A conventional operating system folder or directory based file system is implemented with, or enhanced to provide, attributes of shared collaborative workspaces. In particular, the conventional file system is connected to either a server based or a distributed collaboration system and the user interface of the operating system file system is augmented to allow it to control aspects of the collaboration system. Each folder or directory can be synchronized and treated as a “workspace” that can be viewed and shared with other users or groups of users. Folder can also be provided with “awareness” information that indicates collaborators that are present and those that are sharing the workspace.

Collaboration involves the ability for each member in a group of members, called "collaborators" to automatically transmit information to, and receive information from, other collaborators in the group. In order to facilitate such collaboration, various systems have been developed that allow such information to be transmitted between personal computer systems, communication appliances or other communication devices, including handheld and wireless devices. Collectively, these devices will be referred to a "computers" in this description.
Computer-based collaboration may occur locally among users connected to, or operating with, one computer or server. Alternatively, collaboration may occur over a network, such as the Internet, wherein each of the users is located at a computer connected to the network. A server may also be connected to the network. Several collaboration models are currently being implemented as networked computer collaboration systems. One of these models is a client-server model in which all collaborators are connected, via the network, to a central server. Information generated by each collaborator is sent over the network to the server that then transmits the information back over the network to each other collaborator. In one version of this system data that is being collaboratively modified may be stored centrally on the server. Then, each collaborator that wants to modify the data sends information to the server to effect a change in the server data. The server modifies its copy of the data and then sends information, synchronously or asynchronously, representing a "view" of the modified data to all collaborators, so that each collaborator can display the data locally.
Alternatively, in a server based system, in addition to the data copy maintained in the server, additional local data copies may be maintained in each collaborating computer. Each collaborator that wants to modify the data sends information to the server to effect a change in the server data. The server modifies its copy of the data and then transmits the command to all collaborators. Each collaborator uses the command to update its local data copy. This local data copy is then displayed locally. Examples of this model are Lotus Notes® sold by International Business Machines, Inc. Armonk, N.Y. and Exchange sold by Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash.
Another collaboration model is a "peer-to-peer" or "distributed" model in which direct connections are established over the network between each of the collaborating computers. Information generated by each collaborator is then sent directly to each other collaborator. In such a system, the collaborators communicate in a private "virtual" shared space that is generated and maintained by the collaborative system.
A central data repository is not necessarily in a peer-to-peer collaboration system because each collaborator has a local copy of the data being collaboratively modified. In order to change the data, either a "push" or a "pull" model may be employed. In a "push" model, a collaborator generates a data change request that is forwarded to each other collaborator. The incoming data change requests are then used by each collaborator to modify its local data copy. In a "pull" model, one collaborator modifies local data and offers up such changes upon asynchronous request. Other collaborators issue requests, fetch and gather changes, and subsequently modify their local data copies to reflect such changes. Examples of this peer-to-peer model are the Kubi Client, developed and marketed by Kubi Software of Lincoln, Mass., and the Groove Workspace collaboration system developed and marketed by Groove Networks, Inc., 100 Cummings Center Suite 535Q, Beverly, Mass. 019015 that is described in detail at Groove Networks' web site. See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,113 B1.
However, all of these latter collaboration systems are application programs that run in conjunction with an operating system that is present on all conventional computer systems. Because the collaboration systems are purely application programs (such as an electronic mail application or a groupware application or a browser-based application), they have the disadvantage that they require each collaborator to learn a user interface that is peculiar to the particular program. Many users are reluctant to learn the new controls and functions that are associated with such interfaces.
Modern operating systems include a file system that is typically organized by folders or directories. These folders or directories are either explicit user-specified collections of files, or may be "virtual" collections in which files are organized based upon a query or search criteria. This file system and associated foldering or directory system (hereinafter referred to as a "folder-based" file system) has the advantage that it is perceived by the user to be part of the operating system. Therefore, if a user has the operating system he or she is already familiar with the built-in file system so that the users do not need to learn an additional set of commands and functions to operate the system.
Such a folder based file system is shown in FIG. 1, which is screen shot of a file system display 100 from the Windows® XP Pro operating system sold by Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash. This display shows various folders 102 that may contain files or additional subfolders. The display also includes a task pane 104 that presents the user with various tasks 106 that can be performed on the folders 102. These tasks include renaming the folder, moving the folder, copying the folder etc. In addition, another section 110 permits the user to navigate to other areas in the computer such as the local disk, the "My Documents" folder and other selected places. A further section 112 provides details, such as the date that the file was last modified, about the selected folder (Folder D is shown selected in FIG. 1).
However, because collaboration systems are separate application programs, in order to perform collaborative work on files that are part of the folder based file systems, the files must be moved or copied between the conventional operating system file system and the collaboration application program. Typically, such moving or copying of files between the conventional file system directories and the collaboration system can be tedious and error-prone. Furthermore, the duplication of such information can result in excessive use of storage, and may cause user confusion as multiple copies may get out of synchronization with one another as they are modified.
It would be convenient if the files could be shared collaboratively without having to move them from the file system into the collaborative system. To this end, in many folder-based file systems, the folders or directories can be shared with other parties by treating the folders as "remote folders" or "remote mounted volumes." For example, in FIG. 1, folders can be shared by selecting a folder, such as Folder D, and then selecting the "Share this folder" task 108 from task pane section 106. A selection of the share task opens a dialog box of which a screen shot 200 is shown in FIG. 2. This dialog box allows various sharing parameters to be set. For example, radio buttons 202 can be used to select whether the folder should be shared. Text boxes 204 and 206 permit the user to enter a folder sharing name and comment. Radio buttons 208 allow the user to control the number of other users allowed to share the selected folder. Finally, additional buttons 210 and 212 allow the user to set sharing permissions and to set parameters that allow the selected folder to be accessed even when a user is not connected to the network. When a selected folder is designated as shared, a "hand" overlay is applied to the icon that represents the folder as shown at 114 in FIG. 1.
Treating the folders in this manner allows sharing of the data in the folders, but users cannot easily coordinate their activities and usage of the data and thus cannot effectively "collaborate" in a manner similar to that provided by the aforementioned collaboration systems. For example, folder sharing does not provide any indication of, or identify, a user that made a change to the folder or file (nor does it notify others when a change has been made). In addition, file sharing systems do not provide any mechanism that indicates who is currently accessing a folder or who is examining files in that folder. Further, file sharing does not allow users to store comments about the files; instead, all communication between collaborators must be done through files. In contrast, collaboration systems provide mechanisms for the collaborators to communicate "out-of-band", yet still "in context". Effectively, collaboration systems allow the collaborators to not only modify the shared files, but also to communicate regarding the files within the surrounding context of the folder containing the files themselves.

Method and apparatus for providing attributes of a collaboration system in an operating system folder-based file system


Process for working up powder coating waste to yield reusable powder coatings by compacting the powder coating waste without complete melting to yield a sintered product, in which process powder coating residues arising during powder coating production are continuously separated, continuously compacted and the compacted product is continuously ground together with fresh material to be ground of the same batch of powder coating without extrusion to yield a powder coating.

This invention relates to a process for the continuous working up and reuse of ground powder coating waste, which substantially comprises by-products from powder coating production, for the production of powder coatings without loss of quality.
Since no solvent emissions occur on application, crosslinkable powder coatings are an environmentally friendly alternative to liquid lacquer systems containing solvent. As a result, the use of powder coatings has risen sharply in recent years.
Crosslinkable powder coatings conventionally consist of one or more polymeric binders, curing agents, pigments and extenders together with additives. The powder coating production process may be divided into the following steps:
1. the constituents of the powder coating are vigorously premixed in the required quantity ratios as dry solids.
2. the mixture is melted in an extruder at the lowest possible temperature in order to avoid premature crosslinking and vigorously mixed. This mixing plasticises the binder and curing agent and wets the pigments and extenders.
3. the resultant, optionally coloured extrudate is rolled out into a thin layer, cooled and broken into coarse pellets.
4. the pellets are ground in a mill to form the finished powder coating.
In general, the fine fraction of a particle size of  less than 10 xcexcm, which are unavoidable in the grinding process, are removed in a subsequent screening process. The resultant powder typically has an average particle size of 40 to 70 xcexcm.
Powder coatings are generally produced in a batch process. Conventional compositions and the classic production process for powder coatings are described, for example, in the monograph The Science of Powder Coatings vol. 1 and 2 (ed. D. A. Bate, London 1990).
The aim of the grinding process is to produce a powder having a narrow particle size distribution and the smallest possible content of fine fraction, as a large content of fine fraction has a negative impact on the processability of the powder coating by electrostatic spraying. In general, the fine fraction of a particle size of below 10 xcexcm are separated by suitable processes, for example using a cyclone. These fine fractions conventionally amount to approx. 2 to 5 wt.%. If the average particle size of the powder is reduced, which is frequently preferred from a technical standpoint, there is a sharp increase in the content of fine fraction with a particle size of  less than 10 xcexcm, as grinding always gives rise to a relatively wide particle size distribution. Powder coatings having a low average particle size and a narrow distribution of the grain size range are desirable, for example, for producing thin lacquer layers (B. Fawer, Powder Coating, October 1996, p. 56).
The fine fraction from the grinding process is accordingly a by-product in the production of powder coatings and in many cases must be disposed of as industrial waste.
DE 4028567 A1 describes the recirculation of the overspray arising during use of powder coatings and the mixing thereof with the starting materials for a new batch of powder coating. This mixture is then further processed using conventional extruders. This processing involves fusing the constituents, in particular also the overspray, and exposing them to elevated temperatures. This process has the disadvantage that homogeneous mixing is difficult due to the small particle size of the overspray, problems occur with feeding the mixtures into the extruder and some fractions of the resultant powder coating are repeatedly exposed to elevated temperatures.
WO 96/15891 describes a process which avoids the problem of metering and feeding fines by compacting the fine powder in a tabletting press. The resultant tablets are then mixed with the remaining starting materials for a new batch of powder coating and introduced into the extruder. One essential condition which is stated for compacting is that the original particles must be xe2x80x9csubstantially still discerniblexe2x80x9d in the tablets.
EP 0 683 199 A2 describes a process for the recirculation of fine fraction into the starting mixture in powder coating production before the extrusion step by thermal sintering of the powder by distributing the fines on a surface, agglomerating them thereon, whereupon they may be apportioned to the starting mixture in a suitable quantity as relatively large particles.
A feature common to all these processes is that the fine fraction or powder residues are recirculated to the first stage of powder coating production. The material has to pass again through the entire powder coating production process. This approach has the disadvantage in principle that the material is again melted and exposed to elevated temperatures in the extruder. Since, in many cases, powder coatings are thermally crosslinking systems, repeated extrusion degrades the quality of the powder coating, especially if a large proportion of fines is used.
DE-C 19703376 describes a process for reusing finely divided powder coating residues, in which the powder coating residues are agglomerated and returned to the powder coating production process. The extrusion step may optionally be omitted in this process and grinding may be performed directly to yield reusable powder coatings.
The batchwise working up method described in DE-C 19703376 may result in known logistical problems relating to the necessary storage and transport conditions. The agglomerated powder coating, for example produced from overspray residues, is generally supplied to the powder coating manufacturer by the powder coating user in order to be reused.
The object of the present invention is accordingly to provide a simplified process for working up ground powder coating waste which facilitates the reutilisation thereof and avoids the stated logistical problems. The process is intended to give rise to a homogeneous powder coating of undiminished quality.
It has been found that this object may be achieved by the process provided by the present invention for working up powder coating waste by compacting the powder coating waste without complete melting to yield a sintered product, wherein the powder coating waste is continuously separated in the powder production process after the grinding step, continuously compacted, optionally broken up and continuously ground together with fresh material to be ground of the same batch of powder coating without extrusion to yield a powder coating.
The present invention also provides the powder coatings obtainable from the process according to the invention.
In the process according to the invention, powder coating waste, in particular the fine fraction arising in the grinding process, are continuously separated, for example using a cyclone or filter, directly compacted and the compacted product reintroduced into the mill, preferably together with the original coarse pellets from the same batch.
This method has the advantage that the fine fraction is directly reincorporated into the same batch. There are consequently no problems with colour deviations and the known logistical problems of a discontinuous method are avoided.
The continuous mode of operation moreover makes it possible to keep the powder coating waste in a sealed system. Especially when using the fine fraction, this is advantageous for reasons of occupational hygiene and quality assurance. The problems described in DE-C 19703376 relating to conveying the fine fraction, for example in pipework, are also avoided.
The process according to the invention is thus particularly advantageous for the continuous production of powder coatings having a small average particle size and narrow distribution, as large quantities of fine fraction are produced in such processes which may be directly reused.
For example, it is possible to produce a powder having an average particle size (d50) of 30 xcexcm, which after the classifying operation has a content of fine fraction of  less than 10 xcexcm of less than 15%, in particular of less than 10%, without significant quantities ( less than 2%) of fine powder being produced.
If such a particle size distribution is to be achieved without using the process according to the invention, it is necessary to separate approx. 12% of fine powder of  less than 10 xcexcm and dispose of it or reincorporate it in a complex manner in the extruder for the production of a new batch of the same product. Continuous compaction of the fine fraction thus permits considerable savings of raw materials, as in this example, for a given quantity of powder coating, approx. 10% less material to be ground need be produced by extrusion. It is also possible to produce powders having an average particle size of  less than 30 xcexcm, for example of 20 to 25 xcexcm. In this case, the quantity of fine fraction to be compacted increases sharply, which results in a higher throughput and energy consumption of the compacting apparatus, but has no negative impact on the quality of the powder coating.
The process according to the invention may be used for any desired powder coatings, for example for clear powder coat or for coloured powder coat, for example based on epoxy, polyester, polyurethane or acrylate resins.
Compacting conditions may be selected as a function of the type of powder coating used. If compaction is weak, as is for example intended in the process for the production of tablets analogously to WO 96/15891, the compacted material breaks back down into the initial fine powder in the mill. If the material is too strongly compacted, frictional heating brings about an excessive rise in temperature, which results in the powder largely being melted. The melted powder sticks firmly to the compacting apparatus and may only be removed again with considerable effort. Moreover, the powder is exposed to very high temperatures, such that the quality of the resultant powder coatings may be impaired. In. the process according to the invention, compaction is intended to proceed in such a manner that the fine fraction is sintered together without the powder grains being completely melted and that the sintered parts are broken up into new grain structures on grinding.
Optimum compacting conditions are dependent both upon the powder coating used and upon the compacting apparatus. During compaction, an elevated temperature arises on the surface of the roll presses, which causes the powder grains to sinter or agglomerate. In the case of powder coatings which crosslink at low temperature, the processing force may, for example, be adjusted such that the individual powder grains sinter together effectively but do not melt. In the case of powder coatings which crosslink at higher temperatures, a higher force and thus also consequent temperature may, for example, be set. It is optionally possible to provide the compacting apparatuses with external heating or cooling, for example the rolls may be cooled with water.
Any known compacting apparatuses are, in principle, suitable for the process according to the invention, such as ram presses, ram extruders, in particular two-roll presses or ring-roll presses. In this case, the compression force in the roll presses is determined by the gap, the rotational speed and quantity of feed material. The parameters may readily be adjusted relative to each other. The compression force is stated as a specific compression force in N per cm of roll width. In general, the specific compression force should be greater than 4 kN/cm, with a value of above 6 kN/cm in particular being favourable. Specific compression forces are, for example, in the range from 10 to above 30 kN/cm and up to 100 kN/cm. Excessive compression force may be recognised from the powder largely becoming melteded, i.e. the composition strings and sticks to the rolls. Excessively low compression forces give rise to greatly increased fines content in the grinding process. Two-roll presses having textured surfaces have proved particularly suitable, those having tablet-shaped indentations being less suitable than those having a corrugated surface.
In the event that compaction yields product which, by virtue of its dimensions, is unsuitable for a grinding operation, the product may be broken up, for example to form chips or pellets. Breaking may be performed with conventional apparatus usable for powder coating production, for example using so-called pin crushers.
The compacted product is continuously returned together with fresh material to be ground into comminution apparatuses conventional for powder coatings, such as for example impact mills or classifier mills, which permit the production of the powdered coatings under gentle conditions. This gives rise to the further advantage of the process according to the invention which is that working up proceeds within the conventional powder coating production process and requires no additional grinding plant. Before classification, the powder coatings obtained from the compacted pellets have a fine fraction content comparable to that of conventional powder coatings, the fine fraction content for example usually being below 25%, optionally even below 15%.
The mode of operation according to the invention provides a process which avoids the disadvantages. of the known prior art in the reprocessing of fine powders and other powder coating waste, in particular additional heating or melting steps. Moreover, the storage and conveying of fine fraction from powder coating production are avoided. The fine fraction arising in particular in the grinding process during powder production may be worked up using the method according to the invention by compaction and grinding to yield a high grade powder, without an extrusion step being required. Neither the grain size range of the resultant powder nor the quality of the coatings produced from the powder differs from conventional powder coatings.
It is even possible to produce powder coatings having a narrower grain size range and a smaller average particle size, without there being any need to dispose of large quantities of by-product or to perform costly re-extrusion.
FIG. 1 shows an example of the process according to the invention using a block diagram. The powder coating pellets originating from the powder production process pass from a storage tank (1) into a mill (2) and are ground therein to form the finished powder coating. The powder coating is then passed into a cyclone (3) to separate unwanted grain sizes, for example the fine fraction. The finished powder coating is packaged (4), while the fine fraction pass via another cyclone or a filter (5) to separate the exhaust air stream into the compactor (6). After the compaction process, the compacted material is broken up into a coarse material to be ground (7) and this material is returned, for example by means of pneumatic conveying (8) into the storage tank (1), where it is mixed with fresh powder coating pellets and reground to yield powder coating.

Continuous method for reusing coating powder waste and coating powders thus obtained


A transceiver comprising a data processing module, a security processing module, a medium access control (MAC) module, a dirty-paper-coding (DPC) module, and a smart antenna processor. The data processing module provides user data streams to the MAC module and channel state information to the smart antenna processor. The security processing module generates security data and provides the security data to the MAC module. The security module also provides security policy data to the smart antenna processor. The MAC module determines data transmission rates for the user data streams and the security data. In addition, the MAC module allocates the data streams and security data to transmission channels for transmission. The DPC module encodes the security data onto the user data streams. The smart antenna processor generates pre-coding coefficients used by the DPC module and transmits the security encoded data streams.

Modern communication systems support deployments wherein single-source terminals are configured to communicate various types of information to multiple terminals. One example of such a deployment includes a cellular communication system, such as a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), wherein a base station communicates with a plurality of user terminals. Another example deployment includes an access point transmitting to multiple terminals in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system. These single-source-to-multiple-terminal types of deployments are commonly referred to as "broadcasting", "multicasting", or more generally as "point-to-multipoint" (PtM) communications.
Traditional PtM communication systems may be classified into one of two categories. The first category includes deployments in which transmissions to various receivers are permitted to interfere with each other. An example of this first type of PtM deployment includes a traditional code division multiple-access (CDMA) system, wherein pseudo-random codes are used to code various communications prior to their transmission. Upon receiving the coded transmissions, the user terminals synchronize the codes of the various transmissions to recover the communicated data. Although pseudo-random coding in the transmission source is useful in mitigating cross-interference, the true burden of mitigating this interference lies in the receiving terminals.
In the second, more frequently utilized category of PtM deployments, interference is altogether avoided via the use of orthogonal transmissions. Examples of such deployments include those specified by the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standards, such as frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems and time division multiple access (TDMA) systems. In these types of PtM communication systems, a transmitting terminal transmits various communication signals using mathematically orthogonal or non-interfering "spaces". These spaces may be defined as a frequency range (as in a FDMA system), a time-slot (as in a TDMA system), or a Walsh code (as in an orthogonal code CDMA system). Unlike the first category of PtM communication systems, the transmitting terminal in this second category is solely responsible for preventing signal interference. As a result, receiving terminals in such systems are typically no more complex than those used in basic point-to-point communication systems. Although this category of PtM systems is superior, it should be understood that the performance of such systems is limited by the number of available orthogonal spaces and/or dimensions.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a graph 100 illustrating achievable data transmission rates 101-105 to the two receivers, Rx A and Rx B, in a PtM system is shown. It should be understood that FIG. 1 is for illustrative purposes only and that is does not represent actual test results.
If all the available transmission bandwidth in a FIG. 1 system were allocated to say, receiver Rx A, Rx A would receive service at a highest achievable data rate C1 and Rx B would receive no data. Similarly, if all the available transmission bandwidth were allocated to receiver Rx B, Rx B would receive service at a highest achievable data rate C2 and Rx A would receive no data.
If receivers Rx A and Rx B were operating in, for example, a TDMA system (which is equivalent to time-sharing), they would be capable of achieving data transmission rates at and to the left of the solid line 101 on the graph 100. As time sharing represents a special case of orthogonal multiplexing, similar rates are achievable by any system which maintains orthogonality between transmission signals.
In a PtM system, where orthogonality between transmission signals is not maintained, the transmission performance to any number of receivers can suffer as compared to that of an orthogonal system, such as TDMA. To illustrate, reference is again made to FIG. 1. Line 102, for example, may be representative of achievable data rates in a typical random code CDMA system utilizing a standard RAKE receiver. Line 103 may be representative of achievable data rates in a typical random code CDMA system utilizing a more advanced MMSE multi-user detector. As indicated by the graph 100, the achievable data rates represented by line 103 are superior to those represented by line 102. Neither provides, however, the performance of line 101, which as described above, represents an achievable performance rate of transmission signals that are maintained orthogonal to each other.
It is well known from information theory that data rates superior to that of orthogonal coding (e.g., TDMA) are achievable in PtM systems. These superior data rates may be represented, for example, by lines 104 and 105 of the graph 100 shown in FIG. 1. To achieve these superior data rates 104, 105, however, requires the use of receivers having receiver structures that are far more advanced then those used in typical receivers. To illustrate, information-theoretic successive interference cancellation (IT-SIC) can improve the performance of a CDMA system to where it actually performs better than TDMA systems. While such a result is counterintuitive at first, it is noted that the performance of a TDMA system is limited by the availability of orthogonal or non-interfering spaces or time-slots. IT-SIC structures allow interference, but in a controlled manner, and shifts interference cancellation to the receivers. Utilizing such structures enables a CDMA system to achieve data rates beyond those achievable with TDMA systems, such as those represented by the line 104 on the graph in FIG. 1.
There are several problems with this IT-SIC approach. First, it requires highly complex receivers. Providing such complex receivers is problematic particularly in modern cellular systems, wherein the receivers must be able to be embedded in relatively small, inexpensive terminal units with limited battery life. In addition, these complex receivers must possess information regarding both their own communication channel and the communication channels of all other users in the system. Dissemination of such channel information in practical communication systems is highly challenging.
The problems cited above may be addressed using a technique called dirty paper coding (DPC). It is known theoretically that DPC performs at least as well as IT-SIC and in many cases, optimizes data throughput as illustrated by dashed line 105 on the graph 100 in FIG. 1. In addition to providing for superior system performance, DPC has the added benefit of being a transmit-side ("pre-coding") technique. In other words, as in traditional TDMA and FDMA systems, the burden and complexity of interference cancellation is dealt with in the transmitting terminal, but without the limitations of orthogonal spaces. As a result, receivers are only required to possess detailed information pertaining to their particular communications. Furthermore, because each receiver operates optimally without possessing details of transmissions intended for other receivers, DPC provides a methodology for hiding transmissions from unintended receivers, thus making it suitable to support data hiding, watermarking, and other security applications.
The term "precoding", as used herein, refers to the mutual coding of multiple data streams while in the transmitter in order to pre-cancel any interference the data streams may cause each other; as opposed to attempting to cancel interference at individual receiving terminals post-transmission. It should be understood that pre-coding does not specifically imply that further coding steps will be performed, although further coding functions are possible.
While recent analysis of DPC has yielded significant progress in the theoretical understanding of this technique, little is understood about how to build practical communication systems with DPC.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method and apparatus that utilizes DPC to optimize system performance and improve the signal quality of transmission signals. It is further desirable to have a method and apparatus that utilizes DPC to support security-oriented applications such as data-hiding and watermarking.
It is well known that the use of multiple antennas provides for increased data throughput (via multiplexing) and improved signal quality of transmission signals (via diversity and/or beamforming). In addition, multiple antenna implementations, such as those found in MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) and/or Smart antenna systems, enable transmission signals to be separated in a spatial domain (e.g., Spatial Division Multiple Access). To exploit these multiple antenna advantages, a MIMO technique, for example, may be combined with a signal processing technique such as FEC (forward error correction) coding and/or a radio air interface such as CDMA. There does not exist, however, a means for further improving multiple antenna systems utilizing DPC.
Accordingly, it is further desirable to have a method and apparatus that combines DPC with multiple antenna implementation(s) to improve both system performance and security enhancements.

MIMO air interface utilizing dirty paper coding


The invention relates to an ergonomically designed pillow having a shape that offers support for a user's head and/or limbs through a portion of their range of motion with respect to the user's torso without having to reposition or reconfigure the pillow. In the preferred embodiment the pillow has a substantially fixed radius curved shape designed to correspond to the rotation of the head with respect to the shoulders. Therefore, the head of a user resting on their side can be comfortably supported on the pillow and will be similarly supported as the head is rotated forward and backward with respect to the shoulders. In addition, this substantially uniform curved design enables the pillow to be rotated forward or backward and provide the same head support while also providing support for the user's arms or back, respectively.

