The present invention is to provide an air traction belt structure, which includes an inner inflatable traction belt having an air valve thereon for communicating with an inflatable space therein and, and an outer solid support belt having a smaller width than the inner inflatable traction belt and movably surrounding outside of the inner inflatable traction belt. Since a first end of the outer solid support belt can pass through a through hole formed on the inner inflatable traction belt and extend to an inner side of the inner inflatable traction belt, a second end of the outer solid support belt can easily pass through a fixing ring provided on the first end of the outer solid support belt and be pulled by a user, for firmly tightening both the inflated inner inflatable traction belt and the outer solid support belt onto the user's waist at the same time.

According to a survey conducted in 1994 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States regarding how medical aids were used in the US, 47.1% of traction belt users were 44 years old and under, 36.4% were 45˜64 years old, and 16.5% were 65 years old and above. Traction belts—though less frequently used by those 65 years of age and above, who typically make more use of such personal mobility aids as walking sticks, walkers, and wheelchairs—are very important and common medical aids for other age groups.
The inventor of the present invention has found, after years of survey and research, that traction belts are often worn by office workers, computer users, those who handle heavy objects, and salespersons who are required to stand for a long time. These people use traction belts to support the lumbar region, with a view to reducing the pressure on the vertebral joints, lumbar spinal discs and the surrounding tissues, limiting the mobility of the lumbar vertebrae and the lower back, maintaining the normal lumbar curve, and correcting or adjusting body posture. Traction belts also serve to keep or increase abdominal pressure, alleviate the force acting on joints, decompress herniated lumbar spinal discs, relax muscles, reduce convulsions or spasms, and enhance blood circulation around back muscles to promote tissue recovery and relieve pain.
Most of the traction belts on the market are made of elastic fabrics, including nylon, LYCRA® fibers, and so on, but these traction belts generally do not provide the desired support, traction, decompression and protection. As an improved version, air traction belts were developed. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an existing air traction belt 1 with an inflatable space formed therein. The outer side of the air traction belt 1 is connected with an air valve 12 to which an air pump can connect for the purpose of inflation. The outer and inner sides of the air traction belt 1 are respectively provided with fastening elements 10 and 11 (e.g., self-adhesive fabrics or VELCRO®). Once the air traction belt 1 is wrapped around the user's waist, the fastening elements 10 and 11 can be fastened to each other to provide a fixing effect. To use the air traction belt 1, it is necessary to wrap the fraction belt around the waist very tightly in advance before inflating the traction belt with air. The traction belt must be tightly secured around the waist in order to secure the lower portion of the traction belt to the user's pelvic crest, and secure the upper portion of the traction belt to the lower portion of the user's rib cage. When the traction belt is inflated with air, the traction belt will expand vertically by about 3.25 inches or 8 cm. If the traction belt is not wrapped around the user's waist very tightly, the upper and lower portion of the traction belt will slip against the user's body and this will render the traction belt useless as it will not provide the traction and decompression effects. Another problem with the traditional air traction belt is that it is soft and resilient even after it's fully inflated. Due to it's resiliency, it cannot provide adequate support.
To tighten the traditional air traction belt 1, the user has to apply a considerable force with both hands when tightening the air traction belt 1 and fastening the fastening elements 10 and 11. However, the inventor of the present invention has found that most users have problem completing this tightening and fastening action, and those who with relatively less physical agility and strength (e.g., the elderly and the sick) cannot complete this tightening and fastening action at all. Moreover, in tightening the air traction belt 1, the user's arms are folding inward and crossed awkwardly, which hinders force application. In addition, the great width of the air traction belt 1 makes it difficult for the user to grasp the air traction belt 1 and apply pulling forces thereto. As a result, many users cannot wrap the air traction belt 1 tight enough around the waist in order for the air traction belt 1 to provide sufficient support, traction and protection.
Besides, referring to FIG. 1, when the outlet valve 20 of the air pump is connected to the air valve 12 of the air traction belt 1, the two valves are held in the connected state only by a fixing clamp 21, which, according to the survey and research conducted by the inventor of the present invention however, cannot firmly connect the outlet valve 20 and the air valve 12 during the inflation process. Hence, with frequent leaks, the air pump cannot pump air into the air traction belt 1 efficiently. Not only does this inefficient pumping process result in a waste of time, but also the user may unknowingly use the air traction belt 1 in a not fully inflated state which provides inadequate support without having traction, stretching or decompression effect to the user's waist.
In addition, in the current market, when a consumer orders a fraction belt online or over telephone, he/she often get the fraction belt that does not fit him/her properly. Though the consumer can buy a fraction belt from a retail store, he/she may still pick up a traction belt that does not fit him/her since the salesclerk of the retail store does not know the user's waist size, and the users themselves often doesn't know what their correct waist sizes are. In fact, a traction belt that is too small cannot be wrapped around the waist, and a traction belt that is too loose will not provide support, traction, stretching and decompression to the consumer's waist, so the right size fitting is essential for the traction belt to provide any benefits to the consumer. In order to provide proper support and traction, an extension piece (such as VELCRO®) is supplied to the consumer for attaching to two ends of the traction belt and adjusting the length of the traction belt, so as to fit the consumer's waist. However, the biggest problem of the traditional traction belt is that it is extremely difficult for the manufacture thereof to design a size fitting every consumer's waist size. Thus, the traditional traction belts must be made in 6 different sizes, i.e. XS, S, M, L, XL and XXL, and each traction belt must be provided with an extension piece in order to fit all the different consumers' waist sizes.
Therefore, the issue to be addressed by the present invention is to overcome the various drawbacks of the conventional air traction belts and design an air traction belt to which a tightening force can be conveniently applied, thus allowing the elderly, the sick, and others with relatively less strength and agility to tighten the air traction belt with ease and receive sufficient support, traction, stretching, decompression and protection therefrom. The new design also combines two belts in one, a soft resilient air expandable traction belt on the inner layer and a rigid non giving support belt on the outer layer. The rigid non giving belt on the outer layer provides strong support when the air fraction belt is either deflated and inflated, while the soft resilient air expandable belt on the inner layer provides traction, stretching and decompression effects on the waist. The new design allows the user to use the air traction belt for support only, and/or for traction, stretching and decompression simultaneously. It is also desirable that the air traction belt does not leak during the inflation process.


A method for gas phase application of chlorine dioxide within an enclosed volume that includes the steps of: climatizing the enclosed volume to achieve a relative humidity (RH) in the range of about 5% to about 56%; generating chlorine dioxide gas; and introducing the chlorine dioxide gas under specified conditions of chlorine dioxide gas concentration and contact time, the specified conditions being effective to eliminate contaminants within the closed volume, and further to mitigate corrosion within the enclosed volume during the gas phase application.

The use of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) as a sterilizing agent is known. Chlorine dioxide, a powerful oxidant and disinfectant, has been employed in a wide spectrum of gas phase applications, including the disinfection of food, odor control, Anthrax and other microbial decontamination, mold remediation, Chinese wallboard remediation, disinfection of medical waste, and oil and gas injection well stimulation.
For example, chlorine dioxide gas was used in 2001 to decontaminate the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., after the discovery of a letter containing Bacillus anthracis spores (Anthrax). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/270,973 (US Patent Pub. No. 2006/0228253) discloses a method for the large-scale use of chlorine dioxide gas for fumigation and sterilization. Similarly, chlorine dioxide gas has been used to decontaminate mail processing and other commercial buildings in D.C., New Jersey and Florida after the discoveries of anthrax there.
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/576,498 (US Patent Pub. No. 2009/0081310) discloses a method for the effective large-scale use of chlorine dioxide for mold remediation.
U.S. Prov. Appl. Nos. 61/173,844 and 61/252,422 disclose a method for using chlorine dioxide for in situ remediation of gypsum board in existing construction to eliminate sulfate-reducing bacteria and to oxidize reactive metal sulfides in contact with the wallboard.
Despite the numerous successes and general acceptance of chlorine dioxide as a viable fumigant, there is a serious drawback to its widespread use as a gas phase sterilant. Because ClO2 is highly oxidizing, it is prone to exhibit corrosion on certain items located within an enclosed structure upon completion of the fumigation treatment. Although it is well known in the art that chlorine dioxide is less corrosive than chlorine to metals, it has been shown that gas phase application of chlorine dioxide can result in the corrosion of certain metals that are found within a building, either in the structure itself or in the contents located within.
It is an aspect of this invention to mitigate corrosion of the contents within a building, such as electronic equipment (e.g., telephone equipment, computers, copiers, and other electronic office equipment), furnishings, and the like, while still accomplishing successful decontamination using gaseous chlorine dioxide.

Decontamination of enclosed space using gaseous chlorine dioxide

Sabre Intellectual Property Holdings LLC


A particle blast apparatus includes a hopper assembly, which is mechanically isolated from the rest of the particle blast system. Energy is imparted to the hopper by an impulse assembly, which preferably is mounted directly to the hopper. The hopper is mounted to the apparatus on a slide assembly, which allows the hopper to be moved to a second position at which particles may be discharged from the hopper exit away from the particle feeder.

