An oscillation apparatus includes an oscillation mechanism for reciprocating an oscillating roller which can be rotated in the circumferential direction and can be reciprocated along the axial direction; an oscillation-width adjustment mechanism for adjusting the oscillation width of the oscillating roller; an oscillation-mechanism drive motor for operating the oscillation mechanism; an oscillation-width adjustment motor for operating the oscillation-width adjustment mechanism; oscillation-width controller for controlling operation of the oscillation-width adjustment motor such that the oscillation width of the oscillating roller attains a designated value; and oscillation-number controller for controlling operation of the oscillation-mechanism drive motor, on the basis of the number of revolutions of the plate cylinder, such that the number of oscillations of the oscillating roller per unit number of revolutions of the plate cylinder attains a designated value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oscillation apparatus for adjusting the oscillation state of an oscillating roller of an ink supply apparatus of a printing press.
2. Description of the Related Art
When securities or the like are printed, rainbow printing is performed for prevention of forgery. When such rainbow printing is performed, an oscillation apparatus for adjusting the oscillation state of an oscillating roller of an ink supply apparatus plays an very important role. Such a conventional oscillation apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 12.
Ink stored in an ink fountain of an ink supply apparatus is supplied to oscillating rollers 101 and 102 of a printing press; and a hydraulic pump 112 is operated in order to feed a working fluid from a hydraulic tank 111 to a hydraulic cylinder 115. As a result, the oscillating roller 101 is reciprocated along its axial direction, and the oscillating roller 102 is also reciprocated along its axial direction via an oscillation lever 103, so that ink is supplied to a plate cylinder while being spread in the axial direction of the oscillating rollers 101 and 102.
The oscillation number of the oscillating roller 102 is converted to an electrical signal by means of a differential transformer 118, and the electrical signal is fed to an amplifier 116. The number of revolutions of an impression cylinder 100 is converted to a pulse signal by means of a rotary encoder 117, and the pulse signal is fed to the amplifier 116. When the oscillation width of the oscillating rollers 101 and 102 is set through operation of a volume 119, the signals fed to the amplifier 116 and the set oscillation width are computed in order to obtain a signal indicating a set value, which is output to a flow control valve 113. Further, while the value set by use of the volume 119 and the signal from the differential transformer 118 are compared with each other, pulses from the rotary encoder 117 are computed in order to output a signal to a direction control valve 114 at a predetermined timing that matches operation of the printing press. Through the above-described operation performed continuously within the amplifier 116, the oscillation state (oscillation width and number of oscillations) of the oscillating rollers 101 and 102 can be adjusted (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 63-264352 and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 63-170138).
The conventional oscillation apparatuses as described above have the following problems.
(1) Since the amount and direction of fluid supplied to the hydraulic cylinder 115 are controlled by the flow control valve 113 and the direction control valve 114 to thereby adjust the oscillation width and number of oscillations of the oscillating rollers 101 and 102, the mechanism for controlling the hydraulic cylinder 115 is complicated.
(2) Insufficient responsiveness of the hydraulic cylinder 115 makes it difficult to finely adjust the oscillation width and number of oscillations of the oscillating rollers 101 and 102.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide an oscillation apparatus for an oscillating roller which can adjust the oscillation state of the oscillating roller with high responsiveness by use of a simple mechanism.
In order to achieve the above object, an oscillation apparatus for an oscillating roller according to the present invention comprises: an oscillation mechanism for reciprocating an oscillating roller which can be rotated in the circumferential direction and can be reciprocated along the axial direction; an oscillation-width adjustment mechanism for adjusting the oscillation width of the oscillating roller; an oscillation-mechanism drive motor for operating the oscillation mechanism; an oscillation-width adjustment motor for operating the oscillation-width adjustment mechanism; oscillation-width control means for controlling operation of the oscillation-width adjustment motor such that the oscillation width of the oscillating roller attains a designated value; and oscillation-number control means for controlling operation of the oscillation-mechanism drive motor, on the basis of the number of revolutions of the plate cylinder, such that the number of oscillations of the oscillating roller per unit number of revolutions of the plate cylinder attains a designated value.
Preferably, the oscillation mechanism comprises a swing member which swings upon operation of the oscillation-mechanism drive motor, a moving member movably supported on the swing member, and an engagement member rotatably supported on the moving member and being in engagement with the oscillating roller; and the oscillation-width adjustment mechanism is configured such that, upon operation of the oscillation-width adjustment motor, the oscillation-width adjustment mechanism moves the moving member to thereby adjust a distance between a swing center of the swing member and a rotation center of the engagement member.
Preferably, the moving member is slidably supported on the swing member.
Preferably, the oscillation mechanism comprises a crank mechanism whose input side is connected to the oscillation-mechanism drive motor; a swingably-supported swing lever whose base end side is connected to the output side of the crank mechanism; a slide lever slidably supported by the swing lever such that the distal end side of the slide lever can move toward and away from a swing center of the swing lever; a first link plate whose one end side is rotatably supported by the distal end side of the slide lever; a swingably-supported swing plate, the other end side of the first link plate being rotatably connected to the base end side of the swing plate; and a cam follower provided at the distal end side of the swing plate and inserted into a groove wheel of the oscillating roller, and in that the oscillation-width adjustment mechanism comprises a worm gear connected to the oscillation-width adjustment motor; a worm wheel in meshing engagement with the worm gear; a transmission shaft coaxially connected to the worm wheel; a second link plate whose one end side is connected to the transmission shaft; and the slide lever whose base end side is rotatably connected to the other end side of the second link plate.
In the oscillation apparatus for an oscillating roller according to the present invention, the oscillation-width control means controls operation of the oscillation-width adjustment motor such that the oscillation width of the oscillating roller attains a designated value; and the oscillation-number control means controls operation of the oscillation-mechanism drive motor, on the basis of the number of revolutions of the plate cylinder, such that the number of oscillations of the oscillating roller per unit number of revolutions of the plate cylinder attains a designated value. Therefore, the control mechanism for the oscillating roller can be simplified. In addition, since the oscillating roller is operated by the above-described motors, the oscillating roller can be operated with high responsiveness, and the oscillation of the oscillating roller can be adjusted finely and easily. Accordingly, the oscillation state of the oscillating roller can be adjusted with high responsiveness by use of a simple mechanism.

Oscillation apparatus for oscillating roller


A new and distinct cultivar of Eryngium plant named ‘Paradise Jackpot’, characterized by its upright and inverted narrow triangular plant habit; moderately vigorous growth habit; freely branching habit; and compound flower heads with blue-colored flowers.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Eryngium plant, botanically known as Eryngium planum, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Paradise Jackpot'.
The new Eryngium was discovered by the Inventor in a controlled environment in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands, in July, 2001, as a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of an unnamed seedling selection of Eryngium planum, not patented. The new Eryngium was observed as a single plant from within a population of plants of the parent selection. The selection of this plant was based on its unique inflorescence form.
Asexual reproduction of the new Eryngium by cuttings in a controlled environment in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands since March, 2002, has shown that the unique features of this new Eryngium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A drawdown compressor assembly for recovering natural gas from a gas line includes a first tubing configured for connection to a first pipe of the gas line at a one end of the first tubing. A compressor is attached to an opposite end of the first tubing and configured to draw natural gas from the first pipe through the first tubing and into the compressor for being compressed by the compressor. A second tubing is connected to the compressor at one end of the second tubing and configured for connection to a second pipe of the gas line at an opposite end of the second tubing. Activation of the compressor draws the natural gas from the first pipe through the first tubing and delivers compressed natural gas to the second pipe through the second tubing.

During regular maintenance and construction projects involving natural gas infrastructure, natural gas is released by venting to the atmosphere to bring infrastructure safely out of service. This practice is common in the industry due to the absence of regulation that would require these emissions to otherwise be mitigated. While venting the natural gas to atmosphere is standard practice, there exists a need to reduce and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Although natural gas is considered a clean burning fuel, the need to lower unburned emissions during normal operations is increasing. The present disclosure provides a drawdown compressor and a process of recovering natural gas that satisfies this need.


A steerable instrument (100) controllable by a robotic arm (200), having a proximal end (20) and a distal (40) end comprising: a cylindrical shaft (130), a cylindrical bendable proximal part (120) and a cylindrical bendable distal part (140), a connector (110) configured for dismountable attachment to the robotic arm (200), attached in fixed rotational relation to the bendable proximal part (120), an end effector (150) attached in fixed rotational relation to the bendable distal part (140), the steerable instrument (100) configured such that: the bendable distal part (140) bends responsive to bending of the bendable proximal part (120), and the end effector (150) is rotatable when the bendable distal part (140) is in a bent position by a complementary rotation of the connector (110), the shaft (130) is pivotable around a fulcrum zone (134) on the shaft (130) and changes direction responsive to a complementary movement of the connector (110), thereby providing control of the shaft (130) direction, bending of the bendable distal part (140), and rotation of the end effector (150) through robotic movement of the connector (110).

