Scientific electronic calculator comprising an input device such as a keyboard for inputting operational information including the operands and operators to the calculator, a display device for displaying the input operational information and results of performed mathematical operations, a central processing unit for controlling the input of the operational information, operations and displays, a first storage memory composed of a ROM for storing a program of sequential operations to be executed by the central processing unit, a second storage device composed of a RAM for storing numeric values and expression operands, and a storage and display buffer device composed of a RAM for preparing an operand assembly having the order of a parenthesis open, the numeral, numerical term or numerical expression operands stored in the second storage device, and a parenthesis close. In operation, the calculator instructs the central processing unit to display an operand assembly prepared in the storage and display buffer device in the display device in response to an instructions by the input device to display the numerical stored in the second storage device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scientific electronic calculator and, more particularly to a scientific electronic calculator for reading and displaying numeric values or expressions which are stored in the memories thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With a conventional scientific electronic calculator for performing calculations by inputting numeric values, expressions and functions thereto, operations are performed not in the entry sequence of numeric values, expressions and functions, but by a predetermined priority of the function inputted. When the calculation of "-4.sup.2 " is to be performed, for example, the [-] key, [4] key, [X.sup.2 ] key, and [=] keys are sequentially depressed for entry in that order, as shown in FIG. 7(a), so as to provide the result "-16". The result "-16" was obtained by calculating 4.sup.2 first to provide "16" and then attaching the "-" sign preceding to "16", because the operation of square has priority over "-". In this case, the same result is obtained as that of the general numeric operation.
In addition to "-" and "4", the calculator also stores "-4" in its memory. When "-4" is read from the memory for display, the display exhibits "-4", which is also exhibited when the [-] and [4] keys are successively depressed.
When calculations are performed with the scientific electronic calculator having the aforesaid operational priority, different results may be produced depending on whether calculations are carried out by using numeric values read from the memory, or by using numeric values stored in the memory under a memory name, for the signs preceding to the numeric values may be treated differently in each case, depending on the operational priority of the function inputted. FIG. 7 shows a conventional method of displaying numeric values. By way of example, a case where "-4" is stored in the memory "A" as shown in FIG. 7(b) will be described.
There are two methods of squaring the memory "A". One is to utilize the memory name "A" for calculations. Here, the [A] key, [X.sup.2 ] key, and [=] key are successively depressed as shown in FIG. 7(c), resulting in 16. The other is to read the numeric value from the memory "A" for display and then perform calculations by using it. In this case, the [rcl] key, [A] key, [X.sup.2 ] key, and [=] key are successively depressed as shown in FIG. 7(d), resulting in -16. The [rcl] key here is for requesting the operation of reading a numeric value from a selected memory.
In the first method, A is treated as a whole variable so that "A.sup.2 " is displayed and that the numeric value stored in the memory "A" itself is squared in operations. In the second method, however, the successive entry of [rcl] and [A] reads out "-4" to be displayed, which is treated similarly to the case where the [-] key and [4] key are successively depressed. Consequently, calculations are carried out with the numeric expression -4.sup.2 displayed so as to provide the result "-16", because the square function, which is subsequently inputted by depression of the [X.sup.2 ] key, has priority over "-" in operation.
As described above, the conventional scientific electronic calculator is disadvantageous in that even if a numeric value stored in a memory is to be used to calculate a function, the result is sometimes different from the intended one because the calculator is so designed that numeric values or variables being displayed are used to calculate the function in accordance with a predetermined priority.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 55-147747 discloses an electronic calculator which is constituted so that in performing calculations with parentheses, it displays left-hand parentheses "(" which are inputted via a left-hand parenthesis key upon entry of numeric expressions and which are the same in number as uncompleted operations.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 53-106538 discloses a method of controlling the register of a calculator. The object of the invention is to effectively use the register for storing information on performing calculations with parentheses.

Scientific electronic calculator for performing mathematical operations with predetermined priority


A device for filtering water to at least one emergency cooling system in a nuclear power plant of the type comprising a reactor arranged in a containment which substantially consists of an upright, suitably cylindrical container whose bottom part forms a pool for collecting water formed by condensation of steam present in the containment, the condensation pool including a number of back-flushable containers filter water which is taken from the pool and, if required, is supplied to nozzles in the emergency cooling system in order to cool the reactor core in the event of an inadmissible temperature rise therein, each strainer having a shape of a housing with at least one, suitably cylindrical, apertured strainer wall through which the water can flow from the outside and into the housing, and being connected, by a first conduit passing through the container wall, to a suction pump disposed outside the container wall, as well as connected to a secondary conduit for supplying wash water to the interior of the housing in order, if required, to flush the strainer wall by flowing the wash water through it from the inside and out, thereby removing filtrate deposited on the outside of the strainer wall, characterized in that a number of secondary strainers each consisting of an elongate, apertured tube having a diameter or maximum cross-sectional dimension from about 200 mm to about 400 mm and a length dimension at least five times greater than the diameter dimension, are connected either directly or indirectly by a third conduit to the first conduit connected to the suction pump.

In actual practice, the above-mentioned emergency cooling system consists of a first sprinkler system comprising a plurality of nozzles or sprinklers mounted in the upper part of the reactor and adapted to spray large amounts of water on the fuel rods in order to cool these when there is an emergency. The plant further includes a second sprinkler system comprising a plurality of nozzles or sprinklers which, like those of the first system, take their water from the condensation pool in the containment, but which are mounted outside the reactor proper and are adapted to sprinkle the gas phase in the containment in order to reduce any remaining excess pressure therein as well as to cool conduits or other components found inside the containment but outside the reactor itself. In both instances, it is of great importance that the water supplied to the nozzles is free from all sorts of impurities, such as fibres, grains and particles, that might clog the nozzles. Naturally, this is especially important in the emergency cooling system, which has to be absolutely reliable. Many of the components mounted inside the containment, such as the conduits, are wholly or partly heat insulated. In most of today's nuclear power plants, this insulation is made up of fibres of mineral wool, which constitute an element of risk with regard to the two sprinkler systems, in that unintentionally released fibres may clog the nozzles if reaching the sprinkler systems. For this reason, nuclear power plants have been equipped with strainers of the type stated by way of introduction.
Existing back-flushable strainers are mounted on the inside of the cylindrical container wall of the containment. This wall is made up of a thick, resistant concrete wall and a lining in the form of non-corrosive sheet-metal applied on the inside of the wall, ensuring absolute liquid proofness between the inside and the outside of the containment. The strainers are mounted by means of a number of attachments anchored in the concrete by bolts or dowels carefully sealed where they pass through the sheet-metal lining.
In actual practice, it takes about 5-10 min to back-flush a strainer which is contaminated with a fibre mat tending to clog the strainer holes. It was previously held that the strainers could operate for at least 10 h without any need of back-flushing. However, real-life incidents have shown that this estimated minimum operating time is too long. In functional tests, it has happened that discharged steam has entrained mineral-wool insulation, which has dropped into the condensation pool and clogged the strainers even after about 30 min. Back-flushing, which takes 5-10 min, is not a critical operation 10 h after a possible reactor trip, since the decay power of the reactor core then has been considerably reduced, as has the need for cooling. However, if back-flushing is required after less than 1 h, the need for cooling of the core is still considerable, and an interruption of the water supply to the emergency cooling system therefore is unacceptable for reasons of safety.
An obvious solution would of course be to increase the area of the strainers. In theory, this could be done by replacing the existing back-flushable strainers with larger ones, i.e. having enlarged apertured strainer walls. However, such replacement strainers of enlarged diameter would be disadvantageous not only by being difficult to introduce into the containment through extremely narrow passages, but also by running the risk of being exposed to excessive mechanical forces when the water in the condensation pool is heaving when steam is blown into the containment.

Device for filtering water to an emergency cooling system in a nuclear power plant


An apparatus and a computer implemented method compare a first representation of an identifier with a second representation of an identifier to establish a likelihood ratio considering the probability the first representation and second representation originate from the same identifier and the probability of the first representation and second representation originate from different identifiers. The approach generates one or more variant expressions from the first representation, second representation and other representations. A boundary around the expression of the second representation is used to establish the number of the variant expressions of the expression of the first representation within it and the number of variant expressions of the expressions of the other representations within it and so provide the measure of comparison between the first representation of the identifier and the second representation of the identifier from the first value and second value.

This invention concerns improvements in and relating to methods and apparatus for comparison, particularly, but not exclusively, of one example of a biometric identifier with another to establish the strength of match between them.
In the context of using identity to control access, verification of a person's identity, evidence for legal proceedings and evidence for directing the future conduct of legal investigations, there is a need to establish the strength of match between one example or representation of an identifier and another example or representation. A strong match may allow access or provide evidence of a link. A weak match or lack of match may result in access being denied or evidence of a lack of a link.
The invention has amongst its possible aims to provide methods and apparatus for comparison which seek to provide a more versatile and/or robust and/or accommodating approach to the making of the comparison and the outputs resulting.


