An indirect linear luminaire that produces a batwing photometric distribution. The luminaire includes a rectangular housing having a substantially rectangular chamber defined by two opposed bifold wings and a bi-concave door extending therebetween. A linear light engine emits light upwards towards the bi-concave door and bifold wings and the light is reflected off of the bifold wings and bi-concave door in a batwing distribution.

LEDs have become common in many lighting applications. For example, linear LED light engines are employed in luminaires for store display lighting. An issue with such linear LED luminaires is directing the emitted light in such a way to gain the best light distribution for the purpose of illuminating the items being displayed or the store in general.
LED luminaires typically emit light in a diffuse or lambertian light intensity distribution pattern such that the luminance is the same when viewed from any angle. The projection of a lambertian distribution onto a flat surface results in areas of high illuminance directly under the source and areas of lower illuminance away from the source. Thus, luminaires with lambertian distributions are suboptimal in many applications.
A batwing distribution provides increased uniformity when projected onto a plane due to the increased amount of light directed off the primary optical axis. It would be advantageous to have linear LED luminaires that achieve batwing distribution and are useful for lighting store displays.
Controlling the light output and providing batwing distribution is possible by using special refractive lenses for direct lighting systems. This will not work for non-white LEDs however because different colors will appear from the fixture. Another way to control the light distribution is using a metallic reflector, but this creates an image of the light source on the reflector and can cause glare and be objectionable to the customer. The above-described shortcomings significantly limit the usefulness of linear LED luminaires.

Luminaires having batwing photometric distribution


NMR probe coils designed to operate at two different frequencies, producing a strong and homogenous magnetic field at both the frequencies. This single coil, placed close to the sample, provides a method to optimize the NMR detection sensitivity of two different channels. In addition, the present invention describes a coil that generates a magnetic field that is parallel to the substrate of the coil as opposed to perpendicular as seen in the prior art. The present invention isolates coils from each other even when placed in close proximity to each other. A method to reduce the presence of electric field within the sample region is also considered. Further, the invention describes a method to adjust the radio-frequency tuning and coupling of the NMR probe coils.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). More specifically, it relates to radiofrequency (RF) transmit-receive coils.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Nearly 50% of all the prescription drugs that are in use today were derived from naturally occurring chemicals, also called natural products. In order to identify natural products, they must be fully characterized using spectroscopy techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). NMR is unique in its ability to provide precise information about molecular structure and dynamics. Though NMR is quite powerful, its low sensitivity, however, is a major bottleneck in natural product discovery.
To gain maximum sensitivity, NMR spectrometers are designed to operate at high magnetic field strengths, and consequently the spectrum of NMR signals is in the radio frequency range. The transmit/receive coils are the probe coils that stimulate the nuclei and detect the NMR response from the sample. The sensitivity of the probe coils is primarily dependent on two factors the quality factor (Q-factor) of the coil and the filling factor of the coil. The Q-factor can be improved by constructing the coil out of low loss/resistance materials, such as high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials (Brey, W. W., Edison, A. S., Nast, R. E., Rocca, J. R., Saha, S., and Withers, R. S. (2006) Design, construction, and validation of a 1-mm triple-resonance high-temperature-superconducting probe for NMR, J Magn Reson 179, 290-293; Brey, W. W., Edison, A. S., Hooker, J., Nast, R. E., Ramaswamy, V., and Withers, R. S. (2012) Design, construction and validation of a High-Temperature-Superconducting 13 C optimized 1.5-mm cryogenically cooled NMR probe for natural products and metabolomics, In The 53rd Experimental NMR Conference, Miami, Fla.).
The filling factor can be improved by placing the coil very close to the sample. In multi-channel NMR probes, therefore, the sensitivity of each channel decreases as the distance between coils and the sample increases. Thus, the sensitivity of the probes can be optimized at an inefficient rate of only one channel at a time, namely, the coil placed closest to the sample. Furthermore, another drawback of the probes and methodology of the prior art is that the placement of coils in very close proximity to each other causes undesirable interaction between them.
Another factor affecting sensitivity, aside from materials used (e.g., HTS) and proximity to the sample, is the size of the coil size. Smaller coil sizes tend to lead to more insensitive coils.
An NMR probe coil provides the radiofrequency (RF) magnetic field to the sample, thereby stimulating the nuclear spins, and detects the response of the nuclear spins. When RF current flows through the windings of the NMR probe coil, an RF magnetic field is produced perpendicular to the direction of the current. An RF transmit current forced into the coil produces an RF magnetic field in the sample region, which excites the nuclear spins. Conversely, the RF magnetic field caused by the precession motion of the nuclear spins induces an RF current in the coil windings. In the transmit mode, the strength of the magnetic field decays away with an increase in the distance from the coil, as determined by the Biot-Savart law. By reciprocity, in the receive mode, the strength of the induced current in the coil decays as the distance between sample and coil increases. Under these conditions, it is desirable to design the NMR probe coils to be placed as close as possible to the sample for purposes of optimizing sensitivity.
Another important factor affecting the performance of the RF probe coils is the Q-factor of the coil. The Q-factor can be improved by lowering the resistance and thus the loss in the material of the coil. This may be achieved by either lowering the temperature of the normal metal coils, or by using superconducting material. NMR probe coils are commonly fashioned out of HTS materials. This is achieved by patterning the HTS on planar dielectric substrates. However, such planar coils offer significant constraints to placing the coils very close to the sample.
For NMR excitation and detection of multiple channels, conventional RF probes utilize one (1) pair of coils for each channel. The pair of coils that is placed closest to the sample performs at its optimum to achieve excellent sensitivity. Each additional channel requires a pair of coils nested outside all the other channels. As channels are added, each additional pair of coils must be placed farther away from the sample, providing lower and lower sensitivity. An NMR field frequency lock channel typically used for analytical NMR requires its own coil pair in addition to the others. A typical "triple resonance" NMR probe of the type commonly used for biomolecular structure experiments requires a total of four (4) nested pairs of coils, and of these, only the inner pair is optimized for sensitivity since it is closest to the sample.
The prior art has attempted to improve upon NMR RF probe coils. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,908 relates to a surface coil for NMR spectroscopy of humans which utilizes a circular coil and a figure-8 or butterfly coil that is produces a magnetic field substantially perpendicular to the circular coil. The '908 patent applies to a surface coil rather than a volume coil, applies to human rather than analytical NMR spectroscopy, is fabricated from freestanding metal rather than deposited on a dielectric substrate, and relies on discrete rather than distributed and integrated capacitive elements to tune to the NMR frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,765 describes a surface coil for MRI of human which utilizes coplanar coils of different shapes to generate orthogonal magnetic fields. The coils are intended for quadrature MRI applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,778 discloses a self-resonant structure known as a "racetrack" which incorporates interdigital capacitors into the NMR coil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,342 describes dividing the current carrying elements into thin strips to avoid distortion of the NMR polarizing field.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,392 describes to a number of configurations of parallel superconductive coils to minimize interaction between coils. Simple rectangular coils are partly overlapped or otherwise disposed to null their mutual inductance. A parallel LC trap can be incorporated into the rectangular coil to reduce interaction with other coils at a single frequency. However, this prior art does not teach orthogonal magnetic fields as a means to null the mutual inductance between the coils. Rather, it teaches parallel magnetic fields over the sample region. Parallel magnetic fields have several drawbacks, however. For example, coil independence can be achieved only by requiring adjustment of overlap of coils on a single substrate and/or adjustment of the spacing of coils on independent substrates. Further, the '392 patent does not teach the use of fixed coupling loops which utilize variable capacitors to adjust tuning and matching.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,397,246 relates to methods for combining superconductive and low-Q coils such that the low-Q coils do not spoil the Q of the superconductive coils. The methods involve crossovers in the low-Q coils to reduce capacitive coupling to the superconductive coils.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,446,534 discloses a method to suppress the electric field of the NMR coil fringing into the sample.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,089,281 relates to doubly resonant surface coils with the magnetic fields substantially orthogonal to each other.
However, the foregoing prior art suffers from the one or more of the following disadvantages, despite the increased sensitivity seen in probes formed of HTS materials. Conventional probe coils have been unable to replace the industry standard 5-mm triple resonance probe used in laboratories. Probes that are newly developed tend to be niche probes that are capable of use in very specific applications. Additionally, there are moving elements with HTS probes that are not used in probes based on metal wires. These moveable wire loops adversely affect static magnetic field homogeneity, which makes initial adjustment difficult and reduces the resolution that can be obtained. The loops also can fail and are difficult to repair. Further, patterning multiple coils close to each other causes interference that can affect the reproducibility of results.
In a conventional NMR probe, metal wire or foil loops surrounding the sample convert a tiny RF magnetic field from the sample into electrical signals which are detected by the spectrometer. The conversion is not an efficient process because of the resistance of the metal. In an HTS probe, self-resonant coils are formed of thin-film oxide superconductors, such as yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO), instead of metal. This is used as NMR detection coils because of their extremely high quality factors and nearly loss-free qualities in the NMR frequency range. The film is available as a coating on polished sapphire wafers. Electrical energy is coupled into and out of these coils by means of inductive coupling to a wire loop at the end of a coaxial transmission line. Mechanical adjustment of the position of the wire loop is used to adjust the coupling to match the coil impedance to the characteristic impedance of the transmission line. A related adjustment of radio frequency properties is known as tuning. Tuning refers to a shift in resonant frequency of the NMR coil. In HTS, this shift is accomplished by moving a shorted wire loop so that it intercepts a variable amount of flux from the NMR coil.
The moving loop approach for tuning and matching has some important disadvantages. Most importantly, moving a loop and coaxial cable close to the NMR sample tends to change the uniformity of the polarizing magnetic field. In NMR, chemical resolution is typically limited by the uniformity of the polarizing field. Great effort is made to adjust this uniformity in a process called "shimming." Even if the loop is made from high quality susceptibility-compensated wire, the effect is noticeable. It is, therefore, not possible to adjust the RF coupling (known as matching) or the tuning without affecting the resolution, requiring a time-consuming step of re-shimming the magnet.
Another drawback of moving loops is basic to the use of moving parts in almost any device. Moving parts tend to be less reliable than other approaches, as there is higher chance of inefficiencies and failure.
Additionally, the number of nested pairs required for a triple resonance NMR probe places a limit on the sample diameter that can practically be accommodated. To achieve reasonable sensitivity and field homogeneity, each coil pair must be at least as wide as the gap between the coils. Within a "standard bore" NMR magnet, shim and pulsed field gradient coil, there is not enough room to nest more than about three (3) channels around a standard 5-mm diameter sample tube. There is very little space available in NMR probes, and the need for independent loops for the two functions makes the design, construction, adjustment and repair of HTS NMR probes significantly more difficult and time consuming. There is insufficient space to accommodate the coils required for a triple resonance probe that requires four (4) channels and four (4) nested pairs.
Accordingly, what is needed is an NMR probe that has multiple RF coils in close proximity with each other and with the sample, while producing a strong and homogenous magnetic field at both frequencies that reduces electric fields within the sample region and while also minimizing the interaction between the RF coils. With HTS materials, fewer superconducting materials should be needed, thus allowing for a larger, standard-sized sample, while eliminating moving parts, in turn improving reliability and reproducibility of results. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the shortcomings of the prior art could be overcome.
All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

