A local communication system comprises a plurality of stations exchanging control messages via a ring network. One of which stations is designated a master station with the other stations designated as slave stations. Each of the slave stations has the capability to implement an autonomous process to find and store for future use its own unique address within a set of allowable addresses. Each slave station is arranged only to begin the autonomous process to seek its own address when individually instructed by a command from the master station to do so.

The present invention relates to a local communication system comprising a plurality of stations interconnected in a network for the communication of messages, and in particular, to the initialisation procedures of the system after start up. The invention further relates to stations for use in such a system, and methods of operation therein
A local communication system which combines source data (CD audio, MPEG video, telephone audio etc) with control messages in a low cost fibre network has been proposed in the form of D2B Optical. For details, see for example the xe2x80x9cConan Technology Brochurexe2x80x9d and the xe2x80x9cConan IC Data Sheetxe2x80x9d available from Communication and Control Electronics Limited, 2 Occam Court, Occam Road, The Surrey Research Park, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 5YQ (also http://www.candc.co.uk). See also Eurpoean patent applications of Becker GmbH EP-A-0725516 (95P03), EP-A-0725518 (95P04), EP-A-07225515 (95P05), EP-A-0725520 (95P06), EP-A-0725521 (95P07), EP-A-0725522 (95P08), EP-A-0725517 (95P09) and EP-A-0725519 (95P10). xe2x80x9cConanxe2x80x9d is a registered trade mark of Communication and Control Electronics Limited. xe2x80x9cD2Bxe2x80x9d is a registered trade mark of Philips Electronics NV.
In D2B Optical, each station obtains at an earlier stage a unique physical address, based on ring position, by a procedure described in EP-A-0725516 mentioned above, but there is still a desire for logical addressing of stations, for use at the application level. WO-A-95/01025 (PHQ 93006) describes address initialisation procedures for use with the earlier D2B network. Similar procedures can be implemented in the control message channel of the D2B Optical network.
With the system proposed and described in WO95/01025 each individual station upon start-up implements an autonomous process to find a unique device address (logical address) appropriate to its functionality. To this end, each station selects an address, and then verifies that the address is unique and available by sending a message to the address and listening for a response. In the absence of a response message the selected station assumes that the address is available and unique and adopts that as its address. If a response is received, the address is incremented and tried again until a free address is found. If no free address is found, a special default address is adopted.
According to the references, the starting point for this process is may be the last address that the station had been assigned. The hope with this type of arrangement is that the system and in particular the devices will maintain the same address from start-up to start-up. This works well once the system is stable but it has been found not so effective where the system is subject to a high degree of fluidity in its make up. A particular problem arises upon the first start up of a system after installation of several new stations. The probability increases in that case that addresses will be assigned differently in nominally identical systems, and there is even a small risk that the two stations might simultaneously acquire the same address.
The possibility with the system that two or more stations will have the same address (something that these prior patent applications are directed towards preventing) is therefore not wholly overcome. There is also a desire for a system which will address repeatably in identical installations.
The present invention aims to provide an improved system for address initialisation in networks.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a local communication system comprising a plurality of stations, one of which stations is designated a master station with the other stations designated as slave stations, which plurality of stations are interconnected in a network for the exchange of messages, wherein each of the stations has the capability to implement an autonomous process to find, and store for future use, its own unique address wherein each slave station is arranged only to begin said autonomous process to find its own address and when individually instructed by a command from the master station to do so.
In such a system the initialisation processes of the devices can be directly or indirectly controlled by the master such that two or more devices swapping addresses, or (worse) having the same address can be prevented. In particular, the master station may be arranged, at least where a group of two or more slave stations may seek addresses within the same set of addresses, to instruct the slave stations of said group one at a time. Note that the terms xe2x80x9cMasterxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cSlavexe2x80x9d are used in WO-A-95/01025 with a different meaning, merely indicating the source and destination respectively for a given data message. In the present case, one station is designated system master, at least for the purpose of address initialisation.
The unique address may comprise a logical address additional to a unique physical address already assigned prior to said autonomous process. The slave stations may be authorised to begin said autonomous process by means of messages addressed using said physical address. In effect, each of the stations has a multiplicity of addresses by which it can receive messages from the master and other stations on the system. In the embodiments described, these include the device address (a unique, function-related address), the broadcast address (shared with all stations), groupcast address (shared by all stations of one group) and ring position address (unique physical address). Some of these addresses may be preset in the factory whilst other of the addresses are to be set during operation of the system. In either case, stability and uniqueness of these addresses is desired.
The slave station may be provided with a physical address, and arranged to report its presence to the master station together with its physical address. The report may also specify whether the station is installed or uninstalled, and can specify the logical address already known for the installed devices. The slave may be arranged to delay sending its presence report by an amount depending on the physical address of the slave station, so that the master station will not receive presence reports from all slave stations simultaneously.
The system may be set up so that the stations are regarded as either installed or uninstalled by the master station with a new station only becoming installed when it has once been instructed by the system master to seek its own device address and has successfully achieved this. All the other stations in the system are regarded by the master station device as uninstalled, and may assume a general default device address. Installed stations may or may not also be instructed individually to seek a unique address. In the embodiment, the installed stations merely confirm that the address they have stored from a previous start-up is still unique, and only uninstalled stations require instruction from the master to seek a unique address.
Further, the system may be set up so that the installed devices are instructed by the master to initialise their addresses before the uninstalled devices are instructed to seek and initialise addresses. Alternatively, the installed devices may spontaneously act to confirm their device addresses, by a modified autonomous process.
The uninstalled devices may be instructed to seek a unique address (either strictly or approximately) in the order of their position in the network (physical address). In the embodiment described, the slave stations are arranged so as to report their uninstalled status and ring position in a staggered sequence, and the master instructs each one automatically in response to its own report. Alternatively, the master may operate by first identifying all uninstalled devices, and then instructing in turn to seek their own addresses. The master may or may not wait until each has found a unique address before instructing the next one.
In the autonomous process, the stations may seek their addresses by sending a signal to a succession of candidate addresses and monitoring responses until one is found which is free. This is similar to the verification process used in the cited earlier application.
However, in this case the devices are not all attempting to carry out the procedure at the same time so there is a significantly reduced chance of messages conflicting and not being acknowledged when they should be. Consequently, the address initialisation in the present system is more reliable in its operation.
In one particular arrangement of the system the network (optical, electrical etc) has a ring topology. In this case the above references to the position in the network are in fact references to the position in the ring.
As mentioned above, each station may begin with a general default address which it over-writes with its unique address when it has successfully found one which is available. Should the station be unable to locate an unique address it will retain the default address as its device address for the meantime.
Typically the general default address is given to all the stations in the system, at the factory. Alternatively, the stations are provided with or have a different default device address to the general default address. This may occur as a result of the station already having been used in another system or even elsewhere in the same system. In such a case, the device will typically seek to verify that the address it has is unique and if not the section may seek a unique address or ultimately revert to the general default address for the system.
An apparatus for use as a station in the present system may have volatile as well as nonvolatile memory capacity and the system may be configured so that it stores its unique address in the non-volatile memory. Installed stations can therefore remember their installed status even when power is removed from the system. xe2x80x9cStart-upxe2x80x9d as used herein may also refer to entering an operational state from a stand-by state, in which power is maintained and volatile memory may be sufficient.
When seeking a unique address the device may be configured to search for a free address within a specific range or other set of addresses. All stations may seek device addresses in the same range. As described in WO-A-95/01025, however, the range of addresses within which a device may seek to find an address may be different for different devices in the system, depending for example on device type (CD player, amplifier etc). In such a system, it is permissible for the master to instruct several stations to seek addresses at the same time, provided they are of different types.
The invention further provides an apparatus for use as a slave station with other stations in a local communication system, the apparatus comprising means for implementing after start-up an autonomous process to find and store for future use a unique address within a set of allowable addresses, wherein the apparatus when operating as a slave station is arranged to initiate said autonomous process only in response to a command sent from a master station to the slave station individually.
The invention yet further provides an apparatus for use as a master station with other stations in a local communication system, the apparatus when operating as the master station comprising means for instructing each slave station individually after start-up to implement an autonomous process to find and store for future use a unique address among a set of allowable addresses, wherein the apparatus is arranged to instruct each slave station individually to initiate said autonomous process.
The invention yet further provides a method of operating a local communication system comprising a plurality of stations of which one station is designated a master station and the other stations are designated as slave stations, plurality of stations being interconnected in a network for the exchange of messages, wherein each station has the capability autonomously to find and store for future use its own unique address within a set of allowable addresses, which method comprises the slave stations seeking a unique address only upon receipt of an instruction to do so from said master station, wherein the network includes a group of slave stations that will seek addresses in the same set of addresses, and wherein the master station instructs the slave stations of said group one at a time.

Local communication system, method of operation and stations for use therein

Communication-and Control Electronics Limited


A clip-on swingable vehicle visor that clips onto a standard in-car sun visor provides sunshade to a dimension not currently covered by the standard in-car sun visor. For example, if the standard in-car sun visor partly covers a front windshield, the clip-on swingable vehicle visor can swing sideways to cover a portion of a driver's side window, thereby creating a novel structure that provides simultaneous multidimensional sunshades for both the front windshield and the driver's side window. Similarly, if the standard in-car sun visor is swung sideways to cover a portion of the driver's side window, the clip-on swingable vehicle visor can swing away from the current position of the standard in-car sun visor to cover a portion of the front windshield. The clip-on swingable vehicle visor can also be folded and stored on top of the standard in-car sun visor.

The present invention generally relates to a sun visor. More specifically, the present invention relates to various embodiments of swingable vehicle visors that are attachable to standard in-car sun visors.
Most vehicles on the road today are equipped with standard in-car sun visors. Typically, a standard in-car sun visor provides partial sun blockage or sunshade to an upper portion of a front windshield in a vehicle. Furthermore, the standard in-car sun visor can swing around to a side window to also provide a partial sun blockage or sunshade to an upper portion of the side window. Most vehicles have at least one standard in-car sun visor for a driver's seat and a front passenger seat.
However, the standard in-car sun visor is incapable of providing sun blockage or sunshade to two or more dimensions at the same time. For example, a driver who is making a turn is often inconvenienced by a blinding sunlight that is shining from a different direction during or after the turn. In such situations, the driver compromises safety by facing the blinding sunlight while changing directions, or by attempting to swing the standard in-car sun visor around (e.g. from the front windshield to the driver's side window, or vice versa) while changing directions. The standard in-car sun visor's inability to provide sun block or sunshade to two or more dimensions simultaneously is an inherent and significant safety risk and a user inconvenience to many drivers today.
There have been some attempts to resolve this inconvenience in the past. For example, attachable sunshades with air suction cups is widely available in the car accessory market today. These conventional aftermarket sunshade products typically attach to a side window of a vehicle to provide sun blockage or sunshade. However, if the driver or the front passenger of the vehicle accidentally opens the side window attached with a conventional aftermarket sunshade with air suction cups, the conventional aftermarket sunshade can be abruptly dislocated or dislodged from the side window, thereby introducing additional inconvenience and even safety risks associated with the abruptly-dislodged aftermarket sunshade. Furthermore, the vehicle's interior may be also damaged by accidental opening of the side window attached with the conventional aftermarket sunshade.
Therefore, it may be advantageous to provide a novel vehicle visor that does not dislocate or dislodge even when a side window is opened or closed. Furthermore, it may also be advantageous to provide a novel vehicle visor that attaches to an existing standard in-car sun visor to form a unique multidimensional sun visor structure that can provide simultaneous multidimensional sun blockage or sunshade while in use. In addition, it may also be advantageous to provide a novel vehicle visor that can be folded or stored together with the existing standard in-car sun visor while not in use.

Clip-on swingable vehicle visor for providing simultaneous multidimensional sunshade


A frame for supporting a mold for use in manufacturing a product from expanded polystyrene. The frame includes angled corner locking members having longitudinally projecting guide portions located at each end, and longitudinal side members having longitudinally projecting complementary guide portions located at each end. The guide portions and the complementary guide portions are adapted to slidably interfit with one another to form an interlocked engagement. The angled corner locking members and the longitudinal side portions further include recessed portions located on interior facing walls for supporting the mold on the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
This invent ion relates to an improvement in a frame assembly for a mold for expansion molding, particularly for a mold for molding of expanded polystyrene.
2. Statement of Prior Art
The mold for molding of expanded polystyrene to be mounted on an automatic molding machine is generally composed of a set of a concave stationary side part (cavity part) and a convex moving side part (core part), which are disposed opposedly, having respective frames fitted at the opposite sides thereof with backplates, to form a steam chamber inside.
One example of conventional frames for a mold of the kind stated above is shown in FIG. 5 in which a plurality of plates (11) (12) are cast from aluminum alloy and united together by welding to form a square frame. Another example includes a one-piece frame fashioned by casting of aluminum alloy.
However, manufacturing the one-piece frame made of cast aluminum alloy and the frame united by welding of cast plates stated above are problematic in that the casting process is complicated, expensive, and time consuming. In altering the production of moldings where the shape of the moldings and the cavity number per one mold are changed, respective frames suited to the respective molds have to be provided, which is extremely uneconomical. Furthermore, the existing frames are prone to cause diminution of strength attended by blemish of castings or deterioration of castings upon welding, and consequently, there is a problem in long-term use.

Frame assembly for mold for expansion molding


The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a system and method for determining a spatial alignment of an inertial measurement unit (IMU). By way of example, a method is described in which a first vehicle-based direction is identified, and the first vehicle-based direction is associated with a first direction that is transformable to an earth-based coordinate frame. A spatial alignment of the IMU is determined based at least partially on the first direction.

1. Field
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to determining a spatial alignment of an inertial measurement unit (IMU).
2. Information
Navigational aids have long been important for commerce and travel. For hundreds or thousands of years, travelers had to rely on paper maps or the verbal directions of a friendly stranger to find their way to a given destination. In contrast, electronic navigational aids have been developed over the last few decades. Because of their original size, expense, and complexity, they were initially used primarily by the military, other governmental entities, and large common carriers, such as ocean liners and airplanes. Recently, however, some electronic navigational aids have become smaller, cheaper, and simpler to use. They have therefore become available to a wider array of people.
In comparison to traditional navigational aids, electronic navigational aids may more easily keep their navigational information current, may offer a greater wealth of navigational information, may offer additional features that were previously not possible, and so forth. For example, modern navigational aids may be capable of offering any of many navigational-related features that may include, but are not limited to: providing general directions, plotting courses between origins and destinations, displaying maps, presenting so-called turn-by-turn directions, recording a path that has been traveled, combinations thereof, and so forth.
An example type of electronic navigational aid uses a satellite positioning system (SPS) in conjunction with an inertial navigation system (INS). This type of electronic navigational aid, which is at times referred to as an SPS-INS navigational system, uses an IMU. To operate such an SPS-INS navigational system, the spatial alignment of the IMU is determined to some level of precision with respect to an earth centered earth fixed (ECEF) coordinate frame.
As indicated above, some navigational aids are implemented in relatively small packages, including some devices that are capable of being carried by an individual. Such portable devices can also be made sufficiently inexpensive so as to be considered affordable by many people. Unfortunately, the size and cost reductions that have been implemented for devices having navigational-aid-related features can produce negative results. More specifically, such devices may be generally less capable of determining a sufficiently accurate spatial alignment of an IMU. Consequently, in certain situations it can be difficult, onerous, or even impossible to use such devices with an SPS-INS navigational system.

Spatial alignment determination for an inertial measurement unit (IMU)


A pressing apparatus is provided for depositing a sliver on a surface with a first segment and at least one second segment that can respectively roll along the surface. The pressing apparatus furthermore features an assembly frame for holding the segments. The first segment features a first rolling element and a suspension apparatus and the second segment features a second rolling element. The suspension apparatus is designed for attaching the first segment to the assembly frame and for rotatably mounting the first rolling element on the assembly frame. The suspension apparatus is designed for allowing a relative movement between the first rolling element and the second rolling element in a radial direction of the first rolling element.

EP 0 441 114 A describes a mechanism with two rollers that are covered by an elastic sliver and preferably can be used as fixing rollers in a copying machine. WO 98/42991 discloses a mechanism with a rotating bearing that is covered by an elastic sliver. DE 0 625 735 A1 describes an elastic fixing roll for copying and printing machines, where the roll comprises an elastic core and a defined coating layer. DE 10 2006 058 584 A1 and US 2008/0093026 A1 disclose a device for pressing a tape on a surface contour for a fiber/tow-placement method.
In view of the foregoing, at least one objective can be seen in providing a simple and flexible apparatus for depositing slivers on uneven surfaces. In addition, other objectives, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

Pressing apparatus and pressing and depositing system for depositing a sliver on a double-curved surface, and use and method


Configurations for a diffraction grating design and methods thereof are disclosed. The diffraction grating system can include an input waveguide located at a first location on or near a Rowland circle and multiple output waveguides located at a second and third location on or near the Rowland circle. The input waveguide may be located between the output waveguides and this configuration of input and output waveguides can reduce the footprint size of the device. In some examples, the optical component can function as a de-multiplexer. Additionally, the optical component may separate the input wavelength band into two output wavelength bands which are separated from one another by approximately 0.1 μm.

Diffraction gratings may be used in various optical instruments such as monochromators, lasers, or for holographic memory. An Echelle grating is one type of diffraction grating where the input light travels through a medium and multi-path interference of light can cause the wavelengths of the reflected light to combine or separate. The different optical paths traveled by the light can lead to phase errors.
The diffraction grating design can affect the design and performance of an optical component, such as the spacing between the input and output channels of the optical component, which can lead to unwanted channel crosstalk. Additionally, small variations in the reflective facets of the diffraction grating caused by imperfections in the grating material may generate optical losses and deviations in the reflected light.


An access point, a layer 2 switch, and multicast handover supporting method using the access point and the layer 2 switch are provided. According to the method of supporting multicast handover, when a mobile node is handed over from one cell to another while being provided with a multicast service in a wireless mobile communication network, the L2 switch performs multicast traffic routing in response to reception of MAC address information and multicast service source and group information from the access point. Hence, multicast traffic can be supported to be fast and seamlessly handed over within layer 2 network equipment.

1. Field
The following description relates to a network technology, and more particularly, to a technology for supporting multicast handover for a mobile node.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unicasting transmits data to a single receiver, whereas broadcasting transmits data to all receivers in a network. In contrary, multicasting transmits data to a specific group of receivers in the network. In IP multicasting, in response to a single data packet transmitted from a multicast source, the data packet is replicated as many as the number of receivers that are willing to receive a corresponding source in a network and the replicated packets are delivered to the receivers. Thus, less overhead is incurred to the source which requires transmitting a replicated packet as many times as the number of the receivers and bandwidth can be saved since less number of packets are transmitted over the network, compared to the other transmission schemes.
Various application services based on multicast have been provided. With the fast development of mobile terminals including smart phones, a range of targets of the multicast services has varied from fixed hosts to mobile hosts. A mobile host moves from one network to another or from one cell to another in the same network. Hence, a multicast technology for a fixed host additionally requires a technique to process fast and consecutive multicast traffics in a handover situation.
In the multicast processing technique, traffic process is performed independently in layer 3 and layer 2 due to a network structure for a multicast service. For example, in layer 3 (a router level), traffic process is performed by layer 3 network equipment using multicasting routing protocol based on Internet group management protocol (IGMP) or multicast listener discovery (MLD) protocol which is produced by a mobile host. On the other hand, in layer 2, multicast traffic is processed or broadcasted using IGMP snooping scheme.
However, in the case of broadcasting process, efficient use of network resources is difficult.
The IGMP snooping scheme may be dependent on an IGMP message transmitted between the mobile host and a router. In a case where a mobile host moves from one cell to another in use of a multicast service, if the mobile host in a new cell does not generate an IGMP message, it is not possible for an access point (AP) of the new cell and upper layer 2 network equipment to learn that the mobile host is using the multicast service. This may result in stopping the multicast service from being provided to a mobile host user.
To use the multicast service, multicast group membership protocol is necessarily used. Examples of the multicast group membership protocol may include IGMP and MLD protocol.
The IGMP/MLD protocol is signaling protocol for managing multicast groups in an effort to facilitate the indication of multicast groups which include a router and various hosts which form a sub-network. The IGMP protocol may be used in an IPv4 environment, the MLD protocol is used in an IPv6 environment. IGMP/MLD protocol is developed on the basis of a weird network environment. Thus, for a multicast service in a wireless network environment, a modified IGMP/MLD protocol has been actively researched and developed in consideration of the wireless mobile network environment.
The most influential factor for stability and performance of a multicast service in a wireless mobile environment is a wireless section. In a wireless section, resources are very limited, and the data transfer speed is much slower than in a wired section. The limited conditions of the wireless section may cause loss of IGMP/MLD protocol messages between a mobile host and a router for use of the multicast service. For example, such loss of messages may take place during handover while moving images in a multicast scheme is being provided to a mobile host user. Because such handover happens while the user is viewing the moving images in a multicast scheme, the user may consider the handover as more serious than any other events.
Even when no loss of IGMP/MLD protocol messages occurs during handover, handover delay time of multicast traffic is elongated due to a slow data transfer speed in a wireless section. This may cause unsmooth display of the moving images while the user is viewing them.

Access point, L2 switch and method of supporting multicast handover using the access point and L2 switch

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A high density, substantially oxide-free metal layer is deposited by spray deposition on a substrate in an atmosphere containing ambient air having an oxygen content above about 0.1% by weight. This is accomplished by directing a supersonic-velocity jet stream of hot gases carrying metal particles at the substrate through an inert gas shroud. The layer is useful as a corrosion barrier and for repairing metal substrates.

This invention relates to thermal spraying and more particularly to improved apparatus for shielding a supersonic-velocity particle-carrying flame from ambient atmosphere and an improved process for producing high-density, low-oxide, thermal spray coatings on a substrate.
Thermal spraying technology involves heating and projecting particles onto a prepared surface. Most metals, oxides, cermets, hard metallic compounds, some organic plastics and certain glasses may be deposited by one or more of the known thermal spray processes. Feedstock may be in the form of powder, wire, flexible powder-carrying tubes or rods depending on the particular process. As the material passes through the spray gun, it is heated to a softened or molten state, accelerated and, in the case of wire or rod, atomized. A confined stream of hot particles generated in this manner is propelled to the substrate and as the particles strike the substrate surface they flatten and form thin platelets which conform and adhere to the irregularities of the previously prepared surface as well as to each other. Either the gun or the substrate may be translated and the sprayed material builds up particle by particle into a lamellar structure which forms a coating. This particular coating technique has been in use for a number of years as a means of surface restoration and protection.
Known thermal spray processes may be grouped by the two methods used to generate heat namely, chemical combustion and electric heating. Chemical combustion includes powder flame spraying, wire/rod flame spraying and detonation/explosive flame spraying. Electrical heating includes wire arc spraying and plasma spraying.
Standard powder flame spraying is the earliest form of thermal spraying and involves the use of a powder flame spray gun consisting of a high-capacity, oxy-fuel gas torch and a hopper containing powder or particulate to be applied. A small amount of oxygen from the gas supply is diverted to carry the powder by aspiration into the oxy-fuel gas flame where it is heated and propelled by the exhaust flame onto the work piece. Fuel gas is usually acetylene or hydrogen and temperatures in the range of 3,000.degree.-4,500.degree. F. are obtained. Particle velocities are in the order of 80-100 feet per second. The coatings produced generally have low bond strength, high porosity and low overall cohesive strength.
High-velocity powder flame spraying was developed about 1981 and comprises a continuous combustion procedure that produces exit gas velocities estimated to be 4,000-5,000 feet per second and particle speeds of 1,800-2,600 feet per second. This is accomplished by burning a fuel gas (usually propylene) with oxygen under high pressure (60-90 psi) in an internal combustion chamber. Hot exhaust gases are discharged from the combustion chamber through exhaust ports and thereafter expanded into an extending nozzle. Powder is fed axially into this nozzle and confined by the exhaust gas stream until it exits in a thin high speed jet to produce coatings which are far more dense than those produced with conventional or standard powder flame spraying techniques.
Wire/rod flame spraying utilizes wire as the material to be deposited and is known as a "metallizing" process. Under this process, a wire is continuously fed into an oxy-acetylene flame where it is melted and atomized by an auxiliary stream of compressed air and then deposited as the coating material on the substrate. This process also lends itself to the use of other materials, particularly brittle ceramic rods or flexible lengths of plastic tubing filled with powder. Advantage of the wire/rod process over powder flame spraying lies in its use of relatively low-cost consumable materials as opposed to the comparatively high-cost powders.
Detonation/explosive flame spraying was introduced sometime in the mid 1950's and developed out of a program to control acetylene explosions. In contrast to the thermal spray devices which utilize the energy of a steady burning flame, this process employs detonation waves from repeated explosions of oxy-acetylene gas mixtures to accelerate powder particles. Particulate velocities in the order of 2,400 feet per second are achieved. The coating deposits are extremely strong, hard, dense and tightly bonded. The principle coatings applied by this procedure are cemented carbides, metal/carbide mixtures (cermets) and oxides.
The wire arc spraying process employs two consumable wires which are initially insulated from each other and advanced to meet at a point in an atomizing gas stream. Contact tips serve to precisely guide the wires and to provide good electrical contact between the moving wires and power cables. A direct current potential difference is applied across the wires to form an arc and the intersecting wires melt. A jet of gas (normally compressed air) shears off molten droplets of the melted metal and propels them to a substrate. Spray particle sizes can be changed with different atomizing heads and wire intersection angles. Direct current is supplied at potentials of 18-40 volts, depending on the metal or alloy to be sprayed; the size of particle spray increasing as the arc gap is lengthened with rise in voltage. Voltage is therefore maintained at the lowest level consistent with arc stability to provide the smallest particles and smooth dense coatings. Because high arc temperatures (in excess of 7,240.degree. F.) are encountered, electric-arc sprayed coatings have high bond and cohesive strength.
The plasma arc gun development has the advantage of providing much higher temperatures with less heat damage to a work piece, thus expanding the range of possible coating materials that can be processed and the substrates upon which they may be sprayed. A typical plasma gun arrangement involves the passage of a gas or gas mixture through a direct current arc maintained in a chamber between a coaxially aligned cathode and water-cooled anode. The arc is initiated with a high frequency discharge. The gas is partially ionized creating a plasma with temperatures that may exceed 30,000.degree. F. The plasma flux exits the gun through a hole in the anode which acts as a nozzle and its temperature falls rapidly with distance. Powdered feedstock is introduced into the hot gaseous effluent at an appropriate point and propelled to the work piece by the high-velocity stream. The heat content, temperature and velocity of the plasma gas are controlled by regulating arc current, gas flow rate, the type and mixture ratio of gases and by the anode/cathode configuration.
Up until the early 1970's, commercial plasma spray systems used power of about 5-40 kilowatts and plasma gas velocities were generally subsonic. A second generation of equipment was then developed known as high energy plasma spraying which employed power input of around 80 kilowatts and used converging-diverging nozzles with critical exit angles to generate supersonic gas velocities. The higher energy imparted to the powder particles results in significant improvement in particle deformation characteristics and bonding and produces more dense coatings with higher interparticle strength.
Recently, controlled atmosphere plasma spraying has been developed for use primarily with metal and alloy coatings to reduce and, in some cases, eliminate oxidation and porosity. Controlled atmosphere spraying can be accomplished by using an inert gas shroud to shield the plasma plume. Inert gas filled enclosures also have been used with some success. More recently, a great deal of attention has been focused on "low pressure" or vacuum plasma spray methods. In this latter instance, the plasma gun and work piece are installed inside a chamber which is then evacuated with the gun employing argon as a primary plasma gas. While this procedure has been highly successful in producing the deposition of thicker coats, improved bonding and deposit efficiency, the high costs of the equipment thus far have limited its use.
Related to the "low pressure" development is U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,882 issued July 1, 1975 to Union Carbide Corporation, New York, N.Y., by which a subatmospheric inert gas shield is provided about a plasma gas plume to achieve low deposition flux and extended stand-off distances in a plasma spray process.
Aside from the few exceptions noted in the heretofore briefly described thermal spraying processes, all encounter some degree of oxidation of coating materials when carried out in ambient atmosphere conditions. In spraying metals and metal alloys, it is most desirable to minimize the pick-up of oxygen as much as possible. Soluble oxygen in metallic alloys increases hardness and brittleness while oxide scales on the powder and inclusions in the coating lead to poorer bonding, increased crack sensitivity and increased susceptibility to corrosion.

High density thermal spray coating and process


A sweat measuring device (1) comprising a sweat impermeable panel (40) and an adhesive skirt on one side thereof extending about its periphery to enable the panel to be secured to a user's skin is provided. The device covers a known area of a user's skin and traps sweat (42) produced by the skin under the panel. The panel (40) defines a reservoir in which sweat can accumulate and calibrations which may be associated with the reservoir to express the total sweat produced by the user as a function of the volume of sweat in the reservoir. The panel may be relatively stiff; formed by a plastics member and the skirt may extend integrally from the panel or be provided by an adhesive patch which covers the panel.

Sweat, or perspiration, is often produced during physical activity and, to keep the body functioning optimally, lost fluids have to be replenished. For sports people it is particularly important to ensure adequate hydration. However, it is known that drinking too much fluid can be detrimental, possibly even more so than drinking too little fluids.
As individuals sweat at different rates, and sweating also depends on climatic conditions and the individual's level of activity, it can be quite difficult to accurately estimate the amount of fluid required at any given time to maintain proper hydration for individuals engaged in physical activities. Such activities include sport, work and military activities. Proper hydration is particularly important where the activities take place in deserts and other hot or high humidity environments.
It is also critical with some diseases which can induce high levels of dehydration, such as malaria, that hydration be carefully monitored and controlled.
Methods of measuring sweat production are available, but are typically quite complex. These methods mostly rely on measurements of conductivity on the skin and hence require electronic equipment to function. As such, these devices are fairly complex and may be difficult to use during normal sporting events or by many individuals simultaneously.
A method of measuring sweat, described in JP 2010-046196A, uses an elongate body of absorbent material to draw up sweat produced by a wicking action. In order to measure the sweat production, the absorbent material is impregnated with a colour indicator which changes colour when a certain amount of sweat is collected. This device is therefore reliant on chemical changes as well the use of materials having the correct properties to allow incorporation of chemical indicators thereon while retaining its wicking abilities in order to be effective. It also implies a single use.


A liquid jet head includes an actuator substrate having grooves, and a flexible substrate for supplying a drive signal to the actuator substrate. On a surface of the actuator substrate, in the vicinity of a rear end thereof, are formed a common extension electrode and an individual extension electrode connected to drive electrodes of a discharge channel and dummy channels, respectively. The common extension electrode and the individual extension electrode are connected to a common wiring electrode and an individual wiring electrode of the flexible substrate, respectively. In a common wiring intersection region in which the common wiring electrode of the flexible substrate intersects the drive electrodes of the actuator substrate, upper end portions of the drive electrodes on side surfaces of the dummy channels are formed deeper than the substrate surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid jet head for discharging liquid from nozzles to form images and characters on a recording medium or form a thin film material, and also relates to a liquid jet apparatus using the liquid jet head.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an ink jet system liquid jet head has been used for creating characters and graphics by discharging ink droplets onto a recording sheet or the like, or forming a pattern of a functional thin film by discharging a liquid material onto a surface of an element substrate. In the ink jet system, ink or a liquid material is supplied from a liquid tank to the liquid jet head through a supply tube, and the ink is loaded into small spaces formed in the liquid jet head. In response to a drive signal, the volume of the small spaces is instantaneously reduced to discharge liquid droplets from nozzles communicating to grooves.
FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of an ink jet head 51 of this type. The ink jet head 51 includes a piezoelectric substrate 52 having a plurality of grooves 56 formed in a surface thereof, a cover plate 54 having a liquid supply cell 62 and slits 63 formed therein, a nozzle plate 55 provided with nozzles 64 for discharging liquid, and a flexible substrate 53 for supplying a drive signal generated by a drive circuit to the piezoelectric substrate 52. The grooves 56 have upper openings closed by the cover plate 54 to form channels. The grooves 56 are partitioned by partition walls 57, and on side surfaces of each partition wall 57, drive electrodes 59 for driving the partition wall 57 are formed. The drive electrodes 59 are connected to extension electrodes 60, which are formed on the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 52 at a rear end RE thereof. The partition walls 57 formed of a piezoelectric body are subjected to polarization processing in a perpendicular direction. By supplying the drive signal to the drive electrodes 59 formed on both the side surfaces of the partition wall 57, the partition wall 57 slips to be deformed in the thickness direction. By deforming the partition walls 57 at the time of driving under a state in which the channels formed by the grooves 56 are loaded with liquid in advance, the volume of the channels changes to discharge the ink from the nozzles 64 of the nozzle plate 55, which is bonded to a surface of the piezoelectric substrate 52 at a front end FE thereof.
FIG. 13 is a schematic top view of the piezoelectric substrate 52 and the flexible substrate 53 in a state in which the flexible substrate 53 bonded to the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 52 in the vicinity of the rear end RE is separated from the piezoelectric substrate 52 and displaced downward of the drawing sheet. The channels formed by the grooves are provided in the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 52, the channels including dummy channels D1 to Dn+1 and discharge channels C1 to Cn for discharging liquid droplets, which are arranged alternately with each other. The drive electrodes 59 for deformably driving each partition wall 57 partitioning the channels are formed on the side surfaces of the partition wall 57. The extension electrodes 60 electrically connected to the drive electrodes 59 of each channel are formed on the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 52 in the vicinity of the rear end RE. For example, drive electrodes 59c1 are formed on both side surfaces of both the partition walls 57 on the discharge channel side, the partition walls 57 constituting the discharge channel C1, and the drive electrodes 59c1 are connected to a first extension electrode 60c1. A drive electrode 59d1 is formed on a side surface of the dummy channel D1 on the discharge channel C1 side, and a drive electrode 59d2 is formed on a side surface of the dummy channel D2 on the discharge channel C1 side. Both the drive electrode 59d1 and the drive electrode 59d2 are electrically connected to a second extension electrode 60d1. The other discharge channels C2 to Cn, the dummy channels D2 to Dn+1, and the first and second extension electrodes 60c and 60d have the same structures, respectively.
On a surface of the flexible substrate 53 on the piezoelectric substrate 52 side, there are formed wiring electrodes 61 for supplying the drive signal to the drive electrodes 59. As indicated by the arrows of FIG. 13, the flexible substrate 53 is moved to the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 52 on the rear end RE side so as to be bonded to the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 52, with a wiring electrode 61d1 electrically connected to the extension electrode 60d1; a wiring electrode 61c1, the extension electrode 60c1; and a wiring electrode 61d2, an extension electrode 60d2. The same applies to the other wiring electrodes 61.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating another ink jet head (FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 9-29977). A plurality of grooves are formed in a lower surface of a piezoelectric ceramic substrate 71 to form channels. A nozzle plate (not shown) is bonded to a surface 74 of the piezoelectric ceramic substrate 71 at a front end portion thereof, and ink cells 72 formed by the grooves communicate to nozzles of the nozzle plate. Drive electrodes are formed on each partition wall partitioning the ink cells 72 provided in the lower surface, and the respective drive electrodes are extended by extension electrodes 76 to a surface 75 via the surface 74. On the surface 74, the electrodes are insulated from one another by insulating portions 73, while on the surface 75, the extension electrodes 76 are electrically insulated from one another by insulating portions 77. The extension electrodes 76 are connected to electric wires 79 at electric connection terminals 78 provided on the upper surface of the piezoelectric ceramic substrate 71 at a rear end thereof, and thereby connected to a drive circuit (not shown). In this example, a pitch W2 of the electric connection terminals 78 is set larger than a pitch W1 of the ink cells 72, to thereby facilitate connection to an external connection circuit.
In the conventional example illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, a pitch P1 of the connection points between the wiring electrodes 61 formed on the flexible substrate 53 and the extension electrodes 60 needs to be set substantially equal to an arrangement pitch P of the channels formed in the piezoelectric substrate 52. In recent years, however, the arrangement pitch P2 has become smaller and smaller with the increase in number of channels. Therefore, the pitch P1 of the connection points between the wiring electrodes 61 on the flexible substrate 53 and the extension electrodes 60 also needs to have a smaller pitch, which requires strict alignment accuracy at the time of alignment and mounting. As a result, there arises such a problem that the manufacturing becomes difficult or manufacturing yields decrease.
Further, in order to form the extension electrodes 76 on the back surface side of the piezoelectric ceramic substrate 71 as illustrated in FIG. 14, the electrode pattern needs to be formed on the surface 74 of the piezoelectric ceramic substrate 71 at the front end thereof and on the upper surface 75 thereof. Therefore, there arises such a problem that the manufacturing process becomes complex and accordingly mass productivity decreases.

Liquid jet head and liquid jet apparatus incorporating same


A protection device for an electric appliance comprising a differential transformer comprising a magnetic core disposed around a pair of wires leading to the appliance from the source and a sensing wire thereon; a solenoid driven switch for cutting off the source in response to a leakage current in the wires; an SCR which is normally non-conducting for connecting the solenoid to the source in the conducting state so as to cause the switch to be in a cut-off state; a voltage regulator for supplying suitable regulated voltage to an amplifier and a latched-trigger circuit; an amplifier connected to the sensing wires for providing a signal to the latched-trigger circuit; and a latched-trigger circuit for taking the signal from the amplifier and in response thereto provide a trigger signal to cause the SCR to be in a conducting state so as to operate the solenoid and cut-off switch. Advantageously, a Zener diode is provided at one input terminal of the amplifier to provide a threshold level for the differential current detected by the sensing winding to operate the amplifier. By simply adjusting the value of the Zener diode, the threshold level can be simply adjusted. Advantageously, the invention is simple, inexpensive, and reliable.

1. Field of Invention.
This invention relates to electrical protection circuits such as those used to remove line voltage from an appliance when a fault occurs in the appliance; and more particularly, to an improved circuit using a differential transformer to detect differential current changes in the line.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art.
Prior art electrical protection circuits have generally used either a third line to detect a fault or a differential transformer The third line type is not very practical since it requires added components in the appliance itself The differential transformer type has many variations, but, they all leave something to be desired. The art has a crying need for a simple, inexpensive and reliable protection circuit.

Protection circuit for electrical appliance


A sealing gasket that provides a seal between two members. The gasket includes a base at one end of the gasket and a gutter-forming surface at the opposite other end of the gasket. There is a pair of sides that join the one end and the opposite other end of the gasket. The sealing gasket is movable between a compressed condition wherein the gasket provides a seal between the two members and an uncompressed condition wherein the gasket does not provide a seal between the two members. When the gasket is in the compressed condition, the gutter-forming surface deforms to form a gutter along the one end of the gasket.

The invention pertains to a sealing gasket that provides a seal between two members. More specifically, the invention pertains to a sealing gasket that provides a seal between overlapping members of a rail car door assembly.
As can be appreciated, there has always been a need to provide a seal of a rail car door assembly. Such a seal keeps water and other contaminants from entering into the rail car and damaging the contents of the rail car (e.g., a rail boxcar). Heretofore, such gasket seals have existed and one is described in issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,951 to Ryan et al. The Ryan et al. patent describes what is called a rail car crown gasket that provides a seal between the rail car doors wherein the seal is at the location of the overlap between the auxiliary rail car door and the main rail car door.
Other United States patents disclose sealing gaskets. These patents include the following United States patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,935,771 to Hatcher, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 2,263,806 to Hammerl, U.S. Pat. No. 2,640,230 to Eck et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,080 to Beauchamp et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,481 to Bailey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,957 to Landis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,573 to Andrzejewski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,903 to Reynolds et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,643 to Sampson et al.
While these other sealing gaskets provide a seal, there remains a need to provide a sealing gasket, and especially a sealing gasket between overlapping members of a rail car door assembly, that provides an effective seal by providing for multiple sealing points between the overlapping members of the rail car door assembly. There also remains a need to provide a sealing gasket, and especially a sealing gasket between overlapping members of a rail car door assembly, that provides an effective seal by providing for the sealing between the gasket and the retainer that holds the sealing gasket. There is also a need to provide a sealing gasket, and especially a sealing gasket between overlapping members of a rail car door assembly, that provides an effective seal by providing for a gutter that facilitates carrying away water or other contaminants from the rail car doors.


Use of a headbox with an auxiliary blade having a concave edge reduces the deflection required to modify the basis weight profile of a wet sheet formed in papermaking apparatus.

Papermaking apparatus commonly includes a source of aqueous stock containing fibrous solids, a headbox to which the aqueous stock is supplied and a continuous wire belt upon which the headbox discharges a controlled amount of the aqueous stock which is at least partially dewatered by draining through the belt. In addition to the foregoing, there is ordinarily a press which squeezes the water out of the wet paper sheet and finally steam heated rolls which dry and consolidate the paper.
As the uncalendered sheet is calendered and passes through the high temperature/high pressure calender workroll the sheets of certain paper precursors may shrink significantly in the cross-machine direction. The shrinkage increases as the edge of the sheet is approached and a disproportionately high basis weight and thickness at the edges of the calendered sheet may result.
It is also common in papermaking equipment to find two blades defining the discharge opening of the headbox. One, referred to herein as the main blade, extends along the width of the headbox and is vertically moveable to control the size of the discharge opening. The second or auxiliary blade is a straight-edged blade moveably attached to the main blade. It moves with the main blade but is separately adjustable. The auxiliary blade is generally made of steel and can be flexed slightly by adjustment of a plurality of spaced vertical rods, each with screw and worm gear which provide vertical deflection at the point where the rod is secured to the blade. By raising or lowering the main blade one can increase or decrease the velocity at which the stock leaves the headbox. The deflection of the auxiliary blade to accommodate the desired basis weight profile, particularly at the outermost positions frequently causes permanent deformation of the auxiliary blade as its elastic limit is exceeded. Fatigue problems in the metal may also result. This is discussed in Fourdrinier Papermaking , a monograph by G. Gavelin 1963 Lockwood Trade Journal, Inc. and TAPPI Noles 1986 Wet End Operations Seminar. The present invention offers a solution to the problem.


In a golf ball having a two-layer core consisting of an inner core layer and an outer core layer and a cover of one or more layer, the inner core layer and outer core layer are each formed of a rubber composition made up primarily of a base rubber, the inner core layer has a diameter of not more than 30 mm; and the core has specific hardness ratios (JIS-C hardness/Shore D hardness) at specific points on the cross-section thereof. This golf ball has a reduced spin rate on full shots with a driver and middle irons, thus imparting to an excellent flight performance, and moreover has a good controllability in the short game on approach shots, making it ideal as a golf ball for professional golfers and mid- and high-level amateur golfers.

Key performance features required in golf balls include distance, controllability, durability and feel at impact. Balls endowed with these qualities in the highest degree are constantly being sought. A succession of golf balls having multilayer constructions typically composed of three pieces have emerged in recent years. By having the golf ball construction be multilayered, it is possible to combine numerous materials of differing properties, enabling a wide variety of ball designs to be obtained in which each layer has a particular function.
For example, JP-A 2003-190331, JP-A 2006-289065, JP-A 2009-95358 and JP-A 2017-46930 describe golf balls in which the core hardness distribution is optimized by forming the core as two layers and varying the hardness from the center to the surface of the core. However, to achieve a greater flight performance and impart higher controllability on approach shots, there remains room for improvement in the construction of these prior-art golf balls.


A change journal for recording changes to files in a storage volume of a computer system keeps a record for each notable change to a file. Each record is given a unique update sequence number, which is a serial number of ever-increasing value assigned to each record. Each record includes one or more change reasons specifying what type of action occurred with respect to the associated file. The presence of a close file change reason in a record connotes that the record includes all the notable changes made to the file in a preceding file session, which is defined as the time occurring after the last time a close file change reason was entered in a change record, up to the time of the next succeeding close file change reason. For each file, an entry is made in the storage volume's master file table referencing the change record that currently includes the most up-to-date information on the status of the change reasons for the file.

A self-contained unit of storage in a computer system is often referred to as a "volume." Files systems administer the storage in volumes by allocating it to files and directories in response to appropriate requests. Over time, files and directories are modified in different manners. For example, directories are created and renamed. Files are created and deleted and the data in a file or in one of its attributes can be modified. Files systems reflect these changes to their base entities by modifying appropriate attributes of the entities, like creation date and size.
To track and determine what modifications have happened in a volume, traditional storage management applications have to traverse the name space of the entities in the volume verifying whether attributes of interest (like the size or the last modified date) have changed. This means that, in the absence of any additional mechanism, applications need to roam through the name space of a volume and detect changes by inspecting the appropriate attributes of a file or a directory.
There are several drawbacks to this traditional mechanism. First, when the number of entities in the volume grows, the time to visit them grows. Second the act of traversing the name space affects the contents of the in-memory caches. Given that there is no re-use of the information visited any displacement from the cache of other useful information is detrimental to the over-all performance of the system. Third, the I/O activity required to retrieve the needed attribute information is mostly random. The two main consequences are that, first, the number of disk seeks required to traverse the name space is proportional to the number of entities, thus it takes increasingly longer to do it. Second, this I/O activity has the potential effect of disturbing any other kind of I/O that is happening in the volume.
The Windows.RTM. operating system includes a mechanism that tries to address the above problem. This mechanism allows an entity to register for an event that will trigger when a change happens at a directory or at a file. This will, in effect, eliminate the need to traverse the appropriate subset of the name space. The serious drawback of this mechanism is that for each file or directory of interest, an individual event needs to be registered. This does not scale well, as the NT kernel needs to track an ever-increasing number of events to notify on.
Thus, there remains a need for a more efficient, scalable and powerful approach to tracking modifications to a storage volume in a computer system.

Journaling ordered changes in a storage volume


The invention permits the application of an identifying mark onto a fast-dissolving dosage form without the need for application of pressure or printing directly onto the dosage unit. The invention comprises preparing of a fast-dissolving dosage unit that is embossed with an identifying mark such as a manufacturer's logo, medicinal component strength, or other information relating to the unit. The desired identifying mark is first embossed onto the base of the container such as a blister pocket. Liquid suspension is then filled into the container and solidified, e.g., freeze-dried, therein. The resulting dosage unit in the container is thereby embossed with a substantial copy of the identifying mark that was embossed on the base of the container. The embossed identifying mark on the base of the container remains thereon as well thereby affording the ability to learn the identifying mark on the enclosed unit without opening the packet.

Medication in forms such as tablets, capsules, caplets, or fast-dissolving dosage forms have been typically packaged in blister packages or sheets of multiple blister pockets or compartments. A base sheet of transparent or opaque plastic, for instance polyvinyl chloride (PVC or PVC-type laminates), will frequently have a plurality of blister pockets projecting from one face thereof, for containing the unit dosages of medication.
If the units of medication to be packaged in the blister package are solid units such as tablets, capsules, or caplets, the solid units may simply be deposited into the blister pockets of the base sheet. On the other hand, if the units to be packaged are freeze-dried, fast-dissolving dosage forms (FDDF), the medication may be dosed and frozen directly within the blister pockets and then dried therein using a freeze-drying process, as explained by Gregory et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,502. The freeze-drying process is well known in the art and may involve first dosing a liquid suspension into the preformed blister pockets of a base sheet. The base sheet containing the suspension is then cooled by a medium such as liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide, thereby freezing the contents of the blister pockets. The frozen contents may then be subjected to reduced pressure to complete the freeze drying process.
Various techniques which can utilize preformed pockets (such as blister pockets) to create fast-dissolving dosage forms are described in (i) U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,120,549 and 5,215,756 (hereinafter referred to as the "Gole Process"); (ii) U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,261 (hereinafter the "Pebley Process"); and (iii) U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,039,540 and 5,079,018 (hereinafter the "Ecanow Process"), the entire teachings of which are herein incorporated by reference. Another technique is described in PCT Application No. JP 92/01631 filed Dec. 12, 1992 and published as International Publication No. WO 93/12769 (referred to as the "Yamanouchi Process"), the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference. Each of the references disclose techniques to create a fast-dissolving dosage which is at least formed (in contrast to fully processed) in a pocket.
In broad terms, the Gole Process describes a dosage form using a solid-state dissolution method whereby a delivery matrix and first solvent are solidified and subjected to a second solvent at a temperature which permits the removal of the first solvent while leaving the matrix as the product.
The Pebley Process discloses a method of preparing a rapidly disintegrating tablet involving vacuum drying the unbound liquid from a matrix at a temperature above the collapse temperature (i.e., initial matrix melting point) during primary drying, thereby evaporating the free solvent through solid to liquid to gas phases (as opposed to conventional lyophilization which removes solvent directly from solid to gas).
The Ecanow Process discloses a method of preparing freeze-dried readily dissolvable formulations by combining a hydrated gel or foam together with a rigidifying agent and subsequently dehydrated with an anhydrous organic liquid desiccant at about 0.degree. C.
The Yamanouchi Process discloses intraorally disintegrating solid preparations prepared by combining the active ingredient with a sugar (such as lactose and/or mannitol) and agar. The dosage forms are then dried under decreased pressure or forced air conditions.
The pharmaceutical industry abounds with a variety of dosage forms, many of which are very similar, if not identical to each other in outward appearance. It is therefore often necessary to place an identifying logo, code, or other mark on each individual dosage form. Such mark might identify the manufacturer, the brand name, the active component strength or any other useful information regarding the dosage form. Further, several states in the United States currently require certain identifying markings to appear on individual units of medication.
Solid units of medication such as tablets, capsules or caplets have been acceptably identified by printing information directly onto the unit. Alternatively, solid units have been embossed with an identifying mark by compressing an embossment into the surface of the unit. The latter method is illustrated by or analogous to the processes disclosed by Roberts in U.S. Pat. No. 3,534,440; Weinberg in U.S. Pat. No. 2,645,852; and Tobin in U.S. Pat. No. 510,453, which disclose direct pressing techniques to emboss various articles.
While such methods are well suited to the application of an identifying mark to most solid units of medication, such methods are not well-suited for the application of identifying marks to fast-dissolving units. In particular, the application of compression techniques would cause deformation, reduced porosity and increased dispersion time, as well as possibly cracking the fast-dissolving dosage forms due to their inherent fragility, surface undulation, moisture sensitivity and chemical makeup. Similarly, the chemical make-up, moisture sensitivity, porosity and surface undulation of fast-dissolving dosage forms would cause ink to dissolve the dosage forms at the point of contact or to diffuse throughout the dosage forms leading to clarity problems.
Therefore, the need exists for improved products and methods of manufacturing relating to fast-dissolving dosage forms and embossing them without adversely affecting the structural or chemical properties thereof.

Method of applying indicia to a fast-dissolving dosage form


The method and apparatus include that the rear vanes (11) of the pump or the members operating therewith are arranged so that they either direct the flow of the medium, generated by the combined effect of forces with different directions and different intensities directed at the medium in the space behind the impeller in the vane gaps of said rear vanes, past gas discharge opening (12) in the rear wall of the pump or they slow down said flow so that its extension to said gas discharge opening (12) is prevented.

It is already known that pumping of liquids having a high gas content may not be carried out without simultaneous gas discharge, because the gas will separate and accumulate around the center of the rotor of the pump and form a bubble which tends to grow and eventually will fill the entire inlet opening of the pump. This results in a considerable decrease of efficiency and will cause vibration of the equipment and in the worst case leads to the interruption of the pumping action all together. This problem appears to be especially severe in centrifugal pumps which have been used for decades, for example, for pumping low consistency fiber suspensions in the wood processing industry. Various attempts have been made to solve these problems by discharging the gas bubble from the pump. Today gas is discharged in known and used apparatus either by drawing gas with suction through a pipe which extends into the hub of the impeller located in the center of the suction opening of the pump, or by drawing the gas through the hollow shaft of the impeller, or by arranging at least one hole in the impeller through which the gas is drawn toward the back side of the impeller and further away therefrom. All the apparatus operate satisfactorily when the medium being pumped is liquid and substantially free from solids. Problems arise only when the medium includes solid particles, such as fibers, threads, etc. In such cases these particles prevent the ducts from remaining clear and open, which again is a necessity for the proper operation of the pump.
There are several known ways by which the disadvantage and risk factors caused by these impurities may be eliminated or minimized. The simplest way is to provide a sufficiently large gas discharge duct so that clogging is out of the question. Other alternatives are, for example, the provision of different blade wheel arrangements at the back side of the impeller. Often radial vanes are arranged on the back surface of the impeller, the purpose of which vanes is to pump the medium which has flown with the gas through the gas discharge openings of the impeller to the outer rim or periphery of the impeller and from its clearance back to the liquid flow. The ultimate purpose of the vanes behind the impeller is to balance the axial forces of the pump which is preferably accomplished when the number of back vanes is equal to the number of the pumping vanes. In some cases a separate pumping arrangement is used having the same purpose as above mentioned, but which is mounted further behind the impeller by means of a blade wheel mounted on the shaft of the impeller. This blade wheel rotates in its own chamber thereby separating the liquid flowing with the gas and guiding it to the outer periphery of the chamber so that the gas can be drawn away by suction from the center of the chamber. The medium together with the impurities accumulated at the outer periphery of the chamber is guided via a separate duct either to the suction or to discharge side of the pump. As stated, all disclosed apparatus operate satisfactorily only when a limited amount of impurities is present in the liquid.
It is also possible to adjust the apparatus to operate relatively reliably also with liquids containing a substantial amount of solids, for example, fiber suspensions of the pulp industry. In that case it is, however, necessary to yield in the gas discharge ability of the pump, since it is essential that no or hardly an fibers enter to the gas discharge duct or come into contact with the vacuum pump communicating therewith. Thus gaseous fiber suspension present behind the impeller is, as a precaution, generally fed back to the main flow. On the other hand, it is known that the presence of gas in the fiber suspension is a negative factor in the pulp treatment process which should be eliminated as far as possible. It is therefore a waste of existing advantages to feed the once-separated gas back to the pulp circulation. Alternatively, it is also a waste of pulp to separate the pulp flow together with the gas from the pulp circulation by discharging the gaseous pulp as a secondary flow from the pump.
The purpose of the present invention is therefore to utilize the capability of a centrifugal pump most efficiently for separating gas from a liquid by discharging the gas from the pump by simple and operationally safe means. The only precondition is to operate without the risk of impurities present in the liquid, i.e. solids, such as threads, fibers, etc., to clog the gas discharge system.
Pending U.S. application No. 216,009 discloses a method of ensuring that the fibers of the suspension cannot clog the gas discharge system or the vacuum pump communicating therewith even in the case of pumping fiber suspensions of the pulp and paper industry. In that application a filter surface or the like is arranged in the flow passage of the gas being discharged prior to entry thereof into the vacuum pump used in the process. The disclosed filter surface prevents the fibers from entering the gas discharge system.
U.S Pat. No. 4,673,330 discloses a method of controlling the operation of a centrifugal pump by adjusting the size of the gas bubble generated in front of the pump impeller. The device in accordance with that publication comprises a plurality of electric sensors arranged radially on the rear wall of the pump housing behind the impeller. The sensors measure the size of the gas bubble generated between the impeller and the rear wall on the basis of the varying ability of liquid and gas to conduct electricity.
It is noted in that publication that neither the medium between the vanes of the impeller nor the gas bubble inside the medium are evenly round, but that the boundary surface therebetween is to some extent serrate in such a way that each foil in a way pushes the medium layer in front of it and the medium layer tends to move towards the outer periphery of the pump due to the centrifugal force. However, for some unexplained reason that portion of the medium which is in contact with the front surface of the vane pushing the pulp is closer to the center of the impeller. Such irregularity is present not only at the pumping vanes, but also at the so-called rear or back vanes radially arranged behind the impeller.

Method and apparatus for separating gas with a pump from a medium being pumped


Techniques, systems, and apparatus for conducting direct data placement of network message data to a final destination in a user buffer are disclosed. Generally, the invention is configured to conduct direct data copying from a NIC memory to a final destination user buffer location without any intermediate copying to a kernel buffer. The invention includes a method that involves receiving network delivered messages by a NIC of a local computer. The message is stored in the memory of the NIC. The headers are stripped from the message and processed. A ULP handler of the local computer is invoked to process the ULP header of the network message. Using information obtained from the processed ULP header, suitable memory locations in a user buffer are identified and designated for saving associated message data. The message data is then directly placed from the NIC memory to the designated memory location in the user buffer without intermediate copy steps like DMA.

Conventionally constructed computer systems include a network processing layer as part of the kernel to facilitate the transmission and receipt of data over a networked system. Network Interface Cards (NIC's) are commonly used to enable computers to be connected with other systems in a network.
Commonly, when message packets arrive at a receiving computer system they are processed by the network processing stack of the kernel (e.g., the network protocol stack (also referred to as the TCP/IP stack) and the upper layer protocol layer (the ULP layer). With the steadily increasing capabilities of modern NIC's, throughput of on the order of 1 Gb/s (gigabit per second) is possible. Although advantageous from a data transfer perspective, such high data transfer rates can, and often, do overwhelm a host CPU. In fact, the processing in the TCP layer and IP layer can so occupy the CPU kernel, that in many cases, the kernel spends between 70 and 80 percent (or more) of the total CPU resources processing packets. Thus, little other data processing can be performed in the CPU. As a result, little processing power remains for the implementation of applications. This can drastically compromise system efficiency.
Conventionally employed computer systems commonly use one or more central processing units (CPU's) to conduct processing within a computer system. Commonly, such computer systems are configured to include a kernel layer and a user layer. As is known to those having ordinary skill in the art, the user layer includes a multiplicity of applications and programs which can receive information processed by the CPU at the kernel layer.
Additionally, computer systems can be interconnected in networked systems. Examples include, but are not limited, to local area networks (LAN's) and the much vaster Internet. Typically, such computer systems are connected to networks using network interface cards (NIC's) which are specially constructed pieces of hardware designed for such purposes.
Commonly, when a network message is received by a NIC it is decoded by the kernel layer in a series of steps and then sent to an end user (application) for processing and use. Although simple in conception this process can be quite involved. A typical network message includes a series of protocol headers (e.g., L1-L4) encapsulating a data package. The protocol headers enable the network message to negotiate the various system and network layers used to facilitate message traffic.
In one example, a message it transmitted to a local computer in accordance with a conventional process as commonly employed. A network message including message data is encapsulated with a series of headers. A data link layer (e.g., Ethernet, FDDI, or another data link header) encapsulates the message. Also, a transport layer header encapsulates the message. Such transport layer headers can include TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) headers. A network layer header also encapsulates the message. Such transport layer headers can include IP (Internet Protocol) headers and the like. Also, the message data is encapsulated by application layer protocol headers like NFS and HTTP headers. Before, the message data package can be transmitted to the end user (typically an application program operating in the user layer of a local computer system) the headers must be decoded and interpreted.
Typical networked computer systems are commonly configured as follows. The computer system includes an operating system (O/S) arranged to include a user layer and a kernel layer. The user layer is configured to operate the applications (i.e., software) stored on the computer. As is known to those having ordinary skill in the art the kernel is configured to execute a wide variety of processing tasks. The kernel layer includes a socket layer which interfaces the kernel layer with the applications in the user layer. Also, the kernel layer includes a driver layer that enables communication between the kernel layer and the NIC. Additionally, the kernel level includes a protocol stack used for decoding the various protocol headers used in the messages.
The computer system communicates with the network using the NIC that connects the computer system with a network. The NIC communicates with the operating system (O/S) via a NIC driver. Also, the NIC communicates with the driver using an I/O bus. Network messages are received at the NIC where they are stored in NIC memory. The messages are then copied (using a direct memory access (DMA) process) to a kernel buffer and decoded using the protocol stack of the kernel layer. The decoded messages are then copied to a final location in the user buffer in the user layer where they are processed by the appropriate applications. All of this processing is performed by the kernel and generates significant network processing overhead (time spent processing network messages). As network message traffic increases more and more CPU time is being devoted to processing network messages. Conversely, due to this increasing overhead, less and less CPU time is available to conduct processing of other operations. This has a significant impact on the usefulness of such computer systems.
The following example provides a brief exemplary overview of a conventional network message processing operation used for dealing with network messages in accordance with current processes. A network message is transmitted along a network where in accordance with network protocols it is directed to an appropriate local computer system. There it is received by a NIC associated with the local computer. The NIC stores the network message in a NIC memory until further processing is completed. This is something of a problem due to the small size of most NIC memory and also due to high amount of network traffic through the NIC (the volume of which is constantly increasing).
In order to avoid overflowing the NIC memory, once the NIC has received and stored the network message, the NIC sends the message to the kernel layer of the computer for processing. The network message is sent to a NIC driver via the I/O bus. This is another of the bottlenecks in current system and contributes substantially to network processing overhead. In order to communicate the network message to the kernel layer the message must be processed by the driver (in the kernel layer). In order to transfer the network message from the NIC to the kernel the message must be transmitted through a standard I/O bus. The difficulty is that such standardized I/O busses transmit data in a series of "packets" (also referred to as "frames") of 1500 bytes. These packets can be, for example, 1500 byte Ethernet packets. For longer messages, the overhead involved in sending streams of packets is considerable. Thus, it is slow to send packets to the kernel.
Additionally, once the network message is processed by the driver layer and the data link header (e.g., an Ethernet header) is split off and decoded by a data link layer the message is placed in a kernel buffer using a direct memory access (DMA) process. This has the advantage of freeing the NIC memory for additional messages. However, there is a trade-off involved here. About one third of all of the network overhead involved in processing a message from a NIC until it reaches its intended final user buffer (associated with the intended und use application) is incurred here. Thus DMA processing from the NIC to a kernel buffer is a very time intensive process.
Additionally, once a network message is DMA'ed to a kernel buffer, the various headers must be decoded. This process is commonly referred to a header processing. Typically, the kernel layer includes a series of header processing layers that enable the decoding of associated headers in the network message. For example, a transport layer is configured to decode transport headers (e.g., TCP headers and the like) and a network layer is configured to decode network headers (e.g., IP headers and the like). Additionally, an upper layer protocol (ULP) layer is provided to enable decoding of ULP headers (e.g., NFS headers and the like).
Once the headers have been decoded and the data package has been defined and its user (destination application) determined the socket layer again DMA's the data from the kernel buffer to a user buffer associated with the destination application. Thus, even more valuable CPU cycles are expended in this copy from kernel buffer to user buffer.
Performance analysis has determined that such DMA data copying accounts for 30-60% of the total network processing overhead. Thus, many approaches have been attempted to solve this problem. Reductions of these issues will have significant impact CPU availability and significantly increase the number of CPU cycles available for application processing.
One approach that has been used to reduce this the amount of overhead involved in header processing and copying is the introduction of the TCP Offload Engine (TOE) into a standard NIC. Such TOE capable NIC's include decoder hardware capable of conducting TCP and IP processing directly on the NIC. Thus, instead of using the software of the kernel layer to conduct TCP/IP processing the hardware of the TOE NIC conducts the processing. Not only is the burden of TCP/IP processing removed from the CPU, but the TOE NIC hardware performs such processing faster. This represents a significant improvement in the art. Thus, such TOE capable NIC's remove the burden of TCP/IP processing from the kernel. Moreover, message traffic between the TOE NIC and the driver is no longer limited to 1500 byte packets. Such TOE NIC's can use message-based communications to transfer greater amounts of data between the TOE NIC and the driver. This also reduces the overhead. Examples of such TCP Offload Engines and their application to network interface cards are known to those of ordinary skill. For example, reference is made to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/884,791 entitled: "System And Method For Conducting Fast Offloading Of A Connection Onto A Network Interface Card" filed on Jul. 1, 2004 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Even with the improvements made possible with TOE NIC cards, the steadily increasing amounts of network traffic makes further reductions in network processing overhead advantageous. Others have tried to incorporate the ULP layer into a NIC in much the same way that was done for TCP/IP processing. Up to a point this approach can work. However, this approach suffers from a serious drawback. Because the ULP decoder is hard wired, a different NIC is required for each ULP used by the computer system. Moreover, there are many different kinds of ULP's with new ULP's being devised all the time. Thus, the practical implementations of such an approach are significant.
Additionally, no approaches have yet been devised that can overcome the difficulties presented by the copying of the message data from the kernel buffer to the user buffer. A host of problems known to those having ordinary skill in the art have required that the network message first be DMA'ed to the kernel buffer before being copied to a user buffer. This copying imposes significant overhead on network message processing. One problem in particular is imposed by the need to decode the ULP header before transferring a message. For example, applications commonly define messages at the application level and encapsulate them in a ULP dependent format. Due to fragmentation like disruption of messages IP datagrams carrying application level messages are not "self-identifiable" as to which ULP transactions they belong to. Consequently, when such messages are received they cannot be reassembled back into appropriate ULP messages without being ULP aware. Thus, network packets must be placed in network buffers first. Then, after complete network stack processing (decoding), commonly all the way until the ULP header, can the application data be correctly extracted and interpreted from the network packets and copied to the final destination (e.g., a user buffer).
Thus, for at least these reasons, as well as other reasons, there is a need in the art for alternative approaches for network message processing that can reduce the overhead in network message processing.

System and method for conducting direct data placement (DDP) using a TOE (TCP offload engine) capable network interface card


A method for analyzing polishing frequency and number of polishing times for chemical planarization polishing wafer with different polishing pad profiles is disclosed. First, drawings of a wafer and a polishing pad are provided and then are converted into pixel arrays. Pixel arrays are processed to be black/white images. The black/white images are converted into binary matrices. The effective polishing frequencies of all points in the binary matrix are calculated. Following the calculated polishing frequencies, the coordinates of all binary matrices are redefined according to a displacement condition, and then new coordinates of all points and corresponding effective numbers of polishing times for a time increment are calculated so as to form an effective polishing times matrix for the time increment. Further, all effective numbers of polishing times within a total polishing time interval are added together.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method for analyzing a polishing frequency and a number of polishing times. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for analyzing an effective polishing frequency and an effective number of polishing times for chemical mechanical planarizing a wafer with different polishing pad profiles.
2. Description of Related Art
Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) is a global planarization technique which employs both of a mechanical polishing by polishing media and a chemical polishing by chemical solution to remove particles on a wafer surface so that subsequent processes such as deposition and etching are successful. As global planarization is a basic requirement for multilevel interconnects and CMP is recognized as a feasible way to globally planarize a wafer, CMP is very commonly used in semiconductor processes.
In the conventional planarization analyzing technique for a wafer processed by CMP, a finite element method is often used for evaluating a pressure field distribution during polishing. A speed distribution can be obtained from relative velocity between any point on the wafer and a polishing pad, derived by a relative rotating speed. There are also experimental efforts to derive a relation between a speed distribution and a removal rate.
In a typical CMP method, the speed distribution is evaluated under a condition of a planet path and an identical rotating speed for the wafer and the polishing pad. In the case of other relative rotating speeds, an averaged speed distribution is often used. As to compensating chemical mechanical wafer polishing with the wafer disposed above the pad, if the planet path is employed and the wafer and the polishing pad have an identical rotating speed, a distribution of a number of polishing times on the wafer surface is uneven due to the polishing pad incompletely covering the wafer, so that a good planarization cannot be obtained.
Unfortunately, evaluation of the relative speed is based on complex principles and has the following difficulties. Evaluation of the speed for compensating chemical mechanical planarization involves complicated integration, and evaluation of the number of polishing times is difficult, especially for a non-circular polishing pad.
Implementation of global planarization detection is also difficult. For an ordinary chemical mechanical wafer polishing, certain measurement positions on which an endpoint detector measures are selected indirectly. For compensating chemical mechanical wafer polishing, although the polishing surface of the wafer faces upward, which helps a direct measurement during polishing, the available number of measurement positions is still limited and the global planarization detection is not easily achieved because global planarization effect is related to an effective polishing frequency or an effective number of polishing times of all points on the wafer.
For the foregoing reasons, a method for analyzing the effective polishing frequency and the effective number of polishing times for chemical mechanical wafer polishing is needed, providing a reference to the distribution of the effective number of polishing times after chemical mechanical wafer polishing for a period of time.

Method for analyzing effective polishing frequency and effective polishing times for chemical mechanical planarization polishing wafers with different polishing pad profiles

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology