The present invention relates to an 1-transistor DRAM cell, a DRAM device and a manufacturing method therefor, a driving circuit for a DRAM, a driving method therefore, and a driving method for an 1-transistor DRAM, and a double-gate type 1-transistor DRAM. The present invention comprises a data hold process biasing a word line at a negative voltage level and biasing a sensing line and a bit line at a first constant voltage level; a data purging process resetting data by biasing the word line and the bottom word line at a second constant voltage level and biasing the sensing line and the bit line at the first constant voltage level; and a data write process biasing the word line and the bottom word line at the second constant voltage level and supplying a write data to the bit line.

The present invention relates to a DRAM, and more particularly to an 1-transistor type DRAM cell, a DRAM device and a manufacturing method therefore, a driving circuit for a DRAM, and a driving method therefor.
A representative device of a semiconductor memory device is a DRAM. The DRAM generally has a constitution configured of one transistor and one storage capacitor, wherein the constitution forms one unit cell. A digital data 1 (high) or 0 (low) is stored in the storage capacitor. In order to normally maintain a data level stored in the storage capacitor, the DRAM performs a refresh operation which is a recharge operation, while having a constant time interval. The DRAM having such a unit cell has been developed up to a synchronous semiconductor memory device referred to as a double data rate (DDR) SDRAM series (currently, developed up to a DDR3).
However, as the density of the DRAM progresses to giga-grade, the area of the chip should be larger. This will be acted as a burden in view of a system that as the chip size becomes smaller, it has an advantage.
In order to this burden, one of the proposed methods is the 1-transistor type DRAM allowing the unit cell to be configured of only one transistor by removing the storage capacitor. The 1-transistor type DRAM is also referred to as a capacitor-less type DRAM.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section constitution of a unit cell structure of an 1-transistor type DRAM according to the prior art. The constitution of FIG. 1 indicates a floating body cell or floating channel cell with a silicon on insulator (SOI) structure. As shown in FIG. 1, data are stored by storing holes and electrons on the floating body.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a flow process of a read current and a cell data storing state of the 1-transistor DRAM according to the prior art. In FIG. 2, 2A is a Store "1" which is a state storing a data 1, wherein the Store "1" state is a state where there are many holes in the floating body. In FIG. 2, 2B is a Store "0" which is a state storing a data 0, wherein the Store "0" state is a state where there are a few holes in the floating body or there are many electrons therein. In FIG. 2, 2C indicates a flow of a read current, wherein in a read mode, more sensing current in a cell current flows in the store "1" than in the store "0". In FIG. 2, a line connected to the gate of the transistor is a word line and each of lines connected to both channels of the transistor indicates a sensing line and a bit line.
FIG. 3 is a waveform view showing waveform characteristics of a cell read current of the 1-transistor type DRAM according to the prior art. In FIG. 3, when a cell drain voltage Vd is 0.2V and a cell source voltage is a ground GND, there is shown a cell read current at the time of sweeping a cell gate voltage. As shown, the read current is largest in the Store "1" and smallest in the Store "0", and a reference (REF) current is located in the middle thereof.
As such, the floating body DRAM cell with the 1-transistor structure of the prior art does not destroy the cell data by means of a non destructive read out (NDRD) manner when performing a read operation, making it possible to improve the reliability of the cell and the read speed. Also, since the cell is configured of only the 1-transistor, the cell size can remarkably be reduced.
However, the following problem occurs when reading information on the cell and writing information in the cell. In other words, when writing the information, as a write voltage is applied to the selected cells as well as the non-selected cells, the problem that the data of the non-selected cells are destroyed occurs. The reliability of the semiconductor memory device cannot be assured due to this problem.
Meanwhile, when implementing a semiconductor device by applying the SOI wafer, it is advantageous in view of the device characteristics; however, it is not preferable in view of productivity since the SOI wafer is more expensive than a general silicon wafer.
In particular, when manufacturing a semiconductor device by applying the SOI wafer, the existing equipments and processes are designed to be suitable for the case applying the silicon wafer. Therefore, when manufacturing the semiconductor device by applying the SOI wafer, there are the problems that the modification and development of the manufacturing equipments and processes are also required.

1-transistor type DRAM cell, a DRAM device and manufacturing method therefore, driving circuit for DRAM, and driving method therefor


This invention presents a method of novel nonlinear control for designing Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOM). A passivity-based approach is proposed for designing robust nonlinear STATCOM controller. The mathematical model of STATCOM will be represented by an Euler-Lagrange (EL) system corresponding to a set of EL parameters. By employing the Park's transformation, the differential geometry approach is used to investigate the power system dynamics with considering STATCOM under the synchronous d-q frame. The energy-dissipative properties of the proposed model derived in the synchronous d-q rotating frame are fully retained. This model also consider the dynamic response of the changable load. Finally, the passivity-based control is employed by using energy shaping and damping injection techniques to produce the proper control signals for Voltage Source Converter. So that the system embedded with STATCOM is more robust and stable.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of designing a non-linear controller in a power system and particularly to a method of designing a static synchronous compensators (STATCOM).
2. Description of Related Art
A concept of FACTS was originally proposed by a scholar of America, N. H. Higorani, being established at the end of years 1980' of century 20 around. FACTS uses a device structured with large-power electronic components to regulate the operation of an AC electric power system. The technology of large-power electronic component becomes popular and the component is cheap day by day. Besides, the mechanism of operation of electric power system control trends to market requests so that the system operation is more complicated and variable. In order to satisfy the technical economical requirements in all aspects for participants in the market, the electric power system must be capable of self-adjustment.
STATCOM is a shunt control device in FACTS. Currently, there are many STATCOM practically operating in the power system. The power system embeeded with STATCOM can improve the stability of power system; next, it may also provide the reactive power compensation for the weak bus, and increase the capacity of of a power transmission line.
With reference to FIG. 1, a STATCOM is installed in shunt with Bus 102 to regulate the voltage of bus 102 and increase the stability of the power system. The STATCOM comprises a shunt transformer 105, a shunt converter 106, and a DC coupling capacitor 107. The DC coupling capacitor 107 stores a DC voltage and connects to the shunt converter 106. The shunt converter 106 is electrically connected to the shunt transformer 105. The shunt transformer 105 is connected to a terminal bus 102.
The converter 106 of the STATCOM may independently acts as an inverter or a rectifier. When the power is transmitted from an AC grid to the DC side coupling capacitor 107, the converter 106 acts as a rectifier, whereas the power flows from the DC side coupling capacitor 107 to the transformer 105, the converter 106 acts as an inverter.
The shunt converter 106 may receive energy from the power gird or release it. The energy infused into the bus 102 is converted to DC side capacitor 107 through the shunt transformer 105 and the shunt converter 106 to adjust the electric power stored in the DC coupling capacitor 107 so that a voltage value in the DC coupling capacitor 107 is constant.
With reference to FIG. 2 illustrating the overall structure of system STATCOM, STATCOM is shunt on the bus 102, and a resistor R 114 and an inductor L 115 are a loss resistor and a loss inductor, respectively, that are equivalent in the transmission line; a resistor R 111 is a leakage resistor of the transmission line and transformer, which is equivalent; an inductor L 112 is a leakage reactance; Sa, Sb, Sc, Sa, Sb, and Sc, six IGBT switches stand for the shunt converter 106; a capacitor C 113 is a coupling capacitor 107 that is equivalent; a resistor Rdc 114 stands for a loss when the IGBT switches run. The system status will vary with the changable load 103. Normally, through a switching circuit, the rectifier converts the DC voltage to AC voltage Vs that may be controlled by the proper switching of IGBT.
The DC voltage of capacitor 107 is maintained at desired value by controlling the shunt converter 106. A key point is the way of controlling the shunt converter 106 so as to satisfy the goal of control, without excessive harmonics that affects the quality of electric power and the feedback control signal. In a conventional method of controlling STATCOM, a proportional-integral (PI) voltage regulator is used to generate adequate control signals for controlling the shunt converter 106. In practice, the STATCOM circuit is high non-linear and the linear control theory cannot satisfy its dynamic characteristics.
In a prior art, proposed on July 1993. by C. S. de Araujo and J. C. Castro, "Vectors analysis and control of advanced static VAR compensators," IEE Proceedings-C, vol. 140, no. 4, pp. 299-306, a decoupled model is provided for designing the STATCOM on the basis of PI controller. In a prior art, proposed on October 2004 by D. Soto and R. Pena, "Nonlinear control strategies for cascaded multilevel STATCOMs," IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 1919-1927, a feedback linear theory is used to convert a nonlinear model to a linear model for designing a STATCOM controller; the key art is to eliminate a nonlinear element of a non-STATCOM model and add expected dynamic characteristics. It is provided not only with an advantage of simple design of a linear model, but also with the dynamic characteristics of a nonlinear model that remains.

