A MOS transistor is formed with a dual-layer silicon oxynitride (SiON) etch stop film that protects the transistor from plasma induced damage (PID) and hot carrier degradation, thereby improving the reliability of the transistors. The first SiON layer is formed with SiH4 at a first flow rate, and the second SiON layer is formed with SiH4 at a second higher flow rate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to MOS transistors and, more particularly, to a MOS transistor and a method of forming the MOS transistor with a SiON etch stop layer that protects the transistor from plasma induced damage (PID) and hot carrier degradation.
2. Description of the Related Art
A MOS transistor is a semiconductor device that can be fabricated in many well known ways. In one prior art approach, an etch stop layer of silicon oxynitride (SiON) is formed over the device after the source and drain regions and the gate of the device have been silicided. In this approach, the SiON etch stop layer performs two important functions.
First, the SiON layer provides a conductive path to ground that prevents plasma induced damage (PID). PID results when plasma etching is used, and can lead to the build up of a charge on the transistor gate that, if not discharged, can seriously damage or destroy the underlying gate oxide layer. Second, when the contact openings are subsequently formed, the SiON etch stop layer eliminates harmful over-etching of the silicided layers that can be caused by variations in the thickness of an overlying layer of dielectric material.
FIGS. 1A-1D show a series of cross-sectional views that illustrate a prior-art method 100 of fabricating a MOS transistor with a SiON etch stop layer. As shown in FIG. 1A, method 100 utilizes a conventionally-formed MOS device 110 that includes a semiconductor material 112 of a first conductivity type, and spaced-apart source and drain regions 114 and 116 of a second conductivity type that are formed in semiconductor material 112.
MOS device 110 also includes a channel region 118 that lies between the source and drain regions 114 and 116, a gate oxide layer 120 that lies over channel region 118, and a gate 122 that is formed on gate oxide layer 120 over channel region 118. MOS device 110 further includes a non-conductive side wall spacer 124 that contacts the side walls of gate 122, and metal silicide layers 130, 132, and 134 that are formed on source region 114, drain region 116, and gate 122, respectively.
As further shown in FIG. 1A, method 100 begins by forming a SiON etch stop layer 140 on side wall spacer 124 and metal silicide layers 130, 132, and 134. The TABLE below illustrates two SiON deposition recipes. In the Table, RI(n) is the film's index of refraction, and RI(k) is the film's extinction coefficient.
However, the silane (SiH4) flow rate used during SiON film deposition is critical to controlling the effects of PID. NMOS transistors formed with high SiH4 flow rate levels, such as 115 sccm, have been found to resist plasma charging effects because a high SiH4 flow rate level increases the
TABLELow K SiONHigh K SiONRI (n)2.22.0RI (k)1.021.62Thickness500 Å500 ÅRF Power120 W120 WPressure5.5 Torr5.5 TorrSiH4 Flow54 sccm115 sccmN20 Flow70 sccm70 sccmArgon Flow1900 sccm1900 sccmconductance of the SiON film. On the other hand, NMOS transistors formed with low SiH4 flow rate levels, such as 54 sccm, have been found to be susceptible to plasma charging effects because a low SiH4 flow rate level reduces the conductance of the SiON film.
FIG. 2 shows a prior-art graph that illustrates SiON film conduction versus SiH4 deposition flow rate. As shown in FIG. 2, as the SiH4 deposition flow rate increases from 50 sccm to 120 sccm, the SiON film conductance increases by about three orders of magnitude from approximately 1×10−12 to 1×10−9Ω−1. Thus, when formed at a SiH4 flow rate of 115 sccm, the resulting SiON etch stop layer provides a much more conductive path.
A SiON layer formed at a SiH4 flow rate of 115 sccm is conductive on the order of femto-amps at room temperature and nano-amps at elevated processing temperatures which, although small, is sufficient to provide a grounding path for any plasma induced charge that has built up on gate 122. Thus, in the present example, method 100 utilizes a SiH4 flow rate of 115 sccm. As a result, one advantage of SiON layer 140 is that layer 140 eliminates the possibility of damage that can result from plasma induced charge build up.
Referring again to FIG. 1A, once SiON etch stop layer 140 has been formed, an overlying dielectric layer 142, such as a layer of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), is formed on etch stop layer 140. After overlying dielectric layer 142 has been formed, a mask 144 is formed and patterned on the top surface of dielectric layer 142.
Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, the exposed regions of dielectric layer 142 are etched to form openings 146, 148, and 149. The etch continues until the exposed regions of dielectric layer 142 have been removed from etch stop layer 140 so that openings 146, 148, and 149 expose regions of the top surface of etch stop layer 140.
As a result, dielectric layer 142 can be significantly over-etched to insure that all of exposed dielectric layer 142 has been removed. Thus, another advantage of SiON layer 140 is that at the end of the etch, regardless of any variations in the thickness of dielectric layer 142, which can be significant, the bottoms of openings 146, 148, and 149 lie approximately the same distance from the top surfaces of source region 114, drain region 116, and gate 122, respectively. As a result, method 100 can accommodate contact openings in layer 142 of differing depths.
As shown in FIG. 1C, after openings 146, 148, and 149 have been formed in dielectric layer 142, the exposed regions of SiON etch stop layer 140 are etched away to form openings 150, 152, and 153. In the present example, an etch chemistry is used to remove etch stop layer 140 at a substantially slower rate than dielectric layer 142 was removed.
The etch continues until etch stop layer 140 has been removed to expose regions on the top surfaces of metal silicide layers 130, 132, and 134. After the etch, mask 144 is removed. Once mask 144 has been removed, a metal contact layer is deposited on dielectric layer 142 to fill up openings 150, 152, and 153. Following the deposition of the metal contact layer, the metal contact layer is next planarized until the metal contact layer has been removed from the top surface of dielectric material 142.
As shown in FIG. 1D, the planarization forms a metal source contact 154, a metal drain contact 156, and a metal gate contact 158 in dielectric layer 142 that make electrical connections with source region 114, drain region 116, and gate 122, respectively. After this, method 100 continues with conventional back-end processing steps to complete the formation of a MOS transistor.
One problem with method 100 when using a SiH4 flow rate of 115 sccm during the formation of SiON etch stop layer 140 is that the resulting MOS transistor is more susceptible to hot carrier injection. This, in turn, accelerates the hot carrier degradation of the transistor. Hot carrier injection causes device parameters, such as the saturation drain current (IDSAT), to degrade with time. Degradation in the IDSAT of a transistor leads to a reduction in digital circuit speed and potential functional failure. The NMOS transistor is particularly prone to hot carrier damage.
FIG. 3 shows a prior-art graph that illustrates the hot carrier degradation of an NMOS transistor fabricated with method 100 when using a SiH4 flow rate of 120 sccm. As shown in FIG. 3, the graph illustrates a measured saturated drain current IDSAT, and an estimated saturated drain current IDES over a number of stress times against IDSAT degradation. (Further, the IDSAT values are measured at VGS=VDS=3.3V, and the device is stressed at VGS stress=1.97V and VDS stress=3.9V.)
As further shown in FIG. 3, for stress times less than 10 ks, the measured saturated drain current IDSAT and the estimated saturated drain current IDES are substantially the same (indicating that the measured saturated drain current IDSAT is degrading with the expected power law dependence).
On the other hand, for stress times between 10 ks and 100 ks, the measured saturated drain current IDSAT improves dramatically when compared to the estimated saturated drain current IDES. However, for stress times greater than 100 ks, the measured saturated drain current IDSAT declines rapidly when compared to the estimated saturated drain current IDES, leading to premature failure. Thus, if failure occurs when degradation reaches 10%, a NMOS transistor formed with a SiH4 flow rate of 120 sccm will fail earlier than predicted due to hot carrier effects.
The increased susceptibility to hot carrier injection is associated with the incorporation of additional hydrogen at the silicon-gate oxide (Si—SiO2) interface during device processing. One source of the addition hydrogen comes from the increased levels of hydrogen that are present when a high SiH4 flow rate level is used in the formation of SiON etch stop layer 140. The Si—H bond, however, is weak (bond strength approximately 0.3 eV), and can be easily broken by hot carrier generated injected electrons.
FIG. 4 shows a prior-art graph that illustrates an example of the hot carrier degradation of an NMOS transistor fabricated with a series of SiH4 flow rate levels. The graph illustrates a series of measured saturated drain currents IDSAT1-IDSAT6 taken from NMOS transistors formed with the series of SiH4 flow rate levels, along with an estimated saturated drain current IDES, taken over a number of stress times against IDSAT degradation. (The IDSAT values are measured at VGS=VDS=3.3V and the device stressed at VGS stress=2.13V, and VDS stress=4.3V.)
As shown in FIG. 4, the series of measured saturated drain currents IDSAT1-IDSAT6 vary based on the flow rate of SiH4 that is used during the formation of SiON etch stop layer 140. In the FIG. 4 example, the series of measured saturated drain currents IDSAT1-IDSAT6 correspond with the series of SiH4 flow rates 50 sccm, 70 sccm, 80 sccm, 90 sccm, 100 sccm, and 120 sccm, respectively.
As further shown in FIG. 4, for the SiH4 flow rate of 50 sccm, the measured saturated drain currents IDSAT1 substantially tracks the estimated saturated drain current IDES. For the SiH4 flow rates of 70-80 sccm, the measured saturated drain currents IDSAT2 and IDSAT3 substantially track the estimated saturated drain current IDES for stress times up to about 7 ks, and then have improved degradation rates for stress times from 7 ks to about 14 ks, and worse degradation rates over 14 ks when compared to the estimated saturated drain current IDES.
However, for the SiH4 flow rates of 90, 100, and 120 sccm, the measured saturated drain currents IDSAT4, IDSAT5, and IDSAT6 track the estimated saturated drain current IDES for stress times of approximately 4 ks, and then have improved degradation rates for stress times from 4 ks to about 11 ks, and worse degradation rates over 11 ks when compared to the estimated saturated drain current IDES. Thus, if failure occurs when degradation reaches 10%, a NMOS transistor formed with a SiH4 flow rate of 90-120 sccm will fail earlier than predicted due to hot carrier effects.
As noted above, however, a 50 sccm SiH4 flow forms a SiON layer that provides very low conductivity. Thus, although a SiH4 flow rate of 50 sccm corresponds with a measured saturated drain current IDSAT1 that substantially tracks the estimated saturated drain current IDES, a SiH4 flow rate of 50 sccm produces a SiON layer which is susceptible to plasma induced charge on gate 122 due to the low conductivity.
One approach to this problem is to select an intermediate SiH4 flow rate. For example, a flow rate of approximately 70-80 sccm produces a SiON film that is one order of magnitude more conductive (approximately 1×10−11Ω−1) which reduces the effects of PID. In addition, SiH4 flow rates of 70 and 80 sccm produce acceptable measured saturated drain currents (e.g., IDSAT2 and IDSAT3) when failure is defined at a degradation of 10%.
However, although SiH4 flow rates of approximately 70-80 sccm provide an improved conductivity when compared to a flow rate of 50 sccm, there is a need for much greater conductivity to fully protect against the effects of PID.

