An Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System for wine and other liquid-containing bottles is installed during the manufacture of the bottle. The Integrated drip Proof Stopper System contains a shrink-wrap shell disposed about the throat of the bottle. The shrink-wrap shell has an opening strip that separates a shrink-wrap shell extension from a lower portion of the shrink-wrap shell. When pulled, the strip exposes an absorbent pad that is adhesively bonded to the bottom portion of the shrink-wrap shell. The absorbent pad captures drips that occur when wine or liquid is poured from the bottle, preventing damage to tablecloths or tabletops on which the bottle is placed. The upper portion of the absorbent pad has a plurality of slits and teeth forming a teeth-like structure adapted for expansion by the user to increase drip capture efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stopper for wine and liquid containing bottles; and more particularly to a drip proof stopper system that is integrated with the bottle during manufacture, and functions to prevent wine or other liquid from dripping off the sides of the bottle during and after pouring of the bottle contents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many approaches have been disclosed for applying a collar or blotting paper to the necks of bottles containing wine and other liquids. Such devices have attempted to prevent dripping or running of such liquids down the exterior surface of the bottle. The need to prevent liquid bottle contents from dripping on and thereby damaging a table cloths or table top beneath the bottle is readily apparent. To meet this need, collars or blotting paper have been placed on or beneath bottles.
U.S. Pat. No. 447,635 to Day, Jr. discloses an absorbent bottle collar comprised of a flexible band of blotting-paper or other bibulous material adapted to hug the neck of a bottle and a retaining device to hold it in place. The upper edge of the absorbing material may optionally be scalloped with the scallops turned outward to more effectively catch and absorb any drips present. This absorbing blotting paper is held in place by the retainer and quickly becomes very soggy. As such, the blotting paper can no longer be readily retained in place to capture additional drips. The blotting paper is attached by the user by means of wire or other retainers and is not an integral part of the wine or liquid containing bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 811,742 to Petrie discloses a section of absorbent material having a plurality of central slits, whereby the device adheres to the neck of a bottle. Blotting paper having a circular form of construction is said to be preferred, and other suitable materials having different shapes are also disclosed as being suitable for use with the device. The blotting paper collar is held in place around the collar of the wine or liquid containing bottle and becomes soggy when it absorbs the drip and slides away rapidly without absorbing further drips. The collar is placed by the user and is not an integral part of the wine or liquid containing bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,182,993 to Deeks discloses an absorbent elastic band adapted to be placed around the neck of a bottle. In this manner, dripping of the contents of the bottle down the side of the neck is said to be arrested and absorbed and effectively prevented from flowing farther down the bottle. The invention is also said to prevent marring or destruction of the bottle's label, and to avoid the collection of dirt or germs that may be transmitted by a person picking up the bottle. The soft absorbent textile fabric elastic band has to be slipped over the bottle by the user and is not an integral part of the wine or liquid containing bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,590 to Hopkins discloses a means whereby residual drip from bottles may be limited in extent. Residual dripped liquid is thereby arrested from running down along a bottle any farther than to about the lower part of the bottle neck. The bottle body is kept dry for non-sticky grasping. With its body dry there is no residually dripped liquid on the base of the bottle to wet and/or stain any surface on which the bottle is set. Further disclosed is a slightly angled or somewhat curved or arcuate strip or portion of absorbent material characterized by a substantially longitudinally oriented slot usually somewhat nearer to one of its ends than the other. This slot has a length approximately the same as the mean width of the strip in the region at and adjacent its end from which the slot is farther removed. The device disclosed by the patent is suited for installation on a bottle until a time subsequent to the bottling operation. It is not an integral part of the bottle and has to be installed by the user. An absorbent strip has a slot through which the end without the slot is inserted to form a collar around the neck of the bottle. The collar does not hug the neck of the bottle tightly enough to capture all drips. Moreover, it tends to slide down the side of the bottle to a position that prevents or retards effective usage thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,955 to Heyer et al. discloses a container for use in the shipment and storage of radioactive material including a wrench-type cover. The cover includes a lid and a wrench-type attachment dimensioned so as to engage the cap of an enclosed bottle and provide space in which an absorbent pad can be located. The patent discloses a system in which the absorbent material is installed in the shipment container of radioactive material long after manufacture of the container and it is not manufactured together with the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,341 to Yeager discloses a bottle for packaging beverages for individual use. The bottle comprises a wide mouth container and a closure lid. The container has a neck with a circular opening; the closure lid has a concentric inner skirt and outer skirt. The container and the closure lid have corresponding fastening means for opening and closing the container. A corresponding fastening means is respectively located on an inner circumferential area of the circular opening of the neck and on an outer circumference of the inner skirt. The outer circumferential area of the neck is smooth. The outer diameter of the outer skirt covers and protects the smooth outer circumferential area of the neck when the closure lid is fastened to the container. The device disclosed by the patent is installed on the bottle after a bottling operation. By way of contrast, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is installed on the bottle during the bottling operation and the absorbent pad remains hidden from view by a shrink-wrap shell until the bottle is opened by the use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,182 to Laybourne discloses a coaster for use with a beverage can, bottle or other container. The coaster is provided with an absorbent member having a seat sized to receive the bottom or foot of the container. A multiplicity of interconnected capillary spaces receive and safely retain any moisture present or forming as a condensate on and running or dripping from the container. The dripping liquid is not prevented from reaching the tablecloth or table but is captured in a coaster with absorbent pad. The disclosure of the patent is fundamentally different from that of the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System, in that the absorption medium is integrated with the bottle during manufacture and is located at or near the mouth of a bottle or container, rather than at its base.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,324 to Cash discloses a bottle cover arranged for securement about an upper portion of a bottle member in a complementary relationship. The bottle cover includes a body cavity and is formed of a fluid absorbing sponge material having a head portion to receive the bottle cap therewithin. The head portion has a cylindrical cavity, including a cylindrical resilient insert arranged coextensively about an interior wall of the head portion for enhanced engagement of the bottle cap. Rotation of the bottle cap is permitted relative to the associated bottle with the sponge body arranged to absorb fluid in an overflow from the associated bottle member. The device disclosed by the patent is not operative during the transfer of liquid from the container. On the other hand, such operation is the quintessence of the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System. Moreover, the device of the patent is not installed on a bottle until after conclusion of the manufacturing procedure. By way of contrast, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is especially suited for installation on the bottle during the bottling operation. Advantageously, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System includes an absorbent pad that remains hidden from view by a shrink-wrap shell until the bottle is opened by the user, whereas the patent device does not.