A semiconductor device measures a state of a MEMS as a first voltage variation at a sensing node. The state of the MEMS includes a capacitance. A first capacitor is coupled between the sensing node and an input of an integrator for transferring the first voltage variation to a second node as a first signal. A second voltage variation is routed through a second capacitor to the second node as a second signal. The integrator integrates the first signal and second signal to provide an integrated signal. An ADC has an input coupled to an output of the integrator and converts the integrated signal to a digital signal representative of the capacitance of the MEMS. A DAC has an input coupled to the output of the ADC. A second capacitor is coupled between an output of the DAC and the sensing node.

Semiconductor devices are commonly found in modern electronic products. Semiconductor devices vary in the number and density of electrical components. Integrated semiconductor devices typically contain hundreds to millions of electrical components. Examples of integrated semiconductor devices include microcontrollers, microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and other specific functional circuits. Discrete semiconductor devices generally contain one type of electrical component, e.g., light emitting diode (LED), small signal transistor, resistor, capacitor, inductor, and power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET).
Semiconductor devices perform a wide range of functions such as signal processing, high-speed calculations, transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals, controlling operation of electronic devices, and controlling movement of mechanical devices. Semiconductor devices are found in the fields of communications, power conversion, mechanical control, networks, computers, and consumer products. Semiconductor devices are also found in military applications, aviation, automotive, industrial controllers, and office equipment.
A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) is often used with the above semiconductor devices. For example, the MEMS can be a comb actuator, lens for cell phone camera, moveable mirror, accelerometer, or gyro. The MEMS may exhibit a capacitance from two electrodes or elements with a dielectric medium between the electrodes. The capacitance of the MEMS changes with the relative displacement or distance between the two electrodes. In the case of a lens for a camera, capacitance changes by movement of the focal point of the lens, or by movement of the lens with respect to a sensor, i.e., capacitance varies with displacement of the lens. The movement or displacement of the lens can be determined by measuring the capacitance of the MEMS. The present state and operation of the MEMS can be controlled by measuring changes in the effective capacitance.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional block and schematic diagram of measurement circuit 10 for measuring the capacitance of a MEMS, represented by variable capacitor 12 coupled between node 14 and terminal 16 operating at a ground potential. Charge pump 20 is coupled through connecting circuit 22 to node 14 to change the voltage across capacitor 12, which creates an electric field that imposes a force on the MEMS, e.g., to induce movement of one electrode of the MEMS capacitor. The value of MEMS capacitor 12 is then measured to determine the amount of the displacement or the new position of the electrode of the MEMS capacitor caused by application of the charge pump voltage. Connecting circuit 22 can be a transistor, resistor, or electronic switch. Capacitor 24 is coupled between node 14 and node 26, and capacitor 28 is coupled between node 14 and node 30. Reset circuit 32 can be a transistor or electronic switch coupled between node 26 and node 30. Pulse or step generator 34 has an output coupled to a non-inverting input of amplifier 36. The inverting input of amplifier 36 is coupled to node 26, and the output of amplifier 36 is coupled to node 30 at output terminal 38 of measurement circuit 10 to provide an analog output signal as a representative measurement of the value of capacitor 12.
Measurement circuit 10 provides an analog measurement of MEMS capacitor 12, i.e., the value of capacitor 12 is to be determined. Assume connecting circuit 22 and reset circuit 32 are closed or low impedance. The voltage from charge pump 20 is applied to capacitor 12 to cause displacement or change of state of the MEMS. Capacitors 24 and 28 isolate amplifier 36 from the high voltage from charge pump 20 on node 14, i.e., the voltage required to displace or change state of the MEMS can be greater than the breakdown voltage of the active amplifier. Capacitor 28 is coupled to node 14 to inject charges into MEMS capacitor 12. Capacitor 24 senses the change in the voltage at node 14 (V14). Since reset circuit 32 is low impedance, the voltage of the inverting input of amplifier 36 is substantially equal to the output voltage of the amplifier, which is equal to the voltage at the non-inverting input of the amplifier from pulse generator 34.
Connecting circuit 22 and reset circuit 32 are opened or set to high impedance, i.e., connecting circuit 22 and reset circuit 32 are disabled during the measurement phase. Pulse generator 34 provides a pulse or step function VP to the non-inverting input of amplifier 36. Note that the voltage at the inverting input of amplifier 36 will be substantially the same as VP applied to the non-inverting input of the amplifier. The output of amplifier 36 changes to make the inverting input of the amplifier follow VP. The output voltage of amplifier 36 changes based on a ratio of the capacitors and VP, i.e., the output voltage of amplifier 36 in response to VP is impressed through capacitor 28 to cause a change in V14 as a function of capacitor 12, which is then measured through capacitor 24 across the inputs of the amplifier and provided at the output of the amplifier. The value of capacitor 12 (displacement or state of the MEMS) is unknown due to the force applied by charge pump 20. Yet, the value of capacitor 12 can be determined from the change in V14 as a function of capacitor 12 and provided as the analog output voltage of amplifier 36 at output terminal 38. The analog output voltage of amplifier 36 changes with the value of capacitor 12.
FIG. 2 shows another conventional block and schematic diagram of measurement circuit 40 for measuring the capacitance of a MEMS, represented by variable capacitor 42 coupled between node 44 and terminal 46 operating at a ground potential. Charge pump 50 is coupled through connecting circuit 52 to node 44 to change the voltage across capacitor 42, which creates an electric field that imposes a force on the MEMS, e.g., to induce movement of the lens. The value of MEMS capacitor 42 is then measured to determine the amount of the displacement or the new position or state of the MEMS caused by application of the charge pump voltage. Connecting circuit 52 can be a transistor, resistor, or electronic switch. Capacitor 54 is coupled between node 44 and node 56, and capacitor 58 is coupled between node 44 and node 60. Reset circuit 62 can be a transistor or electronic switch coupled between node 56 and node 60. Pulse or step generator 64 has an output coupled through capacitor 66 to an inverting input of amplifier 68. The non-inverting input of amplifier 68 receives DC reference voltage VREF1. The inverting input of amplifier 68 is coupled to node 56, and the output of amplifier 68 is coupled to node 60 at output terminal 70 of measurement circuit 40 to provide an analog output signal representative measurement of the value of capacitor 42.
Assume connecting circuit 52 and reset circuit 62 are closed or low impedance. The voltage from charge pump 50 is applied to capacitor 42 to cause displacement or change of state of the MEMS. Capacitors 54 and 58 isolate amplifier 68 from the high voltage from charge pump 50 on node 44, i.e., the voltage required to displace a MEMS element can be greater than the breakdown voltage of the active amplifier. Connecting circuit 52 and reset circuit 62 are opened or set to high impedance, i.e., the connecting circuit and reset circuit are disabled during the measurement phase. Capacitor 58 is coupled to node 44 to inject charges into MEMS capacitor 42. Capacitor 54 senses the change in the voltage at node 44 (V44). Pulse generator 64 provides a pulse or step function VP through capacitor 66 to the inverting input of amplifier 68. The output voltage of the amplifier 68 changes based on a ratio of the capacitors and VP. Thus, the value of capacitor 42 can be determined from the variation of the analog output voltage of amplifier 68 and made available at output terminal 70.
The measurement of the MEMS capacitor uses conventional analog circuits, e.g., amplifier 36 or 68. The analog measurement value of the MEMS capacitor from amplifier 36 or 68 must be converted to a digital format, e.g., by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) within the semiconductor die containing the measurement circuit or externally for further processing by digital circuits. The analog measurement of the MEMS capacitor may lack resolution needed in some applications.

