A printer and a printing method are proposed. The printer and the printing method include transferring printing paper until a cutting target marker first disposed after a location at which the printing of a unit output has been completed based on the transfer direction of the printing paper reaches a cutting position, and cutting the corresponding location when the printing paper is transferred until the cutting target marker reaches the cutting position.

A printer is an output device that prints information, processed by an information processing device, on a printing medium in a form that can be seen with the eyes of a human. Such printers are divided into various types according to their printing method and application, and are being widely used.
Accordingly, printing media used in printers, i.e., printer paper, are also configured in various forms according to printing methods or the uses of printers. For example, the paper used in thermal printers may be thermal printing paper that reacts with heat, and the paper used in inkjet printers may be general paper. Furthermore, office printers may use paper cut in a standardized size, e.g., an A4 size, as printing media, whereas portable printers may use long strip paper wound in a roll as printing media.
In particular, printers for label printing can be used along with printing paper for a label coated with an adhesive on the rear surface thereof, which is opposite to the printing surface thereof. Printing paper for a label may be subdivided into a type with release paper and a type without release paper.
In a printer that performs printing on such printing paper for a label, printing paper marked with markers at predetermined intervals may be used to allow the printing paper to be accurately cut in accordance with a printing position and length after printing has been performed to a predetermined length. In this case, the printer is provided with a sensor configured to recognize the locations of markers, and identifies the locations of the markers by means of the sensor. Accordingly, the printer performs printing between a marker and a marker, and can output a label having a printing length corresponding to the interval between markers by cutting a position where a marker is formed.
However, in this conventional technology, only a label having a length corresponding to the interval between the markers can be output, and a problem arises in that it is difficult to output a label having a length exceeding the interval between the markers.
Accordingly, inefficiency occurs in that a plurality of types of printing paper marked with markers at different intervals is required according to the printing lengths of labels.
Furthermore, when labels have different printing lengths, burdensomeness arises in that the printing medium of a printer must be replaced with a different type of printing paper having markers at a different interval each time.
Therefore, there is a need for a technology capable of overcoming the above-described problems.
Meanwhile, the above-described background technology corresponds to technical information that has been possessed by the present inventor in order to contrive the present invention or which has been acquired in the process of contriving the present invention, and can not necessarily be regarded as well-known technology which had been known to the public prior to the filing of the present invention.


Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for generating application-aware data partitioning to support parallel computing. A label for a user defined data partitioning (UDP) key is generated by a labeling process to configure data partitions of original data. The UDP is labeled by the labeling process to include at least one key property excluded from the original data. The data partitions are evenly distributed to co-locate and balance the data partitions and corresponding computations performed by computational servers. A data record of the data partitions is retrieved by performing an all-node parallel search of the computational servers using the UDP key.

A trend in supporting large scale information technology (IT) applications is converging data intensive computation and data management to achieve fast data access and reduced data flow. For example, dynamic data warehousing and operational business intelligence (BI) applications involve large-scale data intensive computations in multiple stages from information extraction, modeling, and analysis to prediction. To support such applications, two IT disciplines are often deployed: high performance computing (HPC) and scalable data warehousing, both of which are based on the use of computer cluster technology and partitioning of tasks and data for parallel processing. In such an environment, improper partitioning of data over computer cluster nodes often causes a mismatch in converging computation and data.

User defined data partitioning (UDP)—grouping of data based on computation model

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An antenna having a plurality of resonant frequencies and comprising a feed point, a ground point and a conductive track that extends from the feed point and returns to the ground point and means for locally increasing the reactance of the antenna track at a first position coincident with a maximum electromagnetic field associated with at least one of the plurality of resonant frequencies.

A current internal antenna used as an internal antenna in cellular mobile telephones is the Planar Inverted-F antenna (PIFA). This type of antenna comprises an antenna element 12 that is parallel to a ground plane that connects the ground point and feed point together towards one end of the antenna element. These antennas suffer from a number of disadvantages. They have at most two operational resonant frequencies which could be used at the cellular bands. The separation between the antenna element and the ground plate needs to be kept fairly large (˜7 mm) in order to maintain a satisfactory bandwidth.
It would be desirable to provide a more compact antenna particularly one with a low profile.
It would be desirable to provide an antenna with three operational resonant frequencies, which could be used at the cellular bands


A user interface system comprises a plurality of linkages connected between a platform and a base. The linkages permit motion of the platform over at least a portion of a spherical surface. A support assembly coupled between the platform and the base comprises a spherical joint having a center of rotation substantially concentric with a center of the spherical surface. The spherical joint constrains motion of the platform to the spherical surface. The system may include a sensor corresponding to each linkage. Each sensor may be coupled to sense a movement of its corresponding linkage in response to motion of the platform over the portion of the spherical surface. A user-manipulable handle may be coupled to the platform so that the user can move the platform.

Robotic systems may be controlled by corresponding user interfaces. Some user interface systems permit users to control robotic systems by manipulating an interface member (e.g. a grippable handle or the like) in space to provide control information to the robotic system. Some user interface systems allow users to manipulate virtual objects by manipulating an interface member.
In such user interface systems, it is often desirable to provide the user with force feedback. User interface systems incorporating force feedback are referred to in the art as "haptic systems" or "haptic devices". Force feedback can allow the user to experience the sensation of feeling virtual objects that the user is interacting with by way of the user interface and can provide improved user control over the forces applied by a corresponding robotic system.
There is a need for haptic user interface systems and other force feedback devices which provide force feedback to a user.

Spherical linkage and force feedback controls


A graphical user interface (1) and a method (20, 27) for providing access to task data objects as well as a method (37, 44) for navigating through a set of task data objects is provided. The graphical user interface (1) may comprise a reference area (2) representing a reference data object and at least one classification belt (3, 4, 10) in a concentrical arrangement. On the classification belts (3, 4, 10) at least one task area (5) representing a task data object can be displayed. The classification belt (3, 4, 10) may at least partly surround the reference area (2). The method (20, 27) for providing access to task data objects may comprise the steps of comparing data entries of task data objects with classes of data entries and the step of displaying task areas (5) on the classification belts (3, 4, 10) based on the comparison. The method (37, 44) for navigating may comprise the steps of radially or rotationally scrolling of the classification belts (3, 4, 10).

There exist many ways for providing access to data objects. In particular, data objects that are hierarchically associated with other data objects are often provided on the graphical user interface represented by entries of a list. The first entry represents a reference data object and the following entries represent task data objects that are associated with the reference data object by e.g. a link. The order of the task data objects in the list may represent a rating of a relation between each of the task data objects and the reference data object.
Such a list presentation of data objects may be confusing, especially if many data objects are displayed or if next to the rating of the relation other attributes are to be displayed. Scrolling long lists for accessing a certain task data object is time consuming, especially if the list contains task data objects in a two dimensional sorting.

Graphical user interface with a concentric arrangement and method for accessing data objects via a graphical user interface


A complementary semiconductor structure comprises a substrate of a first conductivity type upon which a first channel layer of a second conductivity type is formed. The first source/drain layer of the first conductivity type is formed on the surface of the first channel layer and an insulating layer is formed on the surface of the first source/drain layer. A second source/drain layer of the second conductivity type is formed on the surface of the insulating layer and a second channel layer of said first conductivity is formed on the surface of the second source/drain layer. A third source/drain layer of the second conductivity type is formed on the surface of the second channel layer. Gate circuitry is vertically disposed on an edge perpendicular to the plane and adjacent to the first and second channel layers and insulated therefrom.

