A system for feeding and transporting documents includes a feeder stage and a transport stage. Documents are fed singly, in order, from a stack of documents in a hopper assembly. A flag/flag block arrangement provides a force to move the documents along the hopper floor toward the feeder and to feed a document with a presentation force. The flag block includes a horizontal element for concentrating the presentation force at a desired position at the feeder. The horizontal element has sufficient depth away from the feeder such that the documents are essentially free to expand, thereby concentrating the presentation force while reducing drag forces. The flag/flag block arrangement is useful, for example, when the system is used to process envelopes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to systems for feeding and transporting documents, to document hoppers used in these systems, and to adapting these systems for feeding envelopes and the like.
2. Background Art
A typical system for feeding and transporting documents includes a feeder in the document feeding portion of the system, and a series of roller pairs or belts in the document transporting portion of the system. In the feeding portion of the system, the feeder acts to separate and feed documents singly, in order, from a stack. In the transporting portion of the system, the roller pairs and/or belts convey the documents, one at a time, past other processing devices such as readers, printers, and sorters that perform operations on the documents. The feeder is typically a feed wheel, but may take other forms. Further, the components in the transporting portion of the system may take a variety of forms. An existing document feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,854. That patent describes a document feeder with a variable speed separator.
In existing systems for feeding and transporting documents, operations that depend on the position of the document are generally performed in the transport stage, or transporting portion of the system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,784 describes a document separation apparatus. That patent describes the downstream acceleration/deceleration of documents with pinch rollers to adjust document spacing. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,419,546; 5,437,375; 5,439,506; 5,509,648; 5,671,919; and 5,908,191 describe examples of other document operations.
As modern document handling devices are typically fitted with an automatic feeder mechanism to singly introduce documents into a track for further processing, a hopper is usually associated with the feeder so that the machine can load a number of documents to be processed. As feed rates increase, and feed mechanism reliability improves, there are advantages to making hopper capacity larger.
The difficulty with making hopper capacity larger is one of consistency. Document feeders need to have a supply of documents presented to the feeding mechanism in a consistent manner. This is a task of the document hopper. The variety of documents used in different applications make such consistent presentation difficult.
There is an ideal set of forces for feeding a document in a given feeder. The closer each document can be to this ideal set of forces, the better feeder performance will be. More specifically, the feeder must apply enough pinch force to allow the document to feed, but not so much as to result in the tearing apart of the document during feeding. As hopper capacity is increased, the variation in force against the stack between that needed to move a full hopper of documents and that needed to move the last few documents and provide an acceptable force to the document being fed is increased.
Typically, some form of mechanical intervention urges the document stack along in the hopper. An existing form of mechanical intervention used to urge the document stack along in the hopper toward the feeding mechanism applies a force to the document stack with a flag. Various approaches have been taken for driving the flag to produce the flag force or flag weight against the document stack.
Additional background information may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,474,637; 6,417,221; and 6,260,841.
Document processing systems are normally built to handle single thickness items, one at a time. Considerable effort (for example, double document detectors) goes into ensuring that only one thickness of paper is fed at a time. Further, a stack of single thickness items tends to be firm, and of consistent dimension.
In certain applications, it would be desirable to process envelopes in a document processing system. For example, automatic teller machine (ATM) envelopes could be imaged by the document processing system to capture information therefrom. In this way, it would not be necessary to copy the information from the envelopes to additional documents.
However, envelope stacks (for example, a stack of ATM envelopes) are spongy. This is due to the folded nature of the envelope construction. More specifically, the folded nature of the envelope construction changes the thickness of an envelope depending on location, and entrains air in the envelope stack because the folds are not of zero radius. Accordingly, envelope stacks are only processed with limited performance due to the fact that document processing systems are normally built to handle single thickness items.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an improved system for feeding and transporting documents that is capable of feeding envelopes and the like with improved performance.

Flag block for a document feeding system


A foot throttle for boats wherein an eccentric is rotated by operation of a foot pedal and wherein the eccentric is biased directly against an adjustable limiter thus eliminating imprecise positioning of the throttle caused by loose tolerances in the pedal mechanism which actuates the eccentric.

The use of foot operated throttles for boats is well known. Such throttles have found application in many types of boats but most particularly in high performance boats such as racing boats and more recently in high speed fishing boats commonly referred to as "Bass Boats". Bass boats are typically equipped with high performance outboard motors. In the past, these motors utilized rather simple fuel systems which included the common carburetor. Throttle positions of these motors were not required to be precise since throttle movements simply rotated a butterfly type valve in the carburetor. Idle speed on motors having carburetors has typically been controlled by a throttle stop mounted on the carburetor. Modern outboard motors however include a myriad of electronic sensors which control not only complicated fuel injection systems but other critical parameters such as ignition timing. Many of these operating parameters are controlled in accordance with throttle cable positions. Examples of such motors include those designated by the trademark "FICHT" which are manufactured by the Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC). These motors differ from older motors in that they have no throttle stop within the motor itself. The motors are provided with a single lever which precisely controls the position of both the throttle and shift cables. This factory original system provides a particularly precise control of the throttle cable position when the lever is placed in the idle position. When motors of this type are used on boats which require a foot controlled throttle, the throttle cable is, of course, attached to a foot controlled throttle rather than to the original factory control. In the past, these foot controlled throttle mechanisms were not required to be precisely built and therefore, for the sake of economy, were built having loose tolerances between their moving parts. The free play resulting from these tolerances created few problems in older motors having idle stops on the motors themselves. However, serious problems result when such controls are used in conjunction with modern "FICHT" or similar type motors wherein idle settings and many other operating parameters are controlled by the precise positioning of the throttle cable rather than by idle stops within the motor. On such motors even a small variation in the idle position of the throttle cable causes misalignment of electronic sensors which control a myriad of operational parameters. Examples of unacceptable problems resulting from such misalignment include: severe variations in idle speed; rough idle; improper air emission control; improper ignition timing; improper fuel injection; improper air mixtures and the sounding of warning alarms. In addition it is noted that the loose tolerances mentioned above become more severe as normal wear occurs. These loose tolerances also prevent the throttle cable from stopping in the same position from one actuation of the throttle to the next. This lack of repeatability of the throttle cable position, when an motor is returned to idle, worsens the problems stated above.
Testing has shown that the most effective means of combating this problem is a precise and adjustable throttle stop at the foot control rather than within the motor. Accordingly, the present invention provides a foot throttle having a unique cooperating throttle actuating and stop mechanism which effectively and inexpensively eliminates the difficulty of precise and repeatable throttle positioning particularly when the throttle is in an idle position.


A method of integrating the Modular Chiller System into an existing walk-in cooler includes the steps of 1.) selecting a portion of an existing walk-in cooler, 2.) installing walls and doors, by means known in the art, to define an existing space within the cooler 3.) positioning a frame assembly of refrigeration and electrical components on one of the interior walls, 4.) positioning a controller unit on an exterior wall and interfacing the controller unit to the frame assembly, and 5.) positioning a remote condenser unit and interfacing the condenser unit to the frame assembly.

Increased regulation in the food service industry has forced kitchens to meet new HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) requirements regarding the rapid cooling of prepared foods for storage by large scale food service operations. Such operations include, for example, commissaries, hospitals, schools, prisons and correctional institutions, airport in-flight kitchens, convention centers, hotel banquets, cruise ships, and business cafeterias, to name a few. The term "cook-chill" is often used to describe a process of cooking or preparing food (usually in large volume) and then chilling it for refrigerated storage, to be reheated and served at a later time, typically within a few days.
Efficient and rapid cooling of food generally prolongs storage life and therefore minimizes cooking and food preparation activities. This enables food preparation to be performed with a smaller staff and at convenient times, rather than requiring lengthy preparation before every mealtime. By employing a cook-chill process, large volumes of food can be prepared by skilled chefs and kitchen staff working ordinary day shifts, and the food can be readily available for night shift or weekend meals by simple reheating.
Rapid chilling is needed to prevent irreversible deterioration of prepared foods. When left at the warm "danger zone" (temperatures usually in the range of 45.degree. to 140.degree.), cooked food deteriorates quickly due to the action of organisms and enzymic and chemical reactions. A reduction in the storage temperature slows the exponential multiplication of bacteria and other microorganisms and also slows the chemical and enzymic reactions. At normal refrigeration temperatures reactions and bacteria growth still take place, but at a much slower rate.
Rapid chilling of cooked food maximizes shelf life without sacrificing its quality and physical appearance. Existing food safety guidelines require that certain hot food products be chilled from cooking temperatures of 140.degree. F. to 40.degree. F. in a specific period of time, typically about 90 minutes. A standard refrigerated room or storage refrigerator/freezer is designed for storage of food products, and is incapable of lowering the food product's initial temperature with sufficient rapidity to ensure against bacterial growth and chemical reactions.
All commercial kitchens have one or more cold storage units including a walk-in cooler or a walk-in freezer or a combination of both. However, space limitations often limit the options for location of rapid chilling devices. Stand alone rapid chiller systems are often too large and sacrifices must be made of the size of the chilling system for installation in a limited space.
It is therefore needed a Modular Chiller System that can be retrofitted to an existing cooler configuration through a seamless modular integration.
It is further needed a standalone modular chiller system, more portable, and independent of the larger refrigeration system.

