According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes: a substrate; a first interconnect; a second interconnect; a plurality of third interconnects; a fourth interconnect; a semiconductor member; a charge storage member; and a conductive member. One of the plurality of third interconnects is disposed on two second-direction sides of the conductive member. Portions of the one of the plurality of third interconnects disposed on the two second-direction sides of the conductive member are formed as one body.

In recent years, a stacked semiconductor memory device has been proposed in which memory cells are integrated three-dimensionally. In such a stacked semiconductor memory device, a stacked body in which electrode films and insulating films are stacked alternately on a semiconductor substrate is provided; and semiconductor pillars that pierce the stacked body are provided. Then, memory cells are formed at each crossing portion of the electrode films and the semiconductor pillars. To realize even higher integration in such a stacked semiconductor memory device, it may be considered to dispose, between the semiconductor substrate and the stacked body, a portion of a control circuit controlling the memory cells.

Semiconductor memory device including a substrate, various interconnections, semiconductor member, charge storage member and a conductive member


After a titanium nitride (TiN) thin film is formed on a silicon substrate, cobalt (Co) fine particles and nickel (Ni) fine particles are deposited in a mixed state on the titanium nitride (TiN) thin film, and CNTs are sequentially grown from the cobalt (Co) fine particles and the nickel fine particles by varying growth conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate structure using a so-called carbon nano tube (CNT), a carbon nano fiber (CNF) or the like, which is a linear structure made of a carbon element and a manufacturing method of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A CNT and a CNF being linear structures of carbon-based self-organizing materials, in which, especially the CNT attracts attention because of its many appealing physical properties.
The CNT possesses a low electrical resistance and a high mechanical strength, and because of such excellent properties, it is expected to be applied to a wide range of fields such as a semiconductor device, various sensors such as an acceleration sensor, an electronic device and a heat radiating device, represented by an LSI.
In order to apply the CNT to a via portion of a wiring structure of the LSI, for example, there is a need to obtain the electrical resistance that is substantially the same or more of a copper wiring used at present, and to achieve this, the CNT must have its density of 1012 number/cm2 or more. In order to control the CNT density to be a desired high density, there is a need to form a catalytic material in fine particle state, which is to be nuclei for growing the CNTs, and to control a density and a size thereof. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which after a catalytic metal layer is formed on an aluminum layer being a base thin film, fine particles including the catalytic metal are formed by heat treatment. Further, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which catalytic fine particles previously generated by a laser ablation method are classified into desired sizes in a gaseous phase, and thereafter, they are deposited on a substrate in high density.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-145743
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-277033
[Non-Patent Document 1] S. Sato et. al., CPL 382 (2003) 361
[Non-Patent Document 2] S. Sato et. al., in Proc. IEEE International Interconnect Technology Conference 2006, p. 230.
In order to generate the CNTs in high density, a densification of the catalytic fine particles is a must, and for that reason, it is required to control the sizes of the catalytic fine particles. In a method disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to control a shape of the catalytic fine particle, such as a diameter, and since the catalytic thin film is applied, the densification of the catalytic fine particles is difficult. Further, according to Non-Patent Document 1, it is possible to deposit the catalytic fine particles in high density by controlling the sizes thereof, but, an aggregation of each of the catalytic fine particles under a growth temperature is unavoidable, and even if the catalytic fine particles do not aggregate, when they contact with each other, an activity functioning as a catalyst of the CNT is lowered due to the contact, which prevents the densification of the CNTs.

Substrate structure and manufacturing method of the same


A feeding and aligning device for a folder-gluer of blanks of folded and pasted cardboard boxes has at least one thrust to stop the blanks in order to crosswise align the angles between the various fold-pasted parts thereof before introducing them into a delivery area where these blanks are pressed. A mechanism introduces the blanks into the delivery area. The thrust has a driving mechanism that defines a moving trajectory for the thrust above the blanks, forming an acute angle with the conveying direction of these blanks which are moved by a conveyor that moves it along the conveying direction.

The present invention relates to a feeding and aligning device for a folder-gluer of blanks of folded and pasted cardboard boxes. It concerns at least one thrust that serves for stopping the blanks in order to crosswise locate and set the angles between the various fold-pasted parts, before introducing them into a delivery area where these blanks are pressed. The invention further refers to a driving mechanism for introducing the blanks into the delivery area.
The folder-gluers for blanks of cardboard boxes include one or more thrusts located at the input of the delivery area, against which the fold-pasted blanks are stopped as they are conveyed by transfer belts of the machine. Since the thrusts extend nearly perpendicularly to the transfer belts, the orientation of the cardboard blanks reaching the thrusts is not only corrected, but the various superimposed thicknesses of the folded blank contact the thrusts, ensuring the crosswise setting of the various parts of the cardboard box between one another before the pasted parts are delivered to the area where they are finally assembled and fixed.
When the front edges of the various superimposed cardboard blanks leave the thrusts of the feeding and aligning device, their differing thicknesses do not allow the blanks to be released at the same time. As a result of this non-simultaneous release of the non-uniformly thick blanks, new distortions are generated right at the infeed time in the delivery area of the folder-gluer. To avoid this problem at the output of the delivery area, the blanks are definitively pasted to each other.

Feeding and aligning device for a folder-gluer


A selective filtration system for an operator cab attached to an agricultural vehicle. A HVAC unit supplies conditioned air to an operator space selectively from a CAT 4 filter and a CAT 2 filter. A pressurization blower and two way valve controls flow from the CAT 4 filter to the HVAC unit. Control of flow or isolation of the CAT 2 filter is provided by pressure variations within the system. The CAT 4 filter and CAT 2 filter are isolated from the ambient when they are not in use by valves. A calibrated orifice enables positive pressurization to the CAT 2 filter to hold the valves closed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to air treatment systems, and more specifically to air treatment systems for mobile applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
The need for effective filtration of an enclosed operator space is especially important in the agricultural field where the operator of a tractor or other vehicle is traversing an environment laden with many different types of particles, aerosols and vapors. In the past, the EU requirement for filtration of an operator space has been met with a category 2 filter (CAT 2 filter) that filters larger particles as fine as dust. Newer EU standards require a category 4 filter (CAT 4 filter) which not only filters out dust but in addition aerosols and vapors.
This requirement is especially important for operating conditions in which a field is treated with insecticide or herbicides. There are CAT 4 filters that are available for this purpose but they are expensive and have a sensitivity to harsh ambient conditions that limits their effective service life. As a result, the use of a CAT 4 filter is done on a selected basis so that it is used only when aerosols and vapors may be present in the ambient environment. The current systems for adding the CAT 4 filter are involved and introduce an added level of complexity that increases cost and the continuing maintenance requirement.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a simplified, yet reliable, air treatment system to provide selective filtration levels for an operator enclosure.