MOS transistor and method of forming the MOS transistor with a SiON etch stop layer that protects the transistor from PID and hot carrier degradation


A bird feeder with a magnetically supported perch includes a bird feeder with a feed hopper body having a feed access opening therein to permit feeding birds to access bird feed stored within the bird feeder and a perch assembly mounting element mounted on the feed hopper body and a magnetic perch assembly including a longitudinally elongated perch bar having inner and outer ends. The perch bar includes a perch bar magnet section adjacent the inner end thereof, the perch bar magnet section being magnetically attracted to the perch assembly mounting element such that the perch bar is releasably magnetically mounted on and extends outwards from the perch assembly mounting element whereby the perch bar magnet is adapted to serve as a perch for birds landing thereon.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to bird feeders having feed access control perches and, more particularly, to a bird feeder having at least one magnetic perch for feeding birds which includes a feed hopper body, an access opening formed in the feed hopper to allow access to the feed stored therein, and a magnetically supported perch assembly mounted on the feed hopper body generally adjacent the feed access opening, the magnetic perch assembly including one or more magnets which are mounted on the feed hopper body in a stationary position, and at least one outwardly extending perch bar magnet which is secured to the stationary magnet by the magnetic force extending between the magnets such that when birds of smaller size and weight perch on the perch bar magnet, the magnetic attractive force retains the perch bar magnet in the outwardly extending position adjacent the feed access opening but when a heavier bird alights upon the perch bar magnet, the downward force exerted by the weight of the bird partially disengages the perch bar magnet from the stationary magnet thus allowing the perch bar magnet to swing downwards and dislodge the bird to prevent it from feeding at the feed access opening of the bird feeder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recreational bird feeding is an entertaining, educational and inexpensive pastime. Bird feeding hobbyists explore the relationship between the type and location of feeders and the seed offered in them to attract a variety of colorful songbirds to their backyard feeding stations. Feeders come in many different varieties, including the hopper-style, the tubular-style, or smaller versions of each which affix to a window to allow for close-up viewing of feeding birds. Of course, since the majority of bird feeds attract many different types of birds to eat the feeds, it is often the case that undesirable birds such as grackles, starlings and cowbirds will find and take over the feeder, thus quickly emptying the feeder of feed. There is therefore a need for a feeder device which will allow only certain desirable birds to feed while not permitting other, more undesirable birds or animals, such as squirrels, to feed.
One of the interesting facts about birds is that many of the most beautiful and melodic of the birds are smaller than their less desirable relatives. Many different feeders have attempted to make use of this fact by designing feeding devices which can react to the difference between the lighter, more desirable birds and the heavier, less desirable birds. For example, one of the more common types of bird feeders which makes use of this fact includes a weighted perch designed to close over the feed access openings when a heavier bird lands on the perch. Another common type of bird feeder utilizes a shorter perch that allows smaller birds to eat while larger birds are not able to land on the perch. Furthermore, cages and screens have been used on some feeders which permit only smaller birds to get to the food, but unfortunately this also restricts some larger, desirable birds such as mature cardinals from accessing the feed. One further disadvantage of the various prior art devices is that they generally include mechanical-type devices such as levers and springs which permit or deny access to the feed housed within the bird feeder, and these mechanical-type devices are notorious for malfunctioning and having relatively short working life spans. There is therefore a need for an improved bird feeder which will permit lighter songbirds to access the feed held within the bird feeder while preventing the larger, less desirable birds from accessing the feed, yet will do so in a manner that does not require significant maintenance or which includes complicated mechanical devices.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved bird feeder with a magnetically supported perch.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bird feeder with a magnetically supported perch which includes a perch assembly mounting structure mounted on the feed hopper body of the bird feeder and a magnetic perch assembly including a longitudinally elongated perch bar having inner and outer ends, the perch bar including a perch bar magnet adjacent the inner end thereof, the perch bar magnet being magnetically attracted to the perch assembly mounting structure such that the perch bar is releasably magnetically mounted on and extends outwards from the perch assembly mounting structure whereby the perch bar magnet is adapted to serve as a perch for birds landing thereon.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bird feeder with a magnetically supported perch wherein the perch bar at least partially disengages from the perch assembly mounting structure upon force being applied to the perch bar which exceeds the magnetic force releasably securing the perch bar on the perch assembly mounting means thereby preventing birds and other animals larger than a selected size from feeding at the bird feeder of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a magnetically supported perch for bird feeders which can be retrofitted onto already existing bird feeders thereby providing the benefits of the present invention without requiring complete replacement of already existing bird feeders.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved bird feeder with a magnetically supported perch which is relatively simple and durable in construction and is safe, efficient and effective in use.

Bird feeder with magnetically supported perch


A system and method are provided for permitting a console to be connected to an external port of a first node for monitoring and controlling the first node in a default mode. The first node may also operate in a terminal mode in which an internal port of the first node is connected to an internal port of a second node to permit the console and the second node to communicate via the first node.

In the context of computer systems, enterprise storage architectures provide mass electronic storage of large amounts of data. The rapid pace of technological advances in computing and networking infrastructure has driven a significant transformation of enterprise storage architectures. This has resulted in a variety of different storage architectures, such as, for example, direct attached JBODs (Just a Bunch Of Disks), SAN (Storage Area Network) attached JBODs, host adapter RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks) controllers, external RAID controllers, redundant external RAID controllers, and NAS (Network Attached Storage). Each of these storage architectures may serve a particular need, and thus may differ significantly in terms of functionality, performance, cost, availability, scalability and manageability.
One exemplary computer system employs a "node" to control the access of data into a number of disk drives. The node stores redundant data (e.g., parity information or a duplicate copy of the data itself) to multiple disk drives so that if one disk drive fails, the redundant data can be used to reconstruct the data. The node includes a main computer system having system memory into which data can be cached to reduce the slow seek time associated with disk drives. In addition, multiple nodes may be used within a system to increase performance and provide redundancy. In some embodiments, multiple nodes are provided to avoid the failure of a single node resulting in the failure of the entire system.
Each node may include an external serial port for permitting a console to be connected thereto for monitoring firmware output. Thus, a user at such a console may monitor firmware output and may also enter commands to the firmware via the console and the external serial port.
In embodiments employing multiple nodes, it may be desirable to remotely monitor and control each of the nodes. One way to monitor and control each of the nodes is to connect a console to each of the nodes at an external serial port thereof. Thus, in this configuration, each node has an associated console from which a user may monitor and control the node. This approach, however, requires the expense of providing and maintaining multiple consoles for the set of nodes.
Another conventional approach to monitoring and controlling multiple nodes employs a physical switch attached to the serial console port of each of the nodes and to a console. Pursuant to this approach, by changing the position of the switch, the switch may connect the console to different nodes. This approach also requires additional hardware (i.e., the physical switch) to be disposed between the console and the various nodes. Further, this approach requires the switch position to be changed, either manually or otherwise.
Yet another approach employs a device capable of multiplexing simultaneous virtual connections to a single physical connection. An example of such a device is a terminal server, which may be connected between the console and the various nodes. Use of such a device requires the expense of providing and maintaining the terminal server as well as the various nodes and the console.

