Disclosed are sensors for use in testing biological, biochemical, chemical or environmental samples, and methods of making and using the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sensors for use in testing biological, biochemical, chemical or environmental samples, and methods of making and using the same.
2. Background of the Related Art
Analyses of biological, biochemical, chemical and environmental samples are invaluable, routinely used tools in health-related fields such as immunology, pharmacology, gene therapy, combinatorial chemistry, and the like. For example, in order to successfully implement therapeutic control of a biological process, it is imperative that a complete understanding of the binding between the species is obtained.
Many biochemical and biological analytical methods involve immobilization of a biological binding partner of a particular biological molecule on a surface, exposure of the surface and immobilized binding partner to a medium suspected of containing the biological molecule, and determination of the existence or extent of binding of the molecule to the surface-immobilized binding partner.
One such technique recently introduced involves surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Conventional SPR involves the use of a substrate, such as a glass slide, on one side of which is a thin metal film, a prism, a source of monochromatic and polarized light, a photodetector array and an analyte channel that directs a medium suspected of containing a particular analyte to the exposed surface of the metal film on the substrate. A face of the prism is separated from the second side of the substrate (i.e., the side opposite the metal film) by a thin film of refractive index matching fluid. Light from the light source is directed through the prism at an angle at which total internal reflection of the light results at the face of the prism. An evanescent field is generated as a result of this reflection, which extends from the prism into the metal film. This evanescent field can couple to an electromagnetic surface wave (a surface plasmon) at the metal film, causing surface plasmon resonance.
In such a device, coupling is achieved at a specific angle of incidence of the light with respect to the metal film (the SPR angle), at which the reflected light intensity goes through a minimum due to the resonance. This angle is determined by a photodetector array as the angle of reflectance and is highly sensitive to changes in the refractive index of a thin layer immediately adjacent to the surface of the metal film. Thus it is highly sensitive to coupling of an analyte to the metal film. For example, when a protein layer is adsorbed onto the metal surface from an analyte-containing medium delivered to the surface by the analyte channel, the SPR angle shifts to larger values and this shift is measured by the photodetector array. See, e.g., Stenberg et al., "Quantitative determination of surface concentration of protein with surface plasmon resonance using radiolabelled proteins," Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 43:2, 513–526 (1991); Homola et al., "Surface plasmon resonance sensors: review," Sensors and Actuators, B 54, 3–15 (1999) and references cited therein. The instrumentation for analysis of biological samples using SPR is commercially available, for example, under the trade name BIAcore from Pharmacia Biosensor, Piscataway, N.J.
Although the introduction of SPR represented an extremely valuable contribution to the scientific community, current state-of-the-art commercial SPR instrumentation lacks the sensitivity needed to detect and analyze certain biological and chemical interactions that are at the vanguard of scientific research. Moreover, several complications have been observed with prior sensors for use in SPR which hinder the sensitivity of the technique.
For example, according to one technique for immobilizing a binding partner of an analyte on a surface plasmon resonance sensor, long chain hydroxy alkyl thiols are adsorbed onto a gold surface as a monolayer. The monolayer's exposed hydroxy groups are then activated with epichlorohydrin under basic conditions to form epoxides, which are then used to covalently attach a carboxylated dextran gel layer. A proteinaceous binding partner is then electrostatically adsorbed onto the dextran gel layer and subsequently covalently attached thereto. See, e.g., Lofas et al., "A novel matrix on gold surfaces in surface plasmon resonance sensors for fast and efficient covalent immobilization of ligands," J. Chem Soc., Chem. Comm., 1526–1528 (1990).
The effectiveness of this approach, however, is limited by several factors. First, covalent attachment of the proteinaceous binding partner to the dextran gel can affect the binding partners activity, or even viability. Second, covalent attachment of the binding partner to the gel generally cannot be effected with control over the orientation of the binding partner with respect to the surface of the sensor (and, more importantly, with respect to the analyte-containing medium to be tested). Third, non-specific interactions at the dextran gel are promoted by the negative charge that it carries.
According to another technique, a mixed monolayer of hydroxyl and biotin-terminated alkyl thiols is prepared on a gold surface and streptavidin is bound to the surface-bound biotin. Biotin-labeled proteins, which are the binding partners of the desired analytes, are then attached to the empty sites on the streptavidin. See, e.g., Spinke et al., "Molecular recognition at self-assembled monolayers: the construction of multicomponent multilayers," Langmuir, 9, 1821–1825 (1993).
Because biotin must be covalently attached to the binding partner protein, however, this approach lacks control over orientation of the binding partner with respect to the analyte medium. Moreover, inactivation of the proteinaceous binding partner may also occur due to the formation of a covalent linkage.
Finally, as a practical limitation on its usefulness, conventional SPR reflectometry is difficult to realize in a large-scale array format because of the optics associated with the detection system. This is quite significant in view of the need for high-throughput biochemical assays based on protein arrays, such as those needed to measure the protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions for the many thousands of proteins identified by the human genome project as well as for DNA—DNA interactions in genomics.
One alternative to the use of conventional SPR methods involve colloidal surface plasmon resonance. Colloidal SPR is responsible for the intense colors exhibited by colloidal solutions of noble metals and is attributed to the collective oscillations of surface electrons induced by visible light. Colloidal SPR is an interfacial phenomenon, and can be used in two complementary modes to transduce binding events at the colloid surface.
In one mode, the optical signal arises from the dependence of the peak intensity and position of the surface plasmon absorbance of gold nanoparticles upon the local refractive index of the surrounding medium, which is altered due to binding at the colloid-solution interface. This mode, which is analogous to conventional SPR, has been previously utilized to determine biomolecular binding on the surface of a colloid in suspension. See, e.g., Englebienne, "Use of colloidal gold surface plasmon resonance peak shifts to infer affinity constants from the interactions between protein antigens and antibodies specific for single or multiple epitopes," Analyst, 123, 1599–1603 (1998); Eck et al., "Plasmon resonance measurements of the absorption and adsorption kinetics of a biopolymer onto gold nanocolloids," Langmuir, 17, 957–960 (2001).
In the second mode, changes in the proximity of colloids due to their aggregation in suspension causes a large change in the absorbance spectrum of the colloidal suspension due to long-range coupling of surface plasmons. The interparticle distance-dependent color change of colloidal gold due to aggregation of gold colloids has been used in solution-based immunoassays and has more recently been employed to design a sensor capable of determining single base pair mismatches in DNA hybridization. See, e.g., Elghanian et al., "Selective colorimetric detection of polynucleotides based on the distance-dependent optical properties of gold nanoparticles," Science, 277, 1078–1081 (1997); Storhoff et al., "One-pot colorimetric differentiation of polynucleotides with single base imperfections using gold nanoparticles probes," J. AM. Chem. Soc., 120, 1959–1964 (1998); and PCT International Publication Number WO 01/51655.
Neither of these modes, however, is sufficient to remedy the disadvantages of conventional SPR methods. For example, much like conventional SPR, neither of these modes can be employed in a large-scale array format on a solid surface. Accordingly, there remains a need for a simple, SPR chip-based sensor for analyzing biological, biochemical, chemical and environmental samples.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

Sensor for use in testing biological, biochemical, chemical or environmental samples


A device includes a first member and a second member disposed in series along a longitudinal axis. The device also includes links coupling first joints of the first member to second joints of the second member. The first and second members and the links arranged to define a planar parallelogram linkage. The devices also include a resilient element disposed between the first member and the second member, the first member and the second member preloaded against the resilient element. The first member and the second member are preloaded to provide an arrangement of the first and the second joints in which a motion of the first joints with respect to the second joints is constrained to a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. The devices further include a sensor for generating a signal indicating a separation between the first member and the second member.

In many measurement applications, strains or deformations due to bending loads are significantly greater than strains or deformations due to axial loads. Since load cells are generally designed to measure the latter, the presence of bending loads complicates and often compromises the ability to accurately measure axial loads. As a result, even though load cells may be positioned along a longitudinal axis of a member, the resulting load measurement is typically a composite measurement. That is, the bending load may be contributing to the load measurement and introduce significant errors in the load measurement.
These errors can be of particular concern in applications that rely on accurate axial load measurements for control. Such applications can include, among many others, control of lower limb prosthetic, orthotic, or robotic devices. In some control methodologies for lower limb prosthetic, orthotic, or robotic devices, measurements of axial load are often used, alone or in combination with other measurements, to provide device control. However, when bending loads begin to introduce errors into the axial load measurements, the control system may over- or under-compensate in response to such errors. Accordingly, not only may the behavior of such devices no longer approximate natural motion of a lower limb, but may reconfigure the device inappropriately. In the case of prosthetic or orthotic lower limb devices, such inappropriate reconfiguration can result in loss of balance, stumbling, or injury to the user.
In view of such issues, these types of devices are typically fitted with additional sensors in an effort to more accurately determine loads and more precisely control the devices. However, while this addresses the limitations of load cells for such applications, the increase in complexity reduces the robustness of such devices and increases their assembly and maintenance costs.