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,458 to French discloses various embodiments of stretchable gift-wrap. Such embodiments provide for the wrapping of a portion of a regularly or irregularly shaped article to provide an attractive and closely fitting wrap therefor. The wrap is preferably formed of a finely woven, generally opaque elastic fabric materials adapted to stretch to substantially twice its unstretched dimension in all directions. Spandex materials are said to be preferable, although other stretchable materials might be used. In another embodiment, a peripheral closure band is used to draw the wrap tightly about an article. Yet another embodiment comprises a sleeve of stretchable materials, which may be open at one or both ends. The sleeve may be used to wrap elongate articles (wine bottles, etc.) therein. The corners of the closed end of the sleeve are folded and gathered to form what is said to be an attractive configuration. The patent discloses aesthetic features; not functional elements. No disclosure is contained by the patent concerning installation of the stretchable gift-wrap until after completion of the manufacturing process. By way of contrast, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is adapted for installation on the bottle during the bottling operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,256 to Bernstein discloses a bottle which contains a fluid, such as a lotion (i.e., a suntan lotion, skin lotion), medication, cleanser or the like. The bottle has a built-in applicator and spout for applying the fluid to various body parts, especially inaccessible body parts such as the back of a person, to external wall surfaces and the like. The patent discloses a combined actuator and bottle for storing a fluid and for applying the fluid. Clearly, there exists no disclosure in the patent concerning a device that functions to stop drips. In contrast to the patent, wherein the built-in applicator and spout are not provided with a drip stopping mechanism, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is designed to prevent drops of liquid from migrating down the bottle and coming into contact with the surface of a table, or other substrate, therebelow. Moreover, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is especially suited to be installed on the bottle during the bottling operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,749 to Hall et al. discloses a method and apparatus to help infants change diets. It is based upon the use of an absorbent pad having an odorant placed on a baby bottle so as to be near the baby's nose when ingesting. This absorbent pad is neither used to curtail dribbling of liquid when baby's bottle is in use or thereafter. The inventive concept of the patent is to place a pleasing odorant near a user's nose during drinking, which can help babies, elderly people, and even pets ingest more fluids. The concept of drip stopping is not disclosed or suggested by the patent. Clearly, there exists no suggestion in the patent concerning the value derived by installing an Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System on a bottle. Even less does the patent disclose or suggest installing an Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System on a bottle during the bottling operation. By way of contrast, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is especially adapted to be installed on a bottle during the bottling operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,256 to Martin discloses a filling valve for incorporation in a bottle filling machine such as the Crown bottle filling machine or other functionally similar bottle filling machines, in which the filling valve has a housing adapted so that the liquid beverage will flow through the valve orifice from a reservoir and further through a bottle scaling rubber into the bottle or other container. A drip stopper in the valve includes a slidably mounted, generally conically shaped element which in its upward position obstructs the opening for liquid flow and in its lower position provides a large annular area for rapid flow of the liquid. The drip stopper is urged with a modest force to an upward position by a spring that is overcome by the unbalanced pressure existing during the filling mode before the liquid in the container has reached the desired fill level. Clearly the drip stopper of the patent is used to help stop the flow of a liquid flowing through a valve system, rather than arrest the flow of excess liquid when poured from the mouth of a container such as a bottle. It is therefore not surprising that the patent does not disclose the advantages of the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System, which is installed on the bottle during the bottling operation.
German Patent DE 4202341 discloses strips of blotting or similar absorbent paper placed around a bottleneck, body or base after liquid has been poured. Owing to the presence of the absorbent paper, any residual drips are completely absorbed, thus obviating any staining of the table or other surface on which the bottle rests. While providing absorptive action that mitigates residual drips, the patented device must to be manually applied either before or after opening a bottle and pouring liquid therefrom. There is no suggestion in the patent disclosure concerning an in-situ absorptive system that eliminates residual drops. Unlike the patented device, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is installed on the bottle during the bottling operation.
French Patent FR 2611659 to Chincholle discloses an outer stopper cap for a bottle provided with an absorbent device comprising a skirt carrying on its inside or outside face a strip of absorbent material joined to the skirt by any appropriate means. The absorbent strip can have variable thickness, height, or shape. The device is said to eliminate liquid drops that run down the bottle's neck. The patent pertains to a replaceable bottle cap having an absorbent, replaceable inner lining. On the other hand, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is provided means by which the trickling of residual droplets of liquid can be arrested and absorbed after that liquid has been poured from a container, such as a bottle and is installed during manufacture of the bottle.
French Patent FR 2614274 discloses a drop-catching device fitting on the neck of bottles or of any containers, thus preventing the flow of overflowing liquid along the whole length of the container, particularly if the latter contains oily, colored or other liquids. It comprises a sleeve or adhesive collar made of blotting paper or absorbent material fitting to the neck of the bottle or container. This collar can be printed with an advertising or other text and applied, being adhesive, either to the neck of the bottle, thus forming a stop to liquid preventing the soiling of the support where the latter is placed. This drop-catching device is applicable in all households, hospitals, laboratories, clinics or other places, the collar being considered as a disposable wrapping. What the patent does not disclose is the possibility of installing the drop-catching device at the point of filling the bottles during its manufacture and then encasing it in the casing atop the bottle.
French Patent FR 26111659 discloses an absorber of drops, which run along a bottleneck after the bottle has been poured. This absorber is composed of a semi-rigid absorbent band. A pair of concentric circular arcs spaced by a distance of between 1 and 3 cm limit the band. The band has at one of its ends a radial slot emerging on the large circular arc. At the other end of band a radial slot emerges on the small circular arc. The two slots are fit into each other to form a truncated cone that can be applied on the perimeter of the bottle zone joining the neck to the bottle body. The band can have widened ends that allow deeper slots to be made. These ends, beyond their slots have decorative patterns. The patent does not disclose a simple design and cannot be integrated into the bottle-filling production process. Rather, the presence in the patented device of interlocking slots would encourage leakage of liquid therethrough, impairing the drip stopping function. In combination with decorative portions the slots would produce a surface protrusion that would compromise the integrity of a shrink-wrap shell.
British Patent GB 2224260 discloses a piece of material that is folded, wrapped and fastened in such a way as to form a collar to fit around the neck of a container for liquid, such as a wine bottle, for the purpose of collection drips from that container when liquid is poured. It may be made from a piece of absorbent or non-absorbent materials of any color and given size, decorated or undecorated and which may be lined or unlined. The collar has at least one radially outwardly extending lip, and is fastened by press-studs, clips, Velcro or other adhesive or tied with ribbon threaded through the material. The patent discloses an absorbent collar that is fastened around the neck of a wine bottle after completion of the bottling process. By way of contrast, the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System is installed during the bottling process, thereby greatly facilitating its use. Furthermore, there is a distinct amount of physical manipulation required before the absorbent material of the patented device becomes operatively positioned on the bottleneck. These additional manipulation procedures have been virtually eliminated by the Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System.
There remains a strong need in the art for an Integrated Drip Proof Stopper System for wine bottles and other liquid containers that is installed during the bottling process and remains hidden from view within the bottle cap and is exposed when the user opens the bottle cap, providing protection from drips ruining tablecloths and table tops. This Drip Proof Stopper System would be inexpensive to construct, easy to use, readily installed on bottles during its manufacture and aesthetically pleasing in appearance.


