A CAM circuit according to the present invention used for a cash memory and the like, wherein an address is obtained by designating a data, comprises a data compare unit for comparing a data stored in a memory unit to a data of a compare line in a state where a match line is activated and a consistency cancel circuit for forcibly making the match line inactive when a word line and a write instruction signal are both activated. When a write operation and a retrieve operation are simultaneously instructed, a result of the retrieval is forcibly judged to be inconsistent at a write address, thereby it is unnecessary to prohibit the simultaneous execution of the write operation and the retrieve operation.

In general, an operation of the CAM includes a write operation for writing a storage data, a read operation for retrieving the storage data and a retrieve operation for detecting a consistency between a retrieval data and the storage data. In the retrieve operation, the consistency between the retrieval data and the storage data is simultaneously detected in all bits, and a result of the retrieve operation at each address is outputted.
A conventional CAM memory cell 100 shown in FIG. 10 comprises a memory unit 101 for storing data and a data compare unit 102 for detecting the consistency between the data stored in the memory unit 101 and a retrieval data inputted from outside of the CAM. A compare line CP and an anti-compare line /CP for inputting a retrieval data are connected to the data compare unit 102.
In the write operation, a word line WL at a write address is rendered "H" so that transistors 103 and 104 are turned on. Then, a write data in a bit line BL and a reversal data in an anti-bit line /BL are stored in inverters 105 and 106.
In the retrieve operation, a transistor 110 is turned on so that a match line MT is pre-charged, and a value of the compare line CP and a value of the anti-compare line /CP as a reversal data thereof are compared to each other in the data compare unit 102. The match line MT retains the "H" level when the compared values are consistent with each other, while the "H" level turns to an "L" level when they are inconsistent.
For example, when the storage data shows "1", an output of the inverter 106 is at the "H" level and an output of the inverter 105 is at the "L" level, and transistors 107 and 108 corresponding to the respective inverters are turned on and off respectively. When "1" is supplied to the compare line CP and "0" is supplied to the anti-compare line /CP in the foregoing conditions, a transistor 109 retains the OFF state, and the pre-charged match line MT retains the "H" level. In other words, the match line MT is at the "H" level because the storage data and the retrieval data both show the value "1" and are, therefore, consistent with each other.
On the contrary to the foregoing description, when "0" is supplied to the compare line CP and "1" is supplied to the anti-compare line /CP, the transistor 109 is in the ON state, and the match line MT is at the "L" level. In other words, the match line MT turns to the "L" level because the storage data shows "1" and the retrieval data shows "0" and are, therefore, inconsistent with each other.
Further, some of the CAMs have a mask function. FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a memory cell of a conventional CAM provided with the mask function. A data compare unit 203 is interposed between a memory unit 201 and a mask memory cell 202. A transistor 204 in the data compare unit 203 corresponds to the transistor 109 shown in FIG. 10. A source of a transistor 205 connected to the mask memory cell 202 in the data compare unit 203 is connected to a drain of the transistor 204.
When "0" is stored in the mask memory cell 202 here, the transistor 205 is turned on, and the data compare unit 203 operates in the same manner as shown in FIG. 10. When "1" is stored in the mask memory cell 202, the transistor 205 is turned off, which renders the transistor 204 inactive. Accordingly, the match line MT turns to the "H" level irrespective of a state of the memory unit 201.
FIG. 12 is a timing chart of the write operation of the CAM, and FIG. 13 is a timing chart of the retrieve operation of the CAM.
Given that the write operation and the retrieve operation are both instructed based on an identical clock cycle in a conventional structure of a circuit as shown in FIG. 14, there is an inconvenience that an output of the match line becomes uncertain because an indefinite data that is currently written and not finally determined in the memory unit is compared to the retrieval data. In order to avoid the inconvenience, it is necessary to prohibit the execution of both the write and retrieve operations based on the identical clock cycle, however, it reduces an efficiency of the retrieve operation.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The invention concerns a piercing member protection device, a kit of a piercing member protection device, a first and second fluid container and a method a method for transferring a fluid between a first and a second container using a piercing member protection device. The piercing member protection device comprises a protection chamber to protect at least the tip of a piercing member. The piercing member protection device further comprises a first and a second member arranged to each other. The first member is further arranged to slide with respect to the second member between a secured position, in which at least the tip of the piercing member is enclosed within the protection chamber so as to prevent the tip of the piercing member from exposure and an unsecured position, in which the tip of the piercing member is arranged outside the protection chamber wherein the first member is arranged to turn with respect to the second member between a locked position and an unlocked position so that when the first member is in the locked position the first member is substantially unable to slide along the longitudinal axis A and when the first member is in the unlocked position the first member is enabled to slide along the longitudinal axis A.

A serious problem in connection with drug preparation, drug administration and other similar handling is the risk that medical and pharmacological staff are exposed to drugs or solvents which might escape into the ambient air. This problem is particularly serious when cytotoxins, antiviral drugs, antibiotics and radiopharmaceuticals are concerned. Other hazardous areas may be sampling taking such as samples concerning virus infections or the like.
For this reason, there has been a need of safer systems for handling and administrating drugs and other medical substances.
Accordingly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,054 (Gustavsson) discloses a fluid transfer device for transferring a substance from one vessel to another vessel while avoiding leakage of liquid and gas contaminants. The disclosed device comprises a first member designed as a hollow sleeve and having a piercing member provided with a passageway. The piercing member is attached to the first member which has a first barrier member at one end just opposite the tip of the piercing member. Thereby, the piercing member can be passed and retracted through the first barrier member which seals one end of the first member. The fluid transfer device further comprises a second member which is attached to or attachable to one of the vessels or to means arranged to communicate therewith. The second member has a second barrier member, and mating connection means arranged on the first and second members for providing a releasable locking of the members with respect to each other. The barrier members are liquid and gas-proof sealing members which seal tightly after penetration and retraction of the piercing member and prevent leakage of liquid as well as gas contaminants. In the connected position of the first and second members, the barrier members are located in such a way with respect to each other that the piercing member can be passed therethrough.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,211 discloses a fluid transfer device to which one end a syringe may be connected and to the other end of a mouth or opening of a bottle containing a drug or medicine may be connected. The device comprises a closed chamber having enclosed therein a needle which is in connection with the syringe. Connection members are provided by means of which the mouth or opening of the bottle is steadily connected to the device and means enabling the needle to perforate a seal plug and a small rubber plug mounted on the bottle only when the device is blocked onto the bottle so that in any case it cannot be disconnected therefrom. The device can be disconnected from the bottle only after the needle has been caused to reenter the closed chamber, so as to prevent any possible dripping of the liquid outside of the device. In order to enabling the needle to perforate the seal plug, i.e. to move forward, a rotational movement is required. The connection mechanism uses teeth members which slide in helicoidally elongated slits. The device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,211 is therefore not very user friendly since protection gloves may get caught between the teeth members and the slits during this rotational movement.
When performing infusion, it is often necessary to inject a drug or other medical substance into the infusion fluid inside an infusion bag or other infusion fluid container. This is often done by means of penetrating a septum or other fluid barrier of an injection port on the infusion bag or on the infusion fluid line with a needle of a syringe filled with the medical fluid in question. However, even before this it may be necessary to transfer the medical fluid from a vial to a syringe and then from the syringe to a secondary container. In each of these moments staff may be exposed to the medical fluid by means of contamination. Such contamination may be vaporized medical fluid or aerosol in the air. The contaminations may contaminate the staff trough their lungs or vaporized medical fluid or aerosol in the air which condensates on the skin to thereafter penetrate the skin of the staff. Some medicaments are even known to penetrate protection gloves and thereby contaminate the staff.
Exposure of contaminations like this may on a long term basis give rise to alarmingly high concentrations of medicaments in the blood of the just mentioned staff. It has been understood that due to the many transferring steps between e.g. vials, syringes, infusion systems etc. the risk for contamination during the actual insertion and retraction of a needle from e.g. a vial has been underestimated and therefore not properly solved.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An integrated circuit device (20, 60) includes a plurality of memory cells (22), which are configured to store data. Multiple P-N junctions (24) are arranged so that a single, respective P-N junction is disposed in proximity to each memory cell and is configured to emit optical radiation during readout from the memory cell with a wavelength matching an emission wavelength of the memory cell.