In semiconductor processing, it is sometimes easier to form vertical structures where the vertical dimensions can be accurately controlled. U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,826 to Chatterjee and U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,906 to Shah et.al., which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose integrated electronic devices wherein two vertical transistors are vertically aligned to form a CMOS inverter. Thus, a layer of P type material is formed on the surface of an N+ type substrate, followed by the formation of an N+ layer, a P+ layer, an N- layer, and a P+ layer. A trench is etched along one side of the stack and a connector is formed to the midlevel P+ and N+ layers. Another trench is formed and a gate insulator and a gate are formed therein. The gate serves as a gate for both the N-channel and P-channel transistors. The connector is used to provide an output from the connected source/drain regions of the two transistors. Thus, current flows vertically through a pair of complementary field effect transistors, which are always in series.
The concept disclosed in the above-referenced patents may be used to form CMOS inverters, and other structures, such as NOR gates, which comprise a plurality of inverters. Since the stacked transistors have connected source/drain regions, however, the formation of more complex logic elements using a similarly vertical configuration is difficult.
Therefore, a need has arisen to provide a stacked vertical transistor structure from which complex logic devices may be configured.


A horse mask or halter manufactured by folding a single piece of screen material according to a pattern that ensures the formation of rigid darts in the portion of the mask corresponding to the eyes of the horse. The mask incorporates poll-protection padding that minimizes the risk of injury to the head of the horse during transportation in a horse trailer. A separate opening in the mask is provided for each ear to create an anchoring support that prevents the mask from shifting position over the head of the horse. Sheep skin is used to pad the edges of the mask and prevent the intrusion of insects.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related in general to the field of protective masks for animals and, in particular, to devices for shielding a horse's poll and eyes.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that horses' eyes are very sensitive to the effects of light and to molestation by insects, such as flies. In order to rid themselves of flies crawling over them, horses often shake their heads violently and strike surrounding objects in frustration, thus endangering their own safety and that of bystanders. Accordingly, over the years people have devised different items of protective wear to shield a horse's eyes from insects and from direct sunlight.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 481,152 to Steele (1892) discloses a device that comprises two perforated shades used to cover the eyes of a horse in order to protect them from foreign matter.
The eye protector also includes strips of flexible material hanging down from the device to cover the horse's nostrils and muzzle, thus providing further protection against insects. The eye protector is secured to the bridle normally worn by the horse.
U.S. Pat. No. 903,108 to Rogers (1908) describes a similar type of eye protector consisting of individual eye coverings connected to a system of straps that permit its direct attachment to the head of the horse. Thus, this device can be worn even when the horse does not have a bridle or halter on its head.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,516,202 (1924), Nelson discloses a fly shield for a horse consisting of a muzzle made with screen material. The device is designed to cover the mouth and the lower portion of the head of a horse primarily to prevent insects from contacting its nose, which is particularly sensitive to flies. No protection is provided for the eyes of the animal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,334 to Blessing (1973) describes a bonnet that protects the upper portion of a horse's head, including the eyes, from exposure to insects and excessive sunlight. The bonnet is made with screen material that envelopes the entire head of the animal and is fastened by straps secured to the head independently of a bridle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,966 (1973), Hadley describes a face fly-screen consisting of a fringe secured to the poll of the horse and covering the entire front portion of the head. Thus, the eyes are protected by the screen effect of the individual strips constituting the fringe, which also prevent insects from resting on the animal's face.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,156 to Oettel (1987) discloses a protective mask for horses that consists of a one-piece screen for covering the eyes and the adjacent facial areas of the animal. Contact between the screen material and the eyes is prevented by straight darts sewn into the material that create two pockets protruding slightly forward from the poll of the animal. The edges of the mask are trimmed in a plush material to prevent insects from crawling under the mask and to provide a padding for protecting the animal's face from immediate contact with the relatively rigid material constituting the screen. The mask includes a single cutout area for the animal's ears and forelock.
The Oettel mask is intended to be worn at all times by a horse to provide continuous protection from insects and excessive light exposure. As such, the mask has shown several drawbacks that the present invention is addressing. The first one relates to the presence of a single opening over the poll of the horse. In order to accommodate both the ears and the forelock of the horse, this opening is approximately 24 inches in circumference, which greatly weakens the structural rigidity of the mask and its ability to retain the intended position over the head of a horse. As a result, the mask tends to shift around the face of the animal, which undermines its effectiveness against insects and may create discomfort. In addition, the large opening provides a relatively loose fit around the ears that enables insects to penetrate through the sealing material at the edge of the opening.
A second problem results from the single-seam construction of the darts, which results in a relatively soft structure that in some cases allows the screen material to droop and rest over the eyes of the horse, especially when the mask is not squarely balanced over the head of the animal as a result of the above-mentioned shifts. Finally, the mask does not provide any protection to the poll of the horse, which is a very sensitive part of the animal that needs protection both from exposure to climatic extremes and from the surrounding environment. In particular, the poll of a horse needs to be protected during transportation in horse trailers because the animals tend to rub their heads against the top of the trailer, often to the point of severely injuring themselves. Since these masks are intended for continuous use, the utilization of separate protective wear on top of the mask would be cumbersome and uncomfortable to the animal.
Therefore, there is still a need for an improved horse mask that incorporates poll-protection means and overcomes the problems that result from the above-described structural features of the Oettel mask.

Poll and eye protection apparatus for a horse and method of manufacture thereof


An apparatus includes a housing defining a first cavity containing a pump, a second cavity containing a filter and a lumen configured to provide fluid communication between the first cavity and the second cavity. The housing has a first end portion configured to be disposed within a fluid reservoir and a second end portion including a flange configured to be disposed outside of and coupled to the fluid reservoir. A surface of the first end portion defines a first opening in fluid communication with the first cavity. A surface of the second end portion defines a second opening in fluid communication with the second cavity. A cover is configured to be removably coupled to the second end portion of the housing about the second opening such that the filter can be removed from the second cavity when the flange is coupled to the fluid reservoir.

The embodiments described herein relate to fuel system components, and more particularly, to an integrated fuel delivery module including a fuel pump and a fuel filter.
Some known fuel systems utilize a high pressure fuel pump mounted within the fuel tank of a vehicle. Some known fuel systems include a fuel delivery module, which is a package of related fuel system components that can be mounted within the fuel tank. Such known fuel delivery modules can include, for example, the fuel pump, a fuel pressure regulator, a fuel filter, and/or a fuel level sensor.
Known fuel delivery modules typically use a low-cost, non-positive displacement pump such as, for example, a turbine pump. Such pumps are often mounted at or near tank bottom due to their limited ability to produce suction. As a result, the use of such pumps can limit the locations within the fuel system and/or fuel tank where the fuel delivery module can be positioned. Additionally, some known fuel systems, such as, for example, fuel systems for off-highway vehicles can have unique and/or irregularly shaped fuel tanks that are customized for their specific applications. Accordingly, the fuel delivery module for such applications is often customized for a specific fuel tank. Thus, a need exists for an improved fuel delivery module that can be standardized to fit within a range of different tanks. A need also exists for an improved fuel delivery module in which the pump need not be on or near the tank bottom.
Further, in some known fuel systems, the fuel delivery module is removed from the fuel tank to service and/or replace one of the fuel system components therein (e.g., the fuel filter). In some arrangements, removal of the fuel delivery module and/or a portion of the fuel delivery module can cause one or more fuel flow paths to be disconnected. For example, in some known fuel systems, replacement of the fuel filter is accomplished by disconnecting the flow path from the fuel pump to the fuel filter. The removal of the fuel delivery module from the fuel tank and/or the disconnection of fuel flow paths can result in increased service times (and costs), an increased risk of potential leaks when the fuel system is reassembled and/or the use of additional parts (e.g., seals). Thus, a need also exists for improved apparatus and methods for servicing components within a fuel delivery module without requiring the removal of the fuel delivery module from the fuel tank.

