A storage stable adhesive paste composition is described. It contains a plurality of first solid particles comprising a surface protected polyisocyanate and a plurality of second solid particles of polymer having functional groups that react with the polyisocyanate. The particles may be protected by encapsulation in a layer of a material that is not reactive to the polyisocyanate. Preferably, the protective layer also is not reactive to the polymer having functional groups that react with the polyisocyanate. The polyisocyanate particles also can be protected by a layer formed by chemically reacting said polyisocyanate particles with isocyanate reactive compounds to form a protective surface layer around said polyisocyanate particles.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage stable thermofusible, thermosetting, adhesive systems formed by the reaction of a polyisocyanate with a polymer with functional groups that are reactive with the isocyanate group. More particularly, the invention relates to storage stable thermofusible, adhesive paste formulations which can be used for bonding various materials particularly textiles.
2. Description of Related Art
Thermoplastic adhesive formulations for the purpose of bonding textiles generally have failed either during washing or during dry cleaning. Thermosetting formulations generally have failed during storage prior to application or after coating and fixing but before lamination. Such formulations have included systems which are composed of one or two components. In certain two component systems, one component is a crosslinking agent, and the second is a polymer with functional groups capable of reacting with the crosslinking agent. These two react in what is called a cure. When cured the material desirably has irreversibly become a crosslinked adhesive.
A crosslinking agent that contains isocyanate groups and a polymer with isocyanate reactive groups is an example of a two component system, and the one of interest here. In this case, the isocyanate groups can be chemically deactivated, allowing the isocyanate crosslinking agent to be stored in the same medium as the isocyanate reactive polymer without reaction. The application of heat re-activates the isocyanate crosslinking agent, and allows the thermosetting reaction to begin.
To be used for textile bonding, thermosetting adhesives must meet a number of very stringent processing conditions, and must also be capable of use in a very demanding environment once cured.
Typically, the processing of textiles requires application of the adhesive formulation to the textile in advance of bonding and curing. The textiles with the non-cured adhesive already applied are then stored, possibly for months. The formulation must then be storage stable under a range of temperature and humidity conditions. This means that the thermosetting reaction must not initiate before it is intended.
Once the adhesive bond is formed and the thermosetting reaction (curing) is completed, the adhesive must be able to withstand a wide variety of conditions during use. This includes resistance to large volumes of hot water and detergents during washing, and resistance to dry cleaning chemicals.
In certain textile applications, the formulation must also be capable of being coated and fixed on to a textile material and, finally, laminated to another textile material without excessively penetrating into the textile material. This means that there are specific viscosity requirements on the system. However, a system that is highly viscous typically will achieve a lower degree of crosslinking. A system with a low degree of crosslinking will have a relatively poor resistance to heat, steam, solvents etc. On the other hand, a system that is too low in viscosity can excessively penetrate into the fabric and cause undesirable marks on the fabric (strike-through and strike-back) and can provide low bonding strength between fabric layers.
There is a need, therefore, for adhesive systems that have a high enough viscosity to avoid excessive penetration into the fabric, but that allow the reaction to achieve a high degree of crosslinking and, thereby, form a strong adhesive bond with good resistance to heat, solvents, steam etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,124 to Blum et al., describes a general method of preparing heat-crosslinkable adhesive systems that can be stored as low viscosity aqueous dispersions. Adhesives prepared by this method are a mixture of two primary components. One component is polyisocyanate particles that have been deactivated and are storage stable. Deactivation typically involves reacting a liquid dispersion of polyisocyanate particles with a bi-or polyfunctional reactant. The bi-or polyfunctional reactant is added to the polyisocyanate in less than the stoichiometric amount, and reacts only at the surfaces of the polyisocyanate particles in the dispersion. This forms a protective shell around each polyisocyanate particle.
The protected polyisocyanate particles can then be stored at room temperature in a low viscosity dispersion that contains a second component, i.e., a polyisocyanate reactive polymer, for long periods of time without further reaction. When it is desired to begin the thermosetting reaction to form the adhesive, heat is applied. At high enough temperatures the protective shell is removed from the polyisocyanate particles and the thermosetting, adhesive reaction between the polyisocyanate particles and the isocyanate reactive polymer will then proceed. However, these aqueous dispersions as described are not desirable for use in connection with textile applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,548 to Abend describes adhesives formed from storage stable polyisocyanate dispersions with aqueous dispersions or solutions of isocyanate reactive polymers, and that are used as coverings in the form of dried films. The polyisocyanate particles are encased in a polymer protective shell. These storage stable, solid films can be formed on a substrate without starting the thermosetting, adhesive reaction. Again, once it is desired to begin the thermosetting, adhesive reaction, heat is applied. The application of heat removes the protective shell and allows the reaction to begin. However the systems used have insufficient storage stability at ambient temperature to be desirable for use in connection with textile applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,262 to Uhl et al., describes printing pastes and dyeing liquors containing finely divided, solid dispersions of polyisocyanates mixed with binders. The polyisocyanates are present in the system at from 0.1 to 6.0% by weight and the binders are present in about 2.4% to 12% by weight. The binders contain sufficient polar groups to allow them to be dispersed in water without assistance. The fixing process requires a heat treatment of 100° C. for about 3–6 minutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,418 to Lauchenauer describes crosslinkable resin systems in which the crosslinking agent is in contact with the resin particles only at their surfaces. The amount of crosslinking agent in the system is insufficient to crosslink more than about 40% of the resin. In addition, the Lauchenauer crosslinking agent is "masked," meaning that all the reactive groups of the crosslinker are chemically deactivated and not just those on the surface of the particles. Thus, the curing process tends to be slow and stops when heat is removed.

Storage stable, thermofusible, thermosetting adhesive paste


A method for producing a semiconductor device includes: an arranging process of arranging a plurality of silicon carbide wafers having opposed first and surfaces so that the first surface and the second surface of adjacent silicon carbide wafers face each other and are separated in parallel; and a heat treatment process of heating the arranged plurality of silicon carbide wafers so that the first surface of each silicon carbide wafer becomes higher in temperature than the second surface thereof, and, in the adjacent silicon carbide wafers, the second surface of one silicon carbide wafer becomes higher in temperature than the first surface of the other silicon carbide wafer that faces the second surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
When a semiconductor device that uses silicon carbide as, a semiconductor material is produced, a silicon carbide wafer may be heat treated. For example, after a conductive impurity was introduced in the silicon carbide wafer, an annealing treatment is conducted to activate the introduced conductive impurity. When the silicon carbide wafer is heat treated, there may be a problem that Si in the silicon carbide wafer sublimes to roughen a surface, or a concentration of conductive impurity on a wafer surface (hereinafter, simply referred to also as "impurity concentration") is degraded. In particular, in the annealing treatment to activate the conductive impurity, the silicon carbide wafer is heat treated at high temperatures such as 1500° C. to 1900° C., therefore, the above-described problem becomes remarkable. In this connection, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-266969 (JP 2009-266969 A) discloses a technology where the annealing treatment is performed after a cap layer has been formed on a surface of a silicon carbide substrate. The cap layer has a melting point higher than a temperature of the annealing treatment and is formed of metal carbide that is oxidized at 1000° C. or less. Further, the annealing treatment is performed under deoxidation atmosphere.
According to the technology of JP 2009-266969 A, the surface of the silicon carbide substrate is protected by the cap layer. In addition, since the annealing treatment is performed under the deoxidation atmosphere, even when an oxidation start temperature of the metal carbide that forms the cap layer is lower than a temperature of the annealing treatment, the cap layer can be hindered from being oxidized. Therefore, it is said that the problem that the surface of the silicon carbide substrate is roughened by the annealing treatment or an impurity concentration is degraded can be hindered from occurring. In addition, it is said that since the cap layer is oxidized at 1000° C. or less to be brittle, when an oxidizing treatment is performed at a predetermined temperature after the annealing treatment, the cap layer can be readily removed.
In the technology of JP 2009-266969 A, the steps of forming and removing the cap layer are added to the producing step of the semiconductor device. As the result, the production efficiency of semiconductor devices may be degraded or the production cost may increase. Further, it is said that the cap layer becomes brittle by oxidation and can be readily removed. However, depending on removing methods, it cannot be denied that residues of the cap layer may remain. When the residue of the cap layer remains on a surface of the silicon carbide substrate, properties of the semiconductor device may be adversely affected.

