Orally Active androgens are derivative of 7xcex1-methyl-19-nortestosterone. The compounds satisfy formula (I) wherein R1 is O, (H,H), (H,OR), NOR, with R being hydrogen, (C1-6)alkyl, or (C1-6)acyl; R2 is selected from the group consisting of (C2-3)alkyl, isopropyl, (C2-3)1-alkenyl, isopropenyl, 1,2-proandienyl, or (C2-3)1-alynyl, each optionally substituted by halogen; or R2 is cyclopropyl, or cyclopropenyl, each optionally substituted by (C1-2)alkyl, or halogen; R3 is hydrogen, (C1-2)alkyl, or ethenyl; R4 is (C1-2)alkyl; R5 is hydrogen, or (C1-15)acyl; and the dotted lines indicate optional bonds.

The invention is in the field of androgenic hormones, more specifically derivatives of 19-nortestosterone.
Testosterone derivatives are known. As a medicine testosterone itself, the natural male hormone, has many known drawbacks as far as methods of administration are concerned. Thus, inter alia, it has a short-lasting activity and is not very potent. The more potent dihydrotestosterone (5xcex1-reduced form of testosterone) is considered a health-risk, notably for the prostate.
A more potent androgen is 7xcex1-methyl-19-nortestosterone (MENT) disclosed in FR 4,521 M and U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,834. An important drawback of MENT, however, is its unfavourable kinetics which limits its use as an orally active androgen.
In the field of pharmaceutical preparations in general it is a common desire for a medicinal agent to be orally active. Oral dosage forms, e.g. solid dosage forms such as tablets and capsules, are among the most widely accepted forms of administration. In the field of androgens, a particular desire exists for the oral administration in connection with a utility such as male contraception. Since in the area of female contraception the word xe2x80x9cpillxe2x80x9d has almost become a synonym for reliable birth-control, it is evident that also in the case of male contraception oral activity is desired, so as to enable providing a male xe2x80x9cpill.xe2x80x9d
Several, mostly very old publications can be mentioned which form the background-art relating to groups of steroid compounds which include 19-nortestosterone derivatives. None of these references teaches orally active androgens.
Thus, in FR 1,432,561, published in 1966, 19-nortestosterones like MENT having an alkyl substituent at C-7 are employed as a starting material for hormonal agents having a double bond between carbon atoms 5 and 6. Alkyl groups other than methyl are not disclosed.
BE 861 224 concerns all possible esters of a wide variety of 17-hydroxysteroids. The disclosure, which dates from 1976, specifically teaches that certain esters are desired for prolonged activity of the steroids. Among the large group of steroids disclosed are oestrogens, anti-oestrogens, androgens and anabolics. A great many possible substituents at various positions is given, among which are methyl and ethyl at C-7.
Chemical Abstracts 110: 95601y (1989) refers to the acetate of 7-allyl-19-nortestosterone as an intermediate in the synthesis of 7-allyloestradiol.
EP 159 739 teaches immunomodulating agents of the oestrane series, including particularly xcex944- and xcex945(10)-oestrene derivatives having an alkyl substituent in position 6 or 7. Said alkyl substituent typically is methyl.
DE 20 43 404 concerns 7xcex2-steroids which have anti-hormonal activities. The alkyl substituent mostly is methyl, but ethyl and propyl are disclosed as well. In the synthesis of 7xcex2-ethyl-19-nortestosterone, which is a compound according to the teaching of DE 20 43 404, the 7xcex1-isomer is formed as well. It is not taught to use this isomer for anything, and the teaching of this document does not distinguish the ethyl or propyl substituents from the methyl moiety.
In a more recent patent application, EP 869 132, 7xcex1-propyl-19-nortestosterone acetate is disclosed as an intermediate in the synthesis of certain estrogenic steroids. The disclosure does not bear any relevance to androgens, nor to any use of the above compound other than as a chemical intermediate.
The background art further includes A. J. Solo et al., in Steroids, 40 (6), 603-614 (1982) which relates to the androgenic and anabolic activities of certain 7xcex1-alkyl testosterones.
It is an object of the invention to provide orally active androgens. A further object of the invention is to provide androgens which in general have a desirable high potency. According to the invention, these and other objectives are achieved by compounds satisfying the general formula I given below.
wherein
R1 is O, (H,H), (H,OR), NOR, with R being hydrogen, (C1-6)alkyl, or (C1-6)acyl;
R2 is (C2-3)alkyl, isopropyl, (C2-3)1-alkenyl, isopropenyl, 1,2-propadienyl, or (C2-3)1-alkynyl, each optionally substituted by halogen; or R2 is cyclopropyl, or cyclopropenyl, each optionally substituted by (C1-2)alkyl or halogen;
R3 is hydrogen, (C1-2)alkyl, or ethenyl;
R4 is (C1-2)alkyl;
R5 is hydrogen, or (C1-15)acyl;
and the dotted lines indicate optional bonds;
with the proviso that the compound is not (7xcex1,17xcex2)-7-ethyl-17-hydroxyestr-4-en-3-one (7xcex1-ethyl-19-nortestosterone) or a carboxylic ester thereof, and is not (7xcex1,17xcex2)-17-(acetyloxy)-7-propylestr-4-en-3-one (7xcex1-propyl-19-nortestosterone acetate).
The proviso is made in the recognition that the disclaimed compounds have been incidentally disclosed as intermediates in chemical synthesis, in DE 20 43 404 and EP 869 132, respectively. It is stressed that these compounds, as are the other compounds of the invention, are novel for use as a medicine in general, as an androgen, and more particularly as an orally active androgen. Hence, also the compounds disclaimed per se, form part of the present invention and the description hereinafter applies to these compounds as well.
The term (C1-6)alkyl as used in the definition of formula I means a branched or unbranched alkyl group having 1-6 carbon atoms, like methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, tertiary butyl, pentyl, and hexyl. Likewise, the term (C1-2)alkyl means an alkyl group having 1-2 carbon atoms and the term (C2-3)alkyl an alkyl group having 2-3 carbon atoms.
The term (C2-3)alkenyl means an alkenyl group having 2-3 carbon atoms. Preferred is ethenyl.
The term (C2-3)alkynyl means an alkynyl group having 2-3 carbon atoms. Preferred is ethynyl.
The term (C1-6)acyl means an acyl group derived from a carboxylic acid having from 1-6 carbon atoms, like formyl, acetyl, propanoyl, butyryl, 2-methylpropanoyl, pentanoyl, pivaloyl, and hexanoyl. Likewise, the term (C1-15)acyl means an acyl group derived from a carboxylic acid having from 1-15 carbon atoms. Also included within the definition of (C1-15)acyl are
[(C3-6)cycloalkyl]carbonyl,
[(C5-6)cycloalkenyl]carbonyl,
benzoyl,
[[(C1-12)alkyl](C3-6)cycloalkyl]carbonyl,
[[(C2-12)alkenyl](C3-6)cycloalkyl]carbonyl],
[[(C2-12)alkynyl](C3-6)cycloalkyl]carbonyl],
[[(C1-10)alkyl](C5-6)cycloalkenyl]carbonyl],
[[(C2-10)alkenyl](C5-6)cycloalkenyl]carbonyl],
[[(C2-10)alkynyl](C5-6)cycloalkenyl]carbonyl],
(C1-9)alkylbenzoyl,
(C2-9)alkenylbenzoyl,
(C2-9)alkynylbenzoyl.
Also included within the definition of (C1-6)acyl or (C1-15)acyl are acyl groups derived from dicarboxylic acids, like hemi-maloyl, hemi-succinoyl, hemi-glutaroyl, and so on. Preferred is hemi-succinoyl.
The term halogen means fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine. When halogen is a substituent at an alkyl group, Cl and F are preferred, F being most preferred.
It is understood that the 7xcex1-substituted nandrolone derivatives of the invention have the natural configurations 5xcex1, 8xcex2, 9xcex1, 10xcex2, 13xcex2, 14xcex1, 17xcex2.
The 7xcex1-substituted nandrolone derivatives of this invention have the natural configurations 5xcex1, 8xcex2, 9xcex1, 10xcex2, 13xcex2, 14xcex1 and 17xcex2, and possess also one or more additional chiral carbon atoms. The compounds may therefore be obtained as a pure diastereomer, or as a mixture of diastereomers. Methods for obtaining the pure diastereomers are well known in the art, e.g. crystallization or chromatography.
Unlike the known compound (MENT), which possesses a 7xcex1-methyl substituent, the compounds of formula I, which can be referred to as 7xcex1-substituted nandrolones, surprisingly have sufficient androgenic potency upon oral administration. None of the above, mostly very old references teaches orally active androgens, let alone that they provide the person skilled in the art with a clue to distinguish any other substituent at C-7 from the widely used methyl moiety.
Preferred compounds have R2 selected from the group consisting of ethyl, ethenyl, ethynyl, propyl, 1-propenyl, 1-propynyl, 1,2-propadienyl, and cyclopropyl.
Even more preferred are compounds in which R1 is oxo, R3 is hydrogen, R4 is methyl or ethyl, and the dotted lines indicate a xcex944 double bond.
Most preferred are those compounds in which R2 is C2, with the highest preference being ethyl or ethenyl.
The invention also pertains to the compounds described hereinbefore as a medicine. The 7xcex1-substituted nandrolones of the present invention being potent androgens, they can be used in, int.al., male contraception and male or female hormone replacement therapy. Thus the invention also pertains to a method of treatment of androgen insufficiency, by administering to a human male or female an effective amount of any of the above compounds. The invention also is in the use of any of the above compounds for the preparation of a medicine for treating androgen insufficiency. In the context of the invention, the term xe2x80x9candrogen insufficiencyxe2x80x9d is to be understood to pertain to all kinds of diseases, disorders, and symptoms in which a male or a female suffers from too low a testosterone level, such as in hypogonadal men. In particular, the androgen insufficiency to be treated by the compound of the invention is the reduction of the testosterone level which a human male incurs as a result of age (the compound of the invention is then used for male hormone replacement therapy), or when he is subject to male contraception. In the context of male contraception, the compound of the invention especially serves to neutralise the effect of regimens of male hormone contraception in which a sterilitant such as a progestagen or LHRH (luteinizing hormone releasing hormone) is administered regularly, e.g. daily, or it is used as the sole male contraceptive substance.
The androgens can be administered principally via any suitable route available to the skilled person. As indicated above, oral administration is preferred, most preferably in the form of a solid dosage unit such as a tablet or a capsule. The invention also relates to pharmaceutical formulations comprising a compound as described hereinbefore and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Thus the carrier may be in a solid form or liquid form, and the formulation may be an oral dosage unit such as a tablet or an oral solution, e.g. in a capsule. Methods and compositions for making such dosage units are well-known to those skilled in the art. For example, conventional techniques for making tablets and pills, containing active ingredients, are described in the standard reference, Gennaro et al, Remington""s Pharmaceutical Sciences, (18th ed., Mack Publishing Company, 1990, see especially Part 8: Pharmaceutical Preparations and Their Manufacture). The compound can also be administered via an implant, a patch, or any other suitable device for the sustained release of an androgen composition.
The dose of and regimen of administration of the compounds of the invention, or a pharmaceutical composition thereof, to be administered will obviously depend on the therapeutic effect to be achieved and will vary with the route of administration, and the age and condition of the individual subject to whom the medicament is to be administered, and/or or the particular contraceptive or HRT regimen in which it is used. Typical dosage amounts are 0.001-5 mg per kg body weight.
The compounds of the invention may be produced by various methods known in the art of organic chemistry in general, and especially in the art of the chemistry of steroids (see, for example: Fried, J. et al, Organic Reactions in Steroid Chemistry, Volumes I and II, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, 1972).
Essential is the introduction of a saturated or unsaturated 7xcex1-substituent, optionally substituted by halogen, onto the steroid nucleus.
For 7xcex1-substitution, several methodologies are known in the art, among others:
1)xe2x80x94Conjugate addition (1,6-addition) of organocopper reagents to suitably substituted (17xcex2)-17-hydroxyestra-4,6-dien-3-one derivatives, in which the 17-hydroxy group is protected as an ester, e.g. an acetate ester or a benzoate ester, or as an alkoxyalkyl ether, e.g. an ethoxyethyl ether or a tetrahydropyranyl ether, or as a silyl ether, e.g. a trimethylsilyl ether or a t-butyldimethylsilyl ether [for conjugate additions of organocopper reagents, see Lipshutz, B. H. et al in Org. Reactions 41, p. 135, Wiley, New York, 1992].
2)xe2x80x94Transition metal-mediated (TiCl4, AlCl3, ZrCl4, etc.) reaction of an organosilicon compound with a (17xcex2)-17-hydroxyestra-4,6-dien-3-one derivative as described above [again formal 1,6-addition; see e.g. Nickisch, K. et al, Tetrahedron Lett. 29, 1533 (1988)].
3)xe2x80x94Base-catalyzed conjugate addition (1,6-addition) of a dialkyl malonate or alkyl cyanoacetate to a (17xcex2)-17-hydroxyestra-4,6-dien-3-one derivative as described above [see e.g. Cruz, R. et al, Austr. J. Chem. 35, 451 (1982)].
4)xe2x80x94Lewis acid-catalyzed reaction of an estra-1,3,5(10),7-tetraene derivative with an aldehyde (Prins reaction), resulting in an estra-1,3,5(10),8-tetraene-7-alkanol derivative [see: Kuenzer, H. et al, Tetrahedron Lett. 32, 743 (1991)].
5)xe2x80x94Alkylation at C-7 of an estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-6-one derivative [see: e.g. Tedesco, R. et al, Tetrahedron Lett. 38, 7997 (1997)].
6)xe2x80x94Conjugate addition (1,4-addition) of a suitable nucleophilic reagent (e.g. an organocopper reagent) to a 6-[alkyl(or aryl)sulfonyl]estra-1,3,5(10),6-tetraen derivative [Schering AG, DE 42 18 743 A 1].
Using these methodologies, the compounds of the invention can further be prepared using standard methods known in the art.


Methods are provided herein for forming thin films comprising oxygen by atomic layer deposition. The thin films comprising oxygen can be deposited by providing higher concentration water pulses, a higher partial pressure of water in the reaction space, and/or a higher flow rate of water to a substrate in a reaction space. Thin films comprising oxygen can be used, for example, as dielectric oxides in transistors, capacitors, integrated circuits, and other semiconductor applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The application relates generally to methods for forming thin films comprising oxygen by atomic layer deposition using water as a reactant. Such thin films may find use, for example, in integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a self-limiting process, whereby alternated pulses of reactants saturate a substrate surface and leave no more than one monolayer of material per cycle. The deposition conditions and reactants are selected to ensure self-saturating reactions, such that an adsorbed layer in one pulse leaves a surface termination that is non-reactive with the gas phase reactants of the same pulse. A subsequent pulse of a different reactant reacts with the previous termination to enable continued deposition. Thus, each cycle of alternated pulses leaves typically less or no more than about one molecular layer of the desired material. The principles of ALD type processes have been presented, for example, by T. Suntola, e.g. in the Handbook of Crystal Growth 3, Thin Films and Epitaxy, Part B: Growth Mechanisms and Dynamics, Chapter 14, Atomic Layer Epitaxy, pp. 601-663, Elsevier Science B.V. 1994, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Variations of ALD have been proposed that allow for modulation of the growth rate. However, to provide for high conformality and thickness uniformity, these reactions are still more or less self-saturating.

High concentration water pulses for atomic layer deposition


In an inner wall surface of a casing, grooves are formed that correspond to end faces of an outer rotor and an inner rotor, and seal members are disposed within the grooves, the seal members presses against the end faces of the outer rotor and the inner rotor. Inclined portions are provided in sealing portions of resin members of seal members, the sealing portions covering a closed portion. With this configuration, an internal pressure in the closed portion causes the inclined portions to separate from an outer rotor and an inner rotor when a brake fluid pressure within the closed portion increases to the point that the brake fluid is excessively compressed, releasing the brake fluid that is inside the closed portion. It is therefore possible to prevent the brake fluid pressure from increasing excessively within the closed portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary pump that sucks and discharges a fluid and to a brake device in which the rotary pump is provided, the present invention being particularly suitable for application to an internal gear pump such as a trochoid pump or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
An internal gear type of rotary pump, such as a trochoid pump or the like, is configured from an inner rotor that is provided with an external tooth portion on its outer circumference, an outer rotor that is provided with an internal tooth portion on its inner circumference, a casing that houses the inner rotor and the outer rotor, and the like. The inner rotor and the outer rotor are disposed within the casing in a state in which the internal tooth portion and the external tooth portion mesh with one another such that a plurality of chambers is formed by the teeth.
A structure for this sort of rotary pump has been disclosed in which, in an inner wall surface of the casing, grooves are formed that correspond to end faces of the outer rotor and the inner rotor, and seal members are disposed within the grooves, the seal members pressing against the end faces of the outer rotor and the inner rotor (refer to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2000-355274). Openings in the inner wall surface of the casing and the end faces of the outer rotor and the inner rotor are thus sealed between a high pressure location and a low pressure location, preventing a brake fluid leak from the high pressure location to the low pressure location.
However, with the known seal structure that is described above, the seal surface pressure tends to increase, and the brake fluid pressure increases excessively within a closed portion among the plurality of chambers that is not continuous with either one of a suction port and a discharge port. This creates a problem in that, when the brake fluid is discharged from the discharge port while the closed portion is continuous with the discharge port, a discharge pulsation increases, which in turn increases noise. An additional problem is created in that the excessive increase in the brake fluid pressure within the closed portion causes the locations where tooth tips of the internal tooth portion of the outer rotor and the external tooth portion of the inner rotor come into contact to be pushed open by internal pressure, giving rise to brake fluid leakage around the tooth tips.

Rotary pump and brake device in which rotary pump is provided


Provided is a simple and easy method of producing an innoxious dry earthworm powder, while suppressing inactivation of the enzymes contained in earthworms. In the method, a homogenate obtained by grinding living earthworms is freeze-dried and the dried product is heat-treated at a temperature of 110° C. or higher but lower than 130° C. Preferably, the method according to the present invention comprises further a process for preparation of the living earthworms, which precedes the grinding step, comprising the steps of: standing the living earthworms under light for 10 to 50 hours; removing the dirt formed on the skin thereof, bringing the earthworms into contact with an organic acid for 30 seconds or less; diluting the acid with addition of water to adjust the pH of the aqueous acidic solution to a pH in the range of 2 to 5; standing the earthworm mixture under the pH condition for 3 to 180 minutes; and then washing the earthworms with water.

The present invention relates to a method of producing a dry earthworm powder, in particular to a method of producing an innoxious dry earthworm powder while suppressing inactivation of the enzymes contained in an earthworm.
Earthworms have been used from ancient times in oriental countries as drugs for prevention and treatment of various diseases, and have found applications such as intracystic calculus-contraction and releasing-stimulating agent, anti-choloplania agent, parturifacient, tonic, hair growth tonic, pickup, antifebrile, spasm-treating agent, blood flow accelerator, hemiplegia-treating agent, indirect analgesic, urination improving agent, anti-bronchial asthma agent, anti-hypertension agent and others.
It is necessary to remove the dirt of earthworm remaining in the digestive tracts, the deposit on the skin, and others for production of a medicine for oral administration by using the earthworm as the raw material, and various methods for that purpose have been proposed.
Examples thereof so far proposed include methods of producing a dry earthworm powder useful as an anti-diabetes agent, anti-hyperlipidemia agent, or blood pressure-adjusting agent, by immersing living bodies of earthworms in an aqueous solution of an alkali salt such as sodium salt or potassium salt, allowing them to excrete the cast in the digestive tracts, wet-grinding the earthworms, and freeze-drying the suspension thus obtained under vacuum (JP64-47718A, JP64-47719A, JP64-47720A and JP01-268639A), and a method of producing a medicine for patients with thrombosis, by immersing living bodies of earthworms in an aqueous acid solution kept at 6 to 26° C. for 0.1 to 5 hours, allowing them to excrete the cast in the digestive tracts, grinding the earthworms, degassing the homogenate, and vacuum-drying the homogenate, while the temperature is raised stepwise (JP03-72427A).
The inventors have also proposed a method of making earthworm excrete its content in the digestive tract by placing the earthworm under an environment in unpleasant habitat condition generated with organic acid (JP2008-081476A).
However, earthworm powders produced by conventional production methods had a problem that microbes contained in the earthworm are not sufficiently sterilized, depending on the drying step by vacuum freeze-drying and the like. Although measures such as alcohol sterilization were taken, these measures also had problems of increased labor and elongated period and thus of increased cost, and thus, there existed a demand for measures to solve the problems.

Method of producing a dry earthworm powder


In some examples, a telecommunications-network packet gateway can receive, from a terminal via a packet tunnel, a lookup request for a network address associated with a server name. The packet gateway can determine a profile identifier associated with the packet tunnel and retrieve, from a policy server, an associated profile type. The packet gateway can then select a nameserver associated with the profile type, and forward the lookup request to the nameserver. The nameserver can store a name list. Upon receiving a request, the nameserver can determine whether the server name is included in the name list and, in response, send a reply. In some examples, the packet gateway receives a request from the terminal for content, determines a profile type, selects a destination server associated with the profile type, and forwards the request to the destination server.

Modern telecommunications networks such as cellular telephone networks can support a variety of types of session, such as voice, video, or messaging. Fourth-generation (4G) cellular networks such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks and fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks such as the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G System generally carry streaming media or other traffic, e.g., Internet traffic, over packet-switched (PS) connections. Such packet-switched connections can provide greater speed and throughput than do CS connections, and can make packet-switched data from other networks, such as the Internet, more readily available.

Network access control based on profile type


The output buffer stage includes a half-bridge output stage having a first pair of complementary drivers connected in series between a supply line and a ground node, the high impedance state or conduction state of which is determined through a pair of control phases. The buffer stage includes a pair of switches controlled by the control phases, connected in series between them and connecting the transistors of the first stage in series. Each driver is connected in series with a switch, that is quickly opened to prevent under-threshold currents from circulating when the respective driver is turned off, and that is rapidly turned off when the respective driver is turned on.

The market requires ever faster memory devices. A limit to the maximum speed at which a memory may output data read from it is determined by the relative slowness with which output buffers of these devices produce the relative logic voltage on an output node. For this reason, the switching frequency of these output stages must be the largest possible for reducing switching times.
In general, reducing the switching times of the output buffers implies large time derivative values of the current absorbed by or discharged from the load capacitance. Because of parasitic inductances that characterize the connections of the supply pads of the device and external circuits, large time derivative values of the current may degrade performances or even cause errors.
FIGS. 1a and 1b show two output buffer stages with enable circuits of the PMOS transistor MP1 of the output buffer. Enabling circuits equivalent to those represented in the figures are used for enabling the NMOS transistor MN1. To prevent abrupt current variations it is necessary to accurately control the gates of the drivers MP1 and MN1. In practice, the gate of either the transistor MP1 or MN1 to be turned on is driven with a limited voltage gradient, via a current generator, as shown in FIG. 1a, or by a RC network, as shown in FIG. 1b, such to gradually charge/discharge the gate capacitances.
In both cases, because of the low slope of the driving voltage on the gates of the transistors, a turn-on delay Td of the transistor is determined, as schematically shown in FIG. 2 for the circuit of FIG. 1a (line 1) and for the circuit of FIG. 1b (line 2). For the illustrated case of the PMOS transistor MP1, this delay is given by the time interval necessary for reaching the threshold voltage Vtp. In the case of FIG. 1a, being I the constant discharge current of the gate capacitance of the PMOS transistor MP1, the following equation holds:Td=COX·Vtp/Ibeing COX the gate capacitance of the gate of the PMOS transistor MP1. The resulting waveform of the output voltage VOUT on the capacitor CLoad is as shown in FIG. 3. When a relatively high speed of the buffer is required, the turn-on delay Td may become of the same order of magnitude of the switching time, and this is unacceptable.
The known circuit of FIG. 4 circumvents this problem by driving the gates of the driver of the output buffer stage with a voltage having a stepwise-linear waveform with different slopes: an initial steep slope for rapidly reaching the threshold of the transistors followed by an interval with a relevantly less steep slope for reducing the disturbances (noise) introduced on the supply lines.
The charge/discharge of the gate node of the transistor MP1, in this first interval, is obtained by applying a current pulse of a finite duration δT as schematically illustrated in FIG. 4. In this case,Ipre·δT=COX·Vthwith Vth and COX being parameters that depend on the fabrication process and the working temperature, it is difficult to approximate satisfactorily the above equation in all working conditions: the time interval δT could be too short, thus penalizing performances, or it could be too long, thus turning on the drivers with too steep slopes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,263, of Micron Technology Inc., discloses an output driver that comprises a plurality of circuits for driving a pull-up signal of a data driver, and a control circuit that selects a completely pre-charged circuit among these circuits when the datum generated by the output driver is logically high.
Another approach is disclosed in the U.S. published patent application No. 2003/0059997, of STMicroelectronics S.r.l., wherein the circuit for driving the driver MP1 is depicted in FIG. 5. The buffer stage has a circuit for pre-setting the voltage on the gates of the drivers, to bias them at the turn-on limit voltage, in practice making the gate-source voltage of the drivers MP1 and MN1 equal to the threshold voltage Vth.
The gate of the driver MP1 is pre-charged by setting high the control phase EN. When the voltage Vin is the ground voltage GND, the gate of the transistor MP1 is set to a voltage VCC−Vd, being VCC the supply voltage and Vd the voltage drop on the nodes of the pre-setting diode MP3 biased by the current forced by the MOS MN2.
When Vin switches to VCC, the driver MN1 is rapidly set to the turn-on edge with a circuit dual of that of FIG. 5, and the gate of the transistor MP1 is gradually brought from VCC−Vd to ground. Therefore, the transistor is completely turned on and the output capacitor CLoad is charged at the voltage VCC, that represents the datum to be output.
This approach is less critical than that of FIG. 4 from the point of view of the pre-charge at the threshold voltage. Indeed, the pre-setting diode MP3 in FIG. 5 keeps the gate voltage of the transistor MP1 always at a voltage close to the threshold voltage without the need of imposing a safety interval, which by contrast is required by the circuit of FIG. 4.
Despite the fact that the buffer of FIG. 5 is not burdened by the common drawbacks, memory devices that use these circuits often have power consumption in a stand-by state that exceeds pre-established specifications that, according to design calculations, should have been satisfied.
From thorough analysis of the operation of this circuit, it has been noticed that when the transistors MP1 and MP2 are driven in a high impedance state, they are in a under-threshold conduction state, and this could explain the excessive power consumption in a stand-by state of the memory devices.
Indeed, because of the relatively large dimensions of the drivers, the current that flows through them in this state may be relevant. Moreover, this current is not completely under control when the working conditions, supply and temperature vary, thus it may even cause failures.


A flowerbox support bracketing comprising a plurality of similar L-shaped members and a generally Z-shaped member. The L-shaped members each have a first arm and a second arm, each arm formed with elongated longitudinal slots. The generally Z-shaped member comprises a vertical arm and horizontal top and bottom arms, the horizontal arms being directed in opposite directions and the top arm defining an aperture to receive a bolt wherein a wing nut is threadedly engaged. By overlapping the first and second arms of the L-shaped member with the top arm of the Z-shaped member a flowerbox is clamped to a wall or the like by the descending of one L-shaped arm into the flowerbox's interior and the other L-shaped arm descending over the back of the wall for engagement thereto.

This invention relates generally to the field of support structures and is specifically directed to an adjustable structure securable to railings, fences, walls and the like for mounting conventional flowerboxes of varying sizes.
The use of flowerboxes to display plants and flowers has enjoyed renewed popularity in recent years, particularly with the increase in cities of the numbers of townhouse, condominium, and apartment dwellers, who frequently have no yard for flowers or plants to be placed in. Furthermore, individuals having yards or similar facilities increasingly make use of flowerboxes for decorative purposes. Although flowerboxes are still placed on horizontal support surfaces, it has become increasingly popular to elevate the flowerboxes by various mounting and suspension devices onto railings or walls to enhance the beauty of patios, backyards and the like.
Numerous types of support brackets are commercially available for mounting flowerboxes and the like. Generally, such support brackets are attached to either the flowerbox or the vertical support structure or both. A disadvantage associated with support brackets being mounted or attached to the flowerbox is that over the course of time the flowerbox tends to accumulate moisture resulting in added weight wherein the flowerbox begins to sag.
Additional disadvantages associated with support brackets are, for example, the number of vertical support structures that they can be attached to. Typically, a support bracket designed principally to be mounted on railings is unacceptable for use with fences or walls. Also, support brackets do not provide means for securing the brackets to different sizes of a vertical support structure so that the brackets are not easily dislodged.
Because of the continued widespread use of flowerboxes, it is desirable to have a support bracketing capable of rigidly supporting the relatively heavy flowerbox and its contents, and which also is capable of being adjustable to engage flowerboxes and vertical support structures of varying sizes without having to be permanently affixed to either the flowerbox or to the vertical support structure.
The subject invention herein solves all of these problems in a new and unique manner which has not been part of the art previously. Some related patents are described below:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,212 issued to I. H. Polk on Mar. 11, 1975
This patent is directed to a support holder for dispensing foil. The package containing the dispensing foil is supported by the bottom of a trough-like bracket structure, and maintained in position by virtue of adjustably positioned angle brackets. These angle brackets are provided with slotted through openings for adjustably clamping the brackets against the package, as opposed to clamping an interior wall thereof, and are secured in place by the use of winged nuts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,266,294 issued to H. E. Allerdice on Dec. 16, 1941
This patent is directed to a wall bracket for supporting a flower pot. The wall bracket consists of an anchor unit having a substantially U-shaped contour wherein the end is adjusted for extension within the flower pot to provide support therefor, such support being in addition to a bottom support.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,673,057 issued to H. C. Morris on Mar. 23, 1954
This patent is directed to a detachable holder for supporting a bait container. The detachable holder is provided with a Z-shaped bracket having a horizontal arm for extension over a railing or support surface. The arm is formed with a slotted through opening through which is coupled an angle bracket for providing clamping engagement with the support structure. Further, the support elements are provided with slotted openings to clampingly engage the object being supported thereby.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,749,072 issued to J. J. Long on Jun. 5, 1956
This patent is directed to an attachment bracket for supporting decorative articles to a Venetian blind. The attachment bracket consists of a bottom support or shelf and a hook which is slidably mounted on an interconnection member, the interconnection member in turn being secured to a plurality of securing brackets which are affixed to the slats of the Venetian blind. The interconnection member is vertically adjustable by being made in two telescopically arranged sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,9584,594 issued to B. H. Swagerty on Sep. 25, 1990
This patent is directed to a hangar assembly for supporting articles therefrom. The hangar assembly consists of an elongated vertical member secured to a wall by means of L-shaped receiving clips by virtue of adjustable coupling between a horizontal leg and a horizontal plate of the vertical member, whereby a pair of threaded fasteners extending through an elongated slotted opening formed in the horizontal leg may be tightened. Thus, the structure provides clamping engagement with the wall. The hangar assembly is preferably associated with a horse trailer or horse stall.


A process for the production of a masterbatch (M) which includes at least one lactam and at least one fiber material is provided herein. Also described herein is the masterbatch (M) and a polymerizable two-component system (pS), as well as a process for the production of a polyamide (P), the use of the masterbatch (M) for the production of the polyamide (P), and the polyamide (P). A molding made of the polyamide (P) is also described.

The present invention relates to a process for the production of a polymerizable mixture (pM) which comprises at least one lactam, at least one catalyst, at least one activator, and at least one fiber material. The present invention moreover relates to the polymerizable mixture (pM), and also to a process for the production of a polyamide (P) through polymerization of the polymerizable mixture (pM). The present invention further relates to the polyamide (P), and also to a molding made of the polyamide (P), and to the use of the polymerizable mixture (pM) for the production of the polyamide (P).
Polyamides are generally semicrystalline polymers which are of particular industrial importance because they feature very good mechanical properties. In particular, they have high strength, stiffness, and toughness, good chemicals resistance, and also high abrasion resistance and tracking resistance. These properties are particularly important for the production of injection moldings. High toughness is particularly important for the use of polyamides as packaging films. The properties of polyamides lead to their use in industry for the production of textiles such as fishing lines, climbing ropes, and carpeting. Polyamides are also used for the production of wall plugs, screws and bolts, and cable binders. Polyamides are also used as adhesives, coatings, and coating materials.
Polyamide moldings have increasingly been used in recent years as materials in their own right and as replacement for metallic materials, for example in automobile construction, and are capable of replacing not only parts within the power train but also metal bodywork parts. In particular, fiber-reinforced polyamide moldings are used for this purpose. Various processes are described in the prior art for the production of fiber-reinforced polyamide moldings. By way of example, a mold in which the molding is to be produced can comprise a fiber material, and the corresponding monomers for the production of the polyamide can be charged to the mold, whereupon the polymerization of the monomers is situated in situ. This generally requires only heating to a temperature that is above the melting point of the monomers and not above the melting point of the polyamide to be produced.
Another possible method for the production of polyamide moldings comprising fiber reinforcement is described by way of example in WO 2014/086757. Here, a polymerizable composition comprising a lactam, a catalyst, and an activator is applied in the form of a free-flowing solid to a fiber material, and said fiber material is then treated at elevated pressure and at a temperature at which the solid polymerizable composition is capable of flow, and finally the fiber material is cooled. The fiber material can then be subjected to a forming process. The lactam polymerizes here.
The resultant polyamide moldings intrinsically have good mechanical stability.
EP 2 789 641 describes a process for the production of compositions which comprise a lactam and/or lactone, a catalyst, and an activator. They are produced by mixing the components, for example in an extruder. The process described in EP 2 789 641 gives good results in the production of these compositions. The compositions can also comprise fillers and/or reinforcing materials. If these fillers and/or reinforcing materials are added within the extruder during the mixing of the other components, however, inhomogeneous mixtures are often obtained which have a tendency toward formation of clumps, and sometimes cause blocking of the die.
US 2010/0286343 describes a process for producing glassfiber-reinforced polyamides. Here, a glassfiber material is mixed with a lactam monomer and a polymerization catalyst and heated in an extruder so that the lactam polymerizes. This gives a glassfiber-reinforced polyamide. However, US 2010/0286343 does not describe any method for the production of a masterbatch in which the lactam is present in unpolymerized form.
EP 0 459 199 describes the production of lactam melts with relatively high viscosity. The lactam melts comprise a lactam and optionally fillers and reinforcing materials. For the production process, they are homogenized with stirring. It is disadvantageous that these lactam melts cannot be produced, or are difficult to produce, in an extruder because inhomogeneous mixtures are often obtained which have a tendency toward formation of clumps and sometimes block the die.
There is therefore a need for further processes for the production of moldings made of a polyamide (P) with good mechanical stability, and also a need for polymerizable mixtures (pM) which permit the production of these moldings, and a need for processes for the production of the corresponding polymerizable mixtures (pM).
The object underlying the present invention is therefore the provision of a process for the production of a polymerizable mixture (pM) which permits the production of moldings made of a polyamide (P).


An electrical circuit board includes a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer. And an interlayer forming a thermal barrier is placed between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer, wherein the thermal barrier reduces heat transfer between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer.

A typical FR4 electrical circuit board ("ECB") includes an FR4 interlayer between two conductive layers. The two conductive layers may be two copper foils. FR4 is a flame resistant composite material and the FR4 interlayer functions as an electrical insulator. The FR4 interlayer is made of glass fiber fabric with an epoxy resin binder. FR4 incorporates 8 layers of glass fiber material. A FR4 ECB is constructed to withstand any thermal shock that may occur in an electrified application. In an example, one or more FR4 interlayers are bonded between two conductive layers to form an ECB with a desired thickness. A conductive layer, such as copper foil, is laminated to one or both sides of the interlayers under vacuum conditions, with a predetermined cure temperature and pressure.
The FR4 interlayer is designed to conduct heat away from active electrical elements mounted on one conductive layer of an ECB to the opposite conductive layer. Therefore, high thermal conductivity is desired for an FR4 ECB. The thermal conductivity value of a commercially available FR4 ECB typically is 0.3-0.4 W/mK.
Sometimes, heat producing electronic elements or circuits, such as processors and resistors, are mounted on one conductive layer of an ECB, while heat sensitive electronic elements or circuits, such as temperature sensors or heat sensors, are mounted on the opposite conductive layer of the ECB. The FR4 interlayer conducts heat from the conductive layer mounted with the heat producing electronic elements or circuits to the opposite conductive layer mounted with the heat sensitive electronic elements or circuits. The heat transferred by the FR4 interlayer can thermally affect the performance of heat sensitive electrical elements or circuits on the opposite conductive layer.

Electrical circuit board with low thermal conductivity and method of constructing thereof


A wind turbine includes a rotor having adjustable rotor blades for driving a generator and an adjusting device for the rotor blades provided with an actuator that comprises at least an excitation winding. The adjusting device includes a torque-reducing device that automatically reduces drag torque of the actuator. The torque-reducing device includes a current divider that switches the current through the excitation winding in such a manner that the current flows completely through the excitation coil when the motor is in operation and the current only partly flows through the excitation coil when coasting (slip operation). As a result, when coasting, the magnetization of the excitation winding is reduced about the adjusting device, whereby the increase of the speed torque characteristic curve can be determined, thus improving the ratio of the adjusting device when coasting.

Modern wind energy installations have rotors with adjustable rotor blades. The pitch angle of the rotor blades can be varied with respect to the airflow by the adjustment. The rotor blades are also adjusted in order to stop the rotor of the wind energy installation. For this purpose, the rotor blades are moved to a so-called wind bearing position. For safety reasons, the wind energy installations must be designed such that the rotor can be brought to rest quickly when required. This is done on the one hand when the wind is excessively strong, but on the other hand also when parts of the wind energy installation are believed to have failed. The rotor blades are adjusted to the safe wind bearing position in the control mode by means of the blade adjustment drive and its control system. However, it cannot be assumed for safe emergency operation that the control system is still completely available. The blade adjustment device should be designed such that the rotor blades can be moved quickly and safely to the wind bearing position even in uncontrolled emergency operation.
It has been shown that, in certain conditions during uncontrolled emergency operation, the rotor blade to be adjusted is adjusted more quickly on the basis of aerodynamic forces than the speed corresponding to that of the actuating motor. The actuating motor is then driven by the rotor blade, and acts as a generator. The current flow through the armature revolves. This so-called feedback current flows through the series winding, thus increasing the magnetization. The induced voltage rises, which can lead to a further increase in the current. Overall, this results in undesirable positive feedback, which can lead to dangerous instabilities. In particular, the load acting on the tower head of the wind energy installation changes, as a result of which oscillations can occur on the tower.
In order to prevent the occurrence of such instabilities during slip operation as well, it is known in the case of actuating motors which are in the form of compound-wound motors for the series winding to be bridged by means of a diode during slip operation. The current which is produced by the actuating motor during slip operation is short-circuited by the diode in such a way that, in a corresponding manner, no more current flows through the series winding, and the magnetization correspondingly decreases. The drag torque of the motor is thereby reduced (EP-A-1 744 444). However, it has been found that, with certain designs, particularly of compound-wound motors, the short-circuiting of the series winding leads to the torque/rotation-speed characteristic having an undesirable profile, to be precise with the increase in the torque with respect to the rotation speed being too flat. This results in the risk of overspeeding, with damage to the adjustment device.

Rotor blade adjustment device for a wind turbine


An integral keyed lock (10) for a trailer trigger-lock coupler for use as an aftermarket kit or to be incorporated by an original equipment manufacturer. The coupler integral keyed lock (10) utilizes an actuating lever (20) that is configured to interface with and enclose a lock (52). The lock (52) is preferably keyed and includes an outward-extending plunger (54). The lock is disposed within the actuating lever, inside an enlarged portion (26) of one end. The plunger of the lock extends when actuated with a key and prevents rotational travel of the coupler trigger latch, thereby locking the trailer coupler until the plunger is retracted with the key.

Previously, many types of separate locking devices and integral locking mechanisms have been used in endeavoring to provide an effective means for securing a trailer coupler that is attached to a motor vehicle.
The prior art listed below did not disclose any patents that possess the novelty of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.InventorIssue Date4,776,607Richter et al.Oct. 11, 19885,205,666HollisApr. 27, 19936,000,710Schocker et al.Dec. 14, 19996,352,279EbeyMar. 5, 20026,505,849EbeyJan. 14, 20036,588,790HallJul. 8, 2003
Richter et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,607 teaches a coupler for a ball type hitch with a coupler body that includes a socket portion and a closure mechanism that moves from an open to a closed position. The closure mechanism includes a retaining plate and latch plate, with a spring for biasing. The retaining plate includes a lock receiving aperture for receiving a lock that prevents unauthorized opening of the coupler.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,666 issued to Hollis is for a trailer coupler having a housing with a pair of jaws that lock around a hitch ball. A jaw locking ball with a finger tab facilitates operation. A closure compression spring is located inward at one horizontally-pivoted ear extension for biasing the ball towards the jaw-locking position.
Schocker et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,710 discloses a trailer coupler lock with the locking assembly mounted within a housing coupler, thus preventing withdrawal of the hitch ball from the housing. The lock includes a rotatable pin that extends transversely thorough the coupling housing to prevent withdrawal. The pin is connected to a lever that is positioned externally of the coupler housing outwardly causing a spring to bias the lever to the locked position.
Ebey in U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,279 teaches a ball clamp trailer coupler that is tightened by rotating a clamp to engage a hitch ball within the coupler socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,849 issued to Ebey is a so-called trigger lock-type trailer coupler to which the patent improvement is directed. The coupler contains a trigger latch and an actuator arm, thereby allowing the improvement to be utilized by replacing the actuator arm with an advanced arm. The advanced arm contains a keyed lock which prevents the trigger latch from rotating completely, thereby locking the coupler in place.
Hall in U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,790 discloses a remotely actuated coupler for automatically locking a trailer to a towing vehicle ball. The automatic locking mechanism is powered by a battery that is actuated by remote control. The locking mechanism also provides a manual release handle.


An apparatus and method for controlling boot programs sent by a server computer system to a plurality of client computer systems in response to a plurality of requests by the client computer systems. Specifically, the invention provides for a priority boot, a paced boot or a combination priority and paced boot enabled by a remotely controlled boot process.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling requests for boot programs to a server computer system by a plurality of client computer systems in a remotely controlled boot environment. Specifically, the invention provides for a priority boot, a paced boot or a combination priority and paced boot enabled by a remotely controlled boot process.
A computer or computer system, when turned on, must be prepared for operation by loading an operating system. In the normal operation of a single computer system, when a user issues a boot command to the computer, the computer responds to the boot command by attempting to retrieve the operating system files from the computer systems memory. Configuration data files are also needed to configure the specific machine with the hardware parameters necessary for the specific hardware configuration. These files also contain information needed to initialize video adapters, printers, and peripherals associated with the particular machine. For example, the files would include CONFIG.SYS in the MS-DOS operating system, available from MICROSOFT Corporation.
Computers or computer systems can be connected in a network normally consisting of a client workstation, a server and a central network. In a system where the computer""s storage is maintained when the power is turned off, the operating system can be stored in the computer itself In a system where the computer has only storage that is lost when the power is turned off, the computer cannot retrieve the boot information from within the computer itself In that case, the client sends a request for the operating system files via the network to the server acting as a boot server. Even when the client workstation has non-volatile storage capability, it is advantageous to boot from the server because memory space is saved in the workstation computer. As operating system and application programs expand to provide new and greater capabilities, booting from a server can be highly advantageous.
Remote booting of a client workstation from a server is known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,011 discloses a method for booting a local workstation from a server where the network is established by sending the operating system to the workstation when the power is turned on at the local workstation. The local workstation then boots from the transferred operating system which is now in its memory. U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,210 discloses a method for booting the local workstation where the operating system is transferred to the local workstation by the server in response to the first interruption produced by a terminal after it is turned on.
Several methods of remote booting exist in the marketplace. One is called Remote Initial Program Load (RIPL). RIPL is the process of loading an operating system onto a workstation from a remote location. The RIPL protocol was co-developed by 3Com, Microsoft, and IBM. It is used today with IBM OS/2 Warp Server, DEC Pathworks, and Windows NT. Two other commonly used Remote IPL protocols are a Novell NCP (NetWare Core Protocol), and BOOT-P, an IEEE standard, used with UNIX and TCP/IP networks.
RIPL is achieved using a combination of hardware and software. The requesting device, called the requester or workstation, starts up by asking the loading device to send it a bootstrap program. The loading device is another computer that has a hard disk and is called the RIPL server or file server. The RIPL server uses a loader program to send the bootstrap program to the workstation. Once the workstation receives the bootstrap program, it is then equipped to request an operating system, which in turn can request and use application programs. The software implementations differ between vendors, but theoretically, they all perform similar functions and go through a similar process. The client workstation requires a special Read Only Memory (ROM) installed on its (Local Area Network) LAN adapter or Network Interface Card (NIC). The special ROM is known generally as a remote boot ROM, but two specific examples of remote boot chips are the RIPL chip, which supports ANSI/IEEE standard 802.2, and the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) chip, which is used in the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) environment.
While the process has many advantages for booting a computer that has volatile storage, such as a network computer, the computer is required to have a remote boot ROM on the LAN adapter or Network Interface Card (NIC). The remote boot ROM requirement does not allow any user interaction with the remote boot process. U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,530 discloses a remote boot process that does not require a remote boot ROM on the LAN adapter or NIC.
Existing boot manager configurations allow different partitions to be booted based on the user""s choice from a menu at machine start time. The selection criteria for the menu is hard coded on the local machine hard drive. Therefore, changes to the boot manager configuration must be done locally at the machine and normally require a reboot post configuration, a very tedious process in a large enterprise environment involving thousands of machines.
Therefore, a need exists for a remotely controlled boot manager which would allow the administrator to change the boot manager configuration remotely, from a server, and have the workstation pick up those changes every boot. Administrators could then configure items such as what to boot, timeout values, and defaults from a server rather than at the local machine. Thus, a need exists for an apparatus and method in a LAN/WAN environment for remote administration of workstation boot choices.
Workstations that boot across a network such as RIPL or PX)E can create a high demand on the boot server. This demand can over stress the boot server and flood the network causing congestion. A need exists for a way to stagger the booting of these workstations. In other words, a need exists for a method and apparatus to delay the booting of some workstations while others are allowed to boot in order to minimize the incident of peak loads, thus relieving the load on the boot servers and the network congestion.
The invention meeting the needs identified above is a Controlled Network Boot Process which provides an apparatus and method to allow a server in a LAN environment to control the boot requests from client machines to eliminate congestion on the network. Using the RIPL/PXE Emulation software, it is possible to control the workstations RIPL/PXE process. Just prior to sending out the RIPL Request or the start of the PXE process, the Controlled Network Boot Process (CNBP) would send a frame to a process, on another machine, responsible for monitoring and maintaining a staggered boot sequence. This xe2x80x9cserverxe2x80x9d sided process of the CNBP would be responsible for understanding how to maintain a staggered boot order and would respond to each workstation request appropriately. Additionally, the controlling server can display a menu to the user at the client machine informing the user of the status of the boot activity. The invention is enabled by the Remotely Controlled Boot (RCB) process which comprises a set of programs at the workstation which interacts with the BOOTCONTROL program at the server.
The RCB programs at the workstation allow a remote boot and interaction with the server sided process of the CNBP called BOOTCONTROL. Instructions from a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) ROM are executed to load a Boot Code Loader (BCL) from a nonvolatile, read/write memory, such as a diskette or hard disk. The BCL executes to load a Remote Control Program (RCP) from the diskette, and the RCP executes to load a message program, a protocol manager and/or device drivers from the diskette without loading an operating system. The message program and/or device drivers communicate with a program called BOOTCONTROL in the network server. The program will interface with an NDIS compliant Network Interface Card (NIC) to send out a discovery frame. The discovery frame will be intercepted by BOOTCONTROL installed on the servers which will be running and listening for the request. Once BOOTCONTROL intercepts the request it will send back the boot program or bootcontrol display information informing the client of the approximate time to boot. If the boot device is unavailable and a time-out value and prioritized list is supplied the process will continue to attempt to boot for the amount of time expressed by the value. If time-out expires the next bootable option is attempted. The process continues until a successful boot occurs.
Essentially, there are two programs to the CNBP process. On the client or workstation end, the RCB programs are used. The invention which meets the needs identified above is contained in the BOOTCONTROL program located on the servers that are available for providing boot programs to the client workstations. When the client seeks to boot and turns on the computer, the pre-boot environment will take control of the workstation and, in the case of the staggered boot, send out a frame to a server process to ask permission to continue to boot. The client side will then wait for a reply from the server process to allow it to continue.
The server sided process will listen for these client requests and will manage the traffic in allowing the order and sequence of workstations to boot. Two basic methods are employed. First, a priority boot is employed. Second, a paced boot is employed. A third, method may be employed which combines both the paced boot and the priority boot.
Priority boot requires a known state to be in place for the program to accomplish its end purpose. A known state is defined as a state in which all client stations are attempting to boot at the same time. For example, after a power loss, it is normal to anticipate that when the power is turned back on, most if not all of the client stations will attempt to boot and will make the attempt at the same time or very close to the same time. Given the definition of known state, i.e. all client machines attempting to boot, priorities can be established by the administrator based on customer selection. For example, in a bank branch, the administrator may designate that teller workstations are the highest priority and should be booted first so they can service the customers in line at the bank. The criteria to select a priority consists of a list of machines arranged in groups with a separation time between each group. For example:
Machine 1
Machine 2
Machine 3
120 second time period
Machine 4
Machine 5
Machine 6
120 second time period
Machine 7
120 second time period
In this example, Machine 1, 2, and 3 are booted first. 120 seconds later, Machines 4, 5 and 6 are booted. 120 seconds later Machine 7 is booted, and then 120 seconds later any other boot request is satisfied. Unlisted machines can also be booted allowing customers to only list those machines which are really important. Also, new machines that haven""t made it to the list will still be able to boot.
Paced boot contrasts with the priority boot in that paced boot works in an unknown state. Unknown state is defined as a state where the administrator does not know which machines will be started and at what times and therefore, cannot determine priorities. However, the administrator still wants to ensure that the server or servers do not become overburdened with an overload of boot request bunching at one point in time. The paced booting program will allow clients simply to boot in the order in which they are received at the server.
Paced boot requires only two parameters, time and the number of workstations. For example:
Time=120
Number=10
In this example, the server process will not allow more than 10 clients in a given time of 120 seconds. Because the administrator doesn""t know who or when users will turn on their machines in the xe2x80x9cunknownxe2x80x9d state the administrator can only pace the amount of clients attempting to boot.
A third option, is available in which the priority method and the paced method are combined. Such a combination allows the booting of the clients to be paced and can also allow prioritization if a client request comes in and is identified as a priority client. In such a case, that request would receive higher priority over any other requests during that period of time allowing that client to be booted before a client with lower priority or no priority at all.
The invention also allows for the server to send the client a message to let the client know what is happening. For example, the message sent from the server might tell the client how many minutes remain until the machines will be allowed to boot. For example, the message may say the following: xe2x80x9cPlease wait. Your machine will be booted in approximately three minutes.xe2x80x9d

Method and apparatus for sending boot programs to workstation computers over a network in a controlled process

International Business Machines Corporation


A metal cutting tool is provided with at least one cutting insert mounted in an insert pocket in communication with an adjusting mechanism, the cutting insert comprising at least one insert adjusting slot extending between two opposing major faces thereof and opening out to each major face at an adjusting aperture and the adjusting mechanism comprising at least one adjusting member having an adjusting member top face underlying the cutting insert while being visible and accessible therethrough.

Such metal cutting tools require accurate positioning of an operative cutting edge relative to the tool. Precise adjustment of the operative cutting edge position is particularly important for finishing operations. However, adjusting mechanisms require installation space in the tool. Therefore, the adjusting mechanism should preferably be dimensionally compact so as to occupy as little space as possible in the cutting tool. This requirement is especially important in tools used for metal removal inside cavities of the work-piece, such as boring or reaming tools, because the dimensions of the bore limit the maximum diameter of the tool, and thus the space available for installation of the cutting inserts and the adjustment mechanisms in the tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,757 to Stashko discloses such a reamer comprising a holder having a recess into which a disposable cutting insert is fitted. The insert is held in place by a clamping member which bears against a surface of the insert and which is attached to the holder by a clamping screw. Radial adjustment of the insert can be effected by adjusting screws having camming surfaces which bear against a corresponding camming surface of the insert. However, the insert adjustment and clamping mechanisms occupy considerable space at the working end of the tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,063 to Striegl discloses a reamer with a flat rectangular reversible cutting bit, possessing a cutting edge extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of a revolvable body. The flat rectangular cutting insert has four indexing positions, and occupies a relatively small space on the revolvable body. The flat rectangular cutting bit is detachably mounted in a recess of the revolvable body. However, the adjusting mechanism in U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,063 precludes radial adjustment of the cutting edge position of the cutting insert.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,516 to Hochmuth, et al. discloses a rotary metal cutting tool having a plurality of radially adjustable cutting inserts mounted on the periphery thereof. Each cutting insert is clamped by a clamping jaw, and is urged radially outwardly by an adjusting screw positioned radially inwardly therefrom, thereby occupying considerable space near the center of the tool body, and limiting the number of cutting inserts which can be installed.


An actuator is described for a disc brake system of the type which includes a piston whose front end is pressed against a disc by pressured hydraulic fluid that is applied to the rear of the piston and that is prevented from leaking by an elastomeric seal extending around the middle of the piston, which minimizes heating of the seal and hydraulic fluid. The piston is hollow, and has internal walls near its forward end forming a sealed chamber containing sodium. The piston has fins on its outside around the sodium-containing container. A hollow space between the rear wall of the piston and the sodium-filled chamber contains a vacuum. Applicant finds that the temperature rise of the seal and hydraulic fluid is greatly reduced by these arrangements.

Disc brake calipers commonly use hydraulically-actuated pistons to press against the disc brakes. The piston can slide in a forward direction within a cylinder under the force of hydraulic fluid, with an elastomeric seal preventing leakage of the fluid. Where the braking system is operated continuously for long periods of time, as in braking an airplane or race car, severe heating becomes an important problem. The heat can boil away the hydraulic fluid and can damage the elastomeric seal. A piston assembly that minimized the temperature rise of the seal and hydraulic fluid, would be of considerable value braking systems of conventional overall design for heavy-duty applications.


Device for separating, lifting and transporting sheets of aluminium or other non-ferromagnetic material consisting of a spider attraction assembly provided with a series of blocks of magnets and with contact electrodes, which by way of the effects produced by Lorentz forces, together with the action of a series of vacuum pads, is provided with the capacity to attract sheets of aluminium.

The object of the present invention, as shown by its title, is related to a device for separating, lifting and transporting sheets of aluminium or other non-ferromagnetic material as shown by its name used for feeding cutting and ironing lines, aluminium component transfer lines, etc.
When dealing with a pile of sheets and trying to lift the top one with the help of a vacuum system it is often the case that, due to the adherence of the sheets, several are lifted at a time.
In iron or ferromagnetic sheets this problem has been solved by putting magnets on the sides of the piles of sheeting, which separate the edges of the top sheets. Thus, with a slight separation between the sheets, even if only at the edges, when vacuumed, only the first sheet is picked up and not the others.
If one wishes to work only with non-ferromagnetic sheets, this problem cannot be solved by magnets alone, since they are not at all magnetised, so it is necessary to use mechanical solutions which encumber the manipulation of said sheets and generally lower performance of the installations for manipulating and transporting sheeting, and therefore the performance of all processes that follow.
In order to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks, the device for separating, lifting and transporting sheets of aluminium or other non-ferromagnetic material has been developed. Said device is based on the physical fundament of Lorentz force. This force is manifested in electrically charged particles that move and, the magnetic field which said particles are within, according to the corkscrew law. Its mathematical expression is F=qxc2x7(vxc3x97B), where q is the electrical charge, v its velocity, and B the magnetic field at the point where the charge is located.
A metal is a medium where electrons can circulate relatively easily, that is, a large amount of current can be sent through with a moderate or very small Joule. Therefore, if we make a small electrical current (electrically charged particles in movement) pass through a thin metal sheet in a certain direction and apply a magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of said electrical current and coplanar to the surface of the sheet, we generate a force of attraction directed towards the direction perpendicular to the sheet. This perpendicular force is that which will make the sheet lift.
Putting this observation into practice, if we make an electrical current circulate, with metallic electrodes, in the surroundings of the two longer sides of a rectangular shaped metal sheet, while at the same time, by way of permanent magnets we provoke a magnetic field between the contact electrodes, we generate forces of attraction on the aluminium sheet that provide the lifting of said sheet.
The electrical current is distributed all around the sheet, but there are areas where it circulates more intensively than others, specifically along the imaginary lines that join the contact points with the electrodes, reaching the highest values at these very points and consequentially, it is where more force of attraction is generated on the sheet.
According to the theoretical principle shown above, and the practical observations made, the device for separating, lifting and transporting sheets aluminium or other non-ferromagnetic materials is made up of a spider attraction assembly and the electrical supply system.
The spider attraction assembly is a rectangular metal housing, made of any non-ferromagnetic material, of dimensions similar to those of the aluminium sheeting that it will be manipulating. On the two longer sides, a series of blocks of magnets are arranged in linear fashion; at the beginning and the end of the row of blocks of magnets said spider assembly is provided with two retractable cylindrical metal electrodes (which retract when they are pressed on the sheet of aluminium) that end in a square, flat surface of 30 to 50 mm. sides in order to improve transmission of the electrical current.
The blocks of magnets are made up of a number of magnets between 8 and 12 encapsulated by a metal box, preferably iron, leaving a strip uncovered over the union of two magnets generating a magnetic flow in the same direction in all the blocks. Said blocks of magnets have a width of between 50 and 70 mm., a length of between 60 and 120 mm. and the stack thickness of between 30 and 60 mm.
The rectified electrical current supply system is able to supply electrical currents between 100 and 500 A and power between 1,200 and 1,500 W.

Device for separating, lifting and moving aluminium sheets or other non-ferromagnetic material


An automatic operation system provides a CPU to detect and record a status of operation for the operated mechanism. As soon as a response is to be output for allowing the operated mechanism to perform a operation, the CPU figures out corresponding responses by way of a statistic analysis based on past record of operation status as a reference for the operator. Thus, an operation is simplified or a response is output automatically so as to allow the operated mechanism processing itself.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic operation system, and particularly to an operation system, which can offer an operator suggestion information during making a response or perform proper a response automatically to simplify the operation or save manual work.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional telephone set usually provides a design of redialing such that a redial button is utilized for being able to redial the last telephone number dialed before. When the television is turned on by way of a remote controller, the picture on a television screen is belonged to the channel watched last time during the television was turned off. Furthermore, an elevator always stops at the same floor while in a state of idling. The preceding examples explain a fact that the response of conventional control is unable to offer an optimum response as desired. For instance, a clerk has to report to his boss with regard to the business matter at 9 o""clock every morning, and it is not possible for the telephone to dial his boss""s phone number automatically at the time of the receiver of telephone set being picked up. It is not possible to switch over to a specific channel automatically while the television is turned on by way of remote controller at 7:00 PM for watching a favorite news report in the specific channel. The staff at 6th floor go off work at 5:00 PM and the elevator is unable to stop on the 6th floor at 5:00 PM automatically while it is in a state of idling.
The present invention has improved the monotonous control of response provided by the prior art.
A major object of the present invention is to provide an automatic operation system, which offers proper response information or perform proper responses automatically depending on the need via the record of past operations.
Other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent by way of following description of embodiments with accompanying drawings.

Automatic operation system and a method of operating the same


A control unit that carries out focus adjustment by the drive control of a focus lens changes an oscillation convergence waiting time of the focus lens after stopped according to the imaging conditions. In the case in which an aperture value is larger than a predetermined value and the tolerated range of a focus deviation amount that accompanies the oscillation of the lens with stopped is large, the waiting time set in a timer is changed so as to be short in comparison to the waiting time that is set in the case in which the tolerated range of a focus deviation amount is small. The control unit outputs a stop command for a focus lens and ends the movement control of the focus lens after waiting for the passage of a time that has been calculated by a timer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical apparatus such as an imaging apparatus having a focus adjustment function and a method for controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in electronic still cameras or video cameras or the like, an autofocus (below, abbreviated "AF") is used. In AF control, the controller of the camera calculates the focal position of the focus lens based on image data that is read out from an imaging element that uses a CCD (charge coupled device) and the like or data that has been read out from a dedicated distancing sensor. The controller moves the focus lens to the focal position by controlling a motor, and carries out the imaging operation after the movement has ended. In this context, because the focus lens oscillates in the optical axis direction due to inertia immediately after the focus lens has been stopped, there is a concern that this may influence the image quality if a photograph is taken immediately. Thus, the controller starts imaging after waiting for a specific time to pass until the oscillation of the focus lens converges.
Various technologies have been proposed to handle the influence that the oscillation and misalignment of the focus lens in the optical axis direction has on a image. In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. H07-115580, the blur amount at the focal plane is calculated based on the value of the diaphragm. This is the blur amount at the focal plane in relation to a unit drive amount of a pulse motor that drives the focus lens. This apparatus changes the pulse number of a pulse motor in correspondence to the amount that the focus lens has overshot the focal peak point based on the calculated value of the blur amount.
Here, originally the oscillation of the focus lens in the optical axis direction may converge within a range that does not influence the image quality, and the convergence range at this time differs depending on the imaging conditions. However, in a conventional apparatus, irrespective of the imaging conditions, the apparatus simply waits until the oscillation is within a fixed convergence range. Thus, needless waiting time occurs, and there is a concern that this will hinder speedy photography.

Optical apparatus and method for controlling same


A brake control system includes a master cylinder to produce a master cylinder pressure, a brake booster to assist the master cylinder, a first control unit to control the booster, a hydraulic modulator to supply a wheel cylinder pressure to a wheel cylinder, and a second control unit to control the hydraulic modulator. The hydraulic modulator includes a pressure source, such as a pump, to increase the wheel cylinder pressure. The first and second control units are connected together by a communication line. The brake control system may further include a boost condition transmitting section to transmit, through the communicating line, a condition of a boost system formed by the brake booster and the first control unit.

The present invention relates to a brake control apparatus including a brake booster and a hydraulic modulator for regulating a brake fluid pressure and/or a brake control method useful in case of a failure in a brake booster.
A master cylinder operates in response to a driver's brake operation, and supplies a brake operating fluid toward one or more wheel cylinders. A power brake booster is a device to operate the master cylinder in addition to a driver's brake operation, and thereby assist the driver's brake operation. A widely used vacuum brake booster generally utilizes an intake vacuum of an internal combustion engine as power for the booster. In some case, a vacuum pump is utilized in substitution for the engine vacuum. However, the use of the vacuum pump tends to increase the possibility of failure in the brake booster more or less. Accordingly, a published Japanese patent specification JP-A-2001-513041 (≈WO9835867A1) shows technique of preventing a decrease of the braking force by controlling a wheel cylinder pressure with the use of a pump in an anti-lock brake control (ABS control) unit at the time of a failure in the brake booster.


According to embodiments herein, a device obtains visualization data that depicts at least one three-dimensional object. The device sanitizes the visualization data, in part by: identifying neighboring polygons of the at least one three-dimensional object and their windings, and correcting errors in the neighboring polygons and their windings. The device also decimates meshes of polygons in the sanitized visualization data, to form compressed visualization data, by: performing one or more sanity checks, prior to performing an atomic decimation operation or texture compression; and storing, by the device, the compressed visualization data in one or more files.

While visualization hardware continues to improve, there still remain opportunities to improve the numerical representation of visual data. This holds in a number of contexts, ranging from traditional two-dimensional (2D) television (e.g., ultra-high-definition television), to cellphones, to various virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) devices, to even holographic representation of some three-dimensional (3D) images. Indeed, many modern displays and cutting-edge holograms now support resolutions beyond what the human eye can perceive.
As a result of the increasing capabilities of visualization hardware, there is also a corresponding increase in the amount of visualization data that needs to be transmitted over a computer network, as well as processed by the endpoint device. This is particularly true in the case visualization data for the rendering of high-quality 3D objects, which can be quite data-intensive. Moreover, there are hundreds of different 3D file types, with each being optimized for its own specific software. Consequently, converting and exporting 3D objects from one file type to another can also lead to various issues and degradation of the 3D objects.


A method includes the steps of: introducing a medium with a first temperature into a measuring volume; carrying out nuclear magnetic measurements on the medium with the first temperature; determining a property of the medium at the first temperature; determining a viscosity of the medium at the first temperature using the property; and determining a derived property of the medium at a second temperature using the property of the medium at the first temperature, the viscosity of the medium at the first temperature, the first temperature, and the second temperature. The property is at least one of a first spin-lattice relaxation time constant, a first spin-spin relaxation time constant, and a first diffusion time constant. The derived property is at least one of a second spin-lattice relaxation time constant, a second spin-spin relaxation time constant, and a second diffusion time constant.

The invention lies in the field of nuclear magnetic measuring methods and nuclear magnetic flowmeters, wherein nuclear magnetic flowmeters are designed to implement nuclear magnetic measurements according to nuclear magnetic measuring methods.
A nuclear magnetic measuring device is thus designed to carry out nuclear magnetic measurements on a medium in the measuring volume of the measuring tube and to determine the properties of the medium and information about the medium from the nuclear magnetic measurements with the computer. When a nuclear magnetic measurement is carried out by the measuring device, a precession of atomic nuclei of the medium in the presence of a macroscopic magnetic field, which has previously magnetized the medium, is influenced by excitation of the atomic nuclei to nuclear magnetic resonances and the nuclear magnetic resonances are measured. The computer thereby controls the measuring device. For this reason, nuclear magnetic measurements are often also called nuclear magnetic resonance measurements or magnetic resonance measurements and corresponding measuring devices are called nuclear magnetic resonance measuring devices or magnetic resonance measuring devices. The measuring device has a magnetic field generating device for generating the macroscopic magnetic field.
The medium often also has several phases. It is then a multi-phase medium. In order to determine the properties of and/or information about the individual phases of the multi-phase medium, atomic nuclei of the individual phases have to be able to be excited to distinguishable nuclear magnetic resonances. For example, nuclear magnetic resonances can be distinguished from each other if spin-lattice relaxations of the individual phases have different spin-lattice relaxation time constants T1. The spin-lattice relaxation time constant is a property of a phase. Further properties are a spin-spin relaxation time constant T2 and a diffusion time constant D. Using at least one of the listed properties, information about phases of the medium can be determined. Information is, for example, the flow rates of individual phases of the medium through the measuring tube.
Since the multi-phase medium extracted from oil wells essentially comprises crude oil and (salt) water as liquid phases and natural gas as gaseous phase, the atomic nuclei of all phases have hydrogen nuclei and usually especially the phases crude oil and (salt) water are characterized by different spin-lattice relaxation time constants T1, nuclear magnetic flowmeters are particularly suitable for the determination of properties and information of media extracted from oil wells.
As already mentioned above, a medium with a first temperature ϑ1 is introduced into a measuring volume. The measuring volume is formed in a measuring tube, for example, and the medium is introduced into the measuring volume by flowing through the measuring tube. The medium has the first temperature. It consists of one or more phases. The phases are either liquid or gaseous. Nuclear magnetic measurements are carried out on the medium, which has the first temperature and is in the measuring volume. At least one property of the medium at the first temperature is determined from the measurements. The at least one property is a property from the group {spin-lattice relaxation time constant T1(ϑ1), spin-spin relaxation time constant T2(ϑ1) and diffusion time constant D(ϑ1)}. Consequently, a spin-lattice relaxation time constant T1(ϑ1) and/or a spin-spin relaxation time constant T2(ϑ1) and/or a diffusion time constant D(ϑ1) is determined. If the medium is a multi-phase medium, then at least one property of at least one phase of the medium is determined.
The group of properties of a medium listed above is dependent on the temperature ϑ of the medium. Consequently, the values of the properties at a second temperature ϑ2 differ from those at the first temperature ϑ1, wherein the second temperature is different from the first temperature. It is known from the state of the art to determine the properties of the medium at the second temperature by carrying out the above described measurements and dew scribed determination of the properties from the measurements again on the medium at the second temperature. However, this method is time consuming.

Method for determining a derived property of a medium and nuclear magnetic measuring device, computer program product and computer-readable storage medium for such


A symmetric discrete-time square-root-raised-cosine filter may be utilized to process a serial input signal and to produce an output square in each clock cycle. The filter may be adapted to decrease the computational complexity of the resulting calculations, making the filter amenable to use in power sensitive applications and in those situations where the available processor""s performance is relatively limited.

This invention relates generally to digital wireless mobile communications.
Code division multiple access (CDMA) for digital wireless mobile communications involves using correlation techniques to allow a receiver to decode one signal among many that are transmitted on the same carrier at the same time. Each user""s signal includes a unique code that appears to be noise to all except the correct receiver. A channel in the code domain describes a combination of a carrier frequency and a code. CDMA generally starts out with a narrow band signal, which for full speech is 9600 bps. This signal is spread with the use of specialized codes to a bandwidth of 1.23 Mz. The ratio of the spread data rate to the initial data rate is called the processing gain.
When transmitted, a CDMA signal experiences a high level of interference, dominated by the coded signals of other CDMA users. This interference may take two forms. Interference may arise from other users in the same cell and interference may occur from adjacent cells. The total interference also includes background noise and other spurious signals. When the signal is received, the desired signal is recovered and the interference is rejected. A correlator uses processing gain to pull the desired signal out of the noise.
Currently available cellular technology makes use of what is called second generation or xe2x80x9c2Gxe2x80x9d technology. Initially, cellular telephone technology was implemented with Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS) which were analog. In about 1995, digital systems, such as CDMA, were introduced.
A number of competing third generation or xe2x80x9c3Gxe2x80x9d technologies are being debated within the industry at this time. The goal of the 3G technologies is to offer higher bit rate services. Such services may include multimedia, including video, Internet and electronic mail.
One standard for 3G technologies is the IMT-2000 standard which was propounded by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). IMT stands for International Mobile Telecommunications and IMT-2000 is the name for Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunications Systems (FPLMTS). FPLMTS is targeted at developing mobile telecommunications systems to be used xe2x80x9canywhere-anyplacexe2x80x9d around the year 2000 operating at approximately 2000 MHz.
In 3G technology, a xe2x80x9cbitxe2x80x9d is the fundamental information unit of input data. A xe2x80x9csymbolxe2x80x9d is a grouping of data bits based on modulation. Thus, a symbol arises after encoding but prior to spreading. A xe2x80x9cchipxe2x80x9d is the minimum bit period of the final spread data. xe2x80x9cChannelsxe2x80x9d include physical channels that are transmitted in the air, defined by a frequency and code. A transport channel is defined by how the data is sent and logical channels are defined by the type of data.
The so-called wideband or W-CDMA technology has been proposed as the 3G solution by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) as their proposal to the ITU for IMT-2000. ETSI""s proposal is identified as UTRA (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System Terrestrial Radio Access). (The standard can be found at www.itu.int/imt/2-radio_dev/proposals/index.html.)
In digital wireless mobile communications, the pulses that make up each symbol may be spread in time. However, the pulses, in some cases, may smear into time intervals of succeeding symbols when rectangular pulses are passed through a band limited channel. This problem is called intersymbol interference (ISI). ISI may lead to an increased probability of a receiver making an error in detecting a symbol.
Thus, there is a continuing need for higher bit rate cellular telephones that are less prone to intersymbol interference.
In accordance with one aspect, a square-root-raised-cosine filter may include a symmetric finite impulse response filter generating an output ripple signal having a magnitude at a frequency of one half of the chip rate of about 3 decibels less than the normalized gain.
Other aspects are set forth in the accompanying detailed description and claims.

Square root raised cosine symmetric filter for mobile telecommunications


Techniques and mechanisms for configuring logic to implement a signal modulation. In an embodiment, the logic includes a finite impulse response (FIR) module comprising circuitry. The selection circuitry may be operable to concurrently receive signals from latch circuitry of the FIR module and, based on the signals, to select an input group of the selection circuitry and to output a voltage identifier. In another embodiment, configuration logic is operable to set an operational mode which determines a total number of concurrent input signals, received by the FIR module, which the FIR module will use to select an input group for generating an output representing a voltage level.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments relate generally to signal transmission and more particularly, but not exclusively, to configuring circuit logic for implementing a signal modulation.
2. Background Art
Architectures for next generation processors are expected to rely on circuitry which provides an optical link interface between electrical domain high speed input/output (I/O) links of the processor and optical domain silicon photonic. Such interface circuitry will have to provide for data modulation/demodulation which accommodates optical domain links operating at over twice the speed of electrical domain links.
To date, processors have relied upon gasket chips which implement a 2:1 serializer-deserializer (SerDes) to perform data multiplexing and retiming for data rate conversion. However, among other limitations, gasket chips occupy large amounts of motherboard real estate, add timing latency (˜8-10 unit intervals), require around 2-3 W per-channel power consumption and pose motherboard routing complexities due to high speed differential routing. Accordingly, it is desirable to identify data rate conversion mechanisms which are more efficient than those of existing gasket chip hardware.

Apparatus, system and method for configuring signal modulation