The present invention relates to a method for grain refining of steel. A grain refining alloy having a composition FeXY where X is one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Cr, Mn, Si, Ni, and Mo and where Y is one or more oxide and/or sulphide and or nitride and/or carbide forming elements selected from the group consisting of Ce, La, Nd, Pr, Ti, Al, Zr, Ca, Ba, Sr, Mg, C and N where X is between 0.001 and 99% by weight based on the weight of the alloy and where Y is between 0.001 and 50% by weight of the alloy, said alloy additionally containing between 0.001 and 2% by weight of oxygen and/or between 0.001 and 2% by weight of sulphur, said alloy containing at least 103 inclusion particles per mm3 consisting of oxides and/or sulphides and/or carbides and/or nitrides of one or more of the Y elements and/or one or more of the X elements Cr, Mn and Si in addition to Fe, said inclusion particles having a mean diameter of less than 10 μm, is added to molten steel in an amount of between 0.01 and 5% by weight based on the weight of the steel, whereafter the steel is cast. The invention further relates to a grain refining alloy for steel and to a method for producing grain refining alloys.

The demand for higher performance steels with optimal combination of properties is becoming more crucial. Since the grain size in steel controls the resulting properties, the desired property profile can be obtained by development of a properly adjusted microstructure.
As-cast steels are prime examples of materials where the properties achieved depend upon the characteristics of the solidification microstructure. In general, a coarse columnar grain structure will inevitably evolve upon solidification if potent heterogeneous nucleation sites ahead of the solidifying front are absent. In the presence of effective seed crystals, fine equiaxed grains form directly in the melt. Depending upon the circumstances, the equiaxed grain structure may completely override the inherent columnar grain formation, which, in turn, gives rise to an improved castability (e.g. hot ductility and hot cracking resistance) through a smaller grain size and reduced problems with centre-line segregation.
Experience has shown that the as-cast microstructures of high alloyed steels are quite different from those of the pure carbon manganese or low alloy steels due to their higher alloy content and broader span in chemical composition. Four distinct solidification modes are commonly observed:    Primary ferrite formation    Primary ferrite formation followed by a peritectic transformation to austenite    Primary ferrite and austenite formation    Primary austenite formation
Due to the absence of subsequent solid state phase transformations, there is particularly a need of grain refining in fully austenitic or ferritic steels. At present, no grain refiners are commercially available for steels, as opposed to cast iron and aluminum alloys where such remedies are widely used to refine the solidification microstructure.
Over the past decades, significant improvement of steel properties has been achieved through strict control of the chemical composition, volume fraction and size distribution of non-metallic inclusions. This has been made possible by the introduction of secondary steelmaking as an integrated step in the production route and the use of advanced ladle refining techniques for deoxidation and desulphurisation. The detrimental effect of inclusions on steel properties arises from their ability to act as initiation sites for microvoids and cleavage cracks during service. Hence, the use of clean steels is normally considered to be an advantage, both from a toughness and a fatigue point of view.
More recently, the beneficial effect of inclusions on the solid state transformation behaviour of steels has been highlighted and recognised. In particular, the phenomenon of intragranular nucleation of acicular ferrite at inclusions is well-documented in low alloy steel weld metals, where the best properties are achieved at elevated oxygen and sulphur levels owning to the development of a more fine-grained microstructure. The same observations have also been made in wrought steel products deoxidised with titanium, although the conditions existing in steelmaking are more challenging due to the risk of inclusion coarsening and entrapment of large particles that can act as initiation sites for cleavage cracks. Because of the problems related to control of the inclusion size distribution during deoxidation and casting, the concept of inclusion-stimulated ferrite nucleation have not yet found a wide application, but is currently limited to certain wrought steel products where the weldability is of particular concern.
Inclusions are known to play an important role in development of the steel solidification microstructure and substantial grain refining has been observed in a number of systems, including
Aluminum-titanium deoxidised low alloy steels due to nucleation of delta ferrite at titanium oxide/nitride inclusions.
Aluminum-titanium deoxidised ferritic stainless steels due to nucleation of delta ferrite at titanium oxide/nitride containing inclusions.
Rare earth metal (REM) treated low alloy steels due to nucleation of delta ferrite at Ce/La containing oxides and sulphides.
Rare earth metal (REM) treated ferritic stainless steels due to nucleation of delta ferrite at Ce/La containing oxides and sulphides.
Rare earth metal (REM) treated austenitic stainless steels due to nucleation of austenite at Ce/La containing oxides and sulphides.
In all cases the grain refining effect is related to the ability of the inclusions to act as efficient heterogeneous nucleation sites, e.g. by providing a low lattice disregistry between the substrate and the nucleus. Experiments have shown that the undercooling required to trigger a nucleation event is of the order of 1° C. when the atomic misfit across the interface is 5% or lower. This degree of undercooling is sufficiently low to promote the formation of an equiaxed microstructure during solidification, provided that number density of the nucleating inclusions ahead of the advancing solid/liquid interface exceeds a certain threshold.
FeSi-based inoculants and treatment alloys for cast iron are commercially available and commonly used in the foundry industry. These alloys contain balanced additions of strong oxide and sulphide formers such as Ca, Al, Ce, La, Ba, Sr or Mg. It is well established that the major role of the minor elements is to modify the chemical composition and crystal structure of the existing inclusions in the liquid iron, thus promoting the graphite formation during solidification. This occurs by a process of heterogeneous nucleation analogous to that documented for grain nucleation in steel.
Experiments have shown that both low carbon (LC) FeCr and FeMn, produced by means of conventional casting methods, contain an intrinsic distribution of oxides and sulphides, the former group being most important. These systems have a high oxygen solubility in the liquid state (about 0.5% O by weight or higher), where the inclusions form naturally both prior to and during the casting operation owing to reactions between O and S and Cr, Si and Mn contained in the alloys. However, because the cooling rate associated with conventional sand mould casting is low, the resulting size distribution of the Cr2O3, SiO2, MnO or MnS oxide and sulphide inclusions is rather coarse. Typically, the size of the inclusions in commercial LC FeCr and FeMn is between 10 and 50 μm, which make such alloys unsuitable for grain refining of steel.
Controlled laboratory experiments have shown that the additions of a strong oxide and sulphide former such as Ce to a liquid ferrous alloy will result in the formation of Ce2O3 and CeS. These inclusions are similar to those observed in steels treated with rare earth metals, and in both cases extensive grain refinement is achieved. The initial size of the inclusions obtained with this conventional alloying technique is between 1 and 4 μm. However coarsening of the inclusion population occurs gradually with time after the Ce addition, and unless the melt is rapidly quenched thereafter the inclusions will grow large and eventually become detrimental to mechanical properties. Thus, the real challenge is either to create or introduce small non-metallic inclusions in the liquid steel that can act as heterogeneous nucleation sites for different types of microstructures during solidification and in the solid state (e.g. ferrite or austenite), without compromising the resulting ductility or fracture toughness. In practice, this can be achieved by the use of a novel alloying technique, based on additions of tailor made grain refining alloys to liquid steel where the necessary reactants or seed crystals are embedded.

Method for grain refining of steel, grain refining alloy for steel and method for producing grain refining alloy


A load sensing bearing assembly comprises a bearing outer race secured to an application structure by a flange assembly incorporating a plurality of anisotropic spring regions which enable a limited range of displacement and/or rotation of the bearing outer race relative to the application structure in response to applied forces or moments. A set of sensor modules disposed through the bearing outer race and flange assembly acquire measurements from which the radial forces, thrust forces, and tilting moments exerted on the bearing outer race can be determined.

As used herein, it wilt be understood that the terms outer race and cup (102) are used interchangeably.
The present invention relates generally to bearings and, in particular to a bearing assembly configured with sensors to monitor applied forces and torques to provide responsive signals for use by devices, which monitor the bearing loads.
The bearing assembly of the present invention may be used to measure radial forces, thrust force, tilting moments, rotation speeds, and temperature at the bearing for use in many applications such as Vehicle Dynamics Control Systems (Vehicle Stability Control Systems), vehicle rollover prevention systems, tire-integrity monitoring systems, road-condition monitoring systems, and vehicle suspension-control systems.
There are a number of applications where the loads and types of loads placed on a bearing assembly in operation can provide significant information about the bearing and the objects attached to the bearing assembly. For example, in the automotive industry, bearing loading information, in electrical signal form, is utilized by a Vehicle Dynamics Control ("VDC") Systems to monitor the driving conditions of the vehicle, enabling the system to control the torque supplied to the vehicle wheels. An antifriction rolling bearing disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,849 to Fujita et al. uses two strain gages to monitor the general loads applied to a bearing. However, the '849 Fujita et al. bearing assembly is unable to provide the multi-faceted data needed by high-level VDC electronic systems or by the processor-controlled systems in the rolling-mills industry or the machine-tool industry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,844 to Yoshikawa et al. discloses a load-detection device related to the automotive industry, consisting of a multi-component load cell structure fixed to a hub on which a road wheel is mounted. The load cell structure is attached so as to rotate with the tire of the wheel. However, the device disclosed in the '844 Yoshikawa et al. patent cannot provide signals indicating all loads and all torques required to enable a high level VDC electronic device or other such monitoring devices to function properly. In particular, the device employs strain gages in only one plane, perpendicular to the axis about which the wheel rotates. As a result, the signals from the strain gages on the device are unable to detect the forces tending to cause a vehicle to skid sideways or to roll the vehicle over.
In the steel production industry, steel rolling mills utilize electronic processing and control to manipulate the speed and loads associated with rollers during a steel rolling process. Specifically, rolling mills need bearing feedback regarding indications of a belt slipping on rollers or indications that a particular set of rollers is experiencing higher loads and torques.
Similarly, in the machine tool industry, programmable controllers and processors monitor and control the speed and loads associated with spindles in a variety of milling, cutting, and drilling machines. Computer controlled machine tools monitor the amount of force and torque being experienced by bearings supporting a spindle in order to assess whether cutting and drilling tools have become dull or whether the cutting or drilling force, torque, and speeds exceed the limits established for proper machining operations.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.