There is an increased demand for robotic systems that allow remote manipulations in confined spaced having restricted access. The most common use is in the field of minimally invasive surgery, however, robots systems also find applications in mechanical engineering to look within and repair machines where disassembly is impractical or uneconomic for example in manufacturing installations, within building structures, submarine environments, in space, and the like. A steerable instrument can be introduced through a small aperture, and the steerable tip or end effector used to perform actions depending on the end effector including cutting, drilling, joining, cleaning, evacuation, observation (camera). Problems in the art with existing robotically controlled steerable instruments include complexity, expense, wear and tear, cleaning, sterilisation, movement reproducibility, tip stability and range of motions.
The da Vinci surgical system (Intuitive Surgical Inc, CA, USA) is currently a predominant robotic surgical system having a plurality of robotic arms each of which is attachable to a disposable laparoscopic instrument that is a steerable instrument. A typical disposable laparoscopic instrument of the system is shown in FIGS. 1A to 1E. The prior art laparoscopic instrument comprises a shaft having a proximal and distal end, a proximal-end housing that is repeatably attachable to one of the robotic arms of the system. The proximal-end housing is disposed with 4 rotary dials (a, b, c1, c2) to separately control rotation of an end effector (gripper), revolute movement of the shaft, and a separate rotation of the gripper arms to actuate them. A system of wires and pulleys within the disposable laparoscopic instrument transfers forces from the dials towards the end effector (gripper). The complexity of the mechanism is self-evident from prior art FIGS. 1D and 1E; the proximal-end housing and effector end contain a large number of components held under tension by the wires to transmit rotational forces through a rotatable shaft and across revolute joints to the distal wrist and end effector which also contains a complex arrangement. A known disadvantage is the high cost of the instrument because of the multitude of components that have high tolerances and reliability and are able to withstand forces during use and harsh chemical and temperature cleaning protocols, as well as the assembly time. Hence it is an aim to provide a lower cost instrument for robotic use.
The steerable tool disclosed in US 2011/0295242 is manually actuated by a proximal joystick (ball and socket) assembly.
Because the laparoscopic instrument of the art is complex and expensive it is operationally cost-effective (i.e. a necessity) to reuse it. The disposable laparoscopic instrument contains a large number of moving components and revolute joints under tension, each subject to wear and tear. A movement of the instrument must be reproducible; a returning movement must bring the instrument to the same place and in the same orientation. The mechanical joints in the proximal-end housing (e.g. FIGS. 1D and 1E) and distal wrist/end effector (e.g. FIG. 1B) are each a source of error and contribute to a mechanical play or backlash which reduces positional accuracy and reproducibility. As such reusability is limited to a fixed number times. Moreover, a use-counter must be implemented to limit the number of times of reuse.
With reusability is a problem of cleaning and sterilisation. Means must be provided to allow the instrument to be thoroughly cleaned, sterilised and dried, including the innards of the proximal-end housing. The cleaning requires supplementary strategies compared with standard instruments consuming a high number of manual hours; cleaning solution is pumped into the proximal-end housing and further thoroughly rinsed away. The cleaning solution is corrosive, reducing the lifespan of the components. Limited access to the innards impedes the rinsing and drying process; there is a risk that residue of cleaning solution remains.
For some procedures, a continuous rotation of the shaft or of the end effector is desirable, for instance, if the instrument is used for a remote drilling, abrasive action, tightening a thread, winding a cord, and the like. The prior art pulley and wire system has a limit on the number of revolution of the shaft currently to 1.5 rotations. An infinitely rotatable shaft and end effector would be desirable for many applications.
A limitation of minimally invasive surgery is the field of view offered by an endoscope does not allow the surgeon to view that is happening in the space behind the camera. The surgeon not being aware that an instrument has been inserted by an assistant because the instrument tip does not appear in his field of view. Forces provided by a robotic arm are high enough to cause severe damage to a subject, yet there is no safety provision; this can be source of risk since robotic solutions to not have a feedback mechanism to determine whether the surgical tool has been forced in error through tissue.
There is a need in the art for a robot controllable steerable instrument that connects to a robotic arm having a simpler mechanical coupling yet offers control of the instrument direction and of the end effector, that is cheaper to manufacture, has an infinitely rotatable end effector, is safer and overcomes the problems of the art.


A zoom lens and a photographing apparatus having the zoom lens are provided. The zoom lens includes: a first lens group having a positive refractive power; a second lens group having a negative refractive power; a third lens group including a shutter and having a positive refractive power; a fourth lens group having a positive refractive power, a fifth lens group having a negative refractive power, and a sixth lens group having a positive refractive power, wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth are arranged from an object side toward an image side, and when the zoom lens zooms from a wide angle position to a telephoto position, the third lens group is fixed, and the first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth lens groups are moved.

1. Field
Various embodiments of the invention relate to a zoom lens having a small size and a high zoom magnification and a photographing apparatus having the same.
2. Related Art
Users demand high resolution and high magnification for a photographing apparatus using a solid-state imaging device, such as a digital camera, an interchangeable lens system, a video camera, or the like. Also, since the expertise of a consumer of the photographing apparatus has improved, a zoom lens of a digital camera or a digital camcorder connected to the photographing apparatus (e.g., a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) must have an optical system having a small size and a high magnification.
In order to create a zoom lens having the small size and the high magnification, a refractive power of each of lens groups of the zoom lens is increased, and the number of lenses is minimized. However, aberration change due to zooming of the zoom lens as described above increases, and it is difficult to obtain a high optical performance of the zoom lens in the entire zooming range. Also, a movement amount of a magnifying lens group is increased to allow the zoom lens to have a high zoom magnification. In this case, the entire length of the zoom lens becomes longer, and thus it is difficult to make the zoom lens small. Therefore, it is difficult to make the zoom lens small with high performance and high zoom magnification.

Zoom lens and photographing apparatus having the same


A polishing apparatus comprises a first polishing table having a first polishing surface, a substrate carrier for holding a substrate and positioning the substrate so as to bring a surface of the substrate into contact with the first polishing surface, a pressing mechanism for pressing, against the first polishing surface, the surface of the substrate which has been brought into contact with the first polishing surface by the substrate carrier, a retainer ring mounted on the substrate carrier so as to surround the substrate which has been pressed against the first polishing surface by the pressing mechanism, and a retainer-ring-position-adjustment mechanism for adjustably positioning the retainer ring relative to the substrate, which has been pressed against the first polishing surface, in directions toward and away from the first polishing surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for performing planarization polishing of a substrate, and in particular to an apparatus for performing, chemical-mechanical polishing of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, for planarizing the substrate.
2. Background Art
In earlier polishing apparatus, a substrate to be polished was held on the lower surface of a substrate carrier. Then, to polish the substrate, it was pressed against a polishing pad as a polishing slurry was supplied to the polishing surface of the pad, while establishing a relative motion between the substrate and the polishing pad. The substrate carrier was provided with a retainer ring to prevent the substrate from being dislodged from the lower surface of the substrate carrier during polishing. The substrate was surrounded by the retaining ring to hold it in place on the carrier
During polishing performed on the resilient polishing pad, however, excessive polishing occurred at the periphery of the workpiece, producing an effect referred to as 'edge rounding.' To suppress this edge rounding effect, the retainer ring was pressed against the polishing pad to flex it slightly downward at its periphery.
In conventional polishing apparatus such as described above, although pressing the retainer ring against the polishing pad solved the edge rounding problem, thus improving the surface finish precision of the polished workpiece, it also resulted in poor distribution of slurry over the surface of the workpiece being polished, which reduced polishing speed, thereby degrading productivity. This tendency was especially pronounced when the surface being polished was a metal film. Consequently, this conventional polishing apparatus was poorly suited for high-speed polishing, which requires that a large amount of slurry be supplied to the surface being polished.
Recently, polishing apparatuses that use a fixed abrasive instead of a polishing pad have been developed. Because a fixed abrasive experiences almost no shape deformation when a workpiece is pressed against it, it produces very little edge rounding, even in the absence of downward pressure from a retainer ring. When such a fixed abrasive is used for polishing in a conventional polishing apparatus, however, because the retainer ring is now being pressed against a fixed abrasive, the ring wears faster, and the shorter retainer ring service life causes a corresponding increase in cost.

Polishing apparatus and polishing method


In one embodiment, the present invention includes a circuit comprising an amplifier having an input terminal, an output terminal, a positive supply voltage, and a negative supply voltage. The amplifier is configured to have a first gain. A variable feedback circuit is coupled between the input terminal and the output terminal. The difference between the voltage on the output terminal and input terminal is received by the variable feedback circuit, which changes the gain of the circuit and reduces distortion.

