A method of adding boron to a tungsten, or tantalum, containing titanium aluminide alloy to form a boride dispersion in the tungsten, or tantalum, containing titanium aluminide. A molten tungsten, or tantalum, containing titanium aluminide alloy is formed and tungsten, or tantalum, boride is added to the molten tungsten, or tantalum, containing titanium aluminide alloy to form a molten mixture. The molten mixture is cooled and solidified to form a tungsten, or tantalum, containing titanium aluminide alloy having a uniform dispersion of tungsten, or tantalum, boride particles substantially without the formation of clusters of tungsten, or tantalum, boride. The titanium aluminide alloy comprises between 0.5 at % and 2.0 at % boron.

The present invention relates to a titanium aluminide alloy, particularly to titanium aluminide alloys comprising heavy metals, for example tungsten, or tantalum, and which have a dispersion of borida particles.
Titanium aluminide alloys have potential for use in gas turbine engines, particularly for turbine blades and turbine vanes in the low pressure turbine and compressor blades and vanes in the high pressure compressor. The gamma titanium aluminides provide a weight reduction compared to the alloys currently used for these purposes.
It is known to provide some titanium aluminide alloys with tungsten, such as for example see U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,056, and it is known to provide some titanium aluminide alloys with tantalum, for example see UK patent application GB2,245,593A and UK patent application GB2,250,999A.
It is also known that titanium aluminide alloys may be modified to improve the mechanical properties of the titanium aluminide alloy articles by the addition of boron which forms titanium diboride when the titanium aluminide alloy has solidified. The titanium diboride is an effective grain refiner for the titanium aluminide alloy which improves the castability, mechanical formability and mechanical properties, in particular increased ductility and creep resistance, of the titanium aluminide alloy. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,284,620, 5,429,796, UK patent application GB2,245,593A and UK patent application GB2,250,999A. In order to provide grain refinement the addition of boron in quantities of about 0.5 to about 2 at % is required
However, it has been found that the addition of boron, or borides, into a tantalum, or tungsten, containing titanium aluminide alloy may result in the formation of precipitate clusters and/or stringers of tantalum boride, or tungsten boride, in the titanium aluminide alloy. This is because the tungsten, or tantalum, in the titanium aluminide alloy reacts with the boron to form the tungsten boride or tantalum boride. The precipitate clusters have a maximum dimension of about 500 xcexcm and are predominantly tungsten boride in tungsten containing titanium aluminides or tantalum boride in tantalum containing titanium aluminides. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,284,620 and 5,429,796 add the borides into the titanium aluminide alloy in the form of titanium diboride particles and it has been found that the addition of titanium diboride particles to the tungsten, or tantalum, containing titanium aluminide alloys results in the formation of the tungsten boride, or tantalum boride, precipitate clusters.
GB2,245,593A and GB2,250,999A add the boride into the titanium aluminide alloy in the form of elemental boron and it believed that the addition of elemental boron to the tungsten, or tantalum, containing titanium aluminide alloys may result in the formation of the tungsten boride, or tantalum boride, precipitate clusters.
Accordingly the present invention seeks to provide a novel way of adding boron to a heavy metal containing titanium aluminide alloy which at least reduces the above mentioned problems.
Accordingly the present invention provides a method of adding boron to a heavy metal containing titanium aluminide alloy to form a boride dispersion in the heavy metal containing titanium aluminide, comprising:-
(a) forming molten heavy metal containing titanium aluminide alloy,
(b) adding heavy metal boride particles to the molten heavy metal containing titanium aluminide alloy to form a molten mixture, the heavy metal boride particles having the same form as undesirable heavy metal boride precipitate clusters,
(c) cooling and solidifying the molten mixture to form a heavy metal containing titanium aluminide alloy having a uniform dispersion of heavy metal boride particles substantially without the formation of heavy metal boride precipitate clusters.
Preferably step (a) comprises forming molten tungsten containing titanium aluminide alloy,
(b) adding tungsten boride to the molten tungsten containing titanium aluminide alloy to form a molten mixture, the tungsten boride particles having the same form as undesirable tungsten boride precipitate clusters,
(c) cooling and solidifying the molten mixture to form a tungsten containing titanium aluminide alloy having a dispersion or tungsten boride particles substantially without the formation of tungsten boride precipitate clusters.
Alternatively step (a) comprises forming molten tantalum containing titanium aluminide alloy,
(b) adding tantalum boride to the molten tantalum containing titanium aluminide alloy to form a molten mixture, the tantalum boride particles having the same foam as undesirable tantalum boride precipitate clusters,
(c) cooling and solidifying the molten mixture to form a tantalum containing titanium aluminide alloy having a dispersion of tantalum boride particles substantially without the formation or tantalum boride precipitate clusters.
Preferably the titanium aluminide alloy comprises up to 2.0 at % boron, more preferably the titanium aluminide alloy comprises up to 1.0 at % boron and preferably the titanium aluminide alloy comprises more than 0.5 at % boron.
Preferably the heavy metal boride particles added have a size of 1 to 5 xcexcm.
Preferably the density of heavy metal boride precipitate clusters is up to 3 cmxe2x88x922, more preferably the density of heavy metal boride precipitate clusters is less than 2 cmxe2x88x922, more preferably there are substantially no heavy metal boride precipitate clusters.
Preferably the heavy metal boride precipitate clusters have a maximum size of 150 xcexcm, more preferably the heavy metal boride precipitate clusters have a maximum size of 100 xcexcm.
Preferably the titanium aluminide alloy comprises a gamma titanium aluminide.
Preferably the method comprises forming the titanium aluminide alloy into a turbine blade, a turbine vane, a compressor blade, or a compressor vane.
Preferably the titanium aluminide alloy is cast or forged.
The present invention also seeks to provide a heavy metal containing titanium aluminide alloy, the titanium aluminide containing heavy metal boride particles substantially without heavy metal boride precipitate clusters, the heavy metal boride particles having the same form an the undesirable heavy metal boride precipitate clusters, and the titanium aluminide alloy comprises up to 2.0 at % boron.
Preferably the density of the heavy metal boride precipitate clusters is less than 2 cmxe2x88x922.
Preferably the heavy metal boride precipitate clusters have maximum size of 100 xcexcm.
Preferably the heavy metal is tungsten and the heavy metal boride is tungsten boride.
Alternatively the heavy metal is tantalum and the heavy metal boride is tantalum boride.
Preferably the titanium aluminide alloy comprises a gamma titanium aluminide.
Preferably the titanium aluminide alloy is in the shape of a turbine blade, a turbine vane, a compressor blade, or a compressor vane.

Method of adding boron to a heavy metal containing titanium aluminide alloy and a heavy metal containing titanium aluminide alloy


A known time domain to frequency domain or frequency domain to time domain transform used in audio codecs is MDCT, which has the disadvantage of being costly in terms of required computational power due to high-precision multiplications, but which facilitates overlapping transform and subsampling. The invention uses a transform or inverse transform which does not involve multiplications because the transform and inverse transform matrices include ‘+1’ and ‘−1’ values only, but whereby the advantages of overlapping and subsampling are kept.

Known time domain to frequency domain or frequency domain to time domain transformations used in codecs include the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) or the Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (MDCT). Both types of transformation have the disadvantage that they are costly in terms of required computational power since the computation involves multiplications with a much higher precision than that of both the input and the output values. E.g. in audio codecs, based on 16 bit integer input samples and output values, in many cases the internal computations are carried out with at least 32 bit fixed point or floating point precision. The input values are multiplied with cosine values, which often are memorised in look-up tables to reduce the processing power load. But such tables consume valuable memory capacity which is precious in particular in embedded systems like audio players or mobiles phones.
The Hadamard transformation does not use any such multiplications but uses matrices consisting only of '+1' and '−1' values. But using a Hadamard transform leads to reduced coding quality or increased bitrate.
The major advantage of the MDCT over the DCT is its lapped nature, i.e. each input sample is transformed twice and each output sample is the sum of two inverse transforms, which has the effect that quantisation effects are averaged and noise introduced by a is completely cancelled in the optimum case. By subsampling following the overlapping the MDCT transformed signal has as many samples as the input signal. This feature is not feasible when using a Hadamard transform. If an overlap of 50% is chosen, there are also 50% more transformed samples, which fact contradicts the compression goal and has strong drawbacks on transmission.