Modular chiller system and method for retrofit


A radar device is provided, which includes a first sector radar and a second sector radar, each including a code generator that generates two code sequences, a multiplier that multiplies the two code sequences by a coefficient sequence, wherein the two coefficient sequences of the first and second sector radars, respectively, are orthogonal to each other, a transmission signal generator that modulates the orthogonalized two code sequences, and an RF transmitter that transmits the modulated signal including the two orthogonalized two code sequences. At least one of the two orthogonal coefficient sequences for the first and second sector radars, respectively, includes one or more negative coefficients. The two orthogonal coefficient sequences include coefficients, which are identical to each other, in a first transmission cycle, and include coefficients, which are different from each other, in a second transmission cycle different from the first transmission cycle.

A radar device radiates a radio wave from a measurement point into a space and receives a signal of a reflected wave reflected from a target, to measure the distance, direction or the like from the measurement point to the target. Particularly, in recent years, a radar device has been developed that is capable of detecting a pedestrian or the like as well as an automobile as a target by performing high resolution measurement using a radio wave of a short wavelength such as a micro wave or a millimeter wave.
Further, the radar device receives a mixed signal of a reflected wave from a target in a short distance and a reflected wave from a target in a long distance. In particular, in a case where a range sidelobe occurs by the signal of the reflected wave from the target in a short distance, the range sidelobe and a main lobe of the signal of the reflected wave from the target in a long distance may be mixedly present. In this case, detection accuracy when the radar device detects the target in a long distance may be deteriorated.
Further, in a case where an automobile and a pedestrian are present in the same distance from the measurement point, the radar device may receive a mixed signal of signals of respective reflected waves from the automobile and the pedestrian having different radar cross sections (RCS). In general, it is said that the radar cross section of the pedestrian is lower than the radar cross section of the automobile. Thus, for example, even though the automobile and the pedestrian are present in the same distance from the measurement point, it is necessary for the radar device to appropriately receive the reflected wave from the pedestrian as well as the automobile.
Thus, in the radar device in which high resolution measurement is necessary with respect to a plurality of targets, it is necessary to perform transmission of a pulse wave or a pulse modulated wave having an auto-correlation characteristic of a low range sidelobe level (hereinafter, referred to as a "low range sidelobe characteristics"). Further, in the radar device, it is necessary to secure such a wide reception dynamic range as to receive signals of reflected waves of various reception levels according to the distance or type of the target.
With regard to the pulse wave or the pulse modulated wave having the above-mentioned low range sidelobe characteristics, a pulse compression radar that transmits a high frequency transmission signal using complementary codes has been proposed in the related art. Here, the pulse compression refers to a technique in which the radar pulse-modulates or phase-modulates a pulse signal and transmits the result using a signal of a wide pulse width, and demodulates (compresses) a received signal in signal processing after reception of a reflected wave and converts the result into a signal of a narrow pulse width, to thereby equivalently increase reception power. According to the pulse compression, it is possible to increase a detection distance of the target, and to enhance distance estimation accuracy for the detection distance.
The complementary codes is formed using a plurality of, for example, two complementary code sequences (an, bn). Further, the complementary codes has a characteristic that, in respective auto-correlation calculation results of one complementary code sequence an and the other complementary code sequence bn, by causing delay times τ (second) to match with each other and adding the respective auto-correlation calculation results, the range sidelobe becomes zero. Here, a parameter n is 1, 2, . . . , L. A parameter L represents a code sequence length, or simply a code length.
A method of generating complementary codes is disclosed in NPL 1, for example. Here, a simple method of generating complementary codes will be described with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a general generation procedure of a code sequence of complementary codes. As shown in FIG. 12, sub code sequences (c, d) having a code length L=2Z-1 formed using an element 1 or an element −1 are generated from disclosures in the fourth row and the fifth row, and code length complementary code sequences (a, b) having a code length L=2Z are generated from disclosures in the sixth row and the seventh row.
Here, one complementary code sequence a is obtained by connecting the sub code sequence c and the sub code sequence d. The other complementary code sequence b is obtained by connecting the sub code sequence c and a sub code sequence −d.
In FIG. 12, the code sequences a and b respectively represent complementary code sequences, and the code sequences c and d respectively represent sub code sequences that form the complementary code sequences. Further, a parameter Z defines a code length L of the respective generated complementary code sequences (a, b).
The characteristic of such complementary codes will be described with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating characteristics of complementary codes. (a) in FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an auto-correlation value calculation result of one complementary code sequence an. (b) in FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an auto-correlation value calculation result of the other complementary code sequence bn. (c) in FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a value obtained by adding the auto-correlation value calculation results of two complementary code sequences (an, bn). The code length L of the complementary codes used in FIG. 13 is 128.
The auto-correlation value calculation result of one complementary code sequence an among the complementary code sequences (an, bn) is calculated according to Formula (1). The auto-correlation value calculation result of the other complementary code sequence bn among the complementary code sequences (an, bn) is calculated according to Formula (2). A parameter R represents an auto-correlation value calculation result. Here, in a case where n>L or n<1, the complementary code sequences an and bn, become zero (that is, in n>L or n<1, an=0 and bn=0). Asterisk * represents a complex conjugate operator.
                    [                  Exp          .                                                    1                ]                                                                                R            aa                                          (            τ            )                          =                              ∑                          n              =              1                        L                                                        a              n                                                  a                              n                +                τ                            *                                                          (        1        )                                [                  Exp          .                                                    2                ]                                                                                R            bb                                          (            τ            )                          =                              ∑                          n              =              1                        L                                                        b              n                                                  b                              n                +                τ                            *                                                          (        2        )
As shown in FIG. 13(a), in an auto-correlation value calculation result Raa(τ) of the complementary code sequence an calculated according to Formula (1), a peak occurs when a delay time (or shift time) τ is zero, and a range sidelobe is present when the delay time τ is not zero. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 13(b), in an auto-correlation value calculation result Rbb(τ) of the complementary code sequence b calculated according to Formula (2), a peak occurs when the delay time τ is zero, and a range sidelobe is present when the delay time τ is not zero.
As shown in FIG. 13(c), in an added value of the auto-correlation value calculation results (Raa(τ), Rbb(τ)), a peak occurs when the delay time τ is zero, and a range sidelobe is not present and zero is obtained when the delay time τ is not zero. Hereinafter, the peak occurring when the delay time τ is zero is referred to as a "main lobe". This relationship is expressed by Formula (3). In (a) to (c) of FIG. 13, the transverse axis represents a delay time (τ) in auto-correlation value calculation, and the longitudinal axis represents a calculated auto-correlation value calculation result.[Exp. 3]Raa(τ)+Rbb(τ)≠0,when τ=0Raa(τ)+Rbb(τ)=0,when τ≠0  (3)
In a case where a mixed signal of reflected waves from a target in a short distance and a target in a long distance is received, in general, it is known that as the code length of the codes passed through pulse compression is increased, a necessary reception dynamic range is increased.
However, using the above-mentioned complementary codes, it is possible to decrease a peak sidelobe in a shorter code length. Thus, in the complementary codes using a short code length, in a case where the mixed signal of the reflected waves from the target in a short distance and the target in a long distance is received, it is also possible to decrease a reception dynamic range.
Further, as an example of the above-mentioned radar device, a configuration has been disclosed in which when a target is detected, a plurality of radars is provided that respectively measures individual measurement areas. In the related art, a wide area radar device has been proposed that individually controls the plurality of radars and detects the target in each measurement area.
Hereinafter, each radar that respectively measures the individual measurement area when the target is detected is referred to as a "sector radar". The respective measurement areas of the respective sector radars are individually separated, but may be partially overlapped with each other in a case where the measurement areas are close to each other.
As mentioned above, in the wide area radar device in the related art, in a case where the measurement areas of the respective sector radars are close to each other, interference occurs between the transmission signals transmitted from the respective sector radars. In a case where the interference occurs, the wide area radar device in the related art causes a problem that position measurement estimation accuracy of the target is deteriorated.
With regard to the above problem, in order to reduce the occurrence of interference between the sector radars in the wide area radar device in the related art, the following methods have been studied.
A first method is to divide a frequency band used by each sector radar into a plurality of different frequency bands or frequency bands (sub-bands) of a predetermined narrow band and to perform FDM (frequency division multiplexing) for a transmission signal to transmit the transmission signal.
According to the first method, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of interference between the respective sector radars by using the different frequency bands, but the following problem arises. That is, in the former case where the plurality of different frequency bands is used, there is a problem that a large amount of frequency resources are necessary. Further, in the latter case where the frequency bands of the narrow band are used, there is a problem that time resolution of position measurement estimation (corresponding to distance resolution) of a target in each sector radar is reduced.
A second method is to perform CDM (code division multiplexing) for a transmission signal using a plurality of code sequences having low cross-correlation to transmit the transmission signal, in each sector radar. According to the second method, addition of new frequency bands and sub-bands is not necessary, and thus, time resolution of position measurement estimation of a target in each sector radar is not reduced.
However, in a case where the transmission signal passes through CDM for each sector radar for transmission, the transmission signal is asynchronously received from a different sector radar, and as a result, interference between codes occurs between the respective sector radars. Further, in general, an auto-correlation characteristic of a code sequence having low cross-correlation is not superior, and as a result, a range sidelobe becomes large.
Thus, in the radar device in the related art, there is a problem that detection performance is deteriorated in a case where a mixed signal of a plurality of reflected waves from a target present in a short distance and a target present in a long distance is separated to detect each target.
A third method is to use a perfect complementary sequence system disclosed in PTL 1, in which low range sidelobe characteristics of complementary codes is satisfied and interference between codes occurring between respective sector radars is reduced.
Two radar systems A and B disclosed in PTL 1 perform transmission and reception, using different coded pulses that are P1 and P2 in the radar system A and Q1 and Q2 in the radar system B as coded pulses of perfect complementary sequences, and using a carrier wave of the same frequency band.
In this case, in a case where a plurality of coded pulses transmitted from a host radar system is received, a plurality of auto-correlation function signals RP1P1(τ) and RP2P2(τ) or RQ1Q1(τ) and RQ2Q2(τ) respectively corresponding to the plurality of coded pulses P1 and P2 or Q1 and Q2 is output. On the other hand, in a case where the host radar system receives a plurality of coded pulses transmitted from a different radar system, a plurality of cross-correlation function signals RQ1P1(τ) and RQ2P2(τ) or PP1Q1(τ) and RP2Q2(τ) respectively corresponding to the plurality of coded pulses transmitted from the different radar system is output.
From a characteristic of the perfect complementary sequences, the sum (RP1P1(τ)+RP2P2(τ) or RQ1Q1(τ)+RQ2Q2(τ)) of a plurality of outputs of auto-correlation function signals is 0 when τ is not 0, and the sum (RQ1P1(τ)+RQ2P2(τ) or PP101(τ)+RP2Q2(τ)) of a plurality of outputs of cross-correlation function signals is 0 regardless of τ. Thus, with respect to the plurality of coded pulses (P1 and P2 or Q1 and Q2) transmitted from the host radar system, the reception side performs a reception process of calculating the plurality of corresponding auto-correlation function signals to thereby obtain compressed pulses with no sidelobe. Similarly, in a case where the plurality of coded pulses transmitted from the different radar system is received, signal components of the different radar system may be set to 0 in a process of calculating the sum of the auto-correlation function signals. Thus, it is possible to provide a plurality of radar systems with no mutual interference even using the same frequency band in adjacent frequency bands.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