Remote console for monitor and control of system firmware


A new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant named ‘Ballurtang’, characterized by its semi-double type medium orange-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage with strong zonation, and vigorous, compact, and upright growth habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant botanically known as Pelargonium zonale and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Ballurtang'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Weener, Germany during Summer 1999. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Geranium cultivars with unique flower coloration, medium green-colored foliage, and a vigorous, upright growth habit.
The new Geranium cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is SIL Aurora, not patented, characterized by its semi-double type medium orange-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage with strong zonation, and very compact, bushy, and upright-mounded growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is GEN Tamara 'Genor', not patented, characterized by its semi-double type dark red-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during May 2000 in a controlled environment at Weener, Germany.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since May 2000 at Weener, Germany and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


A braking/driving force fx is calculated at S102, and a lateral force Fy is calculated at S103. At S104, reference is made to a preset map to select a road surface μ estimation part to be used for determination (to select a first road surface μ estimation part 25 or a second road surface μ estimation part 26 or nonperformance of determination. At S105, a display flag Fla from the road surface μ selection part is read. Indication 1 is displayed (S107) in the case of a road having a high μ. Indication 2 is displayed (S109) in the case of a road having a medium μ. Indication 3 is displayed (S111) in the case of a road having a low μ. Indication 0 is displayed (S112) in other cases wherein the road surface μ is unknown.

The present invention relates to a road surface frictional coefficient estimating apparatus for a vehicle which, in particular, shows an estimated road surface frictional coefficient (hereinafter referred to as "road surface μ") to a driver to assist driving.
Recently, various control techniques for vehicles, such as traction control, braking force control, and torque distribution control, have been proposed and put in practical use. Most of those techniques employ a road surface μ for the calculation or correction of required control parameters, and it is required to estimate the road surface μ in order to execute such control with reliability.
Referring to the estimation of a road surface μ, various techniques have been proposed, in which a road surface μ is estimated based on vehicle motion parameters such as lateral acceleration and a yaw rate. For example, in JP-A-2001-039289, the present applicant has proposed a technique for estimating a road surface μ by comparing an actual yaw rate estimated by an observer with a yaw rate on the basis of a high-μ road calculated using a model of vehicle motion on a high-μ road and a yaw rate on the basis of a low-μ road calculated using a model of vehicle motion on a low-μ road.

Road surface frictional coefficient estimating apparatus


Described herein is a technique capable of suppressing a deviation in a thickness of a film formed on a substrate. According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate retainer capable of supporting substrates; a cylindrical process chamber including a discharge part and supply holes; partition parts arranged in the circumferential direction to partition supply chambers communicating with the process chamber through the supply holes; nozzles provided with an ejection hole; and gas supply pipes. The supply chambers includes a first nozzle chamber and a second nozzle chamber, the process gas includes a source gas and an assist gas, the nozzles includes a first nozzle for the assist gas flows and a second nozzle disposed in the second nozzle chamber and through which the source gas flows, and the first nozzle is disposed adjacent to the second nozzle.

A substrate processing apparatus is used to form a film on a surface of a substrate (also referred to as a "wafer") disposed in a process chamber of the substrate processing apparatus.
When the film is formed on the substrate disposed in the process chamber, a source gas serving as a source material of the film and a carrier gas are ejected through the same ejection hole of the same gas nozzle toward the process chamber. Therefore, it may be difficult to control a flow rate of the source gas and a flow rate of the carrier gas individually. Thus, it may be difficult to form the film uniformly on the surface of the substrate (that is, a thickness of the film may be deviated on the surface of the substrate).

Substrate processing apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


A far-end echo path may be simulated at a terminal which utilizes QAM by processing the in-phase and quadrature data symbols by a pulse shaping filter whose transfer function may be a raised cosine function. The in-phase and quadrature data symbols are then multiplied by cos (.omega..sub.c +.omega..sub.o)t and sin (.omega..sub.c +.omega..sub.o)t, respectively, where .omega..sub.c is the carrier frequency and .omega..sub.o is the adaptively determined offset frequency of the far-end echo signal. The output signals of the multipliers are then summed and the result is processed by a single transversal filter whose transfer function is determined adaptively. The output of this filter is a simulated far-end echo signal.

In a typical full duplex data communication system, a local terminal simultaneously transmits data to and receives data from a remote terminal via a communication channel which is formed at least in part by a two-wire telephone line. A hybrid coupler is located at each end of the channel for the purpose of isolating the incoming and outgoing signals. Because the hybrid couplers operate imperfectly, the outgoing signal of the local terminal may be partially reflected at the local hybrid coupler in the form of a near-end echo and partially reflected at the remote hybrid coupler in the form of a far-end echo. Both echoes corrupt the incoming signal of the local terminal.
The near-end echo is generally identical in carrier frequency to the local outgoing signal. It can therefore be eliminated easily by a conventional near-end echo canceller. The near-end echo canceller comprises an adaptive linear transversal filter that simulates the transfer function of the near-end echo path that produced the near-end echo. The outgoing signal is processed by the near-end echo canceller to generate a simulated near-end echo signal. The simulated near-end echo signal is then subtracted from the incoming signal which is corrupted with the near-end echo.
Correcting the far-end echo is not as simple because the far-end echo may have a continually shifting phase, for example, in the form of a frequency offset, relative to the original outgoing signal. This may be caused by small differences between the carrier frequency of the outgoing signal and the carrier frequency of the far-end echo signal that occur when circuits used to step up and step down the signal carrier frequency are not perfectly matched. This is the case when the communications channel between the local data terminal and the remote data terminal includes a satellite hop. Because of the non-linearity in the far-end echo transfer function as represented by the changing phase, a far-end echo canceller in the form of a linear transversal filter is unable to adequately simulate the far-end echo transfer function (see, e.g., Ling, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,073).
Thus, conventional far-end echo cancelers are quite complex. For example, in the case where Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) is utilized to modulate the data symbols onto a carrier frequency of .omega..sub.c /2.pi., a conventional far-end echo canceller for simulating a far-end echo path comprises four transversal filters, followed by two summers, followed by two multipliers, followed by another summer. The disadvantage of this far-end echo canceller is that it is very complex.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a far-end echo canceller for use in a system where the far-end echo signal system has a frequency offset, which echo canceller is simpler in construction than the above-described conventional echo canceller. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a far-end echo canceller which is of simple construction for a communication system which utilizes QAM.

A far-end echo canceller with a digital filter for simulating a far end echo containing a frequency offset

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The inventive device includes a work supporting portion for supporting a work rotatably about a first axis, a cutter supporting portion for supporting a cutter rotatably about a second axis different from the first axis and a moving portion for moving the cutter along a reference line extending through the first axis. The second axis is slanted relative to a reference plane oriented perpendicular to the first axis and a blade edge of the cutter is caused to come into contact with the work at an offset position offset from the reference line. The work and the cutter are driven in synchronism and the cutter is moved along the reference line.

As a method of manufacturing a gear by skiving, according to Patent Document 1, an annular-disc like work is supported to be rotatable about a rotational axis. There is provided a pinion type cutter supported to be rotatable about a rotational axis different from the rotational axis of the work. And, the work and the cutter are driven in synchronism. In this method, as the cutter is moved along a direction of tooth trace of the gear, the work is cut by the cutter to manufacture an internal gear.

Device and method for manufacturing crown gear


An electronic circuit can eliminate bubble errors by means of transferring a thermal code from spatial domain to time domain, and then from the time domain to the spatial domain. In accordance with the present invention, a rotator and a shift register are used to implement the circuit. The rotator is utilized to convert the data bits of the thermal code available in parallel into a serial thermal code. In other words, the data bits can be read serially at the output of the rotator. However, the serial thermal code is applied to the shift register for removing the bubble errors in response to the logic state in the serial thermal code and converting the serial thermal code into a corrected thermal code in parallel form. Accordingly, the electronic circuit for removing bubble errors according to the present can eliminate bubble errors occurring in the thermal code even if the bubbles occur randomly.

1. Scope of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of analog-to-digital conversion techniques. More specifically, the present invention is an electronic circuit for correcting thermal codes suffering from bubble errors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A flash-type analog-to-digital converter (hereafter "ADC"), possesses faster ways to achieve analog-to-digital conversion than counting ADCs, successive-approximation ADCs, or ratiometric ADCs. The flash-type ADC is also described as a "parallel-comparator ADC" for the reason that several comparators are used to make parallel comparisons with a number of different reference voltages respectively. In recent years, because the fully parallel ADC makes great demands for layout area and power consumption, subranging two-step conversion architectures, which divide one comparison process into a coarse decision cycle and a fine decision cycle, have been developed. See B. S. Song et al., "A 10-b 15-MHz CMOS RECYCLING TWO-STEP A/D CONVERTER," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol.25, No.6, December 1990, pp.1328-1338. The two-step ADC trades speed for smaller layout area and lower power consumption, and it also has the potential for high-resolution applications.
Normally, the outputs of comparators in the flash-type ADC form a thermal code. Then, a priority encoder is used to convert the thermal code into a binary code or a binary-coded-decimal (BCD) code for further processing. The thermal code must satisfy high resolution requirements, but this makes it susceptible to process variation or noise interference, and thus it suffers from bubble errors. The bubble is an output code quite deviant from the input value which occurs sporadically. For example, a 10-bit two-step ADC with a reference range of 2 V needs to differentiate about 2 mV (2 V/2.sup.10) prior to the generation of the thermal code. Such tiny voltage difference makes the outputs of comparators quite sensitive to process variation and noise interference. For instance, noise may be induced and so interfere with the outputs of the comparators while the comparators are activated simultaneously.
To overcome the aforementioned problem, Yuji Gendai et al. have proposed "AN 8 b 500 MHz ADC" in 1991 IEEE International Solid State Circuits Conference, which utilizes a differentiator to detect a transient point in a thermal code, and two encoders to average the detected results. However, while Gendai's circuit may be quite suited to dealing with those bubble errors whose occurrence is predictable, it will be unable to deal with bubble errors that occur randomly.

Circuit for removing bubble errors occurring in thermal codes


A high energy magnet and backiron assembly of an actuator assembly of a storage disc. Multiple magnet segments are bonded together to form a high energy composite magnet. The high energy composite magnet is bonded to a backiron to construct a higher capacity actuator motor. The composite magnet is bonded to a backiron via a bonding assembly which includes magnet and backiron nests. Retainers are included to secure a composite magnet in the magnet nest and a backiron in the backiron nests. Retainers provide sufficient pressure to counteract the attraction force between the magnet supported in the magnet nest and the backiron in the backiron nest. The magnet and backiron nests are coupled to a base of the bonding assembly and operate between a non-operational position and a bonding position. In the non-operatiornal position, the magnet nest and backiron nest are supported a spaced distance apart. In the bonding position, the magnet nest and backiron nest are supported in close proximity to align the magnet and backiron.

A disc drive includes a plurality of stacked discs which are rotationally supported relative to a disc spindle and an actuator assembly movably supporting a plurality of head gimbal assemblies for reading and writing data to the discs. The actuator assembly includes an actuator drive typically a voice coil motor for actuating the head gimbal assemblies relative to selected data tracks of the discs.
The voice coil motor includes a stator defining a permanent magnetic field and a rotor coupled to an actuator block supporting the head gimbal assemblies. The rotor includes a bobbin having a voice coil wound about the bobbin. A voltage is supplied to the coil to selectively operate and move the actuator block to align the head gimbal assemblies relative to predetermined data tracks of tile discs.
A typical stator includes upper and lower pole plates or backirons which are supported relative to the disc drive assembly in a spaced relation and include a magnet coupled thereto to define a flux gap therebetween. The rotor (bobbin and voice coil) coupled to the actuator block moves in the flux gap between the upper and lower pole plates.
Increased capacity disc drives are consistently being developed which have different operating requirements. For example, high density drives have developed which require higher capacity motors for moving the actuator block. Thus, it was desirable to develop a higher capacity actuator drive for providing more power for operating the actuator block of an increased capacity disk. However, higher energy magnets which are sufficient to operate an actuator block of an increased capacity disc of the type described are difficult to energize, handle, and assemble to form an actuator drive with known apparatus and techniques.

Apparatus for assembling a magnet and backiron for a voice coil motor


Methods for fabricating heat pipes and heat pipes therefrom are provided. The heat pipe (400) includes a heat pipe body (402) having an inner cavity (408), and a wick structure (404) disposed in the inner cavity. The wick structure includes a first woven mesh layer (410) and a second woven mesh layer (412) disposed on the first woven mesh layer. In the heat pipe, the first woven mesh layer is a first weave pattern of thermally conductive fibers (103) having a first warp direction (W3 or W4) and the second woven mesh layer is a second weave pattern of thermally conductive fibers (105) having a second warp direction (W5 or W6). The second woven mesh layer is disposed on the first woven mesh layer such that the first and the second warp directions are rotationally offset by an inter-layer warp offset angle (γi).

1. Statement of the Technical Field
The invention is directed to heat pipes, and more particularly to multi-layer mesh wicks for heat pipes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heat pipes are typically sealed, evacuated devices that transfer heat by evaporation and condensation of a working fluid. They are typically passive devices which require no external power for their operation. Conventional heat pipes generally operate by the introduction of heat into an evaporator section, which is usually located at one end of the heat pipe, where the introduced heat evaporates some of the working fluid. This increases the vapor pressure in the evaporator section and causes vapor to flow through the vapor space of the heat pipe towards a condenser section, typically at the other end of the heat pipe. Since the heat pipe is generally set up so that the condenser section is cooler than the evaporator section, the vapor condenses in the condenser section, releasing heat stored in the vapor. The condensed liquid is then returned to the evaporator, typically by capillary action within a wick structure within the heat pipe. Because of their high heat transfer efficiency and general overall simplicity, heat pipes are commonly used in various types of heat transfer applications. For example, heat pipes have been used for removing heat from an electrical circuit without the need for electrical power.
In general, one aspect of heat pipe design is the design of the wick. Typically, the wick is designed so as to provide high values for wick parameters such as thermal conductivity, capillary pumping pressure, and permeability to fluid flow. However, obtaining high values for these wick parameters using conventional methods is typically either economically or technologically impractical. For example, conventional wick technologies which provide high values for these wick parameters, such as sintered particle methods, are typically expensive and therefore economically impractical for many low-cost product applications. In the case of low-cost conventional wick technologies, such as groove and mesh (solid or woven) comprising wicks, a high thermal conductivity is typically difficult to achieve without significant reduction of fluid permeability or capillary pumping pressure.


A multi-functional ladder-top tool and parts carrier which has rubber legs for non-damaging support on flat surfaces and a bottom recess conforming to the upper surface of a ladder, a wide handle for easy one-handed or two-handed movement of the carrier to the upper surface of the ladder, and at least one strap attached to the carrier to secure it to the upper surface of the ladder. The carrier also has a variety of different sized openings through its top surface through which different types of tools and parts may be placed which allow for organized storage and ease of access by a person working on or adjacent to the upper surface of the ladder. Applications may include, but are not limited to, use on ladders and stools, use independent from ladders and stools, and use in the storage and organization of household items such as cleaning tools and supplies, holiday decorations and the tools and supplies needed to secure them in place, and the tools and parts needed for hanging pictures, drapes, and window blinds.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ladder top tool trays and carriers, specifically to a multi-functional ladder top tool and parts carrier which has rubber legs for non-damaging support on flat surfaces and a bottom recess conforming to the upper surface of a conventional ladder, with a wide handle which easily conforms to both one-handed and two-handed use for use by people of differing strengths, at least one elongated strap attached to the carrier which secures the carrier to the upper surface of the ladder, and an assortment of different sized openings through its top surface which allow for organized storage and ease of access to different types of tools and parts stored in the carrier. Applications may include, but are not limited to, use on ladders and stools, use independent from ladders and stools, and use in the storage and organization of household items such as cleaning tools and supplies, holiday decorations and the tools and supplies needed to secure them in place, and the tools and parts needed for hanging pictures, drapes, and window blinds.


A dual energy x-ray densitometer is incorporated into a standard patient examination table to provide improved access to this screening tool during regular examinations. A repositionable scanning head allows the table to remain unobstructed when scanning is not occurring and a limited scanning area allows the examination table to retain standard examination table features such as table extensions, foot end drawers, trays and stirrups, and a step for access to the high examination table surface.

The present invention relates generally to examination tables for doctor's offices and in particular to an examination table providing in-office x-ray densitometry for bone health screening and the like.
It is estimated that as many as one out of two women over the age of 45 may have osteoporosis, a disease characterized by loss of bone mass, ultimately leading to bone fracture. Although osteoporosis is treatable, it often goes unrecognized. It is believed that over 21 million people in the United States have osteoporosis but don't recognize it. Globally, over 80 percent of cases of osteoporosis go undiagnosed.
X-ray densitometers may provide an accurate assessment of bone health with respect to osteoporosis. Such densitometers make measurements at two x-ray energy levels. The measurements are mathematically combined to produce an image of bone substantially free from surrounding soft tissue. An analysis of this bone-only image allows quantitative measurement in vivo of areal bone density as well as improved bone imaging.
Conventional x-ray densitometers are bulky, limiting their accessibility and use during routine patient examinations when screening for osteoporosis might be accomplished.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Examination table providing x-ray densitometry


A skiboard system is provided, which includes a divisible skiboard having left and right skiboard halves and left and right loose heel binding. When the skiboard halves are joined, the skiboard has a central, waist portion and an upward curving front shovel area. The left and right loose heel bindings may be secured on the left and right skiboard halves when the skiboard halves are divided, oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axes or the skiboard halves. When the skiboard halves are joined, the left and right loose heel bindings are mounted on opposite sides of the skiboard waist at an acute angle less than 35 degrees from the longitudinal axis.

Skiing began centuries ago in Scandinavia as a way to travel on foot over snow. It was largely unknown in other parts of Europe until it was introduced in the Alps as a novelty in the latter half of the 1800s. At that time, skis were primarily used for gliding over relatively flat terrain, and in fact were sometimes referred to as "Norwegian snowshoes." Their length--up to 12 feet or longer--made them virtually impossible to turn on steep downhill runs.
As skis became more recreational than utilitarian, they were made shorter and became more manageable. It became possible to execute downhill turns on them using a technique developed in the village of Telemark, Norway. This technique, which became known as the telemark turn, required dropping one knee and extending the other leg forward at an angle in the direction of the turn. The bindings, usually simply a leather strap that crossed the toe of the boot, allowed the heel to rise off the board. This had three functions: it allowed the skier to get up on the ball of the foot to execute the knee dip required for the telemark turn; it allowed enough movement to reduce the likelihood of leg injury in the event of a fall; and it allowed the skier to "walk" on the skis, like snowshoes, over flat areas and up hills.
Loose-heel bindings--now called Nordic or telemark bindings--were the rule in the early days of downhill skiing, in part because skiing required hiking up the mountain before gliding down it. In the 1930s, the first rope tows were installed in the U.S. and the new stem christy, or "wedge turn", supplanted the graceful, but more difficult, telemark turn. With no need to walk up hills or to dip a knee to turn, there was no longer a need to keep the skier's heel free. The releasable, lock-down binding appeared, and boots became stiffer and higher until hard-shell plastic models became the rule in the 1970s. Telemarking and loose-heel skiing went into eclipse.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence in telemark skiing. Improvements in boots, combined with an appreciation for the weight-shifting advantages of loose-heel bindings in soft snow, have made telemarking a fast-growing sport. Despite the relative difficulty of the technique--or perhaps in part because of it--telemark skiers have become a common sight even at lift-served areas.
Ironically, while ski lifts obviated the need for "walking" on skis, and thus nearly eliminated the loose-heel or Nordic binding from the ski scene, there was no effort to get away from having an independent ski on each foot until the 1960s. In that decade, several permutations of the mono-ski appeared, like that of Jacques Marchand, May 11 1961, U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,312, in which the bindings were set side-by-side. The intent was to put the skier in the approximate position he or she would be in if wearing two skis that were held tightly parallel.
This arrangement presents a serious problem, however. The side-by-side binding set-up, using traditional Alpine ski boots and lock-down, releasable bindings, does not permit the skier to apply weight heavily to either edge. This is especially significant because the total length of edge on a typical mono-ski is short, and is half what it would be on dual skis of the same length. While such mono-skis function adequately in soft snow conditions, they have failed to capture an appreciable share of the ski market because control on hard-packed snow or ice is very difficult with the side-by-side binding configuration. The mono-ski of Kent Hunter, Feb. 26, 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 4995,631, discloses an attempt to deal with this problem by adding severe sidecut, or arcs, to the sides of a mono-ski; however, the stance remains side-by-side, which prevents the skier from putting full weight on the operational edge. In addition, the lock-down Alpine bindings on the Hunter ski and similar mono-skis, combined with the narrow stance, make falls likely even with temporary losses of balance, because the rider cannot shift weight through a wide forward-backward range.
Efforts were made over the years to create various mono-skis by linking pairs of conventional Alpine skis using various connecting devices. W. J. Wightman, Apr. 29, 1963, U.S. Pat. No. 3,171,667, offers a ski attachment for connecting a pair of skis and for maintaining the skis close together and parallel as a training aid. Alec Pederson, in Jun. 30, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4275,904, discloses an attachment consisting of a tailbridge connector and a front plate for converting a pair of skis to a "twinski." Fritz Barthel et al, in Sep. 3, 1996 U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,728, describes a "gliding board" device that converts two Alpine skis into a wide mono ski or snowboard by attaching the skis on the sides of a full-length center piece.
The common denominator of the Wightman and Pederson connection systems, which are designed to convert two skis into a mono-ski, is that they place the skier's feet in a side-by-side stance. As a result, these divisible mono-ski incarnations present the same edging problem as the solid mono-skis. Barthel makes no suggestions as to how to locate the bindings, or even what type to use, and the large center piece would be impractical to carry in many situations; e.g. when a skier in the back country wants to convert two skis to a single board for control on deep powder or poor snow conditions. The Wightman, Pederson and Barthel systems also involve cumbersome connecting devices that would have to be removed while dual skiing to prevent snags on snow or brush.
There are documented efforts to create a mono-ski from a single conventional Alpine ski, with one foot placed ahead of the other. Those employ lock-down Alpine-type bindings set up to accommodate Alpine-type boots.
The "Stic Main" of Erich Genuit, described in Oct. 16, 1931, Deutsches Reich Patent 535818, and the Solo Ski binding system of Robert M. Evans and Franklin G. Miller, described in May 9, 1995 U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,373, offer various methods of converting one ski of a conventional pair into a mono-ski with fore-and-aft binding placement. Typical Alpine bindings and boots are employed in both descriptions, and neither Genuit nor Evans suggest offsetting the bindings at an angle to the axis to the ski. The illustrations in the both patent documents show the bindings in line with the axis of the ski. Traditional Alpine skis are too narrow to permit any significant offset of conventional Alpine bindings, even if it were considered desirable by the designers, because of the length of such binding arrangements, which typically include both a long toe piece and a bulky heel lockdown device.
As stated above, traditional mono-skis have been largely unsuccessful because the rider cannot deliver enough pressure on the edges to execute hard, rapid turns, particularly on hard-packed snow. Genuit's Stic Main and Evans' Solo Ski binding system do not solve this persistent problem, which is compounded by the fact that those systems try to adapt one ski of a downhill ski pair for use as a mono-ski, rather than designing a board for use in conjunction with their fore-and-aft binding arrangements.
The Genuit system includes beveled cuts in the ski that raise the arch side of each foot in relation to the outside of the same foot. Whether this arrangement would actually deliver more power to the edges is unlikely and difficult to ascertain, since there does not appear to be any ski on the market today that employs such a concept. Canting the boots outward in such a fashion would have clear disadvantages, however, making it difficult to bring the knees together in a mutually supporting fashion and making an already narrow and unnatural stance even more unstable, particularly while standing still on the slope.
The Evans Solo Ski binding system is also arranged along the axis of the ski. The front binding is described as a conventional, releasable Alpine ski binding. The rear binding, designed by Evans et al, also accommodates a conventional Alpine ski boot, but in a complex releasable binding that allows both vertical and lateral movement within a rubber cup, similar to the rubber bindings used on water skis. That lateral movement would be a disadvantage, creating instability and reduce the control of a rider attempting a hard, carving turn. Furthermore, the heel of the front foot is fixed in line with the ski, eliminating any possibility of lifting that heel for forward weight shifts and not allowing the application of extra toe or heel pressure on either edge with that foot. The Solo Ski binding system is designed for use on one ski of a conventional ski pair, and for conventional Alpine ski boots. The inflexible, hard-shell boots would not allow the rider to weight the balls of the feet, preventing the rider from accomplishing the dramatic forward-backward weight shifts necessary to adequately control such a long, narrow mono-ski. The lateral movement permitted by the rear binding would reduce control on fast, hard turns.
The use of releasable Alpine bindings on a mono-ski with fore-and-aft bindings also presents a safety problem. If only the front binding releases during a fall, the leg remaining connected to the rear binding may be subject to unusually strong twisting forces from the long end of the ski.
The traditional mono-ski and the existing fore-and-aft mono-skis also present the problem of boot overlap--that is, the boots and bindings will hang over the edge of the ski. As a result, both boot and binding will drag if the ski is angled sharply into the snow. That limits the rider's ability to angle the edge sharply into the snow surface, a prerequisite for what snowboarders refer to as "carving a turn." Any effort to make the mono-ski wider so this drag will not occur, either with the side-by-side or the fore-and-aft binding arrangements, is likely to cause a corresponding decrease in ability to weight the edges, with a resulting loss of control.
This problem is not peculiar to mono-skis. As recreational skiers become more skilled and aggressive, the inability of traditional skis to "carve" on hard snow surfaces is considered a serious deficiency. Various efforts, usually employing binding lifts, are being employed to allow skiers to bring their skis to a higher angle on edge without putting either boot or binding in the snow. The drawback is a higher center of gravity and less stability.
The failure of mono-skis to capture any significant share of the skiing market did not stop efforts to find a way to get lift-served skiers off two sliding surfaces and onto a single board. Snowboards, which began as plastic backyard sliding devices, became more sophisticated and began to be accepted at a few mountains in the 1980s. The sport has exploded in popularity since then, in part because a snowboard allows the rider to apply heavy pressure to the working edge by shifting weight alternately to the heels and toes. Whether a snowboard rider uses "soft" snowboard boots or hard-shell racing boots, the bindings, like those of Alpine skis and mono-skis, lock down the heels. Heel lift on a snowboard is considered highly undesirable, since it would prevent the heel-side edge from rising on a toe-edge turn.
An early incarnation of the snowboard is revealed in Sep. 13, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,403, 785, issued to John M. Hottel. A more recent snowboard is described by Robert Katz in Nov. 13, 1990, U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,655.
In the Katz snowboard and similar versions, a solution is found to the mono-ski's persistent problem of inadequate edge pressure and resulting poor control on hard-packed snow. With bindings set up nearly perpendicular to the axis of the snowboard, the rider can alternately lean far forward and backward to drive the edge into a packed snow surface.
But that edging power comes with a cost--snowboards, typically nearly a foot in width to accommodate the rider's perpendicular stance, are much slower turning than skis. Their slow edge-to-edge, or heel-toe action, makes them hard to handle in moguls or "bumps" and in tight spaces. The sideways stance is also unnatural for skiers accustomed to facing forward, and makes the use of poles impractical. As a result, snowboarders spend a lot of time sitting on the snow, rather than standing, and arduously hopping up slight inclines, rather than easily poling up them.


An internal-combustion, reciprocating-piston engine operating on the Otto cycle and associated method are provided where a sidewall combustion chamber is employed that is capable of receiving highly-compressed air or a mixture of any gas and fuel from a cylinder while a main piston is positioned at or near top-dead-center in the cylinder, and where the sidewall combustion chamber is also capable of temporarily storing a highly-compressed air or a mixture of any gas and fuel before sending and re-injecting an ignited or burning mixture of highly-compressed air or a mixture of any gas and fuel into the same cylinder between the main piston and the displacer-piston when the main piston is located in the cylinder at an optimum position for receiving and transferring energy or forces.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to internal-combustion, reciprocating-piston engines and combustion processes used therein and more specifically, this invention relates to internal-combustion, reciprocating-piston engines which use a sidewall combustion chamber and a displacer-piston for improving output power and efficiency.
2. Description of Prior Art
Combustion normally occurs in common reciprocating-piston, internal combustion engines when the piston reaches the highest point in the cylinder in order to take advantage of maximum compression of the fuel/air mixture at the time of ignition. At that point, however, the piston's connecting rod is nearly vertically aligned with the cylinder and very little of the large force acting downward on the piston crown immediately after ignition actually works to rotate the crankshaft. Most of the tremendous force from the burning fuel-air mixture is momentarily acting in a manner that places a heavy burden on the crankshaft and its bearings. More specifically, a force equal to the cosine of the crankshaft's rotational angle after top-dead-center multiplied by the force acting downward on the piston does little to rotate the crankshaft, but instead acts to drive the crankshaft out of the engine. A relatively small force equal to the sine of the crankshaft's rotational angle after top-dead-center multiplied by the force acting downward on the piston actually works tangentially to rotate the crankshaft immediately after ignition of the fuel-air mixture. Ignition of the fuel-air mixture at top-dead-center in any reciprocating-piston, internal-combustion engine seems to be an inherent disadvantage of such engines that results in relatively low output power and efficiency.
Negre discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,915 (Negre, et al., 2000) what would commonly be considered a split-cycle internal combustion automobile engine where the compression, combustion, and expansion phases of the engine-cycle are done in three separate portions of the engine. Compressed air, supplied by either an external source or a compressor in another location of the vehicle, is mixed with fuel and then fed to a combustion chamber where the fuel/air mixture is ignited. The ignited mixture is then fed into an expansion chamber existing between a main piston and a second piston that follows the main piston down the expansion cylinder, in order to provide a minimum volume to produce "an optimum expansion mean tangential force" to the main piston. Negre failed to disclose, however, a method of using a single piston moving in a cylinder to compress air or another gas needed for the combustion process, and then subsequently using the same piston in the same cylinder for the expansion or power phase of the engine-cycle. More critically, Negre failed to disclose, and surely did not contemplate, a method to allow a piston in a cylinder to compress air to be used for the combustion process and then supply the ignited high-pressure mixture of fuel and gases back to the same cylinder, but directly into an expansion chamber formed between the same piston in the same cylinder, and a second piston that follows the first piston down the cylinder, in order to provide a minimum volume to produce "an optimum expansion mean tangential force" to the main piston. Such a method would obviously require fewer parts and would be much simpler in design. On the contrary, Negre would instead have the compression of the air or another gas done by either an entire separate air-compressor in the vehicle or by an air-compressor at a "filling" station.
There is a need then, for a method of using the same piston and cylinder combination for both compression and expansion phases which would then reduce the number of engine components to complete the same processes as accomplished by the Negre engine. A reduced number of engine components would in turn reduce the complexity, weight, and cost of building the engine. When used in an automobile, reduced engine weight means less fuel is required and less energy is needed to move the vehicle down the road which means less pollution of the environment occurs since less fuel is needed to power the automobile. Negre failed to anticipate or expect such results even though the intent of that invention is to reduce pollution and save fuel! So, Negre failed to disclose an engine that is not of the separate-cylinder, split-cycle type where a piston moves in a cylinder compressing a volume of air or another gas for use in the combustion process and where the ignited mixture is used to drive the same piston in the same cylinder during the expansion or power phase of the engine-cycle. Methods such as the one just described and which was previously-unanticipated, yet more-promising, are contrary to the commonly-held and seemingly growing belief that a complicated engine of the separate-cylinder, split-cycle type is required to accomplish the task of delaying ignition or prolonging the combustion process (or "burn") until the crankshaft is in a better position to receive the energy released from the combustion of a fuel and air mixture. Split-cycle engines using separate or multiple cylinders for different engine-phases have been in existence for a very long time and have not proven feasible on a commercial basis for one reason or another. Moreover, it will be shown that such a belief and requirement is simply not substantiated in real practice because simpler engines with fewer parts can be built to accomplish the same objectives. A much simpler and effective internal combustion reciprocating-piston engine is therefore needed that operates on the Otto cycle and is an improvement over the Negre engine which can delay ignition and the combustion process until the piston, crankshaft, and connecting-rod are in an optimum position at or past top-dead-center to receive energy or forces. More specifically, an engine and method are needed where compressed air, or a mixture of compressed air and fuel, is taken from a cylinder while a piston is at top-dead-center in the cylinder for achieving maximum compression, then after igniting the fuel and air mixture, subsequently re-introducing the burning fuel/air mixture into the same cylinder at a more optimum time and location within the cylinder for driving the piston in the cylinder more efficiently and with greater output power.
The concept described and disclosed in the Negre engine where a secondary piston follows or accompanies a main piston over part of its downward or power stroke in order to provide a minimum volume to produce "an optimum expansion mean tangential force" to the main piston is not a new concept since it has been successfully marketed and used by a major engine manufacturer for many years. An article from "Diesel-Electric Locomotive" (Foell and Thompson, 1946) describes the process as used in the Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 two-stroke opposed-piston engine as follows: "The underlying principle of the two-stroke cycle opposed-piston Diesel is the use of a plain open-ended cylinder in which combustion takes place in the center of its length between two pistons which move away from each other. The pistons are utilized to uncover the exhaust and air-inlet ports, thus eliminating the use of valves. The pistons controlling the air-inlet ports are connected to the upper crankshaft, while those controlling the exhaust ports are connected to the lower crankshaft. The two shafts are mechanically connected by a vertical shaft and bevel gears, with the lower shaft (exhaust end) being set 12 degrees ahead of the upper shaft (inlet end) . . . . It is also obvious that when the upper piston is at inner dead center, the lower one has completed 12 degrees of its power stroke. This causes the lower piston to receive the greater part of the expansion work, at full engine load, with the result that about 72 percent of the total power is delivered by the lower crankshaft. The remaining power is delivered to the upper crankshaft where it is partially absorbed in driving the blower, leaving only a relatively small amount of power to be transmitted through the vertical gear drive to the lower crankshaft, which is connected to the driven machine . . . The 12 degrees by which the exhaust piston "leads" the intake piston permits a more advantageous port timing, and also allows for a limited amount of "ram" effect which further contributes to the operating economy." As complicated as the Fairbanks-Morse engine is—with two separate crankshafts—the process used in that engine to delay combustion until one piston and its crankshaft are in a more optimum position to receive energy and forces has proven over the years to be quite feasible. But again, the Fairbanks Morse engine is complicated and requires a large number of expensive, heavy parts. The Negre engine, however, would need an entire separate air-compressor or filling-station to accomplish the same task! Again, an engine comprised of fewer parts and with less complexity than either the Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 engine or the Negre engine is needed for increasing effectiveness and efficiency.
Scuderi first discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,225 (Scuderi, 2003) a gas passage in a split-cycle engine that exists between a first cylinder and a second cylinder where the first piston in the first cylinder is used to compress air or another gas while the combustion process and expansion of the ignited fuel/air mixture is accomplished in the second cylinder by the moving second piston. This process allows extra compressed air to be introduced into the second cylinder in order to prolong the "burn" until the second piston and the common crankshaft are in positions at or after top-dead-center to receive energy (or forces) in a better manner. In a second U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,579 (Negre, 2002), Negre discloses a split-cycle engine (herein referred to as the second Negre engine) that has a separate, independent combustion chamber located between a first cylinder used for compressing air (or another gas) and a second cylinder used for gas-expansion or the power-stroke. The process in the second Negre engine is similar to the process in the Scuderi engine since both seem to accomplish the same task of prolonging the "burn" with additional injected compressed-air from the first cylinder so the expansion piston and common crankshaft are in more optimum positions to receive energy. It's important to notice, however, that both the gas passage in the Scuderi engine and the separate, independent combustion chamber in the second Negre engine receive compressed air, or another gas, from one cylinder and re-inject the ignited fuel/air mixture into a second and entirely different cylinder for use in the expansion and the power-stroke phases of the engine-cycle. A separate, independent combustion chamber as presented in both Negre engines can also receive compressed-air or another gas from a separate air-compressor or storage tank located somewhere in the vehicle before the burning fuel/air mixture is later introduced into an entirely separate expansion chamber. There is currently no engine design in use today, however, with a separate, independent combustion chamber that receives air or gas from one cylinder and re-injects a burning, ignited fuel/air mixture back into the same cylinder from where it was originally taken.
A very serious problem and disadvantage with both Negre engines and the Scuderi engine will become more obvious and apparent once those engines are eventually built and tested or if they're ever used on a wide scale. The gas-expansion and power-stroke cylinders in those engines apparently are never cooled by fresh-air from an intake-valve which means an external source of cool air will be required for cooling purposes, or else special materials will be needed for operating in extremely high heat-stress conditions. Such an inherent and detrimental design-flaw will undoubtedly increase the cost of producing the Negre and Scuderi engines and will decrease both the performance and efficiency of those engines. This brings up operability and effectiveness questions regarding separate-cylinder, split-cycle type engines in general, since every design currently available for inspection seems to include the same cooling problem.
There is no engine or method available for use today that contains a separate gas passage or separate, independent combustion chamber that receives compressed air, or another gas, from one cylinder and re-injects the ignited fuel/air mixture at a much higher pressure into the exact same cylinder, except at a different location from where the compressed gas was originally taken from. Furthermore, there is certainly no engine or method currently available, of the split-cycle type or otherwise, with a separate combustion chamber that receives compressed air from one location in a cylinder and then subsequently re-introduces high-pressure combustion gases back into the same cylinder directly into an expansion chamber formed between a main piston in the cylinder and a second piston which follows the main piston part-way "down" the same cylinder in order to minimize volume and enhance the expansion process for maximizing output power and overall efficiency.

