A safety relief valve is provided that comprises a body comprising a chamber therein and an inlet and an outlet, the inlet comprising an inlet valve seat; a disk member closable on the inlet valve seat; and a mechanism in the body biasing the disk member to rest on the inlet valve seat with a set force such that when the pressure in the inlet exceeds a set pressure resulting from the set force, the disk member is lifted from the inlet valve seat, the mechanism comprising a combination of a coil spring and one or more disk springs stacked in series with the coil spring.

The present invention relates to safety relief valves for use on a pressurized system such as pressure vessel or a flow line, especially snap-type safety relief valves having a consistent low blow-down value, springs for safety relief valves and methods of manufacturing safety relief valves.
Spring operated relief valves are used to protect pressurized systems from pressures that exceed their maximum allowable working pressure or any pressures that the user specifies. Most spring operated relief valves use an externally adjustable coil springs that, when compressed, applies the force to keep the valve closed. The spring, which is externally adjustable by the means of a threaded adjustment screw, can be set to allow the valves to operate at a wide range of pressures. The pressure that an individual valve is set to open at is called the set pressure. When this set pressure is reached the valves opens and relieves the excess pressure. The valve then closes when the system pressure has dropped to a reduced level.
Snap-type safety relief valves have the advantage of responding very quickly to pressure changes in pressurized systems to which they are attached. Snap-type safety relief valves move to a fully open position almost immediately after the pressure within the pressure vessel rises above the user-determined set pressure. This allows excess gas pressure to escape quickly. Then, when sufficient pressure has escaped, snap-type safety relief valves quickly and crisply move back to a closed position. For an example of a snap-type safety relief valve, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,362, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
A "blow-down value" is the percentage difference between the user-determined set pressure and the pressure in the pressure vessel or flow line when the snap-type safety relief valve snaps closed. For example, if a user sets the set pressure at 100 psi, and valve stays open as gas escapes out of the snap-type safety relief valve until the pressure in the pressure vessel or flow line is 70 psi, then this snap-type safety relief valve has a blow-down value of 30%. For an example of a snap-type safety relief valve having a standard blow-down value, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,506, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Low blow-down valves have a blow-down value of about 15% or less, preferably about 10% or less. A particularly preferred valve will have a blow-down of 5% to 10% of set pressure. If the set pressure were, for example 100 psi, the reseat pressure would fall in the range of 90 psi to 95 psi for such a preferred valve. Low blow-down valves are desirable because they can minimize the amount of gas that is lost from the pressurized system into the atmosphere during venting, thereby addressing environmental concerns.
Existing low blow-down snap-type safety relief valves do, however, have some problems. One problem is that the blow-down values of the valves are affected by built-up downstream back pressures. The term "built-up downstream back pressures" is well understood in the art and documented in the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 520. The length of outlet piping and the number of elbows that are attached to the outlet of the snap-type safety relief valves contributes to built-up downstream back pressures. Generally, the longer the outlet piping and the greater the number of elbows in the outlet piping, the more built-up downstream back pressure is are created.
Built-up downstream back pressures affect the blow-down value of typical snap-type safety relief valves. For example, a manufacturer may sell a snap-type safety relief valve with a blow-down value of 10% that is recommended to be used with 10 feet of outlet piping. At an installation site, the installer may disregard the manufacturer's recommendations and use 20 feet of outlet piping. In such a case, when the valve is in use, it will experience greater built-up downstream back pressures than the manufacturer designed for. The additional built-up downstream back pressures counteract forces that keep the valve open, and may cause the snap-type safety relief valve to close prematurely. If this occurs while the pressurized system still needs to vent, the snap-type safety relief valve would open again. The valve may then open and close in rapid succession, which is a phenomenon known as chatter. Chatter can shorten the life of a snap-type safety relief valve.
Another problem with existing low blow-down snap-type safety relief valves is that they tend to have a sliding-fit piston/sleeve design. See, for example, the snap-type safety relief valve described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,411,530, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In these designs, when the piston is raised so that gas may escape, a portion of the sleeve may obstruct the flow path as fluid flows through holes in the sleeve. As fluid escapes, foreign particles tend to accumulate between the sliding surfaces, causing additional friction between the sliding-fit parts. This build-up of foreign particles can cause freeze-up of the piston. This can affect the amount of pressure necessary to open the valve, and it can affect the blow down value of the valve, making the valve's performance less predictable. Also, contaminated gas can cause the valve to malfunction.
In addition to the above-mentioned problems, low blow-down snap-type safety relief valves can vary in quality in a number of ways. All snap-type safety relief valves each have a flow coefficient, which represents how unobstructed gas flows through the valve when it is fully open. Higher flow coefficients are considered to be better. Also, different snap-type safety relief valves vary in their ability to maintain their blow-down value, their performance reliability, their durability, their cost to manufacture, and their ease of use.
It is well known in relief valve art that for any given valve design, such as that disclosed in parent application Ser. No. 09/885,293, that as set pressures increase, the slope of the "Force-lift Curve" becomes steeper, i.e., the ratio of force to lift becomes larger. A detailed discussion of the "Force-lift Curve" is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,506, particularly in reference to FIG. 6 of that patent.
To obtain consistently low blow-downs over a broad range of set pressures for a given valve model, say 80 psi to 1500 psi, a series of springs, typically numbering from 15-20, is required.
A single spring in a relief valve will produce a range of operation for one size of valve, which is dependent on the rate of the spring. As the rate of the coil spring increases, the blow-down will also decrease. For a standard relief valve this range is quite large, achieving 20% blow-down at a set pressure and then 40% blow-down at some higher set pressure. In this type of valve line, the next higher pressure valve would be made with a higher rate spring that would achieve a blow-down of 20% at the same pressure that the previous valve produced a 40% blow-down. This is then repeated throughout the entire valve line so that when the individual valves are put together, they will cover a range of, for example, 15-2500(psig). Because of standard spring rate tolerance these valves are designed with overlapping pressure ranges, which results in a slightly reduced operating range. This ensures that, even though springs rate tolerances drift, each valve will function properly over its intended operating range. Standard blow-down relief valves have very large spring ranges so that this overlap only necessitates the availability of a few sizes of springs in the inventory used to make the valves. Low blow-down valves, on the other hand, have operating ranges so short that any small over lap will greatly increase the number of springs needed for the valve line. In fact the overlap needed for a ±7% tolerance spring is so large that a 5%-10% blow-down valve line is not practical. A spring with a rate tolerance of ±5% would be about the maximum rate drift for this type of valve line. A rate tolerance of no greater than ±2%, ideally no greater than ±1%, would allow for a practical amount of springs in this line. This is an unrealistic tolerance due to spring manufacturing limitations and cost.
For example the following springs might be typical for a 0.788 in. diameter orifice safety relief valve, where increased wire sizes are used to keep the maximum allowable stress below an acceptable design limit. Lift values in ASME code-designed valves are constant over the set pressure range of any given orifice size.
Set Point RangeSpring RateWire Size 77.5-97.5 psi 80 lbs/in..125 in. 97.5-120 psi104 lbs/in..125 in. 120-14S psi128 lbs/in..136 in. 145-173 psi154 lbs/in..136 in. 173-203 psi182 lbs/in..148 in. 203-240 psi214 lbs/in..168 in. 240-234 psi248 lbs/in..177 in. 337-403 psi289 lbs/in..177 in. 403-485 psi335 lbs/in..177 in. 485-585 psi388 lbs/in..187 in. 585-720 psi450 lbs/in..203 in. 720-840 psi610 lbs/in..203 in. 890-1120 psi714 lbs/in..225 in.1120-1420 psi838 lbs/in..225 in.1420-1840 psi990 lbs/in..250 in.1840-2420 psi1175 lbs/in. .250 in.
In order to insure that spring ranges do not over lap, and meet a specification of a 5% to 10% blow-down for each spring, very precise control of the rate of any given spring is required. Again refer to FIG. 6 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,506.
Helical or coil springs are one of the most common types of springs and are produced by the millions each year. Coil compression springs produce resistance to a compressive force that is applied through its central axis. These springs, when coiled with a constant diameter, produce a resistive force that is directly proportional to the spring's displacement. This property makes coil springs very predictable and easy to work with. The term rate, which is represented by R, describes the spring's ability to resist a given force. This can be shown mathematically by the equation: R=F/D where F is force acting on the spring and D is the displacement due to that force. For springs that have a constant diameter and wire size, the rate is constant or linear, which mean that at any point of displacement the spring's rate stays the same. Constant rate coil springs are designed to a desired rate, which is dependent on four factors: wire size and modulus, the spring's mean diameter, and number of coils. Deviations and inconsistencies in these four factors make spring production not an exact science. Spring tolerance will vary form one spring manufacturer to another, but in general as design tolerances decrease so does the cost of producing the springs.
Most coil springs are wound on a highly efficiently machine that can produce standard springs very cheaply. For most spring manufactures, +10% deviations in spring rates is about average, and a rate around ±7% is considered about as tight as possible. Other types of coil spring manufacturing are available, such as springs that are machined for a blank. These machined springs can be produced to tighter tolerances than conventional springs, but are extremely expensive compared to wound coil springs. Because of this high rate tolerance, most spring applications have allowances for rate deviations, but in the safety relief valve industry, these deviations can be problematic for low blow-down valves. Spring operated relief valves are mass-produced with standard springs and, because of design allowances, work fine. Low blow-down relief valves with short spring ranges, on the other hand, need as tight of a spring rate tolerance as possible.
One approach to obtaining a rate tolerance of ±2% would be to test all springs from a good commercial spring vender, and discard those that have rates outside of the ±2% tolerance. This, of course, is very wasteful. In order to realize a 5% to 10% blow-down, as many as 40 different springs would have to be designed and purchased to cover the set pressure range for a given orifice size. The rate for each spring would then be recorded and sorted. To fill an order for any set pressure over the range of 80 psi to 1800 psi, a specific spring would then be selected with the rate required to produce a relief valve with a blow-down in the 5% to 10% range. While the procedure could be effective, it would be inefficient from a spring inventory and manufacturing perspective.
Thus there is a need for a way to modify springs for use in low blow-down valves so that they will have a rate within a +2% tolerance. Also, a low blow-down valve design is needed to accommodate such modified springs.

