A portable audio logic deck mechanism with a single driving source includes a power transfer unit transmitting power from the driving source, an interlocking unit selectively transmitting power to a pair of reel tables, a recording/reproducing unit performing recording/reproduction on a tape on reel tables, a first mode converting unit converting the rotational speed and direction of reel tables, a second mode converting unit moving the recording/reproducing unit up or down by interlocking with the first mode converting unit, and an ejecting unit to open/close a door. A pinch roller driving apparatus for a portable audio logic deck to adjust a tape running speed includes a pair of guide brackets, a pair of pinch rollers selectively close-contacting the respective rotation shafts of capstan wheels, and a pinch lever which selectively presses the guide brackets to pivot the pinch rollers by pivoting selectively in contact with both ends of the upper protruding portion according to the position of a head slide. An ejecting apparatus for the portable audio logic deck includes a knob having a lock member of which one end is hooked by the door, an ejection lever of which one end is coupled with the knob and having a first stopper, a head lever having a hooking protrusion fitting to a cam groove of a cam gear and a second stopper to selectively face the first stopper and guide the up/down movements of the magnetic head by interlocking with the rotation of the cam gear.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable audio logic deck mechanism, and a pinch roller driving apparatus and an ejecting apparatus adopted therein, which are operated by a single driving source, and more particularly, to a portable audio logic deck mechanism, and a pinch roller driving apparatus and an ejecting apparatus adopted therein, having an improved structure in which loads applied to a main slider during a power conversion and a mode conversion are reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical portable audio deck mechanism is operated either manually or automatically. The portable audio deck employs a cassette tape as a recording medium to record/reproduce information, and a head operation, a tape running driving, and a mode conversion are performed by a single driving motor.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional portable audio logic deck apparatus comprises a driving source 20, which is fixedly installed at a main base 10 formed of a single motor, a power transfer unit 30 for transferring power generated from the driving source 20, a pair of reel tables 40 on which reels (not shown) of a cassette tape are placed, an interlocking unit 50 for transferring the power to a selected reel table of the pair of reel tables 40 by being engaged with the power transfer unit 30, a magnetic head 60 for performing magnetic recording/reproducing, a mode converting unit 70 for moving up/down of the magnetic head 60 and converting rotational speed and direction of the pair of reel tables 40, and an ejecting unit 80 for loading/unloading the tape.
The power transfer unit 30 comprises a pair of capstan wheels 33 and 34 rotating around a capstan axis (not shown), a main gear 35 rotating interlockingly with one capstan wheel 34, and a belt 31 for linking the driving source 20, a pulley 32 and the capstan wheels 33 and 34. The belt 31 is wound in an anti-rolling position via the pulley 32 to allow the capstan wheels 33 and 34 to rotate in opposing directions from each other. The capstan wheels 33 and 34, respectively, have rotation shafts 36 and 37 which extend to the rear side of the main base 10. Thus, the rotational force of the driving source 20 is delivered to the main gear 35 by the power transfer unit 30.
The interlocking unit 50 includes a plurality of gears and appropriately drives the reel table 40 with the rotational force transferred through the main gear 35 in a forward/reverse-direction play mode or a fast winding mode.
The mode converting unit 70 includes a cam gear 71 having a cam groove 71a and selectively rotates by being interlocked with the main gear 35, and a main slide 73 having a hooking protrusion 73a to be inserted into the cam groove 71a and moves linearly by the rotation of the cam gear 71. The main slide 73 receives an elastic force by an elastic spring 75 toward a position in a stop mode and is converted into an operation mode by moving linearly according to the rotation of the cam gear 71.
The magnetic head 60 is supported by and installed at a head slide 61 and moves up/down by being interlocked with the main slide 73.
The ejecting unit 80 is comprised of a knob 81 for opening/closing a door (not shown), an ejecting slide 83 and levers 85 and 87. Thus, in the stop mode, the door is open by operating the knob 81. In an operation mode, the door is prevented from opening since the one lever 87 is hooked by a stopper 74 which is installed at the main slide 73. Also, a step portion 83a is formed at one end of the ejecting slide 83 to selectively catch the head slide 61, thereby enabling performance of an automatic music sensor (AMS).
As described above, in the conventional portable audio logic deck apparatus having the above structure, since mode conversion, rotation of the pinch roller, and up or down movement of the magnetic head 60 are performed by being interlocked with the movements of the main slide 73, an overload is applied to the cam gear 71 which moves the main slide 73 linearly.
Also, in the ejecting unit 80, since the eject slide 83 and levers 85 and 87 are additionally required to move the magnetic head 60 up or down while being interlocked with the movements of the main slide 73, and the function of preventing the opening of the door in a play mode and the AMS function are separately operated, the structure thereof is complicated and the man-hours required for assembly and the number of parts increase.

Portable audio logic deck mechanism and pinch roller driving apparatus and ejecting apparatus adopted in the same


An inmate phone (10) of the type having a housing (12) in an interior wall (14) of a prison (16). A push-button dialing pad (18) is mounted within a front wall (20) of the housing (12) with the push-button digits (22) of the push-button dialing pad (18) extending out of the front wall (20). A telephone handset (24) is provided, being a handle (26) with an earpiece (28) at one end and a mouthpiece (30) at an opposite end. A handset cord (32) is electrically connected between the push-button dialing pad (18) and the telephone handset (24). The improvement comprises a facility (34) for permanently mounting the telephone handset (24) vertically within the front wall (20) of the housing (12), so that the earpiece (28) positioned at top and the mouthpiece (30) positioned at bottom will permanently extend out through the front wall (20) of the housing (12) to be used by inmates within the prison (16) hands free. The handset cord (32) is permanently maintained within the housing (12), to prevent the inmates from having direct access to the telephone handset (24) and the handset cord (32), in which the inmates can no longer hang themselves with the handset cord (32) and break the handset cord (32) off and use the telephone handset (24) as a weapon.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to telephone equipment and more specifically it relates to an inmate phone. The inmate phone contains a conventional telephone handset and handset cord permanently mounted within a telephone housing on a wall with the earpiece and mouthpiece of the telephone handset extending through the housing to serve as a hands-free telephone for safety. The inmates within a prison can no longer hang themselves with the handset cord or break the handset cord off and use the telephone handset as a weapon. It will also reduce repair by eliminating the need to fix and replace the telephone handset, thereby saving money for the cost of maintenance thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous telephone equipment have been provided in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,277,907 to Goodale, Jr. et al.; 3,144,513 to Sherron; 4,101,735 to Bridenbaugh and 4,104,485 to Pessel et al. all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that controls temperature variations in a computer system. During operation, a telemetry variable of the computer system is monitored. Next, a future temperature of the computer system is predicted based on the telemetry variable. A signal is then generated in response to the future temperature. Then, the signal is sent to a cooling device in the computer system to control temperature variations of the computer system.

1. Field
The present invention relates to techniques for enhancing the performance of computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling temperature variations in a computer system.
2. Related Art
As semiconductor integration densities within computer systems continue to increase at an exponential rate, thermal dissipation problems are become increasingly problematic. In particular, as the operating temperatures of chip packages become higher, thermal cycling effects can begin to adversely affect the reliability of computer system internals. A number of degradation mechanisms are accelerated by thermal cycling at high temperatures, including accelerated solder fatigue; interconnect fretting; differential thermal expansion between bonded materials; delamination failures; thermal mismatches between mating surfaces; differentials in the coefficients of thermal expansion between materials used in chip packages; wirebond shear and flexure fatigue; passivation cracking; electromigration failures; electrolytic corrosion; thermomigration failures; crack initiation and propagation; delamination between chip dies and molding compounds, as well as between the molding compound and the leadframe; die de-adhesion fatigue; repeated stress reversals in brackets leading to dislocations, cracks, and eventual mechanical failures; deterioration of connectors through elastomeric stress relaxation in polymers; and others.
One solution to this problem is to dampen the thermal cycling by "chip throttling" and/or "trash burning." For example, chip throttling can involve reducing processor clock frequencies when processor workloads are high, and trash burning can involve increasing processor workloads to raise the mean package temperature when workloads are low. Unfortunately, when the workload is high and chip throttling kicks in, system throughput is reduced at the time a customer application needs it the most. Moreover, this can create a "snowball" effect because when application demand is high, throughput slows down, which can cause application demand to pile up, which can cause throughput to slow down even further. Moreover, trash burning consumes electricity without doing useful computational work, which can generate greenhouse gases at some distant power plant.
Hence, what is needed is a method and apparatus for controlling temperature variations in a computer system without the above-described problems.

Method and apparatus for controlling temperature variations in a computer system


The invention provides a device for introducing ions into the primary ion path of a mass spectrometry system. In general, the device contains an electrical lens having a primary ion passageway and a secondary ion passageway that merges with the primary ion passageway. In certain embodiments, the electrical lens contains a first part and a second part that, together, form the primary ion passageway. The first part of the lens may contain the secondary ion passageway.

