Embodiments of an apparatus and a method for storing data in a digital broadcasting receiver can convert received digital TV broadcasting data into data of another format before being stored. In one embodiment, redundancy data of the digital TV broadcasting data can be generated based on the converted data of the predetermined format and stored with the converted data of the predetermined format to variably output two formats of data with the single stored data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for storing data in a digital broadcasting receiver, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for converting received digital television (hereinafter, referred to as TV) broadcasting data to data in a different format and storing the converted data.
2. Background of the Related Art
Generally, a digital broadcasting receiver such as a digital television and a set-top box (STB) having a digital broadcasting reception function receives digital TV broadcasting data of an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) MPEG-2 Transport Streams (TSs), which belongs to a digital TV broadcasting scheme. The digital broadcasting receiver performs a MPEG decoding and a signal processing for the received digital TV broadcasting data, and outputs video data of high picture quality and audio data of high speech quality.
Further, a digital broadcasting receiver with a Personal Video Recording (hereinafter, referred to as PVR) function has also been developed and commercialized. The PVR can store received digital TV broadcasting data of ATSC MPEG-2 TSs in a high capacity hard disk, and reproduce the stored digital TV broadcasting data at a time desired by a user.
With the start of a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) based on the mobility, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone and a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with a DMB reception function has been developed and commercialized. Herein, DMB format video data have a resolution of maximum 352×288 pixels and DMB format audio data have speech quality of a CD level. When the audio data are provided together with video, the audio data have speech quality better than that of an analog FM radio.
However, the related art digital broadcasting system has various disadvantages. For example, the related art digital broadcasting system only provides a limited subset of programs in the DMB format.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

Apparatus and method for storing data in a digital broadcasting receiver


A multi-communication rate switching physical device for a port of a mixed communication rate Ethernet repeater network. The present invention includes a physical device for recovering bits from a wire connection (e.g., fiber, twisted pair, etc.) that is coupled to computer system adapter. The physical device can be implemented on a single chip integrated within an Ethernet repeater hub within each hub port. The physical device chip of the invention includes a front end multiplexer coupled to channel information between a 10 Base T physical device circuit and a 100 Base T physical device circuit, depending on the result of an auto-negotiation circuit also on the physical device chip. The physical device chip also advantageously employs a second, back end multiplexer, that is coupled to channel data between either the 10 Base T physical device circuit or the 100 Base T physical device circuit and one of a multiple of media independent interfaces (MIIs). The back end multiplexer is controlled by a combination of signals including the auto-negotiation circuit result and a system management interface override signal. By providing multiple MII (or giga MII) interface connections, the invention provides a low cost solution to allow the associated port to be automatically associated with a number of different collision domains within the Ethernet network. Port assignment to one domain or another is flexible and can be based on: (1) the result of an auto-negotiation session; (2) a manual override; or (3) detected errors in the fastest attempted rate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of local area networks (LANs) using the Ethernet communication protocol (e.g., the IEEE 802.3 Standard). Specifically, the present invention relates to a switchable physical device component within a network repeater hub.
2. Related Art
Communication networks for computer systems are an extremely popular form of providing network computing today. FIG. 1 illustrates a high level block diagram of the communication levels within a typical communication network system 5. System 5 has a first communication level 12 including communication adapters ("cards") that are inserted into computer systems to provide them with networking capability. The computer systems interface with users 10. The second communication level 14 is the workgroup level and includes hubs (e.g., repeater hubs, switching hubs, etc.). The hubs provide communication pathways between computer systems of the same or multiple local area networks (LANs). Computer systems coupled to a common hub share the same collision domain. A collision domain is a group of computer systems logically connected to share the same physical bandwidth (e.g. 10 Megabits/sec or 100 Megabits/sec) of a communication pathway. In the field of twisted pair cable repeater hubs, a collision domain is managed by a repeater interface controller (RIC). The third level 16 is often called the backbone or backplane level and can include segment switches. Among other functions, the components of level 16 provide communication pathways between hubs and between different collision domains.
Recently, 100 Megabit bandwidth networking (100 M or 100) has been introduced into the marketplace of computer network systems from an installed base of 10 Megabit bandwidth systems (10 M or 10). This has led to the development of dual rate adapter cards (e.g., of level 12) that can be configured to communicate at 100 M or 10 M; these dual rate adapters are referred to as 10/100 adapters. The IEEE 802.3 standard provides for an auto-negotiation session whereby the 10/100 adapter can determine which communication rate is supported by its coupled hub (e.g., of level 14). However, as described in more detail below, many of the workgroup hubs in level 14 do not support 100 M networking because of the additional cost required to upgrade the workgroup equipment to this rate.
For instance, refer to FIG. 2A which illustrates a prior art communication system 44 employing two repeater hubs 30 and 32. Repeater hubs are low cost because they do not require an expensive media access controller (MAC) for each port nor do they require switches; only a physical device (e.g., 21a-21d or 23a-23d) is required at each port to provide repeating. Within system 44, all ports of a repeater hub (the hub having one repeater interface controller, RIC) are required to be of the same communication rate because: (1) messages from one port are repeated to all other ports by the hub's RIC; and (2) because only one RIC is provided, only one collision domain is allowed. Therefore, 10/100 adapters 20a-20d are coupled to repeater hub 30 operating at 10 M while 10/100 adapters 22a-22d are coupled to repeater hub 32 operating at 100 M. The adapters 20a-20d and 22a-22d are coupled to their associated hubs through physical devices 21a-21d and 23a-23d, respectively. The repeater hubs 30 and 32 are coupled to backbone circuit 40 through pathways 34 and 36, respectively. Backbone circuit 40 may contain segment switches or routers. Due to the difference in operational speeds of hubs 30 and 32, the only means by which the two hubs can communicate is through backbone level 40, which has circuits that can adapt the data from each segment.
FIG. 2B illustrates a similar prior art communication system 78 using three exemplary stackable low cost repeater hubs 50a, 50b and 54 that each use a single RIC. Hubs 50a and 50b operate at 10 M while hub 54 operates at 100 M. Hubs 50a and 50b are coupled to switch module 62 via separate pathways 52a and 52b, respectively, while hub 54 is coupled to switch circuit 62 via separate pathway 56. The switch module 62 provides communication between the different collision domain segments. This can be accomplished either using a bus based CPU architecture or a cross bar switch architecture. A management module 64 is also included and interfaces with the switch module 62.
In systems like system 44 and system 78, the majority of installed repeater hubs support only 10 M communication (e.g., 10 Base T). If one port of a 10 M repeater hub (e.g., hub 30 or a hub of hubs 50a and 50b) needs to be upgraded to 100 M, all ports within the 10 M repeater hub need to be upgraded because the hub only supports one collision domain. This causes a problem because the cost of performing such an upgrade for all ports in a 10 M repeater hub is very expensive and can be impractical if only one port needs the 100 M communication rate. The prior art solution for providing 100 M communication has been to add repeaters, e.g., repeater hub 54, that handle only 100 M communication. However, this solution has drawbacks when a computer system moves from one port to another. For instance, if system 44 includes ten 10 M hubs like hub 30 and only one 100 M hub like hub 32 and then adapter 22a is moved from one building to another, adapter 22a may no longer be physically accessible to hub 32. The same is true for system 78. It would be advantageous to provide a low cost repeater hub design that offers the flexibility of readily upgrading one or more ports of the hub to 100 M while allowing the remainder ports to operate at 10 M without requring expensive switching circuitry. The present invention provides such a repeater hub.
FIG. 3 illustrates a high cost communication network 96 based on a switching hub 90 that provides mixed 10 M and 100 M ports. Adapters 80a-80h of the 10/100 type are coupled via respective physical devices 81a-81h to switching hub 90. Switching hub 90 contains complex circuitry 92 to provide multiple independent communication channels between respective pairs of adapters 80a-80h. Switching hub 90 allows for mixed 10 M and 100 M ports because independent communication channels can be formed between adapter pairs. However, system 96 is a very expensive network solution due to the required switching logic. For instance, the cost per port of the switching hub 90 is well over an order of magnitude greater than the cost per port of repeater system 44 (FIG. 2A) or repeater system 78 (FIG. 2B). For many network applications, the use of switching hub 90 is not a practical solution for providing mixed 10 M and 100 M ports within a workgroup hub because of its high cost per port. It would be advantageous to provide a workgroup hub that offers the flexibility of mixed 10 M and 100 M ports while avoiding the high cost per port associated with switching hubs. The present invention provides such a repeater hub.
Lastly, some repeater hubs incorporate more than one RIC circuit allowing a mixture of both 10 M and 100 M ports within a single 10/100 repeater hub. However, these 10/100 repeater hubs, as well as the repeater hubs of system 44 and system 78, use prior art physical devices to recover information at the port connection. As shown in FIG. 4, the physical device circuits 100 of the prior art, while supporting either 10 Base T 106 or 100 Base T 108 communication, nevertheless offer only one media independent interface (MII) 104. Therefore, each port within the prior art 10/100 repeater hub (using physical device 100) is hardwired to communicate within one, and only one, collision domain 102 (e.g., 100 M domain or 10 M domain). While allowing mixed 10/100 port assignments, this prior art 10/100 repeater hub is not flexible with respect to changes in the computer system coupled to a particular port. For instance, if a particular port is operating at 100 M and the user for that port is replaced with another user that does not need 100 M, a significant amount of reconfiguration is required (e.g., by a system administrator or communication technician) to rewire the particular port into another collision domain or wire another user into the particular port. Alternatively, if the particular port is not rewired, then resource bandwidth becomes wasted as 100 M is being reserved for a possible 10 M use. It would be advantageous to provide a low cost 10/100 repeater hub that provides port-by-port flexible reconfiguration between multiple collision domains without requiring expensive switching circuitry. The present invention provides such a repeater hub.
In other implementations of the circuit of FIG. 4, separate circuitry is applied external to the physical device 100 and this external circuitry acts as a switch circuit between multiple segments. The switch circuitry is typically coupled to a serial management port and an external controller. However, such design also typically requires processor intervention for providing switching activity; again leading to a complex and expensive solution. It would be advantageous to provide a low cost 10/100 repeater hub that provides port-by-port flexible reconfiguration between multiple collision domains without requiring expensive switching circuitry external to the physical device for each port of the hub.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a low cost repeater hub that offers the flexibility of readily upgrading one or more ports of the hub to 100 M while allowing the remainder ports to operate at 10 M. The present invention provides workgroup repeater hub that offers the flexibility of mixed 10 M and 100 M ports while avoiding the high cost per port associated with switching hubs. The present invention provides a low cost 10/100 repeater hub with port-by-port flexible reconfiguration between multiple collision domains without external switching circuitry applied to the physical device. The present invention provides such a repeater hub with a novel switching physical device. These and other advantages of the present invention not specifically mentioned above will become clear within discussions of the present invention presented herein.

