A combination flashlight and flashlight support is provided, wherein the generally tubular support releasably attaches to the flashlight body. The support is constructed and arranged to attach at at least one end of the flashlight. The support projects the flashlight at an oblique angle to a longitudinal axis of the flashlight body, and maintains the flashlight in an elevated position. When not in use, the support is securable to the body in a coaxial position.

This invention relates to illumination devices such as flashlights, and illumination device supports which allow an illumination device to be directed in a particular fashion to allow illumination of desired target areas. In particular, this invention relates to flashlight supports which allow the positioning of flashlights so that the light need not be hand held.
While repair of equipment, camping activities, emergency auto repair or other activities performed in the dark often require light to be directed at the area being worked upon, there are many problems with conventional devices utilized to perform the task. Traditionally, one may use a "trouble light" to illuminate an area being worked upon. The "trouble light," however, usually requires an AC power source to supply power to the "trouble light" through a long and cumbersome extension cord. In other circumstances, the "trouble light" may cause an unacceptable hazard, such as the ignition of explosive vapors which the "trouble light" may ignite.
In the alternative, one may then utilize a conventional flashlight, yet there are also many problems incumbent upon the use of the flashlight. First, one can aim a self-supported conventional flashlight only in a vertical or horizontal position relative to a flat surface. One cannot otherwise aim the flashlight without utilizing either one or two of their hands or requiring an extra person to hold the flashlight. Second, if one were to aim the flashlight in the conventional sense, the user's hands would not be free to perform the required task. Third, the conventional flashlight supports do not adequately solve both problems of aimability and support. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,703 discloses a device holder for use with a flashlight. This prior art holder utilizes multiple components including a shaft housing, a cam, legs and interlocking hardware. Because the prior art holder consists of multiple parts, it tends to be relatively complicated to utilize, assemble, and manufacture. Further, the prior art holder is not releasably securable to the flashlight for convenient carrying and storage.
Thus, there is a need for a flashlight combined with a flashlight support to provide aimability, support, and versatility to the flashlight. There is also a need for a flashlight support which is readily securable to the flashlight when not in use.
A first object of the present invention is to provide an improved support for a flashlight which permits the projection of illumination in a desired direction while leaving the user's hands free to perform other tasks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved flashlight support which is positionable on the flashlight to provide a variety of elevated support positions.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved flashlight support which can be compactly secured to the flashlight when not in use.


An electrochemical mechanical process for electroplating or electropolishing a conductive surface of a wafer is provided. The conductive surface of the wafer is touched by a polishing surface of a compressible pad while a process solution flows through the pad and a potential difference is maintained between the conductive surface and an electrode. The pressure between the polishing surface and a central region of the conductive surface is increased by applying a shaping process to either the conductive surface or the pad.

Conventional semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits (IC) generally comprise a semiconductor substrate, usually a silicon substrate, and a plurality of conductive material layers separated by insulating material layers. Conductive material layers, or interconnects, form the wiring network of the integrated circuit. Each conductor in the wiring network is isolated from the neighboring conductors by the insulating layers, also known as interlayer dielectrics. One dielectric material that is commonly used in silicon integrated circuits is silicon dioxide, although there is now a trend to replace at least some of the standard dense silicon dioxide material in IC structures with low-k dielectric materials such as organic, inorganic, spin-on and CVD candidates.
Conventionally, IC interconnects are formed by filling a conductor such as copper in features or cavities etched into the dielectric interlayers by a metallization process. Copper is becoming the preferred conductor for interconnect applications because of its low electrical resistance and good electromigration property. The preferred method of copper metallization process is electroplating. In an integrated circuit, multiple levels of interconnect networks laterally extend with respect to the substrate surface. Interconnects formed in sequential layers can be electrically connected using features such as vias or contacts. In a typical interconnect fabrication process; first an insulating layer is formed on the semiconductor substrate, patterning and etching processes are then performed to form features or cavities such as trenches, vias, and pads etc., in the insulating layer. Then, copper is electroplated to fill all the features. In such electroplating processes, the wafer is placed on a wafer carrier and a cathodic (−) voltage with respect to an electrode is applied to the wafer surface while a deposition electrolyte wets both the wafer surface and the electrode.
Once the plating is over, a material removal step such as a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process step is conducted to remove the excess copper layer, which is also called copper overburden, from the top surfaces (also called the field region) of the workpiece leaving copper only in the features. An additional material removal step is then employed to remove the other conductive layers such as the barrier/glue layers that are on the field region. Fabrication in this manner results in copper deposits within features that are physically as well as electrically isolated from each other. Another important material removal technique, especially for wafers with low-k dielectrics, is the electrochemical polishing (electropolishing) or electrochemical etching process. In electropolishing, an anodic voltage is applied to the wafer surface with respect to a cathodic electrode in an electropolishing electrolyte. Excess conductor, such as overburden copper is removed without physically touching and stressing the interconnect structure. It is possible to perform electropolishing on a wafer surface while physically touching the surface with a pad material. Such techniques are called electrochemical mechanical polishing or etching methods.
Some of the adverse effects of conventional material removal technologies may be minimized or overcome by employing a planar deposition approach that has the ability to provide layers of planar conductive material on the workpiece surface, as well as planar removal processes. These planar deposition and removal processes also have application in thru-resist processes employed in IC packaging. In these applications plating is performed into holes opened in resist layers onto seed films exposed on the bottom of each hole or opening.
One technique used for planar deposition and removal of materials is collectively referred to as Electrochemical Mechanical Processing (ECMPR), which term is used to include Electrochemical Mechanical Deposition (ECMD) processes as well as Electrochemical Mechanical polishing (ECMP) which is also called Electrochemical Mechanical Etching (ECME). It should be noted that in general both ECMD and ECMP processes are referred to as electrochemical mechanical processing (ECMPR) since both involve electrochemical processes and physical touching to, or mechanical action on the workpiece surface. All electrochemical techniques for material deposition and removal may be referred to as "electrotreatment."
In one aspect of an ECMPR method, a workpiece-surface-influencing-device (WSID) such as a mask, pad or a sweeper is used during at least a portion of the electrotreatment process when there is physical contact or close proximity and relative motion between the workpiece surface and the WSID. Descriptions of various planar deposition and planar etching methods and apparatus can be found in the following patents and pending applications, all commonly owned by the assignee of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,992 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Electrochemical Mechanical Deposition." U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,116 entitled "Plating Method and Apparatus that Creates a Differential Between Additive Disposed on a Top Surface and a Cavity Surface of a Workpiece Using an External Influence," filed on Dec. 18, 2001, and patent application Ser. No. 09/961,193 filed on Sep. 20, 2001, entitled "Plating Method and Apparatus for Controlling Deposition on Predetermined Portions of a Workpiece". These methods can deposit metals in and over cavity sections on a workpiece in a planar manner. They also have the capability of yielding novel structures with excess amount of metals over the features irrespective of their size, if desired.
In ECMD methods, the surface of the workpiece is wetted by the electrolyte and is rendered cathodic with respect to an electrode, which is also wetted by the electrolyte. During ECMD, the wafer surface is pushed against or in close proximity to the surface of the WSID or vice versa when relative motion between the surface of the workpiece and the WSID results in sweeping of the workpiece surface. Planar deposition is achieved due to this sweeping action as described in the above-cited patent applications.
In ECMP methods, the surface of the workpiece is wetted by the electropolishing electrolyte or etching solution, but the polarity of the applied voltage is reversed, thus rendering the workpiece surface more anodic compared to the electrode. A WSID touches the surface during removal of the layer from the workpiece surface.
Very thin planar films can be obtained by first depositing a planar layer using an ECMD technique and then applying an ECMP technique on the planar film in the same electrolyte by reversing the applied voltage. Alternately the ECMP step can be carried out in a separate machine and a different etching electrolyte or electropolishing solution. This way the thickness of the deposit may be reduced in a planar manner. In fact, an ECMP technique may be continued until all the metal on the field regions is removed. It should be noted that a WSID may or may not be used during the electroetching process since substantially planar etching can be achieved either way as long as the starting layer surface is planar.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary conventional ECMPR system 10 used for processing wafers. In FIG. 1, a WSID 12 having openings 14 in it, is disposed in close proximity of a workpiece or wafer 16 to be processed. The wafer 16 is a silicon wafer to be plated with a conductor metal, preferably copper or copper alloy. The wafer may or may not have a previously plated copper layer on it. The wafer 16 is retained by a wafer carrier 18 so as to position front surface 20 of the wafer against top surface 22 of the WSID 12. The openings 14 are designed to assure uniform deposition of copper from an electrolyte solution 24, depicted by arrows, onto the front surface 22, or uniform electropolishing from the front surface 22. The top surface 22 of the WSID 12 facing the front surface 20 of the wafer is used as the sweeper and the WSID 12 itself establishes appropriate electrolyte flow and electric field flow to the front surface 22 for globally uniform deposition or electroetching. Such an ECMPR system 10 also includes an electrode 26, which is immersed in the electrolyte 24. The electrolyte solution 24 is contained in a process chamber 25. The electrolyte 24 is in fluid communication with the electrode 26 and the front surface 20 of the wafer 16 through the openings 14 in the WSID 12.
It should be noted that the electrode 26 is only schematically shown in FIG. 1. In actual practice, the electrodes are shielded with a particle filter and other precautions are taken to avoid bubble accumulation under the WSID and to avoid particles generated on the electrode 26 to reach the surface of the wafer 16. An exemplary copper electrolyte may be copper sulfate solution with additives such as accelerators, suppressors, leveler, chloride and such, which are commonly used in the industry. The top surface 22 of the WSID 12 sweeps the front surface 20 the wafer while an electrical potential is established between the electrode 26 and the front surface 20 of the wafer. For deposition of a planar film such as copper, the front surface of the wafer 12 is made more cathodic (negative) compared to the electrode 26, which becomes the anode. For electropolishing in the same system the wafer surface is made more anodic than the electrode.
U.S. application Ser. No. 09/960,236 filed on Sep. 20, 2001, entitled "Mask Plate Design," assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses various WSID embodiments. Also, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/155,828 filed on May 23, 2002, entitled Low Force Electrochemical Mechanical Deposition Method and Apparatus, also assigned to the same assignee of the present invention teaches means of applying force to the wafer surface by a WSID for ECMPR.
To this end, however, while these techniques assist in obtaining planar metal deposits or novel metal structures on workpieces and wafers, and other means of planar removal of materials from the wafer surfaces, there is still a need for further development of high-throughput approaches and apparatus that can yield deposits with better uniformity and high yield, and methods and apparatus that provide more uniform material removal from workpiece surfaces.

Means to improve center to edge uniformity of electrochemical mechanical processing of workpiece surface


A signal line conductor extends in a direction in which a signal propagates, and a dielectric, surrounding the signal line conductor, also extends in the direction in which the signal propagates. Conductive films that define and function as a ground conductor extend on a side surface of the dielectric in the direction in which the signal propagates. Furthermore, conductive films that define and function as a bridge conductor extend on a side surface of the dielectric in a direction across the direction in which the signal propagates, and thus connect the conductive films to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission line, and more specifically to a transmission line configured to transmit a high frequency signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A representative transmission line connecting a high frequency circuit, a high frequency element and the like with each other for transmitting a high frequency signal is a coaxial cable. The coaxial cable is formed of a central conductor that transmits a high frequency signal and a shield conductor surrounding the central conductor coaxially, and provides a transmission line with excellent shieldability and is also inexpensive, and accordingly, it is used for a variety of high frequency equipment. As mobile equipment is increasingly reduced in size and thickness, however, there is a demand for a cable reduced in thickness to be incorporated in the equipment.
In relation thereto, Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3173143 proposes a triplate-type transmission line thinner than the coaxial cable and suitable for being incorporated in mobile equipment. When the thus configured transmission line has a flexible resin base material applied thereto, the transmission line can be enhanced in vertical flexibility and thus be disposed in an elongated gap along a curved surface of a casing of a mobile terminal.
In Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3173143, however, a vertical ground conductor is connected by a via conductor, and this imposes a large burden on fabricating the transmission line.
More specifically, a ground conductor is normally produced of copper foil, conductive paste and the like, i.e., different types of materials, bonded together. When the transmission line is bent and thus used, and there is a via in a vicinity of the bent portion, the interface of the via and the copper foil experiences stress, which may cause breakage and the via may be disconnected. Furthermore, when the via is excessively close to a side surface of a base material, cutting a collective base material into individual pieces causes stress to crack the base material, and accordingly, it is necessary to provide the via inside the side surface with some margin considered. This requires the line to have a width increased more than required for a property or the like and thus imposes a large burden on fabricating the transmission line.


An antibacterial agent having high antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium  avium subsp. paratuberculosis is provided. Specifically, the antibacterial agent of the present invention having high antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is a caprazamycin derivative represented, for example, by the following general formula (II):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antibacterial agent effective against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, and to a therapeutic agent for Johne's disease containing the antibacterial agent.
2. Description of the Related Art
Johne's disease is a contagious disease that affects cattle, sheep and other ruminants. The disease is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, an acid-fast bacillus, and is orally transmitted from one animal to another. Among major symptoms of the disease are chronic enteritis and a significant reduction in body weight. In Japan, Johne's disease was designated as a legal communicable disease in 1971. The disease has an extremely long course and may remain latent for one to several years, in some cases for as long as 10 years, before it develops. Asymptomatically-infected cattle excrete a large number of bacteria in their feces that can infect other animals in the herd (See, C. Cocito, P. Gilot, M. Coene, M. de Kesel, P. Poupart, and P. Vannuffel; Paratuberculosis; Clinical Microbiology Reviews, vol. 7, No. 3, pp 328-345 (1994)).
One approach to counteract Johne's disease is vaccination by subcutaneous injection of inactivated Johne's disease bacteria with an oil adjuvant (van Schaik G, Kalis C H, Benedictus G, Dijkhuizen A A, Huirne R B, Cost-benefit analysis of vaccination against paratuberculosis in dairy cattle. Vet Rec 139: 624-7 (1996), and Molina J M, Anguiano A, Ferrer O, Study on immune response of goats vaccinated with a live strain of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis 19: 9-15 (1996)). Although vaccination can enhance the cellular immunity after infection, it only suppresses the onset of the disease, rather than prevent infection, resulting in latently infected cattle that continuously excrete bacteria in their feces. Thus, vaccination may not provide a decisive solution, but rather may spread the disease.
With no effective measures presently available for the prevention or treatment of the disease, the most effective way to prevent epidemic is to quickly find and eliminate infected animals. The Act on Domestic Animal Infectious Disease Control in Japan requires that the infected animals be disposed of immediately. Johne's disease can affect a large population of animals and is considered one of the most important diseases that can severely damage the cattle dairy and husbandary industry. The disease can not only cause direct damage to the industry by decreasing the productivity and requiring disposal of affected animals, but can also lead to a significantly increased cost associated with long-term, regular health check-ups and restricted translocation of affected animals.
At present, no effective antibacterial agents against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis are available, nor are there any therapeutic agents containing such antibacterial agents.

Antibacterial agent and therapeutic agent for johne's disease containing the same

Abstract: wherein Me is a methyl group; and R1 is a straight or substantially straight chain alkyl group having 5 to 21 carbon atoms, a straight or substantially straight chain alkenyl group having 5 to 21 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 5 to 12 carbon atoms, or a phenyl group substituted at the para-position with a straight chain alkyl group having 1 to 14 carbon atoms, a straight chain alkoxy group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms or a cycloalkyl group having 5 to 12 carbon atoms.


A method for adaptively filtering a control signal in a serial link includes monitoring for a blanking interval in a video stream having an associated clock signal and monitoring for an occurrence of a VSYNC signal once the blanking interval has started. A control signal is initially detected wherein the control signal occurs subsequent to the occurrence of the VSYNC signal. A set of properties of the control signal are recorded and a set of filter parameters are adjusted for detecting the control signal in a next blanking period based on the set of properties of the control signal.

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art video system 10 between a set top box 20 and a television receiver 30. Set top box 20 sometimes takes the form of a DVD player and television receiver 30 sometimes takes the form of a monitor.
The content protection protocol used in system 10 is high bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) commonly used on DVI (digital video interface) or panel-link type interfaces. Included in the prior art system 10 is a first content protection state machine 40, in the set top box 20, and a second content protection state machine 50, in the television receiver 30. First content protection state machine 40 encrypts video data and second content protection state machine 50 decrypts the video data before it is displayed. The reason for the encryption by content protection state machine 40 is to prevent unauthorized copying of the video signal with, for example, a video tape recorder.
A modulator 60 converts various data signals, including the video data, for efficient transport over a set of differential pairs of wires 70 that are synchronized by clock 80. A demodulator 90 then reverts the signals into a control 3 (CTL3) signal 100, a 24 bit data path 110, a set of control signal lines (CTL0, CTL1 and CTL3) 120, and a clock line 130. Also included is a microprocessor 140 that controls the entire system 10. Microprocessor 140 communicates with content protection state machine 50 via DDC (display data channel) bus 142.
FIG. 2 is a timing diagram of the operational characteristics of a prior art HDCP system and further illustrates some of its limitations. In a video stream, there are sections of the signal that do not contain any video data (blanking intervals) which can be conceptually represented by a low data enable (DE) signal 150 and can also be referred to as a blanking interval. During the blanking interval 150, a vertical synchronization (VSYNC) pulse 160 typically will be asserted, resulting in a CTL3 pulse 100. The CTL3 pulse 100 signals the content protection state machine 50 that the next video frame needs to be decrypted. A low VSYNC pulse can also be employed to achieve the same results. Additionally, the CTL3 pulse 100 can be coincident with a leading edge 162 of the VSYNC pulse 160, though the relationship between the CTL3 pulse 100 and the VSYNC pulse 160 is loosely defined.
The HDCP protocol specifies that the CTL3 pulse 100 needs to be at least eight clock signals wide in order for the content protection state machine 50 to be properly notified to decrypt the next video frame. A CTL3 pulse can get corrupted, however, and this results in video frames not being decrypted, when they should be, and is manifested as "snow" on a display. Conversely, video frames that do not need to be decrypted can be subjected to decryption
and also results in a scrambled display. This degradation of the video signal will completely prevent the viewing of the images generated by the video signal. Some typical non-ideal CTL3 pulses include a glitch 170 or glitches 180 that will separate a CTL3 pulse into several pulses, each less than eight clock signals wide; a CTL3 pulse due to noise 190, a first false CTL3 pulse 200 where a pulse exists when one should not and a second false CTL3 pulse 210 where a pulse is present at the wrong point in time in relation to the VSYNC 16 and DE. Additionally, it is possible for the two numbers to match, even if the picture is not decrypted properly. In this situation, re-authentication is prevented when it is useful and necessary.
When a problem with the video decryption occurs, a re-authentication process needs to take place to restore the video image and can take up to several seconds. This is accomplished by comparing two 16 bit numbers before and after the video frame is encrypted/decrypted. If the two numbers do not match, the set top box 20 initiates the re-authentication process. Sometimes the numbers do not match up, however, even if the picture was decrypted properly. This causes an unnecessary re-authentication cycle to occur and results in a lost image which manifests as a glitch in the images generated by the video signal. Additionally, it is possible for the two numbers to match, even if the picture is not decrypted properly. In this situation, re-authentication is prevented when it is useful and necessary.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method to screen out invalid control signals, accurately detect valid control signals and prevent invalid re-synchronization cycles in order to maintain a continuous video stream on a display.