Integrated fuel delivery module and methods of manufacture


Terminal equipment of a wavelength division multiplexing optical transmission system is provided with a monitoring apparatus for monitoring optical transmission paths with an OTDR. For this monitoring, OTDR probe lights of different wavelengths are allocated to optical fibers and optical amplifier-repeaters, which are elements constituting the optical transmission paths. Further, different wavelengths are allocated to OTDR probe lights between the up link and the downlink. Such a wavelength as makes the wavelength dispersion over the optical transmission paths negative (usually the shorter wavelength side than the zero dispersion wavelength of the optical transmission paths) is allocated to the OTDR probe light for optical fiber monitoring, and a wavelength longer than 1550 nm is allocated to the OTDR probe light for optical amplifier-repeater monitoring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical transmission path monitoring system, a monitoring apparatus and a monitoring method therefor, and more particularly to a formula of optical transmission path monitoring for monitoring the states of optical fibers and optical amplifier-repeaters constituting optical transmission paths in a wavelength division multiplexing optical transmission system by utilizing an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR).
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
Today, as a technique of large-capacity long-distance communication, wavelength division multiplexing transmission (WDM transmission) systems using optical amplifier-repeaters have come into practical use extensively. In such a system in actual operation, if any fault arises on an optical transmission path, pinpointing to identify the position and cause of the fault is extremely important for early restoration of the system. The OTDR method by which the intensity and position of reflection of reflected light from midway on the optical transmission path are measured by using an optical pulse is one of the major techniques available for use in fault pinpointing on an optical transmission path.
The ITU-T G. 977 recommendation also refers to the use of a coherent OTDR (COTDR) for use in fault pinpointing in a long-distance optical fiber system. In addition to this recommendation, a number of proposals have been made regarding the monitoring of long-distance WDM optical transmission paths using an OTDR. They include, for instance, the Japanese Patent Applications Laid-Open Nos. 1996-181656, 1999-266205, 2000-31907 and 2000-59306. All the techniques disclosed therein are intended to monitor optical amplifier-repeaters. According to any of these techniques, a transmitting station transmits a monitoring light differing in wavelength from a signal light over a transmission path; the monitoring light is looped back midway on the transmission path to another route in the reverse direction; and the transmitting station simultaneously monitors a plurality of optical amplifier-repeaters by receiving the looped-back monitoring light.
Generally, a long-distance optical transmission path has a configuration in which optical fibers and optical amplifier-repeaters are connected alternately in cascade and in multiple stages. On account of the long distance, it is extremely important for restoration from the faulty state to accurately identify the position and cause of the fault. On the other hand, the optical fibers and the optical amplifier-repeaters, which constitute the optical transmission path, differ in light transmission characteristics. For this reason, in order to monitor an optical transmission path and identify the position and cause of any fault that may arise, the two types of constituent elements, optical fibers and optical amplifier-repeaters, should be differentiated from each other and efficiently monitored without having to take much trouble. Any of the above-cited examples of the prior art merely proposes optical transmission path monitoring by which either only optical amplifiers are mainly monitored or optical fibers and optical amplifier-repeaters are collectively monitored as an optical transmission path without strictly differentiating them.

Optical transmission path monitoring system, monitoring apparatus therefor and monitoring method therefor


Pepper plants exhibiting resistance to root knot nematode species are provided, together with methods of producing, identifying, or selecting plants or germplasm with a root knot nematode resistance phenotype. Such plants include pepper plants comprising introgressed genomic regions conferring pest resistance. Compositions, including novel polymorphic markers for detecting plants comprising introgressed pest resistance alleles, are further provided.

Pest resistance is an important trait in agriculture, particularly for the production of food crops. In pepper plants, root knot nematodes (RKN) result in significant yield loss and even plant death. Although RKN resistance alleles have been identified in pepper plants, known resistance alleles vary in their resistance against the different species of the RKN complex. Deployment of resistance loci starts an evolutionary arms race between pest and breeder leading to newly emerging species of RKN that are capable of reproducing on pepper plants carrying previously known forms of RKN resistance. Therefore, it is necessary that breeders find and develop new sources of RKN resistance with alternative resistance profiles and genetic variation to maintain good resistance levels and minimize crop loss in commercial pepper production.

Pepper plants with improved pest resistance


Tissue clips are placed on the upper level of bi-level product buckets, with the length of the tissue clips in the machine direction. The lower level of the product bucket is comprised of a full-width transverse channel whose width is greater than the width of the tissue clips but less the length of the tissue clips. To package flat packages of tissues, extensible pushers turn the tissue clips 90 degrees so they drop into the transverse channels. Subsequently flat overhead tamps descend and the tissue clips are pushed through guide buckets into the end of the flat-pack cartons. To package boutique packages of tissues, the extensible pushers are disengaged so the length of the tissue clips remain in the machine direction spanning the transverse channels. Subsequently, narrow tamps descend, pushing the center of the tissue clips into the transverse channels, forming the tissue clips into the beginning of a U-shape ready for pushing through guide buckets into the side of boutique cartons. Methods and apparatus are disclosed.

This invention relates to handling items such as stacks or clips of facial tissues and more particularly to configuring such clips for cartoning such as for placement into particular cartons.
In the past, such tissues are produced in select count stacks or "clips" comprising one flat tissue lying atop another in an elongated flat shaped stack being generally longer than it is wide. This configuration is okay for flat shaped carton packaging; the clip is simply pushed endwise from a cartoner bucket into the box. Typically, the box has at least one major panel generally parallel with the tissues and an opening in the panel provides access for tissue removal for use. On the other hand, upright, cubic or boutique cartons are more confining. The clip must be bent into a U-shape and thusly configured, pushed sideways into the boutique carton which appears more like a cube than the rectangular shape of the flat carton. In these boutique cartons, a major panel adjacent the bend in the confined clip is provided with an opening for accessing the tissues for withdrawal and use.
In the past, when changing a product line or output from a flat carton to a boutique carton, there were two options. A first option was for the manufacturer to simply purchase two cartoning machines. One would handle a flat pack or cartoning process and another would handle a boutique or upright cartoning process. Of course, this involved the cost of an extra machine.
Alternately, if a single machine was used to produce filled flat cartons and boutique cartons, the machine would be stopped and many changeover parts added to reconfigure the machine to render it operable for properly configuring the clip for the new carton. This resulted in production downtime and significant expense for changeover parts.
More particularly, it will be appreciated that when filling flat cartons, flat clips are simply pushed longwise into the carton through an open end of the carton. End flaps are then closed to produce a finished carton or tissue box. When boutique or upright cartons are used, however, the clips are bent into a U-shape which is then pushed sideways into an open-sided boutique carton, which is then closed to produce a finished boutique carton or tissue box.
Generally, the clips in either case are received in individual buckets of a bucket conveyor, and, in appropriate configuration, are loaded into cartons moving along a machine direction, in phased relation to the buckets. A transfer guide bucket conveyor is typically interposed between the first mentioned buckets and the cartons for receiving and guiding the configured clip as it is pushed transversely from the bucket into the carton.
It will be appreciated from this description that the respective clips must be oriented in the buckets for transfer into the cartons in two different directions. For elongated flat clips, their elongated dimension should lie transversely across the buckets, perpendicular to the machine direction of the bucket conveyor, for endwise motion transversely across the bucket, toward and into the flat cartons. For boutique configured, U-shape clips, which are moved sideways transversely off the buckets into the boutique cartons, their elongated dimension should lie parallel to the machine direction of the bucket conveyor as they are moved into the cartoner. Thus, the clips for flat cartons are oriented longitudinally at 90 degrees to the longitudinal position of the clips configured for boutique cartons.
Accordingly, any machine which is changed over to handle both type clips or cartons must be provided with a variety of parts to produce proper clip orientation and handling, essentially for conveying boutique configured clips with their elongated dimension parallel to the machine direction or flat configured clips at 90 degrees or perpendicular to the machine direction.
Accordingly, it has been one objective of the invention to provide a single, improved tissue handling apparatus and methods for tissue clips of varied configuration.
It has been a further objective of the invention to produce an improved handling apparatus and methods for tissue cartoning which handles both flat and boutique configured clips, but without extensive downtime and with a minimum number of change parts.
It has been a further objective of the invention to provide improved apparatus and methods for turning tissue clips for proper orientation for insertion into flat cartons and for selectively transporting tissue clips for loading into boutique cartons.
It has been a further objective of the invention to provide improved methods and apparatus for handling differently configured tissue clips on the same handling apparatus with only minimal changeover parts.


