A line length extracting means (2) establishes a correspondence between line length data extracted from layout data (D2) and output lines in an LSI circuit specified by LSI circuit connection data (D1), respectively, to output line length data (D5) to a model selecting means (3), which in turn compares the total line length of each output line (output signal) with a predetermined reference line length (SL) on the basis of the line length data (D5) and selects an RC model for the output line having the total line length greater than the reference line length (SL) and a C model for the output line having the total line length less than the reference line length (SL) to output a model selection result (D6) in which selected model names correspond to output signal names to a wiring delay element inserting means (4), whereby a device and method for calculating an accurate delay time at high speeds is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a delay time calculating device required for semiconductor logic verification, particularly for logic verification in back annotation of actual wiring information from layout data.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing respective means forming a conventional delay time calculating device for back annotation of actual wiring information (parasitic wiring resistance and capacitance) from circuit connection data and layout data to calculate a delay time, and input/output information thereof.
As shown in FIG. 26, LSI circuit connection data D1 for specifying an LSI circuit to be verified by describing cells having predetermined logic functions and connection therebetween is applied to a C/RC model extracting means 1, a wiring delay element inserting means 4, a C model delay calculating means 7, and a C model associated detailed delay logic simulation 61 by an LSI circuit connection data providing means not shown.
Layout data D2 specifying a layout pattern of the LSI circuit corresponding to the LSI circuit connection data D1 is applied to the C/RC model extracting mean 1 by layout data providing means not shown.
The C/RC model extracting means 1 extracts lines for interconnecting cells and parasitic wiring resistances and capacitances serving as loads upon the lines from the LSI circuit connection data D1 and the layout data D2. The C/RC model extracting means 1 then outputs to the C model delay calculating means 7 a C model output result D3 having a predetermined file format in which only the parasitic wiring capacitances among the extracted wiring resistances and capacitances correspond respectively to a plurality of output lines carrying output signals from a plurality of cells in the LSI circuit specified by the LSI circuit connection data D1, and outputs to an RC model delay calculating means 8 an RC model output result D4 having a predetermined file format in which the parasitic wiring resistances and capacitances correspond respectively to the plurality of output lines.
The wiring delay element inserting means 4 inserts wiring delay elements into all signalling lines lying in the LSI circuit specified by the LSI circuit connection data D1 to output wiring delay element inserted LSI circuit connection data D7 to the RC model delay calculating means 8.
A cell-by-cell delay parameter library D8 having data groups specifying the delay time cell by cell is applied to the C model delay calculating means 7 and the RC model delay calculating means 8 by a cell-by-cell delay parameter library providing means not shown.
The C model delay calculating means 7 calculates a delay value for each cell by using an existing capacitance dependent delay calculating formula on the basis of the LSI circuit connection data D1, the C model output result D3, and the cell-by-cell parameter library D8, and then outputs C model associated delay value data D14 to the C model associated detailed delay logic simulation 61.
The RC model delay calculating means 8 calculates a delay value for each cell having a function and each wiring delay element by using an existing resistance and capacitance data dependent delay calculating formula on the basis of the RC model output result D4, the wiring delay element inserted LSI circuit connection data D7, and the cell-by-cell delay parameter library D8, and then outputs RC model associated delay value data D15 to an RC model associated detailed delay logic simulation 62.
The C model associated detailed delay logic simulation 61 executes detailed delay logic simulation associated with a C model on the basis of the LSI circuit connection data D1 and the C model associated delay value data D14.
The RC model associated detailed delay logic simulation 62 executes detailed delay logic simulation associated with an RC model on the basis of the wiring delay element inserted LSI circuit connection data D7 and the RC model associated delay value data D15.
FIG. 27 is a flow chart showing a delay calculating method associated with the C model. Referring to FIG. 27, the C/RC model extracting means 1 extracts the lines for interconnecting the cells and the parasitic wiring capacitances serving as loads upon the lines from the LSI circuit connection data D1, and outputs the C model output result D3 to the C model delay calculating means 7 in the step S31.
In the step S32, the C model delay calculating means 7 calculates the delay value for each cell by using the existing capacitance dependent delay calculating formula on the basis of the LSI circuit connection data D1, the C model output result D3, and the cell-by-cell delay parameter library D8, and then outputs the C model associated delay value data D14 to the C model associated detailed delay logic simulation 61.
FIG. 28 is a flow chart showing a delay calculating method associated with the RC model. Referring to FIG. 28, the C/RC model extracting means 1 extracts the lines for interconnecting the cells and the parasitic wiring resistances and capacitances serving as loads upon the lines from the LSI circuit connection data D1, and outputs the RC model output result D4 to the RC model delay calculating means 8 in the step S41.
In the step S42, the wiring delay element inserting means 4 inserts the wiring delay elements into all signalling lines lying in the LSI circuit specified by the LSI circuit connection data D1, and outputs the wiring delay element inserted LSI circuit connection data D7 to the RC model delay calculating means 8.
In the step S43, the RC model delay calculating means 8 calculates the delay value for each cell having a function and each wiring delay element by using the existing resistance and capacitance data dependent delay calculating formula on the basis of the RC model output result D4, the wiring delay element inserted LSI circuit connection data D7, and the cell-by-cell delay parameter library D8, and outputs the RC model associated delay value data D15 to the RC model associated detailed delay logic simulation 62.
In the conventional delay time calculating device as above constructed, the delay calculating flow is divided into the flow in which all signals are associated with the C model as shown in FIG. 27 and the flow in which all signals are associated with the RC model as shown in FIG. 28.
The former flow associated with the C model, in which the wiring delay elements are not added, permits high-speed delay time calculation and detailed delay logic simulation, but is disadvantageous in that, in terms of size reduction in future, consideration is not given to resistance elements, resulting in increased delay accuracy errors.
The latter flow associated with the RC model has no problem with respect to the delay accuracy since the accuracy is increased. However, it takes time to calculate the delay time because of insertion of the wiring delay elements into all signals, resulting in impractical simulation speeds.

Device and method for calculating delay time


The present invention provides a conductive module used for assembling a magnetic element and an electronic component. The conductive module includes a conductive base, an electronic component and a plurality of conductive units. The electronic component is electrically connected to the conductive base and disposed on one side of the conductive base. The conductive units have respective hollow portions. The conductive units are spaced from each other and fixed on the conductive base such that the hollow portions of the conductive units are aligned with each other to define a channel.

A transformer has become an essential electronic component for voltage regulation into required voltages for various kinds of electric appliances. Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic exploded view of a conventional transformer disclosed in for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,817 is illustrated. The transformer 1 of FIG. 1 principally includes a winding frame member 10, a primary winding coil (not shown), multiple conductive pieces 12 and a magnetic core assembly 13. The winding frame member 10 includes a tube structure 101, a first partition plate 102 and a second partition plate 103. The first partition plate 102 is parallel with second partition plate 103. A winding section 104 is defined between the first partition plate 102, the second partition plate 103 and the external surface of the tube structure 101. In addition, bending pieces 105 and 106 are extended from both edges of the first partition plate 102 and the second partition plate 103, respectively. Accordingly, two guiding slots 107 are formed on opposite sides of the winding frame member 10 for accommodating corresponding conductive pieces 12 therein. The magnetic core assembly 13 includes a first magnetic part 131 and a second magnetic part 132. Each conductive piece 12 is a U-shaped copper piece to be used as the secondary winding coil of the transformer 1. The conductive piece 12 of the transformer 1 is a one-loop structure and includes a hollow portion 121 facing the winding member 121. After the conductive pieces 12 are received in the guiding slots 107 and fixed onto the winding frame member 10, the conductive pieces 12 are electrically connected to a system circuit board (not shown).
Although the transformer 1 is effective for power conversion, there are still some drawbacks. For example, the system circuit board also has an inductor (not shown) to be electrically connected to the output terminal of the secondary winding coil (i.e. the conductive piece 12). Since the transformer 1 fails to be directly connected with the inductor, the transformer 1 and the inductor should be separately mounted on the system circuit board and then electrically connected with each other through designed trace patterns. Due to the separate arrangement of the transformer 1 and the inductor, a lot of layout area of the system circuit board is occupied by the transformer 1 and the inductor. With increasing of electronic industries, electronic devices are developed toward minimization, high operating speed and increased integration level. As a consequence, the requirement of increasing the space utilization of the system circuit board becomes more important. Furthermore, the use of the trace patterns to electrically connect the transformer 1 and the inductor may increase power loss.
Therefore, there is a need of providing a conductive module for increasing space utilization of the system circuit board and a transformer having such a conductive module so as to obviate the drawbacks encountered from the prior art.

Conductive module and assembly structure having such conductive module


A compound of Formula (I):

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to fat accumulation in the liver that is not related to alcohol consumption. Fat may accumulate as a result of obesity, diabetes or other conditions. In a small number of people, NAFLD progresses to liver inflammation, scarring and, eventually, liver failure. This serious form of the disease is sometimes called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD and NASH are a growing problem worldwide, affecting people of every age. NAFLD and NASH are currently the fastest-rising indicator for liver transplant.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of treating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Abstract: A compound of Formula (I):

Abstract: or a metabolite thereof, or an ester of the compound of Formula (I) or the metabolite thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of each thereof, wherein m, n, X1 and X2 are as defined herein, is useful for treating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and/or reducing one or more of hepatic fibrosis, lobular inflammation, and hepatocellular ballooning.