A device and a corresponding system for reading X-ray information stored in a storage phosphor plate includes a reading device for irradiating the storage phosphor plate with stimulation light and for detecting emission light stimulated in the storage phosphor plate, and a conveyance device for conveying the storage phosphor plate including at least one roller that can be put into rotation about its rotational axis. In order to guarantee, with a simple structure, the most reliable possible transport of the storage phosphor plate, one or more magnets, more particularly permanent magnets, are arranged in the interior of the cylinder which is formed as a hollow body, more particularly a hollow cylinder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and a system for reading out X-ray information stored in storage phosphor plates as well as a storage phosphor plate.
2. Description of the Related Art
The storing of X-rays penetrating an object, for example a patient, as a latent image in a so-called storage phosphor plate constitutes an option for recording X-ray images. In order to read out the latent image, the storage phosphor plate is irradiated with stimulating light and thereby stimulated to emit emission light. The emission light, the intensity of which corresponds to the image stored in the storage phosphor plate, is detected by an optical detector and converted into electrical signals. The electrical signals are further processed, as required, and finally made available for analysis, in particular for medical-diagnostic purposes, by providing them on a corresponding output device, such as for example a monitor and/or a printer.
In prior art devices and systems, storage phosphor plates are mostly transported relative to the read-out device by pairs of rotating rollers.

Device and system for reading out X-ray information stored in storage phosphor plates and storage phosphor plate


A passive refrigerant retrieval and storage apparatus is shown for retrieving refrigerant from a cooling system prior to servicing the cooling system. The passive apparatus includes a coil collector tube within an insulated housing with an outlet from the collector tube passing through a metering valve into the housing. The collector tube is connected to the condenser outlet of a cooling system and the system compressor operated to pump pressurized liquid refrigerant into the collector tube. A small portion of the refrigerant is discharged through the metering valve into the apparatus housing where it is evaporated and causes extreme subcooling to the refrigerant in the collector tube. A return line from the housing to the inlet side of the compressor returns the evaporated refrigerant to the cooling system. Gradually the cooling system is starved for refrigerant such that the pressures in both the high pressure side and low pressure side of the cooling system gradually decrease, decreasing the pressure of refrigerant within the collector tube and housing of the retrieval apparatus such that the liquid will no longer evaporate, trapping the refrigerant in the retrieval apparatus.

The present invention relates to a method for retrieving and storing a refrigerant while servicing a cooling or heat pump system and in particular to a passive retrieval and storage apparatus.
It is widely believed today that refrigerants, typically chlorofluorocarbons, used in vapor compression cooling and heat pump systems have a detrimental effect on the earths, atmospheric ozone layer when the refrigerant is released from the cooling system into the atmosphere. When repairing a cooling system, it is often necessary to first remove the refrigerant from the cooling system. The refrigerant can either be released to the atmosphere or it can be recovered for later use in the same equipment, or subsequent reprocessing and reuse. Because of the harmful effects associated with the release of refrigerant to the atmosphere, several devices have been developed in recent years to retrieve the refrigerant from a cooling system before it is serviced. Many of these devices, in addition to retrieving the refrigerant, also purify the refrigerant so that the refrigerant can be used to recharge the cooling system after the necessary repairs have been made.
Many of these refrigerant retrieval systems include several components typically found in cooling systems such as a compressor, condenser and evaporator. The compressor is generally used to draw the refrigerant from the cooling system into the retrieval system where it is condensed, purified and stored for later reuse and pumped back into the system being serviced. Such systems are relatively expensive and can also be difficult to transport to the job site when making a service call to repair a cooling system. For a service company having a fleet of service trucks, to equip each truck with such a recovery system can be very expensive and space consuming. The expense and transport of the recovery system may not be justified by the cost savings from reusing the refrigerant and may outweigh a desire to avoid environmental damage. As a result, many appliance repairmen may not bother to recover refrigerant from cooling systems.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simplified apparatus for refrigerant retrieval that can be easily transported to the cooling system being repaired and which is less expensive than the large retrieval systems currently in use that include a compressor.
It is a feature of the retrieval and storage apparatus of the present invention to utilize the compressor of the cooling system being repaired in the retrieval process rather than including a compressor in the retrieval apparatus. The apparatus of this invention many also be employed in conjunction with an auxiliary compressor in conditions of failure of the serviced system compressor.
The apparatus of the present invention includes a coiled collector tube for receiving pressurized liquid refrigerant from the cooling system. The collector tube is contained within a well insulated evaporator housing. One end of the collector tube is connected to the high pressure side of the cooling system to receive pressurized liquid refrigerant from the condenser. The other end of the collector tube includes an adjustable metering valve leading to a refrigerant outlet that discharges refrigerant from the collector tube into the evaporator housing. The interior of the evaporator housing is connected to the low pressure side, or inlet side, of the compressor of the cooling system to draw the evaporated refrigerant into the compressor. The existing service ports on the cooling system can be the connection points.
In operation, the cooling system compressor is activated to pump condensed pressurized liquid refrigerant into both the system evaporator and the collector tube which is now functioning as a parallel evaporator. As the refrigerant passes through the metering valve into the evaporator housing, the refrigerant will flash causing the available heat to be removed within the evaporator housing. The temperature within the housing will decrease to a point where there is not enough available heat to evaporate all the liquid refrigerant entering the evaporator housing. At this point only a small portion of the refrigerant is now flashed since the only heat available is what is introduced into the evaporator housing by the sensible heat being given off from the collector tube. The warm liquid refrigerant within the collector tube is now undergoing extreme subcooling. Since the entering liquid refrigerant that does not evaporate has already been cooled to about the same temperature as the evaporator housing, it is relatively stable and will begin to collect in the bottom of the evaporator housing. It is now trapped there due to the limited heat available within it's environment.
The evaporated refrigerant picks up heat from the collector tube, as it is pulled from the evaporator housing through the outlet back into the compressor where it is pressurized and later condensed and returned to the collector tube. As the cold liquid refrigerant is trapped in the collector tube, the system pressures generated by the compressor will gradually decrease as less refrigerant becomes available for the compressor to displace. When the quantity of refrigerant leaving the device equals the quantity of refrigerant entering the device, the exit is closed trapping the evaporated refrigerant in the housing. The compressor continues to run, forcing the refrigerant gas left in the system into the collector tube where much of it will condense because of the cold environment that has been created in the evaporator housing. When the internal temperature of the device has risen to where no more condensation is possible, the saturation temperature, the inlet valve of the retrieval apparatus is closed.
At this point, 85% to 95% of the refrigerant of the cooling system has been retrieved. Additional refrigerant can be retrieved by installing a piercing valve on the cooling system line leading from the compressor outlet and connecting the piercing valve directly to a port on the evaporator housing of the retrieval device. The cooling system line downstream from and immediately adjacent to the piercing valve is pinched-off so that all of the remaining refrigerant is pumped into the retrieval device. This refrigerant is discharged into the bottom of the housing whereby the refrigerant vapor must travel through the already collected liquid refrigerant and is thereby cooled and condensed. The system compressor will pull the system into a vacuum. The cooling system can now be repaired and since all the refrigerant has been retrieved, there is no release of refrigerant to the atmosphere.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Method and apparatus for passive refrigerant and storage


Energy storage device for storing electric energy for the partial or complete electrical drive of a vehicle, wherein the device has energy storages and power storages, a drive unit of a vehicle with an energy storage device as well as method for operating an energy storage device.

Electric drives for vehicles, whether hybrid vehicles or pure electric vehicles, move into the centre of attention of the current development in respect to the reduction of the pollutant emission. The energy storage with batteries has in this case an important role. At the moment batteries in hybrid- or electric vehicles are individually adapted to the vehicle conditions, which necessitates an uneconomically high development expenditure. The development of flexible and safe battery systems is, therefore, sensible.
Storages for energy exist, which provide a lot of energy. These are, however, limited concerning their power. On the other hand storages for energy exist, which have a very high power, but are, concerning their energy capacity, insufficient. Citation WO 2008/121982 A1 discloses a modular construction of a battery with different battery cells. As battery cells have an electric resistance, losses arise in a current flow, which lead to the warming of the battery cells. Especially high energy batteries produce, because of their relative high internal resistance at peak currents high temperatures. High power batteries do not warm up as greatly because of their lower internal resistance, however, have a too low energy capacity for applications with a high energy requirement. A cooling of the batteries is expensive and necessitates a lot of installation space and weight.


In an organic thin film EL device comprising an anode layer, a cathode layer, and a complex layer including hole injection material and luminescent material, an anode interfacial layer is formed between the anode layer and the complex layer. The anode interfacial layer includes quinacridone derivative.