This invention provides a method for efficiently separating magnesium and lithium from salt lake brine, and simultaneously preparing high-purity magnesium oxide and battery-grade lithium carbonate. The detailed processing steps are as follows: (1) adding urea into the brine to dissolve, (2) placing the solution into the reactor for hydrothermal reaction, the magnesium ion will precipitate and enter the solid phase; (3) filtering and drying the production to get the magnesium carbonate solid, while the lithium ion remains in the liquid phase; (4) after directly concentration and precipitation, the battery-grade lithium carbonate can be obtained, while the calcination of solid-phase product results in the high-purity magnesium oxide. In this method, urea is used as the precipitant to separate magnesium and lithium in salt lake without introducing any new metal ion, and the brine solution is not diluted. The solid product is white and fluffy powder, which is easy to filter and separate. The extraction rate of lithium is high than 94%, and the purity of MgO obtained by calcination is higher than 99.5%.

Lithium is widely used in energy storage batteries, glass ceramics, nuclear industry, aerospace, clinical medicine and other fields, also known as the "energy metal to promote world progress". Lithium mineral in the world can be divided into two types: brine and hard rock. Nearly 80% of lithium resources in China exist in salt lake brine, and thus the extraction of lithium from salt lake brine will become a final trend.
In addition to lithium, salt lakes also contain a variety of other metal resources, such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, and sodium. Magnesium and lithium are located in the diagonal position of the periodic table of elements, which have similar chemical properties, so it is difficult to separate these two metals. Moreover, the higher the ratio of magnesium to lithium is, the more difficult to separate them. The salt lakes in China feature high Mg/Li ratio, and thus the technology of extracting lithium from salt lakes with low Mg/Li ratio abroad is not suitable for the case in China. Therefore, it is a worldwide challenge to extract lithium from salt lakes with high Mg/Li ratio in China and realize the efficient separation of salt lakes. At present, the main methods of extracting lithium resource from salt lake brine include: calcination leaching, solvent extraction, ion sieve adsorption, electrodialysis and precipitation (Zhao Xu, Zhang Qi, Wu Haihong, et al. Extracting lithium from salt lake brine, Chemical Progress [J]. 2017 (7): 796-808). The calcination technology is mature and has been applied to industrial production, but its process is complex. For example, the energy consumption is high in the production process, and equipment corrosion is serious (Ran Jingwen, Liu Xin, Peijun, et al. the production process and status of lithium resource development in China [J]. Guangzhou Chemical Industry, 2016, 44 (13): 4-5). In the process of solvent extraction, the concentration of hydrochloric acid is very high, which seriously corrodes the equipment. In addition, the use of organic solvent will bring environmental pollution and other problems. The ion sieve adsorption method is low cost, pollution-free, and there is no requirement for lithium concentration. However, there are often side reactions in the analyzing process, and the ion sieve is usually in a powdered form, with poor fluidity and permeability, which is difficult to be applied in industry. The long-term use of ion exchange membrane in electrodialysis leads to the membrane pollution, and the high operation cost requires further research (Jia Hang, He Lihua, Xu Wenhua, et al. Research progress of membrane separation method and electrochemical adsorption method for lithium extraction from salt lake [J]. Rare metals and cemented carbide, 2017 (1): 11-16). Most of the countries use the coprecipitation method to extract lithium resource from salt lakes. This method is suitable for the case of salt lakes with low Mg/Li mass ratio. At present, brine resources from Atacama Lake in Chile, Sears Lake and Yinfeng underground brine in the United States all exhibit low Mg/Li ratio, which have been industrialized and utilized. The coprecipitation method usually needs to add precipitants to form metal hydroxides, which will introduce other ions and has strong adsorption on the surface of solid products, so it is difficult to filter and wash.
Magnesium carbonate is an important chemical product, which can be used as filler and reinforcement for rubber products, so as to improve the quality of products. At the same time, because magnesium carbonate has the characteristics of non combustion, light and loose texture, it also serves as a high-temperature resistant and fire insulation material. Magnesium carbonate can also be directly used in the manufacture of magnesium salt, magnesium oxide, fire retardant coating, printing ink, ceramic glass, cosmetics, toothpaste, medicine and pigment. It has also been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry as a medicine for neutralizing stomach acid, treating stomach disease and duodenal ulcer (Wang Xiaoli, Xue Dongfeng, Yan Chenglin. Preparation technology and application of micro/nano-sized magnesium products [J]. Chemical technology market, 2006, 29 (1): 15-19). Carbonate salts of magnesium usually exists in the following forms: hydrated magnesium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and basic magnesium carbonate.

Method for efficiently separating magnesium and lithium from salt lake brine and simultaneously preparing high-purity magnesium oxide and battery-grade lithium carbonate

BEIJING UNIVERSITY OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY


A level indicator and method is provided which is intimately affixed to the outside surface of the outside wall of a container, for use in the determination of the level of the interface between a mass of flowable material and the void volume above it within a container. The level indicator includes a thermochromataic layer which has at least two thermochromatic materials. Each of the thermochromatic materials responds chromatically within a different operating temperature range. In one embodiment, the level indicator vertically extends substantially the height of the container. In an alternative embodiment, the level indicator vertically extends along the height of the container, in the region of the top portion of the container, and at least above the legal safe-fill level of the flowable material within the container such that overfilling of the flowable material in the container is detectable.

This invention relates to level indicators, and particularly relates to external level indicators for determining the level of the interface between a mass of flowable material and the void volume above the mass of flowable material within a container.
Liquid level measuring devices have been known for many years. Their purpose is to locate the level of a flowable material, or to indicate the amount of flowable material remaining in a container.
On many occasions, monitoring the amount of flowable material in a container is required. However, direct observation of the flowable material level is not always possible or practical. Measurement of the material in such containers as pressurized cylinders, sealed containers, cryogenic flasks, and opaque vessels is often difficult. Such measurements are even more troublesome when the material within the container is corrosive or potentially toxic or flammable.
Sight glasses and weight scales are some examples of liquid level measuring devices which are commonly employed. Both of these devices suffer from a number of disadvantages. Sight glasses are expensive, and they can crack and break easily. On such occasions where the container is placed outdoors, ultraviolet light can cause the glass to haze. Weight scales are also expensive, and in many instances, measurements provided by weight scales are inexact.
A simple, economical external liquid level gauge which permits a direct reading of the level of a flowable material has been provided by the present inventor in Canadian Pat. No. 1,177,281 issued on Nov. 6, 1984. The liquid level measuring device taught therein employs one thermochromatic material which is coated onto a base layer. The base layer is magnetically mounted to the outside surface of the outside wall of the container, and thus the external liquid level gauge can be repeatedly removed and replaced or relocated when necessary.
The theory is that the rate of heat transfer is different between a mass of flowable material and the void volume above it such that for any container with a modest heat conducting capability, the container wall experiences a temperature gradient which is most pronounced at the interface of the contents with the void volume above the contents, and of course below that interface. That is to say, the rate of heat transfer through the wall of a container will be greater where there is a mass of flowable material located in the container than where there is a void volume above the flowable material. In other words, the rate of heat transfer through the container wall changes most abruptly at the level of the interface, and below. Thus, with the use of a thermochromatic material, a vivid color change occurring at the interface, and below, will permit an observer to obtain a direct reading of the level of the flowable material within a container by discerning where the interface is located.
In a co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/077,971 filed Feb. 20, 2002, for xe2x80x9cExternal Liquid Level Gauge,xe2x80x9d the present inventor teaches an external liquid level gauge which is adapted to be affixed vertically to the outside wall of a container. This co-pending U.S. Patent Application claims priority from Canadian Patent Application No. 2,338,407 filed Feb. 26, 2001. The external liquid level gauge as taught therein is in the form of an elongated strip and it comprises a layer of base material and a layer of thermochromatic materials. Furthermore, the thermochromatic layer comprises a light absorbing background and at least two regions of thermochromatic materials which are arranged upon the light absorbing background. The regions of at least two thermochromatic materials are disposed in arrays thereof and are arranged entirely along the length of the external liquid level gauge. Moreover, each of the thermochromatic materials responds chromatically within a different operating temperature range.
Several other prior art thermochromatic external liquid level gauges are now described. They include GILMOUR U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,675 issued Oct. 10, 1972, which teaches an external liquid level gauge adapted to be permanently affixed to the outside wall of a container for determining the liquid-gas interface within the container. The external liquid level gauge described therein consists of a uniform thermochromatic liquid crystalline material which coats the entire base layer of the gauge such that it is at right angles to the liquid-gas interface. The uniform thermochromatic material covers the entire temperature range to which the container is subjected within an overall range of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to 250xc2x0 C. Depending upon the thermochromatic material selected, color changes over a gradient from violet to red can occur in a range as small as 2xc2x0 C. to one as broad as 150xc2x0 C. Since the temperature differential across the liquid-gas interface is generally small, on the order of less than 2xc2x0 C., the change in color is slight across the interface. This is particularly the case when the container is placed outdoors and a large temperature range needs to be covered. As a result, it is difficult to visually locate the liquid-gas interface.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,652 issued Jun. 28, 1994 to PARKER, the inventor teaches a thermochromatic level indicator for determining the level of a material inside a container. The thermochromatic level indicator includes at least two thermochromic materials of different opacities and transition temperature. Prior to the attachment of the thermochromatic level indicator to the outside surface of the outside wall of the container, the thermochromic materials are applied to a transparent film by silk screening, other printing and coating methods, or methods which employ the use of microencapsulated thermochromic materials. The thermochromatic level indicator may be permanently adhered to the container wall or it may be adhered to a magnetic strip which can be temporarily affixed to the container wall.
In another U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,590, issued Jan. 13, 1998, the inventor THOMAS et al. has provided a detergent container with a thermochromatic level indicator. In one embodiment of the invention, the thermochromatic substance is added to the container""s plastic material during the molding process. In another embodiment of the invention, the level indicator or strip comprises a base material, such as Mylar, which is coated or imbedded with a thermochromatic substance by such methods as painting, stripping, or screen printing.
The foregoing prior art level gauges are useful for indicating the amount of materials remaining inside a container, but they are not specifically useful as overfill indicators. Indeed, in many instances, only an approximation of the level of materials inside the container is provided. Since the thermochromatic materials present in the prior art level gauges are not in direct contact with the outside surface of the outside wall of the container, the chromatic response of these thermochromatic materials may be delayed. Furthermore, these prior art level gauges may not provide a prominent color change at the level of the interface, and thus a reading of the level of materials may be inexact.
However, under certain circumstances, it is critical to determine the precise level of the materials inside a container, such as in the case of liquefied propane in pressurized cylinder. In warm weather conditions particularly, hydrostatic pressure exerted by liquefied propane inside the pressurized cylinder may cause the cylinder to explode if the cylinder is overfilled. Thus, in order to prevent undesirable gas venting from overfilled cylinders, the United States National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has recently mandated a safe-fill level of propane in pressurized cylinders to be at a level which is 80% of the volume of the propane cylinders such that a 20% volume head space is maintained when the pressurized cylinders are full of propane. Due to the new NFPA regulations, float valves are being applied to cylinders so as to prevent overfill. The float valve closes when the propane level reaches a volume of 80% of the container.
Although float valves provide a method of preventing overfilling, they are a costly solution. In order for a float valve to be installed in a cylinder, the structure of the cylinder needs to be altered. Indeed, some existing cylinders on the market may be retrofitted with float valves, many other existing cylinders must be discarded, and new cylinders with pre-installed float valves need to be manufactured in order to comply with the new regulation. Furthermore, since float valve is a mechanical device, it is subject to mechanical failure over a period of time.
As is discussed immediately above, installing float valves to cylinders is a solution to prevent propane overfill. However, these float valves may only be compatible to cylinders used in the United States and Canada, and may not be compatible with cylinders used overseas, in such places as Europe, Asia or South America where propane gas is a commonly used cooking fuel. Moreover, many regions outside of North America may not yet have the same or similar regulations as mandated by NFPA, but insurance companies, local municipalities, and the like, may require overfill indicators in order for certain coverage or licensing regulations to be effective.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need to provide a level indicator which can be adapted to any container for determining the level of the materials inside the container, and to detect overfill. Furthermore, there is a need to provide a level indicator which can be easily installed to a container without having to alter the structure of the container, and without the use of tools during the installation process. Still further, there is a need to provide a level indicator which can be provided to the user at a relatively low cost.
As employed herein, the term xe2x80x9cflowable materialxe2x80x9d is intended to mean any fluidic matter in which the shape of a given mass depends on the container but the volume is independent thereof. xe2x80x9cFlowable materialxe2x80x9d is also intended to mean any fluid matter which seeks a level and offers no permanent resistance to change of shape. The term may include any mass of granular material which has fluidic properties.
The expression xe2x80x9cthermochromatic materialsxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to mean materials that have or exhibit different colors or shades of color at different temperatures. The expression xe2x80x9cresponding chromaticallyxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to mean having or exhibiting different colors or shades of color at different temperatures.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel level indicator to determine the level of the interface between a mass of flowable material and the void volume above the mass of flowable material within a container, and which obviates or mitigates at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a level indicator which is intimately affixed to the outside surface of the outside wall of a container for use in determining the level of the interface between a mass of flowable material and the void volume above the mass of flowable material within the container.
The flowable material within the container has fluidic properties, and it has a faster rate of heat transfer than the void volume above it within the container. The flowable material is chosen from the group consisting of liquefied gas, corrosive liquid, water, alcohol, oil, coffee, tea, juice, milk, and granular material.
In keeping with the present invention, the container to which the level indicator is intimately affixed to the outside surface of the outside wall may be chosen from the group of containers consisting of pressurized cylinders, open containers, sealed containers, cryogenic flasks and opaque vessels.
The level indicator of the present invention is in the form of an elongated strip, vertically extending along the height of the container. In keeping with the present invention, the level indicator conforms to the contour of the outside surface of the outside wall of the container such that the level indicator is in intimate heat transfer relationship with the outside wall of the container.
The level indicator includes a thermochromatic layer which has at least two thermochromatic materials. The at least two thermochromatic materials are arranged in at least two regions. Furthermore, each of the at least two regions of thermochromatic materials is arranged in an individual area upon the outside surface of the outside wall of the container. The individual area may be chosen from the group of geometric configurations consisting of dots, circles, stars, squares, triangles, arrows, semi-circles, pentagons, hexagons, digits and letters. Each of the thermochromatic materials responds chromatically within a different operating temperature range. The regions of the at least two thermochromatic materials are disposed in arrays thereof arranged along the length of the level indicator.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the level indicator vertically extends along the height of the container, at least in the region of the top portion of the container, and at least above the legal safe-fill level of the flowable material within the container such that overfilling of the flowable material in the container is detectable.
The level indicator of the present invention may also include a layer of base material which is intimately affixed to the outside wall of the container, and is such that it is in intimate heat transfer relationship with the outside wall of the container. The thermochromatic layer overlies the layer of base material.
The layer of base material is applied to the outside wall of the container by an application method chosen from the group consisting of directly applying the base material to the outside surface of the outside wall of the container, and removably securing the base material to the outside surface of the outside wall of the container when the base material additionally has adhesive or magnetic properties so as to permit the level indicator to be repeatedly removed and reattached to the outside wall of the container.
When the layer of base material is directly applied to the outside wall of the container, the at least two thermochromatic materials are applied to the base material by an application method chosen from the group consisting of painting, silk screening, stencilling, molding, crayon transfer, pencil transfer, screening, and combinations thereof.
Typically, but not necessarily, the base material has a series of indicia printed thereon, and the indica are vertically positioned along the length of the base material and at predetermined spaced-apart locations. The indicia on the base material remain invisible until such time when at least a portion of one of the at least two thermochromatic materials of the thermochromatic layer becomes activated. When activated, that portion of one of the at least two thermochromatics becomes translucent, so as to reveal at least one of the indicia printed on the base material.
In one aspect of the present invention, the base material has light absorbing properties.
In another aspect of the invention, the thermochromatic layer further includes a light absorbing background upon which the at least two regions of thermochromatic materials are arranged.
In another embodiment of the invention, the at least two thermochromatic materials are directly applied to the outside surface of the outside wall of the container. Each of the at least two thermochromatic materials is directly applied to the outside surface of the outside wall of the container by an application method chosen from the group consisting of painting, silk screening, stencilling, molding, crayon transfer, pencil transfer, screening, and combinations thereof. Furthermore, each of the at least two thermochromatic materials is carried to the outside surface of the outside wall of the container by a transfer medium. In this particular embodiment, at least a portion of the outside surface of the outside wall of the container which underlies the level indicator has been treated by an application method chosen from the group consisting of anodizing, anti-oxidizing, rust-proofing, and combinations thereof, so as to provide at least that portion of the outside surface of the outside wall with a light absorbing property, prior to the direct application of the level indicator to the outside surface of the outside wall of the container.
Still further, the level indicator may include a protective lamina which overlies the at least two thermochromatic materials. Typically, but not necessarily, the protective clear lamina is an ultraviolet filter.
The thermochromatic materials are chosen from the group of cholesteric liquid crystal compounds and mercurous oxide. In keeping with the present invention, at least two thermochromatic materials in the array have overlapping temperature ranges.
The regions of thermochromatic materials are arranged on the outside surface of the outside wall of the container chosen from the group of arrays consisting of one of the regions of thermochromatic materials vertically positioned down the center of the level indicator and at least one other region diagonally positioned on each side of the vertically positioned region of the level indicator, all of the regions of thermochromatic materials vertically positioned upon the level indicator, and all of the regions of thermochromatic materials horizontally positioned upon the level indicator.
In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the at least two adjacent regions of thermochromatic materials are arranged to form a set, and the set is disposed vertically along the length of the level indicator in a repeated manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of determining the level of the interface between a mass of flowable material and the void volume above it within a container using a level indicator. The level indicator would be, of course, as described above. The method comprises the steps of:
(i) inducing heat transfer between the level indicator and the mass of flowable material within the container; and
(ii) discerning visually a color change in the at least one region of the array of the level indicator.
The region noted above which responds chromatically to a temperature change is contiguous to the mass of flowable material within the container. Specifically, step (i) may be achieved by any of the steps chosen from the group of steps consisting of:
(a) spraying a liquid onto the outer surface of the level indicator;
(b) wetting the outer surface of the level indicator, with a moistened cloth or sponge;
(c) pouring a liquid down the outer surface of the level indicator;
(d) trickling a liquid down the outer surface of the level indicator; and
(e) applying an electrically energized source along the length of the level indicator.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the liquid as employed above in any of steps (a) through (d) is a heat source. Since the temperature of the liquid is above the temperature of the flowable material within the container, heat transfer is induced from the liquid to the flowable material.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the liquid as employed above in any of steps (a) through (d) is a heat sink. Here, the temperature of the liquid is below the temperature of the flowable material within the container. Thus, heat transfer is induced to the liquid from the flowable material within the container.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, at least two adjacent regions of the level indicator are arranged to form a set, which comprises the at least two thermochromatic materials. The set is disposed vertically along the length of the level indicator in a repeated manner.
Particularly when a plurality of sets are disposed in a repeated manner vertically along the length of the level indicator, the method of determining the level of the interface between a mass of flowable material and the void volume above it within a container may also further comprise the step of:
(iii) estimating the level of the interface between the mass of flowable material and the void volume above the mass of flowable material within the container using the level indicator where the estimated area falls between a level having a profound color change and a level having a faint color change.
These and other objects of the present invention are discussed in greater detail hereafter, in association with the accompanying drawings.


