This invention provides a novel phosphor material that has better brightness than conventional phosphors using dispersed rare earth ions, and that possesses excellent light resistance, temporal stability, and the like, and a light-emitting device with high brightness comprising such phosphor material and an excitation ultraviolet light source corresponding to the properties thereof. A phosphor comprising a silicon-containing solid matrix and semiconductor superfine particles dispersed therein at a concentration of 5×10−4 to 1×10−2 mol/L, said semiconductor superfine particles having a fluorescence quantum yield of 3% or greater and a diameter of 1.5 to 5 nm, and a light-emitting device including said phosphor and a light source for excitation light with an intensity of 3 to 800 W/cm2.

In the currently ongoing information technology revolution, display elements, assemblies thereof such as displays, and other optical devices play an important role as interfaces between people and various types of equipment. Such display elements are constantly required to have higher brightnesses and higher resolutions, and must also be as thin and lightweight as possible and consume minimum energy. Phosphors with high brightness and fluorescence quantum yield are indispensable to meeting such requirements.
Inorganic matrices in which primarily rare earth ions or transition metal ions are dispersed have so far been used as phosphors. These phosphors have been researched extensively and are being constantly improved because rare earth ions and transition metal ions change little over time and are degraded only minimally by light irradiation in comparison with organic pigments. However, the transitions of such ions often have a forbidden character, and hence their emission lifetime is about 1 ms (millisecond). Accordingly, irradiating such ions with intense excitation light in an attempt to achieve higher brightness fails to rapidly convert this light to the desired light, and the phenomenon called brightness saturation occurs. This phenomenon is a major obstacle to ensuring higher brightness through the use of rare earth ions or transition metal ions. To overcome this shortcoming, it is necessary to find novel light-emitting materials that lie outside the traditional and conventional ways of thinking.
In recent years, attention has been drawn to the discovery that surface-treated semiconductor superfine particles emit light with high efficiency. Typical examples of semiconductor superfine particles are particles of Group II-VI compounds whose diameters are on the order of several nanometers. These particles display so-called quantum size effects, with smaller particles having an increase band gap. For this reason, such particles can emit various colors depending on the particle size even when all are irradiated with ultraviolet light of the same wavelength, with smaller particles emitting shorter wavelengths of light. For example, cadmium telluride emits yellowish red light when in the form of particles with a diameter of about 5 nm, and green light when in the form of particles with a diameter of about 3 nm. The emission lifetime of these semiconductor superfine particles is about 10 ns (nanosecond). For this reason, excitation light can be converted to the necessary light five orders of magnitude more rapidly than with a phosphor based on rare earth ions or transition metal ions, and the excitation light can be reabsorbed and emitted, making it possible to ensure extremely high brightness. Another advantage is the ability to promptly follow the ON and OFF cycles of excitation light.
It should be noted, however, that such semiconductor superfine particles have a large surface area because of their small particle size, for which reason reducing the number of surface defects by a surface treatment to suppress radiationless deactivation is important for raising the fluorescence quantum yield. Sulfur-containing compounds can suitably be used for such surface treatments. Typical examples include thiols and other organic surfactants, as well as zinc sulfide. Since semiconductor superfine particles whose surfaces are thoroughly coated using such compounds are incredibly bright, it has been shown in the latest research that emission from each individual particle can be separately detected and optically resolved. This can be regarded as an excellent characteristic unattainable with a rare earth or transition metal phosphor. Another significant advantage of semiconductor superfine particles is that various colors can be emitted in accordance with the particle size by irradiating the particles with light whose single wavelength is shorter, that is, has higher energy, than the band gap. In other words, the advantage of such phosphors is that the excitation wavelength can be freely selected and that even when the same material is used emission with the desired wavelength can be obtained by varying the particle size.
Such semiconductor superfine particles are currently produced by a colloidal method. There are two types of particles: those that are produced in aqueous solutions, and those that are produced in nonaqueous solutions.
A typical example of such superfine particles produced in aqueous solutions is cadmium telluride, which has a fluorescence quantum yield of several percent (Gao, et al., Journal of Physical Chemistry, B, vol. 102, p. 8360 (1998)). The quantum yield value is calculated based on a reported method in which the molar absorbance coefficient and the quantum yield are compared with those of a known pigment molecule (Dawson, et al., Journal of Physical Chemistry, vol. 72, p. 3251 (1968)).
Semiconductor superfine particles produced by this method are however stabilized with a surfactant and dispersed in an aqueous solution, and are essentially incapable of producing a monodisperse system in water without a surfactant, making it difficult to raise the dispersion concentration.
A process by which superfine particles are produced using organometallic pyrolysis is known as a method for producing such phosphors in a nonaqueous solution (Bawendi, et al., Journal of Physical Chemistry, B, vol. 101, p. 9463 (1997)). This method is advantageous in that, for example, a quantum yield in excess of 20% can be obtained with superfine particles of cadmium selenide, and although the resulting superfine particles as such are insoluble in water, coating the surface with ionic organic molecules allows the particles to form a monodisperse system in water and to be handled in the same way as the previously described cadmium telluride particles obtained from aqueous solutions. However, this method requires expensive and complicated experimental equipment. Another drawback is that in most cases superfine particles thus produced remain stable in water for only about a few hours, and this instability is a big factor impeding the practical application of particles produced in nonaqueous solvents.
Thus, surface-coated semiconductor superfine particles in solution emit extremely bright light but are unstable. When left unchanged, superfine particles of cadmium telluride obtained by the aqueous solution method usually aggregate and precipitate in about two weeks in air at room temperature. For this reason, the emission performance cannot be maintained for a long time, and the particles lack practicality as an engineering material.
Several attempts have therefore been made to support and stabilize such surface-coated semiconductor superfine particles in a solid matrix. There is, for example, a report concerning a method for fixing such particles in an organic polymer (Bawendi, et al., Advanced Materials, vol. 12, p. 1103 (2000)). However, polymers used as a matrix have inferior light resistance, heat resistance, and other properties in comparison with silicon-containing glass materials, and gradually permit water and oxygen. The resulting drawback is a gradual degradation of the superfine particles thus fixed. In addition, in a mixture of superfine particles as an inorganic material and a polymer as an organic material, the superfine particles are apt to aggregate if the dispersion concentration of the superfine particles is high, and therefore the phosphor tend to have inferior characteristics as a light-emitting material.
To overcome the drawbacks of such polymer matrices, an attempt has been made to disperse superfine particles in a glass matrix by a sol-gel process using a tetraalkoxysilane (Selvan, et al., Advanced Materials, vol. 13, p. 985 (2001)). In this method, however, the superfine particles are insoluble in water, so usable sol-gel processes are limited and only gelled products can be obtained. In addition, the dispersion concentration of the superfine particles in a glass matrix has a low upper limit of only about 0.1 vol % (about 1×10−4 mol/L when the particle diameter is 3 nm), which is insufficient for obtaining a fluorescence intensity greater than that of the currently used rare earth or transition metal phosphors.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semiconductor superfine particle phosphor and light emitting device

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology


Embodiments of the invention provide systems, apparatuses, and methods for maintaining proper bit sequence as well as the rate at which the bits occur within the data stream, enabling the transport of an unaltered optical stream from one point to another. Bits of data in a data stream are read into a buffer at a rate controlled by a Phase Locked Loop. A bit count (Ci) embedded in the data stream is extracted and compared with a locally generated bit count (Co) over a predetermined time interval. If Ci and Co are not the same, the PLL frequency can be adjusted to increase or decrease the rate data is read from the buffer.

With the increasing computing power that is available for both commercial and private use, there is an increased demand for data transfer on a number of levels. Particularly, the emergence of the Internet and the ability of businesses and individuals to easily communicate with others around the world have created a need for greater speed, quality and capacity than ever before.
One response to the demand for increased performance in data transfers has been the development of optical data transfer systems. These systems use light instead of electrical signals to carry data from one point to another. Optical data transfer systems typically have much greater bandwidth than electrical systems of comparable size and cost, and are capable of providing higher quality signals for data transmission. Ideally, a user who wishes to transport data via optical signals can transmit the data over an optical fiber which is coupled by optical routing and switching equipment to more optical fibers. The transmission of the data entirely in the form of optical signals provides for a fast, efficient and high-quality transport mechanism.
While optical data transfer systems generally have higher performance than electrical systems, electrical systems have traditionally been used. As a result, this is a more mature and well-developed technology. Further, there is a great deal of physical infrastructure which can be utilized in an electrical system. Some data transfer systems take advantage of this electrical infrastructure by employing both optical and electrical data transfer components. For example, a system may be configured to accept an optical data signal, convert this optical signal into an electrical signal, transport the electrical signal using existing switching and routing equipment, and convert the electrical signal back into an optical signal for delivery to the end-user.
The disadvantages of transporting data using a hybrid optical-electrical-optical system include bandwidth limitations arising from the electrical portions of the system, increased latency resulting from the data conversion between optical and electrical forms of the data, and increased power requirements relating to the process of converting the data between optical and electrical forms. These factors have tended to drive development toward all-optical data transport systems and away from the hybrid optical-electrical-optical systems.
There are, however, factors which weigh against the use of all-optical systems. Because the field of optical data transfer is still maturing, electrical data transfer systems are still in widespread use. Some users may therefore have a need for systems which are based on electrical data transfers, regardless of whether they also utilize optical data transfer systems. If a user already has a need for these systems, it may be impractical for the user to employ optical systems as well. There is therefore a need for systems which convert optical data to electrical data for transport and then convert the electrical data back into optical data.
Systems which are currently available for optical-electrical conversion, transport and re-conversion may not be suitable for the needs of all users. These systems are typically designed to receive frames of data in a known format (e.g., SONET,) strip away the frame information, transport the data payload, add new frame information and deliver the newly framed data. While this is acceptable to some users, other users may desire a means for transporting an unaltered optical data stream from one point to another. That is, it may be desirable to maintain the proper bit sequence (the order of the bits within the data stream) as well as the rate at which the bits occur within the data stream. This may be true for a number of reasons. For example, the data stream may not be formatted according to the appropriate framing scheme, or it may be important to maintain the timing of the data between the transmitting and receiving devices. It is therefore desirable to provide a means for performing the conversion and transport of the data in a manner which is transparent to the user.

System and method for transporting unaltered optical data stream


A control method performed by a controller includes calculating times required for a worker to load, on an automated guided vehicle, multiple articles placed in multiple locations regarding multiple cases among which a stop situation of the automated guided vehicle where the worker loads the articles varies and determining a position in which the automated guided vehicle is to be stopped, based on the calculated times.

Articles, such as products, stored in a warehouse or the like may be transported using a transporting vehicle that travels in an unattended manner.
Examples of a technology used when transporting articles using such an unattended transporting vehicle include PCT International Publication No. WO2015/097736. PCT International Publication No. WO2015/097736 discloses a picking system that includes a movable moving rack, an automated guided vehicle (AGV) that transports the moving rack, an AGV area in which the AGV transports the moving rack, a picking area that is adjacent to the AGV area and where the worker performs picking, and two or more picking locations in which the moving rack is temporarily placed. According to PCT International Publication No. WO2015/097736, the moving rack is placed in a picking location close to the worker on the basis of position information of the worker.
Patent Document 1: PCT International Publication No. WO2015/097736

Control method, controller, and storage medium


A system is disclosed for recording continuous streaming data. The system includes a data collection unit, a wireless data transmission unit, a wireless data reception unit and a recorder unit. The data collection unit is for continuously collecting data at a data collection frequency, ƒC and providing collected data. The wireless data transmission unit is for continuously transmitting the collected data at a data transmission frequency, ƒT where ƒC is greater than ƒT. The wireless data reception unit is for continuously receiving collected data at a data reception frequency, ƒR where ƒR is equal to ƒT. The recorder unit is for providing a recorder output of the collected data at a frequency of ƒO where ƒO is equal to ƒT.

Although wireless devices have become common in a variety of applications, certain applications have yet been unable to fully benefit from wireless technology. For example, certain wireless devices provide on/off switching, such as remote key access and locking devices for automobiles and automated garage door openers. Other wireless devices provide personal communication, such as cellular telephones. Further wireless devices provide for the use of wireless keyboards, monitors and printers in computer systems.
One area that has not yet fully benefited from the use of wireless devices is medical applications within an emergency care providing environment, such as in a hospital emergency room or inside an ambulance. Although wireless devices are used in emergency medical environments, such devices typically involve receivers that are dedicated to receive data from a specific transmitter device. In an emergency medical environment, it is desirable to very quickly begin monitoring a patient for a variety of continuous signals, such as pulse, electrocardiogram signals etc. Equipment for providing such monitoring must be attached to the patient and connected to monitoring equipment. This requires time, which is critical, and may obstruct access to the patient due to the presence of wires leading to the monitoring equipment.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,314 discloses a patient monitoring system including an auxiliary docking station that may be connected with a monitor system via a single connector that provides for multiple simultaneous connections. ('314 patent, col. 3, lines 4–14). Although such a system may save time, the presence of the wires may provide an obstruction in some situations.
A wireless optical patient monitoring apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,733 that includes optical sources that attach to a patient and an optical receiver including photodetectors for receiving fetal monitoring signals from the patient. The optical sensors are disclosed to be hard-wire connected to a fetal monitoring console that includes a chart recorder. The '733 patent discloses that the use of optical transmission is preferred over radio frequency transmission where multiple patients may be monitored in the same hospital ('733 patent, col. 1, lines 46–59).
A medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,344 that includes wireless communication via infrared signals to a controlled peripheral, and states that the controlled peripheral may be, inter alia, a VCR, a DVD player/recorder, a printer, a multi-image camera, a strip-chart recorder, a computer or a robot. ('344 patent, col. 2, lines 38–43). The '344 patent discloses that individual commands be transmitted via the wireless channel and that the peripheral devices (preferably a VCR) be programmed to respond to the commands in a specific fashion. ('344 patent, col. 3, lines 2–16 and col. 4, lines 9–10).
There is a need for a wireless device that is capable of receiving continuous data in real time. Although certain wireless communication systems exist in certain non-medical applications, such devices have not been suitable for use in transmitting continuous data in real time as required, for example for chart recorders in medical applications.
A remote data collection and monitoring system for a distribution line is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,136 that includes a plurality of remote data collecting units that provides operation data to the central controller via a radio frequency transmission system when prompted by the central controller. Although each data collecting unit may include a chart recorder, the data that is sent via radio frequency transmission to the central controller when requested includes alarm related data only.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,457 discloses a wireless data transmission system in which each remote user unit is able to select certain data from a central host system and the selected data is then pushed to the remote user unit. The pushed data is repackaged and sent via electronic mail (email) responsive to the triggering event of the user selecting the data.
There is a need, therefore, for a wireless chart recorder that is able to print continuous streaming data in real time. Three is further a need for a wireless chart recorder that is able to select from a variety of input signals, a particular input signal that is recorded in a continuous fashion.

Wireless chart recorder system and method


A wet type sliding apparatus comprising a thrust bearing which operates in the presence of a lubricating liquid, wherein the thrust bearing has a sliding surface composed of a resin composition comprising a carbon fiber, a fluorocarbon polymer and a thermoplastic resin other than fluorocarbon polymer, the carbon fiber content being 10 to 45% by weight based on the weight of the composition and the fluorocarbon polymer content being 0.1 to 8.5% by weight based on the weight of the composition, the thrust bearing in said wet type sliding apparatus being excellent in wear resistance, mechanical strength and friction coefficient at the time of starting even under a high load.

