The disclosed technology relates to a field serviceable pressure scanner suitable for high-pressure sensing applications and replacement of large pressure transmitter panels. The pressure scanner includes a housing having a mounting plate comprising a plurality of through-hole bores extending from a front to back side for mating with corresponding transducer ports of the pressure sensors, and a plurality of input ports disposed on the front side of the mounting plate and in communication with the corresponding plurality of through-hole bores. The pressure scanner assembly includes two or more field-replaceable (swappable) pressure sensors seal mounted to the back side of the mounting plate, each pressure sensor comprising one or more sensor ports, each of the one or more sensor port in communication with corresponding through-hole bores in the mounting plate, and a multi-channel data acquisition system configured to receive pressure signals from the two or more field-replaceable pressure sensors.

In the oil and gas industry, there are many installations where large panels of pressure transmitters are used to monitor pressures in a system. For example, seal gas panels may utilize banks of transmitters to monitor the flow of gas, conditions of filters, and other pressures. See for instance "Dry Gas Seal Systems for Centrifugal Compressors" (CompresorTech2, June 2017) or "An Effective Dry Gas Seal Panel" (Pumps and Systems July 2012).
Conventional pressure monitoring panels are very large and bulky due to the collections of piping, valves, sensors, transmitters, electronics, wiring, and other associated components. Such panels can be very large, having dimensions of more than 10 feet high and 10 to 20 feet wide, and making it difficult to find adequate space close to machinery where the pressure measurements are to be made. One approach to address the issue of bulky panels in limited space is to install the panel in a remote location and run long sections of tubing to the machinery. This approach can present several disadvantages: it often takes up even more space, it is expensive to run the tubing, and it creates the potential for more leaks.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,061,213 entitled "High Temperature, High Bandwidth Pressure Acquisition System," assigned to Kulite Semiconductor Products, Inc., and incorporated herein by reference, discloses an acquisition system for measuring pressures from multiple individual transducer assemblies that can be positioned on various points along a model to be tested and in extreme environmental conditions (such as on an aircraft wing or some other object placed in a wind tunnel). In one embodiment, a given transducer assembly may be permanently assigned to a corresponding fixed channel of the acquisition system and programmed with permanent compensation coefficients. In another embodiment, a memory chip attached to each transducer may store compensation coefficients so that any transducer may be plugged into any channel of the acquisition system. The acquisition system can be placed in a safer environment and may receive data from each of the sensors via a digital bus.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,743,662 entitled "Low Differential Pressure Transducer," assigned to Kulite Semiconductor Products, Inc., and incorporated herein by reference, discloses an oil-filled, two-diaphragm, differential pressure transducer having an "H"-shaped header. The header provides space for electrical leads to connect with the internal transducer bridge while allowing the first and second diaphragms to be of equal diameter and size, thereby enabling the diaphragms to exhibit compliant back pressure to the common oil-filled cavity for transmitting differential pressure to a transducer bridge, and in turn, allowing lower differential pressures to be measured.
Certain pressure scanners, such as pressure scanner model KMPS-1-64 from Kulite Semiconductor Products, Inc., may be utilized to monitor multiple pressures (generally 16 to 64) in a very small area. This pressure scanner is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,372,131, entitled "Pressure Scanner Assemblies Having Replaceable Sensor Plates," assigned to Kulite Semiconductor Products, Inc., and incorporated herein by reference. This patent discloses a small form-factor pressure scanner assembly having multiple pressure transducers attached to swappable sensor plates, which allow banks of multiple pressure transducers to be replaced along with their associated multiplexing and/or compensation electronics.
Other small form-factor scanner systems (such as pressure scanner model 9016 from Pressure Systems Inc.) are commercially available and may be used with external transducers.
The above-mentioned pressure systems can be very compact, but they lack some of the features necessary to make them suitable robust replacements for transmitters in certain high-pressure applications, particularly in applications needing flexible infield servicing, for example, to unclog internal pressure lines or to replace any single defective transducer. A need exists for systems and methods that address such issues.

Field serviceable, small form-factor pressure scanner


A food grilling device includes a lower portion for holding food, an upper portion for trapping food between the upper and lower portions, and a sliding, adjustment mechanism. The upper portion is positioned over the lower portion and is movable relative to the lower portion. The sliding, adjustment mechanism is coupled between the lower portion and the upper portion and permits the upper portion to move forward, rearwardly, upwardly, and downwardly relative to the lower portion. The food grilling device has an open position and a closed position. In the open position, food is inserted between the lower and upper portions. In the closed position, food is trapped in the food grilling device by pressure or friction exerted on the food by the upper portion. Movement of the upper portion relative to the lower portion in a forward and rearward direction turns the food positioned between the upper and lower portions.

In cooking hot dogs on a grill, hot dogs often cook unevenly. When a user attempts to roll them, they often roll back to their original position, resulting in overcooking on one side of the hot dog and insufficient cooking on the opposite side. Hot dogs also tend to roll off a grill surface without notice, sometimes ending up on the floor.
Hot dog roller machines are known. They are typically electrically operated machines that have side-by-side rollers that are coupled with a heat source. Hot dogs are positioned between the rollers. The hot dogs cook while being rolled on the heated rollers.
One grilling tool for use in rolling hot dogs is known for use on a barbeque grill. That device is similar to the known electrically operated hot dog rollers in that it includes rollers that are positioned side-by-side. A user places hot dogs between the rollers and is required to manually roll each hot dog individually to ensure even cooking. The hot dogs sit on top of the rollers, but may be prone to falling off the device, especially when being carried.


Conventional CMOS devices suffer from imbalance because the mobility of holes in the PMOS transistor is less than the mobility of electrons in the NMOS transistor. The use of strained silicon in the channels of CMOS devices further exacerbates the difference in electron and hole mobility, as strained silicon provides a greater increase in electron mobility than hole mobility. However, hole mobility is increased in the SiGe layer underlying the strained silicon layer. Therefore, a more evenly-balanced, high-speed CMOS device is formed by including strained silicon in the NMOS transistor and not in the PMOS transistor of a CMOS device.

An important aim of ongoing research in the semiconductor industry is increasing semiconductor performance while decreasing the size of semiconductor devices. Planar transistors, such as metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET) are particularly well suited for use in high-density integrated circuits. As the size of the MOSFET decreases and the density of the devices increases, the demands of maintaining the electrical isolation of adjacent transistors increases.
The use of shallow trench isolation (STI) significantly shrinks the area needed to isolate transistors and thereby provides higher device density than local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS). STI also provides superior latch-up immunity, smaller channel width encroachment, and improved planarity. The use of STI techniques also eliminates the bird's beak frequently encountered with LOCOS.
Strained silicon technology allows the formation of higher speed devices. Strained-silicon transistors are created by depositing a graded layer of silicon germanium (SiGe) on a bulk silicon wafer. A thin layer of silicon is subsequently deposited on the SiGe layer. The distance between atoms in the SiGe crystal lattice is greater than the distance between atoms in an ordinary silicon lattice. Because there is a natural tendency of atoms inside different crystals to align with one another when a second crystal is formed over a first crystal, when silicon is deposited on top of SiGe the silicon crystal lattice tends to stretch or "strain" to align the silicon atoms with the atoms in the SiGe layer. Electrons in the strained silicon experience less resistance and flow up to 80% faster than in unstrained silicon.
There are two general types of MOS transistors, N-channel MOS (NMOS) formed with n-type source and drain regions in a p-type wafer, and P-channel MOS (PMOS) formed with p-type source and drain regions. NMOS transistors conduct electrons through the transistor channel, while PMOS transistors conduct holes through the transistor channel. Typically, the source and drain regions of the transistors are doped with phosphorous or arsenic to form n-type source/drain regions, while boron doping is used to form p-type source/drain regions.
CMOS transistors, which comprise N- and P-channel MOS transistors on the same substrate, suffer from imbalance. The imbalance is due to electron mobility being greater than hole mobility in the channel region. Therefore, NMOS transistors are faster than PMOS transistors. Typically, NMOS transistors are about 2 to about 2.5 times faster than PMOS transistors.
The problem of imbalance in CMOS devices is further exacerbated in CMOS devices comprising strained silicon channels. Strained silicon does not enhance hole mobility in PMOS transistors as much as it does electron mobility in NMOS transistors. Therefore, a CMOS device comprising strained silicon channels is more unbalanced than a CMOS transistor with conventional crystalline silicon channels.
The term semiconductor devices, as used herein, is not to be limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments. Semiconductor devices, as used herein, include a wide variety of electronic devices including flip chips, flip chip/package assemblies, transistors, capacitors, microprocessors, random access memories, etc. In general, semiconductor devices refer to any electrical device comprising a semiconductor.

CMOS with strained silicon channel NMOS and silicon germanium channel PMOS


A sputtering target (24) under test is irradiated with an ultrasonic pulse (20). The ultrasonic pulse (20) has a wavelength in the sputtering target (24) in the range of the average grain size for the target (24) under test. Backscattering echoes (28) are produced by the interaction of the pulse (20) with grain boundaries in the target (24) under test. The backscattering echoes (28) are detected and a representative electrical signal is generated. The number of occurrences of the backscattering echoes (28) having amplitudes within predetermined ranges are determined. A histogram of the number of occurrences versus amplitude is plotted. The histogram for the target (24) under test is compared with reference histograms for sputtering targets having known crystallographic orientations to determine the texture of the target (24) under test.