Semiconductor device and method of direct measurement and acquisition of MEMS employing sigma-delta loop


Audio objects are associated with positional metadata. A received downmix signal comprises downmix channels that are linear combinations of one or more audio objects and are associated with respective positional locators.

There exist audio coding systems for parametric spatial audio coding. For example, MPEG Surround describes a system for parametric spatial coding of multichannel audio. MPEG SAOC (Spatial Audio Object Coding) describes a system for parametric coding of audio objects.
On an encoder side these systems typically downmix the channels/objects into a downmix, which typically is a mono (one channel) or a stereo (two channels) downmix, and extract side information describing the properties of the channels/objects by means of parameters like level differences and cross-correlation. The downmix and the side information are then encoded and sent to a decoder side. At the decoder side, the channels/objects are reconstructed, i.e. approximated, from the downmix under control of the parameters of the side information.
A drawback of these systems is that the reconstruction is typically mathematically complex and often has to rely on assumptions about properties of the audio content that is not explicitly described by the parameters sent as side information. Such assumptions may for example be that the channels/objects are treated as uncorrelated unless a cross-correlation parameter is sent, or that the downmix of the channels/objects is generated in a specific way.
In addition to the above, coding efficiency emerges as a key design factor in applications intended for audio distribution, including both network broadcasting and one-to-one file transmission. Coding efficiency is of some relevance also to keep file sizes and required memory limited, at least in non-professional products.
All the figures are schematic and generally show parts to elucidate the subject matter herein, whereas other parts may be
omitted or merely suggested. Unless otherwise indicated, like reference numerals refer to like parts in different figures.

Reconstruction of audio scenes from a downmix

Abstract: In a first aspect, the downmix signal, the positional metadata and frequency-dependent object gains are received. An audio object is reconstructed by applying the object gain to an upmix of the downmix signal in accordance with coefficients based on the positional metadata and the positional locators.

Abstract: In a second aspect, audio objects have been encoded together with at least one bed channel positioned at a positional locator of a corresponding downmix channel. The decoding system receives the downmix signal and the positional metadata of the audio objects. A bed channel is reconstructed by suppressing the content representing audio objects from the corresponding downmix channel on the basis of the positional locator of the corresponding downmix channel.


A reservoir tank which includes: a container for storing fluid therein, having an inlet through which the fluid flows into the container and an outlet through which the fluid flows out of the container; and a duct provided inside the container, which is connected to the inlet of the container and has a first opening open inside the container. The first opening is located above the outlet of the container and below a surface of the fluid in the container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reservoir tank having a function to separate gas and liquid.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-126631 discloses a reservoir tank which consists of a lower container for storing fluid and an upper container provided on top of the lower container, communicating with the lower container. The lower container has an outlet, and the upper container has an opening on an upper wall thereof and an inlet on a sidewall thereof.
A fluid flows through the inlet into the upper container in a form of a gas-liquid flow. As the liquid flows downward in the upper container, the gas mixed in the liquid is separated from the liquid as bubbles rising in the liquid, and is discharged from the opening of the upper container.


The air bag cover has a skin layer on the surface side of the cover and a core on the back surface side of the cover. The cover is disposed so as to cover an air bag. The air bag cover has a breakable portion which is broken when the air bag expands. The breakable portion is formed by providing a continuous or intermittent concave portion on the back surface side of the air bag cover. A fragile layer lower in tensile strength than the skin layer is fused to the back surface side of the skin layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle air bag cover for covering a folded air bag of an air bag apparatus for use in an instrument panel, a door trim, a seat back, a pad of a steering wheel, etc. More particularly, the present invention relates to an air bag cover made of synthetic resin having a skin layer on the exposed exterior or surface side of the cover and a core or base layer on the back of the surface side, and having a breakable portion which breaks upon deployment of the air bag allowing the air bag to expand and project from the air bag apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An air bag cover has been designed to have a core of synthetic resin and a skin layer disposed on the front surface side of the cover (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho. 63-22262, for example).
A breakable portion has been formed in the air bag cover which breaks upon deployment of an air bag allowing the air bag to project when the air bag expands. This breakable portion has been provided by forming a concave portion in the air bag cover by a working jig using high-frequency wave, heat, or ultrasonic wave (see Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 2-248238, No. Hei. 4-151345, No. Hei. 6-218811).
When a concave portion is provided on the front surface side of the air bag cover, the concave portion detracts from the design of the air bag cover. Thus, the concave portion has been provided on the back surface side. However, it has nonetheless been necessary to provide such a concave portion in the skin layer in order to allow the air bag cover to break smoothly.
However, the thickness of the skin layer of these known covers is so thin (about 1 mm) that it is difficult to control the thickness of the skin layer when the concave portion is formed. The thickness of the skin layer is particularly difficult to control when the air bag cover is curved and the breakable portion must be formed in the curved surface. It has been therefore very difficult to control the thickness of the skin layer.


This invention is directed to an information communication system. An agent terminal (2) constituting this system forms character of a predetermined shape to display the character to permit conversation between the character and user to transmit personal information, etc. of user obtained through conversation to an agent access server to display information from the agent access server in a form such that the character introduces that information. The agent access server (3) constituting the information communication system analyses access from the agent terminal (2) to select a dedicated server (5) in accordance with analysis result thereof to send out information from the agent terminal (2) to send out answer information from the dedicated server (5) to the agent terminal (2). The dedicated server (5) specially processes this information to send out answer information.

Advertising system utilizing internet serves to insert an advertisement on picture of service that internet service provider provides, or to provide an advertisement by voice. Depending upon its advertising technique, there are mentioned "Banner advertisement", "Affiliate program", "Push-type advertisement" and "Cash back advertisement", etc.
Here, the "Banner advertisement" is the most fundamental advertising technique, and is advertising technique for simply inserting advertisement of Banner type (flag type) on, e.g., home page. The "Affiliate program" is advertising technique to introduce customer so that commission is obtained when sale has been effected. The "Push-type advertisement" is advertising technique for regularly carrying out automatic change of advertisement. The "Cash back advertisement" is advertising technique to answer advertisement or questionnaire so that cash back is provided.
Since conventional these advertising systems utilizing internet have effects of advertisement in their own way while they have both merits and demerits, such advertising systems are employed at present.
In such conventional advertising systems, there were the following problems.
First, in accordance with position of user, there were inconveniences such that user feels very gloomy because advertisement is provided on picture of internet service or by voice, and there a large number of advertisements which are not desired to accept for user among advertisements on picture of internet service or by voice.
In addition, in accordance with position of advertiser or sponsor, there was inconvenience such that degree of satisfaction of user is low so that effective advertisement is not provided.

Information communication system for carrying out communication and delivery of information


In an embodiment, a method comprises causing, to be displayed to a user through a web page of a social network provider that provides a social network, contest data that indicates an online contest; receiving, at a particular entity, input that indicates an intention by the user to participate in the online contest; sending, from the particular entity, request data that indicates a request, by the particular entity, for one or more permissions that allows the particular entity to access information from the social network provider about the user; after sending the request data, receiving, at the particular entity, acceptance data that indicates that the user accepts the request; in response to receiving the acceptance data, causing the user to be entered in the online contest; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Many types of contests exist that involve prizes as awards to certain contestants. Sweepstakes and lotteries are examples of such contests. Different contests have different requirements regarding who can enter the contests and different criteria regarding which contestants will be selected to win a prize. Such differences may be attributed to the type of contest and/or the specific contest in question.
One drawback to current contests, such as lotteries, is that participation is limited due to the fact that a marketer of a contest needs to reach each potential participant individually. Advertising contests through billboards, television, newspapers, radio, and the Web have proven to be difficult in terms of achieving a significant amount of participation when considering the costs of the advertising.