An improved flexible joint assembly is disclosed for use in connecting partition members for use in lawn mower drag shields. One of the members includes a receiving groove made of a rigid and heat bondable material. The other partition member includes a resiliently flexible portion which protrudes from a marginal edge thereof. The protruding portion is placed in interfitting heat bonded engagement with the rigid receiving groove so that the latter interfaces and encompassing a substantial area of the protruding portion.

This invention relates to improved flexible joint assemblies having a variety of uses, such as lawn mower drag shields, door seals and the like.
Where lawn mowers are concerned, since they employ a high speed rotary cutter, they are required to have a drag shield which protects the users' legs and feet from being injured by loose objects which may be propelled rearwardly during operation of the mower. In the usual case, the drag shield trails behind the mower as it is moved forward, but when pulled backward the shield inhibits the mower's maneuverability. Ultimately, the shield becomes torn, or is otherwise broken off of the machine.
One known type of shield includes a plurality of separate, and extruded plastic strips or panels which are bonded together along their respective longitudinal edges; such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,277. In this patented construction, a pair of relatively rigid strips are joined together by a flexible intermediate strip. The flexible intermediate strip facilitates movement of the shield so that it is capable of easily reversing its position. Joints are located between the intermediate flexibly resilient strip and the rigid strips, and include grooves in the flexible strip which mate with projections on the marginal edges of the rigid strips. Drag shields having this type of construction have been known to fail standard tests required by existing manufacturing lawn mower requirements. For example, one of the tests includes subjecting a shield to a torsion action wherein adjacent panel strips are twisted in a complete revolution relative to one another. Conventional shields, such as described above, have been known to fail such a torsion test. Accordingly, there is a continuing desire to improve upon the overall performance of drags joint assembly, especially, shields, and in particular their ability to withstand the rigorous testing procedures and usages.

Flexible joint assembly for partition assemblage


A fuel filter assembly (10) comprising an electrically non-conductive housing (12) with a layer (28) of electrically conductive material extending from the distal end (22) of an inlet connector (20) to the distal end (26) of an outlet connector (24) for conducting electrical charges completely through the housing (12) from distal end (22) to distal end (26). The housing (12) is fabricated by first forming an inlet half of the housing (12) with an opening and forming an outlet half of the housing (12) with an opening. The conductive layer (28) is disposed separately over the interior of the respective housing halves. Thereafter, the respective openings of the housing halves are fused together with the housing material fused together and the conductive layers (28) of the respective halves in electrical contact.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates a fuel filter used in the fuel line to an internal combustion engine and, more specifically, to such a fuel filter having anti-electrostatic electrical properties.
2. Description of the Prior Art
High electrostatic charges can occur in fuel line systems for supplying fuel to internal combustion engines. The discharge of such electrostatic charges can cause damage to the system. In order to alleviate this problem, both the fuel line per se and the filter housing have been made electrically conductive.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,048 to Ries the filter housing comprises an electrically nonconductive layer sandwiched between electrically conductive layers in order to provide an electrical path from the inside to the outside of the housing.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,492 to Hedgepath et al the filter housing is made of an electrically conductive material or composition for conducting electrical charges and includes a space between inner and outer walls to reduce weight and material.
The U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,076,920 and 5,164,084 to Danowski et al also teach a filter housing molded of a mixture of a plastic and an electrically conductive additive.
There remains a constant need to improve the fuel filter in terms of combinations of materials and structure with electrical conductivity.


A floating offshore structure is disclosed. The floating offshore structure, which is for drilling or production, includes a semi-submerged platform body in the shape of a cylinder that is extended vertically above and below the sea level. The platform body is formed with a concave part that reduces its cross-sectional area. The concave part is discontinuously formed along an external circumferential surface of the platform body. The depth of submergence of the platform body is adjusted so that the water line is located at the concave part in an extreme marine condition.

Floating offshore structures, which are used for drilling or production while being floated on the sea, demonstrate movements, such as rolling, pitching and heaving, by waves, winds and tides. Accordingly, it is important to minimize these movements in order to maximize the efficiency of a floating drilling/production facility.
Proposed recently as a floating structure for production are a structure such as a spar or a buoy, whose height is substantially greater than its diameter, and a structure proposed by SEVAN that has a substantially greater diameter than its height. These structures have various shapes, including cylindrical shapes, rectangular shapes and octagonal shapes, and aim to achieve stability through a center of mass that is lower than a center of buoyancy of the submerged structure.
Unlike a ship, the floating offshore structures such as the spar and the buoy, which have a substantially greater height than the diameter, are designed with an ideal shape having a small water plane area in order to minimize the rolling, pitching and heaving. However, these offshore structures have an elongated shape, which is difficult to make, transport and install, and cannot include a storage function.
In the meantime, in order to complement the spar or the buoy with the storage function, a cylinder-shaped floating offshore structure having a greater diameter than its height (hereinafter, "SEVAN-type offshore structure") is proposed. As the SEVAN-type offshore structure has the shape of a cylinder, rolling and pitching are dramatically reduced.
However, in terms of dealing with heaving of the SEVAN-type offshore structure, the diameter of the cylindrical structure becomes greater as the storage capacity increases, resulting in the increase in the water plane area.
Accordingly, the natural period of heaving of the SEVAN-type offshore structure becomes shorter and demonstrates a tendency to be close to a wave period in an extreme wave condition with a repetition period of 100 or more years that is generated by a typhoon or abnormal weather. When the natural period of the SEVAN-type offshore structure becomes close to the wave period, a phenomenon of resonance occurs, causing an excessive heaving movement.
Moreover, in order to prevent such an excessive heaving movement, an excessive mooring system is required to stabilize the SEVAN-type offshore structure, but the SEVAN-type offshore structure becomes inoperable if the heaving movement exceeds the designed value of the mooring system.
In the meantime, the conventional ship-type of offshore structure includes a plurality of cargo tanks and ballast tanks for storing the produced resources. In such a case, each tank is installed with a submerged pump. Not only is the submerged pump an expensive equipment, but an excessive costs are required because each tanks needs to be equipped with one submerged pump.


An apparatus in one embodiment comprises a storage system that includes storage resources accessible to multiple processes. A controller associated with the storage system is configured to control designation of a given one of the processes as a leader relative to the other ones of the processes so as to provide the given process with prioritized access to perform processing operations involving at least one of the storage resources. In conjunction with designation of the given one of the processes as the leader, the controller is configured to permit the given process to obtain a lease on the leader designation for a period of time that is determined based at least in part on a specified time-to-live value. The lease-based leader designation is illustratively implemented without requiring any interaction between the processes. For example, the processes do not need to reach any consensus relating to the designation of the leader.

In many information processing systems, contention can arise between processes for access to shared resources. For example, in a distributed computing system, multiple processes running on different compute nodes may all need to execute processing operations that would result in modification of the same stored data item. Conventional approaches to addressing such contention involve the multiple processes executing a consensus protocol to elect a particular one of the processes as a "leader" having priority in access to a given shared resource. An example of a conventional consensus protocol is Paxos. Other techniques for leader election are known in the art and include Apache Zookeeper.

Lease-based leader designation for multiple processes accessing storage resources of a storage system


A heat pump apparatus includes a refrigerant circuit for circulating combustible refrigerant, and a load unit to be provided in a room and configured to accommodate a load side heat exchanger. The load side heat exchanger allows heat exchange between the combustible refrigerant and a liquid heat medium. The load unit includes a fan, an air inlet for sucking in air from the room, and an air outlet for blowing out the air, sucked in from the air inlet, to the room. The air outlet is provided at a position of a height different from the height of the air inlet.