A method for the construction and utilization of a medical records system capable of providing a continuous data stream of epidemiological data to the records system via kits provided to the symptomatic population to obtain and record an epidemiological profile in a searchable database by applying data mining or automated intelligence techniques whereby, when a valid epidemiological profile is established in the database, automated diagnosis and prescription of treatment may be had for patients presenting similar symptoms. Knowledge discovery techniques may further operate on the database to provide suggested courses of treatment for a virtual class of patients, epidemic threat awareness, and knowledge of drug resistance mutations by a pathogen without direct query of the database.

The present invention relates to the management of diagnosis and treatment of infections prior to or in the absence of culturing the pathogen prior to commencing treatment.
Epidemiology is the branch of medicine that deals with the study of the causes, incidence, distribution, and control of disease in populations or the sum of factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen. "Epidemiology" and forms thereof will be used herein in the broadest sense of all pathogenic, personal, and demographic factors that may be tracked according to the dictates of the present invention.
Symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections accounting for more than 7 million outpatient visits to physicians' offices and well over one million hospital admissions in the United States annually. In ambulatory patients alone, the national health care cost of uncomplicated lower UTIs is estimated to approach $1 billion. At a time when controlling spiraling health care costs is a national priority, improvements in the management of UTI is imperative.
Currently, when a patient pays an office visit to the doctor complaining of the symptoms of UTI, a presumptive diagnosis is made by examining the urine microscopically for microorganisms or by performing an indirect dipstick test that measures a microbial metabolite. Although these tests may reveal the presence of a microbial infection, they do not identify the type of bacterium present or indicate the drug sensitivity of the bacterium. Moreover, a urine culture is not typically performed if the patient appears to have an uncomplicated UTI; rather, a short course of empirical antimicrobial therapy is given. No follow-up visit or bacterial culture after therapy is necessary unless symptoms persist or recur. If any clinical features or other factors suggest a complicated infection, a bacterial culture is indicated and should be performed before therapy is started. Mitigating factors that would necessitate a culture include diabetes, symptoms for greater than seven days, recent UTI or antimicrobial use, use of a diaphragm, age less than thirteen or greater than sixty-five, and pregnancy.
In principle, the most appropriate antimicrobial to treat an infection could be determined by a clinical microbiology laboratory. That is, the infectious microorganism may be cultured, identified, and tested for drug sensitivity. In practice, this is rarely done because of the expense and because the demand for relief from the symptoms of UTI is too urgent to wait for results of such prolonged testing. As a result of the urgency for prompt treatment, antibiotics are generally prescribed empirically and with variable success.
This empirical method of treating patients without cultures or documentation has significant potential for complications and needless treatment of patients who do not have infections. Approximately ninety-five percent of patients with UTI have no serious risk of complications and empirical treatment is sufficient; however, about five percent have significant risk for complications which can be costly to treat and which can even be life threatening. For instance, if a patient is treated with empirically prescribed antimicrobials for a presumptive infection when in fact she has another more serious condition such as bladder cancer (which often has the same symptoms as UTI), obvious adverse results can ensue from a delay in diagnosis. However, the alternative of requiring repeated physician visits and cultures of all women who present with the symptoms of UTI is clearly inconvenient to the patient and physician and is unnecessarily expensive in the majority of cases. Therefore, there is an acute need for a method of treating routine UTI in an appropriate patient population that conserves health care resources while providing proper treatment to patients with more complicated conditions.
The diagnosis of UTI is complicated by the fact that there is a 48 to 72 hour lead time to obtain information from a urine culture on the type of pathogen and its antimicrobial susceptibility profile. The uncertainty about the proper course of treatment during this period can be reduced if comprehensive up-to-date data are available for the type of patient, regional location of the patient, and the timing of the infection.
Another aspect of increasing concern in UTI management is the growing microbial resistance to existing antibiotics. While there are other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis for which resistance is a serious problem, UTI is unique because of the large number of individuals affected and the difficulty of tracking resistance since cultures are generally not performed under the current treatment scheme. Since patients are generally treated on an outpatient basis, non-responsiveness to drug therapy could be due to drug resistance or to other factors such as non-compliance or misdiagnosis. Furthermore, drug resistant microbial strains can arise and spread very rapidly, but they are often localized within narrow geographical areas of socio-economic groups. Thus, even if there were more historical information available it may have little relevance to the current context due to rapid changes in drug resistance. Thus, drug resistance in any disease must be taken very seriously, but it cannot be monitored without a mechanism of collecting information, e.g., urine cultures.
UTIs are complicated diseases to diagnose and treat because the pathogens involved in causing similar symptoms may vary widely based on region, type of patient, and time. Put another way, UTIs are a heterogeneous disease. The heterogeneous nature arises from two main characteristics of UTIs: 1) there is an inherently variable nature of the pathogen, and 2) different patients may respond differently to the same pathogen and to the same therapeutic regimen. Resistance of the various UTI pathogens to antimicrobials may change due to any of the above, or other, specific factors. Therefore, there is an often unpredictable response of the pathogen to therapy. This is unlike a disease such as hypertension where cause and treatment are relatively predictable and static over time and geography. In the treatment of UTIs neither the cause nor the treatment is predictable unless a great deal of individual data are gathered and great deal is known about the most current state of UTI epidemiology in a particular locality. Current diagnostic practice, record keeping, and reporting of UTI epidemiology are limited relative to the scope of the changing nature of the disease. Further, only fragmented and dated information is gathered, and these data are not linked to relevant clinical data such as the type of patient, infection, or outcome of therapy. Thus, there is no current, comprehensive database, or records, system that would be considered adequate for providing predictable and efficacious treatment.
Additionally, there are other prevalent infections in humans that consume vast amounts of our health care resources besides UTIs. Similarly to UTI, several of these infections are characterized by multiple causative pathogens that cause the same or similar symptoms and the rapid development of drug resistance, which hamper effective diagnosis and antimicrobial therapy. These infections, which include, for example, throat infections and intestinal tract infections, also afflict large numbers of patients and cause large numbers of outpatient and hospital visits each year thereby taking an enormous toll on health care resources. Thus, cost effective and efficacious treatment of infections, including, but not limited to, urinary tract infections, throat infections, and intestinal tract infections, is of paramount importance in this era of spiraling health care costs.
As presented in the above-identified related application, a doctor-directed and controlled, patient processed, "Self-Start" treatment process utilizes a searchable medical record system that is created according to data entered by the patients or diagnostic laboratories or both. Using this medical record system, a medical practitioner is more accurately able to assess the type of bacterium, or pathogen, causing the infection in a previously undiagnosed, i.e., new, patient based on the collected data of previous patients. The practitioner can then further prescribe an empirically effective course of treatment for the infection in the absence of a diagnostic test performed on the new patient.
Specifically, the related application presented methods consist of: collecting information concerning persons previously presenting symptoms; organizing the collected patient information in an electronic medical record system; analyzing the organized information to identify one or more particular pathogens which caused the infection in one or more of the persons from whom the information was collected; for each pathogen identified, identifying personal and/or demographic information common to the persons who developed an infection from the particular pathogen; and identifying one or more antimicrobials which were effective or ineffective in treating the infections developed from the particular pathogen.
The related application also presented methods of establishing a searchable medical record system for assisting a medical practitioner in more accurately predicting a type of pathogen which has caused an infection in a previously undiagnosed human patient and prescribing an effective course of treatment for the infection prior to or in the absence of performing a diagnostic test on a sample from the human patient.
There is a great need in the treatment of UTIs and similar infections to provide timely information on a broad range of specific patient data and treatment efficacy that is readily available to the health care practitioner. Such information must be current and comprehensive to take into account the changing nature of UTI pathogens. Only an integrated system of information gathering, and knowledge retrieval from this information, on the pathogens and their treatment will yield viable results. This integrated system should be done as economically as possible.
While the previously presented systems of the related application, including the searchable medical record system as defined therein, provide a great help to the health care practitioner and to the public health system, all interaction with the data is either data entry initiated by a patient or a laboratory or a query issuance by the physician. Any self-organization or self-discovery processing of the database on its own is presented only as a passing aside. Rather than obtaining all knowledge by direct inquiries from the medical practitioner, it would further be desirable to apply database and knowledge and information discovery techniques to the collected data in an effort to improve public health.
In sum, there is a need for a medical records, or database, system that accurately collects relevant and current clinical data and analyzes the data to predict the causative pathogens and their rapidly changing drug sensitivity for heterogeneous diseases such as UTIs so as to provide effective therapy for infections while minimizing health care costs and the development of drug resistance.

Methods and kits for managing diagnosis and therapeutics of bacterial infections


A luminance adjustment part includes a luminance determination part and a data compensation part. The luminance determination part may determine a control value for controlling luminance of a backlight assembly using linear image data that has a linear luminance profile and is generated by performing a de-gamma process on a first copy of input image data that has a nonlinear luminance profile. The compensation part may compensate pixel data that corresponds to pixels of a display panel using the control value, the pixel data being generated using a second copy of the input image data. Thus, color distortion of a displayed image as perceived by a viewer may be minimized when power consumption of a display apparatus that includes the display panel is decreased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a luminance adjustment part, a display apparatus having the luminance adjustment part, and a method of adjusting luminance using the luminance adjustment part. The luminance adjustment part may minimize power consumption and/or may minimize color distortion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display apparatus includes a liquid crystal display panel for displaying an image and includes a light source module for providing a light to the liquid crystal display panel. For example, the light source module may be a backlight assembly.
The liquid crystal display panel may include a set of pixel electrodes, a common electrode, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the set of pixel electrodes and the common electrode. Voltages may be applied to the pixel electrodes and the common electrode to generate an electric field. When the electric field is adjusted, the light transmittance of the liquid crystal layer is adjusted so that a desired image is displayed.
The light source module includes a plurality of light sources for providing light to the liquid crystal display panel. For example, the light sources may include at least one of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp ("CCFL"), an external electrode fluorescent lamp ("EEFL"), a flat fluorescent lamp ("FFL"), and a light emitting diode ("LED").
The luminance of the light source module may be adjusted according to the image to be displayed on the display panel, in order to decrease power consumption of the display apparatus. For example, when a relatively dark image is to be displayed, the luminance of the light source module may be decreased. When the luminance of the light source module decreases, a grayscale of the image may be increased according to the luminance of the light source module, in order to compensate image data.
A maximum value among red (R) data, green (G) data, and blue (B) data of a pixel may be used to adjust the luminance of the light source module. Nevertheless, the maximum value among the red (R) data, the green (G) data, and the blue (B) data may not satisfactorily represent luminance perceived by human eyes. As a result, the luminance of the displayed image as perceived by a viewer may appear to be distorted.
If the image data is compensated using the distorted luminance, hue, chrominance, and/or luminance of the displayed image may be further distorted.

Luminance adjustment part, display apparatus having the luminance adjustment part, and method for adjusting luminance


A garbage incinerator with tunnel furnace combustion includes a tunnel furnace serving as the burner unit, a number of carriers serving as the burner beds, and a specified track course to deliver the garbage-loaded carriers into the tunnel furnace to incinerate the garbage. A hopper is provided to receive the garbage and spread it evenly onto the carrier. Each carrier is driven into the tunnel furnace to burn the garbage and includes a bottom loading plate onto which the consumed embers fall. An automatic ember removing equipment is provided for to remove the embers from the carrier. The carriers travel on a circular track so that they continuously move in and out of the furnace.

