A package receptacle system including a container having an interior storage compartment, a lower floor within the container for supporting a package placed in the compartment, and sidewalls extending upward from the floor to define an access to the compartment. An upper lid is pivotally attached to the container for closing the access when in a closed position. A feature hangs from the lid for inhibiting rain from entering the compartment when the lid is in a non-closed position. Raised features are present on the floor of the container for supporting a package placed within the compartment above any moisture that might be present on the floor. A feature is included for indicating a recipient's address, and/or a package within the compartment ready for pickup, and/or receipt of a package within the compartment from a delivery service.

The present invention generally relates to equipment, systems, and methods for package delivery, and more particularly to equipment, systems, and methods that make use of a protective compartment for receiving parcel packages.
Various receptacles and containment systems have been proposed that are intended for use alone or in conjunction with conventional mailboxes, such as those regulated by U.S. federal government. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,194,900 to Helten and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0162883 to Arvonio et al. disclose containers sized to receive packages that are too large for standard mailboxes. Helten discloses a parcel delivery box that can be attached to a mailbox post as a separate unit. Arvonio et al. disclose a standalone package delivery receptacle equipped with a signaling device by which a delivery service can be notified of a pickup and the recipient can be notified of a delivery. Still other receptacles are primarily concerned with security, as in the case of a mailbox disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,132 to Bachmeier as having a trap door through which mail drops down into a lower container.
Certain conditions have evolved in the mail and package deliver industries that have given rise to a need for further improvements in package delivery systems. Commercial delivery services are used with greater frequency as the cost of fuel rises and the convenience of catalog and Internet shopping becomes more appealing. With increasing package traffic, delivery drivers encounter more difficulties when traveling their routes, including increasing number of stops, the difficulty of ascertaining addresses, the need to place packages where minimal exposure to the weather will occur, long driveways, and unfriendly dogs. Though some packages are sufficiently small to be placed in a mailbox, regulations prohibit placing anything other than stamped mail in a mailbox.


A method is provided in one example and includes generating one or more message blocks to be propagated along a narrow-band channel, wherein the message blocks are sub-components of a Physical Link Channel (PLC) frame; and communicating the PLC frame from a cable modem termination system (CMTS) to one or more cable modems.

Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is an international telecommunications standard that permits the addition of high-speed data transfer to an existing cable TV (CATV) system. DOCSIS can be employed by cable television operators to provide Internet access over their existing hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) infrastructure. DOCSIS can provide a variety in options available at Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layers 1 and 2, the physical, and data link layers. As with any system that serves consumers, optimizing speed, latency, processing time, synchronization, etc. presents a significant challenge to system designers, network architects, and engineers alike.

Apparatus, system, and method for providing energy management, profiles, and message blocks in a cable service environment


A protective brush cover is described for use with a makeup brush. In some versions, the protective brush cover comprises a body and a closing feature. In some versions the protective brush cover comprises a body, a lid, and a securing feature. In some versions, the body is operable to hold the head of a makeup brush, and the body may further have an opening such that the handle of the makeup brush may extend through the opening.

Makeup brushes are used to apply makeup, such as foundation or various other powder forms of cosmetics, and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and configurations. These brushes typically come packaged in a plastic cover to enclose the bristles of the makeup brush to prevent damage to the bristles prior to sale of the brush. Before use, the plastic cover is discarded as it is generally unsuitable for later protecting the bristles of the makeup brush. The plastic cover is generally a low quality material that tightly binds the bristles of the brush during transport and prior to sale.
The included plastic cover is unsuitable to store the makeup brush after the initial use because it is very difficult to reattach the plastic cover, which also compresses the bristles of the makeup brush. Over time, repeated use of a makeup brush allows the bristles to expand, providing a better user experience because makeup can be more easily and evenly spread across the surface of the skin. Placing the makeup brush into the plastic cover recompresses the bristles and reduces the benefits of using a makeup brush with full bristles.
Previous solutions for transporting a makeup brush require the user to place the makeup brush in a larger makeup bag, or resealable plastic bag, and place this large bag inside of a purse or other carrying bag. This method is generally cumbersome and undesirable because it consumes too much space within the purse or bag. Additionally, the makeup contained on the bristles may be dislodged during transport, which results in makeup covering the handle or other portions of the brush that may make the brush difficult or messy to use. The makeup brush may also collect dirt and grime during transport, which could transfer dirt and grime to the face during subsequent use. If the brush is simply placed in a purse, or other article, the brush and/or article is likely to become damaged or stained.


A device for conditioning power delivered to operate a motor is disclosed. The device includes a sealed housing having at least one input terminal extending through the housing and configured to receive an input power and at least one output terminal extending through the housing and configured to deliver an output power conditioned to power a motor coupled to the output terminal. The device also includes a filter inductor arranged in the housing and that has an input configured to receive the input power from the input terminal. The filter inductor output terminal has a tap that is extended through the housing to allow coupling of various external filter components, such as resistors capacitors and inductors. Accordingly, the filter inductor is configured to suppress voltage changes in the input power and deliver a filtered power to an output of the filter inductor. A transformer is included that is arranged in the housing and has an input configured to receive the filtered power from the output of the filter inductor. As such, the transformer is at least configured to electrically isolate the input terminal from the output terminal and deliver a conditioned power from an output of the transformer to the output terminal to power the motor coupled to the output terminal.

The present invention relates generally to power conditioning systems for driving motors and, more particularly, to an integrated power conditioning system for delivering power suitable for driving a motor that may be enclosed in a common housing.
Power plants are linked to power consuming facilities (e.g., buildings, factories, etc.) via utility grids designed so as to be extremely efficient in delivering massive amounts of power. To facilitate efficient distribution, power is delivered over long distances as fixed frequency three-phase alternating current (AC) power.
Despite being efficiently distributable, fixed frequency AC power is often not suitable for end use in consuming facilities. In many applications, the power delivered by the utility must be converted or "conditioned" to a useable form. For example, motors and their associated loads are one type of common inductive load employed at many consuming facilities that require power conditioning.
To this end, typical power "conditioning" systems configured to condition power for motor systems include AC-to-DC (direct current) rectifiers that convert the utility AC power to DC power applied to positive and negative DC buses (i.e. across a DC link) and an inverter linked to the DC link that converts the DC power back to three-phase AC power having a form suitable to a desired application. A controller controls the inverter in a manner calculated to provide power having a waveform desired for consumption.
Specifically, the inverter includes a plurality of switches that can be controlled to link and unlink the positive and negative DC buses to motor supply lines. The linking-unlinking sequence causes voltage pulses on the motor supply lines that together define alternating voltage waveforms. When controlled correctly, by a pulse width modulator (PWM) controller, the waveforms cooperate to generate a rotating magnetic field inside the motor stator core. In an induction motor, the magnetic field induces a field in motor rotor windings. The rotor field is attracted to the rotating stator field and thus the rotor rotates within the stator core. In a permanent magnet motor, one or more magnets on the rotor are attracted to the rotating magnetic field. The rectifier, inverter, and control circuitry are commonly referred to as a motor drive unit.
The output of the motor drive unit often includes an output filter in the form of a reactor designed to reduce the peak voltages applied to the motor terminals so that reflected waves are controlled or reduced. These filters are particularly important when the distance between the output of the motor drive unit and the motor input is significant because power stability issues raised by reflected waves are further exacerbated over these long distances.
Beyond filters, it is often desirable to include a transformer between the filter and the motor inputs to isolate the motor from the utility supply and/or to step up or step down the fundamental voltage supplied by the motor drive unit to be usable by the motor. Furthermore, the transformer may be used to reduce common mode noise present on the motor supply lines.
In this regard, for convenience and serviceability, industrial/commercial motor systems are typically separated into two localities. First, the motor drive unit and filter are generally located in an area near the location where the utility lines deliver power to the facility housing the motor system. In this regard, by arranging the majority of the power "conditioning" components (i.e. motor drive unit, filter, and the like) at a centralized location near the terminal end of the utility lines, human exposure to these high power components can be reduced and servicing procedures streamlined. Second, the transformer and motor are generally located in an area proximate to the motor load. By localizing the transformer and motor components near the motor load, power losses associated with delivering power in a form suitable for driving the motor over long distances are reduced.

Integrated power conditioning system and housing for delivering operational power to a motor


An acceleration sensor includes: a semiconductor substrate including a support layer and a semiconductor layer, which are stacked in a first direction; a movable electrode and a fixed electrode; and a trench. The movable electrode separately faces the fixed electrode by sandwiching the trench along with a second direction. The trench has a detection distance in the second direction. The movable electrode is movable along with the first direction when acceleration is applied. The movable electrode has a bottom apart from the support layer. The width of the movable electrode along with the second direction is smaller than the width of the fixed electrode. The thickness of the movable electrode along with the first direction is smaller than the thickness of the fixed electrode.

