A mobility scooter control system includes a remote control console having a wireless transmitter and switches. A status detection circuit is integrated with the switches. The status detection circuit emits a pulse on a regular cycle. After the pulse passes the respective switch following a change in state of the switch, a wireless transmission is sent. A controller is electronically connected to a motor. The control system has a regular operation mode in which direction of movement and speed limit functions are responsive to instructions inputted to the controller, and, in the absence of user instruction, the controller does not instruct movement of the motor. The control system has a Sabbath operation mode in which the direction of movement and speed limit functions are responsive only to signals from the wireless transmitter, and, in the absence of user instruction, the controller instructs the motor to continuously cycle backward and forward.

The present invention, in some embodiments, relates to a control system for a mobility scooter, and more specifically, but not exclusively, to a control system having a remote control console for delivering commands to a controller of a mobility scooter, and having a regular operation mode and a Sabbath operation mode.
The popularity of mobility scooters has dramatically increased over the last several decades. This increase in the popularity of mobility scooters is due to many factors, including the advent of new structural material as well as new manufacturing techniques. In addition, recent models of mobility scooters are able to fold easily and compactly, to enable ease of transportation and storage. An example of such a recent model is the ATTO™ mobility scooter sold by Moving Life, Ltd., the assignee of the present application. Embodiments of such foldable mobility scooters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,265,675, the contents of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Sabbath observant users of mobility scooters are unable to use the mobility scooters in their regular modes of operation. This is because regular operation of buttons in a control console causes opening and closing of electrical switches, which is prohibited on the Sabbath. In addition, in regular operation of a mobility scooter, when the scooter is at rest, no current flows to the motor, so that every time the scooter begins moving, a current is generated. The generation of a current is also prohibited on the Sabbath.
Existing solutions for use of mobility scooters on the Sabbath involve hard-wiring a Sabbath control console to the integrated control console of the mobility scooter. On the Sabbath, control of the scooter is transferred from the integrated control console to the Sabbath control console. The Sabbath control console contains an alternate set of control buttons for the mobility scooter. Each of these alternate buttons is connected to a switch that is part of a status change detection circuit. The status detection circuit is commonly described as a "gramma," meaning indirect, circuit, because it utilizes the leniency of indirect causation under Jewish law. In a status detection circuit, a controller periodically sends out a very short pulse, for example every 3-10 seconds, on a path that includes a switch. During each cycle, the controller detects whether the switch has changed from its previous status. Upon detection of a change in status, the controller issues an instruction. As a result, operating the switch results in an instruction being issued only after the signal passes the switch and detects the change in status.
To address the challenge of generation of current when operating the motor, existing solutions require that, on the Sabbath, the motor is always drawing power from the battery. Therefore, when a user instructs movement of the scooter, the resulting delivery of power involves not a generation of a flow of current to the motor, which violates the Sabbath, but merely an increase in the flow of current to the motor, which does not violate the Sabbath. In practice, this means that the motor is always slowly moving forward. To prevent the mobility scooter from unwanted movement, a user must hold it in place, either by applying his or her own weight, or by applying another restraining mechanism, such as a hand brake.

Mobility scooter with integrated sabbath mode remote control


A screw press has a cylindrical screening section mounted to a frame. The screening section is able to rotate but can be prevented from rotating. A sprayer system is operable to spray water on the screening section. In a cleaning process, the screening section is rotated while water is sprayed against it. Optionally, the power required to rotate the screen may be provided by an auger drive mechanism. The screening section may have openings sized to retain flocculated solids. The screw press may be used to thicken a sludge from a waste water treatment plant.

In general, a typical screw press comprises a screw, also called an auger, rotating within a fixed cylindrical body comprising screen panels. A solid-liquid mixture to be treated is fed into an inlet end of the screw press. The auger conveys the mixture through the cylindrical body while pressing the mixture against the screens. Liquid and fine solids are collected from the outside of the screens. Retained solids and residual liquid are collected from an outlet end of the screw press. The cylindrical body is dismantled when the screens need to be cleaned.
In International Publication Number WO02/062564, a screw press is used to separate solids from sewage. A screw is driven by an electric motor. The direction of rotation of the screw is reversed periodically to clean the screw press.
In International Publication Number WO99/52704, a screw press has a cylindrical body made up of a stack of annular plates. Some of the plates are fixed and some of the plates are movable. An eccentric shaft passing through the stack of plates rotates when the auger rotates. The rotation of the eccentric shaft causes the movable plates to oscillate relative to the fixed plates.

Sludge screw thickener with screen rotation during cleaning


A control method includes the following steps: when the DC-DC converter works every time, acquiring total time TC for controlling an H-bridge in a third mode and total time TD for controlling the H-bridge in a fourth mode, and acquiring set time Ti for controlling the H-bridge in the third mode and set time Tm for controlling the H-bridge in the fourth mode in each working cycle during a working process of the DC-DC converter; judging a relation between the TC and the TD; and selecting the mode for controlling the H-bridge when the DC-DC converter is started according to the relation between the total time TC and the total time TD, and alternately controlling the H-bridge according to the Ti and the Tm, the second switch transistor, the third switch transistor and the fourth switch transistor in the H-bridge to be relatively balanced.

A DC-DC converter has always been an important component of the field of power electronics. With the development of commercialization of an electric vehicle, the DC-DC converter has become one of the important parts of the electric vehicle. The DC-DC converter has many topological structures. In the medium and large-scale power field, a full-bridge pulse width modulation (PWM) converter is one of the most used topologies.
The full-bridge PWM converter has many control modes. Related technologies mostly adopt a control mode of phase shift modulation and a control mode of lower transistor modulation. However, when the control mode of phase shift modulation is adopted, leading arms easily realize soft switching, and lagging arms do not easily realize soft switching, so that the lagging arms are more serious than the leading arms in heat generation; and when the control mode of lower transistor modulation is adopted, upper transistors easily realize soft switching, and lower transistors do not easily realize soft switching, so that the lower transistors are more serious than the upper transistors in heat generation.
Therefore, both of the two control modes cause the problem of serious heat generation of switch transistors, and the working life of the switch transistors is affected.

Electric vehicle, DC-DC convertor, and control method for DC-DC convertor


An objective is to provide a method and an apparatus for accurately extracting a region of an object particle from a urine particle image obtained by taking an image of urine particles in a urine specimen having varying properties. First, a first object region is extracted using one or more of an R image, a G image, and a B image of a urine particle image taken by an image input optical system configured to input particle images. Then, a density distribution and a size of the first object region of one or more of the R image, the G image, and the B image are calculated. Based on these feature parameters, the first object region is classified into a predetermined number of groups. A second object region is extracted from a local region including the first object region, by using one or more of the R image, the G image, and the B image, depending on each of the groups. This configuration allows stable region segmentation for each particle image even for a urine specimen in which urine particles having different sizes and tones coexist.

In a conventional method for morphological examination of particles in urine, an examination is performed by centrifugal separation of urine particles from collected urine, and then by direct observation of the urine particles by a laboratory technician through a microscope. Such microscopic examination has such problems that (1) the result depends on the proficiency of the technician and (2) examination takes time. Accordingly, a more efficient way is demanded.
In recent years, automation of an examination of urine sediments (urine particles) has been in progress. For example, "Particle Analysis Apparatus and Particle Analysis Method (Patent documents 1 and 2)" describes a method in which a urine specimen is passed through a specially-shaped flow channel (flow cell) to pass particles in the specimen through a wide imaging region, where an enlarged image of the urine particles is taken as a static image with a flash lamp lighted.
To automatically classify a urine particle whose image is taken as a static image, the image is first divided into a region with a urine particle and a background region, and the urine particle is classified based on image feature parameters obtained for the region with the urine particle.
"Region Segmentation Method for Particle Images (Patent document 3)," for example, describes a conventional technique for dividing an image into a region with a urine particle and a background region. In this conventional technique, a method is shown in which an object region is separated from a background region based on a threshold and the magnitude of change in density value, which are obtained from a density histogram.
In addition, "Patterning Recognition Apparatus (Patent document 4)" and "Automatic Blood Cell Classification Apparatus (Patent document 5)," for example, describe conventional techniques for classifying an object based on image feature parameters. In these conventional techniques, use of a layered network as a recognition logic is described.
[Patent document 1] JP 5-296915 A
[Patent document 2] JP 63-94156 A
[Patent document 3] JP 8-145871A
[Patent document 4] JP 10-302067 A
[Patent document 5] JP 3-131756 A

Method and device for dividing area of image of particle in urine


A system and corresponding method for obtaining fingerprint samples of a person completing an application form and using those samples to verify that person's identity. The system employs an application form, such as a life insurance application, job application, banking or checking account application, and so on, comprising a first substrate having a fingerprint information receiving area adaptable to receive a fingerprint image of a finger of the person completing the application. The system further employs a second form, such as a chain of custody form, comprising a second substrate having an area adaptable to receive thereon a fingerprint image of the finger of the person. Preferably, an inkless fingerprint kit is used to provide the fingerprint samples on both forms. The fingerprint samples can be compared either manually or through the use of a computer to verify whether the same person provided the samples on both forms.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for obtaining fingerprint samples of a person completing an application form, and using those samples to verify that person's identity. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and corresponding method in which a fingerprint sample of a person completing an application form is taken and stored for comparison with another fingerprint sample provided by that person on a different document to verify that the same person provided both samples.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various institutions such as insurance companies, banks, and credit companies are victimized by fraudulent schemes every year, and as a result, suffer millions of dollars of losses annually. Perhaps one of the most common schemes that occurs, especially in the insurance and banking arena, involves the use of an impostor or "stand-in" who misrepresents his or her identity in order to cash another person's check, use another person's credit card, or assist an ailing person in obtaining life insurance.
For example, most insurance companies require that an applicant wishing to obtain a life insurance policy undergo a physical examination prior to issuance of the policy. If the individual applying for insurance policy has an ailment which would ordinarily preclude that person from being eligible for life insurance, that person can use a "stand-in" to undergo the physical examination in that person's place. That is, although the actual insurance applicant will fill out the insurance form, a "stand-in" having no major ailment will undergo the physical examination and provide the necessary samples of urine, blood, and the like. Since the tests performed on those samples will reveal no ailments, the insurance applicant will be issued the insurance policy. If the applicant then dies due to his or her ailment, the insurance company will find it difficult to prove that the insured person was suffering from that ailment prior to obtaining the insurance policy, and thus will be forced to pay the insurance claim.
Although insurance companies currently use precautionary measures such as checking an individual's picture identification when the application for the insurance policy is being completed and when the individual is undergoing a physical examination, it is not uncommon for a stand-in to use false identification to misrepresent himself or herself as the applicant. Also, even though insurance companies require the applicant's signature on the insurance policy, it is often not difficult for a stand-in to forge the applicant's signature when signing the physical examination form. Furthermore, even though some insurance companies may include a copy of the applicant's photo identification with the application which the person performing the physical examination can use to verify whether the person being examined is indeed the applicant, a stand-in who's appearance closely resembles the applicant can be used to avert these precautionary measures.
A job applicant also may find it desirable to use a stand-in. For example, many private companies now require potential employees to undergo a physical examination and drug screening prior to being hired. Often the examination is conducted at a clinical laboratory not associated with the company. Hence, the person at the laboratory performing the examination and obtaining urine and blood samples has no way of positively identifying whether the individual providing the samples is the actual job applicant. Although most laboratories will require that the individual providing the sample present picture identification, as discussed above, it is often easy to obtain false identification.
In the banking and credit arena, it is not uncommon for a person with criminal intent to successfully cash a check or use a credit card of another illegally. Even though many banks and financial institutions require that an individual cashing a check or using a credit card present identification, false identification is often easy to obtain. Hence, previous efforts to prevent bank and credit card fraud have proven unsuccessful, because many financial institutions still suffer millions of dollars of losses each year due to illegal check cashing and credit card use.
In addition to a person's signature, photo identification and the like, it is known that a person's fingerprint can be used to verify that person's identity. For instance, as discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,071,168 and 5,193,855 to Shamos, it is known for a hospital to take a fingerprint image of a patient so that that patient's identity can be verified when, for example, the patient is providing a specimen or undergoing a procedure at the hospital. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,428 to Klein discloses that it is known to capture a fingerprint image of a person purchasing a ticket on both the ticket and on a permanent record, so that the ticket purchaser's identity can be verified at a later date.
It is also known to request a fingerprint sample from a person in addition to that person's signature when the person is completing, for example, a document used in business. For instance, an insurance company may ask a person to provide a fingerprint sample on the application form in addition to that person's signature, while a bank may request that a person attempting to cash a check provide a fingerprint sample on the check. Also, as described in the Shamos patents discussed above, a person may be asked to provide a fingerprint sample when giving a specimen at a hospital or other medical facility.
Although these practices may be helpful in positively linking a single individual to a single document (e.g., an insurance applicant to an insurance form, a ticket purchaser to a ticket, and so on), a continuing need exists for an efficient system or process for positively verifying the identity of a person who is intended to handle several documents relating to a common transaction at different times and at different locations. For example, a continuing need exists for an efficient system and process for positively identifying an applicant, such as an insurance policy applicant, throughout various stages of the application process.
Additionally, it is often desirable to be capable of positively linking a donor, such as a blood donor, to the donated sample or specimen to be able to positively identify that the sample or specimen came from the donor. This is particularly crucial when a person about to undergo an operation donates blood that he or she intends to be used during that operation.
Typically, the bag or bags of donated blood will be stored at the hospital in which the operation is to be performed. The bags will generally include a label or sticker including the name, birthdate, social security number, and so on, of the person who donated the blood. However, if the labels are mismarked or misread, the person can inadvertently receive the wrong blood.
Accordingly, a continuing need exists for an effective system which will positively link a blood donor to the donated blood.

System for verifying the identity of an applicant through the use of fingerprints


A method comprising receiving data representing light intensity values corresponding to a flicker pattern of a reference light source powered by an alternating current (AC); operating a controllable illumination source, based, at least in part, on said data; capturing, using an imaging device, a sequence of images of a scene illuminated, at least in part, by said controllable illumination source; estimating an intensity value for at least one pixel in said array, correspondingly in each of said images in said sequence of images; and determining a temporal point in said flicker pattern of said reference light source, based, at least in part, on said estimating.

Power plants supply the city's electrical needs using alternating current (AC) power transmission. In AC power transmission, electrical energy is distributed by generating an AC voltage waveform (usually a sine wave) with a frequency of 50 or 60 Hz. This waveform is then distributed over the city's grid via power lines. In some cases, the power plant generates three sine waves (three phases), with phases spread apart by 120°. On a city scale, power transformers introduce additional phase shifts to these three phases. Each power consumer within the city, from streetlamps to household power outlets, connects to one of these three phases, arbitrarily.
Light sources connected to the power grid change their intensity and spectral power distribution in response to the grid's alternating current, however, that flicker pattern is usually too subtle and too fast to notice with the naked eye. Artificial lighting produces unnatural-looking colors in photos and temporal aliasing in video. A method of harnessing this AC-induced lighting variation as a way of gaining information about the electrical grid is greatly needed.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the figures.

Computational imaging of the electric grid

TECHNION RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION LIMITED

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO


Polymer dispersions of polymers derived from silicone macromers and ethylenically unsaturated monomers are capable of incorporating large amounts of chemically bonded macromer, when the silicone macromer and part of the unsaturated monomer are polymerized in aqueous medium as an initial charge with an oil soluble initiator, and the remaining monomers are fed in and polymerized using a water soluble initiator. The dispersions may be dried to form water redispersible polymer powders.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for preparing silicone-containing copolymers of an ethylenically unsaturated organic monomer and a silicone macromer in the form of their aqueous polymer dispersions or water-redispersible polymer powders.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various methods of preparing polymer dispersions of silicone-modified copolymers are known from the prior art. In EP-A 1308468, such copolymers are prepared by a process in which the total amount of silicone and a partial amount of the monomers are initially charged in an aqueous emulsion and are polymerized in the presence of a water-soluble initiator. EP-A 352339 describes a solution polymerization process in which the silicone component is initially charged in the solvent and a mixture of monomers and oil-soluble initiator is continuously metered in. EP-A 771826 discloses a process for preparing a crosslinked silicone copolymer latex, in which water, monomer, emulsifier and water-soluble initiator are initially charged, the reaction is started, further monomer is slowly metered in and the crosslinking silicone, which has a short chain and is multiply unsaturated, is finally added together with the remaining monomer.
In EP-A 614924, only short-chain silicone macromers are used in the emulsion polymerization, since relatively long-chain silicone macromers do not polymerize sensibly with the organic monomers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,949 describes the preparation of silicone-organopolymer graft polymers, in which a branched, short-chain silicone having a dendritic structure is reacted with an ethylenically unsaturated radical, ethylenically unsaturated monomers and a free-radically polymerizable emulsifier in the presence of an oil-soluble initiator. The dendritic structure of the short-chain silicone macromer improves the copolymerization with organic monomers. It is shown in comparative examples that long-chain silicone macromers (without a dendritic structure) have polymerized to an extent of not more than 75% with organic monomers and a large amount of unreacted silicone macromer remains. In EP-A 810243 and JP-A 05-009248, silicone macromers are polymerized with organic monomers in emulsion, exclusively by means of an oil-soluble initiator. A disadvantage of the processes initiated by means of an oil-soluble initiator is the unsatisfactory stability of the resulting dispersions, which display a strong tendency to undergo phase separation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,879 describes the copolymerization of a mixture of silicone macromer and monomer which is emulsified in water by means of an anionic emulsifier, with the polymerization being initiated by means of a water-soluble initiator. In JP-A 05-140255, the silicone macromer is dissolved in the organic monomer, is emulsified in water by means of an anionic emulsifier and the polymerization is initiated by means of a water-soluble initiator. Here too, a disadvantage is that a considerable proportion of over 20% of the silicone macromer is not copolymerized.
In all the processes known from the prior art, the copolymerization of the silicone macromers with organic monomers in emulsion always proceeds only to an unsatisfactory extent. This leads to free silicone remaining in the dispersion, with corresponding disadvantageous consequences: the silicone migrates out of coatings or films; the dispersion can coagulate; and the particle size distribution is inhomogeneous. In addition, the tendency to undergo phase separation has an adverse effect on the storage stability.

Method for production of mixed polymers containing silicon


An automatic focussing method and an automatic focussing device capable of performing correct focussing. The relative position between an object 4 and an objective lens 2 is measured for focussing. The laser light illuminated on the object is transmitted through a cylindrical lens 7 so as to be condensed only as to one direction. The laser light condensed as to the one direction is illuminated via the objective lens 2 on the object 4 in a linear form. The illuminated laser light reflected by the object 4 is integrated and detected by a detection unit. The relative position between the object and the objective lens is measured from the spot of the detected reflected laser light in order to perform focussing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatic focussing that measures the distance between an object and an objective lens for carrying out focussing based on the measured value.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of optical instruments, such as optical microscopes or depth meters, an automatic focussing device has hitherto been used for automatic focussing of an object being observed.
Among the automatic focussing devices, there are those in which a laser light beam is emitted to an object and the laser light beam reflected by the object is detected for measuring the distance from the object in order to effect automatic focussing. This automatic focussing device includes a photodetector, such as a photodiode, and detects the reflected laser light from this photodetector.
If the automatic focussing device is used for an optical microscope, the laser light is emitted from a light source so as to be illuminated via an objective lens on the object. The laser light illuminated via the objective lens is reflected by the object so as to be again illuminated on the photodetector via the objective lens.
The reflected laser light forms a spot on the photodetector in association with the distance between the object and the objective lens. With the optical microscope having the automatic focussing device loaded thereon, the objective lens is moved for forming a spot of the reflected laser light beam at a pre-set position on the photodetector. This achieves focussing on the optical microscope.
Meanwhile, the above-described automatic focussing device has been developed for an optical pickup used for, for example, an optical disc. In such automatic focussing device, the laser light beam whose light spot can be reduced to a circular spot is radiated from the light source.
In such case, attempts have been made for reducing the diameter of the laser light spot in the automatic focussing device to as small a value as possible. In this manner, the automatic focussing device achieves fine focussing for an optical instrument, such as an optical pickup.
With these automatic focussing device, used for an optical instrument, such as an optical microscope, focussing needs to be achieved for an object presenting significant differences between bright and dark portions or having a non-smooth surface state. If the surface state of the object is poor, and a laser light beam having a circular light spot of a small diameter is used by the automatic focussing device, the reflected laser light is disturbed. Thus, with the automatic focussing device, the reflected laser light cannot be detected optimally by the photodetector, thus disabling focussing.
On the other hand, if the automatic focussing device is used for an optical instrument, such as an optical microscope, focussing needs to be realized for a field of view larger than the spot diameter of the laser light beam. However, since the laser light beam having a small spot diameter is illuminated on the object, focussing is only for a point in the field of view of the optical microscope illuminated by the laser light. If focussing is only for a point in the field of view of the optical microscope, there is an inconvenience that focussing cannot be realized for other portions.
For obviating this problem, it has been proposed to scan the circular spot of a reduced diameter across the entire field of view and measured values obtained for respective points on the scanning line are averaged to give a mean value which is used for realizing the focussing. However, if this method is used, it becomes necessary to provide a mechanism for scanning the laser light beam thus complicating the structure and consuming time for focussing.


This invention provides a method of preparing a silver halide photographic emulsion which comprises adding to the silver halide emulsion after precipitation and before or during sensitization a disulfide compound and a sulfinate compound, wherein the disulfide compound and the sulfinate compound are added simultaneously. It further provides a silver halide photographic emulsion prepared by the above method.

Problems with fogging have plagued the photographic industry from its inception. Fog is a deposit of silver or dye that is not directly related to the image-forming exposure, e.g., when a developer acts upon an emulsion layer, some reduced silver is formed in areas that have not been exposed to light. Fog can be defined as a developed density that is not associated with the action of the image-forming exposure, and is usually expressed as "Dmin", the density obtained in the unexposed portions of the emulsion. A density, as normally measured, includes both that produced by fog and that produced by exposure to light. It is known in the art that the appearance of photographic fog related to intentional or unintentional reduction of silver ion (reduction sensitization) can occur during many stages of preparation of the photographic element including silver halide emulsion preparation, (spectral) chemical sensitization of the silver halide emulsion, melting and holding of the liquid silver halide emulsion melts, subsequent coating of silver halide emulsions, and prolonged natural and artificial aging of coated silver halide emulsions.
The use of sulfinic acids and seleninic acids and their alkali cation salts in silver halide emulsions as antifoggants and storage stabilizers was first described by Brunken in U.S. Pat. No. 2,057,764. It appears as though the effect seen was due to the action of sulfinates or seleninates on sulfur-containing impurities in gelatin to diminish the amount of fresh fog and fog after incubation attributed to formation of silver sulfide. Later patents which discuss sulfinates and seleninates relate to their beneficial combination effect with a limited class of disulfides, such as those of Mueller in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,385,762; 2,438,716; 2,440,110. Mueller teaches adding both the disulfide and sulfinate after chemical sensitization to affect fresh antifogging and storage stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,986 discloses bis(p-acylamidophenyl) disulfides as useful antifoggants added before or after any optically sensitizing dyes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,721 discloses the addition of dichalcogenides, including bis(p-acylamidophenyl) disulfides, to a silver halide emulsion before or during chemical sensitization.
There is a continuing need for improved methods of preventing fog in photographic elements without severely impacting sensitivity.

Silver halide photographic emulsions sensitized in the presence of organic disulfides and sulfinates


An electronic attenuator device is provided whose attenuation characteristics are substantially insensitive to variations in component element parameters and ambient temperature changes. Advantageously, an attenuator device made according to the present invention may be constructed at substantially reduced cost without loss of attenuation precision.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to controllable electronic attenuators, and more specifically, to digitally programmable attenuators or amplitude modulators capable of providing predetermined, selectable, discrete magnitudes of electronic signal attenuation in response to control signals. The invention has particular utility in the area of monolithic microwave application circuitry and will be described in connection with such utility, although other utilities are contemplated.
Present day electronic devices often incorporate controllable attenuator devices and/or components for varying the amount of resistance applied to electronic signals passing therethrough. Such attenuators are used in, inter alia, automatic gain control circuits, position locating systems, telephone systems, television systems, and microwave circuit applications.
Electronically controllable solid state attenuators for use at microwave frequencies sometimes employ PIN diodes arranged in a variety of network configurations. Circuitry for providing controlled bias to the diodes is generally used in such devices to cause the diode network to generate the desired magnitude of signal resistance. Such PIN diode-based attenuators are capable of outstanding high-frequency performance, but consume an undesirably large amount of electrical power, and additionally, are not easily integrated into monolithic microwave-application circuitry.
Other devices for providing selectable attenuation incorporate high frequency field effect transistors (FETs), such as, e.g. gallium arsenide metal semiconductor FETs, arranged in a variety of network configurations (which may include other circuit elements, e.g., discrete resistors, among others). These devices operate by applying control signals to the gates of the transistors to adjust or select the overall attenuation level of the device. The characteristic parameters of the device's individual component elements (for example, the depths of the transistors' undepleted channels and the volume distribution uniformity of the resistors, inter alia, which respectively, determine the transconductance and resistance characteristics of the transistors and resistors) determine the overall attenuation characteristics of the attenuator. Thus, in order to function properly, conventional attenuators must be fabricated with particular attention being paid to precise control of the parameters of the component elements (transistors, resistors, and the like). This precision is difficult to achieve, mainly because element parameters tend to vary with ambient temperature, device age, and, most importantly, manufacturing anomalies.
Conventional manufacturing typically produce device anomalies (some of which have been described above) in which the actual parameters of the device's component elements may vary quite widely and unpredictably from desired, nominal parameters. Usually, the actual parameters are distributed closely around the nominally desired (planned) values, but deviations of .+-.30% or more from nominal are not uncommon. This phenomenon can have the undesirable consequence that the series arm resistance (at a given current) through a given bit-branch of the attenuator may be higher than nominally expected while the shunt arm resistance thereof may be lower than nominal. This disadvantageously may cause the actual magnitudes of attenuation of a particular attenuator device to vary unpredictably from those expected. This effect may be exacerbated by ambient temperature change.
Conventional methods for mitigating the aforementioned problems (resulting from manufacturing process anomalies) involve the use of high precision (low tolerance) component elements and/or pre-tested component elements. The latter technique essentially involves careful prior examination of component elements to ascertain the elements' characteristics, and then, to incorporate into the attenuator only those elements having exactly the desired characteristics. Unfortunately, implementation of the aforesaid techniques is quite costly, and therefore, can add greatly to overall fabrication costs of the conventional attenuator device.
Examples of conventional attenuator devices are disclosed in: Hopfer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,415 (1984); Kamikawara, U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,386 (1987); Golio et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,524 (1991); Cooper et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,841; McGrath and Pratt, "An Ultra Broad Band DC-12 GHz 4-Bit Gallium Arsenide Monolithic Digital Attenuator," Gallium Arsenide IC Symposium Digest, (March 1991), pp 247-250; Khabbaz et al, "DC-20 GHz MIMIC Multi-Bit Digital Attenuators With On-Chip TTL Control," 13th Annual Gallium Arsenide IC Symposium Technical Digest 1991, pp. 239-242; Ali et al, "Low-loss, High-power, Broad Band Gallium Arsenide MIMIC Multi-Bit Digital Attenuators With On-Chip TTL Drivers," 13th Annual Gallium Arsenide IC Symposium Technical Digest 1991, pp 243-246; Pengelly, "Using Gallium Arsenide MIMICS as Control Devices," MSN, (April 1989), pp 18-28; and, Gupta et al, "A 0.05-to-14-GHz MMIC 5-Bit Digital Attenuator," Gallium Arsenide IC Symposium (April 1987), pp 231-234.


In one embodiment, a gimbaled reflector antenna is provided that includes: a Dragonian antenna having a sub-reflector and a main reflector; a feed; a third reflector adapted to reflect a beam from the feed to the sub reflector; an azimuth gimbal adapted to rotate the Dragonian antenna with respect to the third reflector; and an elevation gimbal adapted to rotate the flat reflector with respect to the feed.

Gimbaled reflector antennas provide a high gain signal path over a wide field of regard extending beyond the beam width of a fixed antenna of equivalent design. This high gain signal path is provided by mechanically steering the beam to a desired location through appropriate actuation of the associated gimbals. In this fashion, a gimbaled reflector antenna may be used to track moving targets regardless of whether the antenna position itself is also changing. Gimbaled reflector antennas may also perform sequential acquisition of multiple targets at multiple positions or be used to move a fixed set of multiple beams to different locations. Thus, gimbaled reflector antennas have numerous applications in both wireless communication systems and sensor systems.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a conventional gimbaled reflector antenna system 100 having a large field of regard requires an antenna feed 105 and a reflector 110 to remain fixed with respect to each other to minimize gain performance degradation. Because of their fixed spatial relationship, feed 105 and reflector 110 must move in tandem. Thus, to accommodate scanning of reflector antenna system 100 requires either a rotating or a flexible electrical connection 120 to carry signals to feed 105. Typical systems use rotary joints or slip rings or flexible cables with large service loops. To minimize RF front end losses, a low noise amplifier (LNA) 130 should placed as close are possible to feed 105, often requiring it to move with the feed. The addition of LNA(s) 130, associated power supplies, and thermal control features introduce extra gimbaled mass that complicates the electrical and mechanical design of system 100.
To eliminate the complications associated with a fixed feed/reflector design, one current approach is to use what is called a "beam waveguide" that eliminates "hard" electrical connections (connection made with cables, waveguide, or other physical media such as flexible electrical connection 120) through the gimbals of a reflector system. A beam waveguide is a multiple reflector system that produces an image of the feed that is displaced from where the feed is physically located. This feed image orientation can be changed by rotation of one or more of the beam waveguide reflectors. This image of the feed is then used to feed a focused reflector system, producing the high gain spot pattern. Conventional beam waveguide systems require four or five reflectors in addition to two reflectors for the final focused main reflector. This large number of reflectors requires complicated design, assembly, and alignment procedures. For electrically small antenna systems, this may be impractical.
Another approach to providing large field of regard is to use a phased array antenna. Phased array antennas require small element spacing for large scan angles, resulting in a large number of elements for a given gain requirement. In addition, it difficult to produce an array that looks over a spherical field of regard or multiple arrays. Moreover, the number of active electronic devices such as amplifiers and phase shifters typically make the cost prohibitive.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved gimbaled reflector antenna systems that provide a large field of regard.


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, including (a) forming an interlayer insulating film over a semiconductor substrate; (b) forming a third hard mask film over the interlayer insulating film; (c) forming a second hard mask film over the third hard mask film; (d) forming a first hard mask film over the second hard mask film; (e) after the step (d), forming a first opening in the first hard mask film and a second opening in the second hard mask film by etching the first and second hard mask films, respectively; (f) after the step (e), etching the first hard mask film so as to expand the first opening; and (g) after the step (f), etching the third hard mask film and a part of the interlayer insulating film in the second opening by using the second hard mask film as a mask.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and relates to, for example, a technique applicable to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device including an etching process using a hard mask.
2. Related Art
In methods of manufacturing a semiconductor device, an interconnect layer may be formed by, for example, etching using a hard mask. In this manner, techniques including a process of forming an interconnect layer by etching using a hard mask include, for example, techniques disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-100871, Pamphlet of International Publication No. WO2007/043634, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-43419.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-100871 relates to an interconnect formation method using a double hard mask in which a first hard mask layer and a second hard mask layer are laminated in order. This technique discloses that the second hard mask includes a material selected from a group consisting of aluminized titanium, aluminum titanium nitride, titanium nitride, aluminum nitride, aluminized tantalum and aluminum tantalum nitride.
Pamphlet of International Publication No. WO2007/043634 relates to a method of manufacturing a multilayer interconnect in which a first insulating film for a mask, a metal or metal compound, and a second insulating film for a mask are formed in order on an insulating film to be etched. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-43419 relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using a multilayer hard mask layer constituted by a first insulating hard mask layer, a second insulating hard mask layer, and a third insulating hard mask layer.
In the formation of an interconnect layer having a dual damascene structure, an insulating interlayer constituted by a low dielectric constant film may be etched using a hard mask. However, the exposure of the low dielectric constant film when a photoresist at the time of patterning the hard mask is removed by an ashing process may cause a concern of the low dielectric constant film being damaged. In this case, a problem such as an increase in the dielectric constant of the low dielectric constant film occurs.
In order to suppress this, a method of using a hard mask constituted by a multilayer mask film has been examined. However, in such a hard mask, it has been difficult to sufficiently secure etching selectivity between mask films adjacent to each other. In this case, when a trench pattern or a via pattern is formed, there is a concern that defective patterning may occur. In this case, a reduction in the reliability of an interconnect being formed is caused.
For this reason, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device which is capable of realizing high interconnect reliability while suppressing damage due to an ashing process has been required.
Other problems and novel features will be made clearer from the description and the accompanying drawings of the present specification.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device


An inflatable device that includes at least one display panel for displaying an image by a multimedia device positioned in and/or connected to the inflatable device.

Outdoor sponsored events and activities have gained in popularity over the last several years. During sponsored events and activities such as carnivals, fairs, sporting events, trade shows or the like, various areas are partitioned off to define the area for a particular activity or event. Sporting events sponsored by local and/or national advertisers are common year-round. These sponsored activities include basketball, volleyball, tennis, hockey, bike racing, skating courses, obstacle courses, etc. Many of these sponsored activities are one-day or two-day events and are commonly situated in a park, a parking lot, a city street, stadium, etc. At such events, the event organizer is typically required to assemble temporary facilities for the particular sponsored event or events. Typically, metal or wooden fences are temporarily assembled to partition off various areas for the events. Structures for concession stands, amusement activities, information booths, retail stands, etc. also have to be temporarily assembly for the event. Collapsible billboards, movie screens, television stands and fences are also temporarily assembled to support advertising and promotional displays during such events. Such structures are typically wooden and/or metal structures. It is not uncommon for an event organizer to spend several days preparing a site for a single day event. Events which require a large structure to be assembled require even more time and expense to set up. The assembly and disassembly of such structures require a substantial amount of time. Although these outdoor sponsored events have become very popular with the public, the complexity and cost of setting up and sponsoring such events has caused many sponsors to limit the number of sponsored events and/or seek other, less expensive and complex activities to sponsor and/or reduce the complexity or such events.
Organized sports venues such as, but not limited to, college sports, professional sports, the Olympics, etc. also have promotional displays for the fans prior to, during and after the event. For instance, many venues have pre-game festivities. These pre-game festivities may merely include a few displays and/or booths, or can be a complex as a carnival or an Olympic village. During a sporting event, various displays and booths may be setup to promote the sponsors, promote the sporting event, sell merchandise, etc. Many sporting events have half-time shows which typically include one or more bands. These events may also include stages and other structures to enhance visual effect at such shows. Post game festivities may merely include a few displays and/or booths, or be a more complex event. The setup of the displays, booths and other structures at such events takes time and can be costly to store and/or transport such structures. During half-time events for large sport events (e.g., Super Bowl, college foot bowl games, World Cup soccer games, etc.) and/or sport ceremonies (e.g., Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, international sport events, etc.), highly sophisticated shows can occur that involve many structures, display boards, etc. Due to the time constraints for such half-time events and/or shows, many of the structures have to be pre-made and stored in a location close to the half-time events and/or shows. Many facilities cannot store large numbers of structures, thus the size and sophistication of such half-time events and shows are limited.
Inflatable structures, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,586; 5,555,679; D413,169 and D365,400, have been successfully used at various sporting events. These inflatable structures are formed into booths to sell food and merchandise; booths to house skill games; gaming structures such as obstacle courses, hockey rinks, volleyball courts, basketball courts, etc.; partition structures; and/or advertising displays. Due to the ability of these inflatable structures to take on both simple and complex shapes, the ease to which such structures can be transported, the swiftness in which such structures can be erected and taken down, the durability of such structures, and the relative low cost of transporting and maintaining such structures, inflatable structures have gained increasing popularity at such events.
Sponsors of such events have continuously strived to attract the attention of consumers at such events. As such, the sponsors have requested larger and/or more complex designs and structures so as to stand out at such events. Multimedia has also been used to attract the attention of consumers. Although inflatable structures have been able to meet much of the demand for size and complexity, the merger of multimedia and inflatable structures has yet to emerge.
In view of the high cost and complexity of setting up temporary facilities for outdoor sponsored events and to attract consumers to such events, there continues to be a need for a device which can be quickly and cost effectively assembled, a device which is versatile enough to be used in a variety of outdoor events, and a device which can attract the attention of consumers at such events.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The system has hollow parallelepiped modular components which are each composed of two interlocking half-shells. Raised portions provided on the sides of the modular components engage seats formed in respective locking and profiled elements for interconnecting the modular components. A profiled element is provided for covering the upper and lower edges of the mutually interlocked modular components. The profiled element has a C-shaped inner core, provided with grooves defining undercut ridges for snap-together engagement with the raised portions of adjacent modular components, and a U-shaped profiled element for housing the C-shaped inner core. L-shaped elements, provided for fixing the assembled system, each have one wing fixable within an interspace defined within the C-shaped inner core and another wing fixable to a wall, floor or ceiling.

The present invention relates to a system of modular structural elements for building walls, particularly adapted for interiors.
In the technical field of building construction, engineers, architects and interior designers undertaking new-construction, renovation projects, or interior design work, are faced with the problem of optimizing the sub-division of building interiors, according to numerous factors including the type of building, the intended use of the building, and the aesthetic effect that one may desire to create when designing the building interior.
When building offices, for example, it is frequently desired to have large internal rooms which are subsequently sub-divided or partitioned according to the specific requirements of the occupants. In other commercial buildings such as showrooms, which typically have one or more large, undivided internal spaces, it may be subsequently desired to erect one or more interior walls to delimit one or more office spaces or meeting rooms. Similar problems are faced when renovating buildings to be used for a purpose other than that for which they were originally designed, and also when restoring old buildings that have planning restrictions or preservation orders placed on them, whereby the structure of the building can only be modified to a very limited extent.
In such cases, in homes and in workplaces, internal walls are erected to sub-divide the interior building space. However, it is frequently desired to erect internal walls which can be easily modified, to allow for any possible future changes in the use and/or aesthetic requirements of the building interior.
Modular internal walls have been developed which comprise a plurality of mutually interconnectable blocks. Known modular blocks for erecting internal walls typically comprise parallelepiped blocks, having a first vertical edge provided with a female connection groove, and an opposite and parallel vertical edge provided with a male connection element for connection to the female connection groove of an adjacent block. The upper and lower horizontal edges of the adjacent modular blocks have mutually facing connectors for mutually coupling the blocks horizontally.
However, such known modular blocks for building internal walls have some serious drawbacks, not least of which is the fact that they are often difficult to erect and require skilled personnel and special tools, equipment and cements or adhesives for installation. Furthermore, known modular blocks for building internal walls cannot be readily utilized to create special optical and decorative effects in the interior spaces of the building. Moreover only a limited number of geometrical configurations can be adopted when building internal walls with the known modular blocks, which cannot always be readily used, for instance, to erect walls having a curved configuration.

System of structural elements, particularly for building internal walls


A pull-out faucet is provided. The faucet includes a spout having an outlet end, a spray head having an engaging end, and a sleeve disposed between the outlet end of the spout and the engaging end of the spray head and configured to detachably couple the spray head to the spout. The sleeve comprises a substantially rigid first portion and a substantially compliant second portion.

The present application relates generally to the field of faucets. More specifically, the present application relates to faucets having a detachable spray head and the coupling mechanism used to detachably couple between a spray head to a faucet, such as the spout of the faucet.
Faucets having a detachable spray head generally include a coupling between the spray head and a spout of the faucet to provide for the detachable coupling of the spray head and to allow an increased range of the spray head. Such couplings are often formed of several components, which may increase the cost (e.g., part, labor, etc.) and require mechanical assistance to install or assemble the coupling to the faucet. Additionally, such couplings have a tendency for the several components to become misaligned, such as during installation. Such misalignment may deform the mating parts creating an interference with the spray assembly, which can lead to an undesirable increase in the effort (or force) that is required to decouple the spray assembly from the faucet. Additionally, such couplings have a larger variation in tolerances, which can lead to an undesirably loose coupling between the spray assembly and the spout causing the spray assembly to droop or wobble from the spout. Some configurations of faucets that include such couplings are viewed as bulky and visually unappealing, while others include locking devices, such as ones that require the user to twist or rotate the spray assembly to lock into position. Also, when such locking devices break or fail, the spray assembly is unable to be coupled to the faucet.
The faucets disclosed herein are advantageously configured with a coupling that allows for detachable coupling of the spray head from the faucet while addressing one or more of the issues discussed above.


Apparatus and methods for dilating a vessel or organ, especially a larger diameter vessel or organ, are provided using a catheter having a balloon element is disposed within a sheath having an expandable but non-compliant mesh region covering the balloon element. The sheath is selected from among a plurality of sheaths each having a mesh member that is expandable to a different predetermined expanded diameter, the mesh region preventing the balloon member from developing bulges during inflation and constraining the edges of the balloon from perforating the vessel in the event of perforation. The sheath, which extends to a proximal end of the catheter, is also employed to reduce the diameter of the balloon member following the dilatation procedure, thereby preventing the balloon from bunching up in the vessel or organ.

Coronary artery disease is a leading cause of death in the United States today, and involves the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries, resulting in ischemia of the heart. The disease, which is manifested as chest pain or angina, afflicts several million people in the United States.
A surgical method that has been used to treat this disease for more than thirty years is coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), in which the patient's chest is opened and an obstructed artery replaced with a native artery harvested elsewhere or a synthetic graft. Such surgery creates significant trauma to the patient, requires long recuperation times, and poses serious risks of mortality. In addition, experience has shown that the bypass vessel or graft becomes obstructed with time, requiring further surgery.
More recently, minimally-invasive catheter-based therapies have been developed, such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). In PTCA, a mechanical dilatation device, generally a balloon catheter, is disposed across an obstruction in the patient's artery and then dilated to compress the plaque lining the artery to restore patency to the vessel. More recently, endoluminal prostheses, commonly called "stents," are deployed in the artery following the angioplasty procedure to retain the patency of the vessel.
Balloon dilatation devices generally employ either minimally-compliant balloons, which experience a relatively small increase in diameter when the balloon is expanded, or compliant balloons, which experience a relatively large increase in diameter in response to an increase in pressure, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,497 to Sogard et al. Non-compliant balloons are generally favored for angioplasty because they may be reliably expanded to a known size, whereas compliant balloons permit treatment over a larger range of diameters. In order to provide a mixture of the desirable characteristics of each of these types of balloons, dilatation devices have been designed, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,497, that include layers of both compliant and non-compliant material.
Other balloon dilatation devices have employed elastomer impregnated braided material or nets to constrain the inflated size of the device, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,252 to Brooks et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,236 to Ochiai et al. Still other devices, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,539 to Delsanti and U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,261 to Termin et al. include members for supporting a vessel following angioplasty. U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,539 describes a separately movable plaited net disposed over a balloon catheter. The plaited net is expanded against the interior of the vessel by the balloon during angioplasty, and temporarily remains in place after balloon deflation to prevent detachment of material from the vessel wall.
One disadvantage encountered in PTCA has been the inability to dilate certain types of stenosis without exceeding the limitations imposed on the balloon element by materials considerations. For example, most angioplasty catheters constructed from polyethylterephalate (PET) or polyethylene (both non-compliant materials), generally may not be pressurized above 22 atmospheres without risk of rupture. Rupture of the balloon element often may have fatal consequences, because it may cause dissection of the vessel and require an emergency thoracotomy to repair the dissected vessel.
Accordingly, if a stenosis cannot be disrupted using dilatation element pressures within the useful range of the dilatation element material, then the constriction must be addressed by other means, such as conventional bypass or grafting procedures.
A further drawback to previously known balloon dilatation devices is the relative small range of expanded diameters that such devices can achieve. For example, high pressure balloon catheters commercially available today generally have expanded diameters no exceeding 12 mm. Accordingly, such devices cannot generally be used in larger diameter vessels, such as the pulmonary artery, aorta, or hollow-body organs, because at larger diameters the balloons tend to bulge locally and lose their strength, facilitating rupture.
In view of the shortcomings of previously known dilatation devices, it would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for dilating a vessel that permit dilatation of certain hardened stenoses using higher pressures than heretofore attainable.
It also would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for dilating vessels using balloon elements that allow the use of higher pressures than available in previously known devices, and that reduce the risk of vessel dissection resulting from balloon rupture.
It further would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods of dilating large diameter vessels having diameters from 15 to 35 mm, such as the aorta and pulmonary artery, but which apparatus are less prone to localized bulging, thereby reducing the risk of rupture.

Apparatus and methods for dilating vessels and hollow-body organs


A method for forming a floating heater element includes processing a silicon substrate to form a heater stack having the heater element on the substrate with peripheral edge portions, processing the heater stack by depositing and patterning a layer of photoresist or hard mask thereon to substantially mask the heater stack and form a trench through the photoresist or hard mask exposing a surface area of the substrate extending along the peripheral edge portions of the heater element, and processing the masked heater stack and exposed surface area of the substrate by sequentially removing the photoresist and portions of the substrate at the exposed surface area and that underlie the heater element so as to create a well in the substrate undercutting the heater element and open along the peripheral edge portions thereof, the well being capable of filling with a fluid so as to produce the floating heater element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to micro-fluid ejection devices and, more particularly, to a heater stack in a micro-fluid ejection device and a method for forming a floating electrical heater element in the heater stack.
2. Description of the Related Art
Micro-fluid ejection devices have had many uses for a number of years. A common use is in a thermal inkjet printhead in the form of a heater chip. In addition to the heater chip, the inkjet printhead basically includes a source of supply of ink, a nozzle plate attached to or integrated with the heater chip, and an input/output connector, such as a tape automated bond circuit, for electrically connecting the heater chip to a printer during use. The heater chip is made up of a plurality of resistive heater elements, each being part of a heater stack. The term "heater stack" generally refers to the structure associated with the thickness of the heater chip that includes first, or heater forming, strata made up of resistive and conductive materials in the form of layers or films on a substrate of silicon or the like and second, or protective, strata made up of passivation and cavitation materials in the form of layers or films on the first strata, all fabricated by well-known processes of deposition, patterning and etching upon the substrate of silicon. The heater stack also has one or more fluid vias or slots that are cut or etched through the thickness of the silicon substrate and the first and second strata, using these well-known processes, serve to fluidly connect the supply of ink to the heater stacks. A heater stack having this general construction is disclosed as prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,343, which patent is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The disclosure of this patent is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Despite their seeming simplicity, construction of heater stacks requires consideration of many interrelated factors for proper functioning. The current trend for inkjet printing technology (and micro-fluid ejection devices generally) is toward ultra-low energy ejector designs that will provide lower jetting energy, greater ejection frequency, and in the case of printing, higher print speeds. However, a minimum quantity of thermal energy must be present on an external surface of the heater stack, above an electrical resistive heater element therein, in order to vaporize the ink inside an ink chamber between the heater stack external surface and a nozzle in the nozzle plate so that the ink will vaporize and escape or jet through the nozzle in a well-known manner. With current designs, the overall heating energy or "jetting energy" produced by the heater element must pass through the plurality of layers of the first and second strata that form the heater stack before the requisite energy for fluid ejection reaches the external surface of the heater stack. Hence, the input energy to an inkjet heater stack is consumed in several ways. A portion of this energy is transferred to the ink and used beneficially for bubble formation. However, a large percentage of the energy is dissipated in the materials over and under the heater element. Therefore, by minimizing this waste heat into the heater underlayers and/or overcoats, the total required input energy to the heater element can be reduced while still transferring the same amount of energy to the ink.
The realization of ultimate inkjet print quality is influenced by several factors, of which one important driving force is the reduction of droplet size and spacing to the minimum detectable limit of the human eye. However, with current inks, flow features and nozzle materials, ejector and circuit designs, and current thin film materials in heater stacks, printheads are thermally limited due to the extreme heat generated on heater elements. In order to maintain competitive print speeds, the temperature of the heater elements would rapidly rise to >>100° C., eliminating drop-on-demand capability. Conversely, reducing the fire frequency for thermal management purposes would require such a dramatic decrease that the print speed would be extremely slow. Hence, the solution to this dilemma would seem to be to reduce the energy required per heater element fire.
One current approach referred to as a Memjet chip involves a complex process to form a double-sided heater element, i.e. bubbles form on the top and bottom of a heater element on a cantilevered or suspended beam. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,439. While this double-sided heater element does reduce the required energy per fire due to the removal of the thermal mass below the heater element, this approach involves a major departure from the use of conventional inkjet chip fabrication processes and techniques.
Thus, there is a need for an innovation that will assist in achieving an ultra-low energy ejector design while still employing the processes and techniques used in more traditional or conventional inkjet chip fabrication.

Heater stack in a micro-fluid ejection device and method for forming floating electrical heater element in the heater stack


A system for and method of enhancing video advertising with interactive content in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include receiving non-interactive video advertisement data and advertisement order data associated with the non-interactive video advertisement data, generating interactive content data associated with the non-interactive video advertisement data, embedding, in the non-interactive video advertisement data, the interactive content data, and transmitting, to an ad server component of an ad system, the non-interactive video advertisement data and the embedded interactive content data for transmission to one or more end user devices.

In general, television distributors and television broadcasters may use a video advertising management system to manage video advertising spots (e.g., video advertisement data interspersed in regular television programming). These video advertising spots may be traditional non-interactive video advertisements. Such basic video advertisements, however, may not enhance an end user's viewing experience.

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for enhancing video advertising with interactive content


An apparatus and method for monitoring operation and recording status of at least one battery component of an uninterruptable power supply is provided. Physical parameters of a battery are sensed and stored upon deviation from preselected limits. In addition, the present value of the physical parameters are displayed. Back-up power is supplied upon the interruption of utility power. Furthermore, an operator is signaled with an alarm when utility power is interrupted or there is deviation from preselected battery operation limits.

Summary of the Invention
In one of its aspects, this invention provides an apparatus for monitoring operation and status of an uninterruptible power supply system defined by one or more lead-acid batteries, where the apparatus includes means for visibly displaying alphanumeric characters indicative of battery operating parameters, means operative responsively to tactilely applied force for actuating and changing the battery parameters for which the display means provides the indicative alphanumeric characters, means for storing the measured and monitored operating parameters, battery means for supplying back-up power to the apparatus in the event of a power interruption and alarm means for signaling an operator upon one or more of the monitored parameters exceeding a predetermined limit.
In another of its aspects, this invention provides a method for monitoring operation and status of an uninterruptible power supply system defined by one or more lead-acid batteries, where the method includes visibly displaying alphanumeric characters indicative of battery operating parameters, displaying those characters responsively to tactilely applied force, changing those display parameters responsively to such tactilely applied force, measuring battery operating parameters indicative of battery performance, storing the measured operating parameters and signaling an operator when one or more of the measured parameters exceeds one or more predetermined limits.
Preferably the storing function is performed when the measured operating parameter(s) meets or exceeds predetermined criteria.
Preferably the method is performed by apparatus responsively to instructions executed by a microprocessor.

Battery charge monitoring apparatus and method


A laundry treating machine includes a basement portion (14) having an upper side (17) with seats (18A-18F) formed thereon for receiving machine operational devices (5), and a lower side (16), opposite to the upper side (17). The lower side (16) forms an air path for air to be admitted into or exhausted from the machine.

Laundry treating machines capable of carrying out a drying process on laundry generally comprise a casing that houses a laundry container, like a rotating drum, where laundry to be treated is received, a basement portion having seats for receiving machine operational devices, and an air circuit for carrying out drying operation by circulating hot air through the laundry container. Air circulating means and heating means are provided in the air circuit for circulating and heating drying air, respectively. In condenser type dryers, condensing means are further provided in the air circuit for removing moisture from drying air passing through articles to be treated thereby allowing said air to be recirculated cyclically within the air circuit. Moisture removed from articles is either collected in a tank periodically emptied by a user or it is directly exhausted by a pipe connected to a waste water net.
Washing-drying appliances, i.e. appliances provided for performing articles washing and drying operations in a single machine are also known and generally comprise a water circuit including pumping means for allowing washing water to be supplied to a laundry treating chamber and a drying arrangement as described before for drying laundry.
In the following description the invention will be disclosed with particular reference to a machine suitable for carrying out a drying operation on laundry such as a laundry drying machine or a washing-drying machine. However, in general, principles of the invention may be applied to a laundry treating appliance, for example in cases when an air flow is needed to cool machine operating devices or part thereof.
In a known condenser type laundry dryer, means for condensing moisture removed by articles are configured in many different ways. Typical examples comprise an air-air heat exchanger or an evaporator of a heat pump circuit incorporated within the dryer. Such condensing means or components thereof require cooling in order to constantly provide a cold surface where wet drying air can be condensed or to remove heat produced by said components, like a compressor in a heat pump circuit. Normally, air taken from dryer machine surroundings is used as cooling means of a condenser or components thereof. For this reason a plurality of conduits are provided on the lower portion of the laundry treating machine and, generally, a basement portion is appropriately designed to form at least a portion of cooling conduits.
In prior art laundry drying machines such cooling conduits are generally formed on the upper side of machine basement, i.e. on the basement side facing the laundry container. However such construction is particularly disadvantageous because it complicates the arrangement of further machine operating devices like air pumping means, motor means and so on. A further drawback of such prior art laundry drying machines exists in that the position of air conduits on the basement upper side causes the air ports on machine casing walls to be either placed at a high position relative to the machine resting surface or to be placed on lower region of casing lateral wall by complicatedly connecting them with air conduits. This arrangement leads to an efficiency reduction and therefore an increase in power losses.
Another drawback of prior art laundry drying machines as described above is high noise produced by cooling air circulating through conduits having complex and tortuous paths.

Laundry treating machine with basement portion providing airflow paths

Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.V.


Remote media access is facilitated. According to an example embodiment, remote-user media access is facilitated using media provided by a subscriber media source, over a packet-based network. This access is facilitated in an environment involving subscriber users that provide media for transfer over a packet-based network to a remote device. A host server receives a request for access to media content provided by a subscriber. The request is authorized as a function of authorization criteria. In response to the request being authorized, a media source associated with the subscriber is controlled to provide requested media for access at a remote device. A media player is displayed at the remote device, and the media is provided for access via the media player.

Data communications over a variety of networks, such as Internet protocol (IP) networks, mobile telephone networks and others have increased at an astonishing rate over recent years. The affordability and availability of computers, telephones, wireless devices and other network access appliances has made their use prevalent in a variety of applications. Further, as the demand for network access devices has increased, the diversity in types of network access appliances has also increased, with different devices often implementing different protocols and performance-based operational characteristics.
As access to the Internet and other communications networks becomes easier, convenient and more readily available, these networks are increasingly used for transferring data such as images, audio, email, video and text. In many applications, such data is desirably transferred or shared from a user's computer (or other network access appliance) on a selective basis for remote access by the user or to share with other users. For example, data for computer software, music, video, news services, games and other applications is often desirably shared and/or accessed remotely via the Internet and, for many applications, via wireless networks such as those implemented for mobile telephones, computers and other hand-held devices. Today, the number of network subscribers, data providers, and requests by those subscribers for data transfer, streaming data and other content are growing exponentially. In many such applications, access to data or other content by users owning or subscribing to the data is desirably flexible and controllable by such users. However, the limitations of current systems restrict the ability to meet demands for flexible, controllable access to media content or other data in a reliable, secure, efficient and affordable manner.
Content (e.g., audio, images or video) has evolved in application and is readily stored electronically. For example, the storage of music in rewritable electronic media has become a popular method in which to maintain and access music collections. Another example involves video applications, where digital recording and storage of television and personal video collections has become popular, as has the streaming (via the Internet) of audio and video. Photos are often stored and accessed electronically, instead of relying upon conventional printed photos and physical photo albums.
As the electronic storage of content and other data grows in popularity, access to the data, as well as convenient manners in which to store the data, have become increasingly important. For example, sales of music in downloadable audio formats are becoming increasingly popular. Digital audio players based in the home or office or mobile players that can be used in autos, laptop computers, personal listening devices and others are used for playback of this downloaded music. In order to play the music, audio data is loaded onto mobile players or local computers and used to locally play the music. Typically, the amount of storage space required for storing a large volume of audio data exceeds the memory capacity of digital audio players, computers or other appliances capable of playing music. In this regard, the management and use of audio, as well as other data such as image data and video data, has become increasingly burdensome in view of the demand for and use of this data.
Another challenge to data transfer and management stems from the existence of a myriad of different types of data, as well as different types of data access appliances. For example, a variety of different data types are implemented for storing audio files. Often, these data types are associated with a particular type of digital audio device that is being used for playback. In addition, with each data type, there are often different manners in which the data is stored, typically involving different levels of quality (e.g., with different playback bitrates). In this regard, a digital audio player must not only have access to data but also have access to data in a particular format.
Still another challenge to network data transfer involves the management of media rights associated with digital rights management (DRM). As discussed above, digital media such as audio or video can be purchased via electronic delivery. In order to inhibit and/or prevent copying, distribution or other unauthorized use of data, security precautions are taken. In some applications, these security precautions require specific approaches to enable playback, which can further exacerbate difficulties associated with data transfer and subsequent use (e.g., playback).
Effectively and efficiently managing shared media transfer via communication networks has been challenging in the face of the advancement of technologies and trade channels that use or could use network-based data transfer.


An LED vehicular lamp with reflector can include a plurality of LED modules each having respective appropriate light distributions. The modules can be attached to a housing to form a light distribution characteristic though combination of the light emitted from the LED modules. At least part of the LED modules can include an illumination axis that is substantially at a right angle to the optical axis of the lamp such that light reflected at a reflector provided in the housing travels in the illumination direction of the LED light source vehicular lamp. The LED modules can also include a rear end that protrudes from an outer surface of the housing to improve the heat radiation efficiency, which enables the use of LED chips that can use higher permissible current values.

1. Technical Field
The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a structure of a vehicular lamp having a light source including a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs).
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicular lamp 90 of the related/conventional art may include a light source 91 and a flat mirror 92 located in a direction that is forward and in the illumination direction of the light source 91, as shown in FIG. 3. The light source 91 is composed of a halogen bulb 91a and a paraboloid of revolution 91b to generate a paralleled light. The light source 91 is attached in a housing 93 to emit light upward.
In the housing 93, the flat mirror 92 is arranged basically at an angle of 45° with respect to the light from the light source 91 such that it can reflect the light from the light source 91 into a horizontal direction. The reflected light is then externally projected as a horizontal light through a lens 96 arranged in a corresponding side 95 of the housing 93.
In the case of a truck or the like, when an increase in load on a carrier lifts or angles the front of the vehicle upward as a whole, the light from the vehicular lamp 90 also is caused to be directed upward, and possibly dazzles oncoming cars. Accordingly, for example, the amount of gravity-caused distortion of suspension springs is used to measure the pitch angle of the body. In this case, actuators 97 may be employed to adjust the angle of elevation of the flat mirror 92 so as to correct the amount of distortion to always keep the illumination direction horizontal (See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,085, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference).
In recent years, there is an increasing trend towards the utilization of LEDs in the light source of vehicular lamps. Compared to an incandescent bulb and a halogen bulb, an LED has a smaller amount of light per element. This point requires the use of more LEDs, and results in a problem associated with heat radiation in the housing and a problem associated with the development of an attaching method that achieves a correct illumination direction.


A reclining chair having a back rest member which may be reclined. In one embodiment the reclining chair has means to allow it to be tilted. A pivotable joint is provided along the upper support members of the chair which allow such members to be pivotably bent proximate their midsection thereby allowing a greater degree of tilt of the seat member situate thereon than would otherwise be the case if there was no pivotable joint and the upper support members and the seat member thereon were tilted by simply lowering one end thereof. In another aspect, a lower leg support member is provided which rotatably extends upon the back rest of the chair being reclined, so as to support the calves of a user of the chair in a substantially horizontal position when the chair back is likewise reclined to a substantially horizontal position.

As society's population ages, and due to the significant advances in extending the average lifespan, there is a growing population of elderly people. The elderly are, on average, more likely to spend the daytime hours sitting, often for extended periods of time.
Furthermore, a significant portion of the aging elderly are ultimately institutionalized. Many residents of health care institutions, for a variety of health reasons, spend a large portion of their waking hours sitting.
Because of the increasing numbers of people who will engage in long-term and uninterrupted sitting activity, there is a need to provide chairs which comfortably accommodate these people. People who sit for long and uninterrupted periods of time are more comfortable if they are able to assume different seating positions during that period.
To accommodate long-term and uninterrupted seating by individuals, it is preferable to provide a chair whose back support may be reclined to substantially a horizontal position relative to the chair seat, allowing the user to effectively lie down without having to move from the chair. This is especially useful in the institutional health care environment in order to assist in providing proper nursing care without having to constantly physically move a patient from a chair to a bed and back again. In this respect, it is important to shift a resident's weight for comfort, to prevent skin breakdown from being seated in one position too long, and for certain specific medical treatments.
Further, chair seats may be tilted by providing a pivotable connection between the chair seat and a stationary chair frame. Chair seats which can be tilted increase user comfort and allow for changes in position to assist blood circulation when sitting for long periods, may assist in preventing injuries caused by poor posture.
Chairs can be designed to promote a significant amount of seat tilt and back recline by using hydraulically or electrically-powered mechanisms to cause movement of the chair frame members and, thereby, facilitating seat tilt and back recline. However, such chairs are prohibitively expensive, and this is a real concern to hospitals and institutions in an era of budgeting restraint.
Chairs that provide a significant amount of seat tilt by manual actuation are, in general, restricted in the amount of chair back recline that they can offer. This is due to physical limitations of current chair designs. In particular, when the chair set is in a titled position, movement of the back of the chair or other chair components will be restricted by either of:
any structure in the back of the chair; PA1 the mechanisms which permit back recliner seat tilt; or; PA1 the floor. PA1 a pair of substantially identical, parallel frame members, positioned in mutually-spaced apart relation with each other, each comprising an upper support member, a front member, a lower member, and a rear member; PA1 the front member fixedly coupled at a lower end thereof to the lower member; PA1 the upper support member pivotally coupled at one end thereof to an upper end of the front member; PA1 the rear member coupled at one end thereof to the upper support member and at an opposite end thereof pivotally coupled to the lower member; PA1 a back rest member disposed intermediate the frame members, having a point of pivotable coupling to corresponding upper support members of each of the frame members to allow the back rest member to be pivotally reclined from a substantially vertical position to an inclined position; PA1 a seat member disposed intermediate the upper support members, positioned forwardly of the back rest member; PA1 a pivotable joint within the upper support member to allow bending of the upper support member; and PA1 adjustable support means, adapted to cause the upper support member to resist a downward weight of a person sitting on the seat member. PA1 a lower leg support member disposed forwardly of the front member; PA1 a lower link arm member, pivotably coupled at one end to said back rest member at a position thereon downwardly disposed from said point of pivotable coupling to aid upper support members and pivotably coupled at another end to said lower leg support member; and PA1 an upper link arm member, pivotably coupled at one end to said back rest member at a position thereon intermediate said point of pivotable coupling of said back rest member to said upper support members and said point of pivotable coupling of said back rest member to said lower link arm member, and pivotably coupled at another end to said lower leg support member at a position thereon spaced apart from said point of pivotable coupling to said lower link member.
Accordingly, there exists a real need in the art for a manually operated reclinable chair which is manually adjustably positionable, capable of being fully reclined to substantially a horizontal position, and which can also achieve an appreciable degree of seat tilt.
It is also desirable for chairs having reclinable back feature to provide a means for supporting the lower legs and calves of a user of the chair in the horizontal position when the chair back rest is reclined and the user is lying with his/her back and substantially horizontal.


There is provided a leadframe assembly for encapsulation in a polymer resin which prevents post-assembly fracture or swelling of the resin. The leadframe is coated with an adhesion enhancing layer that increases the shear stress required for delamination to in excess of about 3.4 MPa. In combination with this adhesion enhancing layer is a compliant die attach adhesive bonding an integrated circuit device to a central die attach paddle. This compliant die attach adhesive has a compliancy factor, E.multidot.a of less than 1.5 MPa/.degree.C. and a thickness of from about 0.01 mm to about 0.08 mm.

1. Field of the Invention
This patent application relates to molded plastic packages for encapsulating semiconductor devices. More particularly, leadframe treatments that improve adhesion of the leadframe to a plastic molding resin are combined with specific die attach materials. The resultant packages are resistant to post-assembly fracture, such as "pop corning".
2. Background
Electronic packages to encase one or more semiconductor devices frequently have a molded polymer resin body partially encapsulating a conductive metal leadframe. The inner lead portions of the leadframe define an aperture. Frequently, a die attach paddle is disposed in this aperture. A semiconductor device is bonded to the die attach paddle and electrically interconnected to the inner lead portions by small diameter, typically on the order of 0.025 millimeter (0.001 inch), bond wires. The inner lead portions of the leadframe, the die attach paddle, the wire bonds and the semiconductor device are then encapsulated in the polymer molding resin.
One problem with the molded plastic package is that subsequent to molding, internal delamination, the separation of package components from the molding resin, frequently occurs. In severe cases, a crack develops, creating an ingress site for contaminants. Also, if moisture enters along a delamination, the package base can swell making electrical interconnection to a printed circuit board difficult or impossible.
The package has two locations particularly prone to delamination, the interface of the leadframe and the molding resin and the die attach interface between the semiconductor device and the die attach paddle.
Delamination at the interface of the leadframe and the molding resin is primarily due to inadequate adhesion between the leadframe and the molding resin. Delamination at the die attach interface is primarily due to stresses generated by coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between the semiconductor device and the leadframe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,449, to Crane et al. discloses coating copper alloy components with various metallic materials to improve adhesion to a polymer adhesive. The adhesion of a copper alloy leadframe to a polymer molding resin is improved by coating the leadframe with a mixture of chromium and zinc as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,073 to Parthasarathi et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,196 to Mahulikar et al. discloses coating a heat spreader with an adhesion enhancing material. The Crane et al., the Parthasarathi et al. and Mahulikar et al. patents are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
Polymer coatings also improve the adhesion of a leadframe to a molding resin as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,858 to Mahulikar et al. The adhesion of a die attach paddle to a molding resin is improved by forming depressions in the die attach paddle to mechanically lock the paddle to the molding resin as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,124 to Mori et al.
Improving the adhesion between the leadframe and the molding resin reduces delamination. However, molded plastic packages still fail due to vulnerability at the die attach interface. Additionally, treatments which effectively improve adhesion of the leadframe to the molding resin frequently adversely affect the strength of the bond between bond wires and the inner lead portions of the leadframe.
There exists, therefore, a need for a semiconductor package which resists delamination and cracking and is characterized by high strength wire bonds.

Semiconductor package with molded plastic body

Advanced Technology Interconnect Incorporated