Method and apparatus for transforming a digital audio signal and for inversely transforming a transformed digital audio signal


A tilt hinge supports a cover so that the cover can lightly be opened and can be held in an inclined position at an optional angular position. The tilt hinge comprises: a mounting member having a mounting plate and a bearing plate, and attached to a main unit of a machine; a stepped shaft having an expanded section and a reduced section of a diameter smaller than that of the expanded section, supported for rotation on the bearing plate; a support member for supporting a cover, fixed to the shaft; a torsion coil spring wound around the shaft and resiliently engaged between the support member and the mounting member; and a friction mechanism interlocked with the bearing plate and the shaft. The friction mechanism comprises: a first friction plate mounted on a portion of the reduced section of the shaft, extending between one side surface of the bearing plate and the expanded section of the shaft; a spring washer mounted on the portion of the reduced section of the shaft in combination with the first friction plate; a second friction plate mounted on a portion of the reduced section of the shaft, extending between the other side surface of the bearing plate and the upset end of the reduced section of the shaft; and a flat washer mounted on the portion of the reduced section of the shaft in combination with the second friction plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tilt hinge suitable for supporting a cover included in a business machine, such as a scanner.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known tilt hinge for supporting a display unit included in a laptop type business machine for office automation comprises a mounting member having a bearing plate and attached to a main unit of the business machine, a shaft supported for rotation on the bearing plate, a support member for supporting the display unit, attached to the shaft, and a friction mechanism interlocked with the shaft and the bearing plate to enable the shaft to be rotated only when a torque equal to or greater than a predetermined torque is applied thereto.
Since this known tilt hinge needs to hold the relatively heavy display unit attached to the support member at a predetermined inclination, the friction mechanism must be capable of exerting a relatively high friction torque on the support member. If such a tilt hinge is employed in supporting, for example, a relatively light cover of a scanner, the cover experiences a high frictional resistance and is felt to be heavy when the same is turned on the tilt hinge, and cannot be turned smoothly, which is a problem in the operability of the scanner.


An optical scanning device including a first housing including a rotating deflector configured to deflect a light beam from at least one light source to scan a surface to be scanned with a deflected light beam, a second housing including one or more reflecting mirrors, and three supporting members configured to support the second housing relative to an image forming apparatus. The first housing is mounted inside the second housing, and mounts to fix the first housing to the second housing are positioned substantially on or within sides of a triangle formed by the three supporting members.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention generally relate to an optical scanning device employed in a writing system in an image forming apparatus such as a digital copier and a laser printer, and an image forming apparatus including the optical scanning device.
2. Description of the Background
Related-art image forming apparatuses, such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multifunction printer having two or more of copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile functions, form a toner image on a recording medium (e.g., a sheet) according to image data using an electrophotographic method. In such a method, for example, a charger charges a surface of an image bearing member (e.g., a photoconductor); an optical scanning device emits a light beam onto the charged surface of the photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor according to the image data; the electrostatic latent image is developed with a developer (e.g., a toner) to form a toner image on the photoconductor; a transfer device transfers the toner image formed on the photoconductor onto a sheet; and a fixing device applies heat and pressure to the sheet bearing the toner image to fix the toner image onto the sheet. The sheet bearing the fixed toner image is then discharged from the image forming apparatus.
As described above, the image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, a digital copier, or a laser facsimile machine includes the optical scanning device to form the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor. One example of the optical scanning device is configured to deflect a light beam emitted from a light source using a rotating deflector to scan the surface of the photoconductor with the deflected light beam.
To meet demand for high-quality images and high-speed image formation, a tandem-type image forming apparatus using multiple photoconductors is widely used as a full-color image forming apparatus in recent years. In the tandem-type image forming apparatus, higher accuracy in superposition of images respectively formed on the multiple photoconductors is required to achieve the high-quality images.
However, the above-described optical scanning device using the rotating deflector is susceptible to vibration due to high-speed rotation of a polygon mirror, possibly resulting in image deterioration such as color shift and uneven image density.
To prevent such image deterioration caused by the vibration from the optical scanning device, various methods and techniques have been proposed.
Published unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. (hereinafter referred to as JP-A-) 2006-323066 discloses an image forming system in which a vibration damping means is included in an optical scanning device to suppress vibration.
In another approach, JP-A-2002-341467 discloses an optical scanning device configured to suppress generation of vibration using a compact and lightweight configuration.
However, the image forming system disclosed in JP-A-2006-323066 requires higher cost to include the vibration unit and multiple detectors. Further, although a method for suppressing transmission of the vibration by improving rigidity of the optical scanning device is disclosed in JP-A-2002-341467, the range of available layouts of the optical scanning device is more limited because the optical scanning device needs to be fixed to a main frame of an image forming apparatus.
In the tandem-type image forming apparatus, in general, multiple optical scanning devices are included to perform exposure on multiple photoconductors. Alternatively, a single optical scanning device may be used to perform exposure on multiple photoconductors. When the single optical scanning device is used to emit four light beams onto surfaces of four photoconductors, for example, four optical paths are formed using multiple reflecting mirrors provided in the optical scanning device. A wide variety of arrangements of the reflecting mirrors is available depending on the layout of components in the image forming apparatus. To achieve such a wide variety of arrangements, one example of the optical scanning device includes a first optical housing and a second optical housing, with a rotating deflector, and an optical element such as a lens when needed, included in the first of these two optical housings while the multiple reflecting mirrors are included in the second optical housing.
However, as described above, in the optical scanning device using the rotating deflector, the polygon mirror is rotated at high speed and vibration is transmitted from the optical housing including the rotating deflector to the other optical housing. Consequently, portions of the other optical housing cantilevered to the image forming apparatus are heavily susceptible to vibration, resulting in image deterioration.

Optical scanning device and image forming apparatus including same


Objective lenses (e.g., for microscopy), and adapters for such lenses, are disclosed providing adjustability of the amount of spherical aberration imparted to an image by an objective lens due to variations in cover glass thickness. The adapter can be axially inserted imagewise of the objective lens, or between a first objective lens and a second objective lens of an objective lens system. The adapter comprises an axially movable lens group comprising a cemented lens including a negative lens and a positive lens and a cemented surface having negative refractive power. Spherical aberration of the objective lens is adjusted by axially moving the movable lens group. Where r.sub.1 is the curvature radius of the cemented surface, n.sub.P is the refractive index of the positive lens, n.sub.N is the refractive index of the negative lens, the lens satisfies the condition .vertline.(n.sub.N -n.sub.P)/r.sub.1 .vertline.<0.3.

In light microscopy, cover glasses or laboratory dishes and the like are frequently used to cover, enclose, or protect the specimen. Microscope objective lenses intended to be used with cover glasses and the like normally specify a specific refractive index and thickness of the cover glass. Consequently, whenever the thickness or refractive index of the cover glass or laboratory dish is not as specified for the objective lens, spherical aberrations can arise that degrade imaging performance of the objective lens and reduce contrast of the image.
Metallurgical microscopes and the like used to observe metal and semiconductor surfaces typically utilize objective lenses that are not designed to be used with a cover glass or other refractive body between the specimen and the objective lens. Thus, such objective lenses are designed without consideration of the thickness of a refractive body through which the lens would otherwise view the object. In actual practice, however, there are times when a glass plate or the like must be used to protect the surface of a semiconductor wafer or integrated circuit during microscopic examination. In such instances, the generation of spherical aberrations by the plate can make high-quality observations of the specimen impossible.
Immersion objective lenses adapted to be used with an immersion fluid such as water or oil are also adapted to be used with such fluids having a particular refractive index. If the refractive index of the immersion fluid changes, then unwanted spherical aberrations can arise that make high-quality observations impossible.
In certain conventional objective lenses intended for use with a refractive body situated between the objective lens and the specimen (e.g., cover glass or wall of a laboratory dish), an adjustable correcting lens (adjusted by turning a so-called "correcting ring") is conventionally employed to vary the internal spacing between lenses or lens groups within the objective lens. The amount by which the lens spacing is adjusted is a function of the amount of spherical aberration generated by the refractive body. The adjustment serves to offset changes in such spherical aberration as viewed by the observer. Microscope objective lenses of this sort are disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent document nos. Sho 60-205521 and Sho 60-247613.
Conventional adjustable objective lenses require that a considerable amount of air space be provided in front of (i.e., objectwise) and behind (i.e., imagewise) certain lens groups in the objective lens to provide a sufficient range of adjustment. Such space requirements significantly limit the degrees of freedom that can be exploited in the design of the objective lens, thus increasing the difficulty with which the performance of the lens can be optimized.
Another problem with conventional adjustable objective lenses is that the mechanical device used to move the movable lens(es) lenses had to be located in the objective lens. This undesirably increased the size and complexity of the objective lens.
With conventional objective lenses that are not designed to be used with an intervening cover glass or the like between the lens and the specimen, if a specimen were observed with a cover glass in place, spherical and other aberrations caused by the thickness of the cover glass reduce the contrast of the observed image, thus making high-quality observations impossible.

