The present invention provides methods and systems for holographic control and monitoring of processing devices. Operator control of a processing device is indicated by interaction with a holographic image. The holographic image is generated, and the operator interaction is detected, by a holographic control system. The holographic control system is sealed to prevent explosions, corrosion, and contamination resulting from contact with external substances.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to control systems and methods, and more specifically to a holographic interface for controlling and monitoring status of devices.
Most industrial processing facilities include multiple processing devices, with each type of device performing a specialized function. For example, such devices may include gas compressors, fluid pumps, boilers, and flow valves. In the area of industrial processing facilities, these devices may be referred to as field equipment.
Field equipment is often operated by the use of electronic control interfaces that may be adjusted by human operators. These electronic control interfaces may be referred to as Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs.) A typical HMI may include a display indicator indicating which device is being controlled and the current state of the device. In addition, a typical HMI may include one or more electromechanical switches to control the device. One problem with electromechanical switches is that they have mechanical components that may become worn with repeated use. If the electromechanical switches fail, the operator may not be able to control the operation of processing devices, which may result in the failure of an entire processing unit or facility.
Since HMIs are connected electronically to the processing devices they control, they may be placed in locations remote from the controlled device. However, in many situations, the preferred location of the HMIs is one of close physical proximity to the controlled device. Locating the HMI close to the controlled device may enable the operator to determine the validity and effects of any control actions performed.
However, the environment of many processing facilities can create problems with the use of electronic HMIs that are located close to the field equipment. In some situations, explosive gases or liquids may be present in amounts sufficient that an electric spark can cause an explosion. In such situations, the electromechanical switches included in typical HMIs may create sparks that cause an explosion.
In other situations, the field equipment may be exposed to contaminants in the surrounding environment, such as water, abrasive dust, grease, or corrosive materials. If the HMIs are located close to the field equipment, they may be exposed as well. This exposure may result in failure of the HMIs, and possibly lead to the failure of the controlled devices as well.
To mitigate the issues related to the danger of explosions and contamination, the HMIs may be enclosed in sealed or explosion-proof cabinets. However, the use of sealed or protective cabinets does not completely solve the above-described problems. In order to use some HMIs, an operator may need to open the cabinet, thus allowing the surrounding environment to enter the cabinet. In such situations, there is a possibility of an explosion or of contamination of the HMI. Further, it may not be practical or feasible to locate an HMI in close proximity to some field equipment. Some processing facilities may not have sufficient space available to allow a HMI cabinet next to each piece of field equipment. Also, providing a HMI cabinet for each piece of field equipment may be prohibitively expensive.
As the foregoing illustrates, there is a need in the art for an improved technique of providing an HMI to control processing equipment.

Holographic display and controls applied to gas installations


An electronic module is provided. The module includes a first logic device having at least two processors and a first comparator and a second logic device having at least one processor and a second comparator. Each of the at least two processors are coupled to each of the first and second comparators. The first and second comparators operate as a distributed comparator system. Each comparator independently identifies faults in the processors.

Space missions require the highest upset rate immunity available to overcome Single Event Upsets (SEUs). At times, electronic systems can operate outside normal parameters thereby producing faulty data. In some circumstances, failure of these systems can be catastrophic. Although radiation hardened processors are available, they offer lower performance and higher cost than commercial off the shelf processors. In order to use non-hardened devices, a fault tolerant scheme is used in architectures that include one or more redundant systems. To identify the faulty system, voting mechanisms are used. The voting mechanisms process the simultaneous outputs of the redundant systems to determine the system producing the correct data. The voting mechanisms used in these architectures are implemented through software. However, software implementations of the voting mechanisms are very slow.
One assumption using voting mechanisms is that only one fault occurs at a time. This single fault assumption allows identification of the faulty output. In some applications three systems operate simultaneously, so that when one system fails, it can be easily identified by the other two. Essentially, the third system casts the tie-breaking vote. When only two systems are used, it is possible to identify an error, but, not which output is incorrect because a majority vote is required to determine the failed system.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved architecture using off the shelf components that provide a faster solution to overcome the SEU problems in architectures.

Redundant processing architecture for single fault tolerance


A chain tensioner apparatus which has a blade spring received laterally into a slot in the side of an elongated plastic shoe. A shoe mounting bracket carries the shoe and includes a side wall which overlies the slot to retain the blade spring in position. One end of the shoe is pivotally connected to the bracket, and the opposite end is retained in position and permitted to shift relative to the pivoted end by a retaining tab spaced outwardly of the side wall of the bracket.

The subject invention is directed toward the art of chain power drives and, more particularly, to a chain guide and tensioner apparatus useful in confined spaces for applying a tensioning force to a chain traveling therepast.
Several prior art patents show chain tensioner devices that include a chain engaging shoe member formed from a plastic material with a metal spring or bracket incorporated therein to provide the shoe with the necessary resiliency and rigidity while taking advantage of the plastics low friction and good wear characteristics. For example, my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,472 discloses a chain tensioner wherein a blade spring is received in longitudinal passageways formed in a plastic shoe. The spring is retained in longitudinal position by internal shoulders in the passageways. Lateral positioning and retention is achieved by cooperation between longitudinal slots in the ends of the spring and central internal walls in the passageways.
One of the disadvantages present with my prior design, as well as other prior art designs, is that the necessary slots, holes, and the like formed in the spring for retention purposes weaken the spring and require increasing its overall dimensions to achieve the tensioning force required. Additionally, the manufacturing cost of the springs can increase significantly because of added processing steps needed to form the slots and openings. Likewise, the molding of the plastic shoe can require somewhat complex molds because of the internal retaining walls and tabs.
The above discussed factors can result in a chain tensioner that is somewhat more complex and expensive than is desirable.


Flashlights having selectively controllable brightness levels, a preferred embodiment of which comprises in combination: a battery; a light emitter assembly; a switch in circuit with the battery and the light emitter assembly, the switch having a first OFF position and a second OFF position, the first ON position coupling the battery to the light emitter assembly for producing a first light output, and a second ON position coupling the battery to the light emitter assembly for producing a second light output; and a switch actuator adapted to be coupled to the switch alternatively in its first OFF position and its second OFF position, the switch actuator when coupled in its first OFF position is translatable by a first distance placing the switch in its first ON position and translatable by a second distance placing the switch in its second ON position, the switch actuator when coupled in its second OFF position is translatable by a third distance placing the switch in its first ON position. The switch actuator preferably comprises a click-ON/click-OFF pushbutton switch actuator, for alternatively placing the switch momentarily in its first and second ON positions and constantly in its second ON position from its first OFF position; and for alternatively placing the switch momentarily and constantly in its first ON position from its second OFF position.

Handheld flashlights with selectably actuable brightness levels are known in the prior art, as are flashlights with multiple light emitters including incandescent light bulbs and light emitting diodes. Such flashlights permit a user to perform tasks under portable light conditions selected for the particular task. Nevertheless, the need exists for improvements in such flashlights for increasing their adaptability to varied environments and purposes.


A soap powder having a bulk density of at least 600 g/liter contains 35-80 wt % of organic detergent-active material, of which 70-100 wt % is fatty acid soap of low (.ltoreq.20.degree. C.) Krafft temperature, and 20-65 wt % of inorganic and/or builder salts, and may be prepared by granulation and densification in a high-speed mixer/granulator. The high bulk density soap powder shows improved powder properties and better wetting and dispersion behavior in the wash than corresponding undensified powder.

Fabric washing powders containing major quantities of soap are favoured by some consumers because of good detergency, and the tendency to leave clothes feeling softer than those washed with powders based on synthetic detergent-active compounds. Soap also has environmental advantages in that it is fully biodegradable, and is a natural material derived from renewable raw materials.
There is, however, a technical problem with soap in that it is not easy to obtain satisfactory dissolution, particularly at the low temperatures favoured in today's low-energy washing machines. There are two aspects of this problem: first, poor wetting characteristics can lead to clotting or gel formation; and secondly, even when wetting characteristics are satisfactory, there remains the problem of the inherent poor solubility of soap, particularly at low temperatures.
GB 2 034 741B (Unilever) discloses a soap powder composition of improved inherent solubility. The soap powder comprises, in addition to builder salts and other conventional ingredients, from 15 to 60 wt % of a defined soap blend having a low Krafft temperature (below 25.degree. C.), derived from a C.sub.12 -C.sub.22 fatty acid mixture comprising
(i) from 5 to 60 wt % of one of more saturated or unsaturated fatty acids having 14 or fewer carbon atoms,
(ii) from 5 to 32 wt % of one or more saturated fatty acids having more than 14 carbon atoms,
(iii) from 35 to 90 wt % of one mor more unsaturated fatty acids having 14 or more carbon atoms.
This soap blend has been found to give good detergency with improved inherent solubility compared with standard coconut/tallow blends. However, the wetting characteristics of powders containing this blend have not proved ideal, the formation of clots being especially noticeable when the powders are used in a top-loading washing machine at a low wash temperature.
EP 340 013A (Unilever) discloses detergent powders based on synthetic detergent-active compounds (notably alkylbenzene sulphonate) and zeolite, granulated and densified to bulk densities above 650 g/liter in a high-speed mixer/granulator having both a stirring action and a cutting action, for example, the Fukae FS series mixer/granulator.
It has surprisingly been found that such granulation and densification of soap powder based on low-Krafft-temperature soap blends gives substantially improved wetting and dispersion characteristics without loss of other desirable properties, as well as substantially better powder properties (bulk density, flow, compressibility).
JP 62 086 099A (Nippon Oils & Fats) discloses a process for the manufacture of a composite soap powder (the term used in Japan for powders containing both soap and synthetic detergent-active materials, when the soap amounts to less than 70 wt % of the total detergent-active material). In the process, fatty acid soap (in the form of chips), synthetic detergent-active agent and inorganic and/or organic builders are disintegrated and mixed in a lateral-type mixer/granulator (a cylindrical housing containing two types of stirrers), to give a high-bulk-density product consisting of spherical granules even though the content of non-soap detergent is high. The product typically contains 40-55 wt % soap, 5-20 wt % nonionic surfactant (7-15 wt % exemplified) and 25-50 wt % builder. The choice of soap is apparently not critical; sodium beef tallow soap, potassium beef tallow soap and a mixed soap (coconut/soybean/beef tallow 4:1:15) are exemplified; and there is no disclosure of low-Krafft-temperature soap.

Lever Brothers Company, Division of Conopco, Inc.


In a flash EEPROM device, and method for fabricating the same, no bit line contact is made, thereby minimizing a design rule between a contact and a gate. Thus, cell size may be reduced. The flash EEPROM device includes a semiconductor substrate having an active area defined in a bit line direction and a word line direction, a plurality of floating gates formed in the word line direction, an interlayer polysilicon oxide film formed on a floating gate, a control gate formed on the interlayer polysilicon oxide film, source and drain electrodes disposed between adjacent floating gates in the word line direction, a buried N+ region formed in the semiconductor substrate under the source and drain electrodes, and a metal silicide film formed on an upper surface of the control gate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flash EEPROM device enabling a reduced cell size and to a method for fabricating the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Read-only memory (ROM) devices are generally non-volatile memory devices and include programmable ROM (PROM) devices that are electrically programmed after fabrication, mounting, and packaging. In an erasable/programmable ROM (EPROM) device, the programmed data can be erased using ultraviolet light, and in an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) device, the programmed data can be erased electrically. A flash memory device, which may be constructed as a NAND or NOR device, is a volatile memory device enabling multiple data rewrite operations electrically.
The programming and erasing of a flash memory device is performed by charging and discharging a floating gate using, for example, channel hot electron injection and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. In the programming of a memory cell of a flash memory device, such as, a memory cell transistor, a high voltage is applied to the control gate to inject, into the floating gate, electrons from a substrate region near a drain of a memory cell. The transistor's threshold voltage is thereby raised as the injected electrons accumulate in the floating gate. Programming occurs when a predetermined amount of accumulation is reached, such that a logic "1" or a logic "0" is stored in the cell, which can be read by detecting a source-drain current.
After repeated write/erase cycles, the reliability of a flash memory cell becomes degraded over time, and generally deteriorates more quickly in NOR flash devices, according to a deterioration of a tunneling oxide, i.e., a silicon oxide film formed on a source/drain diffusion layer. The deterioration is specifically due to the flow of tunnel current during charging and discharging. In generating tunnel current, a high-voltage electric field (e.g., greater than 8 MV/cm) is applied across the silicon oxide film, creating electron-hole traps in the film and thus facilitating leakage current through the film. This is particularly problematic for a silicon oxide film of 10 nm or thinner.
FIG. 1 illustrates a flash EEPROM device according to a related art. The device comprises a semiconductor substrate 11 in which active and inactive regions are defined by a device isolation film 12; a floating gate 14, formed over the active region, interposing a tunneling oxide film 13; a gate insulating film 15 formed on the floating gate 14; a control gate 16 formed on the gate insulating film 15; sidewall spacers 17 disposed on the lateral sides of each of the floating gate 14 and the control gate 16; source/drain regions 18 formed in a surface of the semiconductor substrate Ion opposite sides of the floating gate 14; an interlayer insulating film 19, formed on an entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 11, in which contact holes are formed to expose pad areas of the source/drain regions 18; and a bit line 20 formed on the interlayer insulating film 19 and connected to the source/drain regions 18 through the contact holes. The above flash EEPROM device has a structure in which two adjacent cells fan out for one bit line contact having a common source line.
Due to a limitation in a design rule, however, there is a limitation in reducing the size of the cell or layout area. The design rule is limited by the bit line contact with the source/drain regions 18. Cell-to-cell isolation requires a device isolation film, which may be formed by shallow-trench isolation or local oxidation of silicon. The device isolation film requires a finite dimension to prevent punch-through, which represents another impediment to cell size reduction. Here, the size of the device isolation film is in general greater than the gate-to-gate design rule.

Flash EEPROM device and method for fabricating the same


A composition for artificial stone includes an acrylic resin, sponge particles in an amount of about 0.001 ppwa to about 50 ppwa, filler in an amount of about 100 ppwa to about 300 ppwa, and a polymerization initiator in an amount of about 0.1 to about 10 ppwa.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a composition for artificial stone. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a composition for artificial stone including pulverized sponge and exhibiting three-dimensional stone-like patterns.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, artificial stone compositions may be used as interior building materials to imitate natural stone, e.g., form kitchen counter tops, wash bowls, dressing tables, bathtubs, wall panels, and so forth, due to their stone-like appearance, high quality texture, and good weatherability. The conventional artificial stone compositions may be classified into acrylic compositions or unsaturated polyester compositions, and may include artificial stone chips in order to impart the stone-like appearance thereto.
However, use of artificial stone chips may impart a dull appearance to a resultant product, i.e., an article formed of the artificial stone composition. Further, use of artificial stone chips composition may increase an overall weight of the composition, thereby decreasing workability and increasing manufacturing costs thereof.

Composition for artificial stone, an article including the same, and a method of forming the same


To prevent the lateral deflection of horizontally running energy guiding chains (1) sliding over one another in regions, lateral guiding stops (11) are proposed with limited freedom of movement in a plane perpendicular to the running plane of the chain.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an energy guiding chain for accommodating and guiding electric cables, hydraulic hoses and the like, the chain links of which comprise side walls positioned opposite each other and cross-members, also positioned opposite each other and connecting the side walls, where the side walls of adjacent chain links are connected to each other in articulated fashion and their pivoting movement relative to each other is restricted in both directions by means of stops, and where the energy guiding chain forms a lower, roughly linear region (lower strand) when the energy consumer connected to the cables and/or hoses is operated, this being followed by an upper, sagging region (upper strand) via a deflection zone of 180.degree., the underside of the upper strand at least partially sliding over the top side of the lower strand.
2. Prior Art
Energy guiding chains of this type carry, guide and protect lines which move and which serve to supply power to moving machines or moving machine components.
In the case of horizontally arranged energy guiding chains, the movement of the chain forms a lower strand which can rest on a bearing surface, for example. The lower strand is followed by a deflection zone of 180.degree., which connects the lower strand to an upper strand. The upper strand sags and its underside slides over the top side of the lower strand, at least in regions.
In order to prevent destruction of the chain by frictional or abrasive wear as a result of the required large number of load and movement cycles, the side walls, which are of comparatively thick design, have a sliding edge which protrudes slightly beyond the cross-members, so that only these comparatively stable sliding edges are subjected to friction under normal circumstances.
However, particularly if the energy guiding chain travels over lengthy distances and if guide channels are not used, the unavoidable play in the joints of the chain links leads to lateral deviation from the straight path of the running chain, which leads to the sliding edges of the side walls of the upper strand sliding over the outer side of the lower cross members in such a way that these relatively thin components are subjected to abrasion and may possibly even be destroyed in the worst case. Furthermore, the chain can bend and tilt to the side if deflected from its straight path.
The lateral deviation also leads to increased loads on the hinge pins of the chain links, meaning that the overall service life of the energy guiding chain could be shortened.

Igus Spritzgussteile fur Die Industrie GmbH


Installation and method for performing a financial service comprising the following steps:    (a) calculation of at least one inflation correction value for a desired coupon value CV in a year i making use of the coupon value CV and of future index data Ii;    (b) calculation of a cash value of the at least one inflation correction value for the coupon value CV in year i making use of the coupon value CV, the future index data Ii and the interest rates inti;    (c) presentation of a purchase price to a purchaser at which the at least one inflation correction value for the coupon value CV, or a portion thereof, can be purchased.

As a consequence of frequent contacts with the boards of directors—and departments which are responsible for investments—of pension funds and other institutional investors the inventors of the invention have made an in-depth study of the current investment problems for institutional investors in The Netherlands.
It can be concluded that all subscribe to the following statement of the problem: "How can I, apart from the existing investment alternatives, invest my capital such that it holds its value (is inflation-proof) and at the same time increase my yield and reduce the costs, time and attention to be expended on overall management of the capital".
A description of the current state of affairs, the investment products, the results, the trend and the problems is given in broad outline below.
Current Situation
Pension holdings in The Netherlands amount to more than one thousand billion guilders (where 'billion' is interpreted here and below as 'one thousand million'). These holdings are managed by pension funds with the aim of investing the pension holdings such that they hold their value (are index-linked) (inflation-proof) so that those entitled to a pension ultimately receive an (index-linked) pension at any point in time in the future.
It has been calculated that if the pension funds achieve a yield of 4% plus the rise due to inflation they are able to meet this aim and also to cover the costs of their organisation.
In order to achieve this "4%+inflation cover" the funds to be invested are roughly invested in three ways:                in bonds (government loans)—in general a somewhat lower but certain yield        in shares—in general a higher yield, but with higher risk        in property—in general a yield between that from bonds and shares, but with inflation cover.
Detailed study of these three different investment products has taught us that the major difference between government loans and shares, on the one hand, and property, on the other hand, is the inflation component. After all, since in The Netherlands the rents for offices, shops and other commercial property increase annually by the percentage inflation, by means of an "index clause" included as standard in the lease, and this is by and large also the case for residential lettings, this means that the investment in property offers a yield that gives inflation cover. An additional factor here is that the higher the inflation the higher are the rents and the greater is the increase in value of property. In short, investments in property in general react positively to inflation.
The pre-set yield on government loans suffers under inflation and investment in government loans therefore implies an inflation risk.
This also applies in the case of investment in shares. Higher inflation fuels rises in wages and salaries, which can have an adverse consequence on profits, with a fall in the share value as a result.
In short, investments in government loans and shares in general react negatively to inflation.
So why do pension funds—which in particular fear (high) inflation—not invest in property? The reasons for this are as follows:                Good property—correct price/yield ratio—is scarce and therefore, in contrast to shares, for example, is not available for the investment of billions at any point in time.        Property is also not as liquid as, for example, government loans or shares.        Investments in property react well to inflation only if there is (virtually) full occupancy. Good management is required to avoid premises standing empty. Good management is scarce and expensive.        The costs of managing property are many times higher than those for government loans and/or shares. Owning property costs a great deal more time and attention (changing tax legislation, maintenance, collection charges, rent review procedures, property standing empty, etc.) than does the possession of, for example, a share portfolio. In this context, both those who own property and those who own shares must continue accurately to monitor market trends in relation to their investment.An Overview
Currently in excess of one thousand billion guilders are invested in The Netherlands, as is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1. The average yield over a period of 30 years is approximately 5% per year for government loans, approximately 12% per year for shares and approximately 6%+inflation cover per year for property. FIG. 1 also indicates where pension funds expend most costs, time and attention.
Pension Funds, Investment Results: an Area of Tension
Developments over (just) the last 5 years have led to the investment results achieved by the pension funds being compared with one another and to the introduction of so-called "benchmarking". The investment results are looked at to determine which pension funds have a better or poorer performance than the average investment results achieved by the funds. If a better than average investment result is achieved, this is frequently dismissed as "luck", but if a poorer than average investment result is achieved this is penalised, certainly if this is the case 3 years in succession. Those entitled to a pension may then (collectively) decide to switch to a different fund which has better investment results.
The above encourages all funds to invest in virtually the same way. After all, if they all do the same no one is doing any worse than another. In the case of investments in government loans and shares this is relatively easy to do, via, for example, the funds quoted on the Amsterdam stock exchanges. Investment in property precludes this since, by definition, the ownership of each property is different.
A gap, or area of tension, is therefore opening up between the boards of trustees of pension funds and the management (executive board) of those funds, a management that has under-performed (i.e. has achieved investment results below the benchmark) for one or two years, for whatever reason, being under, or being placed under, great pressure.
Having due regard for all the above, it is virtually impossible for management to catch up lost ground compared with the results achieved by other funds, unless better results can be achieved by means of large property transactions, but this is not very probable.

Installation and method for trading in inflation


A developing device capable of stably collecting untransferred toner collected from the photoconductor drum to the developing roller to the feed roller and suppressing occurrence of development ghosts, and an image forming apparatus including the same are provided. A developing device has a developing roller facing a photoconductor drum, a feed roller, and a restriction blade. The feed roller forms a feed nip part with the developing roller by contacting with the circumferential surface of the developing roller, and collects toner from the developing roller while feeding the toner to the developing roller. The Asker-C hardness of the developing roller is in the range of 50 to 80, both inclusive, the width of the feed nip part is in the range of 0.2 to 1.5 mm, both inclusive, and a compressive load to be applied to the feed roller is in the range of 0.2 to 1.5N, both inclusive.

Conventionally, a developing device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, which is used in an image forming apparatus such as a printer and develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor drum using a non-magnetic one-component developer, is known. In such a developing device, by setting a compression set of a feed roller to supply toner to the developing roller and a contact depth of the feed roller with the developing roller within a specific range, the stress on a toner is reduced and image defects such as a toner fogging are prevented.
Patent Literature 2 discloses that a number of pores are formed on a surface of the feed roller with an elasticity, and an inner diameter of the pores is set to become narrower toward the inside in a radial direction. This allows the toner to be suppressed from deeply penetrating into the pores, and thus preventing the feed roller from deteriorating the elasticity due to a toner aggregation in the pores.

Developing device and image forming apparatus provided therewith


Metal nanoparticles were incorporated into wood. Ionic liquids were used to expand the wood cell wall structure for nanoparticle incorporation into the cell wall structure. Nanoparticles of elemental gold or silver were found to be effective surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) imaging contrast or sensing agents. Nanoparticles of elemental iron were found to be efficient microwave absorbers and caused localized heating for disrupting the integrity of the lignocellulosic matrix. Controls suggest that the localized heating around the iron nanoparticles reduces losses of cellulose in the form of water, volatiles and CO2. The ionic liquid is needed during the incorporation process at room temperature. The use of small amounts of ionic liquid combined with the absence of an ionic liquid purification step and a lower energy and water use are expected to reduce costs in an up-scaled pretreatment process.

Lignocellulosic biomass is plant biomass that is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Cellulose and hemicellulose are carbohydrate polymers that are tightly bound to the lignin. Lignocellulosic biomass can be grouped into four main categories: (1) agricultural residues; (2) energy crops; (3) wood residues, including sawmill and paper mill discards; and (4) municipal paper waste. Lignocellulosic biomass represents a potentially sustainable source of fuel and commodity chemicals, offers economic advantages over corn starch for the production of biofuels, and could contribute to carbon sequestration without impacting food crop prices [1]. Lignocellulosic biomass could satisfy the energy needs for transportation and electricity generation, while contributing to carbon sequestration and limiting the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Potential feedstocks of lignocellulosic biomass are abundant and include crops (e.g. corn and sugarcane), agricultural wastes, forest products (e.g. wood), grasses, and algae. Among the feedstocks, wood has been widely used for the production of paper, as a construction material, and as a solid fuel. Wood is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Lignin is an amorphous network of crosslinked phenylpropanoid units.
The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into liquid fuels and/or other commodity chemicals typically includes the following steps: (1) pretreatment; (2) hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose into fermentable sugars; and (3) fermentation of the sugars into the liquid fuels (e.g. ethanol) and other commodity chemicals. The pretreatment is energy-intensive, but necessary due to the complex structure of the plant cell wall and the chemical resistance of lignin, which limits the access of enzymes to cellulose. An ideal pretreatment should break the lignocellulosic complex, increase the active surface area, and decrease the cellulosic crystallinity while limiting the generation of inhibitory by-products and minimizing hazardous wastes and wastewater.
A major bottleneck in the large-scale conversion of biomass to biofuels is the pretreatment delignification process that provides enzymes access to cellulose, the main source of fermentable sugars. Most current pretreatments, such as ammonia fiber explosion, alkaline hydrolysis, and acid hydrolysis, require high temperatures that increase the operation costs and generate toxic byproducts [2, 3]. The pretreatment is also the most expensive step in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol. Less expensive pretreatments that are environmentally friendly are desirable.
Ionic liquids are molten salts with melting points at or below a temperature of 100° C. They are characterized by their high conductivity, high density, high thermal conductivity, high thermal stability, and extremely low vapor pressure. Alternative pretreatments involving ionic liquids have been investigated because ionic liquids can dissolve in a few hours various native biomasses that include corn stalk [4, 5], rice straw [4, 5], pine [4, 5, 6, 7, 8], oak [6, 7], spruce [8, 9, 10], maple [11], switchgrass [12], and poplar [7]. At elevated temperatures, typically above 90° C., ionic liquids can dissolve cellulose, lignin, native switchgrass, and wood sawdust ground from spruce, pine, and oak. Furthermore, ionic liquids can be recycled at high yields for further use. Most of these reported studies in ionic liquids were conducted at high temperatures on a conventional heating plate. In a typical recycling process, cellulose-rich wood extracts are precipitated and filtered out. The lignin and other extracts are removed with multiple washings and solvent evaporation. Regenerated cellulose from an ionic liquid solution of wood may have a lower degree of polymerization and crystallinity, which facilitates its hydrolysis. A few microbial celluloses remain active at an ionic liquid concentration of about 30%.
The great potential of ionic liquids is due to their low vapor pressure, thermal stability and flexibility because many anion-cation combinations are possible. A few celluloses can tolerate high concentrations of ionic liquids [13, 14, 15].
Microwave irradiation has been increasingly used in chemistry to reduce reaction times from several hours to less than a minute in some cases [16]. It was also applied to the pyrolysis of pine wood pellets [17]. Most studies were conducted in commercial microwave ovens [4, 6, 18], with a few in microwave cavities [17] at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. In contrast to conventional heating plates that rely on conduction and convection, microwave irradiation offers several advantages, including volumetric heating and quick coupling with molecules in the sample, that lead to enhanced energy efficiency [17]. It heats materials through two main mechanisms: dielectric loss in dipolar polarization and friction during ionic conduction [16].
Dry wood has a low dielectric loss factor at temperatures up to 500° C., making it a poor microwave absorber [17]. The addition of water, a strong microwave absorber at 2.45 GHz, to wood improves the conversion of microwaves into heat [17].
Microwaves have been recently used to accelerate the dissolution of wood in ionic liquids [4, 6, 18] and acids [19] with pulses as short as a few seconds. Ionic liquids are excellent microwave absorbers because they are polar and ionic in nature [16, 20]. The use of microwave pretreatment (60×3 s pulses) before conventional heating reduced the time it takes to completely dissolve pine sawdust in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIMAc) by a factor of about three [6], in another study, microwave irradiation increased significantly the yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural produced from the dissolution of pine wood in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazole chloride, while reducing the reaction time from 60 mM (conventional heating with oil bath at 100° C.) to 3 min [4]. In these studies, the biomass was completely immersed in ionic liquid and the dissolution products had to be separated from the ionic liquid, which requires additional energy and water use. Also, due to the high cost of ionic liquids, their recycling is essential for the economic viability of an up-scaled process [21].

Incorporation of metal nanoparticles into wood substrate and methods


Problem to be Solved: To provide an elastic nonwoven fabric with a good elasticity, adequate strength under elongation, good antiblocking property and favorable feeling, suitable for fiber products, at low cost, as well as fiber products using the same. Solution: An elastic nonwoven fabric comprising long elastomeric fiber and nonelastomeric fiber in a weight ratio within a range from 50/50 to 95/5, which has an elongation recovery rate of the elastic nonwoven fabric after 50% elongation equal to or higher than 70%, and a resistance to peel two sheets of the nonwoven fabric apart equal to or lower than the strength of the fabric under 50% elongation; as well as fiber products using the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to elastic nonwoven fabric and fiber products manufactured therefrom. More specifically, it relates to elastic nonwoven fabric having a good elasticity, adequate strength under elongation, good antiblocking property, and favorable feeling, which is relatively inexpensive and suitable for fiber products.
2. Description of the Related Art
Elastic nonwoven fabrics have often been used recently to improve body fitting of clothes to the body. Such fabrics are particularly suitable for disposable diapers, clothes, caps, bandages and tapes due to their comfortable fit, elasticity and stretching property. While thermoplastic elastomers are often used to obtain nonwoven fabrics with such properties as mentioned above, most thermoplastic elastomers tend to show higher adhesiveness with higher elasticity. This renders elastic nonwoven fabrics made from highly elastic thermoplastic elastomers unsuitable, or at most usable only with uncomfortable feeling, for products directly applied to the skin under clothes.
Another problem of such nonwoven fabrics is the adhesiveness, by which the component fibers stick to each other during production or storage, particularly under high temperatures and the weight of a pile in storage in summer, which results in a higher tension needed for unwinding a roll of such a nonwoven fabric, thus often leading to excessive stretch or breakdown of the product. Low adhesiveness, or antiblocking nonwoven fabric is needed to solve this problem.
A method for obtaining good antiblocking property is to spin the fiber for nonwoven fabrics from a mixture of a thermoplastic elastomer with a low adhesiveness polyolefin, as disclosed in Reference 1. However, the nonwoven fabric obtained in this manner shows an insufficient antiblocking property due to scarcity of the polyolefin on the fiber surface, and a low elasticity due to the polyolefin that has only a low elasticity, and is thus unsuitable for uses mentioned above.
Another invention provides a nonwoven fabric consisting of an elastomeric fiber made from a thermoplastic elastomer blended with a nonelastomeric fiber made from a nonelastomeric thermoplastic, as disclosed in Reference 2. This product is, however, a simple mixture of the two fibers without any attempt to obtain high elasticity and antiblocking property simultaneously. In fact, a composition of elastomeric fiber/nonelastomeric fiber=30/70 on the weight basis described in the examples 1 and 2 of the invention, present in an excessive proportion of the nonelastomeric fibers, without any treatment to endow the fabric a high elasticity, cannot provide the excellent performance desired.
Patent Reference 1
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-81230
Patent Reference 2
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-242069

Elastic nonwoven fabric and fiber products manufactured therefrom


A pill is divided using a pill splitter and crusher device having a first member coupled to a second member. The first member includes a pill-receiving cavity and the second member comprises a blade and an anvil. In some contemplated embodiments, the anvil is configured to crush a pill placed within the cavity and the blade is configured to split the pill within the cavity. Furthermore, the anvil is coupled to the second member, such that the anvil could move from a crushing position to a non-crushing position, which allows for crushing and splitting of the pill, respectively.

The following background discussion includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Pills and tablets are often a standard form of delivery for many medications and vitamins to users. These pills and tablets can come in different shapes and sizes. For example, pills and tablets could have a round, capsule, oblong, rectangle, or heart shape. Often times, consuming the pill can be problematic due to its size and shape. In addition, it can be difficult to split a pill in half, such as to reduce a dose of a medication.
In an effort to reduce the problems with administering certain pills, various pill cutters are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,826 to Darst discusses a pull splitter having a blade guard that retracts when the device is closed. Although the device could include a pill crusher compartment that utilizes a portion of dead space within the device, such compartment is located in a separate portion of the device, adding unnecessary complexity to the device. In addition, the device fails to allow for quick replacement of the blade or crusher.
Another version of a pill splitter is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,021 to Fiocchi. The Fiocchi pill splitter is capable of pill splitting and pulverizing. A pill is split by a hinged top with a blade when the cap is moved to a closed position. Although the device can be adapted to be used with a mortar to thereby pulverize a pill, the device also requires a separate compartment for pulverizing the pill and additional equipment, which can be undesirable.
In yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,254 to Engel et al. describes a device that crushes and splits pills. However, like the preceding devices, the Engel device also splits and crushes pills in separate areas of the device.
These and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints, and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
Thus, there is still a need for simplified devices and methods for crushing and splitting pills in a single area of the device.

Systems and methods for preparation of medications


A new capacitor architecture includes a front plate of the capacitor formed from a first polysilicon layer. The front plate is surrounded by a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer. The back plate of the capacitor is formed from one layer of a first two-layer conductive structure which surrounds the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer. The two-layer conductive structure is an equal potential structure and includes a conductive coupling between the two layers.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a front-end portion of a color CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) imaging system 100. The system 100 includes a N×M pixel array 110 comprised of pixels R, G, B which are sensitive to red, green, and blue colored light, respectively. The pixels R, G, B are typically arranged in a Bayer pattern, in which alternating rows are comprised of green/red and green/blue pixels in adjacent columns.
Any image focused upon the pixel array 110 causes the pixels R, G, B to convert the incident light into electrical energy. As will be described in greater detail below, this conversion typically results in a pixel outputting two electrical signals, namely the reset signal and a photo signal. Typically, CMOS APS imaging systems 100 operate by selecting and coupling a row of pixels, via signal lines 206 to a sample-and-hold circuit 120. The sample-and-hold circuit 120 includes M subcircuits 121 which are coupled to a bus 122. Each of the subcircuits 121 samples and holds the reset and photo signals from one of the pixels of the selected row. The M subcircuits 121 are sequentially selected to couple (via bus 122, comprising reset signal line 122r and photo signal line 122p) the sampled reset and photo signals to a driver 130. The driver 130 performs additional processing, which may include, for example, signal amplification or conditioning. The output of the driver 130 is then provided to an analog-to-digital converter 140, which converts the sampled signals into a digital signal. The digital signal can then be provided to the remainder (not illustrated) of the APS imaging system 100 for further processing, manipulation, and storage. The above process is then repeated with the next pixel in the selected row by selecting the next sequential subcircuit 121 until the entire selected row has been processed. The above described processing is then performed on another row until every row in the array 110 has been processed. In alternative implementations the rest and photo signals are combined (e.g., subtracted) at the output of the sample-and-hold circuit 121 or in driver 130 so that the analog-to-digital converter receives a combined signal from each pixel.
FIG. 2 is a more detailed illustration of a pixel (R, G, or B). The pixel includes an element, such as photodiode 201, for converting optical energy to electrical energy. The photodiode 201 is sensitive to green light if the pixel is a green (G) pixel, red light if the pixel is a red (R) pixel, or blue light if the pixel is a blue (B) pixel. The pixels are made color sensitive by red, green, or blue filters as well known in the art. The output of the photodiode 201 is coupled to the gate of source-follower transistor 203 via the source/drain terminals of a transfer transistor 202 and node-A. A power source having a potential level of Vdd is coupled to column output line 206 via the source/drain terminals of the source follower transistor 203 and a row select transistor 204, which has its gate coupled via signal line 210 to a ROW signal. The ROW signal is also coupled to other pixels (R, G, or B) in the same row. A power source having a reset voltage potential level of Vrst is coupled to the gate of the source-follower transistor 203 via the source/drain terminals of transistor 205 and node-A. The gate of transistor 205 is coupled to reset signal line 208 to the RST signal. The gate of the transfer transistor 202 is coupled via signal lines 209 and 207 to a transfer (TX) signal.
The pixel (R, G, or B) is operated in a manner to include a two phase process, wherein a reset signal is output during a first phase and a photo signal is output during a second phase. At the beginning of the first phase, the ROW signal of the pixel is asserted, thereby switching on transistor 204. The TX signal is not asserted, thus transistor 202 is switched off, and the signal from the photodiode 201 is isolated from the gate of the source follower transistor 203. The RST signal is asserted, thereby switching on transistor 205 and coupling the Vrst power source to the gate of the source follower transistor 203 via node-A. This causes a current to flow from the Vdd power source to the output line 206. After a predetermined amount of time, the RST signal is then de-asserted, thereby switching off the source follower transistor 203 and terminating the first phase.
The second phase begins with the assertion of the TX signal, which switches on the transfer transistor 202, thereby permitting the signal produced by the photodiode 201 to be applied to the gate of the source-follower transistor 203. This causes a current to flow from the Vdd power source to the output line 206. After a predetermined amount of time, the TX signal is de-asserted, thereby switching off the transfer transistor 202 and terminating the second phase. The ROW signal is then de-asserted, thereby isolating the pixel from the output line 206.
FIG. 3 is an illustration of the sample-and-hold subcircuit 121. The subcircuit 121 includes a portion for sampling and holding the reset signal 301r and a portion for sampling and holding the photo signal 301p. Each of these sections 301r, 301p are coupled in parallel to signal line 301, which is also coupled to the column output line 206 for a column of pixels (FIG. 2) at node-B. Each section 301r, 301p includes an isolation switch 351, 352 coupled in series to a sampling capacitor 302, 303, respectively. Each sampling capacitor 302, 303 is also coupled in series to its own column select switch 355. Additionally, the sample-and-hold subcircuit 121 includes a crowbar switch 353 which may be used to couple the front plates of the sampling capacitors 302, 303. Each portion 301r, 301p further includes a clamping switch 354, located between the sampling capacitor 302, 303 and the column select switch 355, which may be used to couple the back plates of the sampling capacitors 354 to a clamp voltage Vcl. The sample-and-hold subcircuit also includes a switchable current source 356 for the source follower transistor 203 (FIG. 2) of the pixel. The output of the sample-and-hold subcircuit 121 includes a photo signal at node-C and a reset signal at node-D. Nodes-C/D are coupled to respective lines 122p, 122r of a bus 122 (FIG. 1).
The sample-and-hold subcircuit 121 operates as follows. The sample-and-hold subcircuit 121 is initialized by switching on the current source 356 (for line 301), thereby coupling the output line 206 (FIG. 2) of the pixel (R, G, or B) to ground via line 301. Switches 351, 352, and 353 are open. Both switches 354 are closed, and a clamping voltage Vcl is applied to the back plates of capacitors 302, 303. The clamping voltage Vcl is a stable voltage source over time (i.e., it has a very high rejection of variation of supply voltage), and is used to shift the output of the subcircuit 121 (at nodes-C/D) in order to match the output of the subcircuit 121 with the input of subsequent circuitry (e.g., driver 130). Both switches 354 are then opened.
During the first phase of the pixel operation (in pixel R, G, or B of FIG. 2), column select switches 355 are opened. Switch 352 is closed, to couple the reset portion 301r to the pixel output, which charges sampling capacitor 303. Switch 352 is opened when the first phase of pixel output is completed. As the second phase of pixel output begins, switch 351 is closed to permit the second phase pixel output to charge sampling capacitor 302. Switch 351 is opened when the second phase of pixel output is completed. These operations are performed by each of the subcircuits 121 at the same time, since there is one subcircuit 121 provided for each pixel (R, G, or B) in a row. The output of each pixel may be sequentially output by the sample-and-hold circuit 120 by sequentially closing both column select switches 355 in each subcircuit 121, one subcircuit 121 at a time. When both switches 355 are closed in a particular subcircuit 121, it couples the sampling capacitors 302, 303 of that circuit 121 to lines 122p, 122r (FIG. 1) of a bus 122, which couples the sample-and-hold circuit 120 to the driver 130.
The reset and photo signal comprise a differential signal which can be further manipulated by the driver 130 before being digitized by the analog-to-digital converter 140. Alternatively, the photo signal can be subtracted from the reset signal before being digitized. A control circuit 150, which is coupled to the pixel array 110, sample-and-hold circuit 120, driver 130, and analog-to-digital converter 140, may be used to coordinate the operation of these circuits.
One issue associated with APS CMOS imaging systems is that of fixed pattern noise, which is a type of distortion in the image captured by the imaging system. One source of fixed pattern noise is due to imperfections in the sample-and-hold subcircuits 121, including those caused by a failure in a subcircuit to accurately sample the reset and photo signals.
This failure may be due to parasitic capacitance in subcircuit 121. For example, when the subcircuit 121 of FIG. 3 is implemented using conventional fabrication techniques, the result is the subcircuit 121′ illustrated in FIG. 4. The subcircuit 121′ is similar to the subcircuit 121 (FIG. 3), but includes three types of parasitic capacitance. These include a primary cross capacitance 401 which couple the front plates of both sampling capacitors 301, 302, as well as secondary cross capacitances 402, 403, which respectfully couple the front plate of one sampling capacitor 301, 302 to the back plate of the other sampling capacitor 302, 301. The amount of parasitic capacitance may be significant, i.e., ranging approximately five to ten percent of the capacitance of the sampling capacitors 301, 302. For example, when the sample capacitors are 1 pico-farad capacitors, the primary cross capacitance 401 can be approximately 120 femto-farad, while secondary cross capacitances 402, 403 may be approximately 40 femto-farad. The presence of these parasitic capacitances, especially the primary cross capacitance 401, is responsible for a large portion of the fixed pattern noise. Accordingly, there is a need and desire for efficient method for producing a sample-and-hold subcircuit 121 which minimizes the effect of parasitic capacitance.

Capacitor layout technique for reduction of fixed pattern noise in a CMOS sensor


A manual shift tower has a selector lever pivotally mounted for manipulation by an operator along a path to a plurality of forward drive ratio positions and a reverse ratio position. The tower has a solenoid control bellcrank which is operable to position a pin in the path of the lever to permit removal of the shift lever from the reverse ratio position when the solenoid is in a first position. The bellcrank of the solenoid is also drivingly connected with an ignition cable which is operable to position a stop member for preventing removal of the ignition key until the shift lever is in the reverse ratio position and the ignition is turned to "Off".

Manually shifted transmissions have a floor mounted shift tower which is pivotally mounted for movement by the operator to a plurality of positions. The operator manipulates the shift lever along a neutral path into two or more ratio select positions. In each ratio select position, the operator can then manipulate the shaft longitudinally relative to the vehicle to select one of two ratios. For example, a 1-2 ratio position is available, a 3-4 ratio position is available and a 5-reverse position is available in a five speed transmission.
Unlike automatic shifting transmissions, the control for the manual transmission does not have a "Park" position. As is well known in automatic transmissions, the "Park" position is operable to secure the output shaft of the transmission from rotation thus preventing movement of the vehicle when the "Park" position is selected.
It is useful to have a selected position other than neutral to which the manual lever of the manually shifted transmission must be manipulated prior to the operator removing the ignition key and leaving the vehicle.

Manual shift control assembly with a reverse lock position


A smart speaker/microphone is described that optionally connects to an attached device that may be an LMR radio. The smart speaker/microphone can operate independently to an attached device. Preferentially the smart speaker/microphone contains apparatus to enable the switching of key functions to an attached device based on either automatic or manual change in a switching condition.

Typical speaker microphones are wearable devices that connect via wire to an LMR radio and operate directly from the attached LMR radio. In this configuration the speaker mic is acting as a simple accessory to the attached LMR radio.
Another common speaker mic device is one that operates via wireless connecting to the radio via technology such as Bluetooth. In this case the speaker mic has no cable connecting the accessory to the LMR radio.
Public safety agencies around the world use a number of different forms of LMR. They are also considering the deployment of broadband bearers such as LTE for improving data connectivity in their radio systems. Utility industries such as electricity distribution are also looking to exploit similar technology. The expectation is to deploy this relatively wideband technology to operate in parallel with existing narrow band systems such as P25.
One method of enabling such multi-bearer operation is to introduce intelligence and multi-bearer capability into a smart microphone/speaker, herein referred to as a smart mic. A microphone/speaker is a traditional accessory used widely within the industry. The smart mic can even become a product in its own right capable of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) operation which means the attachment of an LMR radio becomes optional. A VOIP solution can operate over an IP network such as cellular including LTE.

Speaker microphone with switching to and from an attached device


A liquid-ejecting head including a channel-forming substrate provided with pressure-generating chambers that are communicated with nozzle openings for ejecting a liquid, pressure-generating units for generating a change in the pressure in the pressure-generating chambers, and a fluid-resistant protection film is provided. The protection film is disposed at least on the inner walls of the pressure-generating chambers and includes an amorphous layer of an amorphous film disposed on the inner wall surfaces and a crystal layer of a crystallized film disposed on the surface of the amorphous layer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid-ejecting head and a liquid-ejecting apparatus having the same. Specifically, the invention is usefully applied to form a fluid-resistant protection film on a surface of a channel for a liquid that may etch the channel.
2. Related Art
An ink-jet recording apparatus is known as a liquid-ejecting apparatus. The ink-jet recording apparatus includes a plurality of pressure-generating chambers that generate pressure for ejecting ink droplets with a piezoelectric element or a heater element, a common reservoir for supplying an ink to each pressure-generating chamber, and an ink-jet recording head provided with nozzle openings being communicated with the respective pressure-generating chambers. Such an ink-jet recording apparatus ejects an ink droplet from a nozzle opening by applying an ejection energy to an ink in the pressure-generating chamber being communicated with the nozzle corresponding to a printing signal.
The ink-jet recording head is roughly classified into a piezoelectric vibration-type in which each of the pressure-generating chambers is partially made of a vibration plate and an ink droplet is ejected from a nozzle opening by deforming the vibration plate with a piezoelectric element and into a system in which a heater element such as a resistance heating wire that generates Joule heat according to a driving signal is disposed inside each of the pressure-generating chambers and an ink droplet is ejected from a nozzle opening by means of a bubble generated by the heater element.
In these known ink-jet recording heads, the pressure-generating chambers are generally formed on a silicon substrate. If an alkaline ink is used, the ink gradually dissolves the silicon substrate and, thereby, the width of each pressure-generating chamber changes with a lapse of time. This causes a change in the pressure that is applied to the pressure-generating chamber by driving a piezoelectric element or a heater element, resulting in a gradual deterioration in the ink ejection characteristics.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is proposed to form a film having hydrophilicity and alkali resistance, such as a nickel film, inside the pressure-generating chambers for preventing the silicon substrate from being dissolved in the ink (refer to, for example, FIG. 1 and paragraph [0020] of JP-A-10-264383).
However, such a nickel film is poor in long-term stability. Accordingly, in order to solve this problem, a tantalum oxide film is proposed as the protection film (refer to, for example, FIG. 1 and paragraph [0032] of JP-A-2004-262225). The above-mentioned protection films are each formed as an amorphous film for good adhesion to the silicon substrate. That is because a crystallized film has a high stress of its own and, thereby, the adhesion is generally low.
However, the known protection films described above have a single amorphous layer structure and may hence have pinhole defects. Therefore, the protection film is required to have a thickness excessively large, in order to avoid the occurrence of pinhole defects. Since a protection film having a larger thickness tends to inhibit displacement of a piezoelectric element and therefore badly affects the vibration characteristics of the piezoelectric element.

Liquid-ejecting head and liquid-ejecting apparatus having the same


Method of characterizing a light beam having the steps of: a) disposing the input ends of N >3 optical fibers on the path of the light beam, in such a way that a respective portion of the beam is coupled and propagates in each optical fiber and is emitted from its output end so as to form a respective secondary beam; b) introducing an angular spectral dispersion into the secondary beams by means of at least one dispersive element; c) propagating the dispersed secondary beams in such a way that they overlap to form an interferogram; d) acquiring an image of the interferogram; and e) extracting from the image of the interferogram an item of information relating to the spatial variation of the phase of the light beam at a plurality of wavelengths. Device for the implementation of such a method.

The expression "ultra-brief laser pulse" is intended to mean a picosecond pulse (duration of between about 0.1 and 100 ps) or femtosecond pulse (duration of less than or equal to 100 fs=0.1 ps). The durations are understood to be at mid-height of the intensity profile. These pulses necessarily exhibit a relatively wide spectral band, in a manner well known per se.
Ultra-brief laser pulses exhibit numerous scientific and technological applications; they can be amplified up to energies of several
Joules and form beams ("pulsed beams") whose diameter ranges from a few millimeters to several centimeters as a function, in particular, of their power.
Generally, the temporal properties of the electromagnetic field of a pulsed beam can vary spatially or, equivalently, the spatial properties can depend on time. For example, the pulse duration can depend on the position (x,y) in the beam (hereinafter, unless indicated otherwise, consideration will always be given to a beam propagating in a "z" direction, the "x", "y" and "z" axes forming a right-handed orthonormal reference frame).
When such a dependency exists, the field E(x,y,t) cannot be cast into the form E(x,y,t)=Et(t)·EES(x,y), where Et(t) is a function of time and EES(x,y) a function of space. The beam is then said to exhibit spatio-temporal coupling ("STC" standing for "Space-Time Coupling").
Spatio-temporal couplings can lead in particular to a distortion, illustrated with the aid of FIGS. 1A and 1B, of the intensity front of a pulsed beam. The electromagnetic energy of an ultra-brief pulsed beam is, in the ideal case, distributed in a very slender disk (FIG. 1A) of diameter D and of thickness cT, where c is the speed of light and T the duration of the pulse; in the example of FIG. 1A, D=8 cm and cT=10 μm, thus corresponding to a pulse duration of about 33 fs. In order to maximize the luminous intensity obtained at the focus, this generally being desired, this disk must be as "flat" as possible. To characterize this spatial distribution of the energy, one speaks of the "intensity front" of the laser (not to be confused with the "wavefronts", which depend on the wavelength).
In practice, and in particular in the case of high-power lasers with large beam diameter, the intensity fronts might not be plane, but distorted as illustrated in FIG. 1B. Consequently, the peak of the pulse may be attained at different instants in the various points of the cross section of the beam in the (x,y) plane, and the pulse duration may also vary from one point to another.
Other spatio-temporal types of coupling are also possible, such as for example a rotation of the wavefronts over time. For a general account of the theory of spatio-temporal couplings, refer to the article by S. Akturk et al. "The general theory of first-order spatio-temporal distortions of Gaussian pulses and beams, Optics Express Vol. 13, No. 21, pages 8642-8661.
Methods for measuring these couplings have been proposed, but they remain limited in their performance and complex to implement, hence they are not very widespread. The "SPIDER-2D" technique arises out of the "SPIDER" scheme (standing for "Spectral Phase Interferometry for Direct Electric Field Reconstruction"), introduced in 1998 for measuring the temporal structure of an ultra-brief pulse at a point in space. It combines spectral-shift interferometry (standard SPIDER technique) and spatial-shift interferometry to reconstruct the spectral phase φ(x,y,ω) along a spatial direction (ω being the angular frequency, related to the wavelength λ by the relation λ=2πc/(ω). In practice, this technique consists in acquiring an image of an interferogram on the sensor of a CCD camera; the dimensions of this image correspond on the one hand to the frequency ω, and on the other hand to a spatial coordinate. This spatial coordinate may be either the x coordinate or the y coordinate of the (x,y) plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the beam.
This technique requires a complex setup to produce several replicas of the initial beam and manipulate them with the aid, inter alia, of a nonlinear crystal. Consequently, it is difficult and expensive to implement. Furthermore, as one of the coordinates of the interferogram corresponds to a spatial coordinate transverse to the beam, this technique allows only the characterization of relatively small beams, of smaller diameter than that of the CCD sensor of the camera (typically 1 cm or less). In the case of beams of larger diameter (for example, issuing from a high-power source), it is necessary to reduce the size thereof by means of a telescope, which is liable to induce spurious spatio-temporal couplings. Another drawback is that the principle of the technique makes it necessary to perform the measurement according to a single transverse spatial coordinate, x or y.
The so-called "STRIPED FISH" technique utilizes a measurement of the spatial interferences between the beam to be characterized and a so-called reference beam, doing so for a set of frequencies in the spectrum of the beam to be characterized. The reference beam must exhibit a spectrum which encompasses that of the beam to be characterized, and have a phase φ0(x,y,ω) that is known at every point and for all frequencies. The interferograms make it possible to compare, for a set of frequencies ωi, the phase φ(x,y,ω) of the beam to be characterized, with the known phase φ0(x,y,ω) of the reference beam. This technique is much simpler to implement than SPIDER-2D, and a single measurement makes it possible to characterize the beam in the two transverse directions x and y. On the other hand, the diameter of the beam must be small relative to the size of the CCD sensor used to acquire the images of the interferograms; this beam size limitation is still more constraining than in the case of SPIDER-2D.
The closest prior art consists of a third technique, called "SEA TADPOLE", which is described in patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,817,282 and in the article by Bowlan et al "Directly measuring the spatio-temporal electric field of focusing ultrashort pulses" Optics Express, 15 10219 (2007). As illustrated in FIG. 2, this technique consists in collecting the light at various points of the beam to be characterized FL with a monomode fiber F1. This collection of light in the unknown beam can be done either at the focus of a focusing optic, or on an unfocused beam. An auxiliary beam FA, of spectral phase φaux(ω), is injected into a second monomode fiber F2. The exit ends of the two fibers are placed side by side; a convergent lens L1 deviates the beams exiting the fibers in such a way that they overlap spatially, thus producing spatial interferences which are resolved spectrally with the aid of a spectrometer SPM comprising a diffraction grating RD and a cylindrical lens L2 (the reference FE identifies the entry slit of the spectrometer, perpendicular to the direction of dispersion of the latter). An interferogram S(ω,X) is thus obtained, where X is the spatial coordinate normal to the direction of dispersion of the spectrometer, an image of which is acquired by virtue of a sensor of CCD type, identified by the reference CI.
It is possible to use this interferogram to determine the spectral phase difference between the pulses injected into the two fibers. The intensity S(ω,X) measured on the CCD sensor of the spectrometer as a function of ω and X is given by:S(ω,X)=Saux(ω)+Sinc(ω)+2√{square root over (Saux(ω)Sinc(ω))}{square root over (Saux(ω)Sinc(ω))}cos(2ω sin θX/c+φinc(ω)−φaux(ω))  (1)
where Saux and Sinc, are respectively the spectral intensities of the auxiliary pulse and pulse to be characterized which are injected into the fibers, φaux and φinc their spectral phases at the fiber exit, θ is the half-angle between the beams, θ=a tan(d/(2L)), where d is the distance between the fibers and L the distance between fiber exits and detector. An exemplary interferogram S(ω,X) is presented in FIG. 3A.
The interference term in equation (1), which will be denoted by J(ω,X), contains information on the phase difference Δφ(ω)=φinc−φaux between the pulses which have been collected by the two fibers. To extract this information, the procedure used consists in calculating the Fourier transform of this function with respect to the variable X (TF1D: one-dimensional Fourier transform). As shown in FIG. 3B, this Fourier transform comprises three components in the (ω, k) plane. The central component, which comprises only low frequencies, corresponds to the term Saux+Sinc in equation (1). The other two components correspond to the two complex exponentials of the following decomposition of the interference term:J(ω,X)=√{square root over (Saux(ω)Sinc(ω))}{square root over (Saux(ω)Sinc(ω))}(eiφ+e−iφ)  (2)
with φ=2ω sin θ·X/c+φinc(ω)−φaux(ω).
If a single of these components is selected, for example by multiplying the Fourier transform by an appropriate filter, in particular supergaussian, and if an inverse Fourier transform is performed, the following function is obtained:{tilde over (J)}(ω,X)=√{square root over (Saux(ω)Sinc(ω))}{square root over (Saux(ω)Sinc(ω))}eiφ  (3)
the phase φ of which equals:
φ=2ω sin θ·X/c+φinc(ω)−φaux(ω)=φgeo(ω)+Δφ(ω).
The first term φgeo(ω) ("geometric") is simply induced by the angle used to generate spatial fringes. The second term Δφ(ω)=φinc(ω)−φaux(ω) represents the spectral phase difference between the beams on exit from the two fibers, that is to say between a point of the beam to be characterized (corresponding to the entry end of the first fiber) and the auxiliary beam. One therefore proceeds in the following manner:                the interferogram S(ω,X) is measured and the processing hereinabove is performed for a given position (x0,y0) of the first fiber in the beam to be characterized. From this is deduced φ0=2ω sin θ·X/c+φ(ω,x0,y0)−φaux(ω);        the interferogram S(ω,X) is thereafter measured and the processing hereinabove is performed for a set of position (xi,yi) of the fiber 1 in the beam to be characterized. A phase φi=2ω sin θ·X/c+φ(ω,xi,yi)−φaux(ω) is deduced therefrom. The phase φ0 measured during the first shot is systematically subtracted. We thus obtain Δφi(ω)=φ(ω,xi,yi)−φ(ω,x0,y0). This phase is independent of X, and can be averaged along this axis so as to improve the signal/noise ratio. By proceeding thus, all the points of the beam are therefore compared with the point (x0,y0), using the auxiliary beam as intermediary.        It is thereafter possible to perform a measurement of SPIDER or FROG (standing for "Frequency Resolved Optical Gating") type at the point (x0,y0), to determine the dependency of φ(ω,x0,y0) versus frequency (ω). We then have all the information required in order to reconstruct the field E(xi,yi,t) of the laser beam, by a Fourier transform with respect to ω, this to within a phase term, which term is almost independent of ω and which, as will be discussed further on, is introduced by the optical fibers.
This technique requires only an inexpensive setup that is relatively simple to achieve, and can be applied to beams of large size. On the other hand, as the phase is determined point by point, the characterization of a beam requires a large number of laser shots. This results in a significant acquisition time and sensitivity to temporal fluctuations and drifts of the laser source, to vibrations and to defects of positioning of the entry ends of the optical fibers.
Another limitation of the SEA TADPOLE technique consists in the fact that the optical fibers introduce random phase fluctuations, which cannot be measured (this point was briefly mentioned above). This implies that the electric field of the beam E(x,y,t) cannot be reconstructed completely, but only except for an unknown phase term φfluct(xi, yi, ω). If the information thus obtained makes it possible to determine, for example, the intensity fronts (by virtue of the assumption, confirmed by experiment, that φfluct depends does not depend on the frequency ω), the phase fronts cannot be reconstructed.

Device and method for characterizing a light beam

Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives


An expandable chamber functioning as an expandable silencer, an air cleaner chamber functioning as an expandable silencer and a resonator chamber functioning as a resonant silencer are integrally formed in a main body of an intake silencer device. The air cleaner chamber and the resonator chamber communicate with each other through a communicating portion. A first intake duct is provided with one end extending into the expandable chamber and with the other end communicating with the atmosphere. A second intake duct is provided with one end extending into the expandable chamber opposed to one end of the first intake duct and with the other end extending into the air cleaner chamber. A third intake duct is provided with one end extending into the air cleaner chamber and connected to an air filter element. Thus, an intake silencer device has a high silencing effect, while being compact, and in which the rising of the temperature of an intake air and an increase in resistance to the flow of the intake air can be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an intake silencer device which is formed integrally with an air cleaner and disposed upstream of a throttle body, in an intake passage in an engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
An intake silencer device integrally combined with an air cleaner mounted in an intake passage in an engine, is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-196157. In this intake silencer device, a side branch functioning as a resonant silencer is integrally defined in the air cleaner functioning as an expandable silencer, thereby reducing the noise of a lower frequency, while suppressing an increase in noise of a medium frequency.
The known intake silencer device includes Helmholtz-type silencers in an intake passage between the air cleaner and a throttle body and in a surge tank downstream of the throttle body, respectively, in addition to the side branch provided integrally with the air cleaner. When the plurality of silencers are disposed in the intake passage in the above dispersed manner, the entire intake silencer device is large-sized, resulting not only in an increased number of parts, but also in the possibility that the layout of the intake silencer device within a narrow engine compartment may be difficult. Moreover, the surface area of the entire intake silencer device is increased and liable to receive the heat of the engine. For this reason, the temperature of intake air passing through the intake silencer device is raised, and the resistance to the flow of the intake air is increased by the plurality of silencers disposed in the dispersed manner, resulting in the possibility that the engine power output may be reduced.


Apparatus, and an associated method, for performing joint equalization of received data vectors, received during operation of a multiple-input, multiple-output communication system. Slicing operations, implemented alternately as group slicing operations, decoupled slicing operations, and successive slicing operations are implemented at a joint equalizer of a receiving station of the multiple-input, multiple-output communication system. Once jointly equalized, equalized data vectors are provided to a joint decoder.

A communication system provides for the communication of data between a sending station and a receiving station. The data is communicated between the sending and receiving stations by way of a communication channel that interconnects such stations. Data sourced at the sending station is converted into a form to permit its communication upon the communication channel. And, once delivered to the receiving station, recovery operations are performed upon the communicated data to recover the informational content thereof.
A radio communication system is an exemplary type of communication system. Communication channels defined in a radio communication system are defined upon radio links extending between the sending and receiving stations operable therein.
Because radio channels are utilized to communicate data between the sending and receiving stations, the need otherwise to install fixed, wireline connections to interconnect the sending and receiving stations, and to define communication channels thereon, is obviated. Therefore, infrastructure costs associated with the installation of a radio communication system are generally less than the corresponding infrastructure costs required to install the infrastructure of a wireline communication system. And, mobility can be provided to the communication stations operable in a radio communication system, thereby permitting mobile communications to be effectuated.
A cellular communication system is a type of radio communication system. Cellular communication systems have been installed throughout significant parts of the populated portions of the world. Cellular communication systems are constructed to be operable in compliance with operating specifications of any of various operating specifications.
A cellular communication system includes a network infrastructure that is installed throughout a geographical area that is to be encompassed by the communication system. The network infrastructure typically includes a plurality of fixed-site radio transceivers, referred to as base-transceiver stations, positioned at spaced-apart locations of the geographical area. Each of the base transceiver stations defines a region, referred to as a cell from which a cellular communication system derives its name.
Subscriber stations, usually referred to as mobile stations, positioned within the proximity of individual ones of the base transceiver stations are capable of communications therewith, thereby to permit effectuation of communication of data between the mobile station and a base transceiver station. Generally, a user of a mobile station is permitted access to the communication system to communicate there through the purchase of a service subscription for service in the communication system.
The radio communication channel defined upon the radio link extending between a mobile station and a base transceiver station usually exhibits non-ideal communication conditions. Radio communication channels defined in other types of radio communication systems, as well as communication channels defined in other types of communication systems, also usually exhibit non-ideal communication conditions. Data communicated upon such communication channels is distorted due to the non-ideal channel conditions. If the distortion is significant, the informational content of the communicated data cannot accurately be recovered at the receiving station.
A significant contribution to the distortion introduced upon the communicated data is due to fading conditions caused by multi-path transmission of the data. The fading might alter the values of information-bearing bits of the data during its communication upon the radio, or other, communication channel. Various techniques are utilized to compensate for the distortion introduced upon the data during its communication, thereby, to facilitate recovery of the informational content of the communicated data.
Generally, increase in the redundancy of the data that is communicated upon the communication channel increases the likelihood that the informational content of the data can be recovered, in spite of the fading exhibited upon the communication channel.
Encoding, techniques, for instance, are sometimes utilized to introduce time redundancy into the data. Introduction of time redundancy is sometimes referred to as creation of time diversity.
Spatial redundancy is sometimes also utilized. Spatial redundancy, sometimes referred to as space diversity, generally refers to the utilization of more than one transmit antenna transducer at a sending station from which to transmit data, upon separate physical paths, to the receiving station. Fading exhibited on one path might well not be exhibited on another path. And, a receiving station sometimes also utilizes more than one antenna transducer at which communicated data is detected and transduced into electrical form.
A communication system in which multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas are utilized is sometimes referred to as a MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) communication system. In a MIMO communication system, independent data streams can be transmitted at different ones of the multiple transmit antennas. Communications in a MIMO system not only provide for improved communications upon non-ideal channels, but also permit the data throughput rate in such a communication system to be increased, generally corresponding to the increase in the number of transmit antennas. That is to say, the potential data throughput increase is linearly related with the number of transmit antennas systems that are utilized. And, to realize the potential data throughput increase permitted through the use of a MIMO system, the receiving station must also be able reliably to detect each of the individual data streams communicated by the sending station, in the presence of interference, that distorts the data caused by both inter-symbol interference (ISI) and interference caused by other data streams.
Optimally, the receiving station performs joint detection upon the multiple data streams. However, the complexity of equalization operations that are required to be performed pursuant to the joint detection increases exponentially, both with the number of transmit antennas and also with the length of the channel memory. The complexity of the equalization operations becomes so significant as generally to limit the practical utility of joint detection in many applications.
As recovery of the informational content of communicated data at a receiving station of a multiple-input, multiple-output communication system is facilitated through the use of joint detection utilizing joint equalization, any manner by which to facilitate joint equalization at a receiving station would be advantageous. And, more particularly, any manner by which to permit joint equalization operations to be performed at lessened levels of computational complexity would be advantageous.
It is in light of this background information related to communications in a MIMO communication system that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.

Apparatus, and associated method, for performing joint equalization in a multiple-input, multiple-output communication system


A parking lot with a plurality of parking spaces for vehicles that have OCR-readable license numbers and onboard units with radio IDs that can be read out via radio signals. The parking lot including a central computer for storing parking space reservations, a vehicle license number and an assigned radio ID, a radio beacon for the parking spaces for reading out the radio ID of an entering vehicle via radio and signaling the radio ID to the central computer, and at least one camera unit for each parking space for reading the license number of a vehicle and correspondingly signaling the license number to the central computer. The central computer checks whether for a radio ID signaled to the central computer the vehicle license number is subsequently signaled by the camera unit of this parking space, and to log instances in which this is not the case.

Parking lot management systems are known in several variations. EP 1 986 172 discloses a general reservation system in which identification data is read out via radio when entering and exiting. However, this publication does not provide for the reservation of specific parking spaces and also does not disclose any measures for increasing the functional reliability and the protection against manipulation or any measures for monitoring purposes. Publication US 2004/0068433 discloses a parking lot management and reservation system with a central computer, into which users can enter parking space reservations, e.g., via the Internet, and a camera at the entrance for reading the license numbers of the entering vehicles by means of optical character recognition (OCR) to open a barrier for vehicles that have parking space reservations. Parking attendants patrol the parking lot with mobile handheld devices that are connected to the central computer via radio and serve for randomly reading the license numbers of the parked vehicles by means of OCR to take action against parking violators. Although systems of this type reach a high degree of automation, they still require manual control processes and are also susceptible to incorrectly read, or even forged, license numbers.


Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for using an alias volume name for a volume to allocate space to a data set. An assignment of a plurality of volumes to a data set is maintained, wherein the volumes are configured in a storage system. A request is received to extend the data set. An alias volume name is assigned to the data set for a previously assigned volume to the data to extend the data set in response to one of the previously assigned volumes having available space to extend the data set. A base volume name is assigned to the data set for a volume not assigned to the data set in response to one of the previously assigned volumes to the data set not having available space to extend the data set.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer program product, system, and method for using an alias volume name for a volume to allocate space to a data set.
2. Description of the Related Art
In certain computing environments, multiple host systems may configure data sets in volumes configured in a storage system, such as interconnected storage devices, e.g., a Direct Access Storage Device (DASD), Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), Just a Bunch of Disks (JBOD), etc. In the prior art, when extending a data set by adding an extent of data, where an extent comprise a range of tracks, extents are drawn from a new volume, even if volumes previously assigned to the data set now have more free space for assigning an additional extent to the data set. The reason for this limitation that data cannot re-extend back to a prior volume, not comprising the last assigned volume, is that the order of the data as written to the data set must be preserved. If data was allocated from a volume already assigned to the data set that is not the last volume from which data was allocated to the data set, then that data would be combined with data previously written from that prior volume during volume read activities, which will cause data to be read in an incorrect order. Thus, the different volume names allow for distinction of the order of data in the data set, and reusing a previous volume from which data was allocated could cause confusion as to the order for data read from that volume.
There is a need in the art for improved techniques to allocate data from a previously assigned volume to a data set.

Using an alias volume name for a volume to allocate space to a data set

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Systems, vehicles, and methods include an instrument mask that is configured to shield at least one instrument from external light and a graphic displayed on a surface of the instrument mask.

The invention relates generally to the field of displaying graphics through/on a mask used to shield one or more instruments from external light.
Often, instruments—especially lighted instruments—are hard to read in the sunlight as the sunlight—or other external lights—tend to wash out the light being emitted by the instruments. Typically, a mask or hood may be placed over the instruments to block the external light and make the instruments more visible and easier to read.
Instruments in vehicles often utilize such masks to make the instruments surrounded by these masks more visible. Typically, however, instruments (or other indicators) are not placed on the surfaces that are used as the mask. Accordingly, the surface(s) of the mask remain empty.

Displaying graphics on a instrument mask


An effective technology is provided to intend an improvement of a deploying capability of an airbag apparatus. In one form, a retainer for housing an airbag of an airbag apparatus upon being folded back is constructed with a retainer body whose upper surface and an entire front surface other than left and right supporting portions at a lower portion are open, and a plastic plate serving as a plate having low rigidity closing an opening portion of the retainer body, and the plastic plate is fixed to an inside of the supporting portions of the retainer body, and a front portion of the retainer is formed to be a bending portion capable of being bent forward around a lower portion thereof as a fulcrum by the plastic plate.

Hitherto, for example, various airbag apparatuses for restraining a body of an occupant in collision of an automobile or the like, such as an airbag apparatus for use in a driver's seat, which is expanded and deployed from a rotation center of a steering wheel in a driver's seat to a driver side, an airbag for use in a passenger seat, which is expanded and deployed from an instrument panel to a passenger seat side, or the like are used.
Recently, in a case that a large scale accident, in which a large external force is applied to the automobile, such as an overturn of a vehicle body due to a collision or the like, falling of a heavy load such as a fallen tree, or the like occurs, there is a possibility in which an impact is applied to a head from above a head of the occupant by an impact occurred at that time, therefore an airbag apparatus corresponding to such a case is already proposed (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-37011).
In the aforementioned hitherto known technology, a basic configuration, in which an airbag constructed of a bag-shaped body where a base cloth is combined is housed in a backrest portion (or a headrest) of a seat of a vehicle, and a pressurized fluid from an inflator is supplied to the airbag in an emergency and expands the airbag, and which the airbag is deployed above the head of the occupant, is disclosed.
In order to intend an optimization for the airbag apparatus, a further smooth deploying capability of the airbag is required.


A spark plug has a housing of a cylindrical shape, an insulator of a cylindrical shape fitted into the inside of the housing, a center electrode and a ground electrode. No male screw part is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the housing. A housing support surface is formed on an inner peripheral surface of the housing. An outer peripheral surface of the insulator has an insulator support surface which is supported by the housing support surface in an axial direction of the spark plug. The housing has a pressure fitting part to be presses to a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine. A part of the pressure fitting part and a part of at least one of the housing support surface and the insulator support surface are arranged to be overlapped with each other in a radial direction of the spark plug.

There have been used spark plugs for igniting a fuel mixture gas in a combustion chamber of internal combustion engines mounted on motor vehicles. Such a spark plug has a spark plug housing of a cylindrical shape, an insulator, a center electrode and a ground electrode. The insulator is supported in the inside of the spark plug housing. The center electrode is supported in the inside of the insulator. The ground electrode is arranged at a front end part of the spark plug. The center electrode and the ground electrode are arranged facing with each other along an axial direction of the spark plug so as to form a discharge gap. The spark plug having the structure previously described is mounted on a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine so that a front end part of the spark plug faces an inside of a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. That is, the front end part of the spark plug fixed to the cylinder head is exposed to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. A spark discharge is generated at the discharge gap formed between the center electrode and the ground electrode of the spark plug to ignite a fuel mixture gas in the combustion chamber.

Spark plug and ignition device of internal combustion engine