A vehicle speed detecting unit detects a vehicle speed. A threshold changing unit changes a threshold in accordance with the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting unit. A gain calculating unit calculates a gain value of an input sound inputted to a microphone. A sound control unit mutes the input sound when the gain value of the input sound is equal, to or greater than the threshold changed by the threshold changing unit, the gain value being calculated by the gain calculating unit.

An active vibration control device according to Patent Literature 1 cancels out a vibration sound propagating through the vehicle body of a vehicle by generating a control sound for the vibration sound and then causing both the vibration sound and the control sound to interfere with each other. The above-mentioned activity vibration control device has a detecting means for detecting the presence of a road information system that consists of projecting and recessed portions arranged on a road surface in order to notify occupants in the vehicle of certain information by means of vibrations transmitted from the road surface. When the presence of the road information system is detected by the detecting means, the above-mentioned activity vibration control device does not cancel out the vibration sound generated by this road information system. The detecting means compares the vibration sound propagating through the vehicle body of the vehicle with a threshold, and, when the vibration sound is greater than the threshold, determines that a road information system is present.

Sound control device for vehicle and sound control method for vehicle


The present invention provides a composition for suppressing the expression of a KRAS gene, comprising a lipid particle containing, as a drug, a double-stranded nucleic acid having an antisense strand having a sequence of bases complementary to the sequence of at least 19 continuous bases of any one KRAS gene's mRNA of sequence Nos. 1 to 3; and

KRAS belongs to the RAS family of proteins with a molecular weight of about 21 kDa and GTP hydrolytic activity. KRAS is found inside the cell membrane, and has a role to transmit signals into cells in response to the binding of extracellular growth factors such as Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) with the receptors. Activating mutations can be found in KRAS, and they are found in about 20% of human cancer. The frequency of the occurrence of KRAS activating mutations is high particularly in pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer (see "Cancer Res", Vol. 72, p. 2457, 2012). There is a report that anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody drugs: cetuximab and panitumumab are ineffective in colon cancer patients with KRAS activating mutations (see "N Engl J Med", Vol. 360, p. 1408, 2009; "J Clin Oncol", Vol. 26, p. 374, 2008; "J Clin Oncol", Vol. 26, p. 1626, 2008). KRAS has been regarded as a desirable target of anticancer drugs, and there have been long-standing attempts to discover KRAS inhibitors by a low-molecular drug discovery approach (see "Cancer Biology & Therapy", Vol. 1, p. 599, 2002). However, there is no effective therapeutic agent for treating a cancer etc. that targets the KRAS.
As a method of suppressing the expression of a target gene, for example, a method utilizing RNA interference (hereinafter referred to as RNAi) and the like are known, and specifically, a phenomenon in which when a double-stranded RNA having a sequence identical to that of a target gene is introduced into Nematoda, the expression of the target gene is specifically suppressed has been reported (see "Nature", Vol. 391, No. 6669, pp. 806-811, 1998). Further, it has been found that even when a double-stranded RNA having a length of 21 to 23 bases is introduced into Drosophila, instead of a long double-stranded RNA, the expression of a target gene is suppressed. This is named a short interfering RNA (siRNA) (see International Publication No. WO 01/75164).
RNAi has been frequently verified also in in vivo tests. The effect of siRNA with a length of 50 base pairs or less on fetal animals (see United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2002-132788) and the effect thereof on adult mice (see International Publication No. WO 03/10180) are reported. Moreover, the effect of suppressing the expression of a specific gene has been found in each of organs that are kidney, spleen, lung, pancreas, and liver when siRNA is intravenously administered to a fetal mouse (see "Nature Genetics", Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 107-108, 2002). Furthermore, it has been reported that also when siRNA is directly administered to brain cells, the expression of a specific gene is suppressed (see "Nature Biotechnology", Vol. 20, No. 10, pp. 1006-1010, 2002).
KRAS siRNA is described in, for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, etc.
Medicines containing an siRNA are described in, for example, Patent Document 3, Patent Document 4, Patent Document 5, etc.
Patent Document 3 discloses medicines containing an siRNA and, for example, 1,2-dilinoleyloxy-N,N-dimethylaminopropane (DLinDMA) etc. DLinDMA etc. are characterized in that for the purpose of developing more flexible cationic lipids, thereby increasing the membrane fluidity of a liposome or the like, the higher alkyl groups of N-(2,3-di-(9-(Z)-octadecenoyloxy))-propan-1-yl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (DOTAP) and N-[1-(2,3-dioleyloxy)propyl]-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (DOTMA) that are structurally analogous cationic lipids thereto are replaced by higher alkyl groups containing at least two sites of unsaturation. In addition, Patent Document 4 discloses medicines containing an siRNA and, for example, 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminomethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-K-DMA) etc.
In addition, Patent Document 5 discloses, for example, trans-3,4-bis(((Z)-octadeca-9-enoyloxy)methyl)pyrrolidine (Compound I-3) etc.

RNAi pharmaceutical composition for suppressing expression of KRAS gene

Abstract: a cationic lipid represented by the following formula (I):

Abstract: wherein

Abstract: R1 and R2, which are the same or different, are each linear or branched alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl having a carbon number of from 12 to 24;        L1 and L2, which are the same or different, are each —CO—O— or —O—CO—;        a and b, which are the same or different, are each 1 to 3; and        R3 is a hydrogen atom, alkyl having a carbon number of from 1 to 6, or alkenyl having a carbon number of from 3 to 6, and the like.


A vinyl monomer is graft polymerized on an aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer film substrate to introduce graft chains into the substrate and thereafter a functional monomer represented by the following formula and having sulfonic acid groups or functional groups capable of conversion to sulfonic acid groups is graft polymerized to introduce the sulfonic acid groups or the functional groups capable of conversion to sulfonic acid groups:

The present invention relates to highly proton-conductive polymer electrolyte membranes that are suitable for use in polymer electrolyte fuel cells or in dialysis applications such as electrodialysis and diffusion dialysis and which excel in mechanical strength, as well as a process for producing such polymer electrolyte membranes.
Polymer electrolyte fuel cells have high energy density and hence hold promise for use as power supplies to household cogeneration systems, mobile communication devices and electric vehicles or as simplified auxiliary power sources. In polymer electrolyte fuel cells, a gas-diffusing electrode is composited to both sides of the polymer electrolyte membrane in such a way as to provide a substantially monolithic structure. Hence, the polymer electrolyte membrane not only acts as a proton-conducting electrolyte but also has the role of a diaphragm that prevents the fuel hydrogen or methanol from directly mixing with the oxidant oxygen even under pressure.
One of the requirements that should be satisfied by the polymer electrolyte membrane is that more protons flow. To this end, it is important that sulfonic acid groups responsible for proton conduction should be introduced as much as possible into the polymer electrolyte membrane.
The polymer electrolyte membrane which also has the role of a diaphragm must satisfy other requirements including high mechanical strength and good dimensional stability.
To meet these needs of polymer electrolyte membranes, Nafion® has been commonly used and this is the perfluorinated sulfonic acid polymer membrane developed by Du Pont. However, the Nafion® membrane has the problem that as the amount of sulfonic acid groups responsible for proton conduction is increased, the membrane liquefies, so they cannot be introduced beyond a certain limit. In addition, the membrane strength decreases with the increased introduction of the sulfonic acid groups, causing such a problem as the breakage of the membrane during assembly of a cell unit or cell operation. It has thus been a difficult task to achieve high levels for both proton conductivity and membrane strength. What is more, the Nafion® membrane is very expensive and this has been a great obstacle to the effort in commercializing the polymer electrolyte fuel cell.
Under the circumstances, efforts have been made to develop low-cost polymer electrolyte membranes that can be substituted for the Nafion® membrane. The polymer electrolyte membranes under development are generally classified into three types, fully fluorinated, partially fluorinated hydrocarbon-based, and hydrocarbon-based.
The fully fluorinated polymer electrolyte membrane is highly durable but at the same time it is very expensive. In contrast, the hydrocarbon-based polymer electrolyte membrane and the partially fluorinated hydrocarbon-based polymer electrolyte membrane can be synthesized from quite inexpensive starting materials at low cost and, hence, are expected to have a potential to supply inexpensive polymer electrolyte membranes for polymer electrolyte fuel cells.
In particular, aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer electrolyte membranes are produced by sulfonating films of aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymers which are super-engineering plastics. Alternatively, polymer electrolyte membranes can be produced by a process which comprises synthesizing a polymer electrolyte by polymerization reaction of an aromatic hydrocarbon-based monomer to which sulfonic acid groups have bonded and then forming a membrane of the polymer (see, for example, JP. 2004-288497 A, JP 2004-346163 A, and JP 2006-12791 A). Because of the aromatic structure it possesses, the produced polymer electrolyte membrane is expected to have high enough mechanical strength. However, these aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer electrolyte membranes have the same difficulty that the Nafion® membrane has: when more of the sulfonic acid groups responsible for proton conduction are incorporated, the membrane becomes more water-soluble and its mechanical strength decreases. This is because the sulfonic acid groups randomly present in the aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer chains prevent sharp separation between the hydrophobic portion which contributes to the retention of mechanical strength and the electrolyte layer responsible for proton conduction.
In order to solve this problem, the present inventors previously filed Japanese Patent Application 2007-029223, proposing that a crosslinked structure be introduced by preliminary irradiation of an aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer film. This process does not involve the membrane-forming step and yet a polymer electrolyte membrane can be obtained by direct sulfonation. A further advantage of this process is that crosslinking provides a higher ion-exchange capacity and contributes to allowing the polymer electrolyte membrane to retain high mechanical strength. However, in order to impart an effective crosslinked structure to the aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer film substrate, radiation must be applied at a high dose (≧1000 kGy); hence, it has been desired to impart high enough crosslinking density by a lower dose of irradiation.
Japanese Patent Application 2006-227935 proposes that a vinyl monomer having functional groups capable of conversion to sulfonic acid groups be graft polymerized to the aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer film substrate by radiation-induced grafting. However, on account of the conversion to sulfonic acid groups, the aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer serving as the substrate in the sulfonation step is also sulfonated, causing a considerable drop in the mechanical strength of the membrane. What is more, due to the low graft polymerizability of the aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer film, it is difficult to obtain high enough ion-exchange capacity.