The present invention provides a process for removing ammonia as an aqueous salt solution from an acid gas comprising ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. A strong acid, such as sulfuric acid, is used as a scrubbing agent to convert ammonia to an ammonium salt. Control of pH and stripping in combination with reboiler or evaporators reduces hydrogen sulfide concentration. The ammonium salt is produced as an aqueous solution, which may crystallized to form a solid product. The ammonium salt solution or solid may be used as a fertilizer.

Fluid streams comprising hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are produced in a number of industrial processes. For example, "sour water", which comprises hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, is generated in refinery processes through various water wash processes. Sour water is stripped with steam to remove hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, generating "sour water stripper gas" (SWS gas) that typically contains about equal amounts of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and water, although may contain up to 50% by volume ammonia in addition to water vapor, hydrogen sulfide and trace hydrocarbons.
In most refineries the SWS gas is treated in a Claus sulfur recovery unit (SRU) in which ammonia is reduced to nitrogen and hydrogen. The potentially valuable fixed nitrogen content of SWS gas is not only lost in this process, but also the operation of a SRU is negatively affected by the presence of ammonia in the feed (i.e., SWS gas). The negative effects to a SRU include increased air demand in an oxidation step, need for higher furnace temperature, reduced unit capacity and higher salt formation.
Alternatively, SWS gas may be treated in spent acid recovery (SAR) plants with conventional furnace technology. In these processes, the ammonia in SWS gas is converted to nitrogen and NOX. Thus, it is generally expected that the presence of ammonia will increase NOX generation and reduce capacity of a SAR plant.
Coke ovens also produce a fluid stream comprising hydrogen sulfide and ammonia as hot, "raw" coke oven gas. "Raw" coke oven gas may be conditioned through several steps to yield a gas that can be used as a clean fuel. "Raw" coke oven gas comprises ammonia, which, due to its corrosive nature, must be removed. Ammonia is typically removed by contacting the raw coke oven gas with sulfuric acid, yielding ammonium sulfate.
More modern processes for ammonia removal from coke oven gas include washing (scrubbing) with water into which ammonia, in addition to hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen cyanide, if present, dissolve, thus removing the contaminants from the coke oven gas. The resulting scrubbing solution is transferred to an ammonia still in which steam is used to strip the ammonia from the solution. Ammonia vapor from the still may be processed to form ammonium sulfate, i.e., by reacting with sulfuric acid. Ammonia vapor may alternatively be condensed to form a strong ammonia solution, incinerated, or catalytically converted to nitrogen and hydrogen, which are then recycled back into the coke oven gas. The incineration of the ammonia vapors is usually not an option in areas where environmental laws restrict the emission of NOX.
Kresnyak et al., in EP 0 857 509 A1, disclose a process for scrubbing ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from a fluid acid stream, including recovering the ammonia as ammonium sulfate. Kresnyak et al. disclose treating the stream with sulfuric acid to remove hydrogen sulfide from the stream and convert ammonia present in the stream to ammonium sulfate. Kresnyak et al. suggest using an optional charcoal filter to remove residual hydrogen sulfide and hydrocarbons from the ammonium sulfate solution. Rigorous removal of the hydrogen sulfide from the ammonium sulfate stream by charcoal filtration to insure absence of any hydrogen sulfide odor in the ammonium sulfate product is expensive and challenging.
It is desirable to have a process to separate ammonia from fluid streams comprising hydrogen sulfide and ammonia in a useful form and to reduce residual hydrogen sulfide levels in the separated ammonia to below the odor threshold (less than about 0.1 mg/Mg). It is also desirable to minimize NOX generation from conventional SAR plants, increase capacity and reliability of existing SR and SAR plants, and eliminate premature salt formation from ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide in SR units. The present invention provides such a process.

Process for scrubbing ammonia from acid gases comprising ammonia and hydrogen sulfide


A system and method of searching a database in which documents of different languages are included. The system includes a synonym or keyword dictionary which is bi-directional and allows for translation of keywords between a first language and other languages. The translated words keywords for the document are stored in an inverted index which is then used for searching, either in a selected language, a second language or in all languages, as determined by the user. This use of multiple searching and a translated synonym dictionary avoids the need for translation of the entire document and avoids inaccuracies which may result from translations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of searching a database using search term(s) entered by a user. More particularly, the present invention is a system and method for searching on a database including material in different languages where the search term(s) are entered in one of the languages where the database need not be translated into the different languages.
2. Background Art
Various methods have been proposed for searching a database wherein the database includes material in multiple languages. One approach is to translate the entire database into the language in which a search term is entered or the language of the user. However, this could involve a large amount of translation for a sizable database (and multiple translations if the database is used by users in different languages). Further, each process of translating a document has the potential for losing (or distorting) some of the meaning of the original text.
For these reasons, it is desirable to avoid translating the documents to allow for a search in a particular language.
Another approach is to use synonym list and apply it to the search term(s) entered in one language. That is, the text of the documents in the database remain in the original language and synonyms in each language for each search term(s) are used for the search of the database. This system may work in some cases but is undesirable in other cases because considering all of synonyms in the different languages could lead to incorrect results. The word for "network" in Spanish is "red" and a search on "network" which blindly translates the search term would incorrectly find English documents which include the color "red".
Further, some of the documents include text in one language and key words presented in a different language to avoid changing the meaning. Thus, it is desirable to search a database which includes these terms but would not be effective to search only for the translated form of the word.
As will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art, the process of translating and searching in multiple languages can consume substantial computing resources. Many of the multi-language database searching techniques require a powerful computer or take an inordinate amount of time to process a single search, the amount depending on the size of the database, the number of supported languages and the nature of the queries. However, the computing resources have a cost associated with them, either in requiring a larger or faster system or in terms of tying up the computer while a large task is running to the exclusion of other users. Further, a search which takes a long period of time may prevent the user from interactively modifying the search to obtain meaningful results. Accordingly, it is desirable to avoid using large computing resources.
Accordingly, existing systems methods for searching databases have undesirable disadvantages and limitations which will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the following description of the present invention.

International Business Machines Corporation


A foam electrode comprising surface treatment by the steps of: 1) impregnating soft compressible polymeric foams with a conductive coating via sequential infiltration synthesis and 2) functionalizing the chemically altered voids with an ultrathin redox coating to enhance capacitive deionization (CDI). The redox coating will allow treated foam to absorb ions under the application of a bias, and mechanical compression/decompression. The CDI apparatus uses the void volume of the foam in the uncompressed state to flow liquids through it while the compressed state is used to enhance desalination by limiting the diffusion pathways for the ions to find an adsorption surface.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) has been identified as a cost-effective approach for desalination, particularly for brackish water with up to 0.3 wt % salt. CDI operates on the principle of electrosorption of ions into the electric double layer of high surface area conductive (typically carbon) electrodes. CDI devices are commercially available from a number of domestic and international suppliers; however, industrial adoption of CDI has been hindered by the low energy efficiency of CDI versus reverse osmosis (RO) for higher salinity feedwaters and the high cost of ion exchange membranes used in CDI devices. Further growth necessitates electrode development to improve energy efficiency and eliminate the need for expensive ion exchange membranes. Towards this end, we develop electrodes with high salt sorption capacities, high ion selectivity, and minimal diffusion overpotential. Commercial CDI devices employ high surface area carbon. Carbon is appealing because it is electrically conductive, has high surface area (exceeding 1000 m2/g), and has long cycling stability. However, the gravimetric specific capacitance of carbon is low (10-100 F/g), which requires a greater mass of carbon for appreciable ion removal, leading to thicker (mm+) nanoporous electrodes. Diffusion through these thick nanoporous electrodes limits performance and leads to energy loss from diffusion overpotential.
While much focus has been on improving CDI, traditional materials and devices have faced a tradeoff between capacity (adsorption) and flow-through (free volume). As materials increased in surface area, increasing capacity, the relative free volume and the flow through the material was restricted. Thus, there is a need for a material that overcomes this restriction, providing the benefits of both high capacity and high flow-through.


There are provided a recombinant silk protein derived from sea anemones, a method for producing the same, and a composition for preparing a silk fiber including same. The recombinant silk protein derived from sea anemones has sequence features similar to genetic information of a silk protein derived from spiders and silkworms. Also, a large amount of recombinant silk protein derived from sea anemones may be produced from a transformant and it has good physical properties such as strength and elasticity. Therefore, the recombinant silk protein derived from sea anemones can be usefully applied in various industrial fields in which natural silk protein can be applied, and it is expected to create new industrial fields based on its distinctive mechanical properties.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recombinant silk protein derived from sea anemones, a method for producing the same, and a composition for preparing a silk fiber including same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Natural silk protein materials have been used as general materials for clothes for a long period of time, and may also be used as next-generation highly functional industrial materials because natural silk proteins have good biocompatibility, superior elasticity, and physical strength, and are capable of being formed into various forms such as powder, a membrane, a porous body, or gel, and can be chemically modified from natural proteins.
It known that the silk proteins have so far mainly been produced by silkworms and spiders.
In the case of silkworm silk protein, conventional production of textiles in which silkworms can be raised and 5 kg of silk protein can be produced from about 1,500,000 of silkworms in an area of 300 m2 has been widely used. Further, the natural silkworm silk protein may be used for cosmetic materials, an enzyme immobilization support, materials for cell cultures, or industrial materials such as artificial skin, because it is a human-friendly material which does not cause immunoreaction or allergic reaction. However, there is a minor limitation in using the silkworm silk protein for industrial materials because it has insufficient durability, that is, strength. Thus, various studies aimed at improving physical properties of the silkworm silk protein is underway. For example, there is research aimed at separating silk fibroin, a major component of silkworm silk protein, based on molecular weight, and a function thereof, research into preparation of a fine body of silkworm silk protein and skin affinity thereof, research aimed at improving physical properties through blending of a silkworm silk protein and a chemical synthetic polymer, and research into mixing a silkworm silk protein and a natural glucose-based polymer compound.
In the case of spider silk protein, since natural spider silk protein was found to have very good physical properties such as durability and elasticity, research into using the spider silk protein as industrial materials has been performed actively. However, it is known that it is impossible to raise spiders because they eat each other, and it is impossible to separate and produce natural silk protein like silkworm silk protein because the amount of silk protein produced from spiders is very small. Therefore, much research into spider silk protein has focused on introducing genes of the spider silk protein to various protein expression systems to produce a recombinant protein, and much effort has been attempted to perform mass production of a spider silk protein in E-coli, yeast, plant cells, animal cells, a gene-transplanted animal, or the like. On the whole, due to intensive research and investment since 2000, research into spider silk protein has recently begun to bear fruit, but genes of spider silk protein include repeated DNA sequences and repeated specific amino acid sequences such as glycine, alanine, or serine, which results in difficulty in producing natural silk protein materials by recombination. Even when the spider silk protein whose specific sequence is only partially expressed is mass produced, the produced material may be made into the form of yarn, but the physical properties are largely insufficient compared to those of natural spider silk protein.
Therefore, based on an understanding of the generic properties and physical properties of natural silkworm and spider silk protein, methods for mass production of a protein with such sequence features have been studied. Further, much effort has been made to search for new natural silk protein materials and secure an original patent thereof. From such a viewpoint, it is reported that ant and bee silk proteins have gene sequence features similar to silkworm or spider silk protein, and new silk protein materials in which genes with properties of a natural silk protein are redesigned are being designed.
Meanwhile, sea anemone is the general name of an animal of order Actiniaria which belongs in Cnidaria, phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa. Some sea anemones may dwell in the sea and attach to reef, but others may dwell in the sand or move using a pedal disc. Further, the sea anemone may float through a pedal disc having a column shape or swim by moving its body or tentacles. The sea anemone may eat floating planktons or even a larger fish. The sea anemone captures prey using many cnidocytes on tentacles in which toxic materials such as tetramin are discharged. Types of sea anemone include red rock anemone, coral anemone, or the like. The body includes an open mouth in the middle and several tentacles which are flexible muscle, cylindrical, and hollow. The body has a length of 1.5 to 5 cm and various widths. The color of the body is white, green, blue, orange, red, or the like. Most sea anemones are dioecious and reproduce sexually. Also, most sea anemones have external fertilization, but some species are ovoviviparous. Up to now, about 1,000 species of the sea anemone are known worldwide, and they each dwell independently without forming a colony, which is characteristically different from other animals that belong to class Anthozoa.
Species dwelling in the sea have not been investigated on the level of genes and proteins, and thus research into production of silk protein from these species has been almost non-existent. Therefore, when a method of producing a recombinant silk protein from many sea anemones dwelling in the sea is studied, it is thought that the recombinant silk protein may be substituted for silk protein derived from spiders and silkworms in the related art. Therefore, there is need for development of a recombinant silk protein derived from sea anemones.