In some integrated circuits, such as non-volatile memory, readout of data from a memory cell can cause emission of infrared light. Although low in power, such emissions can be detected, particularly if integrated over time while the circuit is in operation. Given sensitive equipment and enough time, it may be possible to use these emissions in order to extract the information that is stored in the cell.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0213878 describes a method and apparatus for reducing optical emissions in an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit is provided with first circuitry having first and second transistors that emit light during a change in state between states of low and high resistance and second circuitry having third transistors that emit light during a change in state. The third transistors are disposed near at least one of the first and second transistors so that light emissions from the third transistors hinder optical detection of a pattern of light emitted by the first and second transistors.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,962,767 describes an integrated circuit having first and second circuitry which are configured to emit light, when undergoing changes in state. The first and second circuitry are operated to change state at the same time so as to hinder optical detection of the light emitted by the first circuitry.
Various types of one-time programmable memory cells are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,777,757 describes a programmable memory cell comprising a transistor located at the crosspoint of a column bitline and a row wordline. The transistor has its gate formed from the column bitline and its source connected to the row wordline. The memory cell is programmed by applying a voltage potential between the column bitline and the row wordline to produce a programmed region in the substrate underlying the gate of the transistor.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,511,982 describes a high-speed sensing scheme for a non-volatile memory array. The memory array includes non-volatile memory cells arranged in a complementary bitline configuration, precharge circuits for precharging the bitlines to a first voltage level such as VSS, a reference circuit for applying a reference charge on the reference bitlines of the complementary bitline pairs, and bitline sense amplifiers for sensing a voltage differential between the complementary bitline pairs. A voltage on the data bitline is changed when a programmed non-volatile memory cell connected to an activated wordline couples the wordline voltage to the data bitline.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,812,420 describes a polydiode structure for a photodiode. An integrated circuit device for converting an incident optical signal into an electrical signal comprises a semiconductor substrate, a well region formed inside the semiconductor substrate, a dielectric layer formed over the well region, and a layer of polysilicon for receiving the incident optical signal, formed over the dielectric layer, including a p-type portion, an n-type portion and an undoped portion disposed. between the p-type and n-type portions. The well region is biased to control the layer of polysilicon for providing the electrical signal.

Protection of stored data using optical emitting elements


A system and method for airbag deployment sensing with a mobile device is provided. The system senses an effluent indicative of airbag deployment with a chemical sensor and determines if an airbag deployment condition exists based on the sensing of the chemical sensor. The system may then initiate an emergency communication if it is determined that the airbag deployment condition exists.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for the detection of airbag deployment.
2. Description of Related Art
Many vehicles have a telematics system that will send an emergency notification in a crash situation. These systems typically receive an electronic signal from the airbag controller indicating if the airbag has been deployed. For systems that are built into a vehicle, an electronic notification from the airbag controller can be a simple and reliable way to determine whether the airbag has been deployed. However, many other vehicles do not include an integrated telematics system. For example, the driver may desire to add a crash notification device after the vehicle is purchased. In this scenario, trying to wire the device to the airbag controller in the aftermarket may be costly, unreliable, and may void the system warranty. In view of the above, it is apparent that there exists a need for an improved system for the detection of airbag deployment.

System and method for airbag deployment detection


A system and method for combining CAD, inspection, and building guideline data for analyzing repair decisions and selecting waste containers is described. One embodiment includes receiving digital building facet data for a first building facet of a set of one or more building facets; receiving digital inspection data for the first building facet; determining an amount of building material required to repair damage to an area of the first building facet, including determining a first amount of waste building material; determining a repair indicator for the first building facet, the determining a repair indicator based at least in part upon the digital facet data for the first building facet and the inspection data for the first building facet; determining an appropriate waste container based upon the first amount of waste material; and displaying an electronic image of the set of one or more building facets.

In the homeowner's insurance industry, carriers face costly exposure to inaccurate payments, lawsuits, reduced business, and lost shareholder value due, in part, to adjusters' inconsistent and inaccurate methods of inspection, data gathering, and reporting. Furthermore, carriers miss significant opportunities to collect statistical and quantitative analytics that provide effective cost controls and much needed intelligence.
Estimating software products, such as Xactware, MSB, Symbility, and the like, have roof sketching tools that enable users to draw a roof themselves. However, these tools have limited functionality. Aerial CAD companies, such as EagleView, Precigeo, Geoestimator, and the like, can provide information about roof facet line types and roof facet directionality. Using either of these current types of tools, a user must determine, based on the limited information available, which roof facets and roof facet lines to replace. Using the limited, and often inaccurate data, the user must also determine the roof facet area quantities and roof facet line quantities that to replace. Furthermore, users make decisions about whether to replace or repair each roof facet or line based on the limited and often inaccurate data. Some current tools make use of inspection data input by a user to assist in the analysis. However, again that data can be suspect because it is subject to the user's interpretation and the interpretation is based on a limited quantity and quality of data.
For example, storms that cause wind and hail damage to buildings are directional. Therefore roof facets on the same roof have varying degrees of damage. This makes a repair vs. replace analysis and estimating repairs for a building subjected to directional storm difficult. Consequently, errors occur in estimating repair and replacement costs, the amount of materials required, and the amount of resulting waste material. More important, errors occur in determining whether fixing a facet or line requires a repair or replacement or whether it requires fixing at all. Pricing tools also exist to assist in determining labor and material costs for repair or replacement. Again, however, those tools have limited functionality and operate on incomplete or potentially inaccurate data.
In using existing tools, a user must select which roof facets to include in the roofing material installation. The user uses the individually calculated roof facet area quantities or the summed roof facet area quantities and adds a waste amount to the quantities after the fact. The waste amount that users add is meant to pay for the partial shingles that cannot be used in the installation and sometimes the ridge caps and starter strips. The added waste amount often ranges anywhere from eight to twenty-five percent. The waste amount is either a predetermined amount set by a guideline, for example an insurance guideline, or a user's judgment call based on the roof's structure or the material required.
Moreover, multiple, conflicting requirements or guidelines may apply to the property, thus introducing further complexity in the repair analysis. Current building code rules are created by the International Code Council (ICC). Local municipalities choose which code books that they want to follow. The municipalities adjust and augment the ICC codes for their local area. In the United States alone, there are about 80,000 municipalities. Consequently, it is difficult for insurance companies and roofing contractors to determine which municipalities a home is within and what the building codes are for those municipalities. The same issues apply in other countries as well.
Many different types of building materials are used today and oftentimes are difficult to identify by insurance adjusters or contractors. For roofing material, sample shingles from the property must be sent offsite for analysis to determine the manufacturer and shingle type so that a proper repair or replacement can be completed. This analysis takes time and the full determination of cost must wait for the analysis to be complete.
Further, even before an adjuster or contractor is onsite to inspect or repair damage, a homeowner or property owner may have no idea if the property is damaged. And after damage-causing events, contractors often try to generate business by going door-to-door in potentially-damage-affected areas. Because a property owner likely does not know whether the property is damaged, the property owner will not know whether to trust the visiting contractor. Indeed, without having been able to inspect the property, even the contractor will not know whether the property is damaged.
Although present devices and systems are functional, they are not sufficiently accurate or otherwise satisfactory. Accordingly, a system and method are needed to address the shortfalls of present technology and to provide other new and innovative features. What is needed is a system and method for combining available data for providing accurate repair vs. replacement analysis and material and cost estimation. In particular, a system and method is needed to scientifically calculate, based on disparate data sources and particular installation procedure requirements as described above, the actual amount of building material required for installation. Further, a system or method is needed for intelligently deciding which building facets are in need of replacement or repair because current solutions based on disparate data sources such as inspection data, including weather data, insurance guidelines, and building codes. Additionally, a system or method is needed for accurately and quickly determining the amount and type of building material required for a repair or replacement, the amount of waste that will be generated, and the amount of waste that can be recycled.

Method and system for property damage analysis


The present invention relates to a mosquito-killing lamp, including a shell consisting of an upper shell, a fan frame and a lower shell, wherein the upper shell is provided with a mosquito inlet cavity, the lower shell is provided with a mosquito storage cavity, the fan frame is internally provided with a mounting cavity, a mosquito blocking base is clamped between the fan frame and the lower shell, the mosquito blocking base is provided with an opening for conducting the mounting cavity and the mosquito storage cavity, the mosquito blocking base is provided with a baffle capable of opening or closing the opening in a hinge manner, and a driving mechanism is arranged on the mosquito blocking base. By adoption of the above solution, the mosquitoes are not easy to fly out and the mosquito killing effect is better.

There are various mosquitoes in public places or at home, and the mosquitoes will affect the normal rest of people and carry germs, so it is necessary to kill the mosquitoes.
The general mosquito-killing lamp includes a shell, wherein the shell includes an upper shell, a fan frame and a lower shell which are arranged sequentially from top to bottom, the upper shell and the lower shell are connected through the fan frame, the upper shell is provided with a mosquito inlet cavity, the lower shell is provided with a mosquito storage cavity, a mounting cavity for communicating the mosquito inlet cavity and the mosquito storage cavity is formed in the fan frame, a fan is mounted at the mounting cavity, the upper shell is provided with an air inlet for mosquitoes to fly into the mosquito inlet cavity, the lower shell is provided with an air outlet communicating with the mosquito inlet cavity, the air inlet, the mosquito inlet cavity, the mounting cavity, the mosquito storage cavity and the air outlet form a complete wind path, the shell is internally provided with a mosquito-luring lamp, and when the fan works, negative pressure is generated at the air inlet, and the mosquitoes fly into the air inlet and are absorbed in the mosquito inlet cavity and then are driven to the mosquito storage cavity by air flow. However, in these mosquito-killing lamps, when the fan stops working, since the upper end of the mosquito storage cavity is open, the mosquitoes will fly out of the air inlet of the upper shell, and the mosquito-killing effect is not good.


