A system and method for measuring a color parameter values of a display for calibration purposes. An initial measurement of the color parameter value from the display is performed. Next, a number of additional measurements is determined in response to the value of the initial color parameter value. The color parameter value of the display is measured by the number of additional measurements in order to determine an average color parameter value of the display which will be used for calibration purposes.

Computer monitors can have cathode ray tubes (CRT), liquid crystal displays (LCD) plasma screens, projections screens or flat panels as the screen that emits light according to electrical signals from a computer. The computer generates a standard set of instructions that produces electrical signals that the monitor uses to produce images on the screen.
However, monitors from different manufacturers produce different intensity levels of color on the screen for the same set of signals. In this respect, the same image viewed on monitors from different manufacturers or using different manufacturing technologies may appear different to a user because of different display characteristics such as primaries, optical transfer function, and white point. In order to overcome these differences, the monitors may be calibrated so that the color differences between monitors may be reduced.
This need for calibration is especially important for LCD screens. Often times LCD screens from different manufacturers or employing different display technologies will be used in the same product line. To ensure that the images are viewed consistently among monitors of the same product line, each LCD screen is calibrated.
Measurement tests are performed on the screen of the monitor to determine calibration settings. When each monitor is manufactured, the calibration settings are used to adjust how the monitor produces colors in order to generate consistent images. The calibration settings can also be applied in the computer system to the electrical signals that are sent to the monitor when the monitor is in use.
The calibration settings are found using a calibration system having a light sensor and a method to generate the calibration parameters from the values recorded by the sensor. A computer generates color test images on the monitor that are measured by the light sensor facing the screen. The light sensor measures the color parameters of the test images. The measurements are communicated back to the computer which generates the calibration settings therefrom.
The measurements can be a color parameter such as either tristimulus values in the form of (X, Y and Z), chromaticity (x,y) and luminance (Y(Cd/m2)), or CIELAB values (L*a*b*). By measuring the color parameter for a number of colors, it is possible to determine calibration settings that are used to calibrate the monitor to accurately and consistently reproduce colors according to a reference calibration, which is usually referred to as target calibration.
In prior art methods, the number of multiple light measurements is fixed and set by the operator prior to performing the measurement. Thus, the computer takes multiple measurements for all the colors irrespective of whether the color is lighter or darker. In other words, multiple measurements are taken for the light colors even though they are not needed. By performing multiple measurements on each of the colors, the time to measure the color parameter is longer than what is really needed.
The present invention addresses the above-mentioned inefficiencies in measuring color parameter values by providing a system and method that determines the number of measurements to be performed. The system of the present invention only performs extra color measurements when they are needed, thereby avoiding extra measurements and thereby greatly increasing measurement speed.

Adaptive method for acquiring color measurements


A rigid, coaxial transmission line is provided which includes a plurality of sections joined by connector assemblies. The transmission line includes a plurality of ordered groups. Each of the ordered groups includes a plurality of equal-length sections. The length of the equal-length sections in each ordered group is selected to reduce the VSWR spikes caused by the connector assemblies. The length of the equal-length sections progressively changes between each of the ordered groups.

With the introduction of digital television and the fact that there are a limited number of towers for new broadcast antennas, there is now a need for multichannel antennas and transmission lines. These wide bandwidth devices allow several channels to share transmission facilities.
Rigid transmission lines are favored by the broadcast industry because of their wide bandwidth and durability. Rigid transmission lines historically have a large number of equal-length transmission line sections (generally 20 feet each) connected in series. These transmission lines couple transmitters, located in transmitter buildings, to their corresponding antennas which are on top of towers. Typically, the length of such a transmission line is from 200 to 2,000 feet. Such a transmission line generally comprises between 10 to 100 sections. Rigid transmission line systems are channelized, i.e., each television station has its own transmission line system designed for its broadcast channel. Channelized transmission line systems typically use 19.5, 19.75 or 20 foot sections. The section length is chosen to produce the optimum voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) at the desired frequency.
A transmission line assembled from a plurality of equal-length sections requires a plurality of connector assemblies to join these sections together. However, these connector assemblies cause VSWR spikes. These spikes are caused by the in-phase addition of all the reflections from the connector assemblies. Such imperfect connector assemblies include bullets, bellows, dielectric supports (beads), flanges, etc. Thus, a transmission line having a plurality of equal-length sections will have VSWR spikes at each frequency where the section length is a multiple of .lambda./2, where .lambda. is the wavelength corresponding to the broadcast frequency. VSWR spikes are narrow ranges of frequency where the VSWR is too high for the transmission line to work properly. These spikes occur at intervals of 24.6 MHz for 20-foot sections. The spikes restrict the operating bandwidth to something less than the spike separation. Until the late 1950's, the only way to improve the wide band VSWR performance of rigid transmission lines was to improve the reflection coefficient of the connector assemblies. This reduced the size of the spikes.
A paper entitled "The Optimum Spacing of Bead Supports in Coaxial Line at Microwave Frequencies" by David Dettinger, 1957 IRE Convention Record; Vol. 5, part I, pp. 250-253 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,548 disclose another way to reduce VSWR spikes. The Dettinger paper discloses progressively varying the distance between bead supports so that the reflections from those beads do not add in phase. U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,548 discloses a subtle twist on the Dettinger paper. That patent discloses varying the length of the sections in such a way that the reflections from the connector assemblies do not add in-phase. Reducing the spikes in this manner requires each section of the rigid transmission line to be a different length. The length of each section is determined by the following formula: ##EQU1## where l=the length of section n,
L=the nominal section length, PA1 N=the number of sections, PA1 n=the section number, and PA1 .lambda.=the wavelength corresponding to a selected frequency within a band of frequencies.
The above formula results in a progression of section lengths, i.e., each section is progressively longer in length than the preceding section.
Wide band transmission lines with reduced VSWR are advantageous. However, the concept of progressively increasing section lengths is cumbersome. Because each section of the transmission line has a different length, each section must be appropriately labeled, for example, with a section number. Installation of these
sections is a time consuming exercise that requires locating and identifying each section and assembling the sections in sequence. Furthermore, each shipping container must be large enough to hold the longest section and must have packaging that accommodates all the different size sections. Even after this transmission line is assembled, upkeep and maintenance are a problem. For example, the only way a broadcast transmission facility can keep the correct length replacement section on site is if an entire transmission line system is kept in reserve. Such a solution is costly and causes an additional problem: the sections kept on site as replacement parts are easily damaged during storage. As an alternative solution, a transmission facility may store standard length sections that require their being cut to the required length on site. Or, the facility must identify the section number needing replacement and have the maker of the transmission line system send that specific section to the transmission facility. Meanwhile, even if the section is sent overnight, the broadcast facility is still off the air in the interim.
The present transmission line system is designed to overcome these problems.

Apparatus for reducing VSWR in rigid transmission lines


One aspect of the invention relates to a method comprising a single-stage conversion of NO and/or NO2 in a first stream to one or more mineral acids and/or salts thereof by reacting with nonionic gas phase chlorine dioxide ((ClO2)0). Another aspect of the invention relates to a method comprising first adjusting the NO and NO2 concentrations in a first stream to a molar ratio of about 1:1, and then reacting with an aqueous metal hydroxide solution (MOH). Another aspect of the invention relates to an apparatus that can be used to carry out the methods disclosed herein. The methods disclosed herein are unexpectedly efficient and cost effective, and can be applied to a stream comprising high concentration and large volume of NO and/or NO2.