Internal combustion engine with sidewall combustion chamber and method


To provide a low cost mounting structure of an electronic component and to increase the reliability of the conductive connection between a bump electrode and a terminal formed on a substrate, in the mounting structure of the electronic component, the bump electrode includes a core composed of an inner resin and a conductive film covering the surface of the core. The bump electrode is brought into conductive contact with the terminal directly and is elastically deformed to make contact with the face of the substrate in a planar manner. A sealing resin is filled in around the conductive contact portion between the bump electrode and the terminal to hold the bump electrode and the terminal.

1. Field of Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to a mounting structure of electronic components, electro-optic devices, electronic equipment, and a method for mounting electronic components, and in particular, to a mounting structure and a method for mounting in which an electronic component having bumps is mounted on terminals composed of a transparent conductor formed on a glass substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
A related art technology for mounting an electronic component, such as a semiconductor IC, has been used in a circuit board that is installed in-various kinds of electronic equipment or a liquid crystal display device. For example, a related art liquid crystal-driving IC chip to drive a liquid crystal panel is mounted in a liquid crystal display device. This liquid crystal-driving IC chip is directly mounted on a glass substrate in the liquid crystal panel. Alternatively, this liquid crystal-driving IC chip is mounted on a flexible printed circuit (FPC) that is mounted on the liquid crystal panel. The former mounting structure is referred to as a chip on glass (COG) structure and the latter structure is referred to as a chip on FPC (COF) structure.
In the production of a related art liquid crystal display device having the COG structure, an IC chip is mounted as follows. As shown in FIG. 11, a liquid crystal-driving IC chip 21 is disposed on an array portion of indium tin oxide (ITO) terminals 11bx and 11dx composed of a transparent conductor on a glass substrate 11 through an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) 22 in which conductive particles 22a are dispersed in a thermosetting resin 22b. Metal bump electrodes 21B disposed on the liquid crystal-driving IC chip 21 are brought into conductive contact with the ITO terminals 11bx and 11dx on the glass substrate 11 through the conductive particles 22a by pressing the liquid crystal-driving IC chip 21 while heating. This conductive contact is maintained with the cured thermosetting resin 22b.

Mounting structure of electronic component, electro-optic device, electronic equipment, and method for mounting electronic component


A method of controlling power in a hybrid energy storage system that may include controlling power through the at least one battery storage element and the capacitor storage element using a multi-level power management system. In some embodiments, the multi-level power management system includes at least a long term battery management layer and a real time power management layer. The long term battery management layer can be for estimating and managing a life cycle for the battery. The real time power management layer can be for managing power sharing between the at least one battery storage element and the at least one capacitor storage element at each time instant dependent upon adjustments to battery performance based upon the long term battery management layer.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to energy storage systems, and more particularly to hybrid ultra capacitor-battery storage systems and power management systems.
Description of the Related Art
The energy storage system has been recognized as an effective solution for counteracting the challenges when more and more renewable energy resources are integrated into power grid. Different energy storage technologies have different characteristics, e.g. energy/power density, cycle life, costs, efficiency, etc. For different applications, different aspects of storage system are required. For example, for the compensation of the intermittency of the renewable energy resources, energy storage with high energy density is mainly required. For the system experiencing high power transients, energy storage with high power density and fast dynamics is required. For some micro-grid applications, they have a high requirement on the energy storage system from all the aspects of time-scale, energy-scale and power scale. If a single-type energy storage system is chosen, it will be oversized in some aspects to take care of its weak points, e.g., the battery has to be oversized to respond to high power demand, while the ultra-capacitor has to be oversized to supply a sustainable power support. The application of hybrid energy storage systems can be unavoidable, where various types of storage elements are operated in a complement way to overcome their disadvantages. What is needed is a power management system that can provide for optimal utilization of the energy storage components.

Power coordination system for hybrid energy storage system


Disclosed are an apparatus and a method of assisting parking, and the apparatus for assisting parking includes: an around view monitoring (AVM) system including a plurality of cameras mounted in a vehicle, and configured to combine images photographed by the respective cameras, and output a combined image signal in a form of an around view; a controller configured to analyze the combined image signal and detect a parking guide line, calculate a distance between the detected parking guide line and the vehicle, and generate control information corresponding to the calculated distance; and a guide unit configured to output control information.

Parking of a vehicle can be a difficult operation even for a skilled driver, as well as a beginner driver or an aged driver, and particularly, when an obstacle, another vehicle, or the like is positioned around a parking section, a driver has considerable difficulty in operating a vehicle for parking. In this respect, demands for a parking assist system for assisting a driver to safely park a vehicle have increased.
According to the demands in a market, and a recent increase in a motor-driven power steering (MDPS) mounted vehicle, a vehicle, to which an ultrasonic sensor-based parking assist system is applied, capable of reducing burdens of a driver and increasing convenience for a driver at low cost has increased.
However, the ultrasonic sensor-based parking assist system according to the related art has a unique limit in that another vehicle or an obstacle needs to be positioned within a predetermined region from a parking section space in order to recognize the parking section space by the ultrasonic sensor. In order to solve the problem, an around view monitoring (AVM) system for recognizing a parking section based on an image signal generated by a camera has been recently developed and commercialized.
However, since a driver directly operates a steering wheel and operates the vehicle to move within a vicinity of a parking line during a parking section recognizing operation in the parking assist system in the related art, a distance between the parking line and the vehicle is larger than a predetermined distance or more contrary to an intention of the driver, such that the distance between the parking line and the vehicle may exceed an effective detection range of the ultrasonic sensor or the camera.

Apparatus and method of assisting parking


The present invention relates to coccidia strains and, in one embodiment, to microbiological cultures comprising such strains. In preferred embodiments, the coccidia strains are selected for tolerance to one group of coccidiostatic drugs, sensitivity to a second group of coccidiostatic drugs, and decreased proliferative capacity. Another embodiment of the invention relates to vaccines based on the coccidia strains according to the invention.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coccidiosis strains, microbiological cultures comprising such strains, vaccines based thereon, use of such strains for the preparation of such vaccines and methods for the preparation of such vaccines.
2. State of the Art
Coccidiosis is a highly contagious disease that has been known for a long time. Coccidiosis is known to occur in many economically important animal species, such as chickens, cattle, sheep, rabbits, goats, and turkeys. The causative agent of this disease is a parasite of the genus Eimeria. This parasite is a member of the coccidia. Poultry coccidiosis, in particular, is a problem world wide. High stocking densities and specific housing conditions in the modern poultry industry facilitate the spread of coccidia, as there is little or no separation between animals and fecal matter. Since the oocysts are extremely resistant, surviving even partial desiccation, bleaching, and chemical treatment with most disinfectants, it is extremely difficult to avoid environmental contamination with oocysts.
The parasites cause an enteritis in the gut in general, more specifically in poultry. The infection severely attacks the epithelium of the intestines. Therefore, the first clinical signs of infection with the parasite are, e.g., diarrhea. Later in infection, a broader scale of clinical signs becomes manifest, including reduced food intake, malabsorption, decrease in feed conversion efficiency, and reduced weight gain. In the worst case, the infection is lethal. Gregory M W "Pathology of coccidial infections," Coccidiosis of man and domestic animals (Ed.: P. L. Long) CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. Pp. 235-261 (1990); Ruff M D "Pathophysiology and coccidial infections," Coccidiosis of man and domestic animals (Ed.: P. L. Long) CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. Pp. 263-280(1990). Even when the infection develops non-lethally and the animal recovers, the economic losses due to reduced weight gain are large world wide, especially in the many countries where poultry is an important food source. Costs involved in controlling the disease are estimated to exceed USD $600,000,000 yearly.
Apart from factors such as housing conditions, general state of health, age, immune status and genetic make-up of the host, the degree of pathogenicity depends primarily on the Eimeria species. Ruff, M. D., Proceedings of the VIthInternational Coccidiosis Conference (Eds.: J. R. Barta and M. A. Fernando) Moffit Print Craft Ltd., Guelph. Pp. 73-79 (1993). The genus Eimeria comprises at least seven named species: E. tenella, E. necatrix, E. maxima, E. brunetti, E. acervulina, E. mitis and E. praecox. Of these, E. tenella and E. necatrix are the most pathogenic, followed by maxima and brunetti. Rose, M. E. and Long, P. L. "Vaccination against coccidiosis in chickens." Vaccines against parasites (Eds.: A. E. R. Taylor, and R. Muller) Blackwell Scientific Publication, Ltd., Oxford, U.K. pp. 57-74 (1980). Infection with E. tenella and E. necatrix leads to hemorrhage and, in heavy infections, to anemia and death due to blood loss and shock.
Currently, two ways of controlling coccidiosis in chicken are available: chemical treatment with anticoccidial drugs and vaccination. Treatment with anticoccidial drugs has two important advantages: (1) it can be started directly after birth of the animal, and (2) it is cost-effective. There are also two important disadvantages: (1) an increasing level of resistance against various anticoccidial drugs is seen, and (2) there is an increasing reluctance towards the use of drugs from the point of concern about public safety.
Vaccination also offers a means of protecting against coccidial infection. Vaccination by mixing carefully determined small amounts of fully virulent strains with feed or drinking water is well known in the art. This method of vaccination is efficient but has some serious drawbacks: (1) the amount of oocysts given must be determined very carefully, and (2) animals that did not eat/drink enough at the day of vaccination become severely infected later on by the enormous amount of progeny oocysts that are produced when the vaccine strain recycles through the flock.
Vaccination with attenuated vaccines is also used in the art but only on a very modest scale. Such vaccines are highly amenable to reversion to virulence. Also, as a result of their attenuation, they suffer from severe loss of immunogenicity so that high numbers of oocysts must be given. Production thereof is, however, difficult and less cost-effective. Vaccination with subunit vaccines has not been shown to be sufficiently efficient so far.
Additionally, each vaccination unavoidably has the disadvantage that it takes at least 14-21 days before immunity builds up. Therefore, there is always a serious risk of infection in the days before the vaccination gives protection. And in practice, given the high infection pressure, this risk is too large to be taken.
Summarizing what is said about chemical treatment and vaccination, both can work but have their specific disadvantages. A combined treatment with both coccidiostatic drugs and vaccines comprises feeding coccidiostatic drugs the first few days combined with vaccination at the day of hatching seems attractive because the coccidiostatic drugs then only have to be used until immunity through vaccination has built up. This approach, however, is not easily feasible because the presence of the coccidiostatic drug kills not only infecting oocysts from the field but also the vaccine strains used to build up immunity.
A possible way out of this dilemma has been proposed in the Dutch Patent Application NL 8802399. In this application it was suggested to start as soon as possible with treatment with coccidiostatic drugs, followed by vaccination with specific Eimeria strains that are resistant against the coccidiostatic drug being administered.
Even these strains suffer, however, from drawbacks:
the strains used are not attenuated, therefore they are potentially dangerous; and
once introduced in the poultry industry, it is very difficult to remove these strains.
This is a serious problem since the strains are virulent and resistant at the same time. Large amounts thereof, as shedded after recycling through the flock, can easily infect subsequent groups of young birds kept in the same housing.


A system of monitoring operation for a conveyor belt installation includes a conveyor belt having steel or other relatively magnetically permeable reinforcing material, the system including, in proximity to the conveyor belt, a magnetic field generator, and a sensor unit at a position downstream from the field generator, the sensor unit sensing the magnetic field emanating from the passing conveyor belt, and a monitoring unit to receive data related to the magnetic field properties sensed by the sensor unit during a plurality of passages of each part of the length of the conveyor belt past the sensor unit, the monitoring unit incorporating comparison elements to compare a received set of data with an earlier received set of data, and output elements to provide an output signal representative of reinforcement damage or deterioration when subsequently received data has departed from earlier received data by more than a prescribed extent.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system, method and apparatus for monitoring operation of a conveyor belt.
2. Description of Related Art
It relates in particular, though not exclusively, to monitoring the operation of a conveyor belt installation wherein the belt is a steel cord reinforced belt. It may, however, be employed with belts reinforced by other relatively magnetically permeable materials, the expression "relatively magnetically permeable" being used herein to refer to a reinforcement permeability which is greater than that of the belt material which is reinforced by said reinforcement.
One problem commonly experienced in the use of conveyor belts employed to transport heavy or sharp items, such as quarried or mined material, is that the belt is exposed to the risk of puncture. If the item causing puncture becomes wedged relative to the conveyor support structure instead of moving with the belt, there is a particular risk that the belt will then be longitudinally slit as it passes the wedged object, and much expensive damage will result.
Another problem encountered is that over a period of time the reinforcement members are at risk of deterioration. Although typically the steel cords or other reinforcing members are embedded in the elastomeric material of a belt, if, for example, that embedding material becomes degraded or locally damaged there is a risk of water or other damaging material or fluid coming into contact with and degrading the reinforcement. In consequence the belt will cease to function properly and in due course may break.
To avoid or minimise the risk of breakage or other potentially dangerous situations arising it is known to over-design the reinforcement so that even following a predicted degree of reinforcement degradation, the reinforcement remains safe for use and break resistant over a period of time which at least equals the likely period for which the belt cover material is expected to remain in a serviceable condition. That over-design is, however, undesirable because it increases the weight and cost as well as reducing flexibility of the belt, and also fails accurately to safeguard against a possible premature part or total failure of the reinforcement.


A space-saving lengthwise and widthwise movable panel system capable of being fully opened belongs to the field of smart building technology and includes a lengthwise panel moving compartment, a panel storage space and a panel control module. The movable panel system can be used as a door and/or window system. All of the panels of the system can be entirely stored in the panel storage space and when storing all of the panels entirely in the panel storage space, the panel system is fully open to allow full lengthwise access to a space. The panel storage space may be located in a wall or outside the room to hide the stacked panels. By controlling the operation of the moving system, the panels are effectively connected to one another in an aligned manner and can move automatically, so the space-saving movable panel system is convenient to use, and space-saving.

In the existing buildings, the doors/windows, such as French windows and the like, are usually opened or closed by rotating or sliding, not allowing to completely and freely open the doors/windows in the space. It is hard to avoid the pivoting shaft if the mode of opening and closing the windows/doors by rotating is chosen, and the opened size of the windows/doors tends to waste space. The sliding windows/doors also cannot achieve full opening of the window as one or two pieces of door/window panel are fixed, limiting the utilization of buildings' space, and having difficulty in satisfying the further requirements of fully utilizing the space.

Space-saving movable door/window system capable of being fully opened

JIANGSU VOCATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGY

CHINA UNIVERSITY OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY


A paper tail cutter for cutting .Iadd.a leading edge upon .Iaddend.and deflecting a tail from a moving sheet of paper. A cutter body member is pivotally mounted to swing a knife up through the .Iadd.path of .Iaddend.the moving sheet of paper, .[.thereby cutting.]. .Iadd.to engage .Iaddend.a narrow, .Iadd.previously severed, .Iaddend.tail at one side of the moving sheet. The tail is supported by the body member and deflected away from the moving paper sheet .Iadd.as the leading edge is simultaneously cut thereon .Iaddend.for delivery to apparatus such as a stack of calender rolls.

At one stage of a typical paper making operation a moving, continuous sheet of paper is passed, at high speed, over a plurality of dryer rolls and then through a stack of calender rolls which "calender" the paper by imparting the desired smooth finish thereto. Since it is difficult to guide the full width of the moving paper sheet off the last dryer roll and then feed it through the calender stack, a narrow "tail" is cut to one side of the moving sheet as it comes off the last dryer roll, the balance of the moving sheet being allowed to fall into a broke pit for reprocessing. The tail can be somewhat more easily fed through the calender stack and then used to draw the full width of the paper sheet through the calender stack.
In the prior art, a tail is typically cut in lightweight paper by directing a blast of compressed air at the moving paper sheet. This however produces a torn, ragged edge which can be difficult to pass through the infeed nips of the calender roll stack. Paper tails are typically produced in medium or heavier-weight paper sheets by hand-tearing which is dangerous procedure that has resulted in serious operator injuries.
The poorly cut paper tails produced by prior art methods are not only difficult to feed through the calender stack infeed nips, but also often overlap upon themselves. This poses serious problems because an overlapped tail may cause "roll bounce" when material of dual or greater thickness passes between the calender rolls. Over time, roll bounce may cause "barring", a form of marking of the calender rolls, which may eventually require expensive, time-consuming resurfacing of the rolls and consequential downtime of the paper making equipment.
A further disadvantage of the prior art is that the operating speed of the paper making equipment usually must be reduced while the tail is cut and transferred to the calender stack.
The present invention provides a paper tail cutter which cleanly cuts .Iadd.a smooth leading edge on .Iaddend.a tail from a moving sheet of paper and delivers the tail, at the full operating speed of the paper making equipment, to tail transfer equipment which guides the tail into the calender stack infeed nips, thereby vastly simplifying the tail handling and threading procedure and overcoming the foregoing difficulties by reducing equipment downtime and labour costs, while minimizing the potential for operator injuries.