The invention is related to medicine and, in particular, to a class of implants intended for osteosynthesis i.e. in the treatment of essentially all kinds of bone fractures. It is the aim of the present invention to eliminate the above contradiction and to design a bone implant and a spacer thereof that would not cause periosteum necrosis and osteoporosis of the bone and also a method of placing a bone implant of the kind. This aim is achieved by using polytetrafluorethylene, in particular, in the form of a porous surface three-dimensional structure as a spacer for a support surface of a bone implant.

Bone implants are widely known at present.
One of the most popular bone implants is a bone implant in the form of an apertured plate having a smooth support surface. Since the early 20th century, bone plates and screws have been used for internal fixation of broken bones. As of the late 1980's, locking bone plates were developed. A locking bone plate is provided with a locking screw having the threads on an outer surface of its head which are mated with the corresponding threads in the bone plate hole. Because of the fixed relationship between the locking screws and the bone plate, said locking screws appear to be highly resistant to shear or torsional forces. Thus, the main feature of such "locking bone plates" is a solid fixation between the plate and the inserted screws. The advantages of locking plates of the kind such as their angular stability, less bone vascular damage, improved resistance to infection proved as quite evident. Since then, the use of locking plates has exploded, and at present they are produced by different manufacturers (WO 2007/123655, 2007 November 2001).
A critical widely-known problem of the above-described bone implants is the development of periosteum necrosis and osteoporosis of the bone just beneath the locking plate.
As it is described in "New Bio-conception of Bone Regeneration. Analysis>>//Original Instruments and Implants for Study of Internal Fixation. Review. AO/ASIF "SYNTHESIS", 1991, p. 4, osteoporosis of the bone beneath the plate is a direct result of blood supply deficiency in the outer layer of the bone caused by the contact with an implant which depends on the surface area of said contact. Thus, it was concluded that the decrease of the surface contact area between the plate and the bone results in the improvement of the blood supply. An undisturbed blood supply promotes bone regeneration, lessens the risk of infection as well as helps to prevent bone necrosis and early osteoporosis.
The above-described conclusion was taken as the ground in the development of dynamic bone implants described for example, ib., page 6 and also in SU940759, published 7 Jul. 1982, RU 2334483, published 27 Sep. 2008, BY556U, published 30 Jun. 2002. The support surface of said dynamic implants is made with the recesses of various configuration positioned in a pre-defined order. The surface of such grooves has no contact with the bone, this resulting in no damage to blood supply in the areas in question. However, the problem of osteoporosis in dynamic implants is far from being solved, since between the grooves there is still a sufficiently large surface area that continuously remains in close contact with the bone.
The nearest prior art reference of an implant according to the invention is a bone implant described in WO 2007/047420, published 26 Apr. 2007. A bone implant described in the above publication is made as an apertured plate having a support surface and is located within a sleeve from a bio-compatible material, at least partially from caprolactam, which is impregnated with pharmaceutical substances.
The nearest prior art reference of a spacer according to the invention is a sleeve described in WO 2007/047420, published 26 Apr. 2007, which is made from a bio-compatible material, at least partially from caprolactam, and is impregnated with pharmaceutical substances. The above-described sleeve is intended for dressing on a bone implant and further placing onto a fractured bone. The sleeve can be made both from a bio-degradable material and a bio-stable material. The period of bio-degradation makes up to 6 months until a bone implant is removed by surgical means.
It should be noted, however, that the technical decisions described in WO 2007/047420 also do not make it possible to completely solve the problem of periosteum necrosis and osteoporosis, since the surface of the sleeve locked between a bone and a support surface of a plate is held in close contact with the bone for a continuous time. Besides, a sleeve from a bio-stable material features some additional disadvantages resulting from the fact that said sleeve is dressed upon both a support surface of an implant and its non-support surface. Firstly, the pharmaceutical substances for the treatment of the osseous tissue are not intended for the supply into the soft tissue and may adversely affect the latter. Secondly, by the moment the bone implant is to be removed by surgical means the soft tissue might grow into the portion of the sleeve that is dressed upon a non-support surface of the plate, this substantially complicating the surgical removal of a bone implant.
The nearest prior art reference of a method according to the invention is a method of surgical treatment described in WO 2008/113191, published 25 Sep. 2008 (Brief Description of the Surgical Procedure). A method of treatment a fractured bone by means of placing a bone implant made as an apertured plate having a support surface consists in fixing a bone implant to the fractures of the bone by screwing the fixing screws into said bone through the respective apertures in an implant plate. This method also features the same critical disadvantage of the bone implants of the kind i.e. the incidence of periosteum necrosis and osteoporosis of the bone just beneath the locking plate.
Thus, the contradiction that arises in this connection is quite evident. To perform the right fixation of the bone the contact of a bone implant with said bone is quite essential, while at the same time said contact results in complications such as periosteum necrosis and osteoporosis of the bone.


A vacuum including a housing, a suction device disposed within the housing, a plurality of accessories operable to engage the suction device, a plurality of wheels mounted to the housing and at least one bumper disposed on the housing. The at least one bumper includes a retaining feature operable to store at least one of the accessories, and the at least one bumper is operable to protect at least one of the wheels to minimize damage thereto. At least one pocket is defined by the bumper. The pocket is adapted to store at least one of the accessories.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Many vacuum cleaners, especially shop vacuums, include a variety of accessories that may be attached to the vacuum to aid in the collection of waste matter. These accessories may include extensions to increase the reach of the vacuum, and a variety of nozzles and other attachments shaped to facilitate vacuuming on various surfaces and in tight spaces.
Typically, vacuums do not include satisfactory storage means for idle accessories. These vacuums fail to securely retain accessories in a space efficient manner. Accessories often must be stored separately from the vacuum, which requires the user to interrupt vacuuming to retrieve the accessories as needed.

Vacuum having accessory storage features


A continuous, uninterrupted two-step treatment process capable of forming nanometer scale physical structures on the surface of articles fabricated from metallic, ceramic, glass, or plastic materials, and then depositing a thin conformal coating on the nanostructured surface such that the physical structures previously produced are neither masked nor are the dimensions of the physical structures substantially altered. In an additional embodiment, a thicker coating can be grown from the thin conformal coating which itself can be nanostructured as it is deposited. In this case adhesion of the thicker coating is not dependent upon the use of conventional surface pretreatments such as machining, chemical etching, or abrasive blasting. Surface texturing may be performed by ion beam sputtering, and ion assisted coating forms the thin conformal coating, and thicker coating if desired. The treatment process is useful for improving the mechanical, catalytic, chemical, or biological activity of the surfaces so treated. The process thus has application on industrial machinery and equipment of all types, engines of all types, manufacturing tooling and wear parts of all types, and medical equipment and prostheses.

