A method and apparatus for automatically determining optimum placement of privileged code enablement locations in existing code are provided. A method invocation graph of existing code is generated and a static analysis of the method invocation graph is performed. The static analysis is used to analyze the permission propagation through chains of method invocations in the method invocation graph. When a method invocation in the method invocation graph satisfies one or more user definable criteria, the location in the method invocation graph is saved to a file that identifies recommended insertion points for a call to the authorization enablement code. This file may then be used to manually review the code to determine if a call to privileged mode enablement should actually be made at the identified locations. Alternatively, the call to privileged mode enablement may be automatically inserted at the indicated locations using refactoring.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to an improved data processing system and, in particular, an improved mechanism for determining optimum placement of privileged code locations in existing code.
2. Description of Related Art
In Javar™ Development Kit (JDK™) version 1.1, local applications and correctly digitally signed remote programs were generally trusted to have full access to vital system resources, such as the file system. Unsigned remote programs were not trusted and could access only limited resources. A security manager was responsible for determining which resource accesses were allowed.
In the Java™ 2 platform, the security architecture is policy-based and allows for fine-rained access control. In Java™ 2, when code is loaded by the class loader, it is assigned to a protection domain that contains a collection of "permissions" based on the security policy currently in effect. Each permission specifies a permitted access to a particular resource, such as "read" and "write" access to a specified file or directory, or "connect" access to a given host and port. The policy, specifying which permissions are available for cod. from various signers and/or locations, can be initialized from an external configurable policy file. Unless a permission is explicitly granted to code, that code cannot access the resource that is protected by that permission. These concepts of permission and policy enable the Java™ 2 runtime environment to offer fine-grain, highly configurable, flexible, and extensible access control. Such access control can be specified not only for applets, but also for all Java™ code including but not limited to applications, JavaBeans™, and servlets.
The Javar™ 2 security architecture imposes the constraint that whenever a protected resource access is attempted, each class whose method is in the execution stack is checked for the required permission to access that resource. The security policy would be ineffective if code with insufficient permissions were able to invoke code with more permissions and by doing so, access system resources that it should not access by virtue of its own protection domain.
However, there is a case where this rule does not apply. If some code on the thread, i.e. methods on an execution stack, is granted the requested permission and is marked as privileged, then none of the previous callers are checked for the required permission. To mark code as privileged, it is necessary to make a call to the java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged( ) method. A piece of code that is marked as privileged is enabled to temporarily grant other code in the thread stack permissions that otherwise would not have been granted by virtue of their protection domains.
The doPrivileged( ) method was introduced in the Java™ 2 platform to avoid client code from requiring the permissions that library code, which is more trusted, may require. For example, an underlying Application Program Interface (API) method can be invoked by client code to open a socket connection. Whatever code is found on the thread of execution when the socket connection is opened will need to be granted a SocketPermission. However, before opening the socket connection, that method writes to a log file that a socket connection is going to be opened. The library code needs a FilePermission to do that, but it would not make sense to impose the requirement that the client code also have that FilePermission. To prevent the propagation of the FilePermission requirement, the code that writes to the log file must be wrapped in a doPrivileged( ) method call.
An example of how privileged code works is shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates a thread stack in which classes are called in a downward direction. Thus, for example, class 1 calls class 2 and class 2 calls class 3, and so on. The last class called in the thread stack is typically a call to the method AccessController. checkPermission( ). The checkPermission( ) method traverses the thread stack from the bottom of the stack to the top of the stack checking each method's class' permissions to make sure that they each have the required permissions to access a protected resource.
Assume that class 3 calls the doPrivileged( ) method. The doPrivileged( ) method basically stops the checkPermission( ) method from continuing its checks beyond that class. In this way, the doPrivileged( ) method call effectively grants the privileges necessary to access the protected resource to the classes higher up in the thread stack. Thus, only classes called after doPrivileged( ), i.e. lower in the stack, need have the required privilege to access the protected resources.
Once library code has been written, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to manually predetermine which portions should be wrapped in doPrivileged( ) calls. Developers have to manually review all of their code and/or run sample client code against their libraries to find out when that client code requires unnecessary permissions, and from there argue that a call to doPrivileged( ) is required in their library. However, especially when a large amount of library code is involved, this activity can be very tedious and error prone. If a call to doPrivileged( ) is necessary, but is not detected during the manual review of the code or the testing phase, the resulting code will be unstable and client code may invoke a particular path of execution that will generate a SecurityException. On the other hand, if a call to doPrivileged( ) is mistakenly inserted in a place where it is not required, client code will be temporarily granted unnecessary permissions, thus violating the "Principle of Least Privilege" and opening a security hole.
This problem shows up particularly when library code that was written in JDK™ 1.0 and 1.1 platforms, where the described authorization mechanism was absent, is ported to Java™ 2. In this case, any calls to doPrivileged( ) must be inserted from scratch.
Thus, it would be beneficial to have an apparatus and method that automatically determines where a call to doPrivileged( ) should be made in existing code. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to have an apparatus and method that automatically inserts a call to doPrivileged( ) in existing code and generates a new class or method that includes proper privileges without granting unnecessary privileges.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for automatically determining optimum placement of privileged code locations in existing code


A light guide adapter for a camera stroboscopic illuminator, comprising a removable mounting adapted to adhere to an unmodified on-camera stroboscopic illuminator; and at least one flexible light guide, connected to the mounting, having an entrance aperture positioned to receive light from the stroboscopic illuminator, each light guide having a self-supporting, independently positionable exit aperture distal from the entrance aperture.

It is well known in the field of macro photography that when using flash lighting, standard on-camera and built-in flash units are not suitable. Typically, these flash units are located distant from the lens, and in fact are intentionally displaced in order to reduce "red eye". Likewise, the flash has a parallax with respect to the lens, resulting in a distinct shadowing for objects close to the lens. Finally, due to the uneven illumination, automatic exposure algorithms may fail.
In a macro photographic environment, the lens of the camera is usually very close to the subject, and depending on the desired magnification, may be from less than one inch up to a distance of 24 inches. Typical macro flash units used include ring light flash units that attach to the front of the camera lens, and single or twin flashes mounted off the camera and connected to the camera via an electronic cord or an IR communication port. Two (or more) point sources of light are much preferred in macro photography because at close working distances associated with macro photography a single point source causes contrasting shadows.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,358 (Larimer), expressly incorporated herein by reference, discloses a flash system which employs fiber optic illumination to allow precise control and positioning of a light source, suitable for macro photography. See: U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,487 (Allen); U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,859 (Mecklenborg); U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,029 (Baliozian); U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,705 (Horowitz); U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,684 (Francis, Jr. et al); (U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,208 (King); U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,309 (Jones); U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,761 (Jones); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,850 (Larimer), each of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
See also:
Gilman, "Photo Slit Lamp Biomicrography";
webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/ops/op-photo/slitlamp/slitlamp.htm.
"Fiber Optic Illuminator Research Project"; eetd.161.gov/btp/fiberoptics.html.
"Fiber Optic Illuminator;" www.wpiine.com/wpi/microscopycameras/fo illuminator.html.
"Long-Life Fiber Optic Illuminator".
"Fiber Optic Lighting Systems: An Overview"; www.fiberstars.com/overview.html.
"Fiber Optic Systems"; eande.lbl.gov/R-LabDG/help3503.htm.
"Fostecfiber Optic Bundles with Halogen Light"; www.subtechnique.com.
"Fiber Optic flux Calculation"; eande.lbl.gov/R-Lab DG/Help 3503.htm.
"NAVITAR CCTV Lens Accessories and Fiber Optic Lighting";
www/subtechnique.com/noframes/navitar/oem/vlacc.htm.
"140 Most Advanced Fiber Optic Illuminators";
www.kentscientific.com/99WebCatalog/140.html.
"Fiber Optic Bundles"; www.perkinelmer.com/opto.111.
In order for a modern film or digital camera to utilize its through-the-lens light metering system (TTL) it must communicate electronically to the flash unit. This means that each camera manufacturer has dedicated flash units that will operate on specific cameras. Not all manufacturers that produce standard flash units for their cameras also make special macro flash units, although some alternate suppliers may provide TTL compatible flash units. The less advanced consumer cameras often have only a built in flash and therefore are not able to be used in a macro environment.


A Ti film is pattern-formed on a desired portion on a silicon substrate, and a Co film is formed on the substrate so as to cover the Ti film. CNTs are formed only on a portion, under which the Ti film is formed, of the surface of the Co film at approximately 600° C. by a thermal CVD method. The length of the CNT can be controlled by adjusting the thickness of the Ti film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate structure using a so-called carbon nano tube (CNT) which is a linear structure made of a carbon element and a manufacturing method of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A carbon nano tube (CNT) which is a linear structure of a carbon-based self-organizing material attracts attention because of its many appealing physical properties.
As a method of growing CNTs while controlling a portion where the CNTs are formed, a chemical vapor deposition method (CVD method), more specifically, a thermal CVD method, a plasma CVD method, or a hot filament CVD method is desirable in terms of purity and mass productivity. Among methods of selectively growing CNTs on a substrate are, for example, techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2. In Patent Document 1, a method of fabricating a catalytic metal film for CNTs in a desired pattern and selectively forming the CNTs on the catalytic metal film by the CVD method is adopted. In Patent Document 2, with consideration given to adhesion to a substrate and so on, a method of pattern-forming a non-catalytic metal film on the substrate, then pattern-forming a catalytic metal film on the non-catalytic metal film, and selectively forming CNTs on the catalytic metal film by the CVD method is adopted.
(Patent Document 1)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-53085
(Patent Document 2)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-115071
(Patent Document 3)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-211396
(Patent Document 4)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-50487
(Patent Document 5)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-67413
However, in the aforementioned conventional arts, there is a problem that when the catalytic metal film is patterned, the other portions on the substrate are damaged. Further, there is a worry that by patterning the catalytic metal film, this catalytic metal film is naturally contaminated, which exerts a great influence on the growth of the CNTs. Furthermore, in the aforementioned conventional arts, the technical idea of controlling the length of the CNT is not disclosed, and hence it is extremely difficult to form a microstructure represented by various kinds of wirings using the CNTs.

Substrate structure and manufacturing method of the same


The present disclosure provides a frame, a display device and a display apparatus. The frame includes at least two frame assemblies. The frame assemblies in different directions are spliced through an adapter, an infrared lamp strip is installed on the frame assembly, the adapter is provided with a bunching member, and a connection line for the infrared lamp strip is bunched around the bunching member when the frame assemblies in different directions are spliced.

With the development of the display technology, a touch technology has been widely used in many commercial display products, such as electronic conference whiteboards. Due to a low cost and an unlimited size, an infrared touch screen has become a mainstream product in the touch field. Especially for oversized touch products, the infrared touch screen is a first choice.
However, for the oversized infrared touch products, there is an urgent need to provide a scheme for assembling a frame and combining the frame with an infrared touch display module.

Infrared touch frame, display device and display apparatus


Provided is a mobile payment processing system and method. When making a payment request, an affiliated store terminal directly generates transaction identification (T-ID) information and provides the generated T-ID information to a mobile terminal, and a user of the mobile terminal can use a rapid mobile payment service since the payment can be processed without waiting a response signal of a payment processing server receiving a payment request signal. Further, since user datagram protocol (UDP) communication is performed between the affiliated store terminal and a payment processing result notification server while a mobile payment is performed, the payment processing result notification server and the affiliated store terminal are provided so as to directly inquire a transaction state in the affiliated store terminal when the payment is completed by the mobile terminal.

According to popularization of a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a payment using the mobile terminal is mainly used when performing a payment in a store, etc.
Generally, the payment through the mobile terminal is performed by the mobile terminal used by a customer, an affiliated store terminal used in the store, etc., and a payment processing server processing the payment while communicating with two terminals.
Among them, there is a mobile terminal-lead payment method in which the mobile terminal requests the payment to the payment processing server as follows.
The mobile terminal-lead payment method is a method in which a seller inputs a payment amount, etc. through the affiliated store terminal and prepares the payment, and the customer executes an application, etc. in the mobile terminal and prepares the payment, for the payment through the mobile terminal.
Further, when the seller inputs the payment amount, etc. and a payment request command, the affiliated store terminal transmits payment-related information (an affiliated store code, a branch store code, a terminal code, a transaction serial number, and purchase information, etc.) to the payment processing server and makes a payment request, and the payment processing server receiving the payment request generates a transaction identification (T-ID) information based on the payment-related information, registers payment request information, and transmits a payment request response signal including the generated T-ID information to the affiliated store terminal.
The affiliated store terminal receiving the payment request response signal from the payment processing server generates a tag (for example, an radio frequency (RF) tag, a barcode, etc.) including the T-ID information included in the payment request response signal, and displays the generated tag so as to be recognized by the mobile terminal.
The mobile terminal recognizes the tag, obtains the T-ID information, and transmits a payment approval request signal including the T-ID information to the payment processing server, and the payment processing server receiving the payment approval request signal confirms the registered payment request based on the T-ID information, and performs the payment through communication with an approval authority (for example, a financial institution) server. When the payment is completed, the payment processing server transmits a response signal to the payment approval request signal to the mobile terminal.
However, in a conventional mobile payment method, the payment processing server receiving the payment-related information from the affiliated store terminal generates the T-ID information, transmits the generated T-ID information to the affiliated store terminal, and performs a process for the payment in the mobile terminal. Accordingly, there is a problem in which the payment by the mobile terminal is not performed and is on standby until the affiliated store terminal receives the T-ID information from the payment processing server.
Also, in the conventional mobile payment method, unless the payment-related information is transmitted to the payment processing server and the communication with the payment processing server is continuously maintained in the process of performing an operation in which the affiliated store terminal initially transmits the payment information to the mobile terminal, the payment processing server cannot inform the affiliated store terminal of whether the payment is processed.
That is, in the mobile terminal-lead payment method, the payment processing server cannot know network address information of the affiliated store terminal, and even though the mobile terminal transmits the network address information of the affiliated store terminal to the payment processing server when requesting the payment, it is because the payment processing server cannot reconnect to the affiliated store terminal even though the payment processing server knows a private Internet protocol (IP) address of the affiliated store terminal since current many affiliated store terminals are located in a next end of a private router and use the private IP address. As a result, in a current communication infrastructure, the affiliated store terminal has to maintain the connection with the payment processing server until the payment process is completed so as to receive a payment processing result from the payment processing server, and in this case, there is a problem in which the affiliated store terminal cannot perform the payment process for a next customer.
Accordingly, there is a problem in which a situation in which the payment between the mobile terminal of the customer and the payment processing server is processed and whether the payment is completed cannot be confirmed in the affiliated store terminal.
Therefore, when processing the payment in which the mobile terminal leads, there are an inconvenience in which the affiliated store terminal cannot immediately know the payment situation by the mobile terminal of the customer, and a problem in which the completion of the payment is delayed since the affiliated store terminal has to check the payment result by connecting to the payment processing server and after confirming whether the payment is completed to the customer using the mobile terminal.

Mobile payment processing system and method therefor


The invention proposes an adapter (26) which is delimited by two external lateral faces and which is shaped so as to be mounted in a cap (28) of reverse U-shaped section, comprising a pair of front locking lugs (44a, 44b) which cooperate with the associated notches (59a, 59b) of the adapter (26) in order to fix the cap (28) to the adapter (26) in a dismantlable manner, each of the lateral faces (29a, 29b) of the body (25) of the adapter (26) comprising a front locking notch (59a, 59b), each thereof being capable of receiving an associated front locking lug (44a, 44b) of the cap (28), and the body (25) of the adapter (26) comprising rear locking notches which are arranged at one end of a resilient branch (62a, 62b) of the adapter.

A motor vehicle is generally provided with windscreen wiper systems, in particular to provide cleaning of the external surface of the windscreen and thus to prevent the driver's view of the surroundings from being interrupted.
A windscreen wiper system generally comprises a drive arm, performing a reciprocal movement, in particular an angular movement, and a longitudinally elongated windscreen wiper which bears a wiper blade or scraper blade produced from an elastic material such as rubber or an elastomer material.
The wiper blade scrapes against the external surface of the windscreen and removes the water by driving it away from the field of vision of the driver.
In a conventional version, the windscreen wiper is produced in the form of articulated clips which retain the wiper blade in a plurality of discrete positions distributed longitudinally, providing it with a flexion which permits it to follow the curvature or curve of the windscreen.
In a more recent version denoted "flat blade", the windscreen wiper is produced in the form of a semi-rigid assembly which retains the wiper blade over its entire length due to one or more flexible members which permit the wiper and the wiper blade to be applied onto the windscreen without having to use clips.
In the two designs, the windscreen wiper is connected to the drive arm by a connection system comprising a complementary connector and adapter.
The connector is a part which is fixed to the windscreen wiper whilst the adapter is fixed to the drive arm.
The adapter is an intermediate part which permits the connection and the fixing of the connector to the drive arm. The adapter is generally shaped so as to be engaged in a head or terminal part of the drive arm, in the form of a cap and having a reverse U-shaped cross section.
Each of these two components (connector and adapter) comprises articulation means which are designed to cooperate with complementary means of the other component in order to define at least one transverse axis of articulation of the two components relative to one another, which is also the axis of articulation of the windscreen wiper relative to the drive arm.
According to a known technique, one of the components, such as the connector, generally comprises a substantially cylindrical physical axle which defines the axis of articulation and which is received in a housing of complementary shape to the other component.
The adapter generally comprises an elongated body which is shaped so as to be engaged in the front free terminal end part of the drive arm so that this body extends at least partially between two substantially parallel lateral walls of this terminal part.
An adapter permits a windscreen wiper to be connected to a particular type of terminal part. In the case of the aforementioned terminal parts of reverse U-shaped section, there are several variants with different designs of means for locking the cap onto the adapter.
A windscreen wiper arm is known where the terminal part thereof is a cap of reverse U-shaped section which comprises a pair of front locking lugs which are capable of cooperating with associated notches of the adapter to fix and lock the cap to the adapter in a dismountable manner, said adapter comprising rear locking means which are capable of cooperating with associated means of the cap, such as for example a pair of rear locking lugs.
An example of a design of adapter suitable for this type of cap is illustrated, for example, in the document U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,074.
The invention proposes an improved adapter of this type which is simple, efficient and economical and particularly easy to mount and to lock in the cap, whilst ensuring a reliable connection between these two components after mounting.