Conventionally, incombustible HFC refrigerant such as R410A has been used in a heat pump apparatus. As R410A has zero ozone depletion potential (hereinafter referred to as "ODP"), which is different from conventional HCFC refrigerant such as R22, there is no risk of disrupting the ozone layer. However, R410A has a characteristic of high global warming potential (hereinafter referred to as "GWP"). As such, as part of prevention of global warming, a shift from HFC refrigerant having high GWP, such as R410A, to refrigerant having low GWP is being considered.
Refrigerant candidates of such low GWP include HC refrigerant such as R290 (C3H8; propane) and R1270 (C3H6; propylene) that are natural refrigerants. However, R290 and R1270 have high-level combustibility (high combustibility), which is different from incombustible R410A. As such, it is necessary to pay attention to leakage of refrigerant when using R290 or R1270 as refrigerant.
Further, refrigerant candidates of low GWP also include HFC refrigerant having no carbon double bonds in its composition such as R32 (CH2F2; difluoromethane) having lower GWP than that of R410A.
Further, as a similar refrigerant candidate, there is halogenated hydrocarbon that is a kind of HFC refrigerant, similar to R32, and has carbon double bonds in its composition. Such halogenated hydrocarbon includes HFO-1234yf (CF3CF═CH2; tetrafluoropropene) and HFO-1234ze (CF3—CH═CHF), for example. It should be noted that HFC refrigerant having carbon double bonds in its composition is likely to be expressed as "HFO" by using "O" standing for olefin (unsaturated hydrocarbon having carbon double bonds is called olefin), to be distinguished from HFC refrigerant having no carbon double bonds in its composition such as R32.
Such low-GWP HFC refrigerant (including HFO refrigerant) has slight-level combustibility (slight combustibility) that is different from incombustible R410A, although it is not highly combustible like HC refrigerant such as R290 that is natural refrigerant. As such, similarly to the case of R290, it is necessary to pay attention to leakage of refrigerant. Hereinafter, refrigerant having combustibility of a slight combustible level or higher (for example, 2L or higher in ASHRAE34 classification) is referred to as "combustible refrigerant".
If combustible refrigerant is leaked into the room, the refrigerant concentration in the room may increase to form a combustible concentration region.
Patent Literature 1 describes an air-conditioning apparatus using combustible refrigerant, in which a gas sensor for detecting combustible refrigerant gas is provided on the outer surface of a floor type indoor unit, and the gas sensor is provided on the lower part of the indoor unit. When a sensor detection voltage by the gas sensor is a reference value or higher, the controller of the air-conditioning apparatus determines that combustible refrigerant is leaked, and gives warning immediately by an alarm. Thereby, a user is able to know leakage of combustible refrigerant, so that the user is able to take measures such as ventilating the room or calling a serviceman for repair. Further, when the controller determines that combustible refrigerant is leaked, the controller immediately performs control to stop operation of the refrigerant circuit. Thereby, even if the air-conditioning apparatus is in operation, the refrigerant circuit can be blocked immediately by the valve provided on the refrigerant circuit, whereby it is possible to suppress a large amount of leakage of the combustible refrigerant.
Meanwhile, Patent Literature 2 describes an air-conditioning apparatus including an outdoor unit, a heat medium relay unit, and an indoor unit. In the air-conditioning apparatus, the heat medium relay unit is provided in a space different from the inside of a room although it is in the building, such as a space above the ceiling. The heat medium relay unit is equipped with a relay unit fan for ventilation inside the casing. Further, the casing of the heat medium relay unit has an opening port formed at a position where the air of the relay unit fan passes through. The relay unit fan is always made driven with ventilation air amount or more (including the time when operation of the air-conditioning apparatus is stopped), for example, to suppress the refrigerant concentration inside the casing of the heat medium relay unit to be less than a lower limit combustion concentration (hereinafter referred to as "LFL").


A battery system for efficiently operating a battery under various circumstances, such as relating to extreme temperature ranges and varying load (i.e. current) ranges. The battery system generally includes at least one first cell having a first chemistry, at least one second cell having a second chemistry and a controller in communication with the first cell and the second cell. The controller is adapted to employ a chemical reaction of the first chemistry in the first cell or the second chemistry in the second cell. The first chemistry is different than the second chemistry, wherein the first chemistry and the second chemistry may be adapted to provide current over varying temperature ranges or to provide current for varying current loads.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to energy storage systems and more specifically it relates to a battery system for efficiently operating a battery under various circumstances, such as relating to extreme temperature ranges and varying load (i.e. current) ranges.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Energy storage systems, such as batteries, electrochemical capacitors and pseudocapacitors among other electrochemical energy storage devices have been in use for years and are utilized in wide variety of applications common to various types of industries. A battery is a device that converts chemical energy directly to electrical energy. The battery generally comprises one or more electrochemical cells each including at least two electrodes which are selectively electrically connected by an electrolyte substance, wherein the electrolyte substance is generally comprised of a solid substance or a liquid substance. Generally, batteries are classified as primary, secondary and reserve. In many of the voltaic cells of the reserve battery, the electrodes and the electrolyte substance are enclosed in a container, and a barrier, which may be porous to the electrolyte substance, prevents the electrodes from coming into contact with the electrolyte substance until desired.
The various battery chemistries are typically designed to operate within temperature ranges of −20° C. (Celsius) to 50° C. (i.e. normal operating range) thus making the batteries useful for general purpose environments. However, other classes of applications including, for example, defense, science and space exploration may require both lower and higher operating temperatures. Achieving these temperature extremes within a single battery configuration may prove to be extremely difficult and thus decrease the usefulness of a battery in these certain situations.
Different chemicals may also be utilized in different cells of a battery to generate different voltage characteristics. For example, 1.5 volts may be generated for a Zn/MnO2 alkaline electrode combination or 3 volts may be generated for a Li/MnO2 lithium electrode combination.
Also, it may be of benefit to provide a single battery in which to provide different load (i.e. current) capabilities depending on the requirements of the device that is to be powered. Providing a power source in which to provide multiple load capabilities in the past generally requires multiple batteries each which provide a different load capability. Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved battery system for efficiently operating a battery under various circumstances, such as relating to extreme temperature ranges and varying load (i.e. current) ranges.


A method of producing an optical element having a multiple-level step-like structure includes a first process for providing a first mask pattern at a position corresponding to a predetermined boundary among boundaries at steps of the multiple-level step-like structure of a substrate, the first mask pattern having a width narrower than that of a single step, a second process for providing a second mask pattern upon the substrate having the first mask pattern formed thereon, the second mask pattern having a width corresponding to a single step or plural steps of the multiple-level step-like structure and a third process for processing the substrate by use of the first and second mask patterns and thereafter for removing the second mask pattern while leaving the first mask pattern there. After repeating the second and third processes plural times of a predetermined number, the first mask pattern is removed.

