A calligrapher's ruler including two fixed parallel longitudinal members each bearing a different set of graduated indicia is disclosed. A central member is slidably retained between the longitudinal members and mounts an elongated lateral straightedge member, also provided with a scale, so that the straightedge can be moved in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of the longitudinal members and maintained at a fixed angle, preferably perpendicular, relative thereto. A pointer on the central slide member is aligned with one of the indicia on the longitudinal members to establish the exact location of the straightedge member along the longitudinal members. A locking device on the central slide member locks the slide member and its connected straightedge in a selected position along the longitudinal members.

The present invention relates generally to drafting instruments and particularly to rulers for use by calligraphers for laying out borders, margins, centerlines, guidelines and the like.
A variety of drafting and other special purpose rulers have been used over a number of years, but none of these instruments is specifically suited to the work of a calligrapher, whose craft has a variety of special requirements. Typically, a calligrapher will use several separate instruments, such as a centerline ruler, a T square, standard inch and metric rulers and drafting triangles, to lay out his work. Such use of multiple instruments is inconvenient, time consuming and frequently leads to unnecessary inaccuracies in the work.
Some more sophisticated instruments have included one or more fixed scales of numbered indicia that commence at one end of a T square-type ruler. While such devices may be suitable for many purposes, they do not substantially facilitate centering of work on a page nor can they be used efficiently to draw lettering guidelines on a page without the simultaneous use of multiple instruments. This is because the scales which they contain are preestablished at fixed locations and because the scales include indicia set at fixed intervals which may or may not be convenient for calligraphic work. Since the scales are immovable and contain fixed uniform indicia, frequently the indicia will not happen to register with the guidelines the calligrapher intends to draw.

Guideline and layout ruler for calligraphers


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for instantiating a dialog process at a particular child node state. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a request specifying a particular child node state of a dialog process, instantiating the dialog process at the root node state, providing input responses to the dialog process that cause the dialog process to traverse from the root node state to the particular child node state, where each input response is provided in response to an input request, and providing data that causes a user device to present the dialog process at the particular child node state.

A dialog process is a computer program, script, or any other set of instructions that, when executed by a computer device, simulate conversation with human users. Through these simulated conversations, a dialog process provides a wide range of automated assistance to users. A dialog process is often implemented by a state machine or graph process having multiple node states. Each state solicits one or more inputs from a user, and, depending on the input, traverses to another node state or takes a particular action.
Dialog processes, which may also be referred to as "chatbots," are widely used as part of messaging platforms, entertainment websites, and for customer service. Often a dialog process developer may desire that a user be taken to a particular node state of the dialog process. For example, assume a developer that has written a chatbot that helps users plan their travel has added to the chat bot a new functionality that helps users compare hotel room bookings. The developer would like to expose users to this functionality. However, to do so, users must traverse one or more chatbot states from an initial state to be exposed to the new functionality. Thus, unless users are directed to manually enter the necessary responses to reach the particular node state at which the new functionality will be exposed (and then follow the directions and actually manually enter necessary responses), or unless the developer creates a new chatbot that emphasizes the new functionality (which increases the customer's code base and risks losing users), many of the users will not be exposed to the new functionality.

Instantiation of dialog process at a particular child node state


A device for stabilizing a ladder for supporting it against an upright surface has an L-shaped member having a horizontally extending plate terminating in a downwardly depending section and a means for detachably securing the downwardly depending section to the upper end of the ladder. A second plate, hingedly attached to the L-shaped member, is movable between an operative position and an inoperative position. When in the operative position, the stabilizer is adapted to rest against the upright surface thereby preventing the ladder from tipping. When in the inoperative position, the second plate is parallel to the downwardly depending section of the L-shaped member. A locking means locks the second plate in the operative position, and spring maintains the second plate in the inoperative position when the stabilizer is not in use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to ladder stabilizers and in particular to a stabilizing attachment to a ladder that can be locked into place when in use and retracted when not in use.
2. The Prior Art
Various forms of ladder stabilizers have long been known to the art of safety product design. U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,97, issued to Palmquist, shows a relatively flat ladder plate to which two inverted L-shaped bracket members are welded or otherwise secured. The bracket members extend upwardly on the rear of the plate, thence rearwardly therefrom at an obtuse angle. A pole plate is secured on the rearwardly extending portions of the bracket members by means of upwardly projecting, threaded studs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,012, issued to Perry, discloses a ladder safety brace.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,274, issued to Tataseo, discloses a ladder stand-off device for supporting the upper end of a ladder in spaced relationship with a wall against which the ladder is leaned.
U.S. Pat. No. 662,566, issued to Jones, discloses portable staging attached to ladders. U.S. Pat. No. 1,015,123, issued to Bauer, discloses a ladder having two spaced supports.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,790, issued to Brewer et al., discloses a ladder stabilizer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,895, issued to Santos, discloses a ladder stabilizer comprising top extension arms and attached stabilizer bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,476, issued to Lee, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,390, issued Phillips, disclose tree stands.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,870,948, issued to Lundgren, discloses a ladder attachment used to secure the upper end of a ladder to any elongated object.
The R. D. Werner Co., Inc. Ladders Catalog of April 1993, p. 22, discloses an adjustable pole lash.
The disadvantages of the prior art include that there is no selectively deployable stabilizer for a ladder that can be both deployed and secured quickly. Nor is there any mechanism for holding the stabilizer in a secured position until it has been positively deployed, thereby preventing the user from mistakenly believing the stabilizer is deployed. Nor do any of the prior art devices disclose a means for adapting a stabilizer to surfaces of varying angles.

Retractable and lockable ladder stabilizer


A biogas blending and energy content verification system and method for controlled enhancement of a biogas feedstock stream energy content profile by selective sampling and analysis of the biogas feedstock stream and controlled injection of a refined gas of a known, higher energy content into the biogas feedstock stream to produce a blended biogas having an augmented energy content profile meeting or exceeding a pre-established minimum to meet end user requirements.

Biogas, also referred to as bio-methane, swamp gas, landfill gas, and digester gas, is the product of anaerobic digestion, e.g., the decomposition of waste material without the presence of oxygen which yields predominantly methane and carbon dioxide. After proper processing to appropriate purity, captured biogas is usable as a green/renewable fuel or fuel for natural gas-powered vehicles/engines. One such system for multi-stage biogas treatment is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,535,045, which describes a system to process biogas. The content of that patent is incorporated herein by reference.
Several generation and collection sources of biogas exist across a wide range of disciplines, i.e., waste water treatment, solid waste/land fill disposal and management, food processing plants, and the agricultural industry, including processing farm animal waste.
Before it can be used effectively as a fuel source, however, biogas must be processed. Such processing requires removal and/or minimization of typical impurities found in the biogas output stream. The cleaning begins with particulate removal, followed by removal of water, and, when the desired end product is intended to provide a high quality gas stream, H2S, sulfur species, siloxanes, CO2, digestion generated VOCs (Volatile Organic Chemicals) and oxygen. Subject to required purity/energy content standards, the resulting cleaned gas may be utilized as CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) for powering vehicles.
The purity requirements for use of processed biogas as Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) fuel or compressed natural gas (CNG) are established by standards such as ISO 15404-2006. In addition to the above-mentioned scrubbing, that standard calls for the removal of all moisture for the gas to be compressed at high pressures, e.g., 6,000 psig. The success of such processing must again be confirmed through sample takeoff and analysis.
Particularly in the context of CNG, a need exists for a system and method assuring maintenance of a pre-established energy content from an obtained biogas stream and providing augmentation by blending of a refined gas with the biogas stream of when the content falls below the pre-established minimum combustion energy profile threshold.

Biogas blending and verification systems and methods


Organopolysiloxanes are prepared in a multistage process by a first partial hydrolysis with from 0.002 to 0.6 mol water per hydrolyzable chlorine and alcohol at a water to alcohol ratio of 0.001 to 1.5, then further hydrolyzing with additional water, and then separating an aqueous alcoholic phase from an organopolysiloxane phase.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a multistage process for the preparation of organopolysiloxanes by hydrolysis and condensation of chlorosilanes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Processes for the preparation of organopolysiloxanes are already known. In this context, reference may be made, for example, to DE 16 68 172 A, in which a water-soluble inert solvent is used. Furthermore, DE 854 708 B describes a process for the preparation of siloxane resins, in which alkoxylation, hydrolysis and condensation are carried out in one step, the reactions taking place in an uncontrolled manner.
The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of organopolysiloxanes, in which    in a first step, chlorosilanes are reacted with from 0.002 to 0.6 mol of water per mole of hydrolyzable chlorine and with from 0.3 to 1.6 mol of alcohol per mole of hydrolyzable chlorine, the molar ratio of water to alcohol being from 0.001 to 1.5,    in a second step, the reaction mixture obtained in the first step is optionally mixed with a water-insoluble organic solvent having a density of less than 0.9 kg/l, and water is metered in in amounts of from 0.2 to 100 mol of water per mole of Si component, and    in a third step, after the end of the reactions of the second step, the aqueous alcoholic phase is separated off.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for producing organopolysiloxanes


An aromatic amide compound having the following general formula (I) is provided:

High performance polymers, such as thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers ("LCPs"), are often used to form molded parts (e.g., electrical connectors). One benefit of such polymers is that they can exhibit a relatively high "flow", which refers to the ability of the polymer when heated under shear to uniformly fill complex parts at fast rates without excessive flashing or other detrimental processing issues. In addition to enabling complex part geometries, high polymer flow can also enhance the ultimate performance of the molded part. Most notably, parts generated from well-flowing polymers generally display improved dimensional stability owing to the lower molded-in stress, which makes the component more amenable to downstream thermal processes that can be negatively impacted from warpage and other polymer stress relaxation processes that occur in less well-molded materials. Despite their relatively high flow capacity, many high performance polymers still fall short of what is needed to meet the increased molding demands of intricate part designs without significant compromises to the final product performance. As such, a need continues to exist for a new compound that can be used in combination with high performance polymers, among other possible uses.

