The present invention provides a light-transmitting metal electrode including a substrate and a metal electrode layer having plural openings. The metal electrode layer also has such a continuous metal part that any pair of point-positions in the part is continuously connected without breaks. The openings in the metal electrode layer are periodically arranged to form plural microdomains. The plural microdomains are so placed that the in-plane arranging directions thereof are oriented independently of each other. The thickness of the metal electrode layer is in the range of 10 to 200 nm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-transmitting metal electrode. In detail, the invention relates to a light-transmitting metal electrode having a hyperfine structure. The present invention also relates to a process for production of the light-transmitting metal electrode.
2. Background Art
Light-transmitting metal electrodes, which have light transparency particularly in the visible region and at the same time which function as electrodes, are widely used in electronics industries. For example, all the displays distributed currently in markets, except displays of cathode ray tube (CRT) type, need light-transmitting metal electrodes since they adopt electric driving systems. According as flat panel displays typically such as liquid crystal displays and plasma displays have been explosively getting popular in recent years, the demand for transparent metal electrodes has been rapidly increasing.
In early studies of electrodes that transmit light, the electrodes were mainly made of a metal such as Au, Ag, Pt, Cu, Rh, Pd or Cr in the form of such very thin foil having a thickness of 3 to 15 nm that the metal foil could have light transparency to a certain degree. When used, for example, the thin metal foil was inserted between transparent dielectric layers for improving durability. However, since the foil was made of a metal, there was a trade-off relationship between resistivity and light-transmittance and hence it could not have properties satisfying enough to put various devices into practical use. The mainstream study, therefore, shifted to oxide semiconductors. In present, almost all the practical light-transmitting metal electrodes are made of oxide semiconductor materials. For example, indium tin oxide (hereinafter, referred to as "ITO"), which is indium oxide containing tin as a dopant, is generally used.
However, as described below in detail, the trade-off relationship between resistivity and light-transmittance is essentially still present even in oxide semiconductor materials. The problem in metal foil is that the light-transmittance decreases in accordance with increase of the foil thickness, while the problem in oxide semiconductor materials is that the light-transmittance decreases in accordance with increase of the carrier density. Accordingly, the problem to study is only changed from the former to the latter.
As described above, the demand for light-transmitting metal electrodes is expected to keep expanding in the future in many applications, but there are some future problems.
First, there is a fear that indium, which is employed as a material for the electrodes, will be exhausted. Indium is a major component of ITO, which is widely used in the light-transmitting metal electrodes, and is hence expected to be exhausted in the worldwide range according as the demand for displays typically such as thin displays increases rapidly. It is a real fact that there is a shortage of rare metals such as indium, and accordingly the cost of materials has really risen remarkably. Thus, this is a serious problem.
To cope with this problem, for example, in the sputtering process for forming an ITO film, it is studied to reuse even an ITO membrane deposited on the inner wall of vacuum chamber so as to improve the efficiency of ITO target to the utmost limit. However, techniques like that only postpone the exhaustion of indium and they by no means essentially solve the problem. In consideration of that, indium-free transparent electrodes are currently being developed. However, at present, any substitute such as zinc oxide material or tin oxide material is not yet capable of exhibiting properties exceeding ITO.
The second problem is that, if the carrier density is increased to improve electric conductively of oxide semiconductor material, the reflection in a longer wavelength region is increased to lower the transmittance. The reason for this is as follows.
According to electronic states, substances are generally classified into two types: some substances have energy gaps, and the others do not. Even when the substances having energy gaps are irradiated with light having energy smaller than the gaps, they do not absorb the light because electrons do not undergo the band transition. Therefore, with respect to visible light in the wavelength region of 380 nm to 780 nm, the substances having energy gaps of more than approx. 3.3 eV are transparent to the light.
On the other hand, depending on the width of the energy gap between the valence band and the conduction band, substances are generally categorized into three types, namely, conductors, semiconductors and insulators. The substances having relatively small band gaps are conductors, and in contrast those having relatively large band gaps are insulators, and those having middle band gaps are semiconductors. Oxide semiconductors, which are assigned to semiconductors, have chemical bonds of strong ionic character and hence generally have large energy gaps. Accordingly, they can readily satisfy the above condition at a shorter wavelength in the visible region, but the transparency at a longer wavelength is liable to lower. Further, in the case where the oxide semiconductors are used in light-transmitting electrodes, carriers of electron drift, namely, carriers of electric current are doped to obtain conductivity and transparency to visible light. For example, ITO consists of In2O3 containing SnO2 as a dopant. In this way, oxide semiconductors can be made to have low resistivities by increasing the carrier densities. However, according as the carrier density is increased, the electrode layer of oxide semiconductor as a whole becomes exhibiting metallic behavior and consequently the transmittance becomes decreasing from at a longer wavelength. Because of this phenomenon, there is a lower limit to the resistivity of light-transmitting electrodes made of oxide semiconductor.
In order to ensure transparency in the visible region, the oxide semiconductor must have a plasma frequency corresponding to a wavelength in the infrared region. This means that there is an upper limit to the carrier density. Consequently, ITO produced generally has a carrier density of n=approx. 0.1×1022 [cm−3], which is a few percent of the carrier densities of metals. The lower limit of the resistivity calculated from that value is approx. 100 μΩ·cm, and it is difficult in principle to further reduce the resistivity.
Meanwhile, it is proposed (in JP-A 1999-72607 (KOKAI)) that regularly arranged openings having a radius smaller than the wavelength of incident light be provided on the surface of highly electrically conductive thin metal foil, whereby the metal foil is made transparent to light.
Because of the aforementioned circumstances, it is desired to provide a light-transmitting metal electrode made of an electrically conductive material which is versatile and inexpensive, which is free from the fear of exhaustion and also which can keep a low resistivity, namely, a high electric conductivity.

Light-transmitting metal electrode and process for production thereof


A roll, specifically a paper machine press roll, with a hollow rotatable roll body features a roll shell and on at least one of its two ends a hollow roll journal. A guide body which is stationary or fastened to the roll body extends through the interior of the roll body and forms with the roll shell a channel system through which a tempering medium flows. For purposes of using air as tempering medium, a pressure blower and/or a suction blower are connected to the channel system. The channel system and the blower(s) are so dimensioned that an air flow velocity above 10 m/sec will materialize in the channel system.

The invention concerns a roll, preferably a paper machine press roll, which together with a backing roll forms a press gap, and which features a tempering device. A roll of this general type is known from DE-OS 27 06 850.
The tempering device provided in the interior of such a roll serves preferably to cool the roll shell, however it can also serve to supply heat to the roll shell. The known roll requires a cooling because it is part of a metal continuous casting system. Similar rolls serve as press rolls in papermaking machines. Here, a problem results from the fact that press rolls of that type are provided on their outer shell surface with an elastomer coating. During the roll operation together with the backing roll, heat occurs in the elastomer coating due to the inner flexing work of the elastomer taking place in the area of the press gap, which heat needs to be removed continuously. In this context, allowance must be made for the fact that rolls of that type are used in a 24-hour continuous operation and that in modern papermaking machines ever further increases of the operating speed and contact pressure are sought after.
In the prior rolls, the tempering device is of a design such that cold water flows along the inside circumference of the roll shell, absorbing heat and leaving the roll again at elevated temperature. The following problem occurs in the process: Conditioning the cooling water so that it will have the required low temperature and the purity necessary for continued operation causes high costs. As a further aggravation, the cooling water, despite careful conditioning, can chemically attack the inside surface of the roll shell in a nonpredictable way, due to its content of oxygen and/or aggressive ingredients (for instance humic acids). This may be the cause of oscillation crack corrosion and, following thereof, an unexpected break of the roll. On some prior rolls, this risk is avoided by using oil as cooling medium. However, the costs for conditioning the oil are still higher than those for conditioning of cooling water. Therefore, oil cooling pays only in rolls with adjustable flexure, where the oil can at the same time serve to transfer the press force from the roll shell to a fixed bending axle.
The problem underlying the invention is to advance a roll of the type described in such a way that the tempering (mainly the cooling) of the roll shell will be possible at an expense lower than before, and that in doing so the risk of oscillation crack corrosion will be avoided.


A semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor layer disposed above a substrate; an insulating film formed by oxidizing a portion of the semiconductor layer; and an electrode disposed on the insulating film, wherein the insulating film includes gallium oxide, or gallium oxide and indium oxide.

1. Field
The embodiments discussed herein relate to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
Materials including GaN, AlN, InN, and a mixed crystal of these materials, which are included in nitride semiconductors, have a wide band-gap and are used in high-output electronic devices, short-wavelength light-emitting devices, and the like. Field-effect transistors (FETs), for example, high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are used in high-output-high-efficiency-amplifiers or high-power switching devices, and the like. In an HEMT including an electron supply layer having AlGaN and an electron transit layer having GaN, strain due to a difference in a lattice constant between AlGaN and GaN may occur in AlGaN and piezoelectric polarization may occur. Since a high-concentration two-dimensional electron gas is generated by the piezoelectric polarization, a high-output device may be provided.
For example, related are is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2002-359256, 2007-19309, and 2009-76845.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device


A system and method for allowing an assignee to rapidly collect data about a bug/error that is associated with the execution of a software application on a computing device. The method includes including receiving, from a client device, a request to resolve an error associated with an execution of an application on a remote server. The request includes configuration information for connecting to the remote server and an identifier to a component of the application. The method includes determining one or more files associated with the component of the application. The method includes establishing a connection to the remote server using the configuration information. The method includes retrieving the one or more files from the remote server via the connection. The method includes granting, to an assignee device, access to the one or more files that were retrieved from the remote server.

