Lubricant blends and finished gear oils comprising a Fischer-Tropsch derived lubricant base oil fraction, a petroleum derived base oil, and a pour point depressant are provided. The Fischer-Tropsch derived lubricant base oil fraction comprises less than 0.30 weight percent aromatics, greater than 5 weight percent molecules with cycloparaffinic functionality, and a ratio of weight percent of molecules with monocycloparaffinic functionality to weight percent of molecules with multicycloparaffnic functionality greater than 15. The petroleum derived base oils comprises greater than 90 weight percent saturates and less than 300 ppm sulfur and is preferably selected from the group consisting of a Group II base oil, a Group III base oil, and mixtures thereof. These lubricant blends have surprising low Brookfield viscosities at −40° C.

High performance automotive and industrial lubricants are in demand. Accordingly, lubricant manufacturers must provide finished lubricants that exhibit high performance properties. By way of example, premium quality gear oils have very tough low temperature performance specifications as specified by Brookfield viscosities at −40° C. Depending on the application in which the gear oils will be used, they may also need to exhibit a specific viscosity at 100° C. of greater than about 3 cSt.
Finished lubricants, including gear oils, consist of two general components: one or more lubricating base oils and additives. Lubricating base oil is the major constituent in these finished lubricants and contributes significantly to the properties of the finished lubricant. A few lubricating base oils can be used to manufacture a wide variety of finished lubricants by varying the mixtures of individual lubricating base oils and individual additives. By way of example, for gear oils, Brookfield viscosities are typically adjusted by the addition of pour point depressant to the base oil. Specific viscosities at 100° C. are controlled by blending one or more base oils having different viscosities together. To produce high performance finished lubricants, lubricant manufacturers are seeking higher quality lubricant base oil blend stocks.
A growing source of these high quality lubricant base oil blend stocks is synthetic lubricants. Synthetic lubricants include Fischer-Tropsch lubricant base oils, and in the search for high performance lubricants, attention has recently been focused on Fischer-Tropsch derived lubricants. Although Fischer-Tropsch lubricating base oils are desirable for their biodegradability and low amounts of undesirable impurities such as sulfur, the Fischer-Tropsch derived lubricants generally do not exhibit all of the desirable performance characteristics. Although it is well known in the art to improve performance characteristics through the use of additives, these additives are generally expensive and thus, can significantly increase the cost of the lubricant base oil. In addition, the addition of additives may not be sufficient to achieve the desired performance characteristics. By way of example, blends of one or more Fischer-Tropsch base oils with pour point depressants have very high Brookfield viscosities at −40° C. Furthermore, Fischer-Tropsch derived base oils generally are not available in all the desired ranges of viscosity at 100° C. for finished lubricants. Therefore, Fischer-Tropsch derived base oils must be blended with other base oils to optimize the viscosity.
It is well known in the art to produce synthetic lubricants and there have been many developmental attempts at producing synthetic lubricants with high performance characteristics. By way of example, WO 99/41332 and WO 02/070636 are directed to synthetic lubricant compositions used as automatic transmission fluids and methods for producing these synthetic lubricating base stocks. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/301391, filed on Nov. 20, 2002 and assigned to Chevron U.S.A., relates to lubricating base oil blends comprising a low viscosity Fischer-Tropsch derived base oil fraction and a higher viscosity conventional petroleum derived base oil fraction. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/743932, filed on Dec. 23, 2003 and assigned to Chevron U.S.A., discloses a finished lubricant comprising a blend of a Fischer-Tropsch lubricant base oil with high monocycloparaffins and low multicycloparaffins and an additional base oil selected from a group including petroleum derived base oils.
In spite of research into synthetic lubricants, there remains a need for synthetic lubricants comprising Fischer-Tropsch derived lubricant base oils that exhibit high performance, including good low temperature properties.

Lubricant blends with low brookfield viscosities


The present invention relates to compositions and methods for treating, preventing and improving the condition and aesthetic appearance of skin, particularly, treating, preventing, ameliorating, reducing and/or eliminating fine lines and/or wrinkles of skin, where the compositions include natural plant constituents which increase expression levels genes associated with the dermatological signs of aging. The compositions of the invention are topically applied to the skin, or are delivered by directed means to a site in need thereof, once daily in an amount effective in improving the condition and aesthetic appearance of skin.

There is an increasing demand in the cosmetics industry to develop products that may be applied topically to the skin that improve the condition and appearance of skin. Consumers are interested in mitigating or delaying the dermatological signs of chronologically or hormonally-aged or photo-aged skin, such as fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin, and other conditions due to a progressive degradation of the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ) and of the cell-cell cohesion in the epidermis. During the aging process, the complexion of the skin, i.e., the color and appearance of the skin, deteriorates slowly from aging and/or exposure to sunlight. Numerous cosmetic and medical treatments have been developed in an attempt to treat aging or aged skin. Such cosmetics or treatments commonly contain organic acids as their active ingredients or components. These actives are frequently associated with consumer discomfort, such as burning, itching, and redness.
Therefore, there remains a general need in the cosmetics industry for products that retard or counter the aging effects on the skin, and more specifically for products that produce such effects without undesirable side effects. In particular, there remains a need for topically applied cosmetic compositions that have anti-aging and skin texture benefits using natural plant materials as active components.
Plumbago indica Linn. of the Plumbaginaceae family, also known as Red Plumbago and Jettamoonpleung have been employed for a variety of medicinal purposes. Scraped roots have been used in poultices where the poultices are applied to the head or area that is in pain or inflamed. The bark may also be used as an effective blistering plaster, and may be applied to the spine to treat certain fevers. Plumbago indica Linn. is also said to have anti-dyspeptic, anti-microbial, and anti-fertility activities. The Plumbago indica Linn. laurel is commonly found in tropical Asia and Thailand.
Cananga odorata Lamk. of the Annonaceae family, commonly known as Ylang-Ylang, Alanguilan, and Kradung-nga, and specifically its essential oils may be used in traditional medicine for relieving pain and for relaxation. Canango odorate Lamk. is distributed throughout the entire South Asian region, but principally as a cultivated plant. In particular, this tree is commonly found in all regions of Thailand.
Sapindus rarak of the Sapindaceae family commonly known as the Soap Nut tree and Ma Kam Dee Kao in Thai, may be used in traditional medicine. Decoction of Sapindus rarak fruits may be taken as an anti-pyretic and to relieve asthma. Hot water extracts of the fruits and flowers may also be used externally as an anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-dandruff and against scalp diseases, and to reduce inflammation resulting from rashes. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, Sapindus rarak also has anti-parasitic and analgesic activities. Sapindus rarak commonly grows in a virgin forest up on a mountain mostly in the Northern part of Thailand.
Curcuma Xanthorrhiza Roxb. of the Zingiberaceae family, commonly known as Wild Turmeric and Wan Too Ra Hod in Thai, bears a striking similarity to Cape York Turmeric, only the flower bracts are a deeper pink/purple in color and have a dark stripe up the center of the leaf. However, Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. is not the same as common turmeric or Khamin chan as it is known in Thai, although they bear a resemblance. Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. has often been used medicinally as a drink by cooking dried slices of rhizome in water with palm sugar. Another herbal drink utilizes chopped up bulbs which are boiled in water and palm sugar. Shoots, flowers and rhizomes, as well as young parts of the plant, may be eaten raw or cooked. Asian cultures use this plant in mixtures for liver, gallstones, and indigestion complaints. Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. has also been shown to aid in the reduction of cholesterol and cleansing the blood. The Curcuma plant family has been used for centuries in Thailand, Java, and Bali to beautify, perfume, tighten and deodorize the skin. Tumeric, or Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb, has been shown to have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties. The key constituent of Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb., curcumin, reduces inflammation by up to about 50% and functions as an anti-oxidant.
Physalis minima Linn. of the Solanaceae family, also known as Sunberry, Gooseberry, and Tong Tang, is commonly used in traditional medicine. The fruit is considered to be a tonic, diuretic and purgative in the Punjab (India). The Mundas (a tribe) of Chhota-Nagpur mix the juice of the leaves with water and mustard oil and use it as a remedy against earaches. The Physalis minima plant has appetite stimulating, diuretic, laxative, and anti-inflammatory activities. The plant may also be used to treat enlargement of the spleen and various abdominal conditions. Physalis minima Linn. is commonly found in Thailand, particularly in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Angtong, Nakornsrithummarath, and Mahasarakham.
Stephania rotunda Lour. of the Menispermaceae family is a vined plant, and its common Thai name is Boorapet Pung Chang. Decoction of leaves and roots is taken as an appetite stimulant in traditional medicine. The flowers may be used externally for treating skin diseases such as ringworm and fungus infection. Stephania rotunda Lour. may also be used for ulcer treatment and is generally known to have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory activities. This plant commonly grows in Southern Thailand.
It would be desirable to have a topical composition comprising a natural plant material to improve the aesthetic appearance of skin. It would also be desirable to have an effective treatment for the dermatological signs of aging. Therefore, safe, effective and new compositions to treat, prevent, reduce, inhibit, and/or improve the dermatological signs of aging, would be advantageous for the formulation of treatments and products for the skin. As described herein, novel and beneficial methods and compositions, as well as their mode of action, for the treatment of wrinkles and the like, as well as for personal care products for the skin, are provided by the present invention.

