An apparatus is provided for transmission of acoustic signals between a transmitter and a receiver. The apparatus includes an electrical signal generator for generating low frequency electrical signals. The apparatus also includes a transmitter comprising a first retroreflector having a first array of subwavelength retroreflective elements at one end of an open cavity for transmitting the low frequency electrical signals and a first electroacoustic transducer adjacent to the first retroreflector for converting the low frequency electrical signals to acoustic signals. The apparatus further includes a receiver comprising a second retroreflector having a second array of subwavelength retroreflective elements at an opposite end of the open cavity, the acoustic signals being in form of a beam directed toward the receiver.

Advances in modern technology, network connectivity, processing power, convenience, and the like, support an ever increasing number of interconnected devices such as mobile devices, cell phones, tablets, smart-cars, wearable devices, etc. In turn, these advances present new challenges and create new opportunities for network operators and third party service providers to efficiently target, communicate, or otherwise exchange signals between networked devices. Indeed, modern approaches for wireless signal transmission must often account for complex conditions and dynamic factors such as network traffic, signal propagation through various media, spectrum/frequency constraints for signal transmission, and the like.
One approach that attempts to address some of these challenges includes beamforming, and more specifically, retroreflector-based beamforming and time reversal beamforming. Beamforming generally refers to a signal processing technique used in sensor arrays for directional signal transmission or reception. With respect to operations for time reversal beamforming, a receiver device temporarily transmits signals that are received by a transmitter device (e.g., beamforming device). The transmitter or beamforming device measures and records amplitudes at its radiating elements, and further applies amplitude and phase modulations to a transmission signal to produce a phase-conjugate signal of the prior measured and recorded field amplitudes.
Conventional techniques for acoustic, including ultrasound, beamforming use phased arrays of transducers, also known as Electronically Scanned Arrays (ESA), which are very expensive. The ESAs use a sophisticated control network that defines the phase of each transducer element and also has a phase shifter for each transducer element. There remains a need for developing lower cost techniques.
Techniques and structures for beamforming are disclosed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 15/722,973, entitled "Time Reversal Beamforming Techniques with Metamaterial Antennas," filed on Oct. 2, 2017, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/868,215, filed on Jan. 11, 2018, entitled "Diffractive Concentrator Structures," and U.S. application Ser. No. 16/120,978, filed Sep. 4, 2018, for "Open Cavity System for Directed Amplification of Radio Frequency Signals," all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Open cavity system for directed amplification of acoustic signals


An embodiment of the present invention may provide a variable speed booster, which receives air from a compressor of a gas turbine through an intercooler, to supply air at a relatively constant pressure to an air processing unit. An embodiment of the present invention may provide a speed adjustable booster turbine to energize a variable speed booster; which provides air at a relatively constant pressure to an air processing unit.

This invention relates generally to power generation systems and, more particularly, to combined cycle power plants that include large variable speed process equipment.
Some known integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants use an air separation unit to generate a flow of oxidant for the gasification process. Generally, the air separation unit requires a source of relatively constant flow and pressure compressed air. A motor driven compressor is typically used for providing the compressed air at the necessary flow and pressure. However, the motor driven compressor is an expensive piece of equipment that uses significant electrical power. Furthermore, the motor driven compressor may be considered a parasitic load on the IGCC power plant, leading to a reduction in the overall efficiency.
Another source of air for the air processing unit is the compressor of the gas turbine associated with the IGCC power plant. However, the air provided by the compressor is at variable pressure and flows based on a load on the gas turbine.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a system and method providing a source of relatively constant flow and pressure compressed air to an air processing unit. The system and method should not be a parasitic load on the IGCC power plant. The system and method should provide a source of relatively constant pressure and adjustable flow of compressed air across a load range of the gas turbine.

Method and systems for operating a combined cycle power plant


A first circuit configured to present a first indication signal in response to a predetermined level of an input voltage and a second circuit configured to enter a suspend mode in response to the first indication signal. In one example, the second circuit may enter an active mode in response to a second indication signal received from an external device. In another example, the second circuit may be implemented as a microcontroller.

One conventional approach to resetting a microcontroller requires external or internal precision devices to provide a reset into a particular power-on mode. Another conventional approach uses internal timers to keep a microcontroller in the reset condition for a fixed amount of time after a low-voltage condition occurs. Both of theses approaches attempt to bring the microcontroller into a known running condition after the reset occurs.
Referring to FIG. 1, a circuit 10 illustrating a conventional approach for resetting a microcontroller is shown. The circuit 10 generally includes a power supply 12 and an integrated circuit 14. The integrated circuit 14 includes a low voltage detector 16, a hold-off timer 18 and a microcontroller 20. The low voltage detector 16 has an input 22 that receives a voltage from the power supply 12. The low voltage detector 16 responds to a voltage at the input 22 exceeding a predetermined threshold by presenting a signal at an output 24. The signal at the output 24 is presented to an input 26 of the hold-off timer 18 as well as to an input 28 (i.e., a Reset input) of the microcontroller 20. The hold-off timer 18 presents a signal (i.e., Operate) at an output 30 that is presented at an input 32 (i.e., a Run input) of the microcontroller 20. With such a configuration, the low voltage detector 16 is implemented as a precision voltage detector that may be either internal or external to the integrated circuit 14. A precision voltage detector may be required to determine when the voltage at the power supply 12 reaches a level sufficient for the proper operation of the integrated circuit 14.
The main disadvantage with the circuit 10 is that it is difficult to reset the microcontroller 20 into a known running condition while the voltage at the power supply 12 is low. It may also be difficult to keep the microcontroller 20 properly operating in a known condition while the voltage received at the power supply 12 continues to transition to the final and specified operating range after exceeding the predetermined turn on voltage. As a result, the microcontroller 20 must be able to operate at a sufficiently low voltage to allow the reset circuitry (i.e., the low voltage detector 16 and the hold-off timer 18) to operate properly. To provide proper functioning of the microcontroller 20, the hold-off timer 18 may be required to present a hold-off time that may be incompatible (i.e., too long) with overall system power-up/response time requirements.

Circuit and method for resetting a microcontroller


The present application provides a method, apparatus and electronic equipment for recognizing a posture of a target, a first receiving signal and a second receiving signal upon scattering of a transmitting signal from a target to be recognized are acquired, a first baseband signal is determined according to the first receiving signal and the transmitting signal, and a second baseband signal is determined according to the second receiving signal and the transmitting signal; and a category of the posture of the target to be recognized is finally determined according to the first baseband signal and the second baseband signal. The first baseband signal and the second baseband signal carry various feature values related to the posture of the target, including but not limited to transversal velocity information and radial velocity information, etc.

Recently, with the vigorous development of computer technologies, the application of posture recognition of a moving target by virtue of computer technologies has become more and more widespread, such as gesture recognition, head posture recognition, drop recognition, body motion recognition and so on.
However, a traditional recognition method uses a radar to transmit a microwave and receive an echo. Performing time-frequency analysis on the radar echo to obtain a Micro-Doppler feature of the echo, then recognizing and classifying the moving target. However, the method in which analysis is purely performed on the radar echo can only reflect a radical velocity feature of the target, rather than a transversal motion feature of the target, thereby making the accuracy of posture recognition of a target highly sensitive to an azimuth angle. When the azimuth angle of the moving target deviating from a positive direction of the radar exceeds a certain range, the accuracy of the recognition will be greatly influenced. Moreover, the radar can only obtain projection of the target's velocity along the radial direction, since the radial projection cannot reflect the transversal motion feature, thus leading to low accuracy of recognizing horizontally symmetrical gestures (such as swiping from left to right and swiping from right to left) by the radar.
On the other hand, another solution to the above problem in prior art is to use a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) radar to obtain angle information of the target by applying an array antenna. However, accurate angle information requires multi-antenna arrays, which is in a tradeoff relationship with hardware cost. Also, the time complexity of array signal processing is relatively high, thereby making the real-time interaction based on postures of the moving target difficult.

Method, apparatus and electronic equipment for recognizing posture of target


A target permanently manufactured into a toilet or urinal. The target is used as a self competitive game, that triggers the subconscious mind as a training aide to revolutionize the world in health and hygiene. The user scores points by hitting the target in different locations. Closer to the center gives the individual more points.