A software bug is an error, flaw, failure or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways. A bug may arise from a mistake and error made in either a program's source code or its design, or in components and operating systems used by such programs. Some bugs may be caused by compilers producing incorrect code. A program that contains a large number of bugs, and/or bugs that seriously interfere with its functionality, is said to be buggy or defective.

Data collecting in issue tracking systems


A freewheel having inner and outer machine parts which are rotatable with respect to one another about an axis. One machine part has a smooth cylindrical clamping track, and the other machine part is provided on its circumferential face facing the smooth cylindrical clamping track with clamping ramps arrayed in the circumferential direction. A metallic cage has a series of profiled transverse webs positively locked for preventing rotation with respect to the other machine part. The cage has a central web section that extends parallel to the axis of the freewheel and is connected to two obliquely extending connecting web sections at the ends of the central section. Each oblique web section is connected to an outer web section which also extends parallel to the axis.

The invention relates to a freewheel having two machine parts which are arranged one inside the other and can be rotated with respect to one another about an axis. One machine part is a smooth cylindrical clamping track and the other machine part is provided on its circumferential face facing the smooth cylindrical clamping track with clamping ramps which follow one another in the circumferential direction. It has a cage which is arranged between the machine parts and which is formed from rims and webs which connect these rims to one another, and pockets for clamping rollers which are sprung against the smooth cylindrical clamping track. The clamping ramps are formed between webs which are adjacent to one another at the circumference. The cage forms, with the other machine part, a positively locking connection in order to secure it against rotation with respect to this other machine part.
Such a clamping roller freewheel is known, for example, from DE 44 42 404 C2. This freewheel has a smooth cylindrical cage which is made of plastic and which is arranged between an outer sleeve and an inner sleeve and holds clamping rollers in its pockets which are formed by webs. The circumferential faces, facing one another, of the two sleeves have inner and outer raceways, the inner raceway being provided with clamping ramps. Between adjacent clamping ramps of the inner raceway, axial grooves are provided, into which radial projections of the cage, which are integrally formed on, engage in a positively locking fashion in such a way that this plastic cage is arranged fixed in terms of rotation with respect to the inner sleeve. These projections are integrally formed on to the inner diameter of the cage as knobs.
A disadvantage here is that this plastic cage has a low degree of stability and only has a very small lubricant reservoir space. As a result the plastic knobs which are integrally formed on may shear off from the internal diameter so that the cage cannot be positioned correctly. It is also disadvantageous that the process of mounting the freewheeling unit is made more difficult owing to the large number of projections which are integrally formed on and which engage in the axial groove.

Means for securing a cage of a freewheel against rotation


A cleaning device for a dry cleaning conveyor frame and yoke assembly includes a pair of brushes positioned on each side of the frame and yoke, a central brush for contacting rollers on the yoke assembly, a support assembly for the device, and a vacuum source communicating with the brushes. The support assembly fixes the device to a cross arm of the support structure for the conveyor. The vacuum force is distributed to each brush by a manifold and hoses that communicate with the manifold. Preferably, the side brushes are resiliency-biased against the frame and yoke.

The present invention relates to a cleaning device for a dry cleaning laundry storing conveyor and, in particular, a cleaning device using brushes and a vacuum source.
A dry cleaning conveyor includes a fixed track formed by several rods formed into an elongated oval shape, a supporting system for holding the track in place above the ground, and a frame connected to a roller or yoke assembly for movement in either direction along the track under motor control. The motor typically moves sprocketed wheels at either end of the track, the sprocketed wheels engaging the frame and thus conveying it. Clean clothing placed on a hanger and covered in plastic hangs from slots in the frame.
The frame and roller assembly collect dust and other dirt over time. This dirt often will fall, and some will get on the clean clothing, usually through the hole in the plastic covering through which the hanger passes. If this happens, the customer will often insist that the clothing be recleaned at no charge. To avoid this, it is necessary to periodically clean the yoke and frame.
The typical way to clean these moving parts is to run the conveyor while holding a vacuum brush against one side of the frame and/or yoke. The same process is repeated while holding the brush on the other side of the frame and/or yoke, and once again with a brush against the rollers. This labor-intensive activity is undesirable.

Cleaning device for dry cleaning conveyor


An information retrieval system and method are provided. The system includes a retrieval unit for combining query type of searches and browsing type of searches. A user forms a query by selecting predefined queries, predefined data categories and entering data. The system indicates which combinations are allowed given the available stored data. Results are displayed as a result set. Data from the result can be clicked upon for insertion into a new query.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information retrieval system, a method for retrieving information from a data base system, a computer program for carrying out the method and a computer readable medium having the computer program thereon.
2. Discussion of Background Art
The usage of queries to retrieve information from databases is well known in the art. A query is a command, created by the user and conforming to a well defined syntax, that makes a selection from the data available in the database. The item a user wants to retrieve information about is referred to herein as a 'search subject'. The data on which the query is to be carried out is referred to herein as an 'information space'. The data that is returned as a response to the query is referred to herein as a 'result set'. The result set may be used as information space for a next query and so on until the information the user is after has been found. In this way the information space is stepwise reduced, until the goal, which is what the user wants to know about the search subject, of the search has been reached.
Another method of retrieving information, well known in the art, is so called browsing. Browsing relies on a link structure. An example of browsing is a set of HTML pages provided with hyperlinks. The user will start from a start page, choose a link, get a next page, again may choose a link and so on, until he has found the information he is after. Each step moves the user from one location in the information space to another.
In general one can state that a browsing strategy is more suited for an exploratory search, while a querying strategy is more suited for a specific search.
Traditional query systems retrieve results by comparing the terms in a query formulated by the information seeker with terms in individual documents. Only the documents in the corpus that match the terms mentioned in the query are then retrieved. This procedure puts a heavy burden on users to formulate the right query and in the case of a limited amount of domain knowledge, may cause severe cognitive load.
One of the main advantages of querying is that it does not require an intricate link structure. One only has to construct an inverted file, which can be done automatically. This allows a user complete freedom in specifying his query, but at the same time it does not give him any clues about the information contained within the database. Formulating the right query therefore heavily relies on the user's knowledge about the specific domain.
A disadvantage of browsing is that a link structure has to be available. Traditionally, the link structure is created manually, which is quite labour intensive. This seriously hampers the applicability of browsing methods. Above that, while navigating through an information space, a user does not have complete freedom of choice, since only a limited number of links are available. Although this limits the number of possible search paths, it may actually guide a user through the information space.
Also most of the time it is not clear to the user whether the information space at a certain moment in the search process indeed contains the type of information he is looking for. Nowadays available information retrieval systems offer the information seeker too little feedback about that.
It would therefore be beneficial to have available a system that integrates best of both the query and browsing methods so that a user easily can switch between these methods and can optimize his search strategy.

Information retrieval system and method for retrieving information


Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, a buried numerical aperture expander may be utilized to provide a head-up or virtual display at a larger field of view without requiring a larger amount of space, larger sized display, or larger sized optics. The buried numerical aperture expander is capable of selectively reflecting light emanating from a display such that the reflected light is expanded into a larger field of view, while simultaneously allowing other light to be transmitted through the buried numerical aperture expander without expansion so that the buried numerical aperture expander may be deployed in conjunction with a windshield or window without adversely affecting the ability to see through buried numerical aperture expander.

Vehicles are increasingly being outfitted with head-up displays (HUD) at the factory. As HUDs become more widely utilized and as active safety technologies become more broadly deployed in vehicles, many automotive manufacturers and drivers will find that HUD implementations increase driver situational awareness and present active vehicle safety technologies, including adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, night vision, lane departure warning and blind spot detection with greater efficacy. Additionally, as HUDs become more widely utilized, many users will chose to use an after-market HUD implementation in vehicles that did not include a HUD installed at the factory. To make a HUD, it is common to place a light emitting image plane parallel to the dashboard such that the emitted light reflects off the windshield and into the viewer's eye. This light emitting image can be made from traditional flat panels such as liquid-crystal displays (LCD), light emitting diode based displays (LED), or organic light emitting diode (OLED) based displays, or alternatively from projection technologies such as scanned laser beam displays, digital light processing (DLP) displays, or liquid-crystal display (LCD) microdisplays. Such display approaches typically require a device size that relates to the image size desired for the HUD so that in order to create a HUD having a larger field of view (FOV), larger sized displays and/or bulky optics are needed to achieve the desired magnification. However, space is typically at a premium in vehicles, and there is often not enough room in the vehicle for larger sized displays or optics.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, if considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.

