Embodiments of the invention provide methods, systems, software and data structures for monitoring, analyzing, storing and/or collecting events on a monitored computer. In a set of embodiments, a monitoring process monitors one or more applications for events occurring in those application. The monitoring process, in some cases, runs in common a thread of execution with one or more of the applications. If the monitoring process detects an event, it might notify an event capture process, which might capture the event. In some embodiments, an analysis process might determine whether the event should be collected, and if so, maintain a representation of the event (perhaps in a specialized data structure). In other embodiments, a data management process is configured to store information about one or more events in an event cache, which might comprise a plurality of file streams and/or metafile streams, enabling efficient storage of information about events.

In most modern organizations, almost all important information is stored in electronic form, across a variety of computer networks, servers, and other information systems. Trusted users inside an organization often have access to confidential and protected information. Consequently, organizations often employ a variety of security mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access to and/or use of such information.
One such security mechanism is the monitoring of computers within the organization's network and/or used by the organization's employees. Several systems and methods for monitoring events on a client computer are described in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/556,942, already incorporated by reference.
A problem that commonly arises in the monitoring of computers, however, is that by the time a monitored event is analyzed and determined to be of interest, other events prior to the event of interest already have occurred. Consider, for example, the case in which a user sends an encrypted file via electronic mail. That event is determined to be of interest and is collected. Because the file is encrypted, however, it may be difficult and/or impossible to open and/or read the file, even if it is collected as part of the collection of the event. Hence, it would be useful if a monitoring system were able to look back in time in order to collect past events that might be related to a present event of interest.
Additionally, it would be useful for a monitoring system to have a set of data structures (in memory and/or on disk) that would provide for efficient storage of representations of events.

Cache for collecting events on a monitored computer


An electronic assembly including a housing, a circuit board, and a battery module is provided. The housing has an accommodating space and at least a portion of the housing is curved surface. The circuit board is disposed in the accommodating space. The battery module is disposed in the accommodating space and stacked on the circuit board, wherein at least a portion of the battery module is located between the housing and the circuit board, and at least a portion of the battery module is bent and corresponded to the curved surface of the housing. An electronic apparatus including the electronic assembly aforementioned is also provided.

1. Field of the Application
The application generally relates to an electronic apparatus, and more particularly, to an electronic assembly and an electronic apparatus adopting the electronic assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, as the technology advances, handheld devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers are more commonly used and are developed to be more convenient, multi-functional and exquisite. More and more choices like the aforementioned are provided for consumers to choose from. Users have higher demands toward the handheld devices day by day. As the time prolongs for users to hold handheld devices by hands, the feeling in holding handheld devices are getting more important.
In order to enhance the feeling in holding handheld devices, a housing surface of handheld electronic apparatuses is often designed to have a curved surface for complying with ergonomic designs. However, according to the current stacking method of interior space of handheld devices, a battery is closer to a housing of a handheld device than a motherboard, and therefore such handheld device cannot present a smooth arc shape due to the battery disposition.

Electronic assembly and electronic apparatus


A knife drive mechanism of a sewing machine includes a drive assembly 1 for converting rotary motion of a drive shaft 10 into a swing motion and an upper-knife drive assembly 2 for converting the swing motion into an up-and-down motion of an upper knife 20. The upper-knife drive assembly 2 has a clutch 3 for preventing/permitting transmission of the up-and-down motion to the knife 20. Even during stitching, engagement/disengagement of the clutch 3 can be effected, which permits the knife 20 to be connected to and disconnected from its drive assembly, thereby permitting the scissoring cutting to be started or stopped. When a surface 42 of the first swing member 4 urges a projection 52 of a second swing member 5 to cause the knife 20 to move downward at the completion of cutting, the knife 20 itself serves as a cloth-feed guide to prevent misalignment of the cloth and breakage of the sewing needle or upper and lower loopers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a knife drive mechanism of a sewing machine, and more particularly to a knife mechanism having an upper knife which may be selectively connected with or released from its drive means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an overlocking machine for sewing a raw edge of cloth, it is necessary to always keep a margin of cloth of a predetermined dimension between the raw edge and the line along the cloth penetrated by the sewing needle. Consequently, it is necessary to neatly cut the raw edge of the cloth immediately before sewing the cloth. For this purpose, in the sewing machine, a lower knife is fixedly mounted on a needle plate disposed in front of the position where the sewing needle penetrates the cloth; and an upper knife, which is so provided as to cooperate with the lower knife to perform a scissor-action.
The scissoring action performed between the upper and the lower knife must be stopped in the following cases: where the edge of the cloth is already cut prior to sewing the cloth; in sewing the last portion of a sleeve-like cloth, where the edges of the cloth are already cut because such last portion of the cloth is partially overlapped with an initially-stitched portion of the cloth; and where pin-tuck stitching is performed.
In a conventional knife drive mechanism of a sewing machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 54-152550, which was filed by the applicant of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, in operation, an upper knife P moves past a needle plate upward only when cutting operation of the cloth is performed, so that the upper knife cooperates with a lower knife to perform scissoring action. On the other hand, when no cutting of the cloth is required, the upper knife P is held stationary in the bed Q. This prior art mechanism includes a lifting arm R, to which the upper knife P is fixed, and a drive arm S which pivots with arm R, whereby upper knife P moves up-and-down. The drive arm S and a drive lever T, which is driven by a main spindle through a crank motion, are connected to each other through a shaft U, to permit the shaft U to be connected to or disconnected from a connecting/disconnecting element V which is provided in the lifting arm R, whereby motion of the drive lever T is transmitted to the lifting arm R when the connecting/disconnecting element V is engaged with the shaft U. In this manner the lifting arm R moves past the machine bed Q upward together with the upper knife P to perform the scissoring action in cooperation with the lower knife; and, when a dial W is switched, the connecting/disconnecting element V is disengaged from the shaft U to permit the upper knife P to enter the bed Q where the knife P is stationarily received.
It is true that the conventional knife drive mechanism described above is advantageous in that: the upper knife moves past the needle plate upward only during cutting of the cloth; and the upper knife is held under the needle plate when no cutting of the cloth is required. However, in order to stop the scissoring action of the upper and the lower knives, it is necessary to stop the sewing machine, thereby permitting the shaft (on which the upper knife is mounted, the shaft being connected with the drive mechanism) to be axially moved, which interrupts the stitching operation of the machine.
Another conventional knife drive mechanism is disadvantageous in that it is too complicated in construction (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Sho 51-16547).
Further, in the prior art, after the scissoring action is stopped, when a raw edge of the cloth extends from the needle plate, there is the danger that the raw edge will get caught by the upper looper to cause the breakage of the upper looper, a sewing needle, a lower looper or the like. Even when the scissoring action of the upper and the lower knives is stopped, in some cases, the upper knife continues its up-and-down motion spaced apart from the lower knife. Because of this, it is apparent that a need exists for preventing the raw edge of the cloth from extending from the throat plate.


A new beam deflection approach is provided for displaying images in autostereoscopic format. Conceptually, polarized light from a display is directed into specific viewing regions using a polarization-sensitive beam deflection sub-system that comprises, in exemplary embodiments, an active liquid crystal quarter-wave plate modulator and a passive cycloidal grating element, such as a diffractive waveplate. Specific embodiments may comprise an illumination system that both floods an LCD panel and creates a defined eye pupil region, from within which the display is viewable. Deflecting the pupil region between left and right eye positions in synchronization with displayed frame sequential stereo image data creates desirable autostereoscopic 3D viewing. Other embodiments employ a similar beam deflection sub-system in conjunction with a means of viewing subsets of pixels from different viewing positions, such as a parallax barrier or lenslet array, allowing freedom of head movement while maintaining stereo viewing.

A spatially multiplexed autostereoscopic display system typically has either a lenticular screen or a parallax barrier. The concept of lenticular screens and parallax barrier type approaches to spatially multiplexed autostereoscopic images are over 100 years old. Each of these approaches allows for each eye to only see a portion of the image, which is particular to either the left or right eye frame sequential stereo image data.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram 100 showing an example of a parallax-barrier type display. A parallax barrier 102 is a device placed in front of an image source 104, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), to allow it to show a stereoscopic image without the need for the viewer to wear 3D glasses. Placed in front of the normal LCD, the parallax barrier 102 includes a layer of material with a series of precision slits, allowing each of the left eye 106 and right eye 108 to see a different set of pixels, thus creating a sense of depth through parallax. A disadvantage of the technology is that the viewer generally has to be positioned in a well-defined location to experience the 3D effect. Another disadvantage to parallax-barrier type displays is that the effective horizontal pixel count viewable for each eye is reduced by one-half.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram 200 showing an example of a lenticular lens type display. A lenticular lens 202 is an array of cylindrical lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, only certain pixels are visible. FIG. 2 shows how when a lenticular lens array 202 is applied to a pixilated screen 204, it can produce an autostereoscopic view, providing alternate imagery for the left eye 206 and right eye 208. Similar to the barrier approach, lenslet systems require the viewer to accurately position his or her head; though unlike barrier approaches, little light is lost, yielding higher efficiency.
Unfortunately, both the parallax barrier and lenticular lens array technologies have fabrication procedures that demand precision alignment of the optic to the TFT and color filter planes. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a spatially multiplexed autostereoscopic display technique that provides the autostereoscopic 3D visual effect desired, but does not suffer from the deficiencies of conventional approaches.

