A method is provided for performing a gradient-based assay in a microfluidic device. The method includes the steps of passing first and second fluids through a channel in the microfluidic device. The first fluid has a predetermined concentration of particles therein such that the particles in the first fluid diffuse into the second fluid so as to cause a gradient of concentration of particles in the second fluid as the second fluid flows through the channel. The second fluid sequentially intersects a series of targets along the channel wall as the second fluid flows through the channel.

As is known, chemical and biological assays are typically performed in a plurality of multi-well plates. These multi-well plates include a large number of wells that are filled with user desired reagents. The current industry standard requires each multi-well plate to have 96 or 384 wells therein. While each of the wells of the multi-well plates only holds a few microliters, the cumulative volume of reagents required to fill all of the wells can be significant. Since the production of sufficient volumes of the reagents is often time consuming, as well as, expensive, it is highly desirable to provide a method of performing chemical and biological assays utilizing smaller volumes of reagents than prior methods.
Given the large number of wells in the multi-well plates, specialized equipment has been developed in order to quickly and efficiently conduct the chemical and biological assays. For example, specialized equipment is needed to generate the various concentrations of reagents required and to fill each well of the multi-well plate therewith. Further, additional equipment is often necessary to transport the multi-well plates to a user desired location for observation. As such, it is highly desirable to provide a method of performing chemical and biological assays which may be performed more quickly and more simply than prior methods.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a method of performing chemical and biological assays using smaller volumes of reagent than prior methods.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a method of performing chemical and biological assays that requires the use of less specialized equipment than prior methods.
It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a method of performing chemical and biological assays that is simpler and less expensive than prior methods.
It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a method of performing chemical and biological assays that is more efficient than prior methods.
In accordance with the present invention, a method of performing a gradient-based assay in a microfluidic device is provided. The method includes the step of providing a microfluidic device having a channel therethrough. The channel is partially defined by a channel while extending along an axis. A plurality of targets are axially spaced along the channel wall. A stream of first fluid is introduced into the channel so as to flow therethrough. The first fluid stream has a predetermined concentration of particles therein. A stream of second fluid is introduced into the channel so as to flow therethrough. The particles in the first fluid stream diffuse into the second fluid stream so as to cause a gradient of concentration of particles in the second fluid stream. The predetermined concentration of particles in the second fluid stream intersect corresponding targets as a second fluid stream flows therepast.
The channel has first and second sides and first and second ends. The channel wall extends along the second side of the channel. The first fluid stream is introduced in the first side of the channel adjacent the first end thereof and the second fluid stream is introduced in the second side of the channel adjacent the first end thereof. The targets are bound to the channel wall or may include a plurality of wells spaced along the channel wall. Further, the targets may include a plurality of sample channels extending from the channel. As such, it is anticipated that portions of the second fluid stream flow into corresponding sample channels. A visual display may be generated in response to the intersection of the second fluid stream and the targets.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a method of performing a gradient-based assay in a microfluidic device is provided. The microfluidic device has a channel therethrough. The channel is partially defined by a channel wall extending along an axis. The method includes the steps of providing a plurality of targets axially spaced along the channel wall and providing first and second fluids. The first fluid has a predetermined concentration of particles therein. The first and second fluids are passed through the channel such that the particles in the first fluid diffuse into the second fluid so as to cause a gradient of concentration of particles in the second fluid as the second fluid flows through the channel. The predetermined concentration of particles in the second fluid intersect corresponding targets as the second fluid flows therepast.
The channel has first and second sides and first and second ends. The channel wall extends along the second side of the channel. The first fluid is introduced in the first side of the channel adjacent the first end thereof and the second fluid is introduced in the second side of the channel adjacent the second thereof. The targets may be bound to the channel wall; include a plurality of wells spaced along the channel; or include a plurality of sample channels extending from the channel wall wherein portions of the second fluid flow into corresponding sample channels. A visual display is generated in response to the intersection of the second fluid and the targets.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for performing a gradient-based assay in a microfluidic device having a channel therethrough. The channel is partially defined by a channel wall extending along an axis. The method includes the steps of passing a first fluid through the channel and passing a second fluid through a channel. The first fluid has a predetermined concentration of particles therein such that particles in the first fluid diffuse into the second fluid so as to cause a gradient of particles in the second fluid as the second fluid flows through the channel. The second fluid sequentially intersects a series of targets along the channel wall as the second fluid flows through the channel.
The channel has first and second sides and first and second ends and the channel wall extends along the first side of the channel. The method of the present invention may include the additional steps of introducing the first fluid in the first side of the channel adjacent the first end thereof and introducing the second fluid in the second side of the channel adjacent the first end thereof. The targets may be bound to the channel wall; include a plurality of wells spaced along the channel wall; or include a plurality of sample channels extending from the channel. If the targets include a plurality of sample channels, the method includes the additional step of drawing portions of the second fluid into corresponding sample channels as the second fluid passes therepast. A visual display may be generated in response to the intersection of the second fluid and the targets.

Method of performing gradient-based assays in a microfluidic device


A device for cocking a weapon (11) having an axially movable actuating element (2) that can be coupled to a cocking element (11.1) on the weapon for the purpose of cocking the weapon (11) may include a control device (3) that couples the actuating element (2) to a safety locking element (11.2) on the weapon, whereby the weapon (11) is simultaneously made safe and is armed by actuation of the actuating element.

From the field of automatic weapons in particular, various types of weapons are known which must in each case be cocked by means of a cocking element before the first shot is fired. By means of the cocking element, the recoiling part of the weapon is normally moved into a cocked position counter to the force of a spring, which is placed into a stressed state. When the weapon is actuated, the recoiling part of the weapon is then, driven by the force of the spring, accelerated in the direction of the ammunition to be fired, and is subsequently, after the shot has been fired, moved back in the direction of the cocked position owing to the resulting recoil. This process is then repeated for every further shot fired, resulting in a type of pendular motion of the recoiling part of the weapon, and a large number of shots can be fired within short periods of time.
To prevent shots being fired inadvertently, it is often also provided that the weapon can be transferred from an armed state into a safe state in which, for example, the recoiling part of the weapon is blocked such that it is not possible for a shot to be fired. For this purpose, a manually actuable safety locking element is often provided, for example in the form of a pin that can be moved back and forth between two positions and by means of which the weapon can be transferred from an armed state into a safe state and vice versa.
In the case of manual actuation of the weapon, the actions of cocking, making safe and arming do not pose any great difficulties because the corresponding steps can be readily performed by the gunner by hand.
Particular demands arise in the case of weapons which, by way of a weapon station arranged for example on the roof of a military vehicle, can be actuated by the gunner for example from a vehicle interior which is protected against ballistic threats. This is because, in the case of such weapons, the weapon is cocked, made safe and armed not by hand but in automated fashion. Conventionally, for this purpose, both the cocking element and the safety locking element are actuated in each case by means of a separate drive, which has however proven to be cumbersome both in terms of apparatus and in terms of control technology.
Published European Patent Application No. EP 1 499 844 B1 discloses a weapon station, wherein the weapon arranged in the weapon station can be cocked, made safe and armed by means of a single motor drive, whereby the outlay in terms of apparatus and control technology can be kept relatively low. For this purpose, the weapon station has an actuating element which, in the manner of a spindle nut, can be moved axially by means of a motor drive, wherein the actuating element can be coupled to a cocking bolt on the weapon, which is situated in the movement travel of the actuating element and which can be driven along axially by said actuating element for the purpose of cocking the weapon. The actuating element simultaneously operates a spring-loaded blocking lever by means of which the weapon is made safe and armed. The blocking lever is moved back and forth between a release position and a blocking position by the movements of the actuating element, wherein the blocking lever, in its blocking position, blocks the movements of the cocking element on the weapon, whereby a movement of the recoiling part of the weapon is also blocked, and thus shots cannot be fired inadvertently.
In the case of a device of said type, it has proven to be disadvantageous that the blocking lever arranged on the weapon station does not interact with the safety locking element of the weapon itself, but instead, the safety locking of the weapon is realized only by blocking of the cocking element, which in adverse situations, for example in the event of removal of the weapon from the weapon station, harbors the risk of undesired triggering of shots.

Device for cocking a weapon, weapon station and method for operating a weapon


A burner (1) for a combustion chamber of a turbogroup includes a swirl generator (2), a mixer (3), and a lance (4) for introducing pilot fuel into a combustion space (10). In order to stabilize combustion, the lance (4) is designed and/or arranged so that, at least in the pilot mode of the burner (1), it extends far enough into the burner interior (5) for a flame front (16) of a combustion reaction, which takes place in the combustion space (10), to extend at least partially into the burner interior (5).

1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention refers to a burner for a combustion chamber of a turbogroup, especially in a power plant.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Such burners have a swirl generator which encloses a burner interior on the inlet side and has at least one tangential air inlet with regard to a longitudinal center axis of the burner. In addition, such a burner includes a mixer which encloses the burner interior on the outlet side and has an outlet opening which is open to a combustion space of the combustion chamber. Furthermore, such a burner can be equipped with a lance for introducing pilot fuel into the combustion space. The lance in this case is arranged coaxially to the longitudinal center axis of the burner and extends from a burner head into the burner interior.
A problem which exists in the case of such burners is the risk of a flame flashback from the combustion chamber into the burner interior. Such flame backflashes are to be attributed to instabilities in the combustion process.

