A string musical instrument having a body with a hole in the center for sound resonance, an upper bridge at the top and a lower bridge at the bottom. There is a plurality of long frets connected with the top of the body directly below the upper bridge whereby the frets are distanced so as to produce sounds that are a half note apart. There is also a plurality of tuning boxes attached to the bottom of the body, which are used to tune the instrument. There is further a plurality of strings, running through the upper and lower bridge secured from the top on the back of the body and from the bottom to the tuning box. A performer holds the instrument with the bottom on his lap and places one hand on the top over the upper bridge with fingers projected over the frets to change the pitch and with the fingers of the other free hand plucks the string to produce music.

(1) Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of musical instruments, and more particularly to Tarpin, a string musical instrument.
(2) Discussion
String musical instruments have been well known in the art for thousands of years. One such instrument was Lyre. Over 3000 B.C. in Greece, Egypt, Samaria, Rome and Armenia Lyre was quite popular.
A lyre is a stringed musical instrument, in which two arms jut out on one side of the instrument's body and at their tips support a yoke or crossbar to which gut strings are attached. The strings run to the body, across the belly or soundboard, over a bridge, and to a stringholder at the lower end of the belly. In box lyres, the body and belly form a hollow wooden box; in bowl lyres, the body may be a tortoise shell or carved bowl, and the belly is of animal skin.
Box lyres with asymmetrical arms were known in ancient Sumeria by 2800 BC; this western Asian lyre was also played in ancient Egypt, as was a smaller symmetrical lyre. Lyres were extremely popular in Greece and were associated with the god Apollo. Two main varieties were made. The kithara, played by professional musicians was a box lyre with thick, symmetrical, hollow arms; it was plucked with a plectrum, or pick. The lyra, played by amateurs and plucked with the fingers, was a bowl lyre, typically a tortoise shell with a belly of bull's hide.
The kinnor of the ancient Hebrews, the instrument of King David, was like the kithara. In modern times similar lyres, with or without a bridge, are played in East Africa. They include the Beganna, which was also like the kithara, and the lyra-like krar, both of Ethiopia. In African and ancient lyres the strings are wound around the crossbar and tightened by adjusting the windings or by inserting small wooden wedges in the windings. The left-hand fingers typically damp the unwanted strings, while the right-hand fingers sweep across all the strings, either directly or with a plectrum. In the Middle Ages box lyres were widely used in northern Europe until about AD 1000. These lyres usually had crossbars carved of the same piece of wood as the body and arms; they also had tuning pegs. Until about 1000 they were plucked; thereafter, bowing them was more common. Bowed lyres survived into the 20th century in Finland and Estonia. In Wales, the Croth, which had a fingerboard running from the crossbar to the body, was played into the 19th century.
However, a musician could not play very many notes on the Lyre in any of the previous forms, as they did not have frets. Therefore, upon the discovery of more advanced string instruments (i.e. Guitar, Violin, etc.) that had frets, Lyre became antiquated and obsolete and eventually forgotten. Today, only a few renovated models and some pictures of the traditional Lyre are displayed in museums in Germany and England. Also, certain African Lyres are still used for choral songs, magic, witchcraft, or curative purposes.
Today, there is a need in the art for an instrument that has the artistic beauty of a Lyre, yet able to produce a vast range of notes. The present invention, Tarpin, resembles a Lyre in its artistic form and shape, while it enables a musician to play all European and international scales, including melodies in the form of polyphonic and homophonic along with harmony. Tarpin is superior to all other string instruments in the prior art, in that a musician can play an enormous range of notes on eleven (11) strings, with very limited movement of one hand over the fret, while most other instrument require the musician to move his hand along the neck of the instrument. On an eleven (11) string Tarpin, a musician can play up to four and half octaves, with hardly any movement of a hand over the frets. Although, Tarpin is exceptionally simple to play, it can achieve all melodies, chords, and arpeggios along with harmony. There are many chords in many inversions that can only be played on Tarpin. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, Tarpin has five (5) frets and eleven (11) strings. In its preferred embodiment, Tarpin has a tuning box that makes it possible for a performer to easily and quickly tune the instrument with the use of an Allen wrench. Tarpin is an ideal instrument that looks and sounds divine. It is truly a gift to the world of art and music.


The present invention relates specifically to the temperature compensation of a resonator in which a rod or a conductor wound in the form of a cylindrical coil serving as an inner conductor is enclosed within a metal cover and in which the open end of the rod or the coil is spaced a given distance from the cover, thus forming a loading capacitance. A change in the resonant frequency caused by thermal expansion can be compensated for in that at the open end of the inner conductor within the housing there is provided a compensation plate (5), the center part (12) of which is spaced at a distance (a) from the top surface (4) of the housing and preferably in parallel therewith and which has at least at two opposite edge parts (8, 9) been attached to the top surface (4). The thermal coefficient of expansion of the compensation plate (5) is less than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the top surface (4), whereby the center part of the compensation plate (5) together, in response to a rise in temperature of the resonator, is urged towards the top surface (4), thus reducing the loading capacitance.

A coaxial resonator of the above type typically consists of a copper resonator rod and an aluminum housing therearound, one wall thereof being at a given space from the tip of the rod, whereby the capacitance between the rod tip and the wall forms a capacitative loading for the resonator. The other end of the rod has been short-circuited with the other, i.e. opposite conducting wall of the housing. The helix resonator differs from the coaxial resonator in principle only in that the inner conductor, i.e. the rod, has been wound in the form of a helical coil, in order to have smaller dimensions.
The coaxial and helical resonators are encumbered with a basic drawback, viz. of how to provide a sufficient thermal stability. In the operational environments, where great temperature variations may be expected, great center frequency drift might occur owing to changes in the structural dimensions due to thermal expansion, and there through, also in the electrical properties. Secondly, when the resonator is used in power applications, the resonator rod becomes strongly heated, particularly at the open end where the field strength is greatest. Said heating of the rod lengthens it and thus shortens the space between the tip of the rod and the wall of the housing. Typically, together with a temperature rise, the resonant frequency decreases; respectively, a drop in the temperature increases the resonant frequency.
In order to compensate for changes in the center frequency caused by temperature variation, a plurality of methods have been used. The methods are mainly based on the idea that since the oscillator circuit of the resonator consists of loading capacitance and inductance of the rod connected in parallel, the capacitance is adapted to be variable in the manner that it as completely as possible compensates for a change of the inductance. This is understandable because it is easier to affect capacitance than inductance. Therefore, the methods include endeavours to reduce loading capacitance according to temperature rise.
One of the most conventional ways is to arrange the distance between the end of the resonator rod and the top surface of the cover, to be appropriate, whereby, as the temperature changes, the spacing between the resonator rod and the top surface changes so that the resonant frequency remains as much unchanged as possible. In practice the spacing between the end of the resonator rod and the top surface of the cover has to be made very small, whereby a drawback is first that when said spacing is very small, the Q value of the resonator is decreased because the capacitance between the end of the rod and the top surface, i.e. the loading of the resonator grows. Moreover, if the spacing is made too small, this may result in a risk of a breakdown, in particular when the resonators are used in power applications, such as in transmitter filters of radio apparatus, because the maximum of the electric field of the resonator is, as is a well known fact, in the tip of the rod or of the helical coil. One more weakness found in this method is that the risk of breakdown increases when said space is reduced. A risk of breakdown and rapid deterioration of the Q value create an obstacle in aiming at complete compensation so that the compensation is under compensation in nature.
A second way known in the art is to place a bimetal strip on the tip of the rod resonator so that it is parallel to the top surface of the cover. As the temperature rises the strip bends off from the cover, thus reducing the loading capacitance according to the temperature. One of the drawbacks of said method is, just as in the first method, that the bimetal strip lowers the Q value of the resonator and that the bimetal is very difficult to work with. The bimetal strip may also be placed on the cover of the housing, though this is not a good place for it in that the temperature of the cover is much lower than the temperature of the tip of the compensator, whereby the bimetal will not conform to the temperature it should.
A third method is to select the materials so that the temperature changes very little affect the dimensions thereof. The selection concerns, above all, the material of the rod, for which is selected e.g. coated iron with a lower temperature coefficient than in the copper rod usually employed. In that case, a drawback is an increase of weight in a filter constructed from resonators.
European Patent Application No. 0,211,455 discloses a microwave cavity with a conical base plate (3) which is designed to move in responses to changes in ambient temperature such that the volume enclosed by the conical base varies in inverse proportion to temperature i.e. the higher the temperature the smaller the volume. This teaching is the opposite of that of the present invention in which the volume within the cover increases with increasing temperature.
International Patent Application No. 87/03745 discloses a microwave resonator having a cavity which comprises a temperature compensating member 26 the dimensions of which are such that it will increasingly bow into the cavity volume with increasing temperature which is the opposite teaching to that of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,677 and 4,156,860 both disclose microwave cavities having movable temperature compensating discs similar to that disclosed in European Patent Application No. 0,11,455,
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,949 discloses a cavity resonator having a hollow cupshaped compensation member secured in a wall of the cavity. However, this specification does not disclose the form of compensation plate or the means of attachment thereof to the cavity wall as disclosed in the present invention.