Conventionally, as this sort of acceleration sensors, such an acceleration sensor has been proposed in, for example, JP-A-2003-14778, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,189-B2. That is, while a semiconductor substrate made by stacking a silicon semiconductor layer on a supporting substrate is prepared, since a trench etching process operation is carried out along a first direction (namely, a vertical direction of substrate plane) perpendicular to a substrate plane of the semiconductor substrate with respect to the silicon semiconductor layer, both a movable electrode and a fixed electrode are patterned and formed on the silicon semiconductor layer along a second direction equal to a parallel direction of the substrate plane, and the movable electrode is located opposite to the fixed electrode with having a detection interval.
Then, when acceleration is applied to this acceleration sensor along the first direction, the movable electrode is displaced along the first direction, and this applied acceleration is detected based upon a capacitance change between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode in conjunction with this displacement.
In other words, the opposite area between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode is changed due to the displacement of the movable electrode along the first direction in conjunction with the application of the acceleration along the first direction. As a result, the capacitance formed between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode is also changed, so that the acceleration can be detected. As previously explained, this sort of acceleration sensor constitutes a vertical displacement type acceleration sensor which detects the acceleration applied along the first direction, namely along the vertical direction of the substrate plane, based upon the displacement of the movable electrode along the same direction.
Furthermore, in this acceleration sensor, lengths of the movable electrode and the fixed electrode opposite to this movable electrode along the vertical direction are different from each other. That is, a thickness of the movable electrode along the first direction is made different from a thickness of the fixed electrode along the first direction.
This condition is caused by the following reason. That is, since the thickness of the movable electrode is different from the thickness of the fixed electrode along the vertical direction of the substrate plane while these electrodes are located opposite to each other along the parallel direction of the substrate plane, changing degrees of the opposite area between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode due to the displacement of the movable electrode when the acceleration is applied along the vertical direction of the substrate plane are different from each other along one direction and the other direction in the vertical direction. As a consequence, the direction of the acceleration applied along the vertical direction of the substrate plane can be properly detected.
If the thickness of the movable electrode is made equal to the thickness of the fixed electrode along the vertical direction of the substrate plane while these electrodes are located opposite to each other along the parallel direction of the substrate plane, then changing degrees of the opposite area between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode due to the displacement of the movable electrode when the acceleration is applied along the vertical direction of the substrate plane are identical to each other along one direction and the other direction in the vertical direction. As a consequence, the direction of the acceleration applied along the vertical direction of the substrate plane cannot be properly detected, so that this sensor structure is not proper as such an acceleration sensor.
On the other hand, as described in JP-A-2003-14778, in this acceleration sensor, the movable electrode and the fixed electrode are patterned by trench-etching the silicon semiconductor layer along the vertical direction of the substrate plane.
Then, the opposite interval between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode is made wider or narrower in this etching process operation. Namely, the width of the removing portion by the etching process operation is made wider or narrower. As a result, the etching rates along the vertical direction of the substrate plane are different from each other in order that the movable electrode and the fixed electrode are patterned, and the thicknesses of the movable electrode and the fixed electrode opposite thereto are made different from each other along the vertical direction of the substrate plane.
However, in the conventional acceleration sensor, when the movable electrode and the fixed electrode are patterned by way of the trench etching process operation, since a difference between the etching rates, namely a so-called "RIE lag" is utilized, reproducibility of the etching process operation is largely fluctuated.
As a result, the resulting thicknesses of the movable electrode and the fixed electrode along the vertical direction of the substrate plane are fluctuated, so that the opposite area between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode is largely fluctuated, and thus, the sensor characteristic is fluctuated, i.e., deviated.

Acceleration sensor and method for manufacturing the same


A new and distinct cultivar of Sutera plant named ‘Bushy White’, characterized by its outwardly spreading and low mounding plant habit; vigorous growth habit; freely branching habit; and numerous large white-colored flowers.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Sutera plant, botanically known as Sutera hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Bushy White'.
The new Sutera originated from a cross-pollination in May, 2001 of an unnamed selection of Sutera hispida, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed selection of Sutera hybrida, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Bushy White was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny from the aforementioned cross-pollination in a controlled environment in George, South Africa in July, 2001.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings in George, South Africa since November, 2001, has shown that the unique features of this new Sutera are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


In a flat type display device, a display control device comprising display data generation means for sequentially comparing scale number of a display picture element and each frame number of frames necessary to display images in gray scale, and generating display data for the display picture element based on the comparison result.

The present invention relates to a display control device for storing contents such as characters, line drawings or photographs on books, newspapers or magazines in an electronic, optical or magnetic recording medium, reading them out from the recording medium and displaying them in a flat type display device.
Recently, portable terminal devices with a display control device for storing character data or graphic data including gray scale such as characters, line drawings or photographs on books, newspapers or magazines in an electronic, optical or magnetic recording medium, reading them out from the recording medium and displaying them in a flat type display device such as a liquid crystal display device or the like are researched and developed. These kinds of portable terminal devices comprise a display control device for storing data recorded in a recording medium in a semiconductor memory such as Video RAM, reading out the stored data and display the data with gray scale images in a flat type display device.
For such a display device, color display devices using a color CRT are popular. Recently, however, to satisfy needs for miniaturization of devices, laptop type or notebook type small devices are being produced. For display devices of the laptop type or notebook type small devices, liquid crystal display devices or plasma display devices not CRT are used, because the former have advantages on lightening and thinning devices.
By the way, liquid crystal display devices or plasma display devices are used as monochrome display device, because developed color display devices of these types are so far expensive. Details of an art for converting color display data to monochrome display data on the liquid crystal display devices or plasma display devices are disclosed on the Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 299020 (1990) and the Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 85687 (1991).
To display images in gray scale on a liquid crystal display device, recorded data are converted to weighted bit patterns and stored in a Video RAM. For the weighting of 8 gray scale display, for example, the display data of a picture element is patterned by 3 bit length data such as scale number 1 000!, scale number 2 001!, . . . , scale number 8 111!. When storing the scale data in the Video RAM, respective data areas such as second, first and 0-th bit planes of 3 bit length pattern are separately stored. A portable terminal device with a display control device for generating display data reads out the bit pattern stored in the Video RAM and generates scale display data.
The scale display data for a liquid crystal display is generated by decimating the data read out from the Video RAM. For the method of data decimation, it is possible to decimate frames in point of time from the read out data, then convert the result to display data. Displaying on the liquid crystal display device is performed by conducting a display picture element ON/OFF. The frame decimation is to control this ON/OFF operation in point of time.
FIG. 10 shows an example of 8 gray scale display of a picture element. In this case, 7 frames from frame number 1 to frame number 7 form a display cycle. For example, scale number 3 is displayed on a liquid crystal display device when the scale display data 0000011! is sent in point of time to the liquid crystal display device. Namely, frame number 1 to frame number 5 at the picture element position are OFF and frame number 6 and frame number 7 at the picture element position are ON.
In a display device using a liquid crystal display device, an interference between frequency of a fluorescent lamp and frequency of display data of the liquid crystal display device causes flickering. In addition, in a display control device controlling gray scale display of the liquid crystal display device, flickering of screen may occur due to the drop of frame frequency of display data or arrangement of display data. The reason is that eyes of user recognize ON/OFF of the display picture element.
For example, a case of outputting the same scale display data in an area is considered. In this case, if the above-mentioned scale number 3 display data is output, all picture elements in this area are simultaneously conducted ON/OFF in the same cycle. Eyes of user recognize this ON/OFF, thus flickering of screen is recognized. To decrease this flickering, the pattern of display data may be changed. For example, the pattern 0000011! of the above-mentioned display data is changed to 0010001! so as to increase frame frequency of display data. Then, the pattern of display data is changed for each line and each picture element. In the horizontal direction display data, the pattern of the display data is changed for each picture, for example, the odd number picture element on a display screen is changed to 0010001! and the even number picture element on a display screen is changed to 1000100!. In the same way as this, the pattern of vertical direction display data is also changed. In the vertical direction, the pattern of the display data is changed according to the line number.
FIG. 8 shows a construction of a conventional display control device 20'. As shown in FIG. 8, the conventional display control device 20' is provided between a Video RAM 22 for storing weighted bit data for gray scale display and a flat type display device 24 (a liquid crystal display device, in the present embodiment). It reads out data stored in the Video RAM, conducts decimation and outputs the result to the liquid crystal display device 24.
The display control device 20' comprises a first to third latch circuits 26, 27 and 28, a scale data generation section 30, an address generation section 32, a display control section 34, a control section 36', a scale table register section 38, decimation section 40' and a display data latch section 42. Display data that was output from the liquid crystal display device 24 is data decimated based a line number, a line discriminant signal and a picture element discriminant signal. The data to be decimated is stored in the scale table register section 38 of which construction is explained later. The data is read out from the Video RAM 22 and converted to scale data. This data selects a register in which an arbitrary value is written in the scale table register section 38. Based on this value, the data is decimated.
The Video RAM 22 is a semiconductor memory in which the data that has been weighted and separated for each bit plane is stored for each plane. In the present embodiment, three bit planes, that is, plane 3, plane 2 and plane 1 are provided. The first to third latch circuits 26, 27 and 28 respectively read out data of plane 3 to plane 1, and latch them. The scale data generation section 30 generates scale data for each plane from data latched in the latch circuits 26 to 28.
The address generation section 32 generates a read address of the Video RAM 22. The display control section 34 conducts reading from the Video RAM 22, control of the control section 36' and control of the liquid crystal display device 24. The control section 36' outputs control signals for decimation such as an odd/even number picture element discriminant signal, an odd/even line discriminant signal and a frame number to the decimation section 401. The scale table register section 38 connected with the CPU bus comprises four units of register of 8 bit length in which an arbitrary value can be written.
The decimation section 40' decimates register set values supplied from the scale table register 38, based on the frame number supplied from the control section 36', the odd/even number line discriminant signal, the odd/even number picture element discriminant signal and the scale data supplied from the scale data generation section 30, and outputs display data to the display data latch section 42. The display data latch section 42 latches display data output from the decimation section 40', and outputs the data to the liquid crystal display device 24 at a timing of a control signal that is output from the display control section 34. The liquid crystal display device 24 receives the display data and conducts ON/OFF of the display picture element of the liquid crystal panel at the timing of the control signal supplied from the display control signal 34.
FIG. 9 shows detailed constructions of the scale table register section 38 and the decimation section 40' that are shown in FIG. 8. Here, the example where 8 picture elements of the display screen are processed as a unit is explained.
The scale table register section 38 comprises a first to fourth scale table registers 51 to 54. The decimation section 40' comprises a first to eighth decimation units 61' to 68'. A signal writing data to the first to fourth scale registers 51 to 54 is supplied from a CPU (not shown).
The first to eighth decimation units 61' to 68' have the same construction, so only a detailed construction of the first decimation unit 61' is shown in this figure. The first decimation unit 61' comprises a first to fourth frame decimation sections 71 to 74, a first to fourth scale multiplexer sections 76 to 79, a first and second line decimation sections 81 and 82, and a picture element decimation section 84.
The first scale table register 51 is a register in which a scale table of display picture element of which line number is odd and picture element number is odd is stored. The second scale table register 52 is a register in which a scale table of display picture element of which line number is odd and picture elements number is even is stored. The third scale table register 53 is a register in which a scale table of display picture element of which line number is even and picture elements number is odd is stored. The fourth scale table register 54 is a register in which a scale table of display picture element of which line number is even and picture elements number is even is stored.
Based on a frame number as a selection signal, the first to fourth frame decimation sections 71 to 74 respectively select 8 scale table data of the same frame number from data of 8 scale 8 bit length (7 bits for frames and 1 bit for dummy) supplied from the first to fourth scale table registers 51 to 54. The selected scale table data is a data of 8 bit length (8 scale.times.1 frame). Each of the first to fourth frame decimation sections 71 to 74 comprises 8 multiplexers, construction of each of them is of 8:1.
Based on a scale data as a selection signal, the first to fourth multiplexer sections 76 to 79 respectively select a data of 1 scale and 1 frame from scale table data of 8 scale 1 bit length (1 bit frame) supplied from the first to fourth frame decimation sections 71 to 74. The selected data is a data of 1 bit length (1 scale.times.1 frame). Each of the first to fourth multiplexer sections 76 to 79 comprises a multiplexer of 8:1.
Based on an odd/even number line discriminant signal for discriminating an odd number line and even number line on the display screen as a selection signal, the first and second line decimation sections 81 and 82 select data supplied from the first to fourth scale multiplexer sections 76 to 79. The data supplied from the first and third scale multiplexer sections 76 and 78 are the data decimated in the first and third scale table registers 51 and 53 which are respectively displayed upon odd number line/odd number picture element on the display screen and even number line/odd number picture element on display screen. The data supplied from the second and fourth scale multiplexer sections 77 and 79 are the data decimated in the second and fourth scale table registers 52 and 54 which are respectively displayed upon odd number line/even number picture element on the display screen and even number line/even number picture element on the display screen. The second line decimation section 82 selects a data to be displayed when the number of the picture element of the display screen is even. The selected data is of 1 bit length. Each of the first and second line decimation sections 81 and 82 comprises a multiplexer of 2:1.
Based on an odd/even number picture element discriminant signal for discriminating an odd number picture element and an even number picture element on the display screen as a selection signal, the picture element decimation section 84 selects a 1 bit length display data from odd picture element display data supplied by the first line decimation section 81 and even number picture element display data supplied by the second line decimation section 82. The selected data is of 1 bit length, the picture element decimation section 84 consists of a multiplexer of 2:1.
Returning to FIG. 8, the data read out from the Video RAM 22 is latched for each plane in the latch circuits 26, 27 and 28. The data of which each plane data is latched in the first to third latch circuits 26, 27 and 28 are converted to a scale data of which most significant data is plane 3 data and least significant data is plane 1 data. The converted scale data is output to the decimation section 40'. Here, each plane data is of 8 bit length because 8 picture elements of the display screen is a processing unit. The scale data generation section 30 outputs 8 kinds of scale data of 3 bit length respectively, that is, totally 24 bits data.
As FIG. 9 shows, each of the first to eighth decimation units 61' to 68' is supplied by a 3 bit length scale data, a control signal output from the display control section 34 and totally 5 bit data, that is, a 1 bit length odd/even number picture element discriminant signal for discriminating odd number picture element and even number picture element of the display screen, a 1 bit length odd/even number line discriminant signal for discriminating odd number line and even number line of the display screen and 3 bit length frame number. Each of the first to eighth decimation units 61' to 68' conducts decimation to output 1 bit length display data, as mentioned above. The total 8 bits display data is latched in the display data latch section 42 and output to the liquid crystal display device 24 at a display timing controlled by the display control section 34.
As shown in FIG. 11, each data of the first to fourth scale table registers 51 to 54 is of 8 scale 8 bit length. In F10 to F87, display data are stored. The first to fourth frame decimation sections 71 to 74 respectively frame decimates data of the first to fourth scale table registers 51 to 54. The first to fourth scale multiplexer sections 76 to 79 respectively select data from data supplied by the first to fourth frame decimation sections 71 to 74, using scale data. The results are output to the first and second line decimation sections 81 and 82.
FIG. 12 shows an example of frame decimation when the frame number is 1 and data construction selected from the scale table register. The data selected in the first to fourth scale multiplexer sections 76 to 79 is a data stored in F31, for example.
When displaying images in gray scale data on the screen of the liquid crystal display device 24, using set values of the scale table registers 51 to 54 that are rewritten by a software, the above-mentioned conventional display control device 20' controls ON/OFF of the picture elements of the liquid crystal display device 24. In addition, to reduce flickering, it recognizes display positions and frame numbers of odd number picture elements, even number picture elements, odd number lines and even number lines, and controls ON/OFF of the picture elements of the liquid crystal display device 24.
In such a conventional display device, there are some problems such as necessity of set data in the scale table registers 51 to 54 even if there is no need to control ON/OFF of the picture elements of the liquid crystal display device 24 and increasing of circuit scale of the scale table register section 38 because of the register construction.

Display control device and method for generating display data to display images in gray scale