Compositions and methods of their use for improving the condition and appearance of skin


A lawn sprinkler accessory with a hollow body defining a chamber for holding lawn treatment material, such as fertilizer, herbicide or insecticide. The accessory body has a hollow water inlet arm on one side and a hollow water outlet arm on the opposite side of the chamber. An access opening with a removable closure in one end of the accessory body enables the insertion of lawn treatment material into the chamber and its removal from the chamber.

This invention relates to a lawn sprinkler accessory enabling the automatic addition of a lawn treatment material, such as fertilizer, herbicide or insecticide, to the water being sprinkled on the lawn.
The present invention is particularly advantageous for use with a lawn sprinkler system having in-ground conduits leading from a water supply to sprinkler heads at different locations on the lawn. However, it may be used as well with a sprinkler system having just a garden hose leading from the water supply to an on-the-ground sprinkler or a hand-held nozzle on the hose itself.
In accordance with this invention, a sprinkler accessory is provided for connection between a conventional source of water under pressure, such as a municipal water system or a well from which water is pumped, and the user""s lawn sprinkler system. A supply of the chosen lawn treatment material is placed in the accessory. The supply water in passing through the accessory to the sprinkler system gradually dissolves the treatment material and entrains it, so that the treatment material is contained in the water being sprayed on the lawn.
A principal object of this invention is to provide a novel and advantageous lawn sprinkler accessory for adding a lawn treatment material to the water being sprinkled on the lawn.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawing.


Provided herein is are computer-implemented methods, computer-implemented systems, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for registering a user's eye gaze profile via a mobile device having a screen and a front facing camera. Also provided herein is are computer-implemented methods, computer-implemented systems, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for determining a spoofing attempt by a user during a request to access a resource via a mobile device.

Many physical locations and document databases employ security measures to prevent access to those without authorization. Such locations may include, for example, schools, universities, laboratories, private businesses, government agencies, or military sites. Such documents may include financial documents, medical documents, military documents, or any other sensitive documents. In some cases, identifying those with authorization to access a location or a data comprises identifying an individual based on their appearance.
Appearance identification may be performed manually by, for example, a security guard recognizing authorized persons and/or by confirming the appearance of authorized persons with their photographic identification. In these cases, the number of authorized individuals may be dependent upon the security guard's memory, and/or the ease of copying and forging such photographic identification.
Alternatively, although biometric data acquisition methods, such as three-dimensional (3D) scans, may be used to compare the appearance of an individual to a database of authorized users, such technologies may be prohibitively expensive and time consuming for many applications.
As a middle ground between photographic identification and 3D scanning, liveness detection or anti-spoofing systems may be employed to: photograph an individual requesting access, determine if the photograph of that individual matches a stored photograph of an authorized person, and further, determine if the photograph captured represents a photo of a live human being, or if the individual is attempting to "spoof" the system.
"Spoofing" a security system is generally defined as a means of masquerading as an authenticated user by submitting false data. In this case, methods of liveness detection may be employed to measure a biometric modality, such as a face structure, to distinguish the physical presence a three-dimensional live user from a two-dimensional photographic image.

Methods, systems, and media for anti-spoofing using eye-tracking


The present disclosure provides a serving assembly that comprises multiple components suitable for different food products, but which connect together easily into one unit. The components can be, in one embodiment, a cutting board, a bowl, and a tray. The tray can have a compartment for storing utensils.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a serving assembly. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a multi-functional serving assembly that has components for displaying, storing, and cutting food products.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Serving trays or platters can be useful when entertaining groups of people, to present or display food products. However, many currently available platters are very limited in their functionality—they can typically store only one kind of food (e.g., breads, crackers, or dips). This requires users to purchase and store multiple platters or trays for different kinds of food, and the appropriate utensils for the same, which can be very inconvenient.
Accordingly, there is a need to address these and other disadvantages of currently available serving platters or devices.


A coupling system includes an applicator tool, an anastomotic prosthesis mounted on the applicator tool, and an engagement device. The applicator tool deploys a securement through the prosthesis and tissue which leaves the prosthesis attached to the tissue. The engagement device selectively engages the applicator tool onto the tissue, with the use of suction, in order to facilitate accurate placement of the prosthesis on the tissue and facilitate deployment of the securement into the tissue. The applicator tool and the tissue are able to move together while the engagement device prevents or inhibits relative movement between the applicator tool and the tissue. A method for securing an anastomotic prosthesis to tissue includes applying of suction to engage an applicator tool to the tissue while a securement is deployed out of the applicator tool and into the prosthesis and the tissue.

Surgical procedures for connecting an anastomotic prosthesis to biological tissue, such as a blood vessel and the heart, have required manually suturing the prosthesis to the tissue. Manual suturing can be difficult due to limited access to, location of, and/or type of tissue. As an alternative or a compliment to manual suturing, an applicator tool can be used to deploy clips, sutures, and/or other types of securement for connecting the prosthesis to the tissue. The applicator tool can be used during minimally invasive surgery. During one type of minimally invasive surgery, a small hole or port may be created through the patient's body to give the surgeon access from outside of the body into a body cavity. The surgeon can have limited visibility of the target site and limited space for operation. Thus, the applicator tool can help to connect the surgeon to this target site and provide a constant connection with the target site to perform the targeted procedure.
When using an applicator tool, tissue may shift in position and/or move away from the applicator tool, which makes it difficult to accurately place the prosthesis at the desired location and to deploy the securement into the tissue. For example, when the tissue is a blood vessel or the heart, pulsatile blood flow may cause the tissue to shift in position. Even when blood flow is temporarily blocked or bypassed, the wet and slippery tissue may be pushed away instead of being pierced by the securement being deployed by the applicator tool. Even if surrounding tissue is secured, such as with temporary sutures, to a fixed structure like a surgical bed or a sternum retractor used to hold open the chest cavity, the tissue and applicator tool may still move relative to each other while the applicator tool is held by the surgeon. Relative movement between the tissue and applicator tool can cause inaccurate deployment of securement by the applicator tool.
There is a continuing need to make the procedure for connecting a prosthesis to tissue easier and faster to perform. There is also a need to engage an applicator tool to tissue during deployment of securement by an applicator tool.

Engagement device and method for deployment of anastomotic clips


A safety device in a motor vehicle includes a sensor which provides an output relating to a physical quantity such as acceleration. The signal is passed to a subtracting circuit and the output of the subtracting circuit is fed to a further circuit arrangement which derives a signal value corresponding to an off-set component present in the signal, this signal value being subtracted from the original signal to provide an output which relates solely to the component of the original signal corresponding to the measured physical quantity. The output of the subtracting circuit is used to initiate the operation of the safety device such as an air-bag or seat belt pre-tensioner.

1. Field of the Invention
THIS INVENTION relates to a safety device and more particularly relates to a safety device which incorporates an electrical arrangement adapted to be used in combination with a sensor to activate a safety device in a motor vehicle, for example, when an accident occurs.
2Description of Related Art
It is to be understood that when a vehicle is involved in an accident it is often necessary to trigger a safety device, such as, for example, an air-bag, which may be rapidly inflated to provide a "cushion" to protect a person travelling in the vehicle, or to apply a "pre-tension" to a safety belt. A sensor is provided which senses deceleration of a predetermined nature consistent with the deceleration experienced during accident conditions, and controls the operation of the air-bag. The present invention relates to an electrical arrangement for use with such a sensor in a safety device.


A crane operation evaluation device for evaluating an operation status of an operator of a crane performing a crane work by using drive power of an engine. The crane operation evaluation device includes: a display device provided at a position of the crane that is visible to the operator and serving to display predetermined data; a detector for detecting a state of a given part of the crane; and a data control unit that, after a stopping operation of the engine, derives a first fuel consumption index for analyzing a fuel consumption efficiency of the crane work performed between the most recent start of the engine and the stop of the engine by the stopping operation and a first work index for analyzing content of such crane work, on the basis of detection data of the detector, and causes the display device to display the derived first fuel consumption index and first work index.