Burner fuel lance configuration and method of use


In a recording system in which linear velocity during the write operation changes, it is difficult to obtain write strategy parameters in every linear velocity with trial writing. The optimum write strategy condition under the high speed or low speed operation is obtained with trial writing or the like and a value of power compensation is obtained from the frequency characteristic stored in the table. Fluctuation in performance of optical disk drive, deterioration by aging, and temperature characteristic can be compensated.

With continuous improvement in recording capacity of an optical disk drive for recording, a variety of products such as conventional CD using the infrared laser (wavelength: 780 nm), DVD using the red-color laser (wavelength: 650 nm), Blu-ray disk (BD) and High Density (HD)-DVD using blue-color laser (450 nm) have been put into the market.
For example, the write strategy technology (refer to write strategy illustrated in FIG. 5) used for the DVD-RAM utilizes a plurality of laser pulses having three kinds of power level. Three kinds of power level can be sequentially classified, from the higher level, into the write power (Pw), gap power (Pg), and erase power (Pe). When an optical disk is irradiated with the laser beam of write power, recording film of the optical disk is fused. Thereafter, when the optical disk is cooled rapidly, the optical disk gets the amorphous (non-crystal) state and its light reflectivity is lowered. Such lowered reflectivity is utilized as a recording mark. Moreover, when the optical disk is irradiated with the laser beam of erase power, the recording film of optical disk gets the crystal state. A part of the optical disk in the amorphous state before irradiation of laser beam gets the crystal state and a part of the optical disk which has been initially in the crystal state is left as the crystal state. Therefore, the recording mark can be erased.
The recording strategy includes a rectangular mono-pulse employed in the CD-R, DVD-R (refer to FIG. 8), a comb type multi-pulse employed in the CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM (refer to FIG. 5) and castle type (non-multi type) recording pulse employed for high multiple speed recording of optical disk of the DVD system (refer to FIG. 6).
The values for determining edge timing of the write strategy illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, and 8 and the values (for example, Pw, Pg, Pe) for determining recording powers such as Pw and Pe are called write parameters. These write parameters are previously recorded as the optimum values for each recording medium. For example, in the case of DVD-RAM, these parameters are recorded in the physical format information (PFI) area within the control data zone provided in the lead in area at the inner circumference. The reason is that the optimum value of the recording parameter group is different in accordance with composition and material or the like of a recording medium.
Namely, on the occasion of recording the recording marks, the optimum recording marks are formed by reading the write parameters such as a value for determining edge timing of the write strategy, a value for determining recording power like Pw, Pm, and each value of shift table from the recording medium and then controlling the laser pulse using the write parameters obtained.
The write strategy technology explained above is described in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-85753 (corresponding USP No. 2003-67857).
On the other hand, a rotation control system for recording and reproducing operations of an optical disk can roughly be classified into two kinds of system. One system Is a CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) system for controlling the rotation of disk into a constant linear velocity and the other system is a CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) system for controlling the rotation of disk into a constant angular velocity.
In the CLV system, when the linear velocity at the outer and inner circumferences of a disk in the diameter of 120 mm is set identical, the number of rotations at the inner circumference changes to about 2.5 times the velocity at the outer circumference. Therefore, the rotating velocity determined in accordance with the linear velocity at the inner circumference is considered as a bottle-neck for realization of high speed recording and reproducing operations through improvement in the linear velocity. But, in the CAV system, high speed operations can be realized easily using the linear velocity at the outermost circumference because the number of rotations is constant. However, in the CAV system, since the number of rotations is constant, the linear velocity at the inner circumference changes about 2.5 times the velocity at the outer circumference and the recording velocity also changes about 2.5 times. Accordingly, the recording parameter group is also different in the inner circumference and outer circumference. In addition, since the linear velocity changes from time to time toward the outer circumference from the inner circumference, it is required to change the write parameters from time to time in accordance with change in the radial locations. For example, in the case of DVD-RAM of 5 times velocity, the recording parameter groups in the 2 times, 3 times, and 4 times velocity are provided from a medium manufacturer. Meanwhile, in the case of conducting the recording operation with the CAV system of 2 times velocity at the inner circumference and 5 times velocity at the outer circumference using a certain drive, the optimum recording parameter group of such drive is determined for 2 times velocity at the inner circumference and 5 times velocity at the outer circumference, while the recording quality is verified, on the basis of the recording parameter group provided from the medium manufacturer (this process is described hereinafter as learning of the recording parameter) and recording operation is executed while drive individually obtains the write parameters for the intermediate velocity. In this case, however, interpolation is conducted in general between the highest velocity and lowest velocity. The technology explained above is described in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-234699 (corresponding USP No. 2004-145993).


A process for separating electronic devices connected with one another in a body, the process including thinning the side of the body remote from the electronic devices, separating the electronic devices, and testing electrical parameters of the electronic devices after the thinning of the body. The handling of the body is improved by applying to the side of the body containing the electronic devices, prior to the thinning process, an electrically nonconductive auxiliary layer in which respective contact openings are formed above the electronic devices to expose the contact(s) of the respective electronic device.

Processes for separating electronic devices connected with one another in a body, by thinning a side of the body remote from the electronic devices, are used in semiconductor technology, for example. There, electronic devices are formed in a semiconductor wafer, with the devices having a substantially smaller thickness than the semiconductor wafer. This requires that the semiconductor wafer be thinned to the desired final thickness of the electronic devices. Semiconductor thinning may be accomplished by mechanically removing the semiconductor material or by etching. The electronic devices are then separated, generally by sawing. Since only good electronic devices or devices with predetermined electrical properties are to be selected and further processed, the electrical parameters of the electronic devices must be tested before the devices are selected and fed to subsequent processing apparatus. The subsequent processing apparatus is generally a bonder which attaches the electronic devices to a carrier. The electrical parameters must thus, be tested on the electronic devices connected with one another in the thinned wafer or on the separated devices.
Both of the above techniques for testing, involve considerable difficulties in practice. Separate electronic devices are difficult to handle. Furthermore, the backs of such devices are not accessible for measurements, since the devices are attached to a tape. If the electronic devices are measured before being mechanically separated, the problem arises that the measurements are relatively inaccurate, since both the mechanical and electrical properties of the electronic devices are subsequently affected by the separation, which is accomplished by sawing, for example. For the measurement, the thinned wafer must be mechanically handled, e.g., transported and fixed. This presents problems since a thinned wafer, which has a small thickness, is difficult to handle. Since the present trend is toward electronic devices with as little thickness as possible, which is particularly necessary for power devices, the handling of electronic devices in the thinned wafer form is becoming increasingly difficult. Thus, electrical testing and measuring of the electronic devices in a semiconductor wafer is in many cases problematic.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a process for separating electronic devices which enables the electronic devices to be tested more reliably after the thinning of the body.

Process for separating electronic devices


The umbrella has a frame composed of a plurality of ribs, stretchers and a combined panel consisting of a main panel and a secondary panel, wherein, the area of the main panel is smaller than that of the fully expanded ribs of the frame, and the inner edge of the secondary panel matches the outer edge of the main panel. The main and secondary panels concentrically cover the frame, and a plurality of ropes are mounted between the inner edge of the secondary panel and the frame, which are used to increase spaces between the outer edge of the main panel and the inner edge of the secondary panel, and moreover, improve efficiency of air convection, save panel material and simplify manufacturing procedures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an umbrella structure, and more particularly, to the improved design of the panel of the umbrella. The special design of the double panel of the umbrella of the present invention can efficiently save panel materials and provide ventilation.
2. Description of the Related Arts
An umbrella is used to shield sunshine by means of a panel attached to a frame, wherein, the frame consists of a plurality of movable ribs pivotally connected to a shaft. The panel covers the frame and shields the sunshine when the umbrella is opened.
Although the umbrella can shield the sunshine, the panel of the conventional umbrella is made of single layer of light cloth. In blocking the sunlight, the umbrella has bad ventilation which may make a user feel stuffy. Therefore, there are two types of combined panel umbrella on the market which can improve ventilation. The structure shown in FIG. 4 is one type of umbrella on the market. Referring to FIG.4, a panel (3) comprises a main panel (30) and a secondary panel (31), wherein the main panel (30) has a plurality of openings (301) spaced between the ribs (41). The secondary panel (31) is smaller than the fully opened main panel (30) and concentrically covered on the main panel (30). When the main panel (30) and secondary panel (31) are covered and secured on the ribs (41) of the shaft (40), the openings (301) of the main panel (30) is covered by the secondary panel (31) on the outer side thereof. With the above combined structure, when the umbrella is opened, air can flow into the space between the outer edge (311) of the secondary panel (31) and the main panel (30) and then into the umbrella through openings (301) of the main panel (30), therefore, air ventilation is improved.
The other combined type umbrella on the market is shown in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 5, a panel (5) composes a main panel (50) and a secondary panel (51), wherein, the main panel (50) matches the fully opened ribs (61) and has a circular gauze (501) therein. The secondary panel (51) is smaller than the fully opened main panel (50). When assembled, the secondary panel (51) and the main panel (50) are concentrically covered on the ribs (61) of a shaft (60), and the gauze (501) is covered with the secondary panel (51) on the outer side thereof. When the umbrella is opened, air can flow into the space between the outer edge (511) of the secondary panel (51) and the main panel (50) and then into the umbrella through the gauze (501) of the main panel (50). Therefore, air ventilation is improved.
Although the two types of umbrellas have improved air ventilation, there are several drawbacks as described in the following:
1. Bad Air Ventilation Efficiency
The main and sub panels of the two said types of umbrellas are concentrically superposed and mounted on the frame of the umbrellas. When the umbrellas are opened, the main and sub panels are expanded fully and the outer edge of the secondary panel is nearly in contact with the surface of the main panel. Therefore, the space between the main and sub panels is so small that air can not flow into the umbrella freely, and air ventilation and convection is bad.
2. Wastes More Materials
In the combined structure of panels as described above, the full areas of the main and sub panels are large. This design wastes much material and adds to the cost of production.
3. Increases Manufacturing Difficulty
In the structure of panels described above, the full areas of main and sub panels are large, and there are a plurality of openings and gauze with many holes. The design increases manufacturing difficulty, moreover, cost of the production.