NMR RF probe coil exhibiting double resonance

The Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc

University of Florida Research Foundation, Incorporated


A grille assembly including a hopper-like barrel connector having a smaller rear connecting tube fastened around the barrel of a hair dryer and a bigger front rounded shell, a grille covered on the front opening of the rounded shell, the grille having a center shaft disposed inside the rounded shell, and a rotary vane mounted on the center shaft of the grille, whereby the rotary vane is rotated to induce outside air into the rounded shell through through holes thereon for mixing with the current of hot air being produced by the hair drier.

The present invention relates to a grille assembly for mounting on the barrel of a hair drier to broaden the output port of the hair drier.
The output terminal of a hair drier is generally made in the shape of a barrel for guiding the output current of air. Because the barrel is narrow, the output current of air is strong and greatly concentrated, therefore high noises will be produced during the operation of a hair drier. Because the current of air is highly concentrated, a relatively longer time is needed to dry the hairs. Furthermore, the hairs may be damaged easily when dried by a highly concentrated current of hot air.

5/F., No. 2, Lane 81, Sec. 2, Min-Chuan St.


A gated looper apparatus has an array of individually mounted pressurizable air cylinders with piston rods acting against biased slider bars in communication with looper gates. Baising elements are mounted external of pneumatic cylinders about slider bars with protective ferules to provide greater responsiveness and ease of maintenance.

In the field of tufting, there have been a variety of efforts made to enable both cut pile and loop pile tufts or bights of yarn to be placed in the same row of stitches. In some instances, the structures utilized for this purpose did not allow effective control of the height of stitches and, for instance, the cut pile stitches might always be of greater height than the loop pile stitches. The use of pivoting gate structures on the loopers was proposed in Jolley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,347 and Crumbliss, U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,317.
Later sliding gate structures were proposed as typified by Bennett, U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,187. When properly implemented, sliding gate structures may provide rapid response and avoid moving the entire pneumatic activation assembly with the loopers. However, Bennett taught the use of internal biasing elements in pneumatic cylinders and the use of blocks of cylinders to improve efficiencies in assembly. In practice, the use of internal biasing elements limits the size and corresponding force that the biasing elements may provide. In turn, this limits the speed with which the gate can return to the open position after pressure to its corresponding pneumatic cylinder is stopped. Furthermore, the internal biasing elements are not visible to inspection and if rust beings to form due to moisture in the cylinder, for instance, there will be no way to detect the problem until performance degrades to the point where defective carpet patterns are produced, with resulting waste carpet and the need to replace an entire cylinder block rather than merely a spring or biasing element.
Finally, it is desirable to assemble the pneumatic cylinders used to operate the gates in a tight array to permit their use with fine gauge tufting machines. Constructing the cylinders in arrays of removable cylinders stacked four high in nearly vertical columns and designing corresponding gate structures permits this density to be achieved.

Gate apparatus for tufting loop and cut pile stitches


A method of at least partially filling an opening in a workpiece made of metal, the opening being at least partially defined by one or more opening walls having one or more opening wall surfaces. The method includes providing an insert bondable with the workpiece, the insert having one or more insert engagement surfaces formed for engagement with the opening wall surface. The opening wall surface and the insert engagement surface are heated to a hot working temperature. The insert is subjected to an engagement motion, to move the insert engagement surface relative to the opening wall surface. While the insert is subjected to the engagement motion, the insert is also subjected to a translocation motion to move the insert at least partially into the opening, for engaging the insert engagement surface with the opening wall surface, for at least partially creating a metallic bond between the insert and the workpiece.

In the prior art, a tube or pipe 10 of the prior art may be formed so that it includes a longitudinal opening 12 along its length (FIGS. 1A, 1B). The tube or pipe 10 may be formed by bending a relatively thick piece of steel, leaving the opening 12 along its length. The known methods for filling the opening typically result in a "heat-affected zone" (not shown) along the edges of the longitudinal opening 12 (FIGS. 1A, 1B). As is known, the heat-affected zone is an undesirable consequence, as the heat-affected zone is a generally weakened part of the tube.
In FIG. 1C, a partially cut-away view of a damaged tube or pipe 10′ of the prior art is illustrated. (As will be described, embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the balance of the attached drawings.) The tube or workpiece may be subjected to various types of damage. In the example illustrated, a girth crack or opening "C1" (i.e., at least partially radial) and an elongate generally axial crack or opening "C2" (i.e., at least partially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube 10′) have been formed in the tube 10′. However, the known methods of filling these cracks or openings would have the disadvantage that heat-affected zones would be created in the tube 10′, which would weaken the tube 10′.
Solid state welding, in which one of two heated metal tubes is rotated when the tubes are engaged to weld the tubes together end-to-end, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,642. Among its benefits, solid state welding may achieve a weld without creating heat-affected zones in the tubes that are joined together using this technique. The ends of the tubes form a metallic bond, with a relatively uniform crystalline structure. However, solid state welding requires the application of substantial heat and force, and has not been utilized in repairing or otherwise modifying metal workpieces having a variety of configurations.

Method and system for modifying metal objects


There is provided a vertical heat treatment apparatus for forming a film by supplying a precursor gas to a plurality of substrates that are held in a substantially horizontal posture on a substrate holder with a predetermined interval in a vertical direction. The apparatus includes a processing container including an inner tube accommodating the substrate holder and an outer tube that is disposed outside the inner tube; and a gas nozzle that extends vertically along an inner peripheral surface of the inner tube and has a distal end that penetrates from an inside of the inner tube to an outside of the inner tube. A first gas hole for supplying the precursor gas to the inside of the inner tube and a second gas hole for supplying the precursor gas to the outside of the inner tube are formed on the gas nozzle.

