The invention relates to methods, kits and systems for determining an analyte in a liquid sample as well as the use thereof for concentration analysis and screening purposes. In one method, a specific binding partner to the analyte is permitted to compete with a conjugate containing the analyte or an analyte analogue for the binding to free analyte. The conjugate also contains a component that specifically binds to a solid support so that reacted and unreacted conjugate are bound thereto when the reaction solution is contacted with the solid support. The amount of analyte is then determined by measuring by a label-free mass-detection technique, such as surface plasmon resonance, the amount of binding partner immobilized on the solid support via the reacted conjugate. This is made possible by the binding partner having a considerably greater mass than the conjugate. Variants of this method are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to methods and systems, as well as assay kits, for the determination or screening of analytes in liquid samples, based on label-free determination of binding events at a solid phase surface.
A wide variety of techniques for determining the concentration of a compound, usually referred to as analyte, in a liquid sample, are based on the binding of the analyte to a ligand immobilised on a solid support, below referred to as solid phase assays. Usually, the assays are of either sandwich or competitive type.
In a competitive type assay, analyte or an analyte analogue is allowed to compete with the analyte for the binding to the immobilised ligand, whereas in a sandwich type assay, a specific reagent is bound to the analyte, either before or after the analyte is bound to the immobilised ligand. While labelling with a marker is usually used to permit detection of the binding events, so-called label-free methods are also known, for example such based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR).
It has been desired in solid phase assays to provide a regeneratable surface of general character, i.e. a surface that easily permits the immobilized ligand to be removed and be replaced by binding a different ligand to the surface.
One type of such a surface is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,140, where a complex of the formula ABL(BL)nA1 is adsorbed onto the surface. In the complex, BL is a binding ligand, n is at least 1, ABL is a receptor specific for BL, A1 is a receptor for the analyte being assayed, BL is covalently bonded to A1, and ABL is reversibly bonded to BL. Thus, a single surface coated with ligand binding receptor ABL may be used for different assays by reversibly binding and releasing different conjugates (BL)nA1 to the surface. This is a particular advantage in automated flow assay equipment. In a competitive specific binding assay, for example, based on this concept, the analyte and a labelled analyte analogue will compete for the binding to the immobilised conjugate (BL)nA1. A disadvantage of the above approach is, however, that in the conjugate (BL)nA1, the covalent binding of receptor A1 to the binding ligand BL may have a negative influence on the receptor function.
The use of a universal support in a solid phase assay is also described in WO 95/24649. In this assay, one or more binding agents are provided with tail groups which can bind specifically to one or more capture agents immobilised on the support. The binding agent is usually an antibody, and the tail groups and the respective capture agents are complementary oligonucleotide sequences which can hybridise to each other. The assay is performed by sequentially or simultaneously contacting the sample with the binding agent(s) and the immobilised capture agent(s), and determining the fraction of binding sites of a binding agent occupied by the analyte to determine the concentration of the analyte in the sample.
A similar approach is described in WO 96/06948, where double stranded nucleic acid duplexes serve as universal cleavable link systems in different types of immunoassays. In an embodiment of competitive assay, one oligonucleotide is bound to the analyte or to an analogue thereof which is allowed to compete with the target analyte for a labelled immunoreagent. The second oligonucleotide is bound to a solid support. The analyte competitor will bind competitively with free analyte to the immunoreagent. When the reaction solution is contacted with the solid support under hybridising conditions, the oligonucleotide-coupled analyte or analyte analogue will bind to the support via an oligonucleotide duplex. By determining the concentration of label in the duplexes, the concentration of analyte may be determined.
A disadvantage common to all the above described methods is that they require some type of labelling.
Recently, label-free surface sensitive measuring techniques have been developed for measuring and quantifying biomolecular interactions. In these techniques, a receptor capable of binding to an analyte of interest is immobilised to a sensor surface, and binding of the analyte to the receptor is detected as a resulting change of a property of the sensor surface, such as a change in surface mass or surface refractive index. One type of such mass-sensing apparatus uses the phenomenon of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to study the binding of analytes to receptors immobilized on the sensor surface. The apparatus and theoretical background are described in the literature (see e.g. Jxc3x6nsson, U., et al., BioTechniques 11:620-627 (1991)).
However, for detecting a binding event at a mass detecting sensor surface, the species binding to the surface must be rather large, i.e have a relatively high molecular weight, as the binding of a small molecule to the surface will usually not give a sufficient mass change to be detectable. Prior art assay formats based on the use of a label are therefore in general not readily transformable to a label-free assay format based on mass detection at a sensor surface.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide novel assay methods and systems which use a regeneratable, or rechargeable, solid support surface of universal character, and which are based on surface mass-sensing and therefore label-free.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining an analyte in a liquid sample, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of the specific binding pair,
b) providing a conjugate comprising (i) the analyte, or an analyte competitor, and (ii) the other member of said specific binding pair,
c) simultaneously or sequentially contacting a liquid sample containing or suspected of containing the analyte (with a specific binding partner to the analyte) and with said conjugate, said binding partner having a molecular weight of at least five times that of said conjugate,
d) contacting the reacted liquid sample with the solid support to bind reacted and unreacted conjugate to the solid support,
e) determining by mass-sensing at the solid support the amount of analyte binding partner that has bound in step d) to the solid support via said conjugate to determine therefrom analyte in the sample, and
f) regenerating the solid support by subjecting the surface thereof to conditions which disrupt the binding between the members of said specific binding pair to release the conjugate from the solid support and prepare the surface for a subsequent determination.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining an analyte in a liquid sample, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of the specific binding pair,
b) providing a conjugate between (i) the analyte, or an analyte competitor, and (ii) the other member of said specific binding pair,
c) contacting said conjugate with said solid support to bind conjugate thereto,
d) contacting a liquid sample containing or suspected of containing the analyte with a specific binding partner to the analyte, said binding partner having a molecular weight of at least five times that of said conjugate,
e) contacting the reacted liquid sample with the solid support having said conjugate immobilised thereto to bind unreacted analyte binding partner thereto,
f) determining by mass-sensing at the solid support the amount of analyte binding partner that has bound in step e) to the solid support via said conjugate to determine therefrom analyte in the sample, and
g) regenerating the solid support by subjecting the surface thereof to conditions which disrupt the binding between the members of said specific binding pair to release the conjugate from the solid support and prepare the surface for a subsequent determination.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining an analyte in a liquid sample, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of the specific binding pair,
b) providing a conjugate between (i) the analyte, or an analyte competitor, and (ii) the other member of said specific binding pair,
c) simultaneously or sequentially contacting a liquid sample containing or suspected of containing the analyte with a specific binding partner to the analyte and with the conjugate,
d) contacting the reacted liquid sample with the solid support to bind reacted and unreacted conjugate to the solid support,
e) contacting the solid support with a reagent which specifically binds to said binding partner, said reagent having a molecular weight of at least five times that of a complex between binding partner and conjugate,
f) determining by mass-sensing at the solid support the amount of said reagent that has bound in step d) to analyte binding partner bound to the solid support via said conjugate to determine therefrom analyte in the sample, and
g) regenerating the solid support by subjecting the surface thereof to conditions which disrupt the binding between the members of said specific binding pair to release the conjugate from the solid support and prepare the surface for a subsequent determination.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining an analyte in a liquid sample, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a solid support having immobolized thereto one member of a specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of the specific binding pair,
b) providing a conjugate between (i) the analyte, or an analyte competitor, and (ii) the other member of said specific binding pair,
c) contacting said conjugate, with said solid support to bind conjugate thereto,
d) contacting a liquid sample containing or suspected of containing the analyte with a specific binding partner to the analyte,
e) contacting the reacted liquid sample with the solid support to bind unreacted binding partner to conjugate immobilised on the solid support,
f) contacting the solid support with a reagent which specifically binds to said binding partner, said reagent having a molecular weight of at least five times that of a complex of binding partner and conjugate,
g) determining by mass-sensing at the solid support the amount of said reagent that has bound in step f) to analyte binding partner bound to the solid support via said conjugate to determine therefrom analyte in the sample, and
h) regenerating the solid support by subjecting the surface thereof to conditions which disrupt the binding between the members of said specific binding pair to release the conjugate from the solid support and prepare the surface for a subsequent determination.
In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining an analyte in a liquid sample, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a first specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of said first specific binding pair,
b) providing a conjugate comprising (i) the analyte, or an analyte competitor, (ii) the other member of said first specific binding pair, and (iii) one member of a second specific binding pair,
c) simultaneously or sequentially contacting a liquid sample containing or suspected of containing the analyte with a specific binding partner to the analyte and with said conjugate,
d) contacting the reacted liquid sample with the solid support to bind unreacted conjugate to the solid support, complex formation between conjugate and specific binding partner preventing conjugate from binding to the support,
e) contacting the solid support with the other member of said second specific binding pair to permit said other member to bind to the conjugate, said other member having a molecular weight of at least five times that of said conjugate,
f) determining by mass-sensing at the solid support the amount of said other member that has bound in step e) to said conjugate bound to the solid support to determine therefrom analyte in the sample, and
g) regenerating the solid support by subjecting the surface thereof to conditions which disrupt the binding between the members of said first specific binding pair to release the conjugate from the solid support and prepare the surface for a subsequent determination.
In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining an analyte in a liquid sample, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a first specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of said first specific binding pair,
b) providing a conjugate comprising (i) the analyte, or an analyte competitor, (ii) the other member of said first specific binding pair, and (iii) a carrier having a molecular weight of at least 5,000 daltons,
c) simultaneously or sequentially contacting a liquid sample containing or suspected of containing the analyte with a specific binding partner to the analyte and with said conjugate,
d) contacting the reacted liquid sample with the solid support to bind unreacted conjugate to the solid support, complex formation between conjugate and specific binding partner preventing conjugate from binding to the support,
e) determining by mass-sensing at the solid support the amount of said conjugate that has bound in step d) to the solid support to determine therefrom analyte in the sample, and
f) regenerating the solid support by subjecting the surface thereof to conditions which disrupt the binding between the members of said first specific binding pair to release the conjugate from the solid support and prepare the surface for a subsequent determination.
In a seventh aspect, the present invention provides an assay kit for an analyte, comprising:
a) a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of the specific binding pair,
b) a specific binding partner to the analyte, which binding partner is unlabelled,
c) a conjugate between (i) the analyte, or an analyte analogue, and (ii) the other member of said specific binding pair, which conjugate binds competitively with free analyte to said binding partner,
said specific binding partner in b) having a molecular weight of at least five times that of the conjugate.
In an eighth aspect, the present invention provides an assay kit for an analyte, comprising:
a) a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of the specific binding pair,
b) a specific binding partner to the analyte, which binding partner is unlabelled,
c) a conjugate comprising (i) the analyte, or an analyte analogue, and (ii) the other member of said specific binding pair, which conjugate binds competitively with free analyte to said binding partner, and
d) a reagent which binds specifically to said binding partner, which reagent is unlabelled,
said reagent in d) having a molecular weight of at least five times that of a complex between conjugate and binding partner.
In a ninth aspect, the present invention provides an assay kit for an analyte, comprising:
a) a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a first specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of said first specific binding pair,
b) optionally, a specific binding partner to the analyte, which binding partner is unlabelled,
c) a conjugate comprising (i) the analyte, or an analyte analogue, (ii) the other member of said first specific binding pair, and (iii) one member of a second specific binding pair, which conjugate binds competitively with unconjugated analyte to said binding partner, and
d) the other member of said second specific binding pair, which member is unlabelled,
said other member in d) having a molecular weight of at least five times that of the conjugate.
In a tenth aspect, the present invention provides an assay kit for an analyte, comprising:
a) a solid support having immobilized thereto one member of a specific binding pair capable of reversibly binding to the other member of said specific binding pair,
b) optionally, a specific binding partner to the analyte, which binding partner is unlabelled, and
c) a conjugate comprising (i) the analyte, or an analyte analogue, (ii) the other member of said specific binding pair, and (iii) a carrier molecule having a molecular weight of at least 5,000 daltons, which conjugate binds competitively with unconjugated analyte to said binding partner.
In an eleventh aspect, the present invention provides an assay kit for an analyte, corresponding to any one of the assay kits defined above but wherein the conjugate is replaced by a pre-conjugate lacking the analyte or analyte analogue part of the conjugate.
In a twelfth aspect, the present invention provides an assay system for an analyte, which comprises, in addition to any of the assay kits described above, an apparatus for detection by mass-sensing of binding events at the solid support.
In a thirteenth aspect, the present invention provides the use of any one of the method and system aspects described above for concentration analysis, preferably of small molecules, and for drug screening.