Attracting the attention of urinating males to help in toilet training and to aid in keeping toilets, urinals and the surrounding areas clean has long been a desire.
Parents, janitors, and others responsible for the cleanliness of the urinals and toilets and the surrounding areas have had a problem for years due to the sloppiness of males urinating. This problem causes germs to spread and creates many health and hygiene problems.
Whether dealing with infants or males of other ages, it is well known that the male will direct his urine at a target if one is present. Starting in infancy at diaper change time and continuing into adulthood the male will aim at a target if one is present. The male in general is very competitive. Males from a young age have entered into urinating contest with other males when standing in the snow or near the water.
One of the directors of design for American Standard wrote that considerable thought has gone into the design of modern urinals in order to eliminate splash back. The rear wall of the typical urinal is parabolic in cross section when viewed from above, and the porcelain finish is conducive to laminar flow. The principles of fluid dynamics tell us that a fluid striking a smooth surface at an oblique angle will tend to flow along that surface. Assuming the source of the fluid is near the focal point of the parabola—and modesty makes it unlikely he'll stray too far—the fluid will run straight down the urinal wall with little or no splashing. The center of the target in the urinal in our invention is located at the focal point of the parabola to direct the attention of the urinating male.
Using the target as a self competitive game from a young age helps program the subconscious mind and will improve the aim of the male. This self competitive game of aiming at a target in a toilet or urinal is a brain stimulus and the subconscious mind will be programmed to always aim at the same point in the toilet or urinal. After the subconscious mind is properly programmed the aim of the male will be substantially improved whether or not the target is used. The male will always aim at the same point in the toilet or urinal.


A system and method for reducing inrush current in an information handling system includes charging a pre-charge circuit with an elongated pin. The information handling system includes a midplane with at least one power source connector and multiple blade connectors able to connect to blade servers. Each blade connector has an elongated pin for supplying power to a blade server. Each blade server has a power connector for receiving the elongated pin and an integrated pre-charge circuit including a resistor and capacitor.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
One type of information handling system is a modular information handling systems such as a multi-blade servers. Multi-blade servers typically include midplanes for attaching multiple blades (sometimes referred to as "bricks"). Midplanes allow the multiple blades to be interconnected in a single chassis and to share a common power source. Each blade typically includes a processor and memory and may store data, process information, or perform particular tasks.
During the operation of a multi-blade server system, a user may need to replace or add a blade to the system. This may be necessary if a blade becomes corrupt or if the user desires to add another blade to the system. To add or remove a blade, a user may shut down the entire system to add the new blade or replace a damaged blade. This method is disadvantageous because a user must take the time to shut down the system and loses the functionality of the other blades while the system is shut down.
A second, and more preferable option for the user would be to "hot-plug" the blade into the server system. That is, to install a new blade while the system is running. Hot-plugging has the advantage that a user does not have to shut down the entire server and lose the functionality of the other blades. However, this option has disadvantages. In server systems, especially large ones able to hold ten or more blades, hot-plugging a blade may result in a large inrush current. This large inrush current may damage circuitry or components within the blade that has been hot plugged. The resulting stress and damage on the blade's circuitry and components may negatively affect performance of the blade and reduce the life of the blade.
The inrush current experienced when hot-plugging a blade is caused by the large power supply of the midplane and the large capacitors on the blade. A multi-blade server system with a large number of blades requires a relatively larger power supply. In order to effectively filter the noise of a larger power supply, blades utilize capacitors. Capacitors are able to effectively filter the noise of the larger power supply; however, large capacitors create hot-plugging problems. When the blade is hot-plugged in, the blade immediately absorbs a large inrush of current to fill its large capacitor. This large inrush of current may stress and damage the blade.
In order to reduce inrush current, previous solutions have focused on reducing the size of the blade's capacitors. Although this effectively reduces the inrush current on the blade, this also reduces the effectiveness of filtering noise because a smaller capacitor cannot buffer the fluctuation of electrical current as well as a larger capacitor.

System and method for reducing inrush current in a blade server


It is an object to provide a light emitting element that has a different structure from that of a conventional light emitting element and includes a substance having a novel structure. It is also an object to provide a light emitting device having the light emitting element. In the view of the objects described above, the present invention provides a light emitting element including a layer containing a triazine derivative represented by the general formula (1) and a metal oxide that is an inorganic compound, provided between a pair of electrodes. Further, the present invention provides a light emitting device that has the light emitting element.

Many of light emitting elements that are used in displays and the like have a structure in which a layer containing a luminescent material is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. In these light emitting elements, light is emitted when an exciton formed by recombination of an electron injected from one of the electrodes and a hole injected from the other electrode returns to the ground state.
In the field of light emitting elements, the structure of a layer containing a luminescent material, a novel material for forming a layer containing a luminescent material, and the like have been developed in order to obtain a light emitting element that is superior in luminous efficiency and chromaticity or is able to prevent quenching or the like.
For example, for the structure of a layer containing a luminescent material, a multilayer structure composed of a combination of a layer containing a highly carrier injecting substance, a layer containing a highly carrier transporting substance, and the like is proposed so that a light emitting region is formed in a region away from an electrode. Further, as for a highly carrier transporting substance, for example, a triazine derivative disclosed in Patent document 1 or Patent document 2 is proposed.
[Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H7-157473
[Patent document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-1199163

Light emitting element and light emitting device having the light emitting element

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A fastener outlet assembly for a fastener driving tool includes: an outlet passage arranged to expel fasteners from the assembly to a workpiece during use, the outlet passage having one or more walls; and a detector arranged to detect whether a fastener is present in the outlet passage. The detector comprises at least part of a cover that provides at least part of a wall of the outlet passage, the cover being movable with respect to the remainder of the outlet passage to open the outlet passage and gain access thereto.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fastener driving tools, and particularly concerns such tools and assemblies in which the fasteners comprise nails. Thus, the tool according to the invention may comprise a nailer. However, the invention also concerns other types of fasteners, including pins, staples, screws, rivets, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many fastener driving tools include a driver that is propelled rapidly against a fastener to drive a fastener from the tool into a workpiece. The driver may comprise a piston, or a ram (impact member), for example. The driver may be propelled in any of a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, pneumatically, by combustion, by means of a strap or chain, by means of a separate piston, or by means of one or more flywheels, for example.
For many years, fastener driving (firing) tools have included a feature whereby a fastener cannot be fired (driven) from the tool unless a nose part of the tool is retracted. This is intended to ensure that the nose part of the tool is pushed against a workpiece, such that the nose part is retracted, before a fastener can be fired from the tool. Some fastener driving tools also include a mechanical detector to detect whether or not a fastener is present in an outlet passage of the tool. If a fastener is not present, a nose part of the tool is prevented from retracting, and thus the tool is prevented from firing a fastener. This is sometimes ret erred to as "dry-fire lock-out", and is an additional feature intended to ensure that if the tool is fired, the energy generated by the tool is (at least partially) expended in firing a fastener from the tool and does not need to be absorbed by the tool. Fastener driving tools including a fastener detector are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,606,128; 5,167,359; 6,267,284 B1; 7,059,507 B2; and in U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2007/0290019.

Fastener driving tool having fastener detector in outlet passage


Various methods and devices that involve body contacted transistors are disclosed. An exemplary method comprises forming a gate on a planar surface of a semiconductor wafer. The gate covers a channel of a first conductivity type that is opposite to a second conductivity type. The method also comprises implanting a body dose of dopants on a source side of the gate using the gate to mask the body dose of dopants. The body dose of dopants spreads underneath the channel to form a deep well. The body dose of dopants has the first conductivity type. The method also comprises implanting, subsequent to implanting the body dose of dopants, a source dose of dopants on the source side of the gate to form a source. The method also comprises forming a source contact that is in contact with the deep well at the planar surface of the semiconductor wafer.

Semiconductor power devices are specialized devices that are used as switches or rectifiers in power electronics circuits. They are characterized by their ability to withstand high voltages and large currents as well as the high temperatures associated with high power. As such, certain problems faced by standard transistors when they are operated in high voltage conditions are of particular concern in the realm of power transistors. In addition, the conditions under which a transistor breaks due to the application of large voltages or currents must be carefully scrutinized when designing a power device.
Device breakdown is a term used to describe various issues faced by devices when a certain point is reached at which their performance alters in a nonlinear fashion. One example of device breakdown is the "kink effect" which results from an increase in the body potential of a field effect transistor. However, breakdown is not a phenomenon that is limited to field effect transistors as there are known breakdown modes for nearly all semiconductor devices including bipolar junction transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, and generally all transistor and rectifier devices.
The kink effect can be explained with reference to FIG. 1 which includes a cross section 100 of a semiconductor device. The field effect transistor in cross section 100 provides a conductive path between source region 101 and drain region 102 in response to a voltage applied to the device via an isolated gate electrode in gate stack 103. The conductive path is formed through body region 104. The conductive path includes a channel through body region 104. A schematic of this field effect transistor 105 has been drawn over cross section 100 to illustrate its operation relative to the cross section. The conductivity types of source and drain regions 101, 102 are the opposite of the conductivity type of body region 104. As a result, cross section 100 can also represent a parasitic BJT where body region 104 serves as the base of the BJT. A schematic of this parasitic BJT 106 has been drawn over cross section 100 to illustrate its operation relative to the cross section. The kink effect occurs when the parasitic BJT is activated by a build-up of charge in body region 104 caused by charge carriers associated with field effect transistor 105 as it is operated in a high power regime. Although device breakdown is sometimes used intentionally as part of a design, it is more often a point of operation that designs are meant to avoid.

Transistor with contacted deep well region


A mineral carrier for those iron oxides which react to remove hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans from fluid streams. The new carrier avoids the problem encountered with wood chip beds of bed solidification which occurs when reacted oxide particles adhere to each other. Calcined montmorillonite, for example, possesses the necessary crush strength, porosity, insolubility in water and wettability, to maintain bed perviousness and avoid caking as reaction continues to the full capacity of the oxide.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mineral carrier for oxides, advantageously used in packed beds for scavenging hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans from fluid streams such as natural gas, carbon dioxide, and liquid hydrocarbons.
2. Description of the Related Art
The wood chip process has for many years been used to scavenge hydrogen sulfide from gas streams. Describing this process generally, a stream of the polluted gas is driven through a bed of moistened wood chips containing a reactant iron oxide. While in widespread use, the process has numerous shortcomings, including that the amount of hydrogen sulfide removed is limited to the stoichiometric amount that would react with such Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 or Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4 oxides as are supplied to form pyrites, and also that the pressure of the gas stream suffers a severe drop as it passes through the bed, and that as the oxides react, they in effect cement the bed material into a unified mass. Removing the bed material from the reactor vessel is a difficult and time-wasting procedure; and the removed material is environmentally unsafe. Wood chips are not suited for liquid streams; they become sodden, impairing perviousness of the bed.
A greatly improved iron oxide was shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,244. That oxide, whose particles are composed of a crystalline phase of Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4 together with an amorphous Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 moiety, when suspended in a water slurry and reacted by hydrogen sulfide gas bubbled therethrough, creates a stable waste which after drying does not pollute the atmosphere. The surface area of that oxide is at least 4.0 m.sup.2 /g; when used in the "dry bed" process described, it has a kinetic "R" value in excess of 0.5.times.10.sup.-4 ft..sup.3 /(min.-gram oxide). At temperatures above approximately 150.degree. C. this improved oxide is destroyed. It is obtainable from Gas Sweetener Associates, St. Louis, Mo. That oxide is hereinafter referred to as the "special" or "preferred" oxide; it is the oxide utilized in all of the tests and discussions which follow except where use of other oxides is particularly pointed out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,131 shows use of that oxide to sweeten gas in a dry process (analogous to the wood chip process) in a bed of inert particulate matter, there shown to be sand. While that patent shows that this special oxide will react effectively in a dry process, objectionable bed caking was encountered even though the bed was shallow. A partially effective expedient, leaving a substantial head-space above the bed and directing the gas upward through it to "fluidize" the bed, was likely to result in breakthrough of unscavenged gas.
Gases to be freed of hydrogen sulfide are often hydrocarbons which can also contain various amounts of mercaptans, carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, and other components. Substantially pure carbon dioxide from fermentation or other sources can also contain hydrogen sulfide. Most often, batch gas sweetening processes are adversely affected by the presence of carbon dioxide due to its tendency to lower pH.
While the foregoing patents were concerned with sweetening gas, a limited use of that oxide to react hydrogen sulfide polluted liquids is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,842 in which anhydrous kerosene was simply flowed in admixture or contact with the oxide particles. The addition of the particles to aqueous drilling muds, made corrosive by pollution with hydrogen sulfide, as well as oxygen, is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,539.
Other types of sweetening processes, when applied to liquids, have been generally unsatisfactory. For example, the wood chip process, widely used for sweetening gas, is not suited for contaminated liquids; the chips become saturated non-uniformly, causing premature channeling through the chip bed, low reaction efficiencies and unpredictable results. Amine processes are expensive, and it is difficult to separate the amines from liquid hydrocarbons.

Disposable oxide carrier for scavenging hydrogen sulfide


Systems, methods, computer programs, and circuits can perform automated spinal assessments using a 3-D model and a 3-D patient image data set of the spine which do not rely on vertebral symmetry.

Assessing spinal deformity is of tremendous importance for a number of diseases affecting the human spine; one of them is scoliosis and its most common type, idiopathic scoliosis. Scoliosis is a disease that affects the human spine by introducing an abnormal lateral curvature, as observed in the frontal plane. The disease is typically detected during a standard physical examination. The routine procedure for assessing the severity of curvature is to use an anterior-posterior radiograph, where the Cobb angle is measured. See, R. Cobb, "Outline for study of scoliosis," American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Instructional Course Lectures, pp. 261-75, 1948. The Cobb angle is defined as the angle between the end vertebrae of the scoliotic curvature. There are other manual measurement methods for assessing frontal curvature and also sagittal curvature of the spine, but the Cobb angle is the most commonly used measure. The Cobb angle plays a significant role both when monitoring the disease and when selecting the appropriate treatment (bracing or surgery), even though it is well-established that the Cobb angle is insufficient both to describe and to properly quantify the deformity in scoliosis. This is due to the three dimensional (3D) nature of a scoliotic curvature, which may include a displacement, a rotation and/or a deformation of each vertebra. The Cobb angle particularly fails to measure the axial vertebral rotation, considered to be important for the assessment of spinal deformity in scoliosis.
Another limitation of the Cobb angle is its observer variability. Hence, other approaches for quantifying the degree of scoliosis are called for, including not only new quantitative measures but more importantly an analysis determining how different measures relate to each other and to the clinical outcome. See, Schwab et al., "Adult scoliosis: a quantitative radiographic and clinical analysis," Spine, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 387-392, 2002; Hong et al., "Evaluation of the three-dimensional deformities in scoliosis surgery with computed tomography: Efficacy and relationship with clinical outcomes," Spine, vol. 36, no. 19, pp. E1259-E1265, 2011; and Easwar et al., "Does lateral vertebral translation correspond to Cobb angle and relate in the same way to axial vertebral rotation and rib hump index? A radiographic analysis on idiopathic scoliosis," European Spine Journal, vol. 20, no. 7, pp. 1095-1105, 2011. This relationship of the different measures can be important in order to classify various sub-types of idiopathic scoliosis and to determine suitable treatments of the different sub-types.
There remains a need for automated methods which can reliably assess the 3D deformity of the spine in individual patients.


A film primarily comprising silicon crystal grains having a random crystal structure. The average size of the grains are within the range of approximately 50 .ANG. to 500 .ANG..

As the demand for cheaper, faster, lower power consuming microprocessors increases, so must the device packing density of the integrated circuit (IC). Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) techniques have continually evolved to meet the increasing demand. The ability to place more IC devices on a semiconductor chip allows more complex and sophisticated functionality to be incorporated into the chip. Therefore, as a result of reducing the dimensions of an IC, products which use such IC's, such as, for example, home computers, will be able to operate faster and with greater functionality than ever before.
Minimizing transistor dimensions involves, among other things, minimizing the width which a photolithographic technology can resolve. Resolution of an image onto a photo-sensitive film is frustrated by even subtle variations in the film's topography, causing the image to shift in and out of focus across the surface of the film. Therefore, it is extremely important that the surface of the photo-sensitive film be as flat, or planar, as possible to avoid problems associated with optical imaging.
In a typical IC device manufacturing process, thick dielectric layers are formed over component features on a semiconductor substrate to insulate these components from electrical interconnects which are subsequently formed over the surface of the dielectric layer. For the dielectric layer to reliably insulate the underlying components of the semiconductor substrate, the aspect ratios of gaps in the underlying substrate must be kept low enough to prevent the formation of, for example, voids or other problems associated with step coverage.
Maximizing the speed at which an IC device operates not only requires the minimization of device dimensions but also the consideration of other electrical characteristics of the device. For example, one way to increase the speed at which a transistor operates is to reduce the resistance of the transistor gate electrode near the electrode/gate oxide interface. For IC technologies in which polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) is the material used as the gate electrode of a transistor, minimizing the resistance of the polysilicon near the gate oxide interface involves maximizing the dopant concentration of the polysilicon in this region.
FIG. 1 shows a magnified cross-section of a polysilicon film 11 formed on substrate 10. Polysilicon film 11 is formed by depositing silicon onto the surface of substrate 10 in a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) chamber at a temperature of approximately 600.degree. C. using silane (SiH.sub.4) chemistry. Note the pronounced surface roughness on polysilicon film 11. The surface roughness of polysilicon film 11 is a result of the large-grained columnar crystal structures within the film. This pronounced surface roughness makes it difficult to obtain good patterning profiles due to the significant variation in inter-granular thickness of photoresist formed on the surface of the polysilicon film and the nonuniform reflectivity which occurs during the photolithographic patterning process. This results in poor edge definition for sub-half micron polysilicon lines. Therefore, the polysilicon film of FIG. 1 is not suitable for forming very narrow polysilicon lines such as those used to form polysilicon transistor gate electrodes because the rough surface topography of the polysilicon film frustrates the photolithographic process.
In addition to the difficulties in defining line widths using the polysilicon film shown in FIG. 1, this polysilicon film is prone to severe implant channeling. Implant channeling occurs in a polysilicon film when implanted dopant species enters the film either along a grain boundary or through a silicon crystal channel. The dopant species is projected straight through the polysilicon film and becomes imbedded into the underlying substrate. For applications in which the polysilicon film of FIG. 1 is implemented as the gate electrode as a transistor, this underlying substrate is an ultra thin, highly delicate gate oxide film. Dopant species, which channel through the polysilicon film and become embedded into the gate oxide film have the effect of degrading the quality of the gate oxide film, thereby reducing the reliability and performance of the transistor.
FIG. 2 shows a magnified cross-section of another polysilicon film 21 formed on substrate 20. Polysilicon film 21 is formed by a process in which silicon is deposited on the surface of a substrate in a LPCVD chamber at a temperature of approximately 550.degree. C. By depositing silicon at this lower temperature, an amorphous silicon film is created because crystal grains cannot develop at this low temperature. This amorphous silicon film is subsequently recrystallized by exposing the material to a temperature in excess of 600.degree. C. The result is the polycrystalline structure shown in FIG. 2 wherein large crystal grains are formed.
While the polysilicon film 21 of FIG. 2 overcomes the problems associated with surface roughness described above, polysilicon film 21 is highly prone to implant channeling. As discussed above, implant channeling degrades the performance and reliability of transistors. In addition, polysilicon film 21 suffers from poly-depletion effects.
In a typical transistor manufacturing process, dopants are introduced into a polysilicon film to improve the conductivity, reduce the resistance, and modulate the depletion layer of the gate electrode, thereby improving the speed of the transistor. These dopants diffuse throughout the polysilicon film primarily along the grain boundaries. Consequently, the higher the grain boundary density of a film, the better the diffusion of dopants through the film. As shown in FIG. 2, the large grain size of polysilicon film 21 reduces the grain boundary density of the film, thereby reducing the diffusion of dopant material through the film. As a result, a poly-depletion effect occurs wherein the poor conductivity and high resistance of the polysilicon film nearest the gate oxide boundary hinders the performance of the transistor. In addition, because the polysilicon film 21 is deposited at a low temperature, the deposition rate is similarly low, resulting in slow throughput times.
FIG. 3a is a cross-section of insulated transistors formed on a semiconductor substrate after the contact etch has been performed. Polysilicon gate electrodes 34 and 35 are formed over gate oxide films 33 on silicon substrate 30. Source/drain regions 32 are formed in the silicon substrate and silicide regions 31 and 37 are formed to reduce the resistance of the silicon. Dielectric layer 36 is deposited over the surface of the substrate and contact regions 38 and 39 are subsequently etched through dielectric film 36 to contact polysilicon gate electrode 34 and source/drain region 32, respectively.
Note that gate electrodes 34 and 35 have been made very thick. This has been done to minimize the likelihood that an implanted dopant will channel through the polysilicon film and implant itself into gate oxide 33. As a result of the large thickness of gate electrodes 34 and 35, the aspect ratio between these features is high, resulting in problems associated with adequately filling the region between the electrodes with dielectric material 36. In addition, the resulting high aspect ratio of contact opening 39 frustrates contact filling by a subsequently deposited metal plug.
In a typical etch process, the etch selectivity of dielectric layer 36 to polysilicon gate electrode 34 is not infinite. In practice, the etch chemistry used to etch contact openings 38 and 39 will also etch gate electrode 34 at a slower rate. Because the distance between the surface of gate electrode 34 and the surface of silicon substrate 30 is great, it takes a long time to fully etch dielectric 36 from region 39 after the silicide cap 37 of polysilicon gate electrode 34 is reached within region 38. During this time, the etch chemistry eats through silicide 37 and into the underlying polysilicon film of gate electrode 34. As a result, the contact resistance between a metal plug subsequently deposited into region 38 and gate electrode 34 is significantly increased because the low resistance silicide cap 37 has been entirely eaten away. This results in poor device performance.
FIG. 3b is a top-down view of FIG. 3a showing the poor edge definition of silicon gate electrodes 34 and 35 resulting from the rough surfaces of the polysilicon film of FIG. 1. Note that given the poor edge definition shown in FIG. 3b, precise characterization of the resulting transistors is made nearly impossible, and there is a large variation in transistor channel length, resulting in variations of speed of the transistor. In addition, the punch-through performance of the resulting transistors is significantly degraded.
What is desired is a polysilicon film which exhibits improved edge definition while still providing good dopant diffusion through the film. In addition, by reducing the channeling effects associated with implanting such a film, the performance and scalability of devices formed using the film can be significantly improved.

Process for fabricating a microcrystalline silicon structure


An armature includes an insulator mounted on a tooth portion around which a conducting wire is wound. A pair of a first member and a second member, which are combined so as to abut each other, is provided. The first member includes a first end wall which covers an upper side end in the axial direction of the tooth portion and a pair of first side walls which partially cover both side portions of the tooth portion. A first overlap portion is provided on a tip portion of the first side wall. A plurality of ribs extending so as to be parallel or substantially parallel to the winding direction of the conducting wire is disposed on an outer surface of the first overlap portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an armature including an insulator and more specifically to a motor including the armature.
2. Description of the Related Art
In JP-A 2004-140964, an insulator is disclosed in which guide grooves are provided in the side surfaces so that coils are arranged in the guide grooves and wound around the insulator.
Moreover, in JP-A 2003-79080, an insulating member which is constituted so as to fit two insulating member pieces to each other is disclosed. Fitting portions which are fitted so as to overlap each other are installed in the tip of each insulating member piece. The fitting portions secure the minimum thickness size needed for the strength and the insulation performance. Thereby, the portion in which the fitting portions are overlapped with each other is necessarily thick.
As one way for improving motor performance, there is an improvement of a space factor of coils. If the coils are arranged and wound around the insulating member as in JP-A 2004-140964, the space factor of coils can be improved because the coils can be densely wound.
Moreover, if the thickness of the insulator is thin, the space factor of the coils can be improved because the space for accommodating the coils can be increased.
However, in the case of the insulating member like JP-A 2003-79080, in order to make the thickness of the fitting portions be the same as those of the other portions of the insulating member pieces, the fitting portions become thinner than the other portions of the insulating member pieces by the amount of overlap.
In addition, if the thickness of the insulation member pieces is thinned to the utmost limit, the thickness of the fitting portions is further thinned. As a result, in addition to the concern that strength of the fitting portions is decreased, there are also concerns that the fitting portions may be easily deformed such that a constant shape may not be stably held.
As a result, when the pair of insulating member pieces is fitted to magnetic tooth portions, there are concerns that the fitting portions of the pair of insulating member pieces may not be appropriately fitted and may be damaged.


A filter assembly for high temperature gases, such as from a circulating fluidized bed reactor, mounts monolithic ceramic filter elements within an upright vessel so that as the hot gas flows from the top toward the bottom of the vessel the gas passes through the elements with the clean gas discharged through a side wall of the vessel. The particle discharge is provided at the bottom of the vessel. Filter supporting elements within the vessel are cooled by cooling fluid, and pulse cleaning elements are associated with each of the filter elements. Flow directing elements within the vessel typically define a generally conical or pyramidal shaped flow directing surface. The flow directing elements may be refractory material bodies, or funnel shaped thin elements (e.g. of metal capable of withstanding high temperature), and may be mounted so that small amounts of movement are possible to accommodate thermal contraction or expansion.

The invention relates to a filter assembly for high temperature gases, such as the high temperature, high pressure gases discharged from a circulating fluidized bed reactor. It is necessary to treat such gases to remove particles from the gases, and under some circumstances a filtration apparatus for that purpose is desirable. The filtration apparatus typically comprises, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,207 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein) ceramic tubes. Other known structures include tubular fabric bag filter elements, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,190. While such systems can successfully remove particles from high temperature gas streams, there is a need for such a system that has flexibility in the types of filter elements that can be utilized, and one that is particularly amenable to having a high density of filter surface so that the system can have a minimum size for a given filtering capability.
According to the present invention, a filter assembly for high temperature gases, both from pressurized (i.e. superatmospheric pressure) systems and atmospheric systems, is provided which allows flexibility in the use of the exact filter media, and which can be provided with high density filter surfaces, so as to have a minimum size for a maximum volume. While the invention is useful with conventional candle type ceramic filters (as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,207), and also may utilize conventional Asahi filters, the invention is particularly useful with CeraMem.RTM. filters such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,581. The invention ensures proper filter operation by mounting the filter elements, typically monolithic ceramic cylinders, such as of CeraMem.RTM. material, in apertured plates that are cooled, as by circulating cooling fluid (e.g. water) within them. Also the filters are periodically cleaned by pulsing backflushing gas therethrough, the backflushing of gas known per se for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,190 and co-pending application Ser. No. 07/569,125 filed Aug. 17, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,472. Various hot gas flow directing elements are provided for positively directing the flow of gas, and the filters are arranged in such a manner as to provide optimum filtration for a given amount of volume.
According to one embodiment of the present invention a filter assembly for high temperature gases is provided. The assembly comprises the following elements: A generally upright vessel having a top, a bottom, and a side wall. A high temperature gas inlet adjacent the vessel top. A plurality of filter supporting elements extending generally horizontally within the vessel. A plurality of hollow flow directing elements each defining a generally conical or pyramidal shaped flow directing surface, disposed within the vessel and having a large upper opening, and a smaller bottom opening, each of the flow directing elements terminating in or adjacent a filter supporting element. A plurality of filter elements mounted by each of the filter supporting elements disposed exteriorly of the smaller bottom opening of an associated flow directing element, with the smaller bottom opening of an associated flow directing element extending through its associated filter supporting element. A cleaned gas outlet disposed in the vessel between at least some of the filter supporting elements. And, a particle discharge adjacent the bottom of the vessel.
A gas pulse cleaning means is preferably disposed within the volume between at least some of the filter supporting elements, exteriorly of the flow directing elements, to pulse clean the filter elements. Also there preferably is provided means for directing a cooling fluid into operative association with the filter supporting elements to effect positive cooling thereof. Expansion means may be provided for connecting each flow directing element adjacent a top portion thereof to at least one of the vessel side wall or the filter support element located above it, to allow relative movement between the components so connected. The vessel may be circular in cross-section with the filter support elements circular plate-like elements, and with the flow directing elements thin conical elements having a generally funnel shape.
The filter elements may each comprise a cylindrical monolithic porous material element containing a plurality of passageways extending generally vertically and having a plurality of plugs, and including a microporous membrane applied to the walls of the passageways; that is they may be CeraMem.RTM. material as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,581 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein).
The flow directing elements may comprise refractory material bodies having an interior surface formed as the flow directing surface, and the filter supporting elements may comprise rings of heat conductive material having an annular channel therein, the filter elements extending generally vertically and having one end in the annular channel. Alternatively the filter supporting elements may comprise generally planar elements. The openings in the filter support elements may have a progressively smaller cross-sectional area (e.g. diameter) from the gas inlet toward the particle discharge.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a support assembly for a plurality of cylindrical monolithic filter elements is provided. The support assembly comprises the following elements: A support structure having first and second major faces, and means defining a plurality of through extending openings extending from the first major face to the second major face. A plurality of generally cylindrical monolithic filter elements mounted in the through extending openings. And, means for cooling the support structure by circulating cooling liquid into association therewith.
The support structure may be a planar element, or be ring-shaped and have an annular channel formed therein. The radially spaced faces forming the annular channel may be the first and second major faces in which case the cylindrical filter elements will extend generally horizontally, or the major faces may be generally horizontal in which case the filter elements will extend generally vertically.
The invention also has as another embodiment a filter assembly for high temperature gases comprising the following elements: A generally upright vessel having a top, a bottom, and a side wall. A high temperature gas inlet adjacent the vessel top. A plurality of vertically spaced filter supporting elements within the vessel. A plurality of monolithic generally cylindrical ceramic filter elements mounted by each of the filter supporting elements. A plurality of flow directing elements defining flow directing surfaces, disposed within the vessel, for directing the flow of high temperature gases from the gas inlet ultimately toward the filter elements. A cleaned gas outlet disposed in operative association with the vessel between the filter supporting elements, extending through the side wall. And, a particle discharge adjacent the bottom of the vessel.
The flow directing elements may comprise the funnel-shaped elements described above, or vertically staggered non-symmetrical plates disposed on opposite sides of a generally vertical axis of the vessel, the filter supporting elements comprising vertically staggered non-symmetrical elements mounted below each of the flow directing elements. The filter elements may be mounted within a housing including a venturi expander cone disposed between each filter element and the gas outlet, particularly when the filter elements are generally horizontal. Gas pulse cleaning means may be associated with each of the filter elements for directing cleaning gas into the venturi expander cones. The plurality of filter supporting elements may be integral, defining a continuous inner shell substantially concentric with the vessel, or they may be entirely distinct, and each filter supporting element may mount a plurality of vertically spaced rows of filter elements.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a desirable filter assembly for treatment of high temperature gases, both pressurized and atmospheric pressure. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.

Cylindrical filters in a tube sheet for cleaning high temperature gases


Pumping of wellbore fluid to a surface may have a detrimental effect on the pump performance due to high gas concentrations in the fluid. A pump system that utilizes a helix gas separator provides greater pump efficiency by effectively removing the gas phase of the fluid. The wellbore fluid received at a pump system is directed from an intake to a gas separator that utilizes a stationary auger. The stationary auger induces rotational motion of the wellbore fluid causing the wellbore fluid to separate into a gas phase and a liquid phase. The stationary auger utilizes a tapered diameter and an opening between one or more helixes or vanes to separate a gas phase more efficiently from a liquid phase of a fluid.

Hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, are produced or obtained from subterranean reservoir formations that may be located onshore or offshore. The development of subterranean operations and the processes involved in removing hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation typically involve a number of different steps such as drilling a wellbore at a desired well site, treating the wellbore to optimize production of hydrocarbons, performing the necessary steps to produce the hydrocarbons from the subterranean formation, and pumping the hydrocarbons to the surface of the earth.
When performing subterranean operations, pump systems, for example, electrical submersible pump (ESP) systems, may be used when reservoir pressure alone is insufficient to produce hydrocarbons from a well. Presence of gas or free gas in a reservoir or fluid of a wellbore and the resulting multiphase flow behavior of the fluid has a detrimental effect on pump performance and pump system cooling. Economic and efficient pump operations may be affected by gas laden fluid. The presence of gas in a pump causes a drop in pressure created within the pump stages, reducing output of the pump. High concentrations of gas within a pump can create a condition commonly referred to as "gas lock", where gas is so prominent with the stages of the pump, the intended production liquid no longer reaches the surface. Separation of gas from the liquid phase of the fluid before entry into the pump improves pump performance, decreases pump vibration, and reduces the operating temperature of the pump. Traditional rotary and vortex gas separators rely on rotating components to separate the two phases, a process which is limited by fluid velocities while requiring an increase in system horsepower requirements and increase erosion possibilities within the separation chamber. Erosion (which is a function of particle velocity as particles make contact with rotating paddles in a traditional vortex and rotary separator systems) cuts through separation chamber walls and housing, thus parting the pump string downhole. An effective, efficient and reliable pump gas separation system is needed.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.

Helix hub with improved two-phase separation


A method and system is disclosed for spreading the power associated with digital signals being transmitted to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) emissions by receiving, via a first transmission line, a first power spread signal representative a first digital signal modified using a first power spreading digital noise signal, modifying the power spread signal using a second power spreading digital noise signal substantially similar to the first power spreading digital noise signal to generate a second digital signal substantially similar to the first digital signal, modifying the second digital signal using a third power spreading digital noise signal to generate a second power spread signal and providing the second power spread signal for output to a second transmission line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general field of electromagnetic interference and radiated emissions, and more particularly to electromagnetic and radiated emission reduction techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasingly, clock distribution has become an important issue in the design of computers, communication devices, and advanced entertainment systems as higher performance features/faster microprocessors are integrated into these systems. These enhancements typically require incorporating higher frequency clock oscillators, as the clock speed is directly proportional to the speed of the microprocessor processing the information. However, devices supporting high speed clock and data paths are susceptible to internal and external radiation problems. For example, computer, telecommunication, and entertainment systems have sensitive audio, video, and graphics circuitries, the performance of which can be affected by internal EMI radiation. Furthermore, excessive internal EMI radiation degrades the quality of video, audio, and graphics, and causes system timing errors. EMI concerns in external devices having high clock and data rates raise FCC (U.S. Federal Communication Commission) compliance issue problems, as these systems and devices often have electromagnetic interference (EMI) requirements.
In general, to keep radiated EMI levels to a desired level, for FCC purposes or internal considerations, computer system designers typically employ techniques such as slowing down the clock, controlling rising and falling edges, utilizing the method of Spread Spectrum Clock Generation (SSCG), and/or shielding. While each of these EMI reduction techniques is effective to varying degrees, each also suffers attendant limitations.
For example, shielding requires the use of expensive conductive material to prevent emitted radiation from leaking outside of the shielded enclosure. This, however, increases heat accumulation inside the computer, which can be exacerbated by reduced airflow or inadequate ventilation.
The other methods, slowing the clock, data rising and falling edges, and SSCG, all result in reductions in the timing margins, in addition to other problems. Reductions of the timing margin are frequently undesirable for high-speed systems for which system timing is critical. Timing requirements of systems implementing SSCG are further limited by the very jitter generated, based upon a frequency modulated analog signal, to reduce the EMI emissions. Moreover, none of these EMI reduction methods is scalable. That is, the EMI reduction cannot be programmed without adversely impacting system timings. Furthermore, none of these methods wholly prevents radiation problems from occurring inside the computer.
Therefore, a method which overcomes these problems would be useful.


The camera view of an avatar traversing in a three-dimensional (3D) world in an electronic game may be changed to avoid occlusion of the avatar by a graphical object that in the camera view. The camera view may be moved forward towards the avatar to avoid the occlusion, and the camera view may then be moved backward away from the avatar after the avatar has passed the graphical object. Graphical objects that do not significantly occlude the avatar in the camera view may not trigger a change in the camera view.

Some online gaming platforms allow users (e.g., players) to navigate their avatars within a three-dimensional (3D) world. Using a mouse, keyboard, or other input mechanisms provided on their client devices, the users can control the running, walking, climbing, flying, etc. of their avatars through buildings, fields, forests, parks, mountains, and other environments in the 3D world, with various elements such as trees, walls, pillars, clouds, and other structures/objects being rendered as visual graphical representations within the 3D world.
Typically, the 3D world is presented in a camera view, as if a live camera is following the avatar as the avatar traverses from one point to another point through the 3D world. However, the camera views in many electronic games are often filled with jarring discontinuities and disruptive visual effects that are bothersome to many users.

Changing a camera view in an electronic game


Disclosed is a magnetic memory apparatus which comprises a patterned magnetic recording medium in which multilayered films each having a first magnetic layer, a nonmagnetic metal layer or a nonmagnetic insulating layer and a second magnetic layer deposited discretely on a conductive electrode layer formed on a substrate, and a cantilever array having a plurality of cantilevers each having a conductive chip at its distal end. This provides a magnetic solid memory apparatus that has a large memory capacity and a super fast transfer rate, the merits of a hard disk apparatus, and a nanostructure and low power consumption, which are the merits of a semiconductor memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium and a magnetic memory apparatus using the same, and, more particularly, to a pattern type magnetic recording medium having multilayered nanostructures having a magnetoresistance effect laid out discretely and a magnetic memory apparatus which writes and reads information from the recording medium using a cantilever array.
2. Description of the Related Art
The surface recording density of magnetic disk apparatuses is ever increasing and is expected to reach 100 gigabits per inch in 2003. The present in-plane recording system, however, has a problem that as the bit length to write becomes shorter, magnetic signals written on a recording medium are vanished by thermal fluctuation, which stands in the way of increasing the surface recording density. Attention is paid to a perpendicular recording system which writes magnetic signals in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium as a solution to this problem. In particular, as the perpendicular recording system which uses a perpendicular recording medium having a soft-magnetic backing layer as a recording medium and uses a single-pole head to write information has a high resistance to a thermal fluctuation and can generate a strong recording magnetic field, the perpendicular recording system is a promising future perpendicular recording system for super high density.
For example, FD-08 in the 8th Joint MMM-Intermag Conference held at San Antonio in America in January 2001 has reported perpendicular recording with a surface recording density of 60 gigabits per square inch (see Non-patent Document 1).
In the perpendicular recording system, as recording bits become smaller as the surface recording density increases, the area of the floating surface of the single-pole head to be used in writing information which faces a magnetic recording medium should be made smaller. As the area of the floating surface of the single-pole head is reduced, however, the intensity of the magnetic field that can be generated is reduced in inversely proportional to that area. This results in insufficient recording. A first solution to this shortcoming is to increase the saturation magnetic flux density Bs of the magnetic substance that constitutes the single-pole head. As the theoretical limit of the saturation magnetic flux density Bs of the magnetic substance is 3.0 tesla, which is merely 1.5 times the theoretical limits of materials available at present and cannot cope with the future higher density.
The conventional magnetic recording has been done by inverting the magnetization of a magnetic recording medium using the magnetic field generated by the induction type magnetic head which floats and runs over the magnetic recording medium. A recent magnetic random access memory (MRAM) which is a possible substitute for the conventional dynamic random access memory (DRAM) employs a recording system which inverts the magnetization of one of tunneling magnetoresistance effect (TMR) elements having a multilayered structure of a magnetic film/non-magnetic insulating film/magnetic film by using a combined magnetic field formed by the current that runs through two metal lines laid on and under this TMR element, perpendicular to each other (see, for example, Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,605). It is however pointed out that the MRAM has a shortcoming that as the size of TMR elements is made smaller for larger memory capacity, the size of the magnetic field needed to invert magnetization becomes larger, requiring that a lot of current should flow through the metal lines. This leads to an increase in power consumption and eventually damages the lines. Those facts suggest that the magnetic disk apparatus as well as the MRAM suffer limitation to increasing the density as long as the magnetization inversion system using a magnetic field is employed.
As a scheme of inverting magnetization without using a magnetic field, a magnetic recording system has been proposed which makes magnetic recording by causing the current to flow to a magnetic recording medium from a probe having a conductive chip and heating the portion where the current has run (see, for example, Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-206146).
There is an empirical report on a recording system which forms pillars of 130 nm in diameter each including a multilayered film of Co/Cu/Co between two Cu electrodes and inverts the magnetization of the Co layer by letting the current flow in the pillars (see, for example, Non-patent Document 2: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 84, No. 14, pp. 3149-3152 (2000)).
Several ideas of constructing a super high density writing/reading apparatus without using magnetic recording have also been proposed. One of the proposed ideas is a recording system which uses an array of 32×32 cantilevers 102 each having a heater formed at its distal end and polycarbonate and makes recording by heating the heater at the distal end of a cantilever and pressing the heater against the polycarbonate to deform the polycarbonate, thereby forming holes therein (see, for example, Non-patent Document 3: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 77, No. 20, pp. 3299-3301 (2000)).
The conventional proposals however have the following problems.
In the system that makes magnetic recording by causing the current to flow to a magnetic recording medium from a probe and heating the current-flown portion, for example, magnetic recording is done by the Joule heat of the supplied current, so that the inversion of magnetization takes time. The system cannot therefore ensure as fast recording as achieved by the conventional magnetic disk apparatus and MRAM.
The recording system that forms pillars of 130 nm in diameter each including a multilayered film of Co/Cu/Co and inverts the magnetization of the Co layer by letting the current flow in the pillars requires a current density of about 3×107 (A/cm2) for recording. In case where such a large current is provided from the metal lines of the conventional MRAM, therefore, the current density that even lines of a tungsten-based material which has a large durability to the current can withstand is about 1×107 (A/cm2) so that the cross-sectional area of the lines cannot be made smaller than a 150-nm square. This stands in the way of increasing the density. In addition, because the system requires that a current of a high current density should run through long lines, the system has a reliability problem.
As the system that makes recording by heating the heater at the distal end of a cantilever and pressing the heater against polycarbonate to deform the polycarbonate and form holes therein also uses heat and suffers a slow writing speed of several tens of microseconds. While this prior art proposes a way of increasing the writing speed by parallel writing with a total of 1024 cantilevers, the writing speed of each cantilever is slow which, it seems, makes it very hard to achieve the fast recording done by the magnetic disk apparatus.

Magnetic recording medium and magnetic memory apparatus


A continuous dyeing device and related processes using indigo and/or other colorants for warp yarn chains and/or for fabrics, equipped with at least a first and a second dyeing compartments containing dyeing baths, the first and second dyeing compartments being enclosed, at least partially, in a hermetically sealed chamber. The device also includes at least one squeezing element interposed between the two dyeing compartments and a plurality of cylinders for heating and/or dehydrating the yarn and or the fabric, thereby increasing the diffusion and the absorption of the colorant. The cylinders are positioned downstream of the first dyeing compartment and squeezing element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dyeing device and to processes using indigo and/or other colorants, to which the warp yarn chain and/or fabrics are exposed in a continuous manner. In particular, the present invention relates to a continuous dyeing device and to processes in dyeing machines and/or plants that operate with reduction baths and at high or low temperatures. A typical application of this dyeing technology is that of the continuous dyeing of the warp chain for denim fabric, using indigo or other colorants, such as sulphur, indanthrene and reactive based colorants.
2. Description of Related Art
Denim is the fabric normally used for the manufacturing of jeans and other sportswear articles, and is the fabric used in the greatest quantity throughout the world. Traditional denim is manufactured by weaving pre-dyed cotton yarn; in particular, only the warp is dyed in a continuous manner with indigo or other colorants, whereas the fill is used in its raw state.
Typically, the dyeing of the warp chain for denim fabrics is performed using both rope and shift systems in open vats at low temperature, using indigo, an ancient natural colorant that is currently produced by synthesis. The dyeing method required for the application of indigo colorant on cotton yarn is tailored to this colorant, because said colorant has a relatively small molecule with reduced affinity for cellulose fiber, and, therefore, for the application on said fiber, it needs to be not only chemically reduced in an alkaline bath (in leuco form) but also a plurality of impregnations are required with squeezing and oxidation stages in the air, between each bath.
Therefore, in order to obtain medium or dark blue denim, the yarn must be subjected to a first dyeing process (impregnation, squeezing, oxidation) immediately followed by other over-dyeing stages: the greater the number of stages, the darker the color, and the stronger the solidity of the required color.
The above described dyeing process is currently applied to the warp chain, using indigo in all known machines and installations in a continuous manner, for both rope and shift systems. More precisely, the machines described above are normally composed of 2 or more pre-treatment vats, 8 or more dyeing vats that include the related squeezing and oxidation units, followed by 3 or more units for final washing stages. The dyeing vats are connected to each other by a circulation system for mixing, changing and strengthening the dye bath, according to a known system, not described herein.
It is known that the dyeing in these machines is performed in an alkaline environment and with a calculated excess of sodium hydrosulphite and that, as a result of the bath/air contact, the sodium hydrosulphite reacts with the oxygen in the air losing its reducing capacity towards the indigo.
Because sodium hydrosulphite oxidizes easily, metered quantities of hydrosulphite must be added to the dyeing bath to contrast this loss.
This reintegration of the sodium hydrosulphite with stechiometrically corresponding amounts of caustic soda must be performed with regularity and precision, in order to keep the dyeing capacity of the bath unaltered, and to guarantee constant and repeatable results.
Among the aforesaid machines, those used in shift dyeing systems are then connected in line within dyeing installations to a slashing machine, that performs the slashing, the drying, and the winding of the dyed yarn on a beam, ready to be placed on the loom.
The aforesaid dyeing machines must be constructed respecting determined basic parameters in relation to the immersion and oxidation times, and to permit the yarn to absorb the dye in the best possible conditions, and after squeezing, to be completely oxidized before entering into the following bath, so that the color can be intensified, in other words so that the color tone can be darkened.
The average immersion time for the yarn in the dyeing bath is normally approximately 8-12 seconds, while the oxidation time after squeezing is approximately 60 seconds, which means that the yarn must remain exposed to air for 60 seconds before it can be immersed again in the following vat, and then this process is repeated for all the vats.
A reduced oxidation time is possible only with machines equipped with oxidation intensification devices, such as those described in patent no. EP533286 by Applicant.
The average dyeing speed can be calculated as approximately 30 meters per minute, meaning an average length of 6-8 meters of yarn immersed in each bath, while the length of yarn exposed to air between one bath and another is at least 30 meters and more. Therefore, considering a machine with eight dyeing vats as a basic installation, a substantial length of yarn runs through the dyeing baths and the relative oxidation devices, since, by multiplying: 6 m×8+30 m×8, this equals 288 meters.
These 288 meters of yarn, added to the much shorter lengths of yarn being processed in the other component machines on the same line (dyeing machine+slasher) reach a total of 400-500 meters, making the line difficult to control, and at each batch change, certain quantities are considered as lost, because the dyeing is not uniform and because of problems connected to the start-up of a new batch.
The aforesaid machines must also be adaptable to dyeing processes with other colorants, such as the aforesaid sulphur, indanthrene and reactive based colorants, which require different methods from those used for indigo. These machines, which use different processes from those used for indigo dyeing, require flexibility and adaptability, so that cost increases connected to the installation of specific dyeing systems can be contained.

Dyeing device and process using indigo and other colorants


An auxiliary sun visor is in the form of an oblong panel which is placed in front of a rear view mirror to bridge the space between the standard sun visors of a motor vehicle, and complementary fastening members on one surface of the panel and the front surface of the rear view mirror to releasably attach the panel to the rear view mirror.

This invention relates to sun visors for motor vehicles; and more particularly relates to a novel and improved auxiliary sun visor which can be releasably attached to a rear view mirror to bridge the gap between the existing, spaced sun visors on the passenger and occupant sides of the windshield area of a motor vehicle.
Traditionally, motor vehicles are equipped with adjustable sun visors which are mounted on the upper portion of the windshield frame for extension across the windshield area on either side of the rear view mirror. However, the conventional sun visors when moved into position across the windshield area leave an undesirable space or gap in the area surrounding the rear view mirror so that when the sun is at a particular attitude with respect to the windshield is not adequately shielded from the driver. Various approaches have been taken in the past to alleviate this problem and, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,549,395 to C. A. Short, Sr. discloses a rectangular panel having a narrow slot with circular apertures along the slot to facilitate attachment of the panel onto the attaching stud of the rear view mirror so that the panel will effectively bridge the gap between the existing sun visors. U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,879 to J. H. Gillum is directed to a sun visor which can be folded along its center and has a slot to fit over the rear view mirror with the panel located behind the mirror. U.S. Pat. No. 2,163,459 to S. M. Levy discloses extensions or wings which can swing in a vertical plane between the existing rear view mirror and the windshield. U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,593 to A. R. Henson discloses a system of sun visors that can be mounted at different locations in an automobile by means of Velcro or hook/loop fastening elements but requires that the fastening elements be placed at different selected locations in a manner such that the visor attachments may be utilized or stored at or adjacent to each of those locations. Other representative patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,620,222 to M. E. Beauchamp, 3,940,180 to L. T. Altschul, 4,363,512 to K. H. Marcus, 4,477,116 to L. Viertel et al., 4,570,991 to L. A. Lystad, 4,792,176 to F. Karford, 4,861,091 to R. J. Wallen and 4,940,273 to M. Konishi.
From the foregoing, there is a need for an auxiliary sun visor which can be more firmly but releasably attached to the broader surface area of the rear view mirror itself for extension across the gap between the existing sun visors. By providing a broad surface area of attachment not only is the panel easier to attach and remove but also can be made of a flexible material which will more readily conform to varying degrees of curvature or contour of various windshield constructions and yet most effectively bridge the gap between the visors; and further can be readily removed from the rear view mirror and stored in a compact condition so as to occupy a minimum of space in the vehicle.


An interchange party computer system (IPCS) having means for presenting user interfaces to consumer computer systems and capturing data input through the user interfaces, the IPCS being associated with at least one database holding data representing a plurality of consumer profiles, the profiles including consumer profiles expressing service selection attributes for a plurality of service sectors, and at least one database holding data for a plurality of service programs under a plurality of service sectors, each sector being represented by service programs from a plurality of service providers, the IPCS including (a) a Service Comparison/Selection Module; (b) an Automatic Bill Payment Module; (c) an Automated Services Monitoring Module; (d) an Automated Best Services Selection Module; (e) a Services Search Module; (f) an Incentive Program Module; (g) a Data Mining Module; and/or (h) a Pooling Module.

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/173,881, filed Dec. 30, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in its entirety.
There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of websites which sell products online. Some of these websites sell products within a particular category (e.g. eToys for toys), while others have emerged as online shopping malls (e.g. Amazon.com's, Bizrate.com, zShops) where consumers can find a variety of products which are not necessarily related or within a particular category. However, one area of commerce has been relatively ignored with the proliferation of dot.com businesses. This neglected area of eCommerce is services.
Not surprisingly, many partial substitutes exist in the marketplace. The major telecom companies advertise their "rate plans" on their websites and numerous websites offer cellular phone or paging services. Utilities.com from IdeaLab offers utilities in certain markets. Mortgage.com and others offer home loans. Numerous websites offer automobile insurance.
While there are entities which sell or promote services online, services ranging from accounting to website design, there is not a single website which provides adequate systems and methods that allow the consumers and businesses to shop in one place for services under a variety of service sectors—an online "services mall" so to speak.
The systems and methods for making, processing, and accepting online applications for a particular kind of service are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,699 of Zandi, entitled "System and Method for Conducting Loan Auction over Computer Network" discloses, among other things, systems of an online auction of a loan. The '699 patent is hereby incorporated by reference for all that is disclosed therewithin as if set forth herein in its entirety. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,947 of Fraser, et al., entitled "Interactive Mortgage and Loan Information and Real-Time Trading System" discloses, among other things, an online loan application system. The '947 patent is hereby incorporated by reference for all that is disclosed therewithin as if set forth herein in its entirety. However, none of the aforementioned sites or systems provides one-stop shopping for consumers to compare and shop for services on-line and manage, update, add or cancel service accounts across a variety of different service sectors using a single or minimal number of user interfaces.
One probable reason why there is not a single website that adequately addresses the needs of consumers and business shopping for a variety of services is the fundamental differences between providers of goods and providers of services. Goods are tangible items that are typically manufactured according to standard specifications and priced independent of the attributes of a particular consumer. Goods are often standardized so that they are suitable for a large population of consumers. In contrast, services are often provided and priced depending on the unique attributes and circumstances of a particular consumer or group of consumers. To illustrate the differences, a microwave oven can be purchased by a consumer regardless of the consumer's location, age, level of education, etc. On the other hand, a service program such as health insurance might depend on all the foregoing. In further illustration, another service such as mortgage brokerage services might depend on a different set of consumer characteristics such as the consumer's annual income, estimated market value of home, credit history, etc. Because of the unique nature of each individual seeking services and the unique nature of the characteristics required by service providers to produce service pricing and offerings, there has yet to be a system or methods that allow consumers to have a single source for a variety of service needs over a variety of service sectors.
As can be appreciated from the foregoing discussion, there are many complexities and logistics associated with the online selection of service providers. While there have been some attempts toward reducing the time and effort involved in the process, existing systems and methods have problems that need to be addressed. Accordingly, there is a substantial need for systems and methods that enable one-stop shopping for consumers to compare and shop for services on-line, manage, update, add and/or cancel service accounts across a variety of different service sectors.

Systems and methods for online selection of service providers and management of service accounts


This disclosure includes systems and methods for providing purchase recommendations to a user that may include items frequently purchased with a product selected by the user. The determination of which items are frequently purchased with which other items may account for both online and in-store transactions and may further account for both pairwise and multi-wise relationships. The recommendations may be provided on an electronic user interface, such as a website, in response to the user's selection of the product through the electronic user interface. The recommendations may be tailored to the user's selected product so that the recommended items are available in the same delivery channel as the user-selected product.

Both a retailer and its customers can benefit from the retailer providing recommendations for products that may be of use to the customers. The retailer may provide product recommendations on a website, in a brick-and-mortar store, or otherwise. Recommendations may increase the retailer's sales, and may introduce useful or necessary products to the customer that the customer may otherwise not have found or been aware of.
Numerous websites and retailers provide product purchase recommendations. Many websites, however, provide product recommendations that are not as finely-tuned to the customer's needs as possible, or do not ideally account for past purchases. For example, the inventors of the instant disclosure have appreciated that many retailers provide product recommendations that are redundant or non-functional with each other, that do not appropriately account for the sales channel or delivery channel of the product recommendations, and/or do not properly account for multi-wise combinations of products that are frequently purchased together.

Product recommendations based on items frequently bought together


Aramid sheet material and parts molded therefrom comprising m-aramid fibrids containing up to 10% by weight dyes that are thermally stable up to the glass transition temperature of the m-aramid polymer and p-aramid or m-aramid short fibers.

Speaker cones and parts having good acoustical properties made from aramid papers are known. Aramid papers for speaker cones generally combine crystallized p-aramid fibers and amorphous m-aramid fibrids; the fibrids act as a binder for the p-aramid fibers by softening and bonding the fibers when the formed sheets are subjected to high pressure and temperature.
Aramid papers typically have coloring similar to that of the base fiber. Generally, papers made from natural colored p-aramid fiber, such as the fiber known under the DuPont trademark KEVLAR, range in color from golden to cream-beige. Papers made from natural colored m-aramid fiber, such as the fiber known under the DuPont trademark NOMEX, range in color from off-white to light beige. Coloring, other than the natural coloring of aramid papers, has been achieved in the past by using pigmented p-aramid fibers in the make-up of the sheets or by printing a color layer on the surface of the formed sheet.
Often when using aramid papers in many applications or for articles molded from aramid papers, colors other than the natural color of the fibers or fibrids are desired for aesthetic reasons. Molders of various parts, particularly speaker cones and molded parts which are visible in use, normally require materials having some variety of colors, particularly dark shades and black.
Typically, molders use a printing step to impart surface color to the nonwoven aramid sheets before they are shaped into molded parts. Experience has shown that when printed aramid paper is molded, surface color defects occur causing the surface of the molded part to appear to have cracks. Such "cracks" make the appearance of a speaker made with such cones unsatisfactory. These unappealing surface defects arise from a shifting of the surface components of the sheet during the molding process. During molding heat and shear are applied to the sheet to further densify and form the sheet into a specified shape. While under this shearing force, printed fibrids and/or fibers may shift exposing unprinted fibrids and/or fibers from below the surface of the sheet. Areas where the unprinted fibrids or fibers become visible appear to the eye to be cracks in the colored surface. In reality these "cracks" are just unprinted streaks in the paper surface, and although these "cracks" have no effect on the function or performance of the molded parts or speaker cones, they are aesthetically objectionable.
Fibrids filled with activated carbon have been taught by Bair in U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,773, and the use of fillers in the making of fibrids was taught by Morgan in U.S. Pat. No. 2,999,788. The presence of fillers in fibrids tend to alter the mechanical properties of the fibrid. The fibrids of Bair were used as an absorber and had high content (40 to 85 weight %) of activated carbon. Both the fibrids taught by Bair and sheets made from these fibrids were of only fair mechanical quality as a result of the high concentration of carbon filler.
The present invention provides colored fibrids that can be used in the making of colored aramid sheets and molded sheet products. The fibrids of the present invention are colored in such a way that they, and sheet products made from them, are not compromised in mechanical properties. This is of particular importance in considering the performance of a sheet material for use in reproduction of sound such as in speaker parts and cones.


Polymers comprising a polyethylenimine, a biodegradable group, and a relatively hydrophobic group are useful for the delivery of bioactive agents to cells.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to compositions and methods for delivering bioactive agents to cells. In preferred embodiments, this invention relates to cationic lipopolymers comprising a polyethylenimine (PEI), a biodegradable group, and a relatively hydrophobic group, and to methods of using such lipopolymers to deliver bioactive agents such as DNA, RNA, oligonucleotides, proteins, peptides, and drugs.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of techniques are available for delivering bioactive agents to cells, including the use of viral transfection systems and non-viral transfection systems. Viral systems typically have higher transfection efficiency than non-viral systems, but there have been questions regarding the safety of viral systems. See Verma I. M and Somia N., Nature 389 (1997), pp. 239-242; Marhsall E. Science 286 (2000), pp. 2244-2245. In addition, viral vector preparation tends to be a complicated and expensive process. Although non-viral transfection systems generally are less efficient than viral systems, they have received significant attention because they are generally believed to be safer and easier to prepare than viral systems.
A number of non-viral transfection systems involve the use of cationic polymers that are complexed to bioactive agents. Examples of cationic polymer that have been used as gene carriers include poly(L-lysine) (PLL), polyethyleneimine (PEI), chitosan, PAMAM dendrimers, and poly(2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (pDMAEMA). Unfortunately, transfection efficiency is typically poor with PLL, and high molecular weight PLL has shown significant toxicity to cells. In some cases PEI provides efficient gene transfer without the need for endosomolytic or targeting agents. See Boussif O., Lezoualc'h F., Zanta M. A., Mergny M. D., Scherman D., Demeneix B., Behr J. P., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. Aug. 1, 1995, 92(16) 7297-301. A range of polyamidoamine dendrimers have been studied as gene-delivery systems. See Eichman J. D., Bielinska A. U., Kukowska-Latallo J. F., Baker J. R. Jr., Pharm. Sci. Technol. Today 2000 July; 3(7):232-245. Unfortunately, both PEI and dendrimers have been reported to be toxic to cells, thus limiting the potential for using PEI as a gene delivery tool in applications to human patients. In addition, the cost of polyamidoamine dendrimers having commercially practical gene transfection efficiencies is relatively high.
Gene carriers made with degradable cationic polymers have been reported to transfer genes into mammalian cells with decreased cytotoxicity. See Lim Y. B., Kim S. M., Lee Y., Lee W. K., Yang T. G., Lee M. J., Suh H., Park J. S., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 123 (10), 2460-2461, 2001. Unfortunately, these degradable systems also exhibited lower gene transfer efficiency compared to non-degradable polymers. To improve the transfection efficiency of low molecular weight PEI, Gosselin et al. reported that higher molecular weight PEI could be obtained by using disulfide-containing linkers. See Gosselin, Micheal A., Guo, Menjin, and Lee, Robert J. Bioconjugate Chem. 2001. 12:232-245. PEI polymers made using dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate) (DSP) and dimethyl-3,3′-dithiobispropionimidate-2HCl (DTBP) showed comparable gene transfection efficiency and lower cytotoxicity. However, the disulfide-containing linkers are expensive, which makes large-scale preparation of this system difficult and undesirable. The polymers with disulfide-containing linkers are only degraded under reducing conditions, which limits polymer applications in other conditions.
Lynn, et al. have described a method of synthesizing biodegradable cationic polymers using diacrylates as linker molecules between cationic compounds. See Lynn, David A.; Anderson, Daniel G.; Putnam, David; and Langer, Robert. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 8155-8156. However, the resulting polymers do not complex well with many bioactive agents. Synthesis of these polymers requires days to complete and the amount of effective product, which can be used in gene delivery, is low. More than one hundred cationic polymers were produced according to the methods of Lynn et al., but only two of these polymers showed effective gene transfection efficiency. These factors make the preparation of high molecular weight polymers by this method difficult to achieve.
Thus, there remains a need for cationic polymers that may be used to safely and efficiently facilitate the delivery of bioactive agents to cells.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.