In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, various processing apparatuses are used for processing substrates. As one of the processing apparatuses, a batch type vertical heat treatment apparatus capable of heat-treating a plurality of substrates at a time is known. In the vertical heat treatment apparatus, for example, a film is formed on the surface of a substrate by supplying a precursor gas toward the substrate in a horizontal direction from a gas nozzle that extends vertically along the inner peripheral surface of a processing container accommodating the substrate.
In the vertical heat treatment apparatus, when the temperature of the heat treatment is higher than the thermal decomposition temperature of the precursor gas, the precursor gas may be thermally decomposed in the gas nozzle and decomposed matter may be adhered to the inner wall of the gas nozzle. When the amount of decomposed matter adhered to the inner wall of the gas nozzle increases, the decomposed matter is peeled off from the inner wall of the gas nozzle during the heat treatment, which causes particles.
As an apparatus for reducing the amount of decomposed matter adhered to the inner wall of the gas nozzle, an apparatus including a gas nozzle, in which the opening area of a gas hole in a region facing a dummy substrate region is set to be larger than the opening area of a gas hole in a region corresponding to a product substrate region, is known.
However, in the above-described apparatus, since the opening area of the gas hole in the region corresponding to the product substrate region is different from the opening area of the gas hole in the region corresponding to the dummy substrate region, the flow of the precursor gas in the product substrate region that is close to the dummy substrate region is likely to be biased, which may result in poor inter-plane uniformity.


Multiple cochannel AM signals received in an overloaded signal environment may be separated using RF data through a method of iterative projections.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to radio frequency (RF) signal reception, and more particularly to reception and separation of cochannel amplitude modulated (AM) signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cochannel signal interference occurs when two or more signals are transmitted at the same time over the same frequency range. For example, cochannel signal interference may be encountered by a receiver that is receiving two or more signals transmitted at the same frequency and at the same time by two or more separate transmitters. In such a case, data (e.g., voice data, text data, etc.) contained in any one of the interfering cochannel signals cannot be accessed or processed further without first separating the given signal from the other signals to allow demodulation or other further signal processing.
In the past, beamforming and interference cancellation techniques such as spatial interference cancellation have been employed for purposes of cochannel signal separation. These techniques employ multiple sensors to separate a given signal of interest by canceling or nulling out other cochannel signals from the signal of interest. However, such approaches require spatial separation of sources in addition to expensive coherent multi-channel tuners having a number of channels corresponding to a number of sensors that is equal to or greater than the number of cochannel signals. When the number of signals exceeds the number of sensors, the signal environment may be characterized as overloaded. Performance of traditional beamforming and interference cancellation techniques typically fails or degrades in such an overloaded signal environment.

Separation of AM cochannel signals in an overloaded signal environment


Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a system for improved signal processing within a remote sensor system. The system includes a detection component and a classification component. The detection component is adapted to detect an event. The classification component is adapted to classify the event based at least in part on a situation. Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a method for improved signal processing within a remote sensor system. The system includes determining a situation, detecting an event, and classifying the event based at least in part on a situation.

The present invention generally relates to remote sensor systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for improved data communications and/or improved signal processing within remote sensor systems.
Throughout the world, military and homeland security forces face an increasing need to provide safety and security to troops and high value assets. Remote sensor systems are ideal for surveillance and monitoring of high-value assets, such as troop encampments, airfields, base installations, supply routes, and depots. In larger networks, remote sensor systems are used to monitor and protect national borders, regional boundaries, and assets in homeland defense and peacekeeping operations.
Remote sensor systems typically include a network of easily deployed, remotely located sensors that detect the movement of personnel and vehicles. These sensors are typically remote, battery-operated devices that provide commanders with critical surveillance data on a 24-hour basis.
Existing remote sensor systems include several disadvantages. For example, existing remote sensor systems typically flood the network with raw data to be later interpreted at a control station. Additionally, these systems generate a large number of false alarms due to uneventful detections, such as animal movement near the sensors. As another example, existing remote sensor systems are typically designed for a specific application, yet lack sufficient battery life to last the entire mission.
Thus, there is a need for systems and methods for improved data communications and/or improved signal processing within remote sensor systems.

Systems and methods for situational feature set selection for target classification


A seat occupancy determination apparatus includes a seat belt attachment detection portion, a first and a second load detection sensors, a front-rear load sum computing portion, a front-rear load difference computing portion, a memory portion, an adult possibility determination portion, and a child safety seat determination portion determining a vehicle seat determined as possibly occupied by an adult is occupied by a child safety seat in a case where a first predetermined amount increase condition satisfies by a front-rear load difference value within a time range between a time of engagement and a first time point increases by a first predetermined amount or more from the value at the first time point or earlier and a second predetermined amount decrease condition satisfies by the front-rear load difference value decreases by a second predetermined amount or more within a time range between the time of engagement and a second time point.

In recent years, in order to improve performance of various safety devices, for example, of a seat belt and an airbag provided on a vehicle, operations of such safety devices may be controlled in accordance with a weight of an occupant seated on a seat of the vehicle. For example, in a case where the occupant seated on the seat does not wear the seat belt, a warning is generally displayed for indicating that the seat belt is not fastened after the seating of the occupant is detected. In addition, according to regulations in the North America, an airbag is required to be deployed at a vehicle crash in a state where an adult is seated on a passenger seat. In a case where a child safety seat is installed on the passenger seat to face the back of the vehicle so that an infant or a child faces a driver of the vehicle, an airbag deployment is restricted because an impact of the air bag deployment has an adverse effect on the infant or the child. An adult occupant is determined with reference to a weight of a small body size adult female. A separate reference is defined for determining an infant or a child. Accordingly, correctly and appropriately determining the weight of the occupant is extremely important for a safety aspect.
JPH09-207638A, hereinafter referred to as Reference 1, discloses an occupancy detection apparatus that determines whether or not an occupant is seated on a seat by detecting a load applied on the seat. The occupancy detection apparatus is provided with two load sensors at a multiple number of seat attachment portions for obtaining a load sum value of the two load sensors to determine whether or not an occupant is seated on the seat. Normally, four seat attachment portions are provided, however, the occupancy detection apparatus disclosed in Reference 1 requires minimum two locations of the seat attachment portions so that an occupancy detection apparatus having a simple configuration as a whole and advantageous in reducing cost may be provided.
JP3991740B, hereinafter referred to as Reference 2, discloses an occupancy detection apparatus for determining whether an occupant seated on a seat is an adult or a child. The occupancy detection apparatus disclosed in Reference 2 includes first load sensors and second load sensors for detecting a load applied on the seat at a portion of the seat near a buckle of a seat belt device and a portion of the seat in the opposite direction to where the buckle is provided. The occupancy detection apparatus also includes a detection means for detecting that a tongue plate is inserted into the buckle and a determination means that determines the occupant as an adult in a case where a total load calculated from values detected by the first load sensors and the second load sensors equals to or more than a predetermined threshold value. In addition, the determination means determines that the occupant is an infant or a child even on a condition where the total load equals to or more than the threshold value in a case where a history of a difference between the values detected by the first load sensors and the second load sensors indicates an increase to a value more than a predetermined value and furthermore a detected value by the first load sensors indicates an increase within a time range around a time point where the tongue plate has inserted. Accordingly, the occupancy detection apparatus disclosed in Reference 2 may prevent a false determination of the occupant as an adult in a case where the occupant seated on the seat is actually an infant or a child having a weight slightly lower than the threshold value and the seat belt of the infant or the child is fastened by a different passenger. Note that, according to Reference 2, two first load sensors and two second load sensors are provided on the four seat attachment portions in order to detect the total load.
The occupancy detection apparatus disclosed in Reference 1 is provided with a minimum number of load sensors in order to reduce cost and weight of the apparatus. Accordingly, the occupancy detection apparatus may determine whether or not an occupant is on a seat, however, may provide difficulty on distinguishing the occupant on the seat from an adult and a child safety seat. For example, the occupant on the seat is difficult to distinguish from an adult and a child safety seat in a case where the child safety seat is retained to the seat by engaging a tongue plate of a seat belt device with a buckle. A load sensor provided at a location near and beneath the tongue plate receives a large load applied from a person attempting to attach the child safety seat, the person who applies a part of a weight of the self on the child safety seat to engage the tongue plate with the buckle. As a result, the load sum value detected by the load sensors may become larger than the threshold value for determining the occupant as an adult, which may lead to a false determination of the child safety seat as an adult.
The occupancy detection apparatus disclosed in Reference 2 takes into account of a temporary increase of the load due to a seat belt attachment process so that the occupancy detection apparatus may distinguish the occupant on the seat from an adult and a child safety seat with high accuracy. Nevertheless, providing a load sensor to each of the four seat attachment portions results in increasing cost and weight of the apparatus.
A need thus exists for a seat occupancy determination apparatus, which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above


An electronic power device is integrated monolithically in a semiconductor substrate. The device includes a power region, itself having at least one P/N junction provided therein which comprises a first semiconductor region with a first type of conductivity extending into the substrate from the top surface of the device and being diffused into a second semiconductor region with the opposite conductivity from the first; and an edge protection structure of substantial thickness and limited planar size incorporating at least one trench filled with dielectric material. A method of manufacturing the electronic power device includes forming a silicon oxide trench, provided as the edge protection structure, by the following steps: forming a plurality of small trenches in the substrate which have predetermined lengths and are bounded by a plurality of corresponding walls of semiconductor material having predetermined widths; and oxidizing the semiconductor by means of a thermal process in order to oxidize the walls and produce the oxide trench.