This invention relates to a wet type sliding apparatus, and more particularly, to a wet type sliding apparatus comprising a thrust bearing excellent in wear resistance which operates in the presence of a lubricating liquid (lubricating oil or lubricating water). As a wet type sliding apparatus comprising a thrust bearing which operates in the presence of a lubricating liquid, there are various ones used in a generator, a pump, a turbine, a compressor, a transmission and the like. This invention uses a thrust bearing having a specific sliding surface to improve such a wet type sliding apparatus.
Aromatic polyetherketone resins or polyarylene sulfide resins are engineering resins having excellent heat resistance, mechanical properties and wear resistance. However, when the aromatic polyetherketone resin or polyarylene sulfide resin per se has a high friction coefficient, the application thereof to the sliding member which is one of the constituents of a bearing is difficult, so that a sliding member having a low friction coefficient has heretofore been developed by using the aromatic polyetherketone resin as the base material and adding thereto a resin having a low friction coefficient such as a fluorocarbon polymer or the like. On the other hand, however, this development has resulted in a deterioration of wear resistance and mechanical strength because the fluorocarbon polymer is contained.
As a technique concerning these aromatic polyetherketone resin systems, there is known the technique disclosed in JP-A 58(1983)-160,346. In this prior art, as a sliding member of a dry type sliding apparatus in which no lubricating liquid is used, there is stated a resin composition comprising a thermoplastic aromatic polyetherketone resin as a base material, 2.5 to 60% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer and 2.5 to 60% by weight of a carbon fiber. However, the composition range in which the practical heat distortion temperature (HDT) and limiting PV value have been actually confirmed is only 10 to 40% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer (polytetrafluoroethylene) and 10 to 40% by weight of a carbon fiber. When a composition of 2% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer and 18% by weight of a carbon fiber is used in the bearing of a copying machine, it has been confirmed that a creak is generated and the revolution becomes unusual (see Comparative Example 3 in the above prior art reference) and it is suggested that the amount of the fluorocarbon polymer becoming small is not desirable.
Recently, the area of the pad used in the thrust bearing which operates in the presence of a lubricating liquid and is incorporated into a generator or pump has been made small accompanying the tendency of miniaturization of apparatus, and a high specific load has come to apply to the pad. A thrust bearing applied under such severe conditions is required to have various properties such as high wear resistance and the like in addition to its excellent sliding characteristics under wet lubrication. In the case of, for example, a thrust bearing used in apparatus in which starting and stopping are repeatedly effected, only a small amount of a lubricating liquid is present at the time of starting, and hence, the thrust bearing is partially in solid contact with a counter member at the time of the starting, so that not only does a large starting power become necessary, but also, there is a fear that the sliding surface is damaged by the solid contact. Therefore, the thrust bearing is required to have, in addition to high wear resistance during operating, a small friction coefficient at the time of the starting and also have a high mechanical strength as well as excellent wear resistance. The wear resistance in the wet system should be such that the wear is 4 .mu.m or less, particularly 2 .mu.m or less, as determined by a change in thickness of test sample before and after a test in which a counter member is rotated for 30 seconds in an oil bath by, for example, a friction-wear tester and then rested for 300 seconds and this cycle is repeated 15 times (see Table 2 which appears hereinafter).
However, the wear resistance and mechanical strength stated about 10 to 40% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer (polytetrafluoroethylene) and 10 to 40% by weight of a carbon fiber which are in the range of the best mode of the above-mentioned prior art relating to the dry type technique have not been sufficient. Moreover, as discussed above, in Comparative Example 3 of the above-mentioned prior art reference, it has been confirmed that when a composition consisting of 2% by weight of a fluorocarbon polymer and 18% by weight of a carbon fiber is used in the bearing of copying machine, a creak is generated and the rotation becomes unusual and it is stated that when the amount of the fluorocarbon polymer is 2% by weight, the composition is inappropriate as a sliding member. Furthermore, in the dry type prior art, when the amount of PTFE is less than 10% by weight, no sufficient lubricity is actually obtained.

Wet type sliding apparatus comprising thrust bearing


A method and a coarse tuning circuit for performing direct frequency selection and down-conversion on a received analog bandpass signal for a digital receiver having C channels are disclosed. Each of the C channels has a bandwidth B. The analog bandpass signal in a channel of interest has a center frequency f.sub.c and a two-sided bandwidth not greater than B. The method comprises the following steps: (a) sampling the bandpass signal at a sampling frequency f.sub.s greater than twice the product of B and C, to produce a digital sampled signal which has an intermediate frequency much closer to the baseband frequency of zero kilohertz than the sampling frequency f.sub.s ; (b) computing, from f.sub.c and f.sub.s, a non-negative integer value m to determine the selection of a channel from the C channels of the digital receiver; and (c) forming directly from the digital sampled signal two digital signals I.sub.1 and Q.sub.1 such that they correspond to a digital in-phase component and a quadrature component, respectively, of a complex signal which is approximately centered at a frequency .DELTA.f proximate of the baseband frequency, and which has a frequency spectrum approximately equal to that of the analog bandpass signal.

A typical digital wireless communications system consists of a transmitter, a receiver and communication channels wirelessly connecting the receiver to the transmitter. At the transmitter, an information bit sequence is coded and transformed into an analog waveform centered at baseband frequency, which is subsequently up-converted to be centered at a higher frequency in order to be sent over one of a number of predetermined radio frequency (RF) channels. At a given receiver, the RF received signal in the desired channel is down-converted to one or more successive intermediate frequencies (IF) before being converted to baseband frequency. The resulting analog baseband signal is then passed through an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. The resulting digital baseband signal is used as input to a demodulator, a detector, a decoder, and a synchronization and tracking algorithm to recover the original information bit sequence.
In standard digital receivers, external analog local oscillators (LOs) and bandpass filters are used to implement each IF down-conversion stage, including the final conversion to baseband frequency. Furthermore, in one of these IF stages, an additional tunable LO is used to select the desired signal channel.
It has been found that, if the carrier frequency of the analog IF signal entering the baseband conversion stage, denoted as f.sub.c, is related to the sampling frequency f.sub.s of the digital signal processing (DSP) receiver by the following expression, called quadrature sampling condition, ##EQU1## EQU for m an integer
then the analog IF signal can be directly converted to baseband. Thus, the quadrature sampling method allows elimination of an external LO which would have been needed to further down-convert the IF frequency to baseband.
However, since the sampling frequency f.sub.s is typically fixed for a given receiver, the frequency f.sub.c of an incoming analog IF signal must be chosen to satisfy the quadrature sampling condition. This requires the use of a tunable external LO to tune to the desired signal channel and to translate the carrier frequency of a received analog signal to an IF carrier frequency that satisfies the quadrature sampling condition. Therefore, in practice, the quadrature sampling method does not eliminate the use of at least one tunable external LO.
The present invention discloses a method and a system for performing frequency selection and down-conversion for digital radios, modems and receivers without the need for an external tunable LO. Moreover, in the present invention, the frequency selection and down-conversion are performed digitally, for example, by a digital signal processor. If an A/D converter with sufficient bandwidth is used to provide the input to the digital receiver, then a front-end fixed down-conversion to an arbitrary frequency f.sub.c is not needed. Thus, with the present invention, all of the external analog LOs that are typically used prior to the A/D conversion of the received analog signal are eliminated.

Direct frequency selection and down-conversion for digital receivers


A pair of pads is held against the remus of a patient's jaw, to prevent the jaw from slipping back and causing an airway obstruction, while the patient's neck is hyperextended to also cause the patient's airway to stay open. A device including the adjustable jaw pads as well as a triangularly shaped portion over which the patient's neck rests is not required to be attached to the surface on which the patient is lying, and permits the patient to be rolled on either side while still maintaining the patency of the patient's airway.

1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to devices, systems, and processes useful in patient airway maintenance, and more specifically to devices and methods that perform a jaw thrust.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
The jaw thrust is a technique used on patients in a supine position to open the patient's trachea (airway), which has become blocked by the backward movement of the lower jaw (mandible) relative to the rest of the patient's skull, which in turn can cause the patient's airway to be blocked. The practitioner typically uses their thumbs to physically push the posterior (back) aspects of the mandible forward and into a position in which the airway is no longer blocked. When the mandible is displaced forward, it pulls the tongue forward and prevents it from blocking (occluding) the entrance to the trachea, helping to ensure a patent (securely unobstructed) airway.
Numerous devices have in the past been proposed for assisting in this procedure, which have been met with limited acceptance. Among the difficulties with prior devices is that many secure the patient's head to the device and/or to the surface (e.g., an operating table) on which the patient is positioned, which limits the medical practitioner's ability to perform procedures on the patient's head and neck. Additionally, many prior devices address only the relative position of the mandible and the associated position of the patient's tongue, and do not address other portions of the patient's airway.