Method of designing a static synchronous compensator based on passivity-based control


An improved fastener comprising a fastener body having a tool-engaging portion, a threaded fastening portion and a shroud-receiving body portion, a shroud concentrically mounted on the shroud-receiving body portion, and an intermediate sleeve disposed concentrically between the shroud-receiving body portion and the shroud, the shroud being supported in rotatable relationship with said shroud-receiving body portion such that said shroud will rotate relative to said fastener body under an applied external torque prior to said fastener body rotating when said fastener is engaged with an external structure at a design installation torque.

Locking wheel nuts and wheel bolts are commonly used to attach wheels to axel hub assemblies of automobiles and other vehicles. These fasteners are designed with security features that are intended to thwart theft by rendering the fasteners difficult to remove with conventional tools. In particular, the fasteners do not have the usual hexagonal head pattern found on conventional nuts and bolts and instead have smooth cylindrical sidewalls that cannot be gripped by standard wrenches. Fastener removal requires the use of a special security tool having a unique key pattern that matches a corresponding groove pattern formed in the fastener end face.
Additional security can be obtained by fitting a free-spinning shroud or cap over the security fasteners cylindrical sidewalls, such that the shroud is in concentric relationship therewith. The shroud discourages the use of theft devices that could otherwise be used to grip the sidewalls and remove the fastener without an authorized security tool. Because the shroud substantially surrounds all exposed surfaces of the sidewalls, no rotational purchase can be obtained in the fastener. The theft device can only engage the shroud, which freely spins under action of the theft device while the main body of the fastener remains stationary.
Various systems have been developed for rotationally retaining the shroud or spin cap on the fastener body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,414, entitled "High Security Fastener Constructions," is directed to a shroud fastener design having a shroud retaining system for retaining the shroud for rotation relative to the fastener body. The entire contents and disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,414 are incorporated herein by reference. International Patent Publication No. WO2004/001237, entitled "Screw-Threaded Fastening," is directed to a wheel nut having a fastener body and a spin cap or shroud which is retained on the fastener body by means of an outwardly flared end portion of the fastener body which is received within an undercut triangular groove in the inner surface of the cap.


A screen driver is included with other drivers provided by a vendor with a computer system The screen driver is picked up by the OS along with the other drivers at the beginning of the installation of the OS. The screen driver remains dormant until the first time a user logs into the computer system. At that time, the driver executes and retrieves screen data along with a program that displays the screen. The program also maintains the displayed screen on top of any other screens that might be generated subsequent to completion of the first log-in to maintain visibility to the user until the user has an opportunity to act on the display screen.

Some computer systems, such as servers, are commonly sold to customers without any operating system (OS) installed. Typically, the user (such as an administrator for the entity that purchased the computer system) handles installation of the desired OS at the user's site. There are a few different OS products available to such a user, and the user's options will be dictated by compatibility with the computer system itself. One might be a version of the Windows® OS such as Windows® 2003, or a version of the Linux or Novell OS. (Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation).
To communicate with various hardware components of the computer system, OS software products typically require driver programs that are compatible with those components. For example, for the OS to successfully store data on a hard drive component of the system, the OS must have a storage driver that permits the OS to access (i.e. read and write data from and to) the hard disk drive. Often, because the development of systems and the OS proceed in parallel, the software drivers for certain hardware components of a system may not be written in time to be incorporated into the OS before it is released to the public. Thus, certain driver programs may have to be provided with the system. If these drivers are required for successful installation of the OS on the system (e.g. a disk drive storage driver), then they must be provided at the time of installation of the OS. Otherwise, the installation will be interrupted and will not complete successfully because the installation of the OS itself typically involves writing the OS program to the hard drive of the system.
Drivers critical to the installation of the OS and that have not been otherwise already incorporated into the OS may be shipped by the computer system purveyor with the computer system so that they can be provided to the OS during the OS installation process. Typically, purveyors of OS software programs build in the necessary software hooks by which these drivers may be loaded onto the system at the very beginning of the OS installation process to ensure that installation continues successfully. In Windows®, for example, the software provides a prompt during the initial stages of installation that queries the user regarding the existence of any drivers that must be loaded. If the user responds in the affirmative, OS installation is paused and drivers may be loaded by way of a CD ROM or a floppy disk via the system's CD ROM drive or its floppy drive respectively.

Displaying a vendor provided information screen in response to a log-in experience

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A laser diode driver output stage for driving an associated laser diode device. The laser diode driver output stage includes a driver circuit adapted to receive an input data signal at an input node and provide an output signal to a positive output node and a negative output node in response to the data signal. The laser diode driver output stage further includes a transformer having a positive terminal of a first side coupled to the positive output node of the driver circuit, a negative terminal of the first side coupled to the negative output node, a positive terminal of a second side coupled to the positive output node, and negative terminal of the second side coupled to a bias current generator. The transformer functions to isolate the bias current from fluctuations in the output signal, whereby the output signal and bias current are provided to the associated laser diode device.

A majority of laser diode driver integrated circuits (ICs) for optical transmission can be broadly divided into two categories. The first category includes devices using direct modulation. This is generally used for short distance transmission in which a laser diode driver IC is used to directly drive a laser diode module with a drive current supplied by the laser diode driver IC. The second category includes devices which generally use external modulation. These are commonly used for long-distance transmission in which, for example, an electroabsorption (EA) modulator driver IC is used to drive an electroabsorption (EA) modulator module. In both of these categories, laser diode driver ICs can be found in both die forms in which the IC is assembled inside the laser module, and in packaged forms in which the IC is assembled outside of the laser module and connected by a transmission line.
Due to the need for ever increasing data transmission rates, the use of conventional laser diode driver integrated circuits results in numerous signal quality problems. In addition, convention laser diode driver integrated circuits consume a high amount of power due to the need for high supply voltages. Thus there is a need for laser diode driver integrated circuits that provide improved output signal quality as well as lower power consumption.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for using an output transformer for laser diode drivers


A junction box containing at least one electrical terminal is connected for displacement between unfastened and fastened positions relative to a carrier element, whereby during movement of the housing toward the fastened position, a U-shape contact spring is progressively displaced on a contact tab portion of the terminal within the junction box from a retracted position to a clamping position, thereby to bend a deformable relatively small thin conductor into contiguous lateral engagement with the contact tab portion.

1. Field of the Invention
A junction box containing an electrical terminal is mounted for displacement on a carrier element from an unfastened position to a fastened position, thereby to operate a clamping spring to deform and clamp a deformable conductor into lateral contiguous engagement with a tab portion of the terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a need in the electrical connector art to provide a connecting terminal that is simple in terms of design and that can be mounted in a particularly easy manner upon a carrier element and which is operable to connect a first thin conductor with an additional conductor having a diameter that is considerably larger than that of the first conductor, especially a conductor having a diameter that is a multiple of the smaller first diameter. In particular, it should be possible in a simple manner to connect a data line having a diameter of less than 1 mm, in particular, less than 0.5 mm, with a conductor having a multiple diameter of, for example, more than 1 or 2 mm.

Junction box including connector deformation means


An image forming apparatus includes: a first sheet feeding device for storing therein recording sheets; a second sheet feeding device for storing therein the same sized recording sheets as those stored in the first sheet feeding device in a direction perpendicular to the recording sheets stored in the first sheet feeding device; an image processing device capable of processing an image of a document under a condition that an image data thereof is rotated by 90.degree.; an image forming device for forming an image on a recording sheet based on the image data processed by the image processing device; and a controller for detecting whether or not a sorting device for sorting the recording sheet is connected or operative. When the controller detects that the sorting device is neither connected nor operative, the controller controls the image processing device to carry out alternately a first image processing for forming the image by a regular image processing and a second image processing for forming the image under the condition that the image data is rotated by 90.degree. to the image data by the regular image processing, and selects one of said first and second sheet feeding devices in accordance with the first and second image processing.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus by which an image is formed according to image data, and specifically to the improvement of a sorting operation at the time when a sheet on which an image is formed is ejected.
Generally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copier, printer, or the like, a document image is converted into electric signals (image data) corresponding to density in the document image information, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photoreceptor drum corresponding to the image data using laser light, or similar devices. The electrostatic latent image is developed and transferred onto a sheet as a toner image, and the toner image on the sheet is heated by a heater of a fixing device, and fused and fixed.
The sheets on which images are formed as described above, are needed to be sorted corresponding to the number of sets of sheets on which images are formed, and sorting is conducted by the following methods:
(1) The sheets are sorted such that the position is shifted for each set of sheets and the sheets are ejected (offset operation) by an ejecting and sorting device with a sorting function (finisher, sorter, etc.). PA1 (2) The sheets are sorted by staple processing by an ejecting and sorting device with a sorting function (finisher, sorter, etc.). PA1 (3) Image processing is conducted such that the image is rotated by 90.degree. by an image processing means by a key operation of the operator, and the image is formed on the sheet placed in the direction which coincides with the image processing condition and the sheet is outputted.
As described above, it is necessary that sorting is conducted by either of an ejecting and sorting device with a sorting function, or an operator's manual operation.
Further, sorting by the above-described ejecting and sorting device can be conducted only when the performance of the ejecting and sorting device (the sorting function is provided or not) or its mounting condition (the ejecting and sorting device with the sorting function is connected to the apparatus or not) is confirmed and the sorting operation can be conducted.
Accordingly, the sorting operation is difficult when the ejecting and sorting device is connected to a network and therefore it is difficult to confirm whether the sorting function is provided or not. Further, the sorting operation can not be conducted in the following cases: the ejecting and sorting device with no sorting function is connected; the ejecting and sorting device with a sorting function is connected, but can not be used; and it is indicated to sort the sheets into bins more than the number of bins to be usable.

Image forming apparatus with sorting function


An improved kayak provides a rigid open cockpit hull with air chambers attached to the hull. The air chambers provide a generally convex shape for increased maneuverability and also provide cushioning against impact to reduce the risk of injury to the kayak pilot. The air chambers allow for an open cockpit kayak with an exterior surface having a similar shape as a conventional closed cockpit kayak, providing a similar level of maneuverability and allowing for completion of maneuvers such as rolling the kayak from an inverted position in the water.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to kayaks. More specifically, the present invention relates to an open cockpit kayak having inflatable (or air filled) sections forming sections of the upper surface of the kayak.
2. State of the Art
Kayaks are available in various different designs, such as closed cockpit and open cockpit designs. FIG. 1 shows a typical whitewater kayak 10. When referring to whitewater kayaks 10, we refer to a boat which has a design optimized for whitewater navigation. Whitewater kayaks 10 are typically of rotomolded plastic or composite construction, and the user typically sits inside the hull of the kayak such that the kayak encloses the legs of the user. The user typically wears a spray skirt 26 made of neoprene, nylon or similar material which surrounds the user's torso and is affixed around the coaming 22 (a raised rim) of the kayak cockpit 18 to seal out water.
The upper surface 14 of a closed cockpit kayak 10 is enclosed except for a cockpit opening 18 at the seat. The user sits in the kayak hull with their legs enclosed within the kayak 10 and their torso extending from the opening 18 in the upper surface 14. Whitewater kayaks 10 are highly maneuverable kayaks, and the enclosed upper surface 14 allows a person to roll the kayak more easily if inverted in the water.
Whitewater kayaks 10, however, require additional skill as a person can not exit the kayak easily and quickly in case of an emergency. The failure to exit a whitewater kayak 10 in the event of being pinned against an obstacle, broaching, or the failure to roll upright can result in serious injury and/or death. In order to exit a whitewater kayak 10, the user must have a free hand to pull the grab-loop of his/her spray skirt 26 to remove the spray skirt. The user may not always have a free hand available, especially if the user is already using both hands to steady themselves or keep their head above water. It is also possible for a kayaker to be stuck in a position which does not give them immediate access to the grab-loop, such as having their torso pinned against the stern deck. Should removal of the skirt 26 prove to be impossible, exit can be extremely difficult.
Egress of a whitewater kayak 10 typically requires: 1) a free hand to pull the spray skirt grab-loop, 2) removal of the spray skirt 26, 3) removal of the user's lower limbs from within the kayak hull, 4) the user having "clean" gear (such as bare feet, socks or booties that don't have laces, straps, buckles, etc.) that won't get caught on foot pegs, outfitting or hardware inside the kayak 10 and thus prevent the user from exiting the kayak.
Egress typically results in the flooding/swamping of the kayak 10 and an increased weight/momentum/wetted surface area of the kayak which increase the hazards and difficulties associated with recovery of the kayak in moving water. A swamped kayak as such also poses greater danger to those downstream from it in moving water.
Even when a kayaker is successful at exiting the kayak 10, further complications arise, such as the kayak filling with water which must be drained in order for the kayak to be operable again. This generally requires the recovery of the kayak 10 which can be difficult since such swamped kayaks tend to be much heavier than un-swamped kayaks. A swamped kayak 10 is also more likely to become pinned on rocks and require mechanical advantage to un-pin. An additional hazard is posed by the increased weight and momentum of a swamped kayak 10, as the kayak can be dangerous if the user is downstream of the swamped kayak and becomes caught between the kayak and a rock or obstruction in the river.
After egress a user must typically perform the following steps required to resume paddling and use of the kayak 10: 1) the kayak 10 must be recovered, possibly requiring a high degree of strength or leverage to un-pin the kayak, 2) the kayak must be drained, generally requiring a somewhat dry, level surface, and 3) the user must re-enter the kayak and re-secure the spray skirt 26, which is also fairly difficult without access to a dry, level surface.
Unintentional egress of the kayak 10 can also be caused by the failure of the spray skirt 26 when water pressure builds on it in areas such as the base of waterfalls. Water pressure may build on the skirt 26 to the point where it fails, forcing unintentional egress. This typically happens in jump hydraulics (commonly referred to as "holes"), upon landing from waterfalls or any situation where sufficient pressure forms on the skirt 26.
Because of the confined nature of typical whitewater kayak 10 designs, special low-profile gear must be used on the feet and legs which avoids shoelaces, straps, buckles and other loose components which might get caught in the internal outfitting of the kayak and thus prevent the kayaker from exiting. Such gear, while a necessity for safe use of the kayak 10, is usually poorly suited to hiking and traversing the rocky and rough terrain which is typically found around whitewater rivers, and recovery of the kayak 10 typically requires such hiking. After the kayak 10 has been recovered, it must be drained of water which typically requires moving the kayak to the river bank to provide a solid surface on which to manipulate the boat. Some rivers do not always have easily accessible banks either due to the extreme width of the river, the steep angle of the banks (such as sheer canyon walls), heavy vegetation overgrowth, etc.
Kayaks 10 pose additional dangers. A person can easily hit their head or body on the rigid upper surface 14 of the kayak 10 as they reenter the water after passing over a waterfall or are otherwise tossed about by the water or as they bump into the rocks. Whitewater kayaking involves the navigation of rivers and streams with high gradient, occasionally requiring the user to cross waterfalls, ledges and other drops which involve a period of freefall and subsequent impact upon landing. The whitewater kayak 10 does little to absorb or transfer the energy produced in such drops away from the boater. Injuries commonly result from these impacts in the form of broken ankles, legs and other bodily harm resulting from the full weight and momentum of the kayaker being transferred to the lower limbs.
Additionally, the upper body is subject to injuries resulting in the abrupt impact with the hard plastic deck or cockpit coaming 22. Injuries typical to such impact include broken ribs, broken nose, jaw and tooth injuries, concussion, broken back, etc. If a person goes over a waterfall in a kayak, the kayak points downwardly as it enters the water, often causing the person to hit their head or body on the upper kayak surface 14 as the kayak reenters the water and decelerates from the drop. The person may also injure their feet, legs, and lower body as the force of impact is transferred through the kayak 10 without mitigation. A person may also become trapped in a kayak if the kayak shell becomes collapsed due to water pressure, a collision with a rock, etc.
The inclusion of the cockpit opening 18 in a whitewater kayak 10 poses a structural problem, as it reduces the structural rigidity of the kayak 10 along the length thereof. This frequently leads to kayaks 10 folding across the cockpit area during a broach and pin situation. This structural problem tends to be amplified when the spray skirt 26 is removed and the kayak 10 is allowed to fill with water. Thus, kayakers are frequently forced to keep their spray skirts 26 secured in such situations in order to prevent the kayak 10 from folding and collapsing onto their legs. Exiting a folded kayak 10 is difficult if not impossible without significant force or mechanical advantage. This situation is referred to as "deck entrapment" by whitewater kayakers.
The open cockpit 18 is also disadvantageous as the hull of the kayak 10 is open unless sealed by the skirt 26, creating the potential for rapid flooding and swamping of the kayak which significantly decreases the kayaks buoyancy. Thus, the design of whitewater kayaks 10 results in some significant dangers.
Sit-on-top kayaks 30, as shown in FIG. 2, have been made which have a sealed hull and a generally open seating area in the upper surface 34. The upper surface 34 includes an extensive recess 38 in which a person sits to pilot the kayak 30. The recess 38 typically includes a seat portion 42 and channels for the pilot's legs and feet 46. Thus, in a sit-on-top kayak 30, a significant amount of the upper surface 34 of the kayak is concave where the upper surface of a closed cockpit kayak 10 (FIG. 1) is convex.
Sit-on-top kayaks 30 are typically optimized for flat, calm water (Class I or lower navigation). The hull is watertight for the most part and the user typically sits inside of a depression or recess 38 formed on the deck of the boat which has been designed to act as a seat and foot holds. Further security and control can be provided to the user by the addition of thigh straps which go around the legs of the boater. While the Sit-on-top design addresses some of the problems mentioned above, such as providing easier egress from the kayak, it does not address all of them and presents new ones as well. For example, sit-on-top kayaks are not well suited for whitewater use.
Sit-on-top kayaks 30 have inherent performance problems. The concave nature of the deck 34 acts as a basin and can trap water, decreasing the buoyancy of the kayak until the water can be drained. This draining is usually accomplished by the addition of drain holes in the bottom of the recess 38 (sometimes called a "self-bailing" design). It will be appreciated, however, that even a kayak which drains in seconds can quickly become un-maneuverable on a river where water is coming constantly over the deck, as may be a common situation in whitewater usage. This concavity also adversely affects the resurfacing characteristics of the boat after it has been partially or fully submerged, such as when the boat goes through a hydraulic jump or submerges after landing from a drop.
The deck profile of sit-on-top kayaks 30 also adversely affects the kayaker's ability to self-rescue, which is typically accomplished using a skill known as an "Eskimo Roll" or simply a "roll". The roll is accomplished when the kayaker positions themselves underwater to pull a stroke perpendicular to the kayak, essentially pulling themselves up from out of the water and back into an upright position. If we imagine a line running through the central axis of a kayak from the bow end to the stern end, we might call this the "long axis" of the kayak. In a conventional kayak, this imaginary "long axis" runs through the body (pelvis) of the kayaker, close to the kayaker's center-of-gravity. In a SOT kayak, this axis runs below the kayaker's body, much further away from the kayaker's center-of-gravity. The closer a kayaker's center-of-gravity is to the long axis of the kayak, the easier the kayak is to roll.
Something similar to this can be observed in figure skating when the skater performs a spin. The closer the skater pulls their limbs in to the axis of their rotation, the faster they spin. Similarly, the more they open up the slower they spin. The lower ability to roll a sit-on-top kayak 30 combined with the relatively insecure seating position, poor water-shedding characteristics, and non-streamlined cross-section profile of the deck make sit-on-top kayaks considerably more difficult to roll than conventional whitewater kayaks.
Finally, the characteristics which make sit-on-top kayaks 30 so easily escapable also make it difficult for the boater to remain seated on the kayak and in control when navigating the violent currents associated with whitewater.
Thus, the concave upper surface 34 of a sit-on-top kayak 30 makes the kayak less maneuverable in certain situations, such as rolling the kayak upright when inverted in the water. Additionally, a person may still hit their head or body on the upper surface 34 of an open kayak 30 if they are tossed about by the water or collisions with rocks.
Some inflatable sit-on-top kayaks have been made in a shape similar to rigid sit-on-top kayaks. These inflatable kayaks, however, are frequently more difficult to navigate as the inflatable hull does not maneuver through the water as crisply as a rigid hull. An inflatable hull is less rigid, and may therefore lose maneuverability as compared to other types of kayaks.
There is thus a need for a kayak which overcomes the limitations of available kayaks. Specifically, there is a need for a kayak which achieves the maneuverability of a rigid closed cockpit kayak without the difficulties and dangers associated therewith. There is need for a kayak which may be more easily mounted and dismounted by a person, which is highly maneuverable in the water, and which reduces the risk of injury caused by a person hitting their head or body on the upper kayak surface while using the kayak.