Mass spectrometry is an analytical methodology used for quantitative molecular analysis of analytes in a sample. Analytes in a sample are ionized, separated according to their mass by a spectrometer and detected to produce a mass spectrum. The mass spectrum provides information about the masses and in some cases the quantities of the various analytes that make up the sample. In particular embodiments, mass spectrometry can be used to determine the molecular weight or the molecular structure of an analyte in a sample. Because mass spectrometry is fast, specific and sensitive, mass spectrometer devices have been widely used for the rapid identification and characterization of biological analytes.
Mass spectrometers may be configured in many different ways, but are generally distinguishable by the ionization methods employed and the ion separation methods employed. For example, in certain devices parent analyte ions are isolated, the parent ions are fragmented to produce daughter ions and the daughter ions are subjected to mass analysis. The identity and/or structure of the parent analyte ion can be deduced from the masses of the daughter ions. Such devices, generally referred to as tandem mass spectrometers (or MS/MS devices) may be coupled with a liquid chromatography system (e.g., an HPLC system or the like) and a suitable ion source (e.g. an electrospray ion source) to investigate analytes in a liquid sample.
In a mass spectrometer, analyte molecules are ionized in an ion source. The masses of the resultant ions are determined in a vacuum by a mass analyzer that measures the mass/charge (m/z) ratio of the ions. When used in conjunction with a liquid chromatography device, a mass spectrometer can provide information on the molecular weight and chemical structure of compounds separated by the chromatography device, allowing identification of those components.
Mass spectrometer systems generally contain a primary ion path down which ions are transported from a primary ion source (e.g., a source of analyte ions) to a mass spectrometer. In many instances it is desirable to controllably introduce ions produced by a second ion source into the primary ion path. For example, in certain embodiments it is sometimes desirable to introduce ions of known mass and charge, so called "calibration standards", "reference mass standards" or "internal standards", into an ion stream containing analyte ions of interest in order to provide a more accurate measurement of the molecular mass of those analytes. In addition, it is sometimes desirable to be able to analyze ions produced by two distinct ion sources in the same mass spectrometer, either simultaneously or in series, without having to disconnect and reconnect any apparatus. Further, it is sometimes desirable to introduce additional ions into a primary ion path in order that the additional ions collide with the primary ions to physically or chemically change (e.g., change the charge of, reduce the energy of, or fragment) the ions in the primary ion path.
Various systems for introducing a second ion beam into a primary ion path in a mass spectrometer are known. For example, a "Y"-shaped sampling device may be used to combine different ions as they exit an ion source (see, e.g., Smith et al J. Mass. Spec. Rev. 1991 10: 359-451), a quadrupole ion deflector may be used to direct ion streams into a common ion guide (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,989), and ion beams may be introduced into opposite sides of a linear ion trap and are combined within the trap (see, e.g., Syka et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2004 101:9528-9533). However, these systems generally lack flexibility, are impractical for many purposes, or greatly decrease the sensitivity of the ion detection for the primary ions.
Accordingly, a need exists for new means for introducing a secondary ion stream into a primary ion path. This invention meets this need, and others.

Lens device for introducing a second ion beam into a primary ion path


In pharmaceutics for mucosal administration containing pharmacologically active peptides or proteins and tolmetin or salts thereof exhibited very excellent effect as mucosal absorption enhancers.. Furthermore, when the pharmaceutics for mucosal administration are for rectal administration, the suppository in which at least either the active ingredient, peptide or protein, or the mucosal absorption enhancer is converted to a complex with a high molecular compound dissolving in water at pH 5 or higher and together uniformly dispersed in a fatty suppository base exhibited markedly improved rectal absorbability compared with that of conventional pharmaceutics for rectal administration and at the same time increased stability of the peptide or protein which is the active ingredient.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pharmaceutics for mucosal administration of pharmacologically active peptides or proteins, which exhibit excellent mucosal absorbability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Administration of pharmacologically active peptides or proteins has heretofore been normally effected by injection means, for the reasons that oral administration results in poor drug absorption and their decomposition and deactivation in the digestive tract. However, administration by injection is painful and involves risks of inducing amyotrophia (muscle atrophy) or other diseases. There is also a problem of inconvenience for the patients who need to attend hospitals to be injected.
In the recent years, a variety of methods for administering peptides or proteins to replace injections are being tried, such as the administration to the rectum, vagina, nasal or oral mucosa. These mucosal administration means have the advantages of preventing deactivation of the drug and avoiding side effects such as digestive tract disorder which accompany oral administration. Generally, however, peptides or proteins show very poor mucosal absorbability and hence ordinary pharmaceutics for mucosal administration have the defect of failing to provide satisfactory high drug concentration in blood to exhibit the expected pharmaceutical efficacy.
Hence, various absorption enhancers to promote mucosal absorption of peptides or proteins have been studied and proposed. As organic acid type absorption enhancers, for example, salicylic acid or derivatives thereof KOKAI Patent Application Sho 56(1981)-122310(A) JP!, acidic amino acid or derivatives thereof KOKAI Patent Application Sho 56(1981)-138115(A) JP! and capric acid or salts thereof KOKAI Patent Application Sho 62(1987)-35(A) JP! are known. However, these mucosal absorption enhancers have the problems of being irritative to the mucosae and exhibiting yet insufficient mucosal absorption enhancing effect. Thus they are not fully satisfactory as mucosal absorption enhancers for peptides or proteins.
Furthermore, most of the pharmaceutics for rectal administration (which may be hereafter referred to as "suppository"), which is a form of mucosal administration, are formulated following the ordinary practice of uniformly dispersing and blending the drug as incorporated with an absorption enhancer in and with a suppository base. However, peptides or proteins are apt to cause such formulative problems when the ordinary method is adopted, as becoming unstable under the influences of absorption enhancer or suppository base or failing to provide a sufficient dose of rectal absorption because of insufficient release ability after administration. Thus, satisfactory pharmaceutics for rectal administration of the peptides or proteins have not yet been obtained.
Whereas, Kokai Patent Application Hei 1(1989)-313419(A) JP discloses a pharmaceutic for rectal administration in which a solid composed of the pharmacologically active ingredient and water-soluble macromolecules is uniformly dispersed in a fatty suppository base. The function and effect of the invention as disclosed in said Kokai Gazette, however, are to secure stable and good release of a pharmaceutically effective ingredient from the pharmaceutic irrelevantly to physical properties of the effective ingredient or those of the fatty suppository base. Hence the Gazette simply discloses the use of non-pH-dependent water-soluble macromolecules such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, macrogoal, and the like, stating nothing about promotion of rectal absorption of pharmaceutically active ingredient.
An object of the present invention is to provide pharmaceutics for mucosal administration exhibiting still improved mucosal absorption of pharmacologically active peptides or proteins.
Another object of the invention is to provide stable pharmaceutics for rectal administration exhibiting further improved rectal absorption of pharmacologically active peptides or proteins.

Pharmaceutics for mucosal administration


In a core bit formed with a boring blade at a front end thereof and integrally formed with a mounting portion, at a rear end portion thereof, formed with a guide portion in a cylindrical shape mounted to a chuck portion formed at a concrete drill, a ring-like seal member forming a seal between the mounting portion and a side of the chuck portion is formed at the guide portion in the cylindrical shape of the core bit.

In carrying out a piping construction for a gas supply, a water supply or an air-conditioner at a wall face, a floor face, a foundation or the like of a building formed by concrete, the wall face or the like is bored by using a concrete drill driven by power of electric power, compressed air or the like. A hole having a predetermined diameter is bored at a concrete wall or the like by a boring blade in a cylindrical shape formed at a front end of a core bit by applying rotation and vibration from a side of a concrete drill to the core bit attached to a chuck portion formed at a front end of the concrete drill. The core bit is formed in a hollow shape, and the boring blade is cooled by supplying cooling water from a side of the concrete drill to the boring blade by way of the hollow inside. Further, a seal is formed between the concrete drill and the core bit, so that the cooling water is not leaked when the core bit is attached.
As described in, for example, JP-A-11-309710 (page 3, FIG. 3), a core bit of a background art comprises a supporting member in a hollow shape having a boring blade at a front end of a drill portion at one end side of the supporting member and having a guide portion in a cylindrical shape at the other end side of the supporting member. The core bit is attached to a concrete drill by inserting the guide portion in the cylindrical shape into a cylindrical inside formed at a chuck portion of the concrete drill. By a contact between an end face of the guide portion in the cylindrical shape of the core bit and a seal member arranged at a deepest portion of a cylindrical portion of the chuck portion of the concrete drill, a center opening of the concrete drill and a center opening of the core bit are connected to seal so that the cooling water is flowed from a side of the concrete drill to a side of the core bit.
Meanwhile, the seal member formed between the core bit and the concrete drill is formed by rubber and therefore, when the seal member is deteriorated by elapse of time and water is leaked by deteriorating a seal function by wear of a surface thereof or the like by frequently using the seal member, the seal member needs to be replaced. However, according to a structure of sealing the core bit and the concrete drill of the background art, the seal member is formed at the deepest portion of the guide portion in the cylindrical shape of the chuck portion of the concrete drill and therefore, there poses a problem that a replacing operation becomes extremely complicated.
Further, when the seal member is formed on the side of the chuck of the concrete drill as in the background art, a durability in conformity with a durability of the concrete drill is required for the seal member, and an expensive material of rubber or the like which is difficult to be deteriorated is used to constitute a factor of increasing cost of the concrete drill.