Operators have been stimulated to reduce fuel consumption by displaying indexes for reducing fuel consumption on a display means in a work mechanism such as a shovel (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In the shovel disclosed in Patent Document 1, fuel consumption per unit time or fuel consumption per work amount is measured during the work, and the difference between the measured fuel consumption per unit time and a target value of fuel consumption per unit time that has been set, or the difference between the measured fuel consumption per work amount and a target value of fuel consumption per work amount that has been set is displayed on a display means. Further, in this shovel, when the measured fuel consumption per unit time is larger than the target value of fuel consumption per unit time, or when the measured fuel consumption per work amount is larger than the target value of fuel consumption per work amount, a guidance instructing to improve fuel efficiency is displayed on the display means.
However, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the display for improving fuel efficiency is performed on the display means during the work and therefore the concentration of operator is divided between the crane work and the recognition of the display contents. As a result, the operator cannot sufficiently maintain the accuracy of crane work and also cannot sufficiently review the work contents for improving fuel efficiency. Further, where attention is called only to the improvement of fuel efficiency, without demonstrating the work results, as in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the total cost reduction is impossible to achieve. Thus, even if fuel consumption is low, where a very small work has been performed, the actual cost of this work can be high.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-98988.


A method is provided for interconnecting a single electrical heating element of a hot water heater to first and second AC electrical power sources. Typically, these first and second AC electrical power sources include a utility provided electrical power source and a renewable power source that generates AC power from DC power. The method includes operating a controller that selectively connects and disconnects the first and second power sources. If sufficient electrical power is available from the renewable power source, the utility provided electrical power source may be disconnected to preferentially utilize renewable energy.

In household and commercial usage, most hot water heaters in North America, as well as numerous other countries, are of a storage type. Such storage type water heaters typically include a cylindrical vessel/container (i.e., tank) in which water is kept continuously hot and ready for use. Typical sizes for household use range from about 20 to 120 U.S. gallons. Water heaters for commercial applications are often much larger. Heating the water in the tank may is typically affected by way of electrical heating elements or fossil fuel burners (e.g., natural gas, propane, fuel oil, bio mass, etc.) burners. Often, the source of the energy for heating is a local utility.
In most hot water heaters, water is introduced into the storage tank via a water supply inlet pipe. Water typically enters residences in the US at about 50° F. though this varies with latitude of the residence and the season. An electrical element within the tank or a burner disposed beneath the tank is selectively operated to heat the water within the tank to a preset temperature. For instance, hot water temperatures of 105-120° F. are typically preferred for residential applications. Operation of the element or burner is controlled by a thermostat that monitors/measures the temperature within the tank. When the water within the tank is below a desired temperature, the electrical element is energized or the burner is ignited to heat the tank and the water therein.
Energy efficiencies of water heaters in residential use can vary greatly based on manufacturer, model and/or age. Gas fired water heaters typically have efficiencies of between about 55% and 95%. Electric water heaters have high efficiencies (e.g., above 95%) once the electricity enters the home but are more costly to operate due to electricity generation and transmission costs. In either case, a typical household expends roughly 30% of its total energy use heating water.

Control systems for renewable hot water heating systems


Disclosed is a corner tile elongated support strip in the form of a sandwich with the center portion of the sandwich being made of a high density small bead foam with the outer sides of the sandwich being made of high impact extruded plastic. The center portion provides a stress barrier to keep stresses generated in the support structure from reaching the corner trim tile to reduce its tendency to crack.

It is known in the tiling field that when tiling counter tops, cabinets or the like, many times cracking of the tile cap is incurred. Therefore it is desirous to provide a method and/or apparatus which eliminates or highly reduces the occurrence of the above mentioned problem.
In the past attempts have been made to reduce the likelihood of cracking the adhesive and/or the tile cap. Such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,438, wherein they provide a method and apparatus which includes a channel shaped cap support strip for a cap strip of a tiled counter top which is formed with a plurality of projecting tongues that are embedded within the adhesive that overlies the horizontal surface of the counter, with the body of the cap support strip channel being nailed to the vertical surface of the front of the counter. The tongues, embedded in the adhesive that holds the tile in pace, hold the upper part of the cap support strip securely tied to the counter top and "in theory" helps to prevent cracking of the tile caps, however in practise this and other prior art apparatus's have proved un-satisfactory due to the traveling stress in both walls and floors which is transferred to the tile cap.
Traveling stress in both walls and floors have been recognized and addressed in the prior art in the ceramic tile trade since its beginning. Most workman in the trade today are cognizant of the various causes and conditions that create this problem but are helpless to minimize or alleviate them.
In relatively recent times traveling stress in the rail of mud-set countertops, has been an increasing problem. The inventors of the present invention have consulted with every knowledgeable source immediately available, and the best answer found was both vague and ambiguous. This is to that the consensus of opinion is that stress is caused by movement. That kind of answer gives one little satisfaction when standing and looking at a countertop with stress-cracked tile running half way around it, as if a pair of giant hands had torn those tiles apart as easily as a person tears a piece of newspaper.
With this in mind, we have analyzed the possible sources of movement starting at the bottom. First, there is the compaction of the soil under a post footing. The moisture in the soil could dry out with a possibility of a 1/32" movement downward. Second, the redwood block under the post sitting on the footing could compress 1/32". Third, the post itself could shrink 1/32". Fourth, the beam on the post could shrink 1/32". This next item has a potential for being the worst culprit of all the others put together, that being 3/4" flakeboard sub-flooring. The reason for this is, even though bonding resins are waterproof, the wood fibers are not. When left out in the weather before the roof is on, they will expand 1/4". This doesn't affect its structural integrity, however, covering it with underlayment and setting cabinets on it is tantamount to setting cabinets over carpet pad and in a worst scenario, the potential for movement is up to 3/8".
In the prior art, most kitchen cabinets in the past were custom fabricated as a single unit built from solid 3/4" wood or 3/4" plywood, while today's cabinets are primarily modular units and the only things that are 3/4" solid wood are face frames and doors. The side panels are 3/8" particleboard and the back panels are 1/4" masonite. The bottoms and shelving are 1/4" masonite, veneered. In the past, face frames were nailed and glued and had corner and angle blocking. Most modular units today are glued and might have a few pins or staples in them. One can readily see that these newer cabinets do not contribute to a stable base for the mud countertops. The tile manual recommends slash cutting in 3/4" plywood tops or 1'.times.6" boards placed at 1/4 intervals. However, in the opinion of many workman it can be argued that a solid 3/4" plywood top contributes more to the structural integrity of the whole, especially on the front of the cabinet because of the fact there is a 4" toe kick at the base of the cabinet. This means the face of the cabinet is cantilevered and is getting all its support from the side panels. This is especially true on overhanging countertops with a serving area. In the latter, it is imperative that, in order to get any support at all, the korbels be aligned over the modular unit side panel joints.
Two other points must be considered when discussing particleboard: first, the fact that particleboard resin used in the manufacturing process contains formaldehyde as a drying agent, and a 4'.times.8' sheet of particleboard can shrink in size up to 1/8" during the curing. It also takes up moisture very readily under extremely damp conditions. In either case, there is a possibility of popping its own glue joints. Second, there is a tendency to buckle under stress. Now that the movement that can transpire from the ground to the underlayment and the variables involved in the cabinet itself are understood, next comes the big question! How does all this downward vertical movement relate to stress in the rail?
This can best be answered by visualizing a sectional view of a cabinet with a tile countertop. The first thing that happens is a downward movement of the face of the cabinet caused by one or more of the aforementioned possibilities. At this point the stress is felt only on the face of the cabinet, but at the same time, is magnified by the fact that the pivot point for the stress is at the base of the cabinet where it meets the toe kick, which is secured to the floor. There is no downward stress on the back of the cabinet, as it is firmly secured to the outside wall, where it remains stable.
Now visualize the rough top, which is essentially an elongated rectangular member that is firmly secured to the back wall of the cabinet and the hardwood face frame. The stress in now transferred to the rough top, and by its downward movement, changes our rough top into a parallelogram when viewed from a level plane with the pressure point being the top front corner, which essentially acts as a wedge. At this point, one must bear in mind that the mud-set ceramic countertop is a rigid, monolithic unit without tolerance for flexibility. At this point the stress is telegraphed through the convention prior art A-metal and the mud backing on the rail apron. Next, a basic law of physics comes into play, the law of compound leverage. The stress is transferred vertically to the top of the rail seeking the weakest point to expend its energies and is on the tail side of the rail. The origin of this stress usually starts in the middle of an area that has the most severe movement. Then it goes trough the aforementioned steps and travels in both directions of the rail until its energies have been released.
It is therefore desirable to provide means to remove and keep the stress generated by any one or any combination of the above described stresses from reaching the tile corner cap to reduce its potential to crack, and it is this problem which the present invention addresses.