Adapters for correcting spherical aberrations of objective lens


A process for creating a fuse structure opening in a stack of materials comprised with overlying dielectric layers, and comprised with an underlying polysilicon layer, to expose a conductive fuse structure, has been developed. The process initiates with a dry etching procedure used to create an initial fuse structure opening in the dielectric layers, using a photoresist shape as an etch mask. Subsequent removal of the photoresist shape results in the completion of the fuse structure opening via in situ etching of the polysilicon layer exposed in the initial fuse structure opening. The isotropic wet etch procedure used for photoresist removal and in situ patterning of polysilicon, avoids polysilicon spacer formation on the sides of the conductive fuse structure, which would have been present with the use of an all dry etch procedure. In addition the wet etch procedure selectively terminates on a thin silicon oxide layer, located on the underlying conductive fuse structure.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods used to fabricate semiconductor devices, and more specifically to a method used to define an opening in a stack of layers, to expose a fuse structure, located between rows of memory or logic cells.
(2) Description of Prior Art
As the density of cell designs, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or static random access memory (SRAM), increase, rows or arrays of these specific cells are comprised with billions of discrete devices. However a single device failure, located in the high density cell, can result in an unusable memory chip. Therefore to allow the desired yield for chips comprised with high density cells to be realized, redundant, or additional rows of memory devices or cells, are formed on the chip, and then used if needed, to replace a defective row, thus resulting in a useable, high density chip. Rows of devices or cells, are physically connected to the main memory array via a fuse structure, which if broken can either delete a defective row, or add a redundant row, to the main array body. The fuse structure, comprised of a conductive material such as doped polysilicon or polycide (metal silicidexe2x80x94polysilicon), is usually formed from the same layer used to form the gate structure of the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), discrete devices, used for the memory array cells. Therefore to access the fuse structure at the conclusion of device processing, for laser deleting, an opening (fuse opening), through many interlevel dielectric (ILD), layers, and intermetal dielectric (IMD) layers has to be defined.
The process for the fuse structure opening entails etching through many insulator layers, as well as etching through polysilicon layers, in the presence of a photoresist shape, used as an etch mask for definition of the fuse structure opening. Several problems have occurred during this complex etching procedure, one of which is the etching of a polysilicon layer used for interconnect and resistor purposes, covered by an inter-polysilicon oxide (IPO), layer, which in turn overlays the conductive fuse structure. The topography presented by the underlying conductive fuse structure, in combination with an anisotropic component of the fuse structure opening procedure, can result in unwanted polysilicon spacers on the sides of the IPO covered conductive plug structure. Additional over etching to remove the polysilicon spacers can damage the IPO layer overlying the defined fuse structure. This invention will describe a novel procedure for definition of the fuse structure opening, featuring isotropic removal of the polysilicon layer, performed in situ with the removal of the photoresist shape, used as an etch mask for definition of the fuse structure opening. Prior art, such as Huang et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,073, describe a method for creating a fuse structure opening, in a series of insulator layers, and in a polysilicon layer, however that prior art does not describe the novel in situ etching of a polysilicon layer, during the stripping procedure used to remove the photoresist shape used to define the fuse structure opening.
It is an object of this invention to form a fuse structure opening in stack of materials comprised of dielectric layers, and of a polysilicon layer, to expose an underlying conductive fuse structure.
It is another object of this invention to use an anisotropic dry etching procedure to form the fuse structure opening in the dielectric layers, while using a isotropic wet procedure to form the fuse structure opening in the polysilicon layer.
It is still another object of this invention to perform the isotropic wet etching component of the fuse structure opening procedure, used for etching of the polysilicon layer, in situ with the procedure used for removal of the fuse structure opening, photoresist shape.
In accordance with the present invention a method of forming a fuse structure opening, featuring a dry etching procedure for defining the fuse structure opening in dielectric layers, and an isotropic wet etch procedure for defining the fuse structure opening in a polysilicon layer, with the isotropic wet etch procedure performed in situ with the procedure used to remove the fuse structure opening, photoresist shape, is described. A photoresist shape, is formed on the top surface of a stack of materials comprising: dielectric layers; a polysilicon layer; an interlevel-poly oxide (IPO), layer; and a conductive fuse structure. A dry etching procedure is used to create a top portion of the fuse structure opening, in the dielectric layers, exposed in an opening in the photoresist shape, with the dry etching procedure terminating on the polysilicon layer. An isotropic wet etch procedure is next used to define the fuse structure opening in the polysilicon layer, with the isotropic wet etch procedure in situ removing the fuse structure opening, photoresist shape. The isotropic wet etching procedure results in exposure of the conductive structure, overlaid with the thin IPO layer.

Method of etching a polysilicon layer during the stripping of the photoresist shape used as an etch mask to create an opening to an underlying fuse structure

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company


Interpolymers of 1-99 mol % vinyl fluoride and 99-1 mol % of at least one highly fluorinated monomer such as tetrafluoroethylene are disclosed. The interpolymers are characterized by the presence of ionic end groups and are prepared by polymerizing VF and fluorinated monomer in water with water-soluble free-radical initiators such as azoamidine initiators or persulfate initiators at temperatures within the range of 60 to 100° C. and reactor pressures within the range of 1 to 12 MPa (145 to 1760 psi). The invention further provides for protective self-supporting films and coatings formed from nonaqueous dispersions of the interpolymers, both for use on the surfaces of substrates including metal, plastic, ceramic, glass, concrete, fabric and wood.

Polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) has been manufactured for many years and has found many uses as a protective film or coating over a variety of substrates because of its excellent weatherability, chemical resistance and mechanical properties. The fluorine atoms in PVF are largely responsible for these properties and, if polymers of higher fluorine content could be made, enhancement of these properties would be achieved. One way to increase polymer fluorine content is to prepare dipolymers in which tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) replaces some of the vinyl fluoride (VF). Such dipolymers were first described by Coffman and Ford, U.S. Pat. No. 2,419,009 (1947) and were produced with a benzoyl peroxide initiator in the presence of vinyl fluoride (VF) monomer and water in a high pressure bomb operated at 122-143 atmospheres pressure. This process produces polymer with nonionic phenyl end groups.
Sianesi and Caporiccio, J. Polymer Sci., Part A-1, 6,(1968) 335, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,116 (1970) studied the VF/TFE polymerization process in some detail. In all their examples the initiators used by Sianesi and Caporiccio were organometallic compounds whose decomposition was catalyzed by an oxidizing agent to yield alkyl radicals which initiated polymerization. Alcohols or alcohol/water mixtures were commonly used as the polymerization medium in these processes which afforded copolymers at pressures as low as 1 atmosphere. The initiating alkyl radicals of this process result in nonionic end groups on the polymers.
Stilmar, U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,441 (1970), reported preparation of tri- and tetra-polymers composed of VF, TFE and a wide variety of other vinyl monomers by using organic peroxide initiators in different organic solvents as polymerization media. The initiating radicals from the peroxide initiators formed nonionic end groups on the copolymers. Thus, all known previous work has reported the preparation of VF/TFE copolymers, by using radical generating species that place nonionic end groups on the polymer chains formed. These nonionic end groups are typically alkyl or aryl and, therefore, hydrophobic in nature.
The polymerization processes and attendant copolymers produced by the above prior art methods all have some important disadvantages. The process of Coffman and Ford requires high pressures. This demands expensive, robust high-pressure equipment for manufacture of the copolymer. Additionally, since the initiator is nonionic, the copolymer produced is not wetted by water and forms a lumpy heterogeneous mixture in the reactor. Complete removal of the polymer from the reactor is difficult and can only be accomplished by opening the vessel and manually removing it. This is a slow process with some associated danger and is impractical on all but small scale laboratory equipment.
The processes of Sianesi and Caporiccio require the use of flammable alcohol solvents and toxic organometallics such as tetraethyllead which pose some severe health and environmental risks. The polymerization rates reported for these processes are also low and would force the use of very large scale equipment. These requirements demand appropriate plant design for flammable and toxic materials as well as solvent recovery and refining equipment which serve to drive up equipment and operating costs and complicate the overall process.
Cook, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,428,618 (1969) teach the use of cyclic azoamidine free radical initiators in a process for polymerizing fluoroolefins. Although they allude to the preparation of dipolymers and terpolymers of fluoroolefins, examples in the patent are directed to the polymerization of VF homopolymer with cyclic 2,2′-azobis(N,N′-dimethylene-isobutyroamidine) dihydrochloride in preference to acyclic 2,2′-azobis(isobutyroamidine)dihydrochloride. Reference to or examples of other homopolymers or interpolymers, specifically VF/TFE interpolymers, is lacking. There is no recognition of producing a superior interpolymer product containing ionic end groups which product has a small uniform particle size and improved weather resistance, chemical resistance, and stain resistance coupled with improved release properties.

Process for making vinyl fluoride interpolymers and dispersions thereof


A solid-state laser apparatus is composed of a semiconductor laser device 17, a laser medium 13 for generating oscillated light, a non-linear optical device 12 for converting the oscillated light to non-linear light, a laser holder 17a and a base plate 19 for holding the semiconductor laser device 17, and a crystal holder 3 for holding the laser medium 13 and the non-linear optical device 12. The laser holder 17a, base plate 19 and crystal holder 3 are fixed with an adhesive or the like after positional adjustment under light pressure and temporary tightening. A laser diode pumped solid-state laser apparatus is thus obtained which is simplified in assembling and positioning of optical components and can be stably operated regardless of temperature changes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser diode pumped solid-state laser apparatus which has a laser medium and a non-linear optical element in a resonator, for emitting fundamental-wave oscillated light and non-linear light from the laser medium excited by a semiconductor laser.
2. Description of the Related Art
A solid-state laser apparatus is known which uses a semiconductor laser composed of GaAlAs or the like for exciting a laser medium such as Nd:YAG crystal provided in a resonator to generate a laser light.
For generation of shorter wave-length laser light, numerous types of solid-state laser apparatuses have been proposed which have substantially a laser medium and a non-linear optical crystal provided in a common resonator to convert an oscillated light output of the laser medium to a non-linear light such as a second harmonic (for example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications JP-A 4-283977 (1992) and JP-A 6-69567 (1994), and Japanese Unexamined Utility Model JP-U 4-07375 (1992)). When the laser medium is YAG crystal and the non-linear optical crystal is titanium potassium phosphate KTiOPO.sub.4 (abbreviated to KTP), the oscillated light from the YAG crystal can be converted from its original wavelength of 1064 nm to a half of 532 nm of green light wavelength.
It is however needed for such a donventional solid-state laser apparatus to position the semiconductor laser, laser medium, and non-linear optical element at high accuracy. When the optical axes of pumping light, oscillated light, and non-linear light fail to be aligned on the order of micrometers, the efficiency of light conversion will be remarkably declined.
Also, an adverse change in the distance between the optical components or the optical device and its holding member due to thermal expansion may result in decreases of conversion efficiency due to displacement of the optical axis or fluctuations of output due to mode hopping.

Laser diode pumped solid-state laser apparatus


A first form of an ATM channel testing apparatus tests an ATM channel by having a test cell detector in each switch to detect whether or not the switch appropriately switches a test cell generated by a test cell generating trunk. A second form of an ATM channel testing apparatus easily tests an ATM channel by having test cell generators provided for the respective input highways sequentially generating test cells including test cell identifying information and input highway identifying information, and having test cell checkers provided respectively for the output highways simply tally the test cells by the respective input highways. A third form of an ATM channel testing apparatus tests an ATM channel with less pieces of hardware by having turnaround parts in respective ordinary trunks sequentially turn around a test cell generated by a test cell generating trunk to be finally returned to the test cell generating trunk. A fourth form of an ATM channel testing apparatus tests an ATM channel by having a test cell checker provided for each of output highways to examine whether or not the test data carried in respective octets of the payloads in extracted test cells are of consecutive values.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a digital switching system and more particularly to an apparatus for testing ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) channels, according to a multistage self-routing method, to integrally switch information or payload traffics having different traffic characteristics, such as moving images, numerical data and voices, by using an ATM transmission system like a broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN).
2. Description of the Related Art
With the widespread use of data communications, public switched networks are now required to perform high-quality data communications, as well as the traditional voice communications.
A B-ISDN has begun to be utilized as a communications network not only for low-speed data, such as voice data, but also for high-speed data having a transfer rate between one hundred fifty megabits per second (150 Mbps) and six hundred megabits per second (600 Mbps), such as moving images, and various interfaces have begun to be standardized. The CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee) is currently working on its advisory report on the ATM transmission system, which is an essential technology for realizing a B-ISDN, to be submitted in 1992.
An ATM communications network transmits and exchanges information or payload data carried in different bands divided and housed in fixed-length data units called cells, to which headers are attached. A header contains a virtual channel identifier (VCI) for identifying the receiving side subscriber and a virtual path identifier (VPI) for identifying the path within the current ATM exchanger, in addition to other pertinent information e.g. on a payload type and a cell loss priority in case of discarding cells, as well as a CRC (cyclic redundancy checking) code for error correction. Thus, an ATM switching system uses the headers to enable hardware to transfer and switch cells to the receiving side subscriber at a high speed.
Since an ATM switching system requires cells to carry only necessary information, it can more efficiently transmit burst signals than a conventional STM (Synchronous Transfer Mode) switching system. Also, unlike a conventional packet switching system that has a processor switch cells equivalent to packets through software processing, since an ATM switching system has hardware provided in a channel switch cells, it does not require complex protocols in switching cells, which realizes high speed communications at transfer rates up to several hundred megabits per second.
This makes it possible to flexibly provide services requiring different transmission speeds, and to efficiently utilize transmission paths.
In this operation, according to the VCI attached to a cell, a switching system processor designates to which buffer in a switching module of the ATM switching system the cell is to be written. The cells flow autonomously in the network according to this designation. Hence, this switching arrangement is called a self-routing (SR). The receiving subscriber extracts necessary cells flowing over ATM highways based on the VCIs attached to cells, and restores user information or payload data by eliminating headers from the cells.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a generic ATM exchanger used in ATM switching system.
In FIG. 1, trunks 102 accommodate respective subscriber lines 101 on the input side. A virtual channel controller (VCC) 105 receives outputs from the trunks 102.
Based on the call control information inputted from a processor (not shown) of the switching system, the VCC 105 exchanges the VCIs, which specify the cells' destinations, attached to the headers of the received cells from the respective input highways 104, with new VCIs specifying the next output node (ATM switching system). At the same time, the VCC 105 attaches to the head ends of the cells information specifying the path over which the cells are to be switched to be outputted to destined output highways 108 in a data format called tags.
A plurality of multiplexers (MUXs) 103 partially multiplex respective outputs from the VCC 105. Respective input highways 104 receive outputs from the corresponding multiplexers 103.
A multistage self-routing channel (MSSR) 106, which is a virtual channel, receives respective outputs from the MUXs 105. The MSSR 106 comprises a plurality of self-routing modules (SRMs) 107. The MSSR 106 has a plurality (ordinarily two (2) rows and three (3) stages) of SRMs 107. The configuration of the SRMs 107 are further elaborated later.
The MSSR 106 outputs cells to output highways 108, which are connected to respective demultiplexers (DMUXs) 109, which demultiplex the cells and output the demultiplexed cells to subscriber lines 111 through output trunks 110 corresponding respectively to the DMUXs 109.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration where cells flow in a single direction over the channels. It goes without saying that channels for cells flowing in the opposite directions can be configured similarly.
FIG. 2 shows an exemplary configuration of one of the SRMs 107 shown in FIG. 1.
In the example shown in FIG. 2, each of the SRMs 107 has two (2) input lines and two (2) output lines, and switches 201 are provided at the four (4) crossing points of the input lines and output lines. That is, the four (4) switches of an SRM 107 correspond with two (2) input lines and two (2) output lines. Although an actual channel may comprise more input lines and more output lines in reality since their basic connections are entirely similar to those in the example shown in FIG. 2, the SRMs 107 are explained by referring to the 2.times.2 exemplary configuration having two (2) input lines and two (2) output lines.
The switches 201 judge from the tag data attached to the head ends of cells inputted from input lines whether or not to switch the cells for acceptance. If the switches 201 judge whether or not to switch the cells by themselves, the switches 201 multiplex the cells on free time slots on output lines. Respective switches 201 independently perform the judging and switching operations through hardware processing.
As is evident from the above explanation, a fault in one of the switches 201 in any of the SRMs 107 shown in FIG. 1 causes severe trouble, such as a degradation in communications quality and a stoppage of communications all together through discarding ATM cells and incorrectly switching ATM cells. Hence, it is crucial to conduct a test for verifying the normality of the switches.
However, there is no known conventional system for efficiently testing the switches of an ATM exchanger. Especially in the configuration, shown in FIG. 1, of the MSSR 106 having the SRMs 107 connected in a plurality of stages, the more there are possible paths from an input line to an output line, the more there are the SRMs 107 in the MSSR 106. This causes an inevitable problem of how to efficiently test all such possible paths in realizing an ATM exchanger.