System and method for an adaptive state machine to control signal filtering in a serial link


A system and method for hidden security feature detection, analysis and authentication using a smart device is disclosed. The smart device can detect and analyze hidden security features using the camera capability of the smart device to capture a digital image, and then analyze and authenticate that image using a security service including a database of security feature data, processing rules, and other information. The security service can support a variety of smart devices and security features. The smart device includes a security-specific autofocus function that allows the smart device to be positioned within a range of distances and angles from a target document that includes hidden/covert security feature(s). The smart device can display an enhanced image showing the hidden security feature(s) and/or report if the security feature is valid or invalid, along with related information, via beeps, vibration, display, text messaging, or other reporting capabilities.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
For several reasons, it is highly desirable to identify counterfeit or fraudulent documents, such as to identify fraudulent products with counterfeit packaging and/or other identifying information. Advancing technology, such as improved software applications, printers and copiers, has enabled the proliferation of counterfeit documents. For example, grey market or knock-off goods are difficult to distinguish from authentic and/or authorized goods. Identifying a product as authentic based on its packaging or other documentation is especially important when dealing with products, such as pharmaceutical products, where the effect of a counterfeit product may be life-threatening. As additional examples, a counterfeit vehicle title can be very costly to an unsuspecting purchaser, and fake coupons can be costly to a business. Therefore, it is important to develop a method for providing tamper-resistant security information in documents along with the ability to readily authenticate that security information.

System and method for analysis and authentication of covert security information using a smart device


The illustrative embodiments described herein provide systems and methods for managing the execution of processing jobs. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a processing job associated with a set of processing job parameters. The processing job is sent from a user interfacing device associated with a user. The method also includes determining a processing job priority for the processing job using the set of processing job parameters, identifying a destination processing device capable of executing the processing job using the set of processing job parameters, and initiating execution of the processing job at the destination processing device to form processed data in response to determining to execute the processing job based on the processing job priority.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for managing the execution of processing jobs. More particularly, the present invention relates to managing processing jobs within a network data processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network processing environments are often used to process data using multiple computing devices, and for the exchange of data between those devices. As the amount of data to be processed increases or as the available processing resources decrease in the network processing environment, users and processing jobs may have to compete for limited processing resources. Failing to prioritize multiple processing jobs competing for limited processing resources can result in processing delays, user frustration due to such delays, and other problematic issues. Current systems may also fail to prioritize processing jobs based on parameters that describe, or are otherwise associated, with those processing jobs. These current systems may also fail to take into account user or organizational preferences for prioritizing processing jobs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for managing the execution of processing jobs


It is desirable to provide a technology capable of supporting reverse connection in which the front and back of a connector are reversed while expansion of circuit scale is suppressed. A reception control device is provided including a polarity detection unit that detects, as a polarity determination result signal, at least one of a polarity of a first reception signal received by a first reception unit or a polarity of a polarity inversion result of a second reception signal received by a second reception unit and a reception control unit that controls output destinations of a third reception signal received after the first reception signal by the first reception unit and a fourth reception signal received after the second reception signal by the second reception unit, on the basis of the polarity determination result signal.

In recent years, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), display port (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "DP"), and the like are known as interfaces for connection between devices. The HDMI, the DP, and the like do not support reverse connection in which the connector is rotated 180 degrees and the front and back of the connector are reversed, and the connector and the receptor cannot be mechanically connected together.
Furthermore, universal serial bus (USB) is also known as an interface for connection between devices. The USBs except for the type-C do not support the reverse connection similarly to the HDMI and the like, but type-C of the USB supports the reverse connection. However, in the type-C, the reverse connection is detected by the CC1 signal and the CC2 signal. In other words, in the type-C, a reverse connection detection lane is added separately from a data transmission lane.
However, to suppress expansion of circuit scale, there is a need for a technology that supports the reverse connection of the connector without adding the reverse connection detection lane. Thus, as an example, a technology has been devised in which polarity inversion of a differential signal is detected and polarity is changed on the basis of a detection result (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Transmission control device, reception control device, and transmission/reception control system

SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION


A quantum dot LED package is disclosed. The quantum dot LED package includes: a heat dissipating reflector having a through cavity; a quantum dot plate accommodated in the upper portion of the through cavity; an LED chip accommodated in the lower portion of the through cavity and whose top surface is coupled to the lower surface of the quantum dot plate; electrode pads disposed on the lower surface of the LED chip and protruding more downward than the lower surface of the heat dissipating reflector; and a resin part formed in the through cavity to fix between the LED chip and the reflector and between the quantum dot plate and the reflector.

Technologies for converting light of a particular color into light of a different color are well known in the field of LEDs. For example, a white LED package is known in which an LED chip emitting light of a particular wavelength or color is combined with a phosphor converting the wavelength of the light emitted from the LED chip to achieve white light emission. However, such conventional LED packages using phosphors have limitations in achieving high color gamut.
In this connection, a great deal of attempts and research have recently been made to replace phosphors with quantum dots (QDs) emitting light of different wavelengths depending on their particle size. Quantum dots have excellent wavelength conversion characteristics due to their quantum confinement effect, unlike bulk particles. However, quantum dots tend to lose their performance because of their high susceptibility to external environmental conditions such as heat, moisture, and oxygen. For this reason, the application of wavelength converting materials, including quantum dots, without modification to conventional LED packages causes many problems.
Particularly, since wavelength converting materials such as quantum dots are vulnerable to heat generated from LED chips, heat dissipating reflectors such as metal reflectors are used to dissipate heat generated during operation of LED chips. However, the dissipation paths of heat generated from LED chips are blocked by general heat dissipating reflectors that are upwardly open and downwardly closed, causing poor heat dissipating characteristics.
On the other hand, there has been proposed an LED module including a bendable PCB based on an Al plate and quantum dot LED packages mounted on the bendable PCB. However, there is a considerable difference in thermal resistivity between the LED packages of the LED module, resulting in a large difference in the lifetime of the LED packages. This is because the thermal reliability of the LED chips is determined by the difference in thermal resistivity. When a few ones of the LED packages of the quantum dot LED module are defective, all LED packages cannot be used any longer. Thus, the LED packages of the LED module needs to be maintained in a thermal equilibrium state such that heat is transferred from the relatively high temperature LED packages to the relatively low temperature LED packages to reduce a difference in the reliability of the LED packages. Another problem of the quantum dot LED module is that the Al reduces the lifetime of the quantum dots and tends to discolor the quantum dots due to its poor heat dissipation performance.

Quantum dot LED package and quantum dot LED module including the same


A seat assembly includes an armrest attached to a seat, and an amrest coupling assembly for coupling the armrest to the seat comprising a linear adjustment mechanism coupled to the armrest, and a rotational adjustment mechanism coupled to the armrest. The linear adjustment mechanism is arranged to enable the armrest to translate along an initial linear axis between a plurality of generally vertical positions. The rotational adjustment mechanism is arranged to enable the armrest to pivot about the rotational axis between a plurality of angular positions.

Seat assemblies for motor vehicles typically include armrests which are pivotally adjustable between a first, stored position in which the armrest is substantially parallel to the seat back and a second, deployed position in which the armrest is substantially parallel to the floor of the vehicle and may be used to support the arms of the passenger. However, known armrest assemblies are fixed about a single pivot which is not adjustable to accommodate vehicle occupants of differing heights. Furthermore, such armrest assemblies are typically angularly adjustable between only a first, stored position and a second, deployed position.
There exists a need for seat assembly having an armrest capable of both linear and angular adjustment through a plurality of selectable positions that is simple and inexpensive to assemble.

Seat assembly having an adjustable height and angle armrest


A method of operating a computing device to allow events to be conditionally executed based on a power state of the device at the time of execution of the events. Conditional execution may be implemented using multiple timers, each associated with a power state. A timer such as an “AC timer” or a “DC timer” associated with a respective power state may be used to wake up the device when, upon expiration, or time-out, of the timer, a current power state of the device and the power state associated with the timer match. An Advanced Configuration Power Interface (ACPI) may be employed to abstract implementation of the timers from underlying hardware of the device. The operating system and software applications may request establishing wake-up behavior of the device as commands to program conditional events, which may then be translated into commands to embedded controller to set the timers.

Computer devices conventionally operate using an alternating current (AC) power source. A mobile computer device, such as a laptop, additionally may operate with power supplied by a battery providing direct current (DC) power. Regardless of whether a device is using AC or DC power, it may implement one or more "sleep" modes in order to save power.
In a sleep mode, one or more components of the device may be disabled. For example, a screen or other display device may be turned off to implement a sleep mode. Other components such as a processor or wireless transceiver may be shut down. In some instances, devices implement different sleep levels, with successively more components turned off in each deeper sleep mode.
A device may enter a sleep mode in one or more ways. If a device has not been in use for a certain time, it may automatically enter a sleep mode. The device may also enter a sleep mode upon a user input (e.g., pressing of a pause or standby button). To exit the sleep mode and resume normal operations, the device transitions to an active mode, or wakes up.
Different events may trigger a device to transition from a low power mode to another power mode. For example, an event such as moving a computer mouse, pressing a key on a keyboard or receiving a message may cause the device to "wake up" and enter the active mode. Also, the device may have a timer that causes the device to wake up when the timer expires. When the device wakes up, it can perform scheduled maintenance of software or execute applications (e.g., to record a video program). In a mobile device operating on a battery, transition from a low power mode to a lower power mode may be performed automatically.
On known computer platforms, Operating System Power Management (OSPM) may direct programming of the wake-up timer. The OSPM can program an alarm for an event and may then control transitioning of the platform to a wake-up mode by communicating with the platform Real-Time Clock (RTC). When a current time of the computer device matches the alarm time, the RTC causes the device to wake up. Conventionally, one RTC alarm may be programmed at a time.
The RTC alarm may be implemented by an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)-enabled computer device. Computer devices increasingly employ ACPI that is a standard specification providing power control and management between the hardware platform and OSPM. ACPI is implemented by the platform hardware and firmware as well as by OSPM and defines interfaces for power management and monitoring that are presented to an operating system (OS) in a hardware-independent manner. A computer device employing ACPI can be placed in one of several power states. In ACPI-compliant devices, the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), hardware and associated power management components use a standard approach that enables the OS to manage transitions between different power states.
Conventionally, the RTC alarm wakes the computer device regardless of a current operating power source. Thus, the computer device may wake up from a sleep mode when the device is powered by an AC power source or a battery. As a result, the RTC alarm may expire when a mobile device operating on the battery is in a thermally constrained environment, such as an overhead compartment on an airplane or in a carrying bag. In such scenarios, after waking up, the mobile device does not transition back to a sleep mode and may overheat. Overheating can degrade performance and can damage underlying hardware. Moreover, a user experience may be compromised because the battery may discharge sooner than expected by a user who is then not able to use the computer device.
A known solution to the above problem is to prevent the RTC alarm from waking a device from a sleep mode when the device operates on a battery power.


A high flow polyester composition is disclosed, which comprises at least one polyester, at least one flow enhancing ingredient of structure (III),

The invention relates to a molding composition comprising polyester or its blends with other thermoplastics in the presence of a fluidity enhancer to decrease melt viscosity and improve processability.
Polyesters, copolyesters and their blends with other thermoplastics are employed in making injection molded parts, films, blow-molded goods, pultruded sheets etc. These articles are used in automotive, electrical and electronic applications. The mechanical strength, electrical insulation and easy processability are some of the key characteristics of polyesters, which enable their use in these applications. The current industrial trend is about fabrication of parts with complicated and fine designs with small flow cross-sectional areas, where fluidity of conventional polyesters has been found inadequate.
To address the demanding requirements of high melt flowability, a polyester resin can be replaced by another polyester resin having lower viscosity, but such low viscosity polyester adversely affects the mechanical strength of the molded parts. The challenge therefore is to achieve high flowability of polyester molding compositions without affecting their mechanical strength.
Among the various approaches known in reducing the melt viscosity of polymers such as polyamides and polyphenylene ethers, the use of flow-enhancing hydroxyl compounds is one of them. It has the potential to provide the advantage of not having the need to modify the polymers and hence offers the scope of retaining most of the mechanical properties if used in effective small amounts. The following is a discussion of prior art in this area.
A U.S. patent publication, U.S. Pat. No. 6,822,025 discloses the flow enhancement of a flame retardant composition based on polyphenylene ether/polystyrene resins by using polyhydric alcohols such as pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol, pentitols, hexitols or saccharides as a flow-enhancing additive. The '025 patent discloses that about 20% flow enhancement is achieved without loss of mechanical properties. However, as per '025 patent, the flow dependence is nearly independent of the amount of pentaerythritol used beyond 0.5% usage of pentaerythritol.
A European patent publication, EP 1 041 109A2 describes the flow enhancement of glass filled polyamide compositions by using a polyhydric alcohol having melting point between 150 and 280 deg C., for example, pentaerythritol or dipentaerythritol. In polyamide compositions, both pentaerythritol and dipentaerythritol showed identical flow enhancing effects. In their study they also demonstrated that simple diol such as 1,6-hexane diol is not effective as a flow promoting additive.
A European patent publication, EP 0 682 057A1 describes the flow enhancement of polyamide and polyester compositions with retention of mechanical properties by using dendrimeric additives. Dendrimeric compounds in general are prepared in several separate steps from basic raw materials and are expensive.
A Japanese patent publication, JP 10310690 discloses the use of pentaerythritol or 1,1,1-tris(hydroxymethyl)ethane and 1,1,1-tri(hydroxymethyl)propane in a polybutylene terephthalate resin for enhancing melt flow. The effect of these flow enhancing additives on other properties of the matrix resin and the effect of other ingredients in the formulations were not disclosed.
Aside the above references on the flow enhancing properties of polyhydric alcohols such as pentaerythritol, a few other polyester flame retardant compositions have been known where pentaerythritol has been disclosed as a char-forming additive. The char formation from polyhydric alcohol in the presence of acidic compounds is well documented in literature.
The U.S. patent publication, U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,245 describes the use of pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol or tripentaerythritol as a char-forming additive in polybutylene terephthalate resin containing melammonium pentate as flame retardant. No flow or mechanical properties of these compositions were described in this '245 disclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,344 discloses the use of pentaerythritol as a char former in polyester composition containing hexavalent sulfur compound as a flame retardant, in addition to other components such as reinforcing fillers, fluoro polymer as a flow-enhancing additive etc. No mention of heat-ageing stability of such compositions, nor flow enhancement due to pentaerythritol were disclosed in this publication.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,419 discloses the use of pentaerythritol as a char former in a polyester composition containing glass or mineral reinforcing fillers along with a melamine polyphosphate as a flame retardant material. No effect on flow or mechanical properties or heat-aging stability were disclosed in this patent publication.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,879 discloses the use of pentaerythritol or dipentaerythritol or 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane in a flame retardant polyester composition containing halogenated flame retardants in combination with a synergist, antimony trioxide. Neither the flow enhancement due to these polyhydric alcohols nor the effect of other ingredients on the flow-promoting role of these additives was disclosed in this publication.
Flow promotion in the case of polyphenylene ether/polystyrene could be a result of plasticizing action of polyhydric alcohol melts formed at high temperatures prevailing in processing conditions. A hydroxy functional molecule may not react with polyphenylene ether derived from dialkyl phenols or polystyrene derived from styrene monomers, as these polymers do not have reactive functional groups that can react with a hydroxy group. Similar scenario prevails in the case of polyamides, as alcoholysis of amide group is usually difficult (Smith and March, p. 488, Advanced Organic Reactions-Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure, John-Wiley, 5th edition, 2001) and requires highly reactive catalysts such as titanium tetrachloride or triflic anhydride. The added polyhydric alcohols could remain as plasticizing domains in polyamide media thus giving rise to flow improvement of polyamides as suggested by the melting point range preference for the added polyhydric alcohols in polyamide compositions (reference: EP 1 041 109A2). On the contrary, flow promotion in polyesters by use of polyhydric alcohols poses special challenges owing to the propensity of polyesters to undergo reactions with hydroxy with a likelihood of changes in mechanical properties of polyesters. From our study on the effect of ingredients on flow promoting properties of some hydroxyl or amino functional molecules, we report herein surprising improvements on the flow and thermal ageing resistance properties of polyester compounds without sacrificing mechanical properties due to inventive compositions disclosed herein.

