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This invention relates generally to band-stop or band-rejection filters for VHF (very high frequency) and/or UHF (ultrahigh frequency) band, and more particularly, the present invention relates to such a filter having a plurality of series resonance circuits connected by transmission lines.
Conventional band-stop filters used in the VHF-UHF bands usually comprise a plurality of series resonance circuits, where each resonance circuit has a high value of unloaded Q and is of a distributed constant type. The series resonance circuits are connected by transmission lines, and usually the length of each transmission line connected between two series resonance circuits is selected to a value which equals a quarter wavelength of the center frequency in the stop band. The frequency characteristic curve of the insertion loss of such a conventional band-stop filter is substantially symmetrical with respect to the center frequency. When such symmetry of the insertion loss with respect to the center frequency is not required, but when a sharper attenuation characteristic is required, the length of each transmission line between adjacent series resonance circuits may be reduced by 5 to 20 percent from a quarter wavelength as already proposed by the inventors of the present invention. Alternatively, the length of each transmission line may be lengthened from the quarter wavelength to obtain a similar effect. Although such already known band-stop filters can provide an attenuation characteristic which is sharper than that of the conventional band-stop filters having transmission lines whose length equal quarter wavelength, the sharpness is not adequate when a further sharper attenuation characteristic is required. | {
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It can be desirable to perform a plurality of assays simultaneously to provide varied and large data sets. Such a process is often referred to as a “multiplexing assay”. Thus, there is a need for devices that can perform multiplexing assays. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric disk brake in which to generate braking force with motor torque, and more specifically to an electric disk brake with a parking brake mechanism, and a lock device suitable for the electric disk brake.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an electric disk brake has been provided with a caliper comprising: a pad pressing member pressing a brake pad; a motor; and a rotary-to-linear motion conversion mechanism converting rotary motion of a rotor of the motor into linear motion so as to transmit the motion to the pad pressing member (a piston). The pad pressing member is adapted to move forward according to the rotary motion of the rotor of the motor so as to generate braking force by pressing the brake pad to a disk rotor.
In addition to the electric disk brake discussed above, development of an electric disk brake provided with a parking brake has been expedited in recent years; this kind of the electric disk brake is additionally provided with a lock mechanism enabling to lock and unlock displacement of a pad pressing member in a braking release direction so as to retain braking force even after electric power to a motor ceases. For example, in an electric disk brake disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2003-42199 (hereinafter reference 1), a rotor of a motor is provided with a ring-shaped rotational body, so that an engaging claw can be engaged with and disengaged from a claw portion of the ring-shaped rotational body by means of an actuator (solenoid). After the rotor of the motor is shifted to a braking position, the engaging claw is engaged with the ring-shaped rotational body so as to retain a braking condition in a non-power state.
In the electric disk brake with the parking brake, however, in case that the parking brake is applied at a high temperature where a brake pad is thermally expanded, pressing force, that is, thrust force of the pad pressing member is deteriorated due to shrinkage of the brake pad along with a subsequent temperature decrease. In traditional methods, when the deterioration of the thrust force is caused due to temperature variations, re-application of the parking brake by re-rotating the motor in a power-intensified direction, so-called re-clamp operation, has been conducted to deal with the above problem. See, for example, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2006-232263.
However, in the electric disk brake with the parking brake disclosed in the reference 1, the engaging claw is always energized with an energizing means in a direction being disengaged from (see FIGS. 9 and 10) or engaged with (see FIGS. 6 to 8) the claw portion of the ring-shaped rotational body. Accordingly, in case that the engaging claw is always energized in the disengaged direction, if the re-clamp operation is performed in condition that the actuator is broken down during activation of the parking brake, the engaging claw is disengaged from the claw portion of the ring-shaped rotational body, whereby it causes a condition that the parking brake can never be applied. On the other hand, in case that the engaging claw is always energized in the engaged direction, if the actuator is broken down in normal brakes, the lock mechanism will be automatically operated, making vehicle movements unstable (fail-safe unavailable). | {
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The prior art provides a very interesting history of the arts' unsuccessful attempt to utilize Velcro®-type materials in combination with a tennis racquet to serve as a ball retriever. The purpose of such a retriever, when attached to the tennis racquet, would permit the tennis player to merely extend the tennis racquet to retrieve the tennis ball from the court. Early patents such as French Patent No, 2,594,037 by Gene Muslin theorized that a cloth wrapper with hooks including catching elements made of smooth layers of fastening retention threads attached to a tennis racquet would allow the tennis player to retrieve the ball without bending down or stooping. The French patentee disclosed numerous positions for attaching the cloth with hooks to the tennis racquet. The French patentee fails, however, to provide any enabling guidance as to what type of cloth with hooks could be utilized for this purpose. The patent literature collectively reveals that the positioning and configuration of the retrieving element upon the racquet by the French patentee would not lend itself to effective grasping and retrieval of a grounded tennis ball.
Another early patent to Peter Ross (U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,666) proposes the use of what is referred to as mid-temp Velcro®. Apparently, as indicated in the patent, the Ross retriever includes an outer surface equipped with stainless hooks which, when emplaced upon a tennis racquet, will hook onto the nap of a tennis ball. A subsequent patent, U.S. Pat. No, 4,834,393, to Joseph A. Feldi in discussing the shortcoming of the Ross retriever indicated that the stainless steel hooks as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,666 to Ross, had two major drawbacks. First, it was extremely difficult to pick up a tennis ball with the Ross system with success only in one out of five tries. The second problem was indicated that “after just a few retrievals using the standard tennis ball the ball covering becomes fuzz and no longer useful in normal play.” In order to overcome this inability to effectively retrieve a tennis ball with a hooked material attached to the tennis racquet, Feldi proposed to completely alter the outer covering of the tennis ball to a nap consisting entirely of a different looped material more compatible with the hooks which, in turn, then would allow a hooked material of conventional Velcro®-type hooked fabric affixed to the end of tennis racquet to effectively pick up a tennis ball. Thus, Feldi's suggestion was change the tennis ball nap so that it could be retrieved with the conventional hooked fabric materials.
Another early patent to Steven M Schubert entitled “Racket Mounted Tennis Ball Retriever” of U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,327 makes reference to a tennis ball retriever sold under the trademark “GRAB-R” which consisted of an adhesive strip containing countless tiny hooks for adherence to the rounded frame at the head of the racquet. Schubert indicated that in order to permit the GRAB-R to retrieve the tennis ball, the tennis player must first secure the ball under the foot to keep if from scooting away and then engage the racquet retriever onto the ball and twist the racquet so as to snag the hooks into the covering pile.
Recognizing the inability for hooked fabric materials, such as Velcro® hooks, to effectively retrieve a tennis ball when attached to a flat or convex surface, the Schubert patentee, as well as many others, proposed to attach a cup-shaped retriever onto the butt end of the tennis racquet. The cup provided an internal cavity of a concave configuration conforming substantially to the configuration of the arcuate periphery of a tennis ball. By compressing the grounded tennis ball against the cup, an improved interlocking engagement of the hooked and curling looped fabrics was achieved by simply decompressing the tennis ball (i.e. lifting) which action apparently allowed the hooks and tennis pile to interlockingly intermesh onto one another. This design significantly increases the contacting surface of the hooks allowing the weak hooking efficacy of many hooks to provide sufficient attachment to lift the ball from the ground. Schubert indicates that if the fabric section is placed on the convex surface or even on a planer surface, which would be applied tangentially against the ball, the retriever would be ineffective for snagging the hooks into the piled loops of the ball and lifting the ball. Because of the increased surface exposure by cupping the ball, the ineffective hooks are numberly increased so as to enable the hooks to snaggingly engage the curly pile of the ball so it may then be lifted from the ground. The proposal by Schubert is not the most desirable way for attaching a ball-retrieving device to a tennis racquet. The handle of the tennis racquet is normally held by the tennis player. Consequently, when it is desired to retrieve a ball, the tennis player must grasp the head of the tennis racquet and then force the handle butt end and attached the tennis ball retriever against the courted tennis ball.
A somewhat similar ball-retrieving apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,712 to Kenneth J. Urwin. Similar to the Schubert patent, the Urwin patentee relies upon a cup-shaped gripping section of an arcuate shape conforming to the spherical shape of a tennis ball, which enables the enlarged portion of the gripping hooks to more effectively contact, attach and securely grip the tennis ball.
Another early version of a ball retriever of a cup shape for attachment to the butt end of the tennis racquet handle may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,881 to David A. Norton. The Norton patent relies upon a concave recess equipped with clip means preferably formed from a resilient material, which includes a plurality of radially extending arms. The arms are turned so as to extend in a substantially parallel relationship to the sidewalls of the receiving cup for the tennis ball. The free ends of the arms include a plurality of hook means disposed in a nap-engaging relationship to the corresponding portions of the tennis ball. The hook means are generally disclosed as teeth. The patentee alternatively mentions, but does not show, that a strip of Velcro® tape could also be used.
In summary, the prior art generally teaches that Velcro®-type hooked materials (i.e. fabric hooks) of a polymeric material construction, such as a nylon, necessitate substantial interfacial contact with the tennis ball cover in order to effectively be utilized as a ball retriever. Consequently, the prior art has taught the utilization of cup-shaped attachments to the tennis racquet which generally conform to the configuration of the tennis ball so as to provide an increased concave surface area for more effectively hooking and retaining the tennis ball. Since these cup-shaped retrieving devices are relatively bulky, they cannot be affixed to the tennis racquet head but must rather necessarily placed upon the butt end of the tennis racquet handle. The prior art consistently teaches that such hooked fabric materials are ineffective when utilized simply as a flat strip attached to the surface of the racquet rim or as an attachment upon the convex surface of the tennis racquet head. The prior art solution to the ineffectiveness of Velcro®-type fasteners is to increase the interfacing surface by designing the retriever to extensively cup the ball so that the ineffective hooks are then present in sufficient numbers to allow the ineffective hooks to lift the tennis ball.
In each of these situations, the prior art teaches that the tangential contact and use of such a retainer fails to provide a sufficient number of hooks so as to effectively grasp and retain the tennis ball. The applicant desired to utilize a hooked fabric attachment which could be removably attached to the flat or convex surfaces of the tennis racquet and allow for retrieval of the tennis ball simply by tangential contact of the tennis ball therewith. Unexpectedly, the applicant has discovered that a very narrow range of hooked fabric materials which, when attached to the tennis racquet, possess unexpectedly superior ball-retrieving efficacy notwithstanding making only tangential contact between the hooked material and the tennis ball nap. The discovery permits a lightweight, adhesively and removable ball retrieving element to be placed upon the tennis racquet head without adversely affecting the player's use of the racquet. The retriever is light in weight and does not alter the balance of the tennis racquet. When it is desired to retrieve a courted ball, the tennis player merely extends the retrieving head so as to tangentially contact the surface of the tennis ball with the retriever and tangentially hook onto the nap of the ball with the retrieving hooks and lift the tennis ball therewith The retrieving device exhibits extraordinary hooking and lifting efficacy. Simply tangential contact results in a surprisingly superior engagement efficacy upon initial contact with the tennis ball. The retrieving device has been effective upon all of the major brands of tennis balls. | {
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Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting of the machines.
Consequently, shrewd operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines available because such machines attract frequent play and, hence, increase profitability to the operator. In the competitive gaming machine industry, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to produce new types of games, or enhancements to existing games, which will attract frequent play by enhancing the entertainment value and excitement associated with the game.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is that of a “secondary” or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, and is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the basic game.
Another concept that has been employed is the use of a progressive jackpot. In the gaming industry, a “progressive” involves the collecting of coin-in data from participating gaming device(s) (e.g., slot machines), contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a certain jackpot-won event. A jackpot-won event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along a certain pay line. The initial progressive jackpot is a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the gaming machine without winning the jackpot. Further, when several gaming machines are linked together such that several players at several gaming machines compete for the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate, which leads to further player excitement. In existing progressive games, once a player at a first gaming machine enters the progressive game, the players at the other gaming machines are not involved in the progressive game. In other words, the other players do not get the opportunity to participate in the progressive game.
While these player appeal features provide some enhanced excitement relative to other known games, there is a continuing need to develop new features for gaming machines to satisfy the demands of players and operators. Specifically, the current progressive games only provide enhanced excitement to the player invited to play for the jackpot. Thus, there is a need for engaging multiple players after one player enters a communal game. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image determination method that determines whether or not characters or graphics included in an image are prepared by handwriting, an image processing apparatus that applies processing to the image in accordance with a determination, and an image outputting apparatus that outputs the image thus processed.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a publicly-known method in which the image of an original is optically read, and handwritten characters and printed characters included in the image thus read are determined and extracted. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-162102, whether or not the character is handwritten is determined by extracting a thickness of a stroke, linearity, and angle. Also, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-265424 and Laid Open No. 5-189604, whether or not the character is handwritten is determined by using the shape and size, and linearity of binarized data. Also, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-93466, whether or not the character is handwritten is determined by using the linearity of the binarized data. Further, in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 4-190473, whether or not the character is handwritten is determined by binarizing image data and using its pattern.
However, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 10-162102, it is necessary to extract the stroke, linearity, and angle of characters, and therefore objects to be determined such as characters need a certain degree of size. Namely, when the character to be determined is small, there is a problem that determination accuracy is deteriorated. In addition, in recent years, the font to be used in the printed character is diversified, and there is also a handwriting like character. When such a kind of font is used, according to the conventional method, there is a high possibility that the character is determined to be a handwritten character, involving the problem of causing deterioration of the determination accuracy to occur.
In addition, according to the method disclosed in the conventional documents such as Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 11-265424, binarization is required in any case, thus involving a problem that a process time is increased. Moreover, it is necessary to add hardware, due to binarization, involving a problem that a manufacturing cost is increased. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for automatically isolating preparative quantities of a substance from a mixture of substances in a sample liquid by sequentially fractionating the sample and contacting the fractions with reagent liquids by means of a centrifugal rotor containing at least one fractionation cell and a dynamic flow distributor which, in combination, allow reagent liquids to flow into and sequentially through one or more compartments of the fractionation cell while the rotor is rotating.
2. Description of the Background Art
Many manual methods involving sedimentation, aggregation, phase separation, sorption, rinsing, desorption and other manipulations for isolating a substance from a sample liquid are well known. Although several of these procedures include centrifugation steps, manual interventions such as pipetting, pouring, mixing, shaking, decanting, etc. are typically required between individual steps.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, one or more nucleic acids are isolated from a sample liquid. Typically, the sample liquid initially contains a mixture of biological materials such as cells, dissolved proteins, and nucleoprotein complexes. Manual methods for isolating nucleic acids contained in such mixtures typically begin with lysis, protein denaturation or other manipulations to release elements that contain the nucleic acids sought to be isolated. Residual formed elements are then either trapped by filtration or else centrifuged into a pellet. The cleared sample liquid is then typically contacted with a reagent liquid which neutralizes or otherwise conditions the sample liquid and, optionally, conditions the nucleic acids sought to be isolated. Subsequent steps may include contacting the conditioned sample liquid with one or more reagents which further condition the sample liquid. Optionally, the sample liquid, with or without further conditioning, may contact a material such as a gel, resin, membrane, glass or other surface which selectively retains the nucleic acid sought to be isolated, or a derivative thereof, by adsorption or absorption. Other steps include removing substances with which the nucleic acid may be complexed and extracting the nucleic acid from solution or from the adsorptive or absorptive material.
Attempts to automate the aforesaid manual procedures have heretofore relied generally upon robotic means. The AUTOGEN 540, manufactured by Autogen Instruments, Inc., is an example. Another is the GENEPURE 341 manufactured by Applied Biosystems, Inc. Centrifugation is only incidental to the operation of the former and is not involved in the latter.
Columbus, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,288) have disclosed a centrifugal method for extracting deoxyribonucleic acid by phase separation. To our knowledge, however, centrifugal means have not been adapted to carry out multi-step chemical procedures for isolating either substances in general or nucleic acids in particular within the confines of a rotor into which reagents are introduced as the rotor rotates. Such means, which lend themselves readily to automation, are likely to be faster, more accurate and reproducible, and less labor-intensive than manual methods. They are likely to be less expensive to manufacture and maintain than robotic means.
In contrast to their limited employment in multi-step chemical preparative procedures, centrifugal rotors for chemical analyses are common. Typically, they have been variously adapted for separating blood plasma from whole blood and for performing chemical analyses on the separated plasma.
Burd (U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,381) describes a centrifugal rotor which separates plasma from whole blood and, by means of a plurality of internal chambers and passages, combines the plasma with one or more reagents and distributes it to a plurality of individual test wells. In the Burd rotor and other disclosed analytical rotors (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,756,883, 4,663,296, 4,244,916), and in the instant invention, a capillary limits the flow of liquid between chambers when the rotor is static. Centrifugal force is required to urge liquid through the capillary. Other analytical rotors similarly employ a plurality of chambers to separate plasma into aliquots, treat it, and mix it with reagents (exemplarily, Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,484). Also conventional is the use of a combination of centrifugal and gravitational force to control the movement of plasma and reagents between chambers. Additionally, the direction of rotation may be exploited for this purpose (e.g., Guigan, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,097 and 4,469,793).
Typically, rotors adapted for analyzing blood plasma include centrifugal means for distributing substantially equal aliquots of a plasma sample to a plurality of test chambers. Unlike the present invention, however, the distributor means is usually loaded while the rotor is static. This limitation can result in uneven distribution of sample aliquots. A variety of venting systems and overflow chambers have been disclosed to deal with this difficulty. See, for example, Burtis, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,658. Dynamic loading of liquids has been employed in an effort to overcome the problem of uneven distribution. Anderson, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,217, for example, have disclosed an analytic rotor capable of being dynamically loaded. However, any unevenness of flow during the injection of liquids into dynamic flow distributors has generally resulted in eneven distribution of sample aliquots.
The aim of the invention is to provide easily automated, centrifugal apparatus and methods for the preparative isolation of a substance from a mixture of substances in a sample liquid, in particular, a nucleic acid. Advantages of such apparatus and methods over the current art include better productivity, accuracy and reproducibility than manual methods, lower manufacturing and maintenance costs than robotic systems, and greater flexibility than other centrifugal means now used for preparative purposes or adaptable therefor. | {
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The invention is a method and framework for improving and simplifying communication and command between an application and a messaging system.
MQ Series Messaging System is a message-oriented middleware for providing exchange of messages and data on an enterprise wide basis. The MQ Series Messaging System is described in more detail in the following reference publications, the entire contents which are incorporated herein by reference:
MQSeries for AIX V5.0 Quick Beginnings
(.software.ibm.com/ts/mqseries/library/manuals/amqaac/AMQAAC01.HTM)
MQSeries Application Programming Guide
(.software.ibm.com/ts/mqseries/library/manuals/csqzal/CSQZAL01.HTM)
MQSeries Application Programming Reference
(.software.ibm.com/ts/mqseries/library/manuals/csqzak/CSQZAK01.HTM)
MQSeries Using C++
software.ibm.com/ts/mqseries/library/manuals/amqzan/AMQZAN01.HTM)
Some current systems are making use of CORBA technology, as a choice of strategic middle-ware deployment, which is distinct from the messaging technology provided by MQ Series. CORBA is a type of a distributed object system that is defined under the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) specification produced by OMG. A CORBA-based distributed object system is a system running in the context of an Object Request Broker (ORB) implemented under the CORBA specification from the OMG, Revision 2.0, Revision 2.1, Revision 2.2 and Revision 2.3, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. For purposes of this application, programs compliant with CORBA Revision 2.3, 2.2, and 2.1, or later CORBA Revisions, by definition will be viewed as compliant with CORBA Revision 2.0. Unless otherwise specified, a generic reference to the CORBA Services specification will be presumed to be OMG""s CORBA Services Revision 2.0. Similarly, a CORBA-based application is an application which is able to run in a manner compliant with the CORBA Services specification and able to operate and interact in a CORBA-based environment.
For a programmer working in a CORBA environment, the only ways to bridge to MQ Series messaging in a neighboring environment are for an application developer to gain in-depth knowledge of MQ Series, use its"" complex API""s, and apply those concepts in coding in each and every application. This knowledge must be gained system wide and employed by any programmers wishing to access the MQ Series messaging environment. This represents a substantial investment in knowledge not directly related to the primary CORBA environment in which such programmers are working and hence is a relatively inefficient use of resources.
The present invention provides a method for communicating messages between a CORBA-based application on a local system and a remote destination application on a remote system using a CORBA-based Messaging API framework in combination with an MQ Series Messaging system.
In this method, the CORBA-based application uses C++ code to communicate at least one of a group of commands selected from poll request, receive reply, send reply, send request, and send request and block for reply to the CORBA-based Messaging API framework on the local system. The Messaging API framework encapsulates a set of application programming interfaces for interfacing with an MQ Series Messaging system, wherein the set of application programming interfaces comprises a poll request API, a receive reply API, a send reply API, a send request API, and a send request and block for reply API.
The Messaging API framework uses MQ Series compliant language to communicate the selected command to a Local Queue Manager on the local system. The Local Queue Manager manages a set of queues, wherein the set of queues comprises a local request queue, a local reply queue, a local dead-letter queue, and a local transmission queue and wherein the Local Queue Manager uses the local transmission queue to provide a local address for communicating with a remote request queue and a remote reply queue;
The Local Queue Manager interprets the selected command and modifies at least one of the set of queues managed by the Local Queue Manager in response to the selected command. The Local Queue Manager communicates with a Remote Queue Manager on the remote system using the local transmission queue to update at least one of a group of queues selected from the local request queue, the local reply queue, the remote request queue and the remote reply queue.
Like the Local Queue Manager, the Remote Queue Manager manages a set of queues, wherein the set of queues comprises the remote request queue, the remote reply queue, a remote dead-letter queue, and a remote transmission queue and wherein the Remote Queue Manager uses the remote transmission queue to provide a remote address for communicating with the local request queue and the local reply queue.
The Remote Queue Manager communicates information regarding the updated queue to the remote destination application on the remote system in response to at least one command originating from the remote destination application.
Alternatively, the present invention provides a CORBA-based Messaging API framework for communicating between a CORBA-based application and an MQ Series Messaging System. The framework includes a set of application programming interfaces for interfacing with an MQ Series Messaging system encapsulated by the Messaging API framework, wherein the set of application programming interfaces includes a poll request API, a receive reply API, a send reply API, a send request API, and a send request and block for reply API. The Messaging API framework receives commands communicated by the CORBA-based application, using C++ code selected from the group of commands which comprises poll request, receive reply,, send reply, send request, and send request and block for reply. The Messaging API framework uses MQ Series compliant language to communicate such commands to the MQ Series Messaging System. The Messaging API framework uses MQ Series compliant language to receive responses to such commands from the MQ Series Messaging System. The Messaging API framework communicates the responses to the CORBA-based application. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conduit system for the transport of gases of high temperature and high pressure during travel between a plurality of component units of a power station arranged inside a pressure vessel, and more particularly to such a conduit system which is adapted for use in conjunction with the operating units of the main circuit of a gas-cooled nuclear reactor station.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In installations of the aforementioned kind, the gas conduit system has for its purpose to guide the heated, highly pressurized gas which leaves the reactor core to a turbine or to heat exchanging process units, further to distribute the gas to the various other operating units of the circuit, to collect the gas as it leaves these units, and to lastly return it to the reactor core. In view of the fact that even insignificant defects in a nuclear reactor power station may lead to radioactive contamination or irradiation of the surrounding areas of the reactor, all component parts of such an installation are subject to the most stringent requirements concerning their operating safety. For this reason, it is necessary to construct the entire installation, including the gas conduit system, in such a way that no radioactively contaminated gas can escape from the pressure vessel.
From German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,028,736 there is known a nuclear power station having a closed gas-cooled circuit and featuring, inside a concrete pressure vessel, a high-temperature reactor, a gas turbine unit with compressor, heat exchanging units, as well as the gas conduits which link together the machines, the heat exchanging units, and the reactor core. The machines, heat exchanging units, and the conduits are in this case accommodated inside a machine block of pre-stressed concrete which is separate from the concrete pressure vessel. The only connections between the machine block and the concrete pressure vessel are an explosion- and radiation-proof gas supply conduit and gas return conduit. These two conduits may be constituted of a double-wall steel shell, or they may be jacketed with concrete walls. Other gas conduits, which link the units arranged inside the machine block, are constructed so that they serve as so-called lost forms, with concrete being cast around them at the place of final installation. This method of constructing the gas conduit system has the shortcoming that it precludes inspection and maintenance access to the gas conduits at a later date; it also makes any replacement of defective gas conduit components impossible. A further consideration which weighs against this type of installation is the fact that the elevated gas temperatures which are characteristic of a high-temperature reactor lead to considerable heat stress in the surrounding concrete.
In German Auslegeschrift No. 1,614,610 is likewise disclosed a nuclear power station featuring a concrete pressure vessel, and an associated pressure-tight machine chamber enclosing the turbine, the compressor, and the heat exchanging process units. The entire installation may alternatively also be arranged inside a single concrete structure enclosing two self-contained, pressure-proof chambers, separated from each other by means of a partition wall. In this partition wall are arranged wall conduits for the working gas which are installed directly in the concrete of the partition wall, in the form of insulated concrete ducts covered by a gas-tight steel skin. These conduits, too, are subject to the earlier-mentioned shortcomings: they are unaccessible for servicing or replacement, and the concrete is again subjected to elevated temperature stress, especially around the conduit which transports the heated working gas. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates a passenger airbag, which is filled with gas during an emergency situation such as, for example, a frontal or side impact. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fluid to fluid heat exchangers and particularly to structural features thereof reducing the likelihood of fluid mixing as may result from leakage caused by wear, corrosion, imperfect braze joints or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a common form of fluid to fluid heat exchanger, plate elements and spacer elements are effectively stacked or assembled so that they define multiple superimposing or side by side fluid flow passages. Through use of applied manifolds, or other means, first and second fluids are directed through alternating passages, with a transfer of heat taking place from the fluid of higher temperature to the fluid of lower temperature through the plate separating adjacent passages. Usually a strip of corrugated fin material is placed in each flow passage to make the heat transfer process more efficient and to promote structural strength and rigidity. After assembly, and in a preferred joining process, parts are united into a one-piece structure by a brazing process in which plate elements are made fast to spacer elements upon which they superimpose and the peaks and valleys of the corrugated fin material attach to overlying and underlying plate elements. In various ways, braze material is introduced at joints where parts contact one another, and, in the presence of heat and pressure, the material flows to fill the defined joints. The braze connection is multi-functional. It connects the parts in a uniform assembly. It provides for heat flow with minimal thermal resistance, and, it seals the defined joints against fluid leaks. Since at least one of the flowing fluids is often under relatively high pressure, great care is usually taken to insure that the braze joints are sound and well sealed.
Heat exchangers as described have enjoyed a long commercial success. They lend themselves particularly well to fabrication using light weight metals. They are easy to manufacture, all of the braze joints being effected in a single operation, and they are highly efficient.
However, use requirements are sometimes quite severe. In some applications, for example, even minor amounts of leakage from one flow circuit to another cannot be tolerated. When made under carefully controlled conditions and subjected to repeated inspections, a leak proof heat exchanger can be produced. Such manufacture may not always be economically feasible, however, and is in any event no guarantee that leaks will not develop in service. Common causes of leaks are weakly brazed joints not adequately resistant to vibration and pressure stresses, and imperfections in a plate element developing pin hole leaks in the manufacturing process or as a result of corrosion. One or both of the fluids put through the heat exchanger may be corrosive or entrain corrosive materials. One practiced brazing process is carried out in a salt bath and, with occasionally imperfect results, subsequent flushing procedures are used to wash salt residue from interior passages.
In addition to efforts made to make the heat exchanger leak proof, concurrent efforts have been made to render leaks harmless, that is, to prevent fluid interchange from one flow circuit to another. In one prior art example, shown in P. Bathla U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,061, issued July 23, 1974, plate elements are configured as unitary tubes leaving the fluid conducted therethrough no opportunity to leak through brazed joints. Also, through a use of superstructure built up at either end of the heat exchanger, drained collection chambers are provided for fluid which may leak past those braze joints which at other locations separate the fluid circuits. The prior art construction adequately serves its intended purpose. Certain disadvantages and limitations attend its use, however. Thus, the integrally formed tubes and components comprising the end superstructure are not usual or conventional in plate and fin constructions. Their use adds substantially to the difficulties and cost of manufacture. Further, the prior art device does not take into account or provide for leakage through plate elements defining the flow passages. As seen above, these can be the source of leaks as well as can the braze joints. | {
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of input/output (I/O) connectors, more specifically to I/O connectors that handle higher amounts of power.
Description of Related Art
I/O connectors are commonly used in system architectures where it is desirable to pass information between two separate components via a flexible cable. Often a first connector will be mounted to a first circuit board and a second connector will be mounted to a second board and a cable with corresponding mating connectors will be plugged into the first and second connector so as to allow information to pass therebetween. Due to increased end-user needs, there has been a general interest in providing I/O connectors that can handle high data-rates (such as 10 Gbps and greater). Future I/O standards may include a 25 Gbps channel. This is expected to be beneficial, at least in part, because data rates of optical channels are suited to operate at 25 Gbps, thus allowing a one-to-one arrangement. For example, a 4X connector (where the X represents a transmit channel and a receive channel) that could operate at 25 Gbps would enable four two-way communication channels of 25 Gbps. While a passive cable would allow the signals to be transmitted for shorter distances, at the frequencies that tend to be used, a passive cable is unsuitable for long-distance communication. Such a 4x connector could therefore be coupled to an active module (either active copper or optical) so as to allow for increased cable lengths (optical cables offering the potential for lengths of a kilometer or more, for example).
One potential issue with such a solution, however, is that the use of active modules creates significant thermal energy. A module, for example, may need to dissipate more than 3 watts. If there is only one connector, the use of a convention riding heat sink can be sufficient. However, if the 4X connectors are ganged or stacked, it becomes much more challenging to cool the connectors. Therefore, certain individuals would appreciate an improved thermal solution. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inverter generator in which AC electric power generated by a motor is once converted into DC power and further converted into AC power with a desired frequency.
2. Description of the Related Art
A synchronous electric motor driven by a motor such as a combustion engine is used as an electric generator for generating alternating current electric power. An electric generator sometimes further contains a converter by which a generated power is once converted into a direct current electric power and then converted into alternating current electric power for output. An electric generator with such a converter, generally referred to as “inverter generator”, serves some benefits such as controllability of voltage and frequency of output electricity independent of those of originally generated by the synchronous electric motor.
A converter in an inverter generator requires information about electrical angles in regard to the synchronous electric motor to control its conversion mode. Thus an inverter generator so far needs to have additional sensors on its synchronous electric motor to inform electrical angles to its converter. JP2005-295626 and JP2007-185099 discloses related arts. | {
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The invention relates to a burner comprising a primary conduit for supplying a mixture of combustible gas and air; and at least one primary mixture chamber, having at least one inflow opening connected with the primary mixture supply conduit, the diameter of which opening is of the same order as that of the primary mixture supply conduit, and at least one primary discharge opening, which discharges into the space surrounding the burner, and the diameter of which is small relative to the diameter of the primary mixture supply conduit.
Such burners are already frequently being used for heating purposes. However, known burners have the drawback, that at high burner loads (when a large amount of mixture is burnt per unit of time) high combustion temperatures occur in the burning mixture. At these high combustion temperatures, large quantities of nitrogen oxide (NOx) are formed.
Furthermore, these known burners have the drawback of only being adjustable over a limited range of loads. Therefore, when used in a heating installation, known burners have to be turned on and off regularly in order to maintain a temperature within a given range. This not only leads to a reduced convenience to the user, but also results in accelerated wear of the heating installation. Furthermore, substances which are damaging to humans and to the environment are emitted every time the burner is turned on or off.
The limited adjustability of the known burners is due to the fact that as burner power is increased by increasing mixture supply, at a certain point the velocity at which the mixture to be burnt discharges from the primary discharge openings exceeds its combustion velocity. Thereby, the flame is "blown away" as it were, and the burner extinguishes. | {
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The performance of a transistor forming a semiconductor device is dependant on its speed, driving current, and leakage current. In an effort to improve the performance of the transistor, (that is, to increase its speed and to reduce its driving and leakage currents), much effort has been made to reduce the resistance of the source/drain regions and the resistance of the gate electrode. For example, a common method used in recent times to reduce these resistances is to form a metal silicide layer on an interfacial surface of the source/drain region and/or on an upper interfacial surface of the gate electrode.
Among the different types of metal suicides, nickel silicide is often used because of its particular advantages with respect to leakage current and level of resistance.
Conventional techniques using a nickel salicidation process are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,383,880 and 6,586,333.
In a conventional method of forming a gate electrode using nickel silicide, nickel (Ni) is first deposited on a silicon substrate having a predetermined gate electrode and source/drain region. As a result, a nickel layer is formed on the interfacial surface of the source/drain region and on an upper interfacial surface of the gate electrode.
Next, a protective metal layer (e.g., a titanium layer or a titanium nitride layer) is formed on the nickel layer. These elements are then heat treated to induce a reaction between the nickel and the silicon, and to thereby form a nickel silicide layer.
However the above described conventional method has a serious flaw. In particular, as a result of the large reaction between the nickel and the silicon, the nickel silicide layer grows abnormally on part of the interfacial surface of the gate electrode and/or on part of the source/drain regions. That is, heat treating is performed at a high temperature of 300-600° C. At this high temperature, the nickel and silicon react too quickly on part of the interfacial surface and/or on part of the source/drain regions. This excessively quick reaction results in abnormal growth of the nickel silicide layer.
As a result of this abnormal growth, the nickel silicide layer has an uneven thickness. This uneven thickness ultimately causes an increase in the leakage current such that the characteristics and driving of the semiconductor device become unstable. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to wheeled carriers, and more particularly to two wheeled dumping carts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two wheeled dumping carts are known in the prior art. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,228 of C. Gibson et al a dumping hand cart is disclosed including a three sided frame pivotally supporting a hopper, a wheel and axle assembly mounted to the frame, a semi-circular handle rigidly attached to the frame, and a rather complex over center link and lever assembly for controlling the dumping action of the hopper.
While the cart of Gibson et al is efficient to use, it is not as correspondingly efficient to store or to ship. The frame, handle, link and lever assembly, and wheel assembly are all either permanently or semi-permanently attached together and thus cannot be easily removed to make the dumping cart more compact. Furthermore, even if Gibson's cart could be disassembled its component members would be too large to fit within the cart's hopper and thus would have to be stored separately. Also, the number of members to the link and lever assembly would tend to indicate that Gibson had not contemplated a disassemblable dumping cart.
What the prior art fails to disclose, then, is a dumping cart that can be easily broken down to its component members so that it may be compactly stored and shipped. | {
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The existing mechanism of Java Server Pages (JSP) processing may result in sub-optimal end user response times and impacts bandwidth between HTTP server and Web Container tiers, especially for large sites.
In most enterprise websites with large number of users, there is a tier of HTTP servers before a tier of Web Containers. The tier of HTTP servers is typically meant to load-balance requests to the Web Containers. Also for efficiency, they are normally configured to directly serve requests for static content (e.g., html or image files).
One of the major reasons why JSP came into being is the numerous printlns in servlets. JSP is more oriented towards the web page designer. It looks more similar to the resulting page, thus, it is easy to write or modify from the page designer's perspective. However, for execution, a JSP is still converted into a servlet and to its many printlns running at the web container. So a good amount of the out-print( ) statements still prints static content, i.e. some of the text printed is identical, while executing any given request. Therefore, when a JSP is converted into servlet, what had been specifically marked by the developer as static content becomes undistinguishable among the dynamic content at runtime.
As a result, the following problems exist: (1) Once a routed request from an HTTP server arrives at a Web container, there is a latency waiting for the resources for execution to be allocated from the pool, before any content could be served. In addition, there is the latency of forwarding the request by the HTTP server. Thus, all this time the client (browser) is waiting with nothing to do while the dispatching of the static portion could have potentially begun, as soon as the HTTP server had gotten the request. In addition, if the static content contained references to resources that need to be fetched—such as images (i.e. the <IMG> tags), the browser could have initiated a request to fetch the referenced resource (e.g. GIF files), while waiting for the dynamic portion of the response. (2) In the current scenario, the declared static portion of the JSP cannot be served by the tier of HTTP servers, which means there is more traffic between the HTTP servers and Web Containers, as well. | {
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In Navigation devices a vehicle position is determined using a locating device and a driving route is calculated from a starting point to a driving destination. Driving instructions including turn-off indications are output to the driver. The driving destination is input at the start of the trip via voice input or via a keyboard. Navigational devices may provide for atorage for driving destinations and selection from a list at the start of the trip. | {
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It is known in the art of vehicle emissions and traffic handling devices to have a system mounted along a vehicle path, such as a lane of a roadway, that can detect various characteristics of passing vehicles. For example, such a system may include a vehicle emissions sensing device that includes a projector/receiver element that projects a light beam across the vehicle path, has it reflected back by a mirror on the other side of the vehicle path, and receives the reflected beam and processes the reflected beam to determine information regarding the emissions from the vehicle.
It is also known to have a vehicle speed and acceleration detecting system on the side of the roadway. Further, it is known to have a video camera placed on the side of the roadway capable of capturing video images of the vehicles, for example, to determine the license plate of the vehicle.
In the exemplary known arrangement described above, each of the three systems: (1) emissions; (2) speed and acceleration; and (3) camera, have been known to be each connected by a respective cable to various processing units that are located in a van positioned on the side of the road near the systems. It is known for the van to have a variety of data processing and data collection devices so that it receives data from each of the three systems and processes it in various manners. The van generally has a method for recording data while at a data gathering site, and is then driven to a central data processing facility in order for the data to be more fully processed at the central data processing facility.
Thus, in the known exemplary system described above, the van operator generally drives to an emissions testing site with all of the equipment including the three detection systems loaded in the van, then unloads these systems and must align them as necessary. The operator then remains with the van while the systems are operating and controls the systems and monitors the data collection while in the van. At the end of a prescribed time (i.e., a sensing session) the operator then disassembles the various sensing equipments from the roadway, loads them into the van, and drives to the central processing facility.
The known arrangement utilizing the van as described above has several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the external vehicle (i.e., the van) takes up a significant amount of space on the side of the road. Additionally, this vehicle also can interfere with the normal flow of traffic, as motorists might slow down as they approach the van in order to see what activities are taking place on the side of the road. This has the unfortunate consequence of precluding proper testing of vehicles as they are normally driven. Further, the systems generally require an attendant at all times. Also, the cables used to connect the various devices to the van create clutter, are inconvenient, and susceptible to damage.
Moreover, the security of the systems would be desirable if made stronger. The software run in the equipment to make the equipment operate as desired needs to follow contemporary philosophies that blend well with software authoring tools in vogue. Additionally, the software architecture needs to be more flexible in its maintenance as newer versions of code are produced throughout the life cycle of the testing equipment, and be applicable to work across an entire network of information regarding sensed vehicles.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system that reduces the size and mass of apparatus required for sensing and capturing vehicle data along the vehicle path such as a roadway. It is also desirable to have a convenient and secure device and method for processing sensed vehicle data and transmitting it to a central processing facility. | {
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The present invention relates to a circuit for a piezoelectric positioning or control element or the like which is alternately charged and discharged. The positioning element has a plurality of piezoelectric bodies designed to be charged and discharged in reverse phase.
In piezoelectric positioning elements as are known, for example in the disclosure of the German patent application P 30 40 563.1 incorporated herein by reference, piezoelectric components are provided whose electrically effected elongation or contraction is employed for mechanical work output. As a rule, such positioning elements have a long piezoelectric body, which, for example consists of a stack of discs placed atop one another or of long strips secured to one another. The discs or the strips are piezo-ceramic material such as, for example, lead zirconate titanate, varium titanate and the like.
Such a positioning element represents an electrical capacitance to be charged for an electrical voltage applied thereto. During the course of this charging operation, the corresponding piezo-ceramic body executes an elongation or contraction, depending upon the operational sign of the piezoelectric effect or, respectively, of the electro-mechanical coupling factor which is effective in the corresponding case. In an analogous manner, the contraction or enlargment effect can also be exploited which occurs when a previously electrically charged piezo-ceramic body is short-circuited and discharges its electrical capacitance.
Although the changes in length of a piezo-ceramic body are relatively slight upon application of electrical voltage, perhaps comparable to the movement of a tappet which is driven by a cam, a piezo-ceramic positioning or control element is in a position to exert rather high forces and to produce a corresponding work output. The electrical energy which must be exerted for this purpose, however, is not only this work output but, rather, the reactive energy component of the charging of the electrical capacitance added thereto, said component being a multiple of the mechanical power output. For the sake of completeness, let it also be pointed out that a high voltage having a magnitude of from one thousand to several thousand volts is required for the operation of a piezoelectric positioning element as specified. This voltage has to be controlled in accordance with the desired positioning operation, and a corresponding electronic circuit has to be made available for generating and controlling said voltage. In particular, the overall energy requirement plays a part in the positioning operation when the positioning element is to be driven from a battery or when only a low voltage DC of, for example, 12 volts, is available. | {
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.alpha.-Amylase enzymes have been used industrially for a number of years and for a variety of different purposes, the most important of which are starch liquefaction, textile desizing, starch modification in the paper and pulp industry, and for brewing and baking. A further use of .alpha.-amylases which is becoming increasingly important is the removal of starchy stains during washing or dishwashing.
In recent years attempts have been made to construct .alpha.-amylase variants having improved properties with respect to specific uses such as starch liquefaction and textile desizing.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,257 discloses chimeric .alpha.-amylases comprising an N-terminal part of a B. stearothermophilus .alpha.-amylase and a C-terminal part of a B. lichenifonnis .alpha.-amylase. The chimeric .alpha.-amylases are stated to have unique properties, such as a different thermostability, as compared to their parent .alpha.-amylase. However, all of the specifically described chimeric .alpha.-amylases were shown to have a decreased enzymatic activity as compared to their parent .alpha.-amylases.
EP 252 666 describes hybrid amylases of the general formula Q-R-L, in which Q is a N-terminal polypeptide residue of from 55 to 60 amino acid residues which is at least 75% homologous to the 57 N-terminal amino acid residues of a specified .alpha.-amylase from B. amyloliquefaciens, R is a specified polypeptide, and L is a C-terminal polypeptide comprising from 390 to 400 amino acid residues which is at least 75% homologous to the 395 C-terminal amino acid residues of a specified B. licheniformis .alpha.-amylase.
Suzuki et al. (1989) disclose chimeric .alpha.-amylases, in which specified regions of a B. amyloliquefaciens .alpha.-amylase have been substituted for the corresponding regions of a B. licheniformis .alpha.-amylase. The chimeric .alpha.-amylases were constructed with the purpose of identifying regions responsible for thermostability. Such regions were found to include amino acid residues 177-186 and amino acid residues 255-270 of the B. amyloliquefaciens .alpha.-amylase. The alterations of amino acid residues in the chimeric .alpha.-amylases did not seem to affect properties of the enzymes other than their thermostability.
WO 91/00353 discloses .alpha.-amylase mutants which differ from their parent .alpha.-amylase in at least one amino acid residue. The .alpha.-amylase mutants disclosed in said patent application are stated to exhibit improved properties for application in the degradation of starch and/or textile desizing due to their amino acid substitutions. Some of the mutants exhibit improved stability, but no improvements in enzymatic activity were reported or indicated. The only mutants exemplified are prepared from a parent B. licheniformis .alpha.-amylase and carry one of the following mutations: H133Y or H133Y+T149I. Another suggested mutation is A111T.
FR 2,676,456 discloses mutants of the B. licheniformis .alpha.-amylase, in which an amino acid residue in the proximity of His 133 and/or an amino acid residue in the proximity of Ala 209 have been replaced by a more hydrophobic amino acid residue. The resulting .alpha.-amylase mutants are stated to have an improved thermostability and to be useful in the textile, paper, brewing and starch liquefaction industry.
EP 285 123 discloses a method of performing random mutagenesis of a nucleotide sequence. As an example of such sequence a nucleotide sequence encoding a B. stearothermophilus .alpha.-amylase is mentioned. When mutated, an .alpha.-amylase variant having improved activity at low pH values is obtained.
In none of the above references is it mentioned or even suggested that .alpha.-amylase mutants may be constructed which have improved properties with respect to the detergent industry.
EP525 610 relates to mutant enzymes having improved stability towards ionic tensides (surfactants). The mutant enzymes have been produced by replacing an amino acid residue in the surface part of the parent enzyme with another amino acid residue. The only mutant enzyme specifically described in EP 525 610 is a protease. Amylase is mentioned as an example of an enzyme which may obtain an improved stability towards ionic tensides, but the type of amylase, its origin or specific mutations are not specified.
WO 94/02597 discloses .alpha.-amylase mutants which exhibit improved stability and activity in the presence of oxidizing agents. In the mutant .alpha.-amylases, one or more methionine residues have been replaced with amino acid residues different from Cys and Met. The .alpha.-amylase mutants are stated to be useful as detergent and/or dishwashing additives as well as for textile desizing.
WO 94/18314 discloses oxidatively stable .alpha.-amylase mutants, including mutations in the M197 position of B. licheniformis .alpha.-amylase.
EP 368 341 describes the use of pullulanase and other amylolytic enzymes optionally in combination with an .alpha.-amylase for washing and dishwashing.
An object of the present invention is to provide .alpha.-amylase variants which--relative to their parent .alpha.-amylase--possess improved properties of importance, inter alia, in relation to the washing and/or dishwashing performance of the variants in question, e.g. increased thermal stability, increased stability towards oxidation, reduced dependency on Ca.sup.2+ ion and/or improved stability or activity in the pH region of relevance in, e.g., laundry washing or dishwashing. Such variant .alpha.-amylases have the advantage, among others, that they may be employed in a lower dosage than their parent .alpha.-amylase. Furthermore, the .alpha.-amylase variants may be able to remove starchy stains which cannot, or can only with difficulty, be removed by .alpha.-amylase detergent enzymes known today. | {
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Field Of The Invention
Pulmonary function testing equipment, such as spirometers, lung analyzers, etc., assess lung capacity by measuring and/or analyzing the flow, volume, and specific composition of expired gases. These tests and certain associated parameters have been standardized by The American Thoracic Society (ATS). ATS has developed a list of mechanical factors for each test which must be met in order to ensure continuity of testing and test results Ventilation equipment, such as respirators and ventilators, also depends on specific air flows and volumes to operate effectively.
Both testing equipment and treatment equipment require simultaneous fluid connection to the equipment and the patient's mouth, or the vicinity of the mouth. An exhaled breath is composed of dry and humidified gases which provide a medium for bacterial and viral transfer that could contaminate such equipment. Additionally, the patient may be salivating, or separate rubber or cardboard mouthpieces used in pulmonary function testing can stimulate the production of saliva, which then drips, or flows, into equipment components. Therefore, there is a risk of contamination of equipment components from microorganisms borne in saliva as well as expired gas. In the absence of an effective filter, bacteria and viruses can be deposited on the equipment. If testing or treatment equipment were to become contaminated, subsequent patients would be at risk of contacting many diseases, including, but not limited to tuberculosis, pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, HIV, hepatitis, herpes, and the common cold.
The inconvenience and expense of sterilizing equipment components between patients severely limits, in practice, the number of medical professionals who actually sterilize such equipment after each patient. Until recently, medical professionals assumed that a disposable cardboard mouthpiece, or clean rubber mouthpiece, was adequate protection from cross-contamination. In the current environment of drug resistent bacterial and viral strains, there is a growing awareness of the need for adequate, low cost protection. | {
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The present invention relates to a method for forming a pouch in a tubular article, particularly for forming the heel or toe of hosiery items, with circular hosiery knitting machines having at least two feeds or drops.
As is known, in the conventional production of hosiery items with circular machines the heel and toe of the hosiery item are formed by using a single feed or drop of the machine and by actuating the needle cylinder with an alternating rotary motion about its own axis through a rotation angle of approximately 180xc2x0, so as to make one half of the needle cylinder pass at said feed or drop. The needles of this half of the needle cylinder are made to knit at the feed or drop being considered, and their number is gradually decreased, increasing the number of needles excluded from knitting starting from the lateral ends of the set, in a first step, and gradually increased in a second step, so as to achieve the characteristic pouch-like shape for the heel and the toe.
Formation of the heel and toe of the hosiery item, due to the need to actuate the needle cylinder with an alternating rotary motion about its own axis and at a reduced speed owing to the fact that the direction of rotation of the needle cylinder must be reversed cyclically, considerably affects the overall duration of the production cycle of the hosiery item.
In order to reduce the time required to form the heel and toe of hosiery items, methods have been proposed which allow to form a pouch at the heel and at the toe by actuating the needle cylinder with a continuous rotary motion about its own axis and by interrupting, by cutting the thread, the additional rows of stitches that form the pouch. Although these methods unquestionably speed up the hosiery item production cycle, they have the drawback of producing a hosiery item that is not fully satisfactory both from an aesthetic standpoint and in terms of comfort because of the presence of the cut trailing threads on the reverse side of the hosiery item.
Other methods have also been proposed which consist in forming pouch-like knitting by again actuating the needle cylinder with an alternating rotary motion about its own axis but by using a larger number of feeds to form the pouch.
These other methods have the drawback of producing a pouch that is not fully satisfactory from an aesthetic standpoint, since holes are formed in the regions of the pouch that correspond to the reversal of the rotary motion of the needle cylinder about its own axis that increase in size as the number of feeds used increases.
Other proposed methods that use multiple feeds, aimed at reducing these shortcomings from an aesthetic standpoint, are unsuitable to provide the characteristic shape for the heel and toe of hosiery items.
The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems described above, by providing a method for forming a pouch in a tubular article, particularly for forming the heel or toe of hosiery items, with circular hosiery knitting machines having at least two feeds, which allows to obtain, in significantly shorter times than required by conventional knitting, a pouch whose degree of finishing is comparable with the degree of finish that can be obtained with conventional heel or toe knitting.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a method that allows to provide a pouch in a tubular article, particularly a heel or toe of hosiery items, that is fully satisfactory also as regards comfort.
This aim and this and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a method for forming a pouch in a tubular article, particularly for forming the heel or toe of hosiery items, with circular hosiery knitting machines having at least two feeds, characterized in that it consists in using a set of contiguous needles of the needle cylinder; in actuating the needle cylinder with an alternating rotary motion about its own axis, through a rotation angle that is suitable to make the needles of said set that are made to knit pass in front of n feeds or drops of the machine which are used to form the pouch; in gradually decreasing the needles made to knit at least one of said n feeds, excluding every time needles located at the lateral ends of the set in at least one step of the knitting process; and in gradually increasing the needles made to knit at least one of said n feeds at the lateral ends of the set in at least one other step of the knitting process, each one of the two end regions of the pouch being formed by means of at least two needles that are made to knit at one of said n feeds, one of said two end regions being formed with one of said n feeds, the other of said two end regions being formed with another one of said n feeds. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to a method of fabricating a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device which has floating-gates and is electrically writable and erasable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrically writable and erasable nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices (EEPROM) conventionally have two transistors per bit which occupy a large area, resulting in high cost devices. As a result, such devices have been used for limited purposes. In recent years, however, research and development has progressed for a flash EEPROM memory device which use a single transistor per bit. One type of flash memory device is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,446.
FIG. 14 is a cross section of a semiconductor memory element discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,446. In this semiconductor memory element, a first insulating film 42 is formed on a p-type semiconductor substrate 41. Film 42 is obtained by oxidizing the p-type semiconductor substrate 41. A first polysilicon layer (polycrystal silicon layer) 44 which is doped with impurities on the insulating thin film 42, and then a second insulating layer 50 is deposited on the first polysilicon layer 44. The second insulating layer 50 can be a single layer of, for example, silicon oxide (SiO.sub.2) which is formed by oxidizing the first polysilicon layer 44, or the second insulating layer can be a multilayer structure of, for example, ONO. A floating-gate 44 is formed by pattern-etching the second insulating layer 50 and the first polysilicon layer 44, and a control gate 45 is formed by depositing a second polysilicon layer 45 on the second insulating layer 50 and then pattern-etching the second polysilicon layer 45. In other words, the first polysilicon layer serves as the floating-gate 44 and the second polysilicon layer serves as the control gate 45. A laminated structure of the first polysilicon layer, the second insulating layer, and the second polysilicon layer is called a stacked gate structure.
Additionally, a drain 48 and a source 49 are formed on the p-type semiconductor substrate 41 by implanting n-type dopants. Further, a third insulating layer 51 is deposited on the above stacked gate structure. After pattern etching of the insulating layer 51, a select gate 47 is formed so as to cover the control gate electrode 45, the drain 48, and the source 49.
FIG. 15 is an equivalent circuit of the semiconductor memory element shown in FIG. 14. This semiconductor memory element serves as a nonvolatile memory element. In the semiconductor memory element, voltages of 5 V, 12 V, and 2 V are applied to the drain 48, the control gate 45, and the select gate 47, respectively, during programming (a write operation) for the memory element. These applied voltages set the channel region under the floating gate 44 on and a voltage in the source side (point N in FIG. 15) of a floating gate transistor becomes a drain voltage (5 V). On the other hand, a channel region under the select gate 47 is weakly set on, and a drop of the voltage in the channel region under the select gate 47 is small so that a voltage at the point M in FIG. 15 becomes about zero. This causes an electric potential difference between the point M and the point N. This potential difference, increases the speed of channel electrons passing between the point M and the point N so that they are changed to hot electrons.
These hot electrons are implanted into the floating gate 44 by means of a voltage from the control gate 45. As described above, in the configuration shown in FIG. 14, the electrons are implanted into the floating gate 44 from the source side of the floating gate 44. This is known as source side injection. The efficiency of implanting electrons using source side injection is greater than that of implanting electrons from the drain side, which is typically done. Thus, a single power supply can be used with source side injection.
FIGS. 16 and 17 are a sectional view and a plan view, respectively, of a memory cell array (a semiconductor memory device) having a 4.times.4 matrix configuration composed of semiconductor memory elements (memory cells) shown in FIG. 14. In this semiconductor memory device (memory cell array), select gates 47 (SG) are arranged in rows overlaying a plurality of control gates 45 (CG), and a plurality of source and drain lines 48 and 49. Each select gate row extends in a single direction so as to be perpendicular to the control gates 45 and the drain and source gates 48 and 49. The control gate 45, drain lines 48 and the source lines 49 are arranged in alternating columns, each being parallel with the control gates (CG) as seen in FIG. 17.
In this semiconductor memory device, each semiconductor memory element has a floating-gate electrode 44 formed on first insulating thin film (a gate oxidation film) 42 on a semiconductor substrate 41, and a line-shaped control gate electrode 45 covering the floating-gate electrode 44 through a second insulating film 50 (an ONO laminated film). A line-shaped select gate 47 extends over the top and side surfaces of the stacked gate structure which is composed of floating gate 44 and control gate 45 through insulating films, such as films 51 and 50, and over a part of the substrate 41 through the first insulating thin film 42 (a gate oxidation film) on the substrate 41. The stacked gate structure is arranged perpendicular to the select gate 47. Line-shaped substrate diffusion regions (e.g., the source line 49 and the drain line 48) are alternately arranged parallel with the control gate, wherein one of the diffusion regions (the source 49) is offset from the control gate 45 (or the stacked gate structure) so that it is possible to achieve a matrix selection of respective semiconductor memory element regions using the control gate 45 and the select gate 47.
FIG. 18 shows an equivalent circuit of the semiconductor memory device (memory cell array) shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. To select memory cell P1 for a storage operation, a voltage of 5 volts is applied to drain line D1 and source line S2, a voltage of 12 volts is applied to control gates CG1 and CG2, and a voltage of about 2 volts is applied to select gate SG1. Other lines are kept at a grounding potential. The reason for applying 5 volts to the source line S2 is to inhibit a storage operation in an unselected adjacent cell P5 which is in the same line as cell P1. In addition, with a difference of potentials between the drain D1 and the source S2 set to be about 0 volts, hot electrons are inhibited from being generated in the unselected adjacent cell P5. Further, source S2 is not adjacent to the floating-gates and, therefore, blocks noise and the like from occurring.
As described above, the selected memory cell P1 can be used for the storage operation by implanting electrons (hot electrons) from the source side of the floating-gates. Accordingly, this memory circuit can be operated by using a single 5 volt power supply. In addition, an element in the memory cell array can be selected using the control gates (CG) and select gates (SG) shown in FIGS. 16-18. Therefore, in a circuit wired in a contactless NOR system, adjacent memory cells can share a diffusion layer of a source line and a drain line so that the area of the memory array can be reduced.
However, in the above semiconductor memory device (the memory cell array), a rectangular LOCOS (local oxidation structure) 150 is required for separating respective elements (cells) in the memory cell array. This LOCOS structure is shown in FIG. 19. The corners of this rectangular LOCOS 150 are rounded off when miniaturizing the semiconductor memory device. Typically, the rounded off LOCOS is not a problem with semiconductor devices. However, the rounded off LOCOS becomes more of a problem in semiconductor devices classified as 0.35 to 0.4 .mu.m generation devices. When fabricating such devices and in future smaller devices the light wavelength used in a lithographic process is substantially the same as the minimum size of a pattern. Therefore, when fabricating conventional semiconductor memory devices shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, a mask is required that has an overlaying mask matching allowance (X2) between the laminated gate and the LOCOS and an overlaying mask matching allowance (X5) between the source diffusion layer and the LOCOS. However, using conventional fabricating techniques limits the reductions in the overlap allowances between each gate and each LOCOS, and between each diffusion layer and each LOCOS as well as other reductions in other dimensions. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a package module for an IC device and, more specifically, to a method of forming a package module for at least one IC device.
2. Discussion of the Background
A typical conventional flip-chip package is usually a bumped die attached onto a multi-layer substrate. Please refer first to FIG. 1, which schematically illustrates the cross-sectional diagram of the flip chip package module in accordance with the prior art. The flip chip package module generally consists of a substrate (1), a semiconductor (2), a plurality of bumps (3), an underfill layer (4), and a plurality of solder balls (5).
The substrate (1) is usually comprised of multiple-layers (4 or 6 layers) that are interconnected and the substrate comprises of a first surface (1a), a second surface (1b), a plurality of conductive vias (6), and a plurality of solder pads (7). The semiconductor device (2), having a plurality of die pads, is connected to the substrate (1) by means of wafer bumps, which can be solder bumps or other types of bumps. The die pads are first coated with layers of UBM (Under Bump Metallurgy, not shown in the figure) before applying the bumps (3). After the bumps (3) are formed on the semiconductor device (2), the semiconductor device (2) is attached onto the substrate (1) for electrical contact. The underfill layer (4), is filled into the gaps and cured between the substrate (1) and the semiconductor device (2), providing better mechanical strength. The solder balls (5) are located atop the solder pads (7) on the second surface (1b) of the substrate (1).
However, the prior art has the following disadvantages:
According to conventional packaging technology, layers of UBM (Under Bump Metallurgy) must be formed on the die pads before applying the wafer bumps. After forming the bumps, the semiconductor device is adhered to the first surface of the substrate. Moreover, bumps must be formed for electrical contacts with the substrate thereunder. The process of making UBM layers and bumps is costly.
2. The substrate in the prior art usually contains four or six layers, and at least two layers are required to avoid warpage and bending of the substrate. Therefore, the manufacturing process of the conventional substrate is very costly.
3. The probe card for the chip probe test of the bumped wafer is more expensive than a conventional probe card for bare wafers with bare probe pads on each die.
4. Most substrates are composed of organic material, and their CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) is around 18 ppm/° C., which is much higher than that of the die (CTE around 4 ppm/° C.). This mismatch of CTE values poses a threat to temperature-cycle reliability, particularly for large-area dies.
5. Due to the low viscosity requirement for the underfill liquid (before curing), the choice of underfill materials is limited. A consequence is that the moisture resistance of the cured underfill material is not as great as certain epoxy compounds or certain organic compounds serving as glues.
Based on the abovementioned drawbacks, it becomes an important issue to conceive a new package module of IC devices and a method of fabricating the same to minimize production costs and to increase manufacturing yields for semiconductor assembly technology. | {
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When constructing offshore production platforms, it is necessary to transport the components forming the platforms from the place where they are manufactured to the offshore location of the platform. In general, the components will be manufactured at a site located very close to a coast, and it will be necessary to move these components over distances of approximately 250 meters from the site onto a barge. Once on the barge, the components will be transported to a predetermined offshore location where they will be upended and lowered into the sea at the appropriate position.
Generally, offshore production platforms are extremely large structures, components forming the platform can weigh as much as about 22,500 tons or more. There are thus special problems associated with moving such large structures from the site of manufacture to a barge. A known apparatus for moving a large component comprises a frame having a skid track along which the component is moveable, and a pulling unit. A plurality of steel cables, typically 50 strands each, are attached first to the component to be moved and secondly to the frame. The pulling unit pulls the strands which in turn causes the component to move towards the desired location. The pulling unit comprises means for repeatedly gripping and then pulling the strands as they pass through the frame.
A disadvantage of this known apparatus is that many connections are required between the component and the strands. This is time consuming and expensive and results in a complicated structure. A second disadvantage is that the strands must be cut to a predetermined length suitable for the particular component being moved. A third disadvantage is that the strands must be cut to length, and it is therefore rarely possible to re-use the strands for a different job. A further disadvantage is the large elastic stretch which occurs when the strands are at high load; this large elastic energy results in highly dynamic initial movement of the structure. Additionally, each strand, wire or pull rod is under extreme tension and the failure of any one of them can be lethal. | {
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During the manufacturing of TFT-LCDs (Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display), the production of backlight sources requires a completely dust-free production environment, and thus the requirement on the environment is quite high. To meet the above requirement, light guide plates, semi-finished backlight products and finished backlight products need to be coated with films before being stored and transported.
In the existing production process, the film coating of a light guide plate, a semi-finished backlight product and a finished backlight product is completely accomplished manually. Even in some relatively advanced factories, the film coating is still accomplished manually with the aid of assistant tools. However, the manual film coating of a light guide plate, a semi-finished backlight product and a finished backlight product requires a lot of manual labor, thereby causing huge consumption of both labor and costs. Furthermore, coating deviation may be resulted from human factors during the manual film coating process. In addition, with the automation of other procedures in a TFT-LCD production line, the film coating will gradually become the bottleneck in the automation of producing TFT-LCDs. | {
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A server rack can include a plurality of nodes (e.g., rackservers). In order to prevent the plurality of nodes from overheating and failing, the nodes can be cooled by a shared fan cooling system. Shared fan cooling system attempt to cool the plurality of nodes as a single unit. That is, a server rack temperature is taken and the shared fan cooling system operates based on the server rack temperature. However, each node has an independent temperature. The independent temperature of a single node can be affected by the node's operating capacity. Nodes can operate at different capacities. The capacities can be based on CPU utilization. For example, a node can be idle (i.e., less than 2 percent processing capacity used), light (i.e., between 2 and 30 percent processing capacity used), medium (i.e., between 31 and 65 percent processing capacity used), or heavy (i.e., between 66 and 100 percent capacity used). Thus, a shared fan cooling system that takes each node into consideration is needed. | {
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Imaging systems, and ultrasonic imaging systems in particular, have been available for quite some time and are commonly used in nondestructive, and sometimes destructive, testing and medical applications. Medical ultrasound imaging typically allows the internal structure of the human body to be viewed non-invasively in real time. The ultrasound imaging system may be capable of various types of imaging applications, including, for example, one and two-dimensional imaging.
Typically, one imaging device may be used by a variety of different users and the images analyzed and interpreted by a number of different technicians and physicians. In some instances, a number of imaging devices may be interconnected via a network. For example, a number of imaging devices may be located throughout a single facility, such as a hospital or doctor's office. These imaging devices may be interconnected via a network, such as a local area network (LAN). Alternatively, two or more imaging devices located at different locations may be connected via a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet.
In some applications a computer may be connected to the imaging device or to the network to which the imaging devices are connected. When connected to the imaging device (either directly or via some network) the computer may exchange diagnostic information with the imaging devices. For example, the imaging device may transfer the diagnostic image files to the computer. In such an arrangement, the computer may be considered a “server” because it may contain and store image files from any number of imaging devices and make those files available to a user of the server. The server may also include additional software that enables the server to manipulate the image files. A user may wish to access the image files located on the server so that a diagnosis may be made. The user may access the image files on the server either directly from the server, or may access the computer from another computer, commonly referred to as a “client,” connected to the server either directly or via one of the above-described networks. When the server is accessed directly by a user, the server can be thought of as including the client application. In such an arrangement, the server is also considered the client.
Typically, the image file, any patient demographic data relating to the particular patient, and a report are combined in the server into what is referred to as a study. A user of the system, who wishes to review the image files, can access the study through the client application. Typically, the individual using the system is a sonographer or a physician. The user can access the study and the related image files and, after having analyzed the images, use the application software on the client to build a report, which will be sent to the physician who requested the diagnostic image. Peripheral data, such as measurements and diagnostic findings, may be added to the report. In some instances, a sonographer may develop a preliminary report, which can be saved and later reviewed by an attending physician. After the attending physician analyzes the report, the report is combined with the study, finalized and printed onto paper and then manually signed by the attended physician. The study is then conventionally mailed, or perhaps faxed, to the physician who requested the diagnostic image.
Unfortunately, printing and signing the report along with the image files and then mailing, or faxing, the report to the requesting physician is time consuming and prone to delay and error.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an image management system that can automatically assign an electronic signature to the report and electronically forward the report to the requesting physician. | {
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The present invention relates an improved design for an adjustable mount. The adjustable mount is particularly well suited for use with mounting fixtures to an optical table.
The practice of advanced optical techniques requires the utilization of highly stable, rigid, and vibrationally damped structures in order to eliminate movement of the various components of an optical system relative to each other. These criteria are particularly important for laser-optical systems wherein even minor errors in the positioning of components can be devastating to the results obtained. One particular field where such high precision placement of the system components is required is the field of optical holography, where lasers are used to create precise three-dimensional images or holograms. Other fields include laser particle sensing technologies. To this end optical tables are used for supporting optical and other analytical devices, for example lasers; beamsplitters; directional, parabolic and other optical mirrors; and various optical lenses. All these components must be mounted on extremely rigid flat surfaces and bending or twisting of the surface of the optical table must be minimized in order to prevent displacement of the components relative to one another.
Optical tables are generally provided with a plurality of precisely formed and positioned holes to facilitate the mounting of the system components. And in order to benefit from the stability and rigidity of the optical table, the optical mounts utilized to affix the system components to a particular hole or holes on the optical table must be similarly rigid and stable. It is also highly desirable for the mounts to be adjustable to allow adjustment of the position and/or orientation of the optical components. To this end, many types of optical mounts have been designed which provide convenience in adjusting the position and/or orientation of various types of individual optical components or of entire optical systems. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,016,230; 5,506,424; 6,198,580; and 4,712,444xe2x80x94the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entiretyxe2x80x94all show various optical mounts known in the art. A wide variety of general-purpose optical mounts for lenses, mirrors, lasers, fiber optics, and the like are also commercially available. FIG. 1 shows one such mount presently available for utilization with optical tables.
However, such mounts as is shown in FIG. 1 have been less than ideal for xe2x80x9creal worldxe2x80x9d applications. Particularly, these mounts have a tendency to move out of alignment when shipped such that a precise arrangement of optical components is ruined when shipped and the recipient of the system must undertake to realign the components of the system. Particularly in an optical system, which may utilize many optical mounts, this requires a significant expenditure of time and money by the user. Systems incorporating optical components, including, for example, PCB drilling applications and laser eye surgical systems, are specific applications where durability and transportability are significant problems that must be addressed. Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a highly stable, rugged adjustable optical mount that can be positively locked after adjustment such that inadvertent movement of the mount is prevented.
The present invention comprises an improved mounting structure for mounting precision components to a stable structure. In a preferred embodiment, the stable structure comprises an optical table and the precision components comprise optical system components. The elements of an improved mounting structure of the present invention comprise a first mounting plate and a second mounting plate adjustably fixed to a first mounting plate and in facing engagement with the first mounting plate. The mounting structure further comprises a pivot ball having a hole formed therethrough, the first and second mounting plates pivotable about the pivot ball, and a spring fixed to the first mounting plate at a first end and fixed to the second mounting plate at a second end, the spring passing through the hole formed through the pivot ball.
In alternate embodiments, the first mounting plate is adjustably fixed to the second mounting plate at a first location, or at a first and second location, or at a first location and merely fixed at a second location. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the pivot ball is positioned within a recess formed by cooperating first and second detents provided in the first and second mounting plates.
A preferred method of the invention comprises the steps of: providing a mount comprising a first mounting plate, a second mounting plate, a pivot ball having a hole formed therethrough, and a spring; positioning the pivot ball between the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate; affixing the spring to the first mounting plate at a first end; and affixing the spring to the second mounting plate at a second end such that the spring passing through the hole formed through the pivot ball. | {
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The present invention relates to a technique for testing or inspecting a property or aspect of a sample such as a wafer. In more detail, the present invention relates to an electron beam apparatus applicable to a defect detection and/or line width measurement of a wafer during a semiconductor manufacturing process and so on, in which electron beams are irradiated to a sample, secondary electrons emitted from the sample and varying according to a property of the sample surface are captured, and image data is created therefrom to evaluate patterns on the sample surface with a high throughput on the basis of the image data. The present invention also relates to an evaluation system and a semiconductor device manufacturing method, both of which utilize the electron beam apparatus. In the present description, the meaning of the term “evaluation” of a sample also includes the meaning of “inspection” such as defect detection and line width measurement of a sample.
In semiconductor processes, design rules are now going to enter the era of 100 nm, and the production scheme is shifting from small-kind mass production represented by DRAM to a multi-kind small production such as SOC (silicon on chip). Associated with this shifting, the number of manufacturing steps has been increased, and an improved yield of each process is essential, so that testing for defects caused by the process becomes important.
With the trend of increasingly higher integration of semiconductor devices and finer patterns, a need exists for high resolution, high throughput testing apparatuses. A resolution of 100 nm or less is required for examining defects on a wafer of 100 nm design rule. Also, as manufacturing steps are increased in response to the requirement of higher integration of devices, the amount of testing is increased and thus a higher throughput is required. Further, as devices are formed of an increased number of layers, testing apparatuses are required to have the ability to detect defective contacts (electric defect) of vias which connect lines on layers to each other. While optical defect testing apparatuses are mainly used at present, it is anticipated that electron beam based defect testing apparatuses will substitute for optical defect testing apparatus as a dominant testing apparatus in the future from a viewpoint of the resolution and defective contact testing capabilities. However, the electron beam based defect testing apparatus also has a disadvantage in that it is inferior to the optical one in the throughput. For this reason, a need exists for the development of a high resolution, high throughput electron beam based testing apparatus which is capable of electrically detecting defects.
It is said that the resolution of an optical defect testing apparatus is limited to one half of the wavelength of used light, and the limit is approximately 0.2 μm in an example of practically used optical defect detecting apparatus which uses visible light. On the other hand, in electron beam based systems, scanning electron microscopes (SEM) have been commercially available. The scanning electron microscope has a resolution of 0.1 μm and takes a testing time of eight hours per 20 cm wafer. The electron beam based system also has a significant feature that it is capable of testing electric defects (broken lines, defective conduction of lines, defective conduction of vias, and so on). However, it takes so long testing time that it is expected to develop a defect testing apparatus which can rapidly conduct a test. Further, a testing apparatus is expensive and low in throughput as compared with other process apparatuses, so that it is presently used after critical steps, such as after etching, deposition (including copper coating), CMP (chemical-mechanical polishing) planarization processing, and so on.
A testing apparatus in accordance with an electron beam based scanning (SEM) scheme will be described. An SEM based testing apparatus narrows down an electron beam which is linearly irradiated to a sample for scanning. The diameter of the electron beam corresponds to the resolution. On the other hand, by moving a stage in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the electron beam is scanned, a region under observation is tow-dimensionally irradiated with the electron beam. In general, the width over which the electron beam is scanned, extends over several hundred μm. Secondary electron beams emitted from the sample by the irradiation of the focussed electron beam (called the “primary electron beam”) are detected by a combination of a scintillator and a photomultiplier (photomultiplier tube) or a semiconductor based detector (using PIN diodes). The coordinates of irradiated positions and the amount of the secondary electron beams (signal strength) are combined to generate an image which is stored in a storage device or output on a CRT (Braun tube). The foregoing is the principle of SEM (scanning electron microscope). From an image generated by this system, defects on a semiconductor (generally, Si) wafer is detected in the middle of a manufacturing procedure. A detecting speed corresponding to the throughput, is determined by the intensity of a primary electron beam (current value), a size of a pixel, and a response speed of a detector. Currently available maximum values are 0.1 μm for the beam diameter (which may be regarded as the same as the resolution), 100 nA for the current value of the primary electron beam, and 100 MHz for the response speed of the detector, in which case it is said that a testing speed is approximately eight hours per wafer of 20 cm diameter. Therefore, there exists a problem that a testing speed is significantly low in comparison with that in an optical based testing apparatus. For instance, the former testing speed is 1/20 or less of the latter testing speed.
If a beam current is increased in order to achieve a high throughput, a satisfactory SEM image cannot be obtained in the case of a wafer having an insulating membrane on its surface because charging occurs.
As another method for improving an inspection speed, in terms of which an SEM system is poor, there have been proposed SEM systems (multi-beam SEM systems) and apparatuses employing a plurality of electron beams. According to the systems and apparatuses, an inspection speed is improved in proportion to the number of electron beams. However, as a plurality of primary electron beams impinge obliquely on a wafer and a plurality of secondary electron beams are pulled from the wafer obliquely, only secondary electrons released obliquely from the wafer are caught by a detector. Further, a shadow occasionally appears on an image and secondary electrons from a plurality of electron beams are difficult to separate from one another, which disadvantageously results in a mix of the secondary electrons.
Still further, there has been no suggestion or consideration about an interaction between an electron beam apparatus and other sub-systems in an evaluation system employing a multi-beam based electron beam apparatus and thus, at present there aren't any complete evaluation systems of a high throughput. In the meantime, as a wafer to be inspected becomes greater, sub-systems must be re-designed to accommodate to a greater wafer, a solution for which has not yet been suggested either. | {
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Widely available lignite ash-slag, which is a waste product presently of no use, poses an environmental problem. The present invention uses this environmental waste mineral product as a main component in making a construction board, such as a wall panel, isolated panel, floor board, etc.
It is conventional to use a construction board made of composite material, such as cement or gypsum mixed with wood particles. However, boards made of these composite materials are not economical and/or have weak or undesirable physical property in comparison with a board of the present invention. As disclosed in Obzornaia News Magazine, Number 2 (1987), manufacturing one cube meter (1 m.sup.3) of a cement board consumes the following:
cement 770 kg PA0 wood 280 kg PA0 chemical product 50 kg PA0 electrical energy 140-290 kwh PA0 thermal energy 400 kcal PA0 manufacture (human work) consumption 27 hours.
As evidenced above a cement board made from a mixture of cement and wood particles requires a huge consumption of energy and labor in the making thereof. | {
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Ground heat exchangers provide more efficient heating and cooling of building spaces by exchanging heat based on the average yearly temperature of the soil and on a higher thermal conductivity of soil as compared to air. The relatively constant temperature of the earth provides a more favorable temperature gradient for heat transfer for both heating and cooling than conventional atmospheric air source systems because the atmospheric air experiences an average daily temperature swing of 20° F. and an average seasonal temperature swing of 80° F. on the North American continent. Heat is rejected to the earth by the heat exchange fluid when in the cooling mode and absorbed from the earth by the heat exchange fluid when in the heating mode. Ground heat exchange is synonymous with the terms geothermal, shallow geothermal, ground source and geoexchange when used in the context of subterranean heat exchange with the earth at the earth's ambient temperature.
Ground heat exchange systems can provide direct cooling or heating to a building space so long as an appropriate temperature gradient exists between the working fluid used in the system (e.g., water) and the earth and the ground loop is large enough to handle the heat load. The ground loop comprises the buried piping for the ground heat exchanger and for distribution of the working fluid. For most urban applications, a heat pump is also typically installed in the system to increase the thermal gradient to provide “on demand” efficient heating and cooling to a building space. The heat pump greatly increases the load capacity of the ground loop so that residential and business customers can afford the cost of installing the ground loop for their homes or businesses.
Various methods have been developed to exchange heat with the earth. Both vertical and horizontal pipe installations have been used to make subterranean ground loops. Experience has shown that horizontal loops are inefficient ground loops because the shallow depth of burial causes the ambient soil temperature to track the surface ground temperature. Horizontal loops buried below the frost line are, however, excellent for melting snow on pedestrian pathways and removing ice from bridges. Vertical ground loops can be open or closed. An open loop is where at least two wells are completed in a high productivity aquifer and water is circulated from one well to another. This method can be no longer used in urban areas due to drinking water safety standards enacted to prevent aquifer contamination.
The vertical closed ground loop heat exchanger uses piping inserted in a drilled hole in the ground. The configuration of the pipe loop is either side-by-side (U-tube) or concentric. The pipe loop can be made of metal or plastic. Initially, metal pipe loops were used in both concentric and U-tube installations to save capital cost, but experience has shown that metal pipe loop installations eventually fail due to anodic corrosion from conducting telluric or man-made electrical currents from one formation layer to another. Experience has also shown that plastic ground loop installations can last indefinitely, but the local ground temperature will heat up or cool down if the seasonal load is not balanced.
Currently, the most common type of vertical closed loop ground heat exchanger is a U-tube installation, which consists of inserting two lengths of high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe, with a U-bend joint on the bottom, into a 4 to 6 inch diameter borehole. The borehole depth typically ranges from 150 to 400 feet deep into the earth. To prevent aquifer contamination, the bore hole is backfilled with impermeable grout formed of a high solids bentonite slurry or neat cement. The grout backfill keeps the piping in thermal contact with the wall of the borehole and provides a permeability barrier to reduce the vertical movement of ground water from one aquifer to another or to prevent surface water contamination of an aquifer.
The vertical, closed-loop, ground heat exchanger typically uses water or a water antifreeze mixture as a working thermal fluid. Refrigerants such as Freon® typically are not used due to expense and possible aquifer contamination. The water based fluid is circulated through the closed piping system, which consists of a distribution system to the vertical wellbores. The wellbore loop provides a downward path and an upward path that is arranged in either a U-tube or concentric pipe configuration. The U-tube configuration is about 30-60% as efficient as the concentric pipe configuration because, in the U-tube configuration, the returning fluid will reabsorb about 50% of the heat transfer to the ground on the way back up.
The concentric pipe configuration comprises a smaller diameter pipe arranged concentrically within a larger diameter outer pipe (i.e., the “casing”). The inside surface of the smaller diameter pipe provides a center flow channel and the annulus between the outer surface of the smaller diameter pipe and inner surface of the larger diameter pipe provides an annular flow channel. In most concentric pipe designs, the returning fluid should reabsorb less than 10% of the heat transferred to ground. Reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,875 “Heat Exchanger for Geothermal Heating and Cooling Systems” and US Patent Application Publication No. 20070029066 “Coaxial-Flow Heat Transfer Exchanging Structure for Installation in the Earth and Introducing Turbulence into the Flow of the Aqueous-Based Heat Transfer Fluid Flowing Along the Outer Flow Channel while Its Cross-Sectional Characteristics Produce Fluid Flows There-along Having Optimal Vortex Characteristics that Optimize Heat Transfer with the Earth”, which describe prior concentric piping designs.
The objective of the concentric pipe design is to maximize the heat exchanged between the bulk fluid in the annular flow channel and the earth. As illustrated in FIG. 3, for heat conduction to the earth, the heat must past through three thermal resistances: (1) the resistance 2 of the fluid boundary layer separating the bulk fluid and pipe wall; (2) the resistance 4 of the pipe material; and (3) the resistance 6 of the grout or slurry backfill. Heat loss can also occur between the center channel and annular channel, which reduces heat exchange with the earth. This undesirable condition is known as thermal short circuit. Minimizing thermal resistance between the bulk fluid and earth and maximizing thermal resistance between the center channel and the annular channel allows more heat to be exchanged for a given temperature gradient between the fluid and the earth. Prior U-tube designs have been particularly inadequate in minimizing thermal short circuit while prior concentric pipe designs have been particularly inadequate in minimizing thermal resistance of the grout and pipe wall.
Vertical, concentric-pipe, ground-loop, heat exchangers are also used as thermal banks for thermal energy storage applications. U-tube designs do not have enough water storage volume or high enough pulse heat transfer to make a thermal bank. Ground loops have greater thermal storage capacity than water tanks and they do not take up any valuable building space. For example, a heat pump can run at night to inject or remove heat from an isolated portion of a ground loop with cheaper electrical rates; then, during the day only a pump circulates fluid from the ground loop thermal bank to handle the heating and cooling loads of the building.
Minimizing the fluid boundary layer thermal resistance 2 requires: (1) maintaining separation between the smaller diameter pipe and the larger diameter pipe to prevent low flow zones in the annular channel and (2) preventing the development of laminar flow in the annular channel. The design in U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,875 disposes spacers (i.e., centralizers) periodically along the outer surface of the smaller diameter pipe to maintain alignment between the smaller diameter pipe and the larger diameter pipe (i.e., to assist in centralizing the smaller pipe within the larger pipe). The spacers have projecting spoke-type contacting fins which are also said to generate an amount of beneficial turbulence in the annular channel.
The design in US Patent Application Publication No. 20070029066 employs the method of disposing a helically-wrapped turbulence generator along the outer surface of the smaller diameter pipe to generate additional vorticity. Cost effectively manufacturing such a pipe with helical fliting disposed along the entire length of the outer surface has proven difficult and such fliting, and pipe, are easily damaged, making the flited pipe difficult to insert into a larger diameter pipe. Attaching the fliting as a separate piece to a smooth pipe makes the fliting susceptible to slipping along the outer surface of the pipe, which would allow the smaller diameter pipe to come in contact with the larger diameter pipe, thus creating low flow zones.
Minimizing the thermal resistance 4 of the larger diameter pipe requires using a material that: (1) has minimal wall thickness; (2) has enhanced thermal conductivity; (3) has sufficient mechanical strength to prevent collapse during installation; and (4) does not corrode in soil or degrade in antifreeze environments. Thermoplastic resins such as HDPE and PVC offer sufficient mechanical strength and corrosion resistance but they also have high thermal wall resistances that would classify them as thermal insulators. Metal pipe offers very low thermal resistance, but corrosion resistant alloys are very expensive, and their weight makes them more expensive to ship and more difficult to install. U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,875 prefers the use of plastic for the larger diameter pipe while US Patent Application Publication No. 20070029066 prefers the use of metal or a fluted plastic for the larger diameter pipe. Neither prior design addresses the mechanical strength of thin pipe walls as a function of bore depth.
Minimizing the backfill thermal resistance 6 requires a slurry composition that: (1) has enhanced thermal conductivity; (2) has low permeability; (3) has sufficiently long set times to allow deployment; (4) is environmentally safe with no organic leachate and less than 1 PPM for all metals as defined by a TCLP (Toxic Chemical Leaching Procedure); and (5) does not substantially dissipate in geologies with high groundwater flow. It is common practice to add silica sand to a bentonite and water slurry to enhance thermal conductivity to approximately 1.4 Btu/hr-ft-° F. Reference may be had to US Patent Application Publication No. 20070125274 “Thermally Conductive Grout for Geothermal Heat Pump Systems”, which describes the use of graphite particles, ranging from 10 to 1000 microns in size, added to the slurry in concentrations from 2 to 25% by weight to produce a backfill with thermal conductivity greater than 4 W/m-K (2.3 Btu/hr-ft-° F.) that has lower permeability. The prior art is inadequate in providing details specifying a backfill composition that would be pumpable, would enable sufficiently long set times for deployment, and would resist dissipation due to high ground water flow rates. U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,875 does not address backfill composition and US Patent Application Publication No. 20070029066 prefers the use of thermally conductive cement but is not specific in backfill mixture composition, nor does it address permeability, environmental safety or dissipation.
Minimizing thermal short circuit requires that the center channel be sufficiently insulated from the annular channel to prevent significant heat flow between the channels. The design in U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,875 offers no solution while the design in US Patent Application Publication No. 20070029066 prefers relying on laminar flow in the center channel or using an insulating gas within the smaller diameter pipe, which are both impractical solutions to implement.
The designs in both U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,875 and US Patent Application Publication No. 20070029066 also fail to provide solutions that: (1) minimize pressure drop across the system; (2) prevent blockage of the center channel outlet; and (3) facilitate installation.
In addition to the above, further shortcomings and problems with existing concentric ground exchange assemblies arise due to the design of the heat transfer fluid supply and return headers currently used in these systems. A concentric ground exchange assembly 102 of a type heretofore known in the art is depicted in FIG. 8. The prior art assembly 102 comprises: an elongate outer casing string 104 which extends into the ground; a smaller diameter elongate inner pipe string 106 which extends downwardly inside the casing 104 such that a return flow annulus 108 is provided between the exterior of the inner conduit 106 and the interior wall of the casing 104; a plurality of centralizing elements or structures (not shown) which are positioned at intervals along the exterior of the inner conduit 106 for maintaining the inner conduit 106 in a substantially concentric alignment within the interior of the casing 104; an optional turbulence generating structure 110 (i.e., helical fliting) extending along the exterior of the inner conduit 106 for producing flow turbulence within the return flow annulus 108; and a heat transfer fluid supply and return header 112 secured at the upper end of the concentric ground exchange assembly 102.
The prior art concentric ground exchange assembly 102 will typically be installed in a vertical borehole which has been drilled to a depth in a range of from about 100 to about 500 feet and has a diameter in the range of from about five to about eight inches. As mentioned above, the concentric exchange assembly 102 is inserted into the borehole and the borehole is typically backfilled with a grout slurry composition which hardens to form a substantially impermeable grout barrier. The grout barrier prevents or at least reduces the vertical movement of ground water within the borehole and provides a heat transfer bridge between the exterior of the casing and the interior wall of the borehole.
The heat transfer working fluid employed in the concentric ground exchange assembly 102 will typically be either water or a mixture of water and antifreeze. Again, although refrigerants such as FREON® or other materials can alternatively be used, such materials are typically not employed due to the cost of materials and the danger of aquifer contamination.
During the operation of the concentric exchange assembly 102, the working fluid is delivered from a fluid supply line (not shown) to the inlet port 114 of the supply and return header 112. The supply line typically extends horizontally underground and is therefore often referred to as a “lateral.” Moreover, as a consequence of the substantially horizontal orientation of the supply lateral, it is necessary that the header inlet include an elbow 115 which directs the fluid supplied to the inlet port 114 downwardly through the inner conduit 106. The fluid flows out of the lower end portion of the inner conduit 106 and is then directed upwardly through the return flow annulus 108 provided between the inner wall of the casing 104 and the exterior of the inner conduit 106. As the working fluid flows upwardly through the return flow annulus 108, the fluid is either heated or cooled by heat transfer with the earth and then discharged to a return line (lateral) (not shown) connected to the header discharge port 116.
Unfortunately, the supply and return header 112 used in the prior art concentric ground exchange assembly 102 has presented numerous problems and difficulties. The prior art supply and return header 112 comprises: a tall vertical inlet conduit 118 which includes the inlet elbow 115 at the top thereof and extends downwardly to the upper end of the inner conduit 106; a horizontally oriented connector 122 extending from the elbow 115 for connection of the working fluid supply line (lateral); an outer housing 124 provided around the lower exterior of the inlet conduit 118, below the elbow 115, for receiving fluid from the return flow annulus 108; a horizontal connector 126 extending from the outer housing 124 for attachment of the working fluid return line (lateral); a flange 128 provided at the lower end of the supply and return header 112 for attaching the header 112 to a corresponding flange 130 which must be installed on the upper end of the casing 104; a plurality of (typically 4) bolts 132 and associated nuts and washers for securing the header flange 128 on the casing flange 130; and a flange gasket 134 positioned between the header flange 128 and the casing flange 130.
In addition to other shortcomings, the underground flange connection required by the prior art supply and return header 112 is susceptible to significant leakage and other problems resulting from: (a) thermal contraction and expansion of the header material (typically high density polyethylene), (b) deterioration of the gasket 134 and/or the bolts 132 and associated nuts and washers, (c) the application of insufficient or excessive torque to the flange bolts 132 during installation, (d) torque created by surface vehicular loads, and/or (e) the loosening of the nuts and bolts over time. Moreover, due to its excessive height required for accommodating the inlet elbow configuration 115, the installation of the prior art supply and return header 112 requires a trenching depth of between 5 to 6 feet or more. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to network data packet management, and more specifically to memory management of high performance devices that receive network data packets and store the packets in DMA mapped buffers.
DMA memory buffers are direct memory access buffers that are accessed by the device, for example, by the network protocol, instead of the CPU. DMA memory buffers are limited and predetermined, in some instances by the device driver or network protocol. Once data packets are stored in DMA memory, the DMA memory can not be reused to receive newer incoming data packets. Lack of available DMA memory available to receive incoming data packets may lead to data packets being dropped. Dropped data packets can result in retransmissions of incoming data packets which may cause congestion in the network. Copying contents of DMA memory to non-DMA memory will make DMA memory available to receive incoming data packets. The overhead of copying memory is expensive and may slow down transfer rates between communicating applications. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a communicating method between an IPv4 terminal and an IPv6 terminal and to an IPv4-IPv6 converting apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to method and apparatus for realizing a communication between an IPv4 terminal using IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) as a communication protocol and an IPv6 terminal using IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) as a communication protocol.
As a method of realizing a communication between an IPv4 terminal and an IPv6 terminal, there is a method of using an ‘IPv4-mapped IPv6 address’ and an ‘IPv4-compatible IPv6 address’ described in RFC (Request For Comments) 1884 issued by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force).
The ‘IPv4-mapped IPv6 address’ is an IPv6 address in which “0” is set to the 127th to 48th bits among 128 bits of the IPv6 address, “1” is set to the 47th to 32nd bits, and an ‘IPv4 address’ is set to the 31st to 0th bits.
The ‘IPv4-compatible IPv6 address’ is an IPv6 address in which “0” is set to the 127th to 32nd bits among 128 bits of the IPv6 address and the ‘IPv4 address’ is set to the 31st to 0th bits.
When the communication between the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal is executed, an. IPv4 address is preliminarily fixedly allocated to the IPv6 terminal which communicates with the IPv4 terminal. A packet converting apparatus is provided on the way of a path through which the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal communicate and a mutual conversion of IP headers of an IPv4 packet (RFC791) and an IPv6 packet (RFC1883) is performed.
In an IPv4 network, the IPv4 address of the IPv4 terminal and the IPv4 address allocated to the IPv6 terminal are used and a communication is executed by using the IPv4 packet. In an IPv6 network, the ‘IPv4 mapped IPv6 address’ in which the ‘IPv4 address of the IPv4 terminal’ has been set is used as an IPv6 address of the IPv4 terminal. In the IPv6 network, the ‘IPv4 compatible IPv6 address’ in which the ‘IPv4 address allocated to the IPv6 terminal’ has been set is used as an IP address of the IPv6 terminal and a communication is executed by using the IPv6 packet.
The packet converting apparatus converts the ‘IPv4-mapped IPv6 address’ included in the IPv6 packet into the ‘IPv4 address of the IPv4 terminal’ and converts the ‘IPv4-compatible IPv6 address’ to the ‘IPv4 address allocated to the IPv6 terminal’, thereby converting the IPv6 packet into the IPv4 packet. Contrarily, the ‘IPv4 address of the IPv4 terminal’ included in the IPv4 packet is converted into the ‘IPv4-mapped IPv6 address’ and the ‘IPv4 address allocated to the IPv6 terminal’ is converted into the ‘IPv4-compatible IPv6 address’, thereby converting the IPv4 packet into the IPv6 packet. Consequently, the communication between the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal can be executed.
As a method of realizing the communication between the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal, IETF also proposed a method called a dual stack. According to the method, the IPv6 terminal has both of the communication protocols of IPv4 and IPv6. A communication is executed between the IPv6 terminals by using the IPv6 protocol. A communication is executed between the IPv4 terminals by using the IPv4 protocol. Thus, the communication between the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal can be executed.
IETF also proposed a method called an IP tunneling. This is a method such that when the IPv4 network exists on a communication path between two IPv6 terminals and a communication cannot be executed directly by the IPv6 packet, the IPv6 packet is encapsulated by the IPv4 header and is allowed to pass through the IPv4 network. Similarly, when the IPv6 network exists on a communication path between the IPv4 terminals and a communication cannot be executed directly by the IPv4 packet, the IPv4 packet is encapsulated by the IPv6 header and is allowed to pass through the IPv6 network. Consequently, even when there is the IPv4 network on the communication path, the communication between the IPv6 terminals can be executed. Even when there is the IPv6 network on the communication path, the communication between the IPv4 terminals can be executed.
According to the method, the communication between the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal can be realized by a simple operation of adding a fixed pattern of 96 bits to the IPv4 address or deleting the fixed pattern of 96 bits from the IPv6 address.
According to the method called a dual stack, by selectively using the communication protocols of IPv4 and IPv6 in accordance with a communication partner, the communication between the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal can be realized.
According to the method called an IP tunneling, by encapsulating the packet by the header of the relevant communication protocol and passing the resultant data through the network existing on the communication path between the two terminals, the communication between the two terminals can be realized. | {
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1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a tiltable roller assembly for attachment to movable closure means such as a door or a window sash.
2. Prior Art:
Tiltable roller assemblies have a tiltable roller which allows a window sash equipped with the assembly to move sideways in a direction parallel to the axis of the roller, thereby facilitating the locking of the window sash. One known such assembly is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 52-34548, published Mar. 11, 1977, and comprises an outer frame attachable to the lower rail of a window sash and an inner frame pivotally mounted in the outer frame and supporting a roller rotatably thereon. The inner frame is vertically adjustable by a screw extending threadedly through the outer frame into abutting engagement with the inner frame. Spring means act between the outer frame and the inner frame to urge the inner frame against one sidewall of the outer frame. Since the adjustment screw abuts directly against the inner frame, the screw and inner frame become gradually worn away as the inner frame is repeatedly tilted back and forth, requiring frequent vertical readjustments of the roller. When the adjustment screw is tightened excessively, the tilting movement of the inner frame becomes sluggish or even impossible.
Another disadvantage with the prior tiltable roller assembly is that it must be available in two symmetrical constructions, one being the mirror image of the other, so as to make the adjustment screws easily accessible when they are located at both ends of the lower rail of a window sash. | {
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The invention relates to a method for the direct phase-angle measurement of radiation in accordance with light radiation reflected by a body (3) or passing through a transparent body, in which the body (3) is exposed to coherent radiation (2) of pre-determined frequency or the body (3) is coated with a lacquer in which particle diffusely reflecting the radiation are stored and which is exposed to non-coherent radiation (2) of a pre-determined frequency, the radiation reflected by the body (3) or the radiation which has passed through the body being imaged by an imaging optical system (6) in an image plane (7) in which a sensor (8) is located, a reference radiation generated in accordance with a shearing method being superimposed on the sensor (8), and the phase of the radiation (5) from the body (3) being determined from the measurement signals of the sensor (8). It further relates to an apparatus for the performance of such a method.
A method for the direct phase-angle measurement of radiation, in particular of light radiation, and an apparatus for the direct phase-angle measurement of radiation, in particular of light radiation, are known from EP 0 419 936 B1. In the prior known methods, a body is exposed to coherent radiation of a pre-determined frequency. The body can possess a diffuisely reflecting surface. However, it is also possible for it to be a transparent or partially transparent body or a transparent medium through which the radiation passes. Furthermore, the body can have or be provided with a lacquer coating in which particles diffusely reflecting the radiation are incorporated; in this case, a non-coherent radiation of a pre-determined frequency is sufficient to perform the method. The radiation reflected from the body or the radiation which has passed through the body or the transparent medium is imaged by an imaging optical system in an image plane in which a sensor is located. The sensor in question is preferably a surface sensor. It preferably possesses a plurality of picture elements which are preferably in a regular order. Preferably, the picture elements are ordered by lines along parallel lines and possess the same distance to each other. A CCD sensor is particularly suitable.
In an embodiment of EP 0 419 936 B1, a reference radiation generated according to the shearing method is superimposed on the sensor. This reference radiation is generated by a shearing optical system, for example an optical wedge or prism. The optical wedge or the prism is positioned prior to the lens in an embodiment of EP 0 419 936 B1. The optical wedge or the prism masks a part, preferably one half, of the lens or the aperture of the imaging optical system. The phase of the radiation from the body, that is the phase of the radiation which was reflected by or which passed through the body, is determined from the measurement signals or the intensity signals of the sensor or sensor elements (pixels).
The apparatus known from EP 0 419 936 B1 can also be called an electronic speckle pattern interferometer (ESPI). To allow a complete phase-angle measurement with one single shot, in EP 0 419 936 B1 the imaging optical system is designed or adjusted in such a way that the image of a speckle generated by the radiation on the body in the image plane covers at least three sensor elements.
From DE 195 13 233, a method and an apparatus are known for the determination of phases and phase differences of radiation, in particular of light radiation. In this method, an object is exposed in at least two states to coherent or partially coherent radiation of a pre-determined frequency. In each state, the radiation reflected or passed through is imaged by an imaging optical system in an image plane in which a sensor with a plurality of preferably regularly ordered sensor elements or pixels is located. A reference radiation having a defined, preferably identical frequency with a defined phase position is superimposed on the sensor. The phase difference of the radiation from or through the object between the two states is determined from the intensity signals of the sensor elements or pixels. The object beam and the reference beam are adjusted in such a way here that they generate an interference pattern with a preferably constant spatial carrier frequency. The method and apparatus in accordance with DE 195 13 233 A1 have the object of further developing the method and the apparatus known from EP 0 419 936 B1 in such a way that with one image shot per object state a high image resolution is achieved. In accordance with DE 195 13 233 A1, this object is to be solved by the imaging optical system being designed and adjusted in such a way that when speckles occur, the image of a speckle in the image plane generated by the radiation only covers around two sensor elements or pixels. The corresponding intensity values recorded for each state from in each case only around two sensor elements or pixels are taken into account alternately or cross-ways for the determination of the phase difference. In addition to the phase difference, it is also possible to compute from at least two of these shots the phase, the contrast and the background brightness. In accordance with DE 195 13 233 A1, it is possible to generate the reference radiation from the object radiation in accordance with the shearing method. Although the performance of the method in accordance with DE 195 13 233 A1 is generally possible, the results that can be achieved with it have, however, substantially more noise. The signal/noise ratio is worse than with the method in accordance with EP 0 419 936 B1.
It is the object of the invention to improve a method and an apparatus of the type first given.
This object is solved in accordance with the invention by the imaging optical system possessing a diaphragm having an aperture, preferably a slit, or a diaphragm having two apertures, preferably two slits. By means of the aperture(s) of the diaphragm and the shearing optical system, it is possible to generate a spatial carrier frequency.
Advantageous aspects are described hereinbelow.
The diaphragm can possess a slit, preferably a rectangular slit. It is advantageous if the breadth of the slit can be adjusted. It is preferably a rectangular modulation diaphragm.
The diaphragm can, however, also be designed as a double slit. It then possesses preferably two rectangular slits. Preferably, the slits, which are disposed at a distance a to each other, each possess the same breadth b. It is furthermore advantageous if the distance a and/or the width b of the slits is/are able to be adjusted.
The shearing optical system which serves to generate the reference radiation in accordance with the shearing method, can possess a wedge or folding wedges or two tilted parallel plates. However, other optical elements are also possible to generate the shearing effect.
The wedge or folding wedges or the tilted parallel plates or the other optical element for the generation of the shearing effect can be disposed between the diaphragm and one or more or all lens elements or other optical elements of the imaging optical system. Instead of this or additionally, the diaphragm can be disposed between one or more or all lens elements or other optical elements of the imaging optical system and the wedge or folding wedges or the tilted parallel plates or the other optical element for the generation of a shearing effect.
A particularly advantageous aspect is characterised by the imaging optical elements being or having been adjusted in such a way that the distance a of the slit is of the same size as the breadth b of the slit. This advantageous aspect cannot only be used in embodiments having two slits (xe2x80x9cdouble-aperture), but also in embodiments where only one slit is present. In the latter case, namely, it is achieved by the imaging optical system that the sensor xe2x80x9cseesxe2x80x9d two slits.
A spatial carrier frequency which is generated by the interference of a double slit or a double-aperture diaphragm (see FIG. 2) or a Fresnel biprism (see FIG. 3) does not possess a constant period and has a poor contrast as the interference and diffraction effects always occur simultaneously and interfere with each other. The interference distribution of a double slit with Fraunhofer diffraction is described in the equations (1) to (3) given below:
I (xcex8)=4 I 0[(sin2xcex2/(xcex22)] cos2 xcex1xe2x80x83xe2x80x831)
xcex1=(ka/2) sin xcex8xe2x80x83xe2x80x832)
xcex2=(kb/2) sin xcex8xe2x80x83xe2x80x833)
The object covered by these equations and the values occurring in them are shown in FIG. 4. In the equations:
I=intensity
xcex8=angle
k=ordinal number of the first, second, third, . . . interference minimum
a=slit distance
b=slit breadth.
In accordance with the mentioned advantageous further aspect
a=b.
It follows from this that:
xcex1=xcex2
so that equation (1) becomes the following equation (1xe2x80x2):
I (xcex8)=4 I 0[(sin2(2xcex1))/(2xcex1)2]xe2x80x83xe2x80x831xe2x80x2)
It can be seen from this that the carrier frequency generated by interference and diffraction and not constant at axe2x89xa0b becomes through a=b a homogeneously distributed spatial frequency with a constant period. It can be seen from the term 2xcex1 that the frequency is doubled by this. Through a=b a substantial improvement can be achieved which is to be found in the fact that a constant carrier frequency with a much better contrast can be generated at the sensor or CCD chip. This carrier frequency can be generated in the lines (horizontal) or in the columns (vertical) of the sensor or CCD chip. However, it is also possible to generate them in an intermediate angle, which can be achieved by disposing the sensor or CCD chip tilted at an angle.
Another advantageous further aspect is characterised in that the period of the carrier frequency covers at least two picture elements of the sensor. It is therefore possible to work in accordance with the methods of DE 195 13 233 A1 or with the apparatuses described there.
It is advantageous if the period of the carrier frequency covers at least three picture elements of the sensor, that is if work is done in accordance with the methods of EP 0 419 936 B1 or with the apparatuses described there. In accordance therewith, a complete phase-angle measurement is possible with one single shot.
In accordance with another advantageous aspect, the period of the carrier frequency covers at least four picture elements of the sensor. In this way, the computation algorithms are made substantially simpler.
If the period of the carrier frequency covers at least five picture elements of the sensor, a further increase in precision is achieved.
The period of the carrier frequency in one line or column can be adjusted very precisely by the aperture size of the modulation diaphragm independently of the shearing optical system or the shear width. The shearing optical system or the shear width are adjusted so that the preferred minimum number of the picture elements of the sensor is covered. | {
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The present relates to an electron beam device comprising an evacuated envelope formed by an optically transparent faceplate, a conical portion and a neck, an electron gun within the evacuated envelope and to a method of making the electron gun. In the present specification an electron beam device is to be understood to include cathode ray tubes, X-ray tubes, electron beam lithography apparatus, scanning and transmission microscopes, electron guns for scanning Auger mass spectrometers and also ion guns (not an electron beam device within the normal meaning of the term). For convenience of description, the electron beam device will be described with reference to a cathode ray tube.
Unpublished European Patent Application No. 86200481.9 discloses a cathode ray tube in which the electron gun comprises an elongate tubular substrate which has been vacuum formed on a bipartite mandril, a beam forming part comprising a number of deep drawn metal electrodes respectively bearing against a succession of stepped abutments formed interiorly of th tubular substrate and a lens part formed by helical prefocusing and focusing electrodes in a resistive film applied to the internal surface of the tubular substrate. Some of the electrical connections to the metal electrodes and to at least one point in the resistive film are made through the wall of the tubular substrate. Each of these electrical connections comprises a conical hole sand blasted through the substrate wall, an indium ball in the conical hole, which ball is contacted by a lead-out wire and conventional crystallizing glass for fusing together the component parts. Any part of the wires and/or indium balls protruding into the tube are cut-off flush. Although this type of electrical connection has been found to be generally satisfactory it has a number of disadvantages, especially from a manufacturing point of view. The electrical connection is complicated, and thereby, is expensive to make. It is not possible to ensure a good electrical contact with an electrode due to the use of the indium balls. Further the lead-out wires which are unsupported have to be held in position while the crystallizing glass is being baked. | {
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This invention relates to the removal of sulfur from sulfur-containing fluid streams such as cracked-gasolines and diesel fuels. In another aspect, this invention relates to the regeneration of a sorbent composition which is used to desulfurize a sulfur-containing fluid.
Hydrocarbon-containing fluids such as gasoline and diesel fuels typically contain a quantity of sulfur. High levels of sulfur in such automotive fuels is undesirable because oxides of sulfur present in automotive exhaust may irreversibly poison noble metal catalysts employed in automobile catalytic converters. Emissions from such poisoned catalytic converters may contain high levels of non-combusted hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and/or carbon monoxide, which, when catalyzed by sunlight, form ground level ozone, more commonly referred to as smog.
Much of the sulfur present in the final blend of most gasolines originates from a gasoline blending component commonly known as xe2x80x9ccracked-gasoline.xe2x80x9d Thus, reduction of sulfur levels in cracked-gasoline will inherently serve to reduce sulfur levels in most gasolines, such as, automobile gasolines, racing gasolines, aviation gasolines, boat gasolines, and the like.
Many conventional processes exist for removing sulfur from cracked-gasoline. However, most conventional sulfur removal processes, such as hydrodesulfurization, tend to saturate olefins and aromatics in the cracked-gasoline and thereby reduced its octane number (both research and motor octane number). Thus, there is a need for a process wherein desulfurization of cracked-gasoline is achieved while the octane number is maintained.
In addition to the need for removing sulfur from cracked-gasoline, there is also a need to reduce sulfur content in diesel fuel. In removing sulfur from diesel fuel by conventional hydrodesulfurization, the cetane is improved but there is a large cost in hydrogen consumption. Such hydrogen is consumed by both hydrodesulfurization and aromatic hydrogenation reactions. Thus, there is a need for a process wherein desulfurization of diesel fuel is achieved without significant consumption of hydrogen so as to provide a more economical desulfurization process.
To satisfy such needs, there has been developed a process for desulfurizing hydrocarbon-containing fluids such as cracked-gasolines, diesel fuels, or other refinery streams (e.g., naphtha, alkylate, isomerate, reformate, distillate, and the like) wherein a sorbent comprising zinc oxide is contacted with the sulfur-containing fluid stream under conditions sufficient to remove at least a portion of the sulfur from the fluid stream and provide a sulfurized sorbent comprising zinc sulfide. The sulfurized sorbent is thereafter contacted with an oxygen-containing regeneration stream under conditions sufficient to convert at least a portion of the zinc sulfide to zinc oxide, thereby providing a regenerated sorbent. The regenerated sorbent can then be contacted with a reducing stream to provide an activated sorbent. Thereafter, the activated sorbent can, once again, be contacted with the sulfur-containing fluid stream.
During the regeneration step of such a desulfurization process, certain regeneration conditions can cause sulfates to form on/in the sorbent composition. Such sulfation of the sorbent is undesirable for a number of reasons. For example, the presence of excess sulfates on/in the sorbent reduces the sulfur-loading capabilities of the sorbent and thereby effectively deactivates the sorbent. Further, once an excessive amount of sulfates has formed on/in the sorbent, it can be difficult to remove the sulfates from the sorbent under conventional regeneration and activation conditions.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved process for regenerating a sorbent composition while minimizing sulfation of the sorbent.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a desulfurization process which extends the useful life of a sorbent composition by employing a unique process for regenerating the sorbent.
It should be noted that the above-listed objects need not all be accomplished by the invention claimed herein and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention and the appended claims.
In one aspect of the invention, a process for regenerating a sorbent is provided. The process comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of the steps of: (a) charging an oxygen-containing regeneration stream comprising less than 10 mole percent sulfur dioxide to a regeneration zone; (b) charging a sulfurized sorbent comprising a promoter metal and zinc sulfide to the regeneration zone; and (c) contacting the sulfurized sorbent with the regeneration stream in the regeneration zone under regeneration conditions sufficient to maintain an average sulfur dioxide partial pressure in the regeneration zone of from about 0.1 to about 10 psig.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sorbent regeneration and activation process comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of the steps of: (a) contacting a sulfurized sorbent comprising zinc sulfide with an oxygen-containing stream in a regeneration zone under regeneration conditions sufficient to maintain an average sulfur dioxide partial pressure in the regeneration zone of from about 0.1 to about 10 psig, thereby providing a desulfurized sorbent; and (b) contacting the desulfurized sorbent with a reducing stream in an activation zone maintained at a temperature which is more than about 300 and less than about 1,000xc2x0 F., thereby providing an activated sorbent.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a desulfurization process comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of the steps of: (a) contacting a sulfurized sorbent comprising a promoter metal and zinc sulfide with an oxygen-containing stream in a regeneration zone under regeneration conditions sufficient to convert at least a portion of the zinc sulfide to zinc oxide, thereby providing a desulfurized sorbent, the regeneration conditions including an average sulfur dioxide partial pressure of from about 0.1 to about 10 psig; (b) contacting at least a portion of the desulfurized sorbent with a hydrogen-containing stream in an activation zone under activation conditions sufficient to reduce the valence of the promoter metal, thereby providing an activated sorbent; and (c) contacting at least a portion of the activated sorbent with a sulfur-containing fluid comprising at least about 50 ppmw sulfur in a desulfurization zone under desulfurization conditions sufficient to provide a desulfurized fluid comprising less than about 50 weight percent of the amount of sulfur in the sulfur-containing fluid, wherein at least about 50 weight percent of the sulfur in the sulfur-containing fluid is present in the form of organosulfur compounds.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a novel process is provided for desulfurizing a sulfur-containing fluid by contacting the sulfur-containing fluid with a sorbent and thereafter regenerating and activating or re-activating the sorbent.
The sulfur-containing fluid employed in the process of the present invention is preferably a hydrocarbon-containing fluid comprising a quantity of sulfur compounds therein. Preferably, such hydrocarbon-containing fluid can be used as a fuel or can be a precursor to fuel. Examples of suitable hydrocarbon-containing fluids include cracked-gasoline, diesel fuels, jet fuels, straight-run naphtha, straight-run distillates, coker gas oil, coker naphtha, alkylates, crude oil, light cycle oil, and straight-run gas oil. Most preferably, the sulfur-containing fluid comprises a hydrocarbon-containing fluid selected from the group consisting of gasoline, cracked-gasoline, diesel fuel, and mixtures thereof.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cgasolinexe2x80x9d denotes a mixture of hydrocarbons boiling in a range of from about 100xc2x0 F. to about 500xc2x0 F., or any fraction thereof. Examples of suitable gasolines include, but are not limited to, hydrocarbon streams in refineries such as naphtha, straight-nun naphtha, coker naphtha, catalytic gasoline, visbreaker naphtha, alkylate, isomerate, reformate, and the like, and mixtures thereof.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9ccracked-gasolinexe2x80x9d denotes a mixture of hydrocarbons boiling in a range of from about 100xc2x0 F. to about 500xc2x0 F., or any fraction thereof, that are products of either thermal or catalytic processes that crack larger hydrocarbon molecules into smaller molecules. Examples of suitable thermal processes include, but are not limited to, coking, thermal cracking, visbreaking, and the like, and combinations thereof. Examples of suitable catalytic cracking processes include, but are not limited to, fluid catalytic cracking, heavy oil cracking, and the like, and combinations thereof. Thus, examples of suitable cracked-gasolines include, but are not limited to, coker gasoline, thermally cracked gasoline, visbreaker gasoline, fluid catalytically cracked gasoline, heavy oil cracked-gasoline, and the like, and combinations thereof. In some instances, the cracked-gasoline may be fractionated and/or hydrotreated prior to desulfurization when used as the sulfur-containing fluid in the process in the present invention.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cdiesel fuelxe2x80x9d denotes a mixture of hydrocarbons boiling in a range of from about 300xc2x0 F. to about 750xc2x0 F., or any fraction thereof. Examples of suitable diesel fuels include, but are not limited to, light cycle oil, kerosene, jet fuel, straight-run diesel, hydrotreated diesel, and the like, and combinations thereof.
The sulfur-containing fluid described herein as suitable feed in the desulfurization process of the present invention comprises a quantity of olefins, aromatics and sulfur, as well as paraffins and napthenes. The amount of olefins in gaseous cracked-gasoline is generally in a range of from about 10 to about 35 weight percent olefins based on the total weight of the gaseous cracked-gasoline. For diesel fuel there is essentially no olefin content. The amount of aromatics in gaseous cracked-gasoline is generally in a range of from about 20 to about 40 weight percent aromatics based on the total weight of the gaseous cracked-gasoline. The amount of aromatics in gaseous diesel fuel is generally in a range of from about 10 to about 90 weight percent aromatics based on the total weight of the gaseous diesel fuel. The amount of atomic sulfur, as sulfur, in the sulfur-containing fluid, preferably cracked-gasoline or diesel fuel, suitable for use in the desulfurization process of the present invention is generally greater than about 50 parts per million by weight (ppmw) of the sulfur-containing fluid, more preferably in a range of from about 100 ppmw atomic sulfur to about 10,000 ppmw atomic sulfur, and most preferably from 150 ppmw atomic sulfur to 5000 ppmw atomic sulfur. It is preferred for at least about 50 weight percent of the atomic sulfur present in the sulfur-containing fluid employed in the present invention to be in the form of organosulfur compounds. More preferably, at least about 75 weight percent of the atomic sulfur present in the sulfur-containing fluid is in the form of organosulfur compounds, and most preferably at least 90 weight percent of the atomic sulfur is in the form of organosulfur compounds. As used herein, xe2x80x9csulfurxe2x80x9d used in conjunction with xe2x80x9cppmw sulfurxe2x80x9d or the term xe2x80x9catomic sulfurxe2x80x9d, denotes the amount of atomic sulfur (about 32 atomic mass units) in the sulfur-containing fluid, not the atomic mass, or weight, of a sulfur compound, such as an organo-sulfur compound.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9csulfurxe2x80x9d denotes sulfur in any form normally present in a sulfur-containing fluid such as cracked-gasoline or diesel fuel. Examples of such sulfur which can be removed from a sulfur-containing fluid through the practice of the present invention include, but are not limited to, hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide (COS), carbon disulfide (CS2), mercaptans (RSH), organic sulfides (Rxe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94R), organic disulfide (Rxe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94R), thiophenes, substituted thiophenes, organic trisulfides, organic tetrasulfides, benzothiophene, alkyl thiophenes, alkyl benzothiophenes, alkyl dibenzothiophenes, and the like, and combinations thereof as well as heavier molecular weights of the same which are normally present in sulfur-containing fluids of the types contemplated for use in the desulfurization process of the present invention, wherein each R can be an alkyl, cycloaklyl, or aryl group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cfluidxe2x80x9d denotes gas, liquid, vapor, and combinations thereof.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cgaseousxe2x80x9d denotes the state in which the sulfur-containing fluid, such as cracked-gasoline or diesel fuel, is primarily in a gas or vapor phase.
The sorbent composition with which the sulfur-containing fluid is contacted in order to desulfurize the sulfur-containing fluid generally comprises a promoter metal and zinc oxide. The sorbent composition employed in the present invention can be prepared in accordance with the sorbent preparation method disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,274,533, 6,254,766, and 6,184,176 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
As used herein with reference to the sorbent composition, the term xe2x80x9cmetalxe2x80x9d denotes metal in any form such as elemental metal, a metal oxide, or a metal oxide precursor. The promoter metal of the sorbent composition is preferably selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, tungsten, silver, gold, copper, platinum, zinc, tin, ruthenium, molybdenum, antimony, vanadium, iridium, chromium, palladium, rhodium, oxides thereof, precursors to oxides thereof, and combinations thereof. Most preferably, the promoter metal is selected from the group consisting of nickel, nickel oxide, nickel oxide precursors, and combinations thereof. The promoter metal will generally be present in the sorbent composition in an amount in a range of from about 1 to about 60 weight percent promoter metal based on the total weight of the sorbent composition, preferably an amount in a range of from about 5 to about 50 weight percent promoter metal, most preferably in an amount in a range of from 10 to 40 weight percent promoter metal for best sulfur removal.
Usually, the promoter metal in the common oxidation state of the promoter metal is combined with the zinc oxide portion of the sorbent composition. Alternatively, the promoter metal, or even the entire sorbent composition, can be oxidized after sulfur removal to bring the promoter metal back to the common oxidized state. Prior to use as a sorbent, the number of oxygen atoms associated with the promoter metal must be reduced to form a reduced-valence promoter metal. Consequently, prior to sulfur removal, at least a portion of the promoter metal present in the sorbent composition must be present as a reduced-valence promoter metal. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that this reduced-valence promoter metal can chemisorb, cleave, or remove sulfur. Thus, either the number of oxygen atoms associated with the promoter metal is reduced or the oxidation state of the promoter metal is a zero-valent metal. For example, if nickel is the promoter metal, nickel oxide (NiO) can be used and the reduced-valence nickel (promoter metal) can be either nickel metal (Ni0) or a non-stoichiometric nickel oxide having a formula of NiO(1-x) wherein 0 less than x less than 1. If tungsten is the promoter metal, tungsten oxide (WO3) can be used and the reduced-valence tungsten (promoter metal) can be either tungsten oxide (WO2), tungsten metal (W0), or a non-stoichiometric tungsten oxide having a formula of WO(3-y) wherein 0 less than y less than 3.
Of the total quantity of the promoter metal present in the sorbent composition, it is preferred that at least about 10 weight percent of the promoter metal to be present in the form of a reduced-valence promoter metal, i.e., either a zero-valent metal or a non-stoichiometric metal oxide, as described above. More preferably at least about 40 weight percent of the promoter metal is a reduced-valence promoter metal, and most preferably at least 80 weight percent of the promoter metal is a reduced-valence promoter metal for best sorbent activity and sulfur removal. The reduced-valence promoter metal will generally be present in the sorbent composition of the present invention in an amount in a range of from about 0.5 to about 50 weight percent reduced-valence promoter metal based on the total weight of the sorbent composition, preferably in an amount in a range of from about 4 to about 40 weight percent reduced-valence promoter metal, and most preferably in an amount in a range of from 8 to 35 weight percent reduced-valence promoter metal for best sorbent activity and sulfur removal.
The zinc oxide component of the sorbent composition can be in the form of zinc oxide, such as powdered zinc oxide, or in the form of one or more zinc compounds that are convertible to zinc oxide. Examples of suitable zinc compounds that are convertible to zinc oxide include, but are not limited to, zinc sulfide, zinc sulfate, zinc hydroxide, zinc carbonate, zinc acetate, zinc nitrate, and combinations thereof. Preferably, the zinc oxide is present in the form of powdered zinc oxide for best sorbent activity and sulfur removal. Zinc oxide will generally be present in the sorbent composition in an amount in a range of from about 10 to about 90 weight percent zinc oxide based on the total weight of the sorbent composition, preferably in an amount in a range of from about 15 to about 60 weight percent zinc oxide, and most preferably in an amount in a range of from 20 to 55 weight percent zinc oxide for best sorbent activity and sulfur removal.
When the sorbent composition is exposed to high temperatures (e.g., during calcination), it is preferred for at least a portion of the zinc oxide and the promoter metal to form a substitutional solid solution having the general formula: MXZnYO, wherein M is the promoter metal, X is a numerical value in a range of from about 0.5 to about 0.99, and Y is a numerical value in a range of from about 0.01 to about 0.5. Such substitutional solid solution will generally be present in an amount in a range of from about 5 to about 60 percent by weight of the sorbent composition, most preferably from 20 to 40 weight percent. When the sorbent composition comprising the substitutional solid solution is reduced (i.e., activated), it is preferred for at least a portion of the substitutional solid solution to be converted to a reduced metal solid solution having the general formula: MAZnB, wherein M is the promoter metal, A is a numerical value in a range of from about 0.7 to about 0.99, and B is a numerical value in a range of from about 0.01 to about 0.3. Such reduced metal solution will generally be present in an amount in a range of from about 5 to about 70 percent by weight of the sorbent composition, most preferably from 25 to 45 weight percent.
Preferably, the sorbent composition employed in the inventive desulfurization process further comprises a refractory metal oxide such as, for example, silica, alumina, silica-alumina, aluminate, and/or silica-aluminate. The refractory metal oxide such as, for example, silica, alumina, silica-alumina, aluminate, and/or silica-aluminate can enhance the porosity of the resulting composition such that the active sites of the sorbent can be exposed to the reacting mixture.
Any suitable source of silica may be employed in the sorbent composition such as, for example, diatomite, expanded perlite, silicalite, silicate, silica colloid, flame-hydrolized silica, silica gel, precipitated silica, and the like, and combinations thereof. In addition, silicon compounds that are convertible to silica such as silicic acid, ammonium silicate, and the like, and combinations thereof can also be employed. Preferably, the silica source is diatomite or expanded perlite for best sorbent activity and sulfur removal. When the sorbent comprises silica, the silica will generally be present in the sorbent composition in an amount in a range of from about 5 to about 85 weight percent silica based on the total weight of the sorbent composition, preferably in an amount in a range of from about 10 to about 60 weight percent silica, and most preferably in an amount in a range of from 15 to 55 weight percent silica for best sorbent activity and sulfur removal. Generally, perlite comprises silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, potassium oxide, sodium oxide, calcium oxide, plus trace elements.
The alumina employed in the preparation of the sorbent composition can be any suitable commercially available alumina material such as, for example, colloidal alumina solutions, hydrated aluminas, peptized aluminas, and, generally, those alumina compounds produced by the dehydration of alumina hydrates. The preferred alumina is hydrated alumina such as, for example, bohemite or pseudobohemite for best sorbent activity and sulfur removal. When the sorbent comprises alumina, the alumina will generally be present in the sorbent composition in an amount in a range of from about 1 to about 30 weight percent alumina based on the total weight of the sorbent composition, preferably in an amount in a range of from about 5 to about 20 weight percent alumina, and most preferably in an amount in a range of from 8 to 15 weight percent alumina for best sorbent activity and sulfur removal. When the sorbent composition is exposed to high temperatures (e.g., during calcination) at least a portion, preferably a substantial portion of the alumina is converted to an aluminate, most preferably a zinc aluminate and/or a nickel-zinc aluminate. Preferably, the sorbent composition comprises from about 2 to about 30 weight percent nickel-zinc aluminate, most preferably from 8 to 25 weight percent nickel-zinc aluminate.
The sorbent composition can additionally comprise a binder. The binder can be any suitable compound that has cement-like, or adhesion, properties which can help to bind the components of the sorbent composition together. Suitable examples of binders include, but are not limited to, cements such as, for example, gypsum plaster, common lime, hydraulic lime, natural cements, portland cement, and high alumina cement, and the like, and combinations thereof. A particularly preferred binder is calcium aluminate. When a binder is present, the amount of binder in the sorbent composition is generally in a range of from about 0.1 to about 50 weight percent binder based on the total weight of the sorbent composition. Preferably, the amount of the binder in the sorbent composition is in a range of from about 1 to about 40 weight percent, and most preferably in a range of from 5 to 30 weight percent for best binding results.
The sorbent composition employed in the inventive desulfurization process preferably is in the form of a particulate, most preferably a microsphere, having a mean particle size in a range of from about 1 micrometer (micron) to about 500 micrometers, more preferably in a range of from about 10 micrometers to about 300 micrometers for best sulfur removal. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cmean particle sizexe2x80x9d refers to the size of the particulate material comprising the sorbent as determined by using a RO-TAP Testing Sieve-Shaker, manufactured by W. S. Tyler, Inc. of Mentor, Ohio, or other comparable sieves. To determine mean particle size, the material to be measured is placed in the top of a nest of standard 8 inch diameter stainless steel framed sieves with a pan on the bottom. The material undergoes sifting for a period of about 10 minutes; thereafter, the material retained on each sieve is weighed. The percent retained on each sieve is calculated by dividing the weight of the material retained on a particular sieve by the weight of the original sample. This information is used to compute the mean particle size, by the method outlined in Chapter 3 of Fluidization Engineering by Kunii and Levenspiel (1987).
The desulfurization process of the present invention is carried out in a desulfurization zone of a reactor under a set of desulfurization conditions that include total pressure, temperature, and weighted hourly space velocity.
The desulfurization conditions at which the desulfurization zone is maintained preferably include a temperature in a range of from about 200xc2x0 F. to about 1200xc2x0 F., more preferably from about 500xc2x0 F. to about 900xc2x0 F., and most preferably from 600xc2x0 F. to 800xc2x0 F. for best sulfur removal.
The total pressure at which the desulfurization zone is maintained is preferably in a range of from about 15 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) to about 1500 psig, more preferably from about 50 psig to about 600 psig, and most preferably from I100 psig to 200 psig for best sulfur removal and minimal octane loss.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cweighted hourly space velocityxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cWHSVxe2x80x9d is defined as the numerical ratio of the rate at which the sulfur-containing fluid is charged to the desulfurization zone in pounds per hour at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (STP) divided by the pounds of the sorbent composition contained in the desulfurization zone to which the sulfur-containing fluid is charged. In the practice of the present invention, such WHSV should be in a range of from about 0.5 hrxe2x88x921 to about 50 hrxe2x88x921, preferably in a range of from about 1 hrxe2x88x921 to about 20 hrxe2x88x921 for best sulfur removal. Desulfurization of the sulfur-containing fluid in the desulfurization zone should be conducted for a time sufficient to effect the removal of at least a substantial portion of the sulfur from such sulfur-containing fluid.
Optionally, in desulfurizing the sulfur-containing fluid, additional reactants either alone or in combination with a diluent, can be employed which interferes with any possible chemical or physical reacting of the olefinic and aromatic compounds in the sulfur-containing fluid. Preferably, such diluents comprise hydrogen. The diluent charged to the reaction zone preferably contains more than about 25 volume percent hydrogen based on the total volume of the diluent, more preferably more than about 50 volume percent hydrogen, still more preferably more than about 75 volume percent hydrogen, and most preferably more than 95 volume percent hydrogen. If desired, the diluent can further comprise compounds such as methane, carbon dioxide, flue gas, nitrogen, and the like, and combinations thereof Thus, it is not essential to the practice of the present invention that a high purity hydrogen be employed in achieving the desired desulfurization of the sulfur-containing fluid. The amount of hydrogen charged to the desulfurization zone is generally such that the mole ratio of hydrogen to sulfur-containing fluid is in the range of from about 0.01:1 to about 100: 1, more preferably from about 0.1:1 to about 10:1, and most preferably from 0.2:1 to 2:1 for best sulfur removal.
Preferably, the desulfurization conditions employed in the desulfurization process of the present invention are sufficient to provide vaporization of substantially all of the sulfur-containing fluid present in the desulfurization zone. Preferably, at least about 75 weight percent of the sulfur-containing fluid present in the desulfurization zone is in the vapor phase, more preferably at least about 95 weight percent of the sulfur-containing fluid is in the vapor phase, and most preferably at least 98 weight percent of the sulfur-containing fluid is in the vapor phase for best sulfur removal.
It is presently preferred that the desulfurization reaction of the present invention be carried out in the reaction zone of a fluidized bed reactor. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cfluidized bed reactorxe2x80x9d denotes a reactor wherein a fluid feed, as defined earlier, can be contacted with solid particles (such as sorbent particles) in a manner such that the solid particles are at least partly suspended within the reaction zone by the flow of the fluid feed through the reaction zone and the solid particles are substantially free to move about within the reaction zone as driven by the flow of the fluid feed through the reaction zone.
When the sorbent composition is contacted with the sulfur-containing fluid in the desulfurization zone, sulfur compounds, particularly organosulfur compounds, present in the sulfur-containing fluid are removed from such fluid. At least a portion of the sulfur removed from the sulfur-containing fluid is employed to convert at least a portion of the zinc oxide of the sorbent composition into zinc sulfide. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the promoter metal of the sorbent composition functions to facilitate removal of the sulfur from the sulfur-containing fluid while the zinc oxide functions to facilitate the storage of the sulfur on/in the sorbent composition through the conversion of at least a portion of the zinc oxide to zinc sulfide.
In contrast to many conventional sulfur removal processes (e.g., hydrodesulfurization), it is preferred that substantially none of the sulfur removed from the sulfur-containing fluid is converted to hydrogen sulfide. Rather, it is preferred that the fluid effluent (comprising the desulfurized fluid and the diluent) from the desulfurization zone comprises not more than about 200 percent (by weight) of the amount of hydrogen sulfide in the fluid feed (comprising the sulfur-containing fluid and the diluent) charged to the desulfurization zone, more preferably not more than about 150 percent of the amount of hydrogen sulfide in the fluid feed, and most preferably less hydrogen sulfide than the fluid feed.
The fluid effluent from the desulfurization zone preferably contains less than about 50 weight percent of the amount of sulfur in the fluid feed charged to the desulfurization zone, more preferably less than about 20 weight percent of the amount of sulfur in the fluid feed, and most preferably less than 5 weight percent of the amount of sulfur in the fluid feed. It is preferred for the total sulfur content of the fluid effluent from the desulfurization zone to be less than about 50 parts per million by weight (ppmw) of the total fluid effluent, more preferably less than about 30 ppmw, still more preferably less than about 15 ppmw, and most preferably less than 10 ppmw.
After sulfur removal in the desulfurization zone, the fluids in the desulfurization zone and the solids in the desulfurization zone can be separated by any manner or method known in the art for separating a solid from a fluid, preferably a solid from a gas. Examples of suitable means for separating solids and gasses include, but are not limited to, cyclonic devices, settling chambers, impingement devices, filters, and combinations thereof The desulfurized fluid, preferably desulfurized cracked-gasoline or diesel fuel, can thereafter be recovered from the fluid effluent and preferably liquified. Liquification of such desulfurized fluid can be accomplished by any method or manner known in the art. The liquified, desulfurized fluid preferably comprises less than about 50 weight percent of the amount of sulfur in the sulfur-containing fluid charged to the desulfurization zone, more preferably less than about 20 weight percent of the amount of sulfur in the sulfur-containing feed, and most preferably less than 5 weight percent of the amount of sulfur in the sulfur-containing fluid. The desulfurized fluid preferably comprises less than about 50 ppmw sulfur, more preferably less than about 30 ppmw sulfur, still more preferably less than about 15 ppmw sulfur, and most preferably less than 10 ppmw sulfur.
After separation of the sulfurized sorbent from the fluid effluent of the reactor, the sulfurized sorbent is preferably regenerated in a regeneration zone by contacting the sulfurized sorbent composition with an oxygen-containing regeneration stream under suitable regeneration conditions. The regeneration is preferably carried out at a temperature in a range of from about 200xc2x0 F. to about 1500xc2x0 F., more preferably from about 500xc2x0 F. to about 1200xc2x0 F., and most preferably from 800xc2x0 F. to 1100xc2x0 F. The total pressure in the regeneration zone is preferably maintained in a range of from about 10 psig to about 1500 psig, more preferably in a range of from 15 to 100 psig. The residence time of the sorbent composition in the regeneration zone can be any time sufficient to achieve the desired level of sorbent regeneration. Such regeneration residence time is preferably in a range of from about 0.1 hours to about 24 hours, more preferably from 0.5 hours to 3 hours. These parameters provide for best sorbent regeneration.
The oxygen-containing regeneration stream employed in the regeneration step can be any oxygen-containing stream that, when contacted with the sulfurized sorbent composition under the above-described regeneration conditions, promotes the conversion of at least a portion of the zinc sulfide associated with the sulfurized sorbent to zinc oxide, promotes the return of at least a substantial portion of the promoter metal to its common oxidized (i.e., unreduced) state, and burns off any remaining hydrocarbon deposits that might be present on the sulfurized sorbent composition.
During regeneration, sulfates can form on/in the sorbent. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9csulfatexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9csulfatesxe2x80x9d shall denote any sulfate-containing compound(s) whose chemical formula includes the expression xe2x80x9cSO4xe2x80x9d. Typically, the sulfates associated with the sorbent composition employed in the present invention will be in the form of a zinc sulfate or a zinc oxysulfate. For example, a particularly common sulfate associated with the sorbent composition is trizinc oxide bisulfate (Zn3O(SO4)2). After regeneration, the desulfurized sorbent typically comprises a small amount of sulfates, at least a portion of which can be removed from the sorbent during activation of the desulfurized sorbent. Typically, the desulfurized sorbent exiting the regeneration zone comprises from about 0.01 to about 2.0 weight percent sulfur as sulfates, more typically from about 0.05 to about 1.5 weight percent sulfur as sulfates, and most typically from 0.1 to 1 weight percent sulfur as sulfates.
It has been discovered that excess sulfation of the sorbent can occur in the regeneration zone when the optimum regeneration conditions are not properly maintained and/or when the oxygen-containing regeneration stream contains undesirable impurities. Excess sulfation of the sorbent composition can dramatically decrease the ability of the sorbent composition to remove sulfur from the sulfur-containing fluid in the desulfurization zone. When the amount of sulfates associated with the sorbent composition is excessively high, the sorbent composition can be effectively deactivated. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cdeactivationxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cdeactivated,xe2x80x9d when referring to the sorbent, shall denote a sorbent comprising sulfates in an amount which causes the sorbent to remove less than half the amount of sulfur from a sulfur-containing fluid, such as cracked-gasoline or diesel fuel, than if such sorbent comprised substantially no sulfates. Typically, a deactivated sorbent comprises at least about 2 weight percent sulfur in the form of sulfates. More typically, the deactivated sorbent comprises at least about 4 weight percent sulfur as sulfates, still more typically the deactivated sorbent comprises at least about 8 weight percent sulfur as sulfates, and most typically the, deactivated sorbent comprises at least 12 weight percent sulfur as sulfates.
It has been discovered that the amount of sulfur dioxide in the regeneration stream has a critical impact on the degree of sulfation of the sorbent during regeneration. The presence of more than about 10 mole percent of sulfur dioxide in the regeneration stream charged to the regeneration zone can cause deactivation of the sorbent due to sulfation of the sorbent in the regeneration zone. Thus, it is preferred for the amount of sulfur dioxide in the regeneration stream to be maintained at a level of less than about 10 mole percent, more preferably.less than about 5 mole percent, still more preferably less than about 2 mole percent, and most preferably less than 1 mole percent.
During normal operation of the regenerator, some sulfur dioxide will be present in the regeneration zone due to the reaction of the oxygen in the regeneration stream and the zinc sulfide of the sorbent. It has been discovered that the average sulfur dioxide partial pressure in the regeneration zone must be maintained within a certain range in order to adequately regenerate the sorbent without causing excess sulfation of the sorbent. If the average sulfur dioxide partial pressure in the regeneration zone is too high, then excess sulfation, and perhaps even deactivation, of the sorbent occurs. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9caverage sulfur dioxide partial pressurexe2x80x9d denotes the average partial pressure of sulfur dioxide in the regeneration zone over the regeneration residence time.
Although regeneration of the sorbent can be performed over a wide range of total pressures, the optimum average sulfur dioxide partial pressure range remains constant regardless of the total pressure in the regeneration zone. Preferably, the average sulfur dioxide partial pressure in the regeneration zone is maintained in a range of from about 0.1 psig to about 10 psig, more preferably from about 0.2 psig to about 5 psig, still more preferably from about 0.5 psig to about 4 psig, and most preferably from 1 psig to 3 psig for optimal sorbent regeneration.
Because sulfur dioxide is generated by the reactions(s) which take place in the regeneration zone, the average sulfur dioxide partial pressure in the regeneration zone cannot be maintained in the desired range by simply directly controlling the amount of sulfur dioxide in the oxygen-containing regeneration stream. However, the average sulfur dioxide partial pressure in the regeneration zone can be indirectly controlled by (1) controlling the rate at which the sulfurized sorbent is charged to the regeneration zone and (2) controlling the rate at which the regeneration stream is charged to the regeneration zone.
After regeneration, the desulfurized sorbent composition is subjected to reduction (i.e., activation) in an activation zone under activation conditions with a reducing stream, preferably a hydrogen-containing reducing stream, so that at least a portion of the unreduced promoter metal of the desulfurized sorbent composition is reduced, thereby providing a reduced sorbent composition comprising a reduced-valence promoter metal. Such reduced-valence promoter metal is present in the sorbent composition in an amount that provides for the removal of sulfur from a sulfur-containing fluid according to the process of the present invention.
Typical activation conditions at which the activation zone is maintained include a temperature in a range of from more than about 300xc2x0 F. to less than about 1000xc2x0 F., more preferably from about 500xc2x0 F. to about 900xc2x0 F., and most preferably in a range from 600xc2x0 F. to 800xc2x0 F. The activation zone is preferably maintained at a pressure in a range from about 10 psig to about 1500 psig, more preferably from 15 psig to 100 psig. The residence time of the sorbent in the activation zone is preferably in a range of from about 0.1 hours to about 40 hours, more preferably from about 0.2 hours to about 10 hours, and most preferably from 0.5 hours to 1 hour. The reducing stream with which the regenerated sorbent is contacted in the activation zone preferably contains at least about 25 volume percent hydrogen, more preferably at least about 50 volume percent hydrogen, still more preferably at least about 90 volume percent hydrogen, and most preferably at least 95 volume percent hydrogen. Thus, it is not essential to the practice of the present invention that a high purity hydrogen be employed in achieving the desired reduction (i.e., activation) of the sorbent composition. Conditions recited in this paragraph provide for best activation of the desulfurized sorbent.
In addition to reducing the valence of the promoter metal, the reduction step is preferably sufficient to reduce the amount of sulfates associated with the sorbent composition. It has been discovered that the presence of the promoter metal in the sorbent composition facilitates a reduction in the amount of sulfates associated with the sorbent composition when the sulfated sorbent composition is contacted with the reducing stream in the activation zone. Thus, the amount of sulfates removed from a sorbent in the activation zone when the sorbent comprises the promoter metal is more than the amount of sulfates removed from the sorbent composition when the sorbent comprises substantially no promoter metal. Preferably, when the sorbent comprises the promoter metal, at least about a 2 percent increase in sulfate removal (by weight of sulfur as sulfates) is exhibited over a sorbent comprising substantially no promoter metal, more preferably at least about a 5 percent increase in sulfate removal is exhibited, still more preferably at least about a 10 percent increase in sulfate removal is exhibited, and most preferably at least a 50 percent increase in sulfate removal is exhibited over a sorbent comprising substantially no promoter metal.
Once the sorbent has been activated in the activation zone, at least a portion of the activated sorbent can be returned to the desulfurization zone for desulfurization or further desulfurization of the sulfur-containing fluid.
In carrying out the process of the present invention, a stripper zone can optionally be inserted before and/or after, preferably before, regenerating the sulfurized sorbent composition in the regeneration zone. A similar stripper zone, preferably utilizing a stripping agent, serves to remove a portion, preferably all, of any hydrocarbon(s) from the sulfurized sorbent composition. Such stripper zone can also serve to remove oxygen and sulfur dioxide from the system prior to introduction of the regenerated sorbent composition into the activation zone. Preferably, the stripping, when employed, is carried out at a total pressure in a range of from about 25 pounds per square inch absolute (psia) to about 500 psia. The temperature for such stripping can be in a range of from about 100xc2x0 F. to about 1,000xc2x0 F. Stripping is carried out for a time sufficient to achieve the desired level of stripping. Such stripping can generally be achieved in a time period in a range of from about 0.1 hour to about 4 hours, preferably in a range of from 0.3 hour to 1 hour. The stripping agent is a composition(s) that helps to remove a hydrocarbon(s) from the sulfurized sorbent composition. Preferably, the stripping agent is nitrogen.
When carrying out the process of the present invention, the steps of desulfurizing, regenerating, and activating can be accomplished in a single zone or vessel or in multiple zones or vessels. The desulfurization zone can be any zone where desulfurizing a sulfur-containing fluid, such as cracked-gasoline or diesel fuel, can take place. The regeneration zone can be any zone where regenerating of a sulfurized sorbent can take place. The activation zone can be any zone wherein reducing (i.e., activating) a regenerated, desulfurized sorbent can take place. Examples of suitable zones are fixed bed reactors, moving bed reactors, fluidized bed reactors, transport reactors, reactor vessels, and the like. When carrying out the process of the present invention in a fixed bed reactor, the steps of desulfurizing, regenerating, and activating can be accomplished in a single zone or vessel. When carrying out the process of the present invention in a fluidized bed reactor system, the steps of desulfurizing, regenerating, and reducing can be accomplished in multiple zones or vessels. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibration damper having a piston cylinder with a cylinder, a piston connected to a piston rod axially movably arranged in the cylinder, and a stop spring which is compressed after a piston rod of the vibration damper reaches a defined stroke position and which defines a radially inner space connected to a working space in said cylinder.
2. Description of the Related Art
DE 78 02 898 U1 discloses a vibration damper with a stop spring in the form of a circular elastomeric ring, which is concentric to a piston rod inside a damping medium-filled working space on the piston rod side of the vibration damper. As soon as a defined stroke position is reached, the stop spring is clamped by a stop on the piston rod side against an end surface of a piston rod guide facing the working space. When the stop spring is compressed, the volume of the damping medium present in the annular space between the piston rod and the stop spring is pushed radially outward through transverse openings. These transverse openings, however, are also axially clamped, and their cross section is thus reduced. To ensure that damping medium can continue to escape from the annular space, the stop spring has radial channels in its end surfaces; these channels connect the annular space to the working space on the piston rod side. At an increased level of compression, however, these radial channels can also be closed by the displacement or deformation of the entire stop spring. Thus the damping medium can escape from the annular space only in the direction toward the piston rod guide Experiments have shown that this effect does not lead to any damage in the case of a vibration damper of the two-tube type. Two-tube vibration dampers such as those known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,970 have a side channel between a piston rod bush and a piston rod seal. Oil carried along on the piston rod can escape through this side channel to a compensating space. This side channel can then also be used by the damping medium to escape from the annular space of the stop spring. This possibility is not available in a vibration damper of the single-tube type, the compensating space of which is frequently located downstream from the working space on the side of the piston facing away from the piston rod. Under certain conditions, therefore, damping medium can emerge in the gap between the stop spring and the piston rod. It has also been found that the previously described problem occurs primarily in the case of comparatively long stop springs. The use of short stop springs, however, does not represent a genuine solution, because it is necessary to maintain a specific damping force characteristic.
A stop spring with a closed, ring-shaped body as a spring element and metal angular rings at one end, which slide on the piston rod, is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,674. These angular rings have short webs on the axial end surfaces, so that radial discharge channels are present when the end surface rests against, for example, the piston rod guide. The discharge channels are guaranteed to remain open. The metal angular rings, however generate noise when they strike the piston rod guide, and this interferes with passenger comfort. | {
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This invention relates to a wire wheel and more particularly to an improved spoke pattern for such a wheel that facilitates manufacture on existing equipment and which will provide a high strength and light weight.
Recently, the advantages of forming wire wheels with a plurality of single spokes that are connected at their opposite ends to the rim at circumferentially spaced locations and at an intermediate portion to the hub have shown considerable popularity. One reason for this is that there is less likelihood of the spokes becoming loosened and, if properly designed, the wheel may be more conveniently and easily manufactured. Normally, the intermediate portion is formed with an angled part that interlocks with a corresponding opening of the hub so as to secure this intermediate portion to the hub. In one type of wheel, as disclosed in my pending Japanese Patent Application Serial No. 58-165218, the intermediate portion has a crank shape in side elevation. L-shaped retaining grooves are formed in one side of the hub so as to retain the individual spokes to the hub.
Although this construction has numerous advantages, the spoke pattern has a tendency to cause the individual spokes to interfere with each other unless their connections to the rim are located at a position slightly over the center line of the rim. Conventionally, wire wheels are formed so that the spokes at each side of the hub are connected to the rim either on the center line of the rim or on the same side of the center line as the cooperating hub portion. Thus, a wheel made in accordance with the construction shown in my aforenoted Japanese patent application does not lend itself to manufacture on conventional wire wheel making machines. Those machines are not designed so as to form the spoke attachment holes of the rim on the opposite side of the rim center line. Thus, considerable modification is required with existing machinery to manufacture rims for wheels of this type. Alternatively, it would be possible to avoid this problem through a reduction of the number of spokes, but this obviously will reduce the strength of the wheel.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a wire wheel arrangement that permits a strong wheel and yet can be manufactured on conventional rim making equipment.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved wire wheel having single spokes that extend from the rim across the hub to another attachment point on the rim and which can be conveniently and inexpensively manufactured. | {
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A gear-turbofan engine consists of an epicyclic gear system coupling the turbine to the fan. In this manner, both the fan and the turbine can operate at each component's own optimum speed. The fan and the turbine may be coupled to one another through a gear train that is supported by a journal bearing system.
During powered operation of the engine, lubricant is delivered to the journal bearings by means of one or multiple oil pumps. This lubricant develops a hydrodynamic film at the journal bearing surface between the gear bore and the journal pin shaft in order to minimize wear as these surfaces move with respect to one another. The oil pump(s) pump lubricant from an oil sump and deliver pressurized oil to the journal bearings. At the journal bearings, oil is squeezed by the rotation of the gears and generates a hydrodynamic film which is necessary to prevent undesirable metal-to-metal contact between the gear bore and the journal pin shaft.
During the non-operating condition of the engine, the oil pump(s) stop running. If no lubricant is delivered to the journal bearings, the gear bore is in direct contact with the journal pin shaft under the effect of gravity. Under this circumstance, any relative motion between the gear bore inner surface and the journal pin outer surface can cause premature wear and undesirable damage to these surfaces. An auxiliary oil pump is therefore sometimes provided that is mechanically coupled to the epi-cyclic gear system so that the auxiliary oil pump will rotate with rotation of the engine.
In the engine non-operating mode, rotation of the rotor, and hence the gears, can be caused by wind-milling, a phenomenon resulting from ambient wind blowing through the engine, causing the turbofan engine to rotate due to forces imparted by the wind to engine surfaces. Depending on the wind direction, either toward the fan blade through the nacelle inlet or toward the turbine blade through the exhaust duct, the rotor can rotate in either direction, clockwise or counter-clockwise with respect to the pilot view. Rotation of the rotor during the engine non-operating mode may be caused by other means, such as manual rotation to name just one non-limiting example. Any rotation of the rotor during the engine non-operating mode, no matter what is the cause of the rotation, is referred to herein for convenience as “wind-milling”.
Currently, there are no known means to deliver oil effectively to the journal bearings when the wind-milling phenomenon occurs in both rotational directions. The present disclosure is related to a system and method of supplying lubricant to the journal bearings of a gear-turbofan engine operating with a gear train when the rotor is subjected to a wind-milling condition in both directions, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. The presently disclosed embodiments will also find applicability in other applications where lubrication is to be applied when a gear train is operating in either clockwise or counter-clockwise directions. | {
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In taking a scene against light or taking a scene large in luminance difference, a white-out or black-out effect may occur only with a standard image with the exposure period matched with the illuminance of photographic subject.
In order to overcome this problem, two or more non-standard images having different exposure times are taken to be replaced by an image obtained by multiplying the non-standard images by a synthesis gain in the area too bright or too dark in the standard image to enlarge the dynamic range of the resultant image, which is then compressed in match with the output bit.
In this case, the standard image and the non-standard image are connected by synthesized gain, so that an improper synthesized gain may cause false contouring in the boundary of connection.
So, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-131708, the difference in photoelectric conversion and so on due to the difference in incident light intensity can be ignored by obtaining a synthesis gain to be multiplied by the non-standard image by a ratio between two image signals in the pixel of long/short replaced luminance level.
However, if a smear occurred in a backlight scene for example, false contouring is caused by the computation of an improper synthesized gain (FIG. 1).
Also, when a moving subject is taken, signals at the same pixel positions in two or more images are not always by the same subject. In this case, an improper image signal ratio is obtained, so that an improper synthesized gain is computed, resulting in false contouring. | {
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The present invention deals with a system for treating an aneurysm. More specifically, the present invention deals with a removable occlusion system deployed in the vasculature containing the aneurysm.
Several methods of treating aneurysms have been attempted, with varying degrees of success. For example, open craniotomy is a procedure by which an aneurysm is located, and treated, extravascularly. This type of procedure has significant disadvantages. For example, the patient undergoing open craniotomy must undergo general anesthesia. Also, the patient undergoes a great deal of trauma in the area of the aneurysm by virtue of the fact that the surgeon must sever various tissues in order to reach the aneurysm. In treating cerebral aneurysms extravascularly, for instances, the surgeon must typically remove a portion of the patient""s skull, and must also traumatize brain tissue in order to reach the aneurysm.
Other techniques used in treating aneurysms are performed endovascularly. Such techniques typically involve attempting to form a mass within the sac of the aneurysm. Typically, a microcatheter is used to access the aneurysm. The distal tip of the micro catheter is placed within the sac of the aneurysm, and the microcatheter is used to inject embolic material into the sac of the aneurysm. The embolic material includes, for example, detachable coils or an embolic agent, such as a liquid polymer. The injection of these types of embolic materials suffer from disadvantages, most of which are associated with migration of the embolic material out of the aneurysm into the parent artery. This can cause permanent and irreversible occlusion of the parent artery.
For example, when detachable coils are used to occlude an aneurysm which does not have a well defined neck region, the detachable coils can migrate out of the sac of the aneurysm and into the parent artery. Further, it is, at times, difficult to gauge exactly how full the sac of the aneurysm is when detachable coils are being injected. Therefore, there is a risk of overfilling the aneurysm in which case the detachable coils also spill out into the parent artery.
Another disadvantage of detachable coils involves coil compaction over time. After filling the aneurysm, there remains space between the coils. Continued hemodynamic forces from the circulation act to compact the coil mass resulting in a cavity in the aneurysm neck. Thus, the aneurysm can recanalize.
Embolic agent migration is also a problem. For instance, where a liquid polymer is injected into the sac of the aneurysm, it can migrate out of the sac of the aneurysm due to the hemodynamics of the system. This can also lead to irreversible occlusion of the parent vessel.
Techniques have been attempted in order to deal with the disadvantages associated with embolic material migration to the parent vessel. Some such techniques, commonly referred to as flow arrest techniques, typically involve temporarily occluding the parent vessel proximal of the aneurysm, so that no blood flow occurs through the parent vessel, until a thrombotic mass has formed in the sac of the aneurysm which helps reduce the tendency of the embolic material to migrate out of the aneurysm sac. However, thrombotic mass can dissolve through normal lysis of blood. Also, in certain cases, it is highly undesirable to occlude the parent vessel even temporarily. Therefore, this technique is, at times, not available as a treatment option. In addition, even occluding the parent vessel may not prevent all embolic material migration into the parent vessel.
Another endovascular technique for treating aneurysms involves inserting a detachable balloon into the sac of the aneurysm using a microcatheter. The detachable balloon is then inflated using saline and/or contrast fluid. The balloon is then detached from the microcatheter and left within the sac of the aneurysm in an attempt to fill the sac of the aneurysm. However, detachable balloons also suffer disadvantages. For example, detachable balloons, when inflated, typically will not conform to the interior configuration of the aneurysm sac. Instead, the detachable balloon requires the aneurysm sac to conform to the exterior surface of the detachable balloon. Thus, there is an increased risk that the detachable balloon will rupture the sac of the aneurysm. Further, detachable balloons can rupture and migrate out of the aneurysm.
A system for treating an aneurysm in a vessel includes a delivery device having a delivery portion suitable for delivery of embolic material. The delivery device is placed in a neck of the aneurysm and an expandable member is placed proximate the neck. The expandable member is expanded to overlie substantially the entire neck. Embolic material is delivered to the aneurysm with a delivery device. The expandable member is held over the neck to inhibit movement of the embolic material out of the aneurysm. Blood is allowed to flow out of the aneurysm, past the neck of the aneurysm, and through the vessel while the expandable member is held over the neck of the aneurysm. | {
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The present invention relates to a mushroom-shaped semiconductor stripe laser. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mushroom-shaped semiconductor stripe laser, particularly with transversal, monomode light distribution, including a semiconductor double heterostructure comprised of a substrate, a laser-active zone, and a cover layer, as well as a respective electrically contacting metal layer for the substrate and for the cover layer, and with the cover layer being underetched such that a mushroom-shaped structure is formed in which the laser-active zone is constricted to a stripe-shaped region.
Such a semiconductor laser is also called an MS laser ("mushroom stripe laser") and is disclosed, for example, in the publication Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Volume 22, Nov. 1983, pages L721-L723. As shown in FIG. 1, which is a schematic illustration of the cross-section of such a known MS laser, a semiconductor substrate 1 has initially applied to it a further substrate layer 1' (buffer layer). On top of the outer major surface of layer 1' is a stripe-shaped laser-active zone 2, which has a first width b1 of approximately 1.5 micron, a height of approximately 0.1 micron and a length (perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing) of, for example, 150 microns. The laser-active zone 2 is covered over its entire length by a cover layer 3 which has a height of approximately 1.5 micron and a second width b2 of approximately 15 microns. Laser-active zone 2 as well as cover layer 3 therefore form a mushroom-shaped semiconductor structure which can be produced by an etching technique customarily employed in the semiconductor art (underetching of cover layer 3). This mushroom-shaped semiconductor structure is embedded in an oxide layer 4. This embedding in an oxide layer may cause cavities 5 to be formed in the oxide layer 4 below the cover layer 3. In the region of oxide layer 4 on the outer surface of the cover layer 3, a contact window 6 is provided so that it is possible to electrically contact cover layer 3 by way of a metal layer 7. A further such metal layer 7' is also provided on the underside or opposite major surface of substrate 1. The described arrangement is a laser diode with lateral wave guidance known as an index guided laser.
The described arrangement has the drawback that the ratio of the second width b2 to the first width b1 is very large (approximately 10). This produces, particularly for industrial mass production, an uneconomical proportion of unusable semiconductor lasers. For example, the mechanical stresses produced between the oxide layer 4 and the cover layer 3 are so great that they bring about undesirable separation of the cover layer 3 from the laser-active zone 2. Moreover, during the above-mentioned underetching of the cover layer 3, undesirable fluctuations occur in the first width b1. This makes it impossible, in particular, to always guarantee that monomode light distribution is assured in the finished semiconductor laser. | {
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Recently in an image data processing apparatus it is developed to edit for correcting or modifying images of photographs or pictorial arts by inputting them into personal computers as image data by using an image scanner.
However, it becomes need to compress the image data because of increasing of the capacity of a memory device which is necessary for storing the image data and also for an object of implementing a data communication or a data exchange to other apparatus, in accompanied with the increase of image data to be edited.
Now, as a high efficiency compression system of a still picture a block encoding system such as the JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) system is commonly used.
If these image data compressing systems are supported in a hardware or a software of the image data editing apparatus, the compression of image data for storing may be carried out after the image editing. While if these image data compressing systems are not supported in such a hardware or a software, the compression of the image data may be carried out after storing them with an appropriate image format.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the conventional image data compressing apparatus. A user performs an editing work on an image data by using a user interface 11. The image date is processed by a data processing means 12 in response to the input operation of the user. The processed image data is displayed on a monitor of an image display means 13. When storing the processed image data it is stored in a data storing means 15 such as a magnetic disc after compressing by a data compressing means 14.
In the image editing operation a paste work for pasting different small image on a base image is frequently carried out. For example it is frequently carried out to paste the image which had been cut out from any other secondary image and stored in a memory, on a primary image to be used as a base image.
Here when storing the edited image data by compressing based on the JPEG system, a compression rate or a picture quality extensively varies even though a image paste-in position has been slightly shifted. It is because a result of a quantization or an adaptive DCT processing varies in accordance with where a contour of the image is located within a 8.times.8 pixel block associated with a DCT (an abbreviation of Discrete Cosine Transform) operation.
However in a conventional image editing scheme as the editing of image data and a compression for storing images are completely independent to each other, it is not taken into account for an effect which a slight shift of the image paste-in position largely influences on the compression rate or the picture quality.
As described above, the conventional image data processing apparatus has such problems that as the editing of image data and a compression fop storing images are completely independent to each other, it is not taken into account for an effect which a slight shift of the image paste-in position largely influences on the compression rate or the picture quality thus causing the image data after compression to be left in large amount of volume. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The object of the present invention is a display screen without moire effect. It finds an application in the production of any display devices, notably with micropoints, also referred to as the field emission display type (or FED for short).
"Without" moire effect means a moire effect which is sufficiently attenuated so as not to be visible to an observer.
2. Discussion of the Background
Although the invention is not limited to this type of display, it is in the case of field emission display screens that the state of the art will be described.
A field emission display screen is described notably in the document FR 2 623 013. The essentials of this device are depicted in the accompanying FIGS. 1 and 2.
The device depicted in these figures comprises, on a substrate 2, for example made of glass, a thin layer of silica 4 and, on this layer, a plurality of electrodes 5 in the form of parallel conductive bands fulfilling the role of cathodic conductors and constituting addressing columns.
These cathodic conductors are covered with a continuous resistive layer 7 (except on the ends to allow the connection of the cathodic conductors with biasing means 20). An electrically insulating layer 8, made of silica, covers the resistive layer 7.
Above the insulating layer 8 there are formed a plurality of electrodes 10 also in the form of parallel conductive bands. These electrodes 10 are perpendicular to the electrodes 5 and fulfill the role of a grid constituting the addressing lines.
The device also has a plurality of elementary emitters of electrons (micropoints), only one example of which (for reasons of simplification) is depicted schematically in FIG. 2: in each of the intersection areas (corresponding to an image point or pixel) cathodic conductors 5 and grids 10, the resistive layer 7 corresponding to this area supports micropoints 12, for example made of molybdenum, and the grid 10 corresponding to the said area has an opening 14 opposite each of the micropoints 12. Each of the latter adopts substantially the shape of a cone whose base rests generally on the layer 7 and whose apex is situated level with the corresponding opening 14. Naturally, the insulating layer 8 is also provided with openings 15 allowing passage of the micropoints 12.
This first subassembly defined by the area of intersection of the cathodic conductors and grid conductors 10, possibly associated with other elements, for example a supplementary grid within the screen or a filter on the face of the screen observed, can be referred to as an "intermediate subassembly".
Thus each intermediate subassembly corresponds to a pixel. Opposite this intermediate subassembly, there is a substrate 30 covered with a conductive layer 32 serving as an anode. This layer is covered with a layer or bands of luminescent materials 34. Hereinafter the emissive part opposite the pixel (or intermediate subassembly) will be referred to as the "anode subassembly".
In the case of a monochrome screen, or an unswitched three-color screen, the size of the anode subassembly corresponds to that of the intermediate subassembly. In the case of a switched three-color screen, the pixel is opposite three bands of luminescent materials, only one of which emits at a time, and the anode subassembly corresponds to the excited band part.
The light emitted by the luminous materials under the impact of the electrons emitted by the micropoints is received by the observer 0. In the usual case, the observation takes place on the anode side, and therefore through the anode subassembly, on the side opposite the excitation of the luminescent materials. However, the major part of the light being emitted on the excitation side, the result is that it is highly advantageous to observe this screen on the excitation side of the luminescent materials, and therefore through the intermediate subassembly which, because of this, must be at least partially transparent. This operating mode is all the more advantageous since the entire quantity of light emitted can be reflected towards the intermediate subassembly by the use of a reflective layer disposed behind the luminescent materials (this layer can be the anode itself or a supplementary layer, for example of aluminium). In addition, as the intermediate subassembly is partially transparent, it fulfills the role of a neutral filter and thus reduces the effects related to diffuse reflection, in the case notably where the luminescent materials are powder luminophores.
The intermediate subassembly defined by the intersection of an addressing row and column can take various forms. In one embodiment described in the document FR-A-2 687 839, the cathodic conductors have a lattice structure and the grid conductors a perforated structure. This embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, which are respectively plan and cross-sectional views.
In these figures, the cathodic conductors bear the reference 5a and the grid conductors the reference 10g. The grids have openings 11 opposite the areas of intersection of the conductive tracks 5a and are centered on these areas, as can be seen in FIG. 3A. Naturally, the grids also have holes 14a respectively opposite the micropoints 12.
More precisely, each grid 10g has substantially the structure of a lattice identical to the lattice of the corresponding cathodic conductor, but the lattice of this grid is offset, with respect to the lattice of the cathodic conductor, by a half-pitch parallel to the addressing rows and a half-pitch parallel to the addressing columns. Above an area where micropoints are collected, this grid has, in plan view, a square surface 10a which has holes 14a in it and at which there end four tracks 10b forming part of the lattice of this grid.
Many other embodiments are possible, but it will be understood that the intermediate subassembly, through which the observation is effected, though it is semi-transparent overall, is, in reality, formed by highly diverse areas if it is examined on a small scale. Each pixel defined by the overlapping of an addressing row and column therefore comprises a central area (which will be referred to as the "pupil" of the pixel) and four lateral half-parts. The four lateral parts separate each area from its four neighbours. Each pixel therefore has an optical transmission which is not uniform. FIG. 4 shows the appearance of such a pixel, where the central part 40 can be discerned, with its repetitive subassemblies corresponding to the meshing of the grid conductor and of the cathode conductor, and the lateral parts 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d.
This complex periodic structure of the intermediate subassembly, superimposed on the structure, also periodic, of the anode subassembly (in terms of emission as previously defined) can lead to display defects due to moire effects. These defects are illustrated in FIGS. 5a and 5b, on the one hand, and in FIG. 6 on the other hand.
FIGS. 5A and 5B, first of all, correspond to the case where the intermediate subassembly and the anode subassembly are not strictly aligned. This appears when there are several bands of luminescent materials (three-color screen, switched or otherwise). It is assumed that the columns of luminescent materials disposed on the anode are not strictly parallel to the addressing columns of the intermediate subassembly. FIGS. 5A and 5B are sections along a plane perpendicular to the columns, at two different points on the screen (for example at the top and at the bottom).
In these two figures, the intermediate subassembly bears the general reference 50 and is depicted schematically with regions 52 corresponding to the central part of the pixels, relatively transparent areas, and half-regions 54 corresponding to the lateral half-areas, less transparent; the anode subassembly is depicted in the form of the emissive luminous band 62.
FIGS. 5A and 5B depict, by way of example, the case of a three-color screen, switched or otherwise.
Since the light is not transmitted from the luminescent bands to the observer in the same way from one end of the column to the other, the image perceived will be interfered with by lines or fringes which are more or less bright and coloured. This moire effect is a nuisance to the observer.
FIG. 6 also shows, in the case of both a monochrome screen and a three-color screen, switched or otherwise, that the light flux emitted by an anode subassembly 62 is not strictly the same in the direction of an observer 70 facing the subassembly 62 and in the direction of an observer 72 placed to the side, whatever the direction of the movement.
The variations in transparency on the pixel scale and on the scale of each anode subassembly therefore gives rise to parasitic effects, which impair the quality of the displayed image.
The aim of the present invention is precisely to remedy these drawbacks. | {
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Typically, when a client computer system requests content from a server, whether over the Internet or, in some instances, over a local and/or wide area network, the request is intercepted at one or more intermediary devices, each of which may alter the request in some way, according to rules installed on the intermediary device. The intent of these rules, and their embodiment, are commonly known as policies. Policies thus define behaviors of the intermediary devices in connection with the requests.
One common form of intermediary device is a cache: a device that maintains copies of requested information (e.g., web pages and the like) so that multiple requests for the same information can be satisfied at the cache. When requests for information are satisfied at a cache, server devices need not receive the requests, process them, and retransmit the same information over a communication channel that links the client devices and the server devices. In the context of typical web browsing, for example, the server devices can be web servers, the client devices can be web clients (e.g. browsers running on personal computers and the like), the communication channel can be an Internet Protocol (IP) network such as the Internet, and the requested information can be web pages and or objects (e.g. images, videos, etc.).
Not surprisingly, in light of the above, caches are often instantiated with or operated according to policies that affect their behaviors in the context of the requests received at the caches and the sites for which the requests are destined. In particular, caches generally are provided with caching polices. These caching polices are sometimes written according to well-established and published guidelines for how certain content is to be cached (e.g., RFC 2616 promulgated by the Internet Engineering Task Force), but such policies do not always work well in the context of certain web sites. For example, with some web sites, specially defined policies may be required in order to dictate caching behavior that optimizes bandwidth savings. Often this may be due to the web site designers not considering good cache efficiencies when designing their sites, but in other cases it may be due to the peculiarities of the content hosted at the site, the manner in which the content is stored at the servers, the physical or logical arrangements of the servers hosting the content of interest, or other factors.
In the past, in order to deal with these problematic (from a cache efficiency point of vim) web sites, cache providers would have to develop custom solutions or “fixes” as individual customers (e.g., Internet service providers, enterprise network managers, and the like) reported problems. These custom solutions were often only developed after tedious review of voluminous log files obtained from the cache devices and were then distributed somewhat haphazardly as custom configuration files and the like to the cache providers' individual customers. Such distribution occurred through technical briefs, e-mail transmissions or postings on forums, and it was up to the customers to use and install them or not. This of course required knowledgeable customers and there was no guarantee that installing such a custom configuration file would even cure the problem that was initially observed. Thus, each caching problem was treated as a separate instance, with separate and disparate solutions being developed by researchers and others working in isolation from one another. | {
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This invention relates to activating catalysts of selected Group VIII metals on alumina.
Platinum supported on alumina has long been used as an isomerization catalyst. It is broadly known to treat such materials with halogens to activate same. However, it has been found that the effectiveness of such treatments can vary widely and are not at all predictable. | {
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Collection of liquid specimens for laboratory analysis in order to detect the presence of specific diseases or conditions in a patient is well known. Typically, a liquid specimen or a swab is collected and, depending on the desired assay, the appropriate component of the specimen is extracted. In cases where the desired component is cellular or subcellular, the specimens are generally centrifuged to pellet the cells. The cell pellets are optionally lysed to release a subcellular component. Alternatively, lysis may occur prior to centrifugation and the pelleted debris can be analyzed. Because centrifugation equipment is not readily portable, specimen collection, especially high-volume liquid specimen collections, have generally been limited to the clinical or laboratory setting. While swabs have been transported for years, the collection process generally requires trained technicians to assure the collection of a useful specimen and careful storage and transport of resuspended cells from the swab.
More recently, mouthwash specimens have been introduced as a method of collecting patient cell specimens for analysis. Typically, a patient is given an oral rinse or mouthwash which is expectorated into a collection container upon completion of the rinse step. The resulting mouthwash specimen contains saliva and sloughed buccal cells mixed in with the expectorated rinse. Such a mouthwash specimen can be analyzed to determine its various components or certain patient attributes.
For example, as reported in The Lancet, Vol. 340, Jul. 25, 1992, pp 214-216, a method of collecting mouthwash specimens to collect patient cells for cystic fibrosis screening has been studied in the United Kingdom. Cellmark Diagnostics has also developed a method for extraction of DNA from mouthwash specimens as part of its CF Mutation Analysis System. In the Cellmark process, once the mouthwash specimen is collected, it is centrifuged and the desired components are extracted from the pelleted cells.
The centrifugation step is normally done at the collection site. In order to perform the collection and analysis using this system, the collection of the specimen must be at a site where equipment is available for centrifugation and extraction. In addition, only a small percentage of the total specimen is required for tests. This means that since the entire specimen must be kept viable, the entire specimen must be stored until the extraction step is completed. In a typical example, only one percent of the specimen is required for an analysis. This means 99% of the storage specimen is ultimately discarded. By maintaining such a large specimen, the costs of transportation, storage and disposal of the specimen becomes critical.
While mouthwash collection has been found to be an efficient and desirable, non-invasive method of collecting cell specimens from a human patient, the transportation, storage and disposal problems have minimized its widespread acceptability. In addition, the fact that the primary cell collection steps must be performed at a central location further diminish the value of this method of collection.
In order to analyze mouthwash specimens properly, the specimens must be collected in fluid form in a sterile container, sealed and transported to the central centrifugation and extraction site. This is also true of most other collected liquid specimens of bodily fluids.
Therefore, the advantages of specimen collection are often outweighed by the disadvantages of the cumbersome, inconvenient and costly steps required in the storage preservation and transportation of the specimen to an analysis site. In order for the liquid specimen techniques to gain widespread acceptance, a need must be met to minimize the difficulty in collecting, storing and transferring the specimens obtainable from the liquid solution.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,629, entitled: Performance of Chemical or Biological Reactions within Absorbent Matrix Pad, issued to K. D. Bagshawe on Jun. 10, 1975 shows a system for drawing a liquid specimen through a discrete matrix pad for analysis of an antigenic component. It does not, however, deal with the collection of the original specimen or with the isolation of cells for analysis. This is also true with the device shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,134, entitled: Specimen Filtration Device, issued to J. Vcelka on Jan. 2, 1990. In both of these documents the cells are lysed to release the antigenic component of interest prior to application to the matrix filter.
While numerous examples are available for introducing a specimen to a test medium such as a matrix pad or the like, the clinical use of such systems has generally been limited because of the requirement for the entire liquid test specimen to be transported in a liquid state from the collection site to the analysis facility, thereby requiring sealed, sterile containers and shipping parcels which must be handled with great care. This is true whether the specimen is generated using invasive techniques (such as the collection of blood specimens) or in an non-invasive manner (such as urine or mouthwash specimens). Therefore, there remains a need to improve the clinical environment for the collection and transportation of liquid specimens.
The so-called "Guthrie Spot" is universally used for screening neonatal whole blood for a variety of products of errors of metabolism {R. Guthrie, Organization of a regional newborn screening laboratory, in Neonatal screening for inborn error of metabolism (ed. H. Bickel, R. Guthrie and G Hammersen), pp 259-270, Springer Verlag, Berlin 1980}. The dried blood spots are of great utilty because they facilitate the ability to ship, archive and perform multiple analyses on the same sample. More recently, the utility of such dried blood spots has been extended to tests involving DNA amplification and analysis (McCabe ERB. 1991. Utility of PCR for DNA Analysis from Dried Blood Spots on Filter Paper Blotters, in PCR Methods and Applications, Volume 1: pp 99-106). Application of the technique is limited, however, and has only been applied to analysis of blood samples. | {
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In a steam reformer, under high temperatures (e.g., 400-800° C.) and in the presence of a catalyst (e.g., nickel), steam may react with a feed gas (e.g., methane) to generate a reformate (e.g., hydrogen) which may be used as fuel in a hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity, for example. In some examples, the steam is generated in a steam boiler which is coupled to the reformer. As a size of the steam reformer is reduced due to packaging constraints, for example, a size of the steam boiler should also be reduced. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cooking assembly, more particularly to a cooking assembly with a safety device for preventing insertion of a plug into a socket of a tray unit when the tray unit is disconnected from a base member and for preventing undesired removal of the tray unit from a base member when the plug is inserted into the socket of the tray unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional cooking assembly 11 is shown to include a base member 13, a tray unit 14 mounted detachably on the base member 13 and formed with a socket 140, a plug 12 adapted to be inserted releasably into the socket 140 for establishing electrical connection between the tray unit 14 and a power source (not shown), and a top cover 15 for covering the tray unit 14.
One disadvantage resulting from the use of the aforesaid conventional cooking assembly resides in that when the tray unit 14 is removed from the base member 13 for cleaning purposes, the user may accidentally get an electric shock during cleaning process if the plug 12 is still in the socket 140. | {
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(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices and, more particularly, to a method to form a SOI device having improved ESD performance.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
At present, the vast majority of integrated circuit products are formed on bulk semiconductor wafers. However, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer-based products are under development as a majority technology for the future. SOI offers the advantages of improved short channel performance, improved isolation, and reduced power supply capability. However, ESD protection of SOI devices remains a significant challenge to manufacturers.
Referring now to FIG. 1, an example of a prior art SOI MOSEET is shown. The SOI substrate comprises a buried oxide layer 14, typically many microns thick, that is formed overlying a substrate 10. A silicon layer is formed overlying the buried oxide layer 14. In this case, the silicon layer has been doped to form an N+ source 26, an N+drain 22, and a P—body region 34 for a MOS transistor. A typical gate 30 is formed overlying the body region 34 between source 26 and drain 22. Shallow trench isolations (STI) 1B are formed through the silicon layer to the buried oxide layer 14 to isolate the MOS device.
The typical SOI NMOS transistor shown differs from a bulk version NMOS due to the presence of the buried oxide layer 14 underlying the MOS device. The buried oxide layer 14 provides excellent device isolation while facilitating the formation of MOS devices having improved short-channel capabilities. Note that the N+ drain 22 is coupled to an I/O pad for the integrated circuit device. Therefore, this transistor must be able to withstand ESD events due to external handling and/or external conditions. However, the presence of the buried oxide layer 14 may have detrimental effects for the ESD performance of the device.
During an ESD event, the drain 26 to body 34 junction will exhibit a reverse breakdown when the junction breakdown voltage is exceeded. Significant current will flow through the device. To prevent damage to the MOS device and to other parts of the overall integrated circuit, it is essential that the energy of the ESD pulse be dissipated. In a bulk MOS device, a part of this energy dissipation will occur in the bulk silicon material of the substrate. In the SOI, device, however, the buried oxide layer 14 blocks current flow into the bulk substrate 10. Further, the buried oxide layer 14 has a low thermal conductivity compared to silicon (about {fraction (1/10)} as large as silicon). Therefore, the buried oxide layer 14 tends to display excessive heating due to current flow. In addition, the absence of a bulk current path causes current concentration near the surface of the MOS channel where excessive energy dissipation can cause damage. Finally, the relative energy dissipation in the device is proportional to the reverse breakdown voltage of the N+ drain 22 to P—body 34 junction. It is found that the SOI MOSFET device displays a lower power-to-failure curve than a bulk-substrate MOSFET. A method of improving the ESD performance of the SOI MOS device would represent a significant step forward in the development of SOI as a majority technology.
Several prior art inventions relate to the ESD performance of SOI devices. U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,763 to Chen et al teaches a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) device for a SOI process. The SCR adds an N+/P+ zener diode to the prior SCR to reduce the trigger voltage. U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,710 to Yamaguchi discloses an ESD device in a SOI process where at least one MOS transistor is coupled to the external terminal by a forward bias. Another MOS transistor is also coupled to the terminal by reverse bias. U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,594 to Tsao et al describes a bulk silicon ESD protection scheme compatible with low voltage CMOS processing. U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,078 to Yun teaches a method to manufacture a bulk semiconductor device having an ESD protection region. Several impurity layers are implanted into the ESD region to improve ESD performance. U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,399 to Brady et al discloses an ESD device for use in a SOI system. The ESD device is formed in a bulk region to protect other devices formed in the SOI region. U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,003 to Hu et al teaches a SOI MOSFET having a low barrier body contact under the source region. An improvement in ESD performance of the device is cited. | {
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The invention relates to means which enables a signal to be given whether electric contacts between two parts in relative rotary movement are open or closed; it is of particular use in an automobile to indicate that a limiting value has been reached by a parameter related to the behaviour of its tires in such a way as to activate a sound and/or light wavering device provided for this purpose in the interior of the said vehicle.
Devices of this type have already been proposed, particularly for detecting an abnormal drop in the pressure in a tire. In such devices a pressure contact connected to the valve of the tire being monitored is in series in the circuit of a coil which is movable with the wheel of the vehicle and thus passes at regular intervals in front of two devices mounted facing the said coil on the chassis of the vehicle, the first device inducing in the mobile coil a current which is then coupled to the second or receiving device. The position of the pressure contact changes when the pressure inside the tire reaches a predetermined minimum value, thereby bringing about the presence or absence of the current induced by the mobile coil in the receiving device. The receiving device then processes the information thus provided and translate it so that it can be used by alarm means.
Different solutions have been proposed for the receiving device. One of these solutions is the use of an oscillatory circuit whose oscillations depend upon the current induced by the mobile coil. The inconvenient aspects of such an arrangement result from the severe environment in which it is implanted. The mobile coil which should be linked to the movement of the wheel is in fact fixed either on the rim or on the moving part of the braking system; this means that the fixed devices can only be implanted on or near the fixed parts of the brakes. It will be realised that situated here the electronic circuits must be subjected to exceedingly high temperatures (which can exceed 500.degree. C) which causes them to deteriorate rapidly. Another solution therefore also uses coils for said first and second devices so as to bring only the transmitting and receiving coils close to the mobile coil; the electronic circuits to which they are connected can be in a less exposed part of the vehicle. A known device of this type comprises a mobile coil wound on the rotating part of the braking system and working in co-operation with two fixed coils, one of which is a transmitter, the other a receiver, mounted on a part of the vehicle chassis and diametrically opposed with regard to the circumference defined by the mobile coil; the diameter being great enough to prevent all disturbing interaction of the transmitting coil on the receiving coil. It will be realised that it is awkward to mount such a device, and is in fact only practisable if done originally on a new vehicle. Any necessary repairs to the coils also present difficulties. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document reader, an image forming apparatus, and an image processing method which are preferable applied to a scanner, a color digital copying machine, or a complex machine having an image area identification and adjustment function of identifying an image area and adjusting image data.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
Recently, there has been used a color image forming apparatus for forming a color image based on image data related to red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors obtained from a colored document image or for forming a color image based on image data received from a printer controller (an external device) such as a server or a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to simply as PC). To form an optimum color image by means of this type of color image forming apparatus, it is necessary to identify a photographic image, a screened halftone image, or a character area on the basis of image data of a document and to perform image processing based on a result of the identification before the image formation.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. Hei09-172544 (1997) discloses an image processing apparatus for identifying a type of a target image in FIG. 2 on page 2. According to the image processing apparatus, an identification means identifies a type of an image based on image data when identifying a type of image data obtained from a document reader (scanner). The image data is processed according to a result of the image type identified by the identification means. When executing a magnification/reduction process, the processing means modifies an identification operation of the identification means. In other words, an identification parameter of the processing means is variable according to reading conditions in the document reader. This enables a precise identification of the type of the target image according to processing conditions or reading conditions of the target image.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-134472 discloses a digital image forming apparatus for forming an electrostatic latent image by converting document information to electric signals before developing the electrostatic latent image in FIG. 2 on page 3. The digital image forming apparatus comprises a threshold modification means, which modifies a threshold for classifying dots in the document into a character part and an image part to a character processing side or to an image processing side when setting the threshold. In other words, the setting is made with modifying the threshold for classifying dots into an image and a character. This increases sharpness of the character part and realizes a smooth and natural copy image in the screened halftone image part, which matches the document or a user's intention.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. Hei07-30752 (1995) discloses an image area identifying apparatus for identifying a type of an image in FIG. 2 on page 2. The image area identifying apparatus comprises a photographic image area identification means, a screened halftone image area identification means, and a character area identification means, wherein the image area identifying apparatus finds an average density for each block from image data, finds a density difference between the average density obtained for each block and an average density of adjacent blocks, and identifies a photographic image area, a screened halftone image area, and a character area on the basis of the density difference. This enables a character image area to be discriminated from a non-character image area from a mixed image area including a character image, a photographic image, and a screened halftone image.
The conventional color image forming apparatuses, however, have the following problems when identifying a photographic image, a screened halftone image, or a character image from image data of a chromatic or achromatic document and performing image processing based on a result of the identification.
(1) In the above patent publications, an image identification parameter is often set on an operating screen easy to operate for a user. When the image identification parameter is set on the operating screen, generally the operating screen is separated into two parts: an operating screen for adjusting a character image and an operating screen for adjusting a non-character image. For example, if a thick gray character with a tinge of some color need be output sharply in solid black, the operating screen separated into two parts requires an operation with visiting the character image adjustment setting screen and the non-character image adjustment setting screen alternately.(2) As stated above, unless the image identification parameter is appropriate according to the document, it is necessary to repeat color adjustment while opening two adjustment setting screens and visiting the screens alternately. Furthermore, inconveniently a user cannot be informed of their adjustment amounts at a time. Therefore, there is the possibility that it becomes hard to predict an output after color adjustment or that it takes a lot of time for color adjustment, thereby deteriorating the operationality at the color adjustment. | {
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Videoconferencing between multiple people typically involves many pieces of hardware working together, such as cameras, microphones, headsets, computers, monitors, routers, and other equipment. As the number of different devices increases, the difficulty and time consumption in identifying the source of a problem also increases, as the problem may lie in any one of the devices, and may also include network limitations. A problem at the beginning of a videoconference results in inefficiency and annoyance among conference participants, as well as other personnel who may be responsible for setting up and operating the videoconference equipment.
Current solutions typically involve a videoconference equipment manufacturer providing a specific hardware device to connect to the manufacturer's videoconference device to test for video integrity, such as detecting packet loss and jitters of the videoconference stream. However, these manufacturer's solutions are typically limited to the manufacturer's dedicated hardware and limited by the type of information provided by the manufacturer's dedicated hardware.
For the foregoing reasons there is a need for a platform agnostic monitoring solution that can detect the health of a system of devices and each individual device so problems may be readily identified and targeted. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device and fabrication method thereof which increases a junction breakdown voltage and improves a snap-back characteristic thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
An integrated circuit unified within a single chip with regard to a control function and a driving function is referred to as a smart power device. An output terminal of the smart power device includes a high power transistor operating at a high voltage of about 15-80V, and a logic unit includes a normal transistor operating at a low voltage of about 5V. Such smart power devices are employed to drive a display apparatus such as LCD (liquid crystal display), and HDTV (high definition TV).
A high power transistor of the smart power device is formed such that a lightly doped region (or, called as drift region) which is lightly doped between a drain and a channel region, compared to the drain.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a high power semiconductor device unit of a smart power device according to the conventional art. Therein, a p-channel transistor is shown but an n-channel transistor has the same structure. That is, the conductive type of impurities or ions is opposite and the structure remains identical.
As shown therein, an n-type well 110 is formed in a p-type semiconductor substrate 100. A plurality of field oxide layers 101 are formed on the p-type semiconductor substrate 100 and the n-type well 110. A gate electrode 102 is formed to cover a predetermine portion of the upper surface of the field oxide layer 101 and the n-type well 110. In the n-type well 110 at the sides of the gate electrode 102 there are formed p+ type impurity layers 103a, 103b. the p+ impurity layer 103a is formed adjacent to an end portion of the gate electrode 102, and the p+ type impurity layer 103a is formed at an end portion of the field oxide layer 101 with the gate electrode 102 laid thereon and spaced from the end portion of the gate electrode 102.
The p+ type impurity layer 103b distanced from the gate electrode 102 is a drain. Also, a p-type impurity layer 104 which is a lightly doped impurity layer in comparison to the source/drain 103a, 103b is extended from a certain point between the field oxide film 101 and the source 103a to an end portion of the drain 103b and covers the drain 103b from bottom and side surfaces thereof. Also, the junction depth of the drift layer 104 remains constant at respective sides of the source and drain. The drift layer serves as a buffer layer when a high electric field is applied to the drain side, thereby preventing a junction breakdown and restraining a hot carrier effect from generating.
However, the semiconductor device as shown in FIG. 1 has disadvantages. That is, since the junction depth of the drift layer is constant, the thickness D1 of the drift layer beneath the drain is relatively thin compared to the thickness D2 of the drift layer beneath the field oxide layer. Accordingly, when high power is applied to the drain region, the electric field loaded at the drain is not sufficiently relieved. Therefore, a junction breakdown easily occurs at the drain region, and the breakdown voltage is relatively low. Further, the snap-back voltage is low due to the hot carrier generation, thereby deteriorating reliability of the semiconductor device.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the conventional disadvantages.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device wherein a drift layer of a portion of a drain region and a field oxide layer edge having a strong electric field is formed deeper than a drift layer of the other portion thereof, thereby sufficiently relieving electric field and preventing a hot carrier generation as well as improving product reliability.
To achieve the above-described object, there is provided a semiconductor device according to the present invention which includes a semiconductor substrate having a first conductive type impurity, a well having a second conductive type impurity formed in a predetermined region of the semiconductor substrate, a plurality of field oxide layer formed on an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate having the first conductive type impurity and the well having the second conductive type impurity, a gate electrode formed on corresponding portions of the field oxide layer and the well, and a lightly doped first impurity region formed in the well between the gate electrode and the first conductive type impurity region and surrounding the first conductive impurity region from sides and lower portions thereof and relatively lightly doped in comparison to the first conductive type impurity region, wherein the device includes a junction of the lightly doped first impurity region surrounding the first conductive type impurity region is relatively deep in comparison to a junction of the lightly doped first impurity region below the field oxide layer.
Further, to achieve the above-described object, there is provided a semiconductor device fabrication method according to the present invention which includes the steps of forming a second conductive type well on a predetermined portion of a first conductive type semiconductor substrate, forming a plurality of field oxide layers on the semiconductor substrate and the well, forming a mask on the semiconductor substrate and the well so as to form a first conductive impurity layer in the well, forming a first conductive type impurity layer by implanting and annealing first conductive type impurity ions in the well using the mask, removing the mask, forming a gate electrode on the field oxide layer, the drift layer and the well, and forming a source in the well adjacent to an end portion of the gate electrode and a drain in the first conductive type impurity layer at an end portion of the field oxide layer adjacent to the other end portion of the gate electrode.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific example, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. | {
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The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits and, more particularly, to a process for forming dual damascene structures in an integrated circuit.
Single damascene is an interconnection fabrication process for integrated circuits in which grooves are formed in an insulating layer and filled with a conductive material to form interconnects. Dual damascene is a multi-level interconnection process in which, in addition to forming the grooves of single damascene, conductive contact (or via) openings are also formed in the insulating layer. A conductive material is formed in the grooves and conductive contact (or via) openings.
In one standard dual damascene process, a first oxide layer is deposited over a conductive structure. A hard mask is formed over the first oxide layer and a first patterned photoresist layer is formed on the hard mask. The hard mask is patterned using the first photoresist layer as a pattern. The first photoresist layer is removed and a second oxide layer is then formed over the hard mask.
A second patterned photoresist layer is formed over the second oxide layer. Both the first oxide layer and the second oxide layer are etched to form the dual damascene opening. The first oxide layer is etched using the hard mask as a pattern and the underlying conductive structure as an etch stop. The second oxide layer is etched using the second photoresist layer as a pattern and the hard mask as an etch stop. The second photoresist layer is then stripped.
This process involves a combination of different steps to form the dual damascene structure. For example, the hardmask is patterned prior to forming the second dielectric layer. Thus, the partially fabricated integrated circuit is transferred between different processing systems to perform the different deposition and patterning steps.
In another dual damascene process, a dielectric is formed and patterned using a first photoresist. The first photoresist is removed and the dielectric is patterned again using a second photoresist. The vias and grooves are formed using the different patterning steps. This process uses a timed etch to control the depth of the grooves. This process is difficult to control. Thus, it is desirable to develop a process that reduces the complexity of the process to form a dual damascene structure.
The present invention is directed to a process for forming a dual damascene structure. The process includes forming a stack including insulating layers and a stop layer where two masks are formed above the stack. One of the masks is used to form via or contact openings in the insulating layers and the second mask is used to form grooves for interconnections in the insulating layers. In one embodiment, the via or contact openings are formed prior to the grooves.
By using the two mask layers after the stack is formed, the number of processing steps and movement of the partially fabricated integrated circuit between systems may be reduced. In other words, the insulating layers and the etch stop may be formed and then subsequently patterned to form the dual damascene structure. Further, the insulating layer and the etch stop layer may be formed in the same chamber or cluster of chambers.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, but are not restrictive, of the invention. | {
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The invention relates generally to methods for dispersing additives effective to reduce constituents such as carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke into the cigarettes. More specifically, the invention relates to methods for making cigarettes, which involve evenly dispersing very fine particles of additives capable of reducing the amounts of various constituents in tobacco smoke throughout the tobacco rod portion of a cigarette.
Smoking articles, such as cigarettes or cigars, produce both mainstream smoke during a puff and sidestream smoke during static burning. One constituent of both mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke is carbon monoxide (CO). The reduction of carbon monoxide in smoke is desirable.
Catalysts, sorbents, and/or oxidants for smoking articles, which contribute to the reduction of constituents in the smoke, such as carbon monoxide, are disclosed in the following: U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,127 issued to Snider et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,516 issued to Bowen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,684 issued to Yamazaki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,758 issued to Rongved, U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,838 issued to Quincy, III et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,684 issued to Shannon et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,374 issued to Deffeves et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,553 issued to Cohn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,847 issued to Owens, U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,348 issued to Seehofer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,151 issued to Martin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,416, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,214. Published applications WO 02/24005, WO 87/06104, WO 00/40104 and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2002/0002979A1, 2003/0037792 A1and 2002/0062834 A1 also refer to catalysts, sorbents, and/or oxidants. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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When communication is performed in a WLAN system, errors of transmitted information bits often occur serially. However, channel coding works only in a case of detecting and correcting a single error or a short string of errors.
To resolve the foregoing problem, an interleaving processing technology is used to process transmitted data bits. After the interleaving processing technology is used, consecutive transmitted data bits are scattered, and the transmitted data bits can be sent in a non-consecutive manner. In this way, even if a string of errors occurs in a transmission process, when a message of a successive bit string is restored, the errors become a single (or relatively short) error. In this case, the error is corrected by using a correction function of the channel coding, so that the original transmitted data bits can be restored more accurately.
In the 802.11a/g protocol, sub-interleaving processing needs to be performed on the transmitted data bits twice. In the 802.11n/ac/ah protocol, sub-interleaving processing needs to be performed three times. An interleaving processing parameter of any time of sub-interleaving processing may be determined according to a quantity of data subcarriers, that is, when the quantity of data subcarriers changes, the interleaving processing parameter also needs to change accordingly.
In addition, in the 802.11a/g/n/ac/ah protocol, an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) technology is used to perform data transmission. OFDM is a multi-carrier technology in which a frequency domain is divided into multiple mutually orthogonal data subcarriers, modulated signals that are corresponding to transmitted data bits and that are obtained after interleaving processing and modulation are respectively mapped to corresponding data subcarriers for transmission, and a quantity of data subcarriers is fixed.
To further improve transmission efficiency of a multi-user system, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technology is introduced into a next-generation WLAN standard. According to OFDMA, a transmission bandwidth is divided into a series of orthogonal subcarrier sets that do not overlap with each other, and different subcarrier sets are allocated to different orthogonal frequency division multiple access users, to achieve multiple access. Compared with the OFDM technology, an OFDMA system may dynamically allocate an available bandwidth resource to a user in need, thereby facilitating optimized utilization of system resources. Different subcarrier sets in each OFDM symbol are allocated to different users. Consequently, an original fullband interleaving solution causes data interleaving between different users, thereby affecting optimized user subcarrier allocation. Therefore, in the next-generation WLAN technology, an effective bit interleaving solution needs to be redesigned for a frequency band occupied by each user in the OFDMA system, to improve system performance with a lowest possibility of increasing system complexity. | {
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The invention relates to an operating device for an electrical appliance, preferably an electrical heating appliance such as a cooker.
DE 198 59 105 discloses an operating device for an electrical appliance having a type of magnetic sliding key. The sliding key is placed on a glass ceramic plate of a cooker and has a magnetic guide. By so-called keying, i.e. linear movements in different and in particular opposing directions, it is possible to release switching signals and therefore operate the electrical appliance. However, only a limited number of operating functions is possible.
The problem of the invention is to provide an operating device for an electrical appliance permitting further extensions to operating functionalities.
This problem is solved by an operating device having the features of claim 1. Advantageous and preferred developments of the invention form the subject matter of further claims and are described in greater detail hereinafter. By express reference the wording of the claims is made into part of the content of the description.
According to the invention the operating device and in particular the entire operating means, which can in particular assume the complete operation of at least one functional unit of the electrical appliance, has an operating unit with a rotary toggle. A rotary toggle has the advantage that radial position signals can be very readily differentiated. On generating a position signal as a function of a specific rotation, in the case of several rotations of the rotary toggle a randomly large number of position signals can be generated.
The rotary toggle is mounted so as to rotate on a bearing device forming part of the operating device. There are also signalling means with which, as a function of a position and/or a position change of the rotary toggle, signals can be generated. For processing said signals the operating device has a control mechanism. As a function thereof the electrical appliance or a functional unit thereof is influenced or controlled.
According to the invention, in addition to a rotary movement, the rotary toggle is movably mounted in at least one direction in such a way that it can perform a linear movement. For this purpose further signalling means are provided for detecting the linear movement of the rotary toggle and which can be converted into signals for the control mechanism.
Thus, a combined rotary-sliding toggle for operating an electrical appliance is created. It is advantageously possible by a linear or sliding movement in a specific direction to make a specific choice for a power scale or the like. This power scale can then be adjusted by a subsequent rotary movement. It is also possible by means of a rotary movement to pass or leaf through a menu. With a corresponding linear movement it is then possible to jump into a submenu or to perform a selection or confirmation.
According to a further development of the invention, the bearing device can be constructed in such a way that the operating unit is removably fixed to a cover of the electrical appliance. For this purpose a holding power is provided, which is preferably non-contacting or has an external power effect. Advantageously use is e.g. made of holding magnets, which can be provided in the bearing device and/or on the electrical appliance cover. With such a construction it is possible to remove the operating unit, e.g. for safety reasons. This also makes it possible to operate several electrical appliances with the same operating unit.
The rotary toggle can be rotated about a rotation axis and in particular a single rotation axis. A linear movement advantageously takes place substantially radially thereto. In particular, the bearing device is constructed in such a way that the rotary toggle is automatically reset following the performance of a linear movement or following release. As a result the rotary toggle more particularly and in particular exclusively can perform the rotary operation in one position, which is advantageously a middle or normal position.
In a particularly preferred development of the invention not only is the operating unit constructed so as to be removable from the cover, but this also applies to at least most of the bearing device. It is possible for the rotary toggle and bearing device to form a constructional unit or a separate operating unit. The latter can be fixed in different ways to a cover or the like of an electrical appliance and held there. It is merely necessary to either place the signalling means on the cover or, if they are also provided in the operating unit, to have a signal transmission from the operating unit to the electrical appliance. This can make it possible to bring about a simpler construction of the electrical appliance. The operating functionalities together with the detection of position signals are completely present in the operating device.
The bearing device can have a type of base plate or case, which can be fixed or engaged on the cover. The base plate is preferably fixed to the cover by external power action, which can be magnetically.
According to a further development of the invention it is possible for the rotary toggle to perform the linear movement relative to a base plate or mounting support of the bearing device. Alternatively or additionally it is possible for the rotary toggle and base plate to perform a linear movement with respect to the cover. Thus, the linear movement of the rotary toggle can take place either with respect to the base plate or, together with said base plate, with respect to the cover.
A guidance of the linear movement and in particular also the rotary movement can take place advantageously in contact-free manner by external power action, such as by magnetic power or force. Thus, such a guidance involves a certain expenditure. However, it has the advantage of being free from wear and of permitting a closed surface of the cover. Alternatively it is possible for certain variants of the invention to have guidance by mechanical guidance means.
Part of the signalling means are advantageously provided in the rotary toggle and can be a functional half of signalling means comprising at least two cooperating parts. Advantageously the signalling means or the other functional half of the signalling means can be located on the bearing device or on a base plate of the latter. It is also possible to provide the signalling means or the other functional half thereof below the cover. Rotary and linear movements can be detected by said signalling means.
According to a further development of the invention the operating unit can contain display means making it possible to display optical effects, operating parameters or settings. For this purpose lighting means can be provided on a display in order to draw the attention of the observer thereto.
In an embodiment of the invention a display can be provided in the rotary toggle. As the latter can be removed from the electrical appliance and is to have no electric lines or connections, the power transmission for the display means can have a transformer-like construction. For this purpose corresponding coils can be provided on the cover, as well as the rotary toggle or bearing device.
The signalling means can also have position determining means with which it is possible to determine a position, preferably also the rotation angle position of the rotary toggle relative to a reference point or dead centre of the cover. For this purpose they can have, particularly as in each case one functional half of the signalling means, at least one signalling or signal magnet and at least one magnetic field sensor or Hall sensor. Advantageously there are several magnetic field sensors, which can in each case detect one position change of a signalling magnet. The magnetic field sensors are advantageously located in the movement path of the rotary toggle or the corresponding signalling magnets.
To permit a clear detection of an operation of the rotary toggle as a linear operation, but so that it is appropriate for use, not too complicated or costly and can be readily detected, up to the release of a signal or up to a stop member, it should be shorter than the radius of the rotary toggle or the extension of the latter in the operating direction. This makes it possible to leave the dead centre of the rotary toggle, which is advantageously used as the point predetermining the linear operation, within the extension of the rotary toggle in the inoperative position.
These and further features can be gathered from the claims, description and drawings and the individual features, both singly and in the form of subcombinations, can be implemented in an embodiment of the invention and in other fields and can represent advantageous, independently protectable constructions for which protection is claimed here. The subdivision of the application into individual sections and the subheadings in no way restricts the general validity of the statements made thereunder. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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System architectures that provide a solution by dividing a problem set into a number of smaller parts and processing the collection of parts in parallel at respective nodes have become increasingly common. Such distributed systems have come to represent an increasingly effective means of approaching complex problems due to a number of trends, including but not limited to improvements in parallel processing algorithms, the availability of low-cost power-efficient computing nodes, and the availability of high-bandwidth interconnect fabrics. Distributed system approaches are now used in a number of problem domains, including the processing of complex database queries, machine learning and other artificial intelligence algorithms, and so on.
Overall system performance in such distributed systems may depend upon a number of factors such as the number of processing nodes, each node's performance capability, the scalability of the parallel processing algorithms, the amount of node intercommunication required, and the performance of the interconnect fabric or fabrics to which the nodes are attached. Some applications nay require considerable communication between nodes (at least during certain phases of an application), making the interconnect fabric performance an important factor in overall performance. Given this, the architecture of the interconnect fabric may represent a major part of the total system design. Ideally, at least for some applications, distributed systems would employ an all-to-all interconnect such that each node has a dedicated link to every other node in the system. However, in practice, this type of implementation may not scale as the number of nodes increases. Power, cost, size, and hardware/software complexity constraints may tend to make the all-to-all interconnect approach infeasible.
Consequently, distributed systems containing hundreds or thousands of nodes may often employ a hierarchical interconnect architecture. In such an approach, some number of links in the fabric may have to handle traffic associated with multiple nodes. Such shared links may not be able to sustain the amount of traffic that could potentially be generated if all of the multiple nodes operated at their maximum traffic-generating capacity. In a well-balanced distributed system, the probability of overloading a shared link in this manner may typically be low, although such overload situations may nevertheless occur occasionally. Depending on the traffic management algorithms employed at the distributed system, data movement between application-layer components may be slowed substantially during such situations. As a result, overall application performance may be substantially degraded, especially in scenarios in which multiple nodes transmit traffic based on greedy approaches (e.g., approaches which consume as much bandwidth as permitted by the protocols in use). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The invention relates to a lollipop display device and a method of erecting the display device.
Lollipop display devices are utilized in retail stores for displaying lollipops. The display device can be formed of a paper (e.g., cardboard) blank that is erected along fold lines. Holes are punched in the blank through which the sticks of the lollipops can be inserted.
Display devices of that type are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,647,154 and 1,966,734. Those display devices, once erected, present an outer housing having one or more rows of upper holes formed in an upper portion of the housing, and a panel disposed inside of the outer housing and possessing lower holes that are spaced below, and in vertical alignment with, respective ones of the upper holes. The stick of each lollipop is inserted downwardly through a respective pair of the upper and lower holes to be supported in a vertical manner, with the confection portion of the lollipop exposed at the top of the display device.
While such display devices are effective, they possess certain drawbacks. For example, the need to provide an inside panel positioned such that the holes thereof are aligned with upper holes of the outer housing increases the cost of the display and complicates the erection procedure. Also, the need to insert each lollipop stick through two spaced-apart holes makes the lollipop insertion procedure more difficult and time consuming.
Although it is possible to erect the display device and insert the lollipops at the store where the lollipops are to be sold, it is common for those operations to be performed by the lollipop supplier who then wraps the lollipop-containing display devices in plastic shrink wrap prior to shipping. It will be appreciated that the shipping space occupied by a multitude of such filled display devices is considerable, adding to the shipping costs.
Another type of display device is depicted in FIG. 1 wherein the confection parts 2 of the lollipops 4 are laid into large slots 6 of the display device, and the sticks 7 are inserted into holes 8 so as to be inclined relative to vertical. While such a display device may facilitate the insertion of the lollipops, the other drawbacks described above are still present. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In order to increase optical signal bandwidth, optical communications are sent over fiber optic communication lines as wavelength multiplexed signals. For example, a 100G LR4 optical transceiver signal consists of 4 wavelengths separated by 800 GHz traveling on a single fiber. Each wavelength signal is modulated at 25 Gbps so that when they are combined they provide a composite 100 Gbps signal. When received at its intended destination, the optical signal is demultiplexed into its individual wavelengths and then converted to respective electrical signals using photodiodes.
A typical optical transceiver demultiplexes the combined signal using thin film filters with pass bands that are separated by 800 GHz. Once demultiplexed, the different wavelengths that were combined to form the composite signal are steered to a wavelength specific photodiode using actively aligned mirrors. Other demultiplexers utilize Indium Phosphate semiconductor devices which can double as both a demultiplexer and a photodetector. Unfortunately, the Indium Phosphate devices experience high insertion loss, and must be kept at high temperatures due the high temperature dependence of the Indium Phosphate semiconductor material. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for production of semiconductor devices which permits easy removal of native oxide with a minimum damage to the substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma treatment has been a common practice in the past technology. It alters the treated layer only slightly with very little adverse effect on reliability and working speed so long as it is performed on the wiring section of large area. However, this does not hold true any longer as the result of recent miniaturization of semiconductor devices, particularly in wiring. Reduced wiring width, increased current density, and multilayer structure require better reliability. An increase in current density is accomplished by employing a conducting film composed mainly of copper which has a low resistance as well as a thin interlayer insulating film with a low dielectric constant. The process for forming an interlayer insulting film on a conducting film composed mainly of copper involves a step of removing native oxide from the conducting film. This step is accomplished by plasma treatment in a reducing gas typified by hydrogen and ammonia. This technique is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-188254.
Unfortunately, any interlayer insulating film with a low dielectric constant usually suffers from low density and poor mechanical strength. Consequently, plasma treatment with a reducing gas causes the interlayer insulating film to increase in dielectric constant or to recede. On the other hand, chemical treatment without plasma poses a problem with chemical solution remaining on or infiltrating into the insulating film. In order to address these problems, there has recently been proposed a process for annealing in a reducing gas. This process, however, still has many difficulties such as increase in heat amount to be overcome before it is put to practical use. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Extended Life Coolants (ELCs) for internal combustion engines are based on Organic Acid Technology (OAT) and include an organic acid and other ingredients such as potassium hydroxide, ethylene or propylene glycols, water, etc. Recently OAT based coolants have been replacing silicate based coolants because of the longer service life of the OAT corrosion inhibitors. Unlike silicate based inhibitors, OAT inhibitors typically do not deplete over the 150,000 mile/5 year service interval. Most manufacturers emphasize the low to no maintenance feature of OAT coolants. Over the life of the coolant, the organic acids in ELCs can become depleted or compromised due to “topping off” with water or conventional (silicate based) coolant, and for optimal ELC performance and engine protection, it is important to maintain the total organic acid content of the ELC within a particular performance range. Replacing an ELC when it is still in an acceptable performance range can result in unnecessary costs, and failing to replace an ELC that is no longer within an acceptable performance range can lead to engine damage and lost productivity.
To avoid damage to engines and devices that results from contamination or dilution of an ELC, it is useful to be able to determine chemically the remaining organic acid content in the coolant to provide information on the coolant status. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device for use in vacuum casting and more specifically to a combination vacuum chamber and casting flask. This device is used in the process known as the lost wax method for producing precision castings which is often used in the dental and jewelry fields. This process begins with the pouring of an investment slurry into a flask which contains a wax model of the desired end product. Once the slurry has hardened, the flask and investment are subject to a burn-out treatment to thereby burn away the wax model. The flask is placed over a vacuum source in order to pull air through the hardened investment. Molten metal is then poured into the void left by the wax model, and is pulled into extreme portions of the void. The molten metal is then allowed to solidify and cool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of casting flasks have been proposed in the prior art. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,429,322 to Brophy, a casting flask is provided with holes in its side walls to thereby aid in the drying and burning out and heating of the investment compound. A sleeve is provided to slide over the flask so as to allow the investment slurry to be poured into the flask without pouring out through the holes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,473,278 and 1,490,090 to Burns disclose receptacles to hold different sized casting flasks. U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,787 to Rasmussen discloses a method of vacuum investment casting in which the investment is removed from the flask before molten metal is poured therein. The investment is cast with a shoulder portion which rests upon the upper edge of a vacuum chamber during vacuuming. The book by Murray Bovin entitled "Centrifugal or Lost Wax Jewelry Casting" discloses at pages 80-81, FIGS. 180-181, a prior art vacuum casting machine. This machine is very large and is prohibitively expensive for the small businessman. It also has the disadvantage that in its use, the casting flask is cooled considerably, first, because it is initially outside of the chamber and subject to ambient air, and secondly, because the chamber is much larger than the flask and thus a longer time is required in forming the vacuum which itself rapidly cools the flask.
While each of these prior inventions has contributed to the casting process to various extents, there remains a need to improve upon the evacuation of air from the investment to thereby uniformly pull the molten metal into the mold. There is also a need to speed the vacuum process so as to cause less cooling of the flask. This cooling of the flask occurs at the rate of approximately 100.degree. F. for every minute it is exposed to the ambient air. Furthermore, the vacuum chamber and associated apparatus are often prohibitively expensive for the small businessman. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The use of polymeric materials for medical devices is an area where vast improvements in polymeric materials have evolved and are still evolving. Physical properties of these polymers can be fine tuned for use in different environments or to behave in a predictable manner. Polymers for use in fabricating IOLs need to be adapted allowing for smaller incisions during implantation.
In addition to polymers with physical properties adapted for use in the optic region, polymeric material can be adapted for various applications elsewhere. Various medical devices other than optic implants can incorporate elastomeric polymeric material, for example, implantable medical device coatings, breast implants, prosthetic joins and other body augmentation implants. These types of applications each require polymeric material that may be vastly different from another. The ability of a skilled artisan is necessary to fine tune the physical properties of the polymers.
In addition to medical devices and medical device coatings, polymeric material can be incorporated into topical formulations. A low degree of polymerization can be used, for example, to form a more liquid polymeric material which can be useful in such formulations as eye drops or hair sprays. Increasing the degree of polymerization can cause the polymer to become more viscous wherein the polymer may be useful in skin creams or lotions. The degree of polymerization can be tailored for the appropriate application and various other variations are possible.
In the area of ophthalmic devices, IOLs have been designed for ever smaller incisions in the eye. Elastomeric IOLs are typically implanted using inserters to roll or fold the IOL, insert the IOL into the capsular sac, and then allow the IOL to unfold once inside. Occasionally, the fold of the IOL before insertion may result in permanent deformation, which adversely affected the implant's optical qualities. Further, while foldable IOLs have eliminated the need for the large incision, foldable IOLs are not without drawbacks. In particular, both non-deformable and foldable IOLs are susceptible to mechanical dislocation resulting in damage to the corneal endothelium.
Another approach to small incision IOL implantation uses an elastomeric polymer that becomes pliable when heated to body temperature or slightly above. Specifically, the IOL is made pliable and is deformed along at least one axis, reducing its size for subsequent insertion through a small incision. The IOL is then cooled to retain the modified shape. The cooled IOL is inserted into the capsular sac and the natural body temperature warms the IOL at which point it returns to its original shape. The primary drawback to this type of thermoplastic IOL is the limited number of polymers that meet the exacting needs of this approach. Most polymers are composed of polymethylacrylate which have solid-elastomeric transition temperatures above 100° C. Modifications of the polymer substrate require the use of plasticizers that may eventually leach into the eye causing harmful effects.
Dehydrated hydrogels have also been used with small incision techniques. Hydrogel IOLs are dehydrated before insertion and naturally rehydrated once inside the capsular sac. However, once fully rehydrated the polymer structure is notoriously weak due to the large amount of water absorbed. The typical dehydrated hydrogel's diameter will expand from 3 mm to 6 mm resulting in an IOL that is 85% water. At this water concentration the refractive index (RI) drops to about 1.36, which is unacceptable for an IOL since lower RI materials require the optic to be thicker to achieve a given optical power.
Modern acrylate IOLs generally possess excellent mechanical properties such as foldability, tear resistance and physical strength. Acrylate IOLs also are known to possess desirable optical properties (transparency, high refractive index, etc.) and biocompatibility. While pure acrylic IOLs have desirable mechanical, optical and biological properties, they may have unacceptable molecular response times such that the folded or compacted IOL may not unfold as quickly as desired. A pure acrylate IOL fabricated to have a relatively fast molecular response time may be extremely tacky and lack the desired mechanical strength. In this case, the resulting IOL may tear and/or the resulting self-tack can unfolding difficult.
Pure silicone IOLs generally possess excellent mechanical, optical and biological properties similar to pure acrylate IOLs. Unlike acrylic IOLs, silicone IOLs generally possess faster molecular response times. In fact, the silicone IOLs may be so responsive that when folded small enough to be inserted through a 3 mm or smaller incision, the stored energy can cause the IOL to unfold more quickly than desired.
There is a need for a polymeric material with a molecular response time which makes it suitable for use near fragile body tissues, such as within the eye of a subject. There is also a need for ophthalmic devices in which one polymeric material is useful for both low modulus and high modulus elements of a single device to, inter alia, simplify the multi-part polymeric article manufacturing process and create better integrated multi-part polymeric articles in which the various elements of the device have a common value of a property such as a refractive index, but a different value of another property such as modulus, tensile strength, resiliency, or the like. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a trash receptacle. More particularly, the invention relates to a three-part snap together trash receptacle having a base portion designed to store a plurality of trash bags, a body portion designed to store a single trash bag full of trash in such a way as to allow the full bag to be easily removed from the body portion, and a lid portion that seals the body portion closed.
2. Background and Related Art
There are numerous problems associated with standard household trash receptacles that have made trash storage and removal a dreaded task. Perhaps the most frustrating task is attempting to remove a full bag from the receptacle. This is often rather difficult because the trash stored in the bag tends to bulge against the walls of the trash receptacle, thus making it difficult to remove. In addition, as the bag is filled up, air is often trapped between the bag and the receptacle walls. This causes a vacuum effect that makes it even more difficult to remove the full bag. Because a full bag is so difficult to remove, when the bag is pulled straight upward, the entire receptacle often lifts up with the bag rather than the bag lifting out of the receptacle. Therefore, the user must often call on the assistance of another person to hold the receptacle steady, or else the user must squeeze the receptacle between the knees while pulling the bag out.
Another problem with conventional style trash receptacles is that they do not force trash to be compacted within the receptacle. Therefore, when the full bag is removed, the user must attempt to shake the trash further down into the bag and compact it so that the bag may be tied shut.
Yet another drawback is that twist ties or other such fastening means are not provided with the receptacle, thus forcing the user to search for a tie each time a bag is removed. Still further, once the full bag of trash has been removed from the receptacle, the user must also locate a new bag to put in the receptacle.
Unfortunately, even properly positioning a new bag within conventional trash bags is often difficult because the walls of the empty bag tend to cling together in the center of the receptacle rather than fitting against the walls and bottom of the receptacle. This is especially undesirable as the bag begins to be filled, as air becomes trapped between the wall of the container and the bag. This prevents the bag from being completely filled, and makes it difficult to remove the bag from the receptacle once it is filled with trash.
To date, very few solutions have been proposed for remedying these problems associated with trash receptacles. Rather, it seems that more attention has been giving to improving the design of trash bags instead of that of trash receptacles. For instance, one such improvement includes the implementation of an integral pull-tie means around the upper edge of the trash bags so as to allow bags to simply be pulled closed when full rather than forcing the user to search for a fastener. While this and other such improvements may solve some of the above described problems, no prior art trash receptacles have been designed to solve the above described difficulties associated with conventional trash receptacles.
Thus there is a clear need for an improved trash receptacle device that remedies the above described problems. Such a device would contain up to an abundant supply of ties and bags, and would present the bags in a way that automatically dispenses a new bag in place once the full bag is removed. Such a device would also be designed specifically to ensure that the bag fills in a compact manner, and would also make it extremely easy to remove full bags. The present invention provides these and other such advantages as further detailed in the following Summary of the Invention. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In increasing performance of a FET, it is known that gate dielectric reliability vs. Tiny scaling is a major industry trade-off. For example, increasing the thickness of a dielectric material stack increases reliability of the semiconductor device, but this increase in stack thickness will also decrease performance. Conversely, decreasing the thickness of a dielectric material stack can decrease reliability of the semiconductor device, but this decrease in stack thickness will also increase performance.
Also, as MOSFET devices are scaled down to less than 100 nanometers in gate or channel length, highly doped, shallow source and drain extension regions can be employed to achieve high drive current capability. The dopants are activated by conducting laser annealing or other millisecond-scale (mSec) annealing of the implanted extension regions either prior, during, or after a more conventional, second-scale Rapid Thermal Anneal (RTA). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The striker assembly of the present invention is particularly adapted for use in a compact semi-automatic handgun. A striker assembly of the type used in such a small handgun usually comprises an intricate mechanism having several small interacting parts which require considerable manual dexterity to handle and assemble. Consequently, the occasional stripping, cleaning and reassembling operation essential to proper gun maintenance and which requires handling these small parts can prove to be a troublesome chore for the average gun owner. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Intravenous infusion therapy is prescribed where it is desirable to administer medications and other fluids directly into the circulatory system of a patient. Infusion pumping systems are used to pump the prescribed infusates from a bag, bottle, or syringe to the patient. For example, the infusion system of Epstein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,671, provides a computer-controlled infusion system using a disposable cassette and able to pump plural fluids through plural input ports and at least one patient output port simultaneously or in time sequence.
For many patients, an infusion pumping system is frequently used in conjunction with an electrocardiograph to monitor the heartbeats of the patient. The electrocardiogram (ECG) obtained comprises a number of leads, or records of potential differences, between electrodes positioned on the surface of the patient's body. Typically, a four-lead system is used to monitor the patient's condition. A twelve-lead system is used to obtain a more accurate ECG on which to base diagnoses and therapeutic prescriptions.
The ECG is a record of the electrical signals of the patient's heartbeats. An artifact in this record is undesirable because, if not detected and identified as an artifact, it may cause a physician to misinterpret the ECG. The strongest portion of the ECG is known as QRS and is the most important portion of the signal for interpreting the patient's condition. All ECG monitors filter out artifacts to some extent, and ideally the artifact will be too low to be confused with QRS. The twelve lead ECG monitors have a better capacity for filtering out artifacts of all sorts than the four-lead monitors. However, the potential for artifact occurrence still exists in all ECG systems.
Artifacts may be caused by a number of phenomena: room lights, patient movement, perspiration on the patient's skin. Artifacts have also been observed as associated with infusion pumping systems. Previously, it had been thought that pump-induced artifact was due to a piezoelectric effect of a changing strain rate in the plastic tubing inducing a miniscule electric current. It had been thought that all infusion pumps exhibited this effect, but little or no work on reducing or eliminating the effect had been accomplished. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Conventionally, as a dehumidification apparatus using a moisture absorbing material is known a desiccant dehumidification apparatus (see, for example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
The desiccant dehumidification apparatus dehumidifies indoor air as follows. That is, (i) a moisture absorbing material, such as zeolite or silica gel, applied to a permeable rotor (e.g., a honeycomb rotor) is exposed to the indoor air so that the moisture absorbing material adsorbs moisture in the air, (ii) the moisture absorbing material, which has thus adsorbed the moisture is exposed to a warm wind heated by a heater so that the adsorbed moisture is released as water vapor, and (iii) a high-temperature air containing the water vapor is cooled by a heat exchanger to take out the moisture. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Current and historical procedures for the treatment of colon and rectal cancer have been based, for staging purposes, upon the natural history of tumor spread, and thence, upon operative and non-operative options. Operative options generally have looked to the physical location and surgical resection of tumor. A variety of techniques have been brought to bear in the art with the purpose of aiding the surgeon in detecting and localizing neoplastic tissue as part of this surgical procedure. ("Neoplastic tissue", for present purposes, often is referred to as cancerous tissue, though malignant tumor and malignant tumor cells also are found in the terminology of the art. The term "neoplastic tissue" includes all of these.) A substantial amount of effort in aiding the surgeon in locating neoplastic tissue has been through the utilization of radiolabeled antibody for detection purposes For example, one technique includes the scintillation scanning of patients injected with relatively high energy, e.g. .sup.131 I labeled antibodies. Such photoscanning or scintillation scanning provides scintigrams difficult to interpret because of blood pool background radioactivity. Computer subtraction of radioactive blood pool agents and the use of two labeled antibodies (one specific for the tumor and one non-specific) have been attempted to enhance imaging. Nevertheless, such techniques have been found to provide little, if any, useful information to the surgeon, especially over and above CAT scans, magnetic resonance imagings, and like traditional techniques. Typically, large tumor is readily located by the surgeon by visualization at the operating theater and, in particular, through palpation, i.e. the feel of a tumor as opposed to that of normal tissue. To achieve operative success, however, it is necessary for the surgeon to somehow locate "occult" tumor, i.e. tumor which cannot be found by the conventional surgical procedures of sight and feel. Failure to locate and remove such occult tumor generally will result in the continued growth of cancer in the patient, a condition often referred to as "recurrent" cancer. In general, conventional diagnostic techniques as, for example, use of the classic gamma camera and the like, fail to find or locate occult tumor. As tumor sites become smaller, the radionucleide concentrations at given tumor site will tend to be lost, from an imaging standpoint, in the background where blood pool radiation necessarily is present in the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,840 by Martin, M.D. and Thurston, Ph.D., entitled "Method for Locating, Differentiating, and Removing Neoplasms", issued Nov. 8, 1988 (the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference) reviews such scintillation scanning techniques and discloses a much improved method for locating, differentiating, and removing neoplasms. Such technique utilizes a radiolabeled antibody and a portable radiation detection probe which the surgeon may use intraoperatively in order to detect sites of radioactivity. Because of the proximity of the detection probe to the labeled antibody, the faint radiation emanating from occult sites becomes detectable, for example, in part because of the inherent application of the approximate inverse square law of radiation propagation. The procedure is known as the RIGS system (RIGS being a trademark of Neoprobe Corporation, Columbus, Ohio) and is successful additionally because of a recognition that tumor detection should be delayed until the blood pool background of circulating radiolabeled antibody has had an opportunity to be cleared from the body. As a consequence, the photon emissions or radiation emitted by minor tumors compared to surrounding tissue becomes detectable in view of the proximity of the probe device to it. Fortuitously, the '840 patent discloses the ability of the radiolabeled antibody to remain bound to or associated with neoplastic tissue for extended periods of time with the radio tag still bound thereto. Moreover, even though the accretion of radioactivity at the tumor site decreases over time, the blood pool background and surrounding tissue (relative to the tumor sites) decrease at a much greater rate so that the radioactive sites can be determined readily utilizing a hand held probe positioned in close proximity with the tissue under investigation.
A highly important aspect of all procedures associated with colorectal and other cancers resides in the proper staging of the patient according to the extent and severity of the disease. Such staging aids in determining the appropriate post-surgical treatment for such patients. Stage I and II patients are believed to be curable by surgery alone, whereas Stage III patients, i.e. patients determined to have cancer spread to the lymph nodes, are treated with some form of post-operative therapy, such as chemotherapy. Stage IV patients, i.e. patients with metastisis to other organs, are treated with a variety of methods, including post-surgical therapy and/or surgical removal of the primary tumor. More severe metastisis typically is not deemed to be treatable by surgery and thus, surgery is not undertaken in order to spare the patients unnecessary trauma. Where the above-noted hidden or occult cancer is not found, residual disease is left behind and is not accounted for with respect to an evaluation of the extent of the disease to determine proper post-surgical therapy.
Colorectal cancer may spread by local invasion, lymphatic extension, hematogenous spread, or implantation. After the initial mucosal growth, a tumor may progress locally in several directions, but usually it protrudes first into the lumen. Mural penetration may result in local failure or peritoneal seeding.
Colorectal cancer first metastasizes to the perirectal nodes at the level of the primary tumor or immediately above it. Next, the chain accompanying the superior hemorrhoidal vessels is involved. In later stages of disease, when the hemorrhoidal lymphatics are blocked, there is lateral downward spread. In colon carcinoma, normal lymphatic flow is through the lymphatic channels along the major arteries, with three echelons of lymph nodes: pericolic, intermediate, and principal. If tumors lie between two major vascular pedicles, lymphatic flow may drain in either or both directions. If the central lymph nodes are blocked by tumor, lymphatic flow can become retrograde along the marginal arcades proximally and distally. The risk for lymph node metastases increases with increasing tumor grade, as does the number of lymph nodes affected.
The liver is the primary site of hematogenous metastases, followed by the lung. Involvement of other sites in the absence of liver or lung involvement is rare.
Implantation refers to the release of tumor cells from the primary tumor and their deposition on another surface. Implantation has been reported with tumor cells shed intraluminally, from the serosal surface through the peritoneum, and by surgical manipulation and resultant deposition on wound surfaces.
The contribution of RIGS-based surgery to enhancing the vision-based and touch-based procedures of the surgeon has been substantial. The detection and location approach of this system has permitted the identification and removal of hidden or occult tumor under conditions where otherwise conventional procedures would not have found it. Additionally, the system has been employed in staging, particularly in evaluating lymph nodes and other metastatic disease for staging procedures. The system has been demonstrated in clinical studies to substantially improve the staging of primary colorectal cancer patients which, having been staged by traditional means, were restaged to State III disease based upon the RIGS system as confirmed by pathology findings. As a consequence of such findings, patients so re-evaluated are eligible for post-surgical therapy, such as chemotherapy, resulting in improved patient management. The importance of such staging has been established in view of the National Institute of Health (NIH) consensus report concerning the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy to appropriately stage patients. "NIH Consensus Conference: Adjuvant Therapy for Patients with Colon and Rectal Cancer", JAMA, 1990; 264:1444-50.
The procedure carried out in the course of RIGS-based colorectal surgery involves, inter alia, a radionuclide survey of the lymph system and organs within the peritoneal cavity. Where a lymph node has been identified by the surgeon in the course of such survey by its association with a radiolabel in the course of surgery, it will be resected and immediately delivered to a tumor pathologist for intraoperative consultation. For this consultation, the pathologist typically carries out a somewhat standard technique which involves a sampling of the lymph node or tissue received, freezing, cutting of sections in a crystal, staining of those sections with hematoxylin-eosin or an equivalent stain, and examination under a microscope. Ideally, this procedure takes about five minutes per specimen, although extra time is allowed if multiple sections of specimens are to be examined. See in this regard, Cancer, Principles & Practice of Oncology, 4th Ed., vol. 1, p. 235, J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.
Because of the high sensitivity of the RIGS system, lymph node involvement may be identified at very early stages of colorectal cancer metastisis. This sensitivity may be occasioned by a form of biological amplification occurring wherein the radiolabeling system serves to identify sialomucin, a substance secreted by cancer involved cells, as opposed to the cells themselves. As a consequence, involved lymph nodes found positive by a radionuclide survey in the course of surgery which are delivered to the tumor pathologist may contain only a limited number of cancerous cells. Severely constrained by the time limitations of interoperative consultation, the pathologist often will not section a sample at the correct position and thus reports the resultant negative analysis to the surgeon. As is apparent, a technique is called for to aid the tumor pathologist in determining the proper location upon the specimen for carrying out sectioning with the highest probability of locating cell involvement in cancer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
With the advent of high speed xerographic copy reproduction machines wherein copies can be produced at a rate in excess of three thousand copies per hour, the need for a document handler to feed documents to the copy platen of the machine in a rapid, dependable matter was recognized to enable full utilization of the reproduction machines potential copy output. A number of document handlers are currently available to fill that need. These document handlers must operate flawlessly to virtually eliminate the risk of damaging the originals and generate minimum machine shutdowns due to uncorrectable misfeeds or document multifeeds. It is in the initial separation of the individual documents from the document stack where the greatest number of problems occur.
Since the documents must be handled gently but positively to assure separation without damage through a number of cycles, a number of separators have been suggested such as friction rolls or belts used for fairly positive document feeding in conjunction with a retard belt, pad, or roll to prevent multifeeds. Vacuum separators such as sniffer tubes, rocker type vacuum rolls, or vacuum feed belts have also been utilized.
While the friction roll-retard systems are very positive, the action of the retard member, if it acts upon the printed face can cause smearing or partial erasure of the printed material on the document. With single sided documents, this does not present a problem as the separator can be designed so that the retard mechanism acts upon the underside of the document. However, with documents printed on both sides, there is no way to avoid the problem. Additionally, the reliable operation of friction retard feeders are highly dependent on the relative frictional properties of the paper being handled. This cannot be controlled in a document feeder.
It is therefore the object of this invention to provide an improved vacuum feeder which consistantly feeds sheets in a positive yet gentle manner without multifeeds. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Anthrax is primarily a disease of sheep, cattle, horses, goats and swine caused by Bacillus anthracis, a gram-positive spore-forming aerobic rod that produces exotoxins. The organism is transmitted to humans by inoculation of broken skin or mucous membranes causing cutaneous or gastrointestinal infections, or by inhalation, causing pulmonary infection. Anthrax is a rare occupational disease of farmers, veterinarians and wool workers. B. anthracis is designated as category A biothreat agent because of the ease of weaponization of spores and its persistence in the environment. The bioterrorism threat from inhaled B. anthracis spores has increased the need for effective treatments and preventions of this deadly disease.
Inhalation anthrax is the most deadly form of the disease. The incubation period ranges from 1-43 days, with a mean incubation period of 16 days (Cieslak et al., 1999). The standard course of antibiotic treatment post-exposure is 60 days, but the length of treatment for full protection is currently unknown. The mean duration of non-specific prodromal symptoms is 4.1 days, and the mean duration of the fulminant phase is 1.1 days, after which the death rate approaches 100% in the absence of treatment (Holty et al. 2006). The events leading to death from anthrax in humans are not well understood (Jernigan et al. 2001), but the terminal stages of the disease involve bacteremia with vascular damage and injury to multiple organs. Anthrax pathogenesis has been reviewed (Dixon et al. 1999).
B. anthracis produces two exotoxins, Edema Toxin (EdTx) and Lethal Toxin (LeTx). During the initial phases of the disease, the toxins cause destruction of the lymphatic tissue, helping the bacteria gain access to the blood stream (Dixon et al., 1999). They also impair the function of leukocytes that are crucial for phagocytosis and mounting an immune response (O'Brien et al. 1985; Comer et al. 2005; During et al. 2005; Erwin et al. 2001; Fang et al. 2006). EdTx is composed of Edema Factor (EF) and Protective Antigen (PA), and LeTx is composed of Lethal Factor (LF) and PA. As single entities, none of these proteins are known to have any lethal effects. PA is the essential component for EF and LF entry into target cells. PA binds to specific receptors on the host cell surface and after activation by a furin-like protease, forms a heptamer complex and binding sites for either EF or LF are created. The complex (PA+LF or PA+EF) is then taken into the cell via clathrin mediated endocytosis. Upon acidification in the endosomes, the PA heptamer changes conformation, inserts in the membrane forming a channel and allows the two factors to enter the cytosol.
Victims of inhalational anthrax do not experience significant symptoms until a late stage in the disease when they are close to sepsis and toxemia. Antibiotic treatment is largely ineffective at the symptomatic stage in preventing death (Holty et al. 2006), in part because antibiotics do not target the anthrax toxins. To be maximally effective, antibiotic therapy must be initiated within hours of exposure to aerosolized B. anthracis spores, prior to the onset of symptoms (Holty et al. 2006). However, in the event of mass exposure to anthrax spores, as could occur in a bioterrorist attack, treatment would most likely not begin until 3 to 6 days post-exposure, on average, owing to the length of time required to identify potential victims and distribute stockpiled medication (Brookmeyer 2005). At that point, upwards of 25% of anthrax cases following exposure to a lethal dose of anthrax spores would fail to be prevented by antibiotics alone (Brookmeyer et al. 2005). Anthrax vaccines, which over the course of several weeks stimulate the immune system to mount a protective response against PA, are effective in pre-exposure prophylaxis, and can afford some protection from breakthrough infection arising from germination of residual spores after withdrawal of antibiotic therapy. Anthrax vaccines are ineffective when used alone in the post-exposure setting.
An area of unmet need for anthrax is fast-acting medical countermeasures to infection with antimicrobial-resistant strains. The development of such agents would be of great benefit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Machines, including wheel loaders, on- and off-highway haul trucks, vocational trucks, motor graders, and other types of heavy equipment generally include a brake assembly operatively connected to each traction device of the machine. Typical brake assemblies include a plurality of friction discs connected to rotate with an axle of the machine, a plurality of separator plates disposed between adjacent friction discs and rotationally constrained at their periphery by a brake housing, and a piston configured to push the friction discs and separator plates together, thereby generating frictional torque between the plates and discs that retards rotation of the axle. Brake assemblies that are cooled via fluid are known as wet brake assemblies.
Over time, the friction discs and/or separator plates wear and need to be replaced in order for the brake assembly to continue to provide a desired level of braking. Replacing the plates before they are completely worn increases the operating cost of the machine. Delaying replacement of the plates can result in reduced braking and/or damage to the brake assembly. Unfortunately, it may not always be known when the plates and/or discs are fully worn and should be replaced. This may be especially true for wet brake assemblies, as the plates and discs are enclosed and cannot be readily observed without disassembly.
The friction discs and/or separator plates can also be damaged before they are completely worn. In particular, if the brake assemblies are actuated excessively and/or without appropriate cooling, the plates can overheat. When the plates and discs overheat, they can warp from the elevated temperatures, causing the brake assemblies to function poorly or not all. Similar to worn plates or discs, damaged plates and discs can be difficult to detect.
One way to determine when the friction discs and/or separator plates of a wet brake assembly are worn is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,882 issued to Khuntia et al. on Feb. 5, 1980 (“the '882 patent”). Specifically, the '882 patent discloses an oil cooled disc brake having a disc pack enclosed within a housing. Wear of the disc pack can be checked by a service technician without requiring disassembly of the brake, by insertion of a pin into an existing boss of the housing. When the service brake piston is actuated to squeeze a new disc pack, an extension of the pin from the boss is measured. The measurement is then stamped on the outside of the housing for future reference and the boss is plugged. To measure wear at any time thereafter; the plug is removed, the brakes are actuated, and the pin is reinserted. The extension distance is re-measured and compared with the original measurement. If the difference between measurements is within a specified wear limit, the disc pack need not be replaced. If the difference exceeds the specified wear limit, new plates are required.
Although the method disclosed in the '882 patent may be acceptable for some applications, it may also be limited. In particular, the method may not provide an indication of failure that is premature to fully worn conditions. Further, the method may be time intensive and complicated, providing opportunity for error.
The brake assembly of the present disclosure is directed toward solving one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to a microtome for continuously cutting thin sections of specimens for electronmicroscopic examination. More particularly, it relates to a microtome employing electromagnetic means for the control of specimen cutting.
In a conventional microtome as illustrated in FIG. 1, a schematic front view of a conventional microtome, one end 4a of a lever 4 is fitted through a hinge 3 to a lever support 2 on a base 1. To the other end 4b of the lever 4 is attached a specimen holder 7 that holds a specimen 7a opposite to a knife 6 mounted on an inching stand 5. The specimen 7a is shown as being cut by moving up and down the lever 4 by means of a cord 9 having one end connected to a pulley 8 adapted to be reciprocatingly turned through a desired angle as indicated by the arrow, and having another end connected to lever 4 between hinge 3 and specimen holder 7.
In continuous cutting, the second and subsequent thin sections of the specimen 7a have been obtained by similarly operating the pulley 8 after sliding the inching stand 5 little toward the specimen 7a or thermally expanding the lever 4 by energizing an electric heater 10 wound therearound.
In such a known microtome, only the apparent cutting speed is controlled by externally regulating the motion of the lever 4 by its own weight. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately control the speed with which the specimen 7a is cut. Further, external vibrations add to the motion of the lever 4 because only one end thereof is cantilevered by the hinge 3. It has consequently been difficult to stably obtain continuously cut thin sections of the specimen 7a.
This invention is intended for solving the aforementioned problems. The object of this invention is to provide such a microtome as permits accurate control of the specimen cutting speed irrespective of its posture, stable production of continuously cut thin sections of specimen, and realization of an automated specimen cutting cycle, by use of electromagnetic means for the control of specimen cutting. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to public key cryptography, digital signatures and public key infrastructure (PKI). More specifically, it relates to the generation and use of records and digital receipts for transactions.
2. Background Art
As a result of the increasing popularity and acceptance of the computer and the Internet and other forms of networked communications, electronic transactions and documents are increasing in number and significance. For example, the volume of consumer purchases, business to business commerce, and stock trading and other forms of investing which occur over the Internet and/or wireless networks is steadily increasing, as are other forms of online commerce. In addition, the number of documents which are generated or available electronically and the number of documents which exist only in electronic form (e.g., the paperless office) are also steadily increasing.
The increasing number of electronic transactions and documents leads to a corresponding need for reliable methods for making records of these transactions and documents. For example, when a consumer purchases an item over the Internet using his credit card, it is desirable to make a reliable, non-disputable record of the purchase. If two corporations electronically “sign” a contract, it is desirable to record both the act of signing and the contents of the contract. In the paperless office, it is desirable to “digitally notarize” certain documents, thus ensuring that their existence at a specific time can be proved at a later date.
One approach to the records problem makes use of cryptography. The characteristics of pubic key cryptography in particular may be used in various ways to make strong records of transactions. For example, in the consumer Internet example, a consumer with a digital certificate might create a digital signature of his order including the credit card number, thus creating a record of the purchase. In the contract example, the two corporations might similarly create a two-party digital signature of the contract, each corporation using its digital certificate. In the digital notary example, a third party (i.e., the notary) might witness the document by affixing a time stamp and a digital signature to the document.
However, in order to gain widespread acceptance, these approaches should be intuitive and easy to use. One problem with past attempts to create an infrastructure of transaction records is that they were too cumbersome and difficult to use. For example, in many approaches, a digital signature is generated to witness a transaction and these digital signatures are stored in case there is a future need for them. However, digital signatures are unintelligible to humans. Thus, in order to find the correct digital signature for a specific case, the digital signatures must be securely stored with a description of the transaction. Once the correct digital signature is located, further processing is required to make the contents of the digital signature useful to humans.
These functions are often performed by separate pieces of software. For example, database software may be used to store the digital signatures and their corresponding software in a large central database. Browser plug-in software may be used to process the correct digital signature once it is located. However, this approach may be both cumbersome and non-intuitive. The central database requires access to the database in order to locate the correct records. Thus, it is difficult for one entity to send a copy of the record of the transaction to another entity, particularly if either entity does not have access to the database at the time. A similar problem occurs if an entity does not have the correct browser plug-in or does not know how to use the plug-in.
Thus, there is a need for simple and intuitive approaches to making and using records of transactions and documents. There is a further need for approaches which allow these records to be easily moved around without compromising their integrity. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly to, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device in which a facet phenomenon generated by a selective epitaxial growth (called SEG hereinafter) used in forming a Lightly Doped Drain (LDD) structure and an elevated source/drain structure of a semiconductor device is used, thus obtaining a junction region having a very shallow depth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a semiconductor device is highly integrated, the depth of a device junction becomes also shallow. Thus, in order to shallow the depth of the junction region, a method of lowering the amount of the energy when ion injection process is applied, is used. However, this method has the following problems that it could not obtain a sufficient beam current upon ion injection and it will increase the possibility of channeling in a low ion injection energy etc.
In order to solve these problems, a SEG method has been proposed, by which a gate electrode is formed on a semiconductor substrate and then a silicon layer is selectively formed only on source and drain regions so as to increase the height of the source and drain regions.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a device for illustrating a method of manufacturing a conventional semiconductor device.
First a semiconductor device 11 is thermally oxidized to form a gate oxide film 12. Then a conductive layer 13 for use in a gate electrode and a first insulating film 14 are sequentially formed on the entire structure. Thereafter, a portion in which the gate electrode will be formed is defined by photolithography process and etching process. Then the first insulating film 14 and the conductive layer 13 are sequentially removed to form a gate electrode. Next, a LDD region 16 is formed by means of ion injection process using a low concentration impurity. Then, after forming a second insulating film 15 on the entire structure a blanket etching is performed to form spacers on both sides of the gate electrode. Thereafter, in order to form an elevated source/drain structure, a SEG process is performed to form a SEG layer 17. Finally, a high concentration ion injection process is performed to form a junction region 18.
In case of the method of forming a LDD structure of a semiconductor device as explained above as SEG process is performed after ion injection process for forming the LDD region 16 is performed, it could not solve the above mentioned problems that it could not obtain a sufficient beam current upon ion injection process and that it may increase the possibility of channeling in a low energy. Further, due to inherent SEG process, there are problems that a facet phenomenon (marked A) is occurred at the edge portion of the gate electrode and that the depth of junction is partially deepened (marked 13) at the place (marked A) where the facet phenomenon was occurred upon ion injection process for forming a subsequent junction regions 18. As the facet phenomenon occurs at the edge portion of the gate electrode, it is difficult to form a LDD structure in which the junction depth at the edge portion of the gate electrode is shallow and that at the other region of the gate electrode is deep. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for treating crude oil, and in particular to an apparatus for separating sand and water from crude oil.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In general, it is necessary to treat crude oil to separate various substances such as sand and water from the oil before placing the oil in a pipeline, i.e. it is necessary to upgrade the crude oil to pipeline quality. Apparatuses for treating crude oil of generally the type described herein are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,536 and Canadian Pat. No. 1,152,019, both of which issued to H.R. Bull on June 25, 1968 and Aug. 16, 1983, respectively. While the Bull devices are effective in removing some substances from crude oil, it has been found that the treated crude oil obtained from existing apparatuses may still contain an undesirably high level of water. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Question answering systems (also referred to as question and answer systems) are automatic computer systems that utilize information retrieval and natural language processing to automatically answer questions, for example, presented in natural language. A question and answer system, for example, may perform a search of online or web-based data to provide answers. Given the large volume of available data, however, searching for an answer is time-consuming. There may be a significant number of candidate answers that is either not related or focused on the question or is of no interest to the user asking the question. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a treatment device for exhaust of a vehicle, and particularly to a treatment device, which is to filtrate harmful substances in the exhaust discharged from a vehicle, and to lower down the temperature of exhaust and the sound volume of generated noise simultaneously.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that the vehicle is an essential and important tool of transportation we need in our daily life. Although the vehicle brings us a great deal of conveniences, unfortunately the exhaust of the vehicle contains harmful substances such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon hydride (HC), nitrogen oxide (NOx), particle contaminant, and dark smoke. And these harmful substances pollute the air as soon as the exhaust is discharged into the atmosphere. Moreover, it is much more serious in big cities that a great numbers of cars produce a great amount of exhaust all the time to pollute the open air. It is known that the polluted air will hurt the human body and especially the respiratory track and the eyes of the child. Harmful substances spreading along with the exhaust in the air may accumulate without any indication to contaminate plants seriously after a long period of time. Then, the food produced by way of contaminated plants and the meat from the animals eating the contaminated plants may be contaminated either. Accordingly, it may result in a tremendous harm to the living environment for our next generation and their body health. Furthermore, the high temperature and the noise generated by the exhaust of vehicle (the vehicle with heavy capacity and the vehicle associated with heavy machine are much more serious) may cause defective influence to the sanitation of environment and our body health. In addition, the noise with high decibel makes us irritable, nervous, and uneasy and makes our hearing ability deteriorated. The present invention has been developed and completed by the inventor at last in order to reduce the air being not polluted by the exhaust of a vehicle, and promote the effectiveness of exhaust filtration, noise silence, and temperature reduction. Hence, our living environment and our body health are possible to be least harmed by the exhaust of the vehicle.
A major object of the present invention is to provide a treatment device for exhaust discharged from a vehicle, which may promote the effectiveness with regard to filtering exhaust, silencing noise, and reducing temperature.
Other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent by way of following description of embodiments with accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
One or more embodiments of the invention are related to the field of containers. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention provides for a top mounting can container that enables for example one handed carrying of the can and container and/or simultaneous access, through a straw if desired, of the contents of the can and container after momentarily removing and reattaching the top mounting container to the can. An alternative configuration is where the container is removed from the can and utilized as a separate unit or vessel. When a pull tab removes a piece of the lid in a half-circle shape along a score line a system is provided whereby snacks may be selectively lifted and shaken into the mouth without the worry of spilling additional contents from the container. In effect a spill-free container is created. The independent vessel may be reattached to the can when desired.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cans generally include an inner chamber but do not include an integrated upper container to hold other food items for example. There are no known containers that couple with cans. When carrying a can, it is cumbersome to also carry a container with food in the same hand. It is generally not possible to access the contents of the can while also accessing the contents of an additional container while holding both in one hand, in other words, under normal circumstances one hand is required to access the contents of the can and another hand is generally required to access the contents of a container.
Known containers that couple with cups include food containers that fit onto the top of yogurt cups for example. Known containers have to be removed from the yogurt cup and then flipped over and opened before the contents of the container and cup may be accessed. Once flipped and opened such containers cannot couple while in the upright position to the yogurt cup, and additionally such containers cannot couple with a can.
Known containers that couple with bottles include gift containers that fit onto the top of bottles for example. It is generally not possible to access the contents of the bottles while also accessing the contents of the gift container.
Thus simultaneous access of the contents of cans, cups or bottles and the contents of a container is not possible while holding both in one hand. This makes for difficult drinking/eating canned liquids, such as tea, soda, beer, etc., and snacks, such as cookies, crackers, etc., in malls, public zoos, theaters, amusement parks, sports stadiums or in any other venue. For example, it is difficult to drink and eat while standing and walking to a desired location, normally it is necessary to stop and sit to use two hands to eat and drink.
Known objects that couple with the top of a can include “COMBINATION MULTIPLE-CANNISTER CARRIER AND LIP PROTECTION DEVICE” as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,275 to Borg. A planar ring with downward pointing flanges is described that allows for multiple cans to be carried together as a unit. The problem with the device is that it does not enable a container, for example filled with food to couple to the top of the device and hence, two hands are required to carry the cans held by the device and a container, for example with food. In addition, there is no contemplation of accessing the contents of the can while the device is coupled to the can. There is no contemplation of thermochromic materials to show the temperature of any associated portion of the can or device.
For at least the limitations described above there is a need for a top mounting can container. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to variable reluctance magnetic transducers and, in particular, to a passive-type magnetic transducer especially suited for sensing the speed of a rotating object.
Passive-type variable reluctance magnetic transducers are well known and have been widely used as speed sensors in electric control circuits for monitoring the speed of an associated rotating object such as, for example, a gear, a wheel or a bearing. Typically, the transducer includes a permanent magnet which is adjacent to one end of a pole piece formed from a ferrous material. An opposite end of the pole piece extends outwardly from the transducer to define a pole piece free end. The pole piece free end is adapted to be spaced from projecting ferrous elements attached to a rotating object, such as the teeth of a rotating gear. A coil surrounds the pole piece for sensing changes in magnetic flux through the coil. The coil is connected to generate an output signal to an associated electronic control circuit. An example of a prior art passive-type magnetic speed sensor can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,790.
In operation, a magnetic field extends from the magnet through the pole piece and out into the air space at the free end of the pole piece. The return path of the magnetic field is from the air space to the other end of the magnet. As a ferrous element approaches the tip of the pole piece, the reluctance of the magnetic circuit decreases, thus increasing the magnetic field. As the ferrous object passes away from the pole piece, the magnetic field decreases. When the magnetic field increases, it induces a voltage in the coil in one direction and, when it decreases, it induces a voltage in the coil in the opposite direction. The passage of one ferrous object (such as one gear tooth) induces one cycle of AC voltage. The AC voltage is proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux in the magnetic circuit, and is generally proportional to the speed of the ferrous objects passing the pole piece, at least up to a predetermined speed. The frequency of the AC signal is directly proportional to the number of ferrous objects passing the pole piece per unit of time.
When a variable reluctance magnetic sensor is used, it is important to accurately fix the position of the face of the free end of the pole piece with respect to the trajectory of the periphery of the projecting ferrous element. In practice, it has been observed that an axial shift of the end of the pole piece by a few tenths of a millimeter in the direction of increasing the spacing separating the pole piece from the ferrous element can lead to a loss of useful signal.
According to the prior art, variable reluctance magnetic transducers are typical formed by inserting the permanent magnet and pole piece into a cylindrical cavity formed in a transducer core. The transducer core is usually molded from plastic material. As an alternative, the magnet and pole piece are placed in an end-to-end relationship and the core molded thereover. The alternate method allows use of a non-cylindrical pole piece. With both methods, the accuracy of the position of the free end of the pole piece with respect to the rotating ferrous object depends upon the cumulative tolerances of the length of the magnet and the length of the pole piece. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to methods and apparatus for rinsing tissues.
A body includes a number of sensitive tissues, for example, eye tissue, mucous membranes of the nasal passages and sinuses, and the interior of the mouth. These tissues are subject to bacterial growth, ulcers, irritation and disease.
Sinusitis is an inflammation of the mucosa of various sinuses, which are located around the nasal passages. Rhinitis is an inflammation of the mucosa of a nasal passage. Sinusitis and rhinitis can be caused by cold viruses, allergies to various allergens, smoking, bacterial or fungal infections, nasal polyps, deviated nasal septums and non-allergic hypersensitivities. Symptoms of rhinitis include: stuffy nose, runny or drippy nose, scratchy throat and dry cough. Symptoms of sinusitis are more severe than the symptoms of rhinitis. Acute and chronic sinusitis occurs when the sinuses are inflamed and the ostia, or passages, are blocked. Symptoms include: nasal congestion; runny or stuffy nose; white, yellow or green discharge; headache; night time cough; pain in the upper jaw or teeth; persistent fatigue; fever; loss of sense of smell or taste; and sometimes serious infections like meningitis, brain abscess or ear infections.
As indicated above, allergies can cause rhinitis and sinusitis. Allergens are organic particles that attach to the nasal mucosa or respiratory mucosa and lead to the development of an antibody, which subsequently creates a series of chemical reactions leading to symptoms. Every individual""s reaction to allergen exposure is different. Indoor allergens include dust mites, mold, pet dander and cockroaches. Outdoor allergens include pollens, grass and mold. Other substances such as cigarette smoke, perfumes and aerosol sprays are irritants that can worsen allergy and sinus symptoms. Allergens can also irritate the eyes and cause itching, tearing, redness, and swelling of the eyelids.
There are various methods to treat the symptoms of, or to cure, sinus and ocular disease, including surgery. An effective nasal rinse can significantly reduce or permanently cure the symptoms of nasal allergies and sinus disease. Saline nasal irrigations have been used and mentioned in medical textbooks going back many years. A wide variety of techniques have been described, including swimming in salt water, which often results in some degree of inadvertent nasal salt water irrigation. For persons suffering from allergies irritating the eye, a saline solution can flush the allergens out of the eye.
Nasal rinsing or lavage is a treatment for rhinitis and sinusitis that uses a saline solution dispensed into the nasal passage to cleanse and wash away mucus and allergy creating particles and irritants. Lavaging allows the sinuses to drain normally and reduces the inflammation of the mucus membrane.
Oral rinsing with a saline solution can be used for therapeutic purposes. Similarly, a saline solution can also be used to relieve dry eyes, conjunctivitis, or flush foreign materials out of the eye, and can be used on a daily basis.
Prepared saline solution is available for uses including nasal lavage, oral rinse, and ocular drops, however a bottle filled with saline solution can be quite expensive. Alternatively, saline solution can be prepared at home using household ingredients. However, there is a concern for cleanliness and contamination, and for ensuring that the proper concentration level and acidity is achieved. Thus, there is a need for a method for preparing a saline solution having a consistent and appropriate concentration that is simple, inexpensive and not easily contaminated.
Nasal rinsing equipment currently available includes various types of dispensers that can be filled with a saline solution and which are then injected into the user""s nasal passage. Conventional nasal rinsing equipment can be crude and may only be suitable for users having a certain size nostril. For proper use, the dispensing tip should comfortably seal against a user""s nostril. Equipment having a dispenser tip designed for a certain size nostril can be useless for someone with a smaller nostril, in particular children, such as the nasal rinse equipment described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,723 for a DEVICE FOR LAVAGING. Thus, there is a need for equipment having a dispenser tip that effectively and comfortably seals against human nostrils of varying sizes, including nostrils of children.
Another problem with current nasal lavaging equipment is that the configuration of the dispensing tip can cause the saline solution to be dispensed into the nasal passage without sufficiently dispersing before reaching the back of the nasal passage, resulting in an uncomfortable or painful sensation for the user. There is a need for a dispenser tip configured to allow the saline solution to disperse sufficiently before reaching the back of the nasal passage.
Conventional lavaging equipment includes dispenser tips that are compatible with power operated oral irrigators. The dispenser tip and oral irrigator can be used to direct the irrigation solution to the mucus membrane of the mouth or throat. However, the dispenser tips are typically only compatible with a certain model of oral irrigator, such as the dispenser tip described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,145 for a NASAL IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an apparatus and system for preparing and dispensing a saline solution that is simple to use, capable of being prepared and administered in most any location, relatively inexpensive and suitable for use by persons having nostrils of varying sizes, and that is compatible with most commercially available oral irrigators.
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for rinsing tissue with a saline solution. In general, in one aspect, the invention features a system for rinsing tissue that includes an iodine-free saline solution for rinsing tissue and an apparatus for dispensing the saline solution. The saline solution includes approximately 39 parts sodium chloride and approximately 1 to 2 parts sodium bicarbonate dissolved in water. The apparatus includes a cap and a container for holding the saline solution. The cap has a cylindrical lower portion; a rounded convex upper portion curving away from an axially aligned opening, from which a liquid is dispensed, located in the uppermost surface of the upper portion and curving downwardly to join the cylindrical lower portion; an open lower end; and a tubular conduit connected to the uppermost interior surface of the upper portion, the conduit having a hollow center axially aligned with the opening located in the upper portion. The container has flexible sidewalls and an axially aligned neck having an open end. The lower portion of the cap and the neck of the container are configured to join together with a liquid tight connection.
In general, in another aspect, the invention features a system for rinsing tissue, including a mixture for preparing a saline solution and an apparatus for dispensing the saline solution onto the tissue. The mixture includes approximately 39 parts sodium chloride and approximately 1 to 2 parts sodium bicarbonate, and is dissolved in water to form a pH balanced, iodine-free saline solution. The saline solution has a pH in the range of approximately 7.3 to 7.7.
In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method for rinsing tissue. The method includes preparing an iodine-free saline solution having a concentration in the range of approximately 0.9% to 1% by dissolving a measured amount of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate, the amount being approximately 39 parts sodium chloride and approximately 1 to 2 parts sodium bicarbonate, into a measured amount of water in a container with flexible sidewalls. The method further includes connecting a cap to the container. The cap has a cylindrical lower portion, a rounded convex upper portion curving away from an axially aligned opening from which a liquid is dispensed located in the uppermost surface of the upper portion and curving downwardly to join the cylindrical lower portion, an open lower end, and a tubular conduit connected to the uppermost interior surface of the upper portion and having a hollow center axially aligned with the opening located in the upper portion and wherein the conduit extends into the container. The sidewalls of the container are compressed to urge the saline solution out of the container and cause the saline solution to come in contact with the tissue.
In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method for rinsing tissue. The method includes preparing an iodine-free saline solution and dispensing the solution to rinse the tissue. The iodine-free saline solution has a concentration in the range of approximately 0.9% to 1%, and is prepared by mixing a measured amount of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate, the amount being approximately 39 parts sodium chloride and approximately 1 to 2 parts sodium bicarbonate, with a measured amount of water and dissolving the sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate in the distilled water.
Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following. The tissue can be a mucus membrane, eye tissue, skin, or tissue inside an oral cavity. The saline solution can be isotonic, and can have a saline concentration in the range of approximately 0.9% to 1%. The saline solution has a pH in the range of approximately 7.3 to 7.7. The exterior surface of the lower portion of cap can include rounded, vertical ridges. The opening in the cap can be between 2.5 mm and 4.25 mm in diameter. The conduit can have a slightly decreasing exterior diameter from the top to the bottom. The liquid tight connection between the cap and the neck can be a threaded connection. The container can have a marking to indicate the liquid level and be made of transparent material.
Advantages of the invention include one or more of the following. An apparatus is provided that can be used as a nasal rinse by children as well as adults. The apparatus includes a cap design that will provide an effective seal against the nostril of a child or adult. The cap can be used in conjunction with a power driven oral irrigator for performing a nasal, oral, or throat rinse. A flexible tube is provided that can be connected to most commercially available oral irrigators. The irrigation apparatus is simple to use, simple to clean, and inexpensive to replace. The user can inspect all parts of the apparatus to ensure cleanliness. Further, the user can sterilize the apparatus in the home using a microwave or boiling water to kill any bacteria on the surfaces of the apparatus.
A nasal or ocular rinse can be performed without having to bend the neck back and look upwards, as is the case with irrigation systems that rely on gravity to dispense the solution. This feature is particularly advantageous to persons who experience dizziness in this position, in particular elderly persons.
Another advantage of the rinse is that the mixture allows an iodine-free isotonic saline solution to be conveniently prepared that is pH balanced to the mucous membranes and tissue the solution would generally come into contact with. As such, the solution does not create a burning sensation when it comes in contact with said tissues. Generally, isotonic solutions are more comfortable and produce fewer negative sensations than hypotonic and hypertonic solutions when brought in contact with tissues. Greater comfort increases both patient tolerance of the rinsing solution and compliance with a course of treatment.
The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Oil and gas wells may be completed by drilling a borehole in the earth and subsequently lining the borehole with a steel casing. In many applications, one or more sections of casing and one or more liners are used to complete the well. After the well has been drilled to a first depth, for example, a first section of casing may be lowered into the wellbore and hung from the surface. Cement is then injected into the annulus between the outer surface of the casing and the borehole. After drilling the well to a second designated depth, a liner is run into the well. The liner may then be fixed to the casing by using a liner hanger. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A passive device is referred to as a circuit device that is not capable of providing power gain. A capacitor, an inductor, and a resistor are all considered as passive devices for mainly filtering or blocking higher-frequency alternating current (AC). For example, a magnetic-core inductor that has a coil wound on a magnetic core may used as a choke or a common mode filter, and an assembly of a magnetic-core inductor and a capacitor that are electro-connected to each other may be used as an LC filter.
There are three types of commercially available inductors, namely thin film type inductors, multilayered type inductors, and wire wound type inductors.
TW patent application publication No. 201440090 A discloses a multilayered type inductor (see FIG. 1) and a method of making the same.
The method of making the multilayered type inductor includes the steps of: laminating a first circuit plate 110, a second circuit plate 120, a third circuit plate 130 and a fourth circuit plate 140 (see FIG. 2A); attaching an assembly of a supporting film 150 and a bonding pad circuit 160 to the first circuit plate 110 (see FIG. 2B); transferring the bonding pad circuit 160 from the supporting film 150 to the first circuit plate 110 (see FIG. 2C); removing the supporting film 150 from the bonding pad circuit 160 (see FIG. 2D); sintering the first, second, third and fourth circuit plates 110, 120, 130, 140 and the bonding pad circuit 160 so as to form a multilayered circuit substrate 100 (see FIG. 2E); and scribing the multilayered circuit substrate 100 using a scriber 170 (see FIG. 2F), so that the multilayered circuit substrate 100 can be broken into a plurality of multilayered type inductors 10 (see FIG. 1).
Referring to FIG. 1, each of the first, second, third and fourth circuit plates 110, 120, 130, 140 includes a respective one of non-magnetic bodies 111, 121, 131, 141 and a respective one of first, second, third and fourth circuit patterns 112, 122, 132, 142. Formation of the first, second, third and fourth circuit plates 110, 120, 130, 140 requires numerous steps (a total of at least 13 steps), including punching each non-magnetic body 111, 121, 131, 141 to form holes, filling the conductive paste in the holes, forming the first, second, third and fourth circuit patterns 112, 122, 132, 142 and sintering before laminating the first, second, third and fourth circuit plates 110, 120, 130, 140.
The conventional method may tend to cause undesired non-ohmic contact and Joule-heating generated at the interfaces between every two adjacent ones of the first, second, third and fourth circuit patterns 112, 122, 132, 142.
In order to prevent the undesired non-ohmic contact and Joule-heating and reduce the steps of the method of making the multilayered type inductor, TW patent No. 554355 discloses an improved chip inductor and a method of making the same.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the method of making the improved chip inductor includes the steps of: providing a ceramic substrate 200 which has a thickness of 150 μm; laminating on the ceramic substrate 200 a first circuit layer 210 with a predetermined pattern (such as a spiral coil), a first insulator layer 220 of polyimide (PI), a second circuit layer 230 with a predetermined pattern, a second insulator layer 240 of polyimide, and a third insulator layer 250 which is made from a PI-based material containing inorganic additives, such as Co, Fe, and Mn, so as to form a semi-product; heating the first and second circuit layers 210, 230 and the first, second and third insulator layers 220, 240, 250; forming a plurality of scribing lines (not shown) with a grid pattern on the third insulator layer 250 using a laser beam; and breaking the first and second circuit layers 210, 230 and the first, second and third insulator layers 220, 240, 250 along the scribing lines using a roller so as to form a plurality of chip inductors 2. The total thickness of the first circuit layer 210 and the first insulator layer 220 is 20 μm. The total thickness of the second circuit layer 230 and the second insulator layer 240 is 20 μm. The third insulator layer 250 has a thickness ranging from 20 μm to 30 μm.
Since the size of the aforesaid chip inductor 2 is 1 mm×0.5 mm or 0.6 mm×0.3 mm, it is too big to be used in a thin and small electronic device, such as a cellular phone. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new and improved low thermal skew optic cable covered with successive layers of materials in such manner that heat or cold from a localized source is distributed relatively uniformly throughout the fiber optic cable.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of fiber optic cables as carriers for electronic signals is well known Frequently such fiber optic cables are coated with a plastic jacket which not only provides thermal insulation but functions as a slick surface to make it easier to pull a cable through a conduits, etc. The use of metallic braid and the use of a metallized polymer film under the braid are likewise well known in industry, for example, in coaxial cables. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention is in the field of card systems used for obtaining access to a wide variety of services either in a physical setting or in an online computer network setting. This field is concerned with the diverse techniques that are used in facilitating the secure communication of confidential or proprietary information (messages) between two or more entities. For purposes of this patent application, we restrict our attention to six types of cards—credit cards, debit cards, employee identification (ID) cards, drivers licenses, health insurance cards and social security cards. Under current technological practices, all these types of cards contain identifying information—usually alphanumeric strings specifying name of issuing entity, name of the party to whom the card has been issued, a specific number associated with the card, and period of validity, security code and signature of the card holder.
In the United States, physical or online transactions involving a credit card do not require the user to enter a password whereas transactions involving debit cards do require a password. Also, when credit card transactions are conducted, there is normally no attempt made to verify the identity of the individual using the credit card. This poses a problem since credit cards are often stolen. On the other hand, even if the cards themselves are not stolen but lists of credit card numbers held by various organizations such as banks, credit reporting agencies, large retailers and card processing companies are stolen, a significant number of fake credit cards can be easily manufactured very quickly and used effectively before the theft is noticed.
In the case of employee ID cards, it is extremely simple to make fake ID cards in order to gain access to buildings and computing facilities. In some special political or social situations, even if fake ID cards are not the issue, some employers may not wish to have either their identity or their employees' identities revealed for fear of having their assets compromised or their employees harmed or taken hostage for ransom purposes as, for example, diplomats. In the case of stolen health insurance cards and social security cards, thieves can establish bogus identities and submit fraudulent claims for medical and financial benefits.
The ability of crooks or malefactors to use stolen cards for nefarious purposes is made quite easy because the stolen cards contain names and numbers which are easily read and reproduced. One way to prevent this from happening is to create cards which contain no identifying names or numbers but instead contain other types of information such as images. Transaction processing systems employing images that are currently in existence such as CAPTCHA [See U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,698 B1 “Method for selectively restricting access to computer systems”], have two drawbacks—i) they use images as the second step in a two-step verification process and ii) the images themselves are totally independent of user information such names, card numbers and the like. Two recent patents that heavily rely on images for user identification are the OMNIGENE system [See U.S. Pat. No. 8,787,626 “The OMNIGENE Software System”] and the VIVID system [See U.S. Pat. No. 9,218,528 “VIVID: Image-based technique for validation/verification of ID strings]; however, these systems do not involve the use of imprinted cards nor do they require any password-based encryption/decryption techniques. The KAFKA system, a utility patent application submitted by the inventor to USPTO which is currently under review is also of some relevance to this patent application. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to hangers for use on portable power tools such as electric saws, for example. Frequently, environmental conditions for operation are such that the tools must be supported in working areas where flat surfaces are not available and hanging means must be provided.
In wooden frame construction, for example, portable power tools such as electric saws are carried and operated in locations where there are no table-like supports. Thus, an operator must look to other means for supporting a tool when it is not in use. Frequently a carpenter, for example, is working on joists or in roof rafters where there are no floor supports and there is a need for structure on a portable saw for hanging the same on a joist. The known portable saws have no hangers by which saws can be conveniently and safely hung in such situations.
2. Description of Prior Art
I refer now to U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,064 to Goss. This tool is designed for uses similar to the Klicker-Hackett Hanger, but is not as convenient or versatile. The Goss tool will hang a saw fairly well on a horizontal joist. The Klicker-Hackett Hanger will safely hang the saw at any angle from horizontal to vertical. The Goss tool also increases the working height of the saw. This makes it difficult or impossible to get the saw between narrowly spaced rafters and joists, to make necessary cuts. Since the Klicker-Hackett Hanger attached to the side of the saw, it dosen't increase the saws height. The Klicker-Hackett Hanger folds flat against the side of the saw when not in use. Therefore it dosen't increase the saw's width either. Thus, it is a safer and more convenient tool than the Goss Hanger.
The following patents described various tool supporting devices but none are as efficient as the Klicker-Hackett two position hanger.
______________________________________ 869,947 11/1907 Tupper 1,116,847 11/1914 Russell 1,303,908 5/1919 Johnson 1,948,932 2/1934 McMickle 65/65 2,262,832 11/1941 Caldwell 145/35 2,309,990 2/1943 Savi 248/360 2,467,905 4/1949 Ostberg 248/360 2,730,803 1/1956 Kimball 30/167 2,841,192 7/1958 Martin 30/340 X 3,886,658 6/1975 Wikoff 30/388 4,179,805 12/1979 Yamada 30/122 4,406,064 9/1983 Goss ______________________________________ | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present disclosure relates generally to a foil bearing with a split key, and more specifically, to a thin foil, hydrodynamic gear bearing comprising a split key to reduce or eliminate a non-synchronous or reverse on the thin foil, hydrodynamic gear bearing.
In general, thin foil, hydrostatic journal bearings are used to support a rotating element in air cycle machines. Historically, journal loading was assumed to be static, (due to gravity or acceleration) or synchronous (1 time per shaft rotation); however, recent experience has shown that there are environments that impose a non-synchronous, high-cycle load on the thin foil, hydrostatic journal bearings. This has led to bearing anti-rotation key cracking (and in some cases separating) initiated at a tight radius at a bottom of a formed key of the thin foil, hydrostatic journal bearing. The cracking is in part due to a geometry of the tight radius, which is an inherently high stress riser. Further, a forming operation necessary to fold the foil into a 180° bend exceeds an ultimate elongation of the foil itself, which leads to an orange peel condition and a degradation in the material fatigue strength. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Spray coating is a fairly diverse art. In some applications spray coating is done in the atmosphere, while in other applications it is performed in a chamber which is substantially closed, except perhaps for openings through which a product to be coated can be conveyed. Other openings into or out of the spray booth may also be present.
In some of the coating operations done in a chamber air can be tolerated in the chamber, while in other applications a solvent rich atmosphere is maintained.
In coating booths utilizing a solvent rich atmosphere, the coating material is generally atomized hydraulically and directed onto a substrate to be coated. By hydraulic atomization, it is meant that the coating material is atomized by means of a special type of orifice through which coating material is pumped at a high hydraulic pressure on the order of 300 to 3000 psi. No compressed gas is generally used in such systems to effect the atomization. When the coating material is sprayed some of the solvent present in the coating material evaporates upon discharge from the nozzle. Shortly, the solvent vapors displace any air which is in the interior of the coating chamber and provide a solvent rich atmosphere.
Solvent rich atmosphere coaters result in a condition within the spray booth where oversprayed material does not solidify on the interior of the chamber walls, or other interior surfaces. Such coaters exhibit other advantageous results known to those skilled in the art.
Of necessity, most coating booths have openings in them, for example, the opening through which a product to be coated is conveyed. Such is usually true of the coaters utilizing a solvent rich atmosphere, and as these processes are generally continuous operations, the solvent vapors which are being added to the atmosphere of the coater must be removed lest they escape through any openings into or out of the coating chamber. The vapors and contaminated atmosphere removed can then be filtered or recycled or both.
It is significant to note that any exhaust system used to prevent the vapors from escaping from the openings in a booth having a solvent rich atmosphere, need not and usually should not create a large amount of vapor flow. A large amount of vacuum or vapor flow would result in a condition where air could be drawn into the coating chamber whereupon the advantages of the solvent rich atmosphere would be defeated.
Prior art methods of preventing the vapors from issuing through the holes were inadequate for many applications. Many systems provided too much vacuum, and hence excessive flow volume from the chamber for certain applications, such as solvent rich atmosphere coaters. Other systems were built into the chamber itself and were difficult if not impossible to add to an existing system. Further, many of these prior art devices were bulky and required an excessive amount of space for installation. Further, the prior art devices were rather complex structures, both in terms of their mode of operation, and assembly. Further, complex assembly procedures added expense to the manufacture of such devices.
The present invention provides an improved manifold assembly for containing the vapors which might issue from a coating chamber. Various aspects of the present invention combine to result in a maifold which is simple in its design and air flow characteristics, and can provide good controllability of small negative pressures to result in small air flow volumes necessary to many applications. Further, various aspects combine to provide a compact, less complex, and less costly device which can be easily added to existing coating chambers.
Although the present invention has particular application to coating booths having a solvent rich atmosphere, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the manifold of the present invention will have uses in conjunction with other types of booths having a contaminated atmosphere as well.
The manifold comprises a front wall and a rear wall, both having apertures therethrough leading to an opening into or out of the coater. A side wall assembly is provided and attached to the front and rear walls to form a hollow chamber around the apertures. A collar is provided around the aperture and is attached to the front and rear walls. It is constructed so as to have or form holes therethrough to allow vapors issuing out of the opening in the coating chamber to be drawn into the manifold. Baffle means are provided in the manifold chamber creating a generally downward then upward vapor flow passage from and generally around the collar. A spray nozzle adapted to spray a precipitant such as water in a generally downward direction in the vapor flow passage is provided to create a venturi effect in the vapor flow passage which causes vapors to be drawn into the manifold. The sprayed precipitant also acts to scrub the vapors drawn through the air flow passage and cause paint particles and other contaminants to be precipitated out of the vapor. Drain means are provided at the lower portion of the chamber to remove the precipitants and precipitated contaminants. An exhaust port for the scrubbed vapors is provided in the vapor flow passage and is located above the drain means and downstream of the spray nozzle. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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CELP speech coders typically use codebooks to store excitation vectors that are intended to excite synthesis filters to produce a synthetic speech signal. For high bit rates these codebooks contain a large variety of excitation vectors to cope with a large spectrum of sound types. However, at low bit rates, for example around 4–7 kbits/s, the number of bits available for the codebook index is limited, which means that the number of vectors to choose from must be reduced. Therefore low bit rate coders will have a codebook structure that is compromise between accuracy and richness. Such coders will give fair speech quality for some types of sound and barely acceptable quality for other types of sound.
In order to solve this problem with low bitrate coders a number of multi-mode solutions have been presented [1–5].
References [1–2] describe variable bitrate coding methods that use dynamic bit allocation; where the type of sound to be encoded controls the number of bits that are used for encoding.
References [3–4] describe constant bitrate coding methods that use several equal size codebooks that are optimized for different sound types. The sound type to be encoded controls which codebook is used.
These prior art coding methods all have the drawback that mode information has to be transferred from encoder to decoder in order for the decoder to use the correct decoding mode. Such mode information, however, requires extra bandwidth.
Reference [5] describes a constant bitrate multi-mode coding method that also uses equal size codebooks. In this case an already determined adaptive codebook gain of the previous subframe is used to switch from one coding mode to another coding mode. Since this parameter is transferred from encoder to decoder anyway, no extra mode information is required. This method, however, is sensitive to bit errors in the gain factor caused by the transfer channel. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Traditional DNA sequencing techniques share three essential steps in their approaches to sequence determination. First, a multiplicity of DNA fragments are generated from a DNA species which it is intended to sequence. These fragments are incomplete copies of the DNA species to be sequenced. The aim is to produce a ladder of DNA fragments, each a single base longer than the previous one. For example, with the Sanger method (Sanger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74:5463, 1977), the target DNA is used as a template for a DNA polymerase to produce a number of incomplete clones. These fragments, which differ in respective length by a single base, are then separated on an apparatus which is capable of resolving single-base differences in size. The third and final step is the determination of the nature of the base at the end of each fragment. When ordered by the size of the fragments which they terminate, these bases represent the sequence of the original DNA species.
Automated systems for DNA sequence analysis have been developed, such as discussed in Toneguzzo et al., 6 Biotechniques 460, 1988; Kanbara et al., 6 Biotechnology 816, 1988; and Smith et al., 13 Nuc. Acid. Res. 13: 2399, 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,237 (1987). However, all these methods still require separation of DNA products by a gel permeation procedure and then detection of their locations relative to one another along the axis of permeation or movement through the gel. These apparatuses used in these methods are not truly automatic sequencers. They are merely automatic gel readers, which require the standard sequencing reactions to be carried out before samples are loaded onto the gel.
The disadvantages of the above methods are numerous. The most serious problems are caused by the requirement for the DNA fragments to be size-separated on a polyacrylamide gel. This process is time-consuming, uses large quantities of expensive chemicals, and severely limits the number of bases which can be sequenced in any single experiment, due to the limited resolution of the gel. Sanger dideoxy sequencing has a read length of approximately 500 bp, a throughput that is limited by gel electrophoresis (appropriately 0.2%).
Other methods for analyzing polynucleotide sequences have been developed more recently. In some of these methods broadly termed sequencing by synthesis, template sequences are determined by priming the template followed by a series of single base primer extension reactions (e.g., as described in WO 93/21340, WO 96/27025, and WO 98/44152). While the basic scheme in these methods no longer require separation of polynucleotides on the gel, they encounter various other problems such as consumption of large amounts of expensive reagents, difficulty in removing reagents after each step, misincorporation due to long exchange times, the need to remove labels from the incorporated nucleotide, and difficulty to detect further incorporation if the label is not removed. Many of these difficulties stem directly from limitations of the macroscopic fluidics employed. However, small-volume fluidics have not been available. As a result, these methods have not replaced the traditional gel-based sequencing schemes in practice. The skilled artisans are to a large extent still relying on the gel-based sequencing methods.
Thus, there is a need in the art for methods and apparatuses for high speed and high throughput analysis of longer polynucleotide sequences which can be automated utilizing the available scanning and detection technology. The present invention fulfills this and other needs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a conventional radio-frequency (RF) receiver. An RF signal having a frequency ranging from 55.25 MHz to 801.25 MHz is input to an input terminal 1. A single-tuned filter 2 is implemented by a signal variable capacitance diode and receives the RF signal input to the input terminal 1. The single-tuned filter 2 has a tuning frequency varying within a UHF band (367.25 MHz to 801.25 MHz) in response to a tuning voltage input to a frequency variable port 2a.
An RF amplifier 3 amplifies a signal of the UHF band output from the single-tuned filter 2. An output of the RF amplifier 3 is connected to a double-tuned filter 4 composed of two variable capacitance diodes and having a tuning frequency varying in response to a tuning voltage supplied to a frequency variable port 4a.
A signal output from the double-tuned filter 4 is supplied to one input port of a mixer 5. The other input port of the mixer 5 receives a signal output from a local oscillator 6 via a frequency divider 7. The mixer 5 mixes the UHF signal from the double-tuned filter 4 with an oscillation signal from the local oscillator 6 to convert the signal output from the double-tuned filter 4 into an intermediate-frequency signal at 45.75 MHz. An intermediate-frequency filter 8 is connected to an output port of the mixer 5 to attenuate undesired components of a signal outside of its range of 6 MHz. A signal output from the intermediate-frequency filter 8 is then amplified by an intermediate-frequency amplifier and output from an output terminal 9.
The single-tuned filter 2, the RF amplifier 3, the double-tuned filter 4, the mixer 5, and the intermediate-frequency filter 8 constitute an UHF signal receiver section 10.
A VHF signal receiver section 11 receives signals of a VHF band from 55.25 MHz to 361.25 MHz through the input terminal 1, and composed of a single-tuned filter 12, an RF amplifier 13, a double-tuned filter 14, and a mixer 15.
The single tuned filter 12 is composed of a single variable capacitance diode and has a tuning frequency varying in response to a tuning voltage supplied to a frequency variable port 12a. The RF amplifier 13 amplifies a signal at the VHF band output from the single-tuned filter 12.
The double-tuned filter 14 is connected to an output port of the RF amplifier 13 and composed of two variable capacitance diodes and has a tuning frequency varying in response to a tuning voltage supplied to a frequency variable port 14a. The mixer 15 has one input port receiving a signal output from the double-tuned filter 14 and has the other input port receiving a signal output from the local oscillator 6 via a frequency divider 16. The mixer 15 mixes the VHF signal passing through the double-tuned filter 14 with the oscillation signal from the local oscillator 6 to convert the VHF signal from the double-tuned filter 14 into an intermediate-frequency signal at 45.75 MHz. A signal output from the mixer 15 is transmitted to an input port of the intermediate-frequency filter 8.
A tuning section 18 is connected between input ports 17a and 17b of an oscillator 17. The tuning section 18 includes a series assembly 21 including a variable capacitance diode 19 and a capacitor 20 connected in series with each other and an inductor 22 connected in parallel with the series assembly 21.
The output port of the oscillator 17 is connected to an input port of a phase-locked-loop (PLL) circuit 23. The PLL circuit 23 supplies tuning voltages from an output port 23a to the variable capacitance diode 19 in the tuning section 18 and variable capacitance diodes in the single-tuned filter 2, the double-tuned filter 4, the single-tuned filter 12, and the double-tuned filter 14 for controlling the oscillation frequency of the local oscillator 6 and the tuning frequencies of the single-tuned filter 2, the double-tuned filter 4, the single-tuned filter 12, and the double-tuned filter 14.
In the conventional receiver, the mixers 5 and 15 output intermediate-frequency signals at 45.75 MHz. This requires frequencies of signals passing through the single-tuned filters 2 and 12 and the double-tuned filters 4 and 14 to be separated by the range of the intermediate-frequency (45.75 MHz) from the frequencies of the signals output from the frequency dividers 7 and 16.
Such conventional receiver receives a wide frequency range from the VHF band to the UHF band with the single local oscillator 6. It is hence not easy to separate the frequencies of signals passing through the single-tuned filters 2 and 12 and the double-tuned filters 4 and 14 by the range of the intermediate frequency from the frequency of the signals output from the frequency dividers 7 and 16. Accordingly, the passing frequencies of the tuned filters may shift from a receiving channel, hence reducing attenuation of any interference signal. As a result, an interference signal may be received directly by the mixers 5 and 15, hence causing image interruption.
Conventional RF receivers similar to the receiver explained above are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos.2000-295539, 2002-118795, and 1-265688. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The invention relates to a washer for an anchor rod, wherein the anchor rod is fastened in a bore hole by a mortar having an opening for the passage there-through of the anchor rod and a passage for the introduction of the mortar mass into the bore hole.
Known washers of the type described above are used, for example, with a mountain rock anchor. A rod-shaped anchoring means, for example, an anchor rod, is introduced in a surface that includes a bore hole . The washer is positioned on the end opposite the setting end of the anchoring means, wherein the washer has an opening for the reception of the anchor. A filler mass, particularly, a mortar mass, is introduced into an intermediate space, formed by the wall of the bore hole and the outer contour of the anchoring means, using a through passage arranged in the washer. The filler mass, contained, for example, in cartridges, can be filled into the bore hole using a cartridge compression device. The washer at least partially seals the opening of the bore hole because the washer lies on the top surface.
DE-A1-2102391 discloses a washer comprising an opening for the through passage of an anchor rod and a through passage for the introduction of a mortar mass.
The advantage of the known prior art is that it is simple to set the anchor rod in the bore hole because a known washer is used. The disadvantage of the known prior art is that the mortar mass must be located very close to the opening for receiving the anchor rod, when the space between the anchor rod and the wall of the bore hole through passage is small. In such an assembly, the risk of breakage of the washer increases drastically.
The object of the present invention is to create a washer that is also suitable for filling small spaces between the anchor rod and the wall of the bore hole through passage. Furthermore, the washer should have a high break strength.
In accordance with the invention, the opening for receiving the anchor rod and the through passage for filling of the filler mass are connected by at least one channel, whereby the course of the channel deviates from a common axis of the through passage and the opening.
The filler mass is conveyed via the channel to the space between the anchor rod and the wall of the bore hole through passage. Optionally, in such an embodiment, the through passage can be arranged on the washer. A blind bore hole can be substituted for the through passage and can be in angular communication with the channel. The channel can be configured closed or even open. Fracture along the channel is prevented by the configuration of the channel out of the common axis of the through passage and the opening. The advantage of such an embodiment is the non-straight linear structure of the channel which provides increased stability.
The opening and the through passage are preferably connected by at least two channels to prevent greater weakening of the washer near the channel. Moreover, such an arrangement prevents closure of the channels, for example, by the anchor rod.
In a further preferred embodiment, the channels are situated arc-shaped along a disc plane to provide a channel geometry that affords optimal fracture strength. The curved design of the channels prevents a fracture along the channel.
Advantageously, the channels are arranged on the side of the washer facing the bore hole and are at least partially open on that side. Such an arrangement provides a more economical production of the washer. Further, in such an embodiment, there is no clogging of the channels, which prevents the filler mass from passing through prior to the setting process. The user can, thus, easily check the functionality of the channels and undertake cleaning without significant effort.
The sum of the inner diameter of the channels is, preferably, approximately equal to the inner diameter of the through passage, so that no excessive resistance is generated when the filler mass is being filled, via the channels. The inside diameter of the filling apparatus used is particularly relevant; overall, the channels have the same conveyance capacity as the filling apparatus.
Preferably, the side of the washer remote from the bore hole has a conical recess arranged coaxial with the opening to receive a high tensile load. A nut threaded onto the anchor rod has, on a side adjacent to the bore hole, an end region complementary to the conical recess.
The channels are, preferably, formed using a stamping process to assure economic manufacture of the washer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Payment cards, e.g., debit cards, credit cards, and the like, provide a convenient and widely used payment mechanism at merchant locations around the world. Transactions using a payment card are very often conducted electronically. A merchant location may have one or more terminal devices equipped to read data from a magnetic strip on a payment card, e.g., when the card is “swiped.” A terminal device may be connected to a network, and may thereby communicate with a payment processor. The payment processor may in turn communicate with the issuing institution via the network or some other network.
Processing rules for different payment cards may be different. For example, present merchant terminals may be configured to process credit card transactions differently than debit card transactions. However, present merchant terminals have not been configured to differentiate between various kinds of payment cards, but rather have required user input or a query to a payment processor to make such differentiation. Either way, use of payment terminals has been inefficient and cumbersome with respect to determining a type of payment card.
Further, different kinds of debit cards, e.g., pin-based debit cards and signature debit cards (also sometimes referred to as check cards) have historically been treated differently. For example, pin-based debit cards have historically been associated with being able to assess a service fee charged by a merchant, whereas signature debit cards, due to card payment network restrictions, have not. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
High sensitivity detection of targets and in particular of biomarkers has been a challenge in the field of biological molecule analysis, in particular when aimed at detection of a plurality of targets and/or at detection of target of a certain dimension or present in the sample at a low concentration. Whether for pathological examination or for fundamental biology studies, several methods are commonly used for the detection of various classes of biomaterials and biomolecules.
Some of the techniques most commonly used in the laboratory for detection of single biological targets include gel electrophoresis, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), western blots, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), Florescent activated cell sorting (FACS), Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These methods have provided the ability to detect one or more biomarkers in biological samples such as tissues and are also suitable for diagnostic purposes.
Subsequent polynucleotide encoding approaches, developed by Applicants, provided improvements over previous techniques, and in particular, allowed performance of a highly sensitive and selective multiplex detection of targets. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates generally to fluid power systems and more particularly to a fluid power assisted steering system for a vehicle.
A prior art fluid power assisted vehicle steering system typically includes a pair of fluid actuated cylinders connected to vehicle wheels, a fluid reservoir, and a pump for pressurizing fluid in the system. An operator responsive control valve is in the system for controlling fluid flow to the cylinders selectively to effect vehicle steering. Fluid flow lines connect the system's components and define one or more continuous fluid circuits.
There have been proposals for systems which will remain operative even though a portion of such system is either damaged and non-functioning or malfunctioning. A problem which these proposals have sought to overcome is rupture of a fluid line with consequent loss of all or substantially all of the pressurized fluid in the system. Such proposals have included independent fluid circuits or isolatable circuit sections. Should damage occur to one circuit or circuit section, that damaged circuit or section is to be isolated from the rest of the system. The remainder of the system is to remain integral and retain as much of the system's fluid as possible. There have been proposals for circuit isolation which take place either manually or automatically.
One proposed power steering system incorporating an automatic cutoff for an independent circuit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,211 issued to Liebert et al. Liebert et al discloses a two cylinder system where the cylinders are disposed in a series fluid flow relation. When the vehicle is steering, pressurized fluid is directed from the pump to only one of the cylinders and that cylinder powers the vehicle steering.
During normal operation a primary circuit conducts pressurized fluid from the pressurized fluid source to one chamber of the appropriate one of the cylinders and a fluid resevoir receives fluid back from one chamber of the other cylinder.
In response to pressurized fluid entering and leaving the cylinder chambers communicating with the pressurized fluid source, a secondary circuit acts as a slave circuit merely shifting fluid back and forth between the cylinder chambers which are not communicating with the pressurized fluid source.
Should there be a rupture in a portion of the circuit conducting pressurized fluid between the pressurized fluid source and either of the cylinders, that circuit portion and the associated cylinder are automatically cut out of the circuit and the pressurized fluid normally conducted through that portion is diverted to the slave circuit and passes to the chamber of the other cylinder communicating with that slave circuit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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