This invention relates to an electronic power monolithically integrated on a semiconductor substrate and having edge protection structure limited planar size.
The invention specifically relates to a monolithic semiconductor device wherein P/N junctions are capable of sustaining high operating voltages, a base-collector junction of an NPN bipolar transistor being exemplary of these.
The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing the protection structure of limited planar size.
The invention relates, particularly but not exclusively, to a structure of limited planar size which functions as an edge structure for a VIPOWER type of power device, and the description to follow will make reference to this field of application for convenience of illustration only.
As is known, in semiconductor electronic devices, most of the P/N junctions fabricated with planar technology comprise basically a first semiconductor region having a first type of conductivity and being diffused into a second semiconductor region with the opposite type of conductivity from the first. An insulating layer of silicon oxide is laid over both regions, and metal contacts are then formed to establish an electric connection to the two semiconductor regions.
A depleted region is associated with the P/N junction. This depleted region can be regarded as formed of two regions: a first region along a planar region of the junction, and the second region at the edges of the planar region.
In the planar region, the equipotential lines lie parallel to the junction, the peak electric field is centered at the junction, and the field breakdown occurs upon the field reaching its critical value. Referring to FIG. 1, the equipotential lines curve and are more crowded together at the junction edges than in the planar region, due to the junction depth being finite. Consequently, the electric field at the edge region is increased; stronger electric fields being associated with smaller radii of curvature.
The breakdown voltage of a finite P/N junction is usually lower than that associated with the corresponding planar junction because of the electric field being much stronger at the edge region. The breakdown voltage ratio between the edge and the planar portion is, therefore, smaller than unity. Thus, an ability to define and implement technical solutions which can limit the drop in the critical electric field at the edge regions of the structure acquires special importance.
A first prior approach to filling this demand provided for the use of metal field plates located proximate to the structure edge. The field plates are not in direct contact with the silicon surface, but rest on the previously deposited, or grown, layer of silicon oxide.
Referring to FIG. 2, a major feature of metal layers immersed in an electric field is that they are set at a single potential throughout their spread. Accordingly, the metal field plates, if suitably dimensioned, will force the depleted region to span a large area, thus preventing crowding of the equipotential lines.
While being in several ways advantageous, this first of the prior approaches has certain drawbacks. For devices which are to endure high operating voltages, the surface electric field still remains high, and even if below the critical value, may be sensitive to the amount of surface charge brought about by the presence of moving charges or fixed charges at the oxide/silicon interface, introduced during the process steps for manufacturing the power devices.
A second prior approach, disclosed in GB-A-216597, proposes high-resistivity rings placed in electric contact with the main junction to be protected. Referring to FIG. 3, this approach, by forcing the depleted region to span broader regions, also results in thinned equipotential lines and, hence, a weaker surface electric field.
Although achieving its objective, not even this prior approach is devoid of shortcomings. The presence of high-resistivity rings gives rise to peaks in the electric field near the interface between any two rings and at the edge of the outermost ring. Furthermore, the ring structure increases the space requirements of the device. In fact, a reduction in the surface electric field is made dependent on the number and the width of the high-resistivity rings. Accordingly, devices operated in a high voltage range require edge structures of large planar size.
An embodiment of the invention provides a device for high-voltage operation with protection structures effective to combine proper performance of the device through its operational range with reduced planar size, thereby overcoming the drawbacks of devices according to the prior art.
The device is an electronic power device with a protective structure of limited planar size by using trench structures of substantial thickness formed within the silicon substrate and completely filled with dielectric material. The presence of a trench in direct contact with the P/N junction is effective, in a reverse bias situation, to cause the equipotential lines to crowd together within the trench-filling dielectric material.
Since the critical (breakdown) electric field for the dielectric material, e.g., silicon oxide, is approximately 600V/xcexcm, whereas the critical electric field for silicon is approximately 20V/xcexcm, the oxide-filled trench structure can be made much smaller than edge structures according to the prior art.
As an example, a conventional edge structure for a power device which is to sustain a reverse bias voltage of 700V would account for approximately 40% of the device total area, whereas an edge structure according to this invention would be a planar size equal to about 10-15% of the device total area.

Electronic power device monolithically integrated on a semiconductor and comprising edge protection structures having a limited planar dimension


A game apparatus includes a video game machine. A CPU provided in the video game machine controls movements, etc. of a player character operated by a player. There exist a predetermined number of player characters (e.g., four persons), and all of them are assigned to players depending on the number thereof. For example, four player characters are assigned to one player in a 1P mode, and two player characters each are assigned to two players in a 2P mode. While playing a game, each player may change formations of the four player characters or plunder a player character existing in an array belonging to another player.

