A mechanical supercharger includes a housing, first, second and third shafts rotatably supported on the housing, respectively, a first timing gear disposed on the first shaft, a second timing gear disposed on the second shaft and engaged with the first shaft timing gear, a first rotor disposed on the first shaft, a second rotor disposed on the second shaft and engaged with the first rotor, a first pulley disposed on one end of the first shaft, an electromagnetic clutch interposed between the first shaft and the first pulley and being selectively intermittent a transmission of driving force between the first shaft and the first pulley, a reduction gear disposed on one end of the third shaft through an one-way clutch and engaged with the second timing gear, a second pulley disposed on the other end of the third shaft and a driving force transmission means for transmitting driving force of engine to the first and second pulleies so that the first and second pulleies are simultaneously rotated in the same direction. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the number of the additional parts for changing the supercharging quantity in response to the condition of the engine and it is possible to prevent the unnecessary increasing of the rotating mass of the rotation groups which are rotated for supercharging.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanical supercharger, and more particularly to a mechanical supercharger for supercharging an engine for automobiles and so on.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional mechanical supercharger is disclosed, for example, in Japanese utility model application laid-open publication No. 2(1990)-34728. As shown in FIG. 8, this conventional mechanical supercharger 80 includes four shafts 82, 83, 89, 90 rotatably supported on a housing 81, rotors 84, 85 disposed on the about center portion of the shafts 82, 83, respectively and timing gears 86, 87 disposed on one end of the shafts 82, 83 respectively so that both shafts 82, 83 are synchronously rotated. In this mechanical supercharger 80, a variable speed mechanism 88 is disposed between the shafts 89, 83. Thereby, the rotation of the shaft 89 is increased and is transmitted to the shaft 83. Similarly, a variable speed mechanism 91 is disposed between the shafts 90, 83. Thereby, the rotation of the shaft 90 is increased and is transmitted to the shaft 83. Now, the variable ratio of the variable speed mechanism 88 differs from the variable speed ratio of the variable speed mechanism 91. Furthermore, in this mechanical supercharger 80, pulleys 94, 95 are installed on end portions of the shafts 89, 90 through electromagnetic clutches 92, 93, respectively. These pulleys 94, 95 are driven by a driving source such as an engine (not shown) and so on through a belt (not shown) and the operational condition of the electromagnetic clutches 92, 93 are controlled by a control device 96.
In this conventional mechanical supercharger 80, either of the electromagnetic clutches 92, 93 is selectively connected by the control device 96 and the rotors 84, 85 are driven in accordance with the variable speed ratio of either of the variable speed mechanisms 88, 91. Thereby, the supercharging pressure of the mechanical supercharger 80 is changed.
In the above conventional mechanical supercharger 80, however, since two expensive electromagnetic clutches are employed and furthermore two variable speed mechanisms are employed, the cost and the weight of the mechanical supercharger increase remarkably.
Furthermore, when either of the electromagnetic clutches 92, 93 is connected, the shafts 82, 83, 89, 90 and all of rotational members (each gear and so on) which are disposed on the shafts 82, 83, 89, 90 are driven. When the electromagnetic clutch 92 is connected, for example, it is not necessary to rotate a rotation group of the shaft 90. Nevertheless, the rotation group of the shaft 90 is rotated. Accordingly, the rotating mass of the rotation groups which are rotated for supercharging increases and therefore the response of the mechanical supercharger deteriorates.


A method and apparatus to compensate for spectral attenuation are described wherein the spectral attenuation for a communications channel is determined, a first filter is created for the attenuation and the first filter compensates for the attenuation. The spectral attenuation for the communications channel is determined by a received L sequence signal that is used to model the spectral attenuation as a second filter. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Analog data modems may transmit information over a network, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). For example, a first modem may establish a connection to a second modem over a communication channel through the PSTN. While establishing the connection, the first and second modems may test the communication channel to assist in setting up the connection. The modems may test for certain characteristics of the communication channel, and configure certain compensation settings in accordance with the found characteristics. Consequently, the quality of a modem connection may vary considerably depending upon the results of the testing and compensation process. Accordingly, it can be appreciated that there may be need for improvements in such techniques in a device or network.


A horizontal carousel conveyor carries cone-shaped foods and other specialty-shaped foods through an oven, rotating the food on a heating station as it passes by heating elements and through the oven.

Restaurants and food service providers that provide unusual or unique foodstuffs often have a competitive advantage over business that do not otherwise distinguish themselves. Because most restaurants and food service providers cook or heat foodstuffs for consumption before they are sold or served to a customer, the ability to quickly and properly heat or cook a unique food item can be important to the success of a food service business.
As used herein, the term "pizza cone" refers to an edible cone, the interior of which is filled with pizza fillings, such as meats, cheeses and other ingredients. The cone part of a pizza cone is usually made from pizza dough, however, cones made from other types of dough can also be filled with pizza fillings or other foods.
Because of its shape, a pizza cone is particularly difficult to heat and/or cook. If a cone is place on its "side" for cooking, fillings inside the cone will spill or fall out of the cone as temperature rises. If a cone is inverted so that the open end is downward and placed on a flat surface for heating, the contents will also spill when the cone is removed from a heating surface to be turned upright. The best way to heat a filled cone is to heat the cone while it is upright, i.e., with the pointed, narrow end of the cone downward, in order to keep fillings in the cone as it the cone is heated.
A problem with heating and/or cooking edible cones is that their conical shape makes it difficult to evenly heat a cone from top to bottom. A cone is also difficult to heat around its perimeter. An oven that can uniformly heat a cone from top to bottom and uniformly heat a cone completely around its perimeter would be an improvement over the prior art.


A lithographic system for projecting an image onto a workpiece using radiation is provided. The lithographic system includes: a support structure for supporting a workpiece; a radiation source for providing radiation to project an image on the workpiece; a reticle positioned between the radiation source and the workpiece; and a mask positioned adjacent the reticle, the mask being configured to block radiation from the radiation source, the mask including a heat removal apparatus.

In lithography applications, radiation provided by a radiation source is used to expose fields on a workpiece (e.g., a wafer). Often, it is desired to expose not only full fields on the workpiece, but also partial fields (e.g., for alignment marks on the workpiece).
Conventional systems (including some form of reticle masking) are shown in, for example: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,348,303; and 7,382,439. Such systems include reticle masking using blades in the illuminator of the system, and not adjacent the reticle.
Certain conventional lithographic systems include reticles having a light blocking layer (e.g., a chromium layer), where the layer absorbs a part of the radiation from a radiation source of the lithographic system. This radiation absorption causes the reticle to heat up, thereby deforming the reticle by thermal expansion, consequently resulting in a deformation of the pattern that is projected onto a workpiece.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide improved lithographic systems (and related methods) overcoming one or more of the deficiencies of conventional systems.

