Half cells of single-event-upset-tolerant memory cells are offset by at least two rows in a memory array. Offsetting the half cells separates them to avoid simultaneous damage to both half cells from a high-energy particle that could otherwise alter multiple nodes and corrupt the data state of the memory cell. Separating the half cells by at least two rows avoids corruption that could occur if diagonally arranged half cells were hit by a high-energy particle. In a particular embodiment, offset half cells are used at the top and bottom, respectively, of two adjacent columns of memory half cells.

CMOS circuits are used in a variety of integrated circuit (IC) applications. A CMOS process can be used to fabricate many different sorts of functionality, such as memory, logic, and switching, and thus CMOS techniques are particularly desirable in applications where an IC includes several different types of functional blocks.
One family of ICs employing CMOS fabrication techniques are programmable logic devices (PLDs). PLDs are a well-known type of integrated circuit that can be programmed to perform specified logic functions. One type of PLD, the field programmable gate array (FPGA), typically includes an array of programmable tiles. These programmable tiles can include, for example, input/output blocks (IOBs), configurable logic blocks (CLBs), dedicated random access memory blocks (BRAM), multipliers, digital signal processing blocks (DSPs), processors, clock managers, delay lock loops (DLLs), and so forth.
Each programmable tile typically includes both programmable interconnect and programmable logic. The programmable interconnect typically includes a large number of interconnect lines of varying lengths interconnected by programmable interconnect points (PIPs). The programmable logic implements the logic of a user design using programmable elements that can include, for example, function generators, registers, arithmetic logic, and so forth.
The programmable interconnect and programmable logic are typically programmed by loading a stream of configuration data into internal configuration memory cells that define how the programmable elements are configured. The configuration data can be read from memory (e.g., from an external PROM) or written into the FPGA by an external device. The collective states of the individual memory cells then determine the function of the FPGA.
Another type of PLD is the Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD). A CPLD includes two or more "function blocks" connected together and to input/output (I/O) resources by an interconnect switch matrix. Each function block of the CPLD includes a two-level AND/OR structure similar to those used in Programmable Logic Arrays (PLAs) and Programmable Array Logic (PAL) devices. In some CPLDs, configuration data is stored on-chip in non-volatile memory. In other CPLDs, configuration data is stored on-chip in non-volatile memory, then downloaded to volatile memory as part of an initial configuration sequence.
For all of these PLDs, the functionality of the device is controlled by data bits provided to the device for that purpose. The data bits can be stored in volatile memory (e.g., static memory cells, as in FPGAs and some CPLDs), in non-volatile memory (e.g., FLASH memory, as in some CPLDs), or in any other type of memory cell.
Other PLDs are programmed by applying a processing layer, such as a metal layer, that programmably interconnects the various elements on the device. These PLDs are known as mask programmable devices. PLDs can also be implemented in other ways, e.g., using fuse or antifuse technology. The terms "PLD" and "programmable logic device" include but are not limited to these exemplary devices, as well as encompassing devices that are only partially programmable.
PLDs and other ICs that are specialized to be radiation tolerant are desirable for certain applications. Such ICs are often referred to as single event upset (SEU) tolerant ICs, heavy ion tolerant (HIT) ICs or radiation-hardened ICs. An SEU arises when a heavy ion or high-energy particle, such as an alpha particle or neutron, hits a memory cell, charging internal nodes of the memory cell that can change the memory state. For convenience of discussion, an SEU will be referred to as an "ion hit," whether it involves an ion or other high-energy particle causing the error.
Two basic approaches to improve SEU tolerance have been tried. One approach is commonly called "resistive hardening;" however, resistive hardening can significantly degrade latch performance. Another disadvantage arises if a standard CMOS fabrication has to be modified to accommodate a resistively hardened IC. It is highly desirable that SEU tolerant ICs be made using standard CMOS fabrication processes.
Another approach to improve SEU tolerance is commonly called "design hardening." Design hardening generally refers to laying out a memory cell or other circuit to improve recovery of data after ion hits. A general discussion of design hardening is found in the paper entitled Two CMOS Memory Cells Suitable for the Design of SEU-Tolerant VLSI Circuits, by Bessot et al., IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 41, No. 6 (December 1994).
In design hardening, basically redundant storage bits are located in two different places, maintaining a source of uncorrupted data after an SEU corrupts one of the storage bits. Many variations are known, using sixteen-, fourteen- and twelve-transistor HIT memory cells.
FIG. 1A is a circuit diagram of a prior-art twelve-transistor memory cell 100. Output nodes QA, QB are initially at "1" and "0" states, respectively. In normal operation, a low (inactive) read/write signal RW conserves the logical states of the output nodes QA, QB. During a read operation, VDD data lines 102, 104 are precharged. Output QA will remain high as the read/write signal RW goes high because output QA is connected to the data line 102 through transistors 106, 108. Output QB will remain low because transistors 110, 112 are both one, discharging data line 104.
Providing new data values on data lines 102, 104 (i.e. data values "0" and "1", respectively), while the read/write signal RW goes high changes the state of the memory cell 100. In this condition, transistor 114 will push node 116 high, turning transistor 118 OFF and transistor 106 ON. Since transistor 120 is OFF, output QA is coupled to data line 102, forcing the value at output QA to "0." Transistor 112 is turned OFF, coupling output QB to data line 104. Output QB is forced to "1," which turns transistor 120 ON and turns transistor 114 OFF. Thus, output QA asserts a "0" value, and node 118 presents a high impedance.
From the initial state of the memory cell 100 (i.e. QA=1, QB=0), output nodes QA, QB and node 116 are sensitive to SEU. For example, if a high-energy particle, represented by arrow 107, strikes the drain of transistor 106, output node QA will go low. Transistor 112 will turn OFF, and transistor 122 will turn ON. Then, output node QB is not biased, but will conserve its "0" state by capacitive effect. Transistors 122 and 124 are both ON, but the gate width of transistor 122 is designed to be longer than the gate width of transistor 124; thus, node 126 will remain at 1. Transistor 118 is still ON, and output node QA is restored to "1," recovering the upset.
If a high-energy particle, represented by arrow 127, strikes the drain of transistor 128, output node QB will go to "1," turning transistor 120 ON and turning transistor 114 OFF. Node 116 goes to a high impedance, conserving its "0" state. Transistors 130, 112 are still ON, and output node QB is restored to its initial state of "0."
If a high-energy particle, represented by arrow 131, hits the drain of transistor 132, node 116 will go high, turning transistor 106 ON and turning transistor 118 OFF. As transistor 120 and transistor 124 are OFF, output node 116 and node 126 become high-impedance nodes, which conserves their data states. Output node QB is still low, and transistor 114 will remain ON, restoring the state of node 116.
However, the contents of the memory cell 100 can be corrupted by a high-energy particle strike that affects more than one node. For example, a particle strike at node 116 results in transistors 118, 124 turning OFF. If that same particle also strikes output node QA, transistor 112 turns OFF and transistor 122 turns ON. Node 126 is pulled down, turning transistor 128 ON, and turning transistor 130 OFF. Then, output node QB goes high, turning transistor 120 ON and turning transistor 124 OFF. Node 116 is asserted to "1" and output node QA is asserted to "0," thus the contents (i.e. memory state(s)) of the memory cell 100 are corrupted. In similar fashion, a particle strike on output nodes QB and 116 can corrupt data in the memory cell 100.
FIG. 1B is a circuit diagram of another prior-art twelve-transistor memory cell 150. The operation of the memory cell 150 will be familiar to those of skill in the art, and a detailed description of its operation is therefore omitted. However, the memory cell 150 can also be corrupted by a particle strike that affects multiple nodes.
Therefore, memory that is more tolerant to an SEU strike affecting multiple nodes is desirable.