Multi-rate switching physical device for a mixed communication rate ethernet repeater


A method for providing a triangularly shaped I/O region on the periphery of an integrated circuit in order to reduce the amount of unused surface area on the integrated circuit is disclosed. A core region within the triangularly shaped I/O region may be either triangularly shaped or rectangularly shaped, and may include one or more metallization lines routed in a direction parallel to at least one edge of the triangularly shaped I/O region on the periphery of the integrated circuit. Alternatively, the core region may include one or more metallization lines routed in a direction parallel to at least one edge of the triangularly shaped peripheral I/O region, as well as one or more other metallization lines routed in a direction perpendicular to at least one edge of the triangularly shaped peripheral I/O region. A plurality of I/O slots located in the triangularly shaped I/O region may be triangularly, trapezoidally, or rectangularly shaped.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to integrated circuit designs. More particularly the use of alternative silicon chip geometries is disclosed to increase the ratio of the number of I/O pads to the effective number of logic gates while reducing the amount of unused silicon on an integrated circuit.
2. Description of Prior Art
As integrated circuits have become more complex, the speed and number of logic gates required on an integrated circuit chip has increased. This increase in the required number of logic gates has prompted the development of technology which enables smaller logic gates to be fabricated. With a decrease in the size of logic gates used on an integrated circuit, however, comes an increase in the amount of unused silicon on the integrated circuit. Although decreasing the overall die size of the integrated circuit to reduce the amount of unused silicon is possible to a certain extent, the pitch of required peripheral I/O pads often makes it impossible to reduce the die size to eliminate unused silicon completely.
FIG. 1A is a diagrammatic top view of an integrated circuit chip die 110 with a core area 114, areas of unused silicon 116, and peripheral I/O pads 118. FIG. 1A is intended to show the locations of core area 114, areas of unused silicon 116, and peripheral I/O pad 118, and should be understood to be a generic, off-scale representation of integrated circuit die 110. Core area 114 is comprised of logic gates (not shown). A logic gate is typically comprised of six to eight transistors, although some logic gates (AND gates and inverters, for example) may require fewer transistors. Peripheral I/O pads 118, located along the perimeter of integrated circuit chip die 110, are bonded to an external frame (not shown) in a later part of the semiconductor fabrication process to create a complete packaged integrated circuit chip.
Advances in semiconductor technology have made it possible to reduce the amount of silicon necessary to fabricate logic gates used in integrated circuits. For an integrated circuit chip of a fixed size, the decrease in the size of logic gates makes it possible to increase the density of logic gates on the integrated circuit chip. FIG. 1B is a diagrammatic top view of an integrated circuit chip die 140 with a core area 144, a large area of unused silicon 146, and peripheral I/O pads 148. It should be understood that although the illustration of integrated circuit chip die 140 in FIG. 1B with the large area of unused silicon 146 and the high density of peripheral I/O pads 148 is an exaggerated representation of an actual integrated circuit chip die, large areas of unused silicon 146 have indeed become more prevalent in integrated circuit chip dies 140 due to the fact that the decrease in size of logic gates (not shown) housed in core area 144 has enabled the density of logic gates to increase.
As semiconductor technology scales to smaller feature dimensions for integrated circuit chips, the available logic gate density increases with the square of the scaling factor. With the increase in the density of logic gates comes an increase in the required number of peripheral I/O pads 148. However, the pitch of peripheral I/O pads 148 scales much more slowly than the density of logic gates, and is constrained by assembly considerations, as for example wire bonding technology tolerances. As a result, the size of a silicon die, as for example integrated circuit die 140, is often determined by the number of peripheral I/O pads 148 necessary in a design rather than the area of silicon required for the logic circuitry itself. Such silicon dies are described as being pad limited.
Since the size of peripheral I/O pads 148 is constrained by packaging technology and assembly constraints as described above, the size of peripheral I/O pads 148 may only be reduced to a certain point. Hence, the size of peripheral I/O pads 148 cannot be decreased in order to enable a higher number of peripheral I/O pads 148 to be placed. Typically, the overall size of integrated circuit chip die 140 is increased in order to allow for a higher number of peripheral I/O pads 148 to be implemented. While the overall size of integrated circuit chip die 140 is increased to accommodate a higher number of peripheral I/O pads 148, core area 144 does not increase in size. The area of unused silicon 146, however, increases with the size of integrated circuit chip die 140.
FIG. 1C is a diagrammatic top view of a portion of an integrated circuit chip die 180 with I/O pads 188, I/O slots 190, and areas of unused silicon 184. FIG. 1C is intended to further illustrate why the size of integrated circuit chip die 180 may not simply be decreased to reduce the areas of unused silicon 184. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 1B, the size of peripheral I/O pads 188 may only be decreased to a certain extent due to technology and assembly considerations. In addition, integrated circuit chip die 180 has I/O slots 190 between areas of unused silicon 184 and peripheral I/O pads 188. I/O slots 190 contain transistors (not shown) which serve as amplifiers, buffers, etc.; the transistors in I/O slots 190 are typically larger than transistors which comprise logic gates (not shown) in the core area of integrated circuit chip die 180. Thus, the need for I/O slots 190 further prevents the possibility of shrinking the overall package size of integrated circuit chip die 180.
The area of a silicon die is a primary factor in determining the cost of fabricating an integrated circuit. As such, efforts have been made to reduce the amount of unused silicon on a die. In other words, efforts have been made to increase the available number of I/O pads while simultaneously reducing the size of the associated silicon die. One method which is used to increase the available number of I/O pads while reducing overall die size involves the use of a pad area array instead of the common peripheral ring of I/O pads. In this method, I/O pads are distributed across the area of a die rather than being confined to the periphery of the die. Although the use of a pad area array does reduce the amount of unused silicon on a die while allowing for more I/O pads to be incorporated into the die, implementing a pad area array requires significant modifications to the processes of fabricating and assembling integrated circuits. Any cost savings which may be gained from reducing the amount of silicon required on a die are most likely lost in the fabrication process.
The development of a method which reduces the amount of unused silicon on a die or a wafer, without significantly altering existing integrated circuit fabrication and assembly techniques, would reduce the overall cost associated with the semiconductor fabrication process.

Alternative silicon chip geometries for integrated circuits


A valve drive with a decompression brake for an internal combustion engine, which has a camshaft with a cam, a rocker arm for transmitting the cam stroke to a gas exchange valve, a pivot bearing supporting the rocker arm, and a hydraulic valve play compensating element arranged in force flow between the cam and gas exchange valve. The valve play compensating element is fixed in the engine and valve drive also has a secondary lever with a first and second lever section. The secondary lever is angularly connected, between the lever sections, to a lever support formed on the rocker arm, is supported with the first lever section on the valve play compensating element and actuates the gas exchange valve by the second lever section. The effective lever arm of the first lever section is considerably greater than the effective lever arm of the second lever section.

