of the diffusion-limiting membrane holder are needed, and thereby the concentration measuring operation as a whole is complicated. Also, upon completion of the measurement as above-mentioned, a relatively great amount of interfering substances are stuck to the diffusion-limiting membrane. This inevitably degrades the diffusion limiting effect of the diffusion-limiting membrane which is to limit diffusion of a test substance to be measured. Therefore, the diffusion-limiting membrane as it is, cannot assure an accurate measurement on and after the second operation. It is accordingly a common practice that, after a predetermined number of measurements have been made, preferably after every measurement has been made, the diffusion-limiting membrane is exchanged with new one to achieve measurement without any influence of the interfering substances. As a result, a greater quantity of thin plate than would be needed for contacting the diffusion-limiting membrane must be used. Further, the disposal of used thin plate and picking out of new thin plates is needed. This complicates the series of operations to measure the concentration of the test substance.
More specifically, a series of operations is needed as follows:
(1) a power switch provided with the concentration measuring apparatus is turned on,
(2) a cover provided with the concentration measuring apparatus is opened,
(3) a package is opened and a thin plate on which a diffusion-limiting membrane is stuck is picked out,
(4) test solution is dropped onto the thin plate (if test solution is blood, blood is drawn, then the blood is deposited onto the thin plate),
(5) the thin plate is inserted into the concentration measuring apparatus,
(6) the diffusion-limiting membrane adhered to the inserted thin plate is pressure contacted to the surface of the electrode for measuring concentration, then the concentration of the test substance is measured,
(7) after measurement is made, the diffusion-limiting membrane is released from the surface of the electrode,
(8) the thin plate is pulled out from the concentration measuring apparatus,
(9) the cover provided with the concentration measuring apparatus is closed,
(10) the pulled out thin plate is disposed of and
(11) the power switch is turned off.
The series of operations is needed, and particularly time consuming operations are needed, thereby complicating concentration measuring operations as a whole. Further, the above-mentioned series of operations do not include a calibrating operation based on a standard solution having an established concentration of a test substance. In practice the calibrating operation is needed, so the operations are more complicated as a whole.
The description hereinbefore which has discussed mainly the case of concentration measuring of a test substance when using an enzyme electrode unit, may be applied to the case of concentration measuring of a test substance with using the other electrode unit, and may also cause similar problems.

Test apparatus for measuring concentration of test substance in liquid


Disclosed is a fuel cell in which an electrolyte membrane-electrode structure is held between the first separator and a second separator. The electrolyte membrane-electrode structure comprises a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a cathode-side electrode and an anode-side electrode. An end portion of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane projects outwardly beyond end portions of gas diffusion layers, and the both surfaces of the end portion of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane are held between the first protective film and a second protective film. The thickness of the first protective film is set to be thinner than the thickness of the second protective film.

Generally, a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell employs a solid polymer electrolyte membrane. The solid polymer electrolyte membrane is a polymer ion exchange membrane. The solid polymer electrolyte membrane is interposed between an anode and a cathode each including a catalyst layer (electrode catalyst) and a gas diffusion layer (porous carbon) to form a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The membrane electrode assembly is interposed between separators (bipolar plates). Normally, in use, predetermined numbers of the fuel cells are stacked together to form a fuel cell stack mounted in a vehicle, for example.
In the membrane electrode assembly, a thin solid polymer electrolyte membrane is used. Therefore, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane may be damaged undesirably due to the mechanical stress resulting from, e.g., the difference between pressures of reactant gases supplied to the solid polymer electrolyte membrane.
In this regard, for example, a fuel cell as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-318940 is known. As shown in FIG. 7, the fuel cell includes a unit cell 1, and first and second separators 2, 3 sandwiching the unit cell 1. The unit cell 1 includes a cathode 5a, an anode 6a, and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 4 interposed between the cathode 5a and the anode 6a.
A first gas diffusion layer 5b is provided on the cathode 5a, and a second gas diffusion layer 6b is provided on the anode 6a. The surface area of the anode 6a and the surface area of the second gas diffusion layer 6b are smaller than the surface area of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 4. The surface area of the cathode 5a and the surface area of the first gas diffusion layer 5b are smaller than the surface area of the anode 6a and the surface area of the second gas diffusion layer 6b.
A first seal S1 is interposed between the first separator 2 and the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 4 around the cathode 5a. A second seal S2 is interposed between the first separator 2 and the second separator 3 around the anode 6a.
In the unit cell 1, steps, buffers, gas inlets, and gas outlets are not used as power generation areas. In these portions, no gas diffusion function is required. However, the first gas diffusion layer 5b and the second gas diffusion layer 6b extend to a buffer, and the second gas diffusion layer 6b extends to a step.
Normally, the first and second gas diffusion layers 5b, 6b are porous layers of expensive material such porous carbon clothes and porous carbon papers. Therefore, the unit cell 1 is not economical, and the overall cost of the fuel cell is high.
Further, in an attempt to achieve the desired gas diffusion function, the first and second gas diffusion layers 5b, 6b are relatively thick. In the structure, it is difficult to achieve the sufficient flow field height in the buffers, the gas inlets, and the gas outlets. Thus, the pressure loss is increased, and the gas cannot be distributed smoothly to the flow fields at the electrodes.

Fuel cell with an electrolyte membrane and gas diffusion layers


A system includes a multi-phase switching converter and a converter control module. The multi-phase switching converter receives an input voltage and that supplies an output voltage to a load via a plurality of phases. Each phase includes a plurality of switches, an on-time generator module that determines an on-time of the switches, and a switch control module that controls a switching frequency of the switches based on the on-time and a clock signal, and an inductance that connects the switches to the load. The converter control module varies the switching frequency without varying the on-time or varies the on-time without varying the switching frequency when current through the load varies.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Multiphase DC-to-DC converters provide acceptable ripple cancellation and high efficiency under heavy load conditions. The multiphase converters, however, do not provide acceptable ripple cancellation and high efficiency under light load conditions. Typically, phase shedding (turning off one or more phases) is used to maintain conversion efficiency at light loads. Phase shedding, however, creates output voltage transients during the shedding and reactivation of phases. Constant frequency diode emulation may be used to eliminate mode transitions and preserve ripple cancellation. When constant frequency diode emulation is used, however, the efficiency reduces at light loads.

Multiphase switching converters operating over wide load ranges


Present embodiments are directed to a drilling system and method for evaluating energy consumption to determine the onset of drilling issues and identify mitigation strategies for more efficient drilling. The drilling system receives drilling parameter values and a drilling performance value from sensors located on a drilling rig, and calculates an energy value based on the drilling parameter values and drilling performance value. The drilling system determines a deviation of the calculated energy value from a desired energy value and identifies one drilling parameter that significantly correlates with the deviation. Further, the drilling system determines an adjustment to the one drilling parameter that, when applied, causes the calculated energy value to approach the desired energy value. The drilling system then indicates the desired adjustment to the drilling operator so that appropriate actions may be taken to mitigate the drilling issue.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of drilling and processing of wells. More particularly, present embodiments relate to using energy consumption evaluation for detecting drilling issues and determining appropriate mitigation strategies.
In conventional oil and gas operations, a well is typically drilled to a desired depth with a drill string, which includes drill pipe and a drilling bottom hole assembly (BHA). Throughout this process, several drilling parameters generally affect drilling performance (i.e., rate at which the well is drilled to the desired depth). These parameters may include, among others, load applied to the BHA, rotational speed of the drill string being turned by a top drive or kelly drive, torque applied at the rotating BHA, and flow rate of drilling mud pumped through the drill string. The drilling performance and drilling parameters are typically monitored throughout the drilling process.
Rig operators often rely on the drilling performance in order to make decisions and/or to make adjustments to the drilling parameters during drilling operation. However, this performance may fluctuate rapidly due to variability in the mechanical and hydraulic setup of the drilling rig and/or noise in sensors used to monitor the parameters. Due to the inherent variability of the drilling performance, it may be difficult for rig operators to detect the onset of drilling issues, especially when the drilling issues originate down-hole in response to geo-mechanical or lithological phenomena. Failure to react to such drilling issues in a timely manner frequently leads to low performance, and attempts to mitigate the issues, once recognized, are not always effective. Occasionally, mitigation attempts exacerbate the drilling issue, causing equipment damage, consumable losses, and extended periods of non-productive time.

Method for detecting and mitigating drilling inefficiencies


A binder spine with a generally rectangular back panel that has a width and a length. The back panel is bounded by generally opposed longitudinal edges. The opposed longitudinal edges are joined through living hinges to adjacent side panels. The binder spine is foldable along the living hinges between an open generally flat configuration and a generally closed configuration. At least one post member is located on one of the side panels, and at least one socket member is located on the other side panel. The socket and post members are aligned with one another and include generally cylindrical mating walls. The post and socket members are spaced apart in the open configuration by a distance. The socket and post members are positioned to retainingly interengage one another in the closed configuration to hold the binder spine in that closed configuration. The socket in the socket member receives the post member in a snap fit. When a system including several of these binder spines with different capacities is provided the dimensions and proportions remain substantially the same except for the post members and the width of the back panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to binder spines, and, more systems of binder spines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Binder spines have been proposed for holding loose papers together. The prior proposed expedients are not without their shortcomings. Major shortcomings of typical prior binder spines include, for example, complexity, cost, and difficulty of use. Previous expedients did not generally include the provision of a system of binders that provide increased utility to the user yet permit the manufacturer to readily supply a system including a plurality of binder spines with different capacities.
Previously proposed expedients include, for example, Wu US Des. 360,221, Exline U.S. Pat. No. 0,847,389 (check book binder with spring loaded engagement of securing posts with deformed tubes), McKowen U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,264 (a binding for books composed of a molded one-piece binding unit with living hinges, binding posts, and a port in which a mushroom head of the binding post engages), Cott U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,472 (a molded one-piece binder for perforated loose leaf sheets wherein a headed post is inserted into an open sided groove to hold the binder in a closed configuration), Errichiello U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,972 (a molded one-piece loose leaf book with plastic posts wherein a headed post frictionally engages a tubular post), Jahn U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,316 (a binder in which a barb headed post engages an open sided slot), Chin U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,469 (a binding bar for a cover folder in which the edges of the binder bar engage barbs in the cover), and Jahn U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,990 (a one-piece binder wherein a barb headed post engages and open sided slot).
Those concerned with these problems recognize the need for an improved binder spine.


A wood chipper having a rotatable disc that contains a series of slots that pass through the disc. A primary chipper knife is located at the entrance of each slot which separates slices from a work piece and directs the slices through the slot. A counter knife unit is mounted within each slot for engaging the slices leaving the primary chipper knife to reduce the size of the chips as they move through the slot. The counter knife unit contains a first series of spaced apart chip contact elements that have a first height to contact the slices as they leave the primary chipper knife to reduce the size of the slices. The counter knife further contains a second series of chip contact elements that have a second height that is less than that of the chip contact element in the first series. Each contact element in the second series is arranged to contact chips leaving the contact elements in the first series to further reducing the size of the chips.

Disc wood chippers typically contain a shaft 14 for rotating a disc about a horizontal axis. The disc typically includes a plurality of radially disposed slots. Primary chipping knives are mounted at the entrance to each slot which extend radially along the length of the opening. The blade of each primary knife protrudes outwardly from the front face of the disc in order to slice chips, also referred to as wood chip slices, from a wooden work piece that is brought into contact with the front face of the disc while it is rotating. The wood chip slices leaving the primary knives generally have a width that can equal the diameter of the material as measured in the plane of the disc at the chipper's feed opening and a length that is determined by various machine parameters. The width of the wood chip slices can be greater than the length of the wood chip slices leaving the primary knife. As a result, these wood chip slices often do not lend themselves for use in downstream processing units without further reduction of the size of the individual wood chip slices. Most machines for further reducing the size of the wood chips consume a substantial amount of energy.
Counter knives have been mounted in the slots of some chippers to engage the chip slices leaving the primary knives in order to further reduce the widths of the slices. These counter knife devices are generally not very efficient and fail to utilize a substantial portion of the energy that is carried by the chip slices leaving the primary chipping knife.

Primary and counter knife assembly for use in wood chipper


A memory device with internal row hammer mitigation couples to a memory controller. The memory controller or host can assist with row hammer mitigation by sending additional refresh cycles or refresh commands. In response to an extra refresh command the memory device can perform refresh for row hammer mitigation instead of refresh for standard data integrity. The memory controller can keep track of the number of activate commands sent to the memory device, and in response to a threshold number of activate commands, the memory controller sends the additional refresh command. With the extra refresh command the memory device can refresh the potential victim rows of a potential aggressor row, instead of simply refreshing a row that has not been accessed for a period of time.

As computer devices continue to decrease in size and increase in capacity and capability, the minimum device geometries used to manufacture the components continues to decrease. The decreases in memory device geometries enables continued system scaling, but it creates the potential for data loss due to row hammer or row disturb events. "Row hammer" refers to a failure caused by repeated access to a target row or aggressor row within a time period. Repeated activation for access to the aggressor row can cause failure in a victim row that is adjacent or proximate to the target/aggressor row, where repeated activation of the target row causes migration of charge across the passgate of the victim row, resulting in a nondeterministic state of the victim row. Row hammer is a known issue in DRAM (dynamic random access memory) devices.
With the decreasing device geometries, the number of activates to a specific row that could cause a row hammer event has gone from 500K to 300K, and is now projected to be at 100K and even decrease to a range of about 30K-50K activates. With row hammer events caused by fewer activates, more rows could be aggressors within the refresh window, and more row hammer mitigation becomes needed to reduce the risk of data loss.
Traditional row hammer mitigation managed by the memory controller places a significant burden on the memory controller, and coordination of management between the memory controller and the DRAM places a burden on the memory bus bandwidth. Most DRAM devices now handle row hammer mitigation internally, typically by "stealing" refresh cycles to perform row hammer refreshing. Thus, the DRAM device itself determines how many refresh cycles issued by the memory controller will be used for row hammer mitigation.
However, as the row hammer threshold lowers, the memory device will need to steal more refreshes than can reasonably be taken without compromising data integrity in the device. One option is to increase the refresh rate. However, increasing the refresh rate would place a constant requirement on the memory subsystem for power and bandwidth, even when row hammer refreshing is not needed. Thus, changing the refresh rate would be inefficient because of the risk of over-refreshing when row hammer conditions are not present.
Descriptions of certain details and implementations follow, including non-limiting descriptions of the figures, which may depict some or all examples, and well as other potential implementations.

Refresh command control for host assist of row hammer mitigation


A hermetic compressor for refrigeration systems, having a plurality of pistons of piezoelectric material (20) arranged within a hermetic shell (10), according to at least one sequential alignment and occupying, when in a first energizing condition, all of the corresponding internal volume of the hermetic shell (10). Each of the pistons (20) contracts relative to the same first lateral wall (14) of the hermetic shell (10) when in the second energizing condition, so as to have one of its end faces (21) distanced from the shell first lateral wall (14) in order to define the respective volume of fluid being compressed, which volume progressively decreases from the first to the last piston (20). An energizing means imparts electrical signals to the pistons (20) in a selective manner to establish each of the first and second energizing conditions, so as to cause the displacement and progressive compression of the initial volume of fluid admitted into the hermetic shell (10), from the inlet (11) to the outlet (12) of the hermetic shell (10).

Those compressors commonly used in refrigeration systems of refrigerators in general and in air conditioners should meet some requirements such as reliability, low noise and vibration levels, high energetic yield, small dimensions and low cost. Conventional models on the market only partially meet these requirements.
The pumping of the refrigerant fluid in conventional compressors (of the reciprocating, rotary or centrifugal types, for example) is achieved by the relative movement between some components of these compressors, requiring constant and efficient lubrication for reducing friction and wear between the contacting parts of these components. Although the presence of oil reduces friction and wear in the compressors, it does have some drawbacks, such as the possibility of infiltration in the refrigeration system, the lubricant oil mixing with the refrigerant liquid. The circulation of oil in the refrigeration cycle reduces the efficiency of the system, increasing its energetic consumption. So that the infiltration of oil in the refrigeration system does not contaminate the refrigerant fluid, there should be compatibility between the fluids, which restricts the range of choices of said fluids.
Another drawback of the conventional compressors refers to their energetic consumption to operate the relative movement cited above. A large percentage of energy of said compressors is spent overcoming mechanical friction and inertia and not in pumping the refrigerant gas, thereby limiting the compressor yield and compromising its efficiency. Moreover, the parts with relative movement are continually submitted to mechanical fatigue and wear, requiring more resistant parts, which are consequently more expensive and increase the compressor costs. It has also been observed that the more movable parts a compressor has, higher will be its energetic consumption and costs.
To overcome the above cited problems, solutions have been developed for the pumping system, by pressurizing the refrigerant fluid by thermal variation, stimulating said refrigerant fluid or by the application of sound waves (U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,977, U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,124 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,130).
Although other solutions for pumping are known in the state of the art, such as by crystal piezoelectric action (U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,724), such solutions are not applicable to refrigeration systems in general.

Hermetic compressor for refrigeration systems

Empresa Brasileira de Compressores S/A - Embraco


A synthetic hybrid corn plant having the designation P54, produced by crossing two proprietary DuPont TopCross International maize synthetics, LP39.1B-Lancaster and LP44.1A-Reid. P54 has the unique property of imparting high oil and high protein levels in the grain of certain normal and male sterile hybrids when used as a pollinator. P54 is characterized by excellent cold tolerant seedling vigor for rapid emergence in cold soils and excellent early-season adaptability facilitating nicking with early maize hybrids to condition fast dry-down and superior grain quality in the grain arising from the recipient female grain parent. This invention thus relates to the seeds, plants and plant parts of P54, to plants regenerated from tissue culture of the plants or plant parts of P54, to a method of producing P54, and to a method for producing high oil grain using P54 as a pollinator.

Uses of Corn
Corn (Zea mays L.) is an important crop used as a human food source, animal feed, and as a raw material in industry. The food uses of corn, in addition to the human consumption of corn kernels, include products of both the dry milling and wet milling industries. The principal products of dry milling include grits, meal and flour. The principal products of wet milling include starch, syrups and dextrose. A byproduct of both dry and wet milling is corn oil, which is recovered from corn germ. As an animal feed, corn is used primarily as a feedstock for beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, poultry and fish.
Industrial uses of corn mainly consist of the use of corn starch produced by wet milling and corn flour produced by dry milling and the whole kernel fermentation for production of food-grade and industrial use ethanol. The industrial applications of corn starch and flour are based on their functional properties, such as viscosity, film formation ability, adhesiveness, absorbent properties and ability to suspend particles. Corn starch and flour are used in the paper and textile industries and as components in adhesives, building materials, foundry binders, laundry starches, sanitary diapers, seed treatments, explosives and oil-well muds. Plant parts other than the corn kernels are also used in industry. For example, stalks and husks can be made into paper and wallboard, and corn cobs can be used for fuel and to make charcoal and a source of furfural.


A dispenser bottle comprising two receptacles for two (preferably different) fluid active substances wherein both receptacles have outlets arranged next to one another in such a way that both active fluids can be applied to a common application field. The receptacles are compressible and provided with discharge nozzles so that the active fluids are mixed with one another only after exiting from the discharge nozzles. The nozzle channels of the discharge nozzles taper towards each other and are preferably substantially parallel. The nozzle channels have an annular construction below the outlet on the inner periphery and have edged transitions with a chamfer forming a bevel on the influx side.

The starting point for the teaching of the present patent application is a dispenser bottle for at least two active fluids, preferably for exactly two active fluids, which is known from an older, but not prior-published, application of the same applicant (DE 102 38 431 A1 and WO 2004/018319 A1). The disclosure of the application documents of DE 102 38 431 A1 and WO 2004/018319 A1 is hereby incorporated by reference into the disclosure of the present patent application.
The previously discussed state of the art, which is not prior-published relative to the priority date of the present patent application, relates to a dispenser bottle with a first receiving container for a first active fluid and at least one, preferably exactly one, second receiving container for a second active fluid, wherein the two receiving containers are either separately constructed and connected together or constructed integrally with one another and wherein the receiving containers each have an outlet for the active fluid and the outlets are so arranged adjacent to one another that the two active fluids can be applied in a common application field of an application region.
This state of the art assumes that the use of active fluids which shall be or have to be stored separately from one another is known from some fields of use, particularly from the field of cleaning surfaces. These active fluids are to come together only shortly prior to or during application to the application region, for example a floor, the surface of a toilet bowl, etc. Examples thereof are bleaching, cleaning, decalcifying and disinfecting agents containing chlorine (for example, WO 98/21308 A2). Active fluids of conventional kind are also applied to, for example, surfaces in bathrooms or in other hygienically sensitive areas.
Active fluids are stored in different receiving containers particularly when they do not have storage stability together. However, other reasons for separate storage of active fluids to be applied together are also known, for example different colorations to communicate different functions of the active fluids, different light sensitivities, etc.
The dispenser bottle—from which the afore-mentioned state of the art (WO 98/21308 A2 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,846 A) proceeds—for at least two different active fluids which do not have storage stability together comprises a bottle which has two mutually separate chambers forming the receiving containers and which is provided at the upper end with directly adjacent outlets for the active fluids in the two receiving containers. A first aqueous solution is in one receiving container and a second aqueous solution in the second receiving container. The concentration of the components in the two aqueous solutions is in that case selected so that when a specific quantity of the first aqueous solution is mixed with a specific quantity of the second aqueous solution the acidic bleaching solution, which is desired in this prior art, is the result.
The dispenser bottle of the previously explained, prior-published state of the art comprises a pumping device able to be placed on the outlets of the two receiving containers of the dispenser bottle. The active fluids are brought together in the pumping device and expelled in a common spray jet from a discharge nozzle. The active fluids are thus intermixed before they leave the discharge nozzle.
A similar dispenser bottle in which cross-contamination between the two receiving containers can be avoided with a substantial degree of certainty is similarly known (WO 91/04923 A1; DE 690 16 44 T2). In this dispenser bottle a pumping spray device is not provided, but the outlets are simply open and provided with spouts and can be reclosed by means of a closure cap. However, this dispenser bottle is not suitable for spray application.
A dispenser bottle for an active fluid with a receiving container of flexible plastics material and a discharge nozzle specifically for cleaning WC bowls is known (EP 0 911 616 B1), wherein for optimal application of the active fluid in toilet bowls, particularly below the inner edge thereof, the outlet nozzle is formed as a bent-over dosing pipe.
The teaching of the state of the art forming the starting point of the invention has the object of indicating a dispenser bottle with at least two receiving containers for two active fluids, which can be produced economically and is simple for a user to handle and in that case allows two active fluids to be applied separately from one another, but to come together in an application field.
The previously outlined object is fulfilled in the case of the dispenser bottle of the state of the art forming the starting point of the invention in that the receiving containers are constructed as compressible containers and the outlets are each provided with at least one, preferably with exactly one, discharge nozzle so that the active fluids are intermixed only after leaving the discharge nozzles.
The receiving containers according to the teaching of the state of the art forming the starting point of the invention are constructed as compressible containers. Through compression of the receiving containers by the hand of a user there is thus generated in the receiving containers the necessary internal pressure for discharge of the active fluids from the respective, separately provided discharge nozzles. The active fluids thus first mix in the application field only after leaving the discharge nozzles. The desired product to be applied, thus in particular the cleaning agent, bleaching agent, etc., which develops the desired action in the application field, thereby results from the two active fluids during the application.
The dispenser bottle according to the teaching of the state of the art forming the starting point of the invention achieves the previously explained result by a solution which is constructionally very simple and easy to handle, particularly through elimination of a pumping spray device. This dispenser bottle is thus very suitable for use as a mass-production product, particularly for cleaning agents of all kind, especially also for toilet cleaning. However, these dispenser bottles can also be used for a number of other cases of use, for example for dosing textile cleaning agents (washing agent in washing machines, etc.), textile pretreatment agents (bleaching agents etc.) and textile post-treatment agents (softeners, etc.), for dosing of hand and machine dishwashing agents and dishwashing additives (clear rinsing agents, decalcifying agents, etc.) and finally also for dosing surface cleaning agents and surface treatment agents of all kinds.
By active fluids in the sense of the teaching of the state of the art forming the starting point of the invention there are to be understood all liquid and other flowable media, from low-viscosity to high-viscosity through gel-like to pasty substances. In that case, on the one hand the viscosity of the active fluids is of significance for the respective application of interest and on the other hand and in particular degree the thixotropy of the active fluids is also of significance (for explanation of the concept of thixotropy, i.e. the phenomenon that specific active fluids liquefy under the action of mechanical forces, but after the end of the mechanical loading, in a given case with a considerable delay in time, solidify again, thus have a viscosity dependent on the action of mechanical forces, see RÖMPP LEXIKON Chemie, 10th Edition, Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1999, Vol. 6, page 4533).
The present invention embodies preferred features and developments of state-of-the art containers forming the starting point of the invention.
Special and independent significance attaches to an embodiment of the state-of-the-art containers which form the starting point of the invention, in which the design and dimensions of the discharge nozzles and the characteristics, particularly the viscosities and/or the thixotropy, of the active fluids are so matched to one another that—in the case of average pressure by the hand of a user—the fluid flows come into coincidence at a defined, precalculated distance. This means that through appropriate design of the discharge nozzles the flows of active fluids issuing from the discharge nozzles flow onto one another to a certain extent curvilinearly and collide at a spacing from the discharge nozzles which varies somewhat depending on the outflow pressure. The application field of the application region can be located here. This design with the cross-sectional constrictions has particular significance especially when the active fluids are active fluids with substantially identical thixotropy.
In the interim there has also appeared a publication concerning a dispenser bottle with receiving containers for two active fluids (U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,103 B1), which as prior-published state of the art has at any rate all features of the dispenser bottle of claim 1 of DE 102 38 431 A1. Cross-sectional constrictions in the nozzle channels of the outlet nozzles are not provided here.
Also published in the interim was a further publication (WO 2004/045968 A1) which will in a given case illustrate older, not prior-published state of the art if a corresponding validation should take place. This, too, shows a dispenser bottle according to category with receiving containers for two active fluids.
The state of the art which is not prior-published and forms the starting point of the present invention is concerned with various proposals how cross-sectional constrictions can be arranged and formed in the nozzle channels of the discharge nozzles so as to achieve the desired effect of the fluid flows coming into coincidence at a defined, precalculated spacing from the discharge nozzles.

Dispenser bottle for at least two active fluids


A solar cell includes a substrate of a first conductive type; an emitter part of a second conductive type positioned at a front surface of the substrate; a first silicon thin film layer positioned on the emitter part and including amorphous silicon containing impurities of the second type that are doped therein; a first transparent conductive layer positioned on the first silicon thin film layer and electrically connected with the emitter part; a first electrode positioned on the first transparent conductive layer and electrically connected with the first transparent conductive layer; and a second electrode positioned on a back surface of the substrate. For example, the first silicon thin film layer includes N+-a-Si:H or N+-a-SiC:H.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to a solar cell and method for manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, as exhaustion of existing energy resources such as oil or coal is foreseen, interest in alternative energy to replace them is increasing and a solar cell that produces electric energy from solar energy is receiving much attention.
A solar cell is classified into a crystalline solar cell, an amorphous solar cell, a compound-based solar cell, and the like, depending on the kinds of materials used for the solar cell. Further, a crystalline silicon solar cell is classified into a mono-crystalline (or single crystalline) silicon solar cell and a polycrystalline silicon solar cell.
The monocrystalline silicon solar cell, having a high quality substrate, can easily accomplish as high an efficiency, but it is disadvantageous in that a great amount of fabrication cost is incurred. In comparison, the polycrystalline silicon solar cell is disadvantageous in that it cannot accomplish high efficiency because its substrate is inferior to that of the mono-crystalline silicon solar cell, but recently, the substrate quality of the polycrystalline silicon solar cell has been improved and, as processing techniques of the polycrystalline silicon solar cell are advancing, the polycrystalline silicon solar cell is becoming highly efficient.
One of methods for making the polycrystalline silicon solar cell highly efficient is by reducing reflectivity of light that is incident to a light reception surface of a substrate.
In order to reduce light reflectivity, the light reception surface of the substrate is formed to have protrusions and depressions. Namely, the substrate is formed to have a textured surface.
However, the solar cell having such a structure has a doubled surface area due to the protrusions and depression formed on the textured surface, so that a recombination rate at the surface increases. Thus, the lowering of the reflectivity brings about the increase in carriers, but because some of the carriers become extinct due to their recombination, an actual current gain is not increased as much as the increase in the carriers.

Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same


An improved sub-range ADC uses a sigma delta converter which eliminates both the sample and hold and digital-to-analog converter circuits of prior sub-ranging ADCs. An input analog signal is applied to a sigma delta modulator that provides a one-bit output. The one-bit output is input to a first analog filter and a digital correction circuit. The output from the first analog filter and the input analog signal, suitably delayed and optionally filtered, are input to a difference amplifier that provides the input to an ADC. The output of the ADC also is input to the digital correction circuit. The digital correction circuit includes a digital decimation filter for the one-bit sigma delta modulator output to produce a multi-bit digital output that is added to, the output from the ADC. The resulting digital signal may be additionally digitally filtered to produce a converted digital signal that corresponds to the input analog signal.

The present invention relates to analog-to-digital converters, and more particularly to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) using a sigma delta converter that fits into a class of converters known as sub-ranging ADCs.
A type of ADC known as a sub-ranging ADC has two converters and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to improve on the characteristics of a single monolithic converter. A typical architecture is shown in FIG. 1 where an analog signal is input to a sample and hold circuit. The output from the sample and hold circuit is input to a first monolithic ADC and to a difference amplifier. The output from the first ADC is input to a digital correction circuit and to a DAC. The output from the DAC is input to the difference amplifier, with the difference output being input to a second monolithic ADC. The output from the second ADC also is input to the digital correction circuit. The digital correction circuit typically has a random access memory (RAM) that is addressed by the output from the first ADC to provide an output that is added to the output from the second ADC to produce a converted digital signal corresponding to the input analog signal.
The performance of this architecture is primarily limited by two devices the sample and hold circuit and the DAC. A major part of the performance depends on the characterization of the DAC. DC quantization levels are easily corrected, but AC non-linearities are very difficult to correct, if done at all.
What is desired is a more accurate sub-ranging ADC that eliminates the requirement for correcting AC non-linearities.
Accordingly the present invention provides a sub-ranging analog-to-digital converter (ADC) using a sigma delta converter which eliminates both the sample and hold and digital-to-analog converter circuits of prior sub-ranging ADCs. An input analog signal is applied to a sigma delta modulator that provides a one-it output. The one-bit output is input to a first analog filter and a digital correction circuit. The output from the first analog filter and the input analog signal, suitably delayed and optionally filtered, are input to a difference amplifier that provides the input to an ADC. The output of the ADC also is input to the digital correction circuit. The digital correction circuit includes a digital decimation filter for the one-bit sigma delta modulator output to produce a multi-bit digital output that is added to the output from the ADC. The resulting summed digital signal may be additionally digitally filtered to produce a converted digital signal that corresponds to the input analog signal.
The objects, advantages and other novel features of the present invention are apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended claims and attached drawing.

