A data processing system having a dual arbiter for controlling access to a system bus where two processors, each clocked by one of two timing signals having equal periods but out of phase by half a period, operate synchronously each to the other, but outphased by the half period of the clock signal, and generate equal priority signals requesting access to a system bus, each processor in a time distinct and non overlapped phase of the respective timing signals, and where an arbitration unit grants system bus access to either one or the other requesting processor on the time order in which the access requesting signals are received, the granting being performed asynchronously and without sampling and set up delays.

It is known that in modern data processing systems a plurality of processors may be used to increase performance. The processors have access to shared resources, for instance a working memory, through a system bus. In order to avoid conflicts and interference in system bus access, arbitration units are used. In case of concurrent bus access requests from a plurality of processors, the arbitration unit grants access to one processor at a time on the basis of predetermined priority criteria.
If the processors have the same features and functionality, it is advisable that they receive the same access priority right. Therefore, the arbitration unit operates according to a criterion known as "round robin". If a processor K among N ordered processor has just obtained access to the system bus, before granting access again to the same processor, it is determined whether processors K+1.fwdarw.N and 1.fwdarw.K-1 need access to the bus. If processor K+1 needs access to the bus, it receives access permission first. If processor K+1 does not need access to the bus, but processor K+2 does, then access is granted to processor K+2, and so on. If processor K again needs access to the bus, access is granted thereto only if no other processor needs access. In the case of two processors competing for access to the bus, the round robin criterion leads, at the extreme, to the alternative granting of access to each of the two processors, neither of which is privileged.
An arbitration unit which follows this criterion, may be, from a functional standpoint, one of three kinds:
1) Sequential. The arbitration unit polls, in timing sequence and according to a predetermined order, the presence of access requests to the system bus, one at a time, with a scanning cycle which requires a long time. For this reason, the sequential approach is generally no longer used. PA1 2) Synchronous. The several processors operate in synchronism and are clocked by a period timing signal which defines operative cycles or time frames. The access requests from the several processors are generated at predetermined times with a predetermined leading or lagging edge of the transitions of the timing signal. The arbitration unit, synchronously with the timing signal, samples the status of all the access requests and decides which of the processors has right of access. The arbitration time comprises two parts: the time of the decisional process required by the arbitration logic to grant one access since the sampling instant and the time elapsing from the generation of the access requests to the sampling instant. This kind of arbitration unit has the disadvantage that the arbitration process is not started as soon as an access request is generated, but is deferred until a predetermined sampling instant at which the status of the several access requests is stable. PA1 3) Asynchronous. Even if the several processors may operate in synchronism, they generally work asynchronously from each to the other. Bus access requests are randomly generated at unpredictable times, the one as to the others and to a possible periodic timing signal used by the arbitration unit. The arbitration unit may sample at high frequency the status of the several access requests. However, since the access requests may change status at the sampling instant, they may cause instability in the sampling circuits; therefore the decisional process must be delayed until the sampling circuits have taken a stable state. The same problem occurs in those arbitration units where the sampling of the bus access request is performed as soon as an access request is detected.
Other access requests, nearly simultaneous to the first one, may cause instability of the sampling circuits.

Data processing system having dual arbiter for controlling access to a system bus


A female terminal fitting (F) has a resilient contact piece (23) with first and second leaf springs (24, 29) connected by a folded portion (26). A base end (24A) of a first leaf spring (24) and an extending end (30) of a second leaf spring (29) are supported on a base plate (14). Thus, a high contact pressure can be ensured. The folded portion (26) enables the resilient contact piece (23) to be short along forward and backward directions. Additionally, the extending end of the first leaf spring (24) and the base end of the second leaf spring (29) are coupled via the closely folded portion (26). Thus, an elevation difference between the first and second leaf springs (24, 29) is small.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a terminal fitting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-15803 discloses a terminal fitting with front and rear ends. A rectangular tube is formed at the front end of the terminal fitting. A resilient contact piece is folded back at an angle from the front end of the bottom plate of the rectangular tube and is substantially surrounded by the rectangular tube. A male tab can be inserted into the rectangular tube and is held tightly between the tip of the resilient contact piece and the ceiling plate of the rectangular tube. The extending rear end of the resilient contact piece is supported on the bottom plate at front and rear points to ensure a sufficient contact pressure between the resilient contact piece and the male tab.
The above-described terminal fitting is formed continuously with front and rear angularly aligned leaf spring portions. The resilient contact piece is long along forward and backward directions and makes the rectangular tube long. As a result, the entire terminal fitting is large.
Consideration has been given to shortening the terminal fitting by folding the resilient contact piece into a substantially U-shape along its length. Thus, the two leaf spring portions could be arranged one over the other. However, such a construction causes an elevation difference between the two leaf spring portions due to the U-shaped fold. This leads to a problem of increasing the height of the rectangular tube and that of the entire terminal fitting.
The invention was developed in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to miniaturize a terminal fitting in which a resilient contact piece is supported at two points in a rectangular tube.
The invention is directed to a terminal fitting with a resilient contact piece that can be brought resiliently into contact with a male tab. The resilient contact piece comprises a first leaf spring with a base end supported on a base plate. A folded portion is folded at the extending end of the first leaf spring toward the base plate. A second leaf spring extends from the folded portion substantially toward the base end of the first leaf spring and has the extending end held substantially in contact with the base plate at least during the resilient contact of the resilient contact piece with the male tab.
The first and second leaf springs of the resilient contact piece are folded at an acute angle to each other. The length of the resilient contact piece along forward and backward directions is shorter than that of a resilient contact piece in which two leaf springs meet at an angle greater than 90xc2x0. Further, the second leaf spring is between the first leaf spring portion and the base plate. However, the extending end of the first leaf spring and the base end of the second leaf spring are coupled via the folded portion. Thus, an elevation difference between the extending end of the first leaf spring and the base end of the second leaf spring is small as compared to a resilient contact piece in which two leaf springs are coupled via a substantially U-shape fold, and the height of the resilient contact piece can be reduced by this reduced elevation difference. Therefore, the terminal fitting advantageously can be miniaturized with respect to both forward and backward directions and a height direction.
The resilient contact piece extends substantially along forward and backward directions and is surrounded by a substantially rectangular tube. The male tab can be inserted into the rectangular tube from the front and is held resiliently between a first plate of the substantially rectangular tube and the resilient contact piece.
The folded portion preferably is folded closely.
The first leaf spring preferably extends substantially forward and the male tab contacts the extending end of the first leaf spring. This contact position of the resilient contact piece with the male tab is near the front end. Thus, the length of the male tab can be shortened accordingly.
The folded portion preferably extends oblique to an inserting direction of the male tab. Thus, the leading end of the male tab is guided to a proper contact position by the inclination of the closely folded portion.
The base end of the first leaf spring preferably extends at an angle from a side plate of the substantially rectangular tube that is not connected with the base plate, and a locking edge is formed at a lateral edge of the base end of the first leaf spring.
A locking plate preferably extends at an angle from a lateral edge of the base plate that faces and is substantially parallel to the side plate. The locking plate is substantially continuous with the lateral edge of the base plate.
The locking plate preferably has a locking hole that engages the locking edge to prevent the base end of the first leaf spring from being lifted.
The base plate preferably is formed with a raised portion, and the outer surface of the base end of the first leaf spring portion preferably is held substantially in contact with the raised portion.
The base end of the first leaf spring is prevented from vertically shaking by being brought into contact with the raised portion of the bottom plate and having the locking edge thereof engaged with the locking hole.
The base end of the first leaf spring preferably contact the raised portion on the bottom plate. Thus, the locking edge and the upper edge of the locking hole are higher than the bottom plate. Accordingly, the locking edge and the locking hole engage each other on a flat part of the locking plate above the quadrantal section that defines a boundary between the bottom plate and the locking plate. Thus, even if the locking edge and the locking hole are engaged over a distance equal to the thickness of the locking plate, the locking edge does not bulge out from the outer surface of the locking plate.
The base plate may be formed with a fastening hole engageable with a resin lock in a housing to prevent the terminal fitting from coming out when the terminal fitting is inserted into the housing.
The extending end of the second leaf spring engages a resin lock in a housing when the resilient contact piece is in contact with the male tab to prevent the terminal fitting from coming out. Thus, an area of engagement of the resin lock with the terminal fitting is wider than a case where a resin lock engages only a fastening hole. Therefore, an external force on the terminal fitting in withdrawing direction is dispersed across the resin lock.
The resilient contact piece preferably comprises a guiding surface for guiding a contact of the resilient contact piece with the male tab.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Even though embodiments are described separately, single features may be combined to additional embodiments.

Terminal fitting and method of forming it


A specific relationship must be met in case of:                (a) a structural unit derived from propylene is present in 100 to 85 mole %, and a structural unit derived from ethylene and/or alpha-olefin with 4 to 20 carbons is present in 0 to 15 mole %;        (b) a content of a position irregularity unit based on 2, 1-insertion of a propylene monomer unit in all propylene insertions, which is measured by 13C-NMR, is 0.5% to 2.0% and a content of a position irregularity unit based on 1,3-insertion of propylene monomer unit in all propylene insertions, which is measured by 13C-NMR, is 0.005% to 0.4%; and        (c) a water vapor transmission rate is Y [g/m2/24 hr] as film and a melting point Tm[° C.] shows specific relationship.