This invention involves ship flue gas desulphurization method and system. It employs seawater to reduce SO2 and other pollutant discharged by ship. The method includes seawater scrub, acidic seawater transfer, deacidification, and discharge processes. The system includes a scrubber and a water-saving deacidification device. Upper portion of the scrubber comprises a scrubbing section which is connected with scrubbing seawater pump by pipelines. Lower portion of the scrubber comprises a cooling section. One end of the scrubber links the ship engine smoke pipe by a scrubbing inlet pipe, and the other end links the scrubber to a scrubbing outlet pipe. The water-saving deacidification device lies below the scrubber and is connected with it. The water-saving deacidification device is coupled to a blending seawater pump, fan, and total drain pipe for discharging seawater after deacidification. This invention provides high desulphurization efficiency, and requires small seawater quantity.

The problem of reduction in shipping generated SO2 is getting more serious and drawing people's attention world widely as related legislation is getting stricter. Shipping is an industry that correlates to the global economy, and in which a large amount of ships are equipped with oil-based fuel engines. Completely relying on using low-sulfur fuel oil may lead to dramatically rising cost. Hence providing shipping industry with economical flue gas desulphurization technology seems to be imperative.
Under mobile condition in different sea areas and with gas temperature as high as 200° C. to 490° C., compared to land fossil fuel fired industrial facility, the ship FGD technology must consider its practicality based on economic cost concern. Instead, it requires the total cost of ship FGD facility including manufacture cost and running cost to be significantly lower than the total saving cost of using low-sulfur fuel for substitute.
As a result, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) published the ship desulphurization regulation in 2005. Soon, the potential economic advantage of seawater FGD technology was recognized. In 2007, a research carried by scholars from four well known universities reached the conclusion: using the ocean resource, that is, the seawater, to realize ship SO2 reduction is a goal that people have pursued but have not realized.
The Alliance for Global Sustainability of four universities (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Tokyo, Chalmers University of Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) published: "Seawater Scrubbing—reduction of SOx emissions from ship exhausts," which points out: "It is shown that seawater scrubbing is a promising technology for reducing sulphur oxide emissions from ships . . . would therefore require detailed case studies . . . . Further studies would be needed in order to assess these options."
Existing technologies that apply seawater scrubbing method to reduce ship exhaust are:
1. "A seawater scrubbing ship exhausts processing method" (Patent number 200710012371.1, published in China, Jan. 16, 2008). It uses a hollow fiber contactor as scrubber, and in this scrubber the ship exhaust undergoes dust removal and thereafter is scrubbed with seawater. The process is monitored by control system that includes an SO2 consistency sensor, water quality sensor, and PLC programming controller. The system may monitor and record the real-time SO2 consistency in processed ship exhaust, monitor and record discharged water quality, and control the water discharge, respectively. However, it has the problems described below:
1) The technology uses a hollow fiber contactor as scrubber. This hollow fiber contactor only tolerates decades of centigrade. It can not be used for high-temperature gas, especially for the ship engine exhaust with temperature as high as 200-490° C.
2) At the same time, pressure drop and resistance are very high when the hollow fiber contactor is used for scrubbing. Operation cost and energy expenditure would be quite high if additional booster fan is installed.
2. 'Seawater Scrubbing—reduction of SOx emissions from ship exhausts' (ISBN: 978-91-976534-1-1, American, 2007): "It is shown that seawater scrubbing is a promising technology for reducing sulphur oxide emissions from ships. Based on a 12 MW engine burning fuel with a 3% sulphur content. Calculations have been made for different efficiencies of sulphur scrubbing, different water temperatures, and for six different water types. The results of the calculations give the volumes of water required for (i) uptake of SOx (the scrubbing process), (ii) dilution of the scrubbing water to achieve a pH of 6.5, (iii) further dilution to achieve a pH within 0.2 units of that in the ambient water, and no more that a 1% reduction in dissolved oxygen concentration. The volumes of water required for a given efficiency of the scrubbing process . . . would require significantly larger water volumes for scrubbing and dilution . . . would therefore require detailed case studies. It may be possible to reduce the volumes of dilution water required by, for example, aeration of the scrubbing water and addition of base to neutralize the acidic sulphur oxides. Further studies would be needed in order to assess these options."
The research is representative one in the seawater scrubbing method field for marine ship SO2 reduction. However, it remains in the stage of principle. It still fails to solve some problems: low absorb efficiency, large diluting water volume. To protect the environment from discharged water pollutant, EPA and IMO have passed regulations regarding the blending of discharged water with surrounding seawater. The blending process is defined as quick blending area and slow blending area. The boundary pH value is 6.5 for quick blending area, and 15 minutes is the time limitation for this value to be reached. For the slow blending area, the difference of boundary pH value and surrounding seawater pH value must less than 0.2. The report is carried based on a 12 MW engine. In order to fulfill the requirements regarding gas and discharge water, the ship must prepare thousands of tons of seawater per hour. Seawater needs further dilution after discharged from the ship and further blending with surrounding seawater that is not less than 40000 times of its volume.
This research has not mentioned the application of both technology and facility design.
3. Ecosilencer Exhaust Gas Cleaning Presentation (February 2006, Canada): Introduced EcoSilencer method seawater scrubbing system and equipment (FIG. 5). This technology experimented for more than 6 years until 2006. Core components correspond to the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 7,056,367: "Method and Apparatus for Scrubbing Gases Using Mixing Vanes" (FIG. 4).
The high-temperature gas from the engine must be cooled so that SO2 can be absorbed. For this reason, the scrubber of this invention (U.S. Pat. No. 7,056,367) adopts 'exhaust gas inlet to liquid scrubbing tank,' that is, the bubbling scrubbing method. However, the high-temperature gas cooling process and scrubbing process are carried out in the same tank at the same time. Hence, the transfer efficiency is quite low; in addition, the two processes conflict. In order to increase scrubbing efficiency under such condition, the only way is to increase the volume of scrubbing water and reduce pressure, which subsequently causes significant energy consumption and increase in operational cost. It seems to that the problems of a seawater scrubbing system that adopt this scrubber are caused by the conflict of cooling the high-temperature gas and absorbing SO2 at low-temperature, as well as the conflict of the scrubbing efficiency and reducing cost.
In conclusion, current research and experimental technology must confront similar issues when it comes into the practical field:
1) It is presently difficult to meet the environmental requirements of gas exhaust and seawater discharge under acceptable cost; energy consumption and operating costs are both very high to meet discharging water regulation because of the large volume of scrubbing water and diluting water; the cost will increase if higher requirements for discharging water are published in the future.
2) Unsuitable for mobility of ship. Different sea areas and controlling areas have different environmental conditions and governmental control requirements. Conditions change consistently for marine ship sailing between different sea areas and controlled areas. For example: seawater quality, sulphur content in different batches of fuel, discharging regulation in different environments, and other circumstances. It appears that flue gas desulphurization technologies with fixed parameters cannot be applied for ships.
Apparently, the expectation that using marine resource to eliminate air pollutant will not be realized if the mentioned problems remain unsolved.