Lithographic systems and methods of operating the same


An improved bi-center bit with improved directional stability and wear resistance is disclosed, which bit optimally utilizing a plurality of shaped PDC cutting elements selectively situated about the cutting surfaces of the pilot and the reamer to produce a minimal force imbalance, where further the pilot bit and the reamer are force balanced to further reduce imbalance in the operation of the tool.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to drill bits useful for drilling oil, gas and water wells and methods for manufacturing such bits. More specifically, the present invention relates to a stabilized bi-center bit incorporating shaped polycrystalline diamond compacts which are selectively positioned about the cutting surface of either or both of the pilot and the reamer, and/or a redesign of the pilot vis-a-vis the reamer to optimize force balancing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A significant source of many drilling problems relates to drill bit and string instability, of which there are many types. Bit and/or string instability probably occurs much more often than is readily apparent by reference to immediately noticeable problems. However, when such instability is severe, it places high stress on drilling equipment that includes not only drill bits but also downhole tools and the drill string in general. Common problems caused by such instability may include, but are not limited to, excessive torque, directional drilling control problems, and coring problems.
One typical approach to solving these problems is to over-design the drilling product to thereby resist the stress. However, this solution is usually expensive and can actually limit performance in some ways. For instance, one presently commercially available drill bit includes reinforced polycrystalline diamond compact ("PDC") members that are strengthened by use of a fairly large taper, or frustoconical contour on the PDC member. The taper angle is smaller than the backrake angle of the cutter to allow the cutter to cut into the formation at a desired angle. While this design makes the PDC cutters stronger so as to reduce cutter damage, it does not solve the primary problem of bit instability. Thus, drill string problems, directional drilling control problems, and excessive torque problems remain. Also, because the PDC diamond table must be ground on all of the PDC cutters, the drill bits made in this manner are more expensive and less resistant to abrasive wear as compared to the same drill bit made with standard cutters.
Another prior art solution to bit instability problems is directed toward a specific type of bit instability that is generally referred to as bit whirl. Bit whirl is a very complicated process that includes many types of bit movement patterns or modes of motion wherein the bit typically does not remain centered within the borehole. The solution is based on the premise that it is impossible to design and build a perfectly balanced bit. Therefore, an intentionally imbalanced bit is provided in a manner that improves bit stability. One drawback to this method is that for it to work, the bit forces must be the dominant force acting on the bit. The bits are generally designed to provide for a cutting force imbalance that may range about 500 to 2000 pounds depending on bit size and type. Unfortunately, there are many cases where gravity or string movements create forces larger than the designed cutting force imbalance and therefore become the dominant bit forces. In such cases, the intentionally designed imbalance is ineffective to prevent the bit from becoming unstable and whirling.
Yet another attempt to reduce bit instability requires devices that are generally referred to as penetration limiters. Penetration limiters work to prevent excessive cutter penetration into the formation that can lead to bit whirl or cutter damage. These devices may act to prevent not only bit whirl but also prevent radial bit movement or tilting problems that occur when drilling forces are not balanced.
As discussed in more depth hereinafter, penetration limiters should preferably satisfy two conditions. Conventional wisdom dictates that when the bit is drilling smoothly (i.e., no excessive forces on the cutters), the penetration limiters must not be in contact with the formation. Second, if excessive loads do occur either on the entire bit or to a specific area of the bit, the penetration limiters must contact the formation and prevent the surrounding cutters from penetrating too deeply into the formation.
Prior art penetration limiters are positioned behind the bit to perform this function. The prior art penetration limiters fail to function efficiently, either partially or completely, in at least some circumstances. Once the bit becomes worn such that the PDC cutters develop a wear flat, the prior art penetration limiters become inefficient because they begin to continuously contact the formation even when the bit is drilling smoothly. In fact, a bit with worn cutters does not actually need a penetration limiter because the wear flats act to maintain stability. An ideal penetration limiter would work properly when the cutters are sharp but then disappear once the cutters are worn.
Another shortfall of prior art penetration limiters is that they cannot function of the bit is rocked forward, as may occur in some types of bit whirling or tilting. The rear positioning of prior art penetration limiters results in their being lifted so far from the formation during bit tilting that they become ineffective. Thus, to be most effective, the ideal penetration limiter would be in line with the cutters rather than behind or in front. However, this positioning takes space that is used for the cutters.
While the above background has been directed to drill bits in general, more specific problems of bit instability are created in the instance of the bi-center bit. Bi-center bits have been used sporadically for over two decades as an alternative to undereaming. A desirable aspect to the bi-center bit is its ability to pass through a small hole and then drill a hole of a greater diameter. Problems associated with the bi-center bit, however, include those of a short life due to irregular wear patterns and excessive wear, the creation of a smaller than expected hole size and overall poor directional characteristics.
As in the instance of conventional drill bits, many solutions have been proposed to overcome the above disadvantages associated with instability and wear. For example, the use of penetration limiters has also been employed to enhance the stability of the bi-center bit. However, the prior art has not addressed the difficulties associated with the placement of such penetration limiters to properly stabilize the bi-center bit, which by its design, is inherently unstable. Penetration limiters in more traditional applications have been simply placed behind multiple cutters on each blade and only the exposure of the cutters above the height of the penetration limiter was felt critical to producing proper penetration limiter qualities. Additional considerations, however, are involved with the placement of shaped cutters on a bi-center bit which must contemplate the cutting force of both the reamer and the pilot bit.
As a result of these and other proposed problems, the bi-center bit has yet to realize its potential as a reliable alternative to undereaming.

Bi-center bit with oppositely disposed cutting surfaces


A device for holding two structural parts (1, 2) in a spaced relationship with respect to each other, having a spacer for filling the distance between the two structural parts, the spacer having a support part (3) which can be brought into a position fixed for rotation with respect to the first structural part (1) and a rotary drive part (4) which can be displaced axially with respect to the support part (3) by rotation, the support part (3) and the rotary drive part (4) resting on a helical engagement surface (7, 8) which has a slope which is opposite the slope of a thread of a screw (5) which, upon being screwed into an axial opening (11) in the rotary drive part, carries the latter along in rotation. The support part (3) and rotary drive part (4) are magnetically attached to each other, the support part (3) and/or the rotary drive part (4) being of permanently magnetic material.

The present invention relates to a device for holding two structural parts in a spaced relationship with respect to each other.
One such device operates on the basis of the principle described in European Patent Application 0 176 663. The device consists of a support part which can be brought into a position secured against rotation with the first part. The helical engagement surface of a rotary drive part rests on a helical engagement surface of the support part. The rotary drive part can be turned with respect to the support part. In such case, the two engagement surfaces slide on one another so that, as a result of their helical shape, the spaced-apart relationship of those two end surfaces of the support parts which face away from each other are moved apart from each other. Support part and rotary drive part lie one behind the other in axial direction, a screw which extends coaxial to the axis passing through an opening in the device. The screw has a thread of a direction opposite that of the engagement surface. In case of a right-hand screw, the engagement surface is developed as a left-hand winding. Upon being screwed into the rotary drive part, the screw, as a result of a frictional engagement of its external thread in the hole in the rotary drive part carries the rotary drive part along with it so that the engagement surfaces slide on each other and the end surface of the rotary drive part can move until it comes against the second structural part so that the distance between the two structural parts is filled up. Further turning of the screw then no longer leads to the carrying along of the rotary drive part so that the screw can be screwed in completely and then be screwed, on the opposite side, into a corresponding internal thread of the second structural part so that the two structural parts are fastened to each other. In the device of this type, support part and rotary drive part are connected to each other as a complete assembly unit. This is effected, for instance, in the manner that the parts are snapped onto one another by a spring or other means. For the preassembly, it is furthermore necessary that the support part be brought into a temporary fastening position with respect to the first structural part. For this, hook-shaped extensions are used by which the support part can be snapped onto the first structural part.

Device for holding two structural parts in a spaced relationship with respect to each other


A high efficiency power amplifier of the present invention includes a transistor and an output power processing circuit section. The output power processing circuit section includes an output matching circuit section and an output harmonic processing circuit section. The output matching circuit section carries out impedance matching to the fundamental wave component of the output power. The output harmonic processing circuit section carries out a reactive power control to a reactive power of a plurality of harmonic power components respectively having a plurality of harmonic angular frequencies which are integral multiples of the base angular frequency of the output power. The output harmonic processing circuit section is formed to realize the reactive power control to at least one of the plurality of harmonic power components by orthogonalizing the phases of the current and voltage in the reactive power.

In power amplification, the improvement of the power efficiency is important. When amplifying the power containing a desired fundamental wave with the power amplifier using a transistor, unnecessary power components of the harmonics of frequencies of integral multiples of the fundamental wave frequency are generated in addition to a fundamental wave power component having the fundamental wave frequency because the transistor is a non-linear device. When these unnecessary harmonic power components are consumed in the power amplifier, the power added efficiency of the power amplifier reduces.
As a method of preventing the power added efficiency from reducing by controlling the harmonic power components, a method of using the class-F amplification and the inverse class-F amplification is known. In the time-domain of the class-F amplification and the inverse class-F amplification, voltage and current are separated on the output side of the transistor. More specifically, in the class-F amplification, the voltage is a square wave, the current is a half sine wave, and the voltage and the current turn to a zero level alternately. On the contrary, in the inverse class-F amplification, the current is a square wave, the voltage is a half sine wave, and the voltage and the current turn to the zero level alternately.
FIG. 1A is a graph group showing an example of a time change of the current flowing into the transistor and the voltage generated at the output terminal of the transistor in the class-F amplifier. Here, the current flowing into the transistor is, for example, a drain current, and the voltage generated at the output terminal of the transistor is, for example, a voltage between the drain and the source. The graph group of FIG. 1A contains a first graph 1Ai showing the current flowing into the transistor and a second graph 1Av showing the voltage generated at the output terminal of the transistor. In FIG. 1A, the horizontal axis shows the time in unit of period of the fundamental wave and the vertical axis shows amplitudes of current and voltage. The current id(t) in the first graph 1Ai and the voltage vds(t) in the second graph 1Av are shown by the following equation (1).
                                                        i              d                                                  (              t              )                                =                                    1              π                        -                                          1                2                                          sin                                                                                ω                0                                          t                        -                                          2                π                                                                            ∑                                      m                    =                    1                                    5                                                                                1                                                                  4                                                                          m                          2                                                                    -                      1                                                                          cos                                                                                2                                                                                m                                                                                ω                    0                                                      t                                                                                υ              ds                                                  (              t              )                                =                                    1              2                                                  [                                                1                  2                                +                                                      2                    π                                                      sin                                                                                ω                    0                                                      t                                +                                                      2                    π                                                                                ∑                                              m                        =                        1                                            9                                                                                1                                                                              2                                                        m                                                    +                          1                                                                                sin                                                                          (                                                                                2                                                            m                                                        +                            1                                                    )                                                                                ω                        0                                                                  t                                                                                ]                                                          (        1        )
As shown in the example of FIG. 1A, in the transistor of the class-F amplifier, when the voltage between the drain and the source is generated, a drain current is turned to a zero level, and on the contrary, when the drain current is generated, the voltage between the drain and the source is turned to the zero level. Therefore, the power consumed in the transistor of the class-F amplifier is zero, and the average power consumption is also zero. As a result, in the class-F amplifier, the power efficiency of 100% is obtained theoretically. The characteristics are the same as in the inverse class-F amplifier.
In conjunction with the above, Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent No. 4,335,633) discloses the technique of a class-F amplification circuit and an addition circuit for the class-F amplifier. This class-F amplification circuit is composed of a transistor and a load circuit disposed at a rear stage of the transistor. The load circuit is composed of a first reactance two-terminal circuit and a second reactance two-terminal circuit. Impedance of each of the circuits has the zero in the even-order harmonic and a pole in the odd-order harmonic according to need.
Also, Patent Literature 2 (JP 2011-55152A) discloses the technique of an amplification circuit. The amplification circuit is composed of a transistor, a harmonic processing circuit disposed at the rear stage of the transistor, and a resonant circuit section disposed at the rear stage of the harmonic processing circuit. The transistor can be illustrated as an equivalent circuit which has a current source, a drain-source capacitance and a drain inductance. The harmonic processing circuit has a ladder-type circuit of n stages, each of which n stages contains a parallel capacitance and a serial inductor. Here, the n is an integer equal to or more than 1. The resonant circuit section has (2n+1) resonators whose resonance frequencies are different from each other. The resonance frequencies of the (2n+1) resonators frequency are coincident with the frequencies of the (n+1) zeros and n poles which are formed between the drain output section of the transistor and the ground when the output section of the harmonic processing circuit is short-circuited. The resonance frequencies of the 2n resonators of these (2n+1) resonators are respectively coincident with the frequencies of second to (2n+1)th harmonics.
Also, Patent Literature 3 (JP 2011-66839A) discloses a microwave harmonic processing circuit. The microwave harmonic processing circuit has a serial transmission line and a plurality of parallel open stubs connected to an output terminal of the serial transmission line in parallel with each other. The serial transmission line is connected with the output terminal of the transistor at the input terminal and has a predetermined electric length. The plurality of parallel open stubs have predetermined electric lengths to the second to nth harmonics. Here, the n is an optional integer and the total number of parallel open stubs is (n−1). The microwave harmonic processing circuit has a first transmission line layer, a second transmission line layer, a ground layer and vias. The first transmission line layer is configured from the serial transmission line and two of the (n−1) parallel open stubs which two are connected to one connection point. The second transmission line layer is configured from the (n−3) parallel open stubs excluding the above two parallel open stubs which are connected to a connection point. The ground layer is arranged between the first transmission line layer and the second transmission line layer. The via connects the connection point in the first transmission line layer and the connection point in the second transmission line layer electrically.

The University of Electro-Communications


Method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes the steps of forming a lower electrode pattern on a substrate, forming a first interlayer insulating layer on the lower electrode pattern, forming an upper electrode pattern on the first interlayer insulating layer, forming a second interlayer insulating layer on the upper electrode pattern, forming an etch blocking layer on a side of the upper electrode pattern, wherein the etch blocking layer passes through the first interlayer insulating layer, forming a cavity which exposes the side of the etch blocking layer by etching the second interlayer insulating layer, and forming a contact ball in the cavity.

Embodiments relate to semiconductor devices and/or methods for manufacturing semiconductor devices. Embodiments relate to Micro Metal Sphere switches and methods for manufacturing Micro Metal Sphere switches.
MEMs (Micro Metal Sphere system) devices may be devices having a relatively small size (e.g. micro-scale) which may perform electro-mechanical operations. At least a portion of MEMs device manufacturing may include specialized semiconductor processing, for which low priced batch manufacturing may be desirable.
MEMs devices have a wide range of applications. Examples include sensors, pressure sensors, inertia sensors, position sensors (e.g. for GPS systems and a game consoles), image sensors (e.g. for digital cameras and camcorder), RF switches, micro-resonators, variable capacitors, and/or variable inductors. In embodiments, MEMs devices switching applications may have manufacturing requirements related to reliability and/or a stable manufacturing yield.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same


A method of inserting a grounding rod includes providing an elongated grounding rod that has an upper end and a lower end and also providing a hammer drill. An elongated tubular member has an open first end and an open second end. The tubular member includes a first portion and a second portion. A dividing wall is integrally attached to an inner surface of the tubular member and is positioned at a juncture of the first and second portions. Te upper end of the grounding rod is extended into the second portion of the tubular member such that the upper end abuts the dividing wall. The hammer drill is engaged with the first portion of the tubular member. The hammer drill is turned on so that the lower end of the grounding rod is extended into a ground surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to grounding rod insertion devices and methods and more particularly pertains to a new grounding rod insertion device and method for driving a grounding rod into a ground surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of grounding rod insertion devices and methods is known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,154 describes a telescoping device that aids a person in selectively driving a grounding rod into a ground surface at a selected height. Another type of grounding rod insertion device and method is U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,551 that includes a tube having an open end and a closed end. The open end may receive the grounding rod, and the closed end can be hammered to drive an outer end of the grounding rod into a ground surface. A device similar to this is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,002, which again has a closed end which may be struck with a hammer.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a device and method that allows a person to use a hammer drill for driving grounding rods into a ground surface. The hammer drill is a small device that is easy to use for driving rods, however no suitable tool has been devised that may allow a hammer drill to be used in the driving of grounding rods into a ground surface. For that reason, a tool is needed that allows a hammer drill to engage a grounding rod.


A bulb socket is used with a bulb having a base and two mounting legs each including an enlarged member and has a casing, a bracket and a compression tab. The casing is hollow and has an open bottom. The bracket is mounted in the open bottom of the casing and has two openings, two curved slots and two ridges. The openings and curved slots are defined through the bracket. Each curved slot has an inlet hole and a locking recess. The ridges protrude from the bracket respectively along and adjacent to the curved slots. The compression tab is mounted on the bracket and has two feet extending respectively through openings. The feet pressing against the base and the ridges adjacent to the enlarged members prevent the vertical and horizontal movements of the enlarged members when no external force is applied to the bulb.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bulb socket, and more particularly to a bulb socket that has two ridges and a compression tab to securely hold a bulb in the bulb socket.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional energy saving bulb is used with a bulb socket. The energy saving bulb has a base and two mounting legs. The mounting legs extend out from the base and each mounting leg has a distal end and an enlarged member formed on the distal end. The bulb socket is hollow, is mounted on ceiling or wall and has an inner surface and two curved slots defined through the bulb socket. Each slot has two ends, an inlet hole and a locking recess. The inlet and locking recesses are defined respectively in the ends. The inlet hole is larger than the enlarged member. Extending the mounting legs respectively through the inlet holes in the curved slots and rotating the energy saving bulb relative to the bulb socket cause the enlarged members to be locked in the locking recesses so that the energy saving bulb is installed in the bulb socket.
However, inadvertent external force such as quake may rotate the energy saving bulb in the bulb socket and cause the mounting legs to fall out of the curved slots through the inlet holes and therefore result in the detachment of the energy saving bulb from the bulb socket.
To solve the problem of the unexpected detachment of the energy saving bulb from the bulb socket, a lock assembly to lock the energy saving bulb on the bulb socket was developed. The lock assembly has a recess formed in the bulb socket and a locking slide slidably mounted on the base of the energy saving bulb and engaging the recess when the energy saving bulb is installed in the bulb socket. However, the structure of the lock assembly is complicated and increases the cost of the energy saving bulb with the locking slide which customers adopting the bulb socket must use exclusively.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a bulb socket to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


Systems and methods for health and body simulations in order to predict numerous physiological parameters in a subject or a population of subjects based on the input of limited physiological data.

We live in a new era of data availability, understanding of human physiology, and computing power with lives being remotely monitored due to sensor availability and the expansion of electronic medical records (EMRs). We can use these new advances to change how we approach health using simulation modeling much like weather modeling in 1960s and nuclear weapons simulations in 1980s. If we can use science and physiology to understand the impact of health interventions prior to implementation, we can calculate the economic value of an intervention, to build a business case prior to an implementation, and identify the right behaviors for change.
Currently, systems used to study human physiology model singular physiological processes in the body without taking into account the impact of rich interconnections and feedbacks between the many processes in the whole body. These feedbacks and interconnections between physiological processes combined with our improved understanding of the systems are critical for understanding the observed health state of an individual. Interventions modeled without considering whole body physiology are therefore insufficient to simulate health interventions at the level of an individual and cannot connect overall health outcomes to interventions.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for an improved system and method for physiological health simulation in an effort to overcome the aforementioned obstacles and deficiencies of conventional systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for physiological health simulation


There is provided an ultrasound image processing apparatus which displays an ultrasonic image with a higher resolution. In a received frame, a first pixel array, a second pixel array, and a third pixel array are defined in depths different from each other. For each pixel of interest on the first pixel array, a pattern matching process is applied between the first pixel array and the second pixel array, to calculate a mapping address on the second pixel array for the pixel of interest. In addition, for each pixel of interest on the third pixel array, a pattern matching process is applied between the third pixel array and the second pixel array, to calculate a mapping address on the second pixel array for each pixel of interest. The second pixel array is re-constructed into a high-density pixel array using pixel values and mapping addresses of a plurality of pixels of interest.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic image processing apparatus, and in particular to a technique for improving resolution or quality of ultrasonic images.
Background Art
An ultrasonic image processing apparatus is formed, for example, as an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus or an information-processing device. In the information-processing device, image data provided from the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus are processed. In the following, an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus will be described. An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus is an apparatus which transmits and receives ultrasound to and from a living body, and which forms an ultrasonic image based on received information acquired by the transmission and reception of the ultrasound. As an ultrasonic image, a two-dimensional tomographic image, a two-dimensional bloodstream image, a three-dimensional image, or the like are known.
More specifically, an imaginary scan plane is formed by electronic scanning of the ultrasonic beam in a living body. With this process, a received frame (received frame data) corresponding to the beam scan plane is acquired. The received frame comprises a plurality of beam data sets arranged in a beam scan direction, and each beam data set comprises a plurality of echo data sets arranged in a depth direction. In other words, the received frame comprises a two-dimensionally placed group of echo data (echo data array). An individual echo data point is an element of the received frame, and is generally called a "pixel". An element of a display frame to be described later is also generally called a pixel.
Each of the pixels of the received frame has an address conforming with a transmission/reception coordinate system (a polar coordinate system in the case of electronic sector scanning). In order to convert the received frame into a display frame; that is, in order to convert from the transmission/reception coordinate system to a display coordinate system (orthogonal coordinate system), the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus is equipped with a scan converter (JP 2003-299651 A). In addition to the coordinate conversion function, the scan converter has an interpolation processing function, a frame rate adjusting function, or the like.
In order to improve the quality of the ultrasonic image, it is desirable to increase the resolution or density of the received frame. However, if the number of beam data sets of one received frame (echo data density) is increased, the received frame rate would be reduced. An inter-frame interpolation process or an inter-line interpolation process may be applied to the received frame, to increase the pixel density or the line density. However, in the related art, a simple linear interpolation process has been used as such interpolation processes, and, therefore, even though an amount of data appears to be increased, the quality of the ultrasonic image cannot be sufficiently improved.
In beam scanning methods such as sector scanning, convex scanning, radial scanning, etc., a beam array of a fan shape or a radial shape is formed, and the beam spacing is widened for deeper sites. In the scan converter described above, a large number of pixels required for the display frame are generated by interpolation calculation. Therefore, a large number of interpolation pixels are embedded in a deep portion in the display frame. Thus, in such a deep portion, although pixel insufficiency does not occur, there has been a problem in that the image is blurred. More specifically, there has been a problem in that the image shifts or deforms in the beam scan direction. A similar problem occurs when a three-dimensional image is formed.


In a method of forming a conductive layer, a conductive layer formed using the method, an organic electroluminescent device including the conductive layer, and a method of manufacturing the organic electroluminescent device, the method of forming the conductive layer comprises: pre-treating a substrate in order to improve adhesive force; coating a mixture solution which contains a sulfonate-based catalyst and a solvent on the substrate, and then drying the coated product; and performing vapor-phase polymerization by contacting the substrate on which the catalyst is coated with monomers which make up a conductive polymer in a vapor phase. The conductive layer obtained using the method of forming a conductive layer has high conductivity, high transmittance with respect to light having a wavelength of 300 nm to 700 nm, uniform thickness, and thermal-chemical stability.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of forming a conductive layer, a conductive layer formed using the method, an organic electroluminescent device including the conductive layer, and a method of manufacturing the organic electroluminescent device. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of forming a conductive layer that has high transmittance with respect to light having a wavelength of 300 nm to 700 nm and thermal-chemical stability, a conductive layer formed using the method, an organic electroluminescent device including the conductive layer, and a method of manufacturing the organic electroluminescent device.
2. Related Art
Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are self-emissive devices in which, when a current is provided to a fluorescent or phosphorescent organic layer, electrons and holes are combined in the organic layer, thereby emitting light. OLEDs are lightweight, and can be relatively easily manufactured using a few components. In addition, OLEDs can realize high-quality images, have wide viewing angles, and can perfectly realize moving pictures. Furthermore, OLEDs can realize high color purity and low power consumption with low operating voltage, and are therefore suitable for portable electronic devices.
OLEDs can be categorized into devices using a low molecular substance and devices using a polymer substance according to the characteristics of the material used, and the manufacturing process. In the process of manufacturing devices using a low molecular substance, vacuum deposition is used to form a layer, emission materials can be easily refined to a high degree of purity, and a color pixel can be easily obtained. However, there are several problems in the practical use of a low molecular substance in devices. For example, quantum efficiency should be improved, crystallization of a layer should be prevented, and color purity should be improved.
Meanwhile, studies on light emitting devices using polymer molecules are being carried out after a Cambridge group in 1990 reported that, when electricity was applied to poly (1,4-phenylenevinylene) (PPV), that is, a π-conjugated polymer, light was emitted. The π-conjugated polymers have a chemical structure in which single bonds (or s-bonds) and double bonds (or π-bonds) are alternated so that π-electrons are not polarized and move relatively easily along the bonding chain. Due to such a semi-conductive property of π-conjugated polymers, the entire range of visible light corresponding to a HOMO-LUMO band-gap can be easily obtained through appropriate molecular design when the π-conjugated polymers are used in an emission layer of an organic electroluminescent device. In addition, a layer can be easily formed by spin coating or printing, and thus, the manufacturing process is simple and inexpensive. Furthermore, the layer formed has excellent mechanical properties because the polymer molecules have a high glass transition temperature. Accordingly, in the long term, it is expected that polymer light emitting devices will have a commercial competitive edge over low molecular light emitting devices.
Generally, these polymer light emitting devices include, as an organic layer, a multi-layer which includes a hole injection layer formed using a conductive polymer, an emission layer, and an electron injection layer, instead of a single emission layer, to improve efficiency and decrease operating voltage.
Such a multi-organic layer can be basically divided into a hole related layer, an electron related layer, and an emission layer.
A hole injection layer (HIL) is generally formed by spin coating a PEDOT[poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)]-PSS[poly(4-styrenesulfonate)] aqueous solution (Model: Baytron-P, commercially available from Bayer AG Inc) on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode in the process of manufacturing an organic light emitting device.
However, a conductive layer which is formed through conventional wet polymerization of monomers that make up a conductive polymer has low transmittance and low conductivity due to the presence of impurities generated during a process of preparing a polymer solution.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop a uniformly conductive, transparent layer in order to obtain an OLED having high efficiency and a long lifetime.

Conductive layer and organic electroluminescent device including the same


A steel alloy contains in weight-% 0.5-1.0 C, 1-2 Si, max 0.2 Mn, preferably max 0.001 S, 0.1-0.5 Cr, balance essentially only iron. In the form of a cold rolled, hardened and tempered strip it can be used as a backing material for band saw blades, frame saw blades and circular saw blades, where the teeth are tipped with a different material than the backing material. This steel strip has a structure consisting of tempered martensite, and possibly remaining carbides, obtainable by hardening from a temperature between 780.degree. and 1000.degree. C. and tempering at a temperature between 200.degree. and 550.degree. C.

Steel strips for band saw blades, frame saw blades as well as circular saw blades conventionally are made of a steel which provides a good swaging and/or spring setting ability in combination with high wear and fatigue resistance, which features are worthwhile for conventional band saw blades, frame saw blades and circular saw blades where the entire blade consists of a single material and the saw teeth are shaped by plastic deformation and grinding. These features of the blade, however, are not of significant importance for band-saw blades, frame saw blades, and circular saw blades of the type where the tooth tips are secured to a backing material through welding or brazing or are produced by working an edge portion which is secured to the backing material through brazing or welding. This type of band saw blades, frame saw blades, and circular saw blades are more and more common, because they offer an opportunity to use, as a material for the tooth tips, a material having a very high wear resistance, e.g. Stellite.RTM., which is a registered trademark of Stoody Deloro Stellite, Inc., Co., while the backing material consists of a strip steel. The sharpness of the tooth tips of a material having a very high wear resistance is maintained longer than if the tooth tips were made of the backing material and the time period between the regrinding operations have successively been increased. Moreover, the feeding rates have also been increased. This technology, however, raises other and ever higher demands on the backing material. This particularly concerns the backing material of band saw blades, frame saw blades, and circular saw blades for sawing in wood but also in stone and other materials. Among these demands the following should be mentioned:
a high fatigue resistance in order to be able to stand repeated bendings, varying loads, vibrations, etc; PA1 a good relaxation resistance in order to maintain the tensions which have been incorporated in the material in connection with the stretching or tensioning of the blade, i.e. that the blade does not loose its shape keeps its tension; PA1 a good brazing ability and/or weldability in order to allow the fastening of wear resistant materials on the backing material through welding or brazing and/or for joining band saw blades without impairing vital strip steel properties; PA1 a good grinding ability in order to avoid notch effects which commonly cause failures; and PA1 a good tempering resistance at the manufacturing of the blade as well as during sawing. PA1 0.01-0.1%, preferably about 0.025% aluminium and 0.005-0.05%, suitably about 0.010% nitrogen, or PA1 0.10-0.20%, suitably about 0.15% vanadium, or PA1 0.025-0.10%, suitably about 0.05% niobium, which wholly or partly can be replaced by the double amount of tantalum, or PA1 0.015-0.10%, suitably about 0.025% zirconium, which wholly or partly can be replaced by the same amount of titanium.
Besides the above mentioned demands, which the tool maker and the final user make on the material, also the steel manufacturer put some demands on the material. Thus, the steel must not be too expensive to manufacture, which i.a. implies that the steel should not contain high amounts of expensive alloying elements and also that the material should not require complicated manufacturing procedures which may be difficult to uniformly reproduce and also would cause considerable costs.


A gas spring with a piston reciprocable in a chamber of a casing, a sealing assembly at the rear end of the casing through which the piston rod extends, and an end cap closing the rear end of the casing. The sealing assembly has a reinforcing ring having a sealing ring on one side and a wiper on the other side. The sealing ring and wiper are portions of a single body of elastomeric material molded to the reinforcing ring and integrally connected through one or more openings in the reinforcing ring. The casing wall is rolled radially inwardly over the sealing assembly into pressure contact with the reinforcing ring so that the sealing assembly becomes in effect an end cap for the front end of the casing. The rear end of the casing is rolled over the rear end cap by swaging into pressure contact with the end cap. A filler valve is disposed in the end cap.

Gas springs may be employed to yieldably clamp a workpiece while operations are performed thereon. Thus a sheet metal part may be held down by gas springs during stamping or forming. The gas springs can be operated with either an external source of gas or can be precharged and operated as a self-contained unit. Self-contained units may be charged with an inert gas at a pressure of 2000 psi, and in use the pressure may increase to 3000-5000 psi. Examples of such gas springs are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,792,128 and 4,838,527.


Systems and methods for providing voice activated location information to a user are disclosed. In one embodiment, a user provides a voice-based request for directions to a desired destination through a communications device. The voice-based request includes a delivery method for the directions. The location of the user is determined, and a database is queried to determine one or more entries that match the desired destination contained in the request. Directional instructions to the matching entries are determined and provided to the user by the delivery method.

Voice activated information services which are accessed by phone are increasing in popularity. Customers can now call a number to reach an interactive voice response (IVR) system and be provided information such as account information, technical help, billing and store locations. For example, a user calls a phone number and identifies a destination such as a restaurant or store. The location service then provides the user with the name, address and directions to the destination.
One issue with current voice activated information services is that the information is provided verbally by an IVR system. The user must either remember the information or write it down. This can be difficult when the user is presented with several pieces of information, the information is long and complex and/or the user is engaged in an activity such as driving a car.

Interactive voice response with user designated delivery


A toner container for use with an image forming apparatus. The toner container comprises a toner storage section, a toner outlet at a circumferential surface of the toner container, and a shutter at the circumferential surface of the toner container. The toner container further comprises an electronic element, disposed at the same end of the toner container as the toner outlet to communicate with the image forming apparatus. The toner outlet and the electronic element are disposed along a line which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the toner storing section. Further, there is a projection on the circumferential surface of the toner container.

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a toner container having a cylindrical shape (toner bottle) has been used by being detachably attached to the image forming apparatus (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In Patent Document 1, a toner container (toner bottle), which is detachably attached to an image forming apparatus main body, is mainly formed of a container main body and a cap section. A spiral protrusion is formed on an inner circumferential surface of the container main body, and when the container main body is rotated, toners contained in the container main body are carried to an opening part of the toner container. The cap section is connected to the container main body and is supported by the image forming apparatus main body without being rotated by the rotation of the container main body. The toners output from the opening part of the container main body are output from a toner output opening of the cap section. The toners output from the toner output opening are supplied to a developing device.
In addition, a shutter member for opening or closing the toner output opening is formed in the cap section of the toner container. The shutter member opens or closes the toner output opening by being interfaced with attaching or detaching of the toner container to or from the image forming apparatus main body.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-287404
In a case where the toner container in Patent Document 1 is compared with a toner container without having a cap section, when the toner container in Patent Document 1 is replaced with a new one, stains caused by toners can be decreased. That is, since a toner outlet is opened or closed by interfacing with an attaching or detaching operation of the toner container, a user is prevented from being stained by the toners due to a direct touch of the toner outlet. In addition, since the direction of the toner outlet is a direct downward direction, an amount of toners remaining near the toner outlet may be small as a result of being dropped with the toner's own weight when the toners have been almost consumed (at the toner end time). With this, the stains caused by the toners near the toner outlet can be decreased when the container is replaced with a new one.
However, a slight amount of toners is adhered onto a part surrounding the toner outlet, and the adhered toners are dropped into the image forming apparatus main body when the toner container is replaced with a new one. In particular, stains caused by the dropped toners have been remarkable at the part surrounding a toner supplying opening of the image forming apparatus main body. Consequently, an unsatisfying impression has been given to the user.
In order to solve the above problem, it is conceivable that a shutter member is formed to open or close the toner outlet by rotating the toner container in a state where the toner container is attached to the image forming apparatus main body and a main body side shutter is formed to open or close a toner supplying opening of the image forming apparatus main body.
However, in this case, in order not to generate a toner supplying fault to the image forming apparatus main body, the main body side shutter of the image forming apparatus main body must be surely opened together with an opening operation of the shutter member of the toner container, and the toner outlet of the toner container must be surely connected to the toner supplying opening of the image forming apparatus.

Toner container and image forming apparatus


A method for controlling a warning module based on an expected time period up to a collision of a vehicle with an obstacle, including: permitting an outputting of a generated warning to a driver of the vehicle if the expected time period up to the collision is shorter than a limiting value function, which depends on a speed of the obstacle and/or a relative speed of the vehicle with respect to the obstacle, and otherwise suppressing a warning to the driver; in which the warning module is configured to generate the warning of an imminent triggering of an automatic emergency braking process of the vehicle to avoid the collision. Also described is a related device and computer readable medium.

In modern vehicles, more and more assistance systems are being used in order, on the one hand, to increase safety further and, on the other hand, to move towards autonomous driving. A particularly important aspect is here the detection of critical situations and the triggering of a corresponding reaction on the basis thereof. In particular in the case of emergency situations which lead to an accident in the case of incorrect behavior it is important to assist the driving correspondingly. An example of this is the triggering of an emergency braking operation which is intended to avoid or at least alleviate an immediately imminent collision. However, in order to avoid surprising a driver by the automatic triggering of an emergency braking operation, such systems have warning modules which inform a driver of the imminent triggering of an emergency braking operation.
Document EP 1 539 523 B1 discusses a method and a device in which an automatic emergency braking process is triggered after the expiry of a warning time period during which the driver is provided with the possibility of avoiding the automatic emergency braking process by intervention in the form of a driver braking request. The warning time period is divided here chronologically into two stages, wherein in a first period a visual, acoustic or haptic driver warning is output. If the driver does not react thereto, during a second time period partial braking is initiated with partial braking deceleration which is less than a predefined (maximum) emergency braking deceleration. Only if the driver also allows the second warning stage time period to pass without activating at least one operator control element will the emergency braking process be automatically triggered. During the warning time period, the driver therefore has the possibility of averting the hazardous situation, for example by activating the brake.
In this context, the warning time period is permanently predefined or set as a function of the vehicle mass, the coefficient of friction of the wheel brake devices of the vehicle, the condition of the roadway or the visibility conditions. In this conventional method, the determined acceleration of the vehicle and a currently present relative acceleration between the vehicle and the vehicle traveling ahead are also acquired in order to determine the condition which triggers a warning.
The specified document uses the relative acceleration between the vehicles in order to determine the time of the stationary state of the obstacle by using the movement equation. However, if an attempt is made not to follow the approach proposed in document EP 1 539 523 B1 but rather instead to permanently set the warning on the basis of an instantaneous relative movement situation, there is frequently an excessively early warning or a superfluous warning of the driver, which significantly reduces the acceptance of such systems. In particular if the vehicle traveling ahead comes to a standstill and the relative acceleration suddenly drops to a value of zero, incorrect behavior occurs, e.g. if a braking operation (negative acceleration) of the vehicle traveling ahead is extrapolated into the future and it is assumed that the braking operation of the vehicle traveling ahead continues and therefore the distance from the vehicle traveling ahead becomes increasingly small. Under this assumption, the warning would be output to the driver at a correspondingly earlier point. However, if the acceleration (i.e. the braking operation) of the vehicle traveling ahead suddenly drops from a value which is different from zero to a value of zero, the speed of the vehicle traveling ahead does not decrease any further. However, if a further reduction is assumed this causes a warning to be output too early in such situations. In other words, in situations when the vehicle stops or is just about to stop, the warning would only need to be output at a later time.
Therefore, there is a need for a method which avoids uncritical warnings to a driver, in particular just before a stationary state of the obstacle, and which withstands plausibility checking.

Method and device for controlling a warning module

KNORR-BREMSE SYSTEME FUER NUTZFAHRZEUGE GMBH


A non-contact controllable heater wound covering and method having a peripheral sealing ring covered by a layer to which is attached a heater and this assembly is attached to the skin with an adhesive so that the heater is held proximate the wound area in a non-contact position. The layer and peripheral sealing ring together define a treatment volume proximate the wound. The wound covering includes a programmable active heater control and the sealing ring may dispense water to control the humidity of the treatment volume. One form of active heat is an electrical resistive filament in variable geometric shapes providing versatility in application of heat to different types of wounds and wound area geometries. Another form of active heat is the transfer of a heated gas to the wound covering.

Wounds in general, as used in this context, are breaks in the integrity of the skin of a patient. Wounds may occur by several different mechanisms. One such mechanism is through mechanical traumatic means such as cuts, tears, and abrasions. There are many instruments of causality for mechanical wounds, including a kitchen bread knife, broken glass, gravel on the street, or a surgeon's scalpel. A different mechanism cause for mechanical wounds is the variable combination of heat and pressure, when the heat alone is insufficient to cause an outright burn. Such wounds that result are collectively referred to as pressure sores, decubitus ulcers, or bed sores, and reflect a mechanical injury that is more chronic in nature.
Another type of mechanism causing a wound is vascular in origin, either arterial or venous. The blood flow through the affected region is altered sufficiently to cause secondary weakening of the tissues which eventually disrupt, forming a wound. In the case of arterial causes, the primary difficulty is getting oxygenated blood to the affected area. For venous causes, the primary difficulty is fluid congestion to the affected area which backs up, decreasing the flow of oxygenated blood. Because these wounds represent the skin manifestation of other underlying chronic disease processes, for example, atherosclerotic vascular disease, congestive heart failure, and diabetes, these vascular injuries also are chronic in nature, forming wounds with ulcerated bases.
Traditional wound coverings, such as bandages, are used to mechanically cover and assist in closing wounds. Such bandages typically cover the wound in direct contact with the wound. This may be acceptable for acute, non-infected traumatic wounds, but it must be kept in mind that direct bandage contact with a wound can interfere with the healing process. This interference is particularly prevalent for chronic ulcerated wounds because of the repeated mechanical impact and interaction of the bandage with the fragile, pressure sensitive tissues within the wound.
The benefits of application of heat to a wound are known, and documented benefits include: increased cutaneous and subcutaneous blood flow; increased oxygen partial pressure at the wound site; and increased immune system functions, both humoral and cell mediated, including increased migration of white blood cells and fibroblasts to the site.
However, heat therapy for the treatment of wounds, either infected or clean, has been difficult to achieve in practice. For instance, heating lamps have been used, but these resulted in drying of wounds, and in some cases, even burning tissue from the high heat. Due to these and other difficulties, and since most acute wounds usually heal over time, physicians no longer consider the application of heat to the wound as part of the treatment process. The thinking among medical personnel is that any interference in a natural process should be minimized until it is probable that the natural process is going to fail. Additionally, the availability of antibiotics for use in association with infected wounds has taken precedence over other therapies for the treatment of chronic wounds and topical infections.
In French patent number 1,527,887 issued Apr. 29, 1968 to Veilhan there is disclosed a covering with rigid oval dome, its edge resting directly on the patient's skin. One aspect of the Veilhan wound protector is a single oval heating element resting on the outer surface of the rigid dome, positioned at the periphery of the rigid dome. Veilhan does not discuss the heating aspect other than to state that it is a component.
The benefits of controlling other environmental parameters around the wound site are not as well known. Controlling the humidity at the wound site and the benefits of isolating the wound have not been extensively studied and documented.
While the benefit of applying heat to wounds is generally known, the manner of how that heat should be used or applied is not known. Historically, heat was applied at higher temperatures with the goal of making the wound hyperthermic. These higher temperatures often resulted in increasing tissue damage rather than their intended purpose of wound therapy and healing. There is a need for appropriate wound care management incorporating a heating regimen that is conducive to wound healing, yet safe and cost effective.


A multi-section mattress or mattress overlay including a first generally rectangular section made from a first honeycomb core having a first core face and a second core face, the first core having a first facing sheet bonded to one of the first and second core faces, a second generally rectangular section made from a second honeycomb core having a third core face and a fourth core face, the second core having a second facing sheet bonded to one of the third and fourth core faces, the second section being positioned with one side thereof immediately adjacent an opposing side of the first section; and a seam joining the first and second sections together along the lengths of the one side and the opposing side, the seam being formed by bonding a portion of the first face extending along the one side to a portion of the third face extending along the opposing side, and by orienting the bonded portions of the first and third faces such that they extend away from a plane including the first and third faces and toward a plane including the second and fourth faces.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to mattresses and mattress overlays and more particularly to an apparatus and method for making a segmented or multi-sectioned mattress or overlay using a honeycomb core.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Foam and gel-filled materials have long been used in mattresses and cushions to absorb shock and provide support for various parts of the human body. More recently, honeycomb cores have been used to provide improved support characteristics for such applications. However, either the inherent characteristics of these materials or the methods used to form the pads have resulted in less than optimum configurations for applications in which the pads must be folded, must have different support characteristics across their surface, or are intended to accommodate multiple users.
For the case in which the mattress must be folded either in use or for storage, unless the pad is segmented and seamed together, its thickness prevents folding and it usually must be rolled. On the other hand if the pad is segmented to accommodate storage, the junctions of the segments present seams or spaces that interfere with uniform support during use.
For example, some mattresses and seat cushions include one or more sections of foam material encased within a covering, with the foam being configured and formed to provide comfortable supporting surfaces. Where multiple foam cushions are combined in a single unit, the unit must rely on the integrity of the casing to hold the cushions in their intended relative positions. This usually requires that the cushions be placed in individual pockets separated by a seam of some type that normally makes it difficult to prevent unwanted separations between adjacent cushion parts. If a plastic casing is used, the separation problem is usually worse due to the type of bonding seam that is normally used. There are also other shortcomings associated with the use of foam materials. For example, foam is susceptible to taking a compression set after many periods of use wherein the foam cells collapse and the support benefit of the cushion is lost.
In other prior art mattresses and cushions, a gel or other fluid-like substance is used to fill an impermeable sack which is disposed within or on a foam envelope. The entire assembly is encased within a moisture resistant cloth, vinyl and/or urethane, or waterproof covering and placed on a seat or mattress support. In some cases the gel-filled cushion is formed with contours or contact-free zones to relieve contact and pressure on sensitive portions of the user's body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,780 (Dinsmoor, III et al.) discloses a tri-layered mattress pad that includes a cover or casing containing an interior strata of a plastic film layer atop a fluid bladder layer supported on a foam layer. This pad cannot be folded due to its complicated internal construction.
Other prior art mattresses that include a matrix of air or fluid cells that may be inflated and deflated to more evenly support body parts, although flexible enough to be bent or folded, usually include complicated plumbing components and in addition to the fluid supply components (e.g. compressor, valving, tubing, etc.), a computer is often needed to constantly measure and control the reaction of each air cell to pressure and load changes by varying the deflation and inflation in each cell. Thus, such mattresses are also costly and complicated.
Honeycomb structures are now often selected as the preferred padding for use in mattresses and other cushions intended to support a human body. For example, Landi et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,621 disclose various improved mattress and mattress pad configurations made from one or more layers of single panel, flexible elastomeric honeycomb core encased within a covering fabricated from a porous or fabric material. The honeycomb core in one disclosed embodiment is faced on the bottom side with a plastic facing sheet having a plurality of perforations to permit expulsion of moisture from the core. In another embodiment, the mattress pad includes facing sheets attached to both the upper and lower surfaces of a single core. A covering encases both the core and facing sheets. The honeycomb core of this embodiment may include cell walls having perforations formed therein so that each cell of the core can communicate with a pumping subsystem to allow control of the firmness of the pad.
Another Landi et al embodiment includes two honeycomb core panels disposed one atop the other with both cores being encased within a single covering that may be permeable or may be constructed with side openings or vents that are impervious to gas and fluids. The cell walls of each core may be solid, i.e. non-perforated, or some or all of the cell walls of the cores may include a plurality of perforations. In still another embodiment, a dual core pad having three facing sheets is disclosed wherein each facing sheet is solid, i.e. non-perforated, or may be formed with a plurality of perforations. The facing sheets are respectively bonded to the upper surface of the upper core, the lower surface of the upper core and the adjacent upper surface of the lower core, and the bottom surface of the lower core. The facing sheets may be solid, i.e. non-perforated or may be formed with a plurality of perforations.
Although providing substantial improvement over the previous materials, each of these honeycomb embodiments is constructed of single core layers and is thus not ideally suited for applications in which folding is required, in which substantial non-planer orientation or support is contemplated, in which support of more than one human body is intended to be accommodated, or in which different anatomical support characteristics are to be had in different areas of a single mattress or mattress overlay.
There thus remains a need to provide a method of making an improved mattress or mattress overlay that overcomes the above stated deficiencies and maximizes comfort, durability, shape maintainability, storability and utility, yet does not possess the shortcomings of the prior art.

Multi-section mattress or mattress overlay and method of making same


A method for manufacturing a miniature resistor includes the steps of: providing a foil sheet; forming intersecting rows of slits to define a patterned foil sheet having a matrix array of resistor blanks that are interconnected at intersections of the intersecting rows; forming a resin film on a bottom surface of the patterned foil sheet; forming a plurality of protruding blocks on each resistor blanks; forming an encapsulating layer on atop surface of each resistor blanks without covering outer surfaces of the protruding blocks; performing a die cutting process to obtain individual resistor blanks; and forming two external electrodes respectively on the protruding blocks and on two side surfaces of the individual resistor blanks to obtain the miniature resistor.

Miniature resistor is among one of the passive electronic components widely used in various electronic devices to implement a predetermined electrical resistance.
A conventional method for mass production of a miniature resistor basically involves first preparing a plate made of an electrically conductive material and then disposing a support sheet on a bottom surface of the plate. Thereafter, the plate is subjected to a die cutting process to form a plurality of resistor blanks 11 arranged in a matrix array, followed by subjecting a top surface of each of the resistor blanks 11 to a resistance trimming process so as to provide a predetermined resistance value to the resistor blanks 11. Subsequently, an insulating layer 13 is disposed to cover the resistor blanks 11, and then the resistor blanks 11 are subjected to the die cutting process to obtain individual resistor blanks 11 that are separated from one another. Finally, two external electrodes 14 are formed on two opposite sides surfaces of each of the individual resistor blanks 11, so as to obtain a conventional miniature resistor 100 including the resistor blank 11, the supporting layer 12, the insulating layer 13, and the two external electrodes 14 as shown in FIG. 1.
The aforementioned conventional method for mass production of the conventional miniature resistor 100 requires the step of providing a support sheet to avoid deformation of the plate due to the die cutting process, which would cause an increased thickness of the thus obtained conventional miniature resistor 100, difficulty in capturing a precise resistance value, the packaging being sticky or glue overflow, the supporting layer 12 peeling off, and various other technical issues. Therefore, those skilled in the art endeavor to solve the abovementioned and related technical issues by proposing various solutions as exemplified by Taiwanese Invention and Utility Model Patent Publications Nos. 1435342, 155367, M439246, etc., and continue to propose various manufacturing procedures so as to improve the overall production of the miniature resistor.

Method for manufacturing miniature resistor


A metal sheet with attachment points for attaching the metal sheet to a support structure has a contour cut introduced in a sheet surface of the metal sheet, wherein the contour cut extends transversely to a connection line extending between a first and a second one of the attachment points. The contour cut is positioned relative to the first attachment point such that a vibration line extending as far as the first attachment point when the contour cut is not present is interrupted by the contour cut.

The present invention relates to a metal sheet with cutouts in the sheet surface and a plurality of attachment points to a support structure.
A metal sheet needs to have good stiffness and good buckling strength for many applications and furthermore it needs to be economical and easy to fabricate. Metal sheets are often single-piece, that is, made from a single sheet blank. A sheet blank is often subjected to numerous punching and forming procedures in order to obtain the desired form of the metal sheet. Often a sheet blank is used with a smaller sheet thickness and made from a material of lesser strength in order to facilitate the various forming, perforating and punching procedures during the machining of the metal sheet. The relatively soft sheet material makes possible the corresponding machining procedures without the material ripping or breaking in this process. Metal sheets are likewise known that are fabricated from a sheet blank and not formed by bending and folding procedures, but rather deep-drawn. For these as well a suitable sheet material needs to be used, having a smaller sheet thickness and/or a relatively lesser strength.
However, because of the softer sheet material, the mechanical loading capacity of the metal sheet made in this way is diminished. The softer sheet material can be more easily placed in vibration. If the metal sheets produced in this way additionally have recesses in the sheet surface, the mechanical loading capacity is even further reduced. This is then particularly detrimental if the metal sheet produced in the described manner is used in applications in which it is subjected to vibrational loads. The vibrations acting upon it may be free or constrained vibrations. The constrained vibrations may originate for example in vibrations of the machine in which the metal sheet is installed. The vibrations may occur in multiple degrees of freedom, especially if the metal sheet is exposed to oscillating forces acting in multiple directions of the degrees of freedom and the flexibility of the metal sheet permits vibrations in multiple directions.
Natural vibrations of structural parts are especially detrimental. Vibrations in metallic structural parts, especially under numerous loading reversals, may place such a burden on the parts that the sheet material will rip or break at particularly stressful locations, even under loading below the yield strength. The loading reversals caused by vibrations result in microplastic processes and changes in the microstructure of the metal sheet material, resulting in material fatigue. In these applications, it is often not possible to use a different sheet material, one with a higher mechanical loading capacity, or this is only possible in a narrow range, because otherwise the punching, perforating, forming and/or deep-drawing machining processes needed for its shaping can no longer be done, or can be done only with disproportionately greater expense.
The problem which the present invention proposes to solve is to make metal sheets, provided with recesses, more tolerant of vibrations.

Metal sheet with contour cut for vibration reduction


An approach using two terminal current measurements, preferably in a cyclic current-voltage sweeping procedure, and specialized test structure, is shown to be very useful in detecting processing induced changes in poly-Si/ultra-thin SiO.sub.2 /substrate Si structures. The charging current structure discernible in this approach is seen to have different features depending on processing history of the device. This is shown for the specific case of plasma gate definition etching with or without annealing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed toward methods and apparatus for monitoring damage on microelectronic devices brought on by processing steps. More particularly, the invention is directed toward the use of a current-voltage, or a cyclic current-voltage measurement system to monitor processing, to quantify damage and to monitor the correction (i.e. annealing) of the damage by means of subsequent processing steps.
2. Background of the Art
Dielectric/semiconductor systems are widely used, and are of great importance, in the microelectronics industries. Such systems include ultrathin layers such as SiO.sub.2 /Si materials systems. Such ultrathin SiO.sub.2 /Si systems are particularly difficult to monitor and characterize using prior art capacitive-voltage (C-V) monitoring techniques because C-V measurements for such thin SiO.sub.2 layers are severely hampered by the presence of high conductance in ultrathin dielectric structures. This results in interpretation of C-V results becoming relatively complex.
Another prior art technique used to study and monitor dielectric/semiconductor interfaces is the deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) technique. The DLTS technique can, however, only probe the semiconductor material in the system and, therefore, does not provide any information on the critical SiO.sub.2 /Si interface, and the SiO.sub.2 itself. In addition, DLTS is relatively slow and requires cooling to cryogenic temperatures.
Attention is now directed to prior art systems or procedures for specifically monitoring damage on microelectronic devices brought on by plasma processing steps. The CHARM technique uses floating gate memory devices (EEPROMs) to monitor the surface potential and the ultraviolet (UV) exposure during processing. CHARM does not provide any information on direct plasma exposure damage, since all devices are encapsulated and they are never exposed directly to the plasma being studied. Furthermore, the CHARM devices are complex and the processing involved in their fabrication is lengthy and therefore costly. SPIDER plasma processing monitoring wafers evaluate the overall impact of processing on individual transistors, and monitor charging damage through the use of antenna structures. SPIDER, like CHARM, requires lengthy, costly processing for its fabrication. In addition, both CHARM and SPIDER use time consuming terminal measurements of devices after exposure to determine the extent of any detrimental processing exposure effects.
In view of the summarized prior procedures above, an object of the present invention is to provide a simple, two-terminal measurement of easily fabricated test structures for monitoring the impact of processing of typical ultrathin and other microelectronic devices, such as ultrathin SiO.sub.2 /Si systems. This measurement technique eliminates problems in C-V measurements resulting from the high conductance of the ultrathin SiO.sub.2.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique for interrogating all of the interface states of an ultrathin device such as a SiO.sub.2 /Si device, at the interface.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a two terminal monitoring systems which yields results which are easily and quickly interpreted.
One benefit of the present invention is to provide a monitoring system which can be operated at room temperature.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system which can fully characterize the dielectric/semiconductor interface, unlike the DLTS which can not access the interface directly but only access the semiconductor portion of the device.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring system which can be used in a contact-free mode, wherein the dielectric/semiconductor interface is characterized by using a contact free probe which is positioned extremely close to the surface of the device, and the probe/air or a probe/insulator region is flux coupled to an ultrathin system such as a SiO.sub.2 /Si materials system.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a technique with which the carrier lifetimes in the semiconductor can be determined conveniently from the near surface region as devices are built.
There are other objects and advantages of the present invention which will become apparent in the following disclosure.

Method and apparatus testing IC chips for damage during fabrication


The present invention is a method of pickling of steel plate which contains silicon comprising applying ultrasonic waves of at least two types of frequencies of 28.0 kHz or more to less than 1.0 MHz to an acidic cleaning solution which contains microbubbles and, in that state, dipping the steel plate which contains silicon in that cleaning solution. The present invention is a continuous pickling system of steel plate which contains silicon which is provided with at least a support part which supports the steel plate, a conveyor which makes the steel plate move, and a pickling tank which pickles the steel plate, wherein the pickling tank has means for feeding microbubbles and means for applying ultrasonic waves of at least two types of frequencies of 28.0 kHz or more to less than 1.0 MHz.

In the process of production of steel plate, the steel plate surface is cleaned for various purposes. For example, cleaning of the steel plate before plating or coating, removal of oxide scale (descaling) by pickling hot rolled steel plate, etc. may be mentioned. Regarding descaling, usually steel plate is formed with oxide scale on the steel plate surface in the process of being heat treated and rolled, so the oxide scale has to be removed. That is, the oxide scale is often caught at the rolling rolls and causes damage to the surface of the steel plate at the time of the later step of cold rolling, so descaling is a necessary and essential step. For conventional oxide scale removal, the steel plate is often dipped into a plurality of acidic solutions and continuously run so as to remove the scale by pickling.
Acceleration or increasing efficiency of cleaning of such steel plate, improvement of the cleaning ability, etc. largely depend on the design of the cleaning solution, but as one method for further assisting cleaning at the time of cleaning, the method of applying 20 to 100 kHz ultrasonic waves is described in PLT's 1, 2, and 3. If applying ultrasonic waves inside the cleaning solution, a cavitation phenomenon occurs at the surface of the steel plate being cleaned and the cleaning effect is promoted. That is, due to the ultrasonic waves, the pressure locally falls and becomes lower than steam pressure inside the cleaning solution, so water vapor is formed and the dissolved gas expands resulting in small bubbles or cavities being rapidly formed and quickly collapsing. Due to this, the chemical reaction of the cleaning is promoted and also an impact force is given so the cleaning effect is promoted. Therefore, application of ultrasonic waves is also effective for pickling descaling of hot rolled steel plate.
Further, in PLT 4 or 5, solid particles are made to disperse through the cleaning solution whereby the effect of application of ultrasonic waves is further assisted.
Further, PLT 6 describes addition of microbubbles so as to further improve the cleaning effect due to application of ultrasonic waves. When only applying ultrasonic waves to the cleaning solution and pickling solution, when jointly using microbubbles, the range of propagation of the ultrasonic waves spreads three-dimensionally, so the object being cleaned can be uniformly cleaned.
Further, while the object being cleaned is a glass sheet or semiconductor wafer, PLT 7 discloses feeding a cleaning solution which contains microbubbles to the object being cleaned and applying ultrasonic waves combining a plurality of frequencies. The reason for combining a plurality of frequencies is to crush the microbubbles by the 5 to 800 kHz low frequency ultrasonic waves so as to generate microbubble radicals and to effectively mix the microbubble radicals by the 1 MHz or higher high frequency ultrasonic waves. Effective cleaning becomes possible because of this.
For the pickling descaling, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, fluoric acid, etc. alone or variously mixed to form a pickling solution may be used. To increase the pickling rate of the pickling solution, increasing the acid concentration, raising the pickling temperature, etc. have been attempted, but there are minus aspects such as the increase in chemicals and energy costs and the roughening of the steel material surface after pickling, so there are limits to improvement of the pickling rate and therefore ultrasonic waves are jointly used. However, reduction of the manufacturing costs of steel plate and improvement of the quality of steel plate are desired. For the cleaning and descaling of steel plate as well, further improvement of the cleaning efficiency and improvement of the cleanliness of the surface of steel plate are necessary.

Pickling method and pickling system of steel plate

NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION


Evaluating casing thickness by inducing SH0 and SH1 modes of a shear wave in the casing. The SH0 group velocity and SH1 mode group velocity (Vg) are measured and the measured SH0 mode group velocity is assigned as the tubular material shear velocity (Vs). A shear wave wavelength λ from the ratio of SH0 mode frequency (fo) and the measured SH0 group velocity is estimated. The tubular thickness (d) is estimated from the estimated shear wave wavelength λ. The transmitter can be calibrated to operate at an optimum frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a device and a method for evaluating a cement bond. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a device and method for evaluating the thickness, quality, and presence of a cement bond. Yet more specifically, the present disclosure concerns a device and method for evaluating a cement bond between cement and formation.
2. Description of Related Art
Hydrocarbon producing wellbores typically comprise casing cemented within a wellbore. Cement bonds the casing to the wellbore and is added into the annulus between the casing outer diameter and wellbore inner diameter. The cement also isolates adjacent zones within a formation from one another. Isolating adjacent zones can be important when one of the zones contains oil or gas and the other zone includes a non-hydrocarbon fluid such as water. Should the cement surrounding the casing be defective and fail to isolate the adjacent zones, water or other undesirable fluid can migrate into the hydrocarbon producing zone thus diluting or contaminating the hydrocarbons within the producing zone.
The casing is subjected to mechanical loading cycles from applied pressure differentials and thermal loading that create internal and external stresses. Corrosive substances, such as salt water and sulfur containing compounds, to name a few, can erode casing structure and reduce its yield strength. Downhole logging tools and drilling bits can damage or also erode casing. Production casing may fail due to erosion, surface damage, its loading cycles, or combinations thereof. Identifying casing defects from erosion or other damage can reveal a potential failure. Casing damage is identifiable by various measures, such as by evaluating casing thickness. Examples of casing analysis devices include acoustic measurement tools, magnetic flux leakage apparatus; eddy current devices; and mechanical calipers.


A bone registration system is disclosed. The bone registration system may have a device including a scanner arranged to scan a target surface area of bone to obtain scan data and a first communication component. The registration system may have also a first marker positionable on a first portion of bone. The first marker may include a second communication component arranged to transmit a location signal for indicating a position of the first marker in a plurality of dimensions relative to the device. The system may have also a registration unit that compares the scan data with surface data of the bone to generate position data identifying overlapping elements of the scan data relative to the surface data, determines location data from the location signal and determines a location of the first marker on a surface of the bone using the position data and the location data.

CT (Computed Tomography) is often used to image bones as this permits the construction of high definition three-dimensional images. These high definition images facilitate understanding of fractures, ligament injuries and dislocations and assist in the formulation of treatment strategies. CT scanners, however, are large, bulky devices which are inconvenient for use during treatment procedures. Although ultrasound imaging devices are less bulky and more convenient for use during procedures, the images produced by these devices are less accurate and comprehensive than those produced by CT scanners.

Ultrasound CT registration for positioning