A data processing system incorporating watchpoint registers is provided. The memory accesses to be detected may be unaligned memory accesses. The watchpoint may operate in a normal mode and also in a guard mode. In the guard mode of operation a watchpoint comparator generates a match signal if the upper N bits of the memory address match the upper end bits of the watchpoint address and the length of the memory access L is such that the memory access extends to include a memory address having a different upper N bits but located at a predetermined address offset P from the watchpoint address W.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, this invention relates to watchpointing within data processing systems whereby memory accesses to particular memory addresses being watched are detected.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the field of data processing systems to provide watchpointing mechanisms whereby a user can configure the system to detect when one or more particular memory addresses are subject to a memory access. This type of mechanism is particularly useful when debugging software or hardware and when analysing the operation of a system. One known mechanism for performing such watchpointing is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a sequence of memory addresses 2 with the memory address for each byte being expressed with the upper 30 bits within square brackets and the two least significant bits separately enumerated. As is common within data processing systems for a variety of reasons, the memory accesses provided in the illustration of FIG. 1 are aligned memory accesses; that is the address of the first byte accessed is a multiple of the number of the bytes. The individual bytes of memory are arranged into four byte words, each byte being eight bits in length and hence each word being 32 bits in length. The boundaries 4, 6 between words are shown by double lines in FIG. 1. Since the largest memory access permitted is a four byte word access, and all accesses are aligned, it follows that memory accesses cannot span a boundary between words, i.e. memory accesses are aligned with the word boundaries.
In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the four bytes marked with a "*" are to be read. This is achieved by performing a first memory access which includes the byte 8 followed by a second memory access which includes the bytes 10,12,14. It will be appreciated that when fewer than the full four bytes within a word are actually required, the other bytes may be returned in the aligned access, but simply ignored. It is also possible that only the required bytes maybe returned. In either case, the memory access will have an associated length corresponding to the number of bytes within that access that are actually required.
FIG. 1 illustrates that byte 12 is subject to watchpointing. The memory address of this byte is [A]:0:1. As previously explained [A], represents the upper 30 bits of the address, with the remaining bits of the address being separately enumerated. The lower two bits can be regarded as specifying a particular byte lane within the aligned memory word spanning between the word boundaries 4, 6.
FIG. 2A illustrates a watchpoint comparator which maybe used to detect memory accesses to byte 12 of FIG. 1. A request for a memory access will be generated, typically by hardware such as a processor core, a DSP unit, a peripheral device or some other bus master, and issued to the memory system. The memory access specifies a memory address HADDR, which is the start address of the memory access, together with the number of bytes HSIZE for that memory access. In the system illustrated in FIG. 2A, HSIZE may take the values 1, 2 or 4. HSIZE is typically encoded in few bits, for example as log2(HSIZE); that is a 2-bit binary value can be used with "00" encoding HSIZE=1 (20), "01" encoding HSIZE=2 (21) and "10" encoding HSIZE=4 (22). In the case of aligned memory accesses, HADDR must be aligned to HSIZE, that is HADDR is a multiple of HSIZE and as such the access will not span a word boundary 4, 6. However, for unaligned accesses HADDR is not aligned to HSIZE and as such may span a word boundary.
The upper 30 bits HADDR[31:2] of the memory access address are stored within a register 16. These are compared with corresponding bits stored as a watchpoint address COMP[31:2] within a register 18. An XNOR gate 20 indicates if the contents of the register 16 and the contents of the register 18 match. The byte lane(s) of one or more bytes of data being accessed is compared with the byte lane of the watchpoint within the byte lane portion 22 of the watchpoint comparator 15. In particular, the two least significant bits of the memory access address HADDR[1:0] and the access length HSIZE are used by a mask generator 24 to generate a 4-bit mask value in which the bit values for the non-accessed byte lanes are zero and the bit value for the accessed byte lanes are one. For aligned accesses, as these do not span a word boundary, this mask value represents all the bytes of memory accessed by the memory access. FIG. 2B shows how the mask generator 24 generates the byte lane mask, HBL[3:0]. HBL[0] corresponds to the first byte of the word, HBL[1] to the second byte, and so on. FIG. 2B includes entries for generating byte lane masks for unaligned accesses. These are not relevant in a system that only supports aligned accesses.
A corresponding byte lane mask is generated for the watchpoint address by mask generator 26 using the least significant two bits of the watchpoint address COMP[1:0] 27 together with a programmed watchpoint size value CSIZE 28. In the system illustrated in FIG. 2A, CSIZE may take the values 1, 2, or 4. CSIZE is typically encoded within register 28 in a small number of bits, for example as log2(CSIZE). The full watchpoint address, COMP[31:0] (that is, the compound of COMP[31:2] and COMP[1:0]) is required to be aligned to the value of CSIZE. Watchpointed locations are required to be aligned. FIG. 2C shows how the mask generator 26 generates the byte lane mask, CBL[3:0]. The unaligned cases in FIG. 2C show a byte lane generated of #UNP, meaning the output is not defined as this is not a permitted case. FIG. 2C also includes an entry for CSIZE>=4; this is not permitted in this embodiment but will be described in terms of other embodiments later.
If the outputs of the mask generators 24 and 26 have a common bit which is set to one in both generated masks, then the AND gates 30 and the OR gate 32 detect this and pass an output signal together with the output of the XNOR gate 22 to AND gate 34. The output from the AND gate 34 is a match signal which is asserted when the memory access specified by the memory access address HADDR[31:0] (that is, the compound of HADDR[31:2] and HADDR[1:0]) and HSIZE matches the watchpoint insofar as the top 30-bits of the address HADDR[31:2] match the top 30-bits of the watchpoint address COMP[31:2], and that at least one of the watchpointed bytes within the aligned word, as indicated by COMP[1:0] and CSIZE, is being accessed. The match signal output from the AND gate 34 can be used for a variety of different purposes, such as, for example, triggering entry into a debug mode, triggering an interrupt, triggering the generation of trace or profiling information or in some other way.
In other embodiments, the byte lane mask generated by mask generator 26 in respect of the watchpointed location would instead be explicitly defined in the watchpoint register as CBL[3:0]. Only COMP[31:2] therefore needs to be defined in the watchpoint register and COMP[1:0] and CSIZE are not defined in the watchpoint register.
In other embodiments, CSIZE can be extended to support watchpointed locations larger than 4 bytes. In this case a CSIZE can take values ranging from 1 (20) bytes to 231 bytes. CSIZE can advantageously be encoded as a 5-bit field which defines the number of bits of the address comparison to ignore, that is log2(CSIZE). The corresponding bits of COMP[31:0] must be programmed as zero. In such an embodiment, where CSIZE is greater than 4 (word), the function of XNOR comparator 20 in FIG. 2A is modified to not compare those low-order bits of HADDR specified by log2(CSIZE), and the function of mask generator 26 is modified such that it generates a mask with all bits set, as shown in FIG. 2C.
In other embodiments, CBL[3:0] and the extended CSIZE are both defined in the watchpoint register. In such an embodiment, the minimum value for CSIZE is 4 (word), indicating bits [1:0] of the address are not to be compared by XNOR comparator 20,—the CBL field defines smaller-than-word watchpoints. For CSIZE>=4, it is defined that CBL[3:0] must be programmed as all ones "1111"; for example, if CSIZE=8, indicating bits [2:0] are ignored, COMP[2] must be zero and CBL[3:0] must be all ones. It does not make sense to define sub-word matches (byte lanes) when an address mask of more than a word is defined.
This embodiment is more flexible than the previous embodiment because you can, for example, program CBL[3:0] as "0101", setting a watchpoint on 2 bytes within a word which do not make up an aligned halfword. This is not possible where CSIZE and COMP[1:0] are used to generate the byte lane mask.
FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a problem which arises when the approach of FIGS. 1 and 2 is extended to systems supporting unaligned memory accesses. Within such systems memory accesses can span word boundaries 36, 38. FIG. 3 illustrates six different 4 byte memory accesses starting from respective memory locations. Memory access 40 is entirely within the word boundaries 36, 38. Memory accesses 42, 44 and 46 all span the word boundary 38. Memory access 50 does not span the word boundary 38.
In FIG. 3, byte address A is subject to watchpointing. The system of FIG. 2 in which both the upper portion HADDR[31:2] and the byte lane must match in order to register a watchpoint hit produces false negative results in respect of the memory accesses 42, 44 and 46 of FIG. 3. In the case of these three false negatives 42, 44, 46, the upper portion of the memory address HADDR[31:2] differs from that of the address A and accordingly the XNOR gate 20 of FIG. 2 produces a low output and the match signal is not generated. In FIG. 3, it is only the memory access 50 which triggers the match signal since the upper portion of the address HADDR[31:2] and the byte lane both match. Memory access 48 matches in its upper portion, but not byte lane and is a "true" negative.
The consequences of the false negatives of FIG. 3 can be severe within a debugging or analysis system. For example, if a programmer is trying to determine which portion of the system is incorrectly writing to a particular memory address A then if the errant portion is making its inappropriate write by a memory access corresponding to one of the three false negatives, this will not be detected by the watchpoint comparator 15 programmed in respect of byte A.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a technique to address the problem of false negatives illustrated in respect of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4 both the original byte A is subject to watchpointing as well as the immediately preceding byte A-1, which serves as a guard watchpoint. In this example, the memory accesses 40, 42, 44 and 46 will all trigger match signals from the guard watchpoint on address A-1. The match signals in respect of the memory accesses 42, 44 and 46 are correct in that those memory accesses 42, 44 and 36 do extend into the next word and access byte A, but the memory access 40 is a false positive in that whilst it triggers the guard watchpoint by virtue of accessing address A-1, it does not in fact extend beyond the word boundary and access address A. Thus, whilst the approach of FIG. 4 does not suffer from the problem of false negatives, it introduces its own problem of a false positive.
Whilst it would be possible for whatever mechanism was triggered by the match signal to conduct further analysis and identify false positives, such processing can be significantly disadvantageous. For example, a system may arise where memory access 40 is very common and correct in normal operation, with the erroneous accesses to the address A being highly infrequent. In this circumstance there would be a high number of false positives for each genuine access of interest to address A. Not only would this slow down the proper identification of a potential bug, it could also distort the processing activity by the repeated interruption to deal with false positives in a manner which masked or changed the errant behaviour.
The present technique both recognises the above problem and provides a solution to that problem.


A heterofunctional poly(alkyleneoxide) according to the invention contains a first polymer terminus containing a protected, unprotected, or derivatized amine or aminoalkyl functionality and a second polymer terminus containing an unsaturated functionality. Reaction products, derivatives, and methods of making these materials are also described.

Polymers of alkylene oxides, also known as poly(oxyalkylenes), are a broad class of materials which have utility due to their intrinsic properties as polymers which can behave as surfactants and emulsifiers. Further, these materials are components in higher order molecular structures, ranging from urethane block polymers to biologically active structures in which poly(oxyethylene) derivatization, sometimes referred to as "PEGylation," of proteins, enzymes and alkaloids enhances water-solubility or hydrophilicity compared to the parent biomolecule. An example of the latter is the use of PEGylated interferon as a drug. Formation of higher order structures is dependent on having appropriate reactivity. The preponderant functional poly(oxyethylenes) are telechelic (both termini are the same), and are sometimes referred to as homofunctional PEGs. The most common homofunctional PEGs have hydroxyl groups at the polymer termini. Conversion of the hydroxyl groups to other reactive groups, including allyl, amino, bromo, carboxy, formyl, maleimido and mercapto, is less important commercially, but has demonstrated utility. An overview of this technology is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,888,536 of Davis.
Significantly less common are bifunctional poly(oxyethylenes) in which each polymeric molecule has a discretely different functional group at the opposing ends, which is distinct from a random mixture of polymeric molecules which may have an average of two different groups but are in fact distributions. These bifunctional polymers are sometimes referred to as heterofunctional PEGs. Amino-functional poly(oxyethylenes) are of particular interest due to the ability of the amino group to react directly or in combination with a second component, such as glutaraldehyde, with proteins and other biomolecules. To this end, a number of heterofunctional poly(oxyethylenes) having both amino and hydroxyl (carbinol) functionality are known. It is of great interest to generate higher order structures having an end group that can be used for specific PEGylation reactions in which there is a requirement for terminal unsaturated functionality, or to undergo both radical induced polymerization or hydrosilylation reactions as a step in assembling higher order structures. For the formation of modified siloxanes, heterofunctional poly(oxyethylenes) with aminoalkyl and unsaturated functionalities are desirable, especially those not associated with an ester (such as a methacrylate) or an acetal (such as a vinyl ether), since these specific functionalities can interfere with hydrosilylation chemistry. It is also advantageous for hydrosilylation chemistry that the amine group be "blocked" or "protected" by replacement of one or more of the amine hydrogens with a silyl group. U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,295 of Schwindeman suggests a general method for preparing heterobifunctional olefin derived polymers utilizing a "blocked" aminoalkyllithium, but this necessarily introduces an alkyl spacer group. Accordingly, a less restrictive method would be desirable.

Bifunctional poly(alkyleneoxides) with aminoalkyl and unsaturated termini and derivatives thereof


A heat transfer arrangement comprises a target member (28 or 30), and an impingement member (32). The impingement member (32) defines a fluid path (38 or 40) there through to direct fluid onto the target member. The arrangement includes a fluid directing formation (42) on the impingement member (32). The fluid path (38 or 40) extends through the fluid directory formation (42) such that the fluid path directs fluid to exit there from at an exit angle that is substantially orthogonal to the fluid directing formation.

This invention relates to heat transfer arrangements. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to heat transfer arrangements for effective cooling by impingement.
In the high pressure turbine of a gas turbine engine, the components, particularly the nozzle guide vanes and the turbine blades, are subjected to high temperatures from the gases exiting from the combustor. The nozzle guide vanes and turbine blades thus require cooling to prevent a reduced life. Such cooling is generally effected by taking air from the high pressure compressor. Since such air does not pass through the combustor, it is not fully used to do work in the turbine and therefore has an adverse effect on engine efficiency. Therefore, this cooling air has to be used efficiently.


An accumulator with first page hold feature having an accumulating area and a mechanism for feeding sheets of a first group of sheets to the accumulating area. An identifying mechanism is provided to identify the first sheet of a second group of sheets. The first sheet of said second group is fed but is stopped before the first sheet reaches the accumulating area. In the meantime, first group of sheets is released from the accumulating area and the first sheet of the second group is then released from its stopped position and fed to the accumulating area.

The present invention relates to a feeding mechanism and more particularly to an improved feeding mechanism adopted to sequentially feed single sheets of paper or the like one at a time onto a stacking or accumulation area and to periodically release a stack from the accumulation area when the stack reaches a certain thickness.
This application is an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,663 (owned by the same entity which owns this application), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/112,193 filed Aug. 26, 1993 (also owned by the same entity which owns this application) U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,640,506 and 5,083,769.
As described and shown in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,663, single sheets of paper are moved individually over an inclined ramp and are stacked in a stacking or accumulation area in front of the inclined ramp. The accumulation area is comprised of the front wall of the ramp and a plurality of stop wheels which have notches therein which are spaced forwardly of the ramp and against which the sheets of paper abut. When a predetermined number of sheets are deposited in the accumulation area, the stop wheels are rotated thereby releasing the entire stack for forward movement. When the accumulation area is clear, a new stack of sheets is deposited in the accumulation area and the process is repeated. The structure described in this patent accumulates sheets from the bottom up with the first sheet deposited on the bottom of the accumulating area and subsequent sheets deposited on top of one another until the desired stack thickness is reached.
The mechanism shown and described in said Ser. No. 08/112,193 comprises a sheet feeding mechanism having an accumulator station and a pre-accumulator station in advance of the accumulator station. Sheets of a first group of sheets are fed to the accumulator station. Sheets of a second group of sheets are fed to the pre-accumulator station. The sheets of the second group are stacked in the pre-accumulator station. The first group of sheets from the accumulator station are released and the sheets of the second group are released from the pre-accumulator and fed to the accumulator station after the accumulator station is clear of sheets.
The mechanism described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,506 is directed to an attachment to the structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,633. With this attachment, the sheets are accumulated in the accumulation area from the top down with the first sheet deposited at the top of the accumulation area and subsequent sheets deposited below the top sheet until the desired stack thickness is reached.
In both of the devices described in said U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,640,506 and 4,799,633 once a stack thickness has been reached, the stack is moved out of the way and a new stack accumulation starts. However, the new stack accumulation cannot begin until after the old stack is removed from the accumulation area. In today's high speed processing sheets, this delay is unsatisfactory since the stacking the sheets cannot meet the number of sheets being fed from some other source, such as a printer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,769 is directed to a dual accumulator in vertical relationship with each other and in which a pivoted ramp is provided which moves from an upper position to a lower position and alternately directs sheets of paper first to the upper accumulator and thereafter to the lower accumulator. It will be appreciated that the use of two accumulators in the manner set forth in this patent creates duplication of effort and increases expenses.
Typically, in the preparation of documents a series of sheets are fed and stacked at a stacking station. The necessary number of sheets have been stacked to form a complete document (such as an insurance policy). The completed stack is moved to some other processing mechanism. With high speed feeding mechanisms, it is possible that when the end of a stack of sheets comprising the first document is being assembled, the first sheets of a second document are also being fed. In this situation, the feeding must stop until the first document is cleared from its stacking station and the sheets of the second document are fed to the stacking station. In addition, with such high speed input feeders it is sometimes possible for a third group of sheets forming a third document to also be fed before the first document is removed from the stacking station. Again, with existing mechanisms the feeding of all these sheets must stop until the stacking area is cleared of documents.

Accumulator with "first page hold" feature


The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for detecting non-recording regions of an optical recording medium for recording data or reproducing the recorded data by detecting header regions of the optical recording medium. For this purpose, in the apparatus for detecting non-recording regions of the optical recording medium having a plurality of header regions of different phases arranged between writable data regions in which the information capable of recognizing a reference frequency is wobbled on tracks, in order to distinguish the data regions by their shapes, the apparatus for detecting non-recording regions of the optical recording medium in accordance with the present invention includes a header region detection unit for detecting the plurality of header regions, a header region verification unit for verifying the detected header regions and outputting verified signals, a wobble-PLL unit for outputting PLL-wobble signals by phase locking upon receipt of wobble signals recorded on the tracks of the optical recording medium, and a counter for outputting header mask signals by counting the number of output pulses of the wobble-PLL unit upon receipt of the PLL-wobble signals on the basis of the verified signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for detecting non-recording regions of an optical recording medium, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for detecting non-recording regions of an optical recording medium for recording data or reproducing the recorded data by detecting header regions of the optical recording medium.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, an optical recording/reproducing apparatus records or reproduces data on an optical recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc), DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disc-Random Access Memory), etc. The above-mentioned optical recording medium has a track structure consisting of a land and groove. Particularly, a rewritable optical recording medium such as the DVD-RAM records data signals on the land and groove, respectively, in order to increase data recording density. To record data on the land and groove, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus must reduce the size of a laser beam spot for recording and reproducing data by decreasing the wavelength of a laser light outputted from an optical pickup and increasing the numerical aperture of an objective lens of the optical pickup.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a general optical recording/reproducing apparatus, wherein an optical recording medium for recording data on a land and groove is mounted on a drive of the above optical recording/reproducing apparatus.
To record or reproduce data on the optical recording medium, optical pickup 102 is operated by control of servo control unit 106 through focus servo driving unit 107 and tracking servo driving unit 108, and accordingly outputs laser beams onto a signal recording surface of the optical recording medium 101 on which data is recorded. When the light reflected from the signal recording surface of the optical recording medium is incident on the optical pickup again, the optical detector installed in the optical pickup outputs electric signals to the RF and servo error generating unit 104.
RF and servo error generating unit 104 outputs focus error signals, tracking error signals, and RF signals (lead channel 1 signals) upon receipt of the electrical signals. Herein, the focus error signals (FE) and the tracking error signals (TF) (lead channel 2 signal) are generated from the electric signals outputted from the optical detector comprised of a plurality of optical detection devices.
The lead channel signals 1 outputted from RF and servo error generating unit 104 are outputted to decoder 105, and the FE signals and TE signals are outputted to servo control unit 106. Namely, decoder 105 restores the RF signals to the original data when it reproduces the data recorded on the optical recording medium.
Encoder 103 receives data to be recorded on the optical recording medium. That is, encoder 103 encodes the data to be recorded using recording pulses appropriate to the type of optical recording medium 101, and thereafter records the encoded data on optical recording medium 101 through optical pickup 102.
Meanwhile, the above-described optical recording/reproducing apparatus can be connected to a host such as a PC. In the optical recording/reproducing apparatus connected to the host, when a recording/reproducing command transmitted from the host through interface 110 is inputted to microcomputer 111, the data to be recorded on optical recording medium 101 is transmitted to encoder 103 to thus be recorded on optical recording medium 101 by control of microcomputer 111, and the data outputted from optical recording medium 101 is transmitted from decoder 105, for thereby reproducing the data recorded on optical recording medium 101.
Servo control unit 106 outputs control signals to focus servo driving unit 107 and tracking servo driving unit 108, respectively, upon receipt of the focus error signals (FE) and tracking error signals (TE). Focus servo driving unit 107 drives a focus actuator in optical pickup 102 to move optical pickup 102 upwardly and downwardly, and makes beams outputted from optical pickup 102 to follow tracks of optical recording medium 101 as optical recording medium 101 is rotated and at the same time moved upwardly and downwardly, being focused on the track of optical recording medium 101. In addition, tracking servo driving unit 108 drives a tracking actuator in optical pickup 102 to move the objective lens of optical pickup 102 in the radial direction, thereby correcting the position of the beams and following the tracks.
Meanwhile, in the case of optical recording medium 101 such as DVD-RAM which is directly delivered from its manufacturer and has no information recorded, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus cannot record any data on optical recording medium 101 because optical pickup 102 cannot access optical recording medium 101. Therefore, in order to record data on optical recording medium 101, optical recording medium 101 must have land and groove tracks. On optical recording medium 101 having the above tracks, control information for sector addressing, random access, and rotation control is recorded along with the tracks on which data is recorded, being separated from the above-mentioned data to be recorded, thus making it possible to control the tracking of optical recording medium 101 having no recorded data thereon. Namely, the above-mentioned control information can be recorded by pre-formatting header regions on the starting position of each sector or by forming wobble along with the tracks.
Here, the above-mentioned wobble is information recorded on the optical recording medium by modulating certain clocks, including the information on the corresponding position and rotational speed of the optical recording medium, which is analyzed by optical power detected by a laser diode of the optical pickup.
FIG. 2(a) is a view illustrating a header region pre-formatted on the starting position of each sector of the optical recording medium, said header region having four header fields (header 1 fieldxcx9cheader 4 field).
The header 1 and 2 fields and the header 3 and 4 fields are arranged in a staggered fashion with each other from the center of the tracks. The phase of the header 1 and 2 fields is opposite to that of the header 3 and 4 fields, and also the phase of tracking error signals detected from the header 1 and 2 fields is opposite to that of tracking error signals detected from the header 3 and 4 fields. The track interface of regions whose data is recorded on the optical recording medium is, as illustrated in FIG. 2(a), formed in a wobble shape.
In the structure of the header region of the optical recording medium described above, servo error signals such as tracking error signals and focus error signals are generated. That is, the servo error signals read out from the header regions are distorted according to the structure of the header regions, and it is difficult to control the distorted servo error signals.
Therefore, in the case of optical recording medium such as DVD-RAM, the servo of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus is performed so that the servo error signal is held in the header regions, in order to reduce the influence on the servo error signals according to the header structure. That is, in the header region section, the beams outputted from the optical pickup are made not to deviate from the center of the tracks of the optical recording medium by covering the header regions with header masks and holding the tracking error signals
For this purpose, it must be firstly judged that the information reproduced by the optical recording apparatus belongs to the header regions of the optical recording medium. The header regions are judged by using wobble signals detected from lead channel 2 signals and IP1 or IP2 signals. Herein, since the number of wobble signals existing on each sector is always constant, header mask signals are generated by counting the number of the wobble signals. At this time, the wobble signals may not be detected well because of defects of the optical recording medium. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2(e), header mask signals are generated by counting the number of clocks that are phase-locked on the wobble signals actually recorded on the optical recording medium, that is, the number of PLL-wobble signals.
As illustrated in FIG. 2(d), the rising timing of the header mask signal is determined by counting the number of PLL-wobble signals as illustrated in FIG. 2(e) from the falling timing of the previous header mask signal, and, as illustrated in FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c), the falling timing of the header mask signal is determined by using IP1 or IP2 signals.
At this time, since the header 1 and 2 fields and the header 3 and 4 fields are arranged in a staggered fashion with each other from the center of the tracks of the optical recording medium, the phase (slope) of lead channel 2 signals detected from the header 1 and 2 fields is opposite to that of lead channel 2 signals detected from the header 3 and 4 fields. If the lead channel 2 signal of the header region is above the center of the track, it is outputted to a IP1 signal waveform as illustrated in FIG. 2(b) and, if it is below the center of the track, it is outputted to a IP2 signal waveform as illustrated in FIG. 2(c).
When data is recorded/reproduced on the optical recording medium, the phase is changed to the above IP1 signal or IP2 signal according to whether the currently followed track is a land or a groove. That is, either IP1 signal or IP2 signal is firstly outputted according to whether the track is a land or a groove. At this time, the falling timing of the header mask signal can be determined by ORing the above IP1 signal and IP2 signal. The lead channel 2 signal is detected when both tracking servo and focus servo are ON because the servo of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus is stably performed.
If the tracking servo is in the traverse state or free-running state, the servo of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus is unstable. Thus, the lead channel 2 signal is not detected, and accordingly the IP1 or IP2 signal is also not detected. Subsequently, if there are no IP1 and IP2 signals which are used as reference signals, the header regions are not properly detected and accordingly the servo error signals cannot be held in the header region, whereby the servo error signals are more influenced by the header regions.
In this way, when the IP1 or IP2 signal is used for measuring the traverse or eccentric amount for seeking by holding the header regions, the servo error signals are distorted because free running occurred due to the header regions.
If the tracking error signals cannot be held in the header regions, the tracking error signals become larger and the actuator follows the header regions. If the actuator follows the header regions, track slippage occurs thereby making the track servo unstable due to discrete track error variation and degrading the characteristics of recording/reproducing data on the optical recording medium.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for detecting non-recording regions of an optical recording medium for recording or reproducing data by precisely detecting header regions of the optical recording medium even in the case that a servo is unstable.
For this purpose, in the apparatus for detecting non-recording regions of the optical recording medium having a plurality of header regions of different phases arranged between writable data regions in which the information capable of recognizing a reference frequency is wobbled on tracks, in order to distinguish the data regions by their shapes, the apparatus for detecting non-recording regions of the optical recording medium in accordance with the present invention includes a header region detection unit for detecting the plurality of header regions, a header region verification unit for verifying the detected header regions and outputting verified signals, a wobble-PLL unit for outputting PLL-wobble signals by phase locking upon receipt of wobble signals recorded on the tracks of the optical recording medium, and a counter for outputting header mask signals by counting the number of output pulses of the wobble-PLL unit upon receipt of the PLL-wobble signals on the basis of the verified signals.
In the method for detecting non-recording regions of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus having a plurality of header regions of different phases arranged between writable data regions in which the information capable of recognizing a reference frequency is wobbled on tracks, in order to distinguish the data regions by their shapes, the method for detecting non-recording regions of the optical recording medium in accordance with the present invention includes a step of generating first header detection signals and second header detection signals by generating control signals by using optical reflection signals from the optical recording medium and slicing the control signals to a set slice level, a step of generating a verification signal for determining header mask regions by using the first and second header detection signals, and a step of determining the xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d time point of the header mask signal representing a header region by counting the number of PLL-wobble signal generated by locking a phase lock loop (PLL) on the wobbling signals and determining the xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d time point of the header mask signal by using the verification signal as the reference signal.

Apparatus and method for detecting non-recording regions of an optical recording medium


The present invention relates to a method for making Cheddar type and Continental type cheese with an adjunct culture comprising a Lactobacillus helveticus strain.

Cheddar type cheeses are made with either mesophilic cultures or a mixture of mesophilic and thermophilic cultures. They are dry salted after the milling step. An example of a rather traditional Cheddar make is given below to illustrate the manufacturing process (according to Walstra et al, 2006 Dairy Science and Technology/Second edition, Taylor & Francis, page 713): Milk is pasteurized (15 sec/71° C.), filled into the cheese vat with a temperature of 30° C. and pre-acidified with addition of starter culture for 40 min at 30° C. Rennet is added and coagulation process takes 35 min at 30° C. The coagulum is cut (10 min) and during 30 min of stirring the curd/whey is heated up to scalding temperature of 40° C. The scalding temperature is held for 60 further minutes. Then the curd settles, fuses into a compact mass and whey is taken off (30 min). Afterwards, the cheddaring takes place (100 min) where the curd mass is cut into large strips that are piled up and turned. Prior to salting, the curd is milled into small strips. Salt is added and mixed with the curd strips. The salted curd is then filled into moulds and pressed (16 h/2 bars). After a certain drying phase, cheeses are packed and ripened at relatively low temperature such as 8 to 11° C.
Traditionally, cheeses of the continental type are made with mesophile starter cultures. An example of a cheese of the continental type is the Samsø cheese. A Samsø cheese (30% fat in dry matter) is made according to the following steps: Milk is standardized in fat content (e.g. 1.6% fat), pasteurized (20 sec/72° C.) and filled into the cheese vat with a temperature of 31° C. KNO3 and CaCl2 may be added to the milk. Milk is afterwards inoculated with the mesophile starter culture. Rennet is added and coagulation process takes 45 min at 31° C. The coagulum is cut (5 min) and 35% of the whey is drained off. Hot water is added and the scalding is made at 37° C. The stir out phase takes 40 min and afterwards the whey is drained off and the curd is transferred into moulds. The curd is pressed in the moulds at 4 bar, and then at 6 bar for 70 min in total. After a subsequent resting phase cheese temperature falls to 12° C. Subsequently cheeses are salted in a brine (20 hours).
In the manufacturing of fermented milk product there is a constant need for alternative and improved manufacturing method. Such desired methods typically aim at improving the manufacturing process e.g. by reducing cost, increasing speed of the overall process and/or improve characteristics of the final product. Desired product improvements include all known product quality parameters such as taste, texture, flavour etc. In fermented products the manufacturing process includes the addition of a starter culture performing the specific fermentation. In cheese production, the objective of the starter culture is to primarily acidify the raw material, milk. Often, it is not possible to optimize the performance of the primary starter in a way that secures optimal taste/flavour of the final product.
In the case of cheese production, often a ripening step is included in the production process. During the ripening phase proteolysis, amino acid catabolism and lipolysis are key factors for texture and flavour development in the cheese product. The ripening phase should result in the development of the desired organoleptic properties of the cheese in a short time frame. As a result it has been suggested to apply "adjunct cultures" in the manufacturing of fermented milk products aiming at improving the characteristics of the product such as texture and/or flavour. This is of special relevance in reduced-fat or low-fat cheeses. Adjunct cultures are expected to improve the characteristics of the product such as texture and/or flavour but not to interfere with the acidification of milk caused by the primary starter culture. Adjunct cultures influence the cheese ripening process trough their enzymatic systems involving among others proteinases, peptidases, aminopeptidases, aminotransferases, esterases and lipases. The enzymatic potential is species and/or strain dependent.                Adjunct cultures are often Lactobacillus strains which are shown to contribute to the flavor development. The use of Lactobacillus helveticus as an adjunct culture to cheese has been studied. Nevertheless Lactobacillus helveticus as an adjunct culture can only be used at limited inoculation rates due to its impact on the acidification profile. This is especially relevant in cheese technologies where the scalding temperature is high enough to allow significant growth of the thermophile Lactobacillus helveticus adjunct culture (as e.g. 40° C. in a Cheddar cheese make). Different approaches were proposed to overcome this problem. One approach is to use attenuated (non viable) adjunct cultures. The most investigated methods for attenuation are of physical character as e.g. heat shock and freeze shock. The drawback of this approach is that the attenuation process is an extra step during culture preparation that has to be carried out either at the culture producer or the cheese producer under reproducible conditions. It should be emphasized that changes in the acidification process during a cheese make will without any further adaptation of the cheese making process impact on whey drainage from the cheese curd, the content of minerals in the curd/cheese and the minimum pH during the cheese make. This has important unwanted consequences on the cheese composition, cheese ripening and the obtained characteristics of the product such as texture and/or flavour.


A mattress assembly may include a foam frame, an inner assembly within the foam frame, the inner assembly including a foam core and a pocketed coil assembly. The pocketed coil assembly can include a plurality of individual pocketed coil springs having a height. Each coil spring may be joined together to a neighboring coil spring such that at least a majority of the height of each coil spring is configured to vertically deflect without deflecting the joined neighboring coil spring.

Previous pocketed coil spring assemblies include a number of discrete coil springs, each of which is enclosed in a fabric pocket in a length of folded fabric material. Longitudinal axes of the spring coils are generally parallel with one another so that the top and bottom end turns of the coil springs define top and bottom faces of the spring unit. These spring assemblies can be fabricated by forming rows of the pocketed coil springs and binding or adhering the individual rows together.
Individual pocketed springs are typically secured to adjacent pocketed springs by an adhesive, an ultrasonic weld, or a mechanical fastener near the top or over substantial portion of the longitudinal axes of the joined springs. However, these fastening techniques cause shearing force within the fabric pockets, which reduce the freedom of movement of individual coils when the coils are compressed. This influences the vertical restoring force of the coil springs, thereby interfering with mechanical equilibrium of the mattress. Furthermore, these fastening techniques can add cost and complexity to the manufacture of a coil spring assembly.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved pocketed coil spring mattress assembly.


An optical fiber termination for the termination of fibers at a residence, apartment or factory or office work station should be convenient and readily accomplished by the technician. The termination is afforded by a module including a support having a wall to support a connector, a plug and short pigtail fiber reaching the center of a splice in a splice magazine on the support.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates terminating an optical fiber of a cable, and in one aspect to a device for terminating an optical fiber and adapting it to be readily connected to another fiber, i.e. a distribution fiber.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art has a variety of connector and splice structures for affording the connection of an end of one optical fiber to the end of another optical fiber for the purpose of joining the two suitably to continue the light through the fibers. The splice is a device which can be applied by a skilled technician in the field who cleaves the fiber, abuts two fiber ends and joins them permanently together by a splice. The connector comprises a connector plug, coupling and connector plug to form the continuation for the light and each connector plug has the end of a length of optical fiber carefully aligned in and secured to the plug in an assembly plant or as a field operation requiring special equipment and great care to terminate the fiber precisely. This plug and fiber end may then be readily connected to the end of another fiber which is joined to a connector plug in a connector coupling by almost anyone with minimal assembly skills. The technicians then are the workers with the responsibility of taking the optical fiber cable that has arrived at the communications station and then take the individual optical fibers and splice each of them to fibers leading from connector plugs such that they can be subsequently connected to the connector plug of a fiber running to an opto-electronic piece of equipment. When this piece of equipment is a piece of equipment in the home, factory or office work station and the number of optical fibers directed thereto are all contained in a single cable, or the cable contains optical fibers together with copper signal wires, it is desirable to have a convenient means of termination of the optical fibers as well as a convenient method of joining the copper wire to a distribution wire. This termination should not require any more skill than the technician that would routinely service and install such cables. If it requires tools that cut and polish the optical fiber end and special fixtures to secure the finished fiber end in a plug, then the level of skill required to make only several connections at remote locations is not economically prudent commercially, and the optical fiber distribution system will not grow and be as readily available to as many citizens as rapidly as desired. Presently, where large installations are made in a building or central station, a distribution housing is installed and the cable is brought in for distribution. Individual optical fibers from the cable are spliced to long pigtails, each consisting of individually jacketed optical fiber terminated into a connector plug at one end. The pigtail connector plug is mounted into a connector coupling located within the distribution housing or a remote second distribution housing. The splice joining the two fibers is placed within a splice holder within the first distribution housing. The surplus fiber from the pigtail and surplus fiber from the cable are both carefully stored in the distribution housing. A second plug mates with the first in the connector coupling and routes to an opto-electronic device or other intermediate junction. This is the routine which must be followed to allow slack for removal of the fiber from the distribution housing for application of a plug, either as a precise field cut and polish operation or through splicing of a factory made plug with a fiber pigtail.
A prior device, identified as an optical cable header is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,303, utilizes a plurality of optical connector supports which are engaged in a magazine or housing. The connector supports have an elongate body in the form of a hollow finger. The finger has a cylindrical connector member at a front end, to receive the connection end fitting on the end of each incoming fiber, and a side mounted former, upon which to wind a length of fiber, is located near to its opposite or rear end. The magazine has a row of cavities which are open at the rear of the magazine for receiving the supports. The cavities have circular openings in the front wall to receive the connector members of the connector supports when they are received in the cavities. The optical connector will also receive an analogous end fitting of an external fiber for connection to the fiber inside the finger. The connector described in the introduction is an installed connection end fitting, for example the one described in French Pat. No. 2 275 787 and in its certificate of addition 2 316 611, the earliest patent corresponding generally to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,989,567 and 4,050,783. The connector described in these patents is designed to receive one or multiple fibers, but to receive one fiber, requires an installation and in each end fitting, the end face of a fiber is rectified and suitably positioned for providing accurate optical connection when two connection fittings are brought together. The installation of the end fitting is not perceived as a field installation since Pat. No. 4,585,303 refers to the cable having a plurality of optical fibers with each fiber having a connection end fitting installed on its end. The purpose of the patented header is to avoid having to interrupt the connection of several fibers as with the connector of Pat. No. 4,050,783, when repairing a defect in the connection between any one pair of fibers.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a module which allows splicing of a fiber to a connector plug pigtail within the module, thus eliminating the need for excess slack between the splice and plug, and between the splice and the balance of the feeder system as formerly required to remove the splice to a location suitable for the precise operation required.
Reliable mechanical splices of several designs have recently become available which make this splicing within the module possible.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a termination which will reduce the need for large or bulky boxes to handle incoming and distribution fibers and afford the installation of only one or a few optical fibers as needed, such as a small service tap into a residence, apartment or office or factory work station for connection of those optical fibers to opto-electronic equipment.
The module of the present invention should be easy to use to make the termination with incoming, unterminated fibers, so they are readily accessible to make connection with companion plugs on distribution cables.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A fuel vapor canister is purged by admitting fuel vapor from the canister to the vehicle engine under control of a solenoid valve, the duty cycle of the valve being controlled to optimize the purge rate. Closed loop fuel correction and block learn fuel correction factors developed by the fuel control system are used to update a learned purge duty cycle which is stored in a keep-alive memory.

It is a common practice to minimize the emission of gasoline vapors from an automotive fuel tank by collecting the vapors in a canister containing charcoal, and to purge the canister by admitting its fuel vapors to the engine for combustion therein. The vapors are fed to the throttle body of the engine fuel system by a tube containing a solenoid valve for control of the purge operation. Typically purge has been allowed when the throttle is open, and engine coolant temperature, engine speed and vehicle speed are all above prescribed thresholds. The purge is controlled by a duty cycle operation of the solenoid valve. A low duty cycle is implemented when the purge is first enabled and the duty cycle gradually ramps up to 100% operation. Usually this allows the extra fuel to be accommodated by the engine and the fuel control system compensates by decreasing the injected fuel to maintain air/fuel stoichiometry. Still there are some conditions when the purge action provides too much fuel to the engine and an undesirable engine response such as surging may occur. Such excess fuel also can lead to undesirable emissions as well as to a high catalytic converter temperature.
In the fuel control system manifold pressure and temperature sensors provide information upon which a fuel amount is predicated. An exhaust oxygen sensor provides an air/fuel ratio signal to a closed loop control which generates a closed loop correction factor for adjustment of the fuel amount. When the closed loop correction factor reaches a set limit, a portion of that factor is rolled into a block learn correction factor which is stored in permanent memory and is also used for adjustment of the fuel amount. Several block learn factors are stored for use with different engine conditions, and each is updated according to the closed loop correction factor. The correction factors can compensate for purged fuel within limits. When those limits are reached it is then desirable to reduce the purge duty cycle and, consequently, the purged fuel vapor to an amount that the fuel control can manage. On the other hand it is important to maximize the purged fuel vapor rate to assure removal of the canister contents.


An unpurified silicone oil is treated with fibrous activated carbon, yielding a silicone oil of high purity, which will find use in the electric and electronic industry and as cosmetics.

This nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 2002-136694 filed in Japan on May 13, 2002, which is (are) herein incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to the purification of silicone oil, and more particularly, to a method for purifying silicone oil to a high level of purity to use in the electric and electronic industry and cosmetic applications.
Silicone oil is a family of organosilicon compounds comprising straight chains or straight and branched chains of siloxane bonds, modified with organic groups attached to silicon atoms as typified by methyl and phenyl groups. The viscosity of silicone oil varies over a wide range of 0.65 to 1,000,000 centistokes (cs) at 25xc2x0 C. By virtue of superior heat resistance, freeze resistance, temperature properties of viscosity, and biological action as compared with mineral oils and oils of organic origins such as animal and plant oils, the silicone oil has already been widely used in the industry.
As silicone oil has found increasing novel applications for recent decades, oils produced by prior art methods do not necessarily possess all satisfactory properties. To acquire appropriate properties for a particular application, novel production methods or purification methods have been developed. Through further modifications made thereon, industrial methods have been established.
Nevertheless, in the electric and electronic industry and cosmetic application, especially in recent years, it is a matter of great urgency to obtain a silicone oil of high purity with a minimal impurity content.
Meanwhile, the raw material from which silicone oil is produced is composed mainly of dimethyldichlorosilane which is a monomer isolated to a high degree by distillation and optionally, a monochlorosilane (isolated by distillation) for end formation and a dichlorosilane containing phenyl or other organic groups for imparting certain properties, which are optionally hydrolyzed to form a siloxane intermediate, which is polymerized to eventually form a silicone oil. Almost for a certainty, the assistants used in this process are only a polymerization catalyst and a neutralizing agent. Therefore, the target for high purity is how to remove minor amounts of catalyst residue and by-products. At the same time, an analysis technique chosen and a preset level of these impurities dictate the level of product quality.
Prior art purification methods include neutralization, filtration, activated carbon treatment, water washing and the like, which are optionally used in combination. These methods are not necessarily satisfactory. Although impurities are basically removed by water washing, the generation of a large amount of waste water and the installation and time needed for separation become serious problems. Among the above-mentioned methods, the activated carbon method is relatively easy and effective to a certain extent, but suffers from difficulties of handling including large amounts of carbon used, the concomitant problem of waste carbon, and complete removal of activated carbon fines after the treatment. There is a need to develop a simple, inexpensive, stable method entailing a minimized amount of waste and capable of mass scale production.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for purifying silicone oil which is simple, inexpensive and stable, entails a minimized amount of waste, and can offer a silicone oil of high purity and quality enough to find use in the electric/electronic and cosmetic applications.
Studying activated carbon, we have found that a specific activated carbon has an activity to purify silicone oil. More specifically, an attempt to treat a crude or unpurified silicone oil with fibrous activated carbon, especially activated carbon fibers based on carbon fibers derived from phenolic resins becomes a simple, inexpensive, stable purification method with minimized waste. The silicone oil obtained by this purification method has a high purity enough to find use in the electric/electronic and cosmetic applications.
Therefore, the present invention provides a method for purifying silicone oil by treating silicone oil with fibrous activated carbon.
Activated carbons include those derived from natural wood sources such as coconut shell-origin activated carbon and charcoal-origin activated carbon, and are often in powder or granular form. From the past, they have long been utilized in the organic chemistry field for purification, decoloring and removal of trace ingredients. The application of activated carbon to the electronic industry was recently reported as disclosed in JP-A 8-12602. There are also known coal-origin activated carbons, such as those derived from coal and tar. Recently, activated carbon in fibrous form is available. It is reported that a certain activated carbon exerts a specific function depending on its shape and its composition or microstructure which will be inherent to its origin, and is used in a particular application requiring such a function. See JP-A 56-168824, JP-A 4-267872, JP-A 6-128816 and JP-A 10-120402. These prior art approaches challenged to increase the level of purification to the limit of analysis, but failed to establish an industrially acceptable process. The material that the present invention addresses is silicone oil which is a family of organosilicon compounds.
Namely, the present invention is essentially different from the prior art techniques discussed above. It has been found that for the purification of silicone oil to a higher level, fibrous activated carbon is outstandingly effective. The concept of purifying silicone oil using fibrous activated carbon is based on a unique combination of a specific material with its applicable properties. The present invention is predicated on this finding.
Although the purifying ability of fibrous activated carbon is apparently regarded similar to the purifying ability of granular activated carbon commonly used in the prior art, a definite difference is seen between them when used in the purification of silicone oil. Of course, the difference is considered partially inherent to the chemical and physical properties of the original fibers, while the relationship of the exact material and properties on the activated carbon side to the object to be purified has not been well understood.
The silicone oil to be purified herein is not critical. The silicone oil which can be used herein is one obtained by using as a main component a diorganodichlorosilane such as dimethyldichlorosilane which is a monomer isolated to a high level of purity by distillation and optionally, a monochlorosilane (isolated by distillation) for end formation such as trimethylmonochlorosilane, and a dichlorosilane containing phenyl or other organic groups for imparting certain properties such as diphenyldichlorosilane or methylphenyldichlorosilane, optionally hydrolyzing the monomer or monomers to form a siloxane intermediate, and polymerizing the intermediate.
The viscosity of the silicone oil is not critical as long as it is oily. For filtration and other properties, the silicone oil should preferably have a viscosity of up to 10,000 cs, especially up to 5,000 cs at 25xc2x0 C. The structure of the silicone oil is not critical as well and may be terminated with a triorganosilyl group such as trimethylsilyl or a diorganohydroxysilyl group.
Impurities which can be most effectively removed by the fibrous activated carbon include hydrocarbons and anionic impurities as typified by sulfate ions and chloride ions. Hydrocarbons can give off oily odor and incur color deficiencies. Ionic impurities can exacerbate insulating properties and high-temperature stability.
The content of impurities in the oil to be purified depends on the starting material and preparation conditions and is preferably in the range of not more than about 5,000 ppm, especially not more than 1,000 ppm of hydrocarbons and not more than about 100 ppm, especially not more than 50 ppm of ionic impurities such as sulfate ions and chloride ions.
The fibrous activated carbon used herein is not critical as long it is fibrous. Preferably, it has a diameter of 5 to 15 xcexcm, an outer surface area of 0.1 to 2.0 m2/g, and a specific surface area of 800 to 2,500 m2/g. Examples of the fibrous activated carbon include those derived from rayon, pitch, acrylic resins and phenolic resins. Of these, fibrous activated carbons derived from phenolic resins are preferred. The activated carbon fibers derived from phenolic resins are available, for example, as Kynol from Nippon Kynol, Inc.
The amount of fibrous activated carbon used may be determined in accordance with the type and amount of impurities in the silicone oil to be purified and the treating time. A small amount of fibrous activated carbon as compared with granular activated carbon and powder activated carbon is effective, and even a ppm level relative to the silicone oil to be purified is fully effective. In the batchwise treatment, the preferred amount of fibrous activated carbon is at least 0.1 ppm, more preferably at least 0.5 ppm, even more preferably at least 1 ppm based on the weight of the silicone oil to be purified. The upper limit is not critical, but from an economical aspect, the amount of fibrous activated carbon is preferably up to 20 parts, more preferably up to 10 parts, even more preferably up to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the silicone oil. In the continuous treatment, the silicone oil is preferably fed at a flow rate of 0.01 to 10,000 g/min, more preferably 0.1 to 1,000 g/min, even more preferably 0.5 to 500 g/min per gram of the fibrous activated carbon.
The method of purifying silicone oil according to the invention requires effective contact of fibrous activated carbon with the silicone oil to be purified, as in the case of granular activated carbon treatment. For example, the fibrous activated carbon is admitted into and mixed with a liquid to be purified, the flowpath of a cartridge or container is filled with the fibrous activated carbon, or the fibrous activated carbon is incorporated in a paper filter. The use of a cartridge filled with the fibrous activated carbon is practically favorable because continuous treatment is possible. For the continuous treatment through a cartridge filled with the fibrous activated carbon, the preferred treating conditions include a temperature of about 10 to 80xc2x0 C., especially about 20 to 50xc2x0 C. and a contact time of about 5 seconds to about 20 minutes, more preferably about 20 seconds to about 5 minutes, especially about 30 seconds to about 2 minutes.
The purified silicone oil resulting from the above treatment can be analyzed by washing the product with water to extract impurities therewith, and analyzing the extracted water by ion chromatography to detect SO4 ions and Cl ions as ionic impurities originating from the catalyst. Alternatively, the overall water-soluble impurities are measured in terms of extracted water conductivity (EC) and pH, and trace metal impurities are measured by ion pair chromatography (IPC).
It is understood that the silicone oil purified by the inventive method should preferably have the content of SO4 ions, Cl ions and trace metal impurities reduced to 1 ppm or lower, especially below the detection limit. Preferably, the extracted water conductivity (EC) is 1 xcexcS/cm or lower and the pH is approximate to that of original water used in extraction.
Using fibrous activated carbon, the present invention renders the purification of silicone oil very simple and efficient, minimizes used water or wastes and improves industrial productivity. The silicone oil purified by the present invention has a high and consistent level of purification and a quality stability enough to find use in the electric and electronic field and the cosmetic application. The purified silicone oil satisfies the requirement in a novel application and allows development of a new market.


A clamp apparatus includes seat and a stopper. The stopper is force toward the seat by an elastic member, so that the stop and the seat are able to clutch and stop a tube or a multi-way valve. The seat is provided with a detachable holder which clips or presses on the tube or the multi-way valve. Thus, by interchanging the holder with another holder, the clip can fit with sizes of tubes and multi-way valves. Application of the clamp apparatus is expended with minimal accessories.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamp for stopping a tube or a multi-way valve.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tubes and multi-way valves are frequently utilized in connecting machines for transporting liquid or gas. For servicing the machines, these tubes and multi-way valves shall be temporarily sealed, or gas or liquid would spray out. Therefore, clamp for stopping tubes is a common tool, such as disclosed in TWD142958.
However, diameters of the tubes and the multi-way valves are different from one another. A considerable amount of clamps have to be prepared for fitting with sizes of the tubes. Thus, the cost for servicing is increased.
Tube clamp is then provided for fitting with sizes of tubes. However, the clamp has to be fixed and mounted to the tube with specialized tools. Manipulation of the clamp is difficult and complicated.
The present invention is, therefore, arisen to obviate or at least mitigate the above mentioned disadvantages.


A superconducting magnet assembly includes a bobbin comprising a central bore along a longitudinal direction, and a superconducting coil package wound on the bobbin. The superconducting coil package includes a plurality of superconducting coil layers wound on the bobbin, a plurality of supporting member layers, each of the supporting member layers being between a corresponding two adjacent superconducting coil layers, and a thermal conduction layer between two superconducting coil layers or between a superconducting coil layer and an adjacent supporting member layer.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to superconducting magnet assemblies and fabricating methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Superconducting magnets comprise superconducting coils conducting electricity without resistance as long as the magnets are maintained at a suitably low temperature, which is referred to as "superconducting temperature" hereinafter. Accordingly, when a power source is initially coupled to the superconducting coils, electrical current continues to flow through the coils even after the power is removed resulting in a strong magnetic field being maintained. Superconducting magnet are used in, for example, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems, to generate a strong, uniform magnetic fields within which a patient or other subject is placed.
A superconducting magnet assembly usually comprises several superconducting coils wound on a bobbin for example, and a cooling system for cooling the superconducting coils at the superconducting temperature. When an electrical current is applied to the magnetic coils, known as a ramp-up, magnetic forces act on the magnetic coils, and the coils have a tendency to move and deform under the forces. When the current is removed from the coils, the forces diminish, and the coils will tend to return to their original positions. A small shift in the relative position of the coils can significantly impact the quality of the magnetic field produced by the magnet. The magnetic forces exert stresses and strains on the coils, excessive stresses or strains may cause the coil to break or become damaged. Further, excessive stresses or strains may cause cracking or frictional movements in the coils, which raise the coil temperature to exceed the superconducting temperature and quench the magnet. Accordingly, mechanical support arrangements are needed for securing the coils in place, and for bearing strains and stresses on the coils which are generated by the magnetic forces.
One conventional mechanical support arrangement comprises a plurality of support members mechanically securing the corresponding magnetic coils on the bobbin, which adversely make the assembly very complicated and bulky.
It is desirable to have a different and a simpler superconducting magnet assembly and method with mechanical support arrangements for superconducting coils.

Superconducting magnet assembly and fabricating method


An angle-adjustable recessed lamp structure comprises: a lamp bulb, a lamp holder, a rotatory carrier, and a mounting base. The rotatory carrier is securely screwed onto a track frame, which has a hollow sliding slot on the center of the arc-shaped body. The track frame is securely screwed on the fixing base via a fixing plate that locates on the rearward of the track frame. The fixing plate has two holding notches extending downward from both ends thereof for holding and positioning a rotation shaft. The rotation shaft is securely coupled with the coupling portion to enable the lamp holder to be rotatable by using pivotal connection between the rotatory carrier and the lamp holder. The lamp holder is upwards/downwards rotatable along the sliding slot within approximate 70 angles.

As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,915, a lamp bulb is disposed inside a lamp holder. The lamp holder has two pivot rods bilaterally disposed at the bottom thereof and respectively positioned in two notches of a rotary carrier. Two upright rods are disposed adjacent to the notches, respectively. The upright rods are screwed onto a pressing plate such that the lamp holder can be pivotally connected to the rotary carrier for adjusting the lighting angle of the lamp bulb.
The pivot rods are bilaterally disposed on the outside bottom of the lamp holder so the notches must provide sufficient space for holding the pivot rods. As a result, the dimension of the recessed lamp structure is increased, and much more components are also required. Consequently, the integral efficiency is affected and the product cannot be minimized.


The tread band of a tire has two circumferential portions, a central one and an inner intermediate one, respectively, that are subdivided into center and intermediate blocks respectively; an inner-shoulder circumferential portion has first and second inner-shoulder cuts, axially offset from each other and distributed in an alternated sequence, to confine a continuous inner-shoulder rest surface with an undulated course; and an outer intermediate circumferential portion has first and second intermediate cuts, and an outer-shoulder circumferential portion has first and second outer-shoulder cuts. The first and second intermediate cuts and the outer-shoulder cuts, respectively, mutually converge at an angle of about 20° and are axially offset from each other and circumferentially distributed in an alternated sequence, to delimit continuous rest surfaces, an intermediate and outer-shoulder surface respectively, with an undulated course.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tyre for vehicles. More particularly, the invention applies to High Performance and Ultra High Performance cars and racing cars, in particular cars for rally driving, having high handling qualities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optimal features in terms of traction power and grip performance on braking as well as handling on dry and wet roadway surfaces and satisfactory wear resistance are usually required from tyres of this class.
Known are tyres for vehicles having a tread provided with blocks confined by circumferential grooves, extending in a substantially longitudinal direction, and transverse grooves extending in a substantially axial direction. The blocks resulting from interlacing of said grooves have several different shapes that are suitably studied and disposed in circumferential side by side rows, each of which is enclosed between two subsequent circumferential grooves.
The circumferential grooves can affect the steering and steady running properties of the tyre in relation to lateral thrusts (slip thrusts) directed parallel to the rotation axis of the tyre itself.
The transverse grooves, in turn, can affect the tyre traction power, i.e. the capability of efficiently receiving the tangential thrusts parallel to the running direction from the roadway surface, during the acceleration and braking steps of the vehicle.
The circumferential and transverse grooves can also affect draining of the water in the contact area with the roadway surface (footprint area) during running on a wet roadway.
WO 2006-007877, in the name of the same Applicant, proposes a tyre the tread band of which has at least one first and one second circumferential grooves separating a central portion from two shoulder portions. To some distance from at least one of the circumferential grooves, a circumferential cut is formed. The tread band is crossed by transverse grooves distributed in repeated circumferential modules, each of which in at least one shoulder portion has a main groove having a first substantially rectilinear segment inclined at an angle included between 3° and 10° relative to a radial plane of the tyre, a second substantially rectilinear segment extending between the circumferential cut and the first circumferential groove at an angle included, just as an indication, between 105° and 130° relative to the radial plane, and a curvilinear portion for connection between the first and second segments.


In a correction tape dispenser, wherein a backing ribbon carrying a layer of correcting composition is fed from a supply spool (2) around the edge (6) of an applicator tip (10) used to press the tape against a paper surface (P) to transfer the layer of correcting composition onto the paper, and back to a take-up spool (3), a tape guide system (11,12; 22,23) is provided near the tip to redirect the tape, the tip edge (6) being at an angle to the feed direction so that the body of the tape dispenser may be held in a forwardly and downwardly inclined orientation similar to that in which a writing instrument is normally held.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a correction tape dispenser for laying down a strip or band of correction composition onto a surface, most usually paper, e.g. to cover markings thereon to facilitate the correction of a mistake.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are known correction tape dispensers which have supply and take-up spools for the tape mounted within a case to rotate about parallel axes with the supply spool being coupled to drive the take up spool through a slipping clutch arrangement. The case may be adapted to be held directly in the hand of the user, or it may form a cartridge which is inserted into a re-usable outer housing. A length of tape extending between the spools is guided to pass out of the casing and around a tip having a relatively sharp edge which is used to press the tape against the surface onto which the correction strip is to be applied. The tape consists of a ribbon, e.g. of plastics or paper, on one side of which is carried a coating of the correction composition, this coating being on the outer side of the ribbon when it passes around the tip. In use, the device is held in the hand and the tip is pressed down onto the paper surface so that its edge presses the tape against the surface across the full width of the tape. The correction composition has an adhesive quality and has greater adhesion to the paper than its carrier ribbon, so that when the tip is displaced across the paper surface in a direction perpendicular to the tip edge, the tip slides with respect to the ribbon causing tape to be drawn off the supply spool. The consequent rotation of the supply spool rotates the take-up spool so that a substantially constant tension is maintained in the tape and the take-up spool reels in the spent ribbon over which the tip has passed and from which the correction composition coating will have been deposited onto the paper surface. In this way a continuous strip of the correction composition is laid down onto the paper, this strip having a length according to the distance travelled by the dispenser tip.
The known correction tape dispensers operate satisfactorily as far as laying down the correction strip is concerned. However, they do require some practice to ensure that during displacement of the tip its edge is applied correctly against the paper. To a large extent the difficulty of ensuring the correct orientation of the tip is due to the device having to be held in an unnatural attitude, especially when the spools are arranged with their axes parallel to the tip edge.


A universal exercise machine comprising a belt portion (20), which is to be fixed as a conventional belt to the waist of the user. The belt portion (20) has on its upper and lower sides rings (40-56) for the attachment of elastic straps (22-30) which are connected to the hands, legs, and head of the user, for various exercises based on the application of force required for the stretching of the elastic straps. A distinguishing feature of the machine is the provision of an integrated back support (64), which may comprise a portion of the belt, or a part connected to the belt portion. The back support has a transverse rigidity greater than the remaining part of the belt portion (20). Another unique feature of the machine is the provision of floating elements (78a, 78b, . . . 78n) which imparts to the user buoyancy for exercising in the water.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of sports, particularly to a universal exercising device suitable for physical exercising, general fitness, injury prevention, physical rehabilitation, and for similar use on land and in the water.
2. History of the Problem
Known equipment which is used for exercising in the field of physical fitness, physical training, aerobic conditioning, and weight lifting is either overly simplistic (such as a barbell, stair step, exercise stick, or jump rope), or very complicated, cumbersome, expensive, and difficult to use (such as the Nautilus apparatus, treadmill, Nordic Track, Soloflex, stationary bicycle, et cetera).
Previous attempts have been made to solve the above problems by utilizing simple devices for exercise. These devices come in the form of a special suit or belt which is attached to the user's waist, and is equipped with elastic straps, with one end of each strap being secured at the belt, while the free ends of the straps are engageable with the user's hands and legs.
One such known device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,272, issued in August of 1992 to W. Wilkinson. This device is intended for use while walking. It consists of a back foundation plate to which a belt with two ends is attached. The back foundation plate has a plurality of flanges for the attachment of an extension pole, the end of which is connected to a plurality of elastic straps. One pair of these straps can be connected to the user's ankles and another pair to the user's hands.
Because of its corset design, this device is very restrictive and limits movement and flexibility. It only works while the user is moving forward and cannot be used when the user is standing, walking, running, jumping, lying down, sitting, swimming, or engaging in other forms of general exercise.
Another essential disadvantage of the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,272 is that it has a rigid and possibly dangerous attachment to the corset behind the spine. It is unnecessarily complicated to adjust, and would be uncomfortable and potentially dangerous to wear and use, as it is designed for dynamic use only. The recommended cord attachment is physiologically dangerous, as the cord is attached in such a way that it would be extremely easy for the user to slip and/or trip on the cord while using the device. The attachment which is used to connect the elastic straps creates tremendous force and pressure on the ankle joints and wrists, which will cause strains and certain dislocations. The design undermines balance and is generally awkward, complicated, difficult to understand and learn how to use. The device does not protect the user from the possibility of back injury and is not recommended for rehabilitation.
Another belt-type exercise device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,701, issued in February, 1993, to W. Wilkinson. This is an aerobic resistance exercise garment which requires a cumbersome body suit as an integral part of the system. Any exercise suit device restricts the range of motion in the joints as well as in the body, and creates an environment where the body can become overheated, losing the opportunity of breathing through the skin. This approach requires many sizes, incurs great costs, and results in a device which not everyone can wear.
Furthermore, the flexible cords are fastened at the wrong positions on the front of the belt, making the cords uncomfortable and cumbersome to use, and thereby interfering with the utility of device. This device's attachments are also highly complicated, creating unnecessary pressure and tension on the joints, as described previously.
Thus, as has been shown above, both approaches (i.e., known exercising suits and belts) are overly complicated and expensive with no apparent safety features. Neither can be used in water easily or capable of strengthening of neck muscles and provide an integrated back support.


A window lift mechanism for raising and lowering a window in a vehicle door includes a support bracket mounted to the window and a motor supported on the support bracket. A pair of parallel, vertical racks are mounted to the door and are positioned immediately adjacent the window. Pinion gears driven by the motor are supported on the support bracket and engaged with the rack to permit vertical movement of the window.

All modem automobiles include a window lift assembly for raising and lowering windows in the door of the vehicle. The most common type of window lift assembly incorporates a "scissor mechanism." As shown in FIG. 1, a scissor-type system includes a door 10, a window 12 vertically moveable within the door 10, a horizontal support bracket 14 on the window 12, and a scissor mechanism 16 supported on the door 10 and engaged with a track 17 on the support bracket 14. A sector rack 18 is supported on the scissor mechanism 16, and a pinion gear 20 supported on the door 10 is engaged with the sector rack 18. In vehicles with power windows, a worm gear 22 driven by a motor 24 is engaged with a driven gear 26 which, in turn, is operatively joined to the pinion gear 20. The motor 24, worm gear 22, and driven gear 26 are all mounted to the door 10 of the vehicle. In vehicles without power windows (not shown), the pinion gear is driven by a manual hand-crank.
Unfortunately, the scissor-type mechanism includes many drawbacks such as the large amount of space and numerous parts required. The scissor-type mechanism is also mechanically inefficient, prohibiting the use of light-weight materials and requiring the use of relatively large motors to drive the system. The large motors necessarily require increased space and electrical power and also increase the weight of the system. With the limited space in a scissor-type system it is also necessary, in order to provide the required torque transfer efficiency and acceptable up and down times (3-4 seconds), to have a small diameter pinion gear, typically 0.5 to 0.75 inches, and relatively large driven gear, typically 1.8 to 2.5 inches in diameter, with gear ratios of 9 to 16 and 80 to 90, respectively. This results in excessive worm gear speed in the range of 3000 to 4000 RPM which causes excessive driven gear tooth shock and armature noise. The combination of high torque, typically 80 to 125 inch-pounds at stall, and shock due to high worm speeds mandates that either expensive multiple gears and/or single driven gears with integral shock absorbers be utilized.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,834 to Pickles, a more mechanically efficient vertical rack and pinion window lift system is disclosed. This type of system is represented in FIGS. 2 and 3 and includes a door 28, a window 30 vertically moveable within the door 28, a support bracket 32 on the window 30, a vertical rack 34 supported on the door 28, and a pinion gear 36 supported on the support bracket 32 in engagement with the rack 34. A motor 38 is supported on the support bracket 32 on the same side of the window 30 as the rack 34 and pinion gear 36 and drives the pinion gear 36 through a worm gear/driven gear transmission (not shown) engaged with the pinion gear 36. The pinion gear 36 is continually meshed with the rack 34 to drive the window 30 up and down. Obvious advantages of this system are the mechanical efficiency, fewer parts and, hence, reduced weight, and reduced motor size. The system is also more simple to install than the scissor-type system.
The Pickles window lift assembly, while theoretically plausible, does not function adequately due to the complex method and arrangement used to adapt the support bracket 32, motor 38, worm gear, and driven gear to the window 30. As discussed in United States Patent No. 4,967,510 to Torii et al., in window lift systems of the type shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (such as the Pickles system) a larger torque than necessary is required to drive the system due to the angular moment set up by the weight of motor 38 and related structure acting upon moment arm L.sub.1. In addition, more space than necessary is required due to the "superimposed sequential" stacking of components in the thickness direction of the door resulting in an overall width W.sub.1.
The system disclosed in the patent to Torii et al. improved substantially over Pickles in its functional adaptability. The Torii system is represented in FIG. 4 and includes a window 40, a support bracket 42 on the window 40, a motor 44, a pinion gear 46, and a rack 48. To eliminate the angular moment on the window 40 caused by the weight of the motor 44, the Torii system positioned the motor 44 such that the center of gravity of the motor 44 was substantially aligned with the plane of movement of the window 40. However, as shown in FIG. 4, this arrangement prevents the rack 48 from being positioned as close as possible to the window 40, resulting in an increased angular moment on the window 40 caused by the torque generated at the rack/pinion gear interface acting upon a larger than necessary moment arm L.sub.2 (due to the larger than necessary overall width W.sub.2). The angular moment can cause the window to "pull in" in the direction shown by the arrow labeled P. Further, although not shown in FIG. 4, the Torii system includes a support bracket for supporting the window 40 and motor 44. Similar to the Pickles system, the support bracket is "sequentially stacked" with respect to the motor, unnecessarily increasing the overall width of the system.
In co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/762,447, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,395 filed Dec. 9, 1996 by Fenelon, the inventor of the present application, the restrictive and rigid systems presented by Pickles and Torii et al. were vastly improved upon by incorporating controlled flexibility into the rack system, hence providing for smooth operation as the window is raised and lowered. The system also reduced the number of components by "modularizing" the support bracket and minimizing the torque placed on the window by altering the "stacking arrangement" of the motor plus transmission, support bracket, and rack plus driven gear. This improved arrangement is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 where reference numeral 52 is the window, 64 is the motor attached to the inside of support bracket 61, and 62 is the pinion gear intermeshed with rack 56. Note that W.sub.3 is the total width of the stacked arrangement and L.sub.3 is the moment which produces torque on window 52. Similar to Pickles and Torii et al., Fenelon's improved arrangement "sequentially stacks" the components, unnecessarily increasing the overall width of the system.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a window lift system which includes the benefits of a rack and pinion system, allows for smooth operation as the window is raised and lowered, and minimizes the torque placed on the window. Additionally, it is desirable to minimize the space occupied by the various components in all dimensions and particularly in the thickness direction of the door, and further to minimize the total number of components and hence the overall weight of the system.


A nonlinear optical receiver includes a source of coherent light of frequency .omega. for illuminating a spatial region. The portion of the source light which is reflected from objects within the spatial region constitutes a signal beam. A reference beam of coherent light of frequency .omega. is also provided. A photorefractive element receives the signal and reference beams and amplifies the signal beam by two-wave mixing.. The receiver may include a first polarizer, having a first polarization direction, placed between a cubic photorefractive element and the signal and reference beams, and a second polarizer, having a second polarization direction perpendicular to the first polarization direction, placed so that the amplified signal beam must pass therethrough. A frequency shifting element, such as a Bragg cell modulator, is used to change the frequency of the reference beam. pa A first laser may provide both the source of coherent light and the reference beam of coherent light, or a first laser may provide the source of coherent light while a second laser provides the reference beam of coherent light. The photorefractive element may be a cubic photorefractive crystal or a nonlinear optic material. A two dimensional focal plane array may be added for detecting the amplified signal beam.

This invention is concerned with optical signal processing. The availability of lasers, which provide a coherent light output, has made it feasible to use light for transmitting and receiving information. In a laser radar system, for example, laser light is directed toward a target. The portion of that light which is reflected from the target is processed and analyzed to provide information about the size, shape, and velocity of the target. Conventional laser radars, however, are subject to certain limitations in their performance. Heterodyne receivers, for example, are typically required to obtain an adequately amplified signal. In addition, space-based applications require large optical elements. The need for accurate scanning of the primary beam over many resolution spots introduces further complexitIes into the system. Conventional radar systems are also vulnerable to jamming.
This invention addresses these shortcomings in the laser radar systems of the prior art, and is applicable as well to a number of other optical signal processing applications.

Nonlinear optical doppler imaging amplifier


Embodiments of the invention extend a network protocol that is limited to a local area network (LAN) and enable it to function across the Internet. A LAN protocol is limited to providing services or resources to users within the same LAN. Embodiments of the invention make it possible for those services and resources to be available to users beyond the LAN. Embodiments of the invention also concern establishing connectivity without discovery for local area network protocols.

A local area network (LAN) protocol may consist of a discovery phase and a functional phase. The discovery phase is where a user on the local area network discovers the availability of a service or resource on the same local area network. The functional phase is where the service or resource is actually being used. An example of this is a shared printer. The discovery phase is where the printer broadcasts its availability to users within the LAN and where one of the users take notice. The functional phase is when the user actually prints to the shared printer.
For some protocols, the discovery phase is what limits the protocols to be LAN-only. A protocol's functional phase may actually be able to work across the Internet. But, because only users within the LAN can discover the service or resource, all actual uses become limited to the LAN.

Method and apparatus for extending local area network protocols to work across the internet and establishing connectivity without discovery for local area network protocols