Many factors can contribute to resting comfort and overall sleep quality. In terms of sleep satisfaction, sleep positions appear to be related to the quality of sleep one receives. On average, poor sleepers spend more time on their back with their head straight whereas good sleepers occupy more periods of immobility on their sides, commonly referred to as the semi-fetal position. The sleep position of these poor sleepers also appears to correspond with the normal position of sleepers who complain of respiratory problems. Sound sleepers spend more sleep time immobile than poor sleepers while poor sleepers tend to have more movement patterns which seem to disrupt their sleep.
It has been observed that sound sleep is characterized by eight to twelve postural shifts per night, eight hour period, that occur in harmony with the cycles of sleep. These shifts commonly coincide with brief moments of consciousness which, while detectable, go unnoticed by the subject. It is believed that this postural shifting during sleep naturally occurs to stimulate blood flow which works to avoid muscle tension. For these reasons it is believed that some minimal number of postural shifts cannot be avoided.
In contrast, research has shown that some poor sleepers may undergo well over a hundred postural shifts in a typical eight hour sleep period. It is believed that these excessive movements are in response to physical stresses on the body commonly referred to as pressure points. A pressure point occurs when an exceptional amount of pressure is applied for an extended period on a nerve or blood vessel resulting in numbness or pain. In response, the body adjusts to alleviate the pressure. Accordingly, it has been concluded that the quality of sleep is directly related to the comfort level one is able to achieve.
For the average individual, the ability to achieve comfort in a preferred sleeping position is a major step toward improving sleep quality. There have been numerous attempts to design pillows to aid in sleeping comfort as evidenced by the following patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,327,330, 4,060,863, 4,173,048, 4,574,412, 4,754,510 and 4,794,657.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,330 relates to an L-shaped pillow with a central body having two wing members that are joined on either side of the body by a transverse seam. The transverse seam acts as a hinge enabling the wings to be folded under the central body. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,863 relates to a substantially V-shaped pillow tapered so that the body presents a substantially flat surface from top to bottom when the arms are folded in contact with each other. Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,890 designed to aid mother's during breast feeding, describes a V-shaped pillow having one arm of the perpendicular V-shape wider than the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,048 relates to a body length pillow with a linear head supporting central portion having two body length extensions extending perpendicularly from the ends of the central portion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,412 relates to a L-shaped pillow having a linear head supporting portion with a linear leg portion extending perpendicularly therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,510 relates to a pillow having a pair of generally oval or elliptical shaped portions attached perpendicularly to each other. U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,657 relates to a pillow assembly having a trunk with a head and leg pillow which may be removably attached in different rotational orientations to the trunk pillow.
All these pillows heretofore comprise a combination of linear members extending either linearly or essentially perpendicularly from each other. These linear designs do not approximate the rotational movements of the user's head and/or limbs. Therefore, they do not offer a support range for the rotational movements of the user's head and/or limbs without requiring an active effort on the part of the user to move, typically pull, the pillow into conformity with a particular position of the body. Of course, these pillows need to be repositioned to conform to other body positions. This repositioning or distortion of the pillow from its natural shape causes a stress in the pillow which may result in a counter force on the body, as the pillow attempts to return to a more natural shape. This need to reposition the pillow and the resulting stress combine to inhibit the user from achieving the prolonged comfort necessary for virtually uninterrupted sleep.
For any and all the reasons noted above plus other reasons not discussed herein, it will be appreciated that there is a need for a pillow that is designed to encircle portions of the body and to support the head and/or limbs through a portion of their rotational movements without having to be reconfigured or repositioned.
It therefore an object of this invention to provide a pillow having a shape designed to partially encircle a shoulder of a user resting on their side and support the user's head through substantially the full range of motion of their head with respect to their shoulders.
It is another object of this invention to provide a pillow having a shape designed to partially encircle the neck of a user resting on their back and support the user's head through substantially the full range of motion of their head with respect to their shoulders.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a pillow having a shape designed to partially encircle a shoulder of a user resting on their side and provide a support range that corresponds to the motion of the user's head with respect to their shoulders and a support range for the unsupported arm of the user.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a full body pillow having a shape designed to partially encircle a portion of the upper body of the user and offer a support range that corresponds to the motion of the user's head with respect to their shoulders while also offering a support range for one or both legs of the user.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a full body pillow designed to offer a support range for the head, arms and legs of the user having a linear portion with a curved portion extending from each end.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a pillow designed to offer a support range for the head of the user, without having to reposition or reconfigure the pillow, having a substantially fixed radius arc shape.


A piston type compressor comprises a compressor housing enclosing a crank chamber, suction chamber, and a discharge chamber therein. A plurality of pistons are slidably disposed within each of cylinders formed in a cylinder block. Each of the pistons includes a piston head, a piston end, a main cylindrical body and an engaging portion at the piston end axially extending from the cylindrical body. A first aperture is formed in the cylindrical body of the piston, so that the first aperture is near the piston head of the piston. A second aperture is formed in the cylindrical body of the piston so that the second aperture is near the piston end of the piston. The first aperture is positioned within the cylinder bore when the piston reciprocates in the cylinder bore. As a result, the piston type compressor of the present invention has a light weight piston which simultaneously reduces abrasion between the piston and the cylinder bore and reduces noise and vibration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piston type compressor, in which fluid is compressed by means of reciprocating pistons connected to a swash plate. More particularly, it relates to improvements in the reciprocating pistons in the refrigerant compressor of an automotive air-conditioning system, such that both the weight of the pistons and abrasion to the pistons is reduced.
2. Description of Related Art
Variable capacity swash plate type compressors are known in the art. A typical conventional variable capacity swash plate type compressor is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. H7-189898, which disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.
Referring to FIG. 1, which depicts a variable capacity swash plate type compressor, a front housing 12 of the compressor is connected to the front end of a center housing 11. A rear housing 13 is connected to the rear end of center housing 11, with a valve plate 19 interposed therebetween. A cylinder block 11b is accommodated on the center housing 11. A plurality of cylinder bores 11a are equiangularly formed in the cylinder block 11b. A crank chamber 25 is defined in center housing 11 by cylinder block 11b. A drive shaft 14 is rotatably supported by means of radial bearing 22 disposed in front housing 12 and cylinder block 11b, respectively, in the crank chamber 25. A plurality of pistons 18 are reciprocally moveable and accommodated in cylinder bores 11a, respectively. A drive plate 15 is mounted on drive shaft 14.
The hinge mechanism is constructed with a pair of arms 15a of drive plate 15, connected to pins 16 of swash plate 17. Arms 15a are formed on drive plate 15 adjacent to the periphery thereof and project toward the rear direction. Each one of pins 16 includes a ball portion 16a which is rotatably engaged with arms 15a of drive plate 15. The peripheral portion of swash plate 17 is received via a pair of shoes 20 in recess 18d formed in the proximal portions of pistons 18, respectively.
The shoes 20 are slidable along the peripheral portion of swash plate 17. In this way, pistons 18 are retained at the peripheral portion of swash plate 17. As drive plate 15 rotates with drive shaft 14 synchronously, swash plate 17 is rotated with drive plate 15, via the hinge mechanism. Swash plate 17 is rotated with its surfaces inclined with respect to drive shaft 14 and slides in recess 18d via the pair of shoes 20, so that pistons 18 reciprocate in cylinder bores 11a in accordance with the inclination angle of swash plate 17.
A suction chamber 13a and discharge chamber 13b are defined by a partition 27 in rear housing 13. Suction ports 23 and discharge ports 24 are provided in valve plate 19. When pistons 18 reciprocate, refrigerant gas is sucked into cylinder bores 11a from suction chamber 13a through suction ports 23, respectively. After the gas is compressed in cylinder bores 11a, it is discharged into discharge chamber 13b through discharge ports 24. The difference between the pressure in crank chamber 25 and that in suction chamber 13a is adjusted by the opening or closing operation of the control valve mechanism (not shown). Consequently, the stroke of piston 18 is varied. The displacement of the compressor is controlled by regulating the inclination angle of swash plate 17.
In the above mentioned variable capacity swash plate type compressor, it is desirable to reduce the load that is applied to the compressor drive source, e.g., a vehicle engine. To accomplish this, piston 18 is preferably lightweight.
Therefore, each of the pistons 18 has a cylindrical body 18a thereof. A first aperture 18b and second aperture 18c are formed in the peripheral surface of cylindrical body 18a. First aperture 18b is formed nearer the piston head portion of piston 18 in comparison with second aperture 18c. In this arrangement, first aperture 18b protrudes from the edge of cylinder bore 11a into crank chamber 25 when piston 18 stays in bottom dead center.
The frictional force which is generated by the sliding of swash plate 17 within shoes 20 is transferred to piston 18, urging piston 18 to incline in a radial direction by the moment perpendicular to drive shaft 14 and to the longitudinal axis of piston 18.
As a result, first aperture 18b of piston 18 is easily caught on the edge portion of cylinder bore 11a. This causes noise and vibration in the compressor, and also abrasion of the piston 18.

Reciprocating pistons of piston type compressor


One or more computer processors generate a network fractal based on one or more predicted network conditions for a network that includes a change in user density, user device latency, and network throughput, wherein the network fractal is a deployment template comprised of a plurality of nodes. The one or more computer processors select a configuration of network infrastructure devices placed at each node in the plurality of nodes comprised in the generated network fractal. The one or more computer processors modify the network utilizing the generated network fractal and the selected configuration of network infrastructure devices. The one or more computer processors deploy the modified network.

The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless technology, and more particularly to optimizing broadband cellular networks.
A fractal is a subset of Euclidean space whose fractal dimension strictly exceeds its topological dimension. Fractals exhibit similar patterns at increasingly smaller scales called self-similarity, also known as expanding symmetry or unfolding symmetry.
Mobile telecommunication systems were initially developed to provide a voice service while guaranteeing activity of a user. Mobile telecommunication systems have evolved to provide text and data services in addition to voice services. Increases in the number and demands of users of advanced mobile devices has generated a dramatic increase of traffic and higher-speed/bandwidth service requirements. For example, telecommunication advances have been key enablers for many technologies including video streaming and artificial intelligence (AI) to succeed by reducing or eliminating various limiting factors, such as sedentary operations, lower bandwidth communications, etc. Advances associated with 5G (fifth generation) telecommunication technologies are expected to serve as enablers to push dependent technologies to higher performance levels and capabilities through mobile bandwidths of 1 GBPS (gigabits/second) or greater, convergence of Internet-of-things (IoT) device access, etc.

Broadband cellular network deployment fractal generation

International Business Machines Corporation


Spare disk drives are provided to a chassis for storing storage devices, and, when any one of the storage devices configuring RAID fails, the storage controller copies data of the failed storage device to a spare storage device, and recognizes an additional storage device inserted into the spare disk drive as the spare storage device. Thereafter, when the foregoing storage device fails, the storage controller reproduces data of the failed storage device, copies this data to an additional storage device inserted into the spare disk drive, and recognizes the additional storage device inserted into the spare disk drive as a spare storage device. Subsequently, when the foregoing storage device fails, the storage controller reproduces data of the failed storage device and copies this data to an additional storage device inserted into the spare disk drive. RAID 6 is maintained thereby.

The present invention generally relates to a storage controller and a storage control method, and in particular relates to a storage controller connected to a host system and which stores data to be sent to and received from the host system in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) as a storage device according to a RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) system, and to the storage control method thereof.
As this type of storage controller, for instance, known is a type comprising a drive with a rotating storage device for storing data, and a storage controller interposed between the drive and a host system and which controls the sending and receiving of data between the drive and the host system (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-191037; "Patent Document 1").
Patent Document 1 describes recovering, when a disk drive fails and becomes inoperative, all data of the failed drive from the remaining drives of the ECC group (RAID group) and copying such data to a spare disk drive (correction copy).
Further, a storage control system comprising a spare disk drive has been proposed for recovering, when one of the disk drives configuring RAID fails, data from the other disk drives configuring RAID, and recovering the status from the degenerate status of RAID to the normal access status where all disk drives configuring RAID are operable (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-297322; "Patent Document 2").
Moreover, a storage control system has been proposed comprising a disk array controller, a disk drive connected to a disk array controller via a drive interface and for storing a plurality of data aligned in an array, and a data backup device for backing up data stored in the disk drive, wherein a plurality of disk drives are used as spare disk drives, and the remaining disk drives are used as data/parity disk drives for storing data and the like, and a spare disk drive is used as a data/parity disk drive in substitute for the failed data/parity disk drive (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H6-139027).
In addition, as a storage controller, known is a rack mount-type disk array apparatus. With this rack mount-type disk array apparatus, a plurality of hard disk units and an interface unit are provided replaceably inside a rack mounted on the chassis. When replacing the hard disk unit, the user removes the hard disk unit to be replaced from the front face of the chassis, and mounts a new hard disk unit.
Meanwhile, in order to facilitate the maintenance associated with a failure of a disk drive, a method is being attempted of making the failed disk drive subject to a failure unexchangeable, and, when a disk drive configuring RAID fails, mounting a repair disk drive in a spare disk drive, and using the repair disk drive in substitute for the failed disk drive. Here, when one of the disk drives configuring RAID fails, data can be reproduced from the other disk drives configuring RAID and stored in the spare disk drive, the spare disk drive can be configured as a data disk drive, and the repair disk drive mounted in the spare disk drive can be configured as a spare disk drive (refer to Patent Document 2). Incidentally, a storage controller that sends and receives information to and from a host computer has also been proposed (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H7-146760).

Storage controller and storage control method


An under reamer for expanding a borehole through an earthen formation is taught. The under reamer includes: a mandrel including an end for connection into a drill string and an opposite end and a housing including an inner bore, telescopically disposed over the mandrel and axially moveable relative to the mandrel but rotationally moveable with the mandrel. A plurality of under reamer arms are carried on the housing, the under reamer arms are formed as blocks including cutter-supporting portions in which poly-crystalline diamond compact cutters are mounted. The under reamer arms are moveable by driving the housing axially over the mandrel between a retracted position extending into the bore of the housing and an expanded position wherein the under reamers arms are pivoted out of the housing inner bore and supported therebehind by the mandrel such that the cutter-supporting portions are exposed for use to enlarge a borehole. The under reamer can include one or more lock assemblies for releasably locking the mandrel and housing against relative axial movement. The under reamer can also or alternately include a restriction nozzle to facilitate hydraulic operation thereof.

When drilling a borehole through an earthen formation a pilot hole is drilled by a pilot bit and the hole can be enlarged by an under reamer. Under reamers have arms with cutters thereon that cut into the formation to enlarge the borehole to its intended gauge.
Under reamers are useful in casing drilling, wherein the pilot bit must be of a size to pass through the bore of the casing and is, therefore, not sized to drill a borehole of a gauge that the casing can pass therethrough. Therefore, the pilot bit drills the pilot hole into the formation and under reamers enlarge the hole behind the pilot bit to a gauge greater than the casing outer diameter to permit advancement of the casing into the borehole. Under reamers are also useful when extending a borehole below installed casing. In such embodiments, the under reamer arms are collapsible to permit the under reamer to be moved through the bore of the casing and are expandable downhole to permit drilling of a borehole to a gauge greater than the outer diameter of the casing.


A body reinforcement device comprises a rigid reinforcement member that connects two vehicle body portions to be reinforced. The body reinforcement device also comprises a damping force member that spans the space between the two vehicle body portions. The rigid reinforcement member and the damping force member preferably extend generally parallel to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle body reinforcement device for reinforcing a body when the device is mounted to the body such that two portions to be reinforced are connected to each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a body of a motorcar has been formed such that a highest possible strength is effected while aiming at weight saving. In such bodies, a reinforcement member is mounted to a region where a greater strength is required compared with other regions, such as a section where a wheel suspension device is mounted. The reinforcement member is mounted in such a manner that two portions to be reinforced are connected to each other. As for such a reinforcement member, there has been known one formed in the shape of a rod by a rigid body or one in which damping force generating means is provided, for example, as shown in JP-A-2002-211437.
The reinforcement member disclosed in JP-A-2002-211437 is formed in an elongated shape and damping force generating means is provided in its middle in the longitudinal direction. The damping force generating means can be a hydraulic damper or a rubber member. This reinforcement member spans the space between two portions to be reinforced of a body. In one use, the reinforcement member can be mounted between a suspension mounting portion on the left side of the body and a suspension mounting portion on the right side thereof.
The body of an automobile is some times subjected to elastic deformation in a direction in which the distance between the two portions to be reinforced is shortened or lengthened, such as during quick handling operations. At this time, a load is also applied, in the direction of compression or the direction of elongation, to the reinforcement member connecting the portions to be reinforced to each other. If a reinforcement member formed only by a rigid body is used, the reinforcement member is subjected to elastic deformation in the direction of compression or the direction of elongation by the load applied to the body when it is deformed, as described above.
This reinforcement member stretches or contracts by its own elasticity when it is released from the load or when the force causing the elastic deformation vanishes. The conventional rigid reinforcement member begins to vibrate in the longitudinal direction due to loading during quick handling operations because of the member's longitudinal elongation and contraction. Therefore, while the vehicle body using this rigid reinforcement member is less likely to be elastically deformed, it may provide unnecessary vibration in the reinforcement member.
Such a disadvantage can be reduced by using a reinforcement member having damping force generating means such as disclosed in JP-A-2002-211437. This is because vibration of the reinforcement member itself is damped by the damping force generating means.
However, such damping reinforcement member has a decreased repulsion force under axial loading. Therefore, the ability to suppress deformation of the body is lower than that of a rigid reinforcement member.
In view of the foregoing, a body reinforcement device for a vehicle is desired that can reliably suppress deformation of a body and which reduces vibration in the reinforcement device as well.


A thin film transistor comprising a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, an active layer, and source and drain electrodes is provided. The gate electrode overlaps with a channel region of the active layer, the gate insulating layer is provided between the gate electrode and the active layer, the source and drain electrodes overlap a source region and a drain region of the active layer, respectively, and a thin film of SiNx or SiOxNy through which electrons are allowed to tunnel is provided between the active layer and the source and drain electrodes.

Thin film transistors (TFTs) are used in a liquid crystal display (LCD) as switching elements for pixel units. Currently, a bottom gate TFT structure as shown in FIG. 1 is generally employed by most of the manufacturers of TFT-LCDs. The structure mainly comprises the following layers: a glass substrate 100 and a gate 200, a gate insulating layer 300, a semiconductor layer 400, a doped semiconductor layer 500, source and drain electrodes 700, a passivation layer 800, and a pixel electrode 900, which are formed on the glass substrate 100 in order from the bottom. The manufacturing processes of the bottom gate TFT are outlined as follows:
1. A metal thin film is deposited on a substrate (e.g., a glass or a single crystal silicon wafer) by magnetic sputtering, and then a pattern of a gate line and a gate electrode is formed by photolithography and etching. Conventionally, the target material for depositing the metal thin film normally comprises Al and Al alloy, and other metals and alloys may also be used when an integrated circuit (IC) is prepared.
2. A SiNx or SiOxNy thin film layer is prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) as a gate insulating layer. The semiconductor layer (e.g., an a-Si layer) and the doped semiconductor layer (e.g., an N+ a-Si layer) are deposited in a same process on the gate insulating layer by CVD. The semiconductor layer and the doped layer are patterned to form a silicon island and a channel region by photolithography and dry etching.
3. A metal layer is deposited on the doped semiconductor layer by magnetic sputtering, and source and drain electrodes and a data line are formed by photolithography and etching. The materials for the source and drain electrodes and the date line comprise metals of high melting temperature, such as Mo, Cr, Ti, or MoW, or alloys thereof, and the formed source and drain electrodes are in good ohmic contact with the doped semiconductor layer, respectively.
4. A passivation layer (e.g., a SiOxNy layer) is deposited by CVD and thus a channel protection layer is prepared by photolithography and etching, and a via hole is etched in the protection layer simultaneously.
5. A pixel electrode layer (e.g., an ITO conductive thin film) is deposited by magnetic sputtering, a pixel electrode pattern is formed by photolithography and etching, and the pixel electrode is connected with, for example, the drain electrode, through the via hole.
The TFT structure formed through the above processes is of the follow features: the structure is simple and is relatively easy to be manufactured; the processes used for forming each layer are relatively simple; and the yield is relatively high. For example, it is possible to use a 6mask process, a 5mask process, a 4mask process and even a 3mask process (in the processes, one mask corresponds to one photolithography and etching) to perform the formation and the required equipments are not needed to be changed.
However, as the market for TFT-LCD televisions is expanding and the generation of the production line has been advanced, the size of a panel is becoming lager and lager. The requirements for the panels with relatively larger size and used in a television are different from those for the panels with relatively small size and used in a computer monitor. Increase of the size of a panel requires increase of the length of the gate lines and the data lines, and the total resistance of the lines increases, which results in retardation of signal and therefore causes the problems such as cross-talk and non-uniform brightness in the horizontal direction.
For the panels with a larger size and used in a television, the materials currently used for the source and drain electrodes to substitute the high resistance refractory metals, such as Mo, Cr, and alloys thereof comprise Al or Al alloy. However, since the contact between an Al layer and a N+ doping semiconductor layer is not good due to the large difference in work functions, a thin Mo layer is firstly deposited as a buffer layer on an underlying layer. In addition, in order to resolve the problem of the poor contact between the pixel electrode and the Al layer, a thin Mo layer is deposited on the Al layer. With above configuration, not only the problem of large contact resistance of the Al layer with the ITO thin film but also the problem that hillocks are generated when pure Al is heated is resolved. However, the following disadvantages accompany the above advantages when such sandwich structure is employed.
1. The problems with respect to etching occur, for example, the source and drain electrodes are prone to break, the reason of which is a difference between etching rates of the intermediate Al layer and the underlying and overlying Mo metal layers.
2. The productivity is decreased, because three layers of two kinds of metals are needed to be deposited, which increases the deposition period compared with depositing only one kind of metal.
3. The cost is increased, because the current market price of Mo is greatly higher than that of Al.

Thin film transistor and method of manufacturing the same

Beijing Boe Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


The invention features a method for transferring data to programming engines using multiple memory channels, parsing data over at most two channels in the memory channels, and establishing at most two logical states to signal completion of a memory transfer operation.

Network processors typically use single channel or multiple memory channels to provide required bandwidth for data processing functions where data are stored and then forwarded to a destination, for example, as in store-and-forward functions performed by network processors. For wide memory structures, read-modify-write operations are often required, whereas for multiple channel designs, interleaving block addresses or "stripping" may be used to spread the memory accesses across the channels so that all channels may be utilized.


The present invention relates to a cemented carbide tool for the deep drawing operations, especially as the ironing dies, of the manufacturing of aluminum or steel beverage cans. The cemented carbide comprises WC with an ultra fine grain size, a binder phase of Co, and grain growth inhibitors (V and/or Cr), wherein the Co content is from about 5 to about 10 wt-%, and with a specific relation between HV30 and cobalt content.

The present invention relates to a method of making improved cemented carbide tools for shaping or otherwise working materials. The invention has particular application in making metal working tools, and specifically tools used in the manufacture of tubular casings and similar articles, such as two-piece beverage cans.
A two-piece can is made by a drawing and wall ironing process. In general, a two-piece can is made by stamping out metal discs from a metal plate. A metal "cup" is formed from the disk. The formed cups are pushed through a body-forming die comprising a plurality of annular rings, generally known as draw, redraw, and ironing rings, by a body-forming punch. The clearances between the body-forming punch and the plurality of rings become progressively smaller, so that the thickness of cup wall is reduced and the cup is elongated. This process is generally referred to as the ironing operation. It is a particularly demanding operation causing high wear on the tools and the operation is sensitive to the dimensional changes and lubrication conditions. Because of the tremendous volume of beverage cans manufactured each year, each slight improvement in the manufacturing process can result in tremendous savings.
Tools for imparting a desired shape, form, or finish to a material, such as dies, punches, and the like, must be characterized by extreme hardness, compressive strength and rigidity. This is particularly necessary when shaping metals or similar materials. Commercial material working tools for mass production must also be resistant to wear, erosion and chipping from repeated and continuous stress and abrasion. These tools must also be made from materials which can be designed and machined to close tolerances and maintain dimensional stability over a wide range of operating conditions.
It is known to make punches, dies, deep draw tooling and similar material working tools from a variety of materials, including metals, cemented carbide and conventional ceramics. These known materials all have certain undesirable limitations. When making tools for shaping metal articles, particularly tubular casings such as two-piece beverage cans, the problems of prior known materials becomes particularly significant.
In the 1980's a grade having only 3 wt-% binder and ultra fine grain size for tire cord drawing was introduced by Sandvik. It was later withdrawn due to the low strength and brittle behaviour leading to premature failures.
In a European project, Wireman, (reported by A. M. Massai et al, "Scientific and technological progress in the field of steel wire drawing", Wire 6/1999), the conditions for drawing of tire cord were investigated. New cemented carbide grades were tested in the grain size range of 0.3-1 μm and a binder content of 0.3-5 wt-%. A hardness increase was achieved by reducing the binder content and decreasing the grain size of WC. According to published results, the grades did not completely satisfy the expectation on better performance, despite the high hardness achieved. The conclusion quotes: "The wear tests demonstrated that not only the hardness of the dies controls the die wear mechanism."
According to the prior art, a possible way to achieve better performance in can manufacturing is the use of ceramic materials, e.g. whisker reinforced alumina or silicon nitride as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,730 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,788 respectively, but so far conventional cemented carbide seems to keep its position as the preferred material.
The present invention relates to the recent development of ultra fine grained cemented carbide.
During many years there has been an ongoing development of cemented carbide with finer and finer grain size. The extension of cemented carbide grain sizes into the ultra fine size range leads to a number of positive improvements regarding the wear processes.
Attrition wear (or grain loss volume) may be reduced by an order of magnitude by little more than halving the sintered grain size (in the absence of other wear processes), since grain volume is related to the cube of diameter.
Adhesive fracture is another dangerous kind of attrition wear, in which the separation of strongly welded tool-workmaterial interfaces can induce tensile cleavage within the underlying carbide. Ultra fine hardmetals can resist the onset of such fractures better than coarser ones due to their greater rupture strength.
Erosion/corrosion of the binder phase is said to be part of the wear mechanism in wire drawing and the deep drawing of beverage cans. In ultra fine cemented carbide, even though the content of binder is maintained or even increased compared to conventional cemented carbide, the smaller WC grain size leads to thinner binder films. Thus resistance to selective erosion of the soft binder phase by wear particles is reduced. It is reasonable to believe that the thinner binder also leads to better oxidation/corrosion properties since the properties of the binder at the WC interface is different from the pure metal.
From the above it seems that the main interest in developing finer sub-micron hardmetal, perhaps into the nanometer range, is to raise hardness, maximise attrition wear resistance and strength whilst as far as possible maintaining all other attributes at useful levels.
Thus improved wear resistance of cemented carbide is achieved by decreasing the tungsten carbide grain size to ultra fine and maintaining the binder content so that the hardness as is increased.

Tool for coldforming operations with improved performance


The present disclosure relates to a process for the manufacturing of a 3-5 halopropionylhalide, wherein the process comprises the steps of: a) providing a flow reactor comprising a reaction chamber; b) providing reactants comprising: i. acrylic acid; ii. a reaction co-agent selected from the group consisting of N,N-0 disubstituted amides; and iii. a halogenating agent; and c) incorporating the reactants into the reaction chamber of the flow reactor, thereby forming a reaction product stream comprising a 3-halopropionyl-halide; wherein the molar ratio of acrylic acid to the halogenating agent is 1 to at least 5 0.8; wherein the temperature of the reaction chamber of the flow reactor is greater than 60° C.; and wherein the residence time of the reaction product stream comprising the 3-halopropionylhalide in the reaction chamber of the flow reactor is greater than 10 minutes.

Halogenation, in particular chlorination, of organic acids to form organic acid chlorides can produce valuable intermediates as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,013,988 (Meder et al.). The broad utility of acid halides, in particular acid chlorides, has drawn tremendous attention over the years. This class of compounds is important to facilitate numerous synthetic transformations owing to their high reactivity. Among this category of compounds, alpha, beta-unsaturated acid chlorides, in particular acryloyl chlorides and 3-chloropropionylchloride have received significant attention since the late 20th century. These specific acid halides are highly reactive intermediates which can be used for the production of important acrylates and polymers with commercial applications in particular in adhesives, fine and specialty chemicals, absorbents, coating materials, and paints. Among the known organic acid halides, 3-chloropropionylchloride has recently emerged as an interesting building block with potential applications in particular for the manufacturing of polymers, pharmaceuticals, herbicides and fungicides. 3-halopropionylhalides, in particular 3-chloropropionylchloride, have been identified as a valuable replacement for acryloyl chlorides, due to their higher stability for example against auto-polymerization. There is therefore an increased interest in the manufacturing of 3-halopropionylhalides.
Due to their high reactivity and sensitivity towards hydrolysis, the manufacturing of 3-halopropionylhalides, on industrial scale is not always satisfactory. Moreover, the known processes for the selective halogenation of organic acids are highly exothermic, give mediocre yields and generally involve using hazardous chemical reagents, which then require taking additional and appropriate processing steps.
Processes to make 3-halopropionylhalides, in particular 3-chloropropionylchloride, include for example chlorination of beta-propiolactone, chlorination of acrylic acid as described for example in WO2005/092842 (Nozawa et al.), reaction of acrylic acid with methyldichloro phosphine, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,182 (Rupp et al.), and chlorination of 3-chloropropionic acid or reaction of carbon tetrachloride with propionyl chloride.
Recently, the so-called micro-reactor technology, also known as flow technology, has emerged as a powerful tool for carrying out organic chemical reactions, especially reactions involving hazardous chemicals. This technology has been documented in Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 6512-6535 (Charlotte Wiles and Paul Watts), and in Chem. Soc. Rev. 2016, vol 45, 4892-4928 (M. Movsisyan et al.). Flow reactor technology for the chlorination of acrylic acid to produce (meth)acryloylchlorides is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0185013 A1 (Pinnow et al.) and in Chem Sus Chem 2016, 9, 1945-1952 (M. Movsisyan et al.).
The disclosed methods are not satisfactory for the manufacturing of specifically 3-halopropionylhalides, mainly due to a lack of selectivity and poor overall yields of 3-halopropionylhalides obtained.
Without contesting the technical advantages associated with the manufacturing processes known in the art, there is still a need for a process for the manufacturing of a 3-halopropionylhalide, which overcomes the above-described deficiencies.
Other advantages of the process of the disclosure will be apparent from the following description.

Process for the manufacturing of a 3-halopropionyl halide in a flow reactor


A sliding door lock having a latch plate, which slidably engages a channel in one leg of a corner piece. The corner piece is mounted in a door frame. A stud is attached to the slider plate so that a person may grasp the stud and slide the plate up and down. The stud has internal threads. A small screw is threaded into the internal threads of the stud. The sliding door lock is used by grasping the stud, which extends through an elongated slot in the door frame, and using the stud to move the latch plate upward so that it extends past the top of the door frame. The small screw is then used to hold the latch plate in an upward position. A tool is used to thread the small screw past the end of the stud so that the end of the small screw is in frictional contact with the corner piece, thus holding the latch plate in the upward position. When the latch plate is locked in the upward position, the door cannot be slid open because the upper end of the plate will come into contact with a block positioned above the door frame and mounted on a supporting structure surrounding the door frame. The latch plate may also be used in conjunction with other blocks for the purpose of holding the sliding door open.

The present invention relates generally to door locks, and more particularly to a sliding door lock which may be used to lock a sliding door and to hold the door open.
In the past, a variety of different locks have been used to lock a sliding door or window. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,996, issued to Sjogren on May 7, 1985, discloses a sliding door lock mounted to the end of a sliding door frame. A handle attached to a bolt is used to move the bolt upward until it engages one of several apertures in a door frame casement. The bolt may be locked in an upward position using a barrel lock, thus preventing the door frame from moving.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,313, issued to Governale on Oct. 9, 1984, describes two different locking devices used for sliding doors. One device uses knobs at the top and bottom of a door frame to move sliding bolts into openings at top and bottom portions of a surrounding frame sill structure. Slots in the door frame allow vertical movement of the knobs, which are locked in place by compression springs. The second device uses a lever operated swinging latch bolt, pivotally mounted in a bolt housing mounted on a door frame. An extension of the bolt removably engages a slot in an adjacent door.
A latch used for windows or doors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,284, issued to Ikemura on Jan. 3, 1978. A latch bolt is slidably mounted in a housing, which may be attached to a window or sliding door. A handle is used to move the bolt longitudinally along the length of the housing until the end of the bolt engages a recess in the surrounding door or window structure. The handle removably engages one of the channels in a plate member of the housing. A spring biases the handle into a channel, keeping the end of the bolt in the recess.
Another lock used for locking sliding windows or doors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,041, issued to Edison on Aug. 17, 1976. A screw is used to clamp members to one of the legs of a channel guide on which a window or door is slidably mounted. The members are in contact with the frame of the window or door, effectively preventing sliding movement of the window or door.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,266, issued to Weaver on Mar. 16, 1976, discloses a locking latch for sliding doors. The latch has a housing which is attached to the outside of a door frame. A plate is free to move vertically along the length of the housing. The plate has two upward extensions at its upper end. A thumb screw is threaded into a threaded aperture in the plate. A slot in the housing allows a person to grasp the screw and move the plate up and down. A sliding door may be locked in place by moving the extensions of the plate upward, using the screw, until the extensions engage apertures in a surrounding structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,585, issued to Chmura on Oct. 17, 1967, discloses a sliding window lock using an elongated member EE, having a number of notches along the length thereof. Member EE is mounted on a sliding window. A U-shaped locking member LE may be attached to elongated member EE at different locations along the length of the member EE by selectively using different notches. A lock screw is used to attach members EE and LE together. The locking member LE limits sliding movement of an adjacent window.


A flange assembly 10 is provided for a fuel supply unit of a vehicle. The assembly 10 includes a flange 12 constructed and arranged to cover an opening in a fuel tank. The flange has an interior portion constructed and arranged to be exposed to fuel. The interior portion is in communication with an outlet 15 provided at an exterior of the flange. A plastic manifold 16 is mounted to the interior portion of the flange so as to communicate with the outlet. The manifold is constructed and arranged to mount at least one fuel supply component 22 thereon.

