A field serviceable fill tube apparatus for use on a heat pipe employs a quick-disconnect fitting on one end of the heat pipe to facilitate filling, sealing and servicing the heat pipe, both during manufacture and afterwards in the field.

The present invention relates in general to the field of heat pipes and, in particular to a new and improved method and apparatus for filling, sealing, and field servicing heat pipes.
Larger size water/carbon steel heat pipes generally incorporate fill tubes through which the working fluid is passed into the heat pipes, and through which the heat pipes are placed under vacuum. In some cases, a union is used to allow for venting of non-condensible gases from the heat pipes after some period of service.
The use of a standard heat pipe fill tube is shown schematically in FIG. 1. During manufacture of the heat pipe 10, one end of a fill tube 12 is welded to a hemispherical or elliptical end cap 14 by means of a weld 16. The heat pipe 10 is then filled with a working fluid schematically indicated at 18, degassed and evacuated to a "hard" vacuum. The heat pipe 10 is then sealed via a tube crimp 20 and a weld 22 at the other end of the fill tube 12. FIG. 2 shows the use of a union or coupling generally designated 30, in combination with two fill tubes, a primary fill tube 32 and a secondary fill tube 34. During manufacture of the heat pipe 10, one end of the primary fill tube 32 is welded to the end cap 14 and the other end is welded to externally threaded portion 36 of union 30. The secondary fill tube 34 is then connected to the primary fill tube 32 via internally threaded portion 38 of union 30. A typical conical bushing 40 fits on a portion 42 of the secondary fill tube 34 within the union or coupling 30 to make the seal. The heat pipe 10 is again filled with the working fluid 18, degassed and evacuated to a "hard" vacuum. The heat pipe 10 is then sealed via a tube crimp 44 and sealing weld 46 on the secondary fill tube 34.
The designs shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 have several drawbacks because each provides for several possible failure points; i.e., at welds 16, 22, 46 and at tube crimp 20, 44. In FIG. 1, the crimp 20 reduces the strength of the fill tube 12, the heat pipe 10 cannot be vented of non-condensible gas after a period of service, and the sampling of non-condensible gas and the making of pressure measurements from a heat pipe 10 requires penetration of the fill tube 12 wall, rendering it unusable as a pressure boundary. In FIG. 2, five possible failure points exist; i.e., at welds 16, 46, at tube crimp 44, and at the seal within union 30. Additionally, venting of the heat pipe 10 in the field is cumbersome, and sampling of non-condensible gas and pressure measurements from the heat pipe 10 again requires penetration of the primary 32 or secondary 34 fill tube wall thus rendering either of them unusable as a pressure boundary. In particular, once any fill tube 12 or 32 is penetrated, the entire heat pipe 10 must be replaced because restoration of the heat pipe 10 in the field is not currently possible.
The manufacturing process for heat pipe 10 also affects the type of fill tube apparatus that can be placed on the end of the heat pipe 10 itself. FIG. 2 represents one known heat pipe 10 construction. It is important to note that some steps in the general manufacturing procedure for this construction involve, inter alia, spinning the heat pipe 10 while the fill tube apparatus is attached. The manufacturing procedure for the heat pipes thus impacts the type of fill tube assembly that can be used because any type of fitting or closure device on the end of the primary fill tube 32 must be axially symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal axis of the heat pipe 10 so that no excessive moment arms occur during spinning of the heat pipe 10. This requirement precludes use of a typical T-type valve having a valve stem and handle which would protrude at an angle from the longitudinal centerline of the heat pipe 10. In addition, such valves could loosen due to vibration during service.
In addition, the heat pipes themselves are charged with a working fluid which, under ambient conditions, is at a vacuum with respect to atmospheric pressure. Thus, any attempt to vent non-condensible gases by merely "cracking" open a union 30 such as shown in FIG. 2, at ambient conditions, would not exhaust gas from the heat pipe, but would rather intake ambient air. For most practical applications, it is thus required to increase the temperature of the heat pipes to a point above 240.degree. F. so that the pressure within the heat pipe is above atmospheric pressure. "Cracking" of the union 30 would thus permit venting of the higher pressure non-condensible gases from the heat pipe to the atmosphere. However, while heating an individual heat pipe might be a relatively straightforward task, these heat pipes are typically part of a larger air heater system wherein such individualized heating is not possible. The entire air heater itself must be elevated in temperature by the use of space heaters and obtaining access for locating same is often extremely difficult. Further, the heat pipes themselves might contain a flammable gas, such as hydrogen, and manually venting same could present a hazard.
Grover (U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,898) and Hoke, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,537) disclose heat pipe apparatus having conventional crimped, soldered or welded end fittings.
Murphy et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,881,580 and 4,776,389) disclose methods and apparatus for evacuating and filling heat pipes in similar closed vessels. As disclosed in the '580 Murphy et al patent, the heat pipe 16 is processed on a table 14 being held at one end by guides 18, 20 and a clamp 24 having trust bar 26 and thrust finger 28. A block 22 is provided with a process tube 54 at a hex shank 68 which moves the piston 60 having O-ring 64, 66. Integral with the heat pipe 16 is a threaded valve 40 having an axial bore 44 and cross bores 46. The process tube 54 is to provide a vacuum and for filing of the working fluid into the heat pipe 16. Turning the hex shank 68 unscrews the valve 40 from the heat pipe 16 and allows an open passageway to process tube 54. O-rings on the piston 60 seal the apparatus from the atmosphere.
Mahdjuri-Sabet (U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,950) discloses, in essence, safety means for a heat pipe so that damage to the heat pipe due to excessive condenser temperatures is avoided. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, the heat pipe 1 is provided with a transparent jacket that holds the working fluid and the evaporator, and is interconnected by a conduit 4 to the condenser 2. Located within an expanded portion of the condenser 2 is an annular plug 13 encircling an overflow tube 10 which creates a fluid reservoir 12 therebetween. Helical springs 14 and 15 maintain axial forces on the annular plug, but allow it to move when rising working fluid fills the condenser 2 during heat absorption.
Stockman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,000) discloses a method of charging a heat pipe whereby a predetermined amount of fluid may be charged into the heat pipe includes a method of changing fluids as necessary. The heat pipe 12 as provided at its upper end a T-fitting 24 through which is provided an inlet working fluid and which also provides for air exhaust. A coupling 26 is used to removably connect the T-fitting 24 to the heat pipe 12. Provided in the internal portion of the heat pipe 12 is a vertical stand pipe 38 whose height is predetermined so that a suction pump 32 connected at a lower end thereof will only be able to remove that portion of liquid above the end termination of the stand pipe 38. The height of the stand pipe 38 can be varied as necessary to provide a predetermined level of liquid in the heat pipe 12.
Hartle et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,580) is of interest as disclosing an automated heat pipe processing system, wherein a heat pipe casing and an end cap is formed into a heat pipe, then cleaned by means of glow-discharge plasma, filled with a working fluid, and fixing the end cap on the heat pipe by inertia welding.
Franco et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,561) discloses a low temperature heat pipe employing a hydrogen getter. The term "low temperature" as used in Franco et al. means a temperature below 0.degree. C. (32.degree. F.)at which the heat pipe is operational. The patent discusses one of the largest uses of heat pipes at present being the permafrost stabilization of the trans-Alaskan pipeline. The heat pipes under these conditions are contained in vertical support members that are designed to operate in colder months when the permafrost temperature at moderate depths (20 ft) is above the air temperature. Heat pipes using ammonia as the heat transport medium have been installed using two heat pipes for each vertical support member. During the winter months when the air temperature is below the ground temperature, the heat pipe functions to remove heat from the permafrost thus maintaining its integrity during the subsequent summer months when thawing can potentially occur. A problem with the operation of the heat pipes is the presence of small amounts of non-condensible hydrogen gas which can collect, for example, by a corrosion reaction between water, which may be an impurity in the ammonia and the carbon steel of the pipe. The hydrogen gas accumulates primarily in the condenser section and inhibits the ammonia vapor from condensing at the top of the condensation section. This results in "condenser blockage" and leads to reduced heat removal capability. Thus, the patent is directed to a means or method of removal of such contaminant hydrogen to allow the heat pipe to continue to operate and continue to prevent the permafrost from degrading. Accordingly, the patent discloses a hydrogen getter material, preferably being a zirconium intermetallic alloy, which is effective even in the presence of air and/or water. More specifically, Franco et al. discloses a hydrogen getter assembly for removing contaminant hydrogen gas from an ammonia heat pipe which assembly can be mounted on the pipe on top or on the side, or located inside the pipe on the condensation wall or section. As shown in FIG. 2 of Franco et al., a heat pipe 17 inserted into the permafrost ground 11 has a hydrogen gas getter assembly 23 mounted vertically on top being inserted through cover plate 31. The getter assembly 23 has located therein a getter material 24 contained in getter canister 25 and held in place by retaining element 26 which is sufficiently porous to allow gaseous NH.sub.3 and H.sub.2 through to contact the getter material. FIG. 3 of Franco et al. shows another embodiment of the heat pipe having a getter assembly 23 mounted on the side of the heat pipe 17 rather than on the top. This embodiment is said to provide easier installation of the getter assembly to the heat pipe since it avoids a double-seal penetration process as generally practiced for the assembly of the heat pipe illustrated in FIG. 2 thereof The getter assembly can be attached to the assembled and charged heat pipe (which charging is generally performed under vacuum to avoid the entry of moisture and/or air) by conventional hot tapping methods or non-welding penetration methods. FIG. 4 shows a preferred embodiment of the hydrogen getter assembly 23, wherein the canister housing 25 is inserted in the heat pipe wall 17. Hydrogen and ammonia enter into the interior of the canister 25 by means of the communication inlet 27 and the resulting initial pressure is sufficient to break the rupture disk 29. The getter material is retained in position by retaining element 26 which is porous and permeable to hydrogen and ammonia but is inert and has sufficient strength to provide a barrier to the movement of the getter material into the heat pipe itself In addition, it is stated that there may also be present a valve (not shown) positioned between the canister 25 and exterior condensation wall and operating with the communication inlet 27. The valve 28 is said to be designed to prevent external leakage of ammonia at low temperatures and use of the valve is optional in preparing the heat pipe by non-welding penetration but is preferred when utilizing, for example, hot tapping methods. In addition to the valve in the communication inlet 27, it is stated that there can optimally be joints formed by fittings, such as quick-connects, which allow for closing and detaching the canister after use and protecting the canister contents from air, and the heat tube atmosphere from escaping, during the detachment step.
While Franco et al. discloses that hydrogen getter assemblies can be removably coupled to heat pipes via quick-connects, he neither teaches nor suggests use of such an assembly during the filing, sealing or field servicing of such heat pipes. As indicated earlier, various servicing operations may have to be performed on heat pipes once they have been installed in the field. These include the tasks of: measuring the internal heat pipe pressure to determine how much non-condensible gas is present; obtaining samples of such non-condensible gases for analysis; venting non-condensible gases from the heat pipe; obtaining a sample of the working fluid from the heat pipe for analysis; and performing internal visual inspections of the heat pipe.
Franco et al. is also not particularly concerned with the manufacturing process for heat pipes. Many heat pipes are designed to have spirally wound aluminum fins present on both the evaporator and condenser sections. During the finning process, the heat pipe is spun at a high speed of rotation. Imbalances cannot be tolerated during such finning processes. Further, the addition of fins to heat pipes, particularly carbon steel fins, add significant weight to the heat pipe and therefore it is not practical from a manufacturing standpoint to fill and seal the heat pipe after it has been finned. Additionally, since heat pipes require a specified internal surface cleanliness, finning the heat pipes prior to the welding of the end cap and the like increases the chance of not meeting this requirement due to flash rust concerns. Further, if it is determined that the heat pipes do require cleaning, it would certainly be easier to do this without the fins being present. Finally, the fins- on some portions of heat pipes, particularly the condenser side of the heat pipes, may use aluminum fins which are a much softer material then carbon steel. Such fins would most certainly be damaged beyond repair if manufacture of the heat pipe were completed after the fins were attached to the tube itself.
It is thus clear that an improved method and apparatus for filling, sealing and field servicing individual heat pipes is desirable.

Field serviceable fill tube for use on heat pipes


In a signal-strength-peak detecting circuit, tuning frequencies by a tuning circuit are periodically varied. Wide band seek is performed according to a signal level of the varied frequencies. When the signal level is greater than a predetermined value, a fine tuning circuit varies tuning frequencies to perform narrow band seek. Further, change of signal levels is detected during narrow band seek to decide whether the peak of the signal level is trapezoidal or rounded. When the peak is decided to be rounded, the maximum value is used as the peak. On the other hand, when the peak is decided to be trapezoidal, the central point of an upper side of the trapezoid is selected as an optimum peak.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an AM radio receiver a and more particularly, to an AM radio receiver free from tracking errors.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is currently known an AM radio receiver which receives AM broadcasting waves (RF signals) transmitted from broadcasting stations as described in "Bipolar Integrated Circuit for Automobile Audio Receiver" on page 73 of '88 Sanyo Semiconductor Data Book (CQ Publishing Co., Ltd.).
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a conventional radio receiver similar to the radio receiver described above. The radio receiver comprises an antenna 10 for receiving RF signals, an antenna damping circuit 12 for attenuating the received RF signals, an RF amplifier 18 including an FET 14 for amplifying the attenuated RF signals and AGC transistor 16 for receiving AGC signals at its base, an RF tuner 20, a mixer MIX 24 for mixing the RF signal from the RF tuner 20 and local oscillator signals from a local oscillator (L. OSC) 22, an IF amplifier (IF) 26 for amplifying IF (intermediate frequency) signals from the mixer 24, and an AM detector 28 for performing AM detection of output signals from the IF amplifier 26.
Such a radio receiver is designed so that the difference between a resonance frequency f.sub.RF of the RF tuner 20 and the resonance frequency f.sub.OSC of the local oscillator 22 are equal to an IF signal frequency (f.sub.IF =450 KHz).
To perform automatic tuning, a tuning signal V.sub.T to be applied to the RF tuner 20 is initially varied in accordance with an inter-station frequency. The inter-station frequency represents a minimum spacing between waves transmitted from respective broadcasting stations. The frequencies used by the respective broadcasting stations should be separated by the predetermined spacing to prevent any interference between the broadcasting waves. Usually, specific broadcasting frequencies are respectively assigned to the broadcasting stations. During automatic tuning, an IF signal for each station internal frequency is detected to seek a broadcasting station having a signal strength greater than a predetermined value.
However, in the conventional radio receiver, an adjustment is made for frequencies which tune only at a few discrete tracking points (e.g. 600 KHz, 1000 KHz, 1400 KHz) in a receiving frequency band. As shown in FIG. 3, at the other receiving frequencies, tuning points of the RF tuner deviate from frequencies of the broadcasting waves determined for every station internal frequency, thereby causing tracking errors.
In the conventional AM radio receiver, gain of the RF amplifier tends to be deteriorated. With an AM stereo radio receiver, separation is sometimes worsened. Further, there has been a problem that automatic tuning cannot be always stopped stably at an optimum point. These problems are remarkable at frequencies (522 KHz to 600 KHz) which are lower than the first tracking point (600 KHz), and at frequencies (1400 KHz to 1602 KHz) which are higher than the third tracking point (1400 KHz).
With the conventional art in which RF tuning is performed by the tuning signal V.sub.T determined according to station internal frequencies, the RF tuning circuit is not always tuned to the maximum point of the signal strength.

Signal-strength-peak detecting circuit for automatic tuning circuit


For providing a controller apparatus for a synchronous motor and a controlling method thereof, enabling to be manufactured, easily and cheaply, and to obtain a lock mechanism, but without necessity of mechanisms, such as, an electromotive lock mechanism, wherein the controller apparatus for the synchronous motor, which has a stator 20 wound with AC windings 21U, 21V and 21W, and a rotor 30 installed within an inside of the stator, rotatably, therein, comprises an inverter 200 for supplying AC voltages having a predetermined voltage/frequency characteristic to the AC windings, which are wound around poles of the stator of the synchronous motor; and further, the inverter is so controlled that the AC voltages, being supplied from the inverter to the AC windings wound around the poles of the stator is changed into DC voltages to be supplied thereto, when rotation of said rotor is zero (0) and also when a lock function signal is ON in condition thereof, thereby obtaining a lock condition of holding a rotating position of the rotor to the stator.

The present invention relates to a controller apparatus for a synchronous motor having a rotor, which is rotatably inserted within an inside of a stator wound with AC windings therein, as well as, a controlling method thereof, and in particular, it relates to the controller apparatus for fixing or locking the rotor when the synchronous motor is stopped, as well as, the controlling method thereof.
Conventionally, in case when driving a load, rotationally, such as, a pump, a fan or the like, for example, the frequency of the power source is changed through frequency conversion with using a frequency converter (so called, an inverter), thereby achieving the driving of the motor at a desired frequency thereof, as is already known in the following Patent Document 1, in particular, for rotationally driving the load, i.e., a refrigerator of a cryopump, etc., for example, at a predetermined rotation speed, with using a cryopump operating apparatus, which is built up with a driving apparatus made of a synchronous motor, while applying a commercial electric power source of 50 Hz therein.
On the other hand, as a synchronous motor for use of general-purposes, being a kind of an AC motor, there is already known a synchronous motor of multi-poles structure of applying a permanent magnet therein, as well as, that having a rotor constructed with windings wound around, or that having a rotor made of a permanent magnet; i.e., using the rotor, on a surface of which are formed grooves in plural numbers thereof, in the axial direction thereof, thereby forming tooth portions therearound. Further, such the rotor structure, having the tooth portions formed therearound in the structure thereof, is widely applied, for example, also in so-called a stepping motor, and in particular, due to the discovery of rear-earth magnets (i.e., neodymium, samarium/cobalt, etc.), each having a high antimagnetic force, in recent years, it comes to be applied further widely, since a higher torque can be obtain from the same construction or volume of the rotor, and therefore the rotor can be manufactured in mass-production, to be cheap relatively.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility-Model Publication No. Hei 1-14775 (1989).
By the way, as was mentioned above, in case when controlling voltage supplied to an induction motor and/or a synchronous motor for use of general-purposes, while applying an ordinary inverter therein, in general, it is the mainstream of adopting a control method, therein; i.e., keeping a V/F ratio (=φ) constant, for satisfying the rated load. For this reason, when stopping the synchronous motor, since the F (frequency of the supply voltage)=0, then it is common to change also the supply voltage V down to zero (0). Thus, the supply voltage to the synchronous motor goes down to zero (0) together with the frequency thereof, and therefore the rotor is not fixed in the position thereof, but can rotate freely. Then, according to the conventional art, for preventing the rotor from such the free rotation thereof, so-called a lock condition is prepared or provided therein, and with this is driven an electromotive lock mechanism, including a brake shoe therein, thereby to hold the rotor of the synchronous motor at a predetermined position.
However, in case where such the electromotive lock mechanism is provided within the synchronous motor, then the synchronous motor itself comes to be large in the sizes thereof, and it also comes to be an expensive one, due to complexity of the structures, including that lock mechanism therein.

