A track cover adapted for use on an item of heavy construction equipment having at least one track. The track cover comprises an outside panel and a tread panel. The tread panel is preferably connected to the outside panel. The track cover also comprises an assembly for removably attaching the track cover to the item of heavy equipment. The track cover is adapted to cover at least a portion of the at least one track of the item of heavy construction equipment and retain dirt, rocks and other debris.

It is known to use a cover adapted to substantially enclose an object in order to retain dirt and other debris. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,408 of Schultz, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,584 of Brown, III, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,578 of Mattila. It is also known to use a plurality of straps adapted to releasably attach a structure to the tracks of an item of heavy construction equipment. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,905 of Black, et al. Further, it is known to use a solid piece of material adapted to constrict a cover around the object which it is covering. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,408 of Schultz, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,584 of Brown, III.
However, none of above-listed patents describe a track cover adapted for use on an item of heavy construction equipment such as a bulldozer, excavator and the like. Further, none of the above-listed patents describe a track cover having openings adapted to permit air to pass through the cover. In addition, none of the above-listed patents describe a track cover having a frame adapted to provide support and strength to the cover. Still further, none of the above-listed patents describe a track cover having a means for constricting such track cover around the tracks of an item of heavy construction equipment.
It would be desirable, therefore, if a track cover adapted for use on an item of heavy construction equipment such as a bulldozer, excavator and the like could be provided. It would also be desirable if such a track cover could be provided that would retain dirt, rocks and other debris during the transport of an item of heavy construction equipment. In addition, it would be desirable if such a track cover could be provided that would have openings adapted to permit air to pass through the track cover during the transport of an item of heavy construction equipment. It would be further desirable if such a track cover could be provided that would include a frame adapted to provide support and strength to the track cover. It would be still further desirable if such a track cover could be provided that would have a means for constricting the track cover around the tracks of item of heavy construction equipment. It would also be desirable if such a track cover could be provided that would be simple to use, cost-effective and time-efficient.


A wheeled toy utilizes a pair of wheels mounted on an axle and moveable by an attached broom handle. A wire support straddles the two wheels, fitting over the outer ends of the axle, and a string assembly attached to the wire support facilitates a turning of the wheels relative to the handle. A fan spindle is rotatably attached to a plastic ball centered between the wheels, and a length of cord may be utilized to spin a plurality of radially mounted balls on the spindle. Alternatively, fan blades of various configurations can be used to rotate the spindle. The fan assembly includes colored rubber balls which orbit around the spindle, and one of the embodiments of the invention includes removable air scoops attachable to one or more balls so as to effectively operate as fan blades.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wheeled toys, and more particularly pertains to a wheeled toy which is pulled or pushed by a handle and which includes a rotatable fan structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is an unending need for action toys which will please children. In this respect, children love to pull carts which cause marvelous things to happen, especially wherein fans or similar devices rotate when the cart is pulled. As such, the present invention is directed to fulfilling this continuing interest for new and different toys.


Disclosed herein is an improvement in microcellular or supermicrocellular polymer extrusion systems. Both conventional and microcellular systems employ an extruder which plasticates polymer pellets into a polymer melt; a gas metering system, whereby a gas is injected directly in the polymer melt flow in the extruder; a mixing and homogenizing section of the extruder, which creates a single-phase solution of the polymer and the gas; and a nucleation device at the outlet end of the extruder. In this invention, the improvement to the conventional system comprises the nucleation means attached to said extruder which is a gear pump acting as a throttle rather than a pump. With this improvement, the discharge pressure is dictated by die resistance and flow rate as delivered by the gear throttle, and the pressure drop of the polymer/gas single-phase solution is nearly instantaneous.