Atmospheric pollutants are those gases, particles, radicals and other molecules that make their way into the atmosphere from other sources or form in the atmosphere from the chemical reactions of other molecules and energy sources. In general, atmospheric pollutants can damage the atmosphere by contributing to the "greenhouse effect," by breaking down the ozone layer, or by contributing to incidents of asthma and breathing problems. These pollutants are not merely confined to the outside, but can also be found in buildings. For example, many buildings have loading docks near the air intake system. When a truck pulls up to the loading dock, the truck exhaust can be pulled into the air intake system for a building and pollute the indoor air. There are also sources of atmospheric pollutants that originate from materials inside a building, such as carpet, paint, and commonly used chemicals.
Oxides of nitrogen are a group of six compounds. Two members of this group: nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), together referred to as NOx hereinafter, are reactive species that are important because they are problematic atmospheric pollutants and subject to regulatory control. The gases are regulated because of the large quantities produced through combustion and other chemical reactions and because of their adverse effects in atmospheric chemistry. More than 2 million tons of NOx were generated within the United States in 2011. Combustion typically produces 95% NO and 5% NO2. Nitrogen monoxide, NO, is a significant reactive species in an atmospheric system, along with being present in several types of waste gases. It is the key component in the chain oxidation of organics, which is brought about initially by the radical product of the reaction of hydroxyl radical with organic compounds then adding an ozone molecule to the open radical site. NO scavenges an oxygen atom from the radical organic species to form NO2. In ambient air, there are other important mechanisms by which NO is quickly converted to NO2.2NO+O2→2NO2 k298K=2.0×10−38 cm6 molecule−2s−1 RO2+NO→RO+NO2 k298K=7.6×10−12 cm6 molecule−2s−1 HO2+NO→OH+NO2 k298K=8.3×10−12 cm6 molecule−2s−1 NO+NO3→NO2+O2 k298K=1.8×10−14 cm6 molecule−2s−1 NO+NO3→2NO2 k298K=3.0×10−11 cm6 molecule−2s−1 Alternative NOx Treatment Methodology
Current methods of cleaning air, such as catalytic oxidation, condensation, absorption, and carbon bed adsorption, are in general bulky, expensive, and maintenance intensive. Therefore, a process that could address at least one of these problems found with the currently used methods would be a beneficial next step in the development of better technology for air quality control. An ideal process can control both low and high concentrations of NOx in the air to be treated.
Carbon Bed Adsorption
Carbon bed adsorption, or adsorption by another material, is a process that does not convert the components of waste gases to other compounds as part of the process. Adsorption is an effective way of reducing the concentration of components in a waste gas stream to a low concentration through attachment to a substrate.
The contaminated gas flows through the bed, where the components of the waste gas can be adsorbed onto the bed material. There are, however, several problems with granular bed adsorption. First, the choice of the bed material is one of the critical factors in the success of the component removal. Activated carbon, molecular sieves, activated alumina, and activated silica are common bed materials, although activated carbon is commercially the material of choice. The composition of the bed material influences which waste gas components will be adsorbed and which components will sneak through the system and into the outlet air stream. Therefore, it is helpful if the operator knows the contaminants of the air sample that is being cleaned.
Second, the adsorption technique does not break down the components of the waste gas into smaller and/or other compounds; it only collects them on the bed material. Once the bed becomes saturated, it must be taken off line and cleaned or replaced. The cleaning process can involve simply steam cleaning the bed, called regeneration, or can involve using a solvent combined with steam cleaning to remove captured waste gas components. The waste products from this process must then be collected and disposed of by an environmentally safe procedure. The most common procedure is to separate the waste gas components from the aqueous phase that was produced by the steam cleaning process. This is time consuming, labor intensive and costly.
Another problem with the adsorption technique is that it requires more than one bed in parallel and sometimes in series. The adsorption process requires beds in parallel so that when one bed becomes saturated, it can be taken off line and the other bed is put into subsequent use. Sometimes, it becomes advantageous to put beds in series so that large concentrations of waste gas components can be removed. The operator can also put beds made of different materials in series to target different combinations of waste gases. These adsorption beds are quite bulky, since their average depth is one to three feet, therefore this process can be undesirable if space is limited. The arrangement of beds in series and parallel add to the consumption of time, labor and money in cooling and cleaning of the waste and the bed material.
Absorption
Absorption is the process by which part of a gas mixture is transferred to a liquid based on the preferential solubility of the gas in the liquid. This process is used most often to remove acid stack gases, but it is a complex and costly method of control and often includes the added cost and inconvenience associated with the removal of other innocuous components of waste gases. The high cost of the process is based on the choice of the absorbent and the choice of the stripping agent. Absorption is limited in its utility and not widely implemented in small industrial settings.
Electrical Discharges
Plasmas are electrical discharges that form between electrodes. There are five general classes of non-equilibrium plasmas that can be used in some capacity for chemical processing, including synthesis and decomposition: the glow discharge, the silent discharge, the RF discharge, the microwave discharge, and the corona discharge. Each class is specific based on the mechanism used for its generation, the range of pressure that is applicable during its use, and the electrode geometry.
While electrical discharges are effective in breaking down components of waste gases into other compounds and components, they require power sources (in some cases a significant one), may not be able to handle industrial scale treatment without honeycombed and serial designs of the discharges, and are generally designed to combat complicated waste gas streams that comprise various components, including ozone, NOx and volatile organic compounds.
Wet Scrubbing
For waste gas streams that contain a significant amount of NOx, whether it is an original contaminant or the result of chemical conversion of a volatile organic component, conventional technologies, such as those described earlier, may not be able to efficiently handle the NO load on an industrial scale. Wet scrubbing technologies can handle waste gas streams with significant amounts of NOx. Conventional wet scrubbing technologies for industrial scale NOx treatment typically treat the NOx with two, three or more-stage wet scrubbing systems. The most common currently used is a three-stage process: Stage 1 converts NO into NO2. Stage 2 chemically transforms the NO2 into other nitrogen containing compounds. Stage 3 removes odors created in the second stage. Literature shows a number of chemical reactants, some of which are outlined herein, that are utilized in this and other multi-stage NOx treatment technologies. These include nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide; sodium hydrosulfide and sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, ozone gas, sodium chlorite solution; and ferric salt solutions and others. All of these have pronounced limitations in operating costs, equipment costs or removal efficiencies.
Catalytic Reactions
Catalysts that can reduce NOx into innocuous nitrogen compounds are effective on NOx waste gas streams with low oxygen concentrations, temperatures between 230° C. and 350° C., devoid of heavy metals that poison the catalyst and sulfur compounds that tend to interfere with the catalysts. However, most industrially produced NOx waste gas streams do not meet these requirements. Thus, the catalyst technology is not applicable.
To this end, it would be desirable to develop a method that converts NOx in a waste gas stream, and the related apparatus and processes thereof, wherein some embodiments of the method, apparatus, and/or process, when compared to certain known technologies, achieves at least one of the following goals: a) can operate on an industrial scale, b) requires less significant amount of energy from outside sources, c) can process waste gases in the gas phase with low, medium and/or high amounts of humidity (including liquid and/or aqueous phase materials), d) can process waste gases using a liquid stream (e.g. an aqueous stream), e) can treat waste gases containing sulfur, sodium and/or other metal containing compounds f) is more cost efficient relative to the scale of the process g) is easier to install and operate, and h) can effectively operate as a single-stage or two-stage unit.

Removal of atmospheric pollutants from gas, related apparatus, processes and uses thereof


The present invention includes a method of delivering a therapeutic agent into and across an endothelial cell (EC) in a subject in need thereof, comprising: attaching to a T Cell receptor mimic (TCR mimic) an active agent to form a therapeutic agent; and administering to the subject the therapeutic agent in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein the therapeutic agent effectively crosses the EC microvascular barrier. Furthermore, the present invention relates to methods of treating diseases (particularly neuronal diseases) or conditions comprising identifying a subject in need of such a treatment and administering to said subject a composition comprising a TCR mimic conjugated to an active agent.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with T Cell Receptor mimics.
The present inventors have previously demonstrated Antibodies as T cell receptor mimics, methods of production and uses for the same. For example, United States Patent Application No. 20090304679, filed by Weidanz teaches a methodology of producing and utilizing antibodies that recognize peptides associated with a tumorigenic or disease state, wherein the peptides are displayed in the context of HLA molecules. These antibodies may be utilized in therapeutic methods of mediating cell lysis.
The inventors have previously taught that Class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, designated HLA class I in humans, bind and display peptide antigen ligands upon the cell surface. The peptide antigen ligands presented by the class I MHC molecule are derived from either normal endogenous proteins ("self") or foreign proteins ("non-self") introduced into the cell. Non-self proteins may be products of malignant transformation or intracellular pathogens such as viruses. In this manner, class I MHC molecules convey information regarding the internal milieu of a cell to immune effector cells including but not limited to, CD8.sup.+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), which are activated upon interaction with "non-self" peptides, thereby lysing or killing the cell presenting such "non-self" peptides.
Class II MHC molecules, designated HLA class II in humans, also bind and display peptide antigen ligands upon the cell surface. Unlike class I MHC molecules which are expressed on virtually all nucleated cells, class II MHC molecules are normally confined to specialized cells, such as B lymphocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, and other antigen presenting cells which take up foreign antigens from the extracellular fluid via an endocytic pathway. The peptides they bind and present are derived from extracellular foreign antigens, such as products of bacteria that multiply outside of cells, wherein such products include protein toxins secreted by the bacteria that often have deleterious and even lethal effects on the host (e.g., human). In this manner, class II molecules convey information regarding the fitness of the extracellular space in the vicinity of the cell displaying the class II molecule to immune effector cells, including but not limited to, CD4+ helper T cells, thereby helping to eliminate such pathogens. The extermination of such pathogens is accomplished by both helping B cells make antibodies against microbes, as well as toxins produced by such microbes, and by activating macrophages to destroy ingested microbes.
Class I and class II HLA molecules exhibit extensive polymorphism generated by systematic recombinatorial and point mutation events during cell differentiation and maturation resulting from allelic diversity of the parents; as such, hundreds of different HLA types exist throughout the world's population, resulting in a large immunological diversity. Such extensive HLA diversity throughout the population is the root cause of tissue or organ transplant rejection between individuals as well as of differing individual susceptibility and/or resistance to infectious diseases. HLA molecules also contribute significantly to autoimmunity and cancer.
Class I MHC molecules alert the immune response to disorders within host cells. Peptides which are derived from viral- and tumor-specific proteins within the cell are loaded into the class I molecule's antigen binding groove in the endoplasmic reticulum of the cell and subsequently carried to the cell surface. Once the class I MHC molecule and its loaded peptide ligand are on the cell surface, the class I molecule and its peptide ligand are accessible to cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). CTLs survey the peptides presented by the class I molecule and destroy those cells harboring ligands derived from infectious or neoplastic agents within that cell.
The value of monoclonal antibodies which recognize peptide-MHC complexes has been recognized by others (see for example Reiter, US Publication No. US 2004/0191260 A1, filed Mar. 26, 2003; Andersen et al., US Publication No. US 2002/0150914 A1, filed Sep. 19, 2001; Hoogenboom et al., US Publication No. US 2003/0223994 A1, filed Feb. 20, 2003; and Reiter et al., PCT Publication No. WO 03/068201 A2, filed Feb. 11, 2003). However, these processes employ the use of phage display libraries that do not produce a whole, ready-to-use antibody product. The majority of these antibodies were isolated from bacteriophage libraries as Fab fragments (Cohen et al., 2003; Held et al., 2004; and Chames et al., 2000) and have not been examined for anti-tumor activity since they do not activate innate immune mechanisms (e.g., complement-dependent cytotoxicity [CDC]) or antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Demonstration of anti-tumor activity is critical, as therapeutic mAbs are thought to act through several mechanisms, which engage the innate response, including antibody or complement-mediated phagocytosis by macrophage, CDC and ADCC (Liu et al., 2004; Prang et al., 2005; Akewanlop et al., 2001; Clynes et al., 2000; and Masui et al., 1986). These prior art methods also have not demonstrated production of antibodies capable of staining tumor cells in a robust manner, implying that they are of low affinity or specificity. The immunogen employed in the prior art methods uses MHC which has been "enriched" for one particular peptide, and therefore such immunogen contains a pool of peptide-MHC complexes and is not loaded solely with the peptide of interest. In addition, there has not been a concerted effort in these prior art methods to maintain the structure of the three dimensional epitope formed by the peptide/HLA complex, which is essential for generation of the appropriate antibody response. For these reasons, immunization protocols presented in these prior art references had to be carried out over long periods of time (i.e., approximately 5 months or longer).
In addition, the vast majority of phage-derived antibodies produced by the prior art methods will not fold right in mammalian cells due to their selection for expression in prokaryotic or simple eukaryotic systems; generally, <1% of phage-derived antibodies will efficiently fold in mammalian cells, thus greatly increasing the number of candidates that must be screened and virtually assuring that interesting lead candidates with the most desirable binding properties are non-producible in mammalian cells due to the infrequency of success. Supporting this contention is the fact that very few phage-derived antibodies have proceeded into clinical investigation, and no phage-derived antibody has been approved for use as a therapeutic. All approved therapeutic antibodies have their discovery origin from a mammalian species.
Thus, the prior art phage-derived antibodies are not useful for making anti-MHC/peptide complexes, as they typically exhibit low affinity, low robustness, low capability to grow and fold, and as they are generally laborious to implement and have not been shown to be viable for approved therapeutic use.

TCR mimic antibodies as vascular targeting tools


Systems and methods change a user interface for the purpose of guiding a user in supplementing a product listing with an image to evidence the product's authenticity. Example embodiments include a machine-implemented method for accessing at least one database to retrieve an authenticity criterion mapped to a product and at least one reference image that depicts adequate detail of a product specimen to fulfill the authenticity criterion. The machine can further cause a user device to display the reference image to the user along with a suggestion that the user submit a candidate image depicting similar detail of the product. In some example embodiments, the method further includes retrieving the candidate image, confirming receipt of the candidate image, and displaying the candidate image, as well as adjusting a rank for a candidate specimen based on various factors.

A machine may be configured to interact with one or more users by allowing the users to publish an offer of availability of one or more items over a network. The machine may be further configured to assist the users in procuring the items with previously published availability. The machine may further have access to and communicate with various databases, the databases containing information about the physical characteristics of various products.
Due to the potential vastness of availability and demand for specific items, procuring users generally desire to minimize their risk for procuring counterfeit items and may be more nervous about counterfeits when purchasing from individuals rather than large retail chains. The value of an item or the likelihood that a procuring user might desire to procure the item over similar items may rise if evidence attesting to the authenticity of an item is added.

Method, medium, and system for reducing counterfeits online


The present invention relates generally to substantially liquid, chlorine-free, sulfur-bridged phenols useful as antioxidants and more specifically to the preparation of a substantially liquid, chlorine-free, sulfur-bridged, hindered phenol compositions, using 1-propanol as the reaction solvent, which are effective antioxidant(s) in lubricating oils and liquid organic fuels without causing excessive copper corrosion and which exhibit improved elastomer seal compatibility. The invention also includes lubricating oils and liquid organic fuels containing an antioxidant additive of the present invention, as well as a method of reducing oxidation in the lubricating oil or liquid organic fuel used in a machine such as an internal combustion engine.

In providing lubricants for internal combustion engines, such as those used in passenger cars and trucks, it is desirable to provide antioxidant additives that improve the useful life of the lubricants and reduce engine corrosion.
Antioxidants in the form of hindered, sulfur-bridged phenols having a branched alkyl group on the alpha carbon atom and made by reacting the phenol with sulfur dichloride in a solvent with recovery of a crystalline product from the reaction mixture are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,712.
The preparation of a crystalline 4,4-thiobis-(2,6-di-t-butylphenol) product by reacting the phenol with a sulfur halide in a solvent such as acetonitrile, carbon disulfide or carbon tetrachloride with or without a catalyst followed by treating the reaction mixture with alkali hydroxide in alcohol is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,115.
The preparation of a liquid lubricant oil additive mixture of 45-75 wt % ortho-alkylphenol and certain amounts of mono-, di-, tri- and tetrasulfides of the phenol by the reaction of an excess of the phenol with sulfur using an organic amine catalyst is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,654. It is also reported in this patent that sulfurized alkylphenols prepared by reacting an alkylphenol with sulfur mono- or dichloride tend to cause copper corrosion probably due to the presence of corrosive sulfur species such as sulphochlorinated alkylphenol.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,610 discloses a liquid, sulfur-bridged, hindered phenol antioxidant composition that is prepared by reacting a mixture of hindered phenols with a sulfur chloride in the presence of a polar modifier. The composition is an effective antioxidant in lubricating oils without causing excessive copper corrosion.
Co-pending application, Ser. No. 08/657,141, filed Jun. 3, 1996, relates to the preparation of sulfurized t-butylphenol oligomers using solvents analogous and homologous to 1-propanol, e.g., ethanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, and isobutyl alcohol. The products taught in Ser. No. 08/657,141 have less oligomeric products than the products of the present invention.
One of the objects of this invention is the preparation of an oil soluble, chlorine-free, sulfurized hindered phenolic antioxidant that is compatible with elastomer seals, does not cause excessive copper corrosion and is a highly effective antioxidant in low phosphorus (<1000 ppm phosphorus) lubricating oils used primarily in passenger cars and trucks.

Sulfurized phenolic antioxidant composition method of preparing same and petroleum products containing same


A saddle tee assembly for use with an irrigation line. The saddle tee assembly generally includes a collar portion having a bore therethrough; a strap portion for securing the collar to an irrigation line; and a tool having a passage therethrough with an opening in fluid communication with the passage. The tool may be receivable in the bore for puncturing the irrigation line. In a preferred form, the saddle tee assembly also includes an anti-rotation interface between the collar portion and the tool. The anti-rotation interface includes a first stop on the collar portion and corresponding second stops on the tool. The first and second stops being engageable to align a received tool in a predetermined orientation and restrict unintentional rotation of the tool.

Several types of connectors are used to make fluid connections within irrigation lines, such as the fluid connection between a branch line and a main line. One such connector known in the art is a saddle tee and tap combination. In this type of connection, the saddle tee is secured to the main line and the tap is inserted into the saddle tee to puncture the main line and to form a passage to the branch line.
In such connections, the tap often provides multiple functions. The tap may puncture the main line, form a passage from the main line to the branch line, and also form a connection to the branch line. As a result, the tap usually remains within the saddle tee in this type of connection. To accomplish such multiple functions, the tap may include a pointed shaft, a passage or bore within the tap, and a window or other opening near the pointed shaft. The pointed shaft is used to puncture the main line. The window or opening receives fluid from the main line and directs such fluid to the tap passage. And, the tap passage provides a fluid communication between the main line and the branch line.
To form such a connection, the tap is usually threaded into the saddle tee. The rotational forces used to thread the tap into the saddle tee translate into a sufficient downward force such that the shaft point punctures the main irrigation line after the tap is threaded a sufficient number of turns into the saddle tee. After puncturing, the tap is usually threaded further into the saddle such that the window or other opening is located within a cross-section of the main line. In an optimal configuration, the tap is threaded to such a point that the window is approximately centrally located within the cross section of the main line and oriented down a longitudinal axis of the main line. Such orientation allows the most efficient flow of fluid between the main line and the branch line.
However, it is often difficult to achieve such optimal configuration using existing saddle tee and tap combinations. For instance, during installation, it is difficult to determine the number of turns that orients the tap in the optimal orientation, and even if such orientation is obtained, the tap may deviate from such configuration over time. For example, the tap may rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise after being installed such that the window is no longer in the optimal configuration. In this undesired orientation, the tap has rotated such that the window is skewed toward the direction of fluid flow or, if sufficient rotation occurs, orthogonal to the fluid flow. In these undesired orientations, it is more difficult for the fluid to flow from the main line to the branch line.
Previous attempts at holding a tap in a saddle tee in the optimal configuration are deficient for several reasons. In some assemblies, an angled notch is provided in the saddle tee to engage a tab on the tap, but these designs only secure the tap in a single direction. As a result, the tap may still deviate from the optimal orientation in an opposite direction. Other designs use a pair of tabs or other protrusions on the saddle tee collar that each engages a curved wing or curved lob of a handle of the tap. In this design, there is play in the relationship between the tabs on the saddle tee and the handle because the curved surface on the handle allows some rotational movement of the tap. Therefore, such play allows the tap to deviate in either direction from the optimal orientation over time. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,105,844; 5,694,972; and 6,510,865 are examples of such saddle tee and tap combinations.
As a result, it is desired to provide a saddle tee and tap combination that holds the orientation of the tap at a predetermined configuration or direction.

Saddle tee and tool for irrigation lines


A method for implementing package-level intellectual property (PLIP) preverification for system on chip (SOC) devices includes providing at least one externally connected intellectual property (IP) core with an SOC. A package generic unit is provided with the IP core and is configured for providing external interface functions with respect to the SOC, wherein said package generic unit is pre-verified in silicon and independent of the specific packaging of the SOC. A package adaptation unit is provided with the IP core and is configured for providing external interface functions with respect to the SOC, wherein the package adaptation unit is pre-verified in silicon and dependent upon the specific packaging of the SOC.

The present invention is generally within the field of integrated circuit (IC) device design and verification, and, more particularly, defines a new concept: package-level intellectual property (PLIP) embodied by a system and method for implementing the PLIP preverification for system on chip (SOC) devices. The SOC devices are very complex IC's that integrate tens of millions or hundreds of millions of transistors on single silicon chip.
To expedite the development of integrated circuits, chip designers typically combine standard cells from cell libraries. Cells may contain geometrical objects such as, for example, polygons (boundaries), paths, and other cells. Objects in the cell are assigned to "layers" of the design. Cells may be very simple structures that consist of a few transistors, or may be very complex structures that contain thousands or millions of transistors. The cells of the latter type are commonly referred to as "intellectual property" (IP), which represents a higher level of abstraction of a standard cell. Typically, IPs are provided by an IP vendor. As is illustrated by the process flow diagram of FIG. 1, an IP vendor develops and verifies each IP separately (blocks 102, 104), with the expectation that IC layouts that employ the IP will also meet specifications.
Practically speaking, an EP block is only viable if it takes less effort to integrate into an IC than it would to develop the block from scratch. Because IP blocks tend to be used as supplied (with no changes apart from those required by integration), functional verification of the IP block just by itself is less important, and has already been done during its development. Rather, the verification should be designed to show that the rest of the system correctly supports the IP block, and that its presence does not upset the other parts of the design.
Accordingly, an IC designer selects the cells or IPs it wishes to use in an IC layout to provide whatever structures or functionalities are required for a particular application. Each cell has one or more connectivity targets, which are predetermined points used to connect the patterns in a pair of cells. After the verification of the functional design of the cell selections in block 106 (e.g., synthesis by Register Transfer Level (RTL) simulations and translation of the RTL models to a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) netlist), the layout is submitted to a routing program (blocks 108, 110), which connects the target-containing patterns of the adjacent cells to form complete sets of patterns for each mask layer. When a design incorporates two cells adjacent to each other in an IC layout, the router identifies the location of the connectivity target in each cell, and constructs a connecting path between the targets, comprising one or more line segments. This connecting path is incorporated into the IC layout (block 112), so that the mask constructed from the connected cells includes continuous circuit paths.
Subsequently, the IC layout is submitted for artwork verification at block 114 (for example, using a program such as Calibre, by Mentor Graphics of Wilsonville, Oreg.). In the artwork verification process, compliance with design rules is checked. For example, the line spacing between each pair of adjacent lines is compared to the relevant minimum for that line. If the line spacing is less than the minimum required for the width of the merged line, a design rule violation is identified. Finally, cell-based IC design focuses on the package design and verification for the chip die (mechanical and electrical) as shown in block 116, 118.
More recently, complex SOC designs include existing, preverified IP libraries, as well as newly designed components. Depending upon the role of the IP in the SOC, certain IPs may be completely embedded inside the chip itself (i.e., no external connections to/from the die) while certain other fPs are used solely for communication of the signals of the SOC to the outside world. In the latter case, this type of IP continues to be operated at higher and higher signal rates (e.g., sub-gigabit per second to tens of gigabits per second). As such, the implementation and integration of this type of IP into an SOC presents significant challenges. Unfortunately, the two general types of existing implementable IPs (i.e., soft IP cores and hard IP cores) provide only a partial solution for IP integration and validation of complex SOCs, in terms of functionality, time to market, and profit. For example, conventional soft IP blocks are only validated up through the synthesizable RTL stage (blocks 102-104), while conventional hard IP blocks are only validated up through the GDS (Graphic Design Solutions) artwork stage (blocks 102-114).
Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to provide an IP product that overcomes the existing integration and validation problems associated with present day SOC designs, such as (for example) those including mixed signal IPs therein.

System and method for implementing package level IP preverification for system on chip devices


The invention relates to a method for eliminating routing congestion in an integrated circuit (IC) layout defined by a placement plan indicating a position within the layout of each cell forming the IC and routing plan describing routes followed by nets interconnecting the cells. Routing congestion is eliminated by estimating routing congestion in various areas of the layout and relocating each cell to least routing congested areas of the layout for which cell relocation results in a reduction in the total lengths of the nets connected to the cell that exceeds a predetermined minimum reduction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to computer-aided design tools for generating IC layouts and in particular to a method for eliminating routing congestion in an IC layout.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical integrated circuit (IC) design process flow. An IC designer usually begins the IC design process by producing a register transfer language (RTL) "netlist" (step 10), a file describing the IC circuit as a set of nets (signal paths) interconnecting terminals of the various circuit devices ("cells") to be included in the IC. A high level RTL netlist may describe cells in terms of the logic they carry out, using Boolean expressions to define logical relationships between device input and output signals. After employing circuit simulation and verification tools (step 11) to check the logic of the IC described by RTL level netlist 10 and modifying the RTL level design when necessary, the designer uses a synthesis tool (step 12) to convert the RTL level netlist into a "gate level" netlist 14 describing each cell by referring to an entry for that cell in a cell library. The cell library includes an entry for each cell that may be incorporated into an IC design. The entry for each cell describes the layout of each cell and also includes a model of cell behavior that simulation and verification tools employ when checking the logic and timing of the circuit described by gate level netlist (step 14). Cells described by cell library may range from very small devices such as individual transistors and small components such as logic gates formed by several transistors, up to very large components such as computer processors and memories.
After verifying the behavior of the circuit described by the gate level netlist at step 14 and modifying the gate level netlist when necessary, the circuit designer employs computer-aided design tools to convert the gate level netlist into an IC layout including a placement plan describing how each cell is to be formed and positioned within a semiconductor substrate and a routing plan describing how the nets interconnecting the cells are to be routed.
To generate an IC layout, the designer may initially create a floor plan (step 16) reserving particular areas of the semiconductor substrate for one or more large cells. The designer then employs a placement and routing (P&R) tool to generate a global placement plan setting an approximate position of each cell (step 17) in a manner consistent with the floor plan wherein highly interconnected cells tend to cluster near one another. This helps to minimize the space occupied by the nets that are to interconnect the cells. If a satisfactory global placement plan cannot be developed, it may be necessary for the designer to revise the floor plan at step 16 and then try again to develop a suitable global placement plan at step 17.
After generating a global placement plan, the P&R tool then converts the global placement plan generated at step 17 into a detailed placement plan (step 18) specifying the exact position and orientation of each cell in a manner consistent with the global placement plan. If the P&R tool cannot develop a detailed placement plan consistent with the global placement plan, it may return to step 17 to develop a new global placement plan.
After developing a satisfactory detailed placement plan at step 18, the P&R tool develops a detailed routing plan (step 20) describing the paths followed by the nets interconnecting cell terminals. The placement and routing steps 18 and 20 are iterative in that when the P&R tool is unable to develop a routing plan at step 20 providing a suitable route for every net of the design, it returns to step 18 to modify the detailed placement plan and then attempts to develop a suitable routing plan for the altered placement plan at step 20.
After developing placement and routing plans at steps 18 and 20, the designer subjects the layout to various analysis, synthesis and optimization procedures (step 22). For example a clock tree synthesis tool may be employed at step 22 to design one or more clock trees for the IC. A clock tree is a network of buffers for distributing a clock signal to the various registers, flip-flops and other clocked circuit devices. The clock tree design produced at step 22 specifies a position for each buffer forming the clock tree and specifies routing paths interconnecting the buffers that will ensure that each clock signal edge arrives all clocked devices at substantially the same time.
Timing analysis tools may also be employed at step 22 to estimate signal path delays and to develop a buffer insertion plan specifying where buffers of various sizes should be placed in nets interconnecting cells to reduce their signal path delays as necessary to keep the path delays within predetermined limits. Other processes implemented at step 22 may check the design to ensure that it satisfies various design criteria.
Whenever any process carried out at step 22 determines that the layout should be modified in some way, for example to incorporate additional buffers, the P&R tool returns to step 18 to incrementally modify the placement plan and then updates the routing plan at step 20. When the layout satisfies all design criteria, a layout level netlist 26 (an updated version of the gate level netlist which includes behavioral models of the nets generated during the layout process) is subjected to simulation and verification (step 28).
Min-Cut Placement Algorithm
A "min-cut" placement algorithm generally similar to the algorithm illustrated in FIG. 2 is typically employed to generate a global placement plan at step 17 of FIG. 1. FIGS. 3–6 illustrate successive stages of the min-cut placement process carried out by the algorithm of FIG. 2.
Referring to FIGS. 2–6, the min-cut algorithm (step 50) initially divides the substrate area 42 in which cells are to be placed into two partitions 44 and 45 and then randomly allocates cells between the two partitions to create a "seed" placement (step 52). The algorithm then carries out a min-cut optimization process (step 54) in which it moves individual cells from either of partitions 44 and 45 to the other partition in an attempt to minimize the number of nets crossing between the partitions. Since there are a large number of ways to allocate cells between the two partitions, the min-cut optimization process typically will not analyze each option, but it will determine for each cell whether moving the cell across the imaginary line between the two partitions will increase or decrease the number of nets cutting across the partition line. When the move increases the number of nets crossing the partition line, the algorithm leaves the cell in its initial partition. Otherwise when the move decreases the number of nets crossing the partition line, the algorithm reassigns the cell to the other partition.
The algorithm may iteratively repeat the placement and optimization steps 52 and 54 N times, starting with a different seed placements for each iteration so that it produces N different optimized placement alternatives, one for each of the N seed placements. After producing the Nth placement (step 56) the algorithm selects the best placement as the placement for which the minimum number of nets cross partitions lines (step 58).
When partitions 44 and 46 are larger than a predetermined minimum size (step 60), the algorithm partitions the layout again (step 50) so that each partition 44 and 46 becomes a "parent" partition that is itself subdivided into two smaller "child" partitions. As illustrated in FIG. 4, parent partition 44 of FIG. 3 has been divided into two children partitions 47 and 48, and parent partition 46 has been divided into children partitions 49 and 50. The P&R tool then (step 52) generates a seed placement, randomly allocating cells of partition 44 between its children partitions 47 and 48 randomly allocating cells of partition 46 between its children partitions 49 and 50 (step 52). The P&R tool thereafter tries to optimize the cell allocation between children partitions 47 and 48 in a manner that will minimize the total number of nets passing between them, and tries to optimize the allocation between children partitions 49 and 50 in a manner that will minimize the total number of nets passing between them (step 54). The seed placement and optimization steps are repeated N times (step 56) to generate N alternative cell placements for partitions 47–50. The particular placement providing for the smaller number of nets crossing partitions lines is selected at step 58.
As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the algorithm continues to iteratively repeat the partitioning and optimization process (steps 50–60) with children partitions becoming progressively smaller until they reach a predetermined minimum size at step 60. The placement plan at that point becomes the global placement output of the algorithm. The global placement plan specifies only an approximate position of each cell by indicating the partition to which it is assigned. However when subsequently generating the detailed placement plan at step 18 of FIG. 1, the P&R tool specifies an exact position and orientation for each cell within the partition to which it was assigned in the global placement plan.
By seeking to minimize the number of nets crossing partition lines as it allocates cells between partitions, the min-cut algorithm tends to cluster highly interconnect cells near one another. This helps to reduce the space occupied by the nets interconnecting the cells, and therefore helps to reduce the amount of space needed for the nets when the P&R tool subsequently routes the nets at step 20 of FIG. 1.
Routing Congestion
As the P&R tool develops the detailed routing plan at step 20, it may encounter routing congestion problems arising when there is insufficient space in one or more areas of a layout to accommodate all of the nets that the P&R tool wants to route through those areas. The P&R tool can try to reroute nets around a congested area, but in some cases it may find that there is no way to route a net around a congested area without making the net so long that signal path delays within the net become excessive. In such case, it is necessary for the P&R tool to alter the placement plan and then try to develop a satisfactory routing plan for the altered placement plan.
While a conventional min-cut placement algorithm tries to place cells in a manner that helps to reduce the lengths of nets, thereby reducing the likelihood of routing congestion, it does not directly take routing congestion into account when specifying cell positions. Thus it may be necessary for the P&R tool to iteratively generate several different placement plans and attempt to develop a routing plan for each one, until it produces a placement plan for which it can produce a routing plan that is not subject to routing congestion.
What is needed is a method a P&R tool can employ to modify a placement plan so as to reduce the likelihood that routing congestion problems will arise when the P&R tool subsequently tries to develop a routing plan.

Method for eliminating routing congestion in an IC layout


A spindle capable of operation at 200,000 revolutions per minute (RPM) with a reciprocating shaft design to minimize the moving mass. The spindle has a ceramic spindle shaft to decrease the moving mass and increase the shaft stiffness for better dynamic stability. The spindle employs a built-in linear motor to provide direct drilling motion to move the shaft along the axis, and a permanent magnet DC brushless motor to rotate the spindle shaft. The linear motor is coupled to the shaft by a combination of an air bearing and a magnetic thrust bearing to reduce the size of the thrust area for better dynamic stability and reduction in stresses of material. A double gripping centrifugal chuck is mounted in the hollow ceramic shaft, and reduces drill bit runout.

Printed circuit boards are typically populated with many surface-mounted circuit devices. Many small holes are formed in the boards to interconnect the layers of the circuit board. Printed circuit boards are also populated with other types of devices which also need holes formed in the boards.
Drilling machines are typically used to drill the holes in the printed circuit boards. One exemplary type of system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,876, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference.
There has been a dramatic increase in the hole count on printed circuit boards, which makes the cost of drilling the holes a significant part of the total production cost. In addition, hole sizes are getting smaller. Small drills are more expensive and can not be fed with the same velocity as larger drills. Due to this fact, drilling time and cost are further increased.
To increase the throughput, higher drill bit rotation rates can be employed. However, there is a limit on the spindle rotation rate, which is due to the effect of the large centrifugal forces acting on the spindle rotors at very high rotation rates. Typically, the spindle is fabricated as a solid rod of steel, which will have a growth in the rotor diameter due to centrifugal force at very high rotation rates. Because the rotor typically is supported on air bearings with relatively small gaps between the bearing structure and the rotor, the growth in the rotor diameter will close or significantly narrow these bearing gaps, leading to seizure of the rotor in the bearings.
Drilling spindles typically use a chuck such as a centrifugal chuck to grip the drilling tool while it is being rotated. Centrifugal chucks are advantageous since the tool can be changed without mechanically operating a release mechanism, as there is no gripping centrifugal force when the chuck is not rotated. Small drill applications can have very small drill bit runout tolerances, which can be difficult to achieve with centrifugal chucks in a single grip configuration.
It would therefore represent an advance in the art to provide a spindle capable of extremely high drilling speeds.
It would also be an advantage to provide a centrifugal chuck capable of gripping tools with significantly reduced run-out.

High speed drilling spindle with reciprocating ceramic shaft and edoubl-gripping centrifugal chuck


A food processing system is described, comprising a processing chamber having a material intake and a shaft aperture, a motor assembly having a shaft, the shaft rotating along a vertical axis when the motor turns, the shaft passing through said shaft aperture into said processing chamber, an accessory coupler positioned within the processing chamber and coupled with the shaft, the accessory coupler having a first aperture and a second aperture, the first aperture being positioned so that material introduced into the processing chamber passes into the accessory coupler, and out through the second aperture, a blade assembly slidably connected to the accessory coupler so that the blade assembly may be vertically positioned in at least two distinct vertical locations along the axis of rotation of the shaft, the blade assembly further comprising an aperture through which material passes from the accessory coupler, through the blade assembly, into the processing chamber, as the shaft is rotated by said motor assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to food processing. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus having an rotating blade which can be slidably positioned along the shaft, and wherein the shaft is hollow so that fluids and other materials may be added during processing.
2. The Background Art
In order to efficiently chop vegetables and other materials, food processors were developed. A typical food processing system comprises a motor-driven apparatus which has a shaft projecting outward from the motor along the axis of rotation. An enclosure is often provided, within which food to be processed may be placed.
Various devices for performing food processing functions may be coupled to the shaft. One common device is a blade assembly which has blades projecting outward from the axis of rotation. When the motor rotates the shaft, the blades rotate, causing the food provided within the enclosure to be chopped.
Although food processors are suitable for their intended purpose, smaller materials processed by prior art systems tend to get clumped together due to a lack of air flow within the processing apparatus.
A second drawback to prior art systems is that they fail to provide for adding additional materials to the system during the processing period.


A system may provide items during a time period and determine a quality of the items provided during the time period using a time series model.

The World Wide Web ("web") contains a vast amount of information. Locating a desired portion of the information, however, can be challenging. This problem is compounded because the amount of information on the web and the number of new users inexperienced at web searching are growing rapidly.
Search engines attempt to return hyperlinks to web pages in which a user is interested. Generally, search engines base their determination of the user's interest on search terms (called a search query) entered by the user. The goal of the search engine is to provide links to high quality, relevant results (e.g., web pages) to the user based on the search query. Typically, the search engine accomplishes this by matching the terms in the search query to a corpus of pre-stored web pages. Web pages that contain the user's search terms are "hits" and are returned to the user as links.
In an attempt to increase the relevancy and quality of the web pages returned to the user, a search engine may attempt to sort the list of hits so that the most relevant and/or highest quality pages are at the top of the list of hits returned to the user. For example, the search engine may assign a rank or score to each hit, where the score is designed to correspond to the relevance or importance of the web page.
It may be desirable to monitor the quality of the search results provided to users in order to notice general trends of improving or declining quality and to identify specific problems that might suddenly cause a drop in quality. Manual evaluation of search quality can be laborious and time consuming, typically allowing for a small number of searches and search results to be evaluated to determine overall quality of a search engine.

Systems and methods for determining a quality of provided items


The method for manufacturing a micromechanical switch includes manufacturing a hanging bar, on a first semiconductor substrate, equipped at an end thereof with a contact electrode, and a frame projecting from the first semiconductor substrate. A second semiconductor substrate with conductive tracks includes a second input/output electrode and a third starting electrode, and first and second spacers electrically connected to the conductive tracks. The frame is abutted with the first spacers so that the fourth contact electrode abuts on the second input/output electrode in response to an electrical signal provided to the hanging bar by the third starting electrode.

As it is well known, the demand for switches having high performances in terms of insulation and insertion loss has pushed the search for new technological and design approaches. In particular, MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) switches dissipate little power thus obtaining a considerable energy consumption savings. Further, MEMS switches have a high linearity on the whole frequency band, avoiding signal distortion phenomena, and they have a high Insertion Loss, i.e. a low signal attenuation. Moreover, these devices can be manufactured on silicon substrates thus offering an integration possibility with other electronic components integrated in a traditional way or in more complex systems.
A first known technical approach to manufacture a switch operated in an electrostatic way and manufactured with a micromachining technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,946. This switch 1, as shown in FIG. 1, is manufactured by using a dielectric connection bridge P insulating the overhanging bar SS and leading the electrical contact. Although advantageous in several aspects, this first approach has several drawbacks. Because of the high number of cycles to be supported by the hanging bar, made of a metal or dielectric material, this approach is thus not very reliable.
A second approach provides instead the use of a switch operated in an electrostatic way, manufactured via a surface micromachining technique involving the use of two wafers for manufacturing the metal contact. One wafer is dedicated to manufacturing the balancing structure and the other wafer to manufacturing transmission lines. The removal of the wafer allowing the mobile structure to be manufactured is required to release the switch movement for which this wafer does not serve as part of the integrated package. The distance between the balancing mobile structure and the contact electrode is given by gold spacers. This approach also has some drawbacks. Gold spacers have the disadvantage of having a variable thickness with the pressure needed to assemble the two wafers for which high operating voltage variations occur.
In a third known approach, a switch, as shown in FIG. 2, manufactured on a gallium arsenide substrate AG, operated in an electrostatic way, comprises a silicon bar S covered with aluminum and with a platinum-on-gold metal contact C. The disadvantage of this structure is the use of a metal like platinum for the contact having a relatively high resistivity with respect to gold or copper (less than 2 mWcm).
FIG. 3 shows a magnetically operated switch IM, comprising a bar S1 whereon a magnet M and known starting electrodes A are located. The disadvantage is that the required structures for creating the magnetic field weigh down the overall switch structure. Moreover some interference could arise with the radio frequency signal passing through the contact C1.
A further approach provides the manufacture of a switch operated in an electrostatic way manufactured by using two hanging bars, manufactured during the same process step, and arched upwards with respect to the supporting substrate plane. One hanging bar serves as a contact and the other serves for the contact latch. By operating the second bar the contact is locked as between the gears of watch rollers. The disadvantage is due to the bending and relative height of the two bars that highly depend on the technological process conditions.

Manufacturing method of a microelectromechanical switch


Microvesicles produced by stem cells grown on a silk scaffold for enhancing stem cell self-renewal/proliferation and promoting tenogenesis in damaged tendons, and their use in tendon wound repair and tendinopathy treatment. Also provided are compositions containing the microvesicles and devices for obtaining them.

The disclosures of all references and all patents, patent application publications and books referred to herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into the subject application to more fully describe the art to which the subject invention pertains.
It takes a long time for a tendon injury to heal, even where it is possible. In most cases, the ruptured tendon does not heal, but forms scar tissue at the injury site. The impaired healing leads to the wounded tendon having impaired mechanical properties and reduced function, and often requires revision surgery. In addition, tendinopathies (chronic tendon degenerative disorders) are also associated with tendon pain and impaired function. Tendinopathy in most cases is due to tendon overload which leads to microscopic collagen fiber failure and a failed healing response, often resulting in tendon rupture. There is currently no cure for tendinopathy.
The present invention address the need for improved tendon rupture and tendinopathy treatments.

Stem cell-produced microvesicles for treating tendon pathologies


The present invention relates to a process for the cryogenic separation of air to recover at least a nitrogen-depleted crude argon product, wherein the process is carried out in a primary distillation system comprising at least a first distillation column, which separates a feed mixture comprising nitrogen, oxygen and argon into a nitrogen-enriched overhead and an oxygen-rich bottoms, and a side-arm column which rectifies an argon-containing feed stream fed from the primary distillation column to produce an essentially-oxygen-depleted argon overhead. The improvement of the present invention is characterized in that: (a) a nitrogen-containing, argon-rich side stream is withdrawn from a location of the side-arm column which is above the location of entry of the argon-containing feed stream; (b) the withdrawn, nitrogen-containing, argon-rich side stream of step (a) is fed to a nitrogen rejection column to remove the contained nitrogen, wherein the nitrogen rejection column contains at least a stripping section which is located below the location of the feed of the nitrogen-lean, argon-rich side stream, and wherein the stripping section of the nitrogen rejection column is provided with vapor boilup; (c) the nitrogen-depleted, crude argon product is recovered and removed from the bottom of the nitrogen rejection column; and (d) at least a portion of upward flowing vapor in the nitrogen rejection column is removed and the removed portion is returned to a suitable location of the side-arm column.

The present invention relates to a process for the production of argon from a cryogenic air separation process. In particular, the present invention relates to a process in which argon can be recovered substantially free of nitrogen.
A common method of recovering argon from air is to use a double column distillation system consisting of a higher pressure column and lower pressure column which are thermally linked with a reboiler/condenser and a side-arm rectifier column attached to the lower pressure column. The oxygen product is withdrawn from the bottom of the lower pressure column and at least one nitrogen-enriched stream is withdrawn from the top of the lower pressure column. A portion of the vapor rising through the lower pressure column is withdrawn from an intermediate location and passed to the side-arm column. This vapor portion, which generally contains between 5% and 15% argon by molar content and traces of nitrogen with the balance being oxygen, is rectified in the side-arm column to produce as an overhead, an argon-enriched stream. Typically, this argon-enriched stream, commonly, referred to as crude argon, is withdrawn from the top of the side-arm column with an oxygen content ranging from parts per millions levels to about 3% by molar content. The rectification is achieved by providing liquid reflux to the side-arm column via a condenser located at the top of the side-arm column.
Since nitrogen is more volatile than argon, most of the nitrogen contained in the side-arm column feed exits the side-arm column in the crude argon. Nitrogen is generally considered an impurity of an argon product, therefore, it is essential to limit the nitrogen content in the side-arm column feed. While the lower pressure column may be designed to virtually eliminate nitrogen from the side-arm column feed, in actual operation, some nitrogen is generally present. For example, plant upsets and flow ramping often cause the composition profile in the lower pressure column to shift from the design point to one in which nitrogen is present in the vapor portion fed to the side-arm column. Additionally, the reboiler/condenser located at the bottom of the lower pressure column could have small leaks which allow nitrogen from the higher pressure side to enter the column in a region which, by design, should be essentially nitrogen-free.
Since complete elimination of nitrogen from the side-arm column feed is difficult to achieve, it is widely accepted that nitrogen will be present in the crude argon withdrawn from the top of the side-arm column. As a consequence, the crude argon withdrawn from the side-arm column is typically subjected to an additional separation step by feeding it to a distillation column containing both rectifying and stripping sections, a reboiler located at its bottom and a condenser located at its top. Numerous patents exist in the art which describes such a column. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,544.
Many have reported that the nitrogen content of the crude argon withdrawn from he side-arm column may be reduced by withdrawing the crude argon from an intermediate location of the side-arm column.
Japanese Patent No. 07133982 discloses that the nitrogen content of the crude argon can be reduced by withdrawing said crude argon from an intermediate location of the side-arm column and removing nitrogen in a second, vapor purge stream taken from the top of the side-arm column. In Japanese Patent No. 07146066, an additional separation column is added to further treat the withdrawn crude argon, presumably, in recognition that not all the nitrogen may be reliably eliminated from the argon simply by withdrawing the stream from an intermediate location of the side-arm column.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,951 and DE-19636306-A2 disclose the practice of withdrawing the crude argon from the side-arm column at an intermediate location. In both these disclosures, there are no additional separation steps applied to the crude argon for the purpose of further removing nitrogen. Therefore, successful application of these disclosures requires that the nitrogen content of the side-arm column feed be kept below a threshold value.
As the off-design operation of the lower pressure column may cause the nitrogen content of the side-arm column feed to increase above the design level, the off-design operation of the side-arm column may also cause the nitrogen content of the crude argon to increase even though a vapor purge stream is employed. For example, it is critical that the nitrogen be allowed to exit the top of the side-arm column in the vapor purge stream. In practice, this stream can contain significant quantities of argon as well. Hence it is desirable to minimize the flow of the vapor purge stream to reduce argon losses. Unfortunately, restricting the flow of this vapor purge stream causes nitrogen to accumulate in the side-arm column, potentially causing nitrogen to appear in the crude argon.
The present invention allows for the production of substantially nitrogen-free argon in a cost effective and operationally sound manner.

Production of argon from a cryogenic air separation process


A crown ether cesium ion extractant is disclosed as is its synthesis. The crown ether cesium ion extractant is useful for the selective purification of cesium ions from aqueous acidic media, and more particularly useful for the isolation of radioactive cesium-137 from nuclear waste streams. Processes for isolating cesium ions from aqueous acidic media using the crown ether cesium extractant are disclosed as are processes for recycling the crown ether cesium extractant and processes for recovering cesium from a crown ether cesium extractant solution.

Cesium-137 constitutes a major source of radioactivity in nuclear waste streams, such as the high level liquid wastes of nuclear fuel reprocessing solutions. Selective removal of this radionuclide from the aqueous acidic nuclear waste streams would greatly simplify their handling and ultimate disposal.
Various processes for the separation of cesium ions are known in the art. These processes include selective ion precipitation, ion exchange using solid materials, and solvent extraction processes that are also referred to as liquid/liquid separation processes.
For separating cesium ions from other alkali metal ions in very basic solution, solvent extraction methods have been known for many years. Ross and White, Anal. Chem., 36:1998 (1964); Egan, et al., Inorg. Chem., 4:1055 (1965); Arnold, et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Process. Des. Dev., 4:249 (1965); and Roddy and Coleman, Inorg. Nucl. Chem., 35:4271 (1973). Other solvent extraction methods for cesium ion separation have been reported in the art. Kyrs et al, Coll. Czech. Chem. Commun., 25:2642 (1960); Slater, Nucl. Sci. Eng., 17:576 (1963); Crowther and Moore, Anal. Chem., 35:2081 (1963); Rais, et al., J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem., 38:1376 (1976); and Koprda, et al., J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 80:55 (1983).
More recently, solvent extraction methods have been reported for the recovery of cesium ions from acidic solutions. Blasium and Nilles, Radiochem. Acta, 36:207 (1984); Gerow, "The Use of Macrocyclic Polyethers to Remove Cesium-137 from Acidic Nuclear Wastes by Solvent Extraction", Doctoral Dissertation, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C. (1980); Gerow et al., Sep. Sci. Technol., 16(5):519-548 (1981).
None of the processes described to date has proven entirely satisfactory when cost, safety, engineering and performance considerations are all taken into account. Schulz and Bray, Sep. Sci. Technol., 22:191 (1987).
Several factors affect the choice of a system for a solvent extraction process to separate cesium ions from aqueous acidic media. These factors include the choice of the cesium ion extractant, the composition of the aqueous and organic phases ("the extraction system"), the chemistry of the extraction process, and the practicality of the full-scale process.
The cesium ion extractant should be soluble enough in the organic solution ("organic phase") to provide a sufficiently high extractant concentration, and thereby cesium ion concentration in the organic phase. The cesium ion extractant should be relatively insoluble in the acidic aqueous solution ("aqueous phase"). It should be possible to separate the cesium ions from the extractant after use to permit recycling of the cesium ion extractant and recovery of the cesium ions.
The extraction system should be such that the distribution of cesium ions between the organic and aqueous phases (denoted by the distribution ratio, D.sub.Cs, described in detail hereinafter in "Materials and Methods") heavily favors the organic phase over the acidic aqueous phase to permit complete removal of the cesium ions from the acidic aqueous solution. The extraction system should also be such that the distribution of cesium ions between the organic and aqueous phases favors the aqueous phase over the organic phase under extractant recycling and cesium ion recovery conditions. The extraction system should further permit sufficient extraction of cesium ions in the presence of competing ions in the aqueous phase. The extraction system should be easy to handle and control, as well as be chemically compatible with nuclear fuel reprocessing processes.
One of the major problems encountered in the development of a workable liquid/liquid extraction process for the separation of cesium ions from aqueous acidic media is the limited solubility of many potential cesium ion extractants in solvents of low polarity that constitutes the organic phase. Another major problem is the loss of the cesium ion extractant due to its solubility in the aqueous phase. Yet another major problem is finding an extractant that permits efficient and selective extraction of the cesium ions from solutions containing high concentrations of common mineral acid anions, such as nitrate and chloride. Few processes have been able to satisty this last problem. Schulz and Bray, Sep. Sci. Technol., 22:191 (1987).
The chemistry of the cesium ion further complicates the solution of these problems. The cesium(+1) ion has a low charge density due to its large ionic radius and low charge. As a result, the energy associated with bond formation between the cesium ion and the functional groups of the organic extractants is typically insufficient to completely dehydrate the cation and to strip away the water molecules associated with the anion that must accompany the cation into the organic phase to maintain electrical neutrality. Schulz and Bray, Sep. Sci. Technol., 22:191 (1987). For this reason, liquid/liquid cesium ion extraction usually involves the transfer of a complex bearing a number of associated water molecules into an organic solvent.
To compensate for this charge density effect, several workers have proposed the use of macrocyclic polyethers ("crown ethers") as extractants. Kinard, et al., Sep. Sci. Technol., 15:1013 (1980); Kinard and McDowell, J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem., 43:2947 (1981); McDowell, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 4:217 (1986); Blasius and Nilles, Radiochim. Acta, 36:207 (1984); Blasiums and Nilles, Radiochim. Acta, 35:173 (1984); Shuler, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 3:567 (1985); McDowell, Sep. Sci. Technol., 23:1251 (1988); and McDowell, et al., Anal. Chem., 64:3013 (1992). Because the interaction of the crown ether with the ion involves little change in the conformation of the extractant molecule, the energetics of extraction are somewhat more favorable.
Other workers concluded that it was not possible to extract cesium ions into an acceptable diluent using crown ethers alone from a medium containing high concentrations of mineral acids, despite the improved energetics. Gerow et al., Sep. Sci. Technol., 16(5):519-548 (1981); Schulz and Bray, Sep. Sci. Technol., 22:191 (1987).
Several approaches have been taken in the art to enhance the liquid/liquid separation of cesium ions from acidic media by crown ethers. These approaches usually involve providing an organophilic counterion in some form to balance the charge of the cesium ion in the organic phase, thereby avoiding the need to transfer an inorganic anion and its associated water molecules from the aqueous phase. Two approaches involving providing an organophilic counterion in some form are discussed below, as is one other approach.
One approach to enhance cesium ion extraction by crown ethers is to attach proton-ionizable groups to the crown ethers to produce a molecule which is both a coordinator and a counterion. Strzelbickl and Bartsch, Anal. Chem., 53, 1894 (1981); Brown and Bartsch, "Ion Extraction and Transport by Proton-Ionizable Crown Ethers" in Inclusion Aspects of Membrane Chemistry, T. Osa and J. L. Atwood, eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers (Boston: 1991), pp. 1-57. A disadvantage of this approach is that the proton-ionizable crown ethers described thus far, for example, are unsuitable for extractions involving strongly acidic aqueous phases because they are in protonated form under those conditions instead of anionic form. Schulz and Bray, Sep. Sci. Technol., 22:191 (1987). Another disadvantage is the difficulty in synthesizing the crown ethers with bonded proton-ionizable groups.
Another approach to enhance cesium ion extraction by crown ethers involves using high molecular weight organic acids (that have inherent extractant capability) along with a crown ether in the diluent. Kinard, et al., Sep. Sci. Technol., 15:1013 (1980); Kinard and McDowell, J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem., 43:2947 (1981); McDowell, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 4:217 (1986); Shuler, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 3:567 (1985); McDowell, et al., Anal. Chem., 64:3013 (1992); and McDowell, et al., Sep. Sci. Technol., 18:1483 (1983). A disadvantage of the organic acid approach is that, although combinations of organic acids and crown ethers sometimes permit satisfactory cesium ion extraction, they often fail to permit the complete recovery of the cesium ions. Schulz and Bray, Sep. Sci. Technol., 22:191 (1987). A practical drawback is the complicated chemistry involved with multiple extractants, resulting in limited extraction efficiency at high acidity and inefficient cesium ion recovery.
Regarding the selection of the crown ether extractant, the art has made several general observations: (i) that branched side chains on crown ether benzo derivatives increase the solubility of the extractant in the organic phase (Gerow et al., Sep. Sci. Technol., 16(5):519-548 (1981)); (ii) that increasing the side chain length on crown ether benzo derivatives tends to increase their solubility in the organic phase up to 7 carbons in length, but decreases the solubility in the organic phase when the side chain length is more than 7 carbons (Gerow et al., Sep. Sci. Technol., 16(5):519-548 (1981)); (iii) that the strongest ion binding by a crown ether occurs when the ion fits best into the crown ether cavity, unless a "sandwich" complex is formed (two crown ethers to one metal ion) (McDowell, et al., Anal. Chem., 64:3013-3017 (1992)); (iv) that 21-crown-7 is the appropriate size for cesium ions (McDowell, et al., Anal. Chem., 64:3013-3017 (1992)); and (v) that dibenzo crown ethers are selective for alkali metals (such as cesium), whereas dicyclohexano crown ethers are selective for alkaline earth metals (such as strontium) (McDowell, et al., Anal. Chem., 64:3013-3017 (1992)).
McDowell et al., Anal. Chem., 64:3013-3017 (1992), reported that bis-4,4'(5')-(t-butyl benzo)-21-crown-7 (Compound I8, below) yields satisfactory cesium ion extraction (D.sub.Cs .congruent.100) from acidic nitrate media (approximately 0.1M HNO.sub.3) by a synergistic effect when combined with an appropriate cation exchanger (a lipophilic counterion, such as didodecylnaphthalene sulfonic acid) in toluene. Dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 also extracted cesium ions from acidic aqueous solution in the same extraction system, but the cesium ion distribution ratio was lower (D.sub.Cs .congruent.43 at 0.1M HNO.sub.3). McDowell, et al., Anal. Chem., 64:3013-3017 (1992).
Compound I8 has the bis-4,4'(5')-(benzo)-18-crown-6 backbone structure of Formula I, with the benzo substituent side chain X structure of Formula 8, where the wavy line denotes the bond to the benzo ring. ##STR1##
Gerow et al., Sep. Sci. Technol. 16(5):519-548 (1981), reported the extraction of cesium ions from aqueous nitric acid media using the macrocylic polyether, bis-4,4'(5')-(1-hydroxyheptyl-benzo)-18-crown-6. Those authors concluded that the crown compound alone was not a sufficiently strong complexing agent to extract cesium ions from an acidic aqueous medium containing inorganic anions such as nitrate or chloride. However, when a large organic counterion, such as didodecylnaphthalene sulfonic acid or di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid was included in the organic phase, cesium ions could be extracted from a 3M nitric acid solution.
Davis, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,518 report the addition of bis-4,4'(5')-(1-hydroxyheptyl)-benzo)-18-crown-6 to enhance cesium ion extraction by a cation exchanger (didodecylnaphthalene sulfonic acid or dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid at 5 volume percent) in an organic diluent (27-50 volume percent tri-n-butyl phosphate and 68-45 volume percent kerosene) for the separation of cesium ions from aqueous acidic solutions. Davis, Jr. et al., above, reported cesium ion distribution ratios of about 1.5 for bis-4,4'(5')-(1-hydroxyheptyl-benzo) 18-crown-6 ether (0.05M) in the presence of competing ions in an acidic nuclear waste model solution (about 3M HNO.sub.3). Those workers reported recovery of up to about 80 percent of the cesium ions from the organic phase through back-extraction into 1M HNO.sub.3 aqueous solution. Davis, Jr. et al. also showed that using increasing concentrations of the crown ether increased the distribution ratio.
A disadvantage of the two approaches involving providing an organophilic counterion in some form is that under very acidic conditions, such as nuclear waste processing solutions, the would-be counterions are predominantly in their protonated forms, unable to neutralize the charge of the cesium cation.
A third approach to enhance cesium ion phase transfer using crown ethers was suggested from work with strontium, where it was found that in the presence of substantial quantities of dissolved water in the aliphatic diluent, a lipophilic anion was not required. Horwitz, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 8:199 (1990). That report showed that the strontium ion extraction efficiency increased with increasing amounts of water dissolved in the organic phase. Water was effectively dissolved in the organic phase by using any of a variety of oxygenated, aliphatic solutions (e.g. ketones, alcohols) as the organic phase diluent, and equilibrating the organic phase with aqueous solution before use. Horwitz, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 8:199 (1990).
The observations with strontium were recently extended to cesium ion extraction. Dietz, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 14:1-12 (1996), reported finding that with an appropriate diluent, cesium ions can be extracted from acidic nitrate media using crown ethers in the absence of an organic counterion (either incorporated into the crown ether or as an organic acid in solution). Dietz, et al., studied the cesium ion extraction behavior of bis-4,4'(5')-(t-butyl-benzo) and bis-(cyclohexano) derivatives of 18-crown-6, 21-crown-7, and 24-crown-8. They observed that the cesium ion extraction with Compound I8, bis-(t-butyl-benzo)-18-crown-6, was insensitive to the dissolved water concentration, because a cesium ion is extracted by the crown ether as a 2:1 sandwich complex. Dietz, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 14:1-12 (1996).
The oxygenated diluents studied by Dietz, et al., ranged from single functional group alcohols and ketones to carboxylic acids. Dietz, et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 14:1-12 (1996). Those authors concluded that ketones were the best organic diluent because the cesium ion distribution ratios for the same crown ether were the highest in the ketones, and the crown ether concentrations were higher in the ketones.
An important practical advantage to the approach with crown ether alone over the approach with the added counterion is that the process chemistry using a single extractant is greatly simplified, so that only the nitric acid concentration need be changed to control the cesium ion extraction.
Dietz, et al., above, studied the cesium ion extraction capability of several bis-4,4'(5')-(substituted-benzo)-crown ethers with no added organic acid counterion. Among their other findings, those authors reported that although the bis-substituted-18-crown-6 ethers had higher distribution ratios for cesium ions in the extraction system, the larger crown ethers showed greater cesium selectivity over sodium, superior functional stability, and better compatibility with PUREX-like diluents.
Although the need for improved methods for the removal and recovery of radioactive cesium ions from acidic nuclear waste streams has long been apparent, most of the cesium ion extraction systems studied to date are likely to be of only limited practical value, for various reasons. For example, the physical and chemical properties of certain oxygenated, aliphatic diluents preclude their use in process-scale applications (e.g. the flash point of methyl isobutyl ketone). Further, the aliphatic crown ethers that are readily soluble in oxygenated, aliphatic diluents yield only low cesium ion distribution ratios (e.g. di-cyclohexano-18-crown-6 D.sub.Cs .congruent.0.1 in the absence of organophilic counterion). Still further, the aromatic crown ethers that provide more efficient cesium ion extraction have limited solubilities in oxygenated, aliphatic diluents.
Therefore, there remains a need for cesium ion extraction systems that combine an efficient and selective cesium ion extractant with a diluent possessing satisfactory physical and chemical properties that meet the criteria discussed above. The discussion that follows provides one solution to the cesium ion separation problem.

Composition and process for separating cesium ions from an acidic aqueous solution also containing other ions


A computer-implemented method for securing personal information of a user on social networks. The method involves: receiving personal information from a user in an unencrypted textual form by a client computer; transmitting the received personal information via a secure virtual private network (VPN) connection to a dedicated VPN server/proxy; receiving the personal information at the dedicated VPN server/proxy; encrypting the received personal information at the dedicated VPN server/proxy using an encryption key; and transmitting the encrypted personal information from the dedicated VPN server/proxy to the social network. Other users of the social network also use the dedicated VPN server/proxy in order to decrypt (access) the personal information of the user, which has been encrypted as specified above.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to methods and systems for providing information security and, more particularly, to securing various items of personal information of a user, which are stored on servers associated with social networking websites or services, and preventing the unauthorized use of this information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Social networking websites are very popular for various types of online interaction between users. When a user creates a profile on the social networking website, he or she provides certain personal information that is stored on one or more servers associated with the social networking service. Unfortunately, the above-described arrangement for storing user personal data provides the social networking service with a complete control over the user's personal data, which could be compromised or used without user's permission or knowledge.
Therefore, what are needed are systems and methods for securing various items of personal information of a user, which are stored on servers associated with social networking websites or services and preventing the unauthorized use of this information.

System and method for securing user information on social networks


A bed skirt adapted to be removably attached to an associated bed sheet is disclosed. The bed skirt includes a first decorative side and a second decorative side. The bed sheet includes a top and an edge portion adapted to fit over one of a mattress and a box spring. A plurality of fasteners is provided to removably attach the bed skirt to the edge portion of the bed sheet, wherein one of the first decorative side and the second decorative side is outwardly facing.

Conventional bed skirts or dust ruffles comprise a skirt that is attached to the outer periphery of a mattress or a box spring of a bed. The bed skirt typically depends from the box spring and covers the sides of the box spring and the space between the floor and the box spring to provide a decorative appearance to the bed ensemble.
The conventional bed skirt is typically formed integral with a fitted bed sheet. The fitted sheet portion covers a top surface and sides of the box spring while the bed skirt material depends from the sheet and extends downward toward the floor. In order to install or remove the conventional bed skirt, a user must remove a mattress; position the fitted bed sheet with the bed skirt over the box spring; and return the mattress back in position on top of the box spring. The difficulty of removing and repositioning the mattress causes some individuals to forego employing a bed skirt; to seldom remove the bed skirt for cleaning; or seldom change the bed skirt to alter the decorative appearance of the bed ensemble.
Other bed skirts have sought to provide a bed skirt that eliminates the requirement of removing the mattress to install and/or remove the bed skirt. The other bed skirts have employed a "tucking method" that requires a portion of the bed skirt to be inserted between the mattress and the box spring. Elastic members or other fastening members have been combined with the "tucking method" to facilitate the positioning and securing of the bed skirt in respect of the box spring, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,562 to Masoncup and U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,469 to Schrougham. This type of bed skirt still requires some lifting of the mattress during the tucking operation and makes it difficult to create an even hang of the bed skirt from the box spring.
Other bed skirts employ a fastener such as a snap or a hook and loop tape to attach the bed skirt to a fitted member or a fitted sheet placed over the mattress or box spring. Examples of this type of bed skirt are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,875 to Piontkowski and U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0022534 of Richards. However, the fasteners detract from the esthetic appearance of the bed skirt and typically cause one side of the bed skirt to have an appearance that is unacceptable for facing outwardly from the bed.
It would be desirable to have a reversible bed skirt adapted to facilitate the attachment of the bed skirt to and the removal of the bed skirt from a bed, and to provide the bed skirt with two decorative sides for selectively facing outwardly from the bed.


A fiber optic splice organizer for storing optical fiber splices and the slack associated therewith to permit ready separation of the optical fibers, such as to remake a splice. The splice organizer includes a generally rectangular base, splice securing slots on the base, and optical fiber guides for guiding slack portions of first and second optical fiber groups from a first end of the base, along respective portions of the base adjacent the first and second sides thereof, into a plurality of overlying slack loops adjacent the second end of the base, and back to the splice securing means from respective first and second sides of the base. The slack optical fibers, including the overlying respective slack loop, of the first and second optical fiber groups, form a figure-eight pattern on the base and are thus readily separable from each other. An ability to interconnect individual optical fibers broken out from optical fiber ribbons is also provided by crossing first and second groups of optical fiber ribbons and breaking out individual optical fibers at the crossover point. Arcuately shaped walls on the base are provided to maintain the individual fibers in a predetermined bend radius. A series of tabs along sidewalls of the base separate the individual fibers from the optical fiber ribbons downstream from the crossover point.

Optical fiber communications systems are used extensively in the telecommunications industry due to their large information carrying capacity, their virtually noise-free performance, and the long span distances achievable with optical fibers before regeneration and amplification of the signal is required. Practical limits on the lengths of optical fiber cables that can be manufactured and installed typically require that many splice points be included over the total cable route.
At each splice location, the optical fibers are separated from
The invention relates to the field of fiber optics and, more particularly, to the storage and organization of fiber optic splices and associated slack.

Fiber optic splice organizer and associated method