A preform having an inverted truncated conical bottom section is used. The inclined inner surface of a bottle bottom surface-forming portion of the bottom section is formed into a gently curved convex surface that extends from the lower portion of a bottle bottom edge-forming portion of the bottom section to a curved portion in the lower portion of the bottom section so that the thickness of the bottle bottom surface-forming portion is greater than the thickness of the barrel section of the preform and the thickness of the bottle bottom edge-forming portion. The increase in thickness of the bottom section improves the efficiency of stretching the bottom section, and the circumferential wall of the bottom section can thereby be efficiently stretched. This allows a reduction in weight (thickness) of the bottom surface section of a stretch blow molded bottle, and a reduction in weight of the bottle is thereby achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a closed-end preform that is formed by injection molding of a plastic material, used to form a bottle by stretch blow molding without reheating, and can reduce the weight of the bottle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of the stretch blow molding of plastic materials such as polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, and the like into a bottle include: the cold parison method in which a closed-end preform is injection-molded in a mold, cooled, solidified, and released from the mold, and then reheated to a molding temperature, before it is stretch blow molded into a bottle; and the hot parison method in which a preform in a high-temperature state with its inside not completely cooled and having high internal heat is released from a mold and then stretch blow molded into a bottle while the high-temperature state is maintained (U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,585).
In the hot parison method, the amount of internal heat contained in each part of the preform is proportional to its thickness. Therefore, the greater the thickness is, the larger the amount of internal heat is contained and the easier the stretching can be carried out. As the thickness is reduced by stretching, the surface area increases. Then the temperature in the stretched portion is reduced, and the stretched portion resists stretching. Therefore, stretching then occurs in the adjacent portion having a greater thickness with a higher temperature. The thickness becomes uniform during stretching, and this may be a result of the alternate stretching described above.
Generally, a preform is provided with a draft angle that facilitates release from a mold, and the draft angle is designed such that the thickness of the barrel section of the preform gradually decreases toward the bottom. Therefore, during axial stretching by the extension of a stretching rod, the central portion of the barrel section tends to be stretched first because the central portion has a large amount of internal heat and a stretching force is easily applied thereto, and the bottom section is stretched after some delay.
Since the bottom section is stretched after some delay, it is not sufficiently stretched after the stretching rod reaches the bottom of the mold, and the thickness of the bottom section tends to be greater than that of the barrel section, although it depends on the percent of stretch in the axial (vertical) direction. Therefore, the amount of resin remaining in the bottom section is greater than the amount necessary to form the bottom surface section of a bottle. The barrel section tends to be thin because the amount of stretching increases due to the delay of the stretching of the bottom section. In consideration of this increase, the amount of the resin is slightly increased in some cases.
The barrel section is horizontally stretched and enlarged by the pressure of air that is blown inside the preform from its upper portion with some delay after the extension of the stretching rod. More specifically, the upper portion of the barrel section is first expanded, and the lower portion is then expanded so as to follow the stretched thin portion. The barrel section is thereby stretched horizontally and reduced in thickness, so that the expanded barrel section of the bottle is formed. The bottom section is finally stretched and reduced in thickness, and the bottom surface section of the bottle is thereby formed. However, the bottom surface section of the bottle has a large thickness due to the excess resin.
Attempts have been made to reduce the thickness of the thick bottom surface section of the bottle to reduce its weight. For example, a preform for a bottle having a cylindrical barrel section and a circular bottom section can be designed to have a shape that allows its neck section and barrel section to be easily reduced in thickness. However, it is not easy to reduce the thickness of the bottom section to the extent that contributes to the reduction in weight of the bottom surface section of the bottle. This is because a whitening phenomenon occurs in the central portion of the bottom section due to an increase in the injection pressure and the flow orientation and because the amount of internal heat is reduced to cause difficulty in stretching.
The reason that the bottom surface section of the bottle formed by stretch blow molding of the preform is thicker than the barrel section is insufficient stretching in the axial direction caused by internal temperature difference due to the thickness distribution and by the delay of stretching in the bottom section. Therefore, if the bottom section has a thickness greater than that of the barrel section so that the amount of internal heat in the bottom section is increased, the stretching of the bottom section is facilitated. In this case, the stretching of the bottom section can take place at an earlier time, and the amount of remaining resin due to the delay of stretching is reduced, so that a reduction in thickness may be achieved.
However, to form a preform such that the bottom section is thicker than the barrel section, an undercut must be provided in the bottom section of the mold structure, and the preform cannot be released from the cavity of such a mold and a core mold by drawing. Therefore, new devices must be used to increase the thickness of the bottom section of a preform.
The problem of the undercut due to the increase in thickness of the bottom section of a preform can be solved by the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 55-146718. More specifically, a preform is formed such that its bottom section has an inverted truncated conical shape. In this shape, the circumferential wall of the bottom section is inclined, and the inner surface of the bottom section faces upward. However, in the inclined circumferential wall of the bottom section formed by bending the lower portion of the barrel section, the thickness of the circumferential wall around the inflection point between the circumferential wall and the barrel section is less than the thickness of the barrel section even though the circumferential wall is bent inwardly.
In addition, in the preform having an inverted truncated conical bottom section, the stretching stress tends to be concentrated on the bent portion between the lower portion of the barrel section and the circumferential wall, and the thickness (internal temperature) of the barrel section differs from that of the circumferential wall of the bottom section. Therefore, stretching first occurs on the barrel side of the bent portion, and the stretching force acting on the circumferential wall is thereby reduced. Accordingly, the bottom section is not stretched as effectively as expected. Moreover, another problem arises in that the thickness of the outer circumference of the bottom edge of the formed bottle can be non-uniform due to the reduction in thickness of the bent portion by stretching.


A motor-vehicle bumper is provided with a number of piezoelectric elements which are connected to an electronic control unit programmed to operate one or more of the piezoelectric elements such that each of them, or one or more groups of them, fulfil different functions in different conditions of operation of the motor-vehicle.

The present invention relates to a motor-vehicle bumper provided with piezoelectric elements.
The Applicant has already proposed in its European patent application EP 1 344 696 A1 a motor-vehicle bumper provided with piezoelectric sensors able to detect a collision with a pedestrian, in particular for the purpose of activating safety means, for example constituted by a portion of boot able to be lifted, for preventing the pedestrian's head from impacting the windshield of the motor-vehicle.


In a system for providing access to a diesel engine of a locomotive, a hatch lifting mechanism is pinned to a hatch for enhancing the capabilities of pushing and pulling the hatch during its opening and closing operation. The hatch lifting mechanism allows the hatch to be set open at any desired position, using a positive rigid support at the desired position. The system further includes a two-force member comprising a collar, an ACME threaded rod, and a plunger situated inside a pipe, with minimal bending exerted on the hatch. Placing all of the moving elements inside the pipe enables the mechanism to operate in a hostile environment and in a confined space. The design of the hatch lifting mechanism of the present invention also prevents a lock-tight phenomenon between the collar and the plunger when the rod is fully extended out of the pipe.

The present invention relates to automotive and locomotive vehicle hatches and, more specifically, to a lifting mechanism for lifting a heavy hatch or cover on a vehicle, such as a locomotive engine compartment.
It is well known in the art to provide hatch lifting mechanisms which use either compressed gas or liquid dashpot to slowly lift hatches on automotive vehicles. Hatch lifting mechanisms are necessary to lift heavy weight covers by mechanical leverage. For example, such hatch lifting mechanisms are provided in side panels of locomotives for access to the diesel engine.
Unfortunately, such hatch lifting mechanisms tend to deteriorate over time, as a function of time and operating temperature. This can result in falling hatches, which is particularly hazardous when a worker is ducked under the lifted hatch while conducting repairs, installations, or other work.
One way to help overcome these problems is to station two people at the hatch, one to conduct the work and one to monitor the hatch. Obviously, this method has problems, in that it does not eliminate falling hatches. Nor is this method a failsafe method for preventing injury. Finally, this method has the added expense of requiring two persons to do the job of one person, in the same amount of time.
It is seen then that there exists a need for a hatch lifting mechanism which will support the hatch in an open position without the need of additional workers, and without fear of the hatch falling.