This invention relates to an organic thin film EL (Electroluminescent) device which is particularly used as a flat panel light source and a display.
An EL device has attracted much interest because of its application as a selfluminous panel-shaped display device. In particular, the organic thin film EL device uses organic material as luminescent material and generates light by high luminous efficiency and high luminance by supplying a supply voltage lower than 10 (V). The organic thin film EL device has several basic structures. One of those structures comprises an anode layer, a hole injection transport layer, an emitting layer, and a cathode layer which are formed on a substrate in this order. Another structure comprises the anode layer, the emitting layer, an electron injection transport layer, and the cathode layer which are formed on the substrate in this order. Other one structure comprises the anode layer, the hole injection transport layer, the emitting layer, the electron injection transport layer, and the cathode layer which are formed on the substrate in this order.
The conventional organic thin film EL device generally comprises a deposited film of aromatic amine as the hole injection transport layer. In particular, it tends to use 1,1-bis(4-diparatolylaminophenyl) cyclohexane, or N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine because of a merit of hole injection characteristic and excellent flatness of the film. Although the deposited film made from the above-mentioned material has uniformity just after deposition process, cohesion in the deposited film considerably progresses few days after. This fact is disclosed in Proceedings contributed to Japan Society of Applied Physics, spring, 93, 30a-SZK-1 and in Proceedings contributed to Japan Society of Applied Physics, autumn, 93, 29a-ZC-8. For the above-mentioned reason, the organic thin film EL device has degradation. Furthermore, the organic thin film EL device has a low glass transition point within a range from 60.degree. C. to 80.degree. C. at most.
Generally, it is regarded that the degradation of the organic thin film EL device is caused because the aromatic amine has the low glass transition point lower than 100.degree. C. This means that the characteristic of the organic thin film EL device is greatly influenced by the film characteristic of an organic layer. For the reason, it is important for the organic thin film EL device to form the film which has homogeneous film characteristic and excellent adhesiveness of an interface to be contacted with another film.
On the other hand, the method using porphyrin chemical compound in the hole injection layer is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Tokkai-Sho 57-51781 (51781/1982). However, the degradation of the organic thin film EL device is caused by the cohesion and crystallization of the hole injection layer after fabrication of the device. This is because the following reason. If organic low-molecular material is used alone, the crystallization and the cohesion progress as time goes by. As a result, it is hard to form the thin film which has the homogeneous film characteristic and which is stable for a long time.
In order to restrain the degradation of the device by improving the thermal stability of the hole injection transport layer, it can be considered that the hole injection transport layer comprises the film wherein the above-mentioned aromatic amine is dispersed into high polymer molecule binder. The hole injection transport layer can be formed by a wet deposition method such as a spin coat method, a dip coat method, or the like. The characteristic of the organic thin film EL device is reported by Kido et al in Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 31, 1992, L 960. As disclosed in the report, although the device emits by the high luminance just after the fabrication of the device, the luminance decreases soon under a continuous emission mode at a constant supply voltage. This is caused by the following fact. Namely, the interface between the anode layer and the hole injection transport layer has degraded adhesiveness. For the reason, the hole injection transport layer peels from the anode layer. As a result, defective electrical contact causes between the anode layer and the hole injection transport layer.
Another example of the organic thin film EL device is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Tokkai-Sho 63-295695 (namely, 295695/1988). In such a device, the hole injection transport layer comprises a porphyrin chemical compound layer having hole injection characteristic and an aromatic tertiary amine layer having the hole injection characteristic in order to improve the stability of the organic thin film EL device by reducing the number of pin holes. However, it is insufficient to improve the stability of the organic thin film EL device. This is because it is hard to realize the prevention of peeling of the hole injection transport layer and the prevention of the crystallization and the cohesion in the hole injection transport layer at the same time.
As obvious from the above description, although the organic thin film EL device has the high luminance characteristic, the lifetime thereof is shorter than that of another type of light emission device. This means that it is hard to put the device to practical use.

Organic thin film EL device having long lifetime


Devices and methods for use in hip replacement surgery can incorporate computer models of a patient's acetabulum and surrounding bone structure, a first patient-specific jig designed from the computer model and configured to correspond to a final installation position and orientation of a prosthetic him implant, a second patient-specific jig, also designed from the computer model, configured to refine the procedure, if necessary, following use of the first patient-specific jig, and/or a third patient specific jig, designed from the computer model, configured to refine the procedure, if necessary, following use of the first and second patient-specific jigs, allowing the surgeon to properly position and orient the hip prosthesis. Also shown and described are novel devices for implanting an acetabular cup.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for the replacement of joints, and more particularly, to patient-specific hip replacement devices, including methods of manufacturing and using such devices for achieving accurate hip replacement based on computer generated imaging of a patient.
2. Background of the Invention
One known method of treating hip and other joints with arthritis and other medical conditions is to replace surfaces of articulating joints with prosthetic devices through surgical procedures. It is critical that such prosthetic devices are accurately designed and manufactured, and are installed correctly in order to relieve pain and provide an effective treatment method for such ailments. An orthopedic surgeon performing such joint replacement on a patient seeks to ensure, through surgery, adequate placement of the prosthetic and proper reconstruction of the joint being replaced. Prosthetic components used to replace a joint may placed optimally by templates and jigs according to the unique anatomy of a patient before surgery occurs. A particular patient's bone structure symmetry is one important consideration that a surgeon must consider when performing joint replacement surgery. Additionally, malposition of joint replacement prosthetics can result in premature wear of the bearing surfaces, which may require additional surgeries to correct.
In the case of a hip, the condition of the patient's joint may require a partial or total replacement. A partial hip replacement involves replacing the femoral head (the ball) of the damaged hip joint; however, the acetabulum (the socket) is not replaced in a partial hip replacement surgery. A total hip replacement includes replacing both the femoral head and the acetabulum with prosthetic devices. The femoral head is replaced with a femoral prosthetic that typically includes a head portion and a stem. The stem extends into the femur of the patient and is utilized to secure the femoral device to the femur, with the head portion protruding out from the femur. The acetabulum is then resurfaced and replaced with a cup-shaped acetabular device. The cup-shaped acetabular device provides a bearing surface for the head portion of the femoral prosthetic to allow a desirable amount of range of motion via the joint upon total hip replacement.
To replace the acetabulum effectively, a surgeon will typically enlarge the acetabulum with a reamer machine and reamer head to create a resurfaced cavity to receive a prosthetic acetabular cup, which may or may not be secured by cement or bone screws. One particular issue of concern during the reaming portion of the surgery is that the cutting portion of the reamer is hemispherical while the prosthetic acetabular cup is typically sub-hemispherical. If the acetabulum is reamed too deeply, the prosthetic acetabular cup will be positioned too deep within the reamed cavity. If the acetabulum is reamed too shallowly, the prosthetic acetabular cup will not be positioned deep enough. If the acetabulum is reamed at an improper angle, the prosthetic acetabular cup will not be installed properly. These imperfections can cause malalignment of the prosthetic hip joint. Thus, accurate reaming of the acetabulum and accurate positioning of the prosthetic acetabular cup are critical.
With the assistance of computer generated data derived from CT, MRI, or other scans, surgeons can more effectively determine proper alignment and positioning of the prosthetic acetabular cup in a patient through 3D modeling and rendering. While some surgeons use lasers during surgery in an attempt to properly place the prosthetic acetabular cup; however, accuracy and simplicity of existing devices and methods remain limited due to a variety of factors.


The type of conductor, its property, and if a metal, its type and cross-sectional area can be obtained from measurements made at different frequencies for the amount of unbalance created in a previously balanced stable coil detection system. The true resistive component is accurately measured and thus reflects only the voltage loss attributable to eddy currents caused by introduction of the test sample to the coil system. This voltage divided by corresponding applied frequency gives a curve which peaks at a frequency dependent upon type of conductor. For a metal this peak frequency is proportional to the samples resistivity divided by its cross-sectional area.

Metal detection systems have been used for more than thirty years, and have been capable of determining the presence or absence of a metallic object. Such systems have found many applications in various fields, and more recently, such systems have been finding widespread use as weapons detector devices. However, these systems when used for weapons detection have not been able to readily distinguish between various types of metallic objects.
These systems use an induction coil to which an oscillating signal is applied. Detection readings heretofore have been limited to a general determination as to the presence of a metal object with no precision in the identification process.
It has now been discovered that information can be developed which will permit this type of detection system to make specific identification of objects having conductive properties, and to give repeatable data for a specific object.
Previous systems have limited application because of their inability to distinguish between different types of objects, and in the use of these systems for detection at airports, there has been a persistent false alarm problem.
With the development of the system of this invention, it is now possible to accurately obtain information with respect to the type of conductive object disposed in the coil field, including information as to the various metallic components that are contained in it if there is more than one metal. This makes it possible to readily screen for different types of metallic objects of interest to preclude false alarms.
In addition, the system of this invention represents a break-through in that accurate repetitive readings can be obtained which make it possible to apply such systems to other areas, such as metal classification, sampling, testing of conductive solutions, animal tissues, and for tagging techniques.

Method and apparatus for identifying conductive objects by monitoring the true resistive component of impedance change in a coil system caused by the object


Methods for fabricating a thin film transistor and an array substrate, an array substrate and a display device are provided, and the fabrication method of a thin film transistor includes: forming a first photoresist pattern on the active layer film, wherein the first photoresist pattern comprises a photoresist area of a first thickness and a photoresist area in a second thickness; etching the active layer film by using the first photoresist pattern as a mask to form an active layer; ashing the first photoresist pattern to remove the photoresist area of the second thickness and to reduce a thickness of the photoresist area of the first thickness to form the second photoresist pattern. The second photoresist pattern is used as the mask to etch the source-drain electrode thin film. The fabrication method uses the photoresist pattern to prevent the active layer from being impacted by a source-drain etching solution, and can reduce the usage of a specific etching barrier layer and greatly simplify the fabrication process.

A thin film transistor is a thin film semiconductor switching device, which is widely used in the fields of display technology (for example, liquid crystal display technology and organic light emitting diode display technology), integrated circuit technology and so on. Regardless of a liquid crystal display device (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device, thin film transistors (TFTs) are arranged as the control switches.
Usually, preparing of a thin film transistor includes the following steps: forming a gate electrode through a patterning process, and then forming a gate insulating layer film and an active layer film. An active layer is formed through a patterning process; an etching barrier layer is formed through a patterning process on the corresponding position, for forming a channel area, of the active layer. A source-drain electrode film is formed and then source and drain electrodes are formed through a patterning process. The impact of a source-drain (SD) etching solution on the active layer channel area can be prevented by the formed etching barrier layer. However, an etching barrier layer covering the active layer will inevitably bring about complexity and difficulty to the preparation process. In addition, a mask process is added, and the step and cost are also increased.

Methods for fabricating thin film transistor and array substrate, array substrate and display device

Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


Methods and computer-readable media for indexing an encrypted file by impersonating a user is provided. A set of keys may be associated with a particular encrypted file. Once these keys are identified, the users who own these keys may then be identified by consulting an association of keys to users, which may be updated immediately upon the addition of new keys. If one of the users is currently logged on, the logon information associated with that user may be used to access the content of the encrypted file. The encrypted file may then be indexed based on the accessed content. To allow more than one user to use the same index, security identifiers may be assigned to index records associated with encrypted files to protect content of encrypted files from unauthorized users.

Typically, products that search and index files and other content on a computer or network of computers run as regular programs, and require that the user be logged on in order for indexing to occur. If the user is not logged on, the indexing program may not be able to access any of the data on the computer. If there are multiple users on the same computer or computer network, an index may be created for each user, as users typically possess different access rights and privileges. As the number of users increases on the same computer or computer network, the cost of creating the indexes also increases if an index is created for every user. In addition, the indexer may be required to index the same files multiple times. This is not only inefficient, but is not cost effective, and therefore there is room for improvement.

Indexing encrypted files by impersonating users


After depositing a metal film on an insulating film on a semiconductor substrate, a first interlayer insulating film is formed on the metal film. After forming first plug openings in the first interlayer insulating film by etching the first interlayer insulating film with a first mask pattern used as a mask, first connection plugs are formed by filling a first conducting film in the first plug openings. A second interlayer insulating film is formed on the first interlayer insulating film. After forming second plug openings respectively on the first connection plugs in the second interlayer insulating film by etching the second interlayer insulating film with a second mask pattern used as a mask, second connection plugs are formed by filling a second conducting film in the second plug openings. The metal film is etched by using at least the first connection plugs and the second connection plugs as a mask so as to form metal interconnects, and then, a third interlayer insulating film is formed on the metal interconnects so as to form an air gap between the metal interconnects.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having an air gap between metal interconnects and a method for fabricating the same.
A conventional semiconductor device having an air gap between metal interconnects and a method for fabricating the same will now be described with reference to FIGS. 12A through 12D, 13A through 13C, 14A through 14C and 15A through 15C.
First, as shown in FIG. 12A, an insulating film 11 of an insulating material is formed on a semiconductor substrate 10 by known chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or spin coating, and then, connection plugs (not shown) are formed in the insulating film 11.
Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, a first barrier metal layer 12, a metal film 13 and a second barrier metal layer 14 are successively deposited on the insulating film 11, thereby forming an interconnect multi-layer film 15. The first barrier metal layer 12 and the second barrier metal layer 14 are formed by known sputtering, and the metal film 13 is formed by known sputtering, CVD or plating.
Then, as shown in FIG. 12C, a first interlayer insulating film 16 of an insulating material is formed on the interconnect multi-layer film 15 by the known CVD or spin coating, and a first resist pattern 17 is then formed on the first interlayer insulating film 16 by known lithography.
Subsequently, the first interlayer insulating film 16 is etched by using the first resist pattern 17 as a mask, thereby forming plug openings 18 in the first interlayer insulating film 16 as shown in FIG. 12D.
Next, as shown in FIG. 13A, a conducting film 19 is deposited on the first interlayer insulating film 16 by the sputtering, CVD or plating so as to fill the plug openings 18. In this case, when the plug opening 18 has an aspect ratio (a ratio of the thickness of the first interlayer insulating film to the diameter of the plug opening 18) larger than approximately 4, a void (space) 20 is formed in the conducting film 19 within the plug opening 18.
Then, as shown in FIG. 13B, a portion of the conducting film 19 present on the first interlayer insulating film 16 is removed by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), thereby forming connection plugs 21 from the conducting film 19.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 13C, the first interlayer insulating film 16 is selectively dry etched, thereby reducing the thickness of the first interlayer insulating film 16. Thus, the connection plugs 21 protrude from the first interlayer insulating film 16.
Next, as shown in FIG. 14A, a second resist pattern 22 is formed on the first interlayer insulating film 16, and the first interlayer insulating film 16 is then etched by using the second resist pattern 22 as a mask, thereby forming a patterned first interlayer insulating film 16A as shown in FIG. 14B.
Then, the interconnect multi-layer film 15 composed of the first barrier metal layer 12, the metal film 13, the second barrier metal layer 14 is dry etched by using the second resist pattern 22, the patterned first interlayer insulating film 16A and the connection plugs 21 as a mask. Thus, lower metal interconnects 15A are formed from the interconnect multi-layer film 15 as shown in FIG. 14C.
The second resist pattern 22 is removed by ashing before or after the dry etching of the interconnect multi-layer film 15. In the case where the second resist pattern 22 is removed before the dry etching of the interconnect multi-layer film 15, an upper portion of each connection plug 21 is etched at the initial stage of the dry etching of the interconnect multi-layer film 15, and hence, an upper portion of each void 20 is opened so as to form an opening 20a as shown in FIG. 14C. Alternatively, in the case where the second resist pattern 22 is removed after the dry etching of the interconnect multi-layer film 15, the upper portion of each connection plug 21 is etched in the middle of the dry etching of the interconnect multi-layer film 15, and hence, the upper portion of each void 20 is opened so as to form the opening 20a as shown in FIG. 14C also in this case.
Next, the patterned first interlayer insulating film 16A and the insulating film 11 are etched. Thus, the thickness of the patterned first interlayer insulating film 16A is reduced and the thickness of a portion of the insulating film 11 not covered with the lower metal interconnects 15A is reduced as shown in FIG. 15A. During this etching, the upper portions of the connection plugs 21 are also etched, and hence, the openings 20a of the voids 20 are enlarged as shown in FIG. 15A.
Then, as shown in FIG. 15B, a second interlayer insulating film 23 is deposited over the semiconductor substrate by the CVD, thereby forming air gaps 24 in the second interlayer insulating film 23 between the lower metal interconnects 15A.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 15C, the second interlayer insulating film 23 is planarized by the CMP. Thus, a metal interconnect structure having the air gaps 24 is obtained.
Thereafter, a series of processes described above (from the procedure of FIG. 12B to the procedure of FIG. 15C) are repeatedly carried out, so that a multi-layer interconnect structure having an air gap can be obtained.
In the conventional method, when the aspect ratio of the plug openings 18 exceeds approximately 4, the voids 20 are formed within the connection plugs 21 as shown in FIG. 13A. Therefore, when the lower metal interconnects 15A having the air gaps 24 are formed, the complete openings 20a of the voids 20 are formed in the connection plugs 21 as shown in FIG. 15C.
Accordingly, the electric resistance between an upper metal interconnect formed on the second interlayer insulating film 23 and the connection plug 21 is largely increased, resulting in causing a problem that the characteristic of the device is degraded.
In this case, when the electric resistance between the upper metal interconnect and the connection plug 21 is larger beyond the limit, the reliability of the metal interconnect structure is largely lowered, and the semiconductor device cannot be operated in the worst case.
Furthermore, in the procedure for planarizing the second interlayer insulating film 23 by the CMP, an abrasive used in the CMP enters the voids 20, so as to cause a problem that the connection plugs 21 are corroded by the abrasive.
In consideration of the aforementioned conventional problems, an object of the invention is fabricating a high performance and highly reliable semiconductor device having an air gap between metal interconnects by preventing formation of a void in a connection plug during the fabrication thereof.
In order to achieve the object, the method for fabricating a semiconductor device of this invention comprises a first step of depositing a metal film on an insulating film on a semiconductor substrate; a second step of forming a first mask pattern on a first interlayer insulating film formed on the metal film and forming first plug openings in the first interlayer insulating film by etching the first interlayer insulating film with the first mask pattern used as a mask; a third step of forming first connection plugs by filling a first conducting film in the first plug openings; a fourth step of forming a second mask pattern on a second interlayer insulating film formed on the first interlayer insulating film and forming second plug openings respectively on the first connection plugs in the second interlayer insulating film by etching the second interlayer insulating film with the second mask pattern used as a mask; a fifth step of forming second connection plugs by filling a second conducting film in the second plug openings; a sixth step of forming the metal film into metal interconnects by etching the metal film with at least the first connection plugs and the second connection plugs used as a mask; and a seventh step of forming a third interlayer insulating film on the metal interconnects so as to form an air gap between the metal interconnects.
In the method for fabricating a semiconductor device of this invention, after forming the first plug openings in the first interlayer insulating film formed on the metal film, the first connection plugs are formed by filling the first conducting film in the first plug openings, and after forming the second plug openings respectively on the first connection plugs in the second interlayer insulating film formed on the first interlayer insulating film, the second connection plugs are formed by filling the second conducting film in the second plug openings. Therefore, the thickness of the first interlayer insulating film can be set to such a value that no void is formed in the first connection plugs, and the thickness of the second interlayer insulating film can be set to such a value that no void is formed in the second connection plugs. Accordingly, the semiconductor device having the air gap between the metal interconnects can be fabricated without forming voids in multi-layer connection plugs each composed of the first connection plug and the second connection plug.
The method for fabricating a semiconductor device preferably further comprises a step of forming multi-layer metal interconnects on the third interlayer insulating film by repeatedly carrying out procedures from the first step to the seventh step.
Thus, a semiconductor device with a multi-layer interconnect structure having air gap between metal interconnects can be fabricated without forming a void in connection plugs.
In the method for fabricating a semiconductor device, the first mask pattern preferably has an alignment accuracy measuring mark with a thickness not penetrated in etching for forming the first plug openings.
Thus, in an alignment mark region of the first interlayer insulating film, no recess is formed and hence the first conducting film is not filled, and therefore, a mistake in detecting a signal peak can be avoided in alignment accuracy measurement of the second mask pattern. As a result, the alignment can be highly accurately measured.
In the method for fabricating a semiconductor device, the second mask pattern preferably has an alignment accuracy measuring mark with a thickness not penetrated in etching for forming the second plug openings.
Thus, in an alignment mark region of the second interlayer insulating film, no recess is formed and hence the second conducting film is not filled, and therefore, a mistake in detecting a signal peak can be avoided in alignment accuracy measurement subsequently carried out. As a result, the alignment can be highly accurately measured.
The semiconductor device of this invention comprises metal interconnects formed on an insulating film on a semiconductor substrate; an interlayer insulating film formed on the metal interconnects; first connection plugs respectively connected to the metal interconnects and made from a first conducting film filled in first plug openings formed in the interlayer insulating film; second connection plugs respectively connected to upper faces of the first connection plugs and made from a second conducting film filled in second plug openings formed in the interlayer insulating film; and an air gap formed between the metal interconnects in the interlayer insulating film.
In the semiconductor device of this invention, the thickness of the first interlayer insulating film can be set to such a value that no void is formed in the first connection plugs and the thickness of the second interlayer insulating film can be set to such a value that no void is formed in the second connection plugs. Accordingly, a multi-layer connection plug composed of the first connection plug and the second connection plug can be prevented from having a void therein.

Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system includes a power generation system and a controller that controls the power generation system. The controller includes a processor that generates a model of the power generation system that estimates a value for a first parameter of the power generation system. The processor also receives a measured value of the first parameter. The processor further adjusts a correction factor of the model such that the estimated value of the first parameter output by the model is approximately equal to the measured value of the first parameter. The processor also generates a transfer function that represents the correction factor as a function of a second parameter of the power generation system. The processor further displays the transfer function along with one or more previously generated transfer functions to quantify degradation of the power generation system.

The present disclosure relates generally to power generation systems. In particular, the present disclosure relates to control systems for power generation systems.
A physics-based software model may be used to model operations of a power generation system (e.g., a gas turbine). A control system for the power generation system may use outputs of the model, including parameters that are not or cannot be measured, to control the power generation system. During operation of the control system, the control system may adjust certain correction factors of the model to match live measurements of the power generation system to improve the accuracy of the model. Comparison of model outputs, or measurements, over time may be a way to quantify degradation. However, this method may be influenced by factors or parameters beyond degradation, such as machine-to-machine manufacturing variation in the power generation system, errors in the base model, errors that correspond to ambient and operating conditions, and uncertainty and errors in inputs to the model.

Adaptive model-based method to quantify degradation of a power generation system


An arc detector for detecting potentially hazardous arcing in electrical connections comprises detection and signal processing circuitry for monitoring high-frequency noise on the power line characteristic of arcing and distinguishable from other sources of high-frequency noise. If high-frequency noise is present and a gap occurs every half-cycle of the power frequency, arcing is determined to be present, and an alarm is given.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inexpensive detector of electrical arcs on power lines, for providing advance warning of potentially dangerous conditions.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Electrical arcs can develop temperatures well above the ignition level of most common flammable materials, and therefore pose a significant fire hazard. For example, worn power cords in the home may arc sufficiently to start a fire. Fortunately, arcing is an inherently unstable phenomena and does not usually persist long enough to start a fire. Under certain conditions, reflected in particular characteristics of the electrical disturbance produced, the likelihood of the arc persisting and starting a fire is much higher. It is one object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus to detect such potentially dangerous arcs by monitoring voltage disturbances on the power lines.
Two basic types of arcing are likely to occur in the home: line fault arcing and contact arcing. An arc due to a line fault results from either a line-to-line short or a line-to-ground short. When a fault of this type occurs several things are likely to happen: 1) the fault will draw current up to or beyond the capacity of the circuit; 2) lights will dim indicating an excessive load is being drawn; and 3) if the circuit is properly protected by a circuit breaker, the breaker will trip, interrupting supply of power to the arc. All of this will likely occur and be completed in less than a second. The resulting arcing will be explosive but short-lived, reducing the total heat to be dissipated by surrounding materials and thus reducing the likelihood of a fire.
Contact arcing results from a high resistance connection in series with a load. This may occur due to loose connections, oxidized contacts, or foreign non-conducting material interfering with the conduction path.
One example of a condition that may cause contact arcing is a well-used wall outlet wherein the spring pressure provided by the contacts has been reduced through age and use, so that insufficient pressure is applied to the inserted plug contacts to ensure low-resistance connection.
Contact arcing is also commonly caused by use of extension cords of insufficient current-carrying capacity. For example, the plug may be heated by resistance heating, gradually decomposing elastomeric insulating material around the contacts until the material partially flows into the contact area, preventing proper contact from being made. This process may become regenerative as the initial arcing produces more heat, carbonizing the insulation, producing a hard insulative layer on the contact surface.
A third cause of contact arcing often observed in aluminum wiring involves the oxidation of contacts. In this case a chemical process, principally oxidation, builds up a semi-conductive or non-conductive layer on the surface of the contacts. Preferably, when the material of the conductors is susceptible to oxidation, the contacts are gas-tight, preventing oxygen from entering and promoting oxidation. However, if the connections become loose over time, oxidation begins and arcing can result.
Many instances of contact arcing result from the gradual degeneration of the current-carrying contacts. Dangerous arcs may begin as small occasional arcing, gradually building up over time until the arcing become persistent enough to start a fire. For this reason, it would be highly advantageous if contact arcing conditions could be detected early, and a warning provided before the fault reaches a dangerous level.
It will thus be appreciated that there are fundamental differences between line fault arcing and contact arcing. The former will generally involve high currents (>20A), be somewhat explosive and either burn itself out or trip a circuit breaker. Conventional circuit protection devices are normally adequate to guard against line fault arcing. By comparison, the average current drawn in contact arcing is no more than the current drawn by the load itself. Nevertheless, even low-current contact arcing, for example, a 60 watt light bulb on the end of a faulty extension cord, or a set of Christmas tree lights with faulty contacts may release sufficient heat to cause a fire. Accordingly, conventional circuit breakers are inadequate to prevent dangerous conditions due to contact arcing.
A need therefore exists for an inexpensive plug-in monitoring device capable of detecting arcing that may result in a fire. The most convenient device would be a small `night-light` style plug-in module capable of monitoring an entire house and providing a warning if potentially dangerous arcing occurs. The detection, in this case, must be made by monitoring voltage alone; to monitor current would require a current sensor to be placed around a conductor, thereby requiring the device to be wired in place. Ideally, such an arc detector would be the electrical arc equivalent to the smoke detectors widely in use today, with the further advantage of warning of a potential fire days, weeks or even months in advance of its occurrence.
A need also exists for a circuit breaker that in addition to detecting arcing that may result in a fire removes power from the load in the event that it detects sufficient arcing to present a hazard. Such a device could be conveniently packaged in much the same style as a conventional circuit breaker or it could be installed in an outlet similar to the currently available Ground Fault Interrupters. Because the load current flows through the circuit breaker, it is convenient in this application to monitor load current.
Both arc detectors must be immune to common noise present on household power lines, e.g., due to lamp dimmers, motors, carrier-current communications systems, switches, and the like.
While there have been a number of devices proposed to detect arcing, most address arcs caused by line faults. U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,282 issued to White, for example, describes a system that monitors both line voltage and current for characteristics particular to arcing and trips a circuit breaker if enough of these characteristics are present. The White device assumes, however, that the arc is the result of a line fault. One characteristic of a line fault is that the fault current will lag the voltage by 70.degree.-90.degree. . This is because under line fault conditions, the current flow will depend almost entirely on the power distribution wiring which is generally highly inductive. A plug feeding a heater that is arcing in the socket--that is, exhibiting a contact fault--will not exhibit this characteristic and thus the fault will not be detected by the White device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,817 to Cooper et al shows an arc detector for "grid" or "spot" type power networks as used in large commercial or industrial installations. The Cooper circuit interrupts the power if high-frequency (10 KHz-100 KHz) noise of 14 more than a threshold amplitude is detected for more than 0.7 seconds. If adapted to home use, this detector would be tripped by continuous high-frequency noise, such as from electric drills and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,054 to Franklin recognizes that arc short circuits differ from dead short circuits, as described above, and indicates that different detection techniques should be employed. However, Franklin's device still monitors the current and trips only when current in excess of a predetermined level is detected. This level of current must be much higher than the circuit's rated current, to avoid tripping on motor start up currents and the like. Accordingly, Franklin's device can only detect arcs in short circuits, and cannot detect a contact arc in series with a current-limiting load.
Also of general interest are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,038,246 to Durivage, 4,951,170 to Fromm, and 4,402,030 to Moser et al.
One device currently available is the Ground Fault Interrupter or GFI. Typical GFI devices are capable of detecting leakage currents to ground as low as several milliamps, and trip an associated circuit breaker in response. A GFI very effectively reduces not only the danger of fire due to shorts to ground but also protects humans that may be in the electrical path. A GFI device is not however capable of monitoring contact arcing as discussed herein.
It should be understood that while a distinction is made herein between line fault arcing and contact arcing for purposes of clarity, the arc detector of the present invention may be applicable to detection of arcs due to both conditions. For example, when a relatively high-resistance line fault occurs, it may exhibit substantially the same characteristics as described for contact faults.

