The present invention provides a process of neutralizing beverage industrial wastewater by a bacterial strain Exiguobacterium sp. isolated in India, which strain is capable of bring down the pH of wastewater from 12.00 to 7.00 units within 1 to 1.5 hours.

Stringent laws and frequent checks by the authorities reflect environmental concerns now held by society. Thus, for insane now pH of wastewater of industries such as beverages may only deviate minimally from neutral point when discharged into a receiving watercourse or sewerage system. Various chemicals are available to neutralize the highly alkaline beverage industrial wastewater depending upon the application. In most cases, Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) is used. The end user must consider the concentration to be used, must carefully analyze all the chemistries involved, must review manufacturers' warnings and instructions, and must consider common safety measures for hazardous liquids.
The process of treating wastewaters comprises treating with chemicals which can be either acids or bases or capable of forming acids or bases on addition to wastewater. Various chemicals are available for industrial neutralization depending upon the application and whether neutralization of an acidic or basic solution is being carried out.
The most commonly used neutralization chemicals for acid or base neutralization are 98% Sulfuric acid and 50% Sodium hydroxide. In many cases these are very good choices, however, there are many considerations when selecting chemicals and these may not always be the best selection.
The selection of the chemicals used for the neutralization of an acid or base is almost as important as the design of the neutralization system. Some of the major points to consider in the selection of chemicals are listed below:                Health and Safety.        Cost and Commence.        Physical Properties of neutralizing chemicals.        Storage Environment.
An explanation of chemical selectin criteria is as follows:
Health and Safety: Mixing of chemicals can lead to extreme hazardous or noxious reactions. For example: addition of any acid to cyanide bearing solution results in the release of deadly HCN gas.
Cost and Convenience: Most acids and bases work in most applications. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4), for example, is less costly and more potent than nitric acid. Concentration is also an important consideration in evaluating cost. Sulfuric acid, for example, can be purchased in concentration ranging from near 0% to 98%. Higher concentrations are generally less expensive.
Physical Properties: Physical properties of the selected reagent must be considered carefully. 50% Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), for example, begins to freeze at temperatures below 60° F. Decreasing the concentration to 25% eliminates this concern altogether, Hydrochloric acid (HCl), for example, out gasses severely. The gas is very highly corrosive and will attack all metallic objects. Therefore, if HCl is used it must be properly vented or used outdoors where the gasses can easily dissipate.
Storage Environment: Storage issues such as types of tanks and secondary containment available, familiarity of operators in handling hazardous chemicals, the dangers of refilling storage containers of procedures for transferring from bulk containers are of concern.
The most commonly used neutralizing chemicals are listed below:                Acids: Sulfuric Acid, Hydrochloric Acid, Nitric Acid, Phosphoric Acid and Carbon Dioxide which forms Carbonic Acid in water        Bases: Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda), Calcium Hydroxide, Calcium Carbonate (Lime or Limestone), and Ammonium HydroxideNeutralization with Acids
Sulfuric Acid is the most widely used and produced chemical in the world. Available in concentrations ranging from 0% to 98%, sulfuric acid is most economical of all and used universally for neutralization reactions. It is easier and safer to use than HCl or HNO3 and is more potent than all of the other acids except for phosphoric acid. Sulfuric acid is typically used in concentrations ranging from 25% to 96%. However, 30% to 50% concentrations of sulfuric acid are generally recommended.
Hydrochloric Acid (HCl), also known as muriatic acid, is the second most commonly wed acid in industry (sulfuric acid being the first). It is very effective, and relatively inexpensive. At a maximum available concentration of 37%, HCl is about ⅓ as potent as sulfuric acid, thus making it relatively more expensive to use. Depending on temperature and agitation, HCl at concentrations above 10% evolves hydrogen chloride vapors which combine with water vapors present in the air. The gas thus formed is highly corrosive and attacks all metallic objects including building structures, sprinkler heads, copper wig, stainless steel, etc. Therefore, it must be properly vented or used outdoors where gasses can easily dissipate.
Nitric Acid (HNO3) though a widely used chemical in many industries it does not enjoy the popularity of hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, as it is more expensive to use than either of them. Nitric acid evolves noxious gas which on combines with water vapors present in the air. The gas is highly corrosive and attacks all metallic objects including building structures, sprinkler heads, copper wiring, stainless steel, etc. Therefore, it must be properly vented or used outdoors where the gasses can easily dissipate.
Phosphoric Acid (H3PO4), very widely used in the production of agricultural fertilizer and detergent products it is a relatively inexpensive acid. However it still does not compete well with sulfuric and hydrochloric acid as it is a weak acid and does not fully disassociate in water at normal concentrations. This renders it safer to use compared to sulfuric or hydrochloric acid and the evolution of gasses is rare. It tends to buffer neutralization reactions and this makes for a slower reaction that is easier to control. Due to its cost (as compared to sulfuric acid) and availability, phosphoric acid is not commonly used in neutralization system.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2), the third most concentrated gas found in earth's atmosphere, CO2 is itself not an acid. It forms carbonic acid (H2CO3) when dissolved in water; and it is this carbonic acid that brings about the neutralization of alkalinity in solution. The most appealing feature of CO2 is that it will not lower the pH of water below 7.0 (for all practical purposes). Additionally CO2 is non corrosive, however as it is heavier than air and thus, asphyxiation is a hazard. Carbon dioxide is difficult to use and its use is limited because the gas must be dissolved into solution to be used. This requires the use of a carbonator, or some method to dissolve the gas into solution. Significant out-gassing also occurs, which does not hold a problem unless the process also requires the setting of solids. In cement pouring operations large amounts of alkaline wastewaters are generated. It is an excellent choice for such applications as the site is temporary, the gas is non-hazardous, can be used in-line assuming retention and mixing is considered and is self-buffering so regardless of dosage it will not lower the pH below 7.5-7.0.
Alkaliphiles
Several microorganisms exhibit more than one pH optimum for growth depend on growth conditions, particularly nutrients, metal ions, and temperature. The term "alkaliphile" is used for microorganisms that grow optimally or very well at pH values above 9. The first paper concerning an alkaline enzyme of alkaliphilic microorganisms was published in 1971. Over the past two decades, our studies have focused on the enzymology, physiology, ecology, taxonomy, molecular biology and genetics of alkaliphilic microorganisms. Industrial applications of these microorganisms have also been investigated extensively and some enzymes, such as alkaline proteases, alkaline amylases and alkaline cellulases, have been put to use on an industrial scale (Horikoshi. K. (1971) Production of alkline enzymes by alkalophilic microorganisms. Part 1. Alkaline protease produced by Bacillus No, 221. Agric. Biol. Chem. 36, 1407-1414, Horikoshi, K. and Akiba, T. (1982) Alkalophilic Microorganisms: A New Microbial World. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Tokyo.)
Subsequently, many microbiologists have published numerous papers on alkaliphilic microorganisms in various fields. Cell surface of alkaliphiles can maintain the intracellular pH values neutral in alkaline environments of pH 10-13. In 1995, new host vector systems were developed by using alkaliphilic Bacillus C-125 mutants that are alkaline sensitive, and genes responsible for alkaliphily have been investigated (Horikoshi, K. (1991) Microorganisms in Alkaline Environments, Kodansha-VCH Tokyo, Weinheim, N.Y., Cambridge, Basel., Kudo, T., Hino, M. Kitada, M. and Horikoski, L (1990) DNA sequences required for the alkalophily of Bacillus sp. strain C-125 are located close top on its chromosomal DNA. J. Bacteriol. 172, 7282-7283.).
Although alkaliphiles have been used for a number of industrial applications but there is no research publication regarding the neutralization of beverage industrial wastewater using them. Some work on biological neutralization by a mix of bacteria in the presence of sugars has been considered for patenting and is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/160,422, titled 'Microbial Composition and a Process Useful for the Neutralization of Alkaline Waste-Water'.

Biotechnological process for neutralizing alkaline beverage industrial waste water

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


A window shade for motor vehicles is provided that includes a base unit in which the windup shaft is rotatably supported. The base unit is also provided with coupling devices, wherein guide tubes for thrust elements originate at these coupling devices and lead to a driving motor. The coupling device contains a channel into which a plug-type pin of a corresponding guide rail that is rigidly connected to a side trim section of the motor vehicle can be inserted. The guide groove extends through the plug-type pin such that the pull bar can be arbitrarily moved back and forth between the guide rail and the coupling device after the installation when the roller blind web is respectively retracted and pulled out.

Rear window shades for motor vehicles are known. Typically, the roller blind web emerges from an extraction slot in the rear window shelf. The roller blind web is unwound from a windup shaft that is rotatably supported underneath the rear window shelf.
The distal edge of the roller blind web relative to the windup shaft is provided with a pull bar in order to place the roller blind web in front of the rear window. Both ends of the pull bar are guided in guide rails that extend adjacent to the side edges of the rear window.
With conventional rear window shades, the installation of the guide rails that extend approximately perpendicular to the axis of the windup shaft is relatively problematic. Utilizing a hinge to connect the guide rails to a guide rail stub that is already rigidly connected to the windup shaft or its supporting device by the manufacturer of the rear window shade has already been attempted. However, such a solution is limited to embodiments in which the respective guide rail forms a part that is constructed essentially independent of the side trim. This type of connection cannot be utilized for rear window shades in which the guide rail forms an integral or integrated component of the interior trim of the motor vehicle, for example, the trim for the rear column that borders the rear window.