Method for producing semiconductor device


Disclosed herein is method for the prevention, delay of progression or treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in a subject, comprising administering to the subject in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of an anti-PD-1 antibody, which is an antibody or a fragment antigen binding thereof, specifically binding to human PD-1.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of most common cancers in the world and the third highest cause of cancer-related mortality globally due to its malignancy. HCC develops in patients with chronic hepatitis, either due to chronic hepatitis B or C viral infection or due to inflammation following aflatoxin ingestion, or excessive alcohol consumption.
Most HCC patients are first diagnosed with the disease at an advanced stage or present with poor liver function, thereby preventing the use of potentially curative therapies. Treatment options for patients with advanced stage disease are limited to either chemoembolization or systemic therapies, which include sorafenib, which is the only approved first-line treatment, with modest efficacy and considerable toxicity [Samonakis D N, Kouroumalis E A. Systemic treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma: Still unmet expectations. World J Hepatol. 2017; 9(2):80-90]. Though these approaches have led to improved clinical outcomes, survival among HCC patients remains less than one year for patients with advanced stage disease, and the patients remain at high risk of disease recurrence after potentially curative surgery and ablation. As toxic chemotherapies are often not well-tolerated by these patients due to liver dysfunction, novel immunotherapies hold promise for advanced HCC. Monoclonal antibodies against the immune checkpoint inhibitory receptor, programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), have demonstrated antitumor activity across multiple malignancies [Topalian S L, Hodi F S, Brahmer J R, et al. Safety, activity, and immune correlates of anti-PD-1 antibody in cancer. N Engl J Med 2012; 366(26):2443-2454], including HCC [El-Khoueiry A B, Sangro B, Yau T, et al. Nivolumab in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (CheckMate 040): an open-label, non-comparative, phase 1/2 dose escalation and expansion trial. Lancet. 2017; 389(10088): 2492-2502]. However, the response rate in the HBV-infected group is relatively low (7%) as reported for Nivolumab [M. Kudo, Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: 2017 Update, Liver Cancer 2017; 6:1-12]. So far, HBV-infected HCC is associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, there is a need for a new immunotherapy for advanced HCC, in particular, with high response rate to infected HCC.

Immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma


A method for calibrating an ultrasound probe includes receiving, from the ultrasound probe, data of a target within a test fixture, wherein the target includes a repetitive pattern along two axes; generating a first ultrasound image of the target; and identifying distortion of the target in the first ultrasound image. The method also includes estimating, based on identifying the distortion, offset parameter values for one or more of three angular errors within the ultrasound probe; generating a second ultrasound image of the target using the offset parameter values; identifying corrected distortion of the target in the second ultrasound image; and storing the offset parameter values.

Ultrasound scanners are typically used to identify a target organ or other structures in the body and/or determine features associated with the target organ/structure, such as the size of the organ/structure or the volume of fluid in the organ. An ultrasound probe typically includes one or more ultrasound transducer elements that transmit ultrasound energy and receive acoustic reflections or echoes generated by internal structures/tissue within a body. These reflections or echoes may be converted into three-dimensional (3D) data. Errors in the probe mechanism, such as small mechanical assembly deviations, can distort the 3D ultrasound data. The distortion can adversely affect measurement of features associated with the target organ/structure.

System and method for calibration of mechanical three-dimensional ultrasound probe


A fuel channel for housing a fuel rod bundle in a boiling water nuclear reactor includes an expanded section to create an increased flow area at a top of the fuel channel and thereby reduce a pressure drop through the fuel channel. The expanded section eliminates a need for channel spacers and a fastener guard.

The present invention relates to a fuel channel for a boiling water nuclear reactor and, more particularly, to an expanded fuel channel that reduces the number of individual components and creates an increased flow area at the top of the channel.
A conventional fuel bundle assembly in a boiling water nuclear reactor includes a lower tie plate, an upper tie plate and a matrix of sealed fuel rods supported between the upper and lower tie plates. The fuel rods contain nuclear fuel pellets in sealed containment for supporting a required critical reaction for the generation of steam. One or more coolant rods is included in the matrix of the fuel rods and is also supported between the upper and lower tie plates. A fuel channel surrounds the tie plates, fuel rods and one or more coolant rods. This channel is generally square in cross-section and made of metal (preferably Zircaloy). During reactor operation, coolant water enters through the lower tie plate within the fuel channel and flows upwardly between the upstanding fuel rods. Water and generated steam exit through the upper tie plate. The channel confines the required moderator coolant flow to a flow path and is restricted between the tie plates.
A typical boiling water reactor channel has a constant internal flow area formed by a full length square cross-section with rounded corners (see FIG. 1). Variations of the uniform thickness concept are disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,543. The patent discloses channel designs that have reduced average thickness in the upper portion of the channels corresponding to a lower pressure difference acting on the channel sides in the upper portion of the channel. In some instances, the axial variation of the channel average thickness increases water volume adjacent the upper part of the channel to provide increased neutron moderation, to minimize the steam void reactivity coefficient, and to provide a greater cold shut-down margin.
Typically, a fuel channel is a constant cross-section with channel spacers and a channel fastener added to properly position the channeled fuel in the upper guide plate of the reactor. It would be desirable to eliminate the need for separate channel spacers and a fastener guard and additionally to create additional flow area to reduce the pressure drop relative to current designs.


A method is provided wherein first and second sacrificial layers of a write element in a merged magnetic head are provided on top of a coil material layer, wherein the first sacrificial layer serves as a mask for shaping the coil material layer into a write coil, and the second sacrificial layer is employed for patterning the desired shape of the first sacrificial layer. The second sacrificial layer is shaped by a first reactive ion etching (RIE) step through a spiral opening in a photoresist layer. The result is a spiral-shaped second sacrificial layer that is employed as a mask for a second RIE to etch the first sacrificial layer through a spiral opening in the second sacrificial layer. The remaining spiral-shaped first sacrificial layer is then employed as a mask for ion milling the coil material layer through a spiral opening in the first sacrificial layer resulting in a write coil with a submicron pitch and sloping edges, which together increase a width of the base of the coil for increased current inducting capability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a write coil with a submicron pitch and more particularly to a write coil with submicron pitch, low profile and high write current conducting capability.
2. Description of the Related Art
A write head is typically combined with a magnetoresistive (MR) head to form a merged MR head which has sensitive elements exposed at an air bearing surface (ABS). The write head comprises first and second pole pieces that are connected at a back gap, the back gap being recessed from the ABS. The first and second pole pieces have first and second pole tips, each having first and second edges, the first and second edges terminating at the ABS. These edges are sensitive elements of the write head that are exposed at the ABS. An insulation stack, which comprises a plurality of insulation layers, is sandwiched between the first and second pole pieces, and a coil layer is embedded in the insulation stack. A processing circuit is connected to the coil layer for conducting information signal currents (write signals) through the coil layer. The write signals cause the coil to induce corresponding information signal fields on the first and second pole pieces. A magnetically insulative gap layer is sandwiched between the first and second pole tips so that the information signal fields fringe across the first and second edges of the first and second pole tips at the ABS. The read head includes an MR sensor sandwiched between first and second insulative gap layers. This sensor is the sensitive element of the read head that is exposed at the ABS. The first and second gap layers, and the MR sensor, are sandwiched between first and second shield layers. In a merged MR head, the second shield layer and the first pole piece are a common layer. The MR sensor detects magnetic fields of a rotating disk by a change in its resistance that corresponds to the strength of the magnetic fields. A sense current conducted through the MR sensor produces voltage changes that are received by the processing circuitry as readback signals. In a magnetic disk drive a magnetic disk is rotated adjacent to, and a short distance from, the ABS so that the write fields magnetize the disk along circular tracks, thereby storing information in the form of magnetized areas that can be detected by a read head.
There is a strong-felt need to minimize the size of the aforementioned components of the write head in order to increase the data rate of the head. Steps have been taken to reduce the length and thickness of the first and second pole pieces. This decreases the reluctance of the head, and supports higher frequency signals, which equate to higher data rates. Another component affecting the reluctance of the head is the write coil. Typically, the write coil includes one or more pancake-shaped coils stacked on top of each other, and separated by insulation layers. Steps have been taken to reduce the thickness and pitch of the write coil in order to improve the coil's frequency response. The pitch is the lateral spacing between adjacent coil lengths.
The write coil is typically constructed by frame plating. A seed layer is sputter deposited on top of a first insulation layer of the insulation stack. Photoresist is then spun on the seed layer, patterned by light, and then developed to leave a spiral-shaped opening where the coil is to be formed. Material, such as copper, is then electroplated in the opening to a desired height. The photoresist is then removed by a solvent, leaving one pancake-shaped coil. This method permits the coil to be constructed with desired heights, and with a close pitch. The primary problem with this coil is that the edge along its length is vertical, owing to the vertical side walls of the patterned photoresist. It is desirable that the bottom of the coil be flared outwardly, so as provide the write coil with increased write current capability, however, the method does not permit such flaring. Thus, the only way to increase write current with this method is to increase the height of the coil. Unfortunately, this increases the height of the insulation stack. A higher insulation stack causes the following problems: (1) a thicker photoresist layer is manifested in the pole tip region for constructing the second pole tip, which imposes a lower limit on track width; and (2) more light is reflected from the insulation stack into the photoresist layer in the pole tip region, resulting in jagged photoresist edges and a poorly formed second pole tip, after plating. Another problem is that the coil material is essentially limited to copper, since aluminum cannot be plated by this method. A further problem with this method is that plating is a wet process which is more difficult and expensive than the sputtering process that is discussed next.
Another method of making a write coil is to sputter, or plate, a coil material layer. If the coil layer is plated, a seed layer must first be sputter-deposited, followed by plating. Sputtering is a dry process; it may comprise conventional sputtering, or ion beam sputtering. In conventional sputtering, a work chamber contains a plasma ionized with material from a target for deposition on the workpiece. In ion beam sputtering, a gun within the chamber contains the plasma, and the gun directs the ionized plasma to the workpiece. A photoresist layer is then spun on the workpiece and patterned as described hereinabove. Ion milling, which is similar to sandblasting, is then employed to remove a portion of the coil material layer exposed by the patterned photoresist. The coil is finished after removal of the photoresist. A problem with this method is that ion milling results in redeposition on the side walls of the photoresist, which stays in place after removal of the photoresist. Redeposited material appears as a fence above the top of the coil, and it must be removed by some means, such as scrubbing. Another problem with this method is that, upon removing the photoresist, the first insulation layer below the coil, comprising hard baked photoresist, is exposed to the solvent employed for stripping the resist, and may be damaged thereby.
Still another method of constructing the write coil requires a modification of the aforementioned ion milling process, in which a sacrificial layer is formed on top of the coil material layer. Photoresist is patterned on top of the sacrificial layer, and then the sacrificial layer is reactively ion etched (RIE) through a spiral opening in the photoresist, leaving a coil of the sacrificial layer on top of the coil material layer, where the coil material is to remain. The coil material layer is then milled with an ion beam through a spiral opening that extends through the sacrificial layer, down to the first insulation layer. The sacrificial layer can then be left in place, or removed by a reactive ion etch that is fashioned not to attack the coil. We experimented with this method employing Ta as the sacrificial layer. Because of the thickness of the Ta required to be sacrificed during the ion milling step, the Ta layer was relatively thick. This then required that the photoresist employed for shaping the Ta be relatively thick, because of its consumption during the RIE step. During the light exposure step, the scattering of light increased with increased photoresist depth, causing a loss of definition and making it impossible to obtain a coil with a submicron pitch. Another problem with this method was redeposition of material milled from the sacrificial layer on the side walls of the coil. A further problem was that the angle of the ion milling beam to a normal to the plane of the coil material layer was limited because of the shadowing of the relatively high sacrificial layer. This then limited the expansion of the base of the coil layer for the purpose of increasing its write current capacity.