The subject matter relates to a type of garbage incinerator with tunnel furnace combustion.
Everywhere around the globe, people are suffering form the garbage they themselves produce. Garbage pollutes our beautiful land, rivers and stream, coastal areas, etc. Garbage destroys natural landscape with its stinking smell and bacteria jeopardizes our daily lives. At present, the most radical and practical way of garbage disposal is incineration. However, the construction of incinerators costs significant amounts of money, and maintenance costs are even higher. In circumstances where the sorting of garbage cannot be effectively realized, it is not big news to hear that an expensive incinerator has been obstructed by noncombustible garbage articles.
Conventionally, regular incinerators come in three types: (1) Fixed bed incinerators, (2) Mechanical mobile burner bed incinerators, and (3) Incinerators for pulverized garbage that is sprayed into the burner for combustion.
(1) A fixed bed incinerator involves the prototype of incineration, whereby the bottom part of the garbage cannot be consumed sufficiently, so it is only suitable for small-scale incineration. PA0 (2) A mechanical mobile burner bed incinerator is an innovative type of a fixed bed incinerator, but since garbage may include metal blocks, rocks, etc., some solid and non-combustible substances are often mixed in the garbage, and they jam and obstruct the burner bed and cause mechanical failure. In case repairs and maintenance are required, one has to wait until the temperature of the entire gigantic burner unit has cooled down to a degree that allows servicing personnel to enter, and it can even take several days to cool down, so the construction costs and servicing costs of such an incinerator are astronomical. PA0 (3) An incinerator for pulverized garbage that is sprayed into the burner for combustion is also a type that cannot handle garbage with mixtures of metal blocks, rocks, hard and solid substances, etc. The mechanical construction of such an incinerator is quite sophisticated, so it is applicable only to paper ware, plastic ware, wooden ware, etc., garbage that has been sorted form mixed garbage, so its range of applications is quite limited.
To solve the above problems, the subject matter has presented a type of garbage incinerator with tunnel furnace combustion, which will be able to burn unsorted garbage with ease, and which has the features of simplified construction, short construction period, low construction costs and easy servicing and maintenance.

Garbage incinerator with tunnel furnace combustion


A liquid crystal display device includes two substrates, liquid crystal therebetween, and sub-pixel regions. Each sub-pixel region is divided into first to fourth display regions by a first axis extending orthogonal to an optical axis of a polarizing plate and a second axis extending orthogonal to the first axis. Each first to fourth display region includes slit electrodes on the second electrodes along the first axis. First slit electrodes in the first display region and second slit electrodes in the second display region are symmetric relative to the first axis. Third slit electrodes in the third display region and fourth slit electrodes in the fourth display region are symmetric relative to the first axis. The first and fourth slit electrodes are symmetric relative to the second axis. The second and third slit electrodes are symmetric relative to the second axis.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and an electronic apparatus.
2. Related Art
A method for controlling alignment of liquid crystal molecules by applying an electric field to a liquid crystal layer in a direction of a substrate surface is known (hereinafter referred to as a "lateral electric field method"). Examples of the lateral electric field method include an IPS (In-Plane Switching) method and an FFS (Fringe-Field Switching) method. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003-233083 and 2007-264231 disclose liquid crystal display devices employing the FFS methods, and in particular, disclose methods for attaining wide view angles using pixel electrodes having multi domain configurations.
Referring to FIG. 9, each of the liquid crystal display devices disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003-233083 and 2007-264231 includes slit electrodes each of which is constituted by bending a pixel electrode at the center thereof so as to have a V shape in a plan view. Each of the slit electrodes includes a first slit electrode which is an upper-half portion of the pixel electrode and a second slit electrode which is a lower-half portion of the pixel electrode. The first and second slit electrodes are arranged symmetrically with respect to an arrangement axis AX extending in a horizontal direction. A rubbing direction of an alignment film (alignment controlling direction) is substantially orthogonal to the arrangement axis AX, and an optical axis of a polarizing plate (for example, a transmission axis) is substantially parallel to the rubbing direction of the alignment film.
In the vicinity of the slit electrodes, lateral electric fields are generated in directions orthogonal to directions in which the slit electrodes extend. Liquid crystal molecules rotate within a substrate horizontal plane from the rubbing direction to directions of the electric fields. In a first display region including the first slit electrode, the direction of the electric field intersects with the rubbing direction so as to make an acute angle with the rubbing direction in a counterclockwise direction, and therefore, a liquid crystal molecule corresponding to the first slit electrode rotates in the counterclockwise direction. On the other hand, in a second display region including the second slit electrode, the direction of the electric field intersects with the rubbing direction so as to make an acute angle with the rubbing direction in a clockwise direction, and therefore, a liquid crystal molecule corresponding to the second slit electrode rotates in the clockwise direction. Since the rotation direction of the liquid crystal molecule of the first slit electrode is different from the rotation direction of the liquid crystal molecule of the second slit electrode, view-angle compensation is performed within a plane of the single pixel electrode. Accordingly, display with wide view angle is attained.
In FIG. 9, it is an ideal that the optical axis of the polarizing plate is parallel to the rubbing direction of the alignment film. However, in some cases, the rubbing direction could be tilted with respect to the optical axis of the polarizing plate depending on alignment accuracy of a rubbing device, for example. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the rubbing direction is tilted with respect to the optical axis of the polarizing plate by an angle θR in the clockwise direction, the liquid crystal molecule included in the first display region rotates in the direction of the electric field across the optical axis of the polarizing plate. Therefore, when the liquid crystal molecule is arranged in parallel to the optical axis of the polarizing plate, a dark image is displayed, that is, brightness of the image is deteriorated. On the other hand, since the liquid crystal molecule included in the second display region does not rotate across the optical axis of the polarizing plate, brightness of an image increases in proportion to a magnitude of an applied voltage. Accordingly, the brightness of the first display region becomes different from the brightness of the second display region. Therefore, in particular, in a case where halftone display is performed, unevenness of brightness could be recognized. This problem becomes larger as sizes of pixel electrodes become larger in accordance with increase of a size of the liquid crystal display device.
Note that although the liquid crystal display device employing the FFS method is described with reference to FIG. 9, the problem described above also arises in liquid crystal display devices employing the IPS methods. An example of the liquid crystal display devices employing the IPS methods includes pixel electrodes and a common electrode which are constituted by a plurality of slit electrodes (interdigital electrodes) arranged so that the pixel electrodes are meshed with the common electrode. Therefore, by bending the individual slit electrodes of the pixel electrodes and the common electrode into V shapes, a wide view angle is attained. However, in this case also, the problem described above with reference to FIG. 9 arises due to displacement between the rubbing direction and the optical axis of the polarizing plate.

Liquid crystal display device having a first axis extending orthogonal to an optical axis of a polarizing plate and a second axis extending orthogonal to the first axis, and with slit electrodes symmetric respectively to first and second axises


Value selection and printing apparatus comprising, structure for printing a value, the structure including a rotatable device and a drive shaft, structure for selecting the value, the value selecting structure including a first rack gear slidably movably connected to the drive shaft, the first rack gear including a first portion of the length thereof movable internally of the device and a second portion of the length thereof movable externally of the device, the internally movable portion including a driving element, the externally movable portion including a plurality of first gear teeth formed therein the value selecting structure including a rigid guide shaft fixedly mounted within the device and an elongate second rack gear slidably connected to the guide shaft for movement therealong, the second rack gear including a driving element therefor, both rack gears' driven elements disposed in engagement, the second rack gear including a plurality of second gear teeth, the value selecting structure including a value printing wheel, the value selecting structure including a pinion gear coaxially fixedly attached to the printing wheel for rotation thereof, the pinion gear disposed in meshing engagement with the second rack gear teeth for rotation of the pinion gear and the print wheel in response to movement of the second rack gear, and structure for weakening the rigidity of the guide shaft against a force exerted against the printing wheel sufficient to disassociate the second rack gear to permit the guide shaft to bend.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,374 for a Meter Setting Mechanism, issued Sep. 27, 1977 to Check, Jr. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a mechanism for selecting postage values which are to be printed by a rotary postage meter. The drive shaft of the drum includes a plurality of selectable racks, each of which is slidably movable in engagement with a different pinion gear, connected to an associated print wheel within the drum, for selectively rotating the print wheel to dispose a printing element or font thereof at the outer periphery of the drum for printing purposes. The value selection mechanism includes a first stepper motor which is operable for selecting one of the racks, and a second stepper motor which is operable for actuating the selected rack for selectively rotating the desired printing element of the associated print wheel to the printing position thereof. An electronic control system (not shown) which is coupled to a keyboard for processing postage value entries made by an operator, selectively drives the respective stepper motors in response to keyboard entries.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,210 for a Microprocessor Controlled D.C. Motor For Controlling A Load, issued Dec. 16, 1986 to Salazar, et. al., and assigned and the assignee of the present invention, shows a conventional postage meter including a plurality of lengthwise translatable racks mounted in channels formed in the drive shaft of a rotatable postage printing drum. The drum includes a plurality of print wheels, which are mounted for rotation in the drum, and a like number of pinion gears connected on a one-for-one basis with the print wheel. And, each of the pinion gears is disposed, on a one for one basis, in meshing engagement with each of the rack gears, so that lengthwise translation of a rack gear results in rotation of the associated print wheel to a selected position thereof wherein a printing font at the periphery of the print wheel is located for printing purposes when the drum is rotated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,814 for a Rotary Selector Device, issued Mar. 17, 1987 to Sette and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, shows a rotary value selection mechanism, of the type used for selecting and driving the respective translatable racks of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,210, including a first annularly-shaped rack selection member having a pinion gear mounted therewithin and movable therewith for selectively engaging the racks as the first member is rotated, and including a second annularly-shaped print-wheel-font selection member which is disposed in meshing engagement with the pinion gear teeth for translating the selected rack to move the associated print wheel as the second member is rotated.
Value selection mechanisms of the aforesaid types have from time-to-time become physically damaged such that one or more rack gears have become disassociated from its associated print wheel driving gear, with the result that the print wheels may be rotated independently thereof. Whereupon, a postage value can be printed which is different from that which has been selected by the associated, translating, rack gear. Although the occurrence of such physical damages are immediately apparent to a postage meter user, meters have been known to be continued to be used despite such a malfunction condition, in order to wrongfully print postage values without a payment being made therefor. Of course, since postage meters are required to be physically inspected on a semi-annual basis, and more frequently when Postal Service inspectors through internal postage indicia inspection controls and accounting practices suspect that a postage meter is dispensing more postage than has currently been paid for, such physical damages have a short life span due to their inevitably early discovery. Nevertheless, any postage payment losses are rightfully of great concern to the Postal Service and to postage meter manufacturers. As a result, a series of experimental activities with postage meters have been conducted to determine the basic cause, if any, of disassociation of postage selecting racks and print wheels. And, it has been experimentally determined that the majority of the instances in which such disassociations occur are due to a sufficient force being exerted against the print wheel to separate the same from the drive train therefor. Accordingly:
an object of the invention is to provide means for preventing disassociation of the rack gear and associated print wheel;
another object is to provide means for weakening the drive train, between the rack and print wheel of a value setting mechanism, against a force exerted against the print wheel which tends to separate the print wheel from the drive train; and
another object is to provide rotary value selection and printing apparatus, which includes a rack gear slidably mounted on a shaft which is weakened against the exertion of a sufficient force against the print wheel to permit the shaft to bend in response to the force, with the result that the rack gear becomes jammed against slidable movement thereon.

Value selection mechanism including means for weakening a shaft thereof


Storing static data in a secondary storage and varying data in a database server. The static data can be stored in the database server also. In an embodiment, all the read/write requests related to the static data are sent to the secondary storage. Any updates to the static data are then propagated from the secondary storage to the database server at periodic intervals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to web technologies and more specifically to a method and apparatus for improving data access speed while processing transaction requests from web based applications.
2. Related Art
Web based applications (or Web applications) generally refer to applications accessed by user systems over a network such as Internet, intranet etc. Such applications are commonly provided by executing the corresponding instructions on systems such as server systems.
Transaction requests are often received on networks from user systems and applications executing on server systems process the received requests. A transaction request generally refers to a set of instructions, the execution of all of which needs to be either completed or otherwise reverted to a state prior to the start of execution of the instructions (commonly referred to as 'atomicity' property).
Transaction requests typically entail accessing (read/retrieve or write/update) data (e.g., representing the data of a bank account of a customer). The data is often stored in secondary storage using applications such as database technologies.
In general, there is a need to ensure that the data be accessed with high speed (or quickly) in such environments.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Improving data access speed while processing transaction requests from web based applications


A case for enclosing an electric device, such as a personal voltage detector is provided. Embodiments of the case can increase safety and convenience to wearers operating near high-voltage electric lines, and combine (i) the ability to wear the case in either an open or closed position around a user's neck, (ii) the ability to adjust the position of the case, when either open or closed, to an appropriate mid-chest or mid-torso position, (iii) the ability to use the device when the case is open and worn around a user's neck and the device is inside the case, and (iv) an electrically shielded enclosure. When closed, the case can disable the electric device, allowing the device to be always on.

1. Field of the Application
The present invention relates to cases for electric devices. The invention has particular application to monitors for electric fields, such as voltage detectors, specifically the low-frequency fields of the type which surround high-voltage conductors, such as power transmission and distribution lines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transmission lines route high-voltage (e.g., 2000 volts and higher) electrical power from power plants to main regional stations and local substations. Distribution lines route high-voltage electrical power from substations to end users. Many such lines require frequent inspection, repair, and/or maintenance. Contact with such high-voltage power lines can be fatal for workers. Monitors and detectors exist that can sense the proximity to dangerous high-voltage power lines and that can warn workers before they reach a dangerous proximity. One such type of detector senses an electric field surrounding a high-voltage conductor, the strength and extent of such a field being proportional to the voltage level. Such detectors typically provide an audible and/or visible indication of the detected field to warn the user.
Some detectors of the personal or wearable type can be battery-powered and have on/off switches. One difficulty, particularly with detectors having audible alarm signals, is that when a worker has to work for an extended period of time in a sensed electric field, the continuous audible alarm can become annoying. Thus, workers will frequently turn off the detector, which can be dangerous. Also, a worker must remember to turn the device on each time he or she wears it, and failure to remember this is also dangerous. Other devices, which can also be battery operated, can be designed to be always on. By being always on, the device can always be checking for the presence of high voltage electric fields and can always be working to provide for the safety of its users.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,924 and U.S. Design Pat. No. D439,537, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, disclose and depict wearable electric field detectors.


This invention is a system and method for determining configuration or simulating performance of one or more data storage systems. This invention may be used in many useful ways including for configuring or modeling a data storage environment, problem isolation, and general design.

Computer systems are constantly improving in terms of speed, reliability, and processing capability. As is known in the art, computer systems which process and store large amounts of data typically include a one or more processors in communication with a shared data storage system in which the data is stored. The data storage system may include one or more storage devices, usually of a fairly robust nature and useful for storage spanning various temporal requirements, e.g. disk drives. The one or more processors perform their respective operations using the storage system. Mass storage systems particular those of the disk array type have centralized data as a hub of operations all driving down costs. But performance demands placed on such mass storage have increased and continue to do so.
Design objective for mass storage systems include cost, performance, and availability. Objectives typically include are a low cost per megabyte, a high I/O performance, and high data availability. Availability is measured by the ability to access data. Often such data availability is provided by use of redundancy such as well-known mirroring techniques.
One problem encountered in the implementation of disk array data storage systems concerns optimizing the storage capacity while maintaining the desired availability and reliability of the data through redundancy. It is important to allocate as closely as possible the right amount of storage capacity with going over or under significantly because of cost and necessity but this is a complex task. It has required great deal of skill and knowledge about computers, software applications such as databases, and the very specialized field of data storage. Such requisite abilities have long been expensive and difficult to access. There remains and probably will be an increasing demand for and corresponding scarcity of such skilled people.
Determining the size and number of disk array or other data storage system needed by a customer requires information about both space, traffic and a desired quality of service. It is not sufficient to size a solution simply based on the perceived quantity of capacity desired, such as the number of terabytes believed to be adequate.
In addition to general capacity planning problems with data storage systems other complexities may arise. One such complexity arise when there is an interest in merging existing data storage systems with newer or fewer data storage systems. Such consolidation helps a customer reduce operating costs by decreasing the number of storage systems, and migrating the data to fewer and/or newer, larger capacity, more efficient storage systems. Consolidation may be of interest for some of the following reasons: saving footprint space; reducing the cost of utilities; simplifying management and reducing management costs; reducing hardware inventory costs; and upgrading to new technology. On the other hand there is cost associated with such a change and there is need for a simple tool to allow for the analysis of such a change and to determine an optimum solution, and in particular with regard to performance requirements and desired characteristics.
There is a long-felt need for a computer-based tool that would allow a straight-forward non-complex way to allocate proper storage capacity while balancing cost, growth plans, workload, and performance requirements and further if such a tool would be useful for analyzing consolidation or merging operations. This would be advancement in the computer arts with particular relevance in the field of data storage.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for capacity planning and configuring one or more data storage systems


A method for operating a particulate filter situated in an exhaust gas area of an internal combustion engine and a device for carrying out the method are described. A measure of the particulate matter burn-off rate is detected for influencing and/or monitoring the particulate matter burn-off rate or for influencing and/or monitoring the particulate filter temperature. A secondary air flow supplied by a secondary air pump is blown into the exhaust gas area upstream from the particulate filter. The secondary air flow is determined as a function of the detected measure of the particulate matter burn-off rate. If necessary, the secondary air flow may be enriched by an oxygen flow or nitrogen flow supplied by an air separation unit. The method prevents the particulate filter from being damaged by an unacceptably high particulate matter burn-off rate or an unacceptably high particulate filter temperature.

A procedure for operating a particulate filter situated in the exhaust gas area of an internal combustion engine is known from German Published Patent Application No. 103 33 441, a lambda signal supplied by a lambda sensor being used as a measure of the particulate burn-off rate. The determined measure is used for monitoring the particulate matter burn-off temperature with the objective of preventing the particulate filter from overheating. A setpoint value is specified for the lambda signal or for a change in the lambda signal. If a discrepancy is detected between the setpoint value and the actual value, an intervention is made, for example, in the position of a throttle valve, the charging pressure of an exhaust-gas turbocharger or the determination of an exhaust gas recirculation rate. An embodiment provides a control element situated at the exhaust gas channel, via which fuel or an oxidant is fed to the exhaust gas flow.
A procedure for minimizing pollutants in exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, in particular nitrogen oxides, is known from German Patent No. 44 04 681, which provides for an extensive removal of the nitrogen oxide component of the intake air of the internal combustion engine. The ambient air taken in by the internal combustion engine enters an air separation unit which makes air enriched with nitrogen available at one outlet and air enriched with oxygen at another outlet. The oxygen is obtained by an air separation unit containing a membrane which is only permeable to oxygen molecules.
The exhaust gas temperature is increased by the oxygen enrichment of the ambient air taken in by the internal combustion engine. An exhaust gas treatment device situated in the exhaust gas channel of the internal combustion engine, a catalytic converter for example, reaches a required minimum operating temperature more quickly after a cold start. At the same time, the fuel conversion in the internal combustion engine is improved so that the untreated carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions are reduced.
The procedure for reducing pollutants in exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine known from German Published Patent Application No. 197 10 842, nitrogen oxides in particular, also provides for supplying the internal combustion engine with intake air enriched with oxygen. The focus is on the rapid attainment of the minimum operating temperature of a catalytic converter which is achieved using an operating point-dependent admixture of oxygen to the intake air. The air separation unit is situated in a bypass channel of the intake port of the internal combustion engine.
Another possibility for reaching the minimum operating temperature of a catalytic converter as rapidly as possible is described in German Published Patent Application No. 41 41 946 which provides for feeding secondary air into the exhaust gas area of the internal combustion engine as a function of the operating state of the internal combustion engine. The oxygen component of the secondary air may oxidize the oxidizable constituents contained in the exhaust gas such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons or hydrogen. The exothermic oxidation reaction may already occur in the exhaust manifold under appropriate conditions. If necessary, the oxidation reaction takes place in an oxidation catalytic converter. The exhaust gas which is additionally heated after the combustion process in the internal combustion engine indirectly heats an exhaust gas treatment device situated in the exhaust gas area, a catalytic converter or a particulate filter, for example, via the increased exhaust gas temperature. If necessary, it may be provided for the exhaust gas treatment device to contain a catalytic coating so that the oxidation reaction occurs directly in the exhaust gas treatment device to be heated.
The procedure known from German Published Patent Application No. 197 10 841 provides for a reduction of exhaust gas pollutants using a catalytic converter which is based on such a feed of secondary air into the exhaust gas area of an internal combustion engine. The secondary air is enriched by oxygen supplied by an air separation unit which contains a ceramic membrane permeable to oxygen molecules.

Method for operating a particulate filter situated in the exhaust gas area of an internal combustion engine and device for carrying out the method


The continuous conduction mode (CCM) boost voltage power factor correction apparatus with an average-current control mode of the present invention uses resettable integrators to integrate the difference voltage signal outputted from the voltage error amplifier and the input current signal obtained from detection. The integration results are then compared to control the duty cycle of the switch. Thereby, the input current and the input voltage in the AC/DC electrical power converter have a proportion relation and their phases are the same as each other. The components used in this control method are simpler than the PFC circuit of the prior art. It is easy to integrate in one chip with fewer pins. The apparatus of the present invention has a high power factor and a low total harmonic distortion (THD).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a continuous conduction mode (CCM) boost voltage power factor correction apparatus with an average current control mode. In particular, a power factor correction apparatus and a method utilizing a resettable integrator to achieve high power factor and low total harmonic distortion (THD) for an electrical power system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A high quality electrical power supply is a desired goal for every country in the world. However, building a lot of electrical power plants is not the only way to achieve the goal. For achieving the goal effectively, on the one hand a country can increase their electrical power supply, on the other hand they can also improve the power factor or the efficiency of electrical appliances.
A power factor correction (PFC) is used for making the input voltage of an electrical appliance in phase with the input current. Therefore, PFC makes the loading of the electrical appliance resistive to the electrical power system hence improving the energy efficiency.
PFC circuits are divided into discontinuous conduction mode power factor correction (DCM PFC) and continuous conduction mode power factor correction (CCM PFC). FIG. 1 shows the circuit diagram of the discontinuous conduction mode power factor correction with a peak current control mode of the prior art. The discontinuous conduction mode power factor correction (DCM PFC) 101 adopts a peak current control mode. When an alternating current (AC) is inputted, the peak current control mode rectifies the voltage into a voltage shape that is similar to an m-shaped via a bridge rectifier 10. The voltage is divided by two resistors R5 and R6. Next, the divided voltage is multiplied by an output signal VC that is amplified by an error amplifier via a multiplier 14 to obtain an output voltage Vm that is similar to m-shaped. The above circuit provides a reference voltage Vm for the peak current that flows through a detection resistor Rs. The reference voltage Vm is adjusted according to the input voltage and the output voltage.
The output voltage Vout is divided by the resistors R3 and R4 and is negatively fed back to the input port of the multiplier 14 via an error amplifier 12. By the above method, the output voltage Vout remains on a fixed level while the loading is changing. The output voltage Vm is connected to the positive input port of a comparator 16 and compared with a voltage Vs (the voltage drop produced by flowing the current of transistor Q through the detection resistor Rs) connected at the negative input port to control the transistor Q turn on). The discontinuous conduction mode power factor correction (DCM PFC) 101 utilizes a zero current crossing detector 13 to achieve the zero current for turn off of the transistor Q.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of waveforms of each point of the circuit of the FIG. 1. The waveform includes the voltage Vs between two ends of the detection resistor Rs, the inductor current iL on the inductor L, and a gate voltage Vgate for controlling whether the transistor Q is on or off. The phase of the average current iL that flows through the inductor L is the same as the phase of the output voltage Vm of the multiplier 14. Thereby, the power factor is amended. The major drawback of DCM PFC is its high THD due to large ripple current.
FIG. 3 shows a circuit diagram of the continuous conduction mode power factor correction with an average current control mode of the prior art. The shown continuous conduction mode power factor correction (CCM PFC) 1001 adopts an average current control mode. An alternating current (AC) is inputted and is rectified into an input voltage Vin that is similar to the m-shaped via a bridge rectifier 10. A multiplier 20 has an input signal A of the output voltage Vout via a voltage amplifier 24, an input signal B from the input voltage Vin via a preset circuit 22, and a square signal C2 of the average value of the input voltage Vin. The multiplier 20 processes the multiplication operation between the amplified signal A and the input signal B and divides it by the square signal C2 to obtain a current command signal VP that is similar to an m-shaped. The operation of dividing by the square signal C2 prevents the power factor of the power factor correction from changing with the magnitude of the input signal B received from the input voltage Vin. The amplifying signal A is used for controlling the switch of the transistor Q via a control circuit to make the voltage stable even though the output voltage is changing.
FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of waveforms of each point of the circuit of the FIG. 3. The gate driving pulse GS is the result of comparing the triangle waveform VS and the command signal Vc. The duty cycle of the gate driving pulse GS is widest near the wave valley of the command signal Vc and is narrowest near the wave peak of the command signal Vc. In the FIG. 4, the current waveform iL of the inductor L is obtained by controlling the transistor Q via the gate driving pulse GS. The current waveform iL flows through a capacitor Cin located at the input port and is filtered to obtain a current waveform iL (avg) that is similar to a sine wave. The current waveform iL (avg) that is similar to a sine wave has the same phase with the input voltage Vin. Thereby, the power factor is amended. The power factor correction having a multiplier needs a lot of components and its design is complex. It is difficult to design a single chip because of the large number of components and pin numbers needed for the chip.

Apparatus and method for continuous conduction mode boost voltage power factor correction with an average current control mode


A system for capping the upper opening of a well having an accommodation for a remotely-located control device. More specifically, a well cap system for a water-well having a pipe casing that permits one or more well control apparatus to be located within the well cap. The system is a two-part assembly, comprising a base and hollow cover, both arranged to be supported by the pipe casing. Further, a constant pressure well system utilizing the water-well cap system.

This invention relates to well cap systems. More particularly, it relates to a system for capping at least one well pipe having at least one upper opening and at least one interior portion containing at least one controllable apparatus.
Often, building structures are supplied with water generated from a local groundwater well, most often where municipal or commercial water supplies are unavailable or prohibitive in cost to access. Typically, a water well consists of an essentially vertical hole or shaft, drilled into the earth to access a subterranean groundwater supply. This shaft (also known as a "well bore" or "borehole") may extend several hundred feet before reaching a water-bearing formation. Generally, at least the upper portion of the drilled hole is lined with a well casing consisting of a rigid pipe. The upper open end of the well casing is typically terminated above the ground and is used to access the interior of the well, for example, to place or service an in-well pump.
In current "constant pressure" water-well systems, a submersible pump located at the bottom of the well delivers pressurized water to a remotely-located structure through a water line extending between the well and the structure. Typically, a pump controller, located at the structure, monitors water pressure within the water-well system and regulates pump output to maintain desired water pressures under various conditions of water demand. Thus, the controller needs to be accessed/maintained at a different location than the pump or other equipment at the well site.
Usually, the pump controller and related apparatus are remotely located within a portion of a building some distance from the well. Power and control wiring must necessarily extend the distance between the controller within the building and the pump. Further, installation, monitoring, and service of completed well systems require that the building be at an appropriate point of construction and accessible to the well system installer. During installation, the well system installer must closely coordinate the well installation work with the operation and/or construction of a building or other closable structure access to which typically requires permissions and/or appointments. Thus, continued monitoring and maintenance of the system requires further coordination with the building owner or operator to gain access to the remotely located controller equipment.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved well system which overcomes the prior problems and which permits installation, operation, and monitoring of a well system without the burdensome issues of coordination that currently exist.


A method of the type in which a strip of rubber is moved continuously from a rubber-supplier device to a consumer device. During the continuous movement and prior to reaching the consumer device, a portion, referred to as the residue, is taken continuously from the strip of rubber. The residue is taken by continuously cutting the strip of rubber. For example, the supplier device includes upstream storage means for storing the strip of rubber from which the strip is moved toward the extruder, and downstream storage means in which the residue is stored. After the strip of rubber on the upstream storage means has been used up, the upstream and downstream storage means are swapped with each other.

In the state of the art, a method is already known for feeding rubber to at least a first rubber-consumer device, the method being of the type in which a strip of rubber is moved continuously from a rubber-supplier device to the first consumer device.
In the particular application envisaged above, the extruder forms the first rubber-consumer device. The extruder is fed with the strip of rubber. The width of the strip of rubber needs to be matched to the delivery rate of the extruder.
In certain situations, it is desirable to use small extruders, in particular extruders that deliver extruded rubber at a rate of less than 3 kilograms per minute (kg/min). Such a rate is satisfactory given the advantage achieved by the small hinderance of such an extruder.
Optimizing the production of strips of rubber leads to strips being made that are relatively wide, typically strips that are 800 millimeters (mm) to 1000 mm wide. Consequently, when not using an extruder that is overdimensioned and capable of consuming that type of relatively wide strip of rubber directly, the strip is sliced into a plurality of slices, each of width adapted to an extruder having a low extrusion rate. That therefore leads to expensive slicing operations that are generally performed on premises that are different from the premises on which the rubber is consumed, involving intermediate storage, and/or handling of sliced rubber strip.

Method of feeding a rubber-consumer device with rubber, and an installation for feeding the rubber-consumer device with rubber


A financial security product and method for managing a financial security, such as a variable annuity, which enables financial service providers to deduct the fees, costs and expenses associated with managing the financial security product. In a preferred embodiment, the method enables financial service providers to provide optional benefits to investors of a financial security without the need for maintaining separate unit prices for each potential combination of optional benefits. The method comprises periodically declaring a dividend with respect to the financial security and deducting at least a portion of the fees associated with managing the financial security from the declared dividend. The amount of the fees can vary depending upon the number of optional benefits, if any, selected to be provided with the financial security by the investor. In a preferred embodiment, any remaining dividend after the fees have been deducted is reinvested into the financial security.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a financial security product and management system and, is more specifically directed to a financial security product and methodology for deducting the fees and costs associated with the management of a financial security from a periodically declared dividend.
2. Description of Related Art
Financial securities such as variable annuities or mutual funds, are managed by financial service providers in return for a fee. Investors buy units of the financial security at a certain price in the belief that the price of the units will appreciate. In the past, the fee (including expenses and costs) associated with managing these securities was regularly charged to the investor's account. This would typically result in a reduction in the number of units of the financial security held by the investor or a reduction in any cash reserves in the account. These reductions were not well received by investors. Investors were confused by the amount and purpose of the reductions. In addition, the reductions left a negative impression of the investment insofar as the number of units was decreased as opposed to increased over certain periods of time.
In an effort to overcome these objections, many financial service providers began periodically deducting the fee as a flat percentage fee of the unit price or valuation of the financial security. While this unit price deduction method is useful, it restricts the financial service provider's flexibility in offering multiple options to its customers. If a financial service provider wants to offer its customers a financial security product with several optional benefits, it can offer each optional benefit and combination of optional benefits as part of a separate financial security product and deduct the fee associated with that benefit or combination from the unit price. This results in each product having a separate unit price. For example, if there is one optional benefit, the financial service provider will offer two separate products from which it's customers can choose, one having the benefit, one without. This works well if the financial service provider is only providing one or two optional benefits, but having even three optional benefits would result in eight separate products for the financial service provider to track. Thus, the financial service provider will likely be required to charge a much higher fee for offering a substantial array of options.
Financial service providers can alternatively offer one financial security product and keep track of separate unit prices for each possible combination of optional benefits. The financial service provider must determine which of the benefits each investor selected and then deduct the applicable fees associated with the selected combination of benefits. Thus, instead of having one simple unit price for the financial security product, the financial service provider must track a separate unit price for each possible combination of optional benefits. Again, this is feasible with two or three options, but the burden on the financial service provider grows exponentially with the addition of each new option.
In view of the foregoing, it is believed that there is a need in the financial service provider industry for a method to efficiently deduct or charge an investor for the fee (including costs and expenses) associated with managing a financial security product. In addition, there is a need for such a method which will enable the financial service provider to offer optional benefits in conjunction with a financial security without the oppressive burden of maintaining numerous separate share prices or offering separate products for each possible combination of benefits.

Method for managing a financial security

Abstract: In a preferred embodiment, the process for declaring the dividend, assessing and deducting the management fees, reinvesting the remainder of the dividend and determining the new value of the financial security is accomplished using a series of calculations via an automated system such as a computer program.


A system is for searching a plurality of project databases, including a service including a plurality of project database servers; a multi server single server signon processor for authenticating access by a user to a plurality of the project databases; a domain catalog server including a native server, a place server and a domain catalog; the native server for receiving from the user a search request and accessing the domain catalog with respect to the search request to obtain URLs for a plurality of documents in the project databases served by project servers configured to the domain catalog to which the user is authenticated and satisfying the search request; and the place server responsive to the URLs for building an XML result tree for responding to the search request.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to database searching. More particularly, it relates to building a search request XML response tree from database URLs distributed across a plurality of servers.
2. Background Art
Characteristic of many computer systems and applications known in the art is the distribution of data to many separate databases. These are often distributed among many servers, and a particular user may have data accessible through a plurality of such servers. In the past, when a user desired to search for data, it was necessary to access each server individually.
In the past, search addressing has been bound to application semantics. Such application semantics require that a single instance of an object in a data store be addressed, even when that data store is duplicated for scalability and reliability. There is a need in the art for a more flexible system and method for dynamically addressing data store searches to accommodate scalability and reliability.
Prior art approaches for searching databases in a domain distributed across a plurality of servers include IBM® Lotus® Domino™ Domain search and Domino Extended search. A problem encountered in these search approaches, referred to as the "static URL addressing problem", results from having tightly coupled server location and object identifier. There is, therefore, a need in the art for a system and method for uncoupling server location and object identifier in order to provide a search access method with improved scalability and reliability characteristics.
Domino, IBM, the IBM Logo, Lotus, Notes, QuickPlace are trademarks of International Business Machines in the United States, other countries, or both.

System and method for searching a plurality of databases distributed across a multi server domain

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus and method for subjecting a material, such as an aluminum web, to an electrolytic roughening treatment. The apparatus includes a tank for storing an electrolytic solution, and for conveying the web through the solution. As the web is conveyed through the solution, it passes first and second electrodes, which are coupled to a power source circuit. The power source circuit generates an alternating current and applies the same to the electrodes. The circuit also includes a rectifying coil having an inductance (L.sub.1), which is at least ten times greater than the inductance (L.sub.2) of the load.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling an electrolytic roughening treatment of a material, such as a metal plate, and more particularly it relates to an apparatus and method of controlling the electrolytic reaction during an electrolytic roughening treatment a metal plate.
It is known to use an aluminum plate (including an aluminum alloy) as a support for a printing plate such as a support for an offset printing plate. In such cases, a suitable adhesion and a suitable amount of water between the surface of the aluminum plate and a photosensitive layer is necessary. To achieve this, the surface of the aluminum plate must be uniform and finely roughened. If the aluminum plate is not finely roughened, both the printing performance and durability of the printing plate will be highly affected. Accordingly, it is important to achieve a satisfactory roughening of the plate during the manufacture thereof.
In general, the roughening of an aluminum support of a printing plate involves the use of an alternating electrolytic etching method which, in turn, involves the use of an alternating current (e.g., a sine waveform, a square waveform, a special alternating waveform, etc.). The roughening treatment of the aluminum plate is performed by using a graphite electrode or the like disposed adjacent to the aluminum plate for applying the alternating current. The plate is usually only roughened once. As a result, the depth of pits formed by the roughening process in the plate is small over the whole surface thereof and the durability of the roughened printing plate for printing applications will deteriorate. Therefore, in order to obtain a uniformly and closely roughened aluminum plate having deep pits as compared with their diameters, a variety of methods are proposed. A first method is disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho. 53-67507, wherein a roughening method uses a current of particular waveform for an electrolytic source. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho. 54-65607 discloses another method which controls the ratio between an electrical quantity during a positive period and during a negative period at the time of alternating electrolytic roughening. Still another method is to control the waveform supplied from the electrolytic source (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 55-25381). Finally, another method is directed to controlling the combination of current density (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 56-29699).
Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. Sho 61-60797, discloses a uniform roughened surface as a result of supplying an alternating current to the aluminum plate, in which at least one of the positive periods and negative periods includes a rest period of 0 Volt, so that the electricity quantity of the positive period may be larger than that of the negative period.
However, when the aluminum plate is composed of an alloy, containing many ingredients (such as JIS3003 material), having an irregular yield of a small amount ingredients among the aluminum lots, it is likely to transform the roughened form and to change the printing performance.
As a method to eliminate the above and other problems, particularly when using an alternating waveform, the inventor of the present invention provides a method (assuming that t.sub.f is the positive period and t.sub.r is the negative period), of applying an alternating current between an aluminum support and an electrode. The alternating current includes periods, in which the current reaches peak levels in both the positive and negative periods t.sub.f and t.sub.r, respectively, adjusted in the range of 0.1-20% of either period, thereby shortening the period it takes to reach the peak levels. This method then enables mass production and obtains a uniform roughening treatment, when using a power circuit including an inductive component larger than an inductive component of a load and a circuit to generate an alternating current by a current inverting control circuit. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei. 3-82799).
However, in a waveform controlled by the method of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei. 3-82799, when the current direction in the load changes, large electric power is required, in which a top line having a trapezoidal form of the output waveform develops a tendency to incline upward and rightward. As a result, pits are formed in the period develop some distributing ranges.
Although the method disclosed in the publication satisfies the requirements of uniform pits, more satisfactory printing performance and more uniform pits are recently required and can be achieved using the invention as described below.

Method for electrochemically roughening a surface of a metal plate


An image processing system includes: a weight determination circuitry configured to determine a band containing important information from among a group of images, which are acquired by a plurality of sensors, and to express a degree of importance of the band as a weight; a calculation circuitry configured to calculate, using the weight, an amount calculated based on a gradient of an image based on a gradient of each image, that is calculated based on the group of images, in order to restrict a gradient of an output image; and an image optimization circuitry configured to compose the output image using the amount calculated based on the gradient of the image.

Recently, a variety of image composition methods have been developed. Moreover, a variety of cameras that operate under a variety of settings (e.g., exposure amount and exposure time) are available, and those cameras acquire images with a variety of sensitivity characteristics for a wavelength band. Moreover, even cameras with the same settings acquire substantially different images depending on whether or not to light the flash during photography.
Moreover, cameras using sensors suited for photographing a variety of target objects are widespread. For example, a monitoring camera using a visible light sensor is widespread in order to monitor a person and other such objects. Meanwhile, a camera using a non-visible light sensor, for example, a near-infrared camera or a far-infrared camera, is also widespread for night-time monitoring. Moreover, among other cameras, a near-ultraviolet camera is also commercially available. Alternatively, among other cameras, a device configured to image a wavelength that is longer than a wavelength region of visible light, for example, a terahertz wave and a radio wave, is also commercially available.
In view of the above-mentioned background, in order to easily analyze a group of images acquired by a plurality of sensors, there is a need to display the group of images as a single image. In Patent Document 1, there is disclosed a method of expressing, in order to easily analyze the group of images acquired by the plurality of sensors, information on the group of images of a plurality of bands using a single color image.
In the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, as described later in detail with reference to FIG. 1, a structure tensor is calculated based on gradient information of the group of images of the plurality of bands, and an output image is composed using the structure tensor.

Image processing system, image processing method, and computer-readable recording medium


Embodiments disclosed herein relate to formation of a gate structure of a device, such as in a replacement gate process, and the device formed thereby. In an embodiment, a method includes conformally forming a gate dielectric layer on a fin extending from a substrate and along sidewalls of gate spacers over the fin, conformally depositing a dummy layer over the gate dielectric layer during a deposition process using a silicon-containing precursor and a dopant gas containing fluorine, deuterium, or a combination thereof, the dummy layer as deposited comprising a dopant of fluorine, deuterium, or a combination thereof, performing a thermal process to drive the dopant from the dummy layer into the gate dielectric layer, removing the dummy layer, and forming one or more metal-containing layers over the gate dielectric layer.

When fabricating field effect transistors (FETs), such as fin FETs (FinFETs), device performance can be improved by using a metal gate electrode instead of a polysilicon gate electrode. Formation of the metal gate electrode may include sequentially forming a gate dielectric layer, a barrier layer, a work function layer, and a metal liner layer in a high aspect ratio trench, followed by the trench filling with a fill material. High-k dielectric materials have been used in an effort to reduce gate oxide leakage current while maintaining a desired gate capacitance value. However, high-k dielectrics may suffer from high densities of defects which compromise the device performance. However, with the decreasing in scaling, new challenges are presented.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


An inkjet printhead including a substrate, a plurality of heaters, multiple pairs of leads, an ink chamber layer, and a nozzle plate is provided. The substrate has a top surface and a plurality of ink channels through the substrate in the direction substantially vertical to the top surface. The heaters, the multiple pairs of leads, and the ink chamber layer are disposed on the surface of the substrate. The multiple pairs of leads are electrically coupled to the corresponding heaters respectively, and the heaters are respectively adjacent to the corresponding ink channels. The ink chamber layer has a plurality of ink chambers which respectively expose the corresponding heaters and the corresponding ink channels. The nozzle plate is disposed on the ink chamber layer and has a plurality of nozzles through the nozzle plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printhead. More particularly, the present invention relates to an inkjet printhead with a plurality of ink channels through a substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
Inkjet printing technique has been broadly applied to printing equipments. According to the inkjet printing technique, droplets of ink is jetted onto a print medium to form ink dots on the print medium by a high pressure produced by actuators of a printhead (i.e. inkjet chip), accordingly an image or text is formed on the print medium by these ink dots. The most popular inkjet printing techniques include piezoelectric inkjet printing and thermal bubble inkjet printing. According to thermal bubble inkjet printing, ink is vaporized instantaneously by heaters (heating resistor) in the inkjet printhead for producing high-pressure bubbles, and the ink is then ejected through nozzles to form droplets of ink.
Specifically, in an existing thermal bubble inkjet printhead, a plurality of horizontal ink flow channels and ink chambers are usually formed with an ink chamber layer disposed on a substrate. The horizontal ink flow channels are formed in the ink chamber layer. Ink is vertically supplied to these horizontal ink flow channels via an elongated ink slot which is through the substrate and then enters the corresponding ink chambers through these horizontal ink flow channels. After that, the ink is vaporized by heaters disposed on the surface of the substrate and exposed by the ink chambers so that the ink is ejected through a plurality of nozzles on a nozzle plate disposed on the ink chambers to form droplets of ink.
It should be noted here that in an existing thermal bubble inkjet printhead, the elongated ink slot occupies a certain proportion of surface area of the substrate of the inkjet printhead, and relative long and horizontal ink flow channels are required for the ink to flow from the elongated ink slot into the heaters through the horizontal ink flow channels. The horizontal ink flow channels are disposed on the substrate, and are formed, for example, with the ink chamber layer. Thus, a lot of surface areas of the substrate of the inkjet printhead is taken by the elongated ink slot so that the number of heaters within the same surface area of the inkjet chip is limited, which in turn restricts the inkjet printhead from being developed towards high printing resolution, high printing speed, and low manufacturing cost.

International United Technology Co., Ltd.