Method and system for analyte determination


An apparatus for cleaning the shells of crabs and other crustacean and shellfish for removal of barnacles and other encrusted debris. A conveyor carries the shells through a cleaning station. The cleaning station features a rotating flail, having chains or other like flexible members for impacting against the shells with hard, smooth members for selectively shattering the barnacle shells while permitting the relatively softer crustacean shells to remain intact.

Crustacean meat and in particular crab leg meat is commonly sold for human consumption in an "the shell" form. It is important from a marketing perspective that the exterior surfaces of the shell be cleaned and free of debris. The upper sides of crab legs, i.e., the side that faces upwardly when the crabs are in their normal crawling position, normally is red in color. This color is imparted by a relatively delicate layer on the crab shell, which is easily abraded away during cleaning and processing. It is important from a commercial perspective that the red layer be left substantially intact and unblemished, and that it also be clean and free of slime, slub and other debris.
Applicants' co-pending Canadian Patent application numbers 2,206,678 and 2,234,034 relate to apparatus for cleaning the shells of crustaceans, and in particular for cleaning crab legs. This apparatus is substantially fully automated, whereby an operator positions individual crabs on a conveyor apparatus, with the crabs being suspended from hooks. The crab legs are automatically cleaned as they are conveyed through a cleaning station having a pair of elongate, counter-rotating brushes between which the crab legs are passed. The brushes described in applicants' said co-pending applications comprise generally conventional bristle-bearing brushes, which are affective for removal of most foreign objects and debris from the other crab leg sections. However, the shells of crab and other crustaceans frequently have encrusted on them barnacles or other like foreign objects which very firmly adhere to the shells and cannot be removed by conventional brushes. Barnacles in particular are difficult to dislodge but must be removed if the seafood is to be saleable. Barnacles represent a particular problem in some catch locations. Crab legs are typically contaminated with barnacles on the upper (red) sides of the legs, and this presents both a commercial imperative to remove the barnacles from this most visible of locations, and a technical challenge to remove the barnacles without abrading or otherwise damaging the relatively delicate red layer. The barnacles can vary in size from approximately 2 mm to 10 mm in diameter. The concentration of barnacles that are attached to the shell varies depending on catch location.
The current method for removal of barnacles and the like consists simply of manual removal with a knife or other scraping tool. In this method, the barnacles are normally removed one at a time, and the method is correspondingly slow, labor intensive and expensive.
The cleaning apparatus of applicants' co-pending Canadian applications remove a portion of barnacles from crab leg shells. Typically, between three and five percent of barnacles are removed by this apparatus. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an effective automated barnacle removal apparatus.
Various cleaning apparatus have been proposed for removal of debris from crustacean and shellfish shells. For example, Canadian Patent 2,015,863 (Tillion) discloses an apparatus for cleaning mussel shells, with the cleaning being performed by an array of abrasive rollers that also serve to transport the mussels between components of the system. Canadian Patent 1,205,963 (Lockerby) discloses apparatus for cleaning crab shells by means of an array of chain-mounted brushes that brush debris from the crab bodies.
The present invention relies for its operation on the convenient fact that barnacle shells are relatively hard and brittle, while crab shells are relatively resilient. Accordingly, a percussive force may be used to shatter or break off a barnacle from a crab shell, while leaving the crab shell substantially undamaged. Properly applied, a percussive force is capable of removing all or substantially all barnacle shells from crab shells, while causing minimal damage or abrasion to the crab shells.