High flow polyester composition, method of manufacture, and uses thereof

Abstract: wherein R3 is a C1-C20 alkyl group optionally having one or more hydroxy group substituents, a C3-C20 cycloalkyl group, a C6-C20 aryl group, a C1-C20 alkoxy group optionally having one or more hydroxy group substituents, or a C6-C20 aryloxy group; and an aromatic epoxy compound, in an amount sufficient to provide 5 to 300 milliequivalents of epoxy per kilogram of polyester. The composition further optionally comprises reinforcing fillers, impact modifiers, a property-enhancing thermoplastic such as polycarbonate and flame retardant chemicals. The compositions are suitable for making automotive, electric and electronic parts.


A composition of matter having utility in lubricant formulations, said composition being the reaction product of adenine, alkoxylated amine and dihydrocarbyldithiophosphoric acid and having the general formula (I): ##STR1## where R is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group of from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, R.sup.1 is a hydrocarbyl group of 2 to 22 carbon atoms, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are each independently hydrocarbyl groups having from 3 to 30 carbon atoms, x and y are each independently integers of from 1 to 15 with the proviso that the sum of x+y is from 2 to 20, and a, b and c are independent numbers from 1.0 to 3.0 wherein the ratios between a:b, a:c and b:c range from 1.0:3.0 to 3.0:1.0.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the reaction product of adenine, alkoxylated amine and dihydrocarbyldithiophosphoric acid and to an improved lubricating oil composition containing the reaction product which shows excellent antiwear and copper corrosion inhibition properties.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to protect internal combustion engines from wear, engine lubricating oils have been provided with antiwear and antioxidant additives. The primary oil additive for the past 40 years for providing antiwear and antioxidant properties has been zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,431 discloses a lubricating oil additive composition containing dihydrocarbyl hydrogen dithiophosphates and a sulfur-free of hydrocarbyl dihydrogen phosphates and dihydrocarbyl hydrogen phosphates, said composition being at least 50% neutralized by a hydrocarbyl amine having 10 to 30 carbons in said hydrocarbyl group. U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,790 discloses an extreme-pressure lubricating oil containing (1) hydrated potassium borate, (2) an antiwear agent selected from (a) ZDDP, (b) an ester, an amide or an amine salt of a dihydrocarbyl dithiophosphoric acid or (c) a zinc alkyl aryl sulfonate and (3) an oil-soluble organic sulfur compound.
Oil additive packages containing ZDDP have environmental drawbacks. ZDDP adds to engine deposits which can lead to increased oil consumption and emissions. Moreover, ZDDP is not ash-free. Various ashless oil additive packages have been developed recently due to such environmental concerns. However, many ashless additive packages tend to be corrosive to copper which leads to additional components in the additive package.
It would be desirable to have a lubricating oil additive which provides excellent antiwear, antioxidation, fuel economy and environmentally beneficial (less fuel, i.e., less exhaust emissions) properties while at the same time protecting the engine from copper corrosion.

Ashless lube additives containing complexes of alkoxylated amines, dihydrocarbyldithiophosphoric acid, and adenine


In order to improve a signal-to-noise ratio of an optical detector with a light source and a photodetector of ordinary performance, light is applied from an ultraviolet lamp 6 which is provided on one side of a capillary cell 4 while light generated from the capillary cell 4 is received by an array photodetector 14 provided on the other side thereof. A lens 18 makes positions on the capillary cell 4 to correspond to those on the array photodetector 14. A data processing part 20 temporarily stores corrected and incorporated detection outputs, and calculates integrated averages while displacing time bases so that those of the same sample portions are overlapped with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical detector which is employed for an analyzer utilizing a capillary chromatography, and more particularly, it relates to an optical detector which is applied to a capillary electrophoresis apparatus, a liquid chromatography apparatus, or the like.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is preferable that the limit of detection of an analyzer, i.e., the signal-to-noise ratio of a detector, is as high as possible. In an optical detector, luminance of a light source is limited while samples or a capillary are deteriorated when light of excessive intensity is employed. Further, sensitivity of the detector also has a certain limit due to its detection principle.
When detection is performed in a photon count region in order to improve sensitivity, it takes so much time that no dynamic range can be obtained.
Thus, the signal-to-noise ratio of a detection system is inevitably limited even if the same is formed by an optimum light source, an optimum optical system and an optimum detector.

Optical detector for capillary chromatography


A composite simple plug comprises an insulation case, a plurality of terminals, a connector, and a plug of a network line or a plug of a phone line. The insulation case has a trough. The terminals are set in the insulation case and appeared on the trough. The connector is set in the front of the insulation case. The connector is connected electrically to the terminals. Make use of this, the insulation case can be applied to switch all kinds of plugs. The composite simple plug can connect with a plug of a network line or a connecting unit to connect with all kinds of plugs of a phone line. It makes the plug of a phone line be switched to the plug of a network line. The composite simple plug provides a function of simply switching and it is more convenient for using.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composite simple plug, and in particular to a structure for connecting with a connector and a plug of a network line or a phone line, changing into all kinds of connectors according to the request, and switching to the plug of a network line or a phone line.
2. Description of Prior Art
The conventional switching plug can provide a function of switching two kinds of plugs according to request, for example, switching a plug of a phone line to a plug of a network line.
Taiwan Patent Application No. 94217851 (or its U.S. counterpart, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/967,243), entitled "Simple Switching Plug Structure" previously filed by the inventor of the present invention, discloses an insulation body, several terminals and a switching member. The insulation body has several terminal troughs. Terminals are provided in the terminal troughs, respectively. The switching member is pivotably connected on the insulation body to adjust its rotation according to the request. Although this patent document achieves to switch different kinds of plugs, namely, switch a plug of a phone line to a plug of a network line by the switching member, there is still some insufficiency in use.
Therefore, in view of the above drawbacks, the inventor proposes the present invention to efficiently overcome the drawbacks of prior art based on his deliberate researches and expert experiences.

Pivoting adapter structure for assembling plugs


A high-speed discrete cosine transformation circuit includes the one-dimensional input signals x(0) to x(7) being input in parallel to the positive input terminals "+" or the negative input terminals "-" of eight neural operation units (NOU) 11 to 18 through capacitors d0 to d6. In each NOU 11 to 18, input signals x(0) to x(7) are added and subtracted. Input signals x(0) to x(7) are multiplied beforehand by the coefficient in proportion to the capacities of capacitors d0 to d6 which are connected to NOU 11 to 18. Thereafter, discrete cosine transforming coefficients y(0) to y(7) are output. A two-dimensional discrete cosine transformation circuit is realized by using the one-dimensional discrete cosine transforming circuit.

Discrete cosine transformation (DCT) is one kind of orthogonal transformation. It is a signal processing method used more widely now that multimedia processing has developed recently. Discrete cosine transformations like JPEG and MPEG are used with increasing importance, especially in the field of image processing. DCT is usually implemented by digital circuits or software.


A method for installing a ducting system with branches, wherein at the point of a branch in an existing duct of the system a tubular branch element with an inlet opening, an outlet opening and at least one branch opening is arranged by removing a duct portion from the existing duct at the point of the branch, by sliding the branch element on one of the free ends of the existing duct resulting from the interruption, re-placing the removed duct portion or a portion identical in shape in the interruption and moving and securing the branch element in such a manner that the inlet opening and the outlet opening engage in sealing manner over the respective ends of the existing duct. In the duct with branches, over the entire length thereof, a bundle of subducts can be arranged, which subducts can then be branched off in a simple manner at the location of a branch. In a duct thus branched-off, for instance a continuous fiber optic cable can be installed.

This invention relates to a method for installing a ducting system with branches, wherein at a point where a branch is desired, a tubular branch element with an inlet opening, an outlet opening and at least one branch opening is arranged between two opposite free ends of a continuous duct of the system, with the distance between the opposite free ends of the duct being less than the distance between the inlet and the outlet opening of the branch element.
Such a method is known from GB-A-2,267,183.
Currently, the part of telecommunications networks that extends from exchanges, for instance exchanges for telephony or for community antenna installations, to the houses or buildings of users, still consists largely of copper cable. The networks mutually connecting the exchanges by contrast already largely consist of fiber optic cable. The network consisting of copper cable has a telescopic structure, with the cables consisting of a very large number of twisted pairs, and with welded joints between a main cable and a branch cable, the main cable having a greater number of twisted pairs than does a branch cable. In the future, it will be desired to install fiber optic cable instead of copper cable in the lines to the users as well, in view of the greatly superior properties of fiber optic cable as compared with copper cable. When using fiber optic cables, however, it is not desirable to have a large number of joints in view of the high costs per joint and the relatively substantial damping caused by a joint in proportion to the total signal damping of a fiber optic cable.
The article "Subducts: The answer to Honolulu's growing pains" by Herman S. L. Hu and Ronald T. Miyahira in Telephony, Apr. 7, 1980, pages 23-35, describes a proposal to accommodate fiber optic cables in a separate guide tube or subduct, with four guide tubes installed in a primary duct forming part of a primary duct network. By using the guide tubes, it is possible, as the need for telecommunications connections increases, to provide a fiber optic cable in more of the guide tubes, without this fiber optic cable being hampered during installation by cables already present. At branches, a joint is made in the fiber optic cable.
Further, EP-A-0,108,590 describes a ducting network, the ducts of which have priorly been provided with a number of separate channels, allowing a separate fiber optic cable to be installed in each channel without armour or water barrier. The duct provided with channels protects the fiber optic cables against external influences, such as moisture and the like. In this way, as it were, a network with individual cables to each house is created, with the cables being arranged in parallel channels up to the branches. The existing ducts with preformed channels, even if they are provided with a water barrier, are not suitable to be buried directly in the ground. A mechanical protection is necessary. In the art, for that purpose, use is made of an existing infrastructure of concrete pipes of large dimensions. At every point where a duct with channels is coupled to another duct with channels, this necessitates the use of relatively costly junction boxes. In such a junction box each of the continuous channels is connected with the corresponding channel of a next duct by means of a coupling element and any channels to be branched off are likewise connected with channels in a branch duct by means of coupling elements. In the channels coupled in such a manner, the fiber optic cables can be installed without a joint from the main duct to the branch duct.