In fuel supply units for vehicles, a fuel tank flange is necessary to cover an opening provided in the fuel tank. The opening is necessary for inserting components into the fuel tank that are needed for the proper performance of the fuel supply unit. The fuel tank flange is often used to mount, directly thereon, certain components such as valves, ports, sensors and fasteners.
There is a need to provide, on the fuel tank flange, a fuel compatible polymeric manifold for holding single or multiple components necessary for proper fuel supply unit performance that isolates outlets of the components from the internal tank environment.
An object of the invention is to fulfill the need referred to above. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, this objective is achieved by providing a flange assembly for a fuel supply unit of a vehicle. The assembly includes a flange constructed and arranged to cover an opening in a fuel tank. The flange has an interior portion constructed and arranged to be exposed to fuel. The interior portion is in communication with an outlet provided at an exterior of the flange. A plastic manifold is mounted to the interior portion of the flange so as to communicate with the outlet. The manifold is constructed and arranged to mount at least one fuel supply component thereon.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method provides a flange assembly for a fuel supply unit of a vehicle. The method provides a flange that is constructed and arranged to cover an opening in a fuel tank. The flange has an interior portion constructed and arranged to be exposed to fuel. The interior portion is in communication with an outlet provided at an exterior of the flange. The method includes mounting a plastic manifold to the interior portion of the flange so as to communicate with the outlet. At least one fuel supply component is mounted on the manifold.
Other objects, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and the functions of the related elements of the structure, the combination of parts and economics of manufacture will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification.


To measure an inner temperature of a chamber included in a test handler, self-refresh currents of semiconductor memory devices under test are measured. The semiconductor memory devices are disposed in the chamber and have a function of linear temperature compensated self-refresh (Li-TCSR). Local temperature values are generated based on the self-refresh currents, where each local temperature value indicates a temperature near the corresponding semiconductor memory device of the semiconductor memory devices under test.

1. Technical Field
Some example embodiments relate generally to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to methods of measuring and controlling an inner temperature of a chamber included in a test handler in real-time.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, semiconductor devices require a test process and a test handler is used to simultaneously test a plurality of semiconductor devices under severe conditions such as higher temperatures beyond room temperature. For example, 256 or 512 semiconductor memory devices may be mounted and disposed in a chamber of the test handler and the inner space of the chamber may be filled with nitrogen gas. Using a heater and a fan included in the chamber, the inner air of the chamber may be set to a given (or, alternatively predetermined) test temperature. The inner temperature of the chamber may be monitored using temperature sensors to control the heater and the fan so that the inner temperature may be maintained at the set temperature.
Even though the performance of the heater directly affects the temperature distribution in the chamber, it is difficult to control the temperature distribution exactly because of the heat caused by the respective semiconductor memory devices under test. To enhance yield and reliability of products through the test, the operational temperature of the respective semiconductor memory device under test needs to be maintained near the given (or, alternatively predetermined) target temperature. It is most desirable to provide a temperature control system capable of independently controlling the operational temperature of each device under test but such temperature control system increases testing costs as the number of the devices tested simultaneously increases.

Methods of measuring and controlling inner temperature of a chamber included in a test handler


A process for further purification of nitrogen gas, thereby producing ultra-high purity nitrogen which is substantially free of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon monoxide, wherein the nitrogen gas is contacted with a metal-containing adsorbent at a temperature of 150 K. or less.

Consumers of nitrogen in the electronics industry typically require ultra-high purity nitrogen which contains less than 1 part-per-billion (ppb) of any contaminant such as oxygen, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Concentrations of these substances in nitrogen obtained from a conventional cryogenic air separation plant are typically in the range of about 0.5-2 parts-per-million (ppm). Oxygen, which has a higher boiling point than nitrogen, is almost completely removed by the cryogenic distillation. However, since the boiling point of carbon monoxide is very close to that of nitrogen, and that of hydrogen is much lower, most of the carbon monoxide present in the feed air to the cryogenic air separation plant is also present in the nitrogen product stream from the plant, and the hydrogen concentration in the nitrogen product stream is about double that in the feed air.
Removal of these contaminants is typically carried out using a conventional adsorption process following the cryogenic air separation process. However, such a system is disadvantageous because of the large size of the adsorption vessels needed to carry out the purification.
An alternative to the use of conventional ambient temperature adsorption processes for producing ultra-high purity nitrogen is the upstream oxidation of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to water and carbon dioxide, respectively. These oxidation products are then removed in a molecular sieve prepurification system prior to the cryogenic air separation. This oxidation is typically carried out as a catalytic process. A major disadvantage of this oxidation process is that it requires high temperatures, increasing the energy requirements, and hence the cost of the entire process. Another disadvantage is that the oxygen remaining in the product nitrogen stream must be removed by another means, usually a separate cryogenic distillation process, which adds further to the cost of the overall process.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved system for producing ultra-high purity nitrogen.

Cryogenic system for producing ultra-high purity nitrogen


A dual pocket envelope according to the present invention includes a first blank having first, second and third panels, a fourth panel is glued in an overlying relation to the second panel along a generally U-shaped adhesive line to form a first pocket. The third panel is folded over the fourth panel and glued to the panel along respective side edges to provide a second pocket. The first panel includes a closure flap with adhesive coating. Each of the openings of the first and second pockets are disposed in a staggered or cascade relation so that when the closure flap is folded onto the pocket openings, the adhesive separately seals each of the pockets.

Multiple pocket envelopes are used by mailers who wish to physically separate two or more items being sent to a recipient in a single envelope.
Businesses or governmental agencies often provide mailer envelopes for persons sending documents to the agency, some of which are of a sensitive nature or otherwise not intended to be handled by certain clerical staff within the agency. For example, federal and state tax returns contain highly confidential information and are often mailed to the agency together with a check or other bank draft. As is apparent, it is desirable to separate the bank draft from the tax return within the envelope. Accordingly, envelopes having multiple pockets or compartments adapted to be separately opened have been developed. Such envelopes enable a first clerk to remove the tax return from the envelope while the second clerk will subsequently open a separate interior pocket and remove the bank draft.
Envelopes having multiple pockets have long existed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,268,795 to Berkowitz discloses a money compartment envelope formed from a blank having numerous flaps adapted to fold inwardly to provide a first pocket having a smaller second pocket formed by gluing a blank to the interior of the first pocket. Even though dual pockets are provided, they cannot be opened independent of each other since tearing at the top of the envelope results in simultaneously opening of both pockets. This is undesirable. Further, this mailer does not stagger or offset the openings to each pocket and therefore it becomes difficult for the user to separately place materials into each pocket prior to sealing of the envelope. In addition, the numerous side flaps and glue lines on the blank do not promote efficient assembly of the envelope.
Another problem with prior art multiple pocket envelopes is the damage that occurs to the envelope when one of the pockets is opened whereby the partially opened envelope is so mangled that it is often difficult to efficiently pass it on to a second operator for subsequent opening, either manually or by way of machinery.
Finally, prior art multiple pocket envelopes cannot be assembled from a single uniform blank. Prior art envelopes require complicated cutting, gluing and manifolding operations that are inefficient and not cost effective in today's commercial environment.
In view of the above, the present invention was developed for purposes of providing enhanced security for a multiple pocket envelope and improved manufacture of the same.


The brake bolt and the lock cylinder of the vehicle lock are mounted in a part of the vehicle for preventing the rotation of a wheel of the vehicle in a locked state. The brake bolt and lock cylinder are mounted in a brake bolt bore and a lock bore, respectively, located in the swing arm, the chain guard, or a lock body mounted over the axle-retaining nut. The vehicle lock engages a ventilation hole on the rotor, a ventilation hole on the sprocket, the teeth of the sprocket, or a hole on the hub to prevent rotation of the wheel in the locked state. Preferably, the lock cylinder is mounted to the vehicle in both the locked state and the unlocked state, and in the unlocked state the brake bolt is removed from the brake bolt bore for operation of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of locks. More particularly, the invention pertains to vehicle locks.
2. Description of Related Art
Two major problems exist with currently available rotor locks for motorcycles and other recreational-type vehicles. First, they do not eliminate fore and aft movement of the wheel or track. Second, when not in use, i.e. when the lock is in an unlocked state, they must be stored somewhere other than on the motorcycle wheel.
When using immobilizers on vehicles, such as motorcycles, mopeds, ATVs, and snowmobiles, there is a need to prevent the possibility of accidental damage to the rotor, caliper, or wheel rim of the vehicle. To satisfy this requirement, it is necessary to eliminate any and all forward or rearward slack between the immobilizing member and the rotor, caliper, or wheel of the vehicle.
One drawback to conventional external locking mechanisms on vehicle braking systems is the slack in the locking point. This slack can cause damage to braking parts when forward and rearward movement takes place. Conventional locking mechanisms offer some wheel immobilization, but allow room for unwanted forward and rearward movement.
Additionally, the application of external locking mechanisms of the prior art creates the possibility of locking mechanism misplacement and locking mechanism storage difficulties on small vehicles. Externally applied locking mechanisms need to be placed into storage when the vehicle is in use, therefore creating a burden on the user to find a storage location. This inconvenience to the user may lead the user to avoid using the vehicle lock on a regular basis. Therefore, there is a need in the art for both a fully immobilizing rotor lock and a permanently mounted rotor lock that remains on the vehicle, does not need to be stored, and is much more convenient for the user.