A disk drive includes a voice coil actuator, and a rotary fine actuator that is attached to the head mounting tongue of the flexure of a suspension assembly. The head is positioned during operation of the disk drive by a novel method. An electrical current is driven through a coil of the voice coil actuator to torque it towards a desired coarse position. First and second voltages are applied across first and second piezoelectric elements attached to the flexure, respectively. The first and second voltages cause longitudinal deformation of the first and second piezoelectric elements, respectively, the longitudinal deformation consisting of expansion relative to a zero-voltage state. The first and second voltages do not switch polarity during normal operation of the first and second piezoelectric elements.

Information storage devices are used to retrieve and/or store data in computers and other consumer electronics devices. A magnetic hard disk drive is an example of an information storage device that includes one or more heads that can both read and write, but other information storage devices also include heads—sometimes including heads that cannot write. For convenience, all heads that can read are referred to as "read heads" herein, regardless of other devices or functions that the read head may also include or perform (e.g. writing, flying height control, touch down detection, lapping control, etc).
In a modern magnetic hard disk drive device, each read head is a sub-component of a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The read head typically includes a slider and a read/write transducer. The read/write transducer typically comprises a magneto-resistive read element (e.g. so-called giant magneto-resistive read element, or a tunneling magneto-resistive read element) and an inductive write structure comprising a flat coil deposited by photolithography and a yoke structure having pole tips that face a disk media.
The HGA typically also includes a head suspension assembly that includes a mounting plate, a load beam, and a laminated flexure to carry the electrical signals to and from the read head. The read head is typically bonded to a tongue feature of the laminated flexure. The HGA, in turn, is a sub-component of a head stack assembly (HSA) that typically includes a plurality of HGAs, a rotary actuator, and a flex cable. The mounting plate of each head suspension assembly is attached to an arm of the rotary actuator (e.g. by swaging), and each of the laminated flexures includes a flexure tail that is electrically connected to the HSA's flex cable (e.g. by solder reflow bonding or ultrasonic bonding).
Modern laminated flexures typically include electrically conductive copper traces that are isolated from a stainless steel support layer by a polyimide dielectric layer. So that the signals from/to the head can reach the flex cable on the actuator body, each HGA flexure includes a flexure tail that extends away from the head along the actuator arm and ultimately attaches to the flex cable adjacent the actuator body. That is, the flexure includes electrically conductive traces that are electrically connected to a plurality of electrically conductive bonding pads on the head (e.g. by gold ball bonding), and extend from adjacent the head to terminate at electrical connection points at the flexure tail.
The position of the HSA relative to the spinning disks in a disk drive, and therefore the position of the read heads relative to data tracks on the disks, is actively controlled by the rotary actuator which is typically driven by a voice coil motor (VCM). Specifically, electrical current passed through a coil of the VCM applies a torque to the rotary actuator, so that the read head can seek and follow desired data tracks on the spinning disk.
However, the industry trend towards increasing areal data density has necessitated substantial reduction in the spacing between data tracks on the disk. Also, disk drive performance requirements, especially requirements pertaining to the time required to access desired data, have not allowed the rotational speed of the disk to be reduced. In fact, for many disk drive applications, the rotational speed has been significantly increased. A consequence of these trends is that increased bandwidth is required for servo control of the read head position relative to data tracks on the spinning disk.
One solution that has been proposed in the art to increase disk drive servo bandwidth is dual-stage actuation. Under the dual-stage actuation concept, the rotary actuator that is driven by the VCM is employed as a coarse actuator (for large adjustments in the HSA position relative to the disk), while a so-called "microactuator" having higher bandwidth but lesser stroke is used as a fine actuator (for smaller adjustments in the read head position). Such a coarse actuator driven by a VCM may be referred to as a voice coil actuator herein. Various microactuator designs have been proposed in the art for the purpose of dual-stage actuation in disk drive applications. Some of these designs utilize one or more piezoelectric microactuators that are affixed to a component of the suspension assembly. For example, the piezoelectric microactuator may be affixed to the mounting plate or an extension thereof, and/or the load beam or an extension thereof, or to the flexure tongue (a.k.a. the "gimbal tongue") to which the read head is bonded.
However, generally, the further the microactuator is disposed from the read head on the suspension assembly, the less bandwidth it can provide. This is due to the dynamics introduced by the intermediate structure of the suspension assembly. On the other hand, the closer the microactuator is disposed to the read head on the suspension assembly, the lesser stroke it can typically provide. Hence there is a need in the information storage device arts for a microactuator design that can provide both adequate stroke and adequate bandwidth for fine actuation.
Moreover, prior art concepts require the piezoelectric elements to expand (relative to a zero voltage state) to move or rotate the head in a given direction or sense, and to contract (relative to a zero voltage state) to move or rotate the head in the opposite direction or sense. This may undesirably cause depolarization of the piezoelectric elements over time, reducing their effectiveness, stroke, and/or bandwidth. Hence, there is a need in the information storage device arts for a fine actuation method that reduces or eliminates depolarization of piezoelectric sub-components, thereby improving the lifetime or reliability of the fine actuator.

Method for fine actuation of a head during operation of a disk drive


A shaft rod (2), wherein the heddle support rail (4) is secured in a form-fit to a profile body (9), for example in the form of an aluminum extruded profile, by projections (18) provided on the extrusion profile (9), with the projections 18 extending into substantially correspondingly shaped recesses (19) in the heddle support rail.

Shaft rods for weaving shafts are often created from light-metal profiles on which a steel heddle support rail is held. The heddle support rails are conventionally secured to the light-metal profile by a plurality of rivets that extend through the heddle support rail and a corresponding extension of the light-metal profile, thereby holding the heddle support rail in place. This securing system is limited. Care must be taken to prevent the shaft rods from being subjected to undesired bending during the riveting process, because otherwise the heddle play along the shaft rod will become non-uniform. It has also been seen that cracks often form in the region of the rivet bores, particularly at high operating speeds, and steel rivets are sheared off. The use of thicker steel rivets does not solve this problem, because they weaken the light-metal profiles to an unacceptable degree.
German printed Patent Application DE 39 37 657 A1 discloses a shaft rod for securing heddle support rails without rivets. The shaft rod has a wall-like, flat extension with two narrow, parallel ribs. The ribs define a slot-like receiving chamber between themselves. The associated heddle support rail has on its rear side a narrow retaining rib that is to be pushed into the receiving chamber. The rib has a certain amount of excess material, so it is seated in a press fit between the spread tabs or ribs of the retaining segment.
Forces exerted on the heddle support rail act as bending forces on the retaining ribs. At high operating speeds, the seating of the heddle support rail poses a problem.
German Patent DE 33 23 224 C2 discloses a shaft rod that is formed from a light-metal profile. To some extent, the rod replaces the conventional heddle support rail. The light-metal profile has a strip-like segment that is provided on its top side and underside with a U-shaped protective profile. Consequently, the precision of the heddle play is a function of the precision of the securing of the two U-profiles relative to one another. Many users therefore prefer conventional heddle support rails made from a suitable steel profile.
In view of the above problems, it is the object of the invention to create a shaft rod that is suitable for high operating speeds.


A Design-Under-Test (DUT) may be designed to perform speculative execution of a branch path prior to determination whether the branch path is to be performed. Verification of the operation of DUT in respect to the speculative execution is disclosed. A template may be used to generate a plurality of tests. In addition to standard randomness of the tests to various parameters in accordance with the template, the tests may also differ in their respective speculative execution paths. The tests are partitioned by a generator into portions to be placed in speculative paths and portions to be placed in non-speculative paths. The generator may provide for a variance in portions. The generator may provide for nested speculative paths.

The present disclosure relates to functional verification of a processor hardware design in general, and to test generation of stimuli operative to stimulate the design to perform speculative execution, in particular.
Computerized devices control almost every aspect of our life—from writing documents to controlling traffic lights. However, computerized devices are bug-prone, and thus require a testing phase in which the bugs should be discovered. The testing phase is considered one of the most difficult tasks in designing a computerized device. The cost of not discovering a bug may be enormous, as the consequences of the bug may be disastrous. For example, a bug may cause the injury of a person relying on the designated behavior of the computerized device. Additionally, a bug in hardware or firmware may be expensive to fix, as patching it requires call-back of the computerized device. Hence, many developers of computerized devices invest a substantial portion of the development cycle to discover erroneous behaviors of the computerized device.
Hardware-based speculation increases the parallel execution of instructions by speculating on the outcome of conditional branch instructions and executing the instruction stream as if the speculated guess is correct. With speculation the processor fetches, issues and executes instructions, but the results of the execution are not written back into architected resources until the speculation is resolved. This may be done by separating the completion stage from the commit stage. Results from completed instructions are forwarded into other instructions to allow their speculative execution.
In hardware-based speculation, in instruction after which the control may flow into two or more different locations, speculative execution may be used. Such an instruction is referred to as a branch instruction. A branch instruction may define two or more branch legs. The branch instruction may be conditional and define a condition which defines which of the branch legs is to be taken. For example, the branch instruction may define that if a condition is held, a first branch leg is taken, and if the condition is not held, a second branch leg is taken. During execution, the taken branch leg is executed. However, the non-taken branch leg (also referred to as the Branch-leg Not Taken, or BNT) may also be executed in speculative execution, whose results may be dropped later on. In some exemplary embodiments, the taken branch leg may be executed speculatively, and those results may be used later on.
Once the speculation is resolved, in case the speculation was correct (i.e., the taken branch leg was executed speculatively), all the instructions which executed speculatively are allowed to commit—i.e. write their results into architected resources in program order. In case the speculation was wrong (i.e., the BNT was executed speculatively), the speculative execution is revoked by performing a rollback operation. The rollback operation may require performing a complex chain of undo operations within the processor.
Implementing a speculative execution mechanism considerably complicates processor design. It requires the addition of a set of hardware buffers that hold the results of instructions that finished executing but have not yet committed, and also requires the ability to pass results among speculatively executing instructions. Hence, hardware-based speculation is somewhat bug-prone, and its verification is an important task.
Functional verification of processor designs is based largely on test generation techniques. These techniques generate stimuli in the form of machine-language programs. Faulty behavior of the design is detected by driving the stimuli into a design simulator and comparing the actual behavior of the design with the expected behavior implied by the input stimuli. However, in some cases, another test platform may be used instead of a simulator, such as a hardware emulator, a hardware accelerator, a post-silicon product (e.g., a prototype or a wafer), or the like.
Test generators may be generally classified into two distinct groups. Layout generators are configured to generate a test based on a template which describes the layout of the test. In other words, the layout of instructions in the template is the layout of instructions of the generated test as well. Flow generators are configured to generate a test based on a template which describes the order of execution. Hence, in a flow generator, an order of instructions in the template defines an order of execution in the test, and not necessarily the layout of the test.
The two different generators are noticeably different with respect to branching instructions. In a layout generator, the instruction succeeding a branch instruction in the template is placed in memory right after the branch instruction. In a flow generator, the placement of the instruction succeeding the branch depends on whether the branch is taken or not taken. If the branch is not taken, the succeeding instruction in the template is placed right after the branch instruction, however if the branch is taken, the succeeding instruction is placed at the target address of the branch instruction, and the placement continuity is broken.
Dynamic generators utilize a reference model to simulate an expected state of the target design during the generation of the test, and therefore are able to provide for tests of higher quality as such a dynamic generator may generate more interesting stimuli based on a current expected state of the design. Dynamic generation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,889 titled "Dynamic Process for the generation of biased pseudo-random test patterns for the functional verification of hardware designs", which is hereby incorporated by reference. In dynamic generation the generator generates an instruction, executes the generated instruction on a reference model to calculate the new machine state, and generates the next instruction based on the updated state. In some exemplary embodiments, flow generators are dynamic generators.

International Business Machines Corporation


A bearing assembly includes a roller bearing connected with a plate-shaped bearing support. The bearing support has a receiving bore for an outer ring of the roller bearing, and the outer ring of the roller bearing is affixed to the bearing support with two affixing plates that are fixed to first and second end sides of the bearing support. The two affixing plates clamp the outer ring at two clamping surfaces. An axial spacing of the first and second end sides of the bearing support is smaller than an axial spacing of the clamping surfaces of the outer ring, and a spring element configured to act in the axial direction is disposed between one of the two affixing plates and the bearing support.

A bearing assembly of the above-mentioned type is disclosed in DE 602 09 752 T2 (family member of US 2004/0189124). DE 10 2007 040 460 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 8,052,331 B2, DE 10 22 429 A, DE 965 774 B and WO 2008/116443 A1 show similar solutions. In the first reference, a structure of a bearing assembly is proposed, in which the roller bearing to be retained in the bearing support and especially its outer ring is affixed to the bearing support with lateral affixing plates. The two affixing plates are affixed to the bearing support with bolts and fixedly clamp the bearing outer ring to the bearing support. The bearing outer ring is thereby supported on its both sides by the affixing plates; at the same time, the plates are supported on the two end-side surfaces of the plate-shaped bearing support.
So that a static over-determination of the axial retention of the outer ring does not occur, the cooperating surfaces must be exactly tailored to each other. If this is not the case, the bearing can axially migrate despite the two retaining plates, which is not acceptable, because then the axial position of the outer ring relative to the bearing support is not defined in a precise manner. During operation of the assembly, this leads to louder noises and increased wear as a consequence of the not-defined position of a transmission shaft supported by the roller bearing.
It is therefore disadvantageous in the above-described, known solutions that a very high manufacturing effort must be incurred, which makes the manufacture of the bearing support cost-intensive.
Solutions are also known, in which the roller bearing and/or its outer ring is affixed to the bearing support only via a single retaining plate. However, it is disadvantageous that the retention of the bearing on the bearing support is not as stable as in the above-described, known solutions.

Bearing assembly having a roller bearing connected to a bearing support by affixing plates and a spring element disposed between an affixing plate and bearing support


Modified ZSM-5 type zeolite catalyst is prepared by controlled aging in a moving bed catalytic cracking unit. The modified catalyst exhibits significant olefin isomerization activity and reduced paraffin cracking activity. Hydrocarbons are cracked to products boiling in the motor fuel range, e.g., gasoline, by using the modified catalyst mixture comprising a ZSM-5 type zeolite and a conventional cracking catalyst. The ZSM-5 type zeolite is treated with partial pressure steam under conditions which increase the gasoline octane number of the product fuel without decreasing gasoline plus distillate yield. A process for changing a catalytic cracking unit's inventory from a conventional catalyst to a modified ZSM-5 type containing catalyst is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved process for increasing gasoline octane number in catalytic cracking units without decreasing total liquid yield. This invention particularly relates to increasing gasoline octane without a significant loss in C.sub.6.sup.+ fraction, i.e., gasoline plus distillate, yield with the use of ZSM-5 type catalysts, which have been selectivated (as defined hereinafter) by exposure to high temperature partial pressure steam, in admixture with cracking catalysts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hydrocarbon conversion processes utilizing crystalline zeolites have been the subject of extensive investigation during recent years, as is obvious from both the patent and scientific literature. Crystalline zeolites have been found to be particularly effective for a wide variety of hydrocarbon conversion processes, including the catalytic cracking of a gas oil to produce motor fuels, and have been described and claimed in many patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,140,249; 3,140,251; 3,140,252; 3,140,253; and 3,271,418. It is also known in the prior art to incorporate the crystalline zeolite into a matrix for catalytic cracking, and such disclosure appears in one or more of the above-identified U.S. patents.
It is also known that improved results will be obtained with regard to the catalytic cracking of gas oils if a crystalline zeolite having a pore size of less than 7 angstrom units is admixed with a crystalline zeolite having a pore size greater than 8 angstrom units, either with or without a matrix. A disclosure of this type is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,202. Although the incorporation of a crystalline zeolite having a pore size of less than 7 angstrom units into a catalyst comprising a larger pore size crystalline zeolite (pore size greater than 8 angstrom units) has indeed been very effective with respect to the raising of octane number, nevertheless it did so at the expense of the yield of gasoline.
Improved octane number with some loss in gasoline yield was shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,403, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In this patent, the cracking catalyst was comprised of a large pore size crystalline zeolite (pore size greater than 7 angstrom units) in admixture with ZSM-5 type zeolite, wherein the ratio of ZSM-5 type zeolite to large pore size crystalline zeolite was in the range of 1:10 to 3:1.
The use of ZSM-5 type zeolite in conjunction with a zeolite cracking catalyst of the X or Y faujasite variety is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,894,931; 3,894,933; and 3,894,934. The first two patents disclose the use of ZSM-5 type zeolite in amounts up to about 5 to 10 wt %; the third patent discloses the weight ratio of ZSM-5 type zeolite to large pore size crystalline zeolite in the range of 1:10 to 3:1.
The ZSM-5 type catalyst, especially virgin catalyst, has exceedingly high activity. Researchers have attempted to take advantage of the activity of fresh ZSM-5 catalyst by adding only small amounts of it to FCC catalyst. Typical of such work is U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,280, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent teaches the addition of very small amounts of powdered ZSM-5 catalyst, characterized by a particle size less than 5 microns. This patent teaches that adding as little as 0.25 wt % ZSM-5 powder to the circulating catalyst inventory in an FCC unit would increase dry gas production by 50% (from 3.9 wt % dry gas to 6.0 wt %; see Example 6 in Table 2).
The criticality of using only minuscule amounts of a ZSM-5 type zeolite to achieve improved results with respect to octane number and overall yield has been shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,114. In this patent, the use of only minuscule quantities of additive catalyst was shown to give the same beneficial results that were once thought obtainable only by adding much larger quantities of ZSM-5 type catalyst.
In order to reduce automobile exhaust emissions to meet federal and state pollution requirements, many automobile manufactures have equipped the exhaust systems of their vehicles with catalytic converters. These converters contain catalysts which are poisoned by tetraethyl lead. Since tetraethyl lead has been widely used to boost the octane number of gasoline, refiners now have to turn to alternate means to improve gasoline octane number.
The removal of lead from the gasoline pool and the resultant demand for unleaded gasoline has increased the value of octane. Further, as the distillate demand grows, both in the United States and Europe, refiners will tend to operate their catalytic crackers in modes which promote the formation of distillates as compared to gasoline. However, the operational conditions tend to decrease gasoline octane. Therefore, an increasing demand for high octane gasoline has resulted. While the prior art has shown that zeolites, and in particular ZSM-5, can increase gasoline octane in cracking units, its use will be restricted if a significant gasoline yield penalty and high gas make accompany the octane gain. In this situation, only refiners who have available gas handling and lower hydrocarbon upgrading capacities will find zeolites, such as ZSM-5, attractive in their cracking operations.
One method of increasing octane number is to raise the cracker reactor temperature. This method, however, is very limited, since many units are now operating at maximum temperatures due to metallurgical limitations. Raising the cracker reactor temperature also results in increased requirements for the gas plant (i.e., gas compressor and separator). Since most gas plants are now operating at maximum capacity, any increased load could not be tolerated by the present equipment.
As can well be appreciated from the foregoing, it would be extremely desirable to have a process which will provide high octane unleaded gasoline without undue sacrifice of gasoline plus distillate yield. It would be even more desirable if such results could be obtained in conjunction with an increase in operational flexibility and without undue use of expensive catalysts.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a process for increasing gasoline octane number without significant loss of gasoline plus distillate yield in a catalytic cracking unit.
Further, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.
These and other objects are fulfilled by the present invention, which is disclosed below.

Method of adding zsm-5 containing catalyst to fluid bed catalytic cracking units


An optical pickup in which a plate 2 provided with a photodiode 22 is bonded to an optical bench 1 through an adhesive agent layer 3 in a state in which a minute gap α is maintained between the plate 2 and the optical bench 1. Circular through holes 27 are formed in advance at a plurality of portions of the plate 2. The adhesive agent layer 3 is formed as an adhesive agent injected into the through holes 27 at the plurality of portions is forced out downward through the through holes 27 and is cured in the state of having reached an upper surface 12 of the optical bench 1. The amount of the adhesive agent injected with respect to each of the through holes is controlled so as to be fixed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup, and more particularly to an optical pickup in which a plate provided with a photodiode is bonded to an optical bench by an adhesive agent.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an optical pickup having the structure shown in FIG. 3 has been known (e.g., refer to JP-A-2002-342947). In this optical pickup, an upper surface 12 of an optical bench 1 and edge portions of a plate 2, which is disposed on an upper portion of the optical bench 1 while maintaining a minute gap α between the plate 2 and the upper surface 12 of the optical bench 1, are bonded together through an adhesive agent layer 3. The plate 2 is provided with a photodiode 22 mounted on a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) 21, while the optical bench 1 is provided with a collimator lens 23, an objective lens 24, a semiconductor laser 25, a half mirror 26, and the like. Laser light from the semiconductor laser 25 is projected onto a disk D through the half mirror 26, the collimator lens 23, and as the objective lens 24, and as its reflected light is received by the photodiode 22, the disk D is optically scanned.
In this optical pickup, the operation of bonding the plate 2 to the optical bench through the adhesive agent layer 3 is conventionally carried out by the following procedure. Namely, in this operation, as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 3, in a state in which the plate 2 is held by a positioning arm 100, the plate 2 is brought close to the optical bench 1 at a predetermined position by using the positioning arm 100. Subsequently, the photodiode 22 is positioned with respect to an optical axis P with high accuracy by effecting such as the positional adjustment of the plate 2 in three-axis directions which are perpendicular to each other. After such highly accurate positioning, an adhesive agent is injected to predetermined portions between the edge portions of the plate 2 and the upper surface 12 of the optical bench 1 and is allowed to cure.
As another conventional example, a fixing base provided with a photodetector is inserted in one hole formed in the optical bench, and the photodetector is positionally adjusted by pushing in or pulling out the fixing base in that hole. Subsequently, as a means of fixing that fixing base to the optical bench, instead of the method in which positioning screws are used a means is adopted wherein an adhesive agent is injected into the hole formed in the fixing base to bond the fixing base to the optical bench (e.g., refer to JP-UM-A-61-140126).
In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, it has been practiced to bond a plurality of peripheral portions of the plate 2 to the upper surface 12 of the optical bench 1 in spots by means of the adhesive agent layer 3, or to form recesses in a plurality of peripheral portions of the plate 2 and inject the adhesive agent into the recesses to form an adhesive agent layer.
However, the conventional example (JP-A-2002-342947) explained with reference to FIG. 3 has encountered the following problem. Namely, in this conventional example, the adhesive agent layer 3 is formed by allowing the adhesive agent injected between edge portions o the plate 2 and the upper surface 12 of the optical bench 1 to cure. For this reason, even if the amount of the adhesive agent injected is controlled so as to be fixed, the range of the spread of the adhesive agent is difficult to become uniform for each injected portion due to the flow of the injected adhesive agent. As a result, relatively large variations occur in the bonding area of the plate 2 and the bonding area of the upper surface 12 of the optical bench 1 with respect to the adhesive agent layer 3 at each of the plurality of portions formed through the curing of the adhesive agent. In addition, the adhesive agent forms the adhesive agent layer 3 as the adhesive agent cures by being accompanied with shrinkage. If there are thus large variations in the bonding areas of the plate 2 and the upper surface 12 of the optical bench 1 with respect to the adhesive agent layer 3 at the plurality of portions formed through the cure shrinkage of the adhesive agent, even if an attempt is made to position the photodiode 22 with respect to the optical axis P with high accuracy by using the positioning arm 100 described with reference to FIG. 3, a situation can occur in which the photodiode 22 becomes positionally offset from such a positioned point due to the cure shrinkage of the adhesive agent. Hence, there has been a problem in that the positioning accuracy of the photodiode 22 by the use of the positioning arm 100 is impaired by the bonding using the adhesive agent layer 3, which exerts an adverse effect on the reading performance based on the photodiode 22.
This problem similarly has occurred in cases where, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of peripheral portions of the plate 2 are bonded to the upper surface 12 of the optical bench 1 in spots by means of the adhesive agent layer 3, or in cases where recesses are formed in a plurality of peripheral portions of the plate 2, and the adhesive agent is injected into the recesses to form the adhesive agent layer.
Further, in the other conventional example (JP-UM-A-61-140126), since the technique of using the adhesive agent instead of the positioning screws is merely proposed in the case of fixing the fixing base to the optical bench, the technique based on this conventional example is not a technique which can overcome the above-described problem that the variations in the bonding areas using the adhesive agent layer impair the positioning accuracy of the photodiode. In addition, with this conventional example, since a method is adopted in which the fixing base is fixed to the optical bench by injecting the adhesive agent into the single hole formed in the fixing base, it is impossible to avoid a situation in which the fixing base is drawn toward the hole side due to the cure shrinkage of the adhesive agent, thereby impairing the initial positioning accuracy.


A nozzle and associated system is for treating fluids is provided, particularly for a system including a reaction vessel containing a granular filter or ion exchange medium and a fluid manifold immersed in the granular or ion exchange medium. The nozzle has an outer screen defining a interior cavity, a duct for providing flow to the interior cavity, and a restrictor having at least one orifice through which the duct is in communication with the cavity. The orifice or orifices of the restrictor have a total open area that is less than the total open area of the outer screen. By this sizing relationship the nozzle flow rate is dictated by the inner orifice area, not the outer screen open area. In comparison to the outer screen openings each of the inner orifices is less susceptible to plugging or wearing than the narrow outer screen openings which are adjacent to medium. The nozzle according to the invention therefore provides a consistent predetermined flow rate and pressure drop profile over extended periods. Advantageously, a manifold including a spaced array of the nozzles has consistent flow rates among all of the nozzles, facilitating a desired flow profile through the medium to the manifold. Also disclosed are nozzle embodiments having multiple fluid ducts, each having a dedicated to restrictor orifice.

The present invention generally relates to fluid purification and particularly relates to a nozzle for use in a fluid treatment vessel.
Fluids are commonly processed for purification or chemical treatment. More particularly, water and various chemicals, in liquid or gaseous form, are purified or otherwise treated for consumption, manufacturing or industrial processes. For example, water from an available source, such as a river, lake, ocean or deep well, usually contains undesired impurities, including suspended solids, and organic and inorganic impurities. The impurities must be removed to meet certain purity requirements, depending upon the intended use for the water. Public water systems are governmentally regulated so that impurities do not exceed levels considered safe for consumption. Certain industrial applications require even fewer impurities than the typical levels for drinking water. Semiconductor processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and steam boilers are sonic examples of applications requiring water with extremely low levels of impurities.
Fluid treatment systems are known for purifying water and otherwise processing fluids, including various liquid-from-liquid, liquid-from-solid, and liquid-from-gas separation processes. Fluid treatment systems often include more than one reactor vessel. For example, at least two reactor vessels are used in a typical water demineralizer purification system for a community, populated facility, or industrial facility that uses large amounts of purified water for industrial processes such as boiler feed or washing off electronics parts. Other reactor vessel treatment systems are known for processing steam, acid, caustic, and a variety of other gases or liquids.
Conventionally, a reactor vessel includes a large tank which contains a granular processing medium. Such as sand, anthracite, carbon, cation exchange resins, anion exchange resins, and mixed-bed resins. The processing medium occupies a lower portion of the vessel""s interior chamber. A typical later demineralizer purification system includes at least two reactor vesselsxe2x80x94a first containing a cation exchange resin medium and a second containing an anion exchange resin medium.
To treat the fluid, the fluid is brought into contact with the processing medium, such as ion exchange resin. The vessel includes an upper manifold for introducing a flow of the fluid into an upper portion of the vessel, from where it falls onto the processing medium. As the fluid flows downwardly through the processing medium, the fluid reacts with the processing medium during the physical contact. The treated fluid is then removed through a lower manifold that is immersed in the processing medium at a bottom portion of the vessel.
The lower manifold, which feeds to a common duct, includes an array of conventional nozzles which are generally spaced across the bottom portion of the vessel. To separate the fluid from the medium, each of the conventional nozzles has an exterior screen with narrow openings sized to prevent the passage of the processing medium. For example, in a system having an ion exchange resin as a process medium, which is typically comprised of resin beads, each having a diameter of generally about 2 mm (15-40 mesh), the nozzle screen openings are designed to be very narrowxe2x80x94only a few thousands of an inch wide.
In most prior art nozzles, the flow rate is governed by the collective open area of the screen. For reasons explained in greater detail below, it is desirable that each nozzle has a predetermined flow rate. Specifically, the flow rates are desirably consistent among the nozzles withdrawing fluid in order to promote an optimal flow profile. Therefore, in conventional nozzles, the screen must be manufactured with a high degree of precision to provide a predetermined total open area, in turn providing, a desired flow rate.
Unfortunately, prior art fluid treatment systems have been known to lose treatment effectiveness, worsening over time. Some inefficiencies have been attributed to differences in flow rates that develop among a nozzles on a particular manifold. For example, a common problem is known as xe2x80x9cchanneling,xe2x80x9d wherein the fluid favors a particular flow path or xe2x80x9cchannelxe2x80x9d through the medium. Particularly, a majority of the fluid flows along a path of least resistance toward a nozzle having the greatest available open area. Of course, the processing medium in the xe2x80x9cchannelxe2x80x9d soon becomes exhausted, because it is subjected to a disproportionate rate of fluid contact. At the same time, the medium in other areas of the vessel is not effectively utilized. Thus, channeling causes a reactor vessel to rapidly deplete its overall effectiveness, including loss of productivity, increased chemical usage, and increased waste.
In most conventional nozzles, the flow rate and fluid flow restriction is a function of the open area of the collective holes in the nozzle screen. Accordingly, a manifold is assembled using a plurality of like nozzles having equivalent screen open areas. Such nozzles have relatively equal flow rates, at least initially upon installation. Unfortunately, over time, some screen openings are known to become plugged with foreign matter or broken medium beads, reducing the open area and reducing the flow rate in the plugged nozzles. At the same time, the flow increase through unplugged screen openings has a wearing effect. The flow wear enlarges the unplugged openings, thereby increasing the flow through those unplugged openings.
Notably an increasing flow rate through an opening results in wear rate on the adjacent screen material. Further increasing the screen openings of the favored nozzles. Moreover, the wire used to form such screens typically has a triangular cross section, for reasons explained below. When new, this triangular wire has edges formed by acute surfaces, but as these edges wear, the opening adjacent the screen rapidly expands at a non-linear rate due to the wire geometry.
Over time, the combination of screen plugging and screen wear result in a significant disparity in the open areas, and flow rates, among the conventional nozzles of a particular system. The drainage flow through the lower manifold therefore favors nozzles having the greatest screen opening areas, thus leading to the undesired channeling effect and associated operating inefficiencies. These inefficiencies result in lost productivity, an increase in required manpower due to increased regeneration requirements, and poor product quality.
In one known system, a restrictor plate was positioned across the duct mounted to the screen to provide communication between the manifold and the cavity defined by the screen. In this nozzle, however, the orifice was not positioned to optimally control a direction of flow through the screen for maximal efficiency.
Most treatment systems require a periodic regeneration or reconditioning of the processing medium. For example, in a vessel wherein the processing medium is ion exchange resin heads, charged sites on each bead become bonded with molecules of the impurities of the treated fluid, until the sites are used. In order for the medium to be effective, the beads must be periodically reconditioned with a chemical bath that takes away the molecules from the charge sites on the ion exchange medium. For introducing such reconditioning chemicals, a reactor vessel is typically equipped with an internal distributor in an upper or middle portion of the vessel to introduce a flow of the chemicals above the processing medium. The chemicals flow down through the medium and are extracted through the nozzles of the lower manifold near the bottom of the tank.
Another conventional nozzle is known as a pipe-based filter screen nozzle. Such a pipe-based nozzle is basically an elongated filter screen nozzle of the type described above. In a treatment vessel employing pipe-based nozzles, a plurality of the pipe-based nozzles are mounted to a central hub near the bottom of the medium, the nozzles projecting radially outwardly from the hub.
A problem with many prior art systems employing long pipe based filter screen nozzles is that these systems have not optimally utilized the medium near bottom of the tank. Most tanks have curved, concave bottoms and tops to structurally withstand high operating pressures. In some of the prior art systems, the pipe based screen nozzles have been mounted to the manifold so as to be positioned in a common horizontal plane. This planar arrangement is wasteful, as it fails to totally utilize large space in the head of the vessel at the concave bottom of the tank below the nozzles. To avoid wasting this unused medium, it is known to provide a false bottom in the tank. However, such a system fails to optimally utilize the tank volume.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved fluid treatment system having greater efficiency. More particularly, a need exists for a nozzle that provides improved flow rate and pressure drop control.
It is an object of the invention to provide a high efficiency screen nozzle that optimizes the efficiency of fluid treatment operations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved filter screen nozzle.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a nozzle that provides a consistent, predetermined flow rate that is not directly dependent upon the outer screen open area, thereby eliminating concern of unplanned or uncontrollable variations of the screen open area.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a fluid treatment system having improved flow profiles through a processing medium.
A further object of the invention is an improved nozzle which may be retrofit as a replacement nozzle in existing systems with little modification to existing manifold plumbing, thereby providing a cost-effective improvement to existing fluid treatment systems.
The present invention achieves the aforementioned objects and overcomes the deficiencies associated with the prior art fluid processing systems. For example, in an embodiment, a nozzle according to the invention has an outer screen with a total screen opening, area and an inner restrictor having at least one orifice accounting for a total orifice area that is less than the screen opening area. The nozzle includes a duct which is mounted to a manifold within a reactor vessel. Flow to or from the duct must pass through the at least one restrictor orifice. The nozzle has a predetermined flow rate and pressure drop dictated by the inner orifice area. The nozzle maintains a consistent flow rate over long periods of use, because the orifice open area is not as susceptible to plugging or wear as the outer screen.
The present invention provides a nozzle which results in improved and consistent flow, profiles of a fluid passing through a process medium. More particularly, a manifold having a plurality of the nozzles promotes a uniform flow of process fluids inside the reactor vessel to optimize intimate mixing and/or contact of process fluids (e.g. acid or caustic) with process media (e.g. ion exchange resin).
Advantageously, because the nozzle improves the performance and efficiency of the fluid treatment, cost savings are achieved by reducing the frequency of regeneration cycles, in turn reducing the amount of the regeneration chemicals used. Additionally, the nozzle also promotes an even distribution of the regeneration chemicals, thereby optimizing the effectiveness of the medium regeneration and system cleaning.
An advantage of the present invention is to provide a filter screen nozzle in which flow through the nozzle is not dependent upon the area of the screen openings.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a nozzle system that optimizes uniform flow patterns through a processing medium within a reaction vessel.
A further advantage o the present invention is to provide a nozzle system that optimizes contact between the fluid and the processing medium.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide a nozzle that optimizes the performance, service cycle and overall life of a fluid processing system.
A still further advantage of the present invention is to provide a nozzle that may be retrofit onto an existing fluid treatment system or utilized in constructing a new system.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and apparent from, the detailed description, figures and claims.

Filter screen nozzle and system for fluid processing


A collection unit collects attribute information of each of a plurality of electronic devices, and registers the collected attribute information in mounted device information correspondingly to a mounting position of the electronic device in a management system. A determination unit refers to device definition information in which attribute information of each electronic device mounted on the management system is registered correspondingly to a mounting position, determines as a comparison object position a mounting position in which the attribute information registered in the mounted device information is not matched with the attribute information registered in the device definition information and, when a plurality of comparison object positions are present, determines whether the attribute information of the mounted device information corresponding to one comparison object position is matched with the attribute information of the device definition information corresponding to another comparison object position.

A storage system using a plurality of high-capacity storage devices such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) becomes widely used recently. In the storage system, in many cases, an HDD is further mounted with a form of a disk array device on which a plurality of HDDs are mounted. In a storage system of a rack mount system, for example, a plurality of disk array devices may be mounted on one or more racks, respectively.
In the above-described storage system, since expansion of storage capacity is requested, the number of mounted HDDs increases. Therefore, there arises a problem that before or after shipping, a lot of trouble is taken for work of confirming that an HDD of correct specifications is mounted on the storage system.
On the other hand, when determining whether position information of an HDD at the time of initial setting is matched with position information of the HDD on start-up, some systems determine whether a positioning system of the HDD is correct. When comparing specific information read from an exchanged HDD with specific information previously stored in a memory, other systems further detect a connection error of the HDD.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-100946
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 11-085412
However, in a process of comparing specific information of previously-set HDD and specific information of actually-mounted HDD, a system only determines whether a correct HDD matched with previous setting is mounted. Accordingly, an effect of improving efficiency of work for confirming a mounting position of the HDD is small.
Further, there arises a problem that in a system including multiple electronic devices, without being limited to a storage system, a lot of trouble is taken in work for confirming a mounting position of electronic device.

Management system, management apparatus, and management method for electronic device


An ion generator to generate ion flow to ventilate heat comprises an emitter, a receiver and a power supply. The emitter comprises a needle electrode having one needle shaped tip configured as a discharging portion. The receiver comprises a plurality of flow channels for airflow and at least one receiving portion. The at least one receiving portion comprises a line edge arranged around a concave spherical surface, and the discharging portion is at a substantial center of the concave spherical surface. The power supply provides a voltage potential difference between the discharging portion of the emitter and the receiving portions of the receiver.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to heat dissipation devices, and particularly to a heat dissipation device with an ion generator.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic components in electronic devices, such as central processing units (CPUs) and power supplies, generate vast amounts of heat during operation. As more electronic components are employed in an electronic device, more heat is generated and accumulated. The heat that accumulates inside the electronic device is prone to cause overheating. In general, the electronic devices utilize fans to ventilate heat. However, vibrations and friction on motors and blades of the fans not only make noises, but also generate extra heat. Therefore, heat dissipation devices with better performance than the fans are considerably required.

Ion generator and heat dissipation device using the same


A method for selective link aggregation in a virtualized data processing environment is provided in the illustrative embodiments. A data packet is received at a switch. An identifier associated with the data packet is determined. The identifier corresponds to a logical partition in a logical partitioned data processing system. A lookup is performed in a data structure to determine a set of ports associated with the identifier. The set of ports is retrieved from the data structure. A port is selected from the set of ports and the data packet is transmitted from the port to the logical partition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular, to a computer implemented method for data communications in a data processing environment. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a computer implemented method for selective link aggregation in a virtualized data processing environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data processing systems can be divided into logical partitions (LPARs). A logical partition is also known as a logical partitioned data processing system, or simply as a "partition". Each partition operates as a separate data processing system independent of the other partitions. Generally, a partition management firmware connects the various partitions and provides the network connectivity among them. Hypervisor is an example of such partition management firmware.
A partition or another commonly used data processing system may access one or more data storage devices for reading, writing, storing, and managing data. A partition may also access one or more data communication network (network) for sending and receiving data, such as from a data storage device. A network may be a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN).
In some partitioned data processing systems, virtual input/output (I/O) servers provide the partitions access to one or more network or data storage device. A data storage device may include one or more physical data storage units, such as hard disks, as in the case of a storage array, or a storage area network (SAN).
A partition, with or without the use of a virtual I/O server may access a network over more than one data communication paths. A communication path is also called a link. A link typically facilitates data communication between an I/O adapter and a data port, such as a port on a switch. A switch is any device that facilitates data communication between two or more data processing systems or components thereof. A common variety of switches enables multiple data processing systems and networking capable data processing system components to communicate with each other, with a data network, or both.
A partition utilizing multiple links to communicate with a network may use multiple I/O adapters or multiple ports on an I/O adapter to communicate with multiple corresponding ports on a switch. Each I/O adapter port communicates with a port on the switch. An I/O adapter port is a point of ingress and egress of data to and from the I/O adapter. Similarly, a port on a switch is a point of ingress and egress of data to and from the switch.
Multiple links can be logically grouped together so that they appear to a partition and a switch as a communication channel of multiple links between the partition and the switch. The communication channel hides the individual I/O adapters or I/O adapter ports from the applications using those adapters for data communication such that data communication from such an application can be serviced by any of the I/O adapter ports participating in the communication channel. A group of multiple links operating as a communication channel in this manner is called a link aggregation channel.
Link aggregation channel configurations are commonly employed in data processing environments for increasing the data throughput rates between a data processing system and a switch. Link aggregation channels also improve the reliability of the data communications between a data processing system and a switch by providing redundant data communication paths between them.

Selective link aggregation in a virtualized environment


Methods, systems and program products for determining a probability of fault (POF) function using critical defect size maps. Methods for an exact or a sample POF function are provided. Critical area determinations can also be supplied based on the exact or sample POF functions. The invention provides a less computationally complex and storage-intensive methodology.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to integrated circuit design, and more particularly, to determination of a probability of fault (POF) function with critical defect size maps.
2. Related Art
The "critical area" of a very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuit layout is a measure that reflects the sensitivity of the layout to defects occurring during the manufacturing process. Critical area is widely used to predict the yield of a VLSI chip. Yield prediction is essential in today's VLSI manufacturing due to the growing need to control cost. Models for yield estimation are based on the concept of critical area which represents the main computational problem in the analysis of yield loss due to spot defects during fabrication. Spot defects are caused by particles such as dust and other contaminants in materials and equipment and are classified into two types: First, "extra material" defects cause shorts between different conducting regions by causing shapes to print slightly larger as a consequence of the manufacturing process. Second, "missing material" defects create open circuits by causing shapes to print slightly smaller as a consequence of the manufacturing process. Extra material defects are the ones that appear most frequently in a typical manufacturing process and are the main reason for yield loss.
A parameter that is, in certain approaches, used to determine critical area and is also useful in evaluating an IC design relative to defects is a probability of fault (POF) function. A POF function is a measure of the probability that a random defect of a given size r landing on the IC design will cause an electrical fault in the circuit. The POF function is dependent on the IC design, and is also useful for determining random defect failure probabilities for various manufacturing process models. The POF function can also be used to analyze characteristics of an IC design as it relates to defect sensitivity. Another useful parameter is a defect density function, which is a measure of the probability that a random defect of a particular size r will occur on the chip, independent of the chip design. The POF function for a particular design is independent of the defect density function. The probability that a random defect will occur on an IC design and cause an electrical fault (e.g., short, wire breaks (opens), or via blockage) is given by:
  Θ  =            CriticalArea      AreaOfLayout        =                  ∫        0        ∞                                    POF                                (            r            )                                            DefectDensity                                (            r            )                                                                              ⅆ          r
Currently, there are two methods of determining critical area: a Monte Carlo approach and a critical defect size mapping approach. In the Monte Carlo approach, critical area is approximated by randomly simulating defects on the actual layout having varying sizes. In this approach, the POF function is based on statistical data, and is used to perform integration with the defect density function to determine the critical area. One problem with the Monte Carlo approach, however, is that it uses a gross approximation of the POF function, which significantly lowers accuracy of the critical area determination. In addition, run-times for a Monte Carlo analysis are an order of magnitude greater than the critical defect size mapping approach. The critical defect size mapping approach constructs a critical defect size map in the form of a Voronoi diagram based on the layout geometry, which can be used to compute an exact critical area rather than an approximation. A shortcoming of the conventional critical defect size mapping (Voronoi) approach, however, is that the POF function is not determined.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for determining a probability of fault function using a critical defect size mapping (e.g., Voronoi) approach.

Probability of fault function determination using critical defect size map


An bicycle includes a frame assembly having a head tube and a fork having a steerer tube mounted for rotation in the head tube. The bicycle further includes wheels supporting the frame assembly, and a component line positioned at least partially in the head tube and between the head tube and the steerer tube. The bicycle further includes a protector positioned in the head tube and separating the component line from the steerer tube.

The present invention relates generally to the field of bicycles, and specifically to the head tube of a bicycle and to the steerer tube that is inserted into the head tube.
Bicycles, including electric bicycles ("e-bikes"), commonly include a frame assembly having a head tube into which a steerer tube of a fork is inserted. When component lines and/or component line housings are routed within the frame assembly, the component lines and/or component line housings sometimes are routed through the head tube. However, if the component lines and/or component line housings contact the steerer tube, the component lines, the component line housings, and/or the steerer tube (e.g., an exterior surface of the steerer tube) may be damaged over time.


A radio frequency identification system having a radio frequency transceiver for generating a continuous wave RF interrogation signal that impinges upon an RF identification tag. An oscillation circuit in the RF identification tag modulates the interrogation signal with a subcarrier of a predetermined frequency and modulates the frequency-modulated signal back to the transmitting interrogator. The interrogator recovers and analyzes the subcarrier signal and determines its frequency. The interrogator generates an output indicative of the frequency of the subcarrier frequency, thereby identifying the responding RFID tag as one of a xe2x80x9cclassxe2x80x9d of RFID tags configured to respond with a subcarrier signal of a predetermined frequency.

The present invention relates to RF identification (RFID) tag systems, and particularly to RFID tags that communicate using frequency modulation.
Remote communication utilizing wireless equipment typically relies on radio frequency (RF) technology, which is employed in many industries. One application of RF technology is in locating, identifying, and tracking objects, such as animals, inventory, and vehicles.
RF identification (RFID) tag systems have been developed that facilitate monitoring of remote objects. As shown in FIG. 1, a basic RFID system 10 includes two components: an interrogator or reader 12, and a transponder (commonly called an RF tag) 14. The interrogator 12 and RF tag 14 include respective antennas 16, 18. In operation, the interrogator 12 transmits through its antenna 16 a radio frequency interrogation signal 20 to the antenna 18 of the RF tag 14. In response to receiving the interrogation signal 20, the RF tag 14 produces an amplitude-modulated response signal 22 that is modulated back to the interrogator 12 through the tag antenna 18 by a process known as backscatter.
The conventional RF tag 14 includes an amplitude modulator 24 with a switch 26, tag 14 is activated by the interrogation signal 20, a driver (not shown) creates a modulating on/off signal 27 based on an information code, typically an identification code, stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown) of the RF tag 14. The modulating signal 27 is applied to a control terminal of the switch 26, which causes the switch 26 to alternately open and close. When the switch 26 is open, the tag antenna 18 reflects a portion of the interrogation signal 20 back to the interrogator 12 as a portion 28 of the response signal 22. When the switch 26 is closed, the interrogation signal 20 travels through the switch 26 to ground, without being reflected, thereby creating a null portion 29 of the response signal 22. In other words, the interrogation signal 20 is amplitude-modulated to produce the response signal 22 by alternately reflecting and absorbing the interrogation signal 20 according to the modulating signal 27, which is characteristic of the stored information code. The RF tag 14 could also be modified so that the interrogation signal is reflected when the switch 26 is closed and absorbed when the switch 26 is open. Upon receiving the response signal 22, the interrogator 12 demodulates the response signal 22 to decode the information code represented by the response signal. The conventional RFID systems thus operate with an oscillator or clock in which the RF tag 14 modulates a RF carrier frequency to provide an indication to the interrogator 12 that the RF tag 14 is present.
The substantial advantage of RFID systems is the non-contact, non-line-of-sight capability of the technology. The interrogator 12 emits the interrogation signal 20 with a range from one inch to one hundred feet or more, depending upon its power output and the radio frequency used. Tags can be read through a variety of substances such as odor, fog, ice, paint, dirt, and other visually and environmentally challenging conditions where bar codes or other optically-read technologies would be useless. RF tags can also be read at remarkable speeds, in most cases responding in less than one hundred milliseconds.
A typical RF tag system 10 often contains a number of RF tags 14 and the interrogator 12. RF tags are divided into three main categories. These categories are beam-powered passive tags, battery-powered semi-passive tags, and active tags. Each operates in fundamentally different ways.
The beam-powered RF tag is often referred to as a passive device because it derives the energy needed for its operation from the interrogation signal beamed at it. The tag rectifies the field and changes the reflective characteristics of the tag itself, creating a change in reflectivity that is seen at the interrogator. A battery-powered semi-passive RF tag operates in a similar fashion, modulating its RF cross-section in order to reflect a delta to the interrogator to develop a communication link. Here, the battery is the source of the tag""s operational power. Finally, in the active RF tag, a transmitter is used to create its own radio frequency energy powered by the battery.
The range of communication for such tags varies according to the transmission power of the interrogator 12 and the RF tag 14. Battery-powered tags operating at 2,450 MHz have traditionally been limited to less than ten meters in range. However, devices with sufficient power can reach up to 200 meters in range, depending on the frequency and environmental characteristics.
Conventional continuous wave backscatter RF tag systems utilizing passive (no battery) RF tags require adequate power from the interrogation signal 20 to power the internal circuitry in the RF tag 14 used to amplitude-modulate the response signal 22 back to the interrogator 12. While this is successful for tags that are located in close proximity to an interrogator 12, for example less than three meters, this may be insufficient range for some applications, for example, which require greater than 100 meters.
The present invention provides a radio frequency identification system having a radio frequency transceiver for generating a continuous wave RF interrogation signal that impinges upon a RF identification tag. An oscillation circuit in the RF identification tag modulates the interrogation signal with a subcarrier of a predetermined frequency and modulates the frequency-modulated signal back to the transmitting interrogator. The interrogator recovers and analyzes the subcarrier signal and determines its frequency. According to one aspect of the invention, the interrogator generates an output indicative of the frequency of the subcarrier frequency, thereby identifying the responding RF identification tag as one of a xe2x80x9cclassxe2x80x9d of RF identification tags configured to respond with a subcarrier signal of a predetermined frequency.
According to various aspects of the invention, the RF identification tag includes a RF antenna configured to receive the interrogation signal, a rectifier having an input coupled to the radio frequency antenna and an output, and a tag oscillator having an input coupled to the output of the rectifier and an output coupled to an input of the RF antenna. The tag oscillator generates an output signal modulating the RF interrogation signal with the subcarrier RF signal.
According to one aspect of the invention, the RF identification tag oscillator further is either a single-transistor oscillator or a uni-junction transistor oscillator.
According to still other aspects of the invention, the tag oscillator in the RF identification tag is activated by the RF interrogation signal received at the tag antenna. According to various aspects of the invention, the RF tag system is a xe2x80x9cpassivexe2x80x9d system, wherein the tag oscillator is powered by a radio frequency signal received at the antenna. Alternatively, the RF identification tag is either a battery-powered semi-passive tag, or an active tag.
According to another aspect of the invention, the RF transceiver includes a radio frequency oscillator generating a RF interrogation signal, an antenna coupled to the radio frequency oscillator, and a detector coupled between the RF oscillator and the antenna for recovering a subcarrier RF signal from the interrogation signal.
According to various other aspects of the invention, the interrogator includes a RF antenna configured to transmit and receive RF signals with a RF oscillator coupled to the antenna by a strip line. The RF oscillator is configured to generate a continuous wave RF interrogation signal, and means are included for recovering the subcarrier frequency generated by the tag oscillator from the frequency-modulated interrogation signal. According to one aspect of the invention, the subcarrier recovery means include two terminals on the strip line between the antenna and the oscillator, the two terminals phase shifted from one another by ninety degrees. The recovered subcarrier frequency signal is amplified and applied to a comparator coupled between the two terminals on the strip line. A processor coupled to an output of the detector is configured to sample the recovered subcarrier radio frequency signal and determine a frequency of the recovered subcarrier radio frequency signal. The processor is further configured to output a signal indicative of the frequency of the recovered subcarrier signal.
According to yet other aspects of the invention, a method is provided for performing radio frequency identification, the method including generating a continuous wave RF interrogation signal in an interrogator/reader, detecting the RF interrogation signal in a RF identification tag, responsively modulating the RF interrogation signal in the RF identification tag with a subcarrier frequency; and modulating the frequency-modulated interrogation signal back to the interrogator/reader that generated the original RF interrogation signal.
According to one aspect of the method of the invention, the RF identification tag modulates the original RF interrogation signal by operating an oscillator, such as a single-transistor oscillator, in the RF tag and using the output of the oscillator to modulate the RF interrogation signal. The frequency-modulated signal is applied to an antenna portion of the RF tag for transmission back to the interrogator/reader.
According to still other aspects of the invention, the method includes recovering with the interrogator/reader the subcarrier frequency signal from the modulated interrogation signal, determining the frequency of the recovered subcarrier signal, and generating a signal indicative of the frequency of the recovered subcarrier signal.


An electronic commerce system (10) includes a shared product data repository (34) that includes static product data for one or more products. The static product data is associated with dynamic product data stored in one or more seller databases (32). The system also includes a global content directory (42) that includes a plurality of product classes organized in a hierarchy. Each product class categorizes a number of products and is associated with one or more attributes of the products categorized in the product class. At least one of the product classes has one or more associated pointers that identify the shared product data repository (34). The system further includes a search interface (45) that communicates a search query to the shared product data repository (34) to search static product data stored in the shared product data repository (34) identified by one of the pointers. The system (10) also searches dynamic product data that is associated with the static product data and that is stored in one or more seller databases (32).

Due to the ever-increasing popularity and accessibility of the Internet as a medium of communication, the number of business transactions conducted using the Internet is also increasing, as are the numbers of buyers and sellers participating in electronic marketplaces providing a forum for these transactions. The majority of electronic commerce ("e-commerce") transactions occur when a buyer determines a need for a product, identifies a seller that provides that product, and accesses the seller's web site to arrange a purchase of the product. If the buyer does not have a preferred seller or if the buyer is purchasing the product for the first time, the buyer will often perform a search for a number of sellers that offer the product and then access numerous seller web sites to determine which seller offers certain desired product features at the best price and under the best terms for the buyer. The matching phase of e-commerce transactions (matching the buyer with a particular seller) is often inefficient because of the large amount of searching involved in finding a product and because once a particular product is found, the various offerings of that product by different sellers may not be easily compared.

Facilitating electronic commerce transactions using a shared product data repository


A unitary combination actuator and indicator flag for an electronic energy meter. The integral actuator and mode indicator is slidable within the bezel of the meter and in the off position is not visible. Sliding the actuator simultaneously moves a camming surface over an axially moveable switch to connect the meter test mode, and slides a visible "TEST" flag over the digital readout window to indicate that the watthour meter is in the test mode. Positive actuation and positioning members are included for both the off and on positions.

Electronic registers and meters taking advantage of the expanded data processing capabilities inherent in such devices have been provided with built in test capabilities, and may include a "test mode" in which various functions and operation of the equipment may be displayed and tested. However, the test mode is not the normal mode of operation and may be actuated and utilized only at those relatively infrequent times when a serviceman is checking or repairing the electronic energy meter. As a result, the switch provided to transfer operation of the test mode has been of the momentary contact type, that is the test mode is actuated and maintained only as long as pressure is maintained to actuate the switch. However, during testing or repair it may become necessary to actuate the test mode for more than a brief period of time. Accordingly, it has become desirable to provide a test mode switch which is not of the momentary contact type. Also, it is desirable to provide a flag or indication that the energy meter has been switched to the test mode to remind the serviceman to turn off the test mode actuator switch when the testing is completed.
In addition, it is desirable in a energy meter that test functions, actuators, and indicators be unobtrusive and not clutter the meter face during the normal periods when meter reading is accomplished by non-service personnel, in order to avoid confusion in meter reading, and also to minimize unintended operation of test functions. Further, the actuator for the test function should be readily accessible yet not obvious to one not aware of its presence.
Notwithstanding that servicemen or technicians normally utilize the test function, it is desirable that actuation of the test function be accomplished without special tools or even a screwdriver.

Test mode actuator and indicator for electronic energy meter


To effectively reduce or prevent the deterioration of display quality caused by the errors included in the current supplied to an electro-optical element a pixel circuit includes a capacitor C1, transistors T1 and T2 that constitute a current mirror, and an organic EL element OLED. When a first driving mode is set, the transistor T1 functions as a programming element that writes data in the capacitor C1 in accordance with data current Idata and the second transistor T2 functions as a driving element that generates driving current Ioled in accordance with data stored in the capacitor C1. When the second driving mode that is alternately switched to the first driving mode in a predetermined period is set, the transistor T2 functions as the programming element and the transistor T1 functions as the driving element.

1. Field of Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to a pixel circuit driving method, a pixel circuit, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus, and more particularly, to switching of a driving mode of a pixel circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
The related art discloses preventing non-uniform output current caused by the non-uniformity in the inherent characteristics of a current controlling element which controls the output current by using a voltage as an input. For example, a thin film transistor circuit in which a current mirror does not include a pair of transistors but instead includes a plurality of transistor groups is disclosed. See Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-197896. Further, a display panel driving circuit which periodically converts a plurality of current controlling elements into a plurality of current controlled elements to average the effects of non-uniformity in current is disclosed. See Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-66903.

Pixel circuit driving method, pixel circuit, electro-optical device, and electronic apparatus


Slurries are formed with cationic emulsions prepared by emulsifying bitumen, such as an asphalt, in water with a cation-active emulsifier which is the product of the reaction of polyamine with certain polycarboxylic acids, which product is subsequently modified by reaction with from 10-30% of a member of the group consisting of acetic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, propylene carbonate, and styrene oxide.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mixing-grade, quick-setting cationic aqueous bituminous emulsion-aggregate paving slurry seal mixtures. More particularly, this invention relates to slurries formed with cationic emulsions prepared by emulsifying bitumen, such as an asphalt, in water with a cation-active emulsifier which is the product of the reaction of modified polyamine with certain polycarboxylic acids. Most particularly, this invention relates to the employment of these cation-active emulsifiers which have been post-reacted with from 10-30% of a member of the group consisting of acetic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, propylene carbonate, and styrene oxide.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, emulsion slurry seals are formulated from (1) mineral aggregate which is a fine stone aggregate and/or mineral filler and (2) about 15% to about 25% by weight thereof of a mixing-grade, quick-setting or slow-setting emulsion containing from about 50% to about 75% by weight of bituminous residue (usually asphalt), with a further addition of about 5% to about 25% of water, based on the weight of the dry aggregate, to attain slurry consistency. Usually, densely-graded aggregates, such as granite screenings, limestone screenings, dolomite screenings and blast furnace slag, are combined with bituminous emulsions to produce slurry seal compositions. These aggregates range in size from anything passing all through a sieve of No. 4, and even No. 10 mesh, with from 15% to 20% passing through as fine a mesh as 200 mesh, as described in ASTM C136.
The advent of slurry seal as a paving and road maintenance technique was first developed for use with anionic aqueous bituminous emulsions. A slurry seal is an intimate mixture of emulsified bituminous material and fine-grained aggregate held in suitable suspension until applied to the road surface. The slurry seal emulsion must be of an oil-in-water type. In such a mixture with aggregate, the aqueous emulsion form of the bituminous material has been generally preferred because it is less hazardous and more economical to use than hot mix or cutback (solvent containing) asphalts. Further, the aqueous emulsion form can be stored, transported and applied at much lower temperatures, obviating the necessity of heating equipment to maintain a bitumen-aggregate system in a workable or usable form. While these advances have been recognized, widespread acceptance has not been achieved due to disadvantages found in previous aqueous bituminous emulsions.
More recently, cationic bituminous emulsions have come into use and eliminate many of the disadvantages of the anionic emulsions. Bituminous emulsions formulated using cationic emulsifiers do not "break" in the same manner as anionic emulsions, but rather the bituminous material is deposited from the emulsion due to the attraction of polar charges between the positively charged bituminous droplets and negatively charged aggregate surfaces. Thus, cationic bituminous emulsions deposit more rapidly than the anionic bituminous emulsions on aggregate surfaces and are bonded to the aggregate by the electrostatic action at the interface of the bitumen and the aggregate material.
The aqueous cationic bituminous emulsions themselves are relatively stable, and the emulsion stability may be enhanced by various additives well known in the art. Most cationic bituminous emulsions, however, deposit on the surface of aggregate materials rapidly when aggregate is contacted with the emulsions. Bitumen from an aqueous cationic bituminous emulsion is deposited from the emulsion due to the charge attraction between the bituminous droplets and the aggregate materials. The rapid setting action of cationic bituminous emulsions is of considerable advantage in road building, such as seal coats, since the roads can be opened to traffic shortly after application of the coating. Although the rate of asphalt deposition, for example, from the emulsion can be controlled to some extent, the time required for complete deposition is never very long and it is therefore the practice to combine the cationic emulsion with the aggregate at the site of road construction, either on the surface of the road itself, or in a mobile mixer which permits the emulsion aggregate mix to be rapidly spread. Due to the charge attraction mechanism, the rapidity of deposition of bituminous materials from the cationic emulsion is closely related to the generally negatively charged surface area of the aggregate or filler material. Thus, while a specific cationic bituminous emulsion might provide suitable properties for use in conjunction with some aggregates, the same cationic emulsion may not exhibit suitable properties when used with very finely ground materials having vastly larger total surface area. The rapid deposition characteristics of the cationic bituminous emulsions frequently makes it impossible to use such emulsions with fine-grained aggregate in slurry form such as in gun application or spreader box application. Therefore, since the slurry seal should mix well, pump well, lay down well, not stiffen while being applied, and, after setting, wear well under traffic, it is particularly desirable to be able to control the setting time of the slurry for various aggregates employed.
Acidified reaction products of the above described polycarboxylic acids, anhydrides, sulfonated fatty acids and epoxidized glycerides with certain polyamines are suitable emulsifiers yielding asphalt emulsions which can be mixed with fine grained aggregate to give workable aggregate/emulsion mixes.
These types of emulsifiers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,269 to Schreuders et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,011 to Schilling et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,224 to Schilling et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,840 to Schilling et al., U.S. Pat. No. 464,286 to Schilling, U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,901 to Schilling, U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,799 to Schilling, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,927 to Schilling et al.
However, cationic emulsions produced with these emulsifiers can in many cases only be mixed with the aggregate in the presence of inorganic blending agents such as Portland cement or hydrated lime. These additives are generally employed at a dosage of 0.5-3% based on the weight of the aggregate. The addition of these blending agents has the effect of causing the aggregate/emulsion mix to cure slower, specifically at temperatures below 75.degree. F. Mix and cure behavior is dependent on the type of aggregate and source of the asphalt.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide novel emulsifiers which produce cationic emulsions which can be mixed with aggregate and provide faster curing asphalt/aggregate matrixes at lower temperatures (60.degree.-75.degree. F.) even in the presence of blending agents.
A further object of this invention is to provide a novel mixture of aggregate and bituminous emulsion.
An additional object is to provide a mixture of the above character which is workable under a broad range of conditions.
Another object is to provide a mixture of cationic bituminous emulsion and aggregate with variable setting time.
A particular object is to provide an aqueous bituminous emulsion and fine-grained aggregate slurry mixture which deposits at a fairly rapid rate after being applied to the surface to be treated, and is usable for a longer period of time to enable application in slurry form.

Cationic aqueous bituminous emulsion-aggregate slurries with improved curing rates


To provide a toner, which contains a binder resin, a colorant, and a releasing agent, wherein the binder resin contains a low molecular weight resin component, where the low molecular weight resin component has a resin softening coefficient (A), represented by the following formula (1), satisfying A>0.165, and has storage elastic modulus (dyne/cm2) G′(Tfb) satisfying G′(Tfb)≦1×104 where Tfb is a flow onset temperature (° C.) of the low molecular weight resin component as measured by a capillary rheometer:A=|[(r1)−ln G′(r2)]/(T1−T2)|  Formula (1)(where T1 is temperature (° C.) at which storage elastic modulus G′(r1) is 1×105 (dyne/cm2) and T2 is temperature (° C.) at which storage elastic modulus G′(r2) is 1×103 (dyne/cm2) as measured by means of a viscoelasticity measuring device with measuring frequency of 1 Hz, and measuring distortion of 1 deg; and | | represents an absolute value.).

Currently, photocopiers have been required to be able to copy an image on a large number of sheets at high speed with small size thereof, while maintaining high image quality. Conventional high-speed photocopiers however have not necessarily achieved downsizing. One of the reasons for this is a space required for residual toner collected after transferring. Meanwhile, a treatment of the residual toner collected after transferring is very serious issue in view of current environmental problems. Namely, the aforementioned problems can be solved, and a small and high speed photocopier without causing environmental problems can be achieved by supplying the residual toner collected after transferring to a developing unit. As a result of the supplement of the toner, a number of sheets on which copying can be performed increases, cost per one operation of copying reduces, and therefore the entire process becomes economical.
In the past, there has been an attempt to use the residual toner collected after transferring in a developing step by supplying the residual toner to a developing unit. However, various problems occur when this step is introduced, such as deterioration of images, and reduction in image density, as copying on a large number of sheets is repeatedly performed, and therefore there is a problem that it is difficult to stably provide images over a long period.
PTL 1 discloses a developer that intends to solve the aforementioned problems by regulating a particle size distribution of a toner.
Specifically, the developer uses toner particles where 90% by mass or greater of the whole toner particles is in the range of D(3√2)−1 to 3√2D, and a proportion of the toner particles smaller than D(3√2)−1 is 5% by mass or smaller, when the volume average particle diameter of the toner is D (μm).
However, application of this technique is limited to a two-component developing method. Since a proportion of extremely small particles is kept low, there are advantages that defects such as fogging and toner scattering are prevented at the time of recycling, but on the other hand, accurate copy of a precise latent image cannot be produced as the proportion of the small particles is extremely low.
Moreover, PTL 2 discloses a toner having a certain particle size distribution, but which has not yet achieved prevention of carrier spent, or fogging caused by the recycled toner.
Meanwhile, in the course of image formation by electrophotography, a toner is fixed onto an image support by a thermal fixing method to obtain a permanent visible copy image.
In the case where a copy image is formed on a transparent sheet for an overhead projector (OHP), such sheet may be referred to as an "OHP sheet" hereinafter, with a toner, especially a color toner, it is required to fix an image to give a smooth image surface to thereby prevent scattering of transmitting light, or diffused reflection on the image surface at the time of projecting, for the purpose of attaining excellent light transmittance of a projected image by the OHP.
To this end, as a common conventional method, used is a color toner, which has low viscoelasticity at a melting point thereof compared to a conventional black toner, and can be rapidly transferred into a melted state, so that an image surface is easily smoothed by heating and pressurizing.
However, making viscoelastic properties of the toner low in the aforementioned manner also lowers the glass transition temperature of the toner at the same time, and therefore, the dynamic strength of the toner lowers at ambient temperature, specifically when the toner is used in a device. Accordingly, a problem that an external additive on a surface of a toner particle is embedded to thereby deteriorate developing properties and transferring properties occurs, for example, by application of physical stress, such as stirring, within a developing unit.
Moreover, toner spent, which is deposition of toner particles on carrier particles, occurs.
These problems are significantly caused when toner particles are made small for achieving high quality images to meet current needs. This is because the toner tends to receive physical stress more easily as particle diameters of the toner particles become smaller.
To solve the aforementioned problem, in PTL 3, a toner, which has a certain relationship between the volume average particle diameter Dv (μm) and storage elastic modulus G′170 (dyne/cm2) at 170° C., is used to improve transparency with an OHP. On theory, such toner increases its storage elastic modulus as the average particle diameter of the toner decreases. When the average particle diameter of the toner is small, it is disadvantageous in achieving low temperature fixing ability and desirable glossiness of the toner. As a result, color reproducibility may be lowered. Namely, it is not easy to achieve all of the current needs, which are a toner of small particle diameters, high image quality, low temperature fixing ability, and color reproducibility.
As measure for improving low temperature fixing ability of a toner, PTL 4 discloses a binder resin for a toner, which contains non-crystalline polyester, and crystalline polyester that has a significant effect for improving low temperature fixing ability, compared to conventional non-crystalline polyester. In the case where the crystalline polyester and the non-crystalline polyester are used in combination, however, transesterification occurs during a melt-kneading process because compositions of the both resins are similar. Therefore, high crystallinity of the ctystalline polyester cannot be maintained, leading to low shelf stability of a resulting toner.
PTL 5 and PTL 6 each disclose a binder resin for a toner, which contains crystalline polyester using sebasic acid or adipic acid as a carboxylic acid component, and a styrene-acryl resin, and evaluate shelf stability under low temperature, and fixing ability at low printing speed. However, further improvements of their performances are desired.
PTL 7 discloses a binder resin for a toner, which contains certain crystalline polyester, and a non-crystalline hybrid resin, and discloses that a toner having a wide fixable temperature range and durability can be provided. However, it has not solved fogging and uneven image density caused by poor compatibility between the crystalline polyester and a pigment.
PTL 8 discloses use of crystalline polyester, as a binder resin, to achieve low temperature fixing ability, where the crystalline polyester resin contains the structure represented by —OCOC—R—COO—(CH2)n— (with proviso that R is a C2-C20 linear-chain unsaturated aliphatic group, and n is an integer of 2 to 20) in an amount of 60 mol % relative to the total ester bonds in the entire resin, but it has not discussed about improvement of shelf stability.
Meanwhile, it is proposed that a toner container is composed of a flexible material and as well as the toner, the toner container is also made compact, such as by folding, after use for collection, in view of environmental concern. Such container has a large rate of volume reduction, and can be achieved at low cost. Moreover, such container can automatically supply a toner by air after loaded in a main body of a device so that a toner is not flown in the air.
Such container, however, has problems including (1) toner supply is not stable; (2) there are cases where a toner cannot be supplied because the toner is packed in the container after a period of storage; and (3) a residual amount of the toner is large. These are caused because a spiral groove for supplying a toner cannot be formed in the container, a member for supplying a toner, such as an agitator, cannot be incorporated into the container, etc.

Toner for electrostatic charge development