Ship flue gas desulphurization method and equipment


This invention discloses a bottom-anode Schottky (BAS) diode that includes an anode electrode disposed on a bottom surface of a semiconductor substrate. The bottom-anode Schottky diode further includes a sinker dopant region disposed at a depth in the semiconductor substrate extending substantially to the anode electrode disposed on the bottom surface of the semiconductor and the sinker dopant region covered by a buried Schottky barrier metal functioning as a Schottky anode. The BAS diode further includes a lateral cathode region extended laterally from a cathode electrode near a top surface of the semiconductor substrate opposite the Schottky barrier metal wherein the lateral cathode region doped with an opposite dopant from the sinker dopant region and interfacing the sinker dopant region whereby a current path is formed from the cathode electrode to the anode electrode through the lateral cathode region and the sinker dopant region in applying a forward bias voltage and the sinker dopant region depleting the cathode region in applying a reverse bias voltage for blocking a leakage current.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the Schottky diode devices. More particularly, this invention relates to a device configuration and method of manufacturing Schottky diodes with a bottom-anode for multiple applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional Schottky diodes with a vertical structure that has the cathode disposed at the bottom of a substrate are limited by several difficulties of applications. As a high voltage bias is applied to the substrate, the vertical Schottky diodes with cathode at the bottom of the substrate are not compatible with some assembly configurations. Furthermore, for high voltage devices, such device configuration requires an electrical isolation of the heat sink where the die is mounted, which causes limitations on heat dissipation and adds to complications to system designs when the vertical Schottky diodes are provided with the cathode disposed at the bottom of a substrate. Different types of vertical Schottky diodes have been disclosed. FIG. 1A shows a cross sectional view of a junction barrier Schottky diode formed on the top of a substrate and FIG. 1B shows an alternate Schottky diode implemented as a trench MOS-barrier Schottky diode on the top of a substrate. In either of the Schottky diodes, the Schottky barrier regions are shielded off laterally by depletion of the PN junctions or the MOS trenches when reverse bias reach a certain high voltage to reduce the leakage current. FIGS. 1C and 1D show alternate junction barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,123 with the P+ regions pinching off the drain from the top anode region. However, the Schottky diodes with a vertical configuration and the cathode on the bottom as shown in these disclosures are still limited by the difficulties discussed above for some practical applications, especially when applied to portable devices that require small package with multi functions to reduce component count and space. Specifically, for power boost converter application as showed in FIG. 1E, the anode of a Schottky diode is connected to the Drain of a MOSFET, which is usually at the bottom of the MOSFET die. It is desirable to co-package the Schottky diode into the MOSFET package to reduce anode parasitic inductance; it is necessary to have two separate die pads for mounting the MOSFET and the Schottky separately. This increases the assembly complexity and cost.
Therefore, a need still exists in the art of device design and manufacture of Schottky diodes by leveraging existing Schottky contact metallization schemes to provide new device configurations and manufacturing method for new and improved Schottky diodes with anode on the bottom of the substrate such that the above discussed problems and limitations can be resolved.


An umbrella cover includes: a main umbrella cove provided with a vent; and a shading portion arranged at the vent and adapted to shade sunshine from the vent. When wind blows toward the umbrella cover, a part of the wind may blow through the vent and take away hot inside the umbrella, thus achieving the ventilation of the umbrella. In addition, since the main umbrella cover is provided with the vent, the area of the umbrella cover subjected to the wind force is reduced and the wind force subjected by the umbrella cover is reduced further, thus improving the stability of the umbrella, and thereby decreasing the risk of the umbrella blown down by the wind. Furthermore, since the umbrella cover is the umbrella cover of one layer constituted by the main umbrella cover and the shading portions, the hot inside the umbrella is easy to be dissipated.

Many people favor beach relaxing. However, due to heat and sunshine at the beach, a beach umbrella is usually applied for shading the sunshine, thus providing a cool place to rest and reducing ultraviolet radiation.
The beach umbrella includes: an umbrella pole; an umbrella cover arranged at a top end of the umbrella pole and adapted to shade sunshine; and an umbrella seat arranged at a bottom end of the umbrella pole and adapted to fix the beach umbrella to the beach. In order to facilitate the dissipation of hot inside the umbrella, an umbrella cover of an existing beach umbrella includes an upper layer umbrella cover; a lower layer umbrella cover; and a gap provided between the upper layer umbrella cover and the lower layer umbrella cover. Wind may blow through the gap to achieve the ventilation. However, since each of the above upper layer umbrella cover and the lower layer umbrella cover is an integral umbrella cover, the whole umbrella cover will be subjected to a winding force. The area of the umbrella cover subjected to the winding force is large, thus impacting the stability of the umbrella, and resulting in the umbrella easily blown down by the wind. In addition, since the above beach umbrella has two layers of umbrella covers, the hot inside the umbrella is not easily to be dissipated.
In summary, a technical problem to be solved presently by those skilled in art is to provide an umbrella cover which can improve the stability of the umbrella while achieving the ventilation of the umbrella and can decrease the risk of the umbrella blown down by the wind.


A cooling arrangement for a kitchen provided for installation in a means of transport comprises a cooling circuit which can have a cooling medium flowing through it and in which a condenser and an evaporator are arranged. The condenser is accommodated in a condenser housing and is arranged in a first installation space which is intended to form a first sub-region of the kitchen. The evaporator is accommodated in an evaporator housing formed separately from the condenser housing, and is arranged in a second installation space which is intended to form a second sub-region of the kitchen.

The invention relates to a cooling arrangement for a kitchen provided for installation in a means of transport, in particular an aircraft, and to a kitchen equipped with such a cooling arrangement.
Modern passenger aircraft are usually equipped with kitchens, so-called galleys which are known, for example, from DE 10 2006 023 047 B4 and/or from U.S. Pat. No. 7,780,114 B2. The galleys are usually installed in the door-entry regions of the aircraft cabin and have a basic structure containing a substructure which is delimited by a work top, and upper compartments which are arranged above the work top. It is usually kitchen equipment, e.g., coffee machines, kettles, ovens, etc., and beverages and food which are accommodated in the upper compartments of the galley. In contrast, a trolley compartment for accommodating mobile trolleys which are loaded with items, e.g., beverages and food, intended to be given out to the passengers on board the aircraft is provided in the substructure of the galley.
DE 10 2015 210 268 A1 and WO 2016/193378 A1 disclose a cooling system which comprises a cooling arrangement which is installed in the region of a side wall of a kitchen or is integrated in a side wall of the kitchen. As an alternative, the cooling arrangement is installed in the region of an intermediate wall, or is integrated in an intermediate wall which subdivides a substructure of the kitchen into a first portion and a second portion. Cooling-arrangement fluid lines, by means of which cooling-arrangement heat exchangers which have a cooling medium flowing through them, are coupled thermally to a respective fluid can comprise portions which are integrated in a work top of the kitchen. The cooling arrangement generates a cooled fluid, for example air which is directed, through an outlet, into a region in the vicinity of the floor of a substructure of the kitchen and, via a fluid inlet formed in an underside of the work top, is recirculated from the substructure into the cooling apparatus.
In the case of the cooling arrangement described in DE 10 2015 210 268 A1 and WO 2016/193378 A1, all the essential functional components of the cooling arrangement, i.e., a cooling circuit, an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser and electronic components for controlling the operation of the cooling arrangement, are arranged in a common housing. This fully integrated architecture of the cooling arrangement makes it possible to dispense with mechanical interfaces between the components of the cooling arrangement. However, the cooling arrangement requires a comparatively large amount of installation space.

Cooling arrangement for a kitchen, and kitchen


A reticle that allows deviation in rotation and magnification of an exposure region detected just using a wafer subjected to exposure and development without having to provide an underlying pattern, a pattern transferred using such a reticle, and a correction method are achieved. A first measurement pattern is provided on a dicing line pattern of the X axis direction. Also, a second measurement pattern is formed on a line of extension of the first measurement pattern in the Y axis direction. Similarly, a third measurement pattern is formed on the dicing line pattern in the Y axis direction. A fourth measurement pattern is provided corresponding to the third measurement pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reticle, a pattern transferred by a reticle, and a correction method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reticle, a pattern transferred by a reticle, and a correction method employed in an exposure process for a semiconductor wafer.
2. Description of the Background Art
An exposure process is conventionally known as one manufacturing step for ICs and LSIs. In this exposure process, deviation in the rotation of an exposure region (chip rotation) and deviation in the magnification of an exposure region (chip magnification) are encountered originating from the semiconductor wafer and exposure device (stepper).
Detection of such chip rotation and chip magnification is conventionally carried out as set forth in the following. An underlying pattern formed in advance is exposed and developed. A further measurement pattern is formed above that underlying pattern. The amount of deviation between that measurement pattern and the underlying pattern is gauged. However, it was difficult to gauge the chip rotation and the chip magnification in the first exposure step (first step) where there is no underlying pattern on the wafer according to conventional art. There was a need for a measurement pattern that allows gauging of the chip rotation and chip magnification with only a wafer subjected to exposure and development without requiring an underlying pattern.
In the past years, the demand for overlay accuracy is critical. It is now necessary to correct the exposure condition after gauging deviation in chip rotation and chip magnification for one wafer in one lot to eliminate variation in the exposure condition for the first step for other wafers in the same lot. It has also become necessary to render uniform the exposure condition of the first step between a plurality of steppers. When the first step is carried out using a plurality of steppers, there will be a mixture of semiconductor wafers subjected to the first step of exposure with the plurality of steppers at the steps subsequent to the first step. In order to improve the overlay accuracy between each step, the plurality of steppers must have the exposure condition of the first step set equal. In order to meet these requirements, variation in chip rotation and variation in chip magnification must be calculated independently for each stepper to correct the exposure condition of each stepper according to the calculated result.
FIGS. 12 and 13 are plan views showing a conventional measurement pattern (fiducial mark). This fiducial mark is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 6-324475. More specifically, FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a conventionally proposed reticle, and FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a fiducial mark formed on a wafer using the reticle of FIG. 12.
Referring to FIG. 12, circuit pattern region 25 of a rectangular configuration is formed at a predetermined region of a transparent substrate 22 by the conventional reticle. A wafer alignment mark 26 is formed in an outer perimeter area of circuit pattern region 25. Also, respective fiducial marks 27 are formed at the four corners outer of circuit pattern region 25. A light blocking region 24 is formed so as to surround respective fiducial mark 27. Four reticle alignment marks 23 are formed at the outer side of light blocking region 24.
By transferring the pattern of the used reticle of FIG. 12 on a wafer, a fiducial mark as shown in FIG. 13 is obtained. The fiducial mark of FIG. 13 shows a specific plane configuration of fiducial mark 27 shown in FIG. 12. Referring to FIG. 13, the fiducial mark formed on the wafer includes a first fiducial mark 28 and a second fiducial mark 29. First fiducial mark 28 includes a projection portion 30. Second fiducial mark 29 includes a projection portion 31. The pitch of each projection of projection portion 30 is set slightly offset the pitch of the projection of projection portion 31.
In operation, exposure is carried out using the conventional reticle shown in FIG. 12. After a development process, first fiducial mark 28 and second fiducial mark 29 shown in FIG. 13 are formed on an exposure region on a wafer. The amount of deviation is gauged by obtaining the difference between distances a and b between projection portion 30 of first fiducial mark 28 and projection portion 31 of second fiducial mark 29.
However, the specific method of detecting the deviation and correction method thereof according to the conventional fiducial marks shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 are not disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 6-324475. The procedure of calculating deviation in chip rotation and chip magnification independently to carry out correction is also not disclosed. It was therefore difficult to employ the conventional art shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 for correcting the chip rotation and chip magnification at the time of exposure with a stepper.
The fiducial mark shown in FIG. 13 induces the possibility of deformation in the fiducial mark when there is aberration. It was difficult to carry out accurate gauging in such a case. According to the first and second fiducial marks 28 and 29 of FIG. 13, there may be a case where the influence from aberration differs between the fiducial mark and the circuit pattern region depending upon the pattern type of the circuit pattern region. In such a case, usage of the fiducial mark of FIG. 13 as measurement means for alleviating the influence of aberration upon the circuit pattern region is inappropriate.
Furthermore, the fiducial mark shown in FIG. 13 has the disadvantage that a larger occupying area is required since first and second fiducial marks 28 and 29 do not completely overlap each other. There was a problem that the exposure region of the stepper cannot be used effectively.
According to the conventional fiducial mark shown in FIG. 13, second fiducial mark 29 is formed above first fiducial mark 28 previously formed as an underlying pattern to detect the deviation between the first and second fiducial marks 28 and 29. Therefore, there was a problem that it was difficult to use such conventional marks when exposure is to be carried out at the first step.

Reticle, pattern transferred thereby, and correction method


A deodorizing filter for adsorbing malodorous particles in air is disposed at a downstream air side of a circumferential wall of an inside/outside air switching rotary door which opens and closes inside and outside air intake ports. A gap having a predetermined distance is provided between the deodorizing filter and the circumferential wall of the rotary door. The deodorizing filter is rotated integrally with the rotary door. When the rotary door is rotated to open both the outside and inside air intake ports at their intermediately opened positions, the inside air flowing from the inside air intake port directly flows into an outlet side of an inside/outside air switching box, and the outside air introduced from the outside air intake port passes through the gap and the deodorizing filter and flows into the outlet side of the inside/outside air switching box.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle, having an inside/outside air switching function and a deodorizing filter function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drivers of vehicles on the road often find themselves running behind a diesel-powered transport discharging fumes with an unpleasant smell. In such cases, it is customary for the vehicle's driver to shut off a flow of the diesel exhaust gas odor into the vehicle interior by setting the inside/outside air switching device of an air conditioning apparatus to a whole inside air mode, or by setting the same device to a whole outside air mode in which all outside air passes through a deodorizing filter to adsorb malodorous components from the outside air.
However, when the whole inside air mode is maintained for an extended period of time, a CO.sub.2 concentration of inside air in a passenger compartment is increased; and therefore, which can adversely affect physiological conditions of the driver and a passenger in the hermetically closed vehicle. Further, in the whole outside air mode, because the all outside air passes through the deodorizing filter, the air volume of the air conditioning apparatus is drastically reduced and the air conditioning capability is lowered correspondingly. Because a ventilation system of the air conditioning apparatus causes high pressure loss, noise of the ventilation system can be appreciably high.
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Hei 2-17413 proposes an air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle. In the conventional air conditioning apparatus, an arc-shaped circumferential wall of a rotary door is used to switch an inside/outside air intake port, and the rotary door incorporates a deodorizing filter. In the proposed air conditioning apparatus, inside and outside air passes continuously through the deodorizing filter regardless of a whole inside air mode or a whole outside air mode being selected. Therefore, the amount of air passing through the air conditioning apparatus is greatly decreased by the high pressure loss of the deodorizing filter.

Air conditioning apparatus for vehicle, having deodorizing filter


An improved railway frog having opposite side flangeways, each flangeway comprising a channel with an ending width greater than a corresponding channel width of a conventional frog. The improved frog channel further comprising a first segment and a second segment. The second segment having an outside wall angled greater than a corresponding first segment outside wall in relation to an inner wall of the channel.

Rail crossings and turnouts are points where two sets of track cross. The center part of the crossing is sometimes referred to as a frog. Frogs can be cast or fabricated. For heavy use, frogs are sometimes formed from a durable steel such as manganese to increase resistance to wear and impact. Manganese frogs are a standard part of the mining, tunneling and railroad industry.
The rails connecting the switch rails to the frog are called closure rails. A frog has a toe end connected to the closure rail and a heel end at the end of a frog furthest from the switch. The frog point is the area where the running edges of two crossing rails come together. The frog has wing rails, which are two small rails at the heel end of the frog running essentially parallel to the wheel path along each side of the frog point. The wing rails support the wheel of the train car as the wheel crosses the gap at the frog point. The wing rails and the point define an X-shaped pair of grooves or flangeways. The flangeway is a channel that allows the wheel flange of the car to pass. The flangeway allows the wheel flange to maintain continuous contact with the inner surfaces of the frog through the intersection of the rails.
In order to properly guide a passing car over the frog, a guard-rail is typically placed on the opposite rail. A short rail is placed inside of and parallel to the stock rail opposite the point that the wheels pass through the frog.
The width of the frog is called its spread. Different sized frogs are used for rails making various angled turns. Frogs are generally identified by a frog number, which corresponds to the ratio of the length to the sum of heel and toe spreads. Conventional frogs have standard dimensions according to the frog number. Larger numbered frogs are generally used for larger turn radii.
The mining industry presents challenges for rail crossings. Modern mining cars are longer than their predecessors are. Most mine car wheels are fixed and do not turn. Due to the tight curves in the rails in mining operations, the wheels of these longer rail cars cannot follow the turns easily and easily derail when passing through a frog. As the leading wheels of the car move through the frog to the secondary rail, the car is turned in a different direction from that of the original rail. The fixed rear wheels of the car are pushed to the outside of the turn. In an existing frog, the rear wheel may jump the frog and derail the car. Where cars derail, damage may occur to the car and or the load in the car and the impact of the train car wheels on the frog generates early failure of the crossing.
Wing rails and guard rails have been used in an attempt to prevent derailing; however, no frog exists that adequately prevents derailing of longer fixed-wheel cars, such as those used in mines. A need exists for a frog having the ability to maintain the rear wheels of a car and successfully transfer the car through a turnout or crossover on a track. A need exists for a frog with a flangeway having an adequate width and angle to allow the wheel of a train car riding the wing rail across the intersection to stay in contact with the frog until it is supported by the secondary rail.


Portable communication equipment having a virtual image display including display electronics and optics for providing a virtual image in the display, cursor electronics connected to the display electronics for producing a manually controllable cursor virtual image in the display, and manual controls mounted on the portable communication equipment and externally accessible by an operator. The manual controls are connected to the cursor electronics for controlling the position and function of the cursor virtual image to provide functions such as pull-down menus and image selection.

Portable communications receivers, such as radios, cellular and cordless telephones, pagers and the like, are becoming increasingly popular. In many instances it is desirable to provide apparatus on the receiver to supply the operator with visual messages that include graphics and printed information. The problem is that prior art apparatus providing these functions require relatively high electrical power and require a great amount of area to be sufficiently large to produce useful and visually perceivable information.
In the prior art, for example, it is common to provide visual apparatus utilizing liquid crystals, directly viewed light emitting diodes, etc. These produce very large and cumbersome displays that greatly increase the size of the receiver and require relatively large amounts of power.
In one instance, the prior art includes a scanning mirror to produce a visually perceivable image but again this requires relatively large amounts of power and is very complicated and sensitive to shock. Also, the scanning mirror causes vibration in the unit which substantially reduces visual comfort and acceptability.
Apparatus incorporating a miniature virtual image display, which solves most of the problems mentioned above, is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,198, entitled "WAVEGUIDE VIRTUAL IMAGE DISPLAY", issued Jun. 29, 1993. Typically, the products in which the miniature virtual image display is incorporated are small hand-held devices. Many of the proposed applications would benefit from some interaction with the display.
Accordingly, it is a purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved manually controllable cursor in a virtual image.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved manually controllable cursor in a virtual image for use in small hand held devices and which is controllable with the hand holding the device.