A telescopic shaft for vehicle steering has first and second torque transferring members. The first torque transferring member is interposed, with an elastic body in between, between axial grooves formed in an outer peripheral surface of a male shaft and an inner peripheral surface of a female shaft. The second torque transferring member is interposed between other axial grooves formed in the outer peripheral surface of the male shaft and in the inner peripheral surface of the female shaft. The elastic body has transferring-member-side contact portions contacting the first torque transferring member, shaft-side contact portions contacting groove surfaces of the axial groove of the male shaft or the female shaft, and a biasing portion for elastically urging the transferring-member-side contact portions and the shaft-side contact portions away from each other. Rigidity of the transferring-member-side contact portions is different from that of the shaft-side contact portions.

A requirement for a telescopic shaft of a steering mechanism unit of a vehicle includes absorbing an axis-directional displacement during vehicle travel so as to inhibit the transfer of the displacement and vibrations to a steering wheel. Further, another requirement includes a function of shifting a position of the steering wheel in an axis-direction and adjusting this position in order for a driver to obtain a position optimal for driving the vehicle.
In all these cases, the telescopic shaft is required to reduce backlash or rattling noises, a feeling of the backlash on the steering wheel, and slide resistance when sliding in the axis-direction.
Such being the case, a conventional contrivance is that metallic noises, metal butting noises, etc., are absorbed or reduced by coating a male shaft of the telescopic shaft with a nylon film and applying grease over a slide portion. Thus, the slide resistance and the backlash in a rotating direction are reduced.
There is, however, a case where abrasion of the nylon film progresses in the course of use, and the backlash in the rotating direction increases. Further, when exposed to a high temperature in an engine compartment, the nylon film suffers a volumetric change with the result being that the slide resistance conspicuously rises and the abrasion is highly accelerated, wherein the backlash in the rotating direction increases.
Under such circumstances, according to telescopic shafts disclosed in German Patent Publication DE3730393C2, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-50293 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-193738, a rolling member and an preload elastic member, which preloads a male shaft and a female shaft, are interposed between an outer peripheral surface of the male shaft and an inner peripheral surface of the female shaft. With this configuration, when sliding, the elastic member preloads the rolling member against the female shaft to such an extent as not to cause backlash, whereby backlash between the male shaft and the female shaft can be prevented. Further, when transferring the torque, the elastic member can restrict the rolling member in a peripheral direction, and the male shaft and the female shaft can prevent backlash in the rotating direction thereof.
According to all these patent documents, however, the elastic member for preloading the rolling member and a race portion abutting on the rolling member are made from different materials and take different shapes for their usage.
This is because the race portion abutting on the rolling member must bear a high contact surface pressure. This implies that the torque must be transferred via the rolling member, and hence the race portion abutting on the rolling member is required to be a hard and rigid member. By contrast, the elastic member that generates a biasing force is required to be made from a flexible material, as in the case of a spring.
From these points described above, according to the patent document, i.e., German Patent Publication DE3730393C2, the race portion abutting on the rolling member involves using a different material and a different shape, and, as a result, it follows that manufacturing costs rise.
Moreover, German Patent Publication DE3730393C2 exemplifies an example of a plate spring, wherein the race portion and the elastic member are made from a single material. However, the plate springs are connected via a web, so that the configuration becomes complicated, resulting in a rise in assembling cost. Further, as described above, for transferring the torque through the rolling member, it is difficult to utilize the plate spring to bear the contact surface pressure of the rolling member and to give the biasing force.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-193738 exemplifies an example, wherein the elastic member and the race portion are integrally formed. As in the case described above, however, for transferring the torque via the rolling member, it is difficult to utilize the plate spring to bear the contact surface pressure of the rolling member and to give the biasing force.

Telescopic shaft for motor vehicle steering


According to one embodiment, a semiconductor structure including an integrated native device without a halo implanted channel region comprises an arrangement of semiconductor devices formed over a common substrate, the arrangement includes native devices disposed substantially perpendicular to non-native devices, wherein each of the native and non-native devices includes a respective channel region. The arrangement is configured to prevent formation of halo implants in the native device channel regions during halo implantation of the non-native device channel regions. In one embodiment, the disclosed native devices comprise native transistors capable of avoiding threshold voltage roll-up for channel lengths less than approximately 0.5 um.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of semiconductors. More particularly, the invention relates to the fabrication of native semiconductor devices.
2. Background Art
A native semiconductor device, or simply "native device," is a transistor ideally having a threshold voltage near zero volts. It can be desirable to provide native semiconductor devices along with non-native semiconductor devices. A non-native device can include halo implants in a channel region of the device. As channel lengths become smaller, the halo implants in the non-native device become more crucial, for example, to reduce short channel effects. A conventional native device can also include halo implants in a channel region of the device. At large channel lengths, halo implants can have little impact on the threshold voltage of the native device. However, as channel lengths become smaller, halo implants can undesirably cause roll-up of threshold voltage in the native device.
It is also desirable to integrate manufacturing processes of native and non-native devices. Conventional manufacturing processes can provide for native devices formed along with non-native devices, where both native and non-native devices include halo implanted channel regions. It is very desirable to provide native devices without halo implanted channel regions to prevent threshold voltage roll-up as channel lengths become smaller. However, the constraint that halo implants not be formed in native devices can adversely affect integration of manufacturing processes for native and non-native devices, for example, by requiring additional process steps and thereby increasing manufacturing cost and time.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a solution enabling integrated fabrication of native devices and non-native devices for short channel lengths.

Integrated native device without a halo implanted channel region and method for its fabrication


An annuloplasty prosthesis including an inner tubular member having a lateral wall and exhibiting auxetic behavior when subject to a tensile stress along the longitudinal axis of at least one of its portions. The auxetic behavior may be obtained by perforating the tubular member with apertures of desired shape, thus obtaining, for instance, re-entrant honeycomb cell structures or cell structures with two-dimensional chiral symmetry.

The human heart has four cardiac valves: the mitral valve, the tricuspid valve, the pulmonary valve and the aortic valve. The mitral valve is situated in the left atrioventricular ostium and ensures that the blood flows in one direction from the atrium to the ventricle. It opens in the diastoles and closes in the systoles, preventing the blood from flowing back from the ventricle to the atrium. The shape, dimensions and flexibility of the annulus of a normally functioning mitral valve are such as to enable the valve lips to close correctly during the systolic phase. The mitral annulus has, for instance, a characteristic "kidney" (or "D") shape and is more flexible in the portion corresponding to the posterior lip of the valve. Diseases and genetic defects may cause the annulus of the mitral valve to be deformed or dilated with the result that it does not close completely and there is therefore a regurgitation of blood. This problem may also occur in the tricuspid valve situated between the right atrium and the right ventricle.
A method frequently used to eliminate some pathological impairments of the mitral and tricuspid valves is to return the valve annulus to its correct shape and dimensions by surgical procedures known as annuloplasty.
Annuloplasty consists in the surgical implantation of a support prosthesis on the dilated or deformed annulus, in order to return it to its physiological shape and/or dimensions so that the cardiac valve can function correctly. The support prostheses used in valve repair surgery are known as annuloplasty prostheses. In most cases, these prostheses are formed by a closed or open ring structure comprising an inner ring-shaped member and an outer coating of biocompatible material which enables its surgical suturing.
Various kinds of annuloplasty prostheses have been disclosed in the prior art. Prostheses whose rigidity may be made variable in a desired manner depending on the point, the direction and/or the method of application of stresses are in particular already known. For instance, U.S. Publication 2003/0220686 discloses various embodiments of an annuloplasty prosthesis comprising an inner tubular member having a plurality of apertures in at least one portion of its wall.