Method for installing a ducting system with branches for telecommunications cables, and branch element for use in that method


A circular knitting machine with a dial arrangement, has a rotatable dial (2), a stationary dial cam system (12), a device (23) for feeding a lubricant to the dial arrangement and a collecting container (29) for reception of lubricant escaping from the dial arrangement. Elements (27) are associated with the dial arrangement which prevent or at least reduce the escape of lubricant consequent upon the effect of the centrifugal force over the radially outer edge of the dial (2).

This invention relates to a circular knitting machine with a dual which includes a dial rotatable about an axis of rotation and having tricks for knitting implements, a stationary dial cam system, a device for feeding a lubricant to the dial arrangement and a collecting container for reception of lubricant escaping from the dial arrangement.
Circular knitting machines with a needle cylinder and optionally with a dial or a sinker ring are usually provided with lubricating devices, in order to feed a lubricant, especially oil, to the respective knitting implement carriers and the cam system parts associated therewith. The lubricant is introduced through nozzles, which are provided in the stationary cam system parts, to the knitting implement carriers and the knitting implements disposed therein, from whence it reaches inter alia the cam channels of the cam system parts provided to guide the knitting implements butts. It is further known to provide the needle cylinder region for example with numerous annular grooves to improve the distribution of the lubricant (DE-AS 1 635 931).
The effect which is achieved on the one hand in desired manner by the lubrication is that friction which arises is reduced and the concomitant wear is kept within bounds. On the other hand there is also an undesirable side effect, that excess lubricant gets into the knitwear produced with the circular knitting machine and then has to be washed out of this. Accordingly it would be ideal to feed only as much lubricant as is actually used by the knitting machine. However, it has only been possible to achieve this in the past on the one hand with a high technological outlay, because it is not possible to perform accurate enough metering with conventional lubricating devices. On the other hand, a certain excess of lubricant is not entirely undesirable, because other objectives can also be met with the lubricant. Among these are for example the dissipation of heat of friction or flushing away foreign bodies, e.g. yarn lint, out of the tricks of the knitting implement carriers or the cam system channels. A means of removing the excess proportion of the lubricant, which is not used in the circular knitting machine but which is desirable on account of these advantages, is therefore sought, so that the lubricant is caught by special means, particularly collecting containers, insofar as it runs off below in the knitting implement carriers, on account of gravity.
Experience shows that undesirably large amounts of lubricant get into the fabric made on the circular knitting machine, in spite of such measures, even when fine distribution and thus careful usage of lubricant is sought after through aerosol-like atomisation ("The Hosiery Trade Journal", February 1966, pp 127-131). This applies in particular to circular border knitting machines, i.e. circular knitting machines which are equipped with a dial, and is attributed to the fact that lubricant is transferred to the fabric by the knitting implements themselves. In order to avoid this problem it is accordingly known (U.S. Pat. No. 2,723,543) to use knitting implement carriers in which the actual carrying part (or needle bed) is separated from the knock-over part (or knock-over cam) by a recess disposed below the backs of the knitting implements and in which knitting implements are provided with strongly bent shank sections like webs which bridge over the recess at a sufficient distance. Interruption of the lubricant flow is to be achieved or the pumping action of the knitting implements is to be avoided by this. However, such devices have proved to be inadequate, especially in modern circular knitting machines operating at high speeds. Apart from this it is as a rule undesirable to provide knitting implements with the described shape. Accordingly it is generally the case in the use of modern circular border knitting machines basically to take into account contamination of the knitwear with lubricant and instead to enrich the lubricant with emulsifiers which improve the ability to wash it out and thus facilitate the removal of the lubricant from the knitwear. However, since such emulsifiers affect the lubricating quality and thus the lubricating characteristics of the lubricant adversely, they are undesirable in principle.

Circular knitting machine with a dial lubricating device

SIPRA Patententwicklungs- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH


The invention concerns a method for detecting the amounts of substances that may disturb chemical analysis performed by an analyzer for clinical chemistry. The presence and concentration of hemoglobin, bilirubin and lipemia are detected by measuring the absorbance or reflectance on at least two, preferably six, different wavelengths over the measured spectrum. The measurements are performed at two wavelengths for each substance, preferably on the absorbance peaks of the specific substance and on the root of the specific peaks. Since the three substances mentioned above each have at least one peak in the spectrum, the measurement is done on three peaks and three root positions respectively when three substances have to be measured.

Samples of analyzers for clinical chemistry are usually serum or plasma that is separated from a blood sample by centrifugation. Some changes may occur in the sample during sampling, centrifugation and processing of the sample. These changes, for example hemolysis, alter the composition of the sample and compounds that may disturb the analysis of the sample may be generated. The serum or plasma sample may also contain higher than normal amounts of substances that disturb the measurement. Higher concentration of hemoglobin, bilirubine or lipemia may be caused by the medical condition of the patient. These components have strong colors or they are highly turbide. If these components are present in a concentration that is higher than normally, the analysis of the sample may be seriously disturbed and the analysis results distorted.
Faulty samples can be usually discovered visually because of anomalous color or turbidity. Of course, an accurate estimate of the concentration cannot be achieved by visual control. If several, disturbing components are present simultaneously, the valuation of the sample is even more complicated. By using visual control, only rejection of a faulty sample is possible. The defects in color of a sample can be detected only after centrifugation. Normally the samples have been checked before loading them to an analyzer. However, laboratory automation has made it possible to perform the centrifugation and feeding of the samples to the analyzers automatically. Therefore no visual control of the samples is used and faulty samples may enter the analyzer and cause wrong results. Since the results are often used in diagnosing diseases, it is extremely important to prevent any faulty results that may lead to wrong treatment or medication.
The main causes for disturbed analyze are hemoglobin, bilirubin and lipids. Additionally, medication that color the serum or plasma as well as biliverdine may cause difficulties in measurement. In analyzers that are presently on market, only three first mentioned substances are observed. The typical concentration of bilirubin is up to 500 μmol/l and values of 100-200 μmol/l are common, the highest values being 1000 mol/l. Lipeamia is present in amounts of 1-2 g/l, but even values of 10 g/l may exist. The amount of hemoglobin is in the range of 2-3 g/l, 5 g/l is consider to be rather high value and measuring range is usually limited to 10 g/l.
One way to measure bilirubin, hemolyse and lipemia is to use a diluted sample that is measured on three different wavelengths. The sample is diluted by water or saline and measured on wavelengths of 405, 425 and 700 nm. Measurement is done by direct absorbance measurement or via reflection. The sample is then classified in categories whereby a HIL-index is obtained. Every category corresponds with a certain concentration range. When a HIL-disturbance limit is exceeded an alarm is initiated. The wavelengths used may vary, but the handling of results is in basic similar in different apparatuses.
By studying the spectrum of a sample, it is clear that this method is reliable on samples that contain only one HIL-component. The spectrums of different components do overlap, whereby it is possible by this method to detect that something is wrong with the sample, but it is not possible to detect what are the components causing the problem or what are the concentrations of different components. If simple detection of a faulty sample is satisfactory, this method may well be used. If the concentration of every component is to be measured, the situation is more difficult. A raised concentration of lipemia raises the absorbance on all wavelengths whereby even bilirubin and hemoglobin obtain erroneous high values even though the concentration of these substance were on an acceptable level. Especially the interference of bilirubin and hemoglobin is difficult to control. Further weaknesses of this method is that it consumes some of the sample (5-10 μl) and adds measuring steps for each sample thereby reducing the analyzing speed and capacity of the analyzer.
An alternate way to detect HIL-components is to obtain an absorbance spectrum for the whole sample over wavelengths of 300-1000 nm. The sample may be diluted or undiluted and the measurement can be done directly by absorption or indirectly by reflection. The spectrum is detected either on a sample tube or in an intermediate storage (at the end of a pipette, for example). Various calculation algorithms may be used for studying the spectrum and reasonable good estimation of the concentration of different HIL-substances can be obtained. The benefit of this method is that no sample has to be wasted and the measurement does not spend the capacity of the analyzer. The method requires anyhow an extra spectrometer and transfer means for the sample. This raises the costs and the complexity of the apparatus considerably.
Abovementioned methods have been described in US 2002/0089669, U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,471, US 2001/0004256 and US 2002/0110487.

Method for automatically detecting factors that disturb analysis by a photometer


A millimeter wave filter for surface mount applications includes a dielectric base plate having opposing surfaces. A ground plane layer is formed on a surface of the dielectric base plate. At least one low temperature co-fired ceramic layer is positioned over the ground plane layer and defines an outer filter surface. A plurality of coupled line millimeter wavelength resonators are formed as stripline or microstrip and positioned on the outer filter surface. These resonators can be parallel coupled line filters, including hairpin resonators. Radio frequency terminal contacts are positioned on the surface of the dielectric base plate opposite the at least one low temperature co-fired ceramic layer. Conductive vias extend through the at least one low temperature co-fired ceramic layer, ground plane and dielectric base plate and interconnect the radio frequency terminal contacts and coupled line resonator.

This invention relates to millimeter wave filters, and more particularly, this invention relates to millimeter wave filters such as parallel coupled line filters.
High performance millimeter wave (MMW) filters have typically been designed and fabricated using thin film technology by techniques known to those skilled in the art. Any manufacturing techniques using thin film technology requires tight design tolerances to achieve a desired filter response at various millimeter wave frequencies. These tolerances include the necessary and critical dimensions concerning material thickness, surface roughness, dielectric constants, metallization thicknesses, and transmission line width and spacing.
In these prior art thin film filter designs, the filter length and filter width usually varied as a function of the frequency band because of the wavelength change. Any change in the filter length made it difficult to design a common radio frequency module layout across multiple frequency bands. Because these high frequency thin film technology filters have been expensive, they were usually fabricated separately and then attached as a bare semiconductor die to a carrier plate or directly to a housing using epoxy or solder.
As the millimeter wave industry has moved closer to implementing high volume surface mount manufacturing techniques, there has been a need for low cost surface mount filters that can be used at high frequency. It would be advantageous if low cost, high performance millimeter wave filters could be manufactured using one or more layers of thick film, low temperature co-fired ceramic technology (LTCC) with the associated lower manufacturing tolerances. Any millimeter wave filter using this technology would have to achieve high xe2x80x9cQxe2x80x9d filters in small spaces.
Microstrip and stripline interface methods are possible approaches. Any filters manufactured using these low temperature co-fired ceramic materials should be desensitized to the traditional critical tolerances associated with thin film technology and compensate for any bandwidth and return loss degradation caused by wider tolerances that are associated with thick film technology. The advantages would be a filter that is produced at a fraction of the cost of thin film filters.
The present invention advantageously provides a high performance millimeter wave filter using low temperature co-fired ceramic thick film technology. It achieves high xe2x80x9cQxe2x80x9d filters in a small space by vertically stacking resonators in a multilayer low temperate co-fired ceramic film. These resonators can form parallel coupled line filters, including a hairpin filter. Microstrip and stripline interface connections are used to stack the filters in the low temperature co-fired ceramic layers, allowing the structure to be used for standard surface mount packages. The filters are desensitized to traditional critical tolerances associated with thin film technology and compensate for bandwidth and return loss degradation caused by wider tolerances associated with the thick film technology. These type of filters can be manufactured for high performance capabilities at a fraction of the cost of thin film filters. Additionally, these filters, including hairpin filters, can eliminate filter size variation versus frequency and reduce the size of the filter by fifty percent.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the millimeter wave filter for surface mount applications includes a dielectric base plate having opposing surfaces. A ground plane layer is formed on a surface of the dielectric base plate. At least one low temperature co-fired ceramic layer is positioned over the ground plane layer and defines an outer filter surface. A plurality of coupled line millimeter wavelength resonators, such as parallel coupled resonators, including hairpin resonators, are formed as stripline or microstrip and positioned on the outer filter surface.
Radio frequency terminal contacts are positioned on the surface of the dielectric base plate opposite the at least one low temperature co-fired ceramic layer. Conductive vias extend through the at least one low temperature co-fired ceramic layer, ground plane and dielectric base plate and each interconnect radio frequency terminal contacts and at least one coupled line resonator.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a lower ground plane layer is positioned on the surface of the dielectric base plate opposite the ground plane and the ceramic layer and isolated from the radio frequency terminal contacts. A plurality of isolation vias extend through the low temperature co-fired ceramic layer and dielectric base plate and engage the lower ground plane layer.
In still another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of low temperature co-fired ceramic layers and interposed ground plane layers form a multilayer low temperature co-fired ceramic substrate board. A plurality of millimeter wavelength stripline resonators are formed on the ceramic layers between the outer filter surface and dielectric base plate and isolated by the interposed ground plane layers. In one non-limiting example, these resonators are hairpin resonators. Conductive vias interconnect resonators formed on the ceramic layers and outer filter surface. The resonators can form two-pole hairpin filters and can be about one-quarter wavelength long. A dielectric cover is positioned over the outer filter surface and has a metallized interior surface spaced from the hairpin resonators for generating a predetermined cut-off frequency. This dielectric cover is spaced about 15 to about 25 mils distance from the resonators formed on the upper filter surface. Resonators formed on the outer filter surface can be formed as microstrip.
In another aspect of the present invention, the dielectric base plate is formed from a ceramic material, such as an aluminum oxide, which is about 10 to about 35 mils thick.

Millimeter wave filter for surface mount applications


A cryogenic energy storage system comprises at least one cryogenic fluid storage tank having an output; a primary conduit through which a stream of cryogenic fluid may flow from the output of the fluid storage tank to an exhaust; a pump within the primary conduit downstream of the output of the tank for pressurising the cryogenic fluid stream; evaporative means within the primary conduit downstream of the pump for vaporising the pressurised cryogenic fluid stream; at least one expansion stage within the primary conduit downstream of the evaporative means for expanding the vaporised cryogenic fluid stream and for extracting work therefrom; a secondary conduit configured to divert at least a portion of the cryogenic fluid stream from the primary conduit and reintroduce it to the fluid storage tank; and pressure control means within the secondary conduit for controlling the flow of the diverted cryogenic fluid stream and thereby controlling the pressure within the tank. The secondary conduit is coupled to the primary conduit downstream of one or more of the at least one expansion stages.