A communication plug for connecting to a communication connector is disclosed, wherein the communication connector has an accommodating slot and the communication plug includes a main body and a fixing portion. The main body can be accommodated in the accommodating slot and the fixing portion is connected to the main body. The fixing portion includes a first part, a second part, and a third part, wherein the third part is connected to the first part and the second part. While the main body is accommodated in the communication connector, the third part is accommodated within the accommodating slot. Consequently, the communication plug is fixed within the communication connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication plug; more particularly, the present invention relates to a communication plug that can be connected to or disconnected from a communication connector without pressing the locking part of the communication plug.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communication plugs are the most commonly used components in the transmission of signals. On a network cable, for example, one end of the cable has to be connected to an electrical apparatus, such as a computer, via a communication plug, and the other end of the network cable has to be connected to a network appliance such as a hub, a router, or a broadband router via a communication plug to sustain the transmission of network signals between the electrical apparatus and the network appliance. A communication plug of the prior art is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a locking part 110 is mounted on a communication plug 100 in order to ensure that the communication plug 100 is firmly situated within the communication connector 90. Generally speaking, as shown in FIG. 2, users have to press the locking part 110 in order to allow the communication plug 100 to enter the communication connector 90. After entering the communication connector 90, the communication plug 100 is fixed within the communication connector 90 because the locking part 110 is locked with the opening of the communication connector 90. For disconnecting the communication plug 100 from the communication connector 90, users have to press the locking part 110 to release the connection between the locking part 110 and the opening of the communication connector 90. However, the locking part 110 can be broken if force is applied improperly. If the locking part 110 is broken, the connecting force between the communication plug 100 and the communication connector 90 will fail, and consequently the network connection will fail, which is inconvenient for users.
Therefore, there is a need for a new communication plug that can be connected to or disconnected from a communication connector without application of pressure to the locking part to obviate the aforementioned problems.


This invention relates to a continuous cycle process for the assembly of an unlimited number of multiple distinct editions of magazines in a bindery line. The invention provides a process wherein signatures in a hopper can be changed to produce a different edition of a magazine without stopping the bindery line. The number of different editions which can be produced without stopping the bindery line is increased without lengthening the line.

This invention relates broadly to the production of print media such as magazines, books, catalogs and the like. More specifically, the invention relates to a continuous cycle process for the efficient production of multiple different editions of a magazine.
For purposes of this disclosure, reference will hereinafter be made to "magazine" or "magazines" with the understanding that the term is to be considered generic to magazines, books, catalogs and the like.
In a typical magazine assembly system, either a saddle stitch (also known as a saddle wire or inserter binder) or perfect binding (also known as patent, square back, or, in one variation, as side wire binding) bindery line is employed. On a saddle stitch bindery line, preprinted signatures are deposited in proper sequence on a bindery chain conveyor which carries the signatures to a series of processing stations for functions such as calipering, rejection, stitching, trimming, and labeling. Individual signatures are introduced onto the chain from hoppers usually located above and to one side of the chain. Each hopper has a stack of identical signatures. Each signature generally comprises a folded sheet of paper, or a preassembled group of sheets, which will be supported on the bindery chain along a center fold line. Each signature generally comprises four or more printed pages in the finished magazine. For standard magazine production, i.e., where all magazines assembled on the bindery line are identical, each hopper deposits its respective signature onto the bindery chain, as each copy of the magazine being assembled passes by on the chain underneath.
On a perfect binding line the process is similar. The primary differences are that each hopper deposits its respective signature flat onto a moving belt conveyor rather than hanging them onto a moving chain conveyor, so that the signatures are assembled in a side-by-side fashion adjacent to the other signatures rather than in a nested fashion within the other signatures. The signatures and covers are bound together with glue rather than wire staples.
The present invention is broadly applicable to both the saddled stitch and perfect bindery processes. The specific descriptions used as examples herein will focus on the more common saddle stitch bindery process.
It is often desirable to customize each magazine by including or excluding certain signatures based on known characteristics of the recipient. For example, a signature containing articles or advertising relating to women's apparel might be included in those magazines addressed to female recipients and excluded from those magazines addressed to male recipients. Customization of this type is currently a widespread practice in the print media field, and is generally known as selective binding. Selective binding is a technique for intermittently (or "selectively") activating a hopper (or other device, such as a card feeder) on a bindery line according to the edition makeup of the copies in that portion of the bindery run. The edition makeup defines what signatures should be in each edition of the magazine. In selective binding, the various hoppers are fired selectively in accordance with a master control program.
Customizing different editions of a magazine using selective binding techniques is well-known. Such known techniques are disclosed, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,608,893; 3,917,252; and 4,121,818. Customized editions may be prepared, for example, according to geographic groupings or demographic groupings, such as by income, occupation, gender, other criteria. As explained in the above cited patents, a customized magazine is assembled using a number of common pages or signatures, and a number of customized signatures. The signatures are contained in bins or hoppers which are selectively actuated to produce a specific customized edition.
The number of customized editions which can be conveniently produced without stopping the bindery line is limited by the number of hoppers available to contain the customized signatures. Typically a saddle stitch bindery line will have no more than approximately 20 hoppers. Generally, most of these hoppers will be used for common signatures. The number of hoppers available for the customized signatures is thus very limited. Some magazines may have from 30-700 different regional or demographic editions.
In the known selective binding processes, all the customized or variable signatures for each of the different editions must be available on the bindery line in one of the hoppers during the run sequence, since each of the different editions are produced in random fashion, generally according to postal sortation rules. For example, in a simple four edition magazine, wherein men get one version and women get a different version, and persons under 30 get a version different from persons over 30, the different versions are randomly produced. In this example, at least four separate hoppers containing the variable signatures must be available if, without stopping the bindery line, the different version are produced using selective binding techniques. Thus, for example, if one wants to change signatures for each of six different cities, six selective hoppers would be required for that part of the bindery run. When there are many changes during a bindery run, there may not be enough hoppers available to accommodate all those changes to bind them selectively. Thus, using known techniques, the bindery line must stop, and the needed additional signatures are placed in the bindery hoppers. This is very inefficient, particularly in complex situations with several hundred changes during the bindery run. A "bindery run" is generally defined as the interval between stops in the production on a bindery line necessitated by the specifications of the job or the limitations of the bindery equipment.
Although theoretically the number of hoppers on a bindery could be increased to accommodate all the different editions, this too is not practical or cost-effective. A bindery line having 50 or more hoppers would be excessively long and would significantly slow down the production process. Based on commonly used equipment, each additional hopper degrades production speed by about 250 magazines per hour.

Cycle binding line with signature replacement indicator means


A wash arm assembly may include: a wash arm having a circular opening with a center, an edge, and a mounting unit having a circular insertion portion and a supporting portion. The mounting unit may be inserted at least partly in the circular opening to mount the wash arm within the dishwasher and to allow rotation of the wash arm around a rotational axis. The insertion portion may be inserted at least partly in the circular opening to form a passage between the edge and the circular insertion portion when the mounting unit is inserted at least partly in the circular opening. The wash arm may include a protrusion, and the supporting portion and the wash arm may form a chamber delimited by the passage and the protrusion when the supporting portion supports the wash arm. A dishwasher including the wash arm assembly may also be provided.

Today's dishwashers are expected to perform high quality wash of dishware while at the same time to efficiently use of water and energy in order to fulfill requirements concerning environmental impact and sustainability. Various arrangements, taking up some space within the dishwashers, for washing of the dishware in an efficient manner have thus been developed. However, it is also desired that the dishwashers can accommodate a lot of dishware to be washed. Therefore, it is desired that space within the dishwashers for accommodating dishware is as large as possible. A trade-off between space for dishware and environmental impact is consequently made.
A known dishwasher comprises a so called upper wash arm connection as one typical example of the aforementioned arrangements for washing of dishware. The upper wash arm connection usually connects an upper wash arm to a tube for providing washing liquid to be exerted out of the upper wash arm. A bearing, or a bearing-like arrangement, is thus formed when the upper wash arm is connected to the tube. It is desired that the upper wash arm connection has a low profile to limit space occupied by it within the dishwasher. Furthermore, leakage of the washing liquid through the bearing is desired, since the leakage creates lift forces within the bearing and lubricates the bearing. In this manner, friction within the bearing is reduced. However, the leakage is desired to be limited due to that the leakage reduces an amount of water, efficiently expelled out of the upper wash arm, for providing high quality wash. The bearing should preferably also be characterized by low friction, low sensitivity and/or susceptibility to dirt and high abrasive resistance.
WO2010089149 discloses a spray arm assembly comprising a support means with a mounting element for mounting of the support means within a dishwasher. The support means comprises a support member for supporting the spray arm. During use of the dishwasher and during rotation of the spray arm, the spray arm floats on a liquid layer formed between the spray arm and the support member due to a leakage therebetween. During use of the dishwasher, pressure of the liquid may vary. Variation of the pressure causes the leakage to vary as well. As a consequence thereof, rotation of the spray arm may become unstable.
A problem with the spray arm assembly of WO2010089149 is hence that the rotation of the spray arm may become unstable when pressure of the liquid varies during use of the dishwasher.

Wash arm assembly and dishwasher comprising wash arm assembly


A method for producing an electrical feedthrough in a substrate includes: forming a first printed conductor on a first side of a substrate which electrically connects a first contact area of the substrate on the first side; forming a second printed conductor on a second side of a substrate which electrically connects a second contact area of the substrate on the second side; forming an annular trench in the substrate, a substrate punch being formed which extends from the first contact area to the second contact area; and selectively depositing an electrically conductive layer on an inner surface of the annular trench, the substrate punch being coated with an electrically conductive layer and remaining electrically insulated from the surrounding substrate due to the annular trench.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing an electrical feedthrough in a substrate, and a substrate having an electrical feedthrough.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical feedthroughs in a substrate or in a subarea of a substrate, such as a wafer, for example, exist in numerous specific embodiments. The objective is always to achieve the smallest possible feedthrough at a low electrical volume resistance. To achieve this, frequently a narrow through hole having practically vertical walls is produced in the substrate in question, the wall is electrically insulated, and the through hole is then completely or partially filled with a metal or a metal alloy in order to obtain the desired low volume resistance.
Depending on the application, this known approach has limitations. On the one hand, there are applications in which the presence of metal results in interference. The micromechanical pressure sensor is named here as one example of numerous MEMS applications.
FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional illustration for explaining the object on which the present invention is based, with reference to a substrate having an electrical feedthrough and a pressure sensor as an example.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a silicon semiconductor substrate. A first area 1 having an electrical feedthrough 6a and a second area 11 having a micromechanical component in the form of a pressure sensor are provided in silicon semiconductor substrate 2. Feedthrough 6a is connected to a first electrical contact terminal DK1 of pressure sensor 11 via a printed conductor 15a on front side V of substrate 10. Pressure sensor 11 has a diaphragm 3 which is provided above a cavity 3a. A piezoresistive resistor 4 and an insulation trough 4a situated therebeneath are diffused into diaphragm 3. First electrical contact terminal DK1 as well as a second electrical contact terminal DK2 contact piezoresistive resistor 4 in such a way that the piezoelectric resistance therebetween is detectable.
A first insulating layer Ii is provided between electrical metal printed conductor 15a and front side V of substrate 10. A second insulating layer 12 is provided between an electrical metal printed conductor 15b on the back side, and back side R of substrate 2. Insulating layers I1 and 12 may be oxide layers, for example. Feedthrough 6a connects printed conductor 15a on the front side to printed conductor 15b on the back side. A wall insulating layer 7a, which is likewise made of an oxide, for example, insulates feedthrough 6a from surrounding substrate 10. Lastly, reference numeral 9 denotes a so-called seed layer for applying the metal of feedthrough 6a, which at the same time may be used as a diffusion barrier.
In such classical micromechanical pressure sensors 11, deformation of silicon diaphragm 3, which is situated on silicon substrate 10, is measured via the piezoresistive resistor. The deformation of diaphragm 3, and thus the resistance signal of piezoresistive resistor 4, changes when the pressure changes. As a result of the different material parameters of silicon and metal, narrow metal printed conductors 15a located at the surface and in the vicinity of diaphragm 3 result in voltages which are transmitted via substrate 10 to diaphragm 3. The temperature-dependent portion of the voltages may be compensated for, with some effort. However, the inelastic properties of many metals also result in hysteresis in the characteristic curve of the pressure sensor. It is not possible to compensate for this effect. When metallic areas are provided not only at the surface but also at a depth in substrate 2, even greater adverse effects on voltage-sensitive components, for example such as pressure sensors, are expected.
On the other hand, there are a number of applications in which primarily also high voltages or also only high voltage peaks (ESD, for example) are to be conducted by a substrate or a subarea of the substrate via an electrical feedthrough. This is difficult using the approach described above. The etched through holes are usually insulated by oxide deposition. The achievable oxide thicknesses are greatly limited by the process control and the specific geometry. Therefore, the maximum electric strength is also greatly limited. In addition, the surface of the through holes, which are produced using a trench etching process or a laser process, is rather rough. This roughness causes electrical field peaks which likewise reduce the electric strength.
Alternative approaches without metals are not feasible in many applications, since the extremely low volume resistances which are often necessary are achievable only using metals.
A micromechanical component having wafer through-contacting as well as a corresponding manufacturing method are known from published German patent application document DE 10 2006 018 027 A1. A blind hole is introduced into the front side of a semiconductor substrate using a trench etching process, and the side wall of the blind hole is porously etched using an electrochemical etching process. The blind hole is filled with a metal plating and subsequently opened by thinning the semiconductor substrate on the back side.
A micromechanical component having wafer through-contacting as well as a corresponding manufacturing method are known from published German patent application document DE 10 2006 042 366 A1, in which metallic material is initially applied to a first area on the surface of the top side of a semiconductor substrate. The first area is designed in such a way that it leaves open a second area on the top side of the semiconductor substrate, which does not have the metallic material, and completely encloses this second area. A thermal step is then carried out which produces a first volume area within the semiconductor substrate having P+ or P++ doping. The thermal step results in a diffusion process in which metallic material diffuses from the top side to the bottom side of the semiconductor substrate. As a result of the diffusion process, the first volume area thus produced encloses a second volume area, which is preferably composed of the unaffected P-doped semiconductor material. To provide electrical insulation between the second volume area and the P-doped semiconductor material enclosing the first volume area, the first volume area is porosified using a suitable etching process.
German patent application DE 10 2010 039 339.4, which is not deemed a prior art, discloses the combination of a metallic punch as the feedthrough having a wide insulation ring. It is characteristic for this system that low resistances and a high electric strength as well as an efficient strain decoupling may be achieved. However, this approach allows only for relatively large TSVs (through silicon vias) and the manufacturing process is complex and expensive.

Method for producing an electrical feedthrough in a substrate, and a substrate having an electrical feedthrough


The present embodiments provide methods for detecting errors and vulnerabilities in software without access to its source code. The method entails extracting functions from dynamically linked applications, determining error return codes and error numbers for the extracted functions, and forming a wrapper using the extracted functions. The wrapper is used to intercept some of the function calls, wherein the intercepted functions are manipulated to fail. The embodiments further relate to an article of manufacture to detect errors. The article of manufacture utilizes an extraction module to extract functions from dynamically linked applications, software to compile error return codes and error numbers for functions, and a wrapper module to form a wrapper with the extracted functions.

A subtle programming error in a commonly used application can sometimes become a serious security hole if exploited by malicious users. A traditional approach for detecting programming errors has been to visually examine the source code to detect loopholes. Manual inspection of the source code, however, is tedious and expensive in human costs and very time consuming when applied to systems that are very large. Moreover, traditional manual inspections can be erratic and depend largely on the level of expertise of the software engineers involved.
Additionally, most bugs in the software are contained in the error handling paths. Normal execution paths are usually well tested, but detection of bugs in the error handling path has been largely overlooked. Sometimes such bugs are difficult to detect or reproduce because they happen rarely, such as, only when resources of the system are depleted, like memory resources. Additionally, other errors in the program may have a delayed effect, for example, a buffer overflow may lead to heap corruption and cause a system crash much later. Thus, a need exists for a method to evaluate the robustness of the software and detect its potential errors and vulnerabilities in an effective manner.
Moreover, manual inspection requires access to the source code of the software. With the increasing pressure of cutting down the business cost, many companies utilize software products developed by third party vendors. Source code access is typically not available in this case.
One approach that has been used in the past is to use black box testing which passes various input values into the software and checks its output. Traditionally black box testing methods do not adequately test the behavior of the software on exceptional system conditions, such as when the system runs out of file descriptors.
A need exists for a way of exposing a large number of software bugs without source code access.
A need exists for an automatic process, which eliminates the manual methods for detecting errors in software.
A need exists for a method to detect programming errors in large software systems quickly.
The present embodiments meet these needs.

Method for detecting software errors and vulnerabilities


A microneedle injection and infusion apparatus, and a method of using same. The apparatus can include a housing, a microneedle array holder for holding a microneedle array, and a shuttle that holds a cartridge (e.g., that contains an active agent). The microneedle array holder can be movable between a retracted position and an extended position. The shuttle can be movable between a first position in which the cartridge is not in fluid communication with a fluid path and a second position in which the cartridge is in fluid communication with the fluid path. The apparatus can further include an actuator movable between a first position and a second position. The method can include moving the actuator to its second position to allow the shuttle to move toward its second position, wherein movement of the shuttle toward its second position allows the microneedle array holder to move to its extended position.

Active agents (or drugs) are conventionally administered either orally or by injection. Unfortunately, many agents can be ineffective or have radically reduced efficacy when orally administered since they either are not absorbed or are adversely affected before entering the bloodstream and thus do not possess the desired activity. Further, orally administered agents may not take effect as quickly as injected agents. On the other hand, the direct injection of the agent into the bloodstream, while assuring no modification of the agent during administration, is a difficult, inconvenient, painful and uncomfortable procedure which sometimes results in poor patient compliance.
Transdermal delivery can provide a method of administering active agents that would otherwise need to be delivered via hypodermic injection or intravenous infusion. In addition, transdermal delivery, when compared to oral delivery, avoids the harsh environment of the digestive tract, bypasses gastrointestinal drug metabolism, reduces first-pass effects, and avoids the possible deactivation by digestive and liver enzymes.
In some cases, however, the number of molecules that can be effectively delivered using transdermal delivery can be limited by the barrier properties of skin. The main barrier to the transport of molecules through the skin is the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the skin).
A number of different skin treatment methods have been proposed in order to increase the permeability or porosity of the outermost skin layers, such as the stratum corneum, thus enhancing drug delivery through or into those layers. The stratum corneum is a complex structure of compact keratinized cell remnants separated by lipid domains. The stratum corneum is formed of keratinocytes, which make up the majority of epidermal cells, that lose their nuclei and become corneocytes. These dead cells comprise the stratum corneum, which has a thickness of only about 10-30 microns and protects the body from invasion by exogenous substances and the outward migration of endogenous fluids and dissolved molecules. Various skin treatment methods include the use of microneedles, laser ablation, RF ablation, heat ablation, sonophoresis, iontophoresis, or a combination thereof.
Microneedle or micro-pin arrays, also sometimes referred to as microstructured transdermal systems (MTSs), provide intradermal delivery of active agents, which otherwise would not penetrate the stratum corneum. The sharp microneedle tip is designed to be able to penetrate the stratum corneum layer of the skin, but short enough not to puncture nerve endings, thus reducing or eliminating pain upon insertion. However, the penetration of microneedles to precise levels within the skin tissue and with good reproducibility is often a challenging task. Therefore, unlike the application of traditional patch-based delivery systems, some existing MTSs require the assistance of external energy to ensure efficient and reproducible penetration of microneedles into biological tissue at desired depths. This assistance can be achieved by utilizing an apparatus device, which can either be used after positioning the microneedle array on the skin surface, or the apparatus device can be integrated with an array of microneedles and, upon activation, can deliver the microneedle array into the skin. The microneedles help to create microchannels in the skin, which in some embodiments, can facilitate delivering an active ingredient. In some constructions, active component(s) may be coated on the microneedle array and delivered directly through the skin when the stratum corneum is punctured by the microneedles. One advantage of MTS systems over other skin treatment methods is a reduced-pain mode of delivery.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Microneedle injection and infusion apparatus and method of using same