In general, foamed polymers are materials which have a cellular structure, which means gas filled cells are embedded in the polymer matrix. These cells can be isolated from each other, (closed cell foam), or they can have openings to each other, (open cell foam). Open and closed cell foams have mostly common properties, but they have also some different properties. The main difference is that the volume of the cells in open cell foams is accessible from the outside. Therefore, gaseous or liquid materials can penetrate the foam and can be stored and released again without damaging the foam itself. The open cell structure also allows this type of foam to be used as a filter, which prevents solid particles larger than the cell from passing through the foam.
Polymer foams have certain typical properties compared with the solid unfoamed polymer. They have a lower density, lower heat and electrical conductivity, and lower strength. The lower strength can be explained by the reduced amount of polymer per cross section.
There are different processes which can create polymer foams. The most important ones are Reaction Injection Molding (RIM), injection molding and foam extrusion. In Reaction Injection Molding the polymer is foamed by carbon dioxide which is released as a byproduct of the chemical reaction between the two monomers. In injection molding and foam extrusion, a blowing agent has to be added to the polymer. There are two types of blowing agents, chemical and physical blowing agents. Chemical blowing agents are solids which decompose at elevated temperatures. The decomposition products are normally a mixture of gases and solid byproducts. Chemical blowing agents are normally blended with the polymer pellets in the form of a dry powder. This makes their use very convenient, because no change of the conventional extrusion or injection molding equipment is necessary.
Regardless of whether chemical or physical blowing agents are used, additional nucleation agents are needed to enhance nucleation of the gas bubbles in conventional foaming systems. The nucleating agents are normally solids with a very small diameter and are blended into the polymer pellets. To achieve a very uniform and homogeneous cell structure it is necessary to distribute the nucleation agents very uniformly throughout the polymer melt. The smallest cell size of polymer foams processed with these conventional methods is in the range of 100 .mu.m. The corresponding cell density, which is defined as cells per cubic centimeter of the unfoamed material, is in the range of 10.sup.3 to 10.sup.6 cells per cubic centimeter.
Microcellular polymers are polymer foams with much smaller cell sizes than those of conventional polymer foams. They are generally defined as foams with cell sizes under 100 .mu.m and cell densities on the order of 10.sup.8 and larger. Recently developed supermicrocellular polymers have even smaller cells and higher cell densities. Supermicrocellular polymers are defined by cell sizes smaller than 1 .mu.m. The cell densities of these polymers are normally larger than 10.sup.12 cells per cubic centimeter. The smallest cell size which could be achieved so far is 0.1 .mu.m which corresponds to a cell density of about 10.sup.15 cells per cubic centimeter.
Microcellular polymers have certain advantages over conventional foamed polymers. First, their cells are so small that they can not be seen by the naked eye. Therefore, the physical appearance equals that of the solid polymer. However, the microstructure lets them appear opaque and, if no color pigments are used, they appear white. Furthermore, the mechanical properties change significantly. They are much tougher, have increased specific mechanical strength and have a much longer fatigue life than the solid polymer (Collias and Baid, 1992: Seeler and Kumar, 1992, 1993). In addition, their cell structure and cell size distribution is much more uniform than that of the conventional foamed polymers, which results in generally much better properties than those of conventional polymer foams. The increase of the fatigue life of microcellular polymers can be explained by the huge amount of cells per cubic centimeter. The cells act as crack arresting sites. Therefore, microcracks are stopped at once and the chance that they result in fatigue fractures is reduced significantly.
Applications of microcellular and supermicrocellular polymers are many. Not only can they can replace mostly all of the conventional foams due to their better properties, they also fill niches for new applications which have not existed up until now. Another application is the substitution of the solid polymer with microcellular polymers so as to increase the fatigue life of the product, without significantly sacrificing the mechanical strength. This is possible due to very low cell expansion with minimal density increase. The large number of cells act as crack arresting sites which increase the fatigue life; nevertheless, the mechanical strength is still close to that of the original polymer because of the low volume expansion.
Another possible application is the development of transparent supermicrocellular foams. A requirement for this material is that the cells are much smaller than the wavelength of light, which is in the order of 0.05 .mu.m.
A huge advantage of microcellular polymers is that their processing does not require the use of fluorochlorocarbons, which is very important from the environmental point of view. Environmentally safe gases like carbon dioxide or nitrogen are used for their processing.
All processing techniques for microcellular polymers have in common one fundamental process, which basically consists of three steps; (1) formation of a single-phase polymer/gas solution, (2) cell nucleation and (3) cell growth.
The first step in creating a microcellular polymer foam is the formation of a single-phase solution of polymer and gas. Two physical phenomena are involved in this process, the diffusion of the gas into the polymer and the attainment of thermodynamic equilibrium between the polymer and the gas. Under equilibrium conditions, a certain amount of gas is dissolved in the polymer. The solubility of a gas in a polymer is a strong function of the pressure and the temperature. It increases with pressure and decreases with temperature.
At the moment when the polymer is suddenly set under external pressure by a gas, the whole system of gas and polymer is in a thermodynamically unstable state. The gas starts diffusing into the polymer to increase the entropy of the system and to finally reach a new stable thermodynamic equilibrium state. The driving force for diffusion is therefore the Gibbs free energy. Solubility of gas in polymer is a function of pressure and temperature. The diffusivity D is a function of the temperature and increases with increasing temperature. The relation between diffusivity and temperature can be approximated by an Arrhenius equation: EQU D=D.sub.0 e.sup.-.DELTA.G/kT
where .DELTA.G is the activation energy, k the Bolzmann's constant, and T the absolute temperature (Newitt and Weale, 1948: Duml and Griskey, 1966 and 1969; van Krevelen, 1976; Koros and Paul, 1980). This equation is valid only if the change in gas concentration in the gas/polymer system does not effect the diffusivity. In the case of microcellular polymer processing, the influence of the concentration change is not negligible, because the amount of gas dissolved in the polymer at equilibrium is on the order of six to ten percent by weight of the polymer (Park MIT Thesis, 1993).
The most essential step in creating microcellular polymers is the nucleation of the cells. Unlike conventional foam processing, no nucleation agents need to be used for the cell nucleation in microcellular polymer processing. Classical nucleation theories distinguish between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation. Throughout a homogeneous matrix the activation energy required for nucleation is totally uniform. Therefore, nucleation itself occurs totally uniformly throughout this matrix. Heterogeneous nucleation occurs at interfaces of two or more different materials or at the interfaces of the different microstructures of one material, e.g., amorphous and crystalline phase in semi-crystalline polymers. At these interfaces the interfacial energy is high and as a result the activation energy required for nucleation is low.
The driving force for nucleation in microcellular polymer processing is the supersaturation of the polymer due to the rate of changes in pressure or temperature. As demonstrated by Park (1993), Baldwin (MIT Thesis,1994), and others in extrusion processing, microcellular nucleation rates are created when solubility levels change at rates far above that of conventional extrusion foaming. These solubility rate changes are caused by thermodynamic instabilities of either pressure drop (Park) or temperature rise (Baldwin).
The polymer/gas single-phase solution was at a stable equilibrium state at high pressure. The high rates of drop in pressure or the rates of increase in temperature change the solubility of the gas in the polymer very rapidly which is a very large driving force. The difference in the activation energy level for homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation is small in comparison to the energy available for nucleation. It exceeds the energy required for heterogeneous nucleation and also allows for homogeneous nucleation simultaneously. The higher the degree of supersaturation, the higher is the degree of homogeneous nucleation, independent of the number of heterogeneous nucleation sites. For that reason no nucleation agents are needed. For a more detailed discussion of classical and newer nucleation models for microcellular polymer processing, refer to Baldwin (1994), Park (1993).
Nucleation alone however, does not create a microcellular structure. The third and most difficult to control step in microcellular polymer processing is cell growth. Right after the nucleation of a cell the pressure in the nucleus is equal to the saturation pressure (Suh, 1995). Therefore, the bubble tries to expand. The expansion is constrained by the surface tension of the bubble. The internal pressure of the bubble and the surface tension of the bubble determine the size of the cell at equilibrium condition. The cell grows only if the polymer matrix is soft enough to allow expansion. During cell growth, gas diffuses out of the polymer matrix and into the bubble. Since the amount of cells nucleated in microcellular polymer processing is very large, the amount of gas has to be distributed among all the nucleation sites. Therefore, the amount of gas available for each cell is very small, which results in very small cell sizes.
The basic process for microcellular polymers can be applied to several processing techniques, including batch processing and extrusion processing. During batch processing a polymer sample is placed in a pressure chamber and the chamber is pressurized with a gas. The gas saturates the sample as it diffuses into it. The time required to saturate the sample depends on the thickness of the sample, the gas pressure, and the temperature, and is in the order of minutes to days. Once the sample is saturated completely, the gas is released quickly, to cause nucleation. The conditions for cell growth depend strongly on the type of polymer and the polymer itself. Some polymers foam at room temperature while other polymers need to be heated to much higher temperatures to enable cell growth. In general, foaming temperatures lie in the range of the glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) of the polymer/gas solution using amorphous polymers. Note that the glass transition temperature of the single-phase solution of gas and polymer is significantly lower than the glass transition temperature of the neat polymer. This is due to the softening effect of the gas in the polymer matrix. (Cha thesis).
This effect (drop in Tg) and others, characteristic of high saturation levels of CO.sub.2 or other supercritical blowing agents, upon processing conditions has been discussed in Park (1993).
Semicrystalline polymers, however, require foaming temperatures around the melting point (T.sub.m) of the crystalline areas in the polymer matrix. If the polymer matrix in these areas is not soft enough only the amorphous regions are foamed, resulting in fewer and therefore bigger bubbles.
The basic microcellular polymer process can also be incorporated in an extrusion process. The extrusion equipment necessary consists basically of four physical units. There is the extruder which plasticates conventional polymer pellets. The gas is injected directly in the polymer melt flow of the extruder by a gas metering system. Mixing and homogenizing sections of the extruder screw create the single-phase solution of the polymer and the gas. Additionally, the extruder creates the pressure required for a high gas solubility, the key issue for a high nucleation rate. Nucleation is achieved by a nucleation device at the end of the extruder. The original nucleation device used by Park (1993) was a single-orifice nozzle which utilized a rapid pressure drop for cell nucleation (see FIG. 1). The pressure drop was achieved by the viscous flow of the polymer/gas solution through the nozzle. One limitation of the nozzle pressure drop device was very low flow rates. Later, near net shape nucleation was investigated by Baldwin (1994), which showed that only limited product qualities could be achieved. Cell sizes with nozzle and near net shape nucleation were in the range of 10 .mu.m. The bubbles were sheared in extrusion direction which resulted in nonuniform product properties.

Gear throttle as a nucleation device in a continuous microcellular extrusion system


Flexible cushions include structures configured to secure to a mattress or other sleeping surface, permitting cushion re-shaping to divide or otherwise configure a sleeping space. Cushions join to the mattress via an L-shaped plate that seats against a side an under a bottom of the mattress. The cushion is supported by the L-shaped plate, which may extend inside the cushion or otherwise mate with a flexible shaping pipe in the cushion. The flexible pipe in the cushion allows the cushion to be shaped in any fashion with sufficient human force while retaining its shape when slept on. The L-shaped plate is joined to an opposite latch plate that secures to an opposite side of the mattress by an adjustable belt that runs between the L-shaped plate and latch plate. The belt may run under the mattress and join to any number of structures.

Co-sleeping is recognized as an important physical contact that allows an infant to psychologically grow. The co-sleeping that allows such an effect is typically conducted by putting a baby in the bed of a co-sleeper or neighbor to a co-sleeper. Further, the co-sleeping may be conducted by placing a bed of the co-sleeper neighbor to a baby-bed so that the co-sleeper tips the bar that surrounds the baby bed neighbor to the bed of the co-sleeper so as to lean out of the bed to comfort the baby. Further, a co-sleeping method may be conducted by placing a so-called co-sleeping bed that is surrounded by three sides except the side of the foot on the bed so that adults let the baby sleep inside the bed for adults.
For example, Japanese Utility model Publication No. 3126368 published Apr. 10, 2006, incorporated herein in its entirety, discloses a cushion used at the abdomen or back of the mother for breast-feeding during co-sleeping for the baby, and Japanese Utility model Publication No. 3079794 published Jun. 13, 2001, incorporated herein in its entirety, discloses a mat used for arm pillow during co-sleeping with a baby. The side of the mat for a head of the baby leans upward while a concave portion is provided in which an arm is placed for arm pillow.


A sewing device including a head portion for mounting a needle; a support frame; and a bed unit supported on the frame and switchable between a usage position in confrontation with the head portion and a retracted position retracted away from the head portion compared with the usage position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sewing device suitable for pattern sewing or embroidery sewing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application (Kokai) No. HEI-6-126054 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,001 describe examples of multi-head embroidery machines used as industrial sewing machines for sewing patterns and embroidery.
The multi-head embroidery machine disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application (Kokai) No. HEI-6-126054 includes a plurality of embroidery machines aligned horizontally (i.e. in an X-direction) at a predetermined interval from each other. A cloth-feeding mechanism is provided for independently driving feeding movement in X and Y directions of a common movable frame on which are attached a plurality of embroidery frames. A needle bar case housing a plurality of needle bars, each corresponding to one of a plurality of colors of embroidery yarn, is provided to a head portion of each embroidery machine. The position of the needle bar case is freely changeable in the vertical direction, as required for the shape of the workpiece cloth. The head portion is configured so that drive force from a main drive shaft, which is driven by a sewing machine motor, is distributed to both a principal shaft and a loop taker shaft of each embroidery machine.
Each of the sewing machines includes a bed portion, a column portion, and an arm portion, which extends vertically from the upper end of the column portion. The head portion is provided to the tip of the arm portion and includes components driven by the principal shaft, such as the needle bars and corresponding sewing needles, and the levers. A loop taker shaft driven by the shuttle shaft is provided to the bed portion. It should be noted that there are two types of bed portion: a bed type capable of sewing only flat pieces of cloth and a cylinder bed type capable of sewing cylindrical pieces of cloth.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,001 describes an arm type multi-head type embroidery machine having basically the same configuration as the multi-head type embroidery machine described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application (Kokai) No. HEI-6-126054. However, this multi-head type embroidery machine is a bridge-type machine wherein the arm portion is dispensed with and also the plurality of head portions and the plurality of the bed portions are integrally fixed to the support frame.
Examined Japanese Patent Application (Kokai) No. SHO-60-21750, Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application (Kokai) No. SHO-61-15816, and Unexamined Japanese Patent Application (Kokai) No. HEI-3-234291 and describe sewing machines configured so that the loop taker is driven independently from the machine principal shaft by a separate drive motor for loop taker drive. The drive motor for loop taker drive and a transmission system for transmitting the drive force from the drive motor to loop taker drive are fixedly provided to the bed portion.

Sewing device with a bed switchable between a usage position and a retracted position


Methods and systems of treating hydrocarbon containing formations are described herein. A system for treating a subterranean hydrocarbon containing formation includes a wellbore, and one or more packers positioned in the wellbore. At least one of the packers allows fluid to be injected in a subterranean hydrocarbon containing formation while allowing fluid to be produced from the wellbore.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and systems for production of hydrocarbons and/or other products from various subsurface formations such as hydrocarbon containing formations.
2. Description of Related Art
Hydrocarbons obtained from subterranean formations are often used as energy resources, as feedstocks, and as consumer products. Concerns over depletion of available hydrocarbon resources and concerns over declining overall quality of produced hydrocarbons have led to development of processes for recovery that is more efficient, processing and/or use of available hydrocarbon resources. In-situ processes may be used to remove hydrocarbon materials from subterranean formations that were previously inaccessible and/or too expensive to extract using available methods.
Substantial reserves of hydrocarbons exist in formations that have relatively low permeability. Examples of such formations include the Eagle Ford shale, the Barnett shale, the Travis Peak and Cotton Valley formations and the Bakken shale. Several methods have been proposed and/or used for producing heavy hydrocarbons from relatively low permeability formations. Recovery of hydrocarbons from low permeability subterranean formations is difficult because of the low mobility of fluids in the pore space in the subterranean formation (ultra-low permeability rocks). This makes the production and injection of fluids from such reservoirs very difficult. Similar problems are encountered in heavy oil reservoirs (reservoirs containing crude oil with a viscosity larger than about 100 centipoise). Mobility of the fluids in heavy oil reservoirs is small, and thus, injecting and producing from such hydrocarbon bearing rock is difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,881 to Schuh describes a horizontal well completion apparatus and method for heavy, viscous oil in a producing zone using a single well. Hot injection fluid is injected into an injection string, reduced to a lower pressure by passing the injection fluid through a choke. A packer separates the upper well annulus from the lower well annulus. Insulation surrounds injection tubing string between the packer and the wellhead. Perforations in the horizontal portion of the well allow heated oil to flow into the lower annulus in the horizontal portion of the well where is picked up by the injected fluid and lifted to the surface of the well by a jet pump. The temperature and pressure of the injection fluid, and the pumping rate of the produced fluids control temperature and pressure in the lower well annulus.
Oil recovery by primary production (hydrocarbon production accomplished using the natural energy in the reservoir) is usually very low for unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. In unconventional reservoirs such as the Bakken and Eagle Ford formations, typical primary production is about 5% of the original oil in place compared to 15 to 25% in permeable subterranean formations. Thus, a very large resource of hydrocarbons is left unrecovered.
In conventional (high permeability) reservoirs, water injection and enhanced oil recovery methods such as CO2 flooding and chemical injection are used to recover additional hydrocarbons. The use of these methods is restricted by the inability to inject at sufficiently high rates into low permeability or heavy oil reservoirs. During injection processes, the injection pressures is limited as the subterranean formation will fracture once the fracture gradient of the rock is exceeded. Since the injection pressure and/or rate is limited, injection of fluids takes time and may have little to no impact on hydrocarbon production. For example, in a chemical flooding process, a minimum of 0.25 times the hydrocarbon pore volume of the reservoir area being flooded may be required to see any incremental oil recovery. In low permeability formations, achieving this may take many decades (or at least many years).
Although, there has been a significant amount of effort to develop methods and systems to produce hydrocarbons and/or other products from relatively low permeability formations, there is still a need for improved methods and systems for production of hydrocarbons.

System and methods for injection and production from a single wellbore

Board of Regents of the University of Texas Systems


In a method for sorting shredder residues of metal-containing wastes, in particular of vehicle bodies, where the shredder residues are separated into a shredder light fraction and a non-ferromagnetic fraction) and a system for implementing the method, (a) a crude-fiber fraction being generated during the processing of the shredder light fraction and the shredder heavy fraction in preliminary processes and a main process, by extracting at least a ferromagnetic fraction, a fraction containing nonferrous metals, a granulate fraction, and a sand fraction, and (b) the crude-fiber fraction being separated into a metal-containing dust fraction, a fiber fraction depleted in metals, and a metallic fraction in a refining process, using the successive process steps of metal-balling, dust removal, and density separation.

The shredding of scrapped vehicles in order to break down material has been known for a long time. In carrying out the shredding method, method controls have been established in which the material mixture produced is divided up into different fractions. Thus, a so-called shredder light fraction (SLF) is initially separated from the material mixture produced, using a suitable suction device. The remaining fraction is subsequently separated into a ferromagnetic fraction (shredder scrap (SS)) and a non-ferromagnetic fraction (shredder heavy fraction (SHF)), using a permanent-magnet separator. The portion of the shredder scrap-metal fraction that is metallurgically fully usable is often approximately 50 to 75 wt. %. Existing designs generally provide for the shredder light fraction being disposed of as waste or burned in waste incinerators. It is characterized by both a large fraction of organics and a large fraction of fine-grained material. The heavy fraction, which is not able to fly and is not ferromagnetic, i.e., the shredder heavy fraction, is distinguished by a large percentage of nonferrous (NF metals). Special sorting systems have been developed for recovering the various NF metals, where, however, the remaining residue of organic and inorganic, non-metallic components is generally disposed of as waste. In the following, shredder residues should be understood as all material streams from the shredding process, which cannot be directly removed at the shredder as products that are metallurgically directly utilizable (shredder scrap).
Described in German Published Patent Application No. 44 37 852 is a method, in which the shredder light fraction is sorted, in particular to remove "unwanted components", especially copper and glass. In this context, the shredder residues are homogenized and mixed in a compulsory mixer with a fine-grained to superfine-grained material containing a magnetizable component, and the resulting mixture is conveyed through a magnetic separator. In this context, it has been shown that the metallic components of the shredder light fraction, which impede metallurgical use, can be separated out in this manner.
European Published Patent Application No. 0 863 114 provides for the production of a permanently plastic, backfilling material for mines, by adding an adhesive component, a filler, and a salt solution to the shredder light fraction. This is intended to provide a pressure-resistant, permanently plastic body.
It is described in German Published Patent Application No. 197 42 214 that the shredder light fraction can be ground further and subjected to a thermal treatment. In this context, metallic components should be sorted out during or after shredding, and the remaining mixture of materials should be melted in a smelting reactor and converted to a "harmless" solid by cooling it.
In addition, European Published Patent Application No. 0 922 749 describes a method for processing the shredder light fraction, where the shredder light fraction is calcined in a fluidized-bed gasifier amid the introduction of or in the presence of calcium carbonate.
In a further, thermal process, German Published Patent Application No. 197 31 874 provides for the shredder light fraction being compressed again in a further step, and then shredded, homogenized, and reduced in water content, in order to be thermally utilized in a subsequent step.
European Published Patent Application No. 0 884 107 provides for the shredder light fraction being converted into a metal-free fraction having a shredding size of <20 mm, by shredding, classifying, and sorting it. The sorting of the shredder light fraction should result in a thermally utilizable fraction.
In addition to the utilization methods shown, it is conventional that the shredder light fraction can be subjected to a pretreatment, in which residual ferromagnetic fractions of iron, stainless steel, and aluminum are separated. Similar methods have also been used for sorting the shredder heavy fraction. Furthermore, it is conventional that polyolefins can be separated from this fraction.
What the shown methods have in common is, that they are each only designed for processing the shredder light fraction or the shredder heavy fraction. What is not provided is common processing with the objective of separating the shredder residues as much as possible into at least partially utilizable fractions, in particular a fiber fraction utilizable as raw materials or energy, according to current, legal boundary conditions. Against the background of increasing legal requirements (EU End of Life Vehicles Directive, EU Directive on Incineration of Waste, and others), as well as increasing landfill costs and requirements for the material to be landfilled, a higher utilization rate may be, however, desirable. Thus, the German regulation on end of life vehicles of Apr. 1, 1998 provides for over 95 wt. % of a scrapped car having to be utilized as of the year 2015. In addition, increased requirements from the EU Scrapped Car Guideline passed in September, 2000 specify that the fraction of material streams utilizable as materials and raw materials for mechanical and feedstock recycling should be increased to at least 85 wt. %. Thus, utilization excludes the use as energy only, e.g., in waste incinerators. In order to have the possibility of using the produced fiber fraction as a raw material or for energy in blast furnaces, cement factories, or clarifier-sludge incineration plants, it may especially be ensured that disruptive heavy metals occurring in adherent dusts and interlocking wires and strands are removed to the greatest extent possible.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and the system necessary for it, by which shredder residues may be processed, and by which, in particular, at least one high-quality fiber fraction usable as a raw material or for energy may be produced in a mechanical sorting or treatment process.

System and method for treating shredder residues and utilizing a produced fiber fraction


A summing transformer having a core structure, first primary and secondary windings wound on the core structure for establishing a rotating electromagnetic field when the first primary winding is energized, and second primary and secondary windings wound on the core structure for establishing a rotating electromagnetic field when the second primary winding is energized, and wherein the second first and second secondary windings are connected together so that voltages induced therein are added.

The present invention relates to electromagnetic transformers.
Electromagnetic transformers have been used in a wide variety of applications. Such applications, for example, include either stepping up or stepping down voltages and/or currents, for isolating high-voltage circuits from low-voltage circuits, for isolating circuits operating at one frequency from circuits operating at a different frequency, or for combining signals in any particularly-desired fashion. Normally, such transformers have an air core or they have a ferromagnetic core if it is desired to provide a high permeability path for the flux which passes through the windings of the transformer associated with such core. A ferromagnetic core provides a high degree of magnetic coupling between the windings and supports a larger amount of flux than is possible in an air core.
Multiple transformers can often be used to accomplish together what would otherwise be done by a single transformer such as when the amount of power to be handled by the transformer is so large that it is either impossible or impractical to use a single transformer. Another application for multiple winding transformers is in three-phase power systems. A three-phase power system typically produces three sinusoidal voltage sources where the voltages are equal in magnitude and frequency, but separated by predetermined phase shifts. The advantages of multiphase power systems include both more efficient conversion of electromechanical energy and savings in the transmission of the three-phase energy. Although early multiphase systems were for the most part two-phase, three-phase systems are the most commonly used multiphase system currently.
Because a three-phase transformer offers more efficient use of core materials as compared to three single-phase transformers which handles the same amount of apparent power, three-phase power systems typical]y rely upon single three-phase transformers. There are several possible known ways of combining cores of three transformers in order to obtain a single three-phase transformer. For example, a core-type three-phase transformer is essentially three single-phase core-type transformers whose magnetic circuits are wye connected. A core-type three-phase transformer typically has three columns of electromagnetic material with their ends joined by two corresponding rows of electromagnetic material. Each column carries a primary winding and a secondary winding for a respective phase of the three-phase system. A shell-type transformer, on the other hand, consists of a rectangularly-shaped electromagnetic core having three sets of holes, two holes for each set, distributed along the length of the core. Primary and secondary windings for each phase of the three-phase transformer are wound around the corresponding legs formed by the sets of holes. This transformer also offers some savings in core material. There are, of course, other types of core structures known in the art.
Also, three-phase transformers often rely principally upon a stationary, although oscillating, field for the transformation of voltage and transfer of energy. However, there have been known induction transformers which rely upon rotating fields for such transformation of voltage and transfer of energy.
Furthermore, it has been known to use three-phase transformers for the summation of voltages produced by multiple voltage sources. However, these summing transformer designs have relied upon stationary fields for the transformation of voltage and transfer of energy. These designs do not make efficient use of core iron and winding copper and, as a result, performance optimization is limited. Also, inefficient use of the core iron and winding copper causes an increase in bulk and/or weight with a resulting decrease in transformer efficiency.


An apparatus for radiopharmaceutical quantification of a body part includes a processor configured to receive at least one gamma image of a body part acquired by at least one gamma camera configured to detect gamma and/or X-rays. The at least one gamma image comprises spectral energy data that includes data resulting from decay of at least one radiopharmaceutical. The processor is configured to determine an activity of the at least one radiopharmaceutical at a plurality of spatial positions in the body part and determines a spatial distribution of the at least one radiopharmaceutical in the body part. The determination for a spatial position of the plurality of spatial positions comprises correlating a generated synthetic spectrum to an experimental spectrum generated from the spectral energy data for at least one position in the at least one gamma image that corresponds to that spatial position.

The general background of this invention is quantitative gamma camera imaging of patients. Radiopharmaceuticals can be used in the treatment of patients. A radiopharmaceutical such as a radionuclide, or radionuclides, can be taken internally by a patient for example intravenously or orally. A radiopharmaceutical, such as a radionuclide can be useful in the detection of specific diseases, and indeed can also be used in the targeted treatment of diseases, where the emission of alpha particles/electrons/beta particles can be used to disrupt targeted tissue cells. (For ease of explanation, the following discussion relates in specific parts to radionuclides however, such discussion also applies more generally to radiopharmaceuticals). The location of the radionuclide within the patient is required to be determined for quantification and dosimetry. As the radionuclide decays, gamma rays can be emitted in certain decay processes and external cameras, such as gamma cameras or detectors, are used to capture these photons from which an image can be acquired. However, such gamma ray imaging poses particular problems even for a single radionuclide, due to for example a low photon emission yield of radionuclides and the inclusion in measurement data of a large background photon contribution from cosmic and terrestrial sources, for example when very low activities of the order of 1 MBq are administered to patients. Furthermore, gamma rays can undergo scattering, for example via Compton scattering, on the route from the decay site to the detector, and thus can appear to have originated elsewhere than the actual decay site. Gamma ray cameras, also termed gamma cameras, can make use of energy discrimination, so called energy windows, to exclude emitted photons that do not originate directly from a radioactive decay. However, there is still a requirement to further improve imaging capabilities, especially if there is more than one radionuclide present. This can occur, for example, if a particular radionuclide that is administered to a patient has a daughter radionuclide that itself decays and emits gamma rays.

Apparatus for radiopharmaceutical quantification of a body part


Long tunnels of many kilometres are likely to pass through a range of geologies which may cause problems. The present invention seeks to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by: drilling a first bore 10 along a first predetermined path, the first bore having a length of at least 25 m; drilling a plurality of second bores 20 along respective second predetermined paths, each substantially parallel to the first predetermined path in order to define a substantially prism-shape region therebetween; and excavating material within the substantially prism-shape region to form a tunnel. In this way, data from drilling the first bore 10 and the plurality of second bores 20 can be recorded and used to inform operators as to the types of material through which they will be excavating. Thus, a more complete view of the underlying geology can be achieved before beginning excavations.

In addition to cost and speed, the main challenges when building a tunnel stem from the geology that will be encountered. In relatively short tunnels the geology might be quite consistent and easy to plan for. However, long tunnels of many kilometres are likely to pass through a range of geologies causing significant and even potentially catastrophic problems. Ideally, a tunnel would be constructed through favourable and/or consistent geology for its entire length. However, conventional methods involve merely sampling the geology along a proposed tunnel's length from above (where possible) and extrapolating from those samples.
Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are known that comprise a large metal cylindrical shield fronted by a rotating cutting wheel and containing a chamber where the excavated soil is deposited (and optionally mixed with slurry for extraction, depending on the type of geological/soil conditions). Behind the chamber there is a set of hydraulic jacks that are used to push the TBM forward relative to the concrete tunnel wall behind. The tunnel wall is installed in segments as the TBM moves forward. Once the TBM has excavated the length of a segment, it stops and a new tunnel ring is built by an erector utilising the precast concrete segments. Further operational mechanisms can be found behind the shield, inside the finished part of the tunnel, which are typically considered part of the TBM system: dirt removal, slurry pipelines if applicable, control rooms, rails for transport of the precast segments, etc. However, TBMs have various disadvantages including the stop-start nature of their tunnelling, and that a single TBM cannot easily transition between different rock/soil types (especially heavily fractured and sheared rock layers).
In addition, various Directional Boring techniques as used in the mining, oil and gas, and construction industries. For example, Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is used for installing pipes, etc. HDD is capable of boring suitably accurate holes up to only ˜800 m long with diameters only between 100 mm and 1200 mm. Alternatively, directional drilling is used in the oil & gas industry, and enables much longer holes to be bored.

Method and system of constructing an underground tunnel


An internal blow out preventer is provided that includes a ball valve including a tubular assembly having a central passageway with upper and lower seats mounted therein. A ball is rotatably received between the upper and lower seats and includes an external surface and a central opening, wherein the central opening includes an undercut. A protective coating is applied to both the external surface and the undercut of the ball.

Internal blow out preventers typically include a tubular having upper and lower seats mounted therein and rotatably receiving a ball. Together these components form a ball valve for checking pressure and preventing blow outs in high pressure drilling applications. During operation, the seats have surfaces that contact portions of the external surface of the ball. These contacted portions of the ball experience wear due to prolonged contact with the seats and can fail over time due to extended wear.
To improve the durability of the ball valve a protective coating is often added to the external surface of the ball where it contacts the seats. The juncture of the central opening of the ball and the external surface of the ball creates a sharp/vulnerable edge. Since the protective coating extends from the external surface of the ball up to this vulnerable edge, but not into the central opening of the ball, exposure of this vulnerable edge to high velocity drilling mud and periodic hydrostatic testing of the internal blow out preventer valve at pressures up to 16,000 psi, as required by some drilling systems, often leads to the coating being peeled back or stripped away starting at this vulnerable edge, causing the internal blow out preventer to fail.
The seats also include central openings aligned with the central opening of the ball to allow drilling mud to flow therethrough. The manufacturing tolerances of some internal blow out preventers result in the inside diameter of the ball being smaller than the inside diameter of the upper seat. This exposes the juncture of the external surface of the ball and the central opening of the ball and increases the probability of the coating being stripped from the ball.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved internal blow out preventer with increased durability.

Internal blow out preventer ball and seat


A mixer support assembly for use in an integrated cover and mixer apparatus and anaerobic digester system incorporating same provided. The digester system includes a tank with an integrated cover and mixer apparatus which provides a completely or substantially gas tight enclosure for the collection of biogas. The integrated cover and mixer apparatus includes a cover, a mixer, and a mixer support assembly for supporting the mixer. The mixer support assembly includes a float ring and a support body that is selectively removable from the float ring. The support body is attached to the float ring by way of a clamping arrangement.

As is readily understood and conventionally accepted, wastewater treatment is a critical aspect of environmental preservation. There continues to be an increased awareness of problems with water quality, particularly those caused by the discharge of wastewater from industrial and other sources. This awareness has resulted in a demand for improved equipment and methods to treat wastewater prior to discharging it into a sewer, surface water, or to other destinations for effluent discharge. While such treatment systems and methods are generally not required to produce potable water, the systems are increasingly required, by law, to enhance the quality of wastewater prior to discharging it as effluent.
One such type of wastewater treatment includes a process including an anaerobic digester, the contents of which are completely stirred creating what may be referred to as an anaerobic activated sludge process, or is also referred to as a contact process or complete mix process, with a treating agent such as microorganisms which are mixed in with the wastewater to be treated.
As part of such process, a mixing of the wastewater and treating agent must occur during the treatment process. Mixing is typically achieved via a motor with a mixing attachment, such as an impeller, attached to the motor. The mixing attachment is submerged in the wastewater mixture to allow it to spin and ultimately mix the wastewater mixture. This mixing is necessary to ensure a satisfactory reaction of the wastewater and treating agent.
In its most basic form, the anaerobic digester includes a tank which holds the wastewater and microorganisms of the process. Due to the out gassing which occurs as a result of the interaction between the microorganisms and the wastewater, a floating cover is placed over the wastewater and is connected to the periphery of the tank, in much the same way a swimming pool cover is used to cover a swimming pool. This cover is used to contain a majority of the gasses generated during the process. The gasses are then siphoned off by drawing a vacuum on the underside of the cover above the surface of the wastewater mixture.
The motor and its mixing attachment may be mounted to the bottom or side of the tank as is conventionally done, or as developed by the Applicant herein, may be embodied as a floating mixer and integrated with the cover as is shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/775,892 to Probst titled "Anaerobic Digester Apparatus With a Floating Mixer System Integrated With a Cover," the teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
In the latter case above of an integrated cover and floating mixer arrangement, it is important to ensure that the assembly of the cover and floating mixer is such that an abundance of air cannot be drawn via the vacuum applied under the cover through the floating mixer or through its connection to the cover. Indeed, too much air drawn by the vacuum can introduce an intolerable amount of oxygen to the reaction occurring under the cover, and/or the resultant gasses discussed above.
Also, in the latter above of an integrated cover and floating mixer arrangement, it is important to ensure that the floating mixer or portions thereof may be readily disconnected from the remainder of the integrated cover and floating mixer arrangement, so as to allow for repair and/or replacement of the motor as needed.
The invention herein address both of the above challenges associated with integrated cover and floating mixer arrangements, as well as other challenges. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.

Mixer support assembly for use in an integrated cover and mixer apparatus and anaerobic digester system incorporating same


Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for processing, at a sensor node within a sensor network, a set of sensor readings to determine whether an event has occurred, the set of sensor readings including one or more sensor readings for corresponding environmental conditions. The processing includes determining whether a sensor reading exceeds its corresponding threshold value for an environmental condition, and if so, comparing the set of sensor readings with a history log file to determine whether a false alarm event has occurred. The history log file includes one or more sets of historic sensor readings for corresponding environmental conditions, each set being associated with an environmental situation.

This description relates to false alarm mitigation using a sensor network.
A sensor network is formed by a collection of sensor nodes that are linked by a wireless medium to perform distributed sensing tasks. Sensor networks are deployed in a variety of environments to perform tasks such as surveillance, widespread environmental sampling, security, and health monitoring.

False alarm mitigation using a sensor network


An extruded capacitive sensor assembly includes multiple sense conductors of unequal length disposed in an upper section of a non-conductive jacket, and a ground conductor disposed in a lower section of the jacket adjacent a panel or carrier to which the strip is affixed. A sensor strip with three sense conductors is formed by extruding a non-conductive jacket having first and second sense conductors in the upper section of the jacket, and severing the first sense conductor to create three unequal length sense conductor segments. Electrical termination to the sense and ground conductors can be made at the point where the first sense conductor is severed, or at the end of the sensor strip. In cases where only two sense conductor segments are needed, the third sense conductor segment is removed or simply un-used.

Extruded capacitive sensor strips for non-contact obstacle detection have been disclosed, for example, in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,700,393, 6,723,933, 6,750,624 and 6,777,958 to Haag et al., assigned to Delphi Technologies, Inc. and incorporated by reference herein, in the context of an enclosure surface and a movable panel. Additionally, the pending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 11/784,036, filed Apr. 5, 2007, also assigned to Delphi Technologies, Inc. and incorporated by reference herein, discloses a capacitive strip sensor having a set of three sensor segments and a detection circuit that samples and combines the fringing capacitance of each sensor segment to form an output that is insensitive to common-mode effects such as moisture, temperature and sensor aging.

Extruded capacitive sensor assembly and detection method


A socket connector is provided for securely mounting an electronic device (1000) on a printed circuit board, said socket connector comprises an insulatve base (60) and heightened perimeter walls (606) upward extending therefrom to define an inner cavity. The top surface (602) of the inner cavity comprises a plural of passageways (608) in which a plural of contacts (70) hold. Furthermore, there are a plural of standoffs (610) between the adjacent passageways (608) co-worked with the heightened perimeter walls (606) for effectively preventing a cover (90) from deformation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical socket connector, and more particularly to a Pin Grid Array (PGA) socket having a base with a plurality of standoffs extending upward from a top surface thereof so as to provide addition space for contact engaging arms of contact terminals assembled therein.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,309 issued to Lin on Jan. 22, 2002, as shown in FIG. 1, discloses a pin grid array (PGA) socket 10 on which a CPU 20 is mounted. The CPU 20 has a plurality of pins 21 extending through a cover 11 into a dielectric base 12 of the socket for electrically engaging with contacts 110 received in the base. The cover 11 of the PGA socket 10 comprises a main body 115 and a raised portion 112 in front of the main body 115. The raised portion 112 defines an elliptic aperture 113 in middle thereof. Two opposite side walls 116 of the cover 11 are extended downwardly from two opposite edges of the main body 115, respectively. The main body 115 also defines a plurality of passageways 114 (only four shown) therein and a rectangular opening 111 in a center thereof.
The dielectric base 12 comprises four standoffs 126 on four corners of a bottom thereof. A circular hole 123 corresponding to the aperture 113 of the cover 11 is defined in a front portion of the dielectric base 12 and communicates with an L-shaped groove 124 defined in rear of the aperture 113. A plural of apertures 122 to which are correspondent the passageways 114 and used for receiving corresponding contacts 110 therein. The dielectric base 12 also defines a rectangular opening 125 in a center thereof, which is correspondent to the rectangular opening 111. A pair of elongate blocks 1211 is formed at each of two opposite side edges 121 of the base 12. A driver 13 is received in the circular hole 123 and the elliptic aperture 113. A resilient tab 131 is received in the L-shaped groove 124.
In assembly, the cover 11 is mounted to the dielectric base 12 with the elongate blocks 1211 being movably received in the grooves 1111 thereby slideably mounting the cover 11 on the base 12. The elliptic aperture 113 of the cover 11 communicates with the circular hole 123 of the dielectric base 12 for receiving the driver 13 therein with the resilient tab 131 of the driver 13 received in the L-shaped groove 124 of the dielectric base 12. By rotating the driver 13, the cover 11 moves relative to the dielectric base 12 between open and closed positions. The CPU 20 is mounted to the PGA socket 10 when the driver 13 is rotated to move the cover 11 to the open position, in which pins 21 (only three shown) of the CPU 20 are inserted into corresponding apertures 122 of the base 12 through the passageways 114 of the cover 11. When the driver 13 is rotated to move the cover 11 to the closed position, the pins 21 are moved following the movement of the cover 11 to have an electrical engagement with the contacts 110. Furthermore, in the middle of the opposite sides of the cover 90 further comprise right-angle steps 1112 adapted for easily removing the CPU 20 by the user.
As the sharply growing numbers of pins of an CPU and corresponding passageways in which contacts secure, there is a possibility that the lead pins will interfere with the cavity walls during insertion and horizontal movement of the lead pins. Therefore it is necessary to occupy a certain sized space for the cavities. Accordingly it is difficult to achieve a socket connector with high-density contacts restrained in narrow pitches due to these dimensional constraints.
Under such situation, there is a need to offer an improved socket connector having insulative base with passageways thereon. Not only the passageways are able to effectively hold contacts therein, but offer an extra space for freely movement of the pins not limited by the size of the passageways. In order to achieve foregoing request, the lead pin contact portions are defined out of the passageways. However, the lead pin contact portions are deformed directly by a cover due to substantial supporting means. Therefore, A socket connector with substantial supporting means on a top surface the base is provided herein.

Pin grid array socket having a base with interior standoffs and hightening peripheral walls


Apparatus, systems, and methods are provided for processing integrated circuit chip design. A three-dimensional Monte Carlo random-walk process may be applied to a cell in a hierarchical description of the layout of the chip to extract information regarding the cell. The information may include coupling resistance, capacitance, inductance, or combinations thereof. A neighborhood of the cell may be built and data correlated to the neighborhood may be stored. Such a technique may be applied from a bottom level to a top level of the hierarchical description of the chip layout.

Modern integrated circuit chips are designed in hierarchical fashion, which means that small design pieces are reused to form larger pieces which, in term, are also reused. One of the representations of the chip used in the process of the design is a so-called layout. Layout of the chip includes several two-dimensional representations of each layer of the chip, which is a collection of geometrical shapes that may be stored in some form on a computer. Typically, these geometrical shapes represent some objects on the chip, for example, metal wires, while the space between the layers is filled with non-conducting material (dielectric). To reproduce the complete three dimensional picture of the chip design, additional information about layer thickness and distance between the layers is needed, such information is often called technology information.
Modern chips typically contain millions of active devices, such as transistors, connected by interconnect wires. While a few years ago, the resistance and capacitance, associated with such wires could be neglected, this may no longer be true. In designs at 130 nm and below, interconnect delays determine system performance. Decreasing conductor widths may lead to increased interconnect resistance, while decreasing conductor spacing may cause increased interconnect capacitance. Three-dimensional effects such as fringing and interline coupling are dominant as conductors become taller relative to their width. As a result, parasitic resistance, inductance, and capacitance (RLC) extraction have become a well-established step in the semiconductor chip design and verification process. Since interconnect resistance and capacitance cannot be accounted for during the design stage, accurate calculation of these parameters based on actual chip layout is indispensable for correct chip performance.
Traditionally, extractors of parasitic interconnect RLC values fall into two distinct categories: relatively accurate small-capacity technology computer aided design (TCAD) tools and library-based full-chip pattern matching platforms. TCAD tools typically deal with a small number of three-dimensional (3D) objects and employ numerically-intensive mesh-based (finite element or boundary element) algorithms. Since computational complexity increases super-linearly with the number of elements simulated, no more than several thousands of elements can be handled resulting in accuracy of about few percent for configurations with no more than tens of 3D objects. In the past decade, a number of powerful accelerating techniques, such as a fast multipole method, have been successfully applied to tackle extraction of well-separated conductors and gained popularity for fringe market of printed circuit board (PCB) and packaging designs. Still, these traditional mesh-based approaches have inherent strict capacity limitations for densely-packed IC designs.
In the past decade, the electronic design automation (EDA) industry witnessed the recognition of a different class of TCAD tools based on stochastic methods. Instead of partitioning space or conductor boundaries to large number of elements, capacitance is evaluated by performing multiple random walks of a single "particle" in the dielectric space between the conductors. Because of spatial locality of such walks, even a large number of 3D objects can be handled with a small memory "footprint." Further, capacitance of large and complex net can be accurately determined using limited number of walks.
Due to inherent capacity and performance limitations, accurate RC extraction methods are impractical or impossible to deal with large full-chip designs. On other hand, importance of post-layout effects demands verification of large industrial size chip. This practical need brought about a class of extraction tools that are based on pattern matching and currently dominate the parasitic extraction market. In such tools, only a fraction of a net is handled in the presence of a few selected adjacent segments. Basically, the complex IC layout is cut and approximately matched to a library of hundreds of pre-solved configurations. In addition shielding and third-body effects are either ignored or treated approximately. Despite huge computational efforts, the pre-built pattern library cannot cover all possible mutual positions of multiple and complex 3D conductors in presence of multilayered dielectrics.
Use of pattern-matching based tools typically does not provide an estimation of the accuracy of obtained results. In addition, such tools depend on a number of "tricks" and other empirical data to ameliorate their poor accuracy. This leads to the use of TCAD tools for result verification, especially for critical nets. Such manual selection and verification process is extremely tedious and is quite far from a "push-button" solution.
With the astonishing pace of semiconductor manufacturing, traditional verification methods, suitable for handling small number of devices, often become un-scalable to handle hundreds of millions of transistors in modern designs. A brute-force approach, based on increased processing speed and proliferation of 64-bit memory platforms, may succeed only for weakly coupled blocks. However, in areas such as dynamic transistor-level simulation or RC extraction, where coupling between objects is strong, the only possible solution to tackle huge designs seemed to be model simplification and reduced accuracy. Recent hierarchical processing has revolutionized these seemingly stagnant market segments providing orders of magnitude performance improvements without sacrifice in accuracy.
Historically, the design of increasingly large IC chips is based on creation of small blocks and combining them together in a hierarchical fashion. Design output formats, from SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) netlists to GDSII (Gerber Data Stream Information Interchange) layouts reflect a natural hierarchical structure of design. However, usage of hierarchy in EDA tools is frequently based on repeating results of individual blocks ignoring essential effects of interaction between them. Since results of flattened (slow but accurate) calculations significantly differ from advertised fast hierarchical mode, users have typically abandoned the latter as unreliable.
Failure to appropriately evaluate interconnect effects frequently leads to design respins due to functional and timing violations as well as electromigration degradation.

Three-dimensional hierarchical coupling extraction


A bracket for attaching a drawer slide to a cabinet wall includes: main panel having front and rear surfaces, upper and lower edges, and opposed side edges; an L-shaped upper flange mounted to front surface of the main panel; an L-shaped lower flange mounted to the front surface of the main panel substantially parallel to the upper flange; a recess in the main panel positioned between the upper flange and the lower flange; an access ramp extending between one of the side edges and the recess; and means for mounting the main panel to the cabinet wall so that the rear surface confronts the rear wall. The upper and lower flanges are configured to capture the upper and lower edges of a panel of a mating bracket attached to a drawer slide. The recess is configured to receive and capture a nub extending from the panel of the mating bracket.

Many cabinets, particularly those found in kitchens, include drawers for storing various items. Often, drawers are mounted to the cabinet with elongate slide members that are fixed to the drawer. Each slide member slidably engages a second elongate slide member that is fixed to the walls of the cabinet (often one of the slide members includes a small wheel that facilitates sliding motion). Some of such cabinets include multiple drawers, which can be disposed in vertically stacked fashion, side-by-side fashion, or both.
One of the simplest versions of a drawer slide is the so-called "epoxy-coated" drawer slide, which includes a channel that receives a wheel attached to the slide member that is fixed to the drawer. Typically, epoxy-coated drawer slides are mounted with brackets that are received on one end of the slide and that are fixed (typically with screws) to the rear wall of the cabinet.
Another popular drawer slide style is a "ball-bearing" drawer slide, which, as the name suggests, utilizes drawer slides mounted to the sides of the drawer that include ball bearings to augment relative movement. Ball bearing drawer slides are typically mounted directly to the front and rear walls of the cabinet.
Some drawers have slides that are mounted on the underside of the drawer (so-called "undermounted" drawer slides). These drawer slides may be preferred in some environments because they are less exposed than side-mounted drawer slides (and therefore may be less exposed to damage) and may avoid taking up space on either side of the drawer. In some embodiments, undermounted slides may have mechanisms that cause the drawer to close automatically without slamming. An exemplary undermounted drawer slide is the TANDEM slide, available from Blum, Inc. (Lincolnton, N.C.); another is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,817, to Simon.
When a drawer slide is to be mounted to the front or rear wall, often the wall will include mounting holes for receiving screws or other fasteners inserted through a mounting bracket that connects to the slide. However, the tolerances of cabinets and drawer slides are typically insufficiently precise to consistently position the holes in the mounting bracket for easy mounting of the drawer slide. Also, some currently popular cabinets have drawers that are configured such that, when the drawer is closed, the front face of the drawer is substantially flush with the front face of the cabinet. In such instances, it is typically desirable that the drawer be mounted precisely to ensure the flush relationship of the drawer face and cabinet face. However, achieving a flush relationship may be difficult due to inconsistencies in the thickness of the drawer face, the length of the cabinet and drawer slides, and the thickness of the front wall of the cabinet. In view of the foregoing, it may be desirable to provide a mounting technique that addresses these difficulties. It may also be desirable to provide a mounting system that allows the mounting of different drawer slide types.

Methods of mounting brackets and associated components for drawer and tray slides in cabinetry


Optical connectors that substantially preserve alignment and are easy to manufacture. The alignment system using the optical connectors disclosed herein include a first housing, a second housing and an alignment component, the said alignment component configured to provide optical alignment between the optical components.

This invention relates generally to optical interconnects.
Current optical fiber connector and breakout/fanout technologies limit applications because the connectors are heavy, large, and costly. Some of these conventional optical interconnects systems are too susceptible to contamination, as from dirt, dust, and cooling fluids. Still other connector devices are too sensitive to small misalignments or temperature fluctuations.
There is a need for optical connectors that substantially preserve alignment in demanding environments.


Systems, apparatuses, and methods for a hardware and software system to automatically decompose a program into multiple parallel threads are described. For example, a method according to one embodiment comprises: analyzing a single-threaded region of executing program code, the analysis including identifying dependencies within the single-threaded region; determining portions of the single-threaded region of executing program code which may be executed in parallel based on the analysis; assigning the portions to two or more parallel execution tracks; and executing the portions in parallel across the assigned execution tracks.

Single-threaded processors have shown significant performance improvements during the last decades by exploiting instruction level parallelism (ILP). However, this kind of parallelism is sometimes difficult to exploit and requires complex hardware structures that may lead to prohibitive power consumption and design complexity. Moreover, this increase in complexity and power provides diminishing returns. Chip multiprocessors (CMPs) have emerged as a promising alternative in order to provide further processor performance improvements under a reasonable power budget.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for a hardware and software system to automatically decompose a program to multiple parallel threads


A system for tuning the wavelength of a beam from a tunable laser. A tunable etalon assembly includes a Fabry-Perot etalon with paired reflectors to filter the laser beam. The tunable etalon also includes a thermal unit to thermally adjust the separation of the paired responsive to an etalon tuning signal. A photodetector receives the laser beam after filtering the etalon and generates a detected signal based on intensity. A controller generates the etalon tuning signal, and receives the detected signal and generates a laser tuning signal based on it. Optionally, additional Fabry-Perot etalons, photodetectors, and one or more beamsplitters permit extending wavelength range and determining relative wavelength difference with a beam from a second laser.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to systems for generating and using coherent light, and more particularly to determining and controlling the frequency of light used in such systems. It is anticipated that a primary application of the present invention will be in telecommunications, but the present invention is also well suited for use in laboratory measurement and other fields.
2. Background
The Fabry-Perot etalon has long been used for stabilizing laser frequencies, and the confocal etalon is now starting to see similar use. Due to its wide use, the Fabry-Perot etalon is used in the examples here, but it should be appreciated that the scope of what we present here is not limited to only that device. It should also be noted that the terms "frequency" and "wavelength" are used interchangeably in the following discussion.
In a typical fiber optics application, the spacing between the two reflectors of a Fabry-Perot etalon assembly is fixed and the resonant spectrum (transmissive or reflective) coincides with the ITU grids, which come in increments of 200 GHz, 100 GHz, 50 GHz, . . . , etc. This type of arrangement is termed a "wavelength locker" in the telecommunications industry.
FIG. 1 (background art) is a block diagram that conceptually shows the structures of two Fabry-Perot etalons that are commonly used in wavelength lockers for fixed wavelength applications. The first of these is etalon 10, an "air spaced etalon" as discussed below. It comprises two light transmissive plates 12 each having a partially reflective surface, i.e., reflectors 14. The reflectors 14 are separated apart a distance L1 by two spacers 16, thus defining a chamber 18 that contains a medium with a refractive index, n1.
The second Fabry-Perot device in FIG. 1 is etalon 20, a "solid etalon" as also discussed below. This comprises one light transmissive block 22 having two partially reflective surfaces, reflectors 24, separated apart a distance L2. The material of the block 22 is a medium having a refractive index, n2.
Numerous variations of Fabry-Perot etalons such as those in FIG. 1 are possible, for manufacturing convenience, etc. For example, the shape of the structure supporting the reflective surfaces can be either rectangular or round, and either two rectangular bars or a single cylinder can be used to separate the reflective surfaces.
FIG. 2 (background art) is a graph 30 showing a typical transmissive spectrum 32 of a wavelength locker. The relationship of frequency verses transmission intensity is depicted with a peak-valley curve 34, wherein adjacent peaks 36 define a free spectral range (FSR 38). For instance, 50 GHz.
FIG. 3 (background art) is a graph 40 showing, in simplified manner, the principle of a conventional wavelength locker using a Fabry-Perot etalon (e.g., etalons 10, 20).
When laser light is injected into the etalon its frequency falls somewhere on a peak-valley curve 42 that is characteristic for the particular etalon. The etalon is normally pre-calibrated so that this occurs in a shoulder region 44, typically centered about the 50% point with respect to amplitude on the ITU grids 46. The laser frequency of the wavelength locker is then normally adjusted to this 50% point, termed a lock point 48, and kept there by use of a servo control circuit. The laser frequency will thereafter remain stable as long as the peak-valley curve of the etalon does not drift.
In the etalons 10, 20 of FIG. 1, the spacings L1, L2 between the respective reflectors 14, 24 determine the FSR 38 of the resonant (transmissive or reflective) spectrum according to the equation:FSR=c/(2*n*L)  EQ. 1
where c is the speed of light in vacuum and n (n1 or n2 as the case may be in FIG. 1) is the refractive index of the medium between the respective set of two reflectors 14.
In the case of the air spaced etalon 10, when the medium between the reflectors 14, 24 is vacuum, n=1 and the only parameter that affects the FSR 38 is the spacing L1. When the medium between the paired reflectors 14 is air, n1˜1.000273 and the refractive index follows the Edlen equation (EDLEN, B., "The Refractive Index of Air," Metrologia, 2, 71–80, 1966). An etalon of this type is generally called an "air spaced etalon," regardless of whether the medium is vacuum, air, or some other gas mixture.
In the case of the solid etalon 20, when the block 22 is glass, n˜1.5 and the Fabry-Perot etalon effectively consists of a single piece of sold glass having both reflectively coated reflectors 24 parallel to each other. An etalon of this type is generally called a "solid etalon," and the term "glass" may loosely mean any transparent solid medium.
The spacing L1, L2 between the reflectors 14, 24 is maintained constant so that the FSR 38 does not change during usage. This is achieved by using a material for the spacers 16 or block 22 (i.e., a medium) that has a low thermal expansion coefficient. Materials with such expansion coefficients are currently commercially available from Corning Glass™ in the U.S. and from Schott Glass™ in Germany (e.g., Zerodur™). These glass materials exhibit nearly zero thermal expansion in the environment typically required for telecommunications.
In addition to maintaining the spacing L constant, a process to keep the refractive index n constant has also been invented by Fibera, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. This process makes the wavelength locker "a thermal" and provides superior functionality throughout a very wide temperature range.
Such fixed spacing arrangements are fine, so long as the laser frequency does not have to be varied to achieve the underlying application. However, there are applications that require tuning the laser frequency through the ITU grids in a steady fashion, while also maintaining the frequency stability of the laser. A "tunable" wavelength locker would therefore be very useful for providing both frequency stabilization and tunability.
From in EQ. 1 it can be appreciated that tuning a wavelength locker can be achieved by varying either "L" or "n" in a controlled manner. First, consider tuning the FSR by varying "n." This can be accomplished by changing conditions present in the wavelength locker package. From Eden's work, noted above, it is known that the refractive index of air is a function of pressure, humidity, and temperature. One of these parameters can therefore be precalculated and used to implement tuning. In actuality, however, this is not an easy process to accomplish. For example, the presence of a pressure adjusting device is usually not possible in the field.
Next, consider mechanically tilting the Fabry-Perot with respect to the incident laser beam, that is, effectively changing L. By doing this the optical path between the reflective surfaces is changed so that tuning is also achieved. However, this approach requires a motive means (e.g., a motor) to perform the tilting, and the addition of such a means to the wavelength locker is also undesirable in the field. For example, in the telecommunications field the constraints on space, with respect to both footprint and volume, can be quite severe. Recently there has been significant progress in MEMS technology, and tilting an etalon with a MEMS motor might be possible in the near future, but his does not address present needs.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a system to provide both frequency stabilization and tunability.

Tunable wavelength locker, tunable wavelength spectrum monitor, and relative wavelength measurement system


An image sensor using a back-illuminated photodiode and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. According to the present invention, since a surface of the back-illuminated photodiode can be stably treated, the back-illuminated photodiode can be formed to have a low dark current, a constant sensitivity of blue light for all photodiodes, and high sensitivity. In addition, it is possible to manufacture an image sensor with high density by employing a three dimensional structure in which a photodiode and a logic circuit are separately formed on different substrates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image sensor, and more particularly, to an image sensor using a back-illuminated photodiode which absorbs light through its bottom side and a method of manufacturing the image sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor is a device for measuring light intensity. In general, such image sensor has a structure in which a photodiode is formed on a plane where a digital/analog circuit is formed, and a metal wire and an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer are formed on a top side of the photodiode.
In the conventional image sensor, light passes through a micro-lens and a color filter and thereafter proceeds along a pathway of several films before being absorbed by the photodiode. Throughout this process, sensitivity of light, particularly, blue light, deteriorates.
Furthermore, in the conventional image sensor, after passing through green, red, and blue color filters, light is reflected by a multi-layered metal wire. This affects an adjacent photodiode, resulting in a color crosstalk. Also, an electrical crosstalk occurs in a bottom side of the photodiode due to red light having a long wavelength.
In the image sensor using the back-illuminated photodiode, instead of passing through the IMD layer laminated on the top side of the photodiode, light is directly absorbed by a silicon substrate on which the photodiode is formed. Thus, sensitivity of light is significantly improved.
In order to employ a structure of the back-illuminated photodiode, there is a need to remove noise caused by a surface defect, for example, a dangling bond existing on a surface of an epitaxial layer with low concentration. However, there has been a problem in that heat treatment cannot be performed at a high-temperature because of the existing metal wire.
Therefore, the conventional image sensor using the back-illuminated photodiode cannot solve a noise problem that is resulted from a defected surface of a silicon substrate on which the back-illuminated photodiode is formed.
To address this problem, laser scanning is generally used for instantaneous high-temperature heat treatment, which is disadvantageously expensive and time consuming.

Image sensor using back-illuminated photodiode and method of manufacturing the same


A printer apparatus for effecting printing based on image data of a captured image includes an imaging condition detection unit for detecting an imaging condition of the captured image, a pre-print process unit for performing a pre-print process for the image data of the captured image in accordance with the imaging condition, and a print unit for effecting printing based on the image data processed by the pre-print process unit.

The present invention relates to a printer apparatus and an electronic camera having a print mechanism.
At present, an electronic camera with a print function has been proposed, which prints a captured image on a self-development type film (print paper) such as an instant film. The electronic camera with the print function can trim and enlarge a predetermined area of the captured image at the time of printing (a print zoom process). In addition, the electronic camera can digitally enlarge a predetermined area within an imaging screen at the time of imaging (an imaging zoom process). In this way, the electronic camera with the print function can enlarge (zoom) the image at the time of both imaging and printing.
However, since either of the zoom processes is performed using image data prior to the zoom process, an image after the zoom process has a lower image quality than an image before the zoom process. Consequently, if a zoom process is performed at the time of imaging and a further zoom process is performed at the time of printing, the quality of the printed image may greatly deteriorate due to the synergetic effect of both processes.
On the other hand, when the ambience is dark, the electronic camera can effect imaging with the gain of a signal from an imaging element enhanced, that is, with an imaging sensitivity (ISO sensitivity) enhanced.
As described above, when imaging is effected with the enhanced ISO sensitivity, however, a noise component as well as a signal component increases. Thus, if an image captured with the enhanced ISO sensitivity is printed, the effect of noise increases, compared to the case where an image captured by normal imaging is printed, and the quality of the print image may deteriorate.
When both the imaging zoom process and print zoom process are performed, or when the image captured with the enhanced imaging sensitivity is printed, the quality of the print image may disadvantageously become lower than a desired image quality.

Printing apparatus and electronic camera


A method is provided for detecting an insufficient or missing phase current in a permanent magnet synchronous motor, and includes determining a composite vector position of a combined three-phase phase current with respect to a stationary portion of the motor, and assigning a sector to the position. The method includes comparing the phase current to a calibrated threshold current corresponding to the sector, and executing a response when the absolute value is less than the threshold. A vehicle includes an energy storage device (ESD), a motor/generator configured as a permanent magnet synchronous motor, a voltage inverter, and a bus for conducting DC current from the ESD to the inverter. A controller detects an insufficient phase current, determines a current vector position of the three-phase AC, assigns a sector to the position, and executes a response when an absolute value of the phase current is less than a calibrated threshold.

In a three-phase electric induction motor, an electrical current conducted through windings of a stationary portion of the motor produce a changing magnetic field, with the changing magnetic field in turn causing the rotor to rotate. In a permanent magnet synchronous motor, permanent magnets are attached to different portions of the rotor. An application of a three-phase alternating current (AC) voltage to the stator windings induces a changing magnetic field around the rotor, with the force of the opposing magnetic field of the permanent magnets causing the rotor shaft to rotate. Torque provided by a rotating shaft then can be harnessed and directed as needed for performing useful mechanical work within a system, for example by selectively connecting the rotor shaft to a transmission output shaft of a vehicle.
In a hybrid vehicle transmission in particular, one or two electric motor/generators can be used alone or selectively in conjunction with an internal combustion engine, a fuel cell, or other energy source in order to propel the vehicle. Such electric motor/generators are typically powered by a relatively high level of AC voltage. To ensure proper operation of the motor/generators, as well as to optimize fuel economy of the vehicle, a motor controller is provided which can perform various measurements and/or diagnostics of the electrical and mechanical systems aboard the vehicle. However, typical motor control methods may be less than optimal for detecting certain performance issues that are unique to multi-phase AC motors, such as a permanent magnet synchronous motor.

Method and apparatus for detecting an insufficient phase current in a permanent magnet synchronous motor