It is an object of the present invention to provide a fluorescence imaging probe capable of selectively visualizing target cells such as cells expressing β-galactosidase (lacZ expressing cells) at a single-cell level in a red fluorescence region, and of performing co-staining together with GFP.

Reporter proteins have made an immeasurable contribution to the development of life sciences. The most commonly used reporter protein is β-galactosidase (lacZ). A relationship between aging and expression of β-galactosidase in cells has recently been suggested (see Non-Patent Literature 1), and imaging probes which are enzyme-specific to β-galactosidase are important molecular tools for elucidating mechanisms of cell aging. Furthermore, β-galactosidase activity has been shown to be elevated in certain types of cancer cells (see Non-Patent Literatures 2 and 3), and an imaging probe which is enzyme-specific to β-galactosidase is thought to be usable also as a cancer-cell-selective fluorescence imaging probe.
Conventionally, techniques for imaging enzyme activity using X-Gal as a substrate are widely used (Non-Patent Literature 4), but X-Gal cannot be applied to living cells, and therefore, a probe for imaging enzyme activity which can be applied to living cells is desired to be developed. Numerous imaging probes that can be applied to living cells have presently been developed. For example, HMDER-βGal and the like have been developed as β-galactosidase fluorescent probes which can be applied to living cells and living biological tissues, and in which visible light excitation is possible by control of a spiro-ring-forming reaction in the molecule thereof (see Non-Patent Literature 5 and Patent Literature 1).
However, from problem points such as low cell membrane permeability and low intracellular retention of a fluorescent dye generated after an enzyme reaction, in the conventional β-galactosidase fluorescent probes, living cells and the like are difficult to clearly image at a single-cell level. On the other hand, the present inventors developed an imaging probe in which a fluoromethyl group is introduced into a xanthene ring (Patent Literature 2). The probe can detect a target cell at a single-cell level, but luminescence in fluorescence detection is in a green fluorescence region, which makes it difficult to perform co-staining together with GFP (green fluorescent protein) which is frequently used in live imaging.

Enzyme-specific intracellularly-retained red fluorescent probe

Abstract: An intracellularly-retainable red fluorescent probe comprising a compound represented by the following formula (I) or a salt thereof:

Abstract: wherein: A represents a monovalent group cleaved by an enzyme; R1 represents        a hydrogen atom, or one to four of the same or different substituents bonded to a benzene ring; R3, R4, R5, and R6 each independently represent —CFR10R11, —CF2R12, a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, an alkyl group, or a halogen atom, wherein at least one of R3, R4, R5, and R6 is —CFR10R11 or —CF2R12;        R2 and R7 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, an alkyl group, or a halogen atom; R8 and R9 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group; R10, R11, and R12 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or an alkenyl group; X represents Si(Ra) (Rb), wherein Ra and Rb each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group; and Y is —C(═O)— or —RcC(═O)—, wherein Rc is an alkylene group having 1-3 carbon atoms.


Documents related to delivery of loads shipped by trucking operators can be scanned or otherwise captured using mobile computing devices having document capture and/or document delivery functionality. Load related data can be manually input by drivers during the capture process. Such data can be incorporated into the scanned document as metadata. The concepts disclosed herein encompass establishing a logical connection between the mobile computing device implementing the document capture functionality and a vehicle ECU or vehicle data bus. The document capture application is configured to extract data from the vehicle ECU or vehicle data bus and incorporate that data into the document captured. Data, such as location data, can be similarly captured to establish a logical connection with a telematics device including a GPS component. Where the telematics device includes a wireless data link, the capture document can be wirelessly conveyed to a remote data center.

As the cost of sensors, communications systems and navigational systems has dropped, operators of commercial and fleet vehicles now have the ability to collect a tremendous amount of data about the vehicles that they operate, including how the vehicles are being driven by the drivers operating such vehicles.
Unfortunately, simply collecting such data does not automatically translate into cost savings. It would be desirable to provide such fleet operators with additional tools in order to derive a benefit from the wealth of data that can be collected. Preferably, such tools can be used to provide feedback to fleet operators that can be translated into cost savings.

Automatic incorporation of vehicle data into documents captured at a vehicle using a mobile computing device


The detecting method and detecting device provided in the present disclosure is used for detecting an array substrate, including: scanning a defect on the array substrate and determining a size of the defect; generating a switching controlling command according to the size of the defect and switching a lens to a magnification adapted to the size of the defect; and capturing an image of the defect using the switched lens. In the embodiment, by analyzing the size of the scanned defect and switching the camera lens according to the size of the defect, the switched lens is allowed to capture a complete and clear image of the defect, which eases the analysis of the type of the defect, effectively improves the analyzing accuracy of the defect, and improves the monitoring effect of the manufacturing process.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to detecting technologies, and particularly, to a detecting method and a detecting device applied to an array substrate of a liquid crystal panel.
2. Description of Related Art
The array substrate is one of the important components of a liquid crystal panel. In the manufacturing process of the array substrate, an AOI (Automatic Optic Inspection) system is used for detecting the array substrate. The AOI system detects the array substrate based on optical principles. The AOI system uses an optical scanning device to automatically scan the array substrate and collects images to detect a defect on the array substrate, and displays the defect on a display or labels the defect automatically such that the defect can be repaired by a maintainer. Generally, a usual detecting device includes a scanning lens having a single magnification. In the detection, the scanning lens is used for scanning and capturing an image of the array substrate. If the size of the defect is too large, the defect may go beyond the field of vision of the scanning lens and the image of the defect cannot be completely and clearly displayed; if the size of the detect is too small, the displayed image of the defect may be unclear and the type of the defect cannot be determined correctly.

SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A material for food of slow digestion and absorption, characterized by comprising a starchy material having an amylose content in the range of from about 25 to about 60% by weight and a modifier for modifying said starchy material and having the enzymatic reaction ratio with amylase decreased to not more than 95% of unmodified starchy material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a material for food and a method for the production thereof. More particularly, this invention relates to a material for food which is digested and absorbed at a slow rate and a method for the production thereof.
In recent years, the patients of obesity due to enhancement of eating habits are sharply increasing in advanced societies. Persons of a high level of obesity are two to three times as susceptible of diabetes, atherosclerosis, cardiopathy, etc. Such diseases as gout, postoperative complications, cholelithiasis, lumgago, and hepatopathy which are associated with obesity are growing incessantly in prevalence. Thus, the obesity has come to pose itself a serious problem in social health.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The practice of decreasing the caloric intake has been heretofore regarded as a worthwhile measure to cure and prevent the obesity. Since this practice compels the patient to feel the sensation of hunger and even starvation and discourages him from continuing the painful chore, however, it is usually performed in conjunction with one of the following methods.
One of the methods consists in appreciably narrowing the inner volume of the patient's stomach by setting a balloon fast inside the stomach or filling up the greater part of the stomach so that a small food intake may impart the stimulus of mechanical expansion to the stomach. The method of this nature, however, is undesirable because it is a permanent measure necessitating a surgical operation and possibly entailing a secondary effect.
Another method consists in causing the patient to eat an extender such as dietary fibers and an adhesion enhancer optionally as mixed with other food. This method aims to lower the caloric value of food per unit weight by utilizing the nature that dietary fibers are non-digestive. Since the dietary fibers have unpleasant taste and palatability, they have the disadvantage that they cannot be easily ingested by themselves in a large amount and, even when used in conjunction with meal, they seriously impair the taste and palatability of the meal in most cases. Further, generous injection of dietary fibers is undesirable because it prevents the absorption of other beneficial nutrients and entails such secondary effects as diarrhea and constipation.
It has been recently demonstrated that carbohydrates which are digestively absorbed slowly are not closely associable with obesity as compared with carbohydrates which are digestively absorbed rapidly [Jenkins, D. J. A., et al., Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 34 1981, pp. 362-366]. It is, therefore, logically concluded that effective prevention and alleviation of obesity can be attained by using food containing carbohydrates of slow digestive absorption instead of resorting to the practice of observing a low caloric intake.
Further, the use of this food checks the otherwise possible sharp increase of the postprandial blood sugar content [Jenkins, D. J. A., et al.: The Diabetic Diet, Dietary Carbohydrate and Differences in Digestibility, Diabetologia, 23:477-484 (1982): Collier, et al.: Effect of co-ingestion of fat on the metabolic responses to slowly and rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, Diabetologia, 25: 50-54 (1984)]. It is, therefore, inferred that the use of this food facilitates management of the morbidity and nutrition of a patient of diabetes.
As carbohydrates of slow digestive absorption, the so-called high-amylose corn starch prepared from amylomaze and various carbohydrates cooked in combination with a large volume of oil or fat have been known heretofore to the art. The former carbohydrate finds no appreciable utility because it is useful only in a limited range of applications and is deficient in taste and palatability. The latter carbohydrates are not effective in combating diabetes because they bring about an addition to the caloric intake.
An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a novel material for food and a method for the production thereof. A further object of this invention is to provide a material for food which is digested and absorbed at a slow rate and which produces taste and texture equivalent to those of ordinary starch and finds extensive utility, and a method for the production thereof.

Material for food and method for production thereof


Material-Sensing Light Imaging, Detection, And Ranging (LIDAR) systems optionally include a laser configured to generate a light pulse, a beam steerer configured to produce a polarization-adjusted light pulse emitted towards an object, at least one polarizer configured to polarize reflected, scattered, or emitted light returned from the object, and a processor configured to detect at least one material of the object based on an intensity and polarization of the polarized reflected, scattered or emitted light from the object. The beam steerer may include a kirigami nanocomposite. Methods are also provided, including, for example, generating a light pulse, adjusting a polarization of the light pulse to produce a polarization-adjusted light pulse emitted towards an object, polarizing reflected, scattered, or emitted light returned from the object, and detecting at least one material of the object based on an intensity and polarization of the polarized reflected, scattered or emitted light from the object.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
LIDAR is a surveying method that measures distance to an object by illuminating the object with a pulsed laser light, and measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor. Differences in laser return times and wavelengths can then be used to make digital 3D-representations of the detected object. LIDAR may be used to produce high-resolution maps, with applications in geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser guidance, airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry. LIDAR technology may also be used for the control and navigation of autonomous cars.
A conventional LIDAR device may operate as follows. A laser source produces a pulse of polarized or unpolarized light at a specific wavelength. When the light is first emitted, a time-of-flight sensor records the initial time. The time-of-flight is used to determine the total distance the light travels from source to detector by using the speed at which light travels.
The emitted light is then "steered" in a given angle. This "steering" can also include the splitting of a light pulse into multiple pulse components aimed at various angles. The steering angle(s) will change over time in order to obtain a specific field of view for a comprehensive mapping of the environment. After it has been aimed, the light may pass through linear polarization optics before and after the emission. These types of LIDARs are known as polarization LIDARs, and may use polarization optics at a registration step.
Conventional LIDAR devices typically employ optical lenses that are bulky and expensive. Moreover, the optical lenses utilized in conventional LIDAR devices require extensive protective packaging due to their sensitivity to moisture, which increases the weight, size, and complexity of the LIDAR devices in which they are employed. One well-known problem with implementation of LIDAR systems with rotational optics (e.g., the Velodyne-HDL64™ model) in autonomous vehicles and robots is their large size and high cost. The rotation of the entire device to steer laser beams reduces reliability, restricts miniaturization, and increases energy consumption. LIDAR systems based on solid-state beam steering address this problem, but their implementation is impeded by insufficient accuracy and range. Another issue is the performance of LIDARs and all the other sensors in inclement weather. Currently utilized laser beams with wavelengths around 900-940 nm can be strongly scattered by rain, fog, and snow, so that their read-outs can become highly uncertain under such conditions.
In addition, conventional LIDAR devices and their appurtenant analysis systems have proven limited in their ability to accurately to perform object recognition. For example, LIDAR point clouds are known to be based solely on a distance read-out from the laser source to the object. In this representation of the human world, a person resting on a bench and a statue of the same are identical. The problem is also true for a sleeping baby and a similarly sized plastic doll lying next to it, or when attempting to distinguish a black car in the distance from the pavement. The burden of distinguishing these objects and deciphering the surroundings is carried by the computational processing of these 3D maps.
Adequate classification of objects based on their geometries is not a trivial problem, requiring complex algorithms and large computational power, especially considering the highly dynamic nature of various environments. Furthermore, typical LIDAR hardware makes adequate object recognition and classification even more difficult because the current beam steering methods cause clustering and banding of points in LIDAR clouds, which results in ambiguous interpretation of 3D images and their individual points. Consequently, the geometry-based perception of surroundings demands high computational costs, large energy consumption, and long processing times.
Accordingly, improved LIDAR systems and methods are desired, especially LIDAR systems and methods providing an ability to identify the material from which an object is formed.

Material-sensing light imaging, detection, and ranging (LIDAR) systems

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN


An arrangement of a speed sensor on a personal watercraft better shields the sensor from damage while simplifying the layout and arrangement of the sensor on the underside of the watercraft hull. The hull includes a pump chamber formed in part by a front wall. The speed sensor is attached to the wall with a portion of the sensor projecting below a housing of the sensor. A ride plate covers a lower opening of the pump chamber and fits about the sensor housing. In this location, the speed sensor does not interfere with the arrangement or operation of steering or trim mechanisms used with a jet propulsion unit housed within the pump chamber. The speed sensor also is generally protected in this location and is not visible from the rear of the watercraft to improve the watercraft's aesthetics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to watercraft, and in particular to an improved speed sensor for a personal watercraft.
2. Description of Related Art
Personal watercraft have become popular in recent years. This type of watercraft is sporting in nature; it turns swiftly, is easily maneuverable, and accelerates quickly. Personal watercraft today commonly carry one rider and one or two passengers.
A relatively light weight, small hull of the personal watercraft defines an engine compartment below a rider's area. An internal combustion engine frequently lies within the engine compartment in front of a tunnel formed on the underside of the watercraft hull. The internal combustion engine commonly powers a jet propulsion device located within the tunnel. An impeller shaft commonly extends between the engine and the propulsion device for this purpose. Such small watercraft today are capable of traveling at high rates of speed.
Personal watercraft often include some types of instrumentation to optimize the performance of the watercraft, as well as to monitor various operational characteristics of the watercraft's performance. In this regard, the personal watercraft usually includes a speedometer not only to allow the operator to monitor the speed of the watercraft, but also to control trim and other factors in order to maintain optimum performance.
Most speed indicators require a component of the indicator to be mounted on the underside of the hull. In this position, the component lies within the water and generates a signal indicative of the watercraft's speed. The hull of a personal watercraft, however, does not have large areas on which to mount conventional speed sensors. Most of the practical surface on the underside of the hull is occupied by the jet pump unit that is positioned within the tunnel.
As a result of the limited space on the underside of the hull, speed indicators are usually mounted proximate to the stern of the watercraft, near a nozzle section of the jet pump unit (see FIG. 23 of the appended drawings). This location of the speed indicator, however, often results in an overly complicate layout of the steering nozzle and of the associated lever and cable in order to work around the speed indicator. In addition, the speed indicator extends below the planing surface of the lower hull at this location and consequently is susceptible to damage. The speed indicator is also visible from the rear of the watercraft when mounted at this location, which lessens the appearance of watercraft.


