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Polyimides have exhibited good thermo-oxidative stability in temperature ranges up to 300.degree. to 400.degree. C. Thus, in applications where elevated temperatures and corrosive conditions exist, polyimides have been suggested for extensive application. Early polyimides exhibited a low percentage of elongation to break and utility was limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,082 teaches a compliant or highly flexible polyimide produced from a condensation reaction of a dianhydride and a diamine or diisocyanate. These polyimides exhibit an elongation to break of up to 300 percent, and a set at break of 25 percent or less. Thus, where a high performance sealing material is required and it can be cast, such polyimides are very suitable.
A significant advance in a practical route to flexible polyimides is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,902. In this addition-type poly(Diels-Alder) approach, a melt polymerization reaction yields polymers acceptable for use at temperatures up to 288.degree. C. The polyimides processed by this melt process possess properties equivalent to the solution route employed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,082. Thus, a melt process is available to provide flexible polyimides which possess a high elongation to break and can be melt extruded or cast into a variety of products including seals, sealants, adhesives and coatings. The availability of melt and hot melt product fabrication processes means substantial cost reduction and significant lessening of human hazards and environmental pollution over polyimides produced and processed by conventional solution methods.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,511 teaches a water-dispersible polyimide coating formed by reacting maleic anhydride with an aliphatic diamine in solution. The polyimide product can be formed into a hard and solvent resistant film. Elastomeric or high recoverable elongation characteristics are not inherent to the solution-produced polyimide itself and are achieved only by a copolymer reaction such as reacting a sulfhydryl-terminated polymer, such as nitrile rubber, with the maleic unsaturation in the bismaleimide or the acidic side chain. This approach significantly limits or excludes their utility in terms of applications where use in seal, sealant adhesive and coating use is required at temperatures of 120.degree. C. or greater. Also, such resins have pendant carboxyl groups which result in water solubility. This diminishes their utility for general engineering applications due to possible unfavorable side reactions in high temperature use environments.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,405 teaches elastomeric polyimides formed by the equal molar reaction of bismaleimides and free organic diamines. The organic diamines employed in this invention are hydrocarbon or halogenated hydrocarbon segments which restrict temperature performance to 93.degree. C. or below. Also, the technology disclosed necessitates the use of organic tri- or tetraamines to accomplish cure of the linear imide resin initially produced. Use of the technology described therein severely limits achievement of a broad range of polymer mechanical properties because of the requirements to use 1:1 molar reactant stoichiometry.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,937 assigned to the same assignee of this invention and incorporated herein by reference there is described precursors produced by the Michael addition reaction of an aromatic diamine with an aromatic maleimide and a maleimide terminated polyaliphatic ether by a melt process and a cross-linked final product produced by a cure reaction. The addition reaction which forms the maleimide terminated precursor occurs in the melt at temperatures ranging from 100.degree. to 150.degree. C. Subsequently, when the temperature is raised to between 160.degree. C. and 200.degree. C., the precursor cures by a crosslinking reaction requiring no additional additives or catalysts.
There is a need in the art for polyimide sealants which can be readily cured at low temperatures such as from room temperature to about 120.degree. F. This cure should be effected by the use of readily available ingredients and should produce a sealant with improved properties over conventional polysulfide sealants.
It has been determined that an aliphatic bismaleimide alone or modified with an aromatic bismaleimide and/or an aromatic diamine can be made to cure in the presence of a crosslinking agent having at least two vinyl groups and an active free radical catalyst at a temperature of 65.degree. C. or less. A trismaleimide and an acid catalyst can be used in place of the crosslinking agent and free radical catalyst. Careful control, however, is required over proportions of reactants to achieve a product of acceptable properties.
Since the ingredients which form a curable system are often formulated just before application to a substrate and often by unskilled workers, it would be desirable to have a low temperature curable system which is less sensitive to deviations in proportions of ingredients. It is also desirable to provide a system where equal parts by weight or volume can be combined to achieve cure such that non-quantitative judgements can be made in metering reactants with assurance that a useful product will be formed when cure is perfected.
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The invention regards a communication network with a plurality of network nodes, a method of routing data packets in such communication network and a method of locating and securing data of a desired resource in such communication network. More particularly, the invention regards a communication network and methods for efficient and effective distribution and discovery of recources in large-scale dynamic distributed environments, in particular peer-to-peer systems.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are dynamic distributed systems in which nodes of equal roles and capabilities exchange information and services directly with each other. Due to its main design principle of being completely decentralized and self organizing—opposed to the Internet's “traditional” Client-Server paradigm—the P2P-concept emerges to a major design pattern for future applications, system components and infrastructural services, particularly with regard to reliability and resilience.
The Napster network is an example of P2P system, which emerged very fast as a content sharing infrastructure (mainly for MP3 music) among a geographically distributed user community. Other popular examples are Gnutella and Fast Track.
However, as P2P file sharing systems become increasingly popular, scalability and resilience have been recognized as the central challenge in designing such systems. For instance, Napster uses centralized directory service, which represents a single point of failure. Systems based on Gnutella use flooding to avoid the problem of Napster, but flooding is known to be highly bandwidth consuming. Furthermore deletion of a node or a group of nodes in a large P2P network may cause disconnection of a node or a subset of nodes from the network. Hence, maintaining the network always connected may imply an active or reactive exchanging of control information, which may also be bandwidth-consuming.
Therefore, FastTrack proposes an improvement to Gnutella's flooding, by introducing the notion of nodes differentiation. Resource query messages are not flooded to all the nodes in the network. FastTrack defines some nodes as “supernodes”, which are mostly fast computers with large computing resources, acting as temporally indexing server for other eventual slower nodes. Discovery messages are routed only through supernodes who are more susceptible to know the location of a requesting resource. FastTrack uses a kind of “structured” flooding, whereas it can not be guaranteed that a resource provider will be found even if available in the network; moreover, protocols such as FastTrack and Gnutella do not allow an uniform or consistent distribution of resources among nodes.
A series of P2P protocols such named Chord, Tapestry, Pastry, CAN, Viceroy, ODRI, CAN-D2B, distance halving, Broose, Koorde and Pagoda have been deployed recently in the research community, which are based on application layer overlay networking construction, to address the problem of routing and lookup efficiency as well as the resilience issue during network churns. The minimum value of the resource lookup distance in such networks generally varies between logd N and log N, N denoting the total number of nodes in a network, and d denoting the degree of a network, the degree being defined as the maximal number of outgoing links that is maintained by any node in the network.
Ion Stoica, Robert Morris, David Karger, M. Frans Kaashoek, and Hari Balakrishnan: Chord: A scalable peer-to-peer lookup service for internet applications, SIGCOMM Comput. Commun. Rev., 31(4):149-160, 2001, describe a peer-to-peer network in which a key identifying a resource or desired data item is mapped onto a network node.
N. G. de Bruijn: A combinatorial problem, In Nederl. Akad. Wetensh. Proc. 49, pages 768-764, 1946, describes now called De Bruijn digraphs which are usually defined as directed graphs that are constructed on an alphabet. The vertices of the graphs are the words of this alphabet. A vertex is formed of D letters chosen from a set with cardinality d.
Per definition, a B (d, D) De Bruijn network forms a network of size N=dD. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a B (2, 3) static the De Bruijn network with 8 nodes. Analysis of the De Bruijn graphs in the literature have shown interesting properties for their applications in static interconnected networks. Thereafter, each node in the network has exactly a constant number d of incoming and outgoing edges. That is, the routing table size of nodes in the network is constant. Moreover, there exists a path of length D=logd N hops between any two nodes in the network. Studies on the connectivity of the De Bruijn networks show that at most d−1 nodes can fail without disconnecting any node or any set of nodes from the network. Hence, the degree d is an important design parameter that can be varied to improve connectivity.
The lookup operation for a resource R in a De Bruijn network is equivalent to the routing operation from a node x to a node y=prefix (R), which eventually knows a provider of resource R. The pseudo-function prefix ( ) returns as result the k first elements right from R, with k≦D. Routing is achieved by a consecutive left shifting of x with R until a node y is reached. The left shifting operation on the node x results in a node y=kx+i mod N, i=topLetter (R, k), where topLetter (R, k) is a function that returns the kth letter from left of resource ID R and where k is the covered distance from the source. At any node x, a next-hop node y is chosen after left shifting of x so that y is a neighbor of x. Thus, routing in this way in the De Bruijn graph needs at most D hops from source to destination. For example, in FIG. 10 the message routing from 001 to 110 takes the path 001−>011−>111−>110 as depicted in FIG. 11.
There is a need to provide for an improved communication network and methods to route and locate information therein.
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The present invention relates to an electrical apparatus adapted to allocate power between two or more power loads. As such, the present invention is particularly useful with loads requiring relatively high currents, and may be used in conjunction with current limit controls as an electrical energy conservation technique. In addition, the present invention may be used to control the cycles of a single appliance, such as an air conditioner, gas furnace or heat pump so as to enable those devices to operate on a more efficient basis.
Various timing devices have been used in the past to control different electrical functions. These timing devices have included both mechanical timers and electrical timing devices, including capacitive systems and digital timing systems. One example of an electronic timing device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,676,052 issued Apr. 27, 1954 to Rockafellow which is adapted for controlling a welding machine. In this device, power is provided to a plurality of loads, one after another, after which the power control operation is concluded. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,458, issued Sept. 30, 1969 to Corey, a solid-state load control is shown that includes an adjustable time delay so that once an apparatus is turned on, there is a delay before the circuit is actually activated. The amount of time delay is determined by an adjustable RC circuit connected to a transistor.
In addition to these types of control circuits, other timing devices have been developed in the past. However, none of the devices have utilized self-toggling circuits so that a continuous, repetitive cycling may be accomplished. Further, no prior art is known by the applicant which utilizes a condition responsive device as part of the timing circuit so that the timed durations may automatically vary in response to external conditions, such as temperature. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved timing device that can regulate power in a repetitive manner among two or more loads, and a need exists for a control device that varies the duration of power supplied to different loads in a manner that responds to the environment.
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In semiconductor process technology, planar substrate surfaces which are horizontal with respect to a wafer surface are patterned by photolithographic methods in combination with selective etching processes. During the processing of integrated circuits, reliefs with a pronounced topography are formed on the wafer or substrate surface. A relief of this type also has surfaces which are inclined or vertical with respect to the substrate surface. As part of the ongoing shrinking of the integrated circuits, it is necessary for vertical or inclined process surfaces to be patterned as well, in order for it to be possible to functionally differentiate the structures over their vertical extent. Examples of such structures include deep trench capacitors, stacked capacitors and vertical transistor designs.
It is not directly possible to pattern reliefs in a direction which is vertical with respect to the substrate surface by means of photolithographic methods. Vertical patterning of this nature is usually carried out with the aid of a suitable filler material which, as a mask, covers regions of the relief located beneath a coverage depth during processing of unmasked regions. In this case, patterning of a relief in a direction which is vertical with respect to the substrate surface, with regard to a coverage depth which is selected as desired between a substrate surface and a relief depth, then usually takes place using one of the following methods.
In a first method, where an oxide is to be deposited exclusively in a lower region, arranged between the coverage depth and the relief depth of a relief, in a first step an oxide is deposited or produced over the entire surface of the relief. Then, the relief is initially completely filled with a suitable filling material, and then the filling material is recessed back to the coverage depth. Then, uncovered sections of the oxide are removed, and as the final step residual sections of the filling material are removed altogether.
In a second method where an oxide is to be deposited or produced only in upper regions, arranged between the substrate surface and the coverage depth of a relief, an etching stop layer (e.g., a nitride layer) is first provided over the entire surface of the entire relief. This is then followed by filling of the structure with a suitable filling material (e.g., polycrystalline silicon) and etching back of the filling material as far as the coverage depth. Then, the etching stop layer is removed in the unmasked sections and an oxide is deposited or generated by thermal means in the uncovered regions. Next, the oxide is anisotropically etched. This is followed by removal of the filling material and, as a final step, the complete removal of the etching stop layer.
In addition, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes are known. In these processes, thin films, the thickness of which on surfaces which are vertical or inclined with respect to the substrate surface decreases as the depth increases, are produced on surfaces of a relief. However, in this process it is difficult to control the way in which the layers produced end in the depth direction. Furthermore, layers of this type have very considerable differences in thickness between an end point in the depth and a region close to the substrate surface.
Likewise, in the case of diffusion-limited deposition of silicon oxide by means of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), the silicon oxide grows on surfaces which are inclined or vertical with respect to the substrate surface at a rate which decreases as the relief depth increases, and consequently the layer thickness of the silicon oxide produced in this way decreases in the direction of the relief depth.
Therefore, there have hitherto only been complex processes which allow a covering layer of uniform layer thickness to be arranged or produced exclusively above or below a coverage depth on surfaces of a substrate which are vertical or inclined with respect to the substrate surface.
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It is frequently necessary to provide (e.g., supply, generate, output, etc.) regulated voltages to electronic circuits for a variety of reasons. For example, electronic circuits normally receive a supply voltage that may be used to supply power to the circuit. The supply voltage may be supplied by a voltage regulator, which is typically designed to supply a voltage that is relatively constant during operation of the electronic circuit. The supply voltage may suddenly change, for example, if the load driven by a voltage regulator suddenly changes for reasons such as a sudden change in the magnitude of the load on the voltage regulator. The voltage supplied by a voltage regulator may also be used for other purposes, such as to provide a reference voltage to a circuit. Thus, even if the magnitude of the power supply voltage provided by a voltage regulator may not be critical, it may be desirable for the voltage regulator to provide a tightly regulated voltage if the voltage regulator also supplies a reference voltage.
One commonly used voltage regulator may use negative feedback to regulate a voltage provided by the regulator. More specifically, a feedback signal may provide an indication of the magnitude of an output voltage from the regulator, which may be compared to a reference voltage to provide an error signal. The error signal may be amplified to provide a signal that may be used to drive the output voltage back to a level that causes the feedback voltage to be substantially equal to the reference voltage.
The loop gain of a voltage regulator should be fairly high to tightly control the voltage output from the voltage regulator. Unfortunately, the use of a high loop gain in a negative feedback voltage regulator may make the regulator unstable, thereby causing the output of the regulator to oscillate. Frequency compensation circuits may be provided to prevent instability. One common frequency compensation circuit uses a series combination of a capacitor and a small resistor coupled between an output node from which a regulated voltage is provided and a node of the circuit to which the amplified error signal is provided. While this compensation circuit may be effective in avoiding instability, it requires that the amplified error signal charge or discharge the capacitor in order to drive the regulated voltage back to a specific value. As a result, the speed at which voltage regulator circuits using this type of frequency compensation circuit may correct for a sudden increase or decrease in the load on the voltage regulator may be severely limited.
In the context of this application, a voltage regulator may be considered an amplifier, wherein the input signal to the amplifier in such a case is a reference voltage. It would therefore be desirable to provide a voltage regulator, amplifier and method having a loop gain sufficiently high to generate an output signal (e.g., output voltage) that closely followed an input signal (e.g., a reference voltage) without resulting in instability problems or response time limitations.
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The present invention relates to an improved torque motor operated metering valve.
By way of background, there is known a prior type of metering valve which is also known as a wet clevis valve. In the prior valve, fluid flow was through openings in an upstanding post having flat parallel faces, and a torque motor operated clevis member was movable relative to such openings to control flow. This prior type of valve had certain disadvantages, namely, that the clearances between the various parts had to be established during machining because the parts were not adjustable relative to each other after the valve was assembled. It is with an improvement over the foregoing type of valve that the present invention is concerned.
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It is proposed to connect one optical fiber and the other optical fiber with use of a pair of ferrules and an elastic sleeve. In connecting one optical fiber and the other optical fiber, one ferrule is fit on the end of the one optical fiber, the other ferrule is fit on the end of the other optical fiber, and the one ferrule and the other ferrule are attached to each other with the elastic sleeve. (For instance, refer to JP63-231408A).
However, in connecting one multiple optical fiber and the other multiple optical fiber with use of the connecting mechanism for connecting the one optical fiber and the other optical fiber disclosed in JP63-231408A, it is required to fit a ferrule on each of the optical fibers and, further, to attach an elastic sleeve to each of the corresponding ferrules. Therefore, since the connecting task and the connecting mechanism for connecting one multiple optical fiber and the other multiple optical fiber have complexity, and the number of parts increases considerably, there is difficulty practically in making use of the connecting mechanism disclosed in JP63-231408A.
And therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an optical connector for securely and easily connecting multiple optical fibers despite it's simplicity of mechanism.
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The present invention generally relates to planar, solid oxide fuel cells and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method of stacking and manifolding unitized solid oxide fuel cells for ready connection and disconnection of gases to manifolds.
A fuel cell is basically a galvanic conversion device that electrochemically reacts a fuel with an oxidant within catalytic confines to generate a direct current. A fuel cell typically includes a cathode material that defines the reaction for the oxidant and an anode material that defines the reaction for the fuel. An electrolyte is sandwiched between and separates the cathode and anode materials. An individual electrochemical cell usually generates a relatively small voltage. Thus, to achieve higher voltages that are useful, the individual electrochemical cells are connected together in series to form a stack. Electrical connection between cells is achieved by the use of an electrical interconnect between the cathode and anode of adjacent cells. The interconnect also normally contains gas passageways for the electrodes as well as ducts or manifolding to conduct the fuel and oxidant into and out of each cell in the stack.
As the fuel and oxidant gases are continuously passed through their respective passageways, electrochemical conversion occurs at or near the three-phase boundary of the gas, the electrodes (cathode and anode) and electrolyte. The fuel is electrochemically reacted with the oxidant to produce a DC electrical output. The anode or fuel electrode enhances the rate at which electrochemical reactions occur on the fuel side. The cathode or oxidant electrode functions similarly on the oxidant side.
Specifically, in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), the fuel reacts with oxide ions on the anode to produce electrons and water, the latter of which is removed in the fuel flow stream. The oxygen reacts with the electrons on the cathode surface to form oxide ions that are conducted through the electrolyte to the anode. The electrons flow from the anode through an external circuit and then to the cathode. The circuit is closed internally by the transport of oxide ions through the electrolyte.
In a SOFC, the electrolyte is in a solid form. Typically, the electrolyte is made of a nonmetallic ceramic, such as dense yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ceramic, that is a nonconductor of electrons that ensures that the electrons must pass through the external circuit to do useful work. As such, the electrolyte isolates the fuel and oxidant gases from one another and allows a potential to build up across it as a result of the difference in electrochemical potential between the fuel and the oxidant. The anode and cathode are generally porous, with the anode oftentimes being made of nickel/YSZ cermet and the cathode oftentimes being made of doped lanthanum manganite. In the solid oxide fuel cell, hydrogen or a hydrocarbon derived gas is commonly used as the fuel, while oxygen or air is used as the oxidant.
As mentioned above, the voltage output of a single fuel cell is far too low for many applications. Thus, It frequently becomes necessary to connect multiple fuel cells in series to obtain high voltage power. Additionally, the power demands of many systems require that fuel cells frequently be connected in electrically parallel circuits, thereby providing a greater total current. The physical stacking of multiple fuel cells in series, parallel or series/parallel configuration, however, must incorporate gas-tight connections to allow for a safe and efficient flow of reaction gases. Typically, a group of individual fuel cells are welded, soldered or otherwise bonded together into a single unitary stack, thereby preventing the improper mixing of the reaction gasses, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,221.
For any given cell, defects can occur during processing. A cell can also become damaged during handling. Because some defects may have been undetected, their negative affects, such as poor performance and consequent effects on its neighboring cells or even the entire stack, are not realized until the cell is placed in the stack. Where adjacent cells are fused or bonded together into a single unitary stack, a single cell that is defectively formed cannot be removed and interchanged with a non-defective cell. At best, the performance of the fuel cell stack becomes impaired. At worst, the entire stack must be discarded due to the failure of a single cell.
In addressing the above drawbacks, the assignee of the present invention has developed a unitized fuel cell that is the subject of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/419,343 filed Oct. 15, 1999. The unitized cell includes a first electrically conductive interconnect operatively connected to an anode of the fuel cell. The first interconnect has a first substantially planar portion and a first skirt portion. A second electrically conductive interconnect is operatively connected to a cathode of the fuel cell. The second interconnect has a second substantially planar portion and a second skirt portion, with the second skirt portion being juxtaposed to the first skirt portion. A first salient is formed by a portion of at least one of the first and second skirt portions, with the first salient being disposed at a first edge of the fuel cell. A second salient is formed by a portion of at least one of the first and second skirt portions, with the second salient being disposed at a second edge of the fuel cell. An insulating gasket is disposed between the first and second skirt portions and against the ceramic cell to seal the gases within their respective cell housings. The first and second salients can be attached to a gas manifold by attaching a tube to the skirt of the metal housing. Thus, the fuel cell can be electrically connected with other fuel cells in series and parallel configurations through contacts between metal housings and/or through metal gas manifold tubings. A series connection is made when the anode interconnect of one cell is made in contact with the cathode of its adjacent cell whereas a parallel connection can be made if a metal gas tubing is used to electrically connect similar electrodes of two different cells.
While the use of unitized fuel cells solves many drawbacks in the prior art, design issues relating to the actual stacking and manifolding of fuel cells remain. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,341 describes prior art as including fuel cell stacks that are arranged in a block configuration. With the stacks positioned adjacent to one another, a manifold is attached to all gas channels of the same orientation. Another prior art design is described as manifolding each stack individually. However, both prior art designs are described as having numerous disadvantages. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,341 provides a module having stacks of fuel cells. The fuel cells in each stack are arranged to provide an overall rectangular configuration to the stack. The stacks are oriented on edge and radially spaced apart around a central plenum. The fuel cells in the stacks have gas passageways that extend parallel and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the plenum. Circular manifold plates are positioned above and below the module. Each plate has gas flow apertures that coincide with the position of the stacks and a plenum aperture that coincides with the position of the central plenum. In this design, individual stacks may be replaced or repaired but it will be difficult to remove individual cells without affecting the integrity of the neighboring cells.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,385, manifolding is directed to planar, cylindrical shaped fuel cells. The cells include a central active portion surrounded by a frame portion. The frame portions contain duct openings so that when the cells are in a stack, the combined frame portions provide channels extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stack. The channels provide inlet and outlet means for different gases. Hollowed out portions in the frame portions allow the passage of gases between the channels and active portions. End plates are then used to sandwich the above components. In this design, holes around the perimeter of the cell can become weak spots that may cause the cell to fracture when placed under the stress of a stack assembly.
Another example of manifolding is in U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,163 that discloses tubular shaped fuel cells with their longitudinal axes aligned parallel to one another. Having such parallel orientation, the fuel cells are arranged in either concentric circles, a spiral, or folded rows. Manifolds are located at the distal ends of the cells. The arrangement was intended to reduce the flow of heat from an interior location of the fuel cell stack to a peripheral location. It was also intended to enable series connection. This design, while being applicable to tubular cells, is not applicable to planar cells.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved solid oxide fuel cell stack and method of stacking such cells. Another need is for a planar, solid oxide fuel cell stack that provides improved stacking and manifolding. A further need is for a stack design that incorporates unitized fuel cells. Also needed is a fuel cell stack design that minimizes the footprint of the stack. Yet another need is for a fuel cell stack design that allows easy connection and disconnection of gases to the stack.
In one aspect of the present invention, a unitized solid oxide fuel cell comprises a planar first interconnect that allows a first gas to flow therein; a planar ceramic cell adjacent the first interconnect; a planar second interconnect adjacent the ceramic cell, with the second interconnect allowing a second gas to flow therein; and a plurality of gas tubes in gas communication with the ceramic cell. The gas tubes comprise a first gas inlet affixed to the first interconnect; a second gas inlet affixed to the second interconnect; a first gas outlet in communication with the first gas inlet; and a second gas outlet in communication with the second gas inlet.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle height adjustment device.
2. Discussion of the Background
Japanese Examined Application Publication No. 8-22680 discloses a vehicle height adjustment device that increases the height of a motorcycle during travel and that decreases the height of the motorcycle during halt in order to facilitate a driver's or a passenger's getting in and out of the motorcycle. The vehicle height adjustment device automatically changes the height of the motorcycle in response to its speed of travel. Specifically, the vehicle height adjustment device automatically increases the height of the motorcycle when its speed reaches a set speed, and automatically decreases the height of the motorcycle when its speed changes to or below a set speed. In the adjustment of the height of the motorcycle, an electromagnetic actuator is driven into operation. For example, when the speed of the motorcycle reaches a set speed, a switch is automatically turned on to drive the electromagnetic actuator into operation. Under this setting, when the speed of the motorcycle reaches the set speed, the height of the motorcycle is increased. For another example, when the speed of the motorcycle changes to or below the set speed, the switch is automatically turned off. Under this setting, when the speed of the motorcycle changes to or below the set speed, the height of the motorcycle is decreased.
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Previously, for example, the patent literature 1 proposes a pressure sensor. In this pressure sensor, a sensor unit, which outputs a sensor signal corresponding to a pressure, is installed to a case, and a housing is securely swaged against the case to integrate the case and the housing together. Specifically, in this pressure sensor, an introducing hole for introducing the measurement-subject medium is formed in the housing. The sensor unit is installed to the case such that the sensor unit is directly exposed to the measurement-subject medium, which is introduced through the introducing hole. Furthermore, a threaded portion is formed at an outer peripheral surface of the housing.
Here, it is possible to construct a temperature sensor by forming a resistance thermometer element(s), a resistance value of which changes depending on the temperature, at the sensor unit described above to output a sensor signal, which corresponds to the temperature. In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, the temperature sensor may be installed such that a threaded portion J45, which is formed at the housing J40, is threadably joined to a threaded portion J62 of the installation-subject member J61 that has a passage J60, in which the measurement-subject medium flows. When the measurement-subject medium, which flows in the passage J60, is introduced into the introducing hole J42, the sensor signal, which corresponds to the temperature, is outputted from the sensor unit (not shown).
However, the installation structure of the temperature sensor described above may have the following disadvantage. Specifically, a flow direction of the measurement-subject medium in the passage J60 significantly differs (about 90 degrees in the case of FIG. 14) from an inflow direction of the measurement-subject medium from the passage J60 into the introducing hole J42. Therefore, the measurement-subject medium cannot easily enter the introducing hole J42, so that responsiveness of the sensor unit can be easily deteriorated.
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This invention relates generally to clothing and particularly to unitary garments designed for full or partial coverage of the torso.
Unitary garments such as women's bathing suits, exercise suits, and leotards, are popular because of their ease of wear and use, and for other reasons of style. They are often made of knit and elastic materials and are tight fitting. As a result, they can be difficult to put on and take off, especially when wet. In addition, every visit that a wearer makes to the bathroom requires a complete removal of the outfit, and subsequent re-dressing. This problem becomes more annoying when the outfit is worn, alone or under other clothing, for long periods of time or even all day, as happens frequently given the multiple, simultaneous uses to which such unitary garments are put by today's wearers. Such uses include cross-training training (biking/hiking/swimming workouts) and all-day outings. A wearer does not want to keep getting dressed and re-dressed all day. Further, the changing and bathroom facilities in exercise-oriented venues, such as state parks and beaches, often are not sanitary, convenient or available. One solution that women have adopted has been to wear two piece outfits. However, by their nature, two piece outfits do not provide the full torso coverage and sleek, utilitarian lines of a one-piece garment.
Unitary garments are also useful in infant's and small children's clothing, where full torso coverage is preferred. Unfortunately, diapering and frequent bathroom visits, necessities with small children, are rendered difficult with unitary garments. Many one piece children's outfits have snaps at the crotch. However, snaps can be difficult to attach when the child is squirming. Also, snaps are rarely, if ever, found on an infant's or child's bathing suit.
One-piece bathing suits having removable portions to facilitate dressing and bathroom visits are well known in the prior art. However, none of the designs teach truly convenient or inconspicuous fastening mechanisms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,316 (1992) to Ellen M. Kuehner, entitled Garment Structure, provides a decorative, interchangeable, removable crotch piece to effect ornamental definition while facilitating bodily functions. While the garment taught by Kuehner provides the sleek, stylish look of a unitary garment, it provides the attachment of the crotch piece at the pelvic bone, where attachment is somewhat inconvenient. Further, the garment described by Kuehner does not attempt to conceal the area of crotch access.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,600 (1958) to Gerald C. Finn, entitled Women's Bathing Suit, provides for concealed, releasable attachment of a crotch piece, inconveniently, again, at the pelvic bone at the front of a bathing suit. Finally, Finn also teaches auxiliary detachable securing of the crotch piece to the skirt or to an elongated restraining girdle band inside the front of the suit. These features render the garment design complicated, expensive to manufacture, and uncomfortable to wear.
One-piece suits consisting of a torso portion and a seat portion wrappable between the legs and fastenable about the body have been suggested, but none have taught both convenient and inconspicuous fastening mechanisms. U.S. Pat. No. 1,954,526 (1934) to E. Holahan, entitled Bathing Outfit, shows a suit consisting of a torso portion and a seat portion wrappable between the legs and held together at the hips with buttons and snaps and at the waist by a somewhat complicated arrangement. Side straps button at the waist in the back of the suit; then an extension of the seat portion, passed under the buttoned side straps, is buttoned onto the side straps; and, finally, the shoulder straps button over the seat extension onto the side straps. U.S. Pat. No. 2,060,689 (1936) to D. Read, entitled Bathing Suit, shows a wrap suit which uses front and back waist hook and eye closures. In use, a wearer wraps the suit between the legs, and hooks the seat portion to itself in the front under the suit (an awkward hand action), and then hooks tapered lateral projections in the back at the waist. It could not be completely assembled and subsequently put on and removed as a conventional unitary garment.
A number of wrap suits attach by ties. U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,442 (1951) to Alex Mitchell, entitled Bathing Garment, shows a suit secured to the body by ties at the neck, sides and waist. Ties also attach bathing suits in Design Pat. Nos. 138,422 (1944) (also to Alex Mitchell), 239,667 (1976) (to Eleanor Bouchard), and 249,096 (1978) (to Catalina Fowler). U.S. Pat. No. 2,412,502 (1946) to Bertice Garrison shows play suits that attach in the front and back with ties. Ties, while relatively simple and secure during sedentary use or light exercise, are lumpy to lie on, often require fussing to make them look right, occasionally tickle, and, during periods of heavy exercise, can come undone. Further, the bulkiness of knots take away from the sleek lines of a one-piece garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,783 (1951) to Marian Burr, is an undergarment (not intended for outerwear) designed for great snugness of fit and having a seat portion wrappable between the legs and fastenable with small hooks and eyes about the body to provide "give" in stress spots in a very tight-fitting garment. The garment is shown to have a complicated and expensive manufacture, being made of many pieces of fabric, some of which are cut straight with the cloth and others are cut on the bias to provide differential areas of support and stretch. Not intended to be made in today's active-wear materials, it could not be put on and removed as a conventional unitary garment.
Some designs suggest solving the above-described problems by creating a one-piece suit out of a two piece suit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,316 (1992), mentioned above, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,669 (1987) to Donna Beard, entitled Versatile Bathing Suit, both show a conventional two piece bathing suit apparently changed into a one piece suit by fastening an additional band of material onto the bra and panties of the two piece suit.
None of the above designs teach truly convenient, strong, secure, and inconspicuous fastening mechanisms.
It is an object of the invention to provide a garment with easy inconspicuous access to the crotch area while retaining the sleek, stylish look and easy functionality and operability of a one-piece garment.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a garment that is convenient and secure to wear, and easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an infant and children's garment that is convenient to put on and remove.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a unitary garment arranged to be put on and removed, at the choice of the wearer, as an assembled or disassembled garment.
