This disclosure is directed to an unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) that transitions in-flight between vertical flight configuration and horizontal flight configuration by changing an orientation of the UAV by approximately ninety degrees. The UAV may include propulsion units that are coupled to a wing. The wing may include wing segments rotatably coupled together by pivots that rotate to position the propulsion units around a center of mass of the UAV when the fuselage is oriented perpendicular with the horizon. In this vertical flight configuration, the UAV may perform vertical flight or hover. During the vertical flight, the UAV may cause the wing to extend outward via the pivots such that the wing segments become positioned substantially parallel to one another and the wing resembles a conventional fixed wing. With the wing extended, the UAV assumes a horizontal flight configuration that provides upward lift generated from the wing.

Automated aerial vehicles, sometimes referred to as drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have become commonly used by hobbyists, some commercial entities, and various government entities. Many of these aerial vehicles are used for image capture, for example, by hobbyists; however, many other uses exist.
Aircraft are often designed for a specific type of flight. Fixed wing aircraft, which primarily rely on a wing for upward lift, typically include a propulsion system that is in fixed orientation and provides thrust in the single direction that, during horizontal flight, is approximately parallel with the horizon. Aircraft that rely on rotors for propulsion, such as helicopters, quadcopters, and other rotorcraft, primarily rely on the rotors for upward lift and typically include a propulsion system that is in fixed orientation and provides thrust in the single direction that, during flight, is approximately perpendicular with the horizon. Some hybrid aircraft rely on both rotors and wings to provide upward lift, depending on a mode of flight. A classic example is the Boeing V-22 Osprey, which uses tilt-rotors that rotate relative to the fuselage to enable transition from a rotor-lift-based mode of flight to a wing-lift-based mode of flight.
Unmanned aerial vehicles offer unique advantages and considerations as compared to their counterpart manned aerial vehicles (e.g., typical helicopters and fixed wing aircraft). For example, unmanned aerial vehicles may be smaller in overall size and lightweight as compared to their counterpart manned aerial vehicles. The size and thrust ratios of propulsion systems for unmanned aerial vehicles allow these aerial vehicles to perform maneuvers that may not be possible or may not be practical for their counterpart manned aerial vehicles.

In-flight reconfigurable hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle


A circuit for generating video synchronization timing signals includes a negative peak detector (FIG. 5) for following variations of a composite video signal (FIG. 1), rather than clamping the most negative voltage of the composite video signal. The negative peak detector provides a voltage level VTIP representative of the voltage at the synchronization tip of the composite video signal. A sample and hold circuit (700,702,704) is used to add an offset VSLICE to VTIP, VSLICE being a voltage level of the breezeway, color burst, or back porch segments of the composite video signal, or a combination of these segments. To prevent amplifier DC offset error voltages from affecting the perceived VSLICE level, an amplifier (800) can be connected in a first position TTIP as part of a negative peak detector to store VTIP on a capacitor, in a second position TH as part of a sample and hold circuit to store VREF on a capacitor, and in a third position TCOMP to compare VSLICE+VTIP measured from the capacitors with the composite video signal to generate the overall circuit output.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of video circuits. More particularly, this invention relates to a circuit for detecting synchronizing pulses embedded in composite waveforms of a video signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates components of a composite video waveform. The composite video waveform contains: a horizontal sync pulse or sync tip used for receiver scan timing; a "breezeway" where the level is a reference for video intensity; a color burst which is a series of sinewaves at a very precise frequency and phase, used as a color reference; a back porch which is a level reference similar to the breezeway occurring after the color burst segment; and the picture occurring after the back porch, the picture being any possible signal up to a maximum level, and whose content is unpredictable to receiver electronics.
The video receiver systems must discover timing details from the sync tip. Unfortunately, the sync tip almost never has a known DC level. In fact, most composite signals are AC coupled and the average DC level varies unpredictably with picture content.
One method for providing a video signal timing reference is to use a circuit which uses the most negative going feature of the composite signal as a reference level. The composite video signal standard which is predominantly used in North America, the National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) standard, was designed to enable such a reference level to be set approximately 50 years ago.
A prior art circuit for setting a reference level at the most negative feature of a composite waveform is the clamping circuit shown in FIG. 2. The circuit includes a capacitor 200 having an input receiving the composite video signal input, and an output providing the composite video signal with its most negative voltage clamped to 0 volts. The circuit further includes a diode 202 and current sink 204 connecting the output of the capacitor 200 to ground. The diode 202 is assumed to be ideal so that it generates no DC offset. The current sink 204 provides a small pull down current IPULLDOWN to discharge the capacitor 200 and allow the clamped output signal to follow the varying content of the composite input.
A clamped output signal from the circuit of FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the diode of FIG. 2 forces the capacitor coupled composite video signal's most negative voltage, here the sync tip voltage (VTIP), to ground level. Because the composite video signal provides transient currents, clamping may distort the composite signal and may be an undesirable method.
To provide a synchronization (sync) timing signal, the clamped output of the circuit of FIG. 2 is provided to a first terminal of comparator 400 shown in FIG. 4, while a DC offset voltage is provided to the second terminal of comparator 400. The sync timing signal is generated when the comparator output transitions. A DC voltage offset generator 402 provides the DC offset voltage at a desired "slice level" (VSLICE), as shown in FIG. 3, so that the sync timing signal is generated on an edge of the sync pulse at the voltage VSLICE approximately midway between the sync tip voltage level VTIP and the breezeway voltage level.


A multi-phasic polymer blend for energy activated edge banding adhesion to a substrate is described. While the blend may be used for adhering edge banding to straight substrates, the blend is preferred for adhering edge banding to contoured substrates. The outer, hard, structural layer of the edge banding is formed from a polypropylene component. The polypropylene component at least includes polypropylene and an optional energy adsorber. The inner adhesion layer of the edge banding is formed from a multi-phasic polymer blend that bonds the outer layer of the edge banding to the substrate. The multi-phasic polymer blend at least includes a polyamide component, a polyolefin component, and a modified polypropylene component. Both the outer and inner layers forming the edge banding may be tinted to conform or contrast with the color of the finished substrate.