An underwater acoustic beacon comprises a cylindrical transducer and at least one spiral wavefront transducer aligned along a common central axis. For use in underwater navigation, the cylindrical and spiral wavefront transducers are activated singly and in combination in accordance with a prescribed sequence.

Current underwater acoustic systems use time-of-flight or interrogation to control underwater vehicle formation "swimming", tracking and/or docking. Time-of-flight systems require the use of arrays of transducers at a reference position along with complicated signal processing computations. Acoustic interrogation systems require two-way communication between a reference position and an object position, a situation that may cause problems for covert operations. Furthermore, the object position (e.g., a moving underwater vehicle) must generally be equipped to establish or determine its own position, which adds to the cost and complexity of the underwater vehicle.

Underwater acoustic beacon and method of operating same for navigation

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The disclosure relates to a system and method for recovering waste heat to improve the response and fuel economy of a machine. The system includes a heat recovery apparatus and an engine. The heat recovery apparatus has a cold cylinder, a first piston disposed in the cold cylinder, a hot cylinder, a second piston disposed in the hot cylinder, and a regenerator. The first piston and the second piston are in fluid communication with one another via the regenerator. The engine produces heat from multiple sources. A first heat source produced by the engine is thermally coupled to the regenerator and a second heat source produced by the engine is thermally coupled to the hot cylinder. The heat recovery apparatus is configured to convert the heat generated by the first and second heat sources into mechanical energy.

Heat recovery systems for machines having an internal combustion engine are known for extracting useful energy from the exhaust stream generated by the internal combustion engine. These systems are used to increase the efficiency of the machine and to minimize energy lost in the form of waste heat. The process involves capturing the waste heat and converting it into a form of mechanical energy. The mechanical energy can then provide power back to the machine.
A variety of systems for converting waste heat into mechanical work have been applied, such as, for example, turbochargers, Rankine cycles, Stirling engines, or the like. However, many of these techniques use only one heat source and provide power directly back to the engine or compressor, requiring complex mechanical linkages and control devices.
International Application Publication WO2010063368 (hereinafter "the '368 publication"), purports to describe a motor vehicle having a waste heat recovery device for using a plurality of waste heat sources of a motor vehicle by converting the useable waste heat into mechanical work and/or electrical energy. According to the '368 publication, a Rankine cycle converts waste heat from the engine into mechanical work, and a current generator or electric motor transforms the mechanical work into electric energy. However, the Rankine cycle of the '368 publication may be expensive, complex, difficult to package within a machine, or combinations thereof.
Thus, an improved heat recovery system for converting waste heat into useable energy is desired to improve the fuel economy and power response of a machine.

System and method for recovering waste heat


The present invention relates to a group of novel human genes, here identified as “genomic address messengers” or “GAM”. GAM genes selectively inhibit translation of known “target” genes, many of which are known to be involved in various diseases. Several nucleic acid molecules are provided respectively encoding several GAM genes, as are vectors and probes both comprising the nucleic acid molecules, and methods and systems for selectively enhancing translation of the respective target genes, and for detecting expression thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a group of bioinformatically detectable novel genes, here identified as "genomic address messenger" or "GAM" genes, which are believed to be related to the micro RNA (miRNA) group of genes.
2. Description of Prior Art
Over 300 small noncoding RNA's, termed Micro RNA's (miRNA's), have been identified to date in animals and plants (1-8). The MIR genes, code for ˜70-120 nt long non-protein-coding RNA sequences, that are the precursors of the ˜22 nt miRNA sequences, which in some cases, specifically inhibit translation of target genes, by complementary binding to their untranslated regions (UTR) (9-13). The first two MIR genes discovered, Lin-4 and Let-7, were found in the nematode Ceanorhabditis elegans, and shown to be involved in developmental timing (14, 15), hence originally called Short Temporal RNA (stRNA) (16). The ˜22 nt sequences inhibit translation of two respective target genes, Lin-14 and Lin-41, by complementary binding to their 3″ untranslated regions (UTR) (14, 17). Later studies by three separate groups (1-3) identified several precursor and mature miRNA's, some of them in clusters (1), expressed as sequences found in size fractionated (<80 nt) total RNA, in a wide spectrum of species, including C. elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, Homo sapiens, as well as plants. More recently, additional miRNA's from human (mir-91 to mir-121 (6)), mouse (mir-122 to mir-155 (4)) and plants (mir-156 to mir-171 (5)), have been reported. Furthermore, Llave et al identified in Arabidopsis thaliana 125 sequences, 21-24 nucleotides in length and presumably miRNAs (8). Each of the MIR genes is transcribed and processed to an ˜80 nt-long hairpin shaped miRNA precursor, which is then processed by an enzyme called Dicer, to yield the mature ˜22 nt-long single stranded miRNA. Such small RNAs will inhibit translation of target genes by complementary binding to sites in the 3″ or 5″ untranslated regions (18). Their structural similarity to the two well-studied miRNA's in C. elegans, Lin-4 and Let-7, supports the belief that MIR genes code for specific translation inhibitors of target genes. However, determining the targets of the miRNAs is more complicated than just searching for antisense complementarity, because bulges and loops, disrupting perfect complementarity, are not only tolerated, but seem to be the rule in the postulated binding between the miRNA's and their target UTR's (19). Target-gene binding sites of most reported miRNA's, except of Lin-4 and Let-7, have not been found, and therefore the specific functionality of these genes is still unknown. Using a computational approach, Rhoades et al (19), predicted targets for 14 A. thaliana miRNA's by identifying their near complementarity to the predicted targets. However, using the same approach was not helpful in identifying miRNA targets in C. elegans and D. melanogaster, raising the possibility that the near-perfect complementarity appears to be specific to plants (19).
The ability to detect novel RNA genes is limited by the methodologies used to detect such genes. All RNA genes identified so far either present a visibly discernable whole body phenotype, as do Lin-4 and Let-7 (Wightman et. al., Cell 75, 855 (1993); Reinhart et al., Nature 403, 901 (2000)), or produce significant enough quantities of RNA so as to be detected by the standard biochemical genomic techniques, as do the 93 recently detected miRNA genes.  Since a limited number clones were sequenced by the researchers discovering these genes, 300 by Bartel and 100 by Tuschl (Bartel et. al., Science 294, 858 (2001); Tuschl et. al., Science 294, 853 (2001)), the RNA genes found can not be much rarer than 1% of all RNA genes. The recently detected miRNA genes therefore represent the more prevalent among the miRNA gene family.
Current methodology has therefore been unable to detect RNA genes which either do not present a visually discernable whole body phenotype, or are rare (e.g. rarer than 0.1% of all RNA genes), and therefore do not produce significant enough quantities of RNA so as to be detected by standard biochemical technique.

Bioinformatically detectable group of novel regulatory genes and uses thereof


A curl spring mount has a separate cover that can snap fit into the mount to cover and protect the curl springs. A portion of the cover disposed over the vertical space occupied by the curl springs is arranged outside a jamb channel so that the curl springs can occupy the full width of the channel. A shield portion of the cover extends transversely of the jamb channel above the curl springs to protect them from dirt.

The invention of this application involves counterbalance curl springs that are mounted in a fixed position in a window to extend downward to counterbalance shoes that move vertically with a window sash. Mount supports and covers for such curl springs are suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,365,638; 6,584,644; 6,848,148; and in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/893,122. All of these suggestions use integral structures that not only support the curl springs in mounted positions within jamb channels of a window, but also cover them to help protect them from dirt, especially during building construction.