Recombinant silk protein derived from sea anemones, method for manufacturing same, and composition for manufacturing silk fibers including same

POSTECH ACADEMY-INDUSTRY FOUNDATION POHANG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A mobile device includes a housing having a transceiver configured to transmit and/or receive a signal. A stand attachable to the housing has a profile that increases stability of the housing in a resting position. The stand may also be attachable to a further housing such as an interface device configured for connection or attachment to the housing of the mobile device. The stand may include a first portion connectable to the wireless mobile device, a second portion, and an antenna having holes and being sandwiched between the first portion and the second portion. The antenna holes may be configured for allowing passage of liquid material during molding together the first portion, the second portion and the antenna to form a molded stand. The antenna may be operationally coupled to the transceiver. A base plate having hole(s) and connector(s) may also be sandwiched between the first portion and the antenna.

Mobile devices have increased exponentially, and include various electronic devices, such as mobile phones, mobile computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), remote controller, scanners, etc. Mobile devices often communicate wirelessly to other devices through an antenna to exchange information. For example, wireless scanner devices often referred to as scanning guns, such as used at retail stores, warehouses and the like to scan items, have an antenna used to wirelessly receive and transmit (scanned) information. For example, a scanning gun may scan or read/receive information from tags including bar codes (for optical scanner) or RFID tags (for wireless tag scanning). The tags may be attached to various products and include information related to the attached product, such as identification of the product, price of the product, storage location of the product in a warehouse or a shelf, etc.
Typically, the antenna is part of the wireless mobile device. However, in such cases, the likelihood of interference with circuits of the mobile device, e.g., a scanning gun, increases during reception or transmission of signals by the antenna of the scanning gun. To reduce such interference, the antenna may be external to the mobile device and attached by a cable. However, external antennas are typically not well protected and thus may break or not withstand harsh environment or use. Accordingly, there is a need for improved wireless mobile devices where such interference is reduced via properly locating the antenna and yet be unobtrusive, as well as making the antenna and the wireless device withstand harsh environment and use.


A pivoting lever has tongue-like movable pieces formed in a squared U-shape on both side faces of a cover member, and locking claws at intermediate parts of the movable piece. A pivoting lever is pivotally supported on a support pin of the cover member. Circular arc-shaped cam grooves are formed in a lever body part, and locking holes engaging locking claws are formed in the lever body part. When a mating housing is pressed into a housing and the lever is pivoted, the cam grooves drive a driven pin and pull the mating housing toward the housing. The lever contacts the locking claws, and pivots the locking claws while pushing them down. When the housings are joined, the locking claws returned to the original positions fitted into the locking holes, setting the lever to a locked state, thereby disabling further rotation and reverse rotation of the lever.

Patent Document 1 discloses a known lever type connector. The lever type connector comprises a pair of housings which are detachably coupled with each other. On of the housings has installed therein a number of female type connecting terminals and the other housing also has installed therein a number of male type connecting terminals which may be connected to respective female type connecting terminals. A rotating lever having a cam slit is pivotally provided on the one housing, and a driven pin which may be engaged with the cam slit is formed on the other housing.
As shown in FIG. 7, the known connector includes two housings 1 and 4, and the male housing 1 having the male type connecting terminals installed therein comprises a rotating lever 3 having a cam slit 2 formed therein. The other female housing 4 having the female type connecting terminals installed therein comprises a driven pin 5 which is to be engaged with the cam slit 2 of the rotating lever 3.
At first the male housing 1 and female housing 4 are opposed to each other and the driven pin 5 is placed in opposition to an opening of the cam slit 2 as illustrated in FIG. 8, and then the rotating lever 3 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, the driven pin 5 is pulled toward the male housing 1 by the engagement of the driven pin 5 with the cam slit 2. In this manner, the female housing 4 is easily inserted into the male housing 1 without requiring a large force and at the same time the female type connecting terminals are coupled with corresponding male type connecting terminals.
In order to lock the male and female housings 1 and 4 in the engaged condition, a claw portion 6 is provided on the rotating lever 3 and a cooperating receiving portion 7 is provided on the female housing 4. When the claw portion 6 is engaged with the receiving portion 7, the rotating lever 3 could not be accidentally rotated in the clockwise direction, and thus the engaged condition of the housings 1 and 4 is remained.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Kokai 2003-123896


A preferred catalytically active solid acid material, zeolite, forms the basis of a washcoat effective for treating diesel-fueled engine exhaust to reduce emission of particulate. In a preferred method, hydrocarbon in exhaust is cracked and oxidized in the presence of a zeolite/silica washcoat mixture catalyzed with precious metal. A preferred Y-type zeolite provides acidic (cationic) sites having releasable cations which are exchanged with precious metal to form catalyzed zeolite. A preferred method of making the catalyzed zeolite/silica washcoat is provided, whereby colloidal silica is disposed as a barrier over the catalyzed washcoat, limiting exposure of catalyst to sulfur constituents in the exhaust.

In diesel-fueled engines, it is necessary to treat particles typically on the order of 0.1 micron in diameter. Each of the particles contains a solid, carbonaceous core with a soluble organic coating or shell of condensable hydrocarbon. Much of the hydrocarbon condenses on the core as the exhaust leaves the engine and the temperature drops.
The condensable hydrocarbon typically consists of relatively high molecular weight (heavy) hydrocarbon molecules in the range of C.sub.5 to C.sub.45, with correspondingly high boiling points, and condensable at about room temperature. Depending on the fuel and engine conditions, the condensable hydrocarbon comprises 20% to 80% of the mass of the particulate.
Diesel particulate can be collected and removed from an exhaust gas stream by various types of on-board filters or traps. These devices soon become clogged and must be cleaned or replaced. In order to remove collected particulate, the traps are heated by special heaters to temperatures greater than the exhaust temperature. This approach to treating particulate is technically difficult and costly, and introduces a variety of other problems. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved, relatively inexpensive method for treating diesel exhaust particulate to reduce the amount of particulate.

Catalyst for treatment of diesel exhaust particulate


A computer system having a function of interrupting lewd/violent programs which includes a read-only-memory for storing an initialization program and a security grade setup program; a non-volatile memory device for storing a security grade which is a program classification code selected by a user for designating an unacceptable program content contained in an application program, and a password for identifying the user when changing the security grade; and a controller for controlling execution of an application program according to the security grade of the application program and the security grade stored in the non-volatile memory device during initialization, and for controlling the changing of the security grade stored in the non-volatile memory device during the security grade setup, when the user inputs a password that corresponds to the password stored in the non-volatile memory device. As a result, the computer system is able to limit access to application programs that contain unacceptable levels of graphic sex, violence, and strong language.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a computer system having a function for intercepting lewd/violent programs, and more particularly, relates to a computer system capable of executing application programs according to a set security grade and an application program grade and a method for controlling access of such application programs.
2. Related Art
Computer programs available for home multi-media computer systems today, like their predecessor video programs for viewing on television receivers, video cassette recorders, and cable boxes, vary greatly in their content of such things as violence, nudity, depictions of sexual acts, strong language, or other things many people may regard as obscene or otherwise objectionable. Many pornographic or extremely violent computer game programs intended for adults have become readily accessible to unintended audiences such as teenagers and children, and increasingly unmanageable by distributors and parents.
Unlike television receivers, video cassette recorders, and cable boxes in which parental control systems and censorship supervision systems are available for parents to control the video viewing of undesirable programs however, home computer systems have not provided parents with a comprehensive control over pornographic or extremely violent computer programs which may be accessed by teenagers and children left unattended at home. For example, contemporary parental control techniques for television receivers and cable boxes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,160 for Automatic Censorship Of Video Programs issued to Vogcl, U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,983 for Apparatus And Method For Total Parental Control Of Television Use issued to Kwoh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,942 for System For Controlling Reception Of Video Signals issued to Lemelson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,518 for Electronic Media Program Recognition And Choice issued to Hunter et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,575 for Viewer Discretion Television Program Control System issued to West et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,576 for Rating-Dependent Parental Lock-Out For Television Reception issued to Perlman et al. Video viewing censoring systems for video cassette recorders may be disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,556 for Video Cassette Recorder Protection System issued to Kilbel, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,345 for Video Viewing Censoring Supervision System issued to Brian et al. In general, there are essentially two techniques to parental control of viewing of undesirable video programs on televisions or video cassette recorders. The first technique requires participation of individuals at home to invariably control admission of video programs that fail to satisfy their own content criteria. The second technique requires participation of broadcasters in what is generally termed a "V-chip" approach. A program classification code which represents an arbitrary number of designations for rating the program content according to levels of violence, graphic sex, obscenity or other undesirable content is encoded into a video signal for transmission purposes. Before reaching the picture generation elements of the television receiver, the video signal is received by control circuitry which extracts the program classification code therefrom for comparison with a preselected reception code which represents the program content which is desired to either block or allow the reception of the video signal by the television receiver.
Despite of a litany of parental control and censorship supervision systems that are available for television receivers, video cassette recorders and cable boxes, I have observed however, that none is provided for home computer systems. Consequently, there is no effective means currently available for home computer systems to limit access to pornographic programs or extremely violent computer games.

