A device is disclosed for applying and holding a dental matrix strip against the side of a tooth which is to be filled. An embodiment of the device comprises a split ring that slidably receives a matrix. The split ring in this embodiment can have cushions on its ends sized to resist passage through matrix apertures following insertion of such cushions through these apertures when these components are slidably coupled together. This embodiment can also comprise respective matrix slots that receive portions of the split ring to at least partially conform the shape of the matrix to the shape of the split ring.

Each tooth has two proximal sides, usually in contact with respective proximal sides of two adjacent teeth. Class 2 cavities affect one or both of the proximal sides of a tooth. Filling a class 2 cavity typically requires holding a matrix band or strip against the side of the tooth being filled during the filling process in order to contain the filling material, much like a form is used to contain concrete being poured. When silver amalgam was used as the filling material, its density and compactability separated the adjacent teeth far enough to compensate for the thickness of a strip of stainless steel positioned between the teeth that was uniformly of a thickness from 0.0012 inch to 0.002 inch. Therefore, simple monolithic strips of stainless steel were used. With the development of resinous filling materials, the simple relatively thick strips of metal matrix materials of uniform thickness became inadequate, because they tend to leave a gap between the teeth after the strips have been removed.
The initial response of the industry was to increase the separation force produced by a matrix retainer. Forceful matrix retainers were developed to simultaneously hold a sectional matrix between the proximal surfaces of adjacent teeth and to drive the adjacent teeth apart far enough to compensate for the thickness of the matrix. The matrix retainers in such cases are typically split rings that are forcibly opened with a locking type of pliers that is also used to place rubber dam clamps around teeth. Such pliers are commonly known as rubber dam clamp forceps. In one common approach, a partially opened split retention ring is placed between the teeth where the sectional matrix is located with the split ring abutting the matrix. The retention ring is then allowed to close forcibly against the sectional matrix and its adjacent tooth to press the matrix against the tooth being treated. The matrix retainers in common use are all powerful split rings of heavy gauge material (metal or plastic), because, when seated, they must provide enough force to separate the teeth far enough to compensate for the thickness of the sectional matrix, 0.0012 inch to 0.0020 inch. Split rings of this type are made of thick enough material to generate clamping forces of from five to twenty pounds when their ends are separated (spread apart) by a distance that is about equal to the width of a tooth. After the retention ring is removed, the intention is that the previously separated teeth (separated by the retainer) spring back far enough to re-establish a fully contiguous relationship at an area called the contact area.
One problem with these powerful retention rings is that they cannot be used with large fillings. That is, such known retention rings deliver large compressive forces at the sides of the matrix and these forces can indent the sectional matrix or deform it in a portion of the area of the tooth being filled. A second problem with these powerful retention rings is that they are not suitable for use with the selectively thinned matrix materials which are now available (e.g., such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,618, to Summer; U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,760, to Summer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,540, to Summer et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,639, to Summer, all of which are incorporated by reference herein), because the forceful compression at the sides of the matrix can deform the matrix.
Another problem with known sectional matrix products and retention rings arises from difficulties in using such products. That is, sectional matrix products are generally placed in a patient's mouth in one step. The powerful retention ring which holds the matrix in position is placed in a second step. It is difficult to hold the matrix in a correct position while the retention ring is being placed around it.

Dental matrix positioned by slidably engaged matrix retainer


A method for providing quality control on wafers running on a manufacturing line is disclosed. The resistances on a group of manufacturing test structures within a wafer running on a wafer manufacturing line are initially measured. Then, an actual distribution value is obtained based on the result of the measured resistances on the group of manufacturing test structures. The difference between the actual distribution value and a predetermined distribution value is recorded. Next, the resistances on a group of design test structures within the wafer are measured. The measured resistances of the group of design test structures are correlated to the measured resistances of the group of manufacturing test structures in order to obtain an offset value. The resistance of an adjustable resistor circuit within the wafer and subsequent wafers running on the wafer manufacturing line are adjusted according to the offset value.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to integrated circuit manufacturing and, in particular, to a method and system for improving yield loss caused by wafer manufacturing line variations. Still more particularly, the present invention is related to a method and system for providing quality control on wafers running on a wafer manufacturing line without requiring process changes or product redesign.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical manufacturing process for an integrated circuit begins with the fabrication of a semiconductor wafer containing hundreds or even thousands of identical chip that each includes integrated circuits. Following wafer fabrication, a quick first pass wafer probe is typically performed in an attempt to identify chips on the wafer having defects. Depending on the number and type of defects that are detected, corrective action, such as laser fusing, may be taken to improve yield. Once any such corrective steps have been performed, the wafer may be subjected to a second pass wafer probe to determine the efficacy of the corrective steps in addressing detected defects, and any chips failing the second pass wafer probe are marked as faulty.
Following the second pass wafer probe, the wafer is scribed into chips, and chips passing the wafer probes are packaged into packaged integrated circuit devices. After packaging, the packaged integrated circuit devices are then subjected to device-level testing to detect additional faults. Such device-level testing may include a burn-in test in which the packaged integrated circuit devices are subjected to high ambient temperatures and tests of long duration in order to discover early life failures. In addition, the device-level testing may include scan based testings, functional logic testings and DC and AC characteristic testings.
The central focus in the conventional manufacturing process outlined above is to improve yield and decrease the number of integrated circuits, devices and modules that are discarded due to uncorrected faults. Accordingly, much effort has been focused on the detection and correction of faults during the manufacturing process. Unfortunately, test identifies yield issues after the manufacturing process has been implemented and the product already designed. Changes to either the manufacturing process or the product design are very expensive and time-consuming.
Since manufacturing processes that control resistance are impacted by the need to adjust base process elements such as threshold voltage, resistances often are not centered at the middle of line specifications and expensive process changes such as adding additional masking levels or complete product design are needed to ensure that the product will meet acceptable yield levels. Current techniques to modify resistance through the use of fuses requires installation of custom test circuits within the chip, which requires the use of substantial silicon area and long expensive test times. Such technique is seldom used because of the associated high expense.

Method and system for providing quality control on wafers running on a manufacturing line

International Business Machines Corporation


Provided is an optical waveguide device including: a core having a stacked structure of at least three layers in which first thin films having a finite width and thickness and formed of a material having a relatively high electric conductivity and a second thin film having the same width as the first thin films and formed of a material having a lower conductivity than the material forming the first thin films are stacked in sequence, the first thin films being disposed in a first layer and an uppermost layer and adjacent to each other for interaction of surface plasmons; and a clad disposed around the core and formed of a material having a lower conductivity than the material forming the first thin films and a higher refractive index than the material forming the second thin film. The thin metal films of at least two layers having a high electric conductivity in the optical waveguide device can generate a combined surface plasmon mode and propagate the generated surface plasmon mode in the length direction of the thin metal films. Thus, a propagated signal suffers from a smaller propagation loss than a surface plasmon mode supported by a single thin film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical device technology, and more particularly, to a low-loss metal optical waveguide device based on surface plasmons.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A surface plasmon is an oscillating wave of charge density propagating along an interface at which the real number portion of a dielectric constant changes with an opposite sign. In general, a surface plasmon is generated in the interface between a metal having a negative (−) polarity and a dielectric having a positive (+) polarity, and the charge density oscillation may be excited by highly accelerated electrons or light waves. A surface plasmon is a transverse magnetic (TM) polarized wave, and a field having the largest value at a metal surface exponentially decreases with the increase of distance from the metal. Due to this characteristic, a surface plasmon has been frequently used to measure the characteristics of material existing in a metal surface and the optical constant of the metal. In addition, since the field is concentrated near the metal surface, a surface plasmon has many advantages for application in a sensor, etc. Furthermore, a surface plasmon reacts sensitively to the perturbation of a metal surface and thus has application to optical devices using the sensitivity.
In optical waveguides, a surface plasmon obtains a binding condition by a boundary condition between a metal and a dielectric, thus having a drawback in that the propagation length of light is very short, i.e., several tens or hundreds of micrometers (μm), in the visible ray or infrared region. However, when a metal structure is formed into a thin film, the propagation length of a surface plasmon bound in an interface between the metal and the dielectric can be infinitely increased, in theory, using a super mode activated by the interference between surface plasmons propagating along the two interfaces of a thin metal film. Such a long-range surface plasmon was suggested in the early 1980s, and much research on the same has been in progress.
According to a long-range surface plasmon structure in an infinite metal plate, the application of an optical device is possible using optical transmission or field increase. However, a long-range surface plasmon is bound in two dimensions and thus is limited in applicability to an integrated optical device. For this reason, much research has been in progress, which binds a long-range surface plasmon propagating along a metal plate in a direction parallel with the metal surface to be used in integrated optical devices. A surface plasmon is bound in a surface direction by forming a dielectric structure on a metal surface or forming the metal into a structure having a finite cross section. Lately, research on a long-range surface plasmon using a thin metal film having a finite area, i.e., a metal stripe, has been progressing energetically, and also, metal stripe devices have been reported as being produced.
When a metal stripe having a uniform thickness of 10 nm or less is fabricated, a conventional metal stripe optical waveguide using a long-range surface plasmon can theoretically have a propagation loss of 1 dB/cm or less at the communication wavelength of 1.55 μm. However, since there is a limit to fabrication of a uniform metal stripe, realistically it is impossible or very difficult to implement a low-loss waveguide, thereby limiting applicability for various devices.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


This disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for providing exactly-once transaction semantics for fault tolerant FPGA based transaction systems. The systems comprise middleware components in a server as well as client end. The server comprises Hosts and FPGAs. The FPGAs control transaction execution (the application processing logic also resides in the FPGA) and provide fault tolerance with high performance by means of a modified TCP implementation. The Hosts buffer and persist transaction records for failure recovery and achieving exactly-once transaction semantics. The monitoring and fault detecting components are distributed across the FPGA's and Hosts. Exactly-once transaction semantics is implemented without sacrificing performance by switching between a high performance mode and a conservative mode depending on component failures. PCIE switches for connectivity between FPGAs and Hosts ensure FPGAs are available even if Hosts fail. When FPGA's provide higher processing elements and memory, the Hosts may be eliminated.

Transactional applications are expected to respond to incoming messages from clients or message sources. Database server systems are a prime example of transaction processing. While database servers have been evolving in their internal implementations (row based to column based, custom data structures, key-value stores) and even technology (disk based storage to in-memory storage), so have their applications. From purely client-server systems to multi-tier to real-time streaming analytics—all these applications need to transact with the database servers. Regardless of how applications evolve, the need for transactional database remains. And while applications evolve there may be many classes of applications which require speed of processing, high throughput, high availability while processing transactions exactly-once no matter how many components fail, regardless of the sequence of failure events. As the applications themselves get complex having a framework that provides for these features simplifies the design of these applications thereby enabling high performance.

Exactly-once transaction semantics for fault tolerant FPGA based transaction systems


A wireless local area network (WLAN) method and device to provide dual band (DB) operation of the WLAN device, the DB operation including communication in a first frequency band with a first device and communication in a second frequency band with a second device, the WLAN device including first network interface circuitry to support communication in the first frequency band with the first device, second network interface circuitry to support communication in the second frequency band with the second device, and a processor to generate at least one action frame that includes information regarding a duration of time during which the WLAN device will be unavailable for communication, and to enable transmission of the at least one action frame to the first device or to the second device.

Wi-Fi is a popular technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data or connect to the internet wirelessly. Wi-Fi may be implemented using WLAN devices that function based on 802.11 standards defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The 802.11ac standard from among the 802.11 standards is capable of providing a very high throughput (e.g., 1 Gbps). Also, the peer-to-peer (P2P) technology is an evolving technology that is introducing a number of new applications that may be implemented in the WLAN devices. Therefore, it is possible to realize very high throughput in the WLAN devices through Wi-Fi while the WLAN devices are also using P2P applications.

Multi-interface WLAN device with time arbitration messaging


A system and method include defining a snapshot join index using a sparse condition in a join index definition. A new sparse condition of the snapshot join index is compared with an old sparse condition. Rows in a base table are identified as a function of the comparing, and the join index table is updated using the identified rows.

In an active data warehouse (ADW), data are fed into base tables in near real time. A workload on the ADW is usually a mix of both long running strategic queries and short tactic queries, which are run against the same set of tables. Join indexes, especially aggregate join indexes, can improve the performance of strategic queries significantly by precalculating the joins and aggregations. However, the frequent update to the base table and the existence of join indexes in such an environment may bring a big maintenance overhead.
There are two approaches to maintain join indexes in a database management system (DBMS). In direct maintenance, a join index table is updated in the same transaction that updates the base table. In deferred maintenance, the join index table is updated at a different time from the update to the base table. Each approach has its own pros and cons. Direct maintenance guarantees the data freshness in the join index but the overhead of maintaining the join index in real time may be a performance concern. Deferred maintenance overcomes the performance obstacle by delaying the join index update but queries may return inconsistent results due to the synchronization problem between the base table and join index.

Deferred maintenance of sparse join indexes


An imaging apparatus includes an image creating section for imaging a predetermined surveillance range and creating image data, and a storage processing section converting the image data to a predetermined storage format and creating storage data. A data storage section having a storage medium with a predetermined storage space stores the storage data created by the storage processing section. The apparatus includes a compression processing section for reading storage data stored in the data storage section, and compressing the storage data and creating compressed data. A determination processing section detects the data storage amount of the storage data stored in the data storage section, supplies a compression control signal to the compression processing section in accordance with the detection result and supplies the storage control signal to the data storage section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that images a predetermined surveillance range and detects a subject under surveillance and a control method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A surveillance camera is placed in various places in order to monitor a suspicious person, for example, in various surveillance ranges. Some surveillance cameras in the past may include a storage medium and select and store a necessary image data from imaged images onto the storage medium.
JP-A-2004-128899 (Patent Document 1) discloses a surveillance camera system that can image a person entering/exiting to/from the entrance with a least amount of storage by detecting the person entering/exiting to/from the entrance by a sensor provided at the entrance, supplying the detection signal to a camera, imaging the entrance by the camera in accordance with the detection signal and recording the imaged image.

Imaging apparatus and control method therefor


A system for providing multiple levels of authentication before delivering private content to the client devices over the communications network. A product identifier on the physical product is scanned using a code reader/decoder in the client device to access or request private content from the server. The server receives the device identifier associated with the client device and the product identifier associated with the physical product from the client device over the communications network for authentication. The server processor transmits the requested content, preferably a webpage, to the client device if both the device identifier and the product identifier are authenticated by the server processor.

Currently, the most common method used for authenticating a user's identity and verifying whether they have permission to view private content on their client device is by prompting the user to enter a username and password. This username and password combination is then cross-referenced with what's on record in the application's database; the user is granted access if the information entered matches the information stored in the database.
This approach has a number of problems. First, in many instances, the username and password is automatically stored on the user's client device. If the user were to lose his or her client device without signing out of their account, whoever then locates their device would have access to any content viewable through their account. This is a concern even in less sinister circumstances, e.g. where a user has temporarily left his or her device unsupervised and in the presence of others, as the privacy of their digital content can no longer be guaranteed for that period of time.
Similarly, people often use the same password for multiple accounts, e.g. one password for their email account, bank account, social network account, etc. If a user's password were somehow exposed through one of their accounts—either by accident or by criminal means—then the security of all of their accounts would be compromised. Given the recent problems faced by a well-established and well-known global bank and social media company in securing customers' passwords and login information, this concern is certainly a valid one.
A third concern with the common approaches used to authenticate a user's identity is that most services publicly display the URL, or Internet address, of the page that displays the user's private content. As a result, sophisticated Internet users and hackers are sometime able to draw trends in the URL and subsequently decipher what the URL would be for other users of the service. Further, anyone—including the approved user—would be able to copy, paste, and share the address of the page containing the private information. Once the URL is shared once, it can spread virally and without restraint.
Accordingly, the claimed invention proceeds upon the desirability of providing a more secure and reliable way for validating the identity of a user that attempts to access private content delivered via a client device

System for providing multiple levels of authentication before delivering private content to client devices


A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein an analysis program causing a computer to execute processing includes: generating a regression function including a plurality of explanatory variables and an objective variable based on regression analysis using observed values of a plurality of physical elements each related to motion of a moving object; dividing an explanatory variable space containing the plurality of explanatory variables into a plurality of regions by using the regression function; and generating contribution information on a contribution of each of the plurality of explanatory variables to the objective variable for each of the plurality of regions.

As for a moving object like an electric vehicle (EV) that moves in a space, the motion thereof receives a combination of various physical influences.
Related is disclosed in "FOMM and Fujitsu in Alliance to Create a New Mobile Society", [online], Fujitsu press release, Mar. 22, 2018, [searched on Jan. 7, 2019], Internet <URL: http://pr.fujitsu.com/jp/news/2018/03/22.html>, "Variable Selection Using AIC", [online], PukiWiki, [searched on Jan. 7, 2019], Internet <URL:
http://hnami.or.tv/d/index.php?AIC%A4%F2%BB%C8%A4%C3%A4%BF%CA%D1BF%F4%C1%AA%C2%F2>, "Method of Calculating Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC)", [online], statistical WEB, [searched on Jan. 7, 2019], Internet <URL: https://bellcurve.jp/statistics/blog/15754.html>, and Hamada et al., "e-Bagging: The Information Geometric Dual of Breiman's Bagging—An Application to the Nadaraya-Watson Regression with the k-Nearest Neighbor Crossover Kernel", IEICE Tech. Rep., vol. 115, no. 112, IBISML 2015-23, pp. 187-194, June, 2015.

Recording medium recording analysis program, information processing apparatus, and analysis method


A running tool for lowering a christmas tree to a subsea wellhead. The running tool includes an off center adjustment to compensate for asymmetric weight distribution in the christmas tree. The running tool comprises a main body, latches for coupling the body to the christmas tree, an offset arm connected to the body, and a lift arm (drill pipe adaptor) connected to the lift arm and selectively positioned on the lift arm to offset and compensate for the christmas tree asymmetric weight distribution.

1. Field of Invention
The device described herein relates generally to the production of oil and gas. More specifically, the device described herein relates to a running tool with an off center attachment compensating for asymmetric christmas trees.
2. Description of Related Art
Subsea wellhead assemblies are typically used in the production of hydrocarbons extracted from subterranean formations below the seafloor. Subsea wellhead assemblies generally comprise a wellhead housing attached at a wellbore opening, where the wellbore extends through one or more hydrocarbon producing formations. Casing and tubing hangers are landed within the housing for supporting casing and production tubing inserted into the wellbore. The casing lines the wellbore, thereby isolating the wellbore from the surrounding formation. Tubing typically lies concentric within the casing and provides a conduit for producing the hydrocarbons entrained within the formation. Wellhead assemblies also typically include christmas trees connecting to the upper end of the wellhead housing. The christmas trees control and distribute the fluids produced from the wellbore.
The christmas trees are installed onto the wellhead housing by latching a running tool within the tree's main annulus and attaching wire or drill pipe to the running tool for lowering subsea to the wellhead housing. Often the tree's center of gravity is not coincident with the annulus axis; which if uncorrected causes the tree to tilt to prevent properly landing the tree onto the wellhead housing. The asymmetric tree can be balanced with added weights, but weight balancing is limited by the lowering wire and drill pipe structural limits. Additionally, christmas trees are becoming more complex and heavier thereby making weight balancing less desirable. This is exacerbated by subsea well operator using older rigs to install the newer larger and heavier tree systems. As a result the rigs experience difficulty while transferring the trees from supply vessels to the rig.