The present invention relates to improved methods of forming spaced fractures in a subterranean zone penetrated by a horizontal well bore. The methods include the steps of placing an open ended solid liner in the horizontal well bore, pumping a fracturing fluid through the open end of the liner to create fractures in the zone adjacent to the open end, forming perforations in the liner at a selected position spaced from the previously created fractures and pumping a fracturing fluid through the perforations to create additional fractures in the zone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved methods of forming spaced fractures in a subterranean zone penetrated by a horizontal well bore.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Subterranean hydrocarbon containing formations penetrated by well bores are commonly stimulated by creating fractures therein. That is, a fracturing fluid such as a gelled aqueous fluid is pumped into the formation at a rate and pressure such that fractures are created and extended therein. A propping material such as sand is typically deposited in the fractures so that they are prevented from completely closing when the formation is returned to production and provide flow passages through which hydrocarbons readily flow to the well bore.
Subterranean formations are also commonly treated with aqueous acid solutions to stimulate the production of hydrocarbons therefrom. One such treatment known as "fracture-acidizing" involves the formation of one or more fractures in the formation and the introduction of an aqueous acid solution into the fractures to etch the fracture faces whereby flow channels are formed when the fractures close. The aqueous acid solution also enlarges the pore spaces in the fracture faces which increases production of hydrocarbons into the flow channels.
In carrying out fracturing and fracture-acidizing treatments in subterranean formations penetrated by open hole horizontal well bores, sealing mechanisms such as one or more packers have been utilized to isolate spaced portions of the formations along the horizontal well bores so that a plurality of spaced fractures can be formed therein. However, such sealing mechanisms are often incapable of containing the fracturing fluid utilized at the required fracturing pressure. Even when the sealing mechanisms are capable of isolating a formation to be fractured, the use and installation of the sealing mechanisms are time consuming and add considerable expense to the fracturing process.
It has been the more recent practice in wells containing open hole horizontal well bores, particularly in sandstone and carbonate formations, to dispense with the use of sealing mechanisms and to pump aqueous fracturing fluids with or without acids into the horizontal open hole sections at high rates. In this process, the fracturing fluid creates fractures in an uncontrolled manner with the largest volume of the fracturing fluid generally entering one or more fractures close to the point of entry of the fracturing fluid into the horizontal well bore. Consequently, only a few fractures are often formed in the well bore with very few or none being formed along the length of the well bore.
Thus, while the recently utilized fracturing procedure is of low cost, can be performed rapidly and allows the rapid flow back of fluids after fracturing, the procedure often does not result in as great an increase in hydrocarbon production as would be the case if the fractures were spaced along the length of the horizontal well bore in the producing formation. Therefore, there is a need for improved methods of fracturing subterranean formations penetrated by open hole horizontal well bores. Further, there is a need for such improved methods whereby a plurality of spaced fractures can be produced along the length of an open hole horizontal well bore in a subterranean formation without using sealing mechanisms. Further, there is a need for such methods which are relatively economical, can be rapidly performed and allow the rapid flow back of fluids after the fracturing procedure.

Horizontal well fracture stimulation methods


A clip that utilizes a magnet to attach identification cards to clothing. The clip includes a clasp, a hinged metal bendable strap, and a magnetic connector which together allow identification cards to be displayed anywhere on a garment without penetrating, clamping or biting the fabric. The invention is connected to an identification card by passing the card attachment clasp through a slotted hole cut in the card and snapping it closed. The clasp is attached to a bendable strap that ties the card to the magnetic connector. The hinged metal bendable strap can bend and flex allowing the position of displayed card to adjust to the movement of the person wearing it. The magnetic connector consists of two parts. The first part is a ferrous metal plate which is fixed to the back of the bendable strap. The second part is an extra strong magnet which is placed behind clothing fabric when attaching the invention to a person's clothing. Using magnetic attraction, the two pieces of the connector hold together and sandwich clothing fabric between them. This attaches the invention and an identification card to the blank face of a garment without penetrating, clamping, or biting the fabric.

This invention relates to a magnetic clip used to attach items to garments, and more specifically to a magnetic clip for attaching an identification card to clothing for display.
Identification cards are increasingly required to be displayed on clothing for security and occupational related purposes. Employers and government agencies have policies that require the wearing of a photo ID to control access to secure areas and aid in employee identification. Due to these policies and security procedures there is a need for identification card display devices that are easy to use, compact, and functional. One of the primary functions of such a device is to position the ID card in a visible location on a person in close relation to their face. This positioning is important so an effective ID check can be made. The ideal location for this is on or near the chest. Another function of identification card display devices is to show the official logo and/or name of the employer so that employees can be identified as being affiliated as part of an organization. Just like a uniform identifies employees, these devices display the logo and/or name of the organization so that employees can be distinguished from the public.
Currently available devices to perform this task include clips, pins, adhesive, and lanyards, all which have limitations. Clips which utilize a biting pair of spring loaded teeth called an alligator clip, need a bite of clothing such as a pocket flap or lapel to attach to and cannot attach to the featureless blank face of a blouse or sweater. This prevents the ID card from being located on or near the chest when a breast pocket is not available to attach to. The ID is then sometimes clipped to a belt or a pants pocket which is often out of view making effective recognition of the face to the photo difficult. On garments such as a dress or a sweater there may be no flaps of clothing to attach to. This renders the alligator style clip ineffective for many types of garments.
Pins penetrate clothing and can damage fabric by leaving a hole. Pins are also troublesome to attach and remove from clothing while it is being worn. The garment must often be removed completely to position and secure the pin in the desired location. The clasp securing the sharp end of the pin does not lie flat. This produces an unsightly bump behind thin fabric and can be uncomfortable when worn against bare skin.
Adhesive backed identification tags are typically used for temporary identification. These adhesive backed tags are often disposable and have too weak of a bond to hold the common plastic photo ID card. The bond of adhesive only lasts for a few uses and progressively weakens each time.
Lanyards can carry plastic photo ID cards with ease but they can be unfashionable and a distraction to wear. The ID card ends up positioned near the waist or belly, not in the ideal position up near the breast. Lanyards also do not look attractive on finely tailored business attire. Instead of complementing the appearance of a garment, lanyards tend to overpower it. This is especially true when a lanyard is worn with a tie. Lanyards can also be uncomfortable and distracting because they hang from the neck, dangle in the way of tasks, and can get caught in equipment.
Due to the limitations of these devices there is a need for a new and innovative identification clip that can be attached directly to the surface of clothing like an adhesive badge but is durable and heavy duty like a clip or lanyard. This need is fulfilled by the invention detailed in the following summary.


A decision system for a modulated electrical signal delivered by a converter in response to a received modulated optical signal compares the amplitude of the electrical signal to a reference level, measures an average amplitude of the electrical signal, and generates the reference level as a function of the result of such measurements so that the “reference level/average amplitude” ratio can be adjusted to a predetermined constant value different from 1. Applications include receivers for optical packet transmission systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a decision system for modulated electrical signals.
To be more precise, it relates to a decision system for use in receivers for optical systems for transmitting digital signals. A system of this kind is adapted to process a modulated electrical signal obtained by converting a received modulated optical signal. The electrical signal is delivered by a converter and has an amplitude varying in response to the amplitude of the optical signal and the system comprises means for comparing the amplitude of the electrical signal to a reference level.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is standard practice to exchange streams of optical data in continuous mode, known as continuous streams, in which information is transmitted by a signal which is continuously modulated. However, this transmission mode necessitates reshaping of the signals and leads to a loss of compactness.
To obtain an improvement in terms of shaping and compactness, and to enable all-optical switching, and therefore faster switching, at the switching nodes, exchanging data in "packet" mode has been envisaged.
When streams of optical data are exchanged in "packet" mode, the data stream consists of a large number of packets spaced from each other in time, each packet containing information necessary for sending the packet to its destination and information relating to the characteristics of the data, for example computer data, voice data, etc.
The packets received by a receiver can come from different sources and can have been routed via different optical paths, as a result of which the individual packets reaching a receiver may have different optical power levels, sometimes very different optical power levels.
When a continuous stream optical signal is converted into an electrical signal, it is standard practice to use an electrical decision system connected to a bistable to ensure fast and correct interpretation of the signal. A typical reference level is a threshold value equal to 50% of the maximum amplitude of the electrical pulses. The decision system then includes means for comparing the amplitude of the electrical signal to the reference level.
Moreover, to obtain the best bit error rate (BER), the reference level in an electrical decision system in the receiver must be optimized as a function of the degradation of the signal caused by its transmission and switching in the optical system. As a general rule, there is more noise at the higher levels of the pulses constituting digital optical signals, and a pulse of the signal is therefore considered to be a 1 if it exceeds a reference level sufficiently below the maximum amplitude. In this situation the reference level can be a fixed optimum value corresponding to a threshold 50% less than the maximum amplitude of the optical pulses.
In "packet" mode transmission the amplitude of the optical pulses, and therefore that of the electrical pulses, can vary greatly from one packet to another, and there arises the as yet unsolved problem of determining a reference level and producing a decision system that can be applied to this mode of transmission.

Decision system for modulated electrical signals


A subject detection device includes: a first detection unit that detects a region of a first detection target from an image; a second detection unit that detects from the image a region of a second detection target from which the region of the first detection target can be estimated; and a control unit that controls to display in a predetermined mode indicating the region of the first detection target if a predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein when the first detection unit detects the region of the first detection target and the second detection unit detects the region of the second detection target when the control unit controls to not display in the predetermined mode, the control unit reduces the predetermined condition as compared with when the region of the second detection target is not detected.

