A new magnetic alloy exhibits high Hc and Ms while exhibiting excellent corrosion resistance, thereby providing ideal physical properties for high density recording applications. Other parameters of the media, such as SNR, PW50, and S are at least maintained, if not also improved. The alloy contains cobalt and up to 10 at. % Ni, up to 20 at. % Pt, up to 10 at. % Ta, up to 10 at. % Ti, and optionally up to 6 at. % B. The ratio of the tantalum to titanium in the alloy is between 3:1 and 1:3. The alloy is deposited by vacuum deposition (typically sputtering) on a similarly deposited non-magnetic alloy under layer. Nitrogen and/or oxygen may be introduced into the alloy during deposition to improve SNR. Other corrosion-resistant thin film alloys may also be obtained by the inclusion of Ta and Ti.

Recording performance for magnetic disks is determined by three basic characteristics i.e. narrow PW50, high overwrite, and low noise. PW50 is the pulse width of the bits expressed in either time or distance, defined as the width of the pulse at half-maximum. Having a narrower (and more well-defined) pulse allows for higher recording density. A wide PW50 means that the bits are crowded together, causing them to interfere with each other. This interference is termed inter-symbol interference. Excessive inter-symbol interference limits the packing density of bits in a given area.
Conventionally, there are number of media factors which affect PW50. In order to achieve narrow PW50, the coercivity ("Hc") of the media must be high. However, if Hc is too high, the head field will have a difficult time saturating the media, resulting in poor overwrite. Overwrite ("OW") is a measure of the ability of the media to accommodate overwriting existing data. That is, OW is a measure of what remains of a first signal after a second signal (for example of a different frequency) has been written over it. OW is poor when a significant amount of the first signal remains. OW is generally affected by Hc, thickness, and the hysteresis loop squareness of the film.
PW50 may be reduced by using a thinner magnetic film. Another means of reducing PW50 is to increase hysteresis loop squareness, and narrow the switching field distribution, as described by William and Comstock in "An Analytical Model of the Write Process in Digital Magnetic Recording," A.I.P. Conf. Proc. Mag. Materials, 5, p. 738 (1971). Hysteresis loop squareness ("S") has several components, including coercivity squareness ("S*") and remnant coercivity squareness ("S*rem").
Noise performance of a magnetic film can be defined in terms of read jitter and write jitter. Noise, together with inter-symbol interference, contributes to the uncertainty in the location of the individual bits, which cause the data to be read with some displacement in timing from that which is expected. This displacement is referred to as bit shift. The bit shift needs to be reduced to a minimum for a given timing window of the bit in order to assure accuracy in reading the bit.
Read jitter is primarily determined by the amount of signal available from the bit, and the electronic noise in the channel. A thicker magnetic film will typically provide reduced read jitter. Unlike read jitter, write jitter is determined by the intrinsic noise of the film. Intrinsic media noise has been theoretically modeled by Zhu et al. in "Micromagnetic Studies of Thin Metallic Films", J. Appl. Phys., vol. 63, no. 8, p. 3248 (1988), which is incorporated by reference herein. Chen et al. describe the source of intrinsic media noise in "Physical Origin of Limits in the Performance of Thin-Film Longitudinal Recording Media," IEEE Trans. Mag., vol. 24, no. 6, p. 2700 (1988), which is also incorporated by reference herein. The primary source of intrinsic noise in thin film media is from the interparticle exchange interaction. In general, the higher the exchange interaction, the greater the noise.
The noise from interparticle exchange interaction can be reduced by isolating the individual particles. This may be accomplished by spacing the grains apart from one another, or by interposing a non-magnetic material or insulator at the grain boundaries, as described by Chen et al. in the aforementioned "Physical Origin of Limits in the Performance of Thin-Film Longitudinal Recording Media." The amount of separation needs to be only a few angstroms. There is another interparticle interaction, called magnetostatic interaction, which acts over a much greater distance between particles as compared to the exchange interaction. Reducing the magnetostatic interaction does reduce intrinsic media noise slightly. However, the effects of magnetostatic interaction actually improve hysteresis loop squareness and narrow the switching field distribution, and hence improve PW50 and OW. Therefore, magnetostatic interaction is generally tolerated.
In order to obtain the best performance from the magnetic media, each of the above criteria--PW50, noise and OW--must be optimized. This is a formidable task, as each of these performance criteria are interrelated. For example, obtaining a narrower PW50 by increasing the Hc will adversely affect OW, since increasing Hc degrades OW. A thinner media and lower remnant magnetization-thickness product ("MrT") yields a narrower PW50, however the read jitter increases because the media signal is reduced. Increasing squareness of the hysteresis loop contributes to narrower PW50 and better OW, but generally increasing squareness increases noise. Thus, the amount that PW50 may be narrowed is limited by the increase in noise. Providing a mechanism for separating or isolating the grains to break the exchange coupling can effectively reduce the intrinsic media noise. Noise is improved by eliminating the interparticle exchange interaction. A slight further reduction of noise is possible by reducing magnetostatic interaction, but this reduces the hysteresis loop squareness and increases the switching field distribution, which degrades PW50 and OW.
In order to obtain the optimum media performance, the remnant magnetization-thickness product ("MrT") must be reduced for better OW and PW50, but still retain sufficient signal to maintain acceptable read jitter. This is principally accomplished by reducing the film thickness, and using an alloy having a higher saturation magnetization ("Ms").
Therefore, an optimal thin film magnetic recording media for high density recording applications, i.e., that can support high bit densities, requires low noise without sacrificing the switching field distribution, S*, and S*rem. Recording density can then be increased since bit jitter is reduced. In order to achieve the best compromise in performance, the individual grains of the magnetic film must be isolated to eliminate the exchange interaction, and grains must be uniform and have a tight distribution of sizes to minimize intrinsic media noise while maintaining high hysteresis squareness.
One type of magnetic media which has allowed optimizing the above performance criteria is based on alloys of cobalt and platinum. Typical examples of such an alloy include CoPt, CoNiPt, CoCrPt, and CoNiCrPt. Attributes of Co--Pt alloys have been described by Murdock et al. in "Roadmap to 10 Gb/in.sup.2 Media: Challenges", IEEE Trans. Mag., 1992, page 3078, by Opfer et al. in "Thin Film Memory Disk Development", Hewlett-Packard Journal, November 1985, and by Aboaf et al., in "Magnetic Properties and Structure of Co--Pt Thin Film", IEEE Trans. Mag., page 1514, 1983, each incorporated herein by reference. Increasing storage capacity demands and performance requirements have motivated a search for ways to improve Co--Pt based alloys.
As mentioned by Yamashita et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,640, also incorporated herein by reference, typical Co--Pt alloys suffer from poor resistance to corrosion. This is of increasing concern as modern recording media are integrated into portable computers and specialized applications which are exposed to increasingly hostile environments such as extremely high or low temperatures, high humidity, etc. Therefore, the Co--Pt base is typically combined with corrosion resistant elements to enhance corrosion resistance while still providing the desired magnetic properties. For example, Howard et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,598, teaches the addition of greater than 17 atomic percent ("at. %") of the non-magnetic material chromium (Cr) to a Co--Pt alloy to obtain improved resistance to corrosion. However, the corrosion resistance obtained by adding such a large percentage of Cr to the Co--Pt alloy has a detrimental effect on a number of the magnetic properties of the thin film, for example a substantial reduction of the Ms of the film. As described above and otherwise well known, it is desirable to provide the highest possible Ms to allow the magnetic film to be kept as thin as possible to facilitate better magnetic field penetration and increased magnetic field gradient from the writing head due to the reduction in the spacing between the head and the magnetic layer, both of which are known to result in lower PW50 and better OW.
One approach to minimizing the detrimental effect of adding a large percentage of Cr to the Co--Pt alloy is to simply reduce the amount of Cr added. However, this approach is limited by the at. % of the non-magnetic material required to obtain the desired degree of corrosion resistance. For example, as taught by Yamashita et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,640, the corrosion resistance drops sharply for less than 10 at. % of Cr in the CoCrPt alloys. In addition, SNR also decreases with decreasing Cr percentage, as taught by K. E. Johnson et al. in "Composition Effects on Recording Properties of CoPtCr Thin Film Media" IEEE Trans. Mag., MAG-29, vol. 6, page 3670 (1993).
Another approach to minimizing the detrimental effect of adding a large percentage of Cr to the Co--Pt alloy is to introduce a combination of nickel (Ni) and Cr. This results in enhanced corrosion resistance while maintaining a higher Ms, since Ni is ferromagnetic. This approach is disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,640 of Yamashita et al., which teaches adding 3 to 8 at. % Ni together with 5 to 10 at. % Cr in combination to form the quaternary alloy CoNiCrPt. This alloy has been shown to provide good corrosion resistance and higher Ms than that taught by Howard et al. However, it is desirable to further reduce or, if possible, completely eliminate the Cr content of the alloy.
A number of references have suggested adding tantalum (Ta) and/or boron (b) to the magnetic layer to improve corrosion resistance. For example, the Japanese patent specifications of Hitachi nos. JP05290352-A and JP05314468-A each discuss the addition of Ta. While it is inferred from these two references that the addition of Ta serves to improve corrosion resistance, there is no mention in either reference of the negative aspects of the addition of Cr. In fact, the alloys taught by each of these references include Cr in addition to Ta.
Another reference discussing the addition of Ta is Furusawa et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,548, teaches the addition of tantalum and/or titanium (Ti) for the purpose of imparting corrosion resistance to the alloy. However, none of the references have demonstrated an alloy with any specific combination of tantalum and titanium which simultaneously provide improved corrosion resistance, higher coercivity, higher saturation magnetization, and higher squareness.
With recording density increasing at a rate of about 30 to 60% per year, and with disk drives becoming increasingly portable, magnetic media are expected to simultaneously have increasingly higher corrosion resistance and improved magnetic performance. A higher Ms alloy for the magnetic media not only enhances recording performance but also reduces the cost of the disk--a thinner film is deposited which enhances the throughput and utilization time of the deposition system. The benefits of enhanced coercivity and squareness are also well known.