Window shade for motor vehicles with simplified guide rail coupling


The trophy item holder is a holder which associates the trophy item with a descriptive card which provides information on the item and its user. Photographs or a certificate of authenticity may also be displayed. Thus the information establishing the item as a trophy item is on display while the item itself is available for handling, examining, handling, etc. The trophy item may be displayed in a vertical or horizontal orientation. The holder is removably attached to a wall and, when attached, presents an appearance free of screws or other fasteners.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to holders for various sports apparatus trophies, especially bat holders.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
This invention is a sporting trophy holder, for trophy sporting items such as baseball bats, tennis racquets, sporting arms, fishing poles, etc., which supports and displays the trophy item on a wall in a vertical or horizontal position supported by the item handle. The holder has at the top a clip which retains a card with descriptive material concerning the trophy item. The trophy item holder supports the trophy in a vertical or horizontal position and allows the easy removal and replacement of the trophy item on the holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,226 discloses a ball and bat carrier which holds bats and balls for carrying to the ball field and may be attached to a wire fence to make the bats and balls available for use in play. The bats are retained in a horizontal position for transportation and are held by the handle by wire fingers in a vertical position for use during the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,065 discloses a tubular baseball equipment holder which is mounted on a wall or fence and holds bats in a vertical position by the handle. The bats handles are placed in openings in the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,763 discloses a portable stand for bats. The bats are retained in a vertical position by bat positioning apertures in arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,467 discloses a sports equipment rack for wall mounting in which bats are suspended by the handles in a vertical position by notches in holders at either end of the rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,462 discloses a rack for wall mounting in which bats are held in a horizontal position by hooks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,737 discloses a sport shelf with a baseball bat holder (54 in FIG. 4) suspended from a rod member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,360 discloses a holder for sports equipment with a pair on prongs at the lower end for holding a baseball bat by the handle in a vertical position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,092 discloses a display tube made of transparent plastic with end caps for mounting and display of a bat in a horizontal or vertical position. End caps hold the tube and may be mounted on a wall. Single or multiple bats may be displayed in adjacent position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,105 discloses a storage apparatus in which bats are stored vertically by a rod mounted hook member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,340 discloses a sports equipment storage rack with a U-shaped bat holder hook.
None of the discovered prior art holders fulfill the functions of the present invention, that of providing an attractive holder which supports the trophy in a horizontal or vertical orientation and with a removable descriptive card clip which is locked in place when the holder is mounted on the wall.


An antenna unit is provided with an inverted F-type antenna element provided with a feeding point and a ground connection point, and a non-feed antenna element configured so as to resonate with the inverted F-type antenna element through electrical coupling. In addition, the antenna unit may also be provided with a ground part which is grounded to the earth and connected to the ground connection point provided on one edge of the inverted F-type antenna element, and a resonance element, one edge of which is connected to the ground part, resonated by the non-feed antenna element through electrical coupling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna unit and an accompanying communication apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved antenna unit and communication apparatus for optimized use in more than one frequency band.
2. Background
Mobile communication devices that perform radio communications, such as a notebook type personal computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), etc., need to be as small as possible to maximize consumer acceptance. In addition, such devices must increasingly be capable of efficient communication across a plurality of frequency bands often being used for wireless LANs. Conventionally, for such purposes, a print dipole antenna has been proposed which is shareable between two frequency bands. For more information on such antennas, the reader may refer to the following papers:                Yosio Ehine "Print Dipole Antenna Sharable between Two Frequencies: Non-feed Element Side Arrangement" Proceedings of the 1989 IEICE Spring General Conference B-72, p. 2-72; and        Masatoshi Karigome "Energizing of Non-feed Element in Print Dipole Antenna Sharable between Two Frequencies" proceedings of the 1989 IEICE Spring General Conference B-73, p. 2-73.
In addition, to minimize the size of the antenna, a method has been disclosed in which an antenna corresponding to a first frequency band and an antenna corresponding to a second frequency band are provided on both sides of a substrate. Such an antenna is described in more detail in Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-8325.
However, such two-frequency print dipole antennas use half wave resonance, so that the size of the antenna must be larger than an antenna utilizing ¼ wave resonance and they also make it difficult to realize acceptable communications performance across a wide frequency band, such as the 5 GHz frequency band specified in wireless LAN standards such as IEEE 802.11a.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an antenna unit and a communication apparatus that can solve the above-mentioned problems. This purpose is achieved by combinations of characteristics described in the independent claims appended hereto. In addition, dependent claims appended hereto specify further advantageous embodiments of this invention.

Mobile antenna unit and accompanying communication apparatus


A hydraulic control and actuation system for downhole tools. In a described embodiment, a hydraulic control and actuation system includes an internal chamber serving as a low pressure region and a well annulus serving as an energy source. A valve assembly provides selective fluid communication between alternating opposite sides of a piston and each of the energy source and low pressure region. Displacement of the piston operates a well tool. Operation of the valve assembly is controlled via telemetry between a remote location and an electronic circuit of the system.

The present invention relates generally to operations performed and equipment utilized in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in an embodiment described herein, more particularly provides a hydraulic control and actuation system for downhole tools.
A need exists in the art for improved hydraulic control and actuation systems. In particular, such systems should be remotely controllable so that operational commands may be transmitted from a remote location, such as the earth's surface, to the downhole system, and data may be transmitted from the downhole system to the remote location.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hydraulic control and actuation system for downhole tools. It is a further object of the present invention to provide the system which is remotely communicable with a remote location for transmission of commands and data.

Hydraulic control and actuation system for downhole tools


A heat transfer device includes a bag and a working fluid. The bag includes a first sheet and a second sheet with edges that are sealed together. The working fluid is enclosed in the bag. The working fluid changes a phase thereof between gas and liquid. The bag includes a vaporizing portion in which the liquid-phase working fluid is vaporized and a condensing portion in which the gas-phase working fluid is condensed. The bag includes a two-phase flow channel in which liquid-gas two-phase slug flow including the liquid-phase working fluid and the gas-phase working fluid occurs from the vaporizing portion to the condensing portion. The two-phase flow channel is provided in an internal space of the bag.

An example of a heat transfer device including a working fluid enclosed in an airtight enclosure is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The heat transfer device includes a vapor retention portion and a condensation portion. A vaporized working fluid is retained in the vapor retention portion and condensed in the condensation portion.
The heat transfer device transfers heat on a principle of release of latent heat to the outside when the phase of the working fluid changes. This may occur when a working fluid is vaporized due to external heat applied to an airtight enclosure, the vaporized working fluid is directed to the vapor retention portion, and the vaporized working fluid that is cooled in the condensation portion from an outside is condensed on an inner wall of the airtight enclosure and back into a liquid phase.

Heat transfer device and energy storage module


The detection method includes generating a plurality of neural network models. Each model has as a training set a data set from a plurality of samples of a commodity of known origins. Each sample has been analyzed for a plurality of elemental concentrations. Each neural network model is presented for classification a test data set from a plurality of samples of a commodity of unknown origins. As with the training set, the samples have been analyzed for the same plurality of elemental concentrations. Next a bootstrap aggregating strategy is employed to combine the results of the classifications for each sample in the test data set made by each neural network model. Finally, a determination is made from the bootstrap aggregating strategy as to a final classification of each sample in the test data set. This final classification is indicative of the geographical origin of the commodity. The system includes software for generating the neural network models and a software routine for performing the bootstrap aggregating strategy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for analyzing a fresh commodity, and, more particularly, to such systems and methods for identifying the geographic origin thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Fresh produce is often labeled with its geographical origin when that origin is believed to confer a beneficial attribute. Such indicators include "Vidalia onions," "Idaho potatoes," and "Florida citrus." Federal and state laws have been enacted to ban mislabeling of fresh produce, and cases of alleged misrepresentation have been investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state governments, and grower groups.
One detection method involves the analysis of vitamins or other organic molecules. Such compounds are, however, subject to variability owing to degradation over time and to storage conditions.
Another way that has been used is to test for the concentration of certain elements in a product, which can be affected by such things as the soil in which the product is grown. The soil-plant system is highly specific for different elements, plant species, and environmental conditions. Under most conditions, a trace element present in the commodity must have existed in the rooting zone of the plant, generally in highly soluble form. A trace element must also pass through at least one cellular membrane in its movement from soil to plant. The selectivity of these processes of mineral accumulation within the commodity varies with different trace elements, with different plants, and the unique environment in which the commodity is grown.
An example of geographic origin variability is the higher barium levels typically found in Brazilian than in Florida oranges, which can thus be used as an indicator of adulteration. The use of trace metals to define geographical origin of orange juice has been described using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) data subjected to a multivariate pattern recognition algorithm and artificial neural networks (Nikdel et al., in Nagy et al., Adulteration of Fruit Juice Beverages, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1988; Nikdel, in Nagy et al., Methods to Detect Adulteration of Fruit Juice Beverages, Vol. I, Agscience, Inc., Auburndale, Fla., 1995).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Identification system and method for determining the geographic origin of a fresh commodity


A ring gear has a plurality of spaced apart recess on an internal surface for receiving a plurality of side pinions within the recesses. The side pinions are driven directly by the ring gear without a differential spider or differential pin.