The surfaces of mechanical devices used as components in machinery, or individually as singular devices, often must be treated to improve their operating performance. A wide variety of conventional surface treatment processes are available, all designed to modify and coat the surface regions of mechanical devices fabricated from materials including metals, plastics, ceramics and glass. Surface treatments include both finishing and coating processes. Finishing involves modifying surface topography of the device so that it has the required texture (either roughness or smoothness). Machining, grinding and polishing processes are all classified as conventional finishing processes and are effective at providing surface textures down to the level of 0.1 micron (10−7 meters) or so. Surface coating processes add a layer (or multiple layers) of material to the surface in order to enhance properties such as wear-resistance and corrosion-resistance. Engineered coatings, i.e., coatings designed to be functional as opposed to decorative, can be deposited with a number of conventional processes including electroplating, thermal spraying, physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Coating thicknesses can range from as thin as 1 micron (PVD) to as thick as 1,500 microns or more (thermal spraying). Conventional coating processes almost always require the use of surface texturing as a pretreatment prior to coating to help optimize mechanical adhesion of the coating.
The ability to provide, and control, surface texturing at dimensions in the nanometer range (10−9 meters) is very desirable for a number of applications where mechanical, chemical, catalytic, and biological properties of surfaces need to be optimized. Furthermore, the ability to provide conformal coatings that do not conceal these nanometer-range structures is also desirable, as is the ability to grow thicker adherent coatings on a device surface without relying on the use of conventional surface finishing processes. By combining, into an uninterrupted two step process, surface texturing means at the nanometer range (nanostructuring) and subsequent coating means that allows deposition of thin conformal coatings that do not conceal the nanostructured surface, or if necessary, thicker coatings that do not require conventional pretreatments, the present invention provides a unique two-step process to improve the surface performance and usefulness of treated devices.
Step 1—Nanotexturing the Surface
Surface texturing of materials is usually achieved by either mechanical, chemical, or optical means. Mechanical processes such as machining, stamping, embossing, and abrasive blasting are not capable of producing structures at the nanometer range. Likewise chemical processes such as chemical machining and electropolishing are not usable because they produce a uniform smoothing of surface nanostructure. Texturing surfaces at the nanometer range with laser energy requires that the laser be focused down to these small dimensions, which is impractical. Atomic scale processes such as sputtering are used in the electronics industry for nanoscale processing of semiconductors and integrated electronics and thus could be employed to produce surface structures with dimensions in the range required. However, glow discharge sputtering (RF, DC, or magnetron) is non-directional in nature and will remove material from the surface isotropically thus tending to smooth out the surface. The present invention may utilize ion beam sputtering, since it is directional in nature, can effectively produce preferentially oriented material removal from surfaces leading to the development of nanometer-scale surface topography and is therefore the preferred mode for the first step in the surface treatment process disclosed.
However, the known art in directional ion beam sputtering techniques (also termed ion milling) used to modify structures of surfaces at the nanometer level does not attempt to combine sputtering with the application of an adherent conformal overcoat as an uninterrupted two step process. For example, Ouderkirk et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,195) teaches the use of ion beam sources to modify the surfaces of already-deposited thin films and polymeric substrates to improve their chemical properties. Koh et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,513) teaches modifying the surfaces of metals using ion beams and simultaneously flowing gases across the irradiated surface to improve the hydrophilicity of the surface. And, Bhattacharya et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,810) teaches the use of ion beams to modify the crystallinity of thin metallic films already deposited on surfaces to improve the corrosion resistance of the films.
Step 2—Providing the Conformal Coating
Once the nanometer-scale structures are produced in the treated surface, the resulting structures are conformally coated with a second material that, coupled with the increased surface area, will facilitate the mechanical, chemical, catalytic, or biological activity desired. Numerous physical and chemical coating techniques are available but very few are capable of depositing a tightly adherent coating that does not rely on mechanical interlocking for adhesion, and that does not conceal the nanostructured features. Painting, liquid dipping, electroplating, and thermal spray techniques all will completely mask nanometer scale structures. Vacuum evaporation and glow discharge sputter deposition techniques are capable of the conformal coating of nanometer scale structures but adhesion is not very effective. A precision coating technique is required that produces an initial penetration of the surface to form a shallow case layer to optimize adhesion, followed by growth of an extremely thin, nearly amorphous coating from the shallow case layer. The coating techniques must also be capable of forming thicker coatings in which the structure throughout can be maintained nanocrystalline and nearly amorphous as the coating is grown. A technique termed Ion Beam Enhanced Deposition (IBED) as taught by Deutchman et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,318) is capable of depositing a coating with these physical characteristics, and is the preferred mode for the second step in the surface treatment process disclosed.
The known art in IBED coating used to provide adherent coatings on surfaces does not attempt to combine directional ion beam sputtering techniques to modify structures of surfaces at the nanometer level prior to the application of an adherent conformal overcoat as an uninterrupted two step process. For example, Inspektor (U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,185) teaches using an ion beam assisted coating process to deposit multilayered coatings of boron nitride on the surfaces of metal tools to improve their wear-resistance. Wadley (U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,931) teaches using an ion beam assisted coating process to deposit multilayered coatings that are not intermixed with the surface or each other for producing magnetorestrictive films for magnetic recording sensors. And Pinarbasi (U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,380) teaches using ion beams to assist the deposition of coatings deposited by RF or DC sputtering processes for magnetorestrictive devices.
Reade et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,809,066) does however teach the combination of directional ion beam sputtering and means for coating the textured surface when used to apply multiple layers of thin nanostructured materials as required for superconductor devices. In the Reade et al. invention however the adhesion of the multiple layers on the substrate and among each other is dependent upon the chemical compatibility of the individual layers and not determined by the coating means. Xie et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,659) also teaches the use of ion beam sources to produce cones or microtips on thin layers deposited on substrates, and then overcoating the microtips with additional thin layers to produce a field emission devices for flat panel displays. However in this invention the sputter texturing requires that the surface to be textured be bombarded with an additional seed material, itself sputtered from an additional target. The formation of textured microtips is dependent upon the presence of this additional sputtered material. In addition, even though this art describes overcoating the microtips, the overcoating is not alloyed into the textured microtips, rather it merely lies on the surface. A divisional (U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,204) of the Xie et al. patent teaches the same art with the additional feature of mechanically abrading the thin layers to be textured to further facilitate microtip formation.

Treatment process for improving the mechanical, catalytic, chemical, and biological activity of surfaces and articles treated therewith


A deflection device having a longitudinal configuration is fixed at one of its ends to a base supporting structure and is responsive to a first electrical signal from a control network to move the other of its ends in a first direction. The arm assembly can include at least one piezoelectric crystal having characteristics for deflecting in response to the first signal and for oscillating in response to abrupt changes in the magnitude of the first signal. This deflection device is particularly adapted for use as a probe for testing electrical circuits having a plurality of contact points coated with an insulating material. A probe tip can be disposed in proximity to the second end of the device so that the deflection of the crystal provides the tip with kinetic energy for penetrating the insulating material to provide electrical contact with one of the contact points. A second signal can then be introduced to the probe tip to test the electrical circuit. A pair of piezoelectric crystals spaced by a conductive material can provide a capacitance in the control network for shaping the first signal to inhibit the oscillations of the crystals.

To maintain quality in the manufacture of electrical circuits, it has always been desirable to perform various functional and parametric tests on the circuits prior to their use or sale. This has become increasingly difficult with the advent of photographic processes for manufacturing integrated circuits and their associated electrical contact. In this regard, such integrated circuit contacts, which are typically formed with aluminum, on wafers of silicon substrate material, are very small and tightly spaced. In fact, points on the circuit which would typically be contacted to perform the various tests may have dimensions of less than 2 mils. To compound the problems associated with providing electrical contact with these points, the aluminum material of the contact points has oxidized to provide an insulated coating. It has been desirable to penetrate this oxide coating in order to provide an adequate electrical contact with the particular contact point.
Probes of the prior art have typically been held stationary while the integrated circuit chips have been moved to provide electrical contact between a particular one of the contact points and the tip of the probe. The relative movement between the probe tip and the contact point has been slow so that the testing apparatus have relied upon a relatively constant force, such as ten grams to penetrate the oxide coating and provide contact with the contact point. The ten grams of force has been sufficient in some cases to penetrate the oxide coating but the same ten grams of force has ultimately been exerted upon the contact point so that the point has been cut or otherwise deleteriously affected by the test. For this reason, reprobing of a particular integrated circuit has not been advisable. Some of the probes have been provided with a tip which has been moved laterally across the oxide coating to facilitate the penetration thereof. This movement has also adversely affected the integrated circuit by scratching the particular contact point.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved probe, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and which develops a sufficient force to break through a thick layer of oxide coating and to dissipate it from the exposed electrical contact.


An air blower including a rear housing defining a plurality of air inlet openings; a front housing having an annular peripheral portion secured to the rear housing, a central support portion within the peripheral portion and including a rear surface facing the rear housing and an oppositely directed front surface, and a grillwork portion extending between the peripheral portion and the support portion; and a fan assembly secured to the rear surface and projecting toward the rear housing, the fan assembly including an electrical motor and a fan blade rotatably coupled therewith, an electrical switch operatively connected to the motor, and an actuator operatively coupled to the electrical switch and projecting outwardly from the front surface. Mounting of the fan assembly on the central support portion simplifies assembly and minimizes external size of the blower.

This invention relates generally to a portable electrical fan and, more particularly, to a versatile, easily manufactured, and low cost portable electrical fan.
Portable electrical fans are utilized to create air flow and thereby enhance environmental conditions. To optimize the flow patterns produced thereby, many portable fans are provided with supports that permit selective orientation of a fan member on a supporting pedestal. Although various types of fan supports have been proposed, prior support mechanisms suffer from a number of individual and collective disadvantages such as high cost, cumbersome adjustment requirements, excessive size, insufficient orientation adjustment capability, etc.
The object of this invention, therefore, is to provide an improved portable electrical fan that is inexpensive, easily assembled, and can be easily transported to a position and adjusted to provide a desired air flow orientation.


An electrical center is mounted on a wiring harness. The electrical center comprises an upper insulator housing having a plurality of upper terminal receiving cavities, a circuit board assembly disposed in the upper housing below the upper terminal receiving cavities, a plurality of terminals mounted on the circuit board contact portions above the circuit board disposed in the upper terminal receiving cavities for engaging mating terminals plugged into the upper terminal receiving cavities, and a lower insulator housing having a plurality of lower terminal receiving cavities. The terminals mounted on the circuit board have contact portions below the circuit board disposed in the lower terminal receiving cavities for engaging mating terminals that are attached to wires of the wiring harness and that are plugged in the lower terminal receiving cavities. The upper housing may be mated to the lower housing in a prestaged condition to facilitate loading of the mating terminals that are attached to the wires of the wiring harness. The housings are adapted for use with a press holder to move from the prestaged condition to the fully seated condition.

