Processes for the production of acetic acid by carbonylation of methanol, and reactive derivatives thereof, in a reaction mixture using a rhodium-based catalyst system with at least one catalyst stabilizer selected from the group of ruthenium catalyst stabilizers, tin catalyst stabilizers, and mixtures thereof are provided. The catalyst stabilizers minimize precipitation of the rhodium metal during recovery of the acetic acid product, particularly in flasher units in an acetic acid recovery scheme. Stability of the rhodium metal is achieved even when the acetic acid is produced in low water content reaction mixtures in the presence of an iodide salt co-promoter at a concentration that generated an iodide ion concentration of greater than about 3 weight % of the reaction mixture. The stabilizing ruthenium or tin compounds may be present in the reaction mixture for the production of acetic acid at molar concentrations of ruthenium or tin metal to rhodium of about 0.1:1 to about 20:1.

Large volumes of commercial acetic acid are produced by carbonylation of an alkyl alcohol, especially methanol, and reactive derivatives thereof, with carbon monoxide in a liquid reaction mixture. Such carbonylation reactions are generally carried out in the presence of a catalyst, often a Group VIII metal catalyst such as rhodium and iridium, a halogen containing catalyst promoter, such as methyl iodide, and water. U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,329 to Paulik et al. discloses the use of a rhodium-based carbonylation catalyst dissolved, or otherwise dispersed, in a liquid reaction mixture or supported on an inert solid, along with a halogen-containing catalyst promoter as exemplified by methyl iodide. U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,329 to Paulik et al. discloses that water may be added to the reaction mixture to exert a beneficial effect upon the reaction rate, and water concentrations greater than 14 weight % of the reaction mixture are typically used. This is sometimes referred to as the "high water" carbonylation process.
An alternative to the "high water" carbonylation process is the "low water" carbonylation process, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,001,259 to Smith et al.; 5,026,908 to Smith et al.; and 5,144,068, also to Smith et al. Water concentrations in the reaction mixture of 14 weight % and lower may be used in the "low water" carbonylation process. Employing a low water concentration simplifies downstream processing of the desired carboxylic acid to its glacial form. The more water there is in a reaction stream, the greater the operating costs to remove water from the product acetic acid and the greater the capital investment in product recovery and purification equipment. The efficiencies achieved when operating at very low water concentrations makes it attractive to operate at the lowest water concentration possible.
However, while reducing the reactor mixture water concentration may minimize operating and fixed costs, it is more difficult to maintain catalyst stability and activity, as explained in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,001,259 to Smith et al.; 5,026,908 to Smith et al.; and 5,144,068, also to Smith et al. In low water acetic acid production, especially in processes using rhodium-based catalysts, the catalyst metals tend to precipitate out of the reaction mixture. Catalyst precipitation is frequently experienced in product recovery systems, especially flasher units. Significant catalyst precipitation may lead to catalyst loss, reduced reaction rates, interrupted unit operation, and complete shutdowns. It is known that catalyst stability problems may be minimized by the use of a catalyst stabilizer such as a soluble metal iodide or quaternary iodide salt. As discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,001,259 to Smith et al.; 5,026,908 to Smith al.; and 5,144,068, also to Smith et al, especially suitable salts are alkali metal iodides such as lithium iodide since these are the most soluble and thermally stable in the reaction mixture. EP-A-0 161 874 to Smith et al. describes a reaction system in which methanol, is carbonylated to a carboxylic acid derivative such as acetic acid while using a liquid reaction mixture having low water content. The disclosure describes that this is achieved by the use of defined concentrations of an iodide salt, alkyl iodide and corresponding alkyl ester in the liquid reaction mixture to maintain rhodium catalyst stability and system productivity. EP 0 506 240 B1 to Watson discloses the introduction of one or more iodides of Group IA and IIA elements or hydrogen iodide into the flasher zone of an acetic acid recovery system. The introduction of the iodides is said to suppress the volatility of water relative to the acetic acid to aid in the recovery of the acetic acid.
Several patent references disclose the use of ruthenium, osmium, cadmium, mercury, zinc, gallium, indium, and tungsten for use as promoters in iridium catalyst systems. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,524 to Garland et al.; EP 728 726 A1 to Garland et al.; EP 752 406 A1 to Baker et al.; EP 849 249 A1 to Ditzel et al.; and EP 849 250 A1 to Williams. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,458,996 to Muskett; 6,472,558 to Key et al.; and 6,686,500 to Watt and EP 643 034 A1 to Garland et al. mention the use of ruthenium and osmium as promoters for iridium catalyst systems. U.S. Published Patent Application 2004/0122257 to Cheung et al. discloses the use of salts of ruthenium, tungsten, osmium, nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium, manganese, titanium, vanadium, copper, aluminum, tin, and antimony as catalyst co-promoters with rhodium catalyst systems in acetic acid production systems having less than 2 weight % water. U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,279 to Poole discloses the incorporation of a manganese stabilizer in conjunction with a rhodium catalyst. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,433,166 to Singleton et al. and 4,433,165 to Singleton and EP 0 055618 to Singleton et al. disclose the use of tin as a rhodium catalyst system stabilizer used in high water carbonylation processes. The English language abstract of the publication entitled Stabilization of Stannous Chloride for Rhodium Complexes Catalyst, Journal of Xiamen University (Natural Science) Vol. 25 No 4 at pg. 488 (July 1986) also discloses the use of tin as a rhodium catalyst system stabilizer. The use of tin as a rhodium catalyst system stabilizer over certain temperature and pressure ranges is disclosed in the publication Zong, Xuezhang, et. al, The Thermal Stability of Rh(I) Complex Catalyst In The Carbonylation of Methanol To Acetic Acid, Southwest Res. Inst. Chem. Ind., Naxi, Peop. Rep. China. Cuihua Xuebao (1982), 3 (2), 110-16. CODEN: THHPD3 ISSN: 0253-9837. None of the references that disclose the use of ruthenium or tin as a rhodium catalyst system stabilizer or promoter disclose also the incorporation of the stabilizer in a low water system including an iodide ion, provided by an iodide salt, at concentrations of greater than 3 weight % of the reaction mixture.
EP 0 728 727 B1 to Poole et al. and equivalent U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,585 to Ditzel et al. disclose the use of ruthenium or osmium as a catalyst promoter to enhance production rates in combination with alkyl halide such as methyl iodide for the production or carboxylic anhydrides and acetic acid. The patent discloses that when carboxylic anhydrides are being produced, the iodide co-promoter may be selected as N,N′ dimethyl imidazolium iodide or lithium iodide preferably present at concentrations up to its limit of solubility, for example 30 weight % lithium iodide. However, when acetic acid is produced, the references disclose that the iodide co-promoter may be lithium iodide but it should only be present at concentrations of less than 3 weight % lithium iodide. Such co-promoters will reduce the formation of volatile promoter species and thereby facilitate product recovery and purification. There is no mention of the use of lithium iodide as a stabilizer but only as a suppressant of volatility. However, the references note that the ruthenium or osmium promoters act as stabilizers for the rhodium catalyst at low partial pressures of carbon monoxide. Experiment "X" of EP 0 728 727 B1 to Poole et al. discloses 90.7% of rhodium precipitated in 23 hours without inclusion of ruthenium or osmium in an autoclave system. Example 33 of EP 0 728 727 B1 to Poole et al. discloses that inclusion of 20 molar equivalents of ruthenium trichloride hydrate per rhodium carbonyl chloride dimmer in the autoclave system reduced rhodium precipitation to 55.6% of rhodium from the solution.
Experiment H of EP 0 728 727 B1 to Poole et al. notes that the addition of lithium iodide to a reaction mixture for the production of acetic acid does not allow the reaction to remain constant. Therefore, as noted in Experiment H, ruthenium or osmium was not added to a reaction mixture containing lithium iodide. Presumably, because of the perceived rate destabilizing effects of lithium iodide in combination with low water conditions, EP 0 728 727 B1 to Poole et al. advises that when the ruthenium or osmium is added in combination with lithium iodide under low water conditions, it should only be done at lithium iodide concentrations of less than 3 weight %.
The publication New Acetyls Technologies from BP Chemicals, Science and Technology in Catalysis 1999, M. J. Howard, et al., pp. 61-68 reports "a non-commercial example" of, as described in EP 0 728 727 B1 to Poole et al. which is referenced in the publication, the use of ruthenium as a promoter to increase reaction rates in low water carbonylation systems using a rhodium catalyst. The use of another promoter, such as an iodide salt promoter, as a catalyst stabilizer, is not disclosed.
Published PCT Applications WO 2004/101487 to Gaemers et al. and WO 2004/101488 to Gaemers et al. disclose processes for production of acetic acid using rhodium and iridium metals coordinated with a polydentate ligand as catalyst systems. The published applications disclose the systems incorporating ruthenium, osmium, rhenium, cadmium, mercury, zinc, gallium, indium, and tungsten compounds as promoters. Molar ratios of the promoter to the rhodium or iridium of 0.1:1 to 20:1 are disclosed. Alkyl halide co-promoters are also disclosed. Additionally, water concentrations of 0.1 weight % to 10 weight % are disclosed. Finally, the published applications indicate that "an effective amount" of a stabilizer and/or promoter compound selected from alkali metal iodides, alkaline earth metal iodides, metal complexes capable of generating iodide ions, and salts capable of generating iodide ions may be incorporated. No specific information regarding the concentration of the "effective amount" is provided. The term "effective amount" is considered to refer to the iodide concentrations disclosed in the representative art as suitable for use in conjunction with ruthenium and tin compound promoters. In other words, iodide salt concentrations of less than 3 weight % are considered to represent an effective amount of the iodide compounds.
In summary, certain references disclose the use of various ruthenium and tin compounds as catalyst promoters and/or stabilizers. However, these references also disclose that the ruthenium and tin promoters and/or stabilizers are to be used only in systems incorporating low levels of iodide salt catalyst co-promoters or in the complete absence of iodide salt co-promoters.

Acetic acid production methods incorporating tin or ruthenium catalyst stabilizers


A crystal article comprises a substrate, a plurality of single crystals provided on said substrate with adjacent single crystals contacting each other and a void generation preventive body filling the portion surrounded by said plurality of single crystals.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a crystal article and a method for forming the same, particularly to a crystal article having a plurality of single crystals formed on a deposition surface with their positions being controlled, and also with their positions of the grain boundaries formed at the portions where the single crystals mutually contact each other and the sizes of the single crystals being controlled and a method for forming the same.
The present invention is applicable to single crystals to be utilized for production of, for example, electronic elements such as semiconductor integrated circuits, magnetic circuits, etc., optical elements, magnetic elements, piezoelectric elements, or surface acoustic elements, etc.
2. Related Background Art
In the field of SOI technique which grows a plurality of single crystals on an insulating substrate, there has been proposed, for example, the method based on selective nucleation depending on the difference in nucleation density between the surface materials (T. Yonehara et al (1987), Extended Abstracts of the 19th SSDM. 191). The crystal formation method is to be described by referring to FIGS. 1A to 1C. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, on a substrate 201 having a surface 202 with small nucleation density are arranged regions 203a, 203b having surfaces with sufficiently larger nucleation density than the surface 202 with a diameter of a and an interval b. If a predetermined crystal formation treatment is applied on the substrate crystal nuclei of the deposited product will be generated only on the surfaces of the regions 203a, 203b, and never on the surface 202. Accordingly, the surfaces of the regions 203a, 203b are called nucleation surfaces (S.sub.NDL) and the surface 202 non nucleation surface (S.sub.NDS). If the nuclei generated on the nucleation surfaces 203a, 203b are further permitted to grow, they become the single crystals 204a, 204b (see FIGS. 1B, 1C), growing onto the non-nucleation surface 202 beyond the regions of the nucleation surfaces 203a, 203b, until contacting the single crystal 204b grown from the adjacent nucleation surface 203b to form a grain boundary 205. In the crystal formation method of the prior art, there have been reported an example, in which the nucleation surfaces 203a, 203b are formed of amorphous Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, the non-nucleation surface 202 formed of SiO.sub.2, and a plurality of Si single crystals according to the CVD method (see the above essay), and an example, in which the non-nucleation surface 202 is formed of SiO.sub.2, the region which becomes the nucleation surface 203a is formed by injecting Si ions into the non-nucleation surface 202 with a focused ion beam, and subsequently a plurality of Si single crystals are formed according to the CVD method (The 35th Associated Lectures Related to Applied Physics, 1988, 28p-M-9).
However, when these single crystals are formed in lattice points in a plurality of crystal grains according to the crystal formation method with controlled formation positions thereof, there may sometimes occur the problems as shown below and in that case, problems may sometimes occur in forming a semiconductor integrated circuit or other electronic or optical elements.
More specifically, when the nucleation surfaces 203a, 203b shown in FIGS. 1A-1C are arranged in lattice points on the non-nucleation surface 301 as shown in FIG. 2A, and the crystal growth treatment is applied thereon, the single crystals grown from the nucleation surfaces which are the nearest nucleation surfaces to the nucleation surface 302b contact the single crystal 303a to form grain boundaries 304. However, at the central portion in the interval from the second nearest nucleation surface 303c relative to the nucleation surface 302b, the single crystals cannot completely contact each other whereby a void 305 may be sometimes generated [FIG. 2B]. This void 305 may be extinguished by close contact between the upper portions of the single crystals by elongating the crystal growth treatment time, but when the upper portions of the single crystals are removed to be flattened by etching or polishing so as to form a semiconductor integrated circuit, or other elements, etc., the void 305 may be sometimes observed to appear.
On the void 305, it is impossible to form an element utilizing the characteristics of the single crystal such as MOS transistors, diodes, etc. Further, even when a thin film intended to wiring is desired to be formed on the void 305, since the film thickness of the crystal grain after flattening is some 100 .ANG. or higher, generally about 1 .mu.m from the demand in formation of the element, and from the point of controllability of flattening, when the thickness of the single crystal 303a surpasses this thickness, there also sometimes occurred wire breaking at the stepped difference portion between the void 305 and the single crystal 303a. Accordingly, when the surface portions of a plurality of single crystals formed according to the crystal formation method in which these single crystals are formed with controlled positions thereof are flattened by cutting, and a semiconductor integrated circuit or other elements, etc. are formed thereon since the active region is formed by avoiding the void 305, the circuit constitution or the element constitution is restricted as it is lowered in degree of freedom in design, or troubles may sometimes occur in miniaturization of the element.

Crystal article and method for forming same


A polymer jacket tube includes a conductor bar which has a conductor insertion hole at its lower end, a rigid insulation sleeve around the outer periphery of the conductor bar, and a polymer covering on the outer periphery of the insulation sleeve. The insulation sleeve includes a large-diameter insulation sleeve at the lower, outer peripheral portion of the conductor bar, and a small-diameter insulation sleeve surrounding the outer peripheral portion of the conductor bar except for the distal end thereof. An embedded metal fitting for electrical stress relief is buried in the continuous portion of the large-diameter insulation sleeve and the small-diameter insulation sleeve. A cone-shaped reception port receives the stress cone of a cable terminal and is located at the lower end of the large-diameter insulation sleeve, which reception port is in communication with the conductor insertion hole of the conductor.

Heretofore, as a cable terminal connector of this type, one constructed as shown in FIG. 5 has been known. Referring to the figure, the cable terminal connector in the prior art includes a cable terminal 20, and a porcelain jacket tube 21 which envelops the cable terminal 20, and which is filled with an insulating compound 22 such as insulating oil or insulating gas.
Here, an annular bottom metal fitting is mounted on the bottom part of the porcelain jacket tube 21, and an epoxy seat 24 is disposed concentrically with the porcelain jacket tube 21 at the lower part of the interior of this porcelain jacket tube 21. Besides, an upper metal fitting 24 and an upper covering 25 are respectively disposed at the top part of the porcelain jacket tube 21, and a conductor bar 26 is disposed concentrically with the porcelain jacket tube 21 at the upper central part of this porcelain jacket tube 21. Incidentally, the lower end part of the conductor bar 26 is located within the porcelain jacket tube 21, and the distal end part thereof is gastightly led out upwards from the central parts of the upper metal fitting 24 and the upper covering 25.
Besides, a stress cone 28 is mounted on the outer periphery of a cable insulator 27 constituting the cable terminal 20, and a conductor terminal 29 is attached to the distal end part of a cable conductor (not shown).
In the cable terminal connector of such a construction, the conductor terminal 29 is connected to that lower end part of the conductor bar 26 which is located within the porcelain jacket tube 21, and the outer surface of the stress cone 28 is held in pressed contact with the inwall surface of the epoxy seat 24.
By the way, in the figure, numeral 30 designates a pressing device which presses the stress cone 28, each of signs 31a and 31b a sealing portion, numeral 32 a clamp metal fitting, numeral 33 a mounting insulator, and numeral 34 a mounting stand.
In the cable terminal connector of such a construction, however, the connection node between the conductor terminal 29 and the conductor bar 26 exists in the interior of the porcelain jacket tube 21, and there have been drawbacks as stated below.
In the first place, there has been the drawback that, since the epoxy seat 24 for receiving the stress cone 28 exists inside the porcelain jacket tube 21, the diameter of the porcelain jacket tube 21 enlarges accordingly, resulting in the heavy weight of the porcelain jacket tube 21.
Secondly, there has been the drawback that, when the outside diameter of the porcelain jacket tube 21 enlarges, the projected cross-sectional area thereof becomes large, resulting in the degradation of the characteristic of the pollution withstand voltage of the porcelain jacket tube 21, so an elongated porcelain jacket tube must be used to meet a predetermined characteristic of pollution withstand voltage.
Thirdly, the porcelain jacket tube 21 is filled with the insulating compound 22, so that when the porcelain jacket tube 21 has broken down, the insulating compound 22 might flow out of this porcelain jacket tube 21 to cause a secondary disaster.
Fourthly, there has been the drawback that, since the components such as epoxy seat 24, upper covering 25 and clamp metal fitting 32 are required, a large number of components and a complicated structure are involved.
There has also been known a cable terminal connector wherein a polymer jacket tube is therefore used instead of the porcelain jacket tube 21 shown in FIG. 5, and wherein the polymer jacket tube is filled with an insulating oil or insulating gas. In such a cable terminal connector, however, the jacket tube is formed of a polymer being a high-molecular material, so that a water content might penetrate therethrough from outside to mix into the insulating oil or insulating gas contained in the polymer jacket tube, and to deteriorate the performance of the insulating oil or insulating gas.
Meanwhile, there has been developed a cable terminal connector wherein, as shown in FIG. 6, a cable terminal 40 is enveloped in a polymer jacket tube 41. Here, the polymer jacket tube 41 includes a conductor bar 42 which is centrally disposed, a rigid insulation sleeve 43 which is disposed on the outer periphery of the conductor bar 42, and a polymer covering 44 which is provided integrally with the outer periphery of the insulation sleeve 43.
Unlike the porcelain jacket tube, the polymer jacket tube 41 of such a construction does not include therein any epoxy seat for receiving a stress cone and need not be filled with any insulating compound, so that the structure of the polymer jacket tube 41 can be simplified, and the weight thereof can be lightened. Further, the individual portions of the polymer jacket tube 41 can be put into the form of units and transported to a site, so that the on-site execution time of this polymer jacket tube 41 can be shortened.
In the cable terminal connector employing such a polymer jacket tube, however, the connection node between the cable conductor 45 of the cable terminal 40 and the conductor bar 42 exists in the interior of the polymer jacket tube 41, and there has been the drawback that, as in the porcelain jacket tube stated before, the outside diameter of the polymer jacket tube 41 enlarges to make the weight thereof heavy. Besides, when the diameter of polymer jacket tube 41 enlarges, its projected cross-sectional area becomes large. This results in the drawback that an elongated polymer jacket tube must be used for attaining enhancement in the characteristic of pollution withstand voltage.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the drawbacks mentioned above, and it has for its object to provide a polymer jacket tube which is lighter in weight and more compact than the prior-art polymer jacket tube and which can attain the simplification of a structure, and a cable terminal connector which employs the polymer jacket tube.

Polymer jacket tube and cable terminal connector employing the same


Disclosed is a method for sharing reliable information or knowledge with regard to a question using an on-line human network. The on-line human network-based knowledge sharing method is to share knowledge based on an acquaintance information database. The database stores the IDs of a plurality of users, and the correspondence relationships of the user IDs, which represent acquaintanceships between the users on the on-line human network. The method includes allowing a first user to write a question message in a form that can be forwarded through the network, generating a question ID for identifying the question message and storing the generated question ID, causing the ID of the first user to correspond to the question ID, allowing a second user who is acquainted with the first user to receive the message, and causing the ID of the second user to correspond to the question ID.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a method for propagating an inquiries, and more particularly, to propagating an inquiry through the Internet.
2. Discussion of the Related Technology
Computer networks, such as the wired/wireless Internet and intranets, have already been widely used as popularized communication means. The World Wide Web (WWW) and the other means, such as e-mail and messenger services, that allow members of cyber society to share information or obtain knowledge based on such networks have been actively utilized.
A general method of obtaining knowledge with respect to a specific question or inquiry using a computer network generally is to ask a question to people of an acquaintance who is expected to have knowledge in the relevant field, by sending e-mail or making contact with the acquaintance via a messenger service. However, this method can be used with people having close relationships with the user who has a question. The number of people who has a close relationship may not be enough to obtain reliable answers.
Another method includes a method of posting a question on a bulletin board of an association of like-minded persons, a community website, or a portal website on the Internet, and waiting for an answer. However, in this method, the range is also limited to persons who frequently access the corresponding association, community webpage or portal website, the provision of an answer may not be guaranteed, and there are many cases where the reliability of answers is low because answers are made by unspecified persons.
Recently, Internet service for allowing users to construct an on-line network or human network with other people using a computer network such as the Internet has been actively provided. The term "human network" refers to a network formed between people who have made acquaintance through social interaction. The term "acquaintance" refers to the range of persons who earn trust therebetween to some degree as a result of sharing information, experience, ideas, and a sense of belonging to a cyber community to some degree. Based on the aspects of general social life, acquaintances are established by knowing each other through connections through existing acquaintances, through blood relations, school relationships or neighborhood relationships, through belonging to specific organizations, or through the performance of joint work in a company or team.
Recently, due to the development and popularization of computer networks such as the Internet, such acquaintances may be established on-line. Various service technologies for supporting the active construction of such on-line human networks and providing a function of searching for necessary persons on the constructed human network have been proposed. In the technologies for constructing and managing the on-line human network, the principal goal of technical development in the field are to guarantee mutual reliability in view of the characteristic of a network, such as the Internet, in which a unspecified number of persons can gain access to the network, to construct a wide human network, and to minimize inconvenience with respect to the procedure.
The foregoing discussion in this section is to provide general background information, and does not constitute an admission of prior art.

System and method for propagating inquiries and answers thereto through on-line human network


A barrier strip for a cable tray of the type including longitudinal wires and lateral wires interconnecting the longitudinal wires includes a vertical wall extending along a length of the barrier strip. A tray coupler is below the vertical wall. The tray coupler couples to one or more of the longitudinal and lateral wires of the cable tray without the use of additional fasteners.

One type of cable tray is a wire mesh cable tray including longitudinal metal wires and lateral metal wires secured to one another. One or more barrier strips may be used to divide the cable tray into one or more longitudinal sections, such as for separating different types of cable, wires, fibers, or other components running along and within the cable tray. A conventional barrier strip is generally L-shaped in cross section including an upstanding wall extending from a base. The base includes an opening configured to receive a fastener to secure the barrier strip to one of the lateral metal wires. The conventional barrier strip is formed from metal.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.


A layable seat includes front and rear paired supporting legs which are layably raised on a floor at two positions separated from each other in a back-and-forth direction, a seat member pivotably connected to the front paired legs, paired link levers each of which has one end pivotably connected to the corresponding one pivotal center of the seat member and the other end pivotably connected to the corresponding rear leg. The seat member is elastically held at its half-folded position by torsion coil springs, and has paired engaging pins which project sideward therefrom and engage the lower edges of the link levers to hold the seat member at its horizontal position against a user's weight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat and, more particularly, to a layable seat which is entirely pivotal between a horizontally laid non-use position where the seat is laid horizontally along a floor surface, and a raised use position where the seat is raised from the floor.
2. Description of the Related Art
The layable seat described above is known from, e.g., Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 62-101211. Such a seat is set on the upper surface of each of a plurality of nestable decks, which are movably installed on the floor surface of, e.g., a gymnasium, a community center, or a multi-purpose hall, and have sequentially different heights. And, these seats are used to temporarily set seats or increase the number of seats.
Each of the plurality of decks has a plurality of wheels at its lower end portion so that the deck is movable on the floor surface of the building as described above. The plurality of decks are mounted on the wall surface of such a building or in a recess formed in the wall surface so as to be expandable and contractable thereto.
When the plurality of decks are pulled out from the wall surface of the building or the recess of the wall surface, the plurality of decks constitute a staircase having deep steps on the floor surface of the building.
When the plurality of decks are contracted on the wall surface of the building or in the recess of the wall surface, the decks lower than the highest deck are sequentially nested in the inner space of the highest deck, thus decreasing the area of the floor of the building which is occupied by the decks.
A large number of layable seats are installed side by side on the upper surface of each of the plurality of decks. When the layable seats are set at a horizontally laid non-use position where they are laid horizontally along the upper surface, the plurality of decks can be contracted to the wall surface of the building or the recess of the wall surface. When the plurality of decks are pulled out from the wall surface of the building or the recess of the wall surface and then the seats on the decks are pivoted to a raised use position where they are raised from the upper surfaces of the decks, the layable seats can be used as temporary seats.
In the conventional layable seat, a pair of supporting legs that support the right and left side edges of a backrest are installed at their base end portions on the upper surface of a corresponding deck, so that the supporting legs are manually selectively pivotal or automatically selectively pivotal by a motor between a horizontally laid position where the supporting legs are laid horizontally along the upper surface, and a raised position where the supporting legs are raised from the floor surface. A seat member is pivotably connected at the rear end portions of its right and left side surfaces to the paired supporting legs, so that the seat member is pivotable between a horizontal use position where the seat member is horizontal, and a vertically folded position where the seat member is flipped up in a substantially vertical direction to extend along the pair of supporting legs, while the paired supporting legs are arranged at the raised position. The seat member is urged to the vertically folded position by urging means incorporated in the paired supporting legs.
When a user sits down on the seat member, the user at first must pivot the seat member from the vertically folded position to the horizontal use position against the urging force of the urging means, and then manually hold the seat member at the horizontal use position until he or she places his or her buttocks on the seat member. Therefore, if the user carries baggage with his or her two hands, if the user's two hands are disabled, or if the user's one hand is disabled and he or her carries baggage with his or her other hand, the user needs other's help or the user must temporarily put the baggage held by his or her two hands or one hand on the floor in order to sit down on the seat member.
In order to pivot the seat member from the vertically folded position to the horizontal use position without using the hand, it is proposed that the seat member is inclined forwardly with it front end separating from the backrest when the seat member is located at the vertically folded position. In this state, if the user puts his or her buttocks on the front end of the seat member which is inclined forwardly and then sits down, the user can pivot the seat member to the horizontal use position with his or her buttocks.
In this case, however, when the layable seat is entirely laid on the upper surface of the corresponding deck, the front end of the seat member which is inclined forwardly at the vertically folded position firstly contacts the upper surface of the deck. The front end of the seat member slides on the upper surface until the seat member is laid horizontally on the upper surface together with the paired supporting legs and the backrest. For this reason, every time the front end of the seat member abuts against the upper surface of the corresponding deck, comparatively large noise is produced. The front end of the seat member, and a portion of the upper surface against and on which the front end of the seat member constantly abuts and slides can be easily damaged. Furthermore, since the front end of the seat member is soiled by this slidable contact, it soils the clothing of the user who contacts it.


Procedures are provided to evaluate the effectiveness of slow-acting antibacterial agents such as metal salts on reduction of bacterial oral biofilm. In the modified process, the exposure time of the agent is increased from the usual 3 minutes to 7-15 minutes, e.g., about 10 minutes, and the duration increased to 5-12 days, e.g., about 8 days instead of the conventional 3 days.

Conventional methods of screening compounds for potential efficacy of oral care agents against bacteria typically assess the efficacy of test compounds and compositions in a suspension culture of defined species of bacteria, measuring bacterial proliferation as a function of optical density (OD) in the presence and absence of the test agent, over a short period of time, following a brief exposure to the test agent.
Such assays are very effective to identify potent and fast-acting antibacterial agents, but are poorly suited to identifying optimal antibacterial agents when the agents would have repeated application over longer periods of time (e.g., by daily or twice daily brushing or rinsing).
Moreover, activity against defined microorganisms in suspension culture may not adequately measure activity against the natural microflora, comprising a diversity of species in a biofilm. Bacteria in a biofilm are developmentally and phenotypically different from genetically identical bacteria in a free-floating suspension, and may react differently to antibacterial agents.
Therefore, there is a need for improved assays for identifying and evaluating antibacterial agents effective against oral biofilms.


A mister fan includes a base, a motor supported by the base, a blade assembly supported by the base and driven by the motor, a first conduit extending from the base and configured to receive liquid from a first fluid source, and a second conduit extending from the base and configured to receive liquid from a second fluid source that is different than the first fluid source. The mister fan also includes a spray nozzle unit supported by the base adjacent the blade assembly. The spray nozzle unit is in fluid communication with the first conduit and the second conduit to selectively receive liquid from the first and second conduits.

The present invention relates to personal misters, such as mister fans.
Personal misters provide a cooling mist to cool down an immediate environment. Many personal misters receive liquid from a water source and use a fan and misting nozzles to distribute the liquid as a cooling mist over an immediate area around the mister.

Techtronic Power Tools Technology Limited


A method of fabricating semiconductor patterns includes steps as follows: Firstly, a substrate is provided and has at least a first semiconductor pattern and at least a second semiconductor pattern, wherein a line width of the first semiconductor pattern is identical to a line width of the second semiconductor pattern. Then, a barrier pattern is formed over a surface of the first semiconductor pattern, and the second semiconductor pattern is exposed. Then, a surface portion of the second semiconductor pattern is reacted to form a sacrificial structure layer. Then, the barrier pattern and the sacrificial structure layer are removed, and the line width of the second semiconductor pattern is shrunken to be less than the line width of the first semiconductor pattern. A third semiconductor pattern having a line width can be further provided.

In the sub-nanometer generation of fabrication process of a semiconductor device, one demand is to shrink a line width of the semiconductor device and to obviate a short channel effect therein, and another demand is to increase a response speed and to reduce power consumption thereof. In order to meet the above demands, a semiconductor device having a broader channel width such as a FIN field effect transistor (FINFET) is a solution. However, in the case of obtaining a functional circuit that needs to fabricate at least one of plural nanometer-scale semiconductor devices formed in a substrate having a differentiated spatial channel width from others, one aspect is to overcome a resolution limitation of conventional lithography processes, and another aspect is to maintain a pattern integrity of the spatial channels of the plural nanometer-scale semiconductor devices.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved method of fabricating nanometer-scale spatial semiconductor devices having differentiated line widths.

Method of fabricating semiconductor patterns


A system and method for providing a linear spread in an electronic trading environment are described. According to one example embodiment, a trading system can receive market information associated to a trading strategy, known as a spread. The trader may also define a market volatility parameter to utilize in the calculation of a linear spread price axis. The received market information and a divide spread algorithm are also used to determine the linear spread price axis. The trading application determines a linear spread price axis, at which price levels are separated by consistent linear tick increments. The linear spread price axis allows for more efficient and effective trading in the electronic trading environment especially when certain tradeable objects are traded or when certain spread algorithms, like the divide spread algorithm, are utilized.

In recent years, a trend towards electronic trading has become well-established, causing one major exchange after another to replace or at least supplement the traditional open outcry where a trade is done face to face, with electronic systems which automatically match bids and offers. While the motivation behind using electronic trading may vary from market to market, greater efficiency and volume are some of the considerations.
In particular, subscribing traders are connected to an exchange's electronic trading platform by way of a communication link and through an application program interface to facilitate real-time electronic messaging between themselves and the exchange. The electronic messaging includes market information that is sent from the electronic exchange to the traders. Market information may include data that represents just the inside market. The inside market is the lowest sell price (best or lowest ask) and the highest buy price (best or highest bid) at a particular point in time. Market information may also include market depth. Market depth refers to quantities available at the inside market and can also refer to quantities available at other prices away from the inside market. Additionally, the electronic exchange can offer other types of market information such as the last traded price ("LTP"), or the last traded quantity ("LTQ").
Regardless of how the communication link is established, the client device provides a way for a trader to participate in the electronic market. Generally, each client device uses software that creates specialized interactive trading screens. The trading screens enable the traders to enter and execute orders, obtain market quotes, and monitor positions for one or more tradeable objects while implementing various trading strategies including those previously used on the floor of an open-outcry exchange.
As used herein, the term "tradeable object" refers to anything that can be traded with a quantity and price. For example, tradeable objects may include, but are not limited to, all types of traded financial products, such as, for example, stocks, options, bonds, futures, currency, and warrants, as well as funds, derivatives, and collections of the foregoing. Moreover, tradeable objects may include all types of commodities, such as grains, energy, and metals. Also, a tradeable object may be "real," such as products that are listed by an exchange for trading, or "synthetic," such as a combination of real products that is created by the trader (e.g. spread). A tradeable object could also be a combination of other tradeable objects, such as a class of tradeable objects or a trading strategy.
Trading strategies incorporated into electronic trading can improve among other things, the speed, accuracy, and ultimately the profitability of trading electronically. One such trading strategy is spread trading. Spread trading is the buying and/or selling of two or more tradeable objects, the purpose of which is to capitalize on changes or movements in the relationships between the tradeable objects. Each tradeable object of the spread can also be referred to as a "leg" of the spread. A spread trade could involve buying in two or more legs, buying and selling in two or more legs, selling in two or more legs or some combination thereof. Often, the tradeable objects being spread are real contracts for different delivery months (expiration dates) of the same tradeable object or contracts of the same tradeable object at different strike prices, but sometimes involve different real tradeable objects or the same tradeable object on different exchanges.
There are a variety of different algorithms that can be used to spread trade. To generate spread prices, one conventional spread algorithm calls for summing certain prices from each of the legs, where buying a leg is positive and selling a leg is negative. For instance, assume that a trader is interested in buying a first leg and selling a second leg. To generate prices in this example, a computer processor takes certain prices from the first leg and subtracts certain prices from the second leg. However, the use of addition and subtraction is ineffective for spread trading currencies and energy tradeable objects because of the format the currency and energy tradeable objects are established in. Currencies, for instance, are traded as ratios to begin with, so performing a summing calculation does not produce an accurate or usable price for the resulting spread.
Therefore, a spread algorithm known as the divide spread (or ratio spread) algorithm is used to trade currency and energy, or other similar tradeable objects. When using the divide spread algorithm, a computer processor calculates the spread prices by dividing certain prices in the first leg by certain prices in the second leg. So, for instance, using the divide spread algorithm, spreading currency tradeable objects known as "USD/Euro" and "USD/Yen" results in a spread of "Euro/Yen." Using the divide spread algorithm, the resulting spread is tradeable, whereas the conventional algorithm of summation would have produced an unusable spread.
An electronic exchange may offer spread products like "Euro/Yen." However, there are times when generating a spread independently (a synthetic tradeable object) yields a better price for the spread than the exchange provided spread (a real tradeable object). Thus, a trader may find using a divide spread algorithm beneficial because it presents opportunities for the trader to make a profit trading the spread. A commercially available trading application that allows traders to generate and electronically trade spreads is Auto Spreader™ from Trading Technologies International, Inc. Portions of the AutoSpreader™ style display can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/137,979, entitled, "System and Method for Performing Automatic Spread Trading," filed on May 3, 2002, incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, the generation and display of a spread along an axis is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/880,078, entitled, "Electronic Spread Trading Tool," filed on Jun. 14, 2001, the contents of which are also incorporated herein by reference. These tools advantageously display a spread against an axis of prices for a more intuitive view of the spread market. As a result, traders often times prefer to display a spread against an axis.
According to the conventional algorithm of summation, the trading system can calculate a linear price axis for the spread using the prices from each of the legs. The spread price axis which results from the calculation of such a spread, is a linear scaled price axis with prices at consistent tick increments. Using the linear price axis, the trader can then easily distinguish the incremental price levels on the prices axis as well as place orders at the calculated spread prices displayed on the price axis.
However, using the divide spread algorithm, the resulting price axis is often non-linear and non-scaled with inconsistent prices increments. The resulting price axis can be almost incomprehensible and impractical for a trader to use for electronic trading.
It is therefore, beneficial to provide a trading screen that offers a linear spread price axis for a trading strategy in an electronic trading environment.

System and method for providing a linear spread


A rotary drive device is configured to be reduced in size while still delivering a prescribed torque. The rotary drive device has a base part with a vibrating body and a rotating body attached to the base part. The vibrating body has at least one piezoelectric element that vibrates an abutting part, which rotates the rotating body. Specifically, the rotating body has a contact part that is positioned at a prescribed distance from the rotational center and that is abutted against by the abutting part. When voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element, the vibrating body vibrates to repetitively press the abutting part against the contact part to rotate the rotating body. The vibrating body is positioned in a plane that intersects the rotational axis of the rotating body, and is disposed at least as close to the rotational axis of the rotating body as that of the contact part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a rotary drive device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a rotary drive device provided with a vibrating body having a piezoelectric element and a rotating body that the vibrating body abuts against, wherein a voltage to the piezoelectric element causing the vibrating body to vibrate and thereby rotating the rotating body. The present invention further relates to a device equipped with such a rotary drive device.
2. Background Information
Rotary drive devices that use a piezoelectric element are already known. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-080164 discloses a rotary drive device that uses a piezoelectric element as described on pages 2 and 3 and illustrated in  FIG. 1 of this Japanese publication. The rotary drive device of this Japanese publication is provided with a base part, a vibrating body and a rotating body. The vibrating body is provided on the base part, and has a piezoelectric element. The rotating body is provided on the base part and abutted against by the vibrating body. The vibrating body is shaped like a circular disc and has an output shaft arranged along its rotational axis. The vibrating body abuts against the outer circumferential surface of the rotating body.
With this kind of rotary drive device, the rotating body can be rotated and drive power can be delivered via an output shaft by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element, which in turn causes the vibrating body to vibrate. It is difficult to reduce the size of such a rotary drive device beyond a predetermined limit.
However, it has been discovered that since a vibrating body is provided on the outer circumference of the rotating body, the size of the rotary drive device is at least as large as the sum of the sizes of the rotating body and the vibrating body. Therefore, there is a limit to how small the device can be made when a prescribed drive torque is to be delivered.
The magnitude of the drive torque T of the rotary drive device is expressed as the product of the rotary force F and the distance r from the rotational center of the rotary shaft to the point where the rotary force F acts (here, the radius of the rotating body). Therefore, if the required torque is T1 and the rotary force F has a fixed magnitude, e.g., F1, then the radius R1 of the rotating body can be calculated and the size of the rotating body can be determined.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved rotary drive device. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus and techniques for digital-to-analog conversion. One example apparatus generally includes a first digital-to-analog converter (DAC) having an input coupled to a digital input node of the apparatus, a second DAC, a digital processor coupled between the digital input node and an input of the second DAC, and a combiner coupled to the first DAC and the second DAC.

Electronic device technologies have seen explosive growth over the past several years. For example, growth of cellular and wireless communication technologies has been fueled by better communications, hardware, larger networks, and more reliable protocols. Wireless service providers are now able to offer their customers an ever-expanding array of features and services, and provide users with unprecedented levels of access to information, resources, and communications. To keep pace with these service enhancements, mobile electronic devices (e.g., cellular phones, tablets, laptops, etc.) have become more powerful and complex than ever. Wireless communication devices include digital-to-analog converters (DACs) which may be used to convert signals from the digital domain to the analog domain. For instance, a DAC may be used to convert a digital signal input to a digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) to an analog signal in order to control a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) of the DCO.

Partitioned digital-to-analog converter system


The present invention relates to a closure cap for a container, with a hinge and a lid which is intended to be tightened to the rim of a container body, and with a closure element which is movable to a temper-evident position. The closure element 34 is attached to the closure cap 14 and movable to an intermediate position in which the closure cap 14 seals against the rim 18 of the container body 12. Additionally, the closure element 34 is movable from the intermediate position to the temper-evident position in a single stroke.

Such containers are widely known, such as from EP-A2-147 507. Such containers are intended to keep goods moisture-free, and usually a suitable absorbant material is provided in the lid or cover of the container to maintain a moisture-free environment for the goods such as drugs, during a long time.
The lid is provided with a seal sealing the container body such that no environment moisture may enter the interior of the container.
On the other hand, every time the cover or lid is opened, environment moisture may enter the container. Thus, it is essential to ensure that the container is not inadvertently opened. An example of such a temper-evident cap and a suitable container is known from the above mentioned EP-A2-147 507. The rim of the cover is provided with a temper-evident safety ring, and to open the cap would break webs provided between the safety ring and the cap border.
A considerable number of other safety elements and temper-evident caps has been proposed in the meantime. On the other hand, the containers are usually made of plastic and are manufactured at sites far from the manufacture of drugs or other goods which are to be kept in the container. The manufacturer of the containers supplies the manufacturer of the goods with the containers in its open position. The container should then be filled, supplied with a capsule with desiccant or absorbant material and closed. This is a time-consuming and expensive operation which has to be done diligently.
On the other hand, recently containers with integral desiccant inserts have been developed, and if such a container is trans-ported to the site where it is to be filled with the moisture-sensitive goods, it has to be kept closed without risking the break of the safety element. This is rather complicated, and usually the containers are collected and transported in a large package which itself is moisture-sealed.


A picture frame assembly in which tiles bearing letters, numerals, symbols or other indicia are affixed to the frame to provide a personalized or customized appearance. The tiles may slide within a groove integrally formed in the frame or be magnetically attached to the frame. In the non-magnetic embodiment, the tiles have raised rails extending from the perimeter of the tile which hold the tile to the frame. The rails may be spring loaded (retractable) for easier mounting.

1. Field of the Invention
This patent relates to a frame. More particularly, this patent relates to a picture frame bearing a personalized message or other indicia.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pictures mounted in picture frames are a common sight in homes and offices. The pictures and frames usually do not identify the persons or places in the picture or the date the picture was taken, or the occasion commemorated. Over time people can forget these details and wish they could recall them, or at least provided a means of remembering them.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a picture frame that identifies the persons or places in the picture, the date the picture was taken, or the occasion commemorated.
Another object of the invention is to provide a frame for a photograph or the like that bears indicia personalizing the frame.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a frame bearing a personalized message that can be changed as desired.
Further and additional objects will appear from the description, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.


An interstitial junction spacer for positioning and supporting a plurality of blocks in a matrix for a wall construction, the blocks being of the type having two parallel rectangular side faces and four adjoining end faces orthogonally adjoining the corresponding edges of the side faces and the ends of each other contiguously to form a continuous circumferential edge of the block, the profile of the circumferential edge being substantially concave, whereby the corresponding edges of the side faces define an outer cusp along the opposing sides of each said end face; said spacer comprising a pair of intersecting and integral spacer means, each spacer means having a pair of coplanar edge members of a prescribed thickness adapted to repose in juxtaposition with the outer cusps of the circumferential edge of a said block along the adjoining end of the end face of the block to space the same from another block or surface disposed adjacent to said block, and an interconnecting web portion to integrally interconnect said spacer means together.

With particular respect to glass block wall construction, a number of different types of construction systems are employed, each of which have their own associated advantages and disadvantages due to the special and somewhat unique characteristics of glass blocks.
One of the features of glass block construction which is making it become increasingly popular, is its high aesthetic appeal. This is enhanced by the use of modular blocks of substantially identical size and shape which are bonded in a rectangular matrix as opposed to an offset bond, the latter being preferred for brickwork in order to maintain the strength thereof. Subsequently, the bonding of glass blocks in a rectangular matrix generally requires interstitial reinforcement between the blocks to maintain the strength thereof.
Two principal types of binders are used with glass blocks namely mortar and silicone caulking. In mortar, a relatively strong bond can be achieved, however the appearance of mortar joints in glass block walls differs markedly from the appearance of silicone joints, and so these types of binder have different appeal to different people.
Silicone can provide an aesthetically appealing joint between glass blocks, it being of a similar colour to glass or alternatively being able to be pigmented to any desirable colour, and is able to be used with smaller spaced joints so that the joints do not detract from the appearance of the glass blocks.
With both types of binder, expansion and contraction of the glass blocks with variations in temperature needs to be accommodated. This is a major problem where the glass block wall needs to connect to either a frame or a wall made of some other material which has a different rate of expansion or contraction. As glass is extremely fragile this expansion or contraction can result in cracking of the glass blocks themselves or the joints if this expansion and contraction is not accommodated. Consequently, the use of a modular framing system has become popular with the construction of glass block walls, wherein a glass block wall matrix is constructed within a rectangular frame of a predetermined size which allows for a void to be disposed between the interface of the periphery of the glass block wall and the inner surface of the frame itself along the jambs, the head and the sill of the frame. The void along the jambs may be occupied by a suitable flexible medium such as polystyrene foam to allow for the expansion and contraction of the glass blocks within the frame.
A series of these glass block wall frames can be constructed and interconnected to form a matrix of glass block wall frames which in turn form a composite wall of the appropriate size.
Notwithstanding the adoption of these types of framing systems for the laying of glass blocks, there is still a need to reinforce the joints due to the orthogonal bond required for the blocks. This is particularly so with the use of silicone as a binder which simply does not have the same inherent strength characteristics as mortar. Even with the increased strength characteristics of mortar, it is still necessary to use some kind of reinforcement when using this as a binder, particularly with external walls.
In the case of wall construction using mortar as a binder, 6 mm diameter galvanised steel rod has been used which is embedded within the mortar layer to reinforce the bonding. In the case of wall construction using silicone as a binder, it has been found necessary to use a stronger reinforcement such as galvanised flat bar of 50 mm.times.3 mm, which is positioned within the interstices of the joints by elaborate fixing methods.
Another problem with the laying of glass blocks is the need to achieve and maintain an orthogonal bond in order to ensure clean aesthetic appearance. Although the achievement of straight horizontal joints is relatively simple with most block laying techniques, be it brick laying or glass block laying, the achievement of straight and neat vertical joints is much more difficult. Consequently, the use of spacers to precisely space the blocks apart both horizontally and vertically has become standard practice throughout the industry to achieve clean, straight and consistent spacing between the blocks along the joints.
In order to accommodate both reinforcement and spacing requirements for glass block wall construction, the design of spacers has become quite involved.
With respect to glass block wall construction using mortar as a binder, the spacers are required to be quite thick and bulky to achieve glass block spacings of the standard 10 mm adopted for mortar joints, whereas with the use of silicone as a binder, the spacers are much thinner, requiring them to be more complex in design. The complexity of the design of spacers is due in part to accommodating reinforcement members and in part to the complex shape of the adjoining end faces of the glass blocks.
In this respect, a typical glass block comprises two parallel rectangular side faces which become the exposed faces of the block and four adjoining end faces which orthogonally adjoin the corresponding edges of the side faces. The ends of each of these side faces contiguously adjoin each other orthogonally to form a continuous circumferential edge of the block which is convexly curved at each of its corners. However, the profile of the circumferential edge is substantially concave whereby the corresponding edges of the side faces each define an outer cusp along the opposing sides of each end face as well as a central inner cusp which is disposed intermediate the opposing side faces of each end face. This inner cusp extends continuously along the circumferential edge of the block on each of the side faces of the block forming the same.
Due to the lesser reinforcement required with mortar joints, the design of spacers for glass block wall construction using this type of binder is relatively simple and consequently a variety of spacers are available on the market for this purpose. One of the better types of spacers for this purpose is the subject of Australian Patent No 608220.
In the case of glass block wall construction which uses silicone as a binder, due to the decreased spacing requirements of the blocks, typically being in the order of 3 mm and the increased reinforcement required, the design of spacers has been much more complex. Two systems which are most commonly used in the trade in Australia are the subject of Australian Patent No 637665 and Australian Patent Specification No 29361/89 respectively. Both of these systems, whilst becoming popular, still have considerable disadvantages associated therewith.
In the case of Australian Patent No 637665, the spacer and reinforcement member are one and the same, in this case, being a member formed of a flexible plastics material such as flexible polyvinyl chloride. This member is dispensed in prescribed lengths which span the entire horizontal joint, being cut from a large roll of the same. Unfortunately, due to the flexible nature of the spacer material, the reinforcement is not as strong as can be achieved by the use of metal reinforcement bars and so the utility of this type of glass block wall construction is limited principally to internal walls, where the lateral loading requirements are not as critical as with external walls. Furthermore, discrete lengths of the member are cut and disposed between the blocks to form the vertical spacing. The discrete nature of the vertical spacers however provides no additional strength characteristics and so these members function solely as a spacer and not as reinforcement.
In the case of Australian Patent Specification No 29361/89, which describes what is commonly known as the "Steckfix" (trade mark) system , this system overcomes the loading limitation of the previous system to a significant degree by utilising a flat metal bar as the reinforcing member and discrete plastic spacers which are connected to the bar for the spacing requirements. The inherent strength of the flat metal bar significantly improves the loading characteristics of glass block walls constructed in accordance with this system and hence such walls can be used both internally and externally. A problem with this system, however is that the spacers which connect to the flat metal bar allow for spacing in only one direction.
In the case of the flat metal bars being disposed horizontally, the spacer which is connected to the bar is only capable of spacing the horizontal joints and hence a discrete spacer is required to provide the spacing for the vertical joints. Conversely, if the bars are disposed vertically, discrete spacers are required to provide for the spacing of the horizontal joints. Again, as these discrete spacers are separate from the spacers which are connected to the reinforcing metal bar, they do not contribute at all to the loading characteristics of the wall.
Another disadvantage of this system is that only one side of the spacer conforms to the complex shape of the end face profile of the glass block, the other side of the spacer by virtue of accommodating the flat bar, does not conform to the complex shape of thee end face profile. Hence the maximum strength that could otherwise be obtained from the bar if it was to more positively engage the confronting faces of both adjacent blocks, is not achieved.

Block wall construction system and components thereof


A mechanism for providing a continuous supply of oil on camshaft lobes used in an overhead cam internal combustion engine. The mechanism includes camshaft bearing caps affixed to the engine about the camshaft journals. Protruding from the side surface of the central portion of the bearing caps are oil diverter pads. The oil diverter pads cause oil that builds up on the surface of the camshaft journals to be diverted toward the camshaft lobes to provide lubrication between the camshaft lobes and the roller finger followers.

A typical concern with valve train lubrication in an internal combustion engine is assuring an adequate supply of oil on the cam lobes while the engine is operating, for all engine conditions. When the camshaft in an overhead cam engine, in particular, is operating, it is critical that the cam lobes are well lubricated. This is typically done using the engine oil. Without adequate oil supply to the cam lobes, the components can overheat and fail. Thus, the supply of oil to lubricate the lobes is critical under all operating conditions and engine speeds, including low engine speeds.
An example of one current method of supplying oil is to allow oil to bleed off out of top holes in lash adjusters through holes in roller finger followers. The oil then flows by the force of gravity along the top surface of the body of the roller finger follower toward the areas in need of lubrication. While this works adequately for some geometries of cam and roller configurations, oil does not always flow properly for all configurations.
Of particular difficulty with the geometry of overhead cam engines is when one of the two sets of valves is located above all but the valve contacting tip portion of the roller finger followers such that gravitational force will cause the oil to flow away from rather than toward the critical areas in need of lubrication. That is, the oil will flow off of the roller finger follower and down to the tappet gallery floor, thus providing no lubrication to the cam lobes and roller of the roller finger follower.
Some attempted solutions to this problem include adding extra oil passages around the cams to supply oil directly to the cam lobes, at the added cost, weight of additional parts and loss of oil pressure in the overall system; or adding parts that force oil to be sprayed onto the cams at the expense of additional parts and the resultant loss of oil pressure in the overall oil system. Thus, the need arises for an oiling mechanism that will assure adequate oil supply to the cam lobes at all engine speeds while not losing oil pressure or adding significant cost increases.


Described is a cellular security system for monitoring an asset from a remote monitoring site without utilizing a signal modulating device or a cellular voice service. The cellular security system includes a detector, a display device, a cellular telephone that includes a camera and email capabilities, and a remote email device. When the detector detects an occurrence, the display device is activated such that the display device indicates the status of the detector. The cellular telephone captures a photo-image of the activated display device and composes an email and attaches the captured photo-image to the email. The cellular telephone sends the email to a remote email device, which is located at the remote monitoring site. From the remote monitoring site, the photo-image is viewed using the remote email device such that the status of the detector of the cellular security system is revealed.

1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a security system for monitoring a designated asset. More particularly, this invention pertains to a self-contained security system for monitoring a designated asset from a remote monitoring site without implementing a signal modulating device or utilizing a cellular voice service.
2. Description of the Related Art
For obvious reasons, those with an interest in a business, a home, an apparatus, or an article desire to protect the object of that interest from fire, water, weather, thieves, vandals, or anything else that may jeopardize the value of the asset. Typically, security systems equipped with appropriate sensors and detectors, such as smoke detectors, motion detectors, switch sensors, perimeter sensors, and water sensors, provide protection for valuable assets. Certain conventional security systems provide protection by activating an alarm when a detector detects an occurrence, such as when a smoke detector detects smoke. The alarm, typically audible or visual, is designed to notify those in the proximate vicinity of an occurrence and to frighten away a potential thief or vandal. However, when a security system of this type is employed in a remote area, the audible and visual alarms are not effective because no one is in the proximate vicinity to respond to the alarm. Additionally, those employing a security system for protecting a valuable asset typically desire protection beyond that offered by the aforementioned type of security system. More specifically, those employing a security system desire a feature that permits the user to monitor the protected asset and the status of the security system from a remote location. For example, when the smoke detector detects smoke, the remote monitoring feature notifies a designated entity at a remote monitoring site. Remote monitoring sites include police stations, fire stations, the headquarters of a private security service provider, the security system user's home, or even a portable device in communication with the security system.
Those employing a security system also desire a security system that is self-contained. A self-contained security system provides protection without requiring an external power source, such as a standard power outlet, or an external means for communication, such as a standard telephone jack or a standard coaxial cable jack. Because a self-contained security system does not require external support, a self-contained security system is wireless, portable, and not limited by the location of employment.
Conventional security systems that are self-contained and provide a remote monitoring feature typically use cellular telephones to communicate information derived from the sensors and detectors of the security system to a remote monitoring site. First, a conventional security system gathers information from the employed sensors and detectors. Then, if the sensors and detectors are analog devices, the conventional security system converts the information from analog to digital. Next, the conventional security system modulates the information to a format that is compatible with standard telephone-line communication. Then, using the cellular telephone, the conventional security system dials the telephone number corresponding to the remote monitoring site. When a connection is established between the cellular telephone and the remote monitoring site, the conventional security system transmits the modulated information utilizing standard telephone communication. After the transmitted information is received at the remote monitoring site, the information is demodulated to a format that is compatible with a processing device, such as a computer. Finally, the information is displayed at the remote monitoring site such that appropriate action is taken.
Conventional self-contained security systems with a remote monitoring feature are limited in that the transmitted information must be modulated and demodulated. To modulate and demodulate the information, the conventional security system must include an analog-to-digital converter, a modem at the monitored site, a telephone number dialer, a cellular voice service for the cellular telephone, and a modem at the remote monitoring site.


A polishing apparatus includes: a pure water supply line configured to supply deaerated pure water into the polishing apparatus; a gas dissolving unit coupled to the pure water supply line and configured to dissolve a gas in the deaerated pure water to produce gas-dissolved pure water; a gas-dissolved pure water delivery line coupled to the gas dissolving unit and configured to deliver the gas-dissolved pure water; an ultrasonic cleaning unit coupled to the gas-dissolved pure water delivery line and configured to impart an ultrasonic vibration energy to the gas-dissolved pure water, which has been delivered through the gas-dissolved pure water delivery line, and then eject the gas-dissolved pure water onto an object to be cleaned; and a controller configured to control the gas dissolving unit and the ultrasonic cleaning unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus, and more particularly to a polishing apparatus for polishing and planarizing a surface of a substrate, such as a wafer, while preventing defects that could be caused by particles contained in a polishing liquid or other substances attached to processing mechanisms disposed in the polishing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a wafer typically has therein various types of processing mechanisms including a polishing table having a polishing surface formed by a polishing pad and a polishing head (top ring) for holding the wafer. The wafer is held by the polishing head and pressed at a predetermined pressure against the polishing surface of the polishing pad, while the polishing table and the polishing head are moved relative to each other. As a result, the wafer is placed in sliding contact with the polishing surface, so that the surface of the wafer is polished to a flat mirror finish. In chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), a polishing liquid (i.e., slurry) containing fine particles therein is supplied onto the polishing surface during polishing of the wafer. After polishing, the wafer is transported by a transporter to a cleaning unit and a drying unit, where the polished wafer is cleaned and then dried. Thereafter, the wafer is removed from the polishing apparatus.
When the substrate, such as wafer, is polished while the polishing liquid is supplied, a large amount of polishing liquid and particles (e.g., polishing debris) remain on the polishing surface of the polishing table. Moreover, during polishing, the polishing liquid is scattered around the polishing table and may be attached to the processing mechanisms arranged around the polishing table. Further, the polishing liquid may be attached to a transporting unit for transporting the polished substrate and a polishing tool of the cleaning unit for cleaning the surface of the polished substrate. If the polishing liquid and the polishing debris remain on the polishing surface of the polishing table and/or if the polishing liquid is attached to the processing mechanisms around the polishing table and the cleaning tool of the cleaning unit, defects of the polished substrate may occur.
Typically, various types of cleaning units are provided at predetermined locations in the polishing apparatus. These cleaning units have jet orifices that eject a cleaning liquid periodically toward predetermined portions of the polishing apparatus so as to wash away the polishing liquid attached to the polishing table and the mechanisms around the table. Such a cleaning liquid may typically be deaerated pure water supplied from a factory into the polishing apparatus.
An ultrasonic cleaning unit is known as the cleaning unit provided in the apparatus. This ultrasonic cleaning unit uses high-pressure water with cavitation for cleaning the polishing apparatus. The deaerated pure water (i.e., cleaning liquid) supplied from the factory into the polishing apparatus is typically used as the high-pressure water of the ultrasonic cleaning unit.
The deaerated pure water (i.e., cleaning liquid) supplied from the factory into the polishing apparatus contains very little gas therein. For example, a concentration of dissolved oxygen in the deaerated pure water (i.e., DO value) is typically at most 20 ppb, and may be even controlled to at most 5 ppb. Fabrication of state-of-the-art devices may require use of the pure water having a dissolved-oxygen concentration of 1 ppb.
The ultrasonic cleaning process utilizing the cavitation is a physical cleaning process that uses a gas-containing liquid that has been processed by ultrasonic wave. An example of a specific condition of the dissolved gas required for the liquid that is to be supplied to the ultrasonic cleaning unit is that "the concentration of the dissolved gas in the liquid is in a range of 1 ppm to 15 ppm". It is also known that, if an excessive amount of gas is dissolved in the liquid for use in the ultrasonic cleaning process, sufficient cleaning properties cannot be obtained.
As described above, when the deaerated pure water with the DO value of at most 20 ppb is used in the ultrasonic cleaning process, it is difficult to obtain sufficient cleaning properties because the pure water contains very little dissolved gas. Accordingly, in the cleaning process for the apparatus that is conducted under particle contamination due to the polishing liquid, the use of the deaerated pure water may prevent the ultrasonic cleaning process from achieving full advantages of its cleaning effect.


In a system in which a host apparatus having a double system (ACT and SBY systems) and a slave apparatus having a double system are provided, signals from the two systems of the host apparatus merge into each other and a signal from the ACT system of the host apparatus is selected by the slave apparatus, a system switching circuit is provided in which when the systems of the host apparatus are switched from one to the other and the slave apparatus performs data switching, the system switching is effected without causing a jump of data. In the slave apparatus, a phase difference between frame pulses indicative of heads of data pieces from the ACT system and SBY system of the host apparatus is counted by a clock having a frequency which n times (four times or more) the frequency of a clock of the host apparatus, and the phase of data of the SBY system is matched to the phase of data of the ACT system to permit switching free from data jumping.

The present invention relates to system switching circuits and more particularly to a system switching circuit for a system in which a host apparatus having an active (ACT) system and a hot-standby (SBY) system and a slave apparatus are provided, wherein signals from the two systems of the host apparatus merge into each other and a signal from the ACT system of the host apparatus is selected by the slave apparatus.
For example, JP-A-5-2438 proposes, as a system switching circuit for switching a serving system and a preliminary system, a circuit configuration capable of maintaining continuity of clocks upon clock switching. In the proposed circuit, a phase control signal for the clock of the serving system is fixed and a phase control signal for the clock of the preliminary system is changed in accordance with a clock phase difference signal delivered out of a phase comparator so that the phase of the clock of the preliminary system may always be matched to the phase of the clock of the serving system.
More particularly, a conventional circuit of this type as shown in FIG. 4 has a phase comparator circuit 105, which is an analog circuit, adapted to compare the phase of the clock of the serving system with the phase of the clock of the preliminary system. In the phase comparator circuit, a flip-flop is set and reset by rise edges of input clocks of "0" system and "1" system to produce a pulse signal having a pulse width corresponding to a phase difference between the clocks of the serving and preliminary systems, the pulse signal is integrated with time by means of an integrating circuit so as to be converted into a voltage value proportional to the phase difference, and the voltage value is converted into a clock phase difference signal 106 of parallel data by means of an analog/digital (A/D) converter. The clock phase difference signal 106 is delivered to a phase controller 107. The phase controller 107 acts on programmable delay lines (PDL's) 110 and 111 for phase adjustment which are provided for the serving and preliminary systems in such a way that the output data of the controller 107 is fixed for the PDL 110 of the serving system clock but the output data of the controller 107 is changed for the PDL 111 of the preliminary system clock in accordance with the clock phase difference to match the clock of the preliminary system to the phase of the clock of the serving system. A selector 115 receives the clocks 112 and 113 of "0" system and "1" system to select one of received "0" system ACT signal 103 and "1" system ACT signal 104 and delivers the selected signal. Since the clocks 112 and 113 of the "0" system and "1" system after the phase adjustment are always kept to be in phase, continuity of clocks can be maintained when switching is effected between the clocks of the serving and preliminary systems.
However, the above prior art describes its main purpose as being directed to only phase synchronization of clocks and gives no description of a system switching circuit for a system in which serial data and a pulse indicative of the head of the data are transmitted simultaneously.
Further, in the prior art, the comparison of clock phases is of the analog type using the integrating circuit which requires troublesome adjustments and cannot meet digital integration.

System switching circuit based on phase matching


An in-vehicle input system includes: a display device for displaying screen images having selection items; a selection operation device for moving a cursor from a first selection item to a second selection item to select and input the second selection item; a first image switching device for switching from a current level screen image to a lower level screen image when the selected second selection item is input; a second image switching device for switching from the current level screen image to an upper level screen image when the selection operation device selects and inputs a level return item of the selected second selection item disposed on a nearest screen edge side of the selected second selection item; and a level return item display device for emphasizing a display of the level return item when the second selection item is selected.

In a vehicle such as an automotive vehicle, recently, an input system is described in JP-A-2004-252760. In the input system, a display device is disposed in front of a driver of the vehicle. The display device has a display screen, on which multiple selection regions as command switches are displayed. The driver operates a remote operation unit, which is disposed at a position different from the display device, so that the driver selects one of the selection regions with using a cursor. Thus, the driver can select and determine the operation instruction corresponding to the selected one of the selection regions. In such an input system, when the remote operation unit is disposed near a hand of the driver, for example, when the remote operation unit is arranged on a side of a driver seat, and the driver operates the unit without seeing the unit, the driver can operates the unit with keeping a driving posture. Thus, it is convenient for the driver to operate the unit.
The screen image of the display screen of the display device in the input system changes from a selection and determination screen image having the selection regions to a next step screen image when the driver selects and determines one of the selection regions. The input system repeats to change the screen image, and finally, the display device displays an object screen image. Then, the driver inputs an operation instruction on the object screen image so that an object operation is performed. The input system has this hierarchical structure. Thus, setting and changing operation of various control instructions can be executed.
However, in the in-vehicle input system, when the driver wants to return the screen image from the present one to the previous one, the driver operates "a return switch" which is different and independent from the remote operation unit, or the driver selects and determines "a return icon," which is displayed and fixed to a right upper area of the screen image, so that the screen image of the input system returns from the present step to the previous step. When the driver operates the return switch independently arranged from the remote operation unit, the driver has to find a position of the return switch, and check the return switch. Then, the driver operates the return switch. Thus, it is not convenient for the driver. Further, when the driver operates the return icon displayed on the right upper side of the screen image, it is necessary for the driver to move a cursor to the return icon as an object icon via one or more selection regions in turn. These operations are also not convenient for the driver.


A family of logic circuits, called gated diode logic circuits, is disclosed wherein small amplitude signals, typically a fraction of the supply voltage, can be sensed and amplified by applying a small amplitude signal to a gate of a gated diode in a sampling mode and changing a voltage of a source of the gated diode in an evaluation mode. One or more isolation devices may be connected between each small amplitude signal and a gate of the gated diode, wherein the isolation device passes the small amplitude signal to the gate of the gated diode in the sampling mode, and isolates the small amplitude signal from the gate in the evaluation mode for amplification and performing fast logic operations (logic functions). The disclosed gated diode logic circuits overcome the Vt variation problem in FETs by detecting and amplifying the small logic signals utilizing gated diodes that have relatively low Vt variation. The amplified signals may then be processed by conventional logic circuits to perform certain logic functions in a gated diode logic circuit. The Vt variation of the gated diode is relatively small compared to the small logic signal amplitude and can be controlled relatively precisely. Typically, Vt of the gated diode can be set to a fraction of the small logic signal amplitude. Thus, in a gated diode logic circuit, the gated diode circuit can sense and amplify the small logic signals sufficiently to perform the various logic operations in conjunction with conventional logic circuits. The output(s) of the gated diode logic circuit can be of a standard full CMOS voltage swing, or can be scaled down in amplitude and further processed by other gated diode logic circuits.

Logic circuits are constantly evolving toward higher densities and higher speeds. To accomplish this, small amplitude signals are being used more frequently to transport data over wide data buses that are internal or external to a semiconductor chip. The small signal transmission is used because the switching power is proportional to CV2f where C is the load capacitance, V is the voltage, and f is the frequency of the switching. The frequency used for switching on data buses has been constantly increasing to accommodate more data per unit time and the logic voltages have been decreasing to conserve power. Small amplitude signals which can significantly reduce switching power, however, require small signal detection and amplification at the receiving end to differentiate logic levels.
The small amplitude signals, or simply small logic signals, or small signals, typically have amplitudes that are 10-20% of the supply voltage (VDD) of a given technology. The threshold voltage (Vt) variation (e.g., 10-20% of VDD) in the Field-Effect Transistors (FETs) utilized in conventional logic circuits, however, is comparable to the small logic signal amplitude. Logic circuits based on traditional Field-Effect Transistor designs are therefore not able to accurately sense and perform logic operations on small logic signals. This is true for both current and future generations of integrated circuit technologies and, thus, conventional FET logic circuits are not able to handle small logic signals. To overcome the limitation due to the relatively small difference in amplitude between logic levels, small signal sensing circuits must be used in conjunction with logic circuits so that the small logic signals can be detected precisely. For example, when voltages under one volt are being used as the high logic level for small amplitude signals, traditional logic circuits are often unable to reliably detect the signal's high logic level without the use of small signal sensing circuits.
Many circuits for memory and data transmission require sense amplifiers for the detection of single ended small signals, and amplification to the full supply voltage level (VDD). Differential sense amplifiers for complementary signal sensing have been widely adopted as they have high signal-to-noise (S/N) margin and high rejection for common mode noise. Single ended sense amplifiers for small signals remain a challenge as the reference voltage point used to separate the 0- and 1-state of the small signal may vary as much as the small signal itself, due to variations in the manufacturing process, device threshold voltage, and temperature. Many signal sources are single ended, such as a DRAM cell, but have been configured with balanced differential signal lines for sensing for the above reason. As FET's are scaled down further (to 65 nm and beyond), the variation of transistor threshold voltage between nearby devices due to statistical fluctuation will be greater and the advantage of differential sensing will be reduced.
A need therefore exists for small signal sensing circuits that can be used in conjunction with conventional logic circuits to process and perform logic operations on small amplitude signals.

Logic circuits utilizing gated diode sensing

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention discloses an improved wireless audio output assembly for projectors, which comprises a system unit having a projector circuit therein and a projector lens disposed on the exterior of the system unit, and the system unit has a card-type wireless audio output circuit installed therein and a wireless active speaker installed on the exterior of the system unit, so that a projector can be used as a standalone device without connecting to external cables to read data from a memory card, view video images, and read audio/video signals of an optical disk. The projector can be upgraded to the user's desired wireless audio output circuit by inserting various different cards for the expansion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved projector, more particularly to an improved wireless audio output assembly for projectors not only having the original integrated multimedia audio and video functions, but also providing an additional wireless speaker output module card for the flexibility of expansions and upgrades, so that consumers can configure the wireless audio output assembly according to their preference.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, the projectors of the early stage were high priced and large in size, and thus were not quite acceptable for household uses. After the efforts and researches and developments were conducted by manufacturers, the appearance and stylish design of a projector have reduced its size, and the price has dropped to an acceptable level. Therefore, the projector for home theaters has become one of the basic equipments for users' leisure-time activities.
Even in the most advanced design, a projector only has the basic audio output functions, and it is necessary to connect the project with an external optical disk drive, a television receiver or a computer for its use. In other words, if a user wants to view images in a video conference or from an audio/video media, the user requires additional wires or cables to connect the projector with the video conference or audio/video devices. On the other hand, if the image on a computer is outputted through the projector, it is necessary to connect a cable between the projector and the computer. Furthermore, the video data in a memory card of a digital camera cannot be read or outputted through the projector directly. Users have to read the data from the computer first, and then switch the output to the projector before users can view the photos and video data in the memory card. Such application also requires additional cables to connect the related audio output equipments, and the complicated cable connection will cause inconvenience to users, particularly to those who are elderly, young or inexperienced. Furthermore, there are too many cables to be connected to peripherals, not only resulting in a bad looking, but also requiring many remote controls for their use. These are the major shortcomings of the prior-art projectors.
In view of the foregoing shortcomings, the inventor of the present invention has disclosed an improved product that integrated the projector assembly as shown in FIG. 1, which comprises: a system unit, having a projector circuit therein; a projector lens, being disposed on the exterior of the system unit; a card reader, being installed directly in the system unit for reading data from a memory card; a video interface, being installed directly in the system unit for receiving video data; and a video player, being built into the system unit for reading video data from an optical disk; such that the projector can be used as a standalone device to read data from the memory card, view video images and read video data from an optical disk without using additional cables for the connection. The humanistic design and convenience of such product gain good reputation and high evaluation from users.
Although the aforementioned structural design has integrated different audio and video devices to provide the function of directly connecting a memory card, yet the wireless audio output of the product is fixed and cannot be changed flexibly. Therefore, such design cannot satisfy the expandability for the fast changing formats and cannot provide the configurations selected according to the user's preference. Further, this product does not support the design of a microphone, and thus the practical function of this product demands further improvements.

Wireless audio output assembly for projectors