A thermostat is disclosed for controlling a heating system, particularly a forced hot-air furnace, so as to improve fuel efficiency and decrease peak fuel load. The thermostat controls the length of fuel-on cycles, so that the heat exchanger of the furnace is not saturated. A wide deadband (approximately 3.degree. F.) for the thermostat further aids in lessening fuel usage. Forced air operation continues for a secondary-delivery period immediately after the thermostat turns the furnace off, thereby extracting additional heat from the heat exchanger and ductwork, but the length of the secondary-delivery period is limited so that the heat exchanger does not cool off beyond a predetermined amount.

This invention concerns a thermostat for controlling heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in a manner that conserves expenditure of energy and lessens utility peak-load. The invention also concerns a method for operating HVAC systems under the control of such a thermostat to conserve energy and lessen utility peak-load. The invention is directed particularly to such operation of furnaces of such HVAC systems.
The use of short heating cycles to conserve energy in furnaces is taught by, among others, Phillips et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,023. Carney et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,001 generally reviews the prior art in this field including on/off cycling techniques previously taught.
While the Carney et al. thermostat may provide savings in energy usage, the present inventors believe that its technique has limitations that prevent achievement of energy savings beyond a certain point. More specifically, its technique of manipulation of on-time and off-time intervals until the system runs into the edge of the deadband of the set-point is only indirectly related to the HVAC system parameters and the model characterizing the system. That in turn limits the optimization possible, particularly when system parameters (such as ambient temperature) change. Hence, the Carney et al. thermostat can cause the HVAC system to operate under conditions of heat-exchanger saturation or nonlinearity, which leads to fuel waste. In addition, the cycling system using incrementation or decrementation of on-time and off-time intervals requires a many-cycle period to catch up with changes in temperature on load.
While Carney et al. and Phillips et al. recognize the desirability of short on-time intervals, they (as well as others using increment/decrement cycling methods) fail to provide thermostat systems that consistently avoid partial saturation of the HVAC system's heat exchanger. Rather, their and other prior art thermostats utilize "continuous burn" cycles (also referred to as 100% duty cycles) to reach set-point temperature, when that is deemed necessary to overcome a temperature excursion. They do so despite the fact that such operation leads to full or partial saturation of the heat exchanger with a consequent adverse effect on fuel consumption efficiency.
Similarly, although Karl et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,684 discloses limitation of fuel-on intervals to a given maximum value, the length of the interval thus taught is not related to the saturation characteristics of the heat exchanger of the HVAC system.
Further, total saturation of a heat exchanger is not the only operating region in which the heat exchanger is inefficient. A heat exchanger may not be fully saturated to the point where no heat exchange at all occurs. Nevertheless, to the extent that the length of the fuel-consuming interval is so long that significant nonlinearity occurs, then inefficient fuel utilization occurs because of relatively poorer heat transfer. It is believed that prior art thermostats fail to teach the importance of consistently remaining in a linear operating region of the HVAC system's heat exchanger and avoiding more than minimal partial saturation of the heat exchanger. This issue is discussed in greater detail in the specification of the parent patent application of which this patent application is a continuation-in-part, said specification being incorporated herein by reference.
It is also believed that the prior art does not address the issue of making heat flux from the furnace to the heated space equal heat flux from the heated space to the ambient. In particular, the prior art does not address determination of system parameters characterizing such flux, so as to regulate it at a desired equilibrium. Rather, prior art devices in this art depend on temperature measured at the thermostat to regulate space temperature, on a feedback basis. Thus, when the difference between measured space temperature at the thermostat and a predetermined setpoint temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold, the heating system is actuated (or deactivated).
It is known to use wide "deadbands" for thermostats of such systems, providing hysteresis to counteract such effects as undue system fluctuation or "hunting," which may at times result from slight drafts caused by a person walking past the thermostat. That feature has been considered inconsistent, however, with maintaining a tight temperature regulation. Accordingly, the system described in the patent of which the instant patent application is a continuation-in-part attempted to minimize the width of the deadband. That system and other prior art systems, however, did not consider what effect, if any, that the width of the deadband might have on peak or daily energy consumption.

Energy and peak-load conserving thermostat and method with controlled deadband


The present invention provides for a refractory aggregate composition comprising an improved calcium aluminate clinker having the formula CnAx wherein C is calcium oxide and A is aluminum oxide, wherein n is an integer from about 1 to about 12, wherein x is an integer from about 1 to about 24, and wherein said clinker has less less than about fifty weight percent C12A7. Analogs, derivatives and hydrates of the improved calcium aluminate clinker are provided. A refractory composition and a sprayable refractory composition are disclosed comprising the improved calcium aluminate clinker.

1. Field of the Invention
The use of calcium aluminate clinker as a refractory aggregate in shapes and castables. The present invention provides an improved refractory aggregate based on CaO.Al2O3 clinker (hereinafter referred to as "CA" clinker and designated by the following equation CnAx, wherein preferably n is an integer from about 1 to 12 and x is an integer from about 1-24) and CnAx hydrate phases and analogs or derivatives thereof including those based on barium substitution for calcium or barium additions resulting in calcium substitution after chemical reaction and/or heat treatment, all of which are referred to herein as CA clinker. Refractory materials based on aggregate compositions having these phases singularly or combined, and exclusive of C12A7 as a major phase, are provided in the present invention.
2. Description of the Background Art
Lafarge Calcium Aluminates Inc. (Maryland, USA) markets a calcium aluminate clinker as an aggregate available under their "r50" trade name. This clinker known by those skilled in the art is about 52% alumina and is dense. The presence of a relatively large amount of C12A7 causes the LaFarge Calcium Aluminates, Inc.'s calcium aluminate clinker to melt and the product is essentially fused with little or no porosity. Thus, this composition has little utility as a refractory aggregate. The present invention provides a composition comprising a CnAx clinker that lacks significant amounts of C12A7 and that has the additional benefit of the presence of porosity and usefulness as a refractory aggregate.
It is known in the refractory arts that the addition of barium-containing materials impart a penetration resistance to materials in contact with molten aluminum. In another embodiment of the present invention, compositions are provided wherein barium is substituted into the CA clinker matrix of the present invention resulting in BA6, BC2A4 and the other analogs that increase the performance of the product and resist aluminum penetration to a great degree.
A primary area of application for the compositions of the present invention is in contact with molten aluminum. Because aluminum has such a low viscosity in the molten state, it easily penetrates the refractory used to contain it. This causes the refractory to wear. In addition, penetration of the refractory causes the freeze plane to move further into the refractory lining thereby allowing molten aluminum to penetrate further. Ideal materials are those that resist aluminum penetration and are insulating enough to have the freeze plane as close as possible to the hot face or contact face of the refractory lining. Current technology relies on the addition of penetration inhibitors that work either by reducing the porosity of the refractory, which can result in moving the freeze plane further into the lining, or by changing the wetting angle of the aluminum on the refractory. Well known examples of these penetration inhibitors are fluorospar and barium sulfate, respectively. Other ways of reducing penetration known by those skilled in the art involve the use of increasingly pure alumina as an aggregate and making this material as dense as possible to reduce open porosity and hence penetration. This increases the conductivity of the material and pushes the freeze plane into the backup refractory lining in most typical configurations known by those skilled in the art.
Therefore, in spite of the background art, there remains a very real and substantial need for a refractory composition and a refractory aggregate composition having the improved calcium aluminate clinker, and a sprayable and/or castable refractory composition, for use, such as for example, but not limited to, as a refractory lining in the production of molten aluminum.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Calcium aluminate clinker as a refractory aggregate with and without barium addition and use thereof


A computerized method for resetting a password of a user, the user uses an electronic device to access to an information system provided by a server according to a user ID of the user and the password. An index code and device information of the electronic device are stored in the server corresponding to the user ID. When the password is to be reset, the user ID and the index code are inputted by the user and the device information of the electronic device is acquired. A verification string is generated using the index code and the user ID inputted by the user and the acquired device information, and is sent to the server for verification, thereby requesting to reset the password.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an electronic device and method for resetting a password of a user for accessing an information system provided by a server.
2. Description of Related Art
Many organizations provide various information systems (e.g., human resource information system and finance management system) to their staffs to manage information and resources. Each staff may have a user ID and a password to gain access to an information system. In order to provide maximum information security, a complex password such as consisting of numbers, letters, and particular characters is needed. However, the complex password is not easy to remember. When the password is forgotten by a staff, an administrator of the information system may need to help the staff to manually reset his/her password, which may be inconvenient. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.

