The present invention provides a glass cloth suitable for producing a printed wiring board to be used in the electronics and electric fields, which has small anisotropy in dimensional change and is free from warpage and twist, a prepreg using said glass cloth, and a printed wiring board using said glass cloth. The glass cloth relevant to the present invention is characterized in that the warp yarn and the weft yarn are configured with a glass yarn of 1.8×10−6 kg/m to 14×10−6 kg/m, a (breadth/length) ratio of an average filament diameter of said weft yarn to an average filament diameter of said warp yarn is 1.01 or more but less than 1.27, and a thickness is 10 μm to 40 μm.

Generally, most of printed wiring boards are produced by a method comprising: impregnating a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin to a substrate such as glass cloth, then drying the substrate to make a prepreg; piling up single or multiple sheets of said prepreg as well as a copper foil if necessary and applying heat and pressure to make a laminate; and subsequently subjecting said laminate to a photolithography and etching treatments or plating to form a circuit pattern made of copper foil.
Further, a multilayer printed wiring board can be produced by a sequential forming method comprising: using the above-described printed wiring board as a core substrate; piling up a prepreg on a surface layer thereof, as well as further piling up a copper foil on the outside thereof; applying heat and pressure thereto to make a multilayer substrate; and subsequently forming a circuit on the surface of the multilayer substrate.
On the other hand, due to recent tendencies to high-functionality and reduction in size and weight of digital equipment, further reduction in size and thickness, as well as increase in density have also been required for the printed wiring board to be used therefor. As a means for that, increase in density is being achieved by thinning a glass cloth to be used as a substrate, as well as increasing the number of layers in a build-up multilayer printed wiring board by the sequential forming method. Under such circumstance, thickness of the glass cloth has been required to be thinned from 40 μm to 10 μm, due to the requirements of increasing in number of layers and thinning to the printed wiring board.
Generally, in the above-described production process for the printed wiring board, it has been known that dimensional change, as well as warpage and twist of a copper-clad laminate are generated by heat and pressure in the laminating step, and etching out of a part of copper foil in the circuit pattern forming step.
However, a thin glass cloth of 40 μm or less has a weak mechanical strength in the X-Y plane direction and a large anisotropy thereof compared with those of a thick glass cloth. In addition, bowed filling and yarn slippage tend to occur. For this reason, there was a problem that, in fabrication of a copper-clad laminate using a glass cloth of 40 μm or less, problems relating to the anisotropy in dimensional change, warpage and twist remarkably easily occur compared to a thick glass cloth.
As a method to enhance a mechanical strength in the X-Y plane direction and to improve an anisotropy thereof of the glass cloth, the following methods and the like have been proposed: (1) a method where reinforcement effects by stiffness of glass yarns are made equivalent by making amounts of glass to be filled, in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction, equivalent, (2) a method where balance of reinforcement effects is improved by optimizing weaving density, crimp percentage, and the like, in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction, (3) a method where restrictive property by yarn itself is enhanced by narrowing a distance between yarns by spreading processing.
(1) As a method where reinforcement effects by stiffness of glass yarns are made equivalent by making amounts of glass to be filled, in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction, equivalent, such a method has been known that a woven fabric structure where the same kind of yarn is woven by the same weaving density both in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction is employed, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 described below.
However, since a glass cloth is generally produced as a long cloth in a state where tension is applied in the warp direction, waving of the weft yarn to which tension is not applied tends to become more significant as compared with the warp yarn on which tension does not act, even if weaving is carried out using the same kind of yarns for the warp yarn and the weft yarn in the same weaving density. As a result, this causes an anisotropy in dimensional change. Also, when prepreg is produced, since resin is impregnated and dried in a state where tension acts on the warp yarn direction, and waving in the warp yarn direction is removed in some degree depending on a level of the tension, difference in waving states between the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction tends to become larger and difference in reinforcement effects tends to be expanded. Further, there is also the following problem. In the case of a thin glass cloth having a thickness of 40 μm or less, since glass yarn constituting the glass cloth has too small diameter and weak stiffness, influence on the anisotropy of the tension applied on the warp yarn direction in weaving and prepreg-making becomes larger together with thinning of the glass cloth, and the problem of anisotropy in dimensional change appears more significantly. Therefore, the method where amounts of glass to be filled in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction are made equivalent was insufficient to improve the anisotropy in dimensional change, in particular, in the case of a thin glass cloth having a thickness of 40 μm or less.
(2) As a method where balance of reinforcement effects is improved by controlling weaving density and crimp percentage, and the like in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction, the following Patent Document 2 discloses a glass cloth where a comparatively thick yarn is woven in the majority; the following Patent Documents 3 to 5 disclose a glass cloth where balance of weaving density and crimp percentage is optimized; the following Patent Document 6 discloses a glass cloth where cross-sectional shapes and waving states are made equivalent by spreading the warp yarn and the weft yarn in the same degrees; and the following Patent Documents 7 to 9 disclose a glass cloth configured with the weft yarn thicker than that of the warp yarn.
Patent Document 2 discloses a glass cloth having a high cloth weight where a thick yarn of 66 tex (filament diameter: 9 μm, filament number: 400) or more is woven as densely as 40 yarns/25 mm, improving the total reinforcement effect by increasing amount of glass.
However, since the glass cloth disclosed in Patent Document 2 weaves a thick yarn densely to obtain a high cloth weight, thickness of the glass cloth is as comparatively thick as 178 to 183 μm as disclosed in Examples 1 to 6 of Patent Document 2.
In the case of a thin glass cloth having a thickness of 40 μm or less, even when amount of glass is increased by increasing weaving density of glass yarn, it is difficult to improve dimensional stability and anisotropy thereof, because stiffness cannot be increased as much as in a thick glass cloth. In recent years, for aiming at improving stiffness of thin glass cloth having a thickness of 40 μm or less, increasing of weaving density of glass yarn have been often attempted, but it is a current situation that anisotropy of dimensional stability has not been improved yet.
Patent Documents 3 to 5 disclose a glass cloth where a yarn of filament diameter of 9 μm or 7 μm is used, distance between yarns in the warp yarn and the weft yarn is narrow, and weaving density and crimp percentage in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction have been optimized, and disclose that variation by cure shrinkage of resin is reduced due to less resin amount present in the space between glass yarns, and reinforcement effects in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction become equivalent because weaving shrinkage in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction is set adequately.
However, thicknesses of the glass cloths in Patent Documents 3 to 5 are as comparatively thick as 90 μm or more as disclosed in Examples of these Patent Documents, because such a thick filament as filament diameter of 9 μm or 7 μm is used. Usually, when a thin glass cloth having a thickness of 40 μm or less is required, a thin filament having a filament diameter of 5 μm or less should be used. Since a thin filament having a filament diameter of 5 μm or less has a low stiffness, crimp percentage of the warp yarn tends to become smaller due to the tension exerted on the warp yarn direction in weaving, contrary a crimp percentage of the weft yarn tends to become larger, and it was difficult to optimize the crimp percentage so that reinforcement effects in the warp direction and the weft direction become equivalent.
Patent Document 6 discloses a glass cloth which is the one having a thickness of 10 μm or more but 50 μm or less, where the warp yarn and the weft yarn are configured with the same kind of yarn, and cross-sectional shapes and waving states of the warp yarn and the weft yarn are equivalent because spreading treatment is carried out under nearly a tensionless condition. It has been disclosed that in said glass cloth, a ratio of an elongation percentage of the warp yarn when a load in a range of 25 to 100 N per 25 mm width is applied in the warp yarn direction, relative to an elongation percentage of the weft yarn when said load is applied in the weft yarn direction, is 0.8 or more but 1.2 or less, and anisotropy in XY direction can be improved because elongation amounts of the warp yarn and the weft yarn are equivalent under a certain level of tensile stress.
However, even if spreading treatment is attempted in nearly a tensionless state, since not a low tension is exerted in the transporting direction (the warp yarn direction), it is difficult to make waving states of the warp yarn and the weft yarn equivalent. Even if elongation amounts of the warp yarn and the weft yarn under a tensile tension in a range of 25 to 100 N per 25 mm width can be made equivalent, it is still difficult to make the elongation percentages of the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction equivalent under a further lower load region (for example, 5 N), and it was not satisfactory with regard to improvement of the anisotropy in dimensional change. In addition, since physical force is exerted in nearly a tensionless state, that is, in a state where glass cloth is not held, there is also a problem that, in particular, in the case of a thin glass cloth, bowed filling and yarn slippage, and the like tend to occur, which cause warpage or twist of laminate.
Patent Document 7 discloses a glass cloth where monofilament diameter of the weft yarn is 9.5 μm or more and thicker than that of the warp yarn, weight ratio of weft yarn/warp yarn is 0.8 or more but 1.2 or less, and weight is 200 to 300 g. Patent Document 7 discloses that said glass cloth can minimize coordinate shift by using a yarn having a thick monofilament diameter, and the anisotropy can be solved without enlarging the coordinate shift by using the weft yarn having a thick monofilament diameter than that of the warp yarn.
In addition, Patent Document 8 describes a glass cloth where the warp yarn has a filament diameter of 9 and a filament number of 400, the weft yarn has a filament diameter of over 9 μm but 10.5 μm or less and a filament number of 400, a ratio of weaving density per 25 mm width of the warp yarn and the weft yarn is 1.0 to 1.4 or less, and a weight is 180 to 250 g. It has been shown that, in said glass cloth, occurrence of warpage or twist can be inhibited by using a thick yarn within the above-described range and making thicknesses of the warp yarn and the weft yarn different within the above-described range.
In addition, Patent Document 9 describes a glass cloth where count of the weft yarn is larger than that of the warp yarn, and a value of a product of count of the warp yarn and weaving density of the warp yarn divided by a product of count of the weft yarn and weaving density of the weft yarn is 0.8 or more but 1.2 or less. It has been disclosed that, in said glass cloth, a frequency of waving is reduced by increasing a count of the weft yarn, and hence reinforcement effects in the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction become nearly equivalent, and warpage and twist of a printed wiring board can be reduced, and that when a thick yarn of 60 tex or more is used for both of the warp yarn and the weft yarn, effect thereof becomes significant.
Patent Documents 7 to 9 disclose that the glass cloth configured with a thicker weft yarn than the warp yarn can improve dimensional stability as well as warpage and twist of a printed wiring board, but in any case, a thick yarn of 60 tex or more is used to enhance the reinforcement effect. Since glass cloth configured with a thick glass yarn tends to exhibit a large waving structure and a large elongation amount when a tensile stress is applied, dimensional change of a printed wiring board becomes significant, and therefore, it was not sufficient one in the point that variation and anisotropy in dimensional change tended to become large.
In addition, in the cases of the glass cloths described in Patent Documents 7 to 9, since a thick yarn of 60 tex or more is used as described above, thickness of a glass cloth becomes comparatively thick (glass cloths having a thickness of 188 μm in Examples 1 and 2 of Patent Document 7, 180 μm in Examples 1 to 3 of Patent Document 8, and 180 to 250 μm in Examples 1 to 5 of Patent Document 9 have been disclosed), and they were not the one which can improve dimensional stability of a thin glass cloth having a thickness of 10 to 40 μm, which was the purpose of the present application.
The glass cloths registered with ICP include, as the one in which the warp yarn is thicker than the weft yarn, 1651 (warp yarn: G 150, weft yarn: G 67, thickness: 135 μm), 2125 (warp yarn: E 225, weft yarn: G 150, thickness: 91 μm), 2157 (warp yarn: E 225, weft yarn: G 75, thickness: 130 μm), 2165 (warp yarn: E 225, weft yarn: G 150, thickness: 101 μm), 2166 (warp yarn: E 225, weft yarn: G 75, thickness: 140 μm), 7635 (warp yarn: G 75, weft yarn: G 50, thickness: 201 μm), 7642 (warp yarn: G 75, weft yarn: G 37, thickness: 254 μm), 1657 (warp yarn: G 150, weft yarn: G 67, thickness: 150 μm), 3133 (warp yarn: E 225, weft yarn: G 150, thickness: 81 μm), 3323 (warp yarn: DE 300, weft yarn: E 225, thickness: 86 μm), 7640 (warp yarn: G 75, weft yarn: G 50, thickness: 249 μm), 7669 (warp yarn: G 75, weft yarn: G 67, thickness: 178 μm), 7688 (warp yarn: G 75, weft yarn: G 67, thickness: 190 μm), 1165 (warp yarn: D 450, weft yarn: G 150, thickness: 101 μm), and 3132 (warp yarn: D 450, weft yarn: E 225, thickness: 71 μm), and all of these cloths are thick glass cloths which have a thickness of 70 μm or more using a thick filament having a diameter of 7 μm for the weft yarn. It has been known that when a glass yarn thicker than the warp yarn is used for the weft yarn, it becomes difficult to obtain a thin cloth; the cloth lacks surface smoothness; and further anisotropy in the reinforcement effects such as dimensional stability and coefficient of thermal expansion tends to occur due to different stiffness of glass yarn in warp yarn direction and weft yarn direction. It is present situation that the same glass yarns are usually used for the warp yarn and the weft yarn in a thin glass cloth having a thickness of 40 μm or less.
Besides the above, the glass cloth configured with yarns having different thicknesses for the warp yarn and the weft yarn are also disclosed in Patent Documents 10 to 15 described below, but none of the above glass cloths could not improve dimensional stability and anisotropy thereof.
(3) The glass cloth where restrictive property by yarn itself is enhanced by narrowing a distance between yarns by spreading processing has been disclosed in Patent Documents 16 to 19 described below. In the glass cloths disclosed in these Patent Literatures, an effect of the dimensional stability can be obtained because a gap between glass yarns is narrow and variation thereof is also small, and therefore cure shrinkage of the resin present in said gap is reduced, and contact area of the warp yarn and the weft yarn is large and hence resistance to the cure shrinkage is large.
However, since mechanical strength and elongation characteristics of the warp yarn and the weft yarn are influenced by stiffness of the yarn and waving state, sufficient effect for improving anisotropy in dimensional change rate could not be obtained only by narrowing the gap between yarns by spreading treatment.
As described above, a glass cloth having a thickness of 40 μm or less which allows to produce a printed wiring board having a small anisotropy in dimensional change and being free from warpage and twist with good accuracy, has not been obtained until now, and such glass cloth has been strongly demanded.


An improved ceramic substrate for supporting, cooling and interconnecting components on both surfaces of a substrate includes a plurality of coolant carrying channels separated by fins and extending through the substrate generally parallel to the surfaces of the substrate; and a plurality of routed vias for interconnecting component terminations on opposite surfaces of the substrate which are not aligned with each other and with a fin; each routed via includes an internal via extending through a fin and a surface blind via extending inwardly from each surface, and at least one transverse segment interconnecting one end of the internal via to one of the surface blind vias.

Conventional hybrid circuits usually have about 10% to 20% of their surface covered with integrated circuits. These circuits are electrically interconnected by wiring in the remaining portion of the surface and in a number of layers beneath it. The wiring width is typically 5-10 mils. By reducing this to 0.5-1 mil in width as in the multichip module technology (MCM) the area required for the interconnections, using the same number of layers, could be reduced by a factor of 100 to 1. However, since a portion of surface area is occupied by the integrated circuits and is not reduced with the wiring, there is a limit to how much the area can be reduced. While the area reduction therefore has a limit, further efficiency can be effected by eliminating one or more of the layers. Now integrated circuit chips can be packed as closely as permitted by assembly technique and repair access. In some cases the chips can be extremely close, leaving only enough separation to allow a faulty chip to be removed and replaced. With such high density packing of the integrated circuits there is increased need for heat dissipation through the ceramic substrate support to a suitable heatsink. The heat problem is compounded when there are circuit components on both sides of the ceramic support, for example, where passive components are on the opposite side from associated silicon based circuitry. A number of heat dissipation approaches are available but each has shortcomings. A high thermal conductivity material for the ceramic support, such as beryllia or aluminum nitride permits better lateral thermal conduction. But this limits the size of the overall circuit because the temperature rise at the center of the circuit relative to the edges is dependent upon the size and power dissipation per unit area. Another approach is to use high thermal conductivity blocks attached between a heat sink and the ceramic substrate support opposite the location of high power components. But it takes up considerable space that would be better used for components. A third approach is to attach the heat sink to the integrated circuit chip side, in a "chips-first" multichip module integrated circuit, but this requires that the heat be conducted through organic insulators which are not good thermal conductors. Also, immersion cooling can be used with all of its attendant problems.
A second problem which occurs as a result of the high packing density of the integrated circuit chips is that the location of the vias is restricted to being in the small spaces between the chips. This further complicates the process when the components on the opposite side cannot be aligned with the appropriate vias.

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.


A cooling apparatus is disclosed for cooling and dehumidifying the inside of a device such as an electronic device installed outdoors The cooling apparatus of the invention comprises a set of dehumidifying parts, each arranged at an open air intake side and an air exhaust side of a housing of the device respectively, and having filtering members for removing humidity from the open air. When air in the housing is saturated with humidity by air blowing from a fan, the rotational direction of the fan is reversed to thereby change the air flowing direction towards the dehumidification part. A dehumidification material thus receives heated and dried exhaust-air from a heating material and discharges moisture accumulated within the material to the outside, thereby recovering moisture absorption capability of the dehumidification material.