Autostereoscopic display with a passive cycloidal diffractive waveplate


The invention is an ergonomic that attaches to a plastic bag. The ergonomic handle has at least two folds formed therein forming a flat bottom surface and a pair of side walls. Lower portions of the side walls are formed into bag arms that secure the plastic handles formed in the plastic bag.

The use of plastic bags is prolific in our consumer driven economy. Plastic bags are so cheap to produce, sturdy, plentiful, easy to carry and store that they have captured at least 80 percent of the grocery and convenience store market since they were introduced a quarter century ago. First introduced in the 1970s, plastic bags now account for four out of every five bags handed out at the grocery store. Based upon data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 on U.S. plastic bag, sack, and wrap consumption, somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Plastic bags have eclipsed the use of paper bags for carrying purchased consumer goods. It costs one cent for a standard plastic grocery sack, whereas a paper bag costs four cents to manufacture.
Plastic bags are made from either Type 2 plastic (high-density polyethylene film—HDPE) or Type 4 plastic (low density or linear-low density polyethylene film—LDPE/LLDPE), both of which can be recycled. These plastic bags include a pair of plastic handles that are formed as a contiguous part of the plastic bag.
From grocery stores to retail stores, merchants place purchased goods in these cheap and plentiful plastic bags. Consumers gather these plastic bags and place them by hand into their vehicles to transport home. The bumps, turns, and jostling of the vehicle while travelling home can cause the contents of the plastic bag to shift. Jars of spaghetti sauce and cartons of milk can roll around the trunk and break once free of the confines of the plastic bag. Once at home and the trunk is opened, the consumer will have to rebag the goods that fell out of the bag from the journey. Consequently, there is a need to develop a handle that can attach to the plastic handles of the plastic bag to keep the bag closed during transit, thereby keeping the goods contained therein secure.
Weight is an important factor with plastic bags. The consumer has to hand carry the good laden plastic bags when transporting the goods to and from their vehicle. Many consumers will attempt to hand carry multiple good laden plastic bags in each hand at one time. The handles of these plastic bags are comprised portions of the sheet plastic that form the bags. When these plastic bags are loaded with a heavy amount of goods, the plastic bag handles tend to bunch up into a thin strip that is not very ergonomic and can cause discomfort and even pain to the hand of the consumer. Consequently, stores attempt to redistribute heavy loads of goods across multiple bags, thereby making the load of goods easier to carry. Moreover, this requires the use of additional bags, which adds to the cost of doing business for the merchant. Consequently, there is a need to develop an ergonomic handle that can attach to the plastic bag enabling consumers to carry heavily laden bags comfortably. In addition, by enabling consumers to carry heavier bags more comfortably, merchants can use fewer bags, thereby reducing operating costs.
Attaching an additional handle to a plastic bag takes time. If the process of attaching a handle to a plastic bag takes too much time, any cost savings from using the handle is lost due to the additional labor cost. Consequently, it is highly desirable to develop a handle configuration that is simple and can attach to a plastic bag swiftly.
The ability to sell advertising space to others can greatly improve the bottom line of any merchant. It is therefore desirable to develop a handle that can also display visual advertisements.


A method and apparatus for automatically selecting and recording a highlight portion of a broadcast signal, which is capable of detecting a highlight code, a voice level, or an image motion in a broadcast signal when a highlight recording mode is set, judging the presence of a highlight portion in the broadcast signal based upon such detection, and automatically recording a thusly judged highlight portion of the broadcast signal, thereby reducing tape consumption and user frustration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for automatically selecting and recording a highlight portion from a broadcast signal onto a recording medium such as a video tape, and in particular to an improved method and apparatus for automatically selecting and recording a highlight portion of a broadcast signal which is capable of selectively recording a highlight portion, thus significantly reducing tape consumption and recording time, especially when recording a lengthy TV program for a long time such as a sports program.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
Generally, a conventional VCR (Video Cassette tape Recorder) has a recording mode, as shown in FIG. 1, in which it records data from a broadcast signal when a recording start signal is inputted, at Step 11 The recording mode normally continues until a recording stop signal is inputted, at Step 13 at which time the recording mode is stopped, at Step 14.
However, in the conventional art, since the recording mode is performed during the time between a recording start time and a recording stop time, an extended time is required for recording a lengthy program such as a sports program. This naturally increases tape consumption and frustrates the viewer who must scroll through the tape in search of the most significant portions of the recorded program.

Apparatus and method for automatically selecting and recording highlight portions of a broadcast signal


An encoder includes: a detector; an A/D converter for performing A/D conversion for a two-phase analog signal output from the detector; an error correction circuit for correcting an error of the two-phase analog signal; an interpolation circuit for performing interpolation from the corrected result of A/D conversion; a memory for storing correction data; and a central processing unit (CPU) having communication means. The result of A/D conversion of the two-phase analog signal is sent by the communication means to an external personal computer. The error of sine and cosine signals from a predetermined value is detected by the personal computer and is sent by the communication means. The encoder performs interpolation in which the error is corrected by using the received correction data. Thus, it is possible to perform signal adjustment without observing a display screen of an oscilloscope, while confirming a status of signal adjustment in a non-stepped manner. This enables optimum adjustment and confirmation to be performed, and reduces an interpolation error caused by adjustment of the encoder signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an encoder and a signal adjustment method for the encoder. More particularly, the present invention relates to an encoder that enables easy signal adjustment and is suitable for use in a separate type absolute (ABS) linear encoder in which a scale and a detection head are provided separately or rotary encoder, and also relates to a signal adjustment method for that encoder.
2. Description of the Related Art
An encoder for detecting a position from two-phase analog signals formed by a sine wave and a cosine wave generally includes an interpolation (division) circuit in order to detect a change of the position (the moving amount) that is smaller than a period of the signal, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 54-19773. The encoder equally divides the signal period at a predetermined pitch so as to obtain resolution smaller than the signal period.
The interpolation circuit calculates a phase angle θ from the following expression, assuming that the sine wave (phase B) signal and the cosine wave (phase A) signal output from the encoder have a central voltage, amplitude, and a phase difference that are predetermined, as shown in FIG. 1.θ=arctan(sin θ/cos θ)  (1)
However, in the case where the central voltage, amplitude, or phase difference of at least one of the sine and cosine waves is not coincident with the predetermined value, the detected phase angle (the change amount of the position equal to or smaller than the signal period) does not have a constant pitch and an error (interpolation error) coincident with the signal period occurs, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG. 2 shows an example of the interpolation error in the case where the phase A signal has an offset of 0.2. FIG. 3 shows an example of the interpolation error in the case where the amplitudes of the phase A signal and the phase B signal are 1.0 and 1.2, respectively. That is, FIG. 3 shows a case where there is an amplitude difference between the phase A signal and the phase B signal. FIG. 4 shows an example of the interpolation error in the case where the phase B signal has a phase error of 10°. FIG. 5 shows an example of the interpolation error in the case where the phase A signal has the amplitude of 1.0 and the offset of 0.05 and the phase B signal has the amplitude of 0.95, the offset of −0.05 and the phase error of −5°. That is, FIG. 5 shows the case where the offset, the amplitude difference, and the phase error occur at the same time.
Thus, in case of using a conventional encoder, it is necessary to adjust a signal from the encoder to have a central voltage, amplitude, and a phase difference that are predetermined, while observing the signal (e.g., a Lissajous waveform of the phase A signal and the phase B signal) on an oscilloscope.
The adjustment while observing a display screen of the oscilloscope requires skills. In order to overcome this problem, an encoder is proposed which includes a comparator for determining whether or not a signal having a predetermined level is obtained and outputting a determination result indicating that the determined signal is not an optimum signal inside (or outside) the encoder, as proposed in Japanese Patent No. 3202316. In this case, it is possible to confirm whether or not a predetermined signal is obtained, without using the oscilloscope.
However, the encoder described in Japanese Patent No. 3202316 does not have a self-adjustment function. Therefore, in the case where a range of a signal level in which the comparator determines the signal as the optimum signal is made smaller, mechanical adjustment during attachment of the encoder becomes more difficult. On the other hand, in the case where the above range is made larger, a tolerance of a signal error also becomes larger, resulting in increase in the interpolation error.
On the other hand, an ABS encoder that can detect an absolute position is widely used in machine tool or industrial machinery that includes an encoder for the reasons that (1) the ABS encoder does not require zero return at starting and (2) the ABS encoder does not require a magnetic-pole detector of a linear motor when the encoder is used for feed-back of the linear motor, and other reasons. The ABS encoder includes a multi-track encoder, and synthesizes signals obtained from multiple tracks so as to obtain the absolute position.
Synthesis of the signals from the multiple tracks uses a CPU. An encoder including the CPU therein has been commonly used.

Encoder and signal adjustment method for the same


A high velocity, multiple-jet spray nozzle for use in carwash systems. Each nozzle comprises the axial unitary combination of a base, a nozzle carrier and a face plate. An inlet and a chamber are formed in the body and axially aligned flow passages are formed in the nozzle carrier and face plate so that when the components are assembled, five parallel jets arranged in a circular pattern are defined between the chamber and the outer surface of the face plate. Stainless steel nozzle inserts are press fit into the flow passages of the nozzle carrier and are held in place by the face plate. Screws hold the assembly together. The nozzles are preferably used in multiples to define a wide stream of washing fluid which can be used to attach mud, ice and other debris on the surfaces of a vehicle as well as on wheels and undercarriage. Each nozzle has an alignment axis marked on the face plate along which the spacing between adjacent nozzle outlets is uniform.

Commercial car washes use various systems for removing dirt, snow and ice from vehicles. Rotating brushes and hanging fabric strips are used for this purpose. In addition, high pressure sprays, often in the form of hand carried wands, are also used for particularly heavy accumulations of dirt or ice at or near the entrance of a car wash installation. Non-contacting, all-pressure spray washes are also popular.

Carwash spray nozzle and washing system using same


A protective circuit for an arrangement which includes a plurality of individual cells in a rechargeable battery pack with a predefined number of individual cells being connected in series in a cell row and at least two cell rows being situated parallel to one another. The component current flowing in a first cell row when the rechargeable battery pack is subject to loading is compared with the component current flowing in a second cell row to generate a signal when there is an implausible deviation in the component currents with respect to one smother. The signal is used to disconnect a defective cell row or to switch off the entire rechargeable battery pack in order to protect the latter.

Rechargeable battery pack arrangements of this kind which include, for example, chemically lithium-based cells are used in handheld work apparatus and are intended to ensure a long service duration of the work apparatus, which is supplied with energy via the rechargeable battery pack, at a high power.
A large composite cell is only as good as its weakest cell; if an individual cell ages more quickly than another, the cell row containing the weaker cell is adversely affected as a whole, in particular, compensation currents can also flow within the rechargeable battery pack and restrict the performance of the rechargeable battery pack. If an individual cell is defective, compensation currents can also flow within the rechargeable battery pack when no external load is applied to the rechargeable battery pack. The individual cells in good condition have a higher degree of self-discharge as a result.

Protective circuit for a rechargeable battery pack


A belt-tensioning device includes an electric machine having a drive belt pulley, which is driven about a drive axis, and a further drive belt pulley, where an endless belt wraps around the drive belt pulleys. The device has a housing in which a first and a second spring arm are mounted, in each of which spring arms a tension roller having axes of rotation which are parallel to the drive axis is rotatably mounted. The spring arms are supported against one another and press the endless belt together via the tension rollers in the region of the drive belt pulley. A first and a second further spring arm are provided adjacent to the spring arms which are adjustable by an adjustment element such that the spring forces of the further spring arms either do or do not support the spring forces of the spring arms acting on the endless belt.

The invention relates to a belt-tensioning device for a belt drive of an internal combustion engine.
With regard to the technical field, reference is made for example to the European patent application EP 3 023 670 A1. In this laid-open specification, a description is given of a belt-tensioning device comprising: a main body, which has a fastening section and an opening for a drive shaft, first and second tensioning arms, which are mounted by means of first and second bearings on the main body so as to be pivotable about first and second pivot axes and have first and second tensioning rollers, a spring arrangement, which pretensions the two tensioning arms against one another in a circumferential direction, wherein the spring arrangement has at least one yoke spring which has a circumferential extent of less than 360° about the first and second pivot axes, wherein the at least one yoke spring has first and second support sections, which are supported on the first and second tensioning arms, and a spring section, which extends between the first and second support sections, wherein, in the region of the first and second support sections, the at least one yoke spring has an axial length which is shorter than the total axial length of the yoke spring.
The European patent application EP 2 128 489 A2, on which the present invention is based, has furthermore disclosed a belt-tensioning device for starter-generator applications. It involves a belt-tensioning device for a belt drive, which has a drive machine with a drive belt pulley, which is able to be driven about a drive axis by a drive shaft, and has multiple further belt pulleys, and having an endless belt which is looped around the drive belt pulley and the further belt pulleys, wherein the belt-tensioning device has a housing in which two tensioning arms are mounted so as to be pivotable about a common pivot axis, a tensioning roller with an axis of rotation parallel to the drive axis being mounted in each of the tensioning arms. Furthermore, the tensioning arms are supported against one another by way of spring means, wherein, when the drive belt pulley is fitted on the drive machine, the housing is able to be fitted in that the housing is in an annular region surrounding the drive shaft of the drive belt pulley such that the housing is contact-free with respect to the drive machine.
The above-described starter-generator concepts in the belt drive require an increase in the belt force for all the operating states of the internal combustion engine, for the purpose of ensuring that slip of the drive belt is minimized.
This disadvantageously leads to an increase in fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a belt-tensioning device which does not have the aforementioned disadvantage.
For the configuration according to the invention of the belt-tensioning device for a belt drive of an internal combustion engine, having an electric machine which functions as a starter-generator, an increase in spring force can be realized for example when the internal combustion engine is started or during full-load operation, whereby, during normal operation of the internal combustion engine, a lower contact pressure prevails, with the result that fuel is saved.
Preferably, the setting element is an electromechanical or hydraulic setting element since, by way of both, large forces are able to be applied with at the same time very quick switching times.
The invention is discussed in more detail below on the basis of four Figures.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk, a head actuated over a surface of the disk, and a spindle motor for rotating the disk. The spindle motor comprises a ring-shaped stator having a plurality of stator teeth each wound with a winding. The spindle motor further comprises a hub having a plurality of magnets for interacting with the stator teeth to rotate the hub about the shaft when the windings are energized. A ring-shaped shield is disposed in a vertical gap between the windings and the hub to reduce a voltage coupled from the windings to the surface of the disk.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to disk drives. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disk drive comprising a spindle motor having a windings shield for reduced disk voltage coupling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The windings of the spindle motor within a disk drive induce a voltage which can couple to the surface of the spinning disk and damage magnetoresistive (MR) heads, particularly as the heads shrink in size and become even more sensitive to disk voltages. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/865,240 discloses a disk drive which grounds the spindle motor stator to the shaft and/or the base which reduces the disk voltage coupling from the windings of the spindle motor. However, further reduction in the disk voltage coupling is desirable.

Disk drive comprising a spindle motor having a windings shield for reduced disk voltage coupling


The inventive concepts provide methods of forming a semiconductor device. The method includes forming a neutral layer having a photosensitive property and a reflow property on an anti-reflective coating layer, performing an exposure process and a development process on the neutral layer to form a preliminary neutral pattern at least partially exposing the anti-reflective coating layer, heating the preliminary neutral pattern to form a neutral pattern, forming a block copolymer layer on the neutral pattern, and heating the block copolymer layer to form a block copolymer pattern. The block copolymer pattern includes a first pattern disposed on the anti-reflective coating layer exposed by the neutral pattern, and a second pattern disposed on the neutral pattern and chemically bonded to the first pattern.

Semiconductor devices are widely used in the electronic industry at least because of their small size, multi-function and/or low manufacturing costs. Semiconductor devices may include semiconductor memory devices storing logical data, semiconductor logic devices processing logical data, and hybrid devices capable of performing various functions.
Semiconductor devices have been highly integrated with the development of the electronic industry. Thus, manufacture of semiconductor devices has been more and more difficult at least in view of various problems such as reduction of a process margin of a photolithography process defining fine patterns. In addition, high-speed semiconductor devices have been increasingly in demand with the development of the electronic industry.

Methods of manufacturing a semiconductor device


A process for depositing aluminum nitride is disclosed. The process comprises providing a plurality of semiconductor substrates in a batch process chamber and depositing an aluminum nitride layer on the substrates by performing a plurality of deposition cycles without exposing the substrates to plasma during the deposition cycles. Each deposition cycle comprises flowing an aluminum precursor pulse into the batch process chamber, removing the aluminum precursor from the batch process chamber, and removing the nitrogen precursor from the batch process chamber after flowing the nitrogen precursor and before flowing another pulse of the aluminum precursor. The process chamber may be a hot wall process chamber and the deposition may occur at a deposition pressure of less than 1 Torr.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the manufacture of semiconductor devices and, more particularly, the deposition of aluminum nitride.
Background
Aluminum nitride (AlN) is used to form various semiconductor devices. For example, AlN is increasingly used as a passivation film in GaN based semiconductor devices or as a Back Surface Field layer in solar cells. AlN, however, can be difficult to deposit with high uniformity. Consequently, there is a continuing need for processes to deposit AlN.

