A memory timing model is provided, which includes an address input, a multiple-bit data input, a multiple-bit data output, a capacity C and a width N. N one-bit wide memory modules are instantiated in parallel with one another between respective bits of the data input and the data output. Each memory module has a capacity of C bits addressed by the address input.

When designing an integrated circuit, memory devices in a customer design are mapped to memory resources within an integrated circuit layout pattern. It is customary for the integrated circuit manufacturer to provide the customer with various tools and models for assisting the customer in designing or customizing an integrated circuit for a particular application. Some integrated circuits have different types of memory resources and can include large arrays or matrices of standard memory elements. For example, in LSI Logic Corporations' RapidChip® Technology, tens or even hundreds of memories in a customer design can be mapped into matrices of standard Random Access Memories (e.g., RRAM) that are pre-defined in the layout pattern.
From a timing point of view, when a customer memory is mapped to a memory matrix, the memory is essentially substituted with a "mapped memory wrapper." The mapped memory wrapper includes a model of the memory itself and models of any input or output delays caused by mapping the memory into the memory matrix and by the particular tiling of the memory in that matrix. For example, the mapped memory wrapper can model delays introduced by any additional logic in the memory matrix and can model differences in delay caused by the manner in which the memory was tiled into the matrix. These delays and appropriate timing constraints can be generated by appropriate tools that perform the mapping procedure or are associated with such tools.
The straightforward usage of existing tools that provide memory timing models for timing stimulation are, however, often inconvenient under such conditions and somehow become even cumbersome because they are generally aimed at the memory module itself rather than its wrapper indicated above. Due to the size and complexity of large memory matrices, it can become difficult to generate accurate timing models and apply constraints for each input and output path through the matrix.
Improved memory timing models and methods of generating such models are therefore desired.

Memory timing model with back-annotating


A method of fabricating a metal wiring line includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a region desired for connecting with the metal wiring line, wherein a first dielectric layer is formed to cover the semiconductor substrate and a plurality of substantially parallel oxide pillars are formed on the first dielectric layer. The metal wiring line is then formed to contact the desired connecting region, and a second metal layer is then formed to contact the metal wiring line.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs), and more particularly to the metalization process of ICs.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of the IC, metal wiring lines are typically used to the electrical connection of devices. Therefore, to form the pattern of the metal wiring lines precisely is one of the crucial qualifications of IC quality. However, the conventional method for metalization tends to cause to problem of incomplete insulation, which directly reduces the yield of the product. Moreover, this problem becomes even more serious for devices of smaller size. To clearly explain the above-mentioned problems, the conventional metalization process is illustrated in FIG. 1A to 1C.
First, referring to FIG. 1A, a semiconductor substrate 10 is provided with a region 11 desired for forming metal wiring lines. The region 11 can be, for example, source/drain regions. This semiconductor substrate 10 is covered with a first dielectric layer 12 but the region 11 is exposed, and on the first dielectric layer 12, parallel oxide pillars 14 are formed. A first metal layer 15 is then formed by sputtering to cover the first dielectric layer 12 and the oxide pillars 14 and to contact the region 11. Next, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) has been utilized to polish the first metal layer 15 to the same level as the oxide pillars 14.
Referring next to FIG. 1B, a second dielectric layer 16 is formed to cover the first metal layer 15 and the oxide pillars 14. Then, the second dielectric layer 16 is defined to form via holes. After tungsten is deposited into the via hole, etching back and CMP are performed to form a metal wiring line 17.
Referring now to FIG. 1C, a metal layer is sputtered over the second dielectric layer 16 to contact with the metal wiring line 17; after patterned, a second metal layer 18 is formed.
The conventional method includes the process of forming a tungsten plug. Therefore, the steps of tungsten deposition and etching back or CMP are essential for the conventional method. However, theses steps are complicated and costly. Moreover, opening a via hole may result in misalignment and incomplete opening.

Method of fabricating a metal wiring line


This invention provides an adjusting method for use in a recording apparatus having a configuration where head units, in each of which a plurality of recording heads are arranged in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to a moving direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording medium relative to the recording heads so that ends of recordable regions of the recording heads partially overlap or contact when viewed in a conveyance direction of the recording medium, are arranged by a number equal to the number of recording colors in parallel in the sub-scanning direction, comprising adjusting quality of an image recorded on the recording medium by changing a positional relationship of a predetermined recording pattern, which is recorded on the recording medium with each of the recording heads, within each of the head units and/or among the plurality of head units.

For various types of printers, such as an inkjet printer, etc., using a recording head (hereinafter referred to simply as a head), there are a so-called multi-pass method for making recording while alternately moving a head and a recording medium in a nearly orthogonal direction by using short heads, and a so-called one-pass method for making recording by relatively moving a recording medium in a direction nearly orthogonal to a line head with the use of the long head (line head) having a length that can cover the entire region of one side of the recording medium. The latter has a structure where one head comprises many recording elements although its operations are simple and recording can be made at high speed. Therefore, this method has a disadvantage that a yield at the time of head manufacturing is low, or a cost becomes high.
Accordingly, a method for configuring a pseudo line head (hereinafter referred to as a "head unit" depending on need) by arranging a plurality of short heads, in which recording elements are arranged in one direction (main scanning direction), by displacing the short heads to prevent their positions from interfering with one another is known as recited in Patent Document 1.
At this time, recording corresponding to image data can be made by switching the input image data in an overlapping region of the recordable regions of a plurality of recording heads, which are alternately arranged (staggered) in parallel to main scanning direction, and by displacing the recording timing of each of the heads by D/V according to a displacement D in a conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) and a conveyance velocity V.
The above described pseudo line head implemented by combining a plurality of short heads has the advantages of both the multi-pass method and the one-pass method. However, unless the relative positions, the inclinations, and the recording timings of the short heads are suitably adjusted, stripe density unevenness, a white patch, a discontinuous line, or a color shift occurs at a joint of a recording image, leading to possible loss of recording quality.
Accordingly, the technique of Patent Document 1 recites a method for improving stripe density unevenness and a white patch, which occur at a joint of a recording image, by arranging adjacent short heads in predetermined positions, and by selecting a recording element to be used according to the interval (projection interval in sub-scanning direction) of recording elements at a joint.
Additionally, as a method for improving a yield at the time of head manufacturing, which is determined by variations in nozzle positions of a long head, Patent Document 2 recites a method for absorbing variations in nozzle positions at the time of manufacturing in a paper feed direction by delaying ink emission timing independently of each nozzle in a song head.
However, a mechanism for adjusting recording timing for each recording element (nozzle) is complicated, and an increase in cost is unavoidable also in consideration of a head replacement at the time of breakage.
In the meantime, also if a pseudo line head is configured by combining short heads, there is a problem that a discontinuity or a color shift at a joint of a recording image occurs when the distortion or the inclination shift of each short head, variations in arrangement positions of recording elements due to manufacturing unevenness, and the like occur.
For example, if an inclination shift occurs in a short head that configures a head unit as shown in FIG. 1, and if recording timing is made to simply match at the center of a recording pattern, this causes a problem such that a level difference occurs at a joint, and a linear line is recorded discontinuously. This is because the number of recording element sequences actually reaches several hundreds, and a shift is prone to occur at the end of a head even if the head has almost no inclination, although FIG. 1 is schematically depicted. Additionally, for a short head having an inclination shift or distortion, a color shift can sometimes occur in superposed color recording as shown in FIG. 2.
Here, the quality of an image to be recorded is evaluated with linearity in sub-scanning direction (conveyance direction of a recording medium), continuity at a head boundary, a color shift in superposed color recording, and the like. However, quality to be stressed may differ by image to be recorded. For example, if an image composed of a lot of drawn lines is recorded at many times, stress is placed on continuity at a head boundary. Or, for an image the color hue of which is important, stress is placed on a color shift in superposed color recording.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-144542    Patent Document 2: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-62148

Adjusting method for use in recording apparatus, recording apparatus


In a method and apparatus for cleaning or processing a workpiece, a process gas is brought into contact with the workpiece by diffusion through a heated liquid layer on the workpiece, and by bulk transport achieved by entraining the gas in a liquid stream, spray or jet impinging on the workpiece. The process gas, which may be ozone, is entrained in the liquid via entrainment nozzles. Use of entrainment and diffusion together increases the amount of gas available for reaction at the workpiece surface, increases the reaction rate, and decreases required process times.