Adapter for a wiper blade of a motor vehicle and assembly comprising such an adapter


In one embodiment, an agricultural implement system includes a product tank configured to carry a product during farming operations. The product tank includes a quick fill port system. The quick fill port system includes a first wall defining a first opening leading to an inside of the product tank. The quick fill port system further includes a first cover member disposed on the first opening and configured to at least partially cover and to uncover the first opening, wherein the first opening comprises a first size larger than a diameter of a product dispenser configured to be inserted into the first opening.

The invention relates generally to agricultural implements. Specifically, the embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to bulk product tanks for agricultural implements.
Many types of agricultural implements are used for a variety of tasks, such as cultivating, tilling, planting, and harvesting. For example, seeders and planters are agricultural implements that include devices that create a trench in soil, deposit seeds into the trench, and fill the trench. A seeding/planting agricultural implement may include a bulk seed and/or dry fertilizer tank(s) coupled to a tow bar and wing assemblies coupled to either side of the tow bar. The wing assemblies typically include tool bars that extend perpendicular from the tow bar, row units that perform the farming operation are mounted on the tool bars, and supporting wheel assemblies that are disposed along the length of the tool bars. The bulk seed and/or dry fertilizer tank(s) may be used to transport seed for future crops, dry fertilizer, innoculants, biologicals, and so on. It would be beneficial to improve bulk product tanks for more efficient farming operations.

Bulk product tank for an agricultural implement


A method for forming an isolation structure in a semiconductor device includes preparing a semi-finished substrate including a trench. An oxide layer is formed over sidewalls of the trench. A multiple layer structure of liner layers is formed over the oxide layer. An insulation layer is formed over the multiple layer structure such that the insulation layer fills an inside of the trench. The insulation layer is planarized.

The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for forming an isolation structure in a semiconductor device.
In a typical shallow trench isolation (STI) process, an oxide material usually fills trenches, and is chemically and mechanically polished using a pad nitride layer as a polishing stop layer. The pad nitride layer is removed so as to form field oxide layers (i.e., isolation structures).
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional isolation structure. A trench 12 is formed in a substrate 11, and an oxide layer 13 is formed on sidewalls of the trench 12. A nitride-based liner layer 14 is formed on the oxide layer 13. An isolation structure 15 is formed on the nitride-based liner layer 14, while filling the inside of the trench 12.
However, edge portions of the isolation structure 15 are overly etched down to a bottom region of adjacent active regions. In other words, moats M are formed around boundary regions between the edge portions of the isolation structure 15 and the active regions. When a gate oxidation process is performed after the formation of the isolation structure 15, due to the moats M, a gate oxide layer 16 has a profile that is almost vertical and becomes thin around the boundary regions. If the gate oxide layer 16 becomes thin, the gate oxide layer 16 is likely to lose its properties even if external sources such as electric shocks are slightly applied.
FIG. 2A is a micrograph illustrating a gate oxide layer whose thickness decreases in a region where a moat is formed. FIG. 2B is a micrograph illustrating a regularly formed gate oxide layer due to the existence of a nitride-based liner layer.
In particular, FIG. 2A illustrates the gate oxide layer whose thickness decreases in the region where the moat is formed because the nitride-based liner layer is partially oxidized during a subsequent process and removed thereafter. In the region where the moat is formed, the gate oxide layer illustrated in FIG. 2A becomes thinner than that illustrated in FIG. 2B. Reference letter 'A' indicates the region where the moat is formed.
The decrease in the thickness of the gate oxide layer in certain regions may result in a limitation in a ramp current stress test (RCST). For instance, reliability of the gate oxide layer may be degraded.
As mentioned above, the nitride-based liner layer is partially oxidized when an oxide material for forming the isolation structure 15 is deposited by a high density plasma process. When the nitride-based liner layer is oxidized, the thickness of the nitride-based liner layer usually changes. During a subsequent cleaning process for removing a pad oxide layer, the oxidized portion of the nitride-based liner layer is overly etched. The over etch of the nitride-based liner layer may induce the formation of moats.

Method for forming isolation structure in semiconductor device


Radiotelephone communications, such as voice or data, are processed to produce a pilot symbol assisted modulation (PSAM) communications symbol sequence, the PSAM communications symbol sequence including a plurality of predetermined pilot symbols interleaved with a plurality of information symbols representing the radiotelephone communications. The PSAM communications symbol sequence is communicated over a radiotelephone communications channel having a transfer characteristic, producing a sequence of communications symbol data representing the communicated sequence of communication symbols. Pilot symbol data, corresponding to pilot symbols, and information symbol data, corresponding to information symbols, are identified in the sequence of communications symbol data. A data-augmented estimate of the transfer characteristic of the radiotelephone communications channel is generated from the pilot symbol data and the information symbol data. Estimates of information symbols are generated from the corresponding information symbol data and the generated estimate of the transfer characteristic. Radiotelephone communications are decoded from the generated estimates of the information symbols. Preferably, estimates of the transfer characteristic are iteratively generated by identifying a group of information symbol data corresponding to a group of information symbols, generating estimates of the group of identified information symbols from the group of information symbol data and a previously generated estimate of the radiotelephone communications channel transfer characteristic, and generating a new estimate of the transfer characteristic from the pilot symbol data, the information symbol data, and previously generated estimates of information symbols.