Edge banding is used as a protective and decorative covering for the edge of composite, plywood, and similar substrates where the body surface or surfaces of the substrate are covered with a decorative high-(HPL) or low-pressure (LPL) laminate surface, such as Formica. This type of construction is often used in the production of furniture and cabinetry where the front vertical edge of a board is edge banded and the top horizontal surface is covered by the laminate. Both the edge banding and the surface laminate are generally secured to the board with adhesives.
FIG. 1A and the close-up representation in FIG. 1B illustrate the application of conventional edge banding to the edge of a board where the conventional edge banding relies on a polypropylene hot-melt adhesive inner layer 45 and a polypropylene outer layer 40. When bending around curves, the outer layer 40 slightly pulls away from wood surface 10 to leave gaps (not shown) between the inner layer 45 and the wood surface 10, before the inner layer 45 sufficiently cools and hardens. The pulling away of the outer layer 40 of the edge banding arises at least in part because the outer layer 40 is inherently "stiff" and attempts to "restraighten" after being bent around the curve. This pulling away of the outer layer 40 from the wood surface 10 produces visible gaps (not shown) between the edge banding and the curve of the wood surface 10.
In addition to gaps, the pulling away of the outer layer 40 in combination with shrinkage of the polypropylene hot-melt adhesive inner layer 45 during cooling create a concave surface in the inner layer 45 between the outer layer 40 and the wood surface 10 that may be referred to as a "gutter" 48, thus producing the "gutter effect". These gapping and guttering effects become evident when the curves in the substrate that the edge banding is being applied to have radiuses of approximately 30 millimeters (mm) and below, and tend to be pronounced if applied to radiuses of 25 mm and below when the edge banding is thicker than 2.7 mm. The gapping and guttering effects become especially pronounced at these radii when the edge banding is 3 mm or greater in thickness.
This gapping and guttering of conventional hot-melt edge banding adhesives result in a visual shadow line between the edge banding and the substrate edge. The shadow line is visible in the "gutter", and becomes deeper and darker in areas where gapping also occurs.
The softer and the more elastic, and thus "sticky" the conventional hot-melt adhesive forming the inner layer of the edge banding, the more gapping and guttering that will be observed, especially around corners and other contours. In addition to the visible shadows, gaps and gutters in the conventional hot-melt adhesive become dirt- and germ-catching areas that are not readily cleaned. Furthermore, the softer and/or stickier the conventional hot-melt adhesive after cooling, the more dirt and germs are captured, and the less likely surface cleaning will effectively remove the entrained dirt and germs.
The stickiness of the conventional hot-melt adhesives also results in waste inner layer adhesive being deposited onto the surface of the laminate as the high-speed rotary cutting tool used to provide a more finished look to the edge banded substrate board becomes coated in the sticky hot-melt adhesive and ejects the material onto the top of the substrate laminate, thus requiring cleaning and removal with a solvent. The production line also must be routinely stopped, and the cutting tool and associated surfaces cleaned when adhesive build-up on the tool becomes excessive, thus contributing to production inefficiency.
In contrast to hot-melt adhesives, energy-activated edge banding adhesive formulations are often designed specifically for laser energy emitting contour edge banding application machines. Contour edge banding machines permit the application of edge banding to contours, such as curves and corners of varying radii. While contour edge banding machines can apply edge banding to contours, the ability of the contour machines to follow curves and corners necessitates the elimination of at least a portion of the pressure rollers and other devices that straight application edge banding machines use to apply significant force against the edge banding after adhesion to better adhere the inner adhesive layer with the substrate edge.
One attempt at overcoming the deficiencies of older hot-melt edge banding adhesives for contour machine use is found in EP 1,163,864 B1 where the energy activated inner bonding layer is a soft layer of the same polymer type as the outer layer. In fact, the "adhesive inner layer" of the '864 is formed from the outer layer without a separate adhesive. Thus, the "inner bonding layer" of the edge banding is a laser-softened, "adhesive" version of the outer layer formed during application of the edge banding to the wood-based panel. A known disadvantage of such conventional "softened outer layer adhesion" techniques is that the edge banding is either unsatisfactorily fastened to the wood-based panel or the cured outer layer is too soft.
EP 1,852,242 B1 addresses the unsatisfactory fastening of the edge banding to the contours of the wood-based panel with various singular component hot-melt adhesives. For an example outer polypropylene layer edge banding, the '242 patent discusses the use of either amorphous poly-alpha olefin (APAO) hot melt or thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) hotmelt adhesives to adhere the outer polypropylene layer of the edge banding to the panel. However, after cooling, these adhesives remain sticky and thus collect visible dirt that cannot be readily removed, while also having gapping and guttering issues at smaller contour radii.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,603,610 addresses the gapping and guttering around contours and the stickiness issues with a meltable inner layer formed from "a grafted copolymer" that "is a maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene". While the inner layer adhesive of the '610 patent addresses the "cured sticky dirt collector" and gapping/guttering issues of the EP '242 patent adhesive, the adhesive system of the '610 patent introduces the disadvantages of a high melting temperature and a narrow effective energy input window.
Specifically, the adhesive system of the '610 patent routinely requires melt temperatures of at least 140 degrees Celsius, thus requiring approximately 48 Joules/cm2 of energy to melt. However, if the energy input drops to less than about 48 Joules/cm2 during application of the edge banding to radii, gapping can become pronounced as the inner layer does not melt enough to have sufficient time to flow and eliminate gapping between the outer layer and the furniture panel. Furthermore, burning of the resins forming the inner and/or outer layers of the edge banding can occur if more than about 50 Joules/cm2 is applied by the contour edge banding machine when applying the edge banding to the radii. Such burning is especially problematic if the machine slows down the feed rate of the edge banding, such as in the context of making a turn around a corner of the board. While the specific 48 and 50 Joules/cm2 numerical values may vary on different contour edge banding machines and under different environmental factors, the ˜2 Joules/cm2 energy input window, thus the "effective energy input window" remains constant.
Due to the extremely narrow effective energy input window of ˜2 Joules/cm2, and thus melt temperature range, required to prevent gapping on the low end and burning on the high end, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene edge banding adhesive systems often lack manufacturing reproducibility. For example, inconsistent finished product may result from changes in environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity, of both the manufacturing floor and the panel during application of the edge banding to the panel. As the effective energy input window for the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene adhesive systems are so narrow, inconsistencies can arise from a specific panel having a higher or lower than expected moisture content and/or temperature when fed into the edge banding machine. For example, a higher than expected moisture content or a lower than expected temperature of a specific panel can result in gapping as the same applied energy was insufficient to reach the ˜48-50 Joule/cm2 window for the adhesive. Similarly, a lower than expected moisture content or a higher than expected temperature of a specific panel may result in burning of the edge banding at the same applied energy.
As can be seen from the above description, there is an ongoing need for simple and efficient materials and methods for bonding edge banding to substrates without gaps, guttering, or stickiness in the cured adhesive layer that uses less energy over a broader range of environmental factors.

Extended melt-temp range and low energy absorptive edge banding adhesive system and edge banding

Ultra Tech Extrusions of Tennessee, Inc.


A method and apparatus for providing welding-type power includes an input circuit, a power circuit, and a controller. The input circuit receives input power and provides intermediate power. The power circuit has a power control input with at least one switch that responds to the control input. The power circuit receives the intermediate power and provides welding type output power. The controller has a set point input and a control output. The control output is connected to the power control input. The control circuit also includes a pwm module that responds to the user set point input and provided the control output. The pwm module can include a short duty cycle linearizing module. The pwm module can also include a short duty cycle charging ramp module.

There are many known types of welding-type power supplies that provide welding type power. Welding type power, as used herein, refers to power suitable for electric arc welding, plasma arc cutting or induction heating. Welding type power supply, as used herein, refers to a power supply that can provide welding type power. Welding type systems are used to perform a variety of processes and used in a variety of settings. Welding type system, as used herein, is a system that can provide welding type power, and can include control and power circuitry, wire feeders, and ancillary equipment.
There are a variety of welding type processes, such as TIG, GMAW, sub arc, short circuit welding, catting, arc gouging and others. Some welding type systems are designed for a single process and others are designed for multiple processes. Many welding systems include switch based power circuits, such as inverters and converters. Such systems often include an input circuit, a power circuit, and a controller, as well as ancillary equipment such as wire feeders, robots, etc.
Input circuit, as used herein, refers to circuits configured to receive input power and to provide intermediate power, and may include as part thereof components and circuits such as rectifiers, transformers, saturable reactor, converters, filters, and/or magnetic amplifiers. Power circuit, as used herein, refers to the switches and components that cooperate to process power eventually provided as output power. Controller, as used herein, refers to digital and analog circuitry, discrete or integrated circuitry, microprocessors, DSPs, etc., and software, hardware and firmware, located on one or more boards, used to control a device such as a power supply, power source or power circuit.
Some welding type systems include a preregulator which provides a dc bus, followed by an inverter based output circuit. The preregulator conditions the input power, and provides a known dc bus. The inverter based output circuit receives the bus and provides the welding type power as an output. One successful design includes a boost circuit as part of the preregulator, and the output circuit includes an inverter, transformer, rectifier and output inductor. This type of welding type power supply is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,987,242 (Geissler). Other welding type power supplies that have inverter based output circuits include U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,273 (Geissler) and Patent Publication 20090230941 (Vogel), all three of which are owned by the owner of this patent, and all three of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Other welding type power supplies include additional stages, or use other topologies for each stage (such as a buck preregulator, a combined rectifier-boost preregulator, a chopper instead of or following the inverter, a second inverter following the first inverter, etc.
Welding systems with converters, and particularly inverters, often use a PWM (pulse width modulation) control. PWM control provides for a fixed frequency (on time plus off time), and adjusts the duty cycle (on time) to obtain a desired output. Thus, in a forward type inverter topology, the power flow is regulated by modulating the duty cycle of the main power switches. The duty cycle is the ratio of the time the switch is on versus the total cycle time of the switching event.
A typical implementation of a welding type system is shown in FIG. 1 and includes a controller 101 that takes as inputs a required current setpoint and actual output values, and calculates the voltage command (or command signal) that will dynamically satisfy the required setpoint. This command signal (Vcom) is then transferred to a modulator 102 which is a PWM control circuit (amd can be aprt pof controller 101) that converts this signal (0-10V for example) to a pulse train with a duty cycle (α) directly proportional to this signal. This modulated pulse train is then used to command on or off the power switches in an inverter (power circuit) 103, which will produce a voltage signal across an output stage 104 whose average is proportional to the duty cycle and the original command signal from controller 101. Feedback is provided by transducer 105.
An ideal modulator will produce a pulse train with a duty cycle α that is directly proportional to the command signal (vcom). α=t_on/T=Gpwm*Vcom, where Gpwm is the pwm gain. FIG. 2. shows the plot for α and vcom for an ideal pulse width modulator. An ideal continuous linear relationship between the command and the duty cycle helps the control loop of the entire systems to operate properly and remains stable regardless of the operating point. The slope (Gpwm) of this relationship, contributes to the overall gain of the closed loop control system, and must be taken into account to ensure stability of this system. Running at a fixed switching frequency (constant period T) the modulator maintains this relationship by reducing varying the on time t_on (pulse width) making it smaller or larger as needed (hence the term PWM).
FIG. 3 shows a pwm control ramp for a typical pwm control. Pwm control ramp, as used herein, refers to values that change with time and are compared to a V command, and the comparison is used to change states of the output. Such a ramp can be implemented using a saw tooth voltage ramp: a capacitor charged by a constant current source and discharged by a much larger current.
Inverter based output circuits offer many advantages, but they do have some drawbacks. One drawback is that pulse width modulators are not, in practice, ideal. The power circuit typically includes large transistors that take time to turn on and then back off again. T_on can therefore practically only be reduced to a finite minimum time. PWM minimum on time as used herein refers to the time it takes the switches being pulse width modulated to turn on and then off. Other practical circuit elements may also contribute to this minimum on time such as propagation delay from one circuit element to another, gate drivers dead times, etc. For example, an inverter with a period of T=10 usec and a PWM minimum on time of 1 usec, the minimum duty cycle is 10%.
A duty cycle of no less than 10% is sufficient for many welding application but in low output welding, such as low end TIG, a duty cycle of 10% does not provide an output low enough to yield a stable consistent arc.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,679 shows a PWM controller having an adaptive off-time modulation. The Miller® Dynasty® 210 and Miller® Maxstar® attempt to address the minimum duty cycle of inverters by adjusting the pulse frequency. Since t_on cannot be reduced below the PWM minimum on time, T was increased to allow for smaller α. This is referred to as frequency reduction. This was an improvement over the prior art because it allowed for operation at low output.
FIG. 4 shows the prior art implementation of frequency reduction used for low output in the Miller® Dynasty®. The period is extended by reducing the discharge current from its normal level in proportion to how much Vcom is below Vcommand minimum. Vcommand minimum is the command signal that provides a pwm on time equal to the PWM minimum on time. This effectively extends the time it takes to reset the ramp down to Vmin and therefore stretches the period T. In this scheme i_dis*Idis+Kd*Adjusted Vcom, where Adjusted Vcom<0 by definition and Kd is a constant chosen to set the amplitude of the frequency reduction. Adjusted Vcom=Vcom−Vcommand minimum.
One problem with this method for stretching the period is the resulting relationship between the duty cycle and the command signal becomes non-linear. FIG. 5 is a graph of a pwm transfer function—Vcom and the duty cycle α for both an ideal PWM and the prior art frequency adjusted PWM. Pwm transfer function, as used herein refers to the duty cycles provided for command signals (voltage, current, digital value inside a microprocessor, etc) over a range of command signals. Not only is the prior art pwm transfer function non linear below the PWM minimum on time (corresponding to Vcom=2 on the graph), there is a discontinuity in the slope of this relationship, which sets the gain of this stage in the system, and the slope changes a great deal as the duty cycle is reduced. Because the gain of the PWM stage using prior art frequency reduction is nonlinear, a can oscillate between 2% to 10%—the portion of the curve where the gain is the highest. This oscillation can be present in the arc, both visually and audibly.
When maintaining an arc at very low amperage the amount of power transferred is very low, requiring a low duty cycle. Additionally the arc characteristic at low amperage <10 A tend to be unstable, requiring a properly tuned closed loop control system to keep the arc at a proper constant current and stable. Sudden changes in gain (such as in the prior art control scheme) can lead to instability of the system when operating at the lower duty cycle. Low amperage operation can either be not very stable or an effort is made to avoid entering frequency reduction mode altogether at these operating points.
Another prior art method of reducing the frequency at low output power is to skip pulses. By skipping every other pulse the frequency is cut in half, skipping two pulses cuts the frequency to a third, etc. However, this produces a step wise pwm transfer function and is not linear
TIG welding power sources are expected to output and regulate a very wide range of power outputs: for example the output of one unit can operate from 20 W to 6000 W providing good, stable current regulation over this entire range. Welding systems for other processes also operate at low output (relative to the maximum output), and have a similar need for stable operation. However, prior art welding type system also often have a control scheme that, as described above, results in instability at lower outputs.
Accordingly, a welding type system with PWM control that can more readily be stable when providing a low output is desired.