Buried numerical aperture expander having transparent properties


Enterprise confidential electronic data inventory systems, methods and/or computer program products include a database management system, method and/or computer program product that is configured to store identifying information for the confidential electronic data of the enterprise without storing the confidential electronic data itself. Querying of the identifying information for the electronic data of the enterprise that is stored may also be provided.

An enterprise, such as a company or business, may have a large volume of widely dispersed confidential information. Some of this confidential information may be in printed form and may be safeguarded by labeling the printed material as confidential, and/or by providing rules for access to and storage of this printed confidential information. However, other enterprise confidential data may be stored in electronic form on widely dispersed computer systems. This widely dispersed enterprise confidential electronic data may be difficult to manage. Unfortunately, increasing concerns over the loss of sensitive electronic data in an enterprise, such as data that can be used for identity theft, may heighten the desire to effectively manage enterprise confidential electronic data.

Enterprise confidential electronic data inventory systems, methods and computer program products


A fuel cell system has a fuel cell of solid polymer type, a rectangular parallelepiped sealing container for accommodating hydrogen occlusion alloy for occluding hydrogen to be supplied to said fuel cell, a connection portion provided in a hydrogen passage between said sealing container and said fuel cell for connecting said sealing container and said fuel cell detachably, a valve mechanism provided in said hydrogen passage for opening and shutting hydrogen gas, and a hydrogen flow rate control mechanism provided in said hydrogen passage for controlling the flow rate of hydrogen gas, and/or hydrogen pressure control mechanism for controlling the pressure of hydrogen gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a small-sized fuel cell system, fuel feed system employed in a polyelectrolyte type fuel cell usable as a power supply for portable electric appliance such as an office automation appliance, in particular, and also to a portable electric appliance.
2. Related Art of the Invention
Generally, a fuel cell induces a chemical reaction between fuel such as hydrogen and oxygen to convert chemical energy directly into electric energy, and therefore a high power generation efficiency is obtained, the noise is very low, and the size can be reduced because there are few mechanical driving parts. Such a fuel cell is relatively easy in installation and management, and is hence used in distributed power supply system, power supply for communication equipment, etc. Recently, a fuel cell system combining fuel cell and hydrogen occlusion alloy has been used as a portable power supply, and various structures have been proposed for such fuel cell system (Japanese Laid-open Patents 6-76848, 6-60894, etc.).
As the fuel, liquid fuel such as methanol, or gas fuel such as natural gas or hydrogen is mainly used, and lately, in particular, as the fuel for small-sized power supply, hydrogen contained in a cylinder filled together with hydrogen occlusion alloy is used because it is relatively easy in handling. For example, in the constitution proposed in Japanese Laid-open Patent 6-150955, a cylinder filled with hydrogen occlusion alloy for feeding hydrogen to the fuel cell is contained in a portable casing independently of the power supply main body containing the fuel cell, and this casing is provided with an exhaust gas inlet for allowing the exhaust gas generated from the fuel cell to pass through the cylinder. In this constitution, since the casing is portable independently of the power supply main body, the casing can be increased in size without space restrictions for containing the cylinder. Moreover, the cylinder temperature and pressure can be elevated by the exhaust gas from the fuel cell, so that the hydrogen can be supplied smoothly.
Moreover, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent 4-181659, for example, in order to heighten the safety of the fuel cell system, a fuel cell system is proposed, in which the hydrogen equilibrium pressure at the upper limit of the plateau region of hydrogen occlusion alloy as hydrogen storage means is 10 atm or less at ordinary pressure.
On the other hand, portable electronic devices such as laptop computers are extremely reduced in size and weight and enhanced in performance, and as the secondary cells used as power source, high performance cells such as nickel and hydrogen storage battery and lithium ion secondary cells have come to be used from the viewpoint of longer time of use, smaller size and lighter weight.
In the conventional secondary cells, it is difficult to extend the operating time and reduce the size and weight further. Accordingly, it is considered to use the fuel cell in the power source of portable electronic device. In the case of the cylinder filled with such hydrogen occlusion alloy, using hydrogen as fuel, however, the cylinder is required to have a high pressure resistance, and is hence formed in a cylindrical shape, which produces a dead space, and it is disadvantageous for obtaining a long operating time, smaller size and lighter weight.

Fuel cell system, fuel feed system for fuel cell and portable electric appliance

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An exhaust system includes a first turbine having an inlet that is fluidly coupled to an exhaust conduit; a valve assembly having an inlet port, a first outlet port, and a second outlet port, the inlet port of the valve assembly being in fluid communication with the exhaust conduit; a second turbine having an inlet that is fluidly coupled to the first outlet port of the valve assembly via a first outlet port conduit, and fluidly coupled to an outlet of the first turbine via a first turbine outlet conduit; and a controller operatively coupled to the valve assembly. The valve assembly has a first configuration that blocks fluid communication between the inlet port and the first outlet port, and the valve assembly has a second configuration that effects fluid communication between the inlet port and the first outlet port.

Reciprocating internal combustion (IC) engines are known for converting chemical energy stored in a fuel supply into mechanical shaft power. A fuel-oxidizer mixture is received in a variable volume of an IC engine defined by a piston translating within a cylinder bore. The fuel-oxidizer mixture burns inside the variable volume to convert chemical energy from the mixture into heat. In turn, expansion of the combustion products within the variable volume performs work on the piston, which may be transferred to an output shaft of the IC engine.
Variations in the temperature and the chemical composition of an oxidizer stream entering an engine are known to affect engine performance. For example, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) may be used to modify the temperature of an oxidizer stream, a chemical composition of an oxidizer stream, or combinations thereof, by combining a portion of exhaust gas with an oxidizer stream entering an engine
Further, variations in the pressure of an oxidizer stream entering an engine are also known to affect engine performance. As a result, some engine systems employ turbochargers or superchargers to increase the pressure of the oxidizer stream entering the engine. Some conventional approaches to turbocharging may include more than one turbocharger.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,403 ("the '403 patent"), entitled "Series/Parallel Turbochargers and Switchable High/Low Pressure EGR for Internal Combustion Engines," purports to address the problem of turbocharger sizing and inertial lag or delay. The '403 patent describes systems and methods for turbocharging and providing exhaust gas recirculation for internal combustion engines.
The engine system of the '403 patent includes a first turbocharger associated with a first bank of engine cylinders and a second turbocharger fluidly coupled to the first turbocharger. The first turbocharger preferably has a variable geometry, such as a variable turbine inlet nozzle, to improve efficiency and boost for low mass flow operating regions while maintaining high mass flow capacity at higher engine speeds. Further, exhaust system valving in the '403 patent may be actuated to operate the first turbocharger and the second turbocharger in series operation or parallel operation, where the outlet of the first turbine is blocked from fluid communication with the inlet to the second turbine during parallel operation.
However, the variable geometry turbochargers recommended by the '403 patent may be unduly expensive, complex, physically large, or combinations thereof. Further, the series and parallel operation of the two turbochargers may not optimize all desired engine operating conditions. Accordingly, there is a need for improved exhaust systems to address the aforementioned problems, other problems in the art, or combinations thereof.

Exhaust system with exhaust gas recirculation and multiple turbochargers, and method for operating same


This invention also relates to compounds, compositions, and methods useful for modulating the expression and activity of genes encoding proteins involved in deafness caused by dominant negative mechanism of action by RNA interference (RNAi) using small nucleic acid molecules. In particular, the instant invention features small nucleic acid molecules, such as short interfering nucleic acid, short interfering RNA, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), micro-RNA (mRNA), and short hairpin RNA (shRNA) molecules and methods used to modulate the expression of genes involved in deafness caused by dominant negative mechanism of action.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a post-transcriptional process in which double stranded RNA (dsRNA) triggers sequence-specific suppression of homologous genes. The first evidence that dsRNA leads to post-transcriptional gene silencing in animals came from work on Caenorhabditis elegans. As reconstructed in cell extract experiments in Drosophila melanogaster and Homo sapiens, dsRNA is digested into 21-23 nucleotide (nt) fragments of small interfering RNA (siRNA) by a member of the RNase III family of ATP-dependent, dsRNA-specific ribonucleases called Dicer.
These siRNA duplexes bind to a nuclease complex to form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), with the antisense strand serving as a cognate template for specific transcript recognition. RISC catalyzes cleavage of specific mRNAs, which is followed by rapid degradation by cellular exonuclease activity. Longer dsRNAs (>50 bp) have a more widespread effect in mammalian somatic cells, inducing general arrest of protein synthesis through an interferon response and protein kinase activation. Shorter siRNAs of 21-23 nt, in contrast, have a more targeted effect, inducing up to 90% depletion of specific mRNAs both in vitro and in vivo.
The ear is exquisitely sensitive, being able to detect frequencies from as low as 16 Hz to as high as 20,000 Hz. This incredible sensitivity is based in the membranous labyrinth housed in the bony cochlea, a spiral canal about 31-33 mm long winding 2½ times around a central bony modiolus. The pars inferior of the membranous labyrinth includes the human cochlea, which has 3500 inner hair cells and about 12,000 outer hair cells. The hair cells have stereocilia, about 120 stereocilia on each inner hair cell and 46-148 stereocilia on each outer hair cell.
The most obvious abnormality of inner ear function is deafness, the most common of sensory deficits. Congenital deafness, for example, affects approximately one in 1,000 children. In half of these newborns, the cause is environmental, and in half, it is genetic. With age, the burden of genetic deafness increases to such an extent that by the age of 80, 50% of the population will have hearing loss sufficient in degree to require the use of amplification. The causes of this age-related hearing loss are complex and include both genetic and environmental factors.
Over the past decade, the scientific understanding of nonsyndromic hereditary hearing loss has increased. Loci associated with autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, x-linked, mitochondrial, and even modifier genes have been identified. Each locus is named with an appropriate prefix, for example DFNA for dominant and DFNB for recessive, followed by a suffix integer to indicate locus in order of discovery.
For many of these loci, the causally related genes have been cloned, and this knowledge has translated to clinical medicine and changed the way children and adults with presumed hereditary hearing loss are evaluated. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of requests from clinical diagnostic laboratories for genetic testing for hearing loss.