Radiotelephone systems are commonly employed to provide voice and data communications to a plurality of mobile units or subscribers. For example, analog cellular radiotelephone systems, such as designated AMPS, ETACS, NMT-450, and NMT-900, have been deployed successfully throughout the world. More recently, digital cellular radiotelephone systems such as designated IS-54B in North America and the pan-European GSM system have been introduced. These systems, and others, are described, for example, in the book titled Cellular Radio Systems by Balston, et al., published by Artech House, Norwood, Mass., 1993.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a cellular radiotelephone communication system 20 as in the prior art includes one or more mobile stations or units 21, one or more base stations 23 and a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO) 25. Although only three cells 36 are shown in FIG. 1, a typical cellular network may comprise hundreds of base stations, thousands of radiotelephones and more than one MTSO. Each cell will have allocated to it one or more dedicated control channels and one or more voice channels. Through the cellular network 20, a duplex radio communication link 32 may be effected between two mobile stations 21 or, between a radiotelephone 21 and a landline telephone user 33. The function of the base station 23 is commonly to handle the radio communication with the mobile station 21. In this capacity, the base station 23 functions chiefly as a relay station for data and voice signals.
A typical base station 23 as in the prior art is schematically illustrated in FIG. 2. The base station 23 includes a control unit 34 and an antenna tower 35. The control unit 34 includes the radio control group 37, or RCG, and an exchange radio interface (ERI) 38. The ERI 38 receives data from the RCG 37 and transfers it to the MTSO 25 on a dedicated link 45, and receives data from the MTSO 25 and sends it the RCG 37 for subsequent transmission to a radiotelephone 21. The radio control group 37 includes electronic equipment necessary to effect radio communications, including one or more transmitters 54 and receivers 55. The transmitters 54 and the receivers 55 transmit and receive radiotelephone communications signals 70 via antennas 63, 65, which are desirably mounted at some distance above the ground.
A typical radiotelephone 21 as in the prior art is illustrated in FIG. 3. The radiotelephone 21 typically includes many of same kind of communications components found at a base station 23, such as a transmitter 54 and receiver 55. Typically, the transmitter 54 and receiver 55 share a common transmit/receive antenna 64, which may be mounted on the radiotelephone 21 or on other structures such as vehicles. Typically, the antenna 64 is an omni-directional antenna which, although having generally low gain in comparison to directional antennas, allows the user to operate the radiotelephone 21 at convenient orientations. Other components of a typical radiotelephone 21, such as a controller, keypad, display, microphone and speaker are not shown in FIG. 3.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, satellites may be employed to perform similar functions to those performed by base stations in a conventional terrestrial radiotelephone system, for example, in areas where population is sparsely distributed over large areas or where rugged topography tends to make conventional landline telephone or terrestrial cellular telephone infrastructure technically or economically impractical. A satellite radiotelephone system 100 typically includes one or more satellites 110 which serve as relays or transponders between one or more earth stations 130 and radiotelephones 120. The satellite communicates radiotelephone communications over duplex links 170, 180 to radiotelephones 21 and the earth station 130. The earth station may in turn be connected to a public switched telephone network 30, allowing communications between satellite radiotelephones, and communications between satellite radio telephones and conventional terrestrial cellular radiotelephones or landline telephones. The satellite radiotelephone system may utilize a single antenna beam covering the entire area served by the system, or, as shown, the satellite may be designed such that it produces multiple ninimally-overlapping beams 150, each serving distinct geographical coverage areas 160 in the system's service region. Thus, a cellular architecture similar to that used in terrestrial cellular radiotelephone systems may be provided.
Traditional analog radiotelephone systems typically employ frequency division multiple access (FDMA), wherein a radiotelephone communications channel includes one or more carrier frequency bands which are dedicated to a user for the duration of a particular session or call. To provide greater channel capacity and to more efficiently use the radio spectrum, however, many conventional radiotelephone systems operate using time division multiple access (TDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA).
Communications in a TDMA system occur over a series of sequential time slots on each carrier frequency band, with individual users allocated one or more time slots on a band. Each user communicates with the base station using bursts of digital data transmitted during the user's assigned time slots. Instead of assigning time slots to each user, CDMA systems assign users one or more unique spreading codes, each of which corresponds to a coded modulation sequence used in transmitting radiotelephone communications signals. The coded modulation "spreads" the transmitted signals in the frequency domain, and a receiving station uses the same code to "despread" the coded signals and recover the transmitted communications. Thus, in a typical TDMA system, a radiotelephone communications channel includes one or more time slots allocated on one or more carrier frequency bands, while in a typical CDMA system, a channel includes a spreading code/carrier frequency combination.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, a transmitting station 500 typically includes a transmit processor 510 which processes radiotelephone communications 505 to produce a communications symbol sequence 515 corresponding to the radiotelephone communications 505. This sequence is typically is communicated over a radiotelephone communications channel 520, producing a sequence of communications symbol data 525 at a receiving station 501. The receiving station 501 typically includes a receive processor 530 which processes the data sequence 525 produced by the radiotelephone communications channel 520 to recover radiotelephone communications 635. Those skilled in the art will understand that transmitting station 500 and receiving station 501 may be base stations, radiotelephones, satellites, earth stations or similar radiotelephone communications stations. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the radiotelephone communications channel 520 has an associated transfer characteristic 522 which represents a relationship between an input to the channel 520 and an output from the channel 520, typically expressed as a complex gain having magnitude and phase components.
Elements of the radiotelephone communications channel 520 affect the transfer characteristic 522. These elements include the signal transmission medium 72, i.e., the atmospheric signal path across which radiotelephone communications signals 70 are transmitted, which may introduce fading and interference into the radiotelephone communications signals 70. The fading may include long-term fading due to variations in terrain along the signal propagation path, as well as short-term multipath fading due to reflections from features such as buildings which cause fluctuations in received signal strength and other distortions at a receiving station. Mobile terrestrial radiotelephone communications are particularly susceptible to short-term multipath fading because the signal pathways tend to be close to the ground. Satellite-to-ground communications may also be susceptible to interference from surrounding man-made and natural features, as well as other types of signal losses, such as those caused by the Doppler shift associated with signals communicated to and from a communications satellite moving at a high speed with respect to the radiotelephones it serves. Other elements of the channel 520 which may affect the transfer characteristic 522 include transmitting and receiving components commonly found in base stations, satellites, earth stations, radiotelephones and the like, such as transmitters 54, transmit antennas 63, receive antennas 65, receivers 55.
Various techniques are conventionally employed to deal with the propagation losses, including diversity reception, modulation schemes, signal coding and pilot tone systems. Spatial diversity reception involves the use of multiple receiving antennas spaced a distance apart so that signals are received over more than one signal path. As signals from diverse paths typically exhibit uncorrelated fading, they may be combined in the receiver to ameliorate the effects of fading. Similarly, radiotelephone communications signals may be transmitted and received using diverse polarizations and combined at the receiver to take advantage of the low correlation of fading between signals of differing polarizations. Despite the theoretical advantages of these types of diversity reception, however, sufficient diversity gain may not be possible because of limitations on antenna placement.
The modulation/demodulation scheme implemented in the transmitter 54 and receiver 55 can also affect the performance of the radiotelephone communications channel 520. Some modulation schemes provide better performance in a fading environment, but conventional modulation techniques generally provide poor performance without the use of coding. Several coding schemes have been proposed to reduce the effects of fading, but these coding schemes tend to require coherent detection which may be difficult in applications where there are high levels of interference. In addition, these coding techniques may require complex signal processing to recover the radiotelephone communications, creating processing delays which may be unacceptable in certain applications.
Another technique for compensating for the effects of fading in a radiotelephone is to transmit a known pilot signal or tone over at a certain frequency as part of the radiotelephone communications signal. The pilot tone is received by the receiver 55 and used to determine the transfer characteristic of the radiotelephone communications channel 520. Knowing the channel transfer characteristic, the receiver may compensate for the distortion induced by the channel during the process of estimating the symbols being transmitted over the channel.
However, a portion of the transmit spectrum typically must be allocated to the pilot tone, a task which may be problematic. If the tone is placed at a frequency band edge, it can suffer distortion and interference from adjacent frequency bands. If the tone is placed in the center of the frequency band, it may limit the choice of modulation schemes to those schemes which provide for a spectral notch around the carrier band center frequency.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, an alternative to using a pilot tone is to use its time domain analog, i.e., a sequence of pilot symbols which is interleaved with information symbols which carry voice, data and other information, a technique which is often referred to as pilot symbol assisted modulation (PSAM). An encoder 610 typically encodes the radiotelephone communications 505 to produce a sequence of information symbols 615. A multiplexer 620 interleaves this sequence with a sequence of predetermined pilot symbols 602 to produce an interleaved PSAM communications symbol sequence 515. The PSAM communications symbol sequence 515 is communicated over the radiotelephone communications channel 520, producing a data sequence 525 at the receiving station. A decimator 630 separates pilot symbol data 632 corresponding to the transmitted pilot symbols from information symbol data 634 corresponding to the transmitted information symbols. The pilot symbol data 634 is passed through an interpolator 650, typically a lowpass filter, which estimates a transfer characteristic of the radiotelephone communications channel 520. The estimated transfer characteristic is then used in a symbol estimator 640 to compensate estimation of the information symbols in response to distortion induced by the radiotelephone communications channel 520. Analyses of pilot symbol assisted modulation are provided in "TCMP--A Modulation and Coding Strategy for Rician Fading Channels", by Moher et al., IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. 7, No. 9, December 1989, and in "An Analysis of Pilot Symbol Assisted Modulation for Rayleigh Fading Channels", by Cavers, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 40, no. 4, November 1991.
Pilot symbol assisted modulation can provide improved immunity to fading, but may have several drawbacks. In general, the error probability of symbol estimates tends to increase for those symbols which are the furthest distance from the pilot symbols in the symbol sequence, contributing to the overall bit error rate for radiotelephone communications communicated over the channel. In order to reduce the bit error rate, pilot symbols may be inserted in the symbol sequence at a smaller intervals to reduce the separation between the pilot symbols and to increase the accuracy of the estimated channel transfer characteristic. As pilot symbols generally have no information content, however, increasing the frequency of pilot symbols in the transmitted symbol sequence can reduce the potential information capacity of the channel, which may in turn reduce the number of channels which can provided in the system and the quality of each channel. Adding pilot symbols may also reduce power efficiency by wasting transmit power in non-informational symbols. In addition, the optimal interpolating filter which is generally needed to recognize the full benefit of PSAM may have hundreds of taps and may present practical difficulties in implementation.

Systems and methods for data-augmented, pilot-symbol-assisted radiotelephone communications


A multi-stage elevator car has equipment for fine positioning of the cars wherein the car thresholds are positionable at the level of the floor thresholds. Adjusting equipment operating on the principle of a differential block and pulley is provided for fine positioning of the cars, the equipment including an endless cable guided over deflecting rollers arranged at the main frame of the multi-stage car and over deflecting rollers arranged at the cars, wherein the cars execute vertical movements of opposite sense.

The present invention relates to equipment for fine positioning of the cars of a multi-stage car for an elevator, wherein the car thresholds of the cars are positionable at the level of the floor thresholds.
An elevator with a double-deck car is shown in the Japanese patent document JP 2000296971, in which the upper car can be matched to the upper edge of the floor to be served and the lower car can be matched to the upper edge of the floor to be served. Deflecting rollers are arranged at the upper yoke of the main frame, which carries the cars, on each side and are drivable by means of a drive arranged at the upper yoke. A cable, which is connected at one end with the upper car and at the other end with the lower car, is guided over each deflecting roller, wherein the cars are moved in opposite sense to the positioning at the floor level.
A disadvantage of this known equipment resides in the fact that the cables are guided at each side over driven deflecting rollers. Due to slip or inaccuracies on the driven deflecting rollers, the car can tilt in the guides.