During a fabrication technique, trenches are defined partially through the thickness of a substrate. Then, photonic integrated circuits are coupled to the substrate. These photonic integrated circuits may be in a diving-board configuration, so that they at least partially overlap the trenches. While this may preclude the use of existing dicing techniques, individual hybrid integrated photonic chips (which each include a portion of the substrate and at least one of the photonic integrated circuits) may be singulated from the substrate by: coupling a carrier to a front surface of the substrate; thinning the substrate from a back surface until the partial trenches are reached (for example, by grinding the substrate); attaching a support mechanism (such as tape) to the back surface of the substrate; removing the carrier; and then removing the support mechanism.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to techniques for singulating hybrid optical chips. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to techniques for singulating hybrid optical chips from a common wafer.
2. Related Art
Hybrid integration by flip-chip bonding is a practical approach for combining CMOS VLSI chips with non-CMOS components. Using this fabrication technique, each component may be built on its individually optimized technology platform. This approach can be used to accelerate the availability of the integrated component compared to the design and process integration efforts that would be required for monolithic integration (if such monolithic integration of the disparate technologies were even possible).
2.5D heterogeneous integration (which is sometimes referred to as 'hybrid integration') is a fabrication technique in which chips built on different technology platforms are juxtaposed on a common substrate, such as a silicon interposer. The surface mounted chips can be interconnected using high-density and high-bandwidth wiring on this common interposer.
A time- and cost-efficient approach for fabricating hybrid or 2.5D chips is a chip-on-wafer fabrication technique. In this fabrication technique, diced chips of one type are attached to chips of the second type that are still in wafer form. In the case of 2.5D heterogeneous integration, multiple diced chips may be attached to an interposer that is still in wafer form. In each case, singulation of the widget (e.g., the chip, the interposer, etc.), which is still in wafer form, may be performed after bonding to yield the assembled chip. In general, standard singulation process flows involving a dicing saw cut or laser ablation may be used, because even after the chip-on-wafer bonding, the dicing lanes between the chips are still clear and available.
As shown in FIG. 1, hybrid integrated photonic chips, such as bridge chips, are hybrid-integrated components that embody an electrical interface for local communications and optical access for global interconnections (via either optical fiber or optical waveguides on another routing layer). These bridge chips may be fabricated by attaching silicon photonic integrated circuits to a VLSI chip. Moreover, photonic bridge chips are typically assembled in diving-board configurations, such that at least one edge of the photonic integrated circuits is sufficiently exposed and hangs off an edge of the VLSI chip to provide access for surface-normal or edge-coupling optical input/output (I/O) circuits. Therefore, in a chip-on-wafer fabrication technique, where the chips being bonded to the target wafer (such as the active-CMOS or the passive-interposer substrate) include photonic integrated circuits that hang over the singulation boundary of the bottom chip/interposer, component singulation after bonding using an existing singulation process flow is usually not possible. This is because cutting along the dicing lanes on the wafer would also imply cutting through the photonic integrated circuits.
Hence, what is needed is a fabrication technique without the above-described problems.

Method for singulating hybrid integrated photonic chips


A lattice panel (1) having a simple structure and capable for easy construction of strong and comfortable building, comprising several cross-shaped first skeleton members (7) and the L-shaped second skeleton members (9), to be connected to each other, wherein a panel bodies (3) are formed by connecting the second skeleton members (9) to the outer periphery of the first skeleton members (7), and frame members (11) are attached to the outer periphery of the panel bodies (3, 5).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lattice panel and a lattice panel constructing method. More particularly, the present invention relates to the lattice panel, in which, cross-shaped first skeleton members, L-shaped second skeleton members and frame members are appropriately combined as necessary, so that a wall structure having a desired strength may be obtained easily.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are several disclosures regarding so-called "panel construction", for example, patent documents 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, as follows:
Patent Document 1: Official Gazette of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 9-302809;
Patent Document 2: Official Gazette of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 11-247337;
Patent Document 3: Official Gazette of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 11-256726;
Patent Document 4: Official Gazette of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-317156; and
Patent Document 5: Official Gazette of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-105918.
However, the conventional structure according to the above disclosures has several disadvantageous points.
First, the conventional "panel construction" methods have been solely focused on wooden houses, and therefore, there is no structure suitable for various factories, workshops, offices, etc.
Second, although there are several "panel construction" methods for factories, workshops or offices, they are all very simple structure, i.e. "prefabricated construction", having poor strength and habitability.

Lattice panel and a lattice panel constructing method


A system for electrokinetic desalinization of soil may include at least one cathode including a hollow cathode tube perforated along its length to allow liquid water to pass through the cathode tube from an exterior thereof to an interior thereof, and a cathode conductor extending along an exterior surface of the cathode tube; at least one anode including a hollow anode tube perforated along its length to allow liquid water to pass through the anode tube from an exterior thereof to an interior thereof, and an anode conductor extending along an exterior surface of the anode tube; a make-up water line communicating with the interior of the anode tube; an anode discharge line communicating with the interior of the anode tube; and a cathode discharge line communicating with the interior of the cathode tube.

Soil contaminated by salt poses a significant problem for many facilities. For example, the soil in the vicinity of oil fields and oil pipelines may become so contaminated with salt that the soil is unfit for plant growth. In such situations, groundwater located beneath the surface of the soil and soil pore spaces may become contaminated with salt, and with liquid water containing high concentrations of salt. Therefore, it is necessary to remediate soil containing high concentrations of salt, either as a precipitate or from pore water containing high concentrations of salt.
One method of soil remediation involves removing soil containing high concentrations of salt and burying the contaminated soil in a pit lined with a water-impermeable liner, such as clay. However, such methods are costly, and require large areas for the pit. This method simply relocates the problem and does not fully address the salt-contaminated soil.
Other methods of soil remediation involve the use of electrokinetics. With electrokinetic soil remediation, the soil remains intact and anode and cathode tubes are sunk in patterns in the contaminated soil. An electric current is supplied to the anode and cathode tubes and, through the principles of electroosmosis and electromigration, the disassociated sodium and chloride ions migrate through the pore water in the contaminated soil to collect around the cathode and anode, respectively, where they are extracted. However, most electrokinetic processes are slow and complex.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electrokinetic system and method that is efficient and robust.

Electrokinetic soil desalinization system and method


An apparatus for simultaneously reading images on both sides of the document sheet as the sheet having images on both sides is moved through the apparatus, one side read by a CCD sensor and the other side read by a contacted image sensor. An image synthesizing unit synthesizes image data from the CCD sensor and image data from the contacted image within one cycle of main scanning by the two image reading units. Furthermore, image processing circuits in the subsequent steps perform specific modes of processing on the data within one cycle of main scanning. That permits simultaneous reading of both sides of the sheet document without reducing document reading speed and expansion of the image processing unit.

In the past, the common method of reading a document sheet with images on both sides was to read one side first, then turn over the sheet and read the back side.
That is, document sheets are loaded at the starting position and sent out to a document reading table one after another. And after one side of the document sheet is read on the document reading table, the document sheet is turned over and brought back to a discharge point. And the reverse side of the document faces the document-reading table and the reverse side is read.
In recent years, a new apparatus has been proposed which simultaneously reads both sides of the sheet instead of reading one side and then another side as in the conventional technique. In an apparatus disclosed in Japanese laid open patent application No. 11-27444, for example, two document-reading units are provided so that as the document sheet is conveyed, the two sides of the sheet can be read at the same time. The mechanism of the apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG. 15.
First, there is provided a document glass 100h on the upper surface of a reduction optical system that performs sub-scanning by moving a light source and mirrors. And a document pressing plate unit 101 is provided over that. On one side of the document pressing plate unit 101 is provided a sheet feeder unit 103.
The sheet feeder unit 103 is provided with a document stacker 108, a preliminary feeding unit 111, a separation unit 110, a document feeding unit 104, a U turn path 103a, an opening A2 defined on the lower surface of the conveying path, a contacted image sensor 113 provided on the upper side of the conveying path and a document discharge unit 105a provided most downstream. Those components are arranged in that order from the document feeding side. The contacted image sensor 113 is an image sensor so designed that a sensor with a short focal distance and its nearby light source are brought into contact with the document sheet to read the surface of the document. Since the contacted image sensor 113 is easy to reduce in size, it is widely used in the sheet-through-type reading apparatuses.
Furthermore, under the opening A2, there is provided an empty space to accommodate a mirror 100a making up an optical system of a book scanner unit 100. And it is so arranged that a light source 100g of the book scanner unit 100 sheds light on the document through the opening A2 and that the document surface thus irradiated is reflected on the mirror 100a accommodated in the space.
This apparatus is provided with the so-called "book scanner unit" in which the document sheet is placed on the document glass 100h and scanned by moving the optical system and a sheet scanner unit 120 having a document conveying apparatus equipped with a sheet separation mechanism in an upper part of the document glass 100h. That permits reading the document sheet by the sheet scanner unit 120 while moving the document sheet unlike the typical conventional copying machine in which the document sheet is conveyed to a specific position to stand still and scanned.
The book scanner unit 100 is provided with a scanning mechanism for scanning the document sheet standing still on the document glass 100h and a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor 100e for photoelectric conversion of a document image inputted through this scanning mechanism. That is, the document sheet placed on the document glass 100h is irradiated with the light source 100g that moves along with the mirror 100a and the reflector 100f to reflect the light from the light source 100g so that the lightness on the document surface reaches a specific level. Then, the document image displayed on the mirror 100a is reflected on a second mirror 100b, a third mirror 100c etc. and then sent to CCD sensor 100e through a group of lens 100d for photoelectric conversion. Then, the electric signal photoelectrically converted by CCD sensor 100e is sent out to an image processing unit (not shown).
The first mirror 100a moves from the first reading position B1 to the second reading position B2 when a still document sheet is read. Meanwhile, when the reverse side of a sheet document S loaded on the document stacker 108 is read, the first mirror 100a moves and stops under the opening A2, and, through the opening A2, reads the document sheet S passing through the document conveying path.
From a pile of the loaded document sheets S, the separation unit 110 separate sheets one by one at the bottom of the pile. Through the document conveying path 103, the document sheet S thus separated is conveyed to the opening A2 and the document face reading unit A3 provided downstream. And while the document sheet S is being conveyed, one side of document sheet S is read by the contacted image sensor 113 in the document face reading unit A3.
The other side of the document sheet S is reflected on the first mirror 100a moving just under the opening A2 and the document image enters CCD sensor 100e through the second mirror 100b, the third mirror 100c etc. and photoelectrically converted by this CCD sensor 100e. The document sheet S thus read is discharged on a paper discharge tray 106 by a document discharge unit 105a.
FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the overall control system of this apparatus. The configuration of the apparatus will be explained.
First, the outer interface 309 conforms to serial interface standards such as RS 232. That makes it possible to connect the present apparatus to peripheral equipment of the computer. That is, it is possible to utilize the present apparatus as image scanner or local printer, and also network printer.
Also, to the inner interface, the following are connected: scanning unit 302, displaying unit 303, reading unit 304, recording unit 305 and communication control unit 306. The reading unit 304 is made up of a fixing and reading unit 304a and a movement fixing and reading unit 304b. Furthermore, the fixing and reading unit 304a has a sheet scanner control unit 328 and a book scanner control unit 324.
Here, an image synthesizing unit 340 that corresponds to an image synthesizing unit selects and synthesizes image data read by the book scanner unit 100 and the contacted image sensor 113. That is, this apparatus is provided with a selection unit for selecting the image on the moving document (document sheet S) and the image of the still image (book document) page by page. And the image data on the page selected by the selection unit are synthesized by the image synthesizing unit.
Under the arrangements just described, both sides of the document sheet can be read simultaneously and images can be formed one after another. This arrangement for reading both sides at the same time has an advantage that because the document sheet is read as it passes through the apparatus only once instead of reading one side and turning over the page and then reading the other side, the possibility of damaging the document sheet will substantially decrease.
The document reading apparatus just described is so designed as to read both sides of the document sheet at the same time, and therefore, the amount of image data processed per unit time will double. Therefore, the document reading speed has to be halved or two image processing systems have to be provided.
That is, the problem is that if the document reading speed is halved, the productivity will decrease, and if two image processing systems are provided, the cost will increase.

Document-reading apparatus and method for the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A mill including a housing having a fluid bypass pathway, a milling feature at a longitudinal end of the housing, a chamber defined by the housing, and a piston disposed in communication with the chamber, the piston defining a fluid passageway initially aligned with the fluid bypass pathway, the piston responsive to pump pressure to move toward the milling feature, the movement misaligning the fluid passageway with the fluid bypass pathway.

In the resource recovery and fluid sequestration industries, it is often necessary to created a lateral borehole from a preexisting borehole. Downhole tools that include a mill and whipstock are known for this function but they suffer from a requirement for valves in a drill string that require significant quantities of clean fluid be provided at a rig site. Alternatively, prior art arrangements suffer from contaminated fluid fouling passageways needed for setting anchors and packers associated with the whipstock. Drawbacks such as these cause delays and cost overruns that are better avoided.

Mill, downhole tool with mill, method and system


A turret style printing machine (10) having a plurality of radial arms (30,70,170) incorporates a plurality of hinge assemblies (35,75,175) for permitting the arms to be moved between a first, extended position for operation of the machine and a second, folded position for storing or transporting the machine (10).

Indicia applied permanently to articles of clothing and other textiles have become very popular. Fanciful indicia, such as logos, slogans, college names, sports team names and sayings, are now commonplace. As a result, screen printing has become very popular. Large, commercial operations screen printing textiles are common today.
Indicia can be one or more colors. Typically, a screen printing machine has at least one station for each color employed. For example, a design incorporating two colors will have at least two printing stations, one for each color. A design employing eight colors will have at least eight stations. Each station generally includes a printing head, which supports a single screen, the ink to be used at that station and a mechanism for applying the ink to the textile. Each color is carried by a single screen. The textile to be screened travels from printing station to printing station by one of a number of methods, such as a chain or a rigid arm. The textile is usually carried by a metal pallet, pallet support, flat bed, or platen. Common printing machines include turret, oval and linear. In addition to printing stations, there may also be curing stations to heat and set the inks placed on the textile or substrate.
In both the linear and oval style printing machines, the pallet carrying the textile to be printed upon travels via a chain on a track or rail from station to station. In the turret or carrousel style printing machine, a center section has a plurality of spider arms. Generally, there are two levels of spider arms, namely, an upper level carrying the printing heads and screens or the curing assemblies, and a lower level carrying the pallet with the textile to be printed upon. Either the lower pallet/textile arms rotate with respect to the printing/curing arms or the printing/curing arms rotate relative to the pallet/textile arms. The stationary arms are commonly referred to as "stations."
The travelling arm moves from station to station. Specifically, each moving arm is indexed and registered at a station, the station's function, be it printing or curing, performed and the arm moves to the next station.
For clarity, the discussion following will focus on one configuration, that being stationary upper arms supporting printing heads or curing units, with the lower arms supporting the pallets and textiles travelling. It is appreciated this configuration can be different, e.g., stationary pallet/textile stations and travelling printing/curing arms. The teachings of this disclosure work well in any of the configurations.
One highly successful machine of the type just noted is manufactured and sold by M&R PRINTING EQUIPMENT, INC. ("M&R"), Glen Ellyn, Ill. as the GAUNTLET.TM. Series Automatic Textile Printing Machines. Patented innovations include, among other things, an AUTOMATIC SCREEN REGISTRATION DEVICE AND METHOD THEREFOR, U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,155; an ARTICLE DETECTOR FOR PRINTING PRESS, U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,400; and a SEQUENCING SYSTEM FOR PRINTING MACHINE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,113.
The present innovation may also be employed in other machines, such as M&R's CHALLENGER.TM. Series Automatic Textile Printing Machines.
Unfortunately, one drawback of this and other similar machines is the size. The diameter across the assembled machine is generally between 12 and 14 feet, depending on the number of stations. This is also the minimum required floor space necessary to store and transport an assembled machine. One method of freeing floor space and reducing transporting size of the machine is to disassemble and reassemble the machine each time the machine is either stored and in non-use or transported. This can be both time-consuming and costly.
The present invention involves another technique, namely, folding the machine to a smaller diameter. However, this, too, can be difficult as the machine is both heavy and incorporates significant structural components, as well as very fine, precise components. Accordingly, the advancement discussed herein resulted from a redesign of the machine to permit ease of folding and unfolding, without affecting the strength of the machine, the operation of the machine, and the precise tuning of the machine.

Hinged arm assemblies for screen printing machine system


A method and apparatus for programming a memory array are disclosed. In one embodiment, after each word line is programmed, an attempt is made to detect a defect on that word line. If a defect is detected, the word line is repaired with a redundant word line. The word lines are then reprogrammed and rechecked for defects. In another embodiment, after each word line is programmed, an attempt is made to detect a defect on that word line. If a defect is detected, that word line is repaired along with a previously-programmed adjacent word line. In yet another embodiment, after each word line is programmed, an attempt is made to detect a defect on that word line and a previously-programmed adjacent word line. If a defect is detected on that word line, that word line and the previously-programmed adjacent word line are repaired with redundant word lines.

Memory cells, such as antifuse one-time-programmable (OTP) memory cells, can contain leakage paths that are activated after programming of all the memory cells in a memory array. The activation of leakage paths can be caused by several mechanisms. For example, a leakage path can be caused by a defect that resides in a location that is not electrically visible until the rupture of the antifuse. Once the antifuse is ruptured and a filament is formed, this defect can provide a short circuit between two word lines, between two bit lines, or between a word line and a bit line. A leakage path can also be caused by a slight change in the reverse leakage of programmed memory cells. Even though the memory cells are not selected for read, the unselected reverse leakage adds to the off-current leakage and may trigger an incorrect read of memory cells. A leakage path can also be caused by a slight change in the leakage of weak defects induced by local heating or electromigration during the high-voltage programming. This change can be sufficient to locally either reduce the read voltage or read current during a memory read, causing the incorrect value to be read out. One commonality in each of these mechanisms is that the problem cannot always be detected during the programming of any particular bit but can be detected after programming several bits of the memory array.

Method and apparatus for programming a memory array


Disclosed is a method of providing a thin copolyester coating on paper wherein the coating has good peel strength which comprises extruding a film of copolyester onto paper to form a coated sheet and passing the paper through a nip formed by a pair of cooperating chill and pressure rolls, wherein the copolyester consists essentially of repeat units from terephthalic acid, ethylene glycol, about 1.5-20 mol % of an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic glycol having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, and 0 to about 1.0 mol % of a polyfunctional branching agent. Also disclosed is the coated paper prepared by this method.

The paper extrusion coating industry currently uses polyolefins and poly(ethylene terephthalate) [PET] for food packaging applications. A thin layer of polymer is extrusion coated onto paper and the paperboard is used in various ways, such as being vacuum formed into containers for food and beverage packaging. Polyolefins are utilized in the paper extrusion coating industry, because of their excellent chemical resistance, low resin price and good adhesive characteristics. The good adhesive characteristics of polyolefins allow them to be extrusion coated onto paper in thin layers. Polyolefins are processed using low extruder motor loads and they have good melt stability, which minimizes the edgeweave (lateral variation in the edge of the coating) during extrusion. Due to their low melting transitions, polyolefins do not have the thermal characteristics needed for ovenable and microwaveable applications. In high temperature oven applications (>150.degree. C.), PET is currently the extrusion coating resin of choice. PET offers good chemical resistance and can withstand end use temperatures of up to 425.degree. F. (218.3.degree. C.); however, at present, it does not have good adhesive properties to the paperboard. The lack of good adhesion requires converters to extrude thicker coating layers of polymer onto the paper to obtain acceptable adhesion, thereby adding to the expense. It was surprising to find that the addition of small quantities of a glycol such as diethylene glycol (DEG) had a significant effect on the adhesive characteristics of linear and branched PET extrusion coated onto paper.
German Patent No. 1,110,412 discloses films of high molecular weight terephthalate polyesters based on at least one glycol HO(CH.sub.2).sub.n OH where n=2-10 and 2 to 5 mol % of a polyglycol which may be diethylene glycol. In this application the diethylene glycol was added to reduce the crystallinity so the that the film could be oriented.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,925 discloses heat-resistant adhesive copolyesters derived from terephthalic acid, 30-50 mol % of diethylene glycol and at least 50 mol % of ethylene glycol. These copolyesters are suitable for bonding parts of ovenable food containers.
U.S Pat. No. 4,156,774 discloses thermoplastic copolyesters based on 40-50 mol % of terephthalic acid, 0-10 mol % of aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or other aromatic dicarboxylic acids, 15-30 mol % of ethylene glycol and 15-34.5 mol % of diethylene glycol. These copolyesters are suitable as hot melt adhesives, but were not suggested as being useful in extrusion coating applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,391 discloses polyester adhesive compositions which exhibit increased melt viscosity and improved adhesion. The copolyesters are derived from terephthalic acid, 75-50 mol % of ethylene glycol and 25-50 mol % of diethylene glycol reacted therewith or copolymerized with a phosphite ester and optionally containing a phenolic antioxidant. Also, disclosed are articles coated with the polyester compositions and bonded laminate articles based on the compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,356 discloses polypropylene compositions, which contain an inert particulate filler and a copolyester which greatly increases the heat stability of articles produced therefrom. The copolyesters are described as amorphous polyesters derived from terephthalic acid, at least 50 mol % of ethylene glycol and 20-50 mol % of diethylene glycol or 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol.
The present invention provides copolyesters that may be extrusion coated in very thin layers onto paperboard in conventional extrusion coating processes, the coating having significantly better adhesion to the paper than conventional PET.


A device for removing lice and nits from affected hair and scalp of an individual, has first and second movable blades, the first blade including a plurality of first saw teeth, the second blade including a plurality of second saw teeth, and means for movably retaining the first and second blades parallel and adjacent to one another with their respective first and second teeth in opposition and parallel planes along their respective longitudinal axes, whereby the blades can be selectively moved toward one another to cause their teeth to mesh together with hairs captively held therebetween, the first and second teeth being configured to thereafter provide via combing a scraping action against the entrapped hairs for removing lice and nits therefrom.

Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) are small parasitic insects, which have evolved to live and thrive on the scalp and neck hairs of their human host. The external parasitic insects are often difficult to eradicate, especially in poverty stricken areas, and present a health problem to those afflicted. Head lice can also afflict people in developed areas such as in schools where people are in constant close contact. Those afflicted with head lice have to undergo some form of treatment or intervention for relief. One form of intervention uses insecticides or pesticides, which have been generally found to be effective and safe, if handled properly. The insecticide or pesticide is usually periodically applied to the hair and scalp of the afflicted individual to kill the head lice. Recently, it has been found that certain head lice strains have developed resistance against some of the more popular insecticides or pesticides currently available in the market.
In addition to insecticides or pesticides, mechanical means have also been employed in the treatment of head lice. Such mechanical means function by physically removing head lice and nits from the hair and scalp and can be effectively implemented alone or in combination with the insecticide or pesticide treatment. One mechanical means found to be effective is the lice and nit comb, which is a toothed instrument adapted for confining hair and sifting out the lice and nits. The typical lice and nit comb includes a plurality of spaced apart teeth arranged in a single row. The space between adjacent teeth is typically diminutive to permit the strands of hair to pass through as the comb is drawn, but prevent head lice and nits from passing through the space. In this manner, lice and nits present on the hair strands are effectively scraped off as the comb moves along the length of the hair.
Ideally, in order to ensure that the lice and nits are caught by the comb, the entire outer surface of the hair strands are scraped and cleaned to prevent the lice and nits from avoiding the scraping action. However, the adjacent parallel teeth of the lice and nit comb forms open ended portions which are not able to scrape certain portions of the hair strands occupied therebetween. In addition, the teeth of the lice and nit comb are fixed and stationary which does not permit adjustment in response to variations in hair strand thickness and density of the hair combed, thus further diminishing lice and nit removal. These limitations have made prior art lice and nit combs more time consuming and inconvenient to use, less effective in sifting and removing lice and nits from hair, and diminished in their ability to accommodate all hair types, thickness and volume.
Accordingly, there is a need for a lice and nit removal device capable of captively and circumferentially grasping around strands of hair for enhanced scraping and cleaning action to entrap and remove lice and nits present as the device is drawn along the length of the grasped hair. In this manner, any lice and/or nit present in the hair is efficiently and effectively sifted and removed therefrom. There is a further need for a lice and nit removal device designed to accommodate various hair types, thickness, volume and curliness.


A communication system that is configured to communicate with more than one call manager systems, the communication system comprising a routing system configured to receive signaling for a call wherein the signaling indicates a called number including an international country code, and process the international country code to transfer a first query including the international country code, and the communication system further comprising a call processing system configured to receive the first query, process the international country code to select one of the call manager systems from the more than one call manager systems, transfer a second query to the one call manager system, and process a response from the one call manager system to transfer a routing instruction for the call to the routing system.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communications, and in particular, to internationally accessible communications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
International country codes are one, two, or three digit numbers that identify various countries in the world. Calls placed using an international country code are routed to a communication network associated with a particular country assigned that code.
Compared to domestic calls, international calls are expensive and complex. Toll-free international calls pose a separate challenge from regular international calls because the called party pays the service charges rather than the caller. Thus, called parties, such as a call center for an airline, may desire to retain precise control over how and when international toll-free calls are connected.
One method for providing precise control over international toll-free calls includes routing calls based upon the country code dialed. For example, a communication network recognizes a particular country code when a caller dials an international toll-free number. The communication network routes the call to a service platform associated with that country code. The service platform answers the call, obtains information from the caller, and can then connect the caller to a call center. Other less desirable callers can be re-routed to other call centers. Importantly, in this method calls are routed through the service platform.
A drawback to this method is that the service platform remains connected to calls to provide service and billing processes. As a consequence, the service platform wastes valuable processing time and bandwidth. Furthermore, the service platform requires additional equipment, staffing, and support beyond existing network configurations. Unfortunately, this method does not allow for efficient and economical international call services.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An inkjet recording apparatus configured to record images on both sides of a sheet includes a corrugate mechanism configured to form a sheet into a continuous corrugated shaped in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction and parallel to a recording surface of the sheet.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to an inkjet recording apparatus that records an image onto a sheet by ejecting ink droplets from nozzles, and more particularly, to an inkjet recording apparatus that is capable of recording images on both surfaces of a sheet.
2. Description of Related Art
Known inkjet recording apparatuses are capable of recording an image onto a sheet by ejecting ink droplets from nozzles.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of inkjet recording apparatuses that are capable of recording images on both surfaces of a sheet. In an example of such an inkjet recording apparatus, a sheet fed from a feed tray is conveyed to a recording unit by a conveyor roller pair. In the recording unit, an image is recorded on one surface of the sheet. The sheet is then turned back by a reversible roller pair at a position downstream of the recording unit and conveyed into a refeed conveyance path that is disposed below the recording unit and above the feed tray. The sheet conveyed into the refeed conveyance path is then conveyed to the conveyor roller pair again via the refeed conveyance path. After that, an image is recorded, via the recording unit, on the other surface of the recording sheet that has reached the recording unit by the conveyor roller pair, in a similar manner to the manner in which the image is recorded on the one surface of the sheet. Thereafter, the sheet having the images recorded on both surfaces is discharged onto a discharge tray by the reversible roller pair.


A storage apparatus is provided with a virtualization mechanism which manages first and second LPARs (logical partitions) assigned respectively with first and second logical resources acquired by logically partitioning physical resources in the storage apparatus. The virtualization mechanism provides a shared memory area which is an area based on a memory and can be accessed by the first and second LPARs. The first LPAR stores information required for taking over a data input/output process handled by the first LPAR to the second LPAR, in the shared memory area. When detecting that a fault occurs in the first LPAR, the second LPAR acquires the information required for taking over from the shared memory area and takes over and executes the data input/output process formerly handled by the first LPAR on the basis of the information required for taking over.

An element that configures a network is generally known as a node, and a cluster into which a plurality of nodes (for example, server machines) are interconnected is known. Here, the cluster indicates a system that behaves as if it is overall a single node (apparatus) in regard to an external apparatus. Generally, if any one node within a cluster develops a fault, a failover is executed, in which another node takes over its processing and data.
A known technology for use even when failovers occur includes, for example, a technology of matching transactions, while at the same time limiting deterioration in disk I/O performance (see, for example, PTL 1). Additionally, a technology that enables the replacement of individual LPARs by configuring a replacement destination LPAR on another physical computer if a fault has occurred in an LPAR on a physical computer is also known (see, for example, PTL 2).