Sub-ranging analog-to-digital converter using a sigma delta converter


Methods for recovering and recycling helium and unreacted chlorine from a process for manufacturing optical fiber are disclosed. Helium-rich and chlorine-rich gas streams are recovered from the consolidation furnace and separated. The helium-rich stream is dried and blended with make-up helium and the chlorine-rich stream is purified and blended with make-up chlorine so that each may be reused in the optical fiber production process.

The present invention provides for a process for recovering and recycling helium and unreacted chlorine from the drying and consolidation of optical fiber preforms.
Optical fiber manufacturing is basically a two-phase process that involves fabrication of a specially constructed glass rod called a preform and then melting the preform and drawing it into a thin fiber. Preform fabrication normally involves two steps, deposition and consolidation, that may be combined as one continuous operation or split into two separate ones.
Helium gas has three primary uses in optical fiber manufacture, a carrier gas in preform deposition, a sweep gas in preform consolidation and a heat transfer medium for fiber drawing. Each of these three process steps introduces different impurities, contaminant levels and/or heat levels into the helium gas. The traditional once-through helium flows (i.e. entering the general gas waste stream) used in optical fiber manufacturing processes are wasteful and result in excessive consumption and unnecessarily high cost.
Other consolidation processes, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,121, for producing glass preform, has fluorine selectively added to its cladding for optical fiber. This can lower the refractive index of the quartz glass without affecting transmission characteristics of the optical fiber. The glass preform is produced by the steps of deposition of soot of quartz glass on a pipe; dehydration; and vitrification and addition of fluorine.
Dehydration gases include chlorine and chlorine-containing compounds such as SOCl2 and CCl4. In the vitrification and fluorine addition step, fluorine-containing gases such as SF6, CCl2F2, CF4, C2F6 and SiF4 are employed. To obtain the transparent glass preform containing no residual bubbles, helium is the preferred carrier gas for both dehydration and fluorine-addition steps as it is easily dissolved in the glass. Table I summarizes the gas flow rates and concentrations used in the production of glass preform as per the example of the '121 patent.
TABLE IDehydrationFluorine AdditionCl20.6 l/min (6%)SiF40.3 l/min (3%)He 10 l/min (94%)He 10 l/min (97%)
A considerable portion of the chlorine and fluorine-containing gases may leave this process untreated and are currently abated by scrubbing with an alkaline solution. The helium exiting the process is released into the atmosphere. Helium is a non-renewable gas and is expensive. As such, it is highly desirable to recover and recycle the helium to reduce the cost of optical glass fiber production. The recovery of chlorine is desirable from both a cost aspect and an environmental one as well.

Method for the recovery and recycle of helium and chlorine


A method and system for automatic modem bandwidth detection. The method includes the step of transmitting a plurality of probe packets from a router to an aggregator via a modem. A plurality of reply packets are the detected wherein the reply packets are transmitted from the aggregator to the router via the modem in response to the probe packets. An upstream data transmission rate of the modem is then determined based on a relative rate of transmission of the probe packets transmitted by the router to the reply packets received by the router.