Conventionally, as an apparatus for cooling an electronic device installed outdoors, an air conditioner or a heat exchanger has been used. They provide the advantage of completely intercepting the open air before it can reach air inside the device, and the benefit of cooling the inside of the device with clean air. However, they have the disadvantage that they require power to drive an air conditioner. Furthermore, there exists a cooling apparatus for introducing open air in the device by using a filter as a filtering member. However, there is a problem with the apparatus in that the filter removes only dust and takes in the outside moisture directly into the device, thus corroding circuit components and the like that are mounted within the apparatus.
One of the prior arts that prevents dew condensation by reducing humidity within an electronic device is disclosed in Japanese patent literature JP-A-4-294597.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional cooling apparatus for electronic device described in the abovementioned patent literature. The conventional apparatus is connected to an electronic device and cools the inside of the electronic device to reduce humidity within the device by using a cooling fan.
As shown in FIG. 1, cooling apparatus for electronic device 32 comprises moisture absorption duct 34 at an air intake side of a body of the apparatus that cools heat generated by components within electronic device 31, absorption duct 34 being filled with reversible moisture absorbent 35 having a reversible characteristic for discharging absorbed moisture at a temperature above a predetermined temperature. Channel switching duct 36, blockage plate 37, and cooling fan 33 are provided at an air exhaust side of moisture absorption duct 34. Blockage plate 37 is designed to open and close synchronously with the turning on and off of a power source of electronic device 31.
When the power source of electronic device 31 is turned on, blockage plate 37 is opened and thus exhaust air channel L is opened, causing hot air due to the heat generated by the components in electronic device 31 to be attracted by the rotation of cooling fan 33. At this time, reversible moisture absorbent 35 is dried and regenerated at the temperature above the predetermined temperature. When the power source is turned off, exhaust air channel L is blocked by blockage plate 37, preventing the open air from entering electronic device 31, and causing reversible moisture absorbent 35 that has been regenerated and activated to absorb moisture from the residual air in the device. This results in the prevention of dew condensation in electronic device 31.
Despite the configuration wherein humidity within the electronic device is reduced to prevent dew condensation, the aforementioned conventional apparatus presents a problem that, since it utilizes the reversible moisture absorbent that is dried and regenerated at a temperature above the predetermined temperature, when the temperature within the electronic device does not exceed the predetermined temperature due to cooling, the reversible moisture absorbent cannot be dried and regenerated, and thus humidity increases. The repeated turning on and off of the power source for drying and regenerating the reversible moisture absorbent, this involving the most important operation for the device, causes a problem in the operability of the device, and necessitates frequent open/close operation of the blockage plate.

Cooler using filter with dehumidifying function


In a valve, the combination comprising a valve chamber, having a flow inlet and a flow outlet, a valve operator outside the chamber, a stopper in the chamber and operatively connected with the operator for movement toward and away from seat structure in the chamber, to control flow from the valve via the outlet, and the seat structure including first and second seats, the stopper located to seat on the first seat. there being a flexible sealing lip carried by the stopper to sealingly engage the second seat when the stopper sets on the first seat. Relatively movable parts define said operative connection, with configuration and relative movement to allow air inflow to break back siphonage of liquid, and to allow back pressure relief via drain passages.

This invention relates generally to valves such as faucet valves, and more particularly to improvements in sealing off of flow through a faucet when foreign material or particles reside at sealing surfaces.
There is need for improvements in faucet valves, which will ensure sealing when foreign particles are carried in or by the fluid flow through the valves. In particular, there is need for such reliable sealing improvements when foreign particles become inadvertently wedged or seated between stopper and seat surfaces.

Faucet type valve with backflow control in handle structure


A battery pack system for use in connecting a battery pack to a battery pack receiving member of a machine so that the battery pack is operable to supply a suitable amount of power to the machine for operation of the machine via an electrical circuit path that is configurable for electrically connecting the battery pack to the machine, the system including: a first electrical connector member disposed along a first region of the electrical circuit path; and a second electrical connector member; wherein, responsive to the battery pack being connected to the battery pack receiving member of the machine, the second electrical connector member is configured for movement relative to the first electrical connector member to cooperatively form a first configuration which electrically closes the electrical circuit path via which the suitable amount of power is able to be supplied from the battery pack to the machine; and wherein, responsive to the battery pack being disconnected from the battery pack receiving member of the machine, the second electrical connector member is configured for movement relative to the first electrical connector member to cooperatively form a second configuration which electrically opens the electrical circuit path via which the suitable amount of power is not able to be supplied from the battery pack to the machine.

Hand-held electric power tools and the like typically include a battery receiving compartment via which a battery pack may be attached. Typically the battery pack may be removably connectable with the electric power tool which is convenient in that when the battery pack is faulty and requires replacement or is in need of being recharged, it may be easily removed and replaced by with another battery pack. As the power rating capability of hand-held electric tools has increased over the years, the power output of the battery packs used in such tools has also increased significantly with some battery packs being capable of outputting over 100 Wh in certain cases. Unfortunately, in view of this increase in the power output capacity of such battery packs, concerns have been raised that there is a greater risk of a fire erupting should the battery terminals be inadvertently short-circuited, for instance, when such battery packs are being stored or shipped.
If the above short-circuit scenario were to occur whilst being shipped on an aeroplane, the outcome may be catastrophic. For this reason, commercial airlines are now required to restrict the transport of battery packs which exceed a threshold power output rating. One approach to addressing this problem has been to manually disconnect the circuitry within the battery pack which connects multiple battery modules together so that the overall potential power output capacity of the battery pack may be minimized in the event of a short circuit. However, as this solution requires manual manipulation of the electric circuitry within the battery pack prior to shipping and then manually reconnecting the electrical circuitry within the battery pack again once shipped, such a solution is considered to be unduly complicated and costly.

Battery pack system for electrically connecting a battery pack to a machine


Present novel and non-trivial system, device, and method for recording a modification of an existing route plan are disclosed. The disclosed system may be comprised of a flight management system (“FMS”), at least one human-machine interface (“HMI”) device, at least one display unit, and a route modification generator (“RMG”). The disclosed device may be comprised of the RMG configured to perform the disclosed method, where such method may be comprised of receiving a request to modify an existing route plan; retrieving the route plan from the FMS; generating a message data set representative of one or more pre-formatted messages having one or more visually-conspicuous, user-interactive variable fields; updating the message data set in response to a user's selection of each field; sending the updated data set to the display unit; receiving a pilot's authorization to modify the route plan, and sending the accepted, modified flight plan to the FMS.

Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the field of aircraft display units that present flight plan information to the pilot or flight crew of an aircraft.
Description of the Related Art
An aircraft may be equipped with a flight management system ("FMS") for storing and providing the pilot with flight information such as, but not limited to, an approved flight plan. There is more than one method from which the flight plan information may be entered into the FMS. In one method, a pilot may manually enter waypoint information, where a sequence of waypoints may define the flight plan. In another method, the flight plan may be automatically uplinked into the FMS by air traffic control ("ATC") or a flight dispatch center of the owner or operator of the aircraft through the use of a communication datalink.
A flight plan may be modified at any time during the flight. One such method of modifying the flight plan includes the use of controller-pilot data link communications ("CPDLC") in which ATC may communicate with the flight crew through the datalink system. Those skilled in the art understand that clearances transmitted via datalink communications may be limited to a small set of messages (potentially several hundred messages) in a structured format. The message formats may be controlled by an aviation industry standard(s) which may evolve slowly under a strict version control process. Because message formats may be highly structured, the FMS could be configured with a software program(s) which parses and interprets the messages. Furthermore, the FMS could be configured with a means to provide the pilot (E.G., a multi-function control display unit ("MCDU")) for accepting and/or rejecting a proposed modification.
Although an ATC-proposed modification may be uplinked to the flight crew, there may be areas or regions of the world where datalink communications are not available. Alternatively, the physical layout of the cockpit and location of the MCDU may cause the pilot to become distracted and lose focus on flying the aircraft and/or lose his or her ability to maintain situational awareness by keeping his or her attention directed straight ahead. While tactical and strategic flight displays (e.g., colloquially referred to as primary flight displays and navigation displays, respectively) are located directly in the pilot's forward field of view, the FMS MCDU on many aircraft may be found in a location adjacent to the pilot's lap. If the ATC proposal is uplinked from which the pilot has no option but to respond, the distraction caused by the pilot shifting his or her attention downward and to the left or right to view and respond may be detrimental to situational awareness. If the pilot wishes to orally communicate his acknowledgement of the modified flight plan, his or her oral acknowledgement will not modify the flight plan stored in the FMS, creating another potential loss of situational awareness; moreover, if the pilot has selected a "VNAV" and/or "LNAV" mode on a mode control panel associated with an auto flight system, an autopilot may not effectuate any changes of the modified flight plan without the modified flight plan being stored in the FMS.

Aircraft recording system, device, and method responsive to a new command not stated in a flight plan


A cleaning system and method of cleaning filters that removes the ash in the plugged regions is disclosed. The filter is subjected to vibrations, which serve to loosen trapped and packed retentate from the filter. The loosened retentate is then captured by a collection bin. The cleaning system can be integral with the intended application, such as within an automobile. In another embodiment, the cleaning system is a separate cleaning station, where the filter is removing from its intended application, cleaned, and then reinstalled.

In many applications, there is a need to effectively and efficiently clean filters. In particular, there is a need to clean expensive filters, restoring them to a condition in which the filters can be reused. Additionally, many filters are difficult to clean using conventional means. A common method of cleaning filters uses forced air to blow off the retentate. There are a number of disadvantages to using forced air for filter cleaning.
First, forced air methods and systems generate airborne particles and dust that may pose health and environmental hazards. Many forced air cleaning systems require large and expensive secondary dust collection and filtration systems.
Second, forced air is not always effective at removing retentate from filters. In particular, filters with small pores, channels, pleats, or the like; or filters in which the retentate has become sintered, stuck, or otherwise adhered to itself or the filter surface may not effectively be cleaned by the use of forced air.
Third, forced air filter cleaning methods are ineffective at removing retentate packed in areas of the filter that experience little-to-no airflow.
Finally, ineffective filter cleaning reduces the useful life of the filter, and may cause efficiency losses or damage to the systems in which the improperly cleaned filters are used.
While there are many types of filters, diesel particulate filters, in particular, are especially difficult to clean using forced air. Diesel particulate filters are used to reduce soot emissions from a wide range of sources, including internal combustion engines. Although there are many types of diesel particulate filters, the most common are ceramic honeycomb-type wall-flow filters. These filters may be cordierite, silicon carbide, mullite, aluminum titanate, or any other suitable material. The wall-flow filters generally contain thousands of small channels, the walls of which are composed of a porous material. The ends of the channels may be alternately blocked at opposite ends of the filter (checkerboard pattern). Particulate-laden exhaust that enters the open end of a filter inlet channel is forced to flow through the porous filter walls to the adjacent outlet channel. The soot particles in the exhaust are trapped in the wall pores or in a cake layer along the channel surface.
In addition to ceramic wall-flow filters, a number of other diesel particulate filters exist including metal foam, sintered metal, and fiber-based (ceramic, glass, paper, and others) filters. These filters may contain pleats, channels, or a porous matrix, among other configurations.
Diesel particulate filters are effective at trapping in excess of 99% of engine-out soot in some cases. The trapped soot is periodically or continuously removed from the filter by regeneration. The regeneration process oxidizes the soot, but leaves incombustible ash behind.
Over time, the incombustible ash builds up in the filter, either in a layer along the filter walls, or in a plug at the back of the filter channels. Ash generally consists of metallic components, originating in lubricant additives, such as Mg, Ca, and Zn forming various sulfates, phosphates, and oxides. Trace metals in fuels (Na, K, Ca, and other elements found in biofuels for example) and engine wear metals and corrosion particles may also contribute. In cases where fuel-borne additives are used for filter regeneration, such as Ce, Fe, Pt, and others, these elements may also contribute significantly to ash accumulation in diesel particulate filters.
The build-up of ash restricts exhaust flow, increases exhaust backpressure, and negatively impacts engine fuel consumption. The ash further reduces the filter's soot storage capacity. In extreme cases, filter plugging can cause excessive exhaust backpressure leading to failure of the engine, exhaust, or machine system. One means of mitigating the negative effects of ash build-up on the filter and system (engine, vehicle, etc.) performance is to clean the filter, i.e., to remove the ash.
Common systems and methods employed to clean diesel particulate filters include forward and reverse blowing, through the use of forced air. Additionally, the filter may be heated (generally up to 650 C) to oxidize and remove soot as well. While filter heating is effective at removing the soot, it is relatively ineffective at removing ash at these temperatures.
One reason that diesel particulate filters are difficult to clean is due to the manner in which the ash accumulates in the filter, as well as its composition. Initially, beginning with a clean filter, the ash accumulates in a thin layer along the filter walls. This thin layer or membrane may actually provide a reduction in filter pressure drop when the filter is also loaded with soot, as the ash layer may prevent soot from accumulating in the filter pores (depth filtration). Generally, the beneficial ash membrane is formed with less than 15 g/L specific ash loading, resulting in an ash layer that is on the order of 50 microns thick; however the pressure drop benefits may be realized with much thinner ash layers and lower specific ash loadings. Depending on the ash composition and properties, these values may differ, however.
As more ash accumulates in the filter, the pressure drop may increase significantly, such that any initial benefit is lost, and for a given level of soot load, the pressure drop across a particulate filter containing soot and ash is greater than the pressure drop across a filter containing the same amount of soot but no ash. Specific ash levels above 25-30 g/L may result in a significant increase in filter pressure drop, loss of soot storage capacity, as well as increase in regeneration frequency.
At these elevated ash levels, the majority of the ash (75% or more) may be packed toward the back of the filter, forming plugs in the filter channels. In some cases, for filters with 150,000 miles of on-road use, the ash may completely plug over 50% of the length of the DPF channels. The ash accumulated in the channel end-plugs may also pack, sinter, or fuse together or to the filter surface. As the ash accumulated in the plugs completely blocks the flow of exhaust through the ash-plugged region of the filter, it contributes significantly to filter pressure drop, generally more so than the porous ash accumulated in a thin layer along the filter walls.
Considering the ash distribution in the DPF, an ideal cleaning process is one that removes all of the ash from the plugs, but leaves a small thin layer along the channel walls. Removing the ash from the end plugs significantly increases the available area for soot deposition, and reduces pressure drop. Leaving a thin layer of ash along the filter walls, preserves the beneficial effect of the ash membrane from preventing soot depth filtration, and provides some reduction in pressure drop.
Conventional forced air systems accomplish exactly the opposite of the ideal cleaning method proposed above. These systems and methods remove much of the ash in the layer along the channel walls (region of the DPF subject to highest flows), but are ineffective at removing ash in the plugged regions (most of the ash) of the filter which experience no, or negligible, flows.
Therefore, an improved cleaning system and method for use with filters, and particularly diesel particulate filters, is needed.

Method and system for removing retentate from filters


A semi-automatic teeing device includes a cylindrical housing having a gas inlet port connectable to a gas pressure source; a removable cover for sealed engagement with the housing so as to define therewith a sealable container; a tee mounted within a central support portion of the cover; air-pressure-operated apparatus located within the container for moving the tee between an at-rest position, and a primed position in which the tee supports a practice golf ball at a useful height; and an air-pressure control, responsive to the presence of a practice golf ball on the tee, to substantially seal the container so as to activate the air-pressure-operated apparatus to move the tee from the at-rest position to the primed position and operative, upon removal of the ball from the tee, to release the air pressure within the container, thereby to permit the return of the tee to the at rest position.

Golf has been a very popular game for many years now. In addition to playing on an actual golf course, golfers wishing to improve their skills often practice at a driving range, especially when practicing their tee shots. Normally, practicing golfers must repeatedly bend or stoop down to select a ball and to set it on a tee for each practice shot. This can be tiring, and interrupts the golfer's rhythm in repeating his practice shots. Further, it makes a practice session take longer, a disadvantage from the point of view of the proprietor of the golfing range. Automatic teeing would bring significant advantage to all parties.
Numerous systems and devices for automatic teeing have been patented. U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,176 to Lipson discloses a "Pneumatically Operated Golf Ball Tee" in which the golf ball is levitated by a continuous, upward, positive air flow from a hole or tube in the practice station. Since, however, it is not possible to pneumatically support a golf ball without some rotation or positional oscillation of the ball, it does not provide the desired stable target for proper golf practice. U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,383 to Brown discloses an "Apparatus For Placing A Golf Ball On A Tee" using negative air pressure or vacuum to pick up and hold a golf ball on a practice tee and stand the tee and ball up for a practice shot. While fully automated, this apparatus employs a four way valve and intricate pneumatics to control its operation. It is likely to be complicated and costly in practice. Both systems require an air pump, which is likely to be noisy and not conducive to the concentration golfers require for practice and play.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,537 to Adam, entitled "Teeing Device" discloses an apparatus for semi-automatically teeing up golf balls utilizing very low air pressure in order to create a positive air pressure so as to elevate a hollow tee supported by and connected to a flexible, thin walled inflatable chamber located within a recess. A hollow tee, on which a ball is supported when the device is used, is affixed to a top portion of the chamber, by gluing or other permanent means.
The use of an inflatable chamber as proposed by Adam, causes a number of problems, among which are the difficulty of replacing the hollow tee, the difficulty of disassembly of the device for cleaning and maintenance, the tendency of the chamber to become flooded with water when used in outdoor ranges in wet climates and the inoperability of the device when even slightly flooded, and the additional difficulty of draining the chamber in order to render it usable. Furthermore, while Adam provides means for adjusting the height of the tee, access to the height adjustment means requires removal of the artificial turf beneath which the device is installed.
Adam also provides an air supply from beneath the chamber, such that the air supply is susceptible to the ingress of water. This arrangement also transmits noise due to the acoustic energy of the flowing air, which results in a less than aesthetically pleasing experience for a user.