This invention relates to a method of producing an optical element which may suitably be used as, for example, an optical component of a semiconductor manufacturing reduction projection exposure apparatus, such as a phase modulation plate or an optical element having a two-dimensional binary structure or a phase type CGH (Computer Generated Hologram), or an optical interconnection element.
FIG. 9A is a fragmentary sectional view of a Fresnel lens 1, which comprises a Fresnel type diffraction grating. It has a saw-tooth blazed shape 2. FIG. 9B is a fragmentary sectional view of a binary optics element 3, which comprises a binary type diffraction grating. It has a step-like shape 4.
An idealistic diffractive optical element may be one having a blazed shape 2 such as shown in FIG. 9A, and it may assure a diffraction grating of 100% with respect to a design wavelength. However, it is very difficult to produce a complete blazed shape 2. Therefore, while quantizing and approximating the blazed shape 2, the binary optics element 3 having a step-like shape 4 such as shown in FIG. 9B is used. Although the binary optics element 3 is made on the basis of approximation of the Fresnel lens 1, a diffraction efficiency for first-order diffraction light can be 90% or more. In consideration of this, much research has been done with respect to such binary optics 3, by approximating a blazed shape 2 with a step-like shape.
In order that such an optical element has an enlarged power and that, through much better approximation, the optical element has an improved performance as a diffractive optical element, the processed linewidth should be made to be very fine, as much as possible. To this end, a lithographic process having been developed in the semiconductor manufacturing technology and being able to accomplish very high precision processing has been used.
FIG. 10 is a schematic view which illustrates the procedure for making a diffractive optical element having an eight-level step structure. More specifically, in (a) of FIG. 10, drops of a resist material are applied to a cleaned substrate 11 and, through spin coating, a resist coating of a film thickness of about 1 micron is formed on the substrate. Then, through a baking process, a resist film 12a is produced. In (b) of FIG. 10, the substrate 11 is loaded into an exposure apparatus having a performance with which a finest diffraction pattern can be printed. Then, a reticle 13a corresponding to a desired diffraction pattern is used as a mask, and exposure light L, with respect to which the resist film 12a has a sensitivity, is projected thereto. When a positive type resist is used, zones having been exposed with the exposure light L become solvable by a developing liquid. Thus, in (c) of FIG. 10, a resist pattern 14a having a desired size can be produced. Subsequently, in (d) of FIG. 10, the substrate 11 is introduced into an ion beam etching apparatus or a reactive ion etching apparatus by which an anisotropic etching process can be done. While using the produced resist pattern 14a as an etching mask, the substrate 11 is etched for a predetermined time period, by which it is etched to a predetermined depth. Then, the resist pattern 14a is removed. By this, a pattern 15a having a two-level step structure such as shown in (e) of FIG. 10 is produced.
Again, as in (a) of FIG. 10, a resist film 12b is produced on the substrate 11 having the pattern 15a formed thereon. In (f) of FIG. 10, the substrate then is placed in the exposure apparatus, and an exposure process is performed while a reticle 13b formed with a pattern having a periodicity two times larger than that of the reticle 13a is used as a mask. The mask pattern is transferred onto the pattern 15a, after the two are aligned with each other at the alignment precision of the exposure apparatus. By a developing process in (g) of FIG. 10, the resist film 12b is developed such that a resist patten 14b is produced. Then, in (h) of FIG. 10, as in (d) of FIG. 10, a dry etching process is performed to remove the resist pattern 14b, by which a pattern 15b having a four-level step structure is produced.
Subsequently, in (i) of FIG. 10, as in (a) of FIG. 10, again a resist film 12c is applied to the substrate 11. Then, an exposure process is performed while a reticle 13c formed with a pattern having a periodicity four times larger than that of the reticle 13a is used as a mask. Then, in (j) of FIG. 10, the resist film 12c is developed, by which a resist pattern 14c is produced. Finally, in (k) of FIG. 10, the resist pattern 14c is removed, whereby a diffractive optical element with a pattern 15c having an eight-level step-like shape is produced.
When a diffractive optical element having a multiple-level step-like shape is to be produced while reticles having periodicities in multiples are used as masks, such as described above, as long as no alignment error or no dimensional error occurs, a multiple-level step structure having an idealistic shape can be produced. For example, by using three reticles 21a-21c shown in FIG. 11, an eight-level structure xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d having an idealistic step height xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d can be produced.
A paper in xe2x80x9cO plus Exe2x80x9d, No. 11, pages 95-100 (1996), discusses a procedure wherein processes of resist application, mask pattern and etching are repeated, and it mentions that a multiple-level phase type CGH (Computer Generated Hologram) having phase levels of 2L can be produced where L is the number of masks used.
FIGS. 12a-12c are plan views for explaining a procedure for producing a CGH. More specifically, FIGS. 12a-12c show patterns of reticles 31a, 31b and 31c, wherein zones depicted with hatching are light blocking portions. For example, the reticle 31a is used to perform the etching to a depth of 61 nm, the reticle 31b is used to perform the etching to a depth of 122 nm, and the reticle 31c is used to perform the etching to a depth of 244 nm. Although the order of using these reticles 31a-31c is not fixed, a better resist patterning precision is attainable when a reticle for a smaller etching depth is used first.
The reticle 31a is used first to perform resist patterning on a substrate, and it is etched to a depth of 61 nm. As a result, an etching depth distribution such as shown in FIG. 13A is produced, wherein numerals denote etching depths (nm). Thereafter, the resist on the substrate is removed. Then, the reticle 31b is used to perform resist patterning, and the substrate is etched to a depth of 122 nm, by which an etching depth distribution such as shown in FIG. 13B is produced. Further, the resist on the substrate is removed, and the reticle 31c is used to perform resist patterning. The substrate is etched to a depth of 244 nm, by which an etching depth distribution such as shown in FIG. 13C is produced. FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along a line E-e in FIG. 13C.
In the examples described above, if an alignment error occurs in registration of reticles, it directly leads to degradation of the performance of a diffractive optical element. More specifically, at the boundary of zones where phase differences are quantized, a very small structure which is not included in the design may be produced due to the alignment error. Such a very small structure causes degradation of the function of the diffractive optical element, and thus, causes a decrease of the diffraction efficiency. Further, the light corresponding to the decrease of diffraction efficiency advances in a direction not intended in the design as unwanted diffraction light, and it causes various undesirable problems. In this manner, light rays not desired may be produced from the diffractive optical element. Such light rays may function as flare light in an optical system wherein the diffractive optical element is used, and the flare light causes degradation of the imaging performance of the optical system.
FIG. 15 shows an example. If an alignment error occurs in the registration of reticles 21a-21c of FIG. 15 and it causes deviations r1 and r2 as illustrated, a produced diffractive optical element has a shape xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d different from the idealistic shape xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d of FIG. 11. Particularly, very small structures being smaller than the wavelength and produced at the deviated portions of the reticles may cause various problems such as increased scattered light or trapping of light which may result in a temperature rise of the optical element, for example.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of producing a diffractive optical element by which a required shape can be formed very accurately.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of producing an optical element, including a process for forming a quantized level distribution on a substrate through lithographic technology, characterized in that, in a portion of the substrate about a boundary between unit zones, in each of which a minimum unit of the level distribution is to be defined, a mask having a width including the boundary and being smaller than the width of the unit zone is provided. This enables that, while the portion about the boundary is kept as an unprocessed region, the remaining portion of the substrate is processed, by which the quantized level distribution is produced on the substrate.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of producing an optical element, including a process for forming a quantized level distribution on a substrate through lithographic technology, characterized in that, in a portion of the substrate about a boundary between unit zones, in each of which a minimum unit of the level distribution is to be defined, a mask having a width including the boundary and being smaller than the width of the unit zone is formed. This enables that, while the portion about the boundary is kept as an unprocessed region, the remaining portion of the substrate is etched, by which the quantized level distribution is produced on the substrate, and that, after the level distribution is produced, the unprocessed portion is removed.
In these aspects of the present invention, the quantized level distribution may have a function as a diffraction grating.
The mask may be provided so that a position of an edge of the mask is registered with the boundary.
The mask may be provided by a lithographic process using an electron beam.
The mask may be provided by a lithographic process using a phase shift mask.
The unprocessed region may have a width not less than an alignment precision of a lithographic apparatus to be used for the production.
The mask may comprise a light blocking film having an etching rate smaller than that of the substrate.
The light blocking film may be substantially made of one of Cr, Al, Ti, Ni, Mo and W.
The surface of the light blocking film may have an anti-reflection function with respect to a wavelength to be used.
The light blocking film may comprise a CrO2 film.
The mask may be made of a light transmissive material having an etching rate smaller than that of the substrate.
The light transmissive material may be substantially made of one of TiO2 and indium tin oxide (ITO).
The unprocessed region may be defined only in a portion of boundaries providing different phase differences.
A portion of the unprocessed region may have a central position being registered with the boundary position of the quantized zones.
At a boundary where a phase difference of zones across that boundary corresponds to a unit period of a design wavelength of the optical element, the unprocessed region may be defined to be included in a region of the substrate which is juxtaposed to the unprocessed region and which is not processed, such that the position of the boundary may be registered with an edge position of the unprocessed region.
The unprocessed region may be defined to be included in one of the adjacent zones in which the amount of processing of the substrate is smaller than the other, and the position of the boundary may be registered with the position of an edge of the unprocessed region.
The removal of the unprocessed region may include an isotropic etching process.
The substrate may be made of fluorite, and the isotropic etching process may comprise a wet etching process using water or a nitric acid.
The substrate may be made of quartz, and the isotropic etching process may comprise a wet etching process using water or a hydrofluoric acid.
The substrate may be made of one of quartz and fluorite.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical element produced in accordance with a procedure as discussed above.
The optical element may be a computer generated hologram.

Method of producing an optical element having a multiple-level step-like structure through lithography


A one-piece soft plastic bottle includes a generally cylindrical bottom portion and a tapered upper portion having a flexible tapered bellows at an upper end thereof. A short tapered top tapers outwardly and upwardly from the tapered bellows and includes a top end with a small aperture therein. A closure for the central aperture extends above the top end and is broken away by the user to expose the central aperture. The closure includes a cylindrical extension and large wings extending laterally and downwardly therefrom. Extending from the cylindrical extension is a filling tube which is crimped after filling to close the filling tube.

A bottle design including a breakaway or twist-off closure which is designed to be grasped by children and which includes a concavo-concave bottom portion is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 304,683 to Hofer and U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,452 to Hashimoto both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The commercial embodiments of these patented bottles also includes a concave bottom having a curved rim and indentations therein. Other twist-off caps of general interest are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,356,244 (Witchell), 4,207,990 (Weiler et al.), 4,458,818 (Hansen), and 4,620,638 (Schmidt).
An ornamental design for a combined bottle and breakaway closure is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 248,827 (Goldschmidt et al.), this bottle including a pleated neck portion. Other designs containing a pleated neck portion are disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 268,810 (Hartung), U.S. Design Pat. No. 245,576 (Muscatiello et al.) and U.S. Design Pat. No. 507,059 (Bostwick et al.). A container with a flexible neck is also disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 301,836 (van Lit).

Plastic beverage bottle with twist-off closure


A liquid-submersible vacuum system includes a housing canister enclosing a filtration element and a water pump. Power comes from a power converter that plugs into a standard AC power supply. The vacuum system further includes a diffuser cap and a discharge hose cap, with each providing the vacuum system with a discrete mode of operation.

Swimming pools accumulate debris over a period of time. Some of the debris is cleaned from the pool water as the water is recycled and filtered. Other debris sinks to the bottom of the pool and is not cleaned during water recycling and filtration. To clean the debris that sinks to the bottom of the pool, a swimming pool vacuum cleaner may be employed.
To achieve the foregoing and other advantages, the present invention, provides a new and improved swimming pool vacuum apparatus with a continuous external power source (not a battery), fully contained, powerful, portable vacuum including fuse protection. Other devices that have been created to solve this problem, but have been unsuccessful include hand-held battery operated systems, which have a finite application due to a limited battery life, an in-floor cleaning systems or a robotic device, both of which are extremely expensive, bulky and hard to use systems and other devices which use a power source which creates an electrocution risk.


A dual-ovenable container is formed from a blank of laminate material that includes a paperboard layer sandwiched between outer heat-sealable layers of amorphous polyester or heat-sealable cellophane. The blank is wrapped into a tubular or conical configuration and opposite edges of the blank form a lap joint at which the edges are heat-sealed together to form a container body. End closures can then be applied to the ends of the container body. The laminate is heat-sealable to itself, is able to withstand heating/cooking conditions in both conventional and microwave ovens, and has a low oxygen permeability. The edge of the blank exposed to contents of the container can be wrapped by a sideseam tape in order to protect the edge.

The present disclosure relates to dual-ovenable food containers, i.e., containers that can be used both in a conventional oven and in a microwave oven for heating or cooking food contents.
Various types of food products are currently being packaged in containers that are specifically designed to be heated in either a conventional oven or a microwave oven. Some such dual-ovenable containers are formed entirely of polymer material(s). For example, dual-ovenable thermoformed plastic trays are used for some frozen food products that are to be heated or cooked while still in the tray. A membrane lid is sealed to the top surface of the container. Other dual-ovenable containers are formed from composite laminate materials typically including a paperboard layer with one or more polymer layers. In many cases, such dual-ovenable laminate containers are thermoformed or stamped.
While thermoforming or stamping of paper-based laminates is suitable for making some container configurations, it is not suitable for all configurations. Thermoforming or stamping works well when the container is relatively shallow in comparison with its length and width, but can be problematic if the container depth is too great. In the case of containers formed from a paper-based sheet, which is essentially inextensible, the greater the depth of the container for a given diameter, the more wrinkles will be formed in the wall of the container. Such wrinkles can interfere with good sealing between the top of the container body and the lid.

Dual-ovenable container formed of a paper-based laminate


An ink cartridge includes a frame, and a film connected to the frame. The frame and the film define an ink chamber therein, and the ink chamber is configured to store ink therein. The ink cartridge also includes a movable member configured to selectively move within the ink chamber based on an amount of ink within the ink chamber, and a spring positioned within the ink chamber. The spring is configured to urge the film away from the movable member in a predetermined direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ink cartridges comprising at least one film which covers an opening of an ink container which is configured to store ink therein, and a movable member which indicates whether an amount of ink stored in the ink cartridge is a sufficient amount of ink.
2. Description of Related Art
A known ink-jet printer is configured to dispense ink onto a sheet of paper to record an image on the sheet of paper. The known ink-jet printer has a recording head. The recording head is configured to selectively eject ink from nozzles to the sheet of paper. A known ink cartridge is configured to be removably mounted to the ink-jet printer. The ink cartridge has an ink chamber configured to store ink therein, and ink is supplied from the ink chamber to the recording head when the ink cartridge is mounted to the ink-jet printer.
The ink cartridge has a movable member disposed in the ink chamber. The movable member is configured to pivot based on the amount of ink stored in the ink chamber. When the ink is consumed and the amount of ink in the ink chamber becomes less than a sufficient amount of ink, an end of the movable member moves from a first position at which the end of the movable member is detected by a detector e.g., an optical sensor, to a second position at which the end of the movable member is not detected by the detector. Consequently, whether the ink chamber has a sufficient amount of ink stored therein may be determined based on the position of the end of the movable member.
It is desirable to reduce the size of the image recording apparatus and the thickness of the ink cartridge. Nevertheless, when the width of the ink cartridge is reduced, an arm and a floating member of the movable member may contact an inner wall of the ink cartridge, which may prevent the movable member from accurately pivoting as ink is consumed. In particular, when the pressure in the ink cartridge is reduced with respect to the atmospheric pressure, the inner wall may deform inwardly and contact the movable member even when the pressure in the ink cartridge is restored to the atmospheric pressure.

Ink cartridges and methods of manufacturing the same


N-[5-(aminosulfonyl)-3-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2(3H)ylidene] -2-acetyloxyacetamide, commonly referred to as acetylhydroxymethazolamide and is a water soluble pharmacologically active carbonic anhydrase inhibitor.

This invention relates to carbonic anhydrase inhibitors which can be prescribed topically for treatment of glaucoma. Topical drugs are of course preferred in that they have less systemic side effects than orally administered carbonic anhydrase inhibitors.
While the search for a truly effective topical anhydrase inhibitor has been going on for some time, many compounds that so far have been developed are not highly effective as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, or provide allergic response. The most effective active compound for use as a topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor would be one which provides a surprisingly high level of carbonic anhydrase inhibition, while at the same time is water soluble to allow easy administration and corneal permeability and finally one that does not provide an allergic response to the patients.
Surprisingly, it has been found that certain lower alkyl esters of hydroxymethazolamide have an unusually high level of solubility, are surprisingly active carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and at the same time provide compounds with no significant allergic potential.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an effective carbonic anhydrase inhibitor which merges the three important characteristics in a single compound, namely, solubility, high demonstrated carbonic anhydrase inhibition effect, and no significant allergic response.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for topical application of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors which provide outstanding potency, compounds which are easy to synthesize, and compounds which have no significant allergic response potential.
A yet further objective of the present invention is to provide compositions which achieve the simultaneous objectives of high level potency, solubility and no significant allergic response.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a convenient synthesis method for the carbonic anhydrase inhibitors of the present invention.
The method and manner of accomplishing each of the above objectives as well as others will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows hereinafter.

Methazolamide-derived carbonic anhydrase inhibitors


A lens moving apparatus includes a base, a printed circuit board disposed over the base, and mounted on the base, a coil disposed over the printed circuit board, and a lens barrel, which contacts the base at a lower portion of an outer surface thereof, wherein the base, the printed circuit board and the coil include respective holes, wherein the lens moving apparatus includes a blocking member, which is provided along an internal surface of the hole in the base and which protrudes in a first direction so as to prevent the lower portion of the outer surface of the lens barrel from contacting internal surfaces of the holes in the printed circuit board and/or the coil.

It is difficult to adopt voice coil motor (VCM) technology, which is typically used in conventional camera modules, for use in an ultracompact camera module, which aims at achieving low power consumption, and thus research into the technology has been actively undertaken.
A camera module mounted in a small-sized electronic product, such as a smart phone, may be frequently subjected to shocks during use. In addition, the camera module may minutely shake due to the trembling of the user's hand while taking a photograph. Therefore, there is a high necessity for a technology capable of incorporating an optical image stabilizer into the camera module.
A camera module may include a lens barrel equipped with at least one lens on which light is incident. The lens barrel may move in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis during handshake correction. During the movement of the lens barrel, the lens barrel may collide with components of a lens moving apparatus and a camera module including the lens moving apparatus. In this case, there is a problem in that the lens barrel and components colliding with the lens barrel may break.
A camera module may include a lens barrel equipped with at least one lens on which light is incident. When an autofocusing operation is performed or an external impact is applied to the camera module, the lens barrel may move upward and downward along the optical axis. During the movement of the lens barrel, the lens barrel may collide with the components of the lens moving apparatus and a camera module including the lens moving apparatus. In this case, there is a problem in that the lens barrel and components colliding with the lens barrel may break.
A camera module may include an image sensor, on which light containing an image of an object is incident and on which the image is formed. Components capable of reflecting incident lights may be disposed near the image sensor. Accordingly, when incident light is reflected by the components, there may be problems in that the image formed on the image sensor is distorted or the quality of the image is deteriorated.


An insulator is implemented such that a lower structure member to be brought into contact with a floor surface allows an upper structure member on which a piano is placed to be suspended through a cantilever spring member and a first wire, and a second wire connects the upper structure member and the lower structure member to each other in the horizontal direction, and the insulator thus functions so as to maintain intrinsic sound generated by the piano by free vibration in pendulum motion using the upper end of the first wire as a pivot, and richness of the sound is enhanced and transmission to a floor surface is inhibited, and, further, vibration caused by a key and a pedal being operated by a performer is reduced by elasticity of the cantilever spring member and the tensile force that acts on any of the second wires, and the performer does not feel uncomfortable with the operation.

The inventor of the present invention previously developed an insulator inserted and used mainly between a speaker and a floor surface, and obtained the patent for the insulator (see Patent Document 1). This allows a speaker to be substantially suspended by using a wire, and allows free vibration in pendulum motion due to the suspending structure using the wire to be utilized. Thus, a state in which the speaker is substantially suspended acoustically is realized, and sound intrinsic to the speaker can be reproduced without receiving influence from the floor surface.
"WELLFLOAT" is a registered trademark, and the application for the trademark was filed by the inventor of the present invention simultaneously when the application for the above-described patent was filed. Products which are sold with this trademark are very highly evaluated in the specialized field as indicated in, for example, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2.


A new and distinct Malus domestica variety that bears fruits having a red skin color and good eating and keeping qualities.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of apple tree, botanically known as Malus domestica, and referred to by the varietal name 'Bay 4029'.
The new variety is the result of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Hallbergmoos, Germany. The new variety is the result of a cross between 'Rubinette' (female parent, unpatented) and 'Pomona' (male parent, unpatented). 'Bay 4029' was first asexually reproduced in Hallbergmoos, Germany via table grafting on M9 rootstock. The new variety is similar to 'Rubinette' in having highly aromatic fruits with a red skin color, but the fruits of 'Bay 4029' have firmer flesh and a longer storage time when compared to the fruits of 'Rubinette'. The long storage time of the fruits of 'Bay 4029' is similar to 'Pomona', but the fruits of 'Bay 4029' have a red skin color versus the yellow-green and red skin color of the fruits of 'Pomona'. Further, 'Bay 4029' differs from apple variety named 'Royal Gala Mitschgla' (unpatented) in exhibiting a deep purple/red fruit skin color compared to the red fruit skin color of 'Royal Gala Mitschgla'.
The following characteristics also distinguish the new variety from other varieties known to the inventor:                Striking red fruit color;        Firm and juicy fruits;        Long storage life;        Highly aromatic fruits with a hint of mango;        Late harvest time;        Little to no tendency for alternation; and        Simple and uncomplicated tree.
The new variety has been trial and field tested and has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics and remain true to type through successive asexual propagations.


A bicycle carrier is adapted to be mounted on the rear of a vehicle. The carrier comprises first and second mounting members and a pair of horizontally spaced bicycle supporting arms connected to the mounting members. The mounting members are pivotably connected for relative rotation about a horizontal pivot axis between a plurality of adjusted positions. The carrier includes indicia corresponding to each of the adjusted positions of the mounting members, so that a user can quickly return the carrier to the same adjusted position. The supporting arms carry cradles formed of an elastic material for receiving a bicycle. Each cradle includes a curved supporting surface for receiving a bar of the bicycle frame, and an integral strap which can be extended over the bar to retain the bar within the cradle. An anti-sway bar hangs downwardly from at least one of the supporting arms for resisting swinging movement of a bicycle.

The present invention relates to bicycle carriers adapted to be mounted on the backs of vehicles.
Bicycle carriers of that type are conventional, e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,710,999; 3,927,811; 4,332,337; 4,428,516; 4,513,897; and 4,830,250. It is common for a carrier to have first and second U-shaped mounting members which are seatable against upper and lower portions of the rear end of a vehicle, respectively. The carrier is attached to the vehicle by means of straps which are connected to the carrier and which carry hooks adapted to grasp portions of the vehicle. The mounting members are pivotable relative to one another. Consequently, the angle formed between the mounting members can be adjusted to enable the carrier to fit different vehicle configurations. A pair of supporting arms project rearwardly for receiving a bicycle. The supporting arms include bent ends or adjustable brackets which form cradles on which a bar of the bicycle frame is laid.
Prior art carriers have exhibited certain shortcomings. For example, although the angle formed by the mounting members can be adjusted to enable the carrier to be mounted on vehicles of different configurations, it may be necessary for the user to experiment with various angles in order to determine which angle is appropriate. Such time-consuming procedure may be required every time that the carrier is re-attached to the same vehicle or switched between different vehicles.
Furthermore, in the event that a user attempts to mount more than one bicycle on the carrier, the bicycles may tend to swing toward and away from one another as the vehicle is in motion, thereby repeatedly clashing with one another.
Also, the frame of the bicycle may tend to become scratched by metal-to-metal contact with the cradles.
It would be desirable to provide a bicycle carrier which can be mounted on the rear of a vehicle and which alleviates the above-explained shortcomings as well as others.

Bicycle carrier adapted to be mounted on the back of a vehicle


The invention relates to a device (10) for UV irradiation, each UV module (14) being designed as an immersible radiator and being in each case formed by a round UV radiator (26) which is designed as a mercury low-pressure radiator and is enclosed by a sleeve tube (28) which is transparent to UV rays, each UV module (14) being assigned an irradiation space (24) having a square cross section, the center of which is also the center (18) of the UV radiator (26) and which in each case extends from the center (18) half-way to the neighboring UV modules (14), the centers (18) of four neighboring UV modules (14) forming the corners of a square (20), the area of which corresponds to the sum of the cross-sectional area (F1) of a UV module (14) and the cross-sectional area (F2) of the irradiation space (24) of a UV module, and in that the spacing of the UV modules (14) from one another is selected in such a way that the cross-sectional area (F2) of the irradiation space (24) of each UV module (14) is no more than 10 times greater than the cross-sectional area (F1) of the UV module (14) itself.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for the UV irradiation, in particular for the disinfection, of flowing liquids having reduced UV transmission. The device has one or more support frames with a plurality of UV modules, which each contain a mercury low-pressure radiator. The UV modules are held spaced apart essentially parallel by the support frames and extend along the flow direction of the flowing liquid, which is in particular purified waste water.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Devices of this type are in particular used in treatment plants, since nowadays the purified water from treatment plants must ever more frequently be disinfected before being discharged into natural waters. To that end, the waste water purified by the treatment plant is exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UV irradiation). The UV modules used in this case, which have mercury low-pressure radiators, generate UV radiation in the wavelength range of from about 200 nm to 300 nm with a maximum at 253.7 nm.
The UV modules are designed as UV immersible radiators and each comprise a mercury low-pressure radiator enclosed by a sleeve tube which is transparent to UV radiation. Corresponding UV irradiation devices of the type described so far are known, for example, from the documents EP 0687201, DE 3270676, U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,205, U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,256, U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,809, EP 0080780 and EP 0249450.
In contrast to clean untainted water, the waste water to be disinfected has a greatly reduced UV transmission, which is generally in the range of from 40% to 60% per 1 cm of layer thickness. This means that 40% to 60% of the applied UV radiation is absorbed by a water layer having a thickness of as little as 1 cm (for comparison: pure drinking water has a transmission in the range of from about 90% to 98%, and the absorption losses are hence only from 2% to 10% per 1 cm of layer thickness). The effect of the poor UV transmission of such media is that only relatively thin layers of the waste water around the sleeve tube can be effectively irradiated, because the efficient penetration depth of the UV radiation is so small. For layers located further away from the sleeve tube, the irradiation time needs to be long, and this necessitates a reduced flow speed. Known devices for the UV treatment of waste water can therefore only disinfect small amounts of waste water per unit time.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to permit improved UV disinfection of larger amounts of waste water having reduced UV transmission.
This is achieved in that the spacing of the UV modules from one another is selected in such a way that the cross section of the irradiation space, which is obtained for each UV module, is no more than ten times greater than the cross section of the UV module. In particular, the mercury low-pressure radiators of the UV modules should emit an irradiation strength, or intensity, of greater than or equal to 60 mW/cm2 on the sleeve-tube surface of the sleeve tube in the 200-280 nm range. The cross section of the irradiation space of a UV module is preferably no more than 7.5 times greater than the cross section of the UV module itself.
The term xe2x80x9chigh-power mercury low-pressure radiatorxe2x80x9d refers to radiators which have an electrical power of more than 150 watts per meter of radiator length and/or (in the new state) a radiation power of more than 50 W per meter of radiator length in the UV-C range. The term xe2x80x9cirradiation spacexe2x80x9d, which is obtained for each UV module, will be explained in more detail below.

UV radiation device, especially for disinfecting liquids with reduced UV transmission


This invention provides a method for stably producing 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene for a long period of time wherein unreacted materials are reused after distillation without liquid-liquid separation to suppress catalyst deactivation. The method for producing 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene comprises the step of reacting 1233xf or like chloropropene with hydrogen fluoride in the presence of a catalyst, the step of subjecting the reaction mixture obtained in the above step to distillation to separate the mixture into a first stream comprising 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene as a main component and a second stream comprising unreacted hydrogen fluoride and organic matter containing unreacted chloropropene as main components, and the step of recycling the second stream to the above reaction, the distillation being performed under conditions in which the unreacted hydrogen fluoride and the organic matter containing the unreacted chloropropene do not undergo liquid-liquid separation at a portion of a distillation column from which the second stream is withdrawn.

Alternative refrigerants such as HFC-125(C2HF5) and HFC-32(CH2F2) have been widely used as important replacements for CFC, HCFC, etc., which cause ozone layer depletion. However, these alternative refrigerants are potent global warming substances, thus creating concern that diffusion of the refrigerants would increase global warming. As a preventive measure, these refrigerants are recovered after use. However, complete recovery of the refrigerants is impossible. In addition, diffusion of these refrigerants due to, for example, leakage cannot be ignored. The use of CO2 or hydrocarbon-based substances as alternative refrigerants has also been investigated. However, because CO2 refrigerants have low efficiency and devices using such refrigerants inevitably become large, CO2 refrigerants have many problems in terms of the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including energy to be consumed. Furthermore, hydrocarbon-based substances pose safety problems due to their high flammability.
HFO-1234yf (CF3CF═CH2), which is an olefinic HFC with low global warming potential, has recently been attracting attention as a material to solve the above problems. HFO-1234yf, used alone or in combination with other substances, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), and hydrochlorofluoroolefins (HCFOs), is expected to be useful as a refrigerant, and additionally as a blowing agent, propellant, extinguishing agent, or the like.
Various methods are known for producing HFO-1234yf. For example, there have been proposed methods such as a method in which CCl3CF2CH3 as a starting material is reacted with hydrogen fluoride (HF) that has an amount exceeding the stoichiometric amount (Patent Literature 1), and a method in which a fluorocarbon represented by CF3CFHCFH2 is subjected to dehydrofluorination treatment (Patent Literature 2).

Method for producing chloropropene and method for producing 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene


A file system includes a plurality of information-processing-devices, a plurality of storage devices and a management device, each connected to a communications network, wherein each information processing devices includes a transmission unit for transmitting state information indicating utilization state of the communications network by the information-processing-device to the management device, and the management device includes a determination unit for determining an information-processing-device to execute an inputted job, and a first storage device, and further determine a first path in the communications network for the information-processing-device to access to the first storage device, a collection unit for collecting the state information, and an alteration unit configured to identify, based on the collected state information, a second storage device enhancing access efficiency and a second path in the communications network enhancing access efficiency, and alter the first storage device and the first path to the second storage device and the second path.

A system is proposed that connects multiple information processing devices and multiple mass storage devices to a network, and stores data in the mass storage devices.
When a user instructs the system to execute information processing, a management device managing the system responds to the instruction and determines an information processing device to execute the information processing out of the multiple information processing devices within the system. Further, the management device determines, out of the multiple mass storage devices within the system, a mass storage device that stores data to be created by execution of the information processing, and data to be used for execution of the information processing. Then, the management device causes the determined information processing device to execute the information processing. The determined information processing device stores the data to be created by execution of the information processing into the determined mass storage device, or reads the data to be used for execution of the information processing from the determined mass storage device. Related techniques are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-334561, and Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2005-512232.
In the above-mentioned system, throughput of the system may drop, for example, due to delay in the network communication. In particular, when multiple information processings are executed concurrently in the system, load to the network increases. Increase of load to the network causes a delay in the network communication and thereby throughput of the system drops. To suppress the drop of system throughput, it is preferable to optimally manage the system throughput.
An aspect of the embodiment has an object to optimize throughput of a system that includes multiple information processing devices and multiple storage devices connected to a network.

File system, control program of file system management device, and method of controlling file system


A circuit arrangement includes an X-ray tube, including a cathode and an anode, and a high-voltage transformer. In an embodiment, the high-voltage transformer includes at least one primary winding, at least one first secondary winding, including a first oscillating circuit, wherein the first oscillating circuit includes a first leakage inductance and a first winding capacitance, to adjust a first resonance frequency, and at least one second secondary winding, including a second oscillating circuit, wherein the second oscillating circuit includes a second leakage inductance and a second winding capacitance, to adjust a second resonance frequency, the first resonance frequency matching the second resonance frequency, the first winding capacitance and the second winding capacitance differing in value and the first leakage inductance and the second leakage inductance differing in value. The first secondary winding is electrically connected to the cathode and the second secondary winding is electrically connected to the anode.

High-voltage transformers are typically used to supply an X-ray tube with high voltage. On a cathode side, the high-voltage transformer supplies, for example, a negative high voltage, relative to a ground potential, and on an anode side, a positive high voltage, relative to the ground potential. In particular, a high voltage resulting therefrom between an anode of the X-ray tube and a cathode of the X-ray tube accelerates electrons emitted from the cathode, which conventionally strike the anode and are decelerated in the process, whereby, in particular, X-ray radiation is produced for imaging. However, a certain proportion of the emitted electrons is typically scattered back at the anode.
The back-scattered electrons are captured for example by a grounded metal central part of the X-ray tube, so that, in particular, a differential current is adjusted in the X-ray tube. Therefore the X-ray tube acts in particular as an asymmetric load. Due to the differential current of the X-ray tube, the high-voltage transformer is typically asymmetrically loaded on the anode side and on the cathode side in relation to a respective load current. In other words, a differential current of the high-voltage transformer is adjusted between the anode side and the cathode side, and this is proportional to the differential current of the X-ray tube.
Typically, the differential current of the X-ray tube therefore correlates with the differential current of the high-voltage transformer. The differential current of the high-voltage transformer is produced in particular in that the load current on the anode side and the load current on the cathode side differ, in particular are asymmetric. In this case a voltage asymmetry typically follows at the high-voltage transformer. However, a conventional high-voltage transformer is conventionally symmetrical in design, for which reason the voltage asymmetry can be adjusted at the conventional high-voltage transformer due to the differential current of the X-ray tube. The voltage asymmetry follows in particular from the fact that in particular different high voltages are adjusted at the anode side and the cathode side. Due to the voltage asymmetry the high-voltage transformer and/or the X-ray tube can incur damage. Furthermore, the quality of imaging can be reduced if the high-voltage transformer for the X-ray tube is used during imaging.
Two high-voltage transformers that are independent of each other are therefore conventionally used, it being possible to prevent the voltage asymmetry by way of independent control of the cathode-side and anode-side high voltages. Production and maintenance costs increase considerably as a result because, typically, even further multiple units, in particular high-voltage inverters and/or associated oscillating circuit throttles, also have to be installed due to the two high-voltage transformers.
An alternative possibility is use of a medium-voltage transformer with high-voltage cascade connected downstream, so that a complexity of a circuit arrangement having the medium-voltage transformer, the high-voltage cascade and the X-ray tube, and therewith likewise the costs, increase.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,654 A discloses a high-voltage transformer comprising two transformers having matching resonance frequency.


Disclosed is an evaluation technique for text search with black-box scoring functions, where it is unnecessary for the evaluation engine to maintain details of the scoring function. Included is a description of a system for dealing with blackbox searching, proofs of correctness, as well experimental evidence showing that the performance of the technique is comparable in efficiency to those techniques used in custom-built engines.

Searching a body of documents for specific information is increasingly important, in an increasing number of systems. This introduction examines searching and ranking techniques for responding to a specific search request. Typically, providing best available information calls for scoring information in each document and then by ranking the information or the documents according to relevance. A variety of techniques are used to complete such tasks.
Custom built solutions typically offer acceptable performance for searching large bodies of data. Examples include those available for searching the Internet. Some of the commercially available solutions include biases that either speed the search or qualify data.
Experience has shown that it is typically a substantial challenge to meet performance expectations within the confines of certain systems. Examples of systems where challenges arise include general purpose database management systems and content management systems. For developers of searching algorithms, challenges to meeting expectations in such systems include balancing the concepts of ranking and approximation, as well as providing for a generality of purpose. These, and other concepts, are discussed in more detail to provide some perspective.
Ranking and approximation specify what to return when there are too many or too few results. One may consider these concepts to be at different ends of a single continuum. In order to provide desired searching capabilities, it is considered preferable that typical database systems should incorporate ranking into the generic and extensible architecture of the database engine. Typical database systems do not integrate the concepts of ranking and approximation. New and different ranking criteria and ranking functions should be easily incorporated into a query processing runtime. Preferably, database systems should not use a biased ranking method.
For more perspective, consider the following aspects of ranking text in databases. Note that information retrieval (IR) literature contains many ranking heuristics. A few of these heuristics, to which later reference will be made, include the Term Frequency Inverted Document Frequency (TFIDF) function, Static Rank functions, Searching by Numbers, Lexical Affinities (LA) and Salience Levels (SL), as well as other functions.
One common method for ranking text is by use of the TFIDF score. This is calculated as:
      TFIDF              (              q        ,        d            )        =            ∑              t        ∈        q                                φ                  t          ,          d                            Γ        t
Here, q represents the query, φt,d is the number of times term t occurs in document d, divided by the total number of terms in the document d. Γt is the number of documents which contain term t. A discussion of TFDIF is provided in the reference "Managing Gigabytes," I. H. Witten, A. Moffat, and T. C. Bell. Morgan Kaufman, San Francisco, 1999.
One example of a search engine that uses the Static Rank is the GOOGLE search engine, which uses PageRank. Typically, Static Ranks are used in combination with query dependent ranks such as TFIDF. As an example, scoring where the combination is used can be accomplished using a metric such as:COMBIN(q, d)=αSTATIC(d)+TFIDF(q, d)
The combination presumes that some documents are generally better than others, and therefore, should be favored during retrieval. A discussion of Static Ranks is presented in the publication by S. Brim and L. Page, and entitled "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine," as published in Proceedings of the 7th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW7), 1998. This publication also discusses PageRank.
As an example of keyword based querying of structured datasets, consider the following example of Searching by Numbers. In the example, a user enters a few numbers into a search bar, for instance, "1 GHz, 256M" and the search system translates the query automatically to something like:(processorSpeed≈1 GHz).and. (memoryCapacity≈256MB)
In addition to automated translation to a structured form, results are ranked based on a discrepancy between the requested value and actual value returned for the two parameters of interest. A discussion of Searching by Numbers is presented in the publication by R. Agrawal and R. Srikant, entitled "Searching with Numbers," published in the Proceedings of the 2002 International World Wide Web Conference (WWW2002), Honolulu, Hi., May 2002.
Lexical Affinities and Salience Levels are described as score boosting heuristics. In the case of Lexical Affinities (LA), a score is boosted when two terms in the query appear within a small window of each other. In the case of Salience Levels (SL), the score is boosted when a query term appears with increased prominence such as in the title, a paragraph heading, or with bold and/or italicized text. Score boosting methods such as the use of LA and SL are commonly used in modern information retrieval systems. A discussion of Lexical Affinities and Salience Levels is provided in the publication by Y. Maarek and F. Smadja, and entitled "Full text indexing based on lexical relations: An application: Software libraries," appearing in the Proceedings of the Twelfth International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, pages 198-206, Cambridge, Mass., June 1989. Further examples are provided in the publication by E. M. Voorhees and D. K. Harman, and entitled "Overview of the Tenth Text Retrieval Conference (TREC-10)," appearing in the Proceedings of the Tenth Text Retrieval Conference (TREC-10), National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2001.
Another popular scoring function, referred to as OKAPI, is discussed in the publication by S. E. Robertson, S. Walker, S. Jones, M. M. Hancock-Beaulieu, and M. Gatford, entitled "Okapi at TREC-3," appearing in Proceedings of the Third Text REtrieval Conference (TREC-3), pages 109-126. National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST, 1994.
Presently, there is a debate by those skilled in the art over the choice of "term at a time" (TAAT) search strategies versus "document at a time" (DAAT) search strategies. One example of the various perspectives on these strategies is provided in the publication by H. Turtle and J. Flood, entitled "Query evaluation: Strategies and optimizations," appearing in Information Processing and Management, 31(6):831-850, 1995.
Typically, a TAAT search engine maintains a sparse vector spanning the documents. The TAAT search engine iterates through the query terms and updates the vector with each iteration. The final state of the vector becomes the score for each document. TAAT search engines are relatively easy to program and new ranking functions are easily included in TAAT runtimes. Conversely, a DAAT search engines make use of document indices. Typically, a DAAT runtime search engine iterates through documents subject to the search and scores a document before proceeding to the next one. A heap maintains the current top l documents identified.
In the context of large data sets, it is considered by some that the index based DAAT runtime search engine outperforms the vector based TAAT search engine during query execution. However, DAAT runtimes are hard to implement. For example, each DAAT ranking engine is typically built as a custom system, rather than being implemented on top of a general purpose platform such as a database system. Typically, this is due to the fact that commercial database indices have little or no support for the ranking heuristics used in the text.
To address this issue, DAAT engines have typically been built using a two layer architecture. The user's query would first be translated into a Boolean query. A lower stage performs retrieval based on the Boolean query (or near Boolean query, that is a Boolean query with a "near" operator) which is then passed to a ranking stage for a complete evaluation. Thus, the Boolean stage acts as a filter which eliminates documents which have little or no relevance to the query or are otherwise unlikely to be in the result set.
From a runtime optimization perspective, two layer DAAT architecture has two potential problems. First, there is the need for a middle layer which translates a query into the Boolean form. This can be a complicated process. For example, translating to a Boolean "AND" of all the query terms may not return a potential hit, while translating to a Boolean "OR" may be an ineffective filter. Thus, depending on how effective the Boolean filters are, the DAAT search may end up performing a significant amount of extra input and output operations. Second, effective translations can lead to complicated intermediate Boolean queries. Consequently, the filters associated with even simple scoring functions such as TFIDF or COMBIN can present daunting optimization problems.
For further reference, the merge operator and the zig-zag join operators are described in the publication by Sergey Melnik, Sriram Raghavan, Beverly Yang, and Hector Garcia-Molina, entitled "Building a Distributed Full-Text Index for the Web," appearing in ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 19(3):217-241, July 2001; and the publication by H. Garcia-Molina, J. Ullman, and J. Widom, entitled "Database System Implementation," Prentice-Hall, 2000.
From a functional perspective, a scoring function uses more information than the Boolean filters. For instance, a TFIDF requires determination of the quantity φt,d, which requires more resources than determining if a term is present in a document. Per document scores (such as STATIC) and per term statistics (such as Γt) are used in scoring. Scoring in Searching by Numbers requires use of the numerical values in addition to indices. Heuristics such as LA and SL require information about where in the document and in what context any term occurred. In short, a typical information retrieval engine may use many heuristics and combine them in complicated ways. Examples are provided in two further publications. Consider the publication by David Carmel, Doron Cohen, Ronald Fagin, Eitan Farchi, Michael Herscovici, Yoelle S. Maarek, and Aya Soffer, entitled "Static index pruning for information retrieval systems," appearing in the Proceedings of the 24th Annual International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, pages 41-50, New Orleans, La., September 2001. Such schemes often require data to be provided to support the ranking decisions.
In a typical modem day search engine, the scoring function and the runtime engine are co-designed. This prior art arrangement is depicted in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art search engine 5 receives a query 8 and provides results 9. This process calls for use of parser 3, which builds a token table 4 from a base table 2. Typically, the base table 8 is a collection of documents 7. The token table 4 includes tokens 13, which may be considered as segments or compilations of relevant information from a document 7. From the token table 4, an index table 6 is built. Using the input query 8, the prior art search engine 5 typically includes an embedded scoring function to provide scoring and ranking of information in the index table 6.
While this arrangement usually means that runtime optimization performs well, such designs come at the cost of versatility. For example, some text search engines have been customized to the extent of including special purpose hardware to speed up critical operators. This has made sense for certain applications, especially in the case where there are few scoring functions which are of concern. In such instances, there is no need for versatility as understanding the scoring function allows for better scheduling of the runtime operators. However, such engines are typically not very useful in contexts other than those for which they were developed.
It is important that a generic search engine provide a generic interface to support the varied search functions. In particular, the scoring function used to rank results should be "plug and play." That is, what is needed is a runtime search engine for text search and ranking where the scoring function is queried as a "black box."

Adaptive evaluation of text search queries with blackbox scoring functions

International Business Machines Corporation


A methodology to determine the contents of an image uses an online game that is played by a large number of people at once. Each player may be randomly assigned a partner to form a pair. Partners do not know each other's identity and cannot communicate with one another. Players cannot see what their partners are typing, and the only thing the two partners have in common is an image that they can both see. One object of the game is to have each player type exactly what his or her partner is typing or has already typed. Once both players type the same string of words or letters, they receive a new image (the players are not required to type the string at the same time). The string upon which the two players agree is used as a label for that image. When trying to agree on a word, players may not be able to type certain specific strings of characters or “forbidden words”. When humans play the electronic game (online or over the Internet), they help computers determine the contents of images. If played by a large number of people, this game could provide a resource capable of classifying a vast portion of images on the World Wide Web. Because of the rules governing abstracts, this abstract should not be used to construe the claims.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to labeling of images with words and, more particularly, to a method to determine the contents of an image through a computer game.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
There are millions of images on the World Wide Web portion of the Internet (conveniently referred to hereinbelow as "the Internet") and it is important to have a method that can assign word descriptions to each image (so that the images can be searched and indexed, for instance). Writing a program that can automatically label images in any meaningful way is still impossible. Even recognizing slightly distorted text—a much simpler sub-problem—is hard for current computer programs. To get around this, image search engines on the World Wide Web label images according to file names: an image named "car.jpg", for instance, is labeled as an image of a car. This method, though somewhat successful, is clearly not optimal. First, there is no reason for anybody other than the person who originally posted the image file to name it accurately, and second, a single file name is not enough to describe the contents of an image. Text appearing adjacent to the images in web pages can also be used as an aid in the labeling process, but most images have little or no associated text, and even when such text is present it can be difficult to process and is oftentimes unstructured and misleading. Thus a significant percentage of all images on the World Wide Web are incorrectly labeled and cannot be found through reasonable search queries.
A possible solution to this problem is manual labeling. Manually labeled image databases such as the Corbis Collection and the Getty Images (which can be viewed at www.corbis.com and www.gettyimages.com, respectively) allow for very accurate search results. However, manually classifying all images on the World Wide Web could be extremely expensive given the sheer volume of the image collection over the Internet (there are over 1 billion images on the World Wide Web at this time).
Over the years there has been considerable artificial intelligence work in the area of automatic determination of the contents of images. The most successful attempts learn from large databases of annotated images (annotations typically refer to the contents of the image, and are fairly specific and comprehensive). Some of these methods cluster image representations and annotations to produce a joint distribution linking images and words. Such methods can predict words for a given image by computing the words that have a high posterior probability given the image. Other algorithms attempt to combine large semantic text models with annotated image structures. Though impressive, such algorithms based on computer learning do not work very well in general settings and work only marginally well in restricted settings. For example, the work described in Duygulu, P., Barnard, K., de Freitas, N., and Forsyth, D. A., Object recognition as machine translation: Learning a lexicon for a fixed image vocabulary, (Seventh European Conference on Computer Vision, 2002, IV 97-112) only gave reasonable results for 80 out of 371 vocabulary words (the evaluation procedure in this study consisted of searching for images using the vocabulary words, and only 80 queries resulted in reasonable images).
Another line of work that is relevant is one that attempts to find specific objects within images. Schneiderman and Kanade (Object Detection Using the Statistics of Parts, International Journal of Computer Vision, 2002), for instance, introduced a method to locate human faces in still photographs. Such algorithms are typically accurate, but have not been developed for a wide range of objects. Additionally, combining algorithms for detecting different objects into a single general-purpose classifier is a non-trivial task. Thus, even a method that can produce reasonable labels (not necessarily good labels) for images in general is desirable.

Method for labeling images through a computer game