Abstract: wherein,                X1 and X2 are independently C(O)HN or NHC(O);        G1, G2 and G3 are independently hydrogen, C(O)HN-phenyl, or NHC(O)-phenyl, wherein at least one of G1, G2 and G3 is C(O)HN-phenyl or NHC(O)-phenyl;        Q1, Q2, and Q3 are independently hydrogen, C(O)HN-phenyl, or NHC(O)-phenyl, wherein at least one of Q1, Q2, and Q3 is C(O)HN-phenyl or NHC(O)-phenyl;        R5 is halo, haloalkyl, alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, heteroaryl, cycloalkyl, or heterocyclyl; and        m is from 0 to 4.


A multilayer ceramic substrate having a thin film structure containing capacitor connected thereto is provided as an interposer capacitor, the capacitor employing platinum as the bottom electrode of the capacitor. In a preferred capacitor, a dielectric material such as barium titanate is used as the dielectric material between the capacitor electrodes. The fabrication of the interposer capacitor requires an in-situ or post deposition high temperature anneal and the use of such dielectrics requires heating of the capacitor structure in a non-reducing atmosphere. A layer of a high temperature, thin film diffusion barrier such as TaSiN on the lower platinum electrode between the electrode and underlying multilayer ceramic substrate prevents or minimizes oxidization of the metallization of the multilayer ceramic substrate to which the thin film structure is connected during the fabrication process. A method is also provided for fabricating an interposer capacitor with a multilayer ceramic substrate base and a thin film multilayer structure having at least one capacitor comprising at least one bottom platinum electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multilayer electronic components and, in particular, to interposer thin film containing capacitors which use a noble metal such as platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, silver, gold, etc. or alloys thereof as a capacitor electrode and to a diffusion barrier material (such as TaSiN, TiN, TaN, TiAlN, etc.) used in combination with the electrode to minimize circuitry oxidation and to provide an enhanced electronic component.
2. Description of Related Art
Multilayer substrates with capacitors have found wide spread use in electronics as integrated circuit packages. Electronic components are being made smaller in size with a higher circuit density and to meet these requirements it is necessary to use fabrication materials having enhanced properties such as increased conductivity, higher dielectric constant values, etc. Many of these materials however, do not have properties which enable their use with the other components of the multilayer substrate and accordingly, their use is limited in the fabrication of multilayer electronic components.
Ceramics have found widespread use in electronics as a substrate for integrated circuit packages including multilayer ceramic substrates having inner capacitors. In general, a metallized circuit pattern is applied to the ceramic substrate which is in the form of a greensheet, and the greensheet stacked with other metallized greensheets and the stack sintered to create a monolith of substrate and circuitry. Multilayer circuit packages are constructed by combining ceramic particles and organic binders into unfired or "greensheet" tape. Interlayer conductive pads, known as "vias", are then inserted (punched) through the layer, and the vias filled with metals (Mo, Cu, W, etc.) forming electronic interconnections between the circuits. Metallized circuit patterns are then applied to the punched greensheet as is well known in the art and the layers stacked and sintered.
A capacitor can be formed within the multilayer substrate by sandwiching an inner dielectric layer between a pair of electrodes. Conductive pads are formed on the top sheet and wirings are formed within the substrate to connect the capacitor electrodes to the pads. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,567,542; 5,065,275; 5,099,388 and 5,144,526 show such multilayer ceramic (MLC) products having internal capacitors and the disclosure of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference.
A capacitor structure can alternately be formed by using thin films of electrodes and dielectrics which are deposited on a prefabricated multilayer ceramic substrate. Typically, the bottom electrode is deposited using such techniques as sputter deposition, evaporation, chemical vapor deposition or sol-gel. The electrode is made from a noble metal (Pt, In, Ru, Pd, Ag--Pd, Au) or a noble metal oxide (IrO.sub.2, RuO.sub.2, etc.). The electrode may then be subjected to patterning by employing a photoresist stencil to define the pattern followed by wet or dry etching to delineate areas and thus create the pattern. This step is followed by deposition of the dielectric material using a physical or chemical vapor deposition method, or other techniques such as a spin-on technique. An example of films applied wet is a sol-gel film or other organic medium film which is heat treated leaving the inorganic dielectric component. The dielectric film may require one or more heat treatments in specific ambients such as oxidizing atmospheres to arrive at desired stoichiometries. An example of a dielectric film is barium titanate (BT), barium strontium titanate (BST) or barium zirconate titanate (BZT). These films can be deposited using a sputter deposition technique which employs an appropriate target in the presence of argon plasma, metallorganic chemical vapor deposition or sol-gel processing.
The dielectric film may then be patterned using a resist stencil and dry or wet etching methods. The final step is to put down the top electrode, which is typically selected from the above list of materials used for the bottom electrode, using methods such as those described above.
Platinum and other such desirable capacitor electrode materials are not an effective barrier in thin film components to the diffusion of oxygen in the temperature range used to fabricate the component. Oxygen moves readily through the platinum and oxidizes underlying vias and other circuitry wiring in the multilayer ceramic substrate which vias and circuitry may be made of Mo, Cu, W, etc. This oxidization results in either an electrical opening or a higher resistance path for the electrical signal, both of which are unacceptable.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a multilayer ceramic electronic component containing thereon a thin film postfire capacitor having a noble metal electrode such as platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, silver, gold, etc. which component has enhanced electrical integrity and operating characteristics.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for forming an electronic component comprising a multilayer ceramic containing thereon a thin film postfire capacitor having a noble metal electrode which component has enhanced electrical integrity and operating characteristics.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

High temperature, conductive thin film diffusion barrier for ceramic/metal systems

International Business Machines Corporation


An implant for orthopedic surgery includes an impaling member (101,102), which is separable into portions (102a, 102b) for impaling and attaching to tissue, for example, bone. Once the portions (102a, 102b) of the impaling member (101,102) are separated and attached to the requisite tissue, they may accommodate stabilizing members for fixation, or other instrumentation for procedures such as fusion.

Back and spinal disc surgery remains a difficult and tedious process. Accessing spinal discs is extremely complicated, as soft tissue is traumatized and sacrificed, with the length of convalescence proportional to the amount of the surgical impact on the soft tissue. Moreover, conventional spinal disc surgery causes traction on organs and tissues in the path of the surgical instrumentation needed to access the annulus.
Accessing the annulus may require passage through the ilio-psoas muscle, which houses the lumbar plexus. When instrumentation is passed through these muscles to access the annulus, it is mandatory to monitor the presence of neural elements in the trajectory of the instrumentation.
In addition, almost all of the conventional surgical techniques for spinal disc surgery use retractors. The retractors are placed within a slit in the ilio-psoas muscle, and the retractor blades are commonly fixed by screws or pins driven into the vertebral bodies, which border the disc being accessed. The blades must be pushed apart with the utmost of care, to avoid plexus injuries, which if they occur, could cause serious, or even fatal, injury to the patient.