Apparatus for supporting a title counter cap


An image scanning device includes: a light source; a light guide for converting light from the light source into a linear light beam and applying the linear light beam onto a reading position; an image reading element for receiving the light beam reflected from the reading position; and a light intensity sensor for detecting an intensity of the light emitted from the light source.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image scanning device that is used in an image forming apparatus for reading images, the image forming apparatus including, for example, copiers, printers, facsimiles and combined machines thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to an image scanning device wherein light from a light source is guided into a light guide and converted into a linear light beam which is applied onto a reading position. In a case where the intensity of light emitted from the light source varies due to change in the characteristics of the light source or the like, the image scanning device of the invention can quickly detect the change in light intensity and provide quick and proper correction of the intensity or distribution of the linear light beam emitted from the light source through the light guide.
2. Description of the Related Art
The image forming apparatus, such as copiers, printers, facsimiles and combined machines thereof, employs the image scanning device for digitizing or copying a document image and the like.
Such image scanning devices typically employ a contact image sensor (CIS system) or a charge-coupled device (CCD system).
The image scanning device employing the CIS system can be downsized so as to be suitable for reading document. However, this type of scanning device has a short focal depth and is not adapted to scan a three-dimensional object. On the other hand, the image scanning device employing the CCD system is adapted to scan the three-dimensional object but requires an increased optical path length between the reading position irradiated with light and an image reading element. As a result, this type of image scanning device has a larger size than that employing the CIS system.
In the image scanning device employing the CCD system, a document 2 placed on a glass platen 1 is typically scanned as follows. As shown in FIG. 1, light from a light source 3a disposed in a first slider unit 3 driven by a motor (not shown) or the like and the light emitted from the light source 3a and reflected by a reflector plate 3b are applied onto a reading position P for the document 2. The light reflected from the document 2 and carrying image information is reflected by a first reflective mirror 3c disposed in the first slider unit 3.
The light carrying the image information and reflected by the first reflective mirror 3c is reflected by a second reflective mirror 4a and a third reflective mirror 4b disposed in a second slider unit 4 driven by a motor (not shown) or the like. The reflected light is focused by a lens 5 onto a photoreceptive surface of an image reading element 6.
Subsequently, the above-described first slider unit 3 and second slider unit 4 are operated to scan the whole document 2 on the glass platen 1.
While the conventional scanning devices have generally employed fluorescent lamps, halogen lamps and the like as the above light source 3a, the use of light-emitting diode (LED) light source or organic electroluminescent element is drawing attention from the standpoint of power saving and low heat generation.
More recently, devices, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2007-300536 and 2009-25679, have been proposed wherein an LED light source is provided at an end of an elongate light guide so that the light from the LED light source is applied by the light guide in the form of the linear light beam.
In the case where the light guide emits the light from the LED light source in the form of the linear light beam, it is necessary to make proper settings of intensity and distribution of the linear light beam applied from the LED light source through the light guide.
The proper settings of intensity and distribution of the linear light beam applied from the LED light source through the light guide may be made as follows. The above first slider unit and second slider unit are moved to locate the light guide with the LED light source at a suitable position relative to the glass platen, or commonly at position corresponding to a shading sheet as a white reference member provided at an end of the glass platen.
The linear light beam is applied onto the shading sheet via the light guide while the reflected light beam therefrom is made incident on the photoreceptive surface of the image reading element. Proper adjustments are accomplished by correcting the intensity of the linear light beam applied from the LED light source through the light guide and an amplification factor of the image reading element.
If the intensity of the light emitted from this LED light source varies due to the change in the characteristics of the LED light source, the intensity and distribution of the linear light beam applied from the LED light source through the light guide is corrected properly. Each time the correction is made, the above-described operations must be done which include: moving the first slider unit and second slider unit to locate the light guide with the LED light source at position corresponding to the shading sheet; applying the linear light beam to the shading sheet through the light guide and making the reflected light therefrom incident on the photoreceptive surface of the image reading element; and correcting the intensity of the linear light beam applied from the LED light source through the light guide and the amplification factor of the image reading element.
However, such operations are cumbersome and time consuming so that the image forming apparatus is significantly decreased in image formation efficiency. Particularly in the device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-25679 wherein the light guide is provided with the LED light sources at opposite ends thereof and the LED light sources are activated in turn to make adjustments, the operations become more complicated and time consuming. An image scanning device equipped with an automatic document feeder for automatically feeding a large quantity of documents will cause a significant decrease in the image formation efficiency of the image forming apparatus.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


A vacuum drainage system for sanitary equipment such as toilets, urinals and sinks etc., comprising branching pipes connected to the sanitary equipment and ending in a collecting pipe (5), and a vacuum device (2) connected to the collecting pipe (5) producing vacuum in the pipes and transporting sewerage from the sanitary equipment to e.g. a collection tank (1) or purification plant. The vacuum device comprises one or optionally several screw pumps (2) with a mill or grinding device for grinding solid particles in the sewerage and being connected directly to the collecting pipe (5).

The present invention concerns a vacuum drainage system for sanitary equipment such as toilets, urinals and sinks etc., comprising branching pipes which are connected to the sanitary equipment and which open into a collecting pipe, as well as a vacuum device connected to the collecting pipe to achieve a vacuum in the pipes and transport of waste from the sanitary equipment to a collecting tank, a purifying plant, a drainage device etc.
Waste treatment devices of the above mentioned type are today dominating in connection with use aboard ships, planes and trains. However, on land such plants are also increasingly used, and the background for this is primarily the reduced use of water and the flexible system for the pipes given by such systems.
From Swedish publication no. 389.882 there is previously known a vacuum drainage system where a circulation pump is mounted in a pipe loop and is equipped to stir, divide and aerate the contents in the tank. An ejector pump is further connected to the pipe loop and produces a vacuum in the drainage system. The ejector pump is thus driven by the sewer which is circulated in the pipe loop by the circulation pump. It is, however, a major drawback with the circulation pump, which is of a centrifugal type, that it easily is clogged by textiles, sanitation utensils etc. which enters the tank. By such a clogging the pump must be removed and cleaned, something which means a break in its operation and increased operation costs. In addition it is a major disadvantage with such drainage systems that they comprise a large and space-requiring collecting tank which makes it unsuited for use in facilities, inter alia smaller boats, where the room is scarce.
The system is otherwise expensive to produce/build since it uses two pumps, an ejector pump and a centrifugal pump together with an extra pipe loop and collection tank.
The tank must have such a size and at every time be able to contain such a fluid quantity (sewer) that foaming in the tank is avoided. Foaming of the fluid results in the ejector losing its pumping effect, and it has been shown in practice that even if there is maintained a large circulating fluid quantity in the tank will foaming arise anyway in some cases, inter alia in connection with cleaning of-the toilets where soap water is supplied to the tank.
In the applicant's own Norwegian patent application no. 87.1539 there is shown a collection system for vacuum drainage systems wherein it is used a vacuum tank with two chambers an a separately driven grinder. Sewer is supplied to the first chamber of the tank and is ground and transferred to the second chamber by using the grinder. A vacuum pump, inter alia a screw pump, produces vacuum in the tank and pumps the contents of the said second chamber out of the tank. Even if one with the above mentioned system has solved the problems with clogging and operation halt, the system is comparatively expensive to build and relatively space-requiring.


By conducting etching treatment using at least two steps with different compositions of gases for each step, and at least one step comprising using a gas capable of decomposing and vaporizing etching products in an etching apparatus continuously, semicondictor devices can be produced with high productivity, low contaminant and good reproducibility of treatment state.

The present invention relates to a process for producing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a process for producing a semiconductor device characterized by effectively removing etching products retained in a treating room.
With recent higher integration of semiconductor devices, circuit patterns become finer and finer to make required processing dimensional accuracy severer. Under such circumstances, reproducibility of treated state becomes important.
For example, in an etching process wherein high processing accuracy is required, in order to realize an anisotropic etching, there is realized a process wherein etching is conducted while protecting side walls with a polymer produced by the etching. But the production of polymer changes depending on the amount of etching product retained in a treating room and wafer temperature. Thus, when the amount of reaction products retained in the treating room changes in each treatment, deposition state of side wall protective film causes deviation among wafers, resulting in causing a problem of poor reproducibility of etching shape. In a recent production process of semi-conductors, even if a deviation of processing dimension is about 10 nm or less, there sometimes produce defective devices.
Further, an etching product retaining in the treating room forms a deposited film on inner wall of the etching apparatus, and peels off when the film thickness reaches to some extent to attach to wafer surface. Such peeled materials are called as contaminants and function as masks at the time of etching processing to produce etching residues, which are one important cause for defective products.
In order to remove such etching products, for example, JP-A-5-144779 proposes to improve quality of the deposited film formed on inner wall of the etching apparatus, and JP-A-7-153751 proposes to conduct dry cleaning using plasma of mixed gases of oxygen gas and chlorine gas.
According to JP-A-5-144779, etching is conducted under conditions for improving the quality of film so as to make the deposited film on inner wall of etching apparatus hardly peeled off. According to this reference, prevention of generation of contaminants may be effective due to difficult peeling of the deposited film on the inner wall of the apparatus, but it is impossible to solve the problem of shift of etching ability by the deposited substance due to a premise of retaining the deposited substance.
According to JP-A-7-153751, a step for plasma cleaning is provided during etching treatment separated from an etching step, said process being characterized by a material to be etched and an etching gas, or a photo-resist made from a carbon compound which is a mask material at the time of etching and a gas composition for removing so-called etching products generated by polymerization of etching gas. According to this process, by removing etching products at each interval of treatment so as to make the reaction products retained in the treating chamber not exceed a predetermined amount, the reproducibility of etching shape is retained within a predetermined value and the formation of deposited film on inner wall of etching apparatus is to be prevented. But the step for plasma cleaning conducted separately from the etching step during etching treatment is a step not pertaining to the production, and thus equal to xe2x80x9cdowntimexe2x80x9d (a time when the apparatus is stopped) from the viewpoint of productivity. Therefore, this process considers cleaning effect for the etching products, but does not consider productivity.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for producing a semiconductor device overcoming the problems of prior art mentioned above, said process capable of attaining reproducibility of treatment state and lowering of contaminants by removing reaction products retained in a treating room, while assuring productivity.
The present invention provides a process for producing a semiconductor device using a plasma treating apparatus comprising an etching treatment room, a substrate stage for placing a semiconductor substrate thereon installed in the etching treatment room, a plasma generating means for generating plasma in the etching treatment room, and a gas introducing means for introducing a treating gas into the etching treatment room,
said process comprising subjecting the semiconductor substrate placed on the substrate stage to etching treatment using gases,
wherein the etching treatment comprises at least two steps using different gas compositions in each step in the same etching treatment room continuously, and at least one step comprises using a gas capable of decomposing and vaporizing compounds produced by the etching treatment.
The present invention also provides a process for producing a semiconductor device mentioned above, wherein the substrate stage has an electrode for electrostatic adsorption and the decomposing and removing step is used for further removing electrode voltage and charge stored in the semiconductor substrate.
The present invention further provides a plasma etching treatment apparatus used for the above-mentioned processes, and a semiconductor device thus produced.