Method and apparatus for detecting arcing in electrical connections by monitoring high frequency noise


A multilayer electronic component includes a first capacitor including a first capacitor body and first and second external electrodes disposed on outer surfaces of the first capacitor body; and a second capacitor including a second capacitor body and third and fourth external electrodes disposed on outer surfaces of the second capacitor body and electrically connected to the first capacitor. The first and third external electrodes are connected to each other by a first metal terminal enclosing portions of a lower surface of the first external electrode to an upper surface of the third external electrode, and the second and fourth external electrodes are connected to each other by a second metal terminal enclosing portions of a lower surface of the second external electrode and an upper surface of the fourth external electrode.

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer electronic component and a board having the same.
Electronic components using ceramic material, such as capacitors, inductors, piezoelectric elements, varistors, thermistors, and the like, include a ceramic body formed of ceramic material, internal electrodes formed in the ceramic body, and external electrodes installed on surfaces of the ceramic body so as to be connected to the internal electrodes.
Among ceramic electronic components, a multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a plurality of dielectric layers that are stacked, internal electrodes disposed to face each other with at least one of the dielectric layers interposed therebetween, and external electrodes electrically connected to the internal electrodes.
A multilayer ceramic capacitor has various advantages including a compact size, high capacitance, and an easy mountability.
In a case of a multilayer electronic component in which two or more multilayer ceramic capacitors are stacked, the process of stacking the multilayer ceramic capacitors and coupling the multilayer ceramic capacitors to each other may generate a volume increase unrelated to capacitance.
In addition, in the case of a multilayer electronic component including the multilayer ceramic capacitors, an equivalent series inductance (ESL) value may be problematic. Therefore, an electronic component having low ESL depending on use has been demanded.
A multilayer ceramic capacitor has been usefully implemented as a bypass capacitor disposed in a power supply circuit of a large scale integrated circuit (LSI). In order for the multilayer ceramic capacitor to serve as the bypass capacitor, the multilayer ceramic capacitor should effectively remove high frequency noise. This demand has further increased in accordance with a trend toward an increase in a frequency of an electronic apparatus. The multilayer ceramic capacitor used as the bypass capacitor may be electrically connected onto mounting pads on a circuit board through soldering, and the mounting pads may be connected to other external circuits through a wiring pattern on the circuit board or conductive vias.

Multilayer electronic component and board having the same


An electric generator is operated under conditions in which rapid off-loading may occur. A generator control unit (GCU) employs a detector to detect rates of change of output of the generator. In response to a rapid change of output, e.g. an off-loading, an overvoltage protection system is activated. Excess energy stored in an excited winding is directed into an impedance circuit thus precluding overvoltage that may have been produced by the excess energy.

The present invention is in the field of electrical generators and, more particularly, electrical generators which operate under rapidly varying load conditions.
Generators used in aircraft or space vehicles are often operated under variable load conditions. Typically, these generators are provided with regulators that modulate generator field current based on a detected voltage at a point of regulation (a POR). This detected voltage is referred to as a POR voltage. In many applications of these variable load generators, a POR voltage must be maintained within narrowly defined limits. Failure to maintain a POR voltage at a desired level may result in damage to equipment to which the generator supplies power.
In many aircraft or spacecraft applications, electrical generators are subjected to widely varying and rapidly changing load conditions. When load is rapidly removed from a generator, it is difficult to prevent POR voltage from rising above a desired level. This is because rapid removal of load requires rapid reduction of current in the exciter winding to keep the POR voltage within the desired limit. However, the exciter winding current cannot be reduced to zero instantly due to the inductive nature of the winding. A residual amount of energy in an exciter winding of the generator continues circulating through a freewheeling diode for a short time and this energy contributes to a short-term rise in POR voltage. In the prior art, this residual energy has been discharged into an impedance circuit when POR voltage rises as a result of a rapid off-loading of the generator. One particularly, effective technique for discharging this residual energy is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,104, issued to Yuan Yao et al. on Sep. 30, 2003.
But, even with availability of sophisticated discharging techniques for residual exciter energy, there still remains a problem in the maintenance of POR voltage during rapid load-off conditions. In the prior art, energy discharging systems have been activated or triggered in response to signals from voltage detectors. When a POR voltage rose above a predetermined level during load reduction, the discharge system would be triggered. But a triggering technique based on measuring POR voltage is inherently limited in the degree of precision with which POR voltage may be controlled. Such a technique requires that triggering not occur at a voltage that is at or below the predetermined POR voltage level. Triggering may only occur after POR voltage exceeds the predetermined POR voltage level.
After triggering is performed there is an inherent time delay before POR voltage is effectively reduced by discharging the residual energy. During this time delay POR voltage continues to rise. This presents a doubly problematic situation. First of all, as stated above, a triggering voltage threshold must be selected which is higher than the desired POR. Secondly, there must be consideration given to the fact that POR voltage will rise even higher during a time delay after triggering. In the prior art there has never been a generator control system that completely precludes an overvoltage condition from developing during a rapid load-off event.
Consequently, any equipment driven by the prior-art generators must be robust enough to tolerate a POR overvoltage without being damaged. This of course means that the driven equipment must be built with a certain factor of safety. This translates into undesirable increases in size and weight of the equipment. Excessive size and weight are properties that must be avoided in aircraft and spacecraft equipment.
As can be seen, it would be desirable to provide electrical generators in which precise control of POR voltage may be maintained during rapid load varying conditions. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a control system which precludes an overvoltage at the point of regulation during a rapid load-off event.

Load-off transient acceleration generator control system


The present disclosure relates to endophytic fungi from higher plants such as a Pteromischum sp. plant, and to extracts and compounds from such fungi that have desirable biological activities, such as antifungal and immunosuppressive activities. The present disclosure further relates to compositions comprising such extracts and compounds, as well as methods of making and using the compositions.

Endophytes, microorganisms that reside in the tissues of living plants, are relatively unstudied and potential sources of novel natural products for exploitation in medicine, agriculture and industry. It is worthy to note, that of the nearly 300,000 plant species that exist on the earth, each individual plant is host to one or more endophytes. Only a handful of these plants have ever been completely studied relative to their endophytic biology. Consequently, the opportunity is great to find new and interesting endophytic microorganisms among myriads of plants in different settings, and ecosystems.
Currently, endophytes are viewed as an outstanding source of bioactive natural products because there are so many of them occupying literally millions of unique biological niches (higher plants) growing in so many unusual environments. While the symptomless nature of the occupation of plant tissues by endophytes has prompted focus on symbiotic or mutualistic relationships between endophytes and their hosts, the observed biodiversity of endophytes suggests they can also be aggressive saprophytes or opportunistic pathogens. Both fungi and bacteria are the most common microbes existing as endophytes (Bacon and White, Microbial Endophytes. Marcel Dekker Inc., N.Y., 2000). For example, some of these organisms make compounds now exploitable as anticancer drugs, antibiotics, and antioxidants.
There is a need for more and better antimycotics, as the human population is developing more fungal infections. This is particularly an issue with immunosuppressed patients, such as HIV/AIDS patients, patients with organ-transplants, and anyone who must take immunosuppressive drugs. In both cases, patients with these difficulties have immune systems that are weakened. Antifungal agents that are currently available, such as cyclosporin A, are toxic to the subject, and often ineffective against the fungal pathogen.
Since the discovery of cyclosporin A from Trichoderma polysporum in 1976, it has been the principal immunosuppressive agent used in medicine (Ruegger et al., Hel. Chim. Acta. 59: 1075-1092, 1976). Presently, cyclosporin A, along with tacrolimus (FK506) and sirolimus (rapamycin) are three immunosuppressants which act on CD4+ T cells used in clinical practice. These compounds have gained wide spread acceptance for use in organ and tissue transplantation, various autoimmune diseases and with some other non-autoimmune inflammatory diseases. However, all three drugs can cause nephrotoxicity (Daoud et al., Epilepsia 48: 834-836, 2007). In addition, cyclosporin A and tacrolimus can cause neurotoxicity and beta-cell toxicity (Tanabe, Drugs 63: 1535-48, 2003; Froud et al., Cell Transplant 15: 613-620, 2006). Cyclosporin A can cause more serious nephrotoxicity, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia in comparison to tacrolimus (Andoh et al., Kidney Int. 50: 1110-1117, 1996). Novel compounds with low toxicity that act in an effective and useful manner will contribute to the arsenal of substances that act to suppress the immune system and will be especially helpful to those with autoimmune diseases and organ recipients.
There is also a need for environmentally sound ways to control pests and pathogens (Overton, Ecologically Based Pest Management—New Solutions for a New Century. Natl. Aca. Press. Washington D.C., 1996). In the past, the major source of pesticidal agents came from organic synthesis. Recently, interest has increased for using more environmentally friendly methods in agricultural production, including naturally-occurring biological compounds.


There is provided a method for accessing at least one digital file from a collection comprising more than one digital file in an electronic device, including: generating one index comprising of information entries obtained from each of the more than one digital file in the collection, with each digital file in the collection information being linked to at least one information entry; receiving a speaker independent speech input in at least one language during a speech reception mode; determining a language of the speech input; and setting the speech reception mode to the language of the speech input; comparing the speech input received during the speech reception mode with the entries in the index. The file may advantageously be accessed when the speech input coincides with at least one of the information entries in the index. The digital files may be stored in the electronic device, any device functionally connected to the electronic device or a combination of the aforementioned. The at least one digital file may be received from a source selected from: a memory device, a wired computer network or a wireless computer network. An apparatus that is able to carry out the aforementioned method is also disclosed.

Devices with speech activated control mechanisms are steadily increasing in popularity. Mobile phones with "voice dial" and speech-activated toys are some of these devices that one can readily find nowadays.
However, such devices usually require pre-programming to associate a voice input with a particular entry (in a mobile phone, the entry is a particular entity's contact number). This can be a tedious process when it involves a large number of entries, such as, for example, in address books and in a collection of media files. This makes such a feature undesirable to a user because of the inconvenience.
There are speech recognition features incorporated in some devices today that do not require pre-programming. However, technology is still not mature enough to be able to overcome the difficulty of recognising heavily accented or mumbled English. In addition, while English is the language of choice for the interconnected global village of this digital age, it is not the only language in use. Populous countries in the world like China and India do not have a predominantly English-speaking populace, and these devices with smart speech recognition features may not be widely adopted in these countries. These huge consumer markets represent lost opportunities for corporations if their needs are not being specifically met.
Such "smart" devices do not have multiple language recognition capabilities at this moment. As such, the makers of such devices are required to make different versions of the same product for markets with language capabilities other than English, and this inadvertently increases the cost of manufacturing each device, since either a dedicated production line/facility is required, or a production line/facility for the English version needs to be modified as and when required to produce the other versions.
It is also a challenge for "smart" devices that have multiple language recognition capabilities to properly manage and administer the different character code sets such as, for example, ASCII for Anglo-alphanumeric based languages, Big-5 for Traditional Chinese, GB for Simplified Chinese, JIS for Japanese and the like.

Method and apparatus for accessing a digital file from a collection of digital files


A method for producing a phosphor layer or a phosphor body, comprising: applying a suspension comprising at least one solid phosphor and at least one alkali silicate to a substrate surface or into a mold to create a phosphor layer or a phosphor body; and curing the phosphor layer or the phosphor body.

For remote phosphor applications, i.e. applications in which phosphor and the light source, for example an LED, laser or laser diode, are spatially separate, thin phosphor layers are applied to surfaces (substrate), mechanically fixed with binders and bonded (air, immersion, etc.) to an optical system (lenses, collimators, etc.).
The use of binders is necessary, since the phosphors, which are usually in powder form, do not form mechanically stable layers, i.e. abrasion- and scratch-resistant layers, without the additional use of binders.
A problem with the use of binders for layer formation or stabilization is that these binders may interact with the phosphors and thereby adversely influence optical and thermal characteristics. Moreover, the binders must themselves be thermally and optically stable and not show any aging characteristics. For this reason, the use of an inert, optically transparent, thermally and optically stable binder is a precondition for the creation of stable and more durable phosphor layers.
The phosphors are excited to emit by light sources, for example blue diode lasers, of high power density (several W/mm2). The phosphor region may comprise one or more phosphors that are capable of at least partially transforming incident laser light or excitation light into wavelengths of transformed or converted light. The high thermal losses (Stokes) occurring in the conversion lead to heat being introduced into the phosphor layer. If these temperatures become too high, for example due to insufficient heat removal, thermally induced changes to the optical characteristics (emission wavelength, conversion efficiency, thermal quenching, etc.) may occur, or ultimately the destruction of the phosphors or the layer itself. This degeneration of the phosphor layer may be caused both by the phosphor and the binder. For this reason, the phosphor layer should be made such that heat can be optimally removed from it, in order to avoid the thermal destruction of the phosphors and the binder.
At present, silicones are used as binder matrices for optical excitation (for example LEDs). These do not allow excessive light power outputs (power densities of several W/mm2) or necessitate further technological expenditure (for example phosphor-coated rotating color wheels to reduce the light exposure time).
The coating process is limited by the type of the substrate materials. For instance, high-temperature processes are inconceivable on many plastics and metallic materials (for example aluminum) on account of their melting temperatures. On the other hand, alternatively available ceramic materials with good thermal conductivity (for example AlN) involve increased technological and financial expenditure. The known phosphor/silicone mixtures are usually applied directly to metallic substrates. These metallic substrates may additionally have a cooling function.
One object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for producing phosphor layers that overcomes the known disadvantages and makes it possible to produce mechanically and thermally stable phosphor layers.

Production of phosphor layers using alkali silicates


A method for identifying misfiring is employed in an internal combustion engine with multiple cylinders. The identification is effected by measuring segment times required for the crankshaft to rotate about given angular segments during the cylinder work cycle. Any fluctuations are then calculated and compared with threshold values. During thrust cutoff, i.e. when no fuel is supplied to the cylinders, errors in the segment time measurement are identified and corrected, and in dependence of the number of the completed cycles for calculating the correction factors, the threshold values are modified.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for identifying erratic combustion in multicylinder internal combustion engines, i.e. misfire in cylinders, wherein the angular speed of the crankshaft is measured and which permits dependable recognition of misfirings, even in case of errors in the measurement of the crank angle speed.
In engines equipped with a catalytic converter, misfiring can lead to damage to the converter because high temperatures occur in the catalytic converter due to the secondary reaction of the unburned fuel-air mixture. The quality of waste gas is worsened by misfiring, regardless of whether or not a catalytic converter is used.
Various methods are known in which the instantaneous crank angle speed of the crankshaft is measured for identifying misfiring. A misfiring cylinder causes a temporary slowing of the angular speed of the crankshaft. To identify this, the periods of time (segment times) are measured during which the crankshaft rotates about a defined angular span. Such time measurement is conventionally done with markings on the crankshaft or a shaft connected to the crankshaft, or with a wheel mounted on these shafts. The markings or the wheel are scanned with sensors suited for this purpose.
The measured segment times are not used directly. Rather, so-called fluctuation values in the rotational speed are calculated from them, and various dynamic influences occurring during operation of the engine (acceleration, deceleration) can be compensated, depending on the method employed. A method of this type is described in European Patent Application 92111078.9, for example.
The fluctuation values are then compared with predetermined threshold values and, when the fluctuation values are below these threshold values (provided that a method is used in which a negative fluctuation value results from a misfire), or when the fluctuation valises exceed these threshold values (provided that a method is used in which a positive fluctuation value results from a misfire), misfiring is identified. If need be, control provisions can then be taken, such as turning off the applicable injection nozzle.
These methods can only function properly without errors when no errors occur during a measurement of the segment times.
These errors can stem from varying segment sizes, inaccuracies in tooth shape, disk backlash and errors in the sensors, for example.
If a marked segment is larger than the adjacent segment, for example, a slowing of the crankshaft is mimicked and misfiring is falsely identified.

Method for identifying misfire in internal combustion engines


A low maintenance, electrically controlled automatic spray bath employs a spray system to wash animals and subsequently deliver treatment and prevention products at a continuous, consistent dosage rate. The automatic spray bath comprises at least one component. Each component comprises four rails defining an enclosure through which animals are walked in one direction, one after the other. Each rail of each component has a plurality of nozzles. When one component is employed the nozzles are divided into sets. Each set of nozzles sprays either a cleaning fluid or a treatment fluid. When more than one component is employed, the nozzles of each component spray either a cleaning fluid or a treatment fluid. The components are modular and portable. As animals are led between a set of nozzles, an electric eye beam is broken, causing a check valve to allow liquid to flow from a remote reservoir. Nozzles delivering the liquid are located and correctly pressurized to spray a particular part of an animal, for example, the hooves of a cow and not the udder. The rails of the automatic spray bath are mounted above the floor for continually flushing debris washed from the animal under the rails and out of the component enclosure. The nozzles have check valves to prevent the liquid from draining from the supply lines. The treatment solution is delivered to nozzles by a metering device which ensures that each animal is exposed to the correct dosage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for spraying animals and more particularly to an electrically controlled automatic spraying device for cleaning and chemically treating animals.
2. Previous Art
Hairy warts (digital dermatitis) is a hard-to-treat condition that can remove cattle from production for extended periods of time. Effects of hairy wart lesions on dairy cattle include severe lameness, walking on toes, clubbed hooves, loss of body weight, decreased milk yield and decreased fertility. Extended infection of hairy warts causes economic loss to dairy producers.
Although the precise cause of this wartlike disease is unknown, significant progress has been made in understanding the disease process. Scientific names include papillomatous digital dermatitis, digital papillomatosis and digital dermatitis. Common names include foot warts, heel warts, hairy foot warts, strawberry foot disease and raspberry heel.
Additional foot problems for livestock include sole ulcers, foot rot, heel cracks and white line separations.
Control of hairy warts and associated foot diseases has proven difficult. One form of control is to treat the larger clinically active lesions, which are a source of infection, by surgical removal. Additional treatments for complete healing may be necessary. This process is laborious, time consuming and expensive, particularly when dealing with large herds.
Autogenous Wart vaccines have proven ineffective. Formalin foot bathing fixates living tissues and inhibits the healing process.
Topical application of acidic solutions or antibiotics have been found to be effective. For any topical treatment to be successful it is important to clean the affected areas to provide good exposure of the lesion and penetration of the treatment solution. Another type of topical solution is a treated foam which adheres to the hooves. Individual cleaning of hooves and subsequent application of topical solutions is also laborious, time consuming and expensive.
For easy application of topical solutions to the hooves of many animals, foot baths have been employed. Most commercial foot baths are thirty inches wide, four feet long and six inches deep. These commercial foot baths hold approximately thirty five gallons of treatment solution. Most "home-made" baths are also constructed to be about the same length as commercial foot baths.
The animals are walked through the foot bath while either entering or exiting particular areas, such as milking parlors, shearing stalls, feeding stalls, etc. Products commonly used in foot baths to treat foot problems include copper sulfate, formaldehyde, zinc sulfate and rock salt.
If antibiotics are used, treatment solutions in the foot bath are rotated to allow the antibiotics to be spread out over a period of time to decrease resistance build-up.
Although foot baths are easy to use, they are not the most effective method of treatment and prevention of foot diseases. Foot baths are inefficient and costly for several reasons, some of which are outlined below.
First, experimentation and experience have shown that the length of the foot bath is directly correlated to the effectiveness of the treatment solution. The longer the bath, the greater the duration of exposure to the treatment and prevention solution. Applicants have found that the commonly used four foot long baths are not long enough for proper cleaning of the feet and subsequent exposure of the lesions to the treatment solution.
Second, as the animals enter the foot bath there is a high probability that manure attached to the animals hooves will be carried into the foot bath or that the animal will defecate into the treatment solution. Foot baths are liquid filled reservoirs that hold all environmental contaminants. The manure rapidly degrades the treatment solution and renders it ineffective.
Third, depending upon environmental conditions, the animals may also have layers of mud and dirt clinging to the feet. On average, animals walk through a traditional foot bath for five seconds or less. This is not enough time to effectively clean the hooves to allow proper exposure to the treatment solution.
Fourth, a high level of management of the foot bath is required. The treatment solution must be changed at specified intervals to maintain efficacy of the treatment solution after several animals pass through the bath. Also, different types of foot diseases require different types of treatment and prevention products and therefore different degrees of foot bath management. If the foot bath is not changed and re-charged accordingly, the efficacy of the treatment solution is greatly reduced. Applicants have found that more than fifty percent of the foot baths in use are not properly managed. Therefore, the animals receive little or no benefit from the treatment solution.
Fifth, animals experiencing foot problems generally walk slower than healthy animals. Therefore, the afflicted animals are the last animals through the foot bath, when the bath is at its most inefficient, rather than the first animals through the bath, when the bath is the most effective.
Sixth, many of the products available for the treatment and prevention of foot diseases are not labeled for use in foot bath applications and/or are difficult to get into solution, for example, copper sulfate and zinc sulfate.
Seventh, many products do not lend themselves well for a foot bath type of application, such as antibiotics. Antibiotics degrade quickly when exposed to organic material.
Eighth, most foot baths are permanently fixed. This prevents a farmer from locating the bath at different locations on the facility which may be more advantageous for foot bath usage from time to time.
Ninth, most foot baths are not modular for providing the farmer with the option of using the wash portion located separately form the treatment portion. Modularity also gives the buyer the option of which freight company is best for delivery of the device because the buyer is not limited by particular size and weight constraints of various freight companies.
In summary, Applicants have found that improper management, organic contamination, improper use of treatment and prevention products, and the tendency for target animals to be the last through the foot bath, all greatly reduce the efficacy and cost effectiveness of foot baths.
Therefore, there is a great need for an apparatus to provide more effective application of foot disease treatment solutions that are easy to use, even for producers having large herds.
Devices with various mechanisms that trigger automatic spraying of animals such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,063,880; 4,987,861; 4,334,504 and 3,884,192 have been utilized in animal husbandry. Each of these patents is designed to spray the entire body of an animal with a small amount of toxic chemicals, such as insecticides or disinfectants for controlling cattle grubs, face flies, heel flies, infectious pink eye and lice. The devices are not suitable for use with disease prevention and treatment solutions because 1) they spray a small amount of a solution on an animal that, 2) has not been cleaned. In order for a treatment solution to be effective, it must be applied to cleaned wounds and lesions and in an amount sufficient to affect the area. Additionally, disinfectants and pesticides are non-corrosive, while treatment solutions tend to be corrosive. Therefore, the use of treatment solutions in the insecticide spraying devices would degrade the seals employed in the valves and pumps in these devices.
Additionally, these devices are unsuitable for treating dairy cattle because they will allow chemicals to cover the udder of an animal. If the udder is sprayed with insecticides or disinfectants, the likelihood of residuals contaminating the milk produced is increased.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,828 is specifically designed for spraying liquid on the udder of an animal. It is not designed or able to deliver a solution to any other parts of an animal for treatment and prevention of diseases.
Also, the aforementioned devices do not take into consideration the importance of precleaning an animal to increase exposure of infected areas to the treatment solutions being applied. Precleaning is especially important because the animals usually have manure, mud or other organic materials covering the damaged areas, which must be cleaned off before application of the treatment and prevention solutions for effectiveness of the solutions.
What is needed is a device which is highly effective at preventing and treating diseases in animals.
What is needed is a device which is highly effective at preventing and treating foot diseases in livestock.
What is also needed is a device which will clean the hooves of livestock for proper exposure of infected areas of the hooves prior to application of treatment solutions.
What is also needed is a device which will clean the hooves of livestock for proper exposure of healthy hooves prior to application of prevention solutions.
What is also needed is a device which can fulfill the above functions without contaminating the udder of dairy cattle.
What is also needed is a device which is easy for producers and breeders to use and requires little maintenance.
What is also needed is a device which is easy for animals to walk through during normal maintenance.

Electrically controlled spraying device for cleaning and treating animals