A rolling unit for a rolling mill for rolling or sizing metal pipes, bars or wires has at least three rolls arranged in a star arrangement. Each roll has a separate drive mechanism and bearings on both sides of the roll. The rolls are adjustable radially with the bearings. A higher load can be borne with smaller outer dimensions. Furthermore the number of individual parts of the rolling unit is reduced as well as manufacturing and assembly expenses for the rolling unit. For this purpose the bearings of the roll shafts are mounted in respective eccentric sleeves, whose rotational position is continuously changed by means of an adjusting device. A securing device is provided however to fix the rolls in one rotational position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rolling unit for a rolling mill for rolling or sizing metal pipes, bars or wires having at least three rolls arranged in a star-shaped arrangement around a rolling mill axis, each of which has a separate drive means and is rotatably mounted by means of a roll shaft and bearings arranged on both sides of each roll. Each roll is mounted in a rolling unit housing so that it is radially adjustable in the rolling unit housing.
2. Prior Art
A rolling unit of this type has already been disclosed in WO 98/06515. The rolls there are mounted in built-in components, with which they can be shifted in a radial direction relative to the rolling mill axis within the rolling unit housing. Devices for shifting and holding the built-in components and thus the rolls in a radial direction are arranged in a rolling unit frame, which surrounds the rolling unit housing. The drive units provided for driving the rolls are located outside of the rolling unit frame.
This sort of rolling unit has the disadvantage that its outer dimensions are comparatively large and a considerable amount of space is required for the entire rolling mill. This results, above all, from the arrangement and structure of the adjusting devices for radially adjusting and holding the built-in components. These adjusting devices require much space in a radial direction. Space is required for pre-tensioning means for producing tension arranged between the built-in components and devices for radial adjustment. Thus when no rolled goods are being rolled, there is no plays between these parts. Consequently particularly large outer dimensions are required for the rolling unit frame supporting these devices and the rolling unit housing. The rolling unit frame and the rolling unit housing are of course separate parts in the known structure, but they form a functional unit and form an especially large complete rolling unit only together with the radially adjustable rolls. Since the drive units for the rolls are arranged outside of the rolling unit frame, considerable spacing of the drive units from the roll mill axis exists and thus the rolling mill has considerable dimensions in a radial direction. However the known rolling unit also has a great width in the axial direction, i.e. in the direction of the rolling mill axis, because the built-in components are held in place by swivel pins, which are arranged laterally next to the rolling unit housing. Because of that a large spacing of the rolling units and thus also of the calibrated openings formed by the rolls from each other results, which has the consequence that the length of the unusable thicker end section of the rolled goods is considerably large. Also the waste during production is large.
Furthermore manufacturing expenses are especially high for the known rolling unit, because of the use of built-in components and devices for holding, guiding and radially adjusting the built-in components, which must be made with numerous individual parts and assembled.
Furthermore the known rolling unit has a weak structure because of the numerous individual parts, which give way too much to the forces occurring during rolling. The known rolling unit thus does not maintain the rolls in their provided positions with sufficient accuracy and reliability continuously in the required manner under the currently common high loads produced by the forces on the rolls. Because of that the required narrow tolerances for the rolled goods are not maintained. The flexibility of the known structure toward the forces acting on the rolls is based, above all, on the fact that the built-in components are only held in the structure by swivel pins. Furthermore the forces are conducted through several individual parts and thus over a comparatively long distance, which leads to a comparatively large elastic deformation. Furthermore exact adjustment of the rolls is impaired by wear, which is to be expected in the region of the operating surfaces between the linearly moving devices for radial adjustment of the built-in components and the built-in components that are pivotable on a circular path. Primarily there is a danger that these operating surfaces are temporarily exposed to dirt or dust when the rolling unit housing is removed.
An additional disadvantage of the known rolling unit is that the diameter of the opening formed by the rolls cannot be adjusted and measured when the rolling unit housing is in the workshop. This is because in the workshop the built-in components take arbitrary positions in the rolling unit housing and these can always be changed. In the workshop the built-in components and the rolls are guided of course in a radial direction in the rolling unit housing, however are fixed in no position. The devices for radial adjusting and holding the built-in components and rolls are missing. As already mentioned, these devices are arranged in the rolling unit frame, which is fast attached in the rolling mill, thus they cannot be transported together with the rolling unit housing in the workshop. However when the rolling unit housing is again inserted in the rolling unit frame and thus in the rolling mill, the devices for radial adjustment and holding can operate again. Then the built-in components and the rolls take certain adjustable positions relative to the rolling mill axis. However the position of the rolls and thus the diameter of the opening between them is then not measured in most rolling units, because its rolling unit housing is inside the rolling unit frame. Then the rolls are arranged close to each other in the rolling mill so that only the opening between them in the first and last rolling unit can be reached and measured. Even if the opening between the rolls could be adjusted to the same diameter with special devices in the workshop as it is when adjusted by the devices for radial adjustment and holding of the built-in components and rolls in the rolling mill, this would still not be sufficient if the average position of the rolling unit housing relative to these special devices in the workshop and to the devices for radial adjustment and retention of the built-in components in the rolling mill is not maintained equal or the same with extreme accuracy. Each deviation even with constant diameter of the roll openings leads to an axially incorrect position of the rolls and thus necessarily to sizing errors.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rolling unit for a rolling mill for rolling or sizing metal pipes, bars and wires, which does not have the above-described disadvantages, but which allows a stable, but radially adjustable position of the rolls with as small as possible dimensions and comparatively small manufacturing expense.
These objects, and others that will be made more apparent hereinafter, are attained in a rolling unit having at least three rolls arranged in a star configuration or arrangement around the rolling mill axis, each of which has a separate drive means and is rotatably mounted by means of a roll shaft and bearings arranged on both sides of each roll. Each roll is mounted in a rolling unit housing so that it is radially adjustable in the rolling unit housing.
According to the invention this object is attained by a rolling unit of this type in which the bearings for the roll shafts are roller bearings and they are located within eccentric sleeves which are arranged rotatably in bearing passages of a closed one-piece rolling unit housing and in which an adjusting device for continuously changing the rotational position of the eccentric sleeves and a retaining device for holding them fixed in a predetermined rotational position are provided.