This invention relates to a non-destructive testing method for determining the texture of materials using ultrasonics.
The word xe2x80x9ctexturexe2x80x9d designates direction-dependent properties of materials. One direction-dependent property of particular interest is elastic anisotropy in polycrystalline materials that results from the non-random distribution of the crystallographic orientations of single grains. Crystallographic texture is described by an orientation distribution function (ODF). Information on ODF is usually obtained from pole figure X-ray diffraction and typically consists of thousands of diffraction data points.
Conventional texture analysis of materials normally involves destructive testing. A small sample is cut off from a material and tested in a laboratory. In some cases, especially in production control, it is not necessary to determine the xe2x80x9cwholexe2x80x9d texture. In this case, it is possible to use a low-resolution texture analysis method which relies upon a strict correlation between some material physical properties such as, for example, elastic or magnetic properties, and crystallographic texture. By restricting the texture analysis to a low-resolution technique, it is possible to perform texture analysis in a non-destructive way that offers the possibility of on-line qualitv control inspection.
Three different techniques for low-resolution texture analysis are known. A first technique consists of taking X-ray measurements of a material under test. A device, called an xe2x80x9cOn-Line Texture Analyzerxe2x80x9d, designed and used for this purpose, irradiates a sample with an incident beam containing a continuous spectrum of wavelengths such as, for example, the X-ray bremsstrahlung spectrum. Characteristic pole-intensities of the sample are measured by energy-dispersive detectors detecting the X-ray bremsstrahlung spectrum transmitted through the sample material. However, this technique is limited to relatively small thicknesses of material. This limitation is due to strong X-ray attenuation and dispersion inside the polycrystalline material, and strict requirements for positioning of the X-ray source and detectors with respect to the texture of the material sample.
A second technique consists of electromagnetic Barkhausen noise and dynamic magnetostriction measurements. However, this technique is limited to materials having strong magnetic anisotropy.
A third technique is based on the measurement of a material""s vibrational properties, such as an ultrasound velocity, which are known to be correlated with the material texture. Ultrasound velocity measurements have advantages over the first two techniques in that samples to be tested are not limited in thickness, and materials without strong magnetic anisotropy may be analyzed.
A prior art ultrasonic method for low-resolution texture analysis of single-phase polycrystalline materials such as, for example, low-alloyed aluminum having a cubic structure and orthorhombic texture is depicted in FIG. 1. This technique employs a pulse-echo method to determine three ultrasound absolute propagation velocities (with respect to the specimen coordinate system) propagating in the rolling, transverse, and normal directions.
A single, short-duration, high-frequency ultrasound pulse 10, generated by an ultrasonic transducer 12, advances into a specimen 14 which has flat, parallel surfaces. Multiple reflections of ultrasound inside the specimen 14 results. A series of consecutive echos 16 (see FIG. 1A) with gradually decreasing amplitudes are generated. The echos 16 are received by the transducer 12 for calculation of the propagation velocity. The propagation velocity may be calculated using measurements of ultrasound round-trip path length and ultrasound round-trip time-of-flight. The round-trip path length may be determined as a doubled specimen thickness (L in FIG. 1) precisely measured in the direction of ultrasound propagation. The ultrasound time-of-flight may be measured as a time interval or period 17 between the leading edges of two consecutive echos 16. The absolute propagation velocities, calculated as a ratio of round-trip path length to time-of-flight, are usually used to determine the elastic constants (fourth-order expansion coefficients of the elasticity matrix) which characterize the texture of the specimen 14.
However, the accuracy of time-of-flight measurements may vary substantially depending on a number of factors such as: ultrasound pulse frequency spectrum; pulse rise time, length and shape; transducer-to-specimen positioning and coupling; and frequency band, resolution and accuracy of the electronic receiving system. The accuracy of the time-of-flight measurements is especially critical for materials having a low elastic anisotropy factor such as, for example, low-alloyed aluminum. In order to obtain acceptable measurement accuracy, out-of-line laboratory measurements may be required. The prior art ultrasonic method for texture characterization may not be suitable for on-line texture analysis.
A method of on-line ultrasonic texture characterization of a sputtering target is provided. Texture characterization may be accomplished through analysis of an ultrasonic backscattering signal amplitude distribution. A broad-band, focused ultrasonic transducer generates a megacycle center frequency ultrasonic pulse having a wavelength in the range of the average grain size (in the direction of ultrasound propagation) of a sputtering target specimen. The ultrasonic pulse is introduced into the specimen at an incident angle normal to the surface of the specimen. Due to interaction of the ultrasonic pulse with the texture of the specimen, backscattering echoes are generated in a portion of the specimen located within the transducer focal zone. The backscatter region extends at least one grain layer beneath the specimen surface to a depth of several grain layers in thickness. The backscattering echoes propagate back to the transducer where the echoes are converted by the transducer into an electrical signal which is processed by a broad-band acquisition system. A maximum amplitude value of the backscattering signal is extracted from the processed data and stored in a memory of the acquisition system for future data analysis. Data analysis is performed using data graphical representation in the form of a histogram of xe2x80x9coccurrences versus amplitudexe2x80x9d where the amplitude is plotted along the x axis while the occurrences (counts for certain amplitude values) are plotted along the y axis. The histogram is compared with histograms for reference standards having known preferred crystallographic and grain orientation, grain size, and chemical composition.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of ultrasonic on-line texture characterization.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of on-line texture characterization including the step of generating an ultrasonic pulse with a wavelength in the range of the average grain size of a specimen material in the direction of ultrasound propagation.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method of ultrasonic on-line texture characterization including the step of detecting an ultrasonic backscattering signal generated by interaction of an initial ultrasonic pulse with specimen material texture.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a method of ultrasonic on-line texture characterization including the step of plotting the backscattering signal amplitude in the form of a histogram of xe2x80x9coccurrences versus amplitudexe2x80x9d, and comparing the histogram with similar histograms for materials having known preferred crystallographic and grain orientation, grain size, and chemical composition.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

Method of ultrasonic on-line texture characterization


A method for producing a dental restoration wherein a tooth preparation area is scanned either directly or indirectly. The scanned data is used by a computer controlled milling machine to create two or more investment blocks (50, 52, 54) for preparing a suitable dental restoration, the investment blocks being of a material which may be used in ovens operating in a 800° to 1,200° C. range. A suitable dental restorative material (18) and the blocks are place in an oven, and after being clamped together, the material (18) is pressed or injected into the investment blocks to form the desired dental restoration. Subsequently, after cooling, the dental restoration is divested from the investment mold and finished.

Processes for forming dental restorations currently used involve various techniques. One of two common techniques is a lost wax process, and the other is computer modeling and milling.
Initially, as used in this document the terms set forth below have the following meanings:                The term "tooth" may refer to one or more teeth. Similarly, the term "tooth preparation area" may refer to a single tooth which has been prepared for the receipt of a dental restoration, or to several teeth, as well as to the surrounding area.        The term "dental restoration" will apply to inlays, onlays, veneers, crowns, and bridges. In addition, it may also apply to copings.        The term "stone model" as used in this specification refers to a model of the tooth preparation area cast from an impression. The "stone model" may be made from a specially calcined gypsum derivative similar to plaster of paris, but which is stronger than plaster of paris.        The term "computer" may apply to one or more computers.
The lost wax technique, while providing a very good dental restoration, is both time consuming and requires skilled craftsmen to produce an acceptable product. One of these lost wax processes utilizes IPS Empress® kits which produce a very high quality dental restoration.
The computer modeling and milling technique essentially utilizes scanned digitized images of the area which is to be restored, and then creates a dental restoration by milling suitable materials. One computer may be associated with the scanning apparatus, another computer with the milling machine, and yet another computer may process the scanned data to produce the 3D image of the dental restoration. All of these functions could conceivably be done in the same computer, which computer can be wired to the scanning station and the milling station.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,219, discloses a method of mold manufacture via a computer controlled milling machine, which mold is used for the preparation of dental restorations. The patent discloses the steps of scanning a tooth model in order to obtain data of the three-dimensional surface of the model, processing the data to create a tool path program, and using the program to control the direct fabrication of a tooth mold which is the negative image of the tooth model. The mold then may be used to make an artificial tooth. However, the mold is not suitable for use when molding with high temperature ceramics.

Method for producing dental restoration and apparatus therefor


A mist generating apparatus sprays a surface of an object (P) to be treated with a carrier gas (CGS) of mist (Mst) of a solution containing fine particles or molecules of a material substance, so that a layer of the material substance is deposited on the surface of the object (P) to be treated. The mist generating device includes a mist generator (14) for atomizing the solution to feed the carrier gas (CGS) containing the mist (Mst), and an ultraviolet irradiator (20B) for applying ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 400 nm or lower to the mist (Mst) floating in the carrier gas (CGS) in a flow path extending from the mist generator (14) until the carrier gas (CGS) is sprayed on the surface of the object (P) to be treated.