Cache lines in a multi-processor computing environment are configurable with a coherency mode. Cache lines in full-line coherency mode are operated or managed with full-line granularity. Cache lines in sub-line coherency mode are operated or managed as sub-cache line portions of a full cache line. Communications detected on a coherence interconnect may indicate that a cache line is associated with performance-reducing events. A high-contention cache line may be placed in sub-line coherency mode. Caches accessing the cache line are notified that the cache line is in sub-line coherency mode. The cache line may be associated with a counter in a centralized detection table that is incremented based on detecting the communications. The cache line may be a high-contention cache line when the counter satisfies a high-contention criterion, such as reaching a threshold value. The cache line may be returned to full-line coherency mode when a reset criterion is satisfied.

This disclosure relates generally to cache management in a multi-processor computing environment, and more specifically to dynamic coherency protocol granularity modification for individual cache lines in a multi-processor computing environment with transactional memory.
The number of central processing unit (CPU) cores on a chip and the number of CPU cores connected to a shared memory continues to grow significantly to support growing workload capacity demand. The increasing number of CPUs cooperating to process the same workloads puts a significant burden on software scalability; for example, shared queues or data-structures protected by traditional semaphores become hot spots and lead to sub-linear n-way scaling curves. Traditionally this has been countered by implementing finer-grained locking in software, and with lower latency/higher bandwidth interconnects in hardware. Implementing fine-grained locking to improve software scalability can be very complicated and error-prone, and at today's CPU frequencies, the latencies of hardware interconnects are limited by the physical dimension of the chips and systems, and by the speed of light.
Implementations of hardware Transactional Memory (TM) have been introduced, wherein a group of instructions, called a transaction, operate atomically and in isolation (sometimes called "serializability") on a data structure in memory. The transaction executes optimistically without obtaining a lock, but may need to abort and retry the transaction execution if an operation, of the executing transaction, on a memory location conflicts with another operation on the same memory location. Previously, software transactional memory implementations have been proposed to support software Transactional Memory (TM). However, hardware TM can provide improved performance aspects and ease of use over software TM.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No 2004/0044850 titled "Method and Apparatus for the Synchronization of Distributed Caches" filed 2002 Aug. 28, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, teaches a hierarchical caching protocol suitable for use with distributed caches, including use within a caching input/output hub.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,297 titled "Partial Cache Line Write Transactions in a Computing System with a Write Back Cache" filed 1994 Mar. 24, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, teaches a computing system which includes a memory, an input/output adapter and a processor. The processor includes a write back cache in which dirty data may be stored. When performing a coherent write from the input/output adapter to the memory, a block of data is written from the input/output adapter to a memory location within the memory. The block of data contains less data than a full cache line in the write back cache. The write back cache is searched to determine whether the write back cache contains data for the memory location. When the search determines that the write back cache contains data for the memory location, a full cache line which contains the data for the memory location is purged.

Centralized management of high-contention cache lines in multi-processor computing environments

International Business Machines Corporation


A digital data generation system including a programmable dominance RS flip-flop has a random access memory that stores a user selected sequence of test data. A pattern formatting logic circuit receives the test data and produces, for each data period, a coarsely timed candidate pulse for identifying the leading edge of an output data pulse and a coarsely timed candidate pulse for identifying the trailing edge of the output data pulse. A precision delay circuit finely tunes the timing of the candidate pulses. The finely tuned pulses are applied to an RS flip-flop circuit which can be programmed for set or reset dominance, thereby preventing an indeterminate state when a logic "1" is applied to both the set and the reset input. In the system, the flip-flop is programmed so that the most recent of the lead pulse or the trail pulse prevails.

This invention relates to digital data generation test systems, particularly systems for characterizing devices under test by their ability to respond to data signals of variable content, rather than merely to periodic pulses.
Conventional data generation test systems combine in separate stages a data source, a pulse generator and a switch matrix. The data source produces a stream of user-selectable data. The pulse generator produces, in response to the data generator, a pulse having selectable characteristics. The pulse generator typically is comprised of two monostable multivibrators connected in series: the first to generate the delay characterizing the leading edge of each data pulse in the data signal, the second to generate the width of each data pulse. An example of such a pulse generator is the Hewlett-Packard HP-8131A which generator is described in the August 1990 Hewlett-Packard Journal. The switch matrix directs the data pulse produced by the pulse generator to a particular pin of the device under test.
The architecture of conventional data generation test systems has a significant number of limitations. First, conventional architecture relies in part on analog circuitry, e.g., monostable multivibrators, which requires the user to design, assemble, program, debug, characterize, and eliminate skew from the output of the data generation test system before a device can be tested. Second, conventional data generation test systems are subject to retrigger limitations. Once the data signal has made a transition from a logic level "1" to a logic level "0", monostable multivibrators used in such conventional systems require some minimum recovery time before they can retrigger a transition to a logic level "1". As a practical matter, this limits the possible duty factor to substantially less than 100%. Third, conventional data generation test systems determine the trailing edge timing of each data pulse derivatively from the delay of the rising edge and the width of the data pulse, which limits their flexibility in establishing the timing of the trailing of the data pulse. Fourth, data generation test systems using monostable multivibrators generally do not allow a user to insert a controllable one-time delay at the outset of the data signal. Fifth, such data generation test systems provide only limited options for formatting the data signal. Sixth, conventional data generation test systems generally provide only limited modes for generating data signals. Seventh, such data generation test systems generally must be calibrated manually. The user makes calibration adjustments based on external measurements, particularly of the pulse generator stage, to maintain the accuracy of data signal timing.
In addition, even where digital logic devices are used to produce the data pulse, not all of the pulse period can be employed. In the production of a data pulse of arbitrary width using digital logic devices, the conventional approach is to employ a set-reset flip-flop (an "RS flip-flop") so that a first input pulse applied to the set input of the flip-flop starts the output pulse and a second input pulse applied to the reset input of the flip-flop terminates the output pulse. The time between the first input pulse and the second input pulse determines the width of the output pulse. However, the minimum pulse width that can be produced from such a circuit is one whose width is equal to the clock pulse width, since the output of an RS flip-flop is undefined when both the set and the reset inputs are asserted. The maximum pulse width is equal to the difference between the clock pulse period and the clock pulse width, for the same reason. Where it is desirable to produce a pulse having a duty cycle of anywhere from 0 to 100% of the clock period, the conventional approach is inadequate, so a new approach is needed.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved data generation test system for characterizing devices under test by their ability to respond to the data signals output by one or more data generation systems.

Digital data generation system including programmable dominance latch


A computer-based platform is provided for integrating data from multiple systems including (but not limited to) point of sale (POS) terminals, video systems, electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems, automatic teller machines (ATMs), gas pumps, alarm systems, radio frequency identification (RFID) detection systems, etc. The subject computer-based platform is configured to gather and correlate data (e.g., transactional data and/or video data), package such data into multiple discrete system “events”, and to provide various features for proactively identifying selected events as “exceptions”. Additional aspects of the computer-based platform may be utilized to provide signaled identification to a user of identified exceptions and other integrated system data. Still further aspects of the platform can be used to group these new events to create larger groupings of multiple transactions, events, data, exceptions, and/or research. This larger grouping can be derived from similar or diverse input systems and can be treated as a new entity that can be acted on independently.