The rolling unit according to the invention has a very compact structure with only very small outer dimensions. That is due to the fact that the devices for adjusting and maintaining the rolls comprise eccentric sleeves. The eccentric sleeves, in contrast to the known built-in components, and the devices required for them to adjust and maintain their position, require comparatively little space, so that they can be accommodated entirely within the rolling unit housing. Also the rolling unit housing can be kept comparatively small despite the fact that these devices are housed in it. Furthermore a rolling unit frame is no longer required. Consequently the rolling unit according to the invention has considerably smaller dimensions both in the radial and axial direction than the prior art rolling unit. Also the drive units can be arranged at comparatively shorter distances from the rolling mill axis. A mill train, which has considerably smaller dimensions in all directions and which takes up considerably smaller space than the rolling mill with the prior art rolling unit, results. With the rolling unit according to the invention it is possible to keep the spacing of the rolling units from each other small. Thus the unavoidably thicker end section of the rolled goods is shorter and the production waste is kept smaller than with the prior art rolling unit.
Furthermore the number of individual parts in the rolling unit according to the invention is considerably less than in the prior art rolling unit. This reduces both the amount of work and the costs for manufacture and assembly. With this economical rolling unit with nevertheless adjustable rolls according to the invention it is no longer necessary to avoid using rolling units with adjustable rolls in the rolling mills. Each stand position of the rolling mills can have a rolling unit with adjustable rolls. This better utilizes the rolls.
In addition greater stability results because of the compact structure for the new rolling unit according to the invention. The rolling mill according to the invention can take higher rolling forces. The occurring forces are conducted to the rolling unit housing over the shortest distances so that they are borne directly by it and thus no noteworthy elastic deformations occur. All parts, which are required for adjustment and holding the rolls, are arranged within the rolling unit housing and are thus protected from dirt or dust. The wear of these parts is thereby reduced, which guarantees exact positioning of the rolls over the operating life of the rolling unit.
Since the adjustment of the rolls occurs by rotation of the eccentric sleeves, the expense for the adjusting device, especially the number of its individual parts, can be kept small. The desired and required spacing of the rotation axes of the rolls from the rolling mill axis within their adjustment range is guaranteed by the continuous adjustment. During machining of the working surfaces of the rolls each of these adjustable distances can be designed so that the material loss during subsequent working of the rolls can be maintained especially small and the rolls can be used in an optimal manner. The rotation axes of the rolls can be brought into the correct positions with the eccentric sleeves belonging to the after-worked rolls, so that the diameter of the opening can be measured and adjusted. The latter is always possible also in the workshop, where the rolls take and maintain a predetermined position after its construction. Rolling units with different ideal roll diameters can be used because of the separate drive mechanisms, which means with different spacing of the rotation axes from the rolling mill axis. This allows an especially wide application of the rolls and reduces operating costs.
The eccentric sleeves, the adjusting drive of the rolls and the absence of drive bevel gears in the rolling unit housing permits a one-piece or unified structure for the rolling unit housing with radially adjustable rolls. The rolling unit housing may thus be manufactured with considerably less effort. This is because surfaces of both parts of the prior art rolling unit housing that must be painstakingly machined in several steps as well as the numerous passages for adjusting pins and connecting screws which must be assembled together with the parts can be dispensed with or eliminated in the rolling unit of the invention.
In a preferred embodiment of the rolling unit of the invention two eccentric sleeves are arranged on respective sides of each roll and are spaced from each other and nonrotatably, but releasable, connected with each other by means of a connecting bracket. It is sufficient to fix only one of the two eccentric sleeves of one roll shaft which are arranged on both sides of the corresponding roll, directly in its axial and rotational positions because the other eccentric sleeve is also then held in its rotational and axial positions by means of its connecting bracket. Then during adjustment of the rolls only one of the two eccentric sleeves needs to be rotated since the second eccentric sleeve rotates with it by means of its connection with it by the connecting bracket.
It is particularly advantageous when at least one eccentric sleeve of each roll shaft has a bevel gear or gear segment, with which it engages in a corresponding bevel gear or gear segment of another eccentric sleeve of an adjacent roll shaft. Synchronous radial adjustment of all roll shafts and thus all rolls of a rolling unit is thus possible. If the connecting strap is still used, it is sufficient when the adjusting device only engages a single eccentric sleeve so that the rotational position of all eccentric sleeves can be adjusted to the same extent. For the foregoing purpose it is thus recommended that no bevel gear and no toothed segment should be provided between two neighboring eccentric sleeves of two different roll shafts, but instead they should be simply spaced apart from each other. This simplifies the assembly and first adjustment of the eccentric sleeves.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention each of the roll shafts is divided into two shaft portions and each roll is clamped between the opposing surfaces of two shaft portions, but so that it is releasable. The multi-part structure of the roll shafts allows axial clamping of the rolls between the facing surfaces of the two shaft portions. Because of this structurally weakened connections between the rolls and roll shafts with radially projecting adjusting springs and similar elements on the roll shafts and in the passages of the rolls are avoided. Above all the multi-part structure of the roll shafts permits a rapid exchange of the rolls. Also when the axial clamping force between the shaft portions is relieved, they are only moved slightly apart so that the roll can be taken out in a radial direction from the rolling unit. After that another roll is placed between both shaft portions and clamped there in a radial direction in the rolling unit. Expensive disassembly of the rolling unit housing and/or the bearings of the rolls thus is not necessary. A more rapid exchange of the rolls is possible so that fewer rolling units are out of service, because the preparation time for a new use with the rolling units not in the mill train or rolling mill is short so that they are already available again when the rolling units currently in use must be exchanged. Scarcely more than two sets of the new rolling units are thus required for the rolling mill. Furthermore the rapid and simple roll exchanges make a reworking or re-machining of the rolls in the built-in state and the required special machine for that purpose superfluous, because the rolls can be rapidly taken out of the rolling unit for re-machining in a standard machine. They can also be rapidly put back into the rolling unit.
With the two-part structure for the roll shafts it is advisable that the opposing surfaces of the shaft portions and the rolls have projections and corresponding depressions that engage with each other in a form-locking manner. These projections and depressions are not to be confused with the above-mentioned radially projecting adjusting springs and similar elements, because the common projections and depressions extend in the axial direction and thus do not have the above-described weakening effect. They permit a high torque transfer without relative motion between the rolls and roll shafts.
In general the opposing surfaces of the shaft portions have a smaller diameter than the bearing passage of the rolling unit housing between the rolls and the outer drive mechanism for them. Furthermore it is appropriate that each bearing passage of the rolling unit housing should be dimensioned, or of a size that is, continuously smaller from the outer drive mechanism to the interior of the rolling unit housing or of equal size as the bearing passage in front of it. Because of these size relationships it is possible to construct the shaft portions of the roll shafts, the bearings and eccentric sleeves outside of the rolling unit housing and then to insert them into the rolling unit housing from the drive side. These dimensions decrease or reduce the parts arranged in the one-piece rolling unit housing and simplify their assembly.
In additional embodiments of the invention the adjusting device is arranged on one side of the rolling unit housing and it has a bevel gear, which engages in a bevel gear or toothed segment of one of the eccentric sleeves. This sort of adjusting mechanism is easy to make, economical and can be assembled with little effort.

Rolling unit for a rolling mill for rolling or sizing metal pipes, bars or wires


An optical disc recording method and apparatus is capable of overwriting a phase change optical disc at high speed. With a preceding erasing beam out of two laser beams, a modulation component in an RF signal recorded on an optical disc is erased to a state where no problem occurs (the reflectance difference is reduced) and the top level is decreased to 70 to 40% of a top level of an original RF signal. After that, with the subsequent recording beam, a space is recorded at a laser power at which top level is reset to the original state (before the erasing process), and a mark is recorded at a laser power which can sufficiently decrease the bottom level. Consequently, even when the recording speed is the quadruple speed (about 1.6 to 2 times of a specification) much higher than a specific recording speed (for example, 2 to 2.4×) of a phase change optical disc, overwriting can be performed with a recording characteristic which can satisfy a regenerating characteristic specification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for recording a phase change optical disc and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for recording an optical disc at high speed exceeding recording speed which is assumed (specified) for a phase change optical disc as an object.
2. Description of the Related Art
As rewritable optical discs, phase change optical discs employed by a DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disc-Random Access Memory), a DVD-RW (ReWritable), DVD+RW, CD-RW (Compact Disc-ReWritable), and the like are being widely spread. In the phase change optical disc, a signal recording layer made of a rare-metal-based phase change material which reversibly changes between a crystal state (crystal phase) and a non-crystal state (amorphous phase) by heat is formed. By irradiating the signal recording layer with a laser beam, a signal is recorded.
In the phase change optical disc, an irradiated portion is changed reversibly to the amorphous state or crystal state in accordance with parameters of a laser beam emitted to the signal recording layer, and recording and regenerating is performed according to a change in the reflectance. When the signal recording layer is quickly heated by irradiation of a laser beam of the highest power level and then quickly cooled, the signal recording layer enters an amorphous state of lower reflectance, and a portion called a "mark" is recorded. On the other hand, when the signal recording layer is gradually heated by irradiation of a laser beam of a lower power level and then gradually cooled, the signal recording layer enters a crystal state of higher reflectance irrespective of the state before the irradiation, and a portion called a "space" is recorded. A signal is regenerated by using a laser beam of a power level lower than that at the time of erasing a recording signal. In this case, a recording/regenerating apparatus detects return light of a laser beam reflected by the signal recording layer, and regenerates the recording signal by using the fact that the reflectance differs according to whether the signal recording layer in the position irradiated with the laser beam is in the crystal state or the amorphous state.
Different from a magnetooptic disc, a phase change optical disc does not need external magnetic field generating means for recording/regenerating, so that overwriting or rewriting of a recording signal can be easily performed. In addition, a small number of parts is sufficient for a driving device. Thus, the phase change optical disc can contribute to reduction in the size and cost of the recording/regenerating apparatus. Since a recordable information amount is larger as compared with that of a magnetooptic disc, it is expected that the phase change optical disc will be spread further.
Usually, recording using the phase change optical disc strongly depends on speed, so that recording cannot be performed in a wide speed range, and the recording speed is limited to a certain range. To be specific, recording speed peculiar to a phase change optical disc is specified in accordance with a kind. For example, in the case of a DVD, a double-speed disc is constructed so as to be adapted to recording at a linear velocity of 6.98 m/s (meters/second), and a 2.4× disc is constructed so as to be adapted to recording at a linear velocity of 8.376 m/s. 1× as a reference corresponds to 3.49 m/s.
In the phase change optical disc, as long as recording is performed at a recording speed specified as above, a signal can be properly recorded on not only a disc in an unused (unrecorded) state but also a disc on which a signal has been already recorded by properly changing the power of a laser beam. At a specific speed, recording after erasing of an existing signal is not performed but so-called direct overwrite (DOW) of directly overwriting a disc in accordance with a modulation signal can be also performed. Therefore, it is basically possible to perform the overwriting by modulating the power of a single laser beam. However, the phase change optical disc is limited with respect to time required for crystallizing a recording material. In the case where the linear velocity is increased, time required for crystallization is short and it is difficult to perform sufficient recording.
Conventionally, a method of performing overwriting by using a plurality of beams has been also proposed. In the method, at least two laser beams of different powers for erasing and recording are used and the overwriting is carried out by allowing an erasure spot to precede a recording spot on a track. The method has an advantage such that also in the case where the linear velocity is increased to be relatively high, it is easy to assure time required for crystallization.
The method of realizing the overwriting by using a plurality of beams is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-334473. According to the method, in the case of performing overwriting, a laser beam emitted from a semiconductor laser is split into a main beam for recording and a preceding beam for erasing by a first beam splitter. By using an external modulator, the power of the preceding beam for erasing is modulated so as to attenuate from the recording power to the erasing power. The preceding beam and the main beam are combined by a second beam splitter, and the erasure spot formed by the preceding beam precede the recording spot formed by the main beam on a track of an optical disc.
However, as already described above, dependency on speed of recording is large in the phase change optical disc, peculiar recording speed at which overwriting (direct overwriting) can be performed is determined in the specification, and it is difficult to perform recording at a speed much higher than the peculiar recording speed. For example, the recording method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-334473 will be examined. The disclosed invention is based on precondition that recording is performed in a speed range which is specified (permitted) in accordance with the kind of a phase change optical disc or at a speed slightly higher than the range. The case of performing overwriting at a speed (for example, 4×=13.96 m/s) much higher than the specified speed (for example, 2× or 2.4×) is not considered. The invention does not disclose the relation between the power level of the preceding beam for erasure and the power level of the main beam for recording and a method of setting the power levels in the case of performing the recording at a speed which is not the specified speed. Consequently, even the method is applied, it is considered to be difficult to perform recording at a speed much higher than the specified speed for the following reasons.
For example, in the case of setting the level of the erasure power in the preceding beam to the normal level adapted to specific recording speed, data cannot be erased well due to insufficient power, and it is feared that the residual component (residual modulation component) appears as a jitter. When the jitter is large, it appears as an error at the time of regenerating, so that performance deteriorates. As a result, it is difficult to perform overwriting at a high speed exceeding the specific speed. A jitter is fluctuation in the time direction of a regenerated RF (Radio Frequency) signal (hereinbelow, simply called a regenerated signal) and is generally defined as a value obtained by dividing a standard deviation of the difference between an edge obtained by binarizing a regenerated signal and the timing of a reference clock extracted from the regenerated RF signal by the cycle of a reference clock.
On the other hand, the level of the erasure power in the preceding beam may be set to be higher than that of a normal power (power used in the case of specific recording speed). In this case, however, the applicant of the present invention has learned the fact that, although the modulation component of a recorded signal (RF signal) decreases as the level of the erasing power is increased, when the erasing power is increased more than a certain extent, the top level (largest value or maximum value) of the RF signal decreases. It means that when the erasing power is increased to a certain extent or higher in overwriting, the level of a portion corresponding to a space region, of the RF signal decreases and, as a result, the difference from the level of a portion corresponding to a mark region is reduced. Specifically, the degree of modulation of an RF signal (on the disc) after overwriting degrades (decreases). In the case of regenerating the signal, the C/N (Carrier-to-Noise ratio) characteristic deteriorates.
As described above, in the conventional method, in the case of overwriting a phase change optical disc at a speed much higher than the specific speed, it is difficult to suppress a jitter while sufficiently assuring the degree of modulation of a regenerated signal. That is, it is difficult to realize overwriting at a high speed which is much higher than the specific speed.

Optical disc recording method and apparatus


A holographic detection device for a content of a gas in a GIS switch includes a laser and a data process system. The laser includes a laser emitter and a laser receiver which are fixed at a sampling port of the GIS switch and connected with the data process system. A holographic detection method for a content of a gas in a GIS switch includes emitting a laser beam towards the inside of the GIS switch; receiving the laser beam from the inside of the GIS switch, and calculating a content of hydrogen fluoride gas inside the GIS switch according to an intensity of the emitted laser beam and an intensity of the received laser beam. Since the laser beam goes through the inside of the GIS switch, there is a small error in the detection result, which thus can reflect a real state inside the GIS switch.

Since the 1970's, electric equipment with an insulation medium of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas has been widely used. However, due to the limitation of design, material, process and maintenance, etc., local insulation defect may exist inside the equipment. Under heat and electricity, SF6 gas and solid insulation material are decomposed continuously, such that the insulation performance is decreased and an accident even occurs. Therefore, one of the key researches of the electric power professionals is to detect a potential fault and danger inside the electric equipment at the first opportunity and decrease the accident rate.
Based on the research, when a fault appears in electric equipment with SF6, characteristic components such as SO2, SOF2, H2S, CO, HF and CF4 will be generated in the fault section. Since the hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas is generated firstly, the fault in the electric equipment can be determined by detecting the content of the HF gas.
The Gas Insulated Switchgear, i.e., GIS switch, is a combined electric equipment with an insulation medium of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas. In the prior art, the method for detecting the HF gas inside the GIS switch is to obtain a gas sample at a sampling port of the GIS switch by a sampling bag and detect the content of HF in the gas sample by a corresponding detection instrument. However, since the GIS switch has a huge volume, a small internal temperature difference and a poor gas fluidity, a little gas sample obtained from the sampling port far away from the body of the electric equipment is not a representative sample, the detection result of the gas sample is not exact and hard to reflect a real state inside the GIS switch. Therefore, it is hard to detect a potential fault inside the GIS switch in time. Furthermore, since the sampling period is long (generally once in spring and once in autumn), a potential fault inside the GIS switch cannot be detected in time either.

Holographic detection device and method for content of gas in GIS switch

Chongqing Electric Power Research Institute


A computer-implemented system and method identify Pareto optimal candidate paths between an origin and a destination for which no other candidate path is strictly better on one of a predefined set of criteria and at least as good on all the others. A constraint is defined for each of the criteria, based on user input. A set of Pareto optimal candidate paths is identified, from an origin to a destination, which respect these constraints. The identification may include, in a search graph composed of nodes connected by edges, iteratively advancing each of a set of possible paths from an origin node by exactly one exit node and updating labels of the exit nodes reached. The exit node labels each include a value for each of the criteria. Labels of reached exit nodes that are dominated by another label of that reached node are removed. Pareto optimal candidate path(s) is/are identified.

The exemplary embodiment relates to journey planning and finds particular application in a system and method for assisting a user in selecting an optimal route for a journey which considers multiple criteria.
When traveling long distances by road, toll costs can be a significant part of the travel expense. While in some cases, toll costs are roughly proportional to the distance traveled on the toll-paying roads, in others, more complex rules are applied. For example, tolls can be dependent on the entry and exit points in a non-proportional way. In this case, a user traveling from A to B may pay less in tolls overall by exiting the tollway at one point on the route and reentering shortly thereafter, sometimes at the same tollbooth location. This approach ignores the inconvenience of leaving and returning to the tollway and potential increase in the time of the journey, due to queuing at the tollbooths, distances traveled at lower speed, and so forth. The driver may be willing to arrive later to reduce the costs, if the delay is not too great, but many drivers would be unwilling to accept large increases in travel time, even if there are no toll costs for the alternative journey. Thus, there may be multiple criteria which could be considered in identifying an optimal solution for a particular user. Some of these may involve hard constraints, such as an arrival time deadline, while others may entail user preferences, such as a preference for minimizing toll costs.
One application has been developed to propose possible points where the driver can exit and immediately reenter the toll road in order to reduce the total toll cost (see, e.g., Autoroute-€co at http://www.autoroute-eco.fr/). However, such an application does not consider the effect on other criteria which may be relevant to the user and also requires the user to choose an itinerary before the exit/entry points are proposed.
There remains a need for a system and method for computing a set of itineraries for a user which use different trade-offs between criteria, such as arrival time, toll cost, and convenience, which respect the user's constraints, such as the journey arrival time or the maximum number of toll crossings (where a user enters and exits a tollbooth on a toll road and incurs a toll).

Optimization of multiple criteria in journey planning


A quick connect system is provided for a shade structure. The system includes a hub and a structural member. The hub has a top surface, a plurality of side walls forming a slot therebetween, and a displaceable retention device having a free end disposed at an elevation below the top surface. The displaceable retention device is moveable laterally away from the slot. The structural member has an end configured to swing in the slot. The end has a laterally extending rotation device. The rotation device extends laterally beyond the free end of the displaceable retention device when the end is disposed in the slot.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to apparatuses and methods that facilitate efficient assembly of ribs and hubs of umbrellas and other structures with a plurality of arms that extend from a central hub member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Larger umbrellas, such as market umbrellas, generally include a frame-like structure that is used to support and distribute the weight of an upper portion of the umbrella as well as to enable the umbrella to be opened and closed as desired by the user. The frame-like structure of such umbrellas can take various forms, but often includes one more hubs connected with a plurality of movable structural members.
Past methods of assembly of umbrella hubs and ribs was labor intensive. The process involved inserting a pin through an end portion of a set of ribs, positioning all of the rib ends in a lower portion of a hub, and then placing an upper portion of the hub over the ribs so positioned. Finally, screws were used to attach an upper portion of the hub to the lower portion. While achieving the result of assembling the hub and ribs, this process is tedious and sometimes requires rework, for example if the rib ends become misaligned before the upper hub portion is attached to the lower hub portion.

Quick assembly methods and components for shade structures


A method is disclosed for designing a labeling guide for use by a labeler in labeling data used for training a spoken language understanding (SLU) module for an application. The method comprises a labeling guide designer selecting domain-independent actions applicable to an application, selecting domain-dependent objects according to characteristics of the application, and generating a labeling guide using the selected domain-independent actions and selected domain-dependent objects. An advantage of the labeling guide generated in this manner is that the labeling guide designer can easily port the labeling guide to a new application by selecting a set of domain-independent action and then selecting the domain-dependent objects related to the new application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spoken dialog systems and more specifically to methods of designing and implementing labeling guides associated with spoken dialog services.
2. Introduction
Building spoken dialog systems is a complicated and time-consuming process. The various modules necessary to carry on a meaningful conversation between a person and a spoken dialog system include an automatic speech recognition module, a spoken language understanding module, a dialog manager, and a text-to-speech language generation module. When a spoken dialog system for a particular domain is developed, the developers must train the various components to recognize and interact appropriately for the particular domain. For example, if the domain relates to an airline reservation service, each module must be trained to recognize and expect input from users related to air travel and reservations. The present invention relates to the process of training the spoken language understanding module of a spoken dialog system.
Most spoken language understanding (SLU) modules need some kind of internal representation of meaning that enables it to appropriately interpret and identify the meaning or intent of user input. The internal representation is typically organized into semantic classes. For example, to represent an entity type such as a person in a dialog, the person can be referred to in terms of her name (Betty), a pronoun (Her or She) or her relationship to others (Joe's manager). Thus three semantic classes can be derived from this entity type. For each spoken dialog application, the organization of the semantic classes for the potential entity types encountered in dialogues must be designed and then a large amount of training data is needed to build the semantic classifier models. For more information on semantic representations, see Huang, Acero and Hon, Spoken Language Processing, Prentice Hall, 2001, pages 867-880.
Producing the training data is a difficult and time-consuming process and is pivotal for the success of the application. Generating the training data requires recording a large number of user utterances, transcribing them and then labeling each one with appropriate semantic class or classes. Before labeling can be done, however, a person designs a set of semantic labels needed for the application. FIG. 1 illustrates a known process of generating a labeling guide. The set of semantic labels or tags used for the labeling guide is shown as step 102. The semantic label meanings along with both positive and negative examples are documented. The documentation is organized into a detailed labeling guide (104) that is then provided to labelers to follow during an implementation phase (106). Trained labelers then carry out the physical task of labeling the data. For every application, this process must be started from scratch (108), and labelers must be retrained.
The typical process of generating training data, designing semantic labels and manual labeling of training data is a very expensive process. In addition, the process also introduces the opportunity of labeling errors, at least in the early phase of the learning cycle. Because of the highly specialized nature of each spoken dialog system, the data labeled for one application cannot be used for any other application; and if the functionality of the application needs to be extended or modified, new labels must be designed and data must be labeled again. The ultimate goal of the semantic labeling process is to train the SLU module to determine the appropriate action or responsive statement based on the received user utterance.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of generation a labeling guide for spoken dialog services


A system and method for establishing plumbing kit specifications for kits containing plastic hose or tubing for installation on boats, RVs or other uses where ruler markings are imprinted longitudinally along the outside surface of stock hose. The ruler markings can be spaced approximately one inch, or other distance, and can include a series of numerals such as 1-12 or 1-11 followed by a repeat symbol. The sequence can repeat indefinitely along the length of the hose. The method allows a length specification for a particular hose segment to be generated by cutting a piece of stock hose at a particular starting ruler mark, clamping or connecting it in place, and then completing the installation of the segment by cutting the second end to the correct length and clamping or connecting it in place. The length can then be computed by reading the ruler marks on the installed hose. This information can be entered as part of the specification for a hose kit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of plumbing kits and more particularly to an improved system and method for establishing plumbing kit specifications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plumbing kits are used in the marine industry and other industries for the quick installation of plastic or other plumbing systems. In particular, plumbing kits using quick connection sections of plastic hose or tubing are commonly installed aboard boats and recreational vehicles (RVs). In these installations, multiple segments of hose or tubing are used to interconnect plumbing components such as pumps, valves, manifolds, through-hull fittings, aerators, and many other types of equipment. Hose segments are generally cut to length at the time of installation in the boat or RV. Typically, this requires that for each segment installed, a piece of hose or tube is cut that is longer than needed for the final installation. One end of this hose or tube is then installed with a hose clamp or by other means, and the other end is trimmed to the exact length. Finally the second end is clamped or connected. This prior art method leads to a substantial waste of hose or tubing material, typically in excess of 15%; also installation time is substantial, because the process must be repeated for every segment installed. In addition, leaks at clamped joints are common and must be reworked, sometimes causing the entire segment to be re-cut and re-installed.
Quick connecting plumbing kits such as those manufactured by FlowRite Controls, Ltd. of Grand Rapids Michgan, and sold under the trademark QWIK-LOK, are being used extensively to attach hose and tubing without clamps. Kits are being sold that use these types of fittings, and many boat manufacturers have adapted these types of plumbing assemblies for all of the plumbing in all of their boat models. However, the problem described above still remains—namely, developing hose length specifications for all the different boat models of a particular manufacturer is a substantial undertaking in terms of engineering time and is fraught with inaccuracies and errors. There are generally two ways currently in use for determining hose segment lengths: 1) For each boat model, all of the hose segments are installed in the way previously described, and then all of the hoses removed and measured. Each hose segment's length is recorded, and the segment is re-installed. 2) Lengths are pre-measured for each segment, and each segment is cut extra-long to a recorded length. The hoses are installed, and each segment is cut to the correct length to finish the assembly. The cut-off waste pieces are then measured, and their lengths are subtracted from the recorded lengths for the segment to determine the true length. Both methods are slow and subject to considerable error. For example, errors occur because hose segments can be up to eighteen feet in length, and measurements taken on the assembly line are inconsistent and imprecise. Also, hose has a natural curl that can seriously affect the accuracy measurements. Hose is also quite elastic, and if pulled to straighten the curl, can stretch significantly, particularly in longer length segments.
It would be advantageous to have an system and method for establishing plumbing kit specifications for the lengths of each segment in a kit that would overcome the errors and tremendous engineering time presently encountered in determining those lengths.

System and method for establishing plumbing kit specifications


A received POLMUX signal is rotated by fixed rotation parameters (Rot0, Rot1, Rot2) and the rotated POLMUX signal with optimal signal performance is selected and phase information is derived from both polarities. A pre-filter improves the timing accuracy.