1. Field of the Disclosure
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to a subject detection device and a control method for the same, an imaging apparatus to which the subject detection device is applied, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been known that in a subject detection device such as a video camera, a region having a particular pattern such as a human face (subject region) is detected based on an image signal generated in an imaging element. It has also been known that based on the detected subject region, controls including the automatic focusing (AF) control and the automatic exposure (AE) control are conducted and a frame defining the subject region is displayed. Furthermore, in order to increase the degree of freedom of the subject, a subject other than the human face can also be detected. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-211311 has disclosed image processing apparatus and method that detect the upper half of a human body.
For improving the detection accuracy, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-40710 has disclosed a method of detecting a subject having a particular pattern while compensating various drawbacks by a first detection method using hardware (luminance information) and a second detection method using software (color information) with respect to the subject.
When the subject is detected, the detection state and the non-detection state may be repeated depending on the state of the subject. In this case, since the display and the non-display of the detection frame representing the subject detection result are switched repeatedly, the frame display flickers on the display screen. Further, when AF control or AE control is performed on the detected subject, the presence or absence of the control target changes repeatedly; therefore, the control may be unstable. In particular, as for the subject that is as small as the lower limit of the size capable of subject detection, the detection state may be unstable in the occurrence of the minute change of the subject size.

Subject detection device and control method for the same, imaging apparatus, and storage medium


An apparatus for brewing a beverage has a base arranged to sit on a support surface with the water and ingredients in an upper urn portion until brewed following which the liquid is discharged from the urn through a filter and into a tube passing through the base into a receptacle. A valve in the form of pinch member acting on the tube closes the tube and is released to discharge the beverage by a movable plate mounted on the base and actuated by placing the base on a receptacle. The urn is formed as a separately molded piece from glass so that it is more hygienic than the plastic material of the base. The bottom of the urn fits into a receptacle in the base with a disk shaped seal connecting to the tube.

Beverage making containers of this type can be used for coffee, tea or other tea type materials where the ingredients are placed in the container and hot water is added to infuse the active ingredients into the water allowing the beverage to be discharged while the ingredients remain trapped in the container.
Melitta manufacture a device of the type where the container supports a paper filter and the water is poured onto the ingredients in the filter and are allowed to drip through the filter at a rate determined by the filter paper. Devices of this type are generally not suitable for tea and tea type materials because the ingredients must remain sitting in the water for a longer period to effect steeping of the tea.
Other device of this general type include a valve at the bottom which actively holds the materials in the container until the steeping action is complete. Such a device is sold by Adagio teas under the trade mark "Ingenuitea". This includes a plate at the bottom which sits on top of the top rim of a cup and activates the valve to release the beverage through a duct into the cup.
Examples of this type of device are also shown in the following patent documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,090 (Chan) assigned to Melitta discloses a filter container arranged to be mounted on a specially adapted jug.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,493 (Lin Tien) issued Oct. 27, 1998 shows an infusion urn of this type formed in two pieces fastened together including an upper container piece for the liquid and a bottom movable piece which is arranged to sit on a cup. A valve is formed by a stopper mounted on a pin carried by the bottom piece. The stopper is moved upwardly with the bottom piece when the device is placed on a cup so that the stopper moves from a seat at the bottom of the upper container piece to open the valve and allow discharge of the contents of the infusion urn. A filter is located in the bottom of the urn above the stopper so that the ingredients are collected in the urn while the liquid discharges.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,827 (Lin Tien) issued May 9, 2000 discloses a similar arrangement to that of the above patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,190 (Lin Tien) issued Dec. 26, 2000 discloses further similar arrangement where a one piece urn has a bottom plate arranged to sit on the rim of the cup which pushes upwardly to distort a buckling disk to move the stopper upwardly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,965 (Lin Tien) issued Dec. 11, 2001 and U.S. Pat. D432,205 (Lin Tien) show further examples of devices of this type.
US Published Application 2009/0272276 (Lin Tien) published Nov. 5, 2009 and US Published Application 2010/0212509 (Lin Tien) published Aug. 26, 2010 show further examples of devices of this type.
US Published Application 2009/0057348 (Pao-Wu Tien) published Mar. 5, 2009 shows a further example of devices of this type using a different type of valve which has a through bore and is operated manually by a thumb wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,542 (Shen) issued Feb. 5, 2002 discloses an arrangement of this type which has a steel ball forming the valve activated by a manual trigger on the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,040 (Chang) issued Oct. 19, 2004 discloses an arrangement of this type which has a mushroom shaped valve activated by a manual trigger on the handle.

Beverage making container for placement onto a cup


A tool 100 which is adapted to efficiently and safely remove a bearing, such as side bearing 40, from an assembly, such as a differential assembly 10. The tool 100 includes a plug 102 which is forcibly inserted through the bearing 40 by a member 140 and the bearing 40 is substantially encapsulated by members 200, 222 and 300, which cooperate with the member 140 and the plug 102 to allow the bearing 40 to removed from the assembly 10.

An automobile differential assembly is typically and operatively coupled to a pair of wheels (e.g., the rear wheels) of the automobile and to the selectively rotatable drive shaft. Particularly, the differential assembly typically includes a pair of opposed side gears and a pair of opposed pinion gears which are each respectively coupled to bearings, and this assembly couples the engine power to the driven wheels, acts as a final gear reduction in the automobile by slowing the rotational speed of the transmission, and transfers the engine power to the driven wheels while allowing them to rotate at different speeds, thereby substantially increasing the likelihood that the driven automobile will remain stable.
Servicing such a differential assembly typically requires the removal of the side and/or pinion bearings and such removal is often complicated, is oftentimes unsafe due to the typical utilized removal strategies (e.g., such as those involving the use of a hammer or other implement which is made to selectively strike the bearings, thereby often splintering the same and typically causing such splinters to "fly" toward the individual removing the bearings and others) and causes damage to the bearing containing assembly.
The present invention overcomes these and other drawbacks associated with current differential bearing removal strategies and techniques and which may be further adapted for use with a wide variety of dissimilar differential and non-differential assemblies and apparatuses.

Tool and a method for removing a bearing from a differential assembly


A belt buckle including locking status detection, having a switching contact and a mating contact, wherein the switching contact and the mating contact are electrically conducting parts of a switch. The switching contact contacts the mating contact in an intermediate position of the switch in a first contact area at the mating contact and in an end position of the switch in a second contact area at the mating contact distant from the first contact area by a displacing distance.

The invention relates to a belt buckle including locking status detection, comprising a switching contact and a mating contact, the switching contact and the mating contact being electrically conducting parts of a switch.
Locking statue detections in belt buckles for seat belts in automotive vehicles serve for identifying whether the vehicle occupant is properly buckled. For this purpose, it is usually checked whether a belt tongue of a seat belt is locked in the belt buckle. This information is used for optical or acoustic buckling reminder or for a different safety system.
A widespread principle for detecting the locking status is constituted by an electric contact switch which is activated upon insertion of the belt tongue into the belt buckle.
Belt buckles having a micro-switch actuated by the inserted belt tongue are generally known. In this case the electric contact is closed by a resilient contact tab which is made to contact a mating contact. The contact force of the micro-switch corresponds to the spring bias of the mechanical contact tab. It is a drawback of these systems that the contact force is defined by the material and the wall thickness of the contact tab. Further, the contacts of the micro-switch get easily stained which may result in an impaired functioning of the micro-switch.