Magnetic alloy for improved corrosion resistance and magnetic performance


Provided is a synchronization control device that can control a mechanical system with good track followability. A control unit for each shaft of the synchronization control device includes: a delay time compensator which delays a position command to an FB torque command generation unit, and of which equivalent time constant is approximately the same as an equivalent time constant as a gain compensator. The synchronization control device also includes a phase adjustment unit, which adjusts a phase of at least one of the position commands, in a previous stage of each control unit, so that the time until the position command, input to each control unit, is output from the delay time compensator, becomes approximately the same.

A known synchronization control device that performs synchronization control of two or more shafts is a device that includes, for each shaft, a control unit that generates a torque command by generating and adding a feed forward (FF) torque command and a feed back (FB) torque command, and processes the generated torque command using a gain compensator (e.g. notch filter), and controls a motor in accordance with the processed torque command.
The control unit that is used for controlling each shaft in the synchronization control device having the above configuration includes, a gain compensator, which has a characteristic in accordance with the characteristic of the mechanical load (e.g. resonance frequency) of each shaft. Therefore, in the synchronization control device having the above configuration, a synchronous deviation may occur due to the difference in a characteristic of the gain compensator for each shaft, but a technique to suppress this synchronous deviation has not yet been developed (e.g. see PTL 1 and 2).


An adduct of (a) at least one divinylarene dioxide, and (b) at least one end-functionalized polymer. For example, the adduct may be beneficially used as a toughening agent for toughening thermoset resins such as epoxy resins.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an adduct comprising a reaction product of (a) at least one divinylarene dioxide, and (b) at least one end-functionalized polymer. The adduct of this invention is useful for example as a toughening agent for thermosetting resins such as epoxy resins.
2. Description of Background and Related Art
Epoxy resins are commonly used in various applications and depending on the application, the epoxy resin may require one or more certain attributes or properties.
For example, one of the key attributes of certain thermosets is toughness for applications requiring increased toughness such as when the thermoset is used to manufacture composites. Various toughening agents used in epoxy resin compositions are known in the art such as for example core shell rubbers, particulate fillers, thermoplastics, polyurethanes and rubbers.
Carboxylic acid-terminated acrylonitrile butadiene copolymer (CTBN) is known in the art as a toughening agent for epoxy resins. The CTBN toughening agent is typically added to an epoxy resin composition as a single component or as an epoxy-CTBN adduct.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A computer enclosure with a user interface having an improved user-accessibility. The user interface is located at the upper front corner of the computer enclosure box. In the preferred embodiment, the interface is located on a protrusion extending out of the upper front corner of the enclosure box. The user interface has a surface plane that is preferably angled between 20-70 degrees to the ground to which the enclosure sits on. In other preferred embodiments, the user interface has a surface plane that is preferably angled between 40-60 degrees to the ground to which the enclosure sits on.

(1) Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is desktop computer enclosures.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
The central processing unit (CPU) of a typical desktop computer is enclosed in a boxy enclosure. Such enclosure is known as a computer enclosure. A typical enclosure has a user interface located on the front of the enclosure (see FIG. 3). When the enclosure is placed on the floor under a workstation, however, user-access to the interface becomes rather awkward and difficult, because the interface is now located near the foot of the user (see FIG. 2).
There is a continuing need for new ways to facilitate user-accessibility of user interface on a computer enclosure.
All referenced patents, applications and literatures are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply. The invention may seek to satisfy one or more of the above-mentioned desires. Although the present invention may obviate one or more of the above-mentioned desires, it should be understood that some aspects of the invention might not necessarily obviate them.

Top angled offset multi-media and user interface


A resistance applying device for use with an exercise apparatus includes a rotatable shaft, a rotatable impeller coupled to the rotatable shaft, a sealed housing surround the rotatable impeller, the sealed housing containing a fluid that provides resistance against the rotation of the impeller, and a barrier located between the rotatable impeller and the housing, the barrier and the rotatable impeller being configured to provide for relative movement between the barrier and the rotatable impeller.

The present invention relates generally to a resistance device for use with exercise equipment, and more particularly to resistance units for bicycle trainers.
For many years, bicycle trainers have been used by bicycling enthusiasts to convert their bicycles for stationary riding. Rather than ride in cold or rainy weather, the cyclist can use the trainer to ride indoors and obtain an aerobic, cardiovascular workout. Bicycle trainers also obviate the need for purchasing a separate stationary bicycle for those persons who want to occasionally workout while, for example, reading or watching television. Regardless of the reasons for its use, a bicycle trainer should be easy to use and, to the extent possible, simulate bicycle riding on the open road.
To provide the user with a workout that simulates riding on the open road, a bicycle trainer should be designed with a resistance unit that provides increasing resistance to match the energy output of the rider. Presently, many conventional bicycle trainers do not simulate bicycle riding well because of the design limitations of their resistance units.
A typical bicycle trainer has a frame onto which the user mounts the bicycle. An example of a bicycle training system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,759. Typically, the rear wheel of the bicycle is contacted with a roller that is, in turn, connected to a resistance unit.
In general, in one aspect, the invention features a resistance applying device for use with an exercise apparatus including a rotatable shaft, a rotatable impeller coupled to the rotatable shaft, a sealed housing surrounding the rotatable impeller, the sealed housing containing a fluid that provides resistance against the rotation of the impeller, and a barrier located between the rotatable impeller and the housing, the barrier and the rotatable impeller being configured to provide for relative movement between the barrier and the rotatable impeller.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The rotatable impeller can have at least one vane. The barrier can be located between a stationary impeller and the rotatable impeller. The stationary impeller can have at least one vane. The barrier can allow at least a portion of the vane of the stationary impeller to be exposed to the rotatable impeller. The barrier can have a slot through which the vane of the stationary impeller fits. The barrier can be substantially planar. The barrier can be a substantially circular plate. The invention can include a stationary impeller, the barrier being located between the stationary impeller and the rotatable impeller, the rotating and stationary impellers being substantially circular and planar, each with at least one vane on a surface, the surface of the rotating impeller having its respective vane being oriented to face the surface of the stationary impeller having its respective vane. An adjuster can adjust the relative position of the barrier and the rotatable impeller. The adjuster can be a movable resistance indicator accessible by an operator on the exterior of the housing.
In general, in another aspect, the invention features a resistance applying device for use with an exercise apparatus including a rotatable shaft, a rotatable impeller coupled to the rotatable shaft, the rotatable impeller having at least one vane, a fixed impeller facing opposite the rotatable impeller, the fixed impeller having at least one vane facing the rotatable impeller, a sealed housing surrounding the rotatable impeller and the fixed impeller, the sealed housing containing a fluid that provides resistance against the rotation of the impeller, and a barrier located between the rotatable impeller and the fixed impeller, the barrier allowing at least a portion of the vane of the fixed impeller to be exposed to the rotatable impeller.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The relative position of the barrier and the rotatable impeller can be adjustable. Adjusting the relative position of the barrier and the rotatable impeller can change how much of the vane of the fixed impeller is exposed
In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method for adjusting the resistance of a resistance applying device for use with an exercise apparatus, where the resistance applying device includes a rotatable shaft, a rotatable impeller coupled to the rotatable shaft, and a sealed housing surrounding the rotatable impeller, the sealed housing containing a fluid that provides resistance against the rotation of the impeller, including the steps of turning the rotatable impeller within the fluid within the sealed housing, and adjusting the volume of fluid adjacent to a moving surface of the rotatable impeller.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The volume of fluid can be adjusted by changing the relative position of a plate and the rotatable impeller. The changing of the relative position can change the distance between the plate and the rotatable impeller. The distance can change along an axis substantially normally to the plate. The rotatable impeller can have at least one vane. A stationary impeller can be located between the rotatable impeller and the sealed housing, and the stationary impeller can have at least one vane. At least a portion of the vane of the stationary impeller can be exposed. A stationary impeller can be located between the plate and the sealed housing, wherein both the rotating and stationary impellers are substantially circular and planar, each with at least one vane on a surface, the surface of the rotating impeller having its respective vane being oriented to face the surface of the stationary impeller having its respective vane. An adjuster can be provided that adjusts the relative positions of the barrier and the rotatable impeller. The adjuster can be a movable resistance indicator accessible by an operator on the exterior of the housing.
Advantages of the invention may include one or more of the following. By varying the volume of resistance fluid adjacent to the rotatable impeller, or by varying the surface area of the vanes of a stationary impeller exposed to the fluid, the resistance imparted to the rotatable impeller can be varied. Users of the fluid resistance unit can thereby adjust the resistance to exercise at varying levels of difficulty. Users can vary the resistance of a fluid resistance unit either continuously or in discrete steps. The adjustment of resistance can be accomplished easily by changing an external lever. A fixed fluid resistance unit can have the amount of its resistance preset at a factory, by simply inserting one of a number of differently spaced barrier plates. The fluid resistance unit can offer progressive resistance to progressively challenge the user. The fluid resistance unit is modular and quiet, and relatively inexpensive to produce.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, drawings, and claims.