Introduced are a cell balancing integrated circuit which may be realized including a small number of switches or diodes, an energy non-consumption type cell balancing system including the cell balancing integrated circuit, and an energy non-consumption type cell balancing method. The energy non-consumption type cell balancing system includes a battery pack, a cell balancing circuit, and a plurality of inductors and capacitors.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cell balancing technology, and more particularly, to a cell balancing technology capable of reducing the number of components and reducing the area of a circuit.
Description of the Related Art
In general, a secondary battery refers to a battery that is capable to store energy and to discharge the stored energy for use. When a secondary battery includes one battery cell, a voltage may be restricted due to chemical or structural problems. Accordingly, in application fields in which a high voltage is necessary, a secondary battery may be configured with a battery pack in which a necessary number of battery cells is connected in series. Even when battery cells are manufactured under the same manufacturing conditions and the same environments, the battery cells differ in electrical characteristics. Therefore, when a plurality of battery cells are configured in one battery pack, an imbalance in a voltage or an imbalance in a remaining amount of charge between the battery cells connected to each other may occur under charger and discharge environments.
When a charge voltage of a battery cell is too high, there is a danger of a fire or an explosion. Conversely, when the charge voltage is too low, electrical characteristics may be lost. In order to prevent such problems, a secondary battery operates as follows when one of a plurality of battery cells is overcharged or under-discharged. That is, when some of the plurality of battery cells connected in series are overcharged more than the other battery cells, charging of the other battery cells is interrupted in an insufficient charge state. In contrast, when some of the battery cells are over-discharged, use of the charged energy is restricted in spite of the fact that the other battery cells yet have usable charged energy.
For this reason, the imbalance in a voltage or the imbalance in a remaining amount of charge between the plurality of battery cells connected in series may occur in the secondary battery. Further, a voltage range usable in each of the battery cells may decrease as charging and discharging are repeated or charging and discharging periods may be shortened, thereby shortening a lifecycle of each battery cell. In order to overcome such disadvantages, battery cell balancing methods have been suggested.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an energy consumption type cell balancing circuit according to the related art. The energy consumption type cell balancing circuit performs balancing of battery cells, consuming overcharged energy.
Referring to FIG. 1, an energy consumption type cell balancing circuit 100 according to the related art includes a voltage detection circuit 120 configured to detects an individual voltage of a plurality of battery cells B1, B2, . . . , and Bn connected in series and a processor 110 configured to control individual cell equalizers 131, 132, and 133 such that overcharged energy of a battery cell determined to be overcharged by the voltage detection circuit 120 is discharged using a resistor. The foregoing energy consumption type cell balancing circuit according to the related art has the disadvantage that energy wastes since the overcharged energy is emitted as heat via the resistor.
Accordingly, it is necessary to suggest an energy cell balancing method of reducing energy waste.

Cell balancing integrated circuit, cell balancing system, and cell balancing method


A photographic film with a row of sprocket holes formed along each edge thereof includes one or more sensitometric step wedges of different light intensity values exposed adjacent one of the rows of sprocket holes on the photosensitive emulsion surface of the film. The light intensity values from one or more of the weges are sensed, and a film process may be adjusted in accordance with the sensed values.

In order to monitor and control a process, it is useful to identify parameters that accurately and repeatedly measure the status of the process. In the case of processing photographic film, it is well known to describe the photographic response of each particular film to that process by a curve. This curve is typically referred to as the "characteristic curve" for the film and it represents the relationship between developed density of the photosensitive emulsion on the film and the logarithm of exposure of the emulsion to light. This curve is often referred to as the H & D curve, named after Hurter and Driffield, The Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, No. 5, Vol. IX, May 31, 1890.
The "characteristic curve" is determined using a control strip as is well known in the art. The control strip is produced by taking a small piece of film and exposing it in a sensitometer by contact with an original step wedge, which has, typically, 21 densities in steps of 0.15 log exposure units (for X-ray films, for example), with light of a color appropriate to the type of film being used for process control (typically either blue or green for X-ray films). The exposed strip is processed in the processor whose performance is being monitored, and is then ready to be measured.
The great majority of motion picture film processing laboratories use sensitometry extensively to monitor and evaluate the quality and consistency of various variables affecting their film processing. Sensitometric quality control procedures used by these laboratories typically entail processing pre-exposed film control strips and then measuring the red, green and blue densities of these processed control strips. The measured densities are then compared with the densities evinced by reference control strips provided by the film manufacturer. Various process control variables may then be adjusted, if necessary, to improve and/or correct the processing of the film, according to principles well known in the art.
Sensitometry requires that the photographic emulsion on the test strips be exposed to a specified light source for a specified time and then the film processed in closely controlled conditions. The resultant densities produced on the test film are then measured and plotted against a typically logarithmic exposure scale. The most common method for determining the effect of exposure and processing on a sensitometric strip is to measure its light stopping ability. As illustrated in FIG. 1, when incident light 10 strikes a photographic film 20, a portion 30 of the incident light is reflected backwards, the grains of the silver halide emulsion 40 on the film 20 absorb another portion 50, and most of the remainder 60 of the light is scattered as a result of bouncing off the grains of the emulsion. The light stopping ability of a film is a combination of these three effects, and is typically denoted in terms of its transmittance.
Transmittance is defined as the ratio of transmitted light to the incident light:
      Transmittance    =            Transmitted Light              Incident Light
With reference now to FIG. 2, in an example where 100 units of light 10 are incident on a film 20 and 50 units of light are transmitted therethrough, the transmittance of the film is equal to 50/100=0.5. The numerical value of the transmittance becomes smaller as the light stopping ability increases, making numerical precision somewhat cumbersome. Thus, it is sometimes preferable to refer to the opacity O of a film, which is defined as the ratio of incident light to the transmitted light:
  O  =                    Incident Light                    Transmitted Light              =          I      T
The opacity of a film increases in geometric proportion with the film thickness and hence another term called density is commonly used to express the photographic effect of a film. The concept of density is illustrated in FIG. 3, and is defined as
      Density    =            log                    (        O        )              =          log                    I        T
The concept of density provides a numerical description of the image that is a more useful measure of the light stopping ability of a film. Additionally, the human eye has a nearly logarithmic response to an image and hence density values more appropriately represent the description of such an image.
To correctly measure density it is necessary to measure the units of transmitted light 10. The transmitted light rays 10 are grouped in a certain distribution as a result of bouncing off the emulsion grains 40. This distribution of transmitted light will be wider for coarse-grained images than for fine-grained images because the larger grain size provides a greater surface area over which bouncing can occur. As a result, coarse-grained images scatter more light than fine-grained image.
With reference to FIG. 4, when a photoreceptor 70 is placed far from a film sample 20, only light transmitted over a very narrow angle will be recorded in what is commonly called specular measurement. Alternatively, when the photoreceptor is placed in contact with the film sample, all of the transmitted light will be collected because the angle of collection is much larger. This is commonly referred to as diffuse measurement.
The relationship between the diffuse density and the specular density for a given sample is called the Callier co-efficient, or Q factor, and is defined as
  Q  =            Specular Density              Diffuse Density
The actual conditions of density measurements vary with the purpose for which these values are to be used. If the purpose is to predict the printing characteristics of the negative, then the spectral response characteristic of the print film should be simulated. To determine the visual appearance of the image, the spectral response of the human eye should be simulated. In the first case the result is called the printing density and in the second case the result is called the visual density. If the conditions of measurement do not simulate the photographic system being used, the resulting data will lack the validity even though sophisticated, well calibrated instruments are used.
To evaluate and understand the results of the sensitometric tests discussed above, it is necessary to plot the densities occurring on the test strip in relation to exposures to which the film was subjected to produce each such density. The characteristic curve obtained is called, variously, either a D log(E) curve, an H and D curve, or a log(It) curve. In this curve density is represented on the vertical (Y) axis of the graph and the logarithmic values of the exposure or the log It (Intensity×Time) are represented on the horizontal (X) axis of the graph.
To obtain a characteristic curve for a particular film, a sample of that film is exposed to a light source in a sensitometer by using either a Time scale or an Intensity scale. In the Time scale approach the length of time of exposure is varied, whereas in the Intensity scale method the current is changed so as to vary the light intensity of the sensitometer. A film exposed in a sensitometer produces what is commonly referred to as a step wedge (see FIG. 6).
There are three common types of photographic step wedges that are commonly used: the three patch wedge, the 11 step wedge, and the 21 step wedge (also referred to as a √2 wedge). Each of these wedges have particular benefits, but the 21-step wedge shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 gives the best results as it gives a smoother, more accurate curve. The reason it is also referred to as a √2 wedge is that the difference between each exposure or step in the wedge is equal to the previous exposure multiplied by √2 or 1.414. This fits on to the log(It) scale very well because the log value of √2 is 0.15, as illustrated in FIG. 5.
Referring to FIG. 7, the characteristic curve thus plotted can be conveniently divided into four major sections: base plus fog, toe, straight line, and shoulder. The base plus fog region represents the combination of the density of the emulsion support (base) and the density arising from the development of some unexposed silver halide crystal (fog). Here the curve is horizontal and the film is not capable of recording subject details or tonal differences. The toe region is characterized by low density and constantly increasing slope as exposure increases. It is in this area that shadow details in the subject are normally placed.
With reference to FIG. 8, the straight line region is the middle density region where the slope (also called gamma) is nearly constant and is steepest. It is in this region that subject tones are reproduced with greatest separation, and this is therefore the most useful section of the film. The shoulder is the portion where the density is high but the slope is decreasing with increase in exposure. Most of this section is usually avoided when exposing film.
Sensitometry is in wide use and has been the subject of a number of attempts to improve upon it. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,686 an apparatus and test strip for evaluation of a film processor are disclosed. The apparatus evaluates the optical density of graded density test areas on a developed (processed) film by comparing a photodetector signal with a preselected voltage relating to an acceptable/too dark threshold of an unexposed or base fog area, a maximum density or dark area, and a medium density area. This method thus also relies on separate test strips to evaluate the performance of a film processor at timed intervals.
Another approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,320 and entails using a voltage set point system to provide a constant illumination of a photographic test strip and a voltage divider comparator network for accurately determining exposed film density levels. The method thus provides an indication of the state of the film developer solution that is substantially independent of the temperature of the photodetector or large changes in the intensity of the test light source. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,923 describes a method for controlling developer activity by exposing a test film having various transparent areas and opaque areas, and insets and background areas that can blend into one another when the developer fluid is fresh. These methods therefore also rely on the use of a test strip exposed at predetermined time intervals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,480 proposes a novel formula to describe the characteristic curve of a material as assessed with a step wedge as described above. The characteristic curve expression takes into account the density at saturation as well as certain constant parameters for the particular material. Therefore, this method also does not obviate the need for a separate film test strip for obtaining a step wedge.
Sensitometry procedures as currently known and utilized in motion picture film processing laboratories involve measurement of pre-exposed control film strips at fixed time intervals. However, film processing machine speeds have increased significantly in recent years, thereby resulting in a lesser frequency of sampling due to the fixed time intervals at which sampling is conducted. As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, at a frequency of one sample per hour, the frequency of sampling per length of film drops significantly with the amount of film processed per hour. What is therefore now needed are improved methods and apparatuses for assessing process quality control variables suitable for use with modern, high speed film processing machines. The embodiments disclosed herein address this and other needs.

Systems and methods for film processing quality control


Multiple component mounters connected via a network are able to have multiple units attached. A control device of each component mounter requests other component mounters to send the specific information and the update date and time of a unit corresponding to the unit ID read by an ID reading section from an ID recording section of the unit set on the component mounter, and in certain cases a request is sent to the other component mounters to send the specific information of the unit, and the specific information of the unit and the update date and time of the specific information sent from the other component mounter in accordance with the request are stored in the storing section of the component mounter that issued the request.

Conventionally, in the field of production technology, production is managed by connecting multiple devices via a network. For example, for a component mounting line that produces boards mounted with components, as disclosed in patent literature 1 (WO2014-061072), multiple component mounters are connected to a production management computer (host computer) via a network, and identification information (feeder ID) of feeders set on each of the component mounters and identification information (component ID) of supplied components are sent to the production management computer, and it is checked whether the components supplied by a given feeder are the components specified in the production job (production program).
Also, because the feeders can be set on any one of the multiple component mounters, specific information (for example, calibration data, control parameters, initial values, or the like) of a feeder set on one of the component mounters is similarly required for other component mounters. Therefore, the specific information of the feeder is managed in one of the following three ways (1) to (3).
(1) Specific information of multiple feeders to be used in production is saved in advance linked to a feeder ID on a storage device of a production management computer connected to multiple component mounters via a network, the ID of a feeder set on the component mounter is sent to the production management computer, a sending of the specific information of the feeder corresponding to the feeder ID is requested, and the specific information of the feeder is sent to the component mounter from the production management computer based on the request.
(2) Non-volatile memory for saving specific information of a feeder is provided on each of the multiple feeders, and when the feeder is set on the component mounter, the component mounter reads the specific information of the feeder from the non-volatile memory of the feeder.
(3) An operator manually enters the specific information of the feeder set on the component mounter to the component mounter.

Unit specific information management system


A method for processing audio signals in particular for a therapy of subjective tinnitus with an individual tinnitus frequency. The method includes: providing a first audio signal, determining a blocking range in the frequency spectrum of the first audio signal with a predefinable frequency width, creating a second audio signal from the first audio signal using a filter, and determining an auditory energy of the first audio signal or the second audio signal within at least one predefined therapeutically applicable frequency range and specifying an evaluation parameter for the second audio signal.

The perception of sounds without the existence of an internal or external sound source is called subjective tinnitus. A tinnitus is an often chronic illness and generally occurs with a constant individual tinnitus frequency. The physiological cause for this is usually an abnormal neuronal activity in the primary auditory cortex.
A possible therapy for relieving a subjective tinnitus is based on the approach of reducing the abnormal neuronal activity in the auditory cortex using lateral inhibition and thereby initiating therapeutically effective normalization of this neuronal activity based on neuronal plasticity.
Lateral inhibition is thereby in particular a characteristic circuitry of the nerve cells in the central nerve system, which causes certain nerve cells to be stimulated in a peripheral stimulus and the activity of different nerve cells is inhibited for the perception of comparable stimuli.
The therapy correspondingly consists of listening to sounds or music, in which the frequency portions were filtered out in the range of the tinnitus frequency. For example, white noise is used for this, from which therapeutic data can be generated for any tinnitus frequencies because white noise has a very broad and even frequency spectrum. White noise is however considered bothersome and unpleasant by the patient in the long run. Willingness to use the therapy regularly and permanently is thereby reduced.
Music is more pleasant to listen to, whereby up until now only professionally produced music with a particularly high audio quality was considered suitable. Since moreover an individual processing for each individual patient is required, a patient generally only has a few different music pieces available for the therapy. These often do not meet the personal tastes of the patient.

Processing of audio signals for a tinnitus therapy


A rough-in bracket is provided consisting of a border with a central opening sized to fit one or more receptacles and one or more low voltage units. The bracket has a snap-off alignment bar to properly align the receptacle. Rearward protruding wiring flanges provides support for low voltage wires and cabling. Another embodiment has a removable via plastic nubs alignment tool snapped on and is snapped into the mounted receptacle to allow the border to be screwed into the stud. Then the alignment tool is removed. Screw in bases in the forward flange of the border provide a mount for a low voltage unit, whereby a single plastic cover can esthetically cover both the receptacle and the low voltage unit.

Homeowners prefer to keep the appearance of wall receptacle covers non-obtrusive. Thus, when a standard 110 volt electrical outlet is placed adjacent a group of stereo equipment signal wires and a cable TV outlet, the homeowner prefers to see one plastic wall cover mounted across this assembly of different electrical wires and receptacles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,499 (2001) to Jennison et al. discloses a metal border sized to accept one or more standard electrical receptacles in combination with one or more low voltage CEBUS tap point units such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,696, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The '499 bracket is nailed to a vertical stud. Then an alignment tool, not shown in the patent, is needed to vertically and horizontally align the receptacle boxes before screwing the receptacle boxes to the metal border. When the wiring is complete a standard plastic cover is screwed to the bracket to create an aesthetically appealing wall cover for the assembly of different wire connections.
The problems associated with the '499 bracket include the need for an alignment tool as well as a lack of any mounting flanges for the various wires and conduits associated with the bracket. The patent does not refer to the alignment tool sold in the field in unison with the patented device. The present invention addresses these needs. No alignment tool is needed because a built in snap-off alignment bar is provided. Wiring flanges are provided.

Mounting bracket for electrical outlet and low voltage units


There is disclosed a sample selection and data alignment circuit that is able to recover (retime) a data on a predefined phase of a multiphase clock signal. A plurality of over sampled signals (G0, . . . , Gn−1) is obtained by over sampling an incoming serial binary data (bits) stream with the n phases (G0, . . . , Gn−1) of a multiphase clock signal. A reliable over sampled signal is selected according to a selected signal (G0, . . . , Gn−1) generated by an edge detector which designates which over sampled signal is the best for subsequent processing.

In high speed data communications between integrated circuits (systems), it often occurs that the signals transmitted from one integrated circuit to another one cannot be reliably sampled on a predetermined clock signal. In this case, it is common to over sample the data signal by using the different phases of a reference clock signal generated by a multiphase clock oscillator. Then, a data recovery circuit is used to determine which of the sampled signals is the best one and must be kept to represent the recovered data for subsequent processing. Such a sampling technique is extensively used in case of high speed asynchronous serial binary data communications where the clock signal is not transmitted to the receiving device. It can also be used in case of multiple data signals transmitted in parallel when the difference in data paths results in a difference in arrival times at the receiving device. Unfortunately, over sampled data signals come out as multiple signals, each one being related to a particular phase of the multiple phase clock signal. In order to reliably transmit the recovered data signal for further processing, it is necessary to realign the selected sampled signal relative to a predefined phase of the multiphase clock signal. This major problem has received a number of solutions so far, such as described in the prior art following references.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,134 covers some data recovery issues using an over sampling technique but does not teach how the over sampled data signal may be realigned on a predefined phase of the multiphase clock signal.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,487,095 and 5,550,860 describe circuits consisting of an array of resistors or delay elements to detect data edges and select the sample to recover. However, delay elements and resistors are known to be highly dependent on manufacturing process variations. In addition, there is a significant signal jitter induced by power supply variations. As a consequence, these circuits are therefore inadequate for high speed serial binary data communication applications. Moreover, the section that selects the best sampled signal for each bit of the incoming data implies a combinatory logic to demultiplex the selected sampled signal which may cause additional delay or data skew problems in such high speed applications due to the existence of different paths. Finally, these circuits are relatively complex, consuming thereby much silicon area and are not adequate for LSSD (Level Sensitive Scan Design) which allows excellent testability.

Sample selection and data alignment circuit

International Business Machines Corporation


An embodiment package includes a first die stack on a surface of a package component, a second die stack on the surface of the package component, and a contour lid over the first die stack and second die stack. The contour lid includes a first thermal conductive portion over the first die stack, a second thermal conductive portion over the second die stack, and a thermal barrier portion between the first thermal conductive portion and the second thermal conductive portion. The thermal barrier portion includes a low thermal conductivity material.

In the packaging of integrated circuits, semiconductor dies may be stacked through bonding, and may be bonded to other package components such as interposers and package substrates. The resulting packages are known as Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuits (3DICs). Heat dissipation is a challenge in the 3DICs.
A bottleneck may exist in efficiently dissipating the heat generated in the inner dies of the 3DICs. In a typical 3DIC, the heat generated in inner dies may have to be dissipated to outer components before the heat can be conducted to a heat spreader. Between the stacked dies and outer components, however, there exist other materials such as underfill, molding compound, and the like, which are not effective in conducting heat. As a result, the heat may be trapped in an inner region of a bottom stacked die and cause a sharp local temperature peak (sometimes referred to as a hot spot). Furthermore, hot spots due to heat generated by high-power consuming dies may cause thermal crosstalk problems for surrounding dies, negatively affecting the surrounding dies' performance and the reliability of the whole 3DIC package.

Packages with thermal management features for reduced thermal crosstalk and methods of forming same

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A method of providing spark ignition for an engine or other equipment having a combustion chamber. A radio frequency wave or a microwave (RF/microwave) generator delivers radio frequency waves or microwaves to a transmit antenna inside the combustion chamber. At least one RF/microwave receive antenna is attached to an internal surface of the combustion chamber and comprises two or more RF/microwave focusing features with a spark gap between them. The transmit antenna wirelessly energizes the receive antenna, which generates a spark between the two focusing features.

Internal combustion engines require ignition of an air-fuel mixture, either by spark ignition (SI) or compression ignition (CI). Ignition subsystems for internal combustion engine vehicles are highly refined computer-controlled systems incorporating many significant technical advances.
Today's conventional spark-ignited engines use a spark plug to initiate a spark in the engine's combustion chamber, which ignites an air-fuel mixture in the chamber. Spark plugs are cylindrical devices that are installed into the combustion chamber via mounting holes on the cylinder head. The cylinder head also has other moving parts and internal cooling and lubrication circuits, and so only one spark plug can be installed per cylinder with perhaps two for very large engines. Only the center area of the cylinder head is suitable for spark plug installation, which means that the flame kernel must be at the top of the cylinder. Spark plug ignition systems suffer from problems with spark duration and energy, which limits dilution tolerance and combustion stability.
Alternative ignition methods have been explored, seeking improvements in thermal efficiency and emissions.

Focused microwave or radio frequency ignition and plasma generation


A data storage manager is provided attached to a data processing network having at least one host device and at least one storage volume. System resources are allocated among a plurality of storage tiers, each tier having at least one partition. At least one host device and at least one storage volume are associated with each partition and at least one application is associated with each partition of the lowest level storage tier. The storage manager also includes a user profile table which identifies various users along with a log-on code, at least authorized one IP address range and at least one authorized command. The storage manager also includes a verification system responsive to a received log-on code and requested operation to restrict the user to authorized IP address range(s) and authorized commands.

Security for data processing systems is a continuing significant issue. Financial, legal, medical and governmental transactions, to name only a few, are conducted using computer databases and it is imperative that the data, most of which is confidential, be protected. While much effort has been made to protect against breaches from the outside, attention must also be paid to internal security. In particular, within an organization, most personnel only require access to only limited portions of the stored data.
A storage system may include one or more storage servers, such as the International Business Machines (IBM) Enterprise Storage Server® (ESS) Model 800, to which are attached one or more host devices (FIG. 1). The ESS 800 is sufficiently versatile as to be simultaneously attachable to a variety of different host devices utilizing a variety of operating systems. The host devices may include such servers as the IBM AS/400®, the IBM RS/6000® and the IBM S/390® utilizing such operating systems as UNIX®, Windows NT®, Novel® NetWare, among others. Further, the host devices may attach to the storage server through such interfaces as SCSI, ESCON®, FICON™ and Fiber Channel. The ESS 800 server includes two clusters, each having a RISC processor, cache memory and a RAID disk array, as well as appropriate host and network adapters.
Heretofore, system security included a user ID and an associated password. Each storage server kept a separate user database and users can generally execute any commands and access any IP address. Thus, the present system does not provide means for limiting a user's access to a defined set of IP address ranges or limiting the user to executing a defined set of commands. As a consequence, the present system does not provide means for grouping storage server resources around user IDs and exposes each user to all resources, not just those to which the user needs access.

Automated security tool for storage system


Methods and systems to measure a volumetric fluid flow rate through a fluid flow passage, such as an air handler of a HVAC system, are described. The method may include obtaining a flow rate measurement in a measuring section, and calculating a total flow rate based on a correlation between the obtained flow rate measurement and the total flow rate. The method may also include blocking a portion of the fluid flow passage so that when a minimal volumetric fluid flow rate is provided, the flow rate measurement obtained in the measuring section is at about a minimal sensitivity flow rate requirement.

Some applications and apparatuses may require measuring a volumetric fluid flow rate through a fluid passage, such as a conduit or duct. For example, in a rooftop HVAC system, it is often desirable to know the volumetric airflow that the rooftop HVAC system brings into a building in real time. One example of an airflow monitoring system for a HVAC system is the Traq™ airflow monitoring system manufactured by the Trane Company (LaCross, Wis., U.S.A.). The Traq™ airflow monitoring system typically Includes an airflow sensor, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,330, in an airflow modulation device, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,741,180 and 5,674,125. In each Traq™ airflow monitoring system, the airflow sensor can measure the volumetric airflow through the airflow modulation device. An air intake conduit of the HVAC system may be equipped with one or more Traq™ airflow monitoring systems, so that essentially the entire air intake by the HVAC system may go through the Traq™ airflow monitoring system(s). The total volumetric air intake flow then can be calculated by adding the volumetric airflow values measured by individual Traq™ airflow monitoring system.

Methods and systems to measure fluid flow


The present invention relates to a wind turbine comprising a lightning protection system comprising a waveguide interconnecting a communication device and a signal-carrying structure. In other aspects, the present invention relates to the use of a waveguide in a lightning protection system of a wind turbine, a power splitter and its use in a lightning protection system of a wind turbine.

Lightning protection of blade and blade components, especially electronic parts, in a wind turbine blade is important in that the lightning current may be very damaging. Therefore, blades may be equipped with receptors receiving the lightning and down conductors for conducting the lightning current to a ground potential. This however may not be enough to protect electronic components located in the blade against damage caused by a lightning current.
International Patent Application WO 2014/187895 A1 describes a lightning protection system for a wind turbine blade, the system comprising a conductive band positioned around the circumference of the blade at the longitudinal location a communication device, wherein the conductive band is coupled with a lightning down conductor for connection to a ground plane. A signal-carrying coaxial cable is incorporated into the interior of the lightning down conductor in a common cable, wherein the lightning down conductor is configured to shield the internal signal-carrying structure.
While such prior art system may afford some degree of protection of electronics from lightning strikes they typically provide unsatisfactory protection against flashover of lighting current between conductors having great differences in electric potential.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a wind turbine blade with a lightning protection system affording an improved level of protection for electronic parts, especially communication devices, located within the blade.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a wind turbine blade with a lightning protection system having improved performance as compared to prior art systems.

Wind turbine with lightning protection system


A system in one embodiment includes a detection unit, a boil-off auxiliary power unit, and a controller. The detection unit is configured to detect a characteristic of a boil-off gas stream from a cryotank configured to hold a cryogenic fluid. The boil-off auxiliary power unit is configured to receive the boil-off gas stream and use the boil-off gas stream to provide auxiliary power to a vehicle system. The controller is configured to acquire information from the detection unit corresponding to the characteristic; determine, using the information acquired from the detection unit, an available boil-off auxiliary energy that is available from the boil-off auxiliary power unit; determine a mode of operation of the vehicle system; determine a required auxiliary energy for the vehicle system; and to operate the auxiliary power unit based on the available boil-off auxiliary energy, the mode of operation, and the required auxiliary energy.

Cryogenic fluids may be used on-board aircraft, trains, ships, motor vehicles, or in other applications that limit the size or weight of a system utilizing cryogenic fluids. For example, some aircraft engines are configured to use natural gas as fuel. The natural gas may be stored on-board the aircraft as liquid natural gas (LNG), which is a cryogenic fluid. Cryogenic fluids may be stored on-board aircraft within a cryogenic tank that holds a volume of the cryogenic fluid. After a cryogenic tank is filled with LNG, the tank may be exposed to higher temperatures (e.g., higher temperatures than the boiling point of LNG). As ambient temperature increases, increasing amounts of LNG within the tank may evaporate as a boil-off gas, creating increasing pressure within the cryogenic tank. Thus, to address the increasing pressure within the cryogenic tank, the boil-off gas may be released from the tank, for example, through a valve. In some systems, the boil-off gas may be vented directly to the atmosphere. However, venting the boil-off gas to the atmosphere has drawbacks and undesirable effects.

Cryogenic fuel system with auxiliary power provided by boil-off gas


Subject matter disclosed herein relates to memory devices or accessing memory devices, and more particularly, but by way of example and not limitation, to preparation of a memory device to perform a memory access operation based at least partly on at least one indicator signal that indicates a memory access type.

1. Field
Subject matter disclosed herein relates to memory devices or accessing of memory devices, and more particularly, but by way of example and not limitation, to enabling preparation of a memory device to perform a memory access operation using a memory access command signal including at least one indicator signal that indicates a memory access type.
2. Information
Memory devices may be found in a wide range of electronic products. For example, memory devices may be used in desktop or notebook computers, tablet or slate computers, digital cameras, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable entertainment devices (e.g., for audio, video, gaming, internet-accessing, etc.), or combinations thereof, etc. In electronic products, memory devices may be accessed by one or more processors in order to perform activities that are desirable to users of electronic products. Memory accesses by processors may be performed using any of many different potential approaches, which may depend, for example, at least partly on a kind of memory device being accessed. Different memory access approaches may also be implemented in accordance with, for example, respective different memory access protocols.

Preparation of memory device for access using memory access type indicator signal


A griddle for a cooking appliance is disclosed. The griddle includes a griddle plate of a first material having a first thermal conductivity; a heat spreading plate of a second material having a second thermal conductivity which is greater than the first thermal conductivity; and at least one clamping member for clamping the griddle plate and the heat spreading plate together.

The present invention relates generally to an accessory for a cooking appliance. More particularly, the present invention relates to a griddle with a heat spreader for a cooking appliance such as a cooking range or a cooktop.
Griddles are widely used on cooking appliances such as cooking ranges and cooktops. As is known in the art, a cooking range or a cooktop typically has at least one surface heating unit. A griddle, which is typically placed above one or more surface heating units of a cooking appliance, provides a substantially flat cooking surface. When the outer case of a cooking appliance is made of stainless steel, the griddle is often made of stainless steel as well so that the griddle matches the cooking appliance in appearance.
Stainless steel, however, does not have a very good thermal conductivity. As is known in the art, to shorten the preheat time and to improve heat distribution for such a stainless steel griddle, a heat spreader made of a relatively high thermo-conductive material, such as aluminum or copper, can be attached to the bottom surface of the stainless steel griddle plate of the griddle. The heat spreader can be metallically bonded or clad to the stainless steel griddle plate. However, the resulting clad griddle has certain disadvantages. For example, the clad griddle is relatively expensive to make. In addition, when an aluminum heat spreader is clad with a stainless steel griddle plate, there will be stresses between the aluminum heat spreader and the stainless steel griddle plate when the clad griddle is heated, due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion of these materials. Such stresses cause the clad griddle to bow, and may eventually break the bond between the aluminum heat spreader and the stainless steel griddle plate.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a griddle which is relatively inexpensive to make, and which has a stainless steel griddle plate and a heat spreader, but the stress between the griddle plate and the heater spreader is substantially reduced when the griddle is heated.


An aim is to provide a bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus which is able to conduct a bag manufacturing at high speed, further to be small in height.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus, and more particularly to a bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus having a function that mounts a manufactured bag to a strip.
2. Background Information
There are bag manufacturing and packaging apparatuses that, while manufacturing a bag, fill the bag with articles to be packaged, such as snacks and candies, thereby functioning as an apparatus that manufactures a bag and packages. For example, in a vertical bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus called a pillow-type packaging machine, a packaging material that is a sheet-shaped film is formed into a tubular shape by the use of a former and a tube. Subsequently, the longitudinal edges of overlapping tubular packaging materials are heat-sealed (welded) by a longitudinal sealing mechanism, thereby making a tubular packaging material. Furthermore, the tubular packaging material that will ultimately form a bag is filled from the tube with articles to be packaged. Then, the transverse sealing mechanism below the tube heat seals the upper end of the bag and the lower end of the following bag, and a cutter then cuts the center of the heat-sealed portion (transverse sealed portion).
It has also been proposed to add a function to a bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus that fixedly attaches manufactured bags to a strip. Such apparatuses fixedly attaches bags to a strip, leaving spaces between the bags a little bit at a time. Thereby, the plurality of bags, in which snacks, candies, and the like are packaged, can be easily arrayed at a retail shop by hanging the end of the strip.
Published Japanese translation of PCT Application WO1997-508879 discloses an apparatus in which a transverse sealing mechanism heat seals the upper and lower ends of a bag and simultaneously fixedly attaches the bag to a strip. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,895 discloses an apparatus that transfers a manufactured bag in the horizontal direction, and then fixedly attaches the bag to a strip. Furthermore, International Publication No. 98-52823 discloses an apparatus that transfers a manufactured bag directly downward, and then fixedly attaches the bag to a strip.
The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,895 feeds the tubular packaging material from above in the downward direction, transports in the horizontal direction bags whose upper and lower ends have been sealed by a transverse sealing mechanism, and then fixedly attaches the bag to a strip. In other words, a bag is dropped to a space below the transverse sealing mechanism, and is then transferred horizontally. Further, the bag is fixedly attached to a strip at a position planarly spaced apart from the transverse sealing mechanism.
However, it is difficult for the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,895 to continuously manufacture bags at a high speed because it adopts a configuration wherein tubular packaging material is transported from above in the downward direction. That is, bags are sealed at the upper and lower ends by a transverse sealing mechanism, and those bags are then transferred in a horizontal direction, which is orthogonal to the direction in which they have been transported. In other words, such an apparatus manufactures bags and fixedly attaches those bags to a strip intermittently, which limits the number of bags that can be manufactured per a unit of time.
Further, in the apparatus disclosed in International Publication No. 98-52823, the packaging material is transported from above in the downward direction, bags are manufactured by a transverse sealing mechanism, and those bags are transferred directly downwards without changing the transfer direction, which is from above to below, where the bags are fixedly attached to a strip at a position considerably lower than the transverse sealing mechanism. Accordingly, unlike the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,895, it appears that the apparatus disclosed in International Publication No. 98-52823 can manufacture bags continuously and at a high speed.
However, because the apparatus in International Publication No. 98-52823 has a configuration in which manufactured bags are transported directly downward and then fixedly attached to a strip, the apparatus requires the securing of a long distance in the height direction between the mechanism that attaches bags to the strip and the transverse sealing mechanism, in order to ensure high speed operation. If this distance were short, there would be a risk that the next bag to be manufactured would interfere with the previous bag being attached to a strip. In consideration thereof, the mechanism that fixedly attaches bags to a strip is disposed considerably below the transverse sealing mechanism in the apparatus of International Publication No. 98-52823. Accordingly, the apparatus of International Publication No. 98-52823 has a large overall height dimension, which is undesirable.
In addition, to increase the number of bags that can be manufactured per unit of time by the bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus, the sealing members of the transverse sealing mechanism are moved in concert with the transport of the tubular packaging material, and the upper and lower ends of the bag are heat-sealed by the application of pressure and heat from the sealing members while both the tubular packaging material, which will form the bag, and the sealing members are moved together. For example, there is a bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus that moves a pair of sealing members of a transverse sealing member downward while the sealing members revolve, so as to describe a rectangular trajectory or a D-shaped trajectory. In this manner, bags can be manufactured without any stoppage of the transport of the tubular packaging material that forms the bags.
In bag manufacturing and packaging apparatuses of the type that move the sealing members downward in concert with the transport of the bag in order to manufacture bags, the length of time during which the pair of sealing members grasp the ends of the bag, namely the length of time that pressure and heat from the sealing members are applied to the ends of the bag (packaging material), varies depending on the type of packaging material and size of the bag to be manufactured. In other words, the distance that the pair of sealing members move downward while grasping the packaging material that will form the bag varies depending on the type of packaging material and size of the bag to be manufactured. Furthermore, in a conventional bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus, if the length of time during which the sealing members grasp the ends of the bag must be increased, then the distance that the pair of sealing members move downward while grasping the packaging material that will form the bag needs to be lengthened. Conversely, if it is acceptable to shorten the length of time that the sealing members grasp the ends of the bag, then the distance that the pair of sealing members moves downward while grasping the packaging material that will form the bag is shortened. Consequently, in a conventional bag manufacturing and packaging machine, the height position and the timing at which the pair of sealing members separates from the grasped packaging material (ends of the bag) varies depending on the type of packaging material and the size of the bag.
However, if the height position of the bag varies when the upper and lower ends of the bag are heat-sealed by the transverse sealing mechanism of the bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus and the manufacturing of the bag is completed, then the mechanism that fixedly attaches that bag to a strip must estimate the height position of the bag that has been manufactured based on the size of the bag and the type of packaging material. Particularly, the mechanism that fixedly attaches the bag to the strip must be configured so that it can deal with that change in the height position. Thereby, the cost of the mechanism needed to fixedly attach bags to a strip increases. It is also necessary to finely control the mechanism based on the height position of the bag being manufactured.
In view of the above, there exists a need for a bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus which overcomes the above mentioned problems in the prior art. This invention addresses this need in the prior art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

Bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus

Abstract: A bag manufacturing and packaging apparatus 1 comprises a bag manufacturing unit that includes a transverse sealing mechanism 17 and a strip mounting unit that includes a transfer mechanism 32. The bag manufacturing unit manufactures bags filled with articles. The transfer mechanism 32 transfers bags manufactured by the bag manufacturing unit diagonally downward. The strip mounting unit mounts bags B to a strip S after they are transferred by means of the transfer mechanism 32.


A wind power generation system includes: a wind turbine in which at least one blade is mounted on an axis; a generator for generating multiphase alternating current power by rotation of the axis; and a multiphase power conversion device for performing PWM-control for adjustment and output of generated power of the generator. With the configuration, the PWM-control provides for each phase a control paused period in which no overlap occurs. Thus, the pulse density between the control period and the control paused period of other phases is low, thereby generating high and low density in an inter-phase pulse.

The present invention relates to a wind power generation system provided with a generator and a multi-phase power conversion device for PWM control.
A wind power generation system is provided with a blade that converts wind power energy into rotational energy, a generator for acquiring electric power from the rotational energy transmitted to a rotor, and a power conversion device for outputting the acquired power to a power system, and supplies electric power to a load at home and in a factory connected to the power system. The document "Process of Pulse Duration Modulation of a Multi-phase Converter" (which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,663 to Krtek), discloses the technology of adding an equal amount of compensation to each voltage command for use in multi-phase pulse width modulation, thereby shortening a switching period.


The invention relates to the use of dialkyl carbonates as solvents for expanded polystyrene and to a new process for the recycling of expanded polystyrene. Said process comprises the volume reduction of expanded polystyrene by dissolution with a dialkyl carbonate, or a blend of dialkyl carbonates, the removal of the insoluble components by filtration, the selective precipitation of polystyrene with a non-solvent or a blend of non-solvents, the separation, drying and extrusion of the precipitated polystyrene. This process allows the recovery of pure polystyrene without altering its properties.

Expanded polystyrene is used in large quantities as a packaging material of various products and as a thermal insulation material for the building industry and refrigerators, as a result of its characteristics of low thermal conductivity and good shock absorbance capacity. The waste deriving from these materials and the production scraps of expanded polystyrene are extremely bulky, as their specific weight is very low, and consequently their transportation and disposal in dumps create various problems. The disposal of these waste materials by incineration is also a problem, as it can interfere in the combustion process of the incineration oven and can also produce toxic gases. Some types of expanded polystyrene containing brominated flame-retardant additives, when incinerated, can in fact produce polybrominated dioxins, which are extremely toxic. For these reasons, the waste material from expanded polystyrene should be recycled, after a first step of volume reduction, effected in the production or waste collection sites, followed by the regeneration of the polystyrene, carried out in a centralized recovery plant.
The traditional methods for reducing the volume and the recycling of polystyrene, which envisage thermal treatment, do not allow the complete separation of polystyrene from the other products present in expanded polystyrene, and also have the great disadvantage of causing the partial oxidative degradation of the polymer, thus reducing its quality (Kano, Suzuki, J. Jpn. Pack. Inst., 31, 33, 1993; Sasao, Harade et A1., Kagaku Kogyo, 66, 395, 1992).
Another volume reduction method of expanded polystyrene described in the known art, which overcomes the above described drawbacks, is to dissolve the polymer in an organic solvent. Organic solvents which can appropriately dissolve polystyrene are aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylenes (U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,039) and halogenated solvents, such as methylene chloride, perchloro ethylene (U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,403). These solvents have the disadvantage of being flammable or dangerous for human beings and the environment. The use of solvents such as d-limonene has been proposed for overcoming these drawbacks (Noguchi, Miyashita, et al., Packag. Technol. Sci. 11, 19-27 (1998), which however has a strong smell of lemon and a low flash point (47° C.); glycol alkyl ethers, some of which are harmful or even toxic, such as diethylene glycol dimethyl ether; dialkyl esters of organic acids, such as dimethyl adipate, dimethyl glutarate and dimethyl succinate (U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,352). When the recovery of polystyrene from the solution is carried out by the evaporation of the solvent, the use of high boiling solvents, such as d-limonene, glycol dialkyl ethers and dialkyl esters of organic acids has the disadvantage of requiring, during the distillation phase of the solvent, very low pressures and the use of costly distillation equipment, in order to avoid the decomposition of polystyrene. In order to solve this problem, the recovery of polystyrene from the solution is effected, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,352, by means of precipitation by the addition of water. These methods, as also those which envisage the recovery of polystyrene by evaporation of the organic solvent, have the disadvantage of not allowing the separation from polystyrene of the majority of additives present in the expanded polystyrene, such as, for example, brominated flame-retardant additives, which are soluble in said organic solvents and insoluble in water. In the patent WO 0238659, the volume of the expanded polystyrene is reduced by treating it with a series of solvents consisting of a solvent capable of dissolving polystyrene, such as, for example, dialkyl esters of organic acids, and a non-solvent of the polymer, such as, for example, ethylene or propylene glycol and others. This treatment does not dissolve the expanded polystyrene but simply collapses it. The collapsed polystyrene, in gel form, is then separated and dried. Other methods similar to the previous one, which differ in the series of solvents and in the equipment used, are disclosed in patents WO 0222337, U.S. 2002/0120020. With these methods, the polystyrene, separated in gel form, withholds impurities and large amounts of solvent, which are difficult to remove during the drying phase.
The drawback of all these methods is that it is impossible to obtain pure polystyrene, without all the foreign components normally present in expanded polystyrene, such as labels, other polymers, additives and other materials. In patents EP 0894818 and WO 0214413, the recycling of the polymers in general with separation from foreign materials and additives is obtained by dissolving the polymeric material in a suitable solvent, by separating the insoluble components and recovering the desired polymer by precipitation with a non-solvent. These patents do not provide examples of the recycling of expanded polystyrene and the solvents used for dissolving the polymeric material are, for the most part, flammable, toxic or harmful.
It has now been found that the drawbacks of the known art can be overcome if a dialkyl carbonate is used as solvent for dissolving expanded polystyrene.

Use of dialkyl carbonates as solvents for expanded polystyrene


A communication system includes a communication apparatus for connecting a first network to a second network, wherein a packet transmitted by a transmitting station in the first network by way of the communication apparatus to a receiving station in the second network is relayed selectively by the communication apparatus to the second network. First authentication information is created, in part, according to predetermined key information and the packet is transmitted with the header information thereof including the first authentication information. First authentication information in the header information of the packet is compared with second authentication information created, in part, according to predetermined key information, by the communication apparatus in order to determine whether or not the packet is to be relayed to the second network.

The present invention relates to a communication system and a communication apparatus, and particularly to a communication system and a communication apparatus that has an identifying function typically based on header information of a packet for enhancing the security of communication so that an external access to the inside of its own organization can be made from a location outside the organization.
A router is an apparatus that has a plurality of network interfaces and is used for relaying packets. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of a router 100. In this router 100, a packet received by a predetermined network interface 1a, 1b or 1c is retransmitted by one of the network interfaces 1a, 1b and 1c which is determined by a transmission-network-interface selecting unit 2. A routing table 3 is used by the transmission-network-interface unit 2 in determining one of the network interfaces 1a, 1b and 1c for retransmitting the packet.
A router that is connected to the external world and selectively relays packets from the external world to a predetermined organization in order to protect the network in the organization is in particular called a fire wall. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of a fire wall 200. Since the fire wall 200 is a router for selectively relaying packets as described above, the fire wall 200 is the router 100 shown in FIG. 9 that has a packet discriminating unit 11 with a function for selecting and rejecting a packet.
The packet discriminating unit 11 selects a packet by using header information included in the header of the packet. The header information includes, among other data, a source address, a destination address and a protocol type. Thus, the packet discriminating unit 11 can selectively relay only a packet transmitted from a predetermined transmitting host to the organization.
However, the contents of the header information are not always valid. This is because an unauthorized user may use invalid header information. As a result, such an unauthorized user may make an access to the inside of the organization, giving rise to a problem that the communication security cannot be preserved any more.

Communication system and communication apparatus