The presently disclosed technology generally concerns acomputer-based platform for integrating data from multiple systems including (but not limited to) point of sale (POS) terminals, video systems, electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems, automatic teller machines (ATMs), gas pumps, alarm systems, radio frequency identification (RFID) detection systems, etc. The subject computer-based platform is configured to gather and correlate data (e.g., transactional data and/or video data), package such data into multiple discrete system "events", and to provide various features for proactively identifying selected events as "exceptions". Additional aspects of the computer-based platform may be utilized to provide signaled identification to a user of identified exceptions and other integrated system data.
The ability to integrate and characterize data from multiple electronic systems can provide advantageous utility for a variety of different applications. For example, in a retail environment, certain types or patterns of employee or customer behavior at the register can be closely associated with fraud, theft or insufficient training. These types of behaviors generally result in a monetary loss by the owner of the retail business. As such, data monitoring and characterization of register transactions may be useful for loss prevention applications. Furthermore, transaction information from a point of sale terminal, especially specific information regarding identification of tendered items, is invaluable data for merchandizing and marketing applications. Video data corresponding to such transactional information may be utilized to evaluate customer demographics for marketing applications. Video data may also be analyzed in a transactional environment for operations applications, for example, to monitor register line counts, customer traffic patterns, etc. or for training applications to ensure employees maintain accepted performance levels. Additional applications may involve the integration and characterization of video and/or event data as related to security, safety, and liability issues.
Analyzing integrated system data, especially in retail environments, and searching for such events as those that characterize questionable employee behavior is gaining popularity among large retail organizations but is typically not practiced by less sophisticated organizations. Many organizations outsource this analysis and refer to it as "Data Mining" or "Exception Reporting". In-house or third party systems presently in place are somewhat cumbersome and inefficient. The process of collecting the data from a multitude of geographically diverse locations, analyzing the data according to rigid guidelines, producing a written report, and distributing the written report can take several days and be very expensive. Further, the distributed Exception Reports are not typically tied to video data captured by surveillance systems in the store, as will be discussed in greater detail below.
As the devices that perform data entry (cash registers, data terminals, optical character readers, radio frequency readers, magnetic media readers, gas pumps, ATMs, and many other like input devices. etc.) become more sophisticated, larger quantities of alphanumeric characters describing the transaction are generated. If video data is to be integrated with such transactional data, the increase in information makes it much more difficult to overlay transaction data on a composite video image, as is effected in some known video surveillance systems. Furthermore, the general increase in information available when integrating transactional and/or video information from disparate electronic systems results in the need for a more convenient, feasible and proactive solution to analyze such information without relying solely on user review of the vast amount of information.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for integrating and characterizing data from multiple electronic systems


Effective power regulation may be achieved for a field instrument that derives power from a communication signal. In particular aspects, a system and process for power regulation include the ability to receive a communication signal and adjust the voltage supplied to a power converter based on the current of the communication signal. The system and method also include the ability to convert power of the communication signal with the power converter.

Field instruments (e.g., valve positioners) are used in a wide variety of environments for both commercial and industrial applications. Because of their varied use, field instruments often operate in remote areas and/or hazardous environments in which supply power is not readily available. In these instances, and numerous others, many field instruments obtain at least part of their power from their control signaling system (e.g., a 4-20 mA system). This power may be used to operate a variety of electronic components of the field instrument, including sensors, actuators, controllers, and transceivers.
For a variety of reasons (e.g., power consumption, reliability, and safety), it is typically desirable to operate the electronic components of a field instrument at a lower voltage than its control signaling system (e.g., 10 V versus 24 V). Typical devices for down-converting the voltage in a field instrument are switched-capacitor voltage converters and linear voltage converters.
Unfortunately, control signaling systems often have relatively low powers (e.g., <2 W), and with the increasing number and complexity of electronic components used in field instruments, sufficient power may not be available using current power derivation techniques.


A structure of semiconductor device including an insulation substrate is provided. A channel layer is disposed on the insulation substrate. A plurality of doped layers is disposed on the insulation substrate, and protrudes from the channel layer. The doped layers form at least two source/drain electrode (S/D electrode) pairs, and each of the S/D electrode pairs has a different extension direction with respect to the channel layer. A gate dielectric layer is disposed on the channel layer. A gate layer is disposed on the gate dielectric layer. Preferably, for example, the extension direction of at least one of the S/D electrode pairs is a first direction, and the extension direction of at least another one of the S/D electrode pairs is a second direction.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor transistor for testing, which is compatible with fabrication process of common semiconductor devices and can be achieved without additional processing steps, and thus the deterioration of various internal portions of the device under electrical stress can be conveniently detected.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, since flat panel displays have been gradually popularized and have replaced traditional CRT screens, thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) related industries are developing rapidly. Among others, the thin-film transistor (TFT), a crucial component, turns out to be one of the most important subjects currently.
It is generally known that the active region of a TFT comprises polysilicon silicon or amorphous silicon rather than single-crystal silicon, thus having a number of defects which lead to many problems, such as reliability. Therefore, it is urgent to improve the reliability of TFTs.
The active region of a TFT, also known as the channel region, is the region below the gate structure. Conventionally, in order to detect the deterioration of the channel region under persistent operating voltage, a set of test operating voltages is applied to electrodes of the gate, source, and drain, so as to generate an electrical stress on the transistor. After applying the electrical stress for a period of time, a characteristic curve of the transistor is tested to detect the change of the characteristics of the transistor caused by applying the electrical stress.
However, in addition to the fact that additional processes are required to fabricate the transistor for testing, the conventional detecting method can only test the overall structure of the transistor, and cannot detect various portions of the channel region due to the structure of the transistor for testing. Therefore, the conventional detecting method may cause wrong judgment. One of the possible situations is that, for example, a part of the channel region has been deteriorated. However, as for the overall testing, only a slight deviation occurs, and cannot indicate the existence of deteriorated portion. Thus, the conventional detecting result may lead to a wrong judgment.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to dynamically determining an appropriate responsive action for a moving vehicle in accordance with local traffic regulations. In one embodiment, the disclosed system identifies a stationary vehicle in an environment of the subject vehicle based at least in part on information from a plurality of sensors disposed on the subject vehicle and classifies a type of the stationary vehicle as valid or abandoned based at least in part on the information from the plurality of sensors. A classification of valid indicates that a traffic regulation requires the subject vehicle to undertake a responsive action toward the stationary vehicle. The disclosed system obtains a local traffic regulation based on a location of the subject vehicle and modifies a trajectory of the subject vehicle based on the local traffic regulation when the type of the stationary vehicle is determined to be valid.

So-called "move over" laws are laws that require drivers to move over and change lanes to give safe clearance to stationary ambulances and stationary vehicles of law enforcement officers, firefighters, utility workers, municipal workers, road maintenance workers and in some cases, tow-truck drivers. Such vehicles that are the protected subjects of move over laws will be referred to herein as "valid" vehicles under a given move over law.
In the U.S., some jurisdictions enforce move over laws that designate specific speeds to slow down to when a driver passes by a stationary valid vehicle in an adjacent lane. For example, as of the time of this filing Indiana state law requires drivers approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights, including towing and recovery vehicles, traveling in the same direction, to vacate the lane closest, if safe and possible to do so, or reduce speed at least 10 mph below the speed limit. In contrast, other U.S. jurisdictions enforce move over laws that do not designate a specific speed reduction amount but instead require drivers to slow down. For example, as of the time of this filing Illinois state law requires drivers approaching stationary emergency vehicles displaying flashing lights, including towing and recovery vehicles, traveling in the same direction, to vacate the lane closest if safe and possible to do so, or slow to a safe speed.

Systems and methods for addressing a moving vehicle response to a stationary vehicle


A lift for transferring a user to and from a vehicle, the lift including a lift platform and a pump unit to adjust the position of the lifting platform. The pump unit includes: i) a first cover having a plurality of first cover apertures to receive a plurality of connectors, ii) a pump, iii) a pump block operatively connected to the pump. The pump block includes a first side with first side block apertures and a second side with second side block apertures, wherein the first side block apertures are arranged to be collocated with the plurality of first cover apertures and the second side block apertures are arranged to be collocated with the plurality of first cover apertures. A manual pump actuator extends from one side of the pump assembly, wherein the manual pump actuator is oriented in once a first direction or a second direction with respect to the pump cover.