Annuloplasty prosthesis with an auxetic structure


A memory device includes an array of strings of memory cells. The device includes a plurality of stacks of conductive strips separated by insulating material, including at least a bottom plane of conductive strips, a plurality of intermediate planes of conductive strips, and a top plane of conductive strips. A plurality of vertical active strips is formed between the plurality of stacks. Charge storage structures are formed in interface regions at cross-points between side surfaces of the conductive strips in the plurality of intermediate planes and the vertical active strips in the plurality of vertical active strips. Gate dielectric, having a different composition than the charge storage structures, is formed in interface regions at cross-points between the vertical active strips and side surfaces of the conductive strips in at least one of the top plane of conductive strips and the bottom plane of conductive strips.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high density memory devices, and particularly to memory devices in which multiple planes of memory cells are arranged to provide a three-dimensional 3D array.
Description of Related Art
3D memory devices have been developed in a variety of configurations that include stacks of conductive strips separated by insulating material, and vertical active strips between the stacks. Memory cells including charge storage structures are disposed at interface regions between intermediate planes of conductive strips in the stacks and the vertical active strips. String select switches are disposed at interface regions between a top plane of conductive strips in the stacks and the vertical active strips. Reference select switches are disposed at interface regions between a bottom plane of conductive strips in the stacks and the vertical active strips. In order to reliably control operations of the memory cells, it is desirable that the threshold voltages of string select switches and reference select switches are stable. When string select switches and reference select switches include charge storage structures as the memory cells, string select switches and reference select switches can be charged such that their threshold voltage may vary and thus require additional circuitry to program and erase the switches.
It is desirable to provide a structure for three-dimensional integrated circuit memory that provides string select switches and reference select switches with stable threshold voltages while memory cells are programmed or erased, without requiring additional circuitry to control the threshold voltages.

SSL/GSL gate oxide in 3D vertical channel NAND


An apparatus for installing siding boards comprises a body member, a siding-engagement member; and a cam member rotatably engaged with the body member. The cam member includes an eccentrically curved cam segment. The body member, siding-engagement member, and cam segment enable adjustment of vertical overlap of siding boards during installation with one of the boards engaged with the siding-engagement member and another board engaged against the eccentrically curved cam segment. A method for installing siding comprises engaging a pair of siding installation tools with an installed first siding board; positioning a second siding board against the eccentrically curved cam segments; adjusting vertical overlap of the boards by rotation of the cam members; securing the second board to an installation surface; rotating the cam members to disengage the cam segments from the second board; and disengaging and removing the installation tools from the first board.

The field of the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for aligning and installing horizontal siding boards.
Several tools for installing horizontal siding boards are presently available. Two of these are described in:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,392 entitled "Method and means of installing siding" issued Nov. 27, 1984 to DeFino et al; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,767 entitled "Siding installation alignment tool" issued Apr. 29, 1997 to Colavito.
The apparatus and methods disclosed herein may provide functionality not provided by these previous tools, or may remedy deficiencies exhibited by these previous tools.

Installation tool for horizontal siding boards


From opposed ends of a front frame, there extend right and left side frames. A front suspension structure is arranged behind the front frame and located between the right and left side frames. The front suspension structure includes a front member which extends between respective lower portions of the right and left side frames. The front member has a steering gear mounted thereon. A reinforcing structure extends between the front frame and the front member to reinforce the front suspension structure against an external force suddenly applied to the front member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a front suspension structure for use in front engine cab-over type motor vehicles, off road type four wheel drive motor vehicles and the like, and more particularly, to the front suspension structures of a type having a front member on which a steering gear of rack-and-pinion type is mounted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the front suspension structures of the above-mentioned type is shown in Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 7-205833.
The front suspension structure of this publication comprises generally front and rear members which extend in the direction of the width of a vehicle, and a pair of side members which extend in the direction of the length of the vehicle to connect opposed ends of the front member with those of the rear member. With this, the structure has a generally rectangular shape. Each side member has a front end vertically spaced from the front member, and thus a vertically extending connecting member is disposed therebetween for connecting the front end and the front member. On the front member, there is mounted a steering gear of rack-and-pinion type. A (front) differential gear is arranged behind the steering gear.
With adoption of this front suspension structure, the steering gear can be easily mounted on the front member without giving special consideration to the positional relationship between the differential gear and the steering gear and to the position where suspension links are arranged.
However, due to its inherent construction, the above-mentioned front suspension structure has failed to satisfy users to the full. In fact, when the vehicle is running on a rough road, it tends to occur that the front member of the front suspension structure bumps strongly against projected things on the road. Thus, in a severe case, the front member becomes largely deformed. In this case, the steering gear on the front member is damaged.

Reinforced front suspension structure of motor vehicle


Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a microfluidic refill cartridge having a vent hole and nozzles on a same side of the cartridge. In one or more embodiments, the vent hole and nozzles are located on upper surfaces of the cartridge, such as on a lid that is coupled to a reservoir. In particular, the nozzles and the vent hole may be formed on a microfluidic delivery member that is secured to the lid. A single cover may be used to cover the vent hole and the nozzles. In some embodiments, the single cover may be a flexible material and may adhere to the microfluidic delivery member.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments are directed to microfluidic delivery systems that include fluid dispensing refill cartridges and methods of sealing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fluid delivery systems that include refill cartridges are currently being used in the printer industry. Many printers, including 3D printers, use replaceable inkjet cartridges that incorporate an ink reservoir and a print head for delivering ink from the reservoir to the paper. The print head is usually located below the ink reservoir. Typically, the inkjet cartridges have nozzles for expelling the ink located below the ink reservoir and a vent hole on the top side of the ink reservoir for equalizing the pressure in the ink reservoir. Thus, the nozzles and vent hole are located on opposing surfaces of the inkjet cartridges.
Both the vent hole and the nozzles are preferably sealed when not in use to prevent leakage and evaporation of the ink. With the vent hole and the nozzles on opposing surfaces, a two-step process may be performed for sealing. For instance, a first step may be performed to seal the vent hole and a second step may be performed to seal the nozzles. Alternatively, a large cover that wraps around opposing surfaces and along a side surface of the cartridge may be used to seal the cartridge and the vent hole.

Microfluidic refill cartridge having a vent hole and a nozzle plate on same side


A fire protection sprinkler system includes at least two horizontal barriers, each covering two adjacent racks and a vertical flue space between the racks. The horizontal barriers are provided at a predetermined height, and have a width that is at least equal to a width of the rack, and a depth that is at least equal to a sum of a depth of the two racks and a depth of the vertical flue space. The horizontal barrier is spaced from an adjacent horizontal barrier. The system also includes at least two rack level fire protection sprinklers disposed in the vertical flue space below a horizontal barrier, of the at least two horizontal barriers. The sprinkler have a K-factor of 11.2 gpm/(psi)1/2 or greater, and are vertically spaced from commodities stored on the racks. Each horizontal barrier covers one rack level sprinkler, of the at least two rack level sprinklers.