Controller apparatus for synchronous motor and controlling method thereof


A surgical endoscopic instrument for surgery in a region directly underneath a layer of tissue covering a body cavity and traversed by the instrument which has a tubular sleeve with an operating duct and an optical system. The optical system image guide exits through a lateral outlet, the operating duct is mounted in a cross-sectional zone adjacent to the outlet and the optical system is mounted in a cross-sectional zone of the sleeve substantially opposite the outlet. The image guide of the operating duct extends laterally around the sleeve.

Instruments of this general type are used in surgery directly underneath a layer of tissue which, in general, is covered outside by the body skin and in a body cavity which may be natural or artificial. The main application for which the instruments of this type have been developed relates to work on the penetrating veins of the human leg. To explain the specific applications of such instrument, the surgical endoscopic treatment of penetrating veins is elucidated below.
Blood from the human leg is discharged through a parallel vein system. Deep veins carry most of the blood flow to be carried away. Surface veins that run in the vicinity of the skin only contribute 10% to the blood removal. Cross-connections are present in several places between the deep and the surface veins and are the so-called perforating or penetrating veins; they comprise inward branches along their paths.
Disorders in the surface vein system entail a number of diseases ranging from merely cosmetic varicose veins to large-scale tissue destruction. A series of techniques are available to surgically remedy these problems, wherein illustratively only the penetrating veins are ligated or the outer veins are removed in full. In each case, work is required on the penetrating veins to ligate or sever them and to seal the severed ends.
Open surgery on such work on the penetrating veins is complex and leaves scars behind. For this reason, endoscopic technology is gaining acceptance.
The known and standard instrumentation used in endoscopic work in this field, and which may be considered the precursor of the instrument of the type described herein, was described in the report, "Endoscopic Subfascial Sectioning of Incompetent Performing Veins in Treatment of Primary Varicosis", M. Jugenheimer, Th. Junginger, World J. Surgery. 16, pp 971-975, 1992. This instrument is composed of a proximal, open sleeve with a grip, optics with grip and with a surgical implement inserted into the sleeve. Surgery takes place in the space between the muscle and the fascia enclosing the muscle, this space being easily enlarged into a surgical space by lifting the fascia from the muscle.
This instrumentation entails drawbacks because several elements must be held and actuated, requiring more than two hands. Moreover, the sleeve is open and as a result gas evacuation, for instance to remove smoke and vapor during electro-surgery or gas to allow insufflation to widen the surgical space, are precluded.
An instrument of this species is described in the document WO 95/14425. This instrument comprises a sleeve with integrated optics. Both parts may be thus operated with one hand. The other hand remains free to operate the surgical implement, such as scissors, a knife or a high-frequency (hf) cutting electrode to sever the penetrating vein, or a coagulating implement or a clip applicator to seal the penetrating vein, and the like. Improved sealing is attained by the integrated design. For instance, a rubber lip sealing the surgical implement may be mounted at the proximal end of the operating duct. Insufflation and evacuation are improved thereby.
In this design the optics is mounted in the cross-sectional zone of the sleeve near the outlets, whereas the operating duct is mounted opposite the outlets. The design is simplified because the operating duct is not in the way of guiding the image and light guides from the optics into the outlets.
It is standard procedure to insert such an instrument through a pierced duct underneath the skin and the muscle fascia into the space between the muscle and the fascia and to advance the instrument therein up to a penetrating vein to be operated on and, possibly, thereafter to be advanced farther to another penetrating vein to be operated on. In the process and by its nature the instrument will rest with its outer proximal end projecting from the skin directly against the leg. For reasons of space and handling, the outlets must be directed away from the leg.
Accordingly, the instrument inner duct of known design points toward the inside of the leg whereas the optics points toward the outside of the leg, that is, toward the fascia. As a result, however, an implement, such as a clip applicator, inserted through the operating duct into the space between the fascia and the muscle where the penetrating vein will be operated on, lies against the muscle. Only at this location is it possible to conveniently operate on the penetrating vein.
On the other hand, operating is disadvantageous at this site, near the muscle, of the penetrating vein, because this vein has branches in the region between fascia and muscle. Supply to the penetrating vein must take place outside those branches, that is as far as possible outside at the fascia.
But in the known instrument, which is located toward the muscle, surgery on the fascia-near zone of a penetrating vein is possible only at great pains. High leverage forces must be applied to the instrument, entailing difficulty and possibly unwanted injuries.
German patent document 29 26 919 C2 discloses an endoscopic instrument wherein the optics, the image guide and a separately emplaced light guide are mounted in the tubular sleeve on one side of its cross-section, whereas the operating duct is located on the other side of the cross-section. However, differing from the design of patent document WO 95/14425, the outlet of the light guide is on the other side of the tubular sleeve, where the operating duct is located. In relation to the tubular sleeve the two outlets therefore are diametrically opposite. Obviously such an instrument is presently inapplicable because the light guide outlet would be in the immediate vicinity of the body on account of the required angular position with the image guide outlet away from the body.


The present invention is directed to a method for irradiating of solids containing petroleum or petroleum derived compounds (PPDCs), such as soils, oily sludge, drill cuttings, sediments, and non-commercial petroleum industry products, with electron beams in order to physically and/or chemically alter the composition of the PPDCs. The method includes the step of separating PPDC gas and liquids in the presence of a gas driver. Optionally, the method includes the steps of treating off-gases and applying one or more amendments to PPCD-impacted solid material pre-irradiation, post-irradiation, or during electron beam irradiation.

Conventional methods for treating PPDC-impacted solids, such as landfilling, bioremediation, combustion, and thermal desorption, are typically time consuming and/or expensive, and may not always be preferred or adequate for reducing Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH).
E-beam processing has advantages over conventional methods for treatment of PPDC. In general, e-beam processing can cause chemical and physical changes in various substances by exposure to ionizing radiation in the form of electrons with energies lower than about 10 MeV. This process can have various effects depending on the material being processed, the dosage, or amount of treatment that is being applied. These effects include but are not limited to bond cracking, cross-linking, polymer degradation, sterilization, pasteurization, and vulcanization. E-beam differs from other irradiation processes, most notably because it is highly controllable and can be used without significant residual effects.
Several examples have been reported in the literature for e-beam irradiation of liquid PPDC streams, but none where solids containing PPDC have been e-beam irradiated. For example, PetroBeam reported the treatment of a 12° API heavy crude oil (1.7% wt of S and 6% water) pulsed irradiated at 2 MeV at 50° C. with time-average of 20 and 37 kGy/s and with a total absorbed dose of 360 kGy (residence time ˜13 s). The results showed respectively 17% and 22% conversion of residue having an atmospheric equivalent boiling point >450° C., and a 10-fold reduction on the sulfur content.
Similarly, researchers from Texas A&M University have treated an atmospheric residue (7.4° API, 10.4% asphaltenes and hydrogen to carbon molar ratio H/C=1.47) and reported lower viscosity and higher amounts of distillable material after e-beam radiation thermal cracking at 385° C. for one hour (RTC at 10 kGy) compared to conventional (no e-beam) thermal cracking (TC) at 385° C. for one hour. Percentages of 550° C. residue conversion were 31% for RTC versus 26% for TC. Stability was measured by determining the viscosity over a period of three months, and the results showed that viscosity of the RTC samples was stable whereas the TC increased reaching a plateau after two months.
However, there are no known e-beam methods for: remediating PPDC impacted soil or sediments; treating undesired oily streams (e.g., oily sludge, drill cuttings, tank bottoms, etc.); or high throughput (volume per unit time) and high efficiency (rate and yield of TPH removal or transformation) processes for the application of e-beam irradiation. In addition, there are no known methods that include the recycling or disposal of the converted, mobilized or otherwise transformed PPDC, including gaseous components.
As such, a need exists for improved high throughput and high efficiency e-beam irradiation processing methods for remediating PPDC-impacted solids for beneficial reuse and for recycling or disposing gaseous hydrocarbons resulting from the e-beam irradiation.


The present invention provides a center crank eccentrically oscillating speed reducer enabled to increase the available cross-sectional area of a hollow hole, while the generation of large noises is suppressed, as compared with the conventional center crank eccentrically oscillating speed reducer. An eccentrically oscillating speed reducer (100) includes a case (110) configured to have internal teeth (111), a hollow crankshaft 120 configured to have an external gear 123, external gears 131 and (131) have external teeth 131a and 132a a carrier 140, and a transmission gear (160) configured to mesh with an input gear (150) and the external gear (123) and to transmit power transmitted from the input gear (150) to the external gear (123).

As a conventional center crank eccentrically oscillating speed reducer, there is known a speed reducer having an output portion configured so that pins are embedded at uniform intervals in an inner peripheral part, a camshaft configured to have a gear, to be disposed at a substantially center of the pins of the output portion, and to rotate with respect to the output portion, a toothed disk configured to have external teeth meshing with the pins of the output portion, to engage with the camshaft, and to be eccentrically moved by the camshaft, and a housing configured to have output pins engaging with the toothed disk. Power is transmitted from a motor to the gear of the camshaft (see, e.g., Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2000-65162 (pages 2 and 3 and FIG. 1).

Center crank eccentrically oscillating speed reducer


A thin film interleaver device is disclosed. The thin film interleaver includes thin film optics. The thin film(s) are formed such that they reflect one group of wavelengths while allowing a second group of wavelengths to pass through the thin film(s). The thin film(s) exhibit a flat top frequency response across the channel bandwidths of the multiplexed signal for which the thin film filter is designed such that the thin film interleaver is less sensitive to wavelength drift and temperature variations.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for interleaving optical signals. More specifically, the present invention relates to a thin film interleaver for use in Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) optical networks and more particularly to a thin film interleaver that is less sensitive to wavelength drift and temperature variations.
2. Description of the Related Art
One goal of optical fiber networks is to maximize the amount of data or information that can be transmitted through a single fiber. One way of increasing the amount of data traffic on a fiber optic network is by using various types of multiplexing arrangements. One type of multiplexing is based on simultaneously sending data through the same optical fiber using multiple carrier signals or beams. Each of the carrier beams has a different frequency or wavelength than the other carrier beams on a particular fiber. This type of multiplexing is commonly referred to as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). Two types of WDM systems are CWDM and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). In CWDM, for example, signals are sent using lasers with wavelengths that are between 1370 nm and 1610 nm at 20 nm increments.
One of the optical components that is often used in WDM systems is an interleaver. Generally, an interleaver is an optical component that can be used as both a multiplexer and a demultiplexer. When used as a multiplexer, the interleaver can combine the optical signals carried by a pair of optical fibers into a single optical signal on a single optical fiber. For example, if the optical signals being combined each include four separate channels (wavelengths), then the optical signal output by the interleaver will carry eight channels (wavelengths) that are spaced closer together. When used as a demultiplexer, the interleaver separates a single optical signal into a pair of optical signals each carried by different optical fibers. In this case, the channels are more widely spaced.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary interleaver currently available, which is generally designated at 100. The interleaver 100 is manufactured using a fused fiber technique. In this example, two optical fibers are twisted together. Then, the optical fibers are heated at the point where they are connected, the fiber junction 108, causing the fibers to fuse. While still in a heated condition, the twisted and fused fibers are then pulled or stretched to obtain the desired optical characteristics. In the interleaver 100, the fused fiber technique results in a three or four port device that includes, in this example of a three port device, an input fiber 102, an output fiber 104 and an output fiber 106.
The input fiber 102 carries a signal that includes several different channels of various wavelengths. In one example, eight carrier signals or channels are included in the optical signal and are represented as channels λ1, λ2, λ3, λ4, λ5, λ6, λ7 and λ8, where each λn represents a particular carrier, wavelength or channel. Although eight channels are illustrated in this example, other systems may use more or fewer channels. In a CWDM system, for example, the channel designated as λ1 may correspond to the 1470 nm wavelength, the channel designated as λ2 may be the channel spaced at the next 20 nm interval (1490 nm), and so forth.
Returning now to the example in FIG. 1, the multiplexed signal propagates to the fiber junction 108 where the optical fibers have been fused. Because of the way in which the fibers have been fused, the interleaver 100 divides the channels into two separate groups. The first group is represented by the wavelengths λ2, λ4, λ6, and λ8. The second group is represented by the wavelengths λ1, λ3, λ5, and λ7. The first group of wavelengths propagates on the output fiber 104. The second group propagates on the output fiber 106. The output fibers 104 and 106 may be connected to subsequent fused fiber interleavers that further deinterleave the channels. The channels output of the interleaver 100 on the output fibers 104 and 106 are less densely spaced (i.e., 2× channel spacing of 102) than the channels on the input fiber 102.
One of the challenges in modern optical multiplexing systems is addressing the temperature sensitivities of the optical equipment. For example, the DFB lasers that are commonly used in a CWDM system to generate the various channels change the wavelength of their output beam according to the temperature at which the lasers are operating. Because of the sensitivity of the carrier wavelength to temperature, a particular channel may need a bandwidth in some applications that may be, for example, +/−6 nm from the defined carrier channel wavelength. Further, the fused fiber interleaver device itself has some temperature sensitivities. As described previously, the optical characteristics of the fused fiber interleaver are obtained by stretching the glass fibers while they are in a heated condition. Changes in temperature cause the interleaver device to expand or contract, thus changing the optical characteristics of the interleaver.
FIG. 2 shows a graph illustrating the wavelength response of a fused fiber interleaver illustrated in FIG. 1. The wavelength response, illustrated by the curves 210, of a typical fused fiber interleaver is Gaussian. A typical Gaussian response exhibits low loss around the center carrier wavelength. As the channel wavelength drifts away from the carrier wavelength, the response quickly drops off, resulting in higher signal loss. In other words, wavelength drift can result is significant signal loss. Generally, small frequency shifts and corresponding small signal power losses are tolerable. Heavy losses of signal power are less tolerable, as they can reduce the distances over which the optical network can be deployed and can increase error rates.
In addition to wavelength drift and temperature variations, frequency dependent loss and cross talk are other examples of component characteristics that have an impact on the performance of optical components. Interleavers are often integrated into other optical components such as optical add/drop modules (OADM) and interleavers therefore have an impact on the performance characteristics of those optical components.
One method of reducing power loss of a fused-fiber interleaver that exhibits a Gaussian top frequency response is to widen the Gaussian response to provide a wider frequency response. A drawback from having a wider frequency response is that adjacent channels become less isolated as the actual frequency varies from the defined channel frequency. This breakdown of isolation is sometimes referred to as cross-talk. Cross-talk results in data from one channel being mixed into adjacent channels thus making the data on the adjacent channel more difficult or impossible to extract.
To reduce cross talk problems, the frequency response is shaped so that the losses are high as a particular frequency on a channel drifts towards other channels. Adjusting either the frequency dependent loss or cross talk performance characteristics has an adverse affect on the other.


A malware scanner for DIME messages reads the file type associated with each data record within the DIME message to determine whether or not the payload data of that data record requires scanning. The length data within the header of each data record is used to move between data records within a DIME message as required during the malware scanning process.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, this invention relates to malware scanning received messages.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to provide malware scanners that scan received messages for malware such as computer viruses, worms, Trojans, banned files, banned words, banned images and the like. An example of such a malware scanner is one in which a MIME message received by an e-mail system is scanned to see if it contains malware of any of the above mentioned types. The MIME message protocol is widely used to transfer e-mail messages. It is common for e-mail messages to contain one or more attached files. These attached files often constitute the malware against which it is designed to protect the system. The MIME message format divides the total message into different portions respectively containing an encoded version of the attachment and separated by predetermined tags. When malware scanning such a MIME message the entire MIME message must be processed to identify the tags which separate different portions of the message and then those separate portions decoded and malware scanned as required. Whilst the MIME message format is highly adaptable and flexible, this format presents a difficulty to malware scanners in that a disadvantageously large processing requirement is imposed by the need to traverse the entire MIME message to identify all its portions and then decode those portions prior to scanning.
Another disadvantage of MIME messaging is that the payload data is encoded. Thus, a computer file being transferred within a MIME message is encoded into a new form which is included within the message and requires decoding by the receiver in order to recover the original computer file. This is inefficient in terms of the increased computer processing required. Furthermore, certain computer files may be in a form that is highly compressed and the encoding may make them disadvantageously larger. Furthermore, digital signature and other security measures may be disrupted by the encoding and decoding imposed by the MIME message format.
In order to address the above problems of the MIME message format that arose through encoding and decoding of computer files, a new message format has been proposed. This is the DIME format. In this message format computer files are embedded within the message in their native binary form without encoding. As the binary sequence within the embedded data is no longer controlled by the message format, the use of tags to separate different portions of the message can no longer be reliably used since a computer file may as a matter of chance contain a particular sequence of bytes that corresponds to a tag and would be inappropriately interpreted as a division between different portions of a message. Instead, the DIME format breaks the message down into a plurality of data records each having a header including data indicating the length of that data record such that the message can be read and broken down into its respective data records at the receiver.