Magnetic write head having a coil with submicron pitch

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of assembling a steam turbine including a rotor assembly is provided. The method includes providing at least one turbine bucket including a dovetail that includes a plurality of crush surfaces, a plurality of non-contact surfaces, and at least one neck defined between one of the crush surfaces and one of the non-contact surfaces. The method also includes providing a turbine wheel that includes at least one dovetail slot defined therein that is defined by a plurality of crush surfaces and a plurality of non-contact surfaces, and coupling the dovetail of the at least one turbine bucket within the turbine wheel slot such that a slant angle of the at least one neck facilitates a substantially uniform distribution of load between the dovetail and the at least one slot.

This invention relates generally to steam turbines and, more specifically, to attaching steam turbine buckets to steam turbine wheels.
At least some known steam turbine buckets are subjected to high centrifugal loads. Specifically, buckets located in the last few stages of low pressure wheels may be more stressed than buckets in other stages due to centrifugal loads caused by rotation of steam turbine wheels. Such loads induce higher average and local stresses in the connective dovetails. Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in the low pressure buckets is a serious concern and is driven largely by local stresses. As such, higher local stresses can lead to lower fatigue life of wheel and bucket dovetails. With an increasing demand for longer and longer buckets, the dovetails are required to operate under higher loads.
For at least some known low pressure turbines, the rotor wheel may be more limiting than the bucket. Specifically, the material used to manufacture at least some known buckets is more resistant to SCC than the material used for wheels. An effective means of avoiding SCC failure in low pressure wheels may be to reduce the local stresses in the wheel dovetail.

Dovetail attachment for use with turbine assemblies and methods of assembling turbine assemblies


Systems, methods, and devices for enhancing an image are described herein. In some aspects, a device comprises a memory unit configured to store a left image and a right image. The left image and right image each depict a same scene from a different viewpoint. The device further comprises a coder configured to retrieve the left image and the right image from the memory unit. The coder is configured to determine a depth map based on a difference in spatial orientation between the left and right image. The device further comprises a processor coupled to the coder. The processor is configured to identify a portion of the left or right image selected by a user. The processor is further configured to determine an enhancement region surrounding the portion selected by the user based on the depth map. The processor is further configured to enhance the enhancement region.

Visual media, such as images and video, can be captured with a camera or video camera. Often, if the camera or video camera includes sufficient features and includes a proper lens, the captured media reflects the color, contrast, sharpness, and/or the like desired by the end-user. However, full-featured cameras or video cameras and/or powerful lenses can be expensive. Furthermore, full-featured cameras or videos cameras and/or powerful lenses can be bulky and difficult to carry in certain situations.
Today, portable devices, such as cell phones or tablets, include a built-in camera. Because portable devices include a wide array of functions in addition to the ability to capture visual media, many people forgo carrying the bulky, expensive cameras and lenses in favor of the portable devices. However, the cameras built into the portable devices have a restricted number of features. In addition, the built-in cameras generally have basic lenses. Thus, the visual media captured by the built-in cameras are generally of a poorer quality and lack the desired color, contrast, sharpness, and/or the like.
Applications available on the portable device or another device can be used to process and enhance the captured visual media. For example, applications can be used by the end-user to adjust color, enhance contrast, sharpen edges, and/or the like. However, many of the applications can be processor-intensive and/or require additional hardware. This can be especially problematic on portable devices, as the applications can increase battery consumption and/or the size of the device.

Depth aware enhancement for stereo video


The invention is a load cell for the measurement of force, independent of displacement, created by means such as weight, acceleration, pressure, and the like. The load cell has a beam structure with beams positioned parallel to each other in at least one plane. Generally, these parallel beams are attached to a stationary substrate and have sensing means attached between the two beams. In operation, deflection of one beam creates a response in the sensing means due to the relative action or deflection in the second beam.