In an electronic device manufacturing process, a film deposition step (film deposition process) is implemented to form a thin film, made of various material substances, on the surface of a substrate (processing target object) on which the electronic device is to be formed. There are various techniques for the deposition method in the deposition step, and in recent years, focus has been placed on a mist deposition method that includes spraying the surface of the substrate with mist generated from a solution containing molecules or fine particles (nanoparticles) of a material substance, reacting or evaporating a solvent component contained in the mist (solution) adhered to the substrate, and depositing a thin film formed of the material substance (metal material or the like) on the surface of the substrate.
International Publication WO 2013/118353 discloses, in order to obtain a transparent conductive film with a low resistance value, spraying a mist of a solution containing zinc (Zn) as the material substance for film deposition onto the surface of a substrate heated to approximately 200° C. in a non-vacuum (in atmosphere) to form a metal oxide film (ZnO: zinc oxide film) on the surface of the substrate, after which the ultraviolet rays with a central wavelength of 254 nm or 365 nm are radiated toward this metal oxide film for a prescribed time, thereby reducing the resistance value of the metal oxide film (zinc oxide film). In International Publication WO 2013/118353, in order to reduce the resistivity of the metal oxide film, the ultraviolet rays continue to be radiated for a relatively long time (30 minutes or 60 minutes), and there is a desire to shorten the time of the resistance reduction process that is a processing step after the deposition of the metal oxide film. As an example, in a case where metal oxide film or the like is formed continuously on the surface of a long and flexible substrate (resin sheet of plastic or the like, metal foil, ultra-thin glass plate, or the like) using the mist deposition method while this substrate is being continuously fed in the length direction, if the time spent radiating the ultraviolet rays onto the metal oxide film after film deposition is long, problems arise such as that it is necessary to use an ultraviolet irradiation furnace that spans a correspondingly long distance (feeding path length), the light source equipment such as an ultraviolet lamp becomes larger, and the amount of power used is increased.

Mist generator, mist film formation method and mist film formation apparatus


A compressor control method includes providing variable aerodynamic sizing of fluid flow through a compressor at multiple operating points of the compressor. A head is determined for an operating point, based on a process input at that operating point. Further, for that operating point, a control pressure number is determined as a function aerodynamic flow sizing at that operating point. The control pressure number is determined a function of the head divided by the square of a tip speed of the impeller of the compressor. An operating speed setpoint is determined based on the determined head and control pressure number.

A compressor generally includes a diffuser for reducing the speed of a fluid disposed downstream of the outlet side of an impeller to convert the dynamic energy into a static pressure. Some compressors include diffusers with variable geometry, for example, in the form of adjustable diffuser vane angles. A variable diffuser is used for aerodynamically sizing the flow through the compressor with the aim of minimizing flow losses. However, currently, speed control in compressors is based on a single point diffuser setting. Disadvantageously, this leads to an increase in power consumption and/or reduction in efficiency of the compressor when the diffuser setting is changed.
The documents EP 0 186332 A1, WO 2006/017365 A2 and EP 0 761 981 A2 deal with a method of the incipiently mentioned type.


Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for improving a circuit-switched fallback (CSFB) user experience. In aspects, methods and systems for autonomously returning a user equipment (UE) from a 2G (2nd generation)/3G (3rd generation) network to an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network are provided. The UE may store a flag to note whether a current circuit switched (CS) call in the 2G/3G network is a result of a CSFB. The UE, in response to detecting a termination of the current CS call in the 2G/3G network and determining that the terminated call was a CSFB call (e.g., from the status of the flag), may trigger a mobility mechanism to autonomously return the UE to the LTE network.

Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for improving a call fallback (e.g. circuit-switched fallback (CSFB)) user experience.
Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.
A user equipment (UE) may be located within the coverage of multiple wireless networks, which may support different communication services. A suitable wireless network may be selected to serve the UE based on one or more criteria. The selected wireless network may be unable to provide a desired communication service (e.g. voice service) for the UE. A set of procedures may then be performed to redirect the UE to another wireless network that can provide the desired communication service.

Methods and apparatus for improving a call fallback user experience


A process for applying a removable and releasible protective layer over an adhesive surface of a flexible sheet flooring product while simultaneously collecting the flooring product on a core roll. The process includes the steps of attaching a leading end of the protective layer to the core roll, and attaching a leading end of the flooring product to the core roll. The flooring product is oriented such that the adhesive surface faces inwardly towards the core roll and adjacent the protective layer. The core roll is then rotated such that the protective layer is applied to and overlies the adhesive surface of the flooring product as the flooring product is simultaneously collected on the core roll.

This invention relates to a process for applying a releasible protective layer to an adhesive surface of a flexible sheet flooring product. The protective layer covers and protects the adhesive surface of the flooring product prior to installation, and facilitates handling of the flooring product during transport and installation. The invention allows the flooring product to be conveniently rolled up or folded without wrinkling or creasing the protective layer. Wrinkles and creases in the protective layer generally transfer to the wear layer causing aesthetic deformations and damage to the flooring product.
A laminated sheet vinyl flooring product, such as described in Applicant's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/853,677 filed on May 9, 1997, is shown in FIG. 1. The complete disclosure of this application is incorporated herein by reference. The flooring product shown includes a resilient vinyl wear layer, a felt fiber layer overlying the wear layer, a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating applied to the fiber layer, and a plastic release liner covering the adhesive coating.
After manufacture, the flooring product is typically rolled up to facilitate storage, transport, and installation. In order to roll up the flooring product without damaging its wear layer, the product must be sufficiently thin and flexible to accommodate slight changes in its linear dimension between the top surface and the bottom surface. This problem is explained further with reference to FIG. 2. As shown, a standard laminated felt-backed flooring product is typically rolled up with the wear layer facing out. Due to the thickness of the flooring product and because the wear layer does not generally stretch, the felt backing becomes compressed when rolled.
In the laminated flooring product shown in FIG. 1, rolling in this manner will likewise cause the felt layer and release liner to compress. Thus, if the release liner is first mated with the adhesive-coated felt backing when the flooring product is laid flat and the flooring product is subsequently rolled up, the release liner will compress and wrinkle. These wrinkles create permanent deformations in the wear layer, and generally result in a flooring product which is unacceptable to the end user.
The present invention addresses this problem by applying the release liner to the flooring product after the flooring product is already curved in a roll. When the flooring product is later unrolled, it lies flat without any wrinkles in the release liner and without damage to the wear layer. Moreover, application of the invention is not limited to the laminated sheet flooring product shown in FIG. 1.

Process for applying a releasible protective layer to an adhesive surface of a flexible sheet flooring product


The present invention is a delivery system for safety injecting solid waste particles, including mixed wastes, into a molten salt bath for destruction by the process of molten salt oxidation. The delivery system includes a feeder system and an injector that allow the solid waste stream to be accurately metered, evenly dispersed in the oxidant gas, and maintained at a temperature below incineration temperature while entering the molten salt reactor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the injection of solid waste materials into a molten salt reactor for flameless destruction. In particular, a cooled, insulated injector bore allows air entrained waste particles to be injected into the molten salt free from incineration or burning.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of environmentally acceptable methods for treatment and disposal of large quantities of solid waste materials has been a research goal of industry and DOE federal laboratories. The current method for disposal of solid wastes is incineration. This method of bulk destruction generates hazardous products from the incomplete combustion of organic material. Safe methods must be devised that can completely combust or treat hazardous and mixed wastes (i.e., waste containing both hazardous and radioactive components) in waste-processing plants.
Molten salt oxidation (MSO) technology is a thermal process that has the inherent capability of completely destroying organic constituents of mixed wastes, hazardous wastes, and energetic (explosive) materials. MSO is ideally suited to the destruction of organic waste in the form of gases, liquids, slurries, sludges, and solids on the order of a few millimeters or less. The process has been used for coal gasification and destroying hazardous organics including PCBs, TCE, mixed waste oils, and energetic (explosive) materials.
Solid waste streams have special requirements that are not addressed by conventional MSO processes. A method is needed to incorporate solid waste materials into MSO operations to provide for a flameless method of destruction. Solid waste materials require careful metering before injection because the particles rise to the top. Each particle must have a sufficient amount of oxygen and ample resonance time in the salt bath so as to completely react before reaching the top, where combustion or xe2x80x9cflashingxe2x80x9d will occur. A system that injects solids too rapidly into the salt bath will cause the bath to contain unsafe concentrations of waste particles resulting in incineration rather than flameless decomposition. In addition, the waste particles must remain below their charring temperature prior to injection into the bath.
This invention provides a means of injecting solids into a molten salt bath in an accurate and controlled manner that allows solid wastes to be effectively destroyed without incineration. This is accomplished by a specially designed insulated injector bore that uses cooled air to keep the waste particles at an optimum temperature to avoid burning, yet having a de minimus effect on the bath temperature.
The present invention is a method and a delivery system that allows small particles of solid waste materials to be safely injected into a molten salt reactor and destroyed. This invention allows solid waste particles to be fed directly into the molten salt bath by employing an injector that is submersed in the molten salt bath. The solid wastes that can be destroyed include a wide variety of organic and mixed waste materials, including crucible graphite, plutonium-contaminated leaded gloves, ion exchange resins, wood, paper products, plastics, and hospital wastes.
The waste materials are first ground into workable sizes, typically no larger than about 3 mm. Commercial grinders provide an easy, cost-effective way to reduce the size of these particles. Small particle size is necessary for two reasons: to create particles that can be feasibly metered and diluted with oxidant air, and to ensure that the particles are fully converted during their resonance time in the salt bath. Once the waste materials are reduced to small particles, they are stored in a hopper, accurately metered, diluted with an oxidant gas such as air, and injected into the molten salt reactor toward the bottom of the salt bath.
A metering assembly provides a convenient and accurate means of diluting the solid particles with oxidant air from an attached air line. A vibratory metering device is used to feed the waste particles to a horizontal eductor. Oxidant air flows through the eductor creating a slight suction (venturi) effect on the feeder. The waste particles are entrained with oxidant air in this manner, and the slight suction ensures that the flow is always moving towards the reactor. Accurate metering ensures that all the organic constituents will have a sufficient supply of oxygen to be fully converted into carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen before reaching the top of the salt bath where oxidation occurs. Proper dilution is also a necessary safety precaution to prevent pressure build-up in the reactor, as gases are generated during chemical reactions that take place in the salt.
Once diluted, the air-entrained waste travels through a conveyor tube and is injected into the molten salt via an injector bore. In order to prevent the waste particles from charring or melting and forming by-products that would clog the injector, the waste must be kept cool prior to injection. To accomplish this, the injector bore is designed with a double-jacketed cooling baffle system in which a continuous flow of cool air circulates. Thermal insulation allows this system to keep the waste cool without significantly affecting the temperature of the molten salt.
The waste is injected near the bottom of the salt bath. Once inside the molten salt bath, the particles begin to float to the top. Injection at the bottom of the bath maximizes the particles"" resonance time in the salt and enables all of the organic components of the waste to react with the oxygen in the air. Gaseous waste products such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor are produced from the organic components, while the inorganic components are retained within the molten salt as oxides, metals, or salts and later disposed of after further clean-up.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus to inject cooled solid waste into a molten salt bath to be effectively destroyed without incineration. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.