Modern optical communications over single-mode fibers employ polarization multiplex (polmux) to double the spectral efficiency. After linear opto-electrical conversion, a "coherent" receiver de-multiplexes the polarizations and mitigates the relevant transmission impairments by digital means. Recently, both single-carrier and multi-carrier polmux transmission have drawn the interest of the optical community.
A prerequisite for correct processing at the receiver is correct symbol timing acquisition. This invention focuses on symbol timing synchronization for single-carrier coherent polmux receivers employing linear modulation.
Symbol timing recovery consists in estimating and correcting the frequency difference and the relative jitter of transmit and receive symbol clocks. In a high-speed system this is a critical task because the frequency components of the timing jitter extend into the high-frequency region. Tracking and compensating them poses challenging requirements for the bandwidth of the timing recovery circuitry.
In an optical coherent receiver accurate knowledge of the transmit symbol timing is a prerequisite for many processing tasks. Whereas a rough compensation of the bulk chromatic compensation can be performed before symbol timing synchronization, receiver tasks as adaptive equalization of PMD and residual CD, compensation of the carrier phase noise, and detection of the transmit data are conveniently performed after symbol timing acquisition.
The receiver depicted in FIG. 1 uses an adaptive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) equalizer to compensate residual CD and PMD. It estimates the timing error after the MIMO equalizer and corrects the sampling frequency before it. This architecture guarantees that the adaptive equalizer works with a synchronously sampled signal and, at the same time, that the timing error detector receives a clean signal after compensation of PMD and residual CD. Unfortunately, this solution requires the implementation of a long feedback loop embedding a component (the MIMO equalizer) that has a high latency. The long loop delay limits the bandwidth of the clock recovery and, therefore, its ability to track fast jitter.
On the contrary, the architecture illustrated in FIG. 2 is free of feedback loops and can potentially attain a high tolerance to timing jitter. However, it exposes the symbol timing recovery to a large portion of the signal impairments. As a consequence, the symbol timing recovery must be capable of extracting the timing information from a signal impaired by PMD and residual CD. The invention addresses the challenge of developing a robust timing phase estimator that can be used in the feed-forward architecture of FIG. 2.
A symbol timing recovery capable of tolerating PMD has been proposed in the patent application EP2375603. However, the described method and arrangement rely upon a feedback architecture (a phase-locked loop). The limited speed of digital electronics limits the loop bandwidth and thus the jitter tolerance. Consequently, this solution may not be suited for high-speed communications.

Symbol timing estimation for coherent polarization multiplex optical receivers


An FPGA includes a programmable interconnect structure in which the interconnect resources are divided into two groups. A first subset of the interconnect resources are optimized for high speed. A second subset of the interconnect resources are optimized for low power consumption. In some embodiments, the transistors of the first and second subsets have different threshold voltages. Transistors in the first subset, being optimized for speed, have a lower threshold voltage than transistors in the second subset, which are optimized for low power consumption. The difference in threshold voltages can be accomplished by using different doping levels, wells biased to different voltage levels, or using other well-known means. In some embodiments, the first subset of the interconnect resources includes buffers coupled to a higher voltage level than the second subset. In some embodiments, the first subset includes buffers manufactured using larger transistors than those in the second subset.

Programmable logic devices (PLDs) are a well-known type of digital integrated circuit that can be programmed to perform specified logic functions. One type of PLD, the field programmable gate array (FPGA), typically includes an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) and programmable input/output blocks (IOBs). The CLBs and IOBs are interconnected by a programmable interconnect structure. Some FPGAs also include additional logic blocks with special purposes (e.g., DLLS, RAM, and so forth).
The interconnect structure, CLBs, IOBs, and other logic blocks are typically programmed by loading a stream of configuration data (bitstream) into internal configuration memory cells that define how the logic blocks and interconnect are configured. The configuration data can be read from memory (e.g., an external PROM) or written into the FPGA by an external device. The collective states of the individual memory cells then determine the function of the FPGA.
One such FPGA, the Xilinx Virtex®-II FPGA, is described in detail in pages 33–75 of the "Virtex-II Platform FPGA Handbook", published December, 2000, available from Xilinx, Inc., 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95124, which pages are incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 1 shows a typical FPGA architecture. The FPGA of FIG. 1 includes an array of logic blocks (e.g., CLBs 101a–101i) interconnected by a programmable interconnect structure. The interconnect structure includes interconnect lines (103a–103i, 104a–104i) coupled together by programmable switches (102a–102i).
One goal shared by many system designers is to obtain the highest operating frequency consistent with various design considerations including cost, power consumption, size, and so forth. Therefore, there is considerable motivation to provide fast programmable interconnect resources, as in the FPGA of FIG. 1. There are several known ways to improve the speed of programmable interconnect resources. One common method is to include interconnect lines of various lengths, e.g., spanning one CLB, two CLBs, six CLBs, half of the CLB array, and so forth. Another approach is to make some of the interconnect resources non-programmable, so the signals implemented using these resources do not traverse the programmable switches. Another method is to optimize the interconnect resources for speed by making the interconnect lines wider to reduce resistance, providing more space between interconnect lines to decrease coupling capacitance, and so forth.
However, each of these methods has a price in terms of increased silicon area, decreased routing flexibility, and so forth. Therefore, an approach has been suggested in which some interconnect resources are modified for higher speed while other interconnect resources are unmodified. For example, some interconnect lines can be wider and spaced further apart, while other interconnect lines use the minimum width and spacing supported by the manufacturing process.
FIG. 2 illustrates an FPGA designed using interconnect resources of two different speeds. The FPGA of FIG. 2 is similar to that of FIG. 1, except that the interconnect lines include both faster and slower interconnect lines.
Power consumption is often another concern of system designers. Power consumption can be a larger issue in programmable devices than in non-programmable devices. For example, in an FPGA each programmable switch has associated capacitance, which results in increased power dissipation. Further, FPGAs are consistently growing in size and supporting larger numbers of logic blocks. As the number of logic blocks in an FPGA increases, the numbers of interconnect resources required to service each logic block increases at a faster rate. Therefore, today's larger FPGAs have a higher percentage of silicon area devoted to interconnect resources than earlier, smaller FPGAs. Thus, the majority of the power dissipated in a modern FPGA is consumed by the programmable interconnect structure.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an FPGA including a programmable interconnect structure in which fast interconnect resources are provided for critical signals, but which does not unnecessarily consume power.

FPGA architecture with mixed interconnect resources optimized for fast and low-power routing and methods of utilizing the same


Disclosed is a film forming method using a film forming gas composed of a metal alkoxide wherein clean film formation suppressed in contamination of a target substrate to be processed is achieved by restraining aluminum or an aluminum alloy in the processing chamber from dissolving. Specifically disclosed is method for forming a thin film on a target substrate to be processed which is held in a processing chamber, and this method comprises a step for heating the target substrate and a step for supplying a film forming gas into the processing chamber. This method is characterized in that the film forming gas is composed of a metal alkoxide, the processing chamber is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and a protective film composed of a nonporous anodic oxide film is formed on the inner wall surface of the processing chamber.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes processes of, e.g., forming a thin film on a target substrate to be processed, etching the formed thin film, surface-treating the thin film and the like. A semiconductor device having a multilayer wiring structure is manufactured through these processes.
In a film forming apparatus employed in, e.g., the process of forming the film on the target substrate among these semiconductor manufacturing processes, the film formation is performed by supplying various gases related to the film formation into a processing chamber having therein the target substrate to be processed.
In the above film forming apparatus, the processing chamber having therein the target substrate is generally made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Since the aluminum or the aluminum alloy is light, easily worked, and relatively easily available, it has been widely used for making the processing chamber of the film forming apparatus. For example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, an apparatus of which a processing chamber is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy has been proposed. Further, Patent Documents 3 and 4 disclose methods of forming a nonporous anodic oxide film on a surface of aluminum or an aluminum alloy to provide the aluminum or an aluminum alloy of which a corrosion resistance is favorable and an amount of a discharge gas is small.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2003-7694.
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2001-2623250.
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. H9-184094.
Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. H9-302499.
However, the processing chamber made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy suffers from a problem in that, when specific gases are supplied to the processing chamber, the aluminum forming the processing chamber is eluted and the eluted aluminum is scattered to be attached to the target substrate to contaminate the target substrate.
For example, when a gas composed of a metal alkoxide is supplied to the processing chamber, there has been a problem in that aluminum is eluted to a great extent, entailing the possibility of the target substrate being contaminated by aluminum or metals contained in an aluminum alloy.

Film forming apparatus, film forming method, program and storage medium


A mascara dispenser including a container, a cap bearing a mascara brush, a comb retractable within the cap, and an element on the cap pivotally connected to a shaft that projects from the comb lengthwise within the cap. As the element is moved to extend the comb out of the cap, a guide within the cap engages a dogleg portion of the shaft to pivot the comb into an offset position relative to the dispenser, for ease of manipulation and use.

This invention relates to dispensers for materials that are applied manually to a substrate, such as, for example, cosmetics that are applied to a portion or feature of a user""s face, and to cap and applicator units for such dispensers. In one important specific aspect, to which detailed reference will be made for purposes of illustration, the invention is particularly directed to dispensers for mascara, as well as to mascara packages.
In current commercial practice, mascara is commonly packaged in a small dispenser constituted of a container having a neck and a cap threadedly or otherwise removably mounted on the neck, the dispenser being dimensioned to be held in a user""s hand and to be easily carried in a small purse. Typical configurations for such a dispenser include an elongated cylinder, in which the container and the cap each occupies about half the length of the external surface, or a similarly proportioned structure having a more or less square cross-section, although various other designs are also employed. The container and cap are conveniently rigid molded plastic or formed metallic members.
The cap of such a dispenser is provided with an applicator for picking up mascara from the interior of the container and transporting the mascara to and depositing it on the user""s eyelashes. One well known type of applicator for mascara is a brush including an array of relatively stiff nylon or like bristles gripped at their midpoints in a twisted wire core, which is itself mounted at the free distal end of a molded plastic stem projecting distally from the cap so that when the cap is seated on the container neck, the brush extends into the interior of the container. A flexible annular plastic wiper element may be mounted in the neck to engage, and remove excess mascara from, the brush as the brush is withdrawn from the container. In a structure of this type, the cap serves both as a closure for the container and as a handle for the brush.
While applicators such as the described brush satisfactorily deliver mascara to and deposit mascara on eyelashes, the application of mascara may cause adjacent lashes to adhere together, detracting from their desired appearance. To correct this condition, a small lash-separating comb may be employed by the user immediately after the mascara is applied. Such a comb may be provided and carried separately, or may be a disposable item included in the mascara package by the manufacturer, but in either event, it presents problems of storage and shielding, and is liable to become lost or misplaced, hence unavailable when needed.
In addition, owing to the necessarily very small size of the comb (proportioned to engage and separate eyelashes), the handle or other arrangement for manually holding and moving the comb must be such as to enable safe and successful performance of the delicate manipulations involved in its use.
Similar problems may be encountered, for instance, in the case of other cosmetics (or topically applicable therapeutic materials) as to which both a primary applicator and a secondary implement to assist in the application procedure are desirably provided.
An object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser for a material to be applied manually to a substrate utilizing a primary applicator and a secondary implement to assist in the application procedure, wherein both the primary applicator and the secondary implement are carried in a cap element of the dispenser and are available for use without detachment therefrom, while being enclosed and shielded at other times.
A further object is to provide such a dispenser wherein the secondary implement is readily retractable within and extensible from the cap by simple manual operations, and wherein the implement, when extended, is conveniently positioned for manipulation with the dispenser employed as the handle for the implement.
Yet another object is to provide such a dispenser for mascara, wherein the secondary implement is an eyelash-separating comb, the dispenser being of conventional shape and dimensions.
Additional objects of the invention are to provide a cap and applicator unit for such a dispenser, including a retractable and extensible implement, and to provide a mascara package including such a dispenser and a quantity of mascara contained therein.
To these and other ends, the present invention in a first aspect broadly contemplates the provision of a dispenser for a material to be applied manually to a substrate, comprising a container for the material, having an opening; a hollow cap having a distal end removably mountable on the opening and an open proximal end; an applicator for the material, carried by the cap and projecting from the distal end thereof for insertion into the opening; an implement receivable within the open proximal end of the cap and extendable therefrom in a proximal direction to assist in application of the material; a member extending distally from the implement lengthwise within the cap; the cap including a portion within which the implement and stem are moveable; the cap further including an element, manually movable relative to the last-mentioned cap portion, and pivotally connected to the member within the cap so as to move the member to displace the implement lengthwise of the cap between a retracted position within the proximal end of the cap and an extended position outside the cap, the member having an axis of pivotal motion; and a guide within the cap, engaging the member, the member having a guide-engaging portion so shaped and disposed, in relation to the guide and the axis of pivotal motion, that as the member is moved by the element to displace the implement from the retracted position to the extended position, the guide pivotally tilts the member to dispose the implement in offset relation to the cap.
In certain embodiments, the aforementioned cap portion and element are, respectively, proximally and distally disposed parts of a hollow cap shell interconnected for rotation relative to each other about a common long axis; the cap further includes a swivel having an internally threaded transverse bore and mounted within the hollow shell on the proximal end of the element for pivotal movement about an axis perpendicular to the common long axis; the stem is externally threaded and extends through the bore in threaded engagement therewith such that relative rotation of the swivel and stem causes lengthwise movement of the stem; and the cap portion defines a slot, through which the stem extends, dimensioned to prevent rotation of the stem about the common long axis relative to the aforementioned cap portion.
More particularly, in currently preferred embodiments of the invention, a dispenser for a material to be applied manually to a substrate comprises a container for the material, having an opening; a hollow cap having a distal end removably mountable on the opening and an open proximal end; an applicator for the material, carried by the cap and projecting from the distal end thereof for insertion into the opening; an implement receivable within the open proximal end of the cap and extendable therefrom in a proximal direction to assist in application of the material; a member extending distally from the implement lengthwise within the cap; a manually accessible and movable button on the exterior of the cap, pivotally connected to the member within the cap so as to move the member to displace the implement lengthwise of the cap between a retracted position within the proximal end of the cap and an extended position outside the cap, the member having an axis of pivotal motion; and a fixed guide within the cap, engaging the member, the member having a guide-engaging portion so shaped and disposed, in relation to the guide and the axis of pivotal motion, that as the member is moved by the button to displace the implement from the retracted position to the extended position, the guide pivotally tilts the member to dispose the implement in offset relation to the cap.
The terms xe2x80x9cdistalxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cproximalxe2x80x9d as used herein are defined by the convention that the applicator is at the distal end of the cap and the cap is at the proximal end of the applicator.
As a particular feature of the invention, in preferred embodiments thereof, the button is slidable lengthwise of the cap, the cap has a longitudinal slot, and the button is connected to the member through the slot. Conveniently the button and member are connected by structure including an element disposed in the slot, which has closed extremities engageable with the element to limit the movement of the button and member. Thus, the button may be connected by such an element to a yoke within the cap and the member may be pivotally mounted on the yoke.
Also conveniently or preferably, the member comprises a shaft having a central portion with opposed straight sides and terminating distally in a dogleg with opposed straight sides, the central portion and the dogleg forming an oblique angle with a vertex coincident with the axis of pivotal motion. In addition, the implement, which may be a comb, advantageously has an angular orientation relative to the member such that, when the implement is in offset relation to the cap as aforesaid, it is substantially parallel to the long axis of the cap. The implement may be formed integrally with the member, e.g. as a unitary rigid molded plastic component.
The container opening may be an externally threaded neck and, in such case, the distal portion of the cap comprises an internally threaded skirt engageable with the neck, the skirt laterally surrounding the applicator in spaced relation thereto.
In embodiments of the invention for use as dispensers for mascara, the applicator is an applicator for conveying mascara from the container to a user""s eyelashes, and the implement is a comb for separating eyelashes.
The invention in further aspects embraces a mascara package comprising a dispenser as described above and a body of mascara in the container; and a cap and applicator unit for such a dispenser, including the cap, applicator, implement, member, button and guide described above.
As embodied in a mascara package, the invention affords a dispenser configured in a manner that duplicates the normal consumer-accepted mascara package design, and (like conventional mascara dispensers) affords a mascara fluid reservoir and a means of application. The dispenser of the invention incorporates into the cap a lash separator comb that is normally enclosed and hidden. After the user has applied the mascara and replaced the cap, the comb can be extended by sliding a button on the side of the cap. The comb emerges and projects through the top or proximal end of the cap. At the end of the comb-extending stroke, the comb tilts so that it is clear of the relatively massive dispenser. This facilitates the delicate procedure of eyelash separation, using the dispenser itself as the handle for manipulating the comb. After use, the comb is retracted and stored within the cap, being thereby shielded. It cannot become lost or misplaced, because it is at all times connected to the cap.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description hereinafter set forth, together with the accompanying drawings.

Dispenser for cosmetic material or the like


An integrated circuit has a P-type substrate and an N-type LDMOS transistor. The LDMOS transistor includes a boron-doped diffused well (DWELL-B) and an arsenic-doped diffused well (DWELL-As) located within the DWELL-B. A first polysilicon gate having first sidewall spacers and a second polysilicon gate having second sidewall spacers are located over opposite edges of the DWELL-B. A source/IBG region includes a first source region adjacent the first polysilicon gate, a second source region adjacent the second polysilicon gate, and an integrated back-gate (IBG) region located between the first and second source regions. The first source region and the second source region each include a lighter-doped source sub-region, the IBG region including an IBG sub-region having P-type dopants, and the source/IBG region includes a heavier-doped source sub-region.

Laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) power transistors are used in applications such as switching DC-DC converters, where ruggedness is desirable to enable device survival during exceptional conditions, such as load transients, short-circuit currents, and negative current flow. At the same time, a low specific on-resistance (Rsp) must be maintained to minimize cost, because Rsp dictates die size at a given source/drain on-resistance (RDSon). For advanced low-Rsp LDMOS architectures, it frequently is difficult to maintain sufficient ruggedness, e.g. device survival during transient events in which the drain undergoes avalanche breakdown. For high-side LDMOS hard-switching turnoff, it is particularly important that the drain voltage Vd at failure be above the drain-source saturation breakdown voltage (BVdss).


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for creating and ordering customized branded merchandise over a computer network. A Internet site is provided that allows a consumer to create and order customized branded merchandise, such as bottles of soda. A customer may visit the WWW site utilizing a standard WWW browser executing on a computer. Once the customer has registered with the WWW site, the customer may place an order for an item of customized branded merchandise. The customer may also be asked to identify a graphic image for customizing the requested merchandise. The graphic image may be a digital photograph taken by the customer or other type of graphic image. Once the customer has identified a graphic image, the graphic image may be displayed for editing. The customer may be permitted to crop the graphic image or perform other types of image manipulations. A preview of the cropped or manipulated image may also be provided for the customer. Once the customer is satisfied with the graphic image, the graphic image may be transmitted to the WWW server. Once the customer has specified order details, the customer may be asked to provide a billing and shipping address. The customer may then be asked to identify a payment method, and provide a credit card or other billing number. The customer may then be provided with a summary of the order details and asked to verify that all of the information is correct. If the information is correct, the customized branded merchandise item ordered by the customer will be created and shipped to the customer at address they provided.

This invention generally relates to electronic commerce and, more specifically, to a method and apparatus for creating and ordering personalized branded merchandise over a computer network.
For some time, consumers have been able to purchase merchandise personalized to their own specific tastes. For instance, consumers of all ages have long enjoyed wearing T-shirts with their own personalized message printed on the front or back. However, buying customized goods like T-shirts has never been easy. Typically, a consumer wanting to purchase personalized merchandise would have to make a trip to the mall or store where such merchandise is sold. Once at the store, the consumer would have to wait in line for assistance, and then wait again while the merchandise was being created. Moreover, the consumer would only be able to view the final product after it had already been created. If the product did not look exactly the way the consumer wanted, many times the consumer would be forced to purchase the product anyway. For these reasons, purchasing customized products has not been a pleasant experience for consumers.
Another drawback for consumers wishing to purchase customized merchandise is that the types of goods that may be personalized have traditionally been very limited. For instance, consumers have long been able to purchase personalized T-shirts, but have been unable to purchase customized soda bottles, or other types of goods. Furthermore, consumers have never been able to purchase personalized goods that are branded with a manufacturers"" trademark. For instance, consumers have never been able to purchase a soda bottle exactly the way it would appear on a retailer""s shelf, and have it personalized to their specifications. Because of the brand awareness and goodwill that comes with many types of trade dress and trademarks, consumers are likely be interested in purchasing trademarked goods that can be customized to their specifications. However, there has never been a system available to consumers for purchasing such goods.
Therefore, in light of these problems, there is a need for a method and system for creating and ordering customized branded merchandise that allows a consumer to easily and conveniently purchase merchandise personalized to their own tastes. There is a further need for a method and system for creating and ordering customized merchandise that will allow a consumer to personalize a product with a graphic image and text supplied by the consumer, and to view a preview of the merchandise before it is manufactured. There is an additional need for a method and system for creating and ordering customized merchandise that allows the consumer to purchase merchandise branded with a manufacturer""s trademark, and also personalized with a graphic image and text provided by the consumer.
The present invention solves the above described problems by providing a method and apparatus for creating and ordering customized branded merchandise over a computer network. According to one actual embodiment of the invention, a World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cWWWxe2x80x9d) site is provided that allows a consumer to create and order customized branded merchandise, such as bottles of soda. Advantageously, the WWW site may allow the consumer to upload pictures, text, or other information for inclusion on the requested merchandise. Moreover, once the consumer has specified how the customized merchandise should appear, the WWW site can automate the production of the merchandise and the shipping of the merchandise to the customer.
Generally described, the present invention provides a WWW site for creating and ordering customized branded merchandise. According to an aspect of the invention, a customer may visit the WWW site utilizing a standard WWW browser executing on a computer. Once at the WWW site, the customer may register with the WWW site by providing their name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and other identifying information. A new account may then be created for the customer that the customer may access later by using an assigned password.
Once the customer has registered with the WWW site, the customer may place an order for an item of customized branded merchandise. The customer may be asked to provide a short description of the order for later identification. The customer may also be asked to identify a graphic image for customizing the requested merchandise. The graphic image may be a digital photograph provided by the customer or other type of graphic image. Once the customer has identified a graphic image, the graphic image may be displayed for editing. The customer may be permitted to crop the graphic image or perform other types of image manipulations. A preview of the cropped or manipulated image may also be provided for the customer. Once the customer is satisfied with the graphic image, the graphic image, or information describing any changes made to the image made by the user, may be transmitted to the WWW server.
The customer may also be asked to provide a photo credit for the graphic image. Additionally, the customer may also be asked to provide a text message to be included on the personalized merchandise item. Once this information has been received from the customer, a visual preview of the customized branded merchandise item requested by the customer may be provided. If the customer approves the item, the customer may be asked to provide additional order details, such as quantity, color, and the like.
Once the customer has specified the order details, the customer may be asked to provide a billing and shipping address. The customer may then be asked to identify a payment method, and provide a credit card or other billing number. The customer may then be provided with a summary of the order details and asked to verify that all of the information is correct. If the information is correct, the customized branded merchandise item ordered by the customer will be created and shipped to the customer at the provided address.
According to an actual embodiment of the invention, the customer may request to purchase customized bottles of soda branded with a manufacturer""s trademark from the WWW site. The bottle labels may be customized with the graphic image, text message, and photo credit provided by the customer. Other information provided by the customer may also be included on the bottle labels. Moreover, a trademark, like xe2x80x9cJONES SODA CO.xe2x80x9d, may also be included on the bottle labels. The customer may be able to specify the quantity, flavor, and other product information prior to ordering at the WWW site. Once the labels have been created, the bottles are labeled with the customized branded labels, the customer""s credit card is charged, and the product is shipped to the customer.
In accordance with yet other aspects of the invention, a system, a computer-controlled apparatus, and a computer-readable medium containing instructions are also provided for creating and ordering customized branded merchandise over a computer network.

Method and apparatus for creating and ordering customized branded merchandise over a computer network


Systems and methods are provided for charging a USB device. A USB connector may be used to couple the system to a USB port on the USB device, the USB connector including a bus voltage (Vbus) connector, a positive data (D+) connector, and a negative data (D−) connector. Charger circuitry may be used to receive a source voltage and convert the source voltage into the bus voltage (Vbus), wherein the bus voltage (Vbus) is used to charge the USB device. Presence detect circuitry may be used to compare a first voltage present on the D+ connector with a second voltage present on the D− connector in order to detect when the USB connector is coupled to the USB port of the USB device.

Providing an external source of power to a mobile device, such as a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), wireless two-way messaging device, cellular phone, and others, requires design considerations with respect to both the mobile device and the power source. Most mobile devices provide a distinct power interface for receiving power from a power source, for instance to recharge a battery, and a separate data interface for communicating. For example, many mobile devices use USB (Universal Serial Bus) interfaces for communicating and use a separate power interface, such as a barrel connector, for receiving power.

Systems and methods for charging a chargeable USB device


A method includes, in a processor, receiving signals from (i) a first position sensor disposed on a shaft of a catheter, and (ii) a second position sensor disposed on a distal end of a sheath of the catheter. Based on the signals received from the first position sensor and the second position sensor, an event is detected in which an expandable distal-end assembly of the catheter is being withdrawn into the sheath while still at least partially expanded. A responsive action is initiated in response to detecting the event.

Techniques for tracking a position and/or shape of intrabody probes, such as catheters, were previously proposed in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0303886 describes an apparatus, including a sheath configured to be inserted into a human patient, the sheath including a lumen and a sheath distal end. The apparatus further includes a probe, having a probe distal end which is configured to be inserted through the lumen into the human patient. A magnetic transducer is fixedly attached to the sheath distal end and is transmitting a magnetic field which a sensor disposed on the distal end of a probe is picking up, allowing for a relative distance measurement between the distal ends of the probe and the sheath.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,748,255 describes a basket catheter comprising a basket assembly that has proximal and distal ends, and electrodes mounted on a plurality of spines connected at their proximal and distal ends. The catheter further comprises a distal location sensor mounted at or near the distal end of the basket-assembly and a proximal location sensor mounted at or near the proximal end of the basket assembly. In use, the coordinates of the distal location sensor relative to those of the proximal sensor can be determined and taken together with known information pertaining to the curvature of the spines of the basket assembly to find the positions of at least one electrode in each spine.

Verifying proper withdrawal of catheter into sheath


According to one embodiment, an electrode includes a current collector and an active material layer. The active material layer is disposed on at least one of faces of the current collector. The active material layer comprises active materials which include at least a cobalt-containing oxide and a lithium nickel manganese oxide. A ratio of a weight of the cobalt-containing oxide to a total of weights of the cobalt-containing oxide and the lithium nickel manganese oxide is 5 wt % or more and 40 wt % or less.

Non-aqueous electrolyte batteries including a lithium metal, a lithium alloy, a lithium compound, or a carbonaceous material as a negative electrode show promise as high energy density batteries, and are actively researched and developed. The following lithium ion batteries have been widely used so far: those that include a positive electrode containing LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 or LiFePO4 as an active material, and a negative electrode containing a carbonaceous material that absorbs and desorbs lithium. Furthermore, with regard to the negative electrode, metal oxides or alloys have been studied as substitutes of the carbonaceous material.
High-energy and high-output large batteries for stationary machine and automobiles are required to have excellence in cycle performance, thermal stability, and discharge rate performance under high-temperature environments, and it is required to achieve a cell to which all these performances are imparted. Lithium nickel manganese oxide (LNMO) positive electrodes such as a LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4-containing positive electrode have a problem that those electrodes generate gas due to charge and discharge. To prevent gas generation, for example, solids or gel electrolytes have been proposed. However, there is a problem that these electrolytes have a lower Li conductivity than liquids and causes deterioration in input/output characteristics.

Electrode, non-aqueous electrolyte battery, battery pack, and vehicle


A kit of notepads, comprising a first notepad having a plurality of individual repositionable sheets releasably adhered to one another to form a stack, a front portion and a rear portion, and a cleaning textile attached to the rear portion of the notepad; a second notepad having a plurality of individual repositionable sheets releasably adhered to one another to form a stack, a front portion and a rear portion, a top edge and a bottom edge, and a sheet of flexible adhesive material attached to the rear portion of the notepad, wherein the sheet of flexible adhesive material overhangs the top edge of the notepad; and a third notepad having a plurality of individual repositionable sheets releasably adhered to one another to form a stack, and a top edge and a bottom edge, wherein the corners of the top edge have been removed.

The disclosed inventive subject matter relates in general to paper products used in home and office environments, and more specifically to a series of repositionable note pads having enhanced features, wherein the enhanced repositionable note pads are provided as individual products or in combination kits.
Repositionable notes, often referred to by the commercial name POST-IT© Note or the more generic term "sticky note" are small sheets of paper provided in short stacks or pads, wherein each sheet of paper in the pad includes a re-adherable strip of glue or adhesive deposited on the rear side or portion thereof. The re-adherable strip of adhesive allows each sheet to be temporarily attached to documents and other substrates and then removed without damaging the surface to which the sheet was attached. A low-tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows such paper sheets to be easily attached, removed and even re-posted elsewhere without leaving a residue or mark. Originally provided as small yellow squares, POST-IT® Notes and related products are now available in various colors, shapes, sizes, and adhesive strengths and have become extremely common for home and office use.
Despite their popularity and widespread use, repositionable notes do suffer from certain limitations primarily due to the moderate to low tackiness or overall poor quality of the adhesive used on such products. While the temporary nature of the attachment formed by this adhesive is an important and desirable aspect of the product, many times the attachment proves to actually be too temporary, thereby resulting in notes that prematurely fall off of the surfaces to which they have been attached. Because reformulation of the adhesives used on these products would be cost prohibitive or otherwise undesirable, there is an ongoing need for methods by which to improve the performance of such products without changing their fundamental characteristics.

Repositionable note pads having enhanced features


A method for cooling a heat-generating device, comprising setting a reference surface temperature of the heat-generating device, measuring a temperature of a surface of the heat-generating device, measuring a temperature gradient based on temperature measurements of two or more different locations on the heat-generating device, implementing a closed-loop control based on the reference surface temperature, the measured surface temperature, and the measured temperature gradient of the heat-generating device to compute a rate of application of a cooling material to the surface of the heat-generating device, and providing a command to apply the cooling material to the surface of the heat-generating device at the calculated rate to cool the heat-generating device.

With the advent of semiconductor devices having increasingly large component densities, the removal of heat generated by the devices has become an increasingly challenging technical issue. In the past, the low power dissipation of most chips accommodated the use of low cost, air-cooled or and liquid-convection heat sinks. However, many modern higher power-dissipation semiconductor chips now require substantially greater heat dissipation than heat sinks can reasonably provide.
A number of cooling methods currently exist that can provide high heat transfer rates that are desirable for cooling the higher-dissipation devices. Some of the more efficient cooling methods are the direct-fluid cooling methods, such as micro-channel cooling, spray-cooling, and jet impingement cooling, wherein a cooling fluid is introduced directly on the device to cool off the device. A direct-fluid method typically involves multi-phase cooling, because it involves a transformation of an amount of the applying cooling fluid from a liquid phase to a vapor/gas phase once it absorbs the heat generated from the applied device.
Thermal management of heat-generating devices involves a stable balance between the heat flux in such devices and the heat dissipated by the cooling mechanism, such as cooling fluid. Although multi-phase cooling provides high heat transfer rates, they are unstable at such high rates. That is because such high heat dissipation rates cannot be sustained for long periods of time due to an onset of unstable equilibrium. This is especially true for direct-phase cooling, such as direct-fluid cooling wherein the phase-changing fluid is applied directly to the surface of heat-generating devices and thus highly dependent on surface conditions of such devices. Thus, such a cooling method is forced to operate at lower performance to provide stability.
Accordingly, it is beneficial to have the ability to properly manage a direct-phase cooling method, such as a direct-fluid cooling method, for high heat dissipation in a heat-generating device so as to provide optimum performance and surface thermal conditions for such a device.

System and method for cooling a heat-generating device

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An image forming apparatus includes a scanner for scanning a plurality of document so that n images corresponding to the documents are obtained, n being an integer greater than 2, an image generating means for successively generating m number images different from each other, m being an integer greater than 2, an image composition circuit for combining an i-th image (i=1, 2 , . . . , and n) obtained by the scanner and a j-th number image (j=1, 2 , . . . , and m) with each other so as to output a composite image I.sub.ij, a printing mechanism for printing the composite image I.sub.ij on a recording sheet, and an output unit for outputting the recording sheet having the composite image I.sub.ij formed thereon.

(1) Field of the invention
The present invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus such as a digital copy machine, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a composite image obtained by composition of a plurality of images can be automatically formed.
(2) Description of related art
Conventionally, handling of confidential documents is an important matter for companies and public organization. Documents required for conventions are often copied in plural times and the copied papers are brought out. Thus, to keep a secret, serial numbers are previously provided on respective documents, and copies of the documents are distributed to persons participating in a convention. Then, relationships between persons to which the copies of the documents are distributed and serial numbers provided on the documents are recorded. Conventionally, an equipment for numbering documents when copying and an equipment for superposing a pattern (a serial number) on each of the documents when copying have been proposed.
However, when a document is copied in plural times with using the above equipments, a plurality of copied papers corresponding to the document have the same serial number. That is, numbers recorded on the copied papers corresponding to the document can not be changed one by one. Thus, in a case where the numbers recorded on the copied papers corresponding to one document are changed one by one, an operator must input to the equipment an instruction for changing the serial number to be recorded on each copied paper every copy operation of the document.
In addition, when the large number of documents are copied in plural times, a sorter unit is used to effectively perform the copy operations. To reduce the number of copied papers, a duplex copy in which images are formed on two sides of each of copied papers is performed. In these cases, also it is desired that serial numbers be effectively recorded on each copied paper.

Image forming apparatus having function for forming composite image