This invention relates generally to an electrical center and more particularly to an electrical center that is associated with a wiring harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,916 granted to Joseph H. Gladd et al. May 16, 2000 discloses an electrical center 8 having a two-piece housing comprising an upper housing 10 and a lower housing 12. The electrical center 8 includes a circuit board 14 that is sandwiched between the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 12. The circuit board 14 carries a plurality of terminals 16, 16A, 16B, 16C and 16D of various configurations that have an upper terminal engagement feature 22, 22A, 22C etc. Terminals 16, 16A, 16B and 16C are two-way pass-through terminals that have a lower terminal engagement feature 24, 24B while terminal 16D is a one-way terminal that has only one engagement feature.
The upper housing 10 is designed to receive fuses and/or relays (not shown) that are plugged into the upper housing 10. The fuses and relays have terminals that engage upper terminals features 22, 22A, 22C etc. when such devices are plugged into the upper housing so that the fuses and relays are connected into various electrical circuits that are partially formed on the circuit board 14 as electrical traces in a well known manner. The lower housing 12 has a plurality of bays 17 for receiving plug-in connectors at the ends of various wiring harnesses (not shown).
The plug-in connectors of the wiring harnesses house terminals attached to the ends of the insulated wires of the wiring harnesses that engage the lower terminal engagement features 24 or 24B when the plug-in connectors of the wiring harnesses are plugged into the bays 17. Thus the insulated wires of the wiring harnesses form parts of the various electrical circuits that are partially formed by traces on the circuit board 14. For automotive vehicle applications, the two piece housing of the electrical center is customarily mounted on the body of the automotive vehicle and then the plug-in connectors of several wiring harnesses are plugged into the bays.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,891,463 granted to Yasutaka Nagaoka May 10, 2005 discloses another electrical center 1 having a two-piece housing 2 having a lower casing 2A and an upper casing 2B that house a circuit board 3 equipped with a plurality of one-way terminals 10 that are attached to the circuit board 3. Terminals 10 have upper engagement features 11 that are engaged by the blade terminals 5a of the fuses 5 when the fuses 5 are plugged into the upper casing 2B. The circuit board 3 also carries electrical socket connectors (unnumbered) that are accessible via cut-out portions of the upper casing 2B. Plug-in connectors of wiring harness connectors (not shown) may be plugged into the electrical socket connectors that are carried on the printed circuit board 3 so that the insulated wires of the wiring harnesses form parts of the various electrical circuits that are partially formed on the circuit board 3.
It is also known to have a power distribution block, such as Delphi Power Distribution Block 13595105, that has a housing that is attached directly to the terminals at the ends of the insulated wires of a wiring harness without any intervening plug-in connector of the wiring harness. Fuses and relays are plugged into the housing to engage the terminals at the ends of the insulated wires of the wiring harness. However, the power distribution block does not include any splicing capability and is otherwise functionally limited due primarily to the absence of a circuit board that can handle several electrical devices and circuits.


Apparatus (10) is provided for cleaning of dirty, clogged sandpaper, particularly large, industrial size sandpaper belts (190) used in furniture making operations. The apparatus (10) includes a drum (58) adapted to support a belt (190), together with blasting means (16) adjacent the drum (58) for creating a stream of particulates directed toward a portion of the belt (190) for cleaning purposes. Positioning means (18) is also provided for selectively changing the relative orientation of the blasting means (16) and the belt (190) in order successively clean different portions of the belt (190). Preferably, a laterally reciprocal nozzle (108) is employed for creating the particulate stream, and the belt (190) is intermittently shifted via a pneumatic mechanism (158) to present successive portions of the belt (190) for cleaning thereof. Dislodged material and dust is conveyed from the apparatus (10) through a port (42), whereas the particulate cleaning media is collected in a lower hopper (50) for recirculation to the nozzle (108 ).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with an apparatus for cleaning of sandpaper, and a corresponding method, which finds particular utility in the context of furniture making operations where large, industrial-sized sandpaper belts are frequently used. Broadly speaking, the apparatus of the invention includes means for supporting sandpaper in a cleaning position, together with blasting means for creating a stream of particulates directed toward the sanding surface of the paper in order dislodge accumulated sanding material; the apparatus further includes positioning means for selectively altering the relative spatial orientation of the blasting means and sanding surface, in order to direct the particulate stream toward different portions of the sanding surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Furniture makers employ large sanding machines for finishing wood surfaces. Typically, this equipment makes use of large endless-belt sandpaper, which may have either cloth or paper as a substrate with grit applied to the outer surface of the substrate. During sanding operations it frequently occurs that the sanding surfaces of the belts become clogged with sanded material or dust. This problem is particularly acute during the sanding of soft woods. It is well known that accumulation of dust detracts from the efficiency of the sandpaper to the point that, unless the belts are cleaned, they are effectively useless.
Cleaning of sandpaper belts has been attempted in the past, but only in the case of belts made from cloth substrates. Such prior techniques have generally involved a water rinse or washing of the belts, followed by drying. The washing procedures are only partially effective, and moreover complete drying of the belts can be difficult, particularly in humid weather. Moreover, these prior methods cannot be used with belts made using paper substrates, inasmuch as the paper will either be destroyed or distorted by contact with water.
There is accordingly a decided need in the art for an improved method and apparatus designed to effectively clean sandpaper of accumulated dust, and which is applicable both to cloth and paper-based sandpapers.


The invention relates to hydroalkylation processes. In the processes, a hydrogen stream comprising hydrogen and an impurity is treated to reduce the amount of the impurity in the hydrogen stream. The hydrogen is then hydroalkylated with benzene to form at least some cyclohexylbenzene. The processes also relate to treating a benzene stream comprising benzene and an impurity with an adsorbent to reduce the amount of the impurity in the benzene stream. The hydroalkylation processes described herein may be used as part of a process to make phenol.

Various hydroalkylation processes are known in the art. For example, benzene and hydrogen may be contacted in the presence of a hydroalkylation catalyst to form cyclohexylbenzene. In some applications, the hydroalkylation catalyst comprises a hydrogenation metal (e.g., Pd and others) and a molecular sieve (e.g., Beta, MCM-22, MCM-49, MCM-56 and others). Other hydroalkylation catalysts may also be used.
It has been discovered that impurities in the hydrogen and/or benzene feed streams can adversely affect the performance of the hydroalkylation catalyst. For example, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 (with reference to Examples 1 and 2), the inventors have discovered that the presence of COx compounds (e.g., carbon monoxide) and sulfur compounds (e.g., hydrogen sulfide and carbonyl sulfide) in the hydrogen feed stream adversely affects the performance of the hydroalkylation catalyst.
Similarly, and as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 (with reference to Examples 3 and 4), the presence of sulfur compounds (e.g., diphenylsulfide) in the benzene feed adversely affects the performance of the hydroalkylation catalyst.
As such, what is needed is a process for treating hydrogen and/or benzene reactant streams to remove at least a portion of the impurities, thereby increasing the efficacy and prolonging the life of the hydroalkylation catalyst.


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device, comprises steps of forming a common contact hole for a first conductivity-type region and a second conductivity-type region, implanting an impurity in at least one of the first conductivity-type region and the second conductivity-type region, and forming a shared contact plug by filling an electrical conducting material in the contact hole, wherein in the implanting step, an impurity is implanted in at least one of the first conductivity-type region and the second conductivity-type region such that the first conductivity-type region and the shared contact plug are brought into ohmic contact with each other, and the second conductivity-type region and the shared contact plug are brought into ohmic contact with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device fabrication method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-85304 relates to a method of fabricating a MOS photoelectric conversion device. This reference has disclosed a technique by which the gate of an amplifier MOS transistor in a pixel is connected to a floating diffusion by a shared contact plug. The shared contact technique is advantageous in downsizing semiconductor devices.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-85304 does not mention the relationship between the conductivity type or impurity concentration of a diffusion region to be connected by the shared contact plug and the conductivity type or impurity concentration of the gate of a MOS transistor.
When two regions to be connected by the shared contact plug have opposite conductivity types, the shared contact plug must be brought into ohmic contact with both of the two regions. However, no reference has discussed this subject. It is difficult to obtain a highly integrated, low-noise, high-speed semiconductor device unless ohmic contacts with these two regions are achieved.


The present invention relates to an apparatus for winding an elongate strap onto a winch. The winch has a hub member to which may be coupled the strap winding apparatus and a reel element fixed to the hub member about which may be wound the elongate strap. The strap winding apparatus has a protective housing and a winding assembly at least partially retained within the housing. The winding assembly includes a coupling ring sized to fit over the hub member for selective mating therewith and a spool assembly. The spool assembly has a spool member mounted in surrounding relation with the coupling ring, a cord which may be wound about the spool member and which may be pulled to urge rotation of the spool member in a first direction, and a torsion spring member connected to both the housing and the spool member. The spring member is configured to store spring energy when the cord is pulled and the spool member rotates in the first direction, and to release spring energy to the spool member when the cord is released thereby urging the spool member to rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction and causing the cord to be wound about the spool member. The coupling ring has an engagement member pivotally mounted thereto. The engagement member is engageable with both the hub member and the spool member so as to allow torque from the spool member to be transmitted to the hub member via the coupling ring such that when the cord is pulled and the spool member rotates in the first direction the hub member will also rotate thereby causing the elongate strap to be wound about the reel member. The apparatus may be also be used to wind other elongate flexible elements such as webbing, a rope, a cable or a cord.