Password resetting method and electronic device having password resetting function

Fu Tai Hua Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


A flip-flop circuit is provided with an improved robustness to radiation induced soft errors. The flip-flop cell comprises the following elements. A transfer unit for receiving at least one data signal and at least one clock signal, a storage unit coupled to the transfer unit and a buffer unit coupled to the storage unit. The transfer unit includes a plurality of input nodes adapted to receive said at least one data signal and said at least one clock signal; a first output node for providing a sampled data signal in response to said at least one clock signal and said at least one data signal; and a second output node for providing a sampled inverse data signal, the sampled inverse data signal provided in response to said at least one clock signal and said at least one data signal. The storage unit comprises a first and a second storage nodes configured to receive and store the sampled data signal and the sampled inverse data signal. The storage unit comprises drive transistors configured to selectively couple one of the first and second storage nodes to ground; load transistors configured to selectively couple the other one of the first and second storage nodes to a power supply; and at least one stabilizer transistor configured to provide a corresponding redundant storage node and limit feedback between the first and second storage nodes, the redundant storage node being capable of restoring the first or second storage nodes in case of a soft error. The buffer unit provides an output sampled data signal as received from the storage unit.

Flip-flops are widely used in integrated circuits, such as in microprocessors and other digital circuits to temporarily store data. A flip-flop stores data by sampling an input data signal with a clock signal at a particular instant of time, typically at an edge of the clock. The output of the flip-flop is sensitive to the input data signal at the clock edge. At all other times, the output does not respond to changes in the input data signal.
A flip-flop can be realized in a variety of ways as understood by a person skilled in the art. A typical way of realizing a flip-flop is to use two series connected latches called a master and a slave as illustrated in FIG. 8. In the illustrated example, the master latch is transparent to a low (0) clock signal level while the slave is transparent to a high (1) clock signal, making the output of the flip-flop sensitive only to 0 to 1 transition of the clock. However, such master-slave flip-flops present several shortcomings. For example, in order to change the output of the master-slave flip-flop, a signal propagates through both the master and the slave stages. The resulting delay poses limitations in high speed circuits. Further, the data values in the master and the slave stages can be susceptible to ionizing radiation. Types of ionizing radiation may include alpha particles and cosmic neutrons. These particles can generate a large number of electron hole pairs, which may be collected by the storage nodes and result in a data upset, which is known as a soft error (SE). This is particularly true for nanoscaled circuits where the charge representing a data state on a storage node is very small due to low node capacitance and supply voltage.
The SE problem is addressed by using SE immune latches, such as the Dual Interlocked Cell (DICE) latch, for the master and slave stages. For example, referring to FIG. 9, a schematic diagram of an SE immune flip-flop having master slave stages is illustrated. However, this type of flip-flop has a large number of transistors, which can cause significant delay, an increase in area, and power penalties. In addition, the flip-flop increases the clock load and hence the clock power consumption. As a consequence, this type of flip-flop is not suitable for high speed or low power applications.
Due to the growing need for technology scaling and the corresponding susceptibility to radiation induced soft error, it would be advantageous to provide soft error robust flip flops. Further, it is desirable to improve the flip flop circuit immunity against soft error while limiting the number of extra transistors. Reducing the number of transistors allows the flip-flops to occupy less space and permits higher cell density. As well, fewer transistors reduce delay, and allow for more efficient power usage such that the flip flops may be suitable for high speed or low power applications.


A reservation protocol is provided to enable a client mobile station to make a number of reservations with a number of access points to facilitate its access of a network at a future point in time, as it roams, and subsequently exercise one of the reservations.

Advances in microprocessor and related technologies have led to wide spread deployment and adoption of numerous general purpose as well as special purpose computing devices. General purpose computing devices, such as servers and desktop computers, are now endowed with computing power that was once reserved for the most expensive high end computers, requiring special conditioned environment to operate. At the same time, advances in networking, telecommunication, satellite, and other related technologies have also led to increase in connectivity between computing devices, making possible sophisticated networked computing over private and/or public networks, such as the Internet. Examples of these sophisticated applications include but are not limited to Voice over IP (VoIP) and multimedia applications.
Recently, continuing advances in wireless communication technology have also made wireless connectivity ubiquitous. Typically, for wireless networks, e.g. Wi-Fi, a client Mobile Station (STA) connects to an Access Points (AP) to obtain network service. STA could be considered "roaming" from one AP to a new AP for a number of reasons. With VoIP and multimedia applications, good quality of service requires that a STA be able to quickly establish connection with a new AP for continuing network service without interruption. Further, the new AP should be able to provide commensurate level of quality of service for the applications running on the STA as the previous AP.


A method for remotely supporting a surgery assistant robot may include: receiving at least one piece of operation information concerning an operation of the surgery assistant robot, by a server device that performs a remote support for the surgery assistant robot; and transmitting, in response to a predetermined event, at least one of a sound, an image, or a text from the server device to at least one of the surgery assistant robot or a terminal device.

The disclosure relates to, for example, a method of remotely supporting a surgery assistant robot.
In recent years, surgery assistant robots have been used in surgery such as laparoscopic surgery. The necessity to provide detailed supports for the surgery assistant robots has been increasing. The specification of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0330613 ("Patent Literature 1") discloses a method of monitoring a medical robot for preventive maintenance.
In remote support for surgery assistant robots by conventional methods including the method disclosed in Patent Literature 1, log data (text data) concerning an operation state of a surgery assistant robot is collected and analyzed by a remote server. When a trouble occurs in the surgery assistant robot, a person in charge in a call center receives telephone communication from a medical facility and grasps details of the trouble while viewing an analysis result of the log data of the surgery assistant robot. However, the details of the trouble cannot be grasped in some case. In that case, a serviceperson S sometimes has to visit a site (for example, an operation room where the surgery assistant robot is installed). In this case, there is a problem in terms of quickness due to a time required from the occurrence of the trouble until solution of the trouble.
One or more aspects have been devised in view of the problem described above, and aim to provide a remote support method and a remote support system that, in a site where surgery or the like using a surgery assistant robot is performed, can grasp details of a trouble in a short time and quickly perform appropriate remote support.

Method of remotely supporting surgery assistant robot and remote support system


A system and method for designing a tooling assembly automatically validates and maintains relationships between components in view of predefined requirements, preferences, and best design practices. The process is performed as part of a program performed by a computer system. A database containing information relevant to the design of the tooling assembly such as design standards, customer requirements and other desired attributes of the completed tooling assembly is used to define a set of requirements for each component. The specific part configuration for each component is then stored in a Master Control File for validation with respect to other components within the tooling assembly to maintain interrelationships between each component within the tooling assembly.

This invention relates to a process and system for designing a tooling assembly such as a mold or die, and specifically to a tooling assembly design process and system accommodating and validating interrelationships between components.
Molds and dies are complex mechanisms for forming uniquely shaped parts in a plastic molding, die casting or metal stamping process. Each mold or die is unique to the specific part fabricated and therefore requires a unique design. A conventional design begins with the desired shape of the finished part and proceeds with the design of a cavity to properly form the part. The design progresses by designing runner systems to carry material to the mold cavity, cooling systems to control cooling of the part after injection of molten material in addition to support, opening and part ejection mechanisms including any inserts, or retractable coring required for a specific part.
Typically, this entire process is performed by a designer working with computer-aided design and manufacturing software. Conventional mold design software and methods include the use of predefined components and/or databases to create components and then provide tools for manipulating those components. Such software creates a tooling assembly design with predefined parts combined by the designer working at a computer workstation. The use of predefined parts does not account for interrelationship between parts of the mold. As appreciated, each part in the mold is related to every other part in the mold and therefore those interrelationships must be recognized and accommodated. Molds are complex mechanisms and comparing and managing relationships among parts increases design time, cost and the risk of error.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a process of designing a tooling assembly that validates interrelationships among each part of the mold and provides a complete and accurate design in view of those interrelationships.

Process and system for designing molds and dies


A heater of the present disclosure includes: a columnar heater main body including a ceramic body, and a heat generating resistor embedded within the ceramic body, the heat generating resistor being drawn out at a rear end portion of the ceramic body to a side surface of the heater main body; a tubular metal support member attached to the side surface of the heater main body, the metal support member including a first region joined via a bonding material to the heater main body and a second region spaced away from the heater main body, the metal support member being configured so as to open toward the rear end portion; and a lid body which is disposed between the heater main body and the second region to separate front end-side space and rear end-side space of the heater.

There is a heretofore known heater comprising a columnar heater main body having a ceramic body, and a heat generating resistor embedded within the ceramic body, the heat generating resistor being drawn out at a rear end portion of the ceramic body to a side surface of the heater main body; and a tubular metal support member attached to the side surface of the heater main body (refer to Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
In cold climates, for example, in Northern European countries, a vehicle-mounted heating system incorporating a heater under idling control is used. Thus, there emerged a need to raise the temperature of a heater for ignition rapidly even in a very cold environment with temperatures below-freezing, and also, in keeping with the tightening of environmental regulations, further speedup in temperature rise has been sought after.