One example of a conventional game apparatus is disclosed in a second printing of 'Dorimaga Books Phantasy Star Online Ultimate' (Softbank Publishing Inc., Mar. 14, 2002: 202-203). This network action role-playing game (network action RPG) offers an event in which players who have met on a network cooperate to defeat a strong enemy.
Also, as disclosed in a first printing of 'Terekuresuta Kanzen Koryaku Technique Book' (Tokuma Communications Co. Ltd., Nov. 1, 1986: 22-24), a game is known where a player operates a plurality of characters alone. In this prior art shooting game (a kind of action game), obtaining a predetermined item makes it possible to enhance power and make a formation together with parts acquired through a predetermined operation, which allows a player to proceed with the game more advantageously.
Likewise, in a shooting game disclosed in a first printing of 'Gradius Hissho Koryakuho' (Futaba Publishers Ltd., Jun. 22, 1986: 11), a player may have his own machine followed by a double thereof referred to as an option. This option is capable of shooting the same weapon as the player's own machine's. Thus, the more the number of options increases, the more advantageously the player can proceed with the game.
However, the above network action RPG does not allow a player to play the game alone in situations requiring cooperation among a plurality of players. Even if it were possible to play the game alone, the player would need to take more complicated measures and would have more difficulties as compared to the case where a plurality of players cooperate to play the game; thus, the player might lose interest in the game.
Also, none of the above-described shooting games are designed for a plurality of players to play cooperatively. Moreover, even in a case where one player plays the game alone, it is only possible for him to develop the progress of the game advantageously by adding his own machine's doubles and parts for the purpose of supporting player characters. That is, these games are not supposed to be played by changing formations in a strategic way, although they allow the player to defeat the enemy more easily by increasing the number of options following the player's own machine and by providing parts for making a formation. Therefore, the player may become frustrated with the monotonous progress of the game.
It is therefore a feature of an exemplary illustrative embodiment to provide a novel game apparatus and storage medium storing a game program.
It is another feature of an exemplary illustrative embodiment to provide a game apparatus and a storage medium storing a game program for playing an action game with a novel operating environment incorporated therewith.
It is still another feature of an exemplary illustrative embodiment to provide a game apparatus and a storage medium storing a game program that, regardless of a number of players, offer a player an environment of a similar level as when a plurality of players play the action game in cooperation, and do not change the action game's interesting aspects even if the number of players varies.
It is yet another feature of an exemplary illustrative embodiment to provide a game apparatus and a storage medium storing a game program that enhance fascinating factors in the action game relating to strategic aspects thereof.
A game apparatus according to an exemplary illustrative embodiment comprises at least one operating means, a game processing means and a display means, and is for playing a game by directly operating a predetermined number of player characters in real time. This game apparatus comprises a number-of-operating-players setting means, a player characters control means, an operating player setting means, and a comparing means. The number-of-operating-players setting means sets a number of operating players. The player characters control means controls the predetermined number of player characters based on an operation input from the operating means and on the game processing means, and displays them on the display means. The operating player setting means sets the operating players to each of the predetermined number of player characters. The comparing means compares the number of players set by the number-of-operating-players setting means with the number of the predetermined number of player characters. When the predetermined number of player characters is larger than the number of the players, the operating player setting meanslchanges the setting in such a manner that the players may operate more than one player character so that every player character is assigned to one of the players.
More specifically, a game apparatus (10) according to an exemplary illustrative embodiment comprises at least one operating means (22), a game processing means (36), and a display means (34). A number-of-operating-players setting means (36) sets the number of operating players. A player character control means (36) controls a predetermined number of player characters (114a to 114d) based on an operation input from the operating means (22) and on the game processing means (36), and displays the player characters on a display means (34). That is, a game image is displayed. An operating player setting means (36, S1, S13) sets the operating players to each of the predetermined number of player characters. The comparing means (36, S31, S35, S39) compares the number of players set by the number-of-operating-players setting means (36) with the number of the predetermined number of player characters. When the predetermined number of player characters is larger than the number of players, the operating player setting means (36, S1, S13) changes the setting in such a manner that the players may operate more than one player character so that every player character (114a to 114d) is assigned to one of the players.
According to an exemplary illustrative embodiment, regardless of the number of players, every player character is assigned to the players, and thus it is possible to offer a player environment of a similar level as in a case where a plurality of players play the action game cooperatively. Therefore, the game does not vary in its interesting aspects, even if the number of players changes.
In addition, decreasing the number of players would never increase the difficulty of playing the action game.
In a certain aspect, an exemplary illustrative embodiment further comprises a formation selecting means for selecting a formation of a plurality of player characters. The formation selecting means is activated only for the player characters operated by the player assigned a plurality of player characters, in accordance with a result of a setting made by the operating player setting means. The player character control means controls the plurality of player characters with the formation selecting means activated, based on the operation input from the operating means and on the game processing means so as to make a predetermined formation, and displays them on the display means simultaneously. More specifically, the game apparatus (10) further comprises the formation selecting means (36, S15). The formation selecting means (36, S15) selects a formation of a plurality of player characters. The formation selecting means (36, S15) is activated only for the player characters operated by the player assigned a plurality of player characters (the means is not activated if "YES" is followed in step S5, for example), in accordance with a result of a setting made by the operating player setting means (36, S1, S13). The player character control means (36) controls the plurality of player characters when the formation selecting means (36, S15) is activated, based on the operation input from the operating means (22) and on the game processing means (36) so as to make a predetermined formation, and displays them on the display means (34) simultaneously. In this way, since it is possible to select a desired formation, in a case where more than one person is enjoying the action game, the players may decide the formation of all the player characters through discussions by directly moving characters in real time. Also, in a case where a single player plays the game alone, he may choose a desired formation and play the action game as the plurality of players do. That is, it is possible to enjoy the action game at any time in almost the same player environment, irrespective of the number of players.
In a certain exemplary illustrative embodiment, the formation selecting means selects one of the formations according to a predetermined operation input from the operating means. More specifically, the formation selecting means (36, S15) selects one of the formations according to the predetermined operation input from the operating means (22), for example, a button operation. Therefore, since a desired formation can be selected by a simple operation, it is possible to change formations even during a battle in order to move forward with the game advantageously. Thus, this preserves active properties of the game.
In another exemplary illustrative embodiment, the formation selecting means displays a list of formations to be selected on the display means in accordance with a first operation input from the operating means, and selects one of the formations to be selected from the displayed list in accordance with a second operation input. More specifically, the formation selecting means (36, S11) displays a list (150, 152) of formations to be selected on the display means (34) in accordance with the first operation input from the operating means (22), and selects one of the formations to be selected from the displayed list (150, 152) in accordance with the second operation input. In this way, the operation is easy because formations can be changed just by selecting a desired formation from the list. Also, various formations are strategically conceivable according to the progress of the game, which makes the game more elaborate.
In still another exemplary illustrative embodiment, the operating player setting means includes a re-assignment means that, after one of the players has been designated to operate a number of player characters, re-assigns the player characters under a predetermined condition in such a manner that another player operates a different number of player characters. More specifically, after one of the players has been designated by the operating player setting means (36, S1, S13) to operate a number of player characters, the re-assignment means (36, S13) re-assigns the player characters under the predetermined condition in such a manner that another player operates a different number of player characters. For example, each of the players may plunder a player character from another player or hand over a player character to another player for a strategic purpose. In this way, the player characters set (assigned) at the start of the game can be changed during the game, which makes the game more enjoyable, avoiding monotony.
A storage medium storing a game program according to another exemplary illustrative embodiment stores a game program for a game apparatus comprising at least one operating means and a display means for playing a game by operating a predetermined number of player characters. This game program causes a processor of the game apparatus to execute a number-of-operating-players setting step, a player character control step, an operating player setting step, and a comparing step. The number-of-operating-players setting step sets a number of operating players. The player character control step controls a predetermined number of player characters based on an operation input from the operating means, and displays them on the display means. The operating player setting step sets an operating player to each of the predetermined number of player characters. The comparing step compares the number of players set by the number-of-operating-players setting step with a number of the predetermined number of player characters. When the predetermined number of player characters is larger than the number of the players, the operating player setting means changes a setting in such a manner that the players may operate more than one player character so that every player character is assigned to one of the players.
In other exemplary illustrative embodiments, even if a single player plays the game alone, it is possible to offer a player environment of a similar level as in the case where a plurality of players play the game cooperatively.

Game apparatus and storage medium storing a game program


An improved apparatus and method for use in the rotary cutting of wood veneer is disclosed. The improved apparatus and method are preferably employed in connection with a conventional lathe having a pressure bar. Such a lathe is of the type that is used to produce wood veneer from a workpiece of wood, such as a log. The improvement is characterized as maintaining a preselected pressure of the pressure bar against the wood, and subsequently adjusting the preselected pressure bar position by using means for doing so, thereby producing wood veneer of uniform thickness and surface quality, independent of variations in wood density and wood hardness, such variations resulting from natural growth conditions and temperature of the wood.

Machine tools, which make an assortment of products including parts for other machines, range from hand-operated machinery capable of shaping or planing metal or wood to modern-day computer-linked systems cabable of building industrial robots.
In connection with the lathe, one of the oldest machine tools, modern improvements include improved cutting materials--such as high-speed steel, stellite, tungsten carbide, and ceramics--which have made faster cutting speeds possible. Faster cutting speeds, in turn, have been the impetus for the development of improved bearing and lubrication systems. Currently, certain lathes are designed with built-in computers programmed to perform preselected functions.
In general, a conventional lathe (or turning machine) will include a headstock portion on which is mounted a face plate, as well as a tailstock portion which is spaced from the headstock portion. An axis of rotation, defined by the headstock and tailstock portions, will be an additional aspect of a conventional lathe or turning machine. The conventional lathe or turning machine will accordingly further include means for holding and rotating a workpiece about this axis. Finally, such a lathe or turning machine will typically further include a tool, means for mounting the tool in fixed relation to the held and rotated workpiece, and means for advancing the tool toward the held and rotated workpiece.
In the normal, long-established manner of peeling wood veneer by rotary cutting, a log (the workpiece) is first selected, then next is supported on a conventional wood veneer-producing lathe in a manner so as to be rotatable about a spindle axis and, finally, is driven by spindles (called "end-dogging spindles") built into the lathe frame. Also provided is a carriage, which may be driven toward the spindle axis at any of several rates of advance per spindle turn, for purposes of achieving a uniform thickness in the veneer. A conventional wood veneer-producing lathe carriage, in this regard, is typically further equipped with a full-length cutting knife as well as with a separately-controlled pressure bar (also called nose bar).
See, for example, an article entitled "Peeling Veneer With a Floating Bar: Effect of Bar Pressure on Veneer Quality," authored by O. Feihl and M. N. Carroll, the article appearing in the December 1973 issue of Forest Products Journal (Vol. 23, No. 12), at pages 28-31.
The pressure bar (or nose bar) is designed to contact the wood at a point immediately above the cutting edge of the knife. To produce veneer of maximum quality, those who practice this technology conventionally manually select a fixed mechanical setting, for maintaining a preselected spacing (called "horizontal gap") from the knife, to produce veneer having a thickness which is slightly less than the desired veneer thickness, the purpose being to compress the wood slightly, resulting in a cleaner cut, which is a desirable effect.
See, for example, a paper entitled "Thickness Variation in Veneer Peeled With a Floating Bar," authored by O. Feihl and M. N. Carroll, the paper (dated 1973) presented (as Report OPX62E) at Eastern Forest Products Laboratory (800 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Canada K1A OW5).
A second purpose, or desired effect, is to provide a stabilizing pressure against the wood (also called block), and also to dampen vibration, to reduce chatter, and to minimize random movement, all of which are desired effects. Alternatively, conventionally employed is a hydraulic servo-head system (referred to herein as a hydraulic servo head), comprising a servo-connected hydraulic cylinder, which, for purposes of accomplishing the above-noted desired effects, responds to an electronic position command to maintain its desired gap setting.
In any event, a gap will initially be selected by those skilled in the art, and the initial gap value subsequently changed, to accommodate the nature and physical properties of the wood.
If all trees had a common, homogeneous compositional make-up and structure, and were of exactly the same wood type and density, the above would be a very simple and tidy solution to the manufacture of veneer products having uniform product thickness and quality.
However, all trees are not equal and, as a result, wood density characteristics will vary from one block to the next. It is generally recognized that such variations may be influenced, in a minor way, by temperature. In this regard, I believe that such variations are even more influenced by such environmental tree-growth considerations as frequency and/or periods of drought or excessive rain (and attendant annual growth-ring spacing), presence or absence of knots, frequency and degree of insect infestation, and so forth.
Gap value selection is thus affected by such wood physical characteristics as tree-growth environment and history, wood species and variety, wood temperature, and wood density.
Normal block pre-conditioning typically calls for a temperature of approximately 140.degree. F. (about 60.degree. C.) for the wood.
Because wood temperature is one of the more readily apparent indicators relating to wood hardness (or density), some attempts have been made, by those skilled in this particular art, to adjust pressure bar (also called "nose bar") gap, in a manner so as to relate this gap value to wood temperature. However, such variations are often made merely in arbitrary fixed increment, generally relating only to temperature, without regard for such wood physical properties as wood density. As a result, such selection criteria have not proven generally reliable on production scale, resulting in the abandonment of such selection criteria in many cases.