Load measuring devices and cells are known in the art. For example, Gallo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,190, discloses a meter for measuring mass or force wherein the sensed displacement acts indirectly on the tension of the two transversely vibrating electrically excited strings. Sette et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,270, disclose an apparatus for preventing the overload of a load cell used to measure deflection. Blawert et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,988, similarly disclose an overload protection device for precision scales. Paros, U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,495, discloses a mounting structure for double bar resonators to ensure symmetrical loading of the resonator responsive to external forces.
Further, Streater et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,395, disclose a weight sensing cell which includes two differentially loaded vibrating members. Suzuki et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,784, disclose a weighing scale having an interior load cell. Great Britain Patent No. 1,322,871 discloses a force measuring apparatus having a pretension string which is excited to a state of transverse oscillation by an electronic circuit. Gallo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,648, also discloses a meter for sensing mass and force comprising two flat springs lying in a parallel plane. Pulvari, U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,828, discloses a force sensor based on piezoelectric oscillators.
Also, Reid et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,191, disclose a weighing apparatus which relies on a bridge circuit. Norris, U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,536, discloses a piezoelectric force transducer which is a piezoelectric vibratory beam mounted to receive compressive and tensile forces along its length. Agar, U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,470, discloses a force transducer having a composite strut with two bars which are to be maintained in transverse vibration at a common resonance frequency by electrical feedback wherein the frequency of vibration indicates the force applied to the composite strut. Corbett, U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,849, discloses an oscillating crystal force transducer. Wirth et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,713, disclose an instrument for measuring masses and forces which when stressed by a load shows variation in frequency.
Saner, U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,572, Van de Vaart et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,497, Melcher et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,427, and Paelian, U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,248, all disclose a weighing system which functions by force or weight being transmitted to frequency sensitive elements. Meier, U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,082, Wirth et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,014, Jacobson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,727, Ebbinge, U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,004, all disclose force sensing load cell.
Finally, Eer Nisse, U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,570, discloses a miniature quartz resonator force transducer having the shape of a double ended tuning fork. Check et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,088, disclose a scale with weight-to-period transducer which provides an oscillating output, the period of which varies as a function of the weight to be measured. Ueda et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,122, disclose a force transducer based on a vibrator having a pair of plate-shaped vibrating pieces parallel with each other. Paros et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,500, disclose a longitudinal isolation system. Eer Nisse et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,173, disclose a resonator force transducer which includes a pair of elongate generally parallel bars coupled at their ends with a double ended tuning fork arrangement.
Recently, quartz double-ended tuning forks have been used as force sensors in environments where the tension resisted the movement of the loaded structure, or the tension was produced by strain within the loaded structure. Levered systems and parallel guiding structures have been used where the force applied to the force sensing crystal was a fraction of applied load. The force sensing crystal was generally small since the force required to cause adequate frequency change in the resonant double-ended quartz tuning fork did not need to be great.
However, the loaded structure had to be massive to resist effects of undesirable lateral deflection. The flexing portions of these structures which acted as parallel bending beams or bending fulcrums carried some load since the force sensing crystal and its bonded joints deflected when tension was applied to the crystal.
The prior art load cells were dependent on the stability of the loaded structure and the bonding joints, over temperature and time, for output stability. For example, Albert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,369 discloses a load cell intended to provide a linear relationship between the signal generated and the force sensed. Albert uses a specific crystal design attached by screws to the frame of the load cell which creates a frictional joint resulting in inadequate zero return and cell precision. Albert relies on a longitudinally rigid structure to resist interferences from varying load positions. The load cell of Albert is designed so that force expended on the load cell, when stressed, results in work or energy loss within the screw joints. In turn, this phenomenon results in poor zero return and precision.
Without attention to material similarly, non-strain sensitive designs, and reduction or cancellation of creep and hysteresis, Albert cannot provide a load cell which truly negates material and temperature effects.
Generally, material aging in these apparatus often caused long term performance to suffer after calibration. Further, these apparatus were limited in resolution by the degree in which anelastic creep and strain hysteresis were compensated for in their design. The quartz crystal bonding joints would often compensate for creep and hysteresis caused by the loaded structure with their own counteracting creep and hysteresis. When the quartz crystals were bonded using adhesives such as epoxies, stresses were introduced in the glue joints and crystal because of differential expansion between the substrate an the quartz and epoxy shrinkage during curing.
Further, as these stresses relaxed over time, the characteristics of the bonded joint changed because of the nonlinear stress-strain curve of the adhesive. This caused the load cell to have excessive zero and span shift over time until the glue joint stresses had relaxed. Differential expansion between the quartz and the structural material would cause the force sensor to have an output due to the temperature as well as applied load.
As a result, a need exists for a load cell which can compensate for changes in modulus of elasticity, anelastic creep, and strain hysteresis occurring in the elements of the cell due to stresses created by the environment of application.


‘Odessa’ is a new variety of calla lily having a flower with a purple colored spathe producing 2-15 flowers per tuber. The flower stems are about 60 cm in height. The leaves are green with whitish spots and they have a leathery texture.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of calla lily, botanically known as Zantedeschia sprengeri and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Odessa'.
'Odessa' is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objective of creating Zantedeschia hybrids for cut flower production in a wide range of colors with a large, classic flower shape. The breeding program began in 1989 and the new cultivar is a seedling selected from the crossing of a Zantedeschia sprengeri seedling C02029 (female parent, unpatented) with Zantedeschia sprengeri seedling C02021 (male parent, unpatented). 'Odessa' was selected in 2001 by the inventor C. J. J. Randag in CJ't Zand, The Netherlands as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross.
The first act of asexual reproduction of 'Odessa' by tissue culture was performed by the inventor in August 2001 in CJ't Zand, The Netherlands. Subsequent asexual reproduction by tissue culture at the same location has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are retained and reproduced true to type through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following observations, measurements and comparisons describe plants grown in CJ't Zand, The Netherlands under greenhouse conditions which approximate those generally used in horticultural practice. Color references are made to the R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticulture Society of London, except where general color terms of ordinary significance are used.
The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variation in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and determined to basic characteristics of 'Odessa' which, in combination, distinguish this calla lily as a new and distinct cultivar:                1. Dark purple spathe;        2. Fast forcing time; and        3. High flower production.
Table 1 provides similarities and differences of 'Odessa' to its parents and 'Black Star' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,844).
TABLE 1 OdessaSimilaritiesDifferencesC02029Leave shapeNumber of spathes.(female parent)C02021Leave shapeSpots on leaf; and(male parent)Color of spathe.'Black Star'Leave shapeNo purple line on leaf margin;(PP14,844)Spathe shape; andColor of peduncle.


A semiconductor device comprising a second surface of a logic die and a second surface of a via bar coupled to a first surface of a substrate, a second surface of a memory die coupled to a first surface of the via bar, a portion of the second surface of the memory die extending over the first surface of the logic die, such that the logic die and the memory die are vertically staggered, and the memory die electrically coupled to the logic die through the via bar. The via bar can be formed from glass, and include through-glass vias (TGVs) and embedded passives such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors. The semiconductor device can be formed as a single package or a package-on-package structure with the via bar and the memory die encapsulated in a package and the substrate and logic die in another package.