Air treatment system with pressure balance


A tool for chip removing machining includes a holder having a top side in which is formed a seat for a cutting insert to be clamped by a clamping mechanism. That clamping mechanism includes a clamping body movable inside a cavity formed in the holder. The body carries a finger which passes through a hole formed in a bottom surface of the seat and engages the cutting insert. A rotatable screw is provided in a bore of the holder and extends into the cavity. The screw is formed with a thick first portion, as well as a thinner second portion having a male thread which is in engagement with a female thread formed in a through-hole of the clamping body. The bore in the holder is cylindrical and has a smooth surface, and the thick portion of the screw has a cylindrical smooth envelope surface which is rotatably mounted in the bore. A free end of the screw is supported by an end wall of the holder. The finger is completely surround by the bottom surface of the seat.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7xc2xa7119 and/or 365 to Patent Application Serial No. 0101565-0 filed in Sweden on May 7, 2001, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to a tool intended for chip removing machining, including a holder having a seat formed in a first side for a cutting insert of the type that includes a hole for clamping the same. The clamping is performed by means of a clamping mechanism that comprises a clamping body provided with a finger, which is movable backwards and forwards inside a cavity in the interior of the holder and cooperates with a screw arranged in a bore formed in the holder. The bore ports in a second side of the holder, distanced from said first side, with the purpose of enabling access to the screw from a direction other than from the first side along which the seat is located. The screw is formed with a thick, first portion, as well as a thinner, second portion, having a male thread which is in engagement with a female thread in a through hole in the clamping body.
Tools of the kind in question are used primarily for the machining, in particular turning, of metallic work pieces.
A chip removing tool or cutting tool of the above-mentioned type is previously known from the Japanese patent application JP 2000-254 806. Generally characteristic of this known cutting tool is that the holder for the cutting insert has the shape of a long narrow, cross-section-wise quadrangular shaft in which the seat for the cutting insert is formed in a first side (top side) of the four sides that define the shaft. More precisely, the seat is placed in connection with an acutely angled corner at a front end of the shaft. In this case, a cavity for the clamping body is formed in a linear extension of a threaded bore for a screw for tightening the clamping body. In other words, the cavity and the threaded bore form a through hole, porting in two parallel sides, extending perpendicularly to the first side in which the seat is formed. In the embodiment example according to said Japanese patent application, the through hole extends at an acute angle (approx. 60xc2x0) to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The clamping body is cylindrical and has a central through hole with a female thread. The tightening screw is formed with two male threads, viz., a first male thread that is formed on a thick, first portion of the screw and is in engagement with a female thread in said bore in the shaft, and a second male thread that is formed on a second, thinner portion of the screw and is in engagement with said female thread inside the clamping body. At the end of the thick portion of the screw, accessible from the outside, a socket for a spanner is present. Clamping of the cutting insert in the seat is carried out by tightening the screw in the clamping body. Release of the cutting insert is achieved by the screw being screwed out from the clamping body. Thanks to the fact that one of the male threads (together with the appurtenant female thread) is left hand-threaded and the other male thread (together with the appurtenant female thread) is right hand-threaded, clamping and release, respectively, of the cutting insert may be effected quickly.
A substantial advantage of the known cutting tool is that the screw for clamping the cutting insert is accessible from a side of the shaft or holder other than the side in which the cutting insert is mounted. Thus, the spanner for the screw does not need to be inserted into the spanner socket of the screw from the topside of the cutting insert, such as the case is in conventional cutting tools. In this way, a plurality of cutting tools can be mounted very near each other in a machine.
However, the cutting tool known from JP 2000-254 806 is also associated with disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the cavity for the clamping body is open in the side of the shaft opposite the screw bore, whereby the clamping body is inserted from that opposite side while the finger on the clamping body passes through an open slot formed in the bottom of the cutting seat. This means that the support of the cutting insert against the bottom surface of the seat becomes unsatisfactory. When the cutting insert, during operation, is exposed to stresses, the thin-material portions on both sides of the slot for the finger may give way. Furthermore, the cutting insert completely lacks support in the area of the outer end of the slot. Another disadvantage is that the screw after a certain time of usage, risks being deformed by bending in connection with the repetitive clamping operations, since only one end of the screw is actually supported, i.e., the screw is supported in cantilever fashion. An additional disadvantage of the known construction is that the same includes no less than four threads, viz. two male threads on the screw and two female threads (in the bore in the shaft and the hole in the clamping body, respectively). To produce threads is a generally cost-demanding machining operation which entails that the cutting tool in its entirety becomes expensive to manufacture.
The present invention aims at obviating the above-mentioned disadvantages of the previously known cutting tool and at providing an improved cutting tool. Therefore, a primary aim of the invention is to provide a cutting tool that guarantees a satisfactory support for the cutting insert in spite of the existence of a cavity for a clamping body beneath the bottom of the cutting insert. Another aim of the invention is to minimise the risk of bending deformations in the screw and clamping body, respectively. Yet another aim is to provide a cutting tool, the clamping body of which is controlled in such a way in the cavity that the finger engaging in the hole of the cutting insert does not tilt. In other words, the finger should in a reliable way always be pressed against one and the same contact place in the hole in the cutting insert. It is also an aim to minimise the number of threads, with the purpose of reducing the total cost for the manufacture of the cutting tool, as well as guaranteeing an optimum precision in the movements of the clamping body and the screw.
According to the invention, at least the primary aim is attained by a tool for chip removing machining which comprises a holder that includes first, second, third, and fourth sides. An insert seat is formed in the first side for receiving a cutting insert. The seat includes a bottom surface and an upright support surface. The bottom surface includes a hole formed therethrough. The second side is disposed opposite the first side. Each of the third and fourth sides interconnects the first and second sides, with the fourth side disposed opposite the third side. A cavity is formed within the holder and communicates with the cavity. A bore extends from the third side toward the fourth side and communicates with the cavity. The bore is spaced from the first side. A clamping body is disposed in the cavity and is movable in a direction parallel to a center axis of the bore. The clamping body includes a through-hole extending along the center axis. The through-hole includes a female screw thread. A finger projects from the clamping body and extends through the hole, the hole being of larger cross-section than the finger. A rotatable screw is provided which includes first and second ends and an intermediate portion. The first end is disposed in the bore. The intermediate portion is disposed within the through-hole of the clamping body and includes a male screw thread in threaded engagement with the female screw thread. The second end is supported by an end wall defined by the fourth side. The finger is completely surrounded by the bottom surface of the insert seat.

Tool for chip removing machining having a screw-actuated clamp


A difference in intensities of a pair of pixels in an image is repeatedly compared to a threshold, with the pair of pixels being separated by at least one pixel (“skipped pixel”). When the threshold is found to be exceeded, a selected position of a selected pixel in the pair, and at least one additional position adjacent to the selected position are added to a set of positions. The comparing and adding are performed multiple times to generate multiple such sets, each set identifying a region in the image, e.g. an MSER. Sets of positions, identifying regions whose attributes satisfy a test, are merged to obtain a merged set. Intensities of pixels identified in the merged set are used to generate binary values for the region, followed by classification of the region as text/non-text. Regions classified as text are supplied to an optical character recognition (OCR) system.

Mobile devices such as a cell phone 108 (FIG. 1A) include a camera that can be used by a person 110 to capture an image (also called "natural image" or "real world image") of a scene 100 in real world (as per act 111 in FIG. 1B), such as image 107 (shown displayed on a screen 106 of cell phone 108 in FIG. 1A). Natural image 107 may be uploaded to a computer for recognition of text therein, based on regions (also called "blobs") whose boundaries differ significantly from surrounding pixels in one or more properties, such as intensity and/or color. Some prior art methods first identify a pixel of local minima or maxima (also called "extrema") of a property (such as intensity) in the image (as per act 112 in FIG. 1B), followed by identifying pixels that are located around the identified extrema pixel, within a predetermined range of values of the property, so as to identify a region (as per act 113 in FIG. 1B), known in the prior art as maximally stable extremal region or MSER.
MSERs are regions that are geometrically contiguous (and one can go from one pixel to any other pixel by traversing neighboring pixels in such a region) with monotonic transformation in property values, and invariant to affine transformations (transformations that preserve straight lines and ratios of distances between points on the straight lines). In prior art methods known to the current inventors, MSER detection evaluates intensities of all pixels in such a region (e.g. to ensure that the pixels contact one another, so that the region is contiguous).
After MSERs are identified, boundaries of MSERs may be used in the prior art as connected components (see act 114 in FIG. 1B), to identify candidates for recognition as text. The text candidates may then be subject to optical character recognition (OCR) in the normal manner. One such method is described in, for example, an article entitled "Robust Text Detection In Natural Images With Edge-Enhanced Maximally Stable Extremal Regions" by Chen et al, believed to be published in IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP), September 2011 that is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as background.
MSERs are believed to have been first described by Matas et al., e.g. in an article entitled "Robust Wide Baseline Stereo from Maximally Stable Extremal Regions", Proc. Of British Machine Vision Conference, 2002, pages 384-393 that is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The method described by Matas et al. is known to be computationally expensive and a lot of time is normally taken to identify MSERs in an image. The time taken to identify MSERs in an image can be reduced by use of a method of the type described by Nister, et al., "Linear Time Maximally Stable Extremal Regions", ECCV, 2008, Part II, LNCS 5303, pp 183-196, published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg that is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The current inventors note that prior art methods of the type described by Chen et al. or by Matas et al. or by Nister et al. identify hundreds of MSERs in an image. Such methods sometimes identify thousands of MSERs in an image 107 that includes details of natural features, such as leaves of a tree or leaves of plants, shrubs, and bushes.
Identifying such large numbers of MSERs in today's computers, using methods of the type described above, while being accurate, takes a significant amount of time, depending on the amount of detail in portions of the image that contain natural features. The current inventors find such methods impractical for use in recognition of text by handheld devices, such as smart phones, due to inherent limitations of such devices, on computation power and memory, relative to computers. Hence, there appears to be a need for methods and apparatuses of the type described below.

Identifying a maximally stable extremal region (MSER) in an image by skipping comparison of pixels in the region


A centralized high voltage interlock system includes an electrical source, an interlock control unit electrically connected to the electrical source, at least one high voltage component disposed in direct electrical contact with the interlock control unit and a high voltage electrical interlock disposed in electrical contact with the at least one high voltage component.

In systems in which electrical current is transmitted through circuits, such as electric and hybrid electric vehicles, for example, provision is often made to protect service personnel and the like from high voltages which may be used in such systems. High-voltage power systems may utilize energy storage devices which require a certain amount of time to discharge electrical power prior to access of a component in the system. Physical barriers such as protective covers and lock-out devices, for example, may be used to prevent premature physical contact of service or other personnel with the components in a high-voltage power system.
A high-voltage interlock (HVIL) system utilizes an HV interlock control device to open an electrical circuit and prevent flow of high voltage (HV) current through the system before access to a component in the system is permitted. Current implementation of high voltage interlocks utilizes a hard wired circuit that runs through interlock switches at all access points for the HV components and connectors in the system. The high voltage current can be present in the system until any of the HV components is individually accessed such as by the removal of an access cover or connector, for example, which opens the interlock switch for the HV component and breaks the circuit of the HV interlock system.
In implementation of the current HVIL system, the HV circuit is hard-wired through an interlock switch at the access point for each HV component in the system. Direct access of each HV component results in termination and discharge of electrical current through all HV components in the system. This arrangement, however, increases the complexity and cost of the system. Therefore, a centralized HVIL system which is characterized by simplicity in design is needed.