Manually controllable cursor in a virtual image


A lock for a housing may have a protrusion, an opening, a receptacle, and a ramp. The protrusion is formed in a first side wall of a first member of the housing, and the opening is defined in the first side wall. The receptacle extends from a second side wall of a second member of the housing, and is in some ways complementary in shape and in dimensions to the protrusion. The ramp is formed in the second side wall. When the first member and the second member are assembled, the protrusion and the receptacle are mated to form a water-tight seal therebetween, while the ramp is received within the opening.

Housings are commonly used in bussed electrical centers (BECs) of an automobile. BECs package and centralize power distribution and electronic functions of the automobile. BECs typically include various members that are stacked in a sandwich-like arrangement between its housing. In some cases, the housing is not locked, or otherwise held together, properly; and in other cases, the housing is not adequately sealed against environmental contaminants such as water.


A device for and method of detecting intrusion into a wireless network that includes a configuration file, a rules files, a main processor, a set packet processor, an initialize preprocessor, a parse rules file, an interface thread unit, a process packet unit, a decoder, a preprocess unit connected to the process packet unit; at least one preprocessor consisting of a rogue access point and transmit channel preprocessor, a NETSTUMBLER preprocessor, a MAC spoofing preprocessor, a DEAUTH flood preprocessor, an AUTH flood preprocessor, a rogue client preprocessor, a bridged network preprocessor, a rogue client valid access point preprocessor, valid client rogue access point preprocessor, an ad-hoc network preprocessor, a wrong channel preprocessor, a cloaking policy violation preprocessor, an encryption policy violation preprocessor, and a null SSID association policy violation preprocessor; and a detector.

A computer can communicate via a local area network (LAN) without being physically connected to the LAN. This is achieved by the computer broadcasting messages to, and receiving messages from, the LAN using radio frequency (RF) energy. Such capability is commonly referred to as wireless fidelity or Wi-Fi.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has developed a family of specifications concerning Wi-Fi LANs (WLANs). IEEE Specification 802.11 concerns WLAN transmission of 1 or 2 Megabits per second (Mbps) in the 2.4 GHz band. IEEE Specification 802.11a concerns WLAN transmission up to 54 Mbps in the 5 GHz band. IEEE Specification 802.11b concerns WLAN transmission of 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band. IEEE Specification 802.11g concerns WLAN transmission of 20 Mbps or more in the 2.4 GHz band.
WLAN's have proliferated around the globe and are used in industry, government, and in the home. WLANs provide mobility and the benefits that derive therefrom. However, there is also risk involved in using a WLAN. Computers connected to WLANs are susceptible to attack as are computers connected to LANs, and are susceptible to attacks that are unique to WLANs (e.g., rogue access points that divert computer traffic). Therefore, there is a need to detect intrusions into wireless computer networks. A wireless intrusion detection system (WIDS) is used to provide protection for a WLAN by providing a more secure operating environment. SNORT is a freely available intrusion detection system that comes in a wireless version.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of SNORT 1. The inputs to SNORT 1 are the rules file 2 and a master configuration file 3 that contains arguments for preprocessors. The function SnortMain 4 is the heart of SNORT 1. SnortMain 4 calls the function SetPktProcessor 5, which makes a decision about which decoder function should be used to process incoming packets. SnortMain 4 also calls InitPreprocessors 6 to initialize preprocessors and ParseRulesFile 7 to parse the rules file 2. Then, SnortMain 4 calls InterfaceThread 8 to create one thread per interface. The InterfaceThread 8 starts a loop that continuously reads all received packets. The loop is handled by the function ProcessPacket 9. ProcessPacket 9 calls Decode 10 to decode the current packet. Once the packet has been decoded, ProcessPacket 9 calls the Preprocess 11. Preprocess 11 sequentially calls various preprocessors 12, 13. Finally Preprocess 11 calls Detect 14, which applies the rules from the rules file 2 to the current packet. If a rule matches the current packet, an alert may be generated or the packet may be logged, depending on what is specified in the rules file 2. The rules file 2 detects suspicious or irregular behavior that could indicate intrusion, based on the values of certain fields in a single packet header. The preprocessors 12, 13 on the other hand, are used to detect suspicious behavior based on information gained from many packets, or based on information gained from a single packet combined with input from the configuration file 3 and a more sophisticated detection algorithm.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of Wireless SNORT 21, which is basically SNORT 1 described in FIG. 1 with a new decoder to interpret IEEE Specification 802.11 headers, a new Wi-Fi rules file for signature-based detection, new data structures to store IEEE Specification 802.11 header information, new logging and alerting functions for IEEE Specification 802.11, and new preprocessors to detect intrusions specific to wireless networks. The inputs to wireless SNORT 21 are the rules file 22 and a master configuration file 23 that contains arguments for preprocessors. The function SnortMain 24 is the heart of wireless SNORT 21. SnortMain 24 calls the function SetPktProcessor 25, which makes a decision about which decoder function should be used to process incoming packets. SnortMain 24 also calls InitPreprocessors 26 to initialize preprocessors and ParseRulesFile 27 to parse the rules file 22. Then, SnortMain 24 calls InterfaceThread 28 to create one thread per interface. The InterfaceThread 28 starts a loop that continuously reads all received packets. The loop is handled by the function ProcessPacket 29. ProcessPacket 29 calls Decode 30 to decode the current packet. Once the packet has been decoded, ProcessPacket 29 calls the Preprocess 31: Preprocess 31 sequentially calls various preprocessors 32-36. The new preprocessors include a preprocessor to detect a rogue access point (AP) 32, a reprocessor to detect a client using the program Netstumbler 33, a preprocessor to detects Media Access Control (MAC) address spoofing 34, a preprocessor to detect denial-of-service attacks that use DEAUTH flooding 35, and a preprocessor to detect denial-of-service attacks that use AUTH flooding 36. Preprocessors in SNORT 1 of FIG. 1 that are compatible with wireless SNORT 21 of FIG. 2 may also be included in wireless SNORT 21. Finally Preprocess 31 calls Detect 37, which applies the rules from the rules file 22 to the current packet. If a rule matches the current packet, an alert may be generated or the packet may be logged, depending on what is specified in the rules file 22. The rules file 22 detects suspicious or irregular behavior that could indicate intrusion, based on the values of certain fields in a single packet header. The preprocessors 32-36 on the other hand, are used to detect suspicious behavior based on information gained from many packets, or based on information gained from a single packet combined with input from the configuration file 23 and a more sophisticated detection algorithm.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,042,852, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS LAN DYNAMIC CHANNEL CHANGE WITH HONEYPOT TRAP", discloses an intrusion detection device and method that communicates with an intruder by emulating the identification characteristics of a potentially compromised access point. The present invention does not communicate with an intruder by emulating the identification characteristics of a potentially compromised access point as does U.S. Pat. No. 7,042,852. U.S. Pat. No. 7,042,852 hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,058,796, entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ACTIVELY DEFENDING A WIRELESS LAN AGAINST ATTACKS", discloses a method of and device for defending a wireless LAN by transmitting a jamming signal, a signal to introduce CRC errors, or a signal to make it more difficulty to break encryption used by the network. The present invention does not transmit a jamming signal, a signal to introduce CRC errors, or a signal to make it more difficulty to break encryption used by the network as does U.S. Pat. No. 7,058,796. U.S. Pat. No. 7,058,796 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,089, entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NETWORK SECURITY," discloses devices and methods of detecting security violations by applying one or more tests to received data, including signature test, protocol test, statistical anomaly test, policy test, and defending the network by jamming, generating CRC errors, transmitting random frames, locking down the network, and changing channels. The present invention does not defend a network by jamming, generating CRC errors, transmitting random frames, locking down the network, and changing channels as does U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,089. U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,089 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,586, entitled "FIREWALL PROTECTION FOR WIRELESS USERS," discloses a system for protecting a mobile wireless user via a firewall employed at the wired line, or ISP side, of the wireless link in a wireless network. The present invention does not employ a firewall at the wired line, or ISP side, of the wireless link in a wireless network as does U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,586. U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,586 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030135762, entitled "WIRELESS NETWORKS SECURITY SYSTEM," discloses a system for monitoring wireless networks using a directional antenna for locating unauthorized or threatening devices. The present invention does not employ a directional antenna as does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030135762. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030135762 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030217289, entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR WIRELESS INTRUSION DETECTION," discloses a method of and system for monitoring authorized and unauthorized access to wireless network using one or more nodes that communicate via an out of band means that is separate from the network. The present invention does not employ an out of band means that is separate from the network as does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030217289. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030217289 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030237000, entitled "METHOD, SYSTEM AND PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR DETECTING INTRUSION OF A WIRELESS NETWORK," discloses a method of and system for detecting intrusion of a wireless network by comparing a received data stream to a valid data stream. If the received data stream deviates from the valid data stream, the data stream is compared to a known intrusion data stream. The present invention includes more methods and devices than U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030237000. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20030237000 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040028001, entitled "WIRELESS LOCAL OR METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK WITH INTRUSION DETECTION FEATURES AND RELATED METHODS," discloses a method of and system for detecting intrusion of a wireless network that includes a policing station that is separate from the wireless station. The present invention includes more devices and methods than does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040028001. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040028001 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040107219, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK MONITORING AND INTRUSION DETECTION," discloses a method of and system for detecting intrusion of a wireless network by profiling wireless devices, determining threat levels posed by wireless devices, and prevents traffic from being received by a wireless device from a wireless device determined to pose too great a threat. The present invention includes more devices and methods than does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040107219. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040107219 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040162995, entitled "INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS," discloses a method of and system for detecting intrusion of a wireless network using monitoring stations and fusion stations to monitor and correlate attributes of signals, including carrier frequency, spurious emissions, power-on and power-down transients, direct and multipath received signal strength, signal-to-noise ration, direction and angle of arrival, time of arrival, position, range, time dispersion, and Doppler shift and polarization. The present invention does not employ monitoring and fusion stations to receive and correlate signals as does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040162995. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040162995 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040235453, entitled "ACCESS POINT INCORPORATING A FUNCTION OF MONITORING ILLEGAL WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS," discloses a device for detecting the presence of unauthorized wireless communications at an access point by including an additional receiver to receive and monitor all channels to determine if unauthorized wireless communications are present. The present invention does more than does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040235453. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20040235453 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050037733, entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR WIRELESS INTRUSION DETECTION PREVENTION AND SECURITY MANAGEMENT," discloses a device for and method of wireless intrusion detection that integrates Open System Interconnection (OSI) Layer 1 (i.e., the physical layer) and a smart wireless RF antenna with an OSI Layer 2 (i.e., a data link layer) wireless security system management platform. The present invention does not integrate OSI Layer 1 and a smart wireless RF antenna with an OSI Layer 2 wireless security system management platform as does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050037733. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050037733 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050054326, entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SECURING AND MONITORING A WIRELESS NETWORK," discloses a device for and method of securing and monitoring a wireless network by scanning a wireless network, building a profile for each detected node, requiring an administrator to determine if the detected node may access the network or not, detecting unauthorized nodes, and limiting an unauthorized node's access to the network. The present invention does more than does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050054326. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050054326 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20050136891, 20050202800, and 20050213553, entitled "WIRELESS LAN INTRUSION DETECTION BASED ON LOCATION," "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CLIENT-SERVER-BASED WIRELESS INTRUSION DETECTION," and "METHOD FOR WIRELESS LAN INTRUSION DETECTION BASED ON PROTOCOL ANOMALY ANALYSIS" disclose devices for determining intrusion into a wireless network by locating transmitters using signals transmitted thereby, recording the locations of the transmitters that were assigned by an administrator, subsequently detecting signals from these transmitters, determining the locations of the transmitters using the received signals, comparing the determined locations to the recorded location, and initiating an alarm if a location derived from a signal does not match the corresponding recorded location. The present invention does not determine, record, and compare locations as does U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20050136891, 20050202800, and 20050213553. U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20050136891, 20050202800, and 20050213553 are hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050144544, entitled "MECHANISM FOR DETECTION OF ATTACK BASED ON IMPERSONATION IN A WIRELESS NETWORK," discloses a device for determining an attack based on impersonation by receiving a transmission via a secure link and via wireless transmission, comparing the two, and determining that an attack by impersonation is present if the two transmissions are not identical. The present invention does not employ a secure link and compare function as does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050144544. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050144544 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060085543, entitled "PERSONAL WIRELESS MONITORING AGENT," discloses a device for monitoring a wireless device by comparing communications against policy guidelines, determining whether a violation has occurred, and informing an authorized user of any violation. The present invention does more than does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060085543. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060085543 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20060002331 and 20060193300, entitled "AUTOMATED SNIFFER APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK SECURITY" and "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING MULTIPLE NETWORK SEGMENTS IN LOCAL AREA NETWORKS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH WIRELESS SECURITY POLICY", disclose a device for securing a wireless network by using a plurality of sniffers spatially arranged in a selected geographic region to provide substantial radio coverage over at least a portion of the geographic location. The present invention employs more devices and methods than does U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20060002331 and 20060193300. U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20060002331 and 20060193300 are hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060193299, entitled "LOCATION-BASED ENHANCEMENTS FOR WIRELESS INTRUSION DETECTION," discloses a device for wireless intrusion detection by identifying the physical location of each access point, generating a message integrity code for each access point that indicates the location of the access point, determining the signal strength of a received transmission, and determining whether or not the location in message integrity code is consistent with the identity of the corresponding access point and whether or not the signal strength is consistent with the corresponding location. The present invention does not employ a message integrity code and a signal strength measurement as does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060193299. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060193299 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060197702, entitled "WIRELESS HOST INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM," discloses a device for wireless intrusion detection by identifying a signal from a wireless access point involving a full hand-off procedure or a change in signal such as a change in signal strength or a change in the direction of arrival. Upon the detection of any of these events, an intrusion alert is made. The present invention does not identify a full hand-off procedure or a change in signal as does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060197702. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060197702 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060200862, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOCATING ROGUE ACCESS POINT SWITCH PORTS IN A WIRELESS NETWORK RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS," discloses a device for locating and disabling a rogue access point by detecting the presence of a rogue wireless access point, instructing a special client to associate with the rogue access point and send a discover packet through the rogue access point to a network management device, locating the switch to which the rogue access point is connected, and disabling the switch port. The present invention does not instruct a special client to associate with a rogue access point and send a discover packet through the rogue access point to a network management device, locate the switch to which the rogue access point is connected, and disable the switch port as does U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060200862. U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060200862 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.

Device for and method of wireless intrusion detection

The United States States of America as represented by the Director of the National Security Agency


The present disclosure is directed toward a control system for controlling a heater system. The control system includes a plurality of zone control circuits, at least two auxiliary controllers, and a primary controller. The zone control circuits are operable to provide power to a plurality of heater zones of the heater system and to sense performance characteristics of the zones. The auxiliary controllers are coupled to the plurality of zone control circuits to control power to the plurality of zones and to monitor operation of the heater zones based on the performance characteristics. The primary controller is coupled to the auxiliary controllers and is configured to provide an operation set-point for each of the heater zones based on the performance characteristics. The auxiliary controllers operate the zone control circuits to supply power to the heater system based on the operation set-point.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Resistive heaters are used in a variety of applications to provide heat to a target and/or environment. For example, such resistive heaters include, but are not limited to: cartridge heaters, fluid line heater, or other suitable heaters. A control system typically controls the power to the resistive heater to regulate the amount of heat being generated by the heater.
In some applications, the control system is a closed loop system that receives feedback data from discrete sensors that monitor the performance of the resistive heaters. While the discrete sensors provide data to fine tune control of the resistive heaters, the sensors can take up space and add complexity to the overall thermal system. These and other issues are addressed by the present disclosure.


A position adjustment device for a direction reversing guide for vehicle safety belts includes a guide rail, a displacement element with an arresting mechanism, advancing member, replacement member and possibly displacement levers. This height-adjustment device is suitable for high stresses and at the same time can be simply and inexpensively produced. The guide rail (1) essentially has a C-shaped cross section, the adjustment element (12, 12') is guided along end strips (3) of the guide rail (1), and a detent element (19), which is taken along by the adjustment element (12, 12') extends through recesses (6, 18) in the guide rail (1) and the displacement element (12, 12'). A metal spring (21, 32), which forces the detent element (19) into the recesses (6, 18), is provided for maintaining the arrested position at the adjustment element (12, 12'), and a position restoring spring for the position adjustment device is also provided.

Devices for use with vehicle safety belts that are adjustable to different positions, to accommodate differences such as height, are known in many designs. It is a sign of the times that increasingly higher mechanical and other demands are made on them. On the one hand, they should add to safety even under extreme accident conditions, on the other hand, for reasons of competition, the capital outlay and, in particular, the production costs, should be as low as possible.
The principal demand for stability and dependability is met primarily by the selection of the material and the material strength. However, this sometimes results in a heavy construction, which is less desirable for other reasons. It has always been a goal to reduce device size by improving the material. But this is only possible to a certain degree, and the comparatively high production costs connected with this are felt to be problematical here.
This is where the invention has specific applicability.

Position adjustment device for vehicle safety belts


An inhalation system is disclosed that, in an exemplary embodiment, includes an ejector that ejects medicated droplets during an activation event, a conduit fluidically coupled to the ejector and configured to transport the droplets to a patient during an in-breath, and a particle detection system configured to determine whether the droplets have properly passed through the conduit and to the patient during an activation event. Also disclosed are methods for detecting particles in an inhaler system, with an exemplary method including generating a dose of medicament particles from an inhaler system; detecting particles emitted in the inhaler system; and determining if a desired particle flux has been achieved for inhalation by a patient.