Recent trends in semiconductor device applications, especially mobile device applications, include a push towards higher performance levels while maintaining low power consumption, cost, and area. In order to achieve these goals, vendors and semiconductor device manufacturers are exploring solutions for increasing memory capacity of the devices, reducing package size, improving testability, and integrating passive components efficiently in device packages. The state of the art related to device packages will be discussed briefly with a few examples to illustrate benefits as well as weaknesses in known solutions.
Firstly, with regard to FIG. 1, a multiple package solution will be discussed. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional package-on-package (PoP) 100. PoP 100 includes at least the two illustrated packages 102 and 104 attached to each other. Package 104 includes logic die 106, and package 102 includes one or more memory dies, such as memory dies 108a and 108b. Accordingly, logic die 106 and memory dies 108a-108b may be packaged separately and the packages attached to each other. Wire bonds 114 and/or through mold vias (TMVs) 112 are also typically used for electrically connecting logic die 106 and memory dies 108a-b.
In the illustrated configuration, PoP 100 has several attractive features. In general it allows for close proximity and control of relative placement of logic die 106 and memory dies 108a-b. Testability of individual dies is also improved because the logic and memory dies can be separately tested, and only dies which pass the tests (also known as "known good dies") are packaged. This keeps costs low and allows the ability to customize memory needs for particular processors. Moreover, there is improved flexibility in the sourcing of memory dies 108a-b. For example, memory dies 108a-b may comprise dynamic random access memory (DRAM). DRAM dies of different sizes and/or from different vendors/manufacturers can be easily integrated into package 102, to suit particular needs of a processor integrated on logic die 106, for example.
However, PoP 100 suffers from several drawbacks. Typically, PoP structures such as PoP 100 include vertical stacking of the packages comprising logic and memory dies. This leads to an undesirable increase in the total height of PoP 100. Further, wire bonds 114 create long paths between logic die 106 and memory dies 108a-b. The pitch of TMVs 112 tends to be high because of the thickness of the packages/molds that need to be traversed to interconnect logic die 106 and memory dies 108a-b. Moreover, passives, such as the illustrated capacitor 110 are not integrated efficiently in typical PoP structures, and this leads to an increased footprint (horizontal area). Narrow input/output (I/O) interfaces, or rather, a lack of support for wide I/O interfaces, are seen as yet another limitation of PoP 100.
Rather than package the logic and memory dies separately as in PoP 100, single package solutions are also known in the art, and will be described with regard to FIGS. 2-3. In FIG. 2, a so called "3D package" structure 200 is illustrated. 3D package 200 comprises a unified package 202 that encapsulates logic die 204, as well as, DRAM die 206. Logic die 204 and DRAM die 206 are vertically integrated. One improvement of 3D package 200 over PoP 100 is that the lengths of interconnections 208, for example, between logic die 204 and DRAM die 206 are significantly reduced, as these do not have to traverse package molds. Additionally, 3D package 200 can support very wide I/O interfaces, which enables high bandwidth memory access.
However, 3D package 200 also suffers from several drawbacks. The unified package structure leads to loss of flexibility in sourcing the DRAM die, at least prior to I/O standardization. Once again, package height, although lower than PoP 100, is still high in 3D package 200 due to the vertical integration of logic die 200 and DRAM die 206. Thermal management is a problem, because it is difficult to contain the heat propagation from logic die 204 to DRAM die 206. Moreover, redistribution layer (RDL) 210 is typically needed to enable integration of DRAM die 206 with logic die 204. RDL 210 tends to be expensive and leads to increase in cost of 3D package 200.
FIG. 3 illustrates another single package solution, referred to herein, as a "2.5D package." More specifically, FIG. 3 illustrates 2.5D package with interposer 300, which includes package 302. Package 302 also encapsulates logic die 304 and DRAM die 302 in a single package or mold. Rather than vertically stacking logic die 204 and the DRAM die 206 as in 3D package 200 above, package 302 involves a side-by-side placement of logic die 304 and DRAM die 306. The logic and memory dies are connected by an interposer structure through which electrical connections can be formed. As shown, package 302 includes interposer 308 formed on substrate 312. Interposer 308 is typically formed from silicon, and includes through silicon vias (TSVs) 310 for connecting the two dies. Such an interposer configuration is seen to keep the length of interconnections low, while also supporting wide I/O interfaces for high bandwidth memory access. Interposer 308 also provides additional structural support for logic die 304 and DRAM die 306. Significantly, the height of package 302 is low due to the horizontal side-by-side placement of logic die 304 and DRAM die 306, rather than vertically stacking them as in 3D package 200 and PoP 100 above. This also improves thermal management because heat does not directly propagate from logic die 304 to DRAM die 306.
However, 2.5D package with interposer 300 also suffers from several deficiencies. The cost of the typical interposer is high, and TSV technology is expensive. Moreover, this structure reduces package height at the cost of a large package footprint.
With reference to FIG. 4, package 400 according to Applicant's co-pending and commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/766,218, entitled "semiconductor device having stacked memory elements and method of stacking memory elements on a semiconductor device," is illustrated. Package 400 overcomes several of the drawbacks of packages 100-300 of FIGS. 1-3 discussed above, and provides a stacking arrangement with improved mechanical stability and thermal management, while reducing the footprint of the package. In relevant aspects, FIG. 4 illustrates package 400 comprising logic die 402 mounted on package substrate 404 which includes redistribution layer (RDL) 406. A first memory device, DRAM 410 is coupled to RDL 406 by microbumps 416 at a first location on the redistribution layer 406 so that logic die 402 can communicate with the first memory device 410. An interposer formed of Silicon, interposer 418 is mounted on RDL 406, adjacent to DRAM 410. Microbumps 424 on interposer 418 provide an electrical connection between interposer 418 and a second location on RDL 406. Interposer 418 also includes through-vias (not illustrated), such as, TSVs, to connect locations on top surface 422 of interposer 418 to microbumps 424 and provide an electrical pathway through interposer 418. This configuration of logic die 402, interposer 418, and DRAM 410 provides mechanical stability to the stacking arrangement, while reducing the footprint, as compared to 2.5D package with interposer 300, for example.
Moreover, a second memory device, DRAM 426 can be mounted on and coupled to interposer 418 with microbumps 428, to provide an electrical connection between DRAM 426 and interposer 418. Beneficially, this arrangement also reduces the length of electrical connections between DRAM 426 and logic die 402, as compared to coplanar mounting arrangements or PoP 100, for example. Spacer 430, which may be thermally conductive, may be mounted on a remaining portion of top surface 412 of DRAM 410. Spacer 430 may be formed of silicon or other material having comparable thermal and mechanical properties and may enhance mechanical integrity by equalizing mechanical stresses in a molded package including the first and second memory devices and also enhance heat transfer. Thus, package 400 may also provide an improved solution for thermal management as compared to 3D package 200, for example.
However, in some aspects, silicon interposer 418 also involves the use of expensive TSVs. The TSV technology can impose restrictions on pitch, and may, for example, limit thickness of interposer 418 to 100 um. In order to retain mechanical stability and prevent excessive overhang of the memory devices (e.g. DRAM 410) and interposer 418 over the so called "tier 1" die, which includes logic die 402 and RDL 406, restrictions are placed on the size of interposer 418. In other words, the size of interposer 418 is dependent on, or limited by, the size of logic die 402, which can, in turn, impose restrictions on TSV placement and design of interconnections through interposer 418. Moreover, package 400 is configured for a single package solution, and does not offer the flexible design choices which are possible in a PoP solution. Testing may be performed at the final package level. Wafer level testing to determine known good dies is possible, but fine pitch TSV testing cannot be performed.
Accordingly, there is a need for semiconductor device package structures which overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, while also providing desirable features, such as, low package height, small footprint, flexibility in DRAM sourcing, minimization or elimination of an RDL layer, low cost interposers, etc.


An antenna array coacts with a ground plane for radiation. Calibration of the array is accomplished with the aid of one or more extensible calibration antenna elements, such as monopole antenna elements. Each calibration monopole is ordinarily retracted below the ground plane and is not “energized.” When calibration is desired, it is extended to protrude above the ground plane so as to achieve mutual coupling with one or more of the elements of the array antenna. Calibration signals may be passed in either direction. The calibration antenna may be extended/retracted by vacuum, mechanical device, or electrical motor.

Antennas are widely used for remote sensing, communications, and for industrial/therapeutic purposes. An antenna is simply a transducer between guided and unguided electromagnetic fields. An antenna, seen as a transducer, includes a "feed" port and a "radiating aperture" unguided or free-space radiation port. The feed port is so termed for historical reasons; early receiving antennas were simply pieces of electrically conductive wire which received little attention, while transmitting antennas received sophisticated attention because of the great effect that they could have on the high-power transmitters of the age. Thus, antennas were originally viewed as being transmitting devices defining one or more feed points. Only later was it discovered that antennas have the same radiation patterns and other characteristics in both the transmitting and receiving modes of operation. The feed port is ordinarily coupled to a "transmission line," which is simply an electrical conducting arrangement having a defined (or at least controlled) surge or characteristic impedance. The electromagnetic energy flowing in the transmission line is guided by the line, and the radiation at the free-space port is in directions controlled by the "electrical field distribution" at the radiating aperture of the antenna. When the antenna operates in a receiving mode, free-space or unguided energy impinging thereon is transduced to become guided energy in the transmission line, and in the transmitting mode, guided energy applied to the feed port from the transmission line is radiated as unguided radiation (subject to certain limitations).
The field distribution characteristics of the radiating aperture of an antenna determine the "far-field" radiation pattern. One of the salient generalizations which can be made about antennas is that the radiating beam width is inversely related to the dimensions of the radiating aperture. That is, a highly directive antenna or radiation beam (a beam subtending a small sector of space) requires a large radiating aperture in terms of wavelength, and conversely a small radiating aperture results in a low-directivity or broad radiation beam. There are two popular ways to achieve a large radiating aperture in order to form directive antenna beams, namely (a) reflectors and (b) arrays.
An antenna array is an array including a plurality of antennas. When antennas are arrayed and properly phased, the overall radiation pattern is determined as the result of an "array factor" which multiplies the radiation pattern of the underlying antenna element of the array. Array antennas are of two general types, namely line (one-dimensional) arrays and surface (two-dimensional) arrays. The salient difference between these two is that the line array produces an array factor which multiplies the pattern of the underlying array only in the direction of the array, while a surface array produces a useful array factor in two mutually orthogonal directions. Thus, when a three-dimensional "pencil" beam is desired, it is likely that a two-dimensional surface array will be required. A plurality of line arrays can be juxtapositioned and fed so as to form a surface array, and a surface array can be viewed as being a plurality of interconnected line arrays.
As mentioned, it is necessary to feed the elements of an array antenna with signals of controlled phase in order to achieve the desired radiation pattern. The distribution of signals from a common feed point to the individual antenna elements of the array is often accomplished by a beamformer, which divides the available signal among the antenna elements, and which may include a phase shifter associated with each antenna element, or at least with subgroups of antenna element. The phase shifters are controlled in well-known manner in order to achieve the desired antenna beam direction. Each antenna element (or subgroup of antenna elements) of an array antenna may be associated with controllable attenuators and amplifiers as well as with phase shifters. In order to route the signals between and among the antenna elements, their amplifiers, phase shifters, and attenuators, if any, and possibly other elements, the array antenna will also include transmission lines. These transmission lines may take the form of hollow conductive waveguides, coaxial transmission lines, andor any one of various forms of "printed-circuit" transmission lines, such as finline, stripline or microstrip, all known in the art. Each transmission line must maintain its proper impedance to prevent the introduction of unwanted phase shifts andor attenuation, and remain electrically connected to its signal source and load.
Considering the complexity of array antennas, and all the potential problems which can arise due to degradation or failure of one or more of the amplifiers, phase shifters, attenuators, and transmission lines, it may be desirable to provide for some means for calibrating the antenna array in order to allow monitoring of its condition. One way to calibrate an array antenna is to compare it with a standard antenna, such as a horn antenna. That is, a source is coupled to the array and then to the horn, and the radiated power or energy at a substantial distance (the "far field") in a particular direction is determined for each. The difference between the two represents the "gain" difference. As mentioned, this technique is quite suitable to a laboratory, but may not be easy to accomplish where the array is installed or located.
Another way to calibrate an antenna is to mount a test or calibration antenna near the antenna to be tested. Such calibrations are often known as "near-field" calibrations, and have the advantage of improved signal-to-noise ratio over the far-field technique. Signals are transmitted between the antenna being tested and the test/calibration antenna. Such a technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,084,545, issued Jul. 4, 2000 in the name of Lier et al. In this patent, a calibration antenna or probe is placed in front of the array antenna to be tested, and the test signals are transmitted from the probe to the antenna being tested in the receive mode or from the antenna being tested to the probe in the transmit mode.
Another calibration method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,233, issued Mar. 12, 2002 in the name of Miller et al. This arrangement deems certain antenna elements of the antenna under test to be "kernel" elements, and uses mutual coupling between the kernel elements and the remainder of the antenna elements of the array to determine characteristics of the antenna. A system of switches and directional couplers routes test signals through the various kernel elements and their mutually coupled array elements.
Improved array antenna calibration arrangements are desired.

Extendable/retractable antenna calibration element


In one embodiment, method can include: receiving an address in a call agent, the address being associated with a call; triggering a trunk group selection algorithm in response to at least a portion of the received address, the trunk group selection algorithm providing a selection result from among a trunk group placeholder and a plurality of trunk groups; and forwarding the call to a trunk group determined by a caller-associated attribute when the selection result comprises the trunk group placeholder.

Conventional early enterprise systems supported one public switched telephone network (PSTN) or "trunk" per phone. However, newer enterprise telephone systems typically support a far larger number of telephones and connections to the PSTN. As a result, end-users may no longer be guaranteed placement of their outbound calls because all available trunks may be in use by other callers.
Traditional private branch exchanges (PBXs) provide for bundling groups of trunks together in order to support outbound callers. Most PBXs utilize an approach whereby a call agent, upon receiving a call request from an enterprise user, searches through all trunk resources to find an available trunk to place the outbound call. Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) technologies also support such "route group" approaches.

Local route groups and transformation patterns


An image processing apparatus includes a storage device for storing a position of a predetermined region in an image conforming to a predetermined format, a processor for acquiring an input image including a character recognition target region, cutting out a region corresponding to the character recognition target region from the input image or an image generated from the input image to generate a corrected image in which the region is placed at the position of the predetermined region in the image conforming to the predetermined format, and detecting a character from the corrected image, and an output device for outputting information related to the detected character.

In recent years, to manage information related to a traveler from a foreign country, a technique is used in which necessary information is extracted using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology from an input image obtained by reading a passport using a scanner. Generally, an image processing apparatus such as a scanner or a personal computer connected to a scanner recognizes characters included in an MRZ (Machine Readable Zone) of an input image obtained by reading a passport. However, depending on, e.g., the type of the passport or the scanner reading method, characters included in an MRZ may not be correctly recognized within an input image obtained by reading the passport.
A character recognition device which recognizes characters put in a character box of an accounting document having the character box printed in a drop-out color has been disclosed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2009-69951). The character recognition device recognizes a character box from an image of a non-drop-out color, determines a character cut reference position, based on the recognized character box, cuts out a character image from a drop-out image, based on the character cut reference position, and recognizes characters.
An image input device which acquires text data from an image input from a scanner has further been disclosed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2008-40598). The image input device performs the first OCR processing on a partial region image cut out in accordance with OCR region setting registered in advance, performs the second OCR processing upon extension of a partial region, and acquires text data, based on the two OCR results.
A character string recognition device which detects the separation positions of characters by calculating a horizontal projection of image data in the direction of a character string and a vertical projection of the image data in the vertical direction has further been disclosed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2008-250754).

Image processing apparatus for placing a character recognition target region at a position of a predetermined region in an image conforming to a predetermined format


The invention relates to a fuel cell stack with two separators in which adjacent, but spaced apart, electrode assemblies share either a fuel space or an oxidizer space between them. Each of the electrode assemblies includes a proton exchange membrane sandwiched between an anode and a cathode. A first electrode assembly is positioned apart from one of the separators and oriented with either its anode or its cathode facing that separator. Subsequent electrode assemblies are placed between the first electrode assembly and the other separator. Each subsequent electrode assembly is oriented with the opposite side, anode or cathode, as compared to the immediately preceding electrode assembly, facing the separator that is adjacent the first electrode assembly. Each space that has at least one side defined by an anode is used as a fuel space. Each space that has at least one side defined by an cathode is used as a oxidizer space. Within the stack the anodes and the cathodes of the electrode assemblies are electrically coupled to each other.

This invention generally relates to a fuel cell stack having a unique arrangement requiring fewer components.
A typical fuel cell comprises an electrode assembly placed centrally between a first and a second separator. Spaces are defined between each separator and an associated side of the electrode assembly. The electrode assembly typically comprises a proton exchange membrane sandwiched between an anode and a cathode. A fuel is introduced into the space between the anode and its opposing separator and an oxidizer is introduced between the cathode and its opposing separator. The fuel and oxidizer react with the anode and cathode respectively, and electrical energy is produced from the reactions.
For some uses it is desirable to combine several fuel cells together to produce a fuel cell stack. In general, fuel cell stacks have been produced by placing individual fuel cells next to each other and then electrically coupling the fuel cells to each other to produce the fuel cell stack. However, this method of producing a fuel cell stack has the disadvantages of duplication of components and undesirable bulk.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a fuel cell stack that permits sharing of common components among the fuel cells within the stack and that is more compact.

Fuel cell with shared space for electrode assembly


An acoustic damping device having a hollow cone partially filled with an acoustic damping medium. The cone is composed of solid material such as wood. The acoustic damping medium can be a particulate solid, such as metal powder, or a liquid. The acoustic damping device is placed between a speaker and a speaker platform to reduce the amount of vibrational interference that reaches the speaker.

The field of the present invention is acoustic damping devices. Loudspeakers have experienced great improvement in frequency response, but that response has been limited by both internally and externally .generated vibrations. Vibration absorbers or drains for reducing vibrational interference have been solid or hollow shapes, which are placed between the speaker and the speaker platform. Although these devices may dampen vibrations well, their dampening or dissipation depends on frequency, and they provide a non-uniform frequency response. In addition, they tend to reflect or redirect some vibrations back into the audio equipment.

1/F, Unit 1, Shui Hing Centre, 13, Sheung Yuet Road


A bearing assembly (10) is taught including a housing (14), a shaft (18) supported within the housing (14) and having an outboard end extending through an opening in an end of the housing (14), a bearing (16) disposed between the shaft (18) and the housing (14) to permit rotation of the shaft (18) within the housing (14); and a harrow engaging member (20), such as a pair of diametrically opposed protrusions or a pair of apertured plates, mounted on the housing (14) and positioned either a) diametrically adjacent the bearing or b) between the bearing and the outboard end of the shaft. A harrow including the bearing assembly (10) is also taught.