An illuminated sport board/skateboard emits light from both the top and bottom of the board to yield a significant quantum of light for optimal visibility and safety. A base panel is provided having an underside surface with at least one transparent segment aligned with an inlay cavity within the base's interior core. A battery powered lighting source containing a plurality of light emitting diodes or an electroluminescent lighting strip is housed within the inlay cavity. A top shell having at least one transparent display is attached to the base panel in a manner that aligns the transparent display with the LED emitted or electroluminescent lighting. Light is emitted from both the top and bottom of the board owing emission through the transparent display of the top shell and the transparent segment of the base panel. The illuminated sport board may be constructed as a skateboard, snowboard, or skis to provide safety from vehicles and other recreational participants.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illuminated sport/recreation board; and more particularly, to a skateboard illuminated with electroluminescent characters, indicia and/or decorations suited for use during dusk or nighttime hours for enhanced safety.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Skateboarding during dusk or nighttime hours can be hazardous on roadways and/or in neighborhoods where automobiles are encountered. Illuminating characteristics of automobile headlamps generally produce an illumination range of approximately 25 to 50 feet. This illumination range can be significantly reduced by mist, fog, or bends in the road. Despite improvements to vehicle headlights, skateboarders, and the like, are oftentimes not seen by automobile drivers until the distance between the automobile and the skateboarder is small and chances for avoiding contact are significantly reduced. Moreover, skateboarders and other sport boarders, such as snowboarders and skiers, run the risk of colliding into one another due to poor visibility during dimly lit conditions. It would further be advantageous if the sport board included light visibility on the surface thereof so that the skateboarder could readily glance down during skating and access his/her feet positions, while at the same time providing visibility from the underside of the board when the board is in the air during a stunt.
Several approaches devised by prior art workers attempt to provide solutions for these hazardous visibility conditions. These approaches include providing sport boards/skateboards having lighting elements located on the periphery or the side of the board. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 7,048,284 to Seifert discloses an illuminated skateboard including a light string mounted about a peripheral edge of a deck extending between a top surface and a bottom surface of a board; U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,636 to Bailey, Jr. discloses an illuminated recreational board including a plurality of recesses with a transparent cover extending in a peripheral side of a board and a plurality of removable LED's positioned therein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,883 to La Lumandier discloses an illuminated railing with a bar of lights appointed for attachment to a skateboard as a bumper; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20040257831 to Liao discloses an illuminating decoration for a skateboard including two transparent tubes with a plurality of light-emitting elements therein that are attached to two lateral sides of a skateboard; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20050029767 to Chang discloses a skateboard with a plurality of LEDs are embedded in a periphery of the board and are arranged so that when the wheels rotate, light is emitted from the LEDs. These types of peripheral lighting applications on skateboards/sport boards do not provide a significant degree of light for visibility; nor does the peripheral lighting allow the skater to readily assess the exact position of his/her feet in dark or dimly lit surroundings, since the lights are only on the periphery. In such cases, light is only emitted from the peripheral or sides of the board. As a result, the board is not optimally visible from vantage points above the board, or from beneath the board during air-borne stunts.
Various types of sport boards and skateboards having illumination emitting capabilities have been provided wherein illumination means is attached to the underside of a board, thereby only providing illumination directly under the board and not above the board surface. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,573 to Carter discloses an illuminated skate/skateboard including a person carrying platform having a light source on the underside thereof for underside illumination, and wheels formed of translucent material capable of transmitting light generated by the light source; U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,141 to Ekedal, et al. discloses a skateboard comprising riding platform with a rotatable disk for maneuverability supported thereon, and optional front and rear illumination sources mounted within respective housings secured to the underside of the riding platform; U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,277 to Copley, et al. discloses an illuminated skateboard comprising a riding platform having a bottom surface with front and rear housing secured thereto, wherein the front and rear housing each include an illumination source therein operable to provide illumination while riding the skateboard; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20040100055 to Chang discloses a skateboard having a step board with wheels and a truck unit appointed with a safety alert system underneath the step board and at least one illuminator positioned at an exterior of the truck unit. Like the intended disadvantageous faced by the peripheral lighting applications, these underside lighting skateboards do not provide a significant degree of light for visibility; nor does the peripheral lighting allow the skater to readily see the exact position of his/her feet when dark as the lights are only on the periphery. Light only emits from the underside of the skateboard, and/or the wheels (in limited disclosures), and as a result, the board is not optimally visible from vantage points above the board thereby causing risk of the skateboarder being struck by a vehicle or colliding with another skateboarder.
Other illuminated skateboards provide illumination to more than a simple underside or periphery of a skateboard. However these boards still fail to provide electroluminescent lighting integrated within the board so that a substantial area of the board omnidirectionally emits light therefrom. U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,080 to Magle, et al. discloses a lighting kit that provides indirect lighting for roller skates or skateboards by mounting a lighting assembly under the shoe section of the skate or underside of the skateboard and providing a light directed down from the bottom of the shoe section of the skate or underside of the skateboard to the floor under the user. Further disclosed are the use of flat EL lamp panels provided for removable attachment to the sides of a skateboard. The flat EL lamp panels are applied to the outside of the board, and therefore may begin to malfunction and lose integrity over time as exposed to inclement weather, rain, snow, etc. Over time the lamp panels would likely become damaged as they may be stepped on or otherwise damaged as they are on the exterior of the board.
Even where illuminated skateboards heretofore disclosed and utilized provide lighting integrated within the board, these devices still fail to provide illumination to a substantial area of the board to virtually omnidirectionally emit light therefrom. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20050102733 to Holmberg, et al. discloses lighted sports equipment comprising a skateboard including a tip portion, a waist portion, and a tail portion, wherein each are selectively illuminable, being responsive to at least one illumination means provided within the skateboard. The tip portion, waist portion, and tail portion may each be constructed at least in part from a translucent material. Despite the use of selective illumination on the tip, waist or tail portion, these devices still fail to provide lighting integrated within the board so that a substantial area of the board omnidirectionally emits light therefrom. The board does not provide for omnidirectional lighting, in that only the top of the board is provided with illumination; while the underside of the board is not.
Notwithstanding the efforts of prior art workers to construct illuminated skateboards/sport boards that provide safety during nighttime use, there remains a need in the art for an illuminated sport board/skateboard that emits a significant quantum of light for optimal visibility and safety. There exists a need in the art for an illuminated sport board that provides emission of light over substantially the entire surface of the board, including light emission from the top and bottom of the board, so that the light is emitted in an omnidirectional manner and is visible from virtually every position. Visibility of the individual using the board would be enhanced if light was emitted, not just from a thin band extending peripherally around a board, but from a plurality of segments located on the top and bottom of a sport/skateboard.

Omnidirectionally illuminated sport board


This invention relates to a terminal block for interconnection of telephone or computer-related lines having a rate of rejection of near-end crosstalk complying with very strict standards. The extended portion of each insulation-displacing contact has a bevel on an edge which is next to the adjacent pair increasing the distance therebetween and reducing the crosstalk.

Such terminal blocks currently equip telephone distribution frames in which they serve to connect, on request, the different monopair lines of the Telephone Distribution Company to the different corresponding lines of subscribers. There are several hundreds, and even several thousands of them.
These prior art terminal blocks all comprise at least two parallel rows of substantially flat metal contacts, placed opposite from one row to the other, these metal contacts each being provided with an axial slot for insulation-displacing connection of the wires to be connected. A contact of this type is for example described in document FR-A-2 330 159.
The contacts of the same row are coplanar. The contacts of the two parallel rows mentioned above are identical.
Each contact of one of these two conjugate rows is connected, to ensure continuity of the two lines, to the contact conjugate with respect to (i.e. opposite) the other row by a metal link which is either a link presenting a possibility of cut, in which case it is question of conjugate contacts "with cut", or a direct link without possibility of cut, in which case it is question of conjugate contacts in "U" form.
One of these two conjugate contacts is called "input contact", as it receives one of the two wires of the incoming line (coming from the Telephone Distribution Company), while the other contact is called "output contact", as it receives the corresponding wire of the two-wire outgoing line (i.e. the subscriber's line).
On each row among these two opposite rows, there is found a determined number of pairs of adjacent contacts, this number of pairs depending on the width of the terminal block.
Each pair of contacts is used for receiving the two wires of a telephone line, i.e. of the incoming line for the row containing the above-mentioned input contacts, and of the outgoing line for the row containing the said output contacts.
The substantially flat contacts which equip the terminal blocks presently marketed by Applicants are fairly similar to the one forming the subject matter of document FR-A-2 330 159 and in particular to the one shown in FIG. 1 of that document. Of course, such a contact comprises the principal part which is flat and of generally fixed width, which contains the insulation-displacing slot, and this principal part extends by a part of substantially the same width, which will be referred to as "extension" and which serves here to connect this contact to the conjugate contact mentioned above, i.e. to the contact which lies opposite on the other row.
When it is question of a link with cut, this extension is elastic and it comprises, at its free end, a stud for contact with the identical elastic conjugate extension of the conjugate contact opposite it. When it is question of a link in U form, this extension is common to that of this conjugate contact, with which it therefore constitutes a linking bridge made in one piece.
With the present increase in the operational frequencies of telephone and computer-related installations, a problem is raised, for these terminal blocks, of the rate of near end crosstalk between two adjacent pairs, the current terminal blocks of the prior art no longer complying with the standards of rejection of near end crosstalk which are now in force and which are much more strict than the standards which are applied to the terminal blocks of the prior art mentioned above.
To give an idea, for frequencies which may go up to 100 Megahertz, a rate of rejection of near end crosstalk between adjacent pairs which is greater than 40 dB is now required, whereas a rate of rejection of near end crosstalk merely greater than 20 dB was accepted in the past.
Manufacturers must in that case:
either increase the distance between two adjacent pairs on the same row of contacts, which has for a drawback either of increasing the dimensions of the terminal block for the same number of pairs, or of reducing the number of pairs if the same dimensions are conserved for this terminal block, PA1 or, as for example described in document EP-A-0 637 097 and EP-A-0 654 851, to reduce the dimensions of each contact in width to a maximum, this having for a drawback to render the latter more fragile than desired in order to obtain good reliability.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome these drawbacks.

Terminal block with beveled edge for reduced crosstalk and method


A highly reliable pilot valve apparatus controls the direction of the operation of an actuator by pivoting a lever (15) back and forth and to the right and left. A valve body (1) has a directional control spool (27) which shifts between a first position wherein it ensures that a pair of outlet ports (3.sub.3, 3.sub.4) communicate with a pair of main outlet ports (38, 39) in a forward direction and a second position wherein it ensures that the pair of outlet ports communicate with the pair of main outlet ports in a rearward direction. The directional control spool (27) is changed over between the first and second positions by an oil from another pair of outlet ports (3.sub.1, 3.sub.2). Alternatively, the valve body (1) can contain a pressure detecting directional control valve (61) such that in a first position a pressure sensing port (60) is connected to the inlet port (52) and in a second position the pressure sensing port (60) is disconnected from the inlet port ( 52). The pressure detecting directional control valve (61) contain a first spool (64) and a second spool (65) positioned in a sleeve (63) so that a first pressure receiving chamber (69) is between the first and second spools and a second pressure receiving chamber (70) is at the end of the second spool (65) which is remote from the first spool (64). Each of the first and second pressure receiving chambers (69, 70) is connected to a respective one of the outlet ports (53, 53). A spring (68) biases the first and second spools (64, 65) toward the position disconnecting the pressure sensing port (60) to the inlet port (52).

In a conventional pilot valve apparatus shown in FIG. 9, a valve body 1 has four slidable spools 4 to connect an oil port 2 to outlet ports 3 and to disconnect the oil port 2 from the outlet ports 3. A guide cylinder 5 is provided coaxially with respect to each of the spools 4, and a retainer 6 is disposed below the guide cylinder 5. The retainer 6 is pressed against the guide cylinder 5 by a main spring 7 do as to retain a piston 8 inserted into the guide cylinder 5 in such a manner as to be slidable therealong at an upper position. A spring 9 retains the spool 4 at a disconnecting position. A plate 10 is mounted on an upper portion of the valve body 1. The plate 10 has a hole 11 into which a proximal end 12a of a universal joint 12 is threadedly engaged with an upper portion of the valve body. A lever mounting shaft 13 is provided on a distal end 12b of the universal joint 12. Also, a disk 14 is mounted on the universal joint 12. When a lever 15, provided on the lever mounting shaft 13, is pivoted back and forth or to the right and left, one of the pistons 8 is pressed down to shift the associated spool 4 to the connecting position and thereby supply the oil in the oil port 2 to the outlet port 3 via an oil hole 4a of the respective spool 4.
Such a pilot valve apparatus is employed to change over a pilot pressure operated type operating valve for supplying an oil to an actuator in a work vehicle, such as a power shovel. A change-over of the operating valve is achieved when the oil is supplied to one of a pair of pilot pressure chambers of the pilot pressure operated type operating valve respectively connected to a pair of outlet-ports 3 by the pivoting of the lever 15. When the lever 15 is pivoted, for example, in the forward direction, the oil is supplied from the outlet port 3 located on that side. When the lever 15 is pivoted in the rearward direction, the oil is supplied from the outlet port 3 located on that side. Thus, the direction of the change-over of the operating valve is determined by the direction of the pivoting of the lever 15 to determine the direction of the operation of the actuator.
In some work vehicles, the direction of the operation of the actuator is made opposite from the direction of the pivoting of the lever 15. In that case, the direction of the flow of the oil outputted from the two outlet ports 3 must be changed before the oil is supplied to the pair of pilot pressure chambers of the operating valve.
Hence, as shown in FIG. 9, a solenoid operated directional control valve 17 is provided between a pair of conduits 16 respectively connected to the pair of outlet ports 3. The solenoid operated directional control valve 17 is operated by a limit switch 18 operated by the pivoting of the lever 15 to reverse the flow of the oil in the pair of conduits 16.
That is, the solenoid operated directional control valve 17 is retained at a first position which ensures that the oil flows in a forward direction, as shown in FIG. 10. When a solenoid 17a is energized, the solenoid operated directional control valve 17 is changed over to a second position. The solenoid 17a is energized by the limit switch 18.
In such a pilot valve, although the oil output from the outlet port 3 is reversed and then supplied to the pilot pressure chamber of the operating valve, the provision of the solenoid operated directional control valve, the limit switch, the wiring and conduits is required, thus increasing production cost and reducing reliability.
FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the output pressure of the conventional pilot valve apparatus and the lever stroke. As shown in FIG. 11, when the lever is shifted to stroke S.sub.1, the pilot valve apparatus produces the output pressure P.sub.1. Afterwards, the output pressure of the pilot valve apparatus increases in proportion to the lever stroke until it is equal to inlet pressure P.sub.2 at stroke S.sub.2.
In a vehicle provided with actuators controlled by the pilot valve apparatus, there are requirements of control of an actuator, for example, an engine or brake valve, on the basis of the results of detection of the controlled state of another actuator.
Such examples include control of a governor of the engine in such a manner that the engine speed is increased from the idling state to a rated speed by the detection signal, control of a solenoid operated valve such that a parking brake for a swing motor or a travel motor is switched off, and control of an oil to the brake valve. To achieve these objectives, a pressure switch is conventionally provided at the outlet port 3 to detect the operation of the lever 15. Alternatively, pivoting of the lever 15 is detected as a control initiating signal for another actuator by detecting the pressure of the limit switch or by an ON signal thereof.
However, as shown in FIG. 11, when the operation stroke is S.sub.1, the output pressure is P.sub.1, which is, for example, 6 kg/cm.sup.2. Since the detection signal must be outputted before the hydraulic actuator enters the actuator control area, it should be outputted by the time the output pressure is P.sub.1. Furthermore, the pressure switch is designed to output no detection signal when the output pressure is between zero and P.sub.3, which may be 3 kg/cm.sup.2, to prevent erroneous operation.
Thus, the activated area of the pressure switch is in the narrow region between P.sub.3 and P.sub.1, which may be between 3 and 6 kg/cm.sup.2. Consequently, a high-precision pressure switch must be provided to accurately output the detection signal. This requires a very expensive pressure switch.
In the case of the limit switch, a detection signal is outputted when the operation stroke of the lever 15 is between zero and S.sub.1. Therefore, a highly accurate positioning of the limit switch is necessary, making the mounting work thereof troublesome.


An organic thin film transistor that can reduce contact resistance between source and drain electrodes and an organic semiconductor layer and can be readily manufactured, a flat panel display apparatus utilizing the organic thin film transistor, and a method of manufacturing the organic thin film transistor. The organic thin film transistor includes: a substrate; a source electrode and a drain electrode disposed on the gate insulating film; a conductive polymer layer disposed to cover at least a portion of each of source and drain electrodes; a hydrophobic material layer disposed on the substrate and the source and drain electrodes except regions where the conductive polymer layer are formed; an organic semiconductor layer electrically connected to the source and drain electrodes; a gate insulating film disposed to cover the organic semiconductor layer; and a gate electrode disposed on the gate insulating film.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an organic thin film transistor, a flat panel display apparatus comprising the same, and a method of manufacturing the organic thin film transistor, and more particularly, to an organic thin film transistor that has a significantly reduced contact resistance between source and drain electrodes and an organic semiconductor layer, and can be easily manufactured, a flat panel display apparatus having the same, and a method of manufacturing the organic thin film transistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since the development of polyacetylene which is a conjugated organic polymer having semiconductor characteristics, due to its advantages, such as versatility of synthesis, easy formability into a fiber or a film, high flexibility, high conductivity, and low cost, many studies about transistors using the organic material in functional electronic devices and optical devices have been performed.
Conventional silicon thin film transistors include a semiconductor layer having source and drain regions doped with a high concentration of dopant and a channel region formed between the source and drain regions, a gate electrode insulated from the semiconductor layer and located on a region corresponding to the channel region, and source and drain electrodes which respectively contact the source and drain regions.
However, the conventional silicon thin film transistor having the above mentioned structure has drawbacks in that it requires high manufacturing costs, is fragile, and is impossible to use with a plastic substrate since the transistor is produced at a high temperature of 300° C. or more.
Particularly, in flat panel display apparatuses such as a liquid crystal device or an organic light emitting diode, thin film transistors are used as switching devices that control operations of each pixel and driving devices of each of the pixels. To meet the flexibility required together with the thin and large sizes required in the flat panel display apparatuses, the use of a plastic substrate instead of the conventional glass substrate has been attempted. However, when a plastic substrate is used, as described above, a low temperature process must be employed. Therefore, it is difficult to use the conventional silicon thin film transistors.
However, these problems can be solved when an organic film is used as a semiconductor layer of a thin film transistor. Therefore, recently, studies to use the organic thin film transistor as an organic thin film transistor have increased and are now being actively conducted.
However, in the organic thin film transistor, there is a high contact resistance between source and drain electrodes and an organic semiconductor layer.
That is, unlike a silicon semiconductor layer included in a conventional silicon thin film transistor, an organic semiconductor layer included in an organic thin film transistor cannot be doped with a high concentration. Therefore, there is a high contact resistance between source and drain electrodes and an organic semiconductor layer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Organic thin film transistor, flat panel display apparatus comprising the same, and method of manufacturing the organic thin film transistor


A dust collection apparatus includes a tower main body, a filter, a rotating shaft, a rotating mechanism, and a cleaning solution. The tower main body has a suction port through which an exhaust gas containing at least one of a noxious material and dust to be exhausted is taken, and an exhaust port through which a clean gas is discharged. The filter is accommodated in the tower main body and cleans the exhaust gas taken in through the suction port and performs dust collection. The filter is divided into a plurality of discrete filters and is supported to be movable. The rotating shaft and rotating mechanism move the discrete filters simultaneously. The discrete filters are sequentially dipped in the cleaning solution during movement, and are cleaned.

The present invention relates to a dust collection apparatus having a packed tower and, more particularly, to a dust collection apparatus for cleaning an exhaust gas containing a noxious material of semiconductor devices or dust by using a filter.
FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional dust collection apparatus having a packed tower. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 3, a dust collection apparatus of this type has a tower main body 20, a filter 4, a demister 5, a circulating pump 7, supply nozzles 8, and an oblique plate 3. The tower main body 20 has a suction port 1 and an exhaust port 2 through which the exhaust gas is taken and exhausted, respectively. The filter 4 is accommodated in the tower main body 20 to separate the noxious material. The demister 5 removes the water content from the exhaust gas to be exhausted through the exhaust port 2. The circulating pump 7 circulates a cleaning solution 6 reserved in the lower portion of the tower main body 20. The supply nozzles 8 supply the cleaning solution 6 to the filter 4. The oblique plate 3 guides the exhaust gas so as to flow toward the filter 4 in the tower main body 20.
A supply valve 10, a supply port 9, a discharge valve 12, and a discharge port 11 are formed along the circulation line of the cleaning solution 6. The cleaning solution 6 is periodically exchanged to prevent it from deterioration.
The operation of the conventional dust collection apparatus having the above arrangement will be described. First, the exhaust gas containing a noxious gas or dust is fed into the tower main body 20 of the packed tower through the suction port 1. The exhaust gas fed through the suction port 1 is straightened toward the filter 4 by the oblique plate 3 so that it will not form a turbulent flow in the tower main body 20. The cleaning solution 6 sprayed from the supply nozzles 8 arranged above the filter 4 forms a solution film on the surface of the packing of the filter 4 and causes direct inertial collision with the exhaust gas. Cleaning and dust collection are performed through diffusion and attachment of the fine particles of the exhaust gas. Thereafter, the water content is removed by the demister 5 arranged in the later stage, and the cleaned exhaust gas is discharged through the exhaust port 2.
The cleaning solution 6 is circulated in the packed tower by the circulating pump 7 and is adjusted such that its amount in the packed tower is constant. In order to prevent deterioration of the cleaning solution 6 the discharge valve 12 is periodically opened and the cleaning solution 6 is discharged through the discharge port 11. The supply valve 10 is opened and the cleaning solution 6 is replenished by an amount corresponding to the amount discharged through the supply port 9, so that the amount of the cleaning solution 6 in the tower main body 20 is constant.
The first problem of the conventional dust collection apparatus is as follows. In the conventional dust collection apparatus described above, when the apparatus is installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory that manufactures semiconductor devices 24 hours a day, operation must be performed with the risk of a high pressure loss. In this conventional packed tower type dust collection apparatus, in order to clean off the dust and reaction product attaching to the filter 4, the filter 4 must be extracted from the tower main body, cleaned, and packed in the tower main body again. This requires much labor and time. Therefore, in the factory that manufactures semiconductor devices 24 hours a day, the filter 4 can be cleaned only periodically, and the operation is performed with the dust and reaction product attaching to the filter 4.

Dust collection apparatus having packed tower


A mounting arrangement for a throttle position sensor associated with a throttle valve is disclosed. The throttle valve is positioned within an intake pipe of an intake system of an engine which is positioned in an engine compartment defined by a hull of a watercraft. An output shaft of the engine is arranged to drive a water propulsion device of the watercraft. The intake pipe extends from the engine and is arranged to route air to a combustion chamber of the engine. The throttle position sensor is mounted so as to be shielded by the intake pipe from a source of water within the engine compartment, such as an outlet of an intake duct leading through the hull of the watercraft.

Watercraft such as those known as "personal watercraft" have a hull which defines an engine compartment, and include a water propulsion device. An internal combustion engine is positioned in the engine compartment. An output shaft of the engine is arranged to drive the water propulsion device.
The engine has an intake system which draws air from within the engine compartment and delivers it to the combustion chamber(s) thereof. The watercraft includes one or more air passages leading from a point external to the hull through the hull into the engine compartment.
In addition, the watercraft includes a fuel system for supplying fuel to each combustion chamber of the engine. The fuel system includes a fuel tank positioned in the hull of the watercraft and a fuel pump delivering fuel from the tank to at least one charge former which introduces fuel to the engine.
A throttle control may be provided in the intake system of the engine for controlling the rate of air flow therethrough. In order to accurately control the rate of fuel delivery to the engine, the rate of air flow is measured. This may be accomplished indirectly with a throttle control sensor.
Because the watercraft is operated in the water, water often enters the air passages through the hull. This water may damage sensitive components, such as a throttle position sensor. In addition, water which enters the hull and settles at the lower surface may be thrown about the engine compartment by the spinning output shaft of the engine or by the rocking and pitching movement of the watercraft. This water may also damage sensitive components.
A watercraft arranged to overcome the above-stated problems is desired.

Throttle position sensor mounting arrangement for personal watercraft engine


In the heating device, PTC heating elements arranged between current rails lying opposite each other are used, which are fed with supply current from a control electronics unit via the current rails. Metallic heating rib structures are respectively coupled to one of the current rails via an electrically insulating but thermally conducting coupling layer. The air to be heated flows through the heating rib structures which have an undulating shape. The metallic heating rib structures are electrically connected to vehicle ground and thus form a shield that eliminates emissions of electromagnetic interfering radiation without impeding the flow of air.

Vehicles with electric propulsion or hybrid propulsion, too, need a heating system for controlling the temperature of the vehicle cabin when outside temperatures are low. The heating energy comes from electric heating devices that are fed with electricity from the electric system of the vehicle. These heating devices are made up from a stack of identical heating units through which the air to be heated flows. In the heating device, PTC heating elements are used which are arranged between current rails that extend opposite each other, which means electric resistance elements having a positive temperature coefficient, which are fed with supply current from a control electronics unit. Metallic heating rib structures are respectively coupled to each of the current rails by means of an electrically insulating but thermally conducting coupling layer. The air to be heated flows through the heating rib structures, which have an undulating shape. The electric insulation of the heating rib structure from the current rails is necessary because the voltages taken from a high voltage electric system of the vehicle have high levels that are dangerous to humans. Consequently, in the known electrical heating devices of this type, the heating rib structures are potential-free.
However, in order to control the heating output, switched supply currents are fed to the PTC heating elements by the control electronics unit. The switching operations generate steep pulse edges which constitute a high frequency alternating current component of the supply current. As a result of these high frequency alternating current components, all live parts become radiators which in total emit a substantial amount of electromagnetic interfering radiation. Moreover, high frequency interference components from the on-board network of other vehicle units are already present in the supply currents for the PTC heating elements and can also be radiated via the live parts of the heating device. This interfering radiation can jeopardise the safe functioning of other systems in the vehicle as well as significantly affect receiving devices such as for example a radio.
In principle it is possible to surround the radiation-relevant parts of the heating device with an electromagnetic shield in the form of a metallic grid. However, since the grid will necessarily be located within the flow path of the air to be heated, it causes flow losses that would have to be compensated for by increasing the blower power.

Electric heating device for vehicles having a high voltage electric system


An exhaust gas purifier filters exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine to collect particulates in the exhaust gas. The exhaust gas purifier includes an outer casing and an inner casing, which is located in the outer casing and accommodates a filter. The inner casing is selectively attached to and detached from the outer casing.

The present invention relates to an exhaust gas purifier that filters exhaust gas to collect particulates in the exhaust gas.
The number of automobiles has significantly increased and the amount of exhaust gas emitted from internal combustion engines of automobiles is rapidly increasing proportionately. Particularly, exhaust gas emitted from a diesel engine includes substances that cause pollution. The pollution of exhaust gas seriously affects the world environment. Also, it is recently reported that particulates, such as soot, in exhaust gas sometimes become the cause of allergic reaction and declining sperm counts. That is, it is an urgent issue for the human to take measures to remove particulates in exhaust gas.
Several types of exhaust gas purifiers are proposed under such circumstances. As shown in FIG. 11, typical exhaust gas purifier includes exhaust pipes 80a, 80b extending from a diesel engine 79. An inlet unit 81, a filter unit 82, and an outlet unit 83 are arranged on the exhaust pipes 80a, 80b in this order from the upstream toward the downstream. The inlet unit 81, the filter unit 82, and the outlet unit 83 are secured with each other with clip bands 84. The upstream exhaust pipe 80a and the inlet unit 81, and the downstream exhaust pipe 80b and the outlet unit 83 are coupled with clip bands 84, respectively. Each clip band 84 is formed of a C-shaped ring 84a, and a screw 85 is tightened at its separate portion. Each screw 85 tightens the corresponding clip band 84, which securely couples the inlet unit 81, the filter unit 82, and the outlet unit 83 with one another.
The filter unit 82 accommodates a honey comb filter 86 for collecting particulates exhausted from the diesel engine 79. The filter 86 has through holes defined by cell walls arranged in grid-like pattern. Either end of each through hole is sealed with sealing material to form a checkered pattern. When exhaust gas passes through the filter 86, particulates are trapped by the cell walls.
If an automobile is driven for a long period with the filter 86 mounted on the automobile, particulates, such as soot, accumulate on the filter 86, which increases the load on the diesel engine 79. To solve this problem, particulates accumulated on the filter 86 need to be removed.
To remove the particulates, the filter unit 82 is removed from the inlet unit 81 and an outlet unit 83. Then, the filter 86 is heated by, for example, a heater, to remove the accumulated particulates. The filter unit 82 of vehicles such as buses needs to be frequently (once a day) removed from the vehicle to regenerate the filter 86 since large amount of particulates are accumulated.
However, in the conventional exhaust gas purifier, an operator needs to loosen the screws 85 and remove the clip bands 84 to remove the filter unit 82, which is burdensome. Further, the filter unit 82 of a heavy vehicle, such as commercial busses, is heavy. Thus, attaching and detaching the filter unit 82 in the above mentioned method is very troublesome. Also, when the vehicle is driven for a long period, the filter unit 82 becomes very hot. Thus, the filter unit 82 needs to be sufficiently cooled down before removing it from the vehicle. This further increases time required for removing the filter.
Further, most vehicles such as buses are not equipped with exhaust gas purifiers. Thus, it may be proposed that an exhaust gas purifier be mounted on an existing bus that has no exhaust gas purifier. However, heavy vehicles such as buses that have large engine displacement have large amount of particulates in exhaust gas. Thus, it is required to mount large exhaust gas purifiers on heavy vehicles. Therefore, it is difficult to prepare a space for placing an exhaust gas purifier.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an exhaust gas purifier that allows a filter to be easily attached or detached. Another objective is to provide an inexpensive exhaust gas purifier for a bus that is easily mounted on a bus without taking additional space for placing the exhaust gas purifier.


A storm-water redistribution device and installation are described for providing headloss and redistribution of a flow of storm-water runoff. The device includes an elongate, tubular, geotextile enclosure having a plurality of transverse partitions therein that form a plurality of segments along the length of the device. Each segment is filled with a particulate material, such as gravel having a desired grade size or distribution thereof. Longitudinal partitions are provided to form one or more transversely positioned compartments. The device is installed perpendicular to a slope to intercept runoff flows. The flow infiltrates the device and is diverted into vertical infiltrating flow, longitudinal flow that distributes the flow along the device length, and transverse flow that exits the opposite side of the device as overland or subsurface flow of reduced velocity. The partitions enable retention of the particulate materials in desired positions within the device during manipulation and use.

As various parcels of land are developed to create residential neighborhoods, shopping centers, and the like, pervious land covers like vegetation and undisturbed soil are replaced with impervious land covers, such as pavement and rooftops. These impervious surfaces prevent the natural infiltration of precipitation and result in increased storm water runoff. As storm water runoff flows off of a developed location and ultimately to a stream or other body of water, it can physically cause erosion and move soil particles, as well as dissolve and transport chemicals from the land surface to the body of water.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state departments of natural resources/environmental protection are concerned with nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. NPS pollution is that component of water pollution that comes from the transport of materials on the land surface to a receiving stream via storm water runoff. With NPS pollution, there may be multiple pollutants that come from multiple surface locations under the jurisdiction of multiple landowners. One of these NPS pollutants is sediment. Sediment can be generated from the land surface over which the storm water runoff travels as well as from the bed of the stream channel through which the water is transported. Nonpoint source pollutants are responsible for many stream segments not meeting their water quality criteria.
The EPA now requires post-construction controls under its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II storm water requirements. Post-construction controls, as incorporated into municipal ordinances and frequently called best management practices (BMPs), often require the location of buffer strips or stream buffers between the development and the stream in an effort to slow down and allow infiltration of the runoff before it reaches the stream, in addition to allowing sediment to drop out. The mechanism for this reduction in velocity is the hydraulic roughness of the vegetative cover of the buffer as the water travels in the form of overland flow. However, the storm water runoff from a development, even as small as a parking lot, often exits the development at a single concentrated location. There is thus no opportunity to take advantage of the benefits of overland flow and the resulting infiltration.
Stream buffers are among the very popular BMPs. With a stream buffer, a strip of land along a stream is precluded from development. With development, there are two major impacts. The first impact is the generation of additional volume of storm water runoff because of the increase in impervious surfaces. The second impact is the increase in NPS pollutants (e.g., sediment, nutrients, petroleum products, heavy metals) that results from the activities associated with development. The role of stream buffers is to slow the velocity of flow in order to physically allow solid materials to settle out and to increase storm water infiltration. Infiltration into the subsurface promotes "treatment" within the soil matrix. Infiltration results in less water arriving at the stream from the surface and reduces the potential for stream erosion with its many subsequent problems.
The expected performance of a buffer is associated with the expected condition of overland flow—slow, shallow flow that occurs over a large surface area. As overland flow progresses from higher to lower locations, the natural topography helps to concentrate flow into larger and larger channels with subsequent increases in velocity. The result of the concentration is the reduction in sedimentation and infiltration and the production of gullies downstream of any kind of storm water discharge location.
In order to make the requirement for buffers more acceptable, EPA documents tout buffers as linear parks, within the continuum from wooded areas adjacent to a stream through a brushy section, and linking to the grassed areas often associated with developed land. These natural areas could potentially increase property values and make up for the lost development areas. A linear park might be provided with walking paths, or such paths might develop organically from use by landowners and neighbors. Unfortunately, paths would exacerbate the natural process of flow concentration that short circuits the performance of the buffers.
What is needed, then, is a mechanism to return concentrated storm water runoff to the distributed overland flow condition to promote sedimentation and infiltration in compliance with EPA requirements and intentions. Increased sedimentation and infiltration will improve the effectiveness of buffers, even as paths help to make buffers more publically acceptable. Effective storm water management also prevents the destructive and costly impacts of gully and stream bank erosion, both of which can undermine expensive infrastructure. To accomplish this redistribution, a device is needed that introduces enough headloss to slow down the water and then allows it to spread out.
Current practice for managing concentrated flow, as from a parking lot, is to line the initial portion of the receiving vegetated channels with riprap or related products. The roughness of the riprap induces headlosses and armors the drainage channel to reduce erosion as the water travels to a stream, but does not serve to promote infiltration or sediment settling. Much opportunity remains for storm water management devices in order to service these regulatory drivers, even as the requirements become more stringent and more broadly applicable.


A reflector antenna device is configured to include a main reflector 1 that has a rectangular aperture shape 2, and a primary radiator 3 that radiates a beam having a rectangular shape similar to the aperture shape 2 of the main reflector 1 onto the main reflector 1. As the primary radiator 3, a multimode horn antenna, an active phased array antenna, or the like can be used. As a result, the degree of freedom of reflector shaping can be improved without causing reduction in efficiency.

As a satellite-mounted shaped beam antenna, a reflector antenna whose aperture shape, in which asperities are formed on a mirror surface, is a circular shape is generally used in order to make it possible to transmit and receive a beam according to a requested service area.
For recent satellite-mounted shaped beam antennas, there is an increasing demand for improvements in the gain, suppression of the isolation, etc. than ever before.
As a measure to meet this demand, for example, there can be provided a method of improving the degree of freedom for forming asperities on the mirror surface, and enlarging the circular aperture shape which the main reflector has.
However, because the size of an antenna which can be mounted in a satellite is limited from satellite mounting constraints due to the fairing of rockets, the degree of freedom of reflector shaping is limited.
Therefore, in order to make it possible to maximize the utilization of the aperture area under the satellite mounting constraints, it is effective to use a main reflector having a rectangular aperture shape in which the four corners of its circular aperture is enlarged as long as it can be mounted.
A main reflector having such a rectangular aperture shape is disclosed by, for example, the following nonpatent reference 1.


In ATM networks, digital data in ATM cells are sent to a destination node over a connection made up of more than one transmission link in round robin fashion. This is called inverse multiplexing. Suitable transmission links are selected among a plurality of provisionable transmission links according to some selection criteria. According to some embodiments of the invention, the selection criteria are minimum delay and maximum bandwidth.

It has been recognized that the T1/E1 rate (1.544/2.048 Mbit/s) is a cost effective way of user access to an ATM network as well as connection between ATM network switches. However, as ATM technology for wide area networks is deployed more and more, demands for transmission links of a rate higher than T1/E1 are increasing. Links of higher rates, such as T3/E3 (44.736/34.368 Mbit/s), have been designed to meet these needs. However, the cost of T3/E3 links is still prohibitive in many cases and the ratio of cost versus realistic utilization of the entire rate is not always attractive and fully justified for new ATM end users and service providers. IMA (short for inverse multiplexing for ATM) satisfies the need by using multiple T1/E1 links which are grouped collectively to provide the service at a higher rate.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show two sample configurations in which IMA is used. In this specification, inverse multiplexing for ATM and ATM devices performing inverse multiplexing are collectively called IMA. FIG. 1 depicts a user access to a network through user network interfaces (UNIs) and FIG. 2 illustrates a link connection between ATM switches through broadband inter-carrier interfaces (BICIs) or private network to network interfaces (PNNIs).
Referring to the figures, the basic function of IMA device is to work in pairs to take an ATM cell stream coming from the ATM layer, send it over the multiple links by spreading cells over the available links and ensure that the initial cell stream can be retrieved at the far end. Thus the IMA preferably makes the ATM traffic transparent to the ATM layer over multiple links in use. As far as the ATM layer is concerned, it should only see a pipe (can be considered as a virtual link) whose rate is now the sum of the multiple link rates. It is assumed that each link is run in clear-mode without the presence of intermediate ATM nodes processing ATM cells. This means that there should be no cell discard by any intermediate transmission equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,733, Mar. 4, 1997, Vallee et al uses ATM sequence number cells indicating a specific round robin order of a plurality of transmission links over which ATM data cells are transmitted. The ATM sequence number cells also indicate whether or not a destination is ready to receive ATM data cells in that specific round robin order.
The present invention extends further a variety of functionalities which are useful in inverse multiplexing.

Optimization and recovery techniques in IMA networks