A differential receiver for sensing small input voltage swings by using a built in reference voltage obtained by a difference in threshold voltage between a differential pair of closely spaced transistors. The difference in threshold voltage can be produced by different values of ion implantation of the gates of the transistor pair with the same material, or by dosages using different materials. The difference in threshold voltage can also be obtained by using different transistor channel lengths. The threshold voltages can also be modulated by the control of the transistor substrate voltages using a voltage control substrate means.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to differential receiver circuits and more particularly to a differential receiver circuit for sensing small voltage swings.
2. Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,869 issued Jun. 3 1997 to Ferraiolo et al. entitled CURRENT REFERENCE CIRCUIT describes a current reference circuit that uses a pair of transistors having different threshold voltages.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,052 issued Nov. 3 1995 to Tsukada entitled REFERENCE POTENTIAL GENERATING CIRCUIT UTILIZING A DIFFERENCE IN THRESHOLD BETWEEN A PAIR OF MOS TRANSISTORS discloses a circuit for generating a reference voltage based on the difference of the threshold voltages.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,740 issued Jan. 24, 1995 to Etoh et al. entitled REFERENCE VOLTAGE GENERATOR discloses a voltage generator based on a difference between threshold voltages of MOS transistors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,467 issued Jan. 11, 1994 to Nedwick entitled SELF-BIASING INPUT STAGE FOR HIGH-SPEED LOW-VOLTAGE COMMUNICATION discloses a self-biased differential amplifier level restore input circuit for high speed, low voltage communication.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,946 issued Sep. 28, 1993 to Murakami et al. entitled SYMMETRICAL DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER CIRCUIT discloses a symmetrical differential amplifier circuit used as a sense amplifier in a semiconductor memory.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,864 issued Jun. 22, 1993 to Galbi et al. entitled STABLE VOLTAGE REFERENCE CIRCUIT WITH HIGH VT DEVICES discloses a voltage reference circuit employing devices having different VTs to produce an output offset from a supply voltage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,663 issued Feb. 25, 1992 to Ishizaki et al. entitled MESFET DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER discloses a MESFET differential amplifier that includes a differential switching stage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,292 issued May 3, 1988 to Hoffman entitled CMOS PRECISION VOLTAGE REFERENCE GENERATOR discloses a circuit wherein a differential voltage set by threshold differences of an FET and an implanted FET device provides a reference voltage.
Japanese patent JP 02-230305 published Sep. 12, 1990 discloses a voltage reference based on the difference of threshold voltages of MOS transistors.
In the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 32, No. 98, February 1990 at pages 4 and 5, the publication SILICON BAND-GAP REFERENCE VOLTAGE GENERATORS BASED ON DUAL POLYSILICON MOS TRANSISTORS discloses a circuit for generating a silicon band-gap reference voltage for MOS applications by different threshold voltages of two PMOS devices.
In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/038,395 a method is disclosed wherein silicon bodies are electrically isolated from one another.

Single-ended semiconductor receiver with built in threshold voltage difference


A tensile pole tent having improved wind performance, having a polygonal projection in plan view, perimeter catenaries, a flexible canopy continuously attached to the catenaries, corner posts to support the catenaries, a membrane interface or field joint between adjacent membrane modules consisting of, for example, a novel water-shedding keder rail, or a zipper or daisy chain grommets and loops. The membrane interface can be sealed against precipitation by cover flaps that extend upwards from the membrane and come into contact above the interface.

Conventional tensile structures and tents that span large areas must be fabricated in modules to facilitate transport and handling. Modularization of the membrane presents challenges for joining it into one weather-proof membrane. Field joints are generally labour intensive, prone to leaking, and often unsightly. Field joint covers made to weatherproof lace line and other joints often employ hook and loop fasteners (i.e. Velcro) or snap, hook, and cable fasteners which are extremely sensitive to accurate indexing and almost always set up conditions for shear forces to present wrinkles along the seam cover material. Fabric joints on frame tents are made at the beams and are often prone to leaking water. However, such beams are not used in a pole supported tent, necessitating beam-free joints.
A keder, or keder strip, is a thickened edge on a membrane such as a sail, tent canopy, etc., which, when inserted into an extrusion made to accommodate it, (e.g. a keder extrusion, keder beam or keder rail) serves to fix the membrane to the extrusion. The keder extrusion has at least one channel, having a narrowed elongated opening, that receives the keder. Since the width of the keder is greater than that of the elongated opening, the only way it can be inserted or removed is to slide the keder along the channel and out one of the ends. The keder beam, rail or extrusion made to hold the keder can be made from any one of a variety of materials, but lately extrusions are considered to be the favored option.
The use of keder extrusions to join tent membranes is known in the art. However, their use is limited because they are prone to leaking. This makes keder extrusion particularly unsuitable for joining tent canopy modules at low points of a tent canopy. For this reason keders are not used to join membranes in canopy "valleys".
As well, the height of a pole tent is dictated by the minimum slope acceptable to ensure proper drainage. The minimum slope is found on the fall line at the corners of rectangular tents. The wider the tent, the higher the peak(s) required to maintain the minimum acceptable corner slope. Higher peaks require longer poles and/or beams, adding to the weight, size and cost of the tent. It also means that the tent is more vulnerable to wind, therefore requiring more anchorage, thereby further increasing the weight, size and cost of the tent.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tent structure with an effective membrane joining system that is easy to manufacture and erect. It is a further object to provide a tent with low wind profile. It is a further object of this invention to provide a tent with excellent water shedding and drainage characteristics. It is a further object to provide a tent with fabric tensioned to the level of permanent tensile structures without the complex mechanical devices and means to erect it, but instead with a simple mechanical means to introduce said tension in a safe manner by only one person. It is a further object of this invention to provide a tent with minimal ground anchorage and maximum span between side posts.


A technique for performing synchronous replication on both block and file-based objects employs a replication appliance embedded alongside a unified data path IO stack within a storage processor of a data storage system. Various arrangements are described for achieving failover, migration, failback, and load balancing, both involving other embedded replication appliances and involving external replication appliances.

Data storage systems commonly employ block-based replication solutions for protecting the data they store. Conventional block-based replication solutions operate on storage volumes (e.g., Logical Unit Numbers, or "LUNs") using Fibre Channel or iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface).
A well-known example of a block-based replication solution is the RecoverPoint system available from EMC Corporation of Hopkinton, Mass. RecoverPoint systems include a replication splitter realized in software, e.g., on a storage processor (SP) that accesses a local block-based array, one or more local replication appliances, and one or more remote replication appliances connected to a remote array configured as a replica site. The replication appliances connect to data storage systems and other replication appliances over a network, and multiple replication appliances can be configured in clusters for load sharing and increased throughput. As a data storage system receives IO requests specifying data to be written to a particular LUN on the local block-based array, the replication splitter intercepts the IO request and sends it to the local replication appliance (or appliances), e.g., over a Fibre Channel or iSCSI connection. The local appliance communicates with the remote appliance, e.g., over a WAN (Wide Area Network), and manages the storage of the data specified in the IO request at the replica site. In this manner, the replica site is made to store data that provide a redundant copy of data on the LUN, which may be used to recover the contents of the LUN in the event of a failure on the local array.
Some data storage systems employ file-based replication. A well-known example of a file-based replication solution is the Celerra Replicator™ V2, also available from EMC Corporation of Hopkinton, Mass. File-based replication typically operates by taking snaps (e.g., point in time copies) of files and file systems at a local site, comparing current snaps with previous snaps, and sending differences to a destination site. The destination site accumulates and stores the differences, which it can use to reconstitute the file or file system being replicated in the event of a failure at the local site.

Embedded synchronous replication for block and file objects


Diagnostic strips of the kind which are exposed to biological fluids such as blood or urine to detect or monitor medical conditions are cut sequentially from elongated cards by a reciprocating shear blade. The cards may be ones which exhibit defective areas that should not be included in the finished strips. Blade motion seats each newly cut strip on a movable strip carrier which abuts the blade during the cutting operation. The carrier then travels a nondefective strip to a pickup location where it is precisely positioned and picked off of the carrier for emplacement in a housing. A strip with a defective area is carried further to a discharge location where it is released into a waste receptacle. This enables more economical manufacture of diagnostic strips by efficiently making use of nondefective areas of cards that have defective areas.

This invention relates to the manufacture of diagnostic strips of the kind used for diagnosis or monitoring of medical conditions. More particularly the invention relates to mechanism for transverse cutting of elongated cards to form a plurality of such strips and for separating out defective strips following the cutting operation.
Diagnostic strips are strips of paper, plastic or other sheet material which are coated with reagents that react to particular substances which may be present in biological fluids such as blood or urine. Typically such strips change color after being immersed in the biological fluid if the particular substance is present in the fluid. This enables a very quick, convenient and economical detection of many medical conditions and facilitates monitoring of patients. As one example, strips sensitive to glucose oxidaise are used in the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes. Strips sensitive to certain hormones are used to detect pregnancy. Strips having other compositions detect a variety of other physiological conditions. Similar strips are also used for non-medical purposes such as for detecting the presence of particular chemical compositions in a fluid.
The diagnostic strip typically has a backing material formed of paper, plastic or the like to which the chemically sensitive coating material is applied. The coating material may be contained in one or more very thin tissues which are laminated on to the backing material. Applying the coating to each small strip individually would result in undesirably high manufacturing cost. This is avoided during manufacture by applying one or more long ribbons of the coating material to a lengthy piece of the backing material to form what is called a card. Cutting of the card along transverse cut lines produces the strips.
In some prior manufacturing processes the strips are produced by making simultaneous transverse cuts across the card using a rotary cutter having a row of spaced apart cutting disks disposed along an axis of rotation. The groups of strips which are produced simultaneously in this manner are then packaged or passed on to other mechanism for further processing. Prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,309 and prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,030 disclose examples of rotary strip cutting mechanism of this kind. In other prior manufacturing processes the strips have been produced sequentially by cutting successive strips from the card using a reciprocating cutting blade. Prior cutting mechanisms of either form do not enable performance of certain post cutting operations in a desirably efficient and economical manner.
Cards can on occasion have areas with visible manufacturing defects or areas which have been inadvertently contaminated with a foreign substance. Finished strips formed from such areas or containing portions of such areas may not function in the intended manner. The prior practice does not provide desirably efficient and economical arrangements for assuring that finished strips are free from defective areas of this kind. Individual inspection of each cut strip is at best a costly complication of the manufacturing process. Discarding of an entire card because of a small localized defective area results in wastage of other portions of the card material.
In many cases individual strips are emplaced in a housing formed of plastic or other material to form a kit which facilitates use of the strip. The housing may have openings for admitting fluid and for observing the effects of the fluid on the strip. Any mechanism for moving the cut strips from the cutter to the housings must bring the strips into precise registration with the housings as the strips typically are tightly fitted into recesses in the housings. The prior art does not provide desirably efficient and economical mechanism for this purpose.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.
In one aspect of the present invention, apparatus for cutting transverse strips from an elongated card and for sorting defective strips from non-defective strips includes a die member having a shear zone defining edge across which successive transverse portions of the card may be traveled. A reciprocatable shear blade is adjacent to the die member and has a cutting edge which is positioned to cut transverse strips from the card at the shear zone defining edge in a sequential manner. A strip transporting carrier is supported for movement between a first location at which a front end of the carrier abuts the die member in position to receive and support strips which are cut from the card, a second location at which non-defective strips are removable from the carrier and a third location at which defective strips are released from the carrier.
In another aspect of the invention, apparatus for cutting transverse strips from an elongated card and for sorting defective strips from non-defective strips includes a die member having a horizontal slot into which successive transverse portions of the card may be traveled, the slot forming a shear zone defining edge. A shear blade is disposed against the die member and has a cutting edge positioned to cut transverse strips from the card at the shear zone defining edge as the blade is reciprocated in a vertical direction. The shear blade has an inclined surface which extends upward from the cutting edge and outward from the die member. A strip transporting carrier has a platen for supporting newly cut strips, the carrier being movable along a horizontal strip travel path which extends away from the shear zone defining edge of the die member. The carrier is movable from a first location at which a front end of the carrier is against the die member in position to receive and support a newly cut strip to a second location at which nondefective strips are removed from the carrier and is further movable to a third location at which defective strips are released from the carrier. The front end of the carrier is formed by a plurality of strip supports which are retractable into the platen portion of the carrier. The strip supports are urged into the platen by the inclined surface of the shear blade as the blade travels downward during a cutting operation. This moves the newly cut strip onto the platen.
The invention provides for economical and efficient sorting of defective diagnostic strips from non-defective strips after cutting of the strips from elongated cards which may include cards having defective areas. The strips are cut from the card in a sequential manner by a reciprocating shear blade. Each newly cut strip is received by a strip transporting carrier. The carrier moves non-defective strips to a first location at which they are picked off of the carrier for transfer to a housing or other processing. If the strip is a defective one continued motion of the carrier takes the strip to another location at which it is released into a waste receptacle. Structural features of the preferred form of the invention provide for precise positioning of the cut strips on the carrier at the pick up location thereby enabling precise registration of the strips with housings into which they are tightly fitted.

Apparatus for cutting and sorting diagnostic strips


A mounting system for luminaire assemblies includes a mounting fixture which can be inserted into a tubular pole and secured therein without the need for complicated fasteners or tools. Specifically, the mounting fixture includes a cylindrical fitting with a tapered threaded section in which the depth of the groove forming the threads decreases upwardly along the fitting. A generally circular wire clip is seated within the tapered groove and upon rotation of the fitting relative to the tubular pole an end or detent of the clip engages the inner surface of the pole thereby prevent rotation of the clip. Continued rotation of the fitting relative to the pole advances the clip upwardly in the threaded section toward the more shallow portions of the groove thereby forming a friction fit between the expanding clip, the mounting fixture and the pole. The friction fit minimizes wobble, noise or other vibration between the assembled components and can be released upon reverse rotation of the mounting fixture relative to the pole. Furthermore, the pole may be of any polygonal or circular cross-sectional configuration as is desired.

This invention relates to pole-mounted luminaires and more particularly to a mounting system for easily and securely mounting luminaires to a pole.
Exterior luminaires used for lighting paths, sidewalks, parking lots or the like are typically secured to a tubular post or pole which extends vertically upward from the ground. Typically, a number of luminaires are secured to the top end of the post to provide area lighting for the parking lot, path, sidewalk or the like. The luminaire assemblies must be securely mounted to the top of the pole so as to resist vibration, movement, or twisting caused by the wind or other forces over a long period of time.
In the past, each luminaire assembly has been attached to a mounting fixture which is then inserted axially into the open top end of the tubular pole. Thereafter, a pair of holes is drilled by the installer transversely, that is, diametrically, through both the sidewalls of the tubular pole and the mounting fixture which is inserted therein. Bolts are then inserted through the holes and anchored in place by nuts or other mechanical fasteners to secure the luminaire assembly to the pole and prevent twisting thereof relative to the pole.
One problem associated with this prior system is that the mounting fixture which is inserted into the top of the tubular pole must have clearance to facilitate insertion. This clearance permits the mounting fixture to vibrate within the pole in response to wind-induced vibration of the luminaires. Due to manufacturing variations in the pole and mounting fixture, the actual size of the opening in the tubular pole varies substantially from the nominal or design dimension. Therefore, the difference between the size of the mounting fixture and the pole must include a margin of error or safety factor to ensure that the mounting fixture will fit inside any given nominal size pole and thereby minimize adjustments required by the installer. As a result of this arrangement, the bolts extending through the pole and mounting fixture do not dampen the vibration and the resulting noise which is generated by the luminaries. In addition to creating noise, the vibration of the mounting fixture causes it to become loose relative to the pole, resulting in the need for frequent repair and/or replacement and/or damage to the luminaire assembly.
Another problem with the prior mounting system is that it requires several different tools and a considerable amount of work and time to complete the installation. Further, complicating the installation procedure for luminaire assemblies is that the luminaire assemblies are typically installed on the pole after the pole is mounted in the ground, thereby requiring the installation procedure to be performed high above the ground. This presents potentially dangerous and difficult working conditions that make the installation of the luminaire assemblies even more difficult and time consuming.


A liquid discharging apparatus includes a tension applying unit configured to apply a predetermined tension capable of stretching an object, to the object; and a liquid discharging unit configured to discharge liquid on the object that is stretched by the predetermined tension applied by the tension applying unit to form a an original image or a corrected image of the original image on the object, the corrected image being corrected by a degree of stretching of a predetermined image when the object on which the predetermined image is formed is stretched by applying the predetermined tension to the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid discharging apparatus, an image processing apparatus and a liquid discharging system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Clothing manufacturers or cloth manufactures perform "textile printing" by which patterns or the like are printed on a surface of a cloth. A liquid discharging apparatus that is configured to print ink discharged from a liquid discharging head on a cloth has been developed.
However, different from paper, wrinkles are easily generated in such a material like a cloth, and such wrinkles may cause bad effects on printing results. Thus, a technique capable of applying flexible tension on a material on which an image is to be printed (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "print target material") in accordance with a type of the print target material to appropriately reduce or remove wrinkles of the print target material is suggested (see Patent Document 1, for example).
According to the conventional liquid discharging apparatus, an image is formed under a state in which tension, by which wrinkles of a print target material are appropriately reduced or removed but the print target material is not stretched, is applied on the print target material.
However, with such tension, even though an appropriate image can be once printed, there is a risk that the print target material contacts a liquid discharging head due to fuzzing or the like of the print target material and a printed surface becomes foul. This may cause waste of the print target materials due to misprint. Further, as a fixing force on the print target material is weak, there is a risk that an image is deformed as the print target material tilts due to oscillation during printing, or as the print target material may not be horizontally retained.

Liquid discharging apparatus, image processing apparatus and liquid discharging system


Apparatus for assessing posture, limb positions, and limb movements comprising a transmitter and a receiver for application to respective first and second skin positions, a microprocessor, and a biofeedback stimulus unit. The microprocessor measures the travel time of signals between the transmitter and the receiver, assesses the distance between the first and second skin positions based on the travel time of the signals between the transmitter and receiver, generates an actual posture parameter based upon the distance, compares the actual posture parameter with a predetermined target posture parameter stored in said microprocessor means, and generates a signal if the actual parameter is not equal to the target parameter. The biofeedback stimulus unit includes a patient-perceivable signal actuable in response to the signal generated by the microprocessor. The method comprises the steps of applying a transmitter and a receiver to first and second skin positions, respectively, which change their mutual distances during body movements due to the dilation or contraction of the areas of skin between the transmitter and receiver; measuring the travel time of signals from the transmitter to the receiver; and using the travel time measurements of the signals to calculate the distance changes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the diagnosis of truncal musculature, and in particular, to a method of assessing posture and body movements using ultrasonic transducers to measure the running time of ultrasonic waves.
2. Related Art
For various medical applications, e.g., the diagnosis of truncal musculature, the method for the operant conditioning of subject's posture using biofeedback, the measurement of the joint angular position and the gait analysis, :it is necessary to assess the posture and limb movements.
For these tasks devices of mechanic (U.S. 50 82 002, DD 251 075, EP 0154 102 A2), optic, electromagnetic (DE-OS 1 541 180, DE 2 715 106) and ultrasonic (WO 86/03 392 A1) bases are used.
All these known systems for the assessment of posture and limb positions as well as its movements have several significant drawbacks. For example, requiring a great apparatus display (optic systems), demanding sensors fixed in the room (ultrasonic and electromagnetic systems), allowing only a global evaluation of several posture parameters which are measured combined (cables extending longitudinally around the trunk to measure the spinal length), to be bulky and uncomfortable during application to the body, or easily to be damaged mechanically.

Method and apparatus for stimulation of posture


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for making mask shape adjustment The method includes creating a first mask shape; identifying one or more mask segments of the first mask shape as candidate mask segments of needing segment adjustment; applying an optical proximity correction (OPC) process to the first mask shape, the OPC process identifying at least one of the candidate mask segments as a constrained mask segment; applying a rotational adjustment to the constrained mask segment; and creating a second mask shape having the constrained mask segment being rotationally adjusted. A system and a machine-readable medium for performing the above method are also provided.

Fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits usually includes a series of processing steps that may be organized or grouped into different process modules. One process module may be, for example, a patterning process module that includes steps in creating a pattern or patterns of one or more devices on a silicon wafer. For example, this patterning process module may include a lithographic step during which patterns of devices represented by imprints on a photo-mask may be projected, through photo-exposure, onto a photo-sensitive resist (or "photo-resist") material that is applied on top of a silicon wafer to form patterns. Subsequently, the patterns formed in the photo-resist material may be transferred to an underneath silicon wafer through, for example, an etching process. As is known in the art, patterns on a photo-mask are usually a collection of polygons, whose shapes may be designed based upon final device shapes to be created desirably in the silicon wafer. The polygons on the photo-mask may be made either opaque or transparent to light, depending upon the types (positive or negative) of photo-resist materials being used.
In general, optical systems used in photo-exposure, also known as lithographic exposure, have certain limitations on achievable feature resolution. For example, there is always a limit on the size and density of polygons, in unit area, that may be transferred from a photo-mask to a silicon wafer by an optical system with reasonable satisfaction and acceptable quality. However in recent years, despite steady improvement in optical systems, resolutions of these optical systems have not been able to keep up with the ever increasing demand of manufacturing semiconductor devices of smaller feature sizes on a single silicon wafer. Under this circumstance, as an alternative measure to meet the demand for optical system resolution, the concept of Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) was introduced.
In an ideal world, forms of device shapes manufactured on a photo-mask shall truly reflect those to be created or imprinted on a semiconductor wafer. Nevertheless, the concept of an OPC technique is to manipulate or pre-distort forms of device shapes to be manufactured on the photo-mask, as is well known in the art, such that the pre-distorted shapes imprinted on the photo-mask, when being transferred to a wafer through photo-exposure and etching process, will eventually produce desired device shapes on the wafer. OPC is a software algorithm that takes a set of input design data for a particular lithography step, transforms that input design data by applying a set of pre-determined algorithms and/or models, and finally outputs a new set of design data. This new set of design data is then used in writing or creating patterns in a physical medium such as a photo-mask.
Generally, an OPC process shall produce polygon mask shapes, represented by the new set of design data, which are manufacturable on a semiconductor wafer through existing photo-mask process and/or wafer lithography process. However, the existing photo-mask process and/or wafer lithography process usually also requires a set of stringent conditions to be met by the polygons. These conditions impose certain constrains on the degree of extent that these polygons of mask shapes may be modified during an OPC process. Considering the ever increasing density of polygons being used in masks for manufacturing semiconductor devices, these conditions are becoming harder and harder to be met and satisfied. In the event that an OPC tool encounters a condition such that it can no longer produce polygons that meet the required manufacturability, one possible outcome of the OPC tool is to produce a "best possible" solution that is not necessarily acceptable by the pre-set manufacturing quality requirement.
Traditionally, OPC tools have used techniques to modify polygons for desired device shapes according to certain simplified rules. For example, polygons edges may be first broken into several segments that are allowed to move or to be adjusted in fixed directions of "in" or "out" of polygons. Subsequently, optical simulation is performed on the pattern to calculate edge placement error that may be anticipated on the wafer. Based upon the edge placement error, one or more segments may be further moved in a translational movement in a direction that may compensate or reduce that edge placement error. For example, OPC may make translational movement of the segment such that the moved or adjusted segment remains parallel to the original segment. More specifically, if an original mask design contains polygons with only 90° or 270° vertices, then the mask shape designed and finally output by OPC after including the effect of segment movement will still be polygons and with only 90° or 270° vertices as well. On the other hand, if the original mask design, which is fed into an OPC process as input design data, has segments of 45° orientation, then these segments of 45° orientation will retain the same orientation in the final mask design output by OPC. The extent that a segment may move is pre-determined, as is known in the art, by models used in the OPC.

Adjustment of mask shapes for improving printability of dense integrated circuit layout

International Business Machines Corporation

InfineonTechnologies North America Corporation


The invention relates to a protective device for a shock absorber, in particular a commercial vehicle shock absorber, comprising a first base area and a second base area, wherein the first base area and the second base area are connected to one another in such a way that via a swivel axis they can be swiveled in relation to one another between an assembly state and an operating state, and wherein the first base area and the second base area in the operating state substantially form a hollow cylindrical shape.

The present invention relates to a protective device for a shock absorber, in particular a commercial vehicle shock absorber protective device, and to a shock absorber arrangement, in particular a commercial vehicle shock absorber arrangement, which comprises a protective device for the piston portion of the shock absorber.
Protective devices of said type are known from the state of the art. Thus DE 875 767, for example, discloses a tubular dust protection, which encloses the upper end of a coil spring, which extends around the shock absorber cylinder. A disadvantage with such protective devices, however, is that fitting the protective devices to the shock absorber is costly and complicated.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a protective device for a shock absorber, in particular a commercial vehicle shock absorber, and a shock absorber arrangement, in particular a commercial vehicle shock absorber arrangement, which are easy to fit and which ensure high operating reliability and a long service life.


The invention deals with a cleaning installation for windshields of motor vehicles, aircraft, locomotives or the like with at least one wiper arm drivable by a wiper motor, at which arm a wiper blade is fastened by means of wiper blade holders, with a channel provided with outlet apertures extending in said blade, which is connected by a supply line to a water reservoir of a windshield washer installation connected to a pump, wherein the region of the wiper blade (9, 21) pointing towards the windshield (2) is part of the channel wall (11, 23) into which the outlet apertures (12) are mortised, and where a wiper lip (15) is disposed between the outlet apertures (12) by means of a swivel strip (14, 24) or a wiper lip (25) is arranged on each side, wherein selectively water, warm water or steam can exit from the outlet apertures (12)

The invention deals with a washing installation for windshields of motor vehicles, aircraft or locomotives or the like with at least one wiper arm drivable by a wiper motor, at which a wiper blade is fastened by means of wiper blade holders, in which blade a channel provided with outlet apertures extends, which is connected by a supply line with a water container of a windshield washing installation connected to a pump.
Such washing installations have been mandatory and prescribed for many years for cleaning of windshields. Essentially they have also mostly proved themselves. In rain or dusty weather they clean the more or less dirtied windshield. The glass plate of headlights can also be equipped with such cleaning installations.
The water or a cleaning liquid in most cases is sprayed upon the windshield by means of a spray nozzle. In order to generate the required operational pressure, a pump is provided between the water reservoir and the spray nozzle.
So as to direct the water optimally upon the windshield, it has become known to use two wiper blades essentially arranged next to each other by means of a holder disposed at the wiper arm, in between which the spray nozzle for the water is located (DE-GM 39 11 930).
This indeed prevents that the water required for cleaning a dirty windshield is scattered or pulverized for instance by the head wind in such a way, that an adequate quantity is not available at the windshield. However, it was seen that solely by the orientation of the water jet in connection with two wiper blades and optimum washing of a dirty windshield was not possible.
Above all lately the dirt does not consist only of dust, rather, mainly in summer and fall, from insect residues and throughout the whole year from a lubricant- or grease-film, which is caused mainly by oil contaminations on the road and by abrasion of the tires. The cleaning power of the known windshield washer is unable to deal with it.
A windshield washer with insect- and dirt remover has become known in order to mainly remove insect residues and other dirt from the windshield of the type under discussion, where the windshield wiper or the windshield wiper arm is provided with at least one wiper blade (for instance, rubber section) from at least one insect- and dirt remover in a randomly appropriate arrangement with respect to each other which in the overall arrangement preferably forms one single unit. In one particular embodiment example the windshield wiper, the windshield wiper blade (for instance rubber-lip among other) and/or the plurality of insect- and dirt removers are equipped with channels and outlet apertures for application of liquid and/or gaseous media. The insect- and dirt-removers consist of sponge-, brush-, wipeoff strips, or other expedient elements or parts (DE-OS 27 00 527).
It is disadvantageous that the insect- and dirt removers for instance made from hard sponges which are in use get dirty relatively easily and must be replaced. They are also prone to rapid aging because of the material. Due to solar radiation, which normally impacts these windshield washers head on, the hard rubber becomes very quickly brittle even if it is elastic to begin with. The chemical cleaning agent additionally used in preferred embodiment examples of the known windshield washers, with which chitin residues of insects as well as also the oil- or grease film is to be removed, is necessarily configured in such a way that thereby the rubber mounting of the windshield principally however also the lacquer on the body is sooner or later damaged. Even if the shield glass pane can be cleaned by coaction of the known mechanical and chemical cleaning agents, the disadvantages involved therein are so weighty, that such windshield washers do not find any acceptance.
The invention is meant to achieve a refinement or improvement of such a windshield wiper. Even with all imaginable improvements of the design details, the useful life of the mechanical cleaning agents is not improved and the detrimenal influence on the rubber-like windshield mounting and the body lacquer will not be avoided.

Washing installation for windshields or motor vehicles, aircraft, locomotives or the like


A laser system is configured to form laser-induced channels in a substrate at a plurality of spaced apart locations along a process path. The laser system includes a laser delivery assembly that receives the laser beam along a receiving axis and directs the laser beam toward the substrate along an impingement axis that forms an oblique angle with a surface of the substrate. The substrate can be divided into separate first and second portions along a separation surface having a draft angle, thereby facilitating substrate division with a zero-kerf process.

A substrate material can be separated into two or more pieces by forming a plurality of laser induced channels along a process path located along an intended line of separation, as taught by Bareman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 8,842,358. A laser induced channel edge can be formed upon substrate separation and can have a relatively smooth surface without the need for post-processing operations such as grinding. Unlike conventional cutting techniques, substrate separation via laser-induced channels may be a zero or near-zero kerf process which, while offering a high level of precision, can present new processing issues.

Device for controlling the direction of a laser beam


A policy-based cache manager, including a memory storing a cache of digital content, a plurality of policies, and a policy index to the cache contents, the policy index indicating allowable cache content for each of a plurality of policies, a content scanner for scanning a digital content received, to derive a corresponding content profile, and a content evaluator for determining whether a given digital content is allowable relative to a given policy, based on the content profile. A method is also described and claimed.

Conventional caching is used to avoid repeating the same computations or the same data transmission. Familiar Internet browsers cache web pages so that these pages do not have to be re-transmitted when a user returns to view the same page a second time. The advantage of caching is readily noticed, as the first time a user navigates to a web page, it typically takes a few seconds for his browser to render the page, yet when a user returns to the same web page, for example, by clicking on a "Back" button, the page is re-rendered immediately. This happens because the user's Internet browser typically caches the web page after it is received from a web server, so that the second time around the page is already available on the user's computer for rendering.
Caching is also used by proxy servers, which are intermediaries between servers on the Internet and a local network of client computers. Proxy servers are often requested to deliver the same web pages to multiple client computers, and thus proxy caching makes it possible to deliver web pages quickly, the second time they are requested.
Caching is also used by computational processors, to save intermediate results that would otherwise need to be computed repeatedly. For example, if a computational expression repeatedly includes a term sin(x), then such term can be cached so that it does not need to be calculated more than once. Many compilers are able to parse source code and determine efficient intermediate results to cache.
Caching is also used in conjunction with content control, used to control what content is delivered to client computers. Content control typically operates by filtering incoming content according to a "policy" that includes one or more rules. For example, URL filtering is used to block "undesirable" web pages from being delivered. Often the determination of what is undesirable is set by a user or by a computer system administrator. In this regard, a policy is the set of rules that determine what URLs to allow or not allow to pass through the filter, and typically only allowable URLs are cached.
A shortcoming of conventional caching as used in conjunction with content control is the inability to support more than one policy. That is, once content gets through a first policy, it is cached, and then it is readily available to users governed by a second policy, even if the second policy would not have allowed the content to pass through the filter.
Using conventional caching, workarounds include disabling the cache, which defeats the advantages of caching, or using multiple caches, one cache per distinct policy, which suffers from redundancy since the same content will typically be stored in multiple caches.


In a laryngeal tube for use in microsurgery in the region of the larynx, with simultaneous ventilation and anaesthesia, which, at its introduction end, is provided with a tube bearing an inflatable cuff, and which is also provided with an inflation channel terminating in the inside of the cuff, and also a ventilation channel terminating within the lumen of the tube, provision is made for the inflation channel (6) and the ventilation channel (7) to be connected together and stiffened.

This invention relates to a laryngeal tube for use in microsurgery in the region of the larynx with simultaneous ventilation and anaesthesia, with a tube at the introduction end, the said tube being provided with an inflatable cuff, and incorporating an inflation channel terminating in the inflatable cuff, together with a ventilation channel terminating in the inside lumen of the tube.
Such a tube for use in endolaryngeal microsurgery, is known as the Carden tube. The tube, which is preferentially provided with a stiffening helical spring, which is embedded in the material of the tube, is passed into the trachea of the patient with the aid of a foreign body-removing forceps. Then, the inflatable cuff is inflated with the aid of the inflation channel, with the result that it presses firmly against the inside surface of the trachea. In the introduction end section of the tube, a ventilation channel is located in such a way that it terminates in the lumen of the tube; through this ventilation channel, oxygen and an anaesthetic gas is supplied to the patient by means of a ventilation apparatus. The cuff prevents blood arising at the site of the operation above the tube from getting into the bronchi. However, when an operation is being performed in the region of the larynx, the two channels, which are not immobilized and which, in addition, move in the flow of air, are disturbing. Admittedly, the two channels cannot be dispensed with, since one is needed for ventilation and the other for inflating and deflating the cuff, and also because, on the other hand, the necessary sealing effect between the tube and the trachea could then not be achieved.


The control system of a vehicle comprises: a driver monitor camera capturing an face of a driver of a vehicle to generate a facial image of the driver; a driver condition detection part configured to detect a condition of the driver based on the facial image; a steering system operating wheels and a steering wheel of the vehicle; and a steering control part configured to set a target turning angle of the wheels and a target steering angle of the steering wheel to control the steering system. The steering control part is configured to make an upper limit value of the target steering angle a value up to a maximum angle when one eye of the driver is not hidden by the steering wheel in the facial image generated when the driver is facing the front.

In the past, a device for detecting a facial direction etc., of a driver using an image capturing means provided in a vehicle has been known. For example, PLT 1 describes that the facial direction of the driver and the angular velocity in the facial direction are calculated from the image of the driver captured by an image capturing means and, if the facial direction of the driver is outside the range of capture of the image capturing means, the facial direction is estimated based on the angular velocity in the facial direction.


A voltage compensation circuit supplies a desired voltage to a portion to which the desired voltage is to be supplied, by compensating for voltage drops caused by line resistances of voltage supply lines. The voltage compensation circuit includes: a first voltage supply line having a first end; and a second voltage supply line having a second end. In the voltage compensation circuit, a first voltage which is higher than the desired voltage by a predetermined value is applied to the first end, and a second voltage which is lower than the desired voltage by the predetermined value is applied to the second end. The portion to which the desired voltage is to be supplied is connected to the first voltage supply line at a first junction, and the portion to which the desired voltage is to be supplied is connected to the second voltage supply line at a second junction. An amount of voltage drop in the first voltage from the first end to the first junction is substantially equal to an amount of voltage rise in the second voltage from the second end to the second junction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a voltage compensation circuit for supplying a desired voltage to portions to which the voltage is to be supplied (hereinafter referred to as voltage-supplied portions) by compensating for voltage drops which occur because of line resistances of a voltage supply line. The present invention also relates to a display apparatus, provided with such a voltage compensation circuit, for displaying an image with multiple gray scales.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 13 shows the construction of a conventional liquid crystal display apparatus. The liquid crystal display apparatus includes a liquid crystal display panel 21, a plurality of data drivers 22, and a control power supply circuit 23. The liquid crystal display panel 21 includes a plurality of picture elements (not shown) arranged in a matrix. The plurality of date drivers 22 selectively supply gray-scale voltages to the respective picture elements included in the liquid crystal display panel 21. The control power supply circuit 23 supplies the gray-scale voltages to the respective data drivers 22. The data drivers 22 are not formed on the liquid crystal display panel 21. The control power supply circuit 23 is connected to the substrate 24 via a supply line 25. The data drivers 22 are interconnected with each other via printed wirings (not shown) formed on the substrate 24. The liquid crystal display panel 21 is connected to the data drivers 22 via driving terminals (not shown) of the liquid crystal display panel 21. In order to simplify the description of the construction of the conventional liquid crystal display apparatus, scanning drivers for scanning the picture elements included in the liquid crystal display panel 21 are not shown in FIG. 13.
In the conventional liquid crystal display apparatus having the above-described construction, it is possible to sufficiently reduce the line resistances of the supply line 25 and the printed wirings. Thus, the voltage drops caused by the line resistances of the supply line 25 and the printed wirings become so small that they are negligible. Accordingly, the quality of an image displayed on the liquid crystal display apparatus with multiple gray scales is generally not degraded by the drop of the gray-scale voltage applied to one end of the supply line 25 from the control power supply circuit 23.
However, in the case where the liquid crystal display panel 21 and the voltage supply line form an integrated unit, without using the substrate 24, it is impossible to make the line resistance of the voltage supply line as low as that in the above-described conventional case. As a result, the voltage drop caused by the line resistance of the voltage supply line is not negligible. In this specification, the term "a voltage supply line" is defined as a line which connects a voltage supply circuit to voltage-supplied portions.
The liquid crystal display panel 21 and the voltage supply line form an integrated unit without using the substrate 24 by the following methods.
(1) The method (COG) in which the data drivers 22 are directly connected to a substrate of the liquid crystal display panel 21 without using a tape-automated bonding (TAB) technique or the like.
(2) The method in which thin film transistors (TFTs) of polycrystalline silicon are formed in a substrate of the liquid crystal display panel 21, and also the data drivers 22 are incorporated into the substrate.
Next, referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the voltage drop caused by the line resistance of the voltage supply line will be described in the case where the liquid crystal display panel 21 and the voltage supply line form an integrated unit.
FIG. 14 shows the distribution of the line resistance of the voltage supply line. In general, a line resistance is a distributed constant circuit, but it can be approximated by using a plurality of concentrated constants. In FIG. 14, the line resistance of the voltage supply line 11 shown in FIG. 14 is represented by 2n concentrated constants r.sub.1 to r.sub.2n. Each of the concentrated constants r.sub.1 to r.sub.2n has a value r. It is assumed that a gray-scale voltage V is applied to one end of the voltage supply line 11, and a current i flows through the voltage supply line 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 14. In this case, the voltage drop at a point P.sub.s, which is closest to the source of the gray-scale voltage V, is 0. However, the voltage drop from the point P.sub.s to a point P.sub.m, which is positioned between the concentrated constants r.sub.n and r.sub.n+1, is nri. The voltage drop from the point P.sub.s to a point P.sub.e which is positioned at the other end of the voltage supply line 11 is 2nri.
FIG. 15 shows voltages at respective points on the voltage supply line 11. The voltage V.sub.s at the point P.sub.s is equal to the gray-scale voltage V. On the other hand, the voltage V.sub.m at the point P.sub.m is lower than the gray-scale voltage V by an amount corresponding to the voltage drop (nri). The voltage V.sub.e at the point P.sub.e is lower than the gray-scale voltage V by an amount corresponding to the voltage drop (2nri). The voltage drops at the respective points on the voltage supply line 11 also cause voltage drops in the data drivers 22 which are connected to the respective points on the voltage supply line 11. This results in potential difference between the gray-scale voltage output from a data driver 22 which is closer to the source of the gray-scale voltage V and the gray-scale voltage output from a data driver 22 which is remoter from the source of the gray-scale voltage V. This causes problems in that the resulting image is displayed with various non-uniform gray scales.

Voltage compensation circuit and display apparatus


The character string of a Chinese sentence is input into the memory of a personal computer, and the first six characters of the sentence are taken from that memory and placed in a main buffer. A segment processor fetches the first three of those six characters from the main buffer and puts them into a trio buffer. The segment processor then fetches the first character from the trio buffer to match with the number dictionary. This process is continued until consecutive number characters are identified. If the first character is not a number word, the segment processor uses the three characters in the trio buffer and the segmentation program and logic to search for matched name words and regular words stored in dictionaries within the hard disk memory of the computer. The identified words are treated as candidate words and are successively sent from the computer to the word buffer for further study. The segmentation processor then applies additional sophisticated rules and logic to select meaningful words from the candidates in the word buffer, and grouped words are delivered to an output buffer. The computer fetches those words, performs the final translation by making use of translation rules and logic, and displays the translation in the preselected target language.

The Chinese writing system has no alphabet because it was developed before the invention of the alphabet. Thus, words are not represented by combinations of letters. Instead, words are represented by single characters, combinations of two characters, combinations of three characters, and so on.
If every word were represented by a single character, then a translation machine could easily be built. The machine would simply look up the foreign translation of each Chinese character and display the translation.
Computers have been built that do nothing more than that, i.e., character translation. Such computers translate individual Chinese characters into English words or words of other languages. However, these computers are unsatisfactory because the Chinese language employs many words that are formed of multiple characters, as mentioned earlier, and the meaning of a multiple-character word is often not apparent if each character of the word is translated without regard to other characters with which it is grouped. Accordingly, a computer that simply looks up the translation of each character in a sentence will often produce a nonsensical or difficult-to-interpret and sometimes erroneous translation.
For example, a computer that mindlessly converts each Chinese character in a sentence into its English equivalent will produce "I no good meaning thought" when the five Chinese characters having those respective meanings are encountered. People who are fluent in Chinese will know the meaning of the expression, of course, but those people are not in need of a translation in the first place. Those who are not fluent in the language will therefore attempt to guess the meaning of the expression, and most people will guess that it means "My thoughts have no good meaning," or "I am having thoughts of no good meaning," or the like. The expression actually means "I feel embarrassed." Prior to the making of the present invention, no translation computer was capable of making such a translation.
As another example, the Mandarin word for "very" is represented by a single character, so it might seem that a computer that simply converts characters into words would have no problem with a single character word such as "very." However, in any Chinese story or article about people, such a computer will include translations such as "first born Chang and very very Chang," for example. Again, those familiar with the language will know that "first born" means "Mr." and "very very" means "Mrs.," but others will attempt to guess the meaning of the translation and are unlikely to guess correctly.
One out of every five people in the world use the Chinese writing system. No translation of the written characters is needed between dialects such as Mandarin and Cantonese, because all Chinese dialects use the same written characters with the same meaning, i.e., only the pronunciation of the characters differs. The volume of technical journals and works of art published each year in Chinese is substantial. Most of these works are inaccessible to those who do not know the language, and most technically trained people in the West have little or no training in any foreign language. Thus, a computer that introduces Chinese literature and technical writings to those who have not learned the language is clearly needed. Computers that simply convert individual Chinese characters into individual words of a different language, i.e., character translation computers, have little utility as established by the examples given above, but the prior art, when considered as a whole in accordance with the requirements of law, neither teaches nor suggests to those of ordinary skill in this art how better translations could be provided.

Method for translating chinese sentences


A process for improving the color and purity of dark-colored potassium or magnesium alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant compositions, and particularly alpha-sulfo fatty acid methyl ester compositions, without the need for bleaching or other process steps. The process comprises the steps of (1) forming a mixture comprising (i) an alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant composition containing impurities including dark-colored impurities, organic and inorganic salts, and disalts, and (ii) water, and (2) separating the ester sulfonate surfactant from the mixture. The process may further comprise step (3) recovering the alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant. Methyl ester sulfonate surfactant compositions are most preferred. After processing in accordance with the invention, the alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant composition has improved color, purity, and odor properties.

The manufacture of alkali metal salts of alpha-sulfo fatty acid alkyl esters alternatively referred to as sulfonated fatty acid alkyl esters, alkyl ester- sulfonates, etc. ) via neutralization of fatty acid ester sulfonic acids with aqueous caustic is well known. Such ester sulfonates are predominantly used as surfactants in washing and cleansing agents and products.
The known processes for making these ester sulfonates in good yields suffer from the formation of certain impurities including dark-colored impurities, organic and inorganic salts, and disalts. The ester sulfonic acids, from which the alkyl ester sulfonates are derived, are obtained by sulfonating fatty acid esters or, less preferably, by sulfonating and esterifying fatty acids. In order to obtain high sulfonation yields, excess sulfonating agent in combination with greater processing times and/or temperatures is required. These conditions can result in undesirable side reactions including the formation of the dark-colored impurities and the acid forms of organic and inorganic sulfate salts, and disalts. Examples of such sulfonation processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,485,856 (Wulff et al.); 4,695,409 (Piorr et al.); and 4,820,451 (Piorr et al.); German Patent Application 3 535 184 (Imamura et al.); Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication Number 290842/90 (Application Number 113423/89); and "The Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society", 52 (1975), pp. 323-329.
For aesthetic and other reasons, dark-colored ester sulfonate compositions are not suitable for use directly in washing or cleansing agents and products. Therefore, the dark ester sulfonate products have heretofore been bleached in order to lighten their color. Typically, the dark products are treated with an aqueous bleaching agent, such as hydrogen peroxide or hypochlorite, before and/or after neutralization. Such bleaching processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,159,657 (Wulff et al. ); 3,452,064 (Stein et al. ); 4,547,318 (Kloetzer et al. ); 4,671,900 (Schmid et al.); and 4,874,552 (Richtler et al.).
The art has recognized certain inherent problems in the bleaching process, particularly handling difficulties, hydrolysis of the ester group, and formation of sensitizers. Heretofore, these problems have been dealt with, inter alia, by optimizing the bleaching process itself, or by modifying the ester sulfonation process itself to deliver an ester sulfonate with less color and/or fewer impurities. This allows for the use of milder bleaching conditions which may mitigate the problems associated with bleaching processes. Such processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,997,576 (Oghoshi et al. ); 4,080,372 (Stein et al. ); 4,547,318 (Kloetzer et al.); and 4,671,900 (Kloetzer et al.). However, none of these references disclose a process for making ester sulfonate surfactant which is completely satisfactory.
A method of improving the color and purity of potassium and magnesium alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant compositions without the need for bleaching has now been discovered. More specifically, it has been discovered that a lighter-colored, higher purity alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant can be separated from a mixture comprising water and a dark- colored alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant composition. Upon forming a mixture comprising the ester sulfonate surfactant composition and water, the impurities, including dark-colored impurities, are solubilized and the alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant can be separated and recovered from the mixture to yield a product with improved, i.e., lighter, color. The recovered surfactant is also of improved purity, i.e., the recovered surfactant contains a lower level of organic and inorganic salt, disalt, and soap impurities. The process also provides an ester sulfonate surfactant having improved surfactant odor.

Process to improve alkyl ester sulfonate surfactant compositions


Apparatus and method for sampling of a liquified gas for composition analysis. A sample flow of liquified gas is induced into the open end of an admitting tube with sufficient length immersed in the liquified gas to avoid vaporization proximate the open end and in the admitting tube. Joined to the admitting tube is a conveying tube leading to an analyzer. The flow area of the admitting tube is in the range of from about 0.01 to about 0.5 times the the flow area of the conveying tube. In the proximity of the joint is a means for heating the conveying tube so as to vaporize the sample stream. The admitting tube penetrates and extends in a conduit through which, during sampling, liquified gas flows from a vessel containing the liquified gas to be sampled. During nonsampling, the liquified gas flow is valved off and vaporized liquid from the vessel is ducted to the portion of conduit contain in the admitting tube. The vapor enters the open end of the admitting tube and flows through the conveying tube preventing the entry of ambient air and moisture.

Many industrial processes use large quantities of industrial gases, most prevalently the atmospheric gases, which are oxygen, nitrogen, and argon. Commonly, the gases are supplied with not more than 5000 parts per million of impurities or contaminants. Increasingly however, such industrial gases are being required with increasingly higher purity by users. In some new semiconductor manufacturing processes, the gases used must have very low levels of trace contaminants. For example, nitrogen and oxygen are often required with a purity of 99.9999% by volume. The manufacture, storage, transport, distribution and analysis of gases of such high purity has required the development of many new techniques.
Often a gas is manufactured at a site remote from where it is used. When large quantities are required, usually the gas is transported to the use site as a liquid in an insulated truck, stored as a liquid at the use site and vaporized as required for use. Liquified atmospheric gases boil at temperatures well below ambient, are often used as low temperature refrigerants, and hence are known as cryogens. As used herein, liquid cryogen shall mean liquified gas, and vapor cryogen shall mean vaporized liquid cryogen. Cryogens require special handling, transport and storage techniques. The transport of a cryogen in a trailer and transfer from the trailer to a storage tank particularly offer opportunities for contamination of the cryogen.
Thus before liquid cryogen is transferred from a trailer to a storage tank, verification of the purity of the trailer contents is required. In the verification of the purity of liquid nitrogen, for example, analysis is performed for oxygen, moisture, carbon dioxide and total hydrocarbon content. The analyzers used usually accept and analyze a stream of gas. Hence a representative sample stream of liquid cryogen needs to be drawn from the trailer's container, vaporized and delivered to the analyzers, unaltered and uncontaminated.
In the prior art, it has been common to connect a tube of constant diameter from a tap in the bottom of the trailer container to the analyzer, and allow a flow of liquid cryogen to be induced by the pressure difference between the container and the analyzer discharge. Vaporization of the sample stream was accomplished in the sampling tube by natural convection from ambient air, and at times assisted by other heating means.
A number of problems were commonly encountered. One problem was that choked flow would readily occur in the tube owing to the vaporization in the tube. Some of the sample stream then at times would surge or back flow in the sampling tube, thus altering the composition of the sample ultimately reaching the analyzer. Another problem was that in the length of tube where vaporization and hence two phase flow occurred a displacement of the liquid phase from its resultant vapor phase would occur, thus altering the composition of the sample ultimately reaching the analyzer. Still another problem was that low volatility constituents in the cryogen would freeze out and deposit on the walls of the sampling tube, a phenomenon known as plating. This would also alter the composition of the sample stream ultimately reaching the analyzer. Yet another problem was that the sampling process had to be carried out for a long time in order to purge the sampling tube of contaminants which had entered from the atmosphere during its nonuse. Thus the sampling process was wasteful of valuable cryogen as well as unduly long.
The constant diameter tube used in the prior art for drawing a liquid sample was particularly unsatisfactory for an application where an analysis of a liquid cryogen was quickly required, as in analyzing the content of a vessel involved in a process, such as a distillation column in an air separation plant. Such a tube had a long response time, that is, it took a long time for changes in composition in the column to be transmitted in the tube and be reflected at the analyzer.
The prior art also used at times a small, high pressure container to capture a quantity of liquid cryogen which would subsequently be released slowly as a stream, vaporized and delivered to an analyzer. This procedure suffered from the same problems already described, inasmuch as a constant diameter tube was used to purge and supply liquid cryogen from the source to the sample container. Also, it was found that frequently the sample container used was not of sufficient volume to supply a sample stream to adequately purge the discharge line and the analyzer, or group of analyzers in order to obtain an accurate analysis of high purity cryogen.


During the process in which a metal strip is moved in a floating condition, the metal strip is first heated, and thereafter cooled and annealed. In heating the metal strip, the metal strip is heated so that a central portion widthwise thereof is increased in temperature more than that of both edges widthwise thereof. The metal strip is heated in a manner as described whereby a great thermal stress is not introduced in the metal strip and consequently, there is less possibility to produce wrinkles in the metal strip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for the heat treatment of metal strips such as aluminum, copper and iron strips, the method comprising heating such metal strips while being passed through a heating zone, and then cooling the strips while being passed through a cooling zone, thereby applying heat treatment such as annealing to the metal strips.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior arts, in the case where a metal strip (The term "metal strip" as used herein indicates a thin and lengthy band-like metal plate continuously rolled by a rolling mill. The thickness of the metal plate is normally less than 3.5 mm, and the plate has various widths.) is subject to heat treatment as mentioned above, great thermal stresses are introduced in the strip as indicated at the dotted lines in FIG. 6 or FIG. 9, and when the thermal stress overcomes the antibuckling stress of the metal strip, it gives rise to wrinkles, in the metal strip, in parallel to the moving direction thereof. These wrinkles result in a defective metal strip.

Method for the heat treatment of metal strip


In an image forming apparatus, a latent image is electrostatically formed on a photoconductive element and then developed by a developing unit. The developing unit is formed with a used toner inlet for receiving used toner. A cleaning unit removes toner remaining on the photoconductive element after image transfer and thereby collects it as the used toner. A conveying device conveys the used toner from the cleaning unit to the used toner inlet of the developing unit. A toner end sensor is disposed in the developing unit and adjoins the used toner inlet. On determining that the amount of toner existing in the developing unit is less than a predetermined amount, the sensor causes fresh toner to be replenished into the unit.

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic copier, laser printer, facsimile apparatus or similar image forming apparatus and, more particularly, to an image forming apparatus of the type replenishing, when a toner end sensor indicates that the amount of toner remaining in a developing unit is less than a predetermined amount, fresh toner into the developing unit.
Conventional electrophotographic copiers, for example, include one which collects toner remaining in a photoconductive element after image transfer by a cleaning unit and constantly recirculates the collected toner to a developing unit for recycling it. In this type of copier, the developing unit is provided with a toner end sensor in the vicinity of a fresh toner inlet thereof. The toner end sensor is responsive to the amount of toner remaining in the developing unit. When the amount of toner around the fresh toner inlet decreases to below a predetermined amount, fresh toner is replenished into the developing unit in response to the resulting output of the sensor. At the same time, the collected toner is constantly recirculated into the developing unit via a used toner inlet. This, however, often brings about a problem that when the output of the sensor indicates a toner end condition, toner still exists in more than the predetermined amount around the used toner inlet. In such a condition, if fresh toner is replenished into the developing unit, the toner overflows the unit via the used toner inlet and thereby obstructs the recirculation of the used toner into the unit. This aggravates the aggregation of the toner which would lead to a granular defective image in the event of recycling.

Image forming apparatus using fresh toner and used toner