A vibration isolation device which dampens vibration of an object. The device includes a vibration isolation unit that can be activated in a plurality of vibration isolation modes, an acquisition unit that acquires estimate information associated with vibration of a floor, in which the acquisition unit receives data associated with an influence degree of seismic vibration and an influence time zone of the seismic vibration from an external device, and a control unit that selects a vibration isolation mode from the plurality of vibration isolation modes, in accordance with the estimate information acquired by the acquisition unit, and activates the vibration isolation unit in the selected vibration isolation mode. The control unit switches between the vibration isolation modes of the vibration isolation unit in accordance with the influence degree and the influence time zone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibration isolation device, an arithmetic apparatus, an exposure apparatus, and a device manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Active vibration isolation devices (to be simply referred to as vibration isolation device hereafter) are classified into an absolute vibration damping type and a relative vibration damping type. A vibration isolation device of the former type dampens vibration of a structure with respect to an absolutely still point using, for example, a skyhook damper scheme or a skyhook spring scheme. A vibration isolation device of the latter type dampens vibration of an object vibrating by itself, such as a structure which supports the device, and transmits vibration between two structures, that is, a structure supported by the device and a structure supporting the device.
To improve the vibration isolation performance of a vibration isolation device, it is a common practice to decrease the supporting rigidity of the device itself.
A control system of an active vibration isolation device (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2002-89619 and 7-93036) often includes a damping control system and a position/orientation control system. In recent years, a vibration isolation device of an absolute vibration damping type often uses an arrangement in which a floor vibration feed-forward control system (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-184536) insulates vibration transmission from a support structure of the device to a support object of the device. Floor vibration feed-forward control is a method of mounting an absolute vibration sensor, such as a speedometer or an accelerometer, in a structure which supports a vibration isolation device, and feed-forwards its detection signal to an actuator of the device via a control unit.
An active vibration isolation device of the above-described absolute vibration damping type controls its support object to be still with respect to a virtual absolute still point. When seismic vibration occurs, a structure which is supporting the vibration isolation device and shaking upon the seismic vibration may come into contact with a structure which is supported by vibration isolation device and is absolutely still. This makes it necessary to stop the apparatus before the seismic vibration is transmitted to it.
An earthquake produces roughly three types of seismic waves: a P-wave, which propagates at a relatively high velocity and is readily dampened; an S-wave, which propagates at a velocity lower than that of the P-wave, is hardly dampened, and has the most significant influence on, for example, buildings, and surface waves (a Rayleigh wave and a Love wave), which have rarely posed problems up to now. At a position spaced apart from the hypocenter to a certain degree, surface waves often have only ultralow frequency components, which humans cannot feel. Since the resonance frequencies of surface waves are often enormously lower than those of various structures in this world, they have generally been thought to have no adverse influence on, for example, buildings. Therefore, it is a common practice to estimate the arrival of only P- and S-waves and to issue a warning against them (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-66152).
Various seismic vibration arrival estimation techniques have already been disclosed. Most of these techniques are associated with a method of empirically, approximately calculating the relationship between the time until seismic vibration arrives and the hypocentral distance. The relationship between P- and S-waves has already been announced to the public. According to "Real-time seismology", University of Tokyo Press, issued Jan. 17, 2003, page 6, written by Masayuki Kikuchi, when an earthquake occurs in an upper portion of the earth's crust, a P-wave propagates at a velocity of 6 [km/s] and an S-wave propagates at a velocity of 3.5 [km/s].
However, a demand has arisen for an active vibration isolation device with a higher vibration isolation performance. To meet this demand, the natural frequency of the vibration isolation device itself is lowered, and its support object is controlled to be absolutely still with higher accuracy. This increases a risk that when seismic vibration occurs, a structure supporting a shaking vibration isolation device would come into contact with a structure, which is supported by the device and is absolutely still, due to the propagation of surface waves with ultralow frequencies, which have been thought to have no adverse influence on various structures up to now. That is, in addition to the P- and S-waves, surface waves with ultralow frequencies, which have been thought to have no adverse influence on various structures, are becoming non-negligible.
Surface waves are hardly dampened and circulate around the earth several times when a large-scale earthquake occurs. For this reason, seismic vibration sometimes continues for thirty minutes or more in each region around the world, including regions such as Great Britain in the United Kingdom, which has never been recorded to be a hypocenter.
As described above, surface waves may arrive even in a region which is sufficiently spaced apart from the hypocenter, and in which P- and S-waves are rarely observed. If a vibration isolation device suffers from an abnormality due to the propagation of such surface waves, which humans cannot feel, a lot of time is taken to investigate the cause of the abnormality. This prolongs the time taken to recover the vibration isolation device.

Vibration isolation device, arithmetic apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method


Disclosed is an optical transceiver 1 including a phase locked loop circuit 3a configured to receive a reference clock CL1 and remove a jitter component of the reference clock CL1; a second phase locked loop circuit 3b configured to receive an output of the first phase locked loop circuit, generate a multiplied clock CL3 synchronized with the output, and when the frequency of the output deviates from a predetermined range and is in an abnormal state, output an alarm signal ALM1; and an optical transmitter module 5 configured to output an optical output signal modulated based on the multiplied clock CL3 and electrical signals D1, D2, D3, and D4 from the outside.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical transmitter for generating an optical output signal based on an electrical signal.
2. Related Background of the Invention
IEEE 802.3ba and IEEE 802.3bg are formulated as standards of optical transmission networks in order to resolve a bottleneck of a transmission capacity of communication between servers in a data center and the like. In response to these standards, transmission rate of an optical transmission system or an optical transceiver mounted to the optical transmission system is required to be extended to 40 Gbps or 100 Gbps. In order to generate an optical output signal having high quality, the transmission rate of which is 40 Gbps, an optical transmitter (including a transmission part of an optical transceiver) utilizes an Electro-Absorption (EA) modulator as an optical modulator, and utilizes a modulator driving circuit to drive the EA modulator. Further, a control circuit is embedded in the optical transmitter. The control circuit receives setting information from a host system to control each of parts inside the optical transmitter, and concurrently monitors each of the parts, to notify the host system of various information such as an alarm and so on.
As a modulator driving circuit, for example, a circuit having a cross point adjustment function for adjusting a cross point of a waveform of an optical output signal is disclosed in Patent Literature 1. Further, a circuit for adjusting a cross point of a driving signal output from a semiconductor laser driving circuit is disclosed in Patent Literature 2.
Further, the optical transmitter properly controls the optical output signal according to the monitoring the status of the parts. For example, a wavelength division multiplex transmission system disclosed in Patent Literature 5 performs a control to maintain an optical output signal at a proper power level even when an input signal of a transmission system, having a certain wavelength, is shut off or in a non-synchronous state. Further, an optical transmitter disclosed in Patent Literature 6 controls an optical output signal by coping with a root cause of an anomaly in an automatic power control.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-59317.
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-312396.
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-257645.
Patent Literature 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-348021.
Patent Literature 5: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-44035.
Patent Literature 6: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-325189.
The above-mentioned optical transmitter corresponding to the related prior art performs a control to shut off a multiplexed electrical signal in order to prevent abnormal random noise from being output to the optical transmission network when an electrical signal or a reference clock given from the host system loses a predetermined frequency or a sufficient amplitude. After the control to shut off an optical output signal is performed, when the electrical signal or the reference clock is recovered, a control to resume the output of the optical output signal is generally performed.
Further, a method of a feedback control based on an optical output power as disclosed in Patent Literature 3, or a method of preventing excessive light emission by attaching a device for limiting optical output power to the outside regarding an optical transmitter using a direct modulation laser diode as disclosed in Patent Literature 4 has been known.
Therefore, an aspect of the present invention is to provide an optical transmitter which can continue normally operation when a clock signal or an electrical signal given from the outside by a host system or the like goes into an abnormal state and comes back from the abnormal state.