In a method of producing an electrolytic copper foil by passing an electrolyte between a rotating cathode drum and anode located opposite to the cathode drum, the thickness of the resulting copper foil is made uniform throughout. The anode has a structure including a main portion and an end portion, the end portion being divided widthwise into n foil thickness-uniformizing sub-anodes. Electricity is supplied to the main anode and the sub-anodes at a preset current density D (A/dm.sup.2) to attain a target foil thickness T (g/m.sup.2). Variations of thickness in the direction of the width of the resulting copper foil are measured as the thicknesses Tm (g/m.sup.2) where m=1-n in the direction of the width of the copper foil corresponding to the n sub-anodes, and the quantities of electricity being supplied to the n sub-anodes are individually controlled at current densities Dm (A/dm.sup.2) where m=1-n so that Tm values are made equal to the target foil thickness T (g/m.sup.2). Alternatively, a pattern of thickness deviations of a copper foil produced per revolution of the cathode drum is divided into m sections where m=1-n widthwise and k sections lengthwise, the foil thicknesses Tm-k (g/m.sup..sup.2) where m=1-n of the m .times.k sections corresponding to the angle of rotation from a reference point of the cathode drum as determined by an encoder are measured, and the quantities of electricity supplied to the n sub-anodes at current densities Dm-k (A/dm.sup.2) where m=1-n are controlled individually correspondingly to the angle of rotation from the reference point of the cathode drum so that Tm-k becomes equal to the target foil thickness T.

Electrolytic copper foil is produced by passing a stream of electrolyte between an anode of insoluble metal and a rotatable metallic cathode drum mirror-polished on the surface and supplying a potential between the anode and the cathode drum, thereby causing electrodeposition of copper on the cathode drum surface, and, when the electrodeposit has attained a predetermined thickness, peeling the same from the cathode drum. The copper foil thus obtained, called an untreated foil, is thereafter variously surface-treated to be final products.
FIG. 1 illustrates the relative position of a cathode drum and an anode conventionally used for the manufacture of copper foil. In an electrolytic cell (not shown) containing an electrolyte, the cathode drum 1 is installed to be rotatable (clockwise in this case) as partly submerged in the electrolyte. The anode is disposed as divided into, e.g., two anode sheets 3 to cover generally the submerged lower half of the cathode drum 1 in spaced relation with a given clearance from the drum surface. Inside the electrolytic cell, the electrolyte is supplied at 6 o'clock position (of the hour hand, the same applying hereinafter) between the two anode sheets 3. It flows upward along the space between the cathode drum and the anode and overflows the upper edges of the anode for circulation in the cell. A rectifier 5 maintains a given current between the cathode drum and the anode.
As the cathode drum 1 rotates, the electrodeposit of copper from the electrolyte becomes thicker, until it attains a desired thickness around 9 o'clock position, and the resulting untreated foil of the desired thickness is peeled off by suitable peeler means from the drum and is wound up.
In the apparatus for manufacturing electrolytic copper foil, when the operation has continued for a given time period, the anode, among others, is locally worn with use. Consequently, the space between the cathode drum and the anode sheets becomes uneven and the resulting untreated foil becomes uneven in thickness, depending on the characteristics of the apparatus used, till it becomes unmarketable. That is, by the lack of uniformity of the distance between the anode and the cathode drum and the variation of the flow velocity of the electrolyte being supplied etc., the resulting untreated foil undergoes variation in thickness in the direction of the width.
The resulting foil develops variation in thickness in the direction of the length too, in approximately the same pattern per revolution of the cathode drum, due largely to the eccentricity of the rotating cathode drum with periodic variation of the spacing between the anode and the cathode drum.
FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an illustrative thickness distribution in a half-width section of a copper foil produced. The remaining half-width section not shown has a generally similar variation in thickness widthwise. Thus, the electrolytic copper foil conventionally produced has inevitable variations in thickness in both width and length directions, to varying degrees depending on the manufacturing conditions encountered.
In fact, much difficulties are involved in uniformizing the thickness of an electrolytic copper foil. For example, ANSI/IPC-CF-150E (May, 1981) "Copper Foil of Printed Wiring Applications", which is a standard developed by the Copper Foil Subcommittee of the Raw Materials Committee of the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits, provides: "The area weight or thickness of the copper foil shall be within .+-.10% of the values shown in Table 1 for Type E copper (Electrodeposited copper foil) and .+-.5% for Type W copper (Wrought copper foil)." The provision thus allows for as much as 10% variation in thickness for electrodeposited copper foils in the thickness range from 18 to 498 .mu.m. This shows how difficult it is to control the thickness of electrolytic copper foil so as to uniformize it.
Nevertheless, there has recently been strong demand for electrolytic copper foils of uniform thickness throughout. Copper foils are used chiefly for the fabrication of printed circuit boards, and the tendency toward finer circuits to be formed requires uniform etching of the copper foil and for the purpose a copper foil of uniform thickness is strongly necessitated. For the stabilization of its electric characteristics too, the copper foil must have far less variation in thickness than heretofore.
To make an electrolytic copper foil uniform in thickness throughout the direction of its width, the following steps have hitherto been taken:
(1) Anode milling: With an apparatus for the production of electrolytic copper foil, it has been common that anode after runs for a certain length of time is worn out of use, making the space between itself and the cathode drum uneven. As used herein, the expression "out of use" suggests an abnormal rise of the electrolytic voltage or serious unevenness in thickness of the copper foil produced. In order to avoid this, the anode after service for a given time period is cylindrically reformed on the surface by a special cutting tool.
(2) Partial anode cutting: After anode milling, variation of thickness in the direction of the width of the resulting copper foil is measured. According to the data thus obtained, the anode surface is locally cut off to properly correct the thickness of the copper foil.
Such correcting steps being taken until today restrict the variations of electrolytic copper foil thickness in the direction of its width to the order of about 5% of the target thickness. Little attention has been paid, on the other hand, to the variations of thickness in the direction of the length.
These correction working is a time-consuming, laborious work, necessitating long downtime at regular intervals. However, the precision is nevertheless unsatisfactory. These counter-measures cannot cope with the variations in thickness widthwise from uncertain causes for which the anode is not to blame. In addition, the effect of such a measure, if achieved, would be short-lived.

Method of producing electrolytic copper foil and apparatus for producing same


A charger management method to be implemented by a server includes steps of: with respect to each charger, in response to receipt from the charger in a non-charging state of a notification including a charger identifier (ID) of the charger, updating the state flag of one of charger information sets stored in the server and including the charger ID to a second value; and in response to receipt of a query including a target location from a user end electronic device, selecting, based on the charger information sets and the target location, at least one candidate charging station information set from multiple charging station information sets.

Due to the rise of environmental consciousness in recent years, governments in many countries provide subsidies for the development and purchase of electric vehicles (EVs). However, as of the present, charging stations for charging batteries of EVs are not as widespread as gas stations, so one may need to wait for a long time in order to charge the batteries.

Charger management method, server and chargers


The chamber (2) includes a wall (5) having an opening (7) and a connection interface (8), a door (10), joining elements (12), elements for maneuvering the door (10) and actuating elements for control of the maneuvering elements. The container (3) includes a wall (14) having an opening (16), a connection interface (9), a door (18), joining elements (13) and elements for maneuvering the door that are functionally joined to the door, and the system also includes, functionally integrated, marking elements, that rest on the container and that can store data, elements for short-range data reading that are functionally complementary to the marking elements, elements for storing read data, elements for producing an output signal based on read or stored data, and elements for controlling the opening of the first door and thus the second door, that respond to the output signal received from the elements for producing an output signal.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to improvements made to systems, which are isolated from the external environment, for transferring a certain content between a chamber and a container. The improvements apply regardless of the direction of the transfer. However, in practice, it is understood that, all other things being equal, the transfer always occurs in the same direction.
Description of the Related Art
More particularly in the biopharmaceutical field, different embodiments of systems for transferring, in isolation from the external environment, a certain content, in one direction or another, between a chamber and a partially flexible container that can be moved relative to the chamber, are known.
One of these systems is known under the trademark BIOSAFE®, this system not being exclusive of others. Systems of this type are also described in, in particular, documents FR-A-1346486, EP-A-0688020, FR-A-2782071, and WO00/36610.
The device that is the object of the document FR-A-2 787 190, which describes a sealed junction device comprising two chambers equipped, respectively, with an access opening equipped with a door working with a flange and locking means on their respective flanges; connecting means that make it possible to link the two chambers and to form a passage between them, without running the risk of introducing therein elements coming from the external environment; and a mechanism that makes it possible to detect when the seal between the two chambers and the external environment is no longer ensured, are also known from the state of the art.
Transfers, such as those that can be carried out by such systems, can be necessary in a number of technical fields, in particular, but not exclusively, the biopharmaceutical field. The invention pertains quite especially to this field, as to those that can be considered as similar in regard to the requirements imposed.
The content—to be transferred or that is already transferred—is not crucial in and of itself in regard to the invention apart from the fact that it is designed to be, and thus must be able to be, transferred. In the biopharmaceutical field, it can, for example, involve a sterile object such as a container, a container element such as a plug, or a syringe, but also elements for monitoring the environment, or even waste produced during production or treatment operations, waste that is to be transferred in order to eliminate it.
Transfers, such as those considered here, occur within the framework of more complex processes in which a certain content undergoes one or more operations before and/or after transfer. These operations consist of production, treatment, handling, use, measurement, monitoring, analysis, etc.
The chamber of the transfer system can be, for example, rigid, stationary, and of more or less large size and typically comprises:                A first wall, for example rigid, provided with a first opening, for example circular, and with a first connection interface, for example a flanged device;        A first door, for example in the shape of a disk, mounted to move and arranged to be in the closed state or in the open state where, respectively, it closes or opens the first opening;        First joining means, for example joined to the first connection interface;        First maneuvering means of the first door to move it from one state to the other, for example, in the form of an arm, lever or the like;        External actuating means, for example, in the form of one or more handles, for controlling the first maneuvering means.
In the case of a production line, a chamber, comprising a wall equipped with the same number of openings, connection interfaces, doors, joining means, means for maneuvering the door, and just as many transfer systems, is provided.
The container of the transfer system can be partially flexible and movable, such as a pouch.
Such a container can typically comprise:                A second wall provided with a second opening like the first opening that, when the container is joined to the chamber, is in communication with the first opening, and a second connection interface, for example, an additional flanged device of the first connection interface;        A second door arranged to be in the closed state or in the open state, where it closes or opens respectively the second opening;        Second joining means capable of working with the first joining means so as to produce a stationary, detachable, and airtight joining of the container to the chamber;        Second means for maneuvering the second door to move it from one state to the other, functionally joined to the first door, so that the opening or the closing of the first door can result in, respectively, the opening or closing of the second door.
In the case of the transfer of the container to the chamber, at the beginning, the container is filled with its content, is disjoined from the chamber, and the first door and second door are in the closed state.
The operator draws the container close to the chamber and joins them, making their interfaces and their respective joining means work together. The container is then mounted on the chamber and accessible to the operator. If necessary, these operations are fully or partially automated.
In this situation, the operator can activate the actuating means, for example, to make the handle or handles that are part of it pivot. Alternately, this operation is either fully or partially automated.
The actuation, regardless of the manner in which it is achieved, controls the first maneuvering means, which move the first door from its closed state to its open state. The movement of the first door concomitantly leads to that of the second door. Thus, the two doors are brought from the closed state to the open state.
In this situation, the container is in tight communication—isolated from the external environment—with the chamber via their two open openings.
The operator can then transfer the content of the container into the chamber via the two openings in an airtight manner—isolated from the external environment. Or, as above, this operation is fully or partially automated.
Once the container is thus transferred, the operator can activate the actuating means, thereby controlling the first maneuvering means, which move the first door from its open state to its closed state and concomitantly that move the second door from its open state to its closed state.
The operator can then disjoin the container from the chamber. Or, as above, this operation is fully or partially automated.
Instead of the transfer taking place in the direction from the container to the chamber, it can take place in the opposite direction, from the chamber to the container. The operations then carried out are derived from those described above.
As appropriate, the container may or may not be for single use and then discarded after being used.
Such a system provides satisfaction regarding the transfer per se. Nevertheless, in the case of certain applications, particularly in the biopharmaceutical field, within the framework of the process in which this transfer occurs, the fact that the transfer per se provides satisfaction is not sufficient.
Actually, it is important, first of all, to ensure the safety of the transfers, for example to avoid the consequences that could result from mixing batches of containers filled with contents, or from bad handling or from the transfer of a content that should not have been transferred for whatever reason. This safety requirement is made all the more difficult since, visually, the containers look alike and the transfers must be carried out at a certain rate.
It is also important that the traceability of the contents is ensured during most of their shelf lives: before and after transfer.
It is also important to avoid consequences that might result from the transfer, not of the content to be transferred, but of a duplicate of the latter.
It is also important, in the case of single-use containers, that the container that was used for a transfer cannot be used for a subsequent transfer.
An embodiment using a bar code that attempts to provide a solution to the problem by using a bar code is known. However, this embodiment is not satisfactory since it is too complex.
Furthermore, the system of radio identification, currently designated RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification), which comprises, on the one hand, a transponder or RFID tag, which can be in the form of a label that has a substrate or the like bearing an antenna and an electronic chip and, on the other hand, a transmitter-receiver or reader, which can activate the transponder located a short distance away, is known. Thus, the transponder can receive the radio requests transmitted by the transmitter-receiver and respond to them. RFID technology is used for identification, traceability, verification testing, tracking, electronic opening of doors, access control, and communication.
The document WO2008/069846 describes a plastic container and a preform having an encapsulated RFID insert. The document EP-A-1583048 describes a process for producing a container with an RFID element.
The documents EP-A-1887581 and EP-A-2012323 refer to the sterilization or the radiation of a pharmaceutical device that comprises an RFID label.
The document EP-A-1850289 explains the application of an RFID system for the "workflow" of blood transfusion centers.
The document US-A-2003/0072676 describes a pouch that is designed to contain a blood product provided with an RFID label.
The document EP-A-2 080 553 relates to a method and a system designed to locate and identify test tubes placed in a receiving fixture by using labels fixed to the outside wall of these test tubes and that have a bar code. More particularly, the method comprises a series of stages that consists in scanning the bar codes so as to record the corresponding identification data and to determine the position of each test tube in the receiving fixture; if necessary, to read the additional data recorded on the RFID chips provided behind the labels; and to correlate the identification data, the positioning data and the additional data of each test tube.
Other means capable of storing information and transmitting it, making its short-range reading possible, and then of storing it for a certain use, are also known. Such systems operate either by radio, by infrared, or else by hard-wire connection. Techniques known under the trademarks of, for example, Bluetooth®, Zigbee® . . . are known.
Consequently, in the pharmaceutical field, as in those fields that can be considered similar in regard to the imposed requirements, systems, which are isolated from the external environment, for transferring a certain content between a chamber and a container, in one direction or another, need to be improved in regard to securing transfers, to the traceability of the contents during most of their shelf lives: before and after transfer, in regard to consequences that could result from the transfer, not of the content to be transferred, but of a duplicate of the latter, and finally in regard to the effectiveness of single-use containers holding the contents to be transferred. These improvements need to be provided in a simple fashion, to operate automatically as much as possible, and by means of equipment that is as inexpensive as possible.

Systems for the transfer between a chamber and a container


An OLED package structure and a display device are provided. The OLED package structure has an OLED substrate including an OLED component; and a package substrate including an active metal film. A sealed chamber is formed by using a sealant to bond the OLED substrate and the package substrate, and the OLED component and the active metal film are positioned in the sealed chamber. The life time of the OLED component and the display device can be increased by absorbing residual oxygen in the package structure and external penetrating oxygen.

OLED devices have become a very competitive and promising next-generation display technology due to the following advantages: a full solid-state structure, a high brightness, a wide view angle, and a fast response speed. OLED devices have become a very competitive and promising next-generation display technology.
Referring to FIG. 1, an organic thin film of an OLED component 11 is produced on an OLED substrate 12, and the organic thin film is disposed between a cathode metal and an anode metal. The organic thin film is lighted by applying voltage to the cathode metal and the anode metal. The organic thin film is sensitive to vapor and oxygen, and the brightness and life time will be significantly attenuated by vapor and oxygen. Therefore, the OLED component 11 must be packaged. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a traditional OLED package structure, a cover of the package structure generally is made from a glass substrate 13. Then a sealant 14 is coated on an edge of the two substrates, and the substrates are aligned and sealed with each other to form a sealed chamber, and the OLED component 11 is positioned in the sealed chamber.
Referring to FIG. 1, a desiccant 15 is typically added in the sealed chamber to increase the life time of the OLED component 11, but the desiccant 15 only eliminates the vapor, and the OLED component 11 is still oxidized by the oxygen. Thus, once the desiccant 15 is added in the sealed chamber, the oxygen cannot be eliminated in the sealed chamber or from outside.