Delivery system for molten salt oxidation of solid waste

The Regents of the University of California


A power management method for an input device is provided, which includes the following steps: starting to count time and recording a trigger time of the input device after the input device enters a light-sleep mode; and dynamically updating a deep-sleep start time according to the trigger time. When the input device is idle over a standby time, the input device would enter the light-sleep mode and record the trigger time that the input device is restored from the light-sleep mode to an operation mode by a user operating the input device. The method dynamically updates the deep-sleep start time according to the recorded trigger time, and thus better power saving efficiency is achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power management method and particularly to a power saving method for dynamically adjusting the time that an input device (a wireless mouse, for example) enters a power saving mode according to the usage states thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, computer-related accessories are being developed to have wireless function. Wireless mice are especially popular among all. A wireless mouse features that the data in the mouse is transmitted back to the computer via wireless transmission, and therefore does not require a connection wire. However, without the connection wire, the wireless mouse can not receive power supply from the computer and has to rely on a battery as the power source, which is fairly limited. To prevent the inconvenience of replacing batteries or charging batteries frequently, it is necessary to take power consumption and power management into consideration when designing a wireless mouse, so as to extend the usage time of the mouse.
A commonly-adopted power saving method of wireless mice is to turn off a movement sensing module and a wireless transmission module for saving power when the mouse is idle, and activate the turned-off modules when a user clicks on the mouse. However, it is difficult to determine whether the mouse is idle. Generally, an idle timer is designed in the firmware of the mouse. The idle timer begins to count time when the mouse is not operated by the user, and allows the mouse to enter power saving mode when the mouse is idle over a predetermined time. The predetermined time of the timer is usually a fixed value. However, the user's patterns of operating the mouse may differ according to his/her purposes of use. If the predetermined time is set too short, the status of the mouse may not be judged accurately to comply with the user's operation which has a longer operating interval; on the contrary, if the predetermined time is set too long, the power saving efficiency may be impaired.

Power management method for input device


A surface plasmon sensor comprises a prism, a metal film, which is formed on one surface of the prism and is brought into contact with a sample, and a light source for producing a light beam. An optical system causes the light beam to pass through the prism and to impinge upon an interface between the prism and the metal film such that various different angles of incidence may be obtained with respect to the interface. A photodetector detects an intensity of the light beam, which has been totally reflected from the interface, with respect to each of the various different angles of incidence. An electrode stands facing the metal film with a liquid sample intervening therebetween, and a DC voltage is applied across the electrode and the metal film. A substance contained in the liquid sample is thus analyzed quickly and with a high sensitivity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a surface plasmon sensor for quantitatively analyzing a substance in a sample by utilizing the occurrence of surface plasmon. This invention also relates to an evanescent ellipsosensor, wherein a light beam impinging upon a prism is totally reflected from an interface between the prism and a sample, a change in condition of polarization of the light beam due to the total reflection is detected, and a substance in the sample is thereby analyzed. This invention further relates to an electrophoresis sensor for analyzing a substance in a sample by utilizing electrophoresis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In metals, free electrons vibrate collectively, and a compression wave referred to as a plasma wave is thereby produced. The compression wave occurring on the metal surface and having been quantized is referred to as the surface plasmon.
Various surface plasmon sensors for quantitatively analyzing a substance in a sample by utilizing a phenomenon, in which the surface plasmon is excited by a light wave, have heretofore been proposed. As one of well known surface plasmon sensors, a surface plasmon sensor utilizing a system referred to as the Kretschman arrangement may be mentioned. The surface plasmon sensor utilizing the system referred to as the Kretschman arrangement is described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6(1994)-167443.
Basically, the surface plasmon sensor utilizing the system referred to as the Kretschman arrangement comprises (i) a prism, (ii) a metal film, which is formed on one surface of the prism and is brought into contact with a sample, (iii) a light source for producing a light beam, (iv) an optical system for causing the light beam to pass through the prism and to impinge upon the interface between the prism and the metal film such that various different angles of incidence may be obtained with respect to the interface, and (v) a photo detecting means capable of detecting the intensity of the light beam, which has been totally reflected from the interface, with respect to each of the various different angles of incidence.
In order for various different angles of incidence to be obtained, a light beam having a comparatively small beam diameter may be deflected and caused to impinge upon the interface. Alternatively, a light beam having a comparatively large beam diameter may be converged on the interface such that the light beam may contain components, which impinge at various different angles of incidence upon the interface. In the former case, the light beam, which comes from the interface at various different angles of exit in accordance with the deflection of the incident light beam, may be detected with a small photodetector, which moves in synchronization with the deflection of the light beam, or may be detected with an area sensor extending in the direction, along which the angle of exit of the light beam changes. In the latter case, the light beam may be detected with an area sensor extending in a direction such that the area sensor can receive all of the light beam components coming from the interface at various different angles of exit.
With the surface plasmon sensor having the aforesaid constitution, when a light beam composed of a P-polarized light component (i.e., a polarized light component normal to the reflection interface) impinges at a specific angle of incidence .theta..sub.SP, which is not smaller than the total reflection angle, upon the metal film, an evanescent wave having an electric field distribution occurs in the sample, which is in contact with the metal film, and the surface plasmon is excited at the interface between the metal film and the sample by the evanescent wave. In cases where the wave vector of the evanescent wave coincides with the wave number of the surface plasmon and wave number matching is obtained, the evanescent wave and the surface plasmon resonate, and energy of the light transfers to the surface plasmon. As a result, the intensity of the light, which is totally reflected from the interface between the prism and the metal film, becomes markedly low.
If the wave number of the surface plasmon is found from the specific angle of incidence .theta..sub.SP, at which the aforesaid phenomenon occurs, a dielectric constant of the sample can be calculated. Specifically, the formula shown below obtains. ##EQU1## wherein K.sub.SP represents the wave number of the surface plasmon, .omega. represents the angular frequency of the surface plasmon, c represents the light velocity in a vacuum, .epsilon..sub.m represents the dielectric constant of the metal, and .epsilon..sub.S represents the dielectric constant of the sample.
If the dielectric constant .epsilon..sub.S of the sample is found, the concentration of a specific substance contained in the sample can be calculated from a predetermined calibration curve, or the like. Therefore, the specific substance contained in the sample can be quantitatively analyzed by finding the specific angle of incidence .theta..sub.SP, at which the intensity of the reflected light beam becomes low.
However, with the conventional surface plasmon sensors described above, the problems are encountered in that, when the substance contained in a trace amount in the liquid sample is analyzed, the sensitivity with which the substance to be analyzed is detected cannot be kept high, and a long time is required to carry out the analysis.
Also, it has heretofore been known that, when a light beam traveling in a first medium is totally reflected by an interface between the first medium and a second medium, which has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the first medium, light referred to as the evanescent wave leaks to the second medium. When the light beam impinges upon the interface, the electric field of light changes in phase before the light beam is totally reflected from the interface and after the light beam is totally reflected from the interface. The change in phase varies for the P-polarized light component (normal to the reflection interface) and the S-polarized light component (parallel to the reflection interface). The change in the condition of polarization is inherent in accordance with the second medium which interacts with the evanescent wave.
Evanescent ellipsosensors for analyzing a substance contained in a sample by utilizing the phenomenon described above have heretofore been used. In the evanescent ellipsosensors, a constitution for totally reflecting a light beam from an interface between the sample and a prism is employed, and a technique (ellipsometry) for detecting a change in phase difference, i.e. a change in condition of polarization, is applied to the constitution. Such an evanescent ellipsosensor is described in, for example, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, Vol. 57, No. 24, 15 December, 1986, pp. 3065-3068. With the evanescent ellipsosensors, the prism is employed as the aforesaid first medium, the sample serving as the aforesaid second medium is brought into close contact with one surface of the prism, and the light beam is totally reflected from the interface between the prism and the sample. A change in condition of polarization due to the total reflection is detected, and physical properties or a total amount of the substance in the sample is thereby determined.
However, with the conventional evanescent ellipsosensors described above, the problems are encountered in that, when the substance contained in a trace amount in the liquid sample is analyzed, the sensitivity with which the substance to be analyzed is detected cannot be kept high, and a long time is required to carry out the analysis.
Further, electrophoresis apparatuses for analyzing substances contained in a sample by utilizing electrophoresis have heretofore been used. Such an electrophoresis apparatus is described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62(1987)-220853. Basically, with the electrophoresis apparatuses, a DC voltage is applied across an electrophoresis medium having been impregnated with a sample, and substances having electric charges, such as protein, protein decomposition products, nucleic acid, and nucleic acid decomposition products, which substances are contained in the sample, are thereby caused to migrate through the electrophoresis medium. The substances are thus separated spatially in the electrophoresis medium by the utilization of differences in migration speed among the substances.
In the conventional electrophoresis apparatuses, ordinarily, gel sheets constituted of apolyacrylamide gel, an agarose gel, or the like, are employed as the electrophoresis media. Also, ordinarily, in order for the spatially separated substances to be analyzed, techniques are employed wherein the substances in the sample are labeled with fluorescent substances, radioactive isotopes, and the like, and the positions of the labeled substances after migrating through the electrophoresis medium are recorded on a photographic material, a stimulable phosphor sheet described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62(1987)-90600, or the like.
However, in order for the positions of the labeled substances to be recorded, it is necessary to carry out exposure of the photographic material, the stimulable phosphor sheet, or the like, development of a latent image on the photographic material, a process for reading out image information having been recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet, and the like. Therefore, with the conventional electrophoresis apparatus, considerable time and labor are required to analyze the samples. Also, considerable time and labor are required to label the substances in the sample with radioactive isotopes, or the like. Further, there is the risk that the labeling operation adversely affect the human body.


A sample-and-hold phase detector comprises a first charge/discharge circuit for charging a first storage capacitor with a constant current for a duration corresponding to a phase difference between an input pulse and a reference pulse and discharging it after it is sampled. A first sample-and-hold circuit samples the voltage developed in the first storage capacitor to represent the phase difference between the input pulse and the reference pulse. A second charge/discharge circuit periodically charges a second storage capacitor with a constant current for a fixed time interval and discharging it after it is sampled. A second sample-and-hold circuit samples the voltage developed in the second storage capacitor. A current setting circuit, in which a current setting resistor is provided, is connected to both charge/discharge circuits to determine their constant charging currents. A differential integrator provides differential integration on the voltage from the second sample-and-hold circuit with respect to a reference voltage to control the current setting circuit in a feedback loop.

The present invention relates to a sample-and-hold phase detector.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a prior-art sample-and-hold phase detector comprises a current setting circuit 18 formed by a current setting resistor 13 (with value R.sub.B) which is externally connected through a terminal 12 to a PNP transistor 11. The reason for the external connection of resistor 13 will be given later. Since the voltage impressed on resistor 13 is equal to voltage V.sub.CC minus the base-emitter voltage V.sub.BE of transistor 11, an input current I.sub.B flowing through the setting resistor 13 is given by: EQU I.sub.B =(V.sub.CC -V.sub.BE)/R.sub.B ( 1)
The base of PNP transistor 11 is connected by a line 10 to the base of a PNP transistor 8 to form a current mirror circuit. The collector current I.sub.c of transistor 8 is given by: EQU I.sub.C =I.sub.B .multidot.W.sub.8 /W.sub.11 ( 2)
where W.sub.8 and W.sub.11 represent the emitter sizes of transistors 8 and 11, respectively. Transistor 8 acts as a constant current source to supply current according to a current setting signal applied to line 10 and resistor 13 acts as a first reference voltage circuit to provide a prescribed voltage corresponding to the current I.sub.B, while transistor 11 acts as a second reference voltage circuit that is responsive to that prescribed voltage to apply the current setting signal to line 10. The collector of transistor 8 is coupled through an analog switch 7 to a circuit junction 9 which is in turn connected through a storage capacitor 4 to ground, with the capacitor 4 being connected in parallel with an analog switch 6. The circuit junction 9 is further connected by an analog switch 5 to a buffer amplifier 2 whose input is also connected to ground by a capacitor 3. The output of buffer amplifier 2 is connected to the output terminal 1 of the phase detector. Amplifier 2, capacitor 3 (with value C.sub.H) and switch 5 constitute a sample-and-hold circuit. Each of the capacitors 3 and 4 is formed by an externally provided capacitor. The phase detector includes a switching circuit 17 which receives a phase reference signal (REF) from terminal 15 and an input signal from terminal 16 to generate switching signals SA, SB and SC to supply them respectively to switches 7, 6 and 5 by using a clock signal from terminal 14.
The operation of the prior art phase detector will be given below with reference to the timing diagram of FIG. 2. The input signal has an interval T seconds between successive pulses and the reference signal REF has a pulse whose leading edge is delayed by a phase difference .theta. with respect to the leading edge of the input signal and whose trailing edge occurs prior to the leading edge of the next pulse of the input signal. The switching pulse SA occurs during a period corresponding to the phase difference .theta. for operating the analog switch 7. Storage capacitor 4 is charged with a collector current supplied from transistor 8 when switch 7 is closed in response to a switching pulse SA. Capacitor 4, having a capacitance value C.sub.R, develops a voltage V.sub.CR which increases linearly with time from the leading edge of signal SIG to a maximum voltage V given by: EQU V=I.sub.C .multidot..theta..multidot.T/2.pi..multidot.C.sub.R( 3)
Substituting Equations (1) and (2) into Equation (3) gives: ##EQU1##
Switching pulse SC is a constant-duration pulse that occurs a predetermined time following the leading edge of the switching pulse SA so that switch 5 is closed briefly to transfer energy from capacitor 4 to capacitor 3 when switches 6 and 7 are in a turn-off state, whereby the voltage V is sampled by the switching pulse SC to produce a sampled voltage V'. If capacitor 3 has a sufficiently smaller capacitance value than that of capacitor 4, the sampled voltage V' is substantially equal to voltage V. The sampled voltage in capacitor 3 is delivered through buffer amplifier 2 to the output terminal 1 to indicate the phase difference between reference signal REF and input signal. The switching pulse SB occurs following the pulse SC to turn on switch 6 during the interval between a pulse SC and a pulse SA to discharge the storage capacitor 4 completely. From Equation (4), the phase-to-voltage conversion coefficient K of the prior art sample-and-hold phase detector is: EQU K=V/.theta.=k/(C.sub.R .multidot.R.sub.B) (6)
If a sample-and-hold phase detector is implemented using LSI (large scale integration) technology by integrating all resistors and capacitors, it is difficult to provide a precision phase detector due to large variabilities of resistance and capacitance values, typically .+-.30% deviations from the rated value. Thus, for LSI implemented phase comparators, resistor 13 and capacitors 3, 4 are provided by elements located outside of the LSI chip to ensure a high level of precision.
It is desirable, however, to reduce the number of external connections since the number of terminals available in an LSI chip is severely limited. It is further desirable from the noise view point that the values of capacitors 3 and 4 be as large as possible while the value of current setting resistor 13 be as small as possible. However, this results in an increase in currents I.sub.B and I.sub.C as seen from Equations (1) and (2).

Integrated-circuit sampled-and-hold phase detector with integrated current setting resistor