Apparatus for removing barnacles from crustacean shells


A variable resistor uses a carbon fiber-base resistor with a specific distribution of carbon particle sizes. Because the particle size distribution of carbon fiber is approximately equal to the normal distribution and 80% by volume or more carbon fiber is included in the particle size range from 1 to 20 .mu.m, high conductivity in the fiber length direction of carbon fiber that is served as structural material for improving the wear resistance does not affect the micro-linearity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a resistor excellent in micro-linearity characteristic and in wear resistance and a variable resistor that uses the resistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional resistor used for a variable resistor of various sensors contains resin serving as based material of the resistor, carbon fiber serving as structural material, and carbon black serving as conducting particle, and a slider moves in contact with a resistor pattern consisting of the resistor. At that time, because hard carbon fiber receives the load of the slider in the diametral direction and distributes the load along the long carbon fiber, the load wears the resistor very little. Therefore, the wear resistance of the variable resistor that uses this type of resistor is excellent in comparison with the variable resistor that uses another type of resistor that contains only conducting particles such as carbon black or graphite.
However, in the case of a conventional resistor that uses carbon fiber, because carbon fiber has high conductivity in the fiber direction, the resistivity varies in a small range of the resistor depending on the fiber orientation of carbon fiber, and the micro-linearity characteristic is poor, and the poor micro-linearity is a problem.
The micro-linearity characteristic is described herein under. FIG. 14 shows a graph obtained in a test. In the test, a rating voltage V.sub.in is applied in the length L direction of a resistor pattern, and the vertical axis represents the output V of a slider that slides on the resistor pattern in the longitudinal direction and the horizontal axis represents the position X of the slider on the resistor pattern. The output change concomitant with displacement .DELTA.X of the slider from an arbitrary point on the resistor is represented by an ideal straight line P having a gradient V.sub.in /L on the assumption that the resistivity of the resistor is constant not depending on the position.
On the ideal straight line P, the normal output voltage obtained when the slider moves from A point to B point by .DELTA.X is represented by .DELTA.V=(.DELTA.X/L).times.V.sub.in, but the actual output S deviates from the ideal straight line P. As shown in the equation (1), the micro-linearity characteristic is calculated as described herein under. The normal output variation is subtracted from the output variation V.sub.A -V.sub.B (V.sub.A is the actual output at the point A and V.sub.B is the actual output at the point B) to obtain the difference, the difference is divided by the applied voltage, and the obtained value is multiplied by 100 to obtain percent expression. In the case of high performance position sensor, particularly excellent micro-linearity characteristic, which shows actual output S is similar to the ideal straight line P, is required.
[Equation 1]
micro-linearity ##EQU1##
V.sub.A : output value obtained when the slider is positioned at the point A PA0 V.sub.B : output value obtained when the slider is positioned at the point B PA0 V.sub.in : applied voltage in the resistor length L direction PA0 .DELTA.X: distance between the point A and the point B PA0 L: resistor length

Resistor excellent in micro-linearity characteristic and wear resistance and variable resistor using the same


Techniques provided for using hardware and software to modify a mobile device to improve the safety and awareness of a user to their environmental surroundings. One embodiment of the invention is to update mobile device applications to include live video using the built in rear camera of area ahead of the user as background image. Rear camera would normally be viewing ground, so an embodiment includes a custom case or other attachment to the mobile device with a mirror to allow rear camera to view area ahead. The case or attachment positions the mirror relative to the camera and has an adjustable angle to achieve the correct field of view for the way (or posture) the user is holding the mobile device.

Mobile phone cameras are highly underutilized, being generally used only on an active basis to record photos and videos. There is an opportunity to turn the camera and other on phone input devices (for instance microphones) into primary sensing devices that augment the phone's ability to process its immediate environment on behalf of the user. In this way the phone can better imitate natural human sensing capabilities even when users are distracted by the phone and it's visual and audio interfaces (i.e. watching a video with headphones on).
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Heads down intelligent display and processing


Various embodiments are described that relate to network communication. In a mobile peer-to-peer ad hoc network, nodes can use a context-aware key-based distribution hash table routing algorithm to create the route scheme. This can be done among nodes that are cluster-heads while nodes that are within a cluster can use a non-context based algorithm.

People that are far away from one another can have a desire to communicate with one another. A person can use a mobile device, such as a cellular telephone or a radio, to communicate with another person using a similar device. In one example, a group of soldiers can communicate with one another through use of portable radios. These portable radios can, at least in part, form a mobile ad hoc network.

Contextual information for a peer-to-peer network

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Army


Processes for the addition or removal of a layer or region from a workpiece material by contact with a process gas in the manufacture of a microstructure are enhanced by the use of recirculation of the process gas. Recirculation is effected by a pump that has no sliding or abrading parts that contact the process gas, nor any wet (such as oil) seals or purge gas in the pump. Improved processing can be achieved by a process chamber that contains a baffle, a perforated plate, or both, appropriately situated in the chamber to deflect the incoming process gas and distribute it over the workpiece surface. In certain embodiments, a diluent gas is added to the recirculation loop and continuously circulated therein, followed by the bleeding of the process gas (such as an etchant gas) into the recirculation loop. Also, cooling of the process gas, etching chamber and/or sample platen can aid the etching process. The method is particularly useful for adding to or removing material from a sample of microscopic dimensions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention lies in the technology of the manufacture of microstructures, which include such devices as microelectromechanical structures, micro opto-electromechanical structures, and semiconductor devices. In particular, this invention addresses gas-phase etching and deposition procedures, with particular emphasis on those involving the etching of silicon. This invention further addresses apparatus that is especially useful in meeting the needs of gas-phase etching and deposition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of selective etchants to remove sacrificial layers or regions in a multilayer structure without removal of an adjacent layer or region is a necessary and common step in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, microelectromechanical structures (MEMS), and micro opto-electromechanical structures (MOEMS). MEMS and MOEMS have found applications in inertial measurement, pressure sensing, thermal measurement, micro-fluidics, optics, and radio-frequency communications, and the range of possibilities for these structures continues to grow. One example of such a structure is a reflective spatial light modulator, which is a device consisting of a planar array of electrostatically deflectable mirrors, each microscopic in size. The device is used as a microdisplay system for high-resolution, large-screen projection. In such a device, the sacrificial layer temporarily supports the mirror structure during the fabrication process. Once the mirror structure is formed, the sacrificial layer is removed to leave gaps below the mirrors and a microhinge along one edge of each mirror to join the mirror to the remainder of the structure. The gap and the microhinge provide the mirror with the freedom of movement needed for its deflection. Devices of this type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,256 (issued Nov. 10, 1998, to Andrew Huibers, assignor to Reflectivity, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.). The contents of U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,256 are incorporated herein by reference.
The success of an etch step in the manufacture of microstructures depends on a number of factors, prominent among which are the completeness and uniformity of the etch among the areas to be etched, both across and throughout the microstructure surface. For deflectable mirror structures, the integrity of the microhinges (the structure undergoing mechanical deformation) is important to achieving uniform microstructure properties and a high yield of defect-free product. For other MEMS and for semiconductor devices, completeness and uniformity of the etch are likewise critical to insure that features on all areas of the structure function fully and property when in use. These factors are important in both isotropic and anisotropic etching. Isotropic etching is of particular interest, in structures where the purpose of the etch is to remove a sacrificial layer that is intervening between functional layers or between a functional layer and a substrate. The bulk of the sacrificial layer in these structures is accessible to the etchant only through vias in the functional layer and etchant must proceed laterally outward from the vias. The structures described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,256 above preferably employ isotropic etchant for this reason. The "vias" in these structures are the narrow gaps between the facing edges of adjacent mirror elements or between a mirror edge and an adjacent feature. Likewise, in the manufacture of any MEMS or semiconductor, all features on the structure surface must be fully defined and all materials that are not functional in the finished product must be fully removed.
Of potential relevance to certain embodiments of this invention is the prior art relating to particular etchant gases. Prominent among the etchants that are used for the removal of sacrificial layers or regions in both isotropic and anisotropic etching procedures are noble gas fluorides and halogen fluorides. These materials, used in the gas phase, selectively etch silicon relative to other materials such as silicon-containing compounds, non-silicon elements, and compounds of non-silicon elements. Descriptions of how these materials are used in etching procedures appear in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/427,841 and in portions of the present specification that follow. The invention claimed in application Ser. No. 09/427,841 offers an improvement in the selectivity of the silicon etch. Further means of improving the etch process particularly the uniformity and thoroughness of the etch, continue to be sought, since improvements in these features of the process significantly benefit the cost and reliability of the products manufactured.
The method of the present invention is useful for producing deflectable elements (deflectable by electrostatic or other means) which, if coated (before or after gas phase processing) with a reflective layer, can act as an actuatable micromirror. Arrays of such micromirrors can be provided for direct view or projection display systems (e.g. projection television or computer monitors). Also, if the micromirrors are provided alone or in an array and of a size of 100 micrometers or more (preferably 500 micrometers or more), the mirror is useful for steering light beams, such as in an optical switch. The present invention is also adaptable to processing (e.g. etching) semiconductor devices, and is not limited to MEMS devices.

Apparatus and method for flow of process gas in an ultra-clean environment


A phaseshift network (2) exhibits approximately equal impedances to the outputs of an IQ mixer (10), over a range of modulation frequencies (Fm). The phaseshift network furthermore exhibits an approximately equal time delay for the I and Q modulated signals propagating therethrough. The phaseshift network includes a first branch having an input node for receiving a first frequency signal that varies within a range of frequencies about a frequency Fo. The first branch includes a phaseshifter for providing a frequency signal representative of the first input signal that is retarded by a first predetermined number of degrees. The phaseshift network further includes a second branch having an input node for receiving a second frequency signal that varies within a range of frequencies about the frequency Fo. The second branch includes a phaseshifter for providing a frequency signal representative of the second input signal that is advanced by a second predetermined number of degrees. A summer sums together the retarded and advanced frequency signals for providing, at an output node, an output signal that is a summation of the retarded and the advanced frequency signals.

Conventional implementations of IQ modulators are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. M1 and M2 are two identical frequency multipliers, also referred to as frequency mixers. I and Q represent two input signals to be quadrature modulated. A summing device S1 sums the outputs of the I and Q circuit branches to generate an output signal (OUT).
In the circuit of FIG. 1, LO is a frequency signal that is generated by a Local Oscillator. LO is applied to a -45.degree. phaseshifter P1 and to a +45.degree. phaseshifter P2, and is thus phaseshifted by a total of 90.degree.. The phaseshifted LO signal is mixed with Q-IN and with I-IN by mixers M1 and M2, respectively, resulting in, ideally, 90.degree. of phaseshift between I and Q frequency components at the output of S1.
In the circuit configuration of FIG. 2 a single -90.degree. phaseshifter (P1') is interposed between LO and M1, and thus performs the same function as P1 and P2 in FIG. 1.
Although relatively straightforward to implement, the circuits of FIGS. 1 and 2 exhibit several problems. For example, both of these circuits require two separate mixers (M1 and M2) and, thus, require two separate balancing transformers in order to provide isolation between the LO signal and the I and Q signals. This is disadvantageous in that balancing transformers add significant cost and bulk to the circuitry. For consumer products, especially mobile communications products, it is generally desirable to minimize cost and size whenever possible.
It is known to employ transistor/FET mixers that do not require balancing transformers. However, transistor/FET mixers require bias potentials and DC power to operate. For battery powered systems, such as mobile communication systems, it is generally desirable to minimize circuit operating power so as to minimize battery recharging operations.
A further disadvantage of the circuits of FIGS. 1 and 2 is that the LO power must be sufficient to drive the phaseshifter(s), in addition to the mixers M1 and M2.
A still further disadvantage is that it is difficult to impedance match the outputs of the phaseshifters to the inputs of the mixers, in that the mixer input impedance is non-linear. As a result, the degree of phaseshift becomes a function of drive level.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide an IQ modulator that overcomes the foregoing problems.
It is another object of the invention to provide a low power, low cost phaseshifter circuit configuration that requires few components and no inductive components.


A hand held spray bottle for use in the downward application of a liquid onto a horizontal surface. The spray bottle generally comprises a liquid spray device and a liquid storage bottle with an open threaded top to which the spray device is attached. The liquid spray device contains an internal pump assembly, trigger, and nozzle.

The majority of cleaning fluids for household use is sold in plastic spray bottles, consisting of a bottle body with a threaded opening at the top, connected to a spray device which includes a siphon straw, trigger and pump assembly, and spray nozzle. The majority of these cleaning fluids are intended to clean horizontal surfaces (countertops, carpets, floors). To apply the spray to a horizontal surface, the user will tilt the spray bottle at an angle so the nozzle directs the spray downward. When the fluid in the bottle reaches a low level and a user attempts to apply the fluid to a horizontal surface, the bottom of the siphon straw will not remain in contact with the remaining fluid and will draw air into the straw. The user will then hold the bottle vertically to put the siphon straw in contact with the remaining fluid, prime the straw and pump with several trigger squeezes, then aim the spray nozzle downward to apply the fluid. With one or two trigger squeezes, the pump and straw are now empty, and the user will re-prime. This process is inefficient. Additionally, there will always be a small volume of liquid remaining in the bottle that the user is unable to spray, due to the siphon straw not extending to the absolute bottom of the bottle, and also due to the bottle bottom's flat shape, which spreads the remaining fluid out over the entire bottle bottom surface.

Vertical spray bottle for application of liquid to a horizontal surface


A dual pump strategy for a hybrid electric automatic transmission necessitating one internal mechanically driven pump linked to the engine output shaft and an external fixed displacement pump powered by a brushless permanent magnet motor consisting of a controller with closed loop feedback control for operating such is disclosed. In neutral and electric drive mode, with the engine off, the flow demand for the transmission is sustained largely by the external pump.

Many construction machines, transportation devices, and other equipment employ an engine as a primary power source, with a number of other systems being driven off of the engine output. For example, in certain construction machines, a number of machine functions and operations are executed via hydraulic power. In such machines, a hydraulic pump is keyed to and driven by the engine output to supply hydraulic power to the machine components.
However, the hydraulic requirements of a machine are not necessarily directly related to the engine speed. For example, during a period of high engine speed, there may be little or no hydraulic power required under certain circumstances. Conversely, during periods of low engine speed, circumstances may dictate that a high level of hydraulic power is required. Thus, there is a certain intractable inefficiency resulting from the direct drive of the hydraulic pump from the engine output. If a smaller and more efficient pump is fitted to the engine, the pump may be unable to supply the machine's maximum hydraulic needs. However, if a larger less efficient pump is fitted to the engine, then while the pump will always be able to supply the required hydraulic flow, it will be underutilized during all but the most extreme operations.
Moreover, certain machines operate in a hybrid manner rather than relying exclusively on engine power. That is, such machines are capable of operating exclusively on electrical power, exclusively on engine power, or on a combination of the two. For example, both drive types may be used together when substantial acceleration is required, but the engine may be shut down or idled in favor of the electric drive mode of operation during machine launch conditions and low-speed cruise conditions. In such hybrid machines, the exclusive use of a single direct drive hydraulic pump will mean that hydraulic power is completely unavailable during electric drive.
Thus, it will be appreciated from this disclosure that the traditional engine-driven hydraulic pump causes issues of inefficiency (or lack of capacity) in many machines, and also results in a loss of hydraulic flow during electric drive operating modes in hybrid machines.
Although the resolution of deficiencies, noted or otherwise, of the prior art has been found by the inventors to be desirable, such resolution is not a critical or essential limitation of the disclosed principles. Moreover, this background section is presented as a convenience to the reader who may not be of skill in this art. However, it will be appreciated that this section is too brief to attempt to accurately and completely survey the prior art. The preceding background description is thus a simplified and anecdotal narrative and is not intended to replace printed references in the art. To the extent an inconsistency or omission between the demonstrated state of the printed art and the foregoing narrative exists, the foregoing narrative is not intended to cure such inconsistency or omission. Rather, applicants would defer to the demonstrated state of the printed art.

Dual pump design for hybrid electric automatic transmission


A shoulder elevator having a gated pipe opening is disclosed. The elevator has a ringed body having unclosed sector creating an opening for receiving a pipe within the body ring. Pivotally mounted gates positioned on opposite sides of the unclosed sector of the ringed body, move in unison to an open and partially close the unclosed sector of the ringed body around the pipe in response to pipe contact with rearward end of the gates. A lever is provided to manually pivot the gates to an open and closed position around a pipe. Lifting lugs or ears are provided to attach the elevator to the lifting links of a hoist.