A molded article derived from a polypropylene based resin expanded particle has its superior chemical resistance, shock resistance, and compression strain recovery properties or the like as compared with a molded article derived from a polystyrene based resin expanded particle. Thus, this molded article is suitably used as a bumper core material for automobiles or the like or a variety of packaging materials.
As the above polypropylene based resin, from an aspect of foaming characteristics, there is employed a propylene-alpha-olefin random copolymer obtained by primarily copolymerizing alpha-olefin such as ethylene or 1-butene or the like with propylene. These are polymerized by employing a so called Ziegler-Natta catalyst which consists of titanium chloride and alkyl aluminum.
In recent years, there is provided a proposal in which polypropylene having a syndiotactic structure obtained by employing a so called metallocene based catalyst is employed for a substrate of a foamed article (JP 1992-224832 Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai)). By this proposal, it is possible to produce a foamed article with a propylene homopolymer.
However, there has been a problem that polypropylene having a syndiotactic structure has a low melting point as compared with polypropylene having an isotatic structure, and is inferior thereto in mechanical properties.
Further, in JP1994-240041 Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) (Patent Document 1), there is proposed a polypropylene based resin expanded particle in which an isotactic polypropylene based resin polymerized by employing a metallocene based polymer catalyst is obtained as a base resin.
In this case, although the present invention is characterized in that the foam diameters of foam particles are comparatively uniform, the uniformity is not always sufficient, and further improvement has been desired.
Therefore, the object of the first associated invention of the present application is to provide a polypropylene based resin expanded particle capable of obtaining a molded article with its significantly uniform foam diameters, and having its superior surface appearance and mechanical properties; and a molded article thereof.

Expandable polypropylene resin particle and molded object obtained therefrom by in-mold molding


The present invention describes a facility which may be used in conjunction with SmartCard technology. Application Protocol Data Units (APDUs) are used to communicate with SmartCards. The management of these units is the primary focus and advantage of this facility. Smartcard environments can require that the APDUs conform to an environment specific format, and they can have different methods of sending information to and from a SmartCard. Other tools exist which assist in creation of ADPUs for SmartCard communication, but they are most likely tied to a single SmartCard environment. Application Protocol Data Unit--Management Facility (AMF) has numerous advantages over other APDU generation tools and are described.

The APDUs Management Facility is 100% pure Java tool, written to increase productivity when developing data packages to communicate with SmartCards (including JavaCard.TM.). An APDU is a data package consisting of strings of bytes that are sent back and forth between a SmartCard and a Card Acceptance Device (such as a card reader or terminal). The format and standards for APDUs are defined in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 7816-4. The information contained with an APDU consists of hexadecimal data representing the APDU command type, parameters and command data.
Regarding APDU message structure, a step in an application protocol consists of sending a command, processing the command in the receiving entity and sending back a response. Therefore, a specific response corresponds to a specific command, referred to as a command/response pair. An APDU contains either a command message or a response message, sent from the interface device to the card or conversely. In a command/response pair, the command message and response message may contain data.
Messages are transported between the terminal and the card according to the transmission protocol selected at the ATM. The command message sent from the applications layer and the response message returned by the card to the applications layer are the APDUs. A specific response corresponds to a specific command. These are referred to as APDU command/response pairs. In an APDU command/response pair, the command message and the response message may contain data.
Creating sequences of APDUs for communication with a SmartCard involves dealing with bit definitions and hexadecimal data, and can be extremely tedious and error prone.
At this juncture it would be desirable to define certain terms before proceeding with the description of the present invention. "Smart Card" technology can be defined as follows: a credit card size token that contains a microprocessor and memory circuits used for authenticating a user of a computer. When used for authentication proposes, a smart card is very often paired with a personal identification number (PIN); the combination between what you have (the token) and what you know (the PIN) is considered to establish strong authentication.
In computers and electronics, a SmartCard can be considered as a circuit board with built-in logic or firmware that gives it some kind of independent decision making ability. In banking and finance a SmartCard is used for authentication proposes. A SmartCard is very often paired with a PIN; the combination between what you have (the token) and what you know (the PIN) is considered to establish strong authentication.
As noted, a SmartCard is a card that is embedded with either a microprocessor and a memory chip or only a memory chip with nonprogrammable logic. The microprocessor card can add, delete and otherwise manipulate information on the card, while a memory chip card, such as a phone card, can only undertake a predefined operation.
SmartCards, unlike magnetic strip cards, can carry all necessary functions and information on the card. Therefore, they do not require access to remote databases at the time of transactions.
Today there are three categories of SmartCards, all of which are evolving rapidly into new markets and applications. The first is the Integrated Circuit (IC) Microprocessor Cards or "Chip" cards. They offer greater memory storage and security than the magnetic strip card. Chip cards can also process data on the card. The second type of card is the Integrated Circuit (IC) Memory Card that holds 1-4 KB of data, but does not contain any processor on the card to manipulate data. Thus, IC Memory Cards are dependent on the card reader for processing and are suitable for uses where the card performs a fixed operation. The third type of SmartCard is an Optical Memory Card. These cards can store up to 4KB of data. But, once written, the data cannot be changed or removed. Thus, this type of card is ideal for record keeping. Currently, these cards have no processor in them.
Regarding "JavaCard", it is a SmartCard that is capable of running programs written in Java.
With respect to the term "Protocol", it can be defined as follows: in data communications and networking, a standard that specifies the format of data, as well as the rules to be followed. Networks could not easily be efficiently designed or maintained without protocols. A protocol specifies how a program should prepare data so that it can be sent on to the next stage in the communication process. For example, e-mail programs prepare messages so that they conform to prevailing Internet mail standards, which are recognized by every program that is involved in the transmission of mail over the network.
The term "String", in programming, is a series of alphanumeric characters or unit data other than a numeric value. In data structures a string is a sequence of characters usually representing human readable text.
The term "Hexadecimal" is used throughout the description of the present invention. It is defined as a numbering system that uses a base (radix) of 16. Unlike decimal numbers (based 10) hexadecimal numbers include 16 digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E and F. Although binary numbers are ideally suited to the devices used in computers, they are inconvenient and hard to read. Binary numbers grow long quickly; for example, 16 is 10000 in binary and 10 in hexadecimal format. Therefore, programmers use hexadecimal numbers. A byte is conveniently represented as two consecutive hexadecimal numbers.
"SmartCard" environments can require that the APDUs conform to an environment specific format, and they can have different methods of sending information to and from a SmartCard. Other tools exist which assist in creation of ADPUs for SmartCard communication, but they are most likely tied to a single SmartCard environment. Application Protocol Data Uni--anagement Facility (AMF) has numerous advantages over other APDU generation tools and will be described below.

Application protocol data unit management facility

International Business Machines Corporation


An aqueous ink composition comprising at least: a colorant; water; 0.005 to 10 wt. %, based on the whole weight of the ink composition, of at least one acetylene alcohol compound represented by the following formula (1):

The present invention relates to aqueous ink compositions, particularly to quick-drying type aqueous ink compositions suitable for ink jet printing method.
It has bee the common practice to add, to aqueous ink compositions, a surface active substance in order to (a) improve print quality (including adaptability to paper), (b) improve quick drying property and (c) prevent bleeding between adjacent colors upon multi-color printing.
Since a surface active substance to be added to aqueous ink compositions is required to have high penetration promoting effects into a recording medium and structural characteristic that does not cause defects such as bubbling during printing, a nonionic surfactant is often selected as the surface active substance. Particularly, surfactants such as acetylene alcohol compounds and acetylene glycol compounds have attracted attentions as surfactants capable of satisfying the above-described requirements. Among them, acetylene alcohol compounds have markedly high penetration promoting effects and they are known to provide excellent print quality even with a small addition amount (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 139964/1988, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 239068/1992).
Acetylene alcohol compound based surfactants having a structure exhibiting stronger hydrophobicity are preferred because of their higher penetration promoting effects. They, however, have low solubility in water so that there may be the case where attention should be given to ejection property and clogging property.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an aqueous ink composition excellent in (a) improvement of ejection stability, (b) improvement of print quality, (c) improvement in fixing property (scratch resistance), (d) reduction in running cost, and (e) improvement of adaptability to paper.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge having the aqueous ink composition contained therein.
Other objects and effects of the invention will become apparent from the following description.
The present inventors have investigated and studied improvement in solubility in water of an acetylene alcohol compound based surfactant of a strong hydrophobic structure (which may be hereinafter referred simply to xe2x80x9chydrophobicxe2x80x9d). As a result, it was found that combined use, in an aqueous ink composition, of a specific acetylene alcohol based surfactant and a surface active substance capable of causing an effective amount of the acetylene alcohol based surfactant to dissolve in water makes it possible: to improve water solubility of the acetylene alcohol based surfactant, leading to improvement in ejection stability and clogging resistance without causing defects such as bubbling; to increase the addition amount of the acetylene alcohol based surfactant, so that improvement in print quality, improvement in adaptability to paper and reduction of a running cost can be attempted; and to improve penetration, thereby improving fixing property (scratch resistance) particularly when a pigment is used as a colorant. The invention has been completed based on the above-described findings.
The above-described objects of the invention have been achieved by providing an aqueous ink composition comprising at least: a colorant; water; 0.005 to 10 wt. %, based on the weight of the ink composition, of an acetylene alcohol compound represented by the following formula (1):
wherein R1, R2 and R3 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group which may be branched, or an alkylphenyl group; and a surface active substance capable of causing the acetylene alcohol compound of formula (1) to dissolve in water.
1) In a first preferred embodiment of the invention, the surface active substance comprises at least one compound selected from compounds represented by the following formulas (21a), (21b), (21c), (21d), (21e) and (21f):
xe2x80x83wherein R11to R15 each independently represents a C1-15 alkyl group which may be branched, subscripts n1, m1, h1, k1, j1, a, b and c each independently stands for 1 to 30, and M1 and M2 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal or a base such as ammonium.
2) In a second preferred embodiment of the invention the surface active substance comprises at least one 1,2-alkyldiol compound represented by the following formula (22):
HOxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH(OH)xe2x80x94R21xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(22)
wherein R21 represents a C1-10 alkyl group.
3) In a third preferred embodiment of the invention, the surface active substance comprises at least one compound selected from the compounds represented by the following formulas (23a) and (23b):
xe2x80x83wherein R31 represents a C1-15 alkyl group which may be branched, or an alkylphenyl group, and subscripts n3 and m3 each independently stands for 0 to 10.
4) In a fourth preferred embodiment of the invention, the surface active substance comprises at least one compound selected from phosphate ester compounds represented by the following formulas (24a) and (24b):
xe2x80x83wherein R44, R45, and R46 each independently represents a C8-30 alkyl group which may be branched, or an alkylphenyl group, and subscripts n4, m41 and m42 each independently stands for 1 to 30.
5) In a fifth preferred embodiment of the invention, the surface active substance comprises at least one compound selected from:
highly water-soluble acetylene glycol compounds represented by the following formula (25a):
xe2x80x83wherein R54, R55, R56 and R57 each independently represents a C1-30 alkyl group which may be branched, or an alkylphenyl group, R51 and R52 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and subscripts n5 and m5 each stands for an integer of 0 to 30; and
highly water-soluble acetylene alcohol compounds represented by the following formula (25b):
wherein R58, R59 and R50 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group which may be branched, R53 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and a subscript h5 stands for an integer of 0 to 30, with the proviso that R58+R59+R50 less than 5.
The present invention also relates to an ink cartridge having an ink container containing any one of the above-described aqueous ink compositions.
Components used for the aqueous ink composition of the invention are described in detail below. The term xe2x80x9caqueous ink compositionxe2x80x9d as used herein means, for black-and-white recording, an aqueous black ink composition, while for color printing, it means a color ink composition, more specifically, an aqueous yellow ink composition, an aqueous magenta ink composition and an aqueous cyan ink composition, and further optionally, an aqueous black ink composition.
To the aqueous ink composition of the invention, a water soluble compound can be further added in order to improve recording stability such as writing properties and ejection properties. Addition of a proper water-soluble compound may impart writing things such as pen with smooth writing properties free of partial thinning and inkjet recording with more stable ejection properties. As such a water soluble compound, organic solvents and water soluble solids ordinarily employed for aqueous ink compositions can be used. Specific examples thereof include low-molecular-weight glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol and dipropylene glycol; polyols such as 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, pentaerythritol and glycerin; lower alcohols such as ethanol and propanol; cellosolves such as ethylene glycol monomethyl ether and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether; carbitols such as diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, and diethylene glycol monobutyl ether; lactams such as 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and xcex5-caprolactam; ureas such as urea, thiourea, ethylene urea and 1,3-dimethylimidazolidinone; and saccharides such as maltitol, sorbitol, gluconolactone and maltose.
The addition amount of the aqueous compound is added preferably 1 to 30 wt. %, more preferably 5 to 25 wt. %, based on the whole weight of the aqueous ink composition. Amounts exceeding 30 wt. % make it difficult to adjust the viscosity of the aqueous ink composition to fall within a desired range, which may deteriorate ejection stability. Amounts less than 1 wt. %, on the other hand, may fail to bring about desired effects.
The feature of the aqueous ink composition of the present invention resides in the use of the above-described xe2x80x9cat least one acetylene alcohol compound represented by formula (1)xe2x80x9d and the xe2x80x9csurface active substance capable of causing the acetylene alcohol compound of formula (1) to dissolve in waterxe2x80x9d in combination.
By using the xe2x80x9cacetylene alcohol based surfactant represented by formula (1)xe2x80x9d in combination with the xe2x80x9csurface active substance capable of causing the acetylene alcohol based surfactant to dissolve in waterxe2x80x9d in an aqueous ink composition with a view to improving print quality and quick-drying property and preventing, as much as possible, bleeding between adjacent colors upon multicolor printing, water solubility of the acetylene alcohol based surfactant is enhanced and the penetration property of the aqueous ink composition through a recording medium is improved, thereby obtaining excellent effects in improvement of ejection stability, improvement in print quality, improvement in fixing property (scratch resistance), reduction of a running cost and improvement of adaptability to paper.
As the acetylene alcohol compound represented by formula (1), two or more compounds different in R1, R2 and/or R3 can be used together. Specific examples thereof are shown below in Table 1. Of course, the acetylene alcohol compounds usable in the invention are not limited thereto.
Among the acetylene alcohol compounds of formula (1), preferred are those having a structure of stronger hydrophobicity, that is, those greater in the total number of carbon atoms of R1, R2 and R3, because their penetration promoting effects are high.
The acetylene alcohol compounds of formula (1) having 5 or greater, more preferably 7 or greater, carbon atoms in total of R1, R2 and R3 are preferred.
The total amount of the acetylene alcohol compounds of formula (1) contained in the aqueous ink composition is 0.005 to 10 wt. %, more preferably 0.01 to 5 wt. %.
When the total amount of the acetylene alcohol compounds is less than 0.005 wt. %, the desired penetration effects may be hardly exhibited. Total amounts exceeding 10 wt. %, on the other hand, may make it difficult to adjust the viscosity of the resulting aqueous ink composition within a desired range or may cause defects such as marked deterioration in ejection stability owing to low water solubility.
Next, preferred embodiments of the xe2x80x9csurface active substance capable of causing the acetylene alcohol compound of formula (1) to dissolve in waterxe2x80x9d to be used in the invention is described in more detail.
Specific examples of the compound represented by formula (21a) include polyoxyethylene octylphenyl ether and polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether; specific examples of the compound represented by formula (21b) include polyoxyethylene oleyl ether and polyoxyethylene lauryl ether; specific examples of the compound represented by formula (21c) include polyoxyethylene oleate ester; specific example of the compound represented by formula (21d) include ammonium polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether sulfate; and specific examples of the compound represented by formula (21e) include sodium polyoxyethylene oleyl ether sulfate. Specific examples of these formulae are however not limited thereto.
Examples of the compound represented by formula (21f) include polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymers. Various compounds different in chain length represented by a, b and/or c can be used.
Specific examples of the 1,2-alkyldiol compound represented by formula (22) include 1,2-butanediol, 1,2-pentanediol, 1,2-hexanediol, 1,2-heptanediol and 1,2-octanediol. Of course, the 1,2-alkyldiol compounds usable in the invention are not limited thereto.
Incidentally, 1,2-alkyldiol compounds of formula (22) wherein R represents an alkyl group having 11 or greater carbon atoms has reduced water solubility, which might inhibit the addition thereof in an amount sufficient for obtaining desired effects.
As the compounds of formulas (23a) and (23b), compounds shown in Tables 2 and 3 can be given as specific examples, but the compounds usable in the invention are not limited thereto.
The compounds of formulas (23a) and (23b) each contains, in the molecule thereof, an ethylene oxide group and a propylene oxide group. Various compounds different in chain length represented by n3 and/or m3 can be used.
As specific examples of the phosphate ester compounds represented by formulas (24a) and (24b), compounds shown in Tables 4 and 5 can be given. Of course, the phosphate ester compounds are not limited thereto.
As the phosphate ester compounds of formulas (24a) and (24b), various compounds having, in the molecule thereof, an ethylene oxide group and different in chain length represented by n4, m41 and/or m42 can be used.
As the acetylene glycol compound of formula (25a) having high water solubility, two or more compounds different in any of R54 to R57 can be used simultaneously. As specific examples thereof, compounds as shown in Table 6 can be given, but compounds usable in the invention are not limited thereto.
As the highly water-soluble acetylene alcohol compound of formula (25b), two or more compounds different in any of R58, R59 and R50 can be used simultaneously. As specific examples thereof, compounds as shown in Table 7 can be given, but compounds usable in the invention are not limited thereto.
The total addition amount, in the aqueous ink composition, of xe2x80x9csurface active substance capable of causing an acetylene alcohol compound to dissolve in waterxe2x80x9d to be used in combination with the acetylene alcohol compound having a highly hydrophobic structure in order to enhance its water solubility is desirably an amount that allows substantially the whole amount of the acetylene alcohol compound to be dissolved in the aqueous ink composition, preferably 0.1 to 10 wt. %, more preferably 0.2 to 5 wt. %.
Amounts less than 0.1 wt. % may disturb exhibition of desired effects, that is, effects for causing a necessary amount of the acetylene alcohol compound to dissolve sufficiently, thereby presumably deteriorating ejection stability. Amounts exceeding 10 wt. %, on the other hand, may cause defects such as difficulty in adjusting the viscosity of the aqueous ink composition within a desired range.
In the invention, either a dye or a pigment may be used as the colorant. In aspects of light resistance and water resistance, a pigment is preferred. A combination of a pigment and a dye may also be used.
Use of a pigment as the colorant improves penetration property of the resulting aqueous ink composition, thereby bringing about marked effects of improving fixing property (scratch resistance).
The content of the colorant in the aqueous ink composition is preferably about 0.5 to 25 wt. %, more preferably about 2 to 15 wt. %.
No particular limitation is imposed on the pigment employed and either inorganic pigment or organic pigment can be used. Examples of the inorganic pigment include, in addition to titanium oxide and iron oxide, carbon black prepared in a known manner such as contact process, oil furnace process or thermal process. Examples of the organic pigment include azo pigments such as azo pigment lakes, insoluble azo pigments, azo condensation pigments and azo chelated pigments; phthalocyanine pigments such as copper phthalocyanine pigments and metal-free phthalocyanine pigments; polycyclic condensation pigments such as anthraquinone pigments, perylene pigments, perinone pigments, quinacridone pigments, dioxazine pigments, thioindigo pigments, isoindolinone pigments and quinophthalone pigments; dye lakes such as basic dye lakes and acidic dye lakes; nitro pigment; nitroso pigment; and aniline black.
The pigment has a particle size of preferably 10 xcexcm or less, more preferably 1 xcexcm or less.
Examples of the carbon black to be used for black ink include products of Mitsubishi Chemical such as No. 2300, No. 900, MCF88, No. 33, No. 40, No. 45, No. 52, MA7, MA8, MA100 and No. 2200B; products of Columbian Chemical such as Raven 5750, Raven 5250, Raven 5000, Raven 3500, Raven 1255 and Raven 700; products of Cabot such as Regal 400R, Regal 330R, Regal 660R, Mogul L, Monarch 700, Monarch 800, Monarch 880, Monarch 900, Monarch 1000, Monarch 1100, Monarch 1300, and Monarch 1400; and products of Degussa such as Color Black FW1, Color Black FW2, Color Black FW2V, Color Black FW18, Color Black FW200, Color Black S150, Color Black S160, Color Black S170, Printex 35, Printex U, Printex V, Printex 140U, Special Black 6, Special Black 5, Special Black 4A and Special Black 4.
Examples of the pigment to be used for yellow ink include C.I. Pigment Yellow 1, C.I. Pigment Yellow 2, C.I. Pigment Yellow 3, C.I. Pigment Yellow 12, C.I. Pigment Yellow 13, C.I. Pigment Yellow 14C, C.I. Pigment Yellow 16, C.I. Pigment Yellow 17, C.I. Pigment Yellow 73, C.I. Pigment Yellow 74, C.I. Pigment Yellow 75, C.I. Pigment Yellow 83, C.I. Pigment Yellow 93, C.I Pigment Yellow 95, C.I. Pigment Yellow 97, C.I. Pigment Yellow 98, C.I. Pigment Yellow 114, C.I. Pigment Yellow 128, C.I. Pigment Yellow 129, C.I. Pigment Yellow 151, and C.I. Pigment Yellow 154.
Examples of the pigment to be used for magenta ink include C.I. Pigment Red 5, C.I. Pigment Red 7, C.I. Pigment Red 12, C.I. Pigment Red 48(Ca), C.I. Pigment Red 48(Mn), C.I. Pigment Red 57(Ca), C.I. Pigment Red 57:1, C.I. Pigment Red 112, C.I. Pigment Red 123, C.I. Pigment Red 168, C.I. Pigment Red 184 and C.I. Pigment Red 202.
Examples of the pigment used for cyan ink include C.I. Pigment Blue 1, C.I. Pigment Blue 2, C.I. Pigment Blue 3, C.I. Pigment Blue 15:3, C.I. Pigment Blue 15:34, C.I. Pigment Blue 16, C.I. Pigment Blue 22, C.I. Pigment Blue 60, C.I. Vat Blue 4 and C.I. Vat Blue 60.
In the present invention, it is possible to use a pigment (surface-treated pigment) having a surface treated to bond thereto at least one of: functional groups such as sulfone, carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino; and salts thereof, directly or via a bonding group such as a C1-10 alkylene or a phenylene group, thereby allowing it to be dispersible in water without a dispersant.
In the present invention, the pigment is preferably used in the form of a pigment dispersion obtained by dispersing the pigment in an aqueous medium by an aid of a dispersant. As the dispersant to be used for the preparation of the pigment dispersion, dispersants ordinarily employed for the preparation of a pigment dispersion, for example, polymeric dispersants and surfactants may be used. It is apparent that the surfactant contained in the pigment dispersion will also function as a surfactant for the aqueous ink composition.
Preferred examples of the polymeric dispersant include natural polymers. Specific examples thereof include proteins such as glue, gelatin, casein and albumin; natural rubbers such as gum arabic and tragacanth gum; glucosides such as saponin; alginic acid, and alginic acid derivatives such as propyleneglycol alginate, triethanolamine alginate, and ammonium alginate; and cellulose derivatives such as methyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose and ethylhydroxy cellulose. Preferred examples of the polymeric dispersant also include synthetic polymers. Specific examples thereof include polyvinyl alcohols, polyvinylpyrrolidones; acrylic resins such as polyacrylic acid, acrylic acid-acrylonitrile copolymer, potassium acrylate-acrylonitrile copolymer, vinyl acetate-acrylate ester copolymers and acrylic acid-acrylate ester copolymers; styrene-acrylic resins such as styrene-acrylic acid copolymer, styrene-methacrylic acid copolymer, styrene-methacrylic acid-acrylate ester copolymers, styrene-xcex1-methylstyrene-acrylic acid copolymer, styrene-xcex1-methylstyrene-acrylic acid-acrylate ester copolymers; styrene-maleic acid copolymer, styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer, vinyl naphthalene-acrylic acid copolymer, vinyl naphthalene-maleic acid copolymer; and vinyl acetate copolymers such as vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer, vinyl acetate-fatty acid vinyl ethylene copolymers, vinyl acetate-maleate ester copolymers, vinyl acetate-crotonic acid copolymer and vinyl acetate-acrylic acid copolymer; and salts thereof.
Of these, copolymers of a monomer having a hydrophobic group and a monomer having a hydrophilic group and polymers of a monomer having both a hydrophobic group and a hydrophilic group in its molecular structure are particularly preferred.
The pigment dispersion to be used in the invention can be prepared, for example, by mixing a pigment, a dispersant, water or a mixture of water and a water-soluble organic solvent, and then dispersing the resulting mixture in a disperser such as beads mill, ball mill, sand mill, attritor, roll mill, agitator, Henschel mixer, colloid mill, ultrasonic homogenizer or pearl mill.
In the present invention, various dyes ordinarily employed for ink jet printing such as direct dyes, acid dyes, food dyes, basic dyes, photo-reactive dyes, disperse dyes, vat dyes, soluble vat dyes and reactive disperse dyes are usable as the dye.
To the aqueous ink composition of the invention, a fixing agent may be added further as needed.
Water-soluble resins may be used as the fixing agent. Specific examples thereof include water soluble rosins, alginic acid derivatives, polyvinyl alcohol, hydroxypropyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, styrene-acrylic acid resin, styrene-acrylic acid-acrylate ester resins, styrene-maleic acid resin, styrene-maleate half ester resin, acrylic acid-acrylate ester resins, isobutylene-maleic acid resin, rosin-modified maleic acid resin, polyvinylpyrrolidone, gum arabic starch, polyallylamine, polyvinylamine and polyethyleneimine.
The aqueous ink composition of the invention may contain other additives, for example, a pH regulator, antiseptic and/or mildewproofing agent. Examples of the pH regulator include various amines such as diethanolamine and triethanolamine, and hydroxides of an alkali metal such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide.
The aqueous ink composition of the invention has preferably a surface tension at 20xc2x0 C. of 20 to 55 mN/m, more preferably 25 to 45 mN/m.
At surface tension less than 20 mN/m, it may occur a phenomenon that the aqueous ink composition unevenly wets the vicinity of an ejection nozzle and such a phenomenon may deteriorate the ejection stability. Surface tension exceeding 55 mN/m, on the other hand, may disturb exhibition of desired penetration effects.
The aqueous ink composition of the invention is preferably employed as an ink for inkjet recording.
The ink cartridge of the invention is equipped with an ink container to contain the aqueous ink composition. The ink container preferably has a mechanism of generating an appropriate negative pressure relative to the atmospheric pressure so as to prevent leakage of the aqueous ink composition from the ink cartridge by gravity even if the ink container is communicated with the air. Examples of the mechanism generating a negative pressure include a structure equipped with a porous ink absorbing material such as polyurethane and a structure to control the shape of the ink container by mechanical action via spring or the like. Either manner may be employed in the invention.
The present invention will be illustrated in greater detail with reference to the following Examples and Comparative Examples, but the invention should not be construed as being limited thereto.


Techniques are disclosed for providing thread specific protection levels in a multithreaded processing environment. An associated method includes generating a group of threads in a process, one of the group of threads opening a thread entity, and that one of the group of threads specifying one or more levels of access to the thread entity for the other threads. In one embodiment, when a first of the threads attempts to perform a specified operation on the thread entity, the method of this invention determines whether that first thread is the one of the group of threads that opened the thread entity. When the first thread is not that one of the group of threads, the first thread is allowed to perform the specified operation if and only if such operation is permitted by the specified one or more levels of access.

Multi processor computer systems have become commonplace in the last few years. In these systems, a process is separated into component instruction sequences, referred to as threads that are processed concurrently by the multiple processors. In some computer systems such as the BluGene computer system developed by the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), there may be many thousands of threads executing at the same time. Even in the more traditional computer systems such as the eServer iSeries developed by IBM, some Websphere applications may have many hundreds of threads.
In a multithreaded environment any thread can operate on a file/socket descriptor (referred to herein as "thread entities") opened by a parent thread. There are scenarios where a file or a socket opened by one thread is inadvertently closed or its contents corrupted by some other thread. There are no known solutions for this issue as all the threads in a process share the same thread entities, which are global. It would be beneficial in some embodiments to provide a mechanism to ameliorate the above mentioned scenarios by specifying protection levels on thread entities created by parent threads.

Providing thread specific protection levels

Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A two-path connection system for monomode optical fibers is applicable to conventional telecommunication systems for connecting subscriber lines. The connection system includes a cylindrical envelope having an internal precision chamber. Two ferrules are engaged in the internal precision chamber, each for receiving a monomode optical fiber for connection. A spacer is engaged in the internal precision chamber which is suitable for securing the two ferrules while precentering them inside the precision chamber.

A particularly advantageous application of the invention lies in establishing two-way links in any field where concepts of electrical or optical multiplexing are too expensive compared with a solution comprising two monomode optical fibers, and in particular in the field of conventional telecommunications for connecting subscriber lines.
At present, a technique for connecting multiple optical fibers is known from the Japanese publication by S. Nagasawa in IEE Photonics, Vol. 3, No. 10, Oct. 1991, which technique consists in a highly accurate factory step of prepositioning said optical fibers to be connected in respective coupling sleeves by means of a mechanical centering system, in taking two identical coupling sleeves each including respective accurately-positioned fibers to be connected, and then in accurately positioning the two coupling sleeves facing each other in such a manner that said optical fibers are in exact alignment, after which an overmolding operation is performed on both facing sleeves together.
That Japanese technique including an overmolding operation performed in a factory suffers from the drawback of using technological means that are unsuitable for implementing on a worksite.

Two path connection system for monomode optical fibers


A tire building drum has a center section (720) and two end sections (722,724). Each end section is provided with an expandable bead lock assembly (726). The center section is preferably expandable. The expandable bead lock assembly comprises a carrier ring (CR) and a plurality of elongate links (K) extending between the carrier ring (CR) and a plurality of radially-expandable segments (S). When the carrier ring moves inward (towards the center section), the radially-expandable segments (S) move radially outward, urging a plurality of axially extending, circumferentially spaced-apart finger segments (F) outward from a collapsed position to an expanded position, and at least one position therebetween. In an embodiment of the invention, the bead lock assembly comprises a cylinder and two pistons (P1, P2) disposed within the cylinder. The pistons are free to move axially within the cylinder, in response to pneumatic pressure. The first piston (P1) is constrained from moving axially inward by rods (R1P1,R2P1,R3P1). The second piston (P2) is connected by rods (R1P2,R2P2,R3P2) to the carrier ring (CR). Pressurized air supplied through hoses (H1,H2,H3) and passageways in the cylinder (73) control the movement of the pistons (P1,P2) so that the beach lock assembly can be partially-expanded, fully-expanded, and retracted, unexpanded position.

The present invention relates to tire building drums for laying up tire carcasses, more particularly to drums which are expandable between a collapsed position and an expanded position. The invention also relates to methods and apparatus for setting beads on green tire carcasses.
It is known that in making vehicle tires, for example for automobiles, that manufacture of a so-called carcass is first achieved by successively assembling several different components. In other words, the different carcass types included in a production range can be distinguished from one another depending on the presence thereon of the various accessory components and/or the typology of the accessory components themselves.
By way of example, when carcasses for tubeless tires are to be produced, that is tires that in use do not require the presence of an inner tube, the main components can be considered to include a so-called inner liner that is a layer of elastomeric air-impervious material, a carcass ply, a pair of annular metal elements, commonly referred to as bead cores, around which the opposite ends of the carcass ply are folded, as well as a pair of sidewalls made of elastomeric material, extending over the carcass ply at laterally opposite positions. The accessory components may in turn comprise of one or more additional carcass plies, one or more reinforcing bands for overlying the carcass ply or plies at the areas turned up around the bead cores (chafer strips), and others.
It is well known that the components of most pneumatic tire constructions must be assembled in a way which promotes good tire uniformity in order to provide proper tire performance. For example, a tread which xe2x80x9csnakesxe2x80x9d as it goes around the tire circumference will cause wobbling as the tire is operated. For example, a carcass ply which is lopsided (longer cords on one side of the tire than the other side) can cause a variety of tire nonuniformity problems including static imbalance and radial force variations. For example, a tire which is not meridionally symmetric (e.g., tread not centered between beads) can cause a variety of tire nonuniformity problems including couple imbalance, lateral force variations, and conicity. Therefore, in order to meet typical tire performance requirements, the tire industry generally expends considerable effort in producing tires with good uniformity. Tire uniformity is generally considered to mean tire dimensions and mass distributions which are uniform and symmetric radially, laterally, circumferentially, and meridionally, thereby producing acceptable results for measurements of tire uniformity including static and dynamic balance, and also including radial force variation, lateral force variation, and tangential force variation as measured on tire uniformity machines which run the tire under load on a road wheel.
Although certain degrees of tire nonuniformity can be corrected in post-assembly manufacturing (e.g., by grinding), and/or in use (e.g., applying balance weights to the rim of a tire/wheel assembly), it is preferable (and generally more efficient) to build-in tire uniformity as much as possible.
Typical tire building machines comprise a tire building drum around which the tire components are wrapped in successive layers including, for example, an innerliner, one or more carcass plies, optional sidewall stiffeners and bead area inserts (e.g., apex), sidewalls and bead wire rings (beads). After this layering, the carcass ply ends are wrapped around the beads, the tires are blown up into a toroidal shape, and the tread/belt package is applied.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,288 (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cBeckerxe2x80x9d) discloses mechanical tire building drums for building extended mobility pneumatic tires, and more specifically to a tire building drum having contours or depressions in its surface to facilitate building certain tire designs. Attention is also directed to corresponding published European Patent Application No. 0 634 266 A2.
As noted by Becker, tire performance can be affected by adding components to the tire or by adjusting the location of tire components in the tire during the tire building process. During the tire building process, it is important that components fit together well with a minimum of wrinkling of the tire components or trapping of air between the components. If air is trapped between the uncured tire components, the tire may be defective and may have to be scrapped. During the tire building process, if it appears the air has been trapped between tire components, the tire builder must stitch the interfaces between the uncured elastomeric components to work any bubbles or trapped air from between the components. This stitching involves rolling a roller wheel along the components, forcing the air to an edge of a component where it can escape. The stitching process is time consuming and requires the skill of the tire builder.
As further noted by Becker, this problem is further magnified in tire designs where components are rather thick compared to other components. For example, when a component having a relatively square cross-section, such as a tire bead, is positioned adjacent a more planar component, such as a ply, the air may be trapped where the different-shaped components interface. In tire designs where different-shaped components are necessarily placed next to each other, the problem of trapped air is even more difficult.
As further noted by Becker, in one particular extended mobility tire design, inserts are positioned in the sidewall between the carcass plies to enable the tire to support the weight of the vehicle even if the tire should lose inflation pressure. These inserts are typically thicker than the plies which lie adjacent to them and it is important that this tire be built without trapping air between the plies and inserts. In accordance with the present invention, an inventive tire building method and drum have been designed which have features to accommodate the special production needs of such tires. These special features will be described hereinafter and contribute to the building of a quality tire without trapping air.
Becker therefore provides a method of building a tire comprising the steps of forming a liner into a cylinder, positioning first inserts to indent the liner cylindrical surface circumferentially at axially spaced insert locations along the axis of the cylinder, laying a first ply of reinforcing material around the cylindrical surface of the liner and first insert, positioning second inserts over the first ply at the spaced insert locations, laying a second ply of reinforcing material over the first ply and the second inserts, positioning circular beads at each end of the cylinder, expanding the first ply and the second ply to increase the diameter of the cylinder between the circular beads to provide shoulders at each end of the cylinder, turning edges of the first ply around the second ply over each of the beads, and positioning a belt and tread assembly around the second ply to form a precured tire.
Becker further provides a method of assembling tire components on a tire building drum having a cylindrical surface comprising the steps of laying a liner on the surface of the drum, positioning first inserts below the cylindrical surface and around a drum at insert locations spaced from each end of the drum, laying a first ply of reinforcing material around the drum over the cylindrical surface of the liner and first insert, positioning second inserts over the first ply at the insert locations spaced from each end of the drum, laying a second ply of reinforcing material over the first ply and the second inserts, positioning circular beads at each end of the drum, expanding the drum to increase the diameter of the cylindrical surface and provide shoulders at each end of the drum, turning edges of the first ply and the second ply over each of the beads, positioning a belt and tread assembly around the second ply, and contracting the drum for removal of the assembled tire components from the drum.
Becker further provides a tire building drum which has a cylindrical surface, circular grooves in the surface at insert locations spaced from each end of the drum for positioning of first inserts below the surface, means for applying a first ply over the cylindrical surface, means for applying second inserts over the first ply and the first inserts, means for applying a second ply over the first ply and second insert, means for expanding the drum providing shoulders at each end of the drum for applying bead rings, means for turning up ends of the first ply around the beads, means for applying a belt and tread assembly around the second ply and means for contracting the drum to remove the assembled tire from the drum.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,008 discloses an expandable tire building drum, especially a first stage solid pocket drum for building a carcass of a radial tire, having a segmental drum (10) with a plurality of axially-extending, circumferentially spaced segments (36) with flexible connections (56) to shoulder pistons (32) at opposite ends of each segment (36). Wedge shaped bars (62) are positioned between the segments (36) and are connected to center pistons (64) for urging tapered side faces (80) of the bars into engagement with sloping side faces (78) of the segments (36). The shoulder pistons (32) and center pistons (64) move radially outward to expand the drum. During the first stage operation, the tire reinforcing plies, beads and other components are assembled on the first stage drum and then the carcass is moved to another location where it is shaped and the belt and tread applied. In the first stage assembly of the tire carcass it is important that the tire components be applied to contracted and expanded drum surfaces which are concentric and of uniform diameter along the length of the drum. Expandible drums of different constructions have been used heretofore; however it has been difficult to maintain a concentric drum surface and a uniform diameter along the length of the drum in both the expanded and contracted condition of the drum. For example, the drum surface may be concentric and uniform in the contracted condition but is distorted during expansion to a larger diameter. As a result, the components added to the carcass on the expanded drum are not precisely assembled which may adversely affect the uniformity of the tire.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,068 discloses an expandable drum including adjustable stops for setting drum circumference. Tapering structures, each having axial slidability, are provided, and in response to a slide move of the tapering structure, drum segments are each radially expanded or retracted. As noted therein, the tapering structure (12) is of an inner recessed frustum and is mounted over the drum shaft (10) longitudinally or axially slidable with the aid of a key (16), and housed in the drum (14). The drum (14) is circumferentially divided into a plurality of drum segments (17), each being like a sector, and each segment (17) is interiorly supported by a drum segment supporter (18).
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,804 discloses an expandable, segmental tire building drum (1) having a plurality of circumferentially spaced drum segments (28) radially movable by a set of links (36) pivotally connected to a pair of axially movable hub assemblies (34) slidably mounted on a drum shaft (12). Each of the segments (28) has a cylindrical center portion (30) and end portions (32) with recesses providing pockets (68) for the tire bead portions. The links (36) are positioned between the end portions (32) providing space for large bead portions in the pockets (68) and at the same time the segments (28) are retractable to a small diameter to facilitate placing of a tire band (64) over the drum (10).
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,298 discloses a tire building drum including an expandable segmental cylinder assembly and a vacuum Chamber. The drum (10) has a plurality of axially-extending, circumferentially spaced segments (18). The ends of the drum are sealed to provide a vacuum chamber (76) inside the drum which is in communication with vacuum holes (78) in a cover sleeve (48) to hold tire components on the drum surface (58) during assembly of the tire components.
According to the invention, a tire building drum has a center section and two end sections. Each end section is provided with an expandable bead lock assembly. The center section is preferably expandable. The expandable bead lock assembly comprises a carrier ring and a plurality of elongate links extending between the carrier ring and a plurality of radially-expandable segments. When the carrier ring moves inward (towards the center section), the radially-expandable segments move radially outward, urging a plurality of axially extending, circumferentially spaced-apart finger segments outward from a collapsed position to an expanded position, and at least one position therebetween.
In an embodiment of the invention, the bead lock assembly comprises a cylinder and two pistons disposed within the cylinder. The pistons are free to move axially within the cylinder, in response to pneumatic pressure. The first piston is constrained from moving axially inward by rods. The second piston is connected by rods to the carrier ring. Pressurized air supplied through air lines and passageways in the cylinder control the movement of the pistons so that the beach lock assembly can be partially-expanded, fully-expanded, and retracted.
The bead lock assembly of the present invention works well in combination with a tire building drum having an expandable center section. As described herein, a tire building drum has alternating fixed and expanding segments in a center section of the drum. The expanding segments are axially-extending and circumferentially spaced-apart from one another, and their end portions are contoured (have recesses, or grooves) to accommodate tire components such as sidewall inserts. Two different mechanisms for expanding the center section are described. A first mechanism includes two wedge elements which are axially moveable away from one another to expand the center section. Ramp elements associated with the expanding segments may thus be moved radially outward. Biasing elements provide a restoring force for collapsing the center section. A second mechanism includes two guide rings which are axially moveable towards one another for expanding the center section, and away from one another to collapse the center section. Overlapping links are provided between the guide rings and a base member supporting the expanding segments.
According to the invention, there is disclosed a process of building a tire on a tire building drum having an expandable center section and two expandable end sections. The process includes the following steps of first applying an innerliner on a flat application surface of the tire building drum while the center section and the end sections are in their collapsed conditions. Then the center section and the end sections are expanded to an intermediate expanded condition to form a pair of spaced recesses on the center section of the drum. Next, a pillar insert is applied into each recess of the center section whereby the application surface across the building drum is substantially flat. Continuing, a first ply is applied onto the substantially flat application surface, followed by applying post inserts atop the first ply and substantially above the pillar insert, followed by applying a second ply. Then a pair of beads are moved into place above fingers of a bead lock assembly in each of the expandable end sections. Then, each bead lock assembly and the center section are expanded to their fully-expanded positions so that the fingers grip the inextensible beads. Next, the innerliner, first ply and second ply are turned up about the beads. Continuing, the bead lock assemblies and the center section are collapsed to their collapsed, unexpanded position. Finally, the tire is removed from the drum and the process starts again.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in light of the following description thereof.

Tire building drum having expandable center section and independently expandable bead lock assemblies in the end sections


A system and process for providing a computerized medical and biographical records database and diagnostic information. A medical records database and diagnostic program is stored on a central computer that is accessible to individuals using remotely situated computers connected to a computer network. Individual patient medical and biographical records are owned by individual patients who can enter information in their record as well as grant or deny authorization to others, such as health care professionals, insurance providers and other entities, to review part or all of their record. The method, process and system establishes the parameters of function of providers and users of the services, stores all available data, provides the functional platforms for all medical, non-medical, and financial transactions to occur in an electronic, software-guided, anonymous, efficient, and uniform environment.

The present invention generally relates to a method and system of managing medical and biographical records and providing medical diagnoses.
Patient medical and biographical records and medical diagnostic software are stored on a centralized computer accessible by remotely connected computers. The medical records are essentially "owned" by an individual patient who grants or denies varying degrees of access to the records to selected health care professionals based on the health care professional's field of specialty and need to know. The medical diagnostic software receives information provided by the patient and provides the patient with a list of potential medical diagnoses. This information also forms part of the patient's medical record.
Medical record systems are well known in the prior art. Medical records have been used throughout the years of the practice of medicine in order to keep track of a patient's medical history, medical observations, diagnoses and any treatments prescribed to the patient. Often, a record contains information as to the success or failure of a particular treatment, a patient's allergies and reactions to drugs or treatments, and a record of patient visits. In addition to serving as a record of medical history and treatment, the medical record also serves as legal documentation of patient condition and treatment.
Evolution of the health care system is engendering reevaluation of the roles of patients and health care providers with regard to access and content of medical records. Long term relationships and trust between a family doctor and patient are no longer commonplace because changes in residence, job, or insurance carrier often require the patient to change primary and/or specialty health care providers. Establishing relationships with a new health care provider can be tedious as medical records must first be transferred from previous health care providers and then reviewed by the new health care provider for past history, therapies, and present therapeutic regimes. Also, the new medical record being created by the new health care provider is often incomplete as patients frequently fail to remember to include all the necessary medical or biographical information. In fact, patients sometimes convey erroneous information that can be ultimately detrimental to their health.
Control of the information contained in a patient's medical and biographical record is also becoming a significant public issue. Presently, such records are treated as being "owned" by the medical offices or institutions in which the records are housed. Distrust on maintenance of confidentiality results in failure to disclose information that may be important for health-care decisions. This distrust may be increased as patients transfer to new health care providers.
Medical record systems usually consist of handwritten notes, pictures, and documents created by a medical and health care provider. Recently, computer programs and systems have become available for the generation, storage, and retrieval of medical records. In general, such systems operate on a computer owned by a hospital or other health care provider and may only be accessed by health care professionals affiliated with the health care provider. Patient medical information is typically input into a medical record by a physician, nurse, or other health care professional.
Several automated medical record systems have been designed and marketed in the health care field. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,188 discloses a clinical information reporting system having an electronic database including electrocardiograph related patient data. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,424 discloses a computer system for recording electrocardiograph and/or chest x-ray test results for patients. U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,309 discloses a patient report generating system for receiving, storing and reporting medical test data for a patient population. U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,448 likewise discloses a system for automatically handling and processing hospital data, such as patient information and pathological test information using a central processing apparatus. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,315, a computerized scheduling and reporting system is disclosed for managing information pertinent to a patient's stay in the hospital. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,074 discloses an electronic data processing system.
While present automated systems may provide electronic storage of medical data, they typically suffer from significant shortcomings that have plagued medical record systems since their inception. These systems, like their paper record counterparts, are typically only available to health care professionals affiliated with the hospital, clinic, or other health care provider that owns the medical record software program and computer system. Thus, the information contained in a patient's medical record would not be reviewable by another health care professional who is not affiliated with the health care provider that maintains the medical record software. This becomes an issue for patients who choose to be treated by a different health care provider or who may require treatment while traveling in a location not served by their usual health care provider. Treatment may be prescribed which has been previously determined to be ineffective or which is contraindicated for the patient.
Similarly, health care professionals from different health care providers may not be able to easily review a patient's medical record and confer with each other as to diagnosis and treatment. This may be due to either security controls by the health care provider or by incompatible systems used by different health care professionals. Thus, health care professionals wishing to confer with each other may be required to copy and mail or send a facsimile of the patient's record, introducing privacy and control issues.
Since the existing systems are "owned" by the health care provider, a patient may be kept from reviewing his or her own medical record for the substance or accuracy of its information. Additionally, a patient cannot prevent or control private information contained within the patient's medical record from being seen by any individual that has access to medical records, regardless of whether the individual has any right or need to review a particular portion of the patient's medical record. As such, information which the patient wishes to remain private may be reviewed, thereby compromising the patient's privacy and potentially introducing a negative bias to the health care professional towards the patient. An example of such information may include past treatment for a sexually transmitted disease or sexual dysfunction that may be irrelevant to a particular medical specialty.
Current medical systems also often do not contain useful data such as family history, biographical data, genetic constitution or make-up, or other information that a patient may add to his or her medical record which could aid health care professionals in diagnosing the patient's condition or determine the best medical treatment.
Moreover, presently available medical records systems are not suited for providing medical diagnoses. Advancements in automation, research, specialization and medical knowledge have permitted modern day health care to be increasingly improved over the care provided in the recent past. While these advancements have resulted in improved success rates of medical treatment, individuals often delay seeking medical attention due to fear of the unknown and the inconvenience of being referred to multiple physicians. Patient referrals typically occur when a primary care physician makes a general diagnosis, then refers a patient to a physician specializing in the area of the diagnosis. Further referrals may occur if the patient is referred to medical sub-specialties for further diagnosis and treatment resulting in additional patient cost, time, and inconvenience. Patients who face these inconveniences and costs or who have experienced them in the past may delay seeking treatment in the hope that a condition may simply go away thereby precluding the need to seek the help of a health care professional. This delay can cause a medical condition which could be easily treated early in its development to require longer treatment or the condition may even become untreatable by the time medical assistance is sought. If the same patients were informed of potential diagnoses of their conditions, they can be aware of the risks of delaying medical assistance and may be persuaded to seek help earlier. Informed patients may even be able to reduce the inconveniences of multiple referrals by initially seeking the assistance of a health care professional who specializes in treating their particular condition.
Medical information is readily attainable to the public through medical books available in libraries and bookstores, medical phone help or "Ask-A-Nurse" telephone services, audio visual informational programs on television and videotape, and Internet sites specializing in medical care such as "WebMD.com". The amount of available information, however, can be overwhelming to an individual trying to determine the identification of his or her particular health condition who is unfamiliar with researching health information or who lacks a scientific background.
Computer programs have been developed to provide individuals potential diagnoses based on their responses to a series of health-related questions. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,107 and 5,935,060, for example, describe diagnostic programs which can be accessed over a telephone or computer network. An individual is asked a series of weighted questions concerning the individual's health symptoms and can respond with "yes," "no," or "not sure" answers or may be asked to answer multiple-choice questions. From the responses, the program identifies a list of potential diseases which are indicated by the individual's health symptoms. U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,421 discloses an electronic medical history questionnaire in which a patient can respond "yes," "no," or "not sure" to medical questions. The questionnaire then provides the physician with suggested tests that may be performed and conclusions regarding the patient's health. U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,438 discloses a diagnostic system using a neural network to provide a patient diagnosis to a physician from input data comprising measured and interview data regarding the patient's condition. The diagnosis is based upon a databases of physician diagnoses of medical conditions and their corresponding symptoms.
While prior art automated medical diagnostic programs diagnose a condition or confirm a diagnosis made by the physician, they are usually designed to be used by a physician and not a patient. The language and phrasing in these programs are designed for a health care professional and contain esoteric medical and health terms. Most patients do not understand these terms and therefore cannot effectively use the programs. Thus, the diagnostic information provided by these programs does not inform individuals of their various conditions before they seek medical assistance. A further shortcoming of prior art automated diagnostic programs is that they can accept input data that is often erroneous or not helpful. As an individual may select "not sure" or other answers which are not simply "yes" or "no," an individual is able to avoid answering conditions they feel are minor are irrelevant, but which may provide helpful data if the individual were forced to select only a "yes" or "no" response. Thus a software program designed to accept objective data and provide individuals with diagnostic information about their health conditions would be desirable.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to patients and health care professionals alike to develop an individual patient self-generated, fully controlled and censored, centralized electronic medical and biographical records and medical diagnostic system that may be accessed by patients and health care professionals regardless of their affiliation with a particular hospital, clinic, or other health care provider. The medical and biographical records and medical diagnostic system would be maintained, stored and delivered by a totally independent institution, not necessarily affiliated with the government, insurance or health care industry. By using common language and phrasing tailored to different levels of education and familiarity with medical and health terms an individual could effectively utilize such a system to determine potential diagnoses prior to seeking medical attention, permit the individual to be better informed as to the potential medical specialty from which to seek assistance, and control the content of and access to the individual's medical record.
A self-generated record of present illness and pertinent information would also benefit individuals by allowing them ample opportunity to ponder and respond without encumbrances from health care providers presence. Such presence often generates discomfort or uneasiness and may lead to confused, unconsciously withheld, consciously suppressed information (e.g., suppressed for fear of embarrassment) or miscommunicated medical and biographical information.
A centralized electronic medical and biographical records and medical diagnostic system would also permit any health care professional to be aware of all of a patient's biographical and medical history that is relevant to treating the patient. Additionally, since the centralized medical and biographical records system would not be the property of any one health care provider, the individual medical records could be owned by individual patients. Thus, patients may authorize or deny access to their medical and biographical records or limit access to only portions of their medical record to specific health care professionals thereby controlling privacy of the patient and confidentiality of the patient's medical and biographical information. Patients also benefit by being able to add biographical information about themselves as well as review and comment on the contents of their records input by others for substance and accuracy.
A centralized electronic medical and biographical records and medical diagnostic system would also be beneficial in reducing health care costs and being a foundation upon which health care insurance programs may be based. By centralizing the medical history of a patient, reduced costs may be realized through avoiding repeating tests or prescribing medications or treatment that has been previously found to be unsuccessful or contraindicated. Therefore, by reducing unnecessary treatment, health costs would be reduced, resulting in lower insurance premiums from insurers that would not have to cover unnecessary treatments.
Many health care providers and insurance carriers have vast archives of documents that are critical from both historical and operational perspectives. Accordingly, these documents should be incorporated into the medical and biographical records of the patients. At present, the cost of incorporating these documents is prohibitive due to the need for human intervention during document indexing. Further, document recognition and indexing is subject to error when performed by humans. Thus, there is a need for an automated method of document recognition and indexing.


A communication network, such as an audiovisual system, on an automobile has a master unit and a plurality of slave units which are connected to a common communication bus. When the communication network starts operating, connection confirmation request information is transmitted from the slave units to the master unit. The master unit awaits connection confirmation request information from at least one of the slave units for a predetermined period of time after the communication network starts operating. Thereafter, the predetermined period of time is extended if the reception of connection confirmation request information from all the slave units that were connected when the connection network stopped operating in a preceding cycle is not completed. If reception acknowledgement information from the master unit is not detected for a predetermined period of time, then the slave units automatically enter a low power consumption mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of data communication in a communication network on an automobile, and more particularly to a method of data communication in a network of components of an audiovisual system on an automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, automobile audio systems have been changing from systems which give a user only audio information such as music to systems which allow the user to enjoy both audio and visual information. Systems with both audio and visual capabilities are known as audiovisual systems.
Automobile audio systems on automobiles are composed of many different audio and visual components. The audio components include a cassette tape deck, a radio tuner, a CD (compact disk) player, etc., while the visual components include a TV (television) tuner, a navigation system, etc. Audio signals produced by some of these components are amplified by an amplifier and reproduced from loudspeakers in the automobile. Video signals produced by other components are displayed on a display unit in the automobile. Today, the audiovisual system components are controlled according to digital technology, i.e., by respective controllers in the form of microcomputers.
The components of an audiovisual system are required to be controlled systematically for systematic operation of the components. To meet this requirement, the controllers of the respective components are connected by a communication bus network, so that control data for the components will be transmitted through the communication bus.
In the conventional audiovisual system network, the controllers of the components are controlled by a polling process. According to the polling process, either one of the controllers is given a priority status and handled as a master unit, with the other controllers as slave units, and when the master unit is to collect data from a slave unit, the master unit always accesses the slave unit, i.e., initiates the transfer of the data from the slave unit.
When the master unit transmits communication data to a slave unit for access or the slave unit transmits data back to the master unit, it is necessary that the controllers be identified or specified. For this purpose, the controllers are allotted respective address indicating themselves.
Heretofore, the controllers are allotted respective unique addresses. Control data which are to be given to controllers comprise address data peculiar to the respective controllers and instruction data (e.g., start command: ON data) added to the address data. The control data which are generated are sent to the communication bus.
In networks with communication buses, one master unit is necessarily connected to a communication bus. If the master unit fails for some reason, then it can no longer transmit a polling signal to the communication bus. In the event of the trouble, the slave units regard the master unit as failing upon detection of no polling signal within a predetermined period of time, disable themselves, enter a low power consumption mode, and stand by in that mode. When the master unit recovers from the failure or a new master unit is connected to the communication bus, the master unit sends a polling signal to access the slave units which have been standing by in the low power consumption mode.
Each time an ACC switch (car accessory power supply switch) assembled together with an engine start keyswitch on an automobile is turned on or off, the audiovisual system on the automobile is also turned on or off. Therefore, the connection status of the slave units of the network has to be confirmed each time the ACC switch is turned on. According to the polling process, each time the ACC switch is turned on, the master unit has to access the individual slave units for confirming their connection, and hence is placed under a very large burden. For example, if each of the slave units has a 12-bit address, then the master unit has to access the slave units 4096 times at maximum provided the master unit confirms the connection of the slave units to the communication bus through its serial port.
In order for the master unit to access the slave units according to the polling process, it is necessary for the master unit to register the addresses of all the slave units connected to the communication bus. Any additional slave unit whose address has not been registered by the master unit cannot be accessed by the master unit even if the additional slave unit is physically or electrically connected to the communication bus. Therefore, to access the additional slave unit reliably, the additional slave unit should be allotted its own unique address, and that address should be newly registered by the master unit.
One solution would be for the slave units to access the master unit to request for the confirmation of a connection through a self report, The master unit would establish times to receive access signals from the slave units. Since, however, the slave units are enabled at different times, a slave unit which was connected when confirmed previously and which is to be connected this time might not be connected and might possibly be disconnected because the times to receive access signals from the slave units are fixed.
In the above system, when the master unit fails for some reason and then recovers from the malfunction, the system may not recover automatically. If the malfunctioning condition of the master unit continues, then the slave units consume electric energy wastefully.

Method of data communication in communication network on automobile


An EUV mask inspection system includes a mask receiving unit configured to receive a manufactured EUV mask, a main chamber configured to perform an inspection on the EUV mask, and a load-lock chamber disposed between the mask receiving unit and the main chamber. The load-lock chamber includes a mask table for loading the EUV mask, an UV lamp disposed adjacent the mask table in a first direction, a cold trap disposed adjacent the mask table in a second direction, and a vacuum pump. The first direction is a direction perpendicular to a sidewall of the mask table, and the second direction is a direction perpendicular to a top surface of the mask table. The UV lamp is configured to evaporate water molecules on the EUV mask by irradiating UV light onto the EUV mask. The cold trap is configured to trap the water molecules evaporated from the EUV mask.

Embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to a system for inspecting a reflective mask (i.e., an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask) used in an EUV exposure process, a load-lock chamber included in the inspection system, and a method for inspecting the reflective mask (i.e., the EUV mask) using the inspection system.
Recently, as line widths of semiconductor circuits have been gradually reduced, light sources having shorter wavelengths have been required. For example, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light may be used as an exposure light source. Generally, a reflective EUV mask may be used in an EUV exposure process due to an absorption property of the EUV light. As the difficulty of an exposure process gradually increases, a small error in an EUV mask may cause a serious error in a circuit pattern on a wafer. Thus, an EUV mask inspection process may be performed to check whether or not a defect exists in the EUV mask. Here, the defect may be a contaminant (e.g., a fine particle) on the EUV mask and/or an error of a shape or size of a pattern formed in the EUV mask.

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask inspection system, a load-lock chamber included therein, and a method for inspecting an EUV mask using the EUV mask inspection system


An improved sports hydration system uses a plurality of bladders and tube branches communicating through tube branch controlling valve to a single feed tube.

1. Summary of the Invention
A sports hydration system uses separate bladders or bladder portions containing different fluids, such as an electrolyte sports drink and water, or separate quantities of the same fluid. Each separate bladder or bladder portion feed to separate tube branches. Each branch communicates through a lever or arm operated valve to a single feed tube. In this manner the user can switch between the preferred beverage, feed both beverages, close both, or otherwise use the selection function for endurance and training advantage.
2. Description of Related Art
Sports hydration systems have developed primarily in the area of improved suspension, improved tube routing and improved terminals, outlets or xe2x80x98bitexe2x80x99 valves. While these are useful improvements they fail to address a primary limitation, namely that each arrangement is operably limited to the supply of a single fluid at a time.
A xe2x80x9cYxe2x80x9d connector is used in U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,457 to join separate outlet tubes to a single bladder, the disclosure of this patent being incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. A dual function outlet is used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,298, changing outlet flow between a stream and a mist, from a single bladder, the disclosure of this patent being incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. Bite valves or outlet valves are also taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,039,305 and 6,062,435, the disclosure of these patents being incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. Routing of the feed tube is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,344, the disclosure of this patent being incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
The athlete or sportsperson, however, frequently desires alternative fluids during the course of an event or activity. For example, electrolyte sports drinks, such as Gatorade, can provide important performance enhancing elements, yet at other times, pure water is preferred, whether for taste or other functional reasons, or simple preference. Separate bladders can also be used to monitor or ration fluids, such as providing one bladder for a bicycle ride or run in one direction, with the exhaustion of that bladder signifying the need to return to a starting point and the second bladder providing hydration for the return.


A tire condition monitoring system for a vehicle has a chassis-side transmitter/receiver and a tire-side transmitter/receiver. The tire-side transmitter/receiver measures an interval between two successive request signals of the chassis-side transmitter and controls a time point of transmission of a response signal of the tire-side transmitter/receiver based on the measured interval so that the response signal is transmitted when the tire-side transmitter/receiver is in the communication range of the chassis-side transmitter/receiver. A control unit determines a time interval of one rotation of a tire based on a vehicle speed, and drives the chassis-side transmitter/receiver to transmit the request signal at an interval set to be shorter than an interval in which the tire rotates the communication range of the chassis-side transmitter/receiver.

Some tire condition monitoring systems for vehicles have pressure sensors and transmitters mounted on tire wheels, respectively, and receivers mounted on wheel houses, respectively. In this system, the pressure sensors periodically detect air pressures in the tires as tire information and the transmitters transmit the tire information to the receivers, respectively, when a predetermined condition defined by pressure changes, times or the like holds.
Other tire condition monitoring systems further have transmitters on the wheel houses to transmit trigger signals from the chassis side and receivers on the tire wheels, so that the transmitters on the tire side transmit the tire information in response to the trigger signals from the chassis side.
In the latter systems, in which bi-lateral communications are attained between the chassis side and the tire side, a communication range is limited to be less than an entire periphery (360°) due to communication regulations, power consumption or the like. The communication is enabled only when the tire-side transmitter/receiver enters the limited communication range of the chassis-side transmitter/receiver. This results in low rate of reception of the tire information. Since the communication period becomes shorter as the vehicle travels at higher speeds, the communication rate becomes further low. In the case in which the tire-side transmitter/receiver receives electric power from the chassis side, the period for receiving the electric power from the chassis side becomes shorter as the vehicle travels at higher speeds, thus resulting in insufficient power reception from the chassis side.

Tire condition monitoring system and method