A heater has a heat resistant, thermally and electrically insulating tube having an elongated opening through a wall of the tube and extending along at least a portion of the tube, and a heating element positioned within the tube and extending along at least a portion of the opening. A first portion of a section of the element extending along the opening is exposed and a second portion of the section of the element extending along the opening is shielded by the tube. In one particular embodiment of the invention, the tube is a cylindrically shaped aluminum oxide tube, the heating element is a nichrome wire coil, and the elongated opening is a slot having a constant width which extends between opposing ends of the tube.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to heating heat softenable sheet material and, in particular, to heating glass sheets that are conveyed on conveyor rolls through a sheet heating furnace.
2. Technical Considerations
Shaped and tempered glass sheets are widely used as windows in vehicles such as automobiles and the like. It is important that the windows meet stringent optical requirements and be free of optical defects that would tend to interfere with clear viewing through the window or detract from the window's appearance. Commercial production of such shaped glass sheets commonly includes the steps of serially conveying the glass sheets through a tunnel-type furnace where they are heated to their heat deformation temperature, and thereafter conveying the heat softened sheets into a shaping station where they are shaped by any of a number of well known shaping processes, e.g. as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,359 to Johnson, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,492 to Thimons, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,434 to Schwartz et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,386 to Hymore, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,650 to Kelly. After shaping, each glass sheet is transferred to a cooling station for controlled cooling.
To heat the glass sheets, typically high powered radiant electric coils are positioned within a heating furnace along the furnace's ceiling and floor so that the glass sheets are heated from above and below. Because of the difficulty in balancing the amount of heat absorbed by the glass from the top heaters as compared to the bottom heaters, oftentimes it is difficult to keep the glass sheet flat during its initial heating. More specifically, the heat energy from the top heaters penetrates and heats the glass sheet while the conveyor rolls tend to block and absorb a majority of the heat energy directed at the glass sheet from the bottom heaters, which, in turn, increases the temperature of the conveying rolls. The rolls then heat the glass sheet by direct contact along the bottom glass surface. However, this condition tends to heat the sheet only along its surface rather than through its thickness so that the glass sheet must rely on heat conduction through the sheet to move the heat upward into its core. Since glass is a poor conductor of heat, this method of heating the bottom surface and lower portions of the sheet is inefficient. The heating imbalance results in a temperature gradient through the sheet such that there is a higher temperature in the upper portion and top surface of the sheet as compared to the lower portion and bottom surface of the sheet, which, in turn, expands the top surface more than the bottom surface and causes the glass sheet to dome upward. When doming occurs, lead edges, corners and/or points of the sheet tend to move downward below the general plane of support provided by the conveyor rolls. As the glass moves through the furnace, these portions of the sheet contact the rolls below the support plane, which may result in a scraping action between the roll surface and the glass surface. In an effort to reduce the thermal gradient and resulting doming effect, the amount of heat directed at the sheet from below the conveyor rolls may be increased but this may result in simply increasing the temperature of the conveyor rolls.
It would be advantageous to provide a heating arrangement to efficiently heat a glass sheet in a manner that reduces any temperature differential between the top and bottom surfaces of the sheet and any thermal gradient through the sheet's thickness so as to reduce glass sheet doming and associated surface marking.


A manway lift device comprises two hinge assemblies, each hinge assembly comprising a first hinge member, a second hinge member, a smooth bore bushing, an internally threaded bushing and an adjustable biasing assembly. At least one of the bushings of each hinge assembly including a first end protruding beyond an exterior face of the first hinge member of the hinge assembly and including a second end having dogs disposed thereon, the dogs engaged in dog holes disposed through the second hinge member of the hinge assembly. The smooth bore bushing of each hinge assembly receiving a bolt through the internal bore thereof, the bolt threaded received in the internally threaded bore of the threaded bushing of the hinge assembly. The bolts rigidly affix the bushings to the hinge assemblies. Each hinge assembly connected to a manway cover and a manway collar. The biasing assemblies biasing the manway cover toward an open position with respect to the manway collar.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a manway lift assist mechanism, a spring actuated lift assist assembly therefor, the lift assist assembly comprising a hinge assembly and flat spiral springs housed within substantially closed cover assemblies for protection from the environment. The number of hinge assemblies required for a manway as well as the number of lift assist assemblies for each hinge assembly is dictated by the weight of the cover and the resultant lifting force required. The lift assist assemblies of this invention produce a torque opposing the torque resulting from the cover weight thus reducing the required lifting force to an ergonomically acceptable value.
2. Prior Art Statement
Traditionally, manways have been used to gain access to the interior of pressurized and non pressurized vessels. The manway consists of a cover and a collar assembly, the collar assembly welded to the top or sidewall of the vessel. To facilitate opening of the manway cover, at least one hinge is typically attached at a point exterior to the manway cover with a lift handle attached to the cover at a point furthest from the hinge. Due to an ever growing concern over industrial ergonomics, better methods of reducing the force required to lift the cover are being sought. Looking at the problem as a function of torque, the weight of the cover in the closed position produces torque based upon the distance from the center of gravity of the cover to the pivot point of the hinge. To open the manway, a lifting force is applied utilizing the handle. This lifting force is applied to produce a torque opposite and greater than that of the torque produced by the weight of the cover, thus opening the manway.
It is known to provide a door closer for mounting on a door member or jamb member comprising a base plate, a plurality of laterally spaced and aligned bearings carried by the base plate, laterally spaced actuator arms interconnected at their outer ends and means carried by the outer arm ends for establishing an operative connection with the other of the door and jamb members, a shaft projected through the plate and the arm bearings and pivotally securing the actuator arms to the base plate in combination with a plurality of its coils springs spaced in the direction of the length of the shaft and surrounding the same. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 2,823,413 issued on Feb. 18, 1958 to Kenneth M. Stewart. The closing force of the door may be changed by lifting an end of one of the springs from the actuator arm, however, external adjustment is otherwise limited without removal of the door closer from the door. Furthermore, the door closer of Stewart is unprotected the from the environment and is subject to damage from environmental factors. Additionally, no latch is incorporated into the door closer in order to retain the door in an open or partially open position. The device of Stewart is inappropriate for a manway cover, therefore, there is a need for a lifting assist mechanism that comprises multiple lifting assist mechanisms, provides for placement of a retaining clamp between the hinges and provides means for locking the manway in the open position.
It is also known to constantly urge a lid into an open position by a pair of helical springs for each hinge pin through which the pin extends. Two separate hinge pins are shown, each hinge pin having a pair of helical springs disposed therearound. In the order to limit the upward movement of the lid to a preselected position, stops are provided. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,462 issued on Aug. 5, 1969 to Barnard, et al. As with Stewart above, no means is provided externally to adjust the spring force supplied by any of the springs, nor is there a latch to retain the lid in any one of a plurality of positions. Additionally, the device described by Barnard, et al., is also unprotected from environmental factors and therefore cannot be used in rigorous environments such as for a manway cover. A need exists for a lifting assist mechanism that may readily be adjusted for the appropriate lifting force, is protected from the environment and provides means for locking the manway in the open position.
It is further known to provide a balancing aid for pivotally mounting a manhole cover comprising a stack of conical disc spring and means to compress the stack of springs as the cover pivots from an open vertical position to a closed, substantially horizontal position wherein the stack of springs comprises a first subset of springs having a first diameter and a second subset of springs having a different diameter, the first subset of springs having a steeper spring force characteristic curve than the second set whereby the overall spring force characteristic curve of the combined stack of springs as the cover pivots from the open vertical position to the closed position is progressive. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,669 issued on Feb. 6, 1979 to Erwin Nunlist. Though effective in assisting with lifting the manhole cover, failure of any part results in loss of lifting force. Furthermore, though the manhole cover can be balanced in any position, no means of locking the manhole cover in the open position is present. Finally, since the balancing aid is disposed between the hinges, the space between the hinges is completely obscured and placement of a retaining clamp between the hinges is not possible. Therefore, there remains a need for a lifting assist mechanism for a manway cover that comprises multiple lifting assist mechanisms, provides for placement of a retaining clamp between the hinges and provides means for locking the manway in the open position.
Additionally, it is known to provide a retro-fit cover balance assembly comprising a pair of torsion springs having one end passed beneath the cover hinge members and bearing upon the collar hinge member. The through bolt is removed, a spring cup is arranged adjacent each side edge of the cover hinge members, the springs are disposed over the spring cups and the through bolt replaced. Holes for eye bolts are provided in the cover hinge members disposed away from the center of rotation and the free end of the springs are inserted through the eye bolts. Access to retaining clamps would not be possible between the cover hinge members, nor is the balance mechanism protected from the environment, nor is there external adjustment of the spring tension. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,650 issued on Mar. 7, 1995 to Robert Dean.
Finally, it is known to provide a compression spring which moves a cam member against the underside of the manway cover to help in lifting the manway cover. External adjustment of the spring force is provided by an external bolt head. The spring is housed in an enclosure. Access to a retaining clamp between the cover hinge members would be denied. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,307 B2 issued on Sep. 10, 2002 to Larry C. Wilkins.