An apparatus that wraps dinner flatware in a paper napkin in an automated manner and secures it with a paper label is disclosed. The apparatus includes input hoppers for knives, forks, spoons, and napkins which are located on the front and top part of the unit. Additionally, a roll of paper napkins and a roll of securing paper labels are provided on top with their own automatic dispensing means. A plastic cover secures the entire top of the invention to protect it from dust and dirt as well as accidental contact during operation. A series of ultraviolet radiation sources reduces and/or eliminates microbes and viruses either on the surface of the flatware or airborne inside the apparatus. Internal mechanisms then take one of each piece of flatware and fold and roll it in a napkin. The completed napkin unit then drops out the bottom where it is collected for use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automated assembling apparatuses and, more particularly, to an automated flatware and napkin assembling apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many restaurants, silverware or flatware, is folded or rolled up in a paper napkin and secured with an adhesive paper strap. This has many advantages from increased sanitary conditions, less chance of falling on the floor, a more professional presentation and so forth. This presentation technique is also finding favor in cafeteria environments where bins of flatware were often used before. These previously used bins forced patrons to touch more flatware than was necessary to remove just one piece, resulting in more unsanitary conditions, especially in environments such as schools and hospitals. However, the practice of rolling flatware in a napkin is not without its disadvantages. Perhaps the biggest is the cost of paying a restaurant or cafeteria employee to roll them. Even if an employee is efficient at such a task, he or she will almost certainly produce non-consistent rolled napkins thus reducing that professional image. Accordingly, a need exists for a means by which silverware or flatware can be folded in a paper napkin without the disadvantages of the folding methods that are currently used.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related.
Accordingly, a need exists for a means by which silverware/flatware can be rolled up into a napkin without the disadvantages of the methods that are currently used.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Systems and methods are provided for implementing a browsing application that allows users to navigate image-based content. Images and associated descriptive attributes describing the images are stored in a database. The user may select an item of interest and an example-based proximity search function may be executed to search for similar images. Images having common descriptive attributes may be grouped together and displayed. A web browser may be implemented and users may select reduced-size images of previously viewed web pages in order to access the web page.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing visual presentation and navigation of content using data-based image analysis. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for allowing users of a browsing software application to search, browse, and navigate collections of data or other content of interest using data-based image analysis.
Systems and methods are known that allow users to visually browse through a virtual space on a computer screen. Web browsers and other database-driven software applications have been developed that provide user-interfaces for allowing users to browse, search for, and otherwise interact with content stored in a database. The content stored in the database may be stored with various relational attributes and may be dynamically presented, sorted, ranked, selected, or viewed in greater detail. This organization of content allows for easy navigation of content and integration with other sources of content.
However, known content browsing software applications typically rely on text and text-based commands for navigation of, and interaction with, database content. For example, information may be stored and presented using the browsing application, and a user of the browsing application may select text-based options or enter text-based criteria for executing a command to search for, filter, enter, update, and sort content, or to perform other data-based operations. A programming language, such as Structured Query Language, typically allows users to execute commands and perform data-based operations. Even when images or other visual objects are used for navigational purposes, they are typically implemented merely as placeholders in the page layout, replacing their text counterparts, but adding little to the interface through their actual content.
It is desirable, however, for database-driven software browsing applications to display as little text as possible to facilitate a user's navigation of stored content.
Publicly known software browsing applications, such as web browsers (e.g., Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, etc.), have been developed to facilitate the navigation of vast amounts of content using a combination of selectable text and images. For example, in an online retail environment using a web-based browsing application, a web browser interface may be used to allow a user to select images of retail items in order to find more content related to the selected item. However, the selection of item images typically leads to additional text-based content, and although users may ultimately be presented with an image of an item once the item is located, much of the searching and navigation in an online retail environment involves entering text-based criteria or selecting text-based options. Moreover, images used in a web browsing application typically function only as placeholder display objects having pre-defined data links, while the content of the image is entirely ignored by the web browsing application. The images could effectively be replaced with textual or button objects in the page layout with little or no change in functionality.
It is therefore desirable to provide a graphical user-interface in a virtual retail environment that presents vast amounts of content (e.g., items, item categories, etc.) to users in an image-based, rather than textual, manner.
It is also desirable to provide a graphical user-interface that allows for dynamic user interactions with content (e.g., searching, browsing, navigation, etc.) to be performed in an image-based, rather than textual, manner and, more particularly, for the user interactions to be based on analysis of the actual visual contents of the images such that the application is capable of deducing user intent by evaluating and comparing selected images.
In addition to web-based browsing applications that present selectable images of retail items, and that allow users to access textual database content related to a selected image, systems and methods are known for storing and indexing image-based content in a database. For example various index structures, such as B-Trees, Sequential Indices, Cube Indices, etc. are known and commonly used to store, index, and retrieve image-based content in multimedia databases. Technologies and techniques are also known for automatically detecting and analyzing image data from an external source and for automatically synthesizing, generating, compressing, editing and enhancing stored image data. These techniques would be especially useful for the purpose of storing and navigating content in virtual retail environments having vast amounts of image-based content and would allow users to quickly and easily navigate content in a virtual environment.
It is therefore desirable to provide a graphical user-interface that allows users to navigate a virtual retail space using indexed images of retail items stored in an item database.
It is also desirable to provide a graphical user-interface that groups retail items having common descriptive or visual attributes, thereby allowing users to more easily search for products of interest without requiring traditional text-based operations and commands, and, more particularly, without requiring the user to explicitly define the desired goal of his searching but rather allowing the user to simply provide examples of desired items for the application to analyze and use as a basis for further data retrieval.
It is also desirable to provide systems and methods for implementing a browsing application that is capable of navigating a database system solely on the basis of visual examples of desired items supplied by the user.
It is also desirable to provide a graphical user-interface that allows users to quickly and easily navigate through displays having vast amounts of content, and, more particularly, to allow users to search for content using example-based proximity search techniques.
It is also desirable to provide a graphical user-interface that allows users to navigate a virtual retail environment freely and in a rapid manner.

Systems and methods for visual presentation and navigation of content using data-based image analysis


A new combustion chamber design for a quench gasifier. Electrical heating is used in the throat area of the combustion chamber to achieve temperatures up to 3500° F. to melt ash deposits and to increase carbon conversion (reduce soot production). Silicon carbide and/or silicon nitride refractory materials are used in the hot face of the throat to withstand high temperatures and high temperature shocks. The proposed design reduces the capital cost of a gasification plant by eliminating the need for soot recovery and recycle system. This design also reduces the operating cost of the gasification plant by decreasing the frequent refractory damages that have been experienced in the throat area of the existing quench gasifiers.

Quench gasifiers are used to gasify ash containing hydrocarbon feedstocks such as residual oils, waste lubrication oils, petroleum cokes and coal. A typical quench gasifier design is shown in FIG. 1 (Reference: U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,579). The feedstock, the oxidant and a temperature moderator (either steam or carbon dioxide) are injected into the top portion of the gasifier through a burner and are mixed with one another in the reaction zone below the burner. Steam and carbon dioxide (CO2) moderate the temperatures in the reaction zone and also act as reactants. The partial oxidation reactions that take place in this portion of the gasifier, called the combustion chamber, maintain the combustion chamber temperatures in the 2000 to 3000° F. range. The combustion chamber is lined with refractory materials such as alumina. Approximately 90.0 to 99.5 percent of the carbon in the feedstock is converted to the synthesis gases (syngas).
The bottom portion of the quench gasifier, called the quench chamber, is separated from the combustion chamber by the floor of the combustion chamber as shown in FIG. 1. The combustion chamber has an internal longitudinal length L1, an external longitudinal length L2, and an internal diameter D1. A portion of the floor of the combustion chamber forms a constricted gasifier throat having an internal diameter D2. The quench chamber is partially filled with water and is not lined with refractory. The quench chamber consists of three main components: the quench ring, the dip tube and the draft tube as shown in FIG. 1. The main functions of the quench chamber are to cool down the synthesis gases generated in the combustion chamber by mixing them with water and to saturate the gases with water vapor.
The constricted gasifier throat area which directs the gases from the combustion chamber to the quench chamber is normally the coolest portion of the combustion chamber because of its distance from the gasifier burner and the burner flame. This area tends to be cooler than the rest of the combustion chamber also due to its proximity to the quench ring through which cooling water is injected into the quench chamber. As a result, the ash in the feedstock, which is in its molten or semi-molten form in the center portion of the combustion chamber, tends to solidify and form deposits or plugs in the throat area of the gasifier. These deposits are more likely to form with feedstocks that contain metal compounds such as vanadium trioxide (V2O3) because these compounds solidify at temperatures lower than 3000° F. In addition to causing shutdown of the gasifier, these compounds also react and damage the alumina type refractories that have been used in existing gasifiers (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,592).
A new gasifier throat design is proposed in this invention to avoid ash deposits and plugging in the throat area of the gasifier and to avoid damage to the refractories in the throat area. The proposed design will use electrical resistor heating to achieve temperatures in the range of 3000 to 3500° F. The new design will also use refractory materials like silicon carbide and silicon nitride that can withstand higher temperatures and larger temperature shocks than alumina. With this new design, it will be possible to increase the gasifier carbon conversion, reduce the steam (moderator) consumption and reduce the frequent damages that have been experienced to the refractories in the throat area of existing gasifiers. The proposed design will also decrease the capital cost of oil gasification plants by eliminating the need for soot recycle system downstream and will reduce the plant operating cost by improving the reliability of the gasifier operations.