Flat bed trailers have been used increasingly to transport timber, lumber, metal stock, machinery and other cargo. The cargo is usually secured to the flat bed using long flexible straps carried on winches mounted to the underside of the flat bed. In a typical cargo securing operation, a suitable length of strap is drawn from the winch, placed across the top of the cargo and attached to both sides of the flat bed.
Once the cargo is removed from the flat bed, it becomes necessary to rewind the length of strap onto the winch for safe storage. This task is often performed by manually rotating the hub member which projects from the side of the winch bracket. More specifically, the operator or user grasps the hub member and turns the hub member manually in angular increments in the winch take-up direction to effect winding of the strap onto the winch. When performed in this manner, the winding tends to be carried out in an discontinuous or interrupted fashion because the user is required to constantly readjust his grip on the hub member. The user's efforts may be further hampered by the little clearance which may exist between the hub member and the flat bed. As a result, manual winding tends to be a highly inefficient, tedious, time-consuming and labour-intensive procedure. Furthermore, because of the repetitive nature of the movement, the user may be at risk of developing repetitive strain disorder or other such condition. These problems are further compounded or exacerbated in the case where this procedure needs to be repeated to effect strap winding on multiple winches.
Several attempts have been made to facilitate the winding of a strap onto a winch. One such example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,844 issued to Anderson. This patent relates to a portable crank assembly provided with a handle, an expandable compression member adapted for insertion into the hollow core of the hub member and a bar connecting the handle to the compression member. The compression member is attached to the bar with a bolt and wing nut. The bolt extends through the compression member and carries thereon a backup washer which bears against the compression member. By tightening the wing nut on the bolt, the backup washer can be drawn against the compression member to thereby apply a compressive force on the compression member. The application of this force causes the compression member to expand outwardly for frictional engagement with the inner wall of the winch hub member. Thus arranged, the crank assembly and hub member can be locked together for rotation. To wind the strap onto the winch, the user grasps the grip element of the handle and manually operates the crank assembly. The crank assembly can be decoupled from the hub member by loosening the wing nut to allow the compression member to return to its original shape and size and be disengaged from the hub member.
While this crank assembly tends to constitute an improvement over manual winding of the strap onto the winch, there are concerns that the device is not sufficiently robust to resist wear arising from repeated use. In particular, the compression member of the crank assembly may be prone to excessive wear and accordingly, may require frequent replacement. In addition, because of its configuration, the repeated use of this device may still present some risk of injury to the user by placing undue strain on the wrist of the user.
Another approach to winding a strap onto a winch was taken in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,637 issued to Mocci. This patent describes a winch winding bar in the nature of a steel rod in which several bends have been formed therein to define two rod portions which are axially offset from each other. Sleeves are fitted over these rod portions and provide a surface which may be gripped by the user when using the winch winding bar. A hook is formed at one end of the steel rod for receipt within the apertures defined in the annular wall of the hub member. The hook provides an interface to the winch and serves to transfer the rotary motion from the winding bar to the winch. To wind the strap about the winch, the user inserts the hook into the apertures of the hub member, places his/her hands on the sleeves and then applies a rotary force on the winch winding bar. As the winding bar rotates, the strap becomes wound onto the winch. While this device obviates the drawbacks associated with the portable crank assembly described above, its operation requires the use of two hands which may not be desirable in certain field applications.
In light of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to have a portable apparatus for mechanically winding a strap onto the winch that is of robust construction, is safe, simple and quick to use and does not require two hands during operation.

Apparatus for winding an elongate strap onto a winch


Disclosed are methods and systems to automatically detect and optionally classify when a recipient receives goods in surveillance video. According to one exemplary embodiment, a computer implemented method determines a customer has received goods which are associated with a retail environment.

The exemplary embodiment relates generally to the detection of goods received gestures in surveillance video and finds particular application in connection with a system and method which allows for automatic classification and/or detection of goods received gestures in surveillance video.
Technological advancement and increased availability of surveillance technology over the past few decades has enabled companies to perform new tasks with surveillance video. Generally, companies capture and store video footage of retail settings for their own protection and for the security and protection of employees and customers. However, this video footage has uses beyond security and safety, such as its potential for data-mining and estimating consumer behavior and experience. Analysis of video footage may allow for slight improvements in efficiency or customer experience, which in the aggregate can have a large financial impact. Many retailers provide services that are heavily data driven and therefore have an interest in obtaining numerous customer and store metrics, such as queue lengths, experience time both in-store and for drive-through, specific order timing, order accuracy, and customer response.
Several corporations are patenting retail-setting applications for surveillance video beyond well-known security and safety applications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,115, issued Nov. 7, 1995, entitled VIDEO TRAFFIC MONITOR FOR RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS AND THE LIKE, by Conrad et al., counts detected people and records the count according to the direction of movement of the people. U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,055, issued Sep. 14, 1999, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING AND ANALYZING A QUEUE, by Huang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,625, issued Dec. 3, 1996, entitled STEREO VISION SYSTEM FOR COUNTING ITEMS IN A QUEUE, by Connel, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,121, issued Feb. 27, 2001, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING AND ANALYZING A QUEUE, by Huang et. al, each disclose examples of monitoring queues. U.S. Pat. No. 6,654,047, issued Nov. 25, 2003, entitled METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR ACQUIRING INFORMATION ON A TRAFFIC LINE OF PERSONS, by Lizaka, monitors groups of people within queues. U.S. Pat. No. 7,688,349, issued Mar. 30, 2010, entitled METHOD OF DETECTING AND TRACKING GROUPS OF PEOPLE, by Flickner et al., monitors various behaviors within a reception setting.
While the above-mentioned patents describe data mining applications related to video monitoring, none of them disclose the detection of goods received gestures within a retail or surveillance setting. Data driven retailers are showing increased interest in process-related data from which performance metrics can be extracted. One such performance metric is a customer's total experience time (TET) from which guidelines to improve order efficiency and customer satisfaction can be extracted. While prior art teaches how to estimate important components of the TET estimate such as queue length, no techniques have been disclosed on accurate estimation of goods received detection, which is a key element in TET measurement. Therefore, there is a need for a system and method that automatically detects and/or classifies goods received gestures in surveillance video.
In general, gesture recognition approaches have been based on modeling human movement. Many approaches use local image and video based approaches, as disclosed in LEARNING REALISTIC HUMAN ACTIONS FROM MOVIES, I. Laptev et al. (CVPR 2008), and RECOGNIZING HUMAN ACTIONS: A Local SVM Approach (ICPR 2004), each of these references describing modeling of the human shape during certain action. More recent approaches have employed space-time feature detectors and descriptors, as disclosed in EVALUATION OF LOCAL SPATIO-TEMPORAL FEATURES FOR ACTION RECOGNITION, by H. Wang et al. (BMVC 2009). These gesture recognition based approaches however have not been applied in the context of surveillance video retail applications, from which payment gestures can be detected using the technology disclosed herein.
A system and method for automatically detecting and/or classifying goods received gestures in surveillance video is desired. Successful detection of goods received gestures with a facile and low computational cost algorithm can prove to be an effective measure in aiding recent efforts by retailers to encapsulate a customer's experience through performance metrics. The disclosed methods and system focus on algorithmic processing of a video sequence to provide accurate detection of various goods received gestures at near real-time speeds.

Methods and systems for goods received gesture recognition


Described herein is a portable, self-contained, electronic radioscopic imaging system that utilizes a multiple camera imager and advanced processing techniques to image suspicious containers. An X-ray sensor or imager utilizes a scintillating screen that produces flashes of light when impinged by an X-ray in combination with at least one camera, or the like, to produce an integrated signal that represents the sum of a prescribed number of flashes of radiation that pass through the object in a given pixel area. A self-contained display and control unit utilizes digital signal processing in order to display to an operator the full dynamic range and resolution of an image-capturing novel sensor utilized within the imager.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of radioscopic imaging and more particularly to the field of non-intrusive imaging utilizing a portable device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many instances in the security or customs field when it is necessary to examine or inspect, in a non-destructive way, the contents of a closed package, box, suitcase, or other container. For example, customs departments are routinely charged with the responsibility of inspecting the contents of incoming packages to make sure such packages do not contain explosives, drugs or other contraband. Similarly, terrorists, criminals, or other enemies frequently carry out their criminal acts of terrorism or war by planting bombs in sealed containers or packages, and then sending the sealed containers/packages to the intended victims, e.g., through the mail, or planting the sealed container/packages at the desired target, e.g., by leaving a locked suitcase or a sealed box containing a bomb in a busy public transportation terminal. When security personnel encounter suspicious packages or other containers being sent through the mail, or left at public transportation terminals, or other locations, they must perform a careful inspection of such containers to ascertain their contents.
The inspection of suspicious containers, e.g., suitcases, sealed boxes/packages and the like usually occurs on location in a non-destructive manner, so as to avoid triggering any explosive materials within the suspicious container. Although portable systems do exist for this purpose, such systems are limited in their imaging capabilities. Known systems utilize, for example, an x-ray source with detector and a single camera for imaging the suspicious containers. The reliance on a single camera limits the size of the resulting image. In cases where the suspicious package is larger than the imaging area, it would be necessary to move the system and capture multiple images in order to adequately inspect the entire container. This is inefficient and potentially dangerous since time may be of the essence when unknowingly inspecting timed explosive devices. Further, multiple images of a single container are not easily analyzed as they may be difficult to align in order to cover the entirety of the container and image small objects-of interest, such as a trigger. Taking multiple images of a single container by moving the inspection device, results in a variance of image quality, compounding an already difficult task of stitching images together to form one complete image of the container being inspected.

Portable system and method for non-intrusive radioscopic imaging

Science Applications International Corporation


A spotlight includes a lamp housing, a support pivotally supporting the lamp housing from below and a lamp assembly pivotally installed inside the lamp housing, wherein an electrically-conductive slip ring is provided at where the lamp housing is pivotally connected to the support to allow the spotlight capably providing 360-degree horizontal lighting.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to spotlights, and more particularly to a spotlight using an electrically-conductive slip ring and having 360-degree horizontal lighting.
2. Description of Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional spotlight 90 is a lamp capable of changing its lighting direction vertically and horizontally. The spotlight 90 comprises a lamp housing 91 and a support 92 pivotally supporting the lamp housing 91 from below.
In the lamp housing 91, a partition 94 divides the interior of the lamp housing 91 into a lamp compartment 91a and a driving-device compartment 91b.
A lamp assembly 95 is pivotally installed in the lamp compartment 91a. A vertical driving device 96 is installed in the driving-device compartment 91b and affixed to the middle partition 94. A horizontal driving device 97 is fixedly installed inside the support 92.
A curved rack 95a is provided behind the lamp assembly 95, for the vertical driving device 96 to engage and move the lamp assembly 95. In response to the driving force from the vertical driving device 96, the lamp assembly 95 tilts up and down in the lamp compartment 91a of the lamp housing 91, so as to provide a vertically changeable lighting angle.
A ring gear 91c is provided below the lamp housing 91, for the horizontal driving device 97 to engage and move the lamp assembly 95. In response to the driving force from the horizontal driving device 97, the lamp housing 91, together with the lamp assembly 95 installed in its lamp compartment 91a, swivels right and left against the support 92, so as to provide a horizontally changeable lighting angle.
The conventional spotlight 90 is powered through a cable 98. The cable 98 includes three sets of power cords. The first power cord set 98a is electrically connected to the lamp assembly 95 of the conventional spotlight 90, for powering the illumination of the lamp assembly 95. The second power cord set 98b is electrically connected to the motor of the vertical driving device 96 of the conventional spotlight 90, for powering the motor to rotate forward or reversely. The third power cord set 98c is electrically connected to the motor of the horizontal driving device 97 of the conventional spotlight 90, for powering the motor to rotate forward or reversely.
However, in use, when the conventional spotlight 90 tries to make a horizontal 360-degree rotation, the three power cord sets 98a, 98b and 98c of the cable 98 tend to twist and get pulled apart. For this reason, the conventional spotlight 90 is limited by the three power cord sets 98a, 98b and 98c and fails to provide 360-degree horizontal illumination.

Spotlight having 360-degree horizontal lighting


This invention is directed to solid electrochemical cells containing a solid radiation cured polymer electrolyte and a cathode composed of radiation cured polymer electrolyte and fullerene.

The use of electrochemical intercalation permits reversible energy storage through diffusive processes. Intercalation refers to the process wherein molecules, atoms, or ions are reversibly inserted in lattice vacancies, or between the layers of a lattice, in solid materials. The solid polymer electrolyte lithium-reversible battery is the product of research on solid ionic conductors and intercalation electrodes. It combines the use of thin-film lithium-ion-conducting polymer electrolytes, with lithium-ion-reversible electrodes. This all-solid rechargeable electrochemical cell is made of two lithium reversible electrodes, one acting as a source of lithium ions during discharge, the other as a lithium ion sink. The two electrodes are separated by a thin polymer electrolyte acting as a lithium ion carrier. The electrolyte normally contains an inorganic ionic salt and a solvent. The process is reversed during recharge. The lithium ion source can be a lithium metal foil (or lithium alloy); a low-potential lithium ion insertion material (e.g. WO.sub.2); or a lithium n-doped conjugated polymer. The lithium ion sink is usually a lithium ion insertion compound (TiS.sub.2, V.sub.6 O.sub.13, MoO.sub.2, etc.); another lithium reducible transition metal compound such as FeS.sub.2, NiS.sub.2 ; or a p-doped conjugated polymer. The lithium metal foil anode and the lithium ion intercalatable (insertion) cathode combination is usually seen as the best choice from the point of view of energy density and discharge/recharge cyclability capacity.
In a solid polymer electrolyte battery, the lithium ion carrier is generally obtained by dissolving a lithium salt (LiClO.sub.4, LiCF.sub.3 SO.sub.3) in a solvating aprotic polymer such as poly (ethylene) oxide with a solvent (propylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, tetrahydrofurane, glymes, dioxolane, etc.).
Buckminsterfullerene, C.sub.60, was first synthesized in 1985. Five years later, a process for making it in large quantities was devised (Nature, 1990, 347, 354; Chem. Phys. Lett., 1990, 170, 167). The molecule has a structure like no other. It is a C.sub.60 molecule composed entirely of carbon. It is a hollow shell, very nearly spherical. It is only the third form of pure carbon known in nature. The other two being diamond and graphite. Geometrically, the "bucky ball" is a truncated regular icosahedron. The C.sub.60 member of the fullerene family is most prominent, but there are other members of the family. C.sub.70 fullerene has the oblong shape of a rugby football, and there are smaller fullerenes, such as C.sub.44. Partially hydrogenated fullerenes are also known, such as C.sub.60 H.sub.36, which maintain the geometric structure of C.sub.60. Haufler, J. Phys. Chem., 1990, 94, 8634, reports the ease of reduction of C.sub.60, and suggests it should be possible to electrochemically produce stable "buckide" salts. He predicts applications such as new materials, perhaps even extending to a new class of rechargeable batteries.
Chabre et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1992, 114, 764-766, demonstrated the electrochemical intercalation of lithium into solid C.sub.60 using solid electrochemical cells and polymer electrolyte. Their cell was constructed with metallic lithium negative electrodes, a P(EO).sub.8 LiClO.sub.4 polymer electrolyte film, and a composite positive electrode containing 60% active material and 40% electrolyte by volume. The positive electrode was cast from acetonitrile suspension on a stainless steel current collector. The cells were operated at 80.degree. C. in order to maintain the electrolyte in the high ionic conducting amorphous phase.
The ionic conductivity of solid polymer, PEO, electrolyte in lithium/fullerene batteries is a major limitation to operation at ambient temperatures, especially for applications under low temperature conditions. Warming the batteries from ordinary temperatures to minimum operating temperatures of more than 60.degree. C. requires large and wasteful expenditures of energy.
It would be advantageous if a solid polymer electrolyte/fullerene battery could operate efficiently at lower temperatures.
It would also be advantageous if a solid polymer electrolyte fullerene battery operated in numerous discharge/recharge cycles with high cumulative capacity.

Fullerene-containing cathodes for solid electrochemical cells


LED light tube replaces a fluorescent light mounted in a fluorescent light fixture. Main power is feed only to the first socket end mount of the fluorescent fixture. The LED light tube includes an elongated tubular structure substantially the size and length of the fluorescent light tube and extends between the first and second end mounts of the fixture. Within an end region of the tubular structure and adjacent the first tube end mount, an internal power supply converts the main line power to LED bank power. The tubular structure of the LED light includes an elongated semi-spherical substantially transparent top cover mounted atop a printed circuit board substrate. The substrate supports a plurality of LEDs thereon.

Fluorescent light tubes are commonly used in offices and stores and commercial buildings. These fluorescent light tubes, which may be 3, 4 or 5 feet long are removably fit into fluorescent light tube fixtures of a corresponding size. These fixtures have end mounts which cooperate with bi-pin connectors extending from the end caps of the fluorescent light tubes. Additionally, these fluorescent light tubes are powered by power conversion circuits and ballast circuits.
There is a new generation of light emitting diodes or LEDs which, in certain situations, can replace the fluorescent light tubes. U.S. Pat. No. 7,510,299 to Timmermans and U.S. Pat. No. 7,049,761 to Timmermans disclose some prior art LED light tubes.


The reusable energy absorbing lab seat 10 includes a seat bucket for holding an anthropomorphic test device, a seat support structure, an energy absorbing system, a false floor structure, and a fail-safe system. The seat support structure is for securing the seat bucket to a sled that corresponds to a horizontal accelerator. The energy absorbing system is for absorbing energy imposed by the horizontal accelerator on the seat bucket and the anthropomorphic test device. The false floor structure is for simulating a real floor of a vehicle or aircraft. The fail-safe system is for reducing damage to the reusable energy absorbing seat, the anthropomorphic test device, and lab facilities in case the energy absorbing system fails.

Currently when testing personnel mounted equipment a horizontal accelerator is used. A horizontal accelerator may be defined, but without limitation, as an apparatus that can make an object move along a track at various speeds and can be used to create acceleration forces and pulse shapes typically seen in crashes and other types of accelerated environments. Typically during testing a rigid seat is used on the accelerator. Rigid seats are not representative of the type of seats utilized in aircraft or real world vehicles. Crashworthy energy absorbing seats are used in modern military rotorcraft and other vehicles to help protect personnel on the aircraft from the potentially lethal forces experienced during a crash. The crashworthy seating systems that are used in aircraft can cost in excess of $80,000 per seat. Therefore, utilizing these seats to qualify and test personnel mounted equipment tend to be cost prohibitive. Utilizing a rigid seat in testing and/or in laboratory environments results in inaccurate data when testing is conducted in vertically oriented crash tests. As a result, a reusable energy absorbing test seat that accurately simulates crashworthy seats used in aircraft is needed.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Embodiments of the present invention provide a data transmission method, a data transmission apparatus, a processor, and a mobile terminal. The data transmission method includes: determining, by a mobile terminal, whether to use multiple data channels to transmit to-be-transmitted data; if determining to use the multiple data channels to transmit the to-be-transmitted data, selecting, by the mobile terminal, at least two activated data channels for the to-be-transmitted data according to current traffic information and service quality information that are of the multiple data channels; and using, by the mobile terminal, the selected at least two data channels to transmit the to-be-transmitted data.

With development of communications technologies, a mobile terminal is increasingly widely applied to all aspects of human life. People use mobile terminals to access the Internet anytime and anywhere, so as to have various network experience, such as watching a video, or uploading or downloading a file.
To help a mobile terminal user use the Internet and to improve user experience of using the mobile terminal, more mobile terminals support multiple cards, and more than a few mobile terminals can support concurrency of multi-card data services in terms of specification. However, a mobile terminal that currently supports the concurrency of multi-card data services has multiple data channels, but a data service of only one card can be activated by default, that is, only one data channel can be in an activated state. A multi-card mobile terminal using an Android™ operating system is used as an example. Generally, in the multi-card mobile terminal using the Android operating system, a WiFi data channel has a higher priority than a card data channel, that is, after the WiFi data channel is activated, the card data channel is deactivated. Therefore, at a same time, only one data channel of the multi-card mobile terminal using the Android™ operating system is in an activated state to perform data interaction. Data transmission for all data services is performed by using this activated data channel.
It may be learned that in an existing multi-card mobile terminal, data transmission efficiency is low and an available data channel is idle, thereby causing a waste of resources.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Data transmission method, data transmission apparatus, processor, and mobile terminal


Multichannel communications method and system wherein transmit power is controlled for each channel to achieve progressive approach towards a preset or given minimum of signal (or carrier) to noise plus interference ratio (SNIR) for any active channel concerned. Progression is by steps from frame to frame of transmissions according to signals as received in the previous frame and scaling of difference between reciprocals of previous frame actual and preset or given minimum SNIRs.

Fading of transmitted signals can be a serious problem in cellular radio telephone systems. Intermittent loss of signal, even losing connections altogether, can result. Practical system capacity at any time is also important, and can be adversely affected at least temporarily by overall limit on transmit power and bandwidth. It is not sensible or practical to consider driving every available communications channel always at a power level sufficient to satisfy weakest possible transmission. Prior approaches to appropriate power control have included monitoring signals within a subscriber's channel relative to a predefined signal strength above which a base station will command reduction of transmitting power by subscriber equipment concerned. Unfortunately, such approach can actually contribute to signal degradation. Thus, if transmitting power is so reduced when it is wholly or mainly power of interference content that has increased, the signal (or carrier) to noise-plus-interference ratio (SNIR) will be made yet worse. Another approach has been to accept as inevitable that some connections will always be at risk, and, whether relative to indication of actual SNIR or otherwise, simply to seek to limit the channels at risk to a small percentage, say 10% or less, typically so that the majority, say 90% or more, are viable, i.e. at least effectively have SNIR above a given minimum value. Ordinarily, normal spread of actual SNIR values will mean that most channels are well above such given minimum value, and it is an object of this invention to provide power control with such channels closer to such given minimum value, so that at least some channels previously below SNIR threshold may attain an SNIR above threshold due to overall reduction in interference levels.

Nortel Networks Corporation/Corporation Nortel Networks


For the purpose of providing a simulation model allowing gate simulation but is capable of keeping the circuit information on the functional block (IP) secret, a method of generating a simulation model provided herein by the present invention comprises a step of generating a net list containing circuit information of an electronic circuit using a functional block; and a step of deleting the circuit information based on the net list, and generating a gate simulation model carrying out a timing simulation, including logic information and delay information between input/output of the functional block.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of generating a simulation model, and in particular to a method of generating a simulation model used for timing verification of electronic circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an exemplary case where the vendor and customer collaboratively create a product by making it possible to simulate it based on a circuit information having a standard format which has conventionally been used, simulation of operations of an electronic circuit may be available using a semiconductor integrated circuit provided from various manufacturers, wherein the circuit information of the above-described format is described according to a publicly-disclosed certain rule, so that the receiving party was capable of readily understanding, by decoding the circuit information, types of elements used for the semiconductor integrated circuit and connective correlation of the individual elements, which belong to design information such as know-how on the circuit design and trends in the development.
The vendor has to provide the circuit information of a functional block to the customer so as to allow the customer to perform the simulation. The customer designs an electronic circuit using the functional block and simulates it based on the circuit information of the functional block. Provision of the circuit design to the customer, however, raises a problem that information such as know-how on the circuit design, which is unwanted to be known to the others, can be obtained by the customer.
As one solution for the above-described problem, Patent Document 1 below takes a measure in which the circuit information is encrypted so as to keep the design information such as know-how on the circuit design or trends in the development secret.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-171367
The circuit information per se, however, still remains even after the encryption, so that decryption of the crypt makes it possible to restore the original circuit information. Recent advancement in processing ability of computers and in network technology makes it possible to more readily decrypt the circuit information using a decryption key.
In the recent stream of scale-up of integrated circuit as a result of advancement in the circuit technology and wide spreading of IP (intellectual property), it has been also made clear that a single semiconductor circuit has a section whose circuit information has to be kept secret as an IP, and a section not always necessarily be kept secret.
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a simulation model allowing gate simulation but is capable of keeping the circuit information on the functional block (IP) secret.

Method of generating simulation model while circuit information is omitted


A display driver which drives a plurality of data lines of an electro-optical device includes a capture start timing setting register in which is set a period between a changing time of a given capture start timing instruction signal and a staring time of capturing the gray-scale data, and shift start signal generation circuit which generates a shift start signal based on a setting state of the capture start timing setting register. The display driver includes a shift register which shifts the shift start signal based on a given shift clock signal, and outputs a shift output, and a data latch which includes a plurality of flip-flops, each of which holds the gray-scale data based on the shift output from the shift register, and outputs a data signal corresponding to the gray-scale data held in the data latch to the data lines.

The present invention relates to a display driver and an electro-optical device.
A display panel (electro-optical device or display device in a broad sense) represented by a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel is mounted on a portable telephone or a personal digital assistant (PDA). In particular, the LCD panel realizes a reduction of size, power consumption, and cost in comparison with other display panels, and is mounted on various electronic instruments.

Display driver and electro-optical device


Sealed, deformable, air-containing packages or pouches are subject to heat sterilization in a sealable processing vessel. The shape and integrity of the sealed deformable packages is maintained through precise temperature and pressure control. The improved process includes a method for calculating the partial saturated volatile material vapor pressures during the "come-up", "processing", and "come-down" phases. The partial saturated volatile material vapor pressure used during the "come-up" and "processing" phases is calculated at the highest temperature of the contents of the package. The partial saturated volatile material vapor pressure used during the "come-down" phase is calculated at the lowest temperature of the package. The present invention discloses an improved process for controlling the pressure inside retort equipment when sterilizing food in deformable plastic packages with film-type lids and any volume of headspace. The improved process is useful for retort processes, sterilization, autoclaving and pasteurization. The improved process has food, medical and industrial applications.

The present invention relates to an improved process for controlling the pressure in a processing tank or vessel used for heating and cooling deformable sealed packages having volatile contents. The invention relates more particularly to complete sterilization processes, such as retorting and autoclaving when sterilizing food, medical products or industrial products, or partial sterilization processes such as pasteurization of food or other products.
Retort sterilization of food has been an important method of food preservation for many decades. The well known process of canning is the retort sterilization of cans and jars, which are substantially non-deformable under typical retort conditions. The equipment and technology for canning is well known.
In the mid-1960's, the retort punch was commercialized in Japan for such food products as curry and stew. These pouches were essentially heavy-walled sealed plastic pouches. The retort pouch was not successful with the consuming public of the United States at that time. However, the military has used retort pouches for "MRE" or "meals ready to-eat" since the early 1970's.
The retort sterilization of food in pouches presents a significant problem for the packaging industry; namely, the pouches are prone to damage during the sterilization process. This problem is partially overcome by making the pouches stronger and more durable. Thus, one approach to retort sterilization of a pouch is to make the pouch stronger and more like a can or a jar. Of course, doing so comes at the expense of greater package cost and weight.
In the 1980's, American food companies began to investigate the use of "retortable" plastic trays, bowls, cups and other formed containers with peelable lids for shelf-stable foods. The use of plastic and other deformable food containers arose in wake of the advent of microwave ovens. Food contained in plastic retort containers can be taken off the shelf and heated in the microwave oven without the need for transferring the contents into a separate bowl or dish for heating. The popularity of these retortable plastic food containers is expected to continue its growth. However, maintaining the shape and integrity of the container and lid is essential to providing a product that is acceptable to consumers.
The problem with plastic retortable food containers is that they usually contain a certain volume of air or gas in the area above the contents, commonly referred to as headspace. When a retortable container containing food and air is heated, the air and the water vapor pressures inside the package increase. If these pressure changes are not offset properly by keeping the processing tank or vessel pressure similar to the pressure within the package, the package expands and may explode upon retorting.
Conversely, when an air-containing heated retortable container is cooled (whether after a heating step or independently), the air pressure and water vapor pressure decrease. If the pressure inside the processing tank is not reduced accordingly, the retortable container will contract and may collapse.
Thus, the retort sterilization of food in a deformable plastic container while maintaining the shape and integrity of the plastic container is a difficult task which requires precise pressure and temperature control inside the processing tank or retort chamber.
Similar problems are faced during the autoclave sterilization of medical products in deformable containers. For example, common medical applications include the sterilization of intravenous solutions, water, formulas, drugs, and liquids to be injected via syringe or other means.
Comparable problems are encountered in partial sterilization processes, and heating processes generally. The most common partial sterilization application is pasteurization. It is therefore to be understood that when the term "retort" is used, any one of the terms "pasteurize", "autoclave", or "sterilize" may be readily interchanged.
A retort or autoclave sterilization process comprises three phases: the "come-up" or heating phase, the processing (or "sterilization") phase, and the "come-down" or cooling phase.
Proper pressure control is critical to maintaining the shape and integrity of deformable packages containing headspace, especially during the "come-up" and "come-down" phases. For the purposes of the discussion below, the "gas" which fills the headspace may be nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and/or air. "Volatile material" is the water or other liquid components of the package contents which are volatile at the processing temperatures. (For most foods, the volatile material is water; however, for others it may be a mixture of components of varying volatility). For packages containing an industrial or medical devices, it may be alcohol or some other volatile material, preservative, or coating material.
The "come-up" phase is the time period in which the heating medium of the processing tank is being heated to the prescribed pasteurization or sterilization temperature. During this time, the contents of the package are also being heated and the air and water vapor pressures inside the package are increasing. The pressure inside the processing tank must be increased or the package will expand and may explode. But if the pressure in the tank is increased too much or too quickly, the package will contract and may collapse.
The processing phase is the time period in which the heating medium of the processing tank is maintained at the prescribed temperature so that the contents of the package can be sterilized. In the food industry, the degree of sterilization is described in terms of F.sub.o, which represents the accumulative time in minutes that the product was exposed to thermal processing equivalent to 250.degree. F. The F.sub.o is typically calculated at the lowest product temperature during thermal processing.
Most food retort processes use an F.sub.o significantly greater than the theoretically required value in order to assure safety. However, F.sub.o is only a theoretical standard for the sterilization of a product, and it is important to ascertain the actual level of sterilization achieved for each product using a decay test, a microbe test, or the like. In other words, the sterilization of each product should be experimentally verified before mass production of that product.
During the processing phase, the internal package or container pressure continues to increase for several minutes as the temperature of all the air and other contents of the package reach thermal equilibrium. The pressure inside the processing tank must be adjusted accordingly.
The "come-down" phase is the time period in which the heat transfer medium (usually water) and therefore the product is cooled. As the heat transfer medium is cooled, the package is cooled and the contents of the package are cooled. Consequently, the air and water vapor pressures inside the package decrease during this "come-down" phase. The pressure inside the processing tank must also be reduced or the package will contract and may collapse. However, if the tank pressure is decreased too much or too quickly, the package will expand and may explode.
Several schemes have been established to avoid the consequences of too little or too much pressure in the processing tank. Those schemes include vacuum sealing to reduce the internal air pressure; eliminating the head space in the package to an absolute minimum so as to prevent expansion of air during retorting; filling the package with heated food or contents to reduce internal pressure in the package during the processing phase; using very heavy-gauge trays and lids to withstand the pressure differential; using ultra-strong peelable seals to withstand the internal pressure in the trays; and, using lower retort temperatures and longer retort times. All of the above methods have shortcomings for the retort sterilization of a lightweight, deformable tray with a peelable lid.
Other schemes attempt to provide control over the retort vessel pressure in a manner intended to minimize the opportunity for package deformation or failure. One such scheme is the so-called "dummy method." In this scheme, a small retort chamber with a window is kept at the same temperature and pressure as the processing tank. The pressure in the processing tank is controlled on the basis of the visually observed state of deformation of the model package kept in the small chamber. It has been found, however, that a high level of skill is required for visually discerning the state of deformation of the model package in the small chamber. Furthermore, the additional small chamber requires modification of existing equipment, and a model package must be used during each sterilization cycle.
Yet another scheme is taught by Sugisawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,580, incorporated herein by reference. Sugisawa teaches that a simple delay in the increase of pressure in the processing tank during the "come-up" phase will prevent the package from collapsing. Also, it teaches that another delay in the lowering of pressure in the processing tank during the "come-down" phase will prevent the package from exploding.
More specifically, Sugisawa teaches a two-step method. First, the pressure change pattern of the air-containing retortable package is determined by installing a thermocouple or other temperature probe inside the package. The internal package pressure is calculated according to the following equations: EQU P.sub.c P.sub.a +P.sub.w ( 1)
where P.sub.c is the internal pressure of the package; P.sub.a is the partial pressure of air inside the package; and P.sub.w is the partial saturated water vapor pressure inside the package. The partial pressure of air, P.sub.a, may be calculated at any air temperature using the ideal gas law as shown in Equation No. 2: EQU PV/T=Constant (2)
where P is the absolute pressure of air or gas; V is the volume of air or gas; and T is the absolute temperature of the air or gas. Because the term PV/T of Equation No. 2 is constant, for the contents of any sealed container having initial conditions P.sub.1, V.sub.1, and T.sub.1 and modified conditions P.sub.2, V.sub.2, and T.sub.2, EQU P.sub.1 V.sub.1 /T.sub.1 =P.sub.2 V.sub.2 /T.sub.2 ( 3) EQU and, EQU P.sub.2 =P.sub.1 V.sub.1 T.sub.2 /V.sub.2 T.sub.1 ( 4)
The conditions of the package at the time it was sealed are known, and they are denoted with the subscript "p" (i.e., P.sub.p, T.sub.p, P.sub.wp etc.). Furthermore, the volume of headspace does not vary appreciably if the tank pressure and the internal container pressure are balanced; therefore the volume terms cancel. Using P.sub.a and T.sub.a as the variable pressure and temperature terms for the headspace, the gas pressure of a sealed package is expressed as: EQU P.sub.a =P.sub.p T.sub.a /T.sub.p ( 5)
Substituting the terms of Equation No. 5 into Equation No. 1, EQU P.sub.c =P.sub.p T.sub.a /T.sub.p +P.sub.w ( 6)
Correcting for the partial pressure contributed by any water vapor present at the time the package was sealed, Equation No. 6 becomes EQU P.sub.c =(P.sub.p -P.sub.wp)T.sub.a /T.sub.p +P.sub.w ( 7)
Thus, in accordance with the teachings of Sugisawa, Equation No. 7 represents the current method used to estimate the internal package pressure, P.sub.c, of a sealed package during a retort or autoclaving process. However, as described below, Equation No. 7 provides only an approximation of the actual internal pressure during the retort cycle.
One general object of the invention is to provide a process for sterilizing or pasteurizing the contents of a sealed deformable package with a peelable lid, or of a peel-open pouch containing headspace, while maintaining the shape and integrity of the deformable package or pouch.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method for controlling the pressure inside a processing tank so that the contents inside a sealed deformable package can be sterilized or pasteurized effectively without adversely affecting the shape and integrity of the sealed deformable package and the peelable lid.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method for accurately calculating the partial pressure of water or volatile material vapor inside a sealed deformable package during the "come-up", processing, and "come-down" phases of a retort process.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method for autoclaving medical devices or industrial objects in deformable packages with peelable lids, or in peel-open pouches, while maintaining the shape and integrity of the package and lid.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of pasteurizing food in sealed deformable packages with peelable lids while maintaining the shape and integrity of the package and lid.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of autoclaving, retorting or sterilizing the contents of a sealed deformable package where a volatile material other than water is present.
Further and additional objects will appear from the description, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.

Process for sterilizing the contents of a sealed deformable package


A water extraction device for partially drying wet hair surrounding a perm rod disposed in a person's hair includes a housing having an inlet and an outlet. The inlet includes a shroud which is dimensioned to closely encompass the perm rod. A motor and fan are provided for producing a substantial vacuum at the inlet and a flow of air from the inlet to the outlet. The substantial vacuum pulls water from the wet hair and the flow of air transports the water toward the outlet. The device further includes one or more water separators for removing the water from the flow of air. The water separated from the air is stored in a holding tank or communicated directly to a plumbing drain. By drawing a flow of air through the wet hair in this manner, surface tension tending to hold water in capillary size passages defined between adjacent hair strands is overcome, thus entraining water droplets in the air flow for collection.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of devices for drying hair, and more particularly, to a device especially adapted for extracting water from wet hair surrounding a perm rod disposed in a person's hair.
2. Prior Art
It is well known to style a person's hair by permanent waving. The permanent waving process involves wrapping the hair around numerous perm rods and adding a perm solution to the hair which causes the hair around the perm rods to take a curled set. The hair is then rinsed with water and partially dried before a neutralization step. The prior art drying method involves blotting the hair with towels in order to absorb the water. Towel blotting, which is usually the initial step in any hair drying process, is slow and difficult when drying hair wrapped on perm rods, because the towel cannot be effectively inserted in the confined spaces between the numerous perm rods. Also, drying of the hair is uneven because the towels make better contact with the hair exposed on top of the rods, so that the hair beneath the rods remains relatively wetter than the hair at the top. An improved apparatus and method for drying wet hair wrapped around perm rods is desirable.
A variety of hair drying devices are known. The hair drying devices typically include means for providing a flow of warm air which is directed through a nozzle toward the wet hair. The flow of warm air greatly increases the rate of water evaporation from the hair. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,678,376 to Lockwood; 4,297,564 to Bartolac; 4,309,595 to Long et al.; and 4,602,146 to Barns et al. are examples of hand-held hair drying devices which provide a flow of warm air through a nozzle for increasing the rate of water evaporation from wet hair.
Warm air blowing devices also tend to dry the hair unevenly. The upper layers of hair, which are more directly exposed to air flow, are the first to dry, while lower layers residing closer to the scalp or beneath outer layers of hair remain wet or damp after the upper or outer layers are dry. This problem can be alleviated by lifting up the hair with a brush or comb during the drying process in order to expose all the layers of the hair to air flow, more or less evenly. However, when the hair is wrapped around a perm rod, the method of lifting up lower layers of the hair with a comb is not available as long as the perm rods are in place. The warm air blower type dryers cannot effectively dry hair wrapped around perm rods because the inner layers of hair wrapped around the perm rods are shielded from the airflow by the outer layers and remain wet after the outer layers have dried.
The present invention removes water using a vacuum device which engages over a perm rod together with the hair wrapped on the rod. Hair vacuuming devices are known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,668,315 to Crosby and 2,753,434 to Storm, Jr. disclose hand-held devices which produce suction for removing hair clippings, dandruff and similar dry foreign matter from a person's hair. These devices have nozzles with protruding fingers which admit air into the suction inlet and also are adapted to massage the scalp for loosening particles while the suction removes the particles from the hair. Neither of these patents contemplates applying suction to the hair for drying purposes, and the nozzles provided with these devices are not adapted to closely encompass a defined body of hair, such as hair wrapped on a perm rod or roller, for drying purposes.
Drying of hair amounts to removing water. When considering the idea of drying an article having a surface, one must distinguish between removing water which is absorbed in the article, water which remains on the surface of the article by surface tension, and excess water which readily flows relative to the article. Insofar as human hair and the like are concerned, hair strands absorb some water and individual strands will retain some water on their surfaces. However, the greater proportion of water in human hair which is wet by a perm solution, rinse water or a similar liquid is either excess flowable water tending to flow by gravity to the lowermost ends of the follicles and to drip off, or is captive water held in the mass of hair by surface tension which holds water between adjacent strands of hair. Adjacent strands lie close enough to one another to define capillary passages which hold the water, and also cause the hair strands to cling to one another. It has been discovered according to the invention that this water held between strands is readily removable by an appropriate form of suction apparatus.
Water or moisture in hair normally is considered to be removable only by blotting or by evaporation, and evaporation can be accelerated by airflow. The present invention provides a device which is especially adapted for extracting water from wet hair wrapped around perm rods on a person's head, i.e., where there is a tendency of water to reside in capillary sized passages between strands. The invention provides a strong suction at an inlet to a housing. The inlet is especially adapted to closely encompass a perm rod for moving air through the capillary passages and overcoming the surface tension which holds the water in place. The invention thus frees water which is held captive along the hair by surface tension by a vacuum applied at the suction inlet and collects the water for reception in a bottle, tank or drain. The vacuum provided at the suction inlet draws air substantially through the mass of hair, thereby extracting the water evenly from all the layers of hair wrapped around the perm rod.


Vectors associated with multiple sources are quantized with a codebook. A mapping function associates each source with a subset of codevectors in the codebook, each subset being defined prior to quantization. Each vector from a source is matched to a codevector in the subset corresponding to the source. The universal codebook is designed by first providing a codebook and a mapping function. Using the codebook, the mapping function is updated by identifying subsets that reduce distortion when vectors from a source are quantized using a corresponding subset.

This invention relates to vector quantization with a universal codebook.
Vector quantization compresses a signal vector by representing the vector with a codevector chosen from a codebook. An index identifying the codevector is transmitted as the compressed output.
The codebook is typically designed for a signal vector having a particular probability distribution. For instance, the codevectors in the codebook may correspond to the most frequent values assumed by the signal vector, in order to minimize the distortion caused by compression.
When it becomes necessary to compress signals arising from different sources (and thus having significantly different probability distributions), a different codebook is required for each source in order to minimize distortion. The increased number of codebooks increases the storage requirements of the vector quantization scheme. To alleviate this problem, some vector quantization schemes require groups of sources to share codebooks.

Universal codebook vector quantization with constrained storage


A head of an ultrasonic probe is formed by joining a flexible sheet holding a plurality of ultrasonic transducers to a curved surface of a support. Concave-convex shapes (concave-convex surfaces) are provided on the curved surface of the support and a joining surface of the flexible sheet. The concave-convex surfaces correspond to each other, and are engaged with each other to determine relative positions of the flexible sheet and the support when they are joined. Each of grooves on the concave-convex surface is positioned between adjacent ultrasonic transducers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a joining method for curved surfaces in which a flexible member is joined on a curved surface of a curved member, an ultrasonic probe used for ultrasonic diagnostics, and a manufacturing method of the ultrasonic probe.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In the medical field of recent years, a medical diagnosis utilizing ultrasonic images is put to practical use. The ultrasonic image is obtained by electrically detecting echo signals, which are sent from a biologic body, with an ultrasonic observing unit connected to an ultrasonic probe via a connector. The ultrasonic observing unit applies ultrasonic waves to a relevant part of the biologic body from the ultrasonic probe. A known mode for driving the ultrasonic probe is an electronic scan mode in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are disposed to transmit and receive the ultrasonic waves. In this mode, the ultrasonic transducers to be driven are selectively changed by electronic switches or the like.
Regarding the ultrasonic probe of the electronic scan mode, there is a convex electronic scan mode in which the ultrasonic transducers (a number of which is 94 to 128, for example) are disposed at the top of the probe of a fan-like shape. Beside this mode, there is a radial electronic scan mode in which the ultrasonic transducers (a number of which is 360, for example) are arranged in a radial pattern at the periphery of the top of the probe.
As a method for producing such an ultrasonic probe, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8-089505 discloses a method in which firstly an ultrasonic transducer plate is joined on a flexible sheet (flexible member) formed of a backing material, and diced into a predetermined size, and then the flexible sheet is curved and joined along a curved surface of a convex or a cylindrical support (curved member).
However, in the method of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8-089505, it is possible that relative positions of the flexible sheet and the support are misaligned (joining misalignment) in joining these two parts. Owing to this, misalignment of the ultrasonic transducers (positional misalignment) is caused, and quality of an ultrasonic image is degraded by deviation in sensitivity and frequency band of ultrasonic.

Joining method for curved surfaces, and ultrasonic probe and manufacturing method thereof