Highly proton-conductive polymer electrolyte membranes that excel in mechanical strength and a process for producing the same

Abstract: where R is an aromatic ring or an aliphatic chain; X is (1) —OH, (2) —OLi, —ONa or —OK, (3) —F or —Cl, or (4) —OCnH2n+1 where n is an integer of 1 to 7. Since the graft chains obtained by graft polymerization of the vinyl monomer can also be utilized as scaffold polymers, the graft polymerizability of the functional monomer to the aromatic hydrocarbon-based polymer film substrate is sufficiently improved to enable the preparation of a polymer electrolyte membrane that excels not only in proton conductivity and mechanical strength but also in dimensional stability.


A hinge for eyeglasses includes a hinge block for attachment to a lens frame of the eyeglasses. The hinge block has an aperture and a slot extending from the aperture. A hinge pin is attached to an arm of the eyeglasses. The hinge pin is pivotally received by the aperture and has a radially extending leg that is sized and shaped to pass within the slot upon attachment of the hinge pin to the hinge block to enable quick release when desired.

The present invention relates to eyeglasses. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a quick-release hinge for eyeglasses.
Typical known eyeglasses comprise a lens frame connected to each of a pair of earpieces by a hinge. Each hinge typically comprises a screw passing through aligned apertures, one of which is threaded to receive the thread of the screw. The screw defines the pivot axis of the hinge. In order to remove the earpieces it is necessary to use a small screwdriver to remove the screw from each hinge. A further problem exists in that the screws can become loose over time and become inadvertently dislodged and misplaced.
Also known eyeglasses do not enable the wearer to adjust the angle of the lens/lens frame up and down with respect to the arms for comfort.


A multifunction peripheral (MFP) and a method for restricting the use of the same. A user ID and a password are registered according to a user's input, accessible functions are set according to the registered user, and even the authenticated user is restricted to using only the set functions. Therefore, use of the MFP and specific functions of the MFP can be restricted according to the particular registered user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multifunction peripheral (MFP). More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for restricting the use of a multifunction peripheral (MFP) to a registered user.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional multifunction peripheral (MFP) such as a printer, scanner or facsimile machine is not only able to serve as a mere office machine but can also receive e-mails and access Internet websites when the MFP is equipped with a multimedia function. The MFP comprises a communication device 30 so as to connect to external networks such as the Internet and utilize related functions by driving the appropriate application programs, for example, a web browser program or an e-mail program. Additionally, the e-mail contents and information on the websites can be printed out using the printer function of the MFP. As is well known in the art, a computer program can be defined as a set of instructions (program codes) in a logical sequence interpreted and executed by a computer enabling the computer to perform a required function or instruction.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional MFP. As shown in FIG. 1, an MFP 10 comprises a computer application enabling e-mail functions with a mail server 90 through a network, such as the Internet 80. The MFP 10 comprises a memory unit 50 comprising storage mediums such as hard disc drive (HDD) to record therein user information, a directory of e-mail addresses, Internet websites and phone numbers, and files for storing print jobs for printing. The various functions of the MFP can be set for use by a particular user by manipulating an operation panel 20 through a display unit 22.
More specifically, the MFP 10 comprises the operation panel 20, the display unit 22, the memory unit 50 and a control unit 70. The operation panel 20 serves as an input means for inputting addresses using a uniform resource locator (URL) of the Internet websites: and setting assorted functions. The display unit 22 shows the functions selected through the operation panel 20 and the working state of the MFP. The memory unit 50 stores information regarding the input signals of the operation panel 20, general printing work files and scanned data. The memory unit 50 also stores information of a user and a manager of the apparatus and the directory of e-mail addresses, Internet websites and phone numbers. The control unit 70 connects with the Internet 80 through a communication device 30 and reads out a web document from websites to output the document to a printing unit 60. Also, the control unit 70 may perform a scan-to-e-mail function to transmit data scanned by a scan unit 40 to a certain site via e-mail.
The communication device 30 transmits the web document to the mail server 90 using an e-mail address transmitted from the control unit 70 through the Internet 80. Such a communication device 30 may comprise a network interface card such as a modem or a local area network (LAN) card, capable of transmitting e-mails and processing signals.
Since the conventional MFPs are used in an office, being interconnected by networks, any user on the same network can access the conventional networked MFP without restriction. In other words, there has not been any restriction to only a few approved users in using a certain networked MFP, nor has there been a restriction from using the special functions of the networked MFP.
Such unrestricted use of the MFP by an unauthorized user or of unauthorized functions may increase the waste of resources.

Multifunction peripheral (MFP) and a method for restricting use thereof


A chucking mechanism which reliably attaches and detaches a disc with high precision. The chucking mechanism includes a shaft for supporting the disc and having a tapered recess, a tapered cone adapted to fit in the tapered recess, and a piston for moving a rod, attached to the tapered cone, through a hole formed in the shaft. The mechanism also includes an O-ring having a variable diameter and being disposed between the tapered cone and the tapered recess. As the piston moves the tapered cone in a first direction, the tapered cone gradually expands the diameter of the O-ring to press and fix the disc. As the piston moves the tapered cone in a second direction, the diameter of the O-ring gradually contracts to move out of contact with the disc so as to release the disc.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc-chucking mechanism which attaches and detaches a disc in a hard disk device, a servo writer, a media tester, a head tester, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical disc for use in a hard disk device is driven with a spindle motor. The disc is produced by polishing a blank material of aluminum or glass to obtain a precisely flat surface and applying a metal material on the flat surface. The disc has an extremely small thickness relative to the flatness thereof and is very easily distorted.
Therefore, it is difficult to attach the disc to the spindle motor without degrading the flatness of the disc. In addition, when the disc is used in the servo writer, the media tester, or the like and must be attached and detached frequently, it is necessary to hold the disc in a short time with high reliability.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the construction of a known chucking mechanism. When a disc D is fitted to a central portion 1a of a cylindrical center shaft 1, a high-precision parallel spacer 2 is disposed around the central portion 1a and the disc D is placed on the parallel spacer 2. Then, a cap 3 is placed on the top surface of the disc D and is fastened to the central portion 1a with a washer 4 and a screw 5. When the screw 5 is attached, a torque driver or the like must be used to prevent the disc D from distorting. Thus, there is a disadvantage in that the attaching/detaching process requires a long time.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, instead of using the screw 5, a disc D may also be attached by vacuum suction using a suction hole 1b formed in a center shaft 1. However, since a cap 3 is provided as a separate component, a conveying mechanism for the cap 3 is required when automation for mass production is to be achieved. Accordingly, this structure is not suitable in view of space saving and cost reduction.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, a disc D may also be attached/detached by moving three lugs 6 provided on a central portion 1a with respect to an inner circumferential portion of the disc D in the radial direction thereof. In this method, a separate component like the above-mentioned cap 3 or the like is not required. However, since the disc D is held using small regions where the three lugs 6 come into contact with the disc D, stress concentration occurs at these regions and the disc D is easily distorted. Therefore, it is difficult to maintain the high flatness of the disc D.
In the above-described known structures, a mechanism which quickly and reliably attaches/detaches the disc with high precision and small distortion is not established, although such a mechanism is important.

Disc-chucking mechanism having contractable/expandable O-ring for fixing disc


The invention relates to a device and a method, by which the intraocular pressure in a patient's eye is changed by artificially applying a variable stimulation pressure causing, upon reaching specific intraocular pressure values, the presence of characteristic measurement criteria in the retina of the eye, which allow global and local retinal blood pressure values to be derived from the intraocular pressure value. Based on the retinal blood pressure values, which are determined online or preferably offline, local retinal perfusion pressure values (rPP) can be computed and represented in an image of the retina as a pressure mapping image.

It is known in modern medicine that changes in the retinal perfusion pressure rPP have a substantial influence on the retinal blood flow and play a decisive role in the genesis of various ocular conditions. The retinal perfusion pressure rPP is calculated from the difference of the retinal arterial blood pressure rPa of the blood flowing into the eye and the retinal venous blood pressure rPv of the blood flowing out of the eye.rPP=rPa−rPv
In this context, the retinal venous blood pressure rPv depends largely on external circumstances and either assumes the value of the intraocular pressure IOP, if the intraocular pressure IOP is greater than the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP (frequently also referred to as retinal venous outflow pressure), or is equal to the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP, insofar as the latter is greater than the intraocular pressure IOP. In special cases, the retinal venous blood pressure rPV may also assume the value of the intracranial pressure. However, this applies only if the intracranial pressure is greater than the intraocular pressure IOP and the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP.
Ophthalmodynamometry is a method for determining global retinal blood pressure values rP on the basis of known visual pulsation phenomena visible upon reaching the retinal blood pressure values rP. For retinal blood pressure measurement (ophthalmodynamometry), the intraocular pressure IOP is increased. Similar to blood pressure measurement on the upper arm, the intraocular pressure IOP is first increased, at the start of measurement, to suprasystolic arterial blood pressure values greater than the retinal arterial systolic blood pressure value rPasys, which are achieved as soon as no vascular pulsation is visible, and then the intraocular pressure IOP is slowly decreased. The first visible arterial vascular pulsations are the visual measurement criterion for reaching the global retinal arterial systolic blood pressure rPasys in the retina. Seeing the arterial vascular pulsations disappear again (further visual measurement criterion) means that the intraocular pressure IOP has reached the retinal arterial diastolic blood pressure rPadia in the retina. In recent years, ophthalmodynamometry has been used increasingly to measure the retinal venous blood pressure inside the eyeball rPv. The visual measurement criterion used for this purpose is the so-called venous collapse in the area of the optic nerve head. The venous collapse occurs in the area of the optic nerve head at the point where the retinal veins exit from the eyeball, provided the intraocular pressure IOP is greater than the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP. If the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP is greater than the intraocular pressure IOP, no spontaneous venous collapse occurs. In order to measure the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP, the intraocular pressure IOP is increased until the spontaneous venous collapse is just visible. The associated intraocular pressure IOP then corresponds to the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP.
A known device used in medicine to perform ophthalmodynamometry is described in the aforementioned DE 195 14 796 C1. In this case, an examiner places a contact lens on the cornea of the eye. Via the contact lens, the examiner observes the optic nerve head of the eye, while increasing the pressure on the eye via the contact lens, thereby increasing the intraocular pressure IOP in the eye, until the visual measurement criteria are visible. The force of the pressure which the contact lens applies to the eye is measured and displayed by a contact lens dynamometer. The intraocular pressure value IOP or retinal blood pressure value rP associated with the respective visual measurement criterion can then be calculated on the basis of said force.
In order to be able to precisely derive the intraocular pressure IOP from the measured pressure at which the examiner presses the contact lens dynamometer onto the patient's eye, calibration of the device is required and has to be repeated periodically. For calibration, a "standard eye" is assumed, i.e. the occurrence of different eye shapes as well as different ocular tissue parameters is not taken into consideration. The manual application of force or pressure to the eye also presents considerable potential for error.
A further device used to perform ophthalmodynamometry is described in DE 35 11 938 A1. In this case, the artificial increase in the intraocular pressure IOP is achieved with the help of suction cup compression tonometry by temporally fixing a suction cup manually on the patient's eyeball by vacuum pressure and then increasing the vacuum pressure within the suction cup. This increase in vacuum pressure within the suction cup causes the patient's eyeball to be sucked increasingly strongly into the suction cup. The resulting deformation of the eyeball leads to an increase in the intraocular pressure IOP. Via the direct contact with the patient's eye, the ocular pulsations are registered and recorded with the help of a conversion unit which is pneumatically connected with the suction cup. By evaluating the curves thus recorded and the calibrated correlation between the vacuum pressure within the suction cup and the intraocular pressure IOP, the different retinal blood pressure values rP can be determined. These include the retinal arterial systolic blood pressure rPasys, the ciliary arterial systolic blood pressure and the ocular arterial diastolic blood pressure. Moreover, a number of further parameters relating to the eye, such as ocular perfusion, autoregulatory capacity and the critical point at which the ocular pulse blood volume drops, can also be determined.
The device disclosed in the aforementioned DE 35 11 938 A1 also has to be calibrated regularly due to the increase in intraocular pressure IOP being determined directly on the basis of the vacuum pressure within the suction cup. Moreover, this methodology allows the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP to be measured only to a limited extent, because the intraocular pressure IOP is already increased by the vacuum pressure applied to fix the suction cup. Since the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP is often in the range of the intraocular pressure IOP or slightly higher, this increase in the intraocular pressure IOP required to fix the suction cup may already substantially exceed the starting point of the spontaneous venous collapse and may thus make it impossible to measure the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP. Moreover, no observation of the retina takes place during the examination, thereby allowing evaluation only via the ocular pulsation curves, so that it is questionable whether the retinal blood pressures rP that can be measured by the suction cup method are identical with the global retinal blood pressure values rP initially defined.
Both above-described devices were not originally intended for measuring the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP, but serve to measure global retinal arterial blood pressures rPa, which can be used in some cases to compute further ocular parameters.
Another application consists in measuring intracranial pressure. However, this is only possible if the intracranial pressure is greater than the intraocular pressure IOP and the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP. In this case, the retinal venous blood pressure rPv or the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP, respectively, assumes the value of the intracranial pressure. The intracranial pressure may be determined, in this case, by measuring the retinal venous blood pressure outside the eyeball RVP. Again, the spontaneous venous collapse or other derivable measurement criteria are used as examination criteria, depending on the measurement method and derived measurement criterion used. Devices using this methodology are described, for example, in EP 2 567 656 B1, US 2015/0265172 A1 and DE 10 55 175 B.
Basically, it can be said, however, that all devices described herein are suitable only to determine global retinal blood pressure values rP and, thus, it is only possible to determine a global retinal perfusion pressure value rPP, and that substantial sources of error, in particular by manual application of force or pressure via the calibration correlations, falsify the examination result.
In many cases, it may be clinically useful or required not only to know the global retinal blood pressures rP, but also to measure local retinal blood pressures rP and to evaluate them with respect to their location on the retina, as in the case of arterial and venous vessel occlusions, for example. Moreover, it may be required to examine local retinal perfusion pressures rPP of individual capillary regions and larger vascular regions (vascular networks) and to evaluate and recognize them with a view to predictions or early detection of endangered perfusion pressure ratios and ranges.

Device and method for determining retinal blood pressure values and for mapping retinal blood pressure values and perfusion pressure values


A side load constant force window balance assembly is disclosed. The balance assembly has a spring member, a spring housing, and a carrier module. The spring housing and carrier module are coupled to the spring member. The carrier module is configured to support a portion of a window sash and has an engagement feature configured to selectively engage the window frame.

A window assembly generally includes a window frame, at least one sash, and a pair of opposing window jambs with each jamb having a channel for allowing the vertical travel of the sash. The sash is attached to a balance which assists with the raising and lowering of the sash by providing a force to counterbalance the weight of the sash.
The jambs are part of the window frame and are positioned on either side of the sash. The jamb channels must provide adequate clearance to permit the sash support, also known as a carrier, to freely traverse up and down within them. The movement of the sash with respect to a fixed spring assembly causes friction and can damage internal surfaces within the channel. This permits detritus from the damaged channel to flow through the jamb channel to impair the movement of the sash and interfere with a spring support mechanism.
Windows are subject to manufacturing guidelines that specify air flow standards for various designs. For example, there are a variety of standards which apply depending upon the region of the country to which the window is to be shipped for installation. Not only must the sash panes be able to structurally withstand high air pressures, but the various moving elements of each window frame must be able to move freely.
Previous attempts to alleviate the problem with springs and counterbalance assemblies within the jamb channels of window frames have failed to achieve the desired result. What is needed is a structure that successfully achieves the goal of reducing the amount of interaction between the spring and sash that is within a jamb channel. This objective preferably would be achieved while not increasing friction which might add to the burden of moving the sash up and down through the jamb channel.

Side load constant force counterbalance system

Caldwell Manufacturing Company North America, LLC


An apparatus is disclosed for bundling or securing cording such as common electrical lines extending from various tools such as hand tools or the like. The apparatus includes a base member with a C-shaped clip member attached thereto. A strap is secured to the base member and extends outwardly through a loop to form a cording securement zone to allow cording to extend axially therethrough. The main strap can extend again toward the base member through a cinching slot defined in the C-shaped clip member and is detachably securable with respect to the base to hold the strap in position extending through the cinching slot to bundle the cording extending through the cording securement zone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of devices usable for bundling of line or cord, particularly usable with electrical lines commonly included with electrical hand tools such as drills, sanders, routers and the like. These hand tools include electrical power cords associated therewith which are adapted to be placed in electrical receptacles for the purposes of providing power for operating the tool.
When the tool is not in use, or when the length of cording is greater than needed, excessive cording will exist. This excess cord length can present various problems. As such, the present invention provides a means for gathering and securing such cording in a location immediately adjacent to the tool by a cording restraining or cinching device which itself is attachable to the tool for great convenience.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many devices have been patented for the purposes of gathering or collecting or otherwise securing cording such as electrical lines with respect to tools such as hand tools and the like such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,826 patented May 21, 1963 to C. W. Cochran and assigned to United-Carr Fastener Corporation on a "Wiring Fastener"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,005 patented Jan. 8, 1980 to M. L. Harrington on an "Electrical Cord Holder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,807 patented Apr. 1, 1980 to J. R. Llauge and assigned to ITW Espana, S.a. on a "Retaining Clip For Elongated Members"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,432 patented Oct. 20, 1987 to M. P. Fennell on a "Bundling Tie"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,172 patented Mar. 28, 1989 to C. G. Ward on a "Fastening Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,381 patented Jan. 16, 1990 to E. H. Frankel on a "Bundling Strap With Two Adjustable Closures"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,402 patented to L. F. Hamel on Jun. 18, 1991 on a "Cord Restraint"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,282 patented Jul. 16, 1991 to D. A. Denaro on a "Binding Strap"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,964 patented Mar. 10, 1992 to D. E. Rowland and assigned to Janice L. Rowland on a "Clip For Holding Flexible Elements Such As Wire, Hose, Etc."; and United States Design Pat. No. D334,530 patened Apr. 6, 1993 to D. E. Rowland and assigned to Janice L. Rowland on a "Holder For Flexible Elements, Including Wire, Cords And Rubber Hoses"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,684 patented Mar. 14, 1995 to M. S. Yocom on an "Electrical Utensil Cord-Anchoring Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,900 patented Dec. 19, 1995 to P. A. Tonks on a "Cable Holder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,877 patented Apr. 2, 1996 to M. S. Yocum on an "Electrical Utensil Cord-Anchoring Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,607 patented Sep. 17, 1996 to J. J. Parveris on a "Retaining Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,676 patented Sep. 8, 1998 to N. J. Tolan and assigned to Velcro Industries B.V. on a "Strap For Securing A Bundled Cord And The Like"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,623 patented Apr. 27, 1999 to M. Martin on a "Reusable Cable Binder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,851 patented Nov. 9, 1999 to E. G. Purdy on a "Belt Buddy"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,251 patented Mar. 7, 2000 to J. E. Cook on an "Extension Cord Locking Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,095 patented Dec. 12, 2000 to J. Lassiter on a "Power Cord Clip"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,729 patented Jan. 23, 2001 to H. R. Myers on a "Cord-To-Cord Restraining Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,187 patented Feb. 20, 2001 to J. J. Williams on a "Clip For Holding A Pair Of Elongated Member Portions"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,578 patented Jan. 8, 2002 to B. D. Maynard on a "Wearable Cord Holder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,904 patented Feb. 26, 2002 to A. A. Polad on a "Cable Bundling And Support Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,290 patented Aug. 6, 2002 to C. F. Liu and assigned to Delta Electronics, Inc. on an "Apparatus For Fastening Wire Of Electronic Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,762 patented Sep. 3, 2002 to W. R. Lessig, III and assigned to Black & Decker Inc. on a "Power Tool Cord Retainer"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,982 patented Sep. 17, 2002 to L. E. Peterson on a "Cinch Clip For Cast Or Bandage Protector"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,814 patented Feb. 18, 2003 to R. T. Mereness and assigned to Ciena Corporation on a "Glass Fiber Wrap"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,229 patented Feb. 25, 2003 to T. L. Severson on a "Cord Keeper Strap"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,631 patented Mar. 18, 2003 to J. S. Rohaly et al and assigned to Panduit Corp. on a "Four Piece Cable Tie"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,094 patented Apr. 8, 2003 to J. D'Addario and assigned to J. D'Addario & Co., Inc. on a "Cable Management Tie Wrap"; and U.S. Pat. No. 581,885 patented Jun. 24, 2003 to A. A Polad on a "Cable Bundling And Support Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,074 patented Jul. 8, 2003 to R. K. Galkiewicz et al and assigned to 3M Innovative Properties Company on a "Self-Mating Reclosable Binding Strap And Fastener"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,910 patented Sep. 16, 2003 to J. S. Pontaoe and assigned to Illinois Tool Works Inc. on a "Cord Clamp"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,393 patented Nov. 4, 2003 to T. B. Wendle on a "Releasable Tie"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,580 patented Mar. 9, 2004 to P. K. Bandyopadhyay and assigned to 3M Innovative Properties Company on an "Interlocking Fastener Including Adhesive Portions"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,320 patented Mar. 30, 2004 to A. F. Rivera on a "Single-Handed Cord/Cable Management Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,817 patented May 25, 2004 to R. Anderson on an "Apparatus And Method To Contain A Cord"; and United States Design Pat. No. D491,046 patented Jun. 8, 2004 to D. L. Johnson on a "Wire Wrap"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,554 patented Jul. 20, 2004 to R. H. Torrey et al on a "Self-Engaging Strap-Form Tie With Special Tab"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,994 patented Oct. 5, 2004 to P. C. Burke and assigned to Te3lefonix, Inc. on a "Cord Management Apparatus And Method"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,471 patented Oct. 12, 2004 to M. G. Gambrell on a "Cord-Attached Wrap-Up Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,566 patented Nov. 30, 220204 to L. D. Coffey on a "Releasable Retaining Clip Apparatus And Method"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,948 patented Jan. 18, 2005 to K. Smith and assigned to Alliance Rubber Company on a "Rubber And Retainer Apparatus"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,589 patented Mar. 22, 2005 to L. E. Borne on an "Electrical Cord Anchoring Apparatus"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,916,992 patented Jul. 12, 2005 to J. Ortiz on a "Cord Organizing Sheath Assembly"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,961,979 patented Nov. 8, 2005 to T. B. Wendle on a "Bundling Tie"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,792 patented Nov. 22, 2005 to A. G. Willers et al and assigned to Computer Network Technology Corp. on a "Method And Apparatus For Retaining A Detachable Cord"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,221 patented Dec. 27, 2005 to A. G. Hunter on a "Retainer For Securing Two Connected Electrical Cords"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,300 patented Feb. 7, 2006 to J. L. Labeirle et al and assigned to Airbus France on a "Device For Fastening Elongate Objects Onto A Flat Support"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,785 patented Feb. 28, 2006 to S. A. Melton et al and assigned to Wahl Clipper Corporation on a "Cord Wrap For Clippers"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,071,418 patented Jul. 4, 2006 to D. C. Brockman et al. and assigned to Actuant Corporation on a "Cable Holder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,363 patented Jul. 18, 2006 to A. F. Rivera and assigned to Alexander F. Rivers on a "Single-Handed Cord/Cable Management Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,975 patented Oct. 24, 2006 to R. Richardson on a "Cord Organizer And Method Of Using The Same"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,788 patented Jan. 23, 2007 to C. M. Smith et al on a "Binding Wrapper"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,172,456 patented Feb. 6, 2007 to J. Nagy on an "Electric Cable Organizing Apparatus"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,185,399 patented Mar. 6, 2007 to M. Logan and assigned to Medcount Systems, C.L.C. on a "Method And Apparatus For Securing Cables And The Like"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,229,051 patented Jun. 12, 2007 to R. Mailhot, Jr. on a "Support Device For Guidewires And Catheters And Method Of Use Thereof"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,958 patented Jun. 26, 2007 to C. R. Copus and assigned to NCR Corporation on a "Cable Retention Apparatus; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,307 patented Jul. 3, 2007 to J. P. Feschuk on a "Slip Grip Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,446,260 patented Nov. 4, 2008 to J. Hammonds on a "Cord, Cable, And Tubing Organizer"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,455,546 patented Nov. 25, 2008 to S. Yoon et al and assigned to Unisys Corporation on an "Electrical Power Strip Plug Retention"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,469,854 patented Dec. 30, 2008 to R. Richardson on a "Cord Organizer"; and United States Design Pat. No. D548,129 patented Aug. 7, 2007 to K. G. Fineide on a "Flexible Band"; and United States Design Pat. No. D584,132 patented Jan. 6, 2009 to B. T. Judd and assigned to Brian T. Judd on a "Cable Organizer"; and United States Design Pat. No. D587,988 patented Mar. 10, 2009 to B. Johansson on a "Cord Lock"; and United States Design Pat. No. D587,989 patented Mar. 10, 2009 to B. Johansson on a "Cord Lock".

Cording restraining means attachable to a tool


A selectively attachable and removable visual and tactile assessment tool or clip for use with a mobile device is provided. Clip is an elongate member forming a curvilinear shape having a magnifying lens at a distal end thereof. Clip has a transparent tubular member disposed between first and second openings through the body portion of the clip. Tubular member has varying internal diameters to simulate, for example, the constriction or stenosis of a patient's vessel lumen. Once clip is attached to mobile device and the magnifying lens is positioned over the camera of the mobile device, a catheter is inserted through tubular member. The magnifying lens enlarges the size of the catheter displayed on the screen of the mobile device.

Digital Processing technology has made it possible for mobile devices to include cameras or other imaging devices that permit users to capture images or video. These images can be stored, processed, and transmitted. However, there are many design constraints with onboard cameras in mobile devices that can limit the weight, size, shape, adjustability, and magnification of the lensing systems of such cameras. Consequently, imaging devices in mobile devices are inadequate for a wide variety of imaging or analysis needs and may produce images which are hard to see with sufficient detail. There exists a need to provide an imaging analysis tool, such as a magnification system which removably mounts to a device, does not interfere with its normal operations, can be quickly enabled when magnification is needed and quickly removed when magnification is not needed. The magnification system must also not cover up or prevent the user from seeing the entire screen of the mobile device and also allow for touch-screen functionality.


A rack rail is suspended into a silo from an opening formed in a ceiling portion of the silo and a lifting body is lowered into the silo along the rack rail from the opening. A work scaffold is built on the lifting body using a part carried into the silo from the opening, a worker connected to the work scaffold with a safety belt pokes and breaks down a granular powder in a state where a discharge port of a silo bottom portion is closed, the poked and broken down granular powder drops to a rat hole (or boring hole), the worker connected to the work scaffold with the safety belt adds a rack rail in a state where the rat hole is blocked with the granular powder, the discharge port is opened to discharge the granular powder stored in the passage, and then the work scaffold is lowered to the added rack rail.

In hollow structures, such as a silo, a tank, a bottle, and a country elevator, a granular powder, such as grains and feeds, is stored. Hereinafter, the silo is described but the same applies to the hollow structures, such as a tank, a bottle, and a country elevator. Since the granular powder, such as grains and feeds, stored in the silo is pressed against the inner surface of the silo to be brought into a consolidated state due to the total weight of the stored granular powder. Therefore, the granular powder is brought into a fixed state in the silo depending on various conditions and cannot be appropriately discharged from a discharge port provided in a silo bottom portion in some cases.
For example, when the granular powder stored in the silo has a relatively soft property, the granular powder is pressed against the inner surface of the silo due to the total weight of the granular powder itself to be brought into a consolidated state and fixed depending on the moisture content of the granular powder, the environmental factors, such as weather (humidities and temperatures), when taking the granular powder into/out of the silo, and the like, and then the granular powder is further pressed thereagainst to be laminated thereon. When such lamination is repeated, so that the layer thickness increases, the granular powder stored in the silo is brought into a state of being fixed to the inner surface of the silo, except a long and narrow space portion (rat hole) along the vertical direction in a central portion.
When the rat hole is formed, a new granular powder charged into the silo from an opening of a ceiling portion of the silo is immediately discharged from the discharge port of the silo bottom portion through the rat hole (funnel flow), and thus the granular powder brought into the fixed state on the inner surface of the silo is not discharged. More specifically, the first-in first-out of the granular powder cannot be performed, so that the granular powder in the fixed state on the inner surface of the silo remains in the silo for a long period of time. The granular powder in the remaining state may deteriorate.
Moreover, the granular powder stored in the silo is brought into a consolidated state due to the total weight of the granular powder itself in an upper portion of the discharge port of the silo bottom portion formed in a funnel shape to be fixed in an arch shape (bridge) in some cases. When the bridge is formed, the upper portion of the discharge port of the silo bottom portion is brought into a state of being covered with the bridge. Therefore, the granular powder stored above relative to the bridge in the silo is not discharged from the discharge port of the silo bottom portion.
As a countermeasure when the granular powder in the silo is not appropriately discharged from the discharge port of the silo bottom portion by the rat hole or the bridge, the present inventors (applicant) have proposed a method including suspending a rack rail toward the bottom portion from the ceiling portion in the silo, building a work scaffold going up and down along the rack rail, poking and breaking down the granular powder fixed in the silo by a worker riding on the work scaffold, and then discharging the same from the discharge port of the silo bottom portion (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
According to such a method, the worker poking and breaking down the granular powder in the fixed state in the silo can poke and break down the granular powder under the work scaffold in a state of riding on the work scaffold, and therefore a situation (collapse accident) where the worker is buried in the broken-down granular powder can be avoided.

Method for discharging granular powder brought into fixed state inside hollow structure


A rotor core has a rotational axis. A permanent magnet has a polygonal shape viewed along the rotational axis. The rotor core includes a magnet insertion hole defined by an inner wall. The polygonal shape includes first to third sides. The magnet insertion hole includes: a first space provided between the first side and the inner wall; a second space provided between the second side and the inner wall; and an injection portion, a first communication portion, and a second communication portion provided between the third side and the inner wall; viewed along the rotational axis. The first communication portion and the second communication portion connect the injection portion to the first space and the second space, respectively. The first communication portion has a first length along the third side. The second communication portion has a second length along the third side which is equal to the first length.

Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a rotary electric machine rotor.
Discussion of the Background
A rotary electric machine typically includes a rotor having a plurality of permanent magnets provided on an inner circumferential side of a stator disposed in an annular shape. The rotor turns when wires wound around the stator are energized.
The rotor typically includes a rotor core in which the permanent magnets are secured in a plurality of magnet insertion holes with a resin material. Using a resin material, each of the permanent magnets is secured closer to an outer circumferential side or an inner circumferential side of an inner wall surface that defines the magnet insertion holes.
In the configuration described above, the permanent magnets may be inclined before being secured in the magnet insertion holes, which does not generate a desired output and thus causes a problem of degraded motor efficiency. To solve the problem, there is known a laminated core manufacturing process disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-251930.
In such a manufacturing process, most of a resin injected into the magnet insertion holes flows into a resin reservoir provided on a side opposite to a side in the magnet insertion hole, which the permanent magnet is leaned closer to, thereby the permanent magnet is pressed against and secured to the side which the permanent magnet is leaned toward. In addition, the permanent magnet is held vertically by a magnet retaining portion whereby the permanent magnet is secured without being inclined.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2014-165938 discloses a rotary electric machine that achieves a high output while preventing a short circuit of magnetic flux among adjacent magnets. Such a rotary electric machine has a first storage hole and a pair of second storage holes provided in the vicinity of an outer circumference of a rotor thereof. A first rib is formed between the first storage hole and the pair of second storage holes, while a pair of second ribs are formed between the second storage holes and an outer circumferential surface of the rotor. In addition, an area of a first space provided between the first rib and a magnet is configured to be greater than an area of a second space provided between the second ribs and the magnet.


The present document discloses a method, apparatus and system for a terminal configuration service of the Internet of Things, the method includes: receiving a management operation or capability of a terminal configuration service requested by an application entity, managing a requested target terminal according to the management operation or capability of the terminal configuration service, and providing an operation result and/or an operation state to the application entity, which achieves unified management of the terminal configuration services.

The Internet of things is an important component of the new generation of information technology, and its English name is "The Internet of things". As the name implies, the Internet of things is the Internet in which things are connected together. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Internet Report, published by the ITU, defines the Internet of Things as a network which connects any things to the Internet through information sensing devices such as a quick response code identification device, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) apparatus, an infrared sensor, a global positioning system and a laser scanner etc. according to an agreed protocol, to perform information exchange and communication, so as to achieve intelligent identification, positioning, tracking, monitoring and management.
An M2M concept is often introduced in the Internet of things, and can be interpreted as Man to Man, Man to Machine and Machine to Machine. In essence, in the man to machine interaction and machine to machine interaction, it mostly aims at achieving man to man information interaction. M2M networks are the main presentation form of the Internet of Things at this stage, and the M2M networks include machine to machine communication networks, man to machine communication networks and machines to man communication networks. Devices in the M2M networks primarily include M2M terminals, M2M gateways, and M2M servers.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of the Internet of Things system according to the existing technology. As shown in FIG. 1, the Internet of Things may be classified as a private Internet of Things (which is generally orientated to provide services in a single organization), a public Internet of Things (which provides services to the public or a large user group based on the Internet), a community Internet of Things (which provides services to an associated "community" or organization group) etc. At the same time, at this stage, the Internet of Things has a large number of applications in different industries, including smart agriculture, smart grids, intelligent transportation, intelligent logistics, intelligent medical health, intelligent home etc. In particular, these industries all deploy their own professional Internet of Things respectively, including corresponding professional Internet of Things/M2M devices for example platform devices such as terminals, gateways and servers etc.
As providers of public communication services, telecommunication operators also play a role as service providers of public Internet of Things when they provide Internet of Things/M2M services. For terminals of the private Internet of Things, the community Internet of Things and the professional Internet of Things in various industries, at this stage, as the service providers of the public Internet of Things, the telecommunication operators are lack of effective technical means to implement unified management of terminals and achieve services.

Configuration management method, apparatus, and system for terminal in internet of things


A substrate can include a feature pattern included in an integrated circuit on the substrate and an in-situ metrology pattern spaced apart from the feature pattern on the substrate, the in-situ metrology pattern and the feature pattern both configured to have equal heights relative to a surface of the substrate.

Recently, with increasing integration densities of semiconductor devices, various photolithography techniques for forming fine patterns have been developed. Various metrology techniques have also been proposed to monitor a photolithographic process in order to manufacture highly-integrated devices. As integration densities of semiconductor devices increase, a critical dimension (CD) of a photoresist pattern decreases.
Examples of approaches to measuring focal variation generated in exposure equipment include focus exposure matrix (FEM), phase shift focus monitoring (PSFM), and phase grating focus monitoring (PGFM). In the FEM approach, a human evaluates a critical dimension (CD) of patterns and an image according to a constant variation of a focus and a dose for an exposure process by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) measuring equipment in order to determine a focal variation. Thus, the elapsed time from measurement to analysis can be excessive, and the analysis may be subjective. The PSFM and PGFM approaches both can use identical types of masks and identical measuring principles and methods.

Substrate target for in-situ lithography metrology, metrology method for in-situ lithography, and method of manufacturing integrated circuit device by using in-situ metrology


The eyelash curling apparatus is designed to provide an apparatus that allows the user to curl the lashes instead of crimping them. The apparatus is a small tool having a plurality of parts. The top portion of the apparatus is of concave design to accommodate the placement of the apparatus on the eyeball of the user. Attached to this part is a round rod that is positioned centrally to and horizontally to the concave surface. The rod is implanted in a housing that acts as a curling iron. Once heated to the proper temperature the lashes are placed between the top and lower structures. Pinching the two structures together, closes the mechanism, forces the eyelashes against the curling rod, keeping them positioned during the set time.

This invention pertains to personal grooming devices, in particular, to an eyelash curling apparatus for use by individuals to permit the curling of their eyelashes without pinching or crimping the eyelash.
There are a number of devices on the market that are designed to curl lashes. Most of them however accomplish this by crimping the lash which can be painful, pull the lash and the eyelid and result in an eyelash that has an angle crimped into it. This is because the current curling bar is a flat unit that crimps lashes at a ninety degree angle. The mechanism can entrap the eyelid and pinch it this action can tear the makeup that is already applied as well as causing pain. The current apparatus is large, bulky and consumes a large percentage of the cosmetic bag. Also, it has an negative appearance and is not something that one likes to appear with in public. Prior art typically describes a scissors like device which uses indirect force, causing the user to use considerable force while crimping the lashes.
What is needed is an eyelash curling apparatus that uses a curve in the shape of the eye's natural shape. It is the object of this invention to teach an eyelash curling apparatus which avoids the disadvantages and limitations, recited above in previous eyelash curling devices. It is the object of this invention is provide an apparatus that is inexpensive to manufacture, can be easily used and set up by the user and, at the same time, accurate and highly effective.


The object of the present invention is to significantly improve weather resistance over a long period of time of the cured product of the invention, while maintaining physical properties, such as tensile properties and rubber-like elasticity, at levels required of sealing compositions for use in general buildings.

Room temperature-curable compositions based on polyoxyalkylene organic polymers having a reactive silicon containing group are not only inexpensive but also have various meritorious properties making them suitable for use as, inter alia, architectural sealants (called modified silicone sealants). While these are required to be satisfactory enough in various properties, weather resistance over a long period of time is no less important than mechanical properties, such as modulus, elongation at break, strength at break, etc., and many studies were undertaken in these respects. It has been found that, as far as mechanical properties such as modulus, elongation at break, and strength at break are concerned, addition of a phthalic ester or a polyether plasticizer results in the expression of characteristics suitable for sealing materials. With regard to weather resistance, it is disclosed in, inter alia, Japanese Kokai Publication Sho-59-122541 and Sho-60-031556 that weather resistance can be improved by blending a vinyl polymer having a reactive silicon containing group with a polyoxyalkylene organic polymer having a reactive silicon containing group as compared with the exclusive use of such a polyoxyalkylene organic polymer having a reactive silicon containing group alone.
For the purpose of obtaining a curable composition providing satisfactory mechanical properties and weather resistance over a long period of time, the inventors of the present invention prepared a curable composition by adding a phthalic ester or polyether plasticizer to a blend of a vinyl polymer having a reactive silicon containing group and a polyoxyalkylene organic polymer having a reactive silicon containing group on the basis of the above known technologies, investigated the composition, and found that whereas mechanical properties were improved in fact, there was still room for improvement in weather resistance.

Abstract: The curable composition of the invention is a curable composition which comprises a vinyl polymer having a reactive silicon containing group (a), such as a (meth) acrylic polymer having a reactive silicon containing group, a polyoxyalkylene polymer having a reactive silicon containing group (b), such as a polyoxypropylene having a reactive silicon containing group, and a plasticizer having an acrylic component (c), such as an acrylic polymer, and is reacted and crosslinked in the presence of moisture to provide a rubbery cured product.


A method of forming a non-volatile memory device may include forming a fin protruding from a substrate, forming a tunnel insulating layer on portions of the fin, and forming a floating gate on the tunnel insulting layer so that the tunnel insulating layer is between the floating gate and the fin. A dielectric layer may be formed on the floating gate so that the floating gate is between the dielectric layer and the fin, and a control gate electrode may be formed on the dielectric layer so that the dielectric layer is between the control gate and the fin. Related devices are also discussed.

In general, non-volatile memory devices are capable of storing data, even with power turned off. Non-volatile memory devices may be provided using flash memory cells with stacked gate structures. A flash memory cell with a stacked gate structure may provide non-volatile memory characteristics and allow data to be written and/or erased electrically. In addition, a flash memory cell with a stacked gate structure may allow a high degree of integration with a sequential stacked structure of a floating gate and a control gate electrode. As a result of these characteristics, a flash memory device using flash memory cells having the stacked gate structure have been adopted for use as storage media for portable electronic products and/or next generation storage media. A flash memory cell with a stacked gate structure will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional flash memory cell having a stacked gate structure. Referring to FIG. 1, a device isolation layer (not shown) may be provided on a predetermined region(s) of a semiconductor substrate 1 to define an active region(s). A control gate electrode 5 crosses over the active region. A floating gate 3 is provided between the control gate electrode 5 and the active region. A tunnel oxide layer 2 is provided between the floating gate 3 and the active region. The tunnel oxide layer 2 may be formed from a thermal oxide layer. A gate interlayer oxide layer 4 may be provided between the floating gate 3 and the control gate electrode 5. The gate interlayer oxide layer 4 may be formed from a silicon oxide layer deposited using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Source/drain regions may be provided in the active region on opposite sides of the control gate electrode 5.
The floating gate 3 is electrically isolated, and data stored in the flash memory cell may be either a "logic 1" or "logic 0" according to an electrical charge of the floating gate 3.
With a relatively high-integration of memory devices, a turn-on current of the flash memory cell may be reduced as the width of a channel region under the floating gate 3 is reduced. Accordingly, a sensing margin of the flash memory cell may be reduced. To maintain an acceptable sensing margin, an operation voltage may be increased. In addition, overlapped areas between the floating gate 3 and the control gate 5 may be reduced, and a coupling ratio of the flash memory cell may thus be reduced. For these reasons, smaller flash memory cells may require higher operating voltages, and power dissipation may thus be increased. Moreover, an interface between the tunnel oxide layer 2 and the active region may be damaged by higher operating voltages, and reliability of the flash memory cell may be reduced.

Methods of forming non-volatile memory cells including fin structures


A distribution cable mounting device includes a junction block mounted inside an electrical box and having a tapered junction hole with an inner thread, a hollow, tapered plug fitted into the tapered junction hole to secure the conductor of a cable, a hollow screw member having a hollow screw rod at one end threaded into the inner thread on the junction hole and stopped against the tapered plug and a hollow, split, tapered cone at an opposite end tightened by a nut to secure the insulator of the cable.

The present invention relates to a distribution cable mounting device for fastening a distribution cable to a junction block of an electrical box.
Conventionally, the method of connecting a distribution cable to a distribution block inside an electrical box is done by inserting the conductor of the cable into a horizontal junction hole on the distribution block and then threading a screw rod into a vertical screw hole on the distribution block to hold down the conductor of the cable inside the junction hole. One disadvantage of this method is that the conductor of the cable may be damaged by the screw rod easily. Another disadvantage of this method is that the cable may be disconnected from the distribution block easily when it is pulled.


A broadcast recording and playback device employing a "circular buffer" which constantly records one or more incoming audio or video program signals and a microprocessor for accessing the memory to read a playback signal from the circular buffer to display programming material delayed from its receipt by a selectable delay interval. The circular buffer is implemented by a digital memory. Subsystem comprising the combination of a semiconductor RAM memory and a disk memory operated under the control of a microprocessor such that incoming signals are constantly recorded as received while, at the same time, delayed signals are being read from the memory subsystem at a different memory location selected by a microprocessor to provide a user-selected time delay. A plurality of input signal processors provides one or more programming signals to the memory subsystem in compressed digital form and a separate output signal processor converts the compressed digital information read from the memory into a form suitable for display. The audio/video buffer system operates under the control of a microprocessor which accepts commands from a remote command device or a connected host computer.

The video cassette recorder (VCR) has created desirable viewing options which are not available to the viewer of live television. When viewing pre-recorded programs, the viewer may pause the playback to answer the phone or to view a scene in "stop-action" mode, advance or rewind the recorded material to start the viewing to replay a scene or skip over annoying advertising. Digital recording techniques, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,995, may be used to store the recorded programming in a random access memory comprising the combination of a semiconductor RAM buffer and a disk memory, permitting a desired programming segment to be immediately accessed and viewed without the time consuming fast-forward and fast-reverse tape motion required in conventional video cassette recorders.

Time delayed digital video system using concurrent recording and playback


To produce an insulated current sensor for slaving power devices in the field of avionics, use is made of a magnetic core through which there passes an element traversed by a current to be measured. The magnetic core comprises a secondary winding across the terminals of which are connected an oscillator and a measurement device. The cooperation of the oscillator and of the measurement device makes it possible to circumvent all the traditional drifting of current sensors.

The aspects of the related embodiments relate to an improved insulated current sensor and adapted to slave power electronic devices for onboard avionics.
The domain of the disclosed embodiments is that of current sensors. More specifically, the domain of the disclosed embodiments is that of slaving/controlling power electronic devices that are developed mainly in the aeronautics, automotive, rail, and energy industries. In such electronic systems, the measurement of the physical quantities "current" size is effectively a control variable to be measured in order to control the device.


Disclosed is a method for producing fluorinated organic compounds, including hydrofluoropropenes, which preferably comprises converting at least one compound of formula (I):CF3CFnCHmXa-m  (I)to at least one compound of formula (II)CF3CZCHZ  (II).where each X is independently Cl, F, I or Br; each Z is independently H or F; n is 1 or 2; m is 1, 2 or 3, provided that when n is 1, m is 1 or 2; a is 2 or 3, and a-m≧0. Certain embodiments include the step of reacting fluorinated C2 olefin, such as tetrafluoroethylene, with a Cl addition agent under conditions effective to produce a compound of formula (I).

(1) Field of Invention
This invention relates to novel methods for preparing fluorinated organic compounds, and more particularly to methods of producing fluorinated olefins.
(2) Description of Related Art
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC's), in particular hydrofluoroalkenes such tetrafluoropropenes (including 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-1-propene (HFO-1234yf) and 1,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-1-propene (HFO-1234ze)) (HFO is hydrofluorolefin) have been disclosed to be effective refrigerants, fire extinguishants, heat transfer media, propellants, foaming agents, blowing agents, gaseous dielectrics, sterilant carriers, polymerization media, particulate removal fluids, carrier fluids, buffing abrasive agents, displacement drying agents and power cycle working fluids. Unlike chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), both of which potentially damage the Earth's ozone layer, HFCs do not contain chlorine and thus pose no threat to the ozone layer.
Several methods of preparing hydrofluoroalkanes are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,874 (Ihara et al) describes a method of making fluorine containing olefins by contacting hydrogen gas with fluorinated alcohols. Although this appears to be a relatively high-yield process, for commercial scale production the handling of hydrogen gas at high temperature raises difficult safety related questions. Also, the cost of producing hydrogen gas, such as building an on-site hydrogen plant, can be in many situations prohibitive.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,931,840 (Marquis) describes a method of making fluorine containing olefins by pyrolysis of methyl chloride and tetrafluoroethylene or chlorodifluoromethane. This process is a relatively low yield process and a very large percentage of the organic starting material is converted in this process to unwanted and/or unimportant byproducts, including a sizeable amount of carbon black. The carbon black is not only unwanted, it tends to deactivate the catalyst used in the process.
The preparation of HFO-1234yf from trifluoroacetylacetone and sulfur tetrafluoride has been described. See Banks, et al., Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, Vol. 82, Iss. 2, p. 171-174 (1997). Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,594 (Krespan) discloses a process wherein tetrafluoroethylene is reacted with another fluorinated ethylene in the liquid phase to produce a polyfluoroolefin product.
Catalyzed hydrogen reduction reactions have been disclosed for the preparation of fluorinated C3 hydrocarbons in U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,777. The patent describes the reaction as being one in which a compound of formula (1)C3HaClbFc   (1)is converted by catalyzed hydrogen reduction to a compound of formula (2)C3Ha+xClb−yFc−z   (2)where a, b, c, x, y and z are integers satisfying the following conditions: a≧0, b≧1, c≧2, x≧1, y≧1, z≧0, a+b+c=8, x=y+z, b−y≧0, and c−z≧2. Since the reactions disclosed in this patent require a reaction product in which a+b+c=8 and that x=y+z, it is not possible for the disclosed reaction product to include C3 olefins, which as mentioned above have been found to be desirable for use in many important applications.
Notwithstanding prior teachings applicants appreciate a continuing need for methods of efficiently preparing certain hydrofluorocarbons, particularly tetrafluorpropenes such as HFO-1234yf.

Method for producing fluorinated organic compounds


A system and method for coupling a distributed statistical records (“DSR”) collection system with a tracing system utilizing bytecode modification techniques. In one embodiment, a distributed statistical records (“DSR”) module initially identifies one or more application components within the application server to be traced. A bytecode modification module responsively modifies the bytecode of the one or more application components. The modifications are directed to a particular set of methods of the application components (e.g., methods which are relevant to DSR data). A dispatch unit registers the method invocations and method-related information associated with the particular set of methods and provides the method-related information to the DSR module. Finally, a DSR interface module translates the method-related information to a format employed within a DSR system and forwards the translated information to the DSR system.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates generally to testing and monitoring of program code; and, more specifically, to an application tracing service which employs bytecode modification techniques for testing and monitoring of program code.
2. Description of the Related Art
1. Bytecode
Certain software technologies, such a Java, emphasize the use of a special interpreter, referred to as a "virtual machine," that allows generic processor instructions to be executed on a particular type of processor. Here, each hardware platform (e.g., each computer) that the generic instructions are expected to "run on" typically includes a virtual machine interpreter that is responsible for converting the generic processor instructions, referred to generally as "interpreted code" or "bytecode" in the case of Java, into code that is specially targeted for the hardware platform's particular processor. Software technologies that embrace the execution of bytecode on a virtual machine may be referred to as "virtual machine-based" software.
As a classic instance of the benefit of the Java virtual machine with respect to Internet usage, a first PC that is powered by an Intel processor may download from the Internet the same Java bytecode instructions as a second PC that is powered by a PowerPC processor. Here, the first PC's Java virtual machine converts the Java bytecode into instructions that are specific to an Intel processor while the second PC's Java virtual machine converts the same Java bytecode into instructions that are specific to a PowerPC processor. Thus, through the use of Java bytecode and processor specific Java virtual machines, an Internet server is able to maintain only a single type of code (the Java bytecode) without concern of client compatibility.
FIG. 1a demonstrates the standard compilation flow for generating instructions 105 targeted for a specific processor ("machine specific instructions" 105) from source code 101a, written according to a virtual machine-based language. According to the compilation flow of FIG. 1a, the source code 101a is converted into bytecode 103a by way of a first compiling process 102. The virtual machine then interprets 104 the bytecode into machine-specific instructions. The machine-specific instructions are then executed 106 to implement the methods originally articulated by the source code.
2. Object Oriented Programming and Classfiles
Certain software technologies, including Java, are "object oriented." According to an object oriented approach, the subject matter that is processed by a computer program is organized into classes of likeness. For example, the software used to sell items to customer X might belong to the same class of software (i.e., the class: "sales") that is used to sell items to customer Y. Here, given that a significant degree of overlap is expected to exist regarding the methods and data types used to process sales for both customers X and Y (e.g., Part Nuumber (PN), Quantity (QTY) "update billing about sale," "update accounting about sale," . . . etc) it is deemed more efficient to organize such methods and data types into a generic "sales" class from which specific instances of the class (e.g., an instance for selling to customer X and an instance for selling to customer Y) can be defined and created.
Each specific instance of a class is referred to as an object; and, each object assumes the characteristics of the class from which it is defined. Thus, a first object could be created from the generic sales class to create a "sell to customer X" object; and, a second object could be created from the generic sales class to create a "sell to customer Y" object. Both objects would be able to execute the methods defined by the class. For example, the "sell to customer X" object could execute the "update accounting about sale" method to update an accounting department about a sale to customer X; and, the "sell to customer Y" object could also execute the "update accounting about sale" method to update an accounting department about a sale to customer Y.
In general, the runtime execution of any computer program can be viewed as the execution of a sequence of methods. With respect to an object-oriented approach, such a sequence of methods can be implemented by calling upon a sequence of objects and invoking one or more methods at each object. In order to invoke the method of an object, a representation of the object must first be created. In virtual machine-based object-oriented software environments, classfiles are bytecode level data structures from which such representations are created. A classfile can be viewed as a bytecode level description of a class; and, therefore, a classfile can be used as a template for the formation of an object, at the bytecode level, that is a member of the class. As specific methods can be attributed to specific classes, each classfile is made to contain the sequence of bytecode instructions that correspond to each of the class's specific methods.
FIG. 1b shows an embodiment of both a source code level class description 101b and a bytecode level class description (i.e., a classfile) 103b for the exemplary "sales" class referred to above. The class description 101b of FIG. 1b corresponds to an embodiment of a segment of the source code level 101a of FIG. 1a; and, the classfile 103b of FIG. 1b corresponds to an embodiment of a segment of the bytecode level 103a of FIG. 1a. Referring to FIG. 1b, the source code level description of the "sales" class identifies the class's variables 107, such as part number (PN), quantity (QTY), per unit cost ($) and the customer's identity (CUSTOMER), and includes the class's methods such as GetMax 130, UPDATE ACCOOUNTING 108, UPDATE BILLING 109, which are articulated as source code software routines.
Compilation 102 of the source code level class description 101b results in the formation of the bytecode level classfile 103. Among other possible items not shown in FIG. 1b (e.g., rev codes, constant pools, . . . etc), a classfile 103b may contain field information structures 110 for each of the class's variables and method information structures 130, 111, 112 that contain the bytecode level instructions 120b, 113, 112 for each of the class's methods. Both the source code level commands and bytecode level instructions for the class's methods are illustrated in FIG. 1b as simple lines for illustrative convenience.
Over the course of discussion of various inventive aspects set forth in the detailed description that follows, comparisons will be made against each of FIGS. 1c and 1d. FIG. 1c illustrates, in more detail, exemplary Java source code level commands 120a and corresponding Java bytecode level instructions 120b for the exemplary "GetMax" method that was first presented in FIG. 1b. The "GetMax" method is designed to return the greater of two variables 'a' and 'b' (i.e., if 'a' is greater, 'a' is returned; if 'b' is greater, 'b' is returned).
Note that both the source code level and bytecode level implementations for the "GetMax" method have a single entry point 140a, 140b (i.e., the method starts at locations 140a, 140b) and a pair of exit points 141a, 142a and 141b, 142b (i.e., the method can end at locations 141a, 142a and 141b, 142b—noting that a "return" command/instruction causes an output to be presented; which, in turn, can be viewed as the completion of the method). Those of ordinary skill will be able to recognize that: (1) the source code level depiction 120a of the GetMax method observed in FIG. 1c articulates a method written in Java source code language that returns the greater of two values (i.e., a and b); and, likewise, (2) the bytecode level depiction 120b of the GetMax method observed in FIG. 1c articulates a corresponding method written in Java bytecode language that returns the greater of two values (i.e., the values a and b which are respectively loaded on the top of an operand stack by the initial "iload_0" and "iload_1" instructions).
A method having a single entry point 140 and a pair of exit points 141, 142, like the "GetMax" method, can be represented by depiction 150 where the top surface 140 corresponds to an entry point of the method and side edges 141 and 142 correspond to exit points. FIG. 1d shows a schematic representation of the process flow for an exemplary object oriented process. The exemplary process flow of FIG. 1d depicts four methods 205, 206, 207, 208 depicted similarly to the representation 143 observed in FIG. 1c (noting that method_3 207 has a structure that is identical to the structure 143 of FIG. 1c).
Entry points are depicted at the top surfaces 209, 210, 211, 212 of methods 205, 206, 207, 208; and, exit points are depicted as side ports of methods 205, 206, 207, 208 (i.e., side ports 213, 214, 215 for method_1 205; side ports 217, 218 for method_2 206; side ports 220, 225 for method_3 207; and, side ports 221, 222, 223, 224 for method_4 208) and bottom ports of methods 205, 206 and 208 (i.e., bottom port 216 for method_1 205; bottom port 219 for method_2 206; and, bottom port 226 for method_4 208).
According to the object oriented process flow depiction of FIG. 1d, a first object 201 is called in order to execute method_1 205; then, a second object 202 is called in order to execute method_2 206; then, a third object 203 is called in order to execute method_3 207; then, a fourth object 204 is called in order to execute method_4 208. Each of the methods commence at their respective entry points 209, 210, 211, 212. Method_1 exits at a exit point 215, method_2 exits at exit point 217, method_3 exits at exit point 220; and, method_4 exits at exit point 221 endeavors.
3. Enterprise Systems
Traditional client-server systems employ a two-tiered architecture such as that illustrated in FIG. 2a. Applications 231 executed on the client side 230 of the two-tiered architecture are comprised of a monolithic set of program code including a graphical user interface component, presentation logic, business logic and a network interface that enables the client 230 to communicate over a network 233 with one or more servers 234. A database 232 maintained on one of the servers 234 provides non-volatile storage for the data accessed and/or processed by the application 231.
As is known in the art, the "business logic" component of the application represents the core of the application, i.e., the rules governing the underlying business process (or other functionality) provided by the application. The "presentation logic" describes the specific manner in which the results of the business logic are formatted for display on the user interface. The "database" 232 includes data access logic used by the business logic to store and retrieve persistent data.
The limitations of the two-tiered architecture illustrated in FIG. 2a become apparent when employed within a large enterprise. For example, installing and maintaining up-to-date client-side applications on a large number of different clients is a difficult task, even with the aid of automated administration tools. Moreover, a tight coupling of business logic, presentation logic and the user interface logic makes the client-side code very brittle. Changing the client-side user interface of such applications is extremely hard without breaking the business logic, and vice versa. This problem is aggravated by the fact that, in a dynamic enterprise environment, the business logic may be changed frequently in response to changing business rules. Accordingly, the two-tiered architecture is an inefficient solution for enterprise systems.
In response to limitations associated with the two-tiered client-server architecture, a multi-tiered architecture has been developed, as illustrated in FIG. 2b. In the multi-tiered system, the presentation logic 242, business logic 244 and database 246 are logically separated from the user interface 240 of the application. These layers are moved off of the client 230 to one or more dedicated servers on the network 233. For example, the presentation logic 242, the business logic 244, and the database 246 may each be maintained on separate servers, 241, 243 and 245, respectively.
This separation of logic components and the user interface provides a more flexible and scalable architecture compared to that provided by the two-tier model. For example, the separation ensures that all clients 230 share a single implementation of business logic 244. If business rules change, changing the current implementation of business logic 244 to a new version may not require updating any client-side program code. In addition, presentation logic 242 may be provided which generates code for a variety of different user interfaces 240, which may be standard browsers such as Internet Explorer® or Netscape Navigator®.
The multi-tiered architecture illustrated in FIG. 2b may be implemented using a variety of different object-oriented application technologies at each of the layers of the multi-tiered architecture, including those based on the Java 2 Enterprise Edition ("J2EE"). In a J2EE environment, the business layer 244, which handles the core business logic of the application, is comprised of Enterprise Java Bean ("EJB") components with support for EJB containers. Within a J2EE environment, the presentation layer 242 is responsible for generating servlets and Java Server Pages ("JSP") interpretable by browsers at the user interface layer 240 (e.g., browsers with integrated Java virtual machines).
Although the multi-tiered system illustrated in FIG. 2b provides a more flexible and scalable architecture, it also results in significant additional complexity. For example, monitoring, testing and/or debugging multiple clusters of presentation layer servers, business layer servers and databases, and the dependencies between them requires a significant amount of management overhead. As such, the ability to efficiently monitor, test and/or debug object-oriented, virtual-machine-based enterprise software, such as the software employed in a J2EE environment, is critical for efficient software development and/or implementation.

System and method combining application tracing and distributed statistical records


Detecting a stall condition associated with processor instructions within one or more threads and generating a no-dispatch condition. The stall condition can be detected by hardware and/or software before and/or during processor instruction execution. The no-dispatch condition can be associated with a number of processing cycles and an instruction from a particular thread. As a result of generating the no-dispatch condition, processor instructions from other threads may be dispatched into the execution slot of an available execution pipeline. After a period of time, the instruction associated with the stall can be fetched and executed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to processing instructions in one or more threads of execution.
2. Description of the Related Art
Processors execute processor instructions using execution pipelines, dispatch units, instruction decode units and other units. Processor instructions are retrieved from a memory device by an instruction fetch unit. A dispatch unit fetches one or more processor instructions from one or more threads and dispatches the instruction(s) to one or more execution pipelines having an open execution slot. An execution pipeline receives and executes one or more instructions. Once another execution slot is available in one of the execution pipelines, additional processor instructions are fetched for a thread and dispatched to the appropriate execution pipeline.
Once dispatched, each processor instruction is processed by one or more execution pipelines until the instruction stalls, is flushed or completes. In some systems, when an instruction stalls within an execution pipeline, all instructions waiting to be processed in that execution pipeline are delayed. Thus, although only one thread is waiting for the result of an instruction that caused the stall, other threads having instructions within the stalled execution pipeline are effectively stalled as well. Additionally, in some systems, when one execution pipeline is stalled, other execution pipelines stall as well.
Some stall conditions can be detected when the processor instructions are compiled. For example, an execution pipeline may require ten processing cycles, or clock cycles, to perform a multiply operation. A first instruction for thread A may request a multiply operation. The second instruction for thread A may use the result of the multiply operation. In this scenario, the second instruction will stall for nine processing cycles until the result of the first instruction is available.
The stall condition discussed above can be detected at compile time. If detected, a compiler may avoid the stall by scheduling instructions collectively requiring at least nine processing cycles after the first instruction. If other instructions cannot be scheduled after the first instruction, the compiler can insert up to nine no operation instructions (nops) between the first two instructions. The nops are dispatched and executed by an execution pipeline similar to any other instruction. The disadvantages to using nops are that the instruction image becomes larger and requires more memory and the nops take valuable execution slots in execution pipelines. Dispatching a nop for an execution slot delays execution of other processor instructions which could have been dispatched for the execution slot. This includes instructions which could have been dispatched for other threads. Additionally, stall conditions caused by processor instructions residing in different threads are not detected by compiler programs and instruction processing systems.
Thus, there is a need to better handle potential stall conditions.

Programmable delayed dispatch in a multi-threaded pipeline


A device for maintaining recommended spacing during siding installation contains a main body, an extended body, an extruding body, a first channel, and a second channel. The first channel and the second channel are used to receiving a siding panel. When the siding panel is received, a first stop and a second stop of the extruding body is used to rest the device against a previously installed siding panel. Since the siding panel is stationary against the previously installed siding panel, a constant space can be maintained between the two siding panels. In addition to installing the siding panel, the device can also be used when installing siding butt-joints. In order to do so, a first receiving channel and a second receiving channel are provided.

Installation of siding is a very tedious task that requires precision. Standard practice of maintaining the recommended vertical and butt gap of one-eighth of an inch is to eyeball or guess the width of the gap or even manually measure the width of the gap. This standard practice of determining the width of the gap results in a large margin of human error and inconsistent results throughout the entire siding.
When eyeballing the position of a siding panel there is a high probability for the spacing between two siding panels to be different from one another. Even though the differences can be minimum between two siding panels, when an entire section is complete, the minimum differences between siding panels can have a considerable impact on the overall outlook.
Most siding panels need to be installed exactly according to the manufacturer's instructions. Failure to do so, can result in damaged siding panels. As an example, improper clearances from roof surfaces, decks, steps and other hard surfaces can result in damaging the siding panels. Therefore, the need for a quick and convenient method of measuring these distances is clearly evident.
Properly attaching siding panels is a vital part of the installation process. Failure to do so, can result in hindering the aesthetically pleasing appearance of the siding panel and also damaging the siding panel. As an example, angularly driven nails and overdriven nails are instances where the siding panel is damaged. On most instances, angularly driven nails are a result of attempting to maintain a constant overlap between two siding panels. The present invention is designed such that the user can continue the installation process while keeping the second siding panel stationary against the first siding panel.
The objective of the present invention is to address the aforementioned issues. In order to do so, the present invention introduces an apparatus that allows the user hold and align a siding panel at a preferred distance from the previously installed siding panel. By doing so, the siding panels can be installed such that equal spacing is maintained throughout the process.

Siding gauge for measuring vertical gap and horizontal overlap