Equipment for fine positioning of the cars of a multi-stage car for an elevator


A chemical sensor and method for in-line chemical analysis including a body having a central cavity. The body also has a pair of openings through it to the cavity. A porous plug, such as a ceramic frit, is sealed into each of these openings so that there is a space between the plugs in the cavity. A vent passageway through the body to the cavity is also provided. A pressurized sample is flowed through one porous plug into the cavity while a pressurized reagent is flowed through the other porous plug into the cavity. A component of interest of the sample reacts with a reactive component of the reagent in the cavity to produce a reaction product. The reaction product is analyzed in the cavity by, for example, absorption spectroscopy. As fresh sample and reagent flow into the cavity, the reaction products flow out of the cavity by way of the vent passageway. An ultrasonic vibrator is attached to the body to enhance mixing of the reagent and sample in the cavity

Most of the process analytical methods currently in use require sample withdrawal from a chemical process stream and then delivery of this sample via a sample line to a chemical analysis instrument. Often these sample lines, which are expensive to build and maintain, present problems such as delay or difficulty in accessing the more critical points in the process. At times, the sample is pumped and filtered which further complicates operations.
The need for efficient in-line chemical sensors and probes has long been recognized and has led those skilled in this art to design a variety of such systems The diversity of applications, which range from biomedical and environmental monitoring to industrial process control, requires wide variations in physical structure and also performance specifications of these sensors. Most of the fiber optic based sensors described in the literature are based on an immobilized reagent chemistry at the fiber end-face to provide analyte specificity. These sensors suffer from applicability to limited chemistries and probe-to-probe reproducibility. Moreover, problems related to leaching of the reagent, which require continuous calibration and standardization and fragility of the physical structure, inhibit their use for long term in situ process monitoring and control.


A method of regulating a relative humidity of a gas supplied to a cathode side of a fuel cell stack includes controlling a flow of feedback gas from the cathode side to a compressor to adjust the relative humidity of the gas. Injected water into the compressor is vaporized in the compressor to further adjust the relative humidity of the gas. The gas is discharged at a pressure that is sufficient for use in the fuel cell stack. Water is injected into the compressor. Vaporizing is achieved using heat generated through compression. A compression pressure of the compressor is adjusted based on a quantity of the water to vaporize the water therein.

In proton exchange membrane (PEM) type fuel cells, hydrogen is supplied to the anode of the fuel cell and oxygen is supplied as the oxidant to the cathode. PEM fuel cells include a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) comprising a thin, proton transmissive, non-electrically conductive, solid polymer electrolyte membrane having the anode catalyst on one face and the cathode catalyst on the opposite face.
Performance of the PEM fuel cell is sensitive to local hydration levels of the PEM. A dry PEM results in significantly reduced performance. Sever dehydration of the PEM fuel cell can result in irreversible damage to the MEA. Accordingly, humidity management of the PEM fuel cell is important. The supply of the fuel cell reactants, anode and cathode gases, requires proper conditioning of humidity, temperature and pressure.
For the cathode side, a compressor or blower is traditionally provided to achieve the appropriate cathode gas pressure and to drive the cathode gas through the fuel cell system. A cooler is also provided to cool the compressed cathode gas to an appropriate operational temperature. Also, a humidifier is traditionally provided to achieve the requisite cathode gas humidity.
The additional cathode gas conditioning equipment increases the cost and complexity of the fuel cell system, as well as occupying valuable space in applications such as a vehicle. Further, traditional humidifying equipment is unable to achieve an optimal cathode gas humidity without adversely affecting other operational parameters of the fuel cell system.

Gas humidification for cathode supply of a PEM fuel cell


Refrigerant is circulated through a vapor compression system including a compressor, a gas cooler, an expansion device, and an evaporator. An auxiliary electric heater is activated to further heat the heated water exiting the gas cooler when the heating capacity of the system is low. The auxiliary electric heater can be located on the water line exiting the gas cooler, in a water tank that stores the heated water, or on the refrigerant line proximate to the compressor discharge.

The present invention relates generally to a transcritical vapor compression system including an auxiliary electric heater that further heats the water that exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the gas cooler.
Chlorine containing refrigerants have been phased out in most of the world due to their ozone destroying potential. Hydrofluoro carbons (HFCs) have been used as replacement refrigerants, but these refrigerants still have high global warming potential.
"Natural" refrigerants, such as carbon dioxide and propane, have been proposed as replacement fluids. Carbon dioxide can be used as a refrigerant in automotive air conditioning systems and other heating and cooling applications. Carbon dioxide has a low critical point, which causes most air conditioning systems utilizing carbon dioxide as a refrigerant to run transcritically, or partially above the critical point, under most conditions.
A vapor compression system usually operates under a wide range of operating conditions. When the outdoor air temperature varies, the temperature of the refrigerant exiting the evaporator varies. Therefore, the heating capacity of the vapor compression system in the summer is generally four to five times greater than the heating capacity of the vapor compression system in the winter, and the refrigerant mass flow rate of the vapor compression system in the summer is generally eight to ten times greater than the refrigerant mass flow rate of the vapor compression system in the winter. Although the heating capacity of the system changes as the operating conditions change, the required heating load of the system does not change as the operating conditions change.
A vapor compression system must be able to provide enough heating capacity to meet the load requirements during the winter when the outdoor air temperature is the lowest. In the prior art, the vapor compression system is oversized to provide enough heating capacity in the winter. However, oversizing the vapor compression system causes the heating capacity to be higher than necessary for most of the ambient conditions, significantly increasing cost.
Hence, there is a need in the art for a vapor compression system that has a high heating capacity and is cost effective. This invention includes an auxiliary electric heater that further heats the water that exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the gas cooler.

Transcritical heat pump water heating system using auxiliary electric heater


Electronic device package technology is disclosed. In one example, an electronic device comprises a die (18) having a bond pad (22); and a decoupling capacitor (14) mounted on the die (18) and electrically coupled to the die (18). A method for making an electronic device comprises mounting a decoupling capacitor (14) on a die (18); and electrically coupling the decoupling capacitor (14) to the die (18).

The ever-shrinking form factor of electronic devices has created a perpetual need to make electronic assemblies (and their sub-assemblies) smaller and smaller. Demands are put on industry to increase memory integrated circuit (IC) and hardware performance, while shrinking the overall size and form factor. As memory chip data speeds increase and new litho technologies are developed, increased silicon capacitance is needed for stable performance. The increased need of capacitance is outstripped by the available amount which is able to be built into the die.
For higher speed IC devices, current solutions are to convert wire bonded connected IC's to flip chip. By doing so, power delivery can be improved by having many more pads for power, as well as shorten the connection between the IC die and the package external connections. One issue with flip chips is the cost to stack multiple flip chip die in the same package. The increased cost of implementing flip chip and through-silicon via (TSV) has yet to be justified in a commodity driven market.
It is generally advantageous to place decoupling capacitors as close to the power connections for the die as possible to help with power distribution delivery in power consuming designs when the operational voltages go down and speed requirements go up. These decoupling capacitors help smooth out the di/dt current response and make up the difference with the extra charge that the die pads on the IC device need to operate properly. Because of the ever-shrinking space, the issue of where to place the capacitors in order to minimize package size while improving function is often an issue.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope or to specific invention embodiments is thereby intended.

Decoupling capacitor mounted on an integrated circuit die, and method of manufacturing the same


A garment with a built-in stretch bralette comprises an outer garment and the built-in stretch bralette, wherein the built-in stretch bralette is attached to the outer garment using intermittently secured attachment means.

A brassiere ("bra") is a piece of clothing that is worn by women under other clothes (also referred to as garments) to cover and support the breasts. A bralette is an unlined bra without underwires or a clasp. For many women, wearing a camisole, tank top, dress, nightgown and other similar loungewear made of lightweight silk, satin or similar thin, clinging, non or minimally stretchable fabric without also wearing a bra (for example, a bralette) feels uncomfortable both physically and emotionally. Due to the clinging fit of such garments, not wearing a bra may look unflattering. However, wearing a bra under such garments may be unsightly. For example, a bra may be bulky or its straps may show outside of the garment.
Some garments are known to incorporate an integral bra. An integral bra is a type of bra that supports the lower part of the breasts, equipped with an elastic band at the base to lift breasts up. When today's integral bras are attached to certain non or minimally stretchable materials, the attachment causes pulling of the material, for example at the top of the bra, thereby causing an overall unattractive look.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.


An extensible implantable electrical lead includes a lead body having a proximal region and a distal region. The lead body is formed of a polymeric material that is extensible between a first length and a second length. A first plurality of electrical conductors are disposed within the lead body and extend between the proximal region and the distal region. The first plurality of electrical conductors are each electrically insulated and spaced apart from each other and form a side-by-side co-planar first sigmoidal pattern between the proximal region and the distal region.

Implantable medical devices are commonly used today to treat patients suffering from various ailments. Such implantable devices may be utilized to treat conditions such as pain, incontinence, sleep disorders, and movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy, for example. Such therapies also appear promising in the treatment of a variety of psychological, emotional, and other physiological conditions.
One known type of implantable medical device, a neurostimulator, delivers mild electrical impulses to neural tissue using an electrical lead. For example, to treat pain, electrical impulses may be directed to specific sites. Such neurostimulation may result in effective pain relief and a reduction in the use of pain medications and/or repeat surgeries.
Typically, such devices are totally implantable and may be controlled by a physician or a patient through the use of an external programmer Current systems generally include a primary cell neurostimulator, a lead extension, and a stimulation lead, and two particular applications of systems may be referred to as: (1) spinal cord stimulation; and (2) deep brain stimulation.
A spinal cord stimulator may be implanted in the abdomen, upper buttock, or pectoral region of a patient and may include at least one extension running from the neurostimulator to the lead or leads which are placed somewhere along the spinal cord. Each of the leads (to be discussed in detail hereinafter) often includes contains from one to sixteen, or more electrodes. Each extension (likewise to be discussed in detail hereinafter) is plugged into or connected to the neurostimulator at a proximal end thereof and is coupled to and interfaces with the lead or leads at a distal end of the extension or extensions.
The implanted neurostimulation system is configured to send mild electrical pulses to the spinal cord. These electrical pulses are delivered through the lead or leads to regions near the spinal cord or the nerve selected for stimulation. Each lead includes a small insulated wire coupled to an electrode at the distal end thereof through which the electrical stimulation is delivered. The lead may also include a corresponding number of internal wires to provide separate electrical connection to each electrode such that each electrode may be selectively used to provide stimulation. Connection of the lead to an extension may be accomplished by means of a connector block including, for example, a series or combination of set-screws, ball-seals, etc. The leads are inserted into metal set screw blocks, and metal set screws are manipulated to press the contacts against the blocks to clamp them in place and provide an electrical connection between the lead wires and the blocks.
A deep brain stimulation system includes similar components (i.e. a neurostimulator, at least one extension, and at least one stimulation lead) and may be utilized to provide a variety of different types of electrical stimulation to reduce the occurrence or effects of Parkinson's disease, epileptic seizures, or other undesirable neurological events. In this case, the neurostimulator may be implanted into the pectoral region of the patient. The extension or extensions may extend up through the patient's neck, and the leads/electrodes are implanted in the brain. The leads may interface with the extension just above the ear on both sides of the patient. The distal end of the lead may contain from four to sixteen, or more electrodes and, as was the case previously, the proximal end of the lead may connect to the distal end of the extension and held in place by set screws. The proximal portion of the extension plugs into the connector block of the neurostimulator.
Both of the spinal cord stimulation and deep brain stimulation implanted systems traverse portions of the human body that stretch and relax. To account for this stretching and relaxing, the lead and lead extension can be looped to allow for stretching and relaxing with the human body.

Extensible implantable medical lead with sigmoidal conductors


A larger scrubbing machine and a smaller scrubbing machine are provided in combination. The larger scrubbing machine scrubs larger floor areas and the smaller scrubbing machine scrubs smaller floor areas that are typically inaccessible by the larger machine. When the larger machine is being used, the smaller scrubbing machine is attached thereto. When a smaller floor area is to be cleaned, the smaller scrubbing machine is removed from the larger scrubbing machine. The smaller scrubbing machine includes a scrubber assembly and a motor that is powered using an electrical power source located on the larger machine. A spring is operatively connected to this scrubber assembly for ensuring desired contact between the brush bristles and the floor area being cleaned. Two spaced pairs of wheels provide a uniform plane of contact during scrubbing by the scrubber assembly. The smaller scrubbing machine also has a pivotal wand to further facilitate the scrubbing operation, particularly removal of recovered liquid from the floor.

When cleaning relatively larger buildings with wide aisles, it is commonplace to utilize a cleaning machine that has a wide scrubbing brush. The wide scrubbing brush is able to clean a large floor area during one pass of the cleaning machine. However, such a large machine has some drawbacks. Because of its size and limited maneuverability, it is not feasible for the wide scrubbing brush to access all areas that need to be cleaned. For example, an essentially dead end aisle is not accessible for cleaning by such a large machine. By the same token, it is not acceptable to simply leave floor areas unscrubbed or uncleaned.
A known solution for ensuring that all areas are cleaned, when using a relatively large scrubbing machine, is to utilize a smaller cleaning machine for the smaller floor areas. The smaller cleaning machine can be carried by the large scrubbing machine. When the floor area that is inaccessible by the larger machine needs to be cleaned, the smaller cleaning machine is detached from the larger machine. After removal and desired positioning, the scrubbing head of the smaller machine is manually operated or manipulated in order to scrub the particular floor area. The cleaning liquid supplied to the scrubbing brush of the smaller cleaning machine is obtained from the larger machine by means of a cleaning liquid hose or the like. Similarly, the recovered liquid is suctioned through the smaller cleaning machine to the larger machine that has a vacuum pump for creating the desired negative pressure. After the smaller floor area is cleaned using this smaller cleaning machine, it is re-attached to the larger cleaning machine, which can then continue with scrubbing a different larger floor area.
Notwithstanding the advancement and availability of cleaning hardware that includes both larger and smaller scrubbing machines, it would be desirable to enhance the capabilities of such a combination. Specifically, it would be advantageous to facilitate the required scrubbing action, while enhancing other important features that such a smaller scrubbing machine should have, including suitable interconnections with the larger machine and proper contact between the squeegee and the floor and the brush bristles and the floor at all times during the scrubbing operations.

Combination of main scrubbing machine and attachment scrubbing machine


A coated substrate includes a substrate and a coating containing a water insoluble polymer and a water soluble polymer, the two polymers, due to different water affinity, forming a nanosegregant on the substrate. Also disclosed are a method of preparing the above-described coated substrate and the use of this coated substrate in a solid-state supercapacitor.

Typically, superhydrophilic surfaces have a water contact angle of less than 25° and water-capturing surfaces retain water as a uniform film having a thickness of millimeters.
Many techniques have been developed to prepare superhydrophilic surfaces. See I. P. Parkin et. al., J. Mater. Chem. 2005, 15, 1689. For example, superhydrophilic surfaces are obtained by UV-irradiation of oxide semiconductor films such as TiO2 and ZnO. In this method, the superhydrophilicity, induced by photon-generated short-lived charges, gradually disappears without continuous UV illumination. See, e.g., X. M. Li et. al., Chem. Soc. Rev. 2007, 36, 1350, A. Lafuma et. al., Nat. Mater. 2003, 2, 457.
A method has been devised for producing water-capturing surfaces that mimic the water harvesting wing surfaces of the Namib Desert beetle. See L. Zhai, Nano Lett. 2006, 6, 1213. This method is not suitable for large-scale production as it involves layer-by-layer multi-step patterning and deposition of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components.
Of note, superhydrophilic surfaces do not necessarily possess water-capturing capacity.
Surfaces that are superhydrophilic and/or water-capturing have many industrial applications. Superhydrophilicity prevents fog formation, as condensed water spreads across a superhydrophilic surface. On the other hand, water-capturing surfaces can used to draw water from dew in arid areas. A surface that possesses both superhydrophilicity and water-capturing capacity is ideal for use in a solid-state supercapacitor.
There is a need for cost-efficient methods of preparing enduring superhydrophilic and/or water-capturing surfaces.

Superhydrophilic and water-capturing surfaces


Two or more packing spacers support an object within its shipping container in a floating arrangement that absorbs shocks, and flexion and torsion of the container due to shipping and handling loads. Each spacer is a structure with a frame-window covered with a flexible membrane of high tensile strength. The object is frictionally held between the membranes. The spacers are shaped and dimensioned to match the internal geometry of the container and to determine the space between the membranes occupied by the object. Spacers with large contact areas between their membranes and the object can hold and cushion objects of very high densities.

Suspending membranes have been used in the past in lieu of resilient inserts and filling material to hold and cushion objects within a container. Before my inventions disclosed herein and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,852,743 and No. 4,923,065, this type of packing was exclusively indicated for light and delicate objects such as horological parts as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,225 Baillod. The resilient stretchability of the membrane itself was thought to provide the bulk of the shock-absorbing process. This is particularly illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,134,908 Copeman which teaches the use of elastic membranes which are stretched over opposite sides of a fragile object such as an egg to provide cushioning against loads incident upon the parallel planes of the unstretched membrane. No cushioning against lateral movements of the object along directions generally parallel to the planes of the membrane was provided by the membranes. That type of movement was restricted either by the edges of the apertures over which the membranes were stretched or by resilient separators made of various materials. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,225 the object is supported above a void by a first horizontal membrane, then covered by a second membrane which is joined to the first membrane along its periphery. The joined edges of the two membranes are supported midway between the top and bottom internal surfaces of the container. The bottom membrane acts as an hammock. That role is taken by the top surface when the container is laid upside down. The elasticity of the membranes provide cushioning against vertical loads. Since the membranes are stretched over the supported object and partially wrapped around some of its convex extremities, lateral impacts are also absorbed by the elastic deformation of the membranes. Japanese Patent No. 135,796 Kondou reveals the same hammock-type suspension technique, but instead of joining the edges of the membrane, it teaches the stretching and mounting of the membranes over two symmetrical halves of an empty container which are then brought together like clam shells to hold the delicate object suspended therebetween.
Due to the elastic quality of the membranes, it was thought that heavy objects could not benefit from this type of packaging as their weight would progressively deform the underlying membrane to a point where the space between the object and the bottom of the container would not be sufficient to absorb expected vertical shocks, or to the extreme situation where the object would come in contact with the floor of the container. My inventions improve the membrane packing techniques of the prior art to a point where they can be applied to the packing of relatively heavy objects.