Behavioral baselines for a computer system may be accurately and efficiently established by (1) monitoring occurrences on the computer system, (2) determining, based on security rules or heuristics, which of the observed occurrences are associated with potential security risks, (3) identifying patterns of activity based on the suspicious occurrences, and (4) prompting a user to indicate whether the observed patterns of suspicious activity are expected or unexpected. Behavior baselines established in this manner can then be used to differentiate between expected and unexpected patterns of activity on the computer system.

As the Internet and other networked computer systems become increasingly integrated into public activities (e.g., management and operation of governmental organizations) and private activities (e.g., personal activities, management and operation of households and businesses, etc.), malicious software ("malware") poses an increasingly significant threat to such pursuits. Malware generally operates to disrupt operation of computer systems (e.g., by taking control of computational resources and using those resources for unauthorized purposes, by disabling individual computers or entire networks, by damaging or otherwise sabotaging system components, etc.) and/or to steal resources from computer systems (e.g., by gathering sensitive data). Malware can be deployed in many forms, including computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware, scareware, keystroke loggers, rootkits, bots, crimeware, phishing scams, etc.
Public and private entities devote significant resources to detecting malware and preventing malware from disrupting the operations of their computer systems or stealing their computer-based resources. Conventional cybersecurity engines have relied extensively on static, signature-based techniques for detecting malware. In general, static, signature-based malware detection involves obtaining a copy of a file that is known to contain malware, analyzing the static features of the file (e.g., the sequence of bytes contained in the file) to extract a static signature that is characteristic of the malware, and adding the malware's static signature to a database (often referred to as a "blacklist") of known malware. When a user attempts to access (e.g., download, open, or execute) a file, the cybersecurity engine scans the file and extracts the file's static signature. If the file's static signature matches a signature on the blacklist, the cybersecurity engine detects the presence of malware and intervenes to prevent the malware from executing (e.g., by quarantining or deleting the file).
Static, signature-based malware detection techniques are generally useful for quickly detecting known malware. However, these techniques can generally be circumvented by new malware that is not yet blacklisted (e.g., zero-day malware or next-generation malware) or by malware that modifies itself to avoid matching a static signature on the blacklist (e.g., oligomorphic, polymorphic, or metamorphic malware).
Some cybersecurity engines rely on behavior-based techniques for detecting malware and other security problems. In general, behavior-based security techniques involve monitoring activity on a computer system, identifying suspicious activity, and when suspicious activity is identified, intervening to assess the problem (e.g., by initiating a forensic investigation of the activity, etc.) and/or to protect the computer system (e.g., by quarantining system resources associated with the activity).

Cybersecurity incident detection systems and techniques


Structures for a waveguide bend and methods of fabricating a structure for a waveguide bend. A waveguide bend is connected to a waveguide core. A slab layer, which is thinner than the waveguide bend, is coupled to the waveguide core and the waveguide bend. The slab layer includes a first curved opening and a second curved opening that is positioned between the first curved opening and a side surface of the waveguide bend. A section of the slab layer is positioned between the first and second curved openings. The first curved opening has a first radius, and the second curved opening has a second radius that is greater than or less than the first radius of the first curved opening.

The present invention relates to photonics chips and, more specifically, to structures for a waveguide bend and methods of fabricating a structure for a waveguide bend.
Photonics chips are used in many applications and systems such as data communication systems and data computation systems. A photonics chip integrates optical components, such as waveguides, optical switches, directional couplers, and waveguide bends, and electronic components, such as field-effect transistors, into a unified platform. Among other factors, layout area, cost, and operational overhead may be reduced by the fabrication of both types of components on a shared chip.
On-chip communication and sensing may rely on guiding optical signals through waveguides on the photonics chip to other optical components. Optical signals may propagate as electromagnetic waves within waveguides using several different modes that are characterized by distinct properties. Transverse electric (TE) modes are dependent upon transverse electric waves in which the electric field vector is oriented perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Transverse magnetic (TM) modes are dependent upon transverse magnetic waves in which the magnetic field vector is oriented perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
Optical signals guided by a waveguide bend may experience bending loss. Bending loss may be reduced by increasing the bending radius during the design phase. However, increasing the bending radius increases the form factor of the waveguide bend. A waveguide bend with a core fabricated from single-crystal silicon may include a slab layer of partially-etched single-crystal silicon coupled to the base of the core. Bending loss may be exacerbated due to mode leakage into the slab layer.
Improved waveguide bends and methods of fabricating waveguide bends are needed.


A stocktaking asset article system using a mobile terminal in which correct and rapid updates or new registrations of assets in an asset management master database may be accomplished. The mobile terminal has a specified database storing data necessary for the stocktaking, means for reading specific information from the asset article, means for retrieving information regarding the asset article from the specified database on the basis of the specific information, and inputting means for inputting information regarding an asset article recognized as not existing in the specified database. An assets management apparatus has means for extracting the data necessary for the stocktaking from the master database and registering the data as the specified database, and means for reflecting the information inputted from the inputting means upon the stocktaking on the master database.