Vehicles adapted for mobility-challenged individuals are necessary in order to provide these individuals with the ability to reach locations requiring vehicular travel. These vehicles often have electrical or hydraulic powered wheelchair lifts for assisting wheelchair occupants to both enter and exit the vehicle. Parallelogram-type wheelchair lifts are offered by a number of manufacturers, including the L900 series of lifts from The Braun Corporation of Winamac, Ind. (see, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,779—the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety herein by this reference). These lifts employ various mechanisms to cause the platform to move arcuately upward from the horizontal transfer level to a vertical or over-vertical stowage position. In one or more embodiments, hydraulic cylinders are used to raise and lower the platform.
One system involves a lifting assembly including the use of an articulated lever assembly comprising a pair of arms of unequal length pivotably connected to each other at one end, and pivotably connected at their other respective ends. A vertical lift arm end link includes a bottom end pivotally secured to a platform and an inboard end of the platform. As the hydraulic cylinders of the lifting assembly are actuated by a pump/control assembly, thereby lifting the platform from the ground level toward the transfer level, a sliding block, which is pivotally secured at the common center of the two arms, comes into contact with the lower arm of the parallelogram. As the lifting continues, and the end link approaches the lower arm, the lower (longer) arm of the lever assembly is pushed downwardly. In turn, this causes the outboard end of platform to rotate upwardly to the stowed position.
The pump/control assembly is located on either side of the lifting assembly and includes a pump operatively connected to each of the hydraulic cylinders used to raise and lower the lift.
The location of the pump/control assembly can be dictated by the type of vehicle in which the lifting assembly is located. In some vehicles, the pump/control assembly is located at a rear side of the lifting assembly, toward the rear of the vehicle, and in other vehicles, the pump/control assembly is located toward a front side of the lifting assembly, toward the front of the vehicle. Because the pump/control assembly must interface with different sides of the lift assembly, there are two different types of pump/control assemblies required. Each pump/control assembly is specifically designed to be located at either the rear side or the front side. Consequently, there are two different non-interchangeable pump/control assemblies. Once a lift is in use, the front assembly is not interchangeable with the rear assembly. Additionally, the hydraulic hoses providing hydraulic pressure to hydraulic cylinders are of different lengths which can cause an unwanted tilt to the platform. What is needed, therefore, is a pump/control assembly that can be used on either side of the lift assembly.

Interchangeable pump mount for a wheelchair lift


This invention relates to the recovery of hydrocarbons i.e. to a process and system for the production of synthetic crude oil from unconventional oil sources such as oil sands, oil shale, and similar materials. The process comprises pyrolysing the feedstock in a pyrolysis liquid comprising molten metal(s) or molten salt (s).

Oil sands, also known as tar sands are a type of petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum product generally referred to as bitumen (or colloquially as tar due to its superficially similar appearance).
The Athabasca deposit located in the province of Alberta is the main Canadian oil sands deposit and the only one currently exploited on a large scale. The composition of Athabasca oil sands is approximately 80-85% silica sand, clay and silt, 5% water, and 10-15% bitumen. The average sand grain size diameter is 0.5 mm
Generally, bitumen is extracted from Athabasca oil sands by the hot water for surface mining or by a steam extraction process i.e. steam assisted gravity drainage.
Oil shale is commonly defined as a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter called kerogen that yields oil and combustible gas upon destructive distillation. Oil shale is mined using either underground- or surface-mining methods.
Oil sands and oil shale are required to be processed to separate the oil from its source rocks and sands which is then upgraded and refined to produce a commercial product.
Pyrolysis (also referred to as thermolysis or thermal cracking) is a thermochemical decomposition process is carried out at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen. The desired product of oil source pyrolysis is pyrolysis oil, also referred to as synthetic oil.
Several processes and systems have been developed in an attempt to extract hydrocarbons from oil sands and shale oil.
The Alberta Taciuk Process (ATP) is disclosed in a number of US patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,280,879, 4,285,773 entitled "Apparatus and process for recovery of hydrocarbons from inorganic host material" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,578 entitled "Dry thermal processor". These patents disclose complicated dry thermal processors for recovering hydrocarbons from oil sands. The processes disclosed in these patents employ an indirectly heated pyrolysis unit, i.e. a rotary kiln, which produces coked solids. The processers disclosed in these patents also include a combustion chamber, wherein some of the coke and residual bitumen of the previously pyrolysed sand is combusted to provide energy for the pyrolysis process. The processes disclosed in these patents result in loss of heat energy, are not cost effective.
US Publication No. 2010/0050466, entitled "Retort apparatus and method for continuously processing liquid and solid mixtures and for recovering products therefrom" discloses another pyrolysis system i.e. a rotary kiln. Such a process has the same disadvantages as the ATP process.
US Publication No. 2012/0193271, entitled "Mechanical pyrolysis in a shear retort" discloses a system in which the oil sands are exposed to high mechanical shear stresses in a shear retort. The water inherently present in most oil sands is evaporated and the oil freed by heat generated by the grinding action of the sand particles. The main difficulty associated with this system is that the motor provides the required heat energy by converting electrical energy to heat energy which is inefficient and results in large losses of energy.
US Publication No. 2013/0233772, entitled "Extraction of oil from oil sands" discloses a fluidised bed pyrolysis system to recover oil from oil sands. The fluidised bed can either be a dilute or a dense phase bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,720, entitled "Process and apparatus to produce synthetic crude oil from tar sands" is another pyrolysis process in form of a fluidised bed, which is located above another fluidised bed in which the treated tar sands are combusted providing the energy for the fluidised bed pyrolysis process. The heat from the combustion fluidised bed is transported to the pyrolysis fluidised bed by heat pipes. US Publication No. 2016/0312126, entitled "Fluid coking process" discloses another fluidised bed system for heavy petroleum feeds such as asphaltenes or non-distillable residues which are converted into lighter oils. This patent claims that this system results in improved liquid yields compared to the Flexicoking™ process, which is applied commercially. The main disadvantages of fluidised bed processes as exemplified by the above patents are (1) poor heat transfer between the gas and solid phase and (2) the solid particles have to be in a relatively narrow particle size distribution in order for the fluidised bed to process to operate properly.
US Publication No. 2007/090017 discloses an apparatus and a process for the thermal cracking of hydrocarbonaceous material (such as old tires, plastic scrap, other wastes, and spent lubricating fluids) over a surface of molten metal, such as lead. The apparatus has a first reaction zone wherein the hydrocarbonaceous materials are introduced, and volatilized, and a second zone, where volatilized hydrocarbonaceous materials from the first zone are subjected to conditions sufficient for thermal cracking of the volatilized hydrocarbonaceous materials. The temperature in the second zone is maintained sufficient for thermal cracking by the heat from the underlying molten metal surface. A conveyor is provided to convey the molten metal surface in a continuous recirculating pattern in the containment. A skimmer system is provided for removing carbon and other solid materials from the surface of the molten metal as the conveyor conveys the molten metal by the skimmer.
There is therefore a need for a process and a system for recovering hydrocarbons from oil sands and/or oil shale that would be more efficient and more cost effective than indirectly heated rotary kiln operations or convention oil sand operations.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Process and system for recovering hydrocarbons from oil sand and oil shale


An inlet grate for a water jet propulsion system to be used in a watercraft has a water passage having an inlet defined by a forward and a rearward area with respect to the watercraft. The inlet grate comprises a first end portion adapted to be connected to the forward area of the inlet and a second end portion adapted to be connected to the rearward area of the inlet as well as at least one elongated member extending from the first end portion toward the second end portion. The inlet grate also comprises at least one deflector having a forward end and a rearward end, the forward end being adjacent to the first end portion of the inlet grate.

Water jet powered watercraft have become very popular in recent years for recreational use and for use as transportation in coastal communities. Water jet propelled watercraft offer high performance, improved acceleration and handling, and shallow-water operation. Accordingly, personal watercrafts (PWCs), which typically employ water jet propulsion units, have become popular, especially in resort areas. As the use of PWCs has increased, a desire for improved performance, including greater operational efficiency, also has increased.
Typically, water jet powered watercraft, such as PWCs, have a water jet propulsion system mounted within the hull that ingests water from a body of water and expels the water at a high velocity from the stern to propel the watercraft. For directional control, a nozzle is generally provided at the outlet of the jet pump and turning is achieved by redirecting the flow of water from the nozzle.
In the typical arrangement for a water jet propulsion unit, an engine output shaft is rotationally coupled to a drive shaft. The drive shaft extends into a water passage, which is defined in part by the hull of the watercraft partially below the water line. The water passage extends from a point forward of the rear of the watercraft to the rear of the watercraft. An impeller disposed within a pump housing portion of the water passage is attached to the drive shaft.
FIG. 12 shows a prior art water jet propulsion system 600 disposed within a hull 612, of which only a portion is shown in broken lines. As shown, an inlet grate 642 is disposed at an inlet 686 to an intake ramp 688. The inlet grate 642 prevents large rocks, weeds, and other debris from entering the water intake ramp 688 and passing through the water jet propulsion system 600. A pump support 650 or ride shoe forms the bottom portion 692 of the water intake ramp 688. The pump support 650 is coupled to the hull 612 within a tunnel 694 through fasteners and/or adhesives (not shown). The pump support 650 includes a main body portion 651 having a vertical attachment surface 652, a forward attachment location 654 that is secured to a ride plate 696, and a ramp portion 656. The ramp portion 656 forms the bottom portion 692 of the water intake ramp 688.
From the water intake ramp 688, water enters into a jet pump 660. The jet pump 660 includes an impeller 670 and a stator 680. The impeller includes blades 672 that extend from a center portion 674 that is coupled to an engine by one or more shafts 698, such as a drive shaft and/or an impeller shaft. The rotation of the impeller 670 pressurizes the water, which then moves over the stator 680 that comprises a plurality of fixed stator blades 682. The role of the stator blades 682 is to decrease the rotational motion of the water so that almost all the energy given to the water is used for thrust, as opposed to swirling the water. As shown, the impeller 670 and the stator 680 are both disposed within a jet propulsion unit housing 690 or pump housing. However, it is also known to position the stator 680 at a position outside of the housing 690 at a position downstream of the housing 690. The housing 690 includes a peripheral wall 691 which defines a passage through which water passes. A forward end 692 of the housing peripheral wall 691 is attached to the vertical attachment surface 654 or the pump support 650. The forward end 692 of the housing peripheral wall 691 defines the inlet into the housing 690.
Once the water leaves the jet pump 660, it goes through a venturi 610. In this prior art water jet propulsion unit 600, the venturi 610 is disposed at the rearward end of the housing 690. Since the venturi's exit diameter is smaller than its entrance diameter, the water is accelerated further, thereby providing more thrust. As shown, the venturi 610 is integrated into the housing 690 and comprises the outlet from the housing 690.
A steering nozzle 602 is pivotally attached to the venturi 610 so as to pivot about a vertical axis 604. The steering nozzle 602 is operatively connected to a steering mechanism such as a steering handlebar (see, e.g., the steering handlebar 74 shown in FIG. 1). Rotation of the steering handlebar causes the steering nozzle 602 to pivot around the vertical axis 604, thereby directing the water discharge to result in a change in the steering direction of the watercraft.
A water passage 695, through which water passes from left to right, is illustrated in FIG. 12. Moving from left to right in this illustration, which is upstream to downstream, the water passage 695 is defined by the inlet 686, the water intake ramp 688, the pump support passage 653, the jet pump 660, the venturi 610 and the steering nozzle 602.
When the amount of water passing through the water jet propulsion system 600 is not optimized, it is possible that cavitation may occur as a result of operation of the impeller 670. Cavitation occurs when an object, such as the impeller 670, moves through a fluid, such as water, to cause turbulence and, at a sufficient speed, creates pockets of vapor. In other words, the impeller 670 can rotate so quickly that, at the tips of the impeller blades 672, a sufficiently low pressure region may be created that the water will flash into vapor, creating small vapor bubbles. When the vapor bubbles collapse, the shock of the collapse can degrade the impeller blades 672 (especially at the tips of the blades 672) by "eating away" at or pitting the blades 672. In addition, cavitation also has the undesired effect of producing noise and vibration that also degrade the operational efficiency of the water jet propulsion system 608. In addition, noise and vibration increases the stress and wear and tear on the impeller 670 and components attached thereto.
In addition, when the watercraft is accelerating from a stand still or a low speed condition, the water drawn through the inlet 686 by the action of the pump 660 experiences a drop of static pressure, which is a condition that promotes cavitation. This undesirable drop of pressure can be minimized by increasing the size of the inlet 686, thus optimizing the system for the acceleration mode. In order to increase the flow of water drawn through the inlet 686, vanes or fins are placed in the vicinity of the inlet 686 and well known to those skilled in the art as a "top loader" (not shown) are also commonly used. U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,368 teaches a water jet propulsion system having such a top loader.
Conversely, as the speed of the craft increases, the static pressure in the inlet builds up which leads to a condition that minimizes the formation of cavitation bubbles in the flow, thus improving the propulsive efficiency of the pump 660. However, as the craft's speed increases, the volume of water forced through the inlet 686 increase and reaches a level where it is greater than the volume of water pulled by the jet pump 660. When the watercraft is traveling at high speed, such increasingly high pressure in the area of the inlet 686 and intake ramp 688 may eventually result in the stern of the watercraft to be pressured up and eventually, the bow of the watercraft to dip in the water, which may, in certain circumstances, cause sudden loss of speed and control of the watercraft. Such phenomenon may occur at various speeds depending on the particular design of each watercraft, the size of the opening of the inlet 686 and operation conditions. A larger inlet opening designed to improve the watercraft's acceleration performances will exacerbate this problem and will result in loss of speed and control at lower traveling speed compared to a watercraft having a smaller inlet.
On the other hand, since a large inlet 686 cuts into the planning area of the hull thus increasing the drag, an inlet 686 optimized for acceleration from low speed will also yield lower propulsive efficiency at high speed. Conversely an inlet 686 optimized for high speed will result in poor acceleration performance due to the occurrence of cavitation.
In view of the foregoing, a need has developed for a watercraft with a water jet propulsion system that provides improved operational efficiency. In order to address this need, water jet propulsions systems with variable inlet sizes have been developed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,872,105 teaches a water jet propulsion system having a mobile structure disposed within the water passage at a position upstream of the jet pump that modulate the amount of water that is allowed to pass through the water passage. The structure can be a flexible fluid filled bag, an adjustable ride plate, and an additional water passage. According to this patent, each of those structures allows a greater amount of water into the water passage during acceleration than when the watercraft travels at higher constant speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,176 teaches a water jet propulsion system having water passage with an adjustable inlet which adjusts in size according to the traveling speed of the watercraft. The particular system disclosed comprises fixed and floating vanes pivotally attached along their leading edges to longitudinal structures of the inlet of the water passage so that adjustable inlet openings are created between adjacent floating vanes. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,176, as the speed of the watercraft increases, the inlet openings are closed by the floatable vanes and therefore the volume of water forced through the intake ramp is reduced.
A drawback of the systems taught by these patents is that they comprise numerous movable parts that present risks of breaking and premature wear.
Therefore, there is still a need for a watercraft with a water jet propulsion system that provides improved operational efficiency both during acceleration and at high traveling speed without increasing risks of breaking and premature wear.

Inlet grate for a water jet propulsion system


The invention relates to a bit line structure having a surface bit line (DLx) and a buried bit line (SLx), the buried bit line (SLx) being formed in a trench with a trench insulation layer (6) and being connected to doping regions (10) with which contact is to be made via a covering connecting layer (12) and a self-aligning terminal layer (13) in an upper partial region of the trench.