In the nitride semiconductor heterojunction field effect transistor of the present invention, the floating gate layer (32), as the third layer, is formed between the control gate electrode (34) and the AlGaN layer (11), and the potential for the electrons in the AlGaN layer (11), which is substantially neighboring the floating gate layer (32), is able to be substantially high, and then the channel is able to be depleted. Hence, no current can be flowed through the channel (no drain current) at the time of no gate voltage, as so-called stable normally-off operation can be obtained.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a nitride semiconductor device, and more specifically to a nitride semiconductor heterojunction field effect transistor (FET), in which drain current is zero when gate voltage is not applied, as it is called a normally-off type.
2. Related Arts
A nitride semiconductor, such as GaN, AlGaN, InGaN, and the like, has greater band gap energy than the conventional semiconductors, such as Si, GaAs, and the like. Therefore, it is excellent as a semiconductor for high temperature or high breakdown voltage devices. In particular, using materials of these nitride semiconductors (GaN semiconductors), different from other wide band gap semiconductors, such as SiC or the like, it becomes possible to form a heterojunction such as AlGaN/GaN or the like. Therefore, a nitride semiconductor heterojunction field effect transistor (a heterojunction FET: HFET), or a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) as another name, has been actively developed.
However, in an AlGaN/GaN heterojunction interface, due to a spontaneous polarization and a piezoelectric effect (piezo effect), there occurs positive electric charges at the AlGaN side. As a result, negative electric charges (electrons) are accumulated at the GaN side. As the accumulated electrons, without any doping for the AlGaN, forms a high-density two-dimensional electron gas, a resistance of a channel, that is to say an on-resistance of the HFET, becomes drastically smaller than the on-resistance of an AlGaAs/GaAs HFET.
Meanwhile, in regular devices used for power controlling, such as an inverter, a converter, and the like, a normally-off type FET, in which drain current is zero when a gate voltage is not applied, is used. However, in an AlGaN/GaN HFET, due to a spontaneous polarization and a piezoelectric effect, it is difficult to make the two-dimensional electron gas be zero, when gate voltage is not applied.
Regarding the AlGaN/GaN HFET, for obtaining a normally-off state (an enhancement mode), there is reported a method to reduce the polarization affect by forming the AlGaN layer thinner, such as disclosed in a document 1 (M. A. Khan et al., Applied Physics Letters, vol. 68, No. 4, January 1996, pp. 514-516). Moreover, for obtaining the normally-off type FET, there is reported a method to incorporate F− ions into the AlGaN layer by exposing a sample substrate in a CF4 plasma, and then to charge the AlGaN layer negative, such as disclosed in a document 2 (Yong Cai et al., IEEE Electron Device Letters, vol. 26, No. 7, JULY 2005, pp. 435-437).
In the former method disclosed in the above mentioned document 1, it is difficult to fabricate FETs with a complete normally-off state. Moreover, in this method, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient channel current, because a gate forward current is flowed under applying a positive bias onto the gate. Meanwhile, there is a method to suppress the gate forward current by adding a thin insulator of such as Al2O3 or the like onto the AlGaN. However, in the method, it is difficult to reduce an interface state of the Al2O3/AlGaN. Hence, electrons are trapped at the interface, and then channel charges are not able to be increased.
In the latter method disclosed in the above mentioned document 2, due to the CF4 plasma, the AlGaN layer is etched by the plasma, or it is damaged by the plasma. Hence, a controllability as a device becomes worse. For instance, it is difficult to control a threshold voltage in accurate, so as to make the drain current be zero, even when some amount of positive voltage is applied onto the gate.
In a non-volatile memory device using a silicon metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (Si-MOSFET), a polysilicon is deposited between a gate and an oxide film layer. And then by thermal oxidizing it, a floating gate is formed. Moreover, using a tunneling effect of the oxide layer, electrons are incorporated into or output from the floating gate, and then the threshold voltage is able to be controlled. Thus, zero, one, on, and off of the memory device is able to be identified.

Nitride semiconductor heterojunction field effect transistor


A substrate for a liquid crystal display device comprises a TFT substrate for holding opposing substrates arranged opposed to each other as well as a liquid crystal composition obtained by mixing a monomer into liquid crystals. A plurality of bus lines are formed on the TFT substrate intersecting each other through an insulating film, and thin-film transistors are formed close to positions where the plurality of bus lines and intersect each other. A plurality of thin-film transistors for polymerization are formed for applying a voltage to the pixel electrodes at the time of polymerizing the monomer, and a first common electrode wiring for polymerization is electrically connected to the gate electrodes of the plurality of thin-film transistors for polymerization.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a substrate for a liquid crystal display device that constitutes a display device such as information equipment and the like, and to a liquid crystal display device equipped with the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has heretofore been known a liquid crystal display device of an MVA mode (multi-domain vertical alignment mode) by vertically aligning liquid crystals having a negative dielectric anisotropy and having a bank structure (linear protuberance) and a slit of electrode on a substrate as an alignment regulating structure. Being provided with an alignment regulating structure, it is allowed to control the alignment of liquid crystals in a plurality of directions of when a voltage is applied even without rubbing the alignment film. The liquid crystal display device of the MVA mode is superior in viewing angle characteristics to the liquid crystal display devices of the conventional TN (twisted nematic) mode.
Another method of regulating the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules may be a polymer fixing system. According to the polymer fixing system, a liquid crystal composition obtained by adding a trace amount of a monomer that polymerizes upon the irradiation with ultraviolet rays (UV) to the liquid crystals having a negative dielectric anisotropy, is sealed between two pieces of substrates having vertically alignment films formed on the surfaces thereof facing each other. Thereafter, a predetermined voltage is applied across the substrates to tilt the liquid crystal molecules which are, then, irradiated with UV to polymerize the monomer.
FIG. 18 is a view schematically illustrating a state of a liquid crystal composition in which the monomer is polymerized. As shown in FIG. 18, electrodes 114 and 115 are formed on the opposing surfaces of two pieces of glass substrates 112 and 113. Vertically alignment films 116 and 117 are formed on the electrodes 114 and 115.
A liquid crystal layer 118 between the two substrates is constituted by liquid crystal molecules 102 aligned nearly vertically to the surfaces of the substrates and polymer structures 106 formed by the polymerization of monomers 104 that are tilted at a given pre-tilted angle. The polymer structures 106 are formed as the liquid crystal layer 118 is irradiated with UV in a state where a predetermined voltage is applied across the electrodes 114 and 115 from a power source 140 through a switch 142. Since the polymer structures 106 are fixed at a given pre-tilted angle with respect to the surfaces of the substrates, the surrounding liquid crystal molecules 102 are caused to be tilted in a predetermined direction. Therefore, the liquid crystal display device of the MVA mode based on the polymer fixing system does not require an alignment regulating structure that was so far used for forming a multiplicity of domains and, hence, offers an advantage of simplifying the production process.
Further, the polymerized liquid crystal molecules have a lower threshold voltage than that of other liquid crystal molecules (host liquid crystals), and respond quicker than the other liquid crystal molecules when driven on a low gray level; i.e., the response time of the liquid crystal molecules is improved on a low gray level.
According to the polymer fixing system, the liquid crystal layer 118 must be irradiated with UV while being applied with a predetermined voltage to impart a given pre-tilted angle. In order to apply a voltage to the liquid crystal layer 118, a predetermined voltage (gray-level signal) must be applied to the data bus line and another predetermined voltage must be applied to the gate bus line to turn on the thin-film transistors (TFTs) of the pixels.
The voltages are applied to the bus lines usually by a probing method or a method which utilizes a peripheral connection line (common wiring). The former method uses a contact prober or the like to probe terminals of bus lines which are electrically independent from each other to apply a predetermined voltage thereto. The latter method applies a voltage by using the peripheral connection line that has been electrically connected to a plurality of bus lines.
FIG. 19 illustrates a state where a voltage is applied to the bus lines 120 by probing. As shown in FIG. 19, a contact prober (not shown) has a plurality of probing pins 122 that are brought into contact with the terminals 124 of the bus lines 120 to apply a predetermined voltage to the bus lines 120.
As the wiring patterns are highly finely formed in recent years, however, the gap P among the bus lines 120 is becoming narrow making it difficult to conduct the probing. Further, the number of the required probing pins 122 increases with an increase in the number of the bus lines 120, and it is becoming more difficult to reliably bring all of the probing pins 122 into contact with the terminals 124.
In FIG. 19, the third probing pin 122′ from the left is not in contact with the terminal 124′. Without reliably effecting the probing, the predetermined voltage is not applied to the pixels on the bus line 120′ connected to the terminal 124′, and the liquid crystal molecules 102 are not controlled for their pre-tilted angles to a sufficient degree by the polymer fixing system. Therefore, the defective display (linear defect) occurs on the bus line 120′ deteriorating the quality of display.
FIG. 20 illustrates a constitution of a peripheral connection line used for applying a voltage. As shown in FIG. 20, the terminals 124 of the bus lines 120 are electrically connected together through a peripheral connection line 126. A pad 128 for applying voltage is electrically connected to the peripheral connection line 126. Upon bringing a probing pin (not shown in FIG. 20) into contact with the pad 128 for applying voltage, a predetermined voltage is applied to a plurality of bus lines 120.
However, the bus lines 120 which are electrically connected together must be electrically separated from each other in a step after the steps of producing a panel. Therefore, an extra step is necessary for either effecting the secondary scribing to cut the glass substrate along a dot-dash chain line α or cutting, by a laser, the wiring between the peripheral connection line 126 and the terminals 124 along the dot-dash chain line α, arousing a problem of an increase in the cost of production.

Substrate for a liquid crystal display device comprising second thin-film transistors for applying a voltage to pixel electrodes for polymerizing the monomer


A measurement method for measuring the position of a movable body that is movable relative to a fixed body, the measurement method making use of a measurement device comprising a fixed portion for securing to the fixed body and a movable portion for securing to the movable body, the fixed portion including a first printed circuit (7; 20) having formed thereon first tracks (9) defining at least one emission pattern (10; 24) and also a plurality of measurement patterns (11; 25), the movable portion including a second printed circuit (8; 21) having formed thereon second tracks (14) defining at least one reception pattern (15; 27) and also at least one target pattern (16; 28), the first and second printed circuits being coupled together electromagnetically in such a manner that, when the emission pattern is excited by an excitation signal, an induced signal is received by the reception pattern and is then re-emitted by the target pattern, the measurement patterns then picking up measurement signals that are representative of the position of the target pattern, and thus also of the second printed circuit, of the movable portion, and of the movable body.

A modern system for braking aircraft landing gear wheels conventionally employs an anti-skid function for wheels to which braking is applied (referred to as "braked" wheels).
The anti-skid function seeks to detect when the braked wheels begin to lock and to adapt the braking to avoid them locking.
For each braked wheel, the braking system includes a tachometer that produces a measurement of the "instantaneous" speed of rotation of the braked wheel. The measured speed of rotation is used to detect when said braked wheel begins to lock.
A traditional tachometer for a braked aircraft wheel includes a passive sensor, e.g. a variable reluctance sensor. The passive sensor thus comprises a coil having terminals across which a measurement voltage is induced, which voltage is representative of the speed of rotation of the wheel.
In order to improve the accuracy and the sensitivity with which the speed of rotation is measured at low speeds, attempts have been made to design such tachometers making use of technologies derived from the field of encoders. Specifically encoders are in widespread use in industry for measuring the speeds of rotation of rotating bodies.
Such encoders either produce an angular position on a digital bus (these encoders being said to be "absolute" encoders), or else they generate pulses or "beeps" at regular intervals (these encoders being said to be "incremental" encoders). The sensors used for making such encoders are mainly optical sensors or magnetic sensors (and in particular Hall effect sensors).
Optical technology suffers from a main drawback of being sensitive to dirt, and thus of being unsuitable for use in the environment of a braked wheel of an aircraft, in which carbon dust coming from wear of the brake is present in large quantities. Furthermore, the large temperature fluctuations associated with the temperature of the brake rising during landing and with the temperature of the brake falling in flight give rise to materials cycling through expansions and contractions, which have the effects of reducing the effectiveness of sealing gaskets and also, over time, of degrading the performance of sensors.
Thus, it is generally preferred to use magnetic technology in such an environment.
Hall effect sensors are also more sensitive to the environment than are passive sensors. In particular, their transfer functions change with temperature and they present great sensitivity to manufacturing conditions. Furthermore, the principle of Hall effect measurement requires the presence of magnets that present characteristics that are accurate and stable over time. The calibration and compensation functions that are necessary for using such sensors make this technology more complicated and increase its cost.

Method of measuring a position of a movable body relative to a fixed body


A method for manufacturing a TEM-lamella is disclosed. The method includes: disposing a self-supporting protective structure on a surface of a substrate; bonding the protective structure to the substrate; cutting out a lamella from the substrate using a particle beam so that the lamella remains bonded to at least a portion of the protective structure; fastening a first tool to the lamella; and moving away the lamella from a residual portion of the substrate by moving the first tool relative to the substrate.

The analysis of objects using transmission electron microscopes (TEM) is an important method of analysis in the field of material science and in particular for the manufacturing of miniaturized objects, such as semiconductor devices. In order to analyze an object using a transmission electron microscope, a sample appropriate for being transmitted by an electron beam is prepared from the object. Such samples typically have a sheet-like shape with a thickness of less than, for example, 2 micrometer and are referred to as TEM-lamellae.
If a region of interest of an object is to be analyzed using the transmission electron microscope, a typical task is to prepare out a TEM-lamella from a substrate material of the object so that the region of interest is at least partially contained within the TEM-lamella. For this, material is conventionally removed by ion beam processing on both sides of a stripe disposed on the surface of the substrate above the region of interest and having a width of, for example, 5 micrometer, so that substrate material remains underneath the stripe, wherein the substrate material forms the TEM-lamella later on. Then, a tool is fastened to the stripe and more substrate material is removed until a material plate is fully cut free from the residual substrate. The material plate can be moved away from the substrate by using the tool. The material plate fastened to the tool may then further be thinned to finally form the TEM-lamella.
For preparing out a TEM-lamella from a substrate material, a particle beam system is often used including an ion beam column and an electron microscope (SEM) detecting secondary electrons, wherein the ion beam generated by the ion beam column for processing the substrate and the electron beam generated by the electron microscope for generating electron microscopic images of the substrate may be directed onto a common working area so that progress of the processing using the ion beam may be monitored by using the electron microscope.
For removing the substrate material on both sides of the stripe, an ion beam is directed onto those regions of the substrate from which material is to be removed. As the ion beam used thereto does not provide a sharply defined beam cross-section having, for example, a Gaussian intensity profile, ions also hit the stripe and penetrate into the region of the substrate forming the lamella later on and containing the region of interest. This region of the substrate is modified by the impinging ions so that the structure of the material in the region of interest is adulterated and might not be determined correctly by the subsequent analysis using the transmission electron microscope.
Therefore, a sufficiently thick protective layer of, for example, a metal is conventionally deposited on the stripe prior to the removing of material using the ion beam on both sides of the stripe, wherein the protective layer prevents the ions from penetrating into the substrate during the removing of the substrate material on both sides of the stripe.
Such protective layers are conventionally deposited from the gaseous phase, wherein the depositing is induced by irradiating the stripe using at least one of electron beams and ion beams.
The depositing of such protective stripes is elaborate and, in particular, the depositing from the gaseous phase involves specific technical equipment and influences subsequent processing steps to be executed in a high vacuum.

Method for manufacturing a TEM-lamella and assembly having a TEM-lamella protective structure


A connector includes a plug including a plug body made of an insulating material and a plug contact; a receptacle including a receptacle body made of an insulating material and a receptacle contact, wherein the receptacle contact contacts the plug contact to be electrically connected with the plug contact when the plug is inserted into the receptacle; a plug-contact contacting portion formed on the receptacle contact for contacting the plug contact when the plug is inserted into the receptacle; an inner-wall-contacting portion extending from an end of the plug-contact contacting portion toward an inner wall of the receptacle body; and a contacting portion formed on the plug contact extending in a plug insertion/extraction direction. The first contacting portion slides on the plug-contact contacting portion and the inner-wall-contacting portion contacts the inner wall of the receptacle body when the plug is inserted in/extracted from the receptacle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector including a receptacle and a plug which are engaged with each other to be electrically connected to each other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional connector including a receptacle and a plug which are engaged with each other to be electrically connected to each other by inserting the plug into an insertion groove formed in the receptacle, a further reduction in height of the connector is now in increasing demand with the miniaturization of portable terminal equipment or other devices which adopt this type of connector. However, with this height reduction of the connector, the holding force for holding the engagement of the receptacle with the plug tends to decrease, which makes it easy for the receptacle and the plug to be undesirably disengaged from each other.
On this account, a type of connector with a lock mechanism, wherein contacts (terminals) of the receptacle are provided with lock lugs while a plug body (insulating housing) of the plug is provided with corresponding engaging projections engageable with the lock lugs, respectively, has been proposed. This type of connector is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication H09-259979. In this type of connector, the holding force for holding the engagement of the receptacle with the plug is improved by making the lock lugs and the engaging projections engaged with each other, respectively, upon the plug being inserted into the receptacle.
On the other hand, in conjunction with the achievement in height reduction of the connector, a type of connector in which a column projecting from a center of an insulator of the receptacle is provided symmetrically on opposite sides of the column with a pair of movement preventive portions, respectively, to prevent ends of the contacts of the receptacle from being curled up upon the plug being extracted from the receptacle. This type of connector has been proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2001-338711.
However, in the above described connector disclosed in JUPP 2001-338711, in which contacts of the receptacle are provided with lock lugs, the plug body of the plug, on which the engaging projections are formed, wear out over time as the plug is repeatedly inserted into and extracted from the receptacle, which causes the plug body of the plug to produce dust or shavings and further causes the engaging projections to be deformed to thereby lower the holding force for holding the engagement of the receptacle with the plug.
In JUPP 2001-338711, in which the receptacle is provided with the pair of movement preventive portions, the height of the pair of movement preventive portions needs to be reduced if it is desired to achieve a further reduction in height of the connector. However, since this reduction deteriorates the strength of the movement preventive portions, there is a possibility of ends of the contacts of the receptacle not being prevented from being curled up. Additionally, even if this curling can be prevented from occurring, there is a possibility of the contacts which are engaged with the pair of movement preventive portions not returning to their original positions; this type of connector in which the contacts of the receptacle no longer return to the original positions cannot make full use of the capabilities of the connector.

Connector, and portable terminal equipment including the connector


An electronic apparatus including a drive mechanism, a signal processing section, an image pickup lens, an image pickup device and a focus control section is described. The drive mechanism changes a position of the image pickup lens relative to the image pickup device. The image pickup device outputs an electric signal of an image at each of a plurality of relative positions. The signal processing section processes the electric signal and generates a digital image signal corresponding to the plurality of relative positions. The focus control section extracts, from the digital image signal, high-frequency components for pixels selected from a focus area set in the image of the digital image signal, calculates a focus evaluation value corresponding to each relative position, identifies a maximum focus evaluation value among the calculated focus evaluation values, and moves the image pickup lens to the relative position that provides the maximum focus evaluation value.