A lock for a sliding door, window or like closure comprises a casing forming a slide fixed relative to a profile and extending substantially in a transverse direction of the profile and a mobile member mounted to slide relative to the casing forming a slide in the transverse direction and fastened to the feeler and to the abutment member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a lock for a sliding door, window or like closure including a bolt fastened to a sliding assembly mobile relative to a profile forming an integral part of said lock, the lock including an anti-misoperation device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FR-A-2 700 578 discloses a lock of the above type including an anti-misoperation device comprising a feeler finger mobile substantially in the transverse direction of the profile and spring-loaded by spring means towards its deployed position and an abutment member fastened to the feeler and adapted to cooperate with complementary abutting means of the sliding assembly so that, in the deployed position of the feeler, said abutment member prevents sliding of the bolt towards its locked position but does not oppose such sliding in the retracted position of the feeler.
According to the above document the feeler finger is mounted on a rod, for example a leaf spring. As long as the feeler, not encountering any obstacle, remains in its deployed position, the end of the rod immobilizes a slider carrying a bolt and prevents the bolt sliding towards its locked position.
In contrast, when the feeler comes into contact with a striker the striker pushes back the feeler and the rod which therefore releases the slider to enable the bolt to slide towards its locked position.
This implementation is fragile and unreliable.
The aim of the present invention is to remedy the drawbacks of prior art locks and to propose a lock of the aforementioned type that is simple, economic, extremely reliable and easy to assemble and install.

Lock for sliding door, window or like closure

Ferco International Ferrures et Serrures de Batiment


A balancing technique allows a database administrator to perform a mass data load into a relational database employing partitioned tablespaces. The technique automatically balances the usage of the partitions in a tablespace as the data is loaded. Previous definitions of the partitions are modified after the loading of the data into the tablespace to conform with the data loaded into the tablespace.

This disclosure relates generally to the field of computer databases. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, it relates to a technique for balancing data across partitions of a table space when loading data into the table space.
Computer databases have been an important part of enterprises for decades. Two major types of computer databases are hierarchical databases and relational databases. Hierarchical databases, which were developed prior to relational databases, are arranged into tree-like hierarchical structures representing logical relationships. Relational databases organize data into tables of rows and columns. One common relational database management system (DBMS) is the DB2® database system marketed by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). (DB2 is a registered trademark of IBM.)
The actual data for a relational database is kept in a storage location generally referred to as a tablespace. A tablespace is the physical portion of the database used to allocate storage for managed segments of the database, which are the database objects such as tables and indices. Tablespaces may be physically stored in files in a filesystem defined by an operating system, or may be stored directly over devices.
Some DBMSs, including DB2 systems, allow tablespaces to be partitioned into areas or partitions for performance or other management reasons. Typically, partitioned tablespaces only contain a single table, while non-partitioned tablespaces may contain multiple tables. Customers may partition tablespaces according to values in columns corresponding to database keys. The customer generally specifies key value limits for each partition at tablespace definition time, sometimes known as LIMITKEYs. These LIMITKEYs are typically specified as the highest key value that can be stored in a partition. As data is inserted or loaded into the tables, data with key values are stored in a partition chosen by the relationship of the key values with the collection of LIMITKEYs defined for the partitions of the tablespace. The LIMITKEY value for the last partition is ignored in some implementations, avoiding the possibility that some table data could not be inserted into any partition if the LIMITKEY value for the last partition is less than the highest actual key value in the data.
If the customer chooses key value limits that do not match the data that is to be stored in the tables of the tablespace, then database performance problems may arise. For example, the tablespace may have much more data in one partition than others, because of an imbalance of key values in the data. When such problems arise, such as after a large number of updates to the database, the customer may need to reorganize the database to resolve the performance problems by balancing the partitions.
This problem is particularly an issue in situations where the customer is performing a mass data load into a database, such as to replace an existing set of rows. In such a replacement situation, the existing data in the tablespace is removed, and the new data is inserted as a mass insert. In such a situation, the LIMITKEYs defined for the tablespace partitions, although they may have been appropriate for the previous data, may no longer match the replacement data. However, customers have had no way to repartition the tablespace as a part of the loading process, leading some customers to follow a load process with an immediate reorganization of the database, which increases the time during which the tablespace is typically unavailable for use.

Balancing data across partitions of a table space during load processing


The invention is directed to an apparatus for processing rain and/or surface water having a container for storing the water to be processed, a circulating arrangement for circulating the water to be processed in the container, a measuring arrangement for measuring the water quality of the water to be processed, and a processing arrangement for treating the water to be processed in dependence upon the water quality measured by the measuring arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus and process for processing rain and/or surface water and particularly to an apparatus or a process for disinfecting and neutralizing atmospheric precipitation water.
2. Discussion of the Background
The importance of obtaining drinking water from atmospheric precipitation and surface water has increased in view of the increasing costs for obtaining and processing drinking water, the increasing problem for decontaminating rain water, and the increasing environmental protection awareness.
In commercially used apparatuses and processes, often extraordinary amounts of water must be used that do not necessarily have a number 1 drinking water quality. To counteract this, tests are being carried out in the private sector for substituting drinking water with rain and/or surface water. However, the results have been mediocre so far.
Conventionally, neither rain water nor surface water is physically filtered before running into containers (cisterns, rain water gathering containers, etc.). Additionally, this water is transferred to an intermediate container by means of a pump from which it is fed to the utilization appliances, for example, toilet tanks, dishwashers, washing machines, garden hoses, bulk consumers, etc. by means of so-called household waterworks. Other apparatuses are known which eliminate the intermediate container. If, during the summer, the water level in the gathering container or in the intermediate container is too low, a larger quantity of fresh water is fed into the gathering container or the intermediate container until the water level there is sufficient (typical value of rain water gathering receptacle: 300 to 500 1).
A disadvantage when introducing such quantities of fresh water into the gathering container or intermediate container is, however, that the fresh water or drinking water comes into contact with the container walls or the water comes from acid rain or contaminated water (industrial water). Due to this, the newly fed fresh water or drinking water is also contaminated and polluted. The utilization of such industrial water in the household systems known until now in the private sector requires, therefore, special appliances suitable for industrial water (for example, industrial water rinsing machines, industrial water washing machines, etc.). However, the prices are considerably higher in comparison to the apparatuses that use only drinking water. Such appliances that tolerate industrial water can, however, utilize industrial water for presoaking or cleaning, but they do need sterilized water for the last washing cycle. A second connection is necessary for providing drinking water from the drinking water supply.
Contaminated industrial water also cannot be utilized for toilet flushing without consequences. The glazing of the ceramic is more or less porous depending upon the firing. The microscopically small porous areas are attacked by the industrial water that is not pH-neutral and also by contaminants. This pollution can no longer be completely removed with strong chemicals. The consequences are a greenish coloring, slow destruction of the glazing, and therefore, depending on the quality of the glazing, a very short service life (one to two years).

Apparatus and process for processing rain and/or surface water


A fan is disclosed for use in a system, and the system has at least one connection structure. The fan is mainly composed of an impeller and a base, and the impeller is connected to the base. The impeller at least has a hub, a plurality of blades and a driver. The base has at least one engaging member, and the engaging member is corresponding to the connection structure. Further, the fan is fixed on the system by connecting the engaging member and the connection structure together.

In the existing heat source system, a fan is one of the most commonly used heat-dissipating apparatuses. The conventional fan structure is composed of a housing, a hub, blades and a motor component, wherein screw holes are formed on four corners of the housing. When the heat source system uses the aforementioned fan structure as its heat-dissipating device, four screw fastening holes corresponding to the screw holes of the fan housing are generally formed on the heat source system, and then four pieces of screws are inserted into the screw fastening holes of the heat source system and into the corresponding screw holes of the fan housing, so as to fix the fan on the heat source system.
However, the assembly of the heat source system and the fan needs to use quite a lot of screws, and the expense of molding tools and material used for developing the housing portion in the conventional fan structure also occupies quite a large portion of the total fabrication cost of the fan, so that the cost for fabricating and assembling the conventional fan cannot be further lowered.
Further, when the conventional fan is in operation, big noise is frequently generated due to the air resistance therein. Although it is possible to lower slightly the noise level of the conventional fan by modifying the shape of the fan housing, yet the noise level thereof still cannot be lowered effectively.
Moreover, the air volume provided by the conventional fan is restricted by both the opening size of the fan housing and the dead space portion between the heat source system and the fan housing, so that the heat generated in the heat source system fails to be totally removed. Hence, with respect to the heat source system, the conventional fan cannot dissipate the heat completely therein, so that the problem of residual heat still remains.


