Input circuitry is provided for a high voltage operated radiation detector to receive pulses from the detector having a rise time in the range of from about one nanosecond to about ten nanoseconds. An integrator circuit, which utilizes current feedback, receives the incoming charge from the radiation detector and creates voltage by integrating across a small capacitor. The integrator utilizes an amplifier which closely follows the voltage across the capacitor to produce an integrator output pulse with a peak value which may be used to determine the energy which produced the pulse. The pulse width of the output is stretched to approximately 50 to 300 nanoseconds for use by subsequent circuits which may then use amplifiers with lower slew rates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to radiation detectors and, more particularly, to integrator circuitry and circuitry related thereto for providing a single channel circuit for a radiation detector.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic circuits for radiation detectors have been utilized for over a century for the purpose of detecting pulses produced in a radiation sensor element as a result of impingement by some type of radiation. Presently, two channel radiation detection circuits are commonly utilized when it is desired to detect high energy and low energy pulses from the same radiation detector. The two channel radiation detection circuits require two separate circuits with different gains and threshold settings thereby requiring significant cost and reducing reliability. The inventors propose that it would be desirable to be able to process high energy and low energy pulses in a single channel.
Most modern radiation detectors depend on scintillation crystals, ion chambers, or semiconductor radiation detectors. Scintillation crystals respond to radiation by emitting a photon of light proportional to the energy of the charged particle that is stopped in the crystal. The most recent class of detector developed is the solid-state detector. These detectors convert the incident charged particles directly into electrical pulses. Solid-state detectors are fabricated from a variety of materials including: germanium, silicon, cadmium telluride, mercuric iodide, and cadmium zinc telluride. The best radiation detector for a given application will depend on the requirements of the application.
The input electronic circuits for related art radiation detectors are then designed around the type of radiation sensor utilized in the radiation detector. Therefore related art radiation detector circuitry is limited in flexibility of use with different radiation detectors. The inventors propose that it would be desirable to provide a universal detector circuit that may be utilized with many different types of detectors and require only a single channel for both high energy and low energy radiation events. Related art radiation detector circuitry are limited in various ways such as the two channel configuration and in other ways as discussed hereinafter that hinder or prevent this function.
In many cases, multiple radiation detectors are used simultaneously. Related art circuitry for multiple radiation detector systems not only tend to produce less accurate data, and require the more bulky two channel layout, but are also likely to miss data such as coincident detection of radiation particles from different radiation detectors. The related art designs require a computer or processor to poll, sample, and store data from multiple radiation detection circuit boards and thereby may provide limited data collection when multiple radiation events are detected in different detectors simultaneously or near simultaneously. Related art designs also require specialized connections that prevent reconfiguration of suites of radiation detectors.
The following patents disclose related art efforts related to the above-described and/or other problems and studies:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,178, issued Mar. 7, 1978, to Lowes, discloses a dynamic background subtraction circuit which improves the display resolution of radiation energy spectra, such as X-ray energy spectra in an X-ray energy spectrometer. In this circuit, the number of radiation events (counts) occurring at a reference or background energy level is subtracted from the number of radiation events (counts) occurring at a second energy level under study. The output of this circuit is a real-time (dynamic) approximation of the count rate at the energy level under study, but with resolution improved by subtraction of the background counts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,497, issued Aug. 12, 1980, to Daniels et al, discloses a portable neutron spectrometer/kerma-rate meter for the measurement of the fast neutron component of mixed n-gamma fields in the 1 to 15 MeV neutron energy range. The system includes an organic scintillation detector, pulse shape discrimination circuitry, a 1.4 μs multichannel analyzer, an 8-bit microcomputer, and appropriate displays. The instrument is capable of both gathering and processing recoil-proton pulse-height data in the field.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,635, issued Jul. 26, 1983, to Friauf et al, discloses a gamma ray coincidence analysis system for a multichannel nuclear imaging device of the type employing scintillation detectors in ring-like arrays, with the detectors arranged in quadrants of the rings. The scintillation detectors in a ring have output circuits including respective timing discriminators and OR gates, and respective energy discriminators providing delayed energy pulses, and wherein timing pulses from the respective quadrants are fed via the OR gates to the inputs of a four-input coincidence detector without any delay except for a small delay internal to the discriminators and the very small delay of the OR gates. The delay of the energy pulses at the energy discriminators is for an energy validation period of 500 nsec. The output pulse from the coincidence detector is subsequently delayed for a similar period for verification of the energy levels of the two channels causing the coincidence. A data output signal is generated responsive to the concurrence of the delayed coincidence signal and the delayed energy verification pulses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,386, issued Oct. 9, 1984, to Reid et al, discloses a method and apparatus for material analysis in which X-rays generated pursuant to incidence of an electron beam on the material are detected by a detector which generates signals representative of X-ray intensity. A first single analyzer is connected to receive the signals from the detector and to pass to an associated first counter a count signal whenever the signal applied to the first single channel analyzer is representative of an X-ray energy within a relatively narrow range of such energies. A second single channel analyzer is also connected to receive the signals from the detector and to pass to an associated second counter a count signal whenever the signal applied to the second analyzer is representative of an X-ray energy falling within a much broader range of such energies than the first mentioned range. The first and second counters accumulate the count signals applied thereto. The count in the second counter is compared by a comparator with a pre-established count in a third counter and when the count in the second counter assumes the same value as the count in the third counter the counts in the first and second counters are held. The so held count in the first counter then itself represents a normalized ratio of X-ray energy within the narrow range to the X-ray energy for the energy spectrum represented by the broad range of energies. On the basis of this normalized ratio information as to the makeup of the material can be derived.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,799, issued Jan. 1, 1985, to Giardinelli, discloses a device consisting essentially of a sampler device for sampling the baseline after every pulse processed in the spectroscopy amplifier, coupled to an averager circuit for averaging the samples, and to a LED display device, coupled to the average output and giving a visual indication of the value and sign of the averager output signal, the sampler and average circuits forming a so-called "boxcar integrator", that is an essentially RC low-pass filter having a switch in series to the resistor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,959, issued Mar. 7, 1989, to Padawer, discloses an invention that detects pulses, and, in response thereto, generates ramp functions with amplitudes corresponding to the interarrival times between successive pulses. These amplitudes are measured, and the occurrence of identical amplitudes are accumulated in corresponding memory locations, each of which has an address corresponding to a particular interarrival time. The resultant memory contents define a population distribution of interarrival times which is an exponential decay function of interarrival time. Interarrival times exceeding a preselected value are disregarded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,603, issued Sep. 26, 1989, to Padawer, discloses an invention that detects pulses, and, in response thereto, generates ramp functions with amplitudes corresponding to the interarrival times between successive pulses. These amplitudes are measured, and the occurrence of identical amplitudes are accumulated in corresponding memory locations, each of which has an address corresponding to a particular interarrival time. The resultant memory contents define a population distribution of interarrival times which is an exponential decay function of interarrival time. Interarrival times exceeding a preselected value are disregarded.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,090, issued Nov. 19, 1991, to Seeman, discloses a nuclear spectroscopy method for pulse height analysis of an electrical signal emitted by a radiation detector and including nuclear events, such as pulses, whose amplitude is a measure of the energy of the gamma rays collected by said radiation detector, wherein (1) said signal is continuously converted to digital samples, at a given rate, and (2) each of the digital samples is processed so as to form a digital image of each detected pulse. The energy of each pulse is calculated by summing all sample values representative of this pulse and the sample just preceding the first sample representative of a pulse, as well as the sample just following the last sample representative of the same pulse.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,286, issued Aug. 25, 1992, to Ribner et al, discloses that sigma-delta analog-to-digital conversion is used in sensing apparatus that generates a digital signal descriptive of light energy received by a photosensor, such as one of a plurality of photosensors that together receive various elements of a radiant-energy image. A preamplifier generates an analog output signal responsive to the photocurrent of the photosensor, which analog output signal is undesirably accompanied by wideband noise. The analog output signal is supplied to a sigma-delta analog-to-digital converter, the decimation filter of which not only suppresses in the digital signal a component arising from the quantization noise from the sigma-delta modulator portion of the analog-to-digital converter, but also suppresses a component arising from remnant wideband noise from the preamplifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,129, issued Sep. 13, 1994, to Miller et al, discloses a radiation detection system that determines the type of nuclear radiation received in a detector by producing a correlation value representative of the statistical cross correlation between the shape of the detector signal and pulse shape data previously stored in memory and characteristic of respective types of radiation. The correlation value is indicative of the type of radiation. The energy of the radiation is determined from the detector signal and is used to produce a spectrum of radiation energies according to radiation type for indicating the nature of the material producing the radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,122, issued Feb. 20, 1996, to Farr, discloses an energy-resolving x-ray detector for soft x-rays produced by elements having atomic numbers ranging from 9 to 23 includes a charge-coupled integrated circuit radiation detector device having an array of collection regions in a parallel plurality of collection shift registers forming columns of the array; an output amplifier for sequentially amplifying and signaling the charges received by the collection shift register; and a row shift register connected between the collection shift registers and the output amplifier; and a clock circuit having a multi-phase column output connected for sequentially shifting charges between collection regions of the collection shift register and into the row shift register during continuous exposure of the array to incoming radiation, each of the charges received by the output amplifier being sequentially accumulated in each of the collection regions of one collection shift register in response to the radiation, the clock circuit also having a multi-phase row output connected for sequentially shifting the charges from the row shift register to the output amplifier, the output amplifier having a reset connection to the clock circuit for momentarily resetting the input to the output amplifier at a predetermined level prior to receipt of each of the charges into the output amplifier. The output amplifier feeds an analog signal chain providing correlated double sampling. A spectrometer and thickness measurement apparatus suitable for monitoring silicone coatings includes the detector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,284, issued Nov. 12, 1996, to Farr, discloses an energy-resolving x-ray detector for soft x-rays produced by elements having atomic numbers ranging from 9 to 23. The detector includes a charge-coupled