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The present invention relates to a test circuit for electronic device, and more particularly, to a test circuit for detecting a short circuit failure or open circuit failure of bus lines connecting plural semiconductor devices (IC, LSI) incorporated in the electronic device.
The open/short circuit test for checking defects, such as short circuits across bus lines, short circuits across input/output pins, open circuits of bus lines, disconnections between bus lines and input/output pins, etc., is usually conducted before shipment of electronic device. The test circuit for executing the open/short circuit test is often incorporated into a semiconductor device. One reason is, for example, in a Chip Size Package (CSP) such as a Ball Grid Array (BGA), the input/output pins do not appear outside the board after mounting the CSP on the board. It is then impossible to carry out the open/short circuit test required using a probe by bringing the probe into contact with the input/output pins.
The test circuit supplies a semiconductor device with specific test data through the bus lines that connect the semiconductor device and the test circuit. The test circuit determines if the data output from the semiconductor device is equal to the expected data, thereby detecting short circuits across the bus lines and open circuits of the bus lines.
Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 5-99980 discloses a method of testing electric device. As shown in FIG. 1, multiple semiconductor devices including a measured semiconductor device 1 containing a test circuit 1a, and a measuring semiconductor device 2 containing a receiving circuit 2a that receives signals from the test circuit 1a are mounted on a board. Input/output pins Pa1–Pan of the measured device 1 are connected to input/output pins Pb1–Pbn of the measuring device 2 through bus lines DB1–DBn. The test circuit 1a selects a specific input/output pin, for example, Pa1, outputs the data “1: H level” from the selected input/output pin Pa1, and outputs the data “0: L level” from the other, not selected, input/output pins Pa2–Pan.
If the expected value “1” is not detected at the input/output pin Pb1 of the measuring device 2, the test circuit 1a determines that the bus lines DB1–DBn connecting the input/output pins Pa1–Pan to Pb1–Pbn are open, or that the bus lines DB1–DBn are not connected with the input/output pins Pa1–Pan and Pb1–Pbn (detection open circuit failure). On the basis of the data from the remaining input/output pins, except for the specific input/output pin Pb1, if the logical value “1” is detected, it is determined that there is a short circuit across the detected input/output pins (Pa2–Pan, Pb2–Pbn) and the specific input/output pins Pa1, Pb1, or across the bus lines DB1–DBn. By selecting the input/output pins sequentially in accordance with their physical address, the test circuit 1a carries out the open circuit and short circuit tests for all of the input/output pins Pa1–Pan of the measured device 1.
In some electronic device, the bus lines DB1–DBn are in the floating state. In this case, even if the selected input/output pin has an open circuit failure, when the bus lines DB1–DBn have electric charges accumulated, the logical value of the input/output pins Pb1–Pbn of the measuring device 2 can possibly be set to the expected value “1”. In such a case, even though the selected input/output pin has the open circuit failure, it is determined to be normal. That is, the open is not detected.
When the input/output pins Pa1–Pan are sequentially selected in accordance with the physical address, the logical value of the input/output pins Pa1–Pan is sequentially set to “1” in accordance with the physical address. In this case, there is a possibility of charges remaining on the bus line of the previously selected input/output pin. When a specific input/output pin of the measuring device 2 is the input/output pin Pb1 or Pb2 precedent to Pb3, for example, the remaining charges can sometimes make the test circuit detect the logical value “1”, which is identical to the expected value of the input/output pin Pb3. In such a case, regardless of the input/output pins Pb1, Pb2 being correctly connected, they are determined as having a short circuit failure.
When the drive capability of the output driver (buffer) of the measured device 1 is high, even if the charges on the selected bus line DB3, for example, leak slightly, if the drive capability of the output driver is sufficiently high to overcome the leakage of the charges, the test circuit will detect the logical value “1”, which is the same as the expected value, at the input/output pin Pb3. That is, the input/output pins Pa3, Pb3, and the bus line DB3 are determined as normal.
However, if the drive capability of the output driver of the measuring device 2 is low, even if the measuring device 2 outputs the logical value “1”, if the drive capability of the output driver of the measuring device 2 is insufficient to cancel the leakage of the charges, the input/output pin Pa3 of the measured device 1 is supplied with the logical value “0”. Therefore, although the connection between the device 1 and device 2 is faulty, it is determined as normal; or in reverse, it is determined as a failure, although it is normal.
In order to prevent such errors, it is conceivable to bidirectionally transmit and receive data between the measured device 1 and the measuring device 2 when carry out the test using the test circuit 1a and the receiving circuit 2a. However, using the test circuit 1a and the receiving circuit 2a leads to increasing the circuit size of the device 1 and device 2.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a prior art semiconductor device 100 provided with a test circuit. The semiconductor device 100 has multiple input pads IN0–INn, multiple output pads DQ0–DQn, and a test input pad IN. The input pads IN0–INn are each connected to input buffers 281, and to an internal circuit 282 through internal bus lines BLin. The output pads DQ0–DQn are each connected to output buffers 283, and to the internal circuit 282 through internal bus lines BLout.
The input pads IN0–INn are connected to respective test circuits 285. The test circuits 285 receive test signals from an external device through the input pads IN0–INn. The test circuits 285 are also each connected to the single test input pad IN, and receive a test signal from the external device through the test input pad IN. The output pads DQ0–DQn are each connected to test-dedicated output circuits 286, and the test-dedicated output circuits 286 are each connected to the test circuits 285 through test-dedicated internal bus lines BLex.
The test circuits 285 receive the test signals from the external device through the input pads IN0–INn and test input pad IN, and supply detection signals to the test-dedicated output circuits 286 through the test-dedicated internal bus lines BLex. The test-dedicated output circuits 286 supply, in response to the detection signals, response signals to the external device through the output pads DQ0–DQn.
When the terminals of the CSP connected to the input pads IN0–INn and the test input pad IN are properly connected to the wiring of the board, the test circuits 285 receive the test signals, and deliver the detection signals. On the other hand, when the terminals are not properly connected (non-conductive), the test circuits 285 do not deliver the detection signals and the test-dedicated output circuits 286 do not output the response signals.
When the terminals of the CSP connected to the output pads DQ0–DQn are properly connected to the wiring of the board, the response signals from the test-dedicated output circuits 286 are supplied to the external device. On the other hand, when the terminals are not properly connected (non-conductive), the response signals from the test-dedicated output circuits 286 are not supplied to the external device. Thus, based on the presence of the response signals, the connection (continuity state) between the terminals of the CSP and the wiring of the board is determined.
However, the provision of the test circuits 285, test-dedicated output circuits 286, and test-dedicated internal bus lines BLex increases the circuit size of the semiconductor device.
Further, while a continuity test is carried out on one semiconductor device, if there is a continuity failure in another semiconductor device, on the basis of the continuity failure, the other semiconductor devices will be selected for testing. In this case, plural semiconductor devices operate simultaneously on the board, and bus contention is created on the board. Accordingly, it is necessary to regulate the operation of the semiconductor devices other than the device being tested.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of constructing buildings. More specifically, the invention relates to the field of fabricating insulated metal walls for metal buildings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, metal buildings are constructed according to a series of steps. First, a metal frame is constructed. The metal frame includes numerous structural support members. The roof portions include sloped roof structural members referred to as purlins. The walls include vertically spaced horizontally extending members, which are referred to as girts. Once the frame is installed, it is common to insulate both the roof and wall portions of the building.
With respect to roof arrangements, blanket insulation is draped over the tops of the purlins, and then roof panels are fastened over the insulation. In some cases, it has been known to install a longitudinal thermal block above the top flange of the purlin such that it runs the entire length of the purlin over the draped blanket insulation.
With respect to the conventional wall, blanket insulation is secured from above such that it is draped over horizontally extending girts. Then metal wall panels are fastened to the outer flanges of the girts, mashing the blanket insulation between the wall panel and the outer flange of each girt where they interface. These lines of mashed down insulation create heat losses.
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The invention pertains to the field of lead-frames for attachment to an integrated circuit device (sometimes hereafter also referred to as "die" or "integrated circuit die"). More particularly, the invention pertains to leadframes for high power integrated circuit applications such as high power linear operational amplifier circuits wherein the design of the leadframe is enhanced to improve the thermal performance of the integrated circuit die.
Cooling of integrated circuit die is often an important requirement, especially in high power applications. Heating of an integrated circuit die through internal power dissipation in the circuit elements formed thereon causes several deleterious effects. First, heating of the die can adversely affect the electrical characteristics of semiconductor junctions formed in transistors and diodes. Excessive junction temperature can cause changes in key electrical parameters, and can cause thermal runaway if not properly compensated. Further, differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion between aluminum, silicon, polysilicon, and oxide passivation layers and the plastic encapsulant material of the package, can lead to cracking of passivation layers thereby creating paths through which water vapor and other impurities may penetrate from the outside of the die to the underlying circuit structures. Water vapor in contact with aluminum can cause corrosion.
The principal mechanism by which integrated circuit die are cooled is conduction to the outside world through the leadframe. A leadframe is a metallic structure which supports the integrated circuit die and provides conductive paths from the connection pads on the integrated circuit die to pins which are used to make connections to external elements such as integrated circuit sockets or printed circuit boards.
One such leadframe which has been in use for several years by National Semiconductor Corporation, the assignee of the present invention, is called the "Batwing" leadframe. This design is shown in the FIG. 2 and is prior art. The principal paths of heat conduction away from the integrated circuit die attach pad 1 are the four shortest rectangular paths 2, 3, 4 and 5 leading from the die attach pad to four external pins at 6, 7, 8 and 9 which are normally connected by conductive paths (not shown) to a ground plane (not shown) on a printed circuit board (also not shown).
The "batwing" leadframe design provides acceptable cooling efficiency. However, as line widths decrease and it is possible to pack more and more power generating elements on a single integrated circuit die, there continues to be a need for improved heat dissipation capabilities for leadframes.
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Non-volatile solid-state EEPROM memories have become competitive with conventional rotating magnetic disk media for large-scale data storage in applications requiring high speed and/or low power consumption. Such memories have much shorter effective “seek” times and data transfer rates that are as fast or faster than the conventional disk drives. In addition, these memories can withstand significant mechanical shocks and require a fraction of the power of conventional disk drives. The cost of such memories, however, still places limitations on the use of the drives. In addition, such memories are not useable in high radiation environments.
One method for reducing the cost of such memories utilizes memory cells that have more than two storage states. For example, in EEPROM memories, a charge is deposited on a floating gate using tunneling. The charge alters the conductivity of the associated transistor. In a binary memory, the presence or absence of the charge is all that needs to be sensed. In a multi-state memory, each state corresponds to a different amount of charge being transferred to the gate. To read the cell, the conductivity of the cell must be measured to differentiate between the possible states. Since each cell now stores multiple bits of data, the cost of the memory is substantially reduced for any given memory size.
Unfortunately, the time to write such a cell is significantly greater than the time to write a binary cell. Furthermore, the maximum number of states that can be stored in a memory cell is limited. These problems can be partially overcome by increasing the number of sense amplifiers in the memory so that a large number of cells are read or written simultaneously. However, this approach increases the cost of the memory and still imposes an initial read time for a “track” that is longer than the read times for reading out individual segments of the track once the track has been loaded.
When data is to be rewritten in a record, the entire record must be erased and then the new data entered. Since the erase time is long compared to the write time, data is rewritten to unused records that have been erased. The records that were abandoned in a prior rewrite are then erased in the background. This “garbage collection” procedure further complicates the memories and increases the cost. Finally, the number of times a cell can be erased and rewritten is limited, and hence, the lifetime of the memory can be a problem in applications that require a large number of cells to be erased and rewritten a large number of times.
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The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Camellia plant, botanically known as Camellia japonica x Camellia changii, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘HA0326’.
The new Camellia plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Zhaoqing, China. The objective of the breeding program is to create new fast-growing Camellia plants that flower year-round and tolerate full sunlight.
The new Camellia plant originated from a cross-pollination conducted by the Inventors in October, 2006 in Zhaoqing, China of Camellia japonica ‘Tama Beauty’, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed seedling selection of Camellia changii, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Camellia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Zhaoqing, China in September, 2011.
Asexual reproduction of the new Camellia plant by grafting cuttings onto an unnamed selection of Camellia gaozhouensis, not patented, in a controlled greenhouse environment in Zhaoqing, China has shown that the unique features of this new Camellia plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image encoding method, an image decoding method, an image encoding apparatus, an image decoding apparatus, an image processing system, an image encoding program, and an image decoding program capable of implementing efficient entropy coding of orthogonal transform coefficients in an orthogonal transform permitting selection among multiple block sizes.
2. Related Background Art
Encoding techniques of image signals are used for transmission and for accumulation and reproduction of image signals of still images, moving images, and so on. Such techniques include known international standard encoding methods, e.g., ISO/IEC International Standard 10918 (hereinafter referred to as JPEG) as an encoding technique for still images, and ISO/IEC International Standard 14496-2 (MPEG-4 Visual, which will be referred to hereinafter as MPEG-4) as an encoding technique for moving images. A newer known encoding method is ITU-T Recommendation H.264; ISO/IEC International Standard 14496-10 (Joint Final Committee Draft of Joint Video Specification, ftp//ftp.imtc-files.org/jvt-experts/2002 07 Klagenfurt/JVT-D157.zip, which will be referred to hereinafter as H.26L), which is a video coding method intended for joint international standardization by ITU-T and ISO/IEC.
Image signals demonstrate close correlations between spatially neighboring pixels and thus transformation into the frequency domain leads to deviation of information to the low frequency region, which enables reduction of redundancy by making use of the deviation. Therefore, the typical image encoding methods adopt a technique of subjecting image signals to an orthogonal transform to transform them into orthogonal transform coefficients in the frequency domain, so as to achieve deviation of signal components to the low frequency region. Furthermore, the coefficient values are quantized so that small-valued coefficients are converted into zeros. A coefficient string is made by reading the coefficients in order from the lowest in the low frequency region and is subjected to entropy coding taking advantage of the deviation of coefficient values, thus achieving efficient encoding with reduction of redundancy.
In this case, the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is commonly used as the orthogonal transform in terms of encoding efficiency and ease of implementation. The orthogonal transform such as the DCT is carried out in units of blocks resulting from division of image signals into blocks each consisting of a plurality of pixels. The size of the blocks, as well as the property of the image signals, largely affects the encoding efficiency.
When image signals demonstrate only small change in the spatial property, image signals to be transformed into orthogonal transform coefficients in a narrow frequency region are widely distributed on an image, and the redundancy can be reduced more with increase in the size of the blocks, i.e., the size of the orthogonal transform, so as to increase the encoding efficiency, as compared with cases using smaller blocks, which raise the need for repeatedly expressing identical orthogonal transform coefficients. When image signals demonstrate large change in the spatial property on the other hand, the increase in the size of blocks results in obtaining various frequency components of orthogonal transform coefficients thereof and thus decreasing the deviation of coefficients, which makes efficient entropy coding difficult and thus decreases the encoding efficiency.
In order to take advantage of the change of encoding efficiency due to the changes in the sizes of the blocks for the orthogonal transform and the property of image signals, the technology utilized is one of preparing orthogonal transform means in a plurality of block sizes in advance and adaptively selecting and using a size achieving the best encoding efficiency out of them. This technology is called Adaptive Block size Transforms (ABT) and is adopted in H.26L. FIG. 1A-FIG. 1E show orthogonal transform blocks used for the ABT in H.26L. The ABT permits a size achieving the best encoding efficiency to be selected out of four types of orthogonal transform block sizes shown in FIGS. 1B-1E, for each macroblock of 16×16 pixels shown in FIG. 1A. Pixel values of each macroblock are equally divided in units of blocks of the selected size and are then subjected to the orthogonal transform. By implementing such selection, it becomes feasible to achieve efficient reduction of redundancy through the use of the orthogonal transform in accordance with the change in the spatial property of image signals in the macroblocks. Reference should be made to H.26L as to more specific details of the ABT.
The entropy coding for the orthogonal transform coefficients obtained by the orthogonal transform is effected on a coefficient string obtained by sequentially reading the orthogonal transform coefficients from the lowest in the low frequency region. FIG. 2A shows an order of reading coefficients in an orthogonal transform block of 4×4 pixels. Since the coefficients obtained by the orthogonal transform are arranged with the lowest frequency component (i.e., the dc component) at the left upper corner, the coefficients are read out in order from the left upper coefficient to obtain a coefficient string consisting of sixteen coefficients as shown in FIG. 2B. This reading order is called zig-zag scan.
The coefficients obtained by the orthogonal transform are noncorrelated with each other, and the signal components deviate to the low frequency region. For this reason, when they are further quantized, the lower frequency coefficients are more likely to be nonzero coefficient values, so that many zero-valued coefficients appear in the coefficient string. For example, it produces a sequence of coefficient values as shown in FIG. 2C. Therefore, for efficient entropy coding of the coefficient string of this distribution, it is common practice in encoding of images to perform the encoding by expressing the coefficient string by the numbers of continuous zero coefficients preceding a nonzero coefficient (runs) and coefficient values (levels) of the nonzero coefficients. Such encoding with runs and levels is also used in the entropy coding of orthogonal transform coefficients by the ABT.
On the other hand, in order to increase the efficiency more in the entropy coding as described above, H.26L employs the technology called Context-based Adaptive Variable Length Code (CAVLC), which is applied to the orthogonal transform without the use of the ABT, i.e., to cases where the orthogonal transform is always carried out in units of orthogonal transform blocks of 4×4 pixels.
The CAVLC in H.26L utilizes the following features: the maximum number of coefficients in the coefficient string obtained from each orthogonal transform block of 4×4 pixels is 16, the magnitude of runs is restricted by this maximum number, and the magnitude of levels tends to be larger at lower frequencies. A number of encoding tables used in variable length encoding are prepared as optimized tables for respective conditions, and they are applied while sequentially being switched, so as to increase the encoding efficiency.
For example, in the case where runs are encoded in order, the first run can take a variety of values from 0 to 14 (according to the definition of runs in H.26L, the maximum value of runs is 14, which is two smaller than the total number of coefficients). On the other hand, a run appearing in the last stage of the sequential encoding of runs can take only one of limited run values, because there is the upper limit to the number of coefficients in the coefficient string. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the right-side encoding table with the largest number of elements in the encoding table is applied to runs appearing in the initial stage, and the left-side encoding tables with the smaller number of elements in each encoding table are applied to runs appearing in the last stage. This permits assignment of codes of smaller bit counts and thus implements efficient entropy coding. The CAVLC achieves the efficient encoding by making use of the conditions such as the maximum number of coefficients in each block and placing restrictions on the range where values to be encoded can take. Reference should be made to H.26L as to more specific details of the CAVLC.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooling actuator coils, and more particularly, to coils used in Lorenz force actuators and motors used in lithographic tools to levitate and drive stages.
2. Related Art
A Lorenz force actuator consists of two physically separate magnetic components. The first component is typically a drive coil through which a current is passed. The second component consists of an assembly of permanent magnets, often in combination with additional high permeability material, that together generates a strong magnetic field that passes through the coil. The interaction between the current flowing through the coil and the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet assembly produces both a force on the coil, and an equal and opposite reaction force on the permanent magnet assembly. The portion of the coil in the strong magnetic field can be referred to as the active portion of the coil. Heat dissipated in the coil can cause an excessive rise in temperature, unless the coil is adequately cooled by conducting heat to a circulating cooling fluid.
In some cases, thin cooling jackets attached to the faces of the active portion of the coil are required to augment the flow of heat to the cooling fluid. Such cooling jackets are typically made of ceramics, such as silicon nitride, that offer a good combination of both high electrical resistivity and heat conductivity, and therefore efficiently transfer heat without causing undesirable eddy current damping effects due to the strong magnetic field.
Stainless steel is also used, but has neither high electrical resistivity nor high thermal conductivity. Fill polymers have high resistivity, but relatively poor thermal conductivity, and cannot, in general, be used to seal cooling water. Ceramics are brittle, expensive to manufacture, and might not (especially for thin sections) reliably carry the water without leakage.
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This invention relates to an optical arrangement of autofocus elements for use with immersion lithography.
In semiconductor lithography systems in use today, automatic focusing and leveling (AF/AL) is typically accomplished by passing a low angle of incidence optical beam onto the surface of a silicon wafer and detecting its properties after subsequent reflection from the wafer surface. The wafer height is determined by optical and electrical processing of the reflected light beam. This beam passes under the last element of the projection lens. The source and receiver optics are typically mounted to a stable part of the system, close to the projection optics mounting position.
In immersion lithography, a liquid such as water fills the space between the last surface of the projection lens and the wafer. At the edge of the water, typically at the edge of the lens or supported structure near the edge of the lens, the liquid-air boundary is not well defined and is changing rapidly. It is not possible to transmit an AF/AL beam through this interface without substantial disruption and subsequent loss of signal, and hence performance.
It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a way to introduce AF/AL beams into the liquid layer without such disruption so as to preserve the optical accuracy and stability required.
More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and a method for allowing AF/AL light beams to be used as in conventional lithography without the disrupting influence of the liquid immersion boundary at the edge of the lens.
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There exist today many types of hand-held electronic devices, each of which utilizes some sort of user interface. The user interface typically includes an output device in the form of a display, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and one or more input devices, which can be mechanically actuated (e.g., switches, buttons, keys, dials, joysticks, joy pads) or electrically activated (e.g., touch pads or touch screens). The display is typically configured to present visual information such as text and graphics, and the input devices are typically configured to perform operations such as issuing commands, making selections, or moving a cursor or selector of the electronic device. Each of these well-known devices has considerations such as size and shape limitations, costs, functionality, complexity, etc. that must be taken into account when designing the hand-held electronic device. In most cases, the user interface is positioned on the front face (or front surface) of the hand-held device for easy viewing of the display and easy manipulation of the input devices.
FIGS. 1A-1F are diagrams of various hand-held electronic devices including for example a telephone 10A (FIG. 1A), a PDA 10B (FIG. 1B), a media player 10C (FIG. 1C), a remote control 10D (FIG. 1D), a camera 10E (FIG. 1E), and a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 10F (FIG. 1F). In each of these devices 10, a display 12, which is secured inside the housing of the device 10 and which can be seen through an opening in the housing, is typically positioned in a first region of the electronic device 10. Each of these devices is also include one or more input devices 14, which are typically positioned in a second region of the electronic device 10 next to the display 12.
To elaborate, the telephone 10A typically includes a display 12 such as a character or graphical display, and input devices 14 such as a number pad and in some cases a navigation pad. The PDA 10B typically includes a display 12 such as a graphical display, and input devices 14 such as a stylus based resistive touch screen and buttons. The media player 10C typically includes a display 12 such as a character or graphic display and input devices 14 such as buttons or wheels. The iPod® media player manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. is one example of a media player that includes both a display and input devices disposed next to the display. The remote control 10D typically includes an input device 14 such as a keypad and may or may not have a character display 12. The camera 10E typically includes a display 12 such as a graphic display and input devices 14 such as buttons. The GPS module 10F typically includes a display 12 such as graphic display and input devices 14 such as buttons, and in some cases a joy pad.
Such prior art devices 10A-10F often employ a user interface in conjunction with the display 12 and input device 14. In one example, FIG. 2A shows an electronic device 20, such as a portable media player. The electronic device 20 has a display 24 and an input device 26 according to the prior art. The display 24 can show various forms of information (e.g., menu items, song titles stored in memory, etc.) of a user interface. The display 24 and input device 26 used in conjunction with the user interface allows the user to make selections (e.g., select a song), to operate functions of the device (e.g., play, stop, or pause a song, etc.), and to perform other functions. In this device 20, the input devices 26 is a “click wheel,” such as used on an iPod® media player manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.
The electronic device 20 has a housing 22 that contains the display 24 and the input device 26. The input device 26 typically requires a number of components, such as pressure pads, printed circuit board, integrated circuits, etc. Accordingly, the housing 22 for the electronic device 20 must typically be extended or enlarged beyond the size of the display 24 so that the electronic device 20 can accommodate the components of the input device 26. Consequently, due to the required components for the input device 26, the size of the housing 22 may in some cases be larger than is actually required to house just the display 24 and any other necessary components (i.e., processor, memory, power supply, etc.) for the device 20. In addition, placement of the display 24 and the input device 26 typically accommodate only one orientation of the device 20 when held by a user.
In another example, FIG. 2B shows another electronic device 30 having a display 34 and an input device 36 according to the prior art. The electronic device 30 can be a laptop computer or the like, and the input device 36 can be a touch pad used to control functions of the device 30, such as moving a cursor, making selections, etc. The touch pad 36 is positioned on a housing 32 of the device 30 in conjunction with conventional components of a keyboard 38 and other physical inputs. The touch pad 36 can be categorized as either “resistive” or “capacitive.” In the resistive category, the touch pad 36 is coated with a thin metallic electrically conductive layer and a resistive layer. When the touch pad 36 is touched, the conductive layers come into contact through the resistive layer causing a change in resistance (typically measured as a change in current) that is used to identify where on the touch pad 36 the touch event occurred. In the capacitive category, a first set of conductive traces run in a first direction on the touch pad 36 and are insulated by a dielectric insulator from a second set of conductive traces running in a second direction (generally orthogonal to the first direction) on the touch pad 36. The grid formed by the overlapping conductive traces creates an array of capacitors that can store electrical charge. When an object (e.g., a user's finger) is brought into proximity or contact with the touch pad 36, the capacitance of the capacitors at that location changes. This change can then be used to identify the location of the touch event.
In yet another example, FIG. 2C illustrates an electronic device 40 having a touch screen display 44 according to the prior art as an input device. The electronic device 40 is a Personal Digital Assistant or the like. The touch screen display 44 is positioned on a housing 42, and the electronic device 40 typically has some physical controls 46 on the housing 42. A stylus 48 is used to touch locations of the touch screen display 44 to perform various functions. The stylus 48 is typically used like a mouse and arrow, and the display 44 can show various menu items and other user interface features. Touching a menu item on the display 44 with the stylus 48 can generate a pop-up or window 45 in which the user can then make a selection with the stylus 48. The pop-ups or windows 45 overlay the content being displayed and tend to obscure it.
Recently, traditionally separate hand-held electronic devices have begun to be combined in limited ways. For example, the functionalities of a telephone have been combined with the functionalities of a PDA. One problem that has been encountered is in the way inputs are made into the device. Each of these devices has a particular set of input mechanisms or devices for providing inputs into the device. Some of these input mechanisms are generic to all the devices (e.g., power button) while others are not. The ones that are not generic are typically dedicated to a particular functionality of the device. By way of example, PDAs typically include a touch screen and a few dedicated buttons while cell phones typically include a numeric keypad and at least two dedicated buttons.
Thus, it is a challenge to design a device with limited input mechanisms without adversely affecting the numerous possible functions that the device can perform. As will be appreciated, it is preferable not to overload the electronic devices with a large number of input mechanisms as this tends to confuse ‘the user and to take up valuable space, i.e., “real estate.” In the case of hand-held devices, space is at a premium because of their small size. At some point, there is not enough space on the device to house all the necessary buttons and switches, etc. This is especially true when considering that all these devices need a display that typically takes up a large amount of space on its own. To increase the number of input devices beyond some level, designers would have to decrease the size of the display. However, this will often leave a negative impression on the user because the user typically desires the largest display possible. Alternatively, to accommodate more input devices designers may opt to increase the size of the device. This, too, will often leave a negative impression on a user because it would make one-handed operations difficult, and at some point, the size of the device becomes so large that it is no longer considered a hand-held device.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is an improved user interface that works for multi-functional hand-held devices.
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The invention relates to a novel tacking rail or strip having a profiled cross-section which serves to retain and hold the edges of sheet material to be maintained under tension.
Such profiled tacking rails or strips are already known. These known tacking strips or rails generally include a band having tacks projecting therefrom. The edges of the material to be maintained under tension is held by the projecting tacks. However, such tacking strips are only suitable for specially prepared textile materials, that is material which has on the side which is penetrated by the tacks, freely positioned shanks of loops into which the tacks of the tacking strip can engage. If the textile material is not of such a suitable type for engagement with the tacks, the edge of the material must be provided with a special edge band which can coact with the projecting tacks of the tacking rail.
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Positive displacement rotary pumps, known as “lobe pumps,” are widely used in industries such as pulp and paper, chemical, equipment, food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology. Lobe pumps can pump a wide variety of materials at continuous or intermittent flows.
A standard three-lobe pump is shown in FIGS. 1A-1C. Two identical rotors 10, 12 rotate in opposite directions around their respective axes of rotation 14, 16 to mesh as shown. The axes of rotation 14, 16 are separated by a distance l.
Each rotor has multiple lobes 20. The lobes of each of the rotors 10, 12 come in close proximity to the other rotor and to the interior of the lobe pump casing 30, so that material 40 can be trapped between the lobes 20 of the rotors 10, 12 and the pump casing 30.
As the rotors rotate within the lobe pump casing 30, material 40 flows into an inlet end 32 of the casing 30 (FIG. 1A), is subsequently trapped between the lobe 20 of a rotor 10 and the casing 30 (FIG. 1B), and then is pushed out of the pump through the outlet end 34 (FIG. 1C). As the lobes rotate, the material 40 travels around the outside of the rotors 10, 12.
The rotors of a standard lobe pump can be rotated by a driving gear 52 and a driven gear 50, as shown in FIG. 2A. As shown, the rotors 10′, 12′ can each have two lobes 20′ instead of the three shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, or rotors can alternatively be designed to have any number of lobes. The rotor frequency n is the same as the frequency of its driving motor, and is related to a pumping period T by the following expression:
n = 1 2 NT ,where N is the number of lobes on each rotor.
Profiles for the rotors within a lobe pump can be designed using the “deviation function method.” See, e.g., Yang, Tong, and Lin, “Deviation-Function Based Pitch Curve Modification for Conjugate Pair Design,” J. of Mech. Des. v. 121, pp. 579-586 (1999), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This method uses a function that describes the deviation of the conjugate pair (or rotor pair) from the profile of a pitch pair, such as a pair of ellipses or circles rotating in opposite directions while maintaining contact. This method allows one skilled in the art to generate a profile of a conjugate pair with a desired geometry so that it matches the rotation of a given pitch pair. For example, the deviation function method could generate a rotor profile with a desired number of lobes of a desired length and noncircularity, etc., that rotates with another rotor similarly to a pair of oppositely rotating circles. This reference allows a broad range of rotor profiles to be generated that correspond to given pitch pairs, but suggests no particular geometry for the rotor or the effects of such geometry.
There are typically two types of lobe pumps used in the industry: conventional, involute lobe pumps and epitrochoidal lobe pumps. FIG. 3A shows a profile of a conventional involute lobe pump rotor. Involute lobe pump rotors have a smooth, continuous profile.
Epitrochoidal lobe pumps have rotors with profiles composed of circular arcs and epitrochoidal curves that do not have first order continuity at some intersections of curve segments. An example of lobe profiles of epitrochoidal rotors is shown in FIG. 4.
Resultant flow rates of conventional lobe pump systems or systems with rotor profiles generated through the deviation function method, described above, have also been previously described by Applicants in “The specific flowrate of deviation function based lobe pumps—derivation and analysis,” Mechanism and Machine Theory 37, pp. 1025-1042 (2002), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In this reference, a normalized flow rate can be derived from a given profile that deviates from an non-circular or circular pitch profile according to a given deviation function, e(θ). Specifically, a flow rate in terms of an angle of rotation θ of the rotor can be expressed as:
F ( θ ) = θ . · l ( b 2 - r ( l - r ) - e ( θ ) 2 ) w 2 ( l - r ) ,where, referring to FIGS. 2B-C, l represents the distance between the rotors' axes of rotation 140, 160, w is the rotor thickness, b is the lobe length, r is the distance from the axis of rotation 160 of the rotor 120 to a contact point P. The contact point P is the point of contact of the rotors' 140, 160 respective pitch profiles p1, p2. e(θ) is the deviation function, or a function showing the deviation of the profile of the actual rotor 120 from its corresponding pitch profile p1.