A computer system having a wireless keyboard which transmits make-break signals to the computer system. The wireless keyboard and/or computer system being adapted to have television (or other remotely controllable devices) commands mapped into the wireless keyboard such that the wireless keyboard can provide standard computer keyboard commands to the computer and also remotely control another remotely controllable device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless computer keyboard device which incorporates the functionality of a wireless remote. More particularly, the present invention relates to a computer system that has a computer mode and at least one other mode, such as a television (TV) mode, game mode, video phone mode, et cetera, that incorporates a wireless remote control and/or a wireless keyboard wherein the wireless remote control functionality can be accessed from the wireless keyboard.
2. Background of the Invention
A personal computer/television (PC/TV) convergence device is a fully functional computer integrated with television functionality, providing TV viewing (via broadcast, cable, satellite, VCR, digital disk, via modem, VBI, or other broadcast media) and personal computing functionality. The convergence of computer and television functionalities provides a user access to television programs, to computer related functionality, and to the Internet.
A PC/TV convergence device may comprise a fully functional computer which includes memory, a microprocessor, hard drive, floppy drive, fax-modem, CD-ROM player, keyboard, monitor, power supply, mouse, gamepad/joy stick, microphone, USB, DVD player, etc. The computer is interfaced with a television functionality module so that a television's/monitor's normal National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) signal is converted to a scan "video graphics adapter" (VGA) signal or the computer's scan VGA signal is converted to an NTSC interface signal.
The PC/TV convergence device is controlled by the computer's operating system (OS). Thus, the monitor can display both TV programs and computer applications either at the same time or separately. Furthermore, the convergence of a PC and TV functions into a single system permits the utilization of the communications bandwidth, mass storage and graphics applications of the computer to deliver, store and display applications within a television viewing environment.
The PC/TV is a user interactive device. For example, when a user is watching TV he can interact with the program and download information from another source (besides a TV station) about, among other things, the program being watched. Such information can originate from a web site or via phone lines or other data providers.
At present, when a television and a personal computer operate as separate devices, the TV may incorporate a remote control. A standard TV remote control may control a variety of functions of or related to a TV. The remote control transmits infrared (IR) signals to the TV indicating which button on the remote control was pressed.
There also exists wireless keyboards for use with a personal computer. One example of a wireless keyboard is and IR keyboard. An IR keyboard allows a user to operate the computer without a wire connection between the IR keyboard and the computer. When a key is pressed on an IR keyboard, an IR "make" signal may be repetitiously sent from the keyboard IR transmitter and be received by an IR receiver on or connected to the computer. When the same key is released from being pressed, an IR "break" signal associated with the key is transmitted from the IR keyboard to the computer. The combination of the make and break signals informs the computer that the key on the IR keyboard was pressed, held for a certain amount of time and then released.
One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the transmissions from an IR remote control and an IR keyboard are formatted differently. And, if a computer and a television are combined or converged into a single device, present devices would require a separate IR remote control and an IR keyboard to operate the two converged systems.
Thus, a problem associated with combining a computer with a TV system (or any remote controlled device) is that a separate remote control is necessary to remotely operate the non-computer device and a wireless (IR) keyboard may be required to operate the computer. In other words, the IR computer keyboard could not be used to control the remotely controlled device.
Another drawback is that present IR keyboards do not provide infrared signals that are the same as those produced by present day IR remote control devices.
Another drawback is that remote control commands are not presently mapped into an IR computer keyboard.

Method and apparatus for mapping remote control buttons onto keyboard stroke combinations


A cleaning devices for cleaning objects such as paint brushes. The cleaning device includes a head portion positioned along a longitudinal axis and a handle portion connected to the head portion and positioned along the longitudinal axis. The head portion may include an upper surface; a flat lower surface opposite the upper surface; a pair of side surfaces joining the upper and lower surfaces. The handle portion may include a front handle portion; and a back handle portion, the front handle portion connected to the back head portion. The flat lower surface of the head portion includes a plurality of holes for propelling liquid in a forward direction. The flat lower surface of the head portion further includes a plurality of groups of bristles extending perpendicular outward.

Brushes, such as paint brushes, are typically used for surface finishing. The bristles of the brush absorb paint (or any other liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition that, after application to a surface in a thin layer, converts to a solid film) and transfer it to the surface. To maintain the quality and durability of the paint brush, when painting is completed for the day, the bristles of the paint brush must cleaned or else the paint will dry on the bristles rendering it useless for further painting. As brushes used by professional painters can be expensive, it is cost-effective to clean the bristles of each brush after it has been used.
Paint brushes are typically cleaned by placing the bristles of the paint brush on the edge of the paint can and wiping or scraping the paint off the bristles into the paint can. This process may be done multiple times for each side of the brush to ensure as much paint is removed from the bristles as possible. The remaining paint is then washed off with water and the bristles are allowed to air dry.
Other methods of cleaning paint brushes involve spraying water from a hose, such as a garden hose, at the bristles. This method is haphazard, messy, and fails to clean every part of the bristles or other paint-carrying surface. Additionally, this method is wasteful of water as only some of the water comes into contact with the paint brush and a big percentage of the water shoots away from the paint brush, making the roller spin, splashing watered paint in every direction causing a messy and environmentally hazardous situation.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is a device for cleaning the soiled objects, such as the bristles of brushes, which uses less water, prevents dirtied liquid from the cleaning, such as watered paint, from splashing in every direction, and is time efficient for an individual to use.


A hand-held rotary grating device is configured to grate soft cheeses that have traditionally been exceedingly difficult or impossible to grate. A cylindrical grating barrel is rotateably inserted within a grater housing. The barrel has an advantageous barrel aspect ratio—i.e., the ratio of the diameter of the barrel to the hopper width is sufficiently large that the grated food material falls through the opening of the barrel rather than accumulating and retarding the grating motion. The effective aspect ratio of the barrel is greater than approximately 1.5, preferably between approximately 1.5 and 2.5, and most preferably about 2.0. The barrel includes a graspable handle that is collapsible within the body of the barrel, and which includes a bearing surface that prevents axial movement of the barrel within the housing when the handle is extended, but which allows movement (and removal) of the barrel when the handle is collapsed.

It is often convenient to utilize a hand-held rotary-type grater to grate cheese and other such food products, particularly when a large volume of grated cheese is required. Such systems typically include a grating barrel that the user manually rotates with respect to the grater housing and which includes a series of cutting perforations or the like to cut away segments of cheese placed in a hopper.
Such prior art hand-held rotary graters are unsatisfactory in a number of respects. Most notably, while these devices work fairly well on hard cheeses such as parmesan, mizithra, etc., they are ineffective at grating soft cheeses such as mozzarella, cheddar, jack, and the like. More particularly, prior art graters tend to produce large strings of soft cheese segments during grating which quickly interfere with each other and the inner surfaces of the barrel, retarding the discharge of the cheese from the device and thereby rendering the grater ineffective. That is, while some prior art graters are capable of grating soft cheese, the cheese segments produced by such graters accumulate within the barrel rather than falling through, giving unsatisfactory results.
Furthermore, while some prior art graters allow the barrel to be removed from the housing (i.e., to facilitate cleaning), this often requires the user to unthread the handle from the unit or the barrel, which may necessitate the user manually holding the barrel stationary.
Accordingly, hand-held rotary graters are therefore needed to overcome these and other limitations of the prior art.

Methods and apparatus for an improved rotary grater


A multiple band fastener and method for securing sections of hair of a human being in sections and for aligning hair bands. The apparatus is a semicircle headband that has a plurality of hair bands integrally attached and aligned longitudinally along its top. In use, the headband is attached to the hair and hair sections are neatly aligned and secured to the multiple band fastener by placing each corresponding hair section into the corresponding hair band. Each band always remains aligned with each other and the multiple band hair fastener is easily removable and reusable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention and method relates to a multiple band hair fastener. More particularly a semicircle headband with a plurality of hair bands integrally attached to its top for keeping hair sections in rows and hair bands aligned.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many people like to put their hair up in various styles. One way to put the hair up is to twist a plurality of sections of hair around the face and secure them with hair bands. This process is effective and stylish but it is difficult for a non-hairstylist to achieve, especially when trying to align each hair section with the previous and trying to keep the bands in alignment. It is also a time consuming process.


Embodiments herein disclose methods for selecting one or more paths for routing application traffic based on application performance metrics for hosted applications. In an embodiment, to select the best path, the available paths can be monitored to understand the performance of specific applications through those paths. Subsequently, the performance data is used to derive an application link score for any given combination of application and path, wherein the application link score is generated as a function of packet delay and packet loss. The ALS is then be used to determine the best path for a given application.