According to the present invention, there is a provided a semiconductor device fabrication method having, forming a mask material in a surface portion of a semiconductor substrate, and forming a step having a projection by using the mask material; forming a dielectric film on the semiconductor substrate so as to fill the step and planarize an entire surface; annealing the dielectric film; etching back the dielectric film such that a surface of the dielectric film is positioned between upper and lower surfaces of the mask material; and removing the mask material to expose a surface of the projection of the semiconductor substrate.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same and, more particularly, to an STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) structure and a method of fabricating the same.
Micropatterning of semiconductor devices is more and more advancing, and an STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) structure is used for element isolation. However, as the aspect ratio of the trench width to the trench depth increases, it becomes difficult to fill the trench with the conventionally used HDP (High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition)-TEOS SiO2 film. Therefore, an STI burying technique using a coating film is developed for generations in which the STI width is smaller than 100 nm.
When a coating film is used, its thickness must be increased to fill a wide STI trench.
Also, a method using a coating film of a polysilazane (to be abbreviated as PSZ hereinafter) solution is proposed.
For example, a process of curing a thick PSZ film, and planarizing the film buried in an STI trench by using CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) is proposed.
If the STI width is smaller than about 70 nm, an SiN film as a mask cannot functions as a stopper mask during CMP any longer. Dishing by CMP easily occurs especially in a narrow region isolated from the surrounding. This makes a good STI shape difficult to realize. In particular, it is difficult to prevent a divot and control the height of an insulating film buried in thee STI trench.
FIGS. 46 to 50 illustrate the conventional fabrication method having the above problems.
As shown in a plan view of FIG. 46, active areas AA101 and AA102, an STI element isolation area STI101, and a dummy pattern DP101 are formed.
FIG. 47 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a line A1-A1 in FIG. 46. As shown in FIG. 47, a silicon oxide film 1102 and mask, silicon nitride film 1103 are formed in the surface portion of a semiconductor substrate 1101. Reactive ion etching (to be referred to as RIE hereinafter) is so performed as to leave the dummy pattern DP101 and active areas AA101 and AA102 behind, and form STI trenches in the STI element isolation area STI101.
As shown in FIG. 48, the side walls of the STI trenches are oxidized to pull back the silicon nitride film 1103.
After that, as shown in FIG. 49, a dielectric film 1106a made of PSZ is deposited on the entire surface and planarized by CMP to obtain a dielectric film 1106b.
As shown in FIG. 50, the mask silicon nitride film 1103 and pad silicon oxide film 1102 are removed, and a sacrificial silicon oxide film (not shown) is formed. In addition, this sacrificial silicon oxide film is removed, and a gate insulating film is formed.
However, the conventional fabrication method described above has the following problems.
In the above method, to form a coating film on the bottom of an STI trench having a trench width of about 4 μm, a thick PSZ film about 600 nm thick is formed by coating. As shown in FIG. 49, the coating film is thin in a wide trench and thick in a narrow trench.
Also, as shown in FIG. 48, if each side of the mask silicon nitride film 1103 is pulled back by, e.g., about 10 nm in the formation of the conventional STI trench, the mask width of the mask silicon nitride film 1103 decreases from about 70 nm to about 50 nm.
Consequently, when CMP is performed as shown in FIG. 49, the narrow mask silicon nitride film 1103 cannot function as the CMP stopper layer any longer in some cases.
If, however, the mask silicon nitride film 1103 is not pulled back in the step shown in FIG. 48, the silicon oxide film buried in the STI trenches recedes in the step of removing the pad silicon oxide film, 1102 and sacrificial silicon oxide film. Consequently, as indicated by 1151 in FIG. 50, the side walls of the STI trenches are exposed to form a so-called divot shape.
This divot shape causes a short circuit of gate electrodes when the gate electrodes are formed in the subsequent step, and decreases the yield of the products.
In the above prior art, the STI trenches are completely filled with the PSZ coating film. However, another technique of filling STI trenches halfway and then burying a silicon oxide film in these trenches is also proposed.
That is, a PSZ film in a trench having a trench width of 1 μm or more is well converted into an SiO2 film in the subsequent BOX oxidation step. However, if the film thickness of this PSZ film is large, the film is not well converted into an SiO2 film and forms a low-density SiO2 film in a trench having a trench width of about 100 nm or less. Since the wet etching rate of the film in the trench is high, it is difficult to realize a desired STI shape by, e.g., preventing a divot and controlling the STI height.
To solve this problem, therefore, after a thin PSZ film is formed on the bottoms of STI trenches, an HDP-SiO2 film is buried in the upper portions of these STI trenches to form a hybrid structure by combining the PSZ film and HDP-SiO2 film.
FIGS. 51 to 55 are sectional views showing steps of filling STI trenches by the above method.
As shown in FIG. 51, a silicon oxide film 1301 and mask silicon nitride film 1302 are formed on the surface of a semiconductor substrate 1300, and RIE is so performed as to leave active areas behind and form STI trenches in an STI element isolation area. The side walls of these STI trenches are oxidized to form a silicon oxide film 1304.
As shown in FIG. 52, to form a dielectric film 1305 made of PSZ on the bottom of an STI trench having an STI trench width of, e.g., 1 μm or more, a thin PSZ film is formed by coating. In this step, as shown in FIG. 52, the coating film is thin in a wide trench and slightly thick in a narrow trench.
In particular, the coating film is formed up to the upper portion of the STI side wall surface facing the wide STI trench.
Then, as shown in FIG. 53, an SiO2 film 1306a is deposited by HDP so as to cover the entire surface, thereby forming a hybrid structure. As shown in FIG. 54, planarization is performed using CMP to obtain an SiO2, film 1306b.
As shown in FIG. 55, the mask silicon oxide film 1302 is removed, and wet etching is performed to expose the surface of the active area on the semiconductor substrate 1300.
In this etching step shown in FIG. 55, the wet etching rate of the PSZ coating film exposed to the surface is about twice that of the SiO2 film 1306b, so a recess 1310 as indicated by the circle in FIG. 55 is formed.
The recess 1310 thus formed causes a short circuit of gate electrodes in the subsequent gate electrode formation step, and decreases the yield of the products.
As described above, SIT trenches are desirably filled such that a coating film does not exist on the STI side walls and exists only on the bottoms of these STI trenches regardless of whether the trench width is large or small. Unfortunately, no such fabrication method and structure can be realized by any prior art.
FIGS. 56 and 57 illustrate another process of filling STI trenches by using the conventional hybrid structure.
As shown in FIG. 56, a silicon oxide film 1402, floating gate conductive film 1403, and mask silicon nitride film 1404 are formed on the surface of a semiconductor substrate 1401, and RIE is so performed as to leave active areas behind and form STI trenches in an STI element isolation area.
Next, as shown in FIG. 57, the STI trenches are coated with a dielectric film 1412a made of PSZ. The coating film thickness is small in a wide trench and slightly large in a narrow trench.
After that, a dielectric film 1412b as shown in FIG. 57 is obtained by etching back the entire surface by wet etching.
However, in a portion indicated by a circle 1451 in FIG. 57, the conductive film 1403 may be exposed without being covered with the dielectric film 1412b. This sometimes causes a short circuit when gate electrodes are formed in the subsequent step, leading to a decrease in yield.
Still another conventional STI trench filling process is shown in FIGS. 58 and 59.
As shown in FIG. 58, a silicon oxide film 1502, floating gate conductive film 1503, and mask silicon nitride film 1504 are formed on the surface of a semiconductor substrate 1501, and RIE is so performed as to leave active areas behind and form STI trenches in an STI element isolation area.
Next, a TEOS-SiO2 film 1511 is formed on the entire surface, and the entire surface is coated with a PSZ dielectric film 1512 so that the STI trenches are completely filled.
In the step shown in FIG. 59, the dielectric film 1512 is converted into an SiO2 film 1512 by heating, the SiO2 film 1512 is planarized by IMP, and the TEOS-SiO2 film 1511 is etched by dry etching and wet etching.
In a portion indicated by a circle 1552 in FIG. 59, the surface of the conductive film 1503 is sometimes exposed without being covered with the TEOS-SiO2 film. 1511 and SiO2 film 1512. This also causes a short circuit and decreases the yield.
References concerning the conventional STI trench formation methods are as follows.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-114362
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-183150
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-31650
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-308090
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-367980
As described above, STI trenches having different trench widths cannot be well filled by any prior art.

Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same


An object identifier for an object is read in a first reading area and a second reading area. A time the object entered the first reading area and a time the object exited the first reading area is determined. Also, a time the object entered the second reading area and a time the object exited the second reading area is determined. A direction of movement of the object is determined based on at least some of the determined times.

Products sold to customers are often sent through a series of intermediate points between the original source, such as a manufacturer, and the customers, who may buy the products from a retailer. Products may include food items, pharmaceutical drugs or other products, including products of manufacture. These products may be sold to a customer through a grocery store, a pharmacy, a department store or other type of retailer.
Products may be stored in the supply chain to the customer at any number of different points. Some of the products may need to be stored in specific warehouses depending on the type of product. If many products are shipped together, it may become difficult to determine if the correct products and the correct number of products have been provided to the correct entities in the supply chain. For example, it may be important for providers and/or receivers of milk to know whether a certain amount of milk has been delivered to a specific milk warehouse.
This product shipment information may be provided manually by the deliverer or receiver by writing or entering the information into some type of data entry device. However, the manual entry of information is prone to error that can be costly. For example, a data entry error may result in a shipment of perishable goods being sent to a wrong location, and the entire shipment may go bad.
The product shipment information may also be obtained by scanning products with a bar code scanner. For example, a bar code scanner is used to scan products loaded into a truck on a pallet. This type of system may minimize data enrty errors, but many times pallets are loaded and unloaded on the truck to make room for other shipments being loaded on the truck. Sometimes pallets unintentionally get left behind, and the bar code scanner system typically is unable to determine whether all the shipments that are supposed to be on the truck are on the truck.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A safety switch control structure for a lamp device, including outer mask shell for lamp device, lamp mask, fixing rack and interlock, wherein the fixing rack installed underneath the lamp device outer mask shell is equipped with interlock, the interlock is underneath the socket, above the interlock is installed with a spring piece, and a switch is underneath the spring piece, and the spring piece lock of interlock is underneath one of the spring clips; furthermore, the spring piece protruding part is underneath the clip part of the spring clip end. When the lamp mask is combined with the socket, the open spring clip on the socket lets the interlock contact socket and forms a conducting channel. When the lamp mask is separated from the socket, the spring clip goes back to its original shape and no longer contacts the spring piece of the interlock; no electricity is passing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a safety switch control structure for a lamp device, it more specifically relates to a protection mechanism to be used during lamp dismantling and installing process through the installation of interlock.
2. Description of the Related Art
In normal lamp devices such as down-light and projection light, circuit can be conducted when light bulb is connected to the lamp base, normally, to save time, general users do not turn off the power during the light bulb changing process, this is not a correct process. A correct light bulb changing process is, turn off the power first to prevent any possible danger, this is the most important step and most people neglect it.


In some embodiments, an apparatus and a system, as well as a method and an article, may operate to acquire input data to determine properties of a formation, using a combination of down hole transmitters and receivers, to select a portion of the input data using a formation model chosen from a plurality of down hole tool response models in a formation model database, based on a valid sensitive range for the bed boundary distance and a greatest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and to solve for at least resistivity formation parameters in the properties using the chosen formation model and the selected portion of the input data. The database may be updated with boundary distance and the resistivity formation parameters. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.