A filter housing with a socket drain for minimizing waste and downstream contamination of valuable fluids during filter element changes.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention is related to liquid filters and housings for such filters.
2. State of the Prior Art
Liquid filters are used to remove impurities and contaminants from liquids in many applications. In the bio-science and pharmaceutical industries, including biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing (sometimes referred to individually and collectively as "bio-pharmaceutical"), liquid filters are used at various stages of the manufacturing and purification processes to remove contaminants and impurities, including, for example, bio-contaminants, from the process product streams. Filter elements or cartridges with a variety of porosities made with a variety of materials are available for particular applications and filtering needs.
For very high purity applications, for example, final filtering to remove bio-contaminants from biopharmaceutical products, a liquid filter with a base configuration known in the bio-pharmaceutical industry as "code 7" is often specified and used. Code 7 filters are generally characterized by a base that comprises a tubular end piece with O-ring seals and fastening ears or flanges for insertion into a filter housing cavity for bayonet-style attachment, i.e., longitudinal insertion into position and then angular twist or rotation for securing in place.
Such filters remain securely in place with leak-proof seals around the filter base to keep upstream, unfiltered liquid separated from downstream, filtered liquid during stream processing so that only liquid that has passed through the filter medium gets to the downstream side of the filter. However, in many high purity, bio-pharmaceutical systems, the filter cartridges have to be changed often, for example, between each batch process, and the act of changing the filter cartridges results in both potential contamination and waste due to residual, unfiltered, liquid product in the filter housing around the base of the filter cartridge that either drops into the downstream piping or is lost or discarded when the filter cartridge is removed from the housing. While the actual volume of such residual, unfiltered liquid is small, it is enough to cause undesirable contamination in piping and materials downstream from the filter, and it is very valuable at final or near final filter stages, so discarding such valuable material is expensive, especially when repeated after each process batch and for numerous filters in a final filter rack. The cumulative effect of such contamination and/or waste over a period of time is a significant enough problem in the bio-pharmaceutical industry that processors and filter equipment manufacturers have been trying for some time to find a cost-effective solution.

Minimal residual liquid retention filter housing


A weatherproof cover plate is disclosed. A continuous ridge on the base is disclosed in association with a gasket and a biased hinge to provide additional protection against the weather. Particular implementations include an opening in the gasket and the lid. In a weatherproof bubble cover plate, a biased hinge is provided to bias the lid closed upon the base. Additionally, one or more cord catches in the base and knock-outs in the lid are disclosed. Other embodiments include bubble cover plates having gaps between the lid and the base to allow a cord to pass therethrough when the lid is close.

1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to electrical outlets and, more particularly, to a weatherproof cover plate for an electrical outlet configured to be mountable in both horizontal and vertical orientations by providing a biased hinge and weatherproofing features.
2. Background Art
Cover plates for electrical devices have been used extensively for many years. The general construction, operation and usefulness of cover plates are well known in the art. Cover plates are generally categorized as either flat cover plates or bubble cover plates. Several examples of cover plates are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,763,831 to Shotey et al. (Jun. 9, 1998) and 5,527,993 to Shotey et al., the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Varieties of each of these two styles of cover plates are known to be made weatherproof by manufacturers for use outside or in extreme conditions. Weatherproof cover plates, as they are known in the art and approved by the Underwriters Laboratories ("UL"), are cover plates for electrical devices or outlets which self close when mounted and, when closed, resist water from reaching the electrical device or outlet protected by the cover plate sufficient to meet and pass the testing standards established by UL. Weatherproof cover plates are conventionally designed and sold for either horizontal or vertical mounting, and not for both. This requires cover plate installers and suppliers to maintain stock of both horizontal and vertical weatherproof cover plates.
Conventional bubble cover plates are designed so that the weight of the cover plate lid closes the lid against the base of the cover plate. Accordingly, bubble cover plates are designed and installed so that the hinges for the lid are along the upper edge of the cover plate when mounted so that gravity pulls the lid shut in compliance with the UL standard. For additional weatherproofing protection, a portion of the lid of a bubble cover plate is conventionally sized and shaped to overlap a portion of the base.
Conventional flat cover plates comprise a base for mounting to an outlet box, a lid hingedly mounted to the base, and a gasket associated with the lid so that when the lid is closed against the base, the gasket contacts the base to resist water flow to the electrical components under the lid. For flat cover plates, because the lids are generally smaller and of lighter weight than those of bubble cover plate lids which are closed by gravity, and because the thin profile of a flat cover plate is less conducive to a latch, some form of a spring or other biasing device is used to force the lid closed to press and maintain the gasket against the base. Without the spring, the lighter lids are subject to being blown open by the wind or to remaining slightly open thereby exposing the electrical outlet to the weather. Again, however, because UL requires that the lid keep water from the electrical outlet protected by the cover plate, flat cover plates are conventionally designed and approved to be installed either horizontally or vertically and not both.
Thus, there is a need for both a weatherproof flat cover plate and a weatherproof bubble cover plate in the art that is approved for and may be installed both horizontally and vertically.


A process for the detection of optical signals with a light module (10) with at least two light sources (20) operated with on/off times with at least one LED (30). The process includes the steps of operating the at least two light sources (20) with time-shifted on/off times and detecting optical signals with the light source (20) that occurs in the off time at the given time.

Processes for the detection of optical signals are basically known. For example, light modules of illuminating devices have additional detectors in order to detect optical signals. For example, a feedback concerning a reflected amplitude from such a detector can be recognized. If an illumination area is defined for an illuminating device, it may be useful to obtain a feedback concerning the illumination situation. Based on this feedback the illumination can be adjusted, so that, e.g., individual shadows can be compensated by shadowing objects. Separate detectors, which can detect the optical signals, especially the light emitted by other light sources, are necessary for this in prior-art light modules.
The drawback of prior-art processes and prior-art light modules is that the detection must be carried out by additional components in the form of additional detectors. These require additional space for their installation, as a result of which the overall size of prior-art light modules is increased. In addition, additional components in the form of detectors lead to additional costs and additional expenses for materials. Another drawback arises because the additional detectors do not have exactly the same optical viewing direction, which may be especially disturbing in case of close objects.

Process for the detection of optical signals


The fine metal mask provided in the present disclosure includes at least one mask pattern portion, and at least one protective portion that is disposed on and connected with at least one side edge of the at least one mask pattern portion, wherein a thickness of the at least one protective portion is less than a thickness of the at least one mask pattern portion.

A display device includes a plurality of pixel units arranged in an array, and each pixel unit (referred briefly to as RGB sub-pixel units) includes sub-pixel units having three colors of red (R), green (G) and blue (B). Taking an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device as an example, each sub-pixel unit of one pixel unit (e.g., red sub-pixel units, green sub-pixel units or blue sub-pixel units) specifically includes an anode layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer (EML) capable of emitting red, green or blue light, an electron transport layer, and a cathode layer. At present, a red sub-pixel unit, a green sub-pixel unit and a blue sub-pixel unit in one pixel unit of the OLED display device are usually arranged through a side by side manner. A mask is used when sub-pixel units are manufactured. Sub-pixel units of two colors in pixel units are blocked by virtue of a blocking effect of blocking portions on the mask, and then film-forming materials are passed through a pattern portion of the mask and deposited on a sub-pixel unit corresponding to one unblocked color in a way of evaporation or inkjet printing, so that corresponding patterns are formed to be as body materials of the light emitting layers of the sub-pixel unit. Sub-pixel units of the other two colors in the pixel units are then exposed out sequentially, so as to be deposited to form films. Thus, the light emitting layers of the whole pixel units are manufactured.
As Pixels Per Inch (PPI, the quantity of pixels in per inch), which is one of important parameters of the display device, of a screen increase, the patterning portions on the mask need further refinement. In this case, a fine metal mask (FMM) is required.

Fine metal mask having protective portions having protective portion with ratio of thickness reduction equal to single pixel aperture ratio and method for manufacturing the same, mask frame assembly


A hearing aid with anti feed back system, the hearing aid including                a signal path from at least one input transducer to an output transducer,        a signal processing unit,        acoustic environment detection capability, and        a parameter generator that generates        input to the setting of signal processing parameters to be used in the signal processing unit based on either manual input or from the results of acoustic environment detection, and        an alert signal generator that generates an alert signal to the anti feed back system whenever one or more preselected input to the generation of signal processing parameters undergoes changes.

In hearing aids and other audio equipment it is often necessary to use anti feed back system in order to avoid the feed back problem. The anti feedback system may however be disturbed when changes occur in the signal path such as changes in directionality or changes in the choice of program effected either manually or automatically. The invention tries to avoid the problems which relates to correlation between anti feed back systems and fast changes in the signal processing in the signal path.


A modular data center is disclosed. The modular data center may have a plurality of unit structures arranged generally parallel to one another. A plurality of supports may be used for supporting the unit structures elevationally above a floor, and wherein adjacent ones of the unit structures form hot aisles therebetween through which hot air generated from data center components may be channeled. Each unit structure may form an elongated structure having a frame structure, a roof panel supported by the frame structure, and a ceiling panel. The unit structures may be used to channel cold air to the data center components and hot air from the hot aisles out from the unit structures.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
As data center needs increase world-wide, there has been increasing interest in finding more cost effective ways to set up and construct data centers. Additional concerns are consistent quality of the data center components and the time required to construct the data center. These concerns are especially relevant when constructing data centers in countries other than the United States. Traditionally data centers have been constructed in "stick building" fashion completely at the selected data center site. This involves bringing all the raw materials out to the data center site, using large numbers of construction workers such as electrical contractors, welders, building construction workers and other skilled tradesmen to construct the data center structure from the raw materials shipped to the site. As will be appreciated, this construction approach can be quite costly. Maintaining quality of the finished data center structure can sometimes be challenging, typically requiring numerous inspections by various individuals as the construction process is on-going. Construction delays may be encountered when specific subcomponents or raw materials being used to construct the data center are not received at the building site according to the planned construction timetable. The need to separately ship independent building components (steel, cable trays, wall panels, etc.) to the site can also contribute significantly to the overall high cost of constructing a data center. Seasonal weather changes and delays brought on by inclement weather can also result in a lengthy and costly construction timeline for a data center structure.
Additional concerns with data centers are the ability to easily and cost-effectively expand the data center as needs grow. With conventional data center structures that have been constructed using the "stick build" approach, expansion can sometimes be expensive and particularly time consuming.
Accordingly, there is strong interest in reducing the cost of a data center structure as well as the time needed for its construction. Significantly reducing the overall construction cost of a data center structure and the time required to get a new data center up and running may make it feasible to set up data centers in various parts of the world where the cost of constructing a data center with the conventional "stick build" approach would make the endeavor cost prohibitive.

System and method for modular data center


A detection apparatus for detecting the presence of a sample, the detection apparatus comprising a chamber, ports for introducing a sample within the chamber, an actuation unit for establishing a controllable electromagnetic field in the chamber; and a sensing unit for sensing changes in the electromagnetic field due to the presence of the sample within the chamber. The sensing unit comprises a sensor device comprising a source and a drain embedded in a FET a gate for the FET, in which the gate is formed of a material whose conductivity is related to the electromagnetic field established in a nonconductive medium in contact with the gate.

The behavior of matter in electrical or magnetic field, especially nonuniform fields, is of interest to scientists of various branches: Physics, chemistry, engineering, or life sciences. To chemists and physicists, it's a science of many and varied phenomena. To engineers, it's a source of new and useful techniques for separating, levitating, and rotating materials or improving material behavior.
In recent decades, Dielectrophoresis has become a fairly well known phenomenon in which a spatially nonuniform electric field exerts a net force on the field-induced dipole of a particle. Particles with higher polarizability than the surrounding medium experience positive dielectrophoresis and they move toward regions of highest electric field concentration. Particles less polarizable than the surrounding medium experience negative dielectrophoresis, and move towards regions of low electric field concentration. The force depends on the induced dipole and the electric field gradient, not on the particle's charge. Thus, dielectrophoresis has been used to precipitate DNA and proteins, to manipulate viruses (100 nm diameter), and to manipulate and separate cells and subcellular components such as microtubules.
Dielectrophoretic levitation fulfills a somewhat specialized need among the scientific and technical applications for dielectrophoresis. Two types of levitation, passive and feedback-controlled may be used to levitate particles exhibiting, respectively, negative and positive DEP behavior.
DEP is technologically important in its own right, as evidenced by the number of applications in such scientific and technical fields as biophysics, bioengineering, and mineral separation. As an example, which is important in cancer treatment, is cell fusion, as discussed by P. T. Gaynor, and P. S. Bodger in "Electrofusion processes: theoretical evaluation of high electric field effects on cellular transmembrane potentials", IEE Proceedings-Science, Measurement and Technology, vol. 142, no. 2, pp. 176-182, 1995. In this process, the nonuniform electric field collects some fraction of these cells on electrode surfaces where cells of the two types inevitably encounter each other and form chains. A serious of short DC pulse is then applied to the electrodes. The strong DC field disturbs the membranes in the region of contact between cells and initiates their merge or fusion. A potential application of this technique is the production of antibodies useful in cancer research and treatment.
Lab-on-a-chip based on DEP phenomenon has become one of the hottest areas of research recently. It has many applications in the biological, pharmaceutical, medical, and environmental fields. These applications are characterized by complex experimental protocols, which need both microorganism detection and manipulation. Hence, lab-on-a-chip technology needs to integrate functions such as: actuation, sensing, and processing to increase their effectiveness. On the other hand, lab-on-a-chip technology holds the promise of cheaper, better and faster biological analysis. However, to date there is still an unmet need for lab-on-a-chip technology to effectively deal with the biological systems at the cell level.
Recently, two different lab-on-a-chip approaches have been proposed by G. Medoro, N. Manaresi, M. Tartagni, and R. Guerrieri, in "CMOS-only Sensors and Manipulation for microorganisms", Proc. IEDM, pp. 415-418, 2000 and by N. Manaresi, A. Romani, G. Medoro, L. Altomare, A. Leonardi, M. Tartagni, and R. Guerrieri in "A CMOC Chip for Individual Manipulation and Detection", IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, ISSCC 03, pp. 486-488. 2003. The first, which was proposed in 2002, is the first lab-on-a-chip approach for electronic manipulation and detection of microorganisms. The proposed approach combines dielectrophoresis with impedance measurements to trap and move particles while monitoring their location and quantity in the device. The prototype has been realized using standard printed circuit board (PCB) technology. The sensing part in this approach can be performed by any electrode by switching from the electrical stimulus to a transimpedance amplifier, while all the other electrodes are connected to ground. The second lab-on-a-chip, which was proposed in 2003, is a microsystem for cell manipulation and detection based on standard 0.35 μm CMOS technology. This lab-on-a-chip microsystem comprises two main units: the actuation unit, and the sensing unit. The chip surface implements a 2D array of microsites, each comprising superficial electrodes and embedded photodiode sensors and logic. The actuation part is based on the DEP technique. The sensing part depends on the fact that particles in the sample can be detected by the changes in optical radiation impinging on the photodiode associated with each micro-site. During the sensing, the actuation voltages are halted, to avoid coupling with the pixel readout. However, due to inertia, the cells keep their position in the liquid.
The disadvantage of these lab-on-a-chip microsystems, can be summarized as follows:                Based on these two systems, we can detect the position of the levitated cells. However, we cannot sense the actual intensity of the nonuniform electric field that produces the DEP force.        The measurements here are indirect. In other words, there is no "real-time" detection of the cell response under the effect of the nonuniform electric field, as the actuation part is halted while the sensing part is activated.        The sensing part in these two microsystems depends on the inertia of the levitated cells. In other words, this sensing approach depends on an external factor, which is the inertia of the levitated cells. Thus, only cells with higher inertia can be sensed and detected by using these two microsystems.
What is needed is a lab-on-a-chip that can be used for direct measurements, where the variations in the electric field can be sensed and the cell can be characterized while the actuation part is still active.

Magnetic field imaging detection apparatus


A method to achieve perceived reliability for repairable systems including goal setting of different phases of the product life cycle. The method includes consideration of a plurality of product life cycle phases to determine a plurality of failure rate multipliers which are transformed to mean time between failures multipliers and normalized. Using these computed mean times between failures multipliers and a chosen level of customer use, the box-of-parts required mean time between failures level can be calculated. Also, the required mean time between failures for design, manufacturing, infant mortality, and service phase of product life cycle can be computed.

In design and manufacturing of a product, the performance and life expectancy have played a crucial role in what components are selected along with their reliability characteristics. Since most products have an eventual customer that will be using the product, the overall reliability of product is often based on customer needs, market expectation, or other similar based measures of end user reliability standards. Often, a manufacturer will desire to test the given product so a manufacturing reliability level is set to perform production acceptance testing of the product.
Once a particular goal is set then the individual sub-system and component reliability levels are set to meet the overall design goal. These reliability criteria are designed to allow for selection of the sub-systems or components based on criteria that will allow the design to perform to specification. However, the actual customer usually does not get the same level of performance as the design criteria suggested. This is caused by various sources during the product life cycle that occur after the selection of sub-systems or components.
The product life cycle downstream of the selection of the sub-systems or components is often affected by additional losses of performance. Some of these losses include skill level used in the manufacturing of the final product and other organizational constraints during manufacturing. Other downstream areas that can be considered are installation, warranty service, customer use (including misuse and/or abuse), and planned or unplanned maintenance. These factors typically play a larger role in the measured and perceived reliability for repairable systems than system design parameters. Such factors, however, are not taken into account when setting overall system reliability goals. Therefore, there remains a need for improvement of the setting of reliability targets of a product based on actual customer experiences and expectations.

Achieving perceived reliability for repairable systems


A lubricant filtering and monitoring system and method is provided for a lubricant circulation system circulating lubricant through a filter to a lubricated component. A combination of sensors senses a condition of the lubricant before and after passage through the filter and before and after passage through the component and provides an output indicative of a condition in the circulation system. A sensor senses a condition of lubricant flowing through the filter, and another sensor senses a condition of lubricant flowing through a reference section for comparison against and normalizing of the output of the first sensor. A method of actively monitoring the component is provided by comparing influent to the component with effluent from the component to ascertain how lubricant is being modified by the component, by sensing a condition of lubricant passing through the filter. An effective method is provided for determining when to change or clean the filter. A diagnostic method is provided for assisting in such determination and diagnosing lubricant condition, filter condition and component condition.

The invention relates to lubricant circulation systems circulating lubricant through a filter to a lubricated component, such as an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to diagnostic systems and methods, including using the filter as a sensor, combinations of sensors for condition indication, and active monitoring of the lubricated component by sensing a condition of lubricant flow through the filter.
Lubrication systems, including hydraulic and lube oil systems, typically include a circulation system circulating lubricant through a filter to a lubricated component such as an engine. Contamination is controlled by the filter. Regular cleaning or changing of the filter ensures that the filter continues to perform its function. This type of contamination control system assumes that the filter has appropriate removal, restriction and capacity characteristics. This may be verified by spot checking, e.g. lubricant analysis.
Servicing of the filter is the responsibility of the operator. This approach has shortcomings. Firstly, the life of the filter may be longer or shorter than the scheduled interval. In either case, there is an economic penalty, namely excessive wear or premature disposal of filters, when the scheduled interval differs from the actual life of the filter. Secondly, operators do not always service the filters when required. Thirdly, spot checking the contamination levels may not identify problems soon enough, especially if confirmation of a problem is sought before corrective action is taken. In one aspect, the present invention addresses and solves these limitations by integrating the filter with contamination monitoring devices in a control system that continuously evaluates contamination levels.
A wide variety of lubricated components, including various types of machinery and engines benefit from preventative maintenance procedures in order to avoid unexpected downtime and major repairs. In one aspect, the present invention uses the filter as part of an active monitoring system. The filter is not merely a device for removal of undesired contaminants, but is also a sensor used in determining engine or other lubricated component condition. Filters/separators in engine flow streams such as lubricating oil lines, remove particles and adsorb/absorb chemical compounds that are analyzed to determine engine condition on an off-line or on-line basis. The filter system is controlled on a time-varying basis to preferentially remove specific contaminants to optimize the amount of information that may be obtained about the engine. The oil flow is used as a means to actively probe the engine, with the filter collecting the results of the probing. In addition to comparing the influent into the filter with the effluent from the filter, the focus is on how the influent into the engine is modified by the engine and compares to the effluent from the engine. This is accomplished by sensing a condition of lubricant flow through the filter. The filter may have various sensors installed to measure and analyze the effluent from the engine for wear products such as various metals as well as for change in chemical composition due to wear and aging. Such sensors include contamination monitors, turbidimeters, capacitance sensors, dielectric constant sensors, optical monitors including particle counters, spectrometers. Some of the sensors may be constructed from the filter media itself such as a conductivity measurement through metallic fibers.
In another aspect of the invention, an effective system and method are provided for determining when to change or clean the filter. The invention is particularly useful in combination with cleanable and/or easy change filters such as shown in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,679 and commonly owned co-pending U.S. applications Ser. No. 08/755,479, filed Nov. 22, 1996, Ser. No. 08/755,497, filed Nov. 22, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,900, and Ser. No. 08/819,296, filed Mar. 18, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,224. There are numerous devices known in the prior art to indicate when to change a filter. Most indicate the pressure drop across the filter, e.g. by a pressure gauge, and signal that it is time to change the filter. This approach is inadequate in numerous applications, particularly where it is desirable to schedule filter service at a convenient time. The noted prior art devices indicate that it is time to change the filter, not how long it is until a change need be made. The present invention provides a smart system telling the user how long it is until a change is needed. This enables the operator to schedule filter servicing well in advance and at convenient times. This also enables the operator to keep track of filter life, and to have a method of early detection of filter failures, and have an idea of the severity of the operating environment and its impact on the filters and the lubricated equipment, and to optimize filter service intervals, thus saving time and money.
The present invention integrates a cleanable and/or changeable lubricant filter with component condition monitoring, lubricant condition monitoring, and filter condition monitoring. Cleaning accomplishes little if it is done too late and the pressure drop across the filter is too high. On the other hand, if done too early, it wastes lubricant. Cleaning could be done on a regular time or mileage or other usage factor basis, but unusual conditions could produce excessive pressure drop and result in ineffective cleaning. Component or engine operators are striving for increasing long lubricant change intervals, and this places greater demand on the lubricant which in turn can produce sludge that irreversibly plugs the filter. Hence, it is also desirable to monitor lubricant quality. This not only ensures cleaning effectiveness, but also signals the operator when to change lubricant, thus reducing engine wear and maintenance problems. In one aspect, the present invention addresses and solves this need by providing at least three types of information, namely filter time or miles, filter pressure drop, and an independent measure of lubricant quality.
It is easy to initiate filter cleaning or alert the operator of this need based on time or miles of usage and/or differential pressure across the filter. Differential pressure is a function of lubricant condition, filter usage, duty cycle, and temperature. The latter two are transient conditions, but the former two could provide useful information about the condition of the filter and lubricant. As such, differential pressure has the potential to provide diagnostic information about the component or equipment to the operator. Lubricant condition typically changes relatively slowly. The change in differential pressure, or other monitored parameter, is often more diagnostic than the actual values of the parameter itself. Deviations from the expected behavior and predictions made on the basis of differential pressure behavior are valuable diagnostic tools. The problem with using differential pressure data to evaluate lubricant quality is that for most of the filter's life, differential pressure is so low, FIG. 2, that useful interpretation of the results cannot be made. Also, this only provides an indication of the solid contaminants in the lubricant. Therefore, it is advantageous to monitor additional parameters to more accurately assess lubricant condition.
In one aspect of the present invention, lubricant condition is monitored in various ways. Sensors measuring light absorbance at a particular wavelength, capacitance, temperature, and viscosity are among these. It is known in the prior art to calculate lubricant condition based on engine operating time and oil temperature. Instantaneous measurements of a single lubricant parameter are susceptible to transients, do not consider how the lubricant has changed over time, and ignore other measures of lubricant quality. On the other hand, the calculated condition makes assumptions about engine conditions that may not reflect reality. In one embodiment, the present invention uses the filter, two differential pressure sensors, a temperature sensor, and an additional sensor provided by either a flow rate or viscosity sensor, to monitor lubricant, filter and component status. The filter is preferably a cleanable filter, but could be a disposable filter. The temperature sensor monitors the lubricant temperature at a point near the differential pressure sensors. One of the differential pressure sensors monitors differential pressure across the filter, and the other differential pressure sensor monitors differential pressure across a reference section. The second differential pressure sensor normalizes the output of the first differential pressure sensor for flow and viscosity changes. The remaining sensor, if a viscosity sensor, measures viscosity, an indicator of lubricant condition, and enables the flow rate to be calculated from the second differential pressure sensor's output. If the remaining sensor is a flow rate sensor, it enables viscosity to be calculated from the second differential pressure sensor's output. The combination of sensors yields filter differential pressure, flow rate, temperature, and viscosity data. The data is collected and evaluated at engine start-up and used to calculate the viscosity index, VI, of the lubricant, another useful measure of lubricant condition.
In further aspects, the filter differential pressure results are used to estimate contaminant concentration, once the differential pressure is high enough. The filter usage, e.g. time or mileage, and the differential pressure results indicate when the filter needs to be cleaned or replaced, and can be used to notify the operator or trigger a cleaning cycle. Lubricant viscosity, whether calculated or measured, is a direct measure of lubricant quality. Viscosity changes are linked to lubricant breakdown. Viscosity index provides a more detailed measure of lubricant quality and is useful in identifying problems, including sludge formation and breakdown of viscosity index improvers, that directly impact filter performance and cleanability. A particularly advantageous feature is the use of changing oil viscosity and temperature as the equipment or engine warms up to calculate the viscosity index. In a number of engine applications, particularly off-road dump trucks, garbage trucks, etc., sludge formation has been linked to the viscosity index improvers in the oil and extended oil drain intervals. Flow rate data can reveal when and how long the filter is in a bypass mode. This is useful in anticipating wear related problems. Time and temperature data are used to estimate lubricant condition. Temperature alone can be used to identify overheating and potential cooling problems. By monitoring changes in viscosity and viscosity index over time, lubricant service intervals can be optimized. The noted data, including viscosity, viscosity index, temperature, time, flow rate, estimated contaminant concentration, provide a much more accurate assessment of the condition of the filter and lubricant, and their service requirements, which in turn optimizes maintenance requirements.
In further embodiments, various combinations of sensors are used, including optical contamination monitors. In addition, pressure differential sensors may optionally be incorporated. The filter may be any type suitable for the application, for example pleated cellulose or synthetic cartridge filters. The contamination monitor may be a simple nephelometer or turbidimeter. As known, the device shines light through the flowing lubricant while a detector oriented at an angle, typically 30-150.degree., from the angle of incidence measures the amount of light scattered from the lubricant. In one aspect, a monitor or sensor display can simply indicate the need for a filter change or cleaning when a predetermined differential pressure is reached. Depending on how fast the differential pressure rose, the monitor or sensor display can also recommend that a different type of filter be used. The contamination monitor, such as the turbidimeter, provides additional diagnostic analysis. Turbidity correlates directly to contamination levels. Over time, the amount of scattered light may remain constant or gradually climb under normal conditions. However, additional information can be obtained by tracking the amount of light scattered over short time intervals, e.g. milliseconds. Under normal conditions, the signal would oscillate noisily about a mean. Turbidimeters typically use relatively long integration times to eliminate the effects of noise. However, in one aspect of the present invention, short integration times are used to detect short-lived excursions outside the normal noise range. These excursions indicate the presence of large or highly reflective particles, which increase the amount of light scattered or reflected to the detector, in the sensing zone. Such particles are normally present at very low concentrations and such excursions would be uncommon. However, increased frequency of the excursions or increases in their magnitude would indicate an abnormal, undesirable situation, such as imminent catastrophic failure, leakage or unloading of the filter, gross external contamination.
In one aspect, the output of the noted optical monitors contain three types of information. Firstly, the baseline is an indication of the gross contamination level of the system, i.e. solids concentrations. Secondly, the amplitude and frequency of excursions indicates the presence of large and shiny particles. These excursions are of short duration. Their frequency is a function of the sensing volume, flow rate, and concentration of such particles. Thirdly, there is noise due to engine or component vibration and environmental factors. This contribution has frequency and rise time characteristics different from the excursions and baseline information. A controller makes its evaluations based on the first two types of information while minimizing the effects of the third type on the results. The resultant controller output is used to indicate problems and possible corrective action for disposable filter systems. In the case of a cleanable filter, there is additionally initiated a cleaning cycle. Depending on the number and locations of the sensors, problems can be isolated and corrective action taken before larger problems develop. For example, increased excursions by a sensor downstream of the filter suggests problems associated with the filter. Such an occurrence from a sensor upstream of the filter indicates gross external contamination. For a sensor located in a return line from the component or engine, excessive wear is indicated.
In further aspects of the invention, the noted active monitoring is extended to active probing of the lubricated component or engine by the addition of specific particulates, chemicals, radioactive materials, or similar materials in order to determine the effect of the engine or component on their passage. The use of such probe substances, typically only in trace quantities, or at least in quantities not harmful to the component or engine, along with the filtration and analysis above noted, provides diagnosis and evaluation of the condition of flow passages through an engine as well as detection of the presence of other materials in the engine through their interaction with the probe material and subsequent removal and analysis by the filter system. The quantity and quality of probe material may be varied over time to provide additional information about the engine or component.
In another aspect, in addition to actively using the filter for sensing and/or probing an engine or component, the filter system is used to actively control lubricant flow through the engine or component to provide yet more information on the need for preventative maintenance. In one embodiment, the lubricant stream flow is modulated to enhance the ability of the monitoring system to learn more about the behavior and condition of the engine. Other physical parameters, including temperature, acidity, etc., are similarly modified on a controlled basis to allow small fluctuations from the base level. Modulation of the flow stream or one of its physical parameters allows measurement of the response characteristics of the lubricated component or engine as well as the filter system on a dynamic basis. These response characteristics can be related to lubricant condition, filter condition, and component condition. The dynamic signals can be measured using the appropriate sensor such as a pressure sensor and processed using digital signal processing and adaptive control technology to perform a time domain system identification procedure. The least means squares (LMS) algorithm may be used in the modeling algorithm. The system identification procedure results in a set of digital coefficients that model the combined system response. Alternatively the system response characteristics can be determined through frequency domain techniques using various forms of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).
In a further embodiment, the filtration system is equipped with two differential pressure sensors and a timer. One of the differential pressure sensors measures the restriction across the filter. This sensor provides a direct indication of the amount of the filter's total capacity which has been used. The second differential pressure sensor measures differential pressure across a reference section such as a flow section, orifice, length of tubing or fixed restriction. The second sensor's output is used to normalize the differential pressure data from the first sensor to a constant flow rate and viscosity. Ideally, separate flow rate and viscosity sensors are used, but this adds cost and complexity to the system. For liquid filters, differential pressure is proportional to the product of flow rate and viscosity to a good first approximation, Jaisinghani and Sprenger, "Resistance To Flow Of Liquids In Fibrous Beds Applied To Cartridge Filtration", Filtration and Separation, March/April, 1981, Uplands Press Limited, 2 Woodstock Road, Croydon CR9 1LB, England. This is also true in laminar capillary flow. Hence, a single sensor may be used, for cost effectiveness, to provide the data to correct for varying flow rate and viscosity, as above noted.
The estimated remaining useful life, RUL, and the estimated total useful life, TUL, of the filter can be calculated based on a curve fitting algorithm, Bevington, "Least-Squares Fit To An Arbitrary Function", Data Reduction And Error Analysis For The Physical Sciences, pp. 204-213, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1969, and input from the sensors and timer. Multipass tests for a variety of filter media and filters show that differential pressure data all follow a similar function, provided that the influent concentration and contaminant are constant. The form of the function and the regression equation to solve for the constants are programmed into a controller. The controller accepts data from both differential pressure sensors and uses the data from the second sensor to normalize the differential pressure data from the first sensor. The normalized differential pressure data and the time data are stored for a particular filter change, and the results are used to calculate RUL and TUL on a near continuous basis. The accuracy of RUL and TUL are relatively poor early in filter life, but become increasingly accurate as the filter starts plugging. An output signal from the controller is used to provide a display for the operator and/or initiate filter cleaning and/or some other function. RUL enables the operator to plan when to service the filter. TUL provides the operator with an idea of how long the filter is lasting and how it compares with similar data for other filter changes. If the filter is a cleanable filter, the RUL and TUL data are used to automatically initiate the cleaning mode. Cleaning occurs when RUL is a given percentage of TUL, preferably 10 to 20%.
The algorithm and use of the sensors and timer to calculate RUL and TUL are based on a number of assumptions. These include: firstly, that differential pressure is proportional to the product of flow rate and viscosity; secondly, constant contaminants; thirdly, constant influent concentration; fourthly, the filter behaves normally. Based on Jaisinghani and Sprenger's work, above noted, the error associated with the first assumption is expected to be less than 15% for lube and hydraulic oil filters. The second assumption may be violated if a coolant leak occurs in an engine, sudden catastrophic failure of a component occurs, the equipment is used in drastically different environments, or during other abnormal transient conditions, otherwise the second assumption should be valid. The third assumption is probably the weakest. For over-the-road trucks and stationary engines, it is likely valid. For construction and agricultural equipment, environmental conditions can change rapidly. The air and oil filters can dampen the effects of these changes, but variations will occur. If the controller calculates the correlation coefficient r for the differential pressure versus time function, in addition to RUL and TUL, the validity of this assumption can be tested and it is possible to modify the algorithm to account for the changes in contaminant loading. The noted regression equation is programmed into the controller, and the controller solves for the regression constants. At any given point in time, the regression constants provide a measure of the time-weighted influent concentration. The correlation coefficient r provides one test of the validity of the assumption of constant concentration. A poor r is indicative of variable concentration. A comparison of the observed normalized pressure drop and the normalized pressure drop calculated from the regression constants can be used to identify transient conditions and changes in the operating environment or equipment. A significant variance between observed and calculated normalized pressure drops is indicative that the concentration has changed appreciably, which could mean operation in a dirtier environment, failure of the air cleaner, a change in engine condition, a failure of the oil filter, etc. Changes in contaminant loading are indicated by the magnitude of the difference between the calculated and observed normalized pressure drops or contaminant concentrations. The fourth assumption is valid except when filter integrity is violated, e.g. when leaks or filter bypassing occurs. Evaluation of the historical data for the filter, looking for evidence of discontinuities or failure of differential pressure to increase, provides the operator with useful diagnostics not readily available by other means.
The present invention uses differential pressure as a gauge in assessing filter life in one embodiment. In other embodiments, other aspects are used instead of or in combination with differential pressure, such as turbidity, particle count, conductivity, etc., as above noted. This involves a trade-off of increased diagnostic analysis capability versus cost. In other embodiments, a system identification technique can be used with either the differential pressure approach or with the measurement of other physical or chemical parameters.