A method and apparatus for guiding image reading for colon screening, includes calculating a centerline for a colon; scrolling through a succession of two dimensional (2D) cross-sectional images of a colon in respective image planes, such that a current image plane includes a respective current focus point formed by an intersection of the centerline with the current image plane. The method further includes performing a three-dimensional (3D) region growing process for growing a region of a suitable given thickness around a current seed point in a current image plane, the current seed point being at the respective current focus point in the current image plane, such that the region growing “floods” folds within a prescribed distance from the current seed point such that part of the region intersects the current image plane. Portions of the region intersecting the current image plane that meets at least one of conditions (A) and (B) are removed from consideration where: condition (A) includes the region intersecting the given current image plane containing a further connected component not containing the current seed point, and containing a further intersection of the image plane with the centerline other than the current seed point, and condition (B) includes the further connected component exhibiting a larger area than that exhibited by a connected component containing the current seed point; and marking remaining portions of the region intersecting the current image plane, not removed from consideration, as seen areas.

Virtual colonoscopy is a noninvasive technique for human colon cancer screening. Computed tomography (CT) or Magnetic resonance (MR) techniques are used to generate high-resolution cross-sectional images of the inner surface of the colon. The techniques are presently of importance in the field of medicine
Both CT and MR colonography generate a large number of images that must be interpreted by a radiologist for the presence of polyps; see Arie E. Kaufman, Sarang Lakare, Kevin Kreeger, Ingmar Bitter, Virtual Colonoscopy, Communications of the ACM, vol 48, No. 2, pp. 37-41, 2005; and the paper by Macari, Lavelle, Berman, and Megibow cited in the next paragraph.
Commonly used methods to examine these datasets include slice-by-slice viewing, referred to as primary 2-dimensional (2D) reading and virtual flythroughs referred to as primary 3-dimensional (3D) reading. There appears to be little agreement in the literature as to which method results in the greatest rate of polyp detection; see Hara A. K., Johnson C. D., Reed J. E., Ehman R. L., Ilsrtup D. M., Colorectal polyp detection with CT Colonography, two-versus three dimensional techniques, Radiology, 1996, 200:49-54; Macari M, Milano A, Lavelle M, Berman P, Megibow A J. Comparison of time-efficient CT colonography with two- and three-dimensional colonic evaluation for detecting colorectal polyps, AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2000, 174:1543-9; Macari M, Lee J, Garcia Figueiras R, Megibow A, Bennett G, Badd J, Primary 2D versus 3D Interpretation Techniques Using Thin Section Multi-Detector Row CT Colonography (CTC), RSNA, 2004.
A number of techniques have been proposed to facilitate 3D reading. Most of these techniques automate the navigation process by calculating the colonic centerline; see for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/842,972, filed May 11, 2004 in the name of Boissonnat, Jean-Daniel and Geiger, Bernhard and entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FAST AUTOMATIC CENTERLINE EXTRACTION FOR VIRTUAL ENDOSCOPY whereof the disclosure is incorporated herein by reference; and Robert J. T. Sadleir, Paul F. Whelan, Colon Centerline Calculation for CT Colonography using Optimised 3D Topological Thinning, 1st International Symposium on 3D Data Processing Visualization and Transmission (3DPVT'02), pp. 800-804, 2002; I. Bitter, M. Sato, M. Bender, A. Kaufman, M. Wan, CEASAR: A Smooth, Accurate and Robust Centerline Extraction Algorithm, In Proc. IEEE Visualisation, 2000; R. Chiou, A. Kaufman, Z. Liang, L. Hong, and M. Achniotou, Interactive Fly-Path Planning Using Potential Fields and Cell Decomposition for Virtual Endoscopy," IEEE Trans Nuclear Sciences, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 1045-1049, 1999; and Samara Y., Fiebich M., Dachman A. H., Kuniyoshi J. K., Doi K., Hoffmann K. R., Automated calculation of the centerline of the human colon on CT images, Acad Radiol. 1999 June; 6(6): 352-9.
Other techniques automate the navigation process by computing the longest ray cast along the view direction. See, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/322,326, filed Dec. 18, 2002 in the name of B. Geiger, and entitled AUTOMATIC NAVIGATION FOR VIRTUAL ENDOSCOPY, whereof the disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.
Another valuable help for 3D reading is the availability of techniques to get a map of colon wall patches that have not been observed during flythrough. Frequently, such areas are between deep Haustral folds. Such techniques have been proposed by, for example, F. M. Vos et. al. "A new visualization method for virtual colonoscopy", Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 2208, 2001. However, these techniques are limited to 3D flythrough.

Method and system for guided two dimensional colon screening


A photoconductive member for electrophotography wherein an electric field is established across a light amplification layer comprising a first transparent electrode, a field-effect light-emitting layer, a second photoconductive layer and a second electrode after the first photoconductive layer has been uniformly charged when a light image impinges on the first photoconductive layer, the portion of the field-effect light-emitting layer corresponding to the light image emits light to the first photoconductive layer, whereby an electrostatic image is formed on the first photoconductive layer by both the light image impinged thereon and the light emitted from the field-effect light-emitting layer.

The present invention relates to an extremely sensitive photoconductive member for electrophotography.
Materials for electrophotographic photoconduct members are Se, SeTe, ZnO, CdS and the like. A photoconductive member may be prepared by the vacuum evaporation of Se over an electrode. A ZnO photoconductive member is provided by applying fine crystals of ZnO dispersed in binder resins over an electrode. A CdS photoconductive member is provided by applying fine crystals of CdS dispersed in binder resins over an electrode and forming an insulating layer over the CdS layer.
In electrophotography, the photoconductive members prepared in the manner described above are used as follows. First the photoconductive member is uniformly charged, and a light image of an original to be reproduced is focused on the uniformly charged surface so that an electrostatic latent image may be formed. The latent image thus formed is developed with the toner, and the toner image is transferred on a suitable recording medium. Thus a copy is reproduced.
When an electrostatic latent image is formed, the photoelectric efficiency .eta. is given by .eta.=.DELTA..sigma./Fo where Fo=a number of photons impinged on a unit area; and
.DELTA..sigma.=the charge per unit area of the number of surface charge ions in response to the impingement of a light image.
The sensitivity of the photoconductive member is in general expressed in terms of the photoelectric efficiency defined above.
However the prior art Se, SeTe, ZnO and CdS photoconductive members have a photoelectric efficiency which is always less than unity. Furthermore it is not possible to increase their photoelectric efficiency to above 1.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,849 discloses a xerographic plate of high quantum efficiency of the type wherein over a base are formed an electrode, an electroluminescence layer, a transparent electrode layer and a photosensitive layer. When an ultra-violet light image is fucused on the base of this plate, the light is absorbed in the electroluminescence layer so that the carriers are excited. Under a high electric field produced by the surface potential, the excited carriers cause avalanche breakdown with the resultant increase in carriers. These carriers disappear after emitting light. Part of the light thus emitted is pumped into the photosensitive layer so that amplification of the incident light results. The exposure of this xerographic plate must be made with ultra-violet light; that is, no white light may be used in the exposure.
British Patent No. 833,188 discloses a light amplifier and storage device wherein a photoconductive layer and an electroluminescence layer are sandwiched between two transparent electrodes. However this device is used only for amplifying light by impressing AC voltage between the transparent electrodes. That is, the device is not used as a photosensitive member or plate.

Photosensitive member for electrophotography

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Public Corporation


A honeycomb structured body of the present invention includes plural pillar-shaped honeycomb units which are bonded to one another through sealing material layers, each unit having in the longitudinal direction a large number of cells placed in parallel with a cell wall therebetween, wherein each honeycomb unit includes inorganic fibers and/or whiskers in addition to inorganic particles, a cross-sectional area of the honeycomb unit on a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is set to at least about 5 cm2 and at most about 50 cm2, and a coefficient αL of thermal expansion of the sealing material layer and a coefficient αF of thermal expansion of the honeycomb unit satisfy the following relationship:about 0.01≦|αL−αF|/αF≦about 1.0.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a honeycomb structured body.
2. Discussion of the Background
Conventionally, a honeycomb catalyst generally used for exhaust gas conversion of an automobile is manufactured by supporting a high specific surface area material such as active alumina and the like and a catalyst metal such as platinum and the like on a surface of a cordierite-based honeycomb structured body that has an integral structure and a low thermal expansion property. Moreover, an alkaline earth metal such as Ba and the like is supported thereon as a NOx occlusion agent, so as to be used for treating NOx in an atmosphere with excessive oxygen such as an atmosphere in a lean burn engine and a diesel engine.
Here, in order to improve the converting performance, it is necessary to increase the possibility of contact between exhaust gases and the catalyst noble metal as well as the NOx occlusion agent. For this purpose, it is necessary for the support to have a higher specific surface area and for the noble metal to have a smaller grain size and to be dispersed in a high level. Therefore, there are suggested various honeycomb structured bodies in which the cell shape, the cell density, the thickness of cell walls, and the like have been devised (for example, see JP-A 10-263416).
With respect to the honeycomb structured body made of a high specific surface area material, a honeycomb structured body that has been subjected to extrusion molding together with inorganic fibers and an inorganic binder has been known (for example, see JP-A 5-213681). Moreover, in order to allow such a honeycomb structured body to have a large size, a structure in which honeycomb units are jointed to one another by an adhesion layer has been known (for example, see DE 4341159).
Moreover, there is also known such case disclosed in JP-A 10-263416 in which a high specific surface area material such as active alumina and the like and a catalyst metal such as platinum and the like are supported on the surface of a cordierite-based honeycomb structured body.
There is also known a honeycomb structured body disclosed in JP-A 5-213681 in which the high specific surface material is subjected to extrusion molding together with inorganic fibers and an inorganic binder,
Moreover, a honeycomb structured body formed by bonding plural honeycomb units to one another through adhesive layers has also been disclosed, for example, in JP-A 8-28246, JP-A 2001-190916 and the like.
The contents of JP-A 10-263416, JP-A 5-213681, DE 4341159, JP-A 8-28246, and JP-A 2001-190916 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A wristwatch mounting an animated head of a figure and including a moveable nose overlying a watch face and formed by one end of a moveable member, the opposite end forming an armature. The moveable member is mounted on a laterally extending pivot pin such that magnitude of the torque due by the gravitational pull on such centers of mass on the opposite sides of such pivot pin are equal. An electrical circuit is provided with an actuation switch that may be pressed to actuate an audio speaker which emits a simulated time indicating voice in synchronism with intermittent energization of such armature to selectively move such nose between mouth open and mouth closed positions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery powered animated figures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The popularity of novelty wrist watches and the like has led to the development of numerous different styles of watches displaying different novelty figures on the faces thereof, some incorporating a depiction of the hands of such figures as the hands of sweep hand on the faces of such watches.
The popularity of cartoon and television characters have led to the proposal of watches incorporating three dimension depictions of such characters. Devices of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 288,343 to Owaga. Watches of these types, while being satisfactory for their intended uses fail to incorporate animated three dimensional figures.
There has long existed a need for a wrist watch device incorporating a three dimensional novelty figure with an animated portion which could be powered by conventional electric watch batteries without consumption of undue energy.
In effort to overcome this problem, the present invention incorporates an armature which is selectively energized to move an animated figure part and which is also balanced against the weight of such animated part. While balanced armatures have been proposed in the past for relays, switches and the like, none of those devices have been generally accepted in a wrist watch construction employing an animated figure.
The animated wrist watch of the present invention also addresses the problem associated with application of high acceleration forces to the animated figure part and associated armature resulting from rapid wrist movement. While attention has, in the past, been given to efforts to minimize forces imposed on dynamic parts as a result of forces of acceleration, none have attained optimum results in minimizing forces applied to moveable figure parts in a wrist watch apparatus.


An input scanner for scanning three-dimensional objects, such as books, on a platen. An elongated raster scanner produces a digital representation of a line image in an object plane that is a fixed distance in front of the raster scanner""s input optics. When scanning the three-dimensional object the raster scanner travels along a track guide that is contoured in the Z-direction. That contour is designed to mimic the contour of the three-dimensional object being scanned. When traveling along the track guide the distance between the three-dimensional object and the object plane remains substantially constant.

This invention relates to scanning nonplanar originals, such as bound books or other three dimensional objects.
Input scanners are widely used for producing digital versions of images on substrates. Digital versions are beneficial because they can be stored, processed, transmitted, and subsequently used by other devices, such as computers, copiers, and facsimile machines.
Input scanners usually include a flat, transparent platen that supports a substrate having an image that is to be digitized, and a moving raster scanner having a light source that radiates a narrow xe2x80x9cscan linexe2x80x9d of light through the platen and onto the substrate. Part of that light is reflected by the image on the substrate and collected and focused by the raster scanner""s input optics onto an elongated light sensor array. The light sensor then converts its received light into digital signals that are then stored. As the raster scanner moves across the substrate the scan line of light sweeps over the substrate and other scan lines are digitized. When the substrate""s image has been completely scanned the digital signals of all of the scan lines represent a digital version of the image.
Scanning three-dimensional (non-planar) substrates such as bound books presents problems. One set of problems relates to keeping the object plane of the light into the sensor array on the three-dimensional object as the raster scanner moves. For example, when scanning a book the book""s pages near the binding tends to become defocused as the pages lift off the platen. Even relatively minor variations between a three-dimensional object and the object plane can cause serious problems. For example, some input scanners that use gradient index lens arrays can become significantly defocused by a separation of as little as 1 millimeter.
Various approaches have been taken in the prior art to reduce the problems related to scanning three-dimensional objects. With books, one approach is to use xe2x80x9cbrute forcexe2x80x9d to press the book against the platen, thereby reducing the book""s lift. However, portions of the book""s pages still remain above the platen""s surface. Moreover, pressing a book against a flat platen can degrade the book""s binding, especially with older books. Another approach is to use a wedged platen to reduce binding degradation. However, wedged platens tend to reduce overall machine utility and increase cost.
Other approaches are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,530, which issued on Jan. 4, 1994, and which is entitled xe2x80x9cDocument reproduction machine with electronically enhanced book copying capability.xe2x80x9d That patent mentions a reproduction machine having a height sensor on a scanner that determines the distance between a reference point (which may be in the object plane) and the original being scanned. The height information is used to control the position of a scanning mirror that adjusts the focus, illumination, and scan rate. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,530 teaches using information from a height sensor as an input to an electronic correction circuit that electronically corrects for defocusing caused by height variations. However, the incorporation of a height sensor adds cost and complexity. Therefore, a new approach to copying three-dimensional objects on a flat platen would be beneficial.
The principles of the present invention provide for improved scanning of a three-dimensional object placed on a platen. An input scanner according to the principles of the present invention includes a platen for locating a three-dimensional object that is to be scanned, a contoured track guide adjacent the platen, and a moving raster scanner that moves along the track guide and across the platen. The raster scanner includes a light source that produces a scan line of light, an elongated light sensor array for digitizing received light, and input optics that focuses light reflected from an object plane onto the light sensor array. The raster scanner produces a digital representation of a line image having an object plane that is a fixed distance in front of the raster scanner""s input optics. The contour of the track guide adjusts the spatial position of the raster scanner, and thus the spatial position of the object plane, in the Z-direction as the raster scanner moves such that the three-dimensional object tends to remain in focus. Beneficially, the track guide is a feature of the platen itself.
If the three-dimensional object being scanned is a book, the contour of the track guide is such that it approximates the contour of the book""s binding.


A container containing a liquid and vaporizing gas to be sprayed is provided with a control member having a spray hole, and when the control member is manipulated, the liquid is sprayed by the gas pressure of the spraying gas. A sliding member is provided in the control member, and a pool is installed in the passage of the spray liquid and the vaporizing gas. When the gas pressure in the pool is raised to a specified pressure, the sliding member works to close the passage, and when the gas pressure in the pool drops, the passage is opened, and the gas pressure is built up. As a result, the spray liquid and the gas are temporarily stored in the pool until raised to the specified internal pressure, and then sent into the spray hole, so that the spray liquid is always sprayed from the spray hole at a specific pressure, so that a specific spray state and atomization state may be always maintained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement for a spray mechanism of an aerosol product for injecting the spray liquid from the container by a gas pressure by means of a vaporizing gas for spraying.
2. Description of Related Art
As the spraying mechanism an aerosol product using vaporizing gas a spraying gas, and injecting the spray liquid from the container by the gas pressure of this spraying gas, for example, the construction as shown in FIG. 7 has been previously known.
The device of FIG. 7 includes a container and a control member b, wherein the control member b is provided with a nozzle fitting hole c for fitting with the front end of a nozzle a1 of the container a, an injection hole d, and a leading path e for communicating with the nozzle fitting hole c and injection hole d, and by pressing down the control member b engaged with the front end of the nozzle a1 of the container a, the spray liquid in the container a moves from the nozzle a1 to the leading path e, and is injected from the spray hole d.
In FIG. 7, when the spray liquid decreases in the container a as a result of consumption, the gas space increases accordingly, and the internal pressure in the container decreases. As a result, when the container a is initially filled with the spray liquid and gas, the spray liquid is abundantly injected forcibly from the spray hole d, but when the remainder of the spray liquid becomes less than half, the injection of the spray liquid is no longer forcible, and a sufficient amount of spray liquid cannot be injected, and the state of atomization is poor at the same time.
Although not shown, as another spray mechanism for an aerosol product, aside from the type shown above, the so-called tilt type has been widely used, in which the liquid is injected from the spray hole by tilting the nozzle of the container.
In this tilt type, same as in the above type, the spray liquid forced out from the nozzle a1 by gas is injected from the spray hole by way of the leading path. Therefore, in this tilt type, too, as compared with the initial state, the injection force and atomization state of the spray liquid are poor near depletion of the container, and the same problems as above are present.
On the other hand, the conventional spray mechanism for an aerosol product was developed on the basis of using liquified gas represented by chlorofluorocarbons as the spraying gas. Such liquifies gas is gradually vaporized in the container a by proper amounts, so that the pressure in the container is kept almost constant from the beginning to the end of use, and the problems of deterioration of injection force and worsening of the atomization state were not apparently obvious.
However, disuse of chlorofluorocarbons has been decided from the viewpoint of environmental protection, and use of other liquefied gas such as LPG is difficult from the standpoint of safety. Hence, today, it is attempted to use CO.sub.2, N.sub.2, O.sub.2 and other vaporized gases as the spraying gas.
These vaporized gases (especially N.sub.2) are not dissolved well in spray liquid, and are mostly contained in the container a in a vaporized state. Accordingly, when used in the conventional spraying mechanism of an aerosol product, initially, the spray liquid is released at a high pressure, during contained use, the gas space increases, and the gas pressure in the container drops, and the container pressure is extremely low near the end of the content. As a result, the problems of deterioration of injection force and worsening of atomization state become manifest.
Still more, when liquified gas is used, a part of the liquified gas is injected together with the spray liquid. Hence, a part of the liquified gas is vaporized at the moment it is expelled from the nozzle a1, and acts to transform the spray gas into a fine mist, but in the case of vaporized gas, since it is not dissolved smoothly in the spray liquid, injection in such a fine mist state is not expected.
The invention is devised in light of these problems, and it is hence a primary object thereof to present a spray mechanism for an aerosol product capable of always maintaining a specific spray state and mist state from beginning until the end of use even when using vaporized gas.
It is another object of the invention to present a spray mechanism for an aerosol product capable of injecting a favorable fine mist even by using vasporized gas.


Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, user equipment, and a base station. The method includes: selecting, by user equipment, a DMRS from a demodulation reference signal DMRS list; sending, by the user equipment to a base station through a first channel, first data that carries the DMRS; receiving, by the user equipment through a second channel, second data that is sent by the base station and that carries feedback information, where a resource on which the second channel is located is determined based on the DMRS and a resource on which the first channel is located, or receiving, by the user equipment through a second channel, second data that is sent by the base station and that carries information about a resource on which a third channel is located, where a resource on which the second channel is located is determined based on the DMRS and a resource on which the first channel is located, and receiving, by the user equipment through the third channel, third data that is sent by the base station and that carries feedback information; and determining, by the user equipment, that the feedback information is information fed back by the base station for the first data. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, feedback information of a plurality of user equipments can be distinguished from each other while resource utilization is ensured.

With wide application of intelligent terminals (smart phones) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, a growing quantity of small data packets are being transmitted, especially in fields such as smart metering, intelligent transportation, and smart healthcare that are supported by M2M services. Data transmission of the small data packets is regular to an extent. For example, a relatively small amount of data is transmitted each time, and a time interval for data transmission is relatively long. In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, data transmission of user equipment (UE) is performed based on scheduling by a base station. To improve resource sending efficiency, UEs in a connected mode may share one or more resources. UEs in an idle mode may share a resource pool.
UE receives, on a downlink physical hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel (PHICH), feedback information of uplink data sent by the UE, and a PHICH resource is determined based on uplink sending resource information and demodulation reference signal (DMRS) information of the UE. In the LTE system, the base station allocates one DMRS to a plurality of UEs. Therefore, when UEs that have a same DMRS select a same uplink resource, a downlink feedback channel of the UE is not uniquely determined. A plurality of UEs may receive feedback information on a resource of a same PHICH channel at the same time.
In an existing solution, all UEs send, on a fixed downlink feedback resource, feedback information that carries an identity of the UE. However, because the feedback information is carried on the fixed resource, a quantity of UEs that support simultaneous feedback is limited when few resources are reserved, and a resource waste is caused when a lot of resources are reserved.
In another existing solution, a group of UEs in a connected mode are configured, to share one uplink sending resource or a group of uplink sending resources. Feedback information of the group of UEs forms a bitmap. Each UE determines a location of feedback information of the UE in the bitmap based on identification information of the UE, and determines a downlink PHICH resource based on the uplink resource and feedback resource group information. There is no mechanism for determining a PHICH resource by idle UE, and distinguishing between feedback information of different UEs.
It can be learned from the foregoing that in the prior art, a quantity of UEs cannot be flexibly supported while resource utilization is ensured. In the prior art, feedback information of different idle UEs cannot be distinguished from each other.

Communication method, user equipment, and base station


The present invention relates to new 4-benzylidene-piperidin derivatives of formula (I), useful as NMDA, in a particular NR2B subunit containing receptor antagonists and analgesica.

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are ligand-gated cation-channels widely expressed in the central nervous system. NMDA receptors are involved in developmental and plastic changes of neurons. Overactivation of NMDA receptors by glutamate, their natural ligand, can lead to calcium overload of cells. This triggers a cascade of intracellular events that alters the cell function and ultimately may lead to death of neurones. Antagonists of the NMDA receptors may be used for treating many disorders that are accompanied with excess release of glutamate or overactivation of NMDA receptor for any reason [Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2003 4: 826-32].
The NMDA receptors are heteromeric assemblies built up from at least one NR1 subunit together with one or more of the four NR2 subunits (NR2A-D). Both spatial distributions in the CNS and the pharmacological sensitivity of NMDA receptors built up from various NR2 subunits are different. Particularly interesting of these is the NR2B subunit due to its restricted distribution (highest densities in the forebrain and substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord) [Neuropharmacology, 38, 611-623 (1999)]. Compounds selective for this subtype are available and have been proved to be effective in animal models of stroke [Stroke, 28, 2244-2251 (1997)], traumatic brain injury [Brain Res., 792, 291-298 (1998)], Parkinson's disease [Exp. Neurol., 163, 239-243 (2000)], neuropathic and inflammatory pain [Neuropharmacology, 38, 611-623 (1999)].
Moreover, NR2B subtype selective antagonists of NMDA receptors may provide therapeutic advantage over non-selective antagonists of NMDA receptors. The channel blocker type non-selective NMDA antagonists phencyclidine and ketamine induce psychotomimetic effects, hallucinations, dysphoria, catatonia and amnesia in man. These serious adverse effects hinder their clinical use as potential medication. Compounds belonging to this class cause behavioural abnormalities in animals, too, e.g. stimulate motor activity, induce, amnesia and impair motor-coordination. The severity of these effects in animals is considered to be predictive for the intensity of clinical side effects. NR2B subtype selective antagonists are expected to lack most of these side effects. In animal behavioural studies some NR2B selective compounds [Ro 63-1908 in J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 302 (2002) 940-948 and Ro 25-6981 in Behav. Pharmacol., 14 (2003) 477-487] were reported to increase locomotor activity while no such effect was observed with CP-101,606, another NR2B selective antagonist, and Ro 256981 by an other group [Neuropharmacology, 38, 611-623 (1999)]. Lack of locomotor stimulating effect of CP-101,606 up to 56 mg/kg s.c. and 100 mg/kg i.p. was confirmed by others [Soc. Neurosc. Abstr. 21, 439.9. 1995.]. Thus, to our best knowledge, CP-101,606 is the only NR2B selective antagonist consistently reported to lack locomotor stimulating effect. Since CP-101,606 appears to have poor oral efficacy and according to published information was investigated only by intravenous route of administration in humans, moreover it has polymorph CYP2D6 mediated metabolism [Drug Metabolism and Disposition 31: 76-87], there remains to be a great need for new NR2B antagonists with low side effect liability (high therapeutic index) good oral efficacy (bioavailability) and good developability for therapeutic purposes, especially for oral treatment.
Saturated analogues of the compounds of the present invention are described in patent No. WO 2003010159 as NR2B subtype selective NMDA antagonists. However, other close structure analogues of the 4-benzylidene-piperidine derivatives of formula (I) are unknown in the literature.


A vehicle headlamp having a projector-type lamp unit that enhances a luminous intensity of a hot zone at the time of high beam irradiation is described. A first additional reflector is provided obliquely left-upward of an optical axis Ax, and a second additional reflector is provided obliquely right-downward of the optical axis Ax, between a reflector and a projection lens. An additional light distribution pattern is formed in a center area of a high beam distribution pattern by reflecting direct light, which has entered the first additional reflector from a light source, obliquely right-downward and then forward by the second additional reflector, at the time of high beam irradiation. A reflective surface of the first additional reflector is formed like an ellipsoid spherical surface having the second focus on the right side with respect to the optical axis A (the second reflector side). This makes the additional light distribution pattern into a pattern with a narrow vertical width, and enhances a luminosity of the hot zone without making a short distance area of a road surface at the front of the vehicle excessively luminous.

A vehicle headlamp, which is configured to execute a beam switching between low beam and high beam by shifting a shade, has been previously known. For example, a vehicle headlamp including a beam switching mechanism as above driven by shifting the shade is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,985B1.
Although the beam switching mechanism driven by shifting the shade is employed in a so-called parabola-type lamp unit in the vehicle headlamp disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, it is also possible to employ a beam switching mechanism driven by shifting the shade in the projector-type lamp unit.
However, in the projector-type lamp unit, a light source image that forms a light distribution pattern is larger than that in the parabola-type lamp unit, due to its structural features. As a result, a luminous intensity of a hot zone (area of high-intensity light) cannot be adequately enhanced at the time of high beam irradiation, when a beam switching is executed by shifting the shade.
A detailed explanation of the problem is as follows:
FIGS. 9A and 9B show a light distribution pattern formed by beam irradiation from the lamp unit when the beam switching mechanism driven by shifting the shade is employed in the projector-type lamp unit. FIG. 9(a) shows a low beam distribution pattern and FIG. 9(b) shows a high beam distribution pattern.
In the low beam distribution pattern P(L) shown in FIG. 9(a), it is preferable that the luminosity of zone A in the vicinity of a cut-off line CL in an opposite lane is suppressed to or limited below a predetermined value. This is from the perspective of glare prevention for an oncoming driver. Meanwhile, in a high beam distribution pattern P(H) shown in FIG. 9(b), it is preferable to make zone A, as a part of the hot zone (area of high-intensity light) HZ, as luminous as possible.
Thus, contradictory requirements for lighting are made with respect to zone A, between the low beam and the high beam modes. In the projector-type lamp unit in which a light source image becomes larger, it is considerably difficult to fulfill these requirements by depending only on the absence or presence of a shade to shield the light. In this case, the luminosity of the high beam hot zone in sacrificed to some extent because priority is given to prevent glare to the oncoming driver.


A multiprocessor in which processing units have local private caches and records are stored on at least a first global storage control unit. An interconnection system provides node to node data and synchronization communications between processing units and the first global storage control unit. The global storage control unit includes a coherency controller for tracking each instance of records owned by the global storage control unit currently resident on the processing units. Each processing unit executes a cache management process for freeing intervals of the local cache for the processing unit. Upon identification of an interval, the processing unit sends empty notification to the global storage control unit owning the record an instance of which was resident in the interval. Thereafter the interval is marked as invalid in a cache directory for the processing unit and indicia for the instance is deleted from a coherency directory for the global storage control unit.

1. Technical Field:
This invention relates to multiprocessor data processing systems having local cache storage for a plurality of processors and a global storage control unit utilizing a global storage based directory for tracking intervals of storage drawn from a pool of storage shared by a plurality of processors.
2. Description of the Related Art:
Multiprocessors are provided by the coordinated interconnection of computers for the solution of a problem. Of particular interest are multiple-instruction stream, multiple-data stream (MIMD) architectures, which link independent processing units through exchange of data and synchronization of processing operations. The problems to which MIMD architectures are beneficially applied include those where the interaction of operations are not easily predicted a priori. In computers having an MIMD architecture each processing unit can execute its own program on its own data, as contrasted with single-instruction stream, multiple-data stream (SIMD) machines in which each processor executes the same instruction set but on a data stream particular to each processor.
In designing an MIMD architecture for a computer, a developer may draw on features of two conceptual types, including one type where all memory and input/output functions are remote to the processors and shared among the processors, and a second type where all memory and input/output functions are local and private to the processors. What is common to both types of architecture is an interconnection system over which synchronizing functions are carried out and processing units exchange data. The interconnection system may be a bus or a type of network architecture. The data traffic on some types of interconnection system, typically busses, is visible to processors, storage units and input/output units. On some network architectures, however, data traffic is not visible to all processors, storage and input/output units.
The treatment of memory in a multiprocessor is a critical design matter. The extreme design types either utilize purely shared memory or purely private memory. In a shared memory all processors have access to a global, remote memory unit. In a private memory scheme all memory is local to the processors and used directly only by a single processor. Both schemes have advantages and disadvantages, which has led to architectures which blend the schemes. One such blended architecture utilizes local, private cache for each processor or group of processors and a shared, remote memory. In these systems, the local cache and the global memory occupy different levels in a memory hierarchy for the computer. All local cache units are peers in the hierarchical scheme. The shared, remote memory is called global memory and is analogous to system memory in single processor computers.
The presence of a memory hierarchy, with cache being above global memory in the hierarchy, means that a shared datum may be represented by values resident at several locations. This occurs when a particular logical address is associated with physical locations in global memory and a plurality of cache units. The existence of both cache and system memory in itself raises issues of data coherency. Data coherency is compromised by the possibility that one variable may have location dependent values at a given instant in time. Coherency is vastly complicated by the existence of peer cache units where copies of a record may be duplicated to numerous locations over a network. Incoherence in data can result from a number of sources, e.g. process migration, input/output activity, and execution of implicit or explicit storage operations by a processor.
Assuring effective synchronization of processing units demands maintaining coherence of data among peer cache units and between cache and global memory. In other words, the values stored in the various locations associated with a logical address either agree or are somehow marked as temporarily inaccessible. The problem of coherence has been addressed by utilization of coherence protocols. A coherence protocol may provide for signalling invalidity of values for variables to the various multiprocessors, for propagating updated values for variables throughout the memory hierarchy, by defining conditions under which a local processing unit will mark blocks of data in its local cache as valid and invalid, et cetera.
A number of coherence protocols have been proposed. Some of these protocols, in an effort to minimize demand for coherency communications over the interconnection system, have required a system bus based architecture for implementation. An example of such a system is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,365 to Mathur et al. Mathur teaches a snooping coherency protocol in which processors monitor interconnection system communication for data updates and messages invalidating data. However, as the number of processors in a multiprocessor increases, access to the system bus becomes ever more difficult. Thus despite a reduced burden of communication required to maintain coherence over a bus based system where bus snooping is used, degradation in performance of the multiprocessor will still occur at some point as additional processors are added. The total number of processors which can effectively be used and be interconnected by a system bus can be held below desirable levels.
For truly large, or geographically dispersed multiprocessors, non-bus based networks are used for an interconnection system. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,989 to Johnson et al., a coherency protocol applicable to such interconnection systems was proposed using a directory caching technique for reducing coherency related communications. In Johnson, when a data processing system ("client") interrogates another data processing system ("server") for a unit of directory information relating to a record permanently resident on the server, the server becomes enabled to automatically send additional units of directory information back to the client upon subsequent changes in the directory structure of the server system. The server maintains coherency of its records. When the server determines that it cannot maintain coherency as to a record, it informs its clients of the fact to get the clients to purge their caches of copies the affected record. However, the client may no longer be caching the record. Such communications continue to occur because the manager of the coherency protocol has no knowledge of the status of the record on the client.

System and method for empty notification from peer cache units to global storage control unit in a multiprocessor data processing system

International Business Machines Corporation


A process for the recovery of hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon bearing formation and in which are situated an upper injection well and a lower production well is presented. The region between the wells is preheated by circulating hot solvent through at least part of both of the wells until hydraulic communication between both wells is achieved. Solvent is injected into the upper injection well at or above its critical temperature and the solvent is pentane or a mixture of butane and pentane. A hot solvent chamber is created consisting of solvent vapor and liquid. Bitumen and solvent are mixed at the boundary of the solvent chamber so formed. The hydrocarbon and solvent are caused to be mixed to drain downwards by gravity and sideways by pressure gradient towards the lower production well. The mixture is produced to the surface through the lower production well.

Recent recovery methods include steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) and the solvent co-injection variant thereof. Another method is the so-called N-Solv process.
SAGD (Albahlani, A. M., Babadagli, T., "A Critical review of the Status of SAGD: Where Are We and What is Next?", SPE 113283, 2008 SPE Western Regional, Bakersfield Calif.) is a method of recovering bitumen and EHO which dates back to the 1960's. A pair of wells is drilled, one above the other. The upper well is used to inject steam, optionally with a solvent. The lower well is used to collect the hot bitumen or EHO and condensed water from the steam. The injected steam forms a chamber that grows within the formation. The steam heats the oil/bitumen and reduces its viscosity so that it can flow into the lower well. Gases thus released rise in the steam chamber, filling the void space left by the oil. Oil and water flow is by a countercurrent gravity driven drainage into the lower well bore. Condensed water and the bitumen or EHO is pumped to the surface. Recovery levels can be as high as 70% to 80%. SAGD is more economic than with the older pressure-driven steam process.
The solvent co-injection variant of the SAGD process (Gupta, S., Gittins, S., Picherack, P., "Insights Into Some Key Issues With Solvent Aided Process", JCPT, February 2003, Vol 43, No 2) aims to improve the performance of SAGD by introducing hydrocarbon solvent additives to the injected steam. The operating conditions for the solvent co-injection process are similar to SAGD.
In the N-Solv process (Nenniger, J. E., Gunnewiek, L, "Dew Point vs Bubble Point: A Misunderstood Constraint on Gravity Drainage Processes", CIPC 2009, paper 065; Nenniger, J. E., Dunn, S. G. "How Fast is Solvent Based Gravity Drainage", CIPC 2008, paper 139), heated solvent vapour is injected into a gravity drainage chamber. Vapour flows from the injection well to the colder perimeter of the chamber where it condenses, delivering heat and fresh solvent directly to the bitumen extraction interface. The N-Solv extraction temperature and pressure are lower than with in situ steam SAGD. The use of solvent is also capable of extracting valuable components in bitumen while leaving high molecular weight coke forming species behind. Condensed solvent and oil then drain by gravity to the bottom of the chamber and are recovered via the production well. Some details of solvent extraction processes are described in CA 2 351 148, CA 2 299 790 and CA 2 552 482.


An electricity-heat converter is provided on a substrate for a recording head. The recording head generates heat energy for discharging recording liquid by causing the state change of the liquid to occur. A multi-layer wiring is sandwiched between insulating layers comprising an organic material and is connected electrically to the electricity-heat converter through at least one contact portion formed through the insulating layer. The contact portion is provided in a discharging portion of the recording heads.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording device such as an output printer of copying device, word processor, facsimile, video, computer, etc. and a substrate for a recording head and a recording head applicable thereto.
More particularly, it relates to a recording head and a recording device to which the liquid jet recording method, which performs recording by discharging liquid for recording through a discharging port, is applicable.
2. Related Background Art
An example of a liquid jet recording head of the prior art is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of the substrate for the recording head. FIG. 1B is a schematic sectional view of the recording head along the line B--B' in FIG. 1A.
The on-demand type recording head of the prior art has an electrode heat converter which generates heat energy to be utilized for discharging liquid (ink) by formation of a heat generating resistance layer 1 comprising HfB.sub.2, TaAl, etc. and an electroconductive layer 2 for formation of electrodes comprising Al, etc. arranged at predetermined intervals formed on a substrate 11 comprising a semiconductor such as silicon or an insulating material such as glass, etc., and on the heat generating portion 1a of the electricity-heat converter are formed a discharging port and a liquid channel communicated thereto. And, a plurality of discharging ports are provided at a ratio of 8 or more per 1 mm for the purpose of high resolution recording, and electricity-heat converters are arranged at high density so as to correspond thereto.
Here, 3, 4 and 5 are protective layers.
The liquid from a liquid vessel, not shown, is supplied into a common liquid chamber forming a part of liquid channel, and further fills the parts containing the heat-acting portions, etc. corresponding respectively to the discharging ports of the channels with liquid.
Recording by way of liquid jetting generates bubbles by causing the state of change in the liquid on the heat-generating portion 1a in the heat acting portion by the heat energy generated from the heat-generating portion 1a by applying recording signals on the electrodes, thereby discharging liquid through the pressure of volume expansion of the bubbles to form flying liquid droplets.
The method for preparation of such recording head of the prior art is to be described.
First, an HfB.sub.2 film 1 as the heat-generating resistance layer for formation of an electricity-heat converter and Al as the electrode 2 are formed by sputtering, etc. and then subjected to patterning.
Next, SiO.sub.2 as the oxidation resistant film 3 for the electricity-heat converter and Ta as the cavitation resistant film 4 are formed by sputtering, etc. and subjected to patterning.
And, a photosensitive polyimide is coated as the ink resistant film 5 and subjected to patterning.
Further, Al, Ni and Cu of the the second layer are subjected to film forming patterning, and Cu is plated to about 10 .mu.m for increasing conductivity to make a common electrode 10. Here, SiO.sub.2 represented by the symbol 3 which the layer beneath the common electrode 10 and the photosensitive polyimide represented by the symbol 5 serve as the interlayer insulating layer.
Then, a ceiling plate 14 having a wall portion for sectionalizing the common liquid chamber 12 and individual liquid chambers 13 as the liquid channels for the recording liquid is plastered and a wiring connected to the driving circuit for supplying electrical signals is electrically connected (not shown) to prepare a liquid jet recording head.
However, in the above prior art example, since the common electrode 10 exists externally of the ceiling plate 14 (namely outside the liquid channel of the recording head), the length of the electrode 2 on the common electrode side is required to be l.sub.2 as shown in FIG. 1A, whereby a considerable length of high density wiring is required at the electrode. For this reason, other than the shortcomings in production such as lowered yield caused by short circuit, wire breaking, etc., short circuit or wire wiring sometimes occurred similarly when driving is performed by passing great currents, whereby durability of the recording head was lowered.

Recording head having multi-layer wiring


A chassis for an electric vehicle comprises: a base frame, a front frame, a rear frame, two side frames, four suspension devices and four wheels. The front frame and the rear frame have the front arc-shaped tube and the arc-shaped rear tube fixed to the base frame, the arc-shaped tubes can not only reduce the number of tubes required but also increase the area of thrust force as compared to the straight tubes. Besides, the arc of the arc-shaped tubes avoids a connection point of an acute angle. Moreover, the height is larger than the width, which will produce less torque on the base frame as compared to that if the height is smaller than the width, thus preventing the torque acted on the base frame from damaging the connection points and improving the structural strength of the chassis at the connection points.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chassis, and more particularly to a chassis for an electric vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vehicle is an indispensible part of our lives, and every vehicle has a chassis on which the rest parts of the vehicle are mounted, in other words, the chassis has to bear the load of the vehicle. Therefore, the strength of a chassis has a great influence on the vehicle's safety.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional vehicle chassis X comprises a plurality of tubes X1 connected together, and the angles between connected tubes X1 are either right angles or acute angles. The strength of the chassis determines the safety of a vehicle, and the structural weak points lie at the connection point between the tubes X1. When the angles are all right and acute angles, stress concentration will occur, which will cause structural damage and safety problem when the chassis X is overloaded or subjected to an impact force.
FIG. 2 shows another conventional vehicle chassis which includes a base frame Y and an upper frame Z, and the base frame Y, as shown in FIG. 3, includes two opposite middle beams Y1 with two ends slantingly connected to one ends of two first extending beams Y2, and another ends of the first extending beams Y2 are connected to two second extending beams Y3, respectively. The middle beams Y1, the first extending beams Y2 and the second extending beams Y3 are all straight beams without a radius of curvature. The middle beams Y1 are connected to the first extending beams Y2 by two first arc-shaped connectors Y4, and the first extending beams Y2 are connected to the second extending beams Y3 by two second arc-shaped connectors Y5, so that the arc of the arc-shaped connectors avoids a connection point of an acute angle and reduces stress concentration.
However, the base frame Y consists of the middle beams Y1 and the first and second extending beams Y2, Y3, which makes the assembly much difficult. Furthermore, the connection points between the respective beams have stress concentration and are still the weak points of the whole structure.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


An improved tampon is provided having one or more loops placed entirely through the tampon for ease in insertion and removal of an attached spherical member into and from a body cavity. Moreover, the improved tampon can be impregnated at select depths with specific spermicides, anti-infectives, lubricants, hormones, antioxidants, amino acids, etc., to allow release of inner-impregnated fluids from the member into the body cavity. Closely controlled impregnation and/or coating of the tampon is achieved by a method of manufacture employing one or more sonic baths containing necessary impregnating and/or coating fluids.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tampon and more particularly to a tampon configured for easy insertion and removal, and having regions of spermicides, anti-infectives and lubricants placed within the tampon.
2. Background of the Relevant Art
It is well known that in recent years there has been a steady increase in the number of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unwanted pregnancies in the U.S. and throughout the world. In an effort to stem the rise of unwanted pregnancies, many types of contraceptive devices are being utilized. Oral contraceptives and intrauterine devices (IUD) are two very popular contraceptive methods. However, not all women are capable of using oral contraceptives, and IUDs produce many documented side effects. Other types of contraceptives, or barrier contraceptives, have gained in popularity due to the rise of STDs. Popular barrier contraceptives include condoms, diaphragms, sponges, cervical caps, spermicidal creams, foams, foaming tablets, films and melting suppositories. A diaphragm and cervical cap must be fitted by trained medical personnel, whereas condoms require the participation of the partner. Foams, jellies, tablets and suppositories are often messy to use, and frequently cause irritation to the user and/or partner.
Developments in contraceptive methods allow a barrier, such as a sponge or tampon, to be impregnated with a spermicide. The impregnated barrier not only physically prevents the passage of sperm or STDs, but also chemically kills the sperm or infective agents associated with many STDs. A time-release spermicide can allow a single impregnated tampon to kill sperm throughout numerous sexual encounters and over a relatively long period of time.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,871, gradual release of spermicide from a tampon can be achieved by placing the spermicide into the pre-polymer material during the polymerization of the tampon. The spermicide/surfactant is thereby molded to form the polyurethane tampon. In order to activate the tampon of Patent '871, tap water must be added at the site. Too large an amount of water can unduly dilute the spermicide, such as nonxylphenoxypoly (ethyleneoxy) ethanol, or "nonoxynol-9", possibly rendering it ineffective Further, tap water at the site may be contaminated, or may contain chlorine which could possibly interfere with the nonoxynol-9 or cause infection. Conversely, too small an amount of water can cause a strong presence of nonoxynol-9, leading to irritation and allergic reaction as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,705.
As taught in Patent '705, recent advances suggest a more controlled concentration of spermicide, such as nonoxynol-9. Accordingly, it is advantageous that the spermicide be placed already in solution within the sponge and at controlled concentration such that the spermicide is active and ready to use at the site. Mixing with tap water is therefore not required.
Impregnating a sponge with a solution such that it is ready to use at the site presents many advantages described above. However, the soaked tampon must maintain its shape as a physical barrier while packaged and during insertion. Further, it also must withstand shear forces during placement and subsequent removal. Current sponges which use a single string placed through only a portion of the sponge material can pull through the sponge upon removal. Examples of sponges which use only a small portion of their geometry for receiving a string or tied loop are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,186,742; 4,309,997; and 4,693,705. Another exemplary attachment scheme showing a loop affixed to the outside surface of the sponge is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,871. A slight pull upon the string or loop can cause a single string shown in Patents '742 and '997 to pull through the body, can cause a loop shown in Patent '871 to pull from the body's outer surface, or a knot and surrounding small portion of the body shown in Patent '705 to dislodge from the body. A future source of infection may arise if any portion of the sponge material is allowed to remain in the body cavity for an extended period of time. "Toxic shock syndrome" may arise in instances where an infective site is allowed to remain within a body cavity, such as a vaginal canal, for an extended period of time.
A properly inserted and removed sponge or tampon not only enhances the benefits of the device, but also maintains long-term effect while positioned. Ease of positioning or insertion is equally important as maintaining the sponge's integrity during removal. A sponge, having a doughnut or flattened shape as shown in Patent '871 may easily fold thereby failing to present equal radial pressure against the cavity wall. A passage may therefore be formed in those areas voided of pressure as a result of the fold. An optimal shape appears to be spherical ball having radially expandable pressure against all sides of the cavity wall. However, the spherical ball will oftentimes be compressed to an outer dimension much less than the original expanded dimension during placement. As a result, spermicide impregnated within only the outer portion of the sponge may be flushed or squeezed from the sphere during placement. Absence of spermicide can thereby lead to an ineffective contraceptive device.
As defined herein, "spermicide" is a chemical placed in solution, and which provides a chemical barrier against sperm and sexually transmitted organisms responsible for STDs. Therefore, "spermicides" used herein include an anti-infective agent. Spermicide have, in many instances, been found to be active against herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomonas, candida, and even HIV. Popular spermicides include benzalkonium chloride, chlorhexidine, gluconate, menfegol, octoxynol and, as described above, nonoxynol-9. Nonoxynol-9 is a spermicide which acts by destroying the cell wall of the sperm, and is believed to act in the same manner on bacteria and viruses. Because it destroys the cell wall of sperm, bacteria and viruses, it can also cause some local irritation in both men and women using the product improperly, or in large dosages.

Tampon and method for manufacturing the same


A device for producing vacuum using the Venturi effect, systems utilizing the device, and methods of making the device are disclosed. The device has a housing defining a Venturi gap, a motive passageway converging toward the Venturi gap and in fluid communication therewith, a discharge passageway diverging away from the Venturi gap and in fluid communication therewith, and a suction passageway in fluid communication with the Venturi gap. The suction passageway has an interior surface with a surface topography that renders the interior surface hydrophobic and has an oleophobic coating applied to the interior surface while maintaining the surface topography.

Engines, for example vehicle engines, are being downsized and boosted, which is reducing the available vacuum from the engine. This vacuum has many potential uses, including use by the vehicle brake booster. One solution is to utilize other fluids in an engine that could generate vacuum, such as crankcase gases, as disclosed in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0340732. One problem with crankcase gases is the likelihood of the presence of water and/or oil, as liquid or gas, in the crankcase gases, and the operating conditions allowing the same to be cooled, thereby condensing and/or freezing the crankcase gases. The freezing of the crankcase gases may build up and either impair or block the flow of fluids through the device, thereby impairing or preventing the generation of vacuum using the crankcase gases.
A need exists for improved designs that are resistant to ice and/or oil build up in the ports of the Venturi device.

Venturi devices resistant to ice formation for producing vacuum from crankcase gases


An illuminated display contained within a translucent container that employs flat fiber optic material as the primary illuminated design. When this material is illuminated at its base edge and the illumination is optionally programmed, light then travels to and is emitted all along its cut top edge, resulting in a clear “line of light” display that appears to exist in space, unattached from any other material and evokes a specific desired effect within the translucent container, including the effect of a specific ephemeral phenomenon. The illuminated display effect is often strengthened by adding one or more additional displays to the translucent container.

The addition of a visible exhalation (such as smoke or exhaust) or a collection of particles (such as fairy dust) is a feature that can add real excitement to products, particularly toys. Examples of this are toy trains that appear to emit smoke, toy planes that appear to emit a jet exhaust, fairy wands that appear to emit fairy dust, superhero figures whose super powers are visible as simulated fire, freezing or colored emanations, etc. And there are many other possibilities, some of which have not yet been ideated in current products but will appear as products continue to develop different characteristics over time.
Products are not commonly constructed with features that actually produce smoke, fire, vapors or etc. because of size/materials limitations, safety concerns and cost. Therefore, such features are commonly realized through substitutions that simulate or evoke the effect of the various exhalations—for examples in toys: using mist to approximate smoke and using waving fabric to invoke the illusion of fire, both of which techniques give a general approximation of the named exhalations.
Illuminated displays within translucent containers typically use LEDs as illumination devices, are well known and can exist as many display forms, including a display that simulates an exhalation in a general way—for example when the glow from a red LED within a translucent container is taken to represent fire. As early as 1916, R. H. Hay disclosed a similar display device in U.S. Pat. No. 1,283,751, comprising three illumination devices placed inside a translucent container and selectively illuminated to produce a glowing light effect of varying color. To date there exist many other inventions that pertain to the subject matter of illumination devices within translucent containers. Apart from their use in relation to the flat fiber optic material of the present invention, no claim is made to displays using illuminating devices placed within translucent containers. The present invention pertains to the assembly of a unique visual display (the "Flat Fiber Optic Display") that exploits the unique properties of flat fiber optic material and in so doing, may also employ additional displays in relation to or dependent on the flat fiber optic material.
Flat fiber optic material is a commercially available material made from strands of fiber optical cable that are placed side by side and glued together. Oftentimes a thin fabric material is adhered to the flat sides of the material to add stability to the material and impede cable separation from the glued whole. An illumination device disposed in optical communication with the material base edge causes light to travel up the optical fibers, emitting from the cut points of the material's top edge. In flat fiber optic material, the result of applied light to the base edge is a display in the shape of an illuminated line of light all along the cut fibers at the top edge of the material, an effect that is unique to this material.
The fiber optic cables used in flat fiber optic material can be any diameter and are typically end-glow cables where light emanates only from the cut end of the cable. The present invention pertains to use of flat fiber optic material that uses unmodified fiber optic cables and allows for a distinct, "line of light" display. The enhanced illuminated display capabilities that arise from use of modified fiber optic cables are within the purview of this invention only so far as they serve to enhance the display quality of the distinct, "line of light."

Lighted display devices comprised in part of flat fiber optic material


A propeller is presented which comprises a one piece blade that spirals out from an angular solid hub portion in smooth transition as a continuous screw spiral (or helix). Throughout its length, the spiral screw portion has an open center, (i.e., axial void) which when rotating is filled totally by water both inside the center void and in all spaces between the spiral blades. The spirals of the spiral screw portion are angled so that the pitch angle has a concave face or pushing surface which results in water trapped within the center and between the pitch faces being forced to pulse and thus be thrown back with great force from the end of the spiral screw.

The present invention relates to a new and improved propulsion propeller to propel boats and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to a novel hollow centered spiral propeller which can be formed in one piece and which has pitched surfaces and an open outlet allowing fish and the like to escape without injury.
Propellers used in water for driving boats and the like are well known. Representative examples of such propellers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 203,719 and 203,721 to LeRoy Martens. Both of these patents disclose propellers suitable for their intended purpose. However, these two propellers can injure fish and the like as the propeller slices through the water. Also, these prior art propellers tend to develop undesired turbulence as the water rushes around the whirling propeller. Other prior art propellers such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,426,721 to Justinien and 2,388,711 to Sawyer, rely heavily on a linking particular screw designs with specific boat designs, In addition, in general, the prior art propellers discussed previously lack efficiency and present a danger to sea life. Other patents of interest in this area, which pose similar problems, include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,459; 30,360; 812,604; 941,923; 1,595,949; 3,070,061; and 3,233,574.