Elevators and spiders are typically arranged in alignment with an opening in the rotary table on the working platform of an oil well derrick. The elevator is used to hold, lower, and raise tubular pipe segments sometimes comprised of multiple lengths of pipe. The elevator is used to grip, lift, and release a pipe segment, in cooperation with the spider, with each pipe segment added to or removed from the pipe string in the well bore. Such pipe string may be a string of casing pipe, liner pipe, or drill pipe.
Each pipe segment typically has a threaded connection at each end with one end having an internally threaded band called a collar that protrudes or extends outward around the periphery of the pipe segment. The annular surface at the base of the collar between the outer periphery of the collar and the periphery of pipe is called the shoulder of the collar. An elevator supporting a pipe segment or a string of pipe segments on the shoulder of a collar is called a shoulder-type elevator.
An elevator and its components are subjected substantial stress, strain, and fatigue during use due to the repeated loadings from the weight of the pipe segments. Dropping a pipe segment can cause severe damage to rig equipment and injury to rig workers.
It would be an advantage to have an elevator designed with a minimum of components and with the components robustly configured to withstand the repeated loadings associated with continuous use in lifting and supporting the pipe segments to minimize failure and the cost associated with elevator replacement and repair. It would also be an advantage to provide an elevator that will safely secure a pipe segment within the elevator and minimize the steps needed for its use to enhance the safety of workers on the rig floor.

Vermilion River Tool and Equipment Company


A semiconductor probe method and apparatus for avoiding collision between probe and semiconductor. A method of the present invention includes the step of setting a probe card adjacent a semiconductor wafer which is to be tested. A reading location data step then reads semiconductor wafer location data. A high speed advancing step then moves the probe card and semiconductor wafer together at a sufficiently high speed. A low speed advancing step then moves the probe card and semiconductor wafer together at a low speed. Finally, a detecting step detects when probe card needles contact the semiconductor wafer, at which point, the engaging operation is stopped and contact point data is stored in memory. A probe apparatus includes a probe card holder for supporting a probe card including probe needles. A memory element is arranged on the probe card and contains data of the position of the probe needles. Supporting means are provided for supporting a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of electrode pads, and for vertically moving the wafer. A control system for attaining a level of the probe needles of the probe card based on data read from the memory element of the probe card holder is also provided. The control system drives the supporting means at a high speed, then at a low speed such that the electrode pads of the wafer approach the tips of the probe needles while avoiding a collision.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a probe apparatus for examining electrical characteristics of an object such as a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As known, in production of the semiconductor device, a large number of semiconductor devices are formed on a semiconductor wafer by use of the precision photographical transcription technique, or the like, and the wafer is cut down into the respecting semiconductor devices. According to the current technique, in order to improve the productivity of the semiconductor device, the electrical characteristics of each of the semiconductor devices are examined while they are still half-complete products in the form of a semiconductor wafer, by a probe apparatus, and only those which are judged to be good in the examination are carried onto the next step, for example, packaging process.
Such a probe apparatus comprises a wafer holding table movable in X-Y-Z-.theta. directions above the wafer holding Table A probe card having probes, the number of which corresponds to that of the electrode pads of the semiconductor device, is positioned adjacent to the semiconductor device. Test examination of a semiconductor device is carried out in the following manner. A semiconductor wafer is placed on the wafer holding table, and this wafer holding table is moved such as to bring the probes, which is connected to a tester, into contact with the electrodes of a semiconductor device.
With the probe apparatus of this type, since the level of the tips of probe needles differ from one probe card to another, the level of the tips of the probe needles of a probe card must be known before the start of a test examination. Thus, the semiconductor wafer on the table is lifted a very low speed, for example 500 micrometers/second, to detect the level (contact point) where the tips of the probe needles touch on the semiconductor wafer. In this step of detecting the level of the tips of probe needles, the wafer holding table is lifted at a speed so slow from the home position (the lowest position) that it takes an extremely long time to find the contact point. To save time, the semiconductor wafer is lifted at a high speed up to a safe point where it does not yet reach the tip of the probe, and then at a low speed until it touches on the tip.
Recently, in accordance with increase in the degree of integration of semiconductor devices, the number of the electrode pads of a semiconductor device has been increased, and the pitch between neighboring pads has been narrowed. In order to follow this tendency development of a probe card 2a in which probe needles 1a are arranged substantially vertical, as shown in FIG. 2, is proceeded to achieve practical use thereof, in place of a probe card 2 in which probe needles 1 are diagonally arranged as shown in FIG. 1. However, with the probe card 2a in which the probe needles 1a are substantially vertically arranged, the tips of the probe needles will be located much (about some centimeters) lower (indicated by letter h in FIG. 2) than the case of the conventional probe card 2, when the card is fixed to the probe apparatus. Consequently, in this step of detecting the level of the tips of probe needles, the lifting distance of a wafer holding table 3 for holding a semiconductor wafer or the like must be set smaller than usual. In case where the distance is erroneously set, an object such as a semiconductor device is likely to collide with the probe needles while detecting the level of the tips of the probe needles, damaging the semiconductor wafer (object) and/or the probe card.


A touch processing method and a mobile terminal are described. The mobile terminal includes a touch sensing device that has a first area and a second area. A touching point in the first area has a first response level and a touching point in the second area has a second response level, with the first response level being higher than the second response level. The method includes acquiring a first touching point and a second touching point; and responding to the first touching point when the first touching point is in the first area while the second touching point is in the second area. When a user holds the mobile terminal to operate, the mobile terminal may respond to useful touch commands automatically and shield touch commands generated by the misoperation in the second area.

An existing terminal with a touch screen includes a touch-type mobile phone and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and so on, and does not include any physical keys, such as a keyboard, etc., so that all of operations are implemented by finger or fingers touching the touch screen. Making an existing touch-type mobile phone as an example, it is typically designed to have a large touch screen for displaying. However, during a research for the prior art, inventors of the present application find that a misoperation may occur easily when a user hold the mobile phone closely to perform the touch operation. For example, when the user holds the mobile phone by one hand, his/her thumb may move on the touch screen to perform the touch operation, but a part connecting the thumb with a palm of the hand may touch the touch screen at the same time, such that the touch screen may sense a plurality of touch operations and in turn generate a plurality of touch commands, thus a misoperation may occur. Additionally, in order to avoid a misoperation, the user may be careful to only hold the edges of the mobile phone while holding the mobile phone, but this causes the operation to be inconvenient and accordingly the touch operation experience of the user is decreased.

Method for touch processing and mobile terminal


The present invention provides a fluorescent substance excellent in emission intensity and in emission efficiency. The substance can be excited by light at a longer wavelength than ever. The present invention also provides a luminous composition comprising the fluorescent substance and a light-emitting element using the substance. The fluorescent substance comprises a rare earth metal and a phosphine oxide ligand which coordinates to said rare earth metal and said ligand containing at least one siloxane bond in its structure. The fluorescent substance can be produced from a reaction between a compound having a siloxane bond and a rare earth complex coordinated by a phosphine oxide ligand. The luminous composition comprises the fluorescent substance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting element excellent in emission intensity. In particular, the present invention relates to an LED element using an excitation source of light in the near UV to blue region, and it also relates to a fluorescent substance used therein.
2. Background Art
As for fluorescent substances of rare earth metals coordinated by organic ligands such as phosphine oxide and β-diketonato ligands and for LED elements employing them, concepts and examples thereof are described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3811142. Organic fluorescent substances like them are superior to inorganic ones in solubility and resin-dispersability in solvents, and hence by utilizing this character the light-extraction efficiency is increased to obtain strong emission intensity in the above examples. In the case where an LED or LD is adopted as an energy source of luminescence, light in a particular wavelength range is used. In many conventional cases, the maximum excitation wavelength, which gives the strongest emission intensity, is often positioned in the wavelength range of 300 nm to 350 nm. Actually, however, since there is a fear that light in the above wavelength range gives harmful effects to the human body, light at a longer wavelength is generally used in practice as the excitation light. It is, therefore, difficult to use light at the most effective wavelength and accordingly it is inevitable to use fluorescent substances of low emission intensity. On the other hand, if the skeletons of ligands are changed so that the fluorescent substances can absorb light at a longer wavelength, the efficiency of energy transfer between the metal and the ligands is so lowered that practically satisfying emission intensity cannot be obtained. Thus, this is a dilemma.
Rare earth metals have specific energy levels of f-electrons, and the electrons of rare earth metal can be excited by irradiation of light having an energy corresponding to the energy level gap between the vacant orbital and the occupied orbital. The luminescence induced by this excitation is not accompanied by the energy transfer from the ligands, and hence does not suffer loss of the energy transfer efficiency. Accordingly, the luminescence generally results from the internal energy conversion with high efficiency. This means that the emission from the excited state occurs with high efficiency. The wavelength corresponding to the energy level gap of f-f transition is often much longer than 400 nm. For example, the transition of 5D0→7D2 in Eu corresponds to 465 nm. The f-f transition of rare earth metal can be, therefore, excited by light at a long wavelength. This means that near ultraviolet LEDs, which emit light around 400 nm, and blue LEDs, which emit light around 460 nm, can be used as an excitation source.
From the viewpoint of quantum chemistry and group theory, the f-f transition of rare earth is forbidden. The forbidden transition is generally activated when the symmetry of orbital is broken in the metal atom. However, the orbital in broken symmetry deviates from the most stable state, and hence is too unstable in energy to break the symmetry drastically and to keep the broken symmetry. In some normally present compounds, the f-f transition is sometimes slightly allowed because of distortion induced by asymmetry of coordination environment around the metal atom. The f-f transition thus has activity, but the activity is nevertheless generally not so large that the excitation occurs with high possibility. Accordingly, even if the emission from the excited state proceeds with high efficiency, the total emission efficiency based on the applied light is often smaller than that of the luminescence by way of the energy transfer from the β-diketonato ligand. For this reason, the luminescence excited by f-f transition has not been satisfying enough to use in LEDs.
Journal of Alloys and Compounds 408-412, pp 921-925 (2006) describes that a rare earth fluorescent substance containing a β-diketonato ligand emits stronger luminescence when also coordinated by a phosphine oxide ligand than when not coordinated by the phosphine oxide ligand. Further, JP-A-2005-252250 (KOKAI) discloses that a fluorescent substance comprising both β-diketonato and phosphine oxide ligands emits strong luminescence when excited at a wavelength in 380 nm to 410 nm. However, even the fluorescent substances described in the above publications exhibit weak emission when excited at a wavelength around 465 nm, where the excitation band of f-f transition in Eu3+ is positioned, and hence the f-f transition is not fully activated.
JP-A-2007-46021 (KOKAI) discloses a compound of a rare earth metal coordinated by a ligand of phosphate triester, and it also discloses a luminous composition comprising a resin such as silicone resin and the rare earth complex compound dispersed therein. The disclosed substances emit strong luminescence assigned to an f-f transition observed in the excitation spectrum. However, there is a problem that phosphate triesters are liable to react with fluorine compounds to form fluorophosphate compounds, which are generally fatally poisonous. In addition, the rare earth complex emitting strong luminescence contains a β-diketonato ligand having a fluoroalkyl group such as CF3, and factories treating silicon compounds such as silicone resin also often treat fluorine compounds such as hydrofluoric acid. Accordingly, the disclosed composition is far from practical in view of safety.
Journal of Luminescence 117, pp 163-169 (2006) describes a composition in which a rare earth metal complex is combined with the skeleton of Si—O—Si bonds by the sol-gel method. However, it is also reported that the f-f transition was not observed in the excitation spectrum monitored at 612.5 nm. Accordingly, it has not been known that the f-f transition is activated when the fluorescent substance is combined with the skeleton of Si—O—Si bonds.

Fluorescent substance containing rare earth metal, luminous composition comprising the same, process for manufacturing thereof, and light-emitting element comprising the fluorescent substance


A fluid pressure control apparatus having a main valve and a pilot valve for moving the main valve to a shutoff position as a function of the fluid pressure in a supply fluid. The pilot valve is connected to receive supply fluid having a fluid pressure Ps through a first passage. A second passage connected to the first passage communicates supply fluid to a control chamber in the main valve. A first restriction in the second passage limits the fluid pressure of the supply fluid communicated to the control chamber to a fluid pressure Pc. The control chamber is connected to a reservoir having a fluid pressure Pr through a third passage having a second restriction therein to control the flow of fluid from the control chamber. A first piston located in the main valve is responsive to a pressure differential between the fluid in the control chamber and supply fluid presented to an outlet chamber to control the flow of supply fluid as a fluid pressure Pc to a system from the main valve. In response to an operational input signal supplied to a solenoid associated with the pilot valve, a second piston moves to initiate communication of supply fluid having a fluid pressure Ps from the first passage directly to the control chamber in the main valve. As the fluid pressure in the control chamber changes from Pc to Ps, the pressure differential is eliminated and the first piston closes as a force differential is reversed to immediately terminate the flow of supply fluid to the system.

In fuel systems for use in supplying a turbine engine in an aircraft with fuel it is important to immediately terminate the flow the flow of fuel when the engine is to be shut down or if an overspeed operational condition occurs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,857 discloses a shut off and pressure regulator valve which includes a sealing arrangement which prevents the flow of fuel to the system when a desired shut down occurs. In some applications where the supply pressure is large, it may be desirable to use a larger main valve and a smaller solenoid operated pilot valve to rapidly provide for such shut down. U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,532 discloses a such pilot valve which is carried by the main valve. In this control valve, considerable manufacturing effort is required to locate the solenoid valve in the main valve and even though it operates in a satisfactory manner, customers desire a lower cost control valve which functions in a similar manner. Further, in this control valve since the closure pressure is developed by sealing a sump port, the closure time is a direct function of the time required to build up the closure pressure in the main valve.


An interface circuit is disclosed for receiving a ground-referenced A.C. signal for detecting transitions of the A.C. signal about ground potential. An input transistor is enabled when the A.C. signal voltage falls below ground potential by one base-emitter forward drop. The input transistor is disabled when the A.C. signal voltage rises above ground potential by one base-emitter forward drop. A feedback circuit and a bias circuit are coupled to the input transistor for switching the threshold levels of the input transistor. The interface circuit employs a hysteresis-type switching action for improving noise immunity while providing a symmetric output waveform. The circuit requires only a single power supply and is suitable for fabrication as a highly dense, monolithic integrated circuit. Also, the circuit provides a low input impedance to large positive and negative voltage transients.

Integrated circuit technology is finding many applications in the field of engine control, particularly with regard to controlling automobile engines. One of the engine parameters which often must be sensed by an engine control system is the rotational speed of the engine crankshaft. One known method for detecting the crankshaft speed is to cause the crankshaft to vary a magnetic field surrounding a sensor coil so as to generate an A.C. signal in the coil. An appropriate interface circuit may be used to detect the oscillations of the A.C. signal about a reference potential. The rotational speed of the crankshaft can then be determined since the frequency of the generated A.C. signal is proportional to the crankshaft speed.
In such engine control systems, large voltage transients having magnitudes from 100 to 200 volts are not uncommon. These large voltage transients can be harmful to the interface circuit coupled to the crankshaft speed sensor unless proper safeguards are employed.
Furthermore, noise signals often present in the environment of an engine control system can falsely trigger the interface circuit used to detect transitions of the A.C. signal. The introduction of hysteresis in switching circuits is known in the art for reducing the effect of noise signals and improving the noise margin of switching circuits. For example, a regenerative comparator or Schmitt trigger is shown by Strauss, Wave Generation and Shaping, 1970 McGraw-Hill Book Company, pp. 445-447.
Another consideration in constructing circuitry for detecting transitions of the A.C. signal about a reference potential is that the output waveform generated by the inerface circuit should be a symmetrical square wave, i.e., an output pulse with a fifty percent (50%) duty cycle. The reason for this requirement is that tachometer circuits, used to convert the frequency of the output waveform generated by the interface circuit into a D.C. voltage proportional to the crankshaft speed, often require an input pulse having a fifty percent (50%) duty cycle for maximum efficiency.
Further considerations in selecting an interface circuit for detecting transitions of the A.C. signal about a reference potential are suitability for operation with a single supply voltage as opposed to the need for both positive and negative supply voltages, and suitability for fabrication as an integrated circuit without requiring large amounts of chip area.
The difficulty in providing an interface circuit which is responsive to a ground referenced A.C. signal and which provides the advantages of hysteresis-type switching action while maintaining a symmetrical output waveform is that symmetric threshold levels (or trip points) must be provided above and below ground potential. Many prior art threshold circuits employ differential comparators wherein the input waveform is compared to one or more threshold levels. However, in applications where the threshold levels can be both above and below ground potential, these prior art differential comparator circuits require either both positive and negative power supplies or, if the circuit is to operate with a single supply voltage, extra circuit components for performing a voltage level-shifting function. Therefore, those skilled in the art should appreciate that an interface circuit responsive to a ground-referenced signal which provides a symmetric output waveform, which provides hysteresis-type switching action, and which may be fabricated as a highly dense integrated structure that requires a single power supply is a significant improvement over the prior art.

Comparator with hysteresis for interfacing with a ground-referenced A.C. sensor


The present invention relates to a building material design support system for supporting design of a building material capable of exhibiting a random texture pattern as a whole in a state in which the building materials are installed on a building portion and exhibiting continuity of the texture of adjacent building materials, such building material and a program for use in such building material design support system. More specifically, on a building material, first convex portions #A1L, #A1R, #A2L, #A2R to be arranged next to corresponding first convex portions of an adjacent building material have a prescribed texture common to every building materials, and the second convex portions have randomly arranged textures different from each other on every building material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a building material design support system for supporting the design of a building material such as an exterior panel or a roof material to be installed on a building exterior portion or a roof portion, a building material and a program for use in such building material design support system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a building material design support system for supporting design of a building material capable of exhibiting a random texture pattern as a whole in a state in which the building materials are installed on a building portion and exhibiting continuity of the texture of adjacent building materials, such building material and a program for use in such building material design support system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge of the prior art.
As a conventional house coordinate support system for simulating a building exterior appearance, the following system is known (e.g. Japanese Patent Nos. 3,002,666, and 3,002,670). In the system, several building exterior appearance patterns and several building material exterior appearance patterns are prepared in advance. Then, a certain building exterior appearance, i.e., an exterior appearance of a constructed building exterior portion or roof portion, is simulated on a monitor screen by applying several building material exterior patterns selected from the prepared building material exterior patterns to a certain building exterior appearance pattern displayed on the monitor screen.
The aforementioned building material exterior patterns of exterior panels and/or roof materials to be applied to the building exterior appearance pattern are flat image data of respective goods selected from existing available goods. Such image data is subjected to image data processing such as enlargement, reduction and/or rotation processing, and then pasted on a prescribed building exterior pattern. As a concrete exterior pattern of the building material, for example, a single flat image data, in which a surface design pattern showing the dividing status of convex portions and concave portions, a texture showing the feel of the material of the convex portion, the color information, etc., are integrated, is used. The flat image data to be used for the pasting is a fixed data.
In another building material design support system for supporting the design of a building material itself such as an exterior panel or a roof material (e.g., Japanese Patent No. 3,023,352), using a monitor, exterior patterns of building materials to be used are designed on a screen of the monitor. In this system, a concept in which a surface design pattern and the texture are integrated is treated as a texture, and the color information can be changed. Therefore, even in cases where the same texture is used with respect to a certain surface design pattern, various different exterior patterns can be designed. That is, this flat image data to be pasted is a variable data to which prescribed color information is added.
For example, in a conventional building material with a brick-piled-like surface design, since each building material has the same texture arrangement, the entire exterior appearance of the building materials after the construction looks monotonous due to the repetition of the pattern. In view of the above, for the purpose of creating a natural texture, it can be considered to randomly create building materials different in texture arrangement. In this case, however, the textures of adjacent building materials discontinue at the joint portions, resulting in an unnatural appearance.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. For example, certain features of the preferred embodiments of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages and/or providing certain advantages, such as, e.g., disadvantages and/or advantages discussed herein, while retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.

Building material design support system, building material, and program for the system


A pump has a pump driven impeller mounted immediately adjacent the port plate which cooperates with a collector to increase the tangential velocity of fluid entering the inlet port to substantially equal that of the barrel cylinder ports.

This invention relates to a variable displacement axial piston pump and, more particularly, to a means for preventing cavitation in the pump over a wide range of pump speeds.
An axial piston pump has a barrel rotatably mounted within a pump housing. A plurality of equally spaced cylinders are formed at a common radius in the barrel. Each cylinder houses a piston which reciprocates as the barrel is rotated. One end of the barrel lies against a fixed port plate mounted in the housing which contains a pair of sausage-shaped ports. One of the ports is an inlet port and the other is an exhaust port. Each cylinder has a port in the end of the barrel adjacent the port plate. As the barrel is rotated, each cylinder port traverses the inlet port and the exhaust port. As the cylinder ports traverse the inlet port low pressure fluid is drawn into the cylinder. When the cylinder ports traverse the exhaust port, they expel the fluid at an increased pressure.
As the rotational speed of the pump increases, the time during which the cylinder ports traverse the inlet port decreases. If the cylinders are not completely filled with fluid after they traverse the inlet port, cavitation occurs. Noise, vibration and rapid errosion of metal surfaces contacted by the fluid, all of which are objectionable, are caused as a result of cavitation. For these reasons, cavitation must be avoided.
In order for a cylinder to fill as the cylinder port traverses the inlet port, the fluid coming through the inlet port must have a velocity component along the axis of the cylinder. This velocity component is generally derived from the pressure of the fluid coming into the inlet port. Additionally, since the cylinder port moves tangentially relative to the inlet port, it is desirable to have the fluid enter the inlet port with a tangential velocity component as well as an axial component. If the fluid entering the inlet port has a tangential velocity component substantially equal to the tangential velocity of the cylinder port, the time for filling the cylinder is greatly reduced and cavitation is prevented at increased pump speeds. In fact, increasing the tangential velocity component of the fluid has a greater effect on decreasing the time it takes to fill a cylinder than a correspondng increase in the axial velocity component.
One method of reducing cavitation is to precharge or supercharge the fluid coming into the inlet port. This is accomplished by having an auxiliary pump increase the pressure and hence the energy of the fluid above the minimum required to ensure complete filling of the barrel cylinders at all pump operating speeds. Supercharging the incoming fluid by an auxiliary pump has a number of disadvantages. An auxiliary pump adds to the cost of a hydraulic system and also occupies space which is sometimes at a premium. Furthermore, auxiliary pumps are commonly operated to increase the present of the incoming fluid to a level sufficient to fill the barrel cylinders at the maximum operating speed of the pump. However, since a pump is not always operated at its maximum speed, the auxiliary pump is providing supercharged fluid at a greater pressure than is necessary for a portion of the time the pump is operaing, which results in wasted energy.
It is desirable to provide a means for increasing the tangential velocity of the fluid entering the inlet port to substantially equal the tangential velocity of the cylinder port.
It is further desirable to have the tangential velocity of fluid entering the inlet port substantially equal to the tangential velocity of the cylinder ports at each operating speed of the pump. In other words, the means for increasing the tangential velocity of the incoming fluid should be directly proportional to the speed of the pump. It is also desirable to increase the tangential velocity of the incoming fluid without using an auxiliary pump.


A network access device for network traffic analysis of a plurality of client devices in a local area network (LAN) maintains a hierarchical key combination traffic analysis (HKCTA) table for each of the client devices of the LAN (LAN devices) to store network traffic statistics of each LAN device, wherein the HKCTA includes entries identified by keys, each key being formed based on a combination of zero or more packet attributes of packets or flow attributes of a network flow associated with the packets (packet/flow attributes) exchanged by the LAN device. Each key represents one of hierarchical levels of a hierarchy of the entries. Each level of the hierarchy includes all packet/flow attributes of its parent hierarchical level plus at least one additional packet/flow attribute that is not present in its parent hierarchical level.

Networks, including local area networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN), are becoming increasingly prevalent as the number of computers in organizations grows. The traffic which passes through such a network may be monitored in order to maintain an efficient network. The flow of packets through the network is analyzed by detecting packets as they are transported from point to point on the network.
Many traffic analysis solutions today have a set of predefined categories of traffic and track usage for each one of these categories individually. The predefined category methods can quickly grow out of date. For example, if a new video sharing site shows up tomorrow, it is unlikely that there will be a category defined for the new video site right away. In addition, such solutions do not work well for local resources. For example, if a local network has a specific backup server running on a non-standard port, it is unlikely that a category will be defined soon enough for that type of traffic. Conventional methods that attempt to remember every flow or a certain number of sampled packets suffer from potentially unbounded memory use.

Efficient network traffic analysis using a hierarchical key combination data structure


The present disclosure relates to a grinding method for grinding of non-circular workpieces with an improved productivity and quality of the resulting workpiece. The method comprises a first and a second stage. The rotational speed profile of the workpiece in the first stage is controlled with the purpose of maintaining a pre-selected maximum surface temperature of the workpiece during said first stage, and grinding of the workpiece in said second stage is performed while controlling an aggressiveness number of said second stage so as to achieve an intended final surface quality. The present disclosure also relates to a method for determining the processing parameters of such a grinding method wherein the first and the second stage of the grinding method are iterated to thereby determine the processing parameters leading to a high productivity and desired quality of the workpiece after grinding.

Grinding of non-circular workpieces (also known in the art as non-round workpieces), such as cam lobes, by means of grinding wheel presents difficulties not found in grinding operations of rotationally-symmetrical workpieces. The contact area between the workpiece and the grinding wheel is continuously changing as the grinding wheel passes around the perimeter/circumference of the workpiece. For example in the case of cam lobes, the contact area is considerably larger in the flank portion than in the nose portion or the base circle portion. Therefore, optimization of grinding method for non-circular workpieces offers several difficulties and the success often depends largely upon the experience of an operator. Many grinding iterations are often required to achieve a desirable result.
On most CNC cylindrical grinders used today, the grinding wheel moves horizontally with the feed velocity (infeed and retraction) synchronized with the workpiece rotational speed to achieve the required tool path. If the workpiece is rotated with a constant workpiece rotational speed, drastic changes of the instantaneous grinding conditions occur during a revolution of the workpiece due to its non-circular geometry. Therefore, the instantaneous workpiece rotational speed of the workpiece is suitably varied during a revolution of the workpiece to control and to reduce the effect of the changes in instantaneous grinding conditions.
Different strategies have been proposed for optimizing cam lobe grinding methods. Such strategies include constant stock removal rate or constant spindle power, both of which are commonly used in the industry today.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,438 B1 discloses a method in which the component is rotated through only one revolution during a finish grinding step and the depth of cut and the headstock velocity are controlled during the single rotation so as to maintain a substantially constant load on the grinding wheel spindle drive motor. The component speed is altered from one point to another during each revolution so as to maintain the constant load.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,153,194 B2 discloses a method of grinding a component, such as a cam, comprising rotating the component through only a single revolution during a final grinding step and controlling the depth of cut and the component speed of rotation during the single revolution, so as to maintain a substantially constant specific metal removal rate during the final grinding step. The depth of cut can be kept constant whereas the workpiece speed of rotation is altered during the final grinding step to accommodate any non-rotational features of a workpiece so as to maintain the constant specific removal rate.
The above described methods improve productivity compared to conventional grinding with constant workpiece rotational speed of the workpiece. However, grinding methods which achieves a constant stock removal rate or a constant spindle power do not consider workpiece surface temperature. Therefore, none of them provide any means for controlling thermal damage, which is one of the main limitations of the grinding method in terms of productivity and quality. In cases where thermal damage occurs, the general strategy by process planners has been to either decrease the wheel feed increment or to reduce the workpiece rotational speed, both of which will result in a grinding method which is not fully optimized, yielding cycle times longer than necessary. The process planners use the above described optimizations methods only to calculate the workpiece rotational speed for achieving constant stock removal rate or constant spindle power. However, the determination of number of increments and the depth of cut for each increment are still based on trial and error and selected subjectively by machine operators.
A new strategy for optimizing peripheral cylindrical grinding of non-circular workpieces was proposed by Krajnik et al., "Optimization of peripheral non-round cylindrical grinding via an adaptable constant-temperature process", CIRP Annals—Manufacturing Technology 62 (2013) 347-350. In accordance with this strategy, the grinding is optimized by choosing process parameters based on a thermal model for achieving a constant maximum surface temperature of the workpiece with the purpose of reducing the grinding cycle time while avoiding thermal damage of the workpiece.
Krajnik et al., "Cycle optimization in cam-lobe grinding for high productivity", CIRP Annals—Manufacturing Technology, available online 13 Apr. 2014, discloses further developments as to the strategy of optimizing a grinding process based on a thermal model. This article discloses for example that considerably lower grinding times per cam lobe compared to the processes of constant stock removal and constant spindle power can be achieved. It also discloses that the instantaneous specific energy into the workpiece depends on the aggressiveness number. Furthermore, the article discloses that minimizing the grinding time per cam lobe of the grinding method requires employing the optimal number of feed increments, which depends on the set temperature and the machine limitations.
While it is clear that the proposed strategy of controlling the process parameters with the purpose of maintaining a constant maximum surface temperature of the workpiece overcomes the problems associated with thermal damage, it is not clear how the strategy can be industrially implemented. Moreover, the grinding method using the proposed strategy of controlling the process parameters with the purpose of maintaining a constant maximum surface temperature of the workpiece does not necessarily result in an acceptable quality of the workpiece after grinding. In fact, it is not taught how to control the quality of the surface of the workpiece. Further development is therefore needed.

Method of grinding a workpiece and method for determining processing parameters


An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system includes a light source configured to generate an OCT beam and a beam splitter, configured to split the OCT beam into a reference beam and an imaging beam, direct the reference beam toward a reflector, and direct the imaging beam toward a scanner. The system includes a linear actuator, such as a piezoelectric or voice coil, configured to move the reflector to adjust the length of the reference beam and the scanner, configured to scan the imaging beam onto a target surface at a plurality of scan angles, wherein the scanner and target surface are separated by a sample distance that varies at each of the scan angles. The system further includes an OCT controller comprising a processor and instructions stored on a memory, the instructions executable by the processor to cause the OCT controller to generate signals to cause the scanner to scan the imaging beam at each of the scan angles at a first scan rate, and cause the actuator to adjust the length of the reference beam during the scan synchronously with the scan rate to offset the variation in sample distance at each of the scan angles.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique widely adopted in the biomedical fields, including ophthalmology. OCT systems perform high-resolution, cross sectional imaging in semitransparent samples (such as biological tissues) by measuring the echo time delay of reflected light. OCT is often used by ophthalmic surgeons to assist with precision cutting and/or removal of tissues such as the vitreous. Providing wide-field-of-view OCT imaging across a curved surface such as a retina can be challenging because the images become curved and distorted at wide scan angles, particularly in highly myopic patients. Accordingly, there exists a need for improved wide-field-of-view OCT imaging in the ophthalmic context.

Systems and methods for wide field-of-view optical coherence tomography


A method for configuring user profiles associated with multiple hierarchical levels, including identifying multiple hierarchical levels in an organization to be configured, concurrently displaying multiple interface components corresponding respectively to the hierarchical levels, each interface component configured to receive user input for the respective hierarchical level, configuring data of a first user profile associated with a first hierarchical level based on a first value specified by user input, and configuring data of a second user profile associated with a second hierarchical level based on a second value specified by user input.

Many enterprises utilize workplace applications to manage the workforce. Enterprise as used herein may refer to any organization of persons, such as a business, university, government, military, nonprofit organization, or social club. The terms "enterprise" and "organization" may be used interchangeably herein. Many enterprises are structured using one or more organizational hierarchies. An organizational hierarchy is an arrangement or classification of employees or members of an organization according to superiority.
Functionalities of a workplace application may include compensation administration, benefits administration, personnel tracking, payroll, employee scheduling, performance review, human resources management, and other enterprise management features. Each employee of an enterprise may correspond to a user profile used in the workplace application. Management personnel may use the workplace application to configure data of user profiles on an individual basis or a company-wide basis. Employees of the enterprise may use the workplace application to view data that has been configured for user profiles, or to modify or update data for user profiles.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Configuring user profiles associated with multiple hierarchical levels


A musical instrument peg winder that includes a tuning peg engaging head, a handle that extends parallel to and laterally offset from the head, and a coupling unit that interconnects the head to the handle.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to tools used to wind the strings of musical instruments and more particularly to such a tool that engages the peg to which a string is attached for purposes of winding the peg.
2. Background of Art
Removing and replacing a string on a guitar, banjo, violin, or other stringed instrument typically requires the turning of a tuning peg to which the string is attached. When removing the string, the peg must be repeatedly turned until the string becomes detached from the peg, and when replacing the string, the peg must be repeated turned to tighten the string on the instrument to its desired tightness which also determines the tuning of the string. Such repetitious turning of strings is difficult for even a person of good dexterity, but truly difficult and cumbersome for anyone with less dexterity or ability to manipulate the small pegs.
3. Objects and Advantages
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tool with an elongated handle that can be used to engage and turn a peg to which a string is attached.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tool with a handle that is laterally offset from the axis of the peg engaging head to make it easier to turn the handle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a peg engaging head that includes multiple slots for engaging pegs of different widths.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.