Computer system having a function for intercepting lewd/violent programs and method for controlling access of such lewd/violent programs


According to one embodiment, a memory system includes a nonvolatile memory including first blocks configured to store an address indicating a data storage position, and second blocks configured to store the data, a first table configured to store a first address including first information and second information, the second information indicating a data storage position in the first block, and a second table configured to convert the first information into third information, the first information having a first data size by which one entry of the second table can be identified, the third information having a second data size which is larger than the first data size and by which one of the first blocks and the second blocks can be identified.

A NAND flash memory is known as a kind of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. A storage device incorporating the NAND flash memory is also known.
When accessing the NAND flash memory in the storage device based on a logical address supplied from a host to the storage device, an address conversion table showing the correspondence between the logical address and a data storage position in the NAND flash memory is used. This address conversion table includes elements capable of accessing the whole area of the NAND flash memory. Therefore, the amount of management information increases as the memory capacity of the NAND flash memory increases, and the memory capacity of a RAM required to store the address conversion table also increases.

Memory address management system and method


A hollow needle carried in a hub, the needle and hub being carried on the end of tubing in flow-communicating relation between the needle and tubing. The hub defines typically a pair of wings extending transversely outwardly from the hub in opposite directions. The wings each carry plate members extending transversely of the wings to facilitate manual gripping of the needle hub. Preferably, the needle and hub further comprises a slidable, tubular guard defining a bore receiving the needle and hub. The tubular guard defines a pair of opposed, longitudinal slots through which the wings extend, with the plate members positioned outside of the tubular guard. The slots permit movement of the needle and hub in the guard from a needle-exposed position to a needle-enclosed position.

As described in the allowed U.S. application Ser. No. 562,419, filed Jul. 30, 1990 by David S. Utterberg, et al. and entitled Guarded Winged Needle Assembly, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,311, millions of needles are used on a monthly basis to penetrate the peripheral veins of patients, or to provide to access blood supplies for various extracorporeal treatments such as hemodialysis or plasmapheresis. Many of these assemblies define hubs which carry wings, and, as described in the previously cited application, such a winged hub may carry a slidable, tubular guard defining a bore positioned to receive the needle in the hub. The tubular guard typically defines a pair of opposed, longitudinal slots through which the wings may extend, so that the guard is carried on the needle and hub, and is movable between a needle-exposed position in which the needle may be used to penetrate the vein, and a needle-enclosed position in which the guard surrounds the needle to protect against accidental needle sticks.
Also, millions of needles are used for blood collection, being connected to blood bags by flexible tubing. Here also, there is a need for a protective, slidable, tubular guard to minimize the chances of receiving a needle stick with a needle that has been used to collect blood.
However, it is customary in the field of blood collection for the needle to be carried by a substantially sized hub of generally rectangular cross section. Those who are used to collecting blood with such conventional equipment have become used to the gripping the vertical sides of the enlarged rectangular hub, which gives a particular feel for the manipulation of the blood collection needles, which are relatively larger in gauge and length than conventional IV fluid needles.
By this invention, a system is provided where a slidable, tubular guard can be provided to a needle, but the user can still have the "feel" of a hub which is relatively large and rectangular, even if such a rectangular hub is not present. Thus, the safety of a slidable, tubular guard can be provided, while the "feel" of the needle imparted to the technician who uses the system remains familiar, and the technician also retains the good gripping characteristics with which they are accustomed.


A global positioning and tracking system for locating one of a person and item of property. The global positioning and tracking system comprises at least one tracking device for connection to the one of the person and item of property including a processing device for determining a location of the tracking device and generating a position signal and a transmitter for transmitting said position signal. The position signal is transmitted to a relay station strategically positioned about a desired monitoring area. The relay station includes a device for receiving the positional signal and determining if the received position signal is a valid signal and a device for relaying the position signal upon determining the position signal is valid to a central monitoring station. The central monitoring station receives the validated positional signal from the relay station and analyzes the position signal for monitoring the position of the tracking device. The system may also include a tracking satellite for receiving the validated position signal from the relay station and re-transmitting the position signal to the central monitoring station when the central monitoring station is located outside the transmission range of the relay station.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tracking systems and, more specifically, to a global positioning tracking system for locating the position of a person or item anywhere at anytime.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous tracking systems have been provided in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,289,163; 5,461,365; 5,461,390; 5,617,074 and 5,627,548 all are illustrative of such prior art While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
A child position monitoring device monitors the position of a child by detecting the signal strength of a radio frequency carrier from a transmitter attached to the child. If the signal of the radio frequency carrier is too weak, the child is to far away from the adult who has the child position monitoring device. When this happens, the adult is informed that the child has wandered too far away through the use of an audio tone or through the use of vibrations coming from the device. Once the adult is notified that the child is too far away, the device also has a locating display for indicating the relative direction of the child with respect to the adult The display uses eight LEDs arranged around an emblem used to represent the position of the adult. The LED which lights up indicates the relative direction of the child.
A personal alarm system includes a monitoring base station and one or more remote sensing units in two-way radio communication. An electronic handshake between the base station and each remote unit is used to assure system reliability. The remote units transmit at selectable power levels. In the absence of an emergency, a remote unit transmits at a power-conserving low power level. Received field strength is measured to determine whether a remote unit has moved beyond a predetermined distance from the base station. If the distance is exceeded, the remote unit transmits at a higher power level. The remote unit includes sensors for common hazards including water immersion, smoke, excessive heat, excessive carbon monoxide concentration, and electrical shock. The base station periodically polls the remote units and displays the status of the environmental sensors. The system is useful in child monitoring, for use with invalids, and with employees involved in activities which expose them to environmental risk. Alternative embodiments include a panic button on the remote unit for summoning help, and an audible beacon on the remote unit which can be activated from the base station and useful for locating strayed children. In another embodiment, the remote unit includes a Global Positioning System receiver providing location information for display by the base station.
A locator device for monitoring the location of subjects, usable in conjunction with a database system causes a polling signal to be sent periodically to each of the subject's locator devices in the area. The locator device includes a wireless transceiver to receive the polling message and, in response, query a location determination device for the current location of the device. This location is then sent back through the wireless network to the database. The database determines from a record on that particular subject where that subject is supposed to be at that time. If the subject being monitored is not within the area where he or she is supposed to be, then the database may automatically contact law enforcement officials.
A child finder basically consists of a transmitter which is concealingly attachable to a child's body and which sends a signal to a conventional receiver so that the child's location can be continually monitored. The transmitter will typically be carried in an article of jewelry, such as a watch, bracelet, ring, or the like, and will use a special on/off switch which allows the transmitter to be activated only when the jewelry is being worn by the child. The switch includes a reciprocal push button which closes the transmitter's electrical circuit when depressed, and the button is spring-biasedly moved away from electrical contact with the transmitter's circuit when the article of jewelry is not being worn. To protect against inadvertent partial movement of the button which could break electrical contact thus deactivating the transmitter an electrical contact surface of the button is provided with an upwardly extending electrically conductive spring finger which maintains continual electrical contact irrespective of temporary and inadvertent reciprocal movement of the spring finger recedes into a provided groove on the electrical contact surface of the button so as to prevent the finger from causing interference between the primary electrical contact surfaces.
A navigation wrist wear device comprises a GPS receiver fully disposed in a wrist watch type housing. A transparent microwave patch antenna is patterned of indium-tin-oxide on sapphire in front of an LCD time, position and velocity display. A bezel provides a protective window. A low-noise amplifier, down conversion, code processing and navigation processing are all provided on a single integrated circuit Photovoltaic solar cells to each side of the LCD help keep a battery charged.

Global positioning satellite tracking device


A carrier sensor senses the input/output level of a radio processing unit. When the input/output level sensed by the carrier sensor is more than a specified level, a transmission-reception controller stops internal radio communication by stopping the operation of transmission/reception units. When the input/output level sensed by the carrier sensor is less than a specified level, the transmission-reception controller allows internal radio communication by operating the transmission/reception units.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a radio communication terminal and a method of controlling internal radio communication, and in particular, it relates to a control method applicable to a clamshell cellular telephone.
2. Background Art
Liquid crystal displays mounted in recent cellular telephones are provided with higher resolution to display still images such as characters and graphics and also still images and moving images picked up by digital cameras at higher definition. With this, the amount of data exchanged between digital cameras and liquid crystal displays is increasing, and it is proposed in Japanese Patent No. 3,086,456 that a high-speed transfer mode called low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) be used to connect displays and image photographing devices.
Also, recent cellular telephones adopt a clamshell structure in which the cellular telephones can be folded to increase the size of the displays without losing portability and prevent unintended pushing of operation buttons when they are being carried. In the clamshell structure, a first casing housing a control panel that principally controls the external radio communication of a cellular telephone and a second casing housing a display are connected together with a hinge, and the first casing and the second casing can be closed and opened via the hinge.
Also, in order to allow a weak GPS signal to be received even while transmitting from a moving platform, JP-T-2003-507954 for example discloses a method in which a branch unit is provided upstream from the antenna for branching part of the transmitted signal, an interference compensating signal is taken out by attenuating and phase-shifting the signal branched by the branch unit, and the interference compensation signal is superimposed on the GPS signal.
However, as the display mounted on a cellular telephone comes to have higher resolution, to transmit high-bit-rate image data by wire, it is necessary to provide the flexible wiring board for transmitting the signal to the display with a multipin structure. Accordingly, when data transmission between the first casing and the second casing is performed by wire in a cellular telephone with the clamshell structure, it is necessary to pass the multipin flexible wiring board through the hinge, complicating the hinge structure and the mounting process. As a result, this presents an obstacle to more compact and thinner cellular telephones, increases cost, and decreases reliability.
On the other hand, when an internal radio communication antenna is provided to both the first casing and the second casing in place of the flexible wiring board, in which data transmission between the first casing and the second casing is performed by internal radio communication, interference is generated between it and the external radio communication of the cellular telephone. This poses the problem of changing the environment of the internal radio communication depending on the status of the external radio communication, so that the reliability of data transmission is not decreased.
Particularly, when a radio communication system in which output is limited to a low level, such as an ultra wide band (UWB) system, is adopted for the internal radio communication, the difference in power level between it and a radio wave outputted in the external radio communication of the cellular telephone is large, such as 90 dB. This also presents the problem that the influence of signals outside the specific frequency band of the internal radio communication cannot be ignored, there being deterioration of the radio communication environment due to the interference of the external radio communication of the cellular telephone which increases the bit error rate and packet error rate leading to an increase in the need for retransmissions.
Also, even when a radio communication system in which only weak power is radiated is adopted, those radio waves interfere with the cellular telephone system because the latter requires high reception sensitivity, posing the problem that the reception sensitivity of the cellular telephone system is decreased.
Also, the method disclosed in JP-T-2003-507954 requires a branch unit, an attenuator, a phase shifter, and a superimposer. This produces the problem of complicating the circuit structure and increasing the size, resulting in an increase in cost, size, and weight.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a radio communication terminal and a method of controlling internal radio communication capable of preventing the deterioration in the quality of internal radio communication between the first casing and the second casing, by allowing for a change in the state of external radio communication.

Radio communication terminal and method of controlling internal radio communication


A pallet is provided for supporting the central tube of cylindrical objects having a variable outside diameter, the pallet consisting of a pallet base of generally rectangular shape with uprights mounted at the four corners thereof and detachable panels arranged in parallel pairs mounted between the uprights, the panel including means for securing them to the base and means for rendering them integral with the uprights, the panels further including at least one slotted portion having guiding means which cooperate with a holder member for an end of said central tube, the holder member being supported by a detachable cross member adapted to be fixed at differing levels within the slotted portion, the pallet being particularly suitable for supporting rolls of film material of variable diameters and length.

The present invention relates to a pallet structure designed to support the central tubes of cylindrical objects of variable outside diameter, said structure comprising a base portion of generally rectangular shape with uprights secured at each of it four corners. The invention also discloses holder members which are used with the pallet and which support the ends of the central tubes of such cylindrical bodies.
A large variety of pallets or containers of generally parallelepiped shape are known which are designed to hold and retain parts of a specific shape such as cylindrical or spherical vessels or rolls or coils of striplike material which are of generally cylindrical shape. The pallets or containers are designed to be handled by a forklift truck the tines of which support the base portion of the pallet typically loaded with rolls, which are loaded from above. In a known design of a pallet for carrying rolls, semi-cylindrical support members are provided which constitute bearing surfaces that are integral with the walls of the pallet, and these are used to support specially designed cylindrical pin members which are fitted into the central tube around which the rolls of striplike materials are wound. The semi-cylindrical support members are rigidly secured to the walls of the pallet thus making it possible to create a rigid and fairly solid structure. Experience has however shown that such a pallet structure does not have the required flexibility of use and is generally only suitable for transporting one single type of roll. Attempts to provide a pallet suitable for transporting rolls of film material of different sizes gave rise to a complex pallet structure including numerous semi-cylindrical support members which were permanently attached to the walls thereof, with the result that the pallet is expensive to produce. Additionally, during unloading, the rolls sometimes collide with the walls of the pallet and it was necessary to provide a special packaging for the rolls of film.
It is hence a principal object of the present invention to provide a pallet which is readily adaptable to the transporting of several types of roll without requiring the use of disposable packaging material and the associated problems of pollution when disposing of it, at a relatively limited cost.
A further object of the invention is to provide a pallet which, while being suitable for transporting numerous types of rolls of differing diameter and axial length, includes modular components for supporting the ends of the central tube of such rolls, with it being possible to readily change the place of such modular components or replace one by another, thus leading to a corresponding reduction in the costs of manufacturing and assembling the pallets.
A further object of the invention is to provide a pallet of generally parallelepiped shape in which it is possible to arrange rolls of film or striplike material constituting cylindrical objects incorporating a central support tube in either of the two principal directions (lengthwise and widthwise) of the pallet.
It is a further object of the invention to provide pallets which can be readily stacked or fitted one on top of the other and which are truly universal as regards their capacity to accommodate rolls of any dimensions with the possibility of locking the rolls in position inside the pallet structure.
A further object of the invention is to provide special end holders for the two ends of the central tube of such rolls which can either be extracted in the upwards direction from special recesses designed to receive them or can be removed axially by turning them through 90.degree.. Such holders must enable a lifting bar to be introduced axially into the central tube of the cylindrical object to enable the latter to be lifted out of the pallet by lifting apparatus acting on said bar.
A further object of the invention is to facilitate loading and unloading of rolls of film material by eliminating the intermediate steps of packing and unpacking such rolls and, as a consequence, reducing the risks of contamination and damaging of the film material carried on such rolls while eliminating any recourse to conventional packing means such as wooden pallets, cardboard boxes, and intermediate and final packages using plastics material.

Pallet for transporting cylindrical objects and holder for supporting their centeral tube


An extendable vehicle cargo floor assembly that includes a semi-rigid material panel base and a slideable panel that slides between guides so as to provide easy access to cargo stored in the vehicle storage part. In another embodiment, the panels are segmented in parts and joined together at installation. In another embodiment, the base panel is not used and instead, a bedliner is configured to operate as the base panel.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to truck beds and SUV rear compartments and attachable deck extensions therefore, and more particularly, to a composite/plastic sliding extension plate attached to a truck bed or bedliner or SUV rear compartment by a base plate having molded rails of metal, plastic, or composite to facilitate the controlled movement of the extension plate, the movement of the extension plate being manually or motor actuated.
2. Prior Art
The present invention relates to motor vehicles specifically relating to an improvement in the utility of the cargo area of such vehicles. With the proliferation of compact, mid-size, full-size pickup trucks with short beds and recent developments of hybrid vehicles capable of being converted into pickups to closed rear compartment configurations, limitation is placed on the ability of vehicle owners to effectively haul longer items typically accommodated by longer beds (e.g., a 4 foot×8 foot sheet of plywood.)
Owners of hybrid pickup/SUV vehicles, find difficulty in accessing the enclosed rear deck even with the tailgate down and with one or more top panels removed. Additionally, designers of these vehicles choose lining materials for the floor and walls of these compartments which have high coefficients of friction so that contents tend to remain stationary by reason of their "adhesion" to the surface. Added to the awkward access to such compartments, the difficulty in sliding something over this high friction surface dramatically decreases the utility of the vehicle. Simple activities such as grocery shopping are made difficult if not impossible by a person of small stature and even larger, stronger users have trouble reaching and moving items.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,034 to Coleman et al. discloses a "drop-in" bed liner/deck extension which addresses a number of the difficulties described and while extension is provided, the attachment methods described, do not allow for safe transport of heavier items for which the vehicle is designed (typically 1000.lbs for a half-ton pickup) nor does it describe any motor means for moving the extension when it may be so loaded and while a braking means is therein described, it does not provide for braking at any point of extension, relying as it does upon a series of holes into which a brake pin is inserted.
Concerning the proliferation of multiple purpose vehicles such as SUVs, vans and station wagons, the rear cargo area is subjected to a drivers range of uses by consumers such as hauling groceries, luggage, golf clubs, and other valuable and sometimes fragile items. A problem faces by owners of such vehicles is how to restrain smaller items or compartmentalize the space to keep items separate. An additional problem is the discomfort and potential for back injury associated with the necessity of leaning into the cargo area for loading and unloading of heavy cargo items.
The present invention addresses these problems and while it shares in common with U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,034 to Coleman et al., the use of interlocking rails between a base member and a sliding extension member, it differs in the attachment, motorization, braking, and construction of these components and presents a modular "L" bracket design allowing for the creation of storage/containment areas anywhere over the surface of the bed extension. Additionally, the present invention is, by reason of its fixture to the vehicle as a bolt-on (or other sufficient attachment means known in the art) insert to the rear deck, more substantial in its capacity to safely manage heavy loads.
In accordance with the present invention, a base mounting platform is affixed to the bed/deck of a motor vehicle (i.e., pickup truck, SUV or hybrid, etc.) and a slideable bed extension attached by interlocking rails molded or otherwise formed between the base and the bed extension, is provided along with a motorized means of moving the bed extension and a braking means for retaining it in a chosen position and a series of attachable partitions to form compartments by which items being transported may be contained or constrained.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
    1. To provide a vehicle bed floor with an integrated sliding bed extension to increase the utility of shorter beds for hauling longer items;    2. To have the bed extension available to facilitate ease of loading and unloading of items stored within the vehicle cargo area.    3. To provide a two piece interlocking base/bed extension to be firmly affixed to the existing vehicle bed or deck which is simple in its operation as well as its manufacture.    4. To provide a durable deck surface on the bed extension which has a plurality of holes drilled or formed to accommodate the positioning of modular partitions for containing or restraining items being transported.    5. To provide motorization whereby the bed extension can be moved even while heavily laden.    6. To provide a braking means by which the bed extension can be locked in any position of deployment.    7. To provide support skids interposed between the base and the bed extension, which ride over the face of the lowered tail gate as the extension is moved across it.    8. To provide low friction bearing surfaces interposed between the base and the bed liner.


A method for forming IMD films. A substrate is provided. A plurality of dielectric films are formed on the substrate, wherein each of the dielectric layers are deposited in-situ in one chamber with only one thermal cycle.

The invention relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for forming inter metal dielectric films (IMD).
Advances in semiconductor manufacturing technology have led to the development of integrated circuits with multiple interconnect levels. In an integrated circuit, patterned conductive material on one interconnect level is electrically insulated from patterned conductive material on another interconnect level by films of material such as silicon dioxide.
A consequence of separating patterned conductive material with insulating materials, whether the conductive material is used on a single level or multiple levels, is the formation of undesired capacitors. The parasitic capacitance between patterned conductive material, or more simply, interconnects, separated by insulating material on microelectronic devices contributes to effects such as RC delay, unnecessary power dissipation, and capacitively coupled signals, also known as cross-talk.
One way to reduce unwanted capacitance is to increase the distance between the interconnects. Increased spacing between interconnect lines, however, has adverse consequences, such as increased area requirements and corresponding increases in manufacturing costs. Another way to reduce the unwanted capacitance between the interconnects is to use an insulating material with a lower dielectric constant.
Typically a low k IMD layer comprises a barrier layer on a semiconductor substrate to avoid diffusion from the low k material to the semiconductor substrate. A typical dual damascene interconnect architecture requires a barrier layer, a lower IMD layer, a stop layer, an upper IMD layer and an anti-reflective layer. In the conventional method, the described films are formed in different chambers, and the substrate is heated and then cooled during transfer from one chamber to another. Thus, the substrate is subjected to at least five thermal cycles before a dual damascene architecture can be formed, which is a waste of thermal budget. An excessive number of thermal cycles also reduces throughput. Moreover; the Cu metallization reliability is affected by the thermal budget. A process which requires fewer thermal cycles and lower thermal budget is therefore desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,404 discloses an in-situ deposition method for formation of a dielectric layer suitable for use in forming a conductive path in a semiconductor wafer. The method includes depositing a thin SiOxNy stop layer on top of a semiconductor wafer within a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor chamber under low pressure, maintaining the low pressure following the deposition of the SiOxNy stop layer, and then depositing a thick TEOS oxide dielectric layer on the SiOxNy stop layer. The in-situ deposition process reduces outgassing defects that would normally form at the interface between the SiON stop layer and the TEOS oxide dielectric layer.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


An inner mounting ring (20) for gas turbine flow path components such as shroud ring segments (24). The inner ring (20) may be mounted to an outer ring (22) on radially slidable mounts (26, 28) that maintain the two rings (20, 22) in coaxial relationship, but allows them to thermally expand at different rates. This allows matching of the radial expansion rate of the inner ring (20) to that of the turbine blade tips (32), thus providing reduced clearance (33) between the turbine blade tips (32) and the inner surface of the shroud ring segments (24) under all engine operating conditions. The inner ring (20) may be made of a material with a lower coefficient of thermal expansion than that of the outer ring (22).

A gas turbine shaft supports a series of disks. Each disk circumference supports a circular array of radially oriented aerodynamic blades. Closely surrounding these blades is a refractory shroud that encloses the flow of hot combustion gasses passing through the engine at temperatures of over 1400° C. The shroud is assembled from a series of adjacent rings supporting flow path components that are typically made of one or more refractory materials such as ceramics. Shroud rings that surround turbine blades are normally formed of a series of arcuate segments. Each segment is attached to a surrounding framework such as a metal ring called a blade ring that is, in turn, attached to the engine case. Close tolerances must be maintained in the gap between the turbine blade tips and the inner surfaces of the shroud ring segments to ensure engine efficiency. However, the shroud ring segments, blade ring, blades, disks, and their mountings are subject to differential thermal expansion during variations in engine operation, including engine restarts. This requires a larger gap and a corresponding efficiency reduction during some stages of engine operation.
Differences among coefficients of linear thermal expansion in flow path components and their support structures dictate the magnitude and variability of blade tip clearances. In prior designs, flow path components such as shroud ring segments are attached directly to support structures such as blade rings. Thus, when the support structures expand, the flow path components are pulled with them. This creates a large blade clearance requirement, partly because of the time delay between heating of flow path components and their more-insulated support structures.

Inner ring with independent thermal expansion for mounting gas turbine flow path components


An automatic testing system. A sampling and converting device obtains a plurality of electronic parameters from a tested device and transforms them into a plurality of digital signals. A microprocessor receives the digital signals and performs various short-circuit tests, over-current tests and over-voltage tests in a specific sequence.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a testing system, and more particularly to an automatic testing system for a power supply unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, to test a power supply unit, the following steps are performed. The power supply unit is connected to a power source thereby supplying alternative power, and simulated operational tests, including various short-circuit, over-current, and over-voltage tests are performed. The results are then determined to be correct or not. In the event of test item failure, all of the testing procedures must be repeated, including duplicate keystrokes to confirm each procedure. Thus, the testing method is complicated and error-prone.
Additionally, the testing method requires the power supply unit to be restarted when performing each test, resulting in increased time.