Understanding the structure and properties of geological formations, to include detection of formation boundaries, can reduce the cost of drilling wells for oil and gas exploration. Measurements made in a borehole (i.e., down hole measurements) are typically performed to attain this understanding, and the data resulting from these measurements is often transmitted to the surface for processing and analysis. However, due to the distance over which the information is sent, the transmission bandwidth is often limited in a significant way, reducing the amount of information that can be sent to the surface over a given time interval.

Method for real-time downhole processing and detection of bed boundary for geosteering application


A method of evaluating un-dried lumber for its propensity to degrade, during drying couples an acoustic pulse to un-dried lumber and measures the speed of the propagating of the pulse through the lumber. Preferably, the pulse is directed transversely to the lumber's grain. The pulses may be generated by a calibrated weight striking the lumber's surface and detected at two points on the lumber by means of acoustically coupled accelerometers. A timer, triggering on similar portions of the acoustic pulse as detected at the two points provides the necessary information to deduce speed. A speed threshold is determined empirically by studying samples of the lumber type and the speed of acoustic pulses through them and drying them to determine their propensity to degrade.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the testing of wood and specifically to testing un-dried or partially dried wood to evaluate its propensity to degrade upon drying, for example, by splitting.
2. Background Art
At a microscopic level, wood is composed of a collection of slender, tubular fibers aligned longitudinally along the axis of the trunk of the tree. The substantially longitudinal alignment of these fibers defines the grain of the wood.
Freshly felled lumber (henceforth termed "un-dried wood) contains considerable moisture. The total amount of stored water, or the "moisture content" of wood is typically expressed as a percentage of the weight of the stored water to the weight of the dry wood. The moisture content of un-dried wood, for example, may exceed 100%, indicating a weight of stored water greater than that of the dried wood. Alternatively, the amount of moisture stored in the wood may be expressed with respect to a "fiber saturation point" being defined as a point during the drying of wood, where the free water has first disappeared from the lumens of the fibers. Un-dried wood typically has a moisture content above the fiber saturation level.
The stored moisture in un-dried wood creates three problems: 1) it increases the weight of the wood, and 2) it increases the wood's susceptibility to decay, and 3) it creates the problem of spontaneous shrinkage of the wood when the wood is exposed to ambient, low humidity conditions in an assembled structure.
For this reason wood is typically dried, either by exposing the wood to the open air in loosely stacked racks, "air drying", or by drying the wood in the controlled atmosphere of a kiln, "kiln drying". Kiln drying represents a considerable improvement in drying speed over air drying, the latter which may require a month of drying time for boards up to an inch thick and more than a year for certain hardwoods or for thicker lumber. In contrast, kiln drying of most boards may be accomplished within a few weeks.
This improvement in drying time, in kiln drying, substantially decreases the lumber's final cost. Nevertheless, kiln drying is not costless and it is important to use the kiln efficiently. Efficient use of the kiln requires the careful selection of the kiln drying speed: if the drying speed is too slow, the total cost of the drying procedure will be unnecessarily increased, if the drying speed is too fast, however, undue checking and warpage of the wood will occur.
As the wood is dried it shrinks, but not equally along and across its grain. The alignment of wood's fibers makes wood an anisotropic material, that is, one which has varying physical properties along its different axes. Specifically, wood shrinks a proportionally greater amount in the transverse direction, perpendicular to the grain, also its direction of least tensile strength. This combination of factors creates the potential for checks as the wood is dried, that is, cracks or splits along the grain. Extensive checking along greater than two axes is termed honeycombing.
Splitting, honeycombing, and checking of dried wood all degrade the lumber, both aesthetically, and by reducing the strength of the wood. Even so, typically, a certain percentage of the lumber in a properly operated kiln will exihibit drying induced degradation. This is because of variation in the propensity of different pieces of lumber, even of the same wood type, to degrade upon drying, and because of an inability to determine this propensity to degrade when the wood is in the un-dried state.
The same problems apply to partially dried lumber, that is, lumber that has had some drying but not so much that the degradation is apparent. Thus the term "un-dried", should be understood to include not only fresh cut lumber but lumber that has not dried to the point where degradation occurs.
Of particular concern with regard to drying induced degradation is a condition called "wetwood". Wetwood is an abnormally high concentration of water in un-dried lumber thought to be caused by the operation of bio-deteriorants, e.g. anaerobic bacteria. Although it may be identified by a translucent or water soaked appearance, and a sour or rancid odor, generally, wetwood cannot be detected until during or after the drying process when it results in checking or splitting or honeycombing of the dried lumber. Importantly, un-dried wetwood may not exhibit significant differences in strength from normal wood not prone to degrading.
Wetwood and other such conditions that render a piece of wood "hard to dry" increase the expense of kiln dried lumber, both through the lost value of the degraded lumber and through the cost of the kiln space wasted in drying this lumber. To a lesser extent, the incidence of hard to dry lumber may also increase the cost of kiln drying by encouraging slower than necessary drying times for the remainder of the lumber.

Method and apparatus for evaluating the drying properties of un-dried wood

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture


A portable passenger boarding ramp assembly includes a main chassis having a plurality of drive wheels; a ramp structure carried by the main chassis, the ramp structure including a lower ramp sloping upwardly to the main chassis; a lower turndeck carried by the main chassis at an upper end of the lower ramp; a mid ramp carried by the main chassis, the mid ramp sloping upwardly from the lower turndeck; an upper turndeck carried by the main chassis at an upper end of the mid ramp; an upper ramp carried by the main chassis, the upper ramp sloping upwardly from the upper turndeck; and a level deck carried by the main chassis and disposed in vertically pivoting relationship to the upper ramp; and a drive system drivingly engaging the plurality of drive wheels.

Current systems and methods for deployment of a portable passenger boarding ramp in docking relationship to an aircraft requires the passenger boarding ramp to be towed behind a towing apparatus to within 50 to 60 feet of the parked aircraft. The passenger boarding ramp must then be manually pushed the remaining distance to the aircraft to facilitate docking of the ramp with the aircraft.
Illustrative embodiments of the disclosure relate to systems and methods for deployment of portable passenger boarding ramps in docking relationship to aircraft. More particularly, illustrative embodiments of the disclosure relate to systems and methods for deployment of portable passenger boarding ramps in docking relationship to aircraft without the need for a towing apparatus or ground operating personnel to push the ramp to the aircraft. Specifically, illustrative embodiments of the disclosure relate to a solar powered portable passenger boarding ramp that can be driven up to and positioned at an aircraft without the need for a towing apparatus or individuals to push the ramp given its unique drive system.

Portable passenger boarding ramp assembly


An apparatus for fixing rotary heads to an upper drum of a rotary drum of a video cassette recorder includes a guide projection formed on a lower surface of each of the rotary heads, guide grooves formed in the upper drum for engagement with the guide projections of the rotary heads, and setting means for fixing the rotary heads engaged with the guide grooves of the upper drum to the upper drum. The apparatus enables the rotary heads to be mounted on the upper drum simply, accurately, and at constant angular intervals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for fixing rotary heads to a rotary drum of a video cassette recorder (VCR), in which two or four heads are mounted on the drum at intervals of 180.degree. or 90.degree..
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a video cassette recorder is of a two-head type or a four-head type depending upon the number of rotary heads mounted on a rotary drum. In the case of the two-head type, the heads mounted on the drum are spaced from each other by 180.degree., while in the case of the four-head type, they are fixedly mounted on the drum at intervals of 90.degree.. The rotary head is a very important part of the video cassette recorder. It functions to record an image on a tape traveling in contact with the rotary drum or to reproduce an image recorded on a tape. Therefore, the rotary head must be precisely mounted on the rotary drum in order to obtain excellent picture quality.
In a prior art apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 of the accompanying drawings, the rotary heads (3) are fixedly mounted on the rotary drum (1) by placing an upper drum (2) of the type shown in FIG. 2a on a jig for temporary assembly of the rotary heads, then temporarily assembling the heads (3) to the upper drum (2) by means of set screws (4) for fastening the rotary heads, and thereafter adjusting a given angle between the rotary heads, an amount of protrusion of the heads, a height difference, etc. by a separate adjustor.
The height difference between the rotary heads may be adjusted by means of screws (7) which are threaded in the upper drum (2) to contact the lower surfaces of the rotary heads (3). Subsequently, leg relays (5) are assembled to the upper drum (2) and soldered to signal grounding portions (6) of the rotary heads (3). The completed assembly of the upper drum (2) has a configuration as shown in FIG. 2b.
Assembled upper drum (2) is then assembled to a lower drum (8) to produce the rotary drum (1) as shown in FIG. 1.
The prior art apparatus for fixing the rotary heads is however disadvantageous in that since the rotary heads are pressed down by a soldering iron during the operation of soldering the leg relays (5) to the signal grounding portions (6) of the rotary heads, the angle between the rotary heads which has already been adjusted by use of the separate adjustor prior to the soldering operation may be varied, thereby resulting in deterioration of picture quality, for example, distortion of an upper picture portion, flexure of a picture, a color band, et. Further, since the amount of protrusion of the rotary head is determined by fixing the rotary head to the upper drum by means of the set screw which is fastened through a pre-formed hole in the head into a threaded hole pre-formed in the drum, it is difficult to adjust the extent of protrusion after assembly of the rotary head. When the given protrusion of the head is not constantly maintained, it is necessary to form another hole for the set screw in the head or change the position of the threaded hole of the upper drum. However, since forming of the new holes is substantially impossible, the parts must be replaced, thereby adversely affecting the cost of the product.