In valve drives for internal combustion engines with a decompression brake—usually large-volume diesel engines for use in utility vehicles—provision is made for one or all of the outlet valves of a cylinder to be re-opened during the course of the compression stroke in the engine braking mode in order to considerably increase the charge exchange work for the benefit of negative engine power. In relation to the regular outlet valve actuation in the expansion stroke, the re-opening of the outlet as a function of the control times thereof requires significantly greater valve actuating forces, since the outlet valves must open counter to the compression pressure, and occasionally counter to the final compression pressure in the cylinder.
As proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,392,772 B2, which is considered to be generic, it is possible in valve drives of said type for the compensation of the valve play to also take place in an automatic and continuously variable fashion by means of a hydraulic valve play compensating element, wherein it is intended for the valve play compensating element to be arranged as an alternative to an adjusting screw, which mechanically adjusts the valve play, between the valve-side lever section of a rocker arm, which is disclosed in said document, and the gas exchange valve. Said positioning of the valve play compensating element can, however, pose problems since the high valve actuating forces during the engine braking mode cause an excessive sinking of the valve play compensating element on account of hydraulic medium being FORCED out of the high-pressure chamber of said valve play compensating element. The regeneration of the valve play compensating element, which is subsequently required, is also hindered by the multiple opening of the outlet valve during a cam rotation, since only a comparatively small zero-stroke cam angle is available for the re-induction of hydraulic medium into the then-expanding high-pressure chamber. One result of this imbalance between the sinking and regeneration of the valve play compensating element can, depending on the duration of the engine braking mode, be a successive complete collapse of the valve play compensating element into its mechanical blocked position, wherein this may be associated both from a thermodynamic aspect and also from a mechanical aspect with inadmissible truncation of the cam elevations for the expansion stroke and the engine braking mode. With regard to the thermodynamics, reference is made to the inadequate charge exchange on account of excessively small valve opening cross sections, and with regard to mechanics, reference is made to the high lift-up and set-down speeds of the gas exchange valves on account of a lack of cam ramps.
Said considerations apply correspondingly to the valve drive proposed in DE 10 2006 031 706 A1, which valve drive has a hydraulic valve play compensating element arranged between a rocker arm and the gas exchange valve.

Valve drive for an internal combustion engine, in particular with a decompression brake


A system for, and method of, providing encapsulated and performance-efficient data references in an object-oriented controller and a distributed, real time process control system employing the system or the method. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a client algorithm block that generates a request for an address to enable the client algorithm block to gain direct access to data stored at the address and (2) a supplier algorithm block, that receives and evaluates the request and: (2a) if the supplier algorithm block grants the request, communicates the address to the client algorithm block, allowing the client algorithm block to gain direct access to the data and (2b) if the supplier algorithm block denies the request, withholds the address, forcing the client algorithm block to gain indirect access to the data.

Automated process control systems include a comprehensive set of algorithms, or software-definable process control routines, to control and monitor various processes within, for instance, a manufacturing facility. The control systems can be tailored to satisfy a wide range of process requirements globally or within specified portions of the facility. Conventionally, the control systems include a variety of modules, each having its own processor or firmware, linked together by communication buses to result in a distributed process control system. The distributed nature of the system affords high performance with the capability to expand the system incrementally to satisfy growth or modifications in the facility.
Process control systems generally provide a means by which users can create custom control strategies, e.g., software-definable process control routines. A complete control strategy may be built from smaller components called "blocks," "parameters," and "connections." A block is a software construct used to encapsulate the data and the algorithms of elemental control computations; parameters define the interface to individual pieces of data within the blocks; and connections allow data to flow between the parameters of blocks.
Software used to implement a real-time process controller can be based on different design philosophies. One philosophy is to use an object oriented approach in which the algorithms and data which encompass elemental control algorithms are implemented within encapsulated objects; using this philosophy, the "blocks" are objects whose attributes are contained "parameters" and whose behaviors are the implemented control algorithms. This approach has several advantages, including: close coupling of the control algorithm with its data; the capability for the algorithm, as data owner, to qualify changes to the data; and the capability for the algorithm, as data owner, to "communicate" with system users about the validity of requested state changes.
The object-oriented approach, however, has the disadvantage that it can cause more processing overhead than other approaches. In a pure object-oriented approach, no outside algorithm is given access to the parameters of a block without the intervention of the block itself, which requires the block to execute a subroutine to read or write a parameter. In some cases, subroutine execution is appropriate and the overhead is not significant; in other cases, however, the subroutine execution is wasteful of processing resources.
Therefore, what is needed in the art are systems and methods for providing encapsulated and performance-efficient data references in an object-oriented controller, and a distributed control system employing the same; the systems and methods should provide a means whereby block designers of control blocks can be allowed to select parameter access through subroutine execution or through a less encapsulated, but more efficient, form of access, defined herein as "intimate" access.

System and methods for providing encapsulated and performance-efficient data references in an object-oriented controller and distributed control system employing the same


A flexible coupling for flexibly joining two shafts includes a unitary solid cylindrical body having a first end, a second end, and therebetween having one or more longitudinally spaced circular disks spaced by asymmetric slot pairs; a radially offset beam formed between a first slot and a second slot of each asymmetric slot pair, such that the radially offset beam is parallel to a diameter of the cylindrical body and is offset from the parallel diameter by a radial beam offset distance R1; each beam being rotationally offset from longitudinally adjacent beams; and hub means at the first end for coaxially connecting the first end to a first one of the two shafts, and hub means at the second end for coaxially connecting the second end to a second one of the two shafts.

The use of flexible couplings for interconnecting driving and driven shafts of precision instruments wherein the coupling is capable of accommodating shaft misalignments and axial shaft movements and permits limited torsional or radial deflection thereof is well known. In selected portions of an article entitled "Radial-Beam Couplings: A Cut Above the Rest" (Machine Design; Jul. 6, 2000) John B. Ricker states: "Of the many types available, single piece flexible couplings are the least expensive, and common geometries include radial slotted beam, helical or spiral, and bellows. The most critical factors to consider when choosing flexible couplings include torque capacity, torsional stiffness, bearing loads, transmission errors, shaft misalignment, and service life. Torque capacity is a measure of the coupler's amount of angular or parallel offset allowed from motor to load, and the life expectancy of the coupling. That is, stiff couplings operating under relatively high stress from large offsets can't survive millions of operating cycles. Transmission errors manifest themselves as small variations in velocity and position between motor and load. The variations are due primarily to coupling geometry and relative size. Bellows couplings usually provide the lowest transmission errors and radial bearing loads, good lateral flexibility, and the highest torsional stiffness. However, they have lower peak and running torque for equivalent sizes and are the most expensive. Bellows couplings have been traditionally used in smaller stepmotor and servomotor-driven systems. By comparison, helical or spiral couplings have sufficient lateral flexibility to handle large shaft offsets. But they also have only moderate torsional stiffness and the largest transmission errors. Helical couplings are generally categorized by the number of starting slots. For example, a single-beam helical coupling has one continuous cut throughout its entire one-piece flexing or working length. By contrast, a six-beam coupling has two sets of three helical cuts 120° apart separated by a center piece. A hub at each end of the coupling connects the motor drive shaft to the load, or feedback devices such as resolvers and encoders to lead screws and power transmission components. Ordinary radial beam slotted-type couplings fall between the above two types for cost, torsional stiffness, and transmission errors (driving an encoder), but produce the highest radial bearing load."
An example of a helical flexible coupling is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,305 (Williams; 1980) which discloses a flexible coupling for torque transmission having a plurality of helical beams extending between the coupling ends.
An example of a radial beam slotted-type coupling is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,980 (Agius; 1994) which discloses a constant velocity flexible coupling for coupling two shafts that has a solid unitary body (22) with a plurality of complimentary pairs of slots (e.g., 34 paired with 36) positioned between a first and second end (hubs 24, 26). The plurality of complimentary pairs of slots extend inwardly from the circumference of the (cylindrical) body to a predetermined depth so as to form a plurality of beams (e.g., 46) between the complimentary pairs of slots. A plurality of disks (e.g., 111, 112) are formed in the body by the plurality of complementary pairs of slots, and the plurality of beams join and bridge the space between adjacent disks. Adjacent beams (e.g., 46, 64 or 78, 84) are angularly offset by a number of degrees (e.g., 90 degrees or e.g., 30 degrees). The illustrations (FIGS. 1–16) show that the "complimentary pairs of slots extending inwardly from the circumference of the body to a predetermined depth" form radial beams that are centered on diameters of the cylindrical beam, i.e., the "predetermined depth" is the same for each of the slots in a "complimentary pair of slots".
As stated in the Ricker article hereinabove, radial beam slotted-type couplings fall between the bellows and helical types of flexible couplings in terms of cost, torsional stiffness, radial bearing load, and transmission errors. It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel flexible coupling that achieves performance advantages of both the bellows type and the slotted radial beam type while maintaining the low cost advantage of slot and beam types of flexible couplings.

Flexible coupling with radially offset beams formed by asymmetric slot pairs


A thrombectomy removal kit having: (a) a catheter balloon assembly having proximal and distal ends including a first catheter carrying a remotely inflatable occlusion balloon and a second catheter carrying a mechanical device for removing a clot; (b) a balloon-collared sheath having a collar sheath with proximal and distal ends, the collar sheath having an open interior, and a sealing valve for sealing the interior of the collar sheath, and inflatable collar balloon, disposed on the exterior distal end of said collar sheath; and (c) a suction module, having a suction sheath attachable to a suction device, the suction sheath having proximal and distal ends, the suction sheath having an open interior, and sized to be inserted in a vein.