In a MOSFET or other high voltage device, an annular channel stopper (4) extends around the outer periphery (14) of a body portion (11) with which a device region (15) forms a p-n junction (5) operable under high reverse bias in at least one mode of operation of the device. A field plate structure (34, 34a, 34b, 34c) on an insulating layer (24) over the body portion (11) extends towards the outer periphery (14) to spread a depletion layer from the reverse-biased p-n junction (5) towards the outer periphery (14). The channel stopper (4) comprises concentrically doped stopper regions (41 to 44) with different doping concentrations and/or region widths and/or spacings, giving to the body portion (11) a non-uniform doping profile the doping of which, under the field plate structure (34, 34a, 34b, 34c), increases with distance (D) towards the outer periphery (14) to slow progressively the spread of the depletion layer under the field plate structure (34, 34a, 34b, 34c). This field plate structure (34, 34a, 34b, 34c) connected to the device region (15) and/or to a field region (35) can extend laterally over the whole of the body portion (11) between the device region (15) and a doped channel stopper region (41) in the vicinity of the outer periphery (14), and without the complication of any field plate connected to the channel stopper (4).

This invention relates to semiconductor devices, for example rectifier diodes, MOSFETs (insulated-gate field-effect transistors), bipolar transistors, IGBTs (insulated-gate bipolar transistors) and thyristors, each having a p-n junction which terminates at a major surface of a semiconductor body and which may be operated under high reverse bias (for example in excess of 200 volts) in at least one mode of operation of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,719 (our reference PHB 33126) discloses a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor body having a body portion of one conductivity type adjacent a major surface of the body, a device region of the opposite conductivity type adjacent said major surface and forming with the body portion a reverse-biased p-n junction which terminates at said major surface, the body portion extending from the device region to an outer periphery of the body portion, and an annular channel stopper extending around the vicinity of the outer periphery. The annular channel stopper disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,719 consists of a single doped stopper region 14 of the one conductivity type which is present in the body portion 12 adjacent the upper major surface of the body 10 and which has a higher conductivity type determining doping concentration than the body portion 12. The whole contents of U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,719 are hereby incorporated herein as reference material.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,719 the basic device structure may be used for various types of semiconductor device, for example a power rectifier diode, a MOSFET, a bipolar transistor, or a thyristor. The p-n junction 20 is reverse-biased to block voltage in the "off" state of the device. In order to terminate at said major surface, the p-n junction 20 bends towards the surface, so increasing the electric field and reducing the voltage that the device can withstand as compared with that obtainable from a plane (unbent) p-n junction. Some peripheral termination measures are necessary around the bent p-n junction 20 in order to attain the maximum possible blocking voltage when the device is first manufactured (the so-called "zero-hour voltage") and to maintain it during the working life of the device. The blocking voltage is increased by increasing the effective radius of curvature of the p-n junction 20, by an appropriate design of the peripheral termination measures to spread the depletion layer 30 of the p-n junction 20 along the surface of the body portion 12. Ideally, the peripheral termination should be designed to occupy the minimum possible area of the semiconductor body, provide as much of the plane breakdown voltage as possible, be stable over the working life of the device, and cost as little as possible to provide in manufacture.
The peripheral termination measures disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,719 include the provision of a resistive overlayer 28 on an insulating layer 18 over the whole semiconductor body surface between the channel stopper region 14 of the one conductivity type and the device region of the opposite conductivity type. This resistive overlayer 28 acts as a field plate to spread the depletion layer from the reverse-biased p-n junction 20 towards the outer periphery. At least one field region 1-6 of the opposite conductivity type is also provided between the annular channel stopper region 14 and the device region 11, surrounds the device region 11 and forms with the body portion 12 of the one conductivity type a p-n junction 21-26 terminating at said major surface. The field regions 1-6 also control the spread of the depletion layer 30 in the body portion.
The resistive overlayer 28 on the insulating layer 18 provides also an effective means for electrically screening the underlying body surface from external changes and for inhibiting the diffusion of contaminating ions into the peripheral termination from, for example, a plastics encapsulation around the semiconductor body 10. In the absence of the measures 18 and 28, these external changes and contaminating ions can undesirably alter the internal fields in the peripheral termination area, so changing the blocking voltage characteristics of the device during its working life. The peripheral termination measures (1-6,14,18,28) disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,719 are particularly effective, because they screen the whole body surface from the device region to the outer periphery and because the potential variation along the semiconductor body surface is matched to that in the resistive overlayer. However, these measures may occupy quite a large peripheral area of the semiconductor body. Furthermore, there is a leakage current which flows through the resistive overlayer 28, across the blocking p-n junction 20.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,868 discloses an alternative approach in which (instead of a resistive overlayer) discrete field plates are used connected to various regions of the device. The whole contents of U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,868 are hereby incorporated herein as reference material. The annular channel stopper in the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,868 is a field plate 7 rather than a doped region of the semiconductor body 1. The blocking p-n junction 3 of the device is covered by a field electrode 6. The blocking voltage is increased by arranging a further channel-stopper field plate 19 over the channel stopper 7 and an anode field plate 18 over the field electrode 6. These field plates 18 and 19 extend towards each other on a further insulating layer 16. This further insulating layer 16 is not of uniform thickness. The thickness of the insulating layer 16 is larger between the field plates 18 and 19 than it is over the field electrode 6 and channel stopper 7.
A gap c is present between the field plates 18 and 19 of the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,868. The increased dielectric thickness for the insulating layer 16 around the gap c reduces capacitive coupling between charges at the top surface of the dielectric and the underlying major surface of the semiconductor body. The gap c is advantageous in that it inhibits leakage current across the blocking junction 3, through the field plates 18 and 19. However, the requirement for such a gap c prevents the peripheral termination measures from covering the whole of the semiconductor body surface from the blocking p-n junction 3 to the channel stopper 7. Furthermore, the need to provide a further dielectric layer 16 of differing thickness below the field plates 18 and 19 can be inconvenient in manufacture, and the control of the increased thickness for this dielectric layer 16 may become a critical process parameter.


Provided herein are compositions for the treatment and/or prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and methods of application and use thereof. In particular, the present invention provides treatment and/or prevention of cardiovascular disease with 3,3-dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB) and related compounds, and pharmaceutical formulations thereof. In other embodiments, the present invention provides methods of administering a gut flora targeting antibiotic to a subject prior to a procedure that is associated with a risk of causing thrombosis, heart-attack, and/or platelet hyper-responsiveness.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the general term for heart and blood vessel diseases, including atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, aorto-iliac disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Subjects with CVD may develop a number of complications, including, but not limited to, myocardial infarction, stroke, angina pectoris, transient ischemic attacks, congestive heart failure, aortic aneurysm and death. CVD accounts for one in every two deaths in the United States and is the number one killer disease. Thus, prevention of cardiovascular disease is an area of major public health importance.
A low-fat diet and exercise are recommended to prevent CVD. In addition, a number of therapeutic agents may be prescribed by medical professionals to those individuals who are known to be at risk having CVD. These include lipid-lowering agents that reduce blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, agents that normalize blood pressure, agents, such as aspirin, or platelet ADP receptor antagonists that prevent activation of platelets and decrease vascular inflammation (e.g., clopidogrel and ticlopidine), and pleiotrophic agents such as peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) agonists, with broad-ranging metabolic effects that reduce inflammation, promote insulin sensitization, improve vascular function, and correct lipid abnormalities. More aggressive therapy, such as administration of multiple medications or surgical intervention may be used in those individuals who are at high risk of having CVD. Since CVD therapies may have adverse side effects, it is desirable to have methods for identifying those individuals who are at risk, particularly those individuals who are at high risk of experiencing an adverse cardiac event near term.
Major risk factors for cardiovascular disease include age, hypertension, family history of premature CVD, smoking, high total cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, obesity and diabetes. The major risk factors for CVD are additive, and are typically used together by physicians in a risk prediction algorithm to target those individuals who are most likely to benefit from treatment for CVD. Testable markers of CVD include: level of aortic plaque formation, total blood cholesterol level, blood triglyceride level, blood low density lipoprotein levels, blood high density lipoprotein levels, formation of foam cells, and levels of choline-related trimethylamine (TMA) and trimethylamine-containing compounds, such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO).

Treatment of cardiovascular disease and thrombosis


A method for growing reduced defect density planar gallium nitride (GaN) films is disclosed. The method includes the steps of (a) growing at least one silicon nitride (SiNx) nanomask layer over a GaN template, and (b) growing a thickness of a GaN film on top of the SiNx nanomask layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to a method for reducing defect density in planar nonpolar and semipolar III-nitride films.
2. Description of the Related Art
(Note: This application references a number of different publications as indicated throughout the specification by one or more reference numbers within brackets, e.g., [x]. A list of these different publications ordered according to these reference numbers can be found below in the section entitled "References." Each of these publications is incorporated by reference herein.)
Prior to this invention, the techniques used to achieve defect reduction in nonpolar and semipolar III-nitride films, such as gallium nitride (GaN) films, were lateral epitaxial overgrowth, sidewall lateral epitaxial overgrowth, and selective area lateral epitaxy. All these techniques involve ex situ processing steps and regrowths.
The use of an in-situ silicon nitride (SiNx) interlayer has proved to be an effective technique in defect reduction in conventional c-plane GaN [1-3]. However, in-situ SiNx has not previously been used for defect reduction in planar nonpolar and semipolar GaN films.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for improved methods of reducing defect density in planar nonpolar and semipolar III-nitride films. The present invention satisfies this need.

In-situ defect reduction techniques for nonpolar and semipolar (Al, Ga, In)N

The Regents of the University of California


The present invention provides a structure of a resistor comprising: a substrate having an interfacial layer thereon; a resistor trench formed in the interfacial layer; at least a work function metal layer covering the surface of the resistor trench; at least two metal bulks located at two ends of the resistor trench and adjacent to the work function metal layer; and a filler formed between the two metal bulks inside the resistor trench, wherein the metal bulks are direct in contact with the filler.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a resistor and fabrication method thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to a resistor integrated with a transistor having a metal gate and fabrication method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To increase the performance of transistors, metal gates are commonly used in semiconductors to replace the traditional polysilicon gates as control electrodes. Two metal gate processing approaches are mainly performed: a gate first process or a gate last process. The gate last process tends to replace the gate first process, since it allows a greater choice of materials for the high-k gate dielectric layer and the metal gate.
Additionally, resistors are elements that are often used to regulate voltage and to filter noise in a circuit. The resistors usually comprise polysilicon and silicide layers.
In the current semiconductor field, the fabricating processes are continuously improved with the aim of reaching higher yields, but the integration of the manufacturing methods of those different kinds of semiconductor devices is still very complicated and difficult. Therefore, a method for fabricating a resistor integrated with a transistor having a metal gate is still needed.


Foot-receiving devices, such as athletic or other footwear, may be modified to provide different aesthetic looks. Such foot-receiving devices may include: a housing member at least partially defining a foot-receiving chamber; a closure system for at least partially holding the foot in the chamber; a tongue member located between at least a portion of the closure system and the foot, the tongue member including a first engagement element; and a cover member for at least partially covering the closure system, the cover member including a second engagement element that engages with the first engagement element to removably engage the cover member with the tongue member. The user can freely engage or disengage the cover member to change the aesthetic appearance of the device, e.g., depending on personal preference.

Many conventional and well known footwear product designs, and particularly athletic footwear product designs, include an extended tongue flap. For example, traditional baseball shoe or cleat designs and golf shoe or spike designs often include an extended tongue flap that folds over the shoe's laces. Originally, this tongue flap was included to protect the laces and to prevent dirt and other matter from damaging the laces and/or entering the shoe, e.g., when the wearer slides into a base and/or steps into a sand trap. Footwear including this extended tongue flap has become a traditional design for many footwear products.
Not all people, however, like this traditional design, believing it to be "old-fashioned," and they prefer a more "modern" look (i.e., one without the extended tongue flap). Because products including the traditional design included the extended tongue flap as an integral and unremovable part of the tongue structure, the flap typically could not be removed without damaging the shoe, without damaging the shoe's appearance, and/or without expending considerable time, effort, and/or expense. Moreover, by producing footwear products that either included an extended tongue flap or did not include the tongue flap, each product typically was desired by and salable to only a portion of the potential market.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a footwear product that includes an easily detachable cover member for the closure system, akin in appearance to a traditional tongue flap extension or other tongue flap extension design, that would allow consumers to easily and securely include the cover member with the tongue if it is desired, to easily change cover members, if desired, and/or to easily remove the cover member from the product if it is not desired.

Footwear and other foot-receiving devices including a removable closure system cover member


The present invention achieves an increase in the amount of vapor that is expelled, stabilized fuel injection and improved starting characteristics in a fuel injection pump. In an electromagnetically driven fuel injection pump 20 which allows fuel to escape into the return passage 5 in the initial region of the pressure-feeding stroke of the plunger 21, and which pressure-feeds fuel into the injection port 33 in the later region of the pressure-feeding stroke, pulse powering of the coil 23 that does not lead to the injection of fuel, i.e., pulse powering which is such that the plunger 21 performs a reciprocating motion through the initial region, is performed when the engine 2 is in an idle operating state, or in a state in which the engine 2 is re-started after being stopped immediately following high-load operation. As a result, vapor can be expelled with good efficiency, and the flow rate of the circulated fuel is increased so that the cooling effect is also increased, thus causing the generation of vapor to be suppressed as well, so that the starting characteristics or re-starting characteristics are improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for driving a fuel injection pump which is used to supply fuel to an internal combustion engine (hereafter referred to simply as an "engine"), and more particularly relates to a method for driving a fuel injection pump used in engines that are mounted on two-wheeled vehicles or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, as is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-221137, a fuel injection pump in which fuel conducted from a fuel tank by means of a feed pipe is pressure-fed by means of an electromagnetically driven plunger pump, fuel in the initial region of the pressure-feeding stroke is circulated back to the fuel tank by means of a return pipe, and fuel in the later region of the pressure-feeding stroke is injected into the intake passage from an injection nozzle, is known as a fuel injection pump used in engines mounted on two-wheeled vehicles or the like.
In this apparatus, a discharge mechanism is provided which circulates fuel containing vapor (air bubbles) back to the fuel tank via the return pipe in advance, before the fuel that has been pressure-fed by the plunger pump is injected by the injection nozzle.
In the abovementioned apparatus, there may be cases in which large quantities of vapor are generated in the supplied fuel when the ambient temperature is high, or as a result of heat generated by the coil during electromagnetic driving or the like; accordingly, it is necessary to remove this generated vapor with good efficiency.
For example, the temperature is high immediately after the engine has been stopped or the like; as a result, there is a danger that large quantities of vapor will be generated. Accordingly, in cases where the engine is re-started from this high-temperature state, it is difficult to re-start the engine (good re-starting characteristics are not obtained); furthermore, a certain amount of time is required in order to discharge the generated vapor by means of the discharge mechanism, so that stable fuel injection cannot be obtained.
Furthermore, in cases where the engine is placed in an idle operating state following high-load operation, the amount of fuel circulation (recycling) is small while the environment is a high-temperature environment; as a result, the vapor that is generated cannot be reliably discharged.


A torque transmitting unit in the power train of a motor vehicle for transmitting torque between a drive unit having an output shaft and a transmission having at least one input shaft. A clutch is positioned between the transmission input shaft and the drive unit output shaft. The clutch includes an input part that has a clutch cover that defines a clutch-containing volume and that is supported by a transmission housing section. In order to limit axial vibrations of the clutch, the clutch input part is axially supported by a bearing.

The present invention relates to a torque transmitting unit in the power train of a motor vehicle for transferring torque between a drive unit, in particular a combustion engine, having an output shaft, in particular a crankshaft, and a transmission having at least one input shaft, there being inserted between the transmission input shaft and the output shaft of the combustion engine a clutch device having at least one input part, which has a clutch housing section, in particular a clutch cover, which limits the volume accommodating the clutch device and is supported by a transmission housing section.
The object of the invention is to create a simply constructed and economically manufacturable torque transmitting unit with which fewer vibrations occur in the coupling device in the axial direction than with conventional torque transmitting units.

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


A method for stream-processing biomedical data includes receiving, by a file system on a computing device, a first request for access to at least a first portion of a file stored on a remotely located storage device. The method includes receiving, by the file system, a second request for access to at least a second portion of the file. The method includes determining, by a pre-fetching component executing on the computing device, whether the first request and the second request are associated with a sequential read operation. The method includes automatically retrieving, by the pre-fetching component, a third portion of the requested file, before receiving a third request for access to least the third portion of the file, based on a determination that the first request and the second request are associated with the sequential read operation.

The disclosure relates to data processing. More particularly, the methods and systems described herein relate to functionality for stream-processing biomedical data sets.
A conventional model for genomic data analysis typically requires downloading large data sets, incorporating new locally generated data, and then performing computational analyses on this data using local hardware. This model has been successfully employed by researchers for many years, but has recently presented a bottleneck, given the enormous growth in the size of biomedical data sets. Large-scale scientific programs using next-generation sequencing technology, such as the 1000 Genomes Project, the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), have grown to a point in which it is impractical for individual researchers to download, store, and analyze common genomic data sets. For example, the full size of the TCGA data set is expected to exceed over 2.5 Petabytes of data. Few researchers have this level of storage capacity, and for those who do, simply downloading this amount of data could take months over a conventional network connection.
Cloud computing offers one solution to these issues; that is, the implementation of an infrastructure architecture in which one or more networks owned, managed, or otherwise associated with a first entity provide computing infrastructure on behalf of a customer that is, conventionally, associated with a separate entity. By co-locating bioinformatics analysis tools with genomic data sets on cloud computing resources, individual researchers can perform analyses without having to purchase expensive hardware or transfer large files back and forth. However, creating an effective, large-scale cloud infrastructure for genomics and clinical data is challenging. Next-generation sequencing produces millions to billions of sequence fragments read from longer DNA molecules present in a particular sample (i.e., "sequence reads"), usually of short length—e.g., 50-200 pairs of complementary bases in a double-stranded nucleic acid molecule ("base pairs"). Sequence reads and other genomic data sets are often processed sequentially (e.g., in order to map or align the fragments to one or more sections of a reference genome). However, in conventional systems for processing such data, an entire data set is copied to a local instance (e.g., a locally-instantiated virtual machine, such as an instance provided by Amazon Web Services, Inc.) from backing storage (e.g., a remotely located server providing one or more units of storage, such as an "S3 bucket" provided by Amazon Web Services, Inc.) before a job can begin. Similarly, once a job has completed, the resulting output is often transferred back to the backing storage. This is further complicated by the fact that many genomics analyses are so large that they exceed the local storage available on a compute instance.
Network file systems (such as NFS) exist, but typically are not able to efficiently handle the combination of latency and file sizes associated with cloud computing and next generation sequencing. While downloading an entire file locally may improve performance, bulky upload and download applications can complicate a particular workflow. Similarly, conventional methods of processing data as the data is streamed from a remote computing device to a local computing device, do not typically provide functionality for the types of processing applied to biomedical data, which are often more sophisticated and computationally intense processing types than that applied to streams of other types of data.

Methods and systems for stream-processing of biomedical data


A positioning system comprises an onboard GNSS satellite receiver in a mobile element belonging to a user which estimates the position of said mobile element at various instants, a first processing module determining a consistency indicator by combining the estimated positions and data provided by secondary information sources, using a dynamic model of movement of the mobile elements to be positioned. The indicator is determined by comparing a speed, acceleration, gyration triplet derived from direction and velocity measurements taken by the mobile element, to a dynamic model of movement of an object, vehicle, person or animal to be positioned. The system comprises a consolidation module containing means storing the positions estimated at various instants, a digital filter to obtain a filtered position from the stored positions of a user, the consistency indicator calculated from filtered positions; and detection means determining from the consistency indicator whether the estimated positions are falsified.

Mobile electronic units employing applications requiring information on their geographical positioning contain means for estimating their position as accurately as possible. To do this, satellite geolocation systems are commonly used, these systems being denoted by the acronym GNSS (or Global Navigation Satellite Systems). An example of a GNSS is the GPS (or Global Positioning System).
It is necessary that these position estimations be integral and accurate for critical positioning applications. A critical positioning application denotes an application in which estimations of position must have a high degree of reliability. For example, such is notably the case for pay-per-use systems for insurance, parking and road networks, as well as electronic law enforcement systems such as electronic tagging devices or equipment for the tailing of suspects by police. Furthermore, applications for tracking inventory such as containers or driver assistance applications are also considered to be critical positioning applications.
The units used in systems employing critical positioning applications are usually tamper-resistant and use secure communication means. These units are also called Onboard Units and are denoted by the acronym OBU.
However, the radio link between the unit and the satellites belonging to the GNSS is usually implemented using an unprotected signal and is accessible to all. It is consequently possible for a user with malicious intent to disturb the normal operation of the unit so that the latter acquires falsified position estimations. These falsified estimations are usually transmitted by radio to processing servers, the operation of which is then also falsified. This type of fraud is possible without the pirate user even modifying the OBU. To do this, a low-cost device may be used, for example a device capable of receiving GNSS signals and retransmitting them after having modified them. The retransmitted and modified signal replaces the real signal originating from the satellites of the GNSS and the unit estimates an erroneous position.
In the case of a system implementing a payment application, the triggering of a payment is linked to pricing events triggered by the passage of the OBU through virtual gates or on entry/exit of a geographical zone. In this case, the device used for the fraud may be designed to neutralize pricing points while appearing compliant at control points, and to minimize these deviations from the real trajectories to avoid detection.
Existing methods make it possible to verify the operation of OBUs. This verification is performed statistically at fixed or mobile control points. Another way of proceeding is to verify a posteriori the consistency of the pricing events, for example by cross-checking the pricing events with the registration plates of the vehicles observed in the pricing zones. However, a fraud device may be designed to be silent during checks, since the position of check zones may be published by a centralized service, on the model of anti-speed camera radar devices.
Various methods for controlling the consistency of position estimations exist. This consistency may be verified by monitoring the absolute or relative power of the GNSS signals or by monitoring the power of the signal for each satellite.
The consistency of measurements may also be verified by using digital marking techniques notably allowing units to locate the emitters of a network. This technique is often denoted by the term "watermarking". An example of implementation of watermarking is disclosed in the patent application WO 2009/037133.
A large number of OBUs already deployed and in operation do not include such techniques for verifying the consistency of position estimations. To update these receivers, i.e. to include functionalities enabling them to verify the consistency of the measurements, it would be necessary to alter each receiver, which would incur substantial workforce costs.
Furthermore, these techniques do not make it possible to guarantee the integrity of the estimations. Sophisticated attacks may circumvent them, at least in part. For example, a trajectory may be modified with a slight deviation in gyration in relation to the real trajectory, to counter the consistency verification with data originating from an onboard inertial sensor in the vehicle, for example.

Positioning system with fraud detection mechanism for a critical application


Valve arrangement for spray damping units of printing machines with at least one valve for controlling a flow of liquid, in which the valve includes a housing with an inlet and outlet, into which a valve body arrangement is inserted with the help of a fast-action closure.

This invention relates to a valve arrangement, particularly for spray damping units for printing machines, with at least one valve for controlling a flow of liquid.
In offset printing a damping agent, usually water with additives of alcohol and a number of other fluid substances, is applied to the areas of the printing cylinders where adhesion of the printing ink is to be prevented. Relatively complicated systems with a large number of valves are used to ensure precise control of the supply of damping agent.
Valves are wear parts with relatively high maintenance requirements. A defect in one or more valves may put the printing machine in question out of operation. Furthermore, the valves used are generally of a relatively complicated construction, requiring special tools for disassembly purposes whenever a valve has to be serviced or replaced. All this leads to undesirable downtimes.
A similar situation arises in other cases in which a large number of liquid flows have to be applied on a targeted basis, so that the application of one damping agent, as in this case, is to be understood merely as an example. In the printing industry in particular there are numerous other possible applications, including, for example, the application of printing ink, or of cleaning agents for the printing cylinders, etc.