Adjustable structure for attaching a rotary head to a rotary drum of a video cassette recorder


A cutting device includes a mechanism for receiving and cutting a sheet member between two blades, a motor for driving the mechanism, and a mechanism for detecting the operational state of the cutting mechanism. If the cutting operation cannot be completed within a preset time period, the motor is driven with a higher torque.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sheet member cutting device used, for example, in a facsimile machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional sheet member cutting device cuts recording paper by receiving the lead end of rolled recording paper between two cutter blades and then driving the cutter blades, as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,100.
A cutting device of this kind interrupts the cutting operation when it detects that the cutting operation by the cutter blades has not been completed within a predetermined time period, and thereafter the cutting operation is not performed unless the abnormal state causing the delay is released in some manner.
Such an approach is disadvantageous when the device is used in an apparatus that normally operates in an unmanned state, such as a facsimile apparatus.
When a facsimile apparatus is used in an office which communicates by facsimile with an office located in a substantially different time zone, the information exchange will often take place when one office (i.e., the receiving office) is unmanned. For example, information exchange between overseas locations is frequently performed so that the reception of facsimile information will concenterate, for example, between 7 o'clock in the evening and 8 o'clock the next morning during which time the office is unmanned. In such a case, if the above-described abnormal state occurs, for example, all facsimile information to be received cannot be received until an employee comes to the office and confirms the operational state of the facsimile apparatus, and releases the abnormal state.

Automatically adjustable sheet member cutting device


A device 10 for securing a punch 13 to a press brake 44 includes a first member 12 removably inserted into an aperture 32 in the punch 13, a second member 14 integrally joined to the first member 12, a set screw 18 extending through the first and second members 12 and 14 to ultimately engage a wall 64 of the aperture 32 to maintain the horizontal position of the first and second members 12 and 14 relative to the punch 13, an extension portion 36 of the second member 14 that ultimately engages a cooperating portion 42 of the press brake 44, and a lip portion 46 that horizontally positions the extension portion 36 adjacent to a top wall 26 of the punch 13 thereby promoting accurate engagement with the cooperating portion 42 of the press brake 44.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a punch secured to a press brake and more particularly, to a device for securing the vertical position of a punch relative to a press brake.
2. Background of the Prior Art
A punch-press brake combination is routinely utilized to form strips or sheets of metal into a myriad of configurations. Referring to FIG. 1, a side elevation view of a typical prior art punch-press brake installation is depicted. The press brake 4 includes a channel member 5 bolted to a base member 6 with a punch 7 positioned between a holding wall 8 of the channel member 5 and a base wall 9 of the base member 6. The punch 7 is vertically held in place by a plurality of tightened horizontal clamping screws that horizontally xe2x80x9csqueezexe2x80x9d the punch between the holding and base walls 8 and 9 of the press brake 4.
The problem with this securing method is that the punch 7 is often comprised of multiple sections that have a tendency to loosen and slip downward causing an unacceptable deforming of the metal strips or sheets. Some press brakes 4 have press beds that can exceed twelve feet in length thereby requiring multiple punches or punch segments 7 of a predetermined form to be longitudinally aligned to configure a metal workpiece covering the length of the press bed. These punches 7 often have lengths that dispose a punch 7 in the press brake such that the ends of the punch are positioned from the bolts joining the channel member 5 to the base member 6, a distance that allows a punch end to slip downward and become misaligned during assembly of the punch-brake press combination. Some relatively small punch segments have longitudinal dimensions measuring less than the distance separating adjacent bolts making these small segments unusable.
Another problem with the prior method of securing the punch 7 to the press brake 4, is that safety is comprised when an operator places their hands beneath a punch 7 that might slip from the press brake 4. Government agencies (OSHA) and insurance companies have addressed the safety issue by requiring a safety xe2x80x9ctonguexe2x80x9d to be machined into the upper portion of a punch 7.
A need exists for a device that quickly, economically and safely secures a predetermined punch 7 to a press brake 4. Further, the device must be readily secured to a press brake 4 such that the vertical position and the job performance of the punch 7 is maintained without any modifications to the press brake 4.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome many of the disadvantages associated with a punch being secured to a press brake.
A principle object of the present invention is to provide a device that secures and vertically maintains a punch within a press brake. A feature of the device is an extension portion or xe2x80x9cpunch tonguexe2x80x9d that protrudes beyond a vertical wall of the punch. An advantage of the device is that the extension portion is a relatively xe2x80x9csimple wayxe2x80x9d to secure the punch to the press brake.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that secures a punch to a press brake without modifying the press brake. A feature of the device is an extension portion dimensioned to insert in relatively small existing spaces in a press brake. An advantage of the device is that no modification costs for the press brake are required.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device that requires a small quantity of components to secure the device to the punch. A feature of the device is a substantially cylindrically configured first member that snugly inserts into a correspondingly configured aperture in a top portion of the punch. An advantage of the device is that installation costs are minimized.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device that includes a solid xe2x80x9cunibodyxe2x80x9d construction. A feature of the device is a second member integrally joined to the first member. An advantage of the device is that no components are present that can xe2x80x9cwork freexe2x80x9d and allow the punch to move vertically downward.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that has a first member vertically secured in an aperture in a top portion of the punch and a second member that engages a top wall of the punch. A feature of the device is slot formed in a top wall of the punch due to the relatively close proximity of an aperture to the top wall of the punch. An advantage of the device is that the first member can be vertically secured to the punch without requiring added components. Another advantage of the device is that a protruding portion of the first member can be disposed in the slot and be ultimately joined to the second member such that a bottom wall of the second member engages a top wall of the punch thereby positioning the second portion to engage the press brake.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that allows xe2x80x9cscrapxe2x80x9d punches to be reused in a relatively large press brake. A feature of the device is it""s relatively small size. Another feature of the device is that it is relatively inexpensive to fabricate. An advantage of the device is that multiple device can be installed along the top portion of a punch as required to insure that the punch is vertically secured in a press brake.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that limits horizontal movement when a first member is inserted into an aperture in a top portion of a punch. A feature of the device is a lip portion that ultimately engages a top portion of a vertical side wall of a punch. An advantage of the device is that a bottom wall of the lip portion is correctly disposed to engage a cooperating portion of a press brake to vertically secure the device and the punch.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that maintains the horizontal position of a first member upon being inserted into an aperture in the top portion of the punch. A feature of the device is a countersunk set screw centrally disposed through the joined first and second members such that a rounded end of the set screw protrudes past a bottom portion of the first member to forcibly engage a wall portion of the aperture thereby frictionally joining top walls of the first member with cooperating wall portions of the aperture. An advantage of the device is that the first member cannot slip from the aperture in the punch when the punch is being secured to corresponding portions of the press brake during the machine xe2x80x9cset-upxe2x80x9d process.
Briefly, the invention provides a device for securing a punch to a press brake comprising a first member; a second member integrally joined to said first member; means for removably securing said first member to the punch; means for removably securing said second member to a cooperating portion of the press brake; and means for maintaining a predetermined position of said integrally joined first and second members relative to the punch.

Device for securing a punch to a press brake


The present invention relates to an electrical connector, comprises a housing; a base body having a tongue piece, one surface of the tongue piece is provided with a plurality of first terminal slots, the other surface of the tongue piece is provided with a plurality of second terminal slots, and a gap is provided in the middle portion of the tongue piece; a first terminal assembly respectively received in the first terminal slots; a second terminal assembly respectively received in the second terminal slots; and a grounding piece inserted in the gap of the tongue piece, a contact portion is provided by extending from the end of the grounding piece, when assembly the contact portion is in contact with a grounding terminal of any said terminal assemblies mentioned above, so effects of grounding and prevention of static electricity can be achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, more particularly to an electrical connector having a compact grounding structure.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional electrical connectors, e.g., but not limited to, USB, SATA or e-SATA, generally achieve grounding by connecting a grounding terminal of an insulation housing to a metal housing of the connector. Taiwan Utility Patent Number 095221982, Taiwan Utility Patent Number 095201553, Taiwan Utility Patent Number 095201362 and Taiwan Utility Patent Number 095212401 have disclosed the above mentioned structure. For instance, the electrical connector provided by Taiwan Utility Patent Number 095221982 includes a metal piece, the metal piece has a stopping piece, two arm sections, two locking hooks and two tabs. In assembly, a metal housing is sleeved on an outer side of an insulation main body, each extending piece of the base wall of the metal housing passes through each through hole provided on a base portion of the metal housing then the extending pieces are in contact with the tabs of the metal piece so as to achieve grounding. The designs of the patents mentioned above are complicated in structure and inconvenient in assembly, so a novel electrical connector shall be invented to overcome above mentioned disadvantages.