Single event upset tolerant memory cell layout


A method of processing seismic data comprises identifying the value of a first parameter associated with an event in a first set of seismic data. The value of a second parameter associated with a corresponding event in a second sent of seismic data is then obtained using at least one look-up table. The first parameter may be PP travel time with the first data set being a raw PP data set, and the second parameter may be PS travel time with the second data set being a raw PS data set or reflection depth. The invention makes it possible to identify pairs of corresponding PP and PS events in raw data traces. The look-up table(s) are obtained using an assumed model for the velocity of propagation of acoustic energy within the earth. The results of the method may be used in quality control, or to correct the velocity model.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to processing seismic data, in particular to processing multi-component seismic data. In particular, it relates to processing multi-component seismic data to determine an event in one component that corresponds to an event in another seismic data component.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a seismic survey. As is well known, a seismic survey is performed using at least one seismic source 1 and an array of seismic receivers 2, 3, 4. In FIG. 1 the source 1 and the receivers 2, 3, 4 are shown disposed on the earth's surface, but other arrangements are known such as, for example, disposing receivers in a borehole. When the source 1 is actuated, acoustic energy is emitted downwards into the earth, and is reflected by geological structures within the earth. The reflected energy is detected at the receivers 2, 3, 4.
FIG. 1 shows two geological structures 5, 6 that act as partial reflectors of acoustic energy. These structures may, for example, be interfaces between two layers of the earth's interior that have different acoustic properties. As a result, the data acquired at each of the receivers 2, 3, 4 contains one "event" corresponding to partial reflection of acoustic energy at the upper interface 5 and another "event" corresponding to partial reflection of acoustic energy at the lower interface 6. When seismic data are processed, each interface responsible for reflection of seismic data is allotted a unique "interface index", and events may be classified according to the index of the interface responsible for the event.
Typical traces that would be acquired by the receivers 2, 3, 4 of FIG. 1 are shown in FIG. 2. The vertical axis of FIG. 2 denotes time since the actuation of the seismic source. The traces are arranged in order of increasing source-receiver distance (known as offset). Thus, the trace having the lowest offset is at the left, and offset increases to the right. Within each trace, the horizontal scale provides a measure of the amplitude of seismic energy acquired at each receiver. "A2", "A3" and "A4" denote the amplitude of the trace acquired at the receiver 2, at the receiver 3 and at the receiver 4 respectively.
If the three traces in FIG. 2 are compared, it will be seen that each trace contains an event B corresponding to reflection at the upper interface 5 and another event C corresponding to reflection of acoustic energy at the lower interface 6. However, events corresponding to reflection at a particular interface do not occur at the same time in each trace. For example, the event B occurs at time t1 in the trace acquired at receiver 2, but occurs at greater times in the traces acquired by other receivers. This is because the overall path length from the source to the receiver, and hence the travel time, increase with increasing source-receiver separation. The increase in arrival time of an event with increasing offset is known as "moveout".
Many seismic surveys use multi-component seismic receivers, which are able to acquire at least two components of the seismic wave field incident on the receiver. A 3-component, or 3-C, receiver, for example, records three orthogonal components of the seismic wavefield, and these are normally taken to be the x-, y- and z- (vertical) components of the wavefield.
Acoustic energy emitted by the seismic source 1 is predominantly a pressure-wave (or p-wave). When the energy undergoes reflection an interface 5, 6, however, it may also undergo partial mode conversion to a shear wave (s-wave). The seismic wavefield acquired at the receiver 2, 3, 4 will therefore both contain p-waves and s-waves. Events arising from arrival of p-waves are generally referred to as PP events, since they involve seismic energy that is emitted as a p-wave and that is incident on the receiver as a p-wave. Events arising from s-waves are generally referred to as PS events, since they arise from acoustic energy which is emitted as a p-wave and which undergoes mode-conversion to an s-wave upon reflection and so is incident on the receiver as an s-wave. PP events occur most strongly in vertical components of the acquired seismic data, whereas PS events appear most strongly in the horizontal component of the acquired seismic data
Where partial mode conversion occurs, the seismic energy reflected as a p-wave gives rise to a PP event in the acquired seismic data and the seismic energy reflected as a (mode-converted) s-wave gives rise to a corresponding PS event in the acquired seismic data. A PP event and a PS event are said to be "corresponding events" if the PP event and the PS event involve reflection at the same interface within the earth's interior. The velocity of propagation of a p-wave through the earth is generally not equal to the velocity of propagation of an s-wave, so that a PP event in seismic data acquired at a receiver will in general not occur at the same time as the corresponding PS event. When multi-component seismic data is processed, it is often desirable to identify corresponding pairs of a PP event in the vertical component of the seismic data and a PS event in a horizontal component of the seismic data. This allows information about the reflector to be obtained from the PP data and from the PS data
The data traces shown in FIG. 2 represent seismic data traces essentially as acquired at the receiver 2, 3, 4. These are generally referred to as "raw" data traces.
In conventional seismic data processing, the raw data traces of FIG. 2 are first processed to compensate for the source-receiver offset. The effect of this processing is to transfer each event in a trace to the time at which it would have occurred if there had been zero source-receiver offset—i.e. if the source and receiver were co-incident. If the correction for offset is performed correctly, an event corresponding to reflection at one interface should occur at the same time in each offset-corrected trace—the event should have zero moveout in the corrected traces, and correction to zero-offset is therefore know as "moveout correction". The traces corrected to zero offset may then be averaged, or "stacked", and this attenuates random noise in the traces.
Methods have been proposed for identifying corresponding PP and PS events in stacked seismic data. In general, these methods assume that there is a constant linear relation between the arrival time of a PP event and the arrival time of the corresponding PS event. The arrival time of an event in the PP data can be mapped onto the expected arrival time of the corresponding event in the PS data by multiplying the PP arrival time by a constant factor, known generally as "vertical gamma". The "vertical gamma" factor is essentially a squeeze/stretch factor, that stretches or squeezes the vertical axis (time axis) of traces for a vertical component of the seismic data to have the same scale as the vertical axis (time axis) of traces of a horizontal component of the seismic data.
The magnitude of the "vertical gamma" factor may be determined simply by manual identification of pairs of corresponding PP and PS events in the stacked seismic data, and deriving the vertical gamma factor from their respective arrival times. It is also known to use an interactive approach in which an initial value of the vertical gamma factor is picked from the stacked traces for the horizontal and vertical components, and is then used to assist in identification of further pairs of corresponding PP and PS events. Once further pairs of corresponding events have been identified, their arrival times may be used to refine the value of the vertical gamma factor.
These prior art techniques may not, however, be applied to raw data traces of the type shown in FIG. 2. The source-receiver offset varies from one raw trace to another, so that the arrival time of an event depends on the offset as well as on the velocity of propagation of acoustic energy. It is therefore not possible to match the arrival times of events in raw horizontal data traces with arrival times of events in raw vertical data traces using a constant scaling factor.

Methods and apparatus for processing seismic data


A process for manufacturing an integrated membrane made of semiconductor material includes the step of forming, in a monolithic body of semiconductor material having a front face, a buried cavity, extending at a distance from the front face and delimiting with the front face a surface region of the monolithic body, the surface region forming a membrane that is suspended above the buried cavity. The process further envisages the step of forming an insulation structure in a surface portion of the monolithic body to electrically insulate the membrane from the monolithic body; and the further and distinct step of setting the insulation structure at a distance from the membrane so that it will be positioned outside the membrane at a non-zero distance of separation.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a process for manufacturing a membrane made of semiconductor material that is integrated in, and electrically insulated from, a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A large number of integrated semiconductor sensors are known, made with micromachining techniques, which base their operation on detection of a deformation of a thin membrane (also defined as diaphragm), suspended above a cavity. Among these sensors it is possible, for example, to mention absolute or differential, capacitive or piezoresistive, pressure sensors, inertial sensors, chemical sensors, magnetic-field sensors, and microphones. It is also known that it is often advantageous, or even necessary, to provide an electrical, and possibly thermal, insulation of the membrane.
Main known techniques for manufacturing electrically insulated membranes envisage the use of a SOI (Silicon On Insulator) wafer, or of surface micromachining techniques, with selective removal of sacrificial layers (e.g., a field-oxide or buried-oxide layer). According to these techniques, a substrate of semiconductor material is used only as a mechanical support.
The aforesaid techniques are in general complex to implement and involve considerable manufacturing costs.
European patent application No. EP-A-1 577 656, filed in the name of the present applicant, discloses a process for the manufacturing of a membrane of monocrystalline silicon suspended above a cavity, buried and entirely contained within a substrate, which is also made of silicon. This process is extremely simple and economically advantageous, and compatible with the integrated manufacturing of corresponding electronic circuits; also, the resulting structure has small dimensions.
However, the problem of electrical or thermal insulation of the membrane thus obtained has not yet been adequately solved, so that this manufacturing process is not currently completely exploitable in applications in which the insulation of the membrane from the substrate from which it is obtained is required. In particular, it is advisable to prevent structures for electrical insulation of said membrane from altering the mechanical behavior thereof, in particular the capacity of deformation due to external stresses, and from causing in general reliability problems.

Process for manufacturing a membrane of semiconductor material integrated in, and electrically insulated from, a substrate


Tables for mitigating infectious disease spread are disclosed having at least two seating areas that are configured to minimize the transfer of aerosolized droplets among the seating areas. Between each seating area are a series of impermeable barriers—at least one hanging impermeable barrier that projects downwards towards a top surface of a table and at least one rising impermeable barrier that projects upwards away from a top surface of a table. The impermeable barriers are disposed to overlap one another along a line of sight between seating areas such that a bottom edge of the hanging impermeable barrier is at a height above the top edge of the rising impermeable barrier. Vacuum mechanisms can be positioned above the hanging impermeable barriers and below the rising impermeable barriers to create airstreams along the impermeable barriers that guide airborne particulate matter blocked by an impermeable barrier into a vacuum mechanism.