The following disclosure relates to a fire protection system for rack storage, and in particular to an in-rack fire protection sprinkler system capable of protecting exposed, expanded and unexpanded, plastics.
Rack storage is a conventional storage arrangement used in various industries and facilities. As provided in Section 22.214.171.124 of the U.S. National Fire Protection Association Standard 13 (NFPA 13) (2007 Ed.), a "rack" is [a]ny combination of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal members that supports stored materials. Shelving in some racks can be solid, slatted, or open. Racks can also be fixed, portable, or movable. Loading commodities can be either manual—using lift trucks, stacker cranes, or hand placement—or automatic—using machine-controlled storage and retrieval systems." Conventionally, a commodity 102 to be protected is placed on a pallet 104 and the commodity 102 and the pallet 104 are stored together on a shelf 106 in a rack 108, as shown in FIG. 1A.
Racks can be single row, double row, or multiple row, with or without solid shelving. The terms "single row," "double row," and "multiple row" refer to the depth of the rack configuration in terms of the number of pallets that can be stored back to back. For example, a double row rack 108 has a depth that can accommodate two pallets back to back, as shown in the end elevation view of the schematic shown in FIG. 1B. When the palletized commodities 102 are stored apart from one another in the racks 108, 108 the spaces formed between the palletized commodities 102 form transverse flue spaces 112, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C. Also, the vertical spaces between adjoining racks 108 (i.e., the spaces between the backs of rows of storage) form what are known as longitudinal, or vertical, flue spaces 114 (FIGS. 1B and 1C). An isometric view of a conventional double row rack 108 showing the relationship of various parameters is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, double and multiple-row racks 108 are conventionally spaced apart from other double or multiple-row racks 108 by an aisle width 118, which is conventionally 4 feet or 8 feet (1.22 meters to 2.44 meters). FIGS. 3A and 3B also show, respectively, a plan view and an end elevation view of two double row rack arrangements 108 separated by an aisle having an aisle width 118.
Fire protection sprinklers are conventionally connected to a conduit to receive pressurized fire-extinguishing fluid, such as water. A typical fire protection sprinkler has a base with a threaded portion for connection to the conduit, and an output orifice to output the fire-extinguishing fluid to provide fire control and/or fire suppression. The output orifice is sealed by a seal cap that is held in place by a release mechanism. The release mechanism is designed to release the seal cap under predetermined conditions, thereby initiating the flow of the fire-extinguishing fluid. A typical release mechanism includes a thermally-responsive element, e.g., a frangible bulb or fusible link, and may also include a latching mechanism.
Certain conventional fire protection sprinklers have a pair of arms that extend from the base portion and meet at a hub portion to form a frame. The hub portion is spaced apart from the output orifice of the base portion and is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the base portion. The hub portion may have a set-screw configured to apply a pre-tension force to the release mechanism. A deflector may be mounted on the hub, transverse to the output orifice, to provide dispersion of the output fire-extinguishing fluid.
Fire protection sprinklers may be mounted on a fluid conduit running along a ceiling and may either extend downward from the fluid conduit, referred to as a "pendent" configuration, or may extend upward from the fluid conduit, referred to as an "upright" configuration. Alternatively, fire protection sprinklers may be mounted on a wall, a certain distance below the ceiling, referred to as a "horizontal sidewall" configuration. An output orifice of a horizontal sidewall fire protection sprinkler is oriented so that the fire-extinguishing fluid is output horizontally and sprays onto an area to be protected in front of the fire protection sprinkler.
An "extended coverage storage sprinkler (specific application)," as described in Section 55.1 of the Standard for Automatic Sprinklers for Fire-Protection Service, published by Underwriters' Laboratories, 11th Ed., Nov. 4, 2005 (UL 199) is a fire protection sprinkler that is intended to be installed using the extended coverage area up to 196 square feet (e.g., 14 feet by 14 feet (4.27 meters by 4.27 meters, or 18.21 square meters)), and using specific application criteria specified in NFPA 13. These extended coverage storage fire protection sprinklers (specific application) incorporate a heat responsive element and release mechanism that has a response time equal to or less than that of a standard response fire protection sprinkler designed for standard spacings up to 100 square feet (e.g., 10 feet by 10 feet (3.05 meters by 3.05 meters, or 9.30 square meters)). Extended coverage fire protection sprinklers are installed in accordance with Section 8.8.2 of NFPA 13.
NFPA 13 defines a number of different types of storage sprinkler configurations and protection criteria. Conventionally, fire protection systems that provide fire protection for commodities stored in storage racks include fire protection sprinklers that are arranged within the storage racks, i.e., in-rack or rack-level fire protection sprinklers, that may be disposed directly above the commodity stored on a shelf of the storage rack. Section 8.13 of NFPA 13 specifies installation requirements for in-rack fire protection sprinklers, and section 184.108.40.206 of NFPA 13 requires that in-rack fire protection sprinklers be ordinary-temperature, standard response, or quick response fire protection sprinklers and have a nominal K-factor of 5.6 or 8.0 gpm/(psi)1/2.
Chapter 13 of NFPA 13 describes configurations of in-rack fire protection sprinklers for various classifications of commodities for storage heights up to 12 feet (3.66 meters). According to section 13.3.2 of NFPA 13, in-rack fire protection sprinklers shall have a K-factor of 5.6 gpm/(psi)1/2 or greater, and shall operate at a minimum pressure of 15 psi (1 bar). Table 13.2.1 and FIG. 13.2.1 of NFPA 13, Chapter 13, specify the maximum ceiling height, maximum storage height, area of sprinkler operation, and discharge density for various hazard classes and storage types for in-rack fire protection sprinkler installations for storage up to 12 feet (3.66 meters) in height. Section 16.2 of NFPA 13 provides "Protection Criteria for Rack Storage of Class I Through Class IV Commodities Stored Up to and Including 25 ft in Height," Section 16.3 provides "Protection Criteria for Rack Storage of Class I Through Class IV Commodities Stored Over 25 ft in Height," and Chapter 17 provides "Protection of Plastic and Rubber Commodities That are Stored on Racks."
Fire protection of rack storage configurations poses a number of challenges. Fire protection sprinkler systems are usually required to be installed in warehouses and other similar article storage areas. Conventional fire protection sprinkler systems are generally installed in the ceiling of the building and the fire protection sprinklers spray water in the area of the fire to either control and/or to extinguish the fire. In storage areas including racks, however, a fire that starts on a lower rack is shielded from the spray emanating from a fire protection sprinkler positioned above the rack, either by shelving above the rack or by commodities stored above the rack. This factor is significantly aggravated as the number of shelves is increased. Moreover, in cases in which fire protection sprinklers are located in the ceiling above a given rack, a fire in lower shelves of the rack may not actuate the heating-actuated sensing elements of the fire protection sprinklers in a sufficiently short amount of time to provide effective control of the fire. And, as noted, even when the fire protection sprinklers of the fire protection system are actuated, the fire on the lower shelves is protected from the spray by upper shelves, and thus, the fire can spread upwardly.
In particular, early suppression-fast response (ESFR) fire protection sprinklers and control mode special application (CMSA) fire protection sprinklers have been used as ceiling-level fire protection sprinklers in place of in-rack fire protection sprinklers. Conventional ESFR and CMSA fire protection sprinklers must operate at a relatively high pressure and discharge relatively large volumes of water in order to provide the same level of fire protection as the in-rack fire protection sprinklers they replace. The increased water demand and higher operating pressure required by ESFR and CMSA fire protection sprinklers, however, are generally undesirable consequences. Moreover, ESFR and CMSA fire protection sprinklers are not approved for the protection of all storage commodities and commodity storage configurations. Furthermore, ESFR and CMSA fire protection sprinklers are limited for use based on building heights.
Overhead or roof fire protection sprinkler systems that are supplemented by intermediate levels of fire protection sprinklers have been suggested, including, for example, fire protection sprinklers mounted within the storage racks, and also within aisles between the storage racks (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,930 (D'Anneo)). This arrangement was not generally satisfactory because consistent, timely, and dependable detection and fire protection sprinkler actuation was not achievable. Consequently, greater damage to stored material, and greater risk to the stored commodity and the building structure, prevented widespread use of this arrangement in high storage facilities. Moreover, installing fire protection sprinklers within storage racks increases the cost and complexity of the fire protection sprinkler system, and reduces the flexibility of locating and relocating the storage racks due to the fixed position of the fluid conduit (i.e., the fire protection sprinkler plumbing). Also, because commodities may be routinely moved in and out of the storage racks, there is an increased risk of damage to the in-rack fire protection sprinklers from such handling of the commodities.
Also, fire protection systems using foam have been suggested for use in high-rise storage facilities. Generally, such a system has a foam generator coupled with a suitable sensing system that is capable of filling an entire building volume with a light foam. Single generators capable of producing as much as 2,000 cubic feet per minute (56.63 cubic meters per minute) of foam are available. The time required for filling the building varies, but generally ranges from two minutes to eight minutes. Such systems are not completely satisfactory because the foam may damage goods (i.e., the commodities) stored within the facility. Also, when the fire occurs at a high elevation, the foam may not reach the height at which the fire is located for some time, permitting the fire to spread to the roof or the ceiling and become out-of-control. Further, the foam system mentioned in the D'Anneo patent is relatively expensive, requires great quantities of water, and requires a good deal of maintenance, and the generators that are heavy and are normally mounted on the roof may result in structural damage if insufficient reinforcement is provided. In addition, removal of the foam from the warehouse after the fire is extinguished is a problem.

In-rack fire protection sprinkler system including at least two unitary horizontal barriers that cover racks of adjoining racks and at least one rack level fire protection sprinkler disposed below the at least two unitary horizontal barriers

The Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co. Inc.


The invention provides a database schema for representing a workflow process definition (e.g., a schedule). The database schema may also include one or more bindings associated with the schedule, as well as persisted state information and data. The invention further includes a method for storing schedule information in a storage medium, as well as a computer-readable medium having a data structure stored thereon. The storage of schedule-related information provides for ease of version control, and ease of distribution, for example, where several engines point to the same database as a single source of transaction processing or workflow schedule definitions. The definitional database schema may be advantageously employed to reconstruct the schedule definition language solely from information in a database. In addition, the schema may be used for storing instances of running schedules and data associated therewith. This allows ease of schedule state and data monitoring using existing database query tools.