Acute venous thrombosis (also referred to as acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT)) is a condition where blood clots (thrombosis) form inside veins. An acute clot is initially soft (jelly-like). The vessel and surrounding tissue will respond with an inflammatory reaction and over weeks and months the clot will become "hardened" and retract and partially obstruct the lumen. Classic symptoms of acute venous thrombosis include pain, swelling and redness of the leg and dilation of the surface veins. However, these symptoms may be absent in certain cases. The traditional treatment for venous thrombois, in its early jelly-like stages, is to use blood thinners (anticoagulation) without removing the clot itself (anticoagulants often do not actively dissolve the clot, but prevent new clots from forming).
Removal of the thrombus in addition to anticoagulation is beneficial to long term patency. Currently, there are two main approaches to remove the clot in the early stage (generally, within 14 days of onset of symptoms): (1) dissolution or lysis of the clot by administering a clot dissolving enzyme (a lytic agent) through a catheter into the vein harboring the clot; or (2) removal of the clot by a mechanical device, sometimes priming the clot with a lytic agent prior to removal. In the "hardened" late stage (sometimes referred to as postthrombotic disease), thrombectomy is generally ineffective, and the condition generally treated with balloon angioplasty and possible stenting.
Currently available mechanical devices include the AngioJet (Possis Medical, Inc., Minneapolis) and the Trellis, manufactured by Bacchus Vascular, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.
The AngioJet is a dual lumen catheter designed to rapidly remove blood clots with minimal vascular trauma. The AngioJet System is typically used in conjunction with thrombolytics. The Trellis is a drug infusion device designed for isolated thrombolysis. A thrombus is isolated between two occlusion balloons while the thrombolytic is mechanically dispersed with an oscillating wire and then aspirated.
Currently available mechanical thrombectomy devices perform poorly without lytic agents as their mechanical efficiency is poor. However, use of lytic agents poses the risk of inducing bleeding into normal tissues leading to serious complications such as for example, stroke. Additionally, mechanical removal of clots presents the potential for embolism when portions of a clot break off and migrate to undesired location. A new mechanical design is intended to improve clot removing efficiency without the need to employ a lytic agent and to reduce the occurrence of embolism.


A shoe with a waterproof lining (16) comprises a shaft (12) connected to a marginal strip (12b) made of a material which does not conduct water. The marginal strip (12b) is attached to the insole (10). A seal (24) is arranged between the marginal strip (12b) and the lining (16). The sole structure (14) is not attached to the marginal strip (12b). The seal (24) is made of a sealing material which is introduced between the marginal strip (12b) and the waterproof lining (16) independently of the sole structure (14).

The invention relates to a shoe with an upper, an insole connected to the upper, a sole construction connected to the upper and a substantially waterproof lining, the upper which consists of a material of relatively high water-conductivity having connected to it a marginal strip of a material of lesser or no water conductivity which is connected to the insole and which through the interposition of a sealing-tight compound bears on the waterproof lining in a waterproof fashion, the sole structure having at least one per se watertight layer which is connected in watertight manner to the outside of the marginal strip.
Modern lining materials such as are commercially available for example under the trade mark Goretex(.RTM.), provide for the waterproof lining of shoes without impeding their permeability to vapour. Basically, two systems are known. In the case of a first system, a complete sock is inserted or rigidly incorporated into the shoe. In the case of a further system, only the upper part of the shoe is lined and watertightness is completed by connecting the lining to a sealing structure in the sole zone. The present invention is concerned with the latter-mentioned system.
It is known from German Patent Specification No. 37 12 901 for the lining material to be continued on the underside of the insole beyond the welt of the upper and to be embedded there into a waterproof coating which is sprayed onto the underside of the insole so forming a sealing-tight continuation of the lining in the sole area.
In the case of a first construction according to this Patent Specification, the upper is formed from a laminate comprising an outer layer, a vapour-permeable membrane as a middle layer and an inner layer. On the inside of the inner layer there may possibly be a lining material. The laminate engages under the insole. In the marginal area of the insole, the laminate is, via its inner layer, rigidly lasted on the insole by the AGO method. A projecting area of the laminate is disposed underneath the insole where it is embedded into a sealing material which is sprayed onto the underside of the insole. This construction is only suitable for producing special shoes in which the upper material, the waterproof membrane and the inner material form one laminate. The connection between the upper material and the insole is established by means of the waterproof membrane and the inner layer so that all the mechanical tensile loadings during production and in operation have to be transmitted through the layered construction of the laminate.
In the case of another construction according to this Patent Specification, leather can be used as the material for the upper. The waterproof lining in this case projects below the edge of the leather and underneath the insole into a sealing-tight material which is again injection moulded onto the underside of the insole. What is not clear in this case is how the mechanical connection is to be established between the insole and the upper material. Again, if one is referring to a laminate joint between the upper material and the waterproof lining, then once again the problem arises that all the tensile forces occurring in the upper material, regardless of whether they are caused during lasting or during use can only be transmitted through the layered bonding between the insole and the upper material. injection moulded onto the underside of the insole. What is not clear in this case is how the mechanical connection is to be established between the insole and the upper material. Again, if one is referring to a laminate joint between the upper material and the waterproof lining, then once again the problem arises that all the tensile forces occurring in the upper material, regardless of whether they are caused during lasting or during use can only be transmitted through the layered bonding between the insole and the upper material.
German Utility Model Specification No. 87 17 201 discloses a shoe in which the upper material is sewn to a marginal strip close to the sole and which consists of a perforated or porous material, for example a netting of synthetic fibres with a mesh size of about 1.5 mm, the threads of the netting possibly being monofilament threads, particularly monofilament polyamide or polyester threads. On its inside, the upper material is lined with a waterproof membrane which is coated with a textile layer on its inside surface which is towards the foot and also with a textile layer on its outside which is towards the upper material. Coated in this way, the membrane is then sewn to the insole together with the marginal strip which consists of a netting material. Then, a sole of waterproof synthetic plastics material is injection moulded on, the shell rim of the sole covering the marginal strip. During injection moulding, the initially liquid sole material is intended to penetrate the pores and holes in the net-like marginal strip and pass through to the outside of the lining material.
Known furthermore from EP-A1-284 638 is a shoe of which the upper consists of an outer upper material, a teflon membrane applied to the inside face of the upper material and a lining which masks the inside face of the teflon membrane. During production of this shoe, the upper which is produced in conventional manner has its ends folded around the insole and fixed to this latter by adhesion and/or by nailing. Applied to the folded-over end of the upper is an intermediate sole which consists of a filling composition and a thin rubber layer. The filling composition is glued to the insole by pressure and heat in order to fill in damage to the upper originating from the fixing and to compensate for any unevenness which may have been caused by the bent-over end on the insole. The outsole is then glued onto the intermediate sole. The intention of this method of production is to ensure that the shoe is sealed off in waterproof fashion and to ensure that the outsole no longer needs to exhibit any sealing properties.
Where this known construction is concerned, the upper material itself, unmodified, extends into the region between the insole and the outsole. If the upper material is water-conductive, in other words if it consists for instance of water-conductive leather or textile material, this means that a water-conductive layer extends into the intermediate space between the insole and the outsole. Even if it is understood that the filling composition is waterproof and prevents further penetration of the water which may have been introduced through the upper material, then it is nevertheless extremely undesirable that due to capillary action of the upper material water may constantly penetrate the intermediate space between the insole and the outsole. This water can lead to rapid rotting of the folded-over end of the upper material which is disposed between the insole and the outsole. Furthermore, the prior art method in which the filling composition is applied to the insole by pressure and heat, necessarily presupposes the presence of a mould which serves to introduce the filling composition so that the shoe manufacturer is limited in his choice of procedures.
On the basis of a shoe such as is defined at the outset the invention is based on the problem of further improving the watertightness of the shoe and of permitting a multiplicity of methods of manufacture.

LOWA-Schuhfabrik Lorenz Wagner GmbH & Co. KG


A pump panel training device is provided and includes a plurality of simulated gages operable to imitate gages upon a fire truck pump panel, a plurality of simulated controls operable to imitate controls upon the fire truck pump panel, and a simulated water hose operable to imitate one of water temperature changes, water temperature pressure, and water hose vibration for the fire truck pump panel.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure. Accordingly, such statements are not intended to constitute an admission of prior art.
Fire department vehicles and other similar vehicles include complex systems that are installed or loaded onto the vehicle. In one exemplary embodiment, a fire pump truck includes incoming and outgoing water lines, for example, receiving a water flow from a fire hydrant, providing pressure to the water flow, and providing the pressurized water flow to fire fighters. Such pump trucks are complicated devices. Operating the pump machinery on the pump truck incorrectly can have adverse results. Too little pressure can result in fire fighters not being able to adequately fight fires and can result in increased injuries and property damage. Too much pressure can damage the pump machinery, damage hoses, and hamper firefighting efforts with unpredictable equipment behavior. A pump overheating can similar cause damage and cause unpredictable equipment behavior.


The preferred embodiments of the present invention utilize the internal combustion engine of a hybrid vehicle, coupled with an energy storage device and series of inverters to provide electrical power generation capability for an electric power take-off (EPTO) system. Additional embodiments of the present invention utilize an existing on-board AC induction motor to provide filtering capability for the generated AC power.

Traditional combustion engine power plants in cars can also be used to provide nominal amounts of alternating current (AC) electrical power through the use of an inverter circuit. In the most typical applications, the AC electrical power generated by standard combustion engines is utilized to sustain the electrical needs of the car and its accessories. This generation capability has additionally led to the widespread deployment of "convenience outlets," which are now used to power computers, video games, cell phones, and the like.
While generation of AC electrical power is possible, it is difficult to obtain significant amounts of useful electrical power from standard combustion engines because the combustion engine exhibits relatively low conversion efficiency. Additionally, since most combustion engines require significant cooling during operation, extended operation of the engine to generate electricity will require the type of airflow usually generated during vehicle locomotion. Finally, environmental considerations such as air emissions and engine noise make automobiles with traditional combustion engines poor candidates for any meaningful levels of power generation, particularly to power the types of electrical loads not directly associated with the vehicle.
Certain new types of vehicles, known as hybrid vehicles, employ a combustion engine coupled with a combination electric motor-generator in order to provide vehicle locomotion. In some of these hybrid or mild-hybrid powertrain systems, an electric motor-generator system replaces the conventional starter motor and alternator. When the hybrid vehicle is decelerating or is stopped, the fuel flow to the engine is shut off, thereby improving fuel economy. The motor-generator system of the hybrid vehicle is implemented to enable this fuel cutoff feature while minimally affecting drivability. As with the conventional combustion engine, the power plant in hybrid vehicles can also be used to provide AC power for convenience outlets and other electrical requirements associated with the hybrid vehicle. However, as with traditional combustion engines, the present AC power generating capabilities of hybrid vehicles are limited in both scope and application.
In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide methods for adapting the on-board components of a hybrid vehicle to generate electrical power for use in applications not directly related to the operation of the hybrid vehicle, i.e., off-vehicle loads. It is also desirable to provide electrical power for both balanced and unbalanced loads, as well as support for three-phase and single-phase voltages. Furthermore, additional desirable features will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the foregoing background of the invention and following detailed description of a preferred exemplary embodiment and appended claims.

Integrated electric power take-off system


A method for manufacturing a capacitor embedded in a PCB includes: preparing a copper clad lamination (CCL) substrate having a reinforcement member and copper foils formed on both surfaces of the reinforcement member; planarizing surfaces of the copper foils of the CCL substrate; forming a dielectric layer on the planarized surface of the copper foils; and forming a top electrode on the dielectric layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a capacitor embedded in a printed circuit board (PCB), and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a capacitor embedded in a PCB, which can remove a surface defect of a copper clad lamination (CCL) substrate acting as a bottom electrode, thereby improving the yield of the capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Discrete chip resistors or discrete chip capacitors have been mounted on a surface of a PCB. Recently, PCBs with embedded passive elements such as resistors or capacitors have been developed.
In such a PCB technique, passive elements such as resistors or capacitors are embedded in outer or inner layers of the PCB by using new materials and processes, and the embedded passive elements act as an existing chip resistor or chip capacitor.
For example, when a capacitor is buried in an inner or outer layer of the PCB and integrated as a part of the PCB regardless of a PCB size, the capacitor is referred to as an embedded capacitor and the PCB is referred to as an embedded capacitor PCB.
The most important characteristic of the embedded capacitor PCB is that the capacitor need not be mounted on a surface of the PCB because the capacitor is formed as a part of the PCB.
Three methods for the embedded capacitor PCB will be described below.
A first method is to manufacture a polymer thick film type capacitor by depositing, thermally hardening and drying a polymer capacitor paste.
According to the first method, a polymer capacitor phase is deposited on an inner layer of a PCB and is dried. Then, a copper paste is printed and dried to form an electrode. In this way, an embedded capacitor is manufactured.
A second method is to manufacture an embedded discrete type capacitor by coating a ceramic filled photo-dielectric resin on a PCB.
According to the second method, after photo-dielectric resin containing ceramic powder is coated on a substrate, a copper foil is laminated on the photo-dielectric resin to form a top electrode and a bottom electrode. Then, a circuit pattern is formed and the photo-dielectric resin is etched to form an embedded discrete type capacitor.
A third method is to manufacture a capacitor by inserting a separate dielectric layer having a capacitance characteristic into an inner layer of a PCB such that the dielectric layer can replace a decoupling capacitor which has been mounted on a surface of the PCB.
According to the third method, a power distributed decoupling capacitor is manufactured by inserting a dielectric layer with a power electrode and a ground electrode into the inner layer of the PCB.
Meanwhile, compared with an external capacitor, the capacitor embedded in the PCB is difficult to secure a sufficient capacitance because its size is limited according to a volume of the PCB.
Therefore, there is a demand for a technique for embedding a high-density capacitor in the PCB by implementing a high capacitance density per unit area. An example of the high-density capacitor is an external multi layered ceramic capacitor (MLCC) that is not embedded but mounted on the PCB. To this end, a thin film technology has been applied to the method for manufacturing an embedded capacitor in order to increase a permittivity of the dielectric layer but decrease a thickness thereof.
However, when the thin film technology is used to form the dielectric layer thinly about several hundreds of nanometers in order to minimize a size of the capacitor, a formation defect of the dielectric layer may occur according to a surface state of the bottom electrode disposed under the dielectric layer. This leads to an increase of a leakage current and an electrical short between the bottom electrode and the top electrode.
Hereinafter, problems of a conventional capacitor embedded in a PCB will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional capacitor embedded in a PCB. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional capacitor 100 includes a CCL substrate 110, a dielectric layer 120, and a top electrode 130. The CCL substrate 110 includes a reinforcement member 111 (e.g., FR-4) and copper foils 112 formed on both surfaces of the reinforcement member 111. The CCL substrate 110 acts as a bottom electrode of the embedded capacitor.
A surface of the copper foil 112, that is, a surface of the CCL substrate 110 on which the dielectric layer 120 is formed, has surface defects such as a convex defect and a concave defect, depending on a surface state of the reinforcement member 111.
These surface defects increase a leakage current of the embedded capacitor, degrading the characteristic and reliability of an embedded capacitor PCB.
In addition, when the dielectric layer 120 is formed on the CCL substrate 110 having the surface defects, especially when it is formed thinly about several hundreds of nanometers in order to minimize a size of the capacitor, a defect occurs in the dielectric layer 120, as indicated by a reference symbol "F". The defects will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 is a photograph illustrating the problem of the conventional capacitor embedded in the PCB. Specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates a convex defect of the CCL substrate in which a convex portion of the CCL substrate 110 passes through the dielectric layer 120 and the top electrode 130 and thus is exposed. In addition, an enlarged convex portion is illustrated in FIG. 2.
When the dielectric layer 120 and the top electrode 130 are sequentially formed on the CCL substrate 110 having the convex defect, the dielectric layer 120 cannot be formed in the convex defect. Therefore, the CCL substrate 110 acting as the bottom electrode is shorted to the top electrode 130.
That is, the surface defect of the CCL substrate increases the leakage current of the embedded capacitor and shorts the bottom electrode to the bottom electrode. Consequently, the characteristic and reliability of the capacitor embedded in the PCB are degraded and its manufacturing yield is reduced.

Method for manufacturing capacitor embedded in PCB


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs for receiving a set of content items, each content item including a time reference and digital content that is distributed using one or more computer-implemented services, for each content item: determining an event time based on a respective time reference, identifying one or more n-grams based on text of the content item, associating each of the one or more n-grams with the event time, and including the one or more n-grams in a superset of n-grams, the superset of n-grams including n-grams provided from one or more of the content items in the set of content items, generating one or more n-gram clusters based on the superset of n-grams, each n-gram cluster providing a description of an event and including at least one n-gram and an associated event time and storing each of the one or more n-gram clusters in a cluster database.

Users often utilize various web-based services (e.g., search engines, social networks, short messaging services, and the like) to retrieve information. In some cases, information can be related to real-world and/or virtual events. In some instances, recognizing the occurrence of an event can influence the results that users expect to receive from such web-based services.

Generating n-gram clusters associated with events


The present invention relates to new 3-(aminooxoacetyl)-2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl)pyridines and their salts, having herbicidal activity.

The imidazolinone herbicides, a potent class, have publicly known and until recently, British patent No. 2,174,395 discloses the compounds having the following formula (A). ##STR1## Wherein:
R.sup.1 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl;
R.sup.2 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl or C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 cycloalkyl;
B is CO.sub.2 R.sup.3, CONHR.sup.6, CHO, CH.sub.2 OH, COCH.sub.3, COC.sub.6 H.sub.5, CN, CH.sub.3, CH.dbd.NOH, CH.sub.2 COOH, CONHOH, CHROH, CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 COOH, ##STR2## (wherein, R.sup.3 is hydrogen, dialkylimino, substituted alkyl, alkenyl or cation, R.sup.6 is hydrogen, hydroxy or alkenyl) A is hydrogen, COR.sup.4, SO.sub.2 R.sup.5, etc.
The above patent introduces many a herbicidal compounds, but they have recognized a disadvantage in that except for soybean, such compounds failed to exert an effective selectivity of herbicidal activity as herbicide.
Also, such imidazolinone compounds are specified in the following patents, say, German Patent No. 2,833,274, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,824,466/4,851,021/4,824,474, European Patent No. 41,623/298,029/322,616.
However, the current situation is that the undesirable vegetation should be controlled so as to improve the growth of useful crops such as corn, rice, cotton, wheat, and soybean. The failure to check the weed growth in such useful crops may bring about significant losses to farmers and to consumer as well. Thus, the continuous research to develop more effective products should be required for a good harvest.

Herbicidal pyridine derivatives and their salts of 3-(aminooxoacetyl)-2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl)

Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology


A testing apparatus includes an elongate carrier strip encapsulating an electronic device such as an RFID tag therein. The apparatus includes multiple rollers positioned in sequence and defining a serpentine path for receiving and supporting a carrier strip mid-portion. A drive mechanism engages the end portions of the strip and reciprocally moves the strip mid-portion in a forward direction and a reverse direction against curved surfaces of the rollers. A reader is further provided and positioned to detect the presence or absence of transmission error by the electronic device as the strip mid-portion reciprocally moves in the forward and reverse directions over the apparatus support surface during a testing sequence.