Method and apparatus for rotary cutting of wood veneer


The present invention relates to a switching device to be irreversibly switched from an electrically isolating off-state into an electrically conducting on-state for use in a configurable interconnect, comprising two separate electrodes, at least one of which being a reactive metal electrode, and a solid state electrolyte arranged between said electrodes and being capable of electrolyte isolating said electrodes to define said off-state, said electrodes and said solid state electrolyte forming a redox-system having a mini-mum voltage (“turn-on voltage”) to start a redox reaction, the redox reaction resulting in the generation of metal ions to be released into said solid state electrolyte, the metal ions being reduced to increase a metal concentration within said solid state electrolyte, wherein an increase of said metal concentration results in a conductive metallic connection bridging the electrodes to define the on-state.

1. Field
The invention relates to a switching device, and more particularly, a switching device that can be switched from an electrically isolating "off-state" into an electrical conducting "on-state" for use in a configurable interconnect, configurable electrical conductor network, configurable integrated circuit, or the like.
2. Background Information
Modern integrated circuit chips contain millions of transistors, which are easily connected by metals, which most conveniently are chosen to be copper, aluminium, or aluminium-based alloys. From a circuit design point of view, it would be highly desirable if at least some of these circuit connections could be "flexible routed" in order to allow a desired flow of electrical signals. Such user-configurable electrical connectors could be used to enable or turn off certain parts of a chip to customize its behavior to a specific application.
For example, chips could be manufactured in a test mode, in which it-is made possible to verify its functionality, while after successful testing of the chips, such test mode may be turned off, so that chips are ready for operation. Another important application of flexible routing of configurable electrical connections is given by redundancy activation of memory products.
For certain applications, especially as far as safety aspects are concerned, for instance in the case of smart cards, it may be highly desirable to route circuit connections once only. For that purpose, it is known to use fuse or anti-fuse technologies, which are based on the provision of dedicated paths, which have been irreversibly rendered conductive or non-conductive.
Conventional fuse technology involves the thermal disintegration of a metal conductor patch for conducting separate circuits, which conducting path disintegration, for example, is effected by an optical heating method or a focused laser beam. Fuse technology therefore demands an unobstructed view of the chip top surface, which requires to open any insulation or top cover material, thus rendering any post-packaging routing impossible. Moreover, optical fuses are comparably large-sized, which, however, is detrimental to the increasing demand for miniaturization of modern integrated circuit chips.
Conventional anti-fuse technology, which is most frequently used in modern chip technology, involves the irreversible electrical breakdown of a thin electric layer for isolating separate circuits by applying high voltage pulses. Anti-fuses, however, have the problem that electrical conductivity, and hence reliability, of the burned path is not as high as a real metallic interconnect. Furthermore, the rupturing of such anti-fuses requires the application of relatively high voltage pulses, which typically are in the range of 6 V to 15 V. However, downscaling of these voltages causes problems, since this would require ultra-thin, high-quality oxide layers and thus demands additional processing and particular integration efforts.

Switching device for configurable interconnect and method for preparing the same


A strong, dimensionally stable object, such as a tooling fixture, is produced by providing a three dimensional, rapid free form fabricated object having a hollow internal cavity and flowing a strengthening material, such as an epoxy resin, into the internal cavity.

Rapid free-form fabrication, commonly referred to as rapid prototyping, is an additive process often used to produce three dimensional objects, such as gas turbine engine component models. A useful rapid prototyping process is known as stereolithography. In general, stereolithography refers to a method of rapidly building up an object in a layer by layer fashion. In this process, an ultraviolet laser beam selectively scans a portion of a bath of photocurable liquid resin to produce a predetermined pattern. Upon contact with the laser beam, the resin rapidly polymerizes (solidifies). This process enables rapid and accurate fabrication of three dimensional objects which would otherwise be produced by lengthy molding and machining processes.
Solid or hollow three dimensional objects may be produced by stereolithography. For example, QuickCast.TM. by 3D Systems, Inc. may be used to produce investment casting patterns with a honeycomb-like internal structure. This build style facilitates drainage of uncured resin from within the internal cavities of the pattern. The internal voids in the pattern permit the pattern to collapse upon itself as it expands against a mold during investment casting processing, as opposed to exerting excessive force against the mold walls and causing cracking.
Although stereolithographically produced objects are useful, their direct use is limited by the physical properties inherent in the resins suitable for stereolithography processing. Resins suitable for this type of processing are photocurable liquids and objects produced with such resins often experience creep effects or long term dimensional instability. Thus, although these objects have great use as investment castings patterns or as non-functional prototypes, their use in other applications such as tooling fixtures is limited.
Conventional tooling fixtures are usually metal which makes them both costly and difficult to form. In addition, the design of tooling fixtures is dependent upon component size and shape. Thus, the part specific nature and the complexity of tooling fixtures makes them both time consuming and costly to manufacture. It is also not economical to manufacture these metallic tooling fixtures in small lots, which is often necessary.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a strong, dimensionally stable object, especially a tooling fixture, as well as a method for producing such an object.


The invention refers to an oil recover unit (1) having at least one container (5) for retrieval of a mixture/emulsion of mainly water (3) and oil (4) for separation of the water (3) from the oil (4). The retrieval is provided via at least one inflow (6), located at lower part (24) of the container (5), where the mixture/emulsion (2) is soaked up and under pressure pressed upwards into the container (5) by at least one pump (8) at the same time as the oil (4), which has a lower density than the water (3), floats upwards in the form of oil particles (16) in the surrounding water (3) and creates an oil bed (17) on the water (3), whereby on at least one place, where the oil particles (16) move upwards, somewhere under the oil bed (17), at least one collecting place (9) is connected in direct or indirect connection to at least one discharge canal (11), through which the surrounding water (3) in the mixture/emulsion (2), possibly containing a small quantity of oil (4), is dischargeable from the container (5), as discharged water (13), via at least one existing lower discharge (14), placed at the lower part (24) of the container (5) at the same time as the oil bed (17) is dischargeable at the upper part (12) of the container via at least one existing upper discharge (15).

On the market existing constructions of this type consist of oil recover units, which are used for the clearing of oil and the separation of water from the oil for e.g. in oil spills in watercourses near beaches, from the surface of water, inside tankers and other places. The oil recover units of today are large, expensive, with complicated structure, ungainly to manage, it therefore takes time to get these in place to get the work done immediately. Large oil recover units do not reach to work over all places, since the environment does not allow for their use or because they take too much space and are too heavy. This is the reason why much of the cleaning up work to separate the oil is done by hand with pitchforks, spades, rakes etc. Previous methods retrieve the oil/water mixture in a container, whereupon one must wait 10-20 hours for the oil to rise to the surface so that the oil then can be removed. This takes time and requires large space and has no continuity in the process. Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,065 shows a very large, expensive and complicated structure for the separation of oil from water with mobile parts. Through many stages and by centrifugalizing the water/oil mixture the water can be separated. Document U.S. Pat. No. 2,917,178 shows another large, ungainly and expensive machine using a complicated process, where the water/oil mixture pours through different rooms and sections in stages, transported from above downwards, the oil being separated from the water and finally filtered through a filter. In document U.S. Pat. No. 1,984,003 the separation of water from oil takes also place in different stages through to a number of different rooms and sections. This installation shows mainly the same disadvantages as those in the other two documents show. Furthermore the above installations also require high maintenance, which is costly.