The present invention relates to circuits, and in particular, to a variable feedback circuit.
FIG. 1 is an example of a prior art amplifier circuit 100. Circuit 100 in this example includes an amplifier 101 having first and second input terminals (e.g., positive and negative inputs) and an output terminal. In this example, amplifier 101 includes a first resistor R1 coupled between an input signal Vin and the first negative input terminal. A second resistor R2 is coupled between the output terminal of the amplifier and the first input terminal. The second positive input terminal is coupled to ground. This amplifier configuration is the commonly-known inverting amplifier. The gain of this stage is given by the following equation:Vout/Vin=−R2/R1.In this example, amplifier 101 is powered by a +5 volt positive supply voltage and a zero volt (i.e., ground) negative supply voltage. Thus, if R2 is ten times the value of R1, then the circuit will have a gain of ten (10). Therefore, if the input signal has a peak-to-peak amplitude of 600 mV, then the output, Vout, should be a signal having a peak-to-peak amplitude of 6V. This example highlights a limitation of non-ideal circuits. In particular, since the positive supply is only 5V, the voltage on the output terminal, Vout, cannot achieve a voltage greater than 5V (typically less for amplifiers that do not have rail-to-rail output swing capability). When the input is sufficiently large in amplitude to cause the voltage on the output to reach the upper and/or lower power supply voltages (i.e., the upper and lower rails), the voltage on the output terminal will increase to the rail and then stop. This is referred to as "clipping." A clipped output signal, Vout, is plotted to the right of the amplifier circuit in FIG. 1. As shown in the plot, the top and bottom of the signal are flat, indicating that the input signal and gain have cause the voltage on the output to reach a maximum value as constrained by the upper and lower rails.
Clipping is problematic in many circuit applications because during the period of time that the signal is clipped, the information contained in the input signal is lost. Clipping is particularly problematic in applications that are sensitive to distortion. For example, in audio applications it is desirable to minimize the amount of amplifier distortion because even the slightest distortion may be discemable to the human ear.
Thus, there is a need to reduce distortion in electronic circuits. The present invention solves these and other problems by providing variable feedback circuits and methods.


A p-type silicon substrate is arranged on an n-type silicon substrate and a trench is formed in the p-type silicon substrate. An insulating film for separating elements from the other is formed along the upper side wall of the trench. A diffusion layer which serves as a capacitor electrode, and a capacitor insulating film are formed in the substrate along the lower side wall of the trench. A storage electrode is formed in the trench. This storage electrode is connected to a diffusion layer of MOSFET via the electrode and the diffusion layer. Even when the diameter of the trench is made small, the surface area of the storage electrode can be kept large enough because the diffusion layer which serves as the capacitor electrode is formed in the substrate along the side wall of the trench.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device such as the DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and, more particularly, it relates to a memory device of the trench-capacitor type.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows an example of the conventional DRAM cells and this DRAM cell was made public at IEDM in 1987 and it was also disclosed in a paper titled "A 4.2 .mu.m.sup.2 Half-Vcc Sheath-Plate Capacitor DRAM Cell with Self-Aligned Buried Plate-Wiring".
A MOS transistor Q1 which serves as a selection transistor comprises a gate or word line 11, and diffusion layers 12, 13. A bit line 14 is connected to the diffusion layer 13 and a storage electrode 15 which forms a capacitor C1 is connected to the diffusion layer 12. The capacitor C1 comprises the storage electrode 15, an insulating film 16 enclosing the storage electrode 15, and a capacitor electrode 17 enclosing the insulating film 16. An insulating film 18 is arranged round the capacitor electrode 17. These insulating film 18 and capacitor C1 are arranged in a trench 19 formed in a silicon substrate (not shown). The capacitor electrode 17 is connected to an impurities layer 20 embedded in the silicon substrate.
When data is to be memorized in the capacitor C1 in the case of the above-described arrangement, potential supplied to the bit line 14 is transmitted to the diffusion layer 13. When the word line 11 is selected under this state, the potential transmitted to the diffusion layer 13 is further transmitted to the storage electrode 15 via the diffusion layer 12 and stored in the capacitor C1. On the other hand, the data stored in the capacitor C1 is transmitted to the bit line 14 via the diffusion layers 12 and 13 when the word line 11 is selected.
In the case of the above-described device, the insulating film 18 is formed on the inner face of the trench 19, and the capacitor electrode 17, insulating film 16 and storage electrode 15 are formed in this order on the inner face of the insulating film 18. When the insulating film 18 is formed 0.05 .mu.m thick, the capacitor electrode 17 formed 0.1 .mu.m thick, and the insulating film 16 is made negligible because it is quite thin in a case where the diameter of the trench 19 is 0.4 .mu.m, therefore, the diameter of the storage electrode 15 becomes as follows: EQU 0.4-(0.05+0.1).times.2=0.1 .mu.m
As the result, the surface area of the capacitor section becomes so small as not to sufficiently store charges therein.

Semiconductor memory device having a trench capacitor


A hidden-rail dual-attraction balancing compensation type permanent magnetic levitation train and railway system are provided. The hidden rails are provided inside two underground tubes, and each tube is communicated with the ground via a rail through silt. A magnetically conductive wing rail is mounted at each inner side surface of the tube and a central portion of the magnetically conductive wing rail is used as a guide rail, magnetically conductive plate rails are provided on a top inner surface of each tube and arranged at two side of the rail through slit, each vehicle of the train comprises two underground magnetic levitation power cabins located inside the tubes respectively and an aboveground car which are connected integrally to each other via web girder in the shape of a plate therebetween, a top permanent magnet is mounted on a top outer surface of each magnetic levitation power cabin and face a plane of the magnetically conductive plate rail, and two wing permanent magnets are fixed at each outer side surface of the magnetic levitation power cabin and correspond to the magnetically conductive wing rails. A set of power units and two sets of guide fixed pulleys are disposed inside each magnetic levitation power cabin, in which the guide fixed pulleys are contacted with the guide rails on both side inner surfaces of each tube.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a permanent magnetic levitation train and railway system, more particularly, to a dual-attraction balancing compensation type permanent magnetic levitation train and railway system in which the rails are hidden and mounted under the ground and the train travels above the hidden rails.
2. The Relevant Technology
The rail bound vehicle has been rapidly and significantly developed in recent years and plays an important role in public transportation. For example, subway and light rail train play more and more important roles in urban traffic, and have many advantages, however, they have many disadvantages: the cost of the subway is high about $62-87 million US dollars per kilometer, and it is not convenient to enter into and go out of the subway station. The light rail train requires more land to lay the rails and occupies a land of about twelve thousand square meters per kilometer. In addition, the roadbed is formed by laying broken stones on the ground, so that the light rail train is not environment-friendly and the noise generated therefrom is high. The common disadvantages of the subway and the light rail train are that: the vibration is great, the travel speed is low, the energy consumption is high, the integration level is low, the construction is extensive, and the construction speed is low.
The existing magnetic levitation train system generally employs a technique in which the roadbed is elevated, the speed of the train is high and the train travels between different cities. More particularly, there are mainly three types of magnetic levitation train, i.e., the German TR serial levitation train system employing an "ordinary conductive" gap sensing electromagnetic levitation technique; the Japan MLX serial magnetic levitation train system employing a "super-conductive" electromotive magnetic levitation technique; and the China magnetic levitation train system employing a tube vacuum permanent magnetic compensation type levitation train-elevated railway-station technique. The speeds of the above three types of the magnetic levitation train reach more than 450 km/h, so that they are not suitable for the public transportation in a urban areas in which the distance between adjacent stations is about 500-1000 m. The above techniques are referred to "Magnetic Levitation Railway System and Technique" (China Science and Technology Publishing Company, published on November, 2003) and the Chinese Patent Publishing No. CN1264660A entitled "tube vacuum permanent magnetic compensation type levitation train-elevated railway-station system".

Hidden-rail and dual-attraction balancing compensation type permanent magnetic levitation train and railway system


Methods and systems are disclosed herein for using anomaly detection in timeseries data of user sentiment to detect incidents in computing systems and identify events within an enterprise. An anomaly detection system may receive social media messages that include a timestamp indicating when each message was published. The system may generate sentiment identifiers for the social media messages. The sentiment identifiers and timestamps associated with the social media messages may be used to generate a timeseries dataset for each type of sentiment identifier. The timeseries datasets may be input into an anomaly detection model to determine whether an anomaly has occurred. The system may retrieve textual data from the social media messages associated with the detected anomaly and may use the text to determine a computing system or event associated with the detected anomaly.

In the last few years, computing environments have grown at astronomical rates, making it more and more difficult to detect and diagnose issues. To address this difficulty, complex monitoring and alerting systems have been built and are available to enterprises. Generally, those systems monitor the computing environment and send alerts to engineers and administrators when things break. However, even with those systems it may be difficult to identify and diagnose issues, for example, because it may be difficult to determine what an alert means, what the underlying issue is, and/or how to fix the issue. In addition, a computing environment may generate many (e.g., hundreds, thousands, etc.) alerts daily. Some alerts may be minor warnings and may not be as important as other alerts that indicate more critical errors/problems. Thus, it may also be difficult to determine which alerts or issues should be addressed right away.

Detecting system events based on user sentiment in social media messages


A method, apparatus and computer program product for protecting privacy of a customer and an agent using face recognition in a video contact center environment is presented. A video call is initiated by a customer to a contact center. The customer video is muted while audio of the customer is provided to an agent of the contact center. A determination is made regarding whether a face is present in a video image of the customer. When a presence of a face is determined in the video image of the customer, then video of the customer is enabled. When a presence of a face is not present in the video image of the customer then the customer is notified so the customer can take appropriate action.

Contact centers are systems in which a person can communicate to receive information. Such communication can include, but is not limited to, telephone calls, Internet access, email, and FAX. A contact center can include one or more interactive voice response (IVR) systems. The one or more IVRs provide automatic branching voice queries to which the caller responds with button pushes on a telephone keypad or with voice responses on a telephone. The contact center may be provided having only the one or more IVR systems, or alternatively, it is also provided having human agents. For example, at the end of the IVR branching voice queries, the caller can be directed to press zero to speak to an agent. The agent is a person having a telephone to talk to the caller, hereafter referred to as an "agent telephone," and a computer to access information about the caller, hereafter referred to as an "agent computer." Note that though the agent telephone and the agent computer are often associated with one person, they correspond to distinct electronic systems and will be separately referred to herein
The contact center can also include one or more database server computers, one or more database storage areas, one or more web server computers, and one or more email server computers. As described above, contact center actions include actions generated by agents within the contact center as well as actions by people outside of the contact center, for example telephone callers and web customers.
One type of contact center is referred to as a video contact center. Video contact centers allow a customer to interact with an agent using a video enabled device such as a camera on a mobile device or a web phone using a web camera attached to the customer's computer. The customer places a call into the contact center and where they will be served first by an automated Interactive Voice and Video System (IVVR) after which the customer will be added to a call/skill queue to wait for a certain period of time until an agent is available. With respect to agents, most contact centers are configured to auto-answer a call when the call lands at the agent's desktop. When a video call arrives at the agent, the system will automatically answer the call without any input from the agent.

Protecting privacy of a customer and an agent using face recognition in a video contact center environment


A cosmetic coating implement which is used to apply a cosmetic material such as mascara or the like as a coating, comprising a coating part in which brush bristles are disposed on a shaft member, and a holding part which is held in order to use the coating implement and which is connected to the shaft member. In this cosmetic coating implement, the brush bristles disposed on the shaft member have two or more protruding parts comprising curved surfaces with respect to the direction of length of the shaft such as parts with a spherical or elliptical shape, and these protruding parts are symmetrically disposed with the shaft member as an axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cosmetic coating implement and a cosmetic coating set.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Makeup items that have shown an increase in users in the past, and that are now considered indispensable, include mascara. Mascara is relatively easy to use and has a high cosmetic effect on the eyelashes. Mascara is produced by mixing a pigment such as a black pigment, etc. with a viscous liquid substance, and is commonly used as an eyelash cosmetic. The attractiveness and impression of the eyes are greatly influenced by the conditions of application of such mascara; this cosmetic makes it possible to achieve a beautiful and attractive appearance of the eyes.
A coating brush having a configuration in which brush members are clamped between two metal wires in an intersecting configuration with respect to the metal wires, and the metal wires are twisted into a spiral shape so that the brush members are fastened between the loops, is widely used as a coating implement for the application of mascara. Here, in a conventional coating brush, the lengths of the respective brush members extending radially from the metal wires are generally the same.
However, in the case of such a structure, the brush is inserted into the container accommodating the mascara and dipped into the mascara, and is then removed and wiped on the mouth portion of the container, so that the amount of mascara adhering to the bristle tips of the brush members is reduced. Accordingly, the following problems arise: namely, the mascara does not adhere uniformly when applied to the eyelashes, so that the application is uneven, and it may be necessary to use mascara several times.
For example, in Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H6-22815 and Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H5-192226, brush bristles in which rigid bristles with a large cross-sectional area and rigid bristles with a relatively small cross-sectional area are mixed, and in which the lengths of the brush bristles are mixed, are proposed as brush bristles.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 2003-111616 "Cosmetic Coating Brush and Method for Manufacturing the Same", a cosmetic coating brush with a simple structure is proposed in which the content liquid of mascara or the like can be amply and uniformly held in the direction of length and circumferential direction of the brush by applying this liquid from the central portions to the tip end portions of the respective brush bristles, so that a good volume application effect can be obtained by a coating operation without any further addition of the liquid. The brush bristles are disposed between metal core wires so as to intersect with these wires, and the core wires are wound in a spiral configuration, so that a coating brush part is formed. In this cosmetic coating brush, the coating brush part is a part in which long brush bristles and short brush bristles are disposed alternately and symmetrically with the core wires as an axis in the cross section oriented in the axial direction of the coating brush part.
In such a structure, however, depending on the disposition of the two types of rigid bristles, adhesion of the liquid may be non-uniform, so that uniform coating of the eyelashes is difficult, as a result of short brush bristles being concentrated in certain portions, and long brush members being concentrated in other portions.
If mascara is merely applied in large amounts, the painstakingly achieved attractiveness of mascara is reduced substantially. The removal of excessively adhering mascara and balls of mascara, and combing that blends the mascara into the eyelashes, influence the mascara finish. The mascara brush that is used for this finishing work is important.
However, the structures of conventionally used mascara brushes are all similar, and most people use combs or screw brushes meant for combined use on the eyebrows.
If it were possible to construct a mascara brush that made it possible to apply mascara to the hairs of the eyelashes one by one so that a naturally separated state could be obtained, that also made it possible to dissolve balls or bundles of excessively adhering mascara, and that made it possible to blend mascara into the eyelashes without any irregularities, this would be desirable. Moreover, if it were possible to replenish mascara in a simple manner in cases where an additional coating of mascara is superimposed, this would also be desirable.

Cosmetic coating implement and cosmetic coating set


A connector connected with an end of a coaxial cable having a small diameter is provided. The connector includes an insulating housing, a signal terminal, and a shielding housing. The insulating housing has a hollow hole, a terminal cavity, and an insulating plate. The hollow hole of the insulating housing penetrates through two surfaces of the insulating housing, and communicates with the terminal cavity of the insulating housing. The signal terminal is assembled the terminal cavity. The signal terminal has a flat portion electrically connected to the internal conductive wires of the coaxial cable. The shielding housing has a circular portion and a cover. The circular portion surrounds the outer surface of the insulating housing, and the cover of the shielding housing presses the insulating plate of the insulating housing to enable the internal conductive wires of the coaxial cable to contact the signal terminal.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a coaxial cable end connector. More particularly to a coaxial cable end connector for being connected with an end of a coaxial cable having a small diameter.
2. Description of Related Art
Antennas disposed in high-frequency wireless electric devices are Generally installed outside printed circuit boards for lowering the influence of high frequency electric components disposed on printed circuit boards on high-frequency wireless signals emitted from the antenna. Therefore radio frequency properties of the antennas can be prevented from being unstable due to the operation of the electric components disposed on printed circuit boards. The communication of electrical signals between the antennas and printed circuit boards generally relies on the coaxial cable used as a signal transmission medium. In the limited space of the electric devices, an outer diameter of the coaxial cable and volume of the coaxial cable end connector compatible to printed circuit board are required to be as miniaturized as possible.
As shown in the figures, among the conventional coaxial cable connectors for being connected with an end of an axial cable having a small diameter, a design of a typical coaxial cable connector for being connected with an end of an axial cable having a small diameter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,668. The conventional coaxial cable connector includes an insulating housing A1, a signal terminal A2, and a shielding housing A3. The insulating housing A1 has a first surface A11 and a second surface A12 opposite to the first surface A11. The first surface A11 of the insulating housing A1 faces a pair of connectors (not shown in the figure). The central region of the second surface A12 of the insulating housing A1 includes a hollow hole A121, a terminal cavity A122, and an insulating plate A123. The hollow hole A121 of the insulating housing A1 is formed penetrating the first surface A11 and the second surface A12. The terminal cavity A122 of the insulating housing A1 communicates with the hollow hole A121. The signal terminal A2 is disposed in the terminal cavity A122 of the second surface A12 of the insulating housing A1. The signal terminal A2 includes a flat portion A21, two opposite end walls A22, and a pair of contacting arms A23, in which the end walls A22 are formed respectively by bending the opposite ends of the signal terminal A2 in a direction toward a backside of the first surface A11, and the contacting arms A23 are respectively disposed on edges of the signal terminal A2 without the end walls in a direction toward the first surface A11 of the insulating housing A1. The two end walls A22 of the signal terminal A2 have a concave A221 for accommodating an internal conductive wire B1 of a coaxial cable B, so that an end of the internal conductive wire B1 of the coaxial cable B can be soldered with the flat portion A21 of the signal terminal A2. The contacting arms A23 of the signal terminal A2 are used for communicating electrical signals with a corresponding connector (not shown). The shielding housing A3 has an circular portion A31 and a cover A32, in which the cover A32 of the shielding housing A3 surrounds the outer surface of the insulating housing A1, and the cover A32 of shielding housing A3 presses the insulating plate A123 of the insulating housing A1 to be flattened between the cover A32 of the shielding housing A3 and the signal terminal A2. A set of front fasteners A321 and a set of back fasteners A322 are extended from the cover A32 of the shielding housing A3, in which the front fasteners A321 and the back fasteners A322 fasten a metallic shield 63 (metal wire mesh) and an external insulating layer B4 of the coaxial cable B respectively.
The general coaxial cable B suitable for the prior art skill is a four-layer structure, including the internal conductive wire B1, an internal insulating layer B2, the metallic shield B3, and the external insulating layer B4 arranged from a center to an external surface of the coaxial cable B sequentially. Since the end of the internal conductive wire B1 of the coaxial cable B is soldered with the flat portion A21 of the signal terminal A2 of the connector, and the metallic shield B3 and the external insulating layer B4 of the coaxial cable B are fastened respectively by the shielding housing A3 of the connector, the connector is combined with the end of the coaxial cable B firmly.
Since the coaxial cable end connector is soldered with the end of the coaxial cable B, and the coaxial cable end connector is suitable for the coaxial cable B of a single internal conductive wire, the internal conductive wire B1 of the coaxial cable B is one single inseparable conductive wire. For another coaxial cable B having internal conductive wires, the internal conductive wires are separable, so that it is difficult for a production line to neatly solder the respective internal conductive wires each having a small diameter with the fiat portion A21 of the signal terminal A2. The prior art skill is to solder the internal conductive wire B1 of the coaxial cable B with the flat portion A21 of the signal terminal A2. However, the scattered internal conductive wires each having a small diameter are difficult to be soldered, and the multi-core conductive wires of the respective coaxial cables of various coaxial cable end connectors generally have great differences for tin-wetting, resulting in the inconsistent electrical characteristics of the coaxial cable end connectors after soldering, and thus the conventional skills have to be improved.


A magneto-optical recording medium improved in reproduction stability and carrier-to-noise ratio by enlarging the magnetic anisotropy of a magnetic film. The magneto-optical recording medium is composed of a transparent substrate, a first dielectric film laminated on the transparent substrate, a magnetic film laminated on the first dielectric film, and a second dielectric film laminated on the magnetic film. The second dielectric film is formed from a material different from a material of the first dielectric film, and has film stress different from film stress of the first dielectric film. Accordingly, the coercive force and the magnetic anisotropy of the magnetic film can be enlarged.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magneto-optical recording medium on which information is recorded or erased by utilizing a rise in temperature of the medium by a laser beam and information is reproduced by utilizing a magneto-optical effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
A magneto-optical disk is known as a rewritable high-density recording medium, and an increase in information quantity gives rise to a desire for higher densities of the medium. Further, various methods have been proposed as magneto-optical recording methods in the next generation, and the requirement to the quality of the recording medium has been further increased. The magneto-optical recording medium is required not only to allow its production at low costs with simple steps, but also to allow a high signal quality and high reproduction stability.
A rare earth-transition metal amorphous alloy film such as TbFeCo or GdFeCo is used as a magnetic recording film constituting the magneto-optical recording medium. However, such a magnetic film has a defect that its characteristics are prone to be deteriorated by oxidation or the like. To cope with this, the magneto-optical recording medium generally has a structure that a first dielectric film, a magnetic film, and a second dielectric film are laminated together in this order over a transparent substrate. In some case, a metal reflective film is further laminated on the second dielectric film. Thus, the magnetic film is sandwiched between the first dielectric film and the second dielectric film to thereby prevent moisture contained in the substrate and oxygen or the like in the atmospheric air from reaching the magnetic film, thus suppressing the deterioration of the characteristics of the magnetic film.
Further, as the first dielectric film is provided between the substrate and the magnetic film, the multiple interference effect (Kerr enhance effect) of a laser beam utilizing a difference in refractive index between the substrate and the first dielectric film can be exhibited to thereby apparently enlarge the Kerr rotation angle of the magnetic film, thus allowing a high reproduction output to be obtained in reading information. In a conventional magneto-optical recording medium, the first and second dielectric films are formed from the same kind of materials. For instance, the first and second dielectric films are formed from silicon nitride (SiN) or aluminum nitride (AlN).
It is known that when stress is applied on a magnetic body, perpendicular magnetization anisotropic energy is accordingly generated in the magnetic body. If this property is applied to magnetic recording or magneto-optical recording, the properties of the magnetic film may be controlled, and recording medium greatly superior in characteristics to the conventional recording medium may be produced even with use of the same magnetic film as that in the prior art.
In Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 4-13869, there is disclosed a film forming method for a magneto-optical recording medium wherein an Ar gas pressure is increased in forming a recording magnetic film to thereby enlarge internal stress in the magnetic film. The enlargement of the internal stress in the magnetic film is intended to improve carrier-to-noise ratio (C/N). However, the Ar gas pressure of the film forming conditions described in this publication is high such as 10 to 100 mTorr, causing instability of discharge during sputtering. As a result, a good-quality magnetic film cannot be obtained.

Magneto-optical recording medium with magnetic film having large magnetic anisotropy


A silicon shelf tower for hatch thermal processing of silicon wafers in a vertical furnace. The tower includes at least three silicon legs joined to bases and having a vertical arrangement of slots. Silicon shelves are detachably loaded by sliding them through the slots in the side legs and into the slot of the back leg. A interlocking mechanism detachably locks the shelves to the back leg while the slots in the two side legs laterally constrains the shelves. The shelves include cutouts to allow a robot paddle to load and unload wafers to the shelves. Circular holes in the shelves relieve stress and prevent wafer sticking Preferably, the shelves are formed from randomly oriented polycrystalline silicon. The shelves and towers can alternatively be made of other materials such as quartz and silicon carbide.

Batch processing of silicon wafers continues to be an important commercial process. Typically, a wafer tower, often called a boat, is placed within a vertical furnace and holds a large number of silicon wafers in a vertical stack with a horizontal orientation of the principal surfaces of the individual wafers for thermal processing of the wafer within the furnace. The thermal process may include flowing into the furnace a process gas, such as a precursor gas to deposit a layer on the wafers by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), for example, of silane to form a layer of polysilicon or additionally of nitrogen to form a layer of silicon nitride. Oxygen or nitrogen may be flowed in to thermally oxidize or nitride the wafers. Hydrogen may be used as a reducing agent for a high-temperature anneal. In other applications involving a non-reactive anneal of the wafers, the furnace may be filled with an inert gas. A high-temperature anneal in an inactive ambient may act as an implant anneal to activate implanted ions or to generally anneal the silicon wafer. On the other hand, CVD is typically performed at lower temperatures.
Quartz towers have long been used in such furnaces. However, as processing temperatures continue to rise, now often exceeding 1000° C. and even 1250° C., quartz has exhibited deleterious sagging at the higher temperatures and also is now considered a somewhat dirty material in view of the increasing purity levels required for advanced integrated circuits. Silicon carbide towers have been increasingly used for high-temperature processing. However, sintered silicon carbide is also a dirty material and CVD silicon carbide is expensive as a bulk material and is not completely effective as a surface coating over sintered silicon carbide.
Recently silicon ladder towers have been introduced for supporting silicon wafers, as disclosed by Boyle et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,346, incorporated herein by reference. By ladder tower is meant that each of the wafers is directly supported on respective teeth integrally formed on three or four legs of the tower held between two tower bases. At least the legs of these towers include structural members composed of elemental silicon, that is, substantially more than 50% or even more than 90% of all of the silicon atoms in the structural member is bonded to other silicon atoms and not to other elements. Elemental silicon is readily available in forms having purity levels above 99 atomic percent (at %). Silicon intended for the semiconductor industry is available in very pure forms having purity levels well above 99.99 at %. Thus, silicon used for structural members in support fixtures has the advantages over quartz and silicon carbide of very high purity and no differential thermal expansion relative to the supported silicon wafers.
A major problem facing high-temperature processing of silicon wafers for advanced integrated circuits is the creation of dislocations such as slip defects. Silicon towers have been observed to produce few or no such defects. However, an alternative approach applied to the more conventional quartz or silicon carbide towers uses wafer rings composed of quartz or silicon carbide supported by the legs of the tower and the rings in turn support the wafers along a substantial periphery of the wafer. There are a number of configurations, often referred to as ring boats, boat rings, or towers with wafer support rings. Often, the ring is welded or otherwise fixed to the tower. A closed-ring structure, however, has the problem of the difficulty of loading and unloading wafers to and from the rings. Furthermore, quartz and silicon carbide when used in rings magnify and continue to present their many problems related to differential thermal expansion and impurities. The coefficient of thermal expansion for silicon is 100 times greater than that for quartz and silicon exhibits substantially better thermal conductivity. Most prior art rings have a complex cross section which significantly increases the cost of fabricating them.


A testing device that tests an electronic device includes: a pattern generator operable to generate a test pattern to be supplied to the electronic device and an expectation signal sequence to be output from the electronic device when the test pattern is supplied to the electronic device; a comparison unit operable to compare an output signal sequence output from the electronic device according to the test pattern with the expectation signal sequence; an acquisition controlling unit operable to cause the comparison unit to start comparing the output signal sequence and the expectation signal sequence when detecting an output header, which indicates the start of a comparison between the output signal sequence and the expectation signal sequence using the comparison unit, from the output signal sequence; and a comparison result outputting unit operable to acquire a comparison result from the comparison unit according to an instruction from the acquisition controlling unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a testing device and a control method testing an electronic device. The present application also relates to the following application, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference if applicable.                A Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-64407 Filed on Mar. 8, 2004.
2. Description of Related Art
There is used a testing device that inputs a test pattern to an electronic device and tests the electronic device by comparing an output signal sequence output from the electronic device in response to the test pattern and an expectation signal sequence expected to be output from the electronic device.
However, the testing device cannot adequately test the electronic device when a gap in the timing between the output of the output signal sequence and the output of the expectation signal sequence is not uniform.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a testing device and a control method that can solve the foregoing problems. The above and other objects can be achieved by combinations described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous and exemplary combinations of the present invention.


The apparatus for automatically removing ribs portion from belly of a beast flank, such as pork flank, comprises a conveyor provided with gripping hooks for holding the flank in position on the conveyor during ribs portion removing, a camera disposed over flank top surface showing ribs for generating image electrical signals representing an image of the flank top surface, a laser triangulation unit for generating surface profile data characterizing the flank top surface, a pair of lateral cameras for generating ribs thickness data for the ribs and analyzing device such as computer for receiving the image electrical signals, surface profile data and ribs thickness data for deriving therefrom a programmed cut profile according to a predetermined meat thickness to be left under the ribs. The apparatus further comprises a robot having a robot arm provided with a end cutting tool, and a programmable logic controller (PLC) for controlling the conveyor and the robot, to create a relative movement of the cutting tool with respect to the flank according to the programmed cut profile to produce removal of the ribs portion from the belly.

In slaughterhouses, after eviscerating, beheading and chilling, livestock carcasses are, as a first primal cutting step, separated through the spine in two halves of carcass, which are then further processed to obtain other primal cuts. In pork slaughtering, such further primal cuts include hind and front foot, ham, shoulder, loin, back ribs, spare ribs and flank, the latter being further cut to remove spare ribs portion from belly. Heretofore, a common practice used in slaughterhouses for removing ribs from livestock flanks, such as spare ribs in pork flanks, consists in manually removing the ribs portion from the belly of a flank by pulling a hand tool provided with an elongate blade or thread secured at both ends thereof to a pair of handles. Such conventional manual technique has many drawbacks. Manual removing is hazardous and time-consuming for the butchers, and provides relatively poor control on the quality of the end products, which are ribs and beacon being cut from belly. Parameters used as quality criteria generally applied to ribs are average thickness under the ribs, length of the portion tail extending from the first rib, which parameters have to be within respective predetermined ranges, and cut profile which has to generally corresponds to junction of the two main muscles located on the inner side of the flank. As to the separated belly, which should also contain a part of meat, average thickness should be within a predetermined range for optimal classification of belly for bacon production, the range depending on initial flank thickness. The average thickness of meat left under the ribs is one of the most important parameters to control during the cutting operation, which parameter has also great impact on flank classification for bacon. Even for butchers highly skilled in manual rib cutting, a belly may nevertheless be downgraded for bacon due to an insufficient remaining meat thickness thereunder. Therefore, using the foregoing criteria, removed ribs and belly have to be visually inspected and sorted according to predetermined quality grades, which further operations contribute to increase production costs.
In the past years, some butchering systems have been proposed to automate the separation of livestock carcasses in primal cuts, such as the apparatuses disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,159,869 issued on Dec. 8, 1964 to Vogt et al., and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,029 issued on May 5, 1987 to Helsene et al. The former patent discloses a semi-automatic apparatus for breaking-up hog carcasses in pieces, including ribs and belly, wherein a light probe connected to an electromechanical controller is manually directed toward a selected one of the carcass portions by an operator to form a light scribe line on the surface thereof, thereby indicating to the controller a target position of a controlled tool as determined by the operator through visual inspection. Such apparatus still requires substantial manual operation. Although the apparatus of Vogt et al. represents an improvement over wholly manual removing technique, it still requires some manual operation. Helsene et al. disclose a prior art automated apparatus for cutting hog carcasses into primal cuts, which apparatus includes a computer vision device, an automated scribe saw to cut the ribs in a vertical plane at a predetermined depth along the back ribs and loin junction, followed by two further parallel automated cutting stations provided to respectively pull the meat part of the loin out from the back ribs and spine and remove spare ribs from belly as part of the flank. The computer vision system includes a camera located above a carrying conveyor for scanning the half carcasses following foot, ham and shoulder removing therefrom, which camera is connected to an image processing computer which locates reference points of the loin and ribs to automatically control the movement of cutting devices used to further separate the half carcass, pull the loin and remove the ribs. The ribs removing station uses a pair of elongate blade support elements projected downwardly from an upper housing secured to a frame and each being connected to one end portion of a V-shaped elongate blade. The housing contains the control elements for vertically adjusting the blade according to the predetermined cutting depth of the scribe saw, and for laterally adjusting one of the blade support relative to the other, according to control information received from the computer. Although the system proposed by Helsene et al. represents an improvement over earlier manual ribs removing technique or prior semi-automatic apparatus, since the computer stores only belly's back fat thickness information, adequate control of the thickness of the remaining meat under the ribs cannot be achieved since the vision system of Helsene et al. does not provide any information about ribs thickness for accurately controlling movement of the cutting blade in a vertical direction.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,269 to Norrie, there is disclosed an apparatus for the separation of back fat from a loin portion of a pork half carcass carried by a lower conveyor under a pressure device, which apparatus uses a generally arcuate blade interposed between the conveyor and the pressure device and being movable relative to the conveyor according to thickness as measured between the visible back fat and meat portions of the loin portion at an edge thereof, using a flank edge facing camera as part of an optical sensing device. However, such measurement principle cannot be adequately applied for ribs removal since back fat thickness being not even throughout the back surface of the flank, remaining meat thickness under ribs cannot be derived from a measurement of the back fat thickness at a visible edge of the flank.
In PCT published application 91/04670 to Khodabandehloo, there is disclosed a robotized cutting apparatus for separating meat from bones, which apparatus comprises a robot having a robot arm provided with a cutting tool having a cutting blade and having a force sensor at a free end thereof, and a processing unit including a force feedback device receiving sensed force signals and having an output connected to a robot controller. Cameras are connected to a vision processing unit having a first output being coupled to a decision processing unit, and second output being coupled to a data update processor feeding a memory for storing information about previous carcasses, the decision processing unit having access to the stored data. The cameras are used with the vision processing unit to determine the spatial coordinates of a number of position on the carcass, for example the positions of a particular bone. The stored data include the coordinates of the particular positions of the carcasses, and of the cutting paths that were followed by the cutting blade to remove meat from the carcasses. If the new data correspond closely to the data relating to an earlier carcass, this relationship is used to determined the starting point of the cutting path for the new carcass. If such relationship cannot be found, a new cutting path entry point is derived. Then, the cutting blade is moved through the carcass meat according to an initial direction and angular position until the sensed reacting force acting thereon raises beyond a predetermined threshold level corresponding to a hard material such as bone, and the movement and angular position is corrected accordingly in a feedback mode of operation. The current position coordinates of the cutting blade is continuously compared to stored cutting path data corresponding to a selected previous comparable carcass, to provide further correction if required. However, since reaction force monitoring technique used by the apparatus aims at avoiding meat left under the bones, such prior art apparatus cannot be useful for ribs removing, control of the meat thickness left under ribs being an important quality requirement.

Centre de Recherche Industrielle Du Quebec


A Wide Register Set (WRS) is used in a packet processor to increase performance for certain packet processing operations. The registers in the WRS have wider bit lengths than the main registers used for primary packet processing operations. A wide logic unit is configured to conduct logic operations on the wide register set and in one implementation includes hardware primitives specifically configured for packet scheduling operations. A special interlocking mechanism is additionally used to coordinate accesses among multiple processors or threads to the same wide register address locations.

Packet processors are used in routers, switches, servers, Personal Computers (PCs), etc. for processing and routing packets in a packet switched network, such as the Internet. The packet processor is often required to schedule both the processing of received packets and the outputting of packets after packet processing is completed. The type and amount of packet traffic received and transmitted by the packet processor constantly varies. Thus, these scheduling operations are important for fairly and efficiently processing the packets.
There is a problem efficiently implementing packet scheduling in packet processors. Hardware-based approaches can operate very fast, but tend to be inflexible and costly. For example, a whole Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) may be required for packet scheduling operations.
The desire to have a flexible solution, for example, one whose algorithm/function can be changed without spinning an ASIC, strongly motivates a software based solution. However, software based solutions for scheduling operations run very slowly due to the number of required serial logic operations.
These extensive processing requirements are further complicated by the large data structures used for packet scheduling. In the case of some hardware implementations, these data structures can be over 1000 bits wide. Even with alternative scheduling structures (e.g., calendars), items such as the schedule state are still too wide for the registers typically used in the packet processor. Needless to say, the task of fetching, updating, and storing such large data structures can be costly on a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or even a Network Processing Unit (NPU).
The multiple fields used in the scheduling data structure also do not correspond well with the register files used in packet processors. For example, these different fields may not have bit lengths of 8, 16, or 32 bits. This forces the packet processor to perform many data alignment and masking operations just to prepare the scheduling data for subsequent processing.
What is missing is a processing architecture in the middle that provides a cheap and flexible solution that runs at speeds significantly faster than current software options, but whose cost is less than previous hardware approaches. The present invention addresses this and other problems associated with the prior art.

Packet processor with wide register set architecture

Abstract: The WRS produces a scheduling engine that is much cheaper than previous hardware solutions with higher performance than previous software solutions. The WRS provides a small, compact, flexible, and scalable scheduling sub-system and can tolerate long memory latencies by using cheaper memory while sharing memory with other uses. The result is a new packet processing architecture that has a wide range of cost/performance points, based on desired scheduling requirements.


This invention provides a compound of the formula (I):

Prostaglandins are mediators of pain, fever and other symptoms associated with inflammation. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is the predominant eicosanoid detected in inflammation conditions. In addition, it is also involved in various physiological and/or pathological conditions such as hyperalgesia, uterine contraction, digestive peristalsis, awakeness, suppression of gastric acid secretion, blood pressure, platelet function, bone metabolism, angiogenesis or the like.
Four PGE2 receptor subtypes (EP1, EP2, EP3 and EP4) displaying different pharmacological properties have been cloned. The EP4 subtype, a Gs-coupled receptor, stimulates cAMP production, and is distributed in a wide variety of tissue suggesting a major role in PGE2-mediated biological events.
Certain compounds of the present invention are generally disclosed in WO98/45268 and EP-A-1229034 as PDE4 inhibitors, in WO03/16254 as EP4 receptor antagonists, in WO00/64876 as PPAR ligand receptor binders, and in DE2500157 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,815) and DE2706977 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,658) as antidiabetic agents. WO00/20371 describes a family of PGE receptor antagonists differing from the present compounds by having an ortho-substitution pattern in the phenyl ring. WO01/57036 describes a series of nicotinamide PDE4 inhibitors.
The invention addresses the problem of providing EP4 receptor modulators (e.g., agonists and antagonists) which have improved EP4 receptor modulating activities (e.g., agonist or antagonist activities). In particular, it relates to the provision of EP4 receptor antagonists useful in therapy, particularly for the treatment of pain and inflammation conditions.

Abstract: wherein A represents a phenyl group or the like: B represents an aryl or the like: E represents a 1,4-phenylene group; R1 and R2 independently represent a hydrogen atom or the like: R3 and R4 independently represent a hydrogen atom or the like: R5 represents —CO2H or the like: R6 represents an alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms or the like: X represents a methylene group or the like. These compounds are useful for the treatment of disease conditions mediated by prostaglandin such as pain, or the like in mammalian. This invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising the above compound.


The invention relates to a DC power distribution system (1). The DC power distribution system comprises a track (2) with electrical conductors for distributing DC power for powering purposes and for position determination purposes and a position determination system (15) for determining the position of an electrical device (3, 13) like a luminaire, which is attached to the track, based on a voltage measured on the track. The DC power distribution system can therefore provide positioning information regarding the position of the electrical device along the track, which may be useful, for instance, for commissioning purposes.

A DC power distribution system is defined by, for instance, the EMerge Alliance Occupied Space standard (EMerge standard). Currently, in a DC power distribution system in accordance with the EMerge standard one or several power supply units are electrically connected to a track for providing DC power to one or several electrical consumers like luminaires, which are also electrically connected to the track. The one or several power supply units and the one or several electrical consumers can be attached at any position along the track. However, after the respective power supply unit or electrical consumer has been attached to the track, positioning information about the power supply unit or about the electrical consumer is not available. Such positioning information may be valuable for, for instance, commissioning purposes.


A radio communication system (100) synchronizes multiple data streams associated with a network of transmitters (102) while maintaining full user traffic. The transmitters transmit (901) a first portion of the user traffic in a simulcast mode during a first time interval, (104) and transmit (903) a second portion of the user traffic in a non-simulcast mode during a second time interval. A monitor receiver (104) is coupled to the transmitters by radio signals for monitoring (905) the second portion of the user traffic transmitted from selected transmitters to determine transmission delays. A controller (108) is coupled to the monitor receiver for adjusting (907) the data streams to equalize the transmission delays (303).

Radio communication systems when designed for specific telecommunications markets, such as messaging and paging, are ordinarily designed to utilize simulcast techniques. Simulcast is a cost effective and fundamental feature required for the wide area delivery of today's messaging protocols to large service areas with thousands of roaming subscriber devices. It allows for the transmission of the protocols to reach into areas and buildings not easily accessible by other technologies, while providing additive signal levels in over-lapping service areas. A fundamental precept is that each transmitter in a region will send data with symbol transitions occurring very close to the same time mark as symbol transitions from adjacent transmitters. Precisely how close is dependent on constraints of the signaling stream utilized, distances between transmitters in the system, tolerable delay spread, error budgets, etc. For the transmitters to meet their portion of the allowable symbol transition tolerance, the time accuracy of the signal leaving the transmitting antenna must be controlled to within tens of microseconds or less.
Present radio communications systems often utilize Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to provide both transmitter oscillator disciplining for transmitter stability and highly accurate simulcast synchronization for groups of overlapping transmitters. In addition to the use of GPS receivers for accurate timing, other highly accurate timing references have been used for similar purposes. These references include the use of T-Carrier span-line network clock references, Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) signals from High Frequency Single Side Band (HF-SSB) or Long Range Navigation (LORAN) receiver/synchronizers, or timing signals from a Cesium or Rubidium atomic clock reference. It should be noted that to ensure accurate synchronization among multiple over-lapping transmitters, the transmitters preferably use similar types of timing references. Since the above time references are expensive, it is desirable to minimize and/or replace them with less costly solutions.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus for making relative timing adjustments for simulcast transmissions in a cost effective manner. The method and apparatus preferably should be transparent to system operation and equipment variances.

Method and apparatus in a radio communication system for synchronizing transmissions while maintaining full user traffic


A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a pad electrode formed on the substrate and a bump electrode formed on the pad electrode, wherein the pad electrode has an irregular flaw, and there is provided a pattern covering the irregular flaw between the pad electrode an the bump electrode.

The present invention generally relates to semiconductor devices and more particularly to a pad electrode structure for use in semiconductor devices.
In semiconductor devices, it is necessary to form protrusion electrodes on pad electrodes for external connection, such that the pad electrodes, formed inside a semiconductor device on a semiconductor substrate, are connected to a substrate (such as interposer) used for mounting the semiconductor device thereon, electrically and also mechanically.
Generally, at the time of manufacture of semiconductor devices, it is necessary to ensure that each of the semiconductor devices shows electrically normal operation, upon completion of the manufacturing steps of the semiconductor device. For this purpose, it is practiced to carry out electric operational test by contacting a probe needle upon the pad electrodes formed on the semiconductor substrate.
In such operational test, it is necessary to press the probe needle against the pad electrode of Al or Cu, and thus, there is formed a flaw (hereinafter probe mark) on the surface of the pad electrode by the sharply pointed probe needle in such a manner that the surface of the pad electrode undergoes an irregular deformation.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of the semiconductor device for the case a bump is formed on the pad electrode carrying such a probe mark.
Referring to FIG. 1, a pad electrode 20 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 10 and a passivation film 30 is formed such that the pad electrode 20 is exposed. Further, a probe mark 40 is formed on the surface of the pad electrode 20 as a result of the operational test.
On such a pad electrode 20, a Ti layer 60 and a Cu layer 61 are formed by a sputtering method respectively as an adhesion layer and a conductive layer, with respective thicknesses of 300 nm and 250 nm. Further, a Ni layer 80 and an Au layer 90 are formed respectively with the thicknesses of 4000 nm and 200 nm, by conducting an electrolytic plating process while using the conductive layer 61 as an electrode. It should be noted that the Au layer 90 functions as an oxidation prevention film of the Ni layer 80.
Further, a bump electrode 100 is formed on the Au layer 90 by a lead-free solder such as the solder of the Sn—Ag system or a lead solder such as the solder of the An—Pb system.
In the example of FIG. 1, it should be noted that there is formed a probe mark 40 on the pad electrode 20 as a result of the operational test as explained before, and because of this, there can be a case in which no uniform formation of the adhesion layer 60 or the Cu layer 61 is made by the sputtering process, because of existence of the irregularity forming the probe mark 40. Because the Ti layer 60 or the Cu layer 61 is very thin, having the thickness of only 200–300 nm, it is not possible to achieve uniform film formation in the case there exists projections and depressions in the underlying layer as in this case.
Thus, in the case a Ni layer 80 and an Au layer 90 are formed by an electrolytic plating process while using the Cu layer 61 as an electrode, there occurs no growth of these layers on the probe mark 40, and thus, there can be a case, in the event a bump 100 is formed on the foregoing Au layer 90, that a void 110 is formed between the pad electrode 20 and the bump 100 in correspondence to the probe mark 40.
When there exists such a void 110 underneath the bump electrode 100, there occurs degradation of electrical or mechanical properties in the junction that uses such a bump electrode, and the reliability of the semiconductor device is degraded. Further, there can occur a problem that the metal element such as An, Ag, Pb, Ni, and the like, forming the material of the bump electrode, cause diffusion into the pad electrode 20, or Al forming the pad electrode 20 cause diffusion into the bump electrode 100, via the region where no such a Ti layer or Cu layer is formed. Thereby, increase of contact resistance is invited.
Thus, in the prior art, it was not possible to achieve a contact of the probe electrode directly on the electrode pad surface, and it has been practiced to carry out the electric operational test by providing a separate electrode pad on the semiconductor device for probe test. In such an approach, however, there occurs an increase in the area of the semiconductor device in view of the need of providing such separate pad electrode for the probe test, in addition to the pad electrodes on which the bump electrodes are formed.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof


An external-compensation sensing circuit, sensing method, and display device. The circuit includes fully-differential operational amplifier, first capacitor, second capacitor and outputting circuit for amplifying induced current; negative input of the amplifier is connected to display screen, positive input thereof is connected to reference voltage, negative output thereof is connected to first control terminal of the outputting circuit, positive output thereof is connected to second control terminal of the outputting circuit; two terminals of the first capacitor are connected to the negative input of the amplifier and an input of the outputting circuit respectively; one terminal of the second capacitor is connected to the output of the outputting circuit and the other terminal is grounded. The invention enables the output voltage to respond rapidly by amplifying induced current with dual outputting stages in the sensing circuit to raise the speed of the external-compensation.

Organic light emitting diodes (OLED) have been increasingly used as current-type light emitting devices in high-performance display devices. With increasing of display size, conventional passive matrix organic light emitting diodes require a shorter driving time for a single pixel, and thus require an increased transient current, which causes increased power consumption. Meanwhile, the usage of a large current is able to result in that voltage drop on a line of nanometer Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is too large and that operation voltage of OLED is too high such that efficiency of OLED is decreased. However, the problems can be solved commendably by inputting OLED currents via progressive scanning of switching transistors in active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLED).
In the design of an AMOLED backplane, a main problem to be solved is non-uniformity of brightness among pixel unit circuits.
First, for AMOLED, pixel unit circuits are constituted by thin film transistors to supply respective currents for OLED devices. In prior art, Low-temperature poly-silicon thin film transistors (LTPS TFT) or oxide thin film transistor (Oxide TFT) are mostly adopted. Compared to a general amorphous silicon thin film transistor (amorphous-Si TFT), LTPS TFT and Oxide TFT have higher mobility and more stable characteristics, and thus more suitable for applying in the AMOLED display. However, due to limitations of the crystallization process, LTPS TFTs produced on a large-area glass substrate often have non-uniformity on electrical parameters such as threshold voltage, mobility and the like, and such non-uniformity may be converted to current difference and brightness difference among OLED display devices, that is, a mura phenomena appears, and may be perceived by human eyes. Although process of Oxide TFTs has a better uniformity, similar to a-Si TFTs, a threshold voltage of the Oxide TFT may drift under a high temperature or under a case that the Oxide TFT is supplied a voltage for a long time. Due to different display pictures, the amount of the drift of threshold voltage of TFT in respective portions on a panel may be different from each other, which may cause display brightness difference, such display brightness difference often renders an image sticking phenomenon since the display brightness difference has a relation to a previously displayed image.
Second, in large-size display applications, since a power supply line on the backplane has a certain resistance and driving currents of all pixels are supplied from an ARVDD power supply, a supply voltage for an area near to a location of the ARVDD power supply in the backplane is higher than a supply voltage for an area far from the location, such phenomenon is known as a voltage drop of the power supply (IR Drop). Since the voltage of the ARVDD power supply has a relation to currents, IR drop may also cause the current difference among different areas, and thus a mura phenomenon appears during displaying. LTPS process for constructing pixel units by adopting P-type TFTs is sensitive to this problem since a storage capacitor thereof is connected between the ARVDD and a gate of TFT, and thus voltage variation of ARVDD may directly affect the voltage Vgs for driving the gate of TFTs.
Third, the non-uniformity of the electrical characteristics of OLED devices may also be caused during evaporation due to uneven film thickness. For the a-Si or Oxide TFT process constructing pixel units by adopting N-type TFTs, a storage capacitor thereof is connected between a gate of a driving TFT and an anode of OLED, if voltages of anodes of OLEDs of respective pixels are different when a data voltage is transmitted to the gate, the gate voltages Vgs applied actually to TFTs may be different, and thus display brightness difference is caused by different driving currents.
AMOLED may be divided into three categories according to the driving modes: a digital driving mode, a current driving mode and a voltage driving mode. In the digital driving mode, gray scales are achieved by using TFT as a switch to control driving time, and there is no need to compensate the non-uniformity. However, an operation frequency of the digital driving mode is multiplied with increase of the display size, which causes very high power consumption and reaches a physical limit for design in a certain range, thereby being not suitable to the large-size display applications. In the current driving mode, gray scales are achieved by directly supplying currents of different amplitudes to driving transistors, which may better compensate the non-uniformity of TFTs and IR Drop. However, when a low gray scale signal is written, a writing time may be too long since a relative big parasitic capacitor on a data line is charged by a small current. This problem is especially serious in a large-size display and difficult to be overcome. Similar to a driving method for a conventional active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD), in the voltage driving mode, a voltage signal representing a gray scale is supplied by a driving IC and is converted to a current signal of a driving transistor in a pixel circuit, such that OLED is driven to achieve the gray scale of brightness. The voltage driving method has advantages of fast in driving speed and easy to implement, and thus is suitable for driving a large-size panel and is widely adopted in the industry. However, as for the voltage driving method, additional TFTs and capacitors should be designed to compensate the non-uniformity of TFTs, IR Drop and the non-uniformity of OLEDs.
There are many pixel structures aiming to compensate the non-uniformity and drift of Vthn and the non-uniformity of OLED, wherein a main design challenge for external compensation is a current sensing circuit, usually each column of pixels in a panel corresponds to a sensing circuit unit respectively in order to increase a reading speed. A main function of the sensing circuit is to convert an output or input current to a voltage signal to be transmitted to subsequent ADC module for further processing. A conventional sensing circuit is constituted by a current integrator, but it cannot make a rapid response when there is a small pixel current.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

External compensation sensing circuit and sensing method thereof, display device


In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for defining custom junction objects in an on-demand database service. These mechanisms and methods for defining custom junction objects in an on-demand database service can enable embodiments to provide for enhanced security and more efficient querying, etc. The ability of embodiments to provide such features may lead to these and other benefits in an on-line environment.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
In conventional database systems, users access their data resources in one logical database. A user of such a conventional system typically retrieves data from and stores data on the system using the user's own systems. A user system might remotely access one of a plurality of server systems that might in turn access the database system. Data retrieval from the system might include the issuance of a query from the user system to the database system. The database system might process the request for information received in the query and send to the user system information relevant to the request.
There is often a desire to define custom junction objects in the foregoing database frameworks. To date, such custom junction objects have been limited to traditional database frameworks. To this end, the various benefits that may optionally be derived from such custom junction objects have been void in on-line environments.

System, method and computer program product for defining custom junction objects in an on-demand database service