integrated circuit radiation detector device having an array of collection regions in a parallel plurality of collection shift registers forming columns of the array; an output amplifier for sequentially amplifying and signaling the charges received by the collection shift register; and a row shift register connected between the collection shift registers and the output amplifier; and a clock circuit having a multi-phase column output connected for sequentially shifting charges between collection regions of the collection shift register and into the row shift register during continuous exposure of the array to incoming radiation, each of the charges received by the output amplifier being sequentially accumulated in each of the collection regions of one collection shift register in response to the radiation, the clock circuit also having a multi-phase row output connected for sequentially shifting the charges from the row shift register to the output amplifier, the output amplifier having a reset connection to the clock circuit for momentarily resetting the input to the output amplifier at a predetermined level prior to receipt of each of the charges into the output amplifier. The output amplifier feeds an analog signal chain providing correlated double sampling. A spectrometer and thickness measurement apparatus suitable for monitoring silicone coatings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,850, issued Nov. 4, 1997, to Warburton et al, discloses a high speed, digitally based, signal processing system which accepts input data from a detector-preamplifier and produces a spectral analysis of the x-rays illuminating the detector. The system achieves high throughputs at low cost by dividing the required digital processing steps between a "hardwired" processor implemented in combinatorial digital logic, which detects the presence of the x-ray signals in the digitized data stream and extracts filtered estimates of their amplitudes, and a programmable digital signal processing computer, which refines the filtered amplitude estimates and bins them to produce the desired spectral analysis. One set of algorithms allow this hybrid system to match the resolution of analog systems while operating at much higher data rates. A second set of algorithms implemented in the processor allow the system to be self-calibrating as well. The same processor also handles the interface to an external control computer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,054, issued Feb. 16, 1999, to Warburton et al, discloses a high speed, digitally based, signal processing system which accepts a digitized input signal and detects the presence of step-like pulses in the this data stream, extracts filtered estimates of their amplitudes, inspects for pulse pileup, and records input pulse rates and system lifetime. The system has two parallel processing channels: a slow channel, which filters the data stream with a long time constant trapezoidal filter for good energy resolution; and a fast channel which filters the data stream with a short time constant trapezoidal filter, detects pulses, inspects for pileups, and captures peak values from the slow channel for good events. The presence of a simple digital interface allows the system to be easily integrated with a digital processor to produce accurate spectra at high count rates and allow all spectrometer functions to be fully automated. Because the method is digitally based, it allows pulses to be binned based on time related values, as well as on their amplitudes, if desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,054, issued May 16, 2000, to Waczynski et al, discloses a radiation detector which includes a photoconductive detector and a modulator which modulates radiation passing to the photoconductive detector from a radiation source. An AC bias source is connected to the photoconductive detector and provides at least two levels of bias thereto. The modulator supplies synchronization signals to the AC bias source such that the level of bias supplied to the photoconductive detector is synchronized to the modulation of the radiation by the modulator. An integrator is connected to and receives an output signal generated by the photoconductive detector.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,175, issued Apr. 24, 2001, to Krymski, discloses a CMOS imager that includes an array of CMOS active pixel sensors and multiple column readout circuits each of which is associated with a respective column of sensors in the array and can perform correlated double sampling of values from a sensor in the respective column. Each column readout circuit also includes a crowbar switch which selectively can be enabled to force the stored values to an operational amplifier-based charge sensing circuit via a pair of buses. The operational amplifier-based charge sensing circuit, which includes a pair of switched integrators each of which is coupled to one of the buses, provides a differential output based on the values stored by a selected one of the column readout circuits.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,790, issued Apr. 30, 2002, to Denison, discloses an apparatus that includes a switching circuit, an integrator circuit having an input for receiving a first signal from the switching circuit, a sensing circuit having an input for receiving a second signal from the integrator circuit, and a control circuit having an input for receiving a third signal from the sensing circuit and an output for sending a fourth signal to the switching circuit. In certain applications, the integrator circuit includes a first integrator and a second integrator having an inverting terminal connected to an inverting terminal of the first integrator. The second integrator also includes a non-inverting terminal connected to an output of the first integrator through a first capacitor, and an output connected to a non-inverting terminal of the first integrator through a second capacitor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,432, issued May 27, 2003, to Denison, discloses integrator circuit topologies that enable continuous integration without reset of the integrator circuit. One such integrator circuit includes a first integrator and a second integrator, each of the two integrators having a non-inverting terminal. Each of the non-inverting terminals is connected to an input node to alternately receive an input current for continuous integrator circuit integration without integrator circuit reset. The inverting terminal of the second integrator can be connected to an inverting terminal of the first integrator. The non-inverting terminal of the second integrator can be connected to an output of the first integrator through a first capacitor, and an output of the second integrator can be connected to a non-inverting terminal of the first integrator through a second capacitor. With such a capacitor connection, the capacitors alternately charge and discharge, based on integrator input current that is alternately directed between the non-inverting terminals of the integrators.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,075, issued Aug. 19, 2003, to Warburton et al, discloses techniques for measuring the baseline of the energy filter in nuclear and other spectrometers that filter pulses output by a preamplifier to measure the energy of events occurring in a detector connected to the preamplifier. These spectrometers capture the peak amplitudes of the filtered pulses as estimates of the underlying event energies and subtract a baseline value from these captured peak values in order to compensate for the energy filter's non-zero amplitude in the absence of any preamplifier output pulses. A second, baseline filter is connected to the preamplifier's output, where the basewidth of this baseline filter is significantly shorter than that of the energy filter. Times are determined when the baseline filter is not filtering preamplifier output pulses, output values from the baseline filter are captured during such determined times, and these baseline values captured from the baseline filter are used to create an accurate estimate of the energy filter's baseline value. Because the baseline filter's basewidth is much shorter than the energy filter's basewidth, large numbers of valid baseline filter values can be reliably captured at very high input count rates where it becomes difficult to capture baseline samples from the energy filter itself. It thus becomes possible to maintain the spectrometer's energy resolution and peak location stability to count rates four or more times higher than is possible without the method. The technique can be applied to both digital and analog spectrometers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,636, issued Nov. 25, 2003, to Busse et al, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0146389, published Aug. 7, 2003, to Busse et al, discloses a sensor and a method of operating a sensor with includes a plurality of sensor elements (10), each of which includes a radiation-sensitive conversion element (1) which generates an electric signal in dependence on the incident radiation, and also with means (21 to 26) for amplifying the electric signal in each sensor element (10) and a read-out switching element (30) in each sensor element (10) which is connected to a read-out line (8) in order to read-out the electric signal. In order to provide a sensor in which a high stability of the transfer function and a favorable signal-to-noise ratio are ensured while maintaining a comparatively simple and economical construction, the means for amplifying include a respective source follower transistor (21) whose gate is connected to the conversion element (1), whose source is connected on the one side to an active load (23) and on the other side to one side of a sampling capacitor (26), the other side of the sampling capacitor (26) being connected to the read-out line (8) via the read-out switching element (30), a respective reset element (27) being connected to the conversion element (1) so as to reset the conversion element (1) to an initial state.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,959, issued Mar. 9, 2004, to Kuwabara, discloses a signal detecting method of repeating the processes of initiating accumulation of charge signals by switching an integrating amplifier to an accumulator mode, retaining a first electric signal outputted from the integrating amplifier immediately after switching to the accumulator mode, finding a difference as a signal component between a second electric signal outputted from the integrating amplifier immediately before switching to a reset mode after completing accumulation of the charge signals and the first electric signal, and converting and outputting the signal component into a digital signal. Here, the signal component concerning a first charge signal is retained by second signal retaining means and then converted into the digital signal. Further, the integrating amplifier is switched to the accumulator mode after completing accumulation concerning the first charge signal but before completing conversion into the digital signal to initiate accumulation concerning a second charge signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,917,041, issued Jul. 12, 2005, to Doty et al, discloses an event-driven X-ray CCD imager device that uses a floating-gate amplifier or other non-destructive readout device to non-destructively sense a charge level in a charge packet associated with a pixel. The output of the floating-gate amplifier is used to identify each pixel that has a charge level above a predetermined threshold. If the charge level is above a predetermined threshold the charge in the triggering charge packet and in the charge packets from neighboring pixels need to be measured accurately. A charge delay register is included in the event-driven X-ray CCD imager device to enable recovery of the charge packets from neighboring pixels for accurate measurement. When a charge packet reaches the end of the charge delay register, control logic either dumps the charge packet, or steers the charge packet to a charge FIFO to preserve it if the charge packet is determined to be a packet that needs accurate measurement. A floating-diffusion amplifier or other low-noise output stage device, which converts charge level to a voltage level with high precision, provides final measurement of the charge packets. The voltage level is eventually digitized by a high linearity ADC.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0026623, published Feb. 12, 2004, to Doty et al, discloses an event-driven X-ray CCD imager device that uses a floating-gate amplifier or other non-destructive readout device to non-destructively sense a charge level in a charge packet associated with a pixel. The output of the floating-gate amplifier is used to identify each pixel that has a charge level above a predetermined threshold. If the charge level is above a predetermined threshold the charge in the triggering charge packet and in the charge packets from neighboring pixels need to be measured accurately. A charge delay register is included in the event-driven X-ray CCD imager device to enable recovery of the charge packets from neighboring pixels for accurate measurement. When a charge packet reaches the end of the charge delay register, control logic either dumps the charge packet, or steers the charge packet to a charge FIFO to preserve it if the charge packet is determined to be a packet that needs accurate measurement. A floating-diffusion amplifier or other low-noise output stage device, which converts charge level to a voltage level with high precision, provides final measurement of the charge packets. The voltage level is eventually digitized by a high linearity ADC.
The related art disclosed above does not provide a single channel detector circuit that may be utilized with a wide variety of detectors and improve the response of existing detectors. Those skilled in the art have long sought and will appreciate the present invention that addresses these and other problems.

Integrator circuitry for single channel radiation detector

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


A conveyor includes a frame having a plurality of upstanding legs. At least one tray unit is carried on the frame. The tray unit includes at least one connector element. The conveyor further includes at least one clip connectable to the frame and having at least one attachment element configured to releasably engage the connector element of the tray. The connector elements can be spaced holes located along the sides of the tray unit. The attachment element can be a projection or tooth on the tray clip configured to selectively engage one or more of the holes on the side of the tray unit. The clip can include a locking arm to lock the tray to the clip to prevent the tray from sliding during use. The width of the frame and/or the tray unit can be adjusted.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to conveyor systems and, more particularly, to gravity auxiliary conveyors for transporting containers, such as industrial totes and boxes.
2. Technical Considerations
In many industrial applications, individual parts or components are delivered to a worker at a designated workstation for incorporation into a product. Typically, these parts are delivered in containers or totes. The worker must pick parts from the totes and then attach or incorporate the parts into the product being manufactured. When a tote is empty, it is removed from the workstation to make room for a new tote filled with more parts.
In the past, the totes containing the parts have been placed on the floor at the workstation and the worker had to bend over to pick the parts out of the tote. This can be uncomfortable for the worker to repetitively bend over and straighten up to retrieve the parts from the tote and then attach them to the product. In order to address this problem, auxiliary conveyor systems have been developed which allow the tote to be placed above the floor and at a more convenient angle for the worker to retrieve the parts. One adjustable auxiliary conveyor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,946, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. This auxiliary conveyor allows totes containing the parts to be provided to the worker on one shelf and then the empty totes can be placed on another shelf and returned to the rear of the auxiliary conveyor. This known auxiliary conveyor increases the efficiency of the worker and also reduces physical stress.
While this known auxiliary conveyor is excellent for its intended purpose, improvements could be made to increase the usefulness of the auxiliary conveyor as well as the ease of adjusting the shelf position of the auxiliary conveyor.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an auxiliary conveyor which further improves the versatility of known auxiliary conveyors without adversely complicating the mechanical structure of the conveyor.

Auxiliary conveyor with adjustable trays


A method and apparatus for setting a priority sequence among a plurality of requesters using a common destination within a computer system. An advantage is that all requesters contending for the common destination will have timely access with respect to all other competing requesters. In a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a priority controller can use a two-level priority scheme to select the next requester. The first level of priority alternates between an external requester and an on-card requester where every other set of data is from the external requester. The second level of priority alternates between on-card modules during an on-card priority cycle. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the priority controller can stack a request to transfer acknowledge and data information from an external requester if it is busy. The priority controller also prevents sending an acknowledgment/data cycle out to an external source to prevent sending more data than the FIFO stacks can accommodate. The data may also consist only of acknowledgements.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to logic which responds to data in a predetermined priority. More specifically, this invention relates to logic for a priority controller with more than one category of requesters which has a different response to each.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The increase in logic density provided by increasing chip density has resulted in a relatively limited number of pins being available for subsystem communication. This problem has been addressed by using a single communication channel between subsystems. The use of a single communication channel for system communication, while reducing the number of pins required for communication, results in competition between the subsystems for access to the single communication channel. This requires a priority scheme to arbitrate access to the single communication channel between the various subsystems.
A common priority scheme for a single communication channel having a number of requesters is a first-in first-out (FIFO) arrangement. In a FIFO arrangement the priority scheme merely responds to the requesters in the order of their request for channel use. When two requesters request priority simultaneously this results in a priority problem.
Another common priority scheme uses different levels of priority for each requester from a highest level to successively lower level for all of the requesters in use. Under this arrangement access to the channel is granted to the requester having the highest level priority. Here, when two requesters request channel use, the requester with the lowest priority is forced to wait until the higher level priority requester is finished. While this solves a simultaneous request problem, under some conditions this can result in a lower level priority requester being locked out, i.e., never being granted access, because there is always the possibility that a higher priority requester may always interrupt a request of the lower level priority requester before the lower level request can be acted upon.
Another common priority scheme uses a "snapshot" priority arrangement. The request status of all current requesters at an instant of time is called a "snapshot" of the current requester status. A snapshot scheme also uses different levels of priorities for each requester, as above, but instead of permitting later requests to preempt a current lower level requester, all requests noted in a snapshot are honored before any later requests are acted upon. Only after all of the requests in the current snapshot have been responded to is a later snapshot taken. This ensures that no low level requester can be locked out of the system.
A representative single channel communication application is using a single communication channel to interconnect a number of third level main memory cards with second level cache cards. This results in data being sent over the single channel being routed through intermediate memory cards to a selected second level cache card. Here, whenever the communication channel is free, the data can be sent immediately to the next memory card, however, when the channel is busy, data received by the intermediate memory card must be stored on the card until the channel is again free.
The FIFO system, described above, is not suitable for this cache problem because of the possibility of simultaneous requests, since the data is typically asynchronous. The prioritized scheme, described above, could handle simultaneous requests, but could lock-out data if higher priority requests always occurred before any lower priority requests could be serviced. If the FIFO scheme were combined with the priority scheme, the lock-out problem would be solved, but lower priority requests would be serviced infrequently which could degrade system performance. The snapshot priority scheme also solves a lock-out problem, but still does not solve the problem of providing priorities which will transmit data efficiently to a destination channel from a remote memory card and a local memory card to a destination card over a single communication channel.
A desirable priority scheme for a system which transfers data over a single channel from a source memory card through intermediate memory cards to a destination card is one that provides equal priority to the transmission of data from an external memory card to the transmission of data located on the memory card itself. When two memory banks are provided on the memory card for data, this would require twice the access for remote data to the single communication channel. This would ensure that the transmission of data from a remote card over a single communication channel would not be delayed excessively.

Priority logic for selecting and stacking data


An image forming method, comprising the steps of: charging a organic photoreceptor having a specific layer including at least a photosensitive layer; forming an electrostatic latent image on the organic photoreceptor; developing the electrostatic latent image to form a visible toner image by using a developing agent; transferring the toner images to be superimposed on a toner image receiving member; and removing the toner remaining on the organic photoreceptor, wherein the total thickness of the specific layer in the organic photoreceptor, is 5-15 μm, and wherein the developing agent comprises a toner and a carrier having the volume resistivity of 108-1012 Ω cm.

In recent years, organic photoreceptors have been widely used in electrophotoreceptors. The organic photoreceptor is advantageous when compared to other photoreceptors because: the material for all types of exposure light sources, from visible light to infrared light, can be easily developed; materials which do not cause environmental pollution can be selected; and manufacturing cost is low. However, drawbacks of the organic photoreceptor are that mechanical strength and chemical durability are low, and when multiple sheet printing is done, there is deterioration of the electrostatic characteristics of the photoreceptor, or generation of defects on the photoreceptor surface and the like.
In other words, because electrical and mechanical external forces may be directly applied to the organic photoreceptor (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as photoreceptor) by the charging means, developing means, transfer means and cleaning means, the organic photoreceptor must be resistant to these external forces.
More specifically, the photoreceptor must be resistant to wear or cracks generated on the photoreceptor surface due to friction; active oxygen such as ozone and the like that is generated when corona charging is done; and surface deterioration due to nitrogen oxides and the like.
In order to solve the above-described problems relating to mechanical and chemical durability, a structure is often employed in which the organic photoreceptor has a layer structure such that a charge generation layer and a charge transfer layer are superposed, and the charge transfer layer which is the protective layer is a uniform layer which is high in strength and through which an active gas cannot easily pass, and the thickness of the charge transfer layer is greater than 20 μm.
Also, there has been another approach of studying the technology of disposing a high-strength protective layer on the surface of the photoreceptor. For example, the use of a hard silicone resin as the protective layer of the photoreceptor has been reported (Patent Document 1). However, in the aforementioned methods in which the charge transfer layer is made thick or a high-strength protective layer is provided, there is the problem that the carrier generated at the charge transfer layer diffuses in the horizontal direction and reaches as far as the surface, and this causes problems with sharpness and the like. In the digital photocopier field, the demand for higher quality images has been increasing, and high resolution image formation is being researched, but in this type of layer structure or in the protective layer in which carrier diffusion occurs easily, a favorable electrostatic latent image cannot be obtained.
In order to obtain a high quality electrophotographic image, the image information must be reproduced as a latent electrostatic image so as to be faithful to the original, and the electric potential contrast of the exposed/unexposed parts on the organic photoreceptor must be formed so as to be sharp. However, in order to do this, it is necessary to limit the diffusion of the carrier generated so that it does not reach the surface charge. It has been reported that in latent image deterioration of a high density image, when the ratio D/μ of the diffusion constant of the charge transfer layer (D) and the drift mobility (μ) is large, the effect of diffusion to the electrostatic latent image cannot be disregarded, and when the charge transfer layer is thick, latent image deterioration increases (Non-patent Document 1).
In addition, it has been reported that a photoreceptor whose film is made thin has the effect of preventing diffusion of the toner image (Patent Document 2), and that high quality electrophotographic images are formed with a thin photoreceptor whose electrostatic capacity is large (Patent Document 3). Similarly, an organic photoreceptor has been proposed in which the charge transfer layer is made thin and diffusion of the electrostatic latent image is prevented (Patent Document 4).
However, when these thin organic photoreceptors which have been proposed are actually used in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, when the image is formed, image unevenness due to uneven mechanical abrasion is more likely to be outstanding. Furthermore, it is more difficult to maintain image quality over a long period of time when compared with the organic photoreceptor of the prior art that has a thickness of 20 μm or more. It is thought that the reason for this is that as shown in FIG. 1, (which shows dependency of reduction in electric potential carrying capacity on layer thickness) in the case where the amounts of abrasion are the same, the reduction in electric potential carrying capacity (ΔV1>ΔV2) is larger as the thickness of the photosensitive layer gets smaller. Consequently, when a thin organic photoreceptor is used, image unevenness is likely to occur due to unevenness in abrasion of the organic photoreceptor.
In addition, when a thin organic photoreceptor is used and a developing agent having small particle diameter toner is employed in order to obtain high image quality, at those portions of the organic photoreceptor where abrasion unevenness occurs, mackle is likely to occur. This is thought to occur because of the presence on the organic photoreceptor, of toner components which tend to splash onto the rough regions which result from the unevenness of surface abrasion
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Application Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 06-118681 gazette
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Application Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-209206 gazette
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Application Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-312082 gazette
[Patent Document 4]
Japanese Application Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 05-119503 gazette
[Non-Patent Document 1]
Japan Images Society Magazine, Volume 38 Issue 4, Page 296
The object of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problems and thereby provide an electrophotographic image which uses a thin organic photoreceptor, and has high image quality over a long period, and to further provide an image forming method and image forming apparatus which use an organic photoreceptor in which there is little image unevenness or mackle.

Image forming method and image forming apparatus


A method of automatically transferring an elastic yarn from a full-bobbin to an empty-bobbin characterized in that the yarn transfer operation is performed in a state such that a friction roll is remote from the empty-bobbin around which a yarn to be transferred is wound, and the yarn to be transferred is wound on the empty-bobbin by stopping the full-bobbin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of automatically transferring an elastic yarn from a full-bobbin on a bobbin shaft to an empty-bobbin on another bobbin shaft in a winder which is continuously winding the elastic yarn, to improve the efficiency of an automatic transfer operation of the elastic yarn.
2. Description of the Related Art
An elastic yarn has specific characteristics i.e., a high stretchability, a high frictional property or the like, compared with a general-purpose synthetic fiber such as a polyamide fiber or a polyester fiber, and accordingly, the following specific yarn transfer methods have been applied for the transfer of an elastic yarn.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 47-27634 disclosed a method of transferring a yarn wound continuously on a full-bobbin to an empty-bobbin wherein the full-bobbin driven by a friction roll is moved away from the friction roll, the empty-bobbin is placed in contact with the friction roll, to rotate the empty-bobbin and the full-bobbin stopped until the empty-bobbin is rotated at a desired rotational speed, so that the yarn is automatically wound on the empty-bobbin, i.e., the yarn slack between the empty-bobbin and the full-bobbin is wound on the full-bobbin and the slack yarn is stretched between the empty-bobbin and the full-bobbin and is broken.
Since, however the elastic yarn has a high stretchability, when the elastic yarn is broken by a stretching operation the elastic yarn slides on a circumferential surface of the bobbin during the recovery of an original length of the elastic yarn.
Accordingly, since the elastic yarn partially strikes the circumferential surface of the bobbin and a tension in portions of the elastic yarn striking the circumferential surface of the bobbin suddenly becomes zero, the elastic yarn is flexed, i.e., portions of the elastic yarn move away from the circumferential surface and other portions of the elastic yarn adhere to the circumferential surface.
Usually, the portions of the elastic yarn moved away from the circumferential surface are eventually adhered to the circumferential surface, and the elastic yarn then continuously wound on the empty-bobbin. Nevertheless, a high speed spinning method in which a rotational surface speed of the friction roll and the bobbin is remarkably increased has been introduced, and an elastic yarn having a finer denier than a conventional elastic yarn is used. In these cases, often the elastic yarn is not wound on the empty-bobbin but on the friction roller, and thus the automatic yarn transfer operation was not carried out.
It appears that the above failure of the automatic yarn transfer operation is caused by the separation of a portion of the elastic yarn from the empty-bobbin in contact with the friction roll, and a length per weight of the elastic yarn in contact with the friction roller becomes long when the high speed spinning system and/or the finer elastic yarn is used, and thus the elastic yarn is wound on the friction roll.
Further, since a running pathway of the elastic yarn released from a traverse device is not restricted in the method of Japanese Unexamined Patent (Kokai) No. 47-27634, the elastic yarn is always stretched in a direction parallel to an axis of the empty-bobbin on the circumferential surface of the empty-bobbin. Therefore, this condition may contribute to the failure of the automatic yarn transfer operation.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 1-22195 disclosed another method of automatically transferring an elastic yarn from a full-bobbins to an empty-bobbin. A winder implementing the transfer method disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 1-22195 is schematically illustrated in FIG. 11(A) and FIG. 11(B). As shown in FIG. 11(A), this winder is composed of two bobbin shafts 5 and 6, a turret dish 4 rotatably supporting the bobbin shafts 5 and 6 at positions spaced apart by an angle of 180.degree. , a friction roll 1 able to come into contact with a bobbin 8 mounted on one of the two bobbin shafts 5 and 6 and driving the bobbin 8, and a traverse device 3. The winder is further provided with a yarn position restricting plate 7 arranged upstream of the traverse device 3 and having yarn guiding portions constituted by two inclined surfaces forming a yarn holding point at an end where the two inclined surfaces come together, and a yarn receiving opening formed between the other ends of the two inclined surfaces. When the elastic yarn is transferred from the full-bobbin to the empty-bobbin, the elastic yarn is released from the traverse device by turnings the yarn position restricting plate 7, and the positions of the full bobbin 8a and the empty-bobbin 8 are reversed by rotating the turret disk 4 through 180.degree. (see FIG. 11(A)) so that the empty-bobbin comes into contact with the friction roll 1, and thus the elastic yarn is held in a slit arranged in the circumferential direction of the bobbin 8 on a circumferential surface of the bobbin 8 and is cut.
Since the empty-bobbin comes into contact with the friction roll when the elastic yarn is transferred from the full-bobbin to the empty-bobbin, in the method disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 1-22195, this method has a draw back in that the same failure of the yarn transfer process as of Japanese Unexamined patent publication (Kokai) No. 47-27634 is likely to occur.

Method of automatically transferring an elastic yarn from a full-bobbin to an empty-bobbin


Systems and methods for sensing a tire parameter from a rotating wheel are disclosed. In some embodiments, a system includes: a rotatable component configured to rotate; a piezoelectric transducer disposed along a circumference of the rotatable component, where the piezoelectric transducer is configured to generate an offload voltage based on a mechanical deformation of the piezoelectric transducer; and at least one processor in communication with the piezoelectric transducer, the at least one processor configured to determine a temperature value based on the offload voltage.

Traditional vehicular-based sensor systems are unable to determine the temperature at a rotating wheel. An example of a traditional vehicular-based sensor system is an inertial navigation system (INS). The INS may be utilized to determine a position, orientation, and velocity of a moving object. An INS may include, for example, accelerometers and rotation sensors to continuously calculate the position, orientation, and velocity of a moving object by dead reckoning without the need for external references. An INS is typically centrally disposed on a static part of a chassis of a vehicle, and not on a moving part such as a wheel, so as to provide more accurate readings. However, the data gathered by an INS may be limited to only that sensed from the static part of the chassis of the vehicle. Therefore, there may be a need for improved sensor systems that are not as limited.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

Tire sidewall temperature sensing systems and methods


A power-saving apparatus comprises: a heater; a control unit for detecting at least two power-saving commands, and for outputting a first power-saving control signal and a second power-saving control signal; a power supply unit for supplying rated voltages required for peripheral devices; a power switching circuit for cutting off all rated voltages supplied to the peripheral devices, including the heater but excluding the control unit, when the first power-saving control signal is generated, and for starting the supply of all rated voltages cut off when the second power-saving control signal is generated; and a quick start circuit for supplying, to the heater, a quick start voltage for a certain time period when the start control signal is generated. A power-saving method comprises performing a power-saving mode by cutting off the voltages supplied to the peripheral devices when the power-saving control signal or command is received, determining whether a recovery command is detected, and recovering to a normal mode when a recovery command is detected.

This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from my application COMPUTER PERIPHERALS HAVING POWER-SAVING CIRCUIT AND METHOD filed with the Korean Industrial Property Office on Aug. 11, 2000 and there duly assigned Serial No. 46587/2000.
1 Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power-saving apparatus and method for computer peripheral devices and, more particularly, to a power-saving apparatus and method for computer peripheral devices in computers using heaters, in which electric power consumption is minimized by cutting off all power supplies to the devices, including the heaters, regardless of the kinds of power-saving commands when a power-saving command is inputted. The devices are normally operated in a short time period by heating the heaters rapidly when a recovery command is inputted from an external source.
2 Related Art
In recent years, matters of environmental energy have emerged internationally, and diverse technologies for decreasing electric power consumption have been proposed. Accordingly, various efforts have been made to reduce electric power consumption in video display devices and laser beam printers, which are electronic appliances widely used in the context of office automation.
For example, in the area of video display devices, the display power management system (DPMS) has been proposed as an international standard by the Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA). A video display device has a normal mode and a power-saving mode according to the DPMS standard, and the power-saving mode is divided into a standby mode, a suspend mode, and an off mode.
A video display device recognizes at least two or more power-saving commands, and then performs at least two or more power-saving modes according to the DPMS standard. In the case of some dummy printers, even in the case of laser beam printers, the power-saving technique can be carried out, as known, when a power-saving command is received from a computer main body.
Typically, power management systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,489,935, 5,648,799, 5,389,952, and 5,774,116, which have at least two or more power-saving levels according to at least two or more power-saving commands.
However, as stated above, the systems disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,648,799, 5,389,952, and 5,774,116 have the problem of consuming unnecessary electric power since a rated voltage of 6.3V is supplied to a heater in order to reduce the time for recovering the normal mode from the power-saving modes, such as the standby mode and the suspend mode, even though power consumption is reduced to the maximum by cutting off all voltages supplied to devices, including the heater, in the power-saving mode such as the off mode.
The above problem is caused due to the properties of a heater which is not easily heated. The problem of the heater is somewhat solved in the heater-heating circuits disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,401 and Korean Patent Nos. 93-14719 and 96-65937.
However, the circuits disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,401 and Korean Patent Nos. 93-14719 rapidly heat the heater by supplying a voltage higher than the rated voltage to the heater for a certain time period in the initial voltage supply, so that a normal display is carried out for a short time period, without any concrete descriptions regarding how heater-heating circuits are controlled when the normal mode is recovered from the power-saving mode.
Further, the circuit disclosed in the Korean Patent No. 96-65937 rapidly heats the heater by supplying a voltage higher than the rated voltage for a predetermined time period based on the control of a microcomputer when recovering the normal mode from the power-saving mode, or when a power switch is turned on, so that a normal display is carried out for a short time period, without any concrete descriptions regarding how the heater-heating circuit is controlled when the normal mode is returned from the power-saving mode.
Furthermore, when a cathode ray tube (CRT) is employed, as in the disclosure of Korean Patent No. 96-65937, the heater undergoes much stress due to an excessive heater voltage, causing a shortening of the life span of the cathode ray tube (CRT), so that the applications have been hardly found. Particularly, there exists a problem in that the reliability of the apparatus deteriorates since the normal mode switched from the power-saving mode is more frequently carried out than the power switch-on mode is carried out.
Accordingly, in order to solve the above problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a power-saving apparatus and method for computer peripheral devices, in which all the voltage supplies to the devices, including heaters, are cut off regardless of the kinds of power-saving commands, when a power-saving command is detected, and the heater is heated at a rapid speed when a recovery command is detected in the computer peripheral devices using a heater.
Further, it is a second object of the present invention to provide a power-saving apparatus and method for computer peripheral devices, in which all voltage supplies to the devices, including heaters, are cut off regardless of the kinds of power-saving commands when a power-saving command is detected and the heaters are selectively heated at a rapid speed or a normal speed according to the kind of power-saving command when a recovery command is detected in the computer peripheral devices, using heaters.
Furthermore, it is a third object of the present invention to provide a power-saving apparatus and method for computer peripheral devices, in which all voltage supplies to the devices, including heaters, are cut off regardless of the kinds of power-saving commands when a power-saving command is detected, and the heaters are heated at a rapid speed or a normal speed by user selection regardless of the kinds of power-saving commands when a recovery command is detected in the computer peripheral devices using the heaters.
In order to achieve the above first object, a power-saving apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a control unit for detecting at least two or more power-saving commands, for outputting a first power-saving control signal regardless of the kind of power-saving command when the power-saving command is detected, and for outputting a second power-saving control signal at the same time as outputting a start control signal for a certain time period when a recovery command is detected; a power supply unit for supplying rated voltages required for peripheral devices; a power switching circuit for cutting off all the rated voltages supplied to the peripheral devices, including a heater, except for the control unit when the first power-saving control signal is inputted from the control unit, and for starting the supply of all the rated voltages cut off if the second power-saving control signal is inputted from the control unit; and a quick start circuit for supplying, to the heater, a quick start voltage higher than a rated voltage for a certain time period if a start control signal is inputted from the control unit.
In order to achieve the above first object, a power-saving method according to the present invention comprises the steps of: determining whether a power-saving command is detected; performing a power-saving mode by cutting off all voltages supplied to peripheral devices, including a heater, except for a control unit regardless of the kind of a power-saving command if the power-saving command is detected in the first step; determining whether a recovery command is detected; and recovering the normal mode by starting the supply of all the voltages cut off in the preceding step at the same time as a quick start voltage, higher than a rated voltage for a certain time period, is detected if the recovery command is detected in third step.
In order to achieve the second object as stated above, a power-saving apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a heater; a control unit for detecting at least two or more power-saving commands, for outputting a first power-saving control signal, regardless of the kind of power-saving command, when the power-saving command is detected, for outputting a second power-saving control signal, simultaneously with detection of the kind of power-saving command, when a recovery command is detected, and for outputting a start control signal for a certain time period when the power-saving command requests a quick start; a power supply unit for supplying rated voltages required for peripheral devices; a power switching circuit for cutting off all voltages supplied to the peripheral devices, including the heater but excluding the control unit, when the first power-saving control signal is inputted from the control unit, and for starting the supply of all voltages cut off when the second power-saving control signal is inputted from the control unit; and a quick start circuit for supplying, to the heater, a quick start voltage higher than a rated voltage for a certain time period when the start control signal is inputted from the control unit.
In order to achieve the second object as stated above, a power-saving method according to the present invention comprises the steps of: determining whether a power-saving command is detected; performing a power-saving mode by cutting off all voltages supplied to peripheral devices, including a heater but excluding a control unit, regardless of the kind of power-saving command when the power-saving command is detected as a result of the previous step; determining whether a recovery command is detected; detecting the kind of power-saving command when the recovery command is detected as a result of the preceding step; determining whether the power-saving command requests a normal start or a quick start; recovering the normal mode by starting the supply of all voltages cut off in the power-saving mode performing step when the power-saving command requests the normal start as a result of the detecting step; and recovering the normal mode by starting the supply of all voltages cut off in the power-saving mode performing step at the same time as supplying, to the heater, a quick start voltage higher than a rated voltage for a certain time period, when the power-saving command requests the quick start as a result of the detecting step.
In order to achieve the third object as stated above, a power-saving method according to the present invention comprises the steps of: determining whether a power-saving command is detected; performing a power-saving mode by cutting off all voltages supplied to peripheral devices, including a heater but excluding a control unit, regardless of the kind of power-saving command when the power-saving command is detected as a result of the previous step; determining whether a recovery command is detected; determining whether a start mode is selected by users when the recovery command is detected as a result of the preceding step determining whether a normal start mode or a quick start mode is selected when the start mode is selected by the users as a result of the preceding step; recovering a normal mode by starting the supply of all voltages cut off in the power-saving mode performing step regardless of the kind of power-saving command when the normal start mode is selected by the users as a result of the preceding step; restoring the normal mode by starting the supply of all voltages cut off in the power-saving mode performing step regardless of the kind of power-saving command simultaneously with supplying to the heater a quick start voltage higher than a rated voltage for a certain time period; detecting the kind of power-saving command and determining whether the power-saving command requests the normal start or the quick start when the start mode is not selected by the users as a result of the step of determining whether a start mode is selected; recovering the normal mode by starting the supply of all voltages cut off in the power-saving mode performing step when the power-saving command requests the normal start as a result of the detecting step; and recovering the normal mode by starting the supply of all voltages cut off in the power-saving mode performing step simultaneously with supplying to the heater the quick start voltage higher than the rated voltage for a certain time period when the power-saving command requests the quick start as a result of the detecting step.
Accordingly, power consumption is minimized by cutting off all voltages supplied to the peripheral devices, including the heater, regardless of the kind of power-saving command when the power-saving command is detected, and the computer peripheral devices are normally operated in a short time period by rapidly heating the heater when the recovery command is detected.

Power-saving apparatus and method for computer peripheral devices


Methods are disclosed for the comparison of nucleic acid sequences. Data is generated by hybridizing sets of oligomers with target nucleic acids. The data thus generated is manipulated simultaneously with respect to both (i) matching between oligomers and (ii) matching between oligomers and putative reference sequences available in databases. Using data compression methods to manipulate this mutual information, sequences for the target can be constructed.

Comparison of nucleic acids at the molecular level currently is based on three general types of sequence comparisons: (i) "wet" comparisons where nucleic acid probe fragments are hybridized to target nucleic acids under varying degrees of stringency; (ii) "dry" comparisons where a fragment having a known sequence is compared via computer against a database containing known sequences; and (iii) "restriction fingerprint" comparisons where a DNA fragment is cut by restriction endonucleases to obtain a specific set of fragments whose lengths are compared against other sets of cleaved fragments obtained experimentally or computed from known sequences.
A fourth kind of comparison, generally referred to as "hybridization fingerprinting," is performed by hybridizing a set of short oligomer probes with a target DNA fragment, identifying complementary oligomers that occur within the fragment. Two versions of this approach have been proposed. The first method counts common occurrences of oligomers in the fragment and in a candidate matching sequence (Lennon and Lehrach, 1991; Drmanac et al., 1991). The second method is based on oligomer overlaps and a comparison of the reconstructed sequence against a candidate matching sequence (Drmanac et al., 1991). The first method, by design, ignores shared subwords (overlaps) between the oligomers, while the second method utilizes shared subwords for the purpose of sequence reconstruction, which is an intermediate step in the recognition of similarity.
In contrast to gel-based sequencing and restriction analysis, which are essentially one-dimensional separation experiments, hybridization experiments do not require one-dimensional separation and thus can be economically conducted on a much larger scale by utilizing high-density two-dimensional arrays of immobilized DNA fragments (Format 1 hybridization experiments) or oligomer probes (Format 2 experiments). This enhances the opportunity to automate the process and, therefore, increase the amount of information generated within a given time period. Furthermore, automation can lead to increased cost efficiency. For example, data collection throughput of several million probe/target hybridization scores per day can be achieved in a laboratory of small size by utilizing current hybridization technology (Drmanac et al., 1994a; Drmanac et al., 1993).
An example of hybridization-based technology is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,231. There, a method is described for sequencing based on hybridization of sets oligonucleotide probes and compilation of overlapping, completely complementary probes to generate a sequence. The shortcoming of this approach is that the initial reliance on overlap may introduce significant error into the sequence. While providing a simple and potentially automated procedure, this method is unsatisfactory in terms of accuracy and confidence. Thus, there remains a need for more sophisticated, hybridization-based techniques for the comparison of nucleic acids.

DNA sequence similarity recognition by hybridization to short oligomers


A system for allowing members or prospective members to simultaneously contact multiple providers to secure an appointment on short notice. The system also enables the provider to view or obtain requests for appointments from members who the provider may not have previously met and/or served. The system further enables a facilitator 304 to monitor the communication exchanges between members and providers and to intervene directly if needed. The system includes a web application, a provider network, facilitator, a database server, a web server, and a database. The web application includes a web site that facilitates interaction between members, providers, the facilitator and the system. The web site also includes a list of common medical terms, phrases, and pharmaceuticals that are cross-referenced in multiple languages. The provider network processes information provided by users of the system and the database stores information processed in the system.

Advances in computer processing power and network communications have made information from a wide variety of sources available to users on computer networks. Computer networking allows network computer users to share information, software applications and hardware devices and internetworking enables a set of physical networks to be connected into a single network such as the Internet. Today, computers connected to the Internet have almost instant access to information stored in relatively distant regions. Moreover, computers connected to networks other than the Internet also have access to information stored on those networks. The World Wide Web (Web), a hypermedia system used on the Internet, enables hypertext linking, whereby documents automatically reference or link other documents located on connected computer networks around the world. Thus, users connected to the Internet have almost instant access to information stored in relatively distant regions.
A page of information on the Web may include references to other Web pages and may include a broad range of multimedia data including textual, graphical, audio, and animation information. Currently, Internet users retrieve information from the Internet, through the Web, by 'visiting' a web site on a computer that is connected to the Internet.
The web site is, in general terms, a server application that displays information stored on a network server computer. The web site accepts connections from client programs, such as Internet browser applications. Browser applications, such as Microsoft Explorer™ or Netscape Internet Browser™, allow Internet users to access information displayed on the web site. Most browser applications display information on computer screens and permit a user to navigate through the Web using a mouse. Like other network applications, Web browsing uses the client-server paradigm where state is maintained as an adjunct to the HTTP protocol. When given the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of a document, the browser application becomes a client and it contacts a server application specified in the URL to request the document. After receiving the document from the server application, the browser application displays the document for the user. When the browser application interacts with the server application, the two applications follow the Hyper-Text Transport Protocol (HTTP). HTTP allows the browser application to request a specific article, which the server application then returns. To ensure that browser applications and server applications inter-operate unambiguously, HTTP defines the exact format for requests sent from the browser application to the server application as well as the format of replies that the server application returns.
As the number of physical networks connected to the Internet continues to grow, so too will the number of web sites that are accessible to Internet users and so too will commercial and other activity on the Internet. Providers of products and/or services use the Internet to offer better and faster services to members. For example, providers of health insurance enable their members to use the Internet to find medical providers within a specified geography area. Upon finding the desired medical provider, the member may sign up or set an appointment with the provider by traditional means, such as a telephone call, or through the Internet. Most medical providers schedule appointments in advance. Therefore, this method of finding medical providers is adequate for normal appointment scheduling. However, members who need to make an appointment on short notice may have a harder time finding a provider using this method. When the member obtains a list of providers within a specified area, the member has no way of determining which providers have opening slots in their schedule. The problem of finding a provider on short notice is even more acute for members who are outside of their normal provider network or in a distant and/or unfamiliar city. Moreover, for members travelling internationally, there may be communication problems with providers who speak different languages.
Additionally, if a provider schedule opens up, for example through cancellation, the provider has no way of filling an appointment slot by finding members who are seeking appointments on short notice. What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for enabling members and providers to obtain appointments on short notice. The system must also facilitate communications between members and providers speaking different languages.

System and method for locating providers over the internet on short notice


In one implementation, a mobility-based ion separation system includes a first ion channel extending between a first end and a second end, and configured to receive an ion packet. The separation system includes a controller configured to apply a first voltage signal and a second voltage signal to a first plurality of electrodes adjacent to the first ion channel. The first plurality of electrodes are configured to generate, based on receipt of the first voltage signal, a first traveling drive potential that travels at a first speed along a first direction, the first direction extending from the first end to the second end. The first plurality of electrodes are configured to generate, based on receipt of the second voltage signal, a second DC potential decreasing along a second direction, the second direction extending from the second end to the first end.

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a technique for separating and identifying ions in gaseous phase based on their mobilities. For example, IMS can be employed to separate structural isomers and macromolecules that have different mobilities. IMS relies on applying a constant or a time-varying electric field to a mixture of ions within a static or dynamic background gas. An ion having a larger mobility (or smaller collision cross section [CCS]) moves faster under the influence of the electric field compared to an ion with a smaller mobility (or larger CCS). By applying the electric field over a separation distance (e.g., in a drift tube) of an IMS device, ions from an ion mixture can be spatially separated based on their mobility. Because ions with different mobilities arrive at the end of the drift tube at different times (temporal separation) they can be identified based on the time of detection by a detector at the end of the drift tube. Resolution of the mobility separation can be varied by changing the separation distance.
Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that can separate a mixture of chemical species based on their mass-to-charge ratio. MS involves ionizing the mixture of chemical species followed by acceleration of the ion mixture in the presence of electric and/or magnetic fields. In some mass spectrometers, ions having the same mass-to-charge ratio undergo the same deflection. Ions with different mass-to-charge ratios can undergo different deflections, and can be identified based on the spatial location of detection by a detector (e.g., electron multiplier).


A foil connector (28, 30) suited for use in a lamp (10) is provided. The foil connector includes a substrate layer (40) formed from an electrically conductive material. A coating (42) is provided for reducing oxidation of the substrate during lamp operation. The coating includes a first coating layer (44) on the substrate comprising a noble metal, a second coating layer (46) spaced from the substrate by the first coating layer, the second coating layer comprising a noble metal, and optionally, a third coating layer (48) spaced from the substrate by the first and second coating layers, the third coating layer comprising a noble metal.

The invention relates generally to electric lamps formed with a pinched seal, in which a conductive foil is incorporated in the pinch. In particular, it relates to a molybdenum foil which is protected against oxidation by a layer which inhibits oxidation of the foil.
Electric lamps having a quartz glass lamp envelope frequently have outer current conductors of molybdenum which are connected with internal electrodes by a molybdenum foil. The foil is used in the area of the pinch seal. Being more flexible than the thicker molybdenum conductor, it is better able to absorb the stresses placed on the conductor in the pinch area. Molybdenum oxidizes rapidly in an oxidizing environment, such as air at temperatures of about 350° C. and higher. In the case of molybdenum foil used for hermetic pinch and vacuum-formed seals, this oxidation can result in an open circuit or can crack open the seal, either of which results in lamp failure. The oxidation reaction is thought to occur because during the sealing operation, microscopic passageways are formed around the lead wires as the vitreous material cools. These passageways permit oxygen to enter the foil area of the lamp seal.
Chromizing processes have been developed for reducing oxidation of an Mo—Nb pin-foil assembly during lamp operation. In such processes, a relatively thick layer of chromium is deposited on the foil. These processes often provide unsatisfactory results due to difficulties in process control. Additionally, the chromizing layer only allows moderate increases in the foil temperature before oxidation occurs. It has also been proposed to coat the molybdenum in the seal area which is exposed to oxidizing environments with an alkali metal silicate.

Inhibited oxidation foil connector for a lamp


A semiconductor package includes a substrate with a first surface on which a semiconductor device is mounted and a second surface opposite to the first surface, and a loop heat pipe including an evaporator and attached to the second surface of the substrate, wherein the substrate has a groove structure in the second surface, the groove structure being in contact with a porous wick provided in the evaporator.

In computers and other electronic devices, a configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 is employed to cool a semiconductor device such as a large scale integration (LSI) device. In FIG. 1, rear faces of LSI devices 102a and 102b, which are opposite to connection faces with solder bumps 103 for bonding the LSI devices 102a and 102b to a circuit board 101, are heat dissipating surfaces. The heat dissipating surfaces of the LSI devices 102a and 102b are thermally in contact with a heat spreader or a heat sink 130 to prevent temperature rise of the LSI devices 102a and 102b.
It is predicted that the amount of heat generated from the LSI devices 102a and 102b will increase along with further progress of integration and device performances. It is also expected that the size and the shape of the heat spreader or the heat sink 130 will become larger and more complicated.
It has been proposed to use a metal core substrate in place of an inexpensive resin substrate to efficiently remove heat from the connection side of the LSI device. See, for example, Patent Documents 1-3 listed below. Another known approach is to refine the structure of the heat sink. It has also been proposed to incorporate a heat pipe structure or a micro-groove structure in the heat sink to improve the cooling efficiency using a coolant. See, for example, Patent Documents 4-6 listed below.
However, it is worrying that the technique for using a metal core substrate to remove heat as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 will cause complication and cost increases of the manufacturing process of printed circuit boards. There is also fear that the possibility of equipment design is limited. An interposer using a metal core substrate as disclosed in Patent Document 3 is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of connection reliability and cost because a heat-rejecting interposer is inserted between a board and an LSI chip.
Patent Documents 4 and 5 disclose a structure in which a heat pipe is implemented inside the base of a heat sink provided on the rear face of an LSI chip, opposite to the solder connection side. With this structure, the cooling efficiency is expected to be improved compared with the conventional techniques. However, the temperature distribution in the package board increases when the heat generation of each of the LSI chips increases in a System-in-Package or a 3D-stacked LSI package with heterogeneous integration of multi-chip modules. Accordingly, thermal diffusion or heat dissipation of a heat sink placed on the rear face of the LSI chip is unlikely to be sufficient. In addition, the conventional structure with a heat sink provided on the rear face of the LSI chip requires a thermal interface material between the LSI and the heat sink (having a built-in heat pipe) to guarantee thermal contact to the LSI chip. Since thermal resistance is produced in the thermal interface material, significant improvement in cooling efficiency may not be expected.
Patent Document 6 discloses a technology for forming a micro channel inside the heat sink provided on the rear face of the LSI chip to circulate a coolant to cool the LSI chip. The manufacturing and assembling of this cooling system are complicated and there is a problem in reliability due to leakage of coolant.
There is a demand for a cooling mechanism and structure and a manufacturing method of a semiconductor package that can efficiently remove heat from a heat source such as a semiconductor device without making a significant change to the specifications of a conventional heat rejecting system such as a heat spreader or a heat sink.

Semiconductor package, cooling mechanism and method for manufacturing semiconductor package