A heat-sensitive recording material suited for use in direct thermal imaging, wherein said recording material comprises: (i) a layer (1) containing uniformly distributed in a film-forming water-insoluble resin binder a substantially light-insensitive organic metal salt, preferably a silver salt, and (ii) a layer (2) in direct contact with said layer (1) or in thermal working relationship therewith through the intermediary of a spacer layer (3), characterized in that said layer (2) contains, uniformly distributed in a film-forming water-soluble hydrophilic binder at least one organic reducing agent that is capable of diffusing out of said layer (2) into said layer (1) on heating said recording material, and is coated from an aqueous solution.

Thermal imaging or thermography is a recording process wherein images are generated by the use of imagewise modulated thermal energy.
In thermography two approaches are known:
1. Direct thermal formation of a visible image pattern by imagewise heating of a recording material containing matter that by chemical or physical process changes colour or optical density.
2. Thermal dye transfer printing wherein a visible image pattern is formed by transfer of a coloured species from an imagewise heated donor element onto a receptor element.
Thermal dye transfer printing is a recording method wherein a dye-donor element is used that is provided with a dye Layer wherefrom dyed portions or incorporated dyes are transferred onto a contacting receiver element by the application of heat in a pattern normally controlled by electronic information signals.
A survey of "direct thermal" imaging methods is given e.g. in the book "Imaging Systems" by Kurt I. Jacobson-Ralph E. Jacobson, The Focal Press--London and New York (1976), Chapter VII under the heading "7.1 Thermography". Thermography is concerned with materials which are substantially not photosensitive, but are sensitive to heat or thermosensitive. Imagewise applied heat is sufficient to bring about a visible change in a thermosensitive imaging material.
Most of the "direct" thermographic recording materials are of the chemical type. On heating to a certain conversion temperature, an irreversible chemical reaction takes place and a coloured image is produced.
A wide variety of chemical systems has been suggested some examples of which have been given on page 138 of the above mentioned book of Kurt I. Jacobson et al., describing the production of a silver metal image by means of a thermally induced oxidation-reduction reaction of a silver soap with a reducing agent.
As described in "Handbook of Imaging Materials", edited by Arthur S. Diamond--Diamond Research Corporation--Ventura, California, printed by Marcel Dekker, Inc. 270 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016 (1991), p. 498-499 in thermal printing image signals are converted into electric pulses and then through a driver circuit selectively transferred to a thermal printhead. The thermal printhead consists of microscopic heat resistor elements, which convert the electrical energy into heat via Joule effect. The electric pulses thus converted into thermal signals manifest themselves as heat transferred to the surface of the thermal paper wherein the chemical reaction resulting in colour development takes place.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,080,254 a typical heat-sensitive copy paper includes in the heat-sensitive layer a thermoplastic binder, e.g ethyl cellulose, a water-insoluble silver salt, e.g. silver stearate and an appropriate organic reducing agent, of which 4-methoxy-1-hydroxy-dihydronaphthalene is a representative. Localized heating of the sheet in the thermographic reproduction process, or for test purposes by momentary contact with a metal test bar heated to a suitable conversion temperature in the range of about 90.degree.-150.degree. C., causes a visible change to occur in the heat-sensitive layer. The initially white or lightly coloured layer is darkened to a brownish appearance at the heated area. In order to obtain a more neutral colour tone a heterocyclic organic toning agent such as phthalazinone is added to the composition of the heat-sensitive layer. Thermo-sensitive copying paper is used in "front-printing" or "back-printing" using infra-red radiation absorbed and transformed into heat in contacting infra-red light absorbing image areas of an original as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,074,809.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,241,997 concerns a heat-sensitive copying material having two separate layers located one on top of the other and carried by a supporting material, the layers having different melting points and being soluble in different solvents, the solvent of one layer being incapable of dissolving the other layer, the layers containing at least two different chemical reagents capable of reacting with each other when at least one of them is in molten form to produce colour, the colour-producing reagents being located in two different layers, whereby each layer contains at least one colour-producing reagent and whereby no one layer contains all of the colour-producing reagents, at least one of the layers and at least one of the colour-producing reagents melting at most at 150.degree. C.
U.S. Pat No. 3,795,532 concerns sheet material containing metal soap reactants and adapted for producing a copy of an original in a heat-activated copying process when associated with a coreactant source to form a couple. The coreactant may be provided as a separate coating directly overlying and bonded to the soap layer.
A heat-sensitive recording material containing silver behenate and 4-methoxy-1-naphthol as reducing agent in adjacent water-insoluble polymeric binder layers is also described in Example 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,417.
Further, the separate application in a thermosensitive recording material of an organic silver salt and hydroxylamine type reductor in thermal working relationship in adjacent layers containing a thermoplastic water-insoluble binder such as ethyl cellulose and after-chlorinated polyvinyl chloride is described already in U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,901.
In a special embodiment of direct thermal imaging a heat-sensitive recording material is used in the form of an electrically resistive ribbon having a multilayered structure in which a carbon-loaded polycarbonate is coated with a thin aluminium film (ref. Progress in Basic Principles of Imaging Systems--Proceedings of the International Congress of Photographic Science Koln (Cologne), 1986 ed. by Friedrich Granzer and Erik Moisar--Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn--Braunschweig/Wiesbaden, FIG. 6. p. 022). Current is injected into the resistive ribbon by electrically addressing a print head electrode contacting the carbon-loaded substrate, thus resulting in highly localized heating of the ribbon beneath the energized electrode.
The fact that in using a resistive ribbon recording material heat is generated directly in the resistive ribbon and only the travelling ribbon gets hot (not the print heads) an inherent advantage in printing speed is obtained. In applying the thermal printing head technology the various elements of the thermal printing head get hot and must cool down before the head can print without cross-talk in a next position.
In another embodiment of direct thermal imaging the recording material is image-wise or pattern-wise heated by means of a modulated laser beam. For example, image-wise modulated infra-red laser light is absorbed in the recording layer in infra-red light absorbing substances converting infra-red radiation into the necessary heat for the imaging reaction.
The image-wise applied laser light has not necessarily to be infrared light since the power of a laser in the visible light range and even in the ultraviolet region can be thus high that sufficient heat is generated on absorption of the laser light in the recording material. There is no limitation on the kind of laser used which may be a gas laser, gas ion laser, e.g. argon ion laser, solid state laser, e.g. Nd:YAG laser, dye laser or semi-conductor laser.
The use of an infrared light emitting laser and a dye-donor element containing an infrared light absorbing material is described e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,083. Suitable infra-red light absorbing dyes for laser-induced thermal dye transfer are described e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,777, which U.S. Pat. No. documents for said dyes and lasers applied in direct thermal imaging have to be read in conjunction herewith.
The image signals for modulating the laser beam or current in the micro-resistors of a thermal printhead are obtained directly e.g. from opto-electronic scanning devices or from an intermediary storage means, e.g. magnetic disc or tape or optical disc storage medium, optionally linked to a digital image work station wherein the image information can be processed to satisfy particular needs.
When used in thermographic recording operating with thermal printheads said recording materials will not be suited for reproducing images with fairly large number of grey levels as is required for continuous tone reproduction.
According to EP-A 622 217 relating to a method for making an image using a direct thermal imaging element, improvements in continuous tone reproduction are obtained by heating the thermal recording element by means of a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements, characterized in that the activation of the heating elements is executed line by line with a duty cycle .DELTA. representing the ratio of activation time to total line time in such a way that the following equation is satisfied: EQU P.ltoreq.P.sub.max =3.3W/mm.sup.2 +(9.5 W/mm.sup.2 .times..DELTA.)
wherein P.sub.max is the maximal value over all the heating elements of the time averaged power density P (expressed in W/mm.sup.2) dissipated by a heating element during a line time.
Although by controlling the heating of the heating elements of a thermal head in the way as described in said EP-A already a substantial improvement in continuous tone reproduction is obtained, from the side of the composition of the thermal recording element further improvements to lower the image gradation are still desirable.