Cyclic aluminum nitride deposition in a batch reactor


A pack of plastic bags which are preferably self-opening are adapted to be mounted on a support rack and leave no residue on the support rack when removed therefrom. The plastic bags include front and rear walls integrally joined at their sides and secured at their bottoms and defining an open mouth portion at the top of the walls. A detaching central tab is formed at the top of each of the walls and each has an aperture therein for mounting the central tabs on a tab retaining device on the rack. The tab of at least the rear wall has a structure to propagate a tear through the tab for detaching the tab from the rack while retaining sufficient strength in the portion of the tab above the mounting aperture to prevent premature tearing of the tab and detaching from the rack.

For a period of time from the 1970s, plastic grocery bags have been replacing paper bags in the United States for the grocery, fast food and retail products industries because of various inherent advantages in plastic bags. For the most part, these plastic bags have been of the T-shirt type which include front and rear walls integrally joined at their sides and secured together at their bottoms and which define an open mouth portion at the top of the walls. Laterally-spaced handles extend upwardly from opposed sides of the bag at the open mouth portion in the top of the bag to provide ease in carrying of the bag by the consumer. A detaching central tab is provided at the top of each of the walls in the open mouth portion. The handles and the central tab include apertures therein for mounting of the handles and the central tab on a rack which includes two outwardly-extending support arms laterally spaced from each other and a central tab retaining device at the top of a rack frame.
This type of bag/rack system was pioneered as the highly commercially successful QUIKMATE.RTM. bagging system and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,378, now Reissue Patent Re. 33,264, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This system allows a pack of bags constructed as described above to be supported on the rack and to be consecutively opened up one-at-a-time on the rack for loading of groceries or other food or retail products and then removed from the rack and from the bag pack.
An improvement to this bagging system relating to self-opening of the bags in the bag pack one-at-a-time on the bag rack as a loaded bag is removed from the rack was developed by the assignee of the present invention and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,788. This improvement involves constructing the bags of at least 50 wt. percent high density polyethylene plastic material, corona treating at least an upper portion of the outer surface of the front and rear walls of each of the bags and providing at least one localized compressed area extending transversely through the bag pack in the upper portion of the bags such that the bag pack has a decreased thickness in the compressed area for releasably adhering adjacent corona treated outside wall surfaces defined by the localized compressed area and leaving adjacent inside wall surfaces defined by the localized compressed area unadhered to each other. Further details of this improved bag construction may be seen in the '788 U.S. patent which is incorporated herein by reference.
While the QUIKMATE.RTM. bagging system utilizing the inventions of the above two identified patents of the assignee of the present invention has been highly successful and has become the standard in the industry, there have been some attempts to further improve the system by making it easier to open each consecutive bag on the rack. There has also been a desire to avoid leaving any residue of the bag packs on the rack, such as having the detaching mounting tab detach from the rack rather than detach from the bag.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,074,674; 5,188,235; 5,269,605; 5,346,310 and 5,465,846 are directed to such attempted improvements to the QUIKMATE.RTM. bagging system to provide for ease in opening of each consecutive bag on the rack and/or to provide for a detaching central mounting tab which will detach from the rack and leave no residue on the rack. These patents disclose various concepts relating to rendering of the tab on the front wall of the bag "front-side-free" wherein the front wall of the bag and the mounting tab thereon will simply detach from the tab retaining device of the rack without tearing of the tab. These patents also disclose various configurations of mounting apertures in the central mounting tabs on both the back wall and the front wall of the bags which may include a cut slit or weakening tear line which facilitates tearing of the tab to detach the tab from the rack and leave no residue on the rack.
However, all of these so-called improvements to the QUIKMATE.RTM. bagging system to provide these two described advantages have additionally created other problems. These other problems include the lack of sufficient strength in the central mounting tab on the rear wall of the bag to prevent such central tab from prematurely tearing and detaching from the tab mounting device on the rack during opening up of the bag and prior to loading of the bag on the rack. The configurations and structure of the mounting apertures on the bag central mounting tabs also created problems in wedging and, therefore, leaving residue behind a conventional "D-ring" type tab mounting device on the rack which consists of an inverted U-shaped wire loop member extending outwardly from cross frame members on the rack. These problems also exist for plastic bags without handles and having only a central mounting tab extending upwardly from an open mouth of a bag for mounting the bag pack on a suitable rack.

Plastic bag pack adapted to leave no residue on a supporting rack


The present invention relates to a contact maker for the gate terminal of power semiconductor components in disc cells and power semiconductor modules. Disposed above the power semiconductor component is a shaped member that incorporates in the region of the gate terminal a recess, and this recess, in turn, also incorporates a counter-support. The contact maker consists of a contact spring incorporating a pin-like extension at the end of the spring that contacts the gate terminal, and incorporating a connection created via a shaped metal element to a connecting cable for the external connection at the other end of the spring, and of an insulating sleeve with a contact spring disposed therein. The insulating sleeve itself has at least one locking projection, which, together with the counter-support of the shaped member, forms a snap-lock connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supporting sleeve for leg or arm stumps, namely a liner. More specifically, the present invention relates to a liner for surrounding a stump from its distal end with an elastic electrically insulating material, wherein the sleeve has at least partially a layer of a conductive material.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention involves a contact maker for the gate terminal of power semiconductor components in disc cells and power semiconductor modules.
The related art involves basic contact makers as a component of disc cells, as they are known, for example, from Heumann, "Grundlagen der Leistungselektronik" ["Fundamentals of Electronic Power"], Teubner Verlag, 6th edition, ISBN 3-519-06110-4, see page 37, and of preferably pressure-contacted power semiconductor modules, as they are known, for example, from DE 196 51 632 A1.
Pressure-contacted power semiconductor modules such as, for example, those according to DE 196 51 632 A1, are suitable for very high performance requirements regarding current-carrying capacity and reliability. This is why the gate terminal plays an equally important role here as the power terminals.
Pressure-type contacts of power terminals are sufficiently known as a tried and tested connecting technology from the production of semiconductor modules.
Unfortunately, for the contact of gate terminals, on the other hand, a great number of variations exist with different degrees of production complexity and different degrees of reliability not directly related to the former.
Soldered connections involving gate terminals and semiconductor components are known. Also known are different types of spring-biased pressure contacts, which have in common that they require a complex production that is unfortunately only manually possible and are substantially unreliable due to human error and other factors common in manufacturing.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a partial section through a disc cell 950 according to the conventional art is known. Disc cell 950 has an insulating member 954, preferably made of ceramic material. This insulating member 954 forms the housing of disc cell 950, and its top and bottom covers 956, 952 are implemented as shaped metal members. Disposed in the interior of disc cell 950 is a power semiconductor component 600.
In this conventional embodiment of disc cell 950, one of the shaped metal members 956 incorporates a recess 958. Disposed in recess 958 is the gate contact maker. It is implemented as an elastic wire element 962 with an insulating sleeve. The insulation covers only the portion of the wire element 962 that can come into contact with shaped metal member 956. The first end of the wire element 962 is arranged in a recess of insulating member 956 that is provided with a metal sleeve 964, and it is thus connected to it in an electrically conducting manner. The second end 960 of wire element 962 sits on the gate terminal of power semiconductor component 600. The arrangement in metal sleeve 964 and the shape of wire element 962 produce an elastic effect with an application of force on second end 960 of wire element 962 in the direction of power semiconductor component 600.
As shown, conventional disc cell 950 has the shortcoming that shaped metal member 956 must have a radially outwardly extending recess 958 to receive wire element 962. As a consequence, this design cannot be manufactured in a cost effective manner, and it is also not possible to automate the assembly of the contact maker.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a section through a conventional embodiment of a pressure-contacted power semiconductor module 900 is shown. Here, a metallic base plate 902, a plastic housing 908, and a plastic cover 910 are provided. Disposed on base plate 902, following an insulating layer, is a first shaped metal member 904, disposed on which is a power semiconductor component 600, and above same a second shaped metallic member 908. Second shaped metallic member 908 is placed under pressure by means of a pressure-contacting device 906 and thus pushes semiconductor component 600 against first shaped member 904 and the same against the base plate 902. In this manner a reliable electrical contact of semiconductor component 600 to the two shaped members 904, 908 is laboriously ensured, as well as a minimal thermal contact to base plate 902. The two shaped metallic members 904, 908 thus serve to contact the main terminals.
Gate terminal 610 of power semiconductor component 600 is contacted by means of a contact maker. This contact maker consists of a metallic wire element 914, which is fixed in a retaining means 912 of the housing. Provided, extending from this retaining means 912, is an electrically isolated wire connection 916 to an external connection. The second shaped metallic member 908 has a recess 920, in which wire element 914 is arranged and contacts gate terminal 610. Wire element 914, as well as its retaining element 912 are designed in such a way that wire element 914 establishes a spring force that is directed toward power semiconductor component 600. The gate terminal of power semiconductor module 900 is thus executed in pressure-contact technology as well.
This embodiment of the contact maker does have the shortcoming, however, that because of the recess 920 in second shaped member 908, the application of pressure on the power semiconductor component 600 does not take place in a radially symmetrical manner. An additional shortcoming is that the contact makers are implemented differently for different power classes of power semiconductor module 900 and corresponding different diameters of power semiconductor component 600. The complexity of the assembly of the contact maker also does not lend itself to a cost-effective production in this case.
An additional shortcoming of the contact maker for disc cells according to FIG. 1, and power semiconductor modules according to FIG. 2, is that the spring arm, i.e., the lateral expanse between the retaining means 964, 912 and the contact location, i.e., gate terminal 610 of power semiconductor component 600, is very large. This design of elastic wire elements 962, 914 impacts contact reliability, as the homogeneity of the spring force can be guaranteed across the production of a great number of disc cells or power semiconductor modules only with considerable effort.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved contact maker for power semiconductor modules and disc cells that overcomes at least one of the detriments noted above.

Contact maker for power semiconductor modules and disc cells


A power grid event detection apparatus includes an event detection unit to detect a location of an event in a power grid, a customer location unit to determine a location of interest to an interested party, and a rule application unit to determine whether to perform an action designated by the interested party at least when the location of the event corresponds to the location of interest to the interested party.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to detecting and responding to power events such as power outages. In particular, power grids are subject to scheduled and unscheduled outages and other events. However, customers have difficulty obtaining information about outages when they occur, and may not know about scheduled outages or maintenance that affects the customers.

Apparatus and method of performing customer-designated action based on power event


Toggle apparatus for attachment to a tractor (10) or other pulling device having a main line cable (12) for attachment to the pulling device (10), a stopper (20) on the cable (12) and a toggle (22) which is retained on the cable (12) by the stopper (20). The stopper (20) is dimensioned to allow the passage thereover of slider rings (16) for the removal or mounting of the slider rings (16) from or onto the cable (12). The toggle (22) is dimensioned to retain the slider rings (16) against the stopper (20) on the cable (12). The toggle (22) is movable into a position in which it is in alignment with the cable (12) to permit the slider rings (16) to pass over the toggle (22) in the aligned position for removal of the slider rings (16) from the cable (12).

In logging, a main line cable is connected to a tractor or other pulling device for use in transporting logs. Logs are transported by means of choke cables or chokers which attach around the logs and are connected to the main line by means of slider rings on the main line. A slider ring is provided for each choker cable and it has an eye thereon to which the choker cable is attached by splicing. A plurality of such slider rings, each attached to a choker cable, is located on the main line. A knob is attached to the end of the main line to retain the slider rings on the main line. The retaining knob has a diameter which is larger than the inside diameter of the sliding rings, so that the rings, which are placed on the main line prior to attaching the retaining knob, cannot come off the main line over the knob during operation. The knob is secured to the main line cable by driving wedges into the end of the cable, thereby to expand the cable against the tapered internal dimension of the knob.
The disadvantage of the known system is that it is not possible to remove the slider rings from the main line without removing the retainer knob. This means either cutting the main line cable before the knob or by otherwise removing the knob itself. If, for example, a choker cable breaks, a new choke cable cannot be attached without down time for the main line because the choker cable needs to be spliced once again to its slider ring or else the retainer knob must be removed, which is difficult and time consuming. In addition, if a choker cable is broken, it can create a dangerous operating condition if it is not promptly removed.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to alleviate the above difficulties.


The methods and devices disclosed herein promote temporal control of balloon inflation patterns. The devices include a covering for a portion of the balloon that compresses the balloon portion during the inflation process. This enables the distal portion of a balloon to be inflated prior to the proximal portion of a balloon, creating a tapered shape at lower inflation pressures. This is especially useful during transvascular implantation procedures, as it prevents dislodgement of an implant mounted on the balloon. As inflation continues, pressure exerted on the balloon by the covering is overcome such that the proximal region of the balloon inflates, forming a shape with generally straighter sides than the tapered shape, thereby expanding the cardiovascular device.

Balloons for delivering prosthetic cardiovascular devices or for performing dilation within the body are generally designed with a straight cylindrical, working length section and two symmetrical or nearly symmetrical cone regions at either end. The implant, such as a stent or implantable heart valve, is positioned over the working length section of the balloon for delivery. During inflation, the fluid first reaches the proximal portion of the balloon, an area that is not covered by the implantable heart valve, causing the proximal portion to inflate first. Inflation of the distal portion of the balloon is delayed until a path is opened by expansion of the implantable heart valve crimped onto the working length section of the balloon. This temporal inflation pattern can create risks, especially during a heart valve deployment procedure. For example, the implantable heart valve can be dislodged distally by the high pressure in the proximal portion of the balloon. The inflation pattern can also limit the ability of the physician to adjust the position of the implantable heart valve due to the risk of it dislodging from its preferred position on the balloon.


According to one embodiment a microelectromechanical (MEMS) switch is disclosed. The MEMS switch includes a pulse generator to provide a low voltage source, a transformer coupled to the pulse generator to boost a voltage received from the pulse generator and a switch component coupled to the pulse generator. The switch component includes an actuation capacitor to store charge associated with the voltage received from the transformer.

Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) devices have a wide variety of applications and are prevalent in commercial products. One type of MEMS device is a MEMS RF switch. A typical MEMS RF switch includes one or more MEMS switches arranged in an RF switch array. MEMS RF switches are ideal for wireless devices because of their low power characteristics and ability to operate in radio frequency ranges. MEMS RF switches are often found in cellular telephones, wireless computer networks, communication systems, and radar systems. In wireless devices, MEMS RF switches can be used as antenna switches, mode switches, and transmit/receive switches.
MEMS RF switches typically implement cantilever beam switching mechanisms, for example conductive beam and the insulated beam). The actuator capacitor of the switch is formed between a conductive plate of the cantilever beam and a control electrode that runs under the beam. When a voltage is applied to the control electrode, an electric field develops between the two plates.
The force of this electric field bends the cantilever beam down. When the beam deforms far enough, the switch makes contact, and is "closed". The voltage that closes the switch is called V pull-in (VPI). Often a larger voltage than VPI is desirable to increase contact pressure and reduce contact resistance.
To de-actuate the switch, the voltage across the actuation capacitor drops below significantly below VPI. There is inherent hysteresis between the actuation voltage and the de-actuation voltage. For instance, for a switch that has a actuator gap change from open to closed of gfinal<(⅔) g0, the de-actuation voltage will be approximately ⅓ the actuation voltage. Once the switch is actuated, the actuation capacitor voltage can leak down significantly, and the switch will remain closed. The hysteresis however slows down de-actuation to open the switch.

Low voltage microelectromechanical RF switch architecture


A system and method for converting data generated in a computer aided design software component to an alternate, smaller format usable by a variety of alternate software components is provided. CAD data from a project having a plurality of objects is provided. Objects are identified and grouped into object data layers for processing, conversion and 3D model generation. The selected, grouped objects are processed by removing unnecessary data and redundancies, converted to an alternate format, transported to the alternate software component and regenerated by the alternate software component in its own environment.

Computer aided design ("CAD") programs are powerful design tools used in many industries to research and design three-dimensional objects and structures on a computer with nearly infinite precision and accuracy. Common CAD programs include AutoCAD owned by Autodesk, Inc. and Pro/ENGINEER owned by Parametric Technology Corporation. Common three-dimensional ("3D") modeling applications or engines include 3DS Max owned by Autodesk, Inc. and Solid Works owned by Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corp. Typically, these programs allow a user/modeler to generate a 3D model in a layer by layer format with each layer composed of multiple data components. Among the many functions these programs and applications offer, at any point during the design of the model, the user is given the ability to manipulate, scale and rotate the entire model or particular layers or individual parts as necessary. Users are also given the option to utilize various modeling techniques such as: polygon modeling, non-uniform rational B-Spline ("NURBS") modeling or Surface tool/editable patch object.
In order to develop 3D models and computer-based virtual worlds using a polygon type modeling technique, CAD data must first be converted to an appropriate model format. This process requires taking CAD data files that can be extremely complex and large (because they contain all the information about materials, products and processes involved in design) and reducing them in size so they can be imported into a 3D model engine and processed such that a 3D model (which only needs information about object exterior surfaces) may be generated or rendered.
Conventionally, the process of identifying the object data required for 3D model generation was done manually by the user. More specifically, a user converted CAD data files as batches, processing each object without any categorization. Disadvantageously, this conventional method requires a unique modeling process for each object in the CAD data file and significant efforts to place and orient each object within the 3D model. Such conventional methods also incur problems in cost and schedule because of the labor required to convert CAD data files for modeling and gaming. Additionally, increased costs are incurred because computers with advanced hardware (e.g., more memory and processing power) are needed to process the large amounts of CAD data.

System and method for converting computer aided design data into a three dimensional model


An apparatus for loading and imaging a microfluidic chip can comprise a housing having walls that define a vacuum chamber and a first receptacle disposed within the vacuum chamber, the first receptacle defining a space for receiving one or more microfluidic chips. The apparatus can also include a negative pressure source, a light source, and an optical sensor coupled to the housing. The negative pressure source can be configured to reduce pressure within the vacuum chamber, the light source can be positioned to illuminate at least a portion of the space for receiving the chip(s), and the optical sensor can be positioned to capture an image of at least a portion of the space for receiving the chip(s).

Microfluidic chips have gained increased use in a wide variety of fields, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, pathology, chemistry, biology, and energy. A microfluidic chip typically has one or more channels that are arranged to transport, mix, and/or separate one or more samples for analysis thereof. At least one of the channel(s) can have a dimension that is on the order of a micrometer or tens of micrometers, permitting analysis of comparatively small (e.g., nanoliter or picoliter) sample volumes. The small sample volumes used in microfluidic chips provide a number of advantages over traditional bench top techniques. For example, more precise biological measurements, including the manipulation and analysis of single cells and/or molecules, may be achievable with a microfluidic chip due to the scale of the chip's components. Microfluidic chips can also provide improved control of the cellular environment therein to facilitate experiments related to cellular growth, aging, antibiotic resistance, and the like. And, microfluidic chips, due to their small sample volumes, low cost, and disposability, are well-suited for diagnostic applications, including identifying pathogens and point-of-care diagnostics.
In some applications, microfluidic chips are configured to generate droplets to facilitate analysis of a sample. Droplets can encapsulate cells or molecules under investigation to, in effect, amplify the concentration thereof and to increase the number of reactions. Droplet-based microfluidic chips may accordingly be well-suited for high throughput applications, such as chemical screening and PCR.
Droplet analysis is often performed using imaging. For example, liquid loaded onto a microfluidic chip often includes a fluorescent compound that, when exposed to light, can exhibit fluorescence. For example, when analyzing microorganisms, a viability indicator such as resazurin can be included in the liquid loaded onto the chip; encapsulated microorganisms can interact with the viability indicator such that droplets including the microorganisms exhibit a unique fluorescent signature that varies over time. A camera can be used to determine the number of droplets exhibiting a fluorescent signature indicative of the presence of microorganisms to, for example, determine the concentration of microorganisms in the liquid (e.g., to determine if there is an infection or how effective a test reagent is at eliminating the microorganisms).
Conventional loading and imaging of a microfluidic chip requires the chip to be transferred for imaging after being loaded with droplets. In conventional techniques, a chip is placed in a pressure vessel and the pressure therein is increased above ambient pressure to cause liquid to flow toward the chip's test volume and form droplets that enter the test volume. During this process, the pressure in the test volume increases above ambient pressure. To maintain the position of droplets in the test volume when the pressure around the chip returns to ambient pressure—which is required for the chip to be transferred for imaging—and the chip is transferred, chips typically include features such as seals configured to retain the droplets.
There are a number of disadvantages associated with this two-step process. The process can be time-consuming; to mitigate the movement of droplets in the test volume, the pressure in the pressure chamber may have to be returned to ambient pressure slowly. Further, transferring the chip for imaging may take time and, if not done quickly enough in time-sensitive assays, may invalidate the results of the assay. Transferring chips is typically performed manually by laboratory staff, which imposes an additional burden on the staff and poses a risk that test results will be associated with the wrong chips. The chip transfer may also damage the chips or result in droplet repositioning that can alter the imaging analysis. And the features included in chips to maintain droplet positioning during transfer may reduce available space in the test volume and increase manufacturing complexity.

Apparatuses for contactless loading and imaging of microfluidic chips and related methods


Polymeric materials having a plurality of cells formed therein are described. The polymeric materials include a foamed layer comprising a plurality of uniform microcells, nanocells or combinations thereof in a closed cell network, a transition layer positioned adjacent to the foamed layer, and at least one unfoamed outer layer positioned adjacent to the transition layer. The foamed layer may be present in a volume ranging from about 80 to about 99 percent based on the volume of the polymeric material, the transition layer may present in a volume ranging from about 0 to about 10 percent based on the volume of the polymeric material, and the at least one outer layer may be present in a volume ranging from about 0.01 to about 10 percent based on the volume of the polymeric material. Methods of making such polymeric materials are also described, as are apparatus for providing foamed polymeric materials.

There have been various research efforts to develop potentially reliable and commercially viable microcellular/nanocellular foams and foaming processes. A sizeable portion of these efforts has primarily focused on foaming polymer disks or films in batch foaming processes. Using these processes, various observations have been made. In general, for many systems that produce microcellular foam, the foam morphology contains three main regions. First, at the skin, a solid polymer matrix is formed, the morphology of which is believed to be attributable to the rapid diffusion of carbon dioxide in the polymer. A conventional skin typically ranges in size from about 50 to 100 μm. The inside core of the material is typically found to contain the most uniform cell structure with cell sizes typically ranging from about 1 to 10 μm. A mix of cells with a relatively large size distribution and unfoamed polymer is typically present in a transition between the inner core of polymeric material and outer skin.
There is a need in the art to produce polymeric foamed materials that have reduced outer layer unfoamed region sizes, particularly with respect to the foamed inner core. Additionally, there is a need in the art to produce foams with decreased cell size.

Nano-and micro-cellular foamed thin-walled material, and processes and apparatuses for making the same

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


A method can include identifying a first key value of a first cell of a first grid of grids of cells to which a first feature maps, embedding the first grid into each cell of a second grid, identifying a second key value of a second cell of the second grid to which a second feature maps, the second key value representative of the first and second key values, comparing the identified key value to the key values of a memory, in response to determining the identified key value is in the memory, and providing data indicating a class associated with the identified key value in the memory.

Classification techniques are typically machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI) based techniques. These techniques, however, are all limited by the No Free Lunch (NFL) theorem and make the use of partial information problematic. The NFL theorem demonstrates that if a technique performs well on a certain class of problems, then it necessarily pays for that with degraded performance on the set of all remaining problems.

Classification using cascaded spatial voting grids


A waist adjusting device for reducing the waist size of pants without the use of a belt is provided. The device comprises two engaging members and a connecting member which is pivotally attached to both engaging members. The engaging members each have clips disposed thereupon to permit them to be selectively fastened to spaced apart points along a pant waistline. With the engaging members fastened onto the pant, the device contracts the waist by the engaging members being pivoted about the connecting member such that the clips are drawn closer together.

The present invention generally relates to a device for adjusting the waist size of pants. The invention is specifically directed to a device adapted for easy attachment to and removal from a pants or skirt waist and further adapted for quick adjustment of the waist size, thus, allowing otherwise loose pants to be fittingly worn without the supportive aid of a waist belt or suspenders.
The prior art is replete with various embodiments of belts and buckles which are used in combination to adjust the waist size of pants. Typically, a buckle is fixedly attached to an end of a belt and is adapted to engage the belt at various positions, often by way of a buckle prong being fitted within any of a plurality of apertures residing along the length of the belt. In order to don a buckled belt, the pant-wearing user guides the free end of the belt through the loops along the pant waistline until the belt completely encircles his waist and the buckle is vertically aligned with his navel. While maintaining the buckle's alignment, the user further draws the free end of the belt around his waist until the coiling belt constricts his pant waist adequately to prevent the pants from sliding downward during wear. The user then secures the buckle to the belt. Generally, the variability of buckle engagement points along a belt allow it to be effectively worn by users of a range of different waist sizes.
Belts can present some disadvantages, however. For instance, while most belts can fit multiple waist sizes, few can accommodate every conceivable waist size. A belt sized to fit around the waist of a large-girthed man is likely too long to be effectively worn by a much slimmer person. Accordingly, belts, like pants themselves, are usually manufactured and sold in standardized sizes that indicate length and are not universally wearable. Furthermore, because of color, finish, texture or other stylistic matters unrelated to proper fit, a user may find a particular belt compatible for use with only a limited portion of his clothing wardrobe.
The prior art also includes several other types of devices for adjusting the waist dimensions of lower body garments that are not designed to encircle the waist area in belt-like fashion. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,249 to Ito discloses an apparatus comprised of a horizontally oriented guide tape and a slider component, both attachable to a pant waist, wherein the slider is slidably movable along and selectively engageable to the guide tape to allow for waist size adjustment by virtue of selective overlapping of portions of the pant waist. U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,139 to Ida discloses a conceptually similar device which comprises a short adjusting belt and a slider component. Both of these patented devices allow a person to adjust his pants waist size without the use of a more sizeable buckled belt.
However, such compact waist-adjusting devices of the prior art are not without disadvantage. To wit, they generally must be (semi-)permanently affixed to a particular garment, making them inconvenient or even impossible to utilize with multiple garments. So, a person may need to possess a different prior art waist-adjusting article to use with each pair of loose-fitting pants that he wishes to apply the article to.
Consequently, it can be appreciated that there exists a need for a waist size-adjusting device that is easily compactable and is removable from clothing such that a single device can be transferred onto virtually every item in a user's pant wardrobe. Furthermore, there exists a need for such a device to be inconspicuous and/or aesthetic so as to render it fashionable for wear with a wide variety of pants. The waist size-adjusting device of the present invention may substantially fulfill these needs.


A pivoting accessory mount used for attaching auxiliary devices such as sighting devices to a firearm. The accessory mount includes a base member that attaches to the firearm and includes a mounting support and a shaft. An accessory receiver is pivotally received and retained about the shaft. The accessory receiver is pivotable between an inactive position along the side of the upper receiver of the firearm and an active position extending substantially vertically relative to and in alignment with the upper receiver of the firearm. The mounting shaft is linearly displaceable, thereby engaging the accessory receiver when in the active position to prevent accidental displacement of the accessory receiver.

The present invention relates generally to a pivoting mounting assembly for interfacing accessories with firearms. More specifically, the present invention is related to a pivoting mount for a firearm accessory that allows the user to mount an accessory in a manner wherein the user can selectively pivot the accessory between an active position and an inactive position thereby providing for rapid changes between desired accessories.
In the prior art there is a broad range of accessories that are mounted onto a firearm to provide increased accuracy or broader functionality. Similarly, many accessories are available that are configured to be paired with another accessory wherein the combination provides for an enhanced use. In this context for example, there are telescopic extenders that serve to magnify the objective image as seen in a telescopic sight. It should be appreciated that in general an accessory such as the type intended to be described herein includes all types of sighting devices capable of being mounted onto a firearm, including but not limited to telescopic sights, optical sights, night vision devices, range finding and illuminating devices as well as various laser devices and directed fire equipment.
Often there is also a need to provide an accessory that includes several configurations or is provided in two parts such as for example an optical scope with a secondary power multiplier or extender. This would also hold true in many other cases, such as, for example an infrared or night vision device that is used in conjunction with an optical scope. As can be appreciated, when using such a two-part device, there are times when the user needs only the optical scope and there are other times when the user requires the combination of both an auxiliary accessory like a multiplier and the optical scope, therefore creating a need for at least the accessory component to be easily moved out of the way when not in use. It can also be appreciated that with such an arrangement, while the components of the sighting system must be movable, they must also be reliably aligned when placed back into their active positions.
In order to interface these accessory devices with prior art firearms, such as rifles, shotguns, black-powder weapons and handguns, there are typically spaced apart attachment points that are provided along the top surface of the receiver or barrel of the firearm, which are used for attaching accessory devices. Such mounting devices serve to position the accessory in a convenient location above the barrel of the firearm while allowing the accessory to be placed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the firearm. This positioning is particularly important when the accessory is a scope or another sighting device, because this positioning also allows the sighting scope to be mounted in a convenient location for the user while allowing the scope to be aligned with the barrel of the firearm. The scope is then sighted relative to the firearm to provide an accurate and positive alignment between the aiming point of the sight and the barrel of the firearm. In addition to providing mounting points along the top of the firearm, many modern combat rifles include an extended rail interface that is formed along the top of the firearm receiver and often further includes a mounting rail, which extends over the barrel of the rifle. In this manner, the rail provides a modular interface assembly to which the various accessories can be clamped.
In this regard, there are a number of different types and configurations of sight mounting devices that allow the sight to be removed from and replaced on to the firearm, each of which includes its own design problems and disadvantages. Prior art mounting devices typically encompass and hold a sighting scope in a scope holding portion which is then attached to a base that is in turn mounted to the attachment points or rail interface on the receiver of a firearm. The standard and most widely used method for mounting scopes on firearms consists of a combination of a scope base and scope rings. A scope base is a platform securely attached to the firearm to provide a pre-configured mounting platform for the rings. The rings are typically formed as individual, horizontally split cylindrical clamps fastened around the scope body or "tube", with lower mounting portions which can be removably secured to the base. These types of mounting devices are generally mounted using a variety of screw fasteners requiring the use of a tool, such as a screwdriver, to firmly seat the scope holding portion on the base or to remove the scope holding portion from the base. Thus, it is often difficult and time consuming to attach or remove the scope from the base.
Additionally, there are many different scope ring/base combinations that are available in the prior art. One popular style known to those skilled in the art is the "Weaver" system, which utilizes longitudinal rail-type bases and rings that wrap around the barrel of the scope and are then transversely clamped to the rails. Another mounting configuration is the popular "rotary dovetail" style in which a base is provided with a ring-receiving slot, and a mating dovetail portion of the scope ring is dropped into the slot and rotated 90° into locking alignment with the receiver and barrel. Yet another style is the "Ruger® dovetail" system in which a dovetail "base" is actually machined into the firearm's receiver, and specially mated rings are clamped on with heavy screws.
There is therefore a need to provide a mounting arrangement that gives the user the ability to move at least a portion of a sighting device into an inactive position until the user requires it, while further providing for the device to remain reliably aligned when replaced in the active position. Further, the device must be easily and quickly deployable so that in combat situations the sighting device can be deployed rapidly with reliable and repeatable results.


In an intermittent aeration activated sludge process in which aeration and agitation is repeated alternately, a first aeration tank and a second aeration tank are connected to each other and an ORP meter is applied to each tank. In the first aeration tank, the sum of an aeration period and a denitrification period of an agitation step is controlled to a predetermined period T.sub.gs based on a time when a bending point appeared on an ORP curve in a previous cycle. In the second aeration tank, the sum of an aeration period and an agitation period is controlled to a predetermined period T.sub.ds longer than T.sub.gs based on a time when an ORP measured value reached a predetermined value in a previous cycle. Operations of the first and second aeration tanks are simultaneously transferred from the agitation to the aeration based on detection of the predetermined ORP value. As a result, a necessary anaerobic condition period is secured in the first aeration tank.

The present invention relates to a process of biologically treating sewage including domestic one. More specifically, the invention relates to a control method in an intermittent aeration activated sludge process which can eliminate nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage.
Conventional processes for treating sewage, which are generally biological processes typically exemplified by the activated sludge process, have been mainly directed to the removal of organic matter. However, in order to cope with the recent serious problem of eutrophication in closed water areas such as lakes and marshes, it is important to eliminate nitrogen and phosphorus that may cause the eutrophication. To this end, as improvements of the activated sludge process, various treatment processes have been developed which can eliminate not only organic matter but also nitrogen and phosphorus. Typical examples of such new processes include the A.sub.2 O process, sequencing batch reactor activated sludge process, and intermittent aeration activated sludge process (hereinafter abbreviated as "intermittent aeration process"). In these processes, bacteria are alternately placed under the aerobic and anaerobic conditions to eliminate organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus.
The principle of the sewage treatment for eliminating nitrogen and phosphorus is briefly described below. Organic matter in sewage is decomposed and eliminated by being eaten by bacteria that constitute the activated sludge. Nitrogen is eliminated such that NH.sub.4 -N (ammonia nitrogen) is oxidized under an aerobic condition to NO.sub.3 --N (nitrate nitrogen) by an activity of nitrifying bacteria, which is then reduced under an anaerobic condition to N.sub.2 (nitrogen gas) by an activity of denitrifying bacteria. The nitrification and denitrification are summarized below.
______________________________________ Nitrogen form Reaction Reaction change condition Bacteria ______________________________________ Nitrification NH.sub.4 --N .fwdarw. NO.sub.3 --N Aerobic Nitrifying (with DO) bacteria Denitrifica- NO.sub.3 --N .fwdarw. N.sub.2 Anaerobic Denitrify- tion (without DO) ing bacteria ______________________________________
Phosphorus is eliminated by utilizing activated sludge including bacteria capable of storing a large amount of phosphorus in their cells. This type of activated sludge is produced by alternately changing the operation condition of the aeration tank between aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Since this activated sludge releases phosphorus under the anaerobic condition and absorbs phosphorus under the aerobic condition, phosphorus can be eliminated by making the sludge absorb phosphorus under the aerobic condition and then removing the sludge that has absorbed a large amount of phosphorus from the treatment apparatus as excess sludge. The above process is summarized as follows.
______________________________________ Phosphorus concentration Reaction Phosphorus Reaction in tank condition removal ______________________________________ Phosphorus Increase Anaerobic -- release (without DO) Phosphorus Decrease Aerobic Removal of absorption (with DO) activated sludge ______________________________________
As described above, the aerobic and anaerobic conditions are indispensable to the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus. Stated strictly, the anaerobic condition for the denitrification and that for the phosphorus release are different. In the intermittent aeration process, the phosphorus release from the activated sludge occurs after the denitrification is finished and oxygen molecules (originating from NO.sub.3 -N) become absent from the tank, and subsequently the phosphorus absorption is performed in the next aeration step.
Much attention is now given to the intermittent aeration process because the ratio between the anaerobic condition steps can be set in terms of a time period and it can be applied to existing treatment facilities relatively easily. However, in order to efficiently eliminate nitrogen and phosphorus in the intermittent aeration process, it is necessary to properly control the aeration period and the agitation period (anaerobic condition) in accordance with the load. Several control methods have been proposed conventionally, two typical examples of which are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Examined Publication No. Sho. 63-35317 and Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Sho. 64-70198. In the control method disclosed in the former publication, an ORP meter (oxidation-reduction potential meter) is applied to an aeration tank. When the ORP value exceeds the range of +120 to +200 mV, the aeration is stopped to start the agitation. When it becomes smaller than the -250 to -350 mV range, the agitation is stopped to start the aeration. The publication Sho. 64-70198 describes a process for eliminating nitrogen from sewage in which the nitrification and denitrification in a tank is controlled on the basis of a detected ORP changing rate of the tank. More specifically, a bending point of the ORP variation is detected in an aeration step and the aeration step is stopped to transfer to an agitation step with the bending point regarded as a finishing point of the nitrification. In the agitation step for the denitrification, the agitation is stopped to start the aeration step when the ORP changing rate reaches a predetermined value (the denitrification is regarded as finished).
However, since the above control methods are directed to the treatment process that has a single aeration tank and a settling tank, they are associated with a problem that the quality of effluent is not stabilized. To solve this problem, the present inventors have conceived an apparatus consisting of a first aeration tank into which sewage flows, a second aeration tank that is connected in series to the first aeration tank, and a final settling tank, and also have proposed a control method therefor. FIG. 11 schematically shows the main part of this apparatus including a control system. Referring to FIG. 11, an intermittent aeration process and a control method of this apparatus is summarized below. In FIG. 11, paths of water and air are indicated by solid lines and arrows, and control signal lines are indicated by dashed lines and arrows. This apparatus mainly consists of first and second aeration tanks 2a and 2b for eliminating organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage 1 flowing thereto by means of activated sludge, a final settling tank 4 for separating the activated sludge by gravitational sedimentation to obtain effluent 3, and a pump 5 for returning the sedimented activated sludge to the first aeration tank 2a. The first and second aeration tanks 2a and 2b have a capacity ratio of 1:1, and the hydraulic retention time of the sewage 1 in the apparatus is 16-32 hours in total. The control system consists of a DO (dissolved oxygen) meter 10a for measuring a dissolved oxygen concentration of the first aeration tank 2a, an ORP meter 6b for measuring an oxidation-reduction potential of the second aeration tank 2b, a control panel 9 for providing, based on the values of the above measurements, control signals to an inverter 11a for controlling the DO concentration of the first aeration tank 2a, a first aeration blower 7a, a second aeration blower 7b, a first agitation pump 8a and a second agitation pump 8b.
According to a typical control method of the above apparatus, the aeration period is set at one hour and the DO concentration of the first aeration tank 2a during the aeration period is controlled at 0.2 mg/1. During the agitation period, an OP changing rate of the second aeration tank 2b is measured and a bending point of the ORP is detected by performing a predetermined calculation. Upon detecting the bending point, the agitation is stopped to start the aeration. The aeration of the first aeration tank 2a and that of the second aeration tank 2b are performed simultaneously, and the agitation of the tank 2a and that of the tank 2b are also done simultaneously.
The treatment process proceeds in the following manner. In the first aeration tank 2a, the nitrification and the denitrification proceed simultaneously (aerobic denitrification) while the DO concentration is controlled to be kept low. In the second aeration tank 2b, the nitrification proceeds while the DO concentration is kept at about 2-3 mg/1 and, at the same time, phosphorus is absorbed by the activated sludge. After a lapse of one hour, the process automatically transfers to the agitation step. In the agitation step, the denitrification finishes in a short period in the first aeration tank 2a because the aerobic denitrification has proceeded in the previous aeration step and therefore the NO.sub.3 -N concentration is low. Then, phosphorus is released from the activated sludge. The denitrification proceeds slowly in the second aeration tank 2b because the organic matter concentration is low and, at the same time, the ORP decreases. Since the ORP varies to produce a bending point when the denitrification is completed, the agitation is stopped when the bending point is detected and the process transfers to the aeration step. Therefore, almost no phosphorus release occurs in the second aeration tank 2b. That is, in the agitation step, the phosphorus release is performed mainly in the first aeration tank 2a and the denitrification is performed mainly in the second aeration tank 2b. By virtue of the existence of two aeration tanks, the above-described process has an advantage that the influent is more unlikely to be discharged without being subjected to the treatment than in the case of using only one aeration tank.
However, the present inventors have thereafter found that the above-described control method has the following problem. That is, since the agitation period depends on the quality of the influent, the efficiency of eliminating nitrogen and phosphorus decreases depending on the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the influent. For example, where the nitrogen concentration in the influent is low and the phosphorus concentration is high, the agitation period of the second aeration tank 2b is short because the denitrification finishes in a short period. In this case, the short agitation period causes shortage of phosphorus release period in the first aeration tank 2a. As a result, the phosphorus absorption in the aeration step becomes insufficient to deteriorate the phosphorus removal efficiency. Further, since the low DO concentration operation of the first aeration tank 2a suppresses the growth of nitrifying bacteria, the nitrification capability of the entire apparatus becomes insufficient for a nitrogen load when the nitrogen concentration is high. In this case, the nitrification becomes incomplete and the nitrogen removal efficiency becomes low.

Control method in double-tank-type intermittent aeration activated sludge process


Creation of DC fields in a liquid crystal light valve caused a DC induced transient optical phenomenon in which output brightness level undergoes a change as the DC fields are redistributed within the liquid crystal light valve. Adverse effects of the DC induced transient optical output are minimized by employing a liquid crystal material of greatly decreased resistivity, which reduces the time constant of the liquid crystal device, making it comparable to the response time of the liquid crystal material itself.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to reflective light valve systems and more particularly concerns decreasing DC induced transient optical effects in a liquid crystal light valve.
2. Description of Related Art
The liquid crystal light valve (LCLV) is a thin film, multi-layer structure comprising a liquid crystal layer, a dielectric mirror layer, a light blocking layer and a photosensitive layer, all sandwiched between two transparent electrodes. In a typical reflective LCLV projection system, a high intensity polarized projection beam is directed through the liquid crystal layer to the dielectric mirror. An input image of low intensity light, such as that generated by a cathode ray tube, is applied to the photosensitive layer, thereby switching the electric field across the electrodes from the photosensitive layer onto the liquid crystal layer so as to selectively activate the liquid crystal according to the intensity of input light received at different areas of the photosensitive layer. Linearly polarized projection light from a high power light source, such as a Xenon lamp, passes through the liquid crystal layer and is reflected from the dielectric mirror. The light reflected from the mirror is polarization modulated by the liquid crystal in accordance with the light information incident on the photo responsive layer. Therefore, if a complex distribution of light, for example a high resolution input image from a cathode ray tube, is focused onto the photosensitive layer surface, the liquid crystal light valve converts the low intensity input image into a replica image which can be reflected for projection with magnification to produce a high brightness image on a viewing screen. Projection systems of this type are described in several U.S. patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,650,286 to Koda, et al for Liquid Crystal Light Valve Color Projector; 4,343,535 to Bleha, Jr. for Liquid Crystal Light Valve; 4,127,322 to Jacobson, et al for High Brightness Full Color Image Light Valve Projection system; and 4,191,456 to Hong, et al for Optical Block For High Brightness Full Color Video Projection System.
The photo sensitive layer of the liquid crystal light valve, whether a silicon photo sensor or a cadmium sulphide photo sensor, exhibits rectifying and photo voltaic properties that cause DC offsets within the liquid crystal light valve. These DC offsets, which transiently vary as they adjust to an equilibrium condition, result in spurious transient optical output intensities ("overshoot") that degrade operation of the light valve. This overshoot effect is particularly noticeable when input light is switched between off and on. As output light intensity increases when input light is switched on, output intensity momentarily and undesirably increases to a level beyond the steady state because of the DC induced transient overshoot. Applicants are not aware of any prior methods for handling this problem.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to avoid or minimize effects of DC induced transient optical effects in a liquid crystal light valve.


A communications system includes content distribution hardware operable to detect presence of a window in a video stream in which to insert an advertisement. Multiple viewers receive and view the video stream. Advertisement management hardware in the communications system receives notification of the window as well as attributes of the viewers receiving the video stream. Based on the attributes associated with viewers, the advertisement manager hardware selects a particular advertisement suitable for the viewers amongst multiple advertisements to insert in the window. The content distribution hardware inserts the selected advertisement in the window for distribution to the multiple viewers. During distribution of the advertisement in the window, if desired, the content distribution hardware monitors further use of the multiple communication devices to detect if any of the communication devices discontinue receiving the video stream during the window of time.

One source of revenue for commercial television broadcasters is the sale of broadcast time to advertisers. For example, as is well known, most television programs include windows of time in which a commercial broadcaster inserts advertisements for viewing by a respective viewers tuned to a particular channel.
In certain cases, advertisers attempt to target specific advertisements to viewer segments that are likely to be most receptive to the message captured by the advertisement. One way to target advertisements to viewers includes identifying what types of viewers are associated with specific television programs. For example, the commercial broadcaster may assume that viewers watching a fishing program are more likely to response favorably to advertisements directed to sale of fishing equipment. Accordingly, the subject of the video stream broadcasted may dictate to some extent what advertisements should be inserted in the available time slots.
Another way of targeting specific viewing audiences includes selecting advertisements based on a geographical region in which the video stream and corresponding advertisements are broadcasted. The assumption is that viewers in one local or regional area are more likely to be receptive to an advertisement's message than viewers in a different area.

Dynamic advertisement insertion and monitoring