Malware scanning messages containing multiple data records


A mounting assembly for mounting a camera to a vehicle dashboard, the assembly having a low-profile base plate, adjustable feet extending between the base plate and the dashboard, hooks that extend around a rearwardly facing edge of the dashboard, a suction mount that is releasably attached to the vehicle windshield, and adjustable tensioning cables that attach the base plate to the suction mount. The mounting assembly permits one or more cameras to be stably secured to the dashboard at a desired location without damaging the dashboard.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for mounting cameras to a vehicle, and, more particularly, to an apparatus for temporarily mounting cameras to a dashboard.
2. Description of Related Art
Cameras may be mounted on vehicle dashboards for testing or observation purposes. Sometimes two cameras are mounted on a dashboard facing the driver so as to enable the creation of stereo images of the driver's face or eyes. 3-D or steroscopic imagery involves the use of two images of the same scene taken from slightly different angles in order to create a sense of depth in the resulting image. The use of two spaced-apart cameras to take images (still or video) allows dimensional calculations to be made and therefore is useful in performing tests or taking measurements. Some dash-mounted dual cameras are used as eye or face recognition devices.
There are several types of devices and methods for mounting cameras to vehicle dashboards. Some cameras are coupled to the dashboard by physically bonding a camera mount to the dashboard with adhesives, such as double-sided adhesive tape or strips of hook-and-loop fabric fasteners. Such hook-and-loop fabric fastener strips must also be adhesively secured to the camera mount and the dashboard. Some of these mounts may leave behind hard-to-remove residue. Some camera mounts are simply fastened to the dashboard using mechanical fasteners such as screws or bolts. When many of these types of mounts are removed from the dashboard, they leave permanent and unsightly holes or marks on the dashboard. In any event, known camera mounts are inconvenient and may cause costly damage to the vehicle, which is a problem particularly when the cameras only need to be temporarily mounted in the vehicles for testing purposes.
Camera mounts are difficult to place on the dashboard because there are few places to easily fasten the mounts. Also, the mounts need to be shaped and placed so as to avoid blocking the view of a person in the driver's seat of the vehicle. Moreover, many mounts need to be able to adapt to a wide variety of vehicles, and must be secure and stable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,238 to Hutten describes a camera mounting device including two suction cups that attach to any smooth surface, such as a windshield in a vehicle. The device is leveled by the adjustment of a knurled nut which adjusts the distance between a support disk and base of the device. The support disk may rest upon a vehicle surface, such as the dashboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,193 to Faidley describes a mobile camera mount including two suction cups that attach to a vehicle windshield. The suction cups are part of a U-shaped framework that supports a camera. An optional brace with an end having an additional suction cup or pad also attaches to the framework and abuts the windshield to provide additional support.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,176,602 to Wilt describes a dashboard mount for a movie camera. The mount utilizes a suction cup that is affixed adjacent to the edge of the dashboard. The mount also includes an arm that extends from the suction cup toward the vehicle's windshield.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a camera mount that is adjustable to fit a variety of vehicle types, that is easy to install and remove, and that does not damage or mar the vehicle dashboard.

Adjustable dashboard-mounted camera mount


The present invention provides low cost methods and apparatuses for filtering out polarized light reflections in a free space optical isolator. Multiple polarizers having relatively poor extinction ratios can be stacked together as polarizer assemblies having higher extinction ratios than possible with the individual components. One or more polarizer assemblies may then be used in series with an optical signal generator, an optical signal rotator, one or more other polarizers or polarizer assemblies, and a fiber optic receptacle to isolate an optical signal in a transmitter optical subassembly. Accordingly, the present invention can polarize an optical signal more efficiently than with prior methods, doing so at a relatively high perpendicular beam extinction ratio with a much lower cost.

1. The Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatus for reducing back reflections into the source laser in a fiber-optic network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of data transmission, one method of efficiently transporting data is through the use of fiber-optics. Digital data is propagated through a fiber-optic cable using light-emitting diodes or lasers. Light signals allow for extremely high transmission rates and very high bandwidth capabilities. Also, light signals are resistant to electromagnetic interferences that would otherwise interfere with electrical signals. Light signals are more secure because they do not allow portions of the signal to escape from the fiber-optic cable as can occur with electrical signals in wire-based systems. Light also can be conducted over greater distances without the signal loss typically associated with electrical signals on copper wire.
One goal in modern fiber-optic communication configurations is to maintain the integrity of the signal generated by the laser or the light emitting diode. One common problem that degrades the integrity of the signal generated occurs when portions of the signal are reflected back into the laser. Such reflections can cause increased transmission noise or bit error rates, increased laser noise due to reflections that cause optical resonance in the laser, and other similar problems.
One cause of this type of signal reflection occurs when the laser beam signal leaves a medium having a first index of refraction, and then enters a medium having a second and different index of refraction. For example, when a Distributed Feedback (DFB) laser is interfaced with a fiber-optic pigtail with free space between the laser and the receiving end of the pigtail, reflections often occur. Reflections of the laser beam back into the laser (or similar light source) are commonly referred to as "back reflections."
Back reflections are commonly measured in terms of a ratio of the amount of the laser beam that is reflected compared to the transmitted part of the laser beam. This value is commonly expressed as a logarithmic ratio. In terms of this logarithmic ratio, DFB lasers commonly require back reflection levels as low as −40 dB to operate properly. One specific type of reflection that needs attention is "near-end back reflection." A near-end back reflection is one caused by the first one or two connections from a laser transceiver to a fiber-optic pigtail and to a communications panel. Because these first connections generally occur in a fiber-optic cable that is not subjected to bending and heat stresses, the state of polarization of the laser beam can be predicted fairly accurately.
One example of a method for controlling near-end back reflections is shown in FIG. 1, which generally shows a Transmitter Optical Subassembly (TOSA) designated generally as 100. The TOSA 100 has a DFB laser 102 coupled to an optical isolator 104. The optical isolator 104 includes a 0° polarizer 106 coupled to a Faraday rotator 108, which is in turn coupled to a 45° polarizer 110. The DFB laser 102 emits a beam 114 which may be of any polarization as illustrated by the polarization indicator 112. The beam 114 passes through the 0° polarizer 106, which allows only the portions of the beam polarized at 0° to pass through, causing the beam 114 to be polarized at 0° as shown by the polarization indicator 116.
The beam 114 then passes through the Faraday rotator 108, which, in this example, is designed to rotate the beam 114 by 45° in the positive direction. The Faraday rotator 108 may be formed from a latching magnetic material or non-latching magnetic material. For a non-latching material, an external magnet 109 may be used to apply a magnetic field, while a latching material does not need an external magnetic field. This rotation causes the beam 114 to be polarized at 45° as is shown by the polarization indicator 118.
The beam 114 then passes through the 45° polarizer 110 without disruption as the optical axis of the 45° polarizer 110 and the polarization of the beam 114 are aligned. The beam 114 remains polarized at 45° as is shown by the polarization indicator 120. The beam 114 is then propagated through an air space 122 into a fiber-optic pigtail 124. While shown as a single discrete fiber-optic component, the fiber-optic pigtail actually represents all of the various connections that may exist in a fiber-optic network that cause back reflections including pigtail, transceiver, communication panel, and other connections.
Due to the difference in the index of refraction of the fiber-optic pigtail 124 (for example, about 1.47) and the air space 122 (about 1.0) at various connections within the network, a reflected beam 126 is often propagated back towards the DFB laser 102. The reflected beam 126 (or back reflection) may have any state of polarization (as shown by the polarization indicator 128), since the reflected beam 126 is caused by various components within the network. However, a major part of the reflected beam 126 is the near-end reflection caused by the first few components into which the beam 114 is transmitted. If these components are not subjected to mechanical and thermal stress, these near-end portions of the reflected beam are typically polarized at approximately 45°.
The reflected beam 126 passes through the 45° polarizer 110 such that only the portions of the reflected beam 126 that are polarized at 45° are allowed to pass through. This causes the reflected beam 126 to be polarized at 45° as shown by the polarization indicator 130. The reflected beam 126 then passes through the Faraday rotator 108, where it is rotated by positive 45° such that it is polarized to 90° as shown by the polarization indicator 132. Note that the Faraday rotator 108 rotates all beams passing through the Faraday rotator 108 by positive 45° irrespective of the direction of travel. The reflected beam 126 polarized at 90° has no 0° components and is therefore totally rejected from passing through the 0° polarizer 106. In this way, back reflections into the DFB laser 102 are minimized.
While in theory this method appears to completely block any back reflections into the DFB laser 102, in practice this often may not be the result. An ideal polarizer only allows beams to pass through at the angle of polarization of the polarizer. However, actual polarizers allow small portions of the beam perpendicular to the angle of polarization to leak through (referred to as leakage). One characteristic that determines the quality and often the price of a polarizer is the polarizer's ability to minimize the leakage of perpendicular polarization components of beams passing through the polarizer. This characteristic is known as the polarizer's "extinction ratio."
Commonly, conventional polarizers used in the TOSA 100 environment described above have a perpendicular beam extinction ratio (or simply "extinction ratio") of about −40 to −45 dB. One such polarizer is known as a pulled-glass polarizer. While using such polarizers effectively meets the operating criteria for most DFB lasers, such polarizers can be relatively expensive. In fact, the polarizers represent as much as 70% of the total isolator cost, and thus can significantly increase the overall relative cost of the isolator component. It would therefore be beneficial to construct an optical isolator using polarizers that are less expensive, thereby reducing the overall cost of the optical component.

Free space optical isolator with stacked parallel polarizers


An SMT screen printer 100 is disclosed herein. In a described embodiment, the screen printer 100 comprises: i) a stencil 110 with a plurality of apertures; ii) a paste dispenser arranged to dispense a paste material through the plurality of apertures of the stencil to form a print pattern of the stencil to form a print pattern of the paste material on an electronic device; iii) an image capturing device in the form of a fiducial camera 176 arranged to capture at least one image of the plurality of apertures 114 of the stencil 110; iv) a processor 180 arranged to select which of the apertures 114 require cleaning based on the at least one captured image; and v) a cleaning device 138 arranged to clean the selected apertures 114. A method of cleaning a stencil 110 of an SMT screen printer 100 is also disclosed.

This invention relates to a screen printer (or sometimes called "stencil printer") in the field of Surface Mount Technology ("SMT"), more particularly but not exclusively, for solder paste printing. This invention also relates to a method of cleaning a stencil (or a screen) of a screen printer.
In SMT, a stencil is normally placed over an electronic device, such as a printed circuit board (PCB) having solder pads on which respective leads of a surface mount component are placed. The stencil includes apertures which correspond to respective solder pads and a solder paste printing process is used to print solder paste on the solder pads. After a few printings, the apertures of the stencil may be partially blocked by residual solder paste and the entire stencil should be cleaned to prevent bridging, mis-printings or defects. For stencils with very small apertures (for example small area-ratio apertures), the apertures may become blocked more easily and it may be useful to clean the stencil after each printing. However, current cleaning methods tend to be relatively inefficient, take an unacceptably long time to clean the stencils and need a lot of cleaning material.

Screen printer, and method of cleaning a stencil of a screen printer


A method for the synthesis of nanocomposites is provided. The method comprises the steps of mixing carbon nanotubes with a urea solution to form urea/carbon nanotube composites (first step), mixing the urea/carbon nanotube composites with a solution of a metal oxide or hydroxide precursor to prepare a precursor solution (second step), and hydrolyzing the urea in the precursor solution to form a metal oxide or hydroxide coating on the carbon nanotubes (third step). Further provided are nanocomposites synthesized by the method. In the nanocomposites, a metal oxide or hydroxide is coated to a uniform thickness in the nanometer range on porous carbon nanotubes. Advantageously, the thickness of the coating can be easily regulated by controlling the urea content of urea/carbon nanotube composites as precursors. In addition, the nanocomposites are nanometer-sized powders and have high electrical conductivity and large specific surface area. Therefore, the nanocomposites are useful as electrode active materials for electrochemical capacitors, including pseudo capacitors and electrochemical double layer capacitors, lithium secondary batteries, and polymer batteries. Further provided is a capacitor comprising the nanocomposites.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to nanocomposites, a method for synthesizing the nanocomposites, and an electrochemical capacitor comprising the nanocomposites. More specifically, the present invention relates to nanocomposites that have the advantages of easy process control, high electrical conductivity and large specific surface area, a method for synthesizing the nanocomposites, and an electrochemical capacitor comprising the nanocomposites.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent rapid development of portable electronic communication devices and hybrid vehicles, there has been an increasing demand for energy sources with high energy density and high power. In view of this demand, electrochemical capacitors have attracted attention as energy sources capable of replacing or supplementing conventional secondary batteries.
Electrochemical capacitors have lower energy density but retain much higher power density than existing secondary batteries. Therefore, electrochemical capacitors are advantageous in supplying high-power energy. In addition, electrochemical capacitors exhibit excellent performance characteristics in terms of charge/discharge time and cycle life over secondary batteries. Based on these advantages, electrochemical capacitors are suitable for use as pulse power sources of portable communication devices, energy sources for CMOS memory back-up, load-leveling systems for electric vehicles, and so forth. Recent research has also reported that the use of a hybrid energy source constructed by combining an existing secondary battery with an electrochemical capacitor contributed to a dramatic increase in the cycle life of the secondary battery.
Electrochemical capacitors can be largely classified into two different types: electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) and pseudo capacitors (or supercapacitors). An advantage of EDLCs is that high capacitance can be achieved by the use of an electrode active material having a large specific surface area. However, EDLCs are limited to low-current applications because of low actual storage capacity resulting from the presence of fine pores of activated charcoal as an electrode active material and incomplete wetting of electrolytes, and high internal resistance of the carbon system.
Pseudo capacitors use secondary oxidation/reduction reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces and exhibit about 10-100 times higher capacitance than EDLCs. Electrode materials for pseudo capacitors include metal oxides, such as RuO2, IrO2, NiOx, CoOx and MnO2, and conductive polymers.
RuO2 has extremely high energy and power densities but is highly priced, which limits its use to aerospace engineering and military fields. The low capacitance of the other electrode materials leaves great room for improvement.
Thus, there is a need to produce high-capacity metal oxide electrodes at low cost. Recently, nickel oxide has received considerable attention as an electrode material for next-generation batteries and capacitors due to its large specific surface area and high theoretical capacity.
Metal oxides in the form of micrometer-sized powders have typically been used as electrode active materials for pseudo capacitors. Most reactions occur in a depth of several nanometers from the surface of metal oxides to accumulate and generate electricity. Accordingly, the use of metal oxide in the form of a micrometer-sized powder does not contribute to the improvement of capacity because electrochemical effects are not substantially attained within the metal oxide particles. Under these circumstances, considerable research efforts have been made in developing nanometer-sized metal oxides with maximal electrochemical utilization.
To find applications as electrode materials, metal oxides are required to have high electrical conductivity and porosity, and to be processed on a nanometer scale. To meet these requirements, attempts have been made to develop metal oxide/carbon composite materials that are configured to provide continuous conductive paths and have a three-dimensional porous structure while maintaining high electrical conductivity to maximize the impregnation with electrolytes and the interfaces with electrode active materials.
Electrochemical and chemical methods have been known as representative methods to coat metal oxides (e.g., nickel oxide) as active materials on carbon materials (e.g., carbon nanotubes) on a nanometer scale.
According to a typical electrochemical method, a carbon nanotube thin film is grown on a platinum-coated silicon wafer by electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) to produce a substrate, and then the substrate is immersed in an aqueous solution of nickel nitrate, followed by galvanostatic pulse deposition to coat nickel hydroxide on the substrate (Journal of the electrochemical society, 152, 11A2123, 2005). Despite the advantages that relatively uniform coating is possible and the coating thickness can be regulated by controlling the electric energy, the method is not practically used on an industrial scale because the active material is in the form of a thin film rather than in the form of a powder.
According to a typical chemical method, carbon nanotubes are dispersed in an aqueous solution of nickel nitrate and then an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide or ammonium hydroxide is added thereto to precipitate nickel hydroxide (J. Electrochem. Soc., 153, A743, 2006; Synthetic Metals, 150, 153, 2005). However, the carbon nanotubes are simply added for the formation and growth reactions of homogeneous nickel hydroxide nuclei, causing problems in that uniform coating of the nickel hydroxide is difficult, the nickel hydroxide tends to aggregate and precipitate due to the formation of homogenous nuclei between the linear carbon nanotube strands, and the carbon nanotubes are embedded in an excess of the nickel hydroxide particles.

Nanocomposites, synthesis method thereof and capacitor comprising the same

Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Yonsei University


A holder (10) for a baby bottle (12) having a cap (14) with a nipple (16) extending therethrough. The holder (10) comprises an insulation jacket (18) having a central aperture (20) extending vertically therein. An outer sleeve (22) has an open top end (24) and closed bottom end (26) held within the central aperture (20). An inner sleeve (28) has an open top end (30) and a closed bottom end (32) held within the outer sleeve (22), to receive the baby bottle (12) therein, with the nipple (16) extending out therefrom. The insulation jacket (18) will protect the baby bottle (12) from breakage and will keep a beverage (34) within the baby bottle (12) at a desired temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to bottle covers and more specifically it relates to a holder for a baby bottle. The holder for a baby bottle will protect the baby bottle from breakage and act as an insulation jacket for the beverage within the baby bottle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous bottle covers have been provided in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,409,820 to Zimmern; U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,381 to Kramer; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 314,432 to Shaw and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 340,991 to Clements all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


A sensor (10,30) is formed that does not require a bonding process in an oxygen rich or vacuum ambient. In a first embodiment, a port (14), a channel (15) and an opening (18) are used to provide an oxidizing ambient to a cavity (13). During an oxidation process, the cavity (13) is sealed and any remaining oxidizing ambient is consumed to form a sealed cavity that is under a vacuum pressure. In an alternate embodiment, a cavity (32) is formed in a first substrate (31). The cavity (32) is covered by a second substrate (36) and an opening (33,34) is formed in the second substrate (36) above the cavity (32). These openings (33,34) allow an oxidizing ambient to enter the cavity (32).

This invention relates, in general, to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to sensors and methods of fabrication.
Semiconductor devices such as piezoresistive pressure sensors can utilize a thin semiconductor layer, or sensor diaphragm, as a sensing or active element. A piezoresistor is formed in the sensor diaphragm, and the resistance of the piezoresistor varies with the deformation of the sensor diaphragm. One method for forming such a structure first forms cavities in a first substrate using an anisotropic etch with potassium hydroxide (KOH). The cavity is then covered with a second substrate which acts as a diaphragm. Preferably, the second substrate should be bonded to the first substrate under a vacuum condition so that the cavity is sealed and can act as a reference pressure.
Unfortunately, the current state of the art of manufacturing equipment cannot provide a system which is capable of bonding large quantities of wafers under vacuum conditions. Currently, only single wafer bonding equipment is available for production facilities. This equipment tends to have poor throughput, which consequently increases manufacturing cost of the sensors produced. Accordingly, it would be very advantageous to provide a method for forming sensor structures that could use existing semiconductor processing equipment, but at an improved throughput compared to traditional wafer bonding equipment.

Sensor device having a pathway and a sealed cavity


A transceiver network having a driver and a receiver circuit for providing an interface between, for example, a data bus and a system controller or the like is disclosed herein. The receiver circuit includes a first logic gate of a first predefined type for providing output signals in response to input signals in accordance with a first transfer characteristic governed by a first reference voltage. A compensation arrangement is provided for adjusting the first reference voltage, and includes a first compensation gate of the first predefined type having an output governed by the first reference voltage. A first feedback loop coupled to the first compensation gate's output varies the first reference voltage until the first compensation gate generates a predefined output signal. The driver network includes a second input logic gate of a second predefined type having a first current transfer characteristic governed by a gate control voltage. A second compensation arrangement adjusts the gate control voltage, and includes a second compensation gate of the second predefined type having a current transfer characteristic proportional to the first current transfer characteristic. A second feedback loop coupled to the second compensation gate varies the gate control voltage until current flowing through the second compensation gate matches a supply current.

As is well known, communication between digital circuits is often facilitated by a digital data bus consisting of a plurality of individual bit lines. Digital circuits utilizing a data bus generally communicate therewith by way of a plurality of line transceivers, with each transceiver being connected to a separate bit line through a bonding pad. Each line transceiver typically includes a receiver for conveying information from the bit line to a host circuit (e.g., a microprocessor) and a driver for impressing signals generated by the host circuit upon the bonding pad.
Conventional line receivers essentially operate as logic gates having well-defined input thresholds. A logical low is recognized in response to signals from the bit line less than the input threshold, while the line receiver recognizes a logical high upon receipt of signals from the bit line larger than the input threshold. The input threshold is typically controlled by a differential comparator having a first input connected to the bonding pad, and a second input connected to a reference voltage equivalent in magnitude to the threshold voltage.
Unfortunately, a number of difficulties are associated with such conventional differential input stages. For example, the process of converting a two-element differential input to provide a single logic level tends to degrade bandwidth. In addition, since a differential comparator is a linear circuit, a portion of the current which would otherwise be available for logic level switching is used to bias the differential stage. Moreover, larger devices are needed to increase switching speed since the time required by a differential comparator to switch between logic states is proportional to a quiescent bias current. This mode of increasing switching speed is limited, however, due to the increased parasitic capacitance associated with comparators incorporating such larger devices.
A standard two-transistor CMOS inverter provides an alternative which overcomes certain of the drawbacks associated with differential input stages. For example, the single-input design of a CMOS inverter does not engender a loss in bandwidth. In addition, since CMOS inverters do not require a quiescent bias current switching speed may be enhanced without causing an increase in parasitic capacitance. However, the input threshold voltage of the CMOS inverter is influenced by changes in parameters such as processing, temperature and power supply. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a CMOS line receiver having a switching threshold substantially invariant to the parameter variation that tends to adversely affect conventional inverters.
Standard line drivers generally include a bipolar transistor having a collector terminal coupled to the bonding pad through a Schottky diode, with the bonding pad being coupled to a supply voltage through an external termination resistor. The Schottky diode increases the size of the driver, but is required in order to isolate the large capacitance of the bipolar transistor from the bit line. A logical low is impressed upon the bonding pad as a consequence of the bias current flowing through the termination resistor upon actuation of the transistor. When the transistor is turned off the bonding pad rises to the power supply voltage.
Although bipolar line drivers perform satisfactorily in certain applications, it would be advantageous to provide a CMOS implementation so as to enable direct integration of the line driver with other CMOS circuitry. Such integration would obviate the need to simultaneously realize bipolar and CMOS elements upon a single semiconductor chip through bi-CMOS implementations, which tend to be expensive and to consume relatively large areas.
However, in addition to the operating parameter variability described above with respect to CMOS line receivers, still other difficulties hinder potential CMOS implementations of line drivers. Since an MOS transistor behaves similarly to a resistor when turned on, the magnitude of the logical low impressed upon the bonding pad will be a strong function of transistor bias current. In addition, the current drive capability per unit area for MOS transistors is generally less than that of bipolar transistors.
It is thus another object of the present invention to provide a CMOS line driver having a switching threshold substantially invariant to parameter variation, and which is capable of providing a relatively stable logical low output signal.

Method and apparatus for feedback control of I/O characteristics of digital interface circuits


Even if a margin area, which did not exist in an original image, is present around a document area in a document acquired by printing the original image, an accurate layout comparison between the scanned image of the printed document and the original image can be performed as follows. An original image serving as a comparison target image is input, and block information about a block included in the original image is extracted. It is determined whether the size of the original image is a predetermined size. When the size is not a predetermined size, block information about the block included in the original image mapped to a predetermined size is created and registered. When a comparison source image is input, block information about a block included in the comparison source image is extracted. Subsequently, two pieces of the block information of the comparison source and target images are compared.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a control method therefore, and a program capable of retrieving original electronic data corresponding to a paper document having been read by an image input apparatus such as a copier, and using the retrieved original electronic data for the purpose of printing, distribution, storage, editing, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with the increase in digitization, documents have been stored in databases as electronic files. There is an increasing demand for the easy retrieval of electronic files in databases using scanned images of printed documents. To this end, a method of analyzing a layout indicating the relationship between text or image areas included in a scanned document image and then comparing the analyzed layout with the layouts of electronic files in a database has been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-328417 discloses a method of dividing an area of a document image into a plurality of sub-areas, and using the number of sub-areas as a criterion for restricting retrieval, and then comparing the features of the document image with the features of a document whose number of sub-areas matches that of the document image.
Here, for example, in the case of a document image of a catalog or the like, the catalog or the like is often printed on nonstandard-size paper other than standard-size paper such as A4- or letter-size paper. In this case, a printing paper size is set to a nonstandard size in the electronic file of the document image. However, when the electronic file of the document image is printed in an office or the like, it is often printed on standard-size paper. Strictly speaking, the most commonly used paper size is one of the A4 and letter sizes, and differs from country to country.
In a case where a nonstandard-size document image is printed on standard-size paper, when the nonstandard-size is smaller than the standard size, a large margin is generated due to the difference between aspect ratios. On the other hand, when the nonstandard-size is larger than the standard size, the document image to be printed is required to be reduced so that the entire document area thereof can fit into the standard size without being deformed. Consequently, a large margin is also generated in this case.
An example will be described with reference to FIGS. 24A and 24B. An original image 2401 is an image acquired by rasterizing one page included in an electronic file in which a paper size has been set to a nonstandard size. The original image 2401 includes text or image areas 2402 and 2403.
A scanned image 2404 is an image acquired by scanning the original image having been printed on standard-size paper. Here, since the paper size was set to a nonstandard size, the original image has been reduced so that the document area thereof can be printed without being deformed. Therefore, the document area in the scanned image 2404 corresponds to a rectangular area 2405.
The text or image areas 2402 and 2403 in the original image 2401 correspond to areas 2406 and 2407 in the scanned image 2404, respectively. It can be shown that the positions of the text or image areas 2402 and 2403 in the original image 2401 are very different from those of the areas 2406 and 2407 in the scanned image 2404.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-328417, the size of each sub-area is normalized by normalizing the size of an entire image so as to avoid the effect of scaling of an image. However, as described previously, a margin area, which did not exist in the original image, is present around the document areas in the scanned image. Accordingly, even if the normalization of an entire image is performed, the positions of sub-areas in the scanned image are still different from those of sub-areas in the original image. Consequently, in such a case, even if a layout comparison between the original image and the scanned image is performed, it cannot be determined whether they have the same layout.

Image processing apparatus for image retrieval and control method therefor


A microelectronic programmable structure and methods of forming and programming the structure are disclosed. The programmable structure generally include an ion conductor and a plurality of electrodes. Electrical properties of the structure may be altered by applying a bias across the electrodes, and thus information may be stored using the structure.