It is desirable to mechanically ensure that different RFID tag designs perform as intended and are durable when subjected to stresses and strains attendant use of the tags in a product environment. Such RFID tags are commonly embedded within a particular carrier material or medium when used in conjunction with various products. An economical and reliable tester is accordingly desired to ensure the durability of embedded RFID tags for their intended purpose.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Testing apparatus for embedded RFID tags


An image accumulation device is provided so as to include: an input unit that inputs, as input images, images of specific shot locations; an image database in which specific locations in a predetermined region, shot images relating to the specific locations, position information of shot locations of the shot images and shooting time information of the shot images are associated and stored; and an identification unit that identifies, on the basis of the input images and the image database, at least one of specific locations corresponding to the shot locations of the input images and shooting times of the input images.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image accumulation device and an image accumulation method, and in particular to an image accumulation device and an image accumulation method that accumulate images of specific locations, such as stations on transportation lines like railway lines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, technology has been proposed where, using images shot with a digital camera to which a Global Positioning System (GPS) device is connected, desired map data are read, on the basis of GPS information such as position information and time information obtained by the GPS device, from a storage medium storing map data, an electronic map including the shot locations of the shot images is displayed on a monitor, and the shot images are efficiently categorized (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication (JP-A) No. 10-233985).
Also, JP-A No. 2002-29422 discloses a measurement data processing device for the maintenance of railway lines. With this device, technology has been proposed where a railway line map is displayed, a measurement point included in a region designated by a pointing device or cursor is determined on the railway line map, and a transportation line zone map and measurement data corresponding to the determined measurement point are displayed.
Railway companies providing daily transportation to people have come to release, to people living in railway areas and new cities developed together with the growth of transportation facilities, photographs recording/preserving the changing aspects of scenery around stations of those railways from the past to the present, in order to promote business services offered by business entities or with the aim or promoting local revitalization by publicizing, to the outside, the distinctive characteristics of those railway areas and cities. In this manner, by releasing such photographs to local inhabitants without confuting the photographs to creating a history of the railway companies, it is possible to encourage the local inhabitants to have a feeling of identity with those areas, and therefore to have a feeling of attachment to their home. For this reason, image accumulation devices that can be used for various purposes, such as accumulating images of stations on railway lines shot from the past to the present and displaying the accumulated image amounts of each station according to era, are expected. By using such an image accumulation device to collectively manage the images shot from the past to the present, it becomes possible for railway companies to use the images, for example, to create local histories of the railway lines, compile a company history, or use the images in events such as events celebrating the anniversary of the development of a new city.
However, the technology disclosed in JP-A No. 10-233985 displays thumbnail images at the positions of the shot locations of the images, and the technology disclosed in JP-A No. 2002-29422 displays measurement data of measurement points on transportation lines. Neither technology can be used for purposes such as displaying images of areas around stations on railway lines according to era or displaying the accumulated image amounts thereof.

Image accumulation device and image accumulation method


A spring steel having a high strength of 1900 MPa or more and superior in the brittle fracture resistance, as well as a method for manufacturing the same, are provided.

Recently, technical developments for attaining a high fuel economy of automobiles have been conducted actively from the standpoint of diminishing the environmental load. AS to the valve spring and suspension spring which are automobile parts, studies are being made about an increase of design stress and the reduction of size. In this connection, the spring steel used is required to have a high strength. Generally, however, when metallic materials are rendered high in strength, their brittle fracture resistance typified by fatigue and delayed fracture is deteriorated. Therefore, for attaining a high strength, it is required to make it compatible with the resistance to fracture.
To meet such a requirement, for example in Japanese Patent Laid-open (JP-A) No. 06-306542 there is proposed a spring steel improved in fatigue strength by controlling the composition of a non-metallic inclusion and in JP-A No. 10-121201 there is proposed a high strength spring steel improved in the resistance to delayed fracture by controlling the amount of P segregation in the pre-austenite grain boundary of steel having the structure of martensite. Further, in JP-A No. 2003-306747 is proposed a spring steel improved in the resistance to fatigue by controlling the residual γ, in JP-A No. 2003-213372 is proposed a spring steel improved in the resistance to fatigue by controlling the pre-austenite grain size. In JP-A No. 2003-105485 is disclosed a high strength spring steel improved in the resistance to hydrogen-induced fatigue fracture by making the steel structure into a lamellar structure of martensite and ferrite.

High-strength spring steel excellent in brittle fracture resistance and method for producing same

Abstract: The high strength spring steel comprises, as basic components in mass %, C: 0.4-0.6%, Si: 1.4-3.0%, Mn: 0.1-1.0%, Cr: 0.2-2.5%, P: 0.025% or less, S: 0.025% or less, N: 0.006% or less, Al: 0.1% or less, and O: 0.003% or less, the amount of solute C being 0.15% or less, the amount of Cr contained as a Cr-containing precipitate being 0.10% or less, and a TS value represented by the following equation being 24.8% or more, and in point of structure, the pre-austenite grain diameter being 10 μm or smaller, wherein TS=28.5*[C]+4.9*[Si]+0.5*[Mn]+2.5*[Cr]+1.7*[V]+3.7*[Mo] where [X] stands for mass % of element X.


A phase leg for a multilevel inverter includes a positive DC lead, a first outer MOSFET connected to the positive DC lead, a first inner IGBT connected to the first outer MOSFET, a second inner IGBT connected to the first inner IGBT, and a second outer IGBT connected to the second inner IGBT. The first and second outer MOSFETs are superjunction MOSFETs voltage balanced by the first and second IGBTs for reducing voltage stress in the solid-state switch phase leg when the superjunction MOSFET and the IGBT are conducting current from the DC lead to the AC lead.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to power converters, and more particularly to multilevel inverters for converting direct current (DC) voltage into alternating current (AC) voltage.
2. Description of Related Art
Inverters convert DC power into AC power. Multilevel inverters employ multiple voltage levels and solid-state switch devices. A controller cycles the solid-state switch devices between on and off states to generate output AC voltage, generally with a stepped waveform approximating a sinusoidal waveform. The solid-state switch devices are typically grouped into phase legs uniformly consisting of either integrated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) or field effect transistors (MOSFETs).
IGBT-based inverters are generally preferred in high-voltage, low switching frequency applications because IGBTs exhibit high switching losses at high switching frequencies. Because they generally operate at low frequencies, IGBT-based inverters typically require additional output filtering to smooth the output stepped AC voltage waveform.
MOSFET-based inverters are generally used in low-voltage applications with high switching frequencies due to their relatively low losses. Because they operate at higher frequencies there is less need for filtering, allowing for the use of smaller filter components. However, due to the highly nonlinear output capacitance associated with MOSFET devices, voltage balancing between MOSFETs in a given phase leg can pose challenges, potentially reducing device reliability.
Such conventional methods and systems for power conversion have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for improved converters. The present disclosure provides a solution for this need.

Solid-state inverters with voltage-balanced switches


The present invention discloses a method and system of recovering elemental sulfur and regenerating the catalyst for a sulfur-deposited catalyst, including immersing the sulfur-deposited catalyst in the ammonium sulfide solution, the leaching reaction under normal pressure and temperature, replacing the ammonium sulfide solution and immersing again for extraction for the same time; collecting the leachate of the two steps, conducting gas stripping of the elemental sulfur by adopting the high-temperature nitrogen gas, condensing the tail gas of gas stripping, subjecting to a purification treatment and then discharging, with the liquor condensate being the ammonium sulfide solution. Finally, the solid in the leachate is filtered, washed and dried after the gas stripping to obtain the elemental sulfur; and the washing and drying of catalysts that has been subjected to the two times of immersion and extraction obtain the regenerated catalysts.

The catalytic reduction of SO2 by CO can generate the elemental sulfur, depositing on the catalyst surface, which is extracted from the catalyst usually requiring the harsh conditions. In general, the external conditions of the elemental sulfur recovery and catalyst regeneration are very rigorous, such as the temperatures over 450-500° C. are required for the processes of high-temperature extraction and active-carbon calcination. Both of them obviously have the high energy consumption and the latter needs to prevent the carbon deposition and the fast inactivation of the catalyst. Sulfur condensation may occur on the catalyst during the high-temperature extraction process. Although these problems can be avoided through special technologies, the sulfur recovery rate in this case is distinctly lower than that achieved during normal operation of the system. The technologies of sulfur recovery have been extensively studied by researchers at home and abroad, but there are still many technical problems in a practical application, including the technology of direct oxidation reactor where the formation of liquid sulfur over the catalyst is affected by the operating temperature and/or getting command of the generation of the H2S by-product is difficult. Currently, the methods of recovering elemental sulfur and catalyst regeneration from the sulfur-deposited catalysts almost all belong to that without using a solution, and especially no mention has been mentioned about a method using solution leaching yet.

Method and system of elemental sulfur recycling and catalyst regenerating for sulfur-deposited catalyst

KUNMING UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A high speed sheet feeder machine includes at least one pusher that follows a loop-shaped path of travel as the machine operates. The pusher pushes an insert into an envelope during a forward and downward part of its path of travel and then retreats rearwardly and upwardly along the loop-shaped path of travel before repeating an insertion. In this way, the pusher makes no abrupt changes in its path of travel. Very high rates of insertion are made possible by providing multiple pushers at longitudinally spaced apart intervals along the loop-shaped path of travel. A stop plate is integrally formed with each pusher assembly and a fixed position barrier is mounted on the machine adjacent the rearward end of the loop-shaped path of travel to prevent over-rotation of each pusher member at very high speeds.

This invention relates, generally, to high speed sheet feeder machines, also known as inserters. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus that prevents over-rotation of a pusher apparatus for an inserter when operated at very high speeds.
High speed inserters have pusher members that follow a predetermined path of travel in the form of a loop that lies in a vertical plane so that they can reciprocate without stopping and without having abrupt changes in direction. The pushers push sheets into envelopes when said pushers are in a forward position at the lower elevation of the loop. They retreat along the higher elevation of the loop to a rearward position after each insertion and then travel forwardly again to the forward position and the cycle endlessly repeats for as long as the machine is in operation. Some high speed machines can insert ten thousand sheets per hour into envelopes, but that speed seems to be an upper limit. At such high speeds, the momentum of the pushers causes the respective leading ends or heads of the pushers to swing out of their normal path of travel in a rearward bight region of the loop where the rearward-to-forward change in direction occurs. Once out of position, they lose their operability and the machine has to be shut down to re-position the pusher members.
The respective trailing ends of the pusher members are rotatably mounted on a transversely disposed rod that follows the loop-shaped path of travel. If the rod is well oiled and the friction between the trailing end of each pusher member and the rod is very low, the pusher member will not usually rotate out of its operable position at speeds below ten thousand insertions per hour. However, the friction between the rod and the trailing end gradually increases as the machine operates, with the result that pusher member rotation eventually occurs. At speeds above ten thousand insertions per hour, the pusher members rotate out of position even when the rod is well-oiled.
It should be understood that each transversely disposed rod typically carries three pushers in equidistantly, laterally spaced relation to one another. Moreover, there may be three or four transverse rods per machine, equidistantly and longitudinally spaced apart from one another along the extent of the loop-shaped path of travel.
The obvious solution to the problem is to run the machines at a speed that does not cause the pusher members to depart from their normal path, and to frequently oil the rod that carries the trailing end of the pusher members. That is not an acceptable solution, however, when there is a demand for insertions in excess of ten thousand per hour and where time requirements do not allow for frequent shut-downs for oiling.
In view of the prior art in at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how a pusher assembly could be built that could operate at speeds in excess of twelve thousand insertions per hour.
The longstanding but heretofore unfulfilled need for an inserter machine capable of operating at speeds in excess of ten thousand sheet insertions per hour is now met by a new, useful, and nonobvious apparatus for enabling high speed travel of a pusher apparatus. A groove that follows a loop-shaped path of travel is formed in opposing, transversely spaced apart vertical walls of the push member assembly. A transversely disposed rod extends between the opposing vertical walls and the trailing end of each pusher is rotatably mounted thereto but the opposing ends of the transversely disposed rod do not directly engage the opposing grooves. Instead, a pair of carriage members rotatably engage the transversely disposed rod at its opposite ends, there being one carriage member at each end of the transversely disposed rod. Each carriage member has a truncate longitudinal extent and has a transversely offset roller rotatably mounted at its leading end. The roller is disposed in and travels about its associated groove. The longitudinally extending part of the carriage rotatably engages the transversely disposed rod. The transversely disposed rod is connected at its opposite ends to chains that define the loop-shaped path of travel of the pushers.
An upstanding stop member is formed in the trailing end of the carriage member.
A stationary flat barrier plate is mounted to the trailing end of each side wall of the pusher assembly. Accordingly, each flat barrier plate is disposed just rearwardly (a sixteenth of an inch or so) of the rearward bight region of the loop-shaped path of travel. The stop member at the trailing end of each carriage slidingly abuts the flat barrier plate as the carriage negotiates the bight region at the rearward end of the loop-shaped path of travel, and such abutment prevents rotation of said at least one pusher, relative to the transversely disposed rod upon which it is mounted, even at speeds in excess of ten thousand insertions per hour.
The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved pusher apparatus that enables a high speed sheet feeder to operate at speeds in excess of ten thousand insertions per hour.
A more specific object is to accomplish the foregoing object by means of an apparatus that can be retrofit onto existing machines.
These and other important objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become clear as this description proceeds.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the description set forth hereinafter and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

High speed pusher apparatus for sheet feeders


Absorbent articles in which the outer cover has an extrusion bonded laminate.

Absorbent articles such as conventional taped diapers, pull-on diapers, training pants, incontinence briefs, and the like, offer the benefit of receiving and containing urine and/or other bodily exudates. Such absorbent articles can include a chassis that defines a waist opening and a pair of leg openings.
Conventional chassis often include substantially inelastic outer covers. In order to provide for some stretch properties, conventional outer covers can include elastomeric waistbands and elastomeric leg bands surrounding a portion of the leg openings (e.g., barrier leg cuffs). The remainder of the outer cover typically includes a non-elastomeric nonwoven-film laminate. Undesirably, however, due to these non-elastomeric laminates, these articles offer limited conformity to a wearer's body in response to body movements (e.g. sitting, standing, and walking), due to the relative anatomic dimensional changes (which can, in some instances, be up to 50%) in the buttocks and abdominal region caused by these movements. This conformity problem is further exacerbated because one diaper typically must fit many wearers of various shapes and sizes in a single product size.
The challenge of conformity further resides in the fact that the dimensions of the smallest and biggest wearers within a given product size range can be markedly different. For instance, in the case of wearers, the waist circumference at the navel can vary by 80 mm within a size range. Also, the navel-to-back distance, which is the distance from the navel, around the crotch, and to a point on the back of the wearer that is in the same horizontal plane as the navel, can vary by about 80 mm from the smallest to the largest wearers in this same size range.
One solution to the above-stated problems is to provide elastomeric nonwoven-film laminate (e.g., some combination of a nonwoven with an elastomeric film) that may be used as an outer cover. But providing such a laminate is no trivial task, especially if one attempts to do so economically. First, for the sake of process simplicity and cost efficiency, there is a desire to use a minimum of processing or handling steps to produce the laminate. Thus, different surfaces or layers of an elastomeric film, having the same chemical and physical properties, may need to perform more than one function (e.g., a film layer that functions as a tie layer, as well as a skin layer), or may require certain properties during manufacture of an extrusion bonded laminate (EBL), different properties during absorbent article converting, and still different properties when the absorbent article is used by the consumer.
Second, there are several desirable embodiments that require the combination of laminate layers having a low chemical affinity for each other (e.g., the combination of an inelastic nonwoven and an elastomeric film). Increasing the penetration of the extrudate into a nonwoven structure may improve the bonding between these two materials, but this can result in a composite structure that is unpleasantly stiff and may be difficult to activate without damaging the resulting EBL. Thus, a tie layer or an adhesive may need to be employed in order to produce a laminate that can be produced at a reasonable rate, resists separation during subsequent processing, and maintains a suitable drape or hand. If a tie layer is employed (which has advantages over an adhesive, including process simplicity), one needs to not only balance bond strength between the tie layer and the nonwoven, but also the interaction between the tie layer and the core layer. For instance, if the bond strength to the nonwoven is too high, activation of the laminate becomes difficult. If, however, the bond strength is too weak, the laminate is subject to delamination. Third, striking the right balance in bond strength is further complicated by the need to achieve a laminate having particular extension, recovery, set and tensile properties.
Fourth, because laminates are often manufactured at a site different from the location where the laminate will be converted into a finished absorbent article, there may be a need to build a base laminate that includes a skin layer that may enable the base laminate to be wound and unwound after prolonged storage conditions without blocking.
Fifth, it may be desirable to select an activatable nonwoven, a tie layer, or the combination of both that can dissipate energy and avoid unwanted concentration of stresses in the film during mechanical activation of the laminate. That is, when using an inelastic nonwoven in combination with an elastic film, the need to activate the laminate will exist. Activation is, however, demanding for the elastic film, and can cause damage to the laminate film (e.g., formation of unwanted holes in the film), thus creating undesirable laminate properties. Therefore, use of a tie layer may offer the additional advantage of dissipating the energy of the activation process such that the integrity of the elastic film and appearance of the nonwoven is better maintained (i.e., a tie layer that acts as a buffer).
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an elastomeric nonwoven-film laminate with good tensile properties. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a laminate comprising one or more tie layers, the laminate being capable of being mechanically activated without delamination. Another object of the invention is to provide an elastomeric nonwoven-film laminate as described using no more than two extruders. Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an elastomeric nonwoven-film laminate capable of being wound, stored, and unwound within acceptable parameters. Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide an elastomeric nonwoven-film laminate comprising a tie layer that acts as a buffer to enable pinhole-free mechanical activation.

Extrusion bonded laminates for absorbent articles


A liquid composition for the relief of discomfort, in particular, premenstrual and menstrual discomfort including, as active pharmaceutical agents, an effective amount of one or more of an analgesic, an antihistamine and a diuretic, said active agents being, or adapted to be, dissolved in a liquid vehicle, said composition preferably containing 5-25 percent by volume alcohol (or other effective liquid carrier such as glycerin, or even water) and being flavored with an active flavoring composition including (1) citrus and mint ingredients, (2) vanilla and mint ingredients, or (3) citrus, vanilla and mint ingredients, said active flavoring ingredients being present in an amount sufficient to mask the unpleasant taste of the pharmaceutically active agent(s).

The invention broadly applies to palatable compositions comprised of pharmaceutical agents for the relief of discomfort at least one of which agents has a normally foul flavor. This will be described primarily with respect to PMS, for which it was initially developed. Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) is the term in common use to describe the complex of physical and mental symptoms which occur from seven to fourteen days prior to the onset of the menstrual flow. Menstrual discomforts include primary dysmenorrhea which includes painful menstruation and cramping.
Menstruation occurs in women from the age of twelve to thirteen years to, on the average, forty-seven years of age. It occurs at more or less regular intervals, except during pregnancy and lactation. The normal menstrual cycle averages twenty-eight days with some variation based on the woman's age, physical and emotional well being, and other factors. The duration of menstrual flow is variable but usually between three and seven days.
The symptoms of premenstrual syndrome are varied and may range from mild to incapacitating. As many as seventy to ninety percent of all menstruating women have recurrent premenstrual symptoms and as many as twenty to forty percent suffer some degree of temporary mental or physical incapacitation. The psychological symptoms include irritability, lethargy, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, crying spells, and hostility. The neurological symptoms include headaches, dizziness, fainting, and seizures. Among the physical symptoms are tenderness and swelling in the breasts, constipation, abdominal bloating and cramping, edema in the extremities, less frequent urination, and acne.
The physical, neurological, and psychological symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea are a major cause of discomfort to women, and cause substantial loss of time and efficiency in the work place. The art has attempted to address these problems in a number of nonprescription pharmacological compositions for the treatment of premenstrual and menstrual discomforts without completely successful results.
Most nonprescription products contain either aspirin or acetaminophen as the analgesic. Aspirin and acetaminophen are believed to have equivalent analgesic efficacy for the diminution of headache and other minor pains. Their relative efficacy for relieving premenstrual and menstrual pain has not been determined. Nevertheless, both agents are routinely used for diminishing menstrual pain. Another analgesic frequently recommended is ibuprofen.
Most nonprescription products also contain an antihistamine such as pyrilamine maleate. They also contain diuretics in an amount which would be subtherapeutic if taken separately. The most frequently used diuretics are ammonium chloride, caffeine, and pamabrom.
Among the compositions available to provide relief from one or more of the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and menstrual discomforts are the commercial products Midol, Midol PMS, Pamprin, and Premensyn PMS. Midol has been marketed as an aspirin tablet containing caffeine and an antispasmodic ingredient. Midol is currently marketed containing acetaminophen and pyrilamine maleate. Midol PMS, Premensyn PMS, and Pamprin all contain acetaminophen, a diuretic, and an antihistamine. All of these active ingredients are considered safe and effective in combination.
Although the commercially available compositions are useful to relieve symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and menstrual discomforts, none are completely effective. Liquid compositions would be desirable because a liquid vehicle speeds the action of both the analgesic and the diuretic and potentiates the active ingredients. Moreover, many persons have difficulty swallowing medications in solid form.
The problem facing the art, however, is that liquids containing analgesic, antihistamine, and diuretic active pharmaceutical agents taste terrible and pharmaceutical chemists have heretofore failed to satisfactorily mask the bitter principals and aftertaste. No patentable liquid products containing this combination of actives are available in the market.
The solid compositions now on the market for relief of the various individual or constellation of symptoms of typical of premenstrual and menstrual discomfort, whether specific thereto or not, (including uncoated and chewable tablets), typically taste bitter and metallic. It has always been a difficult challenge for the pharmaceutical chemist in compounding over-the-counter medicines to mask the bitter, metallic, and otherwise unpleasant tastes and lingering aftertastes of many active pharmaceutical agents. This is a particular problem when a dosage to be delivered in liquid form is otherwise desirable, because in liquid dosage forms the bad taste is usually more apparent than in solid dosage forms including uncoated tablets. It is recognized among pharmaceutical chemists and physicians that patients' compliance with a dosage schedule is of paramount importance for controlling the symptoms and accordingly the organoleptic properties of any medicine must be such that the patient's resistance to following a schedule of administration is minimized.
Among the worst tasting active pharmaceutical agents in over-the-counter medicines, and particularly medicinal liquids, are analgesics, antihistamines, antitussives, sedatives, and others. When these agents are used in combination with one another, the problem is exacerbated. A number of products have failed in the marketplace when patients have refused to take repeat doses even though the active pharmaceutical ingredients were effective for the intended purpose.
Among the ingredients used by pharmaceutical chemists to mask the bitterness of the active pharmaceutical agents are licorice, anise, anethole, glycerrhizins such as ammonium glycyrrhizin, etch, vanillin, ethyl vanillin, methyl salicylate, and menthol and other mild surface anesthetics. The purpose of these flavor enhancing ingredients is to interact with the bitter principals of the active pharmaceutical agents and to deceive the taste receptors in the mouth. These ingredients have typically fallen short of masking the taste of active pharmaceutical agents, particularly those with strong bitter aftertastes. These aftertastes remain in the mouth long after the initial impact of the medicine which may have been successfully masked.

Palatable liquid-admininstered oral medicaments for relief of discomfort and flavoring combinations therefor


A method and apparatus for assembling multiple component products using automated assembly equipment having predetermined locations for loading of components or component compartments. The invention includes a component identifier which reads indicia of component identity from components or component compartments, and a location indicator which indicates a proper location for loading and identified component or component compartment. The invention also contemplates a sensor that senses the placement of components or component compartments in the locations of the assembly machine, and a disabling device which disables the assembly machine if components or component compartments are misplaced.

The present invention relates to improving processes of automated assembly
Several decades ago, standard manufacturing procedures used purely manual assembly for the production of nearly all multicomponent articles. These old techniques necessarily involved total human supervision over every step of the manufacturing process. By today's standards, these techniques were slow and inefficient, however they were not without merit. Intensive human attention was beneficial in that there was a very low occurrence of obvious defects, such as putting a component in the wrong place. For example it was unlikely that the head of a toy clown would be positioned at the end of the clowns foot rather than atop its neck.
Over time, technological advances facilitated increasing portions of manufacture through the use of machines and robots. Generally, these systems operate by using one or more mechanical assemblers that retrieve components from a place of storage and affix them into their proper place in the product. For instance, in placing wheels on a toy car, a mechanical assembler might retrieve a wheel from a bin of wheels and affix it to the right front axle. A second wheel would then be retrieved and affixed to the left front axle, and so on until all four wheels were in place. After affixing the wheels, the assembler might retrieve other components from other bins and affix them in place.
These automated manufacturing techniques allowed for dramatic increases in speed and efficiency, but unfortunately also created some problems. One major problem occurred because the machinery could not determine whether or not it was doing its job correctly. Therefore, if a machine was making a mistake, it would incorrectly assemble hundreds or thousands of products before an operator might notice the mistake and correct the problem. The cost of repairing or replacing duplicated mistakes is clearly excessive. Furthermore, repaired products usually suffer from decreased quality and reliability.
Some modern technologies have reduced the problem of mistake duplication. For example, automated manufacturing processes can include intermittent tests or checks. The check or test can be done by a human operator or by the machine itself. In either case, after a mistake is detected, mass duplication is prevented by quickly correcting the process or interrupting production. Unfortunately, intermittent testing increases costs and slows productivity, so it is not universally used. Even if intermittent testing were always used, it would not perfect the automated assembly process because at least one mistake must be made before it can be detected. The costs of mistakes are generally more significant than they might appear. First, a mistake incurs the cost of its own rework or replacement. Second, there is an efficiency cost caused by the down time required after a mistake is detected. Therefore, it is prudent to attempt to prevent assembly mistakes rather than correct those which have already occurred.
Many mistakes occurring in modern automated manufacturing are caused by human error in the set up of the assembly process. Specifically, assembly operators are prone to load components in the wrong places because modern articles of manufacture have increasingly large numbers of components which are often visually similar. To prevent these set up errors, well trained operators are usually very careful and deliberate in their work. However, no degree of care can totally prevent mistakes. Furthermore, careful and deliberate behavior results in very slow set up which reduces productivity.
The aforementioned problem is particularly acute in the assembly of electronic products, where components are especially numerous and physically similar. In this field, the components are small and vary only slightly, if at all, in appearance and physical dimension, and yet can have disparate electrical properties. Misplacement of electrical components usually results in the failure of the final assembly. These components are often identified only by alphanumeric combinations stamped on their surface, when surface area permits. However, surface mountable components often do not have sufficient printable area, and are identified only by markings on tubes or reels which carry the components. To compound matters, modern electronic assemblies are assembled by machines called pick and place assemblers. These assemblers are designed to retrieve components directly from industry standard reels or tubes. Therefore, the operator's primary visual contact is with the package and not the component.
Electronic products typically require several dozen different components. In a pick and place system, each tube or reel of components must be loaded in a specific place. Given the similarity of visual appearance of the reels and tubes, it is extremely easy for an operator to load a pick and place location with the wrong component. This type of error can occur during setup or replenishing of depleted components.