Safety relief valve having a low blow-down value and spring therefore

Abstract: A method of preparing a coil spring for use in a pressure relief valve comprises measuring the spring rate of the coil spring and; modifying the spring so as to modify its spring rate to be within ±2% of a desired spring rate.


A bicycle rear suspension of the type where the crank set is mounted on the swingarm. The swingarm is connected to the main frame by a set of pivoting links that downwardly converge. The links produce an instant center of rotation for the swingarm that moves in a rearward path. The rearward path starts from horizontally forward of the crank center and moves to be approximately horizontally in line with the crank center. This reduces the vertical movement of the cranks as the suspension is compressed.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to rear wheel suspensions for bicycles. More particularly to an improvement on the rear suspension systems that have the crank axle mounted on the swingarm.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Rear wheel suspension systems for bicycles have been designed for over a century. There are numerous methods of providing suspension for the rear wheel. In general, they work by having a main frame on the forward end and some form of a swingarm attached to it. The rear wheel is generally attached at the rearward end of the swingarm. The swingarm is allowed to move independently from the main frame so as to provide the suspension action. The rider turns a crank assembly comprising pedals, cranks and a crank axle. The power is transmitted to the rear wheel by a chain driven transmission. The suspension systems can roughly be divided into two categories: those that have the crank axle mounted on the main frame and those that have the crank axle mounted on the swingarm.
The first category has the crank axle mounted on the main frame. In these systems there are one or more pivoting connections in the path between the crank axle and the rear wheel. A simple version of this system with a single pivot is schematically shown in FIG. 2. There are significant disadvantages to these systems:
a) The distance between the rear axle and the crank axle is not constant throughout the suspension travel. Since power from the crank axle is transmitted to the wheel by a chain, this variation in distance causes disturbances in the power transmission.
b) There is the structural problem of having a pivot in the load path between the crank axle and the wheel. During pedaling, there is considerable chain tension, which is delivered in pulses. The swingarm pivot is subject to all of these pulses and it is very difficult to make the pivot durable, stiff and light.
c) The swingarm is also susceptible to unwanted actuation caused by the pedaling pulses in the drive train. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as "bobbing". Ideally the swingarm pivot would be located such that the variation in chain tension would not cause bobbing. However it is not possible to locate the pivot such that there is not bobbing in any gear choice. The wide range of gear ratios offered by modern drive trains (currently 27 speeds) causes the chain tension and chain angle to vary widely depending on gear selection. Therefore the pivot location is a compromise that works better for some gear combinations and worse for others.
The present invention falls into the second category where the crank axle is mounted on the swingarm. This type of suspension is commonly referred to as a unified rear triangle design or URT. Some examples of these designs are schematically shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6. The distance between the crank axle and the rear wheel remains constant because they are both mounted on the swing arm. This has the advantage in that the power transmission to the wheel is delivered without disturbance from suspension actuation. It also has the advantage in that the swingarm pivot is not subject to the chain tension pulses.
Current URTs have different pivot locations. FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6 show various pivot locations. Each pivot location has its advantages and disadvantages. The pivot location can be defined by a horizontal distance from the crank axle and a vertical distance from the crank axle. The affect of varying both the horizontal and vertical distance shall be examined separately.
FIGS. 3 and 5 show schematics of designs with the pivot horizontally forward of the crank axle. This pivot location has the drawback in that it does not maintain a constant distance between the crank axle and seat. When the pivot (center of rotation) is horizontally forward of the crank axle, the crank axle moves upward when the suspension is compressed upward. The more forward the pivot is, the greater the vertical movement in the cranks. Although the crank axle movement is a fraction of the movement of the rear wheel, it is still enough to affect the pedaling feel of the cranks because they are moving vertically relative to the rider.
The main advantage to having the pivot forward of the crank axle is that pedal induced bobbing is minimized. When the cranks are horizontal, the pedaling force is centered on the leading pedal that is approximately 175 mm (6.9 inches) in front of the crank axle. When the cranks are vertical, the pedal force is downward through the center of the crank axle. There is still significant downward pressure on the pedals even though no torque is being applied to the crank axle. The typical power stroke varies the horizontal location of the pedal force from 0 to 175 mm (6.9 inches) in front of the crank axle. Therefore it is advantageous for the pivot to have a horizontal location somewhere between 0 to 175 mm (6.9 inches). This keeps the pivot location as close to the pedal force as possible.
The vertical placement of the pivot requires consideration also. The traction force of the wheel with the ground causes the suspension to actuate in a downward direction. This traction force varies proportionally to the pedal force and proportionally to the gear selection. The traction force changes from forward to rearward when the rear brake is applied. With such a large variation of traction force, it is desirable to locate the pivot as low to the ground as possible so that it is closer in line with the traction force.
However, there is also a reason to have a higher pivot. It is desirable to have the wheel pull downward into the ground when the traction force is propelling the bike forward. This aids the wheel in gaining traction to the ground. It also helps to cancel out the rider's tendency to bounce up and then down with each pedal stroke. How far the pivot should be above ground level is still debatable. Some designs claim that the ideal vertical location is even with the crank axle. Other designs claim an even greater benefit having the pivot far above the level of the crank axle.
FIG. 4 shows a pivot location where the pivot is above the crank axle. Such designs have the advantage in that the pedal to seat distance is relatively constant, but the design tends to bob with each pedal stroke.
The pivot location shown in FIG. 3 produces almost no bobbing, but the pedal to seat distance still varies with suspension actuation. Of the fixed pivot URT designs, this one is probably the best and most commercially successful.
FIG. 5 shows a pivot location where the pivot is far forward and far above the crank axle. The pivot is too high to minimize bobbing and there is still the problem of the pedal to seat distance variation.
FIG. 6 shows a pivot location where the pivot is at the crank axle. In this case there is no variation in the pedal to seat distance, however these suspensions have considerable pedal induced bobbing.
All the pivot locations are a compromise of qualities. None of the pivot locations produce both requirements of:
a) maintaining the pedal to seat distance within acceptable levels
b) minimize the pedal induced bobbing
The swingarm can pivot around a simple pivot, as shown in the previous examples, or it can be a so-called "virtual pivot". A virtual pivot is a pivot that is comprised of two links that connect the swingarm with the main frame. Each link has a pivot on each end. The two links define an instant center of rotation that is not necessarily located at any of the four pivoting connections. The instant center of rotation is located at the intersection of the two link centerlines. The link centerlines are defined as lines that contain both link pivots. Because the links rotate as the swingarm is compressed, the instant center moves with the links. The length and location of each link can be tailored to provide a specific movement of the instant center of rotation as the swingarm actuates through its range of travel.
An example of a URT that utilizes a virtual pivot is disclosed by Harris in U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,910. A schematic diagram of the links is shown in FIG. 7. The virtual pivot location is located somewhere directly above the crank axle. This location is chosen in order to keep the cranks from moving excessively in the vertical direction. The virtual pivot location also causes the rear wheel to move up and back in line with the bump force. The problem with this design is that the pedal induced bobbing has not been addressed. The design is little improvement on other simple pivot designs where the pivot was directly above the crank center.
Another example of a prior art URT that utilizes a virtual pivot is shown schematically in FIG. 8. This bike was make by the American company Azonic. Here the pivot is high and in front of the crank pivot. As the suspension is compressed, the pivot moves downward. Unfortunately, the virtual pivot is too high to minimize bobbing and the crank axle still has excessive vertical movement.
Thus, a need still exists for a rear wheel suspension for bicycles which will overcome the above mentioned problems with unified rear triangle suspensions constructed to date.


A substrate cleaning method according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: supplying a film-forming treatment liquid containing a volatile component to a substrate to form a film on the substrate; supplying a peeling treatment liquid, which peels off a treatment film from the substrate, to the treatment film formed by solidifying or curing the film-forming treatment liquid on the substrate due to volatilization of the volatile component; and supplying a hydrophobic liquid, which hydrophobizes the substrate, to the substrate to which the peeling treatment liquid has been supplied.

A technique for removing particles adhering to a substrate such as a silicon wafer, a compound semiconductor wafer, or the like has been conventionally known.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a substrate cleaning method which includes forming a treatment film on a surface of a substrate, and peeling off the treatment film in the form of a "film" to remove particles on the substrate together with the treatment film.

Substrate cleaning method, substrate cleaning system, and storage medium


A method of air cooling supplied from atmosphere has the steps of subdividing an airstream into a first airstream portion and the second airstream portion, compressing the first airstream portion by compression waves to a required pressure, compressing the second airstream portion in a compressor to the pressure equal the pressure of first airstream portion, uniting both airstream portions to form a joint stream, and expanding the united stream by rarification waves.

The present invention relates to cooling technique, and in particular to the methods for cooling of air.
Method of cooling of air are well known and disclosed for example in the German patent document 3,705,795 as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,922. In the methods disclosed in these references the heat is withdrawn due to evaporation of the cooling agent such as freon which is circulating in a closed circuit. The disadvantage of this method is its high ecological danger in the event of accidents and leakage of the cooling agent to the atmosphere.
Another method of cooling of air in a turbo-cooling device is disclosed in the inventor's certificate of the Soviet Union No. 1,695,070. Here an airstream taken from atmosphere is successively compressed in a compressor, cooled in a heat exchanger, expanded into a turbo-detant unit and mixed with the atmospheric air. Here, the atmospheric air which is compressed in the compressor is cooled, after an intermediate cooling in the heat exchanger, due to the subsequent expansion in a turbine, and a part of the energy which is spent for the compression is generated by the turbine by conversion of potential and kinetic energy of the compressed air into mechanic energy of rotation of a shaft, which in turn is converted by the compressor into potential and kinetic energy of the compressed air. The disadvantage of this method is a high speed of rotation of the turbine shaft, which is determined by parameters and throughflow of air and which is substantially increased when the throughflow is reduced and the pressure is increased. Thereby it is difficult to make the devices for air cooling which are reliable in use.


A radio receiver including a first receiver and a second receiver means which sweep frequencies of the divided regions of one reception band respectively or from lower end to upper end of one reception band. A control circuit stores received broadcasting stations having the reception quality level higher than the levels specified by sweeping the first receivers and the second receiver respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio frequency receiver of twin-tuner type provided with two systems of receivers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been an increasing demand for a radio receiver to output demodulated signal of higher reception quality, and many kinds of proposals have been made so far concerning the above.
For example, a receiver having such function is being proposed which can detect stations having higher electric field intensity in a specified area automatically, write some of those stations into a preset assigned area in a memory in the order of the height of electric field, and call the stored stations in the memory by the preset button operation.
Such a function is called BSM (Best Stations Memory), which function includes sweeping of received frequencies, for example, from low end to upper end of the reception band, writing of frequencies having higher electric field intensity than that of the specified level into the memory, and presetting of the frequencies in the order of the intensity level of electric field in accordance with the preset button etc.
One example of the radio receiver provided with the above-mentioned functions is shown in FIG. 6.
In FIG. 6, numerical 1 designates a radio frequency (RF) receiving antenna, and the RF signal received through this antenna 1 is amplified by an RF amplifier 2 and then applied to a mixer 3. Local signal outputted from a local signal oscillator 4 constituted by, for example, a PLL circuit is fed to the mixer 3 and the received signal is here converted to an intermediate frequency signal.
Intermediate frequency signal thus obtained by the mixer 3 is selectively amplified by an intermediate frequency amplifier 5 and demodulated by a detector 6 of the next stage. The demodulated signal output by the detector 6 is further stereo-demodulated by a multiplexing circuit 7 and passes through a muting circuit 8 and is applied to power amplifiers 9L, 9R for amplifying left and right sound signals.
Then, the demodulated sound signals amplified by the power amplifiers 9L, 9R are reproduced by loudspeakers 10L, 10R.
On the other hand, the output signal produced by detecting the level of the intermediate frequency signal, in other words, the output signal corresponding to the reception electric field intensity is applied from the intermediate frequency amplifier 5 to a central processing unit 11 comprising a microprocessor.
A keyboard 12 by which the desired frequencies etc. to be received are inputted, a display 13 indicating the frequencies etc. to be received and the local signal oscillator 4 constituted by the above-mentioned PLL circuit are all connected to the central processing unit 11.
In the constitution as mentioned above, when the BSM function as above is operated during the RF reception, the mute control signal from the central processing unit 11 is applied to the muting circuit 8 so as to prevent the frequency being presently received and reproduced from being demodulated. Immediately after the above operation, the central processing unit 11 sends a command to the local signal oscillator 4 for sweeping the frequencies to be received from low end to high end of the reception band, and the receiver begins to scan the tuning operation of the frequencies sequentially.
At this time, the reception level outputted from the intermediate frequency amplifier 5 is applied to the central processing unit 11, and when the outputted reception level is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, the central processing unit 11 stores the level value and the corresponding received frequency at that time.
When the tuning scanning from low end to high end of the reception band is completed, the central processing unit 11 presets the received frequencies corresponding to preset buttons according to their reception levels. The central processing unit 11 then outputs the control signal to the local signal oscillator 4 in order to tune the frequency of the maximum frequency level, and then sends a signal for clearing the muting function to the muting circuit 8, so that the receiver results in receiving and reproducing the highest reception level of the frequency in that area.
In case the above-mentioned BSM operation is intended to be carried out, for example, referring to FM band in Japan, a frequency band 76-90 MHz will be swept by step of every 0.1 MHz. Assuming the time required for sweeping at each step is 50 msec, the time necessary to sweep from low end to high end of the FM band becomes 7 sec +, during which time the reception is thus muted, so that it is regarded as a waiting time.
Apart from the above-mentioned BSM function which utilizes means for sweeping from the low end to high end of one of FM band, another BSM function has also been proposed heretofore, wherein the detecting level of the frequency is set to high level in the first sweep, that is, the level of the frequency reception is set to the "LOCAL" position so as to extract the broadcasting station received thereby, and the detecting level is then lowered in the second sweep, that is, the level of the frequency reception is, this time, set to the "DX" position so as to extract the broadcasting station received thereby. By this operation, broadcasting stations are received in the order of the height of its reception sensitivity.
However, the BSM function as above requires twice as long as the above-mentioned waiting time.
As described above, the radio receiver according to the prior art requires a considerable waiting time, for example, during the operation of BSM function, and consequently a user can not obtain any information from the radio receiver during such waiting time.

Radio frequency receiver including dual receivers for increasing scanning speed


This invention is directed to glass compositions particularly designed for use as substrates in flat panel display devices and, more expressly, for use as substrates in LCDs which employ polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors. The glass compositions are essentially free from alkali metal oxides and consist essentially, in mole percent, of. ______________________________________ SiO.sub.2 65-76 MgO 0-5 ZrO.sub.2 0-2.5 Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 7-11 CaO 0-10 TiO.sub.2 0-3 BaO 12-19 SrO 0-10 Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 0-3 B.sub.2 O.sub.3 0-5 MgO + 0-15 ZrO.sub.2 + 0.5-5. CaO + TiO.sub.2 + SrO Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 ______________________________________

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are passive displays which depend upon external sources of light for illumination. They are manufactured as segmented displays or in one of two basic configurations. The substrate needs (other than being transparent and capable of withstanding the chemical conditions to which it is exposed during display processing) of the two matrix types vary. The first type is intrinsic matrix addressed, relying upon the threshold properties of the liquid crystal material. The second is extrinsic matrix or active matrix (AM) addressed, in which an array of diodes, metal-insulator-metal (MIM) devices, or thin film transistors (TFTs) supplies an electronic switch to each pixel. In both cases, two sheets of glass form the structure of the display. The separation between the two sheets is the critical gap dimension, of the order of 5-10 .mu.m.
Intrinsically addressed LCDs are fabricated using thin film deposition techniques at temperatures .ltoreq.350.degree. C., followed by photolithographic patterning. As a result, the substrate requirements therefor are often the same as those for segmented displays. Soda-lime-silica glass with a barrier layer has proven to be adequate for most needs. A high performance version of intrinsically addressed LCDs, the super twisted nematic (STN) type, has an added requirement of extremely precise flatness for the purpose of holding the gap dimensions uniform. Because of that requirement, soda-lime-silica glass used for those displays must be polished or, alternatively, a precision formed, barium aluminoborosilicate glass marketed by Corning Incorporated, Corning, N.Y., as Code 7059 may be used without polishing.
Extrinsically addressed LCDs can be further subdivided into two categories; viz., one based on MIM or amorphous silicon (a-Si) devices, and the other based on polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) devices. The substrate requirements of the MIM or a-Si type are similar to the STN application. Corning Code 7059 sheet glass is the preferred substrate because of its very low sodium content, i.e., less than 0.1% Na.sub.2 O by weight, its dimensional precision, and its commercial availability. Devices formed from poly-Si, however, are processed at higher temperatures than those that are employed with a-Si TFTs. Substrates capable of use temperatures (taken to be 25.degree. C. below the strain point of the glass) of 600.degree.-800.degree. C. are demanded. The actual temperature required is mandated by the particular process utilized in fabricating the TFTs. Those TFTs with deposited gate dielectrics require 600.degree.-650.degree. C., while those with thermal oxides call for about 800.degree. C. Both a-Si and poly-Si processes demand precise alignment of successive photolithographic patterns, thereby necessitating that the thermal shrinkage of the substrate be kept low. Those temperatures have mandated the use of glasses exhibiting higher strain points than soda-lime-silica glass and Corning Code 7059 glass in order to avoid thermal deformation of the sheet during processing. As can be appreciated, the lower the strain point, the greater this dimensional change. Thus, there has been considerable research to develop glasses demonstrating high strain points so that thermal deformation is minimized during device processing at temperatures greater than 600.degree. C., and preferably, higher than 650.degree. C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,808 (Dumbaugh, Jr.) lists four properties which have been deemed mandatory for a glass to exhibit in order to fully satisfy the needs of a substrate for LCDs:
First, the glass must be essentially free of intentionally added alkali metal oxide to avoid the possibility that alkali metal from the substrate can migrate into the transistor matrix;
Second, the glass substrate must be sufficiently chemically durable to withstand the reagents used in the TFT matrix deposition process;
Third, the expansion mismatch between the glass and the silicon present in the TFT array must be maintained at a relatively low level even as processing temperatures for the substrates increase; and
Fourth, the glass must be capable of being produced in high quality thin sheet form at low cost; that is, it must not require extensive grinding and polishing to secure the necessary surface finish.
That last requirement is most difficult to achieve inasmuch as it demands a sheet glass production process capable of producing essentially finished glass sheet, such as the overflow downdraw sheet manufacturing process described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,696 (Dockerty) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,609 (Dockerty). That process requires a glass exhibiting a very high viscosity at the liquidus temperature plus long term stability, e.g., periods of 30 days, against devitrification at melting and forming temperatures.
Corning Code 7059 glass, supra, is currently employed in the fabrication of LCDs. That glass, consisting essentially, in weight percent, of about 50% SiO.sub.2, 15% B.sub.2 O.sub.3, 10% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, and 24% BaO, is nominally free of alkali metal oxides, and exhibits a linear coefficient of thermal expansion (25.degree.-300.degree. C.) of about 46.times.10.sup.-7 /.degree. C. and a viscosity at the liquidus temperature in excess of 600,000 poises (6.times.10.sup.-4 Pa.multidot.s). The high liquidus viscosity of the glass enables it to be drawn into sheet via the overflow downdraw sheet processing technique, but its relatively low strain point (.about.593.degree. C.) is adequate only for processing a-Si devices and not for poly-Si devices.
The glasses of U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,808, supra, were designed to meet the requirements for use in fabricating poly-Si devices, including the capability of being formed into sheet by the overflow downdraw sheet processing technique, and linear coefficients of thermal expansion as low as about 36.5.times.10.sup.-7 /.degree. C. (25.degree.-300.degree. C.), such as to closely match that of silicon, thereby enabling a silicon chip to De sealed directly thereon, but their strain points were less than 650.degree. C.
The glasses of U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,337 (Dumbaugh, Jr.) were also considered for LCD substrates, but their long term stability against devitrification was feared to be insufficient for their use in the overflow downdraw sheet processing technique.
The glasses of U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,787 (Dumbaugh, Jr.) are essentially free from alkali metal oxides and MgO and demonstrate strain points of 655.degree. C. and higher, with viscosities at the liquidus greater than 1.5.times.10.sup.5 poises (1.5.times.10.sup.4 Pa.multidot.s). Although designed for use in the overflow downdraw sheet processing technique, their long term stability against devitrification was found to be marginal when employed in the process, some crystallization being formed in the glass during manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,788 (Dumbaugh, Jr.) discloses other glasses exhibiting high strain points, i.e., greater than 675.degree. C., but having such relatively low viscosities at the liquidus temperature, viz., 20,000-200,000 poises (2,000-20,000 Pa.multidot.s), as to be subject to devitrification when formed utilizing the overflow downdraw sheet processing technique.


A vehicular lamp has light source units connected in parallel, an output controlling switch operable to intermittently carry an electric current by repeating on and off, an output coil operable to output electric power according to current flowing into said output controlling switch in synchronization when said output switch switches, a selection controlling unit operable to select at least one said light source unit in synchronization when said output controlling switch switches and cause said at least one selected light source to receive the power output from said output coil, and a malfunction detecting unit operable to detect malfunction of each of said light source units, wherein said selection controlling unit selects at least one said light source unit among said light source units from which malfunction is not detected when said malfunction detecting unit detects malfunction of either of said light source units.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a vehicular lamp that uses a light-emitting diode element is known as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-231013. In some cases, a vehicular lamp uses a plurality of light-emitting diode elements, e.g., according to need in light distribution design.
In a vehicular lamp that uses a plurality of light-emitting diode elements, there was a problem that a circuit scale increases, e.g., to control each of the light-emitting diode elements independently, in some cases. In this way, a cost of a vehicular lamp also increased in some cases.


A landing gear (10), including: a bogie beam (12); an axle (14) pivotally connected to the bogie beam (12); a locking member (40) coupled to the axle (14) such that movement of the axle (14) invokes movement of the locking member (40), said movement of the locking member (40) defining a swept volume; and a locking mechanism (60) coupled to the bogie beam (12) and including first (65a) and second glide members, (65a, 65b) the locking mechanism (60) being arranged to move the glide members (65a, 65b) between locking positions, where glide members (65a, 65b) are within the swept volume on opposing sides of the locking member (40) and in which position the locking mechanism (60) is arranged to lock the locking member (40) in a predetermined position, and non-locking positions, where the locking mechanism (60) is arranged permit movement of the locking member (40).

Large aircraft are often provided with multi-axle landing gear including a bogie beam carrying a plurality of axles, each axle carrying a plurality of wheels. It is known for one of the axles, generally the rear axle, to be steerable, so as to reduce tyre wear and improve manoeuvrability when the aircraft is taxiing. The steerable axle is generally pivotally connected to the bogie beam. An actuator provided between the bogie beam and the steerable axle can control the orientation of the axle relative to the bogie beam.
As will be appreciated, there are instances where it is desirable for a steerable axle of a landing gear to be locked in a predetermined orientation. Examples are during take-off and landing and during stowage, where it is desirable that the steerable axle is locked in an orientation that is generally orthogonal with respect to the bogie beam and parallel with respect to the other axles on the bogie beam. Such landing gears are therefore provided with a locking device for locking the orientation of the steerable axle relative to the bogie beam.
A known way of providing a locking device is to provide a locking actuator. For example, the steering actuator may be configured to lock when it is at a predefined extension state, corresponding to the extension state required to provide the desired locking orientation of the axle.
A further known locking device is to provide a slot extending into the steerable axle in a manner substantially orthogonal with respect to the longitudinal axis of the axle. A wedge may be provided that is movable between a first position where the wedge is housed within the slot, so as to prevent the steerable axle pivoting about the bogie, and a second position where the wedge is removed from the slot, to allow the axle to pivot.
Both the above-mentioned types of locking device can be noisy during operation because of the fact that unlocking generally occurs under load.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned types of locking device suffer from a disadvantage in that it can be difficult to accurately move the axle to the correct locking orientation before the lock can engage. This can be problematic when the bogie beam bends under static load. As will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, because the steering actuator is provided between the bogie beam and the steering axle, deflection of the bogie beam can attempt to cause the axle to pivot. This is due to the deflection of the bogie beam causing a change in the straight line distance between the point where the axle connects to the bogie beam and the point where the steering actuator connects to bogie beam. When the lock is released the axle will pivot, and if it moves far enough it may prevent the lock from re-engaging, even though the steering actuator is in its centred position.
Another example of when locking can be problematic occurs if an internally locking actuator is powered to a centred position defined by a control system with a follow-up sensor, or by internal differential area, and the lock position does not exactly coincide with this driven position, due to tolerances, such that the internal lock element does not engage with its mating feature.
In the event of loss of active (electrical) control, an axle will typically move towards its central position due to the pneumatic trail effect or hydraulic means. A locking element of known landing gear may not be able to engage with the axle before the axle passes and overshoots its central position, resulting in the axle oscillating before it is eventually locked.


A process for viewing a selected portion of a document on a mobile communication device without having to request multiple pages of the document contents containing document global properties applied to the selected part of the document, comprising marking pages of the document within a server, based on size required by the mobile device, associating properties and attributes of the selected portion with the pages, and transmitting the pages with the properties and attributes for display by the mobile device.

Mobile communication devices are becoming increasingly popular for business and personal use due to a relatively recent increase in number of services and features that the devices and mobile infrastructures support. Handheld mobile communication devices, sometimes referred to as mobile stations, are essentially portable computers having wireless capability, and come in various forms. These include Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), cellular phones and smart phones. While their reduced size is an advantage to portability, bandwidth and processing constraints of such devices present challenges to the downloading and viewing of documents, such as word processing documents, tables and images.
Electronic documents are produced using various computer programs, such as word processors, spreadsheet programs, financial software, and presentation software. In addition to text, such documents contain structural and property information such as paragraph indentation, text color and table size, etc.
When a user of a mobile communication device wishes to view only selected portions of a document stored on a remote server, other portions of the document that contain the structural information and properties used by the selected portion must also typically be transmitted to the mobile communication device. The required downloading of these other portions occurs over a potentially bandwidth-constrained wireless network. For example, if a user wishes to view only a single paragraph in a section at the middle of a 400-page document, the entire section (and sometimes even entire document) that contains default properties for the paragraph must be transmitted to the mobile communication device.
Once downloaded to the device, the electronic document is viewed using a user interface on the mobile communication device, which typically differs from the user interface used to create and view a document on a personal computer. For example, whereas the user interface on a personal computer may include a large, color display and a pointing device such as a mouse, the mobile communication device typically has only a small, possibly non-color, screen, and may not have a mouse. In addition, the mobile communication device typically has greater processing power and memory limitations than a personal computer.

Method for document page delivery to a mobile communication device


A device is provided for multiplying the pulse frequency of a pulse train signal. The device includes input means for the signal and means for accessing the signal at points with a predetermined phase difference between them. The device additionally comprises means at a first level for combining accessed signal pairs, with one and the same phase distance within all the combined pairs, the output from each first level combining means being a pulse train. The device additionally comprises combining means at a second level for combining the pulse trains from the first level, and the combining means at the first level are such that the pulses in their output pulse trains have rise flanks which always coincide with the rise flank of the first signal in the combined accessed signal pairs, and fall flanks which always coincide with the fall flanks of the second signal in said pair.

Frequency multipliers are important building blocks in a variety of technologies, for example communication systems. A wide range of frequencies is often desired, thus creating a desire for tuneable frequency multipliers. In general, the noise characteristics of frequency multipliers get worse the wider the tuning range of the generator. Thus, trade-offs have to be made with contemporary frequency multipliers regarding tuning range and noise characteristics. In order to live up to noise specifications, it may thus be necessary to use a plurality of different frequency multipliers to cover a wide frequency band.
The present invention is directed mainly to the field of digital frequency multipliers, and thus, to solve the problems of that category of frequency multipliers. Among those problems, the following could be mentioned:
Usually, only multiplication factors in the form of 2n, where n is an integer, can be obtained. In solutions where factors other than 2n can be obtained, a fixed width pulse is clocked in different integer values of the minimum pulse width. This results in an output frequency spectrum rich in unwanted frequency components. It also adds asymmetry and circuit complexity not suitable for higher frequencies, such as the microwave range.
Also, many suggested digital multipliers are asymmetrical with respect to the different signals, which is particularly troublesome at very high frequencies.
Many solutions are also quite complex, and add jitter. In addition, many digital multipliers use logic circuits such as XOR or OR gates to generate pulses both on rise and fall. This may result in varying curve forms in consecutive pulses in the output of the multiplier.
It should be pointed out that the phrase "frequency multiplier" in this text refers to the pulse frequency in a pulse train.


A method of manufacturing a flexible display device includes forming a buffer layer on a base substrate, wherein the buffer layer is transparent and has a optical bandgap of about 3.0 eV to about 4.0 eV; forming a flexible substrate on the buffer layer; forming display elements on the flexible substrate; and irradiating a laser to the buffer layer to detach the flexible substrate from the base substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a display device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Until recently, display devices have typically used cathode-ray tubes (CRTs). Presently, many efforts and studies are being made to develop various types of flat panel displays, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, plasma display panel (PDP) devices, field emission display (FED) devices, and electro-luminescence display (ELD) devices, as a substitute for CRTs. These flat panel displays have many advantages, such as thin profile, light weight, thin profile, and low voltage power supply requirements.
Since the flat panel display uses a glass substrate in order to endure high temperature occurring in manufacturing processes, there is a limit to light weight, thin profile and flexibility.
Accordingly, a flexible display device, which uses a flexible substrate made of a material such as plastic instead of a glass substrate, makes a rise.
However, since the flexible substrate has its good flexibility, it is difficult to use an manufacturing apparatus, which is designed for a glass or quartz substrate, for the flexible substrate. For example, it is impossible to transfer the flexible substrate using a track apparatus or robot or loading the flexible substrate on a cassette.
To solve these problems, a technology is suggested for manufacturing processes to be conducted in a state that the flexible substrate is attached to a base substrate made of glass or quartz using an adhesive material, and then the flexible substrate be detached from the base substrate.
In order to effectively detach the flexible substrate from the base substrate, the adhesive material should not be completely hardened in processes of forming display elements. To do this, a maximum temperature in the processes is required to be 150 degrees Celsius or less.
However, when a thin film transistor out of the display elements is formed at 150 degrees Celsius or less, its performance is degraded and its operation is not stable. This causes reliability of display device.
Further, even though the detaching process is finished, the adhesive material is not completely removed from the flexible substrate. Accordingly, to completely remove the adhesive material, additional process is required.

Method of manufacturing flexible display device


A power supply circuit includes a power supply input for receiving power from a power supply, a power supply output for supplying power to a load, a voltage reference circuit, and a switch circuit. The voltage reference circuit is connected between the power supply input and the power supply output for regulating voltage of the power supply circuit. The switch circuit is connected to the voltage reference circuit and the power supply output. The voltage reference circuit supplies regulated voltage to the switch circuit. The switch circuit controls current between the power supply input and the power supply output to be changed alternately at a certain frequency, thereby changing power output to the load to save electricity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to power supply circuits, and particularly to an energy saving power supply circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
Nowadays, with the earth's resources being depleted day by day, the cost of investment for energy increases significantly. Solar energy has drawn great attention from the energy industry as an alternative source of energy, and has found widespread applications in a variety of fields. For example, solar powered street-lamps are used in many countries.
A conventional solar powered street-lamp typically includes a solar energy operated absorption board, a storage battery, and a lamp. The solar energy operated absorption board absorbs solar energy and converts it into electric energy, which is used to recharge the storage battery. The storage battery supplies power to the lamp. However, the lamp typically works at a constant maximum power as supplied by the storage battery. Therefore, the lamp consumes energy quickly, so that the storage battery may not supply enough power to the lamp all night long.
What is desired, therefore, is to provide a power supply circuit which can effectively save electricity.


A photo-detector circuit for barcode scanners, endoscopes, and the like, includes a large area PIN photo-diode and an amplifier. Adverse effects associated with a terminal capacitance from the large area PIN diode may be minimized by maintaining a relatively constant voltage across the input terminals of the amplifier. Noise levels may be minimized by the arrangement of the amplifier circuit and the large area PIN diode resulting in an increased signal-to-noise ratio and an increased gain-bandwidth product. Due to the large numerical aperture of the photo-detector, increased resolution and/or lower output power in a reflective imaging system may be obtained with relatively low cost components. Detection area of the large area PIN diode may be larger than approximately 25 mm2 when compared to typical PIN diodes used in photo-detector applications.

Scanned beam image capture devices are used for a variety of applications. In a scanned beam image capture device, a narrow beam of light is generated, often by a laser, and scanned across a field-of-view. Light from the beam is scattered, transmitted, absorbed, or reflected by features in the field-of-view according to the optical properties encountered by the beam as it scans. A portion of light from the scanned beam is "scattered" or "reflected" back to a photo-detector. The photo-detector converts the optical signal to an electrical signal. The electrical signal is used by a controller to determine one or more characteristics of the field-of-view, for example to generate an image of the field-of-view, to decode an optical indicia within the field-of-view, etc.
While terms such as "scattered" or "reflected" are used herein to describe light returned to the photo-detector, it should be understood that a variety of mechanisms may be involved in returning light to the photo-detector. The amount of light instantaneously received by the photo-detector is correlated to an instantaneous beam angle or position (which may be the same instant of time as the light being received or, for example in the case of fluorescence imaging, may be a function of one or more prior instants in time). By correlating beam position to the amount of light received by the detector, an image or other characteristic of the field-of-view may be determined.
A variety of electrical circuits, optics, and electro-optical systems have been developed for the purposes of photo detection. For many applications, small area PIN diodes are used as photo-detectors in scanned beam capture systems because of their low terminal capacitance. The terminal capacitance of the PIN diode affects the performance of the PIN diode as a photo-detector. A low terminal capacitance results in lower noise and therefore provides a higher signal-to-noise ratio. This in turn means that the low terminal capacitance PIN diode is often considered to have higher bandwidth that can be used with faster throughput. Avalanche Photo-Diodes (APDs) may also be employed as photo-detectors. However, APDs generally require higher bias voltages (˜1-2 kV) and are more expensive than PIN diodes. Relatively large area PIN diodes have been avoided in the past due to their perceived higher capacitance and resulting increased noise level.
In relatively high scan rate beam scanning systems, small area diode devices have been used as photo-detectors because they provide a low terminal capacitance. The low terminal capacitance results in a high gain-bandwidth product and a fast throughput. However, due to relatively small numerical apertures of small area diode devices, overall sensitivity of the small area diode devices may be restricted due to limited light collection. Alternatively, relatively complex optics may be used to de-scan the returned light and focus it onto a small photo-diode, but this may add cost and complexity to a product.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide improvements over the prior art.

System and method for image detection using large area pin diode


A graphical user interface that presents document organization in terms of objects readily familiar to the user is provided by the present invention. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for managing documents in a computer system includes a step of producing a representation of a document that indicates to the user the contents of the document. A step of associating the representation with the document in the memory of the computer is also part of the method. The method includes a step of displaying a document closet image on the display. The document closet image can include a plurality of document images. A step of selecting a document image from the document closet in response to an input from the user is also part of the method. The method can also include turning the document image selected for display to the user so that the user can readily view the representation of the document's contents.

The present invention relates generally to user interfaces in computer systems and more particularly to a graphical user interface method and apparatus for assisting a user with the tasks of organizing and locating documents.
Increasingly, readers of documents are being called upon to assimilate vast quantities of information in a short period of time. Documents are becoming more widely available in electronic form. Some documents are available electronically by virtue of their having been created using word processing software. Other electronic documents are accessible via the Internet. Yet others may become available in electronic form by virtue of being scanned in, copied or faxed. Typical documents can contain text, data, scanned images, applications, executable code, sounds, movies and so forth. Today's computing systems are becoming tools for organizing and manipulating documents. To facilitate this use, the user must be able to store and retrieve such documents quickly and efficiently. Naturally, this task becomes more complicated when the number of documents is large and the types of documents are varied.
Recently, the graphical user interface (GUI) has provided a more efficient way for the user to organize documents. As will be described below however, current GUIs have drawbacks that restrict the user's flexibility and ability to perform tasks efficiently.
FIG. 1A illustrates a typical graphical user interface for manipulating documents. FIG. 1A illustrates a partial screen display 10 of a Macintosh computer running the System 7 operating system, both from Apple Computer, Inc. Screen display 10 includes a cursor 20, icons representing folders such as System Folder 30, Word 40 and System 50, windows such as windows 60 and 70, document icons such as text file 80, file 90, and font 100.
A user operates the graphical user interface by typically using a mouse, or other pointing device, to control a cursor, shown at 20, to select, or "click on," icons such as System Folder 30 in a manner well-known in the art. Here, when System Folder 30 has been selected, window 60 appears on screen display 10. Window 60 includes additional icons in the shape of folders, such as System 50, and documents such as document 90. When the user clicks on System 50, window 70 appears. As shown, Window 70 includes documents representing type faces such as font 100.
Icons, representing folders or documents, may be moved within the various windows by clicking upon a particular icon, dragging the icon to a destination window, and dropping the icon in the destination window. For example, text file 80 can be moved into Word 40 folder by clicking on text file 80 icon, dragging text file 80 icon on top of Word 40 folder, and dropping text file 80 icon on top of Word 40 folder.
Under the Macintosh operating system, icons can be in the shape of folders or documents, etc. The shapes of icons are often used to help the user organize documents. The operating system also allows icons to be labeled with a name, typically immediately below the icon, as well as to have different shapes, and to have additional ornamentation. These techniques provide the user with a visual indication of what the icon represents.
One drawback of the Macintosh operating system is that icons can be arbitrarily positioned on the screen. When there are many icons on the screen, often the screen becomes cluttered and is difficult to read.
Another drawback is that the operating system allows the user to arbitrarily place icons in virtually any window. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, window 60 and screen display 10 contain folders, documents and other icons all together, making it difficult for the user to conceptualize a document hierarchy. Because the operating system uses a scheme that is different from the way users typically use and organize documents, the scheme is not intuitive to users, especially novice users.
FIGS. 1B and 1C illustrates another typical graphical user interface for manipulating documents. FIGS. 1B and 1C illustrate a partial screen display 120 and 130 under Microsoft Windows 3.1 by Microsoft, Inc.
In FIG. 1B, screen display 120 includes windows such as window 140 and icons such as icon 150 and 160. Under Microsoft Windows, icons have a generic "menu" depictions such as icon 150, although custom icons can also be used. Here window 140 includes icons including a file cabinet icon 160. The function associated with file cabinet icon 160 allows the user to manipulate and organize files under Windows 3.1.
In FIG. 1C, a partial screen display 130 is presented to the user in response to the selection of file cabinet icon 160 of FIG. 1B. Partial screen display 130 includes a left portion 180, a right portion 190, open folder 200 icon, folder icon 210, and document icon 220.
Left portion 180 illustrates file folders in a directory "tree" structure; and the right portion 190 illustrates the contents of a selected file folder 200 in left portion 180. When selected, the selected folder icon is highlighted and open folder 200 icon replaces the original icon. The contents of open folder 200 icon are shown in right portion 190 and include folders such as images 210 and documents such as pcbkmark.zip 220.
Drawbacks of the Microsoft Windows 3.1 user interface are similar to the drawbacks of the Macintosh user interface. Specifically, since icons can be arbitrarily positioned on the screen, when there are many icons on the screen, often the screen becomes cluttered and is difficult to read. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1C, windows can contain a mix of folders, documents and other icons all together, making it difficult for the user to conceptualize a document hierarchy. Other interfaces, such as the OS/2 Presentation Manager, from IBM Corporation and the Microsoft Windows 95 user interface have similar drawbacks to the Macintosh system. Again, because the operating system uses a scheme that is different from users' everyday experiences, the scheme is not intuitive to users, especially novice users.
Other approaches to the problem of organizing documents exist. For example, tools exist to search for documents both on the Internet and locally based upon content. Once a document is identified and retrieved, automatic summarization techniques, such as the Reader's Helper™ help the reader to find as well as assimilate the information he or she wants more quickly. The Reader's Helper is described in a commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application No. 08/995,616, entitled AUTOMATIC ADAPTIVE DOCUMENT HELP SYSTEM, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
While efforts to create personal agents for reading online documents represent significant contributions to the field in their own right, many readers continue to seek easier ways to organize and locate documents of interest. What is needed is a graphical user interface that provides the user an easy and efficient system for manipulating and organizing documents in a computer system.

Method and system for organizing document information


A multiple track rail transportation system provides cars having a greater than standard width to span adjacent parallel tracks, and apparatus providing for such cars to ride on standard wheel trucks on each of the parallel tracks. Laterally spaced apart and coupled conventional engines may be used to pull such cars, and interconnection between the laterally spaced apart locomotives is provided to enable the train to be operated by a single crew in the cab of one locomotive. Alternatively, a single locomotive spanning the two adjacent parallel tracks may be used. Couplings are provided to enable conventional cars to be coupled to the wider cars and/or engine as needed. The system provides gains in efficiency over relatively narrow trains limited by a single track, allowing shorter trains to still carry the same amount of cargo and/or passengers, and moreover allows wider loads to be carried without disassembly or transfer to smaller cars. Relatively wide river barges carrying bulk or other freight may be transported directly upon a flat car using the multiple track system.

Rail transportation systems are well known and widely used in most areas of the world, due to their relative efficiency in the carriage of goods and people over a distance. However, rail transportation is limited in the size and weight of the freight or cargo which can be carried, due to the size (particularly the width) of the rolling stock; the rolling stock in turn is limited by the gauge of the track being used.
As a result of the above limitation, larger and heavier shipments are commonly conveyed by sea, or transported by air in specialized aircraft in some instances. The alternative is to break down the larger article into smaller components which may be carried by rail. This is commonly done particularly with bulk goods, where they are removed from a bulk carrier ship or barge and loaded aboard a train of bulk carrier rolling stock for shipment by rail.
This of course results in much additional labor in the transfer of such goods and cargo from one form of transport to another, which raises the shipment and energy costs involved. While attempts have been made to increase the capacity of the rolling stock used in rail transportation, there are ultimate limits due to the standard gauge used and the resulting maximum car width practically attainable in order to maintain reasonable stability of the load. Wider gauge tracks are not the answer, as there would stills be only two rails to handle the resulting additional weight. However, many, if not most, rail lines have duplicate track systems to allow for the passage of trains traveling in opposite directions, and for other reasons. With the advent of modern communications and control systems, many of these double track lines are redundant, as multiple trains may be scheduled and controlled to make the use of a single track practical, with the use of sidings and such. Accordingly, two adjacent parallel tracks comprising a total of four rails (or more generally, X number of adjacent parallel tracks comprising a total of 2X rails) may be used for the transport of greater than standard width freight and other articles, with the proper equipment.
The need arises for a rail transportation system which makes, use of multiple track systems, either existing or specially constructed, for the transport of wider and heavier than standard freight. Rolling stock must be provided which is compatible with such a multiple track system, as well as coupling and other systems to enable such multiple track rolling stock to be used in combination with standard rolling stock and locomotives.


A frontal structure of an information processing apparatus, includes a plurality plate-like members, each member having a plurality of perforations opened at predetermined intervals therebetween, each perforation having a predetermined size and shape, and a light-emitting unit for emitting light toward the plate-like members. The plate-like members run in parallel and are arranged with one behind another and an entire or part of frontmost one of the plate-like members serves as an entire or part of front of a casing of the information processing apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a frontal structure of an information processing apparatus for improving an aperture ratio of a casing of the information processing apparatus without reducing design value of a front of the casing of the information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of methods have been proposed to dissipate heat from heat generators including a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a power supply used in an information processing apparatus. For example, in one method, a heat sink made of a metal such as aluminum having a high thermal conductivity and having a broad surface area is placed into contact with the heat generator to dissipate heat generated by the heat generator to the ambient air. In another method, an electric fan is used to force air heated within the interior of the casing of the information processing apparatus out of the casing (as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-222584).
As performance of information processing apparatuses is currently enhanced, the amount of heat generated by the heat generator is increased. Heat dissipation technique becomes more important and the need for efficient heat dissipation method is mounting.
From the viewpoint of design and convenience, the power supply is typically arranged on the back of the casing of the information processing apparatus. Because of this structure, heat tends to build up on the rear side within the interior of the casing of the information processing apparatus. It is thus preferable to discharge air through the rear panel of the casing. If an electric fan is used to force air out from inside the casing, the electric fan is preferably mounted on the rear side of the casing to provide low noise environment.
When air is discharged through the rear side of the casing, an air intake vent is preferably mounted on the front side of the casing for air ventilation. With the information processing apparatus becoming advanced in performance, a larger amount of air needs to be ventilated per unit time. To this end, a larger air intake vent is preferable (for a higher aperture ratio).
To improve a heat dissipation rate, the air intake vent is preferably mounted on the front panel and the aperture ratio of the front panel of the casing is preferably increased.

Frontal structure of information processing apparatus


A system for conditioning the leads of a semiconductor device. The system includes a base having at least one anvil surface configured to form the leads to a predetermined shape, and at least one forming arm mounted to the base. An actuator is movable relative to the base to move the forming arm from a first position, with the forming arm spaced from the leads, to a second position, with the forming arm urging the leads against the anvil surface to form the leads to a predetermined configuration.

Semiconductor devices are typically packaged within a molded body for protection against the corrosive elements of the environment. With one type of package, the semiconductor device is coupled to an associated circuit by a plurality of lead conductors or leads which project from the molded body. The parallel leads typically are positioned on two or four sides of the molded package. The leads are constructed from a pliable metal which can be easily formed into a desired configuration without damaging either the semiconductor chip or the molded body. However, the application of even a small amount of pressure may bend the leads away from the desired shape and position. The deformed leads of a semiconductor device may be pressed close together, removing the pre-formed parallelism, or bent vertically relative to the molded body so that they do not lie on a common plane. Pre-formed bends in the lead connectors may be distorted. The lead conductors on opposing ends of the molded body may be bent, distorting the tweeze or tip-to-tip distance of the device. Once out of position, the leads may not match with the pads on the associated circuit board and the semiconductor package will be considered to be defective. Even when considerable care is taken while handling the packaged semiconductor device, the leads of a large number of semiconductor devices may be bent away from the predetermined configuration.
One method of mounting a semiconductor device to a circuit board is accomplished by positioning the device on the board by hand and then manually soldering it in place. Another application method is to use an automatic placement machine to set the device on the circuit board, and then apply heat to the board to melt the solder paste beneath the leads. For the automatic placement method, leads which are out of shape and/or position may not rest on a spot of solder paste such that no connection is made with the associated circuit.
Methods exist in the art for salvaging some of the defective semiconductor devices by straightening the bent leads. The bent lead conductors can be reformed by manually bending each lead back to the appropriate configuration. However, this process is extremely time consuming and subject to human error. If the leads are not severely deformed, they may be reformed by spanking the semiconductor device or compressing the leads between opposing dies. However, compressing the lead conductors will not reintroduce parallelism between the leads. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,912 shows a device in which one of the dies is formed with teeth. Although this device may reintroduce parallelism between some of the less deformed leads, other leads may be damaged by the teeth on the dies. A system for reconditioning bent leads into a parallel and predetermined shape is desirable.
Another method for conditioning the deformed leads uses opposing blades to straighten and massage the leads as the semiconductor device passes along a track, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,984. Reforming the leads using these opposing blades may not be effective for severely bent leads. Moreover, the system may only be used with packages having leads positioned on two opposite sides of the device. A system which may be used to efficiently recondition leads projecting from four sides of a semiconductor device is desirable.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,273,081 and 5,487,416 disclose multi-stage conditioning systems in which the leads are massaged at a first station to reintroduce parallelism and then moved to a second station where dies form the leads to remove elastic memory from the leads. The third station reforms the leads to the predetermined configuration.
The actual dimensions of the molded package vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Because of the precision required to reform the leads to the exact predetermined configuration, dimensional variations may impair the ability of a conditioning system to simultaneously reform all of the leads. Prior to conditioning the leads, a sample package from each batch must be carefully measured and adjustments made to the conditioning system to accommodate the size variations. These adjustments typically require partially dismantling and then reassembling the machinery. A lead conditioning system which may be conveniently and efficiently adjusted to accommodate different semiconductor packages as well as different lead configurations is desirable.


A system, computer program product and method of correlating safety solutions implemented in a facility with the facility's business climate are provided. The system, computer program product and method are used for designing safety solutions for a facility. While doing so, a user such as a security consultant, may derive a plurality of variables from the safety solutions. The variables are used to calculate a business climate index and a safety level from which a value for a safety/climate coefficient may be calculated. The value of the coefficient indicates whether the threat level is greater than the security level, or whether the security solutions are adequate or too intrusive.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed generally to impacts of security measures on business climates. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a system, apparatus and method of correlating safety solutions with business climate.
2. Description of Related Art
Security consultants often focus on security/safety ramifications when implementing technology-centric solutions for a client. For example, if there has been one or more shootings in a bank or robberies of the bank, a security consultant may advise bank personnel to install metal detectors at all entry points to the bank to ensure that no one is able to enter the bank armed. This security measure may lead to a decrease or an outright elimination of shootings in the bank and/or robberies of the bank. However, depending on the number of customers who conduct business at the bank, this safety measure may impinge on the business climate of the bank.
For instance, if each time a customer goes to the bank, the customer spends between a half hour to an hour in line due to the installation of the metal detectors, the customer may decide to conduct his/her banking business elsewhere. In this particular case, although the customer may perceive the bank as being safer now than before, the customer may nonetheless decide that the extra time spent in line is not worth the extra sense of security. This is an adverse impact on the business climate of the bank. Obviously, the more customers that decide to conduct their banking businesses elsewhere due to the time spent in line, the more of an impact that safety measure may have on the business climate of the bank.
Thus, when designing a security solution for a client, a security consultant should take into account two arguably competing interests: (1) increase safety level as perceived by customers of the client and (2) minimize the impact of the increased safety mechanisms on the customers.
One method that may be used to ensure that before a safety measure is implemented the impact it will have on the business climate of the client will have been taken into consideration is to correlate the two competing interests to each other. Presently, no such system or method to calculate such a correlation exists.
What is needed, therefore, is a system, apparatus and method of correlating safety measures (to be implemented by a client) with the impact of the measures on the business climate of the client.

System, computer program product and method of correlating safety solutions with business climate

International Business Machines Corporation


Dispenser and methods of dispensing substances is provided. The dispenser comprises a housing having a longitudinal axis, the housing configured to receive a packet comprising at least one collapsible cavity containing at least one substance, a support member positioned in the housing, the support member having a longitudinal axis essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing, a wedge coupled to the support member, the wedge configured to move in a plane substantially parallel within the longitudinal axis of the housing, the wedge receiving a force directed substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the housing, and a reciprocating actuator coupled to the housing and engagable with the support member, the actuator moveable between a first position and a second position whereby the wedge advances a single predetermined increment collapsing a portion of the cavity.

Many substances are provided in tubes or other deformable dispensers that tend to leave behind an appreciable amount of material. Many expensive pharmaceuticals require such packaging due to intrinsic thermal, light, and/or oxidative sensitivity of the pharmaceutical. Current packaging to prevent or eliminate such sensitivity typically results in wasted material that cannot be accessed by the user. In addition, current packaging that primarily functions to protect the contents thereof is not designed or capable of metered dispensing.