Manway lift device having an adjustable biasing assembly therefor


An exchange system for facilitating the purchase of new cars is described. The system is coupled, in one embodiment, to a communications link. Potential car purchasers and sellers may access the exchange system via the network, and submit offers and/or pricing requests to such system. In response to the requests, the system processor retrieves the stored data from the respective databases, and causes such data to be transmitted to the local site for display. The exchange systems also executes certain functions in response to commands and data transmitted from buyer sites, dealer sites and institution sites.

When purchasing a product, a purchaser must first determine which product, including brand name, model, color and other features, best meets his needs. Once the purchaser has an established interest in purchasing a particular product, the purchaser typically visits, in person or by telephone, a few stores that sell the product to determine the best price. Once the best price is determined, all things being equal, the purchaser usually buys from the store selling this particular product at the best price.
Although visiting a dealer generally is a necessary element of the car purchasing process, many potential purchasers do not enjoy meeting with a sales person and having to negotiate a purchase. For example, a potential purchaser may want to first ascertain the various options and prices before discussing a purchase with a sales person.
In addition, visiting a dealer requires the purchaser to set aside at least a few hours of time. Even after visiting a dealer, however, the potential purchaser may not be totally comfortable in making a purchasing decision. For example, the purchaser may want to visit a number of other dealers to determine a competitive price for the particular car of interest. The purchaser, therefore, may visit a number of dealers that are within a reasonable distance from the purchaser's residence. Visiting many dealers usually requires a significant amount of time. It is not unusual for a potential purchaser to spend weeks visiting various dealers in an attempt to understand and locate the best deal.
Further, once a purchaser identifies a particular car, the purchaser then typically attempts to negotiate the best price from the dealer. These negotiations, for many purchasers, are the most difficult steps in the car purchasing process. Further, when coupled with options, factory invoice, advertised specials and volume buyer discounts, these negotiations may become complex and confusing.
In an attempt to assist car purchasers in the purchase of a new car, many types of services have been created. For example, magazines provide potential purchasers with detailed information regarding particular cars. Some services provide a wide variety of information accessible through a computer network such as Internet.
Known magazines and systems, however, generally do not fully facilitate negotiating the car price. For example, although the purchaser may be better informed, in general, about a particular car as a result of reviewing a particular magazine source, the purchaser may not be provided with the price or the detailed information with respect to cars readily available within a specific geographic region. In addition, in known magazines and "on-line" services, all pricing information is limited to "list" price and "invoice" price, and possibly a suggested discount percentage. Further, such systems do not provide a mechanism to allow a potential purchaser to "lock in" a final purchase price. Also, such magazines and systems do not eliminate the negotiation process and in some instances in which unrealistic expectations are created, may even make the negotiations more difficult.
Accordingly, it would be desirable and advantageous to provide a car exchange system which enables a potential car purchaser to easily and quickly review all options, factory discounts and other information regarding specific car configurations of interest in combination with final pricing information for cars in a particular geographic region. It also would be desirable and advantageous to eliminate the car purchase negotiation process by providing an exchange system which enables a potential car purchaser to ascertain the best price for a particular car and to "lock in" to a specific dealer offer via the system without having to make prior direct contact with a particular dealer.
An object of the present invention is to simplify and reduce the time required, for both the buyer and seller, in completing a vehicle sales transaction.
Another object of the present invention is to enable potential purchasers to quickly and easily ascertain dealer offers for the sale of cars in a particular geographic region of interest.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a car exchange system which enables a potential car purchaser to easily and quickly review all options, factory discounts and other information regarding specific car configurations of interest in combination with final pricing information for cars in a particular geographic region.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an exchange system which enables a potential car purchaser to ascertain the best price for a particular car and to "lock in" to a specific dealer offer via the system without having to make prior direct contact with a particular dealer.


A method for ascertaining phase currents of an electric machine including a converter and stator including stator windings (phase number of at least three), in which the phase currents of measuring phases (at least two), are measured, the phase currents being measured in a measuring interval when the active switching elements of the measuring phases in a lowside path of the converter are activated in a switching interval delimited by a switching-on point-in-time and switching-off point-in-time, the phase currents of the remaining phases being determined arithmetically from the measured phase currents so that the measured phase currents, a spatial angle of the measuring phases, and a spatial angle of the remaining phases are used for arithmetic determination, in which the measuring interval is selected to be with respect to time outside a switching-on point-in-time or switching-off point-in-time of at least one of the active switching elements of the stator phases.

Generators for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy are known. In general, claw pole generators are used in motor vehicles. They may be equipped with electrical excitation. Since claw pole generators generate three-phase current, rectification is necessary for the DC voltage vehicle electrical systems typical in motor vehicles. Rectifiers including semiconductor diodes and/or active switching elements may be used for this purpose.
Generators which are also used for the vehicle drive are known from the field of hybrid vehicles. They are to assist the internal combustion engine in particular when it does not (yet) supply its full torque (boost mode, turbo lag compensation). Motor-operable generators with their associated inverters are also referred to as electrical drives within the scope of this application.
An electrical drive may be controlled with the aid of a field-oriented controller, in which the phase currents (i.e., currents through the phases or stator winding strands) of the machine are ascertained and controlled to a setpoint value. In three-phase machines, two phase currents are typically measured, the third phase current may be ascertained arithmetically, since the total of all phase currents is zero.
Accordingly, in drives having more than three phases, N−1 phase currents have to be measured, N being the phase number of the drive.
For the field-oriented control, the measured phase currents are transformed into a rotating-field-fixed dq coordinate system. The individual phase currents are not significant for the control, but rather the computed current vector in the dq coordinate system. All phase currents have to be known or at least ascertainable arithmetically, however.
The phase currents may be measured via measuring resistors, so-called shunts. In general, the shunts are not installed directly in the phases of the drive, but rather in a lowside path of the converter. A measurement is therefore only possible at the points in time at which the phase current to be measured is negative, because the diodes or active switching elements situated in the lowside path of the converter only conduct then. Therefore, depending on the activation (in particular PWM mode or block mode) of the converter, only a few, permanently defined points in time exist at which a current measurement may take place. This is not satisfactory.
Since a certain minimum time is required for the current measurement, which essentially results from a settling time of the stator coils and the particular measuring times for the current measurement of the measuring phases, the known methods reach their limits, in particular if the degree of modulation is very high and the duration of the activated lowside paths is less than the duration required for the current measurement. Moreover, the current measuring windows required for the current measurement are further limited by the particular switching procedures of the highside switches and lowside switches used during active rectification, since potential differences are generated in the case of each switching on and switching off procedure, which result in variations in the phase current. These variations are typically not restricted to individual phases, since the phases are generally coupled to one another.
The provision of measuring resistors including the required measuring electronics is moreover complex, so that simplified devices and methods for ascertaining the phase currents are desirable. In particular, the demand exists for such simplified devices and methods which may be used both in the PWM mode and in the block mode.
A method is discussed in DE 102012217116, in which a number of phase currents of individual phases are measured, and the phase currents of the remaining phases are ascertained arithmetically on the basis of the measured phase currents.

Method for ascertaining the phase currents of an electric machine including a converter


A pressure switch adaptor designed to replace existing pressure switch adapters or connections and pressurizing air valves conventionally associated with water storage and distribution tanks. The adaptor is designed to be used as original equipment on new water tanks or to retrofit existing tanks, replacing the pressurizing air valve conventionally provided by the latter. Whether used on a new tank or retrofitting a used tank, the pressure switch adaptor fits into the port conventionally reserved for the pressurizing air valve. The adaptor provides a pressurizing air valve to allow initial pressurization of the air filled diaphragm and a pressure switch connection for fluid communication between an internal tank diaphragm and the pressure switch, which controls actuation of the tank's water-supplying pump. By placing the pressure switch adaptor on the air side of the system, problems associated with corrosion and corruption of the switch due to prolonged contact with water are eliminated. The pressure switch adaptor improves upon known pressure switch adaptors which require a separate access port, or which are placed on the water side of the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to water supply systems and, more particularly, to pressure switch adaptors for such water supply systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pressure regulated water supply systems have developed over the years to include a water storage tank which provides an internal, flexible, pressurized air diaphragm. Typically, water is supplied from a well or other source to the tank by means of a pump. Thereafter, the water in the tank, which is pressurized to a predetermined degree by means of the air diaphragm, is distributed and used throughout the system as needed. When the pressure in the system falls as a result of water use, the pump is activated by a pressure-sensitive pump switch, introducing more water into the tank.
In systems of this type, the pressure switch which activates the pump is in communication with the water line leading from the pump to the tank. The pressure switch monitors the system water pressure and turns the pump on when the pressure falls below a predetermined lower level, thereby replenishing the water in the tank and restoring the system water pressure. The pressure switch deactivates the pump when the water pressure in the system has reached a predetermined upper level. Between the upper and lower pressure levels lies the operating range in which the pressurized tank supplies water to the system without activation of the pump.
Pressure switches of this type, although they work satisfactorily when new, tend to become encrusted with minerals or otherwise deteriorate due to their prolonged contact with water. This leads to a serious maintenance problem in existing systems, wherein the operation of the pressure switch is erratic and, eventually, the switch must be replaced. In an effort to solve the problems of encrustation resulting from switch exposure to water, systems have developed which place the pressure switch on the air side of the system rather than the water side.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,526, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, is exemplary of the foregoing systems wherein it discloses an improved well system and flow control tank which includes a pressure switch in communication with the interior of the tank's air diaphragm. The '526 patent has recognized the problems associated with encrustation of pressure gauges and pressure switches, and has attempted to solve those problems by providing a separate conventional diaphragm accessing port for the pressure switch. A separate pressurizing air valve, which has its own diaphragm accessing port, is provided to initially pressurize the diaphragm.
In the '526 patent, two ports are necessary to provide initial pressurization and pressure switch connections for the tank. Although this results in improved performance when compared to one port tanks which employ pressure switches on the water side of the system, it also leads to an increase in tank manufacturing costs over such one-port tanks. Also, by increasing the number of external ports, the likelihood that a tank leak will develop is correspondingly increased. Such an arrangement cannot be employed on existing one-port tanks due to the necessary addition of a separate port.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a combined pressure switch connection and pressurizing air valve which can be mounted to the tank via a single diaphragm accessing port. Furthermore, there exists a need in the art for such a combined pressure switch connection and pressurizing air valve which can be used to replace the pressurizing air valves and pressure switch connections in existing tanks to upgrade the overall system performance.


A repository contains multiple versions of an object, and any version of the object can be modified by a user, as and when necessary. A table for one object (“first object”) that is contained in another object (“second object”) has at least two columns, namely one column for a minimum version of the second object and another column for a maximum version of the second object. If a number of versions of the first object are responsive to a query, then one version of the first object is selected if a version of the second object that is responsive to the query happens to be in the range defined by the just-described minimum version number and the maximum version number. Depending on the embodiment, the second object can be an immediate parent of the first object, or can be an ancestor (also called “first class object”) of the first object that is not contained in any other object. In some embodiments, one or more attributes of the first object are stored in a first table along with a unique identifier and a version number. In addition, information on relations of the first object to other objects as well as an identity of a configuration (to which the current version of the first object belongs) are stored in a second table. Therefore, a pair of tables are used for each object, so as to decouple information that defines an object from information on relationships of the object. If a change happens in just the relationship of an object then no change is made to the table containing the definition of the object. Similarly, if a change happens in just the definition of the object, then no change is made to the table containing the relations of the object. Moreover, when a change happens to an object, if the object has a number of ancestors and decendants only an immediate parent of the object is updated, thereby to eliminate a versioning chain reaction (i.e. other objects are not affected).

Versioning of stored information is a well-known issue in information storage and retrieval industry. Information storage and version management can be achieved in several ways.                Storing new versions in completeness is an easy and fast option but has storage ramifications.        Storing either the first or the latest version and storing the deltas, which can be used to create other versions. This approach is storage efficient but results in slowing down of a response to a query requiring versions that need to be calculated using the deltas.
Besides the above-mentioned limitations of both schemes, one major issue with most versioning solutions is that a versioning chain reaction takes place when an object is versioned. Specifically, versioning of one object normally leads to versioning of a number of other objects that may be in some way related to the object being versioned. Such additional versions are exact clones of the old information and yet need to be handled as new versions.
For example creating a new version of a Department (e.g. in a corporation that is being modeled) according to such a scheme would require creating copies of all Employees within that department.
Storing of multiple versions of a particular object is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 granted to Thomas et al. on Oct. 1, 2002 and entitled "Method and system for performing fine grain versioning". U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 states (see Abstract) that a table includes one or more additional columns for storing version information on each object being stored in the table. In response to a request from a user to retrieve a particular object, a version of the particular object to present to the user is automatically determined based on a workspace associated with the user. The version of the particular object is presented to the user without exposing to the user values from the one or more columns in which version information is stored.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 (see column 5, lines 18–26), in one embodiment, each user has a "working context" that defines the set of objects that can be seen by the user. The user accesses the user's working context through a "version resolved view". The working context of a user defines a set of "configurations" that are associated with the user's workspace. A configuration is a collection of object versions, where each object version in the configuration is for a different object.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 further states (see column 11, lines 40–50) that when an object is inserted, deleted or updated within a version-resolved view, one or more triggers evaluate access control to determine whether or not the operation can be performed. If the operation is allowed, the triggers of U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 construct subordinate SQL that is necessary to insert, delete or update the object within the table, and create the configuration members so that the object can be seen in a subsequent select operation back through the version-resolved view, inserts the object into the current working folder so that it will be seen when navigating the folder, and does the background evaluation of the constraints for generating the corresponding version history information. U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 also describes (in column 14, lines 25–45) a set of utilities that automate the process of making software changes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052, also states (see column 6, lines 14–22) that by providing each user a current working context in which only one version of each object is visible, the database tools can use the repository without having to be aware of the additional complexity that is introduced by version control. In this manner, all work that is performed to track and maintain version information is transparent to the tool. Thus, existing tools that were not designed to support versioning can obtain the benefit of version control without having to be modified. Specifically, the mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 avoids certain cloning chain reactions because the references to objects remain valid regardless of versions, and the version resolved view projects the appropriate version (e.g. version 2 as opposed to version 1).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,052 also describes (see column 7, lines 16–25) a table (called "configuration members") that provides a mapping of configurations to the specific object versions that are associated with the configurations. As previously described, a configuration is a collection of objects that are related in some way that is significant to the user. For example, a configuration may represent all the objects that make up a given component or release. Using the configuration members table, a version control mechanism identifies the specific objects and the specific object versions that make up a particular configuration.
Moreover, the version control mechanism (see column 5, lines 12–21) maintains a user workspace for each user. The user workspace of a user includes an object version of each of the objects that have been "checked-out" by the user. The version control mechanism protects the object versions in a user's workspace from changes by other developers. In one example, each user has a "working context" that defines the set of objects that can be seen by the user. The user accesses the user's working context through a "version resolved view".
The working context table (see column 7, lines 49–59) defines a list of configuration objects that are currently mapped to a user's workspace. In one example, each user is provided with a private working context. The working space provides a view of those data items that the user is currently working on ("version resolved view") and protects those data items from being changed by others. A working context may include both structured and non-structured data. Thus, a private working context may include not only file based information but also information that is stored within a table.


A present invention relates to a method of erasing a P-channel non-volatile memory is provided. This P-channel non-volatile memory includes a select transistor and a memory cell connected in series and disposed on a substrate. In the method of erasing the P-channel non-volatile memory, holes are injected into a charge storage structure by substrate hole injection effect. Hence, the applied operational voltage is low, so the power consumption is lowered, and the efficiency of erasing is enhanced. As a result, an operational speed of the memory is accelerated, and the reliability of the memory is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of operating a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a method of erasing a P-channel non-volatile memory.
2. Description of Related Art
Among various kinds of memory products, the non-volatile memory is a kind of memory characterized by the advantages for multiple data storing, reading or erasing operations. The data stored in the non-volatile memory will be retained even if the power applied to the integrated device is cut off. Hence, the non-volatile memory has become a widely adopted memory device in personal computers and electronic equipments.
In a typical non-volatile memory such as electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a floating gate and a control gate are formed of doped polysilicon. However, when a defect exists in a tunneling oxide layer under the doped polysilicon floating gate, current leakage will occur in the memory device and thus the reliability of the memory device is affected.
Therefore, in the recent non-volatile memory technologies, a charge-trapping layer is also used to replace a doped polysilicon floating gate. A material of the charge-trapping layer is silicon nitride, for example. The silicon nitride charge-trapping layer usually has a silicon oxide layer on its top surface and bottom surface respectively, thus forming an oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) composite layer. The kind of device is usually called silicon/oxide/nitride/oxide/silicon (SONOS) device.
Since silicon nitride has a characteristic to trap electrons, the electrons injected into the charge-trapping layer would concentrate at a partial area of the charge-trapping layer. Hence, the sensitivity to defects in the tunneling oxide layer is lower and the phenomenon of current leakage in the device is less prone to happen.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a method of erasing a non-volatile memory based on the prior art. In FIG. 1, the symbol "●" stands for an electron.
Referring to FIG. 1, a non-volatile P-channel memory is consisted of a substrate 100, an N-type well 102, a SONOS memory cell 104 and a select transistor 106. The SONOS memory cell 104 and the select transistor 106 are connected in series. The SONOS memory cell 104 includes a bottom oxide layer 108, a silicon nitride layer 110, a top oxide layer 112, a control gate 114, a source/drain region 116 and a source/drain region 118. The select transistor 106 includes a gate oxide layer 120, a select gate 122, a source/drain region 118 and a source/drain region 124. To perform an erasing operation, a voltage of 6 volts is applied to the source/drain region 116, N-type well region 102 and the source/drain region 124. And a voltage of 3.3 volts is applied to the select gate 122 so that a channel under the select gate 122 is turned on to equalize potentials of the source/drain regions 118 and source/drain regions 124, and a voltage of −6 volts is applied to the control gate 114 to erase the data stored in the memory cell by the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling mechanism.
However, when using the F-N tunneling mechanism to erase data in the SONOS memory cell 104, a threshold voltage of the SONOS memory cell 104 would be decreased with erasing time. However, a voltage difference between the control gate 114 and the substrate 100 also induces electrons from the control gate 114 into the silicon nitride layer 110, resulting in gradual saturation of the threshold voltage, i.e., the so-called erasing saturation phenomenon. As a result, although the erasing time is increased, the erase performance of the device is affected.
FIG. 2 shows a relationship diagram of read current and erasing time obtained by a conventional method of erasing a SONOS memory cell. When using the F-N tunneling mechanism to erase data stored in the SONOS memory cell 104, a method of forming different voltage differences between the control gate 114 and N-type well 102 includes applying different positive voltages to the N-type well 102, the source/drain region 124 and the source/drain region 116, and applying a voltage of 3.3 volts to the select gate 122 so as to turn on a channel under the select gate 122 and to equalize potentials of the source/drain region 118 and the source/drain region 124. A symbol "●" represents applying a voltage of −5.5 volts to the control gate 114, a symbol "▴" represents applying a voltage of −6 volts to the control gate 114, and a symbol "∇" represents applying a voltage of −6.5 volts to the control gate 114. As shown in FIG. 2, when the voltages applied to the control gate 114 are −5.5 volts, −6 volt and −6.5 volts, due to electrons from the control gate injecting into the charge-trapping layer, even if the time of erasing operation is prolonged, read currents still cannot be rapidly reduced. The erase performance is degraded after certain erase time.
Also, as integrity of the device increases, in order to enhance a tunneling efficiency of electrons, a bottom oxide layer of a memory would need to be thinner. Poor charge retention performance becomes a concern when compared to thicker bottom oxide. Hence, it may need longer development time for trade-off between the erase performance and reliability concerns such as charge retention.

Method for erasing a P-channel non-volatile memory


A computer system is provided. The computer system comprises a network module and an input device. The network module receives remote information from a remote host through a network. The input device receives first input information, a display device and a chip. The display device comprises a display panel and an on-screen display (OSD) control module. The chip comprises a control connection interface and a control module. The control connection interface is electrically connected to the OSD control module. The control module is electrically connected to the network module, the input device and the control connection interface to control the OSD control module through the control connection interface according to the remote information or the first input information to further control the display function of the display panel.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a computer system and a chip having a computer system environment information monitoring module.
2. Description of Related Art
Input/output interfaces are the device by which users interact with a computer system. The computer system often makes use of a screen as an output device to present the information to the user. Usually, a display card, such as a video card, a graphics card or a graphics-accelerator card, is needed to process the information to generate output images on the screen. However, the users are not able to receive the information when the display card malfunctions or when the information is generated before the activation of the display card. Thus, the users cannot figure out the status of the computer when the above situations occur.


An electrical connector 10 for mounting on a circuit board 11 is provided comprising a first row of passages and a second row of passages which communicate a front surface 14 and a rear surface 16 of a housing 12, the passages being positioned in parallel rows, with each passage of a given row being vertically aligned with a corresponding passage in the other row. First electrical contacts 26 are retained in the first row of passages, and second electrical contacts 30 are retained in the second row of passages. The electrical contacts 26,30 comprise post sections 68 which extend forwardly from the front surface 14 of the housing 12, intermediate section 70 which are retained in the passages, and tail sections 22 which extend rearwardly and downwardly from the rear section 16 of the housing 12 to a free end 84 which is disposed to connect with an electrical connector on the circuit board 11, such as a conductive pad, 38. The tail sections 36 of the first electrical contacts 26 extend rearwardly and downwardly in a first plane, and the tail sections 34 of the second electrical contacts 30 extend rearwardly and downwardly in a second plane which is different from the first plane, thus enabling ease of visual inspection and repair of the connections of the free ends 84 of the tail sections 34 of the second electrical contacts 30 to the conductive pads 38 of the mounting surface 11.

Prior art and contemporary connectors of the type disclosed herein are fixed to circuit boards in a number of ways. For convenience and flexibility, it has been known to manufacture electronic circuits and their connectors in a modular design for installation onto printed circuit boards of standard dimensions. Connectors have been fixed to circuit boards in several ways. For example, leads or pins may be inserted into holes in the circuit board and either soldered therein, or retained by other means, such as frictional retention means or spring means, which prevent the pin from exiting the hole in the circuit board. Conductive pads may be incorporated into the board onto which the contacts are soldered forming either a perpendicular or a parallel mount.
In present day electronics, miniaturization has led to the installation of a large number of electronic components onto a circuit board so that a large number of functions can be performed by the circuitry on the board. Consequently, the number of terminals needed for connection to other electronic components has increased, necessitating the need for high contact density, i.e., connectors having a large number of electrical contacts or terminals per unit volume.
Such connectors have been used in many applications where a surface mounted device necessitates connection of electrical contact terminals to the circuitry on the circuit board. Such applications have included, among others, memory card connections and other devices intended to introduce external input into the circuit system, as well as internal circuitry devices, such as additional circuitry, capacitors, resistors and other electronic components. For example, in the electrical connector industry, it is well known to provide an electrical connector useful for signal transmission and reception between a memory card and the circuit of a machine concerned. For reference, the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association ("PCMCIA") established memory card (or "PC Card") standards defining the PC Card's physical outline standards, connector system and qualification test parameters, including reliability, durability and environmental test parameter. PC Card Standard, Release 2.0, PCMCIA (September 1991).
Connectors having the capability of housing a high density of electrical contacts are shown in for example, U.S Pat. No. 4,583,807 issued to Kaufman et al., wherein contacts are positioned in parallel rows along the longitudinal axis of the connector housing, with tail sections extending rearwardly and downwardly from the housing which are soldered to the board.
Contact density, however, cannot generally be increased by simply placing the contacts closer together or by forming several rows of contact elements located one above the other. Increasing density in this way may result in undesirable mutual electrical interference between the contact elements, and further, the use of very long tails on contacts will increase problems due to the occurrence of undesirable inductive couplings and susceptibility to electromagnetic noise. An example of a modular connector system which cures some of these problems is U.S Pat. No. 4,992,052 issued to Verhoevan, showing a connector module with a high contact density wherein the contacts are positioned in rows, and the end of a contact in the upper row and the end of a contact in a lower row are mutually displaced, such as by offsetting the connecting ends to extend within a side edge of a base section.
Another problem in the prior art connectors has been in determining the integrity of the soldering joint affixing the contact to the circuit board. In industry, solder joint integrity has generally been accomplished through visual inspection, with an inspection device, such as a detector beam, used to view the solder joint. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this has been a problem where multiple rows of contacts 20', one above the other, are present in the connector module 10', and the connections include bent tail sections that contact the circuit board in a line extending from the housing 12'. When multiple rows of contacts 20' are present in this configuration, the contact points 38' of the lower rows of contacts with the circuit board are hidden from view by the extending electrical contacts 20' of the upper rows of contacts. In these devices, the contact solder joint most proximate to the circuit board is hidden from the line of sight extending perpendicularly from the board, making visual inspection difficult. Moreover, repair of such a solder joint is difficult.
One attempt to solve this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,365 issued to Ito et al. which describes an electrical connector having a plurality of pins defining a connecting portion for connecting the pins to an electrical element and a terminal portion for connecting the pins to one conductor of a printed circuit board. As described in FIG. 2 of Ito et al., a pin header (20) consists of a main body (22) having a plurality of pins (24) arranged in two parallel rows at the female connector side. The pins (24) are deformed within the main body so as to project from the main body (22) with the upper row forming a straight row of the terminal portions nearer the main body (22) and the lower row pins forming a straight line of the terminal portions further from main body (22). As evident, Ito et al. requires that the pin header (20) be molded around the pins (24) in order to accommodate the deformed shape of the pins (24) in the main body (22). Another attempt to solve this problem is disclosed in U.S Pat. No. 4,756,696 issued to Whiteman, where the parallel rows of contacts are offset so that a contact extending from an upper row alternately forms a connection with the circuit board from a contact extending from the lower row, the connections all being soldered on the circuit board in a single line.
While the above described patents disclose improved techniques for mounting high density electrical connectors onto a circuit board, none provides the important advantage of a high density electrical connector wherein the integrity of the solder joint or connection between the electrical contacts and the circuit board is readily susceptible to visual inspection, an also to inspection through the use of optical detectors commonly used in industry. Moreover, none of these devices discloses a high density electrical connector with the simplified repair ability of defective solder joints. Also, none of these devises discloses high density devices which may be stacked one on top of the other.


A method of fastening a wall panel to a wall, according to one illustrative embodiment, comprises coupling a retaining body to a mounting body mounted on an outer surface of the wall adjacent a side edge of the wall panel. Coupling the retaining body to the mounting body may comprise coupling a first connector on an inner surface of the retaining body to a second connector on the mounting body, and positioning a retainer on the retaining body against a retaining surface on the wall panel to fasten the wall panel to the wall. Kits and wall assemblies according to other illustrative embodiments are also disclosed.

1. Field
The invention relates generally to wall panels, and more particularly to: methods of fastening a wall panel to a wall; kits; and wall assemblies.
2. Related Art
One wall assembly includes ornamental trim between adjacent wall panels to improve the aesthetic appearance of regions between such adjacent wall panels. For example, some such ornamental trim may be plastic, or may be held in a plastic receiver mounted to the wall. In either case, the ornamental trim generally has insufficient structural strength to fasten the wall panels to the wall, and such a wall assembly generally requires fasteners such as screws through the wall panels and in the wall to fasten the wall panels to the wall. However, generally fasteners such as screws disadvantageously do not permit thermal expansion or contraction of the wall panels without causing buckling, oil-canning, or other damage to the wall panels. Further, screwing in screws through a wall panel while holding the wall panel in place against a wall is generally cumbersome and time-consuming.
Some wall assemblies include wall panels that are mounted to a wall and sealed in an effort to form a moisture barrier to keep moisture from accumulating in the wall panels, in a space between the wall panels and the wall, in the wall, or in a combination thereof. However, such moisture barriers may trap moisture, and such trapped moisture may disadvantageously cause damage to the wall panels, to the wall, or to both.
Therefore, other wall assemblies include vents or other openings to a space between wall panels and a wall to prevent trapping moisture in that space. For example, one known wall assembly permits water to flow downward under gravitational force in a space between a wall panel and a wall. An upper surface of ornamental trim below a bottom edge of the wall panel may slope downwards away from the wall to permit water from the space between the wall panel and the wall to flow downward over that surface under gravitational force away from the wall, thereby avoiding accumulation of water near the bottom edge of the wall panel. However, such ornamental trim is generally incapable of fastening the wall panel to the wall because the downwardly sloped upper surface of the ornamental trim includes no surface that could retain the wall panel against the wall.
Another wall assembly includes a channel member secured to a wall, a clamping channel member having co-planar flanges, and securing elements such as metal clips that secure the clamping channel member to the channel member secured to the wall. In such a wall assembly, the co-planar flanges of the clamping channel member may overlie and engage areas of outer faces of panel members to clamp the panel members to the channel member secured to the wall. However, the securing elements would disadvantageously be visible from an exterior of the wall unless concealed, and therefore such a wall assembly may include a strip receivable in the channel of the clamping channel member to conceal the securing elements. However, such a strip disadvantageously increases cost and complexity of such a wall assembly.

Methods of fastening a wall panel to a wall, kits, and wall assemblies


A semiconductor device fabrication method includes: forming an elongated hole 5 in a wiring board plate along a perimeter line 3 of a plurality of wiring board regions defined over the wiring board plate with a connecting portion left unremoved at a corner of each of the wiring board regions; mounting semiconductor elements on the wiring board regions; and cutting the connecting portion using a punch 8 to isolate the wiring board regions from the wiring board plate into wiring boards. Each of the wiring boards has a cut edge formed by the punch, the cut edge starting from an end of the elongated hole 5 provided on a first side of the perimeter line 3 and extending across part of the connecting portion inside the perimeter line 3, the cut edge being angled inward of the wiring board so as to slope downward from the end of the elongated hole 5.

A technology disclosed in this specification relates to a semiconductor device having a wiring board with a semiconductor element mounted thereon and to a method for fabricating the same.
Size reduction of electronic devices in recent years intensely demands size reduction and higher packaging density of semiconductor devices installed in the electronic devices. To meet the demand, the form of the semiconductor devices has shifted from conventional insertion type, such as DIP (Dual Inline Package), to surface-mount type, such as SOP (Small Outline Package) and QFP (Quad Flat Package). The package forms more widely adopted in recent years with the aim of achieving advanced size reduction and higher packaging density are a package called BGA (Ball Grid Array) where external terminals are arranged in an array over a whole face of the lower part of the device, and a package called CSP (Chip Size Package) where external terminals are arranged with shorter intervals than BGA and the package size is smaller than BGA. The essential features and fabrication methods of BGA and CSP are described below.
The wiring board generally employed for BGA and CSP is a multilayered wiring board including an organic material. The multilayered wiring board includes a wire part formed of a metal material, such as Cu, and an insulator part formed of, for example, a resin or glass cloth. Mounting of a semiconductor element on the wiring board is generally achieved by wire-bonding but, in some cases, by flip-chip mounting with the aim of improving electrical properties. The semiconductor element mounted on the wiring board may be overmolded with a resin when necessary. Also, in general, the back surface of the wiring board (the face opposite to the surface with the semiconductor element mounted thereon) is provided with solder balls which serve as the external terminals.
A method for fabricating BGA and CSP is now described. Fabrication of BGA and CSP employs a wiring board plate for improvement in production efficiency which is to be separated into a plurality of wiring boards carrying semiconductor elements mounted thereon. Specifically, the semiconductor elements are mounted at predetermined positions on the wiring board plate and, when necessary, the semiconductor elements are overmolded, or solder balls are fixed over the back surface which serve as external terminals. Then, in the final step, the wiring board plate is cut along a wiring board perimeter line into individual wiring boards. The two typical perimeter-cutting methods described below are known in the art.
The first method is dicing with a diamond blade, or the like, for separation into semiconductor devices. This method uses a diamond-coated file blade for perimeter cutting and, therefore, a resultant semiconductor device having an improved cut surface roughness is produced. Dicing however needs to be carried out along the perimeter lines of the respective semiconductor devices, which is disadvantageous in respect of workability and mass-productivity. Also, to prevent degradation of semiconductor device edges due to frictional heat from the dicing saw, spraying of water, or the like, over the dicing saw is necessary. In this case, the semiconductor element mounted on the wiring board is exposed to water, and therefore, there is a concern that the semiconductor element absorbs moisture, resulting in addition of drying the semiconductor devices after perimeter cutting.
The second method consists of loading the wiring board plate via registration holes formed in the wiring board plate in advance to fix the position of the wiring board plate and then punching the wiring board plate using a metal mold along the perimeter lines for separation into semiconductor devices. This method is superior to the first method in respect of workability and mass-productivity and is as of now the most popular among the existing ones. A commonly-employed method example of punching the wiring board plate with a metal mold is a combination of elongated hole formation with a drill called a router and punch stamping. A conventional wiring board fabrication method based on the combination of elongated hole formation and punch stamping is described below with reference to FIGS. 12 to 16.
FIGS. 12A to 12C are plan views illustrating a conventional wiring board fabrication method. FIG. 13 is an enlarged plan view showing a corner of the perimeter line of a semiconductor device region during punch stamping. FIG. 14 is a plan view of a conventional wiring board after fabrication.
Referring to FIG. 12A, the first step is forming registration holes 102 in a wiring board plate 101 and holes 104 at the corners in a perimeter line 103 of respective semiconductor device regions (wiring board regions) defined over the wiring board plate 101. Note that the holes 104 are for making rounded surfaces at the corners of the semiconductor device. Then, elongated holes 105 are formed in the wiring board plate 101 using a router so as to extend between adjacent holes 104. Each of the elongated holes 105 is formed such that the inner longitudinal side of the elongated hole 105 is coincident with the perimeter line 103 of the semiconductor device region. Note that the length of a portion between an end of the elongated hole 105 and the hole 104 (unremoved portion) is set so as to secure such a strength that the wiring board plate 101 survives subsequent device assembly steps without being broken in the unremoved portion.
Referring to FIG. 12B, semiconductor elements 106 are then mounted on the resultant wiring board plate 101 at predetermined positions in the wiring board regions. The mounted semiconductor elements 106 are then overmolded with sealing resin 107 as shown in FIG. 12C. Thereafter, although not shown, for example, solder balls are fixed over the back surface of the wiring board region which serve as external terminals.
Referring to FIG. 13, the unremoved portions between the ends of the elongated holes 105 and the holes 104, which connect the semiconductor device regions to the frame of the wiring board plate 101, are then punched out to isolate the semiconductor device regions into semiconductor devices. In this way, the wiring boards are fabricated.