In contrast AF systems that are widely used in electronic cameras as autofocus methods, generally, images of a subject are picked up while a focus lens that is included in a photographing optical system and that acts on focus adjustment is moved, and then image signals of the subject are generated. Luminance signals are generated from the generated image signals, and high-frequency components are extracted from the luminance signals. Then, based on the extracted high-frequency components, focus evaluation values that are used to identify an in-focus position are calculated.
The focus lens is driven within a predetermined range, for example, between an infinity position and a close-up position or closest focusing distance position, and the focus evaluation values are calculated at each of a plurality of positions within that range. Then, the position where the focus evaluation value is at the maximum is identified as the in-focus position of the focus lens.
In contrast AF systems, the in-focus position is set to a position of the focus lens or the photographing optical system where the focus evaluation value is at the maximum. However, since there is an upper limit to the focus evaluation value due to configurational limitations (e.g., the number of bits of data in the focus evaluation value) of electronic cameras, an overflow of a calculated focus evaluation value may occur. When any focus evaluation value overflows, the maximum focus evaluation value is not properly identified, and so the focus lens or the photographing optical system may be placed in a false in-focus position.
On the other hand, when each of the focus evaluation values calculated between the infinity position and the close-up position is extremely small, significant differences between the focus evaluation values cannot be obtained, and so the in-focus position may be improperly set.
The present invention provides an electronic apparatus having a camera function, the electronic apparatus realizing high-precision autofocus by performing control so that an overflow of a calculated focus evaluation value is avoided or a focus evaluation value that is large enough to set the in-focus position is calculated.

Electronic apparatus having autofocus camera function


An improved clamp assembly includes a first clamp jaw having a plurality of incremental teeth on a lower surface which selectively mate with teeth on a clamp body. The teeth on the first clamp jaw end at one end at a tooth root and at the other end on an incline beyond and above the predetermined location of a tooth root. In this way, the first clamp jaw may be reversed to provide fine control over the incremental adjustable position of the first clamp jaw relative to the clamp body. In another feature of the present invention the other clamp jaw is a wedge-type clamp jaw having a threaded member with two enlarged portions received in a bore in the clamp jaw. The enlarged portions ensure that the threaded member is effective to move the wedge clamp jaw upwardly and downwardly relative to the clamp body. This is an improvement over prior art wedge-type clamp jaws which required complicated spring arrangements.

This application in general relates to improvements in clamping mechanisms which allow rapid clamping and unclamping of parts to be machined.
Clamps are known for holding parts to be machined. In general, such clamps require undesirably large amount of times to clamp and unclamp the parts. When large numbers of parts are being machined, this requirement of clamping and unclamping the prior art clamping structures requires large amounts of set-up toime which is unduly expensive and time-consuming.
In one known type of prior art clamp, one of the clamp jaws includes teeth on a bottom face which mate with teeth on a clamp body such that the clamp face may be set at any one of a number of incrementally adjusted positions relative to the clamp body. Such clamp structures have benefits over the typical prior art clamps in that the clamp jaw may be quickly set a relatively accurate position. This reduces set-up time somewhat. Even so, the incremental adjustment of the clamp jaw reduces the freedom of positioning of the clamp jaw. This is undesirable.
In other prior art structures, it is known to mount a clamp jaw along an inclined face of the clamp body such that when a threaded member is tightened the clamp jaw moves along the inclined face and wedges against a part to be clamped. Such clamp jaws have not been successfully incorporated into practical clamp systems. In large part it is believed that this is because they have been unduly complicated, requiring springs or other types of elements for returning the clamp jaw to its upward position upon release.


An engine can include an air cleaner in communication with intake ports of the engine, and a wind introduction duct for introducing a wind into a primary chamber of the air cleaner. The wind introduction duct can include a resonator for absorbing predetermined frequencies. The resonator can have a predetermined capacity and can have a communication port in communication with the inside of the introduction duct.

1. Field of the Invention
The present inventions relate to motorcycles provided with an air cleaner in communication with an intake port of its engine, and a wind introduction duct for introducing wind into a primary chamber of the air cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some motorcycles are provided with an intake system in which an outlet port of a wind introduction duct (also known as a "scoop") is connected to a primary chamber of an air cleaner. In such designs, an inlet of the wind introduction duct is opened toward the front of the vehicle, such that the dynamic pressure of the wind created during forward movement of the motorcycle enhances the charging efficiency of intake air.
Associated with the installation of the wind introduction duct, a resonator may be provided for reducing intake noise of particular frequencies due to the intake air. In such a case, in general, a resonance chamber is externally attached to the wind introduction duct and the resonance chamber and the inside of the wind introduction duct are in communication with each other through a hole of predetermined dimensions. Such a design is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. JP-B-2841035.


A semiconductor memory device having a double-stacked capacitor, and methods for manufacturing the same, are disclosed. Such memory device has a first stacked capacitor and a second stacked capacitor, which are formed respectively over and below a bit line and run in parallel and are connected in order to increase the capacity of the capacitors and to prevent contact faults caused by a step occurring.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor memory device having a double-stacked capacitor structure and to methods for manfacturing the same, and more particularly to a semiconductor memory device having a double-stacked capacitor structure wherein one of the stacked capacitors is formed over and one is formed below a bit line and to methods for manufacturing the same.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Generally, as the integration ratio of a semiconductor memory device increases, the unit area required for constituting the unit memory cell decreases and the capacity of the capacitor also decreases. Therefore, a semiconductor memory device not having a plate-type capacitor structure but rather having a trench-type capacitor structure or stacked-type capacitor structure has been developed, in order to enhance the capacity of the capacitor.
However, as the integration ratio of the semiconductor memory device increases greatly, the ability to obtain a highly-integrated memory device in a limited unit cell area of a single capacitor structure is limited.
In order to overcome such limitations, a multiple-stacked capacitor has been developed, which is disclosed in an article entitled "3-dimensional stacked capacitor for 16 mega byte and 64 mega byte DRAM", IEEE, 592-595 IEDM 88. As shown in FIG. 4, the multiple-stacked capacitor consists of a charge storage electrode 32 of a multiple layer which is connected to a source electrode 4 of MOSFETS. A bit line electrode 30 is formed below the plate of the charge storage electrode 32 and is connected to a drain electrode 4' of said MOSFETS. The drawing also shows a gate electrode 3, plate electrode 33, field oxide layer 2 and insulating layer 31.
However, under the above-mentioned prior art, there are difficulties in manufacturing the multiple-stacked structure capacitor, and the bit line contact or charge storage electrode contact of the stacked capacitor ceases or fails to be a proper contact due to a step occurring.
Therefore, it is an objective of-the present invention to solve the problems set forth above and to provide a semiconductor memory device having a double-stacked capacitor structure, having a first-stacked capacitor, and a bit line formed thereover, and a second-stacked capacitor formed over the bit line, and to provide methods for manufacturing the same.

Semiconductor memory device having a double-stacked capacitor structure

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.


A sortation assembly includes a plurality of chutes which are movable along a continuous loop and along and over a plurality of sort stations. The chutes are operable to deposit articles, such as mail or flats mail or the like, to appropriate bins or trays positioned at the sort stations. The sort stations are configured to support a tray thereon for filling of the tray by the chutes. At least some of the chutes include an electronic tray fill level sensor, which is operable to detect the level of articles deposited within the tray at which the chute is positioned, while being spaced from the tray and the articles. Also, at least some of the sort stations may include an electronic tray present sensor, which is operable to detect the presence of a tray at the respective sort station while being spaced from the tray at the sort station.

It is known to provide a sortation system which includes a plurality of chutes which are movable along a generally continuous loop to deposit articles, such as mail articles or the like, into appropriate bins or trays positioned at a plurality of sort stations of the sortation system. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each chute 2 of a sortation system typically includes a tray full detecting arm 3, which is pivotally mounted to the chutes 2 and which is pivotable about a pivot axis 3a in response to the end of the sensor arm contacting the articles or mail deposited in the tray or bin 4 (such as a flats mail tray or the like) by the chute. As the level of articles in the tray increases, the articles push the end of the sensor arm upward. As can be seen in FIG. 2, as sensor arm 3 is pushed upward, the arm may pivot and may trigger a switch when the arm has pivoted a threshold amount. The sortation system and/or chutes may be controlled to stop depositing more articles into that bin in response to the arm triggering the switch.
Also, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each sort station may include a tray detecting mechanism 5, which is operable to indicate the presence of a tray or bin 4 at the sort station via pivotable movement of a pivot arm 6, which contacts the tray and pivots as the tray is pushed into the sort station. As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pivot arm 6 may pivot about a pivot axis 6a in response to the tray being pushed fully into the sort station, whereby a cammed surface 6b of the pivot arm may actuate a switch to indicate that the tray is present at the respective sort station.
Because the conventional tray full detecting arm and tray detecting mechanism are mechanical assemblies, they may require movable contact with the mail articles and/or trays. The tray full detecting arm may thus interfere with the mail or articles as the articles slide down the chute and into the tray, and thus may create chute jams that require operator assistance to clear so that sorting can continue. Also, the tray full detecting arm may allow the mail or articles to fill past the handle of the tray, which may present problems to an operator who has to pull and carry the trays after they have been filled. Although the tray full detecting arm typically can be adjusted, it typically cannot be lowered enough to avoid such filling conditions or concerns. Also, the conventional mechanical detecting or triggering assemblies typically utilize a limit switch that may be unreliable and may become filled or blocked with dust or the like, which may interfere with the contacts and may disable the assembly or mechanism until the limit switch is cleaned or replaced.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a tray full sensing device and tray present sensing device which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.