The bulk storage of cryogenic liquids is achieved using pressurised, insulated vessels held at low pressure, usually below 10 bar. Typical examples include the storage of natural gas as Liquid Natural Gas and the storage in liquid form of industrial gases such as nitrogen and oxygen for industrial or medical applications.
Common to all bulk cryogenic storage applications is the requirement to dispense the fluid to a consumer. In the case of Liquid Natural Gas this is often a gas distribution pipeline or a power station. In the case of industrial gases this may be a manufacturing process or a bottle filling facility.
Cryogenic liquid is usually withdrawn from the storage tank using a pump, which conveys the fluid to the consumer. The pressure to which the pump raises the fluid is determined by the delivery pressure required by the consumer, taking into account any losses such as pressure drop in the pipes and the maintenance of the fluid in the desired thermodynamic state (typically in the liquid phase, away from the liquid-vapour saturation curve—i.e. in a subcooled state).
In some cases, where delivery rate is particularly low, the outflow of cryogenic liquid from the tank may be driven by the pressure in the headspace of the tank, without the need for a pump.
Where the consumer requires the fluid in gaseous form, the cryogenic liquid is then evaporated by the addition of heat.
As with any liquid pump, the net positive suction pressure head (NPSH) is of primary importance for the cryogenic liquid delivery pump of a cryogenic liquid storage system. The NPSH represents the reduction in pressure as the liquid is sucked into the inlet of the pump. A further pressure reduction is associated with frictional (or 'major') and component (or 'minor') losses as the liquid flows to the pump inlet. It is a requirement of any pumping system that these reductions in pressure do not bring the liquid to the liquid-vapour saturation curve—i.e. the liquid should remain in a subcooled state—as this would cause a portion of the liquid to vaporise, causing the pump to cavitate.
Even if the liquid is maintained in its subcooled state, a significant reduction in inlet pressure to the pump may cause the pump to operate away from the intended design conditions, affecting the operation of the system.
The system designer must therefore ensure that there is sufficient pressure at the outflow of the tank so that, subtracting pressure losses and accounting for any ingress of heat into the system, the liquid remains in a subcooled state at the pump inlet and the pump operates within intended design conditions. The pressure at the outflow of the tank is equal to the hydrostatic pressure due to the height of the liquid column, plus the vapour pressure in the headspace of the tank.
As the liquid level in the tank drops, so does the hydrostatic pressure. Furthermore, the vapour in the headspace expands to fill the volume above the liquid and the pressure in the headspace drops. In order to maintain the minimum required pressure at the pump inlet, it is necessary to control the pressure in the headspace of the tank.
The pressure in the headspace of a cryogenic storage tank can be controlled by introducing more gas into it. According to the state of the art in bulk cryogenic liquid storage, the additional gas may come from an external source of fluid (e.g. gas) or may be a portion of the fluid that was stored in and then released from the tank. This portion is evaporated and subsequently reintroduced back into the top of the cryogenic storage tank.
WO2014/099203 exemplifies the state of the art and describes a system for storing Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) wherein a portion of high-pressure Liquid Natural Gas is diverted from the outflow of the cryogenic pump to an ambient vaporiser where it is evaporated before being introduced into the headspace of the cryogenic tank to maintain the tank pressure.
Another method is to allow the ingress of heat into the tank so that some of the liquid evaporates and as a result the headspace is pressurised. Since the rate of heat ingress into an insulated tank is slow, this method is usually limited to applications with very low outflow.
US2013/0098070 allows for somewhat higher flow rates by allowing an accelerated ingress of heat into the tank, but in a controlled manner such that the insulation of the tank is not compromised during storage. Heat pipes (thermal bridges) are provided across the walls of the cryogenic storage tank so that ambient heat can enter into the tank by conduction, vaporizing a portion of the liquid cryogen and thus maintaining the desired pressure in the headspace. The area of the heat pipe exposed to the outside ambient air may be adjusted in order to modulate the amount of heat transferred to the liquid cryogen. This design dispenses with the use of the ambient vaporizer without requiring a reduction in outflow. However, this system in itself represents a significant cost for a specially constructed cryogenic tank with the added complexity of controllable heat pipes traversing the walls of the tank.
The high volumetric liquid withdrawal flow rates associated with dispensing operations of Liquid Natural Gas sometimes require the ambient heat exchangers to be very large and costly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,946 describes a Liquid Natural Gas dispensing system wherein Liquid Natural Gas is pumped to higher pressure, warmed in a heat exchanger to near the liquid-vapour saturation curve, and dispensed in its liquid form to the cryogenic fuel tank of a vehicle. The document discloses the control of the cryogenic tank headspace by taking a portion of the warmed Liquid Natural Gas downstream of the heat exchanger, expanding it to a lower pressure and introducing it into the top of the tank. Since the liquid is close to the liquid-vapour saturation curve, a portion flashes off and raises the vapour pressure of the tank headspace. This method removes the requirement for an ambient vaporiser.
The common disadvantage of the above methods is the wastage of a portion of cryogen used to pressurise the storage tank, meaning that it cannot usefully be employed.
WO2007/096656 and WO2013/034908 disclose Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) systems that exploit the temperature and phase differential between low temperature liquid air and ambient air, or waste heat, to store energy at periods of low demand and/or excess production, allowing this stored energy to be released later to generate electricity during periods of high demand and/or constrained output. The systems comprise a means for liquefying air during periods of low electricity demand (a liquefaction phase), a means for storing the liquid air produced (a storage phase), and a series of expansion turbines for expanding the gaseous air resulting from the pressurisation and subsequent heating of the liquid air (a power recovery phase). The expansion turbines are connected to a generator to generate electricity when required to meet shortfalls between supply and demand.
Ambient air is composed of 79% nitrogen. LAES systems may equally operate using nitrogen as the working fluid where a supply of nitrogen is available. The concepts of the present invention are applicable for LAES systems operating with nitrogen or air. While the composition of the air is nominally the ambient composition (79% nitrogen), the skilled person will recognise that the basis of the invention does not rely upon any particular composition of the components of air. For simplicity, the present description refers to "air" only.
Additionally, WO2013/034908 further discloses the use of a cold store, also referred to as a high grade cold store (HGCS), which stores the cold that is released by the liquid air in the evaporator during the power recovery phase. During the power recovery phase, liquid air from the tank is pumped and directed to an evaporator, where it absorbs heat from a counter-flowing gaseous heat transfer fluid in a cold recovery stream and emerges as gaseous air. The counter-flowing gas is thus cooled. The cooled gas in the cold recovery stream subsequently enters the cold store where the cold embodied in the cooled gas stream is stored. During the liquefaction phase, the cold stored in the cold store is transferred to the liquefier in a cold supply stream and used to increase the amount of liquid air produced by the liquefier per amount of electricity consumed to drive the liquefier compressor. In some embodiments, the cold recovery and/or cold supply streams may be formed of air flowing in a closed loop. In this case, the cold recovery stream, cold supply stream and cold store are hereafter referred to as the cold recycle system. In order to optimise heat transfer characteristics within the cold recycle system, it is preferable to operate at an above-ambient pressure. This is typically up to 10 bar, above which point the cost of the system generally becomes prohibitive due to the increased engineering requirements of containing a large volume at high pressure.
The energy supplied to the LAES system during the liquefaction phase is embodied in the liquid air in the storage tank and recovered in the expansion of the air in the power recovery phase.
A LAES system may be designed to discharge the full capacity of its tanks over just a few hours, meaning that the outflow from the cryogenic storage tanks is particularly high. The state-of-the-art techniques described above present particular problems in this context. Due to the flow rate of vapour needed to pressurise the tank, a very large and costly ambient vaporiser or external gas supply is required. Furthermore, the embodied energy of any portion of cryogen used to pressurise the tank according to the state of the art techniques is wasted.
One of the key parameters of a commercially viable energy storage system is the round-trip efficiency, which represents the portion of the energy input to the system that is recovered following storage. It is desirable to minimise the energy lost throughout the process.
There is therefore a need for a low-cost means of pressurising the cryogenic storage tank in a LAES system with minimal wastage of the energy embodied in the liquid air.
The above problem relates to the reduction in pressure in the storage tank as the liquid level drops during the power recovery phase. Another problem exists during the liquefaction stage when the liquid level in the tank is rising. As the tank is filled, the level of liquid in the tank increases and gas in the tank headspace gradually becomes compressed as it has less volume to occupy. Headspace is the volume remaining in the tank that is not taken up by liquid. To avoid an excessive pressure build-up, the gas in the tank headspace is usually vented to ambient. Venting of potentially useful pressure in the system is wasteful and thus represents inefficiency in the system.
In effect, the liquefaction system is required to compress and purify air for liquefaction. The inventors have realised that by recovering clean, pressurised air from the headspace of the tank, the quantity of atmospheric air to be pressurised and cleaned in the liquefaction system may be reduced.
Other problems arise due to pressure changes in a cryogenic energy storage system during the power recovery and liquefaction stages. For instance, the present inventors have observed that in a cold recycle system of a cryogenic energy storage system, a typical cold store operates between approximately minus 160° C. and ambient temperature. In an ideal gas there is an inverse relationship between temperature and density. For example, at 5 bar, the density of air is approximately two times higher at minus 160° C. than at positive 15° C. As the cold store is cooled during the power recovery phase and the mean temperature of the thermal storage medium falls, the mean density of the gas heat transfer fluid rises. As a result, the pressure exerted by the fixed mass of gas within the fixed volume of the cold recycle system reduces. The pressure in the cold recycle system should be maintained. Thus, the loss of pressure must somehow be compensated for. Conversely, during the liquefaction phase, the mean temperature of the thermal storage medium rises and the mean density of the gas heat transfer fluid falls, resulting in an increase in the pressure within the fixed volume of the cold recycle system. This is known as thermal expansion. If the pressure in the cold recycle system exceeds a certain threshold, it must be vented. As mentioned above, venting represents a waste of energy and thus inefficiency in the system.
Additionally, the gas heat transfer fluid in the cold recycle system may be lost through small leaks in the system. Over time this may lead to a loss of pressure within the system such that its operating characteristics become detrimentally affected.
In order to address these problems, there is a need for a means of controlling the pressure within a cryogenic liquid storage tank and within a cold recycle system of a LAES system with minimal impact on the round-trip efficiency of the system.

Systems and methods for controlling pressure in a cryogenic energy storage system


The present invention is a housing for a surface-mountable device such as a security device (a PIR, a microwave motion detector, and the like). The housing has a surface-mountable housing portion with at least one aperture for receiving a surface-mounting member therethrough, the housing portion fabricated substantially from a plastic material. A member-retaining portion is integrally molded with the housing portion and extends substantially perpendicular from said housing portion, said member-retaining portion adapted to receive a surface-mounting member when inserted therethrough and retain said surface-mounting member in place. As a result of this configuration, when a surface-mounting member such as a screw is inserted therethrough, the surface-mounting member is held in place by the member-retaining portion and is insertable through the aperture when pressure is applied thereto. Preferably, the aperture is circular and the member-retaining portion is substantially cylindrical with at least one slot extending along said member-retaining portion. The member-retaining portion is adapted so as to allow a user to push a surface-mounting member therethrough and to hold the surface-mounting member in place. The member-retaining portion is compressible and/or collapsible so that when a surface-mounting member is inserted therethrough so as to force the surface-mountable housing portion against a wall, the member-retaining portion is substantially compressed and/or collapsed between a head portion of the surface-mounting member and the housing portion.

Devices such as security devices (PIRs, motion sensors, sirens etc.), thermostats, meters, lighting fixtures, and the like are usually mounted into a wall or ceiling surface. Installers need to hold retaining screws in one hand as well as the housing to be installed while climbing a ladder, making it difficult as well as unsafe. The screw retainers of the present invention will eliminate the need to hold the screws separately.

Device housing with integral fastener retainers