It is known that a flow rate of material out of a conventional, involute lobe pump will be a periodic, parabolic function of the angular position θ of the pump rotors, as shown in FIG. 3B. See, Mimmi, 1992; Mimmi and Pennacchi, 1994. The amplitude variation of the periodic function is due to the change of the contact point position of the rotors during the meshing. These periodic functions are described in more detail in, e.g., Yang and Tong, 2000; Bidhendi et al., 1983; and Iyoi and Togashi, 1963. It is also known that the flow rate of material out of epitrochoidal lobe pumps is constant. See Mimmi and Pennacchi, 1994.
One problem present with both existing conventional lobe pump systems is that a user is limited to either a specific constant or a specific periodic parabola flow rate, depending on the type of conventional rotor the user chooses. If a particular periodic flow rate is required for an application, such as a volume of flow that varies sinusoidally with time or angle of rotation, neither of the conventional lobe pump types would be sufficient. Further, even if a periodic parabola or constant type flow rate is required, a user is currently limited to a small number of standard lobe profiles from which to choose. Thus, a user would likely need to employ an entirely different, and costlier, type of pump to achieve a desired flow rate.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to telephone accessory equipment, in general, and to an improve ringer assembly for use therewith, in particular.
2. Prior Art
One of the most universally useful and generally available instruments or tools for both business and everday living is the telephone. Telephones have been in existence for many years.
Recently, it has become fashionable to adapt telephone systems and equipment for easier and more productive use by handicapped or disabled persons. The main thrust of these improvements is to adapt the telephone for use by those who are hearing impaired.
There are many such innovations and/or adaptations known in the art. For example, there are many known devices which are used to amplify the sound which is transmitted through the telephone system. This amplification is intended to assist the user in communicating across the telephone line. Of course, other systems such as TTY and the like are used to permit the hearing impaired persons to communicate by means of a printout, displays at the respective ends of the telephone line, or the line.
Some additional adaptations and/or accessories are rather more mundane but do enhance the usage of the telephone systems for the hearing impaired. For example, to indicate that a call is incoming, many telephone systems use lights mounted directly on the telephone instrument or attached as accessories thereto. Other approaches are directed to using loud ringers or the like.
However, these known accessories generally have the disadvantage in that they are expensive, bulky, annoying, difficult to implement and the like. It is, therefore, desirable to achieve the same results with more cost efficient, more esthetically pleasing products.
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In various computer applications, it is desirable to share information among numerous users. Although often times desirable, there are numerous instances in which it is necessary to share information only selectively. In healthcare, laws and regulations pertaining to privacy necessitate a means to share information among a carefully selected group of individuals. Even among those with whom information is shared, it is often times advantageous to share only certain, non-sensitive information with certain individuals. Due to privacy concerns, a system and method for selectively sharing information in industries such as healthcare is advantageous and necessary. In addition to healthcare, such a system and method would have utility in other applications such as social networking, financial transactions, and other applications where privacy is desirable.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for laser scribing of coated layers on glass sheet substrates.
2. Background Art
Laser scribing of coated layers on glass sheet substrates has been done for many years as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,092 Hanak. To a large extent, the laser scribing is performed by a laser beam that is directed from the coated side of the substrate; however, the scribing has also been performed by directing the laser beam through the glass sheet substrate to the coated layers to be scribed such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,409 Caplan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,974 Carlson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,592 Dickson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,674 Praschek et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,901 Oswald et al.
Traditional laser processing systems are of two types. One type includes a fixed laser head mounted over a movable XY table (two axis) on which the coated glass sheet is supported for the scribing, while the other type includes a single axis movable laser scanning head mounted over a single axis movable table. The major drawback of the first type is the speed limitation of large XY tables, which is generally in the range of about 300 to 500 millimeters per second. Thus, in order to achieve commercially practical output, it is necessary to use multiple lasers or split beams to feed several laser nozzles. In addition to being expensive, such systems require maintaining optical alignment which is difficult and also require that the power to each nozzle be independently controlled. In addition, it is imperative to have real time spacing and adjustment between nozzles to facilitate the spacing between scribes. The other system also has the same problems since it is difficult to move the laser head faster than about 700 to 800 millimeters per second.
Other laser scribing patents noted during an investigation conducted in connection with the present application include U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,470 Yamazaki, U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,874 Nishiura, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,572 Kidoguchi et al.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for laser scribing glass sheet substrate coatings at a relatively high speed so as to thereby provide a cost effective product.
In carrying out the above object, the method for laser scribing is performed with a glass sheet substrate having oppositely facing surfaces one of which is uncoated and the other of which is coated. The coated substrate is conveyed along a direction of conveyance adjacent a laser source that provides a pulsed laser beam with a wavelength at a near-infrared fundamental frequency and having a pulse frequency in the range of 50 to 100 kilohertz and a pulse duration in the range of 8 to 70 nanoseconds. The pulsed laser beam is reflected from the laser source by an XYZ galvanometer controlled mirror system toward the uncoated surface of the glass sheet substrate for passage therethrough to the coating on the other surface to provide overlapping ablations through the coating and scribing thereof at a speed of at least 1000 millimeters per second.
The glass sheet substrate is conveyed in a vertical orientation and is positioned laterally with respect to the direction of conveyance by gas pressure and vacuum positioners located upstream and downstream along the direction of conveyance from the location at which the pulsed laser beam passes through the substrate such that the positioners control the planarity of the substrate. The gas pressure and vacuum positioners position the glass sheet substrate at its uncoated surface so there is no degradation of the coated surface.
Laser detectors detect the exact position of the coated substrate so the scribing laser beam can be properly focused.
In one practice of the method, the conveyance of the coated glass sheet substrate is provided by indexing thereof with the substrate being held stationary during the laser scribing.
In another practice of the method, the laser scribing is performed as the coated glass sheet substrate is conveyed.
In performing the laser scribing method, the coated glass sheet substrate is disclosed as having a plurality of different coated layers and a plurality of the laser scribes are made at different power levels so the scribes extend through different layers. More specifically, in the most rapid performance of the laser scribing method, a plurality of laser sources and associated XYZ galvanometer controlled mirror systems respectively provide the pulsed laser scribing of the different scribes at different power levels, each with a wavelength at a near-infrared fundamental frequency and with pulse frequencies in the range of 50 to 100 kilohertz and pulse durations in the range of 8 to 70 nanoseconds and at scribing speeds of at least 1000 millimeters per second.
Another object of the present invention is to provide improved apparatus for laser scribing a coating on a glass sheet substrate.
In carrying out the immediately preceding object, the apparatus of the invention includes a conveyor for conveying a glass sheet substrate along a direction of conveyance with the substrate having oppositely facing surfaces one of which is uncoated and the other of which has a coating. A laser source provides a pulsed laser beam with a wavelength at a near-infrared fundamental frequency and having a pulse frequency in the range of 50 to 100 kilohertz and a pulse duration in the range of 8 to 70 nanoseconds. An XYZ galvanometer controlled mirror system reflects the pulsed laser beam from the laser source toward the uncoated surface of the glass sheet substrate for passage therethrough to the coating on the other surface to provide overlapping ablations through the coating and scribing thereof at a speed of at least 1000 millimeters per second.
The apparatus supports the substrate in a vertical orientation and includes gas pressure and vacuum positioners located upstream and downstream along the direction of conveyance from the location at which the pulsed laser beam passes through the substrate such that the positioners control the planarity of the substrate during the laser scribing.
The apparatus includes laser detectors that detect the exact position of the coated substrate so the scribing laser beam can be properly focused.
The apparatus disclosed includes a plurality of the pulsed laser sources that operate at different power levels, each with a wavelength at a near-infrared fundamental frequency and with a pulse frequency in the range of 50 to 100 kilohertz and a pulse duration in the range of 8 to 70 nanoseconds, and a plurality of XYZ galvanometer controlled laser mirror systems of the apparatus respectively reflect the pulsed laser beams from the laser sources to provide scribing at speeds of at least 1000 millimeters per second.
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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This invention relates to a rotatable sole plate for attachment to a shoe for assisting the pivoting of the shoe when dancing, and particularly to such a sole plate having an adhesive backing material for easy attachment to an existing shoe.
In many types of dancing, particularly disco dancing which is in vogue today, the dancer must be able to freely rotate on the soles of his shoes. While good quality leather soles facilitate this maneuver to a limited extent, in order to enable the dancer to make multiple turns without the necessity of undue atheletic ability, it is desirable to provide sole plates which effectively reduce the friction between the shoes and the dance floor.
This has been done in the past in several manners. The most simple is the direct attachment of metal plates, such as are used for tap dancing, to the soles of the shoes. However, heretofore this has been done by the use of nails which necessitates that the plates be attached by a person which a certain amount of expertise, such as a shoemaker. Otherwise if the improper type of nails are used, they will either be too long, and protrude into the feet of the user, or wil be too short and not effectively hold the taps in place. Accordingly, the cost of attaching plates of this type to an existing pair of shoes is quite expensive due to the semi-skilled labor involved.
Other types of rotatable plates, having paired rotatable discs, one of which is attachable to the shoes, and the other of which rests on the floor, are well known in the prior art. However, the prior art devices of this kind have attachment problems which are even more severe than with metal taps, thus limiting their acceptance and commercial success as an item for attachment to existing shoes. In addition, the devices of this type previously known have utilized a complex bearing system between the opposed plates thereby causing the pivot device itself to be far too expensive and subject to malfunction to be acceptble for the intended use.
The subject invention on the other hand, provides simple, inexpensive friction means which interfaces paired cylindrical discs to provide the aforesaid operation. In addition the uppermost disc is provided with a thin double-backed adhesive membrane which is attached on one of its sides to the upper disc and is covered on its other side by a removable covering. Accordingly, by removing the covering from the adhesive membrane the device can readily be attached to the sole of the shoe.
In one embodiment, the antifriction means comprises low-friction pads which are attached to the inwardly facing faces of the respective discs and the discs are attached to one another rotatably by a rivet which is secured through central openings located in the discs.
In another embodiment, a single thin cylindrical plate of low friction material is attached to the adhesive membrane so that the plate can be attached directly to the sole of the shoe by removing the piece of cover material and pressing it in place.
Accordingly, it is a principal objective of the present invention to provide a sole plate for attachment to the sole of a shoe to facilitate rotation of the shoe, wherein the sole plate can be attached to the shoe in an inexpensive manner without the necessity of skilled labor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a sole plate wherein the means for reducing friction between the shoe and the floor is of simple low cost construction for ease of operation and long life.
The foregoing objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Various known lens systems exhibit a large field of view. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,556, to Jihei Nakagawa, entitled "Retrofocus Wide-Angle Lens System," describes a compact retrofocus wide-angle lens system in which aberrations are corrected using a positive meniscus lens with a large power as the first lens, negative meniscus lenses as second and third lenses, and a thick positive lens as a fourth lens.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,116, to Yoshitsugi Ikeda, entitled "Large Aperture Ultra Wide Angle Photographic Lens System," describes a large aperture ultra-wide angle photographic lens system with a lens diameter small enough to be compatible with filters designed for use with other lens systems, and which permits the correction of various optical aberrations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,073, to Koichi Wakamiya, entitled "Compact Wide Angle Lens," discloses a compact wide angle lens comprising, in succession from the object side, a first component which is a positive meniscus lens having its convex surface facing the object side, a second component which is a biconcave lens, a third component which is a positive lens having its surface of sharper curvature facing the object side, a fourth component which is a positive lens, and a fifth component which is a negative meniscus lens having its convex surface facing the image side. The compact wide-angle lens has a total length as short as the focal length thereof, and yet has a small rearward lens aperture.
Nakagawa provides a compact retrofocus wide-angle lens system. Ikeda discloses a large aperture ultra-wide-angle photographic lens system. Wakamiya discloses a compact wide angle lens system comprising a series of lenses. Nakagawa, Ikeda, and Wakamiya all relate to the use of wide angle lenses to correct for aberrations, or to allow for more compact camera designs.
Now, for the first time and in contrast to the prior art, the present invention teaches the design of a single UV imaging lens package capable of detecting a target to within 9.degree. using an extremely wide angle, very large aperture, and compact solar blind lens.
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Clips for holding elongated devices such as wire, rope, etc. are known. For example, Jonsson U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,054, has a base that may be supported by the wall of a building. A flexible tongue forms a ring that holds a coil of wire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,650 to Espinoza has a curved surface against which a bundle of wire is held by a strap.
German patent 2,012,300 to Lefnaer discloses a lace type of binding device for holding the mouth of a plastic sack closed. That device has an elongated member with enlargements on it for closing the sack.
French publication No. 2,352,192 of Dec. 16, 1977, also discloses a tie cord having a series of enlargements one of which is in engagement with a socket.
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The invention relates to a spoke and a wheel, and to a method of manufacturing a spoke, in particular for bicycles. Although the invention will be described below with respect to application in a bicycle, it is pointed out that it may be employed with other unicycles or multi-cycles, for example with bicycle trailers, scooters, or wheelchairs.
For high quality bicycle components the weight plays a significant role. To reduce the weight of wheels, rims and spokes of bicycles, bicycle components of fiber-reinforced plastics have become known which while being reduced in total weight achieve a stability comparable to that of wheels with metal rims.
Attaching spokes to the rim is in particular difficult where the rims are of fiber-reinforced plastics since conventional spoke nipples require that a stable support be provided.
Against the background of this prior art it is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a lightweight wheel, and lightweight spokes which exhibit(s) high strength.
Furthermore it is intended to allow a simple way of incorporating the spokes in the rim and in the hub.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method to determine operating conditions of a wavelength tunable laser diode (hereafter denoted as a tunable LD) and to control an optical transmitter implementing the tunable LD.
2. Background Arts
One type of diffraction gratings has been well known in the field as the sampled grating where a plurality of segments is continuously formed, each of segments includes a diffraction grating and a space with no diffraction grating formed continuously next to the diffraction grating. The sampled grating inherently has a function to select a wavelength. For instance, a sampled grating with an optical gain, which is called as the SG-DFB (sampled grating distributed feedback), may be integrated with a sampled grating without any optical gain but showing wavelength selective reflectivity to select one specific wavelength, which is called as the SG-DBR (sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector). Various prior arts have disclosed a tunable LD having the SG-DFB and the SG-DBR. In particular, one type of the SG-DBRs including a chirped sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector, which is called as CSG-DBR, combined with the SG-DFB has been well known in the field.
In the SG-DFB and/or the SG-DBR, the diffraction gratings in respective segments are formed so as to align the phases thereof. However, some reasons, for instance, the instability of the manufacturing process of the diffraction grating and/or the stress induced in the segments, sometimes disorder the phase of the diffraction grating in respective segments within dimensions less than a period of the diffraction gratings. Another reason such as inhomogeneous distribution of the temperature and/or the temperature deviated from the designed one cause undesired variation of the equivalent refractive index in the segment, which also disorders the optical interaction between the SG-DFB and the SG-DBR. The present application is to provide a solution to compensate such deviation.
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Downsizing of control devices (e.g., inverter control devices) has been required. Accordingly, semiconductor devices (e.g., power modules) included in the control devices have been also downsized and reduced in weight.
For example, a lead frame including a power element and a lead frame including a control element for controlling the power element are electrically joined together, and the lead frames are encapsulated in a package made of a resin material, thereby forming a semiconductor device. A semiconductor device including a power element needs to ensure a distance for insulation between external terminals which are at high potentials. To meet this need, for example, PATENT DOCUMENT 1 describes a semiconductor device in which a concave creepage structure (concave structure) is formed in a region between external terminals to ensure a creepage distance.
FIGS. 11(a)-11(c) illustrate a conventional semiconductor device including a general creepage structure. The conventional semiconductor device including the creepage structure includes a lead frame 103, a power element 101 held on a die pad 109A, a control element 111 held on a die pad 109B, and a package 106 made of a resin material. The lead frame 103 includes a plurality of leads (external terminals) 105, and the die pads 109A and 109B. The package 106 encapsulates the power element 101, the control element 111, the die pads 109A and 109B, and end portions of the leads 105 located near the die pads 109A and 109B. The power element 101 and the end portions of some of the leads 105 located near the die pad 109A are electrically connected together through metal members 121. The control element 111 and the power element 101 are electrically connected together through a gold wire 122, and the control element 111 is electrically connected to the end portions of the other leads 105 located near the die pad 109B through other gold (Au) wires 122.
Here, in the conventional semiconductor device, concave structures 106a are formed in regions of the package 106 between adjacent pairs of the leads 105 as illustrated in FIG. 11(b) which is an enlarged view of a region C in FIG. 11(a).
As such, in the conventional semiconductor device, the concave structures 106a ensure creepage distances between adjacent pairs of the leads 105, and reduce the distances between adjacent pairs of the leads 105, thereby downsizing the semiconductor device.
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Flexible joints for tension piping systems are known in the art. In one known application, such flexible joints are used in aircraft duct systems, such as compressor bleed air and anti-icing lines. Ball and socket joints provide flexibility while transmitting an axial tension load. Gimbal joints having an internal gimbal ring or an external gimbal ring are also known.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for holding a shaft which is inserted axially therein in an insertion direction to a holding position.
2. Description of the Related Art
For certain towing applications, such as a tug towing a ship or an airplane towing a glider, the joint between the craft must be strong but able to be released under load. This invention seeks to provide an apparatus meeting these criteria.
A tool to be held in machinery would desirably terminate in a featureless (i.e., smooth) shaft so that the tool could be inserted in any axial orientation and be held against axial withdrawal. This invention seeks to provide an apparatus meeting these criteria.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to communication systems, and more particulary, to a method and apparatus to detect tones in a noisy signal environment using noise detection and dynamic thresholding.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communication systems often utilize a loop to connect terminal equipment such as telephone instruments, facsimile machines, private branch exchanges, key telephone systems, voice mail systems, modems, computers, alarm systems, radio controlled systems and telephone answering machines as well as many other devices. These devices are often referred to as Customer Premises Equipment (xe2x80x9cCPExe2x80x9d). To perform various signaling applications such as telephone dialing, data entry, caller ID, and storage system control, Dual-Tone Multiple Frequency (xe2x80x9cDTMFxe2x80x9d) signals are often used. A DTMF signal is defined by two superimposed sinusoidal waveforms with frequencies generally chosen within the voice band.
Detection of multiple-tone, multiple frequency (MTMF) signals, such as Dual-Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF) signals in environments where one or more noise signals is present is generally recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art to be a complex issue. Detection of MTMF signals is particularly difficult when the noise signals share the voiceband used for inband MTMF signaling. One source of noise interference which impedes MTMF detection is referred to as xe2x80x9ctalk-offxe2x80x9d. Talk-off occurs whenever a signal tone detector erroneously accepts signal imitations, such as those produced by speech or music, as valid signals. These noise signals can imitate some of the temporal and spectral characteristics of signaling tones. These imitations are likely to trigger, or talk-off, signal tone detectors. An important goal in designing such detectors is making them immune to these signal imitations.
An additional problem with signal tone recognition is that signaling tones must, in some situations, compete with speech, music or other extraneous background noise. The existence of these complex noise signals introduces spectral components into the signal to be recognised that distort and ultimately impair the detection of valid signaling tones. A signal detector is said to have been xe2x80x9ctalked downxe2x80x9d whenever it fails to recognize valid signaling tones that were masked by noise signals such as speech, music or other noise.
One embodiment of the present invention pertains to an apparatus for detecting at least one tone having a known frequency and duration in an input signal. The input signal is input over a period of time which is divided into frame portions including at least an initial frame portion and a last frame portion. An energy signal indicative of the energy of the input signal during each frame portion is generated. A signal filter receives the energy signal and generates a noise indicator for each frame portion based on whether noise is detected in the energy signal. A dynamic threshold determiner generates an energy threshold for each frame portion. The energy threshold for the initial frame portion is generated based on a minimum expected value of the energy signal for a subsequent frame portion. The energy thresholds for frame portions subsequent to the initial frame portion are generated based on values of the energy signals during previous frame portions and the noise indicator. A signal processor determines when the input signal includes the at least one tone based on the energy threshold, the noise indicator, and the energy signal.
In the present invention, the input signal may be an analog signal that is converted to the frequency domain. The energy signal of the input signal is generated using a discrete Fourier transform, such as the Goertzel algorithm. The signal filter separates a portion of the energy signal associated with the at least one tone from a remaining portion of the energy signal, and sets the noise indicator based on the remaining portion of the input energy signal being above a noise threshold. A variety of signal filters may be utilized in the present invention, however a preferred embodiment of the signal filter includes a low pass filter for separating the portion of the energy signal associated with the at least one tone from the remaining portion of the energy signal, a signal averaging filter for determining an average value of the remaining portion of the energy signal, and a peak detector for determining the maximum average value.
The signal processor compares the energy levels for the at least one tone between at least two frame portions to determine whether the at least one tone is detected. The signal processor may allow at least one dropout in energy level in a corresponding frame portion to improve the present invention""s tone detection. A dropout occurs when the energy for the entire frame portion is below a threshold, or when a linearly increasing energy count for a portion of a frame portion falls below a count threshold. The signal processor also determines when the energy levels of the at least one tone are within a predetermined range between at least two frames. Further, the signal processor may normalize the energy levels between the at least two frames based on the number of samples in each of the at least two frames before comparing the energy levels.
A further embodiment of the present invention is a method for detecting at least one tone having a known frequency and duration in an input signal, wherein the input signal may include a plurality of tones and noise. The method includes determining at least an initial frame portion and a last frame portion based at least partially on the frequency and duration of the at least one tone, determining an initial energy threshold detection level for the initial frame portion, and determining an energy value indicative of the energy of the input signal for the initial frame portion. The initial energy threshold detection level is based on a minimum expected energy level. The method further includes determining energy threshold detection levels for frame portions subsequent to the initial frame portion based on the energy value of previous frame portions and whether noise is detected in the input signal. The energy values between subsequent frame portions and selected previous frame portions are compared to determine if the at least one tone is present in the input signal. The method proceeds for subsequent frame portions until the energy value for the last frame portion is compared to the energy value for a previous frame portion.
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Microelectronic imagers are used in digital cameras, wireless devices with picture capabilities, and many other applications. Cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), for example, are incorporating microelectronic imagers for capturing and sending pictures. The growth rate of microelectronic imagers has been steadily increasing as they become smaller and produce better images with higher pixel counts.
Microelectronic imagers include image sensors that use Charged Coupled Device (CCD) systems, Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) systems, or other systems. CCD image sensors have been widely used in digital cameras and other applications. CMOS image sensors are also quickly becoming very popular because they are expected to have low production costs, high yields and small sizes. CMOS image sensors can provide these advantages because they are manufactured using technology and equipment developed for fabricating semiconductor devices. CMOS image sensors, as well as CCD image sensors, are accordingly “packaged” to protect the delicate components and to provide external electrical contacts.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional microelectronic imager 1 with a conventional package. The imager 1 includes a die 10, an interposer substrate 20 attached to the die 10, and a housing 30 attached to the interposer substrate 20. The housing 30 surrounds the periphery of the die 10 and has an opening 32. The imager 1 also includes a transparent cover 40 over the die 10.
The die 10 includes an image sensor 12 and a plurality of bond-pads 14 electrically coupled to the image sensor 12. The interposer substrate 20 is typically a dielectric fixture having a plurality of bond-pads 22, a plurality of ball-pads 24, and traces 26 electrically coupling bond-pads 22 to corresponding ball-pads 24. The ball-pads 24 are arranged in an array for surface mounting the imager 1 to a board or module of another device. The bond-pads 14 on the die 10 are electrically coupled to the bond-pads 22 on the interposer substrate 20 by wire-bonds 28 to provide electrical pathways between the bond-pads 14 and the ball-pads 24.
The imager 1 shown in FIG. 1 also has an optics unit including a support 50 attached to the housing 30 and a barrel 60 adjustably attached to the support 50. The support 50 can include internal threads 52, and the barrel 60 can include external threads 62 engaged with the threads 52. The optics unit also includes a lens 70 carried by the barrel 60.
One problem with packaging conventional microelectronic imagers is that it is difficult to accurately align the lens with the image sensor. Referring to FIG. 1, the centerline of the lens 70 should be aligned with the centerline of the image sensor 12 within very tight tolerances. For example, as microelectronic imagers have higher pixel counts and smaller sizes, the centerline of the lens 70 is often required to be within a few microns of the centerline of the image sensor 12. This is difficult to achieve with conventional imagers because the support 50 may not be positioned accurately on the housing 30, and the barrel 60 is manually threaded onto the support 50. Therefore, there is a need to align lenses with image sensors with greater precision in more sophisticated generations of microelectronic imagers.
Another problem of packaging conventional microelectronic imagers is that positioning the lens at a desired focus distance from the image sensor is time-consuming and may be inaccurate. The lens 70 shown in FIG. 1 is spaced apart from the image sensor 12 at a desired distance by rotating the barrel 60 (arrow R) to adjust the elevation (arrow E) of the lens 70 relative to the image sensor 12. In practice, an operator rotates the barrel 60 by hand while watching an output of the imager 1 on a display until the picture is focused based on the operator's subjective evaluation. The operator then adheres the barrel 60 to the support 50 to secure the lens 70 in a position where it is spaced apart from the image sensor 12 by a suitable focus distance. This process is problematic because it is exceptionally time-consuming and subject to operator errors.
Yet another concern of conventional microelectronic imagers is that they have relatively large footprints and occupy a significant amount of vertical space (i.e., high profiles). The footprint of the imager in FIG. 1 is the surface area of the bottom of the interposer substrate 20. This is typically much larger than the surface area of the die 10 and can be a limiting factor in the design and marketability of picture cell phones or PDAs because these devices are continually shrinking to be more portable. Therefore, there is a need to provide microelectronic imagers with smaller footprints and lower profiles.
Yet another concern of conventional microelectronic imagers is the manufacturing costs for packaging the dies. The imager 1 shown in FIG. 1 is relatively expensive because manually adjusting the lens 70 relative to the image sensor 12 is very inefficient and subject to error. Moreover, the support 50 and barrel 60 are assembled separately for each die 10 individually after the dies have been singulated from a wafer and attached to the interposer substrate 20. Therefore, there is a significant need to enhance the efficiency, reliability and precision of packaging microelectronic imagers.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of marketing products and services and more particularly to the field of providing a system and method to track the effectiveness of advertisements, determining how the leads generated from advertisements were handled by a salesperson and improving the selling skills of the salesperson.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To the best of the present inventors' knowledge, the present invention is totally unique and no-one has created a totally effective integrated marketing analysis and followup system in accordance with the present invention.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner having an indoor device, an outdoor device, and a ventilation unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an air conditioner sustains indoor air to provide a comfortable environment to a human being and absorbs heat from indoor, emits heat to indoor, or enhances a clean degree of indoor.
The air conditioner is largely classified into an integral type and a separation type, and the separation type air conditioner includes an indoor device positioned at indoor and an outdoor device installed at a location other than indoor in which the indoor device performs air-conditioning.
When the outdoor device is installed in an outdoor device installation stand installed to protrude to the outside of a building, or is installed in a veranda, which is a portion of a building, the outdoor device exchanges heat by directly inhaling outdoor air and discharges again the outdoor air to outdoor, and when the outdoor device is installed in a building such as a commercial building, the outdoor device is installed in an outdoor device installation room formed in the building to exchange heat by inhaling outdoor air into the building and discharges the outdoor air to the outside of the building.
Nowadays, in order to provide more comfortable air to indoor, a ventilation unit for ventilating indoor air and outdoor air by discharging indoor air to the outside and inhaling outdoor air into indoor space is installed in the air conditioner.
In general, upon performing a heating operation, outdoor air is in a temperature lower than that of indoor air, and upon performing a cooling operation, outdoor air is in a temperature higher than that of indoor air and thus when the ventilation unit ventilates outdoor air and outdoor air, heating performance/cooling performance is lowered.
When a heat exchanger for exchanging heat of indoor air and outdoor air is installed in the ventilation unit, a temperature of outdoor air rises or falls by exchanging heat with indoor air while passing through the heat exchanger and the outdoor air is injected into indoor and thus a temperature difference between outdoor air injected into indoor space and indoor air exhausted to outdoor can be reduced and deterioration of heating performance/cooling performance due to ventilation can be minimized.
When the ventilation unit is installed in an outdoor device installation room together with the outdoor device, an outdoor air inhalation ventilating opening for inhaling outdoor air and an indoor air exhaust ventilating opening for exhausting indoor air should be each constructed in a building, a ventilation exhaust duct for communicating the ventilation unit and outdoor is disposed between the ventilation unit and an indoor air exhaust ventilating opening, and when an outdoor device installation room is small and narrow, a connection operation of the ventilation exhaust duct is not easy.
Further, when outdoor is in a low temperature, frost is generated in an outdoor device, the air conditioner delays generation of frost or performs a defrost operation for defrost, and when performing a defrost operation, indoor is not heated, and thus heating performance is lowered due to a defrost operation.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dispensing device, and an immunoassay apparatus using the same; and more particularly, to a dispensing device comprising a plurality of dispensing pipettes for sucking and discharging a liquid; a pipette elevating means for raising and lowering each pipette; a base to hold the pipette elevating means; a base moving means for moving the base; and a washing vessel for cleaning each pipette which can be efficiently incorporated into an immunoassay apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a dispensing device is used by being incorporated in an automatic analyzing apparatus such as an immunoassay apparatus. In the dispensing device, each dispensing pipette is moved to a location over each of specimen, reagent, washing and reaction vessels, which are placed on a table of the automatic analyzing apparatus, so as to suck and discharge the specimen and the reagent to be reacted with each other followed by cleaning.
With the conventional type of dispensing device, each pipette must be moved to the washing vessel to be cleaned for the next dispensing operation each time the dispensing of the specimen or the reagent from the pipette is completed. For the automatic analyzing apparatus including this conventional type dispensing device, there has been a need for a dispensing device capable of accelerating the dispensing operation and the cleaning operation and enabling a large quantity of specimen to be analyzed with high efficiency.
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In electrohydraulic systems which include a plurality of electrohydraulic devices, such as servo actuators, motors and pumps, it is conventional practice to couple all of such devices to a remote master controller for coordinating or orchestrating device operation to perform a desired task. Motors and actuators may be employed, for example, at several coordinated stages of a machine tool line for automated transfer and machining of parts at a series of workstations. In accordance with conventional practice, the master controller may comprise a programmable controller or the like coupled through individual digital-to-analog converters to the various remotely-positioned electrohydraulic devices for supplying control signals thereto. For closed-loop operation, a sensor is positioned at each electrohydraulic device for sensing operation thereof, and feeds a corresponding signal to the master controller through an analog-to-digital converter.