A golf ball comprising a center comprising a polybutadiene having a molecular weight of greater than 200,000 and a resilience index of at least about 40; and a cover layer comprising a polyurethane composition formed from a prepolymer having no greater than 7.5 percent by weight unreacted isocyanate groups.

Conventional golf balls can be divided into several general classes: (a) solid golf balls having one or more layers, and (b) wound golf balls. Solid golf balls include one-piece balls, which are easy to construct and relatively inexpensive, but have poor playing characteristics and are thus generally limited for use as range balls. Two-piece balls are constructed with a generally solid core and a cover and are generally the most popular with recreational golfers because they are very durable and provide maximum distance. Balls having a two-piece construction are commonly formed of a polymeric core encased by a cover. Typically, the core is formed from polybutadiene that is chemically crosslinked with zinc diacrylate and/or other similar crosslinking agents. These balls are generally easy to manufacture, but are regarded as having limited playing characteristics. Solid golf balls also include multi-layer golf balls that are comprised of a solid core of one or more layers and/or a cover of one or more layers. These balls are regarded as having an extended range of playing characteristics.
Wound golf balls are generally preferred by many players due to their high spin and soft "feel" characteristics. Wound golf balls typically include a solid, hollow, or fluid-filled center, surrounded by a tensioned elastomeric material and a cover. Wound balls generally are more difficult and expensive to manufacture than solid two-piece balls.
A variety of golf balls have been designed by manufacturers to provide a wide range of playing characteristics, such as compression, velocity, "feel," and spin. These characteristics can be optimized for various playing abilities. One of the most common components that manufacturers have addresses for optimizing and/or altering the playing characteristics of golf balls, is the polymer components present in modern golf ball construction, in particular, golf ball centers and/or core. In addition to ionomers, one of the most common polymers employed is polybutadiene and, more specifically, polybutadiene having a high cis-isomer concentration.
The use of a polybutadiene having a high cis-concentration results in a very resilient and rigid golf ball, especially when coupled with a hard cover material. These highly resilient golf balls have a relatively hard "feel" when struck by a club. Soft "feel" golf balls constructed with a high cis-polybutadiene have low resilience. In an effort to provide improved golf balls, various other polybutadiene formulations have been prepared, as discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,239,228 discloses a solid golf ball having a core molded of polybutadiene rubber with a high sulfur content, and a cover. The polybutadiene content of the core is stereo-controlled to the configuration 25-100 percent cis- and 0-65 percent trans-1,4-polybutadiene, with any remainder having a vinyl configuration of polybutadiene. A preferred embodiment of the polybutadiene golf ball core contains 35 percent cis-, 52 percent trans-, and 13 percent vinyl-polybutadiene. The level of trans- and vinyl-content are disclosed to be unimportant to the overall playing characteristics of the polymer blend.
British Patent No. 1,168,609 discloses a molding composition from which improved golf ball cores can be molded and which contains cis-polybutadiene as a basic polymer component. The core polymer component typically includes at least 60 percent cis-polybutadiene, with the remainder being either the trans- or vinyl-forms of polybutadiene. In a preferred embodiment, the core polybutadiene component contains 90 percent cis-configuration, with the remaining 10 percent being either the trans- or vinyl-configurations of 1,4-polybutadiene.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,572,721 and 3,572,722 disclose a solid, one- or two-piece golf ball, with the two-piece ball having a core and a cover. The cover material can include any one of a number of materials, or blends thereof, known to those of ordinary skill in the art, including trans-polybutadiene which may be present in an amount from at least 90 percent, with the remainder being the cis- and/or vinyl configuration.
British Patent No. 1,209,032 discloses a two- or three-piece golf ball having a core and a cover. The core or cover material can be any material capable of being crosslinked. In particular, the material can be a polymer or a copolymer of butadiene or isoprene. Preferably, the polymer component is polybutadiene having a cis content of greater than 50 percent by weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,014 discloses a one-piece, solid golf ball. The golf ball material is typically polybutadiene, with a stereo-configuration selected to be at least 60 percent cis-polybutadiene, with the remaining 40 percent being the trans-polybutadiene and/or 1,2-polybutadiene (vinyl) isomers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,497 discloses a golf ball and material thereof formed by curing a diene polymer including polybutadiene and a metal salt of an alpha, beta ethylenically unsaturated acid using at least two free radical initiators.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,376 discloses a process for producing butadiene polymers for use in various applications, including golf ball cover materials. One embodiment of the invention employs a blended polymeric resin material, including at least 30 percent by weight of a trans-polybutadiene polymer as a golf ball cover on a two-piece ball. In a preferred embodiment, the golf ball cover material contains a blend including 30 to 90 percent by weight of a trans-polybutadiene polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,329 discloses a solid golf ball made from a polybutadiene admixture of cis-1,4 polybutadiene and 1,2 polybutadiene, a metal salt of an unsaturated carboxylic acid, an inorganic filler, and a free radical initiator. The admixture has about 99.5 percent to about 95 percent by weight of cis-1,4 polybutadiene and about 0.5 percent to about 5 percent by weight of 1,2 polybutadiene.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,652 discloses a one-piece or multi-layered golf ball core with improved flying performance from a rubber composition comprising a base rubber, preferably 1,4-polybutadiene with a cis-content of at least 40 mole percent, an unsaturated carboxylic acid metal salt, an organic peroxide, and an organic sulfur compound and/or a metal salt thereof. The organic sulfur compound and/or a metal salt is typically present in an amount from about 0.05 to 2 parts per hundred by weight and the organic peroxide is typically present in an amount from about 0.5 to 3 parts per hundred by weight of the total polymer component.
European Patent No. 0 577 058 discloses a golf ball containing a core and a cover that is formed as two separate layers. The inner layer of the cover is molded over the core and is formed from ionomer resin. The outer layer of the cover is molded over the inner layer and is formed from a blend of natural or synthetic balata and a crosslinkable elastomer, such as polybutadiene. In one embodiment of the outer layer of the cover, the elastomer is 1,4-polybutadiene having a cis-structure of at least 40 percent, with the remaining 60 percent being the trans-isomer. A preferred embodiment contains a cis-structure of at least 90 percent and more preferably, a cis-structure of at least 95 percent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,580 discloses a wound golf ball having a liquid center contained in a center bag, a rubber thread layer formed on the liquid center, and a cover over the wound layer and liquid center. The cover material can include any one of a number of materials, or blends thereof, known to those of ordinary skill in the art, including trans-polybutadiene and/or 1,2-polybutadiene (vinyl), such that the cover has a JIS-C hardness of 70-85; preferred trans-percentages are not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,856 discloses a solid golf ball having a core and a cover wherein the core is produced by vulcanizing a base rubber composition containing a butadiene rubber having a cis-polybutadiene structure content of not less than 90 percent before vulcanization. The amount of trans-polybutadiene structure present after vulcanization is 10 to 30 percent, as amounts over 30 percent are alleged to detrimentally result in cores that are too soft with deteriorated resilience performance, and to cause a decrease in golf ball performance. The core includes a vulcanizing agent, a filler, an organic peroxide, and an organosulfur compound.
British Patent No. 2,321,021 discloses a solid golf ball having a core and a cover formed on the core and having a two-layered cover construction having an inner cover layer and an outer cover layer. The outer cover layer is comprised of a rubber composite that contains 0.05 to 5 parts by weight of an organic sulfide compound. The core rubber composition comprises a base rubber, preferably 1,4-polybutadiene having a cis-content of at least 40 percent by weight, a crosslinking agent, a co-crosslinking agent, an organic sulfide, and a filler. The crosslinking agent is typically an organic peroxide present in an amount from 0.3 to 5.0 parts by weight and the co-crosslinking agent is typically a metal salt of an unsaturated fatty acid present in an amount from 10 to 40 parts by weight. The organic sulfide compound is typically present from 0.05 to 5 parts by weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,944 discloses a solid golf ball having a core and a cover wherein the core has a JIS-C hardness of 50 to 80 and the cover has a Shore-D hardness of 50 to 60. The core material includes vulcanized rubber, such as cis-polybutadiene, with a crosslinker, an organic peroxide, an organosulfur compound and/or a metal-containing organosulfur compound, and a filler.
Additionally, conventional polymers that have a high percentage of the trans-polybutadiene conformation, such as DIENE 35NF, from Firestone Corp., that has 40 percent cis-isomer and 50 percent trans-polybutadiene isomer, and mixtures of high-cis- and high-trans-polybutadiene isomers, such as CARIFLEX BR1220, from Shell Corporation, and FUREN 88, from Asahi Chemical Co., respectively, typically do not yield high resilience values and therefore are not desirable.
In addition to changing center or core ingredients to affect golf ball performance characteristics, a number of patents have issued that are directed towards modifying the properties of layers and covers used in forming a variety of golf balls, such as wound balls, conventional solid balls, multi-layer balls having dual cover layers, dual core layers, and/or balls having a mantle layer disposed between the cover and the core. The most common polymers used by manufacturers in golf ball layers and covers have been ionomers, such as SURLYN, commercially available from E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., of Wilmington, Del. Recently, however, manufacturers have investigated the used of alternative polymers, such as polyurethane. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,324 is directed to a method of making a golf ball having a polyurethane cover.
Polyurethanes have been recognized as useful materials for golf ball covers since about 1960. Polyurethane is the product of a reaction between a polyurethane prepolymer and a curing agent. The polyurethane prepolymer is a product formed by a reaction between a polyol and a diisocyanate. The curing agents used previously are typically diamines or glycols. A catalyst is often employed to promote the reaction between the curing agent and the polyurethane prepolymer.
Since 1960, various companies have investigated the usefulness of polyurethane as a golf ball cover material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,061 teaches a golf ball made from a polyurethane prepolymer of polyether and a curing agent, such as a trifunctional polyol, a tetrafunctional polyol, or a diamine. U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,673 discloses the use of two categories of polyurethane available on the market, i.e., thermoset and thermoplastic polyurethanes, for forming golf ball covers and, in particular, thermoset polyurethane covered golf balls made from a composition of polyurethane prepolymer and a slow-reacting amine curing agent, and/or a difunctional glycol. The first commercially successful polyurethane covered golf ball was the Titleist® Professional ball, first released in 1993.
Unlike SURLYN® or ionomer-covered golf balls, polyurethane golf ball covers can be formulated to possess the soft "feel" of balata covered golf balls. However, golf ball covers made from polyurethane have not, to date, fully matched SURLYN®-covered golf balls with respect to resilience or the rebound that is a function of the initial velocity of a golf ball after impact with a golf club.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,568 discloses a three-component system employing either one or two polyurethane prepolymers and one or two polyols or fast-reacting diamine curing agents. The reactants chosen for the system must have different rates of reactions within two or more competing reactions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,061 discloses a golf ball made from a polyurethane prepolymer of polyether and a curing agent, such as a trifunctional polyol, a tetrafunctional polyol, or a fast-reacting diamine curing agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,673 discloses a golf ball cover made from a composition of a polyurethane prepolymer and a slow-reacting polyamine curing agent and/or a difunctional glycol. Resultant golf balls are found to have improved shear resistance and cut resistance compared to covers made from balata or SURLYN®.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,974 discloses methods of using cationic ionomers in golf ball cover compositions. Additionally, the patent relates to golf balls having covers and cores incorporating urethane ionomers. Improved resiliency and initial velocity are achieved by the addition of an alkylating agent such as t-butyl-chloride which induces ionic interactions in the polyurethane to produce cationic type ionomers.
International Patent Application WO 98/37929 discloses a composition for golf ball covers that comprises a blend of a diisocyanate/polyol prepolymer and a curing agent comprising a blend of a slow-reacting diamine and a fast-reacting diamine. Improved "feel", playability, and durability characteristics are exhibited.
Conventional polyurethane elastomers are known to have lower resiliency than SURLYN® and other ionomer resins. It has now been discovered that the use of a polyurethane composition, according to the present invention, in forming golf ball cores, intermediate and mantle layers, and/or covers, can raise the velocity of a golf ball prepared with the composition: (1) closer to the velocities observed with SURLYN®-covered golf balls; and (2) higher than the velocities exhibited using alternative urethane compositions. Additionally, it is desired to combine polyurethane cover compositions with polybutadiene core materials, especially those having resilience indices greater than about 40. Cores formed of materials such as these have been found to provide exceptional resiliency characteristics without a loss in performance characteristics (i.e., decreased compression).
It is thus desired to prepare golf balls having lower compression, i.e., a softer ball, while having the same or higher resilience than conventional balls. It is alternatively desired to obtain the same or lower compression while achieving greater resilience.

Thin-layer-covered golf ball with improved velocity


A method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming a plurality of substantially equal-spaced first spacers having a first pitch over a substrate and forming first metal interconnecting wires utilizing the first spacers. The method also includes forming a plurality of substantially equal-spaced second spacers in such a way to abut, respectively, the plurality of first metal interconnecting wires and define a plurality of substantially equal-spaced trenches. A plurality of second metal interconnecting wires are disposed, respectively, within the trenches and the second spacers are removed, thereby defining a plurality of substantially equal-spaced channels.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design, and nanometer technology have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs, but also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and casted challenges from both fabrication and design issues.
Generally, an integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing comprises largely a "data preparation stage" where an IC to be fabricated is designed to produce an IC layout, and a "fabrication stage," where the ICs are fabricated according to the designed layout in a fab house. The fabrication stage includes largely, a photomask generation, a wafer preparation, and a wafer processing, wafer test, die preparation, and packaging that ends up with a finished chip that comprises up to eleven metal levels in modern days. The wafer processing itself, which produces the desired semiconductor electronic elements on the wafer, comprises over 300 sequenced line of processes that are largely divided into a front-end of line processing such as deposition, removal, patterning, and ion doping, and a back-end of line processing such as creating metal interconnecting wires that are isolated by dielectric layers,
Once the various semiconductor devices have been created, they must be interconnected to form the desired electrical circuits. Traditionally, aluminum was the metal used for the interconnecting wire wherein films of aluminum are deposited, patterned, and then etched, leaving isolated wires. Dielectric material is then deposited over the exposed wires for insulation. The traditional insulating material was a form of silicon dioxides (SiO2) or a silicate glass. The various metal layers in a chip are interconnected by etching holes, called vias formed in the insulating material and filled with tungsten deposited therein by a CVD technique.
Recently, however, as the number of interconnect levels for logic substantially increased due to the large number of transistors interconnected in a modern microprocessor, the timing delay in the wiring, represented by the time constant RC (R: resistance, C: capacitance), has become significant. The need to reduce RC prompted a change both in wiring material and in dielectric material. For wiring material, copper came to replace aluminum in higher performance processors for its lower value of R, so a greater conductivity, than aluminum. For dielectric material, the SiO2 came to be replaced, for producing a greater C, by a new dielectric material having a low dielectric constant ("k"), such as SiOC (silicon oxycarbide) that has k around 2.7 as compared to 3.9 for SiO2. These days, even materials with ultra-low k of 2.2, are being offered to chipmakers.
The interconnecting wires are formed after the creation of semiconductor devices, such as MOSFETs or DRAMs, by a series of usual processes such as patterning, deposition, and etching. But in the current fabrication methods practiced in the art, which use a couple of processes of etching, there is observed a problem that the low k material becomes damaged by the etching process. In many cases, the etching process changes the k to a higher value, thereby destroying the benefit of improved RC value and impairing the reliability of the performance expected from the use of the low k dielectrics.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a method for forming interconnecting wires in fabricating semiconductor device, using copper and low k dielectric materials, where the low k dielectric material is protected from damage due to etching processes to ensure improved interconnect time delay and reliability of performance.

Interconnection wires of semiconductor devices

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


An RC filter that is tunable in terms of its cut-off frequency comprising a drop placed on one or more dielectric layers, a conducting layer underneath the dielectric layer, a nonconducting layer underneath the conducting layer, and an external resistor attached to the drop via an electrode, wherein the cut-off frequency of the filter is tuned by changing the shape or composition of the drop and methods of using the filter as a detector.

The field of the invention is RC filters. More specifically the invention is related to an RC filter employing a fluid drop to form one of the capacitors. The gain vs. frequency curve of the RC filter is changeable by changing the fluid drop shape or composition. The RC filter can be used as a tunable RC filter, where the cut-off frequency can be tuned or as an analytical detector.
A resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit is an electronic circuit composed of resistors and capacitors. RC circuits can be used as RC filters when they are used to filter a signal by attenuating unwanted frequency elements of a specific signal. The gain vs. frequency curve of a RC filter typically is a function of the R (resistor) and C (capacitor) values.
A solid-fluid interface can act as a capacitor in the presence of an external electric field. If a fluid drop is placed on a dielectric surface such as Teflon, then that system can be modeled as a resistor-capacitor network and thus act as an RC filter. In such a system, the dielectric layer and the solid-fluid interface act as serially connected capacitors plus the fluid drop acts as a resistor connected in parallel to the latter capacitor. Adding an extra traditional resistor to this system results in a fluid drop based RC filter.
Electrowetting is the reduction of contact angle (making a surface more wettable by a liquid) by an applied voltage. Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) is when a thin dielectric layer is inserted between the electrode and the liquid to emulate the electric double layer in conventional electrowetting. The ideal dielectric blocks electron transfer, while sustaining the high electric field at the interface that results in charge redistribution when a potential is applied. When a hydrophobic dielectric is used, the large initial contact angle provides room for a large contact angle change upon electrowetting. Furthermore, by employing a dielectric layer between the liquid and electrode, virtually any kind of liquid can be used, regardless of the polarization of the interface.
Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) is now being accepted as one of the major ways for manipulating droplets in micro total analysis systems (μTAS) or lab-on-a-chip devices, where surface tension is one of the dominant forces. The advantages of a lab-on-a-chip device with electrowetting include negligible Joule heating, no moving micromechanical parts, and accurate and quick manipulation of droplets by digitally addressing of electrodes.
It would be useful to have an RC filter for which the cut-off frequency can be shifted within a tuning range and that can be tuned to a certain value according to the needs to achieve a particular purpose.
It would be useful to have a fluid drop based RC filter that can be used as a detector to detect an analyte in the fluid drop.