Compositions for treating hearing loss and methods of use thereof


At the beginning of a game, the re-sortie gauge 100 is displayed in the cost gauge 90 displayed on the display unit 8. This re-sortie gauge 100 is displayed in, for example, a horizontal blue bar, and indicates the reserve cost given to the player at the time with its overall length. This reserve cost is a predetermined numerical value, and is given equally to each player. Accordingly, the same reserve cost is automatically given irrespective of whether the player is experienced or a beginner. For example, if a versus game starts and the player's own unit is attacked by an opponent unit and destroyed, the display length is reduced by subtracting the cost value of the destroyed unit from the re-sortie gauge 100. While the remaining level of the re-sortie gauge 100 is being displayed, control is performed so as to cause the destroyed unit to sortie again.

Conventionally, card game apparatuses that use a card (trading card) as a play item to serve as a medium for playing a game have been put to practical use. For example, soccer game apparatuses are well known as such card game apparatuses. In the soccer card game apparatus, in response to a player (gamer) arranging player cards on a player card disposition panel (hereinafter referred to as "playfield"), an internal image sensor reads the card data recorded on the bottom sides of the player cards, and data on a team made up of multiple players are created from these player cards, so that a game is started. The player is allowed to give instructions on the positions or formation of the players by changing the disposition of the player cards on the playfield. In such a card game, one player card is newly paid out to the player every time a game is played. Therefore, the player has pleasure in being able to collect a new card usable in a card game, such as a player card. Further, in addition to the above-described soccer card game, card game apparatuses have been provided for playing a battle game of wild times in a civil war period.
In these card game apparatuses, the information recorded in multiple cards placed on a playfield is read and the movements of the cards are detected with a game progress control program, so that the progress of a game is controlled. Further, the game allows players to play against each other or allows a single player to play against a computer. Examples of such card game apparatuses include the invention described in Patent Document 1, which has been proposed by the applicant of the present application.
The card game apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is the above-described soccer card game apparatus. In this card game apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in response to a player selecting player cards from multiple player cards having respective specific card information and placing them on a playfield, an image sensor provided inside the game apparatus reads the specific card information recorded on the bottom sides of the player cards so that data on a team made up of multiple players are created. When a game starts, a game progress control program is caused to control the progress of the game by detecting the movements and positions of the player cards.
Further, Patent Document 1 also shows that the card information recorded on the bottom side of a player card is composed of a code pattern and that there is provided means for detecting the position and orientation of the card placed on the playfield by analyzing the information of the code pattern.
Further, according to the card game apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the player can give instructions on the positions and formation of the players by moving the player cards placed on the playfield in a sliding manner. Further, shooting is executed by the player operating on a SHOOT button, and an image representing this is displayed on a monitor. When one game ends, a new player card is paid out from the card payout part of the card game apparatus, so that the player can newly add on one player card. Patent Document 1 discloses that use of this newly added player card makes it easy for the player to make player choices or change players when playing the next game.
Since the card game apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is a soccer card game, the player proceeds with a game while moving 11 player cards placed on the playfield. Further, the attribute (parameter) information of a corresponding player, such as shooting strength, is stored for each player card in the storage unit of the card game apparatus. Accordingly, the player can play a game full of variety.
However, for example, in games where one or more units are organized to play against enemy units, such as battle games of wild times in a civil war period or space war games, adopting the below-described means allows players to play games more strategically.
(1) Enabling a player to organize one or more units made up of a group of multiple cards in consideration of game tactics before playing a game.
(2) Controlling the progress of the game so that the player can play the role of a commander (captain) that commands the units during the play of the game.
In order to adopt the means described above in (1) and (2), the player organizes a unit made up of multiple cards as a preparation for starting a game, and it is necessary to record the specific information pre-recorded in a group of these organized multiple cards in the storage unit of the game apparatus on a unit basis as information forming a single unit. Further, during the play of a battle game, all cards making up one or more units are not moved on the playfield, but a main card (main play item) of a card group forming each unit is predetermined. Therefore, the player may move only this main play item on the playfield, so that the player's card operation is extremely simplified.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-301264

Game controlling method, storage medium, and game apparatus


A precise automated work system and method is provided. One or more self-navigating robots can perform automated work operations with precision given six degrees of freedom in a undulating, sloping or irregular terrain, such as, a commercial truck garden. A self-propelled robot moves through the garden and performs gardening tasks following a specified course by dead-reckoning and periodically determining its position and orientation by a navigation fix. At least seven navigation beacons are positioned around a perimeter of a garden work area. Each beacon emits electromagnetic radiation across the garden for detection by the self-propelled robot. A panoramic image collector gathers and focuses electromagnetic radiation from each navigation beacon on an electronic camera to form at least seven beam spots. The relative position of the detected beam spots in the focal plane vary depending upon the six degrees of freedom for robot movement in a garden: the robot's three-dimensional position (x,y,z) and the robot's orientation (heading, pitch, and roll). A navigation module determines the position and orientation of the robot within the garden based on the output of the imaging camera. A self-propelled gardening robot performs many varied automated farming tasks from tillage, to planting, to harvesting by controlling the point of impact of a implement carried by a robot with precision, that is, to within an inch on average for any given position coordinate. Commercial feasibility of small truck gardens is improved as automation is comprehensive and accessible to the solitary farmer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fields of automation and robotics. Work operations and tasks are carried out by autonomous, self-propelled, self-navigating robots.
2. Related Art
Work operations are under increasing pressure to automate. This is especially true for agricultural operations. Owners of commercial truck farms consisting of fields approximately two to ten acres in size are in special need of a comprehensive, autonomous gardening system to reduce labor costs so as to secure lending and sustain farming as an economically viable land use option.
Automation efforts have proceeded on two fronts: automating work implements and automating guidance of work vehicles. Work implements are effective in performing repetitive tasks such as tillage, planting, fertilizing, cultivating, spraying and harvesting of some kinds of crops. However, effective use of these work implements requires precise guidance of the implement through the field and positioning of the implement in the row, ideally within less than an inch of a target point.
Special challenges arise in determining position with sufficient accuracy in an agricultural context or other work context having a rough topography. A typical farm plot has a rough, undulating or sloping topography which varies depending upon environmental conditions. The position of a self-navigating farm vehicle, and in particular, the position of a work implement thereon, has six degrees of freedom: three-dimensional space, heading, pitch, and roll. Thus, as the inventor discovered, a guidance system for a robot performing precise agricultural work operations must determine position information with respect to six degrees of freedom. A guidance system must determine position information with an accuracy of less than a foot, preferably within one-half inch, even for rough work topographies.
Conventional guidance systems which assume a structured environment allowing only three degrees of freedom, (x, y, heading) such as robots moving in warehouses or on other flat surfaces are not applicable. See, e.g., the automated guided vehicles in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,119,900; 4,796,198; 4,811,228; 4,817,000; and 5,367,458; and the IEEE article by Yagi et al., "Real-Time Omnidirectional Image Sensor (COPIS) for Vision-Guided Navigation," (each of which is incorporated herein by reference). Designers of these guidance systems face three degrees of freedom and do not encounter the same problems as self-guided systems which move on surfaces that induce tilt.
Global-positioning systems (GPS) have been proposed for self-navigating terrestrial vehicles. To the inventor's knowledge, current commercial GPS positions have an error in the range of 15 meters, although the use of a nearby ground station whose location is known precisely as well as a moving receiver on the vehicle may improve accuracy to within several feet. It remains to be seen whether GPS can effectively and reliably provide position information with an accuracy suitable for controlling agricultural implements in the row. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,220,876; 5,390,125; 5,438,771; and 5,471,391 (each of which is incorporated herein by reference).
A commercially viable automated farm vehicle must also be simple to operate, durable, and reliable. Scanning systems with mechanical moving parts susceptible to dirt and debris can require frequent servicing. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,700,301; 4,947,324; 5,008,557; and 5,264,709 (each of which is incorporated herein by reference). Guidance systems requiring specialized survey knowledge for placement of beacons can also be burdensome and commercially limiting for a sole system operator such as a commercial truck gardener. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,677,555 and 5,477,459 (each of which is incorporated herein by reference).
What is needed then is a precise navigation system and method that detects the position of a self-navigating robot with respect to six degrees of freedom to perform precise work operations over a rough topography. In some applications such as agricultural work operations, a guidance system and method is needed that determines position information with respect to six degrees of freedom with an accuracy of less than a foot, preferably within an inch, even for rough work topographies.
Further, automation of work operations needs to be comprehensive and accessible to farmers of small tracts and solitary operators. A simple system and method is needed for specifying the navigation path to be followed by a self-guided robot through a work area, such as a commercial truck garden plot. Control operations to be performed by the robot along the path must also be easily identified and updated. It is further desirable that information specifying navigation path and control operations to be performed for one crop in a field be able to be preset, saved, modified and exchanged between the self-guided robot and an off-site computer terminal so that a specification can be reused.