Most vehicle differentials have a torque path from the ring gear to the differential case to the spider shaft to the bevel gear differential side pinions. Every time torque is transferred from one of these structures to another, a robust joint is required, materials of high strength must be used and the adjacent structures must be machined to close tolerances to function properly.
Typical wheel differential side pinions are driven by a spider shaft, or differential pin, that requires a through bore in each side pinion. The bore creates a thin section of material at the side pinion toe end that is a potential failure mode and which limits the maximum spider shaft diameter. Further, the spider shafts are separate pieces that can be expensive to manufacture.
Sometimes the prior art differential cases are constructed out of a relatively soft material. In these cases, differential pinion thrust washers must be located between the differential case and the side pinions to prevent excessive wear and potential failure of the case or the pinions or both.
In view of the shortcomings of the prior art differentials, it would be advantageous for a differential to have as direct as possible torque path from the ring gear to the wheel differential side pinions to reduce joint and structure loads that require expensive materials or methods of manufacture. It would also be advantageous to avoid thinning the wheel differential side pinions to reduce or prevent potential failures in this area. It would also be advantageous to eliminate the need for a spider pin to reduce materials and production costs. It would also be advantageous to eliminate the need for differential pinion thrust washers.


A shock sensor unit includes first and second sensor shafts having bulging portions, first and second positioning pins in contact with the bulging portions, first and second spring members that press the first and second sensor shafts, first and second sensor bodies that contain the first and second positioning pins movably, and first and second detectors that detect movements of first and second spring guides. Each of the first and second positioning pins is located at two positions that are point-symmetrical with respect to a center point between first and second electrodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tandem welding torch including a shock sensor unit attached to a robot arm of a welding robot that performs tandem welding with two welding torches.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004-351510 (hereinafter referred to as PTL 1, paragraph [0006], FIGS. 1 and 2) and 2009-34746 (hereinafter referred to as PTL 2, FIGS. 2 to 4) each disclose a welding torch attached to a welding robot. A typical welding torch is equipped with a shock sensor unit (shock sensor) that protects the welding torch when the welding torch collides with a foreign object such as an object to be welded or a jig.
The shock sensor unit described in PTL 1 and PTL 2 is a single-torch sensor that stops the welding robot when it detects a collision of one welding torch (nozzle) with a foreign object. The shock sensor unit is interposed between a flange joined to a hollow wrist portion of the welding robot and the welding torch.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-324250 (hereinafter referred to as PTL 3, FIG. 4) discloses a shock sensor unit (shock sensor) attached to a tandem welding torch. The shock sensor unit is provided at a distal end of an arm of a welding robot, and two welding torches are attached to a distal end of the shock sensor unit with a bracket, a torch clamp, etc. being disposed therebetween.
In the tandem welding torch described in PTL 3, one shock sensor unit is provided at the distal end of the arm of the welding robot, a first torch and a first connector are provided at a distal end of the shock sensor unit with a bracket being disposed therebetween, and a second torch is attached to the first connector with a second connector being disposed therebetween.
However, in the welding torch and the welding robot described in PTL 1 and PTL 2, one shock sensor unit is provided along a center line of one welding torch. Even when two units, each including a single welding torch and a single shock sensor unit, are juxtaposed, they are not applicable to a tandem welding torch including two welding torches.
That is, even if two welding torches, each including a shock sensor unit, are simply juxtaposed, they separately move in a collision with a foreign object to be welded. Hence, the distance between the distal ends of the welding torches mounted in position and orientations and mount positions of the welding torches are changed, and this makes accurate welding difficult. For this reason, the welding torch described in PTL 1 and PTL 2 is not applicable to a tandem welding torch.
The shock sensor unit attached to the tandem welding torch described in PTL 3 receives the total mass of the tandem welding torch, the bracket, and a torch cable and tensile and compression loads on the torch cable produced by robot operation. For this reason, it is necessary to use a strong spring member in order to obtain a great holding force for holding the tandem welding torch.
Accordingly, the detection sensitivity of the shock sensor unit having such a structure needs to be reduced in order to prevent erroneous detection when the tensile and compression loads on the torch cable are applied.
As a result, the shock sensor unit needs to hold the welding torch with a spring force more than a proper force. Since the spring force for holding the welding torch is great, it lays a heavy burden. The shock sensor unit does not operate unless a force greater than the spring force is applied thereto when the welding torch collides with an object to be welded, and therefore, the welding torch is bent.
Further, since the sensitivity to impact is set low, the shock sensor unit delays detecting the collision of the welding torch with the object. Therefore, the welding torch is deformed by the impact, or welding wires in the welding torch are misaligned with a welding line.
When the welding wires are misaligned, welding defects, such as an undercut and incomplete penetration, occur, and this deteriorates welding quality. For this reason, it is necessary to accurately align two welding wires with the welding line.
In the tandem welding torch described in PTL 3 and the tandem welding torch including two welding torches of PTL 1 and PTL 2, power is separately supplied to the two welding torches. Hence, in the shock sensor unit, it is essential to isolate two electrodes and to isolate the arms of the welding robot. This increases the number of components and complicates the structure and assembly operation.


Disclosed is a method for driving pixels of an LCD device, wherein an overlapping area between a data line connected to a data driver and a gate line connected to a gate driver defines a pixel of an LCD device. A first gate driver is selected from the LCD device' at least two gate drivers based on a selection rule. Starting from a line A, the first gate driver displays a part of a picture image by sequentially displaying the image line by line up to a number of lines according to a pre-determined display range. Then a second gate driver based on the selection rule displays a part of an all black image by displaying, from a line B, a number of lines based on a pre-determined display range simultaneously. The line B is separated from the line A by a number of lines according to a pre-determined gap range.

As is known to people skilled in related arts, an LCD device has an inherent limitation on its grey-scale response time due to some characteristics of the LCD device. When used as a display for a personal computer, a user cannot perceive a significant difference between an LCD device and a CRT device. However, when used for displaying television programs, the limitation of an LCD device on the grey-scale response time becomes profound as television programs contains almost all moving images. In other words traditional LCD televisions have a significantly inferior display effect compared to CRT televisions.
Conventionally, an LCD device contains a plurality of pixels driven by a driver circuit of the LCD device. The driver circuit contains a plurality of data drivers and gate drivers. The data drivers are connected to data lines and the gate drivers are connected to gate lines of the LCD device. An overlapping area between a data line and a gate line then defines a pixel of the LCD device. In the following a traditional method for controlling the driver circuit of an LCD device is described.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are waveform diagrams showing various control and data signals seen in traditional LCD devices. When a vertical synchronization signal appears, a brand new screen would be displayed on an LCD device line by line in a raster scan pattern. Each scan line has n pixels. FIG. 1A shows waveforms of data and control signals for input a scan line's data into data drivers according to a prior art. As shown in FIG. 1A, when a STH signal becomes active, data for a first scan line's n pixels is input sequentially one pixel a time into data drivers controlled by a horizontal clock signal. When the horizontal clock signal is on a first rising edge, a data for a first pixel is shifted into a data driver, then on a second rising edge, a data for a second pixel is shifted, and following this pattern, data for the n pixels is input into the data drivers. The data for a pixel includes digital data for the pixel's R, G, and B colors. After the data for all n pixels is input, on a rising edge of a conversion signal, the data drivers convert the R, G, and B digital data of all pixels on the first scan line into corresponding driving voltages and apply the voltages on data lines. FIG. 1B shows waveforms of data and control signal for displaying a plurality of scan lines on an LCD device according to a prior art. As shown in FIG. 1B, on a first rising edge of a vertical clock signal, a gate driver will "turn on" a first gate line by asserting a gate driving signal on the first gate line, which in turn allows the driving voltages on the data lines to be applied to all pixels of the first scan line of the LCD device. The first scan line of the LCD device is thereby displayed. Subsequent scan lines will follow a same pattern to be displayed sequentially on the LCD device.
Currently, a number of methods for enhancing a grey-scale response time of an LCD device have already been proposed. Among them a method referred to as Pseudo Impulse Drive (PID) is a more promising one. As implied by its name, the PID method simulates an impulse driving method used by a CRT device to drive an LCD device, so that a display effect of the LCD device would be close to that of a CRT device. There are three commonly known PID methods as described below.
FIGS. 2A–2C are schematic diagrams for methods simulating impulse drive according to prior arts. As shown in FIG. 2A, a picture image is composed by sequentially displaying frames 1, 2, 3, and 4. In a first PID method, all black data frames 11, 12, 13 are interposed between frames 1 and 2, frames 2 and 3, and frames 3 and 4, respectively. At their time of display the foregoing frames' corresponding backlight sources 14–20 are all at light-emitting state. In this way the first PID method achieve a simulation of the impulse drive.
As shown in FIG. 2B, a picture image is composed by sequentially displaying frames 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. In a second PID method, at their time of display, frames 2, 4, and 6 have corresponding backlight sources 22, 24, and 26 all at turn-off state. On the other hand, frames 1, 3, 5, and 7 at their time of display have corresponding backlight sources 21, 23, 25, and 27 all at light-emitting state. In other words the second PID method utilizes a flashing mode to achieve a simulation of the impulse drive by alternating light-emitting and turn-off backlight sources.
As shown in FIG. 2C, a picture image is composed by sequentially displaying frames 1, 2, 3, and 4. In a third PID method, all black data frames 11, 12, 13 are interposed between frames 1 and 2, frames 2 and 3, and frames 3 and 4, respectively. In addition, at their time of display, frames 11, 12, and 13 have corresponding backlight sources 22, 24, and 26 all at turn-off state, while frames 1, 2, 3, and 4 at their time of display have corresponding backlight sources 21, 23, 25, and 27 all at light-emitting state. In other words the third PID method combines the foregoing two methods to achieve a simulation of the impulse drive.