Fluid based RC filter for tuning cut-off frequency and for analytical detection

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


A casing valve includes an outer housing with a sliding sleeve. First and second seals define a sealed annulus within the housing. A latch is disposed in the sealed annulus for latching the sliding sleeve in its first and second positions. The housing has a plurality of housing ports defined therein, and the sliding sleeve has a plurality of sleeve ports defined therein, all of which are initially blocked by disintegratable plugs. A third seal disposed between the sleeve and housing isolates the housing ports from the sleeve ports when the sleeve is in its first position relative to the housing. When the sleeve is moved to its second position relative to the housing it is aligned so that the sleeve ports are in registry with the housing ports. This alignment is achieved by a lug and groove which are also disposed in the sealed annulus of the casing valve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to casing valves for use in wells, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a casing valve adapted for use in substantially non-vertical deviated portions of wells.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It is known that sliding sleeve type casing valves can be placed in the casing of a well to provide selective communication between the casing bore and subsurface formations adjacent the casing valve. One such casing valve is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,562 to Baker, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The Baker '562 patent also discloses a positioning tool for actuating the sliding sleeve of the casing valve.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 231,737 to Brandell, and also assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses the use of sliding sleeve casing valves in a deviated portion of a well. One embodiment of the Brandell device utilizes an aluminum plug in the housing of the casing valve which can be removed by acid washing.


This invention provides a method for detecting physical implementation hot-spots in a pre-placement integrated circuit design. The method first identifies physical issues at an object level. Physical issues include timing, routing congestion, clocking, scan, power, and thermal. The method then analyzes these physical issues over a collection of connected logic cell and large cell instances and determines a physical implementation hot-spot severity based on the number and severity of physical issues as well as the number of objects in the related collection.

The physical implementation of IC designs developed using Hardware Description Languages (HDL), such as Verilog and VHDL, is a tedious, effort and time-intensive process. The main IC design development steps are typically high-level architecture definition, RTL code development, functional verification, synthesis and timing optimization, floor planning, cell placement and timing optimization, routing and final verification. If a design is unable to meet design timing or successfully complete routing in the planned floor plan or block area, then it is considered a physical implementation failure. Physical implementation failures are found late in the development cycle. In advanced technology processes such as 40 nm and below, the larger design sizes and smaller geometries exacerbate the risk of physical implementation failure. This creates a significant time and development cost risk for a design team.
The design team attempts to resolve physical implementation issues with a combination of methods: (i) decrease the design utilization, i.e. implement the block with larger silicon area; (ii) change the floor plan to allocate more area for the affected block, often causing a sub-optimal floor plan and degradation in design performance; and (iii) change the design itself by changing the design's HDL description. Each of the methods creates a significant loss in terms of increased time to design implementation completion, time to market for the finished product, larger silicon area, reduced performance and clock frequency, risk of not fitting into chosen chip package, and higher development cost.
Given the high cost of resolving physical implementation issues, a method to predict such issues at the pre-floorplan stage of design development is very valuable to design development teams. By predicting such issues early in the development cycle, the development team can take corrective steps before going to physical implementation, and hence significantly reduce risk to timely completion and overall cost of development.
Existing electronic design automation (EDA) tools try to detect physical implementation issues by applying checking-rules to each of the objects in the design. The checking rules look for high fan-in, high fan-out, large multiplexors and other properties. EDA systems attempt to identify timing critical paths.
Existing EDA tools do not consider the interactions of the detected physical implementation issues. A critical timing path issue might normally indicate placing and routing instances close together. A routing congestion issue might normally indicate spreading out the layout. If both issues are present in close proximity the risk of a physical implementation failure is greatly increased.

Efficient method to analyze RTL structures that cause physical implementation issues based on rule checking and overlap analysis


A parallel computing system producing, storing, and processing voxel data elements in parallel within a three-dimensional memory storage array, and producing and buffering pixel data elements in parallel for use in volume visualization of the stored voxel data elements. The parallel computing system includes a system bus for transferring parameters and local programs. A plurality of local computing units are connected to the system bus. Each local computing unit has a local program storage memory for storing one or more local programs, and RISC processor for executing the local programs. A local memory storage module is connected to each local computing unit. Each local memory storage module has a set of memory storage elements, each of which is capable of storing one or more voxel data elements. A plurality of the memory storage elements in the local memory storage modules are indexed so as to represent the three-dimensional memory storage array in 3-D space characterized by three coordinate directions. A local bus is connected to each local computing unit and one local memory storage module, for transferring voxel data elements therebetween. A control computing unit is connected to the plurality of local computing units by way of the system bus, for coordinating (i.e., synchronizing) parallel execution of the local programs by the plurality of local computing units. A voxel data element transfer means mechanism transfers voxel data elements among the local computing units. A pixel data element buffer memory is connected to the buses, and is controlled by the control computing unit. These pixel data elements are transferrable over the system bus to a user interface/display computing unit, for use in visualization of voxel data elements stored in the three-dimensional memory storage array.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an advanced method and apparatus for parallel computing which is versatile and suitable for use in computationally demanding applications, including real-time visualization of volumetric data.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art In the contemporary period, most digital computers are similar in that they have (i) a central processing unit for performing computational tasks such as addition, multiplication, loading registers and comparisons, and also (ii) a memory storage medium for storing data. In order to solve a particular problem by computing, human programmers first reduce the problem to a series of computational tasks, and then divide each computational task into a sequence of steps or instructions to provide a program. The central processing unit then executes the sequence of instructions one step at a time upon a data set in order to compute a solution to the formulated problem. For each computation to be performed, the appropriate data set must be retrieved from the memory and brought to the central processing unit where there it is operated upon in accordance with the program before being returned to memory. This type of computing machine design is called sequential or serial because the processing operations are performed one at a time, in a sequence or series.
One major drawback of serial computing machines is that while the central processor is kept active, most of the memory is idle during processing operations. Another major drawback is that serial computing machines are inherently slow, since during each phase of a computation, many of the components of the processor are idle.
Hitherto, the development of interleaved memory, pipelining, vector processing and very long word (VLIW) machinery has helped to increase the speed and efficiency of single processor serial computers. However, there are numerous applications in which even very fast serial computers are simply inadequate. For example, presently there are a large number of problems requiring the performance of hundreds of millions of computations per second. Such problems include, for example, simulation of atomic or particle interaction in the fields of computational physics and chemistry; simulation of gravitational interplay among celestial objects in the field of computational cosmology; simulation of biological cell processes in the field of computational biology; climate modeling and forecasting in the field of computational meteorology; air-traffic control; flight simulation; and knowledge-base searching in artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Commercially available serial computing machines have been simply too slow for such computationally demanding applications.
One solution to the problem posed by serial computing machines has been to use a parallel processing design in which many small processors are linked together to work simultaneously so that both memory capacity and processing capacity can be utilized with high efficiency. To date, a number of parallel computing machines have been constructed. In general, the character and performance of such computing machines are determined by three factors: (i) the nature, size and number of the processing elements; (ii) the nature, size and number of the memory nodes; and (iii) the strategy of interconnecting the processors and the memories.
One type of parallel computing machine in commercial use is known as a Single-Instruction-Stream-Multiple-Data-Stream (SIMD) machine. In general, a SIMD computing machine has a single control unit that broadcasts one instruction at a time to all of the processors which execute the instructions on multiple data sets simultaneously. On the basis of the performance factors set forth above, commercially available SIMD computing machines can be grouped into two distinct classes.
The first class of SIMD computing machine includes numeric supercomputers and other parallel computing machines that operate on vectors by performing the same operation on each vector element. In general, each processor in this class of SIMD computing machinery is a vector processor consisting of an array of arithmetic logic units (ALU's) particularly adapted for processing vector formatted data. Each vector processor is provided access to a common memory, and there is no interprocessor connections or other provision for the parallel vector processors to share information among themselves. A typical program run on this class of SIMD computing machine includes many statements of the form: for i=1 to n, do a[i]=b[i]+c[i] where a, b and c are vectors. In essence, this class of SIMD machine receives two n-element vectors b[i] and c[i] as input, and operates on corresponding elements in parallel using the vector ALU's to provide an n-element vector a[i] as output. The Cray-1 Supercomputer from the Cray Computer Corporation, is representative of this first class of SIMD computing machine.
The second class of SIMD computing machine includes parallel-type computing machines which facilitate coordinated communication among the parallel processors. In general, each processor in this second class of SIMD computing machines is a simple ALU which is provided access to a local memory which it controls. Each ALU can communicate with other ALU's through a communication network having either a fixed or programmable topology. In the Connection Machine computer from the Thinking Machines Corporation, 65,536 1-bit ALU's are configured as parallel processors and an interprocessor communication network having the topology of a n-cube or hypercube is provided for the transfer of data among these parallel processors. As in other SIMD computing machines, a single control unit broadcasts instructions to the 65,536 independent ALU processors. Although the ALU processors are individually small and slow, the total computation and input/output throughput of the Connection Machine computer is quite substantial because of the assembled power of its processing units and interprocessor communication system. Notably, as the Connection Machine computer has no program storage of its own, the instructions of the program must be downloaded while the program is running. Consequently, a high bandwidth is required between the host system and the Connection Machine computer, resulting in relatively long cycle times.
While the Connection Machine and Cray-1 parallel computer systems each perform well in a number of advanced parallel computing applications, they both are poorly suited for volume visualization applications. Consequently, a variety of special purpose computing machines exploiting parallelism have been built in order to perform volume visualization tasks quickly. A number of prior art 3-D graphics-display and voxel-based computer graphic systems are described in detail in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,856 which is incorporated herein by reference.
While many existing voxel-based systems employ parallel data transfer and processing mechanisms dedicated specifically to volume projection and rendering tasks, such capabilities are neither available for scan-conversion of geometrically represented objects nor processing of voxel-based objects without transferring data out of the 3-D memory storage device. Moreover, modification of a 3-D voxel-based object in prior art systems requires discarding the voxel-based object, creating a new geometrically represented object with desired modifications, and then scan-converting (i.e. voxelizing) the modified geometric object. This process results in great computational time and expense. Additionally, while these prior art voxel-based systems permit volume visualization of 3-D objects, only a limited number of directions are provided along which to visualize volumetrically represented data, without irreversibly modifying original voxel data.
Thus, there is a great need in the parallel computing art to provide a versatile method and apparatus for parallel computing which permits high levels of computational performance in numeric, symbolic and volume visualization applications in diverse fields of science, art and commerce.

Parallel computing system for volumetric modeling, data processing and visualization


An optical information reproducing device, takes advantage of holography and can precisely detect a well-known pattern disposed at a prescribed location within a page and is used for correcting position deviation, rotation deviation, and magnification deviation. The optical fiber reproducing device includes a detection unit that detects the position information of a marker as a well-known pattern from a page as a 2-dimensional reproduction signal from a hologram, a detection error position estimating unit that estimates presence/absence of detection error in the position information of the marker and estimates the position where the detection error occurs if there is detection error, a position correcting unit that corrects the marker position information of the detection error position specified by the detection error position estimating unit, and a signal detection unit that detects each signal from within the page based on the corrected marker position information.

At the present time, merchandising of an optical disc having a recording density of approximately 100 GB is possible for public welfare as well owing to Blu-ray Disc™ standard using a blue-violet semiconductor laser. Hereafter, implementation of a large capacity exceeding 500 GB is desired in the optical disc as well. For implementing such an ultrahigh density in the optical disc, however, a high-density technique according to a new system different from the conventional high-density technique using a shorter wavelength and a higher NA of the object lens is necessary.
In the midst of studies concerning a storage technique of next generation, the hologram recording technique of recording digital information by utilizing the holography attracts attention. As for the hologram recording technique, there is, for example, JP-A-2004-272268 (Patent Literature 1). JP-A-2004-272268 describes the so-called angular multiplexing recording system, in which different page data is displayed on a spatial light modulator while an incidence angle of a reference beam onto optical information recording media is changed and multiplexing recording is conducted. In addition, JP-A-2004-272268 describes a technique of shortening the spacing between adjacent holograms by focusing a signal beam with a lens and disposing an aperture (spatial filter) in its beam waist.
Furthermore, as for the hologram recording technique, there is, for example, WO2004-102542 (Patent Literature 2). In an example using a shift multiplexing system described in WO2004102542, a beam from inner pixels is used as a signal beam and a beam from outer strip shaped pixels is used as a reference beam in one spatial light modulator. Both beams are focused onto optical information recording media by using the same lens. The signal beam and the reference beam are caused to interfere with each other in the vicinity of a focal point plane of the lens, and holograms are recorded.
As for a marker retrieval technique at the time of hologram reproducing, there is, for example, JP-A-2008-139125 (Patent Literature 3). In JP-A-2008-139125, there is description "A hologram data area identification device 1 identifies a hologram data area, which is an area occupied by a hologram, from, a hologram image which is input from a photodetector. The hologram data area identification device 1 includes a frame buffer memory 3, an edge detection means 5, template comparison means 7, a template image storage means 9, and a centroid detection means 11."


A real time additive processing system for crude oil or refined fuel products is coupled to a fuel transport line that transfers fuel from one storage tank to another storage tank. The fuel additive processing system includes a fuel additive storage tank coupled to a liquid conduit having a liquid pump with a speed/stroke controller that regulates the liquid pump. The liquid conduit is coupled to the fuel transport line at a fuel additive injection nozzle. The fuel additive processing system also includes a flow rate transmitter and a chemical or physical property analyzer coupled to the fuel transport line downstream of the additive injection nozzle. The flow rate transmitter transmits the flow rate of the fuel passing through the fuel transport line. The fuel additive processing system includes a flow controller that communicates with the liquid pump speed/stroke controller, flow rate transmitter and chemical or physical property analyzer.

This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of prior art.
Fuels and other oil products or refined products oftentimes include harmful chemicals or a physical attribute that should be controlled. Therefore, these products are treated with chemical additives to change the chemical or physical characteristics of the product. For example, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) naturally occurs in crude oil. H2S also has detrimental effects on production equipment, as it is highly corrosive and can degrade process and storage infrastructure, leading to costly repairs. There are many safety hazards associated with H2S. Therefore, it is important to effectively control the hydrogen sulfide within any volume of crude oil.
To control the H2S within large quantities of oil, an additive chemical or chemical additive may be added to the crude oil to scavenge the H2S and render it harmless. This is typically done subsequent to the transfer of oil from one storage area to another storage area, such as from storage tank to vessel, vessel to storage tank, or storage tank to storage tank, as the transfer creates a volumetric mixing or agitation of the crude oil, which helps in the distribution of the additive chemical throughout the volume of the crude oil. The chemical additive, such as monoethanoloamine (MEA) and monomethylamine (MMA) triazine is simply mixed with the large quantities of crude oil after the crude oil has been transfer from one oil receiving storage area to another. This is a batch type treatment of the crude oil volume. However, because of the dangers related to the H2S, the amount of chemical additive added to the volume of crude oil is vastly greater than necessary to scavenge the H2S from the crude oil. This ensures that all the H2S is processed or scavenged from the crude oil. Typically, the overage amount of chemical additive is approximately 40%, i.e., 40% more scavenging chemical additive is added to the oil to ensures that all the H2S is processed. This vast overage of a chemical additive is inefficient and creates an unnecessarily high expense in processing the oil.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method of processing a refined products, fuels, or oil in a more efficient manner. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.

Real time additive processing system for crude oil, fuels, or refined products and method


A generic revenue management data model is provided for expressing revenue management problems. The generic revenue management data model includes a first data structure containing a representation of a set of network demands, a second data structure containing a representation of a set of network resources, a third data structure containing a representation of a set of resource bundles and a fourth data structure containing a representation of a set of resource bundle to demand links. The generic revenue management data model can also include a fifth data structure containing a representation of a set of resource demands.

Revenue management is an operations research technique that focuses on controlling access to inventory in order to maximize profit through, for example, contracting the supply or manipulating the price. Companies can employ revenue management to help select those demands for services that are profitable, while eschewing those that are costly. Revenue management can help a company determine which demands a company should accept now and which demands it should accept in the future.
Revenue management systems use various algorithms to facilitate the development of demand selection rules for a company. In the airline industry, for example, the Expected Marginal Seat Revenue ("EMSR") is a commonly employed algorithm used to help airlines determine how many seats can be sold in a particular fare class. In this context, a fare class does not necessarily represent the difference between the first-class and coach compartments, but can represent the difference between a last minute business traveler and an advance purchase leisure traveler in the same compartment. By using EMSR, airlines can better determine when and at what price tickets should be sold. Unfortunately, EMSR only allows for optimization at the local level and is not applicable to optimization at the network level.
Each algorithm or optimization scheme employed, whether it is EMSR or another algorithm, and whether it is employed in the airline industry or in an other industry, relies on a data model. Currently, the data models employed by revenue management are specific to the algorithm or industry to which they are used. For instance, the data model for EMSR would only include data on flights, compartments and fare classes. Thus, the revenue management data model currently employed by EMSR is specific to the airline industry and the EMSR algorithm.
Because current revenue management data models are algorithm or industry specific, they lack flexibility. Each different optimization scheme requires a unique revenue management data model, and new optimization schemes can not be easily integrated with existing revenue management data models. As a further limitation, algorithm specific revenue management data models do not easily facilitate the sequencing of algorithms.

Generic revenue management data model for revenue management


The invention is a plasma torch for insertion through an opening in the wall of a waste processing chamber. The plasma torch of the invention is characterized by comprising a coaxial sleeve having an upper end and a lower end. The sleeve surrounds at least the portion of the outer surface of the torch that is located in the opening, thereby forming an insulating chamber between the outer surface if the torch and the inner surface of the sleeve. At least a portion of the portion of the coaxial sleeve that surrounds at least the portion of the outer surface of the torch that is located in the opening in the wall of the processing chamber is porous or permeable to a heat exchanging fluid. The torch comprises an inlet for introducing the heat exchanging fluid into the insulating chamber. When the plasma torch is inserted through the opening, a gap exists between the processing chamber wall and the coaxial sleeve. Thus the coaxial sleeve and the insulating chamber shield the outer surface of the plasma torch from a significant amount of the heat that radiates from the processing chamber wall and from inside the processing chamber and the heat exchanging fluid that flows through the inlet exits the insulating chamber into the processing chamber.

The processing of waste including municipal waste, medical waste, toxic and radioactive waste by means of plasma torch based waste processing plants is well known.
Due to the high temperatures generated in processing plants by plasma torches, various cooling means are necessary to prevent localized overheating which can have detrimental effects on the components of the plant. One area that requires cooling is the opening in the plant chamber wall that is located typically at the lower part thereof to facilitate installation and removal of the plasma torch. A gap separates the outer surface of the plasma torch that is inserted through the opening, from the surrounding chamber wall. In order to prevent heat damage to the outside metal shell of the chamber wall, caused by heat radiating through the gap from inside the chamber, a water cooled shield is typically provided on the outside surface of the chamber in proximity to the plasma torch that is installed in the opening.
After several hours of running time of the processing plant, the inner surface of the lower part of the chamber may reach temperatures of up to 1800-2100 K. Despite the gap that separates the plasma torch from the surrounding chamber wall, the body of the plasma torch absorbs the heat that radiates from the chamber wall. This causes the temperature of the outer wall of the plasma torch to rise, which decreases the efficiency of the process. Additionally, this can result in shortening the life of the plasma torch. The plasma torch is usually cooled by a suitable liquid coolant such as water in order to prevent damage to the plasma torch. This coolant must be capable of removing heat build-up not only as a result of normal operation of the torch, but as a result of radiation from the surrounding chamber wall as well.
The size of the gap is one of the factors in determining the amount of heat losses from the processing chamber. Reducing the gap allows less heat to radiate out of the chamber, thereby reducing the heat losses from the chamber, as well as potential damage to the outside of the chamber. In addition to the width of the gap, heat losses are further dependent on the temperature difference between the inside of the chamber and the cooled outside of the chamber wall and the outer surface of the plasma torch.
Another problem related to the operation of a plasma torch is caused when the plasma forming gas that is used is air. Although air is the least expensive gas that may be used to produce the high temperature plasma jet, the use of air leads to a relatively short life for the plasma torch due to high temperature oxidation of the metal components of the torch.
When air is utilized as the plasma forming gas of the plasma torch, large quantities of hot oxidizing gas enter the chamber. However, air is composed of mostly nitrogen, which dilutes the product gasses and decreases its ability to yield a high calorific value. Therefore, steam is often used as an additional oxidizing gas. However, since it is problematic to use steam as the plasma forming gas in the plasma torch, the steam is generally fed at low temperatures to the chamber.
If the temperature of the oxidizing agent that is provided to assist in oxidizing organic material of the treated waste is low, it may lead to cooling the location near the inlet of the oxidizing agent, and to the appearance of abnormalities in the movement of the waste through the chamber. These abnormalities may further lead to larger problems in the lower part of the chamber such as congestion of the apparatus and increasing the viscosity of the molten material, as well as problems in the shaft, such as bridging, i.e. a blockage in the form of a bridge that occurs as a result of the creation of solid material in the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,662 discloses a plasma arc torch that is utilized to cut sheet metal such as thick plates of steel, thin plates of galvanized metal, etc. When the piercing begins, prior to the metal being cut through, the molten metal is splashed upward onto the torch. This is undesirable because it can destabilize the arc, causing it to gouge the nozzle, which can reduce the life of the nozzle, or even destroy it. Therefore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,662 provides a high velocity flow of an oxygen rich secondary gas mixture around the nozzle to form a cold layer of gas that is used as a shield to protect the nozzle and other torch components adjacent to the workpiece from splattered molten metal. Additionally, using an oxygen rich secondary gas mixture improves the piecing capabilities of the torch by allowing a cleaner and deeper penetration into the metal than torches utilizing other gas mixtures. The secondary gas is introduced at the upper end of the torch, travels through the torch body toward the nozzle, passes through a ring having an array of off-center slits, thereby introducing a swirling movement to the flow, and exits the torch in a swirling flow immediately adjacent to the plasma arc. However, since the plasma cutter is generally not situated in an enclosed, heat radiating environment, the detrimental effect caused by external heat radiating on the outer surface of the plasma torch is not present. Therefore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,662 does not relate to providing means for cooling the longitudinal outer surface of a plasma torch.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,188 discloses an arc transfer torch having a cathode rod and two coaxial annular bodies. An inactive gas is supplied in the annular space between the cathode rod and the first annular body, establishing an arc between the cathode rod and a piece of metal to be cut. An active gas is supplied in the annular space between the first and second annular bodies, establishing plasma composed of the active gas that is heated at a high temperature. According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,188, heat losses at the nozzle aperture of the second annular body decrease if the flow rate of the inactive gas is decreased below a certain critical value. U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,188 does not relate to any method of cooling the longitudinal outer surface of the plasma torch at all, and only relates to cooling the nozzle of the second annular body by cooling water that is supplied thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,848 discloses a plasma torch having cylindrical symmetry. The internal passage between the cathode and anode is shaped to include a restriction that accelerates the follow of the plasma gas introduced at the cathode end. According to the inventors the result of the restriction is to increase the arc length, while allowing a lower amperage to voltage ratio for a given power input. The part of the torch between the cathode assembly and anode is surrounded by a coaxial cylinder that forms a cooling chamber through which a cooling fluid, which enters the chamber via an inlet at the bottom (anode) end of the torch and exits through an outlet at the top (cathode), is circulated.
It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a plasma torch arrangement that overcomes the limitations of prior art arrangements.
It is another aim of the present invention to provide such an arrangement that introduces a preheated oxidizing medium to the processing chamber of a plasma waste processing plant
It is another aim of the present invention to provide such an arrangement that minimizes heat losses in a plasma waste processing plant.
Other purposes and advantages of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.

Plasma torch for use in a waste processing chamber

E.E.R. Enviromental Energy Resources (Israel) Ltd.


Embodiments of the present method allow only one serving mobile switching center to connect an incoming call from a communication terminal to a customized ring back tone server when a called mobile terminal moves from an area of a serving mobile switching center to an area of a bordering mobile switching center. Embodiments may have the steps of: passing, by the serving mobile switching center, an indicator that indicates whether customized ring back tone service is already provided for an incoming call to a mobile terminal to all bordering mobile switching centers when intersystem page operation is in effect; saving, upon receiving the indicator by each bordering mobile switching center, the information up for later processing in each bordering mobile switching center; checking, when a respective bordering mobile switching center receives the mobile terminating call, the indicator and checking active customized ring back tone service in a profile of the mobile terminal to determine if a customized ring back tone is to be provided to the communication terminal; and connecting, if the indicator indicates that the customized return ring back tone is not already connected to the communication terminal, to the communication terminal otherwise the respective bordering mobile switching center not connecting the customized ring back tone server again to the communication terminal even if the mobile terminal has customized ring back tone service active and a profile thereof. The system implements the method.

Ring back tones are individual audio files that take the place of the standard tones a caller hears while waiting for the phone to be answered. The possibility for users to increase the personalization of their communication experience makes ring back tones an attractive service.
The customized ring back tone is a very popular and attractive service to mobile users and wireless service providers. The mobile subscriber who purchases this service can choose whether or not a selected tone, melody, commercial message, or special sound, instead of the traditional audio ring tone, is provided to a particular caller from the time of the call setup to when the mobile terminal answers, or until "no page response" or "no answer" is detected by the system.
The choice of customized ring back tone service including selected tone, melody, commercial message, or specific sound is pre-selected on a calling party number basis through the Internet or calling a number that can reach the customized ring back tone system. For wireless service providers there are a number of approaches to provide customized ring back tone service to the caller for customized ring back tone mobile terminals based on their network configuration. In one such approach, a customized ring back tone server is connected to the caller where the call is terminated to a mobile switching center where the mobile terminal is currently located in a service area of the mobile switching center.
With this approach a call is terminated in a mobile switching center where the mobile subscriber record exists, the mobile switching center checking the called mobile terminal profile in its home location register/visitor location register record. If the called mobile terminal has customized ring back tone service active, then the serving mobile switching center connects the caller to the customized ring back tone server while it pages the called mobile terminal so that the caller hears the pre-selected customized ring back tone treatment instead of normal audible ringing tone. Hence, a decision regarding whether or not the mobile switching center connects the customized ring back tone server to the caller is based on the called mobile terminal profile in the home location register/visitor location register record, which indicates whether or not this mobile terminal has customized ring back tone service.
However, when an incoming call from a public switched telephone network to a mobile terminal arrives at a serving mobile switching center, and when the home location register determines that the call should be routed locally, the serving mobile switching center connects the caller to the customized ring back tone server while the serving mobile switching center pages the mobile terminal locally. The called mobile terminal may not respond to the local paging because it is moving into a bordering mobile service center serving area. The called mobile terminal may respond to the paging from a bordering mobile switching center, which returns a temporary local directory number to the serving mobile switching center in an Intersystem Page Return Result operation. The serving mobile switching center then delivers this call to the bordering mobile switching center via the allocated temporary local directory number while the caller is connected to the customized ring back tone server. When the bordering mobile switching center receives the call terminated to the local temporary local directory number, it connects the caller to the customized ring back tone server again based on the called mobile terminal profile. Therefore, when serving mobile switching center and the bordering mobile switching center both connect the caller to the customized ring back tone server, the caller may hear a non-coherent customer ring back tone treatment, and network resource use for customized ring back tone service is increased for that call.
Thus, it is a drawback of the prior art that there does not exist a method and apparatus that permits only one serving mobile switching center to connect an incoming call from a communication terminal to a customized ring back tone server when a called mobile terminal moves from an area of a serving mobile switching center to an area of a bordering mobile switching center.

Connect customized ring back tone service only at one MSC when intersystem page is involved


A tonometer is adapted to measure intraocular pressure by applying pressure onto of an eye being examined via its eyelid. The tonometer is provided with a pressure means that presses against the eyelid of a subject eye to thereby apply pressure to the eye. The load applied to the pressure means is detected by a Load sensor and used to calculate intraocular pressure of the eye. The tonometer with this arrangement is structurally simple and compact, operationally safe, and does not cause the patient to feel fear and discomfort.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tonometer for measuring intraocular pressure, and more particularly to a load-sensing type tonometer which measures intraocular pressure by applying pressure onto an eye being examined via its eyelid, and detecting the load being applied.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are contact type and non-contact type conventional intraocular pressure measurement systems. In a contact type system a measuring member is pressed directly against the eyeball, and the pressure required to produce a given degree of deformation is used to establish the intraocular pressure. In the non-contact type system a stream of air is blown onto the surface of the cornea and the corneal deformation thus produced is measured, usually by an optical technique.
Contact type systems today offer a high degree of reliability. However, requiring as they do that part of the system apparatus be brought into direct contact with the cornea, a problem with contact type systems is that unless the operator is skilled in its operation, there is a risk that the cornea may be damaged.
While with the non-contact type system there is less risk of damaging the cornea, blowing a stream of air onto the cornea causes the patient to feel fear and discomfort. Thus, while it is called a non-contract method, this only means that there is no direct mechanical contact with the cornea. However, inasmuch as the measurement procedure involves subjecting the cornea to the direct application of force, it is no different from the contact type described above.


A light-emitting device, including a substrate; a LED element formed over the substrate including a transparent or semi-transparent electrode, a reflective electrode, and one or more layers, at least one of which is light-emitting, formed between the transparent or semi-transparent electrode and reflective electrode, the transparent or semi-transparent electrode and reflective electrode defining a single, controllable light-emitting area, wherein the LED element emits light into a waveguide defined by the transparent or semi-transparent electrode, reflective electrode, and the one or more layers; and one or more first topographical features and one or more second topographical features different from the first topographical features formed over the substrate within the single, controllable light-emitting area, wherein the first and second topographical features disrupt the waveguiding of light within the single, controllable light-emitting area to increase the emission of light in at least one direction.

Planar, area-light emitting diode devices, both organic and inorganic are a promising technology for flat-panel displays and area illumination lamps. The technology relies upon thin-film layers of materials coated over an area upon a substrate. Such LED devices can include, for example, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials such as are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292, to Tang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,569, to VanSlyke et al., or quantum dots in a polycrystalline semiconductor matrix such as are described in US Publication 2007/0057263 by Kahen.
However, as is well known, much of the light output from the light-emissive layer in an LED is absorbed within the device. Because the light emission from thin-film LEDs tends to be Lambertian, light is emitted equally in all directions so that some of the light is emitted directly from the device, some is emitted into the device and is either reflected back out or is absorbed, and some of the light is emitted laterally, trapped, and ultimately absorbed by the various high-optical-index layers within the device. In general, up to 80% of the light can be lost in this manner.
A variety of techniques have been proposed to improve the out-coupling of light from thin-film light-emitting devices. For example, diffraction gratings have been proposed to control the attributes of light emission from thin polymer films by inducing Bragg scattering of light that is guided laterally through the emissive layers; see "Modification of polymer light emission by lateral microstructure" by Safonov et al., Synthetic Metals 116, 2001, pp. 145-148; and "Bragg scattering from periodically microstructured light emitting diodes" by Lupton et al., Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 77, No. 21, Nov. 20, 2000, pp. 3340-3342. Brightness-enhancement films having diffractive properties and surface and volume diffusers are described in WO 0237568 A1 by Chou et al. The use of micro-cavities and scattering techniques is also known; for example, see "Sharply directed emission in organic electroluminescent diodes with an optical-microcavity structure" by Tsutsui et al., Applied Physics Letters 65, No. 15, Oct. 10, 1994, pp. 1868-1870 and commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0186802 by Cok et al. However, these approaches are limited in the amount of trapped light extracted, tend to create an unacceptable angular dependency on luminance or color, or disturb the polarization of incident light rendering circular polarizers ineffective, thereby compromising the performance of thin-film LED displays.
Reflective structures surrounding a light-emitting area or pixel are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,893 to Bulovic et al. and describes the use of angled or slanted reflective walls at the edge of each pixel. Similarly, Forrest et al. describe pixels with slanted walls in U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,195. These approaches use reflectors located at the edges of the light-emitting areas. However, considerable light is still lost through absorption of the light as it travels laterally through the layers parallel to the substrate within a single pixel or light-emitting area.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,831,407 by Cok describes the use of a single type of topographical feature in a light-emitting device. However, the design described therein is also subject to light emission having a frequency and angular dependence that can be problematic for broadband emitters employed, for example, in devices employing a single, white-light emitting layer.

LED device structure to improve light output


A multi-purpose control system for a backup type welding gun and similar apparatuses including a positioning directional control valve for controlling the extension and retraction of the positioning or backup cylinder. A multi-pressure air sequence circuit and a time delay means operatively connected to the air sequence circuit for controlling the admission of a predetermined low pressure into the retract port of a backup type welding gun positioning cylinder to speed up the extension movement of the position piston carrying a weld cylinder, and then to control the admission of a predetermined higher retraction pressure higher retraction into said retract port, after a predetermined time delay interval. A welding pressure four-way directional control valve operatively connects a multi-pressure selector air circuit to the weld cylinder operating port to provide a plurality of pre-set pressures to the weld cylinder operating port for carrying out welding operations at selective pressures and in selected sequences.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to pneumatic control systems, and more particularly to a multi-pressure pneumatic control system for industrial air applications wherein a selective plurality of sequential and repetitive air pressures are required, as in the control of welding apparatuses and similar applications.
2. Background Information
A large number of the welding guns used in industry at the present time are of the backup type, and they are carried on robot arms for moving them between selected work stations, and for manipulating them at a plurality of work stations. A backup type welding gun employs a double air cylinder construction wherein a weld cylinder is formed in a position piston which is operatively mounted in a positioning cylinder, which may also be termed a backup cylinder. Operatively mounted in the weld cylinder is a weld cylinder rod and its coacting weld piston, which are extended and retracted by pressurized air, to and from an operative welding position at a work station. Due to the inherent structure of a backup type welding gun, and the fact that its internal movable parts are operated by pressurized air, there exists a problem of lost welding time because of the long positioning time involved in extending the combination position piston and weld cylinder to an operative position for a welding operation after the welding gun has been moved from one work station to another.


A method for securely processing data includes: acquiring, by a first processor, security data from a second processor of a security server; and performing, by a secure element (SE) application run on the first processor, security processing on a trusted application (TA) of a trusted execution environment (TEE) using the security data. The method is simple to implement, and when combined with device network capabilities, may provide a solution that conforms to the SE while overcoming difficulty in integration and high costs of the hardware SE, thereby reducing costs of an IoT device.

A secure element (SE) refers to a logic circuit provided in a form of a chip that has an encryption/decryption function in the chip, to prevent external malicious attacks and protect data security. The security of an Internet of Things (IoT) device is usually guaranteed by the SE. However, because of the cost sensitivity of the IoT devices, many devices do not have suitable conditions to configure a hardware SE. It is feasible to simulate an SE using software to provide a solution that balances costs and security.

Data security processing method and terminal thereof, and server