Semiconductor device with a wiring board having an angled linear part


A holding clip for tubes, hoses and the like has a pocket and deflectable arms protecting an entrance to the pocket. The arms extend one past another and interdigitate one with another. The arms deflect outwardly in response to force exerted thereagainst from outside of the pocket and interengage one against another to resist force exerted thereagainst from within the pocket.

Holding devices of various types are known for routing items such as tubes, pipes, wires, rods and the like in a variety of applications, including the routing of hoses, tubes and wires in automobiles. The holding device commonly includes some type of anchoring fixture for securing the holding device to the article on which it is used. The anchoring fixture can be a threaded part, a compressible clip for inserting into a hole, a mounting plate with holes for bolts, screws, rivets or the like, or any of a variety of other constructions that can be used to attach the holding device to the article, such as, for example, an automobile. The holding device further includes a holding part or pocket that holds the pipe, tube, rod, wire or other item or thing to be held thereby.
Such holding devices are used extensively in the automotive industry for routing brake lines, fuel lines, HVAC lines and other similar items. The retainer must be robust to secure the item in place. Once inserted into the retainer, the item must be held firmly to prevent accidental dislodgement. A loose line or hose in an automobile can fail prematurely from mechanical stress placed thereon from movement and vibration resulting from its loosened condition.
A variety of designs are known for holding clips in automobiles. It is known to provide a pocket with a restricted inlet slightly narrower than the hose or tube diameter, requiring the hose or tube to be forced into the pocket. Some designs are known to include deflectable members at the top of the retention pocket, which can be deflected as the tube or hose is inserted. Once the tube or hose is properly positioned in the pocket, the arms spring back over the inlet area to the pocket. These designs are often referred to as "rabbit ear" designs because of the appearance of the deflectable arms. Both single rabbit ear and double rabbit ear constructions are known. A single rabbit ear design has an arm extending from one side of the inlet past the tube or pocket centerline. Such "over center" designs have had some success in holding tubes and hoses in place, but can be deflected to release the hose or tube if significant force is applied as the hose or tube is pulled from the pocket. So called "double rabbit ear" designs are intended to retain a tube or hose in the retention member via tangential force on the outer tube surface. These designs have opposed arms extending inwardly near to but not past the tube or pocket centerline. Again, sufficient pull out force can cause dislodgement of the tube or hose from the holder.
What is needed in the art is a holder for tubes, hoses and the like that adequately holds the item therein while substantially reducing the potential for unintended dislodgement, yet which can be manufactured inexpensively and used efficiently.


The combustion device according to the invention produces gases containing CO2 and water vapor and comprises a circulating fluidized bed reaction chamber (1, 2), a separator (10, 20), heat recovery means of which a part is situated in a dense fluidized bed (12, 12a, 22), wherein the part located in the bed of the heat recovery system(s) is composed of catalyst tubes (120, 120a, 220) through which a gas mixture flows. The gas mixture is composed of natural gas and/or naphtha or refinery gas or two or more of these gases. The gas undergoes reformation which converts it into a synthesis gas containing hydrogen. The fact of the catalyst tubes being situated in the dense fluidized bed made up of ashes from the combustion allows the catalyst to be reheated in a homogenous manner and the reforming reaction of the natural gas mixture to be stimulated.

The present invention concerns power stations that use fossil fuels. Such power stations produce large quantities of greenhouse gases, notably CO2, which it is necessary to control.
These pressures make it necessary to resolve, in an economic fashion and with minimum impact, new problems such as the capture of CO2 from power station flue gases including by the use of renewable energy of the biomass type, non-fossil carbon for example.
Moreover, the growing prospect of the imminent exhaustion of petroleum resources and the requirement to find a replacement for them for vehicle transport, also an important source of CO2 emissions, leads to the search for alternative solutions for the production of substitute fuels, in particular from non-fossil (biomass) fuels.
On the other hand, at night, the electricity production resources are scarcely used, a fact which is an incentive in the development of polygeneration type production facilities.
In order to reduce pollution, the method is known of converting combustible solids containing carbonaceous matter to oxygen diluted from recycled CO2, rather than to air, so as to produce gases which do not contain nitrogen. The method is also known of converting combustible solids by combustion in a thermochemical cycle in order to produce gases without nitrogen. However, these methods only produce electricity and are, thus, underutilized when production falls.
In order to produce a gas rich in hydrogen, particularly intended to be used by fuel cells and for the production of transport fuels, the method is known of reforming natural gas within catalyst tube bundles which are partially immersed in a dense fluidized bed. However, these systems use fuels for the purpose of heating the bed and water vapour to produce a synthesis gas rich in hydrogen.

Combustion device that produces hydrogen with the re-use of captured CO2


Various technologies pertaining to allocating computing resources of a neuromorphic computing system are described herein. Subgraphs of a neural algorithm graph to be executed by the neuromorphic computing system are identified. The subgraphs are each executed by a group of neuron circuits serially. Output data generated by execution of the subgraphs are provided to the same or a second group of neuron circuits at a same time or with associated timing data indicative of a time at which the output data was generated. The same or second group of neuron circuits performs one or more processing operations based upon the output data.

Neural networks are computational models that are used in many artificial intelligence and machine-learning applications such as computer vision, speech recognition, classification systems, etc. Nearly any algorithm can be modeled using a neural network graph, executed as a neural algorithm. The neural network graph is representative of the neural algorithm and comprises nodes and edges that are analogous to neurons and synapses, respectively. Any given neural algorithm can be represented by a neural network graph of some minimum size, defined by a minimum number of nodes (neurons) and a corresponding minimum number of edges (synapses).
Neuromorphic computing systems are computing architectures that have been developed to efficiently execute neural algorithms. Current neuromorphic computing systems are typically configurable arrangements of at least two types of physical computing resources: neuron circuits and synapse connections that connect one neuron circuit to another. In an example, a neuron circuit comprises an arrangement of logic gates or simple arithmetic units capable of performing relatively simple processing operations (e.g., if input>x then output y, else output 0). By way of another example, a synapse connection can be a crosspoint memory location. Conventional neuromorphic computing systems generally execute nodes of multi-layer neural algorithms in parallel, such that all nodes (or neurons) in a single layer of a neural algorithm are processed simultaneously.
Practical neuromorphic computing systems have a finite number of neuron circuits and synapse connections. Conventional neuromorphic computing systems either 1) are limited to executing neural algorithms in which all layers can be represented with the same or smaller number of neurons as the system has neuron circuits or 2) for neural algorithms that require a greater number of neurons than the system has neuron circuits, must transfer all or part of the computation of the neural algorithm off-chip to another neuromorphic or other computing system for processing, and transfer results back. Transferring data between neuromorphic computing systems, however, can increase power and time required for a neuromorphic computing system to execute the algorithm. Thus, if an algorithm requires a greater number of neurons than there are neuron circuits available on a conventional neuromorphic computing system, power and time advantages of using the neuromorphic computing system to execute the algorithm may be lost.

Neuromorphic computing architecture with dynamically accessible contexts

National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC


In a system for providing access control management to electronic data, techniques to secure the electronic data and keep the electronic data secured at all times are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a secured file or secured document includes two parts: an attachment, referred to as a header, and an encrypted document or data portion. The header includes security information that points to or includes the access rules and a file key. The access rules facilitate restrictive access to the secured document and essentially determine who/when/how/where the secured document can be accessed. The file key is used to encrypt/decrypt the encrypted data portion. Only those who have the proper access privileges are permitted to retrieve the file key to encrypt/decrypt the encrypted data portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the area of protecting data in an enterprise environment, and more particularly, relates processes, systems, architectures, and software products for providing pervasive security to digital assets at all times.
2. Background Art
The Internet is the fastest growing telecommunications medium in history. This growth and the easy access it affords have significantly enhanced the opportunity to use advanced information technology for both the public and private sectors. It provides unprecedented opportunities for interaction and data sharing among businesses and individuals. However, the advantages provided by the Internet come with a significantly greater element of risk to the confidentiality and integrity of information. The Internet is a widely open, public, and international network of interconnected computers and electronic devices. Without proper security means, an unauthorized person or machine may intercept any information traveling across the Internet and even get access to proprietary information stored in computers that interconnect to the Internet, but are otherwise generally inaccessible by the public.
There are many efforts in progress aimed at protecting proprietary information traveling across the Internet and controlling access to computers carrying the proprietary information. Cryptography allows people to carry over the confidence found in the physical world to the electronic world, thus allowing people to do business electronically without worries of deceit and deception. Every day hundreds of thousands of people interact electronically, whether it is through e-mail, e-commerce (business conducted over the Internet), ATM machines, or cellular phones. The perpetual increase of information transmitted electronically has lead to an increased reliance on cryptography.
One of the ongoing efforts in protecting the proprietary information traveling across the Internet is to use one or more cryptographic techniques to secure a private communication session between two communicating computers on the Internet. The cryptographic techniques provide a way to transmit information across an insecure communication channel without disclosing the contents of the information to anyone eavesdropping on the communication channel. Using an encryption process in a cryptographic technique, one party can protect the contents of the data in transit from access by an unauthorized third party, yet the intended party can read the data using a corresponding decryption process.
A firewall is another security measure that protects the resources of a private network from users of other networks. However, it has been reported that many unauthorized accesses to proprietary information occur from the inside, as opposed to from the outside. An example of someone gaining unauthorized access from the inside is when restricted or proprietary information is accessed by someone within an organization who is not supposed to do so. Due to the open nature of the Internet, contractual information, customer data, executive communications, product specifications, and a host of other confidential and proprietary intellectual property remains available and vulnerable to improper access and usage by unauthorized users within or outside a supposedly protected perimeter.
A governmental report from General Accounting Office (GAO) details "significant and pervasive computer security weaknesses at seven organizations within the U.S. Department of Commerce, the widespread computer security weaknesses throughout the organizations have seriously jeopardized the integrity of some of the agency's most sensitive systems." Further it states: "Using readily available software and common techniques, we demonstrated the ability to penetrate sensitive Commerce systems from both inside Commerce and remotely, such as through the Internet," and "Individuals, both within and outside Commerce, could gain unauthorized access to these systems and read, copy, modify, and delete sensitive economic, financial, personnel, and confidential business data . . . " The report further concludes "[i]ntruders could disrupt the operations of systems that are critical to the mission of the department."
In fact, many businesses and organizations have been looking for effective ways to protect their proprietary information. Typically, businesses and organizations have deployed firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) to provide protection. Unfortunately, these various security means have been proven insufficient to reliably protect proprietary information residing on private networks. For example, depending on passwords to access sensitive documents from within often causes security breaches when the password of a few characters long is leaked or detected. Therefore, there is a need to provide more effective ways to secure and protect digital assets at all times.

Methods and systems for providing access control to secured data


A process of producing an asphalt concrete with enhanced performance is provided by utilizing a primer comprising uintahite and an augmenter. The primer is added to a hot aggregate with a surface temperature of at least 250 deg. F. prior to addition of an asphalt-derived base binder. The primer forms a primer interlayer between the hot aggregate and the base binder. As a result, the asphalt concrete has enhanced performance when compared with other asphalt concretes produced without a primer being added.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of hotmix asphalt concrete and asphalt technology. More specifically, the present invention relates to the pretreatment or priming of aggregate for use with asphalt or other petroleum-derived binders.
2. Description of the Related Art
The current practice to produce hotmix asphalt concrete is to heat up aggregate either in a continuous drum or batch hotmix asphalt concrete plant and spray asphalt binder onto the very hot aggregate. The combination of these two components is an asphalt binder-aggregate product used to create pavement. The asphalt binder provides flexibility to the resulting asphalt binder-aggregate product and is therefore used to ease the constructability of pavements. However, a drawback to the asphalt-aggregate product is that adhesion strength of the binder to the aggregate is comparatively low and the binder is essentially a high viscosity fluid, as opposed to a solid at room temperature, such that the asphalt binder-aggregate interface created by mixing the two represents a weak-spot where failure can occur. In particular, water, which is very polar, can penetrate the product and separate the binder from the aggregate. This is generally caused by either freeze-thaw cycles or via pump action of the water in the voids during traffic loading. Once the adhesion between the binder and the aggregate is lost the pavement can unravel. Commonly used tests to evaluate the susceptibility of mixes to water damage are the modified Lotman test (AASHTO T283) and the Hamburg Wheel Tracking (HWT) Test, as understood by those of skill in the art. To meet the test specification requirements, it is known to use lime, hydrated lime or lime marination of the aggregate. It is also known to add a liquid amine antistripping agent to the asphalt binder.
Efforts to overcome low temperature and fatigue cracking issues have led to the development of the products noted above which in turn suffer from rutting and shoving over periods of use. It is possible to improve the rut resistance with conventional and polymer-modified asphalts; however, this is generally accomplished by sacrificing the low temperature binder properties. Polymer modification does not, generally, improve the intermediate temperature properties. Furthermore, polymer addition accounts for a significant increase in cost. It is desirable to develop a product and process to create the product that overcomes low temperature and fatigue cracking issues while resisting rutting and shoving with use.
Attempts have been made to improve interfacial properties in asphalt mixtures to increase performance. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,031 by Sugi et al. titled "Cement/Asphalt Mixtures and Processed for Preparation of the Same" provides a cement/asphalt mixture comprising an aggregate, an asphalt emulsion, cement, a hydraulic inorganic material and water, characterized in that the surfaces of aggregate fragments are covered with the asphalt particles prepared by the coalescence of asphalt emulsion and that the hydraulic inorganic material and water are present in the interstices between the aggregate fragments. The cement/asphalt mixtures is prepared through a process characterized by the steps of adding a cationic or anionic asphalt emulsion to an aggregate and mixing the two by stirring with a mixer for about 10 to 60 seconds. Afterwards, the resulting mixture is further mixed with a hydraulic inorganic material to produce the cement/asphalt mixture. During the process, the aggregate can be heated to a temperature of lower than 120 deg. C. (i.e., lower than 248 deg. F.) to accelerate the coalescence of asphalt emulsion when the operation is conducted in a cold environment.
In Europe, in particular, contractors and refiners have promoted the use of ultra-high modulus binders to reduce traffic-induced deformation. Because of the moderate climate in most of South-central Europe, the reduction in low temperature performance has not been a cause of concern. However, in the United States, Northern Europe, as well as Eastern Europe, the climatic conditions are much more severe and have led to disadvantages. Because of their propensity to exhibit severe cracking, refined low-penetration ultra-high modulus mixes are generally unacceptable in these climates. Hence, there is a need for a modification to hotmix asphalt concrete mixes that would increase the resistance to permanent deformation and increase the modulus of the mix at intermediate temperatures without affecting the binder properties significantly. A further need exists for improved interfacial properties in asphalt mixtures, particularly for use in low temperature climates. It would also be desirable if these improvements could be accomplished while improving the interfacial properties of the asphalt aggregate interface, which in turn enhances the moisture resistance of the hotmix asphalt.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pretreated aggregate for hotmix asphalt concrete applications and other related applications


Two vial containing kits containing aspirin for intravenous administration are disclosed. The first vial contains a lyophilized mixture of aspirin in crystalline form, a bulking agent such as mannitol and a surfactant. The second vial includes an aqueous diluent such as water for injection and a basifying agent such as Tris.

Aspirin (o-acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) has been used therapeutically for over 100 years. As a salicylate derivative, it possesses the three properties of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): analgesic, anti-pyretic, and anti-inflammatory in treating arthritis, neuralgia and myalgia. In addition to these three properties, Aspirin is also effective in inhibition of platelet aggregation.
The principal therapeutic effect of NSAIDs, such as aspirin, is their ability to inhibit prostaglandin production. Aspirin covalently modifies both COX-1 and COX-2, thus resulting in an irreversible inhibition of cyclooxygenase activity, unlike other NSAIDs that bind to COX reversibly. Inhibition of COX-1 leads to inhibition of platelet aggregation but may also cause irritation of gastric lining and altered kidney function. Inhibition of COX-2 leads to anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic actions.
Because of the multiple therapeutic activities of aspirin and salicylic acid (SA), which have included the treatment of mild to moderate pain and fever, reduction in risk of chronic diseases such as thrombotic cardiovascular events and, as suggested by emerging evidence, the reduction in risk of colorectal cancer, aspirin has taken many shapes and sizes. Although aspirin was first synthesized in 1897 and sold as a tablet for many decades, over the past three or four decades various dosage forms that include plain tablets, chewable tablets, effervescent tablets, extended-release tablets, granules and suspensions, fast release/disintegrating tablets, suppositories, powders, creams and lotions have been introduced.
Aspirin is insoluble in acidic pH as the drug predominantly present in the undissociated form, slightly soluble in water (about 0.3%) and the solubility increases significantly at about pH 5.5 and above. The solubility of aspirin is more than 100 mg/ml at pH 5.5 and above. Aspirin undergoes hydrolytic degradation at all pH conditions to form salicylic acid. The hydrolysis rate is slowest at about pH 2.5. The hydrolytic degradation of aspirin stays the same in the pH region of 4.5 to 8.5. The degradation half-life is about 6 hours in aqueous solutions, which is not adequate to develop a solution formulation of aspirin. The degradation half-life of aspirin is so short, it is even impossible to lyophilize the concentrated bulk solution as 10% of potency loss can be observed in about 1.3 hours. To lyophilize any drug, the bulk solution should not lose any potency for at least 12 hours under ambient conditions. Even at pH 2.5 where hydrolytic degradation of aspirin is slowest, aspirin degrades at the rate of about 2% per day. Poor solutions stability coupled with low solubility does not permit to develop a commercially viable lyophile. Therefore, the development of a solution or lyophilized form of Aspirin injection in aqueous medium is extremely difficult.
Due to such solubility and stability problems with the injectable dosage form, only oral dosage forms of aspirin are being widely used in treating various indications mentioned earlier. However, orally administered aspirin is not completely absorbed and is slow in the onset of pharmacological action. On the other hand, the effectiveness of intravenously administered aspirin solution was said to be four times as high as that of the orally administered equal amount of acetylsalicylic acid.
All attempts to develop a stable injectable formulation of O-acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) have failed despite extensive development efforts over the past five decades. In our opinion, amine salts of O-acetylsalicylic with amino acid containing two basic groups are unstable due to disproportionation to the constituent parts of the salts. When the salts are dissolved in water, which may be residual, an ionization equilibrium is set up involving the formation of aspirin and the amine salt former. The aqueous solubility of aspirin so formed is very low compared to that of the salt and will tend to precipitate thus causing the equilibrium to replace it but at the same time forming more of the amine salt former. In this way, the solution increases in pH and becomes more unstable. Higher pH conditions result in amidolysis of O-acetylsalicylic acid to form amino acid derivative of O-acetylsalicylic acid as well as O-salicylic acid. The presence of such impurities in the injectable formulation of aspirin is not desirable.
Since its discovery of aspirin in 1859, and later worldwide commercialization by Bayer in 1899, O-acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, aspirin; Aspirin® is registered trademark of Bayer) has been a medical mainstay drug for the treatment of pain, fever, inflammation and inhibition of platelet aggregation in the setting of thrombus (clots).
Aspirin is the only common small molecule drug which also possesses the unique ability to inhibit the aggregation of platelets in the blood, and thus prevent, reduce or eliminate platelet-related clots in blood vessels, tissues and vital organs. Aspirin is only available as an oral tablet or capsule, requiring ingestion by mouth and subsequent absorption in the stomach and GI tract, with onset of inhibition of platelet aggregation occurring from approximately 40 minutes following oral dosing. Rectal suppositories are also available but have a highly variable absorption rate and extent of absorption, more than even by the oral route.
When treating platelet-related thrombosis in the setting of heart attack or stroke, minutes count to save lives. Oral tablet aspirin given in the ambulance or ER does not have an immediate effect, relative to rapid-onset of IV infusion clot-busting drugs such as TPA, low-molecular weight heparin and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors.
Hundreds of millions of people experience acute (sudden onset) pain, in the settings of headache, migraines, arthritis, musculoskeletal or skin trauma, fractures, dental and surgical wound pain, and from complications of cancer and diabetes. Most analgesic pain medications, including aspirin, are available as oral tablets and take about 30 minutes for initial onset of pain relief Opioid pain medications are now available as fast-acting and slow-release dosage forms and take about 30 minutes for initial onset of pain relief. However, opioids are widely known to be highly-addictive, and can cause cardio-respiratory distress with standard- or over-dosages.
Thus, the quest continues for a highly-effective, "rapid-onset", predictable and tolerable agent for inhibition of platelet-related thrombosis, and a non-addicting drug for the treatment of acute pain, fever, inflammation. Thus, there exist a critical medical need for a parenteral dosage form of aspirin which provides immediate therapeutic action in acute coronary syndrome and other vascular indications.

In-vial deposition of a stable, sterile and crystalline o-acetyl salicylic acid (aspirin)


This invention relates to a method for the selective recovery of manganese and zinc from brines that includes the steps of contacting a brine with an ionic liquid in order to selectively extract manganese and zinc from the brine into the ionic liquid; and treating the ionic liquid containing extracted manganese and zinc with an aqueous solution to selectively precipitate manganese, producing a manganese depleted, zinc rich ionic liquid. The method can further include the steps of treating the manganese depleted, zinc rich ionic liquid with an aqueous solution to selectively precipitate zinc.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of selectively removing manganese and zinc from brines. More particularly, the invention relates to methods for the selective removal and recovery of manganese and zinc from brines, preferably without the simultaneous removal of other ions from the brines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of brine sources exist naturally. For instance, brine sources include brine deposits like the Salar de Atacama in Chile, Silver Peak Nev., Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, or the Salar de Hombre Muerte in Argentina. Other common brine sources are geothermal, oilfield, Smackover, and relict hydrothermal brines. These brines, however, have not previously been very well commercially exploited.
Geothermal brines are of particular interest for a variety of reasons. First, geothermal brines provide a source of power due to the fact that hot geothermal pools are stored at high pressure underground, which when released to atmospheric pressure, can provide a flash-steam. The flash-stream can be used, for example, to run a power plant. Additionally, geothermal brines contain useful elements, which can be recovered and utilized for secondary processes. With some geothermal waters and brines, binary processes can be used to heat a second fluid to provide steam for the generation of electricity without the flashing of the geothermal brine.
One problem associated with geothermal brines when utilized for the production of electricity results from scaling and deposition of solids. Silica and other solids that are dissolved within the geothermal brine precipitate out during all stages of brine processing, particularly during the cooling of a geothermal brine, and may eventually result in fouling of the injection wells or processing equipment.
It is known that brines can include various metal ions, particularly alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as silica, iron, lead, silver, zinc and manganese, in varying concentrations, depending upon the source of the brine. Recovery of these metals is potentially important to the chemical, pharmaceutical and electronics industries. Typically, the economic recovery of desired metals from natural brines, which may vary widely in composition, depends not only on the specific concentration of the desired metal, but also upon the concentrations of interfering ions, particularly silica, calcium and magnesium, because the presence of the interfering ions will increase recovery costs as additional steps must be taken to remove the interfering ions, before the desired metals are recovered.
Although conventional processing of ores and brines currently employed can be used to recover a portion of the manganese and zinc present in brines, there still exists a need to develop economic methods that are selective for the removal and recovery of manganese and zinc from the brines at high yields and high purity.

Selective recovery of manganese, lead and zinc