Heat-sensitive material suited for use in direct thermal recording


A method for detecting a nodule in image data including the steps of segmenting scanning information from an image slice to isolate lung tissue from other structures, resulting in segmented image data; extracting anatomic structures, including any potential nodules, from the segmented image data, resulting in extracted image data; and detecting possible nodules from the extracted image data, based on deformable prototypes of candidates generated by a level set method in combination with a marginal gray level distribution method. Embodiments of the invention also relate to an automatic method for detecting and monitoring a nodule in image data, where the method includes the steps of determining adaptive probability models of visual appearance of small 2D and large 3D nodules to control evolution of deformable models to get accurate segmentation of pulmonary nodules from image data; modeling a first set of nodules in image data with a translation and rotation invariant Markov-Gibbs random field (MGRF) of voxel intensities with pairwise interaction analytically identified from a set of training nodules; modeling a second subsequent set of nodules in image data by estimating a linear combination of discrete Gaussians; and integrating both models to guide the evolution of the deformable model to determine and monitor the boundary of each detected nodule in the image data.

Lung Cancer remains the leading cause of mortality cancer. In 1999, there were approximately 170,000 new cases of lung cancer in the U.S., where approximately one in every eighteen women and approximately one in every twelve men develop lung cancer. Early detection of lung tumors (visible on chest film as nodules) may increase the patient's chance of survival, but detecting nodules is a complicated task. Nodules show up as relatively low-contrast white circular objects within the lung fields. The difficulty for computer aided image data search schemes is distinguishing true nodules from (overlapping) shadows, vessels and ribs.
The early stage detection of lung cancer remains an important goal in medical research. Regular chest radiography and sputum examination programs haven proven ineffective in reducing mortality rates. Although screening for lung cancer with chest X-rays can detect early lung cancer, such screening can also possibly produce many false-positive test results, causing needless extra tests.
At present, low-dose spiral computed tomography (LDCT) is of prime interest for screening (high risk) groups for early detection of lung cancer and is being studied by various groups, including the National Cancer Institute. LDCT provides chest scans with very high spatial, temporal, and contrast resolution of anatomic structures and is able to gather a complete 3D volume of a human thorax in a single breath-hold. Hence, for these reasons, in recent years most lung cancer screening programs are being investigated in the United States and Japan with LDCT as the screening modality of choice.
Automatic screening of image data from LDCT typically involves selecting initial candidate lung abnormalities (nodules). Next, the false candidates, called false positive nodules (FPNs), are partially eliminated while preserving the true ones (TPNs).
When selecting initial candidates, conformal nodule filtering or unsharp masking can enhance nodules and suppress other structures to separate the candidates from the background by simple thresholding or multiple gray-level thresholding techniques. A series of 3D cylindrical and spherical filters are used to detect small lung nodules from high resolution CT images. Circular and semicircular nodule candidates can be detected by template matching. However, these spherical, cylindrical, or circular assumptions are not adequate for describing general geometry of the lesions. This is because their shape can be irregular due to the speculation or the attachments to the pleural surface (i.e., juxtapleural and peripheral) and vessels (i.e., vascularized). Morphological operators may be used to detect lung nodules. The drawbacks to these approaches are the difficulties in detecting lung wall nodules. Also, there are other pattern recognition techniques used in detection of lung nodules such as clustering, linear discriminant functions, rule-based classification, Hough transforms, connected component analysis of thresholded CT slices, graylevel distance transforms, and patient-specific a priori models.
The FPNs may be excluded by feature extraction and classification. Such features as circularity, size, contrast, or local curvature that are extracted by morphological techniques, or artificial neural networks (ANN), can be used as post-classifiers. Also, there is a number of classification techniques used in the final stage of the nodule detection systems to reduce the FPNs such as: rule-based or linear classifiers; template matching; nearest cluster; and Markov random field.
Monitoring is a largely unresolved problem in lung scans, and there exist similar issues in monitoring other nodules or shaped targets. Nodules are at issue, for example, in other types of medical imaging analysis. Also shaped target monitoring has broader applications.

Automatic detection and monitoring of nodules and shaped targets in image data

University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc.


The present invention provides a method executed by a user equipment and a user equipment, and the method comprises: receiving a radio resource control (RRC) message; determining, according to one or more information elements (IEs) or a portion of one information element (IE) in the RRC message, indication information related to a control region in a subframe and/or an access to a cell; and performing, according to the indication information, processing related to the access to the cell and/or processing related to resource mapping, so as to make the user equipment speed up cell selection and save power consumption.

At the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) RAN #80 plenary meeting held in June 2018, a new work item regarding a further enhanced Machine Type Communication (MTC) was approved (see non-patent document: RP-181450: New WID on Rel-16 MTC enhancements for LTE, hereinafter referred to as Rel-16 eMTC). One of the objectives of Rel-16 eMTC is to support the use of the LTE control region for MPDCCH (MTC physical downlink control channel) and PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) transmission under the "stand-alone deployment" scenario for eMTC.
In the existing 3GPP standard specifications, LTE UEs can support different UE categories according to different capabilities. For example, some UEs support eMTC features and/or its evolving features, and these UEs may support Category M1 or Category M2. In the present invention, UEs that support eMTC features (e.g., Category M1 or Category M2) are referred to as MTC UEs, and other UEs (i.e., UEs that do not support eMTC features) are referred to as non-MTC UEs. It should be pointed out that a UE can support eMTC features and other LTE features at the same time, and this type of UE also belongs to MTC UEs in the present invention.
In the existing 3GPP standard specifications, an MTC UE is also referred to as a BL/CE UE, where BL refers to Bandwidth-reduced Low-complexity, and CE refers to Coverage Enhanced.
In the existing 3GPP standard specifications, for a non-MTC UE, each downlink subframe is divided into two parts: a control region and a data region. The control region is mainly used to transmit control signaling of a downlink physical layer, e.g., PCFICH (Physical Control Format Indicator Channel), or PHICH (Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel), or PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), and the data region is mainly used to transmit data of a physical layer, e.g., PDSCH. The TTI (Transmission Time Interval) of the non-MTC UE is one millisecond, i.e., the length of one subframe; and the PDCCH transmitted in the control region contains necessary scheduling information for scheduling the PDSCH in the data region of the same subframe. For an MTC UE, the control region cannot be used, and the control signaling is transmitted through MPDCCH rather than PCFICH, PHICH, or PDCCH; and MPDCCH only uses the data region. The TTI of the MTC UE may be much larger than one millisecond. At this time, the MPDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH may be mapped to multiple subframes respectively.
The length of a subframe is one millisecond. With the use of a normal cyclic prefix as an example, a subframe contains fourteen OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols, where the first N symbols are used for the control region while the 14-N remaining symbols are used for the data region. The fourteen OFDM symbols can be numbered (i.e., from 0 to 13) in the entire subframe. Alternatively, a subframe can be divided into two slots, and seven OFDM symbols within each slot can be numbered respectively (i.e., from 0 to 6 in both slots); In the present invention, unless otherwise specified, the latter numbering method is adopted. If a time slot is not specified, it refers to the first time slot, i.e., time slot 0. For the non-MTC UE, the size of N is determined by the CFI (Control Format Indicator) carried by the PCFICH in symbol 0. The taken value of CFI can be 1, 2, 3, or 4, where 4 is a reserved value. When the downlink system bandwidth is greater than 10 physical resource blocks (PRBs), N is equal to the taken value of CFI; and when the downlink system bandwidth is less than or equal to 10 physical resource blocks, N is equal to the taken value of CFI plus 1. For the MTC UE, the value of N is determined by the parameter startSymbolBR in SIB1-BR. The parameter startSymbolBR is used to indicate the position of a starting OFDM symbol of MPDCCH and PDSCH of an MTC UE (except the PDSCH carrying SIB1-BR). When the downlink system bandwidth is greater than ten physical resource blocks, the taken value of parameter startSymbolBR can be 1, 2, or 3; and when the downlink system bandwidth is less than or equal to 10 physical resource blocks, the taken value of parameter startSymbolBR can be 2, 3, or 4.
Another important difference between a non-MTC UE and an MTC UE is the way of reading "System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1)". For the non-MTC UE, the time domain resources used by SIB1, i.e., the subframes 5 of all even-numbered system frames (whose number is referred to as a system frame number, i.e., SFN), are fixed. SIB1 is transmitted through PDSCH, and the PDSCH is scheduled through PDCCH in the same subframe; and the frequency domain bandwidth used by the PDSCH is only limited by the system bandwidth. For the MTC UE, since the radio frequency bandwidth it supports is generally smaller, it may not be able to read a SIB1 used by the non-MTC UE, so the MTC UE uses "SIB1-BR" (System Information Block Type1-BR), which is always transmitted within a relatively small frequency domain bandwidth. The SIB1-BR is scheduled through the field schedulingInfoSIB1-BR in an MIB (Master Information Block).
When a UE attempts to access a certain cell, for a non-MTC UE, the steps it executes for searching the cell and acquiring system information include:                1. detecting PSS (Primary Synchronization Signal);        2. detecting SSS (Secondary Synchronization Signal) and obtain a cell ID;        3. reading MIB carried by PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel), obtaining a system frame number, a system bandwidth, etc. from the MIB, and determining the boundaries and numbers of frames and subframes in the system;        4. detecting PDCCH, which schedules SIB1, in a subframe where the SIB1 is located and decoding DCI (Downlink Control Information) carried by the PDCCH;        5. decoding the SIB1 carried by PDSCH scheduled by the DCI according to scheduling information in the DCI;        6. decoding other system information according to scheduling information for the other system information in the SIB1.
When a UE attempts to access a certain cell, for an MTC UE, the steps it executes for searching the cell and acquiring system information include:                1. detecting PSS (Primary Synchronization Signal);        2. detecting SSS (Secondary Synchronization Signal) and obtain a cell ID;        3. reading MIB carried by PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel), obtaining. a system frame number, a system bandwidth, and SIB1-BR scheduling information from the MIB, and determining the boundaries and numbers of frames and subframes in the system;        4. decoding SIB1-BR carried by a corresponding PDSCH according to the SIB1-BR scheduling information;        5. decoding other system information according to scheduling information for the other system information in the SIB1-BR.
In addition, it is worth being pointed out that the non-MTC UE can ignore the SIB1-BR scheduling information in the MIB. For the MTC UE, when the SIB1-BR scheduling information in the MIB takes a predefined special value (0), the UE can consider that SIB1-BR is not sent in the cell. At this time, since the SIB1-BR cannot be acquired, the MTC UE can consider that the cell is barred. In fact, when the MTC UE cannot acquire MIB, SIB1-BR or SIB2, or when the non-MTC UE cannot acquire MIB, SIB1 or SIB2, the UE can consider that the cell is barred.
Under the stand-alone deployment scenario for eMTC, if MPDCCH and PDSCH use the resources in the control region, this means that the control region can no longer be used for transmitting the control signaling carried in channels such as PCFICH, PHICH, PDCCH, etc., that is, the corresponding cell cannot serve the non-MTC UE. In order to speed up the cell selection of the non-MTC UE and save power consumption of the non-MTC UE, the non-MTC UE needs to identify such a cell (under "stand-alone deployment for eMTC") as quick as possible during the processes for searching the cell and acquiring system information. In addition, in order to be compatible with conventional MTC UEs (for example, certain DCI formats are used to allocate resources for both conventional MTC UEs and MTC UEs that can use the control region), certain MTC UEs, even in a cell under stand-alone deployment for eMTC, may still have their MPDCCH allocated with resources according to a conventional method (that is, MPDCCH does not use the control region) and have their PDSCH allocated with resources according to a new method (that is, PDSCH uses the control region).