System and method for performing mobile robotic work operations


An electronic device may have a housing in which electrical components on a printed circuit board are mounted. A connector may be mounted to the edge of the printed circuit board using solder. The connector may have a threaded portion that protrudes through the housing. A threadless portion of the connector may be aligned with the housing. The connector may have a metal body member covered with a metal shell. The metal shell may have a portion that covers the electrical components and serves as an electromagnetic interference shield for the electrical components. The connector may have a threaded barrel. The threaded barrel may have a threaded outer portion with a diameter that is larger than a threaded inner portion. The threadless portion of the connector may lie between the threaded outer and inner portions.

This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to connectors such as radio-frequency connectors for use in electronic devices.
Electronic devices often contain connectors. For example, electronic equipment may contain coaxial cable connectors that mate with coaxial cables. Coaxial cables are often used to convey radio-frequency signals such as video signals.
Components in electronic devices such as radio-frequency circuits may use electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding structures. Electromagnetic interference shielding structures may help prevent radio-frequency signals that are generated by one component from disrupting the operation of another component that is sensitive to radio-frequency interference. Electromagnetic shielding structures may be formed from metal shielding cans soldered to printed circuit boards.
It can be challenging to mount connectors in electronic devices. Connectors that are not mounted to printed circuit boards are often cumbersome, because they may need to be secured to device housings using fasteners such as nuts and may require that solder connections be formed following attachment of the connector to the housing. Space is often at a premium in electronic devices, so mounting arrangements in which shielding structures and connectors compete for space on a printed circuit or in which connectors are bulky may not be acceptable.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved connectors for use in electronic devices.

Electronic device having connector with integrated shielding


A method for reducing edge effect interference with critical dimension (CD) measurement of semiconductor via structures includes forming a test structure in a kerf region of a semiconductor wafer, the test structure including at least a via structure and a trench structure in contact with the via structure. The via structure is formed in accordance with a critical dimension associated with a corresponding via structure in a circuit region of the semiconductor wafer, and the trench structure is formed in accordance with a widened dimension with respect to a minimum ground rule dimension associated with a corresponding trench structure in a circuit region of the semiconductor wafer.

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor device manufacturing, and, more particularly, to a method and structure for reducing prior level edge interference with critical dimension (CD) measurement.
The fabrication of integrated circuits such as, for example, memory devices using large scale integration (LSD, very large scale integration (VLSI) or ultra large scale integration (ULSI) involves the placement of extremely complex electrical circuits on a single chip of silicon. A photolithography process is frequently used to transfer a microscopic pattern from a photomask to the silicon wafer surface of an integrated circuit. In particular, the process involves several iterations of individual reductions, wherein each individual reduction may introduce errors into the final pattern.
In order to meet the objective of increasing the density of memory cells or other logic components on a chip, semiconductor processing engineers continue to refine wafer processing methodologies. Of particular importance are the patterning techniques through which individual regions of the semiconductor structure are defined. In an effort to increase the number of components in the semiconductor structure, integrated circuit configurations have evolved into complex, three-dimensional topographies characterized by several layers of material forming patterns overlayed with respect to one another.
As device and memory cell dimensions continue to shrink, certain measurement parameters become increasingly important. For example, the requirement for overlay measurement accuracy continues to increase in order to compensate for processing inaccuracies. Since a typical photolithographic system uses a step-and-repeat and step-and-scan process to transfer the mask pattern onto the chip, each successive pattern must be properly aligned to the previously existing patterns. Otherwise, each individual pattern transformation may introduce alignment or overlay errors.
In addition to the overlay measurements, measurements of the critical dimensions (CD) of features of patterns formed within each level within a semiconductor device are also made. CD measurements are commonly implemented using different features and using different techniques from those used for measuring overlay. It is a common practice to perform separate critical dimension measurements for each pattern formed within a semiconductor device in addition to separate overlay measurements.
Presently, the in-line CD scanning electron microscope (SEM) is the "workhorse" toolset for critical dimension control and measurement. The high resolution of the device allows for the measurement and control of the lithography and etching processes during semiconductor manufacturing. CD SEMs, when operated at low voltages, typically only probe a small distance into the structure being considered. As a result, CD SEMs are good at detecting surface information. In general, measurements made by a CD SEM are not influenced by layers underneath the top upper most layer. This allows the CD SEM to provide measurements that are pertinent to current processing steps, without being subject to "noise" (i.e., interference from other features) from prior processing steps.
Unfortunately, for some types of processing steps, there are certain device features (for which the in-line CD SEM is responsible for measuring and controlling) that do not conform to this general rule. For example, when trying to measure vias after lithography and post etching in dual damascene processes, layer-to-layer interactions add significant noise to the CD measurement.
As is known in the art of dual damascene processing, a via is imaged within a trench that will eventually become the metal line to which the via connects an earlier formed metallization layer. During the via processing step, the primary concern lies with the critical dimension of the via in the resist. However, the underlying topography of the metal trench can interfere with the measurement of the via. Moreover, the variability in the size of the top layer via and the metal trench beneath the via, combined with variability in the alignment between the top layer via and the trench, may result in situations where the intended via measurement is obscured by the trench below.
Ideally, a via is printed in the middle of the trench; however, in actual practice, the via actually formed in the resist often intersects with the edge of the trench therebeneath. In this case, when the CD SEM scans to measure the via, the resulting signal that is actually processed contains information about both the via and the trench below the via. As a result, the CD SEM measurement algorithm cannot reliably distinguish between the topmost layer that is the subject of the intended measurement (i.e., the via formed in resist) and the previously formed layer therebeneath (i.e., the metal trench below). This situation leads to incorrect CD measurements which negatively affect process control and which can lead to other adverse consequences, including yield loss.
Also, for a post-etch via measurement step, the problem is somewhat similar but more intractable. The signal considered by the CD SEM contains information, not only about the intended via to be measured, but also about the trench above the via and the trench below the via. Moreover, mismeasurements at this stage of processing are even more deleterious, in that by the time the post-etch step is reached, there is no hope of reworking the wafer.

Structure for reducing prior level edge interference with critical dimension measurement

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and system for use by a Customs Agency for clearing shipments of goods into a country is disclosed. A customs resource application may be used to integrate alert information, news, research, and communications capabilities. Customs inspectors may use the resource application with a conventional computer, or with a portable device in the field as they perform customs inspections. The portable device provides access to alert information regarding shipments that are to be inspected by the inspector, and provides alert resolution capabilities so that the inspector can clear shipments into the country from the location of the inspection and/or shipped goods without requiring the inspector to return to a field office to clear the goods.