In an enterprise, it is generally necessary to manage articles (hereinafter may be referred to as "asset management articles" or merely "asset articles") such as fixed asset articles, lease articles, rental articles and idle asset articles used in the enterprise. Therefore, stocktaking is performed several times in a year.
In the stocktaking, conditions as to individual asset articles are identified to manage each asset article unlike stocktaking for stock management (management of the number of the commodities) performed in a warehouse which stores commodities or a store which sells commodities. For example, an installation post (installation floor), an installation place, a user, use conditions (in no use or in use), stocktaking conditions (whether stocktaking has been performed or not), a stocktaking date and the like are identified as to the individual asset articles. In the stocktaking, conditions as to individual asset articles are identified to manage each asset article unlike stocktaking for stock management (management of the number of the commodities) performed in a warehouse where stores commodities or a store where sells commodities. For example, an installation post (installation floor), an installation place, a user, use conditions (in no use or in use), stocktaking conditions (whether stocktaking has been performed or not), a stocktaking date and the like are identified as to the individual asset articles.
Asset management articles may be considered fixtures used in an enterprise. These fixtures include displays, key boards and mice used in personal computers. Further included in these fixtures are such items as software, printers, scanners, copying machines, facsimiles, telephones, desks, chairs and bookshelves.
The stocktaking has heretofore been performed by manual works. In this case, a ledger such as a list of fixed asset article has been prepared in advance, and checking of the ledger with all the fixed asset articles has been performed to conduct the stocktaking.
Since not only such manual works take time and labor, but also the stocktaking tends to be concentrated at a specific season in a year, for example, the end of the year, however, there is a strong demand for efficiently performing the stocktaking.
In addition, in stocktaking using a paper-based ledger, for example, difficulties are encountered on application to management and/or retrieval of idle asset articles, and so a range making good use of the ledger has been limited.
Further, in the stocktaking by the manual works, there is a high possibility that personal mistakes such as mistakes in checking and mistakes in entry/posting to the ledger may occur. More specifically, a worker who performs stocktaking visually identifies an asset article subjected to the stocktaking, also visually identifies an item (registration column) according to the asset article in the ledger and then enters information regarding the stocktaking in this time to the registration column by hand. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the worker may mistake an item (registration column) to enter the information by a mistake in checking, and there is also a possibility that the worker may mistake the information itself to be entered to the item (registration column) by a mistake in entry/posting.
There is thus proposed an assets management system constructed by communicably connecting a host PC (PC: personal computer; hereinafter may be referred to as host" merely) and a mobile computer (handy terminal) to each other. In this assets management system, the host serves as a center of the system and has an assets management master database (hereinafter may be referred to as master database" merely) storing assets management master data that are information regarding asset management articles. The mobile computer is a portable terminal (portable information processing apparatus) used upon working such as actual stocktaking.
When this assets management system is adopted, bar codes with management numbers characteristic of individual asset articles (asset management articles) to be managed encoded are stuck in advance on the asset articles, respectively, and stocktaking information (for example, stocktaking conditions and stocktaking date) regarding the asset articles is registered in advance as the assets management master data correspondingly to the management numbers of the individual asset articles in the assets management master database.
In such an assets management system, after data for stocktaking in the same form as the assets management master data are sent from the assets management master database of the host to the mobile computer and registered as a database for stocktaking, a stocktaking work is started. A bar code reader (scanner) is connected to the mobile computer, and the bar code stuck on each asset management article is read out by the bar code reader upon a stocktaking work to input the encoded management number into the mobile computer.
The inputted management number is retrieved from the database for stocktaking registered in the mobile computer to update the stocktaking information regarding the asset management article to which the management number has been attached. The contents of the database for stocktaking updated in such a manner are sent to the host after completion of the stocktaking work so as to reflect them on the contents of the assets management master database.
The person in charge of stocktaking performs stocktaking using such an assets management system as described above, whereby there is no need to use any ledger, and a stocktaking work can be performed with ease without causing personal mistakes such as a mistake in checking and a mistake in entry/posting. In addition, since the information regarding the asset management articles is stored in the assets management master database, the management and/or retrieval of idle asset articles can be conducted with ease.
In the assets management system described above, when the data corresponding to the bar code (management number) read out by the bar code reader has not been registered in the database for stocktaking and the assets management master database, namely, an asset article not registered in the database for stocktaking and the assets management master database is retrieved during the stocktaking work, the person in charge of stocktaking makes memoranda of detailed information such as an equipment name, an installation post, an installation place, a user, use conditions, stocktaking conditions and a stocktaking date as to the asset article in addition to the bar code information (management number) stuck on the asset article and informs a responsible person of the assets management of the information at any time or collectively at the time the stocktaking has been completed. The responsible person of the assets management performs correction/new registration of the assets management master data on the basis of the information informed by the person in charge of stocktaking.
Accordingly, there is a possibility that personal mistakes such as a mistake in entry, a mistake in data entry and/or a mistake in posting may occur when the person in charge of stocktaking makes memoranda, or the responsible person of the assets management makes data entry/posting, and so correction/new registration of the assets management master data may not be correctly conducted. There is also a problem that the person in charge of stocktaking must make memoranda of detailed information of the asset article as described above to take labor for such a work.
With foregoing problems in view, the present invention has been made and has as its object the provision of an assets management system capable of correctly performing assets management by correctly and rapidly conducting updating or new registration to a master database when an asset article not existing in a specified database or master database is retrieved upon stocktaking of an asset article, and a terminal for assets management and an assets management apparatus.

System for stocktaking asset articles using a mobile device


A method for the reduction of hydrogen sulfide in an enclosure which is involved in processing sewage and where workmen are present wherein methyl benzoate is used an additive to the sewage is described. The methyl benzoate is preferably in the form of a dilute aqueous emulsion. The emulsifier is preferably a polyoxyethylene derivative of a sorbitan fatty acid ester and most preferably, polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to the use of methyl benzoate as an additive to sewage to reduce the generation of hydrogen sulfide in an enclosure where humans may be exposed to the hydrogen sulfide. In particular, the present invention relates to the use of methyl benzoate in a dilute aqueous emulsion as an additive to the sewage.
2. Description of Related Art
Methyl benzoate is sold commercially under the trademark ZING by Zing Agricultural Product Applications, Inc., Portland, Mich., as an aqueous emulsion for odor control in sewage and livestock manure. The emulsifier is a small volume of a non-toxic soap or detergent which allows the methyl benzoate to be mixed with water. This product is also used to dissolve and control grease, sludge, soap and detergent deposits, particularly in drains and sink traps. It is approved under EPA regulations and is considered safe for use in the environment.
The municipal treatment of raw sewage to separate water and a sludge is well known to those skilled in the art. It is described in detail in Kirk Othmer 24 407 to 418 (1984) and in numerous other publications on the subject. The process generally involves sewage pumping, settling and biological treatment in various forms. In general, the process equipment is housed in an enclosure in which humans at least periodically have to work.
Hydrogen sulfide is generated from sewage in amounts which are dangerous to humans and which can be fatal. The method of the prior art method for removing hydrogen sulfide is to vent the gas to the atmosphere. The smell is unpleasant (rotten egg odor) and persons around the enclosure, particularly downwind, can become sick with headaches, rashes and the like. Since hydrogen sulfide is an acid, it is corrosive to equipment. There is a need for the reduction of the hydrogen sulfide generated by the sewage.
Hydrogen sulfide gas is a dangerous problem in sewage treatment plants. Under OSHA rules in the U.S. (29 CFR 1910.1000), the time weighted average (TWA) for an employee in an eight hour shift for a 40 hour work week for hydrogen sulfide is 10 ppm (14 rag/m.sup.3). The short term exposure limit (STEL) at any time during a work week is 15 ppm (21 mg/m.sup.3). As can be seen, hydrogen sulfide is quite poisonous and presents a significant health risk for workmen.

Method for the reduction of hydrogen sulfide in sewage treatment plants


Systems and methods of configuring a fixed memory array of an integrated circuit with coefficients of one or more applications includes identifying a utilization constraint type of the fixed memory array from a plurality of distinct utilization constraint types based on computing attributes of the one or more applications; identifying at least one coefficient mapping technique from a plurality of distinct coefficient mapping techniques that addresses the utilization constraint type; configuring the fixed memory array according to the at least one coefficient mapping technique, wherein configuring the array includes at least setting within the array the coefficients of the one or more applications in an arrangement prescribed by the at least one coefficient mapping technique that optimizes a computational utilization of the fixed memory array.

Today, implementations of artificial intelligence are driving innovation in many fields of technology. Artificial intelligence systems and artificial intelligence algorithms include many models that enable learning (deep learning), reasoning, and data processing capabilities of a machine (e.g., a computer). These AI systems and models are often trained intensively to perform one or more specific tasks, such as natural language processing, image recognition, planning, decision-making, and the like. Neural network training, for example, in many cases may take thousands of hours across the training cycle and many terabytes of training data to fine tune an associated algorithm before use.
However, once trained, a neural network model or algorithm may be deployed quickly to make inferences based on relatively smaller datasets than training datasets to accomplish specific tasks (e.g., recognizing speech from speech input data, etc.). The inferences made by the neural network model or algorithm based on the dataset may be a prediction about what the neural network calculates to be a correct answer or indication.
Still, while neural network models or algorithms may not require a same amount of compute resources as required in a training phase, deploying a neural network model or algorithm in the field continues to require significant energy and compute power to classify data and infer or predict a result. This is because many of the traditional computers and systems that implement neural network models or algorithms tend to be larger to accommodate a great amount of circuitry needed for computing power and increased data processing speeds when implementing the neural network model and due to the large size of the circuitry, more energy is required to enable the compute power of the many circuits.
These traditional computers and systems for implementing artificial intelligence models and, namely, neural network models may be suitable for remote computing, such as in distributed computing systems (e.g., the cloud), or when using many onsite computing servers and the like. However, latency problems are manifest when these remote artificial intelligence processing systems are used in computing inferences and the like for remote edge computing or in field devices. That is, when these traditional remote systems seek to implement a neural network model for generating inferences to be used in remote field devices, there are unavoidable delays in receiving input data from the remote field devices because the input data must often be transmitted over a network with varying bandwidth and subsequently, inferences generated by the remote computing system must be transmitted back via a same or similar network.
Implementing AI processing systems at the field level may be a proposed solution to resolve some of the latency issues. However, attempts to implement some of these traditional computers and systems at an edge device (or in field of use device) may result in a bulky system with many circuits, as mentioned above, that consumes significant amounts of energy due to the architecture of the computing system used in generating inferences. Thus, such a proposal may not be feasible and/or sustainable.
Accordingly, there is a need for a deployable system for implementing artificial intelligence models in the field, and preferably to be used in edge devices, that do not result in large, bulky (edge) devices and that have necessary compute power to make predictions or inferences while also being energy efficient.
The below-described embodiments of the present application provide such advanced and improved integrated circuits and implementation techniques capable of addressing the deficiencies of traditional systems.

Systems and methods for mapping matrix calculations to a matrix multiply accelerator


A steerable direct myocardial revascularization catheter comprises a catheter body, a control handle, a tip section, and a means for deflecting the tip section by manipulation of the control handle. The catheter body has an outer wall, proximal and distal ends, and at least one lumen extending therethrough. The control handle is fixedly attached to the proximal end of the catheter body. The tip section comprises flexible tubing having proximal and distal ends and at least one lumen extending therethrough. The proximal end of the tip section is fixedly attached to the distal end of the catheter body. The catheter also comprises a tip electrode mounted at the distal end of the tip section. The tip electrode has a distal face and an optic fiber lumen therethrough. An electrode lead wire is electrically connected to the tip electrode. The lead wire extends through a lumen in the tip section, through a lumen in the catheter body and into the control handle. The catheter further comprises an optic fiber comprising a core, a metallized cladding and a protective jacker. The optic fiber has a distal end and a proximal end and extends through a lumen in the catheter body and a lumen in the tip section and into the optic fiber lumen of the tip electrode. The distal end of the optic fiber is substantially flush with the distal face of the tip electrode.

Direct myocardial revascularization (DMR), also referred to as percutaneous myocardial revascularization, is a technique that allows physicians to treat patients who have sustained a myocardial infraction by burning channels in the myocardium that has been determined to be ischemic heart tissue. The channels, which are burned by a laser, allow for angiogenesis, i.e., the formation of blood vessels.
Several myocardial revascularization procedures are known that require that the chest wall be opened to access the heart muscle with laser devices. The procedures are not very desirable, as they require major surgery that can result in severe complications. Aita et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,096, describes a procedure for performing myocardial revascularization percutaneously by inserting a guidable elongated flexible lasing apparatus, such as a catheter, into a patient's vasculature. The distal end of the catheter is guided to an area in the heart to be revascularized. The inner wall of the heart is then irradiated with laser energy to cause a channel to be formed from the endocardium into the myocardium.
For obvious reasons, DMR catheters require the physician to have more control and information than other catheters having an optic fiber, such as ablation catheters. Aita et al. generally describes a DMR catheter. The present invention is directed to an improved DMR catheter which allows the physician to have greater control and obtain more information than the catheter described in Aita el al.

Steerable direct myocardial revascularization catheter


A method and system for organizing and sharing digital images over a communication network wherein an image server at a service provider stores digital images for a customer which may have more two more electronic addresses which may receive e-mail. The server automatically forwarding all electronic mail having an address from one of the registered two or more electronic addresses to the primary electronic address that is received over a communication network. The e-mail includes a link to the share images and/or images folder.

There are currently many websites that allow users to create online collections of photos (usually called "albums"), and then share these albums with one or many recipients. When a user wants to share a set of photos, they need to perform the following set of tasks: 1. upload the image(s) into a particular album; 2. go to a web browser and go to the photo sharing website; 3. select the album that contains the new photos; 4. select/enter the e-mail addresses for the desired recipients; and 5. send the message. While this is a straightforward process, it actually requires a lot of work on the part of the user. In particular, the upload process normally takes a long time, so that the user must endure a long wait before they can proceed to steps 2-5. Also, step 4 can be cumbersome, particularly for users who like to share their photos with large groups. Also, every time that the user wants to share new photos, they must go through the entire process again.
The current state of the art is also problematic for recipients. Since each photo-share is sent as a separate message, a recipient can quickly become overwhelmed with multiple share e-mails, and will not be able to keep track of which photos came in which message. In addition, many people have multiple e-mail addresses, so that they must check several accounts in order to manage all of their incoming photo shares.

System and method for notification of digital images to be shared via a service provider


A permanent magnet alternator including a stationary stator including a plurality of spaced stator poles projecting inwardly from the stator, a winding circuit wound through the spaces between the stator poles, a rotor assembly mounted for rotation within the stator, including a plurality of permanent magnets fixedly mounted on an outer circumferential surface of the rotor in alternating polarity, and a retaining shield for reducing the effects of centrifugal motion of the rotor during operation of the alternator. A voltage regulator circuit is also provided for applying the output of the permanent magnet alternator having at least one stator mounted coil to a load, and includes a rectifier circuit having an output and an input adapted to be connected to a stator mounted coil for converting alternating potential to a time varying single potential on the output, a current control circuit connected between the output of the rectifier circuit and the load; an instantaneous voltage sensing circuit connected with the output of the rectifier circuit and the current control circuit for measuring the instantaneous voltage appearing on the output and for causing the current control circuit to assume its conductive state when the instantaneous voltage is above a predetermined amount, and a regulator control circuit for sensing the voltage applied to the load by the current control circuit and for causing the current control circuit to assume its non conductive state when the voltage applied to the load is above a desired level and for shortening the time during which the current control circuit is in its conductive state as the voltage applied to the load approaches the predetermined level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a light weight alternator, and in particular, a permanent magnet-type alternator including a voltage regulator for regulating the voltage output of the permanent magnet-type alternator.
2. Field of the Related Art
Various alternators use wound stator and rotor assemblies in which an electromagnetic force is produced in and around the rotor windings by admitting current through the rotor windings. In such designs, as the magnetic field produced in the spinning rotor couples with the windings at the stator, current is induced in the stator windings. These alternators, however, require brushes or slip rings to maintain a closed circuit for admitting the current necessary in the rotor during rotation. Because the brushes or slip rings are mechanical connections, they are susceptible to wear and corrosion.
The use of permanent magnet alternators have been found to be advantageous since they do not require that current be supplied to the rotor. In other words, the field inherent to and produced by the magnetic material of the permanent magnet alternators induces current in the stator as the magnet poles move in respect to the stator windings. Because it is not required to supply current to the rotor, slip rings and brushes are not required.
While the use of permanent magnet alternators have proven successful for various applications, the prior art systems have several shortcomings. Generally, because the alternator generates excessive heat, internal fans are provided on the drive end to cool the windings and the rotor. This increases the weight of the alternator, and thus, makes it undesirable for use in an automotive or aerospace capacity where fuel efficiency is needed. Moreover, many systems require the attachment of individual magnets to the outer circumferential surface of the rotor, which may result in the failure of the alternator if by chance one or more magnets becomes detached from the rotor due to the high centrifugal forces that result from the rotation of the rotor at high rpm or faulty adhesion between the magnet and surface. Yet another problem associated with permanent magnet alternators is the difficulty associated with controlling the output voltage generated in the stator windings as will otherwise inherently occur when the alternator is driven at variable rotational velocities. These drawbacks of the prior art are especially problematic in the vehicular environment where low cost, high reliability and light weight are all important to achieving a commercially acceptable design.

Permanent magnet alternator and voltage regulator circuit for the permanent magnet alternator


Computer users may utilize different web browsers to access a server system on the World Wide Web (WWW) to create or join a collaborative browsing session. The users or collaborators in a session are connected by one or more controllers in the server system. When a collaborator creates or joins a session, mobile code is transmitted from the system to the collaborator's computer to create a surrogate thereon, which monitors the collaborator's interaction with a web browser on the computer. The controllers communicate with all the surrogates of the collaborators to coordinate the collaborative browsing effort. When one of the surrogates detects a change by a collaborator of a uniform resource locator (URL), the new URL is communicated through the controllers to the surrogates of all other collaborators in the session. As such, the collaborators are able to move from one URL to another to browse information in a synchronous manner. In addition, the collaborators can interactively communicate with one another in real time through the respective surrogates during the session.

Computer users can access many resources on an expansive international network of computer networks known as the Internet. WWW is a graphical subnetwork of the Internet. With common "web browser" software of the type of NETSCAPE browser, the users can readily access Internet information or services provided by web servers on WWW.
Many Internet services allow communications between users. For example, two or more computer users may access a designated web server providing a "text-chat" service, whereby users may interactively communicate in text with one another in real time.
Computer users can also share web browsing experiences using a SHARED MOSAIC browser. To that end, each user is required to have his/her own copy of the SHARED MOSAIC software on a computer. To establish links between a user and his/her companions, the user needs to communicate to the companions beforehand by, say, email or telephone an internet protocol (IP) port number identifying the user's particular browser. The companions then run the respective browsers on their computers and enter the IP port number as communicated, thereby establishing the links between the user's computer and the companions' computers through the Internet. As the user is visiting a website of interest, he/she can select an option provided by the browser to share with the companions the same information from the website through the established links.

Technique for obtaining and exchanging information on wolrd wide web


A method includes providing a gate structure having a dummy gate, a first spacer along a side of the gate. The dummy gate and the spacer are removed to expose a gate dielectric. A second spacer is deposited on at least one side of a gate structure cavity and a top of the gate dielectric. A bottom portion of the second spacer is removed to expose the gate dielectric and the gate structure is wet cleaned.

A finished gate structure (such as a finished gate or transistor gate) is the transistor terminal that modulates channel conductivity. Two principle approaches for forming semiconductor device gate structures are the gate-first and gate-last process approaches.
During fabrication of gate structures for, for instance, complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, gate-first fabrication has traditionally been employed. In a gate-first fabrication approach, a conductor is provided over a gate dielectric, and then patterned (i.e., etched) to form one or more gate structures. After forming the gate structures, source and drain features of the semiconductor devices are provided.
More recently, the gate-last approach (or replacement metal gate (RMG) approach), has been employed. In the gate-last approach, a sacrificial (or dummy) gate material is provided and patterned (i.e., etched) to define one or more sacrificial gates. Some or all of the sacrificial gates are subsequently replaced with, for instance, a metal gate, after source and drain features of the devices have been formed. The sacrificial gate material holds the position for the subsequent metal gate to be formed. For instance, an amorphous silicon (a-Si) or polysilicon sacrificial gate may be patterned and used during initial processing until high-temperature annealing to activate the source and drain features has been completed. Subsequently, the a-Si or polysilicon may be removed and replaced with the final metal gate. Further, a semiconductor technology node scales down to nano-scale regime, it requires the parasitic capacitances to be small to improve device AC performance. The large parasitic capacitance associated with spacers is one of the key dielectrics which may degrade transistor performance. A Low-K spacer is a good candidate to minimize parasitic capacitance for high performance CMOS technology, and there may be less of an impact to the properties thereof induced by downstream processes In general, total overlap capacitance (Cov) consists of three components: direct overlap capacitance (Cdo), outer fringing capacitance (Cof), and inner fringing capacitance (Cif). As a channel length shrinks, the distances between a gate electrode to source/drain and contact fields also scale down and the direct effect is Cof becomes more prominent.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved systems and methods for forming semiconductor device gate structures to reduce parasitic losses.


A fuel injection control apparatus of an internal combustion engine having reduced erroneous determination and delay of discriminating/updating a gear position and thus having improved accuracy of its gear position information. The apparatus has a gear position sensor for detecting a gear position; a vehicle speed pulse sensor for detecting a vehicle speed pulse; an engine speed sensor for detecting an engine speed; first gear position calculator for determining a gear from data from the gear position sensor; second gear position calculator for determining a gear on the basis of data from the vehicle speed pulse sensor and data from the engine speed sensor; and gear position selector for deciding a gear position on the basis of the logical product of the gear position determined by the first gear position calculator and the gear position determined by the second gear position calculator.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fuel injection control apparatus of an internal combustion engine from which driving power is transmitted to an output shaft via a gearbox, and particularly to a fuel injection control apparatus of a type wherein a fuel injection quantity is controlled on the basis of a gear position.
2. Description of the Related Art
In fuel injection control apparatuses of the internal combustion engine of related art, the pressure inside an air-intake pipe and a throttle valve opening have been used as parameters for determining a basic injection quantity of fuel; further to this a gear position of a gearbox has been detected, and the fuel injection quantity has been controlled in correspondence with the gear position at the time to obtain a suitable fuel injection quantity corresponding to the operating state of the engine. As methods for determining this gear position, a method in which a known gear position sensor is used and a method in which the gear position is deduced from the outputs of a vehicle speed pulse sensor and an engine speed sensor are known.
However, because gear position sensors are of a battery voltage resistance voltage-dividing type switched by gear changes, the gear position sensor voltage often fluctuates with fluctuation of the battery voltage and load fluctuation at times of sudden acceleration and so on, and this has been a cause of erroneous determination of the gear position. In particular there has been the problem that in high gears, because the voltage range per gear is narrow, erroneous determinations occur easily. With regard to methods using a vehicle speed pulse sensor and an engine speed sensor, on the other hand, although there are methods of the kind set forth for example in Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2004-100590), in which the gear position is discriminated by the ratio of the engine speed to the vehicle speed being compared with a predetermined reference level of gear ratio, with these there has been the problem that because the gear position is deduced by filtering vehicle speed pulse count information from the vehicle speed pulse sensor, a delay arises in the discrimination of the gear position.

Fuel injection control apparatus of internal combustion engine


A novel biosensor comprises at least one fluorophore and at least two quenchers, and is capable of selectively and specifically detecting the presence of an ion in the presence of other ions.

Many metals pose a risk as environmental contaminants. A well-known example is lead. Low level lead exposure can lead to a number of adverse health effects, with as many as 9-25% of pre-school children presently at risk. Approximately twenty-two million old houses in the United States alone have lead paint (Schwartz & Levin, 1991; Rabinowitz et al., 1985). Although leaded paints and gasoline have been banned, lead can accumulate in soils or sediments for long periods of time (Marcus & Elias, 1995; Bogden & Louria, 1975). The level of lead in the blood considered toxic is ≧10 μg/dL (480 nM). Current methods for lead analysis, such as atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and anodic stripping voltammetry, are complex, expensive and often require sophisticated equipment, sample pre-treatment and skilled operators.
Simple, rapid, inexpensive, selective and sensitive methods that permit real time detection of Pb2+ and other metal ions are very important in the fields of environmental monitoring, clinical toxicology, wastewater treatment, and industrial process monitoring and can lead to preventative measures or at least lower risks associated with metal contaminants. Furthermore, methods are needed for monitoring free or bioavailable, instead of total, metal ions in industrial and biological systems.
Fluorescence spectroscopy is a technique well suited for detection of very small concentrations of analytes. Fluorescence provides significant signal amplification, since a single fluorophore can absorb and emit many photons, leading to strong signals even at very low concentrations. In addition, the fluorescence time-scale is fast enough to allow real-time monitoring of concentration fluctuations. Fluorescent properties only respond to changes related to the fluorophore, and therefore can be highly selective. Also, fluorometers, for measuring fluorescence signals, are commercially available. Fluorescent detection is also compatible with fiber-optic technology and well suited for in vivo imaging applications. Several fluorescence-related parameters can be assessed for purposes of sensing, detecting, identifying or quantifying a target analyte, including fluorescence intensity, emission or excitation wavelength, fluorescence lifetime and anisotropy.
For example, bioaffinity sensors, labeled with fluorophores, have been used to detect DNA hybridization and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (Didenko, 2001). Specifically, molecular beacon, a DNA hairpin structure, is labeled with both a fluorophore and quencher (Tyagi & Kramer, 1996). In the absence of target DNA, the hairpin structure is closed and due to the close proximity of the fluorophore and quencher, fluorescence is quenched. However, in the presence of a complementary DNA strand, the hairpin secondary structure is destroyed and the fluorescence is released without quenching. Multiple DNA strands may be detected at the same time by placing a quencher on one end of the molecular beacon DNA strand and two fluorophores (a donor fluorophore and an acceptor fluorophore) on the other end (Tyagi & Kramer, 1998; 2000). This design, based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), quenches fluorescence of the fluorophores in the absence of, complementary DNA due to the hairpin structure being closed. However, upon hybridization of the molecular beacon and the complementary DNA, the secondary structure is destroyed and the donor fluorophore transfers energy to the acceptor fluorophore, resulting in fluorescence. Molecular beacon can be designed to target different DNA sequences by constructing complementary DNA strand hairpins, each with a different acceptor fluorophore, while keeping the donor fluorophore the same.
Biosensors, devices capable of detecting target ions using biological reactions, in contrast to bioaffinity sensors, can be modified to utilize fluorescence for detecting, identifying or quantifying target ions, which can act as catalysts of the biosensor. These modified biosensors, called fluorosensors, are highly sensitive. For example, many fluorescent chemosensors, including fluorophore-labeled organic chelators (Rurack, et al., 2000; Hennrich et al., 1999; Winkler et al., 1998; Oehme & Wolfbeis, 1997) and peptides (Walkup & Imperiali, 1996; Deo & Godwin, 2000; Pearce et al., 1998), have been developed for metal ion detection. These ion sensors are usually composed of an ion-binding motif and a fluorophore. Metal detection using these fluorescent chemosensors relies on the modulation of the fluorescent properties of the fluorophore by the metal-binding event. Detection limits on the level of micromolar and even nanomolar concentrations have been achieved for heavy metal ions including Zn2+, Cu2+, Hg2+, Cd2+ and Ag+.
Recently, the molecular recognition and catalytic function of nucleic acids have been extensively explored. This exploration has led to the development of aptamers and nucleic acid enzymes, which can be used as biosensors. Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides derived from an in vitro evolution protocol called systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). Nucleic acid aptamers can selectively bind to non-nucleic acid targets, such as small organic molecules or proteins, with affinities as high as 10−14 M (Uphoff et al. 1996; Famulok, 1999). Most aptamers undergo a conformational change when binding their cognate ligands. With this property, several DNA and RNA aptamers have been engineered to sense L-adenosine or thrombin through an internally labeled fluorescent reporter group (Jhaveri et al., 2000). Thus, the conformational change in the aptamer upon binding leads to a change in fluorescence. Nucleic acid enzymes, molecules capable of catalyzing a chemical reaction, may be specifically designed through in vitro selection. (Breaker & Joyce, 1994; Breaker, 1997). Allosteric ribozymes (or aptazymes), which combine the features of both aptamer and catalytic RNA, also hold promise for sensing small molecules (Potyrailo et al., 1998; Koizumi et al., 1999; Robertson & Ellington, 1999, 2000). Their reactivity is modulated through the conformational changes caused by the binding of small organic molecules to an allosteric aptamer domain. Therefore, the signal of ligand binding can be transformed into a signal related to chemical reaction.

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


A new Nemesia plant named ‘Cnem Pinka’, particularly distinguished by the purple/pink flowers, a relatively compact growth habit that is semi-spreading and mounding, strong stems, full well branched plant with medium-green foliage and relatively large rounded leaves, good floriferiousness, and a slightly sweet fragrance.

The present invention comprises a new Nemesia, botanically known as Nemesia fruticosa and hereinafter referred to by the variety name 'Cnem Pinka'.
'Cnem Pinka' is a product of a planned breeding program. The new cultivar 'Cnem Pinka' has purple/pink flowers, a relatively compact growth habit that is semi-spreading and mounded, strong stems, full well branched plant with medium-green foliage and relatively large rounded leaves, good floriferiousness, and a slightly sweet fragrance.
'Cnem Pinka' originated from a hybridization in a controlled breeding program in Andijk, Netherlands. The female parent was an unpatented hybrid seedling identified as 'NE04-57-1' with white color. 'NE04-57-1' has larger foliage, thinner stems, and smaller petals than 'Cnem Pinka'.
The male parent of 'Cnem Pinka' was an unpatented hybrid seedling identified as 'NE05-14-2' with white color. 'NE05-14-2' has lighter green foliage, less upright habit, and longer stems than 'Cnem Pinka'.
'Cnem Pinka' was selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in January 2006 in a controlled environment in Andijk, Netherlands. The pollination took place in June 2005 and the seed sowing in October 2005.
The first act of asexual reproduction of 'Cnem Pinka' was accomplished using vegetative cuttings propagated from the initial selection in January 2006 in a controlled environment in Andijk, Netherlands.
Horticultural examination of plants grown from cuttings of the plant initiated in January 2006 in Andijk, Netherlands, and continuing thereafter, has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for 'Cnem Pinka' are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
'Cnem Pinka' has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and day length.
A Plant Breeder's Right for this cultivar was applied for in Canada on Dec. 24, 2007. 'Cnem Pinka' has not been made publicly available more than one year prior to the filing of this application.


A method includes receiving a ground-truth motion indication from a measurement device. The ground-truth motion indication is a time series of locations and a corresponding indication of a motion state at each location of the time series of locations. The method also includes receiving a time series of detected motion states based on wireless signals communicated through a space over a time period by a wireless communication network comprising a plurality of wireless communication devices. The detected motion states for a time interval within the time series are compared to the ground-truth motion indication for the time interval within the time series to generate a time series of consistency scores. The consistency scores are processed to produce an aggregate motion-detection capability score at each location. The method also includes providing, for display as a graphical representation of motion-detection capability within the space, the aggregate motion-detection capability at each location.

The following description relates to analyzing Wi-Fi motion coverage in an environment.
Motion detection systems have been used to detect movement, for example, of objects in a room or an outdoor area. In some example motion detection systems, infrared or optical sensors are used to detect movement of objects in the sensor's field of view. Motion detection systems have been used in security systems, automated control systems, and other types of systems.

Analyzing Wi-Fi motion coverage in an environment


There is described an arrangement for cooling electrical components disposed on a board-shaped mounting substrate, particularly SMD power components on a printed circuit board, wherein at least one heat sink assigned to a component is present which is disposed on the same side as the components and which is connected in a thermally conductive manner to the assigned component by means of a thermally conductive layer implemented on the mounting substrate. The heat sink is implemented as a bent sheet-metal part and is connected to the thermally conductive layer by means of a solder joint, wherein the bent sheet-metal part has at least one heat sink element which extends in a longitudinal direction and said longitudinal direction is oriented obliquely to the plane of the board-shaped substrate.

Various heat dissipation concepts for cooling power components mounted using surface mount technology (SMT) are known. The heat can be dissipated by heat sinks which are disposed either on the component side or on the back of the printed circuit board.
DE 43 32 115 B4 discloses a printed circuit board cooling arrangement using a heat sink disposed on the component side. An electrically insulating but thermally conducting adhesive foil connects the heat sink to the conductor tracks leading to the SMD component. However, the thermally conductive adhesive foil itself possesses a thermal resistance. The application of the adhesive foil requires an additional manufacturing step. The cooling fins are perpendicular to the plane of the component side of the printed circuit board. For natural convection, cooling is therefore dependent on the position in space of the printed circuit board.
An electrical device comprising a printed circuit board on which the SMD components are cooled by a heat sink on the underside of the printed circuit board is disclosed in DE 199 10 500 A1. By means of thermal vias, the heat dissipated on the component side is conducted to the back of the printed circuit board. The provision of thermal vias likewise constitutes an increased printed circuit board manufacturing cost.
These known heat removal concepts are costly in manufacturing terms and also have the disadvantage that heat dissipation by natural convection is dependent on the mounting position. Under worst case conditions a hot spot may occur which can impair the operational capability of the SMD circuit.

Arrangement for cooling SMD power components on a printed circuit board


A methodology for forming a compressive strain layer with increased thickness that exhibits improved device performance and the resulting device are disclosed. Embodiments may include forming a recess in a source or drain region of a substrate, implanting a high-dose impurity in a surface of the recess, and depositing a silicon-germanium (SiGe) layer in the recess.

Embedded silicon germanium (eSiGe) is commonly used to introduce stress in the channel regions of, for example, PMOS devices to improve hole mobility and, therefore, device performance. The eSiGe is typically formed in a recess in the silicon substrate adjacent the channel region. However, during a typical SiGe deposition, the SiGe grows at a faster rate at bottom surfaces than sidewall surfaces of recesses. This results in an eSiGe layer of non-uniform thickness, particularly at the edges of the recess where the deposited SiGe tapers. The non-uniform thickness impairs efforts to engineer channel region strain and impacts the performance of the resulting device.
A need therefore exists for methodology enabling the adjustment of the relative growth rate of strain-inducing materials at the bottom and sidewall surfaces of recesses and the resulting devices.

Method for a uniform compressive strain layer and device thereof