This invention is directed to a harrow bearing assembly and a harrow including a bearing assembly.
Harrows are used for breaking up and levelling soil during a soil cultivation operation. One type of harrow, a rotary spike harrow, is an elongated tool with a ground working portion having spikes extending therefrom. A rotary spike harrow is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,270 of L. C. Phillips. The harrow of Phillips is formed of a plurality of interconnected tool elements forming an elongate chain-like structure, termed herein the ground working portion of the harrow. The ends of the ground working portion are connected to a support frame in such a way as to enable the chain-like structure to rotate about its long axis. The harrow generally includes a rotatable bearing assembly, such as a shaft supported in a bearing, to permit rotation of the ground working portion about its long axis.
In previous rotary spike harrows, the rotatable bearing assembly is connected between the ground working portion and the frame. In these harrows, a space measuring about one foot in length is left between the frame and the first, end spikes on the ground working portion. Thus, in the simultaneous use of more than one section of rotary spike harrow for cultivation of large expanses of soil, it is required that the harrow sections be mounted behind the tractor in a tiered in an partially overlapping manner to avoid leaving a strip of uncultivated soil between each adjacent section. In particular, where harrow sections are used in end to end relation, without overlapping, a strip of uncultivated soil is left after a pass of the harrow. The strip corresponds to the space between the ground working portions of adjacent harrows. Additionally in previous harrows, the bearing assemblies are open and, therefore, susceptible to damage by collisions with objects, such as rocks, on the ground surface which is being cultivated.
A harrow bearing assembly has been invented which is relatively resistant to damage during use. The harrow bearing reduces the space between the ground working portion of the harrow and the frame on which the ground working portion is mounted.
In accordance with a broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bearing assembly comprising a housing, a shaft supported within the housing and having an end extending through an opening in an end of the housing, a bearing disposed between the shaft and the housing to permit rotation of the shaft within the housing; and a harrow ground working portion engaging means positioned on the housing either a) diametrically adjacent the bearing or b) between the bearing and the end of the shaft extending from the housing.
The bearing can be any suitable means for supporting and permitting rotation of the shaft relative to the housing, as would be understood by a person skilled in the art. In one embodiment, the bearing includes at least one race of ball bearings in a standard bearing ring. The bearing is selected to withstand the forces applied thereto when connected to a harrow. To enhance the accommodation of lateral forces on the shaft, the bearing preferably includes at least one bearing, such as a tapered roller bearing, suited for accommodating such forces. The bearing is disposed within the housing. Preferably, the housing is sealed to prevent debris from entering the housing and from coming into contact with the bearing means.
The shaft is selected to withstand the forces applied thereto when used in a harrow. Preferably, the shaft is formed of steel. In one embodiment, an end of the shaft opposite the housing is formed, for example, to include an eye, for attachment to a harrow support frame. The eye can be formed from the material of the shaft or can be formed separately and attached thereto. In another embodiment, the shaft is formed integral with a harrow support frame.
The harrow ground working portion engaging means are any suitable means for retaining the ground working portion of a harrow thereon. The ground working portion engaging means are positioned on the housing of the bearing means. The engaging means are formed integral with (ie. as by casting), or alternatively secured (i.e. as by welding), to the housing. The engaging means can be any suitable means provided that they are positioned in one of a) diametrically adjacent the bearing and b) between the bearing and the end of the shaft extending from the housing. In other words, the engaging means are positioned to engage the ground working portion of the harrow such that the ground working portion extends to overlap with at least a portion of the bearing. This arrangement shortens the length of the harrow over previous harrows, since the bearing and a portion of the housing is positioned within the length of the ground working portion. The arrangement also provides protection for the more delicate components, including the housing and the bearing, of the bearing assembly. The components of the ground working portion are more durable than the bearing housing and the bearing contained therein and, therefore, are more able to accommodate collisions with objects without critical damage thereto.
In one embodiment, the harrow ground working portion engaging means is a weld between the ground working portion and the housing. In another embodiment, the harrow ground working portion engaging means is a flange about the open end of the housing including, for example, protrusions or hooks for engaging an end of the harrow, apertures for accepting fasteners such as, for example, wire or bolts connecting between the bearing housing and the ground working portion of the harrow or other means.
The bearing assembly is particularly suited for use with a rotary spike harrow of the type having a ground working portion which includes a plurality of interconnected tool elements. Each tool element is formed to be substantially U-shaped and includes a pair of spikes extending from a loop portion which spans the spikes. The ground working portion of the harrow is formed as a series of groups of tool elements. Each group includes at least two tool elements arranged to define a central space therebetween. Each group of tool elements is releasably hooked to the adjacent group to form flexible connections therebetween. Tensioning the harrow along its longitudinal axis ensures that the groups of tool elements remain hooked together. When under tension, the arms of the tool elements extend out to form the ground working spikes of the harrow. Thus, preferably, the bearing assembly of the present invention is formed to engage this ground working portion of the harrow and has harrow ground working portion engaging means including hooks to engage the loop portions of the tool elements, apertures for accepting bolts to engage the spikes of the tool elements or a combination of hooks and apertures.
In accordance with another broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a harrow comprising: a ground working portion including a plurality of tool elements arranged in a series of groups, each group of tool elements being hooked together with its adjacent group of tool elements to form flexible connections between the groups, each group formed of at least two tool elements disposed to define a central space therebetween and each tool element including a loop portion and a pair of spikes extending from the loop portion; a bearing assembly engaged at each end of the ground working portion, at least one bearing assembly including a housing, a shaft supported within the housing and having an end extending through an opening in an end of the housing, a bearing disposed between the shaft and the housing to permit rotation of the shaft within the housing, the at least one bearing assembly being engaged to the end of the ground working portion such that the bearing is positioned within the central group of tool elements and the shaft extends out from the central space at the end of the ground working portion.
The harrow can be mounted onto a frame. The shafts of the bearing assemblies are secured onto the frame in any suitable way, such that the ground working portion can rotate with the bearing housing about the shafts. The frame is selected to maintain the ground working portion under tension.


A portable power supply includes a housing, and power circuitry providing an output AC waveform having a first positive voltage step level, a second higher positive voltage step level, a third lower positive voltage step level, a fourth negative voltage step level, a fifth higher negative voltage step level, and a sixth lower negative voltage step level.

There are many times in a construction jobsite where no electrical power is available. Accordingly, many construction workers rely on portable generators that can supply power to their power tools.
For most construction jobsites, it is desirable to have a generator that can supply at least about 3 kilowatts peak. Such generators typically weigh at least 120 pounds. They are also bulky and difficult to carry inside a house, forcing a user to carry such generator upstairs or use very long extension cords if the user needs to do some work inside the house.
Small portable generators are available for such situations. These generators weigh about 30 pounds, but only output about 750 watts, which is not enough to run multiple tools at a jobsite.


A superposed colors graphic providing a true, continuous color fade transition between two different colors achieved by applying first and second color graphics onto respectively different side surfaces of at least one transparent substrate, each color graphic having a respective color fade. The first and second color graphics are mutually aligned such that the color fade of each of the color graphics are mutually coextensive and superposed so as to thereby provide a continuous fade between the colors. The first and second color graphics may be applied to the respective substrate side surfaces by any suitable method, such as for example by silk screening, by lithography or by decorative film applique.

Colors are used, just as words and depictions (i.e., pictures, symbols, code, etc.) are used, to convey information to an onlooker. Colors and depictions are particularly well suited for trans-language conveyance of information. For example, many traffic signs have shapes, colors and depictions which immediately convey to a driver the desired traffic information without necessity of the driver reading words. A well known example is the ubiquitous stop sign, which is immediately recognizable because it is always red and always octagonal, and this is so irrespective of the word "STOP" being written thereupon in the language of the subject country (which language may or may not be readable by the driver). In this vein, automobile manufacturers have adopted depictions on the dashboard to convey to drivers information, such as international standard depictions for switches, gauges, etc. which represent lights, oil, temperature, wipers, etc.
With regard to the utilization of colors and/or depictions as a substitute for the information conveyed to an onlooker by words, is the necessity for the onlooker to intuitively associate the color and/or depiction with the information desired to be conveyed. One longstanding and well recognized association with respect to color is an onlooker's immediate intuitive thermal association of blue with cold and red with hot. To this end, automobile manufacturers have designed dashboard heating, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) system temperature controls with a graphic color scheme of blue and red, wherein blue is located at the colder end of the available settings and red is located at the hotter end of the available settings.
In the design of a graphic for a color coding scheme for HVAC systems, automobile manufacturers are constrained by a known problem in the printing arts in which one color cannot be faded into another color because the printing of a color onto another color that has already been printed on the same surface results in the inks commingling, creating a blotchy, extremely undesirable colorization which is not the desired color fade, but is of other colors, likely including brown and/or black. Therefore, automobile manufacturers have been forced to substitute for a true color fade from blue to red (and vice versa) an alternative color scheme that merely suggests mixing between the colors. In this regard, FIGS. 1 through 5 depict various conventional color schemes for HVAC systems in which the aforedescribed problem of inability to achieve true color fading is side-stepped.
In FIG. 1, an HVAC system temperature control has a rotatable knob 10 having a position indicator 10p and the color graphic indicative of cold to hot (and vice versa) is represented by a tapered red colored R color graphic 12 and a tapered blue colored B color graphic 14, wherein a driver intuitively knows the temperature setting of the HVAC system by location of the position indicator with respect to the color graphic 12, 14 (colder in the more counterclockwise position, hotter in the more clockwise position).
In FIG. 2, an HVAC system temperature control has also a rotatable knob 10′ having a position indicator 10p′ and the color graphic indicative of cold to hot (and vice versa) is represented by a tapered red colored R color graphic 12′ which adjacently coextends with respect to a tapered blue colored B color graphic 14′, wherein, again, a driver intuitively knows the temperature setting of the HVAC system by location of the position indicator with respect to the color graphic 12′, 14′.
In FIG. 3, an HVAC system temperature control is again depicted as having a rotatable knob 10″ with a position indicator 10p″ and the color graphic indicative of cold to hot (and vice versa) is represented by a series of Roman numerals in the form of red colored R color graphic 12″ and blue colored B color graphic 14″, wherein, again, a driver intuitively knows the temperature setting of the HVAC system by location of the position indicator with respect to the color graphic 12″, 14″.
In FIG. 4, an HVAC system temperature control has, once again, a rotatable knob 10′″ having a position indicator 10p′″ and the color graphic indicative of cold to hot (and vice versa) is represented by a red colored R color graphic 12′″ and a blue colored B color graphic 14′″ each in the form of a dot at the respective end of travel of the knob, wherein a driver intuitively knows the temperature setting of the HVAC system by location of the position indicator with respect to the color graphic 12″′, 14″′.
In FIG. 5, an HVAC system temperature control is a slidable knob 10″″, which itself serves as a position indicator, and the color graphic indicative of cold to hot (and vice versa) is represented by a tapered red colored R color graphic 12″″ and a tapered blue colored B color graphic 14″″, wherein a driver intuitively knows the temperature setting of the HVAC system by location of the position indicator with respect to the relatively varying widths of the color graphic 12″″, 14″″.
It will thus be appreciated that because of the inability to achieve a color fade by directly printing one color upon another, color schemes are practiced in which colors are not actually printed over each other on the same surface in a fading manner, but rather a mixing is simulated by adjacently positioned colors.
Accordingly, what remains needed in the art is a true, continuous color fade transition between two different colors, particularly as this color fade transition intuitively conveys information (as for example hot to cold, and vice versa).

Superposed colors graphic for providing a continuous color fade transition between two colors


Hash collision recovery in a deduplication vault. In one example embodiment, a method for hash collision recovery in a deduplication vault includes creating first parity data for all unique blocks of a source storage at a point in time. The first parity data includes both the unique blocks as well as an order of block positions of the unique blocks as stored in the source storage. Next, a hash value is generated for each of the unique blocks. Then, a backup is stored in a deduplication vault including each of the unique blocks together with its corresponding hash value. Next, second parity data is created for all of the unique blocks of the backup. Then, the first parity data is compared to the second parity data to determine whether one or more hash collisions occurred resulting in one or more missing unique blocks.

A storage is computer-readable media capable of storing data in blocks. Storages face a myriad of threats to the data they store and to their smooth and continuous operation. In order to mitigate these threats, a backup of the data in a storage may be created at a particular point in time to enable the restoration of the data at some future time. Such a restoration may become desirable, for example, if the storage experiences corruption of its stored data, if the storage becomes unavailable, or if a user wishes to create a second identical storage.
A storage is typically logically divided into a finite number of fixed-length blocks. A storage also typically includes a file system which tracks the locations of the blocks that are allocated to each file that is stored in the storage. The file system also tracks the blocks that are not allocated to any file. The file system generally tracks allocated and unallocated blocks using specialized data structures, referred to as file system metadata. File system metadata is also stored in designated blocks in the storage.
Various techniques exist for backing up a source storage. One common technique involves backing up individual files stored in the source storage on a per-file basis. This technique is often referred to as file backup. File backup uses the file system of the source storage as a starting point and performs a backup by writing the files to a destination storage. Using this approach, individual files are backed up if they have been modified since the previous backup. File backup may be useful for finding and restoring a few lost or corrupted files. However, file backup may also include significant overhead in the form of bandwidth and logical overhead because file backup requires the tracking and storing of information about where each file exists within the file system of the source storage and the destination storage.
Another common technique for backing up a source storage ignores the locations of individual files stored in the source storage and instead simply backs up all allocated blocks stored in the source storage. This technique is often referred to as image backup because the backup generally contains or represents an image, or copy, of the entire allocated contents of the source storage. Using this approach, individual allocated blocks are backed up if they have been modified since the previous backup. Because image backup backs up all allocated blocks of the source storage, image backup backs up both the blocks that make up the files stored in the source storage as well as the blocks that make up the file system metadata. Also, because image backup backs up all allocated blocks rather than individual files, this approach does not necessarily need to be aware of the file system metadata or the files stored in the source storage, beyond utilizing minimal knowledge of the file system metadata in order to only back up allocated blocks since unallocated blocks are not generally backed up.
An image backup can be relatively fast compared to file backup because reliance on the file system is minimized. An image backup can also be relatively fast compared to a file backup because seeking is reduced. In particular, during an image backup, blocks are generally read sequentially with relatively limited seeking. In contrast, during a file backup, blocks that make up individual files may be scattered, resulting in relatively extensive seeking.
During backup in a deduplication vault, a hash value may be generated for each unique block in a source storage to create a fingerprint of the block. Prior to storing each block in the deduplication vault, its hash value is compared to the hash values of previously stored unique blocks and if its hash value matches any of the previous hash values, the system assumes that the block has already been stored in the deduplication vault and therefore does not store the block in the deduplication vault.
One problem that may be encountered during backup of a source storage into a deduplication vault is a hash collision. A hash collision may occur when generating hash values that result in two unique blocks sharing the same hash value even though the two unique blocks are different. Although rare, a hash collision is possible due to the loss of precision inherent in representing a larger block with a smaller hash value. The occurrence of a hash collision prevents the second of the two unique blocks from being backed up in the deduplication vault, resulting in the second unique block missing from the backup of the source storage. As a result, a restoration of the backup will not match the source storage exactly because the second of the two unique blocks that is missing from the backup is not available to be restored.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.


In a method for addressing holograms stored in a plurality of separate storage media, a reference beam is directed to a selected one of the plurality of storage media, the reference beam is then focused so as to obtain a substantially flat wavefront within a reference beam plane of the selected storage medium, and the angle of the reference beam is then varied so as to select a hologram stored therein.

Holographic techniques for storing images are well known. Such techniques are commonly used to store images of three dimensional objects in a wide variety of different applications. Additionally, various methodologies for utilizing such holographic techniques to store digital data for use in computer systems are currently being explored.
The technique for forming holograms comprises splitting the highly coherent output beam of a laser into separate reference and object beams. The reference beam is directed onto the holographic storage medium, e.g., a photorefractive material, while the object beam is directed onto the object whose image is to be stored. Light reflected from the object is directed to the photorefractive material wherein an interference pattern is formed via interference of the reference beam with the reflected light of the object beam. In the case of digital data storage, the object beam may pass through an optical modulator rather than being reflected off the object whose image is to be stored.
Subsequently, directing a reference beam onto the holographic storage medium results in the reconstruction of an image representative of the originally illuminated object or digital data.
Also known are techniques for storing a plurality of such images within a single photorefractive medium via angle-multiplexing of the images. Such angle-multiplexing is discussed in "THEORY OF OPTICAL INFORMATION STORAGE IN SOLIDS," Applied Optics, Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 393 (1963). The method of angle-multiplexing generally involves maintaining a constant angle for the object beam, while varying the angle of the reference beam for each exposure. Anglemultiplexing thus allows a large number of holographic images to be stored within a common volume of photorefractive medium, thereby greatly enhancing the storage density thereof.
In order to provide increased total storage capacity, it is, in general, desirable to utilize multiple holographic storage modules, wherein each storage module comprises a separate storage medium. The use of such multiple storage modules, however, presents technical problems which must be overcome in order to make such construction feasible. One problem commonly associated with the use of multiple storage modules is the ability to quickly and accurately address the desired hologram stored within the storage medium of a selected storage module. Not only must the reference beam be directed to the selected storage medium, but the reference beam must be directed thereto in a manner which provides a sufficiently flat wavefront within the reference beam plane of the selected storage medium to avoid inadvertent, partial recall of other holograms stored within said storage medium.
The degree of flatness required is determined by the angular separation between adjacent multiplexed holograms as discussed in detail below.
As such, it is desirable to provide a means for addressing a plurality of different storage modules and means for adjusting the wavefront flatness of the addressing reference beam, preferably automatically, each time a different storage module is addressed.

Reference beam auto-focus apparatus for modularized volume-holographic memory


A fastener buckles a hard disk driver (HDD) in a first fasten portion of a case. The fastener comprises a second fasten portion and a third fasten portion. The second fasten portion buckles a first hole on the HDD. A first side of the third fasten portion connects with the second fasten portion. At least one part of the third fasten portion buckles the first fasten portion so that the HDD is fastened to the case.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a fastener and, in particular, to a fastener for buckling a hard disk drive on a case.
2. Related Art
Disk drives, such as floppy disk drives (FDD), hard disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives, and etc, on computers are fastened onto the case using several screws. Afterwards, power and signal cords are connected to the disk drives for normally operations.
Take the case of assembling an HDD on a HDD frame as an example. As shown in FIG. 1, several screw holes 113 are formed on the top surface 111 and side surfaces 112 of the HDD 11. Corresponding rectangular openings 113′ and circular openings 113″ are formed on the frame 12. The HDD 11 is screwed onto the frame 12 with the screws 13 by using a tool, such as a screwdriver. Finally, the frame 12 is fixed inside a computer case (not shown). When an HDD 11 is out of order or needs to be replaced, it's a boring job to dismount the screws locking the computer case and the frame 12 for removing the HDD 11. This complex procedure is very inconvenient.
Since the computer consists of many electrical devices, each electrical device has to be on common ground with the entire computer, so as to avoid electrostatics and electromagnetic interference (EMI). Accordingly, the working performance of the computer can be maintained. Therefore, copper foils or elastic slices are used to make the HDD and the computer on common ground.
As described above, it is extremely inconvenient and time-consuming to mount or dismount the HDD on the frame. Furthermore, additional costs are needed to purchase copper foils or elastic slices in order to solve the electrostatic and EMI problems.
Therefore, it is an important subjective of the invention to provide a fastener and an electrical apparatus with the fastener to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages.