The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for testing eye diagram characteristics. The present invention does not utilize a RF analyst used in prior art. On the contrary, the present invention directly sends a precondition from a mainframe to a chip under test, and the GLPF signals are read out from the chip under test. After digitalizing and normalizing the GLPF signals, an eye diagram program stored in the mainframe is executed and the eye diagram is reconstructed. Next, a software analyzer is used to compute an error between the eye diagram parameters and predefined specifications, to determine if the chip under test is in an allowable range of the specification according to the computed error. If the computed error is beyond the allowable range, the chip under test will be discarded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for testing a communication chip, and particularly to a method and apparatus for testing eye diagram characteristics of a communication chip.
2. Description of Related Art
For communication chips or system single chips, it is necessary to test the quality of eye diagram characteristics for the output signals of the Guassian Low Pass Filter (GLPF) of the transmitter before leaving the factory so as to pick out defective products. In the stage of research and engineering verification, engineers always use an oscilloscope or an RF analyst (such as HP 71501A) to check by hand if the eye diagram characteristics of the communication chips fit the requirement of specifications. However, in the stage of testing products, if the work is done by hand, it will slow down the output of products and increase the test cost.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art testing apparatus, including a mainframe 11, an RF analyst 15, a chip under test 14 and a mechanical arm 12. The chip under test 14 is placed on a testing plate 13 of the mechanical arm 12. First, the mainframe 11 issues a precondition to the chip under test 14, and drives the chip under test 14 output GLPF signals to the RF analyst 15. The RF analyst 15 transfers the GLPF signals into an eye diagram, and the workers check if the chip under test 14 fits specifications through a screen examination.
However, the above method cannot be made automatic so that a testing cycle of a chip will take a lot of time and lessen the output of products. Second, the RF analyst 15 is so expensive that the total testing cost is high. Third, due to man""s neglects or an inaccurate comparison under an eyesight limitation, the defective chips cannot always be picked out by hand and errors are bound to happen.
To eliminate the disadvantages of the prior art, the present invention proposes a novelty method and apparatus for testing eye diagram characteristics to overcome the above drawbacks.
A main object of the present invention is to provide an automatic and a cost-down method and apparatus for testing eye diagram characteristics.
The second object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for fast testing eye diagram characteristics.
To obtain the above purpose, the present invention does not utilize an RF analyst as used in prior art. On the contrary, the present invention directly sends a precondition from a mainframe to a chip under test, and the GLPF signals are read out from the chip under test. After digitalizing and normalizing the GLPF signals, an eye diagram program stored in the mainframe is executed and the eye diagram is reconstructed. Next, a software analyzer is used to compute an error between the eye diagram parameters and predefined specifications, and determining if the chip under test is in an allowable range of the specification according to the computed error. If the computed error is beyond the allowable range, the chip under test will be discarded.

Method and apparatus for testing eye diagram characteristics


A system is configured to determine a dominant error causing a provisioning step to become stuck during provisioning of a machine in a cloud environment. The system includes memory for storing instructions, and a processor configured to execute said instructions to determine an inverse error frequency (IEF) value for pre-intervention errors in a set of intervention provisioning data; determine a dominant error for a provision during said provisioning step in said set of intervention provisioning data based on a pre-intervention error that has a maximum IEF value; determine a duration frequency (DuF) value for the provision at said provisioning step for provisions in a set of non-intervention provisioning data; and determine said dominant error for each provision during said provisioning step in said set of non-intervention provisioning data based on an error that resulted in DuF value.

Provisioning a virtual machine or baremetal server in the cloud involves a number of provisioning steps during which unstructured, timestamped logs are generated as the workflow progresses through the provisioning steps and reflects the provisioning status. Of the tens of thousands of virtual server infrastructure (VSI) provisions that happen per day, a few hundred provisions can end up in a stuck state during a given provisioning step. In order to determine the cause of a stuck provision, site reliability engineers (SRE) or cloud operations personnel (OPS) access multiple systems to determine the likely cause of the issue. Log data generated during the provisioning of a virtual machine or baremetal server (i.e., a single-tenant physical server) in the cloud captures the status of the provision. The event logs associated with the provisions can contain an abundance of error messages that are indicative of potential causes for stuck provision. However, analytics are still needed to aggregate and analyze the errors from various log sources to determine a specific error as the cause of the stuck provision.

Approach to automated detection of dominant errors in cloud provisions

International Business Machines Corporation


Technology for relative timing characterization enabling use of clocked electronic design automation (EDA) tool flows is disclosed. In an example, a method can include a EDA tool identifying a relative timing constraint (RTC) of a cell in a circuit model between a point of divergence (pod) event and two point of convergence (poc) events, wherein the two poc events include a first poc event (poc0) and a second poc event (poc1). The EDA tool can generate a maximum target delay for a first poc event path between the pod event and the first poc event. The EDA tool can generate a minimum target delay for a second poc event path between the pod event and the second poc event. The EDA tool can then optimize the circuit model using the maximum target delay and the minimum target delay.

Circuit timing can impact the power, performance, noise, and area of a circuit. Timing can be adjusted by many alternative circuit design styles, which can provide benefits over industry standard clocked design methods and technology. Timing can also be a primary impediment to the commercialization and adoption for these alternative circuits. Asynchronous circuit design is an example of a circuit family that uses alternative timing. At a circuit and architectural level, asynchronous design uses a continuous timing model, whereas clocked design uses a discrete model of time based on clock cycles.
Two general methods for signal sequencing have emerged in the design community: Clocked and asynchronous. Clocked design is founded upon frequency based protocols that define discrete clock periods. Clocked methods contain combinational logic (CL) between latches or flip-flops creating pipeline stages that are controlled by a common frequency. All other methods besides clocked methods can be considered "asynchronous", including but not limited to methods that employ handshake protocols, self-resetting domino circuits, and embedded sequential elements, such as static random-access memory (SRAM), dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or programmable logic arrays (PLA). Asynchronous elements can contain state-holding circuits, such as sequential controllers, domino gates, or memory elements. The arrival of inputs to an asynchronous circuit may not be based on a global clock frequency. Delays through an asynchronous circuit can vary based on function, application, manufacturing variations, and operating parameters, such as temperature and voltage fluctuations.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.


A user-propelled vehicle is adapted for use as a ride on vehicle. The user-propelled ride on vehicle has a frame, a rider support platform, a steering column, a front cross member, a rear cross member, and a plurality of a caster assemblies coupled to the front and rear cross members at a front forward tilting angle to the vertical axis.

Scooters, ride-on toys and other similar vehicles are popular with children and other riders as they may provide exercise, amusement and even transportation. While such vehicles are often propelled by a rider using his or her foot to push off of the ground, such as in the case of a traditional scooter or a foot-to-floor ride-on, vehicles that use a rider's motion have been developed. Prior art vehicles that use a rider's motion have certain drawbacks. The present embodiments seek to overcome certain of these limitations and other drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide new features not heretofore available. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present embodiments is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.


Analysis of authenticity digital certificates includes. Initial information pertaining to digital certificates is collected from diverse information sources. For each of the digital certificates the initial information includes intrinsic parameter data from among contents of the digital certificate and extrinsic parameter data pertaining to the digital certificate and comprising static data not contained in the contents of the digital certificate. Selected parameter data is stored and analyzed to determine a measure of suspiciousness for each of the digital certificates. If necessary, circumstantial data based on actual usage of one or more of the digital certificates are collected. The initial data and supplemental data are compared against a set of decision criteria that define fraudulent activity, and a determination of authenticity of each of the digital certificates is made.

More and more communications are currently effected through the Internet. Today, for most people, it is a trivial matter to send or receive an email, make a purchase in an online store, discuss upcoming or past events on social networks, or chat with friends who are thousands of miles away using Internet telephone means. Since the Internet contains a large amount of confidential data, the issue of authentication of the parties during Internet communication is becoming more and more important.
To solve such issues, as early as over twenty years ago, a concept was developed for authentication of the communicating parties and transfer of encoded data through a public communication channel using asymmetrical code systems. Authentication refers to the process of checking whether the party with which communication is being effected is the one it is purporting to be. This approach is still quite popular. One of the main elements of this approach is the use of a public key infrastructure with certification centers and public key certificates (for brevity, the term certificate is used). In general, a certification center, or certificate authority, issues a public key certificate to an interested party, to be used for further authentication of this interested party. In this case, for correct operation of the whole system, the certification center issuing the certificate must be trusted and practically impossible to compromise. In most cases, the level of trust is determined using known information on the subject, such as his reputation. Indeed, until recently, events related to compromising a large certification center with good reputation did not amount to a serious scale. However, since today's offenders work in organized groups to take unlawful actions on the Internet and have sufficient financial and technical resources, such incidents are happening more and more often. The compromised certification centers Comodo and DigiNotar can be cited as examples. This increased attention of offenders to the operation of certification centers is explained first by the fact that it can be viewed as a single point of failure, which, once hacked, can give unlimited access to its resources, allowing to issue new fake certificates signed by a trusted party. Second, detection of a compromised certification center using existing tools can take from a few days to several months, which is quite sufficient for the offenders. Third, after a successful attack, the capabilities of a hacked certification center can be used for subsequent "man-in-the-middle"-type attacks, intended to gain access to confidential end user data. Hacking, in particular, means using vulnerabilities in architecture, communication protocols and software with the purpose to gain unauthorized access.
As there are reasons to expect similar attacks in the future as well, companies working in the area of Internet communication security are trying to suggest methods preventing the use of certificates fraudulently obtained by "man-in-the-middle"-type attacks. In particular, Google Inc. proposes to gather statistics on certificates using software which would check all Internet sites automatically and/or using a preset schedule. Subsequently, the gathered statistics can be used to build reputation for the certificates of a given website.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,739,494 discusses the calculation of a trust index for a given certificate, taking into account the information on the certification center issuing the certificate, the geographical location of the certificate holder, the type of the network connection being used, etc. The obtained index determines the level of trust for the certificate in question. The patent also notes that it is possible to analyze the statistics of user requests and replies for the website in question—for example, the number of requests sent to the site, information on the certificates obtained from the site, etc. It should be also noted that the use of the above described technologies makes it practically impossible to accurately distinguish a certificate issued to the actual site owner from a certificate obtained by offenders through compromising a certification center.
Therefore, a system is needed which would guarantee correct authentication of the communicating parties using a public key certificate even in case of obstacles created by offenders. Obstacles in this context means pre-planned actions intended to cause an authentication error, such as: compromising a certification center, providing false statistical data, as well as various types of "man-in-the-middle" attacks. A "man-in-the-middle"-type attack, for the purposes of this description, means, in particular, infiltration of an offender in a communication channel in order to gain access to confidential data of a party and/or unauthorized modification of incoming or outgoing messages, as well as modification of the operation logic of at least one device required for bilateral communication.

System and method for verification of digital certificates


Disclosed herein are various embodiments of systems and method for testing dies on semiconductor wafers that reduce testing times on future wafers. The disclosed systems and methods may be employed to determine which BINs, if any, should be reprobed during a second testing pass. Specifically, the disclosed principles provide this determination based on the relationship between the yield recovery rate of a single BIN in view of the recovery rate for all BINs on the wafer, and the reprobe rate of that single BIN in view of the reprobe rate for all of the BINs. With this approach, both the recovery rate and the reprobe rate for a single BIN are evaluated as a percentage of the recovery rate or reprobe rate for all of the BINs on the wafer.

The fabrication of various solid state devices employs semiconductor wafers on which semiconductor integrated circuits or other devices are fabricated. The final number, or yield, of functional integrated circuits on a wafer at the end of the fabrication process is of utmost importance to semiconductor manufacturers, and increasing the yield of circuits on the wafer is a primary goal of semiconductor fabrication. After manufacturing, wafer "dies" having the integrated circuits are tested so that non-functional dies are identified. In order to detect defects on a wafer, electrical tests are used to thoroughly and accurately determine the existence and location of defects. The electrical tests may be conducted by simply determining whether the circuitry is functional or defective, and if defective, in what way is the circuitry defective.
In addition, a certain amount of retesting of the dies previously found to be defective is also conducted. When these dies are retested, many may be found to be operational during the second test pass, and are thus "recovered" to increase wafer yield. In traditional testing processes, all dies on a baseline wafer set are tested during a first test pass, and then the dies found to be defective are identified are typically retested to establish a recovery rate for certain types detected defects. Then, an engineer or other employee of the manufacturer manually determines which type of detected error is most worthwhile to retest. Specifically, the engineer would typically choose to retest only those types of defective dies that have a good history of recovery during the second test, for example, a 25% recovery rate or better. Unfortunately, manual selection for wafer reprobing is not always accurately accomplished, and mistakes may occur when resetting the testing equipment for reprobing. In addition, the expense of having an engineer handle the reprobing can be costly on the manufacturer.

Systems and methods for reducing testing times on integrated circuit dies

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


This invention is directed to a document processing system and control method thereof. The system stores a plurality of items of document data each containing metadata pertaining to the contents of each item of document data, and relation information representing the relations between the plurality of items of document data. When scanned image data or facsimile-received image data is input, document data related to the input image data is specified among the plurality of items of stored document data, based on the metadata contained in each item of document data. Relation information representing the relation between the input image data and the specified related document data is stored. Even document data obtained from a paper document is able to be stored as document data subjected to search processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document processing system which stores a plurality of items of document data and relation information representing the relations between the items of document data, a control method thereof, a program, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advanced storage techniques that require low costs enable accumulation and management of a larger amount of document data than was impossible using conventional techniques. File servers, document management systems and groupware for implementing such functions have prevailed; progress continues on information processing apparatuses such as PCs; and various devices including a copying machine, printer, image scanner, facsimile apparatus, digital camera, document storage, and MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) having image transmission and reception functions can now connected to a network. In a network environment on the customer side, a large amount of document data is exchanged between information processing apparatuses and various office machines. A storage infrastructure is coming into practical use capable of proactively storing document traffic distributed throughout an office network.
An example of such a storage infrastructure is a multi-function image processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3486452 (reference 1). The image processing apparatus connects at least two image output apparatuses in order to provide a multi-function image processing apparatus which reliably makes a copy of a necessary image without troubling a user. This apparatus monitors the processing parameters of an image processing job, and determines whether an activated job satisfies a predetermined condition. When a job determined to satisfy the condition is executed, the apparatus sends image data to an original output destination and to another image output apparatus (e.g., an image file). One goal of this storage infrastructure is to audit security in order to prevent leakage of confidential information. The storage infrastructure also has a purpose of efficiently reusing existing assets by minimizing the re-execution of document processing similar to that already performed.
A storage infrastructure which proactively stores document traffic distributed throughout an office network stores document content data and also various types of additional information, that is, metadata related to documents. For example, relation information between two documents, and history information on the lifecycle of a document are stored as metadata in association with a given document. Examples of related documents are grouped documents belonging to the same category, documents of old and revised editions, application data and a snapshot document created while in printing, similar documents, documents containing the same page, and documents containing similar images. Metadata pertaining to the lifecycle of a document includes, for example, information on the contents of processing executed for the document, parameters, time, apparatus used, location, and the operator of the processing.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-78735 (reference 2) discloses a filing system which implements some document management functions in a document-handling apparatus (e.g., a printer, scanner, copying machine, FAX, projector, or digital camera). Every time the system handles a document, it transmits the document information to a document management server together with additional information on a person concerned who handled the document.
In the field of electronic document data files, a file format is used to express metadata associated with document content data in relation to document data. According to OpenDocument Format (ISO/IEC 26300) and Office Open XML (Ecma-376), the document file format contains a metadata representation by an XML document.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-91301 (reference 3) discloses a document information management system which builds the continuity and relation of information between the digital world of a computer and a paper document. According to this technique, a paper document is embedded in the document information management system in the digital world. The system allows directly accessing the digital world via a paper document. Further, the system implements a hypertext using a paper document. The system adds selection information to description information recorded at an arbitrary position on paper to search for and output a desired relation information file (electronized document). Paper also records link information for searching for the relation information file.
A technique well known as PageRank® is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,999 (reference 5) and Lawrence Page, Sergey Brin, Rajeev Motwani, Terry Winograd, in "The PageRank Citation Ranking: Bringing Order to the Web", 1998, http://www-db.stanford.edu/˜backrub/pageranksub.ps (reference 6). This technique exploits the vast link structure of the Web. A link from one page to another is regarded as a supporting vote, and the importance of the page is determined from this "poll"; that is, from the sum of all votes. At this time, not only the given poll, that is, the link count on the page is taken into consideration, but also the page that cast a given vote is analyzed. A vote cast by a page of higher "importance" is evaluated more highly, and the given page is regarded to as more "important".
The volume of stored documents that are considered critical office resources is expected to greatly increase. Creation and processing of documents are basic office tasks, and the document growth capacity is ever increasing. It is difficult to organize a large number of dynamically accumulated documents in a tree structure classification such as by category. An improved method is required for efficient searching for a desired document among many accumulated and unorganized documents. As such a search method, in addition to Internet search services, full text search and content search within an office network (also known as an enterprise search), are becoming popular.
To efficiently search for a desired document among a large number of accumulated documents, it is important to use document data, a variety of metadata associated with the document, as well as relations with other documents. A more advanced and practical search function can be provided if metadata reflecting a user activity in the office, such as processing executed for a document by a user, can be used as a key for search.
Applicability will be widely expanded by setting a plurality of documents and metadata as nodes, and exploiting a semantic network formed by the relations between documents and relations between metadata as a kind of knowledge representation. The network of documents and metadata is usable for so-called data mining and business intelligence upon classification, analysis, and modification. The network expresses a document and the action of an office worker in association with the document. A so-called "Wisdom of Crowds" or "Collective Intelligence" can be derived and exploited by integrating the network by statistical processing. Note that the "Wisdom of Crowds" has received attention as a factor which features the trend of "Web 2.0" in the Internet. An application of the "Wisdom of Crowds" to even an intranet is expected to greatly increase the productivity of an office as a whole.
However, once printed on paper or facsimile-sent, an online document electronically linked to the semantic network or an electronic document of a file format containing metadata loses its metadata and relation data to other documents. That is, a document offline in the network such as a paper document or facsimile document is disconnected from metadata and a semantically related network.
According to reference 4 described above, link information is recorded on paper to search for a relation information file in the digital world. However, in processing such as paper scanning or facsimile reception, an offline document and metadata associated with the processing cannot be linked again to an online semantic network. In other words, an online document in a storage infrastructure and a paper document having undergone the processing (and metadata associated with the processing) cannot be accumulated and managed in association with each other.

Document processing system and control method thereof, program, and storage medium


Data transmission first initializes a transmitter system and a receiver system. The transmitter system processes audio/video data, and transmits the processed audio/video data based on information received from the receiver system. The receiver system receives and processes the audio/video data sent by the transmitter system for generating corresponding audio output data and video output data. The receiver system sends the audio output data and the video output data to an audio output apparatus and a video output apparatus, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data transmission method and audio/video system, and more particularly, to a data transmission method and audio/video system capable of splitting and synchronizing audio/video data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Audio and video transmission techniques have wide applications and functions, and are usually applied in audio and video systems, such as a security monitoring system, a projector, or a home theater system. Prior art audio and video systems generally adopt data transmission techniques, such as synchronous, merged audio/video data or asynchronous, split audio/video data.
The security monitoring system usually includes a plurality of monitors and a monitoring center, and the projector is regularly used in a large conference or group presentation. If, in the middle of the conference or the presentation, the presenter changes his position, the computer and the projector may require plugging, unplugging, or turning on and off for a traditional cable projector, which not only wastes time, but also causes inconvenience of use. With the popularity of wireless networking, e.g. wireless fidelity and WiFi, and speed enhancements of embedded central processing units (embedded CPUs), wireless projectors are also becoming more and more popular. The wireless projector links wirelessly to each participant's computer, and thus the presentation can be switched among many presenters at any time, without needing to unplug the connecting line of the screen repeatedly.
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a prior art audio and video system 100. The video and audio system 100 utilizes the data transmission technique capable of synchronizing and merging audio/video data, and includes a wireless transmitter system 110 and a wireless receiver system 120. The wireless transmitter system 110 can receive video input data IVIDEO and audio input data IAUDIO from an audio and video input apparatus 112, utilize an audio and video processing unit 114 for performing operations such as compression and coding for the video input data IVIDEO and the audio input data IAUDIO to generate a corresponding audio and video data stream SA/V, and finally can output the audio and video data stream SA/V through a wireless output end 116. The wireless receiver system 120 can receive the audio and video data stream SA/V transmitted from the wireless transmitter system 110 through a wireless reception end 126, utilize an audio and video processing unit 124 for performing operations such as decompression and decoding for the audio and video data stream SA/V to generate corresponding video output data OVIDEO and audio output data OAUDIO, and finally can output the video output data OVIDEO and the audio output data OAUDIO to an audio and video output apparatus 122. With the audio/video synchronization structure utilized in the prior art audio and video system 100, the audio data and the video data are merged for wireless output during transmission, and thus only the processing approach for the audio and video data in the same receiver system need be considered. If the audio and video input apparatus 112 is a monitor, and the audio and video output apparatus 122 is a display of a monitoring center, the audio and video system 100 can be a security monitoring system; and if the audio and video input apparatus 112 is a notebook computer, and the audio and video output apparatus 122 is a wireless projector, the audio and video system 100 can be a data projection system.
On the other hand, as the bandwidth of the wireless network increases (for example, two wireless network standards: IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11g), applications of the wireless projector gradually evolve from the wireless data projector for the office, conferences and group presentations, to a wireless video projector for a home theater system. In the home theater system, users output video signals through the projector and audio signals to a speaker set.
Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a prior art audio and video system 200. The audio and video system 200 utilizes the asynchronous data transmission technique with split audio/video data, and includes a wireless transmitter system 210 and a wireless receiver system 220. The wireless transmitter system 210 can receive video input data IVIDEO and audio input data IAUDIO from an audio and video input apparatus 212, and can utilize a video processing unit 214 for performing operations such as compression and coding for the video input data IVIDEO to generate a corresponding video data stream SV. Finally, the wireless transmitter system 210 can respectively output the video data stream SV and the audio input data IAUDIO through a wireless output end 216 and a wired output end 218 at the same time. The wireless receiver system 220 can respectively receive the video data stream SV transmitted from the wireless transmitter system 210 and the audio input data IAUDIO through a wireless reception end 226 and a wired reception end 228, and can utilize a video processing unit 224 for performing operations such as decompression and decoding for the video data stream SV to generate corresponding video output data OVIDEO. Finally, the wireless receiver system 220 can output the video output data OVIDEO and the audio input data IAUDIO to a video output apparatus 222 and an audio output apparatus 223, respectively. The audio and video system 200 of the present invention can be a home theater system, and the video output apparatus 222 and the audio output apparatus 223 can be a projector and a speaker set, respectively. With the asynchronous and splitting structure for transmitting the audio/video data, the video data and the audio data are split to output wirelessly and over wires, respectively, and during data transmission, the video data stream SV may suffer interference to different extents, such that the video data stream SV and the audio input data IAUDIO received by the receiver system 220 can not be synchronized to each other.

Data transmission method and audio/video system capable of splitting and synchronizing audio/video data


A printer includes a receiver, an inserter, and a sort controller. The receiver receives print data. In response to detection of a change in a reception condition for receiving the print data by the receiver, the inserter inserts separator information between a print data portion received before the detection and a print data portion received after the detection, and thereby generates print data including the separator information inserted thereinto. In response to detection of the separator information from the print data including the separator information inserted thereinto that is sequentially input from the inserter, the sort controller performs control to sort a printout of a print data portion after the detected separator information from a printout of a print data portion before the detected separator information.

(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printer, a printing method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium.
(ii) Related Art
In the case of printing plural copies of a document, if a memory built in a printer has a sufficiently large capacity, a printer driver of a client apparatus (for example, a personal computer) may transmit print data of the document and information representing the number of copies to the printer. The printer holds the received print data in the built-in memory and repeatedly performs a process on the print data the same number of times as the number of copies, so as to print the copies of the document. If the amount of print data of the document is larger than the capacity of the built-in memory of the printer, this method is not employed. In this case, the printer driver repeatedly transmits the print data to the printer the same number of times as the number of copies, so as to print the copies of the document.
Many printers have a function of sorting a printout in units of copies or jobs. An example of a widely used sorting function is a function of performing sorting by shifting a paper output tray right and left in units of copies or jobs. Also, some of compact printers that do not have a mechanism of shifting a paper output tray have a function of performing sorting in units of copies by changing the orientation of paper for a printout to portrait or landscape in units of copies.
In the case of repeatedly transmitting print data the same number of times as the number of copies from the printer driver to the printer and in the case of sorting a print result in units of copies, it is necessary for the printer to detect a separator of each copy of the print data that is continuously transmitted thereto.

Printer, printing method, and non-transitory computer readable medium


A method and system to compress and decode mesh data with random accessibility in a three-dimensional mesh model, the system to compress mesh data with random accessibility in a three-dimensional mesh model including: a mesh data acquisition unit to acquire mesh data from a three-dimensional mesh model having a plurality of cells; a wire mesh generation unit to generate a wire mesh including a plurality of wire cells by using the mesh data, each wire cell including at least two cells of the plurality of cells; a data structure generation unit to generate wire mesh information on the wire mesh and wire cell data including mesh data of the respective wire cells; and an encoding unit to compress the generated wire mesh information and the generated wire cell data.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a method and system to compress and decode mesh data with random accessibility in a three-dimensional mesh model, and more particularly, to a method and system to compress and decode mesh data that performs random access of mesh data in a three-dimensional mesh model.
2. Description of the Related Art
Three-dimensional mesh data processing and displaying technology can be applied to diverse fields (such as CAD (Computer Aided Design), computer graphics, computer games, virtual reality, medical images, etc.) using mesh data including geometry information of vertexes constituting meshes and connectivity information among the vertexes.
Various methods of compressing and decoding such three-dimensional mesh data have been proposed. For example, "G. Taubin and J. Rossignac, Geometry Compression Through Topological Surgery, ACM Transactions on Graphics, Vol. 17, No. 2, 84-115p, 1998", "R. Pajarola and J. Rossignac, Compressed progressive meshes, IEEE Trans. On Visualization and Computer Graphics vol. 6, pp. 79-93, 2000", and Korean Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2004-0090009 relate to the improvement of a compression rate of three-dimensional mesh data.
On the other hand, there has been an attempt to generate a three-dimensional mesh model by digitizing art work or cultural property and to process the generated three-dimensional mesh model through a graphic processing device. However, as the three-dimensional mesh model for the art work or the cultural property is generated, large-capacity mesh data may be generated in order to express in detail enormous and complicated shapes of the art work or the cultural property.
In addition, since large-capacity mesh data is stored in a memory during processing of the three-dimensional mesh model, overload may result in the system or a problem may occur during processing of the large-capacity mesh data. In addition, according to the existing simple compression of mesh data, mutual dependence exists between the compressed data. Thus, accessing and decoding only a part of the whole compressed data is difficult.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system capable of easily accessing and decoding a part of the whole mesh data in a three-dimensional mesh model.

Method and system for compressing and decoding mesh data with random accessibility in three-dimensional mesh model


A method of turning very small grooves into a hardened steel work piece using a precision or ultraprecision lathe. Positioning of the work piece on the lathe spindle and dressing the work piece to minimize runout, aligning the cutting tool with the face of the work piece to be grooved, the lathe cutting speed and the cutting tool feed rate are all precisely controlled in order to maintain the forces acting on the cutting tool to levels below which fracture of the tool will occur. The cutting tool has a specially configured tip of a cubic boron nitride material.

This invention relates generally to the field of working metal by lathe turning. More particularly, the invention encompasses a method for cutting extremely small grooves in hard tool steel.
The requirement to cut small grooves in a turning blank of hard tool steel may arise in a variety of applications. One such application is in the manufacture of heat exchanger tubing. Either one or both of the surfaces of such tubing is frequently configured with, for example, a pattern of ribs or fins in order to provide an enhancement in heat transfer performance over tubing having smooth surfaces. One such type of an enhancement is a pattern of longitudinal ribs on the internal surface of the tubing. This type of enhancement readily adapts itself to use in a manufacturing process in which flat metal strip is roll formed into a cylindrical shape with the resultant longitudinal seam being welded to form the tubing. A surface enhancement embossing step can be added to the roll forming and welding process so that the pattern of longitudinal ribs can be formed on the flat strip before it is roll formed and welded into a finished tube. Modern equipment and techniques enable the manufacture of quantities of tubing at extremely high speeds by this process.
To form the ribs, the metal strip is pressed between two rollers. At least one of the rollers has a pattern of grooves that is the mirror image of the rib pattern to be embossed into the strip. Under the pressure exerted by the two rollers, strip metal, usually copper, flows into the grooves to form the ribs of the enhancement pattern. The width of the metal strip needed to form tubing of the size commonly used in refrigerant-to-air heat exchangers in air conditioning and refrigeration systems is about 3 cm. On a strip this width will be embossed a surface enhancement comprising somewhere in the range of 70 to 80 ribs, each rib having a height on the order of 0.25 mm. The ribs are thus relatively very small. It follows that the size of the grooves in the embossing roller is correspondingly very small.
To withstand wear, the embossing rollers must be made of a very hard material such as a tool steel. When in operation, there are not only compression forces acting on the grooved embossing wheel but also shear forces acting on the metal between adjacent grooves on the roller. For this reason, the metal of the roller must also be very tough and the configuration of the grooves must be such as to reduce the incidence of localized concentrations of stress in the metal between the grooves of the roller. There should be a high degree of uniformity in the planforms of the individual grooves in the grooved embossing roller.
Forming grooves of the desired size and shape in a metal hard enough and tough enough to be suitable for an embossing roller presents unique challenges. One method of forming grooves is by grinding them in to the roller with a suitable abrasive wheel. This is a time consuming and therefore expensive task. One reason for the time required is that the abrasive wheel must be relatively frequently dressed up. Otherwise, the uniformity of the grooves is degraded because of abrasive wheel wear. In addition, one is not able to achieve certain specific groove configurations because of limitations in the grinding art.
What is needed is a method of forming very small grooves in a very hard and very tough tool steel blank. The method should be capable of forming grooves of a variety of cross sections and not be excessively time consuming.


A method of modulating a phase reversing pulse train including a plurality of signal pulses each having an associated period of a given temporal duration to encode a multiplicity of input data bits each having a data state, and prevent losses of clock timing. The method includes the steps of: identifying select ones of the input data bits which repeat the data state of a respectively preceding one of the input data bits; identifying select ones of the pulses which correspond to the select bits; and, alternately shortening and lengthening the periods associated with the select ones of the pulses.

This invention relates generally to communications systems, and more particularly to single sideband digital communications systems.
This invention has as a background, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,742,532 and 5,185,765 covering VPSK, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,303, which covers VMSK and VMSK/2, is also background, the entire disclosure of which is also hereby incorporated by reference herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,303 discusses aperture encoding the entire disclosure of which is also hereby incorporated by reference herein as if being set forth in its entireties. Finally, a paper xe2x80x9cSpectrally Efficient Biphase Modulationxe2x80x9d by Dr. C. Koukourlis, Dr. J. Sahalos, Mr. John Pliatsikas and the Mr. Harold Walker, the inventor hereof, deals with a similar method involving a different encoding algorithm. This paper appeared in the May 1998 Issue of Applied Microwaves and Wireless magazine. An expanded version of this paper with more mathematical detail is published in xe2x80x9cThird Generation Mobile Systemsxe2x80x9d, edited by Dr. P. Stavroulakis, published by Springer Verlag, Berlin, in the fall of 1999.
The present invention relates to a new and novel single sideband digital communications system that does not require an RF carrier for reception, reduces the bandwidth required to far less than that required by most methods and has an excellent to superior Bit Energy to Noise ratio for a given bit error rate. The method is self clocking, can tolerate rapid changes in frequency, such as Doppler effects for example, and tends to cancel or ignore interference of various kinds so that the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) can approach Shannon""s Limit for usable error rates.
It is the object of the present invention to encode the data into a single frequency while improving the SNR required for a given Bit Error Rate (BER) while simultaneously reducing undesired emissions so as to more easily meet applicable regulatory requirements.
A method of modulating a phase reversing pulse train including a plurality of signal pulses each having an associated period of a given temporal duration to encode a multiplicity of input data bits each having a data state, and prevent losses of clock timing, the method comprising the steps of identifying select ones of the input data bits which repeat the data state of a respectively preceding one of the input data bits; identifying select ones of the pulses which correspond to the select bits; and, alternately shortening and lengthening the periods associated with the select ones of the pulses.

Single sideband suppressed carrier digital communications method and system


An audio device that includes a music classifier that determines when music is present in an audio signal is disclosed. The audio device is configured to receive audio, process the received audio, and to output the processed audio to a user. The processing may be adjusted based on the output of the music classifier. The music classifier utilizes a plurality of decision making units, each operating on the received audio independently. The decision making units are simplified to reduce the processing, and therefore the power, necessary for operation. Accordingly each decision making unit may be insufficient to determine music alone but in combination may accurately detect music while consuming power at a rate that is suitable for a mobile device, such as a hearing aid.

Hearing aids may be adjusted process audio differently based on an environment type and/or based on an audio type a user wishes to experience. It may be desirable to automate this adjustment to provide a more natural experience to a user. The automation may include the detection (i.e., classification) of the environment type and/or the audio type. This detection, however, may be computationally complex, implying that a hearing aid with automated adjustment consumes more power than a manual (or no) adjustment hearing aid. The power consumption may increase further as the number of detectable environment types and/or audio types is increased to improve the natural experience for the user. Because, in addition to providing a natural experience, it is highly desirable for a hearing aid to be small and to operate for long durations on a single charge, a need exists for a detector of environment type and/or audio type to operate accurately and efficiently without significantly increasing the power consumption and/or size of the hearing aid.

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


A self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality, having the average number of functional groups in 4.3 or more and a viscosity of 8,000 mPaxc2x7s (at 25xc2x0 C.) or less, which is obtained by subjecting a modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds and a poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) having oxyethylene bonds in a total amount of 30 mole % or more in its molecule to a urethanization reaction, said modified polyisocyanate being obtained by reacting a polyol (a) having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more with an organic polyisocyanate (b) in the presence of an allophanate-forming catalyst (c) comprising a zirconium carboxylate; and a process for producing the same.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality, and to a process for producing the same.
(2) Related Prior Art
Various processes for producing a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate having allophanate bonds have been conventionally known as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2000-34439, JP-A-11-349805, JP-A-11-100426 and the like.
Most of processes for producing a modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds as disclosed in the above publications aims to produce allophanate bonds. However, these processes have the problem that a self-addition reaction of isocyanate groups and/or a self-polymerization reaction thereof are progressed as a side reaction, whereby a by-product is produced, which gives rise to a final product with a change in color and with turbidity. As the by-product, for example, a dimer with uretdione groups which is thermally unstable, or a trimer with isocyanurate groups which remarkably increases the viscosity of a final product while decreases solubility to a nonpolar solvent and compatibility to a resin such as a high molecular polyester is enumerated. Furthermore, when it is an object of the above processes to produce a polyisocyanate with high functionality, the system of reaction may be probably gelled.
The present invention has been carried out in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. Thus it is an object of the invention to provide a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality and low viscosity which substantially does not contain a dimers or a trimer, and to provide a method of producing the same.
The present inventors have eagerly studied to find the fact that a specific metallic salt can be used as an allophanate-forming catalyst to solve the above problems, whereby the present invention has been accomplished.
That is, the present invention is what is described in the following (1) to (8):
(1) A self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality, having the average number of functional groups in 4.3 or more and a viscosity of 8,000 mPaxc2x7s (at 25xc2x0 C.) or less, which is obtained by subjecting a modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds and a poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) having oxyethylene bonds in a total amount of 30 mole % or more in its molecule to a urethanization reaction, said modified polyisocyanate being obtained by reacting a polyol (a) having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more with an organic polyisocyanate (b) in the presence of an allophanate-forming catalyst (c) comprising a zirconium carboxylate;
(2) A self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality according to the above item (1), wherein said polyol (a) having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more is a polyol including side chain alkyl groups having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more;
(3) A self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality according to the above item (1), wherein said organic polyisocyanate (b) is hexamethylene diisocyanate;
(4) A self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality according to the above item (1), wherein the content of said poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) having oxyethylene bonds in a total amount of 30 mole % or more in its molecule to be used is in the range of 1 to 30% by weight of the resultant self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality;
(5) A process for producing a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality according to the above item (1), wherein said process comprises the following first to fourth steps:
the first step: of reacting a polyol (a) having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more with an organic polyisocyanate (b) under an allophanate-forming catalyst (c) comprising a zirconium carboxylate;
the second step: of terminating the allophanate-forming reaction by adding a catalytic poison (d) thereto;
the third step: of removing a free organic polyisocyanate (b); and
the fourth step: of subjecting a modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds as provided in the third step and a poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) having oxyethylene bonds in a total amount of 30 mole % or more in its molecule to a urethanization reaction;
(6) A process for producing a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality according to the above item (5), wherein said polyol (a) having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more is a polyol including side chain alkyl groups having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more;
(7) A process for producing a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality according to the above item (5), wherein said organic polyisocyanate (b) is hexamethylene diisocyanate; and
(8) A process for producing a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality according to the above item (5), wherein the amount of said poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) having oxyethylene bonds in a total amount of 30 mole % or more in its molecule to be used is 1 to 30% by weight of the resultant self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality.
First of all, materials used in the present invention will be explained.
As the polyol (a) having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more as used in the present invention, a low molecular weight polyol such as ethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2-buthanediol, 1,3-buthanediol, 1,4-buthanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 2-methyl-1,5-pentanediol, 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,8-octanediol, 1,9-nonanediol, 2,2-diethyl-1,3-propanediol, 2-n-butyl-2-ethyl-1,3-propanediol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol, 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol, 2-n-hexadecane-1,2-ethylene glycol, 2-n-eicosane-1,2-ethylene glycol, 2-n-octacosane-1,2-ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, triethylene glycol, cyclohexane-1,4-diol, cyclohexane-1,4-dimethanol, hydrogenated bisphenol A, bis (xcex2-hydroxyethyl)benzene, an addition product of bisphenol A to ethylene oxide or propylene oxide, trimethylolpropane, glycerin or pentaerythriol; or a polyether polyol as obtained by adding a low molecular weight cyclic ether such as ethylene oxide or propylene oxide to an initiator selected from the group consisting of the above-mentioned low molecular weight polyol, the after-mentioned low molecular weight polyamine, and a low molecular weight amino alcohol; or a polyester polyol which is obtained by adding a low molecular weight cyclic ester such as xcex5-caprolactone or xcex3-valerolactone to an initiator selected from the group consisting of the above-mentioned low molecular weight polyol, the low molecular weight polyamine, and the low molecular weight amino alcohol; or a polyester polyol as obtained by the condensation polymerization of the above low molecular weight polyol and a polycarboxylic acid such as succinic acid, adipic acid or phthalic acid can be enumerated.
These polyols may be individually used, or two or more thereof may be mixed with each other for use.
Incidentally, as the low molecular weight polyamine, ethylenediamine, isophoronediamine, diethylenetriamine, and the like can be enumerated. As the low molecular weight amino alcohol, monoethanolamine, dimonoethanolamine, and the like can be enumerated.
In the present invention, when a polyol with side chain alkyl groups is used as a polyol (a), the resultant self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate is decreased in viscosity, and thus it is preferred. As the polyol (a), a polyether polyol or an aliphatic polyol with side chain alkyl groups having a carbon atom number of 10 or less is more preferred, and 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 2-methyl-1,5-penthanediol, 3-methyl-1,5-penthanediol, neopentyl glycol, 2,2-diethyl-1,3-propanediol, 2-n-butyl-2-ethyl-1,3-propanediol, or poly(oxypropylene)polyol is specifically preferred.
The average number of functional groups in the polyol (a) is 2 or more, preferably 2 to 3. When the average number of functional groups is less than the lower limit, the average number of functional groups in the resultant modified polyisocyanate is decreased, and thus crosslinking effect is decreased, and the strength of coating tends to become unsatisfactory.
As the organic polyisocyanate (b) as used in the present invention, anaromatic diisocyanate (for example, 2,4-tolylene diisocyanate, 2,6-tolylene diisocyanate, 4,4xe2x80x2-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 2,4xe2x80x2-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 2,2xe2x80x2-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 4,4xe2x80x2-diphenylether diisocyanate, 2-nitrodiphenyl-4,4xe2x80x2-diisocyanate, 2,2xe2x80x2-diphenylpropane-4,4xe2x80x2-diisocyanate, 3,3xe2x80x2-dimethyldiphenylmethane-4,4xe2x80x2-diisocyanate, 4,4xe2x80x2-diphenylpropane diisocyanate, m-phenylene diisocyanate, p-phenylene diisocyanate, naphthylene-1,5-diisocyanate, or 3,3xe2x80x2-dimethoxydiphenyl-4,4xe2x80x2-diisocyanate), or an aliphatic diisocyanate (for example, hexamethylene diisocyanate, tetramethylene diisocyanate, 2-methylpentane-1,5-diisocyanate, 3-methylpentane-1,5-diisocyanate, lysine diisocyanate, or trioxyethylene diisocyanate), or an aromatic aliphatic diisocyanate (for example, xylylene-1,4-diisocyanate, xylylene-1,3-diisocyanate, or tetramethylxylylene diisocyanate), or an alicyclic diisocyanate (for example, isophorone diisocyanate, hydrogenated tolylene diisocyanate, hydrogenated xylene diisocyanate, hydrogenated diphenylmethane diisocyanate, or hydrogenated tetramethylxylene diisocyanate), or the like can be enumerated.
These organic polyisocyanates may be individually used, or two or more thereof may be mixed with each other for use.
In the present invention, in the light of the weather resistance of a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality, an aliphatic diisocyanate and/or an alicyclic diisocyanate are preferred, and specifically hexamethylene diisocyanate is most suitable therefor.
The allophanate-forming catalyst (c) as used in the present invention includes a zirconium carboxylate. When the zirconium carboxylate is used, a modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds, which is substantially colorless, and is low in viscosity, can be relatively easily provided without using any co-catalyst.
As a carboxylic acid corresponding to the above carboxylate, a monocarboxylic acid such as a saturated aliphatic carboxylic acid (for example, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, caproic acid, octylic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, or 2-ethylhexanoic acid), a saturated monocyclic carboxylic acid (for example, cyclohexane carboxylate, or cyclopentane carboxylate), a saturated polycyclic carboxylic acid (for example, bicyclo[4.4.0]decane-2-carboxylic acid), a mixture of the above carboxylic acids (for example, naphthenic acid), an unsaturated aliphatic acid (for example, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, soybean oil fatty acid, or tall oil fatty acid), an aromatic aliphatic carboxylic acid (for example, diphenylacetic acid), or an aromatic carboxylic acid (for example, benzoic acid, or toluic acid); or a polycarboxylic acid such as phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, glutaconic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, 1,4-cyclohexyldicarboxylic acid, xcex1-hydromuconic acid, xcex2-hydromuconic acid, xcex1-butyl- xcex1-ethylglutaric acid, xcex1, xcex2-diethylsuccinic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, trimellitic acid, or pyromellitic acid can be enumerated.
Zirconium carboxylates from these carboxylic acids may be individually used, or two or more thereof may be mixed with each other for use.
A preferred allophanate-forming catalyst (c) in the present invention is a zirconium monocarboxylate having a carbon atom number of 10 or less.
As the catalytic poison (d) as used in the present invention, an inorganic acid (for example, phosphoric acid, or hydrochloric acid); an organic acid containing sulfonate groups, sulfamate groups, or the like; or an ester therefrom; or an acyl halide; or the like can be enumerated.
A poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) as used in the present invention includes oxyethylene bonds in a total amount of 30 mole % or more in the molecule.
As an initiator for producing the poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e), methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, isobutanol, tert-butanol, cyclohexanol, phenol, or the like can be enumerated. Among others, a low molecular weight and monofunctional alcohol having a carbon atom number of 5 or less and a molecular weight of 32 to 200, such as methanol or ethanol, is preferred, because a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality is improved in water-dispersibility.
If necessary, a poly (oxyalkylene) glycol monoalkyl ether (e) may be used together with a hydrophobic and monofunctional alcohol except the same.
As this hydrophobic and monofunctional alcohol, a higher monoalcohol having a carbon atom number of 6 or more, a hydroxymonocarboxylate, a poly(oxyalkylene)monool except the poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e), a low molecular weight and monofunctional alcohol as the initiator for producing the above poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e), or the like can be enumerated. Further specifically, methanol, ethanol, octanol, stearyl alcohol, alkylricinoleate, or the like can be enumerated therefor.
Next, a specific procedure for producing a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality of the present invention will be explained.
A process for producing a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality of the present invention comprises the following first to fourth steps:
the first step: of reacting a polyol (a) having the average number of functional groups in an amount of 2 or more with an organic polyisocyanate (b) under an allophanate-forming catalyst (c) comprising a zirconium carboxylate;
the second step: of terminating the allophanate-forming reaction by adding a catalytic poison (d) thereto;
the third step: of removing a free organic polyisocyanate (b); and
the fourth step: of subjecting a modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds as provided in the third step and a poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) having oxyethylene bonds in a total amount of 30 mole % or more in its molecule to a urethanization reaction.
The first step comprises a urethanization reaction and an allophanate-forming reaction, which specifically comprises the procedures of: charging a polyol (a) and an organic polyisocyanate (b), provided that the amount of isocyanate groups exceed that of hydroxyl groups; and subjecting them to the urethanization reaction; and thereafter subjecting the same to the allophanate-forming reaction under an allophanate-forming catalyst (c) until urethane groups are substantially lost.
Here, the expression xe2x80x9cthe amount of isocyanate groups exceed that of hydroxyl groupsxe2x80x9d means that when raw materials are charged, the amount of isocyanate groups are made to exceed that of hydroxyl groups. The molar ratio of isocyanate groups to hydroxyl groups is preferably 8 or more, and specifically preferably in the range of 10 to 50.
A temperature for the urethanization reaction is in the range of 20xc2x0 C. to 120xc2x0 C., and preferably in the range of 50xc2x0 C. to 100xc2x0 C.
For the urethanization reaction, a publicly known urethanization catalyst may be used. As such a urethanization catalyst, specifically, an organometallic compound such as dibutyltin dilaurate or dioctyltin dilaurate; an organic amine such as triethylenediamine or triethylamine; a salt thereof; or the like can be enumerated.
Although the time for the urethanization reaction varies according to the existence of a urethanization catalyst, the type thereof, and the reaction temperature, it is generally ten hours or less, and preferably in the range of 1 to 5 hours.
The allophanate-forming reaction is carried out using an allophanate-forming catalyst (c) at a reaction temperature in the range of 70xc2x0 C. to 150xc2x0 C., more preferably 90xc2x0 C. to 130xc2x0 C. When the reaction temperature is too low, allophanate bonds are not formed in a large amount, whereby the average number of functional groups in the resultant modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds is decreased. When a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality as produced by using such a modified isocyanate is employed as a paint curing agent, the resultant coating film tends to become insufficient in physical properties. When the reaction temperature is too high, the resultant modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds causes unnecessary heating, whereby it may be tinted. Incidentally, the expression xe2x80x9cthe average number of functional groups in a modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bondsxe2x80x9d means the average number of isocyanate groups in one molecule of the modified polyisocyanate.
Additionally, in the present invention, a urethanization reaction and an allophanate-forming reaction may be carried out at the same time. In this case, a polyol (a) and an organic polyisocyanate (b) are charged, provided that the amount of polyisocyanate groups exceeds that of hydroxyl groups, and then the urethanization reaction and the allophanate-forming reaction are simultaneously carried out in the presence of an allophanate-forming catalyst (c) at a temperature range of, for example, 70xc2x0 C. to 150xc2x0 C., for a period of ten hours or less.
The amount of allophanate-forming catalyst (c) to be used, which varies according to the sort thereof, is in the range of 0.0005 to 1% by weight of the sum of a polyol (a) and an organic polyisocyanate (b), and preferably 0.001 to 0.1% by weight thereof. When the amount of the catalyst (c) to be used is lower than 0.0005% by weight, the allophanate-forming reaction is retarded, and takes a long period of time, whereby the resultant product may be tinted through heat history. On the other hand, when the amount of the catalyst to be used is larger than 1% by weight, it is difficult to control the allophanate-forming reaction, whereby a dimerization reaction (or a uretdione-forming reaction) and/or a trimerization reaction (or an isocyanurate-forming reaction) may be caused, and furthermore, when the resultant self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality is employed as a curing agent for a two-pack coating, the problem with the coating of being shortened in pot life (or storage stability) and the like may occur.
In addition, in this case, if necessary, an organic solvent may be used. As this organic solvent, an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent such as n-hexane or octane; an alicyclic hydrocarbon solvent such as cyclohexane or methylcyclohexane; a ketone solvent such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, or cyclohexanone; an ester solvent such as methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, or isobutyl acetate; a glycol ether ester solvent such as ethylene glycol ethyl ether acetate, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate, 3-methyl-3-methoxybutyl acetate, ethyl-3-ethoxypropionate; an ether solvent such as diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, or dioxane; an aliphatic hydrocarbon halide solvent such as methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, methyl bromide, methylene iodide, or dichloroethane; a polar aprotic solvent such as N-methylpyrrolidone, dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, hexamethyl phosphonylamide; or the like can be enumerated.
These organic solvents may be individually used, or two or more thereof may be mixed with each other for use.
The second step is what comprises terminating the allophanate-forming reaction by adding a catalytic poison (d) to the system of reaction, after the urethanization reaction and the allophanate-forming reaction have been finished in the first step.
The time for adding the catalytic poison (d) thereto is not limited, as long as the allophanate-forming reaction has been finished. However, when a thin-film distillation is employed as a method of removing a free organic polyisocyanate in the third step, it is preferred to add the catalytic poison (d) thereto after the allophanate-forming reaction have been finished and before the thin-film distillation is carried out so that a side reaction can be prevented, which may be caused by the generation of heat when the thin-film is distilled.
The amount of the catalyticpoison (d) to be added, which varies according to the sort of the catalytic poison (d) and the sort of the allophanate-forming catalyst, is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 2 equivalent weight of the allophanate-forming catalyst (c), and in particular preferably in the range of 0.8 to 1.5 equivalent weight. When the amount of the catalytic poison to be added is too small, the resultant self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality tends to be decreased in storage stability. On the other hand, when the amount is too large, the resultant self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality may be tinted.
The third step is what comprises removing a free organic polyisocyanate (b).
After the allophanate-forming reaction has been finished, there commonly exists a free organic polyisocyanate in a reaction product. The free organic polyisocyanate gives rise to a cloud deteriorated with age, or an odor. Thus it is preferred to remove an unreacted organic polyisocyanate until the content of the free organic polyisocyanate is decreased to 1% by weight or less.
As the method of removing the free organic polyisocyanate, a publicly known method such as a distillation method, a reprecipitation method, or an extraction method can be enumerated. The distillation method, particularly a thin-film distillation method, has no use for a solvent and the like, and thus it is preferred. The conditions for a preferred thin-film distillation comprise a pressure of 0.1 kPa or less, and a temperature range of 100xc2x0 C. to 200xc2x0 C., and in particular preferably a pressure of 0.05 kPa or less, and a temperature range of 120xc2x0 C. to 180xc2x0 C.
The fourth step is what comprises subjecting the resultant modified polyisocyanate containing allophanate bonds and a poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) to a urethanization reaction.
In the light of the water-dispersibility of a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality, the amount of the poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) to be used is preferably in the range of 1 to 30% by weight, and more preferably in the range of 2 to 20% by weight of the resultant self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality. When the amount of the poly(oxyalkylene)glycol monoalkyl ether (e) to be introduced is less than the lower limit, the resultant self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality may be not dispersed in water. On the other hand, when the amount is larger than the upper limit, the average number of functional groups in the self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality is decreased, whereby the strength of a coating obtained therefrom tends to be insufficient.
The reaction conditions preferably comprise a temperature range of 20xc2x0 C. to 120xc2x0 C., more preferably 50xc2x0 C. to 100xc2x0 C., and a period of time of ten hours or less, more preferably in the range of 1 to 5 hours.
Incidentally, in the urethanization reaction, a publicly known urethanization catalyst can be employed.
The viscosity of a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality (at 25xc2x0 C.; in terms of solid content) is 8,000 mPaxc2x7s or less, and preferably in the range of 300 to 3,500 mPaxc2x7s. The content of isocyanate in terms of solid content is 3 to 20% by weight, and in particular preferably in the range of 5 to 20% by weight. The average number of functional groups is 4.3 or more, and preferably in the range of 4.3 to 10. When the average number of functional groups is smaller than the lower limit, the stain resistance of a coating obtained therefrom may be insufficient. Incidentally, the average number of functional groups is calculated from the content of isocyanate, and the number average molecular weight through a gel permeation chromatography.
If necessary, a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality can be properly blended with an additive agent such as an oxidation inhibitor, an ultraviolet absorber, a pigment, a dye, a solvent, a flame retardant, a hydrolysis inhibitor, a lubricant, a plasticizer, a filler, a storage stabilizer, or the like, for use.
As explained above, as compared with a conventional self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate, a self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality of the present invention is equivalent or similar in water-dispersibility, lower in viscosity, more excellent in performance such as stain resistance.
Thus the self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality of the present invention is most suitable as a curing agent for a water-base paint. Furthermore, it can be used as a base material for a water-base paint; or as a base material or a curing agent for: an aqueous adhesive, a sealing material, ink, an agent for treating fibers or glass fibers, a sizing agent, a stopping material, a primer, a consolidating agent, an anchor coating agent, various binders, or the like.

Self-emulsifiable polyisocyanate with high functionality and process for producing the same


In one embodiment, a method receives a query for analyzing data in a database. The method then determines a constant in the query and determines an operator applied to the constant in the query. The operator explicitly controls a behavior of the constant. The constant is represented as a scalar representation in the query instead of as a vectorial representation where the constant would have been used as the vectorial representation without the use of the operator due to a rule governing use of constants. Then, the method performs a calculation for the query to determine a query result using the constant as the scalar representation.

When analyzing data stored in a database, due to the way the database rules are formulated, a user may not receive the expected results that the user desires for a query. In one example, a user may use a constant in a formula of the query. A constant is a value that does not change when calculating the formula with different sets of operands. The database rules define an implicit behavior of how the constant is handled in the formula. For example, the database rules may determine that a constant behaves like a vector if certain database rules are met based on the formula. However, if the certain database rules are not met, then the constant may behave like a scalar. The scalar representation may use less computing resources than the vectorial representation. This is because the scalar representation does not have its own data representation. That is, the scalar value only exists when it is needed. For example, if the formula calculates the average revenue for a product multiplied by a constant for each month of the year, the constant is needed only when a value for a month exists. That is, if the value for a month is NULL, then the constant is not needed. However, the vectorial representation represents the constant for all values for a component of the formula and is needed when the formula result is aggregated again. For example, if a formula is the average revenue for a product added to a constant for each month of the year, then the vectorial representation of a constant is used to include the constant value for all values of the calendar month.

Operators for constants in aggregated formulas


A through-silicon via stack package contains package units. Each package unit includes a semiconductor chip; a through-silicon via formed in the semiconductor chip; a first metal line formed on an upper surface and contacting a portion of a top surface of the through-silicon via; and a second metal line formed on a lower surface of the semiconductor chip and contacting a second portion of a lower surface of the through-silicon via. When package units are stacked, the second metal line formed on the lower surface of the top package unit and the first metal line formed on the upper surface of the bottom package unit are brought into contact with the upper surface of the through-silicon via of the bottom package unit and the lower surface of the through-silicon via of the top package unit, respectively. The stack package is lightweight and compact, and can form excellent electrical connections.

The present invention relates to a stack package, and more particularly, to a through-silicon via stack package that is lightweight and compact and that forms excellent electrical connections, and a method for manufacturing the same.
Previous developments in packaging technology for semiconductor integrated circuits have been driven by the demands of miniaturization and high capacity. In the prior art various techniques for stack packages that provide satisfactory results in terms of miniaturization, high capacity, and mounting efficiency have been developed.
The term "stack", as referred to in the semiconductor industry, means to vertically pile at least two chips or packages. In memory devices by stacking chips or packages it is possible to realize a product having a memory capacity that is greater than what is obtainable through semiconductor integration processes, and also by stacking the chips or packages mounting area utilization efficiency can be improved.
Stack package manufacturing methods can be divided into a first method in which individual semiconductor chips are stacked and the stacked semiconductor chips are packaged, and a second method in which individually packaged semiconductor chips are stacked upon one another. In a typical stack package, electrical connections are formed by metal wires or through-silicon vias.
FIG. 1 is cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional stack package using metal wires.
Referring to FIG. 1, in the conventional stack package 100 using metal wires, at least two semiconductor chips 110 are stacked on a substrate 120 by the medium of adhesive 114, and the respective chips 110 and the substrate 120 are electrically connected to each other by metal wires 116.
In FIG. 1, the unexplained reference numeral 112 designates bonding pads, 122 connection pads, 124 ball lands, 170 outside connection terminals, and 190 an encapsulant.
However, in the conventional stack package 100 using metal wires, electrical signal exchange is conducted through the metal wires 116, which causes a slow operation speed in each semiconductor chip 110. Also, the metal wires 116 cause the electrical characteristics of each chip 110 to be degraded. Further, an additional area for accommodating the metal wires 116 is needed in the substrate 120, thus increasing the size of the stack package 100, and a gap is needed to bond the metal wires 116 to the respective chips 110, thus increasing the overall height of the stack package 100.
In order to overcome the problems caused in by a stack package using metal wires, (i.e. prevent the electrical characteristics of the stack package from being degraded, and enable the stack package to be miniaturized), a stack package using through-silicon vias (TSVs) has been suggested in the art.
FIG. 2 is cross-sectional view illustrating another conventional stack package using through-silicon vias.
Referring to FIG. 2, in a conventional stack package 200 using through-silicon vias, semiconductor chips 210 having through-silicon vias 230 formed therein are stacked on a substrate 220 in a manner such that the through-silicon vias 230 of the chips 210 face each other.
In FIG. 2, the unexplained reference numeral 212 designates an insulation layer, 214 a metal seed layer, 222 connection pads, 224 ball lands, 270 outside connection terminals, and 218 metal lines.
In the stack package 200 using through-silicon vias, by forming the electrical connections using through-silicon vias 230, it is possible to prevent the electrical characteristics of each chip 210 from being degraded. Therefore, the operation speed of the semiconductor chip 210 can be increased, and the semiconductor chip 210 can be miniaturized.
However, in the conventional stack package 200 using through-silicon vias, because of the small surface area of the portions of the through-silicon vias 230 which project out of the semiconductor chips, when electrically connecting the stacked semiconductor chips 210 to one another it is difficult to precisely align the through-silicon vias 230. Moreover, the projecting portion of the through-silicon vias 230 and the metal lines 218 which the projecting portion is connected to cause the thickness of the stack package 200 to increase.

Lightweight and compact through-silicon via stack package with excellent electrical connections and method for manufacturing the same


A joint compression wrap (10) is knitted in an integrated knit format to have an oversized joint pouch (15) from which a joint crest (16) extends that is knitted in a rib stitch format that is free of wrinkles when donned. A lower limb portion (14) extends downwardly from the joint pouch and crest and has a constant compression force while an oppositely disposed upper limb portion (12) may have a graduated compression force. The upper limb portion compression force being less than the lower limb portion compression force.

Heretofore compression wraps have been designed to address specialized needs of both athletes and medical patients associated with pivoting joints such as the elbow or knee. Compression wraps have been used by wrapping an elongated length of stretchable material around the joint. Compression sleeves have also been developed which are stretchable, tubular devices sized to fit about the joint. The compression force of these types of devices helps minimize fatigue, keep the joints from swelling, and keep joint mechanics in the proper position. These devices, however, typically provide uniform compression along the entire length of the sleeve.
An additional problem associated with these types of sleeves and wraps is that they may provide excessive stress on the yarns and knit structures in the area of the pivoting joint while being donned, i.e., on the outside of the elbow or knee. This wrinkling can cause dermatological irritation which is commonly known as necrosis or skin shearing.
These problems have been addressed by providing a sleeve gap in the area of the elbow or knee. However this, of course, exposes the elbow or knee and stresses the gap boundary of the sleeve stitching. This approach also fails to produce a seamless product.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a joint compression wrap that can be made without seams and with different compression capabilities. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.


A universal rail mounting bracket for attachment of a handrail or fence rail to a support structure. An adapter is also disclosed which is matingly engageable with the bracket, the adapter providing a suitable geometric mating surface with a support structure to which the rail will be attached, such as a wall, fence post, or column. By substitution of the adapter portion, the bracket portion can be adapted to virtually any surface and can support the attachment of the rail such that is may extend at any desired angle.

In the art of fences numerous materials and methods have been employed to construct and design fences for various purposes such as containment of livestock, pets, people and the like or for the exclusion of the same. Similarly, guardrails have been employed for the containment or protection of people from hazards. For example, guardrails are commonly utilized on balconies and stairways in high rise apartments, hotel accommodations, office complexes, shopping malls, single family dwellings, and the like. In other instances, fences and guardrails may be employed to add a decorative or aesthetic flourish to such structures and landscapes, and may be found in both interior and exterior applications.
A commonly used fence or guardrail configuration is a rail and spindle design, wherein the fence or guardrail generally comprises upper and lower horizontally disposed rails and a plurality of spindles, vertically disposed between the rails and spaced apart. This common configuration lends itself to construction with numerous materials, depending upon the desired application. For example, a guardrail for a patio deck may simply be constructed with treated lumber, the rails generally being 2″×4″ boards, and the spindles being 1″×1″ boards. By contrast, a guardrail for an interior balcony or stairway, may be elegantly constructed of finely finished hardwoods, polished brass, and the like. Wrought iron, aluminum, and the like are other common materials for such guardrails and fences.
Traditionally, mounting the rails to the supporting structure has been accomplished by an L-shaped bracket, wherein each leg of the bracket has a plurality of holes for receiving a bolt or screw for attachment between the rail and the supporting structure. These simple brackets present the ability to adapt to a wide range of applications and provide generally sound structural support. However, they typically do not present an attractive decorative appearance.
In many applications, the support structure, whether the walls of a building, a fence post, column or the like, will present an irregular surface contour. As such, the resultant attachment of the rail to the support structure will compromise structural integrity of the bracket attachment due to the surface irregularities and the interface with the bracket. Often use of such brackets in these situations will sacrifice decorative appeal, leaving unsightly gaps between the rail and the structure.
An additional consideration present in rail applications, whether used as a fence or as handrail is presented by the angle at which the rail is supported with respect to the support structure. For applications in stairways, the rail is preferably mounted to match the slope of the stairway. This requires that the rail be capable of being mounted with a vertical deflection. Similarly, for fence or guard rail applications, it is often desirable that the fence or guardrail section be mounted at a horizontal angle with respect to its supporting structures. While specialized brackets may be specifically manufactured to suit each particular application, the costs associated with the same are prohibitive. Moreover, repair or replacement of such brackets presents the arduous task of locating the manufacturer and obtaining a suitable replacement.


A one piece laser assembly including a rod of gain medium with one end-face bonded to a broad end-face on a stack of optical wafers that process light differently and mirrors plated on the remaining exposed end-faces of the rod and the stack of wafers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to optically pumped, solid-state, q-switched and linearly polarized laser cavity assemblies and, more specifically, to a method of combining these non-pump elements into a single component that can produce pulse energies of 1-1000 millijoules for military and commercial applications.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many military and commercial applications, require high power optical pulses. These, thus, normally employ lasers consisting of a cylindrical cavity assembly closely adjacent an energetic Xenon, pyrotechnic or similar type of flash lamp or diode Isaer that provides the necessary pump power. These pumps can include straight tubes or radiating surfaces as long as the cavity is and parallel to the optical or cylindrical axis, circular surfaces surrounding the cavity or spiral surfaces coaxial with the cavity. The cavity assembly for a high power pulsed laser as used in range-finders, i.e. all laser elements except the optical pump, is typically made up of at least four discrete elements. This application covers a three or more active element structure made into one component plus a base pallet. Applicants"" copending cases (NVL-3211) for a PSEUDO-MONOLITHIC Q-SWITCHED LASER WITH LINEAR POLARIZATION and Ser. No. 09/496,281 for a PSEUDO-MONOLITHIC Q-SWITCHED LASER WITH OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR consist of two and three Components respectively plus a base pallet.
The first cavity element is a rod, many times longer than its diameter of nonconductive crystalline gain material that lases at a characteristic wavelength when exposed to radiation from the pump source. The rod normally has a uniform regular cross-section and a longitudinal optical axis centered in that cross-section. The ends of the rod are ground and polished normal to this axis and are usually coated with anti-reflection coatings to prevent reflection of light rays entering or leaving these ends parallel to this optical axis.
The second element is usually a perfectly flat highly reflective (HR) mirror, at least for the lasing wavelength, mounted precisely normal to the rod axis and spaced slightly from a first end of the rod. Thin film dielectric reflective filters have been used for this mirror to permit end pumping particularly in single mode lasers, but this technique is not as efficient for high power lasers as those mentioned above.
The third element is an output coupler or (OC) mirror which, though also highly reflective, has a specified percent transmission or leakage, at the lasing or output wavelength. This element is mounted similar to the second at the opposite or output end of the rod.
The fourth element is a passive q-switch, or a wafer of material with flat and parallel broad faces normally centered on the optical axis of the rod between the second and third elements. The passive q-switch reduces the Q of the high Q cavity defined by the other three elements, until the inverted population of energy quanta in the rod reaches a critical level. The wafer then automatically restores the high Q to generate a short high power pulse. The rod of gain material is usually a well known laser crystal, such as Neodymium:Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (Nd:YAG), ruby, etc. or it could be a glass, such as Erbium Glass (Er:Glass These laser materials absorb at the pump wavelength and fluoresce at lasing wavelengths. Certain types of material, such as Neodymium Vanodate (Nd:YVO4) emit linear polarized laser beams. However, this material is more expensive than Nd(YAG), is softer making it difficult to machine and does not themally match Nd The assembly will lase without the Q-switch, but does not emit sufficient peak power for range finders and similar applications. The q-switch concentrates the output photons in time spaced pulses that have peak powers several orders of magnitude greater than outputs that are not Q-switched. The passive q-switch can be a wafer of impregnated plastic or other materials.
The purpose of using adjustable spaced elements has been to compensate for their imperfect shape and/or placement. The disadvantage of these assemblies lies in the large number of elements required and the need for numerous adjustable support members that permit precise mechanical alignment of the various optical components. This approach makes manufacturing and repair of the assemblies very complicated and expensive.
A goal of the present invention is to reduce the number of parts in the cavity assembly to a single optical element to which may be added a novel base pallet to facilitate mounting to the flash lamp and other equipment associated with the range-finder. Linear polarization is also achieved without using special rod materials and may not even require additional active elements.
A photon pumped laser cavity assembly including a rod made from laser gain material with precisely polished sides and ends, on one end of which is permanently attached at least one wafer and/or a metallic reflective coating; the one wafer consisting of a Q-switch material with opposite broad surfaces ground precisely flat and parallel. The assembly may also include a second similarly ground wafer of polarizing material or a notch with precisely cut parallel opposed faces oriented at the Brewster angle to polarize the laser beam. The rod may further include a pallet or substrate with faces precisely aligned parallel to the rod""s optical axis.

Monolithic solid state laser assembly and method of manufacture

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army