The present invention relates generally to particle feeders, and is particularly directed to a device which provides improved transport of particles into a particle blast gas flow for ultimate delivery as entrained particles to a workpiece or other target. The invention will be specifically disclosed in connection with a hopper and transport mechanism in a cryogenic particle blast system which provides improved flow of particles to the exit of the hopper and prevents or reduces the agglomeration of particles exiting the hopper into, for example, a transport rotor, for delivery to the transport gas of the particle blast system.
Particle blasting systems have been around for several decades. Typically, particles, also known as blast media, is fed into a transport gas flow and are transported as entrained particles to a blast nozzle, from which the particles exit, being directed toward a workpiece or other target. It is not unknown for the particles to clump or stick together, impeding the delivery of particles into the transport gas flow.
Such compaction and agglomeration of particles is particularly a problem when the blast media is cryogenic particles, such as in carbon dioxide blasting. Although still a relatively young industry, carbon dioxide blasting systems are well known in the industry, and along with various associated component parts, are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,181, 4,843,770, 4,947,592, 5,050,805, 5,018,667, 5,109,636, 5,188,151, 5,301,509, 5,571,335, 5,301,509, 5,473,903, 5,660,580 and 5,795,214, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Although the present invention will be described herein in connection with a particle feeder for use with carbon dioxide blasting, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited in use or application to carbon dioxide blasting. The teachings of the present invention may be used in application in which there can be compaction or agglomeration of any type of particle blast media.
Generally, the blast media particles, such as carbon dioxide particles, are transported from a hopper, which holds the supply of particles, into a transport gas. The particles may be introduced into the transport gas by venturi or other vacuum effect, or by a feeder. Various feeder designs exist, functioning to transport the particles from the hopper exit into the transport gas, such as by the radial transport feeder shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,592. Hoppers may receive particles from any source, such as a pelletizer that is part of the blast system, or a source separate from the blast system and loaded into the hopper.
Prior attempts in the art to promote the flow of particles, and in particular cryogenic particles, to and through the exit of a hopper or other storage/feeder structure include the use of vibrators or thumpers which act on the walls of the hopper and the use of vertically oriented rotating augers and stirrers in or adjacent the hopper exit to mechanically advance the particles. Typically hoppers have been fairly rigidly connected to the blast system frame, which is now recognized to be a significant impediment to transferring sufficient energy to the hopper walls to effect the flow of particles. In such designs, a significant portion of the energy transferred to the hopper was also transferred through the hopper to the blast system frame. The energy that went to the frame produced undesirable results, manifested as noise, vibration and movement of the entire system, fatigue and stress in the hopper and frame, as well as the consumption of extra energy.
The desired higher total energy was difficult to achieve with thumpers, in which reciprocating plungers/strikers repetitively strike the hopper, as the size of the movable mass was a limiting factor. Each impact of a large mass against a hopper could undesirably cause the entire system to jump. Thus, the required level of energy was achieved though high frequency/low mass vibrators. High frequency, however, tends to compact the particles, impeding the flow. Vertical hopper walls compounded the compaction problem present with high frequency energy, forcing hopper walls away from vertical walls to inclined walls. However, hoppers with inclined walls have less internal capacity than hoppers with vertical walls.
With cryogenic particles, even when they are moved toward the exit of the hopper, they may easily bridge the exit, or form agglomerated clumps too large to be ingested by the feeder mechanism, slowing or blocking particle flow.
Thus, there is a need in the art for particle blast system that has improved, reliable particle flow from the hopper to the hopper exit and on to the transport gas.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the hopper assembly is isolated from the rest of the particle blast system on a hopper slide assembly. Energy is imparted to the hopper by an impulse assembly, which preferably is mounted to the hopper for example on a side wall, such as a reciprocating mass to produce discrete, low frequency energy impulses. The closer to the hopper exit that the energy is imparted to the hopper, the more effective the energy is at promoting the flow of particles. The isolation of the hopper allows most of the energy produced by the impulse assembly to be transferred directly to the cryogenic particles in the hopper, allowing the hopper to have vertical walls, maximizing the capacity of the hopper over the sloped side prior art hoppers. By mounting the hopper on a sliding frame, the hopper can be slid out of alignment with the feeder mechanism, allowing the hopper to be cleared of clogs or emptied of unused/unwanted particles, and more easily serviced or completely removed.
Having utility independent of the isolated hopper, another aspect of the present invention includes an operator controllable reciprocable member, which can be selectively extended into the particle flow from the hopper to the feeder, mechanically breaking up agglomerated particles.


An energy storage device includes a positive electrode having a positive active material layer containing an active material in the form of particles. The positive active material layer contains primary particles of the active material and secondary particles formed by aggregation of a plurality of primary particles. The proportion of primary particles relative to all particles of the active material in the positive active material layer is 5% or more and 40% or less. An method for producing an energy storage device includes preparing a positive electrode having a positive active material layer by forming a positive active material layer from a composite containing at least secondary particles of an active material, and assembling an energy storage device using the prepared positive electrode. In the preparation of the positive electrode, the positive active material layer is pressed to deagglomerate some of the secondary particles into primary particles, and the proportion of primary particles relative to all particles of the active material in the positive active material layer is adjusted to 5% or more and 40% or less.

Conventionally, a lithium secondary battery is known in which an electrode assembly, which includes a positive electrode and a negative electrode, and a nonaqueous electrolytic solution are housed in a battery case.
As a battery of this type, a battery is known in which the positive electrode contains positive active material particles having a hollow structure including a shell part, which is composed of a layered lithium transition metal oxide, and a hollow part, which is formed in the interior of the shell part (Patent Document 1). In the battery described in Patent Document 1, the major axis of primary particles of the lithium transition metal oxide based on SEM observation is 1 μm or less, and the thickness of the shell part based on SEM observation is 2 μm or less. In addition, the negative electrode contains negative active material particles composed of a carbon material. The negative active material particles contain graphite coated with amorphous carbon, and the krypton adsorption of the negative active material particles is 3.5 cm2/g or more and 4 cm2/g or less. In the battery described in Patent Document 1, a decrease in capacity retention over time is suppressed. That is, the battery described in Patent Document 1 has durability performance.
However, the high-rate input/output performance of the battery described in Patent Document 1 may not be necessarily sufficient.


A food spoilage determination device is disclosed. The device includes a processor, an input device, an output device, and a memory. The device also includes a proximity sensor configured to determine a distance to a target and to communicate a distance signal to the processor, one or more environment sensors configured to determine one or more aspects of an environment of the target and to communicate one or more environment aspect signals to the processor, and one or more chemical sensors configured to determine one or more concentrations of one or more chemicals in the environment of the target and to communicate one or more chemical concentration signals to the processor. The processor is configured to determine food spoilage of the target based on the distance signal, the environment aspect signals, and the chemical concentration signals.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that each year, roughly 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of food-borne diseases in the United States. According to a report published by Ohio State University, the economic burden to the United States costs up to $77.7 billion and does not include cost to the food industry. Victims most prone to food poisoning include older adults/physiologically sensitive individuals, families with pregnant women, infants, and/or young children, restaurants, and people traveling to foreign countries with little to no food regulation. Health-oriented consumers who are willing to pay more for safer and healthier food as indicated by their tendency to shop at high-end supermarkets are particularly in need of a handheld, contactless device that determines if a food item is safe for consumption via an electronic detection system that incorporates one or more gas sensors to determine spoilage of food.

System and methods for determining food spoilage


A vacuum cleaner includes a housing, a motor-driven suction fan disposed in the housing, a fan motor and a power supply device configured to provide power supply to the fan motor. The vacuum cleaner also includes both a rechargeable battery and cord reel permanently integrated in the housing such that the vacuum cleaner is configured to be alternately operable in a battery mode and a mains mode.

Canister vacuum cleaners having a mains power supply cord are generally known in the prior art. Such vacuum cleaners have the disadvantage that a mains power outlet must be within their reach to supply power thereto. This is not always the case, especially when cleaning stairs or vehicles, so that extension cords must be used, which reduces the ease-of-use. Also known are vacuum cleaners which can be operated independently of the mains supply. In order to enable said vacuum cleaners to operate in self-contained mode, a power supply module is provided which may contain one or more rechargeable battery cells. European Patent Document EP 0 401 531 B1, for example, describes a vacuum cleaner whose housing has a cavity therein which is externally accessible and used to accommodate a removable battery assembly. The vacuum cleaner disclosed therein has means for removably holding the battery assembly within the cavity. In vacuum cleaners which are powered by non-rechargeable or rechargeable batteries, due to the high power consumption of the suction fan, the energy storage capacity is usually not sufficient to allow thorough cleaning of a large carpet, or of a room having a wall-to-wall carpet, so that the battery must be repeatedly recharged. This also reduces the ease-of-use.
Further, DE 10 2004 018 793 A1 describes an electrical floor-cleaning apparatus having a chamber adapted to receive either a power supply module or a cord reel module. This apparatus allows the decision as to whether the vacuum cleaner is to be produced for mains operation or for battery operation to be taken at a late stage in the manufacturing process, but ultimately the product is a vacuum cleaner that has only one of the two alternative modes of operation and the associated disadvantages. Except for the option of employing either a rechargeable battery or a cord reel, no further adjustments are made. It may therefore be assumed that the fan motor is designed to operate at a mains voltage of 230 volts. In the case of power supply from a rechargeable battery, the operating voltage would be reduced to at least one third of said voltage, as a result of which the maximum power would be reduced to one-ninth compared to that in mains operation. Consequently, satisfactory operation in battery mode would no longer be possible.

Vacuum cleaner, especially floor vacuum cleaner


Disclosed herein are consensus methods, systems, and media. One of the methods includes: splitting, by a primary node in a consensus network, transactions into data fragments, wherein a number of data fragments equals that of the nodes; constructing a Merkle tree based on the data fragments; constructing first messages, wherein each first message comprises a data fragment, a Merkle tree path, and a root hash of the Merkle tree, and wherein each first message corresponds to a respective data fragment and a respective node; sending each first message to the respective node; saving one first message to the primary node; constructing, a second message based on the first message corresponding to the primary node; and broadcasting the second message to the consensus network; receiving other second messages broadcasted by other nodes; and determining, whether a consensus on the transactions is reached based on the other second messages.

At present, the practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) mainly includes two parts: a normal case phase and a view change phase. The normal case phase includes PRE-PREPARE, PREPARE, and COMMIT stages to complete a consensus.
In the PRE-PREPARE stage, a consensus primary node initiates a proposal, and sends a PRE-PREPARE message for the proposal to each consensus backup node. In the PREPARE stage, each consensus backup node verifies a received PRE-PREPARE message, and after the verification succeeds, sends a PREPARE message to other consensus backup nodes and the consensus primary node. In the COMMIT stage, the consensus backup node or the consensus primary node receives one PRE-PREPARE message and PREPARE messages of not less than 2f consensus nodes, and sends a COMMIT message to other consensus nodes in the consortium blockchain if the verification succeeds. However, if some consensus nodes do not receive the PRE-PREPARE message within a predetermined time period in the process, a consensus operation on the proposal cannot be continued.

Consensus methods and systems in consortium blockchain

Alipay (Hangzhou) Information Technology Co., Ltd.


A decontamination method in which tritium radiation is attenuated or eliminated from radioactive contaminated water. In the decontamination method, the following steps are executed: a step for performing an addition treatment to add a prescribed amount of a mineral powder such as a silicon dioxide ore and a nano-level carbon liquid to heated tritium-contaminated water in an addition treatment tank; a step for pumping the addition-treated water from the addition treatment tank to a mineral solid filled tank using a hydraulic pump; a step for causing the addition-treated water to collide with a mineral solid and passing the addition-treated water through the mineral solid filled tank; a step for returning the passed water to the addition treatment tank using the hydraulic pump; and a circulation process step for repeating the aforementioned steps in a prescribed period of time.

Tritium is a radioactive material that emits beta-rays, and has radioactivity, that is, ability to emit radiation, which is one of electromagnetic wave or particle beam, in the same manner as cesium or strontium. As a unit showing the amount of radioactivity, becquerel [Bq] is used, and the ability of one nucleus to collapse for one second is expressed as 1 becquerel [Bq]. Further, gray, roentgen, or the like is used as a unit of radiation dose, while sievert [Sv] is used as a unit representing exposure dose to a living body. Radiation results in a recovery difficult damage to skin, various organs, cells, and the like of human and animals.
Radioactive concentration of cesium and strontium in radioactive contaminated water generated due to a nuclear power plant accident is reduced by an advanced liquid processing system and the like. In addition, most of the radioactive materials other than tritium can be removed from the radioactive contaminated water. However, there is no effective means for removing tritium from the contaminated water, and tritium remains in the contaminated water. Although countermeasures such as dilution of tritium-contaminated water and discharging to the ocean are discussed, it is necessary to protect the marine environment from marine contamination and cannot be dumped at sea. Therefore, tritium-contaminated water is stored in tanks and the storage tanks continue to increase. As the tank storage amount of tritium-contaminated water exceeds 1,000,000 tons, an effective means for removing tritium radiation from contaminated water is strongly demanded.
Patent Document 1 discloses a method for treating tritium-containing contaminated water, in which a large amount of contaminated water containing tritium can be reduced in volume at a practical level. In this treatment method, tritium-containing contaminated water is absorbed by a water-absorbing polymer in the presence of a carbohydrate as necessary. The water content of the water-containing and water-absorbing polymer is evaporated or distilled at a low temperature of 80° C. or lower, and the tritium water in the contaminated water is concentrated in the water-absorbing polymer. The concentrated water-containing and water-absorbing polymer in which tritium water is concentrated is stored in containers for a certain period to make it harmless.
Patent Document 2 discloses a tritium decomposing and detoxifying apparatus and system for removing tritium from radioactive contaminated water. The tritium decomposing and detoxifying apparatus includes a body member and a passage portion formed on the body member for radioactive contaminated water. An alpha-ray radiator is disposed inside the passage portion to decompose tritium in radioactive contaminated water containing tritium. The treatment methods and apparatus proposed in these Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not exhibit an effective decontamination function on tritium contaminated water.

Method for decontaminating tritium radioactive contaminated water


The subject invention provides a cooling system for a stern drive, including: a conduit having a water outlet for discharging ambient water, which is introduced by using a water current generated by propulsion of a boat to which said stern drive is mounted, the water outlet being directed toward a side wall of a housing containing a gear and a clutch where heat is generated, at a location near the gear and the clutch; and a cover removably attachable to the housing, the conduit being contained between the cover and the housing, the cover defining a space to which water is discharged from the water outlet and a drain section for draining the water.

As is conventionally known, a stern drive (also referred to as an inboard engine—outboard drive) includes an engine provided inboard, and a drive unit provided outboard that transmits power from the engine to a propeller. Further, a cooling system for such a stern drive is also conventionally known. Such a cooling system cools the drive unit by spraying water onto a housing of the drive unit. The water is taken from ambient water of the drive unit, and the water is discharged using water pressure generated by the propulsive speed due to the so-called ram effect.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,432, which was issued to Richard A. Davis et al. on Oct. 26, 2004, teaches providing a cover to a housing of a drive unit, and using a cooling unit that discharges water through an outlet on the top of the housing where a gear that generates heat is contained, using ram pressure. However, this cooling system has the following defect. A general housing contains oil to be used as a lubricating oil, or as a hydraulic fluid for operating the hydraulic clutch when a hydraulic clutch is provided. The oil level is enough to soak the gear in the housing, and the space between the oil level and the internal top of the housing has low heat conductivity. In other words, this space serves as a heat insulator. Therefore, the cooling system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,432 does not ensure desirable cooling efficiency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,380, which was issued to Dean Claussen on Feb. 16, 1999, teaches an intercooler for a stern drive using a water jacket, which is provided on the back of the housing, where a gear that generates heat is provided.
However, in this invention, water accumulates in the water jacket, increasing the water pressure inside the water jacket. This inhibits the ram effect. This invention also, therefore, does not ensure desirable cooling efficiency.


In a method for manufacturing the fiber-containing article, the discontinuous fibers, intermingled with fibers serving as a binder, are couched into a fiber mat in such a manner that the discontinuous fibers are advanced into contact with an air flow which carries them up to a conveying level where the fibers become randomly directed and the fiber-carrying air flow is passed through this level.

The present invention relates to a non-woven article, to a method for the manufacture thereof, and to an apparatus for implementing the method.
Fire-resistant fibres like mineral, glass or ceramic fibres are presently used for manufacturing mineral felt essentially in two ways.
In one method, as early as during the manufacture of a fibre, the fibre is sucked onto a suction wire to form a web. Fabricated this way, the article has a compact texture and high weights per unit area. This method cannot be applied for manufacturing thinner qualities. Another drawback is the formation of granular and bead-like impurities in the articles. It is not possible to admix bonding fibres in the article and final bonding of the article is effected with adhesives which evaporate at low temperatures and, thus, make the use of such article at high temperatures difficult.
Another presently applied technique is to use a mineral, glass or ceramic fibre for manufacturing a web by means of water, much the same way as manufacturing paper. Although, in this method, it is possible to include other fibres as well, long (over 50 mm) synthetic fibres cannot be employed as composite or bonding fibres. Another major drawback is that, when emerging from a machine, the non-woven web is wet and especially thick qualities require high-powered drying, resulting in a less economic production line. Also in this method, the final bonding for providing a firm article can only be effected by suing an organic binder with all its above-mentioned drawbacks.
The weight per unit area or the density of articles produced by these methods is quite considerable, which does not allow for optimum ratio of strength to product weight. When using such article as an insulating material, the density of the article bears also significance.

Non-woven article made of a heat-resisting material, method for manufacturing the article and apparatus for implementing the method


A rail heating system is provided for heating railroad components such as railroad switch areas and electrified third rails. The heating system includes a side heater having a heating pad that has a flexible contact surface. A clip arrangement such as a spring steel clip is provided for securing the heating pads to the stock rail and pressing the contact surface into engagement with the rail. The contact surface of the heating pad is forced to conform to the shape of the contacted portion of the rail. Ground pan heaters may be used to keep areas of the switch that are not suitable for attachment by the side heaters, such as the switch rod, free from ice and snow.

The present invention relates generally to a system for heating railroad switches and rails to keep such components free from ice and snow.
An integral and essential component of railroad system hardware is the switching mechanism employed to shunt rail traffic from one rail line to another. These switches, or switch points, are typically comprised of at least one pair of stationary non-movable stock rails and one or more pairs of movable switch rails and a switch actuator mechanism. The switch may be broken down into two main areas. The switch point area which is near the free end of the movable railing and the switch heel area which is the portion where the switch rails are joined to the stock rails.
Within the railroad community, it is well known that a particular problem encountered during winter months is keeping railroad switches free from ice and snow. If the switches are frozen or jammed such that they may not be moved, they quickly bring the rail system to a stop. Therefore, railroads have been forced to try many methods to free frozen or jammed switches. Traditionally, the railroads employed crews that would use picks and shovels to clear the switches. Another commonly used method was to douse the switch with diesel fuel and ignite the fuel to melt away any ice or snow. Clearly, such methods had substantial drawbacks.
More recently, electrical heating rods and air blowers (both hot and cold) have been used to melt or prevent the accumulation of ice and snow between and around the critical rail sections. The most common type of electrical heater rods presently used are uniform power output constant wattage series cables commonly referred to as tubular heaters, manufactured by Chromalox and others. These heaters are constructed from a series resistance wire encased in a metal tube filled with magnesium oxide dielectric insulation. Generally, they are constructed of a resistance wire having uniform resistance thereby resulting in uniform power output along the entire length of the rod. Such systems often fail due to migration of the resistance wire into contact with the metal tube which causes a short circuit. Additionally, when moisture leaks into the rod, problems arise because the moisture is absorbed by the very hygroscopic magnesium oxide causing either a dielectric failure or steam explosion. Additionally, although such systems are widely used, they are not well suited to sustain the vibration and abuse experienced in the rail environment. Therefore, they fail frequently which can cause disruption in normal rail traffic.
Rod style heaters are usually attached directly to the outside of the stationary (stock) rail. However, since these heaters are relatively long and inflexible, they cannot be bent to fit around the reinforcement braces which hold the stationary rails in place. Therefore, holes must be drilled or slots machined into the braces to allow the heater rods to pass therethrough. The rod style heaters also require a relatively high power output in order to compensate for poor heat transfer between the small diameter rod element and the relatively flat web of the stock rail. This results in large amounts of energy being wasted and extremely high heater temperatures (often the heaters glow red during use). Heaters used under such extreme conditions tend to fail early. Numerous attempts have been made to cover such heater rods with a material that increases the percentage of the energy transferred into the rail versus that lost to the ambient surroundings. For example, attempts have been made to place rod style heaters on the inside of the stock rail in order to have more energy radiate directly into the movable rail. Additionally, housings have been constructed about the heater rods in an attempt to minimize heat loss.
Air blowers operate on the principle that a stream of forced air directed at the gap between the movable point and the stationary rail will blow out any snow that falls into this area. However, in many situations, cold air blowers are inadequate for preventing ice buildup. Hot air blowers direct a stream of heated air into the gap to not only blow out any loose snow but also to melt any ice that may have accumulated to prevent interference with proper switch operation. Hot air blowers can be either electrically heated or gas fired. Unfortunately, the cost of operation is very high because of the large amount of air that must be heated and then exhausted into the environment. Therefore, there is a need for an improved switch point rail heater that consumes a minimum amount of energy while effectively keeping the switch area free from ice and snow.
Similar problems arise when attempting to keep electrified third rails efficiently and reliably de-iced. Therefore, there is a need for cost effective rail heating system for keeping various railroad components free from ice and snow without wasting large amounts of energy.


A first data store circuit is coupled to first and second voltage nodes of first and second voltage levels, respectively, and a control circuit outputs a transfer signal and a switching signal. A data transfer circuit is coupled between the first data store circuit and a second data store circuit and selectively transfers the data in the first data store circuit to the second data store circuit in response to the transfer signal. A first conductive line supplies the first voltage level to the second data store circuit and a second conductive line supplies the second voltage level to the second data store circuit. A first switch circuit is coupled between the second voltage node and the second conductive line and selectively connects the second voltage node to the second conductive line in response to the switching signal. Also a resistive element is coupled between the second conductive line and the first voltage node.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit, more particularly, to the semiconductor integrated circuit having a read register and a write register. Such registers are employed in a FIFO (First In First Out) memory and in a VRAM (Video Random Access Memory).
This application is a counterpart of Japanese patent applications, Serial Number 0118758/1998, filed Apr. 28, 1998 and Serial Number 0203441/1998, filed Jul. 17, 1998, the subject matter of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional technique is described in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application No. 07-65569. This patent application discloses a semiconductor integrated circuit having a read register and a write register, each of the registers being comprised of two inverters. A data stored in the write register is transferred to the read register through a transmission gate.
However, the patent application does not describe the relationship between the drive capacity of the inverter in the read register and the drive capacity of the inverter in the write register. If the drive capacity of the inverter in the read register is larger than that of the inverter in the write register, there is a possibility that the data transferred from the write register is inverted by the read register. Consequently, there has been a need for an improved semiconductor integrated circuit.


A controlling device for a sprinkler includes multiple seals detachably received in the tube in a watertight manner. Each seal has outlets defined in a top face of the seal and passages defined to respectively communicate with a corresponding one of the outlets. Multiple controlling rods are linearly and movably received in the tube to engage with a bottom face of the seals so as to selectively block the communication between the passage and the outlets such that water inside the tube is controlled to be sprinkled out of the tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a controlling device, and more particularly to a controlling device for a sprinkler to control water flow out of the sprinkler via movement of controlling rods such that the sprinkler is able to control the area to be sprinkled.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional sprinklers for watering the lawn have different functions beside sprinkling water on the lawn. Patents concerning how the sprinklers are controlled and how the water flow angle is changed are numerous. Some use water pressure to push the movement of a rotating plate so that the gradual rotation of the rotating plate is able to change the water sprinkling angle to water different areas on the lawn. Some even apply complex gear driven devices in the sprinkler to control the water output and the water sprinkling angle. No matter how complex or how complicated the sprinkler is, there is one thing for all the sprinklers in common, that is, the sprinkler has a tube for connecting to a water source and to receive therein water and an angle controlling device for controlling the water sprinkling angle. The angle controlling device indeed fulfills the users needs despite the structural differences. However, the controlling device inside the sprinkler may not serve the intended purpose once there is a malfunction. That is, due to the complexity tendency of the structure of the modern controlling device inside the sprinkler, maintenance to the defected controlling is becoming harder than ever and the time required to fix the problem takes much longer than before. During the maintenance period, there is nothing for the user to do. All the user can do is sit and wait.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an improved controlling device to mitigate the aforementioned problems.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an improved controlling device with which the user is able to easily control the water output from the sprinkler.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a cover to securely sandwich seals with the tube, such that during operation of the sprinkler, the seals are connected to the tube in a watertight manner.
To achieve the foregoing objectives, the controlling device of the present invention has multiple controlling rods movably received in the tube and each having a neck formed on a mediate portion of the controlling rod and seals detachably connected to the tube in a watertight manner. Therefore, movement of the controlling rods enables the alignment and communication between the necks of the controlling rods and the passages defined in the seals to allow the water inside the tube to flow out of the sprinkler.


A thermally assisted magnetic write head having a near-field transducer, a magnetic lip and a diffusion barrier layer between the near-field transducer and the magnetic lip. The near-field transducer includes a transparent aperture constructed of a material such as SiO2 and an opaque metallic antenna constructed of a metal such as Au formed at a first edge of the aperture. A magnetic lip, connected with the write pole is formed near a second edge of the aperture with a diffusion barrier layer being disposed between the magnetic lip and the aperture. The diffusion barrier layer prevents migration of atomic between the aperture and the magnetic lip, thereby ensuring robust performance at localized high temperatures generated by the near-field transducer.