The United States Customs Service (USCS) is one of the primary enforcement agencies monitoring U.S. borders. The Customs Service's responsibilities include, for each of the country's approximately 330 borders, ensuring that illegal goods do not enter the country, and ensuring that legal goods enter the country only after proper inspection and/or approval.
On an annual basis, the USCS is presently responsible for inspecting and approving millions of shipments coming into the U.S., including shipments by air, land, and sea. This is presently done using a largely manual paper-based process. Due to the number of items entering the U.S., only about 1-5% of all shipments are searched. On a daily basis, customs inspectors receive lists of tasks that they must perform. The tasks include alerts to shipments that are to be visually inspected, and alerts to types of shipments that have recently been found to contain illegal goods, such as drugs. The tasks are printed on sheets of paper that the customs inspectors carry with them on clipboards when they perform inspections.
The USCS presently uses a mainframe computer to house a central database, referred to as the Automated Commercial System, or ACS. A typical method used by the USCS to perform inspections is shown in FIG. 10. Each field office generally has at least one computer through which the inspectors can connect to and log in to the central mainframe ACS system, in step 401. The inspector receives and prints a list of tasks for the day (e.g., inspections) in step 403. The inspector then takes the list printout on a clipboard to inspect the goods at the goods' location (e.g., a loading dock) in step 405. Upon completion of the inspection, the inspector must, in step 407, perform any necessary research, enter the inspection findings, and clear the shipment for import. Step 407 is performed at the field office, not the inspection location. That is, the release decision regarding the shipment is physically made from the field office. Finally, in step 409, the central database ACS system issues clearance information (e.g., an authorization code) that the shipper may use to bring the goods into the U.S. The clearance information is typically transmitted to shippers via electronic data interchange (EDI). The shipper may then use the clearance information to obtain the goods and continue their transport within the U.S.
The amount of data entry presently associated with each shipment can be lengthy and tedious. As a result, customs inspectors often wait until several shipments' data are ready to be entered into the database before clearing the shipments. This often delays clearance of shipments for hours, and sometimes even longer.
During inspection, questions may arise regarding a shipment for which the inspector must perform research. The research may be performed before the search has begun, when the alert provides some information to the inspector that the inspector wants to investigate. The research may also be performed after the inspection where the inspection gives rise to the researchable issue. For instance, an inspector may travel to a seaport to perform an inspection for incoming engine blocks being shipped to an auto manufacturer. Upon inspecting the engine blocks in more detail, the inspector may realize that the engine blocks originate from a certain country or are of a certain configuration for which there is an alert, or that the engine blocks are made in a certain manner that makes them likely containers for drugs. Presently, the inspector must travel back to the field office to perform research on the engine block. Research materials available to each inspector include computer-based research tools, books, and the knowledge of other inspectors. The computer-based research tools, however, are not integrated. That is, the inspector may use one application program to perform some research and may use another application program to perform other research. Upon completing research at the field office, the inspector often then must travel back to the border where the search is being performed, in this instance the seaport, and finish the inspection before determining the goods' entry status. This can significantly delay the entry of the goods into the U.S.
Shipments can also be delayed by being misclassified. That is, each type of goods is given a classification, such as "4-cylinder engine," "6-cylinder engine," "8-cylinder engine," and the like. The amount of duty that a company must pay when the goods enter the U.S. depends in part on the classification. When goods are incorrectly classified, the wrong duty may be paid, or the shipment may be delayed so that a USCS import specialist can travel to the goods' location and reclassify the goods. Classifications often contain minor differences, such as "ink roller ball pen" vs. "ink ball-point pen," so misclassification is not uncommon. In addition, because some borders are located over one hour from the nearest import specialist, misclassification can cause lengthy delays.
In today's global economy, companies are increasingly dependent on international shipments of goods. For instance, an auto manufacturer may have to shut down one or more of its U.S. manufacturing plants if its shipments are delayed at a border for more than one hour. Thus, improved methods and systems are needed that allow customs inspectors to work more efficiently, and selectively search shipments based on better informed decisions.
It would be an improvement in the art if customs inspectors could clear shipments for entry into the country at the place of inspection, without the need to return to a field office. It would also be an improvement if customs inspectors could utilize a single computer to receive task information, perform research, receive news, communicate with other inspectors and import specialists, and clear shipments into the country. It would be a further advancement in the art if the single computer were portable and could be used in the field at a location where inspectors inspect shipments of goods.

Inspecting and releasing goods at a land, air, or sea border


A fuel cell module includes a fuel cell stack, a reformer, and an exhaust gas combustor. The fuel cell stack has an oxygen-containing exhaust gas channel and a fuel exhaust gas channel at one end in a stacking direction of fuel cells. An exhaust gas combustor connected to the oxygen-containing exhaust gas channel and the fuel exhaust gas channel are provided at the one end of the fuel cell stack in the stacking direction. A reformer is provided around the exhaust gas combustor.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell module including a flat plate stack type fuel cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of flat plate type fuel cells for performing power generation by electrochemical reactions of a fuel gas and an oxygen-containing gas.
Description of the Related Art
In general, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) employs a solid electrolyte. The solid electrolyte is an oxide ion conductor such as stabilized zirconia. The solid electrolyte is interposed between an anode and a cathode to form an electrolyte electrode assembly, for example, a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The electrolyte electrode assembly is sandwiched between separators (bipolar plates). In use, generally, predetermined numbers of the electrolyte electrode assemblies and the separators are stacked together to form a fuel cell stack.
In the SOFC, since the operating temperature is relatively high, the stacked fuel cells need to be heated to the desired temperature beforehand. It is because, if a hot gas is supplied to fuel cells having a low temperature, cracks, etc. may occur in the fuel cells undesirably, due to the large temperature difference.
In this regard, for example, an indirect internal reforming type SOFC disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-059658 (hereinafter referred to as conventional technique 1) is known. In this indirect internal reforming type SOFC, as shown in FIG. 13, a reformer having a first reforming unit 1a and a second reforming unit 2a is provided. The first reforming unit 1a and the second reforming unit 2a are connected in series.
The indirect internal reforming type SOFC includes an SOFC 3a for performing power generation using a reformed gas obtained by a reformer. The SOFC 3a is placed in a casing 4a. The first reforming unit 1a and the second reforming unit 2a are parts of the casing 4a.
The SOFC 3a has a flame forming unit 5a. The frame forming unit 5a combusts an anode off gas to produce flames 6a. According to the disclosure, the second reforming unit 2a can utilize combustion heat from the flame forming unit 5a, and the first reforming unit 1a can utilize radiation heat from the SOFC 3a.
Further, a fuel cell module disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-129280 (hereinafter referred to as conventional technique 2) is known. As shown in FIG. 14, in this fuel cell module, a fuel stack 2b, a reformer 3b, and a manifold 4b are surrounded by a lower heat insulating member 5b and a side heat insulating member 6b. In this state, these components are placed in a casing 1b.
In the fuel cell stack 2b, a high temperature conductive member 7b is provided to contact a lateral end of each fuel cell. The heat conductivity of the high temperature conductive member 7b is higher than the heat conductivity of each fuel cell. Therefore, according to the disclosure, it is possible to suppress occurrence of non-uniform temperature distribution in the fuel cell stack 2b, in the stacking direction of the fuel cells and in the vertical direction.
Further, in a fuel cell system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-113934 (hereinafter referred to as conventional technique 3), as shown in FIG. 15, a fuel cell 1c which performs power generation by supplied fuel gas and oxygen-containing gas is placed in a heat insulating container 2c. In the heat insulating container 2c, an exhaust gas channel 3c for discharging an exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell 1c is provided.
An oxygen-containing gas heat exchanger 4c and a vaporizer 5c are provided in the exhaust gas channel 3c along a flow direction of the exhaust gas. Further, a burner 6c for heating at the time of starting operation of the fuel cell 1c or the like is provided between the oxygen-containing gas heat exchanger 4c and the vaporizer 5c. A raw material gas, i.e., a mixed gas of water vapor and a methane gas heated beforehand by the vaporizer 5c is supplied to a reformer 7c.


Described is system for identifying functional elements of objects for robotic manipulation. The system causes a robot to manipulate an object, the robot having an audio sensor and touch sensors. A three-dimensional (3D) location of each audio event that produces a response during manipulation of the object is recorded. Additionally, a 3D location of each tactile event that produces a response during manipulation of the object is recorded. A 3D location of each audio and tactile event in 3D space is then determined. A 3D audio point cloud and a 3D tactile point cloud are generated. Then, the 3D audio point cloud and the 3D tactile point cloud are registered with a 3D model point cloud of the object. Finally, an annotated 3D model point cloud of the object is generated, which encodes the location of a functional element of the object.

(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a system for identifying functional parts of objects for robotic manipulation and, more particularly, to a system for identifying functional parts of objects for robotic manipulation using tactile and auditory sensory feedback.
(2) Description of Related Art
Successful robotic use of hand-held tools (e.g., drills, staplers, flashlights) requires that a robot is capable of detecting the specific object features (e.g., buttons that need to be actuated to turn on the tool). The vast majority of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) point cloud object representations used in the robotics industry are solely vision based (see the List of Incorporated Cited Literature References, Literature Reference Nos. 1 and 2). While such 3D models capture what an object looks like through a 3D sensor, they do not encode multi-modal information (e.g., how an object feels or sounds) that may be indicative for solving a task. Because of this limitation, when robots are tasked with manipulating objects (e.g., pressing a button), they're typically pre-programmed by the human user to apply the behavior at a hard-coded location on the object. Such an approach suffers from the obvious problem that the robot cannot adapt to novel objects, ones for which a hard-coded target location is not available.
Recently, some work has focused on enabling robots to detect tactile, proprioceptive (e.g., the set of joint torques of a robot arm), and acoustic object properties (see Literature Reference No. 3), but the drawbacks of those methods are that they fail to take the object's geometry into account and can only handle simple objects that have no degrees of freedom (e.g., cup, box), but not a stapler or a drill with a button, for instance.
The work described in Literature Reference No. 4 attempted to expand the aforementioned approaches. In their experiments, the robot was able to estimate the location of a button which, if pressed, produced a sound. The main limitation of that work, however, was that the robot's perception of the object (e.g., a doorbell button mounted on a flat surface) was only in 2D with the assumption that there was only one fixed frame of reference (i.e., the button had to be in a hard-coded initial location). In addition, to register a successful button press, the robot had to have a direct line of sight to its finger, an assumption that does not hold in practice.
Each of the prior methods described above exhibit limitations that make them incomplete. Thus, a continuing need exists for a process that produces a multi-modal 3D object representation that not only allows the detection of functional object features, but also opens the door for enabling robots to classify objects based on multi-modal sensory feedback as opposed to using just visual input.