Process for producing a semiconductor device including etching using a multi-step etching treatment having different gas compositions in each step


Systems providing improved methods of performing a spinal fusion procedure and including a monorail instrument that protects the medial neural structures, includes a sliding platform for additional instrumentation and allows controlled delivery of various instruments for disc preparation and implant insertion. The monorail instrument engages other instruments, including various instruments utilized to prepare the disc space as well as spinal fusion implants, for guided and controlled insertion into the disc space. The monorail instrument may be a distractor, and may include flutes for preparation of the disc space.

The spinal column is a flexible column formed from a linear series of vertebral bones separated by intervertebral discs. These discs reduce friction between adjacent vertebrae and absorb compression forces applied to the spinal column. A vertebra includes an anterior body and a posterior arch that surrounds the spinal cord. Spinal nerves extend from each side of the spinal cord and exit the column at the vertebral foramen, which is formed by the posterior arch. Articular processes, including the superior articular process and the inferior articular process, are small flat projections on the surfaces of the arches.
There are four facet joints associated with each vertebrae, and these joints interlock with adjacent vertebrae. In this manner, facets on the opposing processes determine the range and direction of movement between adjacent vertebrae, hence the flexibility of the spinal column. The facet joints maintain spinal stability, protect the disc from excessive stress, and assist the discs in allowing motion and controlling shear forces. These joints are vulnerable to degenerative spinal disorders.
Degenerative disc disease is typically caused by a loss of disc space height, leading to a narrowing of the neural foramen and subsequent neural compression, and causing back and radicular pain. Instability of the posterior elements can lead to a condition known as spondylolisthesis, in which a vertebral body slips forward in relation to an adjacent vertebrae. This movement of the vertebral body narrows the foramen and results in painful pressure on the nerve roots.
Degenerative disc disease may often be resolved through a spinal fusion procedure using an interbody implant (one which is implanted between the bodies of two adjacent vertebrae). Such interbody implants may be formed from titanium, carbon fiber, allograft, or other suitable material including, but not limited to, biocompatible materials such as PEEK™, available from Invibio®. Implantation of a substitute graft is designed to reestablish normal disc height, provide immediate stability to the motion segment, and provide a matrix for fusion. When the implant grows into the existing bone, the fusion becomes solid and movement is eliminated at that level. A fusion procedure may also involve the surgical implantation of hardware, such as plates, screws or cages.
In order to fuse and thereby stabilize the motion segment, the disc space must be prepared prior to insertion of the interbody device. Soft tissue, such as disc material and cartilage, and other such tissue, is cleaned off the vertebral endplates so that intimate bony contact is obtained between the graft, implant and host tissue. The preparation of the disc space can be achieved with scrapers, curettes, rongeurs, drills, rasps and/or chisels. In preparing the disc space, it is important not to remove too much of the endplate in order to maintain structural integrity so that the interbody implant does not telescope into the vertebral body when normal axial loads are applied.
Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF) is one surgical fusion technique used to treat degenerative lumbar disc disease. Proper distraction during a PLIF procedure must be achieved in order to gain compression of the implant. Proper distraction allows natural compression across the disc space via the annulus and other posterior elements. This compression delivered to the implant helps stabilize the implant, which avoids expulsion, and keeps the grafting material under stress, thus promoting faster fusion and bone healing.
Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF), also referred to as an extended PLIF, was developed in response to problems associated with PLIF procedures. In the TLIF approach, the disc space is expanded by removing one entire facet joint, while a PLIF is usually performed on both sides of the facet, removing a portion of each of the joints. Removal of the entire facet joint improves visualization into the disc space, allowing removal of more disc material and insertion of a larger implant. Other procedures have been developed to provide anterior column support as well, including the Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF) and extreme lateral interbody fusion techniques that access the vertebrae through the psoas muscle.
The instruments used in current procedures include design limitations that fail to address the challenges of the neural anatomy or require numerous instruments and steps that add significant time to the surgical procedure. Delivery of an interbody device requires a large amount of bone resection and neural retraction. Removal of the lamina and facet joint, which may be necessary in order to insert the implant, can potentially destabilize the motion segment. In addition, there is increased surgical time due to the more extensive bone removal and disc preparation. Destabilization of the motion segment can interfere with compression of the interbody device, especially in a "stand alone" situation in which additional hardware is not utilized. Therefore, it is necessary to balance the need to deliver an appropriately sized interbody device (to restore the appropriate disc height) without destabilizing the segment (so the necessary compression can occur).
Furthermore, existing methods of introducing interbody implants into the disc space, the freehand method and the controlled method, include disadvantages. First, existing surgical techniques in which an implant is inserted into the disc space freehand (without controlled access) and impacted into proper position present dangers to delicate neural structures. Each time an instrument is introduced or removed from the surgical site, there is a chance that delicate structures, such as the spinal cord or nerve roots, could be compromised, potentially causing severe damage. Additionally, maintaining constant distraction is a challenge, as instruments are passed by the neural structures "freehand." Moreover, if a distractor is placed in the contralateral side of implantation, it does not always address the distraction needs of the operative side.
In existing "controlled" procedures, the instruments used to provide protected access to the disc space often occupy an excessive amount of the disc space. As a result, an implant smaller than that which the disc space is capable of accepting must be used. This smaller implant does not restore proper disc space height and therefore the stability of the fusion is compromised. Furthermore, these instruments require much more bony resection in order to be placed correctly, thus further destabilizing the spine.
In another existing controlled procedure, a series of instruments slide through a channel of a wide profile distractor. This design limits visualization and neural retraction. In addition, the design introduces a significant amount of lateralization to the placement of the implants for PLIF procedures: the implants are spaced farther apart from one another and must be implanted with a significant amount of space between them. Further, this delivery design has poor anatomical fit, as it creates a dead space between the external wall of the retractor and the load bearing surface of the implant.
Thus, there is a need for a system that allows delivery of the appropriate size interbody device (in order to restore disc height), and adequate neural retraction without compromising visualization of the surgical site.


A method is provided for monitoring an SCR catalytic converter (12), in which method the NH3 storage capacity of the SCR catalytic converter (12) is monitored. The SCR catalytic converter (12) is initially filled in an overdosing phase with a superstoichiometric reducing agent dosing up to the maximum NH3 storage capacity. The catalytic converter is subsequently acted on in an underdosing phase with a reducing agent dosing which is reduced in relation to a normal dosing or is absent. The NH3 storage capacity is indirectly determined during the underdosing phase by determining at least one characteristic value which is dependent on the NOx conversion rate. According to the invention, to detect NH3 slippage (25), which indicates the transition from the overdosing phase to the underdosing phase, a variable which is characteristic of the NOx conversion is continuously measured during the overdosing phase, and in the event of a fall in the NOx conversion, it is inferred that NH3 slippage (25) is present.

The invention relates to a method for monitoring an SCR catalytic converter, in which an NH3 storage capacity of the SCR catalytic converter is monitored.
Methods and devices for operating an internal combustion engine, in particular in a motor vehicle, in the exhaust-gas region of which is arranged an SCR catalytic converter (Selective Catalytic Reduction) by means of which the nitrogen oxides (NOx) contained in the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine are reduced in the presence of a reducing agent to form nitrogen, are known. The proportion of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas can be considerably reduced in this way. For the reaction to take place, ammonia (NH3) is required, which ammonia is admixed to the exhaust gas. As reactant or reducing agent, therefore, use is made of NH3 or reagents which split off NH3. In general, use is made of an aqueous urea solution which is injected into the exhaust section upstream of the SCR catalytic converter by means of a dosing device. NH3, which acts as reducing agent, is formed from said solution. The dosing of the reducing agent takes place preferably as a function of the nitrogen oxide emissions of the engine, and is therefore dependent in particular on the present speed and torque of the engine.
The basic principle of the SCR catalytic converter is that of the nitrogen oxide molecules being reduced on the catalytic converter surface in the presence of ammonia to form elementary nitrogen. The required dosing rate is determined in an electronic control unit, in which are stored strategies for the operation and monitoring of the SCR system.
Within the context of the so-called on-board diagnosis (OBD), the SCR system must be monitored as a component which is relevant with regard to emissions. Here, the OBD limit values, which are specified usually as a multiple of the legally defined emissions limit values, must be adhered to. With regard to the SCR catalytic converter, it must be ensured that the OBD limit value for nitrogen oxides is adhered to, that is to say the monitoring functions must ensure that, in the event of the corresponding limit value being exceeded, the SCR catalytic converter is identified as being defective.
To measure nitrogen oxide values, an SCR catalytic converter generally comprises at least one NOx sensor. Presently conventional NOx sensors have cross-sensitivity to NH3, such that the sensor signal indicates not exclusively the NOx concentration but rather a summed signal of NOx and NH3. The sensor signal from a NOx sensor arranged downstream of an SCR catalytic converter therefore cannot be assigned unequivocally to the NOx concentration or the NH3 concentration. That is to say, an increase of the sensor signal downstream of the SCR catalytic converter can on the one hand be a sign of an increase in NOx concentration and therefore a decreasing NOx conversion rate in the catalytic converter. On the other hand, an increase in the signal may also indicate a breakthrough of pure ammonia, that is to say an increase in NH3 concentration. A direct distinction is not possible between NOx and NH3. Since ammonia is harmful to health and to the environment in high concentrations, the breakthrough of pure ammonia, so-called NH3 slippage, should as far as possible be prevented.
Of decisive importance for the functioning of the SCR catalytic converter is its storage capacity for NH3. If the NH3 storage capacity is reduced on account of aging of or damage to the catalytic converter, an increased breakthrough or slippage of NH3 may occur, and the conversion of the nitrogen oxides no longer takes place to an adequate extent. Methods for monitoring an SCR catalytic converter are already known in which the storage capacity for NH3 is taken into consideration as a measure of the aging of or damage to the catalytic converter. For example, the laid-open specification DE 10 2007 040 439 A1 describes a method for diagnosing an SCR catalytic converter, downstream of which is connected a nitrogen oxide sensor with cross-sensitivity to ammonia. The SCR catalytic converter is initially filled in an overdosing phase with a superstoichiometric reducing agent dosing up to the maximum NH3 storage capacity, in order to attain a defined starting point for a diagnosis. The attainment of the maximum NH3 storage is detected, on the basis of the breakthrough of pure ammonia downstream of the SCR catalytic converter, as NH3 slippage. The NH3 slippage can be indirectly measured on account of the cross-sensitivity of the nitrogen oxide sensor to NH3. Subsequently, in an underdosing phase with a reducing agent dosing which is reduced in relation to a normal dosing or is absent, the stored NH3 mass is gradually depleted again by the reduction of the nitrogen oxides in the catalytic converter. During said emptying test, the usable NH3 storage capacity can be indirectly determined on the basis of one or more characteristic values which is/are dependent on the NOx conversion rate, because with a lower stored NH3 mass, less NOx can be converted on the catalytic converter surface during the emptying test.
It is important for the described monitoring method that the NH3 slippage is detected in good time in order to be able to switch from the overdosing phase into the underdosing phase and avoid an unnecessary release of ammonia. To detect the NH3 slippage, use has hitherto been made of predefinable thresholds for the SCR efficiency or for the NOx sensor signal downstream of the SCR catalytic converter, which are evaluated under certain monitoring conditions. Here, NH3 slippage is detected if, during the overdosing phase, after a predefinable time, the sensor signal increases above a predefinable threshold or the measured SCR efficiency falls below a predefinable threshold. A problem with defining thresholds is however that, in the case of a threshold with only a small deviation from the normal state, the slippage detection is highly sensitive and there is the risk that even normal fluctuations in the NOx sensor signal downstream of the SCR catalytic converter lead to false detection of NH3 slippage. This would lead to an underestimation of the NH3 storage capacity, and therefore to a false evaluation of the catalytic converter. On the other hand, taking into consideration only large deviations from the normal state increases the reliability of the slippage detection, but in this case the actual NH3 is already very high at the time of slippage detection and falsifies the result of the following emptying test during the underdosing phase, with the SCR efficiency being underestimated. The result in this case, too, can be an incorrect diagnosis. A further disadvantage here is the resulting adverse effect on emissions in particular during the emptying tests, because increased emissions of nitrogen oxides occur as a result of the decreased provision of reducing agent. Furthermore, to condition the SCR catalytic converter for the filling of the NH3 store up to the maximum storage capacity, it is necessary for the NH3 slippage limit to be exceeded. These NH3 emissions are also disadvantageous on account of the environmental impact and the risk to health.
To further improve the monitoring of the SCR catalytic converter, it has already been proposed that the plausibility checking functions be carried out only under certain monitoring conditions. Monitoring processes are limited for example to certain value ranges for one or more of the following variables, which may be modeled or measured, for example with regard to the exhaust-gas mass flow, the exhaust-gas volume flow, the exhaust-gas temperatures, the operating point (speed, injection quantity), the vehicle speed, the ambient pressure, the ambient temperature, NOx, PM, HC, CO or O2 signals, the exhaust-gas recirculation rate, the engine operating mode, the engine status, the engine running time or the engine standstill time. For the diagnosis of the SCR catalytic converter, it is also possible to additionally use the status of the NOx sensors, the actual and nominal filling levels of the reducing agent in the catalytic converter, the regulating error of the NH3 filling level regulator, the status of the reducing agent dosing device, the status/mode of the dosing quantity pilot control, the adaptation factor as a corrective factor for the reducing agent dosing quantity, the status of the dosing quantity adaptation, the status of the diesel particle filter regeneration, the diesel particle filter regeneration demand count, or the status of the HC poisoning. Furthermore, monitoring processes of the SCR catalytic converter may also be carried out under (virtually) steady-state conditions, which may be determined on the basis of one or more of the stated variables.
Despite the restriction of the monitoring conditions, the detection of the occurring NH3 slippage, which indicates that the maximum NH3 storage has been reached at the end of the overdosing phase, remains a problem. The invention is therefore based on the object of improving the NH3 slippage detection as an end point of the overdosing phase, such that the transition from the overdosing phase to the emptying test can be optimized, NH3 emissions can be minimized to the greatest possible extent, and the monitoring is improved overall.

Method for monitoring an SCR catalytic converter


According to one embodiment, an illumination optical system configured to illuminate an illumination target surface on the basis of light from a light source comprises a distribution forming optical system and a correction unit. The distribution forming optical system forms a pupil intensity distribution on an illumination pupil of the illumination optical system. The correction unit changes an emission direction of a beam according to an incidence position of the beam, in order to correct the pupil intensity distribution. The correction unit is arranged at or near a position of the illumination pupil, or, arranged at or near a position optically conjugate with the illumination pupil.

In a typical exposure apparatus of this type, a light beam emitted from a light source travels through a fly's eye lens as an optical integrator to form a secondary light source (a predetermined light intensity distribution on an illumination pupil in general) as a substantial surface illuminant consisting of a large number of light sources. The light intensity distribution on the illumination pupil will be referred to hereinafter as a "pupil intensity distribution." The illumination pupil is defined as a position such that an illumination target surface becomes a Fourier transform plane of the illumination pupil by action of an optical system between the illumination pupil and the illumination target surface (a mask or a wafer in the case of the exposure apparatus).
Beams from the secondary light source are condensed by a condenser lens to illuminate the mask with a predetermined pattern thereon in a superimposed manner. Light passing through the mask travels through a projection optical system to be focused on the wafer, whereby the mask pattern is projected (or transferred) onto the wafer to effect exposure thereof. Since the pattern formed on the mask is a highly integrated one, an even illuminance distribution must be obtained on the wafer in order to accurately transfer this microscopic pattern onto the wafer.
In order to accurately transfer the microscopic pattern of the mask onto the wafer, there is a proposed technique to form, for example, a pupil intensity distribution of a multi-polar shape (dipolar, quadrupolar, or other shape) to improve the depth of focus and the resolution of the projection optical system (cf. U.S. Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006/0055834).

Illumination optical system, aligner, and process for fabricating device


An enhanced MAU (EMAU) is provided which can be used in token ring networks in place of existing MAUs, yet permits each station on the network to be selectively connected to any one of a plurality of different token ring trunk cables. The EMAU uses the conventional trunk coupling units (TCU) of an MAU, which permit a station to be connected in the ring or to be bypassed, but adds to each TCU a multi-switch device which permits the TCU to be connected to one of a plurality of ring trunk cables while providing a bypass across the station in the remaining ring trunk cables. In addition, the EMAU provides sensing of the input and output signal for each station, which permits the EMAU to monitor the address produced by each station during the normal ring polling process which occurs during neighbor notification operation of the token ring network. Each address is then stored in a location associated with the physical location of a station. Sensing of the input and output signal is also utilized to perform a peak amplitude comparison between the two, to derive signals indicative of the input-output operability of each station.

Local area networks (LANs) have come into widespread use in industry and business. The token ring network has become one of the most popular forms of LAN, owing to its implementation by the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Moreover, the standards for token ring networks are now well defined in IEEE standard 802.5 of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and this standard has now been adopted as a draft International Standard ISO DIS 8802/5, so that a high degree of consistency and uniformity in token ring networks can now be expected.
In accordance with the IBM implementation, a nonintelligent, distributed concentrator, called a multi-station access unit (MAU) is utilized to provide access by stations to the token ring network. One of the major advantages of using MAUs is that they can be in a distributed configuration. That is, a MAU is therefore conveniently brought to a location, such as the location of a work group, and all of the users can be placed on the network by simply having their computers connected to the MAU through an appropriate cable. Internally, each MAU couples the connected stations in a series ring on a trunk cable, and individual MAUs can be connected in tandem through the trunk cable to form the overall network ring.
Although the use of distributed MAUs is a highly desirable and effective convenient network configuration the IBM implementation suffers from a number of shortcomings. First of all, it is only possible to connect all of the MAUs, and therefore all of the stations, in a single ring. As the number of stations grows, this results in access becoming increasingly more difficult and slower operation of the network. Token ring networks have been. available which provide multiple rings, but this has typically required sacrificing the distributed nature of the IBM implementation, with the resultant disadvantage that cables must be run from each station to a central location.
Another shortcoming of the IBM implementation the difficulty of determining the physical location of a station in the network. Although each station has a unique address, the system supervisor has no way of knowing the physical location of the station on the ring unless he keeps track of it himself when first installing new users. Furthermore, this could present a serious security problem, in that, should an unauthorized user connect his station to the network, it could be some time before the network supervisor could locate that user and physically disconnect him.
One recognized shortcoming of token ring networks is the difficulty of locating and isolating faulty stations. Fault detection procedures have been built into the operating protocol, but quick and efficient means for locating and isolating faults have not been available.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for configuring and maintaining token ring networks which avoid the shortcomings of existing methods and apparatus. It is specifically contemplated that the invention should not compromise the distributed nature of the IBM implementation of token ring net works.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for configuring token ring networks which will permit the use of distributed concentrators yet permit the selective assignment of individual stations to any one of a plurality of different, parallel communication rings of the network.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for configuring and maintaining token ring networks which will automatically detect the address of a station connected to the network and associate that station's address with the station's physical location.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for configuring and maintaining token ring networks which will permit rapid and convenient monitoring of the operational status of each station of the network.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for configuring and maintaining token ring networks which are convenient and reliable in use, yet relatively inexpensive to install and maintain.
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment demonstrating objects and features of the present invention, an enhanced MAU (EMAU) is provided which can be used in token ring networks in place of existing MAUs yet permits each station on the network to be selectively connected to any one of a plurality of different token ring trunk cables. The EMAU uses the conventional trunk coupling units (TCU) of an MAU, which permit a station to be connected in the ring or to be bypassed, but adds to each TCU a multi-switch device which permits the TCU to be connected to one of a plurality of ring trunk cables while providing a bypass across the station in the remaining ring trunk cables.
In addition, the EMAU provides sensing of the input and output signal for each station. This permits the EMAU to monitor the address produced by each station during the normal ring polling process which occurs during neighbor notification operation of the token ring network. It is then possible to associate each address with a physical location of a station, since the physical location is known. Sensing of the input and output signal is also utilized to perform a peak amplitude comparison between the two, to derive signals indicative of the input-output operability of each station.

Method and apparatus for configuring and maintaining token ring networks


A garment can assist a user with transporting personal items. The garment comprises a vest that can be worn over one's shoulders. The vest further comprises a right breast mechanically coupled a left breast by an upper vest fastener, a lower vest fastener and a draw string to provide stability to the vest. The left breast is mechanically coupled to a left breast pocket and the right breast is mechanically coupled to a right breast pocket that can be used for storing items. The vest is further mechanically coupled to a pouch that does not impede a user's ability to walk and can further store personal items. In this manner the user can use the garment to transport the personal items in a stable manner without having the garment impede the user's ability to walk.

Prior to the disclosed invention, users had essentially two items for carrying a large number of items when grocery shopping. First is the shopping cart such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,196,914 issued to Goldman. Second is a hand held basket or bag. The present invention teaches another device that does this. Regardless, at some point the user will need to carry personal items from one location to another and the disclosed garment accomplishes this in a unique fashion.
Of course, the present invention is not limited to shopping and can be used for carrying tools, baby supplies or anything else.

Garment to assist a person in carrying objects


A method of affiliate marketing provides inbound affiliate link credit without coded URLs. Affiliate web sites link directly to merchant web sites, so that all of a merchant site's affiliates potentially contribute to its inbound link credit. The merchant web server parses incoming web page requests, and extracts the referrer. The merchant web server, directly or via an affiliate network manager, consults a database of affiliate web sites to determine whether the referrer is an authorized affiliate. If so, the affiliate is credited for the traffic, and may additionally be credited for user activity at the merchant site. The affiliate network manager writes a cookie to the user terminal to further track the user through the affiliate network. The method reduces or eliminates cookie hijacking and other forms of affiliate fraud, and may be used to track non-affiliate referring web sites.

U.S. retail sales over the Internet are expected to reach $230 billion by 2008, a level that will represent approximately 10% of total U.S retail sales. As with any other channel, merchants need to drive these retail sales with advertising. One form of advertising unique to the Internet (specifically, to the World Wide Web) is affiliate marketing. An affiliate web site is a web site that experiences a high number of "hits" or visits by web users (also referred to herein as web traffic) that monetizes this traffic by providing hyperlinks to a merchant web site. The links may be in the form of banner advertisements, links embedded in the affiliate web site in text or graphics, pop-up windows that appear in a user's browser upon viewing the affiliate web site, and the like.
The merchant web site may pay the affiliate web site for displaying advertisements, and may additionally pay the affiliate web site for web traffic directed from the affiliate web site to the merchant web site. The most common forms of affiliate marketing compensation are Pay Per Click (PPC), wherein the merchant pays the affiliate for each user visit to its site; Pay Per Lead (PPL), wherein the merchant pays if the user requests information or views additional web pages at the merchant site; or Pay Per Sale (PPS), where the affiliate is paid a flat fee or commission based on purchases a user makes at the merchant site. Merchant web sites may manage their own affiliate web sites, including recruiting affiliates, providing the code to display advertisements and establish links to the merchant web site, tracking user traffic from each affiliate web site and user activity on the merchant web site, and remitting payments to the affiliate web sites.
Alternatively, both merchant and affiliate web sites may utilize the services of an affiliate network manager. The affiliate network manager may selectively and dynamically direct each affiliate web site to display advertising for, and link to, various merchant web sites. Within an affiliate network, merchant web sites may competitively "bid" for advertising and links on the affiliate web sites by making their offers more attractive to affiliates. This process allows merchant web sites to maximize traffic and/or sales by gaining top affiliates. It also maximizes revenue for popular affiliate web sites and those that consistently deliver paying customers.
FIG. 1 depicts a functional block diagram of a representative prior art affiliate network, indicated generally by the numeral 10 (in FIGS. 1 and 2, user redirection is indicated by solid arrows; reading and writing cookies or passing other information is indicated by dotted-line arrows). The network 10 comprises an Affiliate Network Manager site 22, a plurality of Affiliate Web Sites 18, and a plurality of Merchant Web Sites 28 (only one affiliate and one merchant web site depicted in FIG. 1 for simplicity), all interconnected via the Internet 12. A user at a user terminal 14, such as an Internet-connected personal computer executing web browser software, visits an Affiliate Web Site 18, as indicated by the arrow 16. The user may have directly entered the Uniform Resource Locater (URL) of the affiliate web site 18 into his web browser. Alternatively, the user may have "surfed" to the Affiliate Web Site 18, such as by clicking a link from another web site, a search engine, or the like. At the Affiliate Web Site 18, the user is enticed to visit a Merchant Web Site 28, such as by an advertisement, a discount coupon, a positive review of the site or products for sale at the site, or the like. The user clicks a textual or graphic link, which he expects will direct his web browser to the Merchant Web Site 28.
In fact, the link, or URL—which the user never actually sees—directs his web browser to an Affiliate Network Manager site 22, as indicated by the arrow 20. The URL that accomplishes this may be of the form:                http://www.affiliatemanager.com/affiliatesite.php?id=0596
As known in the art, a variety of variables and corresponding values may be appended to a URL to the right of a "?" character. These are known as a query string. Query string contents do not affect the routing function of a web browser, but pass information to the web server of the target of the URL. The above URL directs the user's web browser to the Affiliate Network Manager site 22, with an identification of the Affiliate Web Site 18, and possibly other information in a query string.
Upon the user's web browser accessing the Affiliate Network Manager site 22, the site 22 attempts to read a pre-existing file from the User Terminal 14 that identifies the user, known in the art as a "cookie." If a cookie does not exist, the Affiliate Network Manager site 22 creates one and sends a request to the user's web browser to write the cookie as a file on the user terminal 14 (referred to hereinafter as simply writing a cookie). This is indicated by the dashed-line arrow 24. The cookie allows the affiliate Network Manager Site 22 to identify, and hence track, the user as he visits various Affiliate Web Sites 18 and Merchant Web Sites 28 in the affiliate network. The Affiliate Network Manager site 22 records which Affiliate Web Site 18 originated the merchant traffic and to which Merchant Web Site 28 the user was directed. The Affiliate Network Manager 22 then debits the Merchant Web Site 28 for the referral (in a PPC scheme), and credits the Affiliate Web Site 18.
The Affiliate Network Manager site 22 then directs the user's browser, as indicated by arrow 26, to the Merchant Web Site 28. The user, unaware of the intervention of the Affiliate Network Manager site 22, browses good and services offered for sale at the Merchant Web Site 28. The Merchant Web Site 28 may itself write and read cookies to and from the user's terminal 14, as indicated by the dashed-line arrow 30, to track the user's activity at the Merchant Web Site 28. For example, the Merchant Web Site 28 may use cookies to track items selected for purchase and maintained in a virtual shopping cart. The Merchant Web Site 28 may report page requests and purchases made by the user to the Affiliate Network Manager 22, if the Affiliate Web Site 18 is compensated on a PPL or PPS basis. The Affiliate Network Manager 22 then credits the Affiliate Web Site 18 and debits the Merchant Web Site 28 accordingly.
The advent of affiliate network managers has greatly expanded the affiliate network model of Internet advertising and sales. However, the imposition of an Affiliate Network Manager Site 32 in the referral of web traffic from an Affiliate Web Site 18 to a Merchant Web Site 28 raises at least one significant shortcoming. In addition to affiliate network marketing, web merchants solicit customers from other sources. One particularly important source of web traffic is search engines. As well known in the art, search engines are web sites that maintain databases of other web sites, and present to a user an ordered list of web sites matching or otherwise having relevance to a user's search query. Search engines may return thousands of web sites in response to a given query, and must order these results prior to presenting them to the user. Studies have shown that users typically access only the first few web sites in the list; hence, achieving a high ranking in search result ordering is critical for deriving web traffic from search engines.
A number of techniques may be utilized to order search results by anticipated user relevance. Indeed, the algorithms and techniques utilized to order search results are among the most valuable intellectual property assets of commercial search engine companies. One search result ranking technique that is widely speculated as being employed by popular search engines is known as an inbound link credit. Simply stated, an inbound link credit is a count of the number of web pages cataloged in a search engine database that link to a particular web site. Web sites with a higher inbound link credit will be sorted higher in search results listings, on the theory that a web site to which many other web sites have linked, likely offers content of perceived value, and hence the search engine user is likely to find the site of value as well.
Referring again to FIG. 1, it is evident that a large number of Affiliate Web Sites 18 may direct user traffic to a given Merchant Web Site 28. However, the links that accomplish this are indirect; they link directly to the Affiliate Network Manager site 22. These links are not counted in the inbound link credit of the Merchant Web Site 28. If all Affiliate Web Sites 18 were able to link directly to Merchant Web Sites 28, the Merchant Web Sites 28 may be ranked higher in search engine queries, further increasing user traffic to the Merchant Web Sites 28 and increasing sales opportunities. Another recent problem with many affiliate marketing networks is an unscrupulous practice known as "cookie hijacking." Affiliates attempting to receive credit for traffic rightfully belonging to another affiliate may use adware or spyware to alter key identifying information in the URL on other Affiliate Web Sites 18 that take a user to a Merchant Web Site 28 (indirectly, through the Affiliate Network Manager site 22). For example, the adware or spyware may substitute the unscrupulous affiliate's identification code in the query string for that of the rightful affiliate. In this manner, the unscrupulous affiliate receives credit for all traffic originating at the "hacked" Affiliate Web Sites 18.

Affiliate marketing method that provides inbound affiliate link credit without coded URLs


The invention relates to obfuscating data while maintaining local predictive relationships. An embodiment of the present invention is directed to cryptographically obfuscating a data set in a manner that hides personally identifiable information (PII) while allowing third parties to train classes of machine learning algorithms effectively. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the obfuscation acts as a symmetric encryption so that the original obfuscating party may relate the predictions on the obfuscated data to the original PII. The various features of the present invention enable third party prediction services to safely interact with PII.

Personally identifiable information (PII) generally refers to information that can be used to identify, contact or locate a person as well as identify an individual in context. Such information may include medical, educational, financial, legal, employment records and other personal data. Because personally identifiable information is valuable, organizations are required to protect personally identifiable information of its employees, members or customers to avoid risks and improper use of such data.
Generally, protecting PII may involve various safeguarding techniques, including a combination of encryption, threat protection, data-loss prevention and policy compliance. Organizations may also be required to set rules and protocols regarding access to the data, how the data is received, stored and transmitted, what information can be sent within the organization and what can be passed along to third parties.
While current systems focus on protecting such data, there is currently no way to preserve enough structure so that certain classes of machines or prediction models could use the protected data.
These and other drawbacks exist.

System and method for prediction preserving data obfuscation


An injection apparatus for use in a wellbore is disclosed wherein the apparatus includes a tubular housing and a shield housing disposed outside the tubular housing, the shield housing including a chamber in fluid communication with the tubular housing. The apparatus further includes a piston disposed within the shield housing, the piston coupled to a biasing member, wherein movement of the piston controls fluid communication between the chamber and the wellbore, and wherein the movement of the piston is caused by a pressure change of a fluid within the tubular housing.

To form a wellbore or borehole in a formation, a drilling assembly (also referred to as the "bottom hole assembly" or the "BHA") carrying a drill bit at its bottom end is conveyed downhole. The wellbore may be used to store fluids in the formation or obtain fluids, such as hydrocarbons, from one or more production zones in the formation. Several techniques may be employed to stimulate hydrocarbon production. For example, a plurality of wellbores (also "boreholes" or "wells"), such as a first and second wellbore, may be formed in a formation. The first wellbore is an injection wellbore and the second wellbore is a production wellbore. A flow of pressurized fluids from the first wellbore cause flow of formation fluids to the production wellbore. Specifically, the fluid is flowed downhole within a tubular disposed in the first or injection wellbore. One or more flow control apparatus, such as a valve, is located in the tubular to control the pressurized fluid flow into the formation. The pressurized fluid then causes an increased pressure within the formation resulting in flow of formation fluid into a producing string located in the second wellbore. A surface fluid source, such as a pump, provides the pressurized injection fluid to each flow control apparatus downhole.
If the fluid source shuts down or malfunctions, a pressure differential occurs between the formation zone receiving the injected fluid and the fluid inside the tubular. Specifically, a pressure caused by injecting fluid into a zone of the formation is significantly higher than the hydrostatic pressure within the tubular. The pressure differential can cause crossflow from the high pressure zone to other lower pressure zones in the formation. The flow from the high pressure zone can cause flow of sand and debris into the tubular and lower pressure zones, inhibiting flow paths and causing damage to the tubular string. Further, flow of sand and fluids from a first zone to a second zone eliminates isolation of zones, which is desirable during production. In addition flow of fluid from a high pressure zone can cause a high pressure wave or water hammer to propagate uphole in the tubular. The high pressure wave can damage equipment within the tubular string and at the surface.
One type of flow control device is controlled from the surface. A control signal to close fluid flow in the device may take several minutes or more to communicate from the surface. Due to the delayed control signal, the device remains open after a pump shut down, leading to communication of the pressure differential (between the formation and tubular) and resulting cross flow and pressure wave. In addition, in cases where the fluid source is shut down frequently, the flow control device is also closed frequently. The repeated opening and closing of the device increases the chance of failure, such as seal wear out. Another type of flow control device is controlled through intervention method (such as wire-line and coil tubing operations). In those examples, the delay to close flow devices is longer (e.g., 1-3 days), wherein the device remains open after a pump shut down, leading to communication of the pressure differential (between the formation and tubular) and resulting cross flow and pressure wave.

Method and apparatus for controlling fluid flow into a wellbore