A bottom sealing workstation is provided for a cup forming machine. The bottom sealing workstation has a linear motion assembly, a rotation assembly, a phase change assembly. A first motor is mechanically connected to a linear motion assembly of the bottom sealing workstation to linearly move the linear motion assembly toward a mandrel, a second motor is mechanically connected to a rotation assembly of the bottom sealing workstation to rotate a forming tool in a circle having a radius, and a third motor is mechanically connected to the phase change assembly to adjust the radius of the circle in which the forming tool rotates. Additionally, a controller may be electrically connected to the bottom sealing workstation to send electronic signals to the first and third motors to quantitatively control various assemblies of the bottom sealing workstation.

Cup forming machines and bottom sealing assemblies therefor are well known in the art. Such bottom sealing assemblies are generally used seal a folded portion of a sidewall to a bottom wall to form the bottom portion of a cup during the cup forming process. While such bottom sealing assemblies according to the prior art provide a number of advantageous features, they nevertheless have certain limitations. The present invention seeks to overcome certain of these limitations and other drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide new features not heretofore available. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Bottom sealing assembly for cup forming machine


A vehicle body includes: rear side members disposed at both sides of the vehicle body; a rear cross member rear having both end portions fixed to the rear side members; a rear cross member front having both end portions fixed to the rear side members, and disposed in front of the rear cross member rear; and a rear cross panel having a lower surface that is supported on and joined to the rear side members, the rear cross member rear, and the rear cross member front.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a common vehicle body having rear side members which simplifies a manufacturing process using an improved structure and reduces weight thereof, when a rear cross member rear, a rear cross member front, and a rear cross panel are joined to the rear side members.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a vehicle body is manufactured by joining panels, brackets, side members, and the like using a welding method or the like.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a common vehicle body having rear side members of the related art (prior art).
Referring to FIG. 1, the common vehicle body having rear side members includes a rear side member 10, a spring seat bracket 20, sub frame brackets 30, and rear side panels 40. Because the vehicle body having the rear side members has a number of brackets, a number of related components, and complicated joining processes, overall manufacturing costs are increased.
In addition, precision of a finished product manufactured by joining several components may be degraded, and durability and stability may deteriorate due to defects in welded portions.
Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the number of components, the number of manufacturing processes, and weight, and reinforce overall flexural rigidity and torsional rigidity.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.


One aspect of the present relates to compositions of a pelletized form which are well suited for use as inoculants in the manufacture or casting of molten metals. A further aspect of the invention relates to a method of making such pelletized compositions from waste materials which bear silicon carbide or both silicon carbide and silicon.

Metals, and in particular iron, steel and other iron alloys of various compositions and grades, are typically prepared by tapping molten material from a continuous melting furnace into a holding ladle from which the molten material may be poured into a mold to form an ingot or other cast product. The melt typically contains impurities detrimental to, or out of specification with, the desired ingot or product. Various deoxidizing compounds may be introduced below the surface of the ladle melt, or into the melting furnace, to control graphite content and remove oxygen and unwanted substances from the melt prior to pouring. De-oxidation refers to the removal of oxides and oxygen from molten metal and involves adding materials with a high affinity for oxygen, the oxides of which are either gaseous or readily form slags. The de-oxidation and desulphurization of steel is usually performed by adding, silicon (Si), aluminum (Al) or manganese (Mn). Common deoxidizing inoculants for such purposes include: ferrosilicon, ferromanganese, and calcium silicide which are sometimes used in the production of carbon steels, stainless steels, and other ferrous alloys; manganese which is often used in steelmaking; silicon carbide and calcium carbide which are commonly used as ladle deoxidizers in steel production; aluminum dross which can be used to deoxidize slag in secondary steelmaking; calcium which can used as a deoxidizer, desulfurizer, or decarbonizer for ferrous and nonferrous alloys, and titanium which can be used as a deoxidizer for steels.
As reflected by U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,424 to Brown et al., it has been known since about 1945 that granular silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum, may be introduced to the ladle during steel pouring to significantly improve the quality of steel alloys. Silicon carbide must be of sufficiently fine sized particles to be readily dispersed within the steel melt as it enters the ladle in order to completely decompose into silicon and carbon for the deoxidation reactions to occur homogenously. The silicon carbide must be fed into the ladle as steel is entering the ladle at a controlled rate to assure complete sub-surface mixing of the reactants. Silicon carbide (SiC) offers substantial deoxidizing capabilities and exothermic benefits (i.e. thermal gain) to facilitate the controlled de-oxidizing process in steel manufacturing. In such processes, silicon carbide (SiC) decomposes at ladle temperatures in an exothermic reaction, which in addition to yielding substantial amounts of heat also yields silicon (Si) which acts as a reducing agent to strip oxides and carbon from the melt. The stripped carbon readily combines with oxygen to form carbon monoxide (CO) and/or carbon dioxide (CO2) which may escape from the melt as a gas or enhance the formation of graphite beneficial to various grades of steel. Silicon in the form of silicon carbide (SiC) has been demonstrated to provide benefits to high quality steel production which exceed those achievable by the use of elemental silicon (Si) or aluminum (Al). Brown et al. '424 teaches that the addition of silicon carbide in amounts ranging from as low as one point one pounds (1.1 lb.) to about eight pounds (8 lb.) of silicon carbide (SiC) per ton of molten steel provides marked improvements in the physical properties of the resulting steel. According to Brown et al. '424, use of about six (6) pounds of silicon carbide (SiC) per ton of steel is preferred for steels containing under zero point two percent by weight (0.2 wt %) carbon, use of about four (4) pounds of silicon carbide (SiC) per ton of steel is preferred for steels containing from zero point two percent by weight (0.2 wt %) to zero point four percent by weight (0.4 wt %) carbon, and use of about two (2) pounds of silicon carbide (SiC) per ton of steel is preferred for steels containing more than zero point four percent by weight (0.4 wt %) carbon.
Various industrial processes employ silicon carbide as an abrasive for cutting and/or surface finishing of steel, silicon, and various alloys. Examples of such processes include, but are not limited to: attrition grinding of steel bearings, vibratory finishing, polishing or de-burring of metallic parts. Silicon carbide is also included, together with silicon in either crystalline and/or polycrystalline form, in the waste material produced from wire saw slicing and squaring of photo-voltaic grade silicon, slicing, polishing of electronic grade silicon, and the like. These operations produce waste which typically includes fine particles of silicon carbide (SiC), metal alloys, silicon and carrying fluids such as glycol-based organic fluids. Vibratory finishing and polishing operation may also yield silicon carbide (SiC) and metal residue for recovery. The spent silicon carbide and abraded metal cuttings may be flushed to a recovery system for partial recycling and disposal as waste.
The demand for alternative sources of energy has spurred the production and commercialization of photovoltaic arrays for generating electricity from sunlight. Such arrays commonly include wafers of silicon, in either single crystalline form and/or polycrystalline form, the latter commonly referred to as "polysilicon". Such wafers are produced at high cost and through the investment of substantial amounts of thermal energy. However, the useful life of photovoltaic arrays is limited and at the end of their useful life such arrays are typically scrapped and disposed of as waste.

Pelletized composition for molten metal de-oxidation and method of making same


A method for detecting and screening integrated circuit devices having all leads in a row out of planarity specification wherein the leads are deformed at the same angle is described. The method enables existing top-view visual inspection systems to accurately measure the lead span of multiple leads on a plurality of good devices from a product lot, calculate the planarity and tolerances, measure the lead span of each device under test, and from the lead span differences calculate the planarity, and screen devices which are outside the defined tolerances. Technical advantages of this recursive computational procedure assure capture of failed devices having a previously undetectable fault without exceeding the manufacturing capability and specification for the particular device.

This invention relates generally to the field of electronic devices, and more particularly, to a method for inspecting the planarity of semiconductor circuit package leads.
Integrated circuit packages have leads that connect external circuitry to the internal integrated circuits. The leads are formed generally of a metal conductor such as copper, or an iron alloy, and are cut and formed to a shape and dimension specified by the device type. If the integrated circuit device leaves the manufacturing process with any leads which are deformed and are unable to make good contact with the printed circuit board (PCB), an open or intermittent circuit often results.
A final inspection of the device is generally carried out at the manufacturing site prior to shipment in order to avoid costly failures, or additional inspection, with resulting work slow down at the user or PCB assembly site. In high volume semiconductor manufacturing sites, automated visual inspection systems, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, are made by way of a computer based image processor 20 connected to a CCD camera 21. A top view inspection system requires only a single camera 21, and has the capability of inspecting devices 22 for parameters such as lead pitch, missing or extra leads, linearity, lead span, top side symbolization, and to some extent for lead planarity. Planarity failures occur when one or more leads are lifted either up or down so that the flat portion of the lead tip is unable to make contact with a seating plane below the device body. Top view inspection systems measure the distance a particular lead extends in comparison to a normal line of leads in a row, and to a set tolerance. More complex and expensive systems with multiple cameras are required if all aspects of lead planarity are to be inspected.
Adding more complexity to final lead inspection is the fact that many plastic packaged semiconductor devices are transported, stored, and assembled onto printed circuit boards from an embossed carrier tape, and the final inspection must be made after the device is situated in the carrier recess 23. The carrier tape has become a predominant means of transport because it permits mounting of the electronic components to a PCB to be accomplished with increased efficiency, and facilitates handling of components, in particular semiconductor packages having fine pitch gull wing shaped leads.
In carrier tape format, each semiconductor device is positioned in a recess formed on a tape at predetermined intervals in a longitudinal direction, and the recess is covered by a thin film of tape which is adhered to the embossed carrier by an adhesive to close the opening. The final inspection carried out prior to shipment is made with the devices positioned in the carrier tape recess or pocket prior to cover tape positioning and sealing. However, it is not possible to make side-view inspection of devices in the recesses, and as a result some types of planarity failures are not detected by automated top-view inspection.
Planarity defects are significant because out of plane leads may result in continuity failures at printed circuit board (PCB) assembly. Fine pitch leads are typically composed of a highly ductile metal, such as copper and are readily deformed during handling processes. Final inspection of a device positioned in a carrier recess allows detection of errors recognizable from a top-view only. A planarity failure recognizable from the top view is a lead 25 which is lifted from its seating plane 26, as illustrated in FIGS. 2a and 2b. Clearly, the lead 25 is out of line from its neighboring leads 24.
However, a planarity defect not recognized by top view inspection is one in which all leads in one row are lifted, or lowered uniformly from the seating plane 36 at the same angle, as illustrated in FIGS. 3a and 3b. From an end view, as in FIG. 3a, the defective leads 35 are readily distinguished from the correctly formed and seated leads 34, but from a top view, as shown in FIG. 3b, this defect is undetected because all the shiny metallic leads in a row appear to be uniform, and non-planarity is overlooked.
In particular, this defect will not be detected in devices situated in a tape or other carrier having a recessed pocket. Further, one cause of this defect has been traced to the device loading process itself, as illustrated in FIG. 4, wherein a leaded device 40 is slightly misplaced in a tape carrier pocket 41, and the mechanical track cover 43 forces the device into its pocket, bending all leads 45 caught against the recess wall. In this example, the leads are all deformed upward, and at a uniform angle. Another mechanism leading to failures involving all leads at a uniform angle occurs when small semiconductor devices are forced into the receiving carrier by a jet of air, which may force a device positioned on its side to deform all leads on that row. Alternate carrier types include trays which have recesses in which the semiconductor devices are placed for shipment and mounting. As with carrier tapes, inspection is made from the top view, and may not detect some types of planarity failures.
It would be a significant advantage to the industry if a solution to this planarity defect analysis deficiency could be found, and in particular if the analysis would make use of existing lower cost top-view imaging systems, and if it were applicable to final inspection of devices within a carrier.
In accordance with the present invention, the problem of failure to detect non-planarity of multiple leads having the same offset angle from an integrated circuit package is resolved.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sensitive, and accurate method for detecting lead planarity defects using top-view automated inspection equipment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for analyzing lead planarity of semiconductor devices which have been placed in embossed carrier tape, or alternate recessed carrier format.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for inspecting gull wing leaded devices.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a method for analysis of lead planarity which does not exist on current inspection systems.
It is an object of the invention to make use of existing vision inspection equipment.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for analysis of lead planarity defects which avoids over compensation resulting in rejection of devices beyond the capability of manufacturing equipment.
The above objectives are realized by a new method for calculating lead planarity based on measured lead span, obtained from use of existing top-view visual inspection systems. The lead span of multiple leads on a predetermined number of good devices from a specific production lot are accurately measured, a mathematical model of the device defined, and the tolerances of the lot calculated. The lead span of each device under test in the production lot is then measured, and from the differences in lead span between the known good devices and the device under test, the planarity is calculated from a relationship between span and height above the seating plane, and any devices which are outside the defined tolerances are screened. Technical advantages of this recursive computational procedure assure capture of failed devices having a previously undetectable fault without exceeding the manufacturing capability, and specification for the particular device type.
In a preferred embodiment, thin small outline (TSSOP) plastic packages housed in an embossed carrier tape are characterized, and tolerances defined using the aforementioned method.

Method for determining lead span and planarity of semiconductor devices


An injector mounting arrangement includes a tolerance ring assembly that provides damping or absorption capabilities in addition to alignment and centering functionality. The tolerance ring assembly is designed to absorb axial excitation energy from the injector by converting it into strain energy through the radial deformation of the tolerance ring. The strain energy is absorbed in the form of bending stress within the tolerance ring more effectively than by simply absorbing the axial forces in compression alone. As a result, vibration and noise is reduced and/or isolated.

The present invention relates to fuel injection mounting arrangements, and more particularly to mounting arrangements configured to dampen vibration and noise caused by the injectors.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art injector mounting arrangement for a direct-injection engine in which a fuel injector 10 is mounted directly in a receiving aperture 12 of a cylinder head 14. A tolerance ring 16 is positioned in the aperture 12 to receive and align the injector 10 therein. A curved alignment surface 18 of the tolerance ring 16 helps align and center the injector 10 in the aperture 12.
The illustrated prior art tolerance ring 16 is not, on its own, designed to provide any damping capabilities between the injector 10 and the cylinder head 14, i.e., to dampen noise and vibration caused by the injection forces on the injector 10 that cause axial movement of the injector 10 relative to the cylinder head 14 during engine operation.


A transaxle with a tandem axle includes an engine, a transmission and a driveshaft. The transmission has an integrated interaxle differential mounted remotely from the engine. The transmission and the integrated interaxle differential are mounted on at least one vehicle frame member so that both are sprung weight on the vehicle. The driveshaft spans a gap between the engine and the transmission.

The typical class 8 truck driveline uses a transmission physically attached, such as by bolting, to the engine. A tandem drive axle utilizing an inter-axle differential is connected to the transmission with a drive axle.
The engine/transmission assembly is typically mounted on rubber-type bushings. Usually, three bushings are utilized with one bushing located at the front of the engine and the other two bushings on each side of the clutch bell housing. This arrangement requires a compromise in the engine mounting bushing stiffness since the transmission multiplied torque requires stiff bushings to support the large torque reaction but a softer bushing would reduce noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) from the engine. There is also a trend toward lower speed, higher torque engines, which will increase the loads on the engine mounts and again pushes designers toward stiffer bushings that do little for NVH. Finally, there is a need to improve the ride of class 8 trucks by reducing the tandem axle unsprung weight.
Unsprung weight as used herein is the weight of the suspension, wheels, tires and other components directly connected to them, rather than supported by the suspension. Sprung weight at used herein is the weight of the vehicle body and other components supported by the suspension.
Noise, vibration and harshness can be improved by decoupling the engine and transmission. This has the advantage of being able to mount the engine on bushings specifically tuned for the engine vibration modes without the transmission torque multiplication. A transmission mounted remotely from the engine on the vehicle frame could also utilize tuned bushing mounts for the transmission vibration modes. This remote transmission location could incorporate part of the tandem axle components, such as the inter-axle differential. This would reduce the tandem unsprung weight for improved ride characteristics. Since the remote mounted transmission is more difficult to shift manually, an automated transmission shift control could be used. To further reduce the tandem axle unsprung weight, the tandem axle wheel differentials could be integrated into the frame mounted transaxle assembly and a De Dion type axle and suspension system utilized or a fully independent suspension system used in conjunction with the transaxle unit.


This discloses that compounds of Formula 1 may be used as antifibrotics because they inhibit type 1 collagen production. In particular, this discloses a pharmaceutical composition containing one or more compounds of Formula 1 and methods of using compounds of Formula 1 in fibrosis treatment and inhibiting type 1 collagen synthesis.

Collagen is a protein in the body that gives bones, connective tissues, and organs their physical structure. Different forms of collagen are identified by their "types." Type 1 collagen, the primary form found in the human body, is found in the skin, tendons, ligaments, bones, organs, and vascular system and has a fiber-like structure.
If the body produces excessive amounts of type 1 collagen, this can lead to a condition called fibrosis. Fibrosis is the presence of excess connective tissue in a region of the body. Excess connective tissue in an organ can interfere with the organ's functions. There are many diseases related to fibrosis, some of which include arterial hardening, cirrhosis, scleroderma, and myelofibrosis. Fibrosis-related diseases are a major medical problem throughout the world.

Compositions and methods for inhibiting type 1 collagen production

Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc.


A radio client device scans a channel allocated to a predetermined repeater, and transmits a request for location registration to the predetermined repeater in a case of detecting a usage condition signal. A repeater, in a case of receiving a request for location registration from a radio client device, conducts location registration for the radio client device, transmits information about the radio client device whose location is registered to a predetermined repeater in a communication area of the repeater or to a predetermined repeater in a different communication area, and in a case of receiving information about a radio client device whose location is registered from another repeater in the communication area of the repeater, transmits information about the radio client device whose location is registered to the predetermined repeater in the different communication area.

Trunking radio communication systems (hereinafter designated "trunking systems") are known. A trunking system includes a plurality of repeaters in a single site (communication area), and a plurality of radio client devices share multiple talk channels with the plurality of repeaters. Among trunking systems, there are some called dedicated control type, which have a dedicated control channel, and some called distributed control type, which do not have a dedicated control channel.
In a dedicated control type trunking system, one control channel is provided for one site. A radio client device requests a repeater having the control channel for location registration, and that repeater conducts location registration for the radio client device. After that, the radio client device sets an idle channel based on control information transmitted via the control channel, and communicates with another radio client device via the idle channel.
A distributed control type trunking system includes, for one site, one repeater called a collect repeater that conducts location registration of a radio client device. A radio client device requests the collect repeater for location registration, and the collect repeater conducts location registration for the radio client device, and sets a home repeater. After that, the radio client device sets an idle channel based on control information from the home repeater, and communicates with another radio client device via the idle channel.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-109505 and Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-136350 disclose technology related to a distributed control type trunking system. With the radio communication system disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2010-109505, in the case where a situation occurs in which operation stops at the home repeater, a secondary repeater acquires the home repeater's control information and conducts a repeater process as a proxy for the home repeater. In the radio communication system disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2010-136350, in the case where a radio client device is able to receive a downlink signal from a home repeater but an uplink signal does not reach a repeater that provides an idle channel, the radio client device transmits a signal requesting communication with a peer radio client device on the same frequency as the frequency of the downlink signal from the home repeater.
With a dedicated control type trunking system, in one site, the repeater that has the control channel is unable to conduct location registration for another radio client device while conducting location registration for a given radio client device. Also, with a distributed control type trunking system that includes one collect repeater for one site, the collect repeater in one site is unable to conduct location registration for another radio client device while conducting location registration for a given radio client device. For this reason, in the case where a plurality of radio client devices request location registration at the same time in one site, it is necessary to successively conduct location registration for the plurality of radio client devices one at a time, and it takes time to complete location registration for the plurality of radio client devices.

Radio communication system, location registration method, repeater, and radio client device


Methods and apparatus are described for irradiating one or more substrate surfaces with accelerated gas clusters including strain-inducing atoms for blanket and/or localized introduction of such atoms into semiconductor substrates, with additional, optional introduction of dopant atoms and/or C. Processes for forming semiconductor films infused into and/or deposited onto the surfaces of semiconductor and/or dielectric substrates are also described. Such films may be doped and/or strained as well.

The characteristics of semiconductor materials such as, for example, silicon, germanium and gallium arsenide and other semiconductors have been exploited to form a large variety of useful devices in the fields of electronics, communications, electro-optics, and nano-technology. In the field of semiconductor electronics, it is well established that formation of devices by utilizing strained-silicon can result higher carrier mobility and, thus, in superior device performance, including faster operation, higher current drive capability, and lower power dissipation.
Several approaches have been applied to produce suitably strained-silicon. These include formation of silicon films on mismatched crystalline lattice substrates, introducing larger or smaller atoms into the lattice, and mechanically applying tensile or compressive forces to silicon regions due to strains in adjacent regions. One particularly effective method has been the introduction of germanium atoms into a silicon lattice. Germanium atoms are larger than those of silicon and result in a strain of the predominately silicon lattice. Often germanium concentrations on the order of a few atomic percent to a few tens of atomic percent have been found useful in forming such silicon-germanium strained semiconductors.
Strained silicon materials for semiconductor device fabrication have been formed by blanket Si/SiGe epitaxy onto silicon substrates or by blanket transfer of strained-silicon layers onto insulator substrates for producing strained-silicon on insulator (sSOI) materials. Previous methods (such as epitaxy) for producing blanket strained-silicon on semiconductor or insulating (typically silicon oxide) substrates involve low throughput, high temperature, techniques that result in undesirably high costs per wafer.
In addition to the blanket techniques, there has been recent development of semiconductor devices enjoying the benefits of strained-silicon by using localized processing such as selective chemical vapor deposition to produce locally-strained semiconductor regions. Locally-strained techniques are useful, in part, because PMOS devices and NMOS devices benefit from having different strains in the strained-silicon channels of the devices, thus it is desirable to be able to control the amount and type (compressive or tensile) strain in local regions within a device or from device to device. Such local-strain techniques have also been expensive to implement and typically utilize high processing temperatures that can be a disadvantage in some applications.
Conventional ion implantation using atomic or molecular ions of materials containing germanium has not proven an efficient way of introducing germanium into silicon for creating strain. The required high concentrations of at least a few atomic percent of germanium in silicon for effective strain production require such high conventional ion implantation doses so as to be economically impractical with conventional ion implantation equipment.
For some semiconductor devices, it is desirable to dope the semiconductor material with, for example, boron at very high doping concentrations. In general, the solid solubility limit of the dopant in silicon has been an upper limit for effective doping. Past work indicates that the solid solubility limit of boron in silicon can be increased by introducing germanium atoms to the silicon.
The use of a gas-cluster ion beam (GCIB) for etching, cleaning, and smoothing surfaces is known (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,194, Deguchi, et al.) in the art. GCIBs have also been employed for assisting the deposition of films from vaporized carbonaceous materials (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,820, Yamada, et al.) As the term is used herein, gas-clusters are nano-sized aggregates of materials that are gaseous under conditions of standard temperature and pressure. Such clusters may comprise aggregates of from a few to several thousand molecules or more loosely bound to form the cluster. The clusters can be ionized by electron bombardment or other means, permitting them to be formed into directed beams of controllable energy. Such ions each typically carry positive charges of q·e (where e is the magnitude of the electronic charge and q is an integer of from one to several representing the charge state of the cluster ion). The larger sized clusters are often the most useful because of their ability to carry substantial energy per cluster ion, while yet having only modest energy per molecule. The clusters disintegrate on impact, with each individual molecule carrying only a small fraction of the total cluster energy. Consequently, the impact effects of large clusters are substantial, but are limited to a very shallow surface region.
Apparatus for creating and accelerating such GCIBs are described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,194 patent previously cited. Presently available ion cluster sources produce clusters ions having a wide distribution of sizes, N, up to N of several thousand (where N=the number of molecules in each cluster—in the case of monatomic gases like argon, an atom of the monatomic gas will be referred to herein as either an atom or a molecule and an ionized atom of such a monatomic gas will be referred to as either an ionized atom, or a molecular ion, or simply a monomer ion.)

Methods of forming doped and un-doped strained semiconductor materials and semiconductor films by gas-cluster-ion-beam irradiation and materials and film products


A digital video camera includes an image sensor capable of producing a frame of video data representing an image viewed by the sensor, an image memory for storing video data such as previously recorded frame data in a video frame location of the image memory, a read circuit for fetching the previously recorded frame data, an encryption circuit having an encryption key input connected to receive the previously recorded frame data from the read circuit as an encryption key, an un-encrypted data input connected to receive the frame of video data from the image sensor and an encrypted data output port, and a write circuit for writing a frame of encrypted video data received from the encrypted data output port of the encryption circuit to the memory and overwriting the video frame location storing the previously recorded frame data.

Professional photographers make their livelihood by capturing valuable images of great interest that others have not captured. Their financial reward often depends upon their exclusive possession of those images. This requires care that their images not fall into the hands of their competitors, for example, through theft of their camera or theft of the storage medium (e.g., a digital disk) on which the valuable images have been stored. As one possible example, an electronic transmission via the internet of the photographer's valuable images from a remote location to his publisher can be intercepted by another publisher or competitor who then uses those images. In such a case, the value of the photographer's own images is reduced, since the images are no longer exclusively possessed or sold by his publisher.
As another example, the photographer may have caught a criminal on camera, and government authorities may confiscate the camera and storage media (film or disk) pursuant to a criminal investigation. In such a case, the government authorities have no need to deal with the photographer, as they can develop or print the images themselves without assistance from the photographer. The authorities therefore need not return the camera or the film/disk to the photographer, regardless of the financial impact such a loss places on the photographer.
As a further example, the photographer may be an amateur who wishes to maintain his images in complete secrecy, and is therefore forced to take drastic steps to prevent any theft of his camera or its film or disk.
One possibility might be for the photographer to use a digital camera that captures each still image as video data, and to first encrypt the video data before storing or recording it on storage media (a removable diskette) in the camera. This would frustrate attempts to steal the images by copying them from the encrypted data. Thus, someone who steals the diskette or who intercepts a transmission (e.g., on the internet) of the encrypted image, would not be able to see the photographers' images. The photographer would ensure that his publisher possesses the encryption key used in the camera to encrypt the images as recorded on the camera diskette. The publisher would use the key to de-encrypt each of the received images.
Such an approach is not practical. First, the digital camera would necessarily require circuitry to electronically store the encryption key in a retrievable form and circuitry to encrypt each block of video data with the encryption key. Secondly, theft of the camera would compromise the key, since the encryption circuitry within the camera must contain or store the encryption key in order to function. Such a theft would therefore allow an unauthorized person possessing the camera and skilled in extracting the key from the camera to decrypt the video data stored on the diskette (or any other video data recorded by that camera). Third, if the encryption key were compromised secretly by some other means not involving the camera (so that the camera continues to be used), every image ever encrypted and recorded by that camera, whether in the past or in the future, would be compromised. Many opportunities for stealing the encryption key can arise. For example, generation of the encryption key (e.g., by a random number generator) must involve a number of persons, including those responsible for generating keys, those who assign keys to certain cameras and load the keys to the cameras, and a documentation system (presumably held at a safe location) correlating different cameras with their different encryption keys for later decryption of images received from various photographers. Thus, the camera user must always consider the possibility that, unbeknownst to him, the encryption key may have fallen into the wrong hands either through his negligence or that of his publisher (who must also have the same key or a related key). This would compromise all of the images taken with the camera during the life of the camera. From the foregoing it can be seen that another disadvantage of an encrypting digital camera is that an elaborate set of precautionary procedures must be employed in the administration of the encryption key and any related keys. Mathematically related encryption keys capable of decrypting the same encrypted data are often distinguished as "public" and "private" keys, in which one is disseminated while the other is not. All such schemes involve a significant risk that the key may be compromised at any time without the knowledge of the authorized users.
A further disadvantage of an encrypting digital camera is that the presence inside the camera of circuitry storing an elaborate encryption key and related encrypting apparatus could alert a skilled thief in possession of the camera that any seemingly innocent noise present on the camera's diskette or memory may actually contain valuable video data retrievable via decryption, thus motivating the thief to search for the encryption key either in the camera or through another theft involving the encryption key administration documentation at the supposedly secure location.
Thus, it has not seemed practical or possible to implement a fool-proof encrypting digital camera.

Encrypting digital camera with automatic encryption key deletion

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


Embodiments herein describe techniques for creating a lightweight snapshot of a network fabric without having to capture snapshots at a predefined interval. Instead, the snapshot system uses a data store to capture state changes to network objects in the network fabric. Because the data store captures these state changes (along with timestamps indicating when these changes occurred), the snapshot system can retroactively generate snapshots of the network fabric at any desired time. In one embodiment, the snapshot system includes an event detector that determines when to capture snapshots. Once an event is identified by the event detector, the snapshot system can use the historical changes in the data store to retroactively generate a first snapshot to capture the overall state of the network fabric before the event and a second snapshot to capture the overall state of the network fabric after the event.

A large network fabric undergoes constant operational changes such as end points (EPs) and routes being added and deleted to network nodes and changes to configuration parameters. Whenever a network node (e.g., a virtual or physical switch) reboots because of a maintenance cycle or due to an unexpected crash, often some of the operational state is not recovered. This loss of state can lead to traffic loss or an application executing on the network node behaving abnormally. When an application starts failing it is currently difficult for a system administrator to detect and pin-point what exactly changed in the network fabric.
One current solution is to capture snapshots of the network fabric at predefined intervals which can be compared to identify changes in the network fabric. These snapshots capture the entire state of the network fabric. That is, each of the snapshots includes all the network objects for all the network nodes and their associated configurations, even if the state of a network object does not change during subsequent snapshots. Depending on how often the snapshots are captured, for large networks, generating and storing the snapshots can require significant compute resources.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation.

Retroactively detecting state change in a network fabric across times


Test circuitry for an integrated circuit (IC) that has a scan chain includes a control unit for applying a test pattern and a clock signal to the scan chain, and for varying the level of a supply voltage during a scan test procedure. In a first test phase, the supply voltage is set to the rated voltage level of the IC while a test pattern is shifted into the scan chain at a fast rate. A second, capture phase is run at a lower rate and the supply voltage is reduced to a lower level such that defects that cannot be detected when the capture phase is run at the rated voltage are observable yet switching elements in the IC still function correctly. Running the shift phase at the higher speed reduces the overall test time compared with known very low voltage (VLV) scan test procedures.

The present invention relates generally to testing integrated circuit devices and, more particularly, to very low voltage and bias scan testing methods.
Integrated circuit (IC) devices, such as microprocessors or system-on-chip (SOC) devices typically include a complex matrix of logic gates arranged to perform particular functions. These logic gates are often interconnected in two parallel arrangements, one arrangement for operation, and another arrangement for testing. Linking a plurality of flip flops together into a "scan chain" is one known method of arranging logic units for testing. Such a scan chain effectively forms a large shift register that can be used to gain access to internal nodes of the IC device in a test mode of operation. In such a test mode, typically the IC device is powered at its rated voltage level and in a first, scan shift phase, scan test patterns are shifted into scan chains at a pre-chosen clock rate. Then in a second phase, the IC device is put into a normal or 'capture' mode for one or more clock cycles. In a third phase, the IC device is placed in a scan shift mode again and the contents of the scan chain registers (which comprise the test results) are serially shifted out at the same clock rate for comparison with expected output values. This three phase test cycle is typically repeated many times.
It is known that certain manufacturing defects, such as interconnect bridging and gate-oxide shorts, are main causes of early life failures and reliability issues in IC devices. However, these defects often remain undetected by scan tests that are conducted at the normal voltage rating. It is also known that such defects do become evident during scan testing carried out at reduced power supply voltages.
The majority of logic circuits today operate at a power supply voltage of either 1.8 volts or 1.2 volts. However, correct logic operation can be sustained at a much lower voltage. In fact a logic circuit will function correctly, albeit at a reduced speed, as long as the output voltage of a logic gate is sufficient to switch the transistors in the driven gates. Hence, 'very low voltage' or VLV scan testing techniques have been developed that operate at relatively low values of supply voltages, typically at 0.8 volts for example. Normally, the clock rate is also reduced to take into account the longer propagation delays introduced by the use of a reduced supply voltage level. The known VLV scan testing method maintains a constant supply voltage level and a constant clock frequency throughout the scanning and capture phases. Although this method has the advantage of better detection of certain types of faults, a drawback is the reduced running speed of the test and therefore an extended overall test time. For example, a test that is run with reduced supply voltage can take ten times longer than one that is run at the rated voltage level. As product quality requirements increase, test costs become a greater contributor to the total device cost (typically up to 30%). It is desirable to reduce test cost while still keeping test quality at a high level.
Thus it would be advantageous to provide a way of reducing the overall test time of scan testing methods and of VLV scan tests in particular.

Test circuit for very low voltage and bias scan testing of integrated circuit


A text normalizer normalizes text that is output from a speech recognizer. The normalization of the text produces text that is less awkward and more familiar to recipients of the text. The text may be normalized to include audio content, video content, or combinations of audio and video contents. The text may also be normalized to produce a hypertext document. The text normalization is performed using a context-free grammar. The context-free grammar includes rules that specify how text is to be normalized. The context-free grammar may be organized as a tree that is used to parse text and facilitate normalization. The context-free grammar is extensible and may be readily changed.

Speech recognizers have gained popularity in recent years. A speech recognizer typically includes software that is run on a computer system to recognize spoken words or phrases. The speech recognizer generally outputs text corresponding to its interpretation of the spoken input. For example, if a speaker speaks the word "dog," the speech recognizer recognizes the spoken word and outputs the text "dog."
Unfortunately, speech recognizers often produced textual output that is awkward or not familiar to recipients. For example, if a speaker speaks the phrase "one hundred forty seven," the speech recognizer outputs "one hundred forty seven" rather than the sequence of digits "147." Similar awkward textual outputs are produced by speech recognizers for inputs that specify dates, times, monetary amounts, telephone numbers, addresses, and acronyms. As a result, the recipient of the textual output is forced to manually edit the text to put it in a more acceptable form. As speech recognizers are being incorporated in document creation software, the inability of the speech recognizers to produce acceptable textual output substantially diminishes the usefulness of such software.

Text normalization using a context-free grammar


Methods and apparatus for optimizing prefetch caching for sets of disc drives with reverse ordered logical block mapping.

Modern data processing systems generally use magnetic disc storage systems for storing therein an operating system program and data. Such a disc storage system may comprise an array of disc drives, with each disc drive having a plurality of discs and associated magnetic heads for each of the two magnetic surfaces of each disc.
"Caching" of logical data blocks retrieved from the disc drive array is often done to improve the average access time of the disc drive array to requests for logical data blocks from the host data processing system. Caching is a technique that puts a small, fast memory, called a cache memory, in front of a large, slow memory, such as the disc drive array, in such a way that the resulting combination approximates a large, fast memory.
"Prefetch blocks" are the logical data blocks that the host system has not requested, but are read from the discs in the array into the cache memory because a high probability exists that the host will request them in the near future. In this way, the stored prefetch blocks are available from the cache memory in response to a subsequent request from the host without reaccessing the disc drive array.
Logical block numbers (LBN's) provide a means for the host system to address physical data on the disc drives without having to be concerned with the physical attributes of the disc drives. The logical data blocks are stored in the disc drive address with a physical block location that is mapped to correspond to a drive, band, cylinder, sector address in the array. A cylinder is made up of all of the tracks that can be accessed in the array without the need for a seek. For instance, if the disc drive array has five discs so that the array can access ten disc surfaces, it will typically have ten heads. The ten tracks that align beneath those heads at one time make up a cylinder.
A read operation can be viewed as a three step process. The first step is to perform a "seek" operation to move the heads to the correct cylinder. The second step is to wait for the disk to rotate around so that the requested LBN passes under the head. This time is termed "rotational latency." The final step is to read the requested LBN as it passes under the head. Because of the sequential way that user processes for the host system access many files, and the policies that operating systems in the data processing systems use to allocate files, there is a tendency for the disc drive array to first see a request for a set of logical data blocks and then shortly after see a request for another set of logical data blocks starting with the block whose LBN is one greater than the last LBN of the first requested set of logical blocks.
To best utilize the capabilities of the cache memory, it is therefore important to prefetch the logical blocks whose LBNs are greater (by a small amount) than the last logical blocks retrieved by a current request from the host. Traditional block ordering schemes order the LBN's so as to pass under the head in increasing order. When combined with read-ahead caching, these strategies require the heads to stay locked on the cylinder after the desired logical blocks have been read in order to access the read-ahead blocks. This is time that could otherwise be used to begin satisfying subsequent requests.

Method and apparatus for optimizing prefetch caching by reverse ordering of logical blocks


The utilization of various distributed contents is restricted by a simple method, its restriction can be released, and an accurate collection of fees for the contents is made possible. A client terminal 30 sends a request of contents (musical scores) and a key file to a server 10 via a communication line 20. In response to the request of these, a WEB server 11 transmits the contents stored in a database 13, and a key issuing server 12 transmits the key file. The WEB server 11 charges a fee when the key file is requested. A viewer 32 can only display the musical scores in the absence of the key file. With the use of the key file, however, the viewer 32 can print the musical scores as well. The key file is formed in accordance with a random value that is synchronized with the timing of an instruction for purchasing the contents.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contents-distributing system for distributing musical scores, sentences, various figures, music data, programs, and others from a server to a client terminal to make the contents utilizable by the client terminal. Further, the present invention also relates to a contents-distributing method which is related to the contents-distributing system, a server and a client terminal utilized in the contents-distributing system, and a computer-readable recording medium containing a program applied thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
From the past, it is well-known in the art to obtain various contents such as musical scores, sentences, various figures, music data, programs, and others from a server via a communication line such as the internet or an exclusive-use line using a personal computer. In this case, there are cases in which various contents can be obtained free of charge, and cases in which they are obtained at a charge.
However, even in the above-mentioned conventional case of allowing various contents to be available at a charge, after a user has once downloaded the contents into a personal computer or the like, the user can utilize the downloaded contents freely, whereby the user can copy the contents without limitation simply by paying the charge once. For this reason, the server side hesitates to distribute all the contents to users, thereby imposing an obstacle against free distribution of various contents.


A public key certificate generation method includes the steps of: sending a certificate issuing request including a registration contents of a public key certificate and an information content guaranteed by the registration authority, to the issuing authority in a registration authority and generating a public key certificate including the registration contents described in the certificate issuing request the information guaranteed by the registration authority issuing contents issued by the issuing authority, and a signature to the issuing contents in the issuing authority.

The present invention relates to a public key certificate issuing technique and a technique for verifying the validity of the public key certificate in the public key infrastructure (PKI).
When transmitting digital data such as an electronic document, a signature and a public key certificate of the transmitting person are added to a subject data. A receiving person checks the digital signature (hereinafter, referred to simply as signature) and the public key certificate added to the received data so as to determine whether the transmitted data has not been altered and whether the data has been transmitted from the transmitting person.
Public key certificate issuing and its validity validation are performed on the public key infrastructure and their standard specifications are defined in RFC2459 (Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate and CRL Profile), RFC2510 (Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate Management Protocols), and the like.
As indicated in the configuration models of RFC2459 (chapter 3) and RFC2510 (1.3), a certificate authority has two main works: a registration work and an issuing work.
The registration work includes registration and examination of a user which are performed in a registration authority.
The issuing work includes issuing of a public key certificate to the user who has been registered, which work is performed by an issuing authority.
It should be noted that in RFC2459 and RFC2510, the authority performing the issuing work is defined as a certificate authority. However, in this Specification, an authority performing the issuing work is defined as an issuing authority. That is, the certificate authority is defined to consist of the registration authority and the issuing authority.
Since the issuing work requires a secured installation and equipment, it is necessary to pay a high maintenance fee and construction fee. For this, an organization to organize a certificate authority may entrust (hereinafter, referred to as outsourcing) the issuing work processing to an external organization (hereinafter, referred to as outsourcing).
Conventionally, two methods have been used for outsourcing the issuing work.
In Method 1, an organization constructing a certificate authority performs identification and examination of an end entity (EE) as an end user by its own registration authority while outsourcing issuing authority works (operation of installation and equipment, and management of issuing authority). An outsourced agency acts for public key certificates of a plurality of registration authorities. Here a secret key of the outsourced agency is used for issuing a public key certificate and the outsourced agency name is described as a public key certificate issuer.
In Method 2, an organization constructing a certificate authority performs registration authority work by its own registration authority while outsourcing issuing authority works such as management of equipment to an outside agency. In the outsourced agency uses an issuing authority equipment and a secret key for each of the certificate authorities. For example, an issuing authority and an issuing authority secret key are provided for each of the different authorities. In this case, the organization name (registration authority manager name) constructing the certificate authority (registration authority manager) name is described as the public key certificate issuer.
For example, the aforementioned two methods are used by Japan Certification Services Inc. (JCSI) which provides a certificate issuing service called SecureSign. The JCSI "SecureSign public service standard rule (V1.0)" (JCSI SecureSign is a registered trademark of the Japan Certificate Service), page 5 has a description as follows.
The SecureSign is divided into two types of services: a "public service" and a "private service". In case of the private service, the certificate policy and CPS (certificate practice statement) are determined by a customer and is disclosed on a network domain required by the customer. On the other hand, in case of the public service, the JCSI is the certificate issuer of the public service and signs the certificate.
When the issuing work and the registration work are performed by different organizations, there is a problem that the responsibility ranges of the issuing authority and the registration authority are not clear, although their responsibility ranges are defined by the Certificate Practice Statement (hereinafter, referred to as CPS). However, when a problem arises in the issued public key certificate (for example, an error is contained in the description items), internal data (log and the like) of the issuing authority and the registration authority should be checked to determine who is responsible. This is not easy and requires quite a time.

Public key certificate generation method, validation method and apparatus thereof


A vehicle is configured to accommodate a cart and a passenger. A communication unit of the vehicle is configured to communicate with the cart. A traveling environment acquisition unit of the vehicle is configured to acquire a traveling environment of the vehicle. A cart control unit of the vehicle is configured to control an arrangement of the cart in the vehicle through the communication unit according to the traveling environment acquired toy the traveling environment acquisition unit.

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle simultaneously transporting carts and passengers, and to a control method thereof.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-69729 discloses a truck transporting movable cage carts with wheels attached to the lower end as an example of a vehicle having a transportation function of carts.