A semiconductor device includes a fuse unit connected to a detection node and configured to be programmed in response to a first voltage supplied through the detection node, an output unit connected to the detection node and configured to output a fuse information signal indicating whether the fuse unit is programmed or not, and a blocking unit configured to block the first voltage supplied through the detection node in response to the fuse information signal.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to semiconductor design technology, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device including a fuse unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a semiconductor device such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) includes a fuse circuit. The fuse circuit is a circuit that inverts and outputs a previous option signal through a fuse programming method, and it is used in a voltage control circuit, a redundancy circuit or the like to selectively provide an option signal.
In general, the fuse programming method may include a laser blowing method and an electrical method. The laser blowing method is to cut off the connection state of a fuse using laser beams. The fuse programming method using laser beams may be performed only in a wafer state before a semiconductor device is fabricated into a package. On the other hand, the electrical method is to program a fuse by changing the connection state of the fuse in a package state of semiconductor device fabrication. At this time, an anti-fuse may be used as the fuse.
The anti-fuse has an opposite concept to a prevalent fuse. Specifically, the anti-fuse is set to be cut off at the initial stage of semiconductor device fabrication, and then it is switched to a connection state by a program operation after packaging. In other words, the anti-fuse at the initial stage of fabrication is maintained as an insulator having a high resistance of MΩ or more, but it is then changed into a conductor having a low resistance of several hundred Ω or less depending on a program operation. Here, the physical change of the anti-fuse is performed as follows. When a voltage having a given level or more is applied between two conductive layers of the anti-fuse to break down insulation characteristics, the anti-fuse is switched into a conductor.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a conventional anti-fuse circuit.
Referring to FIG. 1, the anti-fuse circuit 10 includes an anti-fuse 12 and an output unit 14. The anti-fuse 12 is configured to be programmed when a voltage difference equal to or more than a critical value occurs between both ends thereof. The output unit 14 is configured to output a fuse information signal SA corresponding to a rupture state of the anti-fuse 12.
Here, the anti-fuse 12 includes an NMOR transistor N1 having a gate terminal configured to receive a selectively-provided power supply voltage VDD and source and drain terminals connected to a detection node ND1.
The output unit 14 includes a resistor 14A and a sense amplifier 14B. The resistor 14A is connected between the detection node ND1 and a ground voltage terminal VSS, and the sense amplifier 14B is connected to the detection node ND1 and configured to amplify the voltage level of the detection node ND1 and output the fuse information signal SA.
Hereinafter, an operation of the anti-fuse circuit 10 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.
FIG. 2A illustrates an equivalent circuit of the anti-fuse circuit which is not programmed. FIG. 2B illustrates an equivalent circuit of the anti-fuse circuit 10 which is programmed.
First, referring to FIG. 2A, since the power supply voltage VDD is not supplied when program is not performed (floating state), the anti-fuse 12 is not broken down. That is, the current state of the anti-fuse does not satisfy a condition for applying stress, corresponding to such a level as to program the anti-fuse 12, to both ends of the anti-fuse 12. Accordingly, since the anti-fuse 12 operates as a capacitor C1, the anti-fuse 12 is maintained as an insulator having a high resistance. Therefore, the detection node ND1 is connected to the ground voltage VSS, and the sense amplifier 14B outputs the fuse information signal SA of a logic low level.
On the other hand, referring to FIG. 2B, since the power supply voltage VDD is supplied when program is performed, the current state satisfies the condition where the anti-fuse 12 is programmed. That is, since a voltage difference corresponding to such a level as to program the anti-fuse 12 may occur between both ends of the anti-fuse 12, the anti-fuse 12 may be broken down. Accordingly, since the anti-fuse 12 operates as a resistor R2, the anti-fuse 12 is switched to a conductor having a low resistance. Therefore, the detection node ND1 has a voltage level between the power supply voltage VDD and the ground voltage VSS, the sense amplifier 14B outputs the fuse information signal SA of a logic high level.

Semiconductor device employing fuse programming


The transfer film of the present invention has a temporary support and a colored layer, and the colored layer contains at least (A) a white inorganic pigment and (B) a silicone-based resin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a decorative transfer film for manufacturing a capacitive input device that can detect the contact position of a finger by detecting the change in capacitance, a manufacturing method of a capacitive input device, a capacitive input device obtained by the manufacturing method, and an image display device including the capacitive input device as a constituent.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in some electronic instruments such as cellular phones, car navigations, personal computers, ticket vending machines, and banking terminals, a tablet-type input device has been mounted on the surface of a liquid crystal device or the like. When an instruction image is displayed on an image display area of the liquid crystal device, a user touches the site displaying the instruction image with a finger, a stylus, or the like with reference to the instruction image, and in this manner, information corresponding to the instruction image can be input.
Such an input device (touch panel) includes a resistive film-type input device, a capacitive input device, and the like. However, having a double-sheet structure consisting of a film and glass in which a short circuit is caused by pushing down the film, the resistive input device has defects such as a narrow range of operation temperature and vulnerability to temporal change.
In contrast, the capacitive input device has an advantage that it can be prepared simply by forming a translucent conductive film on a sheet of substrate. Such a capacitive input device includes, for example, a type of input device which has electrode patterns extending in directions crossing each other, and detects an input position by detecting the change in capacitance between the electrodes when a finger or the like comes into contact with the device (for examples, see JP2007-122326A).
The capacitive input device also includes a type of input device in which alternating currents of the same phase and same potential are applied to both ends of a translucent conductive film so as to make the device detect an input position by detecting the flow of weak currents caused by a capacitor formed when a finger comes into contact with or approaches the device. Regarding this type of capacitive input device, there is a disclosure of a capacitive input device including a plurality of first transparent electrode patterns, in which a plurality of pad portions connected to one another through connection portions extends in a first direction, and a plurality of second transparent electrode patterns which is electrically insulated from the first transparent electrode patterns by an interlayer insulating layer and is composed of a plurality of pad portions extending in a direction crossing the first direction (for examples, see JP4506785B). However, since a front panel is laminated on the prepared capacitive input device described above, the capacitive input device has problems in that it is thick and heavy.
Furthermore, there is a disclosure regarding a capacitive touch panel in which a mask layer, a sense circuit, and an interlayer insulating layer are integrally formed on the surface of a non-contact side of a front panel (for example, see JP2009-193587A). In the capacitive touch panel disclosed in JP2009-193587A, the front panel is integrated with the capacitive input device. Consequentially, a thin-layer/lightweight capacitive touch panel can be obtained, and since the sense circuit is covered up with the mask layer, the external appearance of the device is improved.

Transfer film, manufacturing method of capacitive input device, capacitive input device, and image display device including the same


The present invention provides a filter for separating particles and/or catalyzer for particle reaction in a fluid. The device comprising array of passageways fabricated on a die wherein the passageway size is controlled by actuators. The passageway size is monitored and the actuators controlling the passageway size are activated conditionally upon the passageway size monitoring. Using movable actuators the passageway can achieve passageway size that is less then the fabrication minimal resolution. Proper locating, setting and/or activation of the actuators create passageways that can perform filtration of particles, trapping of particles and catalyzing particles reaction.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to particles filtration and catalysis and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to filters and catalyzers fabricated on a die.
Particles filters are components that separate particles in a fluid containing a mixture of particles. Particle can be as tinny as a single molecule with angstrom scale size thorough a bigger chain molecule like a protein in a nanometer scale size to a biological cell or organism or mineral grains such as dust with sizes range from micrometers to millimeters.
Filtration has many and varied applications, for example, filtration is used to clean the air in a clean rooms in the semiconductor industry. Filtration is also used in biological and medical application, for example, filtration of blood to analyze the contents of specific particles in it.
Catalysis is the act of promoting a chemical reaction between molecules. Generally speaking, the reaction can be combining two molecules to one or breaking a molecule into two smaller molecules. Complex reactions, like breaking the molecule to more then two products or transforming a pair of molecules to different pairs are also possible chemical reaction that can be catalyzed by a catalyzer.


There is provided a vaporized fuel control device for a straddle type vehicle that can prevent a situation that liquid fuel in a fuel tank flows into an engine and a situation that oil in the engine flows into the fuel tank while adapting the vaporized fuel control device to the layout of the straddle vehicle. A vaporized fuel passage 110 is disposed so as to have an uppermost portion X at some position thereof between the fuel tank 35 and the engine E, and the uppermost portion X is disposed at a higher position than the fuel upper limit level of the fuel tank 35, the oil upper limit level in the engine E and a footrest portion 44.

There is disclosed a two-wheeled motor vehicle in which a canister for temporarily adsorbing evaporated fuel in a fuel tank is mounted and the evaporated fuel is supplied from the canister to an engine intake system (see Patent Document 1, for example). When a canister is mounted in a straddle type vehicle such as a two-wheeled motor vehicle or the like, the design of the vehicle body is restricted to secure the mount space of the canister and also the vehicle body must be large in size.
A method of introducing evaporated fuel in a fuel tank into a crank chamber after the evaporated fuel is passed through oil in an oil pan in the crank chamber and introducing the evaporated fuel to an engine intake system together with blow-by gas under operation of an engine is disclosed as a method of using no canister (see Patent Document 2, for example).

Evaporated fuel control device for vehicles that are straddled


An imaging optical system includes a set of mirrors including at least three mirrors on a beam path. Only a last mirror on the beam path has a positive optical power and all other mirrors have negative optical power. The sum of the optical powers of the mirrors is zero. An external posterior aperture stop is on the beam path between the last mirror and the image plane. A back focal length of the optical system is equal to or greater than an effective focal length of the optical system. The field of view is large, and typically at least 30-40 degrees in one plane.

Optical devices having "back-end" components such as infrared imaging systems or double-pass spectrometers typically use "front-end" optics, or "foreoptics", to image the scene to the back-end components. The foreoptics have distinct requirements associated with the back-end components. The meeting of these requirements of the foreoptics either makes possible or facilitates the operation of the back-end components.
One of the most important requirements for scanning surveillance systems such as aircraft-mounted or spacecraft-mounted sensors is a wide field of view. For certain applications, the foreoptics must have a full-angle field of view, in at least one direction, of at least 30 degrees, and preferably of at least 40 degrees. It is desirable that the foreoptics have a long back focal length in order to permit the back-end components to be positioned in a container, such as a dewar, while the foreoptics is positioned outside the container and optically communicates with the back-end components through a window in the wall of the container. It is also strongly preferred in such applications that the foreoptics have an external posterior aperture stop. That is, it is preferred that the foreoptics have an aperture stop that is positioned along the beam path between the final optical element of the foreoptics and the image plane. In infrared applications, for example, the external posterior aperture stop may be placed within the interior of the dewar at one of the cold-shields of the dewar, with the front-end optical elements placed outside of the dewar. Finally, in many applications it is desirable that the propagation of light through the foreoptics not be dependent upon the wavelength of the light, because it may be important to image different wavelength bands.
There are no optical systems that are suitable as foreoptics and meet the various requirements discussed above. Accordingly, there is a need for such an optical system. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.

All-reflective, wide-field-of-view, inverse-telephoto optical system with external posterior aperture stop and long back focal length


Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide method and apparatus for managing a resource in a wireless communication system. A method implemented at a network device may comprise allocating, based on respective quality of service, QoS, priority of a plurality of terminal devices, respective automatic repeat request, ARQ, indicator channels for the plurality of terminal devices; transmitting the allocation result to the plurality of terminal devices; and transmitting respective ARQ indicators on the allocated respective ARQ indicator channels to the plurality of terminal devices.

A Physical HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ)) Indicator Channel (PHICH) in a downlink carries HARQ acknowledgements (ACK/NACK) for uplink data transfers. PHICH may be used to indicate a reception of uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE). The PHICH indicates either an ACK or a NACK, which the UE will decode to find out if it has to do a retransmission or not. Multiple PHICHs transmitted on a control region symbol of a subframe are partitioned in two levels: 1) PHICH group: multiple PHICHs mapped to a same set of resource elements constitute a PHICH group; 2) Code: PHICHs within a same PHICH group are separated through different orthogonal sequences.
In long term evolution (LTE), each PHICH group can carry up to 8 users' PHICH information, as there are 8 Walsh sequences available for normal cyclic prefix. The number of PHICH groups may be a cell level parameter and it may be also transmitted as part of Master Information Block (MIB), so as to assist the UE in getting the control channel mapping. The PHICH group value may be decided based on how much users per subframe would the system want to support in uplink Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).
Allocating of a PHICH group index can be realized in a wireless communication system such as LTE by assigning a parameter related demodulation reference signals (DMRS) in a corresponding PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) uplink grant according to the formula defined in section 9.1.2 of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TS 36.213. A legacy allocation method may allocate a UE to a PHICH group with minimum UEs among the candidate PHICH groups.

Method and apparatus for managing a resource in a wireless communication system


The present invention is a method and apparatus for generating a skew or position offset signal for aligning the read element of an magneto-resistive (MR) head with the centerline of written data, during a read operation. The disk has a plurality of tracks each of which are divided into sectors. Two adjacent tracks are first erased and a calibration burst is written in the odd sectors, for example, the first and third sectors of one of the tracks. A calibration burst is also written in the even sectors, such as the second and fourth sectors of the adjacent track. Without adjusting the position of the MR head, the value of the calibration burst on the latter track is read. Since the read element is offset from the write element, it can read the values of the calibration bursts on the odd sectors of one track and the values of the calibration bursts on the even sectors of the other track. The average values of calibration bursts, E.sub.oddave and E.sub.evenave are obtained. An offset value corresponding to E.sub.oddave -E.sub.evenave =0 is obtained and an offset signal corresponding to this offset value is generated. A servo operation is then performed to align the center of the read element with the centerline of the written data. Alternatively, the value of the calibration burst E.sub.odd in the first odd sector, and the value of the calibration burst E.sub.even may be read to obtain an offset value corresponding to E.sub.odd -E.sub.even =0.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to disk storage systems and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing skew offset information for aligning the read element of a magneto-resistive (MR) head with the centerline of written data during a read operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disk drives are magnetic recording devices used for the storage of information. The information is recorded on concentric tracks on either surface of one or more magnetic recording disks. The disks are rotatably mounted to a spin motor and information is accessed by means of read/write heads that are mounted to actuator arms which are rotated by a voice coil motor. The voice coil motor is excited with a current to rotate the actuator and move the heads. The read/write heads must be accurately aligned with the storage tracks on the disk to ensure proper reading and writing of information.
To accurately write and read data, it is desirable to maintain the head on the center of the track. To assist in controlling the position of the head, each sector of the disk typically contains a number of servo bits accurately located relative to the centerline of the track. The signals produced by the servo bits are typically demodulated into position offset signals which are used to determine the position of the head relative to the track, and to move the actuator arm if the head is not located on the track centerline.
There has been developed a dual element transducer which includes a single write element and a separate read element which is constructed from a magneto-resistive material. Such dual element transducers are commonly referred to as magneto-resistive (MR) heads.
Because of manufacturing tolerances, the separate magneto-resistive read element may be off-center from the write element of the head. Therefore, if data is written off the center of the track, to read the data, the servo system must move the head slightly off-center so that the read element is centered with the written data.
Additionally, while the read and write elements may be aligned when the head is positioned over a particular track, when the head is moved to another track, the read element may no longer be aligned with the write element. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, when the head is positioned over a track along the outer diameter of the disk, the centers of the read and write elements (R and W respectively) are aligned. However, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, when the head is positioned over a track along the inner diameter of the disk, the centers of the read R and write W elements are no longer aligned. The servo system must move the head slightly off-center, so that the read element R is centered with the written data. The routine of moving an MR head during a read operation is commonly referred to as micro-jogging.
It also has been determined that the skew offset information for an MR head located over the inner tracks of a disk is different from that of an MR head located over the outer tracks of a disk. In addition, such MR head skew offset information is typically nonlinear, and it also generally varies greatly between heads.
One approach in solving this problem is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/641,686 entitled "Method and Apparatus for providing Read and Write Skew Offset Information for a Magneto-Resistive Head," filed on May 1, 1996 and which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/641,686 describes a method and apparatus for generating a skew or position offset signal for aligning the read element of an MR head with the centerline of written data, during a read operation. The disk has a plurality of tracks, one of which contains a calibration burst that allow the read element to be centered with the centerline of written data. This is accomplished by first writing the calibration burst on a predetermined number of sectors of the track. A profile of the calibration burst is obtained by micro-jogging the head from a first position that is -50% from the track centerline to a second position that is +50% from the track centerline, and sensing the magnitude of the calibration burst in various increments between the first and the second positions. For each microjogging position, the magnitude of the calibration burst is obtained. The microjogging position corresponding to the peak value of the calibration burst represents the offset between the read and the write elements. The offset signal is stored in memory and used in a servo routine to center the MR head during a read operation. The calibration burst may be included in a single track, a predetermined number of tracks, or on every track of the disk.
Through the implementation of the apparatus and method described in U.S. patent application No. 08/641,686 the read element of an MR head may be accurately aligned with the centerline of written data during a read operation. The microjogging process utilized in the technique described in U.S. patent Ser. No. 08/641,686 typically requires a minute. In establishing calibration bursts over four different sets of tracks on a disk, the technique described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/641,686 may take up to 4 or 5 minutes.
Accordingly, there is a need in the technology for a method and apparatus for providing skew offset information used in the alignment of a magneto resistive head so that a read element of an MR head may be aligned with the centerline of written data during a read operation. It is desired that such alignment be provided in an efficient manner.

Method and apparatus for providing read and write skew offset information for a magneto-resistive head


A lens, system for designing, computer program for designing and a method for designing, with a computer, a progressive addition lens including a distance vision region, a near vision region, and an intermediate vision region, wherein a power gradually changes between the distance vision region and the near vision region, and wherein the progressive addition lens is based on prescription data, the method including: determining a transmission astigmatic performance parameter corresponding to a sum of a prescribed astigmatism included in the prescription data and of a predetermined amount of extra astigmatism; determining lens surface data corresponding to the determined transmission performance parameter.

FIG. 1A shows a schematic structure of a progressive addition lens. As shown in the left hand of FIG. 1A, the progressive addition lens consists of a distance vision region with power for seeing a distant object provided at an upper part of the lens, near vision region with power for seeing a near object provided at a lower part of the lens, and an intermediate vision region whose power changes gradually from the distance vision power to the near vision power.
The region where power gradually changes is also called a corridor. A corridor length is defined as a distance between a starting point and an endpoint of progression.
The distance vision region is a region of the progressive addition lens on and above the starting point of progression. The near vision region is a region of the progressive addition lens on and under the endpoint of progression. The intermediate vision region is a region between the distance vision region and the near vision region.
In the right hand of FIG. 1A shows power change on a meridian. In the distance vision region, power for seeing a distant object is stable. In the near vision region, power for seeing a near object is also stable. In the intermediate vision region, power changes gradually. A difference between the power for seeing a distant object and the power for seeing a near object is defined as addition power, ADD (D).
FIG. 1B shows an illustrative example of meridians on the surfaces of a transmitted mean power map (left hand side. Same as FIG. 5A) and a transmitted inherent astigmatism map (right hand side. Same as FIG. 6A). The meridian being a meridian line of the lens along which a spherical power increases in correspondence of a direction towards the bottom of the progressive addition lens. In other words, the meridian is a line that connects points at which the frequency of visual lines passing through the surface when seeing from distance to near or vice versa is high.
In a simple case, the meridian lies perpendicular at the middle point of engraving marks of the progressive addition lens. In a realistic case, the meridian is not a straight line, but it is a line which slightly bends in correspondence of the area correspondent to the vicinity of the nose of a person wearing eye glasses, or in other words it bends towards nasal side. The amount of deviation toward the nose is called inset.
It is a current technological common concept that of achieving substantially zero aberration as a spherical shape as seen locally not only in the distance vision region, near vision region, but also in the intermediate vision region where power changes. In other words, there is substantially zero aberration along the meridian.
In the progressive addition lens, aberration occurs because distance vision region and near vision region having different powers are positioned in the same lens. As explained above, since the lens is designed so that aberration is removed as much as possible along the meridian, aberration (mean power error and inherent astigmatism) and distortion occur in the area except for the meridian.
The inherent astigmatism increases on the sides of the intermediate vision region and near vision region.
In order to maintain the continuity as a surface, at a side part remote from the meridian, the power in the horizontal direction may be decreased in correspondence of or at the vicinity of the distance vision power. The difference in power in the vertical direction caused in this case results in distortion of the surface specific to a progressive addition lens, and may cause narrowing of the clear vision region of the near vision region, as well as blurring, swinging (or swaying feeling) and distortion felt at the side part.
In order to reduce the above disadvantages which are inherently caused by being progressive addition lens, in these days, the concept of the transmission-based design is used in a design of the progressive addition lens. This design method is based on the concept of designing by taking into account the actual light transmitted through the lens (ray tracing). The transmission-based design places importance in aberration and power distribution of the light passing through the lens and entering the eye.
In other words, the transmission-based design is satisfactory for the "distribution of astigmatic aberration perceived by the eye." JP 5 784 418 provides an example of a transmission-based design method. However, the inventors found there was room to further reduce defects of a progressive addition lens.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide improved optical properties of a progressive addition lens.

Spectacle lenses and methods for producing the same


Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft can provide opportunities to incorporate aerial transportation into transportation networks for cities and metropolitan areas. However, VTOL aircraft can be sensitive to uneven weight distributions, e.g., the payload of an aircraft is primarily loaded in the front, back, left, or right. When the aircraft is loaded unevenly, the center of mass of the aircraft may shift substantially enough to negatively impact performance of the aircraft. Thus, in turn, there is an opportunity that the VTOL may be loaded unevenly if seating and/or luggage placement is not coordinated. Among other advantages, dynamically assigning the VTOL aircraft payloads can increase VTOL safety by ensuring the VTOL aircraft is loaded evenly and meets all weight requirements; can increase transportation efficiency by increasing rider throughput; and can increase the availability of the VTOL services to all potential riders.

The present disclosure relates to aviation transport, and specifically, to dynamic vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft payload assignment.
There is generally a wide variety of modes of transport available within cities. People may walk, ride a bike, drive a car, take public transit, use a ride sharing service, and the like. However, as population densities and demand for land increase, many cities are increasingly experiencing problems with traffic congestion and the associated pollution. Consequently, there is a need to expand the available modes of transport in ways that may reduce the amount of traffic without requiring the use of large amounts of land.
Air travel within cities has been limited compared to ground travel. Air travel can have a number of requirements making intra-city air travel difficult. For instance, aircraft can require significant resources such as fuel and infrastructure (e.g., runways), produce significant noise, and require significant time for boarding and alighting, each presenting technical challenges for achieving larger volume of air travel within cities or between neighboring cities. However, providing such air travel may reduce travel time over purely ground-based approaches as well as alleviate problems associated with traffic congestion.
Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft provide opportunities to incorporate aerial transportation into transport networks for cities and metropolitan areas. VTOL aircraft require much less space to take-off and land relative to traditional aircraft. In addition, developments in battery technology have made electric VTOL aircraft technically and commercially viable. Electric VTOL aircraft may be quieter than aircraft using other power sources, which further increases their viability for use in built-up areas where noise may be a concern.

Safe vertical take-off and landing aircraft payload assignment


An apparatus and method for providing and/or obtaining security services includes a database of information which relates to security services provided for at least one client. A computer that is Internet accessible hosts the database. The database includes security data received from at least one security officer computer. The security data is entered into the at least one security officer computer by a security officer providing security services at a client location, and the security data corresponds with security related events occurring at the client location. The database is accessible by navigating a web browser to a website that is in data communication with the database. An authorization code is provided that permits access to the database. At least a portion of the information in the database is retrievable by providing a request via the website.

Conventional approaches to security services often involve uniformed personnel. Such personnel may have varying degrees of training before actually working on site at a location where security services are needed. Most, if not all, aspects of such personnel are determined by the company which contracts with a property owner or manager to provide such personnel to provide such security services. Thus, with conventional security services, the service provider determines who will serve a security personnel for a particular client or at a particular site, what training such personnel will have before providing services to the client or at the site, what uniforms will be worn by such personnel, and so forth.
In addition to uniformed security officers who patrol a client's premises and thereby provide security services, conventional security services can include visual surveillance and monitoring. Such conventional visual monitoring can include the use of cameras at preselected locations in or around a client's premises or facility. Such cameras can provide visual images to a remote location where a security officer can monitor them. Such a location can be a remote command center. In addition, such conventional systems allow the cameras to automatically sweep from side-to-side, or to respond to directions from a security officer for side-to-side or up-and-down movement, to thereby increase the camera's field of vision.
Conventional approaches to providing security services have several drawbacks. First, the speed and efficiency with which information regarding the security services is provided is often undesirable. For example, a conventional approach is to have an officer who provides security services prepare a written daily report summarizing the services and events of a given day that are relevant to the security services provided to a particular client site. Such reports are typically prepared in a handwritten form, typed up later in a paper form, and then provided to the client with many other daily reports from other security officers, other locations, and perhaps even daily reports for other days. The client who receives reports in this conventional manner must first wait for several days to several weeks before receiving them and, once they are received, must then read through them and figure out what, if any, information should be cataloged and possibly filed for later use. This same conventional approach also typically applies to the preparation and provision of incident reports, which are conventional for reporting on an incident, such as a break-in, fire, injury, theft, assault, or any other type of even that a client might be interested in monitoring and recording. This conventional approach to security services thus delays a client's access to such reports, and makes it difficult and costly for the client to maintain copies of the reports and/or the information provided in the reports for possible later use.
In addition, personnel turnover at companies which use such conventional methods tends to be rather high. The turnover rate for contracts between the security service companies and their clients tends to be rather high. Third, even effective security services do not necessarily result in customer satisfaction or increased loyalty. Security services which reduce crime rates to little or no crime are not necessarily enough to prevent high rates of contract turnover or employee turnover.
Many recent advances in technology have not been applied to improve the conventional approach to providing security services. For example, the Internet is not used to provide security services. The Internet essentially consists of a network of computers, often connected through telephone lines (although sometime connected through other means, such as fiber-optic cables, wireless radio signals, infrared signals, and the like). Computer files on computers connected to the Internet can be accessed by other users of the Internet. Information stored on the computers connected to the Internet is usually lodged in files called web pages, which can include printed matter, sounds, pictures, video clips, and links to other files and web pages. Such web pages are typically formatted so that a user can place a cursor over an icon relating to a given file, and then access that file by clicking once.
Electronic commerce over the Internet has progressed significantly. For example, Amazon.com, Inc., which has grown into a major corporation, began by selling books to the consumers over the Internet with delivery of the books by a delivery service. U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,411 is assigned to Amazon.com and describes a method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network. The patent describes how a consumer can click on a button in a web site in order to place an order for an item. U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,411 is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,207, assigned to Walker Asset Management Limited Partnership, is entitled as a method and apparatus for a cryptographically assisted commercial network system designed to facilitate buyer-driven conditional purchase offers. The patent purports to allow prospective buyers of goods and services to communicate a binding purchase offer globally to potential sellers, for sellers to search for relevant buyer purchase offers, and for sellers potentially to bind a buyer to contract based on the buyer's purchase offer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,207 is hereby incorporated by reference.
The methods and apparatus used to provide conventional security services have not taken advantage of the benefits of the Internet and its growing use. Instead, conventional security service providers have used the Internet simply to provide promotional and marketing information about themselves and their services to potential customers.
Other improvements in technology have not been used in conventional methods and apparatus for providing security services. For example, certain types of wireless devices (such as "walkie-talkies") have been used in conventional security services for many years. However, the widespread and relatively cheaply available cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and other devices which allow a mobile person to receive Internet web pages, e-mail, or other information from other computers or similar devices at remote locations, have not been used in conventional methods or apparatus for providing security services. Similarly, the Internet allows users to remotely access web sites which may contain various types of information, including video or audiovisual feeds from cameras at a remote location. Nonetheless, the use of the Internet and its capabilities have not been integrated into conventional methods or apparatus for providing security services. Conventional security services also have not provided a "paperless" approach to providing information to clients. As a result, conventional security services are more costly, inefficient, less timely, and less valuable and helpful than they should be.

Methods and apparatus for improved security services


A method of transitioning between the pneumatic and electric modes of an integrated pneumatic/electro-pneumatic train brake system which includes a brake control having a common operator brake controller. Initially, the control applies the brakes in response to the operator brake controller in the present mode. The control enables the next mode upon request from the operator and applies the brakes in the next mode to match the applied brakes in the present mode. Once the present mode brake is released, the control and system switch to the next mode. Other brake controllers monitor the network and automatically switches modes based on the status of the network.

The present invention relates generally to electrically controlled pneumatic train brake and computer controlled train brake systems, and more specifically, to switching between pneumatic and electrical mode in integrated braking systems.
Computer controlled brake systems or EAB brake control systems are well known as exemplified by CCBI and CCBII available from New York Air Brake Corporation. These systems provide computer controls of the pneumatic control unit for the pneumatic pipes running throughout the train. This allows pneumatic control of the locomotive as well as the individual car brakes. More recently, the industry has been striving to provide electrically controlled pneumatic or electropneumatic brakes on each of the cars and locomotives. This has led to the electrically controlled pneumatic ECP system which is independent of the computer control braking system. An overview of such a system is EP-60 available from New York Air Brake Corporation.
As presently implemented, the ECP system in the locomotive runs in parallel to that of the conventional pneumatic locomotive train controls. Two brake valves are provided, one being the brake valve for the pneumatic braking and the other being the ECP brake valve. Similarly, separate displays are provided for each system. The locomotive or the consist of the locomotives do not respond to the brake commands made by the ECP system since the locomotives respond to pneumatic signals on pipes. Also, the ECP system has its own discrete input from the event recorder and from the locomotive controls to determine penalties.
With the implementation of electrically controlled pneumatic (ECP) or electro-pneumatic (EAB) brakes, there has been discussion of the desirability of integrating the computer controlled braking systems with the electrical controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake systems.
Integrating ECP and EAB brake control systems create mode transition requirements, where the control system must transition to and from the following:
Controlling a conventional pneumatic brake system (i.e. DB-60, etc.)
Controlling an electronic trainline brake system (i.e. EP-60, etc.
With non-integrated systems, the interaction is independent of each other for entering and exiting each system mode. The train engineer is provided a separate brake controller for each system, for the independent selection of a desired brake level for each system.
With the integrated system, each system relies on a common brake controller. Therefore during system transition (entering and exiting), where each system warrants opposing brake commands from a common controller, a special control process is required.
The present invention is a method of transitioning between the pneumatic and electric modes of an integrated pneumatic/electro-pneumatic train brake system which includes a brake control having a common operator brake controller. Initially, the control applies the brakes in response to the operator brake controller in the present mode. The control enables the next mode upon a request from an operator and applies the brakes in the next mode to at least the level equal to or greater than applied brakes in the present mode. Once the next mode is verified and the present mode brakes only are released, the control system switch to the next mode.
Wherein the present mode is the pneumatic mode and the next mode is the electric mode, the operator releases the pneumatic brakes by moving the brake controller to release which charges the brake pipe. The brake pipe remains charged in the electric mode. When the brake system is switched to the electric mode, a full service interlock is set. This interlock is released by moving the brake controller to full service position and subsequently back to release position. The electric mode will not be enabled if the speed of the train is more than zero. Similarly, the electric mode will not be enabled if the brake control is not in lead in the pneumatic mode and not in lead in the electric mode.
The brake system includes at least one other brake control in a network with the brake control. When the brake control is switched to the electric mode, the brake control activates the networks and the other brake control monitors the network and switches itself automatically to the electric mode upon detecting that the network is active.
If the other brake control is initially in trail in the pneumatic mode, the other brake control automatically switches to trail in the electric mode. If the other control is in the lead in the pneumatic mode, the other brake control switches to remote in the electric mode. If the other brake controllers change from lead to trail in the pneumatic mode, the other brake control automatically switches into trail in the electric mode. If the other brake control is changed from trail to lead in the pneumatic mode, the other brake control automatically switches into remote in the electric mode.
When the present mode is the electric mode and the next mode is the pneumatic mode, the brake control enables the pneumatic mode in response to a first electric mode cut-out request from the operator. The brake control releases the electro-pneumatic brakes after verification that the pneumatic mode is operational and upon a second cut-out request from the operator. During this transition, both systems are responding to a common brake controller. The brake. control does not release the electro-pneumatic brake if the second cut-out request occurs within a predetermined time period after the first cut-out request. If the train speed is more than zero any time before the second cut-out request, the electro-pneumatic brakes are set to a full service interlock. The pneumatic mode will not be enabled if the brake control is not in lead in the pneumatic mode. The brake control is changed to trail in the electric mode after the brake control has been switched to the pneumatic mode to de-activate the electro-pneumatic brake control and the trainline.
The brake system includes at least one other brake control in a network with the brake control. With a brake control switch to the pneumatic mode, the brake control sends a cut-out status on the network and the other brake control monitors the network and switches to the pneumatic mode upon detecting the cutout status on the network. The brake control is changed to trail in the electric mode after the brake controls has been switched to the pneumatic mode and the network becomes inactive. If the other brake control is in trail in the electric mode, the other brake control switches to the trail in the pneumatic mode. If the other brake control is in remote in the electric mode, the other brake control switches to lead/cut-out in the pneumatic mode.
The method is performed by software stored in the brake system.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Entering and exiting ECP mode for an integrated ECP/EAB system


A tooth brush device includes a coupler coupled to a faucet and a tube coupled to the coupler by a hose, and a tooth brush coupled to the tube. A container is coupled to the hose for supplying the dentifrice into the hose. A valve is disposed in the coupler for controlling the water to flow into the hose. A switch is disposed in the tube for controlling the water to flow through the tube. The valve may control the water to flow into the hose and the brush when an aperture of the switch is actuated to communicate with the tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tooth brush, and more particularly to a tooth brush device having a dentifrice supplier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical tooth brushes comprise an orifice for supplying water into the tooth brushes. However, the dentifrice may not be automatically supplied into the tooth brushes.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional tooth brushes.

Tooth brush device having a dentifrice supplier


A microscope includes a light source that emits an illuminating light beam for illumination of a specimen, a beam splitter separating measuring light out of the illuminating light beam, and an apparatus for determining the light power level of the illuminating light beam. The apparatus for determining the light power level of the illuminating light beam receives the measuring light and includes an apparatus for simultaneous color-selective detection of the measuring light.

Laid-open patent specification DE 198 53 669 A1 discloses an ultrashort-pulse source with controllable multiple-wavelength output, which is used especially in a multiphoton microscope. The system has an ultrashort-pulse laser for producing ultrashort optical pulses of a fixed wavelength and at least one wavelength conversion channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,870 discloses an arrangement for generating a broadband spectrum in the visible and infrared spectral range. The arrangement is based on a microstructured fibre, into which the light from a pump laser is injected. The pump light is broadened in the microstructured fibre by non-linear effects. So-called photonic band gap material or "photonic crystal fibres", "holey fibres" or "microstructured fibres" are also employed as microstructured fibres. Configurations as a so-called "hollow fibre" are also known.
Another arrangement for generating a broadband spectrum is disclosed in the publication by Birks et al.: "Supercontinuum generation in tapered fibres", Opt. Lett. Vol. 25, p. 1415 (2000). A conventional optical fibre having a fibre core, which has a taper at least along a subsection, is used in the arrangement. Optical fibres of this type are known as so-called "tapered fibres".
An optical amplifier, whose gain can be adjusted as a function of the wavelength, is known from the PCT application with the publication number WO 00/04613. The said publication also discloses a fibre light source based on this principle.
Arc lamps are known as broadband light sources, and are employed in many areas. One example is the U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,822 "XENON PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHT", which discloses a xenon arc lamp for illumination in photography.
Especially in microscopy, endoscopy, flow cytometry, chromatography and lithography, universal illuminating devices with high luminance are important for the illumination of objects. In scanning microscopy, a sample is scanned with a light beam. To that end, lasers are often used as the light source. For example, an arrangement having a single laser which emits several laser lines is known from EP 0 495 930: "Konfokales Mikroskopsystem für Mehrfarbenfluoreszenz" [confocal microscope system for multicolour fluorescence]. Mixed gas lasers, especially ArKr lasers, are mainly used for this at present. Examples of samples which are studied include biological tissue or sections prepared with fluorescent dyes. In the field of material study, illumination light reflected from the sample is often detected. Solid-state lasers and dye lasers, as well as fibre lasers and optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), upstream of which a pump laser is arranged, are also frequently used.
Microspot arrays or so-called microplates are used in genetic, medical and biodiagnosis for studying large numbers of specifically labelled spots, which are preferably applied in a grid. A microplate reader which can be adjusted both in excitation wavelength and in detection wavelength is disclosed in the European Patient Application EP 0 841 557 A2.
The illumination methods and illuminating instruments known from the prior art have several disadvantages. The known broadband illuminating instruments mostly have a low luminance compared with laser-based illuminating devices, whereas the latter provide the user only with discrete wavelength lines whose spectral position and width can be adjusted only to a small extent, if at all. Owing to this limitation of the working spectrum, the known illuminating devices are not flexibly usable. Laser-based illuminating devices and illuminating methods also have the disadvantage that, owing to the high coherence of the laser light, disruptive interference phenomena, such as e.g. diffraction rings and Newton's rings, occur. To reduce these interference effects, additional optical elements are often used, which reduce the light power by intrinsic absorption and by scattering.


A vibration while drilling acquisition and signal processing system include a sensor assembly affixable to a drill string in a drilling unit and a sensor for detecting vibrations in the drill string. A first processor is in signal communication with the sensor and is programmed to digitally sample signals from the sensor. A transmitter in signal communication with the first processor communicates the digitized signals to a device disposed apart from the drill string. The first processor is programmed to operate the signal. An electric power source provides power to the sensor, the first processor and transmitter. Either or both the first processor and a second processor associated with the device is programmed to calculate properties of rock formations using only detected vibration signals from the drill string.

This disclosure relates generally to the field of seismic surveying while wellbore drilling using a drill bit as a seismic energy source. More specifically, the disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for acquiring drilling vibration data created by drill bit interactions with the formation being drilled using sensors attached to the drill string and/or sensors attached to the earth, and processing the acquired data to obtain properties of rock formations using seismic signals generated by interaction of a drill bit with rock formations.
Obtaining drilling vibration signals generated by interaction of a drill bit with rock formations during drilling of such formations is known in the art for the purpose of obtaining certain seismic properties of the rock formations. A method and apparatus for obtaining such signals and processing the signals to obtain seismic properties are described In U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,391 issued to Rector et al. A generalized description of an apparatus disclosed in such patent is as follows. The apparatus includes a drilling rig and a rotary drill bit attached to the drilling rig for providing seismic waves as the drills in the earth. There is at least one seismic wave sensor spaced from the rotary drill bit in the earth for receiving signals traveling via direct seismic wave paths and signals traveling via seismic wave paths reflected by the subterranean geologic formation from the seismic waves provided by the drill bit. At least one reference sensor is located on or proximate to the drilling rig. A means is connected to receive the reference signal from the reference sensor and the drill bit generated signals from the at least one seismic wave sensor to distinguish the drill bit generated signals from interference signals by cross-correlating the reference and seismic wave sensor signals. The apparatus has a means connected to receive the reference signals either prior to or subsequent to their cross correlation for reference deconvolution or whitening. A means is connected to receive the cross-correlated reference and seismic wave sensor signals for eliminating rig generated energy from the reference signals. A means is connected to receive the cross correlated reference and seismic wave sensor signals from the rig generated energy eliminating means for separating the seismic wave sensor signals into a first group of the seismic wave sensor signals representing the drill bit generated seismic waves received by the at least one seismic wave sensor in the direct seismic wave paths, and a second group of the seismic wave sensor signals representing the drill bit generated seismic waves received by the at least one seismic wave sensor in the seismic wave paths reflected by the subterranean geologic formation.
One seismic property of rock formations that is not provided by seismic while drilling apparatus methods and apparatus known in the art is local mechanical properties of the of the rock formations being drilled such as acoustic impedance. It is desirable to obtain such properties during drilling for wells used, as a non-limiting example, for blast holes drilled as part of construction of mining procedures. Having information about rock formation properties such as acoustic impedance may assist in choosing appropriate blasting parameter (e.g., weight of, placement of and type of explosive).

Vibration while drilling acquisition and processing system


The disclosed mulcher has a base unit and a shredding blade in a removable assembly. Two different embodiments are disclosed. In both embodiments, shredded material is removed from air exiting the shredding blade before it reaches an exhaust port. In one embodiment, the material is removed by a filter. In the other embodiment, walls are arranged so that debris must double back against high-speed airflow leaving the shredding blade before exiting the unit. The shredding blade can be mounted in front of and on the same shaft as an air impeller, with the back surface of the shredding blade being supported by the impeller. In another embodiment, the air impeller and the shredding blade are carried in assemblies that are separable from each other and are each separately attachable to a base unit. A detachable power module and a detachable blower are also shown. The power module has a safety switch that disables the power module when it is removed. A power receptacle is shown with a switch that alternately switches power to either the shredder motor or to the power receptacle, but not to both simultaneously.

Fallen leaves and yard waste are often collected and bagged or composted. Unless shredded, bagged leaves or yard waste can be bulky. Unfortunately, conventional shredders that are used to shred leaves and yard waster can be large and expensive. The large size can be inconvenient, particularly given that the product is generally used during only one season of the year.
The applicants have developed a mulcher that has a removable shedder assembly that enables the product to be used for shredding leaves, yard waste, or other relatively light-weight materials. The shredder assembly can also be removed, enabling the vacuum to be used as a conventional utility vacuum. Because utility vacuums are used during all seasons, the product has more overall use.


An apparatus for fitting of grommets onto ends of electric cables. The shape of the grommet is independent of the manner in which it is fitted, by which it is pushed onto an electrical cable, and the characteristics of the electrical cable is not important for the exact positioning of the grommet. For this purpose, a conveying rail of a feed apparatus includes a buffer, in which the grommets are stored in correct position. In alignment with the axis of a vertical bore arranged below the first grommet in the buffer, a singling cylinder with a punch, which is movable up and down, is arranged above the conveying rail and a pivotable fitting cylinder with a grommet-receiving part positioned on a piston rod is arranged beneath the conveying rail, wherein the grommet is pushed by means of the punch through the vertical bore into the grommet-receiving part and the fitting cylinder is pivoted into a horizontal position. Pivotable gripper elements thereafter surround and hold the grommet-receiving part and are moved together with the piston rod against the cable, while the grommet is pushed onto the cable and its position thereon is assisted by an excess pressure that builds up in the grommet-receiving part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus or equipment for the fitting of grommets to cables, electrical cables in particular. The apparatus includes at least one drum which is open at one end face, the interior of the drum containing grommets, and which is drivable about an axis inclined to the horizontal, having scoops or similar grommet-holding elements arranged in the interior of the drum and a feed device projecting into the drum, whereby, while the drum is rotating, the grommets are transferred by means of the scoops to the feed device for the purpose of further processing in accordance with the invention.
2. Description of Background and Material Information
By means of apparatus of the type to which the present invention is directed, grommets, which are typically made of rubber or other elastomeric material, are required, for example, for the feeding of electrical cables through housing walls of electrical appliances, can be conveyed and worked upon in an orderly manner.
In an apparatus which is known from printed publication No. 7.132.1, of July 1991, by the firm of KOMAX AG, of Dierikon, Switzerland, the feeding of grommets, bushes, or bushings, takes place through conveying pots or drums with spirally shaped tracks, for which the grommets must often be chalked, which can lead to contamination and for which different conveying drums are required for each type of grommet. For the purpose of fitting a grommet onto the end of a cable, the grommet is firmly retained in a gripper and the cable is pushed into the grommet bore. Generally, good results are achieved thereby, although it can lead to a large variations in the grommet position on the cable in the case of different properties of the cable, such as insulation diameter and surface properties, for example. Furthermore, only the grommets themselves allowed to be processed, which by reason of their shape and dimensions are retained and supported unobjectionably by the gripper.
Another kind of fitting is described in German Utility Model No. G 89 09 515.4. In this case, a plunger pin is pushed into the bore of a sealing plug retained in a pivotal finger. Thereafter, a plunger sleeve, which is arranged for sliding on the plunger pin, pushes the sealing plug from the plunger pin onto an electrical cable. In this method, certain demands are made on the shape and dimensions of the sealing plugs, since a sufficiently large bearing surface must be available.
An apparatus by means of which identically shaped parts can be brought into a certain position required for further processing has become known by U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,891. In this case, a supply drum is provided in which the identically shaped parts are disposed and which can be driven about an axis inclined to the horizontal. A rail, which is likewise inclined to the horizontal, is arranged in the supply drum and is constructed in such a manner that, upon rotation of the supply drum, a number of parts are collected by the rail and remain suspended in the desired position. By reason of gravitational force, the parts slide off of the rail and, bridging an air gap, are caught by a conveying tube always with the same end forward.

Apparatus for fitting of grommets to electrical cables