Method and apparatus for providing welding type power


Disclosed herein is a method for preparing hydroxyapatite structures from natural sources such as mammalian teeth and bones. The method may include obtaining a raw powder by grinding raw materials, obtaining a first mixture by mixing the raw powder with one of an alkali metal carbonate and an alkaline earth metal carbonate, and heating the first mixture at a first predetermined temperature for a first predetermined period.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is an effective calcium phosphate compound which may be used in dental applications, fabrication of implants, and bone augmentation due to its favorable characteristics such as biocompatibility, bioactivity, and osteoconductivity. The performance of HA in the above-mentioned applications is impacted by average particle size and morphology of HA. Natural HA in mammalian teeth and bones have rod-like structures. Nano-sized HA structures are favorable in tissue engineering due to their very similar morphology, crystal structures, and chemical composition to natural apatite crystals, such as the apatite crystals of enamel.
Different methods, such as solid-state, wet-chemical, hydrothermal/solvothermal, sol-gel, micro emulsion, precipitation, microwave, pH shockwave, and mechano-chemical methods may be utilized for extracting and preparing HA structures. For preparation of HA structures via the above-mentioned methods, different calcium ion sources such as calcium acetate, calcium hydroxide, calcium oxalate, calcium nitrate, calcium carbonate, calcium oxide, calcium fluoride, calcium chloride, etc. and different phosphate ion sources such as orthophosphoric acid, ammonium hydrogen phosphates, group I phosphates (monobasic, dibasic, and tribasic potassium or sodium phosphate), trisodium phosphate and phosphorus pentoxide may be utilized. However, extraction or preparation of HA structures from natural sources such as mammalian bones and teeth is economically and environmentally preferable and moreover HA structures prepared utilizing the previously mentioned methods may show more biocompatibility.
Extraction of HA structures from natural sources such as mammalian bones and teeth may be possible by thermal decomposition of these natural sources at relatively high temperatures between 600° C. and 1400° C. which may be considered as unfavorable operational conditions since, for example, at high temperatures, natural HA of mammalian bones and teeth may convert to tricalcium phosphate and calcium oxide which significantly reduces the final amount of extracted HA. Moreover, without removing organic materials and pathogens from these natural sources, they are likely to transfer diseases in their clinical applications. There is therefore a need in the art, for methods of HA preparation from natural sources such as mammalian teeth and bones that may allow for separating the HA structures including HA nanostructures at relatively lower temperatures. There is further a need in the art for low-temperature HA preparation methods that allow for controlling the morphology and the average particles size of the prepared HA structures and nanostructures for different tissue engineering applications.


A crane includes a first arm, a second arm, a first vertical transmission mechanism and a second vertical transmission mechanism. The first vertical transmission mechanism transmits the first arm and the second arm to move vertically in a synchronous manner, and the second vertical transmission mechanism transmits the second arm to move vertically with respect to the first arm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of mechanical techniques, and in particular to a crane and automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS).
2. The Related Arts
In AS/RS, the crane is used for moving cassette inside the AS/RS. Specifically, the movement of a crane comprises: moving the cassette from the temporary location of the upstream moving system into AS/RS system, moving the cassette to temporary locations of a plurality of processing machines, moving cassette loaded with processed goods into AS/RS, and moving cassette to the temporary location of the downstream moving system.
Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a known crane. As shown in FIG. 1, a known crane 10 comprises a horizontal transmission mechanism 101, an arm 102 and a vertical transmission mechanism 103, wherein the horizontal transmission mechanism 101 comprises four wheels 111 and a guiding mechanism 112. Under the guidance of guiding mechanism 112, wheels 111 move the arm 102 and the vertical transmission mechanism 103 along the horizontal direction. The vertical transmission mechanism 103 moves the arm 102 along the vertical direction.
Because the crane 10 is only disposed with an arm 102, only one cassette can be moved at one time. When a plurality of cassettes needs to be moved, additional movement process must be executed. Therefore, the efficiency is too low to meet the requirement of the increasing moving demands.
In addition, the horizontal transmission mechanism 101 uses wheels 111 to roll in combination with the guidance of the guiding mechanism 112 to realize the horizontal movement of the arm 102 and the vertical transmission mechanism 103. As the wheel 111 is prone to skidding, the stability of the crane 10 may be compromised.

Crane and automated storage and retrieval system

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd


Methods, systems, and computer program products for providing business communication services are disclosed. A computer-implemented method may include detecting a communication initiated by a user, analyzing the detected communication to determine an intended recipient of the communication, determining whether the recipient is responsive to the communication, determining whether to provide visual information associated with the recipient to the user in response to the communication, analyzing one or more prior transactions involving the user and the recipient, identifying a reason that the user initiated the communication with the recipient, determining one or more preferences of the user to generate a personalized user interface comprising the visual information, generating the personalized user interface for the user comprising the visual information, and displaying the personalized user interface to the user in response to the communication, for example, when the recipient is unable to respond to the communication.

Small businesses generally include privately owned corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships. In addition, a business may be classified as "small" based on one or more criteria, including employees, assets, sales, and profits. Examples of small businesses may include bakeries, delicatessens, hairdressers, barbers, spas, attorneys, accountants, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, photographers, small-scale manufacturers, online businesses, mom and pop stores, family-owned businesses, mechanics, tailors, handymen, home inspectors, and independent contractors. Many small businesses achieve great success and popularity. However, most small businesses generally do not have the resources or infrastructure, such as IVR systems and call answering systems, to provide continuous and immediate phone or web support during, before, and after business hours.
For example, at times every available employee may be busy helping existing customers. Also, unpredictable or unexpected scenarios, such as bad weather, employee scheduling, and variable customer demand can result in situations where a small business is occasionally understaffed. Further, some small businesses may choose not to hire additional support staff, for example, either to increase profits or to minimize losses. As a result, there are times when small businesses cannot immediately respond to phone calls, e-mails, or other communications received from potential customers, existing customers, and business partners.
Therefore, providing new and improved business communication services that allow small businesses and other merchants to better serve consumers and suppliers is of importance.


A method for generating input commands to a computer running a program, the computer including a display and a pointer device for controlling a pointer on the display, the pointer device having a button for generating button events, the method including detecting a first button event that occurs at a first location of the pointer; detecting a second button event that occurs at a second location of the pointer; categorizing the second location relative to the first location; and based on said categorization, selecting a command to submit to the program.

Most modern computers have both a keyboard and a mouse (or other pointer device, such as a trackball, puck, tablet, or spaceball) as input devices. A user of the computer uses the mouse to drag a pointer or cursor on the computer's display. A mouse has one or more buttons; these buttons typically send a signal to the computer when clicked, and this signal is presented to a program running on the computer. Some computers present a "click" to the program when a button is pressed (downclicked) and when released (upclicked), and some only present a signal on one of a down- or upclick. The click signal, sometimes called a button event, passed to the program typically incorporates the current position of the pointer.
Most software that accepts mouse input allows the programmer or user to use a mouse button to issue a command to the software. Besides the obvious advantages of a mouse in positioning the pointer, mouse-based interfaces substantially speed up data manipulation compared to keyboard-based interfaces. The advantages of making commands available through mouse buttons include:
The user's hand can stay on the mouse. Moving a hand from arrow keys to alpha keyboard or mouse to keyboard takes time.
Similarly, the user's eyes and attention can stay focused on his work, instead of having to search the keyboard for the proper menu item and key, then return to search the screen for his point of interest.
The mouse only has a few buttons. It is easy to remember which button executes which command, and the correct button can be found by touch.
One of the major virtues of a mouse, the limited number of buttons, can also be a major limitation: typically only a few commands are bound to mouse buttons. In a complex software system, such as a very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI) design system, there are typically a few commands --but often more than three --that are used extensively and that the user should have easy access to.
The most straightforward technique for binding commands to buttons is "one button--one command:" in any particular program context, any button performs one and only one function.
One way to extend the number of commands available through the buttons is pop-up and slide-off menus. When the user clicks a button, a menu pops up on the screen. The user drags the mouse to position the pointer on the desired command. Some menu items have slide-off submenus --by dragging the mouse off the right side of a menu bar, another submenu pops up. Finally, at the next button event (either an upclick or a second full down/up click), the selected command is issued.
When a small number of commands are to be executed repeatedly, it's desirable to bind them directly to mouse buttons, so that clicking the button immediately executes the command, eliminating the time to search for and position the pointer on a menu item. In one known approach, the screen is divided into a work area and a command menu. The user drags the pointer onto the command menu and clicks a button. Rather than issuing the command, this click binds the selected command to that button. The command will be issued whenever that button is clicked in the work area, until the button is clicked on another command of the menu.
A prior technique for simultaneously binding a plurality of commands to each mouse button is the "stroke recognition" method. One implementation of stroke recognition uses a matrix whose cells are numbered 1 to 9:
______________________________________ 7 8 9 4 5 6 1 2 3 ______________________________________
The user binds a command to a number sequence. One button of the mouse is dedicated to strokes; the other buttons of the mouse may remain bound to single commands or to pop-up menus, for instance. When the user downclicks the stroke button, the stroke recognizer begins to track the motions of the mouse. When the button upclicks, those motions are mapped to the cells of the matrix and classified into a stroke. For example, in a hypothetical example, the sequence "7895123" (forming the letter "Z") zooms on the region where the user traced the "Z". The user can then zoom to a drawing area by downclicking the stroke mouse button, drawing a "Z" pattern over the area of interest, and then upclicking. The stroke "7895123" is distinguished from "3215987."

Quadrant-based binding of pointer device buttons


A cabriolet top having a top linkage which can be adjustable between a closed position, in which it spans a vehicle interior space, and an open position having at both sides of a vertical vehicle longitudinal central plane, in each case one link arrangement assigned a closure unit which can be adjusted by means of an actuating device between a locking and unlocking position and which, in its locking position in the closed position of the top linkage, secures a front bow, which connects the two link arrangements to one another, to a front cowl of the vehicle by means of a locking hook. The locking hook can be connected via a first joint to a first locking link pivotable about an axle fixed to the front bow and via a second joint to a second locking link pivotable about an axle fixed to the front bow.

The invention relates to a cabriolet of a motor vehicle.
A cabriolet top of said type is known from practice and constitutes a convertible roof of a motor vehicle designed as a cabriolet. Cabriolet tops generally comprise a top linkage which is adjustable between a closed position, in which it spans a vehicle interior space, and an open position, in which it upwardly opens up the vehicle interior space. In the open position, the top is stowed in a rear-end top stowage compartment of the respective motor vehicle. In the case of a top in the form of a so-called soft top, the top linkage serves for tensioning a top material which forms the outer skin of the roof. In the case of a top in the form of a so-called hard top, the top linkage serves for pivoting rigid roof segments which, in the closed position, are arranged one behind the other as viewed in the vehicle longitudinal direction so as to span the vehicle interior space and which, in the open position, are stowed in a stacked manner, or in a manner arranged one above the other, in the rear-end top stowage compartment. The top linkage comprises, at both sides of a vertical vehicle longitudinal central plane, in each case one link arrangement which is mounted on a main bearing fixed with respect to the vehicle and which comprises at least one first, front link or frame element and a second link or frame element which, in the closed position, is arranged toward the rear with respect to the first link or frame element. The front link elements arranged on both sides are connected to one another by means of a front bow, which is commonly also referred to as the roof tip and which forms a rigid roof element. In the closed position of the top, the front bow adjoins a front cowl of the vehicle which delimits a windshield at its upper edge. To secure the front bow to the front cowl, the known top has a closure unit which is adjustable between a locking position and an unlocking position and which, in the closed position of the top linkage, fixes the front bow to the cowl by means of a locking hook which engages on a corresponding locking element which is fixed to the vehicle. Since the locking hook is mounted by means of a single rotary joint, the length of the pulling-closed travel between the front bow and the front cowl is limited. Furthermore, in the case of known closure units for cabriolet tops of the above-described type, there is the disadvantage that a highly cumbersome closure kinematic arrangement is provided, while at the same time a structural space should be kept as small as possible. However, the front bow is often provided, in a central region, with an undesirably large structural height because an electromechanical drive or a hydraulic drive for the closure unit is arranged in this region. The known closure units are often also characterized by a high weight and a multiplicity of individual parts.


A method of embedding thick-film fired-on-foil capacitors includes entirely covering the dielectric with an encapsulating electrode to avoid cracking in the dielectric due to shrinkage and temperature coefficient of expansion differences between the electrode and dielectric.

1. Technical Field
The technical field is embedded capacitors in printed wiring boards (PWB). More particularly, the technical field includes embedded capacitors in printed wiring boards made from thick film dielectrics and electrodes.
2. Technical Background of the Invention
The practice of embedding high capacitance density capacitors in printed wiring boards allows for reduced circuit size and improved circuit performance. Capacitors are typically embedded in panels that are stacked and connected by interconnection circuitry; the stack of panels forming a multilayer printed wiring board. The stacked panels can be generally referred to as "innerlayer panels."
Passive circuit components embedded in printed wiring boards formed by fired-on-foil technology are known. "Separately fired-on-foil" capacitors are formed by depositing and drying at least one thick-film dielectric layer onto a metallic foil substrate, followed by depositing and drying a thick-film electrode material over the thick-film capacitor dielectric layer and subsequently firing the capacitor structure under copper thick-film firing conditions. U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. U.S. 2004/0099999 A1 and U.S. 2004/023361 A1 (cofired divisional) to Borland disclose such a process.
After firing, the resulting article may be laminated to a prepreg dielectric layer, and the metallic foil may be etched to form the electrodes of the capacitor and any associated circuitry to form an inner layer panel containing thick-film capacitors. The inner layer panel may then be laminated and interconnected to other inner layer panels to form a multilayer printed wiring board.
The thick-film dielectric material should have a high dielectric constant (K) after firing. A high K thick-film dielectric paste suitable for screen printing may be formed by mixing a high dielectric constant powder (the "functional phase") with a glass powder and dispersing the mixture into a thick-film screen-printing vehicle. The glass may be vitreous or crystalline, depending on its composition.
During firing of the thick-film dielectric material, the glass component of the dielectric material softens and flows before the peak firing temperature is reached. It coalesces and encapsulates the functional phase during the hold at peak temperature forming the fired-on-foil capacitor structure. The glass may subsequently crystallize to precipitate any desired phases.
Copper is a preferred material for forming electrodes. A thick-film copper electrode paste suitable for screen printing may be formed by mixing copper powder with a small amount of glass powder and dispersing the mixture into a thick-film screen printing vehicle. However, the large temperature coefficient of expansion (TCE) difference between the thick-film copper and the thick-film capacitor dielectric, and shrinkage differences during firing often lead to tensile stress in the dielectric just outside the periphery of the electrode. The tensile stresses may result in cracking in the dielectric around the periphery of the electrode as shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B. In extreme circumstances, the cracks can extend all the way down to the copper foil. Such cracking is undesirable, as it may affect long-term reliability of the capacitor. Alternative capacitor structure designs that eliminate the conditions that lead to such cracking would be advantageous.
The present inventors have provided novel method(s) of forming electrodes and inner layers, embedding thick-film fired-on-foil capacitors, and forming printing wiring boards which avoid this cracking in the dielectric. Additionally, the present inventors have developed the electrodes, inner layers, capacitors and printed wiring boards formed by these methods.

Electrodes, inner layers, capacitors, electronic devices and methods of making thereof


A method of forming a non-continuous line pattern includes forming a DSA material layer on a substrate, performing a phase separation of the DSA material layer to form an ordered periodic pattern including a plurality of first polymer structures and the second polymer structures arranged alternately, forming a first mask to cover a first portion of the ordered periodic pattern, performing a first etching process to remove a portion of the first polymer structures exposed by the first mask, removing the first mask, forming a second mask to cover a second portion of the ordered periodic pattern, with an interval to the first portion of the ordered periodic pattern, performing a second etching process to remove a portion of the second polymer structures exposed by the second mask, and removing the second mask. The remaining first polymer structures and the remaining second polymer structures are not connected to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming non-continuous line pattern and a non-continuous line pattern structure on semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) substrate, and more particularly, to a method of forming non-continuous line pattern and a non-continuous line pattern structure on semiconductor IC substrate by using directed self-assembly (DSA) material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, as the continuous decrease of the sizes of semiconductor devices and the increase of the stacking and integration density of semiconductor devices, the photolithography process approaches physical limitation such that the costs of design, process development, and photomask rise dramatically. Therefore, many traditional process tool and fabrication method cannot meet the fabrication requirement anymore. As a result, the manufacturer has to keep on developing more delicate and more expensive tools and equipment in order to meet the fabrication requirement. For example, the ArF laser tool with much expensive cost is used for replacing the traditional exposure equipment in order to gain better critical dimension and resolution of the photolithography process. In addition, the manufacturer also provides an immersion photolithography process in corporation with the ArF laser tool in order to further improve the resolution. Accordingly, it is still a challenge for the manufacturer to keep on researching and developing new process equipment and tools and advanced fabrication process to fulfill the continuously decreased device size of products.

Method of forming non-continuous line pattern and non-continuous line pattern structure


An oil level indicating system for an internal combustion engine includes an indicator passageway extending through a cylinder block, cylinder head and up through a ported boss extending through an upper engine cover. The ported boss is sealingly engaged with the cylinder head of the engine so as to prevent fugitive oil from entering indicator passageway, thereby preventing erroneous oil level readings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a oil level indicating system for an internal combustion engine in which the indicator extends through a passage running from the top of the engine into the engine's oil pan, without any external, add-on tubing being required.
2. Disclosure Information
Oil level indicating systems for internal combustion engines have generally included an indicator embodied as a wire or thin, flexible blade which is allowed to pass into liquid within the engine's crankcase sump, so as to provide a direct reading for the level of oil within the engine. Such indicators have commonly used externally mounted tubes which sometimes extend through a sidewall of a cylinder block. Unfortunately, such tubes may become damaged during operation of the vehicle, or during storage and installation of an engine. Further, such tubes take space which is almost always at a premium in modern automotive vehicle engine compartments. Although certain engines have indicators mounted in a boring formed at a lower portion of the cylinder block, such as at an oil pan rail, this is not a satisfactory solution either, because it is difficult to reinsert the indicator once it has been removed. And, contamination is a problem because of the buildup of road grime on the lower part of the block, which may be dislodged by the vehicle operator when the indicator is being reinserted with the result that the contamination will be pushed into the crankcase by the incoming oil indicator.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show a prior art attempt to mount an oil indicator through a camshaft cover of an engine. The embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 suffers from two problems. First, tube 84, which is pressed into cover 82, may cause an external oil leak if the joint between the tube and the boss into which it is pressed is not accurately and robustly made up. Furthermore, tube 84 becomes loose during use of the engine, and could fall down into the engine causing a major engine failure. Furthermore, because tube 84 extends only into the space of the cylinder head valve springs, and, perhaps, a camshaft, oil is free to splash on the indicator when it is installed, which may give a false reading in the event that an uninitiated motorist fails to adequately clean the indicator before attempting to ascertain the level of oil within the engine.
The present oil level indicating system overcomes the problems shown with the prior art systems by providing presentation of the indicator at the topmost part of an engine with a passageway system that prevents inaccurate oil readings, while also avoiding issues with potential impairment of the engine's operation.

Oil level indicating system for internal combustion engine


A semiconductor device is capable of minimizing data skew among respective data which are transmitted to a receiver through respective data lines. The semiconductor device includes a synchronization unit connected to at least one portion of the respective data lines, for synchronizing time that the plurality of data transferred through the respective data lines take to arrive at the receiver.

A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a volatile memory device that stores data at respective cells each of which comprises one transistor and one capacitor. An input/output operation of data, which is a basic function of a DRAM cell, is performed by selecting a predetermined word line and a column selection signal, wherein the word line is connected to a gate of the transistor in the memory cell.
Recently, as the DRAM becomes a mass storage device with high-speed performance, the DRAM typically employs a sub word line driver for driving a word line faster and a hierarchical input/output structure of a data line, i.e., a local input/output scheme and a global input/output scheme.
A data input/output line for reading and writing the data of the DRAM cell having the hierarchical input/output structure includes a segment input/output line (SIO), a local input/output line (LIO), a global input/output line (GIO), and so forth.
Considering the role of each data input/output line according to the read path, the segment input/output line (SIO) is a data input/output line where the data unit of a cell bit line selected by the word line and the column selection signal is loaded after it is amplified.
Thereafter, the data unit loaded on the segment input/output line (SIO) is loaded on the local input/output line (LIO) and, thereafter, it is applied to an input/output sense amplifier (IOSA). Herein, the local input/output line (ILO) shares the segment input/output lines (SIO) of cell segment blocks which are divided for every bit line sense amplifier (BLSA) of a bank.
The data unit amplified by the input/output sense amplifier (IOSA) is loaded on the global input/output line (GIO). The data unit loaded on the global input/output line (GIO) is output through a desired data pad (DQ0, DQ1, DQ2, DQn-1) by means of an output driver so that a read operation is completed. An operation for writing external data input on the memory cell is performed such that the external data input through the data pad (DQ0, DQ1, DQ2, . . . , DQn-1) is stored in the memory cell after it is transmitted to a write driver.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional structure of a global data input/output line.
Referring to FIG. 1, data transmitted from a bank 10 is loaded on a global input/output line (GIO) 1 via a data bus sense amplifier (DBSA) 20. The data loaded on the global input/output line (GIO) 30 is transmitted to a register 30, and thereafter, it is output to an exterior through a data pad 40.
As the global input/output line (GIO) 1 is too long, repeater 50, which is configured with two inverters, is inserted in the global input/output line.
However, in the conventional structure of FIG. 1, since 16 global input/output lines (GIO<0:15>) are connected to the data pad (DQ<0:15>) for transmitting 16-bit data, the length of each global input/output lines (GIO<0:15>) is different from one another. As a result, data skew among the data lines occurs when transmitting the data through the respective data lines.
A double data rate (DDR) 2 synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), comprising a plurality of bank structures, simultaneously transmits 64-bit data. The problem of data skew becomes more serious. That is, since 64 global input/output lines (GIO<0:63>) are connected to the data pad (DQ<0:63>), the length differences among respective global input/output data lines (GIO<0:63>) become greater than the conventional case of using 16 data lines. The time difference of data transmission between the fastest data unit and the slowest data unit may be in the order of nano-seconds because the lengths of the data lines for connecting the plurality of banks to the data pad (DQ<0:63>) are also different from one another. As a result, it is difficult for the register 30 to determine when the data transmitted through the global input/output line (GIO) is recognized. Data recognition becomes more and more unstable as the device operates faster and faster.
This problem existing in the memory device may also occur in other devices. For example, it may also occur in a semiconductor device in which a plurality of data are transmitted through a plurality of data lines.

Data transmission device in semiconductor memory device


A method and system are provided for automatically retrieving information associated with vehicles that must sequentially pass an entrance to a secure site. Prior to the entrance to the secure site, a plurality of vehicles can be aligned in a queue having a front end located at the secure site's entrance. When a vehicle enters the queue, identifying indicia on the vehicle's license tag is automatically transmitted to one or more remotely-located databases in order to retrieve information associated with the license tag. When the vehicle reaches the front of the queue, the information so-retrieved is automatically made available in a human recognizable format to security personnel at the secure site's entrance.

One of the greatest challenges in the struggle against terrorist activities is to maintain a high level of security in high-risk facilities such as military bases, government installations, research laboratories, ports, airports, etc. Typically, such facilities have specified entrances manned by trained security personnel.
Currently, if a security officer requires information on an individual or their car, the officer must either make the request over the radio and wait for the dispatcher to research the information or the officer must manually enter the request into a computer. Either approach requires too much time to allow the officer to pull-up the information on all vehicles entering a facility while still maintaining a steady flow of traffic. Furthermore, if an officer wants information contained in the National Crime Investigation Center (NCIC) or similar law-enforcement database in addition to the information contained in the site's vehicle or personnel database, the officer must perform multiple data searches, i.e., one for each database of interest.

Automatic vehicle information retrieval for use at entry to a secure site

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A wastewater treatment system and method for chemical precipitation and removal of metals from wastewater in a continuous or batch treatment process includes an ion-selective sulfide electrode and a reference electrode disposed in a precipitation tank for measuring an electrochemical potential therebetween in a predetermined range. A controller unit is provided which is responsive to the electrochemical potential in the predetermined range and is connected to a precipitant feed unit for automatically controlling the chemical precipitant fed into the precipitation tank.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to apparatus for removal of metals from wastewater, and more particularly, it relates to an improved wastewater treatment system and method for automatically controlling of chemical feed of organic sulfide products in wastewater containing metal ions so as to produce metal ion precipitation and removal of metals by sedimentation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is generally known, Oxidation-Reduction Potential electrodes are currently used to automate chemical feed control in continuous metal ion precipitation processes using alkyl dithiocarbamate (DTC), precipitant, or other organic sulfides. While Oxidation-Reduction Potential electrodes have been shown to respond to the presence of metal ions such as Cu(II), this electrode also responds to a myriad of electrochemically-active components that may be present in such wastewater, thus the electrode is non-specific. In the presence of an interference such as bleach, for instance, the Oxidation-Reduction Potential electrode is an unreliable sensor for precipitant feed control.
The only known literature or patent reference that describes a process that could be considered to slightly or remotely resemble that of the present invention, is U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,963 to M. F. Wemhoff. The disclosure of the Wemhoff patent is directed toward a system for the removal of metals from wastewater by chemical precipitation and filtration.
In the Wemhoff patent, the system 10 in FIG. 1 includes a holding tank 12 for storing untreated wastewater, the wastewater having metals dissolved therein. The system 10 processes the wastewater in the holding tank 12 in a batch-wise operation. The system further includes a reaction tank 14 which is connected by a fill line 16 to the holding tank. The reaction tank also receives a precipitating reagent from a tank 54 and a pH balancing reagent from a tank 50. A filter means 24 is coupled to the outlet of the reaction tank to receive liquid and precipitated metals therefrom. A manifold 30 connected to the outlet of the filter means is coupled to the inlet of the reaction tank 14.
An ion specific electrode 34 is disposed in the manifold 30, which is responsive to the free ion content of the wastewater, and is utilized to determine when the precipitation process carried on in the reaction tank 14 has been completed. A pH specific electrode 36 is also disposed in the manifold 30, which is responsive to the pH of the wastewater, and is utilized to control the pH thereof so as to prevent generating of toxic gas. A first valve means 32 controls the flow of filtrate through the manifold 30. A second valve means 40 controls the flow of filtrate through a drain line 38 which receives the fully treated effluent.
A microprocessor controller 46 is responsive to the ion specific and pH specific electrodes 34 and 36 and controls both the first and second valve means 32 and 34. Initially, the controller 46 causes the second valve means 40 to be closed and the first valve means to be opened so as to permit recirculation of treated wastewater from the output of the filter means 24 through the manifold 30 to the reaction tank 14. When the free ion content of the treated wastewater changes to a predetermined value as determined by the ion specific electrode 34, the microprocessor controller 46 causes the first valve means 32 to close and the second valve means 40 to open allowing the flow of effluent from the filter means 24 to the drain line 38. If the holding tank is not empty, the system allows the next batch of wastewater to be treated to be passed into the reaction tank 14.
The system in the Wemhoff patent is thus responsive only to the presence of excess sulfide which does not always allow for accurate detection and resulting precipitant feed because such ion specific electrodes are known to plateau under precipitant overfeed conditions such that excess precipitant overfeed may occur without viable detection. Excess precipitant overfeed is a concern since dithiocarbamates are also biocides.
The present invention of a wastewater treatment system and method represents an improvement of the aforementioned '593 patent and includes a solid-state sulfide ion-selective electrode for monitoring a first setpoint value corresponding to a condition of precipitant underfeed and a second setpoint value corresponding to a condition of slight precipitant overfeed. The sulfide ion-selective electrode is responding to the metal ions in the wastewater during the underfeed condition and is responding to the slight excess of precipitant during the overfeed condition so as to cause an electrochemical potential (mV) between the sulfide electrode and a reference electrode.

System using sulfide ion-selective electrodes for control of chemical feed of organic sulfide products for metal ion precipitation from waste water


A battery cover includes an outer panel, an inner panel, a resilient member and a chassis. The inner panel is disposed on the outer panel. The resilient member is located on the inner panel and includes two elongated arms. Each elongated arm includes a contact at the distal end thereof. The chassis is disposed on the resilient member and the inner panel, and is fastened to the outer panel. The chassis defines two openings configured for the two contacts to extend out correspondingly.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a battery cover and a portable electronic device having the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable electronic devices typically include a battery compartment for receiving batteries and a battery cover for covering the battery compartment, thereby securing the batteries to the electronic devices. The battery cover usually includes a chassis and a resilient member riveted on the chassis to provide electric contact points with the batteries. One of the challenges of utilizing such a battery cover is when the portable electronic device suffers a violent shock, the resilient member bears a risk of detaching away from the chassis, which leads to a damage to the battery cover.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a battery cover and a portable electronic device having the same which can overcome the described limitations.

Battery cover and portable electronic device having same


A water block is used to be adhered to a heat-generating element and includes a cavity. The cavity has a chamber therein. One side or both sides of the chamber is provided with an inlet pipeline and an outlet pipeline respectively, thereby communicating with the chamber. Further, the chamber is provided therein with a heat-exchanging means for performing a heat-exchanging action with a working fluid. Finally, the top face of the cavity is provided with a membrane. An activating element is adhered on the membrane for driving the membrane to swing up and down, thereby forcing the working fluid within the chamber to circulate in single direction. The activating element is used as a power source, and in addition, the water block can be made much thinner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat-dissipating structure, and in particular to a water block that is adhered to a heat-generating element.
2. Description of Prior Art
Since the products made by modern technology are developed to a more precise extent, the volume thereof is more and more miniaturized but the heat generated is increasing substantially. Especially in a computer, since the operational performance thereof is enhanced continuously, the number of peripheral electronic components increases and thus the amount of heat generated by the whole computer also increases to a substantial extent. Therefore, in order to make the computer to operate normally in an allowable range of working temperature, it is necessary to provide an additional heat-dissipating device to reduce the influence of the heat exerted on the operation of computer.
Among current heat-dissipating devices, the fan is a kind of heat-dissipating device that is simplest and most commonly used. The other way of heat dissipation that is most commonly used is a water-cooling heat-dissipating system. The water-cooling heat-dissipating system utilizes a water block that is adhered on a heat-generating element (such as a CPU or disc driver). Via a pump, a cooling liquid is drawn from a water tank and is introduced into the water block. After the cooling liquid performs a heat-exchanging action with the water block that has absorbed heat from the heat-generating element, the cooling liquid flows from the water block to a heat-dissipating module, and is delivered back to the water tank after being cooled. The circulation of the cooling liquid facilitates to dissipate the heat and lowers the temperature of the heat-generating element. In this way, the whole computer can operate smoothly.
In addition to a necessary water block, the conventional heat-dissipating system also includes a pump, a water tank and a water cooler. All components are connected and communicated with each other via conduits, so that a working fluid can flow among each component.
In order to solve the problem of limited space, in the conventional art, the water block and the pump of the water-cooling heat-dissipating system are combined with each other, so that the water block can not only absorb the heat, but also generate a thrust for driving the working fluid. Via this arrangement, the necessary volume of the water-cooling heat-dissipating system can be reduced. However, under a condition that the traditional pump uses a set of fan blades as a power source, although the water block and the pump are combined together to reduce one component, the combined structure of the water block still cannot reduce the volume substantially. In order to meet the demands of electronic products for the water-cooling heat-dissipating system, it is an important issue to propose another solution to overcome the above problems existed in prior art.


A pressurized-gas storage assembly has a liner defining a gas storage chamber and an end portion with a planar surface, with an access opening on the planar surface that is in fluid communication with the gas storage chamber. A raised circular ring extends from the planar surface and surrounds the access opening. The assembly also includes a polar boss having a longitudinally extending part that has a top surface with a recessed opening, and a planar bottom surface, with a channel extending through the polar boss to serve as a passageway through the polar boss. A circular groove is provided on the bottom flat surface of the polar boss, with the raised ring received inside the circular groove. An outer shell is provided around the entirety of the liner, with the outer shell having an edge-defining aperture that receives the polar boss.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage tanks having liners, especially storage tanks with plastic liners used for storing compressed gaseous fuels. In particular, the present invention is related to a closure assembly for a pressure vessel, which is also a term used to describe such storage tanks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pressure vessels are widely used to store liquids and gases under pressure. One growing application of pressure vessels is their use in the storage of alternative fuels, such as natural gas, hydrogen or propane, for use in vehicles such as automobiles. Natural gas and propane are increasingly viewed as preferable to gasoline for fueling vehicles. Accordingly, approaches have been devised for converting gasoline-fueled vehicles to natural gas-fueled or propane-fueled vehicles by retrofitting them to use natural gas or propane instead of gasoline. Additionally, new vehicles are currently being built which are designed to operate using natural gas or propane as the fuel source.
Vessels used for storing natural gases and propane preferably are equipped with a plastic liner, which serves to keep the stored gas from leaking. For a conventional pressure vessel, the liner is overwrapped with composite fibers and epoxy resin to form an outer shell of the pressure vessel. The plastic liner preferably covers the entire interior surface of the pressure vessel, including the neck portion, which defines an access opening for loading fuel. To prevent leakage of fuel at the access opening, a metallic polar boss is roto-molded or injection molded with the liner, and an adapter is installed into the polar boss to finish sealing the liner, and to allow for other metallic parts to attach to the pressure vessel.
The polar boss assemblies for such conventional pressure vessels are therefore provided with two machined parts (i.e., the adapter and the polar boss) This can be disadvantageous as the seal surface of the liner has tight tolerances, and several steps are required to complete the assembly. In addition, in certain of these conventional pressure vessels, additional parts, such as an O-ring or other sealing means, may also be required, thereby further complicating the construction and sealing abilities.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
It is an object of the present invention is to provide an improved polar boss assembly for use with a composite pressure vessel that has a simplified construction with effective sealing capabilities.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a high strength metallic (steel or aluminium) polar boss to a low strength metallic (steel or aluminum) liner.
To accomplish the objectives set forth above, the present invention provides a pressurized-gas storage assembly having a liner defining a gas storage chamber and having an end portion with a planar surface, with an access opening on the planar surface that is n fluid communication with the gas storage chamber, the liner further including a raised circular ring extending from the planar surface and surrounding the access opening. The assembly also includes a polar boss having a longitudinally extending part that has a top surface with a recessed opening, and a planar bottom surface, with a channel extending through the polar boss and communicating with the recessed opening and terminating at the bottom planar surface to serve as a passageway through the polar boss, the polar boss further including a circular groove provided on the bottom flat surface, the circular groove having side walls with threads provided on the side walls of the groove, with the raised ring received inside the circular groove and threadably engaged to each other. An outer shell is provided around the entirety of the liner, with the outer shell having an edge-defining aperture that receives the polar boss.
The present invention may be equipped in conventional tanks, including those having cylindrical configurations, as well as conformable tanks of the type described below. The assemblies may be installed in various types of vehicles, including, without limitation, automobiles, trucks, sports utility vehicles, military vehicles, and the like. In addition, the present invention may be used for tanks, especially portable tanks, such as scuba tanks and oxygen tanks used by firefighters and the like.

Method of fabricating a pressurized-gas storage assembly


The Compound Torque Multiplying Lever Propelled Bicycle uses two force multiplying machines to generate a large amount of torque to be applied directly to the sprocket of the rear wheel. This machine uses a lever machine as a means of mechanical advantage and a two gear combination machine as a means of mechanical advantage. In this configuration, the input gear is always larger than the output gear or sprocket. Furthermore, because the load of each lever machine is moved away from the fulcrum and closer to the pedals, less material is needed to reinforce the lever machines from the inside; thus, they are lighter. Furthermore, because the sprockets used to increase torque and range are smaller in diameter, they are then lighter, which would result in a bicycle that is lighter, having consistent increased torque from pedal peak to pedal base with a substantial amount of range.

The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:
U.S. PatentsPat. No.Kind CodeIssue DatePatentee4,666,173B62M1987 May 19Graham8,632,089B12014 Jan. 21Bezerra9,902,461B22018 Feb. 27Bezerra5,716,0691998 Feb. 10Bezerra5,405,1571995 Apr. 11Bezerra
Many of the prior art in the niche of lever propelled bicycles have tried to penetrate the bicycle market, but have not achieved this concept to a level where it has been noticeable. For a machine having gravitational advantage, one may ask, why have I not seen these bikes sold in Wal-Mart or other major retailers. This is because those bicycles have yet to equal the pedaling propulsion performance of a conventional bicycle. If there is a lot of torque, then the bicycle is too heavy or it may not have an efficient multispeed system for the design configuration of the lever machine or the type of lever propelled bicycle designed could only be a single speed bike.
Several prior designs have been, through rational observation, seen to work, but not been seen in the market place. Graham illustrates the Foot Pedal Drive for Bicycles in U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,173. The bicycle has the ability to work, but not outperform what has already been established. The bicycle has gravitational advantage by providing vertical pedaling. Furthermore, this bicycle has a breakthrough means of allowing conventional multispeed controls to be installed in the rear wheel, which would be compatible with this system. However, this system is an addition to a conventional frame structure, which would cause the bicycle to outweigh what it was replacing; which is the crank arm and chainring. The chainring is positioned above the rear wheel and has approximately 25 teeth. There are tubes extending from the seat post and from the rear wheel drop out plate, with the addition of the long lever machines distributing effort along its length. All of these components would outweigh a crank arm and chainring, thus rendering the bicycle too heavy when matched against what is established.
Similar issues can be seen in Bezerra's invention of the Mechanism for Converting Reciprocal Motion to Rotary Motion (U.S. Pat. No. 8,632,089). Again here is a lever propulsion system added to a conventional frame, which through observation is heavier that a chainring and crank arm. Thus, even if this bicycle did have mechanical advantage, its burdensome weight would deplete its performance.
Whenever lever machines are added to a bicycle frame, one must design a frame that displaces it weight and transfers this weight to the lever machines so that the bicycle does not take on extra weight beyond what is standard in the bicycle industry. One must master increasing torque, maintaining sufficient amount of range, while decreasing the weight of the bicycle. This concept is only limited to the traditional bicycle metals like chromoly, titanium and aluminum. When it comes to carbon fiber, the nature of the lever machine demands the extra weight increase although mechanical advantage may be greater. For example, if a manufacturer wanted to build a lever propelled bicycle comparable to a standard chromoly bicycle, the central tube would have to be made out of 7075 or 2024 aluminum while the stirring cylinder, seat post cylinder and forks would be made out of chromoly. This would make sense because aluminum weighs ⅓ the weight of steel. So, this is why it would make sense to make the center tube twice as wide as one chromoly tube. So, if it is the norm to use a 1″ chromoly tube as the top tube in a frame, then the center tube in a frame for a lever machine should be made out of 6061 or 2024 aluminum with an O.D. of 2″ to balance the weight. Then this tube can be glued to the chromoly joint steering welded assembly with a 3M aerospace resin, as well as the rear end of the tube. The lever tubes would take the place of the down tube and seat post tube of the traditional bicycle to prevent a weight increase. Both tubes should be about 1.25″ in diameter while being reinforced with a chromoly beam, which at the front ascends through a notch in the front of the tube to form the pedal mount.

Compound torque multiplying lever propelled bicycle


This invention provides a process for treating a workpiece having a front side, a back side, and an outer perimeter. In accordance with the process, a processing fluid is selectively applied or excluded from an outer peripheral margin of at least one of the front or back sides or the workpiece. Exclusion and/or application of the processing fluid occurs by applying one or more processing fluids to the workpiece as the workpiece and corresponding reactor are spinning about an axis of rotation that is generally orthogonal to the center of the face of the workpiece being processed. The flow rate of the one or more processing fluids, fluid pressure, and/or spin rate are used to control the extent to which the processing fluid is selectively applied or excluded from the outer peripheral margin.

This invention pertains to treating a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, e.g., a silicon wafer, so as to remove a thin film, such as a copper or other metal or oxide film, from selected regions on the wafer.
The fabrication of a microelectronic circuit and/or component from a substrate typically involves a substantial number of processes. Many of these processes involve the deposition of a thin film on the surface of the workpiece followed by contact with a processing liquid, vapor, or gas. In a known process for treating a microelectronic workpiece, such as a silicon wafer, on which microelectronic devices have been fabricated and which has a front, device side, a back, non-device side, and an outer perimeter, thin-film layers are successively applied and etched to form, for example, a metallized interconnect structure. In a typical metallization process, both sides of a semiconductor wafer are coated with a protective film such as a silicon nitride or a silicon oxide. Thereafter, a barrier layer such as titanium nitride, tantalum or tantalum nitride is applied over a dielectric layer on the front side of the workpiece. Depending upon the particular process used to form the interconnect structures, the dielectric layer may include a pattern of recessed micro-structures that define the various interconnect paths. A thin metal film, such as a copper film is applied exterior to the barrier layer. In most instances, the thin film serves as an initial seed layer for subsequent electroplating of a further metal layer, such as a further copper layer. Due to manufacturing constraints, the thin film is not applied over an outer, peripheral margin of the front side.
Known techniques, such as physical vapor deposition (sputtering) or chemical vapor deposition, are typically used to apply the barrier layer and the thin film. Both methods can deposit copper onto the wafer bevel (the peripheral edge of the wafer), and in many cases this deposit is non adherent and can flake off in subsequent processing steps such as annealing or CMP. After deposition of the barrier layer, additional layers may be deposited to the wafer front side edge. In instances in which a further metal layer is to be electroplated exterior to the thin film, one or more electrical contacts are connected to an outer margin of the thin film to provide plating power. Because subsequent layers are deposited with an edge exclusion, the previously deposited layers are left exposed. Many of these layers allow copper to be deposited on them, but the adhesion is very poor and flaking during post processing is observed. A typical copper example might be an exposed barrier layer such as Ti/TiN being exposed to copper plating solution. Following electrochemical deposition, the barrier layer would have a copper film of low quality which would flake off easily in CMP. Removal of flaking material before CMP processing is desirable as the flakes have the potential to cause scratches in the polished surface, resulting in yield losses.
The surface area of the front side beyond the inner boundary of the outer margin of the thin film is not available for fabricating the microelectronic devices since the present manufacturing processes limit the extent to which device structures can be formed at the outer margin. It would be highly desirable and would result in increased yield if more of the surface area beyond the present limits of the outer margin of the thin film were available for fabricating interconnect structures.
Covering the exposed barrier layer with a full coverage seed layer would eliminate copper metal from flaking off the barrier and also have the added benefit of increasing usable area on the wafer surface. Even in this case, copper deposited on the bevel during the seed layer and electrochemical deposition would need to be removed, as it too can flake off and/or cause cross contamination of metrology tools. A clear area inboard of the wafer bevel may also be necessary for reliable processing; many clamp rings are very sensitive to surface characteristics.
In the known process discussed above, and in other processes, contamination by copper, other metals, or other contaminants can occur on the back side of the workpiece. Although copper and other metals tend to diffuse rapidly through silicon or silicon dioxide, the back side is generally not provided with barrier layers that are capable of preventing copper, other metals, or other contaminants from diffusing through the silicon wafer to the front side, at which such contamination can be very detrimental to device performance.
Such contamination can result from overspraying or other processing artifacts or from cross-contamination via fabrication tools. Such contamination can occur on the outer perimeter of a silicon wafer as well as on its back side.
If not removed, such contamination can lead to cross-contamination of other wafers, via fabrication tools. Such contamination can be very difficult to remove, particularly if the contaminant has formed a stable silicide. It would be highly desirable if such contamination could be easily removed in a controlled manner without detrimentally affecting the front side of the workpiece.

Selective treatment of microelectric workpiece surfaces


A bearing block may support a camshaft on a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine. The bearing block is formed in one-piece and is provided with an annular closed bearing eye for the camshaft. Thus, the bearing block may be made smaller and thus lighter.

In internal combustion engines camshafts are usually used for controlling the inlet and outlet valves and supported on bearing blocks on a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine. Due to increasingly strict emission standards for modern internal combustion engines, effort is made especially in the reduction of weight, space and thus also fuel consumption. Reduction of fuel consumption in vehicle internal combustion engines can be realized in particular by reducing the weight of the vehicle; the internal combustion engine has substantial savings potential due to its high metal content. In particular for supporting the camshaft, massive and thus comparably heavy bearing blocks were used to date. Using lighter bearing blocks would thus offer a possibility to reduce weight.


A state observer driven by measurements of phase voltages and currents for estimating the angular orientation of a rotor of a synchronous motor such as a variable reluctance motor (VRM). Phase voltages and currents are detected and serve as inputs to a state observer. The state observer includes a mathematical model of the electromechanical operation of the synchronous motor. The characteristics of the state observer are selected so that the observer estimates converge to the actual rotor angular orientation and velocity, winding phase flux linkages or currents.

This invention relates to the control of synchronous motors and more particularly to a state observer for estimating the angular orientation of the rotor of a synchronous motor such as a variable reluctance motor.
To obtain high performance from a synchronous motor such as a variable reluctance motor, its phases must be excited in synchronism with the position of its rotor. A shaft encoder or resolver typically provides the rotor position information necessary for this closed loop excitation. In some applications, the sensors are undesirable for reasons of cost, size, weight or reliability.
It is also known to infer rotor position by means of estimators for variable reluctance motors and permanent magnet motors driven by measurements of phase voltages and currents. These estimators primarily use zero crossing and peak detection to confirm coarse rotor motion rather than provide continuous position estimation. References [1-8] set forth in the accompanying Appendix report such position estimators. (Numbers in brackets refer to the references set forth in the Appendix.)
Observer theory is well developed for linear systems [9,10] and partially developed for non-linear systems [11-14]. However, the use of observers with electrical motors is rare despite the advantages they offer. Notable exceptions are concerned with the estimation of rotor flux in induction motors [15-17].
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an alternative to direct rotor position measurement for the control of synchronous motors.
Yet another object of the invention is an observer driven by measurements of phase voltages and currents for estimating rotor position continuously.
Still another object of the invention is a state observer able to determine rotor position to within one part in 50,000 of a mechanical cycle.
A still further object of the invention is such an observer which can be implemented with an ordinary motor controller forming a paint of synchronous motor systems.


Techniques for indicators for storage cells are provided. In one aspect, an indicator is provided that indicates if a portion of storage cells of a storage device contains a pre-defined value. In another aspect, a range of storage cells are initialized to a known value. An indicator may be set to indicate the range of storage cells has been initialized to the known value. In yet another aspect, a request for the indicator may be sent to a storage device. Based on the indicator, initialization of the storage device may be bypassed.

Modern computing devices are typically equipped with or have access to persistent storage mechanisms. Some examples of persistent storage mechanisms include hard disk drives (HDD) and solid state disk drives (SSDD). These persistent storage devices allow for data to be maintained even during periods of time when the computing device is not operational. In addition, persistent storage may be used as an extension of a computing device's internal memory.
A typical persistent storage device may include a plurality of storage cells. These storage cells, at the most basic level, may store an individual bit, and as such, may contain the values zero or one. In the case of a HDD, this value may be stored on a magnetic disk. In the case of a SSDD, the value may be stored in an individual memory cell. Storage cells may also be aggregated for access. Typically, individual storage cells are not accessed directly. For example, multiple bits may be combined into a byte. Multiple bytes may be aggregated to form a block. Values are then written to the bytes or blocks, depending on the level of aggregation. The values may be written, retrieved, and erased, and may remain persistent even when the associated computing device is not operational.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


A two-stage ejection system for an injection mold that allows the mold plates to move at the same time and then allows selected plates to be stopped in a locked position while the other plates continue to move. The system includes an external bushing, an internal bushing that carries cam retainers, and an ejector pin. The system may be used in an injection mold having in sequence a stationary plate, a stripper plate, a support plate and an ejection plate. The external bushing is secured to the support plate, the internal bushing is secured to the stripper plate, and the ejector pin is secured to the ejection plate. The cam retainers selectively engage grooves in the external bushing or ejector pin to lock their respective attached plates from moving with respect to each other while the other plates continue to move.

Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of injection molding apparatus, and more particularly to a two-stage ejection system for an injection mold.
2. Description of the Related Art
In injection molds that include multiple plates there are many uses for a device that allows the plates to move at the same time for a given distance, and then allows one of the plates to stop in a locked position while the other plates continue to move. Devices that are presently available do not allow the plates to be locked mechanically without possibility of damage to the mold if a plate moves out of sequence.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved two-stage ejection system for an injection mold, and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the present invention provides a two-stage ejection system for an injection mold that allows the mold plates to move at the same time and then allows selected plates to be stopped in a locked position while the other plates continue to move. The system includes an external bushing, an internal bushing that carries cam retainers, and an ejector pin. The system may be used in an injection mold having in sequence a stationary plate, a stripper plate, a support plate and an ejection plate. The external bushing is secured to the support plate, the internal bushing is secured to the stripper plate, and the ejector pin is secured to the ejection plate. The cam retainers selectively engage grooves in the external bushing or ejector pin to lock their respective attached plates from moving with respect to each other while the other plates continue to move.

Two-stage ejection system for an injection mold