Valve arrangement, particularly for spray damping units for printing machines


The thrust reverser is used with a gas turbine engine and includes first and second doors pivotable between a stowed position and a deployed position. When deployed, pivoting fairings on the first door are moved so as to give room to the second door as its trailing edge moves within the first door. When stowed, the second door preferably provides the locking mechanism to the pivoting fairings of the first door.

Thrust reversers on gas turbine engines have to fulfill two functions: while stowed, to provide an exhaust nozzle for the direct thrust generated by the engine; and while deployed, to redirect the engine thrust in order to provide a decelerating force after landing. Since almost the entire flight sequence occurs with the thrust reverser in the stowed position, it is desirable that the presence of the thrust reverser does not degrade the direct thrust performance of the engine.
While many thrust reverser models have been used successfully for a number of years, there is always a need to provide further improved arrangements.


A filtration appliance for wastewater purification, preferably for a sewage treatment plant, in particular for a small sewage treatment plant, including at least one ceramic-based membrane for separating off microorganisms, to a sewage treatment plant having such a filtration appliance, a method of purifying wastewater, in particular in a sewage treatment plant, wherein microorganisms present in the wastewater are separated off by means of at least one ceramic-based membrane, and also to the use of a ceramic-based membrane as filter for separating off microorganisms and, if appropriate, fine solids, from wastewaters.

In addition to screens and settling tanks which, in a first step, free wastewaters from coarse components, conventional sewage treatment plants also contain an activation tank and a secondary clarification tank. In the activation tank, microorganisms are used to decompose fecal matter or other organic substances. The microorganisms used are separated off again by sedimentation from the wastewater subsequently to the activation tank, in the secondary clarification tank and in part recirculated to the activation tank. Complete separation of the microorganisms is not possible by a sedimentation process, and therefore microorganisms which are harmful to health can sometimes pass into the environment together with the wastewater. European union directives for keeping water bodies clean, which guidelines have already been substantially converted to national legislation, however, prescribe on a Europe-wide basis that only biologically clarified wastewater which is essentially free from microorganisms may be allowed to drain off into the environment. The microorganisms are generally separated off by fine filters which reliably separate off microorganisms.
In Germany, primarily in rural areas, in particular in eastern Germany, predominantly for technical or economic reasons, currently an estimated 5.3 million people are not connected, to the municipal wastewater grid. Those affected, as a consequence of the EU directives, had to be provided with facilities by Dec. 31, 2005, either by connection to the municipal grid or by the operation of a small sewage treatment plant. This situation created a high demand for decentralized wastewater treatment plants which is maintained to date.
Small sewage treatment plants are relatively widely distributed, which sewage treatment plants consist of a round concrete container which again is subdivided into three chambers (preliminary clarification/activation tank/secondary clarification). The preliminary clarification is used first to remove coarse components from the wastewater mechanically or by simple sedimentation. The coarse components which are separated off must be pumped off at regular time intervals. The activation tank contains microorganisms which perform the biological purification, the secondary clarification tank serves for separating off the microorganisms which have been introduced and their recirculation to the activation tank and/or to the preliminary clarification tank. This equipment can be supplemented, for example, by a compressor which feeds oxygen to the activation tank via a membrane tube aerator, and also a submersible motor pump for transporting the excess sludge.
In an activation tank, in the course of time, excess clarified sludge forms which must be regularly drawn off by suction. Alternatively, what are termed moving-bed processes are also known in which the amount of excess sludge is generally drastically reduced. In contrast to the classical activation tank, in moving-bed processes, free-floating plastic bodies are employed which can fill up the activation tank virtually completely. Microorganisms are found in this case both on the plastic bodies and also freely suspended in the water.
In recent years, as a further development of the known moving-bed methods, increasingly what are known as WSB® methods (fluidized bed-moving bed-biofilm methods) have been able to become established. Such methods are described, for example, in DE 10127554 and also in DE 196 23 592. In those methods also, plastic bodies serve as carriers which can be colonized by the microorganisms. The microorganisms in WSB® methods are, however, generally localized virtually completely on the carrier material. Whereas in fluidized-bed methods operations were originally carried out exclusively anaerobically (without aeration), in WSB® methods, as a result of the introduction of air, the plastic carriers colonized by microorganisms are optimally and uniformly distributed (or "fluidized") in the activated zone and are situated in the moving suspension, which gave rise to the name Wirbel-Schwebe-Bett (WSB®) (fluidized bed-moving bed). Even in the case of greatly varying inflow, e.g., in the holiday period, the biological system in the activation tank always remains intact.
However, there is also the problem in the case of wastewater purification by a WSB® method that microorganisms are discharged into the environment, that is to say microbe-containing wastewater is introduced into the activated soil zone or into a receiving body of water.
To avoid harmful microorganisms from being introduced into the activated soil zone and/or to enable treated wastewater to be able to be reused as service water, the wastewater must therefore be additionally filtered.
For instance, DE 19807890 described a sewage treatment plant, the wastewater of which is filtered through submerged microfiltration membranes to pass it thereafter into a service water reservoir and reuse it. DE 20315451 describes a microfiltration device as a retrofitting set for a small sewage treatment plant which is connected downstream of the activation tank but upstream of the actual outlet of the sewage treatment plant.
In those cases, organic filter membranes are used which are arranged in a module form. However, organic filter membranes have the disadvantage that they can only be regenerated or chemically cleaned inadequately, so that all of these membranes must generally be renewed in relatively short time periods (<1 year). In addition, organic membranes have only a restricted mechanical stability, such that at relatively high liquid pressures, they can easily be damaged. The use of organic membranes becomes particularly serious in the above-mentioned moving-bed methods, in particular, in the WSB® method, since in these, as a result of the plastic carrier particles which can move freely in the activation tank, mechanical defects on the organic membrane can be caused as a result of which the low-stability organic filter membranes can be destroyed within a short time.
The use of filter membranes is in addition linked with the fundamental problem that during filtration, a covering layer is deposited on the outer surface of the membrane (what is termed "fouling") which provides resistance to the material to be filtered. This leads to a drastic reduction in filter performance to total blockage and, therefore, to total loss of the filter membrane.
Detachment of this covering layer on the membrane requires regular cleaning. In this operation the permeate stream is reversed so that the previously filtered water is then pumped back through the filter membrane in the opposite direction (backwashing). As a result, the covering layer is at least in part detached, as a result of which the efficiency of the filter performance is increased again for a certain time. However, this procedure generally requires separate equipment. In addition, cleaning is at the cost of losing already filtered water which greatly reduces the efficiency of the overall system.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a simple and inexpensive solution for purifying wastewaters.


A three-dimensional distance measuring method includes: projecting at least one beam set forming a projection plane onto a surface of an object, the beam set including multiple beams transmitted according to a predetermined first path function and linearly arranged to form detection points on the surface of the object; rendering the beams reflected by the surface of the object to pass through a focus of a focusing element to form a sense image on a photosensitive memory element; obtaining a corresponding second path function according to an image formation position of each beam on the photosensitive memory element and a position of the focus of the focusing element; and calculating an intersection position of each first path function and the corresponding second path function to obtain a spatial position of each detection point on the object.

Common distance measuring methods include direct measuring and indirect measuring. In a direct measuring method, a measurer directly measures a distance between objects by utilizing a ruler. Such measuring method frequently incurs a measuring error due to different operations of measurers. In an indirect measuring method, the measuring process may be performed by an apparatus cooperating with a benchmark to calculate a distance between objects according to angles corresponding to the objects. Although the indirect measuring method renders a higher accuracy than the direct measuring method, the indirect measuring method nevertheless encounters operation inconveniences in actual applications due to environmental restrictions and a requirement of two measurers.
Other distance detection methods are developed in the recent years, e.g., distance detection through sound waves, radio waves or lasers. Among the above distance detection methods, the laser distance measuring method, featuring high accuracy, capability of clearly demarcating a detection point and ease of use, prevails in application of transportation, architecture and topographic surveys. Taking a laser rangefinder for example, a fundamental principle is as described below. A laser transmitter first emits a laser beam towards an object, a laser receiver receives a signal reflected from the object, and a time difference between the emitted laser beam and the received reflected signal is calculated and analyzed to obtain a distance between the laser rangefinder and the object. However, rather than measuring distances between the laser rangefinder and several detection points, a common laser rangefinder is capable of only measuring a distance between the laser rangefinder and one single object per measuring process, thus limiting an application scope of the laser measuring method.

Three-dimensional distance measuring method and associated system