When two people share a table with one another, germs that reside on one person can be transferred to another person in a myriad of ways. This is especially true when the people who share the table are eating and drinking food and drinks at the table without wearing a mask. The number of germs that are transferred between one person and another sharing a table can be minimized by wearing safety gear, such as gloves, and masks, and by taking safety precautions, such as not touching the same item on the table, by washing hands frequently, or by not facing another person sharing the table while talking. However, such measures can be uncomfortable to take, particularly when sharing a table while dining or sharing a table while gambling.
It would therefore be desirable to have improved safety measures and devices that could be used when sharing a table.


An arrangement for providing optical coupling into and out of a relatively thin silicon waveguide formed in the SOI layer of an SOI structure includes a lensing element and a defined reference surface within the SOI structure for providing optical coupling in an efficient manner. The input to the waveguide may come from an optical fiber or an optical transmitting device (laser). A similar coupling arrangement may be used between a thin silicon waveguide and an output fiber (either single mode fiber or multimode fiber).

A common prior art technique for coupling light from an external source to a silicon waveguide is to cleave or polish end facets on both the waveguide and the mating fiber termination. Examples of fiber terminations include, but are not limited to: multimode or single-mode fibers with small or zero cleave/polish angles, and specially-shaped or lensed single-mode fibers that produce spot sizes as small as 1.5 μm. The fiber termination is aligned to allow maximum light transmission through the waveguide, and then fixed in position. Anti-reflection (AR) coatings can be used on both the fiber termination and the waveguide facet to reduce the Fresnel losses. In all of these prior art arrangements, the input and output ports are necessarily located at edge facets of the waveguiding-containing wafer die, significant restrictions on device geometry (e.g., topology and/or size) are imposed by using this prior art edge coupling constraint.
Another factor associated with optical coupling is the development and use of extremely "thin" waveguides formed within the SOI layer of an SOI-based opto-electronic arrangement. For the purposes of the present invention, a "thin" waveguide is defined as having a typical width on the order of approximately 0.5 μm and a typical thickness on the order of approximately 0.15 μm. In the past, "nanotapers" or "inverse tapers" have been successfully used with thin waveguides. However, this success has been shown only within research/development environments, where there is careful control over fabrication conditions.
Thus, a need remains in the art for a manufacturable, high efficiency optical coupling arrangement for providing permanent coupling of lasers and fibers into thin, SOI-based optical waveguides as utilized will be required for high volume production of opto-electronic products.

Wideband optical coupling into thin SOI CMOS photonic integrated circuit


A method and apparatus for detecting an improperly installed auxiliary child seat of the type that is secured in a motor vehicle by the seatbelt, and providing an alert to a vehicle operator in the case of improper installation. A seat occupancy sensor, a seatbelt buckle condition sensor, and a seatbelt tension sensor provides electrical signals to a child seat detection module, which determines that an improper installation condition exists if the auxiliary child seat is present and the seatbelt buckle is unfastened. The child seat detection module further determines an improper installation condition if the auxiliary child seat is present, the seatbelt buckle is fastened, and the seatbelt tautness is not within an acceptable range. If an improper installation condition is detected, the child seat detection module triggers an alerting device, such as a warning light on the instrument panel or audible chime. The seat occupancy sensor may a bladder-type weight sensor, or a pressure pattern sensor that is able to detect a child seat based on the weight distribution over the area of the seat. The child seat detection module includes a memory unit containing information for all auxiliary child seats that are compatible with the vehicle. A user interface allows the vehicle operator to input the type of seat installed in the vehicle, the weight of the child to be carried, and other pertinent information if necessary, and the child seat detection module calculates the range of acceptable tension values or looks up the correct values in a saved table.

When infants and small children ride in a motor vehicle, it is recommended for safety reasons that they be restrained in an auxiliary child seat. Many types of auxiliary child seats are commercially available for infants/children of varying sizes and weights. Many of these auxiliary child seats are secured in place on a vehicle seat by the occupant restraint seatbelt that is primarily intended for restraining a full size occupant in the seat.
Surveys have shown that many vehicle operators do not properly install their auxiliary child seat in their vehicles, and consequently the effectiveness of the seat in protecting the infant or child may be reduced.
It would be desirable to provide a system by which a vehicle operator could be alerted to the fact that an auxiliary child seat installed in his/her vehicle is not properly installed, so that the operator can correct the potentially dangerous condition before driving the vehicle.
In the pursuit of greater safety for occupants of vehicles during a crash, many automotive vehicles are now or will soon be equipped with a seat occupant classification system for one or more of the passenger seats. An occupant classification system senses the size, weight, and/or position of a person or object present in the seat and provides this information to a restraints control module that uses the information to determine whether and to what degree to activate restraint systems during a crash or other high acceleration/deceleration event. Occupant classification systems use various types of sensors, including fluid-filled, pressure-sensing bladders and load-responsive electrical switches installed within the seat.
It is common for vehicles to be equipped with seatbelt buckle condition sensors that determine whether the buckle or latch of a seatbelt is in a fastened or unfastened condition. This information has been used for various purposes, including alerting the vehicle operator if one or more seat occupants have not fastened their seatbelts. U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,672 teaches an airbag restraint system in which the airbag is deactivated if an occupant classification sensor determine that a small-statured person or a child carrier seat is present in the passenger seat of a vehicle. A seatbelt buckle condition sensor is used to activate an airbag condition indicator light is illuminated if the seatbelt buckle is fastened, which will be the case only if a child carrier seat is present, thereby giving the vehicle operator a positive indication that the airbag is deactivated.
It is also known to provide a seatbelt tension sensor to detect the amount of tension present in a seatbelt when it is fastened around a seat occupant. The amount of tension in the belt may be used to derive a more accurate reading of seat occupant weight, since a taut belt may exert a downward force on the occupant that is detected by a seat weight sensor. The downward force contributed by the belt tension is subtracted from the total weight reading to get an actual seat occupant weight. A system that operates in this manner is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0043789A1.
A seatbelt tension monitoring system and associated occupant classification system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/177,442 titled "Method of Controlling Airbag Deployment," filed by the applicant of the present application on 21 Jun. 2002, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Method and apparatus for detecting improper installation of child seat in a vehicle


A method for underdisplacing fracture proppant in a well bore. The method can include providing a set retainer having a passage configured to receive a wiper plug. The method may also include installing the set retainer in the well bore and injecting a proppant-laden fluid into the well bore, through the passage of the set retainer and through a perforation to create the fracture. The method may include providing a wiper plug configured to be received in the passage of the set retainer. The method may also include inserting the wiper plug into the well bore and allowing the wiper plug to wipe a portion of the proppant-laden fluid past the set retainer and into the fracture. Additionally, the method may include allowing the set retainer to receive the wiper plug.

Oil and natural gas are crucial commodities in the world's supply of energy resources. As such, the excavation of these commodities from beneath the surface of the earth is an important activity in the energy industry. Several companies dedicate immense time and effort to the efficient extraction of oil and natural gas from the subsurface.
To obtain hydrocarbons from beneath the earth's surface, energy producers use complex operations and a variety of technologies to obtain the hydrocarbons from different sources. Hydrocarbons may be found, for example, in oil rich sands and deposits located in geological formations beneath the earth. A recently profitable technique for extracting these resources is known by those in the art as "hydraulic fracturing" and is also known in the industry as "fraccing." This method generally includes drilling a subsurface well bore, providing perforations in the well bore, and injecting a fracture fluid into the perforated hole. The fracture fluid is pumped into the well bore at elevated pressure, thereby causing fissures or fractures to open beneath the surface. Resources such as oil and natural gas flow from the fractures into the well bore, where they can be relayed to the surface. An example method of hydraulic fracturing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,992 to Harnsberger et al.
In many situations, the fracture formation process can be improved by incorporating a material known as "proppant." Proppant refers to any of a variety of materials that can be mixed with the fracturing fluid. Proppant is so named because it is made up of particles which "prop open" a fracture formed by hydraulic fracturing fluid for as much time as is needed for the new fracture to deplete the reservoir. Suitable proppant materials can include sands, glass, mortar, or other particulate solids that can easily remain inside the opened fracture. Proppant may be helpful because it tends to maintain stability in the opened fracture, thereby allowing extraction of hydrocarbons or other fluids.
In practical applications, proppant can work more effectively when it is concentrated at the spatial interface between the well bore and the newly created fracture. If proppant is highly concentrated in this area, the fracture may cover a larger spatial volume and remain stable more easily. This interface area, where proppant tends to be most effective, is sometimes called the "critical zone."

Method to underdisplace hydraulic fractures in horizontal or deviated well


There is provided a system for facilitating updating of stored event data of a scheduling device, the event data adaptable for use in generating an event reminder message for receipt by a client resulting in corresponding response data in response to the event reminder message, the system comprising: an upload module configured for receiving a data package including the event data and at least one of a client data and service provider data associated therewith; a filter module configured for removing unnecessary data from the data package in accordance with predetermined filter settings to provide a modified data package; a communication module for configuring the modified data package for transmission to a server for use in generating the event reminder message; and a download module configured for receiving a notification package including the response data translated into a native language format of the scheduling device suitable for updating the stored event data, wherein the notification package is subsequently sent to the scheduling device for updating of the corresponding event data.