Apparatus and method for separation of water from an emulsion or mixture of water and oil


A liquid volume detector for detecting the volume of a liquid in a container is provided with a liquid level detecting member which is arranged at a specified height position in the container and on which a load acts by the liquid when the liquid level in the container is located at the specified height position, and a first drive source connected to the liquid level detecting member for moving the liquid level detecting member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid volume detector for detecting the volume of a liquid in a container capable of containing the liquid, a liquid mixture supply system adopting such a liquid volume detector and an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus is provided with an image forming assembly for forming an image on a sheet based on image information, a fixing device for fixing the image formed in the image forming assembly to the sheet, and a discharging device for discharging the sheet having the image fixed thereto in the fixing device. In this image forming apparatus, the image is formed on the sheet in the image forming assembly and fixed in the fixing device. The sheet having the image fixed thereto is discharged from the discharging device.
In some of image forming apparatuses using liquid developers, residual developers, which were not used for development at the time of image development, are collected for reutilization. In an image forming apparatus of such a type, a residual developer is collected into a container containing the developer and supplied to a developing device provided in the image forming assembly to be reused after agitation and density adjustment.
In such an image forming apparatus, the developer is supplied to the container if the volume of the developer in the container decreases. The supply of the developer is stopped if a liquid volume detector detects that the volume of the developer in the container has reached a specified level (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. S59-126570).
In the liquid volume detector disclosed in this patent literature, a float is accommodated in the container and moves up and down in the container according to the volume of the developer and the liquid volume is detected depending on the position of the float. The supply of the residual developer is stopped when the float moves to an uppermost position. However, if the viscosity of the developer is high, there are cases where the position of the float does not move up even if the volume of the developer increases. Thus, it is difficult to accurately regulate the volume of the developer in the container due to, for example, the excessive supply of the developer into the container.

Liquid volume detector, liquid mixture supplying system adopting such liquid volume detector and image forming apparatus


A method for efficiently decelerating a vehicle having front and rear wheel brakes by isolating the rear wheel brakes and applying pressurized brake fluid only to the front wheel brakes.

This invention relates in general to vehicle speed control and in particular to vehicle control systems for reducing the speed of a vehicle to improve vehicle dynamic conditions through the application of a vehicle brake actuation.
In a variety of vehicle control systems it is advantageous to reduce the speed of the vehicle to improve the vehicle dynamic condition. This is primarily accomplished through the application of the vehicle brakes by hydraulic actuators which include pumps and solenoid valves. The fluid flow rate of the braking system is limited by the motor design, voltage, pump capacity, internal resistances and other braking system parameters. The fluid flow rate of pressurized brake fluid to the vehicle brake actuators provides one limit to the rate at which the speed of the vehicle is reduced. During conventional braking, pressurized brake fluid is supplied to all four brake actuators of the vehicle for a respective braking system having similar braking circuits and components and is equally distributed. Most pressure-volume relationships for brake calipers require more fluid at lower pressures during initial application of applying a braking force on each of the brake actuators followed by a linear increase of fluid volume up to maximum pressure. This initial volume requirement is mostly due to knockback of the actuator pistons and seal compliance. This can be represented as a braking force to volume relationship. As a result, a large fluid volume is initially required at a high flow rate of the brake fluid within a brake circuit. To avoid low braking forces during initial braking conditions, an increased pump flow rate must be obtained in each of the hydraulic brake circuits to increase the flow of brake fluid to each brake actuator. This results in high system cost. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a lower cost alternative for increasing vehicle braking response.


A communication monitoring apparatus (100) monitors a network (130) to which a plurality of devices are connected with an IEEE1394 serial bus. An obtaining unit (111) obtains information that concerns a communication control parameter that is determined or managed by another device on the network. A determining unit (112) determines whether the information that concerns a communication control parameter is compatible with the network (130) based on the information that concerns a communication control parameter that is obtained by the obtaining unit (111). A reporting unit (113) reports a result of determination by the determining unit (111).

Conventionally, as an interface mainly for the transfer of multimedia data, a serial bus compliant with the IEEE1394 standard (hereinafter, "IEEE1394 bus") has been used. The IEEE1394 bus has such characteristics that high-speed data transfer is possible, a device to be a host is not required, and connection and disconnection can be freely performed even during the operation of a device. The IEEE1304 standard includes IEEEE1394-1995 that has conventionally been used, IEEE1304a, and IEEE1394b that is obtained by improving IEEE1394a.
According to the IEEE1394 standard, there is idle time (Gap) during which no device (node) connected thereto can perform communication, and a value to be an origin of the idle time is Gap_Count. For example, when data is transmitted from one node to another node that is connected to the same 1394 bus, it is necessary to send back an acknowledge packet (ACK) to confirm whether the data is properly received at the receiving end. During the period from the data transmission until reception of ACK, other devices cannot disturb the communication, and are required to wait for a certain period of time.
This waiting time is called ACKnowledge_Gap, and the time indicating ACKnowledge_Gap is determined based on the value of Gap_Count. A Gap_Count value varies according to a topology of a bus, and when a topology of a bus is changed, the Gap_Count value is re-set in each node. The setting of Gap_Count is performed by a node that is a bus manager on the bus, or by an IRM (isochronous resource manager) if the bus manager is not present on the bus. A node that thus sets Gap_Count is referred to as a Gap_Count setting node, hereinafter.
The Gap_Count setting node calculates a Gap_Count value, and broadcasts a packet (PHY configuration packet) to set the calculated Gap_Count value in each node. Each node sets the received Gap_Count value in a PHY register. Upon each node receiving a bus reset signal, the Gap_Count value that is set in the PHY register becomes effective.
If Gap_Count is not appropriately set, for example, when the Gap_Count value is too small, there is a possibility that other nodes may start communication before ACK is received. Accordingly, the operation of the bus becomes unstable. On the other hand, when the Gap_Count value is too large, other nodes wait more than necessary. Accordingly, throughput of the device is lowered. Therefore, a technique of determining whether Gap_Count is set appropriately by checking whether a Gap_Count set in each node takes an equal value has been devised (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H10-285236
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-331214

Communication monitoring apparatus, communication monitoring method, communication monitoring program, and recording medium


A sleeve element having at least one end region configured to be biased into a laterally adjacent recess formed in one of a piston element surface and a bore surface is disclosed. A seal assembly is disclosed including two sleeve elements, each sleeve element having at least one end region disposed adjacent a recess formed in one of the piston element surface and the bore surface, the at least one end region being configured for deflection thereinto. A seal assembly including one sleeve element, wherein the sleeve element includes end regions thereof, each end region disposed adjacent a recess formed in one of the piston element surface and the bore surface, the end region being configured for deflection thereinto is also disclosed. Further, an energizer may be disposed generally within a recess. Pressure relief and equalization structures for a sleeve element and seal assembly are also disclosed, as is a method of sealing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to machine elements that move relative to one another and to seals and bearing surfaces between such machine elements. More particularly, at least one of a sealing and a bearing function may be performed by way of a sleeve element according to the present invention.
2. State of the Art
Seals are conventionally used in maintaining a substance, such as a fluid or gas, located in one area or zone from communicating with another area or zone while allowing relative movement between two or more mechanical components. Typically, one of the mechanical components may traverse through both of the areas or zones. Such seals may also be used in keeping contaminants, such as dirt, dust, or other particulate-type materials, from becoming positioned in an area where one mechanical component moves relative to the surface of another mechanical component. Otherwise, repeated movement between the mechanical components, in combination with the presence of contaminants, may cause damage to the surfaces of the one or more mechanical components as well as to sealing elements.
One common example of mechanical components that move with respect to one another is a piston and bore. For instance, a piston may have an outer surface that is complementary and generally coaxial with the inner surface of a bore in which the piston moves axially, with or without rotation. It is usually desirable that no fluid flow communicate around the piston, so that pressure within the bore may cause the piston to move. Moreover it is also preferred that the piston remain relatively centered within the bore, to prevent the surfaces of the piston and the bore from contacting one another.
Accordingly, in conventional approaches, a piston may be often provided with a seal that prevents leakage, a separate bearing or guide to maintain the relative position of the piston within the bore, and a scraper to remove contaminants on the surface of the bore to inhibit damage to the piston, bore, or sealing elements. More specifically, a separate T-cap seal assembly and a separate wear guide or bearing element may be conventionally employed in piston designs. Also, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the ability to maintain adequate lubrication between two relatively movable machine components, as well as the ability to limit contaminants from entering between the two relatively movable machine components, greatly enhances the working efficiency of the machine components and also greatly reduces wear of such components, to increase the usable life thereof.
Although the conventional configuration performs as intended, the conventional designs require numerous separate components to form a bearing surface and sealing element between relatively movable machine components. Therefore, in view of the shortcomings in the art, it would be advantageous to provide an improved seal configuration.

Sleeve element having a biasable end region, apparatus including same, and method of use


Methods and systems for handling attachments on wireless mobile communication devices. An attachment provided with a secure message is received at a message server. The secure message itself was received by the server as an attachment. The secure message is processed in order to locate within the secure message the requested attachment. The located attachment is provided to a mobile device.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of secure electronic messaging, and in particular to accessing message attachments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Capabilities of wireless mobile communication devices have expanded greatly. For example, such devices not only receive electronic messages, but can view attachments associated with electronic messages. However, difficulties arise when a mobile device wishes to access attachments of secure messages. This is due at least in part to how messages and attachments are structured in order to comport with a security scheme.

System and method for viewing message attachments


A method for channel quality estimation and link adaptation for an OFDM wireless communication system includes: (a) estimating a channel gain and a noise power, and measuring an SNR in consideration of the estimated channel gain and noise power; (b) calculating a correlation value between an externally received preamble signal and a known preamble signal, and estimating a delay spread; (c) measuring the quality status of a channel in consideration of the measured SNR and the estimated delay spread; and (d) determining parameters including transmit power, data modulation mode, and data rate, according to the measured quality status of the channel, and performing a link adaptation using a protocol for acknowledging a normal signal transmission as well as using the SNR and the delay spread.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for channel quality estimation and link adaptation. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for channel quality estimation and link adaptation in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless communication systems.
(b) Description of the Related Art
For an operation of wireless communication networks with an optimal throughput in a time-varying channel environment, appropriate link adaptation for communication links through which data transmission occurs is necessary.
Link adaptation is an approach for properly selecting parameters including transmit power or modulation mode according to the status of channels in a wireless communication environment, and maintaining an optimal throughput. The status of channels can be analyzed by different methods based on the measurements of bit error rate (BER) or packet error rate (PER), the number of packet retransmissions, or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
The related documents suggest a method of estimating the quality of communication links and determining an optimal data rate or an optimal length of packet using the estimated quality of communication links.
For example, D Qiao et al. published a related paper under the title of "Goodput Enhancement of IEEE 802.11 a Wireless LAN via Link Adaptation" (IEEE International Conference on Communications, 2001, Page(s) 1995 to 2000), which discloses a link adaptation method using the determination of a transmission mode as an existing link adaptation method in combination with the determination of the frame length to acquire an optimal throughput.
Another document concerned is "Adaptive Frame Length Control for Improving Wireless Link Throughput, Range, and Energy Efficiency (Proceedings, INFOCOM'98)" by P. Lettieri et al., which discloses a method of determining an optimal frame length so as to acquire an optimal throughput in a wireless communication system, thereby enhancing data rate and transmission distance.

Apparatus and method for channel quality estimation and link adaptation in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless communication system

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


In order to attain the object described above, a game apparatus is able to use display means and coordinate input means such as a touch panel, and positions a virtual camera Ca in a virtual space. Whether the coordinate input means is in an inputted state in which a player is performing a coordinate input (touch operation) on the coordinate input means, or in a non-inputted state in which a player is not performing coordinate input on the coordinate input means, is determined. When it is determined that the coordinate input means is in the non-inputted state, the game apparatus changes the imaging direction of the virtual camera Ca, based on change of an input coordinate position that is designated on the coordinate input means immediately before the coordinate input means enters the non-inputted state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to: a computer-readable storage medium having an information processing program stored therein; an information processing apparatus; an information processing system; and an information processing method, and more particularly to: a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program, an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing method which change an orientation of a virtual camera based on an operation performed on a touch panel by a player.
2. Description of the Background Art
An information processing apparatus which is capable of changing, based on a touch operation performed on a touch panel by a player, an orientation of a virtual camera positioned in a three-dimensional virtual space, has been known to date. For example, in a game apparatus described in "METROID PRIME HUNTERS SYSTEM" by Nintendo Co., Ltd, (retrieved on May 9, 2010), the Internet <URL:http://metroid.jp/metroid_version4/system/index1.html#System>, when a player performs sliding operation on a touch panel, the virtual camera is rotated to change an orientation of the virtual camera according to a sliding amount of the sliding operation.
However, in the game apparatus as described above, the orientation of the virtual camera is changed by the sliding amount of the sliding operation. Therefore, a player needs to frequently perform the sliding operation in order to change the orientation of the virtual camera, which is inconvenient.

Computer-readable storage medium having information processing program stored therein, information processing apparatus, information processing system, and information processing method


This disclosure relates to method and system for providing personalized driving or navigation assistance. The method may include receiving sensory data with respect to a vehicle from a plurality of sensors and multi-channel input data with respect to one or more passengers inside the vehicle from a plurality of onboard monitoring devices, performing fusion of the sensory data and the multi-channel input data to generate multimodal fusion data, determining one or more contextual events based on the multi-modal fusion data using a machine learning model, wherein the machine learning model is trained using an incremental learning process and comprises a supervised machine learning model and an unsupervised machine learning model, analysing the one or more contextual events to generate a personalized driving recommendation, and providing the personalized driving recommendation to a driver passenger or a navigation device.

Most road accidents occur due to human error. Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are systems deployed in a vehicle in order to aid a driver of the vehicle and to reduce human error. The ADAS automate, adapt, and enhance vehicle systems, thereby providing for increased vehicle/road safety. Today, ADAS employs various techniques to assist the driver in parking the vehicle, navigating the vehicle, providing alerts/warnings to the driver in case of anomalies, and so forth.
Some of the existing techniques provide for predicting driver's intent using multi-modal sensory cues and uses machine learning to understand what the driver intends to do in the immediate future and avoid dangerous situations. For example, the existing techniques may predict driver intent by associating driver's body language with vehicle movement using machine learning. Further, existing techniques provide for analysis of multimodal inputs from various sets of sensors to provide real-time detection on lane changing, speeding, braking, and so forth.
However, existing ADAS fail to provide for enhanced or personalized driving experience. Additionally, existing techniques fail to provide any information with respect to anomalies that affects vehicle states, required system repairs due to anomalies, emotions/gestures of co-passengers, driver intentions, required alerts or actions due to emotions/gestures of the co-passengers and driver intentions, and so forth.

System and method for providing personalized driving or navigation assistance


A display substrate includes a substrate having a first region and a second region, a conductive pattern is provided in the first region of the substrate and includes a first conductive pattern and a second conductive pattern, the first conductive pattern has a gate electrode and a source electrode, the second conductive pattern has a source electrode and a drain electrode, an insulation layer pattern is positioned on the conductive pattern and exposes an outer sidewall of the conductive pattern, an organic layer is provided in the first region and the second region of the substrate and covers the insulation layer pattern, and a pixel electrode is provided on the organic layer and is electrically connected to the drain electrode through a contact hole in the organic layer.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a display substrate and a method of manufacturing the display substrate. More particularly, example embodiments relate to a display substrate including a thin film transistor and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a display device may include a first display substrate, a second display substrate facing the first substrate and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate.
The first display substrate may include a gate line, a data line, a switching element connected to the gate line and the data line, a gate insulation layer on a gate electrode of the switching element, a passivation layer on source/drain electrodes of the switching element to partially expose the drain electrode, and a pixel electrode electrically connected to the switching element.
Light from a backlight assembly may be incident onto the back side of the first display substrate. The incident light may penetrate through the substrate, the gate insulation layer, the passivation layer, the organic layer and the pixel electrode. Accordingly, the number of the layers through which the light penetrates and the refractive index difference between the layers may deteriorate the light transmissivity of the display substrate.

Display substrate and method of manufacturing the display substrate


A device includes a transmitter that transmits, via an interface comprising first, second, and third transmission channels, video data having a 4:1:1 format to a display device. 4:1:1 represents a ratio of a sampling frequencies of a brightness component, to a first color difference component, to a second color difference component. The first and second color difference components of one pixel in a first horizontal line of a first frame of the video data are allocated and transmitted within two clock cycles of the first transmission channel. Brightness components of four pixels in the first horizontal line are allocated and transmitted within two clock cycles of the second and third transmission channels. The transmitter transmits the video data for all of the pixels of the first horizontal line, and thereafter, sets pixels in a second horizontal line as a target to be transmitted.

Conventionally, as an example of a communication interface between a video transmission device such as a DVD player or a set top box, and a video display device such as a television receiver or a television monitor, there has been proposed the high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) (registered trademark) specification.
Recently, there has been increasing demand for a high resolution video having a 4 k2 k (3840×2160) resolution due to the increase in a display size of the television receiver, the television monitor, or the like.
In a conventional technique, there has been a drawback that, when a high resolution video image having the 4 k2 k resolution or the like is transferred through a communication interface such as the HDMI (registered trademark) or the like, it is difficult to increase a refresh rate without increasing a transfer quantity in the communication interface because of the large amount of data per one frame.

Video transmission device, video display device, and video transmission method