Combustion chamber design for a quench gasifier


A programmable read only memory includes a matrix of semi-fusible link memory cells, each including a semi-fusible link having an intact impedance and a blown impedance; a bit line voltage supply switching circuit for applying a current to at least one selected bit line; a word line address decoder for selecting a word line; and a program control logic circuit for blowing the semi-fusible links in the memory cells identified by the intersection of the selected word and bit lines; a method is disclosed of testing programmed and unprogrammed read only memory.

One-Time Programmable memory (OTP-Memory) refers to a read-only memory (ROM), which can be programmed one time after manufacture of a device (also called one-time programmable ROM or OTP-ROM). To-date there are examples of OTP-ROMs which have been realized using many technologies as the memory element. For example data can be stored by destructing diodes or oxide-films to form a low impedance path where previously there was a high impedance path. Also data can be stored in a floating gate transistor such that the floating gate retains charge and alters the transistors threshold voltage which is the basis for EPROM. Integrated fuses have also been used to realize OTP-ROM. By passing adequate current through a fuse it can be blown to create a high-impedance path where previously there was a low impedance path. These technologies have disadvantages that include relatively high currents to program, and relatively high voltages to program, i.e. above breakdown voltages for present day sub-micron CMOS technology. They also can be destructive to surrounding layers on an integrated circuit and require relatively large area and thus result in lower density memory. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,780, entitled "Structure of Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory Cells and Redundancy Signature Therefor" discloses an OTP-ROM, which uses fuses as the memory element. However it requires high voltage (10V) to program the fuse and passes current through the fuse using an NMOS that goes into "snap-back" or secondary breakdown to provide the high current required to blow the fuse. This snap-back current will be relatively large and the NMOS device will have to be sized to avoid damage during snap-back. This results in a larger pass transistor than required in the present invention and which is thus less area-efficient. U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,516, entitled "Write Once Read Only Store Semiconductor Memory" discloses an OTP-ROM realized with back-to-back diodes as the memory element. To program this memory current or voltage is applied to the memory cell to cause one of the diodes to breakdown and results in a metal-silicon alloy short across its p-n junction. The voltage required to breakdown the p-n junction is typically 8V which is beyond that allowed for modern sub-micron MOS processes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,092, entitled "High Coupling Ratio Electrically Programmable ROM" is based on floating gate EPROM. The disadvantage of this approach is a high voltage required to program the device. In this example 15V is required on the drain and 25V on the gate for programming. This is well beyond the maximum voltage allowed for standard sub-micron CMOS processes and results in relatively specialized processes, which are more expensive.

Programmable semi-fusible link read only memory and method of margin testing same


Memory transistors are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. A first source/drain terminal of each memory transistor of a first column is connected to an electrically conductive conductor track in a first metallization plane, and a first source/drain terminal of each memory transistor of a second column adjacent to the first column is connected to an electrically conductive conductor track in a second metallization plane.

The invention relates to a nonvolatile memory cell arrangement.
In modern semiconductor technology various approaches are being pursued in order to improve the performance and the storage capacities of memory cell arrangements. These approaches consist not only in the development of novel types of transistors, but also in a continued scaling and miniaturization of the field effect transistors and in novel memory cell architectures.
One such type of transistor is a fin field effect transistor (FinFET), for example, in which the channel region between two source/drain regions is realized as a semiconductor fin, above which a gate region is deposited. The storage capacity of a memory cell arrangement is improved with a fin field effect transistor on account of the small space requirement for realizing the latter.
For high-density nonvolatile data storage, floating gate based NAND memory architectures are commercially predominant at the present time. Advantages of a NAND memory arrangement include the low costs per memory bit, in particular for so-called multilevel storage, the simple fabrication process and also a good scalability of the memory cells for F>50 nm, where F denotes the side length of the memory cell array and is essentially determined by the technology.
FIG. 1 illustrates a memory cell arrangement 100 in NAND circuitry interconnection. The NAND memory cell arrangement 100 has a plurality of memory cells 109 each having a memory transistor 102. Each memory transistor 102 has a storage layer 103 in which electrical charge carriers can be stored in nonvolatile fashion. Furthermore, the NAND memory cell arrangement 100 is provided with a first control transistor 101, a second control transistor 104 and also a plurality of gate terminal connecting lines 105 (also referred to as word lines) arranged in parallel, a source terminal connecting line 106, a supply line 107 and a contact location 108 on the supply line 107. The memory transistors 102 are connected in series with one another by means of their source/drain terminal and are arranged between the first control transistor 101 and the second control transistor 104. The first control transistor 101 is electrically connected by its drain terminal to the supply line 107 by means of the contact location 108 and by its source terminal to the drain terminal of a first memory transistor 102 of the plurality of memory transistors 102. The source terminal of a respective memory transistor 102 is connected to a respective drain terminal of the respectively adjacent memory transistor 102. The second control transistor 104 is connected by its source terminal to the source line 106. The control transistors 101, 104 and the memory transistors 102 are in each case connected by their gate terminal to a respective gate terminal connecting line 105.
E. S. Cho, T. Y. Kim, C. Lee, Optimized Cell Structure for FinFet Array Flash Memory, 34th European Solid-State Device Research Conference, 2004, pages 289-292 discloses a NOR memory arrangement in which the memory transistors are constructed as floating gate fin field effect transistors. In the case of the floating gate fin field effect transistor described in E. S. Cho, T. Y. Kim, C. Lee, Optimized Cell Structure for FinFet Array Flash Memory, 34th European Solid-State Device Research Conference, 2004, pages 289-292, an ONO layer sequence (silicon dioxide/silicon nitride/silicon dioxide) is provided for the electrical insulation of the floating gate made of polysilicon.
However, considerable difficulties are to be expected for F<50 nm on account of increasing capacitive floating gate-to-floating gate interactions or couplings, and also an impaired gate controllability of the floating gate and a punch-through effect as a result of a read drain voltage or low read currents.
Furthermore, I. Fujiwara et al, 0.13 μm MONOS single transistor memory cells with separated source lines, IEEE, International Electron Device Meeting, Technical Digest, 1998 describes a MONOS 6F2 memory cell arrangement having source lines that are referred to therein as "winding source lines".
US 2002/0036927 A1 describes a memory cell arrangement in matrix form in which the source lines are arranged in one plane and the bit lines run perpendicular to the source lines and are arranged in a different plane than the source lines.
DE 102 41 171 A1 describes a word and bit line arrangement for a FINFET semiconductor memory. The bit lines are connected to a multiplicity of contact regions and run diagonally with respect to the columns of the transistors. The longitudinal axes of first bit line segments run parallel to a first bit line direction and the longitudinal axes of second bit line segments run parallel to a second bit line direction, the second bit line direction being rotated relative to the first bit line direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,617,632 B2 likewise describes a memory cell arrangement whose memory cells are arranged in matrix form. In order to prevent the punch-through effect, the source and drain regions of the memory transistors are in each case surrounded by punch-through-stop layers.


An improved backup storage system and method for use in conjunction with hierarchical or mass storage servers and networks is disclosed. Baseline, full and incremental backup procedures are used to save file copies. In one preferred embodiment, the baseline backup procedure is used to store copies of stable files, i.e. files that are modified less frequently, if at all. With a hierarchical storage server, such files are typically those stored on tertiary storage media, e.g. erasable optical disks, WORMs or magnetic tape. The full backup procedure stores, as full backup copies, copies of all files not in the baseline backup and files that have been changed since the time of their baseline backup. The full backup procedure also stores file identifiers and signal representative of storage locations of baseline backup copies for files which have not been changed since the time of the baseline backup. The incremental backup procedure stores, as incremental backup copies, copies of files not in the baseline or full backups, e.g., new files, and files that have changed since the time of their last backup (baseline, full or incremental). The incremental backup procedure also stores file identifiers and signals representative of storage locations of baseline backup copies for files which have not been changed since the time of the baseline backup, and also stores file identifiers and signals representative of storage locations of full and incremental backup copies for files which have not been changed since the time of their full or incremental backup.

This application relates to digital data processing and, more particularly, methods and apparatus for improved backup storage.
Use of high-performance, high-resolution graphics has grown significantly over the last several years, with indications that it will continue to grow through the next decade. Fueling user demand has been the introduction of lower cost 32-bit work-stations and an increase in the base of applications software available for those systems. Because of their computational and graphics power, these workstations are employed in data-intensive applications such as electronic publishing, computer-aided design and scientific research.
Paralleling these developments has been the emergence of industry standard communication protocols which permit users to operate in a multi-vendor environment. Of particular interest is the Network File System (NFS) protocol, developed by Sun Microsystems, allowing users to share files across a local area network such as Ethernet.
The data storage requirements of professional workgroups employing networked workstations can measure in the billions of bytes (gigabytes). Much of this results from users generating and accumulating large file sets which have aged, but which are considered valuable for future use.
Potential costs associated with the online storage of such data accumulations force system administrators to periodically remove inactive data from the online file server environment, archiving it to magtape or an equivalent medium. This "solution" poses its own problems. First, the selection of information to be archived is often arbitrarily based solely on the amount of disk space allocated to a user. Secondly, in many computing systems, e.g., those running under the UNIX operating system, no ready means is provided for cataloging information stored offline, requiring users to manually track their own archived files.
Related problems occur in the "backing up" of data--that is, the storing copies of computer files (typically on off-line media) that can be recovered in the event of data loss. Conventional prior backup systems use two types of backups, full and incremental. During a full backup, the system transfers copies all the data on the computer (or network) to a set of one or more backup volumes, e.g., magnetic tapes. During later incremental backups, copies all of the files that have changed since either the last full backup or the most recent incremental backup are transferred to those volumes.
Because they are complete copies of all data, full backups can be very time consuming. Even assuming a high-performance backup device capable 1 MB/sec transfers, and software capable of driving such a device at its rated capacity, it takes 25 hours to back up a relatively modest 100 GB of data. The times required to Perform a full back-up of terabyte and larger storage are prohibitively long for normal use.
Incremental backups are generally much smaller than full backups and, hence, can be performed much faster. As a disadvantage, however, restoring lost data generally takes longer as the number of incremental backups increases, since several backups volumes--the original full backup volume and all subsequent incremental volumes--must be processed in order to recover current files.
One attempt to automate incremental backup procedures is described in Hume, "The File Motel-- An Incremental Backup System for UNIX," Summer USENIX '88, pp. 61-72. That system is understood to utilize batch jobs to send copies of modified file copies to a central backup system, which stores those copies, e.g., on a write-once-read-many (WORM) optical disk, along with internally generated file names. A database links the original filename and modification times to the backup copy name.
The Hume system is understood to suffer a number of drawbacks. Among these, the difficulty in knowing a file's "true" name (e.g., where a portion of that name includes a symbolic link) and, consequently, in discerning which backed up file to recover. In addition, there exists the risk that a file will not get backed up until a day or two after it has been modified, as a result of a network or machine failure. Still further, lacking a full backup facility, the capability of recovering any particular file under the Hume system requires that the user have specifically selected that file for backup.
In view of these and other problems present by prior art backup systems, the object of this invention is to provide digital data processing apparatus and methods with improved backup storage.
Another object of the invention is to provide a backup system that reduces the time and cost associated with convention full/incremental backup schemes.
A further object of the invention is to provide a backup mechanism amenable for use in conjunction with hierarchical or mass storage servers and networks.

Digital data processor with improved backup storage


An impeller for a washing machine appliance is provided. The impeller includes a stamped plate that is rotatable about an axis of rotation. The stamped plate also defines an opening at the axis of rotation. A mounting insert is received within the opening of the stamped plate in order to fix the mounting insert to the stamped plate.

A washing machine appliance generally includes a cabinet with a wash tub mounted therein. The wash tub is configured for containing wash fluid during operation of the washing machine appliance. A wash basket is rotatably mounted within the wash tub. In vertical axis washing machine appliances, an agitating element, such as an impeller, is generally mounted at a bottom of the wash basket for agitating articles or churning wash fluid within the wash basket during operation of the washing machine appliance.
Impellers are generally constructed from an injected molded plastic. In higher end washing machine appliances, stainless steel covers are mounted to the injected molded components to improve the impeller's appearance. However, such covers can add to the cost of the impeller and washing machine appliance and can also add to the total assembly time need to produce the impeller and washing machine appliance. In particular, such designs can require otherwise unnecessary fasteners to secure the impeller's components together and can also consume valuable assembly time in securing the components together.
Accordingly, an impeller for a washing machine appliance with features for reducing a cost of the impeller and assembly time for the impeller would be useful. Further, an impeller for washing machine appliance that does not includes stainless steel covers mounted thereto would be useful.

Impeller for a washing machine appliance


A method of fabricating an integrated circuit device includes forming a first gate structure in a first region of a substrate and a second gate structure in a second region of the substrate. The method includes forming a protective layer overlying the first and the second gate structures. The method includes removing a portion of the protective layer over the second gate structure. The method includes forming features adjacent to the second gate structure. The method further includes forming a spacer over at least a portion of the features adjacent to the second gate structure, wherein the features separate the spacer from the substrate adjacent to the second gate structure. The method includes removing the second portion of the protective layer. Removing the second portion of the protective layer includes forming a protector over the second gate structure; and performing an etching process using a chemical comprising hydrofluoric acid (HF).

The present disclosure relates generally to an integrated circuit (IC) device and, more particularly, to a method for forming a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) structure.
As technology nodes shrink, in some IC designs, there has been a desire to incorporate strained engineering, including a SiGe, a SiC, a SiP and/or a Si epitaxial (epi) process, in the formation process of CMOS devices to overcome Moore's law.
There are challenges to implementing such epi features and processes in CMOS fabrication. As technology nodes continue to decrease in size, particularly to the 22 nanometer (nm) technology node and below, the defect issue is one of the key challenges for forming the epi film. The defects may result from a removal process for removing a protective layer after the formation of epi lightly doped source/drain (LDD) features and/or epi source/drain (S/D) features. The defects which result in the CMOS device may impact the yield of device.

Method of fabricating an integrated circuit device

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


A structural laminate having a selected resistance to a first stress applied in a selected first stress direction relative to the laminate is formed from first and second sheets. A selected volume of toner is deposited on the first sheet to form a deposited toner pattern, the deposited toner pattern being disposed over a selected first surface area of the first sheet and extending normal to the first sheet by a selected first height. The second sheet, or toner thereon, is brought into contact with the deposited toner pattern. The deposited toner pattern is fixed to produce a fixed toner pattern that adheres the second sheet to the first sheet, in that way forming the laminate. The fixed toner pattern includes one or more first contiguous regions of toner extending in a direction within about 45° of the stress direction, so that the contiguous regions resist the applied stress.

Corrugated cardboard or fiberboard is widely used to package goods for transit. An outer sheet of liner (or "linerboard") is glued to a fluted sheet to provide stiffness in the direction in which the flutes extend. A second outer sheet of liner can be glued to the fluted sheet opposite the first outer sheet to provide stiffness in the direction perpendicular to the flutes.
Moreover, markings are often printed on corrugated stock. For example, shipping boxes can be printed with edge-crush strength, gross weight, fragile, or this-end-up indicators. Printers typically operate using subtractive color: a substantially reflective receiver (piece of corrugated stock) is overcoated image-wise with cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K), and other colorants. For example, U.S. Publication No. 2008/0159786 by Tombs et al., entitled "Selective printing of raised information by electrography," published Jul. 3, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes electrophotographic printing using marking particles of a substantially larger size than the standard size marking particles of the desired print image. Tombs et al. also describe using non-pigmented ("clear") marking particles to overlay raised information on an image. Markings can include multiple types of content. For example, a box can be printed with text, halftoned photographs, and line-art or other graphics.
Numerous schemes for manufacturing corrugated board have been developed. However, all conventional fluted cardboard has certain mechanical properties in certain dimensions, and those properties cannot readily be adjusted depending on the type of product to be packaged. For example, referring to FIG. 3A, a standard cardboard box is generally formed by stamping box blank 301 from a rectangular sheet of corrugated board. Box blank 301 is then folded along fold lines 302, and front surface 303 of tab 304 is glued to back surface 305 to form a manufacturer's joint. As a result, the direction F of extension of flutes 306 (FIG. 3B) is set across the entire box. The designer of the box cannot align flutes differently in different portions of the box. This restricts the box designer's freedom to adjust the mechanical characteristics of the box based on its intended use. For example, a box may need to have comparable strengths in the X and Y directions, corresponding to the horizontal portions of the box, but may need enhanced strength along the Z-direction in the vertical portion to permit the stacking of boxes without increasing the weight of the box unnecessarily. This relative strength configuration cannot be provided by conventional ways of making corrugated board, or by ways of making extruded plastic corrugations such as COROPLAST.
FIG. 3B also shows first liner sheet 310, second liner sheet 311, and fluted sheet 312 between them. Starch glue is conventionally applied at each area of contact between fluted sheet 312 and liner sheets 310 or 311.
Presently, shipping departments of companies need to stock a wide variety of boxes in order to ship products to customers. The boxes should be close in size, but larger than, the product to ship. Extra space in each box is filled with packing materials that add additional weight and cost. In addition, maintaining inventory of the packaging materials and boxes cost money and takes up space. It would be preferable to form a box that accurately fits the specific items to be shipped.
Moreover, the adhesives used in corrugated-box manufacturing have deficiencies. Starch-based adhesives are commonly used, but are water-soluble. Epoxy, glue and hot-melt glue change volume when they cool, producing internal stresses that can weaken the board.
There is, therefore, a need for ways of making corrugated board and packages that permit adjusting the mechanical properties and the directions in which those properties are effective. There is also a need for ways of making board using durable adhesives that do not create internal stresses in the board.
The disclosure of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0196600 by Hutchinson et al. is incorporated herein by reference.

Forming a structural laminate that resists stress


A custom-fit sock is described. The sock includes a tubular body formed from a number of courses and wales. The tubular body includes a foot portion and a leg portion merging substantially at the ankle of a wearer. The foot portion defines a foot bottom portion and an upper instep portion and further includes a heel portion positioned adjacent the foot bottom portion at a first end of the foot portion and a toe portion positioned adjacent the foot bottom portion at a second end of the foot portion. A first course includes a first number of stitches formed using a first number of selected needles of the circular knitting machine. The first number of selected needles is less than a total number of needles of the circular knitting machine.

In general, conventional socks are formed by knitting the hem or welt first, followed by the leg, heel, foot, and then toe. After the toe is knit, a seam is formed to attach the opposite sides of the toe pocket to each other, closing the toe. Conventional socks may be manufactured in a variety of sizes and may be designed for particular ages, genders, activities, and the like. Socks that do not conform to a wearer's foot may cause chafing, blisters, and other painful conditions, particularly for active individuals who spend a lot of time on their feet, such as professional athletes.
The inventor has identified a number of deficiencies and problems associated with the conventional socks and associated methods described above. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified problems have been solved by developing solutions that are included in embodiments of the present invention, many examples of which are described in detail herein.

Custom-fit sock and method of making the same


The present invention relates to Sulfonamide Derivatives of Formula (I):

The cytochrome P450 enzyme system (CYP450) is responsible for the biotransformation of drugs from active substances to inactive metabolites that can be excreted from the body. In addition, the metabolism of certain drugs by CYP450 can alter their PK profile and result in sub-therapeutic plasma levels of those drugs over time. In the area of antiviral therapy, this can lead to resistance of the virus to the drug.
The virus causing acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is know by various names, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), of which two distinct families have been identified—HIV-1 and HIV-2. Many inhibitors of HIV, including HIV protease inhibitors, HIV integrase inhibitors and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors are metabolized by CYP450. This metabolic activity can lead to unfavorable pharmacokinetics, requiring administering more frequent and/or higher doses than are optimal.
Many drugs, including some HIV protease inhibitors, are now paired with other agents that improve exposure of the drug, with the drug-drug interaction being commonly referred to as "boosting." International Publication Nos. WO 2006/108879, WO 2007/034312 and WO 2008/010921; U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2009/0175820; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,919,488 describe compounds useful as pharmacokinetic enhancers.
Ritonavir, a common boosting agent, is widely used with HIV agents and is an HIV protease inhibitor itself that exerts its boosting effect through inhibition of Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) and p-glycoprotein drug transporters. Ritonavir, however, is associated with certain risks, including hepatotoxicity, hyperlipidemia and unfavorable gastrointestinal effects.

Sulfonamide derivatives and methods of use thereof for improving the pharmacokinetics of a drug

Abstract: and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein A, W, X, R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are as defined herein. The present invention also relates to compositions comprising at least one Sulfonamide Derivative, and methods of using the Sulfonamide Derivatives for improving the pharmacokinetics of a drug.


A wafer-style valve assembly adapted to be coupled between opposing pipeline components having a common centerline secured together by a plurality of longitudinal fasteners includes a substantially cylindrical valve body, a seat retaining plate, and at least one clip. The valve body has a peripheral edge portion and an axial end surface. The seat retaining plate is disposed on the axial end surface. The at least one clip is also disposed on the axial end surface and extends radially outward of the peripheral edge portion. The clip has a radially inward portion and a radially outward portion. The radially inward portion secures the seat retaining plate to the to valve body. The radially outward portion has an edge defining a first recess and a second recess. The first and second recesses are each adapted to accommodate a longitudinal fastener to locate the valve assembly relative to the centerline of the pipeline.

Wafer-type valves are adapted to be clamped between opposing flanges of pipeline components. Typical wafer-type valves include butterfly valves, check valves, segmented ball valves and eccentric plug valves. A common aspect of each of these types of valves is that they are flangeless. Therefore, the pipeline components include flanges for receiving longitudinal bolts that compressedly couple the wafer-type valves therebetween. One wafer-type butterfly valve includes a generally cylindrical valve body, a valve element, a valve seat, and a retainer plate. The valve body defines an axial bore that serves as a fluid flow path. The valve body typically has a relatively small axial dimension and a radial dimension adapted to accommodate the desired pipeline application. The valve element includes a disk-shaped element pivotally supported within the axial bore of the valve body between a closed position and one or more open positions. The valve seat includes a generally cylindrical member disposed adjacent to an internal radial surface of the axial bore of the valve body. The valve seat provides a surface against which the valve element seals when in the closed position. The retainer plate includes a generally flat plate fixed to an axial end surface of the valve body to retain the valve seat within the axial bore. For optimal performance and to avoid interference between the pipeline components and the valve element, such a wafer-type valve additionally includes a centering component for centering the valve in the pipeline.
A typical centering component cooperates with the longitudinal bolts extending between the pipeline flanges to axially center the valve assembly relative to the pipeline. One known centering component includes a plurality of holes formed directly through a portion of the valve body. The plurality of holes define a fixed pattern adapted to accommodate longitudinal bolts having the same fixed pattern, thereby centering the valve body. Another known centering component includes a plurality of lugs or a circumferential flange disposed on the valve body. The lugs or flange may be formed by casting or welding or otherwise fixed to the valve body. The lugs or the flange define a plurality of holes having a fixed pattern adapted to accommodate longitudinal bolts having the same pattern to thereby axially center the valve body relative to the pipeline. A still further known centering component includes one or more clips removably fixed to the valve body. The clips each define a plurality of holes having a fixed pattern for receiving longitudinal bolts having the same fixed pattern and thereby axially centering the valve body relative to the pipeline. The clips may be replaced by a different set of clips defining a plurality of holes having a different pattern for accommodating a different pattern of longitudinal bolts.
A shortcoming of each of these known centering components includes the fact that each are adapted to accommodate only a single longitudinal bolt pattern. Bolt patterns, however, are subject to different standards or ratings for different applications and, therefore, tend to vary. For example, for any given application, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) requires a specific flange diameter, a number of bolts, a bolt size, and a pitch circle diameter. It can therefore be appreciated that for each different application, a different bolt pattern may be required. While the clip form of the known centering components described above may be replaced by a different clip to accommodate a different bolt pattern, such replacement is time-consuming. Additionally, replacement clips adapted for use with each of the different bolt patterns must be maintained.
Another shortcoming of these known centering components is that the longitudinal bolts must be guided through the holes during installation of the valves. This requires a technician to carefully align the various components and manually guide the bolts, which can be tedious and time-consuming.
A still further shortcoming of the known centering components arises during installation of the valves within the pipelines and specifically, during the transportation and positioning of the valves. For example, technicians often require the use of a lift such as a fork lift or some other device to transport the valve assemblies. To achieve this, technicians have often hooked a cable, a strap, or some other device through one or more of the holes in the centering component. During the lifting and transporting of the valve assembly, this connection can improperly stress either or both of the centering component and the threaded fastener.

Seal retainer/longitudinal centering clips with multiple flange capability


A method and apparatus to clean a filter drum used for thickening lime mud. The drum is rotated about a horizontal axis in a first direction so that the circumferential surface of the drum moves into contact with lime mud in a vat and a precoat layer formed on the drum, as well as an external layer of lime mud which forms a thickened lime mud cake when a vacuum is applied to the drum withdrawing liquid from the lime mud. The thickened external layer of lime mud cake is scraped from the drum at a second side of the vat, and at a first opposite side of the vat a first jet of liquid is directed onto the drum surface (e.g. at a pressure of about 30-100 bar) to remove a strip of the precoat layer, a third jet of liquid cleans the drum after removal of the precoat layer, and a second jet of liquid is directed onto the drum with sufficient intensity (e.g. a pressure of about 2-20 bar) to remove, by spreading and partially detaching, a strip from the thickened lime mud cake. Typically the second jet is operated substantially continuously, except when the first and third jets are operated, the first and third jets being operated at spaced time intervals (e.g. periodically or intermittently). The invention results in partial removal of the precoat with a gentle liquid jet, easy removal of the entire precoat layer because the precoat is not yet hardened at its location of movement, intermittent use of high pressure jets which extends the life of the high pressure apparatus in the wire forming the drum, and optimum ease of installation and maintenance of the spray nozzles.

Prior to the lime mud reburning kiln, the lime mud having a dry solids content of approx. 25% is thickened normally to a dry solids content of 70-85% in a drum vacuum filter. At the beginning of the filtering process a so-called precoat layer is formed of the lime mud on the surface of the filtering drum; the thickness of the precoat is normally 10-20 mm. A scraper is used to remove the dried lime mud thickened onto the surface of the precoat layer. The dried lime mud falls onto a conveyor and further to a feed screw of the lime mud reburning kiln supplying the dried mud to the kiln.
The surface layer of the precoat becomes clogged while the filtering proceeds and from time to time it must be removed. The technique normally used is to move the automatic scraper gradually inwards following a predetermined program, thus removing the clogged surface layer. After the scraper has moved in several steps closer to the drum the rest of the precoat is removed by-means of air or water, and a new precoat is formed.
All the movements of the scraper described above and the removal of the whole precoat from the surface of the drum cause disturbances in the operation of the lime mud reburning kiln. Every time the clogged surface layer of the precoat has been removed by means of the scraper the filtering is more efficient and the lime mud volume is larger for a moment. Further, also the dry solids content of the lime mud is higher after the precoat has been scraped which results in and calls for changes the running of the lime mud reburning kiln. When the whole precoat is renewed at the same time the lime mud is damp and the supply of the mud into the kiln is stopped altogether for a moment which naturally causes a break in the operation of the kiln. Typically, the precoat is renewed once a shift, or correspondingly three times in 24 hours. In the long run, also the wire is so badly clogged that it must be washed either with acid or with a high-pressure washer. This operation also causes a long disturbance or interrupts the production of the lime mud reburning kiln.
The arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,448 reduces the disadvantages and problems of the known techniques described above by removing a strip at a time from the filtering layer by means of a liquid jet reciprocating continuously in the longitudinal direction of the drum. This has been effected by installing under the scraper one nozzle or several nozzles continuously reciprocating in the longitudinal direction of the drum. The high-pressure nozzles, for example two in number, have been provided under the scraper so that the purpose of one of the nozzles is to break the precoat layer and to drop it to the filter vat after which the second nozzle is used to wash the filter cloth clean. The pressure of the water sprayed from the washing nozzles is approx. 5-100 bar which gives a very good cleaning result. The nozzle disperses the jets so that the precoat is removed and the wire washed from a strip of approx. 10-50 in width at a time.
According to the arrangement of the above US patent, the washing nozzles have been installed in a rack designed for this purpose for moving the nozzles sideways. The nozzles are moved continuously to and fro in the longitudinal direction of the drum thus continuously renewing the precoat and cleaning the filter cloth. The advantages provided by this kind of continuous high-pressure water scraping are:
the dry-solids content of the lime mud from the lime mud filter to the lime mud reburning kiln is continuously uniform which allows smooth running of the kiln; PA1 change of the precoat is not needed as the precoat is renewed continuously a strip at a time; thus disturbances in the operation of the kiln due to a change of the precoat are avoided; PA1 it is not necessary to interrupt the filtering operation for a wash of the wire. PA1 partial removal of the precoat with a gentle liquid jet; PA1 easier removal of the whole precoat layer because the precoat is not hard; PA1 intermittent use of the high-pressure jets PA1 the location of the washing apparatus is optimal in view of installation and maintanence; PA1 the direction of the washing nozzles is optimal in view of their operation and staying clean.
In the arrangement of said US patent the nozzle/nozzles are located under the scraper removing dried lime mud from the drum; thus the location is as inconvenent as possible in view of the installation and maintenance of the nozzles. Also, lime mud splashes from nozzles located under the scraper may impede the operation of the scraper. Further, because of the operation way of the nozzles and their direction determined by the operation way, the splashes caused by the removal of the precoat impinge on the nozzles and dry as deposits on the structures preventing the movement of the nozzle rack. Further, the precoat is hardest under the scraper because it has been longest under the influence of the pressing partial vacuum.

Method and apparatus for cleaning a filter drum used for thickening lime mud


In an optical multiplexing interconnection module, first and second NRZ input signals synchronous by clock signal are inputted to its input section. The first NRZ input signal is converted to a first RZ signal according to a logical product with a clock signal CLK by a drive circuit and the second NRZ input signal is converted to a second RZ signal according to a logical product with an inversion clock signal by a drive circuit. Then, light emitting devices are driven according to the first and second RZ signals from these drive circuits and two optical signals from the light emitting devices are inputted to an optical channel and multiplexed therein and then, a multiplexed optical signal is transmitted through an optical channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical interconnect module that transmits optical signals at high speed through a transmission channel or path over a relatively short distance. More particularly, the invention relates to an optical multiplexing interconnect module that multiplexes a plurality of signals and distributes them through an optical transmission channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, electric interconnection has reached a limit of practical use. This is because the performance of electronic devices, such as bipolar transistors and field-effect transistors, has increased very much. It is proposed that electric interconnections be replaced by optical interconnections that optically connect LSIs or printed circuit boards. Any optical interconnect module is advantageous in some respects. First, it uses a signal transmission channel that exhibits virtually no frequency-dependency and causes no loss, over a range from direct current to tens of GHz. Second, it can help achieve high-speed transmission, since it is free from electromagnetic interference and makes no noise resulting from ground-potential changes.
Takai et al., "800 Mbit/s/ch×12 ch, True DC-Coupled Parallel Optical Interconnects Using Single-Mode Fiber and 1310 nm LD Array," 2000 Electronic Components and Technology Conference, discloses an "optical interconnect module in which signals are transmitted in parallel through optical transmission channels or channels."
In the optical interconnect module disclosed in the Takai et al. thesis, a signal representing several Gbps of data can be allocated to each of the optical transmission channels that are available. Hence, the module can distribute data as much as several Gbps times the number of the channels available. Assume that 32 optical transmission channels are available, each being able to transmit 5 Gbps of data. Then, the module can provide optical interconnections for such a great amount of data as 160 Gbps (i.e., 20 GBps (B: byte).
In any optical interconnect module, a certain optical transmission channel is allocated to the clock signal CLK. The data used in most digital LSIs is composed of so-called "NRZ (Non Return to Zero) signals, each being a clock-signal wave that has a logic value of "0" at the valley and a logic value of "1" at the peak. That is, the clock wave is a signal that has a one-clock period. To transmit the clock waves, it is therefore necessary to use a transmission band that is about twice as broad as the data-channel band.
An optical interconnect module, in which each optical transmission channel can transmit, for example, 5 Gbps at most, needs a transmission band of about 3.5 GHz in order to transmit a digital signal wave. This is because the data signals have fundamental frequency of 2.5 GHz. In contrast, the clock signal has fundamental frequency of 5 GHz. Hence, in an optical interconnect module, which transmits the clock signal and a digital signal wave at the same time, the clock-signal channel must have twice as broad a band. To this end, two clock signals of different phases, each having twice as long a period, are transferred through two channels and are then synthesized.
The clock signal may not be transferred, for the purpose of use the interconnect channels as effectively as possible. In this case, however, a clock-extracting circuit must be employed. Further, the clock-extracting circuit can hardly extract the clock signal from the NRZ signal in some cases (for example, when the data is long-period one, i.e., "11111 . . ."). Thus, it is desirable to transfer the clock signal to accomplish reliable signal interconnection. In the conventional optical interconnect module, the band for the data-signal channels must therefore be limited to the narrow band for the clock-signal channel.
The conventional optical interconnect module must have many optical interconnect channels to transmit a great amount of data, inevitably because it uses as many optical interconnect channels as the data signals to transmit. Therefore, the optical transmission channel may become too broad or may lack flexibility in some cases. Further, the operating band of the optical elements and electronic circuits incorporated in the module limits the signal-transmitting band of each optical channel.
Thus, the conventional optical interconnect module is disadvantageous in several aspects. First, the band for the data-signal channels must therefore be limited to the narrow band for the clock-signal channel. Second, the optical transmission channel is too broad or lacks flexibility. Third, the operating band of the optical elements and electronic circuits limits the signal-transmitting band of each optical channel.

Optical multiplexing interconnect module


Disclosed herein are system, method, and device embodiments for executing an application program interface (API) plugin for use in conjunction with a vector editing design tool. For example, a method may include: retrieving contextual information related to a plurality of features of a design tool upon initialization of the design tool, the contextual information being stored on a remote server from one or more computing devices; detecting a placement of a first feature from among the plurality of features in a design environment of the design tool; and displaying the contextual information in the design environment in response to detecting the placement of the first feature.

Vector editing design tools (e.g., user interface (UI) design kits and design system kits) may be used to facilitate designing a UI for a mobile application or website. UI design kits include a set or collection of layered image files or other graphic files, which allow UI designers to build UIs, and design system kits include a set of principles, constraints, and rules that are used and implemented in code. These vector editing design tools generally contain a plurality of UI features that offer functionality to the UI designers and help the UI designers experiment with their design. That is, the vector editing design tools may include a set of high-quality libraries and toolkits that enable a UI designer to create UIs using hundreds of UI features connected with customizable styles. Existing vector editing design tools, however, are frequently accompanied by static user manuals that may be outdated as updates to the UI design kits and/or design systems are made available.
The present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.


A slipform sled for paving street curbs and gutters has a hopper and a curb and gutter mold. A pivoting mold assembly having a standard curb elevation mold and a driveway curb elevation mold is mounted on the slipform sled. The pivoting mold assembly pivots on a shaft oriented parallel to the direction of motion of the slipform sled. Paving material is flowed into the hopper and is extruded through the standard curb mold or the driveway curb mold while the sled is moving providing a smooth uniform finish. Only the relatively small transition section between the standard curb and driveway curb needs hand finishing. The elevation of a vibrator in the hopper is changed to correspond to the elevation of the curb extruded.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to concrete slipform sleds, and more particularly to a sled for extruding curbs and gutters.
2. Description of Related Art
Curbs and gutters in new streets are typically formed by extruding a flowable paving material, such as concrete, through a slipform mold which conforms to the profile of the desired curb and gutter. Typically, the standard curb has an elevated rectangular profile adjacent to the gutter, which has a lower, relatively flat profile. A self propelled paving machine is typically used to extrude a continuous curb and gutter. A slipform sled having a hopper and the slipform is attached to the paving machine and positioned for a continuous pour. Flowable paving material is placed in the hopper of the sled and flows into the mold by gravity where it is extruded out behind the sled while the sled moves forward. Vibrators are typically placed in the hopper to help move the paving material into the mold, remove voids and produce a uniform surface on the extruded curb and gutter.
A driveway curb profile is typically lower than the standard curb. In some existing slipform sleds, when a driveway section needs to be made, a knife plate is inserted into the curb section mold to scrape the concrete extrusion to the driveway curb level. This knife plate causes the concrete extruded below it to come out with a ragged surface and little or no elevation control. The scraped driveway curb must be hand finished by first installing a form to the backside to establish the driveway curb elevation. The driveway curb is then floated to the form elevation, radius edges are installed and the curb surface smoothed with a trowel Taper forms are used to finish the transition from standard curb to driveway curb.
In another configuration of existing curb and gutter paving systems, a tail piece is lowered behind the slip mold to cut or squeeze the curb extrusion to a lower elevation. In other systems a plate within the slip mold is lowered in elevation for a driveway curb. These methods depend on the travel of a hydraulic cylinder actuator pressing against extruded paving material to be uniform for each change of elevation. Unfortunately, these systems do not exhibit consistent uniform elevation control. They typically result in wasted concrete and usually leave a rough, uneven curb surface that requires form leveling and significant hand finishing. In still further systems, the sled must stop and the slipform mold exchanged to the desired curb profile for each driveway transition.
In a new home development, dozens of driveway sections may be installed in the curbs and gutters paved in a single day. With existing equipment, this requires many starts and stops to exchange molds or significant labor to set forms and hand finish the driveway curb elevations.
What is needed is a slipform sled that can extrude both the standard elevation curb and a lower elevation driveway curb reliably and without requiring significant finishing by hand.

Curb and gutter sled with pivoting mold assembly


The present invention provides a multi-projection system using an interior surface as a projection surface, the system including a screen installed in a single theater, a plurality of interior surfaces arranged around the screen, and two or more projection devices for projecting synchronized images on the screen and the interior surfaces.

Conventionally, in order to reproduce images such as movies, advertisements, etc., two-dimensional images are projected on a single screen arranged in front of a theater. However, audiences can only watch two-dimensional (2D) images under such a system.
Three-dimensional (3D) image technologies for providing audiences with 3D images have recently been developed. 3D image technologies use the principle of allowing an audience to feel the 3D effect even from a flat image when different images are presented to the left and right eyes of the audience and combined in the brain. In detail, two cameras equipped with different polarizing filters are used during filming, and the audience wears glasses with polarizing filters such that different images are presented to the left and right eyes during watching.
However, while these 3D technologies can provide audiences with 3D images, the audiences just watch the images reproduced on a single screen, which may reduce the degree of involvement in the images. Moreover, the direction of the 3D effect that the audiences feel is limited to the direction of the single screen.
Furthermore, according to the conventional 3D technologies, the audiences must wear the glasses equipped with polarizing filters during watching, which may make the audiences feel inconvenient, and different images are artificially presented to the left and right eyes, which may make some sensitive audiences feel dizzy or nausea.
Therefore, a so-called "multi-projection system" which can solve the problems of the conventional projection systems based on the single screen has been proposed. The "multi-projection system" refers to a technology in which a plurality of projection surfaces are arranged around audience seats such that synchronized images are reproduced on the plurality of projection surfaces, thus providing audiences with the three-dimensional effect and immersion.
Meanwhile, the plurality of projection surfaces are necessarily required to implement the "the multi-projection system". Therefore, it is necessary to install an additional screen so as to construct the "the multi-projection system" in a conventional theater having only the single screen.
However, it is not easy to install the additional screen in the theater that has already been completed, and small and large constructions are required. Moreover, it may be impossible to install the additional screen due to the nature of the internal structure of some specific theaters.
Therefore, there is a need to develop a technology that can construct the multi-projection system without changing the structure of the conventional theater having only the single screen (without installing any additional screen).

Multi-projection system using interior surface as projection surface


A device for removing undesirable material from a tubular structure within the human body features a cylindrical body with a lumen therethrough. The distal portion of the body is divided into a number of flexible members. An inflatable cuff is attached to the flexible members. When the cuff is inflated, the members flex radially outwardly so that the distal opening of the lumen is expanded. An inflation tube is used to inflate and deflate the cuff by means of a syringe. An elastomeric membrane sleeve surrounds the flexible members so that the latter are contracted towards their original position when the cuff is deflated. The sleeve also prevents material from escaping between the flexible members when the cuff is inflated.

Various tubular structures within the human body may come to contain materials, whether of the body's origin or man-made, that are undesirable. For example, stones may develop in the biliary or excretory systems, blood clots may form in blood vessels, or surgically implanted devices, such as catheters, may have fragments break off. For most of these situations, surgical intervention has traditionally been the primary means of retrieval and treatment.
Recently, however, various interventional radiological techniques have been developed which allow removal of such undesirable material. Such techniques involve the introduction of guide wires and catheters, or other medical devices, into the lumen of the tubular structures through introducer sheaths.
In one type of interventional radiological technique, various baskets, such as the SEGURA basket, manufactured by the Meditech corporation of Watertown, Mass., are used for trapping stones in the biliary and excretory tracts. Unfortunately, such devices are not easily inserted into, or manipulated within, the lumen of a human body's tubular structures. The baskets also generally contain wire mesh that may damage the interior walls of tubular structures.
Interventional radiologic techniques have been developed in which pharmacologic agents, such as urokinase, are used through catheter directed infusion to dissolve blood clots. This dissolving of clots is a relatively lengthy process and is extremely expensive. Furthermore, the process poses significant risks to the patient, the most serious of these being the precipitation of bleeding elsewhere in the body.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,426 to Dretler, there is disclosed a device for capturing and disintegrating kidney stones and the like. The device features a snare that passes through the lumen of a catheter. Once the catheter is positioned within a passage of the human body, such as the urinary tract, the snare may be extended out of the catheter's distal end in an axial direction so that it may capture a kidney stone. The catheter has an elastomeric structure on its distal end which is inverted on itself as the kidney stone is drawn axially into the lumen of the catheter. The snare features an elongated tube through which a laser fiber passes. This allows the kidney stone to be disintegrated as it is held within the catheter. A disadvantage of this device, however, is that it features a profile that would preclude introduction into the vascular system. Furthermore, the elastomeric structure on the distal end of the catheter has undesirable consequences, as will be discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,839 to Kipperman discloses a method and apparatus for removing thrombus and plaque from a coronary artery. The apparatus features a balloon catheter disposed through the lumen of a guide catheter. The guide catheter features an expandable distal tip. Once the device is positioned within the artery, the balloon is inflated to expand the distal tip of the guide catheter. The balloon is then deflated and the distal tip of the guide catheter retains its expanded shape. The balloon catheter is then extended out from the distal tip and beyond the occluded portion of the artery and is once again inflated. The inflated balloon is then retracted back into the guide catheter, carrying with it residual pieces of thrombus and/or plaque which had been dislodged from the artery wall. A disadvantage of this apparatus and method, however, is that, in order to properly expand the distal tip of the guide catheter, the balloon must be precisely positioned. Furthermore, once the distal tip is expanded, it cannot be contracted. This would make removal from the patient's body or advancement further into the artery difficult if not impossible.
In order to accommodate the retrieval and removal of foreign bodies that are larger than the inner diameter of their distal tips, a number of sheaths and catheters have been constructed from elastomeric substances. An example is the EVC catheter available from the Applied Medical corporation of Laguna Beach, Calif. A disadvantage of existing elastomeric sheaths and catheters, however, is that, because of their elastomeric construction, they are easily deformed in an accordion-like fashion when an object is brought up forcefully against their orifices. Furthermore, due to their deformability, such sheaths and catheters may be peeled back during introduction through the skin or while entering the target structure. This could render the device useless and may possibly result in damage to the skin or target structure.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a catheter, which may be in the form of a typical catheter, a guide catheter or an introducer sheath, and a method of use by which a variety of undesirable materials may be removed from tubular structures within the human body.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a catheter with a lumen which may be easily expanded once the catheter is introduced into a tubular structure of the human body so as to allow for passage of materials into the tip of the catheter for easier removal from the body.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a catheter with an expandable lumen that is elastic so that it may be contracted back to its original size while in a tubular structure in the human body.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a catheter which allows for elastic expansion of its lumen while maintaining adequate longitudinal strength to resist accordion-like deformation.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a catheter which allows for elastic expansion of its lumen and may be easily introduced and withdrawn from a tubular structure of the human body.

Expandable lumen device and method of use