The present invention generally relates to microelectronic devices. More particularly, the invention relates to programmable microelectronic structures suitable for use in integrated circuits.
Memory devices are often used in electronic systems and computers to store information in the form of binary data. These memory devices may be characterized into various types, each type having associated with it various advantages and disadvantages.
For example, random access memory (xe2x80x9cRAMxe2x80x9d) which may be found in personal computers is volatile semiconductor memory; in other words, the stored data is lost if the power source is disconnected or removed. Dynamic RAM (xe2x80x9cDRAMxe2x80x9d) is particularly volatile in that it must be xe2x80x9crefreshedxe2x80x9d (i.e., recharged) every few microseconds in order to maintain the stored data. Static RAM (xe2x80x9cSRAMxe2x80x9d) will hold the data after one writing so long as the power source is maintained; once the power source is disconnected, however, the data is lost. Thus, in these volatile memory configurations, information is only retained so long as the power to the system is not turned off In general, these RAM devices may be expensive to manufacture and consume relatively large amounts of energy during operation of the devices. Accordingly, improved memory devices suitable for use in personal computers and the like are desirable.
CD-ROM and DVD-ROM are examples of non-volatile memory. DVD-ROM is large enough to contain lengthy audio and video information segments; however, information can only be read from and not written to this memory. Thus, once a DVD-ROM is programmed during manufacture, it cannot be reprogrammed with new information.
Other storage devices such as magnetic storage devices (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks and magnetic tape) as well as other systems, such as optical disks, are non-volatile, have extremely high capacity, and can be rewritten many times. Unfortunately, these memory devices are physically large, are shock/vibration-sensitive, require expensive mechanical drives, and may consume relatively large amounts of power. These negative aspects make these memory devices non-ideal for low power portable applications such as lap-top and palm-top computers, personal digital assistants (xe2x80x9cPDAsxe2x80x9d), and the like.
Due, at least in part, to a rapidly growing numbers of compact, low-power portable computer systems in which stored information changes regularly, read/write semiconductor memories have become increasingly desirable and widespread. Furthermore, because these portable systems often require data storage when the power is turned off, non-volatile storage device are desired for use in such systems.
One type of programmable semiconductor non-volatile memory device suitable for use in such systems is a programmable read-only memory (xe2x80x9cPROMxe2x80x9d) device. One type of PROM, a write-once read-many (xe2x80x9cWORMxe2x80x9d) device, uses an array of fusible links. Once programmed, the WORM device cannot be reprogrammed.
Other forms of PROM devices include erasable PROM (xe2x80x9cEPROMxe2x80x9d) and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) devices, which are alterable after an initial programming. EPROM devices generally require an erase step involving exposure to ultra violet light prior to programming the device. Thus, such devices are generally not well suited for use in portable electronic devices. EEPROM devices are generally easier to program, but suffer from other deficiencies. In particular, EEPROM devices are relatively complex, are relatively difficult to manufacture, and are relatively large. Furthermore, a circuit including EEPROM devices must withstand the high voltages necessary to program the device. Consequently, EEPROM cost per bit of memory capacity is extremely high compared with other means of data storage. Another disadvantage of EEPROM devices is that although they can retain data without having the power source connected, they require relatively large amounts of power to program. This power drain can be considerable in a compact portable system powered by a battery.
In view of the various problems associated with conventional data storage devices described above, a relatively non-volatile, programmable device which is relatively simple and inexpensive to produce is desired. Furthermore, this memory technology should meet the requirements of the new generation of portable computer devices by operating at a relatively low voltage while providing high storage density, and a low manufacturing cost.
The present invention provides improved microelectronic devices for use in integrated circuits. More particularly, the invention provides relatively non-volatile, programmable devices suitable for memory and other integrated circuits.
The ways in which the present invention addresses various drawbacks of now-known programmable devices are discussed in greater detail below. However, in general, the present invention provides a programmable device that is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, and which is relatively easy to program.
In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a programmable structure includes an ion conductor and at least two electrodes. The structure is configured such that when a bias is applied across two electrodes, one or more electrical properties of the structure change. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, a resistance across the structure changes when a bias is applied across the electrodes. In accordance with other aspects of this embodiment, a capacitance, or other electrical properties of the structure change upon application of a bias across the electrodes. One or more of these electrical changes may suitably be detected. Thus, stored information may be retrieved from a circuit including the structure.
In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a programmable structure includes an ion conductor, at least two electrodes, and a barrier interposed between at least a portion of one of the electrodes and the ion conductor. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment the barrier material includes a material configured to reduce diffusion of ions between the ion conductor and at least one electrode. The diffusion barrier may also serve to prevent undesired electrodeposit growth within a portion of the structure. In accordance with another aspect, the barrier material includes an insulating material. Inclusion of an insulating material increases the voltage required to reduce the resistance of the device to its lowest possible value. Devices including an insulating barrier may be well suited for non-volatile memory (e.g., EEPROM) applications.
In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a programmable microelectronic structure is formed on a surface of a substrate by forming a first electrode on the substrate, depositing a layer of ion conductor material over the first electrode, and depositing conductive material onto the ion conductor material. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, a solid solution including the ion conductor and excess conductive material is formed by dissolving (e.g., via thermal or photodissolution) a portion of the conductive material in the ion conductor. In accordance with a further aspect, only a portion of the conductive material is dissolved, such that a portion of the conductive material remains on a surface of the ion conductor to form an electrode on a surface of the ion conductor material.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, at least a portion of a programmable structure is formed within a through-hole or via in an insulating material. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, a first electrode feature is formed on a surface of a substrate, insulating material is deposited onto a surface of the electrode feature, a via is formed within the insulating material, and a portion of the programmable structure is formed within the via. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, after the via is formed within the insulating material, a portion of the structure within the via is formed by depositing an ion conductive material onto the conductive material, depositing a second electrode material onto the ion conductive material, and, if desired, removing any excess electrode, ion conductor, and/or insulating material.
In accordance with a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, multiple bits of information are stored in a single programmable structure.
In accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a capacitance of a programmable structure is altered by causing ions within an ion conductor of the structure to migrate.

Programmable microelectronic devices and method of forming and programming same


A method of suspending automated corrective actions by a monitoring application is disclosed. The method comprises a monitoring application executing on a monitoring server a count of errors that lead to alarms experienced by each of a plurality of enhanced node Bs (eNBs) from a network management system (NMS), wherein the NMS records the count of errors experienced by the eNBs result in alarms. The method comprises the monitoring application determining that a pre-defined number of the plurality of eNBs have each exceeded a pre-defined threshold for alarms. The method comprises the monitoring application suspending automated corrective actions on the plurality of eNBs. The method comprises the monitoring application, responsive to suspending automated corrective actions, initiating corrective actions that are associated with the error experienced by the plurality of eNBs.

Base transceiver stations, also known as enhanced node Bs, facilitate wireless communication between a network, communication servers with internet connectivity, user equipment such as mobile phones, and other equipment. Components of base transceiver stations comprise transceivers, antennas, routers, alarm extension systems, and other components. Transceivers function in the transmission and reception of signals to the base transceiver station. Alarm extension systems collect working status alarms of various components of the base transceiver station and extend these alarms to monitoring stations. Fiber cuts may be accidental breaks in optical fiber that function as a part of the network. Fiber cuts may occur as a result of construction and cause a loss of connectivity to the network for communication servers or base transceiver stations.

Automated response system deactivation during large scale issues and managing wireless network operations


A method and apparatus are provided for administering micro-ingredient feed additives to animal feed rations. The apparatus may be referred to as a system which includes a number of discrete components which cooperate together to ultimately deliver micro-ingredients to a desired location, such as a feed mixer containing a feed ration. Structure is provided for storing, measuring, dispensing, and conveying the micro-ingredients. Measuring of the micro-ingredients may be achieved by loss in weight, gain in weight, or volumetric metering methods. Transport by a liquid carrier such as water may be achieved by providing one or a plurality of conveyance pumps connected to a transport line. The system is operated by a control unit which controls components of the system to achieve delivery of specified amounts and types of micro-ingredients to the feed ration.

Providing animals with various dietary supplements and medications such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes, hormones, and antibiotics is a common and well known practice in the livestock and poultry industries. The manner in which these supplements are mixed together and added to a consumptive fluid carrier such as water is disclosed in a number of patents, including the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,889,443; 4,815,042; 4,733,971; and 5,219,224.
In these references as well as many others, it is known to utilize automated systems which dispense discrete amounts of micro-ingredients, mix the micro-ingredients, and then deliver the micro-ingredients to a feed ration, typically in a slurry mixture form. The prepared slurry may be fed directly to the animals, or may be added to the animal feed rations using mixing or spraying methods.
One step in traditional approaches of manipulating micro-ingredients which can be eliminated is the mixing of the multiple micro-ingredients prior to addition of the micro-ingredients to a feed ration. Feed rations are typically stored in large batch-feed mixers prior to delivery of the rations to a feed truck which then distributes the feed to bunk feeders for consumption by animals. It has been found through various trials that mixing of the feed ration which inherently takes place at the batch feed mixers is adequate for also mixing and dispersing micro-ingredients throughout the feed ration. By requiring use of a mixer within a micro-ingredient dispensing system, the mixer itself is an additional piece of equipment which must be maintained and cleaned, and adds to the overall cost and complexity of the system.
Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by a review of the accompanying drawings taken along with the detailed description.
While the following disclosure describes the invention in connection with those embodiments presented, one should understand that the invention is not strictly limited to these embodiments. Furthermore, one should understand that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, and that in certain instances, the disclosure may not include details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention, such as conventional details of fabrication and assembly.

Method and apparatus for administering micro-ingredient feed additives to animal feed rations