When realizing memory circuits, a basic distinction is drawn on the basis of the storage architecture; the most common representatives are referred to as the NAND and NOR architectures. In both architectures, one-transistor memory cells are arranged in matrix form and are driven via signal connections referred to as word and bit lines.
Whereas in NAND architectures a multiplicity of switching elements or storage elements are connected in series with one another and are driven via a common selection gate or a selection transistor, the respective switching elements in NOR architectures are organized in parallel or in matrix form, as a result of which each switching element can be selected individually.
FIG. 1 shows a simplified illustration of a so-called SNOR architecture (selective NOR), in which, in contrast to the NOR architecture with "common source" structure, the individual switching elements SE1, SE2, . . . are driven selectively via a respective source line SL1, SL2, . . . and via a respective drain line DL1, DL2, . . . This selective driving is carried out for example by means of respective bit line controllers BLC which, as it were, realize the common bit lines BL1, BL2, . . . Further shrinks or more extensive integration of semiconductor circuit arrangements can be carried out in this way, since the SNOR architecture does not rely on a predetermined minimum cell transistor length or channel length.
FIG. 2 shows a simplified illustration of a conventional layout of the SNOR architecture in accordance with FIG. 1. In accordance with FIG. 2, the switching elements or memory elements SE1, SE2, . . . are formed in active areas AA of a semiconductor substrate which have a substantially straight strip-type structure. On the multiplicity of strip-type active areas AA arranged in columns there overlie, in rows, layer stacks or word line stacks WL1, WL2, . . . likewise formed in strip form. Each crossover point or overlap region between such a strip-type active area AA and a word line stack WL1 to WL3 formed in strip form thus represents a multiplicity of switching elements or memory elements SE.
Contacts are necessary for making contact with respective drain regions D and source regions S, which contacts are usually formed in the active areas AA, but may often also extend into an adjoining isolation region STI (Shallow Trench Isolation). In a further layer lying above that, which preferably represents a first metallization layer, there are then situated the source lines SL1, SL2, . . . and also the drain lines DL1, DL2, . . . for the respective bit lines BL. In this case, the drain lines are connected to the associated drain regions D of the active area AA via corresponding contacts K, the source lines being connected to the associated source regions S via corresponding contacts in the same way.
What is disadvantageous, however, in the case of such a conventional bit line structure is that a more than twice as intensive metallization is present on account of the additional source lines in comparison with a common source architecture, which represents a limiting factor for more extensive integration or further shrinks.
Therefore, to improve an integration density, it is proposed, in accordance with document DE 100 62 245 A1, to form the source lines and drain lines as spacers at an insulating web and to allow contact to be made with the associated source regions and drain regions via an additional insulation layer with suitable openings. Furthermore, however, the space required on account of the source lines and drain lines formed at the substrate surface and lying parallel is relatively large and prevents more intensive integration.
Furthermore, document U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,522 has disclosed a buried bit line which is formed in an insulation trench and in each case makes symmetrical contact with source regions and drain regions via a terminal layer.
Accordingly, a bit line structure and an associated fabrication method is needed, which, in particular with SNOR architectures, allows further integration to be realized with a reduced need for space.

Bit line structure and method of fabrication


A pump comprises a pump superstructure, a housing having a longitudinal axis, and mounting elements for pivotably mounting the housing on the superstructure for enabling a swinging of the housing between a vertical operational orientation and a horizontal maintenance orientation. The longitudinal axis of the housing is substantially vertical in the operational orientation of the housing and substantially horizontal in the maintenance orientation. An impeller is rotatably disposed in the housing for rotation about the longitudinal axis in the operational orientation of the housing, while a drive is fixed to the superstructure in a stationary location for rotatably driving the impeller. A coupling component is provided on the superstructure for enabling a connection of the drive to the impeller upon a pivoting of the housing from the maintenance orientation to the operational orientation and for alternately enabling a disconnection of the drive from the impeller prior to a pivoting of the housing from the operational orientation to the maintenance orientation.

This invention relates to a vertically oriented centrifugal pump, and more specifically, although not exclusively, to a vertically oriented pitot pump. This invention also relates to a method for accessing such a vertical pump, for example, for repair or maintenance operations.
Pitot pumps are centrifugal pumps which have an impeller or rotor rotatably driven inside a housing. A pitot tube is disposed inside the impeller for capturing and redirecting rotating fluid from the impeller to an outlet. To that end, the pitot tube has a circumferential input stub located near the periphery of the impeller cavity, a radially extending central portion and an axially extending output stub connected to the pump outlet.
Pitot pumps are known, for example, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,384,024 to King and 3,999,881 to Crichlow.
Pitot pumps are generally used in a horizontal orientation in commercial applications. The pump impeller rotates about a horizontal axis. Such pitot pumps are advantageous in that pump maintenance, such as the replacement of seals, can be performed expeditiously particularly in comparison to other types of pumps. Maintenance can be undertaken without removing the impeller and without disconnecting the bearings.
Many non-pitot type pumps are disposed in a vertical orientation to preserve floor or ground space, which is at a premium. In a vertical pump configuration, the drive motor is located in vertical alignment with the rotor.
The disposition of a pitot type pump in a vertical orientation is not generally feasible owing to a substantial increase in the difficulty of changing the seals. The problem arises, therefore, to enable or facilitate pump maintenance where a pitot pump is placed in a vertical configuration.

Vertical pump and method for accessing same


A system for delivering fluid lubricant to the surfaces of the sidewalls of a mold of a continuous casting machine is provided by a continuously surrounding lubrication gap connecting a manifold to the sides of the casting mold. The lubricating gap has substantially the same resistance to flow between the manifold and the adjacent side of the mold cavity of the mold around the complete perimeter of the mold cavity and has significantly higher resistance to flow of lubricant from the manifold to the mold cavity than the resistance to flow around the manifold and into the gap, whereby the lubricant is uniformly distributed to all the walls of the mold. Preferably the gap will be divided into discrete passages, one for each side of the mold cavity by means of a shaped spacer which also defines the height of the gap and thereby the height of each of the passages. Each passage will normally be of substantially constant width corresponding substantially to the length of the adjacent side of the mold cavity.

In the continuous casting of steel billets uniform distribution of lubricant (oil) to all sides of a mold and in the proper amount is essential to insure good surface quality of the resultant casting. Insufficient supply or inadequate distribution of the lubricant may cause the steel shell near the meniscus to stick to the surface of the mold (generally made of chrome plated copper) which causes the billet being formed to be suspended momentarily in the mold and necessitates increased withdrawal forces which, in many cases, gives rise to transverse cracks and deterioration of the billet quality. On the other hand an excess supply of lubricating oil has been linked to hydrogen entrapment and pin hole formation in the billet.
Various techniques for delivering lubricant to the mold have been devised and some are currently in use, however none correlate the flow resistances through the system to insure proper distribution and uniform flow to the mold around substantially the complete perimeter of the mold.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,267 issued May 27, 1969 to Gricol et al discloses a system for lubricating a rectangular mold and incorporates a gap composed of a plurality of passages flaring in the direction of flow to the mold perimeter. Each flaring passage is connected with a source of lubricating fluid under pressure to deliver the lubricant to the mold. U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,788 issued June 10, 1969 to Keene et al is similar to the Gricol et al patent. It will be apparent that the resistance to flow decreases in the flaring passages leading to the mold in each of these two systems due to the increasing width of the gap passages as they approach the molds. Uniform distribution of lubricant along the full length of any side wall of the mold is dependent on the lateral expansion of the flow of lubricant. Such lateral expansion is substantially uncontrolled and thus cannot be insured and leads to non-uniform distribution of lubricant.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,197 issued Jan. 19, 1971 to Foye illustrates another system for lubricating a mold, this device is not for a process equivalent to the casting process for which the present invention is intended, but utilizes a gasket to define the passages interconnecting a manifold to a gap. The device of this patent will not provide the uniform distribution obtainable with the present invention.
Lubricating system currently used in the industry incorporates a pair of plates having opposed surfaces to define the lubricating gap leading to the molding passage around the complete circumference of the mold. The height of the gap and thus the cross sectional area of the gap is large particularly in relation to the cross section of the manifold supplying lubricant to the gap and results in relatively poor distribution of lubricating oil around the circumference of the mold.


A compact-size electromagnetic clutch reaches a blocking state as an electromagnetic solenoid is switched from a non-driving state to a driving state and can save wasteful consumption of energy under this blocking state. This electromagnetic clutch includes a wrap spring in pressure-contact with an outer face of a cylindrical portion of a drive pulley provided on the center side thereof. One end of the wrap spring is coupled to a drive arm of a drive member operably connected to a shaft. The other end of the wrap spring is coupled to an operational member rotatable relative to the shaft and movable along the rotational axis thereof. An electromagnetic solenoid attracts the operational member. An operational mechanism permits realization of the blocking state by preventing rotation of the drive member after a twisting operation of the wrap spring subsequent to the attraction of the operational member by this electromagnetic solenoid.

As an arrangement similar to the electromagnetic clutch configured as above, PTL 1 discloses an arrangement wherein an input hub and an output hub are disposed in such a positional relationship that these hubs are rotatably mounted coaxially about a rotational axis and adjacent each other along the rotational axis. More particularly, in this disclosed arrangement, a wrap spring is mounted about the outer circumference of the input hub and the outer circumference of the output bub, and a control collar is disposed about the wrap spring, with one end of the wrap spring being supported to the input hub and the other end thereof being supported to the control collar.
In this PTL 1, when no magnetic force is applied to an armature provided in the control collar, there is provided a clutch-disengaged state in which the armature is maintained at a predetermined position by an urging force of a return spring, and the wrap spring is detached from the outer circumference of the input hub and the outer circumference of the output hub. Then, when a magnetic force is applied to the armature provided in the control collar, there is provided a state in which this magnetic force draws the armature toward the magnetic solenoid against the urging force of the return spring and a rotational force of the control collar is transmitted to the output hub. With this, there is reached a state wherein the coil diameter of the wrap spring is reduced, so that the wrap spring is brought into pressure-contact with the outer circumference of the input hub and the outer circumference of the output hub, thus transmitting the rotational drive force of the input hub to the output hub. In this way, a clutch-engaged state is realized.
Further, PTL 2 discloses an arrangement of an electromagnetic clutch as follows. In this, a wrap spring is mounted across/between an outer circumference of a drive pulley (an input pulley in this document) and an outer circumference of an output hub rotatable in union with a shaft (a pump shaft in this document). One end of this wrap spring is supported to an armature and the outer end of the spring is supported to the output hub. The drive pulley incorporates an electromagnetic solenoid for applying an attraction force to the armature.
In this PTL 2, when no magnetic force is applied from the electromagnetic solenoid to the armature, there is provided a clutch-disengaged state wherein the wrap spring is detached from the outer circumferences of the input pulley and of the output hub. When a magnetic force is applied from the electromagnetic solenoid to the armature, there is provided a clutch-engaged state wherein the wrap spring is brought into pressure-contact with the outer circumferences of the input pulley and the output hub, thus allowing transmission of the drive force of the drive pulley to the shaft.


A thermodynamic cycle apparatus is provided. The thermodynamic cycle apparatus includes: (i) a first reservoir containing a first storage medium; (ii) a second reservoir containing a second storage medium; (iii) a heat pump having a cold side thermally coupled to the first reservoir for cooling the first storage medium and a hot side thermally coupled to the second reservoir for heating the second storage medium; (iv) a first thermodynamic circuit of a first working fluid; (v) a second thermodynamic circuit of a second working fluid; (vi) an auxiliary heat input thermally connected to the first thermodynamic circuit so that auxiliary heat may contribute to the creation of the first pressurized vapor; and (vii) an auxiliary heat output thermally connected to the second thermodynamic circuit so that the second working fluid can lose heat to an auxiliary heat sink.

In the field of electricity generation, there is often a mismatch between supply of electricity and the demand for the electricity at any given time.
As an example, it is often more efficient to continuously run power stations as opposed to intermittently running them to match demand. However, given that demand for electrical energy continuously fluctuates (particularly at night when demand drops significantly) supply of electrical power from the power station may frequently exceed the level of demand. As a further example, renewable power generators often produce fluctuating levels of energy due to the unpredictable and changeable nature of renewable sources (e.g. wind power, wave power, solar intensity etc.) and this time dependent output seldom matches the demand. Thus, there is a need for energy storage systems that may be used to store energy produced by electricity generators (e.g. when demand for such energy is low), and subsequently be capable of converting stored energy back into electrical energy (e.g. when demand increases).
Several energy storage systems are known and these include systems that convert electrical energy into thermal energy which is subsequently stored for later use.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) is currently the most effective energy storage solution available on a large scale. However, PSH requires a mountain and lake/reservoir in order to benefit from its high round trip efficiency. Other large scale energy storage solutions have been mooted, though they often require other geographically constrained features (e.g. salt caverns), complicated cryogenic plants and batteries (which not only have a limited effective life making their economics questionable, but also require climate controlled environments which adds a parasitic loss and presents significant safety issues) or have high costs associated with decommissioning and disposal of hazardous materials at end of life.
Many industrial and commercial processes produce waste energy in the form of heat. The ability to capture this waste heat and convert it in to usable power has both financial and environmental benefits. There is therefore a need to both store energy and/or capture waste heat.
It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to overcome certain disadvantages associated with the prior art.
It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to store energy and/or capture waste heat and convert the waste heat into useful energy.

Thermodynamic cycle apparatus and method


Coring apparatus and method are disclosed which provide for hydraulic latching of an inner core barrel within an outer core barrel. The apparatus includes a valve face disposed around the inner core barrel and valve seat disposed around the bore of the outer core barrel that close to form a restriction in the drilling fluid flow path. A hydraulic differential force is thereby created which holds the inner barrel in place. Axially oriented bores in a hanger assembly and in stabilizers are disposed along the inner core barrel to provide a flow path for the drilling fluid after the restriction is formed. The bores are calibrated to produce a pre-determined hydraulic force on the inner barrel. A bearing assembly is used to prevent transmission of outer barrel rotation to the inner core barrel. The outer surface of the bearing assembly forms the valve face so as to form the drilling fluid restriction and also provides an axial stop that prevents further axial movement of the inner barrel towards the core head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coring assemblies and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods for facilitating inner core barrel latching in coring assemblies.
2. Description of the Background
Conventional coring tools for obtaining core samples from a borehole comprise a tubular housing attached at one end to a special bit often referred to as a core head, and at the other end to a drill string extending through the borehole to the surface. The tubular housing includes an inner and outer barrel with a space between. During normal drilling the drilling fluid may flow through the interior of the inner barrel. When a core sample is required, the flow passageway is blocked, often by dropping a ball from the earth's surface, thus diverting the flow into the space between the inner and outer barrel and down through the bit. The absence of flow in the inner barrel allows the earth formation to enter and fill the barrel, which is then subsequently recovered as a core.
Wire-line retrievable coring tools are often used to allow multiple core samples to be taken without the need to remove the drill string. Retrieval of continuous samples allows for enhanced core analysis, including mechanical rock properties, mineralogy and lithology (including petrography), rock fabric (including grain size), stratigraphic correlation, and paleontology. Preferably all zones of interest are captured to enhance the entire hydrocarbon recovery process from geologic interpretation through reservoir management. As well, enhanced analysis of the above-reservoir formations allows the operator to better address problems such as well-bore stability and fluid/formation capability.
Wire-line retrievable coring tools typically have latching mechanisms which hold the inner barrel in place at a fixed axial orientation with respect to the outer barrel. While the inner barrel must be held in a fixed position axially, it must also be free to rotate with respect to the outer barrel to avoid twisting the core. The latch mechanism must reliably latch the inner barrel in place when the inner barrel is lowered into position and it must reliably unlatch the inner barrel to allow retrieval of the core sample via wireline.
Latching problems may prevent the coring tool from obtaining a core sample thus costing rig time and loss of information. For instance, the latching mechanism may fail to latch the inner barrel in position prior to taking a core sample so that the core never enters the inner core barrel. Such a failure may not be readily discernable from the surface. Thus, the failure to latch may result in a failure to obtain a desired core sample from a potentially producing zone of interest in the formation. After drilling through the zone, the core sample may be more difficult to obtain and may be more contaminated with drilling fluid than if the sample was obtained in the first place without failure of the latch.
While the most common latching failure is that of the inner barrel failing to latch to the outer barrel, it is also possible to have an unlatching failure where the coring tool fails to unlatch after the surface operator believes the inner core sample has been taken. Such a failure results in the need to pull the drill string with the attendant cost in time. As well, latching mechanisms require additional cost for manufacturing as well as ongoing cost of maintenance.
Consequently, there remains a need for a coring assembly that offers dependable operation at reduced levels of capital investment. Those skilled in the art have long sought and will appreciate the present invention which provides solutions to these and other problems.


A first interconnect layer is bonded to a first substrate. The first interconnect layer is deposited on a first device layer on a second device layer on a second substrate. The second device layer is revealed from the second substrate side. A first insulating layer is deposited on the revealed second device layer. A first opening is formed in the first insulating layer to expose a first portion of the second device layer. A contact region is formed on the exposed first portion of the second device layer.

Decreasing the dimensions of semiconductor devices and increasing the level of their integration are two major trends in the current device manufacturing. As a result of these trends, the density of elements forming a semiconductor device increases. Scaling of the devices down to submicron dimensions requires the routine fabrication of the device elements at the submicron level that becomes more difficult due to physics challenges at small dimensions.
Generally, semiconductor structures forming semiconductor devices may be stacked on top of one another to increase the level of the device integration and reduce the device footprint. Typically, the stacked devices are interconnected vertically using vias that are a part of an interconnect structure. The interconnect structure includes one or more levels of metal lines to connect the electronic devices to one another and to external connections.
Traditionally, the transistors of the stacked transistor structure are manufactured independently. One of the conventional techniques involves building the transistors independently on two separate wafers and then bonding the wafers to stack the devices on top of one another. Another one of the conventional techniques involves sequentially building the transistors in layers on a single semiconductor wafer. Both conventional techniques require separate sets of the lithographical and other processing operations for each of the transistors that consumes time and is very expensive.


A method and system for controlling email transmission includes creating a first email by a first user having an email address in the first email. The first email is sent to a second user. The first email is attached to a second email. The second email, including the first email, is forwarded to a third user. The third user is controlled in creating a third email to reply to the first user after the third user""s receipt of and access to the second email and the first email. Various control options in control modes and access denial modes control creation of the third email.

The present invention relates to remote communications and, more specifically, to email control and security.
Electronic mail, or email, is an increasingly popular way to communicate. With the growing number of computers, and other networked devices and their connectivity over the Internet, email will likely continue to be one preferred method for communication. Advances in networking technologies have helped to improve and refine the utility and ease of email usage. The versatility in the use of email stems from the ability of computer users to readily send and receive email messages on various computer platforms running various operating systems and email programs.
Typically, email is possible through the use of an email program. Such an application program allows for the creation, transmission, receipt, and review of email over local or remote area networks, or the Internet. The relative ease of these application programs facilitates great freedom and versatility in communicating through email. For example, one user of an email program can create an email and transmit the email to a second user. Upon receipt of the email, the second user, who may not necessarily use the same email program as the first user, can receive and access the contents of the email. In response to the email, the second user can create a reply in the form of another email for transmission to the first user. As another possibility, the second user could choose to forward the email of the first user to a third user. In conventional email programs, forwarding an email to another is simple. Very often the forwarding of email requires only click(s) with a mouse, or other similar input device, on an appropriate icon, or other prompt, enabling forwarding of the message.
The third user who received a forwarded email likewise accesses the forwarded email with relative ease. Usually, the email program provides the third user with some identifying distinction between the contents of the forwarded email and accompanying contents of a message, if any, by the second user. The third user accesses forwarded email of the first user or the email of the second user by, for example, an appropriate mouse click, on the desired email. After accessing and reviewing either email, the third user can communicate with the author of the selected email with another click of a mouse on an appropriate icon enabling a reply. In light of the ease in creating, forwarding, and replying to email, it would be highly advantageous to provide selective control and security over the flow of email, when desired.
The present invention solves the problems associated with the prior art by providing methods and systems for providing network communication control and security.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method and system for controlling email transmission includes creating a first email by a first user having an email address in the first email. The first email is sent to a second user. The first email is attached to a second email. The second email, including the first email, is forwarded to a third user. The third user is controlled in creating a third email to reply to the first user after the third user""s receipt of and access to the second email and the first email.
In another aspect of the present invention, a control mode having at least one control option is activated to selectively control the third user in replying to the first user.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, an access denial mode is activated to prohibit the third user in replying to the first user.
These and various other embodiments of the present invention, as well as the advantages and features of all of its many embodiments, are described in more detail in conjunction with the text below and attached figures.

Method and system for network communication control and security


To sufficiently exert charging and discharging performance of a cell while reliably protecting the cell, a battery controller determines ΔVlimit which is a limit value for a difference between a CCV and an OCV of a cell module, which is a secondary cell, and determines at least one of an upper limit voltage and a lower limit voltage of the cell module. An allowable current of the cell module is calculated based on the ΔVlimit and at least one of the upper limit voltage and the lower limit voltage determined in this manner.

In recent years, cell systems with multiple built-in secondary cells such as accumulation devices for mobile devices, power system stabilizers, and emergency cells have attracted attentions. In order to sufficiently elicit the performance of these cell systems, it is necessary to calculate parameters of the respective cells such as a state of charge (SOC), a state of health (SOH), and a maximum chargeable/dischargeable current (allowable charge/discharge current) and properly control each cell. In order to realize such control, in general, a voltage measurement circuit (cell controller) is attached to each cell in the cell system, and a battery controller mounting a central processing unit (CPU) executes various types of calculation and operations based on information transmitted from the cell controller to realize the above-described control.
An allowable current, which is one of cell parameters used in the above-described control, is calculated in order to protect a cell. Specifically, it is possible to calculate the allowable current by obtaining the maximum current that does not deviate from upper and lower limit voltages and temperatures, determined by the specifications of the cell, based on present cell voltage and temperature. Therefore, if a calculation error of this allowable current is large, there is a possibility of limiting the current more than necessary or causing the current that is dangerous for the cell to flow.
In regard to the calculation of the allowable current, a technique described in PTL 1 is known. PTL 1 discloses the technique of including an internal resistance table in which an internal resistance value of a cell corresponding to a temperature and a state of charge thereof is described for each value of charging or discharging duration time of the cell, and obtaining an allowable current of the cell by using the internal resistance table.


Techniques involve: writing, when a first disk for dirty page storage has a failure, a first target page description generated by a first node and associated with a first set of target dirty pages of the first node and a second set of target dirty pages of a second node to a first page description storage layer for the first node in a second disk; writing a second target page description generated by the second node and associated with the first set of target dirty pages and the second set of target dirty pages to a second page description storage layer for the second node in the second disk; and restoring, when the failure has been eliminated, the first set of target dirty pages and the second set of target dirty pages in the first disk based on at least one of the descriptions.

In some storage systems, dirty data is persisted to a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). Once the NVRAM is damaged, the persisted dirty data will be lost.
In the event that the NVRAM cannot work normally, for example, when the NVRAM is powered off, the storage system writes dirty pages and corresponding page descriptors to a disk layer in a solid state drive (SSD). These data can be restored to the NVRAM once the NVRAM works normally. During a current restoration process, the data will be copied directly from a corresponding disk layer of the SSD to the NVRAM without verification and error handling.

Method, electronic device and computer program product for storage management


A ball grid array (BGA) socket is adapted to receive and electrically connect to an integrated circuit disposed between a circuit substrate and a heat sink. An attachment element is adapted to hold the Socket BGA to the circuit substrate with a compressive load isolated from the heat sink.

Packaged and assembled electronics devices and systems commonly include multiple integrated circuit chips, often with one or more high power level application specific integrated circuits (ASIC). A heat sink may be thermally-connected to an ASIC to address the high power level and related thermal dissipation.
The devices and systems typically also include one or more sockets for interconnecting the integrated circuits and a printed circuit board or motherboard. The socket enables communication between the integrated circuits and other installed components. Evolution in technology has increased the number of pins on the socket and communication speeds, increasing the difficulty of maintaining reliable signal connections.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.