With over 700,000 physicians conducting business in the U.S. alone, the market is ever expanding. The adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) is growing every day as physicians new and old begin to realize the potential cost savings capable by adopting electronic management tools. In conjunction with the cost savings, EMR systems also allow healthcare providers to maintain centralized patient care records which are accessible in real-time from disparate sites. The standardization of information flow between healthcare providers is causing Federal governments to mandate the adoption of EMR systems. Physicians are increasingly starting to understand the benefits of electronic systems, and are looking for additional ways to leverage their investment.
A challenge faced for health care systems is patients are very busy people and the traditional 9-5 office hours are no longer sufficient to effectively service a 'round-the-clock' population. The healthcare industry is on the verge of a technological revolution. The declining cost of technology and its increasing ability to further healthcare is creating a lucrative niche market for companies with the foresight to assist. Research has shown that 35% to 45% of patients in the U.S. fail to attend scheduled physician appointments. Even using modest figures, the ability to decrease this 'no-show' rate is a niche 99 billion dollar industry in the United States alone. Traditional methods to address the problem are labor intensive, consuming the valuable resources of a physician's busy practice.
It is further noted that these challenges while discussed in relation to the healthcare industry, are also commonly faced within other industries such as education, financial services, legal services, insurance, and business services where there is a need for databases containing event and task related information (i.e. appointments and meetings with clients) which need to be maintained, updated and/or confirmed.
Problems associated with current state of the art appointment reminder systems include handling of large amounts of data from an appointment database having a plurality of appointments, client, and service provider information. A further problem is inefficiencies and errors in manual updating of appointment reminder status. A further problem is integration difficulties with a variety of appointment reminder systems for effective updating of their appointment records. A further problem concerns monitoring and efficient processing of related appointments. A further problem concerns coordination (i.e. disconnect or misunderstanding) of appointment details between service providers, clients, and the appointment reminder systems.
One solution to address this challenge is performed by Televox™, however their appointment reminder solution does not provide real-time two-way integration into the appointment database.

System and method for processing and updating event related information using automated reminders


There is disclosed an NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spinner having a turbine structure and a rotor whose spinning rate can be increased. A vortical channel (44) is formed around the rotor (12). The vortical channel (44) consists of a chamber (66) and a nozzle array (68) mounted inside the chamber (66). The chamber (66) has a cross-sectional area that decreases in an upstream to downstream direction. The cross-sectional area of each nozzle also decreases in an upstream to downstream direction. Gas is introduced into the chamber (66), creating a rotating flow (76, 78, 80) in the chamber (66). Plural inwardly swirling streams are created from the inside of the rotating flow. The inwardly swirling streams are ejected from the exits of the nozzles. This results in jet streams, which are blown against the impeller of the rotor, spinning the rotor at high speed.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sample spinner for use in NMR spectroscopy and, more particularly, to a mechanism for spinning a sample tube holding a solid sample therein at high speed.
Description of Related Art
When a solid sample is investigated by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy, a sample tube holding the solid sample therein is spun while tilted at a given angle (magic angle) to the direction of the static magnetic field. The mechanism used for this purpose is a sample spinner. More specifically, the spinner is installed in the head of an NMR probe. The spinner is inserted as a part of an NMR probe in a bore formed in a static magnetic field generator. The spinner has a transmit/receive coil mounted around a sample tube. When the sample tube is being spun at high speed, the transmit/receive coil generates a varying magnetic field, and an NMR signal is detected.
Each of the spinners disclosed in JP-A-2001-141800 and JP-A-2003-177172 consists of a rotor and a stator. The rotor has a sample tube and an impeller (turbine in JP-A-2001-141800) coupled to the tube. The impeller has a plurality of blades subjected to jet streams of gas. The stator has a plurality of air bearings for holding the rotor in a non-contacting manner. Also, the stator has a plurality of turbine nozzles mounted radially around the impeller to blow jet streams of gas against the impeller. In the spinners disclosed in JP-A-2001-141800 and JP-A-2003-177172, the turbine nozzles are simple holes extending straight. In such a spinner, a gas chamber is formed around the turbine nozzles to feed gas into the nozzles. The gas chamber assumes a simple annular form. The turbine nozzles are connected to the gas chamber perpendicularly or nearly perpendicularly.
The spinner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,633 has a plurality of turbine nozzles each having a linear shape. The cross-sectional area of each turbine nozzle continuously decreases along the direction of flow of gas. The gas chamber formed around the turbine nozzles is formed as a simple annular cavity. FIG. 5 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,633 shows tilted turbine nozzles that create oblique jet streams.
In order to perform high-resolution measurements, it is necessary to increase the spinning rate of the sample tube as high as possible. That is, the speed or power of jet streams needs to be increased to a maximum. However, when gas is admitted into the spinner, if the gas pressure is simply increased, and if the flow of the gas inside the spinner is disturbed hydrodynamically, e.g., contracted flow and peeling occur, the pressure loss will increase. As a result, it would be difficult to increase the spinning rate of the sample tube.
It can be said that sufficient structural consideration has not been given to reduce the pressure loss throughout the gas channel of the conventional spinner including the gas chamber and turbine nozzles. Consequently, it has been difficult to increase the upper limit of the spinning rate.


A method for profiling network traffic of a network. The method includes capturing packets based at least on a common source IP address shared by each of the packets, where said each packet is assigned a source timestamp by a source of said each packet and further assigned a capture timestamp by a packet capturing device, identifying a first portion of the packets as a first flow and a second portion of the packets as a second flow, extracting a first monotonic timestamp-pair (MTSP) sequence and a second MTSP sequence from the first flow and the second flow, respectively, comparing the first MTSP sequence and the second MTSP sequence to generate a result, and determining, based on the result, whether the first flow and the second flow are generated by a single host of the network.

Network Address Translation (NAT) is the process of modifying IP address information in network traffic (e.g., IPv4 traffic) headers while in transit across a traffic routing device. NAT became a popular tool for alleviating the consequences of IPv4 address exhaustion. It has become a common feature in routers for home and small-office Internet connections.

Identifying IP traffic from multiple hosts behind a network address translation device


A colored solar module includes a light incident side, a backside, and a photovoltaic cell positioned between the light incident side and the backside. A color layer extends across the light incident side of the colored solar module. The color layer includes a clear paint and a plurality of opaque reflecting pigments disposed within the clear paint. The composition of the opaque reflecting pigments in the color layer is between about 0.25 weight percent (wt %) and about 5.0 wt % and a comparative solar cell efficiencyof the colored solar module is equal to or greater than 70 %. A color difference between a first portion of the color layer positioned directly over the photovoltaic cell and a second portion of the color layer not positioned directly over the photovoltaic cell as measured in CIELAB color space is less than about 5.0.

Solar panels for converting solar radiation into electrical energy are known. Such solar panels include a plurality of photovoltaic cells formed from monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon and have a dark black or blue color depending on which silicon material is used. The use of solar panels on vehicles, buildings, etc., to generate electrical energy has been considered, however the dark black or blue color of the solar panels has limited their acceptance by consumers.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative solar panels that exhibit the same color as adjacent body panels.

Colored solar panels and structures comprising the same

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A descaling device for slabs or strips in hot rolling mills includes nozzles fed by a pressurized water piston pump for directing water jets against the slab or strip for removing scale adhering to the surface of the slab or strip. At least one additional pressurized water piston pump is provided, wherein the piston pumps are connected in parallel and the pumps can be switched on and off separately. A second row of nozzles may be arranged in front of the nozzles at a distance which ensures that the water jets do not influence each other. The water pressure of the water supplied to the second row of nozzles is preferably lower than the water pressure supplied to the first row of nozzles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a descaling device for slabs or strips in hot rolling mills. The descaling device includes a plurality of nozzles which are fed by a pressurized water piston pump and produce jets for the removal of scale adhering to the surfaces of the slabs or strips.
2. Description of the Related Art
When slabs or strips are descaled prior to hot rolling, a distinction is made between primary scale and secondary scale. Secondary scale is formed on already rolled material when the rolled material is heated to rolling temperature or is kept at rolling temperature. Primary scale is scale which is formed on the material after casting of slabs or strips. Primary scale adheres much more firmly to the material than secondary scale. If the cast material is continued to be heated for a longer period of time, even more scale is formed which adheres even more firmly to the material. In addition, the adherence of the scale strongly depends on the materials being used.
Slabs or strips to which secondary scale adheres are descaled by means of pressurized water which is sprayed through nozzles onto the surface of the slab or strip. As a rule, the pressurized water is pumped by centrifugal pumps which work at maximum pressures of 300 bars. The resulting specific impact force and the quantity of water determine the descaling effect. Satisfactory results are achieved when secondary scale is removed by means of this arrangement.
However, slabs and strips are increasingly cast and hot rolled from the casting heat, wherein an equalizing furnace may be interposed. Therefore, it is necessary to remove primary scale which adheres to the material. The descaling effect depends on the quantity of water and the pressure which, among other things, determine the impact force.
When steel is continuously cast and subsequently hot rolled from the casting temperature, the entry speed at the first hot rolling stand is approximately 1/3 of the speed of the already rolled material. When the quantity of water per unit of time remains the same, these speed differences cause the cast material to be cooled, as compared to the pre-rolled material, to such an extent that the temperature of the material drops below the minimum temperature for the hot rolling procedure. Even if the quantity of water per unit of time is converted to the slower entry speed, an increase of the quantity of water is hardly possible in cast materials, because the material would be cooled more strongly because of the slower entry speed and an increase of the quantity of water would result in excessively strong cooling.
This means that the impact force of the water can only be increased by increasing the pressure. Since this requires pressures of up to 600 bars, the centrifugal pumps have to be replaced by piston pumps. However, it was found that the descaling device is subjected to substantial wear at such high pressures.


A spinning reel has a reel body and a rotor attached attached to the reel body and rotatable about a longitudinal axis for retrieving a fishing line. The spinning reel has also a balancer attached to the rotor for restricting an imbalance amount of rotation of the rotor substantially within 200 g -mm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spinning reel having a balancing means for restricting rotational imbalance of a rotor.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a spinning reel having a balancer weight attached to a rotor as the above-mentioned balancing means (e.g. Japanese laid-open utility model gazette No. 52-80887).
However, with the above-described balancer weight, it is difficult to achieve complete solution to the rotational imbalance. On the other hand, it has been practically impossible to modify a configuration of the rotor or an arrangement of components thereof for the sole purpose of improvement in the balance.
With this type of balancer, the farther the balancer is disposed relative to the rotational axis, the greater a value of the moment becomes. Therefore, in often times, a balancer of a relatively small weight will suffice for the purpose. However, in the case of the conventional construction where the balancer is attached to a cylindrical portion of the rotor, since this cylindrical portion is usually arranged at an inner side of a skirt portion of the rotor, the balancer can not project outwards at this portion, so that the balancer necessarily tends to be large in weight.
Then, in order to arrange the balancer without being interfered with by the skirt portion of the spool, it is conceivable to arrange the balancer at a rear end portion (on the side of the spool body) of the rotor. However, since this portion usually is not formed with high manufacturing precision, there arises a new problem that the arrangement of the balancer at this position may adversely affect the physical strength of this portion.
Moreover, in disposing the balancer at the rear end portion of the rotor, if the balancer is attached here in such a manner as to project significantly from an outer periphery of the rotor, this balancer may come into contact with e.g. an angler's finger in the course of rotation of the rotor.


A method and system for determining an alignment error between sensors mounted to a machine is disclosed. The method may include calculating a first orientation value based on a signal received from a first sensor. The method may further include calculating a second orientation value based on a signal received from a second sensor. The method may further include calculating an alignment error between the first sensor and the second sensor based on a difference between the first orientation value and the second orientation value.

Autonomously and semi-autonomously controlled machines are capable of operating with little or no human input by relying on information received from various machine systems. For example, based on machine movement input, terrain input, and/or machine operational input, a machine can be controlled to remotely and/or automatically complete a programmed task. By receiving appropriate feedback from each of the different machine systems during performance of the task, continuous adjustments to machine operation can be made that help to ensure precision and safety in completion of the task. In order to do so, however, the information provided by the different machine systems should be accurate and reliable. The pose of the machine includes parameters whose accuracy may be important for control and positioning of the machine. For example, the pose of the machine may include position, velocity, orientation, acceleration, etc. of the machine.
Conventionally, machines may include a positioning system that relies on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data along with data from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which typically includes one or more accelerometers, to calculate the pose of the machine. The IMU may consist of, for example, a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis angular rate gyros, and sometimes a t-axis inclinometer. These sensors may need to be properly aligned with each other in order to provide an accurate pose solution. If these sensors are not aligned correctly, the pose calculation may be inaccurate as this inaccuracy may ultimately affect the performance of the machine. The causes of sensor misalignment are many and may include improper calibration, lack of calibration, or some physical movement of the sensors on the machine due to replacement, damage, or other unrelated maintenance.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0211716 to Kellar ("the '716 publication") discloses an arrangement in which a gross direction error is determined by calculating a difference between the vehicle direction indicated by the GNSS device and the direction indicated by the IMU device. Based on the direction error, the '716 publication determines whether the vehicle is traveling in a forward or reverse direction.
Although the arrangement of the '716 publication may provide a way to determine a direction error, it may not determine an alignment error. For example, it may not determine an alignment error where one of the two devices (e.g., GNSS device and IMU) is pitched, yawed, or rolled with respect to the other device. When an alignment error is present due to one device being pitched, yawed, or rolled with respect to the other device, the pitch, heading, and roll calculation of the machine may not be accurate.
The positioning system of the present disclosure is directed toward solving one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.

Machine positioning system having alignment error detection


Compositions comprising a matrix polymer and a mixture of monomers are used for making polymer mixtures containing the matrix polymer and a second polymer formed from the monomer mixture. Preferably, the matrix polymer comprises a polyester, polystyrene, polyacrylate, thiol-cured epoxy polymer, thiol-cured isocyanate polymer, or mixtures thereof. Preferably, the monomer mixture comprises a thiol monomer and at least one second monomer selected from the group consisting of ene monomer and yne monomer. The compositions may be used to fabricate optical elements such as lenses.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to monomeric and polymeric materials, and to stabilized mixtures of monomeric and polymeric materials useful for making optical elements such as lenses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical elements such as eyeglass lenses are typically made by casting, grinding and/or polishing lens blanks made from glass or plastics such as polycarbonate, Finalite™ (Sola), MR-8 polymer (Mitsui), and diethylene glycol bis(allylcarbonate) polymer (CR-39) (PPG Industries). However, lenses made using these materials and fabrication techniques are only capable of correcting relatively simple optical distortions. Other fabrication techniques and polymer compositions have been developed to produce lenses that correct more complicated optical distortions. However, the commercialization of such lenses has been complicated by the relatively small number of suitable polymer compositions currently available. Polymer compositions such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,236,970; 5,807,906; 6,391,983; and 6,450,642 are not entirely satisfactory. Hence, there is a need for polymer compositions suitable for the fabrication of optical elements, and particularly for optical elements capable of correcting complicated optical distortions.

Monomers and polymers for optical elements


There is provided an image processing apparatus which comprises: a receiving unit configured to receive a print job from an information processing apparatus; an obtaining unit configured to obtain at least owner information and domain information from a header of the print job; a generating unit configured to generate user identification information including the owner information and the domain information; a registering unit configured to register the user identification information; and a storage unit configured to store the print job in association with the user identification information. Thus, it is possible to register the appropriate user identification information according to environments of a network system.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus which saves a print job transmitted from an information processing apparatus for each user, and a controlling method for the image processing apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
An MFP (multi function peripheral) which is equipped with an image reading device, a printing device and a communicating device and has image processing applications of copying, printing, scanned-image transmitting and the like has been known. Moreover, since security consciousness has increased recently, a great number of MFPs have user authentication functions respectively. In the MFP like this, inputs of a user name and a password are accepted as authentication information via a touch panel, and/or authentication information is read and obtained from a card by using a card authentication function. However, to input the user name, the password and the like from the touch panel on the MFP or to install the card authentication function is troublesome for a user who wishes to use the MFP immediately and promptly in the aspects of costs and operability. Moreover, in the situation that the authentication function has not been installed because sever security is not so required, there are users who cannot use a personalization function of the MFP because there is no authentication function and thus cannot have usability.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-254618 discloses, as the means for saving user's trouble and enabling a user to easily use the personalization function, the MFP which displays the icon image associated with the user on the screen, and by which the user only has to select the displayed own icon image for using the personalization function.
In the MFP disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-254618, the user is automatically registered by using, as the user ID for identifying the user, the job owner name and the computer name added in the print data for which the printing has been instructed from a PC (personal computer). However, since the users work in various office environments, there is a case where, in a small-scale office environment, the domain is not used in the user authentication for the PC but the local authentication is used. On the contrary, it is supposed that, in a large-scale office environment, the domain is used in the user authentication for the PC. Further, there is an environment that one user owns a plurality of PCs in the same office and logs in to each PC via the user authentication using the domain.

Generating a username based on user name and domain name obtained from print data attribute information


The disclosure relates to a method for decoding a received signal comprising symbols which are distributed in space and time with the aid of a space-time coding matrix, comprising a space-time decoding stage and at least two iterations, each of which comprising the following sub-stages: diversity pre-decoding, the opposite of diversity pre-decoding carried out when the signal is emitted, providing precoded data; estimation of symbols forming said signal on the basis of said pre-decoded data, providing estimated symbols; diversity preceding identical to diversity preceding carried out during emission, applied to the estimated symbols in order to provide an estimated signal.