Thus, in a system which embodies a plurality of electrohydraulic devices, a substantial quantity of electrical conductors must be provided for feeding individual control signals to the various devices and returning sensor signals to the master controller. Such conductors interfere with system design and operation, and are subject to failure. The bank of d/a and a/d converters for feeding signals from and to the master controller add to the expense and complexity of the overall system. Perhaps most importantly, system performance is limited by capabilities of the master controller. For example, a programmable controller may require one hundred milliseconds to scan a device sensor signal, compute a new control signal and transmit such control signal to the remote device. Such overburdened programmable controller operations are not acceptable in high performance applications which may require a six millisecond response time, for example, at each of a plurality of remote devices.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an electrohydraulic servo system which exhibits the fast response time necessary for high performance applications, while at the same time reducing cost and complexity which inhere in prior art system of the character described above. In furtherance of the foregoing, a more specific object of the invention is to provide a system of the described character wherein each of the system electrohydraulic devices embodies microprocessor-based control adapted to communicate with a central or master controller and for thereby distributing control of the several electrohydraulic devices while maintaining overall coordination thereamong.
Electrohydraulic servo valves are conventionally employed for controlling operation of hydraulic devices, such as rotary actuators, linear actuators and hydraulic motors for example. Such servo valves are conventionally controlled by remotely positioned master electronics as described hereinabove, whether operating individually or as part of a coordinated system. A further object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an electrohydraulic servo valve assembly which embodies on-board microprocessor-based control electronics. In furtherance of the foregoing, as well as the system objectives previously set forth above, yet another object of the invention is to provide an electrohydraulic servo valve assembly which includes facility for connection to the sensor on the device with which the servo valve is associated for facilitating local closed-loop servo control of the same, while at the same time embodying facility for communication with a remote master controller to obtain coordinated operation with other system devices.
In systems which embody a servo valve coupled to a hydraulic actuator, particularly a linear actuator, it is conventional practice to monitor actuator position using an electroacoustic linear displacement transducer marketed by Temposonics, Inc. of Plainview, N.Y., and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,555. This transducer includes a magnet coupled to the actuator piston for motion conjointly therewith, and a electroacoustic waveguide adjacent to the path of the magnet. A current pulse is launched on a wire which extends through the waveguide and coacts with the magnet to launch an acoustic signal within the waveguide. A coupler or mode converter receives such acoustic signal, with the time between the launching of the current pulse and receipt of the acoustic signal being a function of position of the magnetic relative to the waveguide. This transducer is durable, is directly mounted on the actuator cylinder but magnetically rather than physically coupled to the actuator piston, and is capable of providing an accurate indication of actuator piston position. However, conventional electronics for obtaining such position readings are overly complex and inordinately expensive. Furthermore, such electronics are conventionally supplied in a separate package which must be appropriately positioned and protected in the actuator operating environment. Another object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide inexpensive electronics for coupling to actuator position transducers of the described character. In furtherance of the objectives set forth above relative to provision of a servo valve assembly with on-board control electronics, another object of the present invention is to provide transducer interface electronics of the described character which are sufficiently compact for inclusion in such servo valve on-board control electronics package.
Another problem in the art of electrohydraulic servo valve control lies in overcoming effects of temperature on the valve coil. Coil force is proportional to current. Valve coils are conventionally driven by constant current amplifiers so that change in coil resistance due to temperature has little affect. However, such constant current amplifiers are bulky and expensive. Constant voltage amplifiers are preferable in terms of size and expense, but control of current and force becomes a problem. Another object of the present invention is to provide a valve coil arrangement with reduced temperature sensitivity, and which can thus be used with constant voltage amplifiers of the type described. A further object of the invention is to provide improved valve driver electronics characterized by reduced cost, reduced generation of electromagnetic interference, and/or increased safety at the load.
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It is well known that many biological systems involve rhythmic functions which repeat in an almost regular cyclic fashion. Examples of such rhythmic functions include, but are not limited to: the motion of one limb n a gait pattern, the contraction of the heart, the movement of the chest and diaphragm in respiration, the contractions of segments of the intestine, the rise and fall of populations of different species of animals within an ecosystem and the rhythmic twitching symptomatic of certain neurological disorders. Further, in many cases, it is also known (and, in other cases, it is believed) that the rates and strengths of these rhythmic functions are modulated by underlying control functions which may, in turn, be loosely related to other rhythmic functions. Examples of such phenomena are the relationships between two different limbs in a gait pattern, the effect of respiration on heart rate, the effect of small bowel contractions on rumen contractility in cows, and the interrelationship between the population cycles of predator and prey in closed ecosystems.
Perhaps the best known of these interrelated rhythmic functions is that relationship which exists between respiration and heart rate. It is well known that for the heart to function efficiently in perfusing lung and peripheral tissues, its rate and strength of contraction must be coordinated with several factors including respiration, vascular load and tissue demand for oxygen.
A cardiovascular system that is responsive to changing physiological states requires a cooperative interaction between the cardiac, ventilatory, and vascular systems. While ventilatory activity and the vascular bed are intrinsically coupled to the heart through mechanical interactions, the major factor controlling coherence in their function is the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which communicates with the cardiac pacemaker known as the sinoatrial (SA) node. Although it is widely accepted that an altered state of neural interaction with the heart accompanies a variety of pathological conditions such as congestive heart failure and diabetes, the details of this interaction remain poorly understood.
At present, the only means of understanding the effect of the autonomic nervous system is to study the aggregate effect of neural stimulation on average heart rate, since the origin of any single nerve impulse is uncertain. Since all physiological variables that contribute to the neural traffic cannot be accounted for further refinements are difficult to achieve.
Considered separately, the heart has its own series of pacemakers, the most prominent of which is the sinoatrial node (SA node), which produces an electrical depolarization which spreads throughout the heart in a coordinated way, producing a single contraction of the heart muscle--a heartbeat. The electrical signal produced by the spreading depolarization of the heart muscle can be measured at the skin surface of a subject and visually represented in an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG). The electrical signal related to the entire cardiac cycle consists of two distinct periods: (1) the period of electrical activity when the depolarization occurs; and (2) a period of electrical quiet in between heartbeats (the interbeat interval). The measurement of this electrical signal is often used by scientists veterinarians and physicians as a means of monitoring certain cardiac and cardiovascular functions.
Much information has been accumulated about the patterns of electrical discharges through the us of EKG's. By analyzing the waveforms of single heartbeats, those skilled in the art can interpret such waveforms and make certain diagnoses based on these single heartbeat patterns. Abnormal electrical discharges originating in the ventricle of the heart, for example, are easily detected in the EKG and produce patterns in the EKG record characteristic of ventricular beats readily distinguishable from the normal beats originating from the SA node. One catastrophic condition, ventricular fibrillation, is also easily recognized in the EKG pattern.
This effect on the heart rate induced by ventilatory activity is known as respiratory sinus arrythmia. In the simplest terms, the heart rate increases on inspiration and decreases upon expiration. Research has shown that this modulation of the heartbeat is controlled through the interplay of two branches of the autonomic nervous system, which involuntarily transmits impulses to internal organs. See, A.D. Jose and R.R. Taylor, "Autonomic blockade by propanol and atropine to study intrinsic myocardial function in man", J.Clin.Inves. 48, 2019-31 (1969); J.A. Hirsch and B. Bishop, "Respiratory sinus arrythmia in humans: how breathing pattern modulates heart rate", Am.J.Physiol 241, H620-29 (1981), both of which are incorporated by reference as if fully reproduced herein. Of the two neural branches, the parasympathetic branch, which is the craniosacral portion of the autonomic nervous system, is of particular interest. It has been found that a decrease in parasympathetic activity during the inspiratory phase accounts for much of the observed increased heart rate. See, T.A. Bruce, et al., "The role of autonomic and myocardial factors in cardiac control", J.Clin.Inves. 42, no.5, 721-26 (1963); P.G. Katona, et al., "Cardiac vagal efferent activity and heart period in the carotid sinus reflex", Am.J.Physiol. 218, no. 4, 1030-37 (1970), both of which are incorporated by reference as if fully reproduced herein.
It has also long been known that the heart rate, as measured either by EKG or by pulse counting, is not constant and varies with a number of parameters. Prominent among the parameters that affect heart rate in resting subjects is the respiratory phase. Respiration itself is a variable rhythmic event under control of the central nervous system (CNS) in all animals that occurs with much slower frequencies than the heart rate. As explained above, it is known that during the relatively long inspiratory phase of respiration in normal individuals and animals, the heart rate increases and, conversely, during expiration, the heart rate decreases. However, it is further known that this alteration in heart rate occurs as a result of neural input to the SA node, principally from the parasympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system coursing in the right vagus nerve. In persons with certain conditions, such as diabetes, heart transplants, and some forms of congenital anomalies, this increase and decrease in heart rate in loose synchrony with the inspiration and expiration is absent or minimal in magnitude. This absence of synchrony, and a belief that quantitating the effects of neural input to the heart would lead to a better understanding of cardiac function and dysfunction have resulted in a long-felt, yet unsolved need for a method of quantitating neural effects on cardiac rhythm. Those of ordinary skill recognize that more specific diagnostic and prognostic information about human and veterinary patients suffering from cardiac and other diseases can be obtained via such quantiative methods which, prior to the present invention, was unobtainable in reliable form.
The neural conduction system of the heart originates at the sinoatrial (sinus or SA) node which is located at the junction of the superior vena cava (SVC) and the right atrium. This node is the connection point for the right vagus nerve, which communicates parasympathetic neural information. At least two distinct neural components are expected to be related to the ventilatory phase. The first of these is initiated by signals transmitted to the brain by the lung and thoracic stretch receptors. These receptors generate afferent neural impulses in response to air intake during ventilation, which communicate with the sinus node via the brain stem. A second neural component originates at the carotid and atrial baroreceptors, the sensory receptors located in the arteries and within the heart which respond to pressure variations and relay signals representative of this information to the brain. The brain then transmits this information to the sinus node via the parasympathetic nervous system. This neural control of the natural pacemaker activity of a healthy heart adds great complexity to any detailed understanding of the coupling between the cardiovascular and ventilatory systems.
A crude method of determining the effects of parasympathetic nerve stimulation on heart rate, known to those skilled in the art, is to measure heart rate by counting beats under normal, at rest conditions and then comparing this rate with the observed heart rate while applying pressure to one eyeball, which is believed to induce a parasympathetic neural decrease in heart rate. It is also known, for example, that direct stimulation of the right vagus nerve will dramatically slow the heart rate in individuals with functional neural input to the SA node.
Another method, more quantitative than either of the above and applicable to human medicine, has been used by certain cardiologists and physiologists, but has met with minimal success. This method relies on frequent analysis of the electrocardiogram and of the respiratory cycle. Utilizing the principle of Fourier Analysis, the EKG is broken down into various imaginary constant components of differing frequencies and amplitudes. On of ordinary skill will readily appreciate that since the actual depolarization of the cardiac mass occurs in a regular pattern of much shorter duration than the overall cardiac cycle, the frequency components of the electrically active period in the EKG are of higher frequency than the overall cardiac cycle. Thus, changes in the heart rate are most easily observed as changes in the heartbeat interval (hbi). Consequently, in a power spectrum analysis of many sequential heartbeats, the power in the higher frequencies will be due principally to the electrical signal produced during depolarization, while the power in the lower frequencies will be more related to the interbeat interval. If the heart rate is varying considerably, the power in the lower frequencies will be spread out, while if there is no variation in heart rate (and, consequently, no variation in interbeat interval) the power in the lower frequencies will be more concentrated.
There are, however, severe deficiencies in the results obtained from this method. First, the heartbeat is not exactly periodic; since the calculations that must be performed to estimate frequency information can only be done practically through digital Fourier Transforms--which assume perfectly periodic signals--several approximations must be made in data interpretation. These approximations, however, may mask the underlying behavior of the system. Second, by using power spectral information, all phase information is lost. Since phase may be an important consideration in obtaining meaningful results, any result obtained which is unrelated to this parameter is at best incomplete. Third, because the power spectrum is dependent upon the amplitude of the electrical signal, this method is extremely sensitive to such factors as electrode placement, patient position, and disease conditions such as fluid in the chest or pericardium. Finally, these difficulties are exacerbated exponentially when similar approximations to the power spectrum are used to correlate the frequencies of the respiratory cycle with those of the cardiac cycle through ratio calculations. Thus, this method is also inadequate to fully study the effects of parasympathetic nerve stimulation on the heart.
Studies of cardioventilatory interaction typically utilize data taken on mechanically ventilated subjects. In order to provide reliable results, the extent to which the neural activity associated with free breathing has been reproduced must be determined. During both free breathing and inspiration imposed by a mechanical positive pressure ventilator, pulmonary and thoracic stretch receptors which initiate the transmission of afferent impulses to the respiratory center in the brain stem via the right and left vagus nerves are activated. From the brain stem, efferent nerve discharges are delivered through the phrenic nerve to the diaphragm and through the right vagus nerve to the SA node. This feedback mechanism results in synchronization between ventilation and the neural control of the heartbeat, whether the ventilation is naturally o externally controlled. In an artificially ventilated subject, neural activity which is normally associated with "free" breathing is essentially reproduced when the respiration is externally and consistently imposed, but this neural activity is now synchronized with the externally imposed rhythm.
The neural discharges which govern cardioventilatory interaction ar mediated through the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. These neural discharges result in the deposition of acetylcholine at the SA node, which induces perturbations in the ion flows across the cell membranes, thus altering the excitation interval of the cardiac pacemaker. In general, the effect of the neural impulse is dependent upon the phase within the heartbeat interval at which the acetylcholine is delivered, as well as upon the heart rate and the sympathetic tone, but the result is a discrete change in the heartbeat interval which spans the neural discharge.
Therefore, although comparing neural data from mechanically respirated and naturally respirated subjects is conceptually valid, there is still a long felt but unsolved need for methods which allow neural data to be analyzed and processed, and to identify discrete neural impulses associated with specific pathologies.
Thus, it is known that the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system requires a cooperative interaction between the heart and the respiratory system. It is further known that the respiratory activity may couple directly to the heart through mechanical interactions, a condition known as phase locking. For example, there can be effects due to the local physical environment of the heart changing as the chest cavity expands during breathing. As explained at the outset, phase locking is a very general phenomenon in any dynamical system, whether physical or biological in origin. See Levy, et al., "Paradoxical effects of vagus nerve simulation of heart rate in dogs," Circ. Res., vol. 25, pp. 303-14 (1969); Jalife et al., "Dynamic vagal control of pacemaker activity in the mammalian sinoatrial node," Circ. Res., vol. 52, pp. 642-56 (1983); and Glass et al., "Global bifurcations of a periodically forced biological oscillator," Phys. RevA, vol. 29, p. 1348 (1984), all of which are incorporated by reference as if fully reproduced herein. In addition to these direct mechanical couplings, the natural pacemaker of the heart is also affected via the nervous system. The basic physiological pathways involved in this feedback loop are known; in a healthy heart there are direct repetitive neural impulses emanating from the brain stem which are synchronous with ventilation, these neural couplings are mediated through the carotid and atrial barroreceptors which have direct feedback to the SA node. The simultaneous interaction of all these influences results in a highly complex dynamical system.
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At present, as it is shown in the patents of utility model ZL93217054.4 and ZL97239243.2, the oil storage tank with inner floating roof adopts I-shaped or circular components, which are usually processed from steel plate or aluminum plate. These components are constructed into derivative frame network structure by bolts or aluminum rivets, in which a foamed plastic float covered by metallic layer, or a seamless floating tube extruded by aluminum alloy is fixed. A steel plate or aluminum plate is covered at the top of the derivative frame as a cover board, whose edge is sealed with ligulae or wave sealing strip. The inner floating roof is connected with the top of the oil storage tank by a metal lead in order to induce to static electricity. The disadvantage of the present technology are as follow: the complicated structure will result in too much workload when it is locally assembled; its heavy weight with unequally distributed buoyancy which is only 2 to 3 times of its weight will probably result in tumble accident; the whole metal structure of the inner floating roof setting will probably result in the electrostatic damage; the great thickness of the inner floating roof is usually between 100 mm and 400 mm, enlarges the ineffective pace in the oil storage tank's capacity.
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Roll forming machines for bending sheet metal are well known in the art. They are useful for fabricating a variety of metal products including sheet metal ducts and connectors.
Roll forming machines generally include a series of forming rolls arranged in successive forming stations along an advancing path. In operation, a piece of sheet metal is passed between top and bottom rolls of each successive forming station, wherein each forming station introduces an additional degree of bending to the metal until a desired cumulative bend in the metal is complete. U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,989 describes a roll forming machine of this type and is incorporated herein by reference.
Numerous structural variations in roll forming machines are available depending on the particular bending operation desired. For example, the number and size of the forming stations can be varied to produce the particular bent metal product desired. Various modified forming stations can also be included according to specific applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,989, mentioned above, describes a roll forming machine, having a first forming station which recognizes notches in the edge of a metal workpiece and thereby introduces bends to predetermined alternating metal sections between the notches. It is also known to include an idler assembly as a station along the advancing path of a roll forming machine.
The present invention is useful for any roll forming application in which it is desired to periodically make adjustments to the dimensions between the bends being made.
In the case of duct fabrication, ducts are generally produced in sections which are subsequently connected at their ends by appropriate fastening means. In order to produce the desired connections between duct sections, each duct section can be provided with roll formed hems or flanges at both ends which abut and register with corresponding structures on adjacent sections when connected. The hems or flanges are joined together, for example by cleats or corner connectors. A representative example of a duct connection system is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,641 describes a duct connecting system of this type, known as the Transverse Duct Connector (TDC) system, which utilizes roll formed flanges on the ends of duct sections defining frames which are unitary or integral to the duct walls. In a preferred form of this system, upper and lower channels are formed in the flanges for receiving the edges of a corner connector. The TDC system, marketed by The Lockformer Company and Iowa Precision Industries, Inc., permits rapid connection of duct sections by snapping corner connectors into the frames and bolting the duct sections together across adjoining frames to produce a duct having superior strength. U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,375 also describes a duct connection system utilizing duct sections having integral frames.
There is a need for a more versatile roll forming machine which can easily be reset to make bends of different dimensions. For example, when forming duct sections using existing roll forming technology, the integral frames are formed of flanges having a particular fixed height. However, when ducts made from different metal weights are fabricated, correspondingly different heights of flanges are often used. In order to convert roll forming production to make duct sections having a different flange height, the apparatus must be retooled with a new outboard set of forming station rolls if possible, or if not, an altogether different machine must be used. The cost in terms of time and equipment to make the necessary adjustments, if such are feasible, can be significant. The present invention addresses these and other needs.
The roll forming apparatus of the present invention, while generally applicable to bending operations, is particularly useful for fabricating duct sections for use in these and other types of duct manufacturing systems.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention lies in the field of cooktop appliances. The present invention relates to a cooktop, or cooking hob, with a cooktop or hob frame having at least one decorative frame strip that surrounds a cooktop panel all the way round, and with a decorative separating strip that separates an operating area of the cooktop panel from the cooking region of the cooktop panel.
A cooktop is disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,862 to Doner, wherein the cooktop panel includes two secondary cooktop panels. The two secondary cooktop panels respectively form the operating area of the cooktop and the cooking area of the cooktop, and are separated from one another by a decorative separating strip that, in addition, secures the two secondary cooktop panels together with a cooktop frame.
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Rho proteins are GTP/GDP binding GTPases that belong to the Ras superfamily and are intimately involved in diverse cellular processes and diseases (Symons, M. and Rusk, N. Curr Biol, 2003, 13:R409-418). For example, Rho proteins are pivotal in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton processes such as lamillopodia, fiber and membrane ruffle formation (Fukata, M. et al. Curr Opin Cell Biol, 2003, 15:590-597; Nobes, C. D. and Hall, A. Cell, 1995, 81:53-62). Rho proteins also regulate signal transduction proteins such as Erks, p38 and SAPK, that are involved in the mitogen- and stress-activated kinase pathways (Chang, F. et al. Leukemia, 2003, 17:1263-1293). Most important is the involvement of Rho GTPases as mediators of proliferation and malignant transformation. For example, RhoA and Rac1 are critical for the G1/S cell division cycle traverse (Welsh, C. F. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 2004, 84:33-42), and mediate oncogenic Ras malignant transformation (Welsh, C. F. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 2004, 84:33-42; Downward, J. Nat Rev Cancer, 2003, 3:11-22). In cellular and animal models Rho proteins such as RhoA, Rac1, cdc42 and RhoC have been implicated in invasion and metastasis, and RhoC has been shown to contribute to metastasis in clinical settings (Welsh, C. F. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 2004, 84:33-42; Downward, J. Nat Rev Cancer, 2003, 3:11-22; Clark, E. A. et al. Nature, 2000, 406:532-535).
While most Rho proteins are involved in promoting oncogenesis, invasion and/or metastasis, mounting evidence points to a tumor suppressive role for RhoB. First, in cultured cells, RhoB inhibits oncogenic signaling (Chen, Z. et al. J Biol Chem, 2000, 275:17974-17978; Fritz, G. and Kaina, B. J Biol Chem, 2001, 276:3115-3122), and anchorage-dependent and -independent tumor cell growth (Chen, Z. et al. J Biol Chem, 2000, 275:17974-17978) and induces apoptosis (Chen, Z. et al. J Biol Chem, 2000, 275:17974-17978; Liu, A. et al. Mol Cell Biol, 2000, 20:6105-6113). Second, ectopic expression of RhoB suppresses the growth of human cancer cells in nude mice (Chen, Z. et al. J Biol Chem, 2000, 275:17974-17978; Jiang, K. et al. Mol Cell Biol, 2004, 24:5565-5576). Third, RhoB knockout mice are more sensitive to chemically-induced tumors (Liu, A. X. et al. Mol Cell Biol, 2001, 21:6906-6912) and RhoB (−/−) cells are resistant to apoptosis induced by radiation and cytotoxic agents (Liu, A. et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2001, 98:6192-6197). Fourth, ectopic expression of RhoB suppresses EGFR, ErbB2, Ras, PI3K and Akt induced tumor survival, proliferation, invasion and metastasis (Jiang, K. et al. Mol Cell Biol, 2004, 24:5565-5576; Jiang, K. et al. Oncogene, 2004, 23:1136-1145). Fifth, many oncogenes such as EGFR, Ras and Akt suppress the expression of RhoB (Jiang, K. et al. Mol Cell Biol, 2004, 24:5565-5576; Jiang, K. et al. Oncogene, 2004, 23:1136-1145). Finally, in patients with head and neck, lung and brain cancers, RhoB protein levels are drastically decreased as the tumors become more aggressive and highly invasive (Adnane, J. et al. Clin Cancer Res, 2002, 8:2225-2232; Mazieres, J. et al. Clin Cancer Res, 2004, 10:2742-2750; Forget, M. A. et al. Clin Exp Metastasis, 2002, 19:9-15). The above studies suggest that RhoB plays a critical role in suppressing malignant transformation by blocking oncogenic and tumor survival pathways, and that oncogenes such as Ras and EGFR suppress RhoB expression as a step towards malignant transformation.
The fact that RhoA and RhoB have opposing effects on malignant transformation is intriguing considering that RhoA and RhoB share 86% amino acid identity. Presently, it is not understood why RhoA promotes, whereas RhoB suppresses, malignant transformation. The present inventor has carried out site-directed mutagenesis studies with the goal of identifying those amino acids in RhoB that are critical to its tumor suppressive activity.
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There are known difficulties that a dentist encounters in order to make the matrix adhere perfectly to the tooth during filling, particularly the back teeth, when the tooth exhibits in an approximal zone an indentation, in other words the so-called "radicular recess."
Presently transparent matrices are largely used when the filling is done with a resin that can be hardened by illumination. The matrix is normally held in place by a wedge, also transparent, which is illuminated so as to refract the light rays onto the matrix and thereby onto the filling.
However the wedge is incapable of making the matrix adhere perfectly to the tooth when the tooth exhibits an indentation, in other words a radicular recess. This deficiency generally results in an excess of filling material at the approximal cervical level, from where it can be removed only with great difficulty.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for displaying parameter values for variable electrical signals and, in particular, to devices for displaying the voltage and frequency of such signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Voltage frequency meters have heretofore been provided which will afford a display of the voltage or the frequency of an input signal, the choice being selectable by the user. But such devices do not permit the simultaneous display of both the voltage and the frequency of the signal.
Most voltage and frequency meters give displays of the peak or average values of the signal. It is known to provide a bar graph-type display which more graphically illustrates the fluctuations in the peak or average values of the signal. But such prior devices have not heretofore displayed instantaneous values and have not displayed both the peaks and the valleys of an alternating signal so that the fluctuations in the signal can more readily be observed. Furthermore, prior meters have not provided an indication of the nature of the waveform of the input signal.
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Trial and error methods for printing on substrates are commonly inconsistent, tedious, and time-consuming, especially at the production level. Printing with an acceptable level of quality on objects that include one or more non-planar (e.g., curved) portions, such as a shoulder portion of a plastic container, can prove to be challenging.
For some applications, it is desirable for the print head to move to a more optimal print position and/or orientation relative to the surface to be printed.
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The present invention relates to a new and distinctive soybean cultivar, designated 12133031. All publications cited in this application are herein incorporated by reference.
There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possesses the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single cultivar an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include, but are not limited to, higher seed yield, resistance to diseases and insects, better stems and roots, tolerance to drought and heat, altered fatty acid profile, abiotic stress tolerance, improvements in compositional traits, and better agronomic quality.
These processes, which lead to the final step of marketing and distribution, can take from six to twelve years from the time the first cross is made. Therefore, development of new cultivars is a time-consuming process that requires precise forward planning, efficient use of resources, and a minimum of changes in direction.
Soybean (Glycine max), is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, a continuing goal of soybean plant breeding is to develop stable, high yielding soybean cultivars that are agronomically sound. The reasons for this goal are to maximize the amount of grain produced on the land used and to supply food for both animals and humans. To accomplish this goal, the soybean breeder must select and develop soybean plants that have the traits that result in superior varieties.
The soybean is the world's leading source of vegetable oil and protein meal. The oil extracted from soybeans is used for cooking oil, margarine, and salad dressings. Soybean oil is composed of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It has a typical composition of 11% palmitic, 4% stearic, 25% oleic, 50% linoleic, and 9% linolenic fatty acid content (“Economic Implications of Modified Soybean Traits Summary Report,” Iowa Soybean Promotion Board and American Soybean Association Special Report 92S (May 1990)). Changes in fatty acid composition for improved oxidative stability and nutrition are constantly sought after. Industrial uses of soybean oil, which is subjected to further processing, include ingredients for paints, plastics, fibers, detergents, cosmetics, lubricants, and biodiesel fuel. Soybean oil may be split, inter-esterified, sulfurized, epoxidized, polymerized, ethoxylated, or cleaved. Designing and producing soybean oil derivatives with improved functionality and improved oliochemistry is a rapidly growing field. The typical mixture of triglycerides is usually split and separated into pure fatty acids, which are then combined with petroleum-derived alcohols or acids, nitrogen, sulfonates, chlorine, or with fatty alcohols derived from fats and oils to produce the desired type of oil or fat.
Soybeans are also used as a food source for both animals and humans. Soybeans are widely used as a source of protein for poultry, swine, and cattle feed. During processing of whole soybeans, the fibrous hull is removed and the oil is extracted. The remaining soybean meal is a combination of carbohydrates and approximately 50% protein.
For human consumption, soybean meal is made into soybean flour, which is processed to protein concentrates used for meat extenders or specialty pet foods. Production of edible protein ingredients from soybean offers a healthy, less expensive replacement for animal protein in meats, as well as dairy type products.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification.
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Communication networks include wired and wireless networks. Example wired networks include the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Ethernet. Example wireless networks include cellular networks as well as unlicensed wireless networks that connect to wired networks. Calls and other communication sessions may be connected across both wired and wireless networks.
Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a wireless communications standard that is promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as a major fourth generation (4G) communications standard. Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) is the air interface of 3GPP's LTE upgrade path for wireless networks. The E-UTRAN protocol stack has multiple layers including PDCP, Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and physical layer (PHY). The PDCP layer provides transport for user payload, such as Internet Protocol (IP) packets in the user plane and/or control plane data in the control plane, depending on the radio bearer for which it is carrying data. In operation, the PDCP layer may receive PDU from lower layers. The received PDU is a Service Data Unit (SDU) that can be delivered to upper layers.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
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The present invention generally pertains to assembly toys and is particularly directed to toy building elements for a set of toy building elements.
Examples of prior art toy building elements are described in European Patent No. 0,766,585 and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,132,757; Des. 249,232; 4,253,268; 6,250,986; 6,296,541; 6,447,360; 6,616,499; 6,648,715, 6,702,642 and 6,824,440.
The toy building elements described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,715 includes a top, a bottom and side walls that include grooves and/or tongues. Some of the sidewalls include at least one pair of ridges extending outward from the primary surface of the sidewall that includes the ridges. The ridges form a groove therebetween with an entry opening of a predominant minimum width. The ridges extend beyond the primary surfaces of the respective sidewalls that include the grooves. Some of the sidewalls include at least one tongue having a distal portion of a predominant maximum width that is greater than the predominant minimum width of the groove entry opening for interconnecting in a releasable restraining engagement with a said groove in another said building element. Each tongue extends outward beyond the primary surface of the respective sidewall that includes the tongue.
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Many signals derived from real world systems exhibit anomalous behaviors such as sudden and unexpected changes in the signal. It is often desirable to detect these anomalies in signals so that the anomalies may be characterized. Amplitude-based anomaly detection is based on identifying samples in a signal with low likelihood values. In amplitude-based processes, “soft computing” methods may be used, such as computing a likelihood value for each sample in a signal. In an example, these likelihood values are compared to a threshold likelihood value. The likelihood value may be computed based on an estimate of the probability distribution of a signal. Then, samples in a signal with low likelihood values may be identified as anomalies because based on the signal's probability distribution, these samples are unlikely to occur. However, amplitude-based anomaly detection has several disadvantages, such as being susceptible to long-term trends and cyclic patterns in the signal. In addition, amplitude-based anomaly detection methods are susceptible to high false alarm rates.
Anomaly detection is particularly suitable for applications in network management. In particular, identification of anomalies is especially useful for ensuring the efficiency and security of computer networks. For example, anomaly detection may be used to identify times and locations of suspicious traffic, such as network attacks, which adversely affect network operation by taking up bandwidth resulting in reduced quality of service. Thus, network administrators need to proactively identify anomalies in order to avoid or prevent attacks. It is therefore important for managers of successful networks to accurately identify anomalies in network traffic patterns with low false alarm rates.
Systems and methods to accurately detect anomalies would therefore be of great benefit in data analysis.
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Rivaroxaban, also known as 5-chloro-N-[2-oxo-3-[4-(3-oxomorpholin-4-yl)phenyl]oxazolidin-5(S)-ylmethyl]thiophene-2-carboxamide, acts by inhibition of the active form of coagulation factor Xa.
Rivaroxaban is currently in clinical trials for pulmonary embolism, stroke, thromboembolism, deep venous thrombosis, thrombosis, and acute coronary syndrome (http://clinicaltrials.gov/).
Rivaroxaban is converted to two major metabolites in vivo, the CYP3A4 mediated product of morpholinone ring oxidation (M1), and the product of chlorothiophenyl amide hydrolysis and subsequent glycine conjugation (M4). Neither metabolite is active. (Weinz, C et al., Drug Metab Rev, 2004, 36 (suppl 1): 98).
Adverse events associated with the use of rivaroxaban include, but are not limited to, ageusia (loss of taste), ecchymosis (bruising) and headache (Kubitza, D et al., Cl Pharmacol Therapeutics, 2005, 78 (4): 412-421).
Despite the beneficial activities of rivaroxaban, there is a continuing need for new compounds for treating the aforementioned diseases and conditions.
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Applications for monitoring data processing systems play a key role in their management. For example, those applications are used to detect any critical condition in the system (so that appropriate corrective actions can be taken in an attempt to remedy the situation). Typically, the essential information relating to the critical conditions being detected is logged; the information is then available for off-line analysis through data warehousing techniques.