Method executed by user equipment and user equipment


A cavity creation tool by crushing with multi-stage controllable water jet, it is used in natural gas hydrate development and mainly consists of an inner tube upper joint, an inner tube lower joint, an intermediate sleeve, an inner structure consisting of a coaxial throttle push rod, an outer layer sleeve, an outer layer structure consisting of a supporting ring, a jet head mounted to the intermediate sleeve and threading the outer layer sleeve, and a jet crushing structure consisting of a single-stage telescopic jet head and a two-stage telescopic jet head.

Natural gas hydrates are also known as "flammable ice", which is "cage compound" formed by methane-based hydrocarbon gas and water under certain temperature pressure conditions. The test-mining exploration shows that a natural gas hydrate reserve with calorific values equivalent to 100 billion tons of petroleum exists in South China Sea. However, at present it still remains a worldwide problem how to achieve efficient and controllable commercial exploitation of hydrates.
At present, the pressure drop method, the hot injection method, the chemical inhibitor method and CO2 replacement method among the exploitation methods of hydrates in the world merely perform short term pilot productions on natural gas hydrates. Moreover, natural gas hydrates in the South China Sea is mainly based on unstratified rock natural gas hydrates and characterized by having abundant reserves, while having a low bonding strength and thus poor stability. Once changes to the temperature and pressure conditions occur in the region, it may cause massive decomposition, gasification and free release of the submarine unstratified rock natural gas hydrates, which will result in natural disasters and submarine environment destruction. Therefore, considering the characteristics and distribution of natural gas hydrates in the South China Sea, the exploitation of natural gas hydrates generally performs as follows: firstly drilling into a predetermined position by using a drill to form a pilot hole, and then laying down an exploitation tool through a back-pullable well, the exploitation tool can be transported and pulled back through the back-pullable well, such that the exploitation tool is configured for cavity creation and recycling by submerging and jet crushing on the surrounding unstratified rock natural gas hydrates layer during the pulling back procedure; and after separating hydrates from soils and sands through a separator, discharging soils and sands out of backfill strata by the cavity creation tool using natural gas hydrate crushing and a drill, which maintains the stability of the stratum structure.
That the natural gas tool used in the current natural gas hydrate exploitation cannot meet functions of crushing and creating cavity, recycling and soils and sands backfilling by for hydrates with high efficiency, is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
(1) the current natural gas hydrate jet crushing tool can only achieve jet crushing under specific flow rate with specific number of sprinklers, which cannot achieve jet crushing under multi-flow rate levels with variable and controllable number of sprinklers.
(2) in the process of crushing and exploiting natural gas hydrates, it needs to ensure the maximum jet pressure in order to obtain the maximum jet crushing radius, which means the axial drilling fluid path needs to be strictly blocked during the jet crushing process. But the existing jet crushing device achieves sealing by extrusion on the axial flow path, which will inevitably result in axial leakage during jet crushing and poor sealing effect.
(3) during the exploitation of natural gas hydrates, in order to ensure the stability of submarine strata after jet crushing hydrates, it is necessary to backfill soils and sands in situ after separating the recycled hydrates and soils and sands in a separator. Therefore, the jet crushing device should be provided with a separate soils and sands backflow passage. But the existing jet crushing tool does not have a soils and sands backflow passage.
(4) when the pull-back exploitation tool string perform jet crushing during the exploitation of natural gas hydrates, the front end jet head of the jet crushing tool is in a submerged jetting state, i.e. the outer portion of the head is in a state covered by weak cemented hydrates and soils and sands. However, the telescopic head structure and arrangement method designed for the sake of pursuing larger crushing radius for the existing jet crushing tool will result in that telescopic head will immediately protrude after the jet crushing tool initiates and the protruded head will be blocked by soils and sands, which will severely influence the pull-back of exploitation tool string and greatly decrease the exploitation efficiency.

Cavity creation tool by crushing with multi-stage controllable water jet for natural gas hydrate development

Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhanjiang)


A plug which is attached to a power cord of an appliance, such as a clock or an appliance having an internal clock, includes a battery that will supply power to the appliance during a failure of utility power whereby the clock associated with the plug need not be reset after restoration of power. The plug is interposed between the plug of the appliance associated therewith and the source of utility power.

Many AC powered electronic devices use a microprocessor to maintain the operation of a time of day clock. Using its time base, or perhaps the 60 Hz AC frequency, the microprocessor uses internal counters to maintain the current day, hour, minute and second. As a result of this counter activity, the microprocessor must have a supply of power in order to maintain the clock.
When a traditional AC powered electronic device encounters an AC power interruption, the clock will not continue to function because the microprocessor is no longer receiving the power it needs to execute the time of day clock operation. This is unsatisfactory because it is important for many electronic devices to maintain the current time during a power interruption. In an executing mode (i.e., in order to maintain the time of day clock), the microprocessor draws power. If the power draw is excessive, batteries are relied upon to maintain the operation of the clock during the power interruption. This results in a serious drawback in consumer electronic devices because consumers cannot be relied upon to install backup batteries and even then, they do not usually replace the batteries before the energy reserve is completely depleted. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a simple, cost effective device to backup a time of day clock in the event of a power interruption.
One approach has been to slow down the operation of the microprocessor so as to reduce its power consumption. Since most consumer electronic devices use CMOS microprocessors whose power consumption is directly proportional to the frequency of operation, slowing down the microprocessor reduces the current draw. If the microprocessor is sufficiently slowed, the current draw can be lowered enough to allow a simple capacitor-based power supply to provide a temporary supply of power during a power interruption. Unfortunately, not all microprocessors have the capability to reduce their clock speed. Additionally, even at slow speeds, the microprocessors current draw is large enough to require large, expensive capacitors (commonly called 'super caps') to supply the power for the backup function.
Accordingly, backup power systems are increasingly used for applications, such as computer, security, data processing and communications equipment to avoid interruptions resulting from a primary AC power source. Various arrangements have been employed to provide a backup or standby power supply.
Furthermore, microwave ovens, ranges, video cassette recorders, and many other appliances include a digital clock which displays the time of day. Power for the clock typically is obtained from the AC power line which supplies power to other appliance components. If the AC power is lost, even for a brief instant, the clock must be manually reset. Although having to reset the clock is not necessarily difficult or time consuming, it can be a nuisance.
While the operation of many electronic devices depends on a clock, the basic operation of electronic clocks themselves is often interrupted when there is a power failure. If the consumer has not replaced a backup battery in the clock itself, the consumer will be required to reset all such clocks after a power interruption. This can be annoying.
Therefore, there is a need for a backup power supply for a clock or for an appliance incorporating a digital clock which is tolerant to short power outages so that the clock does not necessarily need to be reset manually after a brief, e.g., 20-30 seconds, power outage. There is a further need for such a device that does not add significant costs to an appliance.
While the inventor is aware of several backup power supply systems, these known arrangements have several disadvantages, including complexity, expense and unreliability. Furthermore, many of the known arrangements require modifications and/or direct wiring interconnections within the power supply circuit of the supported device.
Therefore, there is a need for an external backup power system capable of simply and effectively supplying DC (direct current) backup power to a supported device without requiring any modification of the supported device. It is important to provide such backup power supply that can be used with a various devices and that is inexpensive.

Battery backup electric plug with female plug


A process takes advantage of a structure of a server hosting a network site that includes a change log stored in a database to batch index documents for search queries. The content of the site is batched and shipped in bulk from the server to an indexer. The change log keeps track of the changes to the content of the site. The indexer incrementally requests updates to the index using the change log and batches the changes so that the bandwidth usage and processor overhead costs are reduced.

Searches among networks and file systems for content have been provided in many forms but most commonly by a variant of a search engine. A search engine is a program that searches documents on a network for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found. Often, the documents on the network are first identified by "crawling" the network.
Crawling the network refers to using a network crawling program, or a crawler, to identify the documents present on the network. A crawler is a computer program that automatically discovers and collects documents from one or more network locations while conducting a network crawl. The crawl begins by providing the crawler with a set of document addresses that act as seeds for the crawl and a set of crawl restriction rules that define the scope of the crawl. The crawler recursively gathers network addresses of linked documents referenced in the documents retrieved during the crawl. The crawler retrieves the document from a Web site, processes the received document data from the document and prepares the data to be subsequently processed by other programs. For example, a crawler may use the retrieved data to create an index of documents available over the Internet or an intranet. A "search engine" can later use the index to locate documents that satisfy specified criteria.
For retrieving documents in a crawl, an operation for each document on the network is executed to get the document and populate the index with records for the documents. These roundtrip queries for documents can consume a great deal of overhead with regard to bandwidth and processor utilization. Also, for accurate results to be provided by the search engine, the index also needs to be accurate with regard to the documents on the network. If the documents on the network change, by altering documents, adding documents, deleting documents, or other operations, the index needs to be updated to reflect these changes. However, crawls of the network can be expensive operations. Having to roundtrip back and forth to the network can overtax the bandwidth available between the indexer and the network.

System and method for batched indexing of network documents


A computer-implemented technique is described herein for generating a digital representation of real-world surfaces in an environment. The technique involves receiving sensor data captured by one or more depth-sensing devices. The technique then provides a low-detail (LD) representation of surfaces in the physical environment based on the sensor data; that LD representation describes one or more planes in the physical environment. The technique then generates a high-detail (HD) representation of the surfaces based on the sensor data and the LD representation. Finally, the technique provides an output result based on the LD representation and/or the HD representation. According to one illustrative aspect, the technique produces the HD representation such that it is non-duplicative of information that is already present in the LD representation. The technique performs this task by identifying and excluding HD information that is already adequately represented by the LD representation.

Graphics systems often produce different versions of objects having different respective amounts of detail. For example, a computer-implemented game can produce a high-detail representation of an object when the object appears in the foreground of a scene, and a low-detail representation of the object when the object appears in the background. Graphics system often generate different versions of an object by first providing a high-detail version of the object, and then converting the high-detail version into a low-detail version of the object. In some cases, this solution may be inefficient and produce unsatisfactory results.

Using a low-detail representation of surfaces to influence a high-detail representation of the surfaces


A vertically adjustable armrest that is suitable for use in connection with various types of passenger vehicles, including commercial aircraft. The armrest includes a slide mechanism for permitting easy height adjustment of the armrest and also includes a locking mechanism for securely locking the headrest in the desired elevated position. The armrest moves in a smooth vertical motion and is continuously biased toward an upraised position. Vertical adjustment of the armrest is accomplished by pushing a push button located in the upper portion of the armrest.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to armrests for seats. More particularly, the invention concerns a vertically adjustable armrest for use in connection with furniture and with passenger vehicles such as aircraft, trains and busses.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Various types of seat armrests for use in passenger vehicles have been suggested in the past. As a general rule, these armrests are fixedly mounted to either the seat or back portion of the seat. In those instances where the armrests are adjustable, the armrest is typically pivotally mounted to the seat back in a manner to enable the armrest to be pivoted along an arcuate path from a downward operational position into a retracted, stowed position.
On occasion, attempts have been made to develop self-leveling chair arms for use in theaters and the like. An example of one such attempt is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,033 issued to Pietsch. This patent concerns a theatre, or stadium chair having a seat, a seat back and an arm connected to the seat back by means of a parallelogram linkage. With this arrangement, when the seat back pivots the arm stays essentially parallel to the seat.
As a general rule, prior art self-leveling armrests as well as other prior art adjustable armrests of similar complexity have been proven to be impractical for use in vehicles. For the most part, such prior art adjustable armrests are difficult to manufacture, are of relatively high cost and are of questionable reliability. Accordingly, there has been a long felt need for an easy-to-use adjustable armrest that is of a simple construction, one that can be manufactured for reasonable cost and one that can be safely used in vehicle applications, including commercial aircraft applications. The thrust of the present invention is to provide such an adjustable armrest.


A data visualization arrangement facilitates the display of a selected region of a multi-dimensional data object in a selected one of a plurality of display modes. The arrangement comprises a data object store, an interface, an object region retrieval component and a display. The data object store stores the data object, the data object comprising a plurality of data items in a predetermined organization. The interface receives a region identification for identifying a particular region of the object and a display mode identification. The object region retrieval component retrieves data items from a region of the data object as identified by the region identification received by the interface. Finally, the display receives the data items as retrieved by the object region retrieval mechanism and displays them in the display mode as identified by the display mode identification.

The work of digital computers is controlled by applications programs, which govern the step-by-step operations performed by the computers in processing data. Verifying that a computer is processing the data in the manner desired by a programmer can be difficult to do, particularly if the program is required to be in any way complex. One way is for the programmer to verify that the logical flow of the program is as he or she intended by the studying the program. While this method may work for some gross errors, it may not be enough to facilitate discovery of all errors, particularly of errors that arise from, for example, errors or eccentricities in the way that the computer itself processes certain program instructions.
Debugger programs have been developed to facilitate debugging of other programs, termed here "applications programs," to ease the programmer's task of discovering and correcting the latter type of errors. Using a debugger program, a programmer can enable the particular computer for which the applications program is being written to process portions of the applications program, using known input data, to thereby enable the generation of output data. Since the input data is known, the programmer can determine what the output data should be, and compare the actual output data to that. If the actual output data corresponds to what the output data should be, the programmer can determine that the applications program is likely to be correct. On the other hand, if the actual output data does not correspond to what the output data should be, the programmer will know that further work is necessary to perfect the program.
In some cases, the amount of data generated by an application program, processed under control of a debugger program, can be quite voluminous. For example, many applications program operate on arrays of data, which arrays can be quite large and have many dimensions. Easy retrieval of portions of such arrays for display and examination using conventional debugger programs can be fairly difficult.

System and method for displaying a selected region of a multi-dimensional data object


A system for facilitating debugging of software running within an information processing unit includes an external trigger state machine which selectively overrides the cacheability attribute of a cache line. An in-circuit emulator (ICE), which is used for debugging purposes, monitors addresses read by and written to a CPU. If an address which is of interest for debugging purposes is detected by the ICE, then the ICE issues a trigger signal. The trigger signal causes the external trigger state machine to designate the cache line associated with the detected address as a non-cacheable operation (i.e., to override the cacheability attribute) . Thus, the data associated with the cache line is written out to the main memory module where the data can be observed by an ICE, rather than to an internal cache memory location where the data would be invisible to an ICE. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the external trigger state machine is configured to operate in a pipelining environment wherein multiple requests may be outstanding at one time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to debugging of processing computer systems which include an internal cache wherein not all microprocessor instructions and data can be monitored outside of the microprocessor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Software for information processing devices has become increasingly more complex. Thus, more sophisticated tools are necessary to aid in debugging problems typically encountered when implementing such software. One powerful tool which has been developed is the in-circuit emulator (ICE) which monitors the instruction and data stream into and out of a microprocessor. Typically, an ICE comprises a logic analyzer together with memory which records a data or instruction stream over a predetermined window of time through a data communication channel such as a system bus.
In a typical information processing system, one or more central processing unit (CPU) modules communicate with memory or input/output (I/O) units via a system bus. A typical CPU module includes a CPU having an internal cache memory which communicates with an external cache memory via a bidirectional communications bus. The external cache memory typically communicates with the system bus via a local data bus, a local address bus, and a local control bus.
As is well known in the art, a cache memory is a fast memory storage unit which is under the control of the CPU within each of the CPU modules. A cache memory may be either a write-through cache memory or a write-back (sometimes called copy back) cache memory.
A write-through cache memory always immediately writes data changes within memory locations of the cache to corresponding memory locations within the main memory module. Thus, for example, if the central processing unit within the first CPU module writes new data into the cache memory within the first CPU module at a given address, the cache memory will immediately write the same data into the corresponding address in the main memory module via the multiprocessor bus. It should be noted here that the main memory module will typically have a portion of memory which has a mapped one-to-one correspondence to memory locations within the cache memories of each of the CPU modules. The memory locations within the main memory module that can have corresponding cache memory locations are typically called cacheable memory addresses. At any time, a portion of the cacheable memory addresses are mapped into the cache memories. The mapped portions typically change over time as the CPU modules request data from different portions of the main memory. When changes occur, the data in the cache memories are swapped out and replaced with data from the main memory. It is important that the corresponding memory locations within each of the cache memories and the main memory unit contain the same data because when an input/output device wishes to access a memory location, the memory location will typically be accessed within the main memory unit. However, if the main memory unit does not have the same data as the cache memory of a corresponding address, this indicates that the main memory unit has yet to be updated with the most recent data which is present within the address sought by the input/output device. Thus, erroneous data may be retrieved by the input/output device if the main memory unit does not have the same data as the corresponding cache memory address.
Although write-through cache memories guarantee that corresponding memory locations within the cache memories and the main memory module have the same data, the necessity of immediately accessing the multiprocessor bus each time the CPU within a CPU module writes to the cache memory causes a number of interruptions on the multiprocessor bus. These interruptions often create bus inefficiencies which may severely compromise the performance of the overall multiprocessor system.
To overcome the difficulties associated with write-through cache memories, write-back cache memories have been used. Write-back cache memories write data from the cache memory to a corresponding memory location within the main memory unit at a later time when the data is requested by another device (such as an input/output device or another CPU module). This increases the overall efficiency of the system since the CPU may update data several times within a write-back cache location without writing these updates out to the main memory. Thus, the system bus typically is used less frequently in write-back cache memory systems. Furthermore, the internal cache memory within a CPU may also be write-back so that several data and instruction modifications may be made solely within the CPU before the final product is written out to the external cache memory.
In order to monitor the operation of the CPU for debugging purposes, an ICE may be connected along a data/instruction path such as a system bus, the local data address and control bus from the external cache memory to the system bus, or the bidirectional communication bus between the external cache memory and the CPU. When monitoring the operation of the CPU, the ICE is programmed to recognize a prespecified data sequence. For example, the ICE may be programmed to trigger when a particular data sequence is written to a specified memory address location, or when several data sequences are written in succession to specified memory address locations. As soon as the ICE detects the prespecified data sequence at the given address location or locations, the ICE outputs a record of the entire data and instruction sequence which occurs proximate in time to the specified data sequence which triggered the ICE. In some applications, the ICE will output a record of the data and instruction sequence which follows the specified trigger data sequence within some time window, while in other applications the ICE will output a record of the entire data and instruction sequence which preceded the prespecified data sequence by some time window. In yet other applications, the ICE outputs a record of the data and instruction sequence both before and after the pre-specified trigger data sequence.
The data record output by the ICE can be used for debugging purposes and is therefore highly useful in design and testing of new software applications. A significant difficulty is encountered, however, in systems which incorporate a write-back internal cache so that not all of the microprocessor instructions and data are visible outside of the microprocessor where they can be monitored by the ICE. Data writes to the internal cache of the microprocessor, and data reads from the internal cache of the microprocessor, are essentially invisible because many of the reads and writes are never output to the external cache or to the system bus where these data transfers and instruction signals can be monitored by the ICE. Thus, in microprocessor systems which include an internal cache memory, it becomes very difficult to analyze and debug complex new software.
In order to monitor the instruction and data stream into and out of the internal cache of a microprocessor, some systems simply disable the entire cache memory so that all instruction and data transfers are carried out over the system bus. However, in such implementations, a microprocessor system is typically slowed down considerably, and errors which would normally be produced within a high speed system are often not reproducible when the microprocessor has been slowed down by the disabling of all cache memories.
Other systems have contemplated disabling only the internal cache within the microprocessor. The ICE can then be interposed between the microprocessor and the external cache to monitor all operations executed by the microprocessor. While this does slow down the overall microprocessor system considerably, this effect is somewhat minimized by the fact that the external cache is operable. However, unless the external cache has been designed to allow for a condition wherein the internal cache is disabled, such disabling may constitute an illegal state for the external cache. That is, the external cache memory may not be equipped to handle communications with the microprocessor when the internal cache within the microprocessor is disabled. In such cases, the external cache may, for example, transmit an entire cache line to the microprocessor when the microprocessor only expects a single data block since it is in the cache disable mode. In such instances, the performance of the microprocessor system may be severely compromised.
A third approach is to use a special "bond-out" microprocessor in the ICE. Such chips include special output terminals which may be used to monitor the operation of the internal cache memory within a microprocessor. This bond-out allows the ICE access to some internal signal lines that may enable more accurate monitoring of the system. However, such chips are quite expensive and generally not available for all microprocessor types.
A fourth approach is to have the operating system map different areas of memory as non-cacheable. However, with this approach, the resolution of the memory management unit (MMU) in the microprocessor is such that it would generally require an entire page of memory for the operating system to map different areas of memory as non-cacheable. For example, for an 80486, an entire 4 kilobyte page of memory would be required for the operating system to map these areas of memory as non-cacheable. Also, such memory mapping requires intimate knowledge of the operating system kernel and access to the source code.
Finally, several microprocessors have internal registers that can be used for debugging. Such registers allow the debugging engineer to specify an event which will cause the microprocessor to take a "debug" exception. That is, the microprocessor would trigger when, for example, a specified address and/or data pattern is observed. However, since the internal registers within the microprocessor are generally small, this technique often allows monitoring of only one to six addresses or break (i.e., trigger) points. Therefore, more complex patterns which might be required to properly debug a complex software program would not be observable using such devices. Additionally, since none of the activity is visible by the ICE, a debugging engineer is often left to guess which section of code actually caused the trigger. Furthermore, the specified events which trigger the break points are typically simple and do not allow for more complicated trigger options that are typically necessary for complex software implementations and are typically available with an external logic analyzer.

External means of overriding and controlling cacheability attribute of selected CPU accesses to monitor instruction and data streams


Dummy holes 36 are made for every one of display dot 5a, 5b and 5c at pixels 5 through interlayer film 33 up to gate electrode and scanning lines 11 before interlayer film 33 on glass substrate 3 is washed. When interlayer film 33 is washed, electric charges stored at semiconductor layer 21 are substantially the same in quantity as those stored at gate electrode and scanning lines 11 through dummy holes 36. Thus, electric potentials at gate electrode and scanning lines 11 are substantially equal in magnitude to those at semiconductor layer 21. This can suppress the occurrence of voltage differences imposed between gate electrode and scanning lines 11 and semiconductor layer 21.

Many liquid crystal display devices as flat panel display devices are provided with sandwich structures of electronic circuit array substrates, counter substrates and liquid crystal compositions as shown in Japanese Patent Publication 2000-187248 (particularly, see descriptions at pages 4–6 and FIGS. 1–3), for instance. The electronic circuit array substrates include insulation substrates such as glass plates on which pixels are configured in a matrix form. Each pixel contains a set of red, green and blue color-display dots, for instance, each of which includes a pixel electrode, an electric capacitor and thin-film transistors.
Further, island-like poly-crystalline silicon films, for instance, are formed on the electronic circuit array substrate. The silicon films are covered with a gate insulation film on which, in turn, scanning lines connected to gate electrodes disposed. Auxiliary electric capacitor lines are provided apart from the scanning lines but on the gate insulation film.
The scanning lines and the auxiliary electric capacitor lines are coated with an interlayer insulation film through which contact holes are made. Signal lines are formed on the interlayer film and are electrically connected to the poly-crystalline silicon layer through the contact holes in which electrically conductive materials are filled.
The array substrate is provided opposite to the counter substrate which includes an insulation substrate such as a glass substrate and color filters formed on the insulation substrate. A liquid crystal composition is held between the electronic circuit array and counter substrates and is sealed at circumferences of the substrates by a sealant.
The liquid crystal display device described above needs a large number of pixels to display a mass of data. A color liquid crystal display device of this type, in particular, used for a personal computer requires red, green and blue color-display dots per pixel so that its electronic circuit array substrate must be provided with several millions of pixels with them
Display requirements for such a liquid crystal display device have been recently quite high in level. One such requirement is to have as little point-defect pixels as possible or no point-defect pixels. It is, however, extremely difficult to manufacture liquid crystal display devices with little or no point-defect pixels at a good yield rate. Thus, it is important to provide a liquid crystal display device with no point-defect pixel structures or methods of manufacturing the same.
One of the big causes of point-defect pixels is electro-static destruction in manufacturing an electronic circuit array substrate of a liquid crystal display device. Abnormal characteristics of the thin-film transistors, for instance, may be caused by electro-static destructions in the case that an electronic circuit array substrate is washed after the formation of poly-crystalline silicon films patterned for thin-film transistors, a gate insulation film, scanning lines, auxiliary capacitor lines, an interlayer insulation film and contact holes in the interlayer and gate insulation films on the electronic circuit array substrate, i.e., before the formation of signal lines on the interlayer insulation film.

Semiconductor device, electronic circuit array substrate provided with the same and method of manufacturing the electronic circuit array substrate

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd.