Container for receiving an element forming spatula having one end provided with a part in relief, the container including:                a stopper having a peripheral skirt having a screwing surface and a lower end;        a bottom wall;        a side wall having a first end opposite the bottom wall, an outer face, and having a slot for housing in a removable manner the element forming spatula;        a neck located at the first end of the side wall, including a screwing surface in relief for cooperating with the screwing surface of the skirt for closing the neck by screwing, the part in relief of the element forming spatula cooperating with the screwing surface in relief of the neck for closing the stopper.

More precisely, the invention relates to a container presenting a bottom wall, a side wall and a neck located at the end of the side wall opposite said bottom, liable to be closed by a stopper including a peripheral skirt surrounding the neck, said neck including a screwing surface in relief capable of cooperating with a screwing surface of said skirt to allow the closure by screwing of said stopper.
Such containers are already known presenting, for esthetic reasons, a circular or non-circular neck. Such containers are capable of being closed by stoppers with a corresponding circular or non-circular shape.
When the users wish to remove then apply the product contained in the container, they must generally use their fingers which is not very practical and particularly not hygienic.
For example, in the case where the container contains a very costly cosmetic product or in the case where the container contains only a small amount of product or again in the case where a very small amount of product is required, it is desirable to remove just the right quantity of product to be applied.
It can be easily understood that the use of the fingers does not easily allow the required quantity or amount to be chosen in all cases where this is necessary.
Moreover, using the fingers to locally apply a cosmetic product is neither practical nor accurate.
In addition, it is not very hygienic to use the fingers to extract the cosmetic product as microbes or bacteria present on the fingers are liable to contaminate the product remaining in the container.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a container substantially free from the disadvantages mentioned above.


The invention concerns a vehicle (1) wheel suspension (8), of the trailer type with a steering axle (2, 3), including an axle support arm (9), mounted pivoting, at one (10) of its ends, on a fork (11) directly mounted on a support structure (1, 2) of the member controlling (5) the axle (2, 3) and cooperating at its opposite end (14) with a damper (13) urged to be inserted between the arm (9) the support and structure (12). The suspension is characterized in that the damper (13) consist of a helical spring (15) designed to act, exclusively, in compression by the action of a guider (16) maintaining and guiding it in the form of two parts (17, 18) capable of being nested while being capable of sliding one inside the other in the axial direction relative to the spring (15), countering the action thereof, the parts (17, 18) being mounted parallel to the axle (2, 3), one (17) on the axle supporting arm (9) and the other (18) on the support structure (12), respectively.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a wheel suspension for a vehicle, in particular for a vehicle such as a trailer with a driving axle for the transport of heavy loads, comprising an axle-bearing arm extending towards the front or the rear of the vehicle, this arm, on the one hand, being mounted in a pivoting way, at its one end, onto a cover plate inserted against a bearing structure for the axle-driving organ and, on the other hand, cooperating, in particular through its opposite end, with shock-absorbing means interposed between this arm and said bearing structure.
The present invention relates, in particular, to the field of the transport vehicles such as trailers with a driving axle.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In this respect, one should note that in the harbor or airport areas, there can very often be seen vehicles with a set of trailers, the latter being mounted on driving axles and connected to each other by hinging means forming control means for the orientation of these driving axles, with a view to a bicycle-gear-type movements of the set.
Presently, the wheels of such trailers are seldom sprung, which is a problem for the transport of heavy loads, since the passing of obstacles at the level of the -road results into huge stresses at the level of both the trailer and the load itself. Now one can observe that the grounds on which this kind of set of trailers with a bicycle-gear-type of movement has to move are increasingly more uneven. whereas the size of the trailers and the weight of the transported loads, have a tendency to increase.
In this context, one has already thought of using blade springs for springing the wheels of such trailers, which has some drawbacks.
First of all, these blade springs are of a not inconsiderable size and require the loading platform of these trailers to be raised.
In addition, their range of spring movement is relatively large and results in a coupling-pole height varying according to whether the trailer is loaded or not. Under such circumstances, it is particularly difficult to contemplate the possibility of automatically coupling or uncoupling the trailers to or from each other. Now, it should, as a matter of fact, be possible to perform these operations without it being necessary for the driver to leave his towing vehicle. As a matter of fact, one should note that, in order to allow such an automatic uncoupling and, inversely, coupling of these trailers, the latter are provided, at the level of their front axle, with a coupling pole on which acts a system for self-compensating the load that allows it to be automatically maintained horizontal. Furthermore, the fastening the rear driving axle receives is provided with a round groove facilitating the insertion, at the level of this fastening, of the free end of the coupling bar of the next trailer.
Besides that, there are also known wheel-suspension systems that consist of an axle-bearing arm substantially extending towards the front or, as the case may be, towards the rear of the vehicle and one end of which is mounted in a pivoting way on a cover plate made integral with the chassis of said vehicle. Between this arm, which the axle receiving the wheels at its ends is hence fixed to, and said chassis of the vehicle are also interposed shock-absorbing means in the form of a spring directly made integral, at its ends, with this arm and with the chassis. Such shock-absorbing means can also be in the form of a cylindrical block or a pneumatic or oil and air system.
In this respect, though the solution of the cylindrical block is not suitable for the transport of heavy loads, whereas a pneumatic system requires the installation on the vehicle of a large reserve of air, because of the large difference between the weight when unloaded and the total weight when loaded, a spring of a helical type the ends of which are fixed to the axle-bearing arm and at the level of the vehicle must act not only in compression, but also in bending. This not only causes the mechanical parts of the wheel suspension to operate in bad conditions, but, in the case of a driving axle, such a wheel suspension can have an influence on the orientation of this axle, which impedes the correct working of the bicycle-gear-type movement of a set of trailers.
To this end, the invention relates to a wheel suspension for a vehicle, in particular for a vehicle such as a trailer with a driving axle for the transport of heavy loads, comprising an axle-bearing arm extending towards the front or the rear of the vehicle, this arm, on the one hand, being mounted in a pivoting way, at its one end, onto a cover plate inserted against a bearing structure for the axle-driving organ and, on the other hand, cooperating, in particular through its opposite end, with shock-absorbing means interposed between this arm and said bearing structure and consisting of a helical spring so designed as to be capable of acting exclusively in compression under the action of means that ensure its hold and guiding and that are in the form of two parts fitting into each other while being capable of sliding in each other in the direction axial to the spring, against the action of the latter, these parts being mounted in a pivoting way about a spindle parallel to the axle, one of them on said axle-bearing arm and the other one on said bearing structure, and, on the other hand, an axle is fixed on a bearing arm so as to be substantially located on the vertical axis of pivoting of the driving organ of this axle.
According to another feature of the present invention, the axle-bearing arm includes means for receiving and fixing the axle, taking into consideration, in this respect, that these fixing means can be inserted at a determined distance from the pivoting end of said bearing arm, according to the amplitude of the range of spring movement such a wheel suspension should allow.
The advantages resulting from the present invention reside in that in order to cope with the problem set forth, it is enough to use a helical spring and not a pneumatic system, which is necessarily more voluminous, while this spring is impeded from acting in any other way than in compression, which, otherwise, would result into putting the elements of the wheel suspension under stress, even result in having an influence on the orientation of the wheels, wherein such difficulties could not have been eliminated in another way than by using very complex and, of course, expensive mechanical retaining means for the bearing arm.


For the separation of butenes and butanes by extractive distillation, a charge mainly containing butenes and butanes is contacted in an extractive distillation column under pressure with a first selective polar solvent, S1 (e.g., dimethyl formamide), the butanes being collected at the top. The solvent S1 containing the butenes and passing out at the bottom is mixed with a second solvent, S2, having a boiling point intermediate between that of butenes and that of the solvent S1, the mixture passing into a desorption column under pressure, where the butenes are collected at the top. The mixture of solvent S1 and S2 is separated in a purification column under atmospheric pressure, the solvent S2 passing out at the top is recycled to the desorption column, and the solvent S1 passing out at the bottom is recycled to the extractive distillation column.

The invention relates to a process for the separation of butanes and butenes by extractive distillation.
In the treatment of the C.sub.4 fraction resulting from steam cracking or catalytic cracking, the separation of butanes and butenes generally takes place downstream of the stages for the extractive distillation of 1,3-butandiene and the synthesis unit of methyl tert. butyl ether (MTBE). Thus, a C.sub.4 fraction is obtained, which is free from 1,3-butadiene and highly depleted in isobutene.
As butenes are valuable products, they are separated from butanes. Thus, the butenes can be separated into 1-butene and 2-butenes, or isomerized into isobutene, which is recycled in the MTBE synthesis unit. Butenes can also be dimerized by the DIMERSOL (registered trademark) process into products usable in gasoline. This dimerization is a process performed by homogeneous catalysis in which the catalyst is consumed. As the efficiency of the catalyst is proportional to its concentration in the charge, a paraffin-free charge leads to catalyst economies. Moreover, the butenes which have not reacted can be recycled if the butanes are previously removed from the charge.
It is known to separate butanes and butenes in a C.sub.4 fraction by extractive distillation. A prior art process (S. OGURA, T. ONDA, Advances in C.sub.4 Hydrocarbon Processing AlChE 1987 Summer National Meeting, Aug. 16-19, 1987) consists of carrying out extractive distillation with as the solvent dimethyl formamide (DMF) under pressure, solvent recovery taking place under atmospheric pressure and the purification of the butenes takes place under pressure. The extractive distillation column bottom product is fed into a column under atmospheric pressure, in which the butenes are desorbed and pass out at the top with part of the solvent, while the bottom product is constituted by virtually pure DMF. The top butenes are then passed to a column under pressure for purification. The solvent recovered at the bottom of the latter column and which still contains butenes is returned to the atmospheric column.
The disadvantage of operating according to this process is that most butenes in the charge must be distilled twice which, bearing in mind the necessary recompression of the butene vapours, leads to a high energy consumption.
In an earlier-dated application filed by the present applicant on 26.2.1991 under French national registration No. 91/02385, a description is given of a process for the separation of butenes and butanes, in which the charge containing the butanes and butenes to be separated is introduced into an extractive distillation column under pressure, where it is contacted with a polar solvent in which the butanes have a higher volatility than the butenes, the distillate passing out at the top consisting essentially of separated butanes. The residue collected at the bottom and mainly consisting of the solvent and the butenes, is passed into a column under pressure, where the bottom temperature is adjusted in such a way that the desorption of the butenes is not complete, which makes it possible to limit the column bottom temperature and consequently avoid the thermal decomposition of the solvent.
The solvent which passes out at the bottom and which contains a fraction of the butenes is passed into a purification column under a pressure close to atmospheric pressure and whose operation is regulated in such a way that the overhead vapor, mainly constituted by butenes, also contains a fraction of the solvent, which makes it possible to partly condense it in order to ensure the reflux of the column, while avoiding compression at this stage. The vapor distillate is passed, after compression, into the desorption column under pressure. The purified solvent passing out at the bottom is recycled to the extractive distillation column.

Process for the separation of butenes and butanes by extractive distillation


A rotatable throat for a coal pulverizer is improved by creating a high pressure drop in the air ports which surround the throat. The lower portions of the air port nozzles are made of vanes and relatively thin sides, and shaped to provide air entrance areas from five to six times the release points of the nozzles.

In an important aspect, this invention is an improvement on that described in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,251. The new rotating throat described and claimed herein has significantly less mass than previous throats, replaces the lower part of the prior art throat with a series of vanes of a particular shape, and provides an overall restricted air passage area through the throat in order to generate a high pressure drop rather than a low pressure drop as is conventional.
The present invention applies to various types of roll-and-ring grinding mills which are air swept and utilize a vertical spindle. Roll-and-ring grinding mills have a circular track, groove or grinding table in which the heavy rolls contact the coal. Surrounding the grinding table is a series of air ports collectively known as a throat, through which air is forced to move the particulate coal upwards to a classifier.
As mentioned in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,251 (col. 2 lines 24-34), primary air performs four functions in the pulverizer : (1) drying of the coal in the pulverizer, (2) maintaining a fluidized bed of coal, which circulates coal into the path of the grinding elements, (3) transporting the coal particles from the fluidized bed into the classifier assembly, where large particles are separated for return to the grinding elements, and (4) transporting suitably pulverized coal particles out of the classifier to the burners.
Separation of the smaller and larger coal particles and recycling of the larger ones is common to most if not all pulverizer designs. The task is complicated, however, by the presence of relatively dense non-combustible materials, i.e. rock which is incidentally introduced as part of the coal feed. Where the machine functions actually to recycle such materials rather than separating them out, the inefficiency is manifest. The machine not only expends unnecessary energy on recirculating and regrinding a material of zero fuel value, but does so at the cost of considerable wear. If somehow the rock particles are not rejected from the coal being processed, they must be reduced in size until they can mix with the coal particles transported to the burners. The presence of rock particles in the fuel stream reduces combustion efficiency and also results in a greater and faster buildup of ash in the combustion chamber, further reducing boiler efficiency by retarding heat transfer from the combustion chamber.
Kitto and Kowalski, in U.S. Pat. N0. 4,264,041, describe a construction of a Babcock and Wilcox pulverizer throat said to provide a low pressure drop, which they associate with reduced erosion and improved air flow distribution. They use a particular ratio of curvatures of the inlets and outlets of the throat to the radial width of the throat to effect a reduction or deceleration of air flow through the outlet of the throat in order to "minimize dribble" (claim 1) of solid material through the throat. The Kitto et al construction and other similar designs providing low pressure drops particularly in the throat outlet are widely used but have demonstrated difficulty in controlling foreign substances such as rock which can cause excessive erosion of the pulverizer parts and reduced efficiency due to the unwanted processing of the rock particles. In general, throats with low pressure drops fail to create a jet of air sufficiently energetic to prevent coal from being rejected and thus require volumes of air greater, frequently substantially greater, than the typical nominal 2:1 weight ratio to coal.

Integrated high pressure drop rotating throat for a coal pulverizer


A repairing method of a liquid crystal display panel having a gravity defect includes steps of removing the sealant outside the liquid crystal injection hole and providing a first pressure to the liquid crystal display panel. Next, a second pressure is continuously provided to the liquid crystal display panel, and the sealant in the liquid crystal injection hole is removed. Then, a third pressure is continuously provided to the liquid crystal display panel for pressing the liquid crystal out through the injection hole, and the flowed liquid crystal is cleaned out. After that, the liquid crystal injection hole is sealed with a fresh sealant and a fourth pressure is continuously provided to the liquid crystal display panel. Finally, the fresh sealant is cured and the fourth pressure is removed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a repairing method for a liquid crystal display panel, and more particularly, to a method for repairing an uneven defect on a liquid crystal display panel caused by a gravity issue.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since the progress of science and technology has led to small, effective, and portable intelligent information products, display devices have played an important role in modern society. In recent years, display devices have undergone great improvements in the areas of high performance, quality, larger size, and lower cost. TFT-LCDs have characteristics of thinness, lightness, and low power consumption and are expected to have in the future a large market as a display device to replace CRTs. It is an important subject to develop a fabrication technique for realizing high achievement and low prices of TFT-LCDs.
Generally, the liquid crystal display panel is erectly placed, and gravity will change the internal pressure balance of the liquid crystal display panel. Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of an erectly placed liquid crystal display panel according to the prior art. The liquid crystal display panel 100 has two glass substrates 10 and 12, and the liquid crystal 16 is filled between the glass substrates 10 and 12 and is encapsulated by a sealing area 14. When the liquid crystal display panel 100 is erectly placed, three kinds of forces, which are shown as F1, F2, and F3 in FIG. 1, are exerted onto the bottom region 18 of the liquid crystal display panel 100. The arrows indicate the directions of F1, F2, and F3. The first force F1 is caused by a pressure difference between the liquid crystal 16 in the liquid crystal display panel 100 and the outside environment. The second force F2 is caused by the capillarity of the liquid crystal 16. The third force F3 is caused by the gravity of the liquid crystal.
When the sum of the pulling forces F1 and F2 is larger than or equal to the pushing force of F3, the liquid crystal 16 in the liquid crystal display panel 100 is in a pressure balanced condition, and the images can be normally displayed. If the sum of the pulling forces F1 and F2 is smaller than the pushing force of F3, a gravity mura will happen at the bottom region 18 of the erectly placed liquid crystal display panel 100, and seriously worsen the image quality.

Repairing method for a liquid crystal display panel


An electrical apparatus for a vehicle has a primary control unit for controlling and supplying the electrical apparatus with energy and a secondary output unit subordinate to the control unit and outputs data transmitted by the control unit. The control unit and the output unit are connected to one another via a data line. The control unit has an electrical filter with three inductor coils for suppressing interference signals. The inductor coils are inductively coupled to one another such that a direction of a magnetic flux produced by a first flow of current in the first inductor coil and of a magnetic flux produced by a second flow of current in the second inductor coil in the main body is opposite a direction of a further magnetic flux produced by a third flow of current in the third inductor coil in the main body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical apparatus with a filter for suppressing interference signals and to the use of the electrical apparatus in a vehicle.
2. Related Art
Owing to the continually increasing performance of modern electronics, in particular in the automotive industry, and, in this connection, an increasing degree of integration with regard to new additional functions, new challenges present themselves. These relate, for example, to a central voltage supply and central generation of graphics, image and control data with powerful arithmetic and logic units and to providing the data to display units via high-performance data interfaces while, at the same time, adhering to existing electromagnetic compatibility values (EMC values).
Up to now, display units have been configured as independent devices with local arithmetic and logic units, to which only the supply voltage was supplied from the external control device. The image data is independently computed and displayed in the smart display unit on the basis of control data fed via CAN or MOST. If the display units are configured without a local arithmetic and logic unit, the image data is provided by the arithmetic and logic unit; however, no supply voltage for the display unit is provided by the arithmetic and logic unit. Substantial EMC problems owing to loop formation or the like are associated with such a concept, however.

Electrical apparatus with a filter for suppressing interference signals


A supply and temperature dependent linear signal generating circuit includes four transistors each having a unique current flowing therethrough and connected together to form a current multiplier. A first one of the currents is designed to be supply dependent and preferably adjustable in magnitude, a second one is designed to exhibit a specific temperature dependence, the third is designed to be both supply and temperature independent and the fourth current is defined as a ratio of the first three. The fourth current is, in one embodiment, impressed upon a network defined by a resistor divider and a voltage source to thereby define an output voltage V(T) that is both supply and temperature dependent according to the following equation: EQU V(T)=KX*(T-TN),. wherein KX is the slope of V(T) over temperature, T is the operating temperature and TN is a reference temperature at which V(T) is equal to zero. Preferably, TN is adjustable via the adjustable magnitude of the first current.

Circuitry for generating linear and temperature dependent signals are generally known and widely used in the electronics industry. Such circuitry is often required to compensate for inherent temperature dependencies in systems utilizing one or more transducers formed of piezoresistive sensing elements, wherein a temperature dependent signal of the form: EQU F(T)=KX*(T-TN) (1)
is typically required. In equation (1), KX is the slope of F(T) versus temperature and TN is a reference temperature at which F(T) is equal to zero.
While circuits capable of generating F(T) signals in accordance with equation (1) have been successfully used in the past, all such known circuits have drawbacks associated therewith. For example, in all such known circuits, KX is independent of supply voltage (hereinafter referred to as VDD). Thus, in applications where system output scaling with VDD is required, all circuitry utilizing the F(T) signal must likewise operate independently of VDD. Eventually, however, the system output signal must be multiplied by a factor of VDD in order to avoid excessive ratiometricity errors at temperatures other than TN.
Requiring all circuitry utilizing the F(T) signal to operate independently of VDD typically necessitates incorporation of complicated bandgap circuitry therein. What is therefore needed is a signal generating circuit operable to generate an F(T) signal in accordance with equation (1), wherein the slope term (KX) is temperature dependent. Such a circuit would simplify the design of subsequent circuitry utilizing the F(T) signal by eliminating the need for the inclusion of bandgap circuitry therein to achieve VDD independence.

Supply and temperature dependent linear signal generator


This disclosure relates to a light-emitting apparatus comprising a submount, a chip carrier formed on the submount, a light-emitting chip formed on the chip carrier, a reflecting cup formed on the submount and enclosing the light-emitting chip and the chip carrier, and a transparent encapsulating material for encapsulating the light-emitting chip.

Light extraction efficiency of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has become an important topic in improving brightness. A variety of conventional skills has been focused on the research of the surface roughening of LED chips for increasing the light extraction efficiency of LED chips. For example, texturing the top or bottom surface of the substrate by wet etching or dry etching for improving the scattering effect of the substrate, or roughening the top surface of the epitaxial structure by etching or growth method such that more light can be extracted from the top side of the LED chip have been tried to improve the light extraction efficiency of LED chips themselves. In addition, an adapted package form also plays a role in helping LED chips to achieve excellent light extraction efficiency.
FIG. 1 shows an conventional SMD (Surface Mount Device) type LED apparatus 10 comprising a submount 11 having a first conductive line 111 and a second conductive line 112, an LED chip 13 formed on the central portion of the submount 11, a reflecting cup 12 formed on the submount 11 and enclosing the LED chip 13, and a transparent encapsulating material 14 filled in the cavity formed by the reflecting cup 12 for encapsulating the LED chip 13. The light-emitting chip 13 comprises a first electrode (not shown) and a second electrode (not shown) electrically connected to the first conductive line 111 and the second conductive line 112 correspondingly by separate wires 19. The first conductive line 111 and the second conductive line 112 are extended from the top surface to the bottom surface of the submount 11 for mounting on a printed circuit board (PCB). The reflecting cup 12 redirects the light emitted from the LED chip 13 upwardly to form a directional light beam. Having the whole cavity filled with the transparent encapsulating material 14, part of the light is not able to transmit through the transparent encapsulating material 14 due to the total reflection at the interface between the transparent encapsulating material 14 and the ambient surroundings. Besides, it is difficult to dissipate the heat generated from the LED chip 13 through the reflecting cup 12.
U.S. Patent Publication No. US2005/0067628 proposes a way to overcome the abovementioned problems. As shown in FIG. 2, a transparent encapsulating material 24 encapsulates only an LED chip 23 such that the majority of light is able to pass through the transparent encapsulating material 24, and the probability of total reflection is significantly lowered. However, part of light is still confined within the reflecting cup. Moreover, spaces are formed between the reflecting cup 22 and a cup supporter 221 for disposing some peripheral electronic elements and it is difficult to dissipate the heat generated from the LED chip 23 through the reflecting cup 22.
In view of the above, the invention proposes a light-emitting apparatus for improving the light extraction efficiency and the heat dissipation.


Disclosed are various elements of a toolkit used for generating a TTS voice for use in a spoken dialog system. The invention in each case may be in the form of the system, a computer-readable medium or a method for generating the TTS voice. An embodiment of the invention relates to a method for preparing a text-to-speech (TTS) voice for testing and verification. The method comprises processing a TTS voice to be ready for testing, synthesizing words utilizing the TTS voice, presenting to a person a smallest possible subset that contains at least N instances of a group of units in the TTS voice, receiving information from the person associated with corrections needed to the TTS voice and making corrections to the TTS voice according to the received information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spoken dialog system and more specifically to improvements within the process of building a text-to-speech voice.
2. Introduction
A dialog system may include a text-to-speech (TTS) voice which synthesizes a human voice as part of a natural language dialog. Building a TTS voice is a complicated and expensive process. Concatenative TTS Synthesis requires a database of at 250,000 to a million or more correctly labeled half phonemes. Each word consists of a sequence of phonemes that correspond to the pronunciation of the words. A phoneme is a speaker-independent and context-independent unit of meaningful sound contrast. Half phonemes may refer to a portion of a phoneme. The synthesis of a human voice generally involves receiving text to be "spoken", such as "how may I help you?" and analyzing and selecting the appropriate phonemes, concatenating them together, and then producing the associated audio that sounds like a human speaking the words.
Building a TTS voice also involves processing an audio file of words or sentences and labeling the file (manually or automatically). Labeling means determining and noting the start and stop point of each phoneme within the audio file. Since speech is a continuum, it is impossible for humans to label audio consistently. For many years, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) has been used to automatically label phonemes. This approach works fairly well, but ASR, even under ideal conditions, has an error rate of a few percent. There are many reasons for this error rate, but the biggest contributors is speaking errors by the people that speak and have their voices recorded to create the audio file, idiosyncratic pronunciations, and natural variation, both free and context sensitive.
An example of the context free variation is the optional articulation of word final /t/, as in "can't" versus "can'". An example of context sensitive variation is when word final /t/ becomes a "flap" when the following word starts with an unstressed vowel and the speaker is speaking in a conversational style. The crux of the problem for voice building is that even if ASR is 99% accurate, in a database of a million phonemes, there will be 10,000 errors. Using traditional methods of voice building, the inventors have seen that ASR accuracy is on the order of 95-99% accurate, so a voice database built by these methods has so many errors that the overall quality of the finished TTS voice is noticeably degraded. The key to high ASR accuracy is using good speaker dependent acoustic models, and a dictionary that contains all possible variant pronunciations of every word in the lexicon. Then, the ASR is given the exact text that is being read along with every possible variant of every word in the text.
A voice building project involves managing thousands of audio files, text files and dictionaries. Traditionally, a TTS voice is built from 3000-20000 audio and text files. Traditional toolsets are not integrated. A method is needed whereby more than one person can work on a TTS voice building project. As voice building progresses, each utterance goes through a series of states. Any change management system can track states, however there is no voice building toolkit which integrates change management in such a way that one can request the "next item that needs to be done" in such a way that several people can work in parallel.
No matter how good the alignment process is, there will be errors in the final database, and human testers must listen to TTS synthesis to find these errors. Traditionally, this testing was hit-or-miss, and involved listening to hundreds or even thousands of hours of synthesized speech. Accordingly, further improvements in the process of generating a TTS voice are needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for testing a TTS voice


The present invention provides a data processing apparatus and method of controlling access to a shared resource. The data processing apparatus has a plurality of processors operable to perform respective data processing operations requiring access to the shared resource, and a path is provided interconnecting the plurality of processors. An access control mechanism is operable to control access to the shared resource by the plurality of processors, each processor being operable to enter a power saving mode if access to the shared resource is required but the access control mechanism is preventing access to the shared resource by that processor. Further, each processor is operable, when that processor has access to the shared resource, to issue a notification on the path when access to the shared resource is no longer required by that processor. A processor in the power saving mode is arranged, upon receipt of that notification, to exit the power saving mode and to seek access to the shared resource. This approach has been found to result in significant power savings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus and method for controlling access to a shared resource in a data processing apparatus, and in particular controlling such access in a data processing apparatus having a plurality of processors operable to perform respective data processing operations requiring access to the shared resource.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to provide multi-processing systems in which two or more processor cores share access to one or more shared resources, for example one or more data structures provided within a shared memory region. Such systems are typically used to gain higher performance by arranging the different processor cores to execute respective data processing operations in parallel. Known data processing systems which provide such multi-processing capabilities include IBM370 systems and SPARC multi-processing systems. These particular multi-processing systems are high performance systems where power efficiency and power consumption is of little concern and the main objective is maximum processing speed.
An important consideration in multi-processing systems where the multiple processors have access to a shared resource is the provision of a mechanism to control access to that shared resource to ensure that the data of that resource does not become inconsistent or corrupted due to multiple processors accessing the resource simultaneously. To deal with this issue, a typical multi-processor operating system may provide an access control mechanism such as a locking mechanism to protect the shared resource from being accessed by multiple processors simultaneously to prevent the data of the shared resource becoming inconsistent or corrupted if conflicting changes are made. If a lock is busy, i.e. has been set by one of the processors, it is often not practical for another processor that requires access to the shared resource associated with that lock to do anything except wait for the lock to be released, also referred to herein as the lock being cleared. For example, if a processor is handling an interrupt from a device it may need to add data received from the device to a shared queue. If another processor is removing data from the queue, the first processor must wait until the queue is in a consistent state and the lock has been released before it can then set the lock and add the new data to the queue. It cannot return from the interrupt handler until the data has been added to the queue, and hence it must wait.
In circumstances such as these, it is known to provide a "spin-lock" mechanism. In accordance with this mechanism, a processor requiring access to the protected data will attempt to obtain the lock, this involving reading the lock and then setting the lock if the read operation indicates that the lock is currently cleared. If the lock cannot be obtained, the processor repeatedly reads the lock value in a tight loop until the lock becomes available. At this point, the processor can then attempt once again to obtain the lock.
In a multi-processing system where low power consumption is desirable, this tight read loop is undesirable because energy is being consumed to no useful effect, and additionally in systems implementing multi-threading, the execution of spin-locks by waiting threads may be highly detrimental to performance.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved technique for controlling access to a shared resource.

Method and apparatus for placing at least one processor into a power saving mode when another processor has access to a shared resource and exiting the power saving mode upon notification that the shared resource is no longer required by the other processor


The present invention is a method of hydrodynamics-based gridding (Hydro-Grids) for creating geologic models of subsurface volumes, such as reservoirs. Vertical grid surfaces may be chosen in an unstructured fashion to provide lateral resolution where needed. Lateral grid surfaces are created to represent surfaces of constant geologic time based on simulation of the depositional processes that created the subsurface volume. The values of geologic properties are then specified within each cell created by the intersections of the vertical and lateral surfaces. The geologic data may include, for example, seismic data, outcrop studies, well log data, core data, numerical modeling data, and interpreted stratigraphic surfaces based on seismic data. The modeled geologic properties of the subsurface volume may include, for example, grain size distribution, connectivity, net-to-gross, porosity, permeability and pore pressure.

A geologic model is a computer-based representation of a subsurface earth volume, such as a petroleum reservoir or a depositional basin. In the oil and gas industry, geologic models are commonly used in activities such as determining the locations of wells, estimating hydrocarbon reserves, or planning reservoir-development strategies. Geologic models are also input to fluid flow simulations to test development and production scenarios in order to optimize return on investment. A key parameter in flow simulation is the spatial distribution of permeability, which together with the properties of the hydrocarbons and other fluid found in the subsurface reservoir, determines the producibility of the reservoir. Typically, the input data for geologic models includes data obtained through seismic prospecting techniques.
Seismic prospecting techniques are commonly used to aid in the search for and evaluation of subterranean hydrocarbon reservoirs. A seismic prospecting operation consists of three separate stages: data acquisition, data processing, and data interpretation. The success of the operation depends on satisfactory completion of all three stages.
In the data acquisition stage, a seismic source is used to generate an acoustic signal that propagates into the earth and is at least partially reflected by subsurface seismic reflectors. The reflected signals are detected and recorded by an array of seismic receivers located at or near the surface of the earth, in an overlying body of water, or at known depths in boreholes.
During the data processing stage, the recorded seismic signals are refined and enhanced using a variety of procedures that depend on the nature of the geologic structure being investigated and on the characteristics of the raw data. In general, the purpose of the data processing stage is to produce an image of the subsurface from the recorded seismic data for use during the data interpretation stage.
The purpose of the data interpretation stage is to determine information about the subsurface geology of the earth from the processed seismic data. The results of the data interpretation stage may be used to determine the general geologic structure of a subsurface region, or to locate potential hydrocarbon reservoirs, or to guide the development of an already discovered reservoir.
At present, the conclusions, which can be made after the data interpretation stage, are generally limited to broad descriptions of the size and general nature of subsurface structures due to the limited resolution of seismic data. The descriptions may for example provide an indication of the total volume of hydrocarbons, which might be retained in such structures. However, present technology does not allow the analyst to determine production rates from the subsurface formations if hydrocarbons are discovered. In addition, when an exploration well has been drilled, present technology does not allow an analyst to be able to accurately characterize the nature of the subsurface internal geometry in locations other than in the most immediate region of any such well. In particular, reservoir permeability and continuity are not well characterized by present technology.
The hydrocarbon volume and rate of production depend on a variety of factors, including fluid properties, reservoir net-to-gross, porosity, permeability, spatial variability in grain size distribution, and connectivity. Reservoir connectivity, a measure of the communication (or lack thereof) between points within the reservoir, is a strong function of the reservoir internal geometry and is commonly a primary factor controlling hydrocarbon production efficiency and ultimate recovery. There is a need to predict the detailed internal geometry of subsurface reservoirs using geologic data, such as seismic data, and without having to drill many exploration and delineation wells. Such a capability would facilitate estimation of hydrocarbon volume in place and production rates early in the hydrocarbon exploration and development process.
Another step in geologic modeling is "gridding." Gridding is the division of the subsurface region into cells, within which the rock properties are regarded as uniform. The ability to accurately model reservoir internal geometry and connectivity is largely dependent on the vertical grids used in the modeling processes due to the nature of stratification and vertical heterogeneity in the reservoir. As a result, the gridding methods in geologic modeling focus mainly on the vertical variation of attributes of a geologic model. In map view, uniform rectangular grids are commonly used for relatively small variations of attributes in the lateral directions.
There are four gridding methods commonly used in commercially available geologic modeling tools. Examples of commercially available geologic modeling tools include: SGM (Landmark Graphics Corporation, Stratamodel Geocellular Modeling (SGM), 1989-2003), RMS (Roxar ASA, Irap RMS (Reservoir Modeling Systems), 1993-2003), gOcad (Earth Decision Sciences Corporation, gOcad, 1989-2003), and Petrel (Technoguide (A Schlumberger Product Group), Petrel™ Workflow Tools, 1996-2003). The four gridding methods used in the petroleum industry are commonly named proportional, onlap, truncation, and reference. The name of each method can vary from one tool to another. For example, "reference-grid" in RMS is the same as "depositional-grid" in SGM. The choice of the most appropriate gridding method to use when building a geologic model depends on the geologic modeler's experience and personal judgement of the model's particular geologic setting. Gridding style, however, was created to mimic natural patterns of erosion and deposition observed in nature at the seismic scale.
The gridding methods used in the most commercially available geologic modeling tools (such as, SGM, RMS, gOcad, and Petrel) are based on methods disclosed in two of Swanson's patents. The patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,821,164 and 4,991,095.
FIG. 1(a) is a cross-section illustration of stratification of sand bodies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and low permeability layers 6. FIGS. 1(b), 1(c), 1(d), and 1(e) illustrate sand bodies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and low permeability layers 6 from FIG. 1(a) using conventional grids.
As shown in FIG. 1(b), "Proportional-grid" assumes that the reservoir sand bodies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 within the given sequence are parallel to the top 7 and basal surfaces 9 of the sequence 11. Therefore, the sequence is subdivided into the cells 13 proportional to the thickness of the sequence 11.
As shown in FIG. 1(c), "Onlap-grid" assumes that the sand bodies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are parallel to the top surface 7 of the sequence 11. The sequence 11 is gridded with the constant thickness cells 13 that are parallel to the top surface 7 and may be truncated 15 by the basal surface 9 of the sequence 11.
As shown in FIG. 1(d), "Truncation-grid" assumes that the sand bodies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are parallel to the basal surface 9 of the sequence 11. The sequence 11 is gridded with the constant thickness cells 13 that are parallel to the basal surface 9 and may be truncated 15 by the top surface 7 of the sequence 11.
As shown in FIG. 1(e), "Reference-grid" assumes that the sand bodies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are parallel to a given surface (or reference surface) 17, such that the constant thickness cells 13 are constructed parallel to the reference surface 17 and may be truncated 15 by the top 7 and basal surfaces 9 of the sequence 11. The reference surface 17 is usually some sort of geologic datum. In this figure, the reference surface is the bottom of sand body 2.
The problem is that none of these gridding methods represent the true internal geometry accurately. To illustrate this problem, there are five disconnected sand bodies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 within the sequence 11 of FIG. 1(a) and the above gridding methods create significantly distorted representations as shown in FIGS. 1(b), 1(c), 1(d), and 1(e) when compared to FIG. 1(a). Sand body 1 is incorrectly connected with sand body 2 in the proportional-grids and onlap-grids as illustrated in FIGS. 1(b) and 1(c) respectively. As shown in FIG. 1(c), sand body 2 is incorrectly connected with sand body 3 in the onlap-grids. Furthermore, sand body 4 is incorrectly connected with sand body 5 in the truncation-grids of FIG. 1(d).
Some sand bodies are incorrectly disconnected within themselves. For example, sand body 4 is disconnected in the proportional-grids of FIG. 1(b) and sand body 2 is disconnected in the onlap-grids of FIG. 1(c). Furthermore, some sand bodies are erroneously disconnected from the fluid flow since some cells in these sand bodies only contact their neighbor cells at the corners, without face connections. For example, sand body 2 is disconnected in the proportional-grids of FIG. 1(b) and sand body 4 is disconnected in all of the four gridding methods as shown in FIGS. 1(b), 1(c), 1(d), and 1(e). Misalignment between the sand bodies and grids is the direct cause of this distortion problem.
The grids constructed by the above-mentioned prior art methods do not properly align themselves with the reservoir internal geometry. The alignment between the grids and the reservoir internal geometry is important for two reasons. First, any lack of alignment distorts the reservoir connectivity in the geologic model subsequently built. Second, when the geologic model is scaled up for reservoir performance simulation with coarser grids, the coarser grids will magnify the misrepresentations and distortions that exist in the geologic model. Consequently, the accuracy of any reservoir performance prediction will decrease, which will hamper reservoir management.
A reliable reservoir performance simulation depends strongly on the ability of a geologic model to accurately characterize the spatial distribution of permeability. Most important are the permeability extremes, such as high-permeability sand bodies and no-flow shale barriers, because the permeability extremes typically control the oil, gas, and water flows. The ability to model permeability is currently severely limited by the commercially available geologic model gridding methods. One reason that the existing geologic modeling tools have to adopt arbitrary lateral grid surfaces is that the actual strata geometry (or layering) of the sand objects is not known a priori. As a consequence, the reservoir connectivity is typically misrepresented in geologic models and the resulting performance simulation models. Accordingly, there is a need for a method that generates grids that follow the geometry of sand bodies and shale barriers. Preferably, these grids would allow the reservoir connectivity to be accurately characterized in a geologic model and preserved during upscaling for reservoir performance simulation. The current invention addresses the need by generating the lateral grid surfaces naturally, following the complex depositional and erosional processes observed in nature.

Method for geologic modeling through hydrodynamics-based gridding (Hydro-Grids)


A theodolite support tool includes a base plate configured to couple to the theodolite. The base plate has at least three rods extending from the bottom side of the base plate with each rod being vertically adjustable. The theodolite support tool also includes a clamp configured to attach to a support of an antenna. A cantilevered frame supports the base plate and is coupled to the clamp such that the frame is approximately level when the clamp is attached to the support of the antenna that is a predetermined angle from vertical.

Radar systems provide air traffic control personnel with accurate navigational information to allow them to guide aircraft on approach to a safe landing, during both clear and instrument flight rule weather conditions. Radar systems are composed of the radar and associated communications and electronics equipment and external antenna systems. Radar systems detect and track aircraft approaching a runway for landing and may be deployed as mobile radar systems.
The external antenna system of a radar system requires careful and precise positioning for the radar to perform its function. During installation all antennas require a bore site adjustment of the antenna reflectors so they reflect at a predetermined elevation and distance from the antenna. This bore site adjustment is achieved with reference reflectors that are positioned once an antenna site survey has been completed. The positioning of the reference reflector and adjustment of the antenna reflector may require angle offset calculations. These offset calculations are required using conventional techniques because the surveyor can only position his tripod on the ground near the antenna. In most cases, the surveying equipment will be positioned at a lower elevation than the antenna target points.
Surveying may be done with the help of a theodolite. A theodolite is an instrument for measuring both horizontal and vertical angles, as used in triangulation networks. A modern theodolite consists of a telescope mounted movably within two perpendicular axes, the horizontal or trunnion axis, and the vertical axis. When the telescope is pointed at a desired object, the angle of each of these axes can be measured with great precision, typically on the scale of arc seconds. A transit is a specialized type of theodolite that is able to "flop over" ("transit the scope") to allow easy back-siting and double of angles for error reduction.
Using the theodolite, a survey team may direct a reference reflector crew in positioning a reference reflector at the proper elevation required for bore siting the antenna.
Using conventional techniques, it is often necessary for installation and calibration teams to double check the position of the reference reflector due to incorrect survey calculations. Incorrect survey calculations may be caused by the angle offset calculations that must be performed if the theodolite is positioned at a lower elevation than the antenna target points.

Apparatus and method for theodolite support


A method and system for ultrasonically analyzing flowable products. The method includes the steps of providing a flowable product to be ultrasonically analyzed. In addition the method includes the steps of providing a means for generating and receiving ultrasonic waves, a processing unit, and a means for agitating the flowable product. A flowable product is agitated using the means for agitating. The means for generating and receiving ultrasonic waves is then placed in ultrasonic contact with the flowable product and ultrasonic waves are directed into the flowable product. Ultrasonic waves are received using the means for generating and receiving ultrasonic waves and the received waves are transmitted to the processing unit where they are processed by establishing respective vectors for a plurality of reflective contents of the flowable product and by comparing the respective vectors to a predetermined, acceptable statistical range of vectors. The system includes a means for conveying a flowable product where the means for conveying includes an agitating means for agitating the flowable product. The system further includes a means for generating and receiving a plurality of ultrasonic waves, a means for selectively placing the means for generating and receiving in ultrasonic contact with the flowable product on said means for conveying, and a processing means for analyzing ultrasonic waves received by the means for generating and receiving. The processing means includes a means for establishing respective vectors for a plurality of reflective contents of the flowable product and a means for comparing the respective vectors to a predetermined, acceptable statistical range of vectors.

The present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for analyzing a product. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for performing ultrasound evaluations of products using noninvasive techniques.
The use of ultrasonic imaging techniques in the analysis of solid and liquid products is well-known. Ultrasonic waves generated by a transducer are directed into the target product and a receiver is used to receive the ultrasonic waves that are reflected by or transmitted through the target product. The wave pattern received by the receiver can then be analyzed for the purpose of discerning a number of different characteristics of the target product. For example, ultrasonic imaging techniques can be used for the purpose of identifying voids or other physical flaws in solid products. In addition, ultrasonic imaging can be used to detect the presence of particulate matter and air bubbles in liquids. However, the analysis of ultrasound images can be subjective, thereby resulting in false positive and false negative analyses. In addition, the analysis of ultrasound images can be time-consuming, thereby significantly increasing the costs associated with this process. For these reasons, it is desirable to have a method and apparatus for performing ultrasound evaluations of products that provide an objective and quick analysis of the contents of the product.

Method and apparatus for analyzing flowable products


A server for carrying out synchronization control, includes (a) at least one event receiver for receiving an event, (b) a memory storing therein distribution schedule information including a plurality of schedule data therein, each of the schedule data including (b1) a timing at which a channel driver controls a media server, (b2) a content of how the channel driver controls the media server, and (b3) a timing type indicating which one of a time and the event the timing is defined by, and (c) a controller which detects whether a timing is established for each of the schedule data included in the distribution schedule information, and transmits a signal to the channel driver, the signal being indicative of a control associated with the established timing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system for distributing multi-media contents such as image signals, audio signals or HTML pages to clients from a media server, and more particularly to administration of distribution schedule.
2. Description of the Related Art
Administration of distribution schedule is grouped into two groups.
In one of the groups, as suggested in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-215193 (A), a client has schedule information in order to control an order in reproducing contents provided from a plurality of servers.
In the other, as suggested in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-88279 (A), a host server connected to a plurality of servers through a network has schedule information in order to administrate the schedule information.
The present invention relates to schedule administration accomplished by a content transmitter like Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-88279 (A).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a broadcasting system suggested in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-88279 (A).
In the illustrated broadcasting system, an index server 21 of a distributor, a plurality of information servers 25A to 25D, and a plurality of client terminals 29A and 29B are connected to one another for communication through a network 23.
The index server 21 stores broadcasting schedules 31A and 31B defining a plurality of programs to be broadcast, and a time at which the programs are broadcast for broadcasting channels CH1 and CH2 provided by the distributor, respectively.
Each of the information servers 25A to 25D stores files 33A to 33F of broadcast contents fabricated by content providers.
The index server 21 requests the information servers 25A to 25D having broadcast contents, to broadcast each of the programs at a designated time through a channel in accordance with the broadcasting schedules 31A and 31B of the channels CH1 and CH2.
Specifically, the index server 21 transmits a command indicating that a certain program has to start being broadcasted at a certain time at a certain channel, or that a certain program has to start being broadcasted immediately, and a command indicating that a certain program has to end at a certain time, or that a certain program has to end immediately, to each of the information servers 25A to 25D.
In compliance with a request transmitted from the index server 21, each of the information servers 25A to 25D transmits data stored in the files 33A to 33F, to a designated channel in the network 23 at a designated time. Specifically, when each of the information servers 25A to 25D receives a command to start a program, each of the information servers 25A to 25D reads content data relating to a target program out of the files 33A to 33F, and starts the program at a designated time in a designated channel, in compliance with the command. When each of the information servers 25A to 25D receives a command to end a program, each of the information servers 25A to 25D ends a target program at a designated time in compliance with the command.
Due to the above-mentioned operations of the index server 21 and the information servers 25A to 25D, there are formed multi-media data streams 35A and 35B in the network 23. Each of the multi-media data streams 35A and 35B is comprised of broadcast contents made in accordance with the broadcast schedules 31A and 31B for each of the channels CH1 and CH2, and combined with one another.
The broadcasting system illustrated in FIG. 1 administrates the distribution schedule with a time. Such administration of the distribution schedule is identical with the same having been conventionally conducted in TV broadcasting studio, for instance, and is effective for a service of distributing data stream to a client from a server.
However, it would be necessary to in advance determine a time at which each of contents is to be distributed, in order to administrate a schedule only with a time. In other words, it would not be possible to schedule a content, if a time at which the content is to be distributed is not in advance determined.
For instance, when an event occurs while images or sounds are being distributed, and accordingly, it is desired to switch those images or sounds into other images or sounds, or it is desired to distribute other data together with those images or sounds, the broadcasting system illustrated in FIG. 1 cannot schedule such switching or distribution, if a time at which the event occurs cannot be known in advance.
In these days, there are provided contents in a new distribution form, such as an interactive service system providing a program in which TV broadcasting and a home-page in Internet are linked with each other to thereby make it possible for users to take part in.
In such an interactive service system, when a schedule is to be changed in accordance with results of a questionnaire carried out to users at real-time, it would be almost impossible to administrate a schedule only with a time, since it is not possible to know by what time replies to the questionnaire can be collected, and/or a result of the questionnaire.
It would be possible to administrate a schedule with a time by rewriting schedule data when an event occurs, as usually done in a TV broadcasting studio. However, since it would require much work and take much time to rewrite schedule data, it would be quite difficult or almost impossible to rapidly change a schedule.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-242208 has suggested a system for revising a multi-media scenario, in which a scenario is described with a network, based on synchronization data obtained at points at which medias are synchronized with one another, and a period of time during which a media is suggested is adjusted by automatically detecting a portion to be adjusted in the scenario.
However, the above-mentioned problems remain unsolved even in the Publication.

Server for synchronization control, channel driver and method of linking channels


A method for a thin film transistor array panel includes forming a gate line and a pixel electrode on a substrate, forming a gate insulating layer covering the gate line, forming a data line including a source electrode and a drain electrode on the gate insulating layer, forming an interlayer insulating layer covering the data line and the drain electrode on the gate insulating layer, forming a first opening in the interlayer insulating layer, forming an organic semiconductor in the first opening, forming a passivation layer on the organic semiconductor and the interlayer insulating layer, and forming a second opening in the interlayer insulating layer to expose the pixel electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor array panel and a manufacturing method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, and an electrophoretic display includes a pair of electric-field generating electrodes and an electro-optical active layer disposed therebetween. The LCD includes a liquid crystal layer as the electro-optical active layer, and the OLED display includes an organic light emitting layer as the electro-optical active layer.
One of the pair of field generating electrodes is usually coupled with a switching element to receive electrical signals, and the electro-optical active layer converts the electrical signals into optical signals to display images. The switching element for the flat panel display includes a thin film transistor (TFT) having three terminals Gate lines transmit signals for controlling the TFTs and data lines transmit data signals to the pixel electrodes through the TFTs.
Among the TFTs, organic thin film transistors (OTFT) include an organic semiconductor instead of an inorganic semiconductor such as Si. An OTFT panel having the OTFTs in a matrix alignment is quite different in structure and manufacturing processes compared to a conventional TFT. For example, the OTFT panel may be manufactured by a solution process such as inkjet printing
in which an organic solution is dripped into openings defined by a plurality of partitions to form organic thin films such as organic semiconductors and insulating layers.
In this inkjet printing method, the partitions must be formed to confine the organic solution. However, because the partitions decrease the aperture ratio of the pixel, it is preferable that the partitions occupy a minimized area.
However, when the organic solution is dripped into the openings, the organic solution may overflow out of the openings and flow on to the pixels producing spots and causing the thicknesses of the organic thin films to be non-uniform, ultimately adversely affecting the characteristics of the thin film transistors.

Thin film transistor array panel and manufacture thereof


Flexible radiopaque filaments coupled to and extending from a distal end of a guide catheter are disclosed that aid a clinician in locating an ostium of a branch vessel. The filaments are at least partially formed of a radiopaque material and are designed to move with the blood flow. In a method of locating an ostium of a branch vessel or a fenestration of an implanted graft, at least some of the filaments enter the ostium or fenestration when the distal end of the guide catheter is placed proximal thereto. The filaments provide an accurate and quick indication of the ostium location without the need for a contrast agent.

Guide catheters are used to place diagnostic catheters, treatment catheters, electrode leads and the like in desired locations within the body of a patient. A guide catheter typically includes an elongated sheath that is inserted into a blood vessel or another portion of the body. A second catheter or lead is introduced through a lumen defined by the sheath. To enable precise positioning of a second catheter or lead, the guide catheter sometimes incorporates a radiopaque marker or radiopaque material to promote visibility. Using fluoroscopic imaging techniques, the physician can visualize the radiopaque portion of the guide catheter and place the second catheter or electrode lead in a desired position.
One particular area within the vasculature that may be difficult to locate is an ostium of a vessel. The ostium of a vessel is an opening, aperture, or orifice located at the point of origin of the vessel. Typically, a vessel branches off from a larger parent or main vessel. For example, the aorta gives rise to the coronary arteries; the opening at the origin of each coronary artery as it branches from the aorta is referred to as an ostium. It may be desirable to locate the ostium of a branch vessel in order to access the branch vessel, such as when treating a lesion or antherosclerotic plaque located within the branch vessel. It also may be desirable to locate the ostium of a branch vessel when a lesion is located at the ostium, e.g., an ostial lesion. It may also be desirable to locate a fenestration of a previously-implanted graft that aligns with an ostium of a branch vessel or an ostium of a re-directed internal mammary artery or a grafted saphenous vein. In any case, an operator often utilizes a guide catheter to locate a target ostium within the body.
When locating a target ostium, radiopaque contrast liquid is often injected into the patient and X-ray is utilized to visualize the vasculature and ostium location. Although contrast liquid may be effective in locating the ostium, contrast is cytotoxic and high amounts thereof can lead to contrast-induced nephropathy and complications with the patient such as renal failure. In addition, an ostium may be particularly difficult to locate due to a non-standard location or the individual anatomy of the patient, thus leading to repeated injections of contrast and higher X-ray exposure for the patient as well as higher X-ray exposure for the entire staff in the operating room. Since the contrast agent is cytotoxic, the administered amount is monitored and if a threshold limit is reached prior to successfully locating the target ostium, the procedure must nonetheless be stopped.
Accordingly there is a need in the art for improvements for locating a target ostium. Embodiments hereof relate to an ostium locating system for quickly and accurately locating a target ostium without requiring the use of a contrast agent or at least reducing the quantity of the contrast agent and minimizing X-ray exposure.

Guide catheter with radiopaque filaments for locating an ostium


A method and apparatus for routing an incoming telephone call to an individual in a building who is not in his or her office. The individual carries a wireless communications unit, typically incorporated in a clip-on badge, that receives messages and transmits both responses and periodic signals to allow tracking the location of the individual. When a call arrives, a message indicating the call is transmitted to the communications unit, which displays an indication of the call together with responses that can be selected to determine how the call is to be routed. Such responses include, in particular, locations of telephone instruments near the individual that the call can be routed to. If the individual selects a particular location, the response is transmitted back to a PBX to cause the appropriate routing.

A frequent difficulty in an office or similar environment is communicating with a particular individual when they are not in their office but still in the building. This results not only in "telephone tag" where people continue back-and-forth attempts to return telephone calls, but also in its physical analog where one person visits the office of another, only to find that person to be gone.
One solution to this problem has been the increasingly widespread use of paging receivers, and such devices have become more and more miniaturized. Devices have been constructed, for example, that are the size of a credit card or that are included as part of a watch. Such systems, however, are typically one-way, transmitting only a telephone number, perhaps an additional short numeric code, or possibly a brief alphanumeric message, and are designed for use outside a building.
Within a building, there have been two general directions that system designs have taken. One is the use of radio paging systems within a building, which may be configured to allow receipt of electronic mail messages or to allow users to be notified that they have a call that they can then ask to be transferred to a nearby extension. For example, the Hagl invention (U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,930) transmits the fact of the incoming call and the telephone extension of the calling party by radio to a paging receiver, which indicates to the user that the call has come in and displays the number. The user then locates a telephone instrument and dials a code identifying the user, resulting in the incoming call being transferred to that instrument.
The other direction Is the use of automatic personal locating systems that determine where in a building an individual is, and that can automatically route a telephone call to the nearest extension. For example, the Ward invention (U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,320) describes a system that uses ultrasonic sound (using a different frequency for each person) to track the location of individuals in a building so that telephone calls may be routed to them. A number of variations exist using different media. Thus, the Shipley inventions (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,601,064 and 5,062,151) track the location of individuals that carry devices that repeatedly transmit a digital identifying code via infrared light that is then received by remote sensors installed in individual rooms of a building, with a central computer that polls the remote sensors and determines the location of an individual. Telephone calls can then, if desired, be automatically forwarded to the individual by the PABX system. The individual can, using a switch on the identification device, turn off the forwarding function at a given time if it would be inconvenient.
These approaches have a number of drawbacks. One-way radio paging signals can fail to deliver a message if the user is in an especially noisy environment, is in a "dead spot" resulting from metal shielding o)r other interference, or goes outside the range of the transmitter. While these difficulties can be prevented by repeating all transmissions multiple times, this approach does not make efficient use of bandwidth and can also result in considerable delay in receipt of a paging signal or message. One-way communication also does not allow an originator to know whether a message has in fact been received by a user and read, or allow the user to respond. One-way systems that indicate to a user only that a call has come in require the user to find a telephone and dial sufficient digits to cause the call to be transferred, and typically require the caller to be placed on hold during this process, which may be annoying to the caller if the person being paged does not respond or takes a long time to do so.
Systems that automatically track the location of individuals and automatically transfer incoming telephone calls to that location tend to be intrusive, because they necessarily cause a transfer even in circumstances that might be inappropriate (such as transferring a call to an individual who is in an office of someone he or she does not know well or who is in a group meeting that might be disturbed).
The above difficulties are solved by the invention disclosed here (and related inventions) by its provision of both (1) two-way communication and (2) automatic tracking of the location of the individual. This combination allows responses to be sent which are chosen from a set provided with the original message, from a preprogrammed set, or composed by the user. Selection or composition of responses is made easy by use of a thumbwheel that allows display of messages and responses and their choice by pressing a single key (as is described in a copending application. The communication and tracking system makes possible the transfer of incoming telephone calls remotely by means of selection from a menu.

Wireless system for indicating an incoming telephone call and controlling its transfer


A socket assembly is shown as generally including a cover assembly and a base frame assembly. A low insertion force (LIF) package assembly is connectable to the socket assembly and is comprised of a pin assembly, housing a package. The cover assembly includes a socket cover frame array and the base frame assembly includes a socket contact frame array. The cover assembly is spring loadable relative to the base frame assembly to provide a low insertion force application for the package.

Heretofore, sockets have been proposed that include a base having a cover slidably mounted thereon. The sliding motion between the base and cover is controlled in numerous manners in conventional zero insertion force (ZIF) or low insertion force (LIF) sockets. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,080 discloses a bail actuated ZIF socket. U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,615 describes a ZIF PGA socket that uses a flat or plate tool that is inserted into receiving slots in the cover and base. The flat tool is moved between two positions in order to open and close the ZIF socket. U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,725 discloses a prior art PGA socket having a base housing and a moveable cover. An L-shaped lever moves the cover across a top surface of the housing. The lever includes a first arm that is rotatably received in a passage in the socket and a second arm that provides a handle for rotating the first arm.
However, existing sockets have experienced limited applicability to certain processor designs. For instance, many circuit designs are conditioned on PGA chips being arranged in a closely packed manner with respect to one another. At least one conventional socket uses an actuation lever located along one side of the socket and moved in the same direction as the direction of relative movement between the cover and base housing. The lever is moved forward along the side of the socket to drive the cover forward and vice versa. However, as components decrease in size and are located closer to one another, space constraints no longer permit the lever to be located along the side of the socket. Thus, it is desirable to minimize the width of sockets holding the PGA chips.
Also, as chip technology evolves, the number of pins on a single chip increases. The socket achieves a separate electrical contact with each pin on a chip and thus the number of electrical contacts to be maintained by a socket is increased. As the pin/contact count increases, the force required to electrically engage the chip and socket similarly increases. Conventional sockets focus significant actuation forces on small areas on the cover and housing. As the actuation forces increase, various socket designs experience more faults as the housing and cover are unable to withstand the increased loads.
Conventional sockets for high pin count PGA chips generally fall into two categories: Low Insertion Force (and extraction force) also known as LIF, and Zero Insertion Force (and extraction force) also known as ZIF. Due to the high forces of LIF sockets, a tool such as an arbor press is needed to insert the package into the socket and another tool is needed to pull the package from the socket. Insertion is relatively simple since typical chips are able to withstand large forces in compression. Extraction is much more difficult since the package can only be held around the perimeter of the pin field. This can lead to damage to the package due to warping and bending of the package during extraction. This difficulty helped lead to the development of ZIF sockets. ZIF sockets typically employ features such as a sliding cover that actuate and de-actuate the socket. The cover of such sockets must be able to withstand the forces of both actuation and de-actuation. In order to support these forces on both tension and compression, ZIF socket covers need to be thicker. This is a problem since higher speed electrical signals require the socket to be shorter, not taller.
Other socket designs are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,013,256; 5,123,855; 6,217,361; 6,350,142; and 6,347,951, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. All of these references show LIF or ZIF style sockets for receiving various style packages. One of the difficulties that exists is that when the packages have high volume arrays, on the order of 1000 positions or more, the typical ZIF or LIF style connectors cannot be used. Multiple design issues compound to cause difficulty in this design, including the tolerances of molding of the housing parts which receive the packages, together with the tolerances of the stamping of the contacts and their alignment in the housing. Thus, with 1000 contacts, even with small frictional insertion forces per contact, the overall extraction or actuation/de-actuation force for the package is unacceptable.
A need remains for an improved socket. It is an object of the preferred embodiments of the present invention to meet this and other needs that will become apparent from the following description, drawings and claims.


An outboard motor mounting system for mounting a motor on an outboard boat with a cutout transom. A transom sealing device is provided to seal the cutout of the outboard boat transom. The sealing device may include a mounting flange which is engagable with a horizontal motor well transom lip of the outboard boat to support and position the transom sealing means. The outboard motor mounting device includes a body and a swim platform which combine to form a substantially sealed hollow interior to provide buoyancy to the mounting device. The motor is attached to a mounting flange positioned at an uppermost portion of the body member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices which close the transom of a boat and which permit one or more outboard motors to be mounted behind the boat transom.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An outboard motor boat is often provided with a low cut or open transom which is very susceptible to water boarding the boat's cockpit by flowing through the motor well. This is particularly true when drifting in rough water due to the drag of the outboard engine's lower unit combined with the windage of the hull which causes the boat to be oriented with its stern to windward and the oncoming waves.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,362 discloses a device for sealing an open transom of a boat by forming a shield of canvas or the like over the open transom. The motor is mounted directly to the closed-in transom. Advantages have been found in mounting a motor further aft of the boat transom. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,813,365; 4,000,712; 2,886,462; 2,842,086 and 2,764,119 disclose various boat attachments for mounting of one or more external motors aft of the transom. But these devices do not seal the open transom.
In order to overcome many of the problems of the prior art devices, I developed an outboard motor mounting system as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,895,095 and 4,708,087. My previous outboard motor mounting devices for mounting a motor aft of the transom section provides a buoyant motor mounting device, together with a transom sealing unit. However, my previous outboard motor mounting device is unique to specific configurations of boat hulls and has a limited range of applicability.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and to provide an outboard motor mounting system which is applicable to a wide variety of boat hulls while maintaining all the advantages of a motor mounted behind the transom.


This invention provides a chlorinated poly(propylene carbonate) and the preparation method thereof, the chlorinated poly(propylene carbonate) is as represented by formula (I). Compared to the prior poly(propylene carbonate)s, the chlorinated poly(propylene carbonate) has relatively stronger electronegativity due to the presence of chlorine atoms and the interaction of the chlorinated poly(propylene carbonate) with other polar materials can be enhanced, so that it can be widely used as a compatilizer, a binder, a paint, an ink, and the like. After the introduction of chlorine atoms, hydrogen bond interaction is generated within the chlorinated poly(propylene carbonate), so that its processability and mechanical properties are both improved. Furthermore, the chlorine atom may improve the flame retardancy of chlorinated poly(propylene carbonate) materials.

Carbon dioxide is an inexhaustible inexpensive chemical raw material, and it has been recently noted to fix carbon dioxide into a chemical material on a large scale. Since Inoue et. al. synthesized aliphatic polycarbonates having high molecular weight by using the copolymerization of carbon dioxide and an epoxy compound in 1969, the study on the copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxy compounds has been continuously deepened and developed. Furthermore, it is a research focus in the field of polymer sciences to synthesize polymer materials by using carbon dioxide as the raw material. Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) is an alternating copolymer of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide, which belongs to the biodegradable environment-friendly materials.
At present, poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), the copolymerization product of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide, have been put into the stage of industrial production. However, since it has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of commonly 30° C.-40° C. and is amorphous, there are defects such as large brittleness at low temperature, poor dimensional stability at high temperature, and the like. It is difficult to be used as plastic alone, and is generally used as a modifier for rubber or plastic, which limits its wide development and application.
Chinese Patent Publication No. CN1176269 discloses a modification method of an aliphatic polycarbonate styrene-butadiene rubber. This modification method may not only provide a modified styrene-butadiene rubber having excellent thermal resistance and mechanical properties, but also this method employs inexpensive aliphatic polycarbonate modified styrene-butadiene rubber, and the aliphatic polycarbonate is synthesized by the copolymerization of carbon dioxide. The cost of the modified product is similar to that of a pure styrene-butadiene rubber. The wide use of aliphatic carbonate may not only develop new resources and alleviate shortage of chemical raw materials, but also has great significance for controlling the content of carbon dioxide in atmosphere, alleviating global green-house effect, and protecting ecological environment.
Chinese Patent Publication No. CN1436812A discloses a composite of a polyhydroxyalkanoate and a poly(propylene carbonate). This composite is obtained by premixing 100 parts by weight of one or more polyhydroxyalkanoates, 10-100 parts by weight of a poly(propylene carbonate), 10-100 parts by weight of a plasticizer, 1-3 parts by weight of an antioxidant, and 1-4 parts by weight of a nucleating agent and then mixing and pelletizing the mixture at the melting temperature of polyhydroxyalkanoates. This composite combines the advantages of a polyhydroxyalkanoate and a poly(propylene carbonate), improves the brittleness of the polyhydroxyalkanoate, and has good overall mechanical properties.

Chlorinated poly(propylene carbonate) and preparation method thereof

Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences


A firearm with dual-acting safety mechanism includes a hammer, sear operable to hold the hammer in a cocked position, and trigger mechanism including a trigger and trigger bar which collectively operates to rotate the sear to release the hammer. The safety mechanism includes a safety mode selector or actuator cooperating with a secondary safety link. In one arrangement, linearly moving the selector actuates and rotates the safety link which simultaneously both blocks the hammer and displaces the trigger bar such that the sear can no longer be actuated via a trigger pull.

The present invention generally relates to firearms, and more particularly to user-actuated safety mechanisms for firearms.
Manual safeties for firearms are intended to reduce the chance of accidental discharge by disabling fire control components in the event a user fails to exercise proper firearm handling procedures. This can be achieved in numerous ways to block various components of the trigger-actuated firing mechanism. This may be particularly challenging for compact pistol platforms for concealed carry applications where available space within the firearm is limited.
Improvements in safeties are desired.


Damage resistant high pressure decorative laminate having excellent scratch, mar, scrape and abrasion resistance, as well as excellent appearance and cleanability and methods of producing same.

This invention generally relates to a high pressure damage resistant decorative laminate having excellent scratch, mar, scrape and abrasion resistance, as well as excellent appearance and cleanability and methods of producing the same. More particularly, this invention relates to damage resistant, decorative laminates employing a decorative sheet saturated with a melamine-formaldehyde resin coating incorporating abrasive materials.
Conventionally, high pressure decorative laminates are made of two essential layers: a core layer and a surface layer. The core layer constitutes a bottom or supporting layer onto which the other layer is bonded. In normal high-pressure laminate manufacture, the core layer consists of a plurality of cellulosic sheets. The core sheets are generally made from a kraft paper impregnated with a laminating resin. Laminating resins commonly used for the core layer include phenolic, amino, epoxy, polyester, silicone, and diallyl phthalate resins to name a few. The industrially preferred laminating resin for decorative laminates is a phenolic resin made from the reaction of phenols with formaldehyde.
Placed above the core layer is a decorative layer which is generally an alpha cellulose pigmented paper containing a print, pattern design or solid color that has been impregnated with a melamine-formaldehyde resin.
The cured melamine-formaldehyde resins are colorless and resistant to light; they are resistant to a variety of solvents and stains; and their heat resistance make them resistant to burning cigarettes, boiling water and heated containers up to about 325.degree. F. Without these melamine-formaldehyde resins, the decorative laminate industry would not exist as it is known today. However, because these resins are extremely brittle, they sometimes require reinforcement.
When the decorative layer of the laminate is a printed pattern, it is covered with an overlay as it is commonly referred to, which is a high-quality alpha cellulose paper impregnated with a melamine-formaldehyde resin. This layer protects the decorative print from external abuse such as abrasive wear and tear, harsh chemicals, burns, spills and the like. It is primarily the melamine-formaldehyde resin which accounts for these protective properties of the laminate. The alpha-cellulose paper acts as a translucent carrier for the water-thin resin, imparts strength to the rather brittle melamine-formaldehyde resin, maintains a uniform resin thickness in the overlay by acting as a shim, and controls resin flow.
The core layer, decorative layer and the overlay surface layer (when needed) are stacked in a superimposed relationship, between steel press plates and subjected to a pressure and temperature for a time sufficiently long enough to cure the laminating resins impregnating the respective layers. The elevated temperature and pressure actually cause the impregnated resins within the sheets to flow, which consolidates the whole into an integral mass known as the laminate. These laminates are used as surfacings for counter tops, table tops, furniture, store fixtures and the like. However, these conventional high pressure laminates can be easily damaged by scraping or marring caused by objects sliding across the surface of the laminate.
Abrasive materials have previously been employed in the overlay sheet or solid color decorative sheet in order to improve the abrasion resistance of these high pressure decorative laminates. The abrasive materials are generally deposited upon the alpha cellulose matrix or, in other applications, mixed with a binder such as cellulosic fibers or microcrystalline materials replacing the alpha cellulose overlay sheet. Damage resistant high pressure decorative laminates incorporating abrasive materials are well known. However, these damage resistant decorative laminates have required the presence of a binder material preferably microcrystalline cellulose in order to bind the abrasive materials to the overlay or decorative sheet. Also, these damage resistant high pressure decorating laminates have been produced by difficult and expensive multi-step processes which requires that the abrasive material and binder be added in a separate step from the resin material and requiring that the decorative sheet be first coated with the abrasive materials and the binder material and then dried to bind the abrasive materials to the decorative sheet. The decorative sheet would then be impregnated with a thermosetting resin. Additionally, those damage resistant laminates which have the most durable surfaces generally have dull, non-uniform, unattractive surfaces that feel rough, grab and hold dirt, and are difficult to clean.
Thus, there exists a need for a damage resistant decorative laminate which has excellent scratch, mar and scrape resistance and which does not need to employ the use of a binder material to bind the abrasion resistant particles to the decorative sheet and therefore are binderless animates. Additionally, there exists a need for a damage resistant decorative laminate that can be produced without the costly multi-step process which requires separate coating and drying steps to adhere the abrasion resistant particles and binder material and impregnating steps to apply the resin. Further, there exists a need for a damage resistant laminate which has a very uniform appearance, an attractive sheen, a smooth feel and easy cleanability.

Damage resistant decorative laminate having excellent appearance and cleanability and methods of producing same