The heart of a computer's long term memory is an assembly that is referred to as a magnetic disk drive. The magnetic disk drive includes a rotating magnetic disk, write and read heads that are suspended by a suspension arm adjacent to a surface of the rotating magnetic disk and an actuator that swings the suspension arm to place the read and write heads over selected circular tracks on the rotating disk. The read and write heads are directly located on a slider that has an air bearing surface (ABS). The suspension arm biases the slider toward the surface of the disk, and when the disk rotates, air adjacent to the disk moves along with the surface of the disk. The slider flies over the surface of the disk on a cushion of this moving air. When the slider rides on the air bearing, the write and read heads are employed for writing magnetic transitions to and reading magnetic transitions from the rotating disk. The read and write heads are connected to processing circuitry that operates according to a computer program to implement the writing and reading functions.
Magnetoresistive sensors such as GMR or TMR sensors are employed for sensing magnetic fields from the rotating magnetic disk. The sensor includes a nonmagnetic conductive layer, or barrier layer, sandwiched between first and second ferromagnetic layers, referred to as a pinned layer and a free layer. First and second leads are connected to the sensor for conducting a sense current there-through. The magnetization of the pinned layer is pinned perpendicular to the air bearing surface (ABS) and the magnetic moment of the free layer is located parallel to the ABS, but free to rotate in response to external magnetic fields. The magnetization of the pinned layer is typically pinned by exchange coupling with an antiferromagnetic layer.
The thickness of the spacer layer is chosen to be less than the mean free path of conduction electrons through the sensor. With this arrangement, a portion of the conduction electrons is scattered by the interfaces of the spacer layer with each of the pinned and free layers. When the magnetizations of the pinned and free layers are parallel with respect to one another, scattering is minimal and when the magnetizations of the pinned and free layer are antiparallel, scattering is maximized. Changes in scattering alter the resistance of the spin valve sensor in proportion to cos θ, where θ is the angle between the magnetizations of the pinned and free layers. In a read mode the resistance of the spin valve sensor changes proportionally to the magnitudes of the magnetic fields from the rotating disk. When a sense current is conducted through the spin valve sensor, resistance changes cause potential changes that are detected and processed as playback signals.
The write head can be a perpendicular magnetic recording head that records data as magnetizations oriented perpendicular to the plane of the magnetic disk. The magnetic disk has a magnetically soft underlayer covered by a thin magnetically hard top layer. The perpendicular write head has a write pole with a very small cross section and a return pole having a much larger cross section. A strong, highly concentrated magnetic field emits from the write pole in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic disk surface, magnetizing the magnetically hard top layer. The resulting magnetic flux then travels through the soft underlayer, returning to the return pole where it is sufficiently spread out and weak that it will not erase the signal recorded by the write pole when it passes back through the magnetically hard top layer on its way back to the return pole.
A heating element can be incorporated into the write head in order to allow a further decrease in bit size and therefore allow a corresponding increase in data density. In order to write ever smaller bits of data, the magnetic coercivity must be increased, in order to prevent the extremely small bit from becoming demagnetized after the data has been written. Locally heating the media during writing of data momentarily reduces the coercivity of the media allowing the data to be written to the high coercivity media.

Thermally assisted magnetic write head employing a near field transducer (NFT) having a diffusion barrier layer between the near field transducer and a magnetic lip

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A liquid crystal composition having a negative dielectric anisotropy and including a first component, which is a liquid crystal compound having a chroman ring, in which two hydrogens are replaced by fluorine, a second component, which is a liquid crystal compound having phenylene in which two hydrogens are replaced by fluorine and chlorine, and a particular third component, and a liquid crystal display device including the liquid crystal composition.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a liquid crystal composition and a liquid crystal display device. More specifically, the invention relates to a liquid crystal composition suitable for use in a liquid crystal display device driven in an AM (active matrix) mode, and a liquid crystal display device containing the composition.
2. Related Art
A liquid crystal display device (which is a generic term for a liquid crystal display device, a liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal display module) utilizes optical anisotropy, dielectric anisotropy and so forth of a liquid crystal composition, and as an operating mode of the liquid crystal display device, such various modes include a phase change (PC) mode, a twisted nematic (TN) mode, a super twisted nematic (STN) mode, a bistable twisted nematic (BTN) mode, an electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) mode, an optically compensated bend (OCB) mode, an in-plane switching (IPS) mode, a vertical alignment (VA) mode, and so forth. Among these operating modes, it has been known that an ECB mode, an IPS mode, a VA mode and so forth are capable of being improved in viewing angle, while the conventional modes, such as a TN mode, an STN mode and so forth, have a problem therein. A liquid crystal composition having a negative dielectric anisotropy can be used in a liquid crystal display device of these modes.
As a liquid crystal composition having a negative dielectric anisotropy capable of being used in a liquid crystal display device of these modes, such compositions have been variously studied that contain a liquid crystal compound having 2,3-difluorophenylene, in which hydrogen on a benzene ring is replaced by fluorine.
The liquid crystal compound is a generic term for a compound having a liquid crystal phase such as a nematic phase, a smectic phase and so forth, and also for a compound having no liquid crystal phase but being useful as a component of a composition. The content ratio of the component is calculated based on the total weight of the liquid crystal composition. The liquid crystal compound herein is a compound represented by formula (A). The compound may be an optically active compound.

In formula (A), Rx and Ry are each independently a hydrogen, alkyl, alkoxy, alkoxyalkyl, alkoxyalkoxy, acyloxy, acyloxyalkyl, alkoxycarbonyl, alkoxycarbonylalkyl, alkenyl, alkenyloxy, alkenyloxyalkyl, alkoxyalkenyl, alkynyl, alkynyloxy, cyano, —NCS, fluorine or chlorine. These groups have approximately 10 or less carbons. In the group having approximately 1 to approximately 5 carbons, arbitrary hydrogen may be replaced by fluorine or chlorine, and the total number of the replaced fluorine and chlorine is approximately 1 to approximately 11. In formula (A), ring A is 1,4-cyclohexylene, 1,4-phenylene, pyrane-2,5-diyl, 1,3-dioxane-2,5-diyl, pyridine-2,5-diyl, pyrimidine-2,5-diyl, decahydronaphthalene-2,6-diyl, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene-2,6-diyl or naphthalene-2,6-diyl. In ring A, arbitrary hydrogen may be replaced by fluorine or chlorine. In ring A, the total number of the replaced fluorine and chlorine is approximately 1 to approximately 4. In the 1,4-phenylene, arbitrary one or two hydrogens may be replaced by cyano, methyl, difluoromethyl or trifluoromethyl. In formula (A), Y represents a single bond, —(CH2)2—, —COO—, —OCO—, —CH2O—, —OCH2—, —CF2O—, —OCF2—, —CH═CH—, —CF═CF—, —(CH2)4—, —(CH2)3—O—, —O—(CH2)3—, —CH═CH—(CH2)2—, —(CH2)2—CH═CH—, —(CH2)2CF2O—, —OCF2(CH2)2—, —(CH2)2COO—, —(CH2)2OCO—, —COO(CH2)2—, —OCO(CH2)2—, —CH═CH—COO—, —CH═CH—OCO—, —COO—CH═CH— or —OCO—CH═CH—. In formula (A), n represents 1, 2, 3 or 4.
JP 2005-35986 A and International Publication No.2005/000995 disclose examples of a compound having a chroman ring and a composition containing the compound. JP 2005-105132 and JP 2005-281560 A disclose a liquid crystal composition containing a compound having a chroman ring, which is the first component of the invention. The compositions disclosed in these publications do not consider the combination of the first component and the second component of the inventions and have room for improvement.
A liquid crystal display device having such an operating mode as an IPS mode and a VA mode still has a problem as a display device as compared to CRT, and it is desirable to improve the characteristics thereof.
The liquid crystal display device driven in an IPS mode or a VA mode is constituted mainly by a liquid crystal composition having a negative dielectric anisotropy. In order to further improve the characteristics, the liquid crystal composition preferably has the following characteristics (1) to (5), i.e., (1) a wide temperature range of a nematic phase, (2) a low viscosity, (3) a suitable optical anisotropy, (4) a large absolute value of dielectric anisotropy, and (5) a large specific resistance.
The temperature range of a nematic phase relates to the temperature range where the liquid crystal display device is used, and a liquid crystal display device containing a liquid crystal composition having a wide temperature range of a nematic phase as in item (1) has a wide temperature range where the liquid crystal display device can be used.
A liquid crystal display device containing a liquid crystal composition having a small viscosity as in item (2) has a short response time. A liquid crystal display device having a short response time can be favorably used for displaying a moving image. Furthermore, upon injecting the liquid crystal composition into a liquid crystal cell of the liquid crystal display device, the injection time can be reduced to improve the workability.
A liquid crystal display device containing a liquid crystal composition having a suitable optical anisotropy as in item (3) has a large contrast. A liquid crystal composition having an optical anisotropy that is smaller than a conventional liquid crystal composition is favorable for a liquid crystal display device having a large cell gap or a liquid crystal display device of a reflection type.
A liquid crystal display device containing a liquid crystal composition having a large absolute value of dielectric anisotropy as in item (4) reduces the threshold voltage, decreases the driving voltage, and reduces the electric power consumption.
A liquid crystal display device containing a liquid crystal composition having a large specific resistance as in item (5) increases the voltage holding ratio and increases the contrast ratio. Therefore, a liquid crystal composition having a large specific resistance in the initial stage and has a large specific resistance even after using it for a long period of time is preferred.

Liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal display device


The present invention relates to an improved process for preparation of Indigo carmine of Formula (I), in high purity, more than 99.5%.

Indigo carmine, chemically known as 3,3′-dioxo-2,2′-bis-indolyden-5,5′-disulfonic acid disodium salt, commonly used as a pH indicator, often in a 0.2% aqueous solution. It is blue at pH 11.4 and yellow at 13.0. Indigo carmine is also a redox indicator, turning yellow upon reduction. Another use is as a dissolved ozone indicator through the conversion to isatin-5-sulfonic acid. This reaction has been shown not to be specific to ozone, however: it also detects superoxide, an important distinction in cell physiology. It is also used as a dye in the manufacturing of capsules.
In obstetric surgery, indigo carmine solutions are sometimes employed to detect amniotic fluid leaks. In urologic surgery, intravenous injection of indigo carmine is often used to highlight portions of the urinary tract. The dye is filtered rapidly by the kidneys from the blood, and colors the urine blue. This enables structures of the urinary tract to be seen in the surgical field, and demonstrate if there is a leak. However, the dye can cause a potentially dangerous increase in blood pressure in some cases.
Indigo Carmine is excreted largely by the kidneys, retaining its blue color during passage through the body. Elimination of the dye begins soon after injection, appearing in the urine within 10 minutes in average cases. The biological half-life is 4 to 5 minutes following intravenous injection. Larger quantities are necessary when intramuscular injection is employed. Appearance time and elimination are delayed following intramuscular injection.
As described FDA indications of indigo carmine: Originally employed as a kidney function test, the chief application of Indigo Carmine at present is localizing ureteral orifices during cystoscopy and ureteral catheterization
Dye and pigments 6, page-135-154(1985) describes process for making trisulpho, disulpho, mono sulpho Indigo. In accordance with the journal, Indigo can prepared by reacting sulphuric acid as well as 30% fuming sulphuric acid, here they disclosed the disulphonic indigo will preparation temperature at 100° C. but not describe process or any analytical data forming disulphonic salt of indigo. In this journal process Indigo carmine compound is not isolating or not easy filtration, also Indigo carmine not getting having purity as per the ICH guideline.
Bull. Chem. Soc. Jap. Vol. 84, no. 1, page-82-89(2011), intermediate of Indigo, process describe using Molybledenumhexacarbonyl as catalyst, in presence of acid as acetic acid or phenyl acetic acid or additive, oxidizing agent cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) in cumene (82%) solution using alcohol, in this publication large amount of catalyst (0.05 mol) and large amount of solvent using.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,427,863 describe process for preparing indigo (isatina-anilid) using thioaminde, sulphuric acid, ammoniumsulphite, water.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,588,960 describe process for making indigo using aniline oxidizing in acid solution to produce chromophore blue treated with organic acid to give indigo.
GB181673 describe process for preparing indigo using mineral oil, sodamide, sodium salt of phenyl glycine/hydroxyethyl aniline and mixture of caustic soda and caustic potash.

Process for the preparation of indigo carmine


Provided is (i) a hot-dip Al-based alloy-coated steel sheet which includes a coated layer having a surface on which fine spangles are stably and sufficiently formed and which has a beautiful surface appearance due to the fine spangles thus formed on the surface of the coated layer, and (ii) a method of producing such a hot-dip Al-based alloy-coated steel sheet. The hot-dip Al-based alloy-coated steel sheet includes: a substrate steel sheet; and a hot-dip aluminum-based alloy coated layer which is formed on a surface of the substrate steel sheet and which contains boron at an average concentration of not less than 0.005 mass % and contains potassium at an average concentration of not less than 0.0004 mass %.

A hot-dip aluminum-based alloy-coated steel sheet (hereinafter referred to as a "hot-dip Al-based alloy-coated steel sheet") includes a steel sheet whose surface is coated with an alloy, which contains aluminum (Al) as a main component, by a hot-dip method so that the steel sheet can have higher corrosion resistance and/or higher heat resistance. Such a hot-dip Al-based alloy-coated steel sheet has been widely used mainly for members that are required to have heat resistance, such as exhaust gas members of automobiles and members of combustion devices.
Note that the hot-dip Al-based alloy-coated steel sheet has a coated layer having a surface on which a spangle pattern appears, the spangle pattern being formed due to dendrites, which are structures obtained by solidification of Al. The spangle pattern is a characteristic geometric pattern or a flower pattern, and each region (i.e., spangle) of the spangle pattern is constituted by dendrites.
A spangle grows during solidification of Al after coating. Growth of the spangle progresses as below. First, the nucleus of the spangle (i.e., spangle nucleus) occurs. Then, a primary dendrite arm grows from the spangle nucleus. Subsequently, a secondary dendrite arm develops from the primary dendrite arm. Growth of such dendrite arms stops due to a collision between adjacent spangles. It follows that presence of more spangle nuclei in the coated layer causes an increase in number of spangles. This causes each spangle to have a minute size.
The presence of such a spangle does not adversely affect a quality (e.g., corrosion resistance) of the hot-dip Al-based alloy-coated steel sheet. Note, however, that in the market, a hot-dip Al-based alloy-coated steel sheet is preferred which has spangles having a minute size and thus has a surface skin having an inconspicuous spangle pattern.
Under the circumstances, proposed is, for example, a method of producing a hot-dip aluminum-zinc alloy-coated steel sheet which includes a coated layer made of an aluminum-zinc alloy. According to this method, for the purpose of formation of fine spangles, titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb), boron (B), a boride such as aluminum boride (AlB2 or AlB12), titanium carbide (TiC), titanium boride (TiB2), or titanium aluminide (TiAl3) is added to a coating bath so that more substances each acting as a spangle nucleus are obtained. Such a method is disclosed in, for example, Patent Literatures 1 to 3.

Hot-dip Al-plated steel sheet and method for producing same


An organizer for securely retaining hand tools and other miscellaneous small items particularly in environments where space for working is limited and the tools must be organized and conveniently available. The organizer includes a container defining an interior in which is disposed a support plate having openings adapted for the insertion and support of various items such as hand tools and a bottom wall for supporting the lower ends of those items that extend through the support plate and are long enough to reach the bottom wall. For even longer items the bottom wall is provided with one or more openings of sufficient size to allow the item to extend through the bottom wall. The support panel may be hinged for pivoting to an open position to provide access to the interior for tool storage. Either the top wall or the front wall of the organizer are adapted to be opened and retracted for access to the interior and support plate of the organizer.

Securing and storing tools and miscellaneous hard goods where they are conveniently available to a worker on the job can oftentimes present a problem as well as present a safety hazard. This can be a particularly serious problem when the worker is in a confined space such as when working in the bucket of an aerial lift boom. Aerial lift booms are conventionally carried on a truck or similar wheeled motor driven chassis and are widely used in the construction trades, utility repair, tree surgery and other similar areas that require access to carry out work in places that may or may not be reached by a ladder. Aerial lift booms are more convenient and more efficient than ladders for use in locations to which the chassis can be moved.
The bucket in which the worker stands or sits is restricted in size and provides only a limited floor area on which to store parts and unused tools. In addition, the bucket, being at the end of the boom, can be unsteady and the presence of items on the floor of the bucket may present a hazard to the occupant. On occasion the occupant of the bucket will wear a tool belt for securing small tools. However, even a tool belt can be an impediment to the occupant of the bucket.
Several U.S. patents describe methods and apparatus for holding large tools in the bucket of a boom lift. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,713, Johnson-, describes a tool holder that is secured to the boom lift bucket. The tool holder consists of a bent flexible plate and a tool holding strap extending between opposite edges of the plate. The tool holder is designed to hold elongated tools such as poles and remote mount saws and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,837, Kistner, also relates to a tool holder for securing elongated tools on the boom lift bucket. The tool holder is clamped to the upper side edge of the bucket and includes pivotal clamping apparatus for holding the tools. In this manner, the elongated tool can be clamped to the bucket when it is lowered and the tool is lying on the ground. As the bucket lifts the tool, it gradually pivots so that it is safely hanging vertically on the exterior of the bucket.
The foregoing patents are not concerned with the securing and organizing small tools and miscellaneous small items that, if loose on the floor of the bucket, can become a hazard to a person in the bucket. At the least, such loose small tools represent an inconvenience for the worker as there is no convenient place to store small tools in the bucket until they are needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,556, Gatto, relates to a modular tool and hard goods organizer and storage unit for converting the interior of a pail or 5 gallon bucket into a storage unit for such items. This device is unsuited for use in a boom lift bucket since a pail on the floor of the boom lift bucket can interfere with the footing of a worker in the boom lift bucket and thus constitute a hazard.
Containers for boom lift buckets have been used in the field; however, these containers are essentially boxes that are open at the top. Tools and other items are held in the box in a random, unorganized manner. A worker is forced to sort through the items in the box to find the tool or other needed items.
Similar problems are presented in underwater construction and repair projects where a diver requires an assortment of tools to be ready at hand when needed.

Tool and small item organizer and container


A surgical tool for minimally invasive surgery. The surgical tool in one embodiment includes a manipulator as a user interface, a proximal universal joint mounted to the manipulator, a hollow elongated member such as a tube mounted to the proximal universal joint, and a distal universal joint mounted to the other end of the elongated member. An end effector is mounted to the distal universal joint second end. Pivoting of the first end of the proximal universal joint causes the second end of the distal universal joint to move in a corresponding motion, and cabling operatively couples the proximal and distal universal joints. The proximal and distal universal joints may each include two yokes and a center block. Cabling may include four cables that each engage two round elements at the proximal and distal universal joints mounting locations to the center block.

Embodiments described herein generally relate to surgical apparatus for tissue and suture manipulation, and more particularly to apparatus that may be applied to conducting laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery.
Minimally invasive surgery, such as endoscopic surgery, encompasses a set of techniques and tools which are becoming more and more commonplace in the modern operating room. Minimally invasive surgery causes less trauma to the patient when compared to the equivalent invasive procedure. Hospitalization time, scarring, and pain are also decreased, while recovery rate is increased.
Endoscopic surgery is accomplished by the insertion of a cannula containing a trocar to allow passage of endoscopic tools. Optics for imaging the interior of the patient, as well as fiber optics for illumination and an array of grasping and cutting devices are inserted through a multiple cannulae, each with its own port.
Currently the majority of cutting and grasping tools are essentially the same in their basic structure. Standard devices consist of a user interface at the proximal end and an end effector at the distal end of the tool used to manipulate tissue and sutures. Connecting these two ends is a tube section, containing cables and/or rods used for transmitting motion from the user interface at the proximal end of the tool to the end effector at the distal end of the tool. The standard minimally invasive devices (MIDs) provide limited freedom of movement to the surgeon. The cannula has some flexibility of movement at the tissue wall, and the tool can rotate within the cannula, but tools cannot articulate within the patient's body, limiting their ability to reach around or behind organs or other large objects. Several manually operated devices have attempted to solve this problem with articulated surgical tools that are controlled much in the same way as standard MIDs. These devices have convoluted interfaces, making them more difficult to control than their robotic counterparts. Many lack torsional rigidity, limiting their ability to manipulate sutures and denser tissue.
Robotic surgical instruments have attempted to solve the problems that arise from the limitations of standard MIDs with telemetrically controlled articulated surgical tools. However, these tools are often prohibitively expensive to purchase and operate. The complexity of the devices raises the cost of purchasing as well as the cost of a service contract. These robotic solutions also have several other disadvantages such as complications during the suturing process. An additional and critical disadvantage is their lack of haptic feedback.
Due to variations in tissue density and structure, a surgeon will use many tools with differently shaped end effectors to manipulate tissue. This requires the surgeon to remove tools from their cannulae and replace them with different tools many times through the course of a procedure. Currently available MIDs do not provide the same versatility in tissue manipulation as is available in open surgery.


The invention concerns autoconfiguration of control connections in a telecommunication switch. Multiplexers (31, 32, 33) themselves and without external control information find out which ports of the switching fabric (34) they are in connection with. After finding out the ports, logical connections are established. Each multiplexer forms probe cells addressed to each of the ports (0, 1, 2). Each probe cell includes one port index, preferably in the header. The switching fabric (34) switches the probe cell to that output port which has been indicated in the header of the probe cell. Thus, those probe cells fed from a port into the switching fabric are returned to the same port if the target in the header is the same as the port number. In consequence of this, the multiplexer receives only the same kind of probe cells. After the connection ports have been determined, a logical connection between each of the multiplexers (31, 32, 33) and the operation and maintenance unit (35) is established. The processor units connected to the multiplexers can now receive configuration information and instructions from the operation and maintenance unit (35).

The basic function of a modern digital exchange is to connect the exchange input port to the correct output port, in other words, to connect an incoming call on a specific incoming circuit to an outgoing call on a specific outgoing circuit. The core of the system is the exchange control, whose functions have been distributed over a plurality of units, each carrying out its own task. As examples of such units are a unit controlling the switching matrix, signaling units carrying out different types of signaling and supervision at the input and output sides, a unit collecting call-specific charging data, a unit gathering statistics, etc. Each unit comprises at least one central processing unit CPU, a bus, and memory. Thus, each unit actually constitutes a computer.
In addition, the exchange comprises an Operation and Maintenance Unit (O&M), which takes care of the maintenance of the system.
Apart from the type described above, the telecommunication network nodes may also be ATM nodes (Asynchronous Transfer Mode). ATM is a connection-oriented, packet switched, general purpose, and scalable data transmission method in which information is sent in fixed-length cells. The cell consists of a five-byte-long header and a 48-byte-long information section. The header fields include a Virtual Path Indicator (VPI) and a Virtual Channel Indicator (VCI). At the ATM switch, the cells are transferred from a logical input channel to one or more logical output channels. The logical channel consists of the number of the physical link (e.g. optical cable) and the channel identifier on this link, in other words the VPI/VCI information. One physical transfer medium, such as an optical cable, may comprise a plurality of virtual paths VP, and each virtual path comprises a plurality of virtual channels VC.
Because the cells are of a fixed length, the connections at ATM switches can be performed at hardware level on the basis of the cell header, and therefore at very high speed. Cells belonging to different connections are distinguished from one another on the basis of the virtual path (VPI) and the virtual channel (VCI) identifier. As the connection is set up, a fixed route is determined through the network, i.e. a virtual link along which the cells of the connection are routed. Based on the VPI/VCI values, the cells are switched at the network nodes. The VPI/VCI values are transmission link specific and consequently usually change in connection with switching at the VP or VC level. At the end of the data transfer, the connection is released.
FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified ATM switch. It consists of input stages and output stages, into which the physical input and output lines are connected, and of a switching fabric. The physical line can consist of any suitable medium, of an optical fiber as shown in the figure, of a twisted pair, of a coaxial cable, for example. As an example the medium herein is the optical fiber. The input and output stages constitute the external network interfaces. The interface type may be either UNI (User Network Interface) or NNI (Network Node Interface). The input stage reads the address information, i.e. the VPI and VCI identifiers, of the cell received from the input link and converts them into new VPI/VCI values which the output stage inserts into the header of the cell sent to the output link.
The software of the switch is distributed over functional blocks, processor units 1, . . . N., handled by computers. The computers are nearly always of the embedded type, meaning that display units and other peripheral devices are not required.
FIG. 2 is a more detailed illustration of an ATM switch. A cell, either of the UNI or NNI type, from optical fibre 20 is received at circuit 21 of the PHY layer (Physical Layer) that terminates the line. The PHY carries out transmission system specific tasks at the bit level and is responsible for cell adaptation to each of the transmission systems, as well as for cell masking, cell header error checks, and cell rate justification.
From circuit 21 of the PHY layer, the cell passes to circuit 22 of the ATM layer. The ATM layer only deals with the cell header, its tasks being cell switching, multiplexing and demultiplexing, and cell header generation and removal. Above the ATM layer, the AAL (ATM Adaptation Layer) fragments the higher layer frames and reassembles them at the other end, in other words, carries out the SAR (Segmentation and Re-assembly) function.
Circuit 22 of the ATM layer sends the cell to the input buffer of ATM switching fabric 23. From there, the fabric connects it to the other side of the fabric, to output port 25. At the output port, the VPI/VCI value in the cell address field is examined, and the cell is transmitted to the correct virtual channel.
The processor units in FIG. 1 must be able to negotiate with each other. The most common way is to set up a dedicated common message bus, into which the units are connected via a bus adapter.
FIG. 3 depicts another of arranging the routing of the internal-traffic of cells through the ATM switching fabric. A group of processor units, here Processor Unit 1, . . . , Processor Unit N, are connected to multiplexer 31, whereas a second group of units, Processor Unit A1, . . . , Processor Unit An, are connected to multiplexer 32. A third group of units, Processor Unit B1, . . . , Processor Unit Bn, are connected to multiplexer 33. A multiplexer multiplexes ATM cells received from an attached group of units to an input port of ATM switching fabric 34, which routes the cells through the fabric to destination output ports.
For example, let us consider a case when processor unit 1 is sending cells to processor unit B1 and processor unit N is sending cells to processor unit 2. Multiplexer 31 provides the cells with the proper VPI/VCI addresses and multiplexes the cells to input port 0 of the switching fabric. The switching fabric returns the cells addressed to processor unit N to output port 0. Demultiplexer 31 routes the cells further to processor unit N.
Switching matrix 34 routes the cells addressed to processor unit B1 to output port 1, whereupon multiplexer 33, which is connected to that port, routes the cells to target processor unit B1.
Still referring to FIG. 3, it is advantageous to form a group of processor units from the units having similar processor types. Hence, processors of units from 1 to N could be general purpose microprocessors, whereas processors of units from B1 to Bn could be signal processors.
Operation and maintenance unit 35 is also connected through multiplexer 31 to port 0 of ATM switching fabric 34. The task of the operation and maintenance unit is to ensure that the functional units of the exchange are operating properly. In addition, the unit acts as an input and output device through which the operator can update software and input instructions to the software. For those purposes there are bi-directional control connections between the operation and maintenance unit 35 and the processor units.
The operation and maintenance unit plays an especially important role when commissioning the exchange. After the power to various units of the exchange has been switched on, the operation and maintenance unit ensures that the exchange starts to operate properly.
A problem in the prior art exchanges switching packets of a fixed length is how to form control connections between the operation and maintenance unit and the processor units from the time the power is switched on. These connections are needed for downloading the program code from the operation and maintenance unit to the processor units.
FIG. 4 illustrates this problem. In reality, the problem is reduced to that of how to establish a connection between each of the multiplexers and the operation and maintenance unit. A software application runs in each of the multplexor units 1-N of the exchange. Accordingly, a plurality of software applications runs in operation and maintenance unit 41. In order for the operation and maintenance unit to be able to control the setting-up of the processor units, a logical channel for communication through the switching fabric is needed between operation and maintenance unit 41 and each of the multiplexers. After the logical channels have been created, the applications in processor units (see FIG. 3) can communicate with the applications in the operation and maintenance unit for further configuration instructions during the setting-up process. The applications running in the processor units are directly connected to the operation and maintenance unit via the AAL/ATM and PHY layers.
Unfortunately, the multiplexer units can not begin creating logical channels because they do not know to which port of the switching fabric they are physically connected. Due to the lack of logical channels, processor units can not receive a program code from the operation and maintenance unit.
A prior art solution for the problem is that after switching the power on, the operator enters information about the connection port manually into each of the multiplexer units. In addition, software programs including configuration information are loaded manually into the memories of the processor units. Alternatively, all the program code which is necessary for powering up the processor units may be stored in the flash memory of the unit. However, this solution is not acceptable because upgrading a program code is difficult. Hence, only a minimum amount of the program code is stored in the flash memory, the rest of the code is retrieved from the operation and maintenance unit.
A drawback of the known method is that entering information about connection ports manually to several multiplexer units and loading the program code into the units are a time consuming and error-prone operation.

Autoconfiguration of control connections in an exchange


A processor includes a first core to execute a first software thread, a second core to execute a second software thread, and shared memory access monitoring and recording logic. The logic includes memory access monitor logic to monitor accesses to memory by the first thread, record memory addresses of the monitored accesses, and detect data races involving the recorded memory addresses with other threads. The logic includes chunk generation logic is to generate chunks to represent committed execution of the first thread. Each of the chunks is to include a number of instructions of the first thread executed and committed and a time stamp. The chunk generation logic is to stop generation of a current chunk in response to detection of a data race by the memory access monitor logic. A chunk buffer is to temporarily store chunks until the chunks are transferred out of the processor.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to the field of processors. In particular, embodiments relate to the field of multi-threaded processors.
2. Background Information
Multi-threaded and/or multi-core processors are commonplace today. They are used in various types of computing devices such as servers, desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, and cell phones, to name just a few examples. It is currently expected that, at least for some processor segments, the trend to increasingly more threads and/or cores is going to continue into the future.
The multiple threads and/or cores generally help to improve performance by providing hardware parallelism which allows more instructions to be executed concurrently or in parallel. The multiple threads and/or cores have encouraged the development of multi-threaded or parallel processing software. For example, a multi-threaded application may include multiple threads that execute concurrently on different hardware threads and/or cores. In addition, stand-alone applications are often extended with plugins that open gateways to various services that provide even more software parallelism.
However, one challenge with such multi-threaded or parallel processing software is that it tends to be more difficult to debug as compared to single-threaded software. One factor in particular that contributes to the difficulty in debugging such software is the non-deterministic nature of the execution of such software. For example, the threads of a multi-threaded program may interleave differently from one execution of the program to the next. Such variance in the interleaving of the threads may cause variance into the ordering of the accesses by the threads to shared memory from one execution of the program to the next. For example, the threads may access the shared memory in one particular interleaved order one time the program is executed, but the threads may access the shared memory in a different interleaved order another time the program is executed.
Some types of bugs in particular may be difficult to analyze, debug, and fix, as a result of such non-deterministic execution behavior. For example, concurrency bugs may only occur under some but not all thread interleavings and/or shared memory access orderings. For example, a concurrency bug may occur one time a program is executed with a particular thread interleaving (and/or shared memory access ordering), but the concurrency bug may not occur another time the program is executed with a different thread interleaving (and/or different shared memory access ordering). This may tend to make it difficult for a software developer, software debugger, or the like, to know, let alone reproduce, the particular thread interleaving and/or shared memory access ordering that resulted in the concurrency bug.
For these reasons, it may tend to take more time to debug multi-threaded or parallel processing software as compared to single-threaded software. This may tend to lead to higher software development costs and/or potential delays in bringing the multi-threaded or parallel processing software to market. Because of such factors, some software developers tend to favor single-threaded software (e.g., where concurrency bugs are easier to debug) over multi-threaded software. However, without multi-threaded or parallel processing software the hardware parallelism of the multi-thread and/or multi-cores cannot be fully exploited to its full potential.

Processor with memory race recorder to record thread interleavings in multi-threaded software


A thin film transistor array substrate includes: a gate line and a data line on a substrate to define a pixel area; a thin film transistor in the pixel area; a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor; and a common electrode positioned to oppose the pixel electrode and forming a closed aperture area for transmitting and shutting off light by a rotation of liquid crystal positioned within said aperture area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display, and more particularly to a thin film transistor array substrate and a fabricating method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) controls light transmittance of liquid crystal using an electric field, to thereby display an image. Liquid crystal displays are largely classified into two types: a vertical electric field type and a horizontal electric field type. This classification is based upon the direction that the electric field drives the liquid crystal.
The liquid crystal display of vertical electric field type drives a liquid crystal in a twisted nematic (TN) mode with a vertical electric field formed between a pixel electrode and a common electrode arranged in opposition to each other on the upper and lower substrates. The liquid crystal display of vertical electric field applying type has an advantage of a high aperture ratio while having a drawback of a narrow viewing angle about 90 degrees. The liquid crystal display of horizontal electric field type drives a liquid crystal in an in plane switch (IPS) mode with a horizontal electric field between the pixel electrode and the common electrode arranged in parallel to each other on the lower substrate. The liquid crystal display of horizontal electric field type has an advantage of a wide viewing angle at about 160 degrees. Hereinafter, the liquid crystal display of horizontal electric field applying type will now be described in detail.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a structure of a thin film transistor array substrate of the related art horizontal electric field type LCD, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor array substrate taken along the line II-II′ in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the thin film transistor array substrate includes gate lines 2 and data lines 4 provided on a lower substrate 1 to cross each other. A thin film transistor 30 is provided at each crossing. A pixel electrode 22 and a common electrode 24 are provided in a pixel area 5 defined between the gate lines 2 and the data lines 4. The pixel electrode 22 and the common electrode 24 are to form a horizontal electric field. A connection line 26 connects the common electrode 24 to common electrodes of adjacent pixel areas.
One of the gate lines 2 applies a gate signal to a gate electrode of the thin film transistor 30. One of the data lines 4 applies a pixel signal to the pixel electrode 22 via a drain electrode 10 of the thin film transistor 30. The common line 26 is formed in parallel with the gate line for a pixel area 5 and is connected to the common electrodes 24 to apply a reference voltage for driving the liquid crystal 24.
The thin film transistor 30 allows the pixel signal of the data line 4 to be charged and maintained on the pixel electrode 14 in response to the gate signal of the gate line 2. The thin film transistor 30 includes a gate electrode 6 connected to one of the gate lines 2, a source electrode 8 connected to one of the data lines 4, and a drain electrode 10 connected to the pixel electrode 22. Further, the thin film transistor 30 includes an active layer 14, which is on a gate insulating film 12, overlapping the gate electrode 6, a channel between a source electrode 8 and a drain electrode 10, and an ohmic contact layer 16 for making ohmic contacts with the source electrode 8 and the drain electrode 10.
The pixel electrode 22 is provided in the pixel area 5 and is connected to the drain electrode 10 of the thin film transistor 30 via a contact hole 20 through a protective film 18. The pixel electrode 22 includes a first horizontal part 22a connected to the drain electrode 10 and provided in parallel to adjacent gate lines 2 and a second horizontal part 22b overlapping the common line 26. Further, the pixel electrode includes a finger parts 22c provided in parallel to the common electrode 24 between the first and second horizontal parts 22a and 22b.
The common electrodes 24 are connected to the common line 26 and are provided in the pixel area 5. Specifically, the common electrodes 24 is provided in parallel with the finger part 22c of the pixel electrode 22 in the pixel area 5. Accordingly, a horizontal electric field is formed between the pixel electrode 22 to which a pixel signal is supplied via the thin film transistor 30 and the common electrode 24 to which a reference voltage is supplied via the common line 26.
The horizontal electric field is formed between the finger parts 22c of the pixel electrode 22 and the common electrodes 24. Liquid crystal molecules arranged in the horizontal direction between the thin film transistor array substrate and the color filter array substrate by such a horizontal electric field are rotated due to a dielectric anisotropy of the liquid crystal molecules. Transmittance of a light transmitting through the pixel area 5 is differentiated depending upon the extent of rotation by the liquid crystal molecules, thereby implementing a gray level scale.
In the related art liquid crystal display panel of the horizontal electric field type, the liquid crystal positioned between the common electrode and the pixel electrode 22 is arranged in the same direction as the rubbing direction when no electric field is applied and at an angle when the electric field is applied. The liquid crystal has a maximum transmittance when it is aligned at an angle of 45 degrees. To this end, a horizontal electric field between the common electrode 24 and the pixel electrode 22 must maintain a specific voltage, for example, 6V as shown in FIG. 3.
The liquid crystal has a problem in that, when the horizontal electric field between the common electrode 24 and the pixel electrode 22 is more than the specific voltage, it tends to move further toward the horizontal direction of the electric field, which is more than 45 degrees, such that a deterioration in transmittance occurs.

Thin film transistor array substrate and fabricating method thereof