Schedules are applications which may be defined for transaction processing systems, such as computer systems. A schedule instance may be executed in such a system, whereby one or more transactions within the schedule are executed. In executing an instance of such a schedule and its component transactions, information associated therewith may need to be stored or persisted in a storage medium, such as a memory system.
Storage of information in a storage medium may be facilitated using a database in conjunction with a database management system (DBMS). A database is a collection of related data that may be stored on a nonvolatile memory medium. Data in the database is commonly organized in a two-dimensional row and column form called a table. A database typically includes multiple tables.
A table is an object in the database having at least one record and at least one field within each record. Thus, a table may be thought of as an object having two-dimensional record and field organization. A record is a row of data in the table that is identified by a unique numeric called a record number. A field is a subdivision of a record to the extent that a column of data in the table represents the same field for each record in the table. Each field in a record is identified by a unique field name and a field name remains the same for the same field in each record of the table. Therefore, a specific datum in a table is referenced by identifying a record number and a field name.
A database management system (DBMS) is a control system that supports database features including, but not limited to, storing data on a memory medium, and retrieving data from the memory medium. Data in the database is typically organized among a plurality of objects that include, but are not limited to, tables and queries. An individual table or query may be referred to as a record source because it is a source of data or records from the database. A query object is an executable database interrogation statement, command, and/or instruction that communicates to the database management system the identity and location of data being extracted from the database. The product of an executed query is called a result set. A result set may be stored and/or manipulated as a two-dimensional object similar to the table discussed previously.
A relational database is a common database type managed by a database management system. Data in a relational database is distributed among multiple record sources that are typically related, or normalized, in a manner designed to minimize redundant data in the database, minimize the space required to store data in the database, and maximize data accessibility. Record sources in a database may be related to one another via key fields. A normalized database is one where each record source in the database is directly related to at least one other record source in the same database by key fields.
A key field can be a primary key or a foreign key. A primary key is a field or combination of fields in a record source that includes unique data for each record in the table. A foreign key is any non-primary key in a record source that is the basis for a direct relation with any other record source. A database remains a relational database regardless of the degree of normalization that exists. Record sources in a normalized relational database are typically related. However, a relational database may be normalized even if the database is disconnected in that at least one record source in the database is not related to any other record source by a key field.
Relationships between any two record sources in a relational database may be either direct or indirect. Such a relationship may also be referred to as a relation or join. A direct relationship exists between two record sources if there is no intervening record source in the relationship path therebetween. An indirect relationship exists if there is at least one intervening record source in the relationship path between two record sources.
The record sources in a relational database and the relationships therebetween define the geography of a database, which may be called a database schema. A sub-schema of the database is any subset of the full database schema that is defined by a query, a result set of a query, or any other subset of record sources from the database. A database schema and database sub-schema may be displayed visually in graphic form as a graph having edges or arrows representing relationships between record sources, and vertices, also known as nodes or tables, representing the record sources at either end of a relationship.
Queries are used to access data in a database. A query may be constructed in a Structured Query Language (SQL) that may or may not be based on the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard SQL definition. To access data in a database, a user may construct a query using an SQL. Executing a query is called a join or joining wherein each relation identified in the query is joined during execution to retrieve the desired data from a database.
Schedule-related information comprises many diverse types of data. Prior transaction processing systems do not provide an effective mechanism for the storage any retrieval of such schedule-related information and data to and from a storage medium, such as a database. It is desirable to store information relating to a schedule definition in an efficient manner where the specifics of the definitional language may be easily reconstructed solely from information in a database. At the same time, updates to the database with runtime information may need to be fast, possibly at the expense of storage efficiency. Thus, fully normalized database structures are not an optimal match for the requirements of schedule information storage. In addition, schedule-related information may include binding information. One or more bindings may be associated with a schedule, to allow instances of a single schedule to be executed on different machines or systems with different hardware technologies. Conventional database structures and schemas do not provide efficient, easily-portable storage solutions for schedule-related information storage. Moreover, current schedule storage methods and systems do not provide for ease of querying and monitoring schedule-related information and data.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for persisting a schedule and database schema


A method includes performing a first cleaning step to clean a membrane, wherein during the first cleaning step, a first solvent passes through the membrane. After the first cleaning step, a second cleaning step is performed to clean the membrane. During the second cleaning step, a second solvent passes through the membrane. The first solvent and the second solvent are in different groups among three solvent groups, wherein the three solvent groups include a non-polar solvent group, a polar aprotic solvent group, and a polar protic solvent group.

The manufacturing of integrated circuits involves a plurality of process steps, in which a plurality of chemicals/materials is involved. Some of these chemicals are liquids. For example, the manufacturing of a chip may include many photolithography steps. In each of the photolithography steps, photo resists, Bottom Anti-Reflective Coating (BARC), and the like, are often used.
To improve the manufacturing yield, the chemicals may be filtered, so that the undesirable substances and particles in these chemicals may be removed before the chemicals are used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. The filtering is performed using membranes, wherein the chemicals penetrate through the pores of the membranes, while the undesirable substances and particles, which have sizes greater than the pore sizes, are blocked. Since the membranes used for holding the membranes may contain undesirable impurities and chemicals themselves, the membranes need to be cleaned first before they are used, otherwise, the membranes become the source in contaminating the chemicals that are cleaned.

Methods for cleaning membranes used for filtering chemicals

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A refrigeration system for cooling air s disclosed. The system includes a substantially liquid refrigerant and an evaporator for transferring heat from the air to the substantially liquid refrigerant. The substantially liquid refrigerant becomes a low temperature, low pressure first superheated gas refrigerant. A compressor compresses the first superheated gas refrigerant into a high pressure, high temperature second further superheated gas refrigerant. A lubricant circuit supplies lubricant to the compressor, wherein a portion of the lubricant is mixed with the further superheated gas refrigerant. A condenser rejects heat from the second superheated gas refrigerant and forms a high pressure, low temperature sub-cooled liquid refrigerant. The condenser has an output stream. A metering device transforms the sub-cooled liquid refrigerant into the substantially liquid refrigerant for the evaporator. An economizer circuit provides an intermediate temperature and pressure economizer refrigerant flow to the compressor. The economizer refrigerant flow originates from the output stream of the condenser. The economizer circuit includes an economizer heat exchanger. The economizer heat exchanger includes paths for receiving and cooling the lubricant before returning to the compressor and the sub-cooled liquid refrigerant on route to the metering device, wherein the economizer refrigerant flow is a cooling medium in the heat exchanger.

Conventional air conditioning systems cool air in confined spaces by using four main components, including a compressor, condenser, metering device, and an evaporator. These components also provide the basis for most refrigeration cycles. However, as systems become more technologically advanced, additional components are added. Generally, the compressor compresses refrigerant gas to a high pressure, high temperature, superheated gaseous state for use by the condenser. The condenser, in cooling the superheated gas, produces a sub-cooled liquid refrigerant with a high pressure and lower temperature. The metering device, such as an expansion valve, produces a low temperature, low pressure saturated liquid-vapor mixture from the sub-cooled liquid. Finally, the evaporator converts the saturated liquid-vapor mixture, to a low temperature, low pressure superheated gas during air cooling for use by the compressor. The overall performance and efficiency of refrigeration cycles are directly dependent upon the heat transfer provided by the condenser, evaporator, and compressor oil cooler, The overall performance is further dependent upon the performance and lubrication of the compressor.
During operation, most compressors use lubricants which reduce wear and/or seal gaps in the compressor to prevent internal refrigerant leakage. By maintaining the compressor lubricants at relatively low temperature, compressor efficiency and reliability are increased, providing improved lubricant sealing properties due to increased oil viscosity, improved compressor cooling, and decreased frictional wear. For example, screw type compressors utilize counter-rotating rotors to compress refrigerant gas. Such compressors rely on lubricants to reduce friction between mating parts and seal gaps between the rotors and crankcase thereof. Typically, the refrigerant includes some amount of the acquired lubricants before entering the compressor, but some rotating compressor technology injects the oil into the compression process separately.
More particularly, refrigerant enters a compressor in vapor form and is compressed, thereby increasing in pressure and temperature. The compressor releases the refrigerant and lubricant mixture and the mixture subsequently travels throughout the refrigeration system via a series of closed conduits. In some refrigeration cycles, the refrigerant and lubricant mixture exits the compressor and enters an oil separator. The oil is separated from the refrigerant and the refrigerant is routed to a condenser where the heat removal operation via a cooling medium such as outdoor air, occurs on the refrigerant. With heat removed, the refrigerant exits the condenser at high pressure and lower temperature. In a liquid form, the compressor lubricant flows through an oil cooler, such as a heat exchange apparatus, similar to the condenser, wherein air is the cooling medium. The cooled oil flows back to the compressor, functioning to lower the refrigerant discharge temperature and increase the efficiency of the compressor. The refrigerant flows from the condenser to the metering device, such as an expansion valve, wherein temperature and pressure of the refrigerant are reduced for subsequent use by the evaporator and results in cooling of the air of the desired space. Between the condenser and the evaporator, refrigeration cycles such as this may also include an economizer circuit for use in further cooling of the main refrigerant stream. In such cases, an economizer heat exchanger is provided through which the main refrigerant stream passes for cooling. A secondary refrigerant flow off-shooting from the main line exiting the condenser is passed through an auxiliary metering device for achieving intermediate pressure and temperature refrigerant. This refrigerant is used in further sub-cooling of the main refrigerant flow prior to its passage through the metering device. With the main refrigerant stream cooled in this manner, it can be used in another heat exchange mechanism for further lowering its temperature by the expense of the refrigerant traveling from the evaporator to the suction port of the compressor.
As indicated above, typically oil is cooled by using a separate oil cooler. However, the prior art does include refrigeration systems which combine the oil cooling with other cooling steps in a simultaneous process. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,583 discloses the integration of an oil cooler with a refrigerant condenser. The system uses the refrigerant to cool the compressor lubricant. However, a parasitic loss of compressor capacity occurs because the main refrigerant stream is used to directly cool the oil and in the process, evaporates a certain amount of refrigerant, reducing available sub-cooling. Accordingly, some amount of the compressor power is increased and the system capacity is decreased. The use of separate oil coolers, in the form of heat exchangers as described above, substantially adds to the part count of refrigeration systems, as well as requiring the use of additional refrigeration circuits or additional external energy source to accomplish cooling. At the same time, by combining two heat transfer processes in one heat exchanger they can be arranged in the most efficient optimal manner through heat flux redistribution, which is not possible otherwise.
There exists a need, therefore, for an improved refrigeration cycle including a more efficient design for cooling the compressor lubricant.

Refrigeration system with integrated economizer/oil cooler


A hot water supply apparatus using a heat medium provides a heat medium circulation path that circulates the heat medium, a heat medium pump that pumps the heat medium into the heat medium circulation path, a heat source that generates heat heating the heat medium, a heat medium heat exchanger that exchanges heat generated by the heat source for the heat medium, a hot water supply heat exchanger that exchanges heat of the heat medium circulating in the heat medium circulation path for clean water, and a control unit that sets the heat medium in the heat medium circulation path in a predetermined temperature and controls the rotating speed of the heat medium pump and the combustion amount of the heat source according to a heat requirement.

Conventionally, when clean water is heated to supply hot water, clean water is allowed to flow into a hot water supply apparatus from an entrance water side thereof, and heat of the clean water is exchanged directly for heat generated from a heat source such as a burner.
Concerning such a hot water supply apparatus, it is known that water is supplied to a heat exchanger disposed inside a water boiler, and combustion heat of a gas burner is exchanged for the water to provide hot water from an outgoing hot water pipe (for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 58-33050). It is also known that heat of clean water, which is supplied tap water processed by a water purifier, creating equipment that electrolyzes tap water to be able to generate alkaline water and acid water, etc., is exchanged for heat of a burner in a heat receiving pipe (for example, Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 05-02619).
There is a case that tap water or the like taken into a hot water supply apparatus as clean water includes different components according to, for example, an area. If this difference is explained by a pH (Potential of Hydrogen) level, there exists the range of, for example, 5.8 to 8.6. When a pH level is very low, an acid level is high. Water of the very low pH level is not suitable to drink. When a pH level is high, an alkali level is high, and there may be a case that much lime is included as a component. If water of such high alkali level continues on being heated at high temperatures by a heat exchanger, there occurs possibility that the component of lime separates out in a heat exchanger. If a gap is generated between such separating component and a straight pipe of a heat exchanger, partial boiling may occur. Thus, there is a problem such that hot water at a desired temperature cannot be obtained.
Since a process such as filtration is executed on tap water in a water purification plant, impurities, etc. as the above do not multiply sharply. However, quality of supplied water is different according to an area because of difference in water quality before the process or in ability to purify water. For evening up water quality and supplying constant quality of water to a hot water supply apparatus, there are the problems of needing complicated devices and great cost.
Concerning such problems, there is no disclosure or suggestion thereof in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 58-33050 and Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 05-026191, and no disclosure or suggestion about structure, etc. solving them are presented therein.

Hot water supply apparatus and heat medium control method


A laser interferometric apparatus for measuring a displacement of an object is disclosed, the apparatus comprising a laser source for producing a laser beam having a given intensity, a beam splitter for dividing the laser beam into a reference beam and an object beam to be directed to the object, thereby producing a scattered object beam being modulated according to the displacement of the object, interference means adapted to provide at least two electrical interference signals from the scattered object beam and the reference beam, the at least two electrical interference signals each comprising a wanted signal component indicative of the object displacement and an intensity noise component, and processing means for subtracting the at least two electrical interference signals, thereby generating an output signal, the output signal comprising substantially the wanted signal component alone, wherein the intensity noise is substantially rejected.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to noise rejection in interferometric displacement measurements.
2. Background Art
Interferometry is a well known technique for measuring the phase difference between two or more optical beams. Two-beam interferometers, where one of the optical beams is back reflected by an object surface and the other beam is used as a reference, are used to monitor small deformations on an object under test or small displacements of a surface of a workpiece under test.
Multi-speckle interferometers are able to collect a larger amount of light compared to single-speckle interferometers. Increase in the amount of collected light leads to an increase of the interferometer sensitivity. Multi-speckle interferometry may be performed using, for example, confocal Fabry-Perot or multi-channel quadrature interferometers, or two-wave mixing in a photorefractive crystal. A Michelson interferometer is a typical single-speckle interferometer.
Multi-speckle interferometers may be used to detect displacements of an object that is subjected to ultrasound. Laser ultrasonics can advantageously be used for nondestructive testing in order to measure the thickness of objects or to monitor defects in materials. Industrial applications involve the inspection of an optically rough surface, leading to the ultrasonic information being encoded in a laser beam with speckles.
Like every detection system, multi-speckle interferometers are subjected to noise, i.e., electronic noise, shot noise, laser phase noise, and laser intensity noise.
The phase noise is related to the coherence of the laser and needs to be considered when the path difference between the interfering beams is no longer small compared to the coherence length of the laser. For dual-beam interferometers, the coherence length requirement is not critical since the signal and reference beam paths can be made nearly equal. With current laser technology, laser coherence lengths of several meters are commonly available, thus reducing phase noise considerably.
Electronic noise adds an unwanted characteristic of an electronic circuit to the wanted signal. The electronic noise may be considered independent of the intensity of the light detected by a detector. It may, for example, only depend on the first amplifier stage used to amplify a weak photo-detector current. In a well-designed system, the electronic noise should only amount to a small fraction of the total noise.
The shot noise is the quantum noise due the light-to-electrical conversion in the detector, such as a photodiode. In the case of a coherent light source, shot noise increases with the square root of the intensity arriving on the detector.
Laser intensity noise usually results from vibrations of the laser cavity or fluctuations in the gain medium of the laser. Typically, intensity noise is proportional to the laser intensity. At ultrasound frequencies below a few MHz, the intensity noise can quickly become the limiting factor for the interferometer sensitivity. It is possible to use specific lasers with low intensity noise, but these are expensive.
It is an aim of the invention to reject the laser intensity noise such that the shot noise is the dominant noise source in the system. This way, the interferometric system may achieve its theoretical sensitivity limit without using specific lasers.
One method of rejecting intensity noise is balanced detection, as described, for example, in C. B. Scruby and L. E. Drain, "Laser Ultrasonics—Techniques and Applications", Ed. Adam Hilger, Bristol, UK (1990). In a detection-balanced interferometer, two interference beams of equal intensity and opposite phases, both carrying the surface information from the object, are detected using two photo-detectors. The two electrical signals corresponding to the interference beams are then subtracted so that the phase information is summed up and the intensity noise is cancelled out. However, balanced detection is more difficult and expensive to implement since the optical set-up necessary to properly align the intensity and the phase of the two interference beams is more complex.
Another method to reject intensity noise is an all-electronic method as described, for example, in Philip C. D. Hobbs, "Ultrasensitive laser measurements without tears", Applied Optics, Vol. 36, No. 4, February 1997 (also in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,276). In an all-electronic scheme, photocurrents generated by an interference beam and a comparison beam sampled at the laser output are processed. The two photocurrents are combined to obtain an output signal where intensity noise has been rejected. The combination may be provided through subtraction or division of the photocurrents. In both cases, the comparison beam draws off intensity from the total laser output intensity that can hence not be used for the interferometric measurement.
The invention aims at providing an interferometer that is able to reject laser intensity noise without increasing shot noise, and, at the same time, to use as much of the available laser light as possible to obtain the highest possible sensitivity of the interferometric system.

Laser intensity noise rejection for interferometric apparatus


The present invention discloses a multifunctional traditional Chinese medicine health pillow. The health pillow is in an inverted concave shape; an outermost layer is a dense old coarse cloth sheet. The health pillow of the present invention not only treats cervical spondylosis, but also can activate blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis, reconcile yin and yang, regulate pulmonary function, regulate blood pressure and reduce blood lipid, treat insomnia, forgetfulness and neurasthenia, conduct effective hypnosis and sleep aid, and is more widely used in adjunctive therapy of cervical vertebra syndrome, scapulohumeral periarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lumbar muscle strain, lumbar vertebrae hyperplasia, lumbar disc herniation, sciatica, multiple peripheral neuritis, rheumatic fibrositis, atrophic lateral sclerosis, pain caused by bone degenerative change and pain caused by various soft tissue injuries.

At present, many varieties of health pillow products exist on the market, and have respective special characteristics. However, the health pillow products can be roughly classified into three categories. The first category is a variety of special-shaped pillows filled with high-elastic fiber space cotton and shaped according to the fillers. The first category is good in shape and comfort. However, cervical vertebra is only fixed and stabilized mechanically to alleviate the pain of the cervical vertebra without practical pharmaceutical effect. The second category is a health pillow filled with grain hulls or traditional Chinese medicine. The filling amount is single or small. The second category has certain curative effect, but the effect is poor. The third category is a wood appliance, i.e., a jade pillow. The magnet pillow is filled with traditional Chinese medicine. The third category has certain curative effect, but the shape arid the height of the pillow are fixed, which cannot satisfy the actual needs of free adjustment of the users. The three categories of pillows are all used for the treatment of cervical spondylosis, and have own pillow shapes; the contact surfaces are only limited to the cervical Vertebra position, and the pain and lesions of the shoulders, back, waist and buttocks cannot be considered.

Multifunctional traditional Chinese medicine health pillow


In a master carrier for magnetic transfer which comprises a support that has a transfer-recording pattern arrayed in the track direction thereof in accordance with the information to be transferred to a magnetic recording medium, and a magnetic layer formed on the transfer-recording pattern of the support, the in-plane distance L (mm) between the hill and the valley of the warped master carrier, the vertical-direction distance H (μm) between the two, and the thickness d (mm) of the master carrier are so defined that they satisfy a relation of 0.05≦H·d3/L≦0.6.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a master carrier for magnetic transfer, which has a transfer-recording pattern arrayed in the track direction thereof in accordance with the information to be transferred to a magnetic recording medium, to an inspection method for it, and to a method for producing magnetic recording media by the use of it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hard discs and high-density flexible discs that are desired to satisfy the requirements of mass storage and rapid access are supported by a tracking servo technique by which a magnetic head accurately scans and traces a narrow track width to reproduce signals at a high S/N ratio. According to the tracking servo technique, tracking servo signals, address information signals, regeneration clock signals and others are preformatted at predetermined intervals in one circle of every disc.
A magnetic head reads the preformatted signals on a disc and corrects its own position, and therefore it can accurately run along a predetermined track on the disc. Heretofore, discs are preformatted one by one or for every one track by the use of a dedicated servo-write device. However, such a servo-write device is expensive, and it takes a long period of time to preformat discs with it. Therefore, the servo-writing step accounts for the major part of the production costs of preformatted discs, and it is desired to reduce the costs thereof.
In that situation, a magnetic transfer method has been proposed in place of the method of preformatting one by one track on every disc, and it comprises transferring the necessary magnetic information all at a time. Precisely, the magnetic transfer method comprises keeping the surface of a magnetic recording medium (slave medium) that has a magnetic recording region in its surface, in intimate contact with the surface of a master carrier that has an uneven pattern on the surface of a support having a magnetic material in accordance with transfer information, and applying a transfer magnetic field to these in that condition to thereby transfer the magnetic pattern that corresponds to the information (servo signal) carried by the master carrier, into the magnetic recording region of the slave medium. The magnetic transfer method attains the necessary recording not requiring a relative position change of the master carrier and the slave medium, and it enables accurate preformatting of discs within an extremely short period of time. As a background of the invention, there is a reference of U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,016.
However, in order to improve the transfer quality in the above-mentioned magnetic transfer method, there is an important problem of how to keep the master carrier and the slave medium in intimate contact with each other with no clearance gap therebetween. This is because, if the two aren't kept enough in contact with each other therebetween, then a satisfactory recording signal intensity cannot be obtained and the intended magnetic transfer may not be attained in some region. The magnetic transfer failure causes signal drop of the magnetic information transferred to the slave medium, and the transferred signal quality is thereby lowered, and when the recorded signal is a servo signal, then it could not satisfactorily attain its tracking function and the signal-reading reliability thereof may therefore lower. To that effect, uniform signal recording in all over the disc area is important in the art of magnetic transfer.
We carried out a magnetic transfer test of recording a large number of slave medium sheets from one and the same master carrier, and inspected the signals recorded on the slave medium sheets. As a result, we found that signal drop occurred in the region of an order of mm2 with the increase in the transfer repetitions, and the master carrier with a trouble of significant signal drop finally failed in signal recording. Given that situation, we inspected the outward appearance of the master carrier before and after used in the test, and found some slight change in the appearance of the master carrier with a trouble of signal drop.
In addition, we have analyzed the profile of the used master carrier, and, as a result, found some minor change in the profile of the master carrier before and after used in the magnetic transfer test. From these, we considered that the large pressure applied to the master carrier in intimately contacting it with the slave medium caused the deformation of the master carrier. Accordingly, we again tried the magnetic transfer under a reduced pressure, but failed to ensure the intimate contact condition between the master carrier and the slave medium and, as a result, we could not realize uniform signal recording on the slave medium. Specifically, this suggests the presence of a factor that may augment the carrier deformation in addition to the pressure to be applied to the carrier in intimately contacting it with a recording medium. We carried out the same test in which the thickness of the master carrier was reduced to thereby lower the macromechanical bending toughness thereof, and found that the contact pressure necessary for ensuring the uniform intimate contact between the master carrier and the recording medium did not differ so much between the thick master carrier and the thin master carrier.

Master carrier for magnetic transfer, inspecting method thereof, and magnetic recording medium producing method


A source driver circuit of an LCD apparatus with a small occupied area and low power consumption is disclosed. The source driver circuit comprises a reference voltage circuit, a negative voltage driving DAC, a positive voltage driving DAC, an invert amplifier, a non-invert amplifier and a voltage selector. The reference voltage circuit generates a reference voltage. The negative voltage driving DAC divides the display data into negative gradation voltages. The positive voltage driving DAC divides the display data into positive gradation voltages. The invert amplifier works as an analogue buffer for the negative gradation voltages for driving the LCD apparatus and the non-invert amplifier works as an analogue buffer for the positive gradation voltages for driving the LCD apparatus. The voltage selector provides the reference voltage to the positive and negative voltage driving DACs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a source driver circuit, and more particularly to a source driver circuit of an LCD apparatus.
2. Description of Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 6, which shows a diagram of a driving circuit of an LCD apparatus according to prior art first. As shown in FIG. 6, the LCD apparatus of prior art mainly comprises a TFT liquid crystal panel 1, a display controller 2 and a gate driver circuit 3 for controlling gate electrodes of the TFT liquid crystal panel 1. The display controller 2 generates a gate driving control signal 4 to control the gate driver circuit 3 and transmits thereto. Furthermore, the LCD apparatus of prior art further comprises a source driver circuit. The source driver circuit includes reference voltage circuits 5 and 6, voltage selectors 7 and 8, DACs 9 and 10 (Digital to Analog Converter), non-invert amplifiers 11 and 12, a shift register 14, a level shifter 15, and a demultiplexer 16. The reference voltage circuits 5 and 6 transform digital display data into gradation voltage signals according to the reference voltages. The DACs 9 and 10 convert voltage data from the voltage selectors 7 and 8 into analog signals respectively. The non-invert amplifier 11 works as an analogue buffer for applying the analogue signals from DAC 9 to the TFT liquid crystal panel 1. The non-invert amplifier 12 also works as an analogue buffer for applying the analogue signals from DAC 10 to the TFT liquid crystal panel 1. The level shifter 15 raises the outputted voltage level of the shift register 14.
The non-invert amplifiers 11 and 12 output display signals 13 that drive the TFT liquid crystal panel 1 to the demultiplexer 16. Furthermore, the display controller 2 transmits a timing signal 17 to the shift register 14 for transmitting the display signals 13 from the demultiplexer 16 to the TFT liquid crystal panel 1. In the meantime, the display controller 2 also transmits a transfer clock 18 to the shift register 14. Moreover, the display controller 2 transmits pulses 19 to the level shifter 15 according to the transfer clock 18.
The display controller 2 outputs the gate driving control signals 4 to the gate driver circuit 3. And then, the controlled gate driver circuit 3 activates any one gate control line of the TFT liquid crystal panel 1.
Display data are the gradation voltage signals which are generated by the reference voltage circuits 5 and 6 for applying to the TFT liquid crystal panel 1. Then, the gradation voltage signals are converted by the DACs 9 and 10. The analog signals obtained by aforesaid conversion are inputted into the non-invert amplifiers 11 and 12. For cyclically reversing the polarities of the gradation voltages applied to the TFT liquid crystal panel 1, the reference voltage circuits 5 and 6, the voltage selectors 7 and 8, the DACs 9 and 10, the non-invert amplifiers 11 and 12 are all the essential elements during driving the liquid crystals.
More specifically, the LCD apparatus of prior arts needs a positive reference voltage circuit 5 and a negative reference voltage circuit 6 for cyclically reversing the polarities of the gradation voltages of driving the liquid crystals of the TFT panel 1. Correspondingly, two voltage selectors 7 and 8, two DACs 9 and 10, two non-invert amplifiers 11 and 12 become necessary. Therefore, an occupied area of the source driver circuit is large and power consumption thereof is also high. For a tendency towards microminiaturization and low power consumption of LCD apparatus s, there is a need to resolve the aforesaid drawbacks to satisfy demands for microminiaturization and low power consumption of LCD apparatus.


A bulk container for storing materials comprises a tank having a peripheral side wall connected to a generally rectangular top wall. A lifting lug is secured to the tank at each corner of the top wall. Each lifting lug comprises a generally L-shaped metal plate having first and second legs. A corner sling adapter is mounted at each lifting lug. Each corner sling adapter includes a stiffener plate having a base connected to upturn sides and a padeye comprising a planar body with a through opening. The padeye planar body is secured to and extends upwardly from the base. Each corner sling adapter is fastened to one of the corner lifting lugs whereby the padeye planar body at each corner of the top wall is substantially in-line with the padeye planar body at an opposite corner of the top wall.

Bulk packaging containers have found widespread use for storage and shipment of bulk goods. The bulk packaging containers assume many different forms. Among these forms are portable tanks and intermediate bulk containers (IBC). Requirements for these types of containers are outlined in various D.O.T. and F.D.A. regulations and are particularly defined in 49CFR Section 171.8.
Among IBCs, there include numerous types of designs. These include metal IBCs, which are constructed of metal, rigid plastic IBCs which are constructed of all-plastic material, and composite IBCs which include a rigid outer package enclosing a plastic inner receptacle.
An IBC typically has a capacity in the range of 250-550 gallons. Some are as large as 793 gallons. As such, they are an efficient alternative to 55-gallon drums. Nevertheless, each IBC must be handled and transported individually when used, for example, in the export of materials. The IBC is typically loaded into a shipping vessel. Each IBC must be individually slung by a crane or carried by a forklift during the loading and unloading.
Typically when an IBC is transported by crane, a 4-legged sling is attached to the IBC's corner lifting lugs and the sling is attached to the crane and then transported, See FIG. 1. Using the normal IBC corner lifting lugs creates a lateral bending moment on the IBC corner lifting lugs when a 4-legged sling is attached and lifted from the center of the IBC with a crane. The lateral bending moment on the existing IBC corner lifting lug is created by the 4-legged sling angle when being lifted from the center of the IBC.
The present invention is directed to a corner sling adapter in a bulk container for improved handling as by eliminating lateral bending moments.


A semiconductor device including a random number generator includes a memory device component including an array of a plurality of memory cells, and a comparator component including a plurality of comparators connected to respective pairs of read bitlines (RBLs). Each of the plurality of comparators is configured to read the array by comparing signals of its corresponding pair of RBLs, and generate an output based on a comparison. The outputs are assembled to generate a bit stream corresponding to a random number.

The present invention generally relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to random number generators compatible with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology and methods of forming the same.
Random numbers (e.g., high entropy random numbers) can be used in a variety of applications including, but not limited to, security key generation, statistical simulation (e.g., Monte-Carlo simulations), and gambling systems. Random number generators are devices that can be used to generate a sequence of random numbers or symbols. Examples of random number generators include, e.g., hardware random-number generators (HRNGs), which are hardware-based random number generators that can generate truly random numbers based on random phenomena, and pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs), which are software-based random number generators that can generate "pseudo-random" numbers based on an algorithm (numbers generated by PRNGs are not truly random due to the deterministic nature of software programming).

Random number generator compatible with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


In a plate bonding system for bonding first and second substrate discs (or other plates) with adhesive, there are provided a first section for bringing the first and second substrate discs closer to each other with the interposition of adhesive, and a second section for producing an electric field in the interspace between the first and second substrate discs. The second section produces the field and thereby deforms the adhesive into a tapered shape to minimize the initial contact area and thereby prevent voids from being involved in the adhesive.

The present invention relates to bonding technique of producing multi-layer plates by bonding plates such as optical substrate discs, flat glass plates, curved plates, lenses having curved surfaces or metal plates.
In the disc bonding system using liquid adhesive, prevention of voids (or bubbles) is one of the important problems. In an adhesive layer sandwiched between two substrate discs, there are formed voids, such as voids having diameters of about 0.1 mm or more and minute voids having diameters from 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm in spite of various measures for prevention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide plate bonding system and method advantageous for avoiding voids from adhesive layers.
According to the present invention, a plate bonding system for producing a bonded plate including first and second substrate plates and an adhesive layer sandwiched between the first and second plates, comprises:
a plate moving member for bringing the first and second plates closer to each other with the interposition of adhesive to produce the bonded plate; and
an electric circuit for producing an electric field in an interspace between the first and second plates.
A plate bonding method according to the present invention comprises:
an overlapping step of overlapping first and second plates by bringing the first and second plates closer to each other with the interposition of adhesive to produce the bonded plate; and
an electric field producing step of producing an electric field in an interspace between the first and second plates during a period in the overlapping step.


Methods, systems, and computer program products that can pre-emptively swap operations of a data production site to a disaster recovery (DR) site. A method includes providing, by a processor, one or more weighting factors to a set of metrics for an event occurring at a data production site based on information related to the event, analyzing the set of metrics based on the one or more weighting factors, and generating a recommendation related to swapping operations from the data production site to a DR site based on the analysis. Systems and computer program products for performing the above method are also provided.

At times of natural disaster or for other reasons, a data production site (e.g., a storage system and/or network) can go offline and/or otherwise become unavailable, which can be referred to as a disaster. If the data production site does not include copies of the data stored on the data production site, data can be lost, which can be costly in terms of data recovery and/or lost operational time. To ensure that data is not lost during a disaster, many conventional data production site utilize a disaster recovery site to store copies of the data.
While disaster recovery sites assist in data recovery when the data production site experiences as disaster, swapping from the data production site to a disaster recovery site can be costly. Further, conventional data production sites typically swap to the disaster recovery site after a disaster has occurred. In some instances, a swap occurring after the disaster has struck can be efficient because data can be lost between the time when the disaster strikes and the time when the swap occurs and/or is completed. Furthermore, a swap that occurs too far in advance of the disaster striking runs the risk of unnecessarily swapping sites, which results in unnecessary additional cost, especially if a subsequent site swap occurs from the disaster recovery site back to the data production site.

International Business Machines Corporation