Organic light emitting diode package structure and display device

SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD


Provided is a board processing apparatus which includes a head unit for performing a predetermined operation for a board, and a moving device for moving the head unit in a uniaxial direction, wherein the moving device includes a guide rail and a sliding member that is moved along the guide rail. The head unit is fixed to the sliding member in such a manner that at least a portion of the head unit protrudes outwardly from an edge face of the sliding member oriented in a moving direction thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a board processing apparatus for performing various operations for a board.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, a process of mounting various electronic components onto a board includes a plurality of work operations (for example, a solder printing operation of printing cream solder on a board, a component mounting operation of attaching electronic components onto the board, a soldering operation of heating the board with the electronic components mounted thereonto to solder the electronic components onto the board, an inspection operation of inspecting a result of each of the operations, etc.). Such operations for a board are performed using various board processing apparatuses, such as a solder printing machine, a component attaching machine, a reflow furnace and an inspection machine.
As a board processing apparatus, there has been known one type which includes a head unit for performing a predetermined operation for a board, and a moving device for moving the head unit along a guide rail in a uniaxial direction. However, in this moving device, a movement of the head unit is limited within a laying range of the guide rail, so that a region out of the laying range (a region outward of an axial edge face of the guide rail) has to be a dead space around the head unit.
Therefore, in order to eliminate such a dead space around the head unit, for example, a board processing apparatus described in JP 2009-111421A is provided with a two-tiered moving device. The two-tiered moving device includes a first trajectory defining section and a second trajectory defining section each having a guide rail extending in an X-axis direction. The first trajectory defining section is kept at a predetermined position without any movement in the X-axis direction, and the second trajectory defining section is moved in the X-axis direction along the first trajectory defining section. Further, the head unit is moved in the X-axis direction along the second trajectory defining section. In the two-tiered moving device, the second trajectory defining section is moved to a position where it protrudes outwardly from an edge face of the guide rail of the first trajectory defining section, and the head unit is moved to an end of the guide rail of the second trajectory defining section, so that the head unit can reach a position outward of the edge face of the guide rail of the first trajectory defining section.
However, the two-tiered moving device configured to move the second trajectory defining section and the head unit independently requires complicate control. In this regard, there is a need for improvement.


A connector interface assembly is disclosed which includes modules which contain electrical terminals of an electrical signal or power source. The assembly also includes a ground plate and a module retainer block having receptacles for removably receiving the modules therein. The retainer block and the ground plate are removably attached to a multi-contact connector. The ground plate has an open area for receiving the multi-contacts of the connector therein, and the retaining block has a cavity for receiving the ground plate therein. The receptacles are positioned at a higher level relative to both the grounding plate and the multi-contact connector in order to facilitate connection of conductors of the electrical source to both the grounding plate and the multi-contact connector. The proximity of the modules to the ground plate and open area of the retainer block allows for minimizing impedance loss due to the use of minimal length ground and signal/power leads from the module.

The invention relates generally to electrical interface assemblies and, more particularly, to electrical connector interface assemblies which modules for supplying electrical power or an electrical signal to the connector are mounted proximal to both a ground plate and electrical contacts of the connector in order to minimize impedance of the interconnections.
Conventional systems for connecting or dispersing electrical currents to multiple outlets typically include a multi-contact connector such as an Arinc 600 mounted on a line replaceable unit. For typical aircraft applications, the multi-contact connector receives its current source from module blocks which are positioned 8 to 10 feet away. Since the average of 30 module blocks are positioned behind each of these connectors, the total length of wiring therebetween and concomitantly the total impedance thereof is inordinately great. The modules are typically mounted in a single rail structure which has a grounding means for shielded wires as well as for other types of input wires, for example, for a single wire which is adjacent a power cable. However, this grounding requirement results in additional inordinately lengthy cables for connection of the module ground leads to a ground plane. It has been generally believed by those skilled in the art that this grounding requirement consequently precludes a more proximal connection of the modules to the multi-contact connectors.
Various types of electrical junction assemblies have been designed for providing a common electrical connection between a number of separate external conductors. An example of such a prior art assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,977 to Felberg. The Felberg assembly has conductive parts thereof completely enclosed in a structure. The Felberg structure includes sockets mounted on a single conductive plate for electrical interconnection of the sockets and the external conductors which are inserted therein. However, a primary limitation of the Felberg assembly is that it is not capable of being attached to and electrically connected to a plurality of electrical contacts of a plug or socket type of connector.
Some prior art terminal structures have been designed to allow various types of units to be plugged therein. An example of such a prior art structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,285 to Kekas. The Kekas structure is adapted to allow modules of particular input units, particular output units, an essential controller and a power supply for the other functional units to be mounted in a suitable frame. The Kekas structure includes a power distribution substrate which is electrically connected to each functional unit mounted in the frame. However, a primary limitation of the Kekas structure is that it does not have a grounding means incorporated therein and is also not designed to be pluggable into a multiple contact connector.
Some prior art block assemblies have been specifically designed to improve the interconnections between plug connector or terminals plugged into the block. An example of such a connector assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,726 to Appleton. The Appleton device includes an S-shaped conducting structure which interconnects female sockets in a terminal block connector. However, a primary limitation of the Appleton device is that it cannot, by itself, interconnect a multiple contact connector with a ground plane and an electrical signal or power source.
What is needed is a module connector integrated with a grounding means and a block connector which is attachable to a multi-contact connector for interfacing the multi-contact connector with a ground and an electrical signal or power source. What is also needed is such an integrated structure which minimizes ground lead lengths from the module to the ground and jumper lead lengths from the module to contact points of the multi-contact connector in order to minimize impedance of the leads. Such an integrated structure is also needed that can attach the structure to the multi-contact connector so as to minimize the length of electrical cable associated therewith.


A snowboard with a handle includes a gliding plate, a rotary shaft mounted on the upper side of the gliding plate on its front side and having a central axis passing across the gliding plate, and a handle portion disposed on the upper side of the gliding plate. The handle portion has its bottom end mounted pivotally to the rotary shaft so that the top end of the handle portion can swivel upwardly and downwardly around the rotary shaft The portion of the gliding plate that extends from the point where the central axis passes across the gliding plate toward its front end is narrower than the portion of the gliding plate that is located at the point where the central axis passes across the gliding plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a snowboard on which one can glide on snow. More particularly, the present invention relates to a snowboard with a handle that includes a gliding plate having a gliding surface on its underside, the gliding surface having edges extending in the longitudinal direction thereof along the opposite lateral sides of the gliding plate, a rotary shaft mounted on the upper side of the gliding plate on its front side and having a central axis passing across the gliding plate, and a handle portion disposed on the upper side of the gliding plate, wherein the handle portion has grip portions on the top end thereof, and has its bottom end mounted pivotally to the rotary shaft so that the top end of the handle portion where the grip portions are located can swivel upwardly and downwardly around the rotary shaft by causing the bottom end to turn around the central axis.
2. Prior Art
A snowboard consists essentially of a gliding plate on which one can glide over snow-covered slopes. As shown in FIG. 6(a), for example, this gliding plate curves upwardly on its front side (the right side in FIG. 6(a)) and rear side (the left side in FIG. 6(a)). The snowboard is one of the snow sporting or playing goods like a ski, in that both are used to permit the user to glide over snow by standing on the middle of the upper side of the gliding plate.
The snowboard differs from the ski in that the former is smaller in length and much larger in width than the latter, and thus allows the user to place both of the legs on a single gliding plate.
Like the skier on the ski, the snowboarder on the snowboard can glide over the snow-covered slopes on a zigzag like the slalom. Because of its smaller length and larger width than the ski as described above, the user can glide on the snowboard more easily and more stably. For this reason, the snowboard is more familiar with beginners in particular than the ski. As the snowboarder becomes accustomed to using the snowboard, the snowboarder will be able to control the snowboard delicately by making movements of the legs and waist. As the snowboarder becomes more experienced, the snowboarder will be able to make the movements that are ever impossible with the ski.
When using the snowboard, the user usually glides on the snowboard by having the shoes fastened to a fastening device on the middle of the gliding plate. Although the snowboarder has his or her shoes or ankles fastened to the fastening device on the gliding plate, the snowboarder may lose the balance physically because the upper half of the body is left free. If the snowboarder is a beginner, it is thus not easy to keep the balance. As such, the snowboard may be more familiar than the ski, but it is still difficult for the beginner to control the snowboard as he or she desires.
In order to eliminate the problem described above, a snowboard that is equipped with a handle is proposed as disclosed in Japanese patent application as now published under No. 2001-310008. As described in this publication, the snowboard includes a gliding plate having a gliding surface on its underside, the gliding surface having edges extending in the longitudinal direction thereof along its opposite lateral sides, a rotary shaft mounted on the upper side of the gliding plate on its front side and having a central axis extending across the gliding plate, and a handle portion disposed on the upper side of the gliding plate. The handle portion has grip portions on its top end, and has its bottom end mounted pivotally to the rotary shaft so that the top end of the handle portion can swivel upwardly and downwardly around the rotary shaft by causing the bottom end to turn about the central axis.
The advantage of the snowboard with the handle described above is the improved easiness of operation since it permits the user to keep the physical balance by controlling the handle vertically and flexibly.
When gliding on the snowboard with the handle such as the one disclosed in the above publication, the snowboarder holds the top end of the handle with the bottom end of the handle being supported on the upper side of the gliding plate on its front side. Thus, the pushing force exerted downwardly by the snowboarder downwardly as well as his or her own weight tends largely to be conveyed to the snow through the handle and then through the front side of the gliding plate.
When the snowboarder is gliding over the snow-covered slopes on the zigzag like the slalom using such snowboard, there is a risk that those portions of the edges of the gliding plate along its opposite lateral sides that are located on the forward side of the point where the bottom end of the handle is supported on the gliding plate may go too deeply into the snow. If this occurs, it may be difficult for the snowboarder to glide down the snow-covered slopes while describing large curves. In worse cases, the edges may go so deeply into the snow that the edges cannot be removed from the snow, and the snowboarder would not be able to glide while tracing the curves as desired. In the worst case, the snowboarder might have to glide reversely, rather than gliding forwardly.
In riding on the conventional snowboard with the handle described so far, the snowboarder tries to draw the snowboard toward himself or herself while holding the handle. Thus, the snowboarder can glide over the snow with the forward end of the gliding plate being raised from the snow. It is not easy to learn to glide over the snow in that way, however. It may be easier for the snowboarder to glide in this way when gliding along the straight line, but cannot glide in that way when gliding over the snow-covered slopes on the zigzag like the slalom.