Lubricant circulation diagnostic and modeling system


This breather device separates engine oil included in a blow-by gas. The breather device comprises a first route, an acceleration route, a branching route, and turn-back routes. The blow-by gas flows to the first route. The acceleration route is connected to a downstream side of the first route, and has a flow channel cross-sectional area smaller than that of the first route. The branching route is connected to a downstream side of the acceleration route, configured including a wall part orthogonal to the acceleration route, and branched into two routes by the wall part. The turn-back routes are connected to one route branching at the branching route, and are turned back so as to be parallel to the acceleration route and to head in the opposite direction from a progressing direction.

In Patent Literature 1, a cylinder head cover having a function of separating engine oil contained in blow-by gas that has leaked from a combustion chamber is disclosed. This head cover is formed with a gas channel through which the blow-by gas introduced from a cylinder head side is discharged to the outside. This gas channel is formed with a high-pressure portion having a small channel cross-sectional area. The blow-by gas, a speed of which is accelerated to a high speed when flowing through the high-pressure portion, collides with a wall portion. In this way, the engine oil contained in the blow-by gas is separated.


Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same, the device including a semiconductor substrate, a recessed channel region recessed below a surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a gate oxide film formed on the recessed channel region, a first and a second lightly doped impurity regions in surfaces of the substrate adjacent to, and on both sides of the recessed channel region respectively, and a first and a second highly doped impurity regions adjacent to the first and second lightly doped impurity regions, respectively, inverted sidewalls on the first and second lightly doped impurity regions each having a round in a side of the recessed channel region, and a gate electrode both on the inverted sidewalls and the recessed channel region, whereby securing a fabrication allowance and improving a device packing density.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a semiconductor device, in which an inverted sidewall spacer LDD(Lightly Doped Drain) structure is employed for securing a fabrication allowance and improving a device packing density; and a method for fabricating the same.
2. Background of the Related Art
A related art semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same will be explained with reference to the attached drawings. The related art semiconductor device is provided with a device isolating layer 2 of STI structure stuffed in a trench of a depth in a device isolation region, a gate electrode 5 of a planar structure on an active region defined by the device isolating layer 2, gate sidewalls 7a at sides of the gate electrode 5, source/drain regions having LDD regions 6a and 6b in surfaces of the semiconductor substrate under the gate sidewalls 7a and highly doped impurity regions 8a and 8b in surfaces of the semiconductor substrate 1 on both sides of the gate sidewalls 7a and the gate electrode 5, an interlayer insulating layer 9 having contact holes to the source/drain regions selectively, and metal electrode layers 10a and 10b in contact with the source/drain regions through the contact holes in the interlayer insulating layer 9, respectively. The LDD regions 6a and 6b is formed between a channel region under the gate electrode 5 and the highly doped impurity regions 8a and 8b.
A related art method for fabricating a semiconductor device will be explained. FIGS. 1Axcx9c1H illustrate sections showing the steps of a related art method for fabricating a semiconductor device.
Referring to FIG. 1A, the related art method for fabricating a semiconductor device starts with forming an oxide film 2 and a nitride layer 3 on a semiconductor substrate 1 in succession. Then, as shown in FIG. 1B, the nitride layer 3 and the oxide film 2 are removed selectively by photolithography, and exposed portions of the semiconductor substrate 1 are etched to a depth, to form trenches. The trenches are stuffed with an insulating material, and planarized, to form a device isolating layer 4 of an STI(Shallow Trench Isolation) structure. As shown in FIG. 1C, the nitride layer 3 is removed. And, as shown in FIG. 1D, a gate electrode 5 is formed on an active region defined by the device isolation layer 4. As shown in FIG. 1E, the gate electrode 5 is used as a mask in implanting impurities in the surfaces of the semiconductor substrate 1 lightly, to form LDD regions 6a and 6b. As shown in FIG. 1F, a gate sidewall forming material layer, such as an HLD(High Temperature Low Pressure Deposition) layer 7, is formed on an entire surface inclusive of the gate electrode 5. Then, as shown in FIG. 1G, the HLD layer 7 is etched back, leaving the HLD layer 7 on side surfaces of the gate electrode 5, to form gate sidewalls 7a. The gate electrode 5 inclusive of the gate sidewalls 7a is used as a mask in implanting impurities highly, to form source/drain regions having LDD regions 6a and 6b and impurity regions 8a and 8b. As shown in FIG. 1H, an interlayer insulating layer 9 is formed on an entire surface, and etched selectively, to expose the source/drain regions, to form metal electrode layers 10a and 10b. The related art method for fabricating a semiconductor device has a minimum line width in the gate electrode patterning fixed from a limitation of resolution of photolithography.
However, the related art semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same have the following problems.
The patterning of the gate electrode by photolithography and the planar gate electrode are difficult to apply to a method for fabricating a submicron device with a line width of the circuit in a range of 0.1 xcexcm. The limitation in reduction of line width of the circuit causes difficulty in securing a fabrication allowance in fabrication of devices of high device packing density. The wide variation of CD(Critical Dimension) in the gate electrode patterning causes difficulty in obtaining products with stable characteristics.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same, which permits to secure a fabrication allowance and to improve a device packing density.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a recessed channel region recessed below a surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a gate oxide film formed on the recessed channel region, a first and a second lightly doped impurity regions in surfaces of the substrate adjacent to, and on both sides of the recessed channel region respectively, and a first and a second highly doped impurity regions adjacent to the first and second lightly doped impurity regions, respectively, inverted sidewalls on the first and second lightly doped impurity regions each having a round in a side of the recessed channel region, and a gate electrode both on the inverted sidewalls and the recessed channel region.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for fabricating a semiconductor device, including the steps of (1) forming an oxide film and a nitride film on a semiconductor substrate in succession and patterning selectively, and forming trenches using the patterned oxide film and the nitride film, (2) stuffing an insulating material in the trenches, to form device isolating layers, (3) removing a width of the nitride film on an active region defined by the device isolating layers, to form a channel defining trench, (4) using the patterned nitride film as a mask in implanting impurities lightly, to form lightly doped impurity regions for forming LDDs, (5) forming inverted sidewalls at sides of the channel defining trench, and oxidizing a bottom portion, to form the LDD regions, (6) removing the oxide film on a bottom surface of the channel defining trench, to form a channel of semispherical recess with a depth, (7) removing the nitride layer, forming a gate oxide film on a surface of a recessed channel region, and forming a gate electrode both on the inverted sidewalls and the gate oxide film, and (8) using the gate electrode inclusive of the inverted sidewalls as a mask in implanting impurities, heavily.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.


A cover for a spray gun designed to be placed over a spray gun when spraying to prevent overspray on the spray gun and the user's hand and forearm. The cover is made from a thin panel made of flexible fabric or paper. The panel is of sufficient size and shape so that when its lateral edges are attached together, it forms a partially enclosed structure which covers the assembled spray gun and the user's hand when operating the spray gun. Formed along the front section of the cover is a front opening which enables the tip of the spray gun to extend through the cover when the spray gun is placed inside the cover. The rear edges of the panel are unattached thereby forming a wide rear opening into the cover so that the spray gun and user's hand may be easily inserted into the cover to operate the spray gun. An optional top opening is also created on the panel which allows a hook element on the spray gun to extend through so that the spray gun may be temporarily suspended from a hook in between uses.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fluid sprinkling, spraying and diffusing devices, and more particularly, to guards or protectors for such devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Spray guns are commonly used to spray paints and stains on surfaces. One drawback to using a spray gun is that the paint or stain during use is deposited on the spray gun and the operator's hands. A substantial amount of time is therefore spent cleaning the spray gun and the operator's hand after each use.
In order to reduce the amount of time spent cleaning, a removable cover is needed that can be easily attached over the spray gun and the operator's hand just before it is used. The cover should enable the operator to fully operate the spray gun and allow the spray gun to be temporarily suspended from a hook in between uses. The cover should also be made of a durable material capable of being independently cleaned with paint thinner or water. The cover can also be made of inexpensive, disposable material so that it can be thrown-away after a single use.