The widespread deployment of large, interconnected computer system networks has transformed the nature of communication. The largest such network, the Internet, is a general purpose, public computer network which allows millions of computers all over the world, connected to the Internet, to communicate and exchange digital data with other computers also coupled to the Internet. As new technologies emerge, the speed at which one can connect onto the Internet is ever increasing. Now, users on the Internet have the bandwidth to participate in live discussions in chat rooms, play games in real-time, watch streaming video, listen to music, shop and trade on-line, etc. In the future, it is imagined that the bandwidth will be such that video-on-demand, HDTV, IP telephony, video teleconferencing, and other types of bandwidth intensive applications will soon be possible.
One method of increasing the speed of a network connection involves the use of a "broadband" connection. Broadband refers to the characteristic that a connection has much greater access bandwidth than a traditional telephone modem (e.g., 28.8 kbps, 56 kbps, etc.). The most commonly implemented broadband connections are generally cable modem and DSL modem connections.
Modems are electronic devices used to connect computer systems to a wide area network connection, generally, a twisted pair telephone line (e.g., a DSL modem) or coaxial cable television line (e.g., a cable modem). With respect to cable modems, cable modems are used to connect a computer to a cable TV service that provides Internet access. Cable modems dramatically increase the bandwidth between the user's computer and the Internet service provider, taking advantage of the increased communications bandwidth capabilities of the cable television line. With respect to DSL modems, DSL modems are used to connect a computer to a twisted pair telephone line (e.g., digital subscriber line). DSL technology dramatically increases the digital capacity of ordinary telephone lines (the local loops) into the home or office.
Routers are typically used in conjunction with the modems and the broadband connections. The router is connected to the modem (e.g., cable modem or DSL modem) and is used to share the broadband connection among multiple computer systems or devices. Generally, the computer systems access the broadband connection via the router. Traffic destined for the wide area network (e.g., the Internet) is transmitted from the router to the modem and then on to the wide area network. The router also provides additional services to users, such as, for example, firewall protection, QoS (quality of service) support, VPN (virtual private network) supported network access, IP (Internet protocol) phone support, and the like.
There exists a problem, however, with the connection speed of the router and the devices of the local area network with respect to the connection speed of the modem to the wide area network. The modem for the broadband connection typically couples to the router via an Ethernet connection. The bandwidth of the Ethernet connection (e.g., WAN port) of the router is 10/100 Mbps, which is much higher than the maximum upstream speed of most types of broadband access modems currently available. If traffic is forwarded to the modem from the router at Ethernet speeds, packets could be indiscriminately discarded at the modem and significantly impair applications that are dependent on latency and data throughput (e.g., voice over IP applications, etc.).
One prior art solution to this problem involves the use of two important QoS techniques. Traffic shaping is used to control the output of the router to the modem and to the broadband connection by matching the data output speed of the router to the speed of attached modem. LLQ (low latency queuing) is used to make sure important high priority packets (e.g., voice packets) will get the highest bandwidth priority and won't be dropped even when the output stream exceeds the target traffic shaping threshold. As known by those skilled in the art, the target speed of traffic shaping should be the physical upstream speed after modem gets trained. Most of the time, this speed will be less than the maximum modem speed (e.g., approximately 800 kbps with ADSL modems and 2 Mbps with cable modems) due to cable or DSL line transmission conditions (e.g., distance, interference, etc.).
Prior art traffic shaping and LLQ techniques are not sufficient due to fact that there is no way for the router to know the exact trained speed of the modem since there is no such information exchange between the router and the modem. In order for traffic shaping to work correctly, the user has to find out the trained speed for the modem (e.g. by calling the service provider) and then manually configure the trained speed on the router (e.g., through a configuration utility, etc.).
Thus, what is required is a solution for configuring a router to function with a coupled modem in view of the upstream speed of a broadband connection. The required solution should not require manual intervention of the user in order to function properly. The required solution should function correctly in different configuration environments and with different types of modems. The present invention provides a novel solution to these requirements.

Method and system for automatic modem bandwidth detection in a router


Utilities (e.g., systems, methods, etc.) for automatically generating high resolution population density estimation data sets through manipulation of low resolution population density estimation data sets with high resolution overhead imagery data (e.g., such as overhead imagery data acquired by satellites, aircrafts, etc. of celestial bodies). Stated differently, the present utilities make use of high resolution overhead imagery data to determine how to distribute the population density of a large, low resolution cell (e.g., 1000 m) among a plurality of smaller, high resolution cells (e.g., 100 m) within the larger cell.

Information on human settlements is crucial for a wide range of applications including emergency response, disaster risk reduction, population estimation/analysis, and urban/regional planning. Urbanization pressure generates environmental impacts, indicates population growth, and relates to risk and disaster vulnerability. For instance, the global population passed the mark of 7.0 billion in 2011 with more than half of the population living in urban areas. Between 2011 and 2050, the urban population is expected to increase by about 2.7 billion, passing from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3 billion in 2050. The population growth in urban areas is projected to be concentrated in the cities and towns of the less developed countries and continents. Asia, in particular, is projected to see its urban population increase by 1.4 billion, Africa by 0.9 billion, and Latin America and the Caribbean by 0.2 billion.
Population growth is therefore becoming largely an urban phenomenon concentrated in the developing world resulting in major challenges to manage the urban development in a sustainable manner. One issue in this respect is the availability of up-to-date information on the extent and quality of the urban settlement (e.g., the urban "built-up" or "build-up," such as man-made 3-dimensional structures) which is largely unavailable in developing countries. For instance, cities are often growing at a pace that cannot be fully controlled by the local or regional mapping agencies. As demographic pressure increases exponentially at a global level, the ability to monitor, quantify and characterize urbanization processes around the world is becoming paramount. The information about the quality of urban development can provide precious input for understanding the vulnerability of the population living on our planet.
While overhead imagery could provide information about the world-wide built-up environment, there are few global data sets available that could be used to map the human settlements. Examples include the night-time lights of the world based on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) sensor, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) based land use/land cover classifications, and global population data sets like LandScan™ or the gridded population of the world (GPW). In the case of LandScan and GPW, for instance, available global population data sets include population density estimation cell sets at coarse resolutions of 0.00833 (approximately 1000 m) or the like (e.g., where each population density estimation cell is in the form of a square that represents 1000 m on a side and indicates a particular population density or population density range over a geographic region, city etc.). While such population density data sets may be somewhat useful in conveying general population density estimates over large areas, they are limited in their ability to provide more fine grained population density estimates. In the case of an urban area, for instance, population densities may vary widely just between adjacent street blocks.

Generation of high resolution population density data sets through exploitation of high resolution overhead imagery data and low resolution population density data sets