A document processing apparatus includes a keyboard for inputting character data having a normal character height character and data having a character height extending over a plurality of lines, a memory for storing the character data input by keyboard, a printer for outputting a character pattern corresponding to the character data stored in the memory in units of lines, and a central processing unit for, when character patterns of one line are output by the printer, causing the printer to directly output a character pattern corresponding to the character data having the normal character height and to output part of the character pattern corresponding to the character data having the character height extending over the plurality of lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document processing apparatus such as an electronic typewriter capable of inputting characters and printing the inputted characters.
2. Related Background Art
Two types of conventional typewriters are available which differ in their printing systems.
The first conventional typewriter employs a printing system for selecting a type corresponding to an input key from types arranged around the outer periphery of a daisy wheel and for performing printing using the selected type. The second conventional typewriter employs a printing system in which dot patterns constituting each character are stored in a nonvolatile memory, a dot pattern corresponding to an input character key is read out, and the input character is printed at a dot-matrix printing unit such as a thermal head.
The former typewriter has the advantage of performing high-quality printing of individual characters but has the disadvantage that the number of kinds of characters that can be printed is limited.
The latter typewriter has the advantage that it can print various kinds of characters (e.g., Ming types, Gothic types, and double-height characters) but has the disadvantage of poor printing quality. In recent years, along with improvements in printing heads, the number of dots constituting each dot pattern representing a character has increased. That is, printing quality of a character printed by this system can compete with that printed by the type of a daisy wheel printer.
In a conventional electronic typewriter employing a system for printing characters with dot patterns in units of lines, when a character (e.g., a double-height character) which extends over a plurality of lines is input, the printing head must print each character while vertically moving a sheet. Therefore, the printing time of each character is prolonged. In addition, when a plurality of characters extending over adjacent lines are to be printed on a single line, the sheet must be repeatedly vertically moved, thus causing a positional error during printing.
In order to eliminate the positional error, printing can be stopped until character information of one line is completely input, and printing in units of characters may be avoided. However, it then becomes impossible to check printing during typing, which simultaneity is an essential characteristic of typewriters.

Document processing apparatus capable of printing multisized characters


A thermostable premix for use in animal feeds which comprises a carrier material onto which an enzyme solution containing enzymes which are not inherently heat stable are absorbed.

The use of enzymes to treat animal feed mixes is well known. The treatment of animal feed mixes with enzymes can improve the digestibility of the feed and hence making the feed more efficient and increase its energy content. For example, Hollenbeck in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,988,949 and 2,988,448 describes the treatment of raw barley feed with barley malt containing cytolytic enzymes; Hollenbeck reports that poultry fed with the treated feed showed improved growth rate because of the increased energy value of the feed. In general, enzymes act to break down feed products, thus increasing the availability of digestible components in the feed to the animal.
However, despite the numerous advantages enzymes have as feed additives, their use in feeds is limited by several drawbacks. One particular problem is the heat instability of most enzymes. It is well known that temperatures approaching 100.degree. C. will in virtually all cases deactivate (permanently) enzymes, and most enzymes will be deactivated if exposed to temperatures approaching 70.degree. C. The heated conditions under which most feed processing takes place inctivates any enzymes present. Elevated temperatures are a characteristic of modern feed processing techniques. In typical feed pelleting processes, the feed is usually "preconditioned" with steam for ten seconds to about three minutes which elevates the temperature to about 70.degree.-80.degree. C. The preconditioning step is followed by pelleting of the feed which takes place at temperatures in the range of 80.degree.-85.degree. C. Other feed processing techniques involve longer "conditioning" and the feed is held at elevated temperatures (60.degree.-95.degree. C.) for periods of five to three minutes. These temperatures (in combination under certain conditions with elevated pressure levels) tends to deactivate unprotected enzymes, even those which may be inherently thermostable. Moreover, the amounts of enzymes which need to be added are extremely small making effective and uniform mixing a serious problem. The difficulty in utilizing enzymes as a feed ingredient is also exacerbated by the fact that mos commercial enzyme products are enzyme solutions which are more difficult to mix than dry ingredients.
One possible solution to these problems is the utilization of pre-mix. Because ingredients such as antibiotics, vitamins, minerals and the like are added to the feed in small quantities, they cannot be added directly to the feed because uniform distribution would be impossible in the context of commercial feed production. A premix consisting of a carrier and active ingredients is generally utilized to introduce these "micro-ingredients" into the feed. Hiller, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,437 discloses the use of a feed premix wherein the active ingredients consist of antibiotics in combination with certain enzymes. However, Hiller does not disclose or suggest that the premix discussed could be effectively and efficiently utilized in the large scale commercial production of feed.
Feed premixes--for effective utilization in commercial feed processing--must have certain properties including, inter alia, physical stability, non-interference with the chemical stability of the active product, and good flow and blending properties. To date, no such feed premix containing enzymes has been available for large scale use.
In sum, it has not been simple or cost effective to use enzymes as a feed additive on a large commercial scale.
This invention, however, provides for a relative dry, thermally stable premix which contains one or more enzymes which can be utilized for commercial feed processing. The premix has a high enzyme activity which is not significantly affected by high temperatures used in feed processing "which typically range from about 70.degree.-95.degree. C.". This premix has good flow properties and can be easily and uniformly blended into a feed mixture to effectively improve the properties of the feed.


Disclosed herein are techniques, methods, and apparatus pertaining to a multi-user scheduling in 4G and 3GPP LTE cellular uplinks.

The 3GPP LTE-A based cellular network [1] together with the IEEE 802.16m based cellular network are the only two cellular networks classified as 4G cellular networks by the international telecommunications union. Some key attributes that a 4G uplink must possess are the ability to support a peak spectral efficiency of 15 bps/Hz and a cell average spectral efficiency of 2 bps/Hz, ultra-low latency and bandwidths of up to 100 MHz. To achieve these ambitious specifications, the 3GPP LTE-A uplink is based on a modified form of the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing based multiple-access (OFDMA) [1]. In addition, it allows precoded multi-stream (precoded MIMO) transmission from each scheduled user as well as flexible multi-user scheduling. Notice that while OFDMA itself allows for significant spectral efficiency gains via channel dependent frequency domain scheduling, multi-user multi-stream communication promises substantially higher degrees of freedom [2]. Our focus in this paper is on the 3GPP LTE-A uplink (UL) and in particular on MU MIMO scheduling for the LTE-A UL. Predominantly, almost all of the 4G cellular systems that will be deployed will be based on the 3GPP LTE-A standard [1]. This standard is an enhancement of the basic LTE standard which is referred to in the industry as Release 8 and indeed deployments conforming to Release 8 are already underway. The scheduling in the LTE-A UL is done in the frequency domain where in each scheduling interval the scheduler assigns one or more resource blocks (RBs) to each scheduled user. Each RB contains a pre-defined set of consecutive subcarriers and consecutive OFDM symbols and is the minimum allocation unit.
The goal of this work is to design practical uplink MU-MIMO resource allocation algorithms for the LTE-A cellular network, where the term resource refers to RBs as well as precoding matrices. In particular, we consider the design of resource allocation algorithms via weighted sum rate utility maximization that account for finite user queues (buffers) and finite precoding codebooks. In addition, the designed algorithms comply with all the main practical constraints on the assignment of RBs and precoders to the scheduled users. Our main contributions are as follows:
1) We first assume that users can employ ideal Gaussian codes and that the base-station (BS) can employ an optimal receiver. We then enforce user rates to lie in a fundamental achievable rate region of the multiple access channel which is a polymatroid and show that the resulting resource allocation problem is NP-hard. We prove that the resource allocation problem can however be formulated as the maximization of a monotonic sub-modular set function subject to one matroid and multiple knapsack constraints, and can be solved using a recently discovered polynomial time randomized constant-factor approximation algorithm [3]. We also adapt a simpler deterministic greedy algorithm and show that it yields a constant-factor approximation for scenarios of interest.
2) We then consider scenarios where users employ codes constructed over finite alphabets. In this case the mutual information terms needed to specify an achievable rate region do not have closed form expressions. On the other hand the achievable rate region obtained for Gaussian alphabets can be a loose outer bound. Consequently, we obtain a tighter outer bound which is also a polymatroid. As a result all algorithms developed for Gaussian alphabets can be reused after simple modifications. Finally, we demonstrate the superior performance of our proposed algorithms via simulations using a realistic channel model.

Multi-user scheduling in cellular uplinks


The invention relates to a stainless steel. The stainless steel consists of in weight % (wt. %):

It is known to use stainless steel, in particular 400 series stainless steel like AISI 420 and AISI 440 as material for plastic forming moulds. However, these steels are prone to carbide segregation and to formation of delta ferrite. Substantial amounts of retained austenite may also be present in the hardened and tempered condition in these steels. The mechanical properties are therefore not optimal for plastic mould applications.
The stainless steels having a medium carbon content of about 0.35 to 0.40 wt. % like steels of the type AISI 420, DIN 1.2316 and DIN 1.2085 as well as modifications thereof have a relatively good corrosion resistance but suffer from a relatively low hardness, which results in a limited wear resistance.
Stainless steels of the type AISI 440, such as AISI 440C, have a carbon content of about 1 wt. % and a good wear resistance. Steels of this type can obtain a hardness in the range of 58-60 HRC after tempering. However, these steels suffer from a reduced corrosion resistance, in particular after annealing in the temperature range of 470-500° C. Low temperature annealing at 200° C. can be used in order to obtain a hardness of 58-60 HRC and an adequate corrosion resistance. However, a serious drawback of the low temperature annealing is that the steel will be prone to cracking. In particular, cracking will occur during Electro Discharge Machining (EDM) or even after grinding. Hence, when used for plastic moulds the steel AISI 440C needs to be subjected to high temperature annealing in order to prevent cracking but then the corrosion resistance is impaired.
In addition, to the above drawbacks the steel AISI 440C has a low dimensional stability at heat treatment because of too high an amount of retained austenite.

Abstract: C0.32-0.50Si0.1-1.0Mn0.1-0.8Cr11-14Mo1.8-2.6V0.35-0.70N0.05-0.19                optional elements, balance Fe and impurities.


A probe which is configured for a treatment device which is configured to treat a body tissue using ultrasonic vibration, includes a base member which includes a base surface defined by a longitudinal direction and a width direction shorter than the longitudinal direction and which is a vibration-retardation member configured to hardly transmit the ultrasonic vibration, a waveguide main body which has a width smaller than a width of the base surface in a width direction, protrudes with respect to the base surface, and is extended along the longitudinal direction of the base surface, and an end effecter which is provided at a tip end portion of the waveguide main body and which is configured to treat the body tissue by the ultrasonic vibration transmitted through the waveguide main body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a probe which is configured to treat a body tissue by using ultrasonic vibration and relates to an actuation method of a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,735-A, an ultrasonic treatment device configured to treat a body tissue by using ultrasonic vibration generally has a longitudinal vibration type ultrasonic transducer appressed against a proximal end of an elongated rod-like probe. The ultrasonic transducer is vibrated, the vibration is thereby transmitted to the probe, a distal end of the probe is brought into contact with a body tissue, and various kinds of treatments are given. At this time, the probe and the ultrasonic transducer are coaxially provided, and the longitudinal vibration transmitted to the probe by the vibration of the ultrasonic transducer is mainly used to treat the body tissue.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,229,455-B2 is disclosed an ultrasonic treatment device having a torsional vibration type ultrasonic transducer that is able to generate torsional vibration.

Probe adapted to treat living tissue and actuation method of device


Systems and methods for supporting dynamic power management states for virtual machine (VM) migration are disclosed. In one implementation, a processing device may generate, by a host computer system, a host power management data structure specifying a plurality of power management states of the host computer system. The processing device may also detect that a VM has been migrated to the host computer system. The processing device may then prevent the VM from performing power management operations and may cause the virtual machine to read the host power management data structure. Responsive to receiving a notification that the VM has read the host power management data structure, the processing device may enable the VM to enter a first power management state of the plurality of power management states.

Virtualization is a computing technique that improves system utilization, decoupling applications from the underlying hardware, and enhancing workload mobility and protection. Virtualization may be realized through the implementation of virtual machines (VMs). A VM is a portion of software that, when executed on appropriate hardware, creates an environment allowing the virtualization of a physical computer system (e.g., a server, a mainframe computer, etc.). The physical computer system is typically referred to as a "host machine," and the operating system of the host machine is typically referred to as the "host operating system." A virtual machine may function as a self-contained platform, executing its own "guest" operating system and software applications. Typically, software on the host machine known as a "hypervisor" (or a "virtual machine monitor") manages the execution of one or more virtual machines, providing a variety of functions such as virtualizing and allocating resources, context switching among virtual machines, backing up the state of virtual machines periodically in order to provide disaster recovery and restoration of virtual machines, and so on.

Dynamic power management states for virtual machine migration


A plurality of processors form a network used to communicate with one or more peripheral devices and the system control processor. One processor is dedicated to at least one peripheral device. Since the system control processor is not burdened with the relatively slow communications protocol with the peripheral devices, it is free to do other tasks which improves the overall system performance. Communication protocol between the dedicated processors allows for local and global communication.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to personal computers, and more particularly personal computers having a network of microcontrollers, each tied to one or more peripheral devices, such as a keyboard, which communicate with the system control processor (also known as a keyboard controller in an IBM or IBM compatible machine) to improve the overall system performance by eliminating the relatively slow peripheral communication with the system control processor and freeing up the system control processor for other tasks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
IBM type PC/AT compatible personal computers utilize a separate microprocessor as a system control processor (SCP). The SCP provides an interface between the host processor or CPU and peripherals, such as a keyboard. More specifically, the SCP handles the communication between the CPU and the keyboard. The IBM defined communication protocol between the keyboard and the SCP is relatively slow. Consequently, when the SCP is preoccupied with keyboard communication, it must finish that task before it can go on to other tasks. Accordingly, this keyboard interfacing task limits the overall system performance because the CPU must wait for the SCP to become free again.
Many known PC/AT type personal computers utilize an Intel type 8042 microprocessor as an SCP. The original PC type AT personal computers were introduced in 1983 with an Intel 80286 microprocessor. The 80286 microprocessors operated originally at 6 megahertz. In that environment, the use of an Intel type 8042 as a system control processor is adequate. However, personal computers today are much faster than the original IBM PC/AT computer. For example, some personal computers utilize an Intel 80386 as a CPU, which has an operating speed up to 33 megahertz. In such machines, the existing architecture, as shown in FIG. 1, can intensify the problems mentioned above and consequently severely limit the system performance. In addition to the problems mentioned above, newer machines, particularly the portable laptop type computers place additional burdens on the SCP. For example, in such computers, the SCP's tasks include battery power management, external bus expansion control and video functions such as backlighting control and LCD/CRT device selection. These additional tasks further degrade system performance.

Personal computer having dedicated processors for peripheral devices interconnected to the CPU by way of a system control processor


The coin sorter includes a rotating hard disc forming the bottom of a hopper, and a stationary sorter plate to one side of the hard disc. The sorter plate includes a circular sorting track that begins at a point adjacent to the perimeter of the hard disc and which includes a series of spaced sorting openings each sized for a particular coin denomination. The track has an edge defined by a thin resilient rail held in place in a groove by an elastomer band. A second rotating disc having a series of resilient fingers depending from its underside is mounted above and in close proximity to the upper surface of the sorter plate. The fingers partially overlap the upper surface of the hard disc. Coins deposited in the hopper are formed into a single file and single layer at the outer edge a central upright portion of the hard disc. The single file of coins is carried by the flexible fingers from the hard disc to the sorting track where the coins are sorted by size and counted as they pass through the sorting openings.

This invention relates to the handling of mixed denominations of coins, and particularly to an improved coin sorter that is simple in construction and operation.
A common form of coin sorter is the rail sorter in which coins of mixed denominations are fed in a single file and in a single layer to the entrance to a track defined on one side by a rail against which the coins are referenced. The coins in the single file move along the track and past openings of increasing size. The openings are sized for each of the respective diameters of the coins in the mix. As the coins move past an opening, coins of the size of that opening will pass through the opening and drop into a chute that leads to a point of collection. The coins are counted by sensors either as they move along the track or as they move through the openings.
A rail sorter can be designed to distinguish between coins whose diameters differ by only a slight amount. As a result, a rail sorter is very useful in dealing with coinage in which the diameters of different denominations are close to each other and also for coinage in which there are a large number of different sizes of coins.
In the simplest form of a rail sorter, the coins are moved along the track under the effect of gravity. An example of this simple form is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 454,653 issued Jun. 23, 1891 to Kirkmeyer. The use of gravity requires that the track be inclined. Where a horizontal track is desired or where a greater speed of coin processing is desired, the coins may be physically moved along the track usually by one or more driven endless belts. Examples of this form are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,156 issued Feb. 7, 1978 to Abe; U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,855 issued Jun. 9, 1981 to Ueda; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,035 issued Apr. 14, 1987 to Zimmermann. Driven endless belts have also been used in conjunction with inclined tracks as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,101,513 issued Dec. 7, 1937 to Samuelsen, et al.
A variation of the rail sorter arranges the track in a circle rather than in a straight line. An example of this variation is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,538 issued Nov. 13, 1973 to Reis. In the Reis patent, coins are deposited on the top surface of a rotating hard disc that forms the bottom of a hopper. The coins are moved by centrifical force through an opening in a wall of the hopper to align the coins in a single file and in a single layer at the circumference of the rotating hard disc. The single file of coins passes through a tangential passage to a sorter plate which includes the track at the outer periphery of the plate. The rail of the track is formed by a rim extending around the track. Above the sorter plate is a second rotating disc. The second disc has a resilient rubber ring on its underside that grasps the coins moving in from the tangential passage and carries the coins around the sorting track and past the track openings.
A coin sorter in accordance with the present invention also has a hard rotating disc on which coins are deposited and an adjacent sorter plate with a circular track and with an overlying rotating disc having a resilient underside. However, in the present invention the rotating hard disc and the rotating resilient disc overlap so that coins are handed off from the hard disc to the resilient disc. The result is a coin sorter that can operate at a relatively high speed without jamming and with accuracy in sorting.
The apparatus of the present invention can also be used to sort one or more selected denominations of coins from a mix of coins to feed the selected coins to packaging mechanisms or other coin handling equipment.


Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to a photovoltaic (PV) device including an electrode such as a front electrode/contact, and a method of making the same. In certain example embodiments, the front electrode has a textured (e.g., etched) surface that faces the photovoltaic semiconductor film of the PV device. The front electrode has a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film having first and second layers (continuous or discontinuous) of the same material (e.g., zinc oxide, zinc aluminum oxide, indium-tin-oxide, or tin oxide), where the first TCO layer is sputter-deposited using a ceramic sputtering target(s) and the second TCO layer of the same material is sputter-deposited using a metallic or substantially metallic sputtering target(s). This allows the better quality TCO of the film, deposited more slowly via the ceramic target(s), to be formed using the ceramic target and the lesser quality TCO of the film to be deposited more quickly and cost effectively via the metallic target(s). After the etching, most or all of the better quality ceramic-deposited TCO remains whereas much of the lesser quality metallic-deposited TCO of the film was removed during the etching process.

Photovoltaic devices are known in the art (e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,784,361, 6,288,325, 6,613,603, and 6,123,824, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference). Amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices, for example, include a front electrode or contact. Typically, the transparent front electrode is made of a pyrolytic transparent conductive oxide (TCO) such as zinc oxide or tin oxide formed on a substrate such as a glass substrate. In many instances, the transparent front electrode is formed of a single layer using a method of chemical pyrolysis where precursors are sprayed onto the glass substrate at approximately 400 to 600 degrees C. Typical pyrolitic fluorine-doped tin oxide TCOs as front electrodes may be about 400 nm thick, which provides for a sheet resistance (Rs) of about 15 ohms/square. To achieve high output power, a front electrode having a low sheet resistance and good ohm-contact to the cell top layer, and allowing maximum solar energy in certain desirable ranges into the absorbing semiconductor film, are desired.
It would be desirable to provide a technique and structure for improving the ability of the semiconductor film (or absorber) of the photovoltaic (PV) device to absorb light and thus generate electrical charges.
Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to a photovoltaic (PV) device including an electrode such as a front electrode/contact and a method of making the same. In certain example embodiments, the front electrode has a textured (e.g., etched) surface that faces the photovoltaic semiconductor film of the PV device. The textured surface of the front electrode, facing the semiconductor absorber film, is advantageous in that it increases the amount of incoming radiation or solar energy that is absorbed by the semiconductor film of the PV device. In certain example embodiments, the front electrode is formed on a flat or substantially flat (non-textured) surface of a front glass substrate, and after formation of the front electrode via sputtering or the like, the surface of the front electrode is textured (e.g., via etching). In completing manufacture of the PV device, the textured (e.g., etched) surface of the front electrode faces the active semiconductor film (or absorber) of the PV device.
The use of a front electrode having a textured surface adjacent the semiconductor film (or absorber) is advantageous in that it increases the optical path of incoming solar light within the semiconductor film through light scattering, thereby increasing the chance for photons to be absorbed in the semiconductor film to generate electrical charge.
In certain example embodiments, the front electrode is of or includes a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film having first and second layers of the same or substantially the same material (e.g., zinc oxide, zinc aluminum oxide, indium-tin-oxide, or tin oxide). The first TCO layer of the front electrode is sputter-deposited using a ceramic sputtering target(s), and the second TCO layer of the front electrode, of the same material, is sputter-deposited using a metallic or substantially metallic sputtering target(s). This allows the better quality TCO of the film, deposited more slowly via the ceramic target(s), to be formed using the ceramic target and the lesser quality TCO of the front electrode film to be deposited more quickly and cost effectively via the metallic target(s). After the etching, most or all of the better quality ceramic-deposited TCO remains whereas much of the lesser quality metallic-deposited TCO of the film was removed during the etching process and is no longer present. This allows the TCO of the front electrode to be formed in a more efficient and cost effective manner, resulting in a better and more competitive product. In completing manufacture of the PV device, the etched surface of the front electrode faces the active semiconductor film of the PV device.
In certain example embodiments of this invention, the front electrode of a photovoltaic device is comprised of a multilayer coating including at least one conductive substantially metallic IR reflecting layer (e.g., based on silver, gold, or the like), and at least one transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer (e.g., of or including a material such as zinc oxide or the like). In the PV device, the TCO is provided between the semiconductor film and the substantially metallic IR reflecting layer. The surface of the TCO layer may be etched to provide a textured or etched surface facing the semiconductor film. In other example embodiments, the front electrode may consist essentially of the TCO film having a first TCO layer and a second TCO layer of the same or substantially the same material, with a substantial part of the second TCO layer (but little or none of the first TCO layer) having been removed during the etching process.
In certain example embodiments of this invention, a multilayer front electrode coating may be designed to realize one or more of the following advantageous features: (a) reduced sheet resistance (Rs) and thus increased conductivity and improved overall photovoltaic module output power; (b) increased reflection of infrared (IR) radiation thereby reducing the operating temperature of the photovoltaic module so as to increase module output power; (c) reduced reflection and increased transmission of light in the region(s) of from about 450-1,000 nm, 450-700 nm and/or 450-600 nm which leads to increased photovoltaic module output power; (d) reduced total thickness of the front electrode coating which can reduce fabrication costs and/or time; (e) an improved or enlarged process window in forming the TCO layer(s) because of the reduced impact of the TCO's conductivity on the overall electric properties of the module given the presence of the highly conductive substantially metallic layer(s); and/or (f) increased optical path within the semiconductor film, due to the etched surface of the front electrode, through light scattering thereby increasing the chance for photons to be absorbed in the semiconductor film and through light trapping between the reflective metal back electrode(s) by multiple internal reflections so as to generate additional electrical charge.
In certain example embodiments of this invention, there is provided a method of making an electrode for a photovoltaic device, the method comprising: sputter-depositing a first transparent conductive oxide layer on a substrate using at least one ceramic sputtering target; sputter-depositing a second transparent conductive oxide layer using at least one metallic sputtering target to form a transparent conductive oxide film comprising the first and second transparent conductive oxide layers, wherein the second transparent conductive oxide layer directly contacts the first transparent conductive oxide layer and is of the same metal oxide material as the first transparent conductive oxide layer; and after said sputter-depositing steps, etching the transparent conductive oxide film to form a textured surface, wherein a substantial portion of the second transparent conductive oxide layer is removed during said etching and a majority of said first transparent conductive oxide layer remains after said etching.
In other example embodiments, there is provided a photovoltaic device comprising: a front glass substrate; a front electrode provided between the front glass substrate and a semiconductor film of the photovoltaic device, wherein the front electrode comprises a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film comprising first and second TCO layers of the same TCO metal oxide material which directly contact each other, the first TCO layer being more dense than the second TCO layer of the same TCO material; wherein a major surface of the TCO film layer closest to a semiconductor film of the photovoltaic device is etched so as to be textured, and wherein the second TCO layer is closest to the semiconductor film and is discontinuous due to the etching.

Method of making front electrode of photovoltaic device having etched surface and corresponding photovoltaic device


The present disclosure relates to a source body, a radiotherapy device and a drive method thereof, belonging to the field of medical technologies. The source body is provided with a plurality of radioactive sources, and an angle between the plurality of radioactive sources in a longitudinal direction is within a preset angle range. The source body, the radiotherapy device and the drive method thereof can protect sensitive tissues and organs in a treatment process.

With the development of medical technologies, radiation treatment is more and more widely used in the treatment of tumors.
In related technologies, a radiotherapy device used for treating heads mainly includes a head gamma knife. Actually, a natural isotope radioactive source, cobalt-60, is utilized to emit gamma rays, and radioactivity of the rays is utilized to kill tumor cells. However, the rays may also damage normal tissues or cells. In the related technologies, the head gamma knife includes 30 or 180 radioactive sources, and a plurality of radioactive sources emit beams from different directions and focus on a common focus, such that the common focus has the largest gamma-ray dose rate, whereas the beams emitted from each radioactive source cause less damage to the normal tissues or cells. In this way, an objective of killing the tumor cells while protecting the normal tissues or cells is achieved, thereby achieving tumor treatment effects.

Control driving method for radiotherapy device


Techniques for supporting fault tolerance in communications systems are described. Fault notification messages are communicated which may be affected by a detected/reported service disruption. End nodes receiving a fault notification message determine if the message indicates a disruption in a node that is critical to the end node receiving the message. If the indicated disruption is in a critical node, the end node takes action to ameliorate the effect of the reported condition. Fault notification messages indicating disruptions in nodes which are not critical to the end node receiving the fault notification message may be ignored once it is determined that the indicated disruption is in a node which is not critical to the end node receiving the message. The invention described herein minimizes service disruption following fault, failure or outage of critical network nodes, improving overall system robustness and resiliency.

Communication systems and networks provide the foundation for information exchange between end systems and users. In general, the ability to exchange information between two end systems may be dependent on a number of other network nodes, i.e., critical network nodes. Critical network nodes may include, for example, nodes along the path for delivery of data and/or control signals, e.g., messages. In some communication systems, the set of critical nodes may also include nodes that are used for service authorization, accounting, call setup, paging and many other functions. Ideally, a communication system or network should provide some level of robustness in order to be useful. Robustness in communication systems may be achieved in many ways including, use of high reliability components, system design redundancy, and fault tolerant protocol designs.
A common fault tolerant protocol design technique relies on what is known as a soft-state refresh mechanism. In this type of approach, state, e.g., information about a device or communications session, that is established in a component or system as a result of the protocol operation is only considered valid (and thus maintained) for a fixed period of time after it is established. Upon expiration of a soft-state time-out, the state is removed from the system. Thus, if the state is required for a period of time longer than the soft-state time-out, the state must be refreshed via protocol signaling prior to expiration of the soft-state time-out. This is the primary approach used for most Internet Protocol (IP) technology. Furthermore, in many cases IP technology places the burden of performing the soft-state refresh on the end system. This is consistent with the end-to-end design principle, which is one of the guiding philosophies of IP technology. This principle suggests that functions placed at low levels of a system may be redundant or of little value when compared with the cost of providing them at that low level. One implication of this principle is that complexity should be put in the end systems, leaving the intervening network simple. Note that this is in contrast with most circuit-switch communication systems that strive to keep end systems simple.
While there are many benefits of a soft-state refresh mechanism, there are also some significant limitations. One of the limitations of soft-state refresh mechanisms is the tradeoff between timeliness of detecting (and potentially recovering from) failures and communication overhead. Faster failure detection/recovery is achieved by making soft-state time-out values small, but this also has the effect of increasing protocol signaling and communication overhead. In large-scale communication networks this can also impact scalability. For example, in a cellular communication system the number of end nodes may be very large. If each end node uses a soft-state refresh mechanism to maintain connectivity via a central network node, e.g., a mobility agent node, the use of small soft-state time-out values also increases the signaling and processing burden of the mobility agent node. Therefore, it may not be practical to reduce soft-state time-out values below some threshold. This in turn limits timeliness of detection/recovery from failures and results in longer service disruption times following a failure.
In view of the above discussion, it is apparent that there is a need for improved methods and apparatus for supporting fault tolerant communication networks.

Methods and apparatus for improving resiliency of communication networks


A combustor or augmentor of a gas turbine engine is provided. The combustor or augmentor includes a wall defining apertures and an interior having an inlet, an outlet and a mixing region between the inlet and the outlet and fuel injectors. The fuel injectors are respectively arrayed along the wall at corresponding apertures to inject fuel into the mixing region. Each fuel injector includes a fuel injector body defining an injection outlet through which fuel exits the fuel injector body toward the mixing region and a pintle. The pintle includes a first end, a second end and a pintle body extending between the first and second ends. At least one of the first and second ends is attachable to the fuel injector body to position the pintle body between the injection outlet and the mixing region.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to fuel spraying and, in one embodiment, to an enhancement to promote fuel spray breakup.
A gas turbine engine typically includes a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section. Air entering the compressor section is compressed and delivered into the combustion section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-energy exhaust gas flow. The high-energy exhaust gas flow expands through the turbine section to drive the compressor and the fan section. The compressor section typically includes low and high pressure compressors and the turbine section includes low and high pressure turbines.
Within the compressor section, high energy fluids aerodynamically interact with blades and vanes such that air flowing into the gas turbine engine can be compressed. Likewise, within the turbine section, high energy fluids, such as the products of combustion, aerodynamically interact with blades and vanes in order to expand and to thereby drive compressor and rotor rotation.
Gas turbine engines typically use fuel injectors to introduce fuel into the combustor section as well as afterburner sections. The fuel injectors often employ a multitude of holes or orifices to spray the fuel under pressure into the combustor section. The fuel spray is created by hydrodynamic breakdown of a liquid column of fuel into individual droplets through complex primary and secondary breakup mechanisms. These mechanisms depend strongly on the velocities of the liquid and on nearby gas flows. The breakup processes therefore change in location and intensity depending on various operating conditions. Because of this variation, the location and the quality of the fuel spray correspondingly varies substantially over the operating range of the gas turbine engines. The variations in the location and the quality of the fuel spray over the operating range of the gas turbine engines can present challenges to control of the combustion processes at certain conditions.


A tank for holding a liquid for a predetermined and relatively long time in a continuous flow process. The tank includes an inner compartment with an inlet and an outer compartment with an outlet. The outer compartment encloses the inner compartment except its inlet. The liquid enters through the inlet and is forced upwardly in a non-preferential flow, it overflows to the outer compartment and comes out through the outlet. A pump is connected to the outlet and a variable throttle valve is in turn connected to the output of the pump. A level sensor for the liquid is connected to a computerized control unit to monitor the liquid level and to activate the throttle valve to either restrict or increase the flow to adjust the liquid level. Since the flow rate then is brought back to what it was when throttle valve is restricted to its original state, then changing the liquid level in the second compartment is equivalent to changing the holding time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holding tank, and more particularly, to the type that is used in continuous flow processing of milk.
2. Description of the Related Art
The processing of liquids, and in particular milk, requires inter alia exposure to predetermined temperatures over a given time period. For pasteurizing milk in a modern continues flow process the milk is typically exposed to a relatively high temperature (72.degree. to 75.degree. C.) for a relatively short time (16 seconds). And this is referred to as the HTST (High Temperature Short Time) method.
Another method for pasteurizing milk is known as the LTH (Low Temperature Long Time) method wherein the milk is held for 30 minutes at a relatively lower temperature of 63-65.degree. C. Both processes have their advantages and disadvantages.
The longer holding time of the latter method, however, makes it impractical for use in continuos flow processes since it would require an extraordinarily long conduit. Thus, the desirability of having a device that can provide a variable holding time in a continuous flow environment. Furthermore, it is also desirable that this device be capable of readily changing the holding time as required or desired. The present invention provides the user with this flexibility permitting the immediate adjustment of holding times to achieve the projected output characteristics.
The closest reference known to applicant corresponds to German patent No. 343,889 issued in 1921. Basically, the heating unit of the foreign patentee utilizes chambers with smaller diameters (for faster flow) where the milk rises to prevent the heavier solids from separating. The only concern in that patented invention was to mechanically prevent the settlement of the heavier particles. In the present invention there is no preferential flow and the milk follows the first in, first out rule. More important, the foreign patent does not disclose level sensors or any other mechanisms for changing the holding time.

Continuous extended holding tank with variable resident time