This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/925,884, filed Aug. 6, 2001 ; which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/621,028, filed Jul. 21, 2000, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,487; which:                A.] is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/853,649, filed May 9, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,933;        B.] is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/061,318, filed Apr. 16, 1998, now abandoned,        C.] is a Continuation-in-Part of International Application No. PCT/US99/08516, filed Apr. 16, 1999, claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/099,067, filed Sep. 3, 1998 and 60/125,304, filed Mar. 19, 1999; and        D.] claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/145,350, filed Jul. 23, 1999.        This Application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/486,771, filed Jul. 10, 2003. Priority to each of these applications is claimed. The applications listed above are incorporated herein by reference.
Semiconductor devices are widely used in almost all consumer and home electronic products, as well as in communications, medical, industrial, military, and office products and equipment. Microelectronic semiconductor devices are manufactured from semiconductor wafers. The features forming these devices are often just fractions of a micron. This makes these microelectronic devices highly susceptible to performance degradation or even complete failure due to contamination by organic or metal particles. Consequently, cleaning the wafers, to remove contamination, is often a critical step in the manufacturing process.
For many years, wafers were cleaned in typically three or four separate steps using strong acids, such as sulfuric acid, and using strong caustic solutions, such as mixtures of hydrogen peroxide or ammonium hydroxide. Organic solvents have also been used with wafers having metal films. While these methods performed well, they had certain disadvantages, including the high cost of the process chemicals, the relatively long time required to get wafers through the various cleaning steps, high consumption of water due to the need for extensive rinsing between chemical steps, and high disposal costs. As a result, extensive research and development efforts focused on finding better wafer cleaning techniques.
More recently, the semiconductor manufacturing industry began to acknowledge a revolutionary new process for cleaning wafers, using ozone diffused through a thin layer of heated water on the wafers. This ozone diffusion process has proven itself to be highly effective in cleaning contamination and organic films off of wafers, while avoiding many of the disadvantages of the older methods using acids and caustics. The advantages of the ozone diffusion process are that is it fast, requires no expensive and toxic liquid acids or caustics, and operates effectively as a spray process, which greatly reduces water consumption and space requirements.
The ozone diffusion cleaning technique can be performed in various ways. These include spraying water onto the workpiece while injecting ozone into the water, spraying water on the workpiece while delivering ozone to the workpiece, delivering a combination of steam or water vapor and ozone to the workpiece, and applying water, ozone, and sonic energy simultaneously to the workpiece. Spray techniques using water at elevated temperatures have been especially successful at increasing the removal rates of various organic films and contaminants from workpiece surfaces.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process and apparatus for treating a workpiece with gases


A system uses generated scene transition frames to allow fast seeking within a media stream. A set of scene transition frames associated with the media stream are generated, then transmitted along with the media stream from a remotely located media source over a network. A subset of the scene transition frames are displayed, allowing a desired scene transition frame to be selected from a subset of the scene transition frames based on user input. The media source can then be displayed (e.g., played) starting from a frame corresponding to the desired scene transition frame.

Recently, consumers have expressed significant interest in "place shifting" devices that allow viewing of television or other media content at locations other than their primary television set. Place shifting devices typically packetize media content that can be transmitted over a local or wide area network to a portable computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, remote television or other remote device capable of playing back the packetized media stream for the viewer. Placeshifting therefore allows consumers to view their media content from remote locations such as other rooms, hotels, offices, and/or any other locations where portable media player devices can gain access to a wireless or other communications network.
In the context of media streaming, including for example conventional general purpose computers running software for streaming placeshifted media, it is desirable to allow a user to seek within the media time buffer to find a particular scene or time slot, and then continue viewing the media from that point. The user interface for such a seeking operation typically allows a user to move (or "scrub") an icon such as a play-head icon across a visual representation of a timeline associated with the media. In response, the software then goes to the nearest keyframe, decodes and drops all frames until it reaches the desired position (i.e., time), and displays the correct frame.
Such a system is undesirable in a number of respects. For example, as the user's sole input is through a linear time display, it is often difficult to find a particular scene or transition within the media. That is, it is often the case that a user is far more interested in finding a particular favorite scene within a media stream than a particular discrete time within that stream. Furthermore, with a standard linear scrubber interface, the user is typically not given immediate feedback while scrubbing the icon along the timeline, and the resulting user interface lacks responsiveness.
It is therefore desirable to create systems and methods for seeking within streamed media in a way that is responsive, intuitive, and provides useful scene or scene transition information to the user. These and other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background section.

Methods and apparatus for seeking within a media stream using scene detection


A robotic system includes a robot, a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud camera, and a controller. The camera outputs an image data file having two-dimensional (2D) color data and 3D depth data. The controller receives input criteria and the image data file, and detects 2D and 3D line segments in the image data file. Sets of new 3D lines are generated via back-projecting some of the 2D line segments onto some of the 3D line segments. The new 3D lines are grouped into intersecting lines, and the controller performs a normal vector grouping function on the intersecting lines to identify candidate planes. Intersecting planes are identified from the candidate planes, and candidate boxes are identified from the intersecting planes. The controller locates a target box from among the identified candidate boxes via the input criteria. A control action may be commanded on the target box by the end effector.

Robots are electromechanical devices capable of performing complicated or repetitive tasks in an automated manner. A typical robot moves on multiple axes in response to task instructions and sensory feedback. For instance, a robot may use various proximity sensors, tactile sensors, switches, load cells, transducers, and the like to evaluate its surrounding environment in the execution of a given work task. The robot may act on an object located within its environment via one or more end effectors.
Material handling robots in particular may be programmed to locate, select, and move objects in an automated work environment. For example, in a typical manufacturing facility, such robots may be used to perform repetitive kitting operations in which components are packaged in boxes. Therefore, in a kitting operation a robot must first locate a target box, identify a part or component located within the box, and then execute an end effector control sequence to act on the identified component in a given manner.

Robotic system with 3D box location functionality


A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment includes a memory, a specifying unit, and a display controller. The memory stores a corresponding color table representing correspondence relationships between T1 values of which value ranges with respect to each tissue are known and colors to be assigned to pixels with the T1 values. The specifying unit analyzes a T1-valued image and specifies colors to be assigned to each pixel on the basis of T1 values converted from pixel values of each pixel and the corresponding color table. The display controller displays on a display the image color-coded with the specified colors.

In imaging performed by conventional magnetic resonance imaging apparatuses (hereinafter, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) system), T1-weighted images for which T1 denoting a longitudinal relaxation time is weighted or T2-weighted images for which T2 denoting a transverse relaxation time is weighted are collected by changing imaging conditions of a pulse sequence.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and method for color-coding tissue based on T1 values


The process consists in mixing, for a period tm less than the period of polymerization, in a micromixer, a flow Fm of monomer(s) to be (co)polymerized and a flow Fa of an initiator system leading to a propagation constant kp(t) greater than or equal to 500 l mol.sup.-1 s.sup.-1 and in injecting, in a polymerization reactor, a flow Fr resulting from the mixing of the flows Fm and Fa, the concentration of monomer(s) in the flow Fr being at least 10% by weight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of (meth)acrylic polymers or copolymers of at least one (moth)acrylic monomer by ultra-fast anionic polymerization leading to a polymer having controlled mass and polydispersity and a high solids content.
2. Description of Prior Art
The production of polymers with a high solids content has many advantages, in particular economic advantages (high concentration of polymer at the end of polymerization, reduced amount of solvent making the final polymer recovery easier).
The anionic polymerization of (meth)acrylic monomers is, in general, a fast polymerization, so much that it is more efficient to carry it out continuously. However, it is sometimes so fast that it is difficult to control.
To solve the problem of controlling the polymerization in order to obtain a "monodisperse" polymer, that is to say one with an Mw/Mn ratio, or polydispersity, in the region of 1, Japanese patent application JP-A-60-56910 proposes to use a static mixer which makes it possible to mix the flow of monomer and the flow of initiator quickly and uniformly before the polymerization in a tubular reactor.
The intended aim of obtaining a polydispersity in the region of 1 is achieved. However, there are numerous drawbacks.
The appropriate concentration of the monomer(s) in the monomer flow is theoretically from 1 to 50% by weight. However, the viscosity of the solution of the polymer formed increases with the concentration, thus making the mixing operation difficult and consequently leading to an even wider molecular mass distribution of the final living polymer. The only two examples of this Japanese patent application use monomer solutions of low concentration, leading, after polymerization, to a medium having a low solids content (less than 10% by weight assuming a conversion of 100%).
Moreover, it is recommended in this Japanese patent application, in order to avoid side reactions, to maintain a polymerization temperature of -100.degree. C. to +20.degree. C. and, in particular, in the case of polar monomers such as (meth)acrylates, to perform the polymerization at a temperature which is preferably below -40.degree. C. The polymerizations described in the examples are carried out at -78.degree. C.
In addition, the polymerization reactor is preferably tubular, in order to facilitate the exchange of heat due to the exothermy of the reaction. This type of reactor is not, however, suitable for ultra-fast polymerization reactions since the polymerization time is too short to be able to exchange the heat due to the exothermic reaction of the polymerization.
It is known that the kinetics of anionic polymerization depend on the polymerization conditions, particularly on the reaction temperature and the concentration of the initiator system.
The teaching of the Japanese patent application mentioned above leads to the use of an initiator system and polymerization conditions which bring about a propagation constant which, at -40.degree. C. (preferred upper temperature limit for the case of the methyl methacrylate monomer, according to this document), would be about 100 l mol.sup.-1 s.sup.-1, that does not permit ultrafast reactions.
On the other hand, with an initiator system such as that described in document EP-A-524,054, that is to say a mixture of an initiator and a ligand of the alkoxyalkoxide type, the propagation constant for the reaction (kp(t)) is, for methyl methacrylate, greater than or equal to 10.sup.4 l mol.sup.-1 s.sup.-1 at 0.degree. and 10.sup.3 l mol.sup.-1 l s.sup.-1 at -40.degree. C. With such an initiator, the reaction is thus ultra-fast, to such an extent that it is difficult to control even when it is performed continuously. (The propagation constants mentioned above, both for the case of the Japanese patent application and for the case of the document EP-A-524,054, were determined, by the Applicant, by the method of G. V. Schultz in European Polymer Journal--Vol. 10, pages 121-130--1974).

Process for the continuous anionic polymerization of at least one (meth)acrylic monomer in order to produce polymers with a high solids content


A semiconductor device includes: a terminal configured to input a signal from a signal source; a receiver configured to receive the signal from the signal source through the terminal; and a terminal circuit configured to be coupled between the terminal and an input end of the receiver, and to suppress reflected wave caused by signal reflection at the receiver, wherein impedance of a wire line connecting the terminal and the input end of the receiver, and direct-current impedance of a resistance component included in the terminal circuit are set lower than impedance of an external wire line connected to the terminal.

A Fly-by connection is provided as one of methods of connecting a plurality of receivers to one signal source, such as a driver, etc. The Fly-by connection is a method of connecting a plurality of receivers in a daisy chain, and is also referred to as a connection one after another, or a daisy chain connection. For example, the Fly-by connection is used for connecting a memory controller, which operates as a driver, and memories, such as a plurality of SDRAMs (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memories), etc., which operate as receivers.
In the case where a signal transmission speed is low, and a rising time and a falling time of the signal are long, in a configuration of connecting a plurality of receivers in a Fly-by connection, there has not been much problem with reflection at branch parts caused by signal reflection at the individual receivers. In the case where a signal transmission speed becomes high, and a rising time and a falling time become short, when a plurality of receivers are connected by a Fly-by connection, multiple reflection at branch parts occurs because of signal reflection at the individual receivers, and thus there is a problem in that reflected waves overlap with each other, and quality of a signal waveform is deteriorated.
As a countermeasure, there is a method of adjusting a line length of a signal transmission line such that reflected waves do not overlap with each other, and a method of inserting a stub resistor into a part of a daisy chain, etc. Also, there is a method of controlling impedance of a wire line of a main line part that connects from a signal source to a branch, and between individual branches, and impedance of wire lines of branch parts that connect branches and receivers. However, it is demanded to have an implementation area by any one of the methods, and it is difficult to uniquely determine impedance or a resistor value of a wire line depending on enlargement of a wiring area and a package characteristic of a receiver to user. Accordingly, it becomes difficult to apply these methods.
In a Fly-by connection, if a branch length is zero, there becomes no problem with the above-described problem of reflection. However, in a receiver package actually used, there are package line lengths of wire bonding, etc., that connects a die on which a circuit is formed and terminals of the package. Accordingly, for example, even if branch lengths are zero on a printed circuit board, branch lengths necessarily arise because of package line lengths, and overlapping of reflected waves due to multiple reflection occurs. Further, package line lengths are different depending on a receiver used. Also, package line lengths are different in accordance with a connected signal, and thus it is difficult to take a measure against reflection at branch parts on the side of the printed circuit board.
Also, there is a technique in which impedance of two transmission lines after a branch is made two times impedance of the transmission line before the branch in order to match impedance so that influence of signal reflection is suppressed (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-222092). However, this technique is suitable for a star-connection configuration, but is difficult for applying to a configuration in which a large number of receivers are connected to one signal source in a Fly-by connection. For example, in the case of applying the technique to a configuration in which four receivers are connected to one signal source in a Fly-by connection, impedance of the transmission lines of the branch parts of the receiver becomes two times, four times, eight times, and 16 times, which are unattainable impedance values on a printed circuit board having a same layer configuration.

Electronic device with terminal circuits


A manually operated water purifying device which includes a manually moveable operating member that pumps unpurified water into a conduit where it is exposed to purification by an electrically operated UV-C lamp and then dispensed from a portable container, and the UV-C lamp is energized by an electric generator that is also driven by a manually moveable operating member.

The present invention relates generally to a water purifying device, and more particularly to a manually operable device for purifying water and dispensing the purified water.
The increasing lack of any drinkable water throughout large portions of the world is well documented, and this situation is exacerbated by the fact that in many parts of the world there is also no electrical power, solar power or batteries which are necessary to operate conventional water purifying equipment.
Moreover, even in areas where drinkable water is generally available, there are a significant number of situations where the drinkable water cannot be accessed for various reasons. For example, people who travel to remote areas, such as campers, hikers, and the like, often find that fresh potable water is not available at those areas. Additionally, there is always a risk that the generally available water may become contaminated, at least temporarily, by acts of God, terrorists, and other misfortunes.
As a result, there are a number of devices which are currently available that can be used to filter and/or purify water. For example, there are a number of portable devices which utilize either an activated charcoal filter or a ceramic filter, or both, through which questionable water can be pumped manually to improve the quality of the water. These activated charcoal filters remove some disagreeable components of questionable water, such as bad taste, odors and colorations, but they do not purify the water in a technical sense because they do not remove harmful microbes that may be contaminating the water. The ceramic filters remove some, but not all, of the microbes in the water, and the dense nature of the ceramic filters can significantly increase the pumping power needed to force the water through the ceramic filter.
There are also a number of devices which utilize solar power to operate the water purifier, but these devices obviously depend on the availability of significant sunlight or they are inoperative. Also, even when they are operative, these solar purifiers are slow in operation and often have a low capacity.
Finally, there are electrically-operated water purifiers that include a UV-C lamp which is effective in killing most if not all of the microorganisms in the water by breaking through the microbe's outer membrane to cause modifications in its DNA, which then transmits incorrect genetic codes and kills the microbes. These devices, which may also include activated charcoal and/or ceramic filers in combination with the UV-C lamp, do an excellent job of purifying water that would otherwise be unfit to drink, but all of these devices require an external electrical power source that is connected to energize the UV-C lamp. However, in most remote areas, no such external power source is available, and these devices therefore are not operable in these areas.
Accordingly, there exists a significant need for a device that utilizes an electrically-operated water purifying unit, such as a UV-C lamp, that can kill harmful microorganisms in contaminated water, and that is not dependent on the availability of an external power source to energize the UV-C lamp and/or pump water through and from the purifying device. It is also desirable to provide such a device which is readily portable so that it can be easily carried to remote areas.

Manually operable water purifying device


Network devices access a communications network and engage in secure associations with one or more network access points upon authenticating the access points and upon verifying the discovery information that is broadcast by the access point. Once a secure association is created, management frames that are subsequently transmitted between the network devices and the access points and that are used to control the secure association are verified to further enhance the security of the communications network.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to secure association for network communications. The present invention is also directed to verification of the network communications, including management frames.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Various techniques have been developed for networking devices and enabling communication in wired and wireless networks. Some of these techniques have been adopted and propagated by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) standards. For example, the 802.11 standard is generally directed at techniques for networking in an over-the-air interface between a wireless client and a base station or between two wireless clients.
Other networking techniques include, but are not limited to Bluetooth, Personal Area Networks (PAN) with Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technologies, and even wireless Wide Area Network technologies such as the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS).
One problem encountered by existing networking technologies involves the potential for a hack to maliciously broadcast false requests and false information about network device. By doing this, it is possible for a hack to effectively terminate a desired association between network devices and to create undesired or unauthorized associations. Such network security threats are more commonly known by such terms as spoofing, network hijacking, data packet forging and modification, resource starvation attacks, impersonation, and so forth, each of which is undesirable.
Some of the available techniques have been implemented to improve the security of networks by requiring that network devices be authenticated by the network prior to being granted access to the network. This level of security is nice, but fails to overcome all of the known problems in the art. For example, a resource starvation attack could still occur when the capabilities of a network access point are publicized incorrectly by a hack, and such that the network access point appears so attractive that all devices in the serviceable range of the access point choose to access the network through that single access point rather than other available access points. Because the network devices do not currently have any way of verifying the publicized capabilities of the access point, such an attack is possible.
Likewise, once a network device is authenticated, it is possible for a hack to hijack the communications coming from the network device to maliciously append the communications with management frames that can effectively terminate or undesirably alter the association between the network device and the access point. One reason for this is that all of the frames transmitted between the network device and the access points of the network are not verified as being authentic prior to their execution.
One hurdle in overcoming the aforementioned problems is the desire to provide flexibility in the network, particularly within wireless networks, where a wireless device, such as a telephone or PDA moves through the serviceable ranges of various access points. In particular, the security requirements placed on network devices during creation of secure associations with the access points can represent expensive processing operations that have to be replicated in existing systems as the network device moves from one access point to another.
Accordingly, there is still an ongoing need for improved methods and systems for networking devices in wireless and wired networks that do not prohibitively restrict the flexibility of the networks.

Secure association and management frame verification


One exemplary device has a plurality of leads with termination impedances, and a standard impedance. Among the termination impedances are master impedances arranged to be calibrated by comparison with the standard impedance and slave impedances arranged to be calibrated in accordance with an associated master impedance.

A transmission line may be terminated with an impedance that is matched to a characteristic impedance of the transmission line. However, if the termination impedance is in a variable environment, the impedance may vary undesirably. For example, in the case of the termination impedance on a processor die, the heat generated by the processor may affect the impedance. It has therefore been proposed to terminate transmission lines leading onto the die with controllably variable impedances, and to calibrate the on-die termination impedances by comparison with a standard impedance in a more stable environment.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Embodiments of the present application provide a method and apparatus for generating a panoramic image. The method includes: determining, according to a pre-established mapping relationship, a pixel point in the two-dimensional planar image to which each of grid points in a preset stereoscopic model is mapped, wherein multiple grid points form one grid plane and accordingly, multiple pixel points to which the multiple grid points are mapped form one pixel region; and rendering each of the grid planes by the pixel region corresponding to this grid plane, to obtain a panoramic image. In the solution of the present application, it is not necessary to generate a distortion-corrected image and an overhead image, thereby saving storage resources.

At present, panoramic images are very valuable and offer huge advantages in many fields. For example, in the vehicle field, it is possible to provide 360-degree panoramic images around a vehicle for drivers, to enable the drivers to perceive the surrounding environment more clearly, thereby improving driving safety.
An existing method for generating a panoramic image generally includes: capturing a two-dimensional planar image; performing distortion correction on the two-dimensional planar image to obtain a distortion-corrected image; transforming the distortion-corrected image into an overhead image through overhead viewpoint transformation; and performing texture mapping on the overhead image in a preset stereoscopic model to obtain a panoramic image.
In the above method, it is necessary to generate the distortion-corrected image and the overhead image, which occupy large quantities of storage resources.

Panoramic image generation method and device

HANGZHOU HIKVISION DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A method, computer program product, and computer system for analyzing, by a computing device, client-side code of a web component. An input constraint of the web component is identified based upon, at least in part, analyzing the client-side code of the web component. One or more input values within the input constraint are generated based upon, at least in part, the input constraint.

The operation of web analysis tools (e.g., web security testing engines) may be based on an initial crawling stage, where the web analysis tool may explore the subject web component (e.g., web application, web service, network service, etc.), and attempt to record as much of the interaction surface as possible. The coverage by the web analysis tool for the web component may depend on such things as, e.g., the quality of its crawling capabilities. For example, if the crawling capabilities are limited, thereby missing large (e.g., relevant) portions of the web component's functionality (e.g., web pages in a website), then the subsequent analysis stage may similarly be limited and incomplete.
For instance, some dynamic web analysis tools may have simple crawling heuristics, and may be backed by complex and tedious user configurations. For example, some dynamic web analysis tools may use default values, e.g., when filling fields of an HTML form, as well as allowing a user to manually specify other values, along with a regular expression for a field identifier, such that if the regular expression matches a field name in the form, then the value provided by the user may be used. As such, use of such dynamic web analysis tools may be onerous to the user, reduce the quality of crawling, and thus reduce the coverage achieved by the analysis.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and apparatus is provided for generating an interrupt signal in a data processing system, the interrupt signal being supplied to a control processor of the system to indicate the occurrence of any of a plurality of predetermined events in the system. The method and apparatus operate by: writing data to at least one memory location of a plurality of pairs of memory locations A,B of the system in dependence upon the event to be indicated, the pairs of memory locations A,B being predefined in the system for respective ones of the events; reading data from the pairs of memory locations A,B; processing the data read from each pair of memory locations A,B to generate interrupt data indicative of whether the associated event has occurred, and if so transmitting an interrupt signal to the control processor; and writing the interrupt data corresponding to the events to respective third memory locations C, the third memory locations C being predefined in the control processor for the events. On receipt of an interrupt signal, the control processor reads the interrupt data in the third memory locations C to determine the event indicated by the interrupt signal.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data processing systems. Aspects of the invention are concerned with the detection and/or indication of events which may occur during operation of such systems and the timing of operations performed by such systems.
The various aspects of the invention can be applied, though not exclusively, in the field of digital audio data processing such as may be performed by the signal processing rack in an audio recording studio. The invention will be illustrated hereinafter with particular reference to such an application, though it is to be appreciated that the invention can be applied to other data processing systems.
In an audio recording studio, as illustrated by the simplified block diagram of FIG. 1, the signal processing rack 1 communicates with an operator console 2 and, as indicated by the LINK & I/O block 3, is also connected into the studio network for communication of audio and control data between the signal processing rack and the various input/output devices, e.g. speakers, microphones, DATs etc., connected to the network link. Operation of the network is controlled at the console, or mixing desk, 2, communication of data between devices in the network and implementation of the necessary processing by the signal processing rack being performed in response to operation of the console controls.
The signal processing rack 1 can be considered to be divided into a control side, which is responsive to the status of the various controls on the console 2, and an audio processing side which implements the required audio processing functions in dependence upon the control settings and communicates audio data with the network devices via the link.
In one example of a signal processing rack 1 to which the invention can be applied, the processing of digital audio data is performed by a parallel processing array as illustrated schematically in FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 shows an array of eight signal processing integrated circuits (SPICs) 4 labelled A to F. The SPICs, or data processors, 4 are arranged at least electrically in a rectangular array, each SPIC being connected to a horizontal data bus H and a vertical data bus V. Each SPIC 4 is arranged for communication of data with each of the two buses to which it is connected, each of the horizontal and vertical buses H,V being shared by a number of SPICs 4.
The parallel processing array as a whole of course consists of a substantially greater number of SPICs than shown in FIG. 2. The SP rack 1 in fact includes up to 16 cards, each card carrying an array of, for example, eight SPICs. The horizontal and vertical buses are connected between cards, so that, electrically, the SPICs form one large rectangular array. The buses may be connected in a loop, with periodic pipeline registers, for example every four cards, to allow bi-directional communication around the loop and extend the processing power of the array.
The SPICs 4 in the array run synchronously, each SPIC performing a sequence of operations in each audio sample period in accordance with an instruction sequence stored in an internal memory. The SPICs are pre-programmed with the instruction sequences at set-up so that all possible required processing operations can be implemented by the array. In one particular example, each SPIC is preprogrammed with 512 instructions, successive instructions being read from the internal memories for implementation by the SPICs in successive cycles of a clock signal. A control processor (not shown) is provided on each card for controlling various aspects of the operation of the SPICs on that card. In operation, the SPICs run synchronously through their instruction sequences under control of the control processors, the control processors being responsive to the operator console 2 to cause the SPICs to implement the various processing operations as required.
During operation of the system, it is necessary for the control processor controlling an array of SPICs to be alerted to the occurrence of certain events, eg the occurrence of an error condition such as a signal overload or a parity error. As a further example, part of the pre-programmed operation of some of the SPICs may be to implement timers for various purposes, eg to set the time for which an indicator is to be lit on the operator console, and the control processor must be alerted to the expiry of such timers to perform the appropriate control function. The SPICs can of course be configured to transmit signals to the control processor on occurrence of such events. However, since each SPIC performs numerous (eg many hundred) processing operations in each audio sampling period, the tasks of generating such signals and identifying the sources of the signals must be implemented as simply and efficiently as possible if overall efficiency of the processing system is to be achieved.
As part of their operation, the SPICs need to able to process audio data in accordance with control signals received by the control processor from the operator console 2 indicating the setting of the various console controls. For example, if a control setting for signal level is changed, audio signals processed by the SPICs will need to be multiplied by different values, or coefficients, to change the actual audio signal level. The sampling frequency of control signals derived from the operator console is generally considerably lower than the audio sampling frequency, e.g. 1 kHz or lower as compared with 50 kHz. Interpolation of the control signals is therefore required to obtain a gradual change in the value of coefficients over the multiple audio samples within one period of the control signal sampling frequency. To implement this, a coefficient interpolator may be associated with each SPIC. The control processor calculates coefficient data in accordance with the control signals from the console, and periodically supplies the coefficient data to the interpolator. The interpolator uses the coefficient data to derive interpolated coefficients for use by the associated SPIC. The period over which coefficients are interpolated is determined by a coefficient sampling rate signal (CSR signal) supplied to the interpolator. In practice there are a number of such CSR signals, with different clock rates, provided in the system so that interpolation can be performed in accordance with different ones of the CSR signals as required for different purposes.
In general, coefficient data calculated by the control processor will need to be supplied to more than one SPIC for updating the coefficients used in processing operations, and it is important to ensure that the new coefficient data is supplied to the relevant SPICs so that they start using the new coefficient values in the same audio sample period. For example, as part of their function the SPICs may implement various multi-tap or multi-pole filters, and updated coefficients for these filters must be introduced sample-synchronously to avoid distortion. Thus, it is necessary to provide a convenient way of timing the updates to coefficient data supplied to the interpolators.

Data processing system having capability to interpolate processing coefficients


A composite textile fabric for moving moisture away from the skin is provided. The composite fabric includes a first fabric layer comprising either a polyester or nylon material which has been rendered hydrophilic and a second fabric layer comprising at least 25% by weight of a moisture absorbent material such as cotton. The first fabric layer and the second fabric layer are formed concurrently by knitting a plaited construction. Preferably, the second fabric layer is treated with a polyurethane to promote resistance to pilling.

This invention relates to a composite textile fabric, and more particularly to a composite fabric made of either a polyester or nylon material whose surface has been raised and a moisture absorbent material such as cotton which together act to move moisture away from the skin and through a garment made with the composite fabric.
Most textile fabric for outerwear is likely to result in the substantial enclosure of moisture between the wearer's skin and undergarments or between the undergarments of the wearer and the outerwear. When saturation of moisture takes place, accumulated moisture condenses and the body of the garment wearer is wetted such that he begins to feel uncomfortable.
Although it is possible to use a cotton inner lining for a textile fabric that is suitable for outer garments, such as sweatshirt garments used for athletics and exercise, the preferred inner lining presently used today due to its wearability, warmth and loft retention is that made of a polyester material. However, garments, including sportswear, having an inner polyester lining fail to have sufficient moisture transport characteristics if the wearer of the garment exercises for an extended time period.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a textile fabric which overcomes the above disadvantages, and which helps transport water away from the skin or undergarment of the wearer.


A frictional brake mechanism for detaining a first body relative to a second body having a surface, comprising a brake pad coupled to the first body and disposed adjacent to the surface and movable to and from a braking condition, wherein the brake pad frictionally engages the surface, and a non-braking condition, wherein the brake pad is disposed in a spaced relation to the surface; a biasing structure for biasing the brake pad to the braking condition; a release structure operably coupled to the brake pad and movable to and from a non-release position, wherein the brake pad is biasable to the braking condition, and a release position, wherein the brake pad is disposed substantially in the non-braking condition; and a release key in operable communication with the release structure and movable to and from first and second positions relative thereto, wherein when the key is disposed in either of the first or second positions, the release structure is disposed substantially in the release position and when the key is disposed between the first and second positions, the release structure is disposed in the non-release position.

The present application relates generally to frictional brake mechanisms, and, more particularly, to frictional brake mechanisms that detentably detain the movement of a first body relative to a second body.
When a first body must be detained relative to a second body, some form of brake mechanism, either frictional or mechanical, must engage the second body. Such mechanisms are generally mechanically or manually set to the detaining condition, wherein the first body is detained, or a non-detaining condition, wherein the first body is not detained.
There is a need for a frictional brake mechanism which is biased to a detaining condition and which can be disengaged to the non-detaining condition with a force that is substantially co-planar with the desired directional movement of the first body relative to the second body.


Extensible architecture for template-baser user setting management by creating logical groupings of per-user settings using different template types. A manageable way to assign templates to sets of users based on different criteria is provided. Templates can be defined in a declarative format (e.g., XML), which declarative format is developed such that various user interface (UI) pieces, third-party applications, and different client types can easily understand the templates. Extensibility of the architecture is supported for defining the templates such that external third-party application writers can make use of the provided infrastructure to add to existing templates or create new template types, and to seamlessly integrate into the existing infrastructure. Additionally, the per-user settings within the templates can be enforced on the server side, including the enforcement of future settings and template types.

Most client/server applications should have a method to apply configuration settings to individual users that use the client to interact with the server. Such settings can be referred to as "per-user" settings. These settings are typically set by the system administrator for individual users. The users can be represented in an enterprise as objects in a user store. For example, in one conventional implementation, a "user object" is generated for each user in the enterprise.
Conventionally, there are a number of ways that these settings can be configured and applied on a per-user basis. One such method is the use of global policies that are pushed to individual clients and then enforced at the client level. However, this method has several disadvantages. Pushing such policies to every user is very difficult to fully solve and to manage, and can also require a software agent to facilitate the arrangement. Furthermore, since enforcement is on the client, a rogue client can be generated that completely bypasses these policies. Finally, pushing such policies across firewalls on non-enterprise devices is an exceedingly difficult problem to solve. Another method is to apply the per-user settings on the server side on every user object. This would, however, cause to a large amount of data to be applied to every user object in the enterprise and would quickly lead to a management nightmare as the number of settings increase.
Another disadvantage of the conventional approaches is that all aspects of the actual settings are shipped when the client/server system is shipped. The list of settings, the way to enforce the settings, and the way to display the settings to the administrator for modification, for example, are tightly coupled to the product code and shipped with the product. In other words, there is usually no mechanism for enhancements or additions to this setting list for the product developer after the product is shipped. Thus, if a new setting needs to be added a new version of the server would need to be shipped and all customers that need this setting would need to perform a system upgrade.
Yet another disadvantage with conventional implementations is that there is more or less no consistent way for such third party vendors to plug-in per-user settings to the server system such that the settings can be displayed to the administrator and enforced in the same way as the remaining settings that were actually shipped with the server. Consequently, the administrator will not obtain an integrated experience for managing the per-user settings for the server and third-party applications.

Extensible framework for template-based user settings management


A method for modeling the effect of turbulence on the cut point function of a decanting centrifuge includes inputting data related to the centrifuge including the bowl radius, r2, the pond top radius, r1, the bowl length, LB, the angular velocity, ω, of the centrifuge into an analyzer, measuring data related to the feed fluid including a fluid density, ρf, a particle density ρs, a fluid viscosity, μ, and the flow rate, Q, and inputting the measured data into the analyzer, calculating a d100 cut point as a function of the flow rate, modeling a first cut functions for laminar flow as a function of a particle diameter, di, using the calculated d100 cut point function, calculating a maximum point within the pond, Ib, Ip, at which a particle having particle diameter, di, must reach a laminar boundary layer within the pond to be captured within the bowl, wherein Ib is defined as the distance from the inlet at which the particle having particle diameter, di encounters the laminar boundary layer and Ip is defined as the height of the boundary layer above a bottom of the pond and modeling a second cut function for turbulent flow having a laminar boundary layer along the bowl inner surface as a function of particle diameter, di. A turbulence factor is used to model the second cut function and may be used to predict a corrected cut point as a function of particle diameter.

Experimental evidence has been published by Thurber (MSc thesis University of Tulsa, 1988, p. 61) that led him to state that the settling velocity predicted by Stokes' law in the case of a decanter has to be reduced. He found a crude empirical expression saying that at shallow pond depths (<0.125 ft) and high processing rates ">75% of "maximum rate" the settling velocity was reduced by a factor 0.3 found from regression analysis. At processing rates greater than 50% of the "maximum rate" a reduction factor of 50% was found.
As it is generally known that reducing turbulence in a decanter will lower the cut point, and since (apart from Thurber's observations) no published analytical approach exists that can help taking into account the influence of turbulence in the design and optimization of decanter operation, a new analytical method has been found to fill this gap in knowledge. The present invention models this analytical method, but it will be obvious that more intricate geometries than the one described here can better be dealt with by Computational Fluid Dynamics. The underlying principle remains the same, that is finding areas of turbulence by applying some criterion based on Reynolds number.
As is described in advanced engineering text books (see e.g. Coulson and Richardson), entry of a fluid from a differently shaped reservoir into a pipe or slot will result in an initial zone where turbulent flow prevails. After a certain distance, the entry length, the fluid has developed a laminar velocity profile, see FIG. 1. This transition is marked by a thickening of a boundary layer, the thickness of which is proportional to the square root of the distance from the entry point. The laminar region is therefore surrounded by a parabolic boundary. In the case of slot flow, fully established laminar flow is achieved when the boundary layers meet each other.
Collins and Schowalter have studied these effects for non-Newtonian fluids in two papers dealing respectively with entry into a pipe and a channel (A.I.Ch.E.Journal, 1963). For the purposes of the invention described herein, it is sufficient to summarize their results by stating that the ratio Entry Length/Hydraulic Diameter multiplied by Reynold's number is equal to a constant value. For pipes this value is 0.05 and for slots this value is 0.0088.
The conclusions from Thurber's thesis suggest that a relationship of the same form as found by Collins and Schowalter can be used to describe turbulence in the pond of a decanting centrifuge. It would be an improvement in the art to develop a model incorporating the effects of both turbulent and laminar flow. Such a model further accounting for the formation laminar boundary layer within the pond of a decanting centrifuge could be used to improve centrifuge design as well as to more accurately predict the cut point function of a centrifuge.

Method for calculating the turbulence factor for a decanting centrifuge


Provided is an image sensor including a pixel array formed by arranging pixels, which generate an electrical signal in response to light; a memory for storing a register value of the image sensor; and a sensor controller for configuring the register value, wherein the register value includes information for defining a region to be processed in the pixel array, and when a change request for changing at least one of a position and a size of the region to be processed is received, the sensor controller provides a register modification command for adjusting the register value so as to correspond to the change request to the image sensor or the memory.

In order to prevent vignetting, such as darkening or blackening of edges or outer parts of an image due to a decrease in amount of light in a surrounding region upon photographing, an image sensor has been often produced by arranging more pixels than an output resolution.
In this case, a lot of pixels that are idle without use occurred, which was causing unnecessary waste of resources.
Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention have conceived the present invention in a process of finding a method of using the pixels that are idle.

Photographing system and photographing system control method


A pipe hanger assembly that provides infinite adjustment of vertical spacing throughout a wide range of adjustability includes a pipe clamp member comprising a first wire or rod having a linear segment extending upwardly from a distal open circular loop. The end of the circular portion include an integrally formed hook portion adapted to engage a distal portion of the linear segment. The wire or rod is preferably formed of resilient material, such as steel wire, so that the circular loop may be deformed to open and engage the circumferential surface of a pipe, and then closed about the pipe by engaging the hook about the linear segment. The assembly also includes a second wire or rod having a linear segment and an integral upper eye formed thereby. The eye is secured to a structural member by a screw or nail. The spring clip of the pipe hanger assembly includes a central web, and two pair of arms extending integrally from the web. Each pair of arms is disposed in a V-configuration, and includes aligned hole in each arm, so that a wire or rod may be extended through the aligned holes. The holes are dimensioned so that the wire is slidably translated therethrough when the pair of arms are resiliently deformed by manually squeezing together. Releasing the arms permits the arms to flex outwardly by intrinsic resilient force, the edges of the aligned holes engaging the wire in a frictional lock. Each pair of arms of the spring clip may be actuated independently to permit the longitudinal adjustment of the spacing of the first and second wires or rods, whereby the spacing of the circular loop from the existing structural member may be selectively varied in an infinitely adjustable manner throughout the entire range of adjustment of the assembly.

The field of the invention comprises support assemblies for suspending pipes and conduit from structural members, ceilings, and walls.
There are known in the prior art various forms of pipe hangers for supporting pipes, conduit, ventilation ducts, and the like within structures. Virtually all habitable structures require various combinations of plumbing pipes, ventilation ducts, electrical conduit, gas pipes, and the like to provide the necessary utility services. These pipes, conduit, and ducts, hereinafter termed pipes, are generally supported by pipe hangers that suspend the pipes from structural members within the building.
Pipe hangers generally comprise a plurality of suspension units that are spaced longitudinally along the pipe run, so that each suspension unit supports a small portion of the pipe and its contents. Prior art pipe hangers usually include a bracket to secure the hanger to a structural member, a strap, rod, bar, or the like extending downwardly from the bracket, and a pipe engaging clamp or strap secured to the depending member. Many combinations of these components are known in the prior art.
It may be appreciated that some pipe runs, such as waste pipes, are intentionally inclined, and the pipe hangers must be adjustable so that the spacing of the pipe from a supporting structural member differs smoothly and uniformly. Likewise, the structural members may be inclined while the pipe run is preferably horizontal. Thus, an important characteristic of pipe hangers is that they be adjustable in length to suit the situation in which the pipe is placed. In the prior art, there are known many arrangements for achieving adjustable spacing from the supporting structural member. For example, the bracket and/or strap and/or pipe clamp may be joined by threaded means, thereby providing infinite adjustment capability through a small range of vertical adjustability. Likewise, the depending strap may be provided with vertically spaced holes having a fixed spacing, and the pipe clamp may be secured by bolts or other fasteners in one of the preformed holes to approximate the desired vertical spacing. These devices are not infinitely adjustable, but they have a wider range of adjustability. Alternatively, the strap may be custom-formed on-site to provide the exact spaced desired.
A common problem found in prior art adjustable pipe hangers is that each installation required a great amount of manual labor to create the proper vertical spacing. For example, a typical pipe run may drop 1/4 inch per 4 feet, requiring that each hanger be slightly different from adjacent hangers. In addition, pipe runs must change direction to make required connections and avoid obstructions, and many prior art hanger assemblies are not easily adapted to angle changes. Moreover, this labor usually involves overhead work which is difficult and tiresome, especially when complicated by angled couplings and drop runs. These factors combine to cause a high labor rate for pipe hanger installations, in addition to the cost of the pipe hanger devices and materials.


A process for conducting cleaning operations at predetermined time intervals in a chamber or container of a fluid-receiving device of a foodstuff-processing apparatus first comprises receiving a first fluid in the chamber or container. Then, first and second degrees of cleaning are determined at first and second moments in time, respectively. Then, a first difference between the first and second degrees of cleaning is determined. In a first case, in which the second degree of cleaning lies below a first limit value, the action duration of the at least one cleaning agent during at least one subsequent cleaning operation is set depending on the first degree of cleaning. In a second case, in which the second degree of cleaning lies above the first limit value, a greater amount of cleaning agent is supplied and/or the time interval between two subsequent, successive cleaning operations is shortened.

Precautions for the avoidance or elimination of contaminations or deposits, such as scale deposits, dirt and/or corrosion are of importance, specifically in apparatuses for the heating and vaporization of a fluid, especially of water, as in the case of vapor generators, in order to ensure cost-effective operation and maximum lifetime of the apparatus.
A number of devices are known in the state of the art, which provide information on the state of scale forming in apparatuses for the heating and vaporization of water, so that when scale is detected, measures for descaling can be undertaken.
For example, a reliable and, due to its simplicity, cost-effective device is known from German patent DE 199 12 444 C2. In this device, the degree of scale forming vapor generator of a cooking apparatus is determined, by evaluating the difference between a filling volume of a heat generator in the scale-free state and a filling volume after a number of fillings of the steam generator with calcium-containing water. When the difference exceeds a pre-determined value, it is assumed that a reduction of the filling volume occurred due to scale forming, and that descaling of the vapor generator is to be performed. Although with this device it can be determined reliably if a certain degree of scale is present in the apparatus, the device does not make it possible to perform a defined conducting of a cleaning or descaling operation. In particular, no conclusions can be drawn about a suitable dosage of cleaning agents, descaling agents, or water-softening agents.
A household device with a sensor for the determination of the hardness of the water is known from DE 20 2004 013 787 U1. According to this disclosure, a dosage of a water-softening agent that is fed continuously into a fluid in order to prevent the formation of scale is effected as a function of the water hardness determined with the hardness sensor. Such a continuous softening of the water, however, cannot be used in a cooking appliance since the softening agent would have an adverse influence on the cooking result. In a fluid-receiving device of a cooking appliance, therefore, the cleaning processes, specifically descaling processes must be performed independently of the cooking operation.
DE 102 59 829 A1 discloses a method and a device for descaling in vapor generators for cooking appliances. The device comprises a storage container, which is connected to a vapor generator via a connecting line. Within the connecting line, a device is provided that makes it possible to introduce a certain amount of descaling agent into the vapor generator at a predetermined moment in time. Depending on the duration of operation and/or on a determined degree of scale in the vapor generator, the descaling agent is introduced into the vapor generator. However, the disadvantage of this method is that the descaling process in the vapor generator cannot be performed with the disclosed device in such a way that it is adjusted in the best possible way to the existing environmental conditions and optimized in the best possible way so that overdosage of the descaling agent and thus unnecessary pollution of the environment, insufficient descaling or unnecessarily long scaling processes and thus unnecessarily long interruptions in the operation are avoided.

Process for conducting cleaning operations in a fluid-receiving device of a foodstuff-processing apparatus, and fluid-receiving device and foodstuff-processing apparatus therefor


Provided are an apparatus and method for testing call processing performance and conformance of a media gateway controller and a media gateway with respect to a media gateway control (MEGACO) protocol. The method includes generating a predetermined scenario regarding a test of call processing performance of a media gateway controller or a media gateway; selecting a function of the media gateway controller or the media gateway and emulating virtual analog lines between the media gateway controller and the media gateway according to the scenario; and testing the call processing performance of the media gateway controller or the media gateway using the virtual analog lines and the selected media gateway controller or the media gateway. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively test the call processing performance of the media gateway controller or a media gateway without test equipment.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-87270 filed on Dec. 3, 2003 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for testing a MEdia GAteway COntrol (MEGACO) protocol, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for testing call processing performance and conformance of a standard MEGACO protocol-based Media Gateway Controller (MGC) and an Access GateWay (AGW) when replacing a conventional analog switchboard with the AGW so as to construct a Next Generation Network (NGN) that converges voice traffic, which has been serviced by a conventional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), onto an Internet Protocol (IP) net.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a next-generation network indicates a converged Internet Protocol (IP) network that converges various multimedia traffic, such as data and audio, onto an IP packet network. This next-generation network is capable of providing Voice-over-IP (VoIP) service as an alternative to the existing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) service. The VoIP is a more economical alternative to the existing circuit switching or the PSTN service.
An Access GeteWay (AGW) has been introduced as a VoIP-based apparatus that can substitute for the existing analog switchboard. In other words, the AGW is converging access equipment that enables various subscriber services, such as general telephone service, Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL) service, and private line service, to be accommodated in a single platform. In this case, an accommodated voice traffic is transmitted over a local switching system and the V5.2 interface, and a data traffic is transmitted over a data network. Also, the AGW is connected to a soft switch to transmit voice packet traffic to a packet network and provides packet-based extensibility for accommodation of new subscribers. To accept voice traffic of a conventional Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) network in an IP packet network, the voice traffic must be packetized, and call processing must be performed on the voice traffic by connecting the IP packet network to the conventional TDM network and using a protocol for transmitting the voice traffic to the soft switch.
Establishment of a next-generation network infrastructure has now been carried by several telecommunication providers. In this connection, development of related equipment and technologies for testing the performance thereof are required.
A MEdia GAteway COntrol (MEGACO)/H.248 protocol is a control protocol between the soft switch and a gateway that is standardized according to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication (ITU-T). Also, the MEGACO/H.248 protocol is a master-slave type protocol that instructs a Media Gateway (MG) to connect two MGs, which are terminated by a signal control of a Media Gateway Controller (MGC), or manage them. In particular, an Access GateWay (AGW) performs the same functions as those of a conventional analog switching system in an IP net.

Apparatus and method for testing MEGACO protocol

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


In an electrophotographic photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer on a conductive support, a binder resin that constitutes the photosensitive layer includes a polymer containing a skeleton derived from dehydroabietic acid in the main chain. An electrophotographic photoreceptor which accelerates conversion to natural materials from the viewpoint of manufactured product quality or production suitability, since the binder resin of the photosensitive layer has satisfactory solvent solubility.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor and a copying machine using the same, and a dope for forming a photosensitive layer of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Copying machines and printers have been widely distributed mainly as office equipment, but regardless of home applications or business applications, and recently, the ranges of the equipment form and the use are further extending to areas such as compositization of a printer and a copying machine, or coping with the demand for high resolution printed matters. Among the components that constitute such copying machines and the like, a photoreceptor takes an important position and achieves a function of converting electronic information on its surface from a charged latent image to an actual image. Organic photoconductors (OPC's) that currently constitute the mainstream have their structural members formed from organic main bodies. On the other hand, the photoreceptors should meet the requirements of photoelectric conversion, which is a principal function, as well as mechanical strength. It is not easy for structural members formed from organic materials to achieve a balance between the two, and there is a demand for further technical development.
Among others, a photosensitive layer that is provided in an organic photoreceptor is an important part that is in charge of the photoelectric conversion by generating charges by means of a charge generating agent under exposure, and transporting these charges. On the other hand, the photosensitive layer is also a part that is subjected to impact, such as rotational contact with a drum that supplies toner, or with a cleaner, and is subjected to mechanical damage or fatigue. This is a part which causes significant changes in the performance of the photoreceptor depending on the material applied to the photosensitive layer, and also contributes to a large extent to the product service life, which is based on durability of the photosensitive layer.
It has been suggested to employ a particular polycarbonate as a material that is applied to the photosensitive layer (binder resin) (see JP1996-234457A(JP-H08-234457A) and JP2006-292929A). It is believed that the charging characteristics required in an electrophotographic photoreceptor can be improved thereby, or abrasion resistance and the like can be enhanced thereby.

Electrophotographic photoreceptor and copying machine using same, and dope for forming photosensitive layer of same


Disclosed herein are a microorganism producing L-arginine and a method of producing L-arginine using the same. The microorganism is a mutant strain of the genus Corynebacterium, Corynebacterium glutamicum CJR0500. The method for L-arginine production comprises activating the mutant strain C. glutamicum CJR0500 in a fermentation medium at 30° C. for 16 hours and then culturing the activated mutant strain for 72 hours with shaking.

L-arginine, a semi-essential amino acid that is naturally produced in the body, has been widely used in medicaments, food, animal feedstuffs, and other products. L-arginine is useful as a drug for improving the hepatic function and brain function and treating male sterility, and as an ingredient of multiple amino acid supplements. Also, L-arginine has been used as a food additive in fish cakes and health beverages, and has recently gained interest as a salt substitute for hypertension patients.
Conventional methods for L-arginine production by biological fermentation are based on the production of L-arginine directly from carbon and nitrogen sources. For example, L-arginine can be produced using a mutant strain derived from a glutamic acid-producing microorganism belonging to the genus Brevibacterium or Corynebacterium (Japanese Pat. Laid-Open Publication Nos. Sho57-163487, Sho60-83593 and Sho62-265988), or using an amino acid-producing microorganism the growth properties of which are improved through cell fusion (Japanese Pat. Laid-Open Publication No. Sho59-158185). Also, L-arginine can be produced using a strain transformed with a recombinant gene (Japanese Pat. Laid-Open Publication No. Sho63-79597 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,623).


A universal joint assembly has a housing and a universal joint in a chamber within the housing. A diaphragm seal in the housing forms a wall of the chamber. The chamber is substantially sealed to exclude entry of foreign elements. The diaphragm seal is flexible to allow for expansion and contraction of the chamber due to changes in temperature to prevent any substantial increase or decrease in the pressure within the chamber.

The internal temperature of a constant velocity universal joint changes due to the moving internal components and the influence of the external environment. These temperature fluctuations tend to cause changes in the internal pressure of the joint. However, it is important to keep the internal pressure more or less equal to the outside atmospheric pressure because if the internal pressure changes, the boot, which closes the sealed chamber in which the joint operates, may deform and cause a failure of the seal. In the past, internal pressure equalization has been accomplished by adding one or more vent holes to the outer race or grease cap, or placing a groove in the mating interface between the inner race stub shaft and the boot. The drawback of these attempts at pressure equalization is that the joint can ingest contaminates through the vent holes, often resulting in joint failure.

Constant velocity universal joint diaphragm seal