Retaining and shock-absorbing packing insert


A rope tester to ascertain the condition of a wire rope in advance without increasing workload, Including a magnetization detector having a magnetizer for generating a magnetic force, and a detector for detecting a change in magnetism produced in a wire rope magnetized by the magnetic force generated by the magnetizer; a digital camera, which is provided a predetermined distance away from the magnetization detector along the traveling direction of the wire rope, for imaging the wire rope; and a controller, which is connected to the magnetization detector and to the digital camera, for detecting the location of a defect in the wire rope based on a change in magnetism detected by the magnetization detector, and outputting a drive signal that actuates the digital camera at a timing at which the defect location arrives at the location at which the digital camera is installed.

A wire rope must be inspected periodically. For example, in the inspection of a wire rope for elevators, an inspector is dispatched to a building or the like in which an elevator has been installed, and the wire rope for the elevator is inspected on site by the inspector.
Japanese Patent Application (Laid-Open No. 2009-12903) discloses an inspection apparatus which, using a video signal obtained by imaging a wire rope for an elevator, detects whether a strand has a predetermined number of traces of wear of a predetermined size or a predetermined length.
If a location at which a trace of wear has occurred can be identified beforehand using a video signal, subsequent inspection by a worker will proceed smoothly. According to the Japanese Patent Application noted above, however, whether a trace of wear is present is detected by image processing (pattern recognition). If the wire rope is unclean, the video will be indistinct and there is a high likelihood that detection of traces of wear based on image processing will be difficult. Patent Document 1 describes also the cleaning of a wire rope in order to obtain a distinct video. However, since this requires cleaning the wire rope prior to imaging whenever the wire rope is imaged and to apply grease or the like upon completion of imaging, an increase in workload is the result.

Rope tester, wire rope analyzing apparatus and control program therefor


A custom simulation engine is provided which operates upon a set of statically scheduled events. The simulation engine is automatically created from a functional description of the integrated circuit design. Each element of each partition within the functional description is analyzed and events related to the element are scheduled. The statically scheduled events are used to produce scheduled source code, which is then compiled to produce the simulation engine. VHDL or Verilog descriptions are similarly automatically created from the functional description. Subsequently, the VHDL or Verilog descriptions are synthesized into a netlist describing a final design of an integrated circuit. The entire process is automatic, and so the simulation engine and the netlist are functionally equivalent by construction. No simulation of the VHDL or Verilog descriptions is required as the present simulation engine correctly represents the design. Manual development of a custom simulation engine is eliminated. Additionally, the current simulation engine may enable software intended to be run upon the modeled integrated circuit to be executed prior to receiving hardware. Software and hardware may be concurrently designed and verified.

Incorporated herein is a computer program listing microfiche appendix of source code which creates a sliced synchronous simulation engine from a functional description. Also included in the microfiche appendix consisting of 1 microfiche and 2 pages is an exemplary graphical behavioral description including two partitions and the scheduled source code created according to the program listing. Copyright, 1995, C.A.E. Plus, Inc. A portion of the disclosure to this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner expressly reserves all copyright rights whatsoever to materials contained in this disclosure, including materials within the "microfiche appendix" which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of integrated circuit simulation and validation and, more particularly, to the validation of complex integrated circuits via a high speed simulation engine.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Integrated circuits are employed in a wide variety of applications, from computer systems to automobiles. An integrated circuit is a electronic device in which a plurality of transistors are configured upon a single, monolithic substrate. The plurality of transistors are configured to perform a desired operation or operations.
Integrated circuits are often synchronous circuits. A synchronous circuit is a circuit embodying memory elements and combinatorial logic coupled between the memory elements. The memory elements store a plurality of values referred to as the current "state" of the integrated circuit. Given a particular state, the integrated circuit calculates a next state according to the combinatorial logic. The next state is presented to the inputs of the memory elements, which store the next state as the new current state according to a particular clock. As used herein, a clock is a signal having a repetitive waveform. The time interval in which a single instance of the repetitive waveform occurs is referred to as the "period" of the waveform.
The period of the waveform determines the time interval allotted for the combinatorial logic of the integrated circuit to perform its transformation of current state to next state. At a particular point within the period, the memory elements discard the values being stored and store the values presented at their inputs (referred to as capturing a value). In one embodiment, the clock is a square wave having a rising edge (a transition from a low value to a high value) and a falling edge (a transition from a high value to a low value). Memory elements may be configured to capture values at the rising edge of the clock or, conversely, at the falling edge of the clock. In one embodiment, memory elements comprise registers configured to store a value and arrays of memory locations configured to store a plurality of values.
When integrated circuits were first developed, the semiconductor fabrication technologies employed to manufacture the integrated circuits afforded only relatively simple integrated circuits. These integrated circuits could be designed on paper and could be verified, or validated, as functionally correct via a small number of test vectors manually created by the designer of the integrated circuit. As used herein, a "test vector" is a set of stimulus values for an integrated circuit accompanied by a set of responses expected from the integrated circuit. For example, a stimulus may be a set of values to be applied to input pins of the integrated circuit and the expected responses may be a set of values expected to appear upon output pins of the integrated circuit.
As semiconductor fabrication technologies improve, more transistors may be placed on a given semiconductor substrate. In recent years, integrated circuits have become more complex. Due to the increased complexity, the design and subsequent validation techniques have changed. With the advent of these more complex integrated circuits, a set of event-driven simulators were developed to aid the design and validation of integrated circuits. A simulator automatically applies a set of test vectors to a simulation model representing an integrated circuit. The simulation results are then checked against the expected results within the test vector. The test vectors may be created manually, or may be generated in an automated fashion. The simulator may also be referred to as a simulation engine.
One popular representation of the simulation model is a register-transfer level (RTL) description. An RTL description represents an integrated circuit as a set of elements such as memory elements and combinatorial circuits, as well as the interconnection between the elements. Each element within the description comprises a record defining the element, its functionality, and the time interval required for the element to operate. The time interval is typically measured from an edge of the clock which is used by the memory elements to capture state.
The RTL description is a "functional description". As used herein, a functional description of an integrated circuit is a description which may be synthesized into a description of transistors to be configured onto a semiconductor substrate to form the integrated circuit. It is noted that functional descriptions may include multiple partitions. The multiple partitions comprise a high level division of integrated circuit functionality into blocks of functionality. Each partition describes a particular block of functionality. Partitions may include dissimilar clocks having dissimilar periods with respect to the clock s of other partitions. However, the dissimilar periods are integer multiples of a common base period. Additionally the clocks of different partitions may have different phases. Clocks having a similar period have different phases if their rising and falling edges occur at dissimilar times with respect to each other. Because clocks may have different periods and different phases, asynchronous communication may occur between the synchronous partitions of an integrated circuit.
Event-driven simulators process a plurality of events generated by the simulation model, dynamically scheduling new events based upon the processing of the current events. An "event" is a function to be performed at a particular time. Exemplary events within integrated circuits include the output of an adder circuit becoming valid or the capturing of a value by a memory element. The collection of events created by an integrated circuit design, when taken together, comprise the desired operation of the integrated circuit.
When an event is "scheduled", values associated with the event are stored in a data structure and the event is logged for later action at a particular time by the event-driven simulator. When the events scheduled for the current time are completed, the event-driven simulator increments its time base to the next time at which events are scheduled. The events at that time are processed, possibly creating more new events. Upon completion of event processing at the new time, the event-driven simulator increments to yet another time. The time increments are dynamically determined by the events scheduled, and may vary from increment to increment.
Event-driven simulation is useful for exploring possible integrated circuit designs for a suitable design. The design may be under constant change, and so the events generated may be unpredictable from simulation to simulation. Unfortunately, event-driven simulation is not suitable for the rigorous validation required for complex integrated circuits. Often, design validation time is the dominant factor in the amount of time required to complete a design. Numerous test vectors must be created and simulated, and so the simulator must be able to execute a large number of test vectors in a relatively short period of time. Event-driven simulators execute relatively slowly, due to the overhead of dynamic scheduling of events. When an event is scheduled, information pertinent to the event is saved in a data structure. Exemplary information includes the function to be performed when the event is processed as well as any input values utilized by the function. These data structures are stored in memory until the event is processed. The storing of events and retrieving of events for execution accounts for a large portion of the processing time associated with event-driven simulators. A faster method for simulating complex integrated circuits is desired.

Sliced synchronous simulation engine for high speed simulation of integrated circuit behavior


A process for producing a thin sheet of a Cr-Ni-based stainless steel having excellent surface quality and workability is produced by continuously casting a stainless steel represented by 18%Cr-8%Ni steel by means of a continuous casting machine having a mold wall surface that moves in synchronization with a cast strip, effecting rapid solidification at a cooling rate of 100.degree. C./sec or more into a cast strip having a thickness of 10 mm or less; after solidification thereof, initiating cooling of the cast strip from a high temperature at a rate of 100.degree. C./sec or more to 1250.degree. C. and preventing the occurrence of recuperation; holding the cooled cast strip in a temperature range of from over 900 to 1250.degree. C. exclusive for 5 sec to 2 min; and cooling and coiling the cast strip and subjecting the cast strip to annealing, pickling, cold rolling and annealing.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing a thin sheet of a Cr-Ni-based stainless steel having excellent surface quality and workability, comprising bringing the thickness of a cast material to a thickness close to the thickness of a product through the so called "synchronous continuous casting process" which does not give rise to a difference in the relative speed between a cast material and the inner wall surface of a mold, wherein the structure of the cast material is refined at a casting stage and, at the same time, MnS is precipitated.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A thin sheet of a stainless steel has hitherto been produced by a continuous casting process that comprises casting a stainless steel into a cast slab having a thickness of 100 mm or more while vibrating a mold in the direction of casting, surface-grinding the slab, heating the grinding slab to 1000.degree. C. or above in a heating furnace, hot rolling the heated slab into a hot strip having a thickness of several millimeters by means of a hot strip mill comprising a rough rolling mill and a series of finishing rolling mills.
In the cold rolling of the hot strip thus obtained, in order to ensure the configuration (flatness), the quality of the material and the surface quality, the hot rolled sheet was annealed for the purpose of softening the hot strip subjected to strong hot working, and scale etc. on the surface of the hot strip was removed by grinding after the step of pickling. This conventional process needed long and large hot rolling facilities and a great amount of energy for heating and working the material. For this reason, this process was also not regarded as an excellent production process from the viewpoint of productivity. Further, since the final product is obtained by subjecting a cast slab having a thickness of 100 mm or more to many working treatments, a texture develops. For this reason, a user should consider an anisotropy in the final product when said final product is press working by the user. Thus, the above process also had many usage limitations
In recent years, studies on a process for producing a cast material (hereinafter referred to as "cast strip") having a thickness equal to or close to the thickness of a hot strip in the course of the continuous casting have developed with a view to solving the problem concerning the necessity of long and large hot rolling facilities and a great amount of energy and rolling power for rolling a cast slab having a thickness of 100 mm or more into a hot strip. For example, an article featured in "Tetsu to Hagane (Iron and Steel)", '85, A197-'85, A256 discloses a process wherein a hot strip is directly produced by continuous casting. In such a continuous casting process (hereinafter referred to as "novel process"), the use of a twin drum system is studied when the gauge of the cast strip to be produced is on the level of 1 to 10 mm, while the use of a twin belt system is studied when the gauge of the cast strip is on the level of 20 to 50 mm.
In these novel processes, however, a problem exists in the stage of casting as well, and problems with respect to the quality of the product and the surface quality remains unsolved.
"CAMP ISIJ", vol. 3, 1990, p. 770 reports that a surface defect in an orange peel form on the surface of the cast strip occurs, therefore the .gamma. grain diameter in the cast strip before could rolling must be refined
An article featured in "CAMP ISIJ", vol. 1, 1988, p. 1674-1705 describes that a SUS304 thin sheet product obtained by a twin drum casting and a single cold rolling process has a finer grain structure than that produced by the conventional process and has a low elongation and, in order to prevent this phenomenon, the cast strip is annealed at a high temperature for a long period of time to remove the .delta. ferrite remaining in the cast strip.
In a process of which the development has been advanced as a novel process on the conditions that a cast strip having a thickness equal to or close to a hot strip is produced by continuous casting, since the steps from casting to the final product are simplified, the surface properties and workability of a thin sheet of stainless steel are greatly influenced by the properties of the cast strip. That is, in order to prepare a product having excellent surface quality and workability, it is necessary to prepare an excellent cast strip.
The present inventors have clarified the means for refining a .gamma. grain of a cast strip in a method for preventing the occurrence of a roping phenomenon or the above described surface defect called "orange peel phenomenon" in the novel process and in previously filed patent applications.
Japanese Patent Application No. 63-221471: PA0 Japanese Patent Application No. 63-169095 (PCT International Publication No. WO 90/00454): PA0 Japanese Patent Application No. 63-221472: PA0 Japanese Patent Application No. 63-286690: PA0 Japanese Patent Application No. 1-1586:
Cooling of cast strip and hot rolling PA1 Cooling of a cast strip and cold rolling and annealing in a two stage (2CR) process PA1 Cooling of a cast strip and .delta. ferrite control PA1 Cooling of a cast strip and .delta. ferrite control PA1 Cooling of a cast strip and the addition of a grain refining element
It has become apparent that in these processes alone, the elongation and workability, which are features of the Cr-Ni-based stainless steel, become unsatisfactory.
In order to solve the above described problem, the present inventors have made detailed studies on a process for producing a thin sheet of a Cr-Ni-based stainless steel. As a result, they have found that the .delta. ferrite remaining and fine MnS in a cast strip suppress the growth of recrystallized grain in the annealing after cold rolling and this is causative of a fine grain structure of the final product and a lowering in the elongation attributable thereto, and propose holding the material in a temperature range of from 800.degree. to 1250.degree. C. for the purpose of reducing the .delta. ferrite and the same time precipitating MnS coarsely (see Japanese Patent Application No. 2-83024 (PCT International Publication No. WO 91/10517)). Since, however, in the above-described technique, the cast strip should be held in the above described temperature range for 80 min or less (in the working examples, the maximum holding time and the minimum holding time are 900.degree. C..times.60 min and 1200.degree. C..times.3 min, respectively), it becomes necessary to use long and large holding facilities, which renders the above-described technique unsuitable for practical use.
Further, the present inventors have studied the cooling behavior of the cast strip produced by the above described process and the coarsening behavior of MnS through precipitation and have clarified the requirement for coarsening of MnS, which has led to a solution to a above described problem.

Process for producing thin sheet of Cr-Ni-based stainless steel having excellent surface quality and workability


The present invention provides set retarding additives, set retarded hydraulic cement compositions and methods of using the set retarded cement compositions for cementing subterranean zones in wells. A preferred set retarding additive comprises an alkanolamine salt produced by the reaction of a hydroxy carboxy acid, such as tartaric acid, gluconic acid or glucoheptonic acid, with an alkanolamine, such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine or triethanolamine.

The present invention relates generally to set retarding additives, set retarded hydraulic cementing compositions and methods of using the set retarded cement compositions for cementing subterranean zones including, but not by way of limitation, a subterranean zone that is penetrated by a well bore.
Hydraulic cement compositions are used for carrying out various operations in oil, gas and water wells including, but not limited to construction and completion operations such as primary cementing and remedial operations such as squeeze cementing. Primary cementing involves the placement of a hydraulic cement composition into the annular space between the walls of a well bore and the exterior of a pipe such as casing disposed therein. The cement composition is pumped into the annular space and allowed to set into an annular cement sheath therein whereby the pipe is bonded to the walls of the well bore by the set cement.
Squeeze cementing techniques usually involve the undesirable movement of oil, gas or water through small holes or cracks in pipe disposed in the well bore; holes, cracks, voids or channels in the annular cement sheath between the pipe and the well bore; annular spaces between the cement sheath and the pipe or the walls of the well bore and permeable zones or fractures in subterranean formations. Such holes, cracks, etc. are plugged by squeezing hydraulic cement compositions therein which harden and form impermeable plugs.
In performing cementing operations in such wells, the cement compositions are often subjected to high temperatures, particularly when the cementing is carried out in deep subterranean zones. The high temperatures can cause premature setting of the cement compositions, i.e., the compositions can not be pumped for long enough times before setting to place them in the zones to be cemented. This requires the use of set retarding additives in the cement compositions which extend the setting times of the compositions so that adequate pumping time is provided in which to place or displace the compositions into desired subterranean zones.
While a variety of cement set retarding additives have heretofore been developed and utilized, known additives can produce unpredictable results. Hydroxy carboxy acids, such as tartaric acid, gluconic acid and glucoheptonic acid are commonly used in oil well cementing as a cement retarder. However, if a slight excess of the hydroxy carboxy acid is used it can over-retard the set of the cement slurry thereby causing it to remain fluid for an extended period of time. This over-retardation will result in extended waiting time prior to resuming drilling and may allow gas to invade the slurry thereby causing unwanted gas migration. Additionally, prior art set retarding additives comprised of materials such as lignosulfonates and synthetic polymers are often expensive to produce.
Therefore, there is a need for improved set retarded cementing compositions and methods of cementing subterranean zones. In particular, there is a need for improved set retarding additives which are relatively inexpensive and bring about predictable cement composition setting times in subterranean environments encountered in wells.

Methods of retarding cementitious compositions