For pulmonary delivery of aerosols and dry powders, delivered dose is difficult to predict and estimate. Deposition in the lungs is driven by numerous factors, including for example particle size, depth of inspiration, residence time, and lung condition.
Metered dose inhalers (MDIs), dry powder inhalers (DPIs), and nebulizers currently address the bulk of applications for pulmonary delivery of aerosols and dry powders. FDA guidance documents on MDIs and DPIs estimate that only about 10% -15% of dose reaches the biological target. The remainder is trapped in the mouth and pharynx and swallowed or is exhaled. Inhalers for delivering medicament to pulmonary systems historically can delivery fairly accurate amounts of inhalant in the form of an aerosol. More specifically, inhalers generally accurately generate a mist of inhalant for the patient to breathe into their pulmonary system. One issue is with whether the patient properly breathes in the inhalant being generated. A second issue is how much aerosol is expelled during an out-breath. Both issues will vary from patient to patient, making predictability and control of proper dosage difficult.
Delivery of particulates to the deep pulmonary regions of the lung, the alveoli, can be optimized by delivering particles of the proper size range and by increasing residence times. For alveoli deposition, particles with diameters in the range of about 1 to 3 microns appear optimal. Particles below approximately 3 microns in diameter have been shown, via scintigraphy studies, to be preferentially transported to the deep lungs, whereas larger particles tend strike the throat or rain out in the bronchial passages. Smaller particles penetrate more deeply but also have an increased tendency to be exhaled. Therefore, for deep pulmonary delivery systems exhalation of particles can be substantial issue.
Some devices for deep pulmonary delivery attempt to optimize delivered dose and delivered dose reproducibility by measuring inhalation and exhalation rates and delivering the drugs at critical points. While these small particle size systems with active measurement of breathing maneuvers should help to ensure more reproducible dosing, there are still many uncontrolled factors affecting deposition and eventual bioavailability.

Systems and methods for particle detection

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A locking link rod structure for a docking station that includes a main body, a switch link rod installed in the main body, two holes disposed separately and proximate to an end of the switch link rod, a lock hole disposed on the main body and corresponding to the two holes for locking an external lock such as a cable lock, and thus the lock link rod structure is capable of locking a notebook computer with the docking station, so as to prevent the notebook computer and/or the docking station from being taken away or stolen by other people.

For users who have used a notebook computer at office or at home before, they must have the experience of connecting many cables of the peripherals such as a power cord, a network cable, a mouse cord, a printer cable, or a speaker cable of the notebook computer. If it is necessary to carry the notebook computer, a user has to unplug all of the aforementioned cables and cords, and if the notebook computer is used indoors, then all of these cables and cords have to be plugged again.
To solve the foregoing annoying problem, manufacturers have developed a multifunctional docking station derived from the concept of a mobile architecture. By the multifunctional docking station, a convenient way of installing and removing peripherals is provided. The multifunctional docking station is mainly divided into three kinds according to different functional requirements. The first kind is a basic model having many peripheral ports; the second kind is an expanded model having multibay installed on both sides of the multifunctional docking station for installing more peripherals, in addition to the foregoing various peripheral ports, and thus the notebook computer can be expanded to a multifunctional equipment similar to a desktop computer; and the third kind is an external docking station that uses a universal serial bus (USB) interface to connect the notebook computer.
Since the size of the notebook computer is limited, even an all-in-one model cannot store so many storage devices into the limited space of the notebook computer. Particularly, the space for installing a hard disk drive is very limited. After a user has used the notebook computer for a while, the stored data becomes larger and larger, and thus it is necessary to install an additional hard disk drive or back up the data by a burner. Of course, the user may use a local area network to transmit the data for data processing, but it is more convenient to process the data directly on the notebook computer. By then, the aforementioned multibay provides a flexible storage method, so that the peripherals on the multibay including a second detachable hard disk drive, a burner, a DVD-ROM, and a floppy disk drive can be installed to handle data, or a second battery can be installed to improve the battery time of the notebook computer, or the notebook computer can be swapped with a commercial desktop computer.
The so-called "Expandable mobile architecture" is a concept derived from the above mentioned principle and focusing on its powerful expandability, and thus users can manage to expand their desired functions. The multibay allows a hot swap of different peripherals, and an integration of platforms to satisfy different requirements, and the multifunctional docking station facilitates the installation and removal of various externally connected devices of the notebook computer.
However, if the multifunctional docking station is locked by a lock (such as a cable lock comprises of a lock head and a fixing cable extended outwardly from an end of the lock head), the multifunctional docking station can be prevented from being stolen by others, but the notebook computer installed on the multifunctional docking station can be released from the multifunctional docking station by a release button, so that the notebook computer can be loosened from the multifunctional docking station. Therefore, the notebook computer of the multifunctional docking station can be taken away or stolen by other people and thus causing tremendous damages to the user.
Even though a locking mechanism for simultaneously locking the multifunctional docking station and the notebook computer has been designed, the locking mechanism is relatively complicated and comes with a high cost. Therefore, finding a way of improving the foregoing shortcomings is an important issue for manufacturers to overcome.

Locking link rod structure for a docking station


A motor terminal portion structure is provided which can satisfactorily drain the water in an insulating member surrounding the outer circumference of a terminal and prevent water from entering the insulating member, in addition to allowing the insulating member to be commoditized without being influenced by motor layout. A motor terminal portion structure includes an insulator that is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the outer circumference of a terminal and is secured to a bracket. A drain hole is provided to establish communication between the inside and outside of the insulator. A flange portion shields an opening of the drain hole on the outside of the insulator. A plurality of the drain holes are disposed around the terminal. The outer side surface of the insulator and the inside surface of the flange portion are each formed in regular polygon so as to conform to each other. A portion of the flange portion facing vertically downward in an on-board state is formed as a notch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal portion structure of a motor mounted on a vehicle.
2. Description of Background Art
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3027900, a conventional terminal structure is configured such that a dish-like insulator (insulating member) is attached to a terminal of an alternator (motor) and is formed with drainage slits (drain holes) at four outer circumferential positions thereof.
Draining the water in the insulating member through the drain holes needs to expose at least part of the drain holes through an insulating cap attached to the insulating member. If the exposed part of the drain holes faces upward in terms of the motor layout; however, water may enter the insulating member through the drain hole.
In this case, it is conceivable to change the positions of the drain holes of the insulating member in accordance with the motor layout. However, this makes it inevitable to provide a plurality of different types of insulating members, which is unpreferable in terms of commoditizing parts.


An electronic healthcare system for delivering medical services is described. The electronic healthcare systems can includes modules for accessing patient electronic medical records and ordering medical services. In response to a medical service order, a cost estimation and notification module can receive information associated with the medical service order. The cost estimation and notification module can determine the patient cost responsibility and quickly notify the patient of the costs. The patient can use the determined cost information to decide whether to move forward with the ordered medical tests.

Patient cost sharing has been identified as a key component to driving down the rate of healthcare inflation. For most health plans, cost sharing takes the form co-payments, deductibles and partial reimbursement of healthcare costs. The concept behind patient cost sharing is that when patients share in the costs they will make more prudent decisions in regards to utilizing their healthcare benefits.
In practice, patient cost sharing breaks down because the patient doesn't have the necessary information to make informed decisions related to healthcare costs. Typically, a patient is prescribed and receives medical services and then weeks later, is informed about their share of the costs. Thus, before receiving the prescribed treatments, the patient doesn't have the cost information necessary to make a decision on whether to receive the prescribed medical services and possibly request alternate less expensive treatments. For example, if cost information were available at the time of prescription, a patient might inquire as to whether a less expensive, but similarly effective treatment, is available.
In addition, based upon the patient cost responsibilities, the patient may simply not be able to afford a service or combination of services at a particular time. However, the patient may be able to afford a portion of the services now and then the rest later. Thus, if the cost information were available, the patient may be able to request the services be delayed or staggered in a manner that is consistent with their budget. In view of the above, new system and methods are desired which provide patients with cost sharing information earlier in the healthcare delivery process.

Systems and methods for healthcare fees transparency and collections at the time of service


In a sheet bundle printing system, a sheet is fed by peeling an uppermost sheet from a sheet bundle. A printing device has a printing head and a platen roller for printing on the sheet. An ink ribbon is fed through space between the printing head and the platen roller in parallel with the sheet at the time of printing thereon. The platen roller is moved back and forth relative to the printing head between a printing position in which the platen roller is urged into contact with the printing head and a contact-free position in which the platen roller is out of contact with the printing head. Ink-ribbon feeding is suspended in a manner interlocked with the relative movement of the printing head and the platen roller between the printing position and the contact-free position.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a sheet bundle printing system for printing on a piece of sheet (hereinafter simply referred to as "a sheet") to be peeled off out of a sheet bundle such as a sticky note bundle (i.e., a bundle of sticky notes temporarily held together by partially and removably adhering them together for use by peeling off one by one) and the like, and also relates to a sheet bundle printer.
2. Related Art
As a sticky note printer (sheet bundle printer) to which this kind of sheet bundle printing system is applied, there is known one in which the uppermost sticky note is turned over or flipped from the bundle of sticky notes set in position and in which the flipped sticky note is then held between a thermal head and a platen roller together with an ink ribbon for performing printing thereon. JP-A-2003-212367 is an example of related art.
In using a sticky note, there is a case where a sticky note is used as it is without printing thereon so that the user manually writes a memo thereon or adheres it on a particular page of a magazine and the like for the purpose of marking the page. The sticky note printer will thus have to eject the sticky note intact without printing thereon.
However, in case the sticky note is fed without printing thereon (i.e., empty feeding), the above-described conventional sticky note printer is so arranged that the sticky note and the ink ribbon are fed without driving the thermal head. Since a sticky note free from printing thereon is ejected in this manner, there is a problem in that the ink ribbon is wasted even in case of empty feeding.

Sheet bundle printing system and sheet bundle printer


A mobile communication controlling apparatus for controlling inter-frequency handover includes a required quality identifying unit configured to identify a quality required for data addressed to a mobile station, a transmission rate control unit configured to control a data transmission rate of a higher layer based on the identification result supplied from the required quality identifying unit, and an inter-frequency handover instruction unit configured to temporarily suspend signal transmission from a radio base station connected to the mobile communication controlling apparatus and allow the mobile station to perform inter-frequency measurement.

The present invention relates to a mobile communication controlling apparatus and an inter-frequency handover control method that allow a mobile station to correctly perform inter-frequency handover even in the real-time media servicing environment.
Third generation mobile systems, which conform to the proposed IMT-2000 standards, are discussed in the 3GPP (the Third Generation Partnership Project) Technical Specifications and Technical Reports.
One of the proposed IMT-2000 standards for third generation mobile networks is a WCDMA based standard. In WCDMA, the same frequencies are reused repeatedly in the cells of a cellular system, and accordingly, inter-frequency handover is unnecessary in the same cellular system. However, in considering concomitance with existing systems, handover between different carrier frequencies (including handover to another cell using a different frequency in the same system and handover to a cell of another system) is required. In view of such circumstances, the 3GPP proposes compressed mode transmission, which is a technique for realizing inter-frequency handover. See 3rd Generation Partnership Project Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network, 25.211 Physical channel and mapping of transport channels onto physical channels, September, 2002.
Explanation is made of the compressed mode. When a mobile station performs inter-frequency handover, a certain time period for switching frequencies and establishing synchronization is required. For this reason, in a portion of the time frame of the active radio link, transmission is suspended (i.e., signal transmission from a base station is temporarily off), and during which period, a different carrier frequency transmitted from a candidate radio base station is monitored. The data of the suspended time period are transmitted at a high rate as compressed frames during the next active period of time. The transmission rate and the link quality are maintained by increasing power. The compressed mode is a function of inter-frequency measurement on frequency bands of other cells for carrying out inter-frequency handover.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of compressed mode transmission. The timing of shifting to the compressed mode is determined by the network. The network transmits a parameter set required in the compressed mode to the mobile station. In the compressed mode, no data transmission to the mobile station is carried out during the transmission gap. In the compressed mode frame, transmission power is temporarily increased in order to prevent degradation of communication quality (such as the bit error rate (BET) or the block error rate (BLER)) due to fall of the gain during the suspended time period. The transmission gap can be repeated in the compressed mode. In addition, the type of the compression mode (defined by the number of time slots in a transmission gap, the time interval between transmission gaps, the number of repetitions of transmission gap, and other factors, all of which are given as variables) can be changed in response to a measuring request.
FIG. 2 shows an example of the uplink compressed mode frame format. In the uplink frame, the data channel (illustrated in the upper line) and the control channel (illustrated in the lower line) containing the pilot bits are I/Q multiplexed for each radio frame, and a transmission gap is inserted between the transmission frames.
FIG. 3 shows an example of the downlink compressed mode frame format. In the downlink frame, the data channel and the control channel are time-multiplexed. There are two types of downlink frame formats in the compressed mode. In type A compressed mode frame format, priority is given to maximizing the length of the transmission gap. In type B compressed mode frame format, priority is given to power control, and a transmission power control (TPC) slot is inserted in the transmission gap.
In the compressed mode, compressed frames are set to occur periodically because the data to be transmitted in a 10-milisecond radio frame have to be packed in a radio frame including the transmission gap. There are three schemes applicable to the compressed mode, as shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1SCHEMEOUTLINECOMPRESSED MODE BYThe number of transmission bits isPUNCTURINGreduced by a function of ratematching (puncturing). Thespreading factor in the ordinarymode is used in the compressedmode.COMPRESSED MODE BYThe spreading factor (SF) isREDUCING SPREADING BY 2changed such that the same number(SF/2)of bits as in the ordinary modecan be transmitted in the timeslot other than the transmissiongap.COMPRESSED MODE BYThe transport format combinationsHIGHER LAYER SCHEDULING(TFCs) are limited by higherlayers in accordance with thenumber of bits transmittable inthe time slot other than thetransmission gap. The SF in theordinary mode is used in thecompressed mode.
Meanwhile, JP 2003-78936A discloses a technique for reducing degradation of communications quality by reducing the compressed mode transmission as much as possible. In this publication, the radio network controller (RNC) instructs the mobile station to carry out the compressed mode only when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Thus, the compressed mode is implemented intermittently, unlike the continuing or periodic execution of the compressed mode.
With the above-described conventional techniques of CDMA mobile communications systems using multiple carrier frequencies, when a mobile station is going to carry out handover, the transmission mode is shifted to the compressed mode for allowing the inter-frequency measurement at the mobile station, while signal transmission from a base station is temporarily suspended. Accordingly, the amount of transmittable data is reduced in the meanwhile, and data transmission delays occur. For this reason, the compressed mode is unsuitable for streaming services (for downloading data and immediately reproducing the arriving data), such as Internet broadcasts, that do not accept variation or fluctuation in delay.

Mobile communication controlling apparatus and inter-frequency handover control method


A fluid-operated striker assembly includes a working cylinder and a striker piston slidably received in the working cylinder for executing working (forward) and return strokes. The striker piston delivers a blow to a tool bit during the working stroke when the striker piston is either in a limit position or in an advanced position which is beyond the limit position in the direction of the working stroke. A control arrangement applies an alternating fluid pressure to the striker piston to execute the working and return strokes. Further, a precontrol arrangement is provided for affecting the control arrangement dependent on whether the striker piston has exceeded its limit position. The precontrol arrangement causes the control arrangement to operate the striker piston with a normal working stroke as long as the striker piston delivers a blow to the tool bit in the limit position, and causes the control arrangement to operate the striker piston with a short working stroke--whose length is less than that of the normal working stroke--as long as the striker piston delivers a blow to the tool bit in the advanced position.

This invention relates to a fluid-operated striker assembly which has a striker piston movable in a working cylinder and adapted to strike a tool bit as well as a control system having a control plunger movable in a control valve. The striker piston has two piston faces of different sizes. The smaller piston face is effective in the direction of the return stroke and is continuously connected with a pressure conduit in which working pressure prevails. The larger piston face is effective in the direction of the working stroke (forward stroke) and is alternatingly connected by the control valve with the pressure conduit and with a depressurized return conduit. The control plunger has two control faces of different sizes, operating in opposite directions. The smaller control face which is effective in the direction of the return stroke position of the control plunger is continuously connected with the pressure conduit whereas the larger control face is, by means of a circumferential groove situated between the piston faces, alternatingly and only for certain periods connected with the pressure conduit and the depressurized return conduit.
A striker assembly of the above-outlined type is disclosed, for example, in German Patent No. 3,443,542 to which corresponds U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,854 issued Mar. 3, 1987. By using a particular holding or switching valve which is incorporated in the control conduit cooperating with the control system and which is alternatingly also connected with the return conduit, it is sought to be ensured that even in case of a reflection of the striking energy from the tool bit to the striker piston, such reflected energy is hydraulically regained whereby an increase of the striking frequency of the striker piston is achieved.
Fluid-operated striker assemblies, particularly hydraulic hammers, are generally used for breaking up rocks or concrete. For such an operation the kinetic energy of a striker piston is transmitted to the tool bit by delivering blows thereto by the striker piston, and the kinetic energy is converted to comminuting work at the tool bit tip. In case of relatively hard materials, only one part of the kinetic energy is converted to comminuting work, dependent upon the hardness of the material to be comminuted. The unconverted energy portion is reflected by the tool bit to the striker piston and may be used, with a suitable device, to increase the striking frequency. In contrast, in case of relatively soft materials, the striking (kinetic) energy is fully converted to comminuting work. The softer the material the greater the comminuting effect of the tool bit and the deeper the penetration of the tool bit into the material.
Processes in which the applied striking energy is higher than the energy required for the comminution are undesirable because of the resulting higher stresses on the striker assembly. The rapid adaptation of the striking energy to all operational conditions is a significant condition for a longer service life of the striker assembly and for an optimal comminution of material.

Fluid-operated striker assembly with automatic stroke length variation