A sensor for measuring acceleration in three mutually orthogonal axes, X, Y and Z is disclosed. The sensor comprises a sensor subassembly. The sensor subassembly further comprises a base which is substantially parallel to the X-Y sensing plane; a proof mass disposed in the X-Y sensing plane and constrained to move substantially in the X, Y, and Z, about by at least one linkage and is responsive to accelerations in the X, Y and Z directions. The sensor includes at least one paddle disposed in the sensing plane; and at least one pivot on the linkage. Finally, the sensor includes at least one electrode at the base plate and at least one transducer for each sensing direction of the sensor subassembly responsive to the acceleration.

Many applications require the ability to sense acceleration and rate of rotation along three mutually orthogonal axes. In attempts to commercialize inertial measurement units for non-military applications, the cost and size of accelerometers have been addressed by various means. Sensing structures include capacitive devices as well as piezoresistive devices constructed using semiconductor manufacturing techniques. The capacitive devices are inherently less sensitive to temperature variations as they do not employ a resistance change which is highly sensitive to temperature. However, the electronics for a capacitive sensor are typically more complex.
Capacitive devices generally include a proof mass which is mounted on a substrate. Electrodes are positioned in directions of interest to sense the deflection induced by acceleration imposed on to the proof mass. These electrodes are located in the plane of the proof mass to provide X and Y detection as well as on the substrate surface to provide sensing in the Z direction or normal to the substrate surface. The deflection of the proof mass causes capacitances to change. This change is sensed by electronic circuits that provide a signal which is representative of the acceleration.
Performance of the accelerometer is driven by the fundamental frequency or modes of the structure and the sensitivity of the electronics. The movement to ever increasing miniaturization has imposed a greater challenge to the electronics. The ability to position and connect the electronics in close proximity with the position sensitive capacitors is critical to the performance of the circuit and consequently the performance of the accelerometer.
Micromachining of silicon has been utilized to produce both single axis and multiple axes sensors using compact form factors. A typical configuration includes a semiconductor layer interleaved between two highly insulating substrates such as glass. The glass does not introduce significant parasitic capacitances allowing the routing of the acceleration induced capacitance change to an external board electronics. This, however, poses some packaging challenges and consumes lateral space.
An approach is needed to satisfy the desire for a highly compact multiaxis accelerometer with good performance. An efficient utilization of space for both the mechanical sensing element as well as the electronics is desired. There are several challenges that must be met to realize a 3 axis accelerometer suitable for commercial inertial measurement applications. There are no known solutions to the problem of a 3 axis accelerometer compatible with a low cost multi-axes gyro. Many of these challenges have been met on an individual basis but not collectively in a single embodiment.
Compatibility with rate sensing sensors is an additional attraction on the path to an inertial measurement unit where six degrees of freedom are measured—3 orthogonal accelerations and 3 rate of rotation axes.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for overcoming the above-identified problems. The present invention addresses such a need.


A catheter delivery system for delivering a treatment substance to an occlusion in a lumen of a tubular vessel includes a tubular catheter and a treatment substance. The tubular catheter includes a central lumen passing between a proximal end and a distal end adjacent to an inflatable balloon. The treatment substance is in a form that is configured to be deliverable through the central lumen of the catheter into the lumen of the tubular vessel and to solidify in the vessel.

Chronic total occlusions in arteries occlude the lumen and prevent blood from flowing to tissue that is distal to the occlusion. Total occlusions have been treated by using laser energy or an atherectomy device to create a channel through the occlusions, through an endarterectomy procedure to open the occluded artery to remove the occlusion, or bypassing the occlusion in, for example, coronary artery bypass grafting. Each of these methods presents challenges to the physician. In the case of using laser energy or an atherectomy device to create a channel, the delivery of the device may be difficult and the resulting surface does not mimic that of a healthy artery. In the case of a bypass around the occlusion, the physician may use a synthetic graft, a vein graft or an artery graft. Each of these grafts has a limited lifetime. Moreover, a synthetic graft does not have a blood contacting surface with the characteristics of a natural artery and there is a limited supply of suitable homologous vein and artery grafts.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


A pipe coupling capsulation assembly includes a band having an inner annular seal element wrappable around a pipe, opposing clamp members that extend from the band, and one or more tightening elements for clamping together the clamp members. Retaining elements are assembled to the annular seal element.

Many kinds of removable band-type couplings for pipes exist in the art. It is noted that throughout the specification and claims, the term "pipe" encompasses any kind of generally cylindrical object, and the terms "clamp" and "coupling" are used interchangeably.
Pipeline leakage must be prevented for both economic and environmental reasons, depending on the nature of the fluid being transported. When needed repairs are inevitably carried out under field conditions, and in many situations there is a requirement that the flow of fluid in the pipeline may not be interrupted for any reason. Thus replacement of a faulty pipe joint is not an option.
Prior art seals are not capable of being used externally over an existing coupling or existing bell joint. Prior art seals lack the internal space needed if the repair seal is to be applied over and around an existing but leaking pipe joint. A further problem with many prior-art seals arises when the fluid being transported is under high pressure. This results in the seal lips being gradually pushed outwards, eventually leading to complete seal failure.
A solution to the above problems is described in Israel Patent 196511, assigned to Krausz Industries Ltd. This patent describes an external seal completely enveloping the existing leaking seal. This is referred to as a capsulation assembly. The capsulation seal assembly fits over existing bell-shaped joints, sleeve joints and the like, and seals the joint. The assembly is briefly described with reference to FIGS. 1-5.
FIG. 1 illustrates an existing bell joint coupling 1 that couples two pipes 2 and 3. A capsulation assembly 4 includes a seal 5 with an internal cavity 6 that is sized to fit over the bell joint 1, without having to disturb the bell joint 1. The seal 5 is tightened by clamp members 7 (with tightening fasteners, not shown).
FIG. 2 illustrates an existing sleeve joint coupling 8 after repair by capsulation assembly 4. As before, internal cavity 6 is sized to fit over the sleeve joint 8.
FIG. 3 illustrates the profile of seal 5, which has an outer substantially rectangular shape with surfaces 5A and internal cavity 6. Spaced-apart, circumferential passageways 9 are each formed through a portion of a seal lip 10. Axial passageways 11, transverse to circumferential passageways 9, are formed in seal lips 10 and form a hydraulic connection between circumferential passageways 9 and internal cavity 6. The hydraulic pressure within internal cavity 6 applies additional hydraulic pressure on seal lips 10 by means of fluid flowing through the passageways and pressing the lip 10 further against a pipe (not shown).
Seal lips 10 have seal surfaces 12 formed with ridges 13, which contact the pipes 2 and 3 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The ridges 13 provide clearance for surface irregularities and for small solid particles which may be entrained in the fluid flowing through the pipes.
In FIG. 4, the seal 5 is formed with surfaces 14 and 15 that slope inwards from bottom surface 16. In FIG. 5, an additional circumferential passageway 17 is formed through a portion of seal lip 10.
However, a problem of the prior art assembly can occur after tightening clamp 7. The tightening applies pressure to seal 5 and can cause portions of seal 5 to escape or migrate partly out of the clamp.

Eliezer Krausz Industrial Development Ltd.


A planar inverted-F antenna includes a ground element, a shorting element, a radiating element, and a feeding element. The shorting element extends upwardly from the ground element. The radiating element is disposed above the ground element, and extends transversely from the shorting element. The radiating element includes a meandering strip and a flat plate. The meandering strip has opposite first and second ends. The first end of the meandering strip is coupled to the shorting element. The flat plate has a connecting side that is connected to the second end of the meandering strip and that has a length different from that of the second end of the meandering strip. The feeding element has a first end that is connected to the radiating element, and a second end that extends through and that is free from electrical contact with the ground element.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an antenna, more particularly to a planar inverted-F antenna.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional planar inverted-F antenna 1, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a ground element 11, a shorting element 12, a radiating element 13, and a feeding element 14. The shorting element 12 extends upwardly from the ground element 11. The radiating element 13 is disposed above the ground element 11, and extends transversely from the shorting element 12, and includes a flat plate 131. The feeding element 14 has opposite first and second ends. The first end of the feeding element 14 is coupled to the flat plate 131 of the radiating element 13. The second end of the feeding element 14 extends through and is free from electrical contact with the ground element 11, and is coupled to a transceiver (not shown).
In operation, a radio signal, which is sent to the transceiver, is fed to the conventional planar inverted-F antenna 1 through the feeding element 11. The fed radio signal is resonated by the conventional planar inverted-F antenna 1 and is radiated externally from the same.
Although the conventional planar inverted-F antenna 1 achieves its intended purpose, since it resonates with the radio signal at a particular frequency dependent upon the size of the flat plate 131 of the radiating element 13, the flat plate 131 of the radiating element 13 of the conventional planar inverted-F antenna 1 may be unacceptably large with certain applications.

University Scientific Industrial Co., Ltd.