For such systems, beyond two emitter antennas, the 1-rate space-time codes are non-orthogonal. This is the case for example with the Tirkkonen [6] and Jafarkhani [7] codes (the references cited in the present patent application are brought together in appendix 1).
The unavoidable non-orthogonality of these codes generally results in receivers that are complex to implement, needing to use maximum likelihood decoding or of a spherical type. The complexity of implementation of these algorithms increases exponentially as a function of the number of antennas and the number of states of the modulation. The techniques for the decoding of non-orthogonal space-time codes therefore have the major drawback, in reception systems, when 1-rate space-time codes are used, of being complex in their implementation. Prior non-iterative techniques are based on the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion.
Given the present state of technological progress, they are very complicated or even impossible to make, once the number of antennas or the number of states of the modulation increases since the complexity of implementation increases exponentially with the number of states of the trellis to be processed.
In the very recent past, iterative methods associating space-time codes have been published:
In [1], Tujkovic presents recursive trellis space-time turbo-codes. Reception is done iteratively (just as in the case of turbo-codes) in using MAP (Maximum A Posteriori) decoders;
In [2], S. Jayaweera studies the concatenation of a convolutive code with a 1-rate space-time code. The decoding is done iteratively by means of MAP algorithms;
And, in [3], A. Guillen and G. Caire analyse the performance of particular space-time codes, namely natural space-time codes and threaded space-time codes. They use an iterative interference canceller to separate the contributions made by the different emitter antennas;
In [4], Bauch uses an iterative system aimed at eliminating the inter-symbol interference introduced by the different channels. The elements used in each iteration bring MAP (Maximum a posteriori) type decoders into play.
These prior art iterative techniques can be applied to certain classes of space-time codes and most of them use non-linear equalizers (or detectors) that are also complicated to implement. The performance can be improved by concatenating a convolutive channel code (or even a turbo-code) with the space-time code at emission.
Boariu and M. Ionescu [5] present a class of minimal interference quasi-orthogonal space-time block codes. These codes can be decoded by an iterative interference cancellation method.
The technique presented in [5] is limited to four antennas with (4-state) QPSK modulation and a rate equal to 1. There are many approaches in which it cannot be implemented efficiently and in a way that it performs well, for example in a CDMA type of system. Furthermore, the adapted MRC (Maximum Ratio Combining) filter performs poorly with codes of types other than the one proposed.
Moreover, Boariu's approach assumes that the matrix used is of the same size as the space-time code.

Receiver and method for decoding a coded signal with the aid of a space-time coding matrix


A deposition chamber includes a vacuum enclosure, an electrostatic chuck having a flat top surface located within a vacuum enclosure, a lift-and-rotation unit extending through or laterally surrounding the electrostatic chuck at a position that is laterally offset from a vertical axis passing through a geometrical center of the electrostatic chuck, a gas supply manifold configured to provide influx of gas into the vacuum enclosure, and a pumping port connected to the vacuum enclosure.

Non-uniformity in the thickness of a deposited film can adversely impact subsequent processing steps such as a lithographic patterning process and/or an etch process. Further, non-uniformity in the thickness of a deposited film increases variations in device parameters of semiconductor devices and interconnect structures. A film with high thickness uniformity across a substrate is desired.

Deposition apparatus including an off-axis lift-and-rotation unit and methods for operating the same


An address signal transition detecting apparatus includes an address transition detecting circuit for detecting transitions in address signals, accordingly generating address transition detection signals and summing the address transition detection signals to generate an address transition detection sum signal ATDSUM, respectively outputting a first pulse signal YE for activating a column address decoder, a second pulse signal P for activating a precharger and a third pulse signal SE for activating a sense amplifier in accordance with an address transition detecting sum signal ATDSUM, and once again outputting another first pulse signal YE for activating the column address decoder in response to a fourth pulse signal YE2 generated in accordance with the address transition detection sum signal ATDSUM and the first pulse signal YE. The apparatus enables accurately reading a data signal on a data line by twice generating the first pulse signal YE that serves to activate the column address decoder, whereby the sense amplifier is able to sense a data signal in an improved manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an address transition detecting circuit for a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to an improved address transition detecting circuit for a semiconductor memory device including a pulse generation circuit provided with a cross-coupled logic gate and a delay unit, capable of doubly generating a pulse signal which serves to activate a column address decoder circuit in accordance with an address transition detection signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional semiconductor memory device is provided with: an address transition detecting circuit 1 receiving a plurality of address signals A0.about.An outputted from an address buffer (not shown), detecting an address transition and accordingly outputting a second pulse signal (precharge signal) P, a first pulse signal (column address decoder enable signal) YE, and a third pulse signal (sense amplifier enable signal) SE using the combined signal; a column address decoder circuit 2 activated in accordance with the first pulse signal YE outputted from the address transition detecting circuit 1, decoding the address signals A0.about.An outputted from the address buffer (not shown), and outputting a plurality of control signals (column switching signals) S0.about.Sn, for selecting among a plurality of bit line pairs (BL0,/BL0).about.(BLn,/BLn); a column switch circuit 3 outputting data from a selected column of a memory cell array (not shown) in accordance with the bit line pairs (BL0,/BL0).about.(BLn,/BLn) selected by the control signals S0.about.Sn outputted from the column address decoder circuit 2; a precharger circuit 4 activated in accordance with the second pulse signal P outputted from the address transition detecting circuit 1, and supplying a charge to the data line pair DL,/DL connected to the column switch circuit 3; a sense amplifier circuit 5 activated in accordance with the third pulse signal SE outputted from the address transition detecting circuit 1, and sensing and amplifying a data signal applied thereto via the precharger circuit 4; and a data latch/output buffer circuit 6 for latching a data signal amplified in the sense amplifier 5 and generating an output signal DOUT.
With reference to FIG. 2, the address transition detecting circuit 1 includes: an address transition detecting sub-circuit 11 detecting transitions in address signals A0.about.An outputted from the external address buffer (not shown) to generate an address transition detection signal; an address transition detection summing circuit 12 summing the address transition detection signals outputted from the address transition sub-circuit 11; and a column controller 13 receiving an address transition detection sum signal ATDSUM outputted from the address transition detecting summing circuit 12, and outputting the first pulse signal YE for activating the column address decoder circuit 2 and the third pulse signal SE for activating the sense amplifier circuit 5.
The operation of the thusly constituted conventional memory device will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
When the address signals A0.about.An outputted from the address buffer (not shown) are transitted, the respective address transition detecting sub-circuit 11 of the address transition detecting circuit 1 and respectively generate address transition detection signals. The address transition detection summing circuit 12 serves to sum the address transition detection signals outputted from the address transition detection sub-circuit 11 for thereby outputting the summed signal ATDSUM.
The column controller 13 receives the address transition detection sum signal ATDSUM outputted from the address transition detection summing circuit 12, and outputs the first pulse signal YE for driving the column address decoder circuit 2, the second pulse signal P for driving the precharger circuit 4 and the third pulse signal SE for driving the sense amplifier circuit 5.
The column address decoder circuit 2 activated by the first pulse signal YE outputted from the column controller 13 decodes the address signals A0.about.An outputted from the address buffer (not shown) and outputs the control signals S0.about.Sn, and the column switch circuit 3 outputs data from a selected column of a memory cell array (not shown) to the data line pair DL,/DL in accordance with the bit line pairs (BL0,/BL0).about.(BLn,/BLn) selected by the control signals S0.about.Sn.
The precharger circuit 4 activated by the second pulse signal P outputted from the column controller 13 supplies electrical charge to the data line pair DL,/DL.
Then, when the second pulse signal P outputted from the column controller 13 is transitted, the precharger circuit 4 becomes non-active. The sense amplifier circuit 5 is activated by the third pulse signal SE outputted from the column controller 13 for thereby sensing and amplifying the data value applied thereto from the data line pair DL,/DL via the precharger circuit 4, and the data amplified in the sense amplifier circuit 5 is externally outputted via the data latch/output buffer circuit 6.
However, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the thusly constituted conventional memory device, the address signals A0.about.An may quickly change their logic values when there occurs noise or a short pulse in the address signals A0.about.An applied from an external system to the address transition detecting sub-circuit 11.
Consequently, the address transition detection sum signal ATDSUM outputted from the address transition detection summing circuit 12 becomes irregular as shown in FIG. 3B. The first pulse signal YE outputted from the column controller 13 also becomes unstable as shown in FIG. 3C, in accordance with the irregular address transition detection sum signal ATDSUM outputted from the address transition detection summing circuit 12. Further, the control signals S0.about.Sn outputted from the column address decoder circuit 2 activated by the first pulse signal YE respectively become unstable.
As shown in FIG. 3D, the voltage difference in data signals outputted in accordance with the unstable control signals S0.about.Sn from a memory cell array via the data line pair DL,/DL becomes insufficient for the sense amplifier circuit 5 to sense, so that the memory device may carry out an erroneous operation during a data read-out operation.

Address signal transition detecting circuit for semiconductor memory device


A system having a rolling bearing providing at least an outer ring, at least an inner ring and at least a seal, which seals an inner space of the rolling bearing on a first axial end of the rolling bearing against ingress of liquids and dust. The system further provides a transportation safety device, which is attached to the rolling bearing and restricts swiveling of the inner ring relative to the outer ring in comparison to a state of the rolling bearing in which the transportation safety device is detached from the rolling bearing.

According to the invention an increased robustness can be achieved. The robustness can be increased in particular in situations in which the rolling bearing is transported or it drops from a certain height to the ground or in procedures in which the rolling bearing is mounted to a shaft or a housing, so that it is prevented that a sealing of the rolling bearing, which can be e. g. of the nature of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in the patent application EP 2 990 674 A1, moves permanently away from its regular position into a position where its functionality has a serious flaw. In particular in the case of the sealing of the abovementioned patent application it can be prevented that the sealing is permanently moved out of the groove in the outer ring in which it is regularly fixed. In particular sealing defects can be avoided and costs for replacing rolling bearings with sealing defects can be saved.


An apparatus for detecting the flow direction of a fluid between two enclosed spaces, such as hospital rooms, includes a conduit extending along a horizontal plane and adapted to receive the fluid. A detecting element is disposed within the conduit and movable in the direction of fluid flow, the detecting element being in direct contact with the fluid. A sensing element is coupled to the conduit for determining when the detecting element reaches a predetermined position within the conduit. Circuitry coupled to the sensing element, enables selection of a desired flow direction and actuates an alarm when the detected flow direction is other than the one selected.

The direction of air flow into or out of a room depends on the pressure of the room relative to its adjacent spaces. The differential pressure between the room and the adjacent spaces need only be slight, practically immeasurable, to create air flow. Rooms such as hospital operating rooms, patient isolations rooms, sterilization rooms, research laboratories, clean rooms, etc., often require directional air flow. For example, a patient isolation room, containing a patient who is susceptible to infection, is supplied with highly filtered air under positive pressure, i.e., clean air flows out of the room at all times, thereby preventing dirty or infectious air from entering the room. This is accomplished by supplying clean air to the patient's room at a greater flow rate than the rate at which air is exhausted from the room. Conversely, if the patient is infectious or the room contains toxins, the room should be kept under negative pressure, i.e, the rate at which potentially contaminated air is exhausted from the room is greater than the rate at which new air is supplied to the room.
In the above described environments, it is important that the proper direction of air flow be maintained. If the proper direction or air flow ceases, an alarm should be activated until the pressure condition in the room can be corrected.
Transducers are currently available that measure the differential pressure between a room and reference space and use of the resulting measurement for alarm actuation. A problem associated with these types of differential pressure sensors is that the room must be well sealed or "tight" in order to build up a measurable pressure. When a door or window is open for an appreciable period of time, the differential pressure of the room approaches zero causing the sensor to falsely actuate the alarm, despite the presence of directional air flow into or out of the room. Accordingly, there is a need for a device which can detect the directional air flow into or out of a room without relying on differential pressure measurements.
Another type of transducer currently available utilizes a "hot wire" anemometer to detect the directional velocity of air. Such transducers are an improvement over a differential pressure transducer. However, their accuracy is dependent upon the sensitivity and proper calibration of the transduction element and the associated processing circuitry.
Further, since neither air pressure nor air velocity can be seen, people often hang a piece of string or tissue in a doorway or in front of a vent to assess the direction of air flow into or out of a room and to verify the results of either differential pressure or anenometer type transducer.
Fuller U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,580; Wadney U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,470; Ray U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,908; Gamer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,396; Pratt et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,744; Stenzel et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,676; and Sackett U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,857; all disclose devices for detecting the presence and velocity of a fluid, typically a gas. However, none of these references disclose a device which allows the desired flow direction of a fluid to be selected and which actuates an alarm when the detected direction is other than the desired direction.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a device which allows the desired direction of air flow to be selected and visually monitored, and, which actuates an alarm when the detected direction is other than the one selected.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a device for detecting the presence and direction of air flow between two rooms or a room and its adjoining spaces.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which allows the desired direction of air flow to be selected.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device which indicates when the detected direction of air flow is different from the selected direction of air flow.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device for detecting the presence and direction of air flow between a room and its adjoining spaces which does not require that the room be well sealed i.e., at near zero differential pressure.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for detecting the presence and direction of air flow whose accuracy does not depend primarily on the sensitivity and calibration of the transducer and associated processing circuitry.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device for detecting presence and direction of air flow which allows for direct visual confirmation of the direction of air flow.


An redundant array of independent disks (RAID) storage device is provided. The RAID comprises M number of storage devices, and the storage blocks of the same J-column in each storage device comprises complete stripe blocks and at least a plurality of partially complete stripe blocks. Inside the same stripe block, the total number of the storage blocks (L) is smaller than the number of the storage device (M), and the quantity of the storage blocks (M) is not multiple of storage blocks (L).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data storage device, and more particularly, to a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a storage system comprising multiple disk arrays, the redundant array of independent disks (abbreviated as RAID hereinafter) is a technique which integrates several small size physical disks to form an extendable logical drive. When storing a data, the data is split into several data blocks and each data block is stored in a separate physical disk. Since the access operation is performed simultaneously, better data access efficiency is provided by the RAID technique. In addition, in order to prevent the data loss due to some physical disk damage, the RAID technique also applies the parity check concept for rebuilding data when it is necessary.
In general, the RAID system is classified as several levels based on the RAID type of the physical disk and the way it stores data, and the commonly seen RAID system on the current market comprises following types.
RAID 0, in which a data is split into several blocks, and each block is written into a separate physical disk (it is the so-called "Data stripping"). Thus the RAID 0 provides better access efficiency. However, since the RAID 0 does not support fault tolerance and data rebuild, if one of the physical disks fails, the data is lost. Therefore, it is only suitable for the circumstance where the data which is not so important needs to be accessed in a high speed.
RAID 1, in which two physical disks are treated as a logical drive, and the data is stored into two physical disks simultaneously. When one of the physical disks is damaged, the same data can be accessed from the other physical disk so as to prevent the important data from being lost.
RAID 3, in which a physical disk is reserved as a parity disk for storing parity data, and other data is evenly stored in other physical disks. When some physical disk is damaged, the disk controller can recover the data by using the parity data stored previously.
RAID 5, is different from RAID 3 in that the parity data is distributed and saved in each physical disk without having to allocate a dedicated parity disk. Thus, the RAID 5 is also known as a "Rotating Parity Array". Wherein, the data is evenly stored in each physical disk like in RAID 3. When one of the physical disks is damaged, the disk controller can recover the data by using the parity data stored previously.
The RAID 0 mentioned above is advantageous in supporting fast access, and the RAID 1, RAID 3, and RAID 5 are advantageous in supporting fault tolerance and data rebuild. If we combine the RAID storing type as RAID 0+RAID 1 (represented as RAID 10), both advantages will be achieved. Of course, other combination such as RAID 0+RAID 3 (represented as RAID 30) or RAID 0+RAID 5 (represented as RAID 50) are also valid.
In addition, although the RAID 1, RAID 3, and RAID 5 support the fault tolerance and data rebuild. However, these functions are supported when only one physical disk is damaged. If more than one physical disk are damaged, the data cannot be rebuilt. Therefore, in another type of the RAID combination in conventional art, a distributed parity data is generated in the storage blocks of the same column of stripes in each physical disk in order to rebuild data when more than one physical disk are damaged.
FIG. 1 is a structure diagram of a conventional RAID 3 combination style disk array. The RAID disk array 100 comprises M storage devices 110, and each storage devices 110 comprises N storage blocks 112. Wherein, the storage blocks of the same J-column comprise a plurality of physical data blocks and at least a parity data block. The parity data block is obtained from the calculation based on the physical data blocks. For example, the parity data block of the first column 112p is obtained from the calculation based on the physical data blocks 112a, 112b, 112c, 212d, and the rest can be deduced by analogy. Herein, it is defined that DJ is a quantity of the physical data blocks in the same J-column stripe, and PJ is a quantity of the parity data blocks in the same J-column stripe. Wherein, DJ+PJ=M. Moreover, N, M, J are positive integers, and J is an integer of 1˜N.
In addition, FIG. 2 is a structure diagram of a conventional RAID 50 combination style multi-disk array. The RAID disk array 200 comprises M number of first storage devices 210 and M number of second storage devices 220. Wherein, the physical data blocks 212a, 212b, 214a, 214b are disposed with the RAID 0 combination style first, and the data blocks 212a, 212b, 214a, 214b are then saved in the stripes of the first storage device 210 and the second storage device 220, respectively. Herein, the parity data block 212p is obtained from the calculation based on the physical data blocks 212a, 212b, the parity data block 214p is obtained from the calculation based on the physical data blocks 214a, 214b, and the rest can be deduced by analogy.
In the conventional art, it is required to increase the quantity of the first storage device 210 and the second storage device 220 in order to increase the storage capacity. However, each time when a first storage device 210 is added, a corresponding second storage device 220 has to be added accordingly. Therefore, the expansion of the system capacity is limited. In addition, since it has to follow the existing RAID 5 combination arrangement architecture for expanding the capacity, the system access efficiency cannot be effectively improved.


An inflation system for an evacuation system may comprise an inflator and a controller operationally coupled to the inflator. The inflator may include a solid gas generating material and an igniter configured to ignite in response to receiving an ignite signal. The solid gas generating material may be configured to generate a gas in response to an ignition of the igniter. The controller may be configured to send the ignite signal to the inflator.

An evacuation system may include an inflatable that helps passengers disembark from an aircraft or other vehicle in the event of an emergency or other evacuation event. Inflatable slides may deploy from a door sill or a side of the aircraft fuselage. Inflatable life rafts may be employed for water evacuations. The inflation system for the inflatable typically includes an aspirator, a pressurized cylinder, a regulator valve, and other hardware (e.g., pressure release valves, etc.). The inflation system adds to the envelope size and overall weight of the evacuation system.

Inflation systems for evacuation slides and life rafts


Apparatus and method for metering the flow rate of a fluid through a conduit in which a low inertia transducer is placed between the inlet and outlet, the transducer having a substantially cylindrical housing and a rotatable element concentric to the housing which together define an arcuate pathway for the flow of the fluid. A pressure sensor generates a pressure error signal corresponding to a change in pressure between the inlet and outlet and translates the same into a detectable signal which is used to change the speed of the rotatable element to reduce the differential pressure between the inlet and outlet.

Flowmeters are employed to monitor the rate at which a gas travels through a conduit. High performance flowmeters are required for specialized applications such as the monitoring of the flow of anesthetic gas mixtures into and out of a surgical patient.
When a gas flows through a conduit it loses pressure head due to wall friction. This pressure loss, called the frictional pressure drop, is unrecoverable (permanent) and contributes to the flow resistance of the conduit. Additionally, if the gas encounters a mechanical moving obstruction in the conduit which is rotated or moved by the passage of the gas, then the gas loses an amount of energy equal to the work needed to move the mechanical component. This energy loss also manifests as an unrecoverable pressure drop.
Many volumetric flowmeters are equipped with transducers which are passively driven by the gas flow. Such transducers therefore suffer from a loss of energy as a result of a permanent pressure drop.
Active transducers are devices in which the transducer is driven by an external force such as a motor. When a change occurs in the flow rate, there occurs a mismatch between the speed of the transducer and the flow of gas therethrough. As a result, a differential pressure drop is generated between the inlet and outlet regions. Once the pressure drop is detected, the flowmeter acts to change the speed of the transducer and thereby eliminate the pressure drop.
These principles have been demonstrated previously and are described in a number of patents. For example, Huebotter, U.S. Pat. No. 1,797,233 discloses a fluid-metering gear pump employing two-lobed intermeshing displacement members which are rotatably mounted within a casing. The speed of the pump is controlled so as to maintain a near zero differential pressure between the inlet and outlet regions and thereby provide a flow rate measurement.
Holzem, U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,420 discloses a gear pump driven by a motor control system in response to a differential pressure across the pump. The gear pump operates with a pressure difference sensor system containing both a proportional and an integral pressure difference sensor.
Holzem et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,299 discloses a positive displacement fluid flow metering device employing an additional bypass channel containing a pressure sensor and a servo motor which is responsive to the pressure sensed by the sensor to thereby control the operation of the device.
Holzem et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,302 discloses a flow transducer element which incorporates rotors. The flow measuring device incorporates two differential pressure sensors of different sensitivity and means for automatically correcting for zero drift at periodic time intervals.
Groffo U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,426 discloses a cylindrical transducer having a series of vanes on its surface. A pair of differential pressure measurements are taken in each channel of a split flowmeter to compute a result indicative of the deviation of actual meter response from its factory calibration.
Such known flowmeters are disadvantageous because of extended response times in which a considerable time elapses between the generation of a pressure drop and a change in the speed of the transducer. Since the change in speed of the transducer is a function of the torque of the motor and the mechanical load of the transducer, a low inertia transducer would reduce the response time.


A compact self contained receptacle comprising a cylindrical housing flush-mounted to a wall or sill. The housing has a square central aperture for receiving a square receptacle inserted therein. Non-metallic sheath wire (NMS) is connected to the receptacle in pigtail manner with no exposed contacts. The sheath wire passes exteriorly through a hole in the rear of the housing. In addition, detent tabs are provided in the housing for engagement with cooperating ears on the receptacle to provide a snap-in configuration. The compact self contained receptacle provides 120 VAC electric service in a highly compact yet code-certified configuration. The assembly is much better suited for new construction installation and because it can be easily installed into any solid material wall or window sill and maintain its aesthetically pleasing look. Also, the assembly is very convenient for retrofit construction into existing walls or sills.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical receptacles and, more particularly, to a highly compact code-certified self-contained receptacle (SCR) including a flush-mounted housing and snap-in receptacle that can be easily installed into a wood window sill, or any other solid material surface having a minimum of ½″ in thickness.
2. Description of the Background
Many people have been installing permanent electric window sill candles throughout their houses for decorative effect. In addition, there is a growing demand for new construction and/or retrofit lighting systems. To install these improvements in existing homes having a limited number of outlets/receptacles, one or more extension cords are usually required. If the intent is to place electric candles in more than one window, then the unsightly electric cords typically spoil the decorative effect. Moreover, the multiple cords create potentially unsafe situations and cause many house fires. New home construction often includes the installation of a sufficient number of electric outlets/receptacles, with many located directly below a window. However, even this fails to provide for permanent electric window sill candles which must plug directly into the wooden window sill.
Existing electrical receptacles typically employ a generally rectangular housing assembly with a dual-outlet receptacle. These duplex outlet/receptacles are widely used for residential and commercial applications. They usually have a depth dimension for the housing of about 2 inches or more to house the contacts and any other internal components, a length of about 4 inches, and a width of about 2 inches. Unfortunately, with dimensions on this scale the existing outlet/receptacles are not well suited for new construction and/or retrofit installation into solid material walls or window sills. They are simply too bulky. Moreover, once installed the receptacles do not appear flush, but instead protrude outward a small distance from the wall. Consequently, there is a significant commercial demand for a more compact self-contained receptacle (SCR). Prior improvements to wall outlet/receptacles have been largely focused on safety features. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,987 to Ha discloses a safety guard device for an electrical wall outlet which includes a base plate adapted to be fixed to an electrical receptacle. Locking means are also provided for locking the plates relative to each other when the electrical receptacle is covered by the cover plate. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,450 to Misencik shows a ground fault receptacle with compact component arrangement which employs a pre-assembly of molded plastic carrier elements supporting a sensing transformer, grounded neutral transformer, trip solenoid, and hybrid electronic circuit all disposed within the housing. However, there have been no known efforts to make a conventional wall outlet receptacle more compact and flush-fitting without violating existing electrical codes. Accordingly, it would be greatly advantageous to provide a single-outlet self-contained receptacle (SCR) that is extremely compact and flush-fitting, and which is well suited for new construction installation, as well as retrofit installation in existing construction, in solid material. This self-contained receptacle (SCR) can be "back wired" into the nearest power source.

Compact flush-mount self-contained receptacle (SCR)


Methods and Systems are provided for managing the reply recipients field of a reply e-mail. In response to creating a reply e-mail the recipients are displayed in a format convenient for specifying their recipient classification. Typical recipient classifications include reply recipients (Reply To), carbon copy recipients (CC), blind carbon copy recipients (BCC) and/or file carbon copy recipients (FCC). The recipient classification for each e-mail address may be selected by an input from a user, such as mouse click, without the need to cut and paste e-mail addresses. The recipient classification display is updated in response to detecting a user selection, and an optional control is provided to specify the remaining unassigned recipients to one recipient status.

1. Field
The present invention relates to electronic communication, and more specifically systems and methods of communicating via e-mail.
2. Background
Today e-mail is a widely accepted a form of communication in most businesses and households. The vast majority of people who own computers or have Internet access use e-mail to communicate on a regular basis. E-mails can be the primary source of communication for businesses. Quite often a person who receives an email will be one of many listed on the e-mail's distribution list. If the person wants to reply to the email's group of recipients, or only some of the other recipients but not all of them, it can take considerable effort to cut and paste all the recipient's email addresses into the proper place designated on the email. It sometimes occurs that the person wants to reply to one or more of the recipients, but in a different manner than they originally received the email. For example, the person wants to reply to one or more of the recipients with a carbon copy (CC) of the email or a blind carbon copy (BCC), even though these people had previously been primary recipients (Reply To) of the original email. This can be very time consuming for people who receive and reply to dozens of group e-mails per day to make such changes in their reply emails.
What is needed is an e-mail application that ensures the sender of an e-mail is included in any subsequent replies to the e-mail forwarded e-mails based on the sender's original e-mail.

Recipient classification management utility for e-mail replies

International Business Machines Corporation