Device and method to identify functional parts of tools for robotic manipulation


An apparatus for determining a position includes a source which transmits a signal having a source position and a transmission time coded therein. A sensor having a directional beam pattern is positioned at the location of interest. A signal processor steers the directional beam pattern of the sensor in order to determine the direction to the signal source. A sensor processor uses a clock to find a receipt time of the signal. The transmission time and source position is decoded from the signal. The position of interest is calculated from the receipt time, transmission time, direction, and source position. A method is also provided.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for vehicle navigation. More specifically the invention relates to a method and apparatus for obtaining navigational information in an underwater vehicle using a single vector sensor on the vehicle and a single transducer positioned in the environment.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Obtaining precise navigational coordinates is a longstanding problem in underwater vehicles. Conventional global positioning systems (GPS) rely on radio wave reception from satellites to establish navigational coordinates, but bodies of water block all but the lowest radio frequencies. Accordingly, underwater vehicles must either surface an antenna or find some other method for obtaining navigational information.
Acoustic pressure sensing hydrophones are commonly used in manned and unmanned underwater vehicle applications. These non-directional sensors receive sound equally from all directions. To obtain directivity, the hydrophones are configured in an array consisting of many elements. The array assembly feeds acoustic information to signal processors for creating beam patterns that have directionality. The directionality of the beam is controlled by the relative size of the array to an acoustic wavelength. Thus, higher frequency acoustic wavelengths are used to increase the directionality. The useful frequency band of the array in a small vehicle, such as an unmanned vehicle, is limited to high frequencies; however, these high frequencies attenuate over a short distance thereby reducing the useful navigation capabilities.
Acoustic vector sensors have been developed which measure non-directional acoustic pressure and vector acoustic velocity components of an acoustic signal. Three vector acoustic velocity components are measured orthogonally. These vector components can be electronically steered to provide increased or decreased sensitivity at a given location.
One current underwater navigational system uses a single omnidirectional pressure sensor on a vehicle and four transponders. Utilizing technology known as hyperbolic multilateration, one can get an x, y, z position fix from the range to each transponder. This technique is similar to that used in the Global Positioning System (GPS). However, the system is limited to a relatively high frequency (7 kHz to 40 kHz) which reduces the operational range from the transducers.
Another current navigational system uses a high frequency array of sensors on the vehicle. Two transponders must be positioned in the environment to get an x, y, and z position fix. Triangulation is used to obtain directional information to the transponders. The frequency used is greater than 20 kHz, limiting the range. This system is expensive because of the needed array.
Another known navigational system utilizes a GPS buoy which acts as a relay to communicate to underwater vehicles by using an acoustic communication link. This system requires deployment of the GPS buoy within communication range of the underwater vehicle. The GPS buoy is further limited by the existing surface sea state.

Navigation system and method using directional sensor

The United States of America represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A method for utilizing plastic deformation resulting from grain boundary sliding with or without a novel joint compound that leads to the joining of advanced ceramic materials, intermetallics, and cermets. A joint formed by this approach is as strong as or stronger than the materials joined. The method does not require elaborate surface preparation or application techniques. The method also allows for the formation of transparent joints between two subunits of a construct joined via plastic deformation. The method can be used to tailor residual stresses and maintain native porosity.

1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to a method for joining together single-phase or multi-phase objects and similar and dissimilar objects, and more particularly, the present invention relates to methods for joining together ceramic shapes to form pore-free joints or junctions at least as strong as the materials being joined, and to join ceramic/metal composites (cermets) and intermetallics.
2. Background of the Invention
Ceramics in general are difficult to form into complex shapes. At present, complex ceramic shapes are often prepared by forming the complex shape in the green state and then applying heat to consolidate the shape. This heat application will result in shrinkage of the construct and therefore final machining of the construct. This can be difficult and costly.
An alternative method is to form a ceramic blank and then machine the blank into the desired shape. This method also can be difficult, time consuming, expensive, and can introduce flaws in the structure. Flaws introduce stress concentrations which reduce performance of the structure and otherwise render the shape unusable.
Another alternative is to join simpler shapes to form the desired complex shapes. This alternative is similar to brazing or welding of various metal components to form more complex metal components. Ceramic components have been joined using various glasses and metals as the joining material. However, the resulting joints have poor mechanical properties compared to the materials to be joined, and the application temperatures are limited.
Nanocrystalline materials have been used as joint-forming interlayer constituents between the two ceramic shapes to be joined. F. Gutierrez-Mora, A Dominguez-Rodriguez, J. L. Routbort, R. Chaim, and F. Guiberteau, "Joining of yttria-tetragonal stabilized zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP) using nanocrystals," Scripta Mater., 41, 455-460 (1999), incorporated herein by reference. However, nanocrystalline materials can be very expensive and can be difficult to work with. Nanocrystalline ceramics are difficult to consolidate into a dense body without having the individual grains grow substantially. Growth of the grains eliminates the nanocrystalline nature of the body and renders another common ceramic.
Nanocrystalline materials have other drawbacks. For example, such powders tend to agglomerate badly, hence making it difficult to produce dense bodies or to apply materials uniformly to a surface. Also, nanocrystalline powders are often highly hygroscopic. Adsorption of moisture can make it difficult or impossible to process nanocrystalline ceramic powders into strong, pore-free bodies.
A process called superplastic deformation has been used to join Y-TZP of the same composition as that mentioned in the F. Gutierrez-Mora reference, supra.; J Ye. et al., Scripta Metall. Mater., 33, pp 441-445 (1995), incorporated herein by reference; and A. Dominguez-Rodriquez, et al, J. Mater. Res., 39, p1631-1636 (1998). Superplasticity in deformation of materials occurs by a process known as grain-boundary sliding. At elevated temperature, under application of a stress, individual grains of the solid slide and rotate past each other so that permanent deformation can take place. Generally for superplasticity to occur, individual grains must remain virtually stable. They cannot grow or change shape significantly, nor should they react with other species present. If grain growth occurs, superplasticity is prevented. As grains grow during deformation, small pores are created. These pores grow and eventually join to form cracks which reduce the ceramic strength.
Many previous efforts using nanocrystalline interlayer materials to join objects have resulted in a joint containing porosity. R. Chaim et al., J. Mater. Res., 15, pp 1724-1728 (2000). In these and other similar instances, the interlayer was difficult to prepare and therefore an expensive feature.
Aside from joining ceramic forms, it is also desirous to join shapes comprised of cermets. Cermets are ceramic/metal composites in which ceramic particles are the majority phase by volume. Most cermets contain between 5 and 15 volume percent metal to bind hard ceramic particles such as WC and TiC. Cermets are employed in applications such as cutting tools in which wear resistance is required.
With respect to joining simple cermets to form more complex structures, such as, for example, serrated cutting edges, no joining technology has been found to be widely successful. Conventional welding is ineffective because, at welding temperatures, the ceramic is solid but the metallic phase is liquid. Leaching of the metal and destruction of the cermet occurs during welding.
Conventional brazing or soldering forms joints with insufficient strength for many applications. Also, the resulting joints have poor resistance to heat. Because cutting and grinding operations often produce substantial heating of the cermet tooling, and the stresses on the tooling are high, brazed or soldered joints will fail in most applications.
Complex cermet tooling is typically fabricated to shape. The required procedures make use of intricate and relatively expensive dies or diamond-tooling machining. Furthermore, because of geometric constraints associated with part removal from a die, the shapes that can be formed are limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,071 awarded to Johns on Jan. 2, 2001 discloses a method for joining materials together by a diffusion process using silver/germanium alloys. No external pressure is applied.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,313 awarded to McAfee et al. on Jan. 5, 1999 discloses a method for a two-step brazing process for joining materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,419 awarded to Hunter et al. on Feb. 4, 1997 discloses a method forjoining polymeric materials via a heated blade which simultaneously heats the two surfaces to be joined. The heated blade is removed and the two surfaces are welded together.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,475 awarded to Steinleitner et al. on May 22, 1990 discloses a method for joining surfaces of different materials by applying a glass coating to the two surfaces to be joined. The surfaces are subsequently joined while heated and under external pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,166 awarded to Charlson et al. on Nov. 8, 1983 discloses a method for laser joining of thermoplastic and thermosetting materials by laser radiant energy which causes the thermoplastic material to flow onto the thermosetting material. No external pressure is applied.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,345 awarded to Kadija et al. on Jan. 27, 1981 discloses a method for joining sections of synthetic materials by placing a thermoplastic sealing composition in a gap between the materials to be joined and then binding the materials together with subsequent heating of the sealing composition. No external pressure is applied.
All of the above produce a joint with inferior strength and properties different from the bulk material being joined.
A need exists in the art for a ceramic joint forming process that results in joints as strong, or actually stronger than the materials joined. The process should be simple in that no elaborate surface preparation or application techniques are required. The process also should utilize common ceramic materials and readily available equipment to minimize costs. Joining temperatures should be as low as possible to minimize degradation of the ceramics being joined and to minimize the cost and complexity of the tooling needed to form the joints. In certain instances, the process should result in a construct which in which the native porosity and optical transmission of the starting materials is maintained, including across the interface region where subunits of the construct are joined.
There is also a need for a technology for producing robust complex cermet forms from simpler ones. The technology should be simple, inexpensive, require few steps to complete, and require minimal surface preparation.

Joining of advanced materials by plastic deformation


A mobile storage system that includes a guidance system controlling the movement of each of a plurality of movable carriages along a support surface. The mobile storage system includes a guidance system having a magnetic strip positioned on the support surface. One or more magnetic sensors are positioned on each of the mobile carriages and generally aligned with the magnetic strip positioned on the floor. The magnetic sensors detect the magnetic strip and a control unit controls the operation of a pair of drive motors to move the carriages along, the mobile strip while maintaining proper alignment. The guidance system thus eliminates the need for any floor mounted rails to guide the movement of the individual mobile carriages along the support surface.

The present disclosure generally relates to storage systems and more specifically, to a high density mobile storage system that includes a guidance system to selectively control the movement of the movable carriages to form an aisle between adjacent carriages.
Industrial and commercial rack and shelving systems are commonly used in storage facilities to store products until those products are shipped to a customer or to a retailer. Typically, the storage racks include multiple shelves that store loaded pallets of other types of items. The stored items can be removed from the storage racks when needed. The storage racks are spaced from one another in a manner to form relatively wide aisles to allow sufficient room for a forklift or other vehicle to remove items from the storage racks. Since each storage rack has a fixed position, each rack or shelving unit must have a dedicated aisle. Since an aisle is typically as wide as the rack itself, more than half of the floor space occupied by an industrial or commercial rack or shelving system may be occupied by aisles and is thus not usable for product storage.
Mobile shelving or rack systems, such as those available from Spacesaver Corporation, are designed to reduce the number of fixed aisles and, as a result, increase the amount of floor space used for product storage. Typically, a single aisle is allocated for the entire shelving or rack system. The position of the single aisle can be changed by moving the carriages supporting the individual racks or shelves along a track or rail that is mounted within the storage facility flooring, which is typically a concrete slab. During use, each of the individual racks can be moved either separately or as a multiple rack unit to create an aisle between desired storage racks. In typical mobile shelving or rack systems, rails or guides are mounted within the concrete floor in a parallel arrangement to guide the individual movable carriages during the movement process.
During the initial construction of a storage facility, the rails or guides are typically positioned in the floor as the floor is poured. In this manner, the rails can be set out in the desired location and can be embedded in the floor during the floor creation.
When a mobile shelving or rack system is desired in a pre-existing storage facility, the guide rails must be positioned within the floor in the desired location. This process requires cutting of the concrete floor and positioning the rails within the removed channels. Once the rails have been recessed into the floor, additional concrete material is poured along the rails to secure the rails in the desired location. Retrofitting existing storage facilities to include a mobile industrial rack system is thus both costly and time consuming.

Mobile carriage system with no rails for guidance system


In the inventive system, a telecommunication network includes a calling subscriber's terminal equipment, a called subscriber's terminal equipment, a home location register of the calling subscriber's subscription, a home location register of the called subscriber's subscription, a calling subscriber's visited mobile switching center, a communication server for route optimization of the connection to be set up, and a mobile switching center under which the called subscriber is located. A telecommunication connection is set up from the visited mobile switching center to the mobile switching center on the basis of call pricing data and/or network configuration data. The call pricing data and/or network configuration data for a variety of different possible routes are identified or determined by means of the communication server and used to identify the optimum route for the telecommunication connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunication technology. More particularly, through use of the procedure and system of the invention a telecommunication connection is set up in a mobile communication network by predeterminately routing the connection on the basis of call pricing data or network configuration data.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) telephone or handset or terminal device in another or foreign operator's network is commonly called roaming. With the rise of GSM as a world standard, international roaming traffic is becoming an important subject of interest and concern to mobile communication network operators.
Teleoperators typically have a multiplicity of available roaming partners in different countries. This is the case because GSM operators have signed an agreement, known as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which provides that all member operators must establish roaming agreements with other operators. In any event, even in the absence of such roaming agreements among all operators, there will still be intensive growth in roaming traffic, placing significant strain on the resources of both the international network and those parties handling the billing tasks. In addition, the amount of data to be processed and the risks of abuse are likewise increasing, creating pressures to provide more effective routing and billing systems.
Teleoperators receive information on call charges for international calls from other teleoperators under the roaming agreement, in accordance with which teleoperators must inform other teleoperators in the event of changes in the pricing of calls subject to the roaming agreement. In this manner up to date call pricing data for the calling subscriber's home operator may be maintained.
Prior art routing call routing solutions applied in telecommunication and telephone networks are based on technical factors, such as physical route length or network load. There are currently two different methods used for the routing of GSM calls; one is so-called standard routing, and the other is optimal routing as defined in the GSM specifications.
The SOR (Support of Optimal Routing) method used in the GSM system is a property of a mobile communication network that enables calls to be routed directly to the actual location of a mobile station, or to a number indicated by a call transfer setting, without routing it via the subscriber's home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). An IPLMN (Interrogating PLMN) handles the call and determines possible optimization of each call in accordance with the information provided by the subscriber's home PLMN. When optimal routing is possible for subscribers in the network, the home PLMN either enables or disables optimal routing for the connection to be set up.
One drawback of the SOR method is that it only takes into account situations in which the calling and called subscribers are currently (i.e. at the time of call setup) located in the same country, or where the called subscriber is currently located in his or her home network. Moreover, the first stage of the SOR method only allows calls from one mobile station to another and call transfers or forwards from a mobile station to a wired-network telephone number. It does not however, and by way of example, allow calls from a mobile station to a subscriber in a wired telephone network. As a consequence, it has been estimated that the SOR method can be utilized to set up only a few percent of all calls. A particular problem with such prior art methods is that they do not take into account the costs incurred by the operator when calls are set up and routed via, and in the areas of, mobile switching centers of other (i.e. foreign) teleoperators.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Procedure and system for setting up a telecommunication connection


A single-layer or multilayer film formed from one or more polymeric materials has CIE colour values a* and b* such that −7≤a*≤0, −15≤b*≤0 and an optical transmission T such that 60%≤T≤95%. The inventive, transparent films provide discoloration compensation that alleviates yellowing caused by UV light.

Transparent coloured films composed of polymeric materials are known in the prior art.
EP 0 239 100 A2 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,400 A) describes a transparent, heat-shrinkable multilayer film having at least one layer which comprises a vinylidene chloride-vinyl chloride copolymer and at least one layer which comprises a thermoplastic polymer, where the multilayer film contains dioxazine violet pigment and has a violet colour shade.
JP 3 140 252 B2 relates to packaging for foods having a transparent, lightly violet-coloured region composed of a polymeric multilayer film with gas barrier, comprising a layer of PVdC, EVOH or PET.
Films composed of various chlorine-containing polymeric materials, for example vinyl chloride polymer (VCP) and polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC), alter on long-term irradiation with UV light. Here, in a manner similar to thermal decomposition, hydrogen chloride is liberated by elimination reactions, leading to formation of conjugated polyene sequences in the polymer backbone, so that when there is a sufficiently large number of conjugated double bonds, absorption in the visible range of light occurs and a colouration of the polymer perceptible to the human eye thus results. An increased UV dose brings about, in particular, an initially yellowish and increasingly brownish discolouration of the polymer as a result of the increase in the conjugated double bond units (sequences). Since processes of thermal and/or UV-induced decomposition of VCP and PVdC follow a similar mechanism of dehydrochlorination, many of the materials used for thermal stabilization of VCP and PVdC can also be used for stabilization against UV radiation. UV-absorbing substances such as organic UV absorbers, derivatives of salicylic acid, resorcylic acid, benzophenone (e.g. 2,2′-dihydroxybenzophenone), benzotriazole or mineral nanoparticles are different from these. In the prior art, the mineral nanoparticles are preferred since organic absorbers frequently display selectivity in their UV-filtering properties and also have a low long-term stability. A UV absorber in combination with a thermal or UV stabilizer is usually employed for protection. Inorganic absorbers such as mineral nanoparticles also scatter visible light having wavelengths in the range from 380 to 780 nm and bring about considerable clouding of the film.
The UV stabilizers and UV absorbers known in the prior art are frequently not suitable for various applications because of food laws, regulations for pharmacological product safety or because of impairment of the visual appearance.
Accordingly, films intended for such applications cannot be provided with UV stabilizers and UV absorbers and on prolonged irradiation with UV light are subject to decomposition which, while it does not impair the function of the packaging, is clearly perceptible as yellowing and gives the consumer the impression of low shelf life and product quality.

Transparent polymer film with discoloration compensation