Modern businesses with distributed branches, such as banks or retail locations, are typically interconnected via an enterprise wide area network (WAN). The WAN can be implemented as a physical network or can be implemented in software as an overlay network on top of the physical network. Such a network would consist of hundreds or thousands of nodes, with some designated hub nodes acting as gateways for other nodes in the network. For example, an enterprise WAN of a bank might have an east coast hub to which hundreds of bank branches along the east coast are connected and a west coast hub to which hundreds of banks branches along the west coast are connected. In such an interconnected network, there are possibly many paths possible for users' traffic to be routed through nodes in the WAN to its final destination. And the best path for a given traffic may vary dynamically.
Network path selection involves applying a metric to decide on the best path to choose from available options. The nature of the metric used for path selection may vary depending on the need for path selection. For example, performance-based path selection involves using one or more performance metrics to choose the best available path.
Typically, for available paths between any two nodes in a network, the performance of the paths can be monitored using active or passive monitoring techniques. Active monitoring involves injecting test packets into the network environment through the various paths and measuring performance based on standard performance parameters. And, passive monitoring involves monitoring network traffic data over a period of time to understand the performance of different paths. A metric is derived based on the performance and is compared for different available paths to choose the best path.
Active monitoring can increase the load on network infrastructure and is not ideal in all circumstances. And, passive monitoring can involve collecting large volumes of data and may be limited by the fact that monitoring can only happen on the part of the network that is visible to the node monitoring the traffic. Further, as networks become more dynamic in nature, the monitoring mechanism that is more suitable can change based on changing conditions in the network. Furthermore, as networks become more complex and dynamic, the mechanisms for path selection must be adaptable to changing conditions in the network as well. For example, in enterprise wide WAN networks, particularly those that are software defined (e.g., Software Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN)), the configuration of the network can change from time to time depending on the network policies. The monitoring and path selection criteria must adapt to changes accordingly. Still further, the mechanisms for performance based path selection should be applicable to applications hosted outside of the network. For example, in an SD-WAN network, path selection mechanisms should apply to Internet hosted applications, sometimes referred to as Software as a Service (SaaS) applications.

Application performance based path-selection using dynamic metrics


A fuser for a laser printer. A heating lamp is disposed in a reflective hood. A heating roller is disposed under the heating lamp and adjacent to the reflective hood. The heating roller is separated from the heating lamp by a predetermined distance. An axial axis of the heating roller is parallel to that of the heating lamp. A pressurization roller is disposed under and rotatably abuts the heating roller. An axial axis of the pressurization roller is parallel to that of the heating roller.

The invention relates to a fuser, and in particular to a fuser for a laser printer.
Generally, a conventional laser printer bonds toner (carbon powder) to print media sheets using heating and pressure. A heat source of the conventional laser printer may comprise a halogen lamp or a ceramic heater.
Referring to FIG. 1, after a media sheet P enters a conventional laser printer 1, a laser scan unit (LSU) 11 projects laser light carrying image data to a sensitization roller 12. Carbon powder in a toner cartridge 13 is fixed to an imaging area on the sensitization roller 12 by operation of a roller 14. The rotating sensitization roller 12 continuously applies the carbon powder having the image data to the media sheet P. The media sheet P then passes through a fuser 15 and the carbon powder thereon is securely bonded to the media sheet P thereby.
Referring to FIG. 2, the fuser 15 comprises a hollow heating roller 16, a pressurization roller 17, and a halogen lamp 18. The halogen lamp 18 is disposed in the hollow heating roller 16, and the pressurization roller 17 rotatably contacts the hollow heating roller 16. When the carbon powder is bonded to the paper sheet P by the fuser 15, the halogen lamp 18 generates and outputs heat to a peripheral surface of the hollow heating roller 16 by thermal radiation. By rotation of the hollow heating roller 16 and pressurization roller 17, heating of the hollow heating roller 16, and pressurization of the pressurization roller 17, the carbon powder is continuously and securely bonded to the media sheet P.
The fuser 15, however, has many drawbacks. Transmitted to the peripheral surface of the hollow heating roller 16 by thermal radiation, heat generated by the halogen lamp 18 must be significantly increased. Moreover, as the halogen lamp 18 is disposed in the hollow heating roller 16, the hollow heating roller 16 is required to have a predetermined size. Namely, the hollow heating roller 16 has a large peripheral surface area. At this point, time required to transmit the heat from the halogen lamp 18 to the peripheral surface of the hollow heating roller 16 is increased. Accordingly, preheating time required by the fuser 15 is increased, causing increased electrical consumption of the laser printer 1 and inconvenience. Additionally, as the fuser 15 is not provided with any effective thermal insulation, much heat is dissipated into the laser printer 1 from the peripheral surface of the hollow heating roller 16, reducing the efficiency of thermal utilization of the halogen lamp 18 and increasing the temperature of other elements. Thus, the laser printer 1 is easily damaged.
Additionally, conventional fusers may use a ceramic heater rather than a halogen lamp. The ceramic heater, however, is very expensive. Moreover, the inner structure of the fuser disposed with the ceramic heater is complicated.

Fuser with a substantially u-shaped reflective hood for a laser printer


A network system server that provides password synchronization between a main data store and a plurality of secondary data stores is disclosed. The network system server includes a security server, which is coupled to the main data store, a plurality of clients, which is coupled to the security server for accessing the main data store wherein each client maintains a unique, modifiable password, a password synchronization server, which is coupled to security server and the plurality of secondary data stores, and a password repository, which is coupled to the password synchronization server, that stores the passwords. One of the secondary data stores can retrieve the passwords via the password synchronization server so that each client is able to maintain a single, unique password among the plurality of secondary data stores. Password retrieval is instigated by at least one of the plurality of secondary data stores regardless of the current password status of the secondary data stores.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to data processing systems and, more particularly, to resource sharing among data processing systems with password synchronization. More specifically still, the present invention relates to providing password synchronization between a general repository to a plurality of local resources for each user within a client/server system.
2. Related Prior Art
Computer networks are well known in the arts and continue to grow in both size and complexity. This growth is fueled by more computers being connected to networks and connecting networks to other networks. This is done in order to enable computers to work together efficiently, to simplify sharing resources such as files, applications, printers, and even special computers.
Unfortunately, many networks contain computers from different manufacturers, which complicates the task of getting computers to work together efficiently. Computers in such "multi-vendor" networks are usually difficult to operate together because they do not use common data formats or common security mechanisms. The lack of a common network naming scheme also limits the degree to which computers can share information.
In order to overcome many of the above problems, the Open System Foundations ("OSF") Group has been formed that has developed the Distributed Computing Environment ("DCE") that transforms a group of networked computers into a single, coherent computing engine. DCE masks differences among different kinds of computers, thereby enabling users to develop and execute distributed applications that can tap into a network's latent power, using widespread resources such as storage devices, CPU's, and memory. Because distributed parts of these applications can execute concurrently, they can be much more powerful than single processor applications that must act on data sequentially.
Unfortunately, even distributed computing environments have their own problems such as how to protect data that must be shared among multiple users. Additionally, events must be synchronized between separate computers and computers with differing data formats and file-naming schemes must be allowed to work cooperatively one with another. DCE overcomes many of these problems and provide solutions to these vexing issues.
DCE is well known in the industry, an example of such is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of DCE application programming interface 1 that provides for a DCE file service 3. DCE is a layer of software that masks differences between various kinds of hosts. As a layer, it sits on top of a host operating system 5 and networking services for network transport 7. The DCE distributed services, which include security 9, directory 11, and time 13, remote procedure call ("RPC") 15 and thread services 17. RPC 15 and threads 17 are base DCE services that are available on every system on which DCE is installed. FIG. 1 further shows how the DCE file service is similar to an application that uses the underlying DCE services for distribution. DCE directory service further consists of a cell directory service 19 ("CDS") and a global directory service ("GDS") 21, which programs use by calling the directory service ("XDS") application programming interface ("API").
Typically, each user must first prove his or her identity by using a secret password to log onto the local host. The local host uses the password, which is known only to the user and the local host, as proof that the user is who he or she claims to be. Once the user logs onto the local host, the host resources are usually protected further by means of permissions or privileges associated with each file. The permissions regulate whether a user can read, write or execute that file. The number of users on a single local host is typically small enough so that the host alone can manage all of the passwords and permission functions.
A distributed computing environment, on the other hand, might support thousands of users accessing files on any of hundreds or thousands of local hosts in the environment. Because it is impractical to maintain every DCE user's security information on every host in the environment, DCE serves security information from a centralized database. This database, along with a distributed set of daemons and libraries, compose the DCE security service.
When servers enforce security, each client must provide its user's identity and access rights. These are provided on the first RPC call, and sometimes in highly secure environments, on every RPC call. Because access to every DCE resource--directories, files, printers, and so on--is controlled by a server, the server's demands for authentication and authorization require comprehensive network security. This applies to DCE servers, such as those of the CDS, as well as user application servers. The server verifies the clients' authenticity and authorization before allowing access to the resource.
Typically, security service functions are built into applications. This means that the clients call local security routines to request authentication information from a security server and pass it to other servers. Servers also call security routines to verify authentication information and enforce authorization. Authentication is the ability to prove one's identity to someone else. Authorization is the ability to regulate access based on one's identity. Passwords are used to ensure authenticity and then to gain authorization.
In DCE, the security service, which is also known as a registry, serves as a single source of security and manages information about users, groups, and the like. This gives a company a single place to define and manage users. One limitation to this approach is the propagation of passwords. Most registries only store an encrypted version of the user's password. Often, though, the encryption mechanism at each registry is different than any of the other registries, especially in a system where dissimilar registries from different vendors are being used. Thus, a password encrypted by the DCE registry may be unusable by another registry manufactured by someone other than the vendor of the DCE main registry. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to be able to propagate the plain-text password securely from the DCE registry to registries that synchronize with the DCE registry so that other registries can then encrypt the password in their own format. This would allow a user to avoid having multiple passwords, typically one for security registry, and avoid the necessity of updating these passwords manually in each registry to insure they are consistent across all security registries.
Further, the DCE registry does not provide a way of populating a new non-DCE or foreign registry that wishes to populate its database with users and passwords from the DCE registry. This is because the DCE itself typically only stores encrypted passwords and the new registry cannot obtain the plain-text passwords it needs to populate its database until an update occurs to a given user's password. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a system that overcomes the prior problem of not being able to propagate passwords to new registries until an update to a given user's password has occurred.

Retrieving plain-text passwords from a main registry by a plurality of foreign registries

International Business Machines Corporation


In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method for controlling an exhaust system includes determining an air to fuel ratio within a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, measuring a temperature of an exhaust gas flow from the internal combustion engine into the exhaust system and determining a specific heat for the exhaust gas flow in a first segment of the exhaust system based on the temperature of the exhaust gas flow from the internal combustion engine and the air to fuel ratio, wherein the first segment is upstream of the particulate filter. The method also includes determining a first temperature of the exhaust gas in the first segment based on the specific heat for the exhaust gas flow and selectively controlling a regeneration process for the particulate filter using the determined temperature of the exhaust gas at the selected location.

An engine control module of an internal combustion engine controls the mixture of fuel and air supplied to combustion chambers within cylinders of the engine. After the air/fuel mixture is ignited, combustion takes place and later the combustion gases exit the combustion chambers through exhaust valves. The combustion gases are directed by an exhaust manifold to a catalytic converter or other components of exhaust aftertreatment systems. Some engines optionally may include a forced air induction device, such as a turbocharger, that is positioned between the exhaust manifold and exhaust aftertreatment components.
Manufacturers of internal combustion engines, particularly diesel engines, are presented with the challenging task of complying with current and future emission standards for the release of oxides of nitrogen, particularly nitrogen monoxide, as well as unburned and partially oxidized hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and other particulates. In order to reduce emissions of internal combustion engines, an exhaust aftertreatment system is used to reduce constituents from the exhaust gas.
Exhaust gas aftertreatment systems typically include one or more aftertreatment devices, such as particulate filters, catalytic converters, mixing elements and urea/fuel injectors. Control of the exhaust gas temperature can affect the performance of components within the exhaust system. For example, a particulate filter is configured to remove carbon particles or particulates that result from incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel, also referred to as soot, from the exhaust gas. Particulate filters are typically designed to accumulate a selected amount of soot within the device. Particulate filters may be configured to periodically burn off the accumulated soot through a regeneration process. The regeneration process may be initiated by increasing a temperature of the exhaust gas entering the particulate filter, wherein the elevated temperature causes the soot to burn. Thus, accurate control of the exhaust gas temperature at selected locations in the exhaust system can lead to improved performance and reduced emissions.

Exhaust system and method for controlling an exhaust system


An optical power meter including a photodiode having a surface for receiving a beam of light, a thermo-electric cooler for maintaining the photodiode at a predetermined temperature, and a current monitor for measuring a drive current passing through the thermo-electric cooler allows dark current drift arising from a varying thermal gradient across the active region of the photodiode to be corrected, thus improving stability of the optical power meter. More specifically, by monitoring the TEC drive current, and applying a correction factor to the optical power readings, the stability of optical power readings is improved by an order of magnitude.

A photodiode is a type of photodetector capable of converting light into either current or voltage, depending on the mode of operation. More specifically, a photodiode is a photosensitive semiconductor diode typically having either a p-n junction or a PIN structure. When a photon having sufficient energy is incident on the photodiode it is absorbed and an electron-hole pair is generated. When an electric field is applied across the photodiode, the electron-hole pairs are swept away, thus inducing a photocurrent.
Most photodiodes are designed to be used in either the photoconductive mode (reverse biased) or the photovoltaic mode (no bias). In the photovoltaic mode, the flow of photocurrent out of the device is restricted and a voltage builds up. A current flows when the device is loaded. In the photoconductive mode, the drift of carriers induces a reverse current dependent on the incident optical power, which is delivered to an outer circuit.
In general, the total current passing through the photodiode is the sum of the photocurrent (i.e., the electrical current that flows through the photodiode as a result of the exposure to the photons having sufficient energy) and the dark current (i.e., the electrical current that flows through the photodiode even when it is not exposed to the photons having sufficient energy). In fact, dark current, which is a property of all photodiodes and is due to the random generation of electrons and holes within the depletion region of the photodiode, is one of the main sources of noise in devices using photodiodes. Accordingly, it is advantageous to minimize dark current in order to maximize the sensitivity of these devices.
In general, dark current is primarily a function of the semiconductor material, the size (e.g., active area) of the photodiode, the temperature of the photodiode, and the bias voltage across the photodiode. For example, dark current typically increases with increases in temperature. Accordingly, one method of reducing dark current in devices having photodiodes is to cool the photodiode. For example, some high sensitivity optical power meters, with sensitivities below −80 dBm, mount a thermo-electric cooler (TEC) directly under the photodiode substrate in order to stabilize the dark current present in the photodiode.
FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of an optical power meter (OPM) having a TEC cooled photodiode. The OPM, which is a device commonly used to measure the power in an optical signal in a fiber optic system, includes the TEC cooled photodiode 110, an amplifier 120, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 130, a controller 140, and a display 180. The photodiode 110 is formed of a semiconductor material selected for the particular application. For example, semiconductor materials such as silicon (Si), Germanium (Ge), and/or Indium-Gallium-Arsenide (InGaAs) are commonly used in OPMs since they are sensitive to light at the wavelengths and power levels common to fiber optics. When the photodiode 110 is exposed to light at the appropriate wavelength, a photocurrent is generated, which is dependent on the power of the incident light. The total current passing through the photodiode, including the photocurrent, is amplified by and converted to a voltage by the amplifier 120. The resultant voltage is converted to a digital signal by the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 130. The controller 140 processes the digital signal to generate a result (e.g., an optical power reading) and sends the result to the display 180. Notably, although dark current is significantly reduced by TEC cooling, it is still present. Accordingly, an initial dark current measurement wherein the optical input to the OPM is blocked is typically obtained and stored. The controller 140 then uses this initial dark current reading to calculate more accurate readings for subsequent optical power measurements (e.g., subsequent power measurements are computed after subtracting the initial dark current from the total photodiode current).

Method for correcting for dark current variation in TEC cooled photodiodes


An optical integrator has characteristics to suppress influence of relative positioning error of a pair of optical members on an illuminance distribution and on a shape of an illumination field. The optical integrator is a wavefront splitting type optical integrator having a first optical member and a second optical member in order from the entrance side of light. The first optical member has first entrance surfaces having a refractive power in a first direction and substantially no refractive power in a second direction, and first exit surfaces having a refractive power in the first direction and substantially no refractive power in the second direction. The second optical member has second entrance surfaces having a refractive power in the second direction and substantially no refractive power in the first direction, and second exit surfaces having a refractive power in the second direction and substantially no refractive power in the first direction.

1. Field
One embodiment of the present invention relates to an optical integrator, illumination optical apparatus, exposure apparatus, and exposure method and, more particularly, to an optical integrator suitably applicable to an illumination optical apparatus in exposure apparatus for manufacturing micro devices, such as semiconductor devices, image pickup devices, liquid-crystal display devices, and thin-film magnetic heads, for example, by lithography.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the typical exposure apparatus of this type, a light beam emitted from a light source is guided through a fly's eye lens to form a secondary light source consisting of a large number of light sources on the rear focal plane of the fly's eye lens. Light beams from the secondary light source are guided through an aperture stop disposed in the vicinity of the rear focal plane of the fly's eye lens, to be limited thereby, and then enter a condenser lens. The aperture stop limits the shape and size of the secondary light source to a desired shape and size, according to a desired illumination condition (exposure condition).
The light beams condensed by the condenser lens illuminate a mask with a predetermined pattern therein, in a superposed manner. Light transmitted by the pattern of the mask travels through a projection optical system to be focused on a wafer. In this manner the mask pattern is projected (or transferred) onto the wafer to effect exposure thereof. The pattern formed in the mask is of high integration and a uniform illuminance distribution must be formed on the wafer in order to accurately transfer the microscopic pattern onto the wafer. One of the known exposure apparatus having such a configuration is, for example, the exposure apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,738,129.
An object of the present invention is to provide an optical integrator with characteristics to suppress the influence of relative positioning error of a plurality of optical members on the illuminance distribution and on the shape of the illumination field.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an illumination optical apparatus with high performance capable of illuminating a surface to be illuminated, under a desired illumination condition, using an optical integrator with less influence of relative positioning error of a plurality of optical members on the illuminance distribution and on the shape of the illumination field.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus and exposure method capable of performing good projection exposure under a good illumination condition, using an illumination optical apparatus with high performance adapted to illuminate a surface to be illuminated, under a desired illumination condition.

Optical integrator, illumination optical device, photolithograph, photolithography, and method for fabricating device


A system and method for providing customer service to a website user online, includes downloading a user-state-monitoring object and a user profile from a website to a client site when a website user loads up any web page through the website, wherein the user-state-monitoring object is configured to monitor and analyze the website user's behavioral patterns in real time by comparing the user's actions to a set of pre-defined business rules, and utilizing the user-state-monitoring object to notify an available customer service representative and enable communication between the customer service representative and the website user.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing customer service to website users.
Description of Related Art
As the Internet grows, the Internet has become a major vehicle for transportation of information regarding products and services. This arises because a person can easily obtain information on a variety of products and services from different vendors via the Internet. Hence many Web sites are becoming connected and more corporations are trying to do business on the "Web". Actually, the World Wide Web (WWW), which is now more often abbreviated as the "Web", has become an increasing popularity entertainment and information medium for consumers. The popularity of the WWW has led to the commercialization of this new medium. As credit card security problems are being resolved, the area of electronic sales or Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) has been developing rapidly. The new and exciting point about e-commerce is the ability of every one, almost anywhere on the globe to which a Web connection is available, to access any commercial business offerings catalog implemented as a Web site. Moreover, the user can access this service anytime, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a result, the WWW has become a significant commerce of E-commerce. Venders offer goods and services for sale via various WWW sites.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,149, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, the prior art provides a virtual sales person who is capable of assisting a computer user to complete an on-line sales transaction in a substantially similar manner as a human sales representative. A common practice world in actual physical stores is to have sales representatives or sales persons. These sales representatives or sales persons can help a customer to understand the product and its benefit to the customer, as well as enabling customer to find the needed product quickly. Additionally, the sales representatives or sales persons can advise the customer on the product related issues. Since the sales representative is also an employee of the store, the sales representative should also promote certain products according to the interest of the business and also sell as many products as possible. Unfortunately, when the customer wishes to buy a product through the Internet, only a menu and pictures are shown. No advice, no knowledge, no expertise, no confidence in the purchase is provided. One solution would be to add the Sales Representative function to the Internet virtual store. Currently, the merchant would need to hire 3 staff of human representatives for a 7 day work week, including holidays. Then, the merchant would need a chat system in a call center of some sort for enabling communication from these "human Sales Representatives to the users over the Web. Thus, this solution is difficult and expensive to implement. Therefore, in this invention, a virtual sales representative is provided for interacting with a customer browsing a virtual store Web site. However, the number of users is limited substantially only by the capacity of the server itself because the system is installed in a Web server and preferably serves many users simultaneously. The technology is constrained to being used in low volume sites. The problem that needs to be solved while catering to these sites is that while every attempt must be made to provide virtual sales person who is capable of assisting a computer user to complete an on-line sales transaction in a substantially similar manner as a human sales representative, it is virtually impossible to proportionally increase the capacity of the server itself to correspond to the number of simultaneous visitors on a high-volume website that could easily be a few tens of thousands of customers.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,056, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, there is an alternative technique to provide a system for establishing a live contact between visitors to a website and a representative of the company or organization or individual whose website is being visited. The invention combines the Web with instant message to allow website operators to monitor in real-time how many people are visiting sections of their website, from where and for how long and to proactively approach the visitor with an instant message, thereby engaging the visitor in a dialog with the company representative. The problem that needs to be solved while catering to these sites is that while every attempt must be made to provide website operators to monitor in real-time how many people are visiting sections of their website, from where and for how long and to proactively approach the visitor with an instant message, it is virtually impossible to proportionally increase the capacity of the server itself and sales representatives to monitor the website to correspond to the number of simultaneous visitors on a high-volume website that could easily be a few tens of thousands of customers. The technology is constrained to being used in low volume sites, simply because they require dedicated sales representatives to monitor the website in order to decide which users need to be offered customer service in a proactive manner.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,056, there is an alternative technique to provide a priority-based system wherein Web site visitors are assigned Quality Points based on their interaction with the Web site in order to correctly identify the best users on a Web site that are most likely to generate sales, or are most needy of customer service. Hence the technology can adequately addresses the needs of high volume sites that wish to be proactive in the sale of high margin/cost products. In addition, the invention can provide the intelligent and timely allocation of appropriate Customer Service Representatives (or alternate service mechanisms) by matching a customer's behavioral patterns to the right Customer Service Representative (or other service agent) at the right time to achieve higher levels of customer service. The invention maybe cannot face the problem that it is virtually impossible to proportionally increase the volume of real staff to correspond to the number of simultaneous visitors on a high-volume website that could easily be a few tens of thousands of customers while every attempt must be made to provide proactive (Merchant-driven) customer service and sales. However, in this invention, the system and method just focus on providing sales and customer service to the top 2% of online customers and preferably the top 5%, or top 10% of Web site visitors that can be convinced to buy products online and potentially become paying customers. Besides, the number of users is limited substantially only by the capacity of the server itself because the system is installed in a Web server and preferably serves many users simultaneously. Hence, in this invention, the system and method also face the problem that the system needs enough capacity of the server to monitor the website to correspond to the number of simultaneous visitors on a high-volume website that could easily be a few tens of thousands of customers. It is virtually impossible to proportionally increase the capacity of the server itself and sales representatives to monitor the website to correspond to the number of simultaneous visitors on a high-volume website that could easily be a few tens of thousands of customers.

Method and system utilizing user-state-monitoring objects and relevant data to monitor and provide customer service online


An electronic device having a printed circuit board that must align with and connect to various devices on more than one edge of the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board having an isolation slot that creates a peninsula connection region near one edge of the printed circuit board to enable the printed circuit board to be readily aligned inside the electronic device with the various devices that the printed circuit board mates with. The present invention may also include a travel limit bracket attached to the printed circuit board on either side of the isolation slot in order to limit the amount of travel and twisting of the peninsula connection region. The printed circuit board may also include insertion guide that guide the printed circuit board as it is being mated with a front panel of the electronic device. The printed circuit board of the present invention may also include a photo diode switch means that prevents the electronic device from being turned on unless the printed circuit board is properly installed and the front panel is properly mated with the printed circuit board.

A printed circuit board in a computer chassis is typically connected to various devices within the computer chassis and also to various devices outside of the computer chassis, such as a power cable, a monitor, a modem, a fax machine, a hard drive, a CD ROM, a floppy disk drive, a scanner, a printer, a mouse, a key board, power on/off switch, key board lock button, audio headset connections, microphone connector, volume control knob, etc.
These connections between the printed circuit board and other devices require precise alignment between the printed circuit board connectors and the various device connectors. As a printed circuit board is connected on more than one edge of the board to ever more devices, the alignment issue becomes more critical.
For example, a typical printed circuit board must align with holes in the back side of the computer chassis in order to make connections to a power supply, a monitor, a modem, a printer, a mouse, a keyboard, a back plane board and other I/O devices, while at the same time align with holes in the front or side of the computer chassis to connect with audio headsets and microphone devices, and to allow for various user interface devices, such as a power on/off button, a mute button, a volume control knob, a keyboard lock button, etc. A printed circuit board will usually also connect to various internal devices, such as a hard drive, a CD ROM, a floppy disk drive, etc.
In order for the printed circuit board to connect to many different devices on more than one edge of the printed circuit board, prior solutions to the alignment issue have included precise manufacturing alignment requirements between the printed circuit board, the computer chassis and the different devices to be connected; using separate boards and cable assemblies to accommodate the various connections to different devices; utilizing relatively fragile printed circuit board extensions; eliminating tolerance stack-ups, such as tight tolerance, precision made components by means of highly tooled, precision manufacturing processes. Many of these solutions add to engineering, manufacturing and tooling costs, increase the overall size of the computer chassis, increase the number of parts and add to the cost and complexity of assembly and disassembly.
If the printed circuit board does not align with all of the connections on each edge of the printed circuit board, either one or more of the connections will not be able to be made, or the connections will be forced and will create a torsional twisting of the printed circuit board. Such twisting of the printed circuit board could cause lifting of traces, leads and solder, causing opens in the circuitry on the printed circuit board. Accordingly, there is a need in the field of computer and electronic assemblies for an inexpensive, simple means of alignment between the printed circuit board and the various devices being connected to the printed circuit board. There is a further need for a means of alignment between a printed circuit board and the various devices connected to the printed circuit board that does not significantly add parts, weight or assembly and disassembly complexity or cost.

Method and apparatus for aligning a printed circuit board with a chassis