A fuel valve for use in regulating the pattern factor of a gas turbine has a highly accurate pressure balanced clevis valve assembly. The clevis valve is pivotally mounted inside the valve housing by a flexure pivot, and has a pair of legs at each side of a valve body that control flow through pairs of flow orifices. An armature mounts to the clevis valve, and when energized, an electromagnet inside the valve housing generates magnetic flux that moves the armature to pivot the clevis valve to open or closed the orifices. The clevis valve is inherently balanced and can meter fuel through multiple orifices simultaneously.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to fuel valves, and in particular, to highly accurate valves suitable for use in regulating fuel to the burners of turbine engine systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern gas turbines used in the generation of power typically employ various lean fuel/air mixing techniques, largely to reduce the levels of harmful nitrogen oxides exhausted. Altering the fuel to air ratio to reduce NOX emissions can cause "screech" or instability in the combustion such that the burner flame is inconsistent or unsustainable. The unstable burning generates pressure fluctuations in the combustion cans. These pressure fluctuations cause oscillating waves in the combustion can on the order of several hundred cycles per second. This high frequency vibration can cause rapid breakdown of the combustion components which can send particles or other debris to the turbine blades and thereby cause severe structural damage to the turbine.
Sophisticated combustion control systems have been developed to continuously monitor and actively stabilize the combustion of modern gas turbines to avoid or minimize these adverse affects on the turbine. These systems usually include high speed pressure transducers located, for example, in the combustion can to sense the pressure oscillations arising from the unstable burning. The transducers provide pressure signals to a control computer which processes the signals according to various algorithms to control various combustion components or parameters to counteract the pressure oscillations. Typically, this involves pulsing the fuel sent to the combustion cans at very high rates commensurate with the frequency of the pressure oscillations. This is ordinarily accomplished by rapidly operating the fuel metering valves. However, many metering valves are insufficiently responsive and accurate to the detriment of the turbine performance.
Modern gas turbine engines used for power generation are very large and capable of a continuous power output between 200–500 megawatts. Such high output requires significant fuel consumption on the order of 200–400 gallons per minute. To effectively burn this high flow volume, typical industrial gas turbine divide the fuel flow and burning into several combustion cans, often more than 10. The combustion cans are typically arranged in an array, such that burned fuel in each combustion can provides a flame front that effects a pressure change that drives the turbine blades. The pressure variation is dependent upon the temperature of the flame front. The higher the flame temperature, the greater the change in pressure, and thus the more power output from the turbine. However, the overall flame temperature is actually an average of the flame temperature at each burner or combustion can. The temperature gradient profile of the several burners is defined by its "pattern factor", which is typically defined as the difference between the peak and average combustor exit temperatures divided by the average exit temperature expressed as:
      Pattern                          Factor    =                              T                                (            exit            )                          peak            -                        T                                (            exit            )                          avg                            T                          (          exit          )                    avg
Ideally, the average flame temperature of all combustion cans should equal the flame temperature at the flame front so that the pattern factor is zero. However, the average temperature is actually some valve less than the peak temperature, resulting in a positive pattern factor value. Should one or more combustion cans have a significantly low temperature, the average flame front temperature can vary significantly from the peak temperature, thereby resulting in a high pattern factor, and inefficient operation of the turbine.
Systems for controlling the turbine pattern factor are known. Typically, such systems include an electronic control that uses temperature feedback signals at each combustor can to regulate flow to the burners. Individual control fuel control valves are used so that fuel flow to selected burners can be controlled. As with the previously described problem, these valves are often insufficiently responsive and inaccurate, particularly at the high flow rate and pressure experienced in such applications, to achieve the desired control of the burner temperature profile. Moreover, these valves are also very susceptible to deterioration due to the contaminated and aggravated temperature environments in which they are used, such that the accuracy problem becomes exacerbated with extended use.
Accordingly, an improved fuel valve is needed for use in a pattern factor control system for a gas turbine.

Jansen's Aircraft Systems Controls, Inc.


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a storage device, for electric grid asset detection are enclosed. An electric grid asset detection method includes: obtaining overhead imagery of a geographic region that includes electric grid wires; identifying the electric grid wires within the overhead imagery; and generating a polyline graph of the identified electric grid wires. The method includes replacing curves in polylines within the polyline graph with a series of fixed lines and endpoints; identifying, based on characteristics of the fixed lines and endpoints, a location of a utility pole that supports the electric grid wires; detecting an electric grid asset from street level imagery at the location of the utility pole; and generating a representation of the electric grid asset for use in a model of the electric grid.

Electrical power grids transmit electrical power to loads such as residential and commercial buildings. Various electrical power grid conditions can be simulated and visualized using electrical power grid models. Electric grid models are used to evaluate and predict operations and potential faults in an electric grid. However, present approaches for modeling electric grids generate inaccurate predictions of the locations of important electric grid assets such as transformers, capacitors, and electric grid wires, or power lines, that are commonly attached to utility poles. Due to the growing size, complexity, and variability of electrical power grids, there is a need for an ability to model, simulate, and monitor electrical power grid conditions dynamically as they change over time.


In a transmitting/receiving concept a redundancy-adding encoder is used in order to obtain two data streams for different transmitters. In the receiver, the receiving signal is sampled by a first sampler synchronous to the first transmitter and is output by a second sampler synchronous to the second transmitter in order to obtain a first and a second receiving signal which are fed to a trellis decoder to obtain a decoded first and second receiving subgroup of code units which are again fed to a calculating means in order to calculate the interference signals which are then combined with the corresponding receiving signals for an interference reduction. The iterative concept enables an interference reduction for receiving signal generated by two spatially separated transmitters. The receiver concept shows a quick convergence and thus enables the two transmitters to transmit in the same frequency band.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital communication technique and in particular to concepts for a message communication via channels having a strong fading, like e.g. radio channels.
2. Description of the Related Art
WO 00/367,783 discloses a device and a method for transmitting information and a device and a method for receiving information. The device for transmitting information includes an information source, a redundancy-adding encoder having a code rate smaller than ½, a separator for separating the output of the encoder into two separated data streams, wherein a data stream is transmitted via a first channel, while the other data stream is transmitted via a second channel. The redundancy-adding encoder enables a forward error correction which is employed in a receiver-sided decoder in order to guarantee a good receiving quality.
The first and the second channel are different by the fact that they are spatially different and that in addition a time diversity function is integrated, i.e. in so far that an information transmitted via the first channel is again transmitted via the other channel at a later point of time.
On the receiver side two receivers exist, which are different from each other, for receiving the signal transmitted via the first channel on the one hand and receiving the signal transmitted via the other channel on the other hand. The receiver output signals are combined using a combiner and fed to a decoder, which is for example set up as a Viterbi decoder and whose output values are fed into a Reed-Solomon decoder.
In this known transmitting/receiving system, which may be employed using two satellites arranged at different positions as a transmitter, the satellites are implemented such that they transmit in different frequency bands. This way it is easily possible to differentiate the signal of the one satellite from the signal of the other satellite, as the satellite receiving signals lie in different frequency bands and may be received in a frequency-selective way.
Disadvantageous about this concept is the fact, however, that two complete frequency bands are required, i.e. a first frequency band on which the first satellite is transmitting and a second frequency band on which the second satellite is transmitting.
In general, however, the bandwidth of one transmission channel is a scarce commodity, so that frequently only very little bandwidth is available for an application or that the bandwidth required by one application has to be paid for expensively. This substantially increases the costs for a system. In particular with broadcasting applications in which the development and installation effort of the transmitters and the satellites has to be divided among the receiving devices, this leads to a rise in costs of the receiving devices. In particular on the competitive market of broadcasting receivers, however, already little or mean price differences may cause that one system is accepted on the market, while another system does not prevail and disappears from the market.

Message communication via channels having strong fading

Fraunhofer - Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


A multifunctional portable surveillance device having a strap and a first and second end modules disposed on the opposite ends of the strap. A first electronic device resides within the first end module, and the second electronic device resides within the second end module. The strap is configured to straddle an object, whereby the first and the second electronic devices are positioned on the opposite sides of the object. The surveillance device has a control unit. The device further includes a sensor configured to detect a predefined event. A network of connectors resides within the strap, the connectors configured to carry electric signals between the first electronic device, the second electronic device, the sensor, and the control unit. Responsive to detecting a predefined event through a sensor, the control unit actuates the first electronic device, the second electronic device, or both.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a security device. More specifically, it relates to a multifunctional portable security surveillance device.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In the modern world, security concerns present a serious threat. In the recent years, home surveillance, monitoring, and alarm technologies have become widespread. Most currently available security systems suffer from significant flaws, such as lack of portability, difficult installation and operation, and reliance on extraneous computing devices and monitors.
An example of a home surveillance system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,744,463. Surveillance systems of this type utilize a plurality of video cameras each transmitting a video feed to a monitor. Although this type of a security system may be effective for some settings, it has major drawbacks for personal home use. First, the initial setup and installation procedures may be complicated and will likely necessitate services of a trained professional. Second, security systems of this type lack portability. Third, the security system requires a television set or a monitor for viewing the video feed.
Another type of home security system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,780,201. This type of security systems eliminates the need for a dedicated monitor by enabling the security device to directly communicate with a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or another computing device through the Internet. This type of security system involves a doorbell-like device that is permanently mounted onto the door, thereby, rendering the device unfit for portable use. For example, an individual concerned with his or her safety while staying at a hotel room will not be able to pack the device disclosed in the '201 patent in the suitcase and quickly deploy the device at the hotel room door. In addition to lack of portability, this device cannot be used in areas where the user does not have an access to the Internet. Furthermore, the device of the type disclosed in the '201 patent cannot be used without a smartphone or a computing device, which significantly undermines its utility for people who do not possess such devices or are not well-versed in computing technology.
Accordingly, there exists an unmet need for a portable security device that can be easily deployed over any door or another object. Furthermore, there exists an unmet need for a standalone security device that does not require any extraneous computing or visual output devices.


A plasma display panel may include a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other, barrier ribs disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and at least partially defining a plurality of discharge cells therebetween, a plurality of pairs of discharge electrodes for generating a discharge in the discharge cells, the plurality of pairs of discharge electrodes being arranged in non-display portions of the plasma display panel, and a color filter layer disposed between the barrier ribs and the first substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel. More particularly, the invention relates to a plasma display panel that can be easily manufactured.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma display panels (PDP) are flat display panels that display images using a gas discharge phenomena, and are considered to be the next generation of flat display panels due to good display properties, e.g., thinness, display capacity, brightness, contrast, afterimage, and viewing angle.
PDP manufacturing processes employ separate processes for manufacturing different colored, i.e., red, green, and blue, discharge cells, Thus, the manufacturing process of PDPs may be complicated and may have high production costs.

Plasma display panel including a color filter layer


A method for forming conductive lines such as interconnects and DRAM gate stacks. A blanket stack is formed on a substrate including a conductive diffusion barrier, a near noble metal such as cobalt, followed by a silicon layer and a top insulator layer. The blanket stack is patterned with resist to define the conductive lines. The stack is dry etched down to the near noble metal layer. The resist is then removed and the stack is annealed to react the near noble metal and silicon to form a conductive compound having fine grain size. The unreacted noble metal is then wet etched, using the conductive diffusion barrier as a wet etch stop. A further dry etch is then performed down to the substrate, using the top insulator layer as a mask. In this manner, only one mask is required to form the conductive line.

Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) devices are widely used today in ultra large scale integrated (ULSI) devices. MOS devices include memory devices which are comprised of an array of memory cells. Each memory cell is comprised of a capacitor, on which the charge stored represents the logical state of the memory cell. Long conductors, referred to as word lines, serve as gates of multiple access transistors, each of which provides access to a memory cell.
In a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) a common word line is fabricated on a p-type silicon substrate coated with a thin film of silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2), known as gate oxide. Word lines currently are formed on the gate oxide layer as a two-layer stack, comprising silicon (or polysilicon), coated with a conductor material such as tungsten silicide or titanium silicide.
Of primary concern is minimizing resistivity throughout the word line due to the need to reduce RC time constants and access multiple memory cells in as short a period of time as possible. The problem is especially critical due to the extended length of word lines as DRAMs increase in density.
As DRAM density increases, feature sizes, including line sizes, decrease. For example, when the feature size of a conductor, such as tungsten or titanium silicides, is reduced in higher density memories, the Kelvin contact resistance of the conductor increases. Titanium silicide is a large grain material. Thin titanium silicide has nonuniform large grain size that contributes to a very rough titanium silicide/silicon interface. As such, it reduces the effective ohmic contact area. It is therefore desirable to utilize conductors that have smaller grains and hence whose resistivity will not significantly increase for the same feature dimensions.
Conductors utilizing near noble metal silicides, such as CoSi.sub.2 have low bulk resistivity and a fine grain with very small line-width dependent Rs effects. They are well suited for sub-quarter micron conductor formation such as polycide word lines or bit lines. However, they are very difficult to pattern because of the nonvolatile nature of cobalt fluorides and chlorides during a dry etch process. Conventional methods of patterning CoSi.sub.2 polycide gate electrodes for DRAM devices require extra masks to pattern insulating layers or spacers. A Co salicidation is then used on fill-in Si (poly). The extra masks can significantly increase costs of DRAM devices.
There is a need to decrease the overall resistivity of a word line stack and local interconnects at sub-quarter micron dimensions. There is a need to precisely pattern CoSi.sub.2 conductors and word line stacks without introducing additional masks. There is a further need to precisely etch such conductors and word line stacks in an inexpensive manner.

Method for making a low resistivity electrode having a near noble metal


An optical system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus comprises at least one mirror arrangement, having a plurality of mirror elements which are adjustable independently of one another for varying an angular distribution of the light reflected by the mirror arrangement, a polarization-influencing optical arrangement, by which, for a light beam passing through during the operation of the projection exposure apparatus, different polarization states can be set via the light beam cross section, and a retarder arrangement, which is arranged upstream of the polarization-influencing optical arrangement in the light propagation direction and at least partly compensates for a disturbance of the polarization distribution that is present elsewhere in the projection exposure apparatus, wherein the polarization-influencing optical arrangement has optical components which are adjustable in their relative position with respect to one another, wherein different output polarization distributions can be produced by this adjustment in conjunction with the mirror arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an optical system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus. In particular, the invention relates to an optical system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus which makes possible, for different polarization distributions, an effective compensation of an undesirable system retardation with comparatively little complexity.
2. Prior Art
Microlithography is used for producing microstructured components, such as, for example, integrated circuits or LCDs. The microlithography process is carried out in a so-called projection exposure apparatus comprising an illumination device and a projection lens. In this case, the image of a mask (=reticle) illuminated via the illumination device is projected, via the projection lens, onto a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer) coated with a light-sensitive layer (photoresist) and arranged in the image plane of the projection lens, in order to transfer the mask structure to the light-sensitive coating of the substrate.
During the operation of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, there is a need to set defined illumination settings, i.e. intensity distributions in a pupil plane of the illumination device, in a targeted manner. Alongside the use of diffractive optical elements (so-called DOEs), the use of mirror arrangements is also known for this purpose, e.g. from WO 2005/026843 A2. Such mirror arrangements comprise a multiplicity of micromirrors that can be set independently of one another.
Various approaches are furthermore known for setting specific polarization distributions in the pupil plane and/or in the reticle in a targeted manner in the illumination device for the purpose of optimizing the imaging contrast. In particular, it is known, both in the illumination device and in the projection lens, to set a tangential polarization distribution for high-contrast imaging. "Tangential polarization" (or "TE polarization") is understood to mean a polarization distribution for which the oscillation planes of the electric field strength vectors of the individual linearly polarized light rays are oriented approximately perpendicularly to the radius directed to the optical system axis. By contrast, "radial polarization" (or "TM polarization") is understood to mean a polarization distribution for which the oscillation planes of the electric field strength vectors of the individual linearly polarized light rays are oriented approximately radially with respect to the optical system axis.
With regard to the prior art, reference is made by way of example to WO 2005/069081 A2, WO 2005/031467 A2, U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,880 B1, US 2007/0146676 A1, WO 2009/034109 A2, WO 2008/019936 A2, WO 2009/100862 A1, DE 10 2008 009 601 A1 and DE 10 2004 011 733 A1.
During the operation of a projection exposure apparatus, the problem occurs, inter alia, that on account of birefringence occurring in the material of the optical components such as e.g. lens elements (e.g. intrinsic birefringence in calcium fluoride), stress birefringence (owing to mounts or material stresses in the production process) or layer birefringence, an undesirable system retardation occurs which results in a reduction of the so-called IPS value (i.e. the "Intensity in Preferred State"). "Retardation" is understood to mean the difference in the optical path lengths of two orthogonal (i.e. mutually perpendicular) polarization states.
Compensation of this system retardation for the purpose of increasing the IPS value can prove to be complex in this case in so far as the retardation has a vectorial character in so far as light rays having mutually different polarization states effectively experience different retardations, the system retardation moreover having a comparatively pronounced field and pupil dependence.

Optical system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus


A rocker arm is mounted to an eccentric shaft. The shaft has a pair of ends which are mounted to corresponding supports. The shaft has a rocker arm seat portion which is eccentric to the end portions, whereby when the position of the shaft is changed by rotating it, the position of the rocker arm changes. The shaft ends are mounted to riser blocks which are connected to a support structure. The shaft ends may be clamped in a fixed position relative to the riser blocks, or unclamped to permit the shaft to be rotated. When rotated, the position of the rocker arm may be changed up or down relative to the support structure and a valve stem which the rocker arm is intended to engage, thereby adjusting valve clearance.

Reciprocating piston internal combustion engines utilize valves to control the flow of intake air and exhaust to and from each cylinder or combustion chamber. The valves may be opened and closed in a variety of manners. In a common configuration, a stem extends from the valve. A spring biases the valve to a closed position and the free end of the stem is selectively depressed to move the valve to an open position. In one configuration, the stem is depressed with a rocker arm. The rocker arm is mounted for back and forth or rocking movement. When one end of the rocker arm is moved (such as directly by a camshaft or indirectly via a lifter/pushrod), the other end of the rocker arm selectively presses upon the stem and moves the valve.
Generally, a small gap is provided between the rocker arm and the stem. This gap is known as the valve clearance. Over time, the valve clearance will change. Among other things, wear of the stem and rocker arm may cause the valve clearance to increase. Changes in the valve clearance may result in accelerated wear and damage to engine components and change the valve opening timing. As such, it is desirable to maintain proper valve clearance.
A variety of rocker arm mounting configurations have been proposed, all of which have drawbacks. In one configuration, the rocker arm may be mounted to a threaded stud which extends out from a cylinder head of the engine. In this configuration, the rocker arm is generally free to float or move in every axis relative to the stud, as movement of the rocker arm is only indirectly constrained by devices that restrict the unwanted side-to-side movement of the lifter which actuates the rocker arm. Valve clearance may be adjusted by changing the position of the rocker arm along the threaded stud (moving the rocker arm up and down) and by securing the rocker arm in place using a threaded nut. This rocker arm mounting configuration has a number of drawbacks. First, it is difficult to position and secure the rocker arm in a desired position. Second, the rocker arm mounting allows for too much rocker arm movement, which is only acceptable for engines which operate at low speeds. Third, the trunnion is not rigidly fixed to the stud.
Another rocker arm mounting configuration is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. As illustrated, a rocker arm RA is mounted to a rocker shaft RS which is attached to a rigid base that is attached to a cylinder head of the engine. In this configuration, the rocker arm RA is only allowed to rotate in a single desired plane. This type of mounting thus works well in high engine speed applications.
However, valve clearance adjustment is complicated. As illustrated, the actuated end of the rocker arm RA includes a roller tip RT. The opposing actuating end of the rocker arm RA (which is configured to moved by a pushrod P which is actuated by a cam C via a lifter L) includes a jam nut N and adjusting screw AS. Movement of the adjusting screw AS relative to the rocker arm RA allows the valve clearance relative to a stem S of a valve V to be adjusted. One disadvantage to this configuration is that the adjusting screw AS is not only the adjustment mechanism, but comprises the point of engagement with the rocker arm RA. The adjusting screw AS is thus subject to extreme wear and tear at the same time as it is supposed to maintain an exacting position.
To overcome this problem, the adjusting screw is often removed to increase fatigue life, reduce weight and provide room for greater rocker arm ratios. In that case, however, clearance adjustment must be accomplished with yet another mechanism, such as a complex system of variable height hardened valve caps which are interchanged.
An improved rocker arm mounting configuration including valve clearance adjustment is desired.

Method and apparatus for adjusting engine valve clearance


The present recycling process is accomplished by first shredding used plastics to produce shredded plastics, separating metals and undesirable plastics from the shredded plastics to produce separated plastics, analyzing the material composition of the separated plastics, and blending the separated plastics to produce a desirable recycled plastic.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for recycling commingled plastics. More particularly, the invention relates to a process for shredding, separating and blending commingled poly(acrylonitrile-c-butadiene-c-styrene) (ABS) and polycarbonate ABS (PCABS) to produce recycled ABS/PCABS useful in the manufacture of products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
ABS is extensively used in the manufacture of inexpensive, durable products. The durability of ABS has made it a primary material in the manufacture of products such as, computer housings, televisions and computer monitor housings, automobile components, etc.
Unfortunately, however, ABS is somewhat expensive when supplied in its purest form. As such, the cost of manufacturing some products with ABS is prohibitively expensive despite the fact that the material characteristics of the ABS are well suited for the manufacture of the products.
Plastic recycling has received substantial interest in recent years and many advances have been made in both recycling techniques and the devices manufactured from recycled plastics. Unfortunately, many of these processes are somewhat time consuming and are not appropriate for recycling certain goods. Existing recycling techniques require that the plastics be identified, i.e., "fingerprinted", and separated based upon their specific composition (for example, by coding as commonly found on many products sold today) before they may be fully recycled for subsequent use. Where the commingled plastics are not separated prior to subsequent recycling steps, the resulting recycled product is a useless collection of commingled recycled plastic.
Where the recycled goods are composed of a single plastic component (for example, plastic soda and milk containers), recycling is highly cost effective and leads to many useful products. However, the necessity of separating the assortment of plastic components prior to shredding and granulating makes recycling commingled plastic products highly time consuming and prohibitively expensive. Existing recycling techniques are, therefore, not appropriate where the recycled goods include many components composed of various plastics.
For example, where it is desired to recycle the plastic components of a computer housing (which is primarily composed of ABS, PCABS, and other plastics) to take advantage of the recycled ABS, the computer housing must first be separated into various components representing the many plastics used in the construction of the computer housing. This is highly time consuming, and makes recycling computer housings cost prohibitive. Such limitations are commonly found with ABS products one might consider appropriate for recycling.
The lack of an effective recycling process for those products already manufactured from ABS leaves previously used ABS products wasted once the useful life of the manufactured product is reached. Many materials have found a second life through recycling. However, a process for refining the used material must be developed before the material may find a second life in another product. Often, the second life of a product requires that the material be used in an environment where the aesthetic appearance of the material is not as important as when the material was used for its original purpose.
For example, it has been found that ABS is ideal for use as a substrate in the manufacture of decorative laminates. A substrate for a decorative laminate is generally not seen by the public and there is no requirement that the decorative laminate substrate be aesthetically pleasing. As such, although the cost of pure unprocessed ABS is prohibitively expensive when used in the manufacture of substrates, less expensive, recycled ABS is an ideal candidate for use in the manufacture of decorative laminate substrates.
Unfortunately, no process is currently known for effectively and efficiently recycling ABS for subsequent use. The present invention provides a process for recycling ABS in a manner permitting previously used ABS to obtain a second life. The present process employs shredding, separating and blending to recycle used ABS for subsequent use in other products, for example, substrates of decorative laminates.


The remote monitoring and controlling of controllable devices is provided by sending control information to and receiving status information from information appliances over a network. A user is able to monitor the information appliances from a remote location, and control the information appliances from the remote location. The remote monitoring and control can be facilitated by graphical user interfaces. The information appliance can be a home lighting system, a home alarm system, a home entertainment system, a water gardening system, a home heating system, a home cooling system, and a television system having recording capabilities.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data transmissions over a network, and more particularly, to remote monitoring and control of articles over a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Remote monitoring of buildings or grounds is often done for security reasons. One conventional approach to remote monitoring of buildings and grounds uses a series of cameras position throughout the building and around the grounds. These cameras are then directly wired to a central monitoring location where a security guard sits and is able to view the images from the various cameras. By viewing the images at the central monitoring location, the security guard is able to detect a security breach when the images show an unauthorized person within the building or on the grounds. This conventional approach to remote monitoring is expensive to implement because specialized equipment and personnel are required. The central monitoring location is normally in a fixed location which is on-site or nearby.
Security systems, such as for a home, often protect the perimeter of the building along with one or more internal sensors. The internal sensors can, for example, include motion sensors, light beams, and the like. Cameras are not normally a part of a home security system. However, when cameras are provided, they generally operate to continuously record so as to presumably provide images of any intruders. Hence, the camera is a secondary part of the security system which does not actively participate in detecting an intruder. In any case, when the security system detects an intruder, an alarm is normally sounded and automatic telephone notification may be provided to the local police and/or a central office of a security company. Although, in most cases, no remote monitoring of the images provided by the camera is available, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,164,979 and 5,412,708 describe approaches which use telephone lines to send images off-site for safe archive or for remote monitoring.
Remote monitoring is also done for a variety of other purposes. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,609 describes a remote visual monitoring system for in-home patient health care from a remote location via a telephone line.
WebCams have recently been use to provide remote viewing of various locations. For example, WebCams may be used to view traffic conditions, sea conditions, home locations, fish tanks, and many other things. However, the operation of these WebCams is problematic because of the high bandwidth requirements to transmit video from the camera serving as the WebCam and its server and viewers. The existing solution to limit the bandwidth utilization is to periodically transmit still images from a camera to an Internet server after a predetermined period of time. Then, for viewers of the images over the Internet, an Internet browser can access the still images from the Internet server and display the images on their computer system. Again, however, to limit bandwidth requirements, the Internet browser only periodically accesses (or receives by a push from) the Internet server to retrieve the newest images after a predetermined period of time. For example, the predetermined period of time between transmissions is generally selectable from a few options such as 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minutes. Although this conventional approach does limit the bandwidth utilization, the amount of bandwidth being utilized is nevertheless largely wasted when the image is not significantly changing.
Thus, there is a need for improved approaches to remotely monitor a location.

Methods for remote monitoring and control of appliances over a computer network


A method of manufacturing to increase the thermal and electrical conductivity of polymers includes layering a filled polymer with an unfilled polymer to produce a multi-layered system of alternating filled and unfilled polymer layers. The filler material comprises thermally and/or electrically conductive material. A preferred polymer is a shape memory polymer. A method of manufacturing magnetic multi-layered polymer systems is described. Articles formed from such multi-layered systems are also disclosed.

This disclosure relates to a method for increasing thermal and/or electrical conductivity of polymers through a multi-layering process, and more specifically for increasing thermal and/or electrical conductivity of shape memory polymers.
Shape memory polymers (SMP) are known in the art and generally refer to a group of polymeric materials that demonstrate the ability to return to some previously defined shape when subjected to an appropriate thermal stimulus. Shape memory polymers are capable of undergoing phase transitions in which their shape orientation is altered as a function of temperature. Generally, SMP have two main segments, a hard segment and a soft segment. The previously defined or permanent shape can be set by melting or processing the polymer at a temperature higher than the highest thermal transition followed by cooling below that thermal transition temperature. The highest thermal transition is usually the glass transition temperature (Tg) or melting point of the hard segment. A temporary shape can be set by heating the material to a temperature higher than the Tg or the transition temperature of the soft segment, but lower than the Tg or melting point of the hard segment. The temporary shape is set while processing the material at the transition temperature of the soft segment followed by cooling to fix the shape. The material can be reverted back to the permanent shape by heating the material above the transition temperature of the soft segment. Shape recovery can be set at any temperature between −63° C. and 120° C. or above. By changing the structure and composition of the polymer, the transition temperatures and mechanical properties of the SMP can be optimized for a particular application.
Addition of thermally and/or electrically conductive fillers to polymer matrices is known. The conductive fillers may be particulate or fibrous, and may be made from a variety of materials such as metals, metal alloys, and conductive carbon black. Generally, unfilled polymers are electrical and thermal insulators. By adding conductive fillers, heat dissipation can be improved by increasing the thermal conductivity of the blend. Addition of electrically conductive fillers allows conducting paths through the polymer blend, thereby lowering the resistivity of the polymer.
Microlayer extrusion to form multilayered components is known. For example, WO 01/21688 to Pulford et al. generally discloses the use of a duplex extruder with multilayering dies to produce a multilayered rubber component.

Manufacturing method for increasing thermal and electrical conductivities of polymers


This organic-EL display apparatus comprises an organic-EL display panel including: a substrate that is provided with pixel drive circuits to drive respective pixels arranged in a matrix along each of a first direction and a second direction, and organic light-emitting elements being provided to each of the pixels and connected to any one of the pixel drive circuits. The organic-EL display panel comprises a signal output circuit to supply a signal to each of the pixel drive circuits arranged in a line along the first direction or the second direction. The signal output circuit includes thin film transistors and is formed around a display region on a surface of the substrate. The thin film transistors include a semiconductor layer including a region to be a channel between a source electrode and a drain electrode. The semiconductor layer is formed of amorphous silicon.

In recent years, an organic-EL display apparatus, application of which organic-EL display apparatus to a television receiver is making progress, comprises, for each pixel being arrayed in a matrix, an organic light-emitting element, and a drive circuit to cause the organic light-emitting element to emit light with a desired current. In this pixel drive circuit being configured mainly with a plurality of thin film transistors, a scanning signal (a gate signal) or a data signal (a source signal) is supplied from a signal output circuit called a gate driver or a source driver to any one of the plurality of thin film transistors. While the gate driver and the source driver are conventionally provided at the exterior of an organic-EL display panel, these drivers, particularly the gate driver, can also be provided on the organic-EL display panel. In that case, the gate driver to be provided on the organic-EL display panel can also be configured mainly with a thin film transistor. Patent Document 1 discloses forming a thin film transistor having the multilayer structure to reduce the occupied area of the thin film transistor in an active matrix-type display.

Organic EL display device and manufacturing method for organic EL display device


Multiple apparatuses for flushing portable commodes into a conventional toilet bowl, including a push button fully automated unit that operates by a rechargeable battery. The portable commode is comprised of a waste receiving container and associated housing structure which is adapted to be seated on top of a conventional toilet. The waste container is rotated around 150 degrees and water from the interior of the toilet bowl is forcefully discharge when flushing the portable commode's waste container with electro-mechanical power to guarantee excellent cleaning. Sanitation is adapted to ensure hygienic security.

Toddlers are trained to use regular toilet bowls with Child potties (toilets), and individuals who have ambulatory medical problems used bedside commodes and bedpans when in commercial medical facilities and residential medical care. All of these products usually come equipped with a structure that supports a sitting (or standing) human being while they deposit human waste into a waste container (which is usually centered within a housing structure). They all have in common the need to be cleaned usually by first having the waste container dumped into a fixed toilet bowl. Then the residual waste in the waste container must be cleaned by a clean water source and again dumped into the fixed toilet bowl.
There are at least three prior arts (one actually in the market and two purported) that can be adapted to clean these products. The first is the manually cleaned units which has a removable waste container within a structural support designed for human beings to sit on to deposit their waste in as bathroom service is needed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,325 discloses a portable commode in the form of a simulation of an automobile. After waste is deposited in it, the waste container is removed from the structural support, carried and dumped into the residential or institutional fixed toilet. Then this waste container is carried over to fresh water source (usually the sink or bathtub bathroom facet) to have fresh water deposited into it. Now with clean water in it, the waste container is carried back to the toilet bowl, agitated to assist in cleaning, and then dumped again into the toilet bowl. The waste container may have to be transported back and forth to the toilet bowl and fresh water source to be rinse, agitated and dump into the fixed toilet bowl several times until the waste container is cleaned. Once the waste container is cleaned, fresh water is commonly deposited into it by the caregiver. This is because clean water in the container before waste enters into it limits the ability of incoming waste to stick to the container, making it easier for the caregiver to clean it. Then the waste container is positioned back into the support structure and ready to be re-used.
a) This process is extremely laborious since (depending on the composition of the body waste) many time the cleaning process requires the caregiver to walk back and forth from the clean water facet to the toilet bowl with an open waste container of human waste.
b) In addition, depositing water into a soiled open waste container at a sink and carrying and dumping it into the toilet bowl presents the hazardous potential of spillage of the waste material.
c) The patients and caretaker are both embarrassed by the senses of sight and smell occasioned by this manual cleaning process.
The second prior art is a purported portable self cleaning bodily waste receptacle that consists of a fluid tight reservoir container forming an enclosed open space. Inset within the container is a toilet bowl element. The container has a fill opening and a fill cap. Water or waste cleaning fluid or a combination of both is poured into the container through the fill cap, so that it fills the container reservoir around the underside and sides of the toilet bowl element. An enclosed, battery operated waterproof pump is positioned within the container and a directing hose extends from the pump, through the container space and outside the container to the toilet bowl element. When the toilet bowl element needs cleaning, the pump is actuated by a manual switch which pumps the waste cleaning fluid under pressure through and out the hose, where it is sprayed in the toilet bowl element for cleaning the toilet bowl element. A discharge valve is provided at the bottom surface of the toilet bowl element for discharging the bodily waste and the cleaning fluid. It has a second embodiment; bladders are located in the reservoir container for providing water or waste cleaning fluid under pressure to the toilet bowl element. In another embodiment, this pressurized bladder system is in a bedpan receptacle.
a) This product apparently has not experience market success. There is no mention of where the waste is to be cleaned from the toilet element.
b) It also has the expense of batteries and an electric waterproof motor.
The third is a purported apparatus for disposing of body waste in a portable toilet into a fixed residential or institutional conventional toilet bowl (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,907,874, 5,638,555 and 5,615,420 and has never experienced market success. It comprises a container and an associated hollow housing structure which are adapted to be seated on a conventional toilet bowl. Waste in the container is dumped into the toilet via a cable mechanism on the intake stroke of a hand pump. A water intake hose is manually lowered into the toilet water via a hose control handle prior to the operation of the pump. While the container is in a vertical dumping position, the exhaust stroke of the pump forces water siphoned from the toilet through a jet outlet to clean the interior of the container. The waste and toilet water in the container is discharged directly into the bowl without impinging the hollow housing structure. The container automatically returns to its rest, or horizontal position due to an action of a return spring.
a) I have discovered that the exhaust stroke of the pump is dependent on human arm strength and even at best there is not enough velocity and force on the water to clean the waste container.
b) In addition, a conscience and concerted effort by the caregiver cannot be depended on to create the required water force and velocity to clean the vertical position bowl by water flowing out of the nozzle.
c) The way the art is designed it cannot provide the physics required to create the force required to clean the waste container even if it is a small container for the child potty. This is because it is unnatural for someone to have to consistently be conscience that they have to force the handle down very hard or it will not have the slightest chance of cleaning the waste container.
d) Also, when the bowl is inverted by the hose handle return spring, a counter balance problem exist that is impossible to overcome by this art's design when it has to overcome the bias on the bowl return spring while, again, attempting to dump it simultaneously.
e) In addition, the hose intake is not sufficient to receive enough water out of the toilet bowl with the small amount of water in the water efficient toilet bowl.
f) The priming of the unit also creates so much dead space that not enough water is available even if there was enough force to clean the unit on the exhaust stroke.
g) The residual water from the intake valve and hose, after coming out of the toilet water, leaks on the floor which causes and unsanitary situation.
Manual Portable Commode Process
a) This process is extremely laborious since (depending on the composition of the body waste) many time the cleaning process requires the caregiver to walk back and forth from the clean water facet to the toilet bowl with an open waste container of human waste.
b) In addition, depositing water into a soiled open waste container at a sink and carrying and dumping it into the toilet bowl presents the hazardous potential of spillage the waste material.
c) The patients and caretaker are both embarrassed by the senses of sight and smell occasioned by this manual cleaning process.
Electric Self Cleaning Bodily Waste Receptacle
a) This product apparently has not experience market success.
b) This product requires a reservoir to be manually filled with water which makes the product more weighty and laborious by requiring almost the same amount of steps as the old manually cleaning process.

Various ecological compression flushable portable commodespotable commodes


A Cu—Fe—P alloy sheet that is provided with the high strength and with the improved resistance of peel off of oxidation film, in order to deal with problems such as package cracks and peeling, is provided. A copper alloy sheet for electric and electronic parts according to the present invention is a copper alloy sheet containing Fe: 0.01 to 0.50 mass % and P: 0.01 to 0.15 mass %, respectively, with the remainder of Cu and inevitable impurities. A centerline average roughness Ra is 0.2 μm or less and a maximum height Rmax is 1.5 μm or less, and Kurtosis (degree peakedness) Rku of roughness curve is 5.0 or less, in measurement of the surface roughness of the copper alloy sheet in accordance with JIS B0601.

Conventionally, Cu—Fe—P alloy containing Fe and P are generally used as a copper alloy for semiconductor lead frames. Examples of these Cu—Fe—P alloys include, for example, a copper alloy (C19210 alloy) containing Fe: 0.05 to 0.15% and P: 0.025 to 0.040%; and a copper alloy (CDA194 alloy) containing Fe: 2.1 to 2.6%, P: 0.015 to 0.15%, and Zn: 0.05 to 0.20%. When an intermetallic compound such as Fe or Fe—P is precipitated in a copper matrix, these Cu—Fe—P alloys exhibit high strength, high electric conductivity, and high thermal conductivity among copper alloys, and therefore these alloys have been used as the international standard alloys.
The recent advancement of the large-capacity, miniaturization, and high-performance of semiconductor devices used in electronic apparatuses has urged the growing reduction in the cross-sectional area of lead frames adopted in the semiconductor devices; thereby, there is a demand for higher strength, higher electric conductivity, and higher thermal conductivity. With the demand, there is also a demand for higher strength and higher thermal conductivity to a copper alloy sheet used in lead frames for the semiconductor devices.
On the other hand, plastic packages of semiconductor devices have an advantage that the package in which a semiconductor chip is sealed by a thermosetting resin is excellent in economical efficiency and mass productivity, and therefore they become mainstream. These packages are increasingly thinner with the recent demand for miniaturization of electronic parts.
In assembling the packages, a semiconductor chip is heated to be adhered to a lead frame by using an Ag paste, etc., or soldered or brazed with Ag via a plated layer made of Au and Ag or the like. Thereafter, the package is generally encapsulated with a resin and subsequently connected to an outer lead by electroplating.
The most serious challenge with respect to the reliability of these packages is a package crack or peeling occurring upon implementation. Peeling of a package occurs due to a thermal stress generated in the subsequent heat treatment, when the adhesion between the resin and the die pad (portion where a semiconductor chip of a lead frame is mounted) is deteriorated after assembling the semiconductor package.
On the other hand, a package crack occurs through the following processes: a mold resin absorbs moisture from the air after assembling a semiconductor package, and the moisture vaporizes during a heating process in the subsequent implementation; and when a crack is present inside the package at the time, the moisture is applied to the peeling plane, which acts as an internal pressure; and a swelling is then caused in the package by the inner pressure, or a crack is caused when the resin is weak against the inner pressure. When a crack is caused in a package after the implementation, moistures and impurities are incursive therein to cause the chip to be corroded, impairing the function as a semiconductor. In addition, the swelling of a package results in poor appearance and lost of its commodity value. In recent years, such problems involving package cracks and peeling have been remarkable with the above advancement of thinning of the packages.
The problems involving package cracks and peeling are caused by the deteriorated adhesion between the resin and the die pad. An oxidation film of a lead frame base material has the greatest influence on the adhesion between the resin and the die pad. The lead frame base material has been subjected to various heating processes for producing sheets or lead frames. Accordingly, an oxidation film with a thickness of tens to hundreds of nanometers is formed on the surface of the base material before a plating process is performed with Ag or the like. On the surface of the die pad, a copper alloy and the resin are in contact with each other via the oxidation film, and hence the peeling of the oxidation film from the lead frame base material directly leads to the peeling between the resin and the die pad, causing adhesion between the resin and the lead frame base material to be remarkably deteriorated.
Accordingly, the problem involving the package crack and the peeling depends on the adhesion between the oxidation film and the lead frame base material. Therefore, the above Cu—Fe—P alloy sheet with high strength is required as a lead frame base material to have a high adhesion property with the oxidation film formed on its surface through various heating processes.
In addition, heating temperatures in the above various heating processes for producing copper alloy sheets and lead frames, are increasingly higher for the purposes of improving productivity and efficiency. For example, in the lead frame production process, a heat treatment after a press process, etc., is required to be conducted at a higher temperature and in a shorter time. With such a heating temperature being higher, a new problem arises that the oxidation film formed on a lead frame base material tends to peel off from the material more easily due to roughness and fineness of the film, as compared to a previous oxidation film that is formed by heating at a lower temperature.
Techniques for improving resistance of peel off of oxidation film have been conventionally proposed, although the number of the proposals is small. For example, it is proposed that crystalline orientation in the surface layer of a copper alloy is controlled in Patent Document 1. That is, Patent Document 1 proposes that, in crystalline orientation in the surface of a copper alloy base material for lead frames, which is evaluated by the thin film method using an XRD, resistance of peel off of oxidation film can be improved by a ratio of the peak intensity of {100} to the peak intensity of {111} being 0.04 or less. It is noted that Patent Document 1 includes every kind of copper alloy base materials for lead frames; however, Cu—Fe—P alloys substantially exemplified are only Cu—Fe—P alloys with an Fe content of 2.4% or more, which is a large content.
Taking the surface roughness of a Cu—Fe—P alloy sheet into consideration, Patent Documents 2 and 3 propose that resistance of peel off of oxidation film of the sheet can be improved by making a centerline average roughness Ra 0.2 μm or less and a maximum height Rmax 1.5 μm or less, in measurements of the surface roughness. More specifically, in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the surface roughness is controlled by the type (surface roughness) of a rolling roll in the cold-rolling.
Also in recent years, with increasing applications of Cu—Fe—P alloys and the advancement of the lightweight, thinning, and miniaturization of electric and electronic apparatuses, these copper alloys are also required to have higher strength, higher electric conductivity, and excellent bendability. As for such bendability, the copper alloys are required to endure sharp bending such as U-bending or 90° bending after notching.
On the other hand, it is conventionally known that bendability can be improved to some extent by grain refining or by controlling the dispersion state of dispersoids/precipitates (see Patent Documents 4 and 5).
In Cu—Fe—P alloys, it is also proposed that the microstructure thereof is controlled in order to improve properties such as bendability. More specifically, it is proposed that: a ratio, I(200)/I(220), of the intensity, I(200), of x-ray diffraction of (200) to the intensity, I(220), of x-ray diffraction of (220) is 0.5 or more and 10 or less; or orientation density: D (Cube orientation) of Cube orientation is 1 or more and 50 or less; or a ratio: D (Cube orientation)/D(S orientation) of the orientation density of Cube orientation to the orientation density of S orientation, is 0.1 or more and 5 or less (see Patent Document 6).
It is also proposed that a ratio, [I(200)+I(311)/I(220)], of a total of the intensity, I(200), of x-ray diffraction of (200) and the intensity, I(311), of x-ray diffraction of (311) to the intensity, I(220), of x-ray diffraction of (220) is 0.4 or more (see Patent Document 7).
On the other hand, the copper alloy sheets provided with high strength are also required to have workability so as to be formed into the lead frames with reduced cross-sectional areas. Specifically, a copper alloy sheets are subjected to a stamping process so as to be formed into lead frames, and hence the copper alloy sheets are required to have excellent stampability. The demand also exists in the applications in which the copper alloy sheets are stamped, other than the application of lead frames.
Conventionally, in order to improve the stampability of Cu—Fe—P alloy sheets, techniques for controlling chemical components in which trace additives such as Pb and Ca are added or a compound that is a starting point of a break is dispersed, or techniques in which a grain size, etc., is controlled, have been widely used.
However, these techniques have problems that the controls per se are difficult to be carried out, these controls adversely affect other properties, and therefore a production cost is increased.
On the other hand, it is proposed that the stampability and the bendability of a Cu—Fe—P alloy sheet are improved taking the structure thereof into consideration. For example, Patent Document 8 discloses a Cu—Fe—P alloy sheet containing Fe: 0.005 to 0.5 wt %, P: 0.005 to 0.2 wt %, and further either or both of Zn: 0.01 to 10 wt % and/or Sn: 0.01 to 5 wt % if needed, with the remainder of Cu and inevitable impurities. In Patent Document 8, the stampability is improved by controlling an integration degree of crystal orientations of the copper alloy sheet (see Patent Document 8).
More specifically, in Patent Document 8, the integration degree is controlled with the use of the fact that: as the copper alloy sheet is recrystallized and a grain size of the structure becomes larger, an integration ratio of {200} plane and {311} plane on the sheet surface is larger; and when the copper alloy sheet is rolled, an integration ratio of {220} plane is larger. Characteristically, Patent Document 8 is intended to improve the stampability by increasing an integration ratio of {220} plane on the sheet surface relative to {220} plane and {311} plane. More specifically, assuming that, on the sheet surface, an intensity of x-ray diffraction of {200} plane is I[200], that of {311} plane is I[311], and that of {220} plane is I[220], [I[200]+I[311]]/I[220]<0.4 should be satisfied.
The afore-mentioned Patent Documents 6 and 7 also disclose copper alloy sheets of which stampability is improved. (see Patent Documents 6 and 7).
Patent Document 9 proposes that I(200)/I(110) should be 1.5 or less in order to improve the flexibility of a Cu—Fe—P alloy sheet (see Patent Document 9).
In addition, it is known that, in order to improve the bendability of a Cu—Ni—S alloy (Corson alloy), a ratio of the uniform elongation to the total elongation, which are among the tensile properties of the copper alloy, is made 0.5 or more, although the copper alloy belongs to another copper alloy system (see Patent Document 10).
A copper alloy sheet provided with such high strength is subjected to a stamping process and a bending process or the like, followed by being plated with Ag, etc., and is then formed into lead frames.
However, there sometimes occurs unusual precipitation of the plating partially (locally) on the surface of the Ag plating or the like, the unusual precipitation being observed by a microscope as a projection of the plated layer, like a dot illustrated by the arrow in FIG. 3 (SEM picture substituting for a drawing, magnification 500). When such unusual precipitation of the plating occurs, the lead frame is no longer used as a semiconductor lead frame because a bonding defect is induced.
The unusual precipitation of the plating does not occur on the whole surface of the plating, nor in a large amount in every semiconductor lead frame to be produced. However, for a highly-efficient mass production line of semiconductor lead frames, when the unusual precipitation of the plating occurs in semiconductor lead frames to be produced, even if the number of the occurrences is very small, i.e., in ppm order, there is inevitably a serious influence on the production speed and the production efficiency of the line.
At present, the unusual precipitation of the plating is presumed to be caused by the residue of the coarse inclusions (oxides and dispersoids) that are formed in the casting and melting process onto the surfaces of a final product, or by the surface defects such as coarse pore, which are formed due to hydrogen. It is because, on the surface of a final product immediately beneath the plating layer where the unusual precipitation of the plating occurs, coarse inclusions (oxides and dispersoids) or surface defects such as coarse pores formed due to hydrogen, are mostly present and remain.
It is inevitable that a Cu—Fe—P alloy contains hydrogen and oxygen to some extent during the casing and melting process, and coarse inclusions (oxides and dispersoids) formed in the casting and melting process remain up to a final product sheet and pores formed due to hydrogen appear as surface defects.
Many techniques in which a copper alloy for semiconductor lead frames is provided with high strength and high formability such as stampability and bendability, have conventionally been proposed. However, techniques in which the platability of a copper alloy for semiconductor lead frames, in particular, the platability of a Cu—Fe—P alloy is improved, and more particularly, the afore-mentioned unusual precipitation of the plating is suppressed, have not been proposed so many.
Among them, a technique in which the platability of a copper alloy sheet is improved by containing Fe: 1.5 to 2.3 wt % or P: 0.015 to 0.045 wt %, which are relatively large amounts, is proposed (Patent Document 11). In Patent Document 11, it is also proposed that intercrystalline cracks are prevented by containing C: 10 to 100 ppm, which is also a relatively large amount.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-244400    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H2-122035    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H2-145734    [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H6-235035    [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-279347    [Patent Document 6] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-339028    [Patent Document 7] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-328157    [Patent Document 8] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-328158    [Patent Document 9] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-63431    [Patent Document 10] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-266042    [Patent Document 11] Japanese Patent No. JP 2962139

Copper alloy sheet for electric and electronic parts


To realize a diffusion film in which arbitrary control of the diffuse light intensity distribution characteristics, and an angular range of diffusion does not change with respect to an incoming light from a specific angular range and a light-outgoing direction converting element that is high in efficiency of conversion of the outgoing direction, and has no limit in the angle of conversion of the outgoing direction, and to provide a thin-model high-quality projection display using the same as a screen.

As a technology of the projection display screen in the related art, there exists a rear projection display screen including a diffusion film (for example, see Document 1, Okita et. al, Sumitomo Kagaku 1991-I, p. 37-48) for diffusing incident light from a specific angular range into a specific angular range (for example, see WO2004/034145).
This screen is different from a screen including a Fresnel lens, a lenticular lens, and a diffusion film used generally in the related art, and has very effective advantages such that the structure is simple and the cost can be reduced easily because it includes only the diffusion film for diffusing the incident light from the specific angular range into the specific angular range as shown in FIG. 10, and that a diffuse light intensity distribution characteristics are substantially uniform for the incident light from the specific angular range as shown in FIG. 11 and hence variations in brightness in a screen is low.
On the other hand, in order to reduce the thickness of an optical system for a rear projection display system, as shown in FIG. 31 for example, it is necessary to arrange a projector 20 not on a screen optical axis 10A, but at a position shifted from the screen optical axis 10A to cause a projector light to enter into a screen 10 from an oblique direction. In general, most part of the projector light entered into the screen 10 from the oblique direction does not diffuse in the front direction of the screen where an observer exists, but strongly in the direction of straight-ahead transmission of the projector light. Therefore, in order to achieve the thickness reduction, it is very important to convert the out-going direction of the projector light incoming into the screen from the oblique direction into the front direction.
In order to achieve the conversion of direction of the projector light as described above, as shown in FIG. 32 for example, a technology to cause the projector light 20A incoming from the oblique direction to pass through a prism 30 to convert the outgoing direction by the use of one or both of refraction 40 and total reflection 50 at an interface of the prism is known in the related art (for example, see Document 3, Shikama, S. et. al., SID'02 Digest, p. 1250-1253)

Projection display-use screen and projection display system optical system


A stationary device 20 sends a portable-device finding signal to a portable device 10 from a plurality of stationary-device side antennae 24 and 25, which are located at different positions. Upon receipt of the portable-device finding signal from the stationary device 20, the portable device 10 sends a reception intensity data signal to the stationary device 20. The stationary device 20 determines the current position of the portable device 10 by using reception intensity data of the portable-device finding signals, which are received at the stationary-device side antennae, from the portable device 10.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio system, which enables operations of an entry system, an engine control system and the like for the vehicle (e.g., unlocking operation of the doors, and permission of engine start) to be performed without bothersome operations by the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a system including this type of radio system is a smart entry system for use with a vehicle, recently emerged in the market. This system is developed from the keyless entry system, and is also called a passive or hands free entry system. This system includes a portable device that may be carried by a user, and a stationary device (in this case, it is a device mounted on a vehicle) mounted on the vehicle at side of an object to be controlled (in this case, it is a vehicle side). The authentication codes (also called ID codes or key codes) are automatically verified by a wireless communication between those parties. If those codes are coincident with each other, predetermined operations (locking and unlocking operations) of the object to be controlled (in this case, a lock device for the vehicle door) is automatically realized.
In the general keyless entry system, the user operates a specific button of a portable device. In response to the button operation, a specific operation signal (e.g., an unlocking command for unlocking the door) containing an authentication code is wirelessly transmitted from the portable device to a stationary device. Upon receipt of the authentication code, the stationary device compares the received authentication code with an authentication code preset in the stationary device (i.e., verifies the received authentication code). Then, if those codes are coincident with each other, the stationary device outputs a predetermined signal for controlling a predetermined object to be controlled (e.g., a control signal for unlocking the vehicle door). Thus, the communication in this system is a unidirectional communication, viz.; the signals are transmitted unidirectionally from the portable device (a transmitter) to the stationary device (a receiver).
In the smart entry system, a wireless communication (bi-directional communication) for the code verification is automatically carried out when the portable device is located within a communication range within which the portable device is communicable with the stationary device (vehicle). For example, the code verification is automatically carried out when some condition (e.g., the signal output of the sensor which detects the user approaches to the vehicle) holds as trigger, or when the portable device receives a signal intermittently transmitted from the stationary device. If those codes are coincident with each other, the stationary device automatically executes a control process (e.g., a process to unlock the vehicle door being locked) in accordance with the current situation. In this case, a given operation of the controlled object is achieved without any intentional operation by the user. In this respect, this entry system is extremely high in convenience.
In such a system (having the function of the smart entry system or the functions of the keyless entry system and the smart entry system), the market demands further improvements on various items, such as added value, convenience, crime prevention and the like. With this, multifunctional features and enhancement of the function are required for the system. There is a proposal to control a plurality of objects to be controlled on the basis of the result of the verification which is performed through a wireless communication between a portable device and a stationary device. Specifically, the market demands a system (which controls a plurality of objects to be controlled on the basis of the verification carried out through the wireless communication) having the function of a called immobilizer system and the function of the smart entry system. The immobilizer system permits the vehicle engine start on the basis of the result of the conventional physical verification by the key and the result of the verification of the authentication codes.
An example of the system as demanded is such that when a user carrying a given portable device approaches to a vehicle, the vehicle door having been locked is automatically unlocked, and then when he gets in the vehicle, the immobilizer function automatically operates to permit the engine start of the vehicle (as the engine is ignited to operate by operating the ignition switch in a usual manner)
In the smart entry system as mentioned above, it is necessary to automatically lock the door after it is confirmed that the portable device is out of the vehicle. If the door is locked in a state that the portable device is placed within the vehicle cabin, the called "in lock" (the key is confined to within the cabin) occurs. This should be avoided. Further, if it is uncertain that the portable device is out of the cabin, the door is left unlocked and there is a danger that the vehicle is stolen. In the system having also the function of the immobilizer system, for the purpose of crime prevention, it is desirable that the authentication code for the locking/unlocking of the vehicle door is different from that for the engine control, and the transmission output power is selectively used. In this case, the authentication code and the transmission output power transmitted/received after it is confirmed that the user carrying the portable device gets on the vehicle must be selected for the engine control. Thus, in the smart engine system as mentioned above, it is very important to reliably determine a position of the portable device (determine as to whether the portable device is inside or outside the vehicle).
So far as we know, there is no proposal of effective technique to reliably determine a position of the portable device. Accordingly, it is very difficult to realize a quality smart entry system being almost free from the in-lock or others.
A possible approach is that antennae are provided inside and outside the stationary device, and the position of the portable device is determined depending on the antenna actually used for the communication with the portable device. This approach, however, can uncertainly determine the device position when the device is located at a delicate position inside or outside the vehicle.
Another approach is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 11-107592. In the approach, monitor means for monitoring a reception intensity of an authentication code signal is provided on the stationary device. An intensity (absolute value) of the field strength of the signal received by a single antenna of the stationary device and detected by the monitor means is used for determining a position of the portable device (distance measured from the stationary-device side antenna). In this approach, when the portable device is located near the stationary-device side antenna, the field strength is saturated and hence does not vary. Accordingly, to clearly determine the device position outside the vehicle, it is required that the portable device is located at a position apart from the vehicle by a certain distance. Further, the position of the portable device is detected in terms of a distance measured from one antenna. Therefore, it is impossible to exactly determine the device position. When the portable device is located at a delicate position inside or outside the vehicle, the determined position is still uncertain.


A measuring and assessing method for the AC corrosion risk of a pipeline wherein the coupon is connected to a metallic pipeline buried in the earth and the AC corrosion risk of the pipeline is assessed on the basis of coupon DC current density and coupon AC current density that are acquired from a measured value of a coupon current, wherein the measuring and assessing method includes: a step of specifying frequency to specify a source of AC corrosion from a waveform of the measured value of the coupon current; and a step of calculating a coupon current density whereby a pair of coupon DC current density and coupon AC current density is acquired from the measured value of the coupon current in one time unit by defining one cycle of a specified frequency as one time unit.

In recent years, metallic pipelines buried in the earth (hereinafter, simply referred to as pipeline(s)) whose external surface is covered with plastic coatings having high resistivity and pipelines are being increasingly laid over long distances in parallel with high voltage AC electric power lines and/or AC powered rail transit systems, and therefore a need for measuring and assessing the AC corrosion risk of pipelines is increasing. According to analysis results of AC corrosion incidents of pipelines, it can be said that a source of AC corrosion is high voltage AC electric power lines or AC powered rail transit systems which run in parallel with the pipelines. AC corrosion occurs at a coating defect of pipelines while AC voltage is induced on the pipelines affected by these sources of AC corrosion. As such, AC current density IAC [A/m2] in the area of a coating defect is an index for obtaining AC corrosion rate.
AC current density IAC [A/m2] in the area S of a coating defect is defined as IAC=VAC/(R*S), (where, VAC: induced AC voltage on a pipeline, R: resistance to earth of a coating defect). Assuming a coating defect is circular shaped with diameter of d [m], resistance to earth of a coating defect R [Ω] is represented by R=ρ/(2d) (where, ρ: electrolyte resistivity [Ω*m]; see non-patent literature 1 shown below). Thus, the AC current density IAC [A/m2] in the area S [m2] at the coating defect can be represented by the following equation.IAC=2.26j*ω*M*I*L/[ρ*(S1/2)]Where,j: imaginary unit,ω: 2πf (f: frequency of a current flowing through an electric power line or a trolley line)M: mutual inductance between an electric power line or a trolley wire and a buried coating pipelineI: current of an electric power line or current of a trolley wireL: parallel-running distance between an electric power line or a trolley wire and a buried coating pipeline
As is apparent from the equation, the greater the induced AC voltage VAC (that is, the greater the current flow of the high voltage AC electric power lines or the greater the current flow of the trolley wires of the AC powered rail transit systems, and/or the longer the parallel running distance between the electric power lines or the trolley lines and the pipelines), the lower the resistivity ρ of the electrolyte in contact with the coating defect, and the smaller the area S of the coating defect, the larger the AC current density IAC increases, and thus the higher AC corrosion rate increases. Further, from another point of view, even if the AC voltage VAC is not that large, when the resistivity ρ of the electrolyte in contact with the coating defect is low and the area S of the coating defect is small, the AC current density IAC increases, and thus AC corrosion rate increases.
The AC current density of the coating defect in the coated pipelines buried in the earth cannot be actually measured. As such, the AC corrosion risk of pipelines is assessed by electrically connecting the coupon which is buried in the proximity of the pipelines with the pipelines and comparing two values of coupon DC current density and coupon AC current density (collectively these two values are called coupon current density) which are acquired from a measured value of current flowing through the connected wire with a cathodic protection reference which employs the coupon current density as an index. Where, the coupon simulates the coating defect of the pipelines and is a metal piece that is made of the same metal material as the pipelines having a known surface area (see below-mentioned non-patent literature 2).

Method and instrumentation for measuring and assessing AC corrosion risk of pipeline


A silicon carbide film includes a first range having a first breakdown voltage holding layer, a charge compensation region, a first junction terminal region, and a first guard ring region. The silicon carbide film includes a second range having a second breakdown voltage holding layer, a channel forming region, and a source region. The first and second breakdown voltage holding layers constitutes a breakdown voltage holding region having a thickness in an element portion. When voltage is applied to attain a maximum electric field strength of 0.4 MV/cm or more in the breakdown voltage holding region during an OFF state, a maximum electric field strength in the second range within the element portion is configured to be less than ⅔ of a maximum electric field strength in the first range.

Regarding a Si (silicon) MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), which is a power semiconductor device used widely, a main determination factor for breakdown voltage is the upper limit of an electric field strength with which a drift layer serving as a breakdown voltage holding region can withstand. A drift layer made of Si can be broken at a portion fed with an electric field of about 0.3 MV/cm or more. Accordingly, it is required to suppress the electric field strength to be less than a predetermined value in the entire breakdown voltage holding region of the MOSFET. The simplest method is to provide the breakdown voltage holding region with a low impurity concentration. However, this method provides a large on-resistance of the MOSFET, disadvantageously. In other words, there is a trade-off relation between the on-resistance and the breakdown voltage.
Regarding a typical Si MOSFET, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-191109 illustrates a trade-off relation between the on-resistance and the breakdown voltage in consideration of a theoretical limit resulting from a property value of Si. In order to cancel this trade off, it is disclosed to add a lower p type embedded layer and an upper p type embedded layer in an n base layer provided on an n type substrate provided on a drain electrode. By the lower p type embedded layer and the upper embedded layer, the n base layer is divided into a lower stage, a middle stage, and an upper stage, each of which has an equal thickness. According to this publication, voltage is equally held by each of the three stages, whereby the maximum electric field of each stage is maintained to be equal to or less than the critical electric field strength.

Silicon carbide semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same


A one-piece pipe coupling includes a cylinder with an axial joint and a sealing plate attached in spaced apart relation to the inner surface of the cylinder with a portion of the sealing plate extending beyond the axial joint for sealing the fluid pathways between a leak location and the outer surface of the coupling. A pair of arcuate gaskets extend around and are attached to the inner surface of the cylinder. The sealing plate carries a first sealing pad on the extending portion of its outer surface, which sealing pad includes circumferential guide channels for engaging the arcuate gaskets of the cylinder. The sealing plate also carries a second sealing pad on the other end of its outer surface, which sealing pad attaches the sealing plate in spaced apart relation to the inner surface of the cylinder. Further, the sealing plate carries circumferential sealing pads on its inner surface to engage the arcuate gaskets attached to the inner surface of the cylinder, thereby forming a sealing connection around the pipe by the arcuate gaskets and corresponding circumferential sealing pads, and along both of the axial pads.

The sealing of pipe joints and other leak locations in pipes and pipelines is a critical concern, and proper sealing has become more important as efforts have increased to protect the environment. Liquid chemicals, sewage, toxic gases, and other fluid-like materials such as fine dust must be conducted through pipelines without leakage of the material from the pipeline and without contamination from outside. To seal pipe joints, pipeline installers typically encircle the joint with a cylindrical coupling consisting of either two semi-cylindrical pieces fastened together to clamp the pipe ends, or a single cylindrical piece having an axial slit which allows the coupling to be opened by an amount sufficient to fit over the pipe ends.
Annular gasket members, such as O-rings, may be placed around the pipe ends beneath the coupling to block the escape of fluid axially between the coupling and the pipe ends, but it is then necessary to block escape of fluid outwardly through the axial slit of the coupling. Several prior devices for this purpose have been developed, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,360,227; 1,607,943; 2,913,262; 3,153,550; 4,664,428, and 5,086,809.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,428, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a sealing plate spanning the axial slit of a coupling and contacting two O-rings positioned on opposite sides of the joint in the priprline. The sealing plate is positioned outside the O-rings, but between the O-rings and the coupling. The sealing plate has axial gaskets along its edges for preventing passage of fluid from between the O-rings to the outer surface of the sealing plate. This sealing plate has the disadvantage, however, that it can only be used with continuous annular O-rings which must be properly positioned on the pipe ends before positioning the sealing plate over the O-rings and then positioning the coupling over the sealing plate and O-rings. Placing O-rings around pipe ends may be difficult if there is insufficient room to maneuver the O-rings onto the pipe ends. Another disadvantage is that couplings having arcuate gasket members attached to the inside of the coupling cannot be used with such a sealing plate. In addition, during the positioning and tightening of the coupling, the O-rings may become misaligned or the sealing plate may become misaligned with respect to the O-rings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,428 also describes a sealing gasket extending along an axial edge of the coupling so that the gasket is positioned between the axial edge and the inner surface of the coupling when the coupling is fixed around the pipe. Both approaches described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,428 have the disadvantage that in fitting the pipe coupling over the O-rings and other gaskets, the O-rings may buckle, deform, or be displaced, thereby allowing leakage. These problems in installation are particularly difficult when couplings are being placed underwater by divers, in confined areas, in open trenches or channels containing flowing water, or on existing pipelines to repair a joint or leak.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a pipe coupling that reliably seals all fluid paths from the interior of the pipe sections to the exterior of the pipe coupling. In addition, there is a need for a pipe coupling that can be installed reliably and conveniently in awkward situations. The inventions in my copending U.S. application Ser. No. 861,940 filed Apr. 2, 1992, entitled "Sealing Plate for a Pipe Coupling", have the disadvantage of a sealing plate which is a separate piece from the pipe coupling. The sealing plate must be placed first in proper position across the axial position of the leak location, and then the pipe coupling is closed around a pair of arcuate gaskets so that the arcuate gaskets engage the sealing pads of the sealing plate. Therefore, there is also a need in the art for a pipe coupling that is of one-piece construction and that provides ease of installation as well as sealing connections.


A monitoring assembly for a filter includes an acoustic apparatus. The acoustic apparatus includes a first receiver, a second receiver, a resonator, and a transmitter. The transmitter is configured to emit sound waves receivable by at least one of the first receiver, the second receiver, and the resonator. The monitoring assembly also includes an electronic control module configured to receive signals from at least one of the first and second receivers.

Engines, including diesel engines, gasoline engines, natural gas engines, and other engines known in the art, may exhaust a complex mixture of air pollutants. The air pollutants may be composed of gaseous and solid materials, including, for example, particulate matter. Particulate matter may include unburned carbon particles, such as soot. Particulate matter may be generated during operation of an engine, as fuel is supplied to the engine and is combusted in one or more combustion chambers within the engine. The engine may expel this particulate matter along with other engine exhaust from the one or more combustion chambers through an exhaust line. If this particulate matter is not filtered or otherwise removed from the engine exhaust, these particulates may be vented to the environment. Due to increased attention on the environment, exhaust emission standards have become more stringent. The amount of particulates emitted from an engine may be regulated depending on the type of engine, size of engine, and/or class of engine.
In order to remove particulate matter from engine exhaust, an exhaust filtration system may be disposed within the exhaust line. The exhaust filtration system may include a particulate filter or trap that may remove particulate matter from the engine exhaust. Particulate filters may typically include a wire mesh medium through which the engine exhaust is passed. The wire mesh medium may filter or trap particulate matter from the engine exhaust. Use of the particulate filter for extended periods of time may cause particulate matter to buildup in the wire mesh medium, thereby causing the functionality of the filter and engine performance to decrease. To avoid this decrease, a heating element may be used to increase the temperature of the trapped particulate matter above the combustion temperature of the trapped particulate matter, thereby burning away the trapped particulate matter and regenerating the filter system. Although regeneration may reduce the buildup of particulate matter in the filter, repeated regeneration of the filter may result in a buildup of ash in the components of the filter over time, or may cause damage to the filter, possibly resulting in a deterioration of filter performance.
At least one system has been developed for diesel particulate filter monitoring. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,694 to Rauchfuss et al. ("Rauchfuss") discloses incorporating one or more acoustic sensors into an exhaust system of an engine for detecting one or more frequencies passing through a filter. The one or more acoustic sensors may be fluidly or mechanically coupled to portions of the exhaust system to determine the frequency caused by the exhaust flow through the filter. The acoustic emissions from the filter may be compared to a known filter state to determine the present filter state. However, if the engine in Rauchfuss is not in operation, and no exhaust flow is being produced, then there are no frequencies or sounds for the one or more acoustic sensors to detect. When there are no frequencies or sounds to detect, the system in Rauchfuss cannot readily determine the state and/or loading of the filter.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.

System and method for monitoring a filter


Systems and methods are provided for determining an asphaltene solubility distribution for a petroleum sample and/or other hydrocarbon sample. A vessel for performing the method can include both packing material(s) and sidewall(s) that correspond to substantially inert materials. The vessel can initially contain a precipitating solvent suitable for causing precipitation of asphaltenes from a hydrocarbon sample. Examples of a precipitating solvents can correspond to n-heptane, toluene, and mixtures of n-heptane and toluene. The petroleum sample is then introduced into the vessel, along with a carrier solvent. The volume of the precipitating solvent can be large relative to the sample, so that the solubility of asphaltenes in the sample becomes dependent on the properties of the precipitating solvent. If asphaltenes are precipitated, the asphaltenes can be washed out of the column using a dissolution solvent. The asphaltenes washed out using the dissolution solvent can then be characterized to determine a total asphaltene content.

Various types of heavy petroleum fractions include compounds that can be referred to as asphaltenes. Although various definitions are possible, asphaltenes generally refer to compounds within a petroleum fraction that have multiple aromatic cores, resulting in low solubility/insolubility in various paraffinic compounds.
Characterization of asphaltenes within a petroleum fraction (or other hydrocarbon fraction) can be beneficial for understanding both the solubility characteristics and the processing characteristics of a fraction. Due to the low solubility in paraffinic compounds, petroleum fractions with high asphaltene contents can be incompatible for blending with other fractions that lack sufficient aromatic character. This can lead to precipitation of asphaltenes as solids, which is often undesirable. Asphaltenes can also be difficult compounds to convert by cracking or hydroprocessing, potentially resulting in undesirable coke formation and/or particle formation in some types of processes.
Due to the difficulties presented by some types of asphaltenes, it would be desirable to have improved systems and/or methods for determining the quantity and solubility of asphaltenes within a petroleum fraction. Different types of asphaltenes behave differently in response to fouling, precipitation, and/or other conditions. Thus, having a mechanism for screening the "type of asphaltene" can be valuable.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,241,920 describes processing and analysis techniques for characterizing the asphaltene content of a petroleum fraction. The techniques are performed using a vessel, such as a liquid chromatography column. Instead of using a conventional packing material for performing a separation, the vessel is packed with an inert substrate, such as polytetrafluoroethylene particles. A sample containing asphaltenes and a substance to induce precipitation are introduced into the vessel to cause precipitation of the asphaltenes on the inert substrate. A second solvent (or a plurality of second solvents) is then introduced into the vessel to dissolve the precipitated asphaltenes and carry the asphaltenes out of the vessel. The asphaltenes in the second solvent can then be detected by a suitable method, such as by using an Evaporative Light Scattering Detector. This can allow for automated determination of the amount of asphaltenes in a petroleum sample.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,634 describes methods for determining the Solubility Blending Number (SBN) and Insolubility Number (IN) for a hydrocarbon sample.

Determination of asphaltene solubility distribution

ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company