For this purpose, selected performance parameters of the system (such as a processing power consumption, a memory space usage, a bandwidth occupation, and the like) are measured periodically. The information so obtained is then interpreted (for example, according to a decision tree) so as to identify any critical condition of the system. For example, the occurrence of a low response time of the system can be inferred when both the processing power consumption and the memory space usage exceed corresponding threshold values. The monitoring applications known in the art are configured with predefined corrective actions, which are launched in response to the detection of corresponding critical conditions.
A drawback of the solution described above is that sometimes system administrators might be afraid to concretely use the actions offered by the monitoring engine. They prefer just to be notified of a problem and then to decide what to do to correct it manually. This is due to a lack of trust in the control action done by the monitoring system. To mitigate this feeling and this lack of trust, a validation mechanism would be helpful.
A possible solution could be that of conditioning the execution of a corrective action to the approval of the system administrator. Of course this solution would heavily compromise the autonomy of the monitoring system and also its efficiency. On the other hand a rigid threshold based decision mechanism could be not well tuned on the needs and the peculiarities of the monitored system.
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(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image-taking system that includes: a solid-state image-taking apparatus for outputting electric charge read from light-sensitive elements; and a driving apparatus for driving the solid-state image-taking apparatus, and more specifically relates to a technology for preventing generation of a defective image such as a residual image, without increasing the read voltage.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, image-taking apparatuses such as home video cameras and digital still cameras have been in widespread use.
Among such image-taking apparatuses, there are ones that use solid-state image-taking devices of charge-transfer types that read electric charge from light sensitive elements and transfer and output the read electric charge.
FIG. 17 shows the structure of a portion of a conventional solid-state image-taking device of charge-transfer type, the portion corresponding to one unit pixel.
As shown in FIG. 17, in the solid-state image-taking device, a p-well 72 is formed on an n-type substrate 71. The p-well 72 includes an n-type area 73 being an embedded channel, and an n-type area 74 being a photodiode. Ap-type area 75 is provided between the n-type area 73 and the n-type area 74. A SiO2 film 76 is formed on the p-well 72. A gate electrode 77 made of polysilicon is formed above the n-type area 73 with the SiO2 film 76 in between. This structure of the conventional solid-state image-taking device of charge-transfer type is called MOS (metal-oxide semiconductor) structure.
The gate electrode 77 functions as a transfer electrode to transfer electric charge, and also functions as a read electrode to read electric charge from the photodiode.
Adjacent unit pixels are each separated by a p-type area 78 specifically provided for this purpose.
The p-well 72 is typically grounded. A reverse bias voltage is applied to the n-type substrate 71 for the p-well 72.
Here, varying the reverse bias voltage applied to the n-type substrate can change the potential depth of the photodiode, and can change the height of the potential barrier between the n-type substrate 71 and the photodiode. It should be noted here that what is called vertical overflow drain structure can be formed by setting the reverse bias voltage to such a value that allows electric charge excessively stored in the photodiode overflows to the side of the n-type substrate 71, not overflowing to the charge transfer channel. In the present document, overflowing of the electric charge excessively stored in the photodiode over to the charge transfer channel is referred to as “blooming”. Also, a voltage that is applied to the substrate and is at the limit of inhibiting the blooming is referred to as a “blooming inhibit voltage”. To prevent the blooming from occurring in the conventional solid-state image-taking device of charge-transfer type, it is necessary to form a potential barrier high enough to prevent the blooming, between the photodiode (n-type area 74) and the charge transfer channel (n-type area 73). It is therefore necessary to make the p-type impurity in the p-type area 75, which is provided for the potential control, dense enough to prevent the blooming, preventing the empty space between the photodiode and the charge transfer channel from broadening.
However, if the p-type impurity in the p-type area 75 is made dense enough to prevent the blooming and to prevent the empty space between the photodiode and the charge transfer channel from broadening, it becomes difficult for the empty space to broaden even if a positive voltage is applied to the gate electrode 77. When this happens, the read voltage must be set to a higher level to prevent signal charge from remaining.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. S62-145865 discloses a solid-state image-taking apparatus for preventing signal charge from remaining when the signal charge is transferred from the light-sensitive unit to the transfer unit, thus reducing an amount of residual image.
A defective image such as a residual image is generated when, for example, the signal charge remains because of the read voltage set to a low level.
On the other hand, there is a demand for decreasing the surface area of the unit pixel. However, if the surface area of the unit pixel is decreased, the horizontal width of the p-type area for the potential control is also decreased. This makes it necessary to increase the vertical depth of the p-type area. This also increases the read voltage. However, there is a limit to increasing the read voltage. As a result, sometimes the signal charge remains, and a defective image such as a residual image is generated.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for storing security keys in a mobile communication terminal, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for encrypting and storing security keys in a mobile communication terminal so as to prevent unauthorized use of the security keys.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System/Global System for Mobile communication (UMTS/GSM) system provides a personalization function for allowing a specific terminal to use only a specific Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. Examples of the personalization are network personalization, network subset personalization, service provider personalization, corporate personalization, and SIM/USIM (Universal SIM) personalization that are defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
The personalization function allows a specific terminal to use only a specific SIM card, by using an International Mobile Station Identity (IMSI), a General IDentifier 1 (GID 1) or a GID 2 that is stored in the SIM card.
When a personalization function is enabled in a mobile communication terminal, the use of a SIM card is restricted. A prestored control key is used to disable the personalization function of the mobile communication terminal, i.e., to remove the restrictions on the use of the SIM card. The control key is randomly generated using the seed of a process program, and the generated control key is stored in the memory of the mobile communication terminal in the form of a decimal number. The seed of the process program is used to randomly generate not only the control key but also security keys that are used for receiving services such as e-mail and mobile banking.
Recently, hackers have been successful in their attempt to compromise the security of the Internet, thus leading to unauthorized use of the security keys (e.g., control keys) of mobile communication terminals and service providers. Security programs such as the 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm, has been developed to prevent the unauthorized use of the security keys.
A conventional mobile communication terminal generates a security key using the conventional security program and stores the generated security key in its memory. However, the conventional security program merely enhances the security effects on the generation of the security key. Therefore, it is still possible to easily obtain the security key by illegally accessing and dumping the mobile terminal memory. This causes the unauthorized use of the security key and the mobile communication terminal.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a speed-change control apparatus for an automatic transmission that is installed in a motor vehicle and, more specifically, to a speed-change control apparatus for controlling both engine torque and hydraulic pressure for changing speed stages and, in particular, to a speed-change control apparatus which provides a multiple speed-change operation wherein, during a certain speed-change operation, a command to establish another speed stage is issued.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,450 discloses a speed-change control apparatus for changing engine torque during a speed-change operation. This speed-change control apparatus relates to speed-change control wherein during a certain (first) speed-change operation, a command to establish another (second) speed-change stage is issued. In this speed-change control apparatus, if a command to perform the second speed-change operation is issued prior to termination of the first speed-change operation, the engine torque control is suspended immediately as to both the first and second speed-change operations.
For example, as shown in FIG. 11, during an up-shift operation (e.g. from the first speed to the second speed), as the speed-change operation proceeds through engagement and disengagement of frictional engagement elements, the rotational speed N.sub.T of the input shaft continues to rise with a low-speed gear ratio in a torque phase, whereas the rotational speed of the input shaft falls toward a high-speed gear ratio in an inertia phase (see the line of alternating short and long dashes in FIG. 11). In this state, if it is determined that the inertia phase has been reached based on detection of a change in rotational speed of the input shaft, a control routine is performed to reduce the engine torque T.sub.E by the predetermined amount (T.sub.C). Then, if a command to perform a down-shift operation (e.g. from the second speed to the first speed) is issued, the aforementioned engine torque control is suspended immediately. Then, a command to set the engine torque back to an intrinsic torque T.sub.E is issued.
In the aforementioned speed-change control apparatus, upon issuance of a command to perform the second speed-change (down-shift) operation, the hydraulic pressure that is on the engagement side during the first speed-change (up-shift) operation is reduced immediately, so that a change in rotational speed (a rise in rotational speed of the input shaft) is generated through the second speed-change (down-shift) operation. On the other hand, as described above, a command to suspend the engine torque control is also issued immediately in response to the command to perform the second speed-change (down-shift) operation. Therefore, the rotational speed of the input shaft tends to rise. In circumstances where the engine torque may change abruptly, the hydraulic pressure control needs to be performed during the second speed-change (down-shift) operation. However, the characteristic of the feedback control of the aforementioned hydraulic pressure for change in rotational speed of the input shaft is unsuitable. That is, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 11, the rotational speed N.sub.T of the input shaft rises abruptly and tends to overshoot.
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Parenteral solutions broadly cover fluid replacement, electrolyte replacement and are vehicles for drug medication. Solutions include blood plasma, platelets, red cells, kidney dialysis solutions, saline solutions and nutritional products. These solutions were initially bottled in glass, however, with the introduction of the collapsible parenteral solution bag some years ago, airborne contamination was significantly reduced since the flexible bags empty without outside air entering the system.
The general requirements of a resin used in the manufacture of the parenteral solution bags include flexibilty, clarity, toughness at low temperatures, heat sealability, good processability, moisture vapor permeability resistance and ability to be sterilized. The industry is presently employing a highly plasticized PVC film for this purpose. Although this resin does meet most of the requirements, a material is preferred that has little or no plasticizer. Also the PVC film is not very resistant to moisture vapor permeability, and consequently, the continuing loss of moisture of the parenteral solutions reduces their storage life considerably. Therefore, it is required that the bag be sealed within an overpouch made from a film resin designed to have a low water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). Currently the overpouch film is made from a blend of high density polyethylene and butyl rubber and been extruded into film of a thickness of about 4-5 mil to provide the necessary WVTR. This thickness is usually more than needed for physical strength and adds to the cost of the assembly. Another drawback of the overpouch resin is that it lacks the desired clarity, an important property needed for easy and correct identification of the contents of the inner bag.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a resin formulation which is suitable in the manufacture of sterilizable overpouch films of improved clarity and moisture vapor permeability resistance.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a film useful in the manufacture of sterilizable, collapsible bags for direct and for indirect containment of parenteral solutions.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved collapsible intravenous bag assembly.
Other objects are readily determined from a reading of the specification and claims.
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The demand for increased storage capacity in memory or rigid disks and the trend towards miniaturization of memory or rigid disks (due to the requirement for smaller hard drives in computer equipment) continues to emphasize the importance of the memory or rigid disk manufacturing process, including the planarization or polishing of such disks for ensuring maximal performance. While there exist several chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) compositions and methods for use in conjunction with semiconductor device manufacture, few conventional CMP methods or commercially available CMP compositions are well-suited for the planarization or polishing of memory or rigid disks.
As the demand for increased storage capacity has increased, so has the need for improved processes for the polishing of such memory or rigid disks. The term “memory or rigid disk” refers to any magnetic disk, hard disk, rigid disk, or memory disk for retaining information in electromagnetic form. The memory or rigid disk typically has a surface that comprises nickel-phosphorus, but the memory or rigid disk surface can comprise any other suitable material. The planarity of the memory or rigid disks must be improved, as the distance between the recording head of a disk drive and the surface of the memory or rigid disk has decreased. Reduction of defectivity of the memory or rigid disk, that is, the reduction of surface roughness, is necessary to increase recording density. In order to increase recording density, recording density per unit area on the memory or rigid disk must also be increased.
During the polishing of a memory or rigid disk, typically the edges of the disk receive a higher pressure from the polishing tool than the remaining surface area of the disk. Typically, polishing is performed using a combination of an abrasive, a polishing pad, and a liquid carrier, in which the abrasive may be suspended in the liquid carrier, or may be affixed to the surface of the pad. As the polishing process mainly consists of mechanical abrasion of the disk by the abrasive and/or pad, in conjunction with the action of chemicals that may be present, and the rate of abrasion is at least in part a function of pressure applied, the edges of the disk experience a higher rate of abrasion than the rest of the disk. This leads to the formation of a curved, or rounded, contour at the edges of the disk, known in the art as rub-off or dub-off. Such rounded areas on a disk are unsuitable for recording. Thus, if the amount of rub-off can be reduced, the recording capacity for a disk can be increased.
Therefore, considerable effort has been expended in a search for improved processes for the uniform polishing of memory or rigid disks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,729 discloses a polishing composition comprising a polishing material, a polishing accelerator, hydroxypropyl cellulose or hydroxyalkyl alkyl cellulose, and water. U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,051 discloses a polishing composition for a memory hard disk comprising a polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene alkyl ether or a polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene copolymer, an inorganic or organic acid, an abrasive, and water.
There remains a need, however, for other compositions and methods for planarizing or polishing memory or rigid disks at a high rate, while minimizing surface defectivity. The invention provides such a composition and method. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.
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Aircraft commonly include one or more batteries that must be regularly removed and replaced for maintenance and service purposes. These batteries are typically heavy (e.g. 90 lbs.) and are located in areas of the aircraft that are difficult to access. For example, in the Gulfstream G650 aircraft, one battery is located in a forward section of its interior and two additional batteries are located in an aft section of its interior. In the past, a worker would manually carry the battery up or down a ladder to load the battery into the aircraft or to remove the battery from the aircraft. Because of the battery's weight, this was undesirable. To address this issue, some workers now use a lift located outside the aircraft to raise the battery into the aircraft or to lower the battery out of the aircraft.
While this solution is adequate, there is room for improvement. This is because the lift is located outside the aircraft and therefore does not help the worker move the battery through the aircraft's interior. To move the battery through the interior of the aircraft, a technician must lift and carry the battery by hand. While carrying the battery, the technician must move through small pathways in the interior by utilizing non-ergonomic positions while avoiding bodily injury and damage to sensitive equipment already on-board the aircraft. For these reasons, it is undesirable for a technician to carry a battery by hand.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a load assembly and a method for lifting a load into an aircraft. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and a method for the detection of a change of the data of a dataset which may for example be applied in the processing or storing of data in a data processing system for securing data integrity.
2. Description of Related Art
In many application scenarios it is desirable to protect stored data from the access of unauthorized persons, which is why the same are encryptedly stored in a memory. In particular, security applications today require the protection of data by an encryption unit. Apart from that it has to be guaranteed that read data is correct, i.e. that the same was not changed before reading. Data may for example be changed during its transfer via a bus system or during its retention time in the memory by randomly occurring errors like the toggling of an individual bit. Further, also the protection of data processing units against misconduct (by attacks on the data processing unit) gains evermore importance. An attacker who wants to affect the security of a data processing system by an attack will willfully change stored data and in doing so usually change more than one bit of a data word which was stored or transmitted via a bus. In addition to the encryption of the data it is also required to detect a random or willfully caused change of data.
The encryption of data before storing or before transferring the same via a bus system, respectively, is here performed by an encryption unit (MED) which encrypts individual data words of a fixed, system-dependent word length into encrypted data words of the same word length according to a cryptographic algorithm.
Due the necessity to detect data changes and correct individual bit errors, up to now an error correction polynomial (ECC polynomial; ECC=error correction code) or another error correction method based on a redundancy formation is applied to the already encrypted data. By the application of the error correction mechanisms after the encryption by the encrypting MED, the MED itself is generally not protected, or has to be examined by expensive additional hardware, respectively. In addition, for the implementation of the error correction a dedicated extra hardware is required after the encryption. By the method applied so far, the required hardware is thus clearly increased regarding its extent and the current consumption of a data processing means is increased by the additional hardware, respectively, which is among others to be prevented with regard to a possible use in mobile terminal devices.
The German patent application 10 2005 001953.6 describes a method and a device in which the redundancy information, i.e. the error correction information, is formed by a bit-wise exclusive-OR operation of the individual data words of a dataset even before the encryption of the data words by the MED. The error code word or the redundancy information, respectively, in this method comprises the same word length as the data words and the MED. In the method described in DE 10 2005 001953.6, the error code word may be transmitted or stored, respectively, in an encrypted or non-encrypted way together with the data words of a dataset, whereby the detection of changes of the data when transferring or storing the same is enabled and the change of one of the data words of a dataset by one individual bit may be corrected. The method proposed in DE 10 2005 001953.6 has the disadvantage, however, that without changing the hardware no error codes smaller than the data width or the word length of the MED, respectively, may be generated. This is in particular disadvantageous if the individual protection requirements might already be achieved using a lower bit count of the error code. In order to achieve a lower bit count of the error code, either massive changes have to be performed at the encryption unit, or the actually superfluous bits of the error code have to be stored together with the data words, which clearly increases the memory requirements. This is for example a disadvantage for mobile applications or applications in the embedded area where often only limited memory space is available.
In the existing solutions, thus in the implementation of an error correction code or a flexible adaptation of the scope of protection to the security requirements, a significant change or expansion of the existing hardware is necessary.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-circuit emulator for debugging a program for a microcomputer to be mounted on a substrate. In the in-circuit emulator, a pod portion to be connected to the substrate and an emulator main body having a debugging function are housed in separate boxes and the pod portion and the emulator main body are connected through buses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The in-circuit emulator is used for evaluating a function of a program for a microcomputer (a target microcomputer) to be mounted on a circuit substrate (target substrate) to be newly developed. As a representative in-circuit emulator, there is a system being composed of an emulator main body for evaluating a result of execution of a program, a pod portion mounted with an equivalent microcomputer to a target microcomputer, the pod portion which operates in place of the target microcomputer, and software for evaluation.
The pod portion is connected to the target substrate and the emulator main body. It standardizes signals which are different by the kinds of microcomputers to be evaluated and supplies the standardized signal to the emulator main body. One emulator main body can evaluate programs for many kinds of target microcomputers by using the pod portion as described in the above. The emulator main body is connected to the pod portion, a personal computer, an engineering work station, etc. The emulator main body has functions such as the detection of a breakpoint, a real time trace, the measurement of a program execution time, and measures the execution time of a real time trace or a program. The software for evaluation operates on a personal computer or an engineering work station and realizes the set control for various kinds of evaluation functions and the display control for evaluation results. The emulator main body executes the detection of a breakpoint and measures the execution time of a real time trace or a program, according to an instruction from a personal computer or an engineering work station operating under the software for evaluation. The results of the execution are transferred to the personal computer or the engineering work station.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional in-circuit emulator. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 designates a pod portion mounted with an equivalent microcomputer to a target microcomputer; and 300, an emulator main body which evaluates a program execution result of a pod portion 100 based on a signal output from the pod portion 100.
In the pod portion 100, reference numeral 3 designates an emulation memory for storing a program being an evaluation object; 4, a microcomputer for executing a program stored in the emulation memory 3 with a reception of an execution instruction from the software for evaluation; 5, a dual-port RAM which is accessible from both microcomputer 4 and emulator main body 300; 6, a three-state buffer for making and breaking the connection between the emulation memory 3 and a bus 41 of the microcomputer 4; 7, a three-state buffer for making and breaking the connection between a bus 42, provided between the emulator main body 300 and the pod portion 100, and the emulation memory 3; which 8, a control circuit and when it receives an exclusive control signal from the emulator main body 300 telling that the emulator main body is going to access the emulation memory 3, it sets the three-state buffer 7 in a conductive state (not in a state of high impedance) and the three-state buffer 6 in a state of high impedance, and when it receives an execution instruction of a debug program from the emulator main body 300, it outputs the execution instruction to the microcomputer 4.
In the emulator main body 300, reference numeral 31 designates a controlling microcomputer which accesses the emulation memory 3 and outputs an execution instruction to the microcomputer 4; and 32, a debug circuit which executes the detection of a breakpoint, a real time trace, and the measurement of a program execution time, etc. Reference numeral 43 designates a control signal line for transmitting an exclusive control signal, an execution instruction, etc.
Next, the operation will be explained. The controlling microcomputer 31 of the emulator main body 300 downloads an object program for debugging into the emulation memory 3 of the pod portion 100 through the bus 42 and the three-state buffer 7. The object program for debugging is created on a personal computer or an engineering work station for example, and the program is transferred to the emulator main body 300 from the personal computer or the engineering work station. When the program is downloaded, the three-state buffer 7 is set in a conductive state and the three-state buffer 6 is set in a high impedance state.
When the object program for debugging is activated, the controlling microcomputer 31 of the emulator main body 300 outputs an execution instruction to a control circuit 8 in the pod portion 100. The control circuit 8 sets the microcomputer 4 in a executable state and it sets the three-state buffer 7 in a high impedance state and the three-state buffer 6 in a conductive state. The microcomputer 4 reads a program stored in the emulation memory 3 through the three-state buffer 6 and executes the program. The bus 41 of the microcomputer 4 is extended also to the emulator main body 300. Therefore, the debug circuit 32 is able to monitor the state of the bus 41. In a case where the setting of a breakpoint is made for example, the debug circuit 32 compares a state of the bus 41 with a break condition. In a case where the execution of a real time trace is set for example, the debug circuit 32 reads a signal on the bus 41 conforming to the trace condition and stores the taken-in signal.
When a break condition is realized, the debug circuit 32 informs the controlling microcomputer 31 about it. Then the controlling microcomputer 31 stops the execution of the microcomputer 4 through the control circuit 8 of the pod portion 100 and informs the personal computer or the engineering work station that the break condition is realized. The personal computer or the engineering work station is informed of the results of the real time trace in succession. When a user who grasps the program execution result through the personal computer or the engineering work station judges that the correction of the program is needed, he delivers a program correction instruction etc. to the emulator main body 300 through the personal computer or the engineering work station. Then the controlling microcomputer 31 of the emulator main body 300 outputs an exclusive control signal to the control circuit 8.
The control circuit 8 sets the three-state buffer 7 in a conductive state and sets the three-state buffer 6 in a high impedance state. Therefore, the controlling microcomputer 31 is made to be in an accessible state to the emulation memory 3 through a bus 42. In this state, the user inputs data for re-writing the program to the personal computer or the engineering work station. The controlling microcomputer 31 receives the data, and rewrites the contents of the program stored in the emulation memory 3 based on the data.
In the configuration as described in the above, since the emulator main body 300 takes in the other bus 42 than the bus for the microcomputer 4, controlling microcomputer 31 is able to approach various kinds of resources in the pod portion 100 during the operation of the microcomputer 4. In FIG. 1, a dual-port emulation memory 5 is shown as an example of such resources. However, when an evaluation object is a target microcomputer having a wide data bus or a wide address bus, the number of signal lines between the pod portion 100 and the emulation main body 300 is increased with the increase in the number of bits. Therefore, a problem occurs that the number of conductors of a cable to take in the busses, 41 and 42 is increased and flexibility of the cable is reduced.
Assuming that the microcomputer 4 and the controlling microcomputer 31 are both 16 bit microcomputers (address lines 24, data lines 16), a total number of signal lines amounts to 80.
Address lines: 24.times.2=48 PA1 Data lines: 16.times.2=32
In the case of an actual in-circuit emulator, there are other control signals than the data signals and the address signals even though the number of them is small.
In the case of an in-circuit emulator in which two busses 41 and 42 are provided between the pod portion 100 and the emulator main body 300, variety of resources in the pod portion 100 can be accessed during the operation of the microcomputer 4, but it has a problem within it that the number of signal lines between the pod portion 100 and the emulator main body 300 increases with the increase in the number of bits of the target microcomputer. The cost of parts such as connectors is increased and the countermeasure cost for EMI is also increased with the increase in the number of signal lines. Flexibility of a cable is reduced and the degree of freedom in the layout on a target substrate in the pod portion 100 is decreased.
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The United States Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) includes a number of different components. Each of these components was originally under the ownership and control of a single telephone service provider. Currently, however, respective components in the PSTN may be owned and/or under the responsibility of different parties. For example, a long distance telephone company may be responsible for long distance lines, whereas a local telephone company may be responsible for local lines, and a subscriber may be responsible for equipment at the subscriber premises.
When a malfunction in the PSTN arises, it is necessary to identify whether the malfunction is due to a problem located at the subscriber premises, in the subscriber loop or in the network of a chosen service provider. Responsibility for correcting the problem lies with the party responsible for the component where the problem lies. Matters are complicated by multiple service providers competing for local telephone communication services. As a result, the subscriber loop may be owned and maintained by one company yet leased by another company that provides local services to subscribers. Hence, each local service provider needs a way to immediately test for proper functioning of the network as far as a network interface device (NID). The NID is positioned at the DEMARC, i.e., the demarcation point where a local telephone company responsibility stops and the subscriber responsibility begins. Typically, the NID is located either adjacent to a subscriber's premises or a short distance away from the subscriber's premises. Thus, there is a need to be able to determine the location of a problem within the PSTN without incurring significant overhead and without suffering substantial delay.
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1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to storage of paint rollers, specifically to paint roller holder-containers, providing the user a choice of using the paint roller holder-container as a long term protective paint roller holder-container when the paint roller is not in use and as a paint roller holder-container during interruptions while involved in a painting project.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many, if not most users of paint rollers prefer to store their paint rollers in a container which would hold their paint roller in a ready-to-use condition during the complete time of painting avoiding clean-up of paint roller every time there is an interruption; for example, storage of paint roller overnight, or at lunch break, or moving other items out of the way which could take several hours or transporting the wet paint roller from one place to another. Heretofore, a wide variety of paint pails, paint containers, paint trays, paint containers and covers, paint receptacles, combination paint bucket and tray and paint roller pails have been proposed and implemented for carrying and applying paint to the paint rollers.
One such vertical roller tray is used as a paint receptacle which permits the user to carry the device on his person by means of a shoulder strap or other suitable means, or to support the device from a suitable object but it does not allow the user to store the paint roller overnight because the storage area does not have a cover to keep the paint on the roller from drying out. The user would need to clean up roller if there were any interruptions of long periods of time. For example, one-half hour or longer.
Another type paint pail for a paint roller is made for just dipping the paint roller into the pail to apply the wet paint to the paint roller but does not allow the user to store the paint roller over a long period of time because there is no cover for the paint pail. The user would need to clean up the roller if there were any long periods of interruptions during the painting project.
Another type paint tray is designed to hold the wet paint in the lower area of the tray. The wet paint area is open with no cover. The user would need to clean up the roller if there were interruptions in the painting project which were of long periods; for example, one-half hour or longer.
Another type paint container and cover is designed to hold the wet paint only. There is no consideration for holding the paint roller with the cover in the on position. There is no receptacle in the cover for allowing the paint roller handle to protrude through the cover. Therefore, the paint roller has to be removed from the paint container before the cover is placed on the top of the paint container.
Another type combination paint bucket and tray has a capacity to hold a small quantity of paint at its lower end into which the roller may be dipped and the roller is rolled back and forth on that part of the tray bottom thus distributing the paint over the roller. There is no cover for the bucket or the tray, making it necessary to clean up paint roller if there are any interruptions of any long period of time during the painting project.
Another type paint receptacle allows the user to immerse the roller into the contained paint to absorb a quantity of the paint. The wet paint area of the tray is open and does not have a cover making it necessary for the user to clean up the paint roller when there are long periods of interruptions during the painting project.
Another type paint container allows the user to dip the paint roller into the wet paint container area but the container has no cover making it necessary for the user to clean up the paint roller when there are long periods of interruptions during the painting project.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer peripherals. More specifically, the present invention relates to the networking of printers.
2. Description of Related Art
Two types of printersxe2x80x94stand alone and networkedxe2x80x94are currently available for computer systems and other devices utilizing hard copy output. The stand-alone printer is connected directly to a port of the computer system for which it is utilized and is often located physically near the computer system. Such a printer, though easy to monitor and control due to its proximity and direct connectivity to the computer system, cannot be shared. Historically, with a computer such as a mainframe or server, there has always been one printer or a single set of printers, somewhat remotely located which were shared by multiple clients connected to that mainframe or server. More recently as local area networks (LANs) and wide area networked (WANs) of many stand-alone computer systems (rather than dumb clients of a mainframe) became more commonplace, the networking of a single or single set of printers to service many computers at once became widespread.
In traditional networked printers, a single printer (or set of printers) is frequently connected through a central server which administered many different stand-alone computer systems. In other cases, where there is no central server, the individual workstations perform the server functions. The user of any one computer system must select the printer that they wish to use, or can be assigned a default printer during setup of the computer system by an administrator. In any case, the user can choose (or leave to a default) the printer used when sending a job over the network. The user also chooses all the parameters, such as print image quality, speed, color or black and white etc., after which the job is sent. If the print job is successful, the user can go to the printer and pick up the print job. However, if there is an error or the printer is busy processing a job from a second user, the user will be notified. Printer errors such as xe2x80x9cPrinter out of paperxe2x80x9d are typical in the case of traditional so-called networked printers. At this point of error, the user either fix the printer error where the networked printer is located and adding paper in case of a xe2x80x9cPrinter out of paperxe2x80x9d type message or cancel the current job and resend the job to a different printer.
Currently, there is no networked printer and/or server that will allow the user to merely select certain parameters of importance to the job, such as quality and speed without concern of which printer on the network will best suit his needs. Further current networked printers and print servers do not automatically re-route jobs to other printers when there is a printer error, nor keep track of and utilize the physical location of particular printers for the convenience of the user. When the user selects a printer on the network, he must know where that printer is and make decisions which the user should not need to make.
Thus, there is a need for offering a truly networked printer and server solution where the user needs choose only job-relevant parameters such as the quality, speed, dithering, etc. of the job and not have to choose which printer to print to. Further, when a printer error occurs, there is a need to automatically ensure that the job is printed without the user having to choose a different printer or figure out where the closest printer matching his job needs is located.
The present invention is a networked printing solution which minimizes the necessity of user interaction in the printing process.
A virtual printer, as part of a client generating a print job, receives preferences from a user regarding the print job such as image quality and/or speed. The virtual printer automatically determines which printer of the printers on the network comply with the print job preferences. The virtual printer then selects an appropriate printer which complies with the preferences and is located physically near the user/client. The virtual printer sends the print job to the selected printer and waits until the job is complete before notifying the user that the print job is complete and of the location of the selected printer. If an error signal is returned by the selected printer, the virtual printer automatically selects a different printer closely complying with said preferences.
Alternatively, a server connected to the network may perform the computations necessary to select an appropriate printer. The server may also be capable of spooling the print job from the client. The server may also store and update databases cataloging the capability of printers on the network and keep the status of printers on the network. The server may also confirm a mapping of the physical locations of all printers and/or clients on the network.
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The invention relates to a type of patch panel, and more particularly to the structure and assembly of a patch panel""s adapter and panel on a machine framework.
To meet the demands of expandability and transmission capability, computers and their peripheral devices are usually equipped with adapters that can connect to other devices through the use of cables. A patch panel is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,648. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a known combination of an adapter 10 and a machine framework 20 as disclosed by this patent. The adapter 10 is a type of a jack 12 and an IDC 13, which comprises a circuit board 11 and a mutual connection fixed on the circuit board 11 by means of the printing circuit of the circuit board 11. The jack 12 provides a connection for a plug, whereas the IDC 13 connects with a cable (particularly to a twisted-pair cable). As shown in the Figure, the adapter 10 is fixed on the inside of the machine framework 20 by means of screws 14. This kind of installation method is not only time-consuming, but also requires the use of tools in order to fasten the screws 14 tightly. In addition, this kind of installation method does not allow a port to be marked.
Due to the inconvenience mentioned above of having to fasten an adapter 10 onto a machine framework 20 with screws 14, the said patent proposes another means for installing the adapter 10 on the machine framework 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the means adopted by the said patent primarily involves fixing the adapter 10 onto the machine framework 20 with a front panel 15, a rear compression panel 16, and several screws 14. The front panel 15 is made of plastic, and it is placed at the front of the machine framework 20, so that it provides the function of displaying the marking of a port. In this said design, the adapter 10 is sandwiched between the front panel 15 and rear compression panel 16 at the machine framework, with the front panel 15 in front of it, and the rear compression panel 16 behind it. Although this design requires fewer screws the use of screws is still necessary for the installation.
In view of this, the primary objective of the invention is to propose a patch panel that has a simplified structure and is easy to install.
To achieve the aforesaid objective, the invention proposes a patch panel where an adapter and a panel can be installed on a machine framework with fewer components. Primarily, there is a separately allocated catch and flange that can be fitted and pegged to one another on the adapter and the panel, where the adapter and panel can be separately allocated at the front and rear of the machine framework, respectively, and the adapter and panel can further be held together tightly on either side of the machine framework by having the catch and flange fitted and locked to each other, thus achieving the objective of installing the adapter onto the machine framework without the use of any screws at all.
To further illustrate the detailed characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment is provided below with drawings attached.
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This invention relates to a cylinder block of an internal combustion engine.
Typically, the cylinder block of the engine has a deck surface and a cylinder head is fastened over the deck surface using so-called “head bolts”, with a head gasket (hereinafter referred to simply as “gasket”) placed between the cylinder block and the cylinder head. See for example JP 2000-240502 A, paragraphs 0019–0026, FIGS. 1–5.
In this instance, the cylinder block and the cylinder head provided in the engine are die-cast components formed of a light alloy for weight reduction. The cylinder block, gasket and cylinder head of the engine each have bolt holes provided at predetermined positions corresponding to one another, and head bolts made of steel are inserted into the bolt holes of the cylinder head, gasket and cylinder block, and then screwed in the bolt holes provided in the cylinder block, thereby fastening the cylinder block and the cylinder head together.
However, the cylinder block as disclosed in JP 2000-240502 A is made of a light alloy such as an aluminum (Al) alloy or a magnesium (Mg) alloy, which is greater in coefficient of thermal expansion than the head bolts made of steel. Therefore, when the engine becomes hot during operation, the bolt holes of the cylinder block tend to expand in their axial directions more than the head bolts, and thus the axial fastening force of the head bolts becomes greater.
Accordingly, the guaranteed strength against the axial fastening force of the head bolts should be determined with consideration given to the extent to which the axial fastening force becomes greater. In cases where a greater axial fastening force should be applied to the head bolts, head bolts with a higher grade of strength need to be selected. Consequently, head bolts having a larger diameter enough to exhibit a strength required to endure the axial fastening force corresponding to the selected higher grade of strength for the head bolts should be provided, which would disadvantageously restrict flexibility in designing an engine layout, or offer some other problems.
When the cylinder block made of an aluminum alloy having a greater coefficient of thermal expansion expands and contracts due to change in temperature resulting from operation of the engine, the axial fastening force of the head bolts would change considerably, which would disadvantageously impair the sealing capability of the gasket at the deck surface.
In view of the aforementioned disadvantages, it is appreciated that the axial fastening force exerted to the head bolts should preferably fall invariably within a specific range irrespective of change in temperature, i.e., regardless of whether the joint of the head bolts is under high temperature conditions or under low temperature conditions. In other words, there is a need to provide a cylinder block in which the increase in axial fastening force of the head bolts can be checked or prevented.
Disclosed in JP 2002-224816 A (paragraphs 0023, 0044; FIG. 1) is another example of a cylinder block made of an aluminum alloy for an internal combustion engine, in which reinforcements are provided on a cylinder bore (hereinafter referred to simply as “bore”) to improve resistance to abrasion and to reduce resistance to the sliding action of a piston.
Typically, a cylinder liner made of such reinforcements or a cast iron of good quality, etc. is provided in a bore of the cylinder block for consideration of the resistance to abrasion and the slidability required for the bore.
However, the reinforcements of the cylinder block as disclosed in JP 2002-224816 A are made by integrally embedding into the cylinder block a metal porous body composed of a stainless steel such as Fe, Cr and Ni, and are thus heavier in mass in comparison with metal materials, such as aluminum alloys, making up the cylinder block, which would place the cylinder block at disadvantages in achieving weight and size reduction.
The cylinder block as disclosed in JP 2002-224816 A is adapted to improve the slidability of the bore, but when increase in output of an engine of the same type is desired, the engine could not help undergoing major design changes in order to attend to the associated increase in heat load and combustion pressure; this would entail the problems as follows.
(1) As the combustion pressure increases, a bearing stress placed on a gasket disposed between the cylinder head and the cylinder block should be raised to a level enough to seal an interface between the cylinder block and the cylinder head and to block combustion gases from escaping. Accordingly, in this cylinder block of which the rigidity around the bore is so low that the efficiency in application of the axial fastening force to the bolt-fastened portion of the cylinder block disposed around the bore is low, the axial fastening force of the head bolts would disadvantageously be required to be increased more to compensate the diminished axial fastening force.
(2) The increase in the bearing stress placed on the gasket would lower a buckling strength of this cylinder block at a surface on which the gasket is fastened. Therefore, a great likelihood of buckling at the surface on which the gasket is fastened would disadvantageously make it impossible to place a sufficient bearing stress on the gasket.
(3) The increase in heat load placed on a portion of this cylinder block around the bore would disadvantageously lower the heat dissipating characteristics of the portion around the bore because reinforcing of the portion around the bore could lower the heat conduction characteristics thereof.
In the above and other instances of the cylinder block for which an aluminum alloy is used and provided around the bore, disadvantages that would be entailed are as follows.
(1) Upon startup of the engine at a low temperature, a piston that is different in temperature rise characteristic from this cylinder block is raised in temperature more swiftly than the cylinder block, which would require that a clearance determined with consideration given to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the piston be provided between the cylinder block and the piston.
(2) The higher the coefficient of thermal expansion of the bore is, the more the bore expands after the engine is warmed up, which would make the clearance between the cylinder block and the piston larger, causing the piston to unsteadily sway more violently, and thus increasing noises and vibrations.
Further, the loosened fit of a piston ring of the piston would disadvantageously result in an escape of oil into a combustion chamber, which would enormously increase the amount of wasted oil, and/or an escape of combustion gas into a clunk chamber, which would greatly deteriorate the quality of oil.
In view of the circumstances, it would be desirable to provide a cylinder block having a high thermal conductivity, high rigidity and low coefficient of expansion of portions around the bore, without sacrificing the slidability of the piston inside the bore, as well as achieving weight and size reduction, and higher output.
Illustrative, non-limiting embodiments of the present invention overcome the above disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above. Also, the present invention is not required to overcome the disadvantages described above, and an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment of the present invention may not overcome any of the problems described above.
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The field of the invention is motion simulation and related theme park, entertainment and educational theaters and presentations. Various motion simulators and motion simulator theaters have been known and used in the past. Many of these are have elements similar to early flight simulators with one or a few participants seated on a motion base and facing a flat screen displaying simulated landscapes or airspace. More recently, motion simulation theaters have been developed with the capacity to hold much larger numbers of participants. Curved screens have also been used in these motion simulation theaters, along with special effects such as moving air and scents, so that the participants perceive a more realistic experience. Still, engineering and creative challenges remain in the design and operation of motion simulation theaters. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved motion simulation theater.
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Various application programs are available for testing graphical user interfaces or GUIs. Most GUIs require manual inspection, which does not provide continuity and protection against regressions. Conventional test developers implement individual test cases so that each specific problem that is contemplated is tested for each page of the GUI. The present disclosure contemplates such conventional systems and recognizes that many conventional approaches are susceptible to inconsistency in testing coverage, as well as a high expense in terms of testing time and testing
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The present invention relates generally to lap siding, and more specifically to a tool for installing lap siding.
Lap siding is a common type of siding for buildings. Lap siding refers generally to siding in which multiple pieces of siding are attached to the building in a partially overlapping fashion. More specifically, a first piece is attached at the lower extent of the face of the building to be sided and then additional pieces are attached above it, with each additional piece at least partially overlapping the piece below it. The distance from the bottom of a piece to the bottom of the piece above it is referred to as a xe2x80x9creveal.xe2x80x9d A reveal may also be defined as the height of the siding piece less the amount of overlap by the piece installed above it, or more simply, the vertical or generally vertical portion of each siding piece that is seen after installation is complete. Mechanical fastening of siding pieces to the face of a building is most commonly achieved through the use of a pneumatic nail gun or similar device that may be operated with one hand.
A challenge when installing lap siding is to create uniform and level reveals, while at the same time addressing the occasional need to intentionally vary reveal sizes by incremental units to correct for any number of construction variances, such as if the ends of a building vary slightly in height or a window has been installed out-of-level. Another challenge is the ability to hold a siding piece properly and firmly to prevent slippage during mechanical fastening. Further, siding installers face the constant challenge of having to carry and use many individual tools, such as a level, straight edge for marking lines, hammer, tape measure, etc., which tends to be cumbersome and hazardous, particularly when working on scaffolding.
One common installation method used to achieve the desired reveals described above is to manually mark lines at taped intervals at each end of a previously fastened siding piece. The next siding piece to be installed is then aligned visually and hand-held during mechanical fastening. A disadvantage of this method is the added installation time required to measure and mark lines for each siding piece. In addition, measurements and markings of lines, as well as visual alignment of siding pieces to said lines, can vary from person to person, from one end of the piece to the other, and from piece to piece, thus introducing cumulative errors of scale and human error resulting in non-uniform reveals and siding pieces installed out of level. Furthermore, this method requires the installer to hand-position and hold each piece of siding during mechanical fastening, which can result in inadvertent slippage or movement of the siding.
Another installation method is to use blocks of wood, cut to the desired reveal size, as spacers that two installers can hold at each end of a siding piece, with the bottom of the block aligned with the bottom of the previously fastened piece and the top of the block providing a surface upon which the next siding piece can sit during mechanical fastening. Disadvantages of this method are that individual blocks of wood can vary in length, are susceptible to shrinking and swelling due to differences in moisture content, and deform after repeated use due to the wearing of the edges of the seated siding on the top of the block, all of which contribute to the aforementioned cumulative errors. In addition, the use of blocks as spacers requires the visual alignment of the bottom of the block with the bottom of the previously fastened piece of siding, and further introduces human error, especially because different individuals will be visually aligning each side of the lap siding. Further, while providing a seat for a siding piece to be installed, this method does not prevent lateral movement (outward from the building face) of the siding and can easily result in vertical slippage relative to the previously installed piece of lap siding, thereby requiring two hands to hold the siding piece and block in place.
Existing tools and devices for installing lap siding are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,473,100, 4,484,392, 4,425,714 and 5,408,757, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. However, the devices disclosed in such patents, while somewhat useful when employed by a single installer, consist of tools that are of substantially fixed structures and which have proven to be inconvenient for rapid and efficient use. The devices are relatively complex in structure, are difficult to remove once a siding piece is fastened, and have a tendency to break or damage the siding during removal. The present invention provides a tool that is relatively simple in design, does not remain fixed to the siding after fastening, and yet can be used for the rapid, accurate and convenient installation of lap siding by two or more installers.
The present invention provides a tool that assists in installing lap siding. The tool includes a body having a handle and a pair of vertically spaced-apart seat assemblies that define a seat distance therebetween. The lower seat assembly is adapted to engage the lower portion of a previously installed siding piece, and the upper seat assembly is adapted to support the lower portion of a siding piece to be installed at the determined reveal distance relative to the previously installed siding piece. The reveal distance is at least substantially defined by the seat distance. In some embodiments, the tool enables two or more installers to with one hand properly hold and provide for level alignment of the piece of lap siding to be installed, while at the same time enabling the installers to mechanically fasten the same with the other hand. In some embodiments, the tool is adjustable to accommodate a range of reveal sizes.
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This invention relates to programs that share data across disparate computer applications and platforms, such as handheld computers and desktop computers.
Handheld computers typically weigh less than a pound and fit in a pocket. Handheld computers typically provide some combination of personal information management functions, database functions, word processing functions, and spreadsheet functions. Owing to the physical and memory size, and processing power limitations of the handheld computers, however, these applications are generally limited in functionality and differ in data content and usage from similar applications on desktop computers.
Many users of handheld computers also own a desktop computer used for applications that manage data similar to the data carried in the handheld computer. In such cases, the user normally would want the same data on the desktop computer as in the handheld computer. There are a number of programs that transfer data between handheld computers and desktop computers, but they all create desktop computer's data with no regard for prior contents. As a result, all updates that have been done to the desktop computer's data prior to the transfer are ignored.
Many desktop computer applications have their data stored in large, complex, proprietary formats. Data transfer to these applications usually cannot take place through file transfer, because the data comes from the handheld computer in a different format and usually is a subset of the data held on the desktop computer. In such cases, data can only be communicated to and from the desktop application by the use of a database manager or by use of dynamic inter-application communication techniques.
Many handheld and desktop programs work with database files. Database files have a file format, the set of rules by which data can be read from or written to the file. A database file is composed of records, some of which are data records with the data of interest to the application program and the user, and often some header records. Each data record is composed of fields, and each field has a name and a data format. Examples of data formats include 1-, 2-, and 4-byte integers, a 4-byte or 8-byte floating point number, or one or more ASCII text strings. In the case of multiple text strings in one field, the strings (or subfields) are separated by a special character such as tab or linefeed. Each data record of a file shares the same record structure: a record structure is described by the fields' names, data formats, and byte offsets in the record. The file format's rules include a description of the record structure of the constituent data records, the record structure for any header records and how these header records aid navigation to find specific data records and/or specific fields within those records, "hidden" key tags to help find a record, and any rules that application programs use to access a particular record and field.
Database files are managed by two broad classes of programs, database managers and other application programs. A database manager is a program for managing general databases, that is, database files whose record structure can be specified at creation time by the user. Database manager programs maintain data dictionary records as headers in the database file. These data dictionary records specify each field's name, start byte offset within the record, and data format. Examples of database manager programs include Paradox, dbase, and IBM Current.
Other database files are managed by special-purpose application programs. These programs work on databases of one specified record structure; this specification is embedded in the code of the program rather than in header records of the file. For instance, a telephone directory program may work on files with a 32-character name and a 10-character phone number. This record structure would have been encoded in a data structure declaration in the source of the program.
One or more of the fields of a database record structure are designated as the key, the "name" by which the record can be specified for reading or writing. Some database files, typically those for schedule application programs, have "range keys"--the key specifies start and end points in a 1-dimensional key space rather than a single point in the (possibly multi-dimensional) key space. Range keys may specify multiple intervals, for instance "9AM to 10AM every Monday until Nov. 17." Where non-range keys must be unique--there cannot be two records with the same non-range key--range keys may overlap or even be exactly equal, though typically these are undesirable situations and should brought to the attention of the user.
Because handheld computers of the current generation are diskless, "files" in the classical sense do not exist on many of these handheld computers. Within this patent, the term file should be understood to include the memory-resident datasets of a handheld computer, and the serial bit stream format in which a handheld computer sends or receives data to/from another computer.
File copying and data conversion are long-standing problems in the art, and many solutions to different parts of the problem have been offered.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,809 describes a technique for sharing data among disparate platforms with differing data formats, but leaves unsolved the problems of sharing data among platforms that require different record structures or file formats (broader problems that include the data format problem as a constituent), and does not provide a method for a user of these disparate platforms to conveniently instruct his system about his environment so that the system will apply itself in that environment.
There are several file transfer programs for communicating between computers, including Organizer Link 2 from Sharp.RTM. Electronics, PC-Link for the Casio B.O.S.S..TM. from Traveling Software.RTM., HP95LX Connectivity Pack from Hewlett Packard, and 3 Link from Psion PLC. These file transfer programs do not provide the invention's user-specifiable field mapping of data nor dynamic reconciliation of data.
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The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (e.g., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (e.g., the smallest component or line that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs.
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{
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This invention relates to multipurpose additives for hydrocarbon fuels and lubricating oils.
Detergent motor fuel and lubricating oil additives available today generally suffere from one or more deficiencies. Either they are used at very high concentrations, for example, of the order of 4000 ppm, or if used at lower, more economical levels, their detergency and other desirable properties are substantially diminished or lost.
The motor fuel detergency properties relate to ability of the additive to clean up and maintain the cleanliness of the carburetor and other elements of the fuel induction system, such as the intake valves and ports, and to reduce the octane requirement increase of an internal combustion engine by reducing the buildup of combustion chamber deposits. Another property is the ability of the additive to maintain a low level of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide exhaust gas emissions so that phosphorus-containing additives are not required. Still other desirable properties include rust and corrosion protection, water demulsibility properties, anti-icing properties, and the like.
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{
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The invention relates generally to relates to an apparatus to cloak objects large and small from electromagnetic radiation. In particular, the invention relates to an electromagnetic cloak having plates adjacently disposed at a separation distance.
Due to the ever increasing use of electromagnetics, the United States armed forces need methods to prevent electromagnetic interference. Preventing electromagnetic interference is also useful in the private sector. The physical implementation of an electromagnetic cloak is a relatively new idea, although the basic physics of electromagnetism has been long known. An electromagnetic cloak can conceal an interior object to electromagnetic radiation by not disturbing the electromagnetic field outside of the cloak in a detectable way. Such a cloak can be used anywhere there is an object that interacts with an electromagnetic wave.
In order to cloak an object, radiation must travel around the object and reconstruct on the other side in both phase and amplitude. The path around an object, embedded in free space, for example, is longer than the path radiation would take in free space if the object were not there. Free space radiation travels at the speed of light, and so the velocity of the wave taking the longer path must travel faster than the speed of light so the phase can reconstruct on the other side. The wave velocity denoted constitutes the phase velocity, which can travel faster than the speed of light without violating physical laws because there is no energy moved by phase velocity.
In a true cloak, the radiation is generalized to any polarization and frequency, and can originate from any origin. Scattered waves are non-existent and transmitted waves are not distorted in either phase or amplitude outside the cloak. The cloak behavior would not depend on the electromagnetic nature of the object being cloaked. There exists no known physically realizable cloak that can accommodate all these generalizations simultaneously. Therefore, a need exists for an effective electromagnetic cloak that can prevent electromagnetic interference.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle for children and particularly to a construction of vehicles for children improved to arouse the interest of children.
2. Description of the Prior Art
What is of particular interest to this invention is a vehicle for children constructed so that a child sits on it with the legs on either side and drives it with leg strokes kicking the ground. Such vehicles for children, simulating automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, locomotives, streetcars, animals and other forms, have appeared on the market. Such a variety of static shapes should not go unheeded from the standpoint of arousing the interest of children.
Further, dynamic shapes, particularly where their actions are of unexpected nature, would perform the function of arousing the interest of children more intensely.
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The tablet computer is widely used in everyday life. The tablet computer can be located on a base with a keyboard to form a laptop computer.
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Not Applicable.
This invention relates principally to a bracket, that may be applied to the gunnels of a boat, or any other supporting structure, and for use for securely holding or supporting other accessories such as a lamp, fishing rod, or any other structural framework, for use for facilitating the overall convenient usage of the vehicle.
Various styles of brackets have long been used in the art for holding other items. Brackets and frameworks have had known usage in the boat field, for use for holding frameworks, for supporting camouflage, as for example when used for a duck blind, or supporting other covers, as for enclosure and covering purposes. In addition, brackets have long been used for securement to other structures, even for application for holding other types of items, either during usage, or for storage.
Examples of the early type of use of bracketing arrangements, as for example, that may be fastened to the rim or gunwale of a boat, and held in position by means of its sockets, can be found in the early patent to Adams, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,829. While the overall principle of the lifeboat cover as shown in this patent may provide coverage for a boat, the actual structure of the bracketing means, and the framework involved, is distinct from the current invention.
The patent to Stubbmann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,610, shows a mobile holding device. This is a mobile device for use for supporting upon a crib, or its crib wall, and is held in place by means of a series of elastic clips as can be seen from the spring clips as disclosed in this patent. These types of clips, as to be seen, hold the housings in place, that support the arch of the tube that functions as a support for the mobile items.
The patent to Kirby, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,642, shows an object support for attachment to a cylindrically shaped support member. This disclosure shows a clamp member, that is generally C-shaped, and is used for clamping onto a supporting member, and then for application for holding a variety of other components, one of which is even defined and shown as a support for a plurality of different diameter fishing poles. It can also be seen that this device can be used for holding a can, drinking glass, cup, or the like. The concept of utilizing a C-clamp for holding a structural support, or holding other accessories, is certainly shown in this earlier patent to Kirby. But, this specific structure, and variety of methods of usage, particularly in the marine field, is what is quite distinct from the current invention when viewed in comparison to the overall attachment as disclosed in this Kirby patent.
The patent to Steward, U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,456, shows a portable blind for attachment to a boat. It includes a series of interconnecting frames or attachment means, which are secured by means of U-shaped brackets, to the side walls of a boat. Hence, this patent does disclose the usage of various types of clamp members, to hold the framework onto gunwales of a boat, and in this instance, for supporting the camouflaged material.
The patent to Shillington, U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,793, shows a pole clip needle cap holder. This is a clip for holding a cap to an IV needle, or the like. It simply shows a C-clamp having arms that extend outwardly, for attachment or mounting onto a supporting pole.
The patent to Ennis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,416, shows a display fixture for spectacles. This device also shows a C-type clamp, for use with a different type of holder, and for a different purpose.
The patent to Hughes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,353, shows a xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d post bracket for bicycles. This bracket also provides a C-clamp, at its lower end, for clamping apparently onto some rod-like portion of a bicycle, such as the seat post, as can be noted.
The patent to Sinohuiz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,107, shows a beverage container holder. This holder incorporates a C-clamp, and which can be clamped onto the leg of a chair, as noted. While this disclosure provides a showing of a C-clamp, the type of beverage container holder is quite distinct from the current invention.
The patent to Clews, U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,557, shows a panel display system. This panel display system includes a clip, forming a C-clamp, which may be affixed to a post, and then has extending from its lower common connecting member the various jaws for clamping onto paneling material. The current invention is not concerned with a panel display system.
The patent to Cooper, U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,591, discloses an ornament holder for a Christmas tree. It includes a pair of C-clamps, connected together at a perpendicular angle, and for holding ornaments, or the like, in place.
The patent to Meeker, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,576, shows a clip for a child exerciser/rocker. This is a rather different type of clip, for use for an entirely different purpose than the current invention.
The patent to James, U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,477, shows a portable car port. This is a quite distinctly appearing device, from that of the current invention, and includes a locking mechanism that mounts or attaches onto the wheels of a vehicle, and functions as a covering for an automobile.
The patent to Rex, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,539, shows a boat mounted blind. This device shows a frame, which appears to fasten by means of clips to the gun wale of a boat, and which holds the covering material in place, once assembled. The device of this framework is a pivotally attached device, connected to the side rails of the boat, which is not the same type of structure of the current invention.
The current invention, as previously commented, provides a peculiar and novel type of clamp, that can be assembled or built upon itself, with related structure, for use for holding a variety of accessories in place.
This current invention contemplates the formation of a specific style of bracket fitting. It is a fitting that is made out of various types of angles or sections, such as of the PCV pipe category, and which can be assembled into various types of supporting structures. As can be noted, the bottom T-section has a cut out portion along its length, but the cut portion is beyond the center point, so that part of the T may snap directly onto the gunnel or side rail of a boat, as for example when the bracket is used in conjunction with a marine vessel, or it can secure to any other type of supporting structure, and be firmly held in place, as can be understood. In one embodiment, a plug or cap may fit into the upper end of the T, and a hole may be provided therein, and can be used for supporting, for example, another bracket, or a light may be bolted thereon, as can be noted. Thus, when used with a light, or used as a light bracket, it can be secured directly to the gunnel of the boat, and provide either illumination as required for steering, or perhaps even furnish fog light attributes, as when that may be required in an emergency situation. Or, it may hold a spot light in place, as for example when the fisherman is fishing, frogging, or gigging for other aquatic life.
In addition, a second T may be secured to the initial bracket T, as through an intermediate sleeve, and oriented at a particular angle for holding a fishing rod in place, as can be noted. Thus, a series of such brackets could be applied to the side rail of a boat, and hold a variety of fishing poles in place, as used. In many states, a single fisherman may use as many as three rod and reels, or fishing poles, when participating in such piscatorial pursuits.
As can further be noted, additional PVC pipe or other related piping may be fabricated into the structure of the framework, that may extend upwardly, and angularly inwardly, and join in an apex, with the framework from the opposite side of the boat, and thereby form a fabricated framework, in place, throughout a significant length of the boat, and then covered with a camouflaged material, which may be located upon the framework, so that the boat may be used as a duck blind, as on the water. Or, when the boat is moored, onto the dock, or pulled up onto the shore, such framework may support other waterproof covering material, so that the boat could even be used to accommodate overnight sleeping, as when docked, or when supported on a trailer, if the hunter or fisherman desires to use it for that purpose. In addition, the cover may simply provide just that, protection for the boat when stored, either on land or water.
It is, therefore, the principle object of this invention to provide a unique bracket that is of universal construction and can be secured to the gunnel or side rails of most John boats, or other boats, and provide a supported fitting type bracket for use on a boat or other structures for holding a variety of accessories.
Another object of this invention is to provide for a bracket that can be snap fitted and resiliently clamped onto the side rail of a boat or other structure.
Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a bracket that can accommodate other structural tubular like components, in its assembly, and for use for securement thereto of a variety of other accessory products.
These and other objects may become more apparent to those skilled with the art upon reviewing the summary of this invention, and upon undertaking a study of the description of the preferred embodiment, in view of the drawings.
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The present invention disclosed herein relates to a wireless power transmission system, and more particularly, to a wireless power transmission device, a wireless power reception device and a wireless power transmission system that identify the charged state of a secondary cell.
There are roughly three wireless energy transmission techniques. Firstly, there is a technique of transmitting power by using electromagnetic induction, secondly, there is a technique of transmitting power by using radio frequency, and thirdly, there is a technique of transmitting power by using an ultrasonic wave.
Firstly, a wireless power transmission system using electromagnetic induction includes a body generating charging power by using external power, and a power reception module receiving charging power from the body through electromagnetic induction. The electromagnetic induction has high efficiency and is closest to commercialization.
Secondly, the wireless power transmission system using RF collects RF energy that has a very long propagation distance, and supplies power to an electronic device or a sensor. There are many RFs in the air and they have an advantage in that their propagation distances are very long.
Thirdly, the wireless power transmission system using an ultrasonic wave includes a transmission device that generates an ultrasonic wave, and a reception device that receives a generated ultrasonic wave. Vibration generated from an ultrasonic device vibrates a medium by interaction with the medium and the ultrasonic wave is transmitted through a vibrating medium. Recently, a system that charges a battery by using such an ultrasonic wave generator has been disclosed.
However, the above-described wireless power transmission system has a limitation in that unnecessary power is transmitted to a secondary cell because the charged state of the secondary cell is not accurately identified.
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Heretofore, servers generally, and multi-node network servers in particular, have paid little if any attention to power or energy conservation. Such servers were designed and constructed to run at or near maximum levels so as to serve data or other content as fast as possible, or where service demands were less than capacity to remain ever vigilant to provide fast response to service requests. Increasing processor and memory speeds have typically been accompanied by higher processor core voltages to support the faster device switching times, and faster hard disk drives have typically lead to faster and more energy-hungry disk drive motors. Larger memories and caches have also lead to increased power consumption even for small single-node servers. Power conservation efforts have historically focused on the portable battery-powered notebook market where battery life is an important marketing and use characteristic. However, in the server area, little attention has been given to saving power, such servers usually not adopting or utilizing even the power conserving suspend, sleep, or hibernation states that are available with some Microsoft 95/98/2000, Linux, Unix, or other operating system based computers, personal computers, PDAs, or information appliances.
Multi-node servers present a particular energy consumption problem as they have conventionally be architected as a collection of large power hungry boxes interconnected by external interconnect cables. Little attention has been placed on the size or form factor of such network architectures, the expansability of such networks, or on the problems associated with large network configurations. Such conventional networks have also by-and-large paid little attention to the large amounts of electrical power consumed by such configurations or in the savings possible. This has been due in part because of the rapid and unexpected expansion in the Internet and in servers connected with and serving to Internet clients. Internet service companies and entrepreneurs have been more interested in a short time to market and profit than on the effect on electrical power consumption and electrical power utilities; however, continuing design and operation without due regard to power consumption in this manner is problematic.
Networks servers have also by-and-large neglected to factor into the economics of running a network server system the physical plant cost associated with large rack mounted equipment carrying perhaps one network node per chassis. These physical plant and real estate costs also contribute to large operating costs.
In the past, more attention was given to the purchase price of equipment and little attention to the operating costs. It would be apparent to those making the calculation that operating costs may far exceed initial equipment purchase price, yet little attention has been paid to this fact. More recently, the power available in the California electrical market has been at crisis levels with available power reserves dropping below a few percent reserve and rolling blackouts occurring as electrical power requirements drop below available electrical power generation capacity. High technology companies in the heart of Silicon Valley cannot get enough electrical power to make or operate product, and server farms which consume vast quantities of electrical energy for the servers and for cooling equipment and facilities in which they are housed, have stated that they may relocated to areas with stable supplies of low-cost electricity.
Even were server manufactures motivated to adopt available power management techniques, such techniques represent only a partial solution. Conventional computer system power management tends to focus on power managing a single CPU, such as by monitoring certain restricted aspects of the single CPU operation and making a decision that the CPU should be run faster to provide greater performance or more slowly to reduce power consumption.
Heretofore, computer systems generally, and server systems having a plurality of servers where each server includes at least one processor or central processing unit (CPU) in particular have not been power managed to maintain performance and reduce power consumption. Even where a server system having more than one server component and CPU may possibly have utilized a conventional personal computer architecture that provided some measure of localized power management separately within each CPU, no global power management architecture or methods have conventionally been applied to power manage the set of servers and CPUs as a single entity.
The common practice of over-provisioning a server system so as to be able to meet peak demands has meant that during long periods of time, individual servers are consuming power and yet doing no useful work, or several servers are performing some tasks that could be performed by a single server at a fraction of the power consumption.
Operating a plurality of servers, including their CPU, hard disk drive, power supply, cooling fans, and any other circuits or peripherals that are associated with the server, at such minimal loading also unnecessarily shortens their service life. However, conventional server systems do not consider the longevity of their components. To the extent that certain of the CPUs, hard disk drives, power supplies, and cooling fans may be operated at lower power levels or for mechanical systems (hard disk drive and cooling fans in particular) their effective service life may be extended.
Therefore there remains a need for a network architecture and network operating method that provides large capacity and multiple network nodes or servers in a small physical footprint and that is power conservative relative to server performance and power consumed by the server, as well as power conservative from the standpoint of power for server facility air conditioning. These and other problems are solved by the inventive system, apparatus and method. There also remains a need for server farms that are power managed in an organized global manner so that performance is maintained while reducing power consumption. There also remains a need to extend the effective lifetime of computer system components and servers so that the total cost of ownership is reduced.
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Many different types of wireless devices exist today. Increasingly, many of these devices are mobile and powered by battery which has limited capacity compared to fixed wireless devices that may be powered directly from an electrical outlet. The battery-powered wireless devices include but are not limited to mobile phones, smart phones, laptop computers, and tablet computers. Users may carry and use more than one battery powered wireless device at once. For example, a user may carry and use both a smart phone and a tablet computer. It is possible for such devices to have one or more wireless capabilities in common. For example, two wireless mobile devices may both have cellular capabilities, wireless local area network (WLAN) or Wi-Fi™ capabilities, Bluetooth™ capabilities, etc.
Furthermore, it is possible for wireless devices that are located in proximity to one another to communicate directly with each other over an established communication link like Bluetooth™ or Universal Serial Bus (USB). In such an instance, these devices are hereinafter referred to as being “paired” together. The communication link between devices allows the devices to exchange information for one or more purposes. Such purposes can include the transfer of data or files from one device to another, the synchronization of applications or data such as email synchronization status and program settings, among others.
In some instances, a user's two wireless devices may attempt to use the same wireless access capability. Before a wireless connection can be established, it is common for a wireless device to carry out a scanning process in search of available networks. In such a situation, both devices will undertake a scanning process in search of available networks including user-owned cells, networks available on supported Radio Access Technologies (RATs) including cellular, WiFi, etc. This situation can be further described using the following example in which two devices wish to connect to a Wi-Fi network. In such instances, both devices will use their Wi-Fi radio in an attempt to find and connect to a Wi-Fi access point. This procedure involves active or passive scanning for Wi-Fi access points, and then if one is found, connecting to the access point. This work is energy intensive and consumes significant battery power of both devices.
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Historically, the CPU's in early prior art computer systems were responsible for both graphics as well as non-graphics functions. Some later prior art computer systems provide auxiliary display processors. Other later prior art computer systems would provide auxiliary graphics processors. The graphics processors would perform most of the graphics processing for the general purpose CPU.
In the case of microprocessors, as the technology continues to allow more and more circuitry to be packaged in a small area, it is increasingly more desirable to integrate the general purpose CPU with built-in graphics capabilities instead. Some modern prior art computer systems have begun to do that. However, the amount and nature of graphics functions integrated in these modern prior art computer systems typically are still very limited and involve trade-offs. Particular graphics functions known to have been integrated include frame buffer checks, add with pixel merge, and add with Z-buffer merge. Much of the graphics processing on these modern prior art systems remain being processed by the general purpose CPU without additional built-in graphics capabilities, or by the auxiliary display/graphics processors.
One implementation of a RISC microprocessor incorporating graphics capabilities is the Motorola MC88110. This microprocessor, in addition to its integer execution units, and multiply, divide and floating point add units, adds two special purpose graphics units. The added graphics units are a pixel add execution unit, and a pixel-pack execution unit. The Motorola processor allows multiple pixels to be packed into a 64-bit data path used for other functions in the other execution units. Thus, multiple pixels can be operated on at one time. The packing operation in the packing execution unit packs the pixels into the 64-bit format. The pixel add operation allows the adding or subtracting of pixel values from each other, with multiple pixels being subtracted at one time in a 64-bit field. This requires disabling the carry normally generated in the adder on each 8-bit boundary. The Motorola processor also provides for pixel multiply operations which are done using a normal multiply unit, with the pixels being placed into a field with zeros in the high order bits, so that the multiplication result will not spill over into the next pixel value representation.
The Intel I860 microprocessor incorporated a graphics unit which allowed it to execute Z-buffer graphics instructions. These are basically the multiple operations required to determine which pixel should be in front of the others in a 3-D display. The Intel MMX instruction set provides a number of partitioned graphics instructions for execution on a general purpose microprocessor, expanding on the instructions provided in the Motorola MC88110.
It would be desirable to provide the capability to perform other graphics functions more rapidly using packed, partitioned registers with multiple pixel values.
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This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Tonneau cover systems for a cargo box of a truck, such as a pickup, can include a tonneau cover with a rear header. The tonneau cover can be moved between a deployed configuration covering the cargo box and a rolled-up configuration allowing access to the truck box. The system can include a pair of side rails to which the rear header of the tonneau cover can be coupled when the tonneau cover is in the extended configuration covering the cargo box of the truck.
In some cases, a latch member can be mounted to one of the side rails to engage and releasably couple or lock the tonneau cover rear header to the side rail via the latch member. A user typically manually grasps, pushes or pulls a release member mounted to the side rail to disengage the latch member and unlock the header from the side rail.
When latch and release members are mounted to each of the side rails, a user must manipulate the first release member while positioned adjacent the first release member mounted to the first side rail to disengage the latch from a first end of the header. Then, the user must reposition himself or herself adjacent the second release member mounted to the second side rail on the opposite side of the truck box to manipulate the second release member and disengage the second latch from the second, opposite end of the header. Such a multi-step unlocking process is less than ideal.
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For connection or suture of a damaged muscle, blood vessel, nerve, and tissue or scars or surgical cutting portions, a medical thread has been used for a long time. Further, the medical thread has also been used for a double eyelid operation, or a surgical procedure, or the like, for removing laxity of tissues or skin, wrinkles, or the like caused due to aging, a reduction in skin elasticity, an external injury, an overdose, a necrosis, or the like. A lifting surgical procedure using the medical thread which lifts a sagging skin and tissue of a face, a chin, a neck, an abdomen, a vagina, a chest, a hip, or the like and pulls and smoothes creases using a needle and a thread without using a knife need not excessively cut a skin and may minimize a generation of scars and reduce bleeding or swelling due to an operation, and therefore has been spotlighted.
However, in the conventional lifting surgical procedure using a medical thread, one insertion puncture hole is formed at a point of a body into which the medical thread is inserted to insert the medical thread into the body and fix it, and at least one fastening puncture hole is formed at a point of the body where the medical thread is fixed, and then the medical thread is inserted through the insertion puncture hole, pushed from behind using rigidity of the medical thread to make a front end of the medical thread protrude through the fastening puncture hole and be expelled out of the body, and thereafter the front end is tied to form a knot, and then again stitches around the knot or cover it with a portion of a skin cut from other body part.
However, such lifting surgical procedure in which passing the medical thread through both of the puncture holes for inserting and expelling the medical thread through the skin and fixing it has a problem in that a plurality of puncture holes need to be formed in the skin, it is not easy to perform an operation of inserting the medical thread into the body, it takes much time to do the lifting surgical procedure, and a risk of the surgical procedure may be increased because an anesthetic level for a patient needs to be high.
Further, the medical thread itself has insufficient stiffness and an insufficient force to maintain its own shape, and therefore has trouble in moving forward while being inserted into the body.
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To be able to study the structure of biological specimens such as tissues or cells with an electron microscope, ultra-thin sections only a few nm in size are prepared and placed on object support screens made of metal, preferably of nickel (in the following referred to as small metal screens). For electron-microscopic studies, the sections are rendered contrasty or individual constituents of the specimen are marked by use of special or cytochemical methods. These cytochemical methods are often based on the principle of ligand pair formation, the first ligand possibly being present in the biological specimen and the second ligand, upon coming in contact with this specimen, binding as binding partner to the first ligand. Examples of biologically based ligand pairs are antigen/antibody binding pairs, enzyme/substrate binding pairs, lecithin/sugar, hormone/receptor systems, DNA/DNA pairs and DNA/RNA pairs.
The prior art discloses numerous methods involving the antigen/antibody binding pair. These methods are collectively referred to as immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry (in the following referred to as marking techniques). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,714 discloses a method whereby an antigen is adsorbed from a liquid specimen into a pelletizable gel substance. The gel pellet is surrounded by a diffusion barrier, integrated as a block into a punched-out gel matrix and subsequently, as a tissues specimen, subjected to immunological marking techniques. DE 38 78 167 T2 describes the use of colloidal gold particles for the marking of ligands by the immunogold staining technique. A greatly improved method permitting qualitative and quantitative evaluation of an antigen in a specimen is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,172 as a sandwich assay whereby the antigen-binding first antibody is marked with a gold-labeled second antibody that binds to the first antibody. By the electron-microscopic evaluation method, the antigen in the specimen can be determined qualitatively and quantitatively from the amount of gold particles.
Many procedures of immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry for immunological marking of thin-sectioned tissues have in common the feature that in most cases they consist of 10 to 20 individual processing steps. In a large number of cases, the processing steps consist of washing the specimen to be studied with buffering or marking solutions.
Such washing is currently carried out manually by an expensive procedure whereby individual drops of the aqueous buffer solution or marking solution are placed onto a hydrophobic substrate (for example PARAFILM®, PARLODION®, Colloidion or FORMFAN®). The small metal screens with the thin-sectioned tissue are placed individually onto the drops to enable the tissue to react with the treatment liquid. Because of the light weight of the small metal net and the surface tension of the liquid drop, the small metal net floats on the surface of the drop. After a certain contact time for this step (often 5–10 min), the small metal net is moved on to the next drop by use of tweezers. This is continued all the way to the last position of the standard procedure tying down an operator for up to several hours per immunological marking reaction.
It can readily be seen that this manual process requires the continuous attention of the working personnel and that the labor costs are high because of the large amount of time involved. The number of specimens that can be worked on at the same time is very limited, and errors by the working personnel during the exact pipetting and positioning of liquid drops of very small volume cannot be excluded. The manual method cannot exclude mixing up the specimens after the long treatment period during the immunological marking, but this could be prevented by use of a specimen carrier with identification in the form of a chip or bar code, as described in Utility Model DE 299 06 382 U1.
Furthermore, the evaporation of the liquid drops during prolonged standard procedures presents a major problem.
Although Utility Model DE 298 17 912 U1 discloses a device for washing preparations to be subjected to microscopy on carriers following immunochemical treatment, this device is a washing box in which a major quantity of washing solution flows over the preparation and the carrier at a certain flow rate. Such a device is not suited for immunological marking techniques, because the antibody-containing marking solutions used are very expensive, and hence, are used in only very small volumes. To date, no device or method is known that allows an automated execution of immunological marking techniques for thin-sectioned tissues.
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Heparin, a sulfate-containing polysaccharide, is widely used clinically as a parenterally administered agent for the treatment and prevention of thrombosis. However, a very significant problem at heparin therapy is that the half life of heparin in blood is short, or about 1.5 hours. Because of this, heparin must ordinarily be administered by continuous intravenous infusion or by subcutaneous injection two to three times per 24 hours.
Presence of the plasma protein antithrombin III is a necessary prerequisite for the anticoagulation activity of heparin. Antithrompin III inhibits most of the coagulation enzymes which are formed at the blood coagulation. But these inhibition reactions are slow and insufficient to prevent blood from coagulating. When heparin is present, it is bound to antithrombin III and activates said antithrombin III to form an inhibitor with a greatly increased reactivity which is sufficient to prevent the coagulation. The heparin-antithrombin bound in this inhibitor is not covalent bound but is reversible.
Collen et al, Abstracts VIII Int. Congr. Thromb. Haemostasis, Thrombos. Haemostas. 46, 185 (1981), describe a product obtained by covalent coupling of standard heparin to antithrombin III. The products obtained had the properties of rapidly inhibiting the coagulation enzymes thrombin and activated Factor X. The products were shown in tests on rabbits to have a half life in blood which was two to three times longer than the half life of standard heparin. However, even though this represents a step forward, there is a need for heparin products with longer half life in blood and accordingly with longer duration of therapeutic activity. The present invention provides such heparin products with a very long half life in blood and correspondingly long duration of anticoagulation activity.
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Efficient use of the resources of a wireless local-area network (WLAN) is important to provide bandwidth and acceptable response times to the users of the WLAN. However, often there are many devices trying to share the same resources and the devices may interfere with one another or may not be synchronized with one another. Additionally, it may be difficult for wireless devices to be aware of resources available to other wireless devices. Moreover, wireless devices may need to operate with both newer protocols and with legacy device protocols.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to providing biostable elastomeric coatings on the surfaces of implants which incorporate biologically active species having controlled release characteristics in the coating and relates particularly to providing a non-thrombogenic surface during and after timed release of the biologically active species. The invention is particularly described in terms of coatings on therapeutic expandable stent prostheses for implantation in body lumens, e.g., vascular implantation.
2. Related Art
In surgical or other related invasive procedures, the insertion and expansion of stent devices in blood vessels, urinary tracts or other locations difficult to otherwise access for the purpose of preventing restenosis, providing vessel or lumen wall support or reinforcement and for other therapeutic or restorative functions has become a common form of long-term treatment. Typically, such prostheses are applied to a location of interest utilizing a vascular catheter, or similar transluminal device, to carry the stent to the location of interest where it is thereafter released to expand or be expanded in situ. These devices are generally designed as permanent implants which may become incorporated in the vascular or other tissue which they contact at implantation.
One type of self-expanding stent has a flexible tubular body formed of several individual flexible thread elements each of which extends in a helix configuration with the centerline of the body serving as a common axis. The elements are wound in the same direction but are displaced axially relative to each other and meet, under crossing a like number of elements also so axially displaced, but having the opposite direction of winding. This configuration provides a resilient braided tubular structure which assumes stable dimensions upon relaxation. Axial tension produces elongation and corresponding diameter contraction that allows the stent to be mounted on a catheter device and conveyed through the vascular system as a narrow elongated device. Once tension is relaxed in situ, the device at least substantially reverts to its original shape. Prostheses of the class including a braided flexible tubular body are illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,771 and 4,954,126 to Wallsten and U.S. Pat No. 5,061,275 to Wallsten et al.
Implanted stents have been used to carry medicinal agents, such as thrombolytic agents. U.S. Pat. 5,163,952 to Froix discloses a thermalmemoried expanding plastic stent device formulated to carry a medicinal agent in the material of the stent itself. Pinchuk, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,877, discloses a stent of a polymeric material which may have a coating associated with the delivery of drugs. Other patents which are directed to devices of the class utilizing bio-degradable or bio-sorbable polymers include Tang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,193, and MacGregor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,071.
A patent to Sahatjian, U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,121, discloses a coating applied to a stent consisting of a hydrogel polymer and a preselected drug such as a cell growth inhibitors or heparin. A further method of making a coated intravascular stent carrying a therapeutic material is described in Berg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,650, issued on Nov. 7, 1995 and corresponding to European Patent Application No. 0 623 354 A1 published Nov. 9, 1994. In that disclosure, a polymer coating material is dissolved in a solvent and the therapeutic material dispersed in the solvent; the solvent evaporated after application.
An article by Michael N. Helmus (a co-inventor of the present invention) entitled "Medical Device Design--A Systems Approach: Central Venous Catheters", 22nd International Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering Technical Conference (1990) relates to polymer/drug/membrane systems for releasing heparin. Those polymer/drug/membrane systems require two distinct types of layers to function.
It has been recognized that contacting blood with the surface of a foreign body in vivo has a tendency to induce thrombogenic responses and that as the surface area of a foreign device in contact with host blood increases, the tendency for coagulation and clot forming at these surfaces also increases. This has led to the use of immobilized systemic anti-coagulant or thrombolytic agents such as heparin on blood contacting surfaces such as oxygen uptake devices to reduce this phenomenon. Such an approach is described by Winters, et al., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,182,317; 5,262,451 and 5,338,770 in which the amine functional groups of the active material are covalently bonded using polyethylene oxide (PEO) on a siloxane surface.
Another approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,665 to Larm in which heparin is chemically covalently bound to plastic surface materials containing primary amino groups to impart a non-thrombogenic surface to the material. Other approaches for bonding heparin are described in Barbucci, et al., "Coating of commercially available materials with a new heparinizable material", Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Vol. 25, pp. 1259-1274 (1991); Hubbell, J. A., "Pharmacologic Modification of Materials", Cardiovascular Pathology, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Suppl.), 121S-127S (1993); Gravlee, G. P., "Heparin-Coated Cardiopulmonary Bypass Circuits", Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 213-222 (1994).
Moreover, drug elution rates for a coating containing a hydrophilic or a lipophobic drug is usually very fast initially when the coated device contacts body fluid or blood. One of the methods to reduce the so called "burst effect" is to add a membrane containing porosigen over the coating layer containing the biologically active material. See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,696 to Eury et al. and U.S. Pat. No. to Helmus et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,724. When the porosigen elutes, a porous membrane is formed and the drug in the undercoat will release. Even though the method might be quite successful to control the drug release, it increases the coating thickness, reduces the effective drug loading and introduces undesirable additional foreign materials into the patient. Hence, there is a need for a coating which reduces the burst effect but is not too thick and does not require the release of porosigens into the body.
With regard to stents, polymeric stents, although effective, may have mechanical properties that are inferior to those of metal stents of like thickness and weave. Metallic vascular stents braided of even relatively fine metal can provide a large amount of strength to resist inwardly directed circumferential pressure. A polymer material of comparable strength requires a much thicker-walled structure or heavier, denser filament weave, which in turn, reduces the cross-sectional area available for flow through the stent and/or reduces the relative amount of opens space in the weave. Also, it is usually more difficult to load and deliver polymeric stents using catheter delivery systems.
While certain types of stents such as braided metal stents may be preferred for some applications, the coating and coating modification process of the present invention is not so limited and can be used on a wide variety of prosthetic devices. Thus, in the case of stents, the present invention also applies, for example, to the class of stents that are not self-expanding, including those which can be expanded, for instance, with a balloon; as well as polymeric stents of all kinds. Other medical devices that can benefit from the present invention include blood exchanging devices, vascular access ports, central venus catheters, cardiovascular catheters, extracorpeal circuits, vascular grafts, pumps, heart valves, and cardiovascular sutures, to name a few. Regardless of detailed embodiments, applicability of the invention should not be considered limited with respect to implant design, implant location or materials of construction. Further, the present invention may be used with other types of implantable prostheses.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a coating and process for coating a stent to be used as a deployed stent prostheses, the coating being capable of effective controlled long-term delivery of biologically active materials.
Another object of the invention is to provide a coating and process for coating a stent prostheses using a biostable hydrophobic elastomer in which biologically active species are incorporated within a coating.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-layer coating and process for the delivery of biologically active species in which the percentage of active material can vary from layer to layer.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-layer coating and process for the delivery of biologically active species from a coating with a non-thrombogenic surface.
Another object of the invention is to provide a coating for the delivery of biologically active species having a top layer or topcoat which reduces the initial release of the species, in which the topcoat is substantially free of pores or porosigens and covers less than the entire surface of the undercoat. The topcoat can cover less than the entire surface of the undercoat before and/or while the device is implanted.
A further object of the invention is to provide a multilayer coating for the delivery of biologically active species such as heparin having a fluorosilicone top layer.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a multi-layer coating for the delivery of biologically active species such as heparin having a surface containing immobilized polyethylene glycol (PEG).
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon familiarization with the specification and appended claims.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device having a circuit comprising thin film transistors (hereinafter referred to as “TFT”) over a substrate having an insulating surface, and a fabrication method thereof. Specifically, the present invention provides a technology that will be appropriately used for an electro-optical device typified by a liquid crystal display device having a pixel section and a driving circuit disposed in the periphery the pixel section, and for an electronic appliance incorporating such an electro-optical device. Note that the term “semiconductor device” used herein represents those devices which operate by utilizing semiconductor characteristics, and embraces within its scope the electro-optical devices as well as the electronic appliances incorporating the electro-optical device that are described above.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technology that uses TFTs for constituting switching devices and active electric circuits has been developed in the electro-optical device typified by an active matrix liquid crystal display device. In the TFTs, a semiconductor film is grown over a substrate of a glass or the like by a vapor phase growth method, and the semiconductor film is used as an active layer. Silicon or a material consisting of silicon as the principal component such as silicon-germanium has been used appropriately for the semiconductor film. An amorphous silicon film and a crystalline silicon film represented by a polycrystalline silicon film can be obtained depending on the deposition method of the silicon semiconductor film.
The TFT using the amorphous silicon film for the active layer cannot essentially acquire field effect mobility of greater than several cm2/Vsec because of its electro-physical factors resulting from the amorphous structure, and so forth. Therefore, though it can be used as a switching element (pixel TFT) for driving a liquid crystal disposed at each pixel of a pixel section in an active matrix type liquid crystal device, the amorphous silicon film cannot form a driving circuit for effecting image display. For this reason, a technology of packaging a driver IC, etc, by using a TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) system or a COG (Chip on Glass) system has been employed.
On the other hand, the TFT using the crystalline silicon film for the active layer can acquire high field effect mobility and can form various functional circuits over the same glass substrate. The crystalline silicon film makes it possible to fabricate a shift register circuit, a level shifter circuit, a buffer circuit, a sampling circuit, and the like, each comprising a CMOS circuit including n-channel TFTs and p-channel TFTs in the driving circuit besides the pixel TFTs. To achieve the reduction of weight and thickness in the liquid crystal display device on the basis of such a technology, it became clear that the TFT using the crystalline semiconductor film, that can integrally form the driving circuit on the same substrate besides the pixel unit, for the active layer, is suitable.
Though the active layer using the crystalline silicon film is superior from the aspect of performance of the TFT, the fabrication steps become complicated and the number of process steps increases to form the TFT that can cope with various circuits besides the pixel TFTs. The increase of the number of process steps in turn results in the increase of the production cost and lowers also the production yield.
For example, the operating condition of the circuits are not always the same for the pixel TFT and the TFT of the driving circuit, and the characteristics required for each TFT are different. The pixel TFT comprises an n-channel TFT, applies the voltage and drives a liquid crystal as a switching device. Since the liquid crystal is driven by the alternating current, a system called “frame inversion driving” has been used widely. In this method, one of the characteristics required for the pixel TFT is to restrict an OFF current value (a drain current that flows when the TFT is under the OFF operation) to a sufficiently low level to limit power consumption low. On the other hand, a high driving voltage is applied to a buffer circuit of a control circuit so that the withstand voltage must be increased in order that the TFT is not broken even when a high voltage is applied thereto. To improve a current driving capacity, a sufficient ON current value (the drain current that flows when the TFT is under the ON operation) must be secured.
A lightly doped drain (LDD) structure is known as a TFT structure for reducing the OFF current value. This structure disposes an impurity region, to which an impurity element is added in a concentration lower than that of a source or drain region, between a channel formation region and the source or drain region that is formed by adding an impurity element in a high concentration. This impurity region is called the “LDD region”. Further, there is known a so-called GOLD (gate-drain overlapped LDD) structure in which a LDD region is disposed so as to overlap a gate electrode by interposing a gate insulating film, as a means for preventing degradation of ON current value due to hot carriers. It is known that the high electric field in the proximity of the drain is released and the hot carrier injection is prevented by applying such a structure, and it is effective in preventing degrading phenomenon.
As described above, the required characteristics are not always the same between the pixel TFT and the TFT used for the driving circuit such as the shift register circuit or the buffer circuit. For example, a large reverse bias (a negative voltage in the case of the n-channel TFT) is applied to the gate of the pixel TFT, but the TFT of the driving circuit does not basically operate under the reverse bias state. As to the operation speed, too, the operation speed of the pixel TFT may not be higher than 1/100 of that of the TFT of the control circuit. Further, though GOLD structure has a high effect of preventing degradation of ON current value, on the other hand there was a problem that OFF current value becomes large as compared to ordinary LDD structure. Accordingly it was not a preferable structure for applying to the pixel TFT. On the contrary, ordinary LDD structure had a high effect for preventing OFF current value but it did not have effect of releasing electric field in the proximity of the drain and preventing degradation by hot carrier injection. As described above it was not always preferable to fabricate all the TFTs in a same structure, in a semiconductor device having a plurality of integrated circuits that have different operating condition as an active matrix liquid crystal display device. Such problems became apparent specifically in crystalline silicon TFTs as the characteristics enhanced and the performance required for an active matrix liquid crystal display device increased.
To stabilize the operation of these circuits fabricated by using the n- and p-channel TFTs, the threshold voltage and sub-threshold constant (S value) of the TFTs must be kept within predetermined ranges. For this purpose, the TFT must be examined from the aspects of both structure and material.
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The invention relates to methods of preparing vanadium pentoxide from vanadium-containing solutions, and more particularly from a sodium vanadate solution.
The invention also relates to alumina production since solutions of sodium vanadate are obtained during processing of vanadium-containing sludge in the alumina production.
At the present time used widely are methods of preparing vanadium pentoxide from solutions of sodium vanadate obtained in the processing of vanadium-containing sludge in alumina production, of vanadium-containing titanium-magnetite ore, of phosphorite ore in the production of phosphorus, of carnotite ore in the production of uranium, etc.
Most widely used is the method of preparing vanadium pentoxide from solutions of sodium vanadate that are prepared from vanadium compounds in the corresponding processes, consisting in that solutions of sodium vanadate are processed with ammonium chloride or sulphate at lowered temperatures (20.degree.-30.degree. C.) to precipitate an ammonium-vanadium salt, for example ammonium metavanadate, which is then dissolved in hot water and the obtained solution is processed at a lowered temperature with an ammonium solution. As a result of such processing, an ammonium-vanadate salt, for example ammonium metavanadate, is prepared. As the latter salt is calcined, vanadium pentoxide is prepared.
According to this method, the sodium vanadate solution is processed with the ammonium chloride or sulphate at a pH of 7 to 8.
A disadvantage inherent in this method is a rather high loss of vanadium with wastes due to incomplete precipitation of the ammonium-vanadate salt, in particular ammonium metavanadate, during processing of the starting solution of sodium vanadate with the ammonium chloride or sulphate, and also during subsequent processing of the solution of ammonium-vanadate salt with the ammonium solution.
For example, the vanadium content of the waste solution is 1 - 2.5 g/liter, calculated as V.sub.2 O.sub.5, and the vanadium content of the solution obtained by processing the ammonium-vanadate salt solution (in particular, ammonium metavanadate) with the ammonia solution, is as high as 3-5 g/liter (as V.sub.2 O.sub.5).
Still another disadvantage of this method is the lengthy (10-20 hours) retention of the starting solution of sodium vanadate during its reaction with the ammonium chloride or sulphate which is necessary to attain the above mentioned residual concentrations of vanadium in the wastes.
One more disadvantage of this method is an insufficiently high concentration of vanadium in the solution that is formed by dissolution of the ammonium-vanadate salt in the hot water and processed with the ammonia solution at lowered temperatures. The vanadium content of this solution does not exceed (as experience shows) 40-50 g/liter, calculated with reference to V.sub.2 O.sub.5, since it is limited by the decreasing solubility of the ammonium-vanadate salt, in particular ammonium metavanadate, in water.
The insufficiently high vanadium content of the solution which is decomposed to precipitate vanadium compounds by this or that method is detrimental to the kinetics of the process of isolating vanadium compounds from the solution and precipitation, and requires lengthy retention of the solution of the ammonium-vanadate salt during its processing with the ammonia solution to precipitate the ammonium-vanadate salt. Practical experience has shown that in order to attain the residual content of vanadium of 3-5 g per liter (as V.sub.2 O.sub.5) in the ammonium-vanadate salt solution, (in particular, ammonium metavanadate) after its treatment with the ammonia solution at a lowered temperature, the solution should be kept under the required conditions for 10-20 hours. This, in turn, increases the duration of the entire process for preparing vanadium pentoxide.
Moreover, the insufficient vanadium content of the solution which is formed by dissolution of the ammonium-vanadate salt in the hot water, increased flow rates in the process cycle during further processing of the solutions to isolate vanadium pentoxide. This, in turn, increases energy consumption (heating, cooling, pumping, etc.) and volumes of solutions handled.
A disadvantage of this method lies also with an increased energy consumption for cooling the ammonium-vanadate solution during its processing the ammonia solution to precipitate the ammonium-vanadate salt.
Still another disadvantage of the method is the necessity to recover large amounts of ammonia from the waste gases which are formed during calcining the ammonium-vanadate salt, in particular, ammonium metavanadate, to prepare vanadium pentoxide. The quantity of ammonia (as NH.sub.3) that is liberated per kg of the obtained vanadium pentoxide with the waste gases is 0.187 kg.
The most advantageous method of preparing vanadium pentoxide from solutions of sodium vanadate formed from various vanadium compounds in the corresponding branches of industry, is one consisting in that solutions of sodium vanadate are processed with ammonium chloride or sulphate at lowered temperatures to precipitate ammonium-vanadate salt, in particular, an ammonium metavanadate, which is then dissolved in hot water and the obtained solution of the ammonium vanadate salt is processed, at an elevated temperature with a mineral acid. As a result, a substance containing vanadium, in particular, ammonium polyvanadate is precipitated, which is then calcined to prepare vanadium pentoxide.
The solution of sodium vanadate is processed at a pH of 7 to 8.
This method is characterized by the same disadvantages that are inherent in the widely used method described beforehand, except the high energy consumption and the necessity to recover a large quantity of ammonia.
In the latter method, the solution of the ammonium-vanadate salt, in particular, ammonium metavanadate, is processed with a mineral acid at an elevated temperature. The operation of cooling the ammonium vanadate solution in this method is omitted; hence decreased energy consumption.
In the latter method, the quantity of ammonia in the waste gases of the calcining step decreases. For example, the amount of ammonia during preparation of vanadium pentoxide by calcining the ammonium polyvanadate precipitate is as low as 0.062 kg per kg of the obtained vanadium pentoxide.
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In recent years, monolithic integration of a gate driver has been developed for the purpose of cost reduction. In the monolithic integration, the gate driver is formed with use of amorphous silicon on a liquid crystal panel. The term “monolithic gate driver” is also associated with the terms such as “gate driver-free”, “built-in gate driver in panel”, and “gate in panel”.
A TFT using amorphous silicon requires high driving voltage due to its low mobility. Moreover, in order to charge interconnect capacitance of scanning signal lines with scanning pulses, there is no other alternative but to manufacture the TFT so as to have a considerably large channel width in the order of millimeters or centimeters.
FIG. 8 is a plane view illustrating a structure of such a TFT disclosed in Patent Literature 1. The TFT is manufactured with use of amorphous silicon and includes a gate electrode line 310, a drain electrode line 330, and a source electrode line 350.
The drain electrode line 330 is composed of a body drain electrode line 332 extending from the outside of the gate electrode line 310, hand drain electrode lines 334 that branch off from the body drain electrode line 332, and finger drain electrode lines 336 that perpendicularly branch off from the hand drain electrode lines 334. The hand drain electrode lines 334 are formed in a region where the gate electrode line 310 is not formed, while the finger drain electrode lines 336 are formed in a region where the gate electrode line 310 is formed.
The source electrode line 350 is composed of a body source electrode line 352 extended from the outside of the gate electrode line 310, hand source electrode lines 354 that branch off from the body source electrode line 352, and finger source electrode lines 356 that perpendicularly branch off from the hand source electrode lines 354. The hand source electrode lines 354 are formed in a region where the gate electrode line 310 is not formed, and the finger source electrode lines 356 are formed in a region where the gate electrode line 310 is formed.
In the above-described TFT, the I-shaped finger drain electrode lines 336 are respectively surrounded by the U-shaped finger source electrode lines 356, so that a channel is formed therebetween.
FIG. 9 illustrates a structure also disclosed in Patent Literature 1. This structure can be used as a partial TFT region 200 in which one finger drain electrode line 336 is surrounded by the U-shaped finger source electrode lines 356. Note that, in FIG. 9, the partial TFT region 200 is composed of a gate electrode line indicated by a reference numeral 210, a source electrode line indicated by a reference numeral 230, and a drain electrode line indicated by a reference numeral 240. In the structure in FIG. 8, the gate electrode line 210 extends continuously to other partial TFT regions 200 along the extending direction of the hand drain electrode lines 334 and the hand source electrode lines 354. In FIG. 9, a channel width W is expressed by 2×DL1+DL2. This is an average distance of (i) a length of a borderline between the source electrode line 230 and the channel region and (ii) a length of a borderline between the drain electrode line 240 and the channel region. A channel length L is a distance between (i′) the borderline between the source electrode line 230 and the channel region and (ii′) the borderline between the drain electrode line 240 and the channel region. In Patent Literature 1, a large number of such partial TFT regions 200 are connected in parallel. This keeps parasitic capacitance between the gate electrode and the drain electrode low, while realizing a very large channel width W.
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The ideas for this invention stem from the inventors work with and experience in the placement and subsequent fabrication of a prostheses on rigid dental implants. The inventor is a practicing dentist In recent years, several designs for single tooth dental implants have appeared. However, a rigid endosseous dental implant exhibits little or no axial deflection, as would a naturally occurring tooth. Therefore, failure rates of prostheses which were abutted to both endosseous implants and naturally occurring teeth were high. Flexible implants are beginning to appear. These implants are designed to lessen the stress on the bony tissues directly adjacent to the endosseous implant. The design of this standardized system of removable dental implant insert elements is to address the problem of ascertaining the correct degree of elasticity required to clinically manage the several specific demanding areas of successful implant dentistry and long term case management.
The problems encountered are several. First, is one of non uniform stress, which may manifest itself in several ways. The phenomenon of non uniform stress is observed when a rigid prosthesis is affixed to a rigid implant and a natural tooth, which has some degree of movement. Under occlusal forces, compressive forces (as well as tensile forces) with lateral components in any direction are encountered.
Since the rigid implant cannot follow the tooth through the range of motion, non uniform stresses are transferred from mastication through the prosthesis, and onto the implant and tooth. Catastrophic failure is often the result. Failure may occur at a critical solder joint on the prosthesis, or at the site of the implant/bone interface, in the implant itself, or, most commonly, at the site of the natural tooth/bone interface. The catastrophic failure of any element of the prosthesis or its abutments results in loss of the entire restoration.
However, an even more common problem occurs when placing a posterior implant which turns out to be misaligned (FIG. 6). One of the most difficult problems in implant dentistry is the fabrication of the final prosthesis. Even recently developed elastic implants do not address the problem of non coincident paths of insertion among multiple abutments (FIGS. 6 & 7), nor the fact that as case types change, requirements of elasticity change. The design of this invention is to solve both of these problems by means of a series of elastic implant elements which can be interchanged to allow alignment of multiple paths of insertion and be replaced easily to accommodate changing needs to the patient without removal of the stationary endosseous element itself.
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In recent years, the search for cost-effective production of complex ceramic shapes used at elevated temperatures has stimulated the research and development of metal organic polymer precursors. Fine ceramics made from metal organic precursors has several advantages over the ceramics produced by the conventional processing. For example, low temperature forming processes can be used to produce complex shape by a variety of forming techniques. A wide range of purities can be achieved through careful balance of chemical stoichiometry. The opportunity to chemically purify starting materials and assure homogeneous mixing can improve the uniformity and reliability of the final product.
Strength-limiting factors in high-performance technical ceramics are not always directly related to composition. As the desired shapes get more complicated, it becomes more and more difficult to fabricate parts reliably and free of cracks. One of the problems encountered frequently in fabricating ceramic parts is the binder used in injection molding process. The binder's physical properties must satisfy stringent requirements to allow complete filling of complicated shaped molds without forming density gradients, and the binder must be completely removed prior to sintering without causing physical defects. Organic hydrocarbon-polymers are currently used for this purpose. However, there are problems such as low powder packing densities and the length of time necessary to remove the binders. In addition, the molded articles have a poor green strength after binder removal. As a result, there is excessive shrinkage when the molded article is sintered which makes it difficult to maintain the dimensional precision of the molded article after sintering. Therefore, the exploration of novel binder materials is needed to alleviate these problems.
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Published patent application DE3527942A1 discloses a temperature sensing device for measuring the core body temperature of a person or an animal. One side of the sensing device has to be positioned against the skin of body of the person or the animal. Inside the device, in a dimension perpendicular to the contact area between the sensor and the skin of the body and in the direction away from the contact area, in the order mentioned, the temperature sensor comprises a first temperature sensor, a thermal insulator, a second temperature sensor and a heating element.
If the temperature sensing device is positioned against the skin of the body the first temperature sensor measures the skin temperature. Assuming a core body temperature higher than the ambient temperature, there will be a decreasing temperature gradient in the sensing device in the direction away from the contact area between the temperature sensing device and the skin: the further a specific position inside the temperature sensing device is away from the contact area, the lower the temperature at the specific position will be. Especially, the thermal insulator creates a significant step in this gradient. Consequently, the second temperature sensor will measure a lower temperature than the first temperature sensor. As a result of the decreasing temperature gradient a heat flux will be present through the temperature sensor in the direction away from the contact area.
Note that there will be a temperature gradient in the body of the person of the animal as well. The core of the body has a higher temperature than the skin. A heat flux is present from the core of the body towards the skin. Positioning the temperature sensing device against the skin of the body influences the temperature of the skin below the sensing device. The part of the skin below the sensing device will become warmer because of the local insulating effect of the temperature sensing device. As a consequence the heat flux in the body will decrease. There is still a heat flux through the temperature sensing device as the result of the temperature gradient in the device itself. The temperature sensing device will not act as a perfect insulator and as a consequence the skin temperature will still be lower than the core body temperature.
The measured temperature difference between the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor is a measure for the heat flux from the contact area toward the top of the temperature sensing device. This measured temperature difference is used to control the heating element. If the top of the sensor is heated, the temperature gradient inside the sensing device, created by the thermal insulation, partly disappears. As a consequence, the heat flux from the contact area between the temperature sensing device and the skin of the body towards the top of the sensing device reduces. As a consequence the skin of the body becomes warmer and closer to the core body temperature. The heating element will be heated until the measured temperature difference between the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor will become very small and substantially equal to zero.
If the temperature difference measured between the first and the second temperature sensor is zero, the heat flux inside the temperature sensing device will be zero as well. If there is no heat flux through the temperature sensing device, the heat flux from the body to the temperature sensing device will be close to zero as well. If there is no heat flux between the body and the temperature sensing device, it may be assumed that the temperature sensing device has the same temperature as the core of the body.
However, it is known that the temperature sensing device of the cited art is not accurate enough. Especially in a clinical setting it is important to sense the core body temperature accurately.
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The present invention is directed generally to a strong metal complexing resin for ion exchange columns. More particularly, the invention is related to an ion exchange resin prepared by copolymerizing diphosphonic acid groups with acrylonitrile, styrene and/or divinylbenzene to form a polymeric resin for preferentially removing heavy metal contaminants in a highly acidic solution.
A variety of far reaching environmental protection statutes and regulations have significantly increased the need for effective and efficient means for removal of a wide spectrum of metal contaminants from aqueous based wastes or contaminated waterways. In addition, specific industries, such as the nuclear industry and electroplating industry, generate substantial quantities of water based effluent which are heavily contaminated with undesirable metal ions. The removal of metal ion contaminants from waste streams is often made difficult due to the strongly acidic nature of the waste effluent. Under such acidic conditions prior art metal complexing resins perform poorly to remove or recover such metals or have selectivity for only a very few types of metal ions. While phosphonic acids have been known to have the ability to complex with metal ions generally, there has been no demonstrated ability to allow selective removal of the chelated metal ions which is essential for selectivity of metal ion type as well as removal from the ion exchange resin.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved metal complexing resin for ion exchange columns.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel metal complexing resin and method of manufacture from copolymerization of diphosphonic acid groups with acrylonitrile, styrene and/or divinylbenzene.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide an improved method of preferentially removing toxic metal ions relative to alkaline and alkaline earth ions from strongly acidic water based wastes.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel product and method of manufacture of a sulfonated copolymer of diphosphonic acid group with acrylnitrile and styrene and/or divinylbenzene.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method of manufacturing a desired end product resin of narrow size distribution and uniform shape.
It is yet an additional object of the invention to provide a novel variety of copolymerization procedures involving copolymerizing vinylidene diphosphonic ester, a R.sub.2 C.dbd.CR.sub.2 group where R is a combination of electron donating/electron withdrawing groups, a divinyl to trivinyl crosslinking agent and a porogen in combination with an initiator, such as benzoyl peroxide.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an improved ion exchange resin and method for removing actinide metal ions in III, IV and VI oxidation states and transition and post transition metals from highly acidic and highly basic waste solutions.
These and other objects of the invention will be made clearer upon reference to the following Detailed Description and appended claims along with the drawings described as follows:
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1. Field of the Invention
The present inventive concept relates to a device to inspect a non-pattern wafer, and more particularly, to a device to inspect a non-pattern wafer that detects faults of a non-pattern wafer by applying different reference values to respective regions of the wafer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a semiconductor device is formed by repeating processes of forming a plurality of layers on a wafer and patterning the layers. In this case, if faults, such as particle, voids, dislocations, and the like, which may occur in the process of forming the respective layers, exceeds a predetermined tolerance limit, a bad influence may be exerted upon the quality of a completed semiconductor device.
A device to inspect faults of a wafer so as to prevent in advance the occurrence of such faults is a wafer inspection device. A wafer inspection device may be classified into a pattern wafer inspection device to inspect a wafer on which a specified pattern is formed and a non-pattern wafer inspection device to inspect a wafer on which the specified pattern is not formed.
On the other hand, in a semiconductor process of forming a plurality of layers on a wafer, a layer formed on the wafer may have a non-uniform thickness due to the characteristics of semiconductor equipment, a local stepped portion formed thereon, and different surface roughness of respective regions of the wafer. Also, due to a high-temperature wafer processing, the wafer may get bent.
If the same reference value is applied to the whole regions of a wafer in inspecting a wafer having a local stepped portion formed thereon, a wafer having different surface roughness, or a bent wafer as described above, the fault inspection may be performed in a state where such local characteristics are not considered, and thus it is difficult to obtain a reliable result of inspection. This may cause the inferiority of products.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device to inspect faults of a non-pattern wafer in due consideration of the shape and characteristics of the plurality of layers formed on the wafer, and by using such a device, the reliability of the products can be improved.
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THIS invention relates to a mammographic tomography test object (hereinafter referred to as a phantom) and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a mammographic tomography test phantom for use in the verification of image reconstruction positions in digital breast tomosynthesis. The invention also relates to a method of verifying image reconstruction positions in digital breast tomosynthesis using a customized mammographic tomography test phantom.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women all over the world. Early detection is vital so that the patient can be diagnosed and treated, as the chance of survival is much better when breast cancer is detected at an early stage. Over the past few years advances in technology have ensured an increase in the development and uptake of mammography systems.
In standard two dimensional (2D) projection film screen mammography (FSM) or full field digital mammography (FFDM), overlapping dense fibroglandular tissue within the breast can reduce the visibility of malignant abnormalities or can simulate the appearance of an abnormality. This can lead to unnecessary recalls, biopsies and psychological stress for the women concerned. In this conventional mammography, overlapping or superimposed tissue creates a clutter of signals above and below objects of interest, which can for example result in lesions being hidden by other objects.
Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a relatively newly developed form of three dimensional (3D) image reconstruction which has the potential of improving the accuracy of mammography by blurring out overlying tissues. It is based on the outdated linear tomographic technique (superseded by Computed Tomography (CT) scanning) that was used in the 1970s to achieve an equivalent goal in general x-ray imaging. The overlying tissue in the image, sometimes referred to as anatomical noise, degrades image quality in standard 2D projection imaging. The definition of tomosynthesis, as stated in the LORAD Hologic Selenia Dimensions Quality Control manual is “an imaging technique that recombines a number of breast images taken at different angles through the breast to achieve various effects”. In DBT, multiple projection images of the breast (approximately 15) are acquired from different angulations of the x-ray tube within a single plane of motion perpendicular to the detector and in line with the front edge of the detector. The images are then processed using reconstruction algorithms to produce tomographic sections through the breast. These sections can be viewed on a computer as planes or slices. By reducing the superimposition of overlying breast tissue, DBT has the potential to differentiate malignant features more definitively from non-malignant ones. It should be noted that the improvements to linear tomography (originally developed in the 70's) included non-linear translations which increased out of reconstruction plane image blur thus improving in reconstruction plane resolution. These non-linear translations included circular and hyper-cycloidal movements.
It is obvious that, as with any other form of radiology, in DBT image quality is very important and should be optimized. Various parameters influence the image quality, two of which are the angular range of the x-ray tube, and the number of exposures. These parameters are usually fixed on any particular DBT system, but have a huge impact on image quality
The larger the angular range, the wider the separation of the slices and increase in the out of plane resolution. However, with smaller angles more structures will be in focus in a specific plane. More angles at which images are acquired will result in more exposures which would reduce the visibility of artefacts, but more ionising radiation dose will be delivered to the patients. Compensation by reducing the dose per view is limited as this will introduce more statistical noise in the image and may at some point start to deteriorate image quality.
An artefact, in the radiological sense, refers to any perceived structure that is not actually present, but is produced by the imaging process, i.e. something not anatomically real such as the distortion of a structure or signal, which interferes with or obscures the interpretation of a study, or a structure that is not representative of a specimen's in vivo state and which does not reflect the original sample, but rather is the result of an imaging procedure, its analysis or other factors. The smearing/out of plane artefact is one of the most prominent artefacts found in DBT. These artefacts may thus lead to uncertainties in where the planes are in DBT, as well as how accurately the reconstruction plane can be said to be a fixed thickness, such as 1 mm slice thickness. Therefore, for the image quality to be optimized the image reconstruction plane position and characteristics need to be defined. This uncertainty should be quantified as part of the quality program for DBT systems, to determine accurately the actual image reconstruction planes (IRP) obtained during tomographic reconstruction.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a mammographic tomography test phantom for use in the verification of image reconstruction depths in digital breast tomosynthesis, which will enable the accurate determination of image reconstruction planes.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a method of verifying image resolution at various positions in digital breast tomosynthesis images by customizing the mammographic tomosynthesis test phantom, and developing an appropriate analysis algorithm, which method will enable the quantification of image resolution degradation at various points and in two planes in the image (in the plane of motion and perpendicular to the plane of motion of the DBT x-ray source).
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The field of the invention relates to the transient heating and regrowth of thin layers of semiconductor material and more particularly to laser-scanning systems for surface heating and annealing, for example, of ion-implantation damage in semiconductor material.
The process of ion implantation is a technique used in the fabrication of a wide range of semiconductor devices from simple P-N junction solar cells to complicated LSI integrated circuits. During the process of implantation, numerous defects are created in the surface of the wafer necessitating a subsequent annealing process to provide the crystalline structure necessary for the proper electronic performance. This annealing has typically been performed via high temperature baking in ovens for sufficiently long time periods to allow various ions to migrate to lattice sites.
However, this thermal annealing has several drawbacks among which are: (1) the long exposure at high temperatures may result in migration of the implanted ions resulting in less than optimum junction characteristics; (2) during this long time period defects tend to be produced especially due to contamination; (3) minority carrier lifetimes are reduced in the underlying material since heating is essentially uniform throughout the wafer thickness.
Recently an alternative technique for ion-implantation annealing has been investigated. This technique utilizes high-intensity laser radiation to provide surface heating of implanted wafers thereby permitting localized annealing in very short time periods; it has been termed laser ion implantation annealing. As a result of the extremely short irradiation times (typically fractions of a microsecond), the problems of dopant migration, contamination and lifetime reduction may be greatly reduced by this technique.
Early experiments with short-pulse laser radiation demonstrated the ability to provide localized surface heating and thereby produce special effects. F. E. Harper and M. I. Cohen, Solid State Electronics 13 1103 (1970). Further efforts were limited at that time by the availability of lasers with precisely controllable, stable spatial and temporal beam distributions. In 1975, a number of Russian workers demonstrated the potential salubrious effects of laser ion implantation annealing. G. A. Kachurin, N. B. Pridachin and L. S. Smirnov, Sov. Phys., Semicond 9, 946 (1976); E. I. Sktyrkov, I. B. Khaibullin, M. M. Zaripov, M. F. Galyatudinov and R. M. Bayazitov, Sov. Phys., Semicond. 9, 1309 (1976) and references included therein; O. G. Kutukova and L. N. Streltsov, Sov. Phys., Semicond. 10, 265 (1976) as well as many other references. This work was performed primarily with radiation from pulsed ruby lasers and yielded "satisfactory electrical properties without deterioration of the properties of the underlying material". (O. G. Kutukova and L. N. Streltsov, Sov. Phys., Semicond. 10, 265 (1976).)
The process of laser ion implantation annealing is based on thermal physics: That is, the heating of a surface by absorption of electromagnetic radiation and subsequent melting and recrystallization. In order that only a thin surface layer be melted, it is essential that: (1) the absorption coefficient, .alpha. at the radiation wavelength be large so that all heating takes place near the surface and, (2) that pulses be very short so that minimal thermal diffusion takes place.
For the sake of the following analysis, it will be assumed that .alpha. is 10.sup.4 cm.sup.-1 or greater (a value achievable at appropriate wavelengths and temperatures for most semiconductor materials). (At 1400.degree. C. the absorption coefficient of silicon for 1.06 .mu.m radiation is 1.7.times.10.sup.4 cm.sup.-1, at shorter wavelengths it is substantially larger.) Under this condition, a distributed heat source has an exponential distribution with respect to depth into the wafer. ##EQU1## where H is the heat absorbed per unit volume; R is the surface reflectivity;
P is the total incident power; PA1 .omega. is the 1/e.sup.2 beam radius; PA1 I.sub.o is the effective surface power density.
If the laser beam diameter is large compared to the thermal depth, .delta.,(.delta.=[k.tau.].sup.1/2, where k is the thermal diffusivity and .tau. the pulse width) then the heat flow may be treated as a one-dimensional problem. The resulting temperature distribution can be obtained using the procedures of Carslaw and Jaeger. H. S. Carslaw and J. C. Jaeger "Conduction of Heat in Solids" Oxford University Press, 1959. ##EQU2## where K is the thermal conductivity. At the surface ##EQU3## The normalized temperature .THETA.=(KT)/I.sub.o .GAMMA.) is plotted in FIG. 7; over a large range of .alpha..delta. the function can be approximated by [1-exp(-.alpha..delta.)], so that ##EQU4## For a typical value of .alpha..delta..about.1 the temperature is approximately 0.6I.sub.o .delta./K. Using values for silicon, the calculated threshold to heat the surface to the melting point, T.sub.m, therefore is ##EQU5## where .delta.=.sqroot.kt =(0.075.times.1.35.times.10.sup.-7)1/2.apprxeq.10.sup.-4 Since the reflectivity is 30%, the required incident power density is 4.3.times.10.sup.6 watts/cm.sup.2 and the threshold energy density, E.sub.t =(I.sub.o T/(R), is 0.6 J/cm.sup.2 ; this is in close agreement with measured values of about 1 J/cm.sup.2. The difference is due to the fact that it is necessary to melt to a depth of about 1 micrometer and to supply the heat of fusion, as will be calculated next.
The temperature as a function of depth into the wafer given by equation (2) can be rewritten in terms of normalized variables as, ##EQU6## where z=.alpha.x, y=.alpha..delta.. A plot of this function is shown in FIG. 8.
At a normalized depth of unity (.alpha.x=1), the temperature is approximately 70% of the surface temperature; therefore, if the threshold energy is defined as being that required to raise the temperature at this depth to the melting point, I.sub.o must be increased by about 1.4 times.
Finally, in order to melt, it is necessary to supply the heat of fusion to the annealed volume. The required energy density, E.sub.f, for this is, ##EQU7## where .rho. is the density of the material and L is the heat of fusion.
Using values for silicon, at a depth of 1 micrometer again, it is found that, ##EQU8##
Thus, the incident energy density required for annealing E.sub.A, is of the order of 0.6.times.1.4+0.75=1.6 J/cm.sup.2.
Other semiconductor preparatory processes involving transient surface heating, such as conversion of an amorphous surface layer to poly- or single crystal layers or conversion of poly crystal to single crystal or conversion of surface poly crystal grain size may be carried out in similar fashion to that described above. In some of these processes melting may not be required.
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The present invention relates to a new and distinct short-day strawberry variety designated as xe2x80x98BG-424xe2x80x99. This new variety is a result of a controlled cross of xe2x80x98PS-1879xe2x80x99 (an unpatented proprietary selection) and xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,708). The variety is botanically known as Fragaria ananassa.
In comparison to the parental cultivar xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99, xe2x80x98BG-424xe2x80x99 fruit size is larger, lighter in color, and more vigorous in plant growth. In comparison to parental cultivar xe2x80x98PS-1879xe2x80x99, xe2x80x98BG-424xe2x80x99 has higher fruit yield, and is more vigorous in plant growth. These comparisons are made in a side by side trial grown in Oxnard, Calif.
The seedling resulting from the aforementioned cross was asexually propagated by stolons in a nursery located in Lassen County, Calif., and was subsequently selected from a controlled breeding plot near Oxnard, Calif. in 1996. After its selection, the new variety was further asexually propagated in both Lassen County, Calif. and Siskiyou County, Calif. by stolons and extensively tested over the next several years in fruiting fields near Oxnard, Calif. This propagation has demonstrated that the combination of traits disclosed herein as characterizing the new variety are fixed and remain true to type through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
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Ensuring a patient follows a medication or dosage regime continues to be problematic in the medical industry. Previous efforts directed toward compliance focused on incorporating reminders into various medicinal containers. For example, U.S. patent application publication 2007/0016443 to Wachman et al. titled “Medication Compliance Systems, Methods and Devices with Configurable and Adaptable Escalation Engine”, filed Jul. 6, 2006, describes incorporating electronics into a container cap where the electronics can provide compliance feedback to a patient or to remote healthcare providers. Interestingly, the disclosed effort and other known efforts focus on specific containers; bottles, vials, boxes, or blister packs for example, rather than a single container, a bag for example, suitable for all types of pharmaceuticals. Further, the known art fails to address issues that arise from bag-like containers having flexible seals, which render detection of an open or close event very difficult.
U.S. patent application publication 2002/00104848 to Burrows et al. titled “Pharmaceutical Container Having Signaling Means and Associated Method of Use”, filed Feb. 5, 2001, describes a use of a sensor to determine the closed position of a cap. Contemplated containers transmit data with a base station. Although Burrows presents useful approaches for tracking a patient's compliance with a schedule, Burrows requires container-specific implementations for each type of medicine container. In the Burrows example, the disclosed technique is only applicable to rigid container openings.
U.S. patent application publication 2007/0024465 to Howell et al. titled “Portable Container with Speaker Attached”, filed Jul. 22, 2006, describes a bottle having a speaker capable of providing audio signals to remind patients to take substances in the bottle. Howell references that some embodiments include storing a bottle in a bag, but fails to address issues relating detecting when a flexible seal of the bag is opened or closed.
Yet another example includes U.S. patent application publication 2009/0294521 to de la Huerga titled “Interactive Medication Container”, filed May 8, 2009. The de la Huerga disclosure describes interactive medication containers that inform a patient or pharmacist about compliance with dosage requirements. Even though de le Huerga contemplates interactive systems for bottles, boxes, or blister packs, de la Huerga also fails to address problems arising from a bag-like container having a flexible opening. The disclosed de la Huerga containers also comprise rigid caps or containers.
Additional examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,295,890 and 7,844,361 both to Jean-Peirre and titled “Prescription Drug Compliance Monitoring System”, filed Sep. 25, 2003 and Oct. 30, 2007, respectively. In the Jean-Pierre approach medical dispensers alert patients take medication and gathers compliance data. The dispensers also have rigid openings.
These and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
Thus, there is still a need for bag containers having non-rigid openings capable of providing schedule or compliance feedback.
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Rich media applications become more and more popular as users enjoy active roles in the applications. With the convergence of TV network and Internet, this trend will move from computer to TV screen. Rich media applications enjoy much credit for its superiority in the aspect of user interaction: viewers are allowed not only to watch multiple types of collaborative media content such as video, audio, picture, animation, text, etc. simultaneously, but also to freely switch or transfer media flow among multiple devices. For example, a user can obtain an advertisement video about a car, wherein the car is being presented in a movie; a user can get into a virtual world of a museum in parallel with a video of that museum. In this vision of future TV programs, a single display device is not able to provide enough display space for several simultaneous media renderings. A common practice is to divide TV screen into multiple rendering spaces or simply switch between multiple media renderings. Traditionally, a rich media application is executed by a rich media player on a single device, for example, a flash player on a TV set-top-box (STB)/Tablet/or other type of terminals. When a user interacts with one media content, the rich media player can interpret the interaction event, and make a response on another media based on a rule defined in the rich media format. If two or more pieces of media content are rendered on a single device, it is easier to synchronize them. Another synchronization method for a single device is to use SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language), which is deployed widely in mobile multimedia messages. SMIL allows integrating a set of independent multimedia objects into a synchronized multimedia presentation. Using SMIL, an author can 1) describe the temporal behavior of the presentation; 2) describe the layout of the presentation on a screen; 3) associate hyperlinks with media objects. However, the above two methods do not provide a solution for synchronizing media flows of multiple collaborative media content inside a rich media set over multiple display devices.
Several conventional methods exist for media synchronization over multiple devices.
The first one is global timing synchronization by hardware clock system or network time protocol (NTP). NTP provides Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). NTPv4 can usually maintain time within 10 milliseconds ( 1/100s) over the public Internet, and can achieve accuracies of 200 microseconds ( 1/5000s) or better in local area networks under ideal conditions. Although NTP protocol can guarantee accurate physical layer synchronization, it cannot reflect the synchronization requirement of the media playing in application layer. In order to map the media playing time line with the physical time line, the terminal needs to check the system clock frequently, which will add the overhead and complexity of software implementation in the terminal.
The second method is deployed for quality of service (QoS) guarantee, such as bandwidth guarantee or delay guarantee. When a viewer is watching multiple display devices simultaneously, a certain amount of time delay is tolerable; however, the delay should be guaranteed and predictable by using media transmission QoS control protocol, such as RTCP (RTP Control Protocol) in conjunction with the RTP (Real-time Transport protocol). RTP carries the media streams (e.g., audio and video), and RTCP is used to monitor transmission statistics and QoS information. In RTCP protocol, report packets are sent periodically to report transmission and reception statistics for all RTP packets sent during a time interval. This type of protocol can guarantee the synchronization at packet level from one sender to multiple receivers, but it still cannot guarantee the playback synchronization finally presented to the viewer because of the difference of packet processing, buffer control, audio/video decoding and player rendering in multiple display devices. The final subjective impression about synchronization from viewer's point of view totally depends on the media frames displayed on screens of display devices.
Therefore, a method for synchronized content playback at the level of content presentation on display devices is required in order not to give viewer impression of non-synchronization over multiple display devices.
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}
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Protein analysis is the fundamental basis of modern biology research. It centers on antigen-antibody interaction to measure levels of antigen of interest under various medical or experimental conditions. An antigen by definition, is a foreign molecule that, when introduced into the body, triggers the production of an antibody by the immune system. The high specificity of the antibody against a specific antigen makes it a powerful tool in clinical, pharmaceutical and biomedical research. An antigen includes, but not limited to a chemical compound, a peptide, a protein, an RNA, a DNA, a cell (proteins released in situ), or a virus particle (proteins released in situ). The whole molecule of antigen, or part of the molecule, may be introduced into a mammal, such as a donkey, a goat, or a rabbit to generate large quantity of antibody against the introduced antigen of interest. Furthermore, the introduced antigen, or part of the antigen, may have one or several epitopes, thus may generate one or several antibodies against the antigen of interest depending on the number of epitope(s) available.
A typical immunodetection process can be divided into three major steps, including, (i), Sample application, where prepared samples containing an antigen of interest are first bound to a membrane, such as nitrocellulose or PVDF membrane or other solid phase like multiwell plate with protein binding capacity; (ii), blocking/incubation/washing step, which includes multiple sub-steps, where first (a), non-specific protein binding sites on the membrane are blocked using blocking buffer to avoid non-specific protein binding to the membrane; next (b), the membrane is incubated with antibody against antigen of interest to allow for the formation of membrane-bound antigen-antibody complex while unbound antibodies are washed away. In this sub-step, the antibody used may be directly labeled, or indirectly labeled through a secondary antibody, with a reporter enzyme such as horseradish peroxidase or alkaline phosphatase; and (iii), detection, enzymatic reaction is initiated using reporter enzyme coupled with membrane-bound antibody in a reporter assay to give a readout comprising information related to the quantity or quality of the bound immunocomplex on the membrane. For example, the readout may result in color for visual inspection or a chemiluminescence signal that can be detected either through luminometer or X-ray film. The antibody could also be fluorescence-labeled as in ELISA assay, and the final product is quantified at different wavelength in an ELISA plate reader. In both Dot blot analysis and Western blot analysis, the final result of the immunodetection analysis can be further quantified indirectly through densitometric analysis.
There are multiple modifications of this generalized procedure in each individual step. In step (i), there are variations of sample application, including direct application in Dot blot analysis, gel transfer in Western blot analysis and coating of samples in ELISA analysis. There are even more modifications in step (ii) including the various procedures and buffer compositions to maximally eliminate direct antibody binding while preserving the formed immunocomplex on the membrane. In most cases, the primary antibody is not directly labeled with reporter enzyme. A reporter enzyme coupled-secondary antibody against the primary antibody maybe needed to label those primary antibodies bound to the antigen of interest on the surface of membrane. In step (iii), there are a variety of methods to label the antibody besides reporter enzyme, leading to various detection methods accordingly.
While this generalized description of the immunodetection process is merely illustration of the principles underlying the conventional immunodetection analysis, it is by no means to exhaust all the methods or modifications associated with this process. There are always modifications or procedures not described here, yet consistent with the scope and the spirit of this generalized immunodetection process.
Dot blot analysis is a typical application of the above described immunodetection process, symbolized by the direct application of the prepared samples on to membrane in a dot. However, although this process is simple and fast, its application in biomedical, clinical and pharmaceutical research is greatly limited by its lack of specificity. In multiple cases, antibody used in immunodetection assay reacts with more than one antigen for various reasons. Therefore, the amount of the reporter enzyme associated with bound immunocomplex in a Dot blot analysis cannot reflect reliably the amount of the antigen of interest in prepared samples. Consequently, both Western blot analysis and ELISA assay are more commonly used due to improved specificity.
In Western blot analysis, prepared samples containing the antigen of interest are first separated by their molecular weight though gel electrophoresis, and the separated proteins are transferred through electroblotting step to either nitrocellulose membrane or PVDF membrane. Followed by a typical immunodetection process, the levels of the antigen of interest in the prepared samples are detected on the spot in a typical reporter enzyme-based reaction, and quantified indirectly through densitometric analysis. In this analysis, the specificity of immunodetection is achieved by both the antigen-antibody interaction as well as the expected molecular weight of the antigen of interest to eliminate any false signals due to non-specific antigen-antibody interactions commonly observed in Dot blot analysis. However, in both Dot blot analysis and Western blot analysis, the relative amount of the antigen of interest can only be quantified indirectly through densitometric analysis. Also, in Western blot analysis, the complexity of the process prevents its application in large-scale analysis in clinical, pharmaceutical and experimental research.
On the other hand, ELISA assay successfully avoids problems associated with both Dot blot analysis and Western blot analysis to allow fast, simple and quantifiable results in a multiwell plate format. The specificity of the assay is achieved by selecting antibody exclusively reacting with the antigen of interest. The high specificity of the antibody-antigen reaction also allows for direct quantification of signal intensity in multiwell plate format. These advantages lead to the wide usage of ELISA techniques in both biomedical and clinical research. Yet, the success of ELISA assay demands high specificity of the antibody, and only those reacting exclusively to the antigen of interest are acceptable for further development. This limitation leads to high developmental cost of successful ELISA assay and limits its availability in the field of biomedical research.
In this invention, an improved immunodetection process on the basis of Dot blot analysis is disclosed to circumvent the limitations associated with current available immunoassay techniques, with the distinct advantage of being simple, fast, directly quantifiable, specific, and suitable for large scale applications in clinical, pharmaceutical and experimental research and diagnostic applications. As this invention is believed